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(GMA News) Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday said she would ensure the return of the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth, adding that the theft had impoverished Filipinos.

“So ‘yung akin, tututukan yun ng pamahalaan hindi dahil kalaban ko sila pero tututukan kasi kailangan nating mabawi. Kailangang mabawi yung nakaw na yaman,” said presidential aspirant Robredo during a radio interview when asked about some of the remaining undiscovered ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. She will also be facing former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in Eleksyon 2022.

(In my view, the government should focus on this, not because they are my opponent, but because we need to recover this wealth. We need to recover what they stole.)

“Sa panahon na ang daming Pilipino naghihirap, nagpapakasasa sila sa magandang buhay. Tingin natin hindi ‘yun justified e,” she added… Read More

(BusinessWorld) The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved clinical trials for combining coronavirus vaccine brands, an official from the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) said on Friday.

The regulator approved the study on Nov. 16 and has started screening applicants, DoST Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara told a televised news briefing.

The mix-and-match trials would need 3,000 participants including Filipinos who got vaccinated with Coronavac from China as their first dose.

The dry run started last month with results of the study to be made available by the first quarter of next year.

More than 73 million coronavirus vaccines had been given out as of Nov. 18, with 32.9 million Filipinos having been fully vaccinated against the virus and 6,457 booster shots injected, according to data from an inter-agency task force.

Meanwhile, a House lawmaker has called on the task force to do away with RT-PCR tests for interzonal land, air and sea travel because it burdens fully vaccinated travelers.

Party-list Rep. Jose J. Teves, Jr. filed a House resolution asking the government to only require a negative antigen test result for traveling Filipinos who have been fully vaccinated. .. Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — A group of lawyers has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to resume its probe into the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war.

The ICC suspended its investigation after Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands Eduardo Malaya asked the body to “defer to” the local authorities’ probes into deaths during anti-drug operations.

“The NUPL (National Union of People’s Lawyers) entreats the ICC Prosecutor to deny any such deferral request and, instead, continue with the conduct of a full-blown investigation into the drug-war atrocities,” the group said in a statement.

“These domestic remedies described by the Philippine Ambassador in his letter have proven utterly ineffective in stopping wave after wave of drug-related killings, the imprisonment of thousands of poor Filipinos on questionable charges, and the commission of countless human rights violations during the anti-drug campaign,” it argued.

NUPL questioned why the Duterte administration is “suddenly waving” the Justice department’s investigation into 52 drug war deaths “out of tens of thousands as an indicator that domestic mechanisms are working.” It added this is just the government’s attempt at “white-washing” its anti-drug campaign.

Meanwhile, Malacañang on Saturday reiterated that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines and expressed hope that the court will grant its request.

“We welcome the judiciousness of the new ICC prosecutor, who has deemed it fit to give the matter a fresh look and we trust that the matter will be resolved in favor of the exhonoration of our government and the recognition of the vibrancy of our justice system,” acting Presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a statement… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that it has approved the emergency use authorization of Covovax vaccine developed by the US-based biotechnology company Novavax.

FDA Director General Eric Domingo said Covovax is a protein subunit type of vaccine that has an efficacy rate of 89.7%. It may be administered to individuals aged 18 years old and above.

“Bagong klase ng bakuna ito, ito po ay tinatawag na protein subunit vaccine. Isang parte po na pure part of the antigenic na parte po ng virus ang kanyang nire-replicate. Pagkatapos ito po ang ini-inject para mag-elicit po ng immune response,” said Domingo during the Laging Handa press briefing.

The brand is manufactured by Serum Institute of India, he added.

The FDA said Covovax will be given in two doses and should not be less than 21 days apart.

“Nakita po sa kanyang mga clinical trial na very mild ang mga adverse effects na reported. Maganda naman po ang safety profile niya,” he said.

[Translation: Clinical trials show that it has very mild adverse effects. It also has a good safety profile.]

The vaccine could possibly be used towards the end of the year or in 2022, FDA added… Read More

(The Manila Times) THE ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) on has reiterated its full support for the presidential bid of Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, a day after Davao City Mayor and vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte-Carpio formalized her alliance with ex-senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for the May 2022 elections.

Lawyer Melvin Matibag, secretary general of the PDP-Laban led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, made the statement on Wednesday after Duterte-Carpio admitted seeking the support of PDP-Laban, the political party of her father, but rejected their tandem.

“We respect the decision of Mayor Sara Duterte. But the PDP has its alliance with PDDS among others. Our Alliances are strong and our leaders’ and members’ discipline, spirit, and morale are high,” Matibag said in a statement.

“We have towed the line and will support the candidacy of Senator Bong Go for president and President Rodrigo Duterte for senator,” he added… Read More

(BusinessWorld) The daughter of Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte will run for vice-president next year in tandem with the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, ending months of speculation about her political ambition.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who dropped her reelection bid last week, has allied herself with Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., who is running for president , Victor D. Rodriguez, his lawyer and chief of staff, sad by telephone on Saturday.

The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, Mr. Marcos’s party, adopted Ms. Carpio, 43, as its vice-presidential bet for the May elections, according to a copy of a resolution passed by the party.

The presidential daughter, who had rejected calls for her to run for a national position, registered her candidacy for vice-president under the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) through a representative, party spokesman Ryan Ponce Pacpaco told reporters in a Viber message… Read More

(GMA News) Newly-appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police Lieutenant General Dionardo Carlos on Friday vowed to bolster heightened police operations against criminality as well as illegal drugs.

“We will implement even more strongly our Enhanced Managing Police Operations programs against criminality and our Double Barrel Finale ‘Version 2021’ against illegal drugs,” Carlos said during his speech at the change of command ceremony in Camp Crame.

“We will improve these programs as necessary and introduce further reforms as needed as we strive to make more potent these tools against crime and illegal drugs,” Carlos added.

Carlos is the 27th PNP chief, replacing Police General Guillermo Eleazar.

While lawless elements may be emboldened to commit criminal acts due to the easing of regulations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Carlos promised that the police force would not let this happen.

“Hindi na natin pababayaang bumalik pa ang mga masasamang loob sa ating mga komunidad at lansangan. Hindi natin pababayaang masayang ang ating mga pinaghirapan nitong mga nakaraang taon,” said the new PNP Chief… Read More

(BusinessWorld) The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has sent a summons to Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. over the petition filed by taxpayers to cancel his candidacy for president.

The summons was issued on Nov. 11 and was set to be served on Nov. 12, the poll body’s spokesman James B. Jimenez told reporters in a Viber message.

“We are awaiting proof of service,” he said. “The respondent will have five days to file an answer.”

Mr. Jimenez on Thursday said it could take weeks to resolve a petition seeking to disqualify the namesake and only son of the late dictator, Ferdinand E. Marcos, from the presidential race.

A group of taxpayers had asked the election body to block the presidential run of Mr. Marcos, saying he is ineligible to run for office after a trial court convicted him in 1995 for failing to pay his income taxes and for material misrepresentation in his candidacy paper.

His conviction by a trial court was upheld by the Court of Appeals and was never appealed before the Supreme Court, said the petition filed at the poll body. He is thus disqualified from holding any public office as he was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of violating the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), it said.

Mr. Marcos made false material representation in his certificate of candidacy when he stated that he has not been found liable for an offense which carries with it the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification to hold public office, the petition states… Read More