MANILA, Philippines - First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo remains at the intensive care unit for heart patients and is under close watch by doctors at the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Taguig City for a recurring and potentially life-threatening heart ailment. President Arroyo’s attendance in her local and foreign engagements was uncertain yesterday as she continued to be by the bedside of her ailing husband.

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines has again showed its commitment to the environment by leading in the observance of “Earth Hour” on Saturday night. “More than 1,000 cities, towns and municipalities in the Philippines have taken part in Earth Hour, the largest number of any country or territory participating in Earth Hour this year,” said organizers of the event in the Earth Hour 2010 official blog (http://earthhourblog.posterous.com/?page=3).

MANILA, Philippines - Inspired by the popularity of the dancing inmates of Cebu, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) is adopting the concept, which it believes would be a good therapy for inmates and prevent trouble in jails. Authorities said there has been no violent incidents in the Cebu jail, which is under the supervision of the provincial government, since the inmates there got into dancing.

CALOOCAN CITY health officials are now strictly monitoring the cases of measles in the city to prevent an increase in the number of children affected by the contagious viral disease in the city. Dr. Racquel So-Sayo, Caloocan’s city health chief, said in an interview that they have already brought immunization services house-to-house to target barangays that have shown low vaccine coverage since early February.

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported yesterday that around 500 liters of automotive diesel oil (ADO) was recently found in the waters near Pier 2 of the Navotas Fishport Center. In a statement, the PCG said the Philippine Navy-National Capital Region Command (PN-NCRCOM) Sea Marshal informed them the oil spill was sighted at the Buena Suerte Fishing and Trading Corp. at around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 24.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – A typhoid outbreak has been declared in four remote sitios (sub-villages) of Barangay (village) Datal Anggas in Alabel town, Sarangani following the death of at least two victims, a local health official said Friday.  Doctor Honorato Fabio, Alabel municipal health officer, told reporters that the Department of Health through the Regional Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila that four out of the five samples sent out for laboratory testing turned out positive for typhoid.