20% discount on fare, travel tax for students, seniors, PWDs approved

THE House of Representatives unanimously approved on third and final reading House Bills (HB) 8884 and 8885, which seek to provide cheaper transportation for students, senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

HB 8884, principally authored by Representative Arlene Arcillas (1st District, Laguna), received 178 positive votes and without abstention.

It seeks to expand the coverage of travel tax exemption in the country and provide

“The Department of Health’s (DOH) immunization program was likewise tackled. The President ordered a vigorous campaign to promote the complete immunization for children,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

Duterte’s order came following the announcement of the DOH that there is an outbreak of highly contagious measles in Metro Manila and Central Luzon.

The rise in measles cases came amid public’s eroded trust in the government’s immunization program because of the controversy involving Dengvaxia vaccine, which was blamed for the deaths of some Filipino children.

Following the Dengvaxia controversy, immunization coverage in 2018 slid to 40 percent from at least 70 percent in the last few years, the DOH earlier revealed.

On January 29, Duterte called on parents to submit their children to vaccination to prevent them from getting infected with contagious diseases. (Ruth Abbey Gita/ SunStar Philippines)