More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
President Marcos has issued a rather bizzare and racist statement about current vaccines not being compatible with Filipino genetics.
 |
| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1824712/marcos-wants-specialized-study-of-filipino-genetics |
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. expressed support for a research project on Filipino genetics.
He made this known as he bestowed upon clinical geneticist Carmencita Padilla the honor of being a National Scientist.
During his speech on Thursday in Malacañang, Marcos said a conversation with Padilla revealed the importance of the Filipino genome.Genetics is the scientific study of genes and heredity.
Genome is the set of genetic information in a human being.
The President explained Philippines should not have to wait for foreign vaccines “because one size does not fit all.”
“That is why this effort of genetic research and all the way through to being able to apply that specifically to the Filipino situation, to the genetics of the Filipino,” he said.
“And it even becomes more granular in the sense that she was explaining to me,” he went on.
“There are some Filipinos for which these medicines are effective. There’s another group of Filipinos for which it is not,” he specified.
“So that is really – well, the cracks of the problem,” he pointed out.
Moreover, Marcos sees the need to improve research and development program (R&D) in the Philippines.
The President explained modern R&D can be used for the treatments against diabetes, cancer, tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).“We put together a program so we can support such activities, as we have been speaking about in terms of R&D, and of actually bringing that technology to the general populace,” said Marcos.
He directed Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Health and Department of Science and Technology to develop the program.
What exactly is the problem? If this is the case why did no one bring it up during the vaccination drive? Because it's total nonsense. Of course this statement would be good fodder for any anti-vaxxers to use.
It begs the question if these people who received bivalent shots are at risk because they are not genetically geared for Filipinos.
 |
| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1209153 |
About 94 percent of the 390,000 doses of the bivalent vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 donated by the Lithuanian government have been administered.
"So maganda yung rollout, hindi tayo na expire-an (We had a good rollout, and the vaccines are not yet expired)," Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa told reporters on Monday at the sidelines of the national launch for the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition 2023-2028.
"I'm waiting for the new one eh 'yun monovalent XBB which is proposed to be better than the bivalent, so tignan natin kung ano ang makukuha natin (so we will see what we can get)."
The COVAX Facility, a worldwide initiative which aims to provide equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, still has a standing offer of 2 million doses of bivalent vaccines to the country.
"We're requesting less than 2 million kasi baka ma-expire, maiksi ang shelf life eh, so we know the rate, from how we consume it, so 'yung tama lang hihingin natin (because the vaccines might expire, they have short shelf life, so we know the rate from how we consume it so we'll just request for the right amount)," Herbosa said.
The Department of Health started the administration of bivalent jabs as third booster dose to healthcare workers and the senior citizens on June 21.
There are better and more important questions to ask about the vaccine though. Questions which can get you blacklisted.
The DOH says they will no longer be using monovalent vaccines.
 |
| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/09/06/2294128/doh-stop-administering-monovalent-covid-19-jabs |
The Philippines will soon stop administering monovalent COVID vaccines once stocks are fully consumed, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
“Based on our inventory, there are only less than 200,000 monovalent vaccines and these are only available in Calabarzon. The other local government units in the different regions already ran out of monovalent vaccines,” DOH Undersecretary Eric Tayag said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“If there will be a recommendation that bivalent vaccines can be used as substitute to the monovalent vaccines, that is one possibility – though most of the country’s bivalent jabs have also been consumed,” he added, noting that there are no plans to procure monovalent vaccines.
Marcos also wants "revenge travel" to spur the post-pandemic recovery.
 |
| https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/2/marcos-solidify-ph-tourism-take-advantage-of-revenge-travel |
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has highlighted that the country's tourism sector remains vital to its growth and urged stakeholders to take advantage of the so-called "revenge travel" to solidify its economic position.
Marcos said this in his speech for the 34th Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) on Sept. 1. His message was delivered by the Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Frasco, as the President could not attend the event due to schedule conflicts.
In his speech, the President said the Philippine tourism sector has consistently proven itself as a strong pillar of the country's economic growth, noting that it provides livelihoods to over 5 million Filipinos.
"With the innate beauty of our 7,641 islands and our people, our tourism will remain to be a vital economic sector for our country in the decades to come," Marcos said.
Marcos urged the government and tourism stakeholders to consciously solidify the sector's economic position, especially by taking advantage of the so-called "revenge travel."
"Through the consistent whole-of-nation approach, we must consciously leverage our strengths and competitive advantages to solidify the sector's economic position, especially with the phenomenon of 'revenge travel,'" he said.
Revenge travel, a buzzword that came about in 2021, refers to the phenomenon wherein people book trips and go on vacation to make up for time lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, the President assured stakeholders of his administration's fervent support for the entire tourism industry.
"Policies and programs are underway to create a wholesome climate and stable foundation," he said.
Among these programs and policies, according to Marcos, are upgrading critical tourism infrastructure, capacity-building for the workforce and entrepreneurs, fostering a more business-friendly environment, and improving security and the rule of law.
How many times do we have to hear about how crucial the tourism sector is to post-pandemic recovery? It's ad nauseam at this point.
House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez says The One Town, One Product Philippines Act will help small businesses "recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic."
 |
| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1826029/romualdez-one-town-one-product-law-to-help-msme-in-post-pandemic-recovery |
The One Town, One Product (OTOP) Philippines Act would help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and boost economic growth through policies and programs pushing for inclusive local economic activity, according to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
Last August 25, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 11960 or the Act Institutionalizing the OTOP Philippines Program.
Romualdez claimed the law would be “perfect” for the country’s economic recovery, particularly the MSMEs.
“The OTOP Philippines Act is the true embodiment of the Filipino first policy. This is exactly the kind of attitude we need to aid in the recovery of MSMEs, which make up 90 percent of all local business, following the pandemic,” the lawmaker said in a statement on Sunday.
Aside from establishing policies and programs, the law also pushes for the promotion of “the preferential use of Filipino labor, domestic materials, and locally produced goods, and adopt measures to make them competitive.”
“The OTOP Philippines Program is hereby institutionalized and shall be one of the government’s stimulus programs that will encourage the growth of MSMEs in the countryside through the development of indigenous raw materials, utilizing local skills and talents and featuring local traditions across the country; Provided, that simplified requirements and procedures shall be adopted for beneficiaries to easily access the components of the program,” the law reads.
The program will likewise cover locally produced products and skill-based services such as processed foods, agricultural-based products, home and fashion products, arts and crafts, and skills-based services.
“The OTOP Program will redound not just to the individual localities or regions, but the entire country itself in an expedited manner,” Romualdez said.
“It also aims to assist rural communities in growing the local economy and being more market-oriented and innovation-driven, as well as promote convergence of initiatives from local government units (LGUs), national government agencies, and the private sector in developing and promoting Philippine products, whether for export of the domestic market,” he added.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) would be in charge of the law’s implementation and the creation of the program’s management office in order to oversee the program.
The agency’s regional and provincial offices, in cooperation with the concerned local government units, are likewise mandated to determine the beneficiaries of the said program.
He should be more forthright and say that the law will help small businesses recover from the destructive and unnecessary lockdowns imposed by the government.
The DOH still owes health workers money and the government has yet to fund that debt.
 |
| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/881274/doh-p1-6b-of-unpaid-covid-19-allowance-for-health-workers-still-unfunded/story/ |
The government is yet to fund around P1.6 billion worth of COVID-19 emergency allowance for health workers, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said Wednesday.
Herbosa made the disclosure when asked by House Deputy Minority Leader Marissa Magsino as to how much of the COVID-19 allowance for health workers have been disbursed.
“We requested additional money [for COVID-19 emergency allowance] because the total funding requirement is P63 billion. With P22 billion budget for 2022, P19.4 billion for 2023, and P20 billion for the [proposed] NEP [budget for] 2024, we hope to get some funds from our unprogrammed funds this year,” Herbosa said during the House appropriations panel hearing on the DOH's proposed P199 billion budget for 2024.
“Last April, the Department of Health wrote the DBM and we are still awaiting their approval of a few billion pesos from the unprogrammed funds of DOH to be used for the [COVID-19] health workers emergency allowance," he added.
The unprogrammed fund refers to budget items which will only be funded if there is an excess of target government revenues for the year, subject to the approval of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Herbosa said that most of the unpaid COVID-19 allowance for health workers involve those who work in private hospitals who take longer time in securing documentary requirements compared with their counterparts in the public sector.
“For the government health workers, it is about 93% [who already got their COVID-19 allowance],” he said.
The Health secretary said of the P22.8 billion budget for the COVID-19 allowance for health workers in 2022, 97.66% of such amount has been disbursed.
The 2023 DOH budget, on the other hand, earmarked P19.48 billion for the COVID-19 allowance for health workers, of which 71.89% has been disbursed so far.
The DOH says this amount is mostly for private hospital workers but that is no excuse.
No comments:
Post a Comment