More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
2020 was such a bad year that everyone is placing high hopes for 2021 to be much better.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/769956/philippine-officials-see-economic-rebound-to-pre-pandemic-levels/story/ |
The Philippines' economic managers are optimistic that the country, home to the longest lockdown in the world, will see growth bounce back to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 after a record economic contraction this year due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
This year, the government sees the local economy contracting by 8.5% to 9.5%, the worst performance on record. In the third quarter of the year, the gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 10%.
"Despite a lower projection than what was initially adopted back in July 2020, further relaxation of restrictions, as we have improved our healthcare system capacity, will keep our economy on the right track towards full recovery. Thus, GDP growth is projected to bounce back to reach 6.5 to 7.5 percent in 2021 and 8 to 10 percent in 2022," the DBCC said.
"We are also expecting further improvement in our fourth quarter GDP numbers. As we carefully and proactively manage the risks, a strong economic recovery and solid growth remains within our reach," it added.
There's lots of hope that 2021 will be so much better but with the news of a more contagious variant of COVID and more lockdowns and travel restrictions on the horizon things might not go as planned.
One of the burdens placed upon travelers to the Philippines is that they must pre-book a quarantine hotel for 14 days. Some Filipinos returning from South Korea complained that the facilities were dirty and unlivable.
Filipino passengers of a flight from South Korea complained on Wednesday that the hotel in Tagaytay City where they were undergoing the mandatory 14-day quarantine was untidy and had a stench that made it unlivable.
One passenger told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview that the situation was so unbearable that they just opted to stay outside the hotel where the buses are parked.
The passenger, who requested not to be identified, said they arrived in Manila at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday and were informed that they should cancel any hotel reservations they had made as the government would provide them with accommodations.
The passengers were then shuttled to a hotel in Tagaytay for quarantine. They soon discovered, however, that the bathrooms, toilets, and even the beds were dirty.
The passenger said they thought they would be staying at the hotel for three days.
“Then they said 14 days and the government would pay for the hotel [expenses]. So we canceled all our bookings,” the passenger said in Filipino. “We waited because they said there two hotels to choose from. We expected the place where we would stay to be in order because, of course, we were tired from the trip.”
The hotels used as COVID-19 quarantine facilities in Batangas and Tagaytay City, although not “five-star, are decent and clean, testing czar and National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy implementer Vince Dizon said, contrary to claims of some returning Filipinos who said it was untidy and had a stench.(We can see in the actual pictures that although it is not a five-star hotel, it’s not dirty and it’s orderly.)
Some returning Filipinos have complained that the hotel where they were about to undergo quarantine was “unlivable.”
They said they were also caught by surprise that they have to strictly stay in these facilities for 14 days.
Dizon, however, denied that the returning Filipinos and foreigners were being held “hostage” in these hotels, noting that the strict 14-day quarantine was only being implemented over threats of the new COVID-19 variant.
(There are reports that our fellow Filipinos and foreigners were being held hostage. This is not true. This is just among our strict guidelines to prevent the entry of the new COVID-19 variant.)
Dizon said the returning Filipinos and foreigners were given an option to transfer hotels, provided they shoulder the costs. As of Wednesday night, some of them already transferred and were provided transportation by the government.
(We ask for understanding and hopefully this will be settled.)
Aside from its internal and external security defense roles, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) plays a very important role in ongoing efforts to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
In a year-end report, AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay said this included the transporting of 1.9 million pounds of medical equipment and supplies via air assets of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
Meanwhile, another 962,416 pounds of these items were delivered using assets of the Philippine Navy (PN), he added.
Aside from this, the AFP also helped 57,870 civilians in returning to their respective home provinces via military aircraft/vessel and commercial flights.
The military also helped in the transportation and distribution of 2,455,288 food packs nationwide.
AFP personnel also donated PHP20.5 million to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD). The amount was raised via donations using a portion of their salary.
Aside from this, the AFP also deployed over 2,000 doctors, nurses, and military medical auxiliary are deployed in Covid-19 treatment and quarantine facilities nationwide.
This can be broken down into 212 combined medical and security personnel manning emergency quarantine facilities outside the camp (Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Rizal Memorial Coliseum, and Solaire-Pagcor Mega Quarantine Center); 80 medical personnel deployed to man military emergency quarantine facilities with 86 on standby and 46 on reserve, and 1,730 military and civilian medical personnel manning 47 military treatment facilities nationwide.
The AFP also deployed 10,390 personnel to community quarantine assistance areas nationwide to support Sub-Task Group Peace and Order.
Also deployed were 1,189 Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit active auxiliaries and 835 reservists.
National Policy Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., on Thursday urged Filipinos to adapt to the new normal by observing health protocols until the public health crisis is over.
"In order for us to survive and move forward, we had to undergo the process of adaptation. We had to let go of our old habits and adopt new systems, approaches, and a new way of doing things until the pandemic is over,” Galvez said in his year-end message.
He cited the Filipinos' patience, determination, and strong character in fighting the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
"The year 2020 was truly a very challenging one for the Filipino people. We were waging battles on multiple fronts: the health, economic, and peace fronts," Galvez said. "The health crisis altered practically all aspects of our way of life – the way we work, the manner we interact with people, and the methods we use in doing business, among others.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1126094 |
Residents of Barangay 1 San Lorenzo in this city is greeting the New Year trapped in their homes as lockdown in the village took effect on Friday, due to the surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
Mayor Michael Keon made the announcement on New Year's Eve as he placed the entire San Lorenzo village under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) after 22 more butchers at the city slaughterhouse tested positive for Covid-19.
Located at the heart of the city, those who need to cross the village borders must show a valid identification card or certificate of employment and work schedule or take the alternate route to reach their destinations.
On Dec. 29, a 68-year old male butcher from Sitio Maharlika in San Lorenzo along with two other butchers from Barangays 17 and 57 were infected with the virus, hence the need to impose a localized lockdown in their place of residence including a radius of six meters therefrom to prevent the spread of the virus and to facilitate contact tracing purposes.
A day later, 22 more butchers who are mostly family members and relatives in San Lorenzo village were also infected based on swab test results.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/01/06/2068489/popcom-fears-baby-boom-after-lockdowns |
The Commission on Population (PopCom) has expressed fear that a baby boom would happen when the pandemic is over.
PopCom executive director Juan Antonio Perez III said there might be a spike in the number of Filipino babies born at the end of the community quarantines.
He expressed hope this would not happen.
“If it does, we hope we will be strong enough to provide them necessary protection that people might want for unplanned pregnancy.”
“It’s a decision each one makes, whether they want to get vaccinated or not. Let‘s not make it an issue of things like that because that’s personal for them,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino in an interview over DZMM “Teleradyo.”“It has not yet been established if that vaccine is effective because it has not been approved by the FDA [Food and Drug Administration],” he added. “But they already had the vaccination. So let’s thank them for making themselves guinea pigs in that experiment. If the results are good, then thank you. If bad, it’s a pity for them for risking their lives for that vaccine.”
Dela Rosa defended members of the PSG, saying: “I know those people. The PSG has nothing mind but how to defend the President. That is their ultimate mandate. If they themselves carry the virus so that the President dies, that’s a big no for them.”
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1378735/manilenos-sign-up-for-free-shots-promised-by-city-govt |
More than 30,000 residents of the nation’s capital Manila had listed up for the city government’s promised free vaccines for COVID-19, which Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said would be funded with at least P250 million from the city’s 2021 budget.As of 9 p.m. on Saturday, 35,491 had preregistered on the Manila vaccination program’s online portal, https://manilacovid19vaccine.com, since it opened on Dec. 31.
Most of them were from the Tondo district, and a number were from Santa Cruz and Quiapo.
On his official Facebook page on New Year’s Eve, Domagoso announced the launching of the website where residents could preregister to be inoculated for free.
Domagoso said the Manila government had already signed a nondisclosure agreement with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, two international pharmaceutical companies which had developed vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/01/04/2068097/roque-wants-filipinos-stop-discussion-illegal-vaccines-psg |
It's amazing how the Palace and their allies have shifted the narrative from, "how did the PSG get this vaccines since they are not approved and using them is a criminal act" to "these men are heroes who did what they need to do to protect the president and show the public that the vaccines are harmless."Let us stop this discussion because our conversations at this moment should now be focused on the vaccines, when they're coming, and how we'll be able to spread it among our countrymen. Let's stop the politics. We already know that this issue that is being used by the enemies of the government is not going to end. The president pays tribute to the PSG, and they risked their lives for him," he said.
"Our PSG are not scared of any punishment they might receive. They're willing to die for the president, why would they care about a penalty?" he added, urging Filipinos, many of whom were also bypassed in the priority for vaccination, to instead be thankful for the "sacrifice" of the PSG.
President Rodrigo Duterte warned Congress on Monday against “tinkering” with the supposed self-inoculation of members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) using unregistered COVID-19 vaccines.
“To me, it’s a matter of self-preservation. That’s just it. Whatever be your objection, whatever be your criticisms, for it’s a matter of preservation,” Duterte said, speaking partly in Filipino, in his weekly briefing on the pandemic.
The President issued the statement after Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the chief of the PSG, Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, should be summoned to a Senate inquiry on the government’s vaccination plan.
“I would like to call on Congress — I’m not pleading —what I only want is, in plain words: Do not tinker with the PSG. I am telling you as President: It’s a matter of self-preservation,” Duterte said.
“That’s all for me. I will not elaborate on it. But do not force my hand to meddle into this because maybe I will not… I am not so keen about allowing Durante and the rest of PSG to testify,” he added.
“They did this, as I understand, for the sake of their lives. So if they will be called to testify in Congress, as a lawyer, I will just tell them — because they are now being accused with the accompanying statement of prosecution — if that’s the case, I will ask the PSG to just shut up. Do not answer. Invoke the right against self-incrimination.”
Duterte also warned lawmakers against citing PSG personnel in contempt for ignoring the inquiry.
“I do not think that it would be good for you and for me. It would not be healthy for everybody,’ he said.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1379543/afp-probe |
In a statement, AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said the cancellation was due to the recent pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte, prohibiting the PSG to divulge details.
Some 100,000 Chinese based in the Philippines were inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine in December, according to prominent Chinese-Filipino civic leader Teresita Ang-See.
See made the disclosure on Monday, amid a controversy over the vaccination of troops from the Presidential Security Group (PSG) although there is no approved COVID-19 vaccine in the country yet.
According to Ang See, the Chinese, mostly Pogo workers, were inoculated starting November last year.
She also claimed that the source of the vaccines was the same the one for the PSG.
“The vaccines given them were legitimate, legitimate sources, it came from official channel so I think it’s good,” Ang See said. “This should not have been blown out of proportion if this were not kept secret, because we … all understand why it is needed.”
“Why make it a secret this way especially if it’s official channel?” she said, without explaining what is an official channel.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1379989/ang-see-failure-of-intelligence-in-chinese-vaccinations |
Chinese-Filipino civic leader Teresita Ang See criticized the government’s “failure of intelligence” regarding clandestine vaccinations of Chinese nationals in the country against the new coronavirus and complained that the burden of getting more information about illegal inoculations was being put on her.
Ang See told a news forum on Monday that about 100,000 Chinese, most of them workers for the Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) received shots for COVID-19 last November and December.
“I am in a very unpleasant situation now because of the government’s failure of intelligence,” she told the Inquirer. “I’m being hounded now by government officials asking me for information … I cannot give [them] my source.”
Ang See said the responsibility of naming these officials who were surreptitiously vaccinated must not be hers.
One Chinese-made vaccine was “imported” into the country and sold in the black market, she said. The original price of P2,500 per dose was jacked up to P10,000 to P15,000, she said, quoting one of her unidentified sources.
