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- Cebu, 23 other provinces still have below 70% vax coverage
- Voters with symptoms can vote; LGUs told to ready medical help desks
- Over 50% of PH public schools holding in-person classes
- 1,373 Covid cases logged on April 26-May 2
- Doctors support vape bill's final version
- Duterte: Stop e-sabong operations
- Talisay City, 5 more areas under Alert Level 1 from May 3-15
| Cebu, 23 other provinces still have below 70% vax coverage Posted: 03 May 2022 12:28 AM PDT CEBU, Bohol and Negros Oriental are among the provinces in the country with below 70 percent coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccination coverage as of May 1, 2022, the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 said.NTF chief implementer and vaccination czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said during President Rodrigo Duterte's Talk to the People Address aired Tuesday morning, May 3, that 24 provinces have not yet reached the 70 percent target.Based on the table presented by Galvez, Cebu Province has 56.61 percent vaccination coverage rate, Bohol at 65.63 percent and Negros Oriental at 50.60 percent. These provinces are in Central Visayas.Provinces with below 50 percent vaccination coverage include Lanao del Norte (47.51 percent), Tawi-Tawi (42.70 percent), Basilan (30.30 percent), Maguindanao (27.53 percent), Sulu (27.44 percent) and Lanal del Sur (21.78 percent), which are all in Mindanao.The other provinces on the list are the following:* Davao del Norte – 67.87 percent* Antique – 62.32 percent* Negros Occidental – 61.12 percent* Samar – 61.08 percent* Benguet – 60.39 percent* Davao De Oro – 59.90 percent* Davao del Sur – 57.45 percent* Dinagat Islands – 57.22 percent* Sultan Kudarat – 56.57 percent* Cotabato – 55.63 percent* Masbate - 55.51 percent* Ifugao – 53.19 percent* Davao Occidental – 52.75 percent* Sarangani – 51.24 percent* Palawan – 51.07 percentAccording to the NTF, Cebu has a total target population of 2,681,313 but so far, only 1,517,782 have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.The province also has a target population for the A2 priority group (senior citizens) of 261,124 and only 111,938 have been fully vaccinated.For Bohol, the total target population is 1,115,350, but so far, 732,052 have been fully vaccinated. It has 127,486 senior citizens who are eligible for vaccination but only 69,669 have been given doses.Negros Oriental has a total target population of 1,148,424, of which 581,117 have been fully vaccinated. It also logged 58,537 fully vaccinated senior citizens out of the 126,914 target population.Galvez said as of May 2, the country has administered as total of 146,869,397 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, and it still has 98,364,763 doses available.The NTF said 245.234 million doses of vaccines have so far been delivered to the Philippines since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. |
| Voters with symptoms can vote; LGUs told to ready medical help desks Posted: 02 May 2022 11:38 PM PDT THE National Government has instructed local government units (LGUs) in the country to establish a medical help desk and ready coronavirus disease (Covid-19) response teams, hospitals and health centers, as voters with Covid-like symptoms are allowed to vote on Election Day, May 9.Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said the Commission on Elections (Comelec), DILG, Department of Education, Department of Health, and Department of National Defense have issued a Multilateral Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that allowed voters who will exhibit Covid-like symptoms upon arrival at the polling precincts to cast their vote via the isolation polling places (IPP).The Comelec clarified earlier that the IPPs will be established not for Covid-19 patients but for voters who will show symptoms upon arrival at the voting precincts.During President Rodrigo Duterte's Talk to the People Address aired Tuesday morning, May 3, Año said under the agencies' MOA, strict adherence to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) health and safety standards for Covid-19 must be ensured on May 9.Voters, especially symptomatic individuals, must be provided with "free, timely, and effective basic first aid assistance, medicines and emergency medical care as necessary," he said.He added that LGUs must also ensure that all risks, hazards and dangers to health and life are prevented and addressed. These include election-related violence and event exposure to extremely hot weather, among others.The government then instructed LGUs to establish one medical help desk with complete provision of necessary resources, while Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) and Covid-19 response teams must be on stand-by."All LGUs shall ensure the readiness of LGU-run hospitals and health centers in the provision of emergency medical response units should the need arise," Año said.He also appealed to political parties and candidates not to take advantage of the medical help desks and other facilities and services, stressing that these should not be used as vehicle for political propaganda or promotion of any person's candidacy.He added that LGUs may tap members of the BHERTs as possible support staff in polling center and in medical help desks, but this will be subject to coordination with and approval of field officers of the Comelec.Meanwhile, Año reported that the DILG, in coordination with the Comelec, has established 5,224 Comelec checkpoints and deployed 40,208 policemen to these operations throughout the country as of May 1.These Comelec checkpoints have reported a total of 2,813 violations from January 9 to May 1, 2022.They also arrested 2,934 persons and confiscated 1,070 deadly weapons, 2,241 firearms and 11,892 ammunition.Año assured that the DILG and other agencies are ready to ensure orderly, peaceful and honest elections on May 9. (LMY) |
| Over 50% of PH public schools holding in-person classes Posted: 02 May 2022 10:03 PM PDT MORE than half of the Philippines' public schools are already conducting face-to-face classes, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported Tuesday, May 3, 2022.Education Secretary Leonor Briones told President Rodrigo Duterte during his Talk to the People Address aired Tuesday morning, May 3, that 25,668 public schools in the country are back to holding in-person classes."This 56.89 percent of the total number of public schools. We are more than half already," she said.Briones admitted that the challenge now remained with the private schools, noting that only 676 of the around 60,000 private schools in the country have been implementing face-to-face classes.The 676 is only 5.47 percent of the total number of private schools, she added.She noted, however, that in total, 26,344 schools (including public and private) have gone back to holding in-person classes.As to the number of learners participating, Briones said 5,948,640 (25.61 percent) are in public schools, while 226,991 (7.09 percent) are in private schools.There are already a total of 6,175,631 learners across all grade levels participating in the face-to-face classes.Briones said the DepEd is targeting 75 percent of schools implementing the in-person classes, thus "we are now aggressively endeavoring to convince them (private schools) to open at this time."She assured that about 93 percent of the DepEd staff have already been vaccinated against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon, for his part, said they find it challenging to convince the private schools because some of them are still resistant."It seems that it is a mix of various reasons. The most compelling of which is some parents are still quite apprehensive about getting their children go back to face-to-face," he said.Dizon then suggested to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to issue a resolution that would strongly encourage schools, especially the private schools, to go back to face-to-face classes as soon as possible."Although we acknowledge that there are various modes of learning, it is time to already go back to face-to-face and the IATF will issue such a strong endorsement or encouragement for private schools in particular," he said.Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Department of Health will help DepEd in ramping up the vaccination of students in areas where the vaccination rate is still low.Dizon said NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. had already given the instructions to make the Covid-19 vaccines available for all schools in the Philippines."We have 15 million doses of vaccines for pediatrics, for 5 to 11 years old. We have 10 million in stock remaining and these can be easily deployed to all schools for all our children," Dizon said. |
| 1,373 Covid cases logged on April 26-May 2 Posted: 02 May 2022 09:27 PM PDT THE Department of Health (DOH) reported Tuesday, May 3, a decrease in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases recorded from April 26 to May 2 as compared to the previous week, with only 1,373 cases logged on those days.Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in his report to President Rodrigo Duterte during the latter's Talk to the People Address aired Tuesday morning, May 3, that the 1,373 new cases were 136 less than the 1,509 infections recorded in the previous week.He said on May 2, 188 new infections were logged, bringing the total nationwide tally to 3,686,082, of which 5,303 have remained active.The daily average cases, meanwhile, stood at 196.The top regions that contributed to the number of cases include the National Capital Region (NCR) with 573 cases, followed by Calabarzon with 180 and Central Luzon with 110.Areas in the NCR that recorded the highest number of cases on April 26 to May 2 are Quezon City with 109, followed by Manila with 82 and Cavite with 70 cases.Duque said the country's healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) remained low, as of Sunday, May 1, with 16.1 percent of intensive care unit (ICU) beds utilized. This means that only 456 of 2,830 ICU beds in the country were occupied.For non-ICU beds, 3998 out of 24,521 (16.3 percent) were utilized, while 723 (13.4 percent) out of 5,386 total admissions were considered severe and critical.The DOH said most regions in the country have been considered low risk for Covid-19, but Duque stressed that this does not mean that the public should be complacent."Sumunod pa rin sa minimum public health standards, mag pabakuna and magpabooster (Continue to follow the minimum public health standards and have yourselves vaccinated and boosted)," Duque said.The health department earlier warned of a possible Covid-19 cases surge after the May 9 national and local elections if the public will not follow the minimum public health protocols, which include the wearing of face mask, proper handwashing and social distancing. (LMY) |
| Doctors support vape bill's final version Posted: 02 May 2022 08:57 PM PDT FILIPINO doctors welcomed the publication of the final version of the vape bill that contains key provisions that strictly regulate e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTP) and aim to protect the youth and save smokers' lives."It will be the country's first comprehensive law that will regulate vapor products and provide strict rules on its use to protect minors. It also provides for detailed regulation so that the 17 million Filipino smokers can access these less harmful alternatives," said Dr. Rafael Castillo, a top cardiologist and the only Filipino sitting as a trustee at the International Society of Hypertension.Castillo added that the Vaporized Nicotine Products (VNP) bill, when signed into law, will become part of the legacy of the Duterte administration.President Rodrigo Duterte is himself an anti-smoking advocate and even implemented an ordinance in Davao City when he was mayor, that penalizes smoking in public places.Dr. Dante Dator, one of the country's leading urologists and former National Kidney and Transplant Institute Chief Executive Officer, supported the vape bill, saying provisions are in place to ensure protection of the youth from using vape products.Dator added that without the vape bill, flavored and substandard e-cigarettes as well as those high-nicotine vape products will continue to flourish because the current law, RA 11467, does not penalize the selling of such products.The final version of the vape bill, as approved by the bicameral conference committee of the Senate and House of Representatives, bans the selling of vapor products with a nicotine content above 65 mg/ml.It also bans the use of flavor descriptors that appeal to minors, in addition to the ban on using flavors that appeal to minors under RA 11467.The bill also prohibits the display of vape products beside other products that appeal to minors in stores, as well as the use of celebrities and social media influencers in advertising materials.Dr. Romeo Luna Jr., president of the San Juan Medical Center Staff Association, confirmed that harm from the use of e-cigarettes and HTPs is significantly less than cigarettes, based on several scientific studies.Luna said the scientific consensus from medical experts and public health regulators around the world is that vapor and heated tobacco products are less harmful than cigarettes."This simply means that for the 16 million Filipino smokers who cannot stop smoking, there is now a better and less harmful alternative for them," said Dr. Luna.According to House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta, the World Health Organization's scientist-representative confirmed that vape products are less harmful than cigarettes during the deliberations of the vape bill in Congress. |
| Duterte: Stop e-sabong operations Posted: 02 May 2022 07:30 PM PDT PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte ordered Monday, May 2, the stoppage of "e-sabong" (online cockfight betting) operations as per recommendation of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).In his Talk to the People Address Monday night, Duterte said DILG Secretary Eduardo Año recommended the stoppage of e-sabong operations after conducting a survey and validating reports from several sources."The recommendation of Secretary Año is to do away with e-sabong... So, since it's his recommendation and I agreed with it and it's good, so e-sabong will end by tonight (Monday night)," Duterte said.The President said he directed Año to conduct a survey to determine the social impact of e-sabong after receiving several objections from a number of people."So ginawa ni Sec. Año yung trabaho nya and he reported and validated yung naririnig ko. Yung amin naman sana, buwis lang ang hinabol namin rito. P640 million is P640 million," Duterte said.(Secretary Año reported and validated what I have been hearing. What we are after e-sabong is the P640-million revenue that the government is getting from it.)Calls to stop the e-sabong operations started early this year due to reports about missing cockfight betting enthusiasts.The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs filed in February a resolution urging Duterte to order the suspension of e-sabong operations until the cases of 34 missing sabungeros are resolved.Duterte, however, ordered the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct an in-depth investigation on the missing sabungeros.In March, Duterte said his primary reason for not stopping the e-sabong is money, stressing that the government gets P640 million a month from its operations.Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) chairperson Andrea Domingo also earlier expressed apprehension in the suspension, noting that it may incur billions worth of lost revenue for the government.Duterte on Monday, however, said that after hearing loud and clear the complaints and DILG's reports, he agreed that that e-sabong "was working against our values and yung impact sa pamilya pati sa tao.""Eh ang labas di na natutulog yung sabungero 24 hours (What happens is some bettors are not sleeping 24 hours because of e-sabong)," he said."I leave it to Sec. Año to impose it because the PNP (Philippine National Police) is under the DILG...It is immediate," he added.Duterte said unlike lotto, e-sabong is creating a problem for the government and the ordinary Filipino. |
| Talisay City, 5 more areas under Alert Level 1 from May 3-15 Posted: 02 May 2022 06:50 PM PDT TALISAY City in Cebu province and four other areas in the country have been placed under Alert Level 1, the lowest quarantine status so far in the Philippines.Presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) approved on Monday, May 2, 2022, the de-escalation from Alert Level 2 to 1 of the five areas as per recommendations of the sub-Technical Working Group for Data Analytics.Under Alert Level 1 effective May 3 to 15, 2022 are the following:Luzon* CAGAYAN VALLEY: Nueva VizcayaVisayas* CENTRAL VISAYAS: Talisay City, CebuMindanao* NORTHERN MINDANAO: Misamis Occidental* SOCCSKSARGEN: Antipas, North Cotabato; Banga, South Cotabato"Alert level classifications of component cities and municipalities under IATF Resolution Nos. 165-G (s.2022), 166-A (s.2022), 167-A (s.2022) not otherwise affected by this resolution shall remain in effect until 15 May 2022," said Andanar in a statement.Talisay City joined Cebu City, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City in the list of areas under Alert Level 1. Also under Alert Level 1 in Central Visayas is Siquijor province, Amlan (Ayuquitan) town in Negros Oriental, and Duero town in Bohol.See list of areas under Alert Level 1 from May 1 to 15, 2022.Under Alert Level 1, all restrictions, including on travel, venue or transportation capacity, are removed. All businesses are also allowed to operate.The vulnerable population, such as children, senior citizens and persons with comorbities, are also allowed to go out of their homes. (LMY) |
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