pinay<3pinoy

(businessWorld) SENATOR Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao, Sr. will independently run for President next year if he loses control of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), a party official said on Monday.

The boxing champion was unlikely to join another political party, Ronwald F. Munsayac, executive director of the PDP-Laban faction loyal to Mr. Pacquiao, told an online news briefing.

Rival parties are said to be willing to take the senator in, but he would only “accept their support, not join them,” he added.

The boxing champ did not immediately reply to a text message seeking comment.

But Jake Joson, a long-time special assistant and business partner of Mr. Pacquiao, said Mr. Munsayac should not tell him what to do. He added that the senator is considered by rival parties as a “big asset.”

“The filing of certificates of candidacy is still in October,” he said. “Many changes can still happen.”

The faction led by Mr. Pacquiao on Sunday ousted President Rodrigo Duterte as chairman, replacing him with Senator Aquilino L. Pimentel III. The President had supported the faction led by Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon described the controversy involving overpriced COVID-19 medical supplies from a company without sufficient credentials as a “deliberate plan to plunder” public coffers, with a mysterious backer who is yet to be revealed.

Speaking to CNN Philippines’ The Source on Monday, Drilon lamented the involvement of former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, who awarded an ₱8.68 billion deal to Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp. to procure personal protective equipment and testing kits that were later found to be overpriced.

“I was saying, this did not happen by accident,” Drilon said. “There was a deliberate plan to plunder the coffers to the tune of what we’re talking about. All the indications are there.”

“What we are looking for now is the missing link,” he added, “and the identification of who the backer is of Usec. Lao and Pharmally to be able to get into this kind of monumental graft we are talking about.”.. Read More

(The Manila Times) The number of Filipinos who continue to practice minimum health protocols to protect themselves from Covid-19 infection has dwindled, a survey conducted by Octa Research revealed.

The July 2021 Tugon ng Masa survey showed that majority of those polled -89 percent- said that they wear face masks.

Meanwhile, 85 percent said that they regularly wash their hands with water and soap or disinfect using alcohol.

Additionally, 70 percent said that they use face shields, and 64 percent said that they observe physical distancing.

“However, the percentage of adult Filipinos practicing either of these four measures decreased in the past month, with a face shield having the highest fall of 11 percent,” OCTA said in a statement.

This was followed by a decrease of 5, 3, and 2 percent in regular handwashing, observing physical distancing, and using face masks, respectively.

Moreover, 80 percent of Filipinos approve of the national government’s response to prevent the spread of Covid-19, with 30 percent reporting that they truly approve and 50 percent said that they somewhat approve.

OCTA conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents aged 18 years and above from July 12 to 18, 2021. The results of the survey have a ±3 margin of error and a 95 percent confidence level… Read More

(The Manila Times) THE Philippines sent two more cube satellites (CubeSats) – Maya-3 and Maya-4 – to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday.

The CubeSats left Earth aboard Space X Falcon 9 rocket in a Dragon C208 cargo as part of Space X Commercial Resupply Mission-23.

“In addition to approximately 1,000 kilograms of science experiments riding aboard the spacecraft, the crew can look forward to assortments of cheese, ice cream, and veggies,” the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on Facebook.

Dragon will arrive at the ISS on Monday.

The initial launch was set on Saturday but was postponed because of the bad weather in Florida, United States.

Maya-3 and Maya-4 were the first university-built satellites in the country. Each weighs 1.15 kilogram and measured 10 centimeters (cm) by 10 cm by 11.35 cm at stowed state with RGB camera and Near-Infrared (NIR) camera to capture images for general visual assessment of landmass and bodies of water… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The country posted 18,528 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, the second biggest one-day jump in cases.

The highest-ever was recorded just a day before, Aug. 28, when new cases surged to 19,441.

The total count is now at 1,954,023, of which 143,221 or 7.3% are active cases, the Department of Health reported.

Of the currently sick, 95.3% exhibit mild symptoms, 2% are asymptomatic, 1% are moderate cases, 1.1% are severe, and 0.6% are critical.

The DOH also announced 101 new fatalities, including 38 cases previously tagged as recoveries. This raised the death toll to 33,109.

Meanwhile, the number of survivors reached 1,777,693 after 17,922 more were confirmed.

The department said data from seven testing laboratories which failed to submit reports on time were not part of the count. These facilities contributed around 2.7% of all samples tested and 2.1% of positive cases over the past two weeks.

The DOH also deleted 205 duplicates, including 204 recoveries, after final validation.

The daily positivity rate continued to increase and stood at 27.9% based on the 66,225 tests reported on Aug. 27. This meant at least 1 in 4 people who had themselves tested the same day was found positive for the coronavirus.

According to U.S. nonprofit Covid Act Now, a positivity rate is at critical level if it is above 20%. This suggests testing efforts are inadequate and that there are likely more infected individuals who have gone undetected. The group also said an area has sufficient testing if its positivity rate is below 3%.

The DOH warned that new cases may continue to rise in the following days, as it stressed the importance of compliance with health protocols. A few hours before, it confirmed 711 new cases of four coronavirus variants, including over 500 of the highly contagious Delta variant… Read More

(BusinessWorld) CORONAVIRUS infections are expected to peak in the coming weeks, Health authorities said on Thursday, a week after the capital region was placed under a strict lockdown to contain a more contagious Delta variant.

“In the next days and weeks, we’ll probably be seeing additional peaks,” Alethea De Guzman, director of the Health department’s Epidemiology Bureau said at a virtual forum.

The new peak from Aug. 19 to 25 had surpassed the previous peak experienced from Aug. 12 to 20, she said.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 16,313 coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing the total to 1.9 million.

The death toll rose to 32,728 after 236 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 9,659 to 1.74 million, it said in a bulletin.

There were 131,921 active cases, 96.1% of which were mild, 1.1% did not show symptoms, 1.2% were severe, 1.03% were moderate and 0.6% were critical.

The agency said 201 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 201 of which were tagged as recoveries, while 125 recoveries were reclassified as deaths. Five laboratories failed to submit data on Aug. 24.

The country had a daily average of 15,537 cases from Aug. 19 to 25, Ms. de Guzman said, higher than the 12,897 cases reported daily from Aug. 12 to 20… Read More

(GMA News) An OCTA Research survey found that, even before the recent surge in cases, most Filipinos followed the minimum COVID-19 health standards with 89% of them regularly using face masks to avoid infection.

In its Tugon ng Masa (TNM) National Survey conducted from July 12 to 18, 2021, the research body found that the use of face masks and regular cleaning of hands using water and soap or alcohol were the top measures adult Filipinos followed to avoid COVID-19 infection, with 89% and 85% of adult Filipinos practicing each, respectively.

The use of face shields followed with 70%, then the observance of physical or social distancing at 64%.

However, the survey also found that the percentage of adult Filipinos practicing any of the four measures decreased in the past month, with the use of face shield showing the steepest decrease at 11%.

Further, only a quarter of adult Filipinos or 25% avoided domestic travel, while 20% consulted a doctor or healthcare provider when they were not feeling well.

The survey found that staying at home was practiced more in the National Capital Region compared to the other areas.

Also, more than 75% of adult Filipinos are always wearing a face mask when going out of their homes, while seven out of 10 adult Filipinos wash their hands several times a day.

According to the survey, a majority, or 64%, also still cover their nose and mouth when coughing.

“Observing physical and social distancing and wearing a face shield when going out of the house is still frequently done by adult Filipinos but not as consistent as the other measures,” the TNM National Survey said.

The survey emphasized that the percentage of adult Filipinos who often or frequently practice the precautionary public health measures to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19 declined compared to the January 2021 TNM Survey results.

The Tugon ng Masa survey used multi-stage probability sampling with face-to-face interviews, with a sample size of 1200respondents aged 18 and above. The survey utilized s a sampling design that allows for a 95% confidence level with a margin of error at ±3%… Read More

(PhilStar) MANILA, Philippines — Fil-Am swimmer Gia Pergolini of Team USA shoots for her second gold medal while Filipino tanker Ernie Gawilan chases a dream medal finish in the Tokyo Paralympics today at the Tokyo Aquatics Center.

Pergolini, whose mother Alice Masangkay was born and raised in Manila, aims to ride the crest of her record-breaking, gold-medal performance in the 100-meter backstroke (S13) Friday by adding another one in the 50m freestyle.

The 17-year-old Pergolini is scheduled to swim in the first of the three heats at 9:06 a.m. (Philippine time) and, if she ends up claiming one of the eight finals spots, would gun for her second mint and possibly deliver another record-shattering effort at 5:17 p.m.

This would be Pergolini’s third and final event. She finished fifth in the 100m butterfly (S13) a few days ago before breaking her own world record twice – the first in the qualifying heats (1:05:05) and in the finals (1:04:64).

Pergolini’s feat was a ray of sunshine for a Philippine team still searching for its first Paralympic gold.

Gawilan is one the country’s bets hoping and dreaming to achieve this target as he plunges back into action in the 400m free (S7) at 8 a.m. today.

Wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan is currently competing in the heats of the 1500m (T52) at press time.

The other two Philippine bets with the same hope are Jeannette Aceveda, who will compete in the discus throw (F11) Tuesday, and Allain Ganapin, who will do battle in taekwondo’s K44-75-kilogram division on Sept. 3.

Pergolini, from Atlanta, Georgia, started swimming at age four before she was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, an inherited degenerative disorder of the retina that can lead to total blindness, at fourth grade… Read More