Sunday, July 10, 2022

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

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

Marcos Jr. 'doing well' amid Covid-19 infection

Posted: 09 Jul 2022 10:52 PM PDT

PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is "doing well and in a very much stable condition" after testing positive in a coronavirus disease (Covid-19) antigen test, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said on Sunday, July 10, 2022.Angeles said that according to Marcos' lead physician, Doctor Samuel Zacate, the President only has mild symptoms with "no fever, no loss of taste and smell sensation."She said Zacate's physical examination indicated that the President's throat was clear of any inflammation and that there was "no sign of respiratory distress or pneumonia.""Despite testing positive for Covid-19, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is doing well and he continues to work in isolation, giving out directives to his cabinet officials in the comfort of his home," said Angeles."Quoting Dr. Zacate's latest health bulletin for the President, the chief executive's 'vital signs are within normal limits and he will be subjected to further laboratory examination as may be needed based on the President's progress,'' she added.Marcos underwent an antigen test after experiencing mild fever, nasal stuffiness and itchiness, and mild occasional non-productive cough.He also went through a confirmatory reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.Marcos was advised to undergo a seven-day isolation period and medication at home.This was the second time that Marcos tested positive for the coronavirus. The first was during the height of the pandemic in 2020 wherein hundreds of thousands of Filipinos contracted the virus.Marcos urged the public to be more vigilant against the virus and to continue following health protocols to prevent its spread. (SunStar Philippines)

Marcos Jr. emphasizes importance of Covid-19 booster doses

Posted: 09 Jul 2022 10:48 PM PDT

PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has emphasized the importance of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) booster doses, especially for the resumption of face-to-face classes and the full reopening of the economy.During his virtual message to mayors and governors on Friday, July 8, 2022, when he started his isolation, after testing positive for the Covid-19 virus, Marcos urged them to further strengthen the booster campaign rollout to prevent the reimposition of lockdowns that may be triggered by an increase in hospitalizations due to Covid-19 infections."So let us return to the idea of what we did last year na magkaroon ulit ng vaccine rollout. Gawin na natin ito para makatiyak na tayo," Marcos said.(So let us return to the idea of ​​what we did last year to have a vaccine rollout again. Let's do this so we can be sure.)"Pero hindi po natin gagawin 'yan hanggang maliwanag na maliwanag na safe na talaga. Dahil although so far maganda naman ang takbo, hindi naman napupuno ang mga ospital. Ngunit kung hindi tayo maingat, mapupunta na naman tayo doon," he added.(But we will not do that until it is very clear that it is really safe. Because so far the trend is good, the hospitals are not full. But if we are not careful, we will end up there again.)Marcos wants local government units (LGUs) to conduct a large-scale immunization drive for booster shots targeting school children so they can safely go back to school either in August or September.He said the conduct of full face-to-face classes is an indication that the Philippines is opening up for business.At the same time, the government may consider relaxing the alert level and making masking optional."At pagka maging matagumpay ang ating booster rollout ay makikita naman natin siguro puwede na nating ibaba ang mga alert level, puwede na nating gawing optional ang mask," said Marcos.(And when our booster rollout is successful, we will see that maybe we can lower the alert levels, we can make the mask optional.)On Wednesday, Marcos also met with health officials and gave out instructions for robust booster vaccination.As of July 10, over 71 million individuals in the country have been fully vaccinated but only about 15.2 million have received booster doses.Experts had repeatedly noted the importance of Covid-19 booster doses due to the waning protection of the primary doses. (SunStar Philippines)

Gatchalian seeks inquiry on K to 12 Program implementation, effectiveness

Posted: 09 Jul 2022 10:44 PM PDT

SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian is seeking the conduct of inquiry on the implementation of the K to 12 Program in the country amid issues on its effectiveness on learners and skills mismatch, especially among senior high school graduates.Gatchalian, who will remain as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture in the 19th Congress, which will open on July 25, said the implementation of the K to 12 Program must be sustained to fully attain its benefits."Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate of the Philippines, to direct the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the status of the implementation of the K to 12 Law for the purpose of crafting policy recommendations and initiating complementary and amendatory legislation to further strengthen the law and ensure its effective and efficient integration into the Philippine basic education system to provide quality education and achieve global competitiveness," the resolution read.Gatchalian cited reports that learners are still lagging in terms of actual learning.He said that the National Achievement Test for School Year 2017 to 2018 displayed a low proficiency in key subject areas, noting that students from Grades 6 to 10 gained low scores, lower than 50 points out of 100 item examinations.Gatchalian said it was also observed among Grade 12 students following the Basic Education Exit Assessment conducted by the Department of Education during the same school year.He said that based on the Program for International Student Assessment, the country's average in Mathematics, Science and Reading proficiency were all below the average among all the participating countries.The senator also cited the "learning poverty" in the Philippines following the assessment conducted by the World Bank.The World Bank said that the country's learning poverty grew to 90.5 percent in 2019. It said this indicates that nine in every 10 Filipino learners cannot read and understand simple stories.The senator also cited the observation of experts who flagged that the K to 12 curriculum is too overcrowded and needs decongesting. Because learners are required to learn too many competencies, this affects their ability to master basic competencies.Gatchalian said part of the inquiry is the effectiveness of the use of Mother Tongue-Base Multilingual Education, the skills mismatch among senior high school students despite that one of the selling points of the educational program is to increase the employability of the graduates."It is equally important to address the skills mismatch challenge because for countries, it can increase unemployment, and affect competitiveness and attractiveness to investors, which means lost opportunities on the pathway to productive transformation and job creation," Gatchalian said in his resolution.Gatchalian also eyes to refine the K to 3 curriculum to make it more focused on literacy and numeracy, especially amid learning loss due to the closure of schools due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. (SunStar Philippines)
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