MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Transportation’s Office for Transportation Security (DOTr-OTS) intercepted 1,880 prohibited items at various airports in the country for the month of March.

Majority of the items intercepted are commonly prohibited items such as lighters, liquid items in containers of more than 100 ml, air guns, knives, scissors, workers’ tools, cutters, and other similar sharp and pointed objects. A total of 49 of the intercepted items were suspected live bullets, while 81 were ‘non-live’ bullets kept as amulets, or shell casings taken as souvenirs from firing ranges.

OTS Administrator Undersecretary Raul L. del Rosario lauded the vigilance of OTS airport Security Screening Officers (SSOs) who act as the first line of defense at the airport.

“Magmula noong pandemic, siniguro rin natin ang health and safety ng mga pasahero at pati na ang aming mga empleyado,” he said in a statement. AAC

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has suspended the inauguration of the LRT-2 East Extension Project from its original schedule on April 26 and set it to a much later date of June 23, 2021.

In a statement, the department said the adjustment is due to the new COVID-19 restrictions and to protect the health and safety of rail workers and the riding public.

DOTr Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan also reported that foreign rail experts who are necessary for the final stages of installation, testing, and commissioning works for the project have been unable to report for work or enter the Philippines due to stringent restrictions being enforced.

“As much as we would like to open the project earlier, kailangan pong unahin ang kalusugan at kapakanan ng ating mga rail workers at mananakay (we need to prioritize the health and well-being of our rail workers and passengers),” he said.

LRT-2’s new stations, the Marikina Station and Antipolo Station will serve commuters from Recto, Manila going to Masinag, Antipolo, and back.

According to the DOTr, “the project is expected to cut travel time between Manila and Antipolo from the previous three (3) hours by bus or jeepney, to only 40 minutes.” AAC

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Transportation (DOTr) clarified in a statement on Thursday that the Facebook page/account bearing the name Sec Art Tugade does not belong to the transportation chief.

“Please be informed that Secretary Tugade *DOES NOT HAVE A PERSONAL FACEBOOK PAGE or ACCOUNT*, and is *NOT* involved in creating, managing, and handling the said page or other similar accounts,” the department stressed.

“Anything related to Secretary Tugade in his function and designation as Cabinet Secretary, and head of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is posted *ONLY* in the *OFFICIAL* DOTr social media accounts,” the DOTr added.

The agency also encouraged the public to immediately report to the DOTr any suspicious activity involving this unauthorized account, or any similar accounts for that matter. AAC