RIDERS ASSURANCE Councilor to ensure riders’ business permit application will be easy, affordable

By MAYA M. PADILLO

Davao City Councilor Bernard Al-ag assured that delivery riders’ business permit applications are easy and affordable.

Al-ag, chair of the committee on trade, commerce, and industry of the City Council, said he will be filing for second reading and present a solution to the problem besetting the delivery riders in Davao City.

“Naa pa ta karon sa level sa committee level. Daghan ta mga legal issues na gina-thresh out. Dili pako maka divulge kung unsa ang final recommendation. We will make sure na ang ilahang application will be easy

and affordable,” Al-ag said in an interview.

In February this year, delivery riders in Davao City appealed for an exemption from paying the business permit fee amounting to around P3,000 mandated by the city government of Davao on delivery riders. They said many of them encountered financial scarcity and their income is based on per delivery.

Some COVID-19 protocols must continue despite the lifting by the World Health Organization of its highest alert regarding the respiratory disease that has claimed nearly 7 million lives globally, an infectious disease expert said Saturday.

According to Dr. Rontgene Solante, chairman of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the San Lazaro Hospital, the lifting of the global health emergency declaration for COVID-19 does not mean the pandemic has ended.

lines on COVID-19.

The WHO on the same day lifted the global health emergency declaration on COVID-19, citing the increasing population immunity because of vaccination and infection, decreasing mortality and easing of pressure on health systems.

The UN health agency first declared the so-called public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) over the crisis on January 30, 2020.

As of May 3, the WHO has logged more than 765 million COVID-19 cases, of which over 6.9 million resulted in deaths.