Sunday, November 28, 2021

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/

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DOLE to continue OFW repartition amid pandemic

Posted: 28 Nov 2021 05:47 AM PST

REGARDLESS of whether the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic is raging or not, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will continue to repatriate overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

This was the assurance of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, saying repatriating beleaguered OFWs is a continuing program of the government.

"Many of our OFWs became helpless when the pandemic struck and so the government launched a massive repatriation drive never done before," Bello said in a statement.

"As long as we have migrant workers, who want to go home but can't do so because of difficulties due to the pandemic, we will continue the repatriation program," he added.

Under the program, OFWs were brought back into the country via chartered flights at the expense of the government.

Upon their arrival, they were accommodated in hotels for quarantine and Covid-19 testing.

Once cleared, the OFWs are being transported home to their respective provinces.

Bello said as of November 28, a total of 809,374 OFWs have already been transported back to their home regions.

Said OFWs consisted mostly of pandemic-affected workers and displaced OFWs due to lockdowns that crippled world economies. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)

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Cardinal Advincula to get sacred pallium

Posted: 28 Nov 2021 04:15 AM PST

MANILA Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula is set to be conferred with the sacred pallium at the Manila Cathedral on December 8.

In a report by CBCP News, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles Brown is set to confer the pallium on Advincula during the Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"The Archdiocese of Manila will mark a historic event with the investiture of the sacred pallium on Cardinal Jose Advincula," said the official news agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

The pallium is a vestment made of white wool only worn by the pontiff and by archbishops.

The Pope uses the pallium to symbolize the plenitude of pontifical office.

For archbishops, on the other hand, it signifies the authority given to them by the Pope over their respective archdioceses, particularly their bond and shared responsibility with the Pontiff to pastors in their regions.

According to CBCP News, the Pope blesses the pallium to be conferred to each new archbishop at their respective archdioceses during the annual Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

Advincula was among the 34 recently appointed archbishops from around the world as Pope Francis named the 69-year-old prelate as Manila archbishop on March 25, 2021. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)

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Below 1,000 infections logged for 5th straight day

Posted: 28 Nov 2021 12:38 AM PST

THE Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday, November 28, 2021, recorded for the fifth straight day below 1,000 new cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

In its 4 p.m. Sunday case bulletin, the health department reported 838 fresh cases of Covid-19.

The positivity rate of the Philippines remained at 2.4 percent out of the 34,241 tests conducted on November 26.

The new cases brought the Philippines' total caseload to 2,831,807.

The DOH also logged 156 new deaths, which brought the country's death toll to 48,361. This meant that 1.71 percent of all cases have succumbed to the disease.

A total of 1,217 recoveries were also reported Sunday that brought the total individuals who recovered from the disease to 2,831,807 or 97.2 percent.

Less the deaths and recoveries, the country logged 838 active cases or 1.2 percent of the total cases.

Of the active cases, 47.8 percent were mild, 23.36 percent were moderate, 15.2 percent were severe, 7.1 percent were asymptomatic and 6.5 percent were critical.

As for the healthcare utilization rate, 27 percent of intensive care unit beds, 26 percent of isolation beds, 16 percent of ward beds and 16 percent of ventilators have been utilized.

The DOH also said two laboratories failed were not operational on November 26. All laboratories, however, have submitted data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System.

Based on data over the past 14 days, the contribution of these two laboratories was approximately 0.003 percent in all samples tested and zero percent in all positive individuals.

The DOH has continued to urge the public to get vaccinated to protect themselves and the people around them from Covid-19.

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Senate to order detention of Pharamally execs to Pasay City Jail

Posted: 27 Nov 2021 11:21 PM PST

SENATE Sergeant-at-Arms chief retired Major General Rene Samonte has recommended the transfer of two Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation officials to the Pasay City Jail, Senator Richard Gordon said on Sunday, November 28, 2021.

Gordon said Pharmally Director Linconn Ong and treasurer Mojit Dargani failed to locate the "boxes of documents" subpoenaed by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, which aims to shed light amid probe on the irregularities in the use of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) funds of the Department of Health (DOH) flagged by the Commission on Audit.

The two officials were detained at the Senate office after they were cited in contempt by the panel for evading questions.

During Thursday's committee hearing, Gordon approved the motion of Senator Francis Pangilinan that was seconded by Senator Risa Hontiveros to transfer Ong and Dargani to the Pasay City Jail for allegedly lying during the hearing, particularly about the company's financial statements that cannot be located.

Dargani then requested for the committee to let him try to recover the boxes of documents personally. He noted that the company's lease agreement had already expired, which may mean that the boxes could no longer be there.

He also asked the committee to let him and Ong talk personally.

Gordon approved Dargani's request on the condition that they will immediately transfer them to the city jail if they fail to retrieve the documents.

He ordered the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to assist Dargani.

However, Samonte said they were not able to retrieve the files.

"Hindi nakaalis kasi ayaw magbigay ng info kung saan pupunta, hindi daw nya alam kung nasaan -- office or warehouse or residence. He was told that they can go to all three, pero ayaw pa din. Ang sabi ni Mohit ay alam daw ni Attorney Kapunan, kaya pinatawagan ko," he said in a text message to Gordon.

(They were not able to go because they did not want to give info on where to go, they said they don't know where -- office or warehouse or residence. He was told that they can go to all three, but they still wouldn't. Mohit said Attorney Kapunan knows, that's why I laughed at it.)

"Muntik na daw mahulog ang lawyer sa upuan, kasi wala daw kaalam alam si Attorney Kapunan kung ano man ang mga documents na yun. It seems wala talagang boxes and boxes of documents, or ayaw ilabas kung meron man. I recommend ituloy na ang transfer order Asap. I will see and talk to them pag may commitment order na to Pasay City Jail," Samonte added.

(The lawyer almost fell off his chair because apparently, Attorney Kapunan does not know what the documents are. It seems that there are no boxes and boxes of documents or they don't want them to come out if indeed they exist. I recommend that we push through with the transfer order Asap. I will see and talk to them if there is a commitment order to Pasay City Jail.)

In a video message, Gordon said they will proceed with what was agreed upon.

In a hearing on November 4, a tax expert saidPharmally has P3.4 billion worth of unsupported purchases, which was declared in the annual financial statement submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue in 2020. This was the year they bagged over a P8.6-billion contract from the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget Management for the delivery of medical supplies to the DOH amid the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lawmakers believed the supplies were overpriced and some people benefited from it.

Tax expert Mon Abrea said the company's financial statement will explain the P3.4-billion unsupported purchases of the company.

He said normally when a declared purchase has no supporting documents, they either made it up to decrease the tax a company has to pay or they just falsified it.

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NTF says ban on flights from Hong Kong not yet final

Posted: 27 Nov 2021 11:11 PM PST

THE National Task Force (NTF) against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) clarified on Sunday, November 28, 2021, that the statement made by one of its officials earlier on the ban on flights from Hong Kong was not yet final.

"We await the formal announcement from the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) following a final recommendation from the Technical Working Group on Covid-19 Variants and other agencies. The Government through favorable recommendations of the Department of Health (DOH) will work to ensure timely adoption of preemptive measures to prevent or delay the entry of new variants which have the potential for undermining public health," the NTF said in a statement.

"Until a formal announcement from the IATF is made, HK (Hong Kong) flights will still be allowed. We apologize for any inconvenience an earlier pronouncement may have caused," it added.

In a television interview on Sunday morning, NTF Spokesperson Restituto Padilla said Hong Kong will join the seven countries -- South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique -- in which the Philippines imposed an international flight ban until December 15 due to the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The Omicron variant is a new and potentially more infectious strain of Covid-19 that was tagged by the World Health Organization as a variant of concern.

The variant was first detected in Botswana and then in South Africa.

The first case of the said strain in Hong Kong was a traveler from South Africa.

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Philippines administers over 80M Covid-19 vaccine doses

Posted: 27 Nov 2021 07:17 PM PST

OVER 80 million doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines have been administered in the country since March, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Saturday, November 27, 2021.

Galvez said as of November 26, 35,391,519 individuals have been fully vaccinated, or 45.88 percent of the country's target population, while 45,056,508 people have received the first dose.

"These milestones are a testament that the government has made significant headway in its fight against the virus. We are determined to end this pandemic and bring back a greater sense of normalcy to the lives of our countrymen," he said in a statement.

"As we move closer to hitting our target of fully vaccinating 54 million Filipinos by the end of the year, I appeal to our local government units to continue ramping up their vaccination throughput," he added.

Galvez, who is also the country's vaccine czar, said that as of November 27, the country received a total of 141,606,240 Covid-19 vaccines from various manufacturers.

Meanwhile, Galvez said all is set for the conduct of the three-day national vaccination drive from November 29 to December 1.

From the initial target of inoculating 15 million individuals during the said program, it was lowered to nine million people.

"We are confident that our Bayanihan, Bakunahan will be successful in capacitating our LGUs (local government units) so that they can bring up their vaccination output before the holiday season," Galvez said.

"As what we always say, getting the Covid-19 jab is the best gift for ourselves and our loved ones this Christmas. Let us all be heroes and get vaccinated against the virus," he added.

The second leg of the National Vaccination Days is eyed on December 15 to 17.

Galvez said this aims to increase the number of fully vaccinated individuals in time for the Christmas and New Year's celebrations. (SunStar Philippines)

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PH bans flights from Hong Kong due to Omicron variant

Posted: 27 Nov 2021 06:50 PM PST

THE Philippine government has temporarily banned incoming flights from Hong Kong following the detection of Omicron variant, a new and potentially more infectious strain of Sars-CoV-2, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 spokesperson Restituto Padilla said on Sunday, November 28, 2021.

In a television interview, Padilla said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases temporarily suspended the entry of flights coming from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Hong Kong where there were cases of B.1.1.529, now known as the Omicron variant.

The ban will last until December 15, 2021.

READ: Travelers from South Africa, 6 other countries barred from entering PH

"Bi-nan po lahat ng country na may na-detect na variant. So Hong Kong, may na-detect po diyan, so kasama na rin po iyon," he said.

(All countries where the Omicron variant was detected have been banned, including Hong Kong.)

"Ang movement po ng Filipino ay hindi pinagbabawal. Pero 'yong flight na kanilang sasakyan na papunta dito, pinagbabawal. So kung wala silang masasakyan, wala rin silang means para makarating," he added.

(The movement of Filipinos is allowed, but the flights going to the Philippines from those countries have been banned, so they also have no means of entering the country.)

Padilla said Filipinos coming from the said countries will undergo strict quarantine procedures to prevent the entry of the Omicron variant in the country.

Earlier, Health secretary Francisco Duque said he has already recommended the ban to the executive secretary for approval.

Omicron variant was first detected in Botswana, then in South Africa.

The first Omicron case in Hong Kong was a traveler from South Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classified Omicron as a variant of concern that has a large number of mutations and has "some more in characteristics."

"Right now, there are more studies that are underway in South Africa and in other countries to better characterize the variant in terms of transmissibility, in terms of severity and any impact in our countrymen," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove from WHO said.

Infectious disease expert in the Philippines Dr. Rontgene Solante said the Omicron variant may be more transmissible and infectious especially to those who have weak immune systems.

For the first time since January, the Department of Health (DOH) has recorded less than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases in four consecutive days, from Wednesday, November 24.

In its 4 p.m. case bulletin on Saturday, November 27, the DOH recorded 899 fresh Covid-19 cases in the country, bringing the total caseload to 2,831,177 in which 17,052 were active cases. (SunStar Philippines)

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DOLE suspends deployment of new HSWs to Saudi Arabia

Posted: 27 Nov 2021 12:59 AM PST

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ordered on Saturday, November 27, the temporary suspension of deployment of newly hired household service workers (HSWs) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

In his "Very Urgent" Memorandum, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III ordered all Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (Polos) in Saudi Arabia to temporarily suspend the verification of newly hired domestic workers.

"In the interest of the service, you are hereby instructed to temporarily suspend the verification of new hires domestic workers effective immediately pending the issuance of the new guidelines by the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration)," said Bello.

"As such, a new order shall be issued for the resumption of the processing of the above documents once the new guidelines has been finalized and fully implemented," he added.

In a separate interview, Bello said the temporary suspension was prompted by reports of labor abuse involving a retired general in KSA.

He is referring to the cases of several overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were under the employ of retired General Ayed Thawah Al Jealid and who faced physical and verbal abuses.

"Gen. Ayed was able to circumvent Polo rules on verification by placing in the employment contract a pseudo KSA employer when in fact, he was the real employer," he said.

"To avoid this situation, where the HSW will be assigned to an employer, who is previously blacklisted, the new verification guidelines will require that the exact address of the employer's house in KSA will be stated in the employment contract," added Bello.

To note, KSA is the top destination for OFWs. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)

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Below 1,000 new Covid cases for 4 straight days

Posted: 27 Nov 2021 12:48 AM PST

FOR the fourth straight day, less than 1,000 new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases were reported by the Department of Health (DOH).

In its 4 p.m. case bulletin, the DOH said 899 new infections were logged on Saturday, November 27, bringing the total caseload to 2,831,177.

The positivity rate remained below three percent, or at 2.4 percent, out of the 37,224 tests conducted last November 25.

The death toll, however, continued to climb with 188 new deaths Saturday.

With this, the country now has a total of 48,205 deaths due to Covid-19.

The case fatality rate stood at 1.70 percent.

The number of patients who have recovered from the disease also increased, with additional 1,667 recoveries reported.

This brought the total Covid-19 survivors to 2,765,920, which is 97.7 percent of the country's confirmed cases.

The active cases remained at 17,052, or 0.6 percent of the country's total.

Of the active cases, 49 percent were considered mild, 22.7 percent were moderate, 15 percent were severe, 6.9 percent were asymptomatic and 6.3 percent were critical. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)

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