NAVY BOAT SECURES TANKER OFF ZAMBOANGA WATERS

ZAMBOANGA CITY: A Philippine Navy patrol boat assisted a tanker – MT Denise 2 – that lost engine power while sailing off Zamboanga City and stayed within the vicinity until the vessel’s engine had been fixed. Rear Admiral Rene Medina of Naval Forces Western Mindanao said its patrol boat, BRP Felix Apolinario, deployed at sea in Zamboanga del Norte, sailed back to Zamboanga on Thursday and found the tanker about four nautical miles off Colorado Point. MT Denise 2 is owned and operated by Chelsea Shipping Corp. that transports oil, fuel and other liquid cargo around the Philippines.

ARMM TOWNS RECEIVE PCSO AMBULANCE

COTABATO CITY: The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office ( PCSO) has donated eight ambulances to several towns in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to help improve health service in the region. Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, said the region is thankful for the PCSO’s Ambulance Donation Program that will help recipient municipalities to better respond to health and other humanitarian emergencies. The ambulances were turned over recently at the region’s seat here. Recipients of the ambulances are the towns of Matanog, Barira, Paglat, Sultan Mastura, Datu Hofer, Ampatuan in Maguindanao; Bacolod-Kalawi in Lanao del Sur; Basilan General Hospital in Basilan and Sulu Sanitarium Hospital in Jolo. PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan said that as of November 2016, the PCSO has donated a total of 1,503 ambulances to beneficiaries in different local government units, hospitals, health institutions, state universities and other government agencies.