Coronavirus Lockdown: Short Selling, Shotgun Start, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government. 

The DOH is being urged to procure the latest COVID vaccine. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/11/03/2308519/doh-urged-procure-monovalent-xbb-vaccine

Infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante is urging the government to procure the latest COVID-19 vaccine for the country’s vulnerable population.

“Though COVID is now an illness no longer different from the other diseases the Department of Health (DOH) is monitoring, it will still be good to have the monovalent XBB (vaccine) to protect the senior citizens and those with comorbidities,” Solante said in an interview.

The DOH earlier said there are no plans to procure a new batch of bivalent vaccines.

Solante said he supports Health Secretary Ted Herbosa’s decision to stop purchasing bivalent vaccines.

“The current circulating COVID variants are the lineages of XBB and not the BA.4, BA.5 anymore… The bivalent vaccine will not produce antibodies specific against XBB, thus it can’t protect anyone exposed to XBB-related variants,” he noted.

The latest Biosurveillance Report of the DOH showed that from August 2023 onwards, XBB and its sublineages were the most detected variants, comprising 92.91 percent of samples sequenced with assigned lineages.

The government’s vaccination program should now focus on the elderly, the immunocompromised and those with comorbidities, Solante said.

“If we want to protect the vulnerable, we should get the monovalent XBB variant-specific vaccines instead,” he added, noting that the jabs should be made available for free.

So, now COVID is just another disease like so many others. When has that been any different? 

The Japanese Prime Minister visited Manila for bliateral talks. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/11/01/2308051/japanese-pm-manila-november-3-4

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will embark on a two-day official visit to the Philippines this week aimed at bolstering ties between the two countries, Malacañang announced yesterday.

Kishida will be in the country from Nov. 3 to 4, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

The Japanese official will hold a bilateral meeting with President Marcos at Malacañang on Friday.

They are expected to discuss “areas of mutual concern,” including politics, security, economy, development cooperation and people-to-people ties.

The two leaders are also expected to exchange views on regional and international issues and reaffirm the “excellent relations” between the Philippines and Japan, which was elevated into a strategic partnership in 2011, the PCO said.

Marcos visited Tokyo in February, where he sealed $13 billion worth of agreements seen to yield thousands of jobs for Filipinos.

There are more than 300,000 Filipinos living and working in Japan, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Japanese firms are eyeing more investments in the Philippines due to the country’s continuing “stable” and “high-level” economic growth in recent years, according to the PCO.

Marcos met recently with leaders of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) at Malacañang.

This was the first economic mission dispatched by the JCCI since the pandemic, the PCO said.

But Marcos met earlier with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry which is the first mission they have dispatched since the pandemic. 

For Halloween one liberty group thought it would be fun to look back at six scary incidents created by the COVID lockdowns. The Philippines made it to number one on the list. 

https://www.learnliberty.org/blog/6-scary-incidents-created-by-covid-lockdowns/

This Halloween, let’s look back at some terrifying incidents from the recent past that should not be forgotten. For the best part of two years, beginning in March 2020, attempts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic involved governments around the world seizing new powers and further expanding the scope of the state. 

Lockdown restrictions saw widespread disruption to normal life for almost everyone. However, some authorities took their new powers and privileges to a level beyond what anyone sane would consider reasonable, leading to a range of truly terrifying incidents.

1. In the Philippines, a man was fatally shot over a curfew violation

In August 2021, a man was shot dead in the Philippines over a curfew violation. The victim, who was reportedly struggling with mental health problems, was confronted by a public safety officer, essentially a village watchman employed by the police. These watchmen were instructed to issue fines to anyone breaching the curfew.

After he was reprimanded, the victim allegedly made a threatening gesture with the wooden stick he was carrying and then walked away. At this point, the public safety officer loaded his gun, pursued the man, and fatally shot him. The incident was one of a number of fatal interactions between the authorities and members of the public in the Philippines during the pandemic.

That is something the public should never forget but which has already slipped most people's minds. 

PAGCOR says gaming revenues are back to pre-pandemic levels.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/11/06/2309219/philippine-gaming-revenues-backto-pre-pandemic-levels-pagcor

More than three years after the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting lockdowns and quarantine restrictions that lasted more than a year, the country’s gaming industry has finally bounced back with gross gaming revenues back to the pre-pandemic levels, according to Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco.

During the RGB Connect Gala Night at Hilton Clark Sun Valley Resort in Pampanga over the weekend, Tengco said that PAGCOR was bullish on this sustained growth in the immediate future.

He added that the lifting of travel and movement restrictions has fueled demand for dining, shopping and other outdoor activities that were not possible during the height of the pandemic.

The PAGCOR chief projected that the increased demand for leisure, travel and entertainment will sustain the growth trajectory of the Philippine gaming industry in the coming years.

“And so, one year into the term of President Marcos, our gross gaming revenues have returned to near the levels of 2019 which was the year PAGCOR achieved its all-time high for Philippine GGR levels,” he said.

“Today, we expect the 2023 GGR to match, if not surpass, our 2019 record. Not bad, considering that many of our traditional high rollers and junkets have not fully returned, but our domestic players and the influx of new tourists have filled the void,” he added.

Increased gambling is a sign that everything is back to normal. 

The SEC is now allowing short selling on the Philippine Stock Exchange. 

https://www.securitiesfinancetimes.com/securitieslendingnews/industryarticle.php

Short selling is permitted in the Philippines from today, with 52 stocks and one exchange-traded fund listed on the Philippines Stock Exchange now available for short sales.

This includes stocks included in the stock exchange’s PSE Index, along with select equities from the PSE MidCap and PSE Dividend Yield Indices. 

The terms for short selling activities on this list of stocks are detailed in the PSE’s Guidelines for Short Selling Transactions. 

In May, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the securities market regulator in the Philippines, approved use of offshore collateral in securities-based lending transactions.

Four months later, the Philippines Board of Internal Revenue approved the filing and registration of the Global Master Securities Lending Agreement (GMSLA) in September.

A set of rules and guidelines was initially approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in December 2019, but was subsequently sent back to the market for further consultation. It was then subject to further delays owing to the Covid pandemic. 

The initial proposal, advanced in 2019, extended short selling for PSE Index stocks, but the exchange has now widened the range of eligible shares as detailed above.

This would have been implemented back in 2020 if not for the pandemic. 

The Philippine Airlines' Mabuhay Miles Elite Invitational golf tournament is now back after a 3 year hiatus due to the pandemic. 

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/banner-field-in-mabuhay-miles-shotgun-start

A MERRY mix of players belonging to the fields of business here and abroad make up the full 300-strong field of the revival of the Philippine Airlines' Mabuhay Miles Elite Invitational golf tournament Monday at the world-class layout of The Orchard Golf and Country Club in Cavite.

PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Capt. Stanley K. Ng will be among the prominent executives hitting the ceremonial drive before the 7:30 a.m. shotgun start at the Player and Palmer courses.

"It's our way of giving back to our most valued clients," said Ng, who has taken up the sport recently. "Golf is also a way for us to get in touch, spend time with them and for all of the players to have the chance to get to know each other."

Carrying the theme "Reviving Legends," the 18-hole tournament has, since its inception in 1992, been graced by the veritable bigwigs in business and several other fields, all of them members of the upper echelon of PAL's frequent flier program.

The event was forced into a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its return this year will be its 27th staging overall as the Philippines' top airline dangles attractive prizes while fostering friendly competition and camaraderie.

Another sign that things are back to normal.

The DOH has confirmed 169 new COVID cases and no new COVID related deaths. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/11/7/doh-confirms-169-new-covid-19-cases-on-nov-6

The Department of Health (DOH) recorded 169 new Covid-19 infections on Monday, Nov 6, bringing the country’s total number of cases to 4,120, 872.

The DOH Covid-19 tracker, however, said no additional Covid-19-related deaths, maintaining the fatality rate at 1.6 percent.

The country has 2,785 active Covid-19 cases as per DOH. 

The data also revealed a 98.3 percent recovery rate, with a total of 4,051,351 people having successfully battled the virus.

Regarding the availability of intensive care unit (ICU) beds allocated for Covid-19 patients, it noted that 197 beds, or 10.38 percent, of the 1,897 available ICU beds are presently occupied.

Non-ICU Covid-19 beds were also frequently utilized, with 2,826, or 16.15 percent, of the 17,503 available beds in use, while mechanical ventilators, numbering 2,014, had 122 currently in use by Covid-19 patients.

The DOH continues to caution the public against becoming complacent in the face of the Covid-19 threat.

The department also stressed the significance of following minimum health standards, such as wearing properly fitting face masks and staying in well-ventilated areas.

DOH advises that individuals exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms should be isolated promptly.

For added protection, DOH also reminded the public to get their Covid-19 vaccine and booster as soon as possible.

But they still referent to COVID as a threat which means even though things seem back to normal they really are not.