More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/6/11/fernandez-tells-government-to-create-protocols-respecting-rights-of-anti-vaxxers |
A veteran lawmaker in the House of Representatives said the national government must respect the rights of anti-vaxxers, or people who refuse to be vaccinated based on their personal preferences.
“Their rights to their own health is their prerogative. That's their problem, it's not our problem. So don't force our people to get vaccinated,” said Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez.
Fernandez made this appeal during the joint hearing of the Committees on Human Rights and on Public Order and Safety on Tuesday, June 11, regarding the alleged “excess deaths” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The government should create a new protocol that will protect both rights—of those who want to be vaccinated and those who do not want to be vaccinated,” he said.
While the Laguna congressman said he respects the urgency of getting people vaccinated during the pandemic, he said strict health measures violated the human rights of Filipinos.
“For example, the lockdowns, forced vaccination. We don't want that to happen again,” he noted.
In 2021, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said that violation of human rights and dignity—such as restricting the movement of unvaccinated people, for example—contradicts the ultimate goal of protecting the people from the pandemic.
In the same hearing, Fernandez also shared his concern regarding the so-called mind conditioning of those who belong to the “global elites”.
“Now, Ted, WHO is saying prepare for the next pandemic, prepare for the next virus, as if they are already conditioning the minds of our people in the whole world that a next pandemic is about to come,” he said.
“We, in the Congress, we just have to be prepared, especially when human rights are being violated,” he added.
Meanwhile, Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido Abante said religious beliefs were among the rights violated during the pandemic.
Abante, chairman of the House Committee on Human Rights, pointed out that about 90 percent of Covid-19-related deaths resulted in cremation, which is not allowed by certain religions.
“Why should there be cremation always for all patients, rich or poor, they are cremated. You have no choice. It means this, our religious convictions have even been violated. Because there are religions here, like the Baptist Church, that do not believe in cremation,” the veteran lawmaker from Manila said.
“Is that not a human rights violation? Clearly, it is,” he stressed.
Abante said a hospital director had told him that funeral parlors have the authority on the cremation of the body, not the hospital itself.
With this, he seeks to invite owners of funeral parlors in the next hearing to find out “why are they cremating and where did they get the rule that they should absolutely be cremated”.
“We would invite them to come to shed light on this issue,” noted Abante.
It's a little too late since the pandemic is over but at least someone is speaking up against government overreach.
The pandemic is over but COVID-19 health benefits are still available to the public.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/06/12/2362194/philhealth-public-covid-19-benefits-available |
With the slight increase in COVID-19 cases, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has reminded the public that if needed, benefit packages for the affliction remain available.
“PhilHealth informs all members and health care providers that the COVID-19 benefits packages, which covers in-patient admission, are still in effect and can be availed of in accredited health facilities,” PhilHealth said in an advisory.
Under its existing inpatient care packages, P43,997 is set for mild pneumonia; P143,267 for moderate pneumonia; P333,519 for severe pneumonia and P786,384 for critical pneumonia.
“These are for patients who are confirmed cases of COVID-19 that require hospital admission,” PhilHealth said.
For COVID-19 testing, PhilHealth coverage includes RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) from P800 to P2,800; cartridge based from P500 to 2,450 and Rapid Antigen Test for P500.
The COVID-19 benefits are still set for adjustment before the year ends, according to PhilHealth vice president for corporate affairs Rey Baleña.
Thankfully most COVID-19 cases do not require in-patient admission.
Local revenue collections were down during the pandemic. Now the COA is lauding one town for improved collections post-pandemic.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/6/14/coa-lauds-cotabato-s-3rd-class-town-for-improved-revenue-collections-after-covid-19-pandemic |
The Commission on Audit (COA) has commended the third-class municipality of Pikit in North Cotabato for its efforts in improving revenue collections after the economic repercussions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Improvement exists on the revenue generation of the local government unit to provide a more sustainable and responsible fund source for the budgeted programs, projects, and activities of the local government unit that would be beneficial to the people of the municipality," the COA said in its 2023 annual audit report (AAR) on Pikit town.
It said that in 2020, the municipality recorded a total of P8,240,343.45 tax revenue and P9,281,116.21 service and business income. The collections dipped in 2021 with P7,772,305.55 tax revenue and P8,990,524.21 service and business income.
Pikit's efforts to improve revenue collections showed that in 2022 the town generated P8,292,594.61 in tax revenues and P9,705,202.26 in service and business income, COA said. The figures further jacked up in 2023 with P8,885,426.36 tax revenue and P9,977,393.47 service and business income, it also said.
COA said: "The locally sourced revenues generated in 2020 and 2021, the years when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred, were obviously low. Despite the challenges that the municipal government of Pikit have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was able to look for ways to sustain the government operation in providing service to its constituents."
Thus, it said, Pikit improved its dependence on the internal revenue allotment (IRA), which is a "good indicator" on the operation of the LGU in which more projects and programs can be implemented.
While the generation of revenues improved, COA noted that there was a decrease in collection efficiency ratio in 2023.
It cited the town's collection of real property tax which plummeted from 18.49 percent in 2022 to 13.9 percent in 2023.
"This could be a sign that improvement on strategies imposed by the LGU officials are effective but not sufficient to cope up with the set target. Thus, there is still a need to re-assess and re-evaluate those strategies to attain a more sustainable and effective cash generation in its real property tax," it said.
COA suggested a "robust system" for collecting fees and fines, such as the implementation of appropriate penalties for defaulters. "The LGU should also focus on improving the overall efficiency and transparency of the revenue collection systems," it also said.
Certainly it is another sign the Philippines has recovered from the pandemic.
Reuters has alleged the US Pentagon was engaged in a an anti-vax campaign online to discredit the Sinovac vaccine. One DOH executive wants the matter investigated.
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| https://globalnation.inquirer.net/239707/doh-exec-wants-anti-vax-campaign-of-us-pentagon-uncovered |
Reports revealing the alleged secret anti-inoculation campaign of the United States (US) military, aiming to cast doubt about the safety of vaccines supplied by China in the country, must be probed and heard by the appropriate authorities, according to an official of the Department of Health (DOH).
DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo was talking about the special report published by Reuters revealing the alleged campaign by the US Pentagon during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The findings by Reuters deserve to be investigated and heard by the appropriate authorities of the involved countries,” Domingo told reporters on Sunday.
The report claimed that the anti-vaccine effort began in 2020 and “expanded beyond Southeast Asia before it was terminated in mid-2021” and used “a combination of fake social media accounts on multiple platforms to spread fear of China’s vaccines.”
“Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits, and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation,” the report said.
Domingo, however, pointed out that “vaccination decisions among Filipinos are determined by their age, educational attainment, health insurance, employer requirement, high awareness of the disease, and a high level of vaccine confidence,” citing a study published under the scientific journal BMC Public Health.
However the former vaccine czar says he doubts this campaign actually took place.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/06/18/2363628/philippines-ex-vaccine-czar-doubts-alleged-us-led-anti-vax-campaign |
Allies of the Philippine government at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic supported any vaccine available at the time, according to presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr.
ABS-CBN quoted Galvez as saying that reports alleging a US-backed propaganda that tried to discredit China’s Sinovac vaccine are not true.
“I believe it is not true,” he reportedly asserted in a statement.
Galvez was the National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar during the peak of the pandemic.
A Reuters report, which saw print over the weekend, alleged that the US military allegedly launched a clandestine program to discredit China’s Sinovac during the pandemic.
Galvez explained that countries supporting the Philippines during the pandemic said the best vaccine during the pandemic is the vaccine that is immediately available.
“I am not aware of anything like this since all countries, through their embassies, are trying to help us to acquire available vaccines in the market,” he said.
“As far as I can remember, most of our friends and allies even said that ‘the best vaccine is the vaccine (on) our shoulders,’ meaning, whatever vaccine we had and (was) available, we have to take it immediately,” he added.
China-made Sinovac was one of the early vaccines made available to the country at the height of the pandemic.
Senator Imee Marcos is determined to probe the allegations.
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| https://globalnation.inquirer.net/239924/imee-marcos-to-probe-alleged-us-campaign-vs-sinovac-inoculation |
Sen. Imee Marcos said she would soon lead a probe into the United States’ (US) alleged secret campaign launched to discredit China’s Sinovac inoculation in the Philippines.
Speaking to reporters in an ambush interview on Tuesday, Marcos said she was saddened by reports alleging that the US military led such operations during the pandemic.
Marcos was pertaining to a Reuters story published mid June which indicated that US officials supposedly launched the campaign as a payback for Beijing’s efforts to blame Washington for the pandemic.
(Yes, we are very busy — and many Americans were also busy in relation to this incident. We are very saddened by the alleged ‘confirmed’ report that Pentagon is not denying — all to discredit their Chinese foes.)
But Marcos, who heads the Senate panel on foreign relations, maintained that the alleged campaign, if proven true, would mean that Filipinos’ lives were placed at risk.
With this, she saw the need to probe the incident. She said she would call for an investigation on June 24.
(The problem is that Filipinos’ lives were placed at risk just because they don’t want to get vaccinated with Sinovac. That’s why we will delve into this as soon as possible.)
While she has yet to formally file a measure seeking to probe the incident, Marcos said she is eyeing to invite former health and security officials.
(I hope we get witnesses because I know it will be hard to get evidence on this. I call on the DOH to help in our investigation.)
The DOH, through Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo, already said there is a need to probe and hear the alleged secret campaign.
Nobody's lives were at risk because they did not want to take the vaccine be it Sinovac or Pfizer or whatever. But it is still worth investigating if the Pentagon really did run a psyop online directed towards Filipinos.
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