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ONLY two of four Philippine presidential candidates who spoke on national television at the weekend presented details of their action plan, according to political analysts.

They said Vice-President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo and Senator Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson stood out in a GMA Network program where journalist Maria Jessica A. Soho asked the candidates questions.

“Both Vice-President Leni and Senator Lacson showed a more detailed understanding of many issues,” Maria Ela L. Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines (UP), said in a Viber message on Sunday.

She said Ms. Robredo answered the questions thoroughly and presented a detailed action plan. “However, given the limited time format, she was not given the time to elaborate on the nuances of her responses.”

Ms. Robredo vowed to prioritize job creation, healthcare and education if she becomes president. She also traced problems in the government’s anti-coronavirus pandemic response to leaders who think it’s not urgent… Read More

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 23) – Veteran lawmakers running in the 2022 senatorial polls emphasized the need for the country to forge miltary alliances with neighboring Southeast Asian countries and first-world nations to defend its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.

Former Senator JV Ejercito said that while the country must send its most modern military equipment in the disputed waters, they cannot match what China has.

Beijing refuses to honor Manila’s victory in the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, which nullified the Asian superpower’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.

Ejercito added that military alliances with the country’s Southeast Asian neighbors and nations like the United States, Australia, and Japan are vital in maintaining South China Sea as a zone of peace and free travel… Read More

(SunStar) THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Sunday, January 23, 2022, that politicians and their supporters who will engage in any form of violence against media workers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“This coming election, let us all together ensure the safety of our media practitioners to spare and protect them from the wrongdoings perpetrated by politicians. Let us keenly look out for their protection from any danger that could prevent them from doing their work efficiently, effectively, and honestly,” DILG secretary Eduardo Año said.

“The media needs to be safeguarded against every threat of violence and other forms of peril that become even more prevalent during elections. They have an important job and this cannot be restrained by fear, harassment, or intimidation to tell the truth to the public,”he added.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has assigned a total of 1,899 police officers to serve as “media security vanguards” during the election period for the May 2022 national polls.

Año ordered the creation of media security vanguards following the request of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) in a bid to create safe and healthy spaces for media practitioners, recognizing the vulnerability of the said sector during the election period… Read More

(BusinessWorld) THE INTER-AGENCY Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has raised the alert levels of several areas in the country beginning today until the end of the month to better manage the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country, according to the Presidential Palace.

Alert Level 4 was raised in Kalinga, Ifugao, Mt. Province, and Northern Samar, meaning establishments or activities there will only be allowed to operate at a maximum of 10% capacity for indoor venues and only for fully vaccinated individuals, and 30% capacity for outdoor venues.

It also disallows people under the age of 18 and over 65 from going outside the house. People with underlying illnesses and pregnant women are likewise prohibited from leaving their homes.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire noted during an online news briefing that in these areas, the healthcare utilization rate has hit over 70%.

She pointed out that there are other areas in the country which have reach similar utilization rates but whose Alert Level has not been increased. This was because they also looked at the bed utilization rates and saw that these were only around 30% to 50% for COVID patients.

In comparison, the areas now under Alert Level 4 were allocating close to 80% of their beds to COVID patients and were having a difficult time coping… Read More

(PhilStar) MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday welcomed the US State Department study that found China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea as “unlawful” and “inconsistent” with international law.

In a statement, the DFA said the study is consistent with the vision statement issued by the Philippines and the US on Nov. 16, 2021, “which states that the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea are inconsistent with the international law of the sea as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

The DFA said the study was also consistent “with the unanimous July 12, 2016 Award in the South China Sea Arbitration (Republic of Philippines v. People’s Republic of China), a decision that, pursuant to the Convention, is legally binding on the Philippines and the PRC.”

The 47-page research paper titled “Limits in the Seas,” prepared by the US State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, said that Beijing has no basis under international law for its maritime claims in the region.

“The overall effect of these maritime claims is that the PRC unlawfully claims sovereignty or some form of exclusive jurisdiction over most of the South China Sea,” read the executive summary of the report… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday recorded a new all-time high 291,618 active COVID-19 cases, or people who currently have the disease.

Of this number, 277,833 have mild symptoms, 9,015 have no symptoms, 2,979 are in moderate condition, 1,487 have severe symptoms, and 304 are in critical condition.

The active case count is 8.7% of the nationwide tally, which rose to 3,357,083 after 32,744 more people got infected.

Of the new infections, 31,456 (96%) occurred within the past 14 days or from Jan. 8 to 21, the DOH said. The regions with the highest number of new cases in that period were Metro Manila (6,917 or 22%), Calabarzon (6,398 or 20%), and Central Luzon (4,122 or 13%).

Recoveries topped three million at 3,012,156 – which is 89.7% of the case count – with 16,385 new survivors.

Meanwhile, the death toll climbed to 53,309 – or 1.59% of the total cases – after 156 more people lost their lives to the COVID-19.

Of the additional deaths, 66 occurred this month while 89 were in 2021: nine in December, seven in November, 19 in October, 27 in September, 13 in August, eight in July, and two each in June, May, and January… Read More

(BusinessWorld) THE PHILIPPINES reported 492 more coronavirus infections involving the highly mutated Omicron variant, bringing the total to 535.

In a statement, the Department of Health (DoH) said 69% of 714 samples sequenced by the Philippine Genome Center on Jan. 13 to 14, tested positive for Omicron. It added that 332 of the patients were local, while 160 were returning migrant Filipinos.

The agency said 68% of the local cases were from Metro Manila, which has been struggling to contain a fresh surge in infections.

Seventy-six patients came from the Calabarzon region, 11 from Central Luzon, five from Central Visayas, two each from Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, Davao region, Soccsksargen and the Cordillera Administrative Region, and one each from Ilocos, Mimaropa and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The Health department said three of the new Omicron cases were still active, two have died, and 467 patients have recovered. The agency said it was verifying 20 other cases.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire on Tuesday said Omicron had become the predominant variant especially in the National Capital Region.

DoH on Wednesday posted 22,958 coronavirus infections, bringing the total to 3.29 million. The death toll increased by 82 to 53,044, while recoveries rose by 36,611 to 2.97 million, it said in a bulletin… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The country has reported its first two fatalities linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed on Wednesday.

In a message to reporters, the DOH said the patients were both unvaccinated senior citizens who had pre-existing medical conditions.

“Both were detected during the latest whole genome sequencing. Both deaths were aged more than 60 years,” the agency added.

The two deaths were logged in Metro Manila and in Central Luzon, it noted.

The DOH stressed that while most Omicron cases present asymptomatic and mild disease, data showed that the elderly, those with underlying illnesses, and those who have yet to get their COVID-19 shots are still at risk.

492 additional cases
Health authorities also detected 492 more cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, comprising over half (68.9%) of the latest samples sequenced (714)… Read More