PHILIPPINES ASKS US FOR AT LEAST 3M DOSES FROM VACCINE SURPLUS

MANILA — The Philippines has requested at least three million doses of the United States’ excess coronavirus vaccines, the official in charge of the government’s vaccine strategy said Wednesday.

The US earlier pledged to ship some 80 million vaccine doses overseas by the end of June. The shipments will include 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and at least an additional 20 million doses of shots authorized for use in US.

“We requested for almost three million AstraZeneca and other vaccines considering that we know AstraZeneca will not be used in the US but they have stocks,” vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Romualdez earlier said the Philippines will be among the nations that will receive America’s surplus doses.

Galvez also said the Philippines will be one of the priority countries to be given excess shots.

“We’re hopeful that in that 80 million, we would have a big share there because the US knows we really need the [vaccines],” he said.

“If we’re given three to five million doses, that would be good already,” the vaccine czar added.

As of May 30, 1.2 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, still far from the government’s initial goal of vaccinating 70 million this year to achieve herd immunity. Meanwhile, 3.9 million have received one of the two doses.

WHO APPROVES CHINA'S SINOVAC COVID-19 JAB

GENEVA, Switzerland — The World Health Organization on Tuesday approved the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use—the second Chinese jab to receive the WHO's green light.

The UN health agency signed off on the Beijing-based firm Sinovac's two-dose vaccine CoronaVac, which is already being deployed in several countries around the world.

"I'm happy to announce that the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine has been given WHO emergency use listing after being found to be safe, effective, and quality-assured," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.

"The easy storage requirements of CoronaVac make it very suitable for low-resource settings," he added.

"It's now crucial to get these life-saving tools to the people that need them quickly."

The WHO said the emergency use listing (EUL) gives countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities assurance that the vaccine has met international standards.

"WHO recommends the vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks," the agency said in a statement.

"Vaccine efficacy results showed that the vaccine prevented symptomatic disease in 51% of those vaccinated and prevented severe COVID-19 and hospitalization in 100% of the studied population."

PRO RATA JAB DISTRIBUTION IN PROVINCES ORDERED

MANILA — President Duterte has ordered vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to implement a proportional distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in areas outside Metro Manila as some provinces grapple with rising cases of infections.

“I am directing Secretary Galvez to make a distribution, like pro rata,” the President said in a pre-recorded public address last Monday.

“Let us divide the vaccines among ourselves since the bulk of the people of the NCR (National Capital Region) already have vaccines. When more vaccines arrive, you divide it among the local government units. I hope it will be done as soon as possible,” he added.

Duterte said among the areas that should receive jabs are Iloilo, Zamboanga, Cagayan and Butuan. While the Philippines does not have ample vaccine supply, the jabs “are coming in bulk now,” the President added.

The Philippines has so far secured a total inventory of 8.3 million doses of COVID-19 jabs, still equivalent to a small percentage of the Philippines’ population of more than 100 million. About 5.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed so far.

COURT JUNKS CYBERLIBEL CHARGE VS RESSA AFTER KENG SOUGHT CASE DISMISSAL

MANILA — A Makati court has dismissed the cyberlibel charge against Rappler CEO Maria Ressa after businessman Wilfredo Keng, private complainant, moved for the dismissal of the case.

In a one-page order on Tuesday, the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148 granted the Manifestation with Motion filed by private prosecutors of Keng, under the supervision of Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Victor Aguba, praying for the dismissal of the civil and criminal aspect of the case.

“Accordingly, as prayed for, this case is hereby dismissed with prejudice,” Presiding Judge Andres Bartolome Soriano ordered.

The court also directed the release of the P24,000 bail Ressa posted for the case.

In the Manifestation with Motion Keng filed through his private prosecutors, he told the court he would redirect his focus on helping out in the pandemic instead of pursuing the prosecution of the case.

“As such, the private complainant respectfully informs this Honorable Court that there is no longer any need for him to testify in the above entitled case, nor present any other witness on his behalf,” he told the court.

Lawyer Theodore Te, representing Ressa, did not raise any objection to Keng’s manifestation.

DUTERTE TO DOH: REVIEW CEBU PROTOCOLS FOR OFWS

MANILA — President Duterte wants the Department of Health (DOH) to assess the quarantine protocols being implemented by the Cebu provincial government for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and returning Filipinos.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the President discussed the matter with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia during a meeting on Monday night after Malacañang ordered the diversion of Cebu-bound international flights to Manila from May 29 to June 5.

Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino, Department of Health-Central Visayas spokesperson and chief pathologist Mary Jean Loreche and Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer for the Visayas Mel Feliciano also attended the meeting, which lasted for more than two hours.

He said the President acknowledged that the quarantine protocols being implemented in Cebu was for humanitarian reasons as many OFWs wanted to be immediately reunited with their families.

However, Roque stressed the need to follow the protocols issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

PHILIPPINE ECONOMY CAN REOPEN WITH 50 PERCENT OF POPULATION VACCINATED: GALVEZ

MANILA - Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez on Wednesday said it is still possible to vaccinate 70 percent of the Philippines' population by the end of the year, but that the economy can reopen with at least half of the population getting the COVID-19 shot.

He said the experience of countries like Israel, the United States, and United Kingdom showed that COVID-19 cases, hospitalization, and deaths decreased when 30 percent of the population received the vaccine, and the numbers declined further when they reached 50 percent.

"Nakikita natin yung threshold na pag nakuha natin yung 30 percent, maganda na, we can open up some restrictions. And then at 50 percent, nakikita natin na we can open up fully yung economy natin," he told ANC's Headstart.

"But still, ang target pa rin namin—kasi we have the numbers—kaya pa ring 70 percent ng ating population by the end of the year," he said.He said in Metro Manila, 70 percent can be inoculated if 120,000 jabs are done per day. This means each of the 1,200 vaccination sites must perform at least 100 injections daily. He said the capital region was able to "breach" this target as some sites were able to do up to 500 injections.

PACQUIAO SEEKS AUDIENCE WITH DUTERTE AFTER PDP-LABAN COUNCIL MEETING

MANILA - Senator Manny Pacquiao has asked President Rodrigo Duterte for a meeting following what his camp claims was an invalid PDP-Laban council assembly last Monday, an official of the Philippines' largest political party said Wednesday.

Pacquiao, the party president, will remain in PDP-Laban "until the end," said its executive director Ron Munsayac.

The senator's camp is questioning the council meeting as only the party chairman and party president can convene one, Munsayac said.

"To remedy this we actually are requesting a meeting with our party chairman so that both the top leaders of our party can sit down, fix agenda and then we can properly call and convene the real and legal national council," he told ANC's Headstart.

"Kausap ko po si Senator Manny last night at wala po talaga siyang intensyon to leave the party."

Duterte has yet to respond to the senator's request as of Wednesday morning, Munsayac added.

'SURVEY' ON SARA DUTERTE 2022 BID SEEKING MILLIONS OF SIGNATURES: TOWN MAYOR

MANILA - A town mayor confirmed Wednesday that volunteers are conducting surveys in Bulacan to gather millions of signatures backing Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's potential presidential bid in the 2022 elections.

"I think they're really testing the pulse of the nation because I was told that the required signature is about 17 million. I think we have 15 and they are asking for more. This group of volunteers is actually going around Bulacan and asking the barangay captains if they can help... It's purely out of the spirit of volunteerism," Guiguinto, Bulacan Mayor Ambrosio Cruz Jr. confirmed in an interview on ANC's The Rundown.

Cruz denied that village officials were given orders to conduct a signature campaign to determine if there was enough voter support for Sara's possible candidacy by next year.

8 IN 10 FILIPINOS INTERESTED IN DIGITAL BANKING: VISA STUDY

MANILA - Majority of Filipinos are interested in using digital banking services due to convenience, security and time saved in completing transactions online, a new Visa study released Tuesday showed.

Eight out of 10 surveyed Filipinos want to try digital banking services, Visa's Consumer Payment Attitude study showed.

Access to banking services any time of the day, time saved from not having to queue at branches and convenience were among the "top interest drivers" in digital banking, Visa said in a statement.

“As more digital-based solutions and trends emerge in the market, Filipinos are more open to new innovations that make payments and banking more convenient, accessible and seamless," said Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam Dan Wolbert.

However, only 32 percent of respondents are currently using services offered by a digital bank, according to the online survey conducted from August to September 2020 with 1,014 Filipino respondents.

Preference for investments (52 percent), international transfers (48 percent) and loans (46 percent) are lower, the study showed.

Out of the total respondents, 85 percent said they would switch to digital banking if they would benefit from the lower costs, Visa said.

Almost 8 in 10 respondents also expressed "high awareness and interest" in biometric authenticated payments, especially Gen Z and the affluent segment, Visa said.

Several local and international financial organizations have started offering digital banking services in the Philippines.

Demand for online financial services surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as Filipinos sought ways to complete transactions without leaving their homes.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has also officially recognized "digital bank" as a new bank category, in line with its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap.

JBC ACCEPTS APPLICATIONS FOR SC POST

MANILA — The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is now accepting applicants to replace Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Edgardo delos Santos, who chose optional retirement on June 30.

The JBC announced it would accept applications or recommendations until July 16.

“Interested applicants must visit the official JBC website (jbc.judiciary.gov.ph) and access the Online Application Scheduler between 8 a.m. and midnight not later than July 16,” said SC Clerk of Court and JBC ex-officio secretary Marife Lomibao-Cuevas.

The 68-year-old Delos Santos was supposed to retire at the mandatory age of 70 on June 12 next year.

The SC earlier granted Delos Santos’ request to go on optional retirement because of health reasons.

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ECC PENSIONERS TO RECEIVE P20 K STARTING THIS MONTH

MANILA — Starting this month, pensioners of the Employees Compensation Commission (ECC) will start getting the one-time P20,000 financial grant.

“The P20,000 financial assistance from the ECC for private sector EC pensioners will be credited to their accounts starting this month of June,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced yesterday.

The one-time financial assistance will be released in batches to about 32,000 EC pensioners by the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

ECC executive director Stella Banawis said qualified EC pensioners need not apply for the financial assistance as it will be processed in the same manner as the processing of their EC pensions.

According to Banawis, EC pensioners in the private sector with at least one month of permanent partial disability, permanent total disability or survivorship pension from Jan. 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021 will benefit from the one-time financial assistance.

GOVERNMENT PROBES OVERPRICED COVID-19 DRUGS

MANILA — The government is looking into numerous complaints of overpricing of several investigational drugs currently being used against COVID-19, an official said yesterday.

Dr. Melissa Guerrero, program manager of the Health Regulation Team of the Department of Health, said the DOH has referred 50 complaints of overpricing of COVID investigational drugs to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for proper investigation and appropriate sanction.

“Right now most of the issues or complaints that we receive are on COVID-19 investigational drugs. We have forwarded several complaints to the DTI on the pricing of remdisivir,” Guerrero said during a virtual briefing.

She noted that the price of P30,000 for a vial of remdesivir is not reasonable when the product can be sourced from India for as low as P1,000 to P3,000.

There are about five suppliers of remdisivir in the country and Guerrero said most of them import the drug from India.

DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said the investigation is ongoing to determine if some drug suppliers are violating the DOH-suggested retail price (SRP) for COVID investigational drugs.

MORE BROWNOUTS AHEAD: LUZON GRID ON RED ALERT STARTING 9 A.M.

CHARGE YOUR BATTERIES: Expect more brownouts ahead as the Luzon grid is placed on red alert status from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said.

Operating Requirement: 11,976MW

Available Capacity: 11,260MW

Operating Margin Deficiency: - 716

NGCP head for external affairs Cynthia Alabanza earlier warned of more power interruptions in Luzon due to a lack of supply amid persistent hot weather.

"The problem right now is there's not enough power in the national grid so we have no choice but to raise a red alert, which in turn leads to the possibility of power interruption in various parts of Luzon," she told ABS-CBN News.

The Department of Energy on Monday said that besides the high heat index that pushed demand for power, maintenance work and unscheduled outages at key power plants in Luzon and low gas pressure from the Malampaya also contributed to power supply problems.

ISKO OKs FACE-TO-FACE CLASSES IN 4 MEDICAL SCHOOLS

MANILA — Manila Mayor Isko Moreno yesterday allowed four more universities to resume limited face-to-face classes for medical and health-related programs.

Moreno approved the requests during a meeting at city hall with representatives of the University of the Philippines Manila, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Phinma St. Jude College and National University.

The schools submitted to the city government their respective plans in holding face-to-face classes in accordance with the guidelines of the Commission on Higher Education and Department of Health.

“I trust that they will follow the COVID-19 protocols,” Moreno said.

He encouraged the school officials, employees and students to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Moreno also assured the schools’ representatives that the city health department is ready to assist them in case they report people getting infected with the virus.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

TRAILER: ERICH GONZALES GETS RUTHLESS IN ‘LA VIDA LENA’

MANILA — Driven by revenge, Erich Gonzales’ character in “La Vida Lena” goes to great lengths, even sacrificing her relationships, to ruin the lives of those who wronged her.

In the full trailer of the ABS-CBN series released on Tuesday, Lena’s (Gonzales) vengeful transformation is traced back to her tragic experiences as Magda, in the hands of the Narciso family.

That arc of the story was shown in the first season of “La Vida Lena,” which premiered on iWant TFC in November and spanned 10 episodes that were released every Saturday.

As Magda, she was ridiculed and bullied for her scarred face, was deceived by the Narcisos to steal her soap formula, lost her grandfather, and was put behind bars.

The new season will kick off with Magda’s return as the soap maven Lena, bent on bringing “karma” to those responsible for her grievous past.

“La Vida Lena’s” continuation is scheduled to premiere on June 28, with the additional broadcast venues Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z Channel 11, TV5, and TFC, according to producer Dreamscape Entertainment.

TV5 has been airing numerous ABS-CBN programs under a blocktime partnership, starting with “ASAP Natin ‘To” in January, and then the Kapamilya network’s entire primetime programming, led by “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” in March.

The time slot of “La Vida Lena” for its TV broadcast has yet to be announced.

Directed by Jerry Sineneng, Jojo Saguin, and Andoy Ranay, “La Vida Lena” also stars Carlo Aquino, JC de Vera, Kit Thompson, Sofia Andres, Janice de Belen, and Agot Isidro.

SPORTS

NBA SCORES MAY 31

FINAL

1          2          3          4          T

1 76ers3-1        31        30        19        34        114

8 Wizards1-3    28        32        32        30        122

GAME 4: PHI LEADS 3-1, CAPITAL ONE ARENA, WASHINGTON, DC

SCORING LEADERS

T. Harris PHI

21 PTS 13 REB 5 AST

B. Beal WAS

27 PTS 4 REB 4 AST

FINAL

1          2          3          4          T

1 Jazz3-1          34        25        41        20        120

9 Grizzlies1-3    31        23        33        26        113

GAME 4: UTA LEADS 3-1, FEDEXFORUM, MEMPHIS, TN

SCORING LEADERS

D. Mitchell UTA

30 PTS 2 REB 8 AST

J. Morant MEM

23 PTS 6 REB 12 AST

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 47.76

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Prices are important not because money is considered paramount but because prices are a fast and effective conveyor of information through a vast society in which fragmented knowledge must be coordinated. - Thomas Sowell