More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
The DOH has finally lifted the vaccination requirement for all international travelers.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1814409/doh-lifts-covid-19-vax-requirement-for-international-travelers |
The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday lifted the COVID-19 vaccination certificate requirement for arriving international travelers.
According to the DOH through the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) in an advisory, all arriving international travelers are now accepted regardless of their vaccination status.
Meanwhile, the vaccination requirements of international travelers leaving the Philippines depend on the country of destination.“It is highly recommended that the travelers should check on the requirements of the country that he or she is going,” the DOH reminded the public.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has issued guidelines for international travelers' entry and exit in the light of the Malacañang decision to lift the nationwide Covid-19 health emergency.
In a statement, BI said Inbound foreign tourists and temporary visitors must present passports valid for at least six months and/or a valid visa, unless they are re entitled to visa-free entry.
Additionally, they should have a valid return ticket, unless they are foreign spouses, children of returning Filipinos, or former citizens with Balikbayan privileges.
Foreign immigrants and non-immigrants are required to present their ACR I-Card, except for holders of 9A visa (business) during both arrival and departure inspection.
Arriving Filipino and foreign passengers, as well as plane crew members, along with departing Filipinos, are mandated to register through the eTravel System (eTravel.gov.ph).
However, foreign dignitaries and their dependents, as well as 9E (foreign government officials), are exempt from electronic registration requirement.
Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula is encouraging the faithful to attend Mass and observe updated protocols for liturgical celebrations following the lifting of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
In Circular No. 2023-61, Advincula urged Catholics "to return to the Sunday Eucharist with a purified heart, with renewed amazement, with an increased desire to meet the Lord, to be with him, to receive him and bring him to our brothers and sisters with the witness of a life full of faith, love, and hope."
"For the vibrant faith of Filipino Catholics, it was unimaginable for us that we were not able to gather in our churches for the Eucharist because of restrictions. We were prevented from having the usual exuberant celebration of fiestas, Christmas and Holy Week because of the rise of COVID cases," he said.
Advincula reiterated the following protocols—optional wearing of face masks in churches, sanitation of hands for every church activity, the solemn giving of the sign of peace through a bow, handshake, kiss or embrace, and the acceptance of the holy communion.
The Circular also reminded priests who are principal celebrants of the Mass to wear proper vestments, and for parishes to open their adoration chapels.
Wastage in the Philippines' COVID-19 vaccine supply is slowly rising due to the declining public interest, according to an expert.
This, after the Department of Health (DOH) recently announced that the bivalent vaccine, primarily targeted at healthcare workers and senior citizens, will be made available to the public due to its slow utilization and approaching expiration date.
Public health expert Dr. Tony Leachon said the continuous decline of public interest in getting inoculated has contributed to the alarming amount of vaccine wastage, citing misinformation, disinformation, problem with logistics, and not fast enough deployment from those handling them.
"The positivity rate has gone down as well, less than 5 percent, so ang cases ngayon mas mababa talaga siya. Since mababa 'yung positivity rate, tapos wala tayong supply rin, syempre tatabangan ka nang magpabakuna," he said.
The declining interest in getting vaccinated can be seen from some members of the general public as some express their reluctance in getting the bivalent jab or getting inoculated at all.
While the decline in public interest is "alarming," Leachon also emphasized the lack of a sense of urgency during the previous administration, which led to a large amount of vaccines expiring.
Meanwhile, DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa confirmed that the earlier mentioned bivalent vaccines' expiration dates were "extended."
"The vaccines are expiring sa September pa... so wala naman pong problem... July ang nasa manufacturing pero na-extend siya until September," Herbosa said.
In December 2022, the DOH revealed that the Philippines has already wasted 44 million doses, equivalent to 17.5% of the total supply.
It is also a waste of money.
The DOF has admitted to over-borrowing to buy COVID-19 vaccines.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/15/dof-admits-over-borrowing-for-covid-19-vaccines |
The Department of Finance (DOF) has confirmed that the government's borrowing for Covid-19 vaccine procurement surpassed the actual requirements, leading to the need to return some unutilized funds.
During the Senate briefing on the Proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program with the Development Budget Coordination Committee, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the government has ceased its borrowing activities for Covid-19 vaccines.
Diokno further revealed that it appears the previous administration had overestimated the vaccine needs of the country.
“Yun sa bakuna [for the vaccines], we stopped borrowing money for that. In fact, mag magsusuli pa tayo [we are returning funds],” Diokno said told the Senate briefing on Tuesday, Aug. 15.
“Meron po tayong mga unutilized loans sa Covid [we have unutilized loans in Covid], we are going to return them to ADB [Asian Development Bank] and to World Bank,” he added.
In a text message to Manila Bulletin, Diokno said the DOF is currently requesting the Department of Health (DOH) for the exact figure of unutilized vaccine loans.
In 2021, the Philippines was granted a cumulative loan amount of $2 billion by the World Bank, ADB, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to facilitate the country’s procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.
The dangers of fake news were exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. saidduring the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of the government’s Media Information Literacy campaign on Monday.
Marcos said that fake news has infiltrated many facets of life and poses dangers.
“It goes into every part of our lives. It becomes dangerous, it became dangerous during the pandemic because people were giving some very outrageous advice, and this was hurting other people,” said Marcos in his speech in Pasay City.
While Marcos did not specify a specific scenario, his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, had said gasoline could be used as a disinfectant.
The Department of Health had to clarify that Duterte could have just made a joke.
“You would look, these people will say, ‘This is a thing that you can do.’ What they are saying can be ‘We’re pro-vax, anti-vax, wear your masks, don’t wear a mask. It’s a political statement.’ We were all confused, and there was very little that you could do to find out except to find out who these people were,” said Marcos.
Marcos hoped that with the signing of the MOU, citizens, especially the youth, could be equipped with the tools to identify fake news.
The Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that 2023 Bar examinees are no longer required to present negative COVID-19 test results.
"Examinees are not required to present negative RT-PCR or antigen test results as a prerequisite for entry into their LTC," the Office of the 2023 Bar Chair said in the latest guidelines.
"While also not required, examinees are highly encouraged to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19," it added.
Meanwhile, examinees who exhibit symptoms during the security process or during the examinations will be assessed by the medical staff.
The examinees may be placed in isolated testing rooms, where they will be allowed to continue taking the test.
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco led DOT officials Tuesday, Aug. 15 in the briefing of the proposed P2.6-billion budget of the agency for next year before the House Committee on Appropriations.
The figure is a significant drop from its budget of P3.4 billion under the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA)."I'm concerned with the decrease of the budget of the DOT, especially since as mentioned, P3.5 million visitors---while, of course it's higher than last year--but it's still far away from, our 2019 and pre-pandemic levels of 8.6 million tourists," Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Partyl-ist Rep. Bernadette Herrera said during the budget briefing.Herrera said that such budgetary decrease was "unwarranted" especially since DOT is still "chasing after" pre-pandemic levels in terms of tourism revenue.Bohol 1st district Rep. Edgar Chatto, a former chairman of the Committee on Tourism, expressed similar worries in light of the gains made by Frasco following the Covid-19 pandemic.
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