PH TO RECEIVE AT LEAST 5.6-M DOSES OF PFIZER, ASTRAZENECA COVID-19 VACCINES

MANILA - The Philippines will be receiving at least 5.6 million doses of

COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility, the country's "vaccine czar" said

Sunday.

National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr.

said the vaccines, produced by Pfizer and AstraZeneca, are expected to

arrive in the country within the first quarter of the year.

"Today, we received a letter from Aurélia Nguyen, managing director of the

World Health Organization-led COVAX facility, officially informing the

Philippine government that the country stands to receive a total of

9,407,400 doses from the two pharmaceutical makers within the projected

first and second quarters of this year," Galvez said in a statement.

The Philippines will be receiving 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech

vaccine, and between 5,500,800 to 9,290,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines

from the WHO-led COVAX Facility.

"I would like to emphasize that according to COVAX the number of doses and

the projected arrival of the vaccines are all indicative since it all

depends on the global supply," Galvez said.

With these current developments, Galvez urged the public to "set their fears

aside" and accept the vaccines once available.

"This positive news is a testament that under the COVAX facility, it ensures

equitable distributions of vaccines throughout the globe, which bodes well

with the Duterte’s administration principle of “Walang maiiwan, walang

iwanan” (No one will be left behind)," Galvez said.

COVID-19 VACCINES WON'T HELP REOPEN WORLD RIGHT NOW, SAYS WHO

MANILA - The public is urged to continue following minimum health standards

as vaccination against COVID-19 may take several years, the World Health

Organization said Monday.

It is necessary to sustain performing hand hygiene, observing physical

distancing, and wearing of face masks as these have been proven to be

effective not just against the coronavirus but also in suppressing its new

variants, said Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Representative to the

Philippines.

"The vaccines are not going to help open the world right now. We will still

need to follow all the behaviors we've been following over the last 1 year

because the transmission is going to continue and we’re not going to be able

to vaccinate everybody probably for another 2 years or more," he told ANC's

Headstart.

"In that, we’re talking about nobody is absolutely safe until the whole

world is safe."

MYANMAR'S AUNG SAN SUU KYI, OTHER SENIOR FIGURES DETAINED IN LATE-NIGHT RAID

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling

party have been detained in an early morning raid, the spokesman for the

governing National League for Democracy said on Monday.

The move came after days of escalating tension between the civilian

government and the powerful military that stirred fears of a coup in the

aftermath of an election the army says was fraudulent.

Spokesman Myo Nyunt told Reuters by phone that Suu Kyi, President Win Myint

and other leaders had been "taken" in the early hours of the morning.

Phone lines to Naypyitaw, the capital, were not reachable in the early hours

of Monday. Parliament had been due to start sitting there on Monday after a

November election the NLD had won in a landslide.

US SENATOR IN KEY POST VOWS CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR DE LIMA

MANILA — A United States senator who was previously barred from entering the

Philippines for taking steps in support of detained Senator Leila de Lima is

now occupying key positions in the US Senate and has vowed continued support

for the detained Philippine lawmaker.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin is now the Senate Majority Whip, the third-highest

ranking member of the majority party in the US Senate.

He will also head the powerful Senate Judiciary committee.

Responding to De Lima’s January 26 tweet congratulating him, Durbin on

Saturday thanked De Lima while assuring her of his continued support.

“And as the four year anniversary of your unjust & politically-motivated

arrest approaches, I want to assure you that I will never stop supporting

your fight for human rights in the Philippines,” he said in a tweet.

Durbin is among several US senators who have called for De Lima’s release.

He, along with fellow-US Senator Patrick Leahy, were responsible for

including a provision in the Senate appropriations commitee report, which

accompanied the 2020 US budget bill, directing the US Secretary of State to

apply the law banning human rights violators from entering American soil to

those behind De Lima’s “wrongful imprisonment.”

That law, called the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act,

authorizes the US government to sanction those whom it sees as human rights

offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the US.

Durbin was also among 5 US senators who worked on the passage of a Senate

resolution in January 2020 condemning De Lima’s continued detention, calling

for her release and urging then-President Donald Trump to impose Magnitsky

sanctions on De Lima’s jailers.

The same resolution also called for dropping of charges against Manila-based

journalist and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.

Malacañang, in response, banned both Senators Durbin and Leahy from entering

the Philippines, denouncing the US lawmakers’ “intervention” in domestic

affairs.

ESPERON HITS REDS; CEAP DENIES NPA LINK

MANILA — National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon has slammed the

Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) for allegedly peddling lies over

the controversial P16.4-billion Barangay Development Program (BDP).

The CPP and its armed unit New People’s Army have been propagating

falsehoods against the BDP through their chief information officer

Marco Valbuena, Esperon said.

The BDP is one of the administration’s programs undertaken by the National

Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Valbuena alleged that the BDP is being run by the military-dominated

NTF-ELCAC and is taking over functions of civilian agencies.

“For the CPP to publish this erroneous report by Mr. Valbuena on the

Barangay Development Program is an evidence of their increasing desperation.

True to the communist playbook of agit prop, the CPP-NPA intentionally sows

intrigue, conflict and division to advance their goals,” Esperon said in a

statement over the weekend.

PAL SETS NEW TESTING, QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS

MANILA — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said new protocols would be

implemented on testing and quarantine for arriving passengers starting

today.

In line with the latest resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the

Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), PAL will be requiring

passengers arriving in the country to undergo reverse

transcription-polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR testing on their sixth day

of quarantine at a facility or hotel accredited by tourism and health

agencies of the government.

The requirements will be strictly implemented upon arrival in any

international airport in the country, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said.

AIRLINES AT NAIA TRY TO AVERT BANKRUPTCY

MANILA — Most airlines operating at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport

(NAIA) will go bankrupt due to the COVID-19 pandemic unless the government

and the industry make some coordinated steps to avert it, a report from the

aviation industry revealed.

It noted that many airlines have been driven into technical bankruptcy or

have substantially breached debt covenants.

A source who requested anonymity said some carriers are already at the stage

where cash reserves are depleted quickly as their planes either continue to

be grounded or are flying more than half empty.

Before the pandemic, for instance, Philippine Airlines (PAL) flew around 290

to 300 flights per day including those of their hubs at the Clark and

Cebu-Mactan international airports.

Now, the company flies only 90 flights per day and carrying only 40 to 60

passengers in an aircraft that could load up to 300 and 400 passengers,

respectively.

COMELEC OPENS POLL RECORDS TO PUBLIC SCRUTINY

MANILA — Poll-related records are now open to public scrutiny as the

Commission on Elections (Comelec) adopted the Freedom of Information (FOI)

policy.

In a resolution, the Comelec adopted the FOI policy as ordered by President

Duterte in 2016.

“The adoption of this Freedom of Information Manual with reference to

Executive Order No. 2, Series of 2016 is purely a policy decision on the

part of the Commission, voluntarily imposing upon itself the tenets of FOI

in pursuance of its mandate as the vanguard of democracy and guardian of the

people’s voice,” it said.

“The Comelec has always maintained the principle of transparency,

accountability and full disclosure of its affairs pursuant to Sec. 7,

Article III of the Constitution,” the resolution added.

As a result, all Filipinos now have access to information, official records,

public records, and documents and papers pertaining to official acts,

transactions or decisions, as well as to government research data used as

the basis for policy development.

Likewise, statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) of poll

officials and employees are also available for scrutiny, as provided by

existing laws.

However, information covered by executive privilege, related to national

security and law enforcement, deemed confidential for the protection of the

privacy of persons, prejudicial premature disclosure, and matters considered

confidential under banking laws, among others, are excluded from the FOI

policy.

To access information from the Comelec, individuals need to submit a written

request stating the purpose of requiring the specific information.

If a requesting party is unable to make a written request due to illiteracy

or a disability, an oral request can be made and the receiving officer shall

reduce it into writing.

Applicable fees based on the requested information as well as its

reproduction cost will be charged to the requesting party.

Comelec shall respond to the request within 15 working days following the

date of receipt.

A denied request may be appealed to a designated FOI appeals panel.

MAGALONG’S RESIGNATION IRREVOCABLE

BAGUIO CITY — Mayor Benjamin Magalong said over the weekend that his

resignation as the country’s contact tracing czar is irrevocable.

Standing firm on his decision to resign from the Inter-Agency Task Force for

the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), Magalong said: “One

of the highlights of public service is good governance. We should look at a

ranking official as the lead implementer of what’s right.”

Although not specifically indicated in his resignation letter to the IATF,

through Secretary Carlito Galvez, the mayor said his decision to resign is

final in view of the birthday bash controversy at The Manor in Camp John

Hay.

Magalong and his wife were among dozens of guests at the birthday party of

socialite Tim Yap, which was criticized for violating health protocols such

as social distancing and the wearing of face masks.

“Mukhang may kakulangan ako (Apparently, there’s indiscretion on my part),

so it’s all about accountability,” Magalong said in the aftermath of the

incident.

THE REST

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MORE THAN 2,000 NEW COVID-19 CASES CONFIRMED, TALLY NOW AT 525,618

MANILA - The Philippines confirmed 2,103 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday

bringing the country’s total to 525,618.

This was the second straight day that the country reported more than 2,000

new confirmed cases.

The Department of Health also reported 11,653 new recoveries pushing the

total number of Filipinos who recovered from the disease to 487,551.

This was also highest number of recoveries reported in a day since November

1, 2020.

This meant that the country has a total of 27,318 active cases as of 4 p.m.

Sunday.

Eighty more deaths were reported from the illness, bringing COVID-19’s death

toll in the Philippines to 10,749.

MAKATI FIRMS' EMPLOYEES INCLUDED IN FREE VACCINATION PROGRAM: MAYOR

MANILA - Makati's COVID-19 vaccination program will include employees of all

registered businesses in the city regardless of their residence, Mayor Abby

Binay said Sunday.

The city's population of 500,000 balloons to nearly 5 million when workers

troop to their offices in the country's financial district, according to the

mayor.

Companies must have a 2021 business permit and must be up-to-date with their

tax payments, including those paying in installments, to get free vaccine,

Binay said.

Firms that have purchased vaccines for their employees will no longer be

included, she added.

"Getting vaccinated is our best hope of fighting the coronavirus. It is a

chance to regain mobility, and jumpstart the economy. We do not have to live

in fear of infecting our families and loved ones each time we come home from

work,” she said in a statement.

“We will use the number of employees declared by the businesses in their

business permit applications as basis for the number of employees who will

be vaccinated for free. This is our way of helping our economic

frontliners."

Makati has allotted P1 billion for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines and has

so far secured 1 million doses of AstraZeneca's product.

The first batch of the COVID-19 vaccines will arrive in February and will

immediately be administered to the city’s frontliners while the rest of the

inoculation will arrive by the third quarter, Binay said.

GROUPS OPPOSE 'DESTRUCTIVE' OFFSHORE MINING PROJECT IN CAGAYAN

MANILA — The large-scale offshore magnetite mining in Cagayan province could

harm marine life and ecosystems in the area and affect fisherfolks' access

to their fishing grounds, organizations opposing the project said.

In a letter sent to Department of Environment and Natural Resources

officials, Cagayan provincial government officials, and lawmakers, 74 groups

said the activity is “destructive and has irreversible negative impact” to

marine ecosystems.

The groups stressed the project will potentially impact the ecosystems in

the Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seacape, including 50 hectares of

corals and seagrass beds that are important habitats for the critically

endangered dugong.

They also said the activity also poses hazards to marine mammals since the

proposed site is the only known breeding area for humpback whales in the

Philippines. The area is also part of the Babuyan Marine Corridor, a key

biodiversity area and a priority conservation site.

“Noise, oil and water pollution that would emanate from the mining

activities would affect the marine mammals in the area and their habitat,

directly or indirectly, causing them to be disturbed or injured and might

even lead to their death,” the groups said in a position paper.

ACCEPT PNP FINDINGS, DACERA FAMILY TOLD

MANILA — The family of flight attendant Christine Dacera should accept the

findings of the Philippine National Police (PNP) that she died of natural

causes, President Duterte’s chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo said on

Friday.

According to Panelo, the family should stop insisting that Dacera was a

“victim of a crime” after the PNP validated the initial findings that she

died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

“It was good that she died of natural causes. Why do you insist that there

was a crime? Now that it’s very obvious, let’s not insist unless you have

other agenda,” Panelo said in his television program.

“If that’s what the PNP forensic experts said, let us respect it. If we are

wrong in our accusations, let us withdraw. Many people from both sides have

been hurt,” Panelo added.

He said it is wrong to punish someone if no crime was committed.

BAGUIO CHILLS AT 9.4 ºC

MANILA — Residents of Baguio City woke up to a chilly morning yesterday as

the temperature dropped to 9.4 degrees Celsius, the coldest recorded so far

in the city since the start of the northeast monsoon season in October.

The coldest weather was registered at around 6 a.m., according to the

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration

(PAGASA).

The temperature drop, accordingly, is one among the lowest in the city in

three years.

Higher locations in Benguet like Atok town are also recording temperature

drops since the New Year, usually 2 to 3 degrees lower than Baguio City’s

monitoring.

Susan Haight, owner of a popular flower garden cafe in Paoay, Atok, said it

was 6 degrees up there yesterday.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

NADINE LUSTRE AYAW MAGKAANAK SA NGAYON, MAS GUSTONG MAG-AMPON

MAYNILA – Aminado si Nadine Lustre na sa ngayon ay ayaw niyang magkaanak at

sa halip ay mas gugustuhin niyang mag-ampon ng bata.

Sa vlog post ng celebrity cosmetic surgeon na si Aivee Teo, tinanong ng

doktor ang 27 anyos na aktres kung ilang anak ang gusto nito.

Ayon kay Lustre, kung dati ay sinasagot niya na gusto niya ng 2 anak,

nagbago na ito dahil sa mga pangyayari kamakailan.

“Before, every time people would ask me that, I would say 2. But now, I’d

say wala. I don’t want to have kids right now. That’s where my head’s at,”

ani Lustre.

Dagdag ni Lustre, kung mag-aalaga man siya ng bata, mas gugustuhin niyang

mag-ampon.

“I do believe that there are a lot of kids who don’t have parents and who

need to be taken care of. So I feel like if I do want to have a kid, I might

just adopt,” aniya.

Pero nilinaw ni Lustre na sakaling mabuntis man siya, hindi naman siya

hihindi dito.

“If I get pregnant, I’ll go with it. But right now, that’s where my head’s

at - I would rather adopt.”

SPORTS

NBA SCORES JAN 30

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Trail Blazers 10-8    32    32    29    30    123

Bulls 7-11    34    19    33    36    122

SCORING LEADERS

    D. Lillard POR

44 PTS, 5 REB, 9 AST

    L. Markkanen CHI

31 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Kings 8-11    35    24    18    27    104

Heat 7-12    24    33    27    21    105

SCORING LEADERS

    D. Fox SAC

30 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST

    J. Butler MIA

30 PTS, 7 REB, 8 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Rockets 9-9    27    48    24    27    126

Pelicans 7-11    35    22    27    28    112

SCORING LEADERS

    C. Wood HOU

27 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST

    Z. Williamson NO

26 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Bucks 11-8    31    33    30    20    114

Hornets 9-11    39    29    29    29    126

SCORING LEADERS

    G. Antetokounmpo MIL

34 PTS, 18 REB, 9 AST

    L. Ball CHA

27 PTS, 5 REB, 9 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Lakers 15-6    28    24    19    25    96

Celtics 10-8    24    25    29    17    95

SCORING LEADERS

    A. Davis LAL

27 PTS, 14 REB, 2 AST

    J. Tatum BOS

30 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Grizzlies 8-6    35    29    36    29    129

Spurs 11-9    27    29    34    22    112

SCORING LEADERS

    D. Melton MEM

20 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST

    D. White SA

18 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Suns 10-8    29    26    22    34    111

Mavericks 8-12    28    27    27    23    105

SCORING LEADERS

    C. Paul PHO

29 PTS, 3 REB, 12 AST

    L. Doncic DAL

29 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Pistons 5-15    17    28    23    23    91

Warriors 11-9    29    35    30    24    118

SCORING LEADERS

    J. Grant DET

18 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST

    S. Curry GS

28 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. -

C.S. Lewis