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(GMA News) President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday criticized the lack of congressional support for his campaign promise to establish a federal system of government, months before leaving office.

Speaking at a democracy summit hosted by US President Joe Biden, Duterte said his federalism project was meant to “broaden democratic participation” in the Philippines.

“My government also sought to broaden democratic participation through federalism but my constitutional project did not get Congress support. So be it. I respect the separation of powers [that is] vital for democracy,” he said.

“The work of our imperfect democracy will certainly continue.”

Duterte has been pushing for a shift to a federal form of government as a means to address economic and power imbalances.

However, his proposal has languished in Congress, which is dominated by his allies.

Opponents of Charter change, meanwhile, have accused Duterte of encouraging amendments in order to maintain his grip on power, an allegation Malacañang has repeatedly refuted, stating that the President has no desire to extend his six-year term, which ends in June 2022… Read More

(GMA News) Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año on Friday clarified that the 23 cities in the country with at least 70% vaccination coverage have reached only population protection and not herd immunity as he earlier claimed.

In a message to GMA News Online, Año said these areas have 70% of their population or “priority groups” fully vaccinated against COVID-19. He said herd immunity is based on the actual population of a particular area.

“I would like to correct na hindi pa yan herd immunity kundi population protection dahil more than 70% ng target population (priority groups) are already vaccinated. Herd immunity is based on actual population,” he said.

(I would like to correct that that is not yet herd immunity but population protection because more than 70% ng target population [priority groups] are already vaccinated.)

Año pointed out that the country still has to vaccinate people in other local government units to secure protection for everyone… Read More

(Pep.ph) Pinangalanan ni Chie Filomeno, 25, si Alexa Ilacad, 21, bilang pinaka-bossy na housemate.
Pero paliwanag ni Chie, nasa pagkatao raw kasi ni Alexa ang pagkakaroon ng “authority.”

Sina Chie at Alexa ay parehong housemates sa ongoing Pinoy Big Brother Kumunity Season 10 at pareho ring Star Magic artists.

Na-evict na sa PBB house si Chie noong November 27, habang nasa loob pa rin ng Bahay ni Kuya si Alexa.

Ngayong Huwebes, December 9, guest si Chie sa Kapamilya morning show na Magandang Buhay.

Tinanong ng host na si Melai Cantiveros si Chie kung sino sa housemates ang “pinaka-bossy.”

Bago pangalanan, nagpaliwanag muna siya kung bakit ang housemate na ito ang kanyang napili.

Ani Chie, “Kasi naiintindihan ko yung pagiging bossy niya also.

“Kasi all her life, gusto niya talagang planned out din yung kung ano yung mangyayari.

“So, for me, si Alexa talaga.”

Hindi naman negatibo ang paglalarawan ni Chie kung bakit si Alexa ang napili niyang pinaka-bossy… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional two portions of the highly contested Anti-Terrorism Law, leaving most of it untouched, it said in a statement on Thursday.

Voting 12-3 in an en banc session on Dec. 7, the justices struck down a part of Section 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law for “being overbroad and violative of freedom of expression.”

It specifically referred to the part that an action linked to a protest, advocacy, or dissent could be considered terrorism if it is intended to cause death or physical harm to a person, to endanger a person’s life, or to create a serious risk to public safety.

The Supreme Court justices also declared the second part of Section 25 as unconstitutional by a vote of 9-6. It refers to the line “request for designations by other jurisdictions or supranational jurisdictions may be adopted by the ATC (Anti-Terrorism Council) after determination that the proposed designee meets the criteria for designation of UNSCR (United Nations Security Council Resolutions) NO. 1373.”.. Read More

(BusinessWorld) LABOR group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) is pressing for government action on its call to lift the “no vaccination, no work” policy, citing the right of workers to make the personal choice of whether to get jabbed or not against the coronavirus.

The militant group condemned the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) for its lack of initiative to stop the vaccine requirement, which are contained in resolutions 148-B and 149 issued by the task force managing the pandemic response.

“It’s frustrating that DoLE cannot stand up for the rights of workers,” KMU Chairman and Makabayan senatorial candidate Elmer Labog said in a statement in Filipino released on Tuesday.

Mr. Labog said they had heard nothing from the department except that it did not have a choice but to abide by the resolutions, which mandate vaccination for on-site workers.

“They turned their backs on their own Labor Advisory 3, Series of 2021 that disallows ‘no vaccine, no work’ in workplaces,” he said.

The labor leader said that vaccination “cannot and should not be forced unto individuals.”

He also noted opposition to the requirement for unvaccinated workers to get tested regularly at their own expense.

Many workers in the capital region earn only about P500 a day, while testing for coronavirus costs at most P4,000, he said, adding that many have lost their jobs… Read More

(BusinessWorld) PHILIPPINE health authorities reported 356 new coronavirus infections on Monday, the lowest daily tally since July 2 last year, bringing the total to 2.84 million.

The death toll hit 49,591 after 92 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 871 to 2.77 million, it said.

Of the 92 reported deaths, 18% occurred in November, the agency said.

There were 13,026 active cases, 899 of which did not show symptoms, 5,314 were mild, 3,900 were moderate, 2,326 were severe, and 587 were critical.

It said 26% of intensive care units in the Philippines were occupied, while the rate for Metro Manila was 29%.

The Health department said six duplicates were removed from the tally, six of which were reclassified as recoveries, while 87 recoveries were relisted as deaths.

It added that 159 patients had tested negative and were removed from the tally. Of these, 157 were recoveries… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The Supreme Court (SC) has deliberated and ruled on the controversial anti-terrorism law, an official confirmed on Tuesday.

In a statement, SC Public Information Office chief Atty. Brian Hosaka said there would be a thorough review of the justices’ votes given a string of issues resolved in the case.

“Considering that there were numerous issues resolved in the case, as well as the fact that each Justice had to vote on each issue, there is a need to accurately confirm and tally the vote of each Justice in order to ensure the correct resolution of the Court per issue,” Hosaka said.

He vowed the high court would release an “accurate summary” of its action on the highly-contested measure “at the soonest possible time.”.. Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The “weak explosion” at Mt. Pinatubo reported Tuesday afternoon has been confirmed as a phreatic or steam-driven explosion by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

“Based on visual reports of an eruption plume and seismic, infrasound and satellite detection, DOST-Phivolcs confirms that a phreatic eruption occurred at Pinatubo Crater between 12:09 and 12:13 p.m.,” the agency said in an update posted on social media.

Phivolcs earlier said they were assessing the recorded explosion, which produced a plume, to determine its source.

“Considering that there has been very low seismic activity in the volcano in the past days and low diffuse volcanic CO2 flux measured at Pinatubo Crater Lake, and high infrasound over seismic energy released by the eruption, the event was likely driven by shallow hydrothermal processes beneath the edifice,” Phivolcs said… Read More