pinay<3pinoy

(BusinessWorld) The Department of Health (DoH) reported 7,450 coronavirus infections on Friday, bringing the total to 1.26 million.

The death toll rose by 181 to 21,537, while recoveries increased by 2,382 to 1.17 million, it said in a bulletin.

There were 60,794 active cases, 1.3% of which were critical, 93.9% were mild, 2% did not show symptoms, 1.6% were severe and 1.15% were moderate.

The agency said 12 duplicates had been removed from the tally, nine of which were tagged as recoveries and one as a death. A total of 119 recoveries were reclassified as deaths. Five laboratories failed to submit data on June 2.

About 12.7 million Filipinos have been tested for the coronavirus as of June 2, according to DoH’s tracker website.

The coronavirus has sickened about 172.9 million and killed 3.7 million people worldwide, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including data from the World Health Organization.

About 155.6 million people have recovered, it said.

Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said the government should carefully study proposals to ease restrictions for fully vaccinated people.

She said countries that gave “liberal incentives” to fully vaccinated people had many of their population vaccinated. About 40% of Americans have been inoculated, while the United Kingdom had a vaccination rate of about 30%, she said.

“We have not reached that threshold yet and we are just starting to speed up our vaccination,” she told an online news briefing in mixed English and Filipino… Read More

(GMA News) Pump prices of petroleum products are again expected to go up next week, Unioil Petroleum Philippines said Saturday.

In its fuel price forecast for the June 8 to 14 trading week, Unioil said the price per liter may increase by P0.60 to P0.70.

Fuel companies usually announce price adjustments every Monday to be implemented on the following day.

Effective June 1, oil firms implemented a price increase of P0.60 to P0.80 per liter on gasoline and hiked diesel prices by P0.40 per liter.

Year-to-date adjustments stand at a net increase of P9.30 per liter for gasoline and P7.60 per liter for diesel.. Read More

(PhilStar) MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to field its Carrier Strike Group to the South China Sea and the expected port visit to Manila of one of the strike group’s component ships.

Speaking with British Ambassador Daniel Pruce in an online telephone conference last Wednesday, he said such a voyage will demonstrate freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Lorenzana said this will also promote closer bilateral relations between the Philippines and the UK as he shared ongoing efforts in the Philippines to raise understanding and build capacity in dealing with the situation in the South China Sea.

Pruce, on the other hand, reiterated the British position on the issue of conflicting claims in the South China Sea, emphasizing that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) must take precedence.

He also assured Lorenzana of the UK’s readiness to provide support in related capacity-building efforts to the Philippines.

Lorenzana and Pruce took up other matters concerning Philippines-UK defense cooperation, such as acquisition projects, counterterrorism and the establishment of a resident defense attaché post in the territory of the other as the Philippines and the United Kingdom will be convening the 2nd Joint Defense Committee (JDC) Meeting in June 2021.

Both officials likewise exchanged updates on the vaccine rollout, challenges encountered, as well as other developments regarding the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines and the UK.

Lorenzana, during the call, expressed his appreciation to the ambassador and recognized the UK’s role in the delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the Philippines.

In their discussions, DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said both officials emphasized the importance of cooperation in dealing with common challenges such as the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Philippines and Japan have agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations and defense cooperation and address issues affecting both nations.

Lorenzana and Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi met via video teleconference on Wednesday to discuss bilateral defense relations and regional security concerns.

Andolong said both officials noted the increasing activities between the militaries of the Philippines and Japan across all major services and agreed that the Philippines and Japan should further deepen cooperation in all areas.

Lorenzana expressed appreciation for Japan’s continuous support to the capability-upgrade program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and highlighted that the TC-90 aircraft from Japan are being utilized for the AFP’s reconnaissance missions.

Kishi, for his part, said efforts concerning the transfer of radar systems to the Philippines are progressing smoothly.

Andolong said both sides also acknowledged the importance of cooperation on infectious diseases in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Kishi thanking the Philippines for its support and participation in the recently conducted virtual Japan-ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) program, which focused on the military’s role in addressing the pandemic.

Both defense officials discussed various regional security issues, including the situation in Southeast Asia, Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea and East China Sea.

Expressing grave concern over unilateral actions in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea and East China Sea, Lorenzana and Kishi underscored the need for all parties to uphold the principles of freedom of navigation and to exercise self-restraint in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, specifically the UNCLOS… Read More

(GMA News) The Manila government allowed walk-in recipients for COVID-19 vaccination who are under the A4 category in the prioritization list, including non-residents who work in the city.

Interviewed on ANC on Friday, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said the local government was offering vaccinations to walk-in recipients since only a few scheduled recipients are showing up to get inoculated.

“We cannot just keep on shooing away people that are not from the city but they work in the city. Because two things may happen to us: they bring us the virus or we send them the virus,” he said.

Moreno pointed out that the goal to fight the spread of COVID-19 is to vaccinate enough people, especially in the National Capital Region, to achieve herd immunity as soon as possible.

Experts from the World Health Organization said that vaccinating 65% to 70% of a population could be enough to attain herd immunity.

According to the WHO, herd immunity or population immunity is a concept used for vaccination in which a population can be protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached.

Moreno added that the Manila LGU can accommodate thousands of recipients.

Starting June, the national government started the inoculation of the A4 category or the essential workers’ group that covers around 28 million… Read More

(GMA News) The World Bank has approved a $300-million funding for a new Philippine project that seeks to better protect local structures from natural hazards such as earthquakes and other climate-related events.

According to the WB, its Board of Executive Directors on Thursday approved the funding for the Philippines Seismic Risk Reduction and Resilience Project.

This will upgrade some 425 structures including school buildings and health centers, and is seen to reduce risks for an estimated 300,000 teachers, students, doctors, patients, and staff who use the facilities.

According to World Bank Country Director for the Philippines Ndiame Diop, the financing will improve core capacities and capabilities to organize operations and coordinate resources to respond to emergencies.

“Metro Manila or the National Capital Region is the seat of government and the country’s population, economic, and cultural center,” he said in an emailed statement.

“Enhancing the safety of its buildings and structures while boosting institutional response to disasters will help protect the lives and safety of more than 12 million residents, including the poor and most vulnerable,” he added.

The World Bank is March approved a $500-million funding for the Philippines to support government efforts against COVID-19, including the purchase and distribution of vaccines.

The multilateral lender expects the Philippine economy to grow 5.5% this year, slower than the 5.9% it initially announced in December, but still faster than the 9.6% contraction recorded last year as the country slipped into recession.. Read More

(FirstInvestorsUSA) Wil to Play, a suite of mobile games inspired by TV game show Wowowin hosted by Filipino celebrity Willie Revillame, integrates with its TV counterpart and allows fans to win real-world prizes such as gadgets and food items despite not being in the studio.

Developed by Big Crunch Digital Pte. Ltd., the Android app is part of a larger gaming platform called Perya Perya (derived from the Filipino word for amusement park).

“The company has always aimed to develop a highly disruptive mass-market mobile entertainment offering for Southeast Asia,” said Jackeline Chua, managing director for Big Crunch Digital, in a press release. The company has experience in content, anime, and game production and development, working with big gaming studios such as Microsoft’s first-party studio The Coalition and Synergy 88 Digital, Inc.

“With Wil to Play and other currently developing mobile gaming platforms, we’ve achieved distribution to more than 10 million users within the 2021 calendar year alone. We expect those numbers to increase exponentially in the coming years,” Big Crunch Digital said, adding that Mr. Revillame’s popularity and reach will be the main driver of Wil to Play’s success.

In the Philippines, mobile gaming has been projected to grow in the coming years. Big Crunch Digital cites recent Statista.com reports that say Philippine mobile gaming revenues will reach $1,032 million in 2021 and go up to $1,522 million by 2025.

Through the gaming platform Perya Perya, the company plans to further drive the mobile gaming market. Its interest is tapping into the average revenue per user of $33.69 from the same report.

Acknowledging that games like Mobile Legends, Fortnite, and PUBG as more responsible for the success of the mobile gaming market than Perya Perya’s casual games, Big Crunch Digital aims “to show the world that it can compete at that same level with the Filipino market, by giving the audience a game and ‘ecosystem’ that is uniquely Filipino.”

The mini games will also be easy to play, known as “hyper-casual” in the gaming industry. They will include a memory game, a box-jumping game called Wow Girl, and a spin-off of the iconic Filipino game tumbang preso called Tumbang Premyo. The minimum specifications to run them will be Android OS 5.0, or Lollipop, and an internet speed of 2 to 3 megabits per second. .. Read More

(SmartPeopleMail) DAVAO City Mayor Sarah Duterte-Carpio is among those being considered by President Rodrigo R. Duterte to become the ruling party’s standard bearer in the 2022 elections, according to the presidential palace.

Presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. on Thursday said Mr. Duterte’s daughter remained undecided about running. The President earlier said his daughter would not follow in his footsteps.

Also included in the list of Mr. Duterte’s presidential bets are former Senator Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., Manila Mayor Francisco M. Domagoso, Senators Christopher Lawrence T. Go and boxing champion Senator Emmanuel D. Pacquiao, Mr. Roque told a televised news briefing.

He said Mr. Duterte does not want his daughter to run for President. “His recommendation is for her not to run,” Mr. Roque said in Filipino.

Albay Rep. Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda on Wednesday night said Ms. Carpio would run for President and is building an alliance with various political groups.

“I have exchanged texts with her and I can tell you that she is really running,” he told OneNews in mixed English and Filipino. “And my sources say that.”

Mr. Salceda, a member of the ruling PDP-Laban party, said at least five political parties would support Ms. Carpio’s presidential bid.

Meanwhile, the congressman said a possible Duterte-Duterte tandem is not a wise idea because the administration party needs a geographical balance.

Mr. Salceda said the presidential daughter should look for a running mate who can get a significant number of votes from other regions.

PDP-Laban this week passed a resolution urging Mr. Duterte to run for vice president. It also allowed him to choose his running mate.

Ms. Carpio had rejected calls for her to seek the presidency in next year’s elections, asking her supporters to wait for her bid in 2034. She said policy continuity should not be based on kinship.

The Davao mayor heads a coalition that started as a regional political party.

The President has repeatedly said his daughter would not run for president, adding that he had warned her against seeking the position that he said is not a woman’s job.

Meanwhile, Mr. Roque said the 1987 Constitution does not bar Mr. Duterte from running for vice president. “What is not prohibited is allowed.”

Howard Calleja, a convenor of the opposition coalition 1Sambayan, earlier said the push for a Duterte vice presidency is a mockery of the 1987 Charter.

“Anybody who sat as president cannot be reelected,” he told the ABS-CBN News Channel. “The spirit and intent of the law is that no person can do the dictator role just like Marcos before.” Mr. Duterte’s bid for vice president is not illegal but may “violate the spirit of the Constitution,” Antonio La Vina, a professor of constitutional law at the Ateneo de Manila University, told OneNews on Wednesday night… Read More

(CNNPhilippines) Metro Manila — President Rodrigo Duterte has authorized the grant of hazard pay to all government workers who physically report to work even during modified enhanced community quarantine.

The newly-approved Administrative Order No. 43 amends the A.O. No. 26 issued last year, wherein the P500 daily hazard pay only covers those who report to work during enhanced community quarantine. ECQ is the most restrictive among the four quarantine levels.

The hazard pay also covers contractual and job order employees in the government.

Duterte said government employees who report to work during ECQ and MECQ “are inevitably exposed to the risk of COVID-19 infection and other similar health dangers and hazards.”

Moreover, if the local government units have insufficient funds to grant the hazard pay, a lower but uniform rate may be granted… Read More