PHILIPPINES EYES VACCINATING 15 MILLION PEOPLE VS COVID-19 IN 3-DAY DRIVE
Government aims to vaccinate some 15 million Filipinos in a nationwide 3-day COVID-19 vaccination program around the end of November, an official leading the effort said.
The "Bayanihan, Bakunahan" program targeted on Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 will tap up to 5,000 inoculation sites, including government buildings, schools, arenas, and private facilities like malls and fast food restaurants, said vaccine “czar” Carlito Galvez Jr.
“Magkakaroon tayo ng bayanihan. It will involve all societies and all government agencies... Ang objective po nito is to mobilize all stakeholders, people, and logistics to facilitate the vaccination… of at least 15 million individuals in 3 days,” he said in taped meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte that aired on Wednesday.
“Ito rin po ang isang daan na matulungan din po natin iyong areas na medyo mahina po sa vaccination because of some challenges and logistical limitations,” added Galvez, chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19.
Galvez said government “will sustain the effort up to Dec. 31.” He noted authorities must vaccinate around 1.5 million people daily to reach its overall target of immunizing up to 70 million people before the year ends.
The Philippines has so far fully vaccinated about 29.8 million of its 109 million population.
PHILIPPINES WINNING COVID-19 BATTLE – DUTERTE
MANILA — As the country’s pandemic numbers improve, President Duterte yesterday claimed the Philippines is winning the battle against COVID-19 but reminded the public to cooperate in efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
In remarks welcoming the arrival of 2,805,000 doses of Russia-made Sputnik V vaccines in Pasay City, Duterte urged Filipinos to “cooperate and do their part to help overcome this pandemic.”
“The government cannot do this alone and we need your active participation by getting vaccinated and strictly following the minimum health standards,” the President said.
“Let us celebrate all our meaningful victories against COVID-19 pandemic. We are winning our battle against the virus. Let us continue to be safe and in good health,” he added.
Duterte assured Filipinos that his administration is committed to secure safe and effective COVID-19 jabs.
“I acknowledge the strong efforts of the Department of Health, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the National Task Force against COVID-19 and other institutional partners for ensuring a steady supply of vaccines in this country,” Duterte said.
“Amidst the threat of variants, you attended to the prompt, safe and effective delivery, distribution and administration of the vaccines across the country. Let us work together to put an end to this disease and its harmful effects to our people and economy for nearly two years now,” he added.
'I THINK IT'S LEGAL': DUTERTE SAYS EMPLOYERS CAN REFUSE TO HIRE UNVACCINATED WORKERS
MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his belief that there is nothing illegal about companies refusing to hire unvaccinated job applicants.
According to Duterte, it would be illegal to fire unvaccinated workers, but it is not illegal to turn down unvaccinated job applicants.
"Kung nandiyan ka na sa trabaho mo at ayaw mo magpabakuna, well that is too bad for the employer but sabi ng mga labor lawyer, strongly say, hindi pwede yan na paalisin mo kung ayaw magpabakuna. That could be a violation of the law, I agree with it," he said in a recorded speech aired late Tuesday.
"'Yung papasok kayo, na you seek employment, and one of the reasons that would be asked of you by the prospective employer would be kung bakunado ka. Na kung sabihin mo, hindi, whatever reason 'yung ibigay mo sa kanya, ang importante lang naman sa kanya, bakunado ka o hindi, kung hindi ka bakunado, hindi ka tanggapin sa trabaho," Duterte added.
"I think that is legal. You have the right to refuse, not to accept as an employee somebody who is not vaccinated, and would go and join the rest of the employees in the factory, or in whatever workplace you have," he also said.
For Duterte, turning down unvaccinated job applicants is just a way for the employers to protect their business and their current employees.
"It could mean loss, o stoppage of whatever kung lahat nagkasakit na (if everyone gets sick). In this case, you are protecting your property, your investments," he said.
"And second, you are protecting your employees because you can be contaminated again. That's the problem with COVID. Sana kung ibang sakit, pagka tinamaan ka (If it was any other illness that when you get sick), you get the immune system in your body. Itong COVID, you can get contaminated again and again and again," Duterte also said.
DUTERTE URGES COMELEC: GIVE 'SPACE' FOR 2022 BETS' IN-PERSON CAMPAIGN
MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday urged the Commission on Elections to give "space" for 2022 election contenders to hold in-person campaigns even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some candidates "cannot afford the expense of the TV exposures" to reach voters, noted Duterte.
"‘Yan ang problema ng Comelec... kung papayagan nila tayong mag-assemble because you cannot campaign by just shouting at one corner. You have to have a place where maybe they would limit the attendants or the number of people," he said in taped national address.
"But you must give, I’d like to remind the Comelec that you must give the candidates really the space and the—whatever modalities there. Because there can never be an election without a campaign," added the President.
The Comelec earlier said that it was not inclined to ban face-to-face campaigns, but would release a list of guidelines to ensure that sorties would not become super-spreader events.
NTF-ELCAC TO SUFFER P24 BILLION BUDGET CUT NEXT YEAR: ANGARA
MANILA - The government's anti-communist task force will suffer a P24 billion budget cut next year following its failure to fully report how it spent P16 billion supposedly to help local villages this year, Senate finance committee chair Sen. Sonny Angara disclosed Tuesday.
Hours before his sponsorship speech for the proposed P5 trillion national budget for 2022 at the plenary, Angara said that the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflicts' (NTF-ELCAC) proposed budget for 2022 as stated in the General Appropriations Bill was set at P30.45 billion.
Of that, P28.1 billion will go to the Local Government Support Fund – Support to the Barangay Development Fund (LGSF-SBDP).
Angara said P24 billion will be slashed from the LGSF-SBDP allocation.
"We cannot make a judgment really if the program has been a success or not, because we have received very little information,” he said in a virtual conference.
The slashed amount will instead be given to the health sector, particularly on the government’s vaccination and booster procurement program that needs P60-61 billion.
Besides NTF-ELCAC, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works and Highways also suffered budget cuts.
Angara said the President can veto their applied budget reductions, but that would result to the NTF-ELCAC receiving zero budget.
The President has the option to realign Special Funds or Discretionary Funds to augment the NTF-ELCAC’s budget if he wants to, he noted.
Duterte last month defended the allocation of funds for the NTF-ELCAC, which has been criticized for supposedly red tagging female celebrities, some lawmakers, and Senate workers, among others.
The Procurement Service - Department of Budget and Management meantime will be given until Dec. 31, 2023 to disperse all the “parked funds” given by various government agencies. Any remaining budget afterwards will be returned to the National Treasury that would result in reduced budget for the concerned agencies, Angara said.
DUTERTE: PHARMALLY EXECS WITH UNPAID TAXES 'CAN ALL GO TO PRISON'
MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday executives of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., which bagged billions of pesos in government contracts last year, should go behind bars if they failed to pay taxes.
A Senate probe into government's pandemic transactions has revealed that some key Pharmally officers' income tax returns were not filed, unreadable, or even incomplete.
"Iyang mga Pharmally diyan na hindi nagbayad, dapat talaga pabayarin 'yan... For all we care, those persons there na hindi nagbayad na tax evasion, they can all go to prison. Problema nila 'yan," Duterte said in taped meeting with officials.
The investigation follows the state auditor's flagging of P67 billion in "deficiencies" in how supply contracts were handled. The funds were allocated to cover benefits of health workers and medical supplies.
Duterte last month ordered Cabinet members to refrain from appearing in Senate hearings. His government has denied misuse of the funds.
The President said he objected to his aides' attendance in the ongoing probe because of how they were treated by senators.
"Sana inuna nila ang mga tao na may trabaho sa gobyerno, those who are working in government and who had critical tasks to do. Eh ang problema nga 'yung tawagin tapos paupuin mo. Napakawala naman ng respeto itong mga tao na ito," he said in Tuesday's speech.
"Wala tayong pakialam sa iba. Iyong sabi nilang Pharmally hindi bumabayad, ay ikulong ninyo ‘yan. Gusto niyo patayin pa ninyo. Wala, wala kaming pakialam. ‘Pag hindi nagbayad ng taxes, kriminal ‘yan," he added.
ROQUE INCLUSION IN INTERNATIONAL LAW BODY WOULD BE 'INAPPROPRIATE, UNACCEPTABLE' — LAWYERS' GROUP
MANILA — Lawyers who have raised human rights issues as issues of international law have joined growing opposition to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque's nomination to the International Law Commission.
Twenty-four members of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers wrote to member-states of the United Nations to say that Roque's nomination to the ILC is "inappropriate and unacceptable."
They said that the "IADL opposes the nomination to the ILC of representatives of governments violating international law, notably the Charter of the United Nations and or the Charter of Human Rights."
The IADL is a worldwide body of lawyers from over 90 countries and has contributed to the development of international law, they said in their letter-statement.
On its website, IADL says its members "have participated in the struggles that have made the violation of human rights of groups and individuals and threats to international peace and security, legal issues under international law."
IADL members "throughout the globe have protested racism, colonialism, and economic and political injustice wherever they interfere with legal and human rights, often at the cost of these jurists personal safety and economic well being," it also said.
DEFENSE OF 'WAR ON DRUGS', VILIFICATION OF OPPOSITION
In opposing Roque’s bid to join the ILC, the lawyers noted Roque’s defense of President Rodrigo Duterte and the bloody "war on drugs."
They also noted that the former human rights lawyer “vilified and casted aspersions on his own colleagues in the legal profession, his peers in his very own alma mater, and other Filipino and solidarity groups in the Philippines and in New York who have interposed bona fide objections to his nomination and candidacy.”
"To allow Mr. Roque to be elected to the Commission, therefore, is incompatible with its mandate, may contaminate its reputation and prestige and might unduly compromise its credibility," the lawyers also said.
"At its core, his election will be adding insult to the irreparable injury to the victims of continuing human rights violations in the Philippines."
ROBREDO WANTS NTF-ELCAC ABOLISHED
MANILA — Vice President Leni Robredo, who is running for president in the 2022 elections, said Tuesday she wants President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial anti-communist task force to be abolished.
“There is really a duplication of many efforts, the duplication of the mandate. And it has to be abolished,” Robredo said, referring to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict which Duterte created in 2017.
She said she fears that the NTF-ELFAC will be used to launch a campaign similar to that of Oplan Tokhang, the government’s anti-drug program which led to the killings of thousands of drug suspects.
“My biggest fear here is that this will become Tokhang again. Magiging Tokhang Version 2 in the sense that the mandate given to the body will be abused, will be used to harass people,” Robredo said partly in Filipino.
The vice president said there must be a rejection of the militarist approach to ending armed conflict and a shift towards more holistic ways to address its roots.
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30 PRIVATE SCHOOLS ARE CANDIDATES FOR PILOT IN-PERSON CLASSES — DEPED
MANILA — The Department of Education said Tuesday some 30 private schools have been nominated to possibly join the resumption of limited face-to-face classes this month.
DepEd had secured President Rodrigo Duterte's approval for a pilot run on in-person classes, more than a year since schools were shut due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The agency has completed its list of 100 public schools that would participate in the return to classrooms on November 15.
But Education Asisstant Secretary Malcolm Garma said DepEd would still have to trim the 30 nominated private schools, as only 20 are allowed so far.
"As permitted, we will be releasing the decision on which [private] schools will participate in the pilot implementaetion that will start on November 22," he added.
Private institutions in 11 regions could be tapped for this.
The initial list, however, does not include any school from the National Capital Region.
SARA DUTERTE ‘MOVING TOWARDS PRESIDENCY,’ ALLY SAYS
MANILA — A close ally of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said Wednesday that she is “moving towards the presidency” after she withdrew her bid for reelection.
“She’s running for president. All this political gyration just shows that she’s moving towards the presidency,” Rep. Joey Salceda (Albay) told ANC’s “Headstart” Wednesday morning.
Salceda said it is “most likely” that Duterte-Carpio, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte who chairs the ruling PDP-Laban, will join and eventually run under the banner of Lakas-CMD which is headed by House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez (Leyte).
The Albay lawmaker also dismissed rumors that Duterte-Carpio will run as Sen. Bongbong Marcos’ vice president, as a run for the second highest position in the country is supposedly off the table for the Davao City mayor.
Duterte-Carpio withdrew Tuesday her candidacy for Davao City mayor, fuelling speculation that she will run for a national post, despite saying earlier that she is not interested in doing so, especially not under her father’s PDP-Laban.
Despite potentially reversing her stand on mounting a campaign for a national post, Salceda insisted that Duterte-Carpio has never changed her mind about running for president.
“She wanted to be president since May,” Salceda said. “There were just stumbling blocks towards it.”
Among these stumbling blocks were “complications” within PDP-Laban, which Salceda said were triggered by President Rodrigo Duterte.
HOSPITALS GIVE PHILHEALTH UNTIL END OF MONTH TO PAY
MANILA — Private hospitals have given the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) until the end of this month to make “significant” payment of their reimbursement claims amounting to some P20 billion.
“PhilHealth had promised that before the end of November, they will release a substantial amount to hospitals,” said Jose Rene de Grano, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPi).
“They said they would pay the good claims. They promised to find ways to pay us. We are looking forward to that,” De Grano told The STAR.
He said they had a meeting with PhilHealth last Monday to discuss the unpaid claims of hospitals, primarily for the services they rendered to COVID patients in 2020 and other concerns.
This came after De Grano announced that many private hospitals were keen on “disengaging” from PhilHealth by not renewing their accreditations next year.
De Grano said they would consider the reimbursements as “significant” if the state insurer could pay at last 70 percent of their claims.
“We’ll wait for end of November. The position of the hospitals is that if they can give us substantial amount, then we will talk again,” he said.
ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE
KRIS AQUINO-MEL SARMIENTO WEDDING WILL BE ‘TINY, SUPER PRIVATE’
MANILA — Kris Aquino and Mel Sarmiento’s wedding is planned to be an intimate affair, according to the actress and TV host.
Aquino spoke candidly on the topic, when an Instagram follower commented about anticipating her “grandest wedding entrance.”
Aquino, however, replied that there would be no such thing, given what she and Sarmiento have in mind for their wedding ceremony.
“I don’t mean to be a spoiler nor disappoint you, but our wedding is going to be TINY and super private,” she wrote.
“Totally not what you’re expecting,” Aquino added.
The couple first made public their relationship in August, followed by Aquino’s announcement of their engagement on October 24.
Sarmiento served as interior secretary during the presidency of Aquino’s late brother, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
SPORTS
NBA SCORES NOV 8
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Knicks7-4 28 30 14 31 103
76ers8-3 21 23 25 27 96
WELLS FARGO CENTER, PHILADELPHIA, PA
SCORING LEADERS
J. Randle NY
31 PTS 12 REB 3 AST
F. Korkmaz PHI
19 PTS 3 REB 2 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Nets7-4 27 30 21 17 95
Bulls7-3 35 16 25 42 118
UNITED CENTER, CHICAGO, IL
SCORING LEADERS
K. Durant BKN
38 PTS 10 REB 4 AST
D. DeRozan CHI
28 PTS 4 REB 3 AST
FINAL/OT
1 2 3 4 OT T
Timberwolves3-6 34 20 38 21 5 118
Grizzlies6-4 34 24 23 32 12 125
FEDEXFORUM, MEMPHIS, TN
SCORING LEADERS
D. Russell MIN
30 PTS 5 REB 7 AST
J. Morant MEM
33 PTS 6 REB 8 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Pelicans1-10 27 20 22 23 92
Mavericks7-3 22 29 27 30 108
AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER, DALLAS, TX
SCORING LEADERS
J. Hart NO
22 PTS 6 REB 5 AST
L. Doncic DAL
25 PTS 5 REB 5 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Heat7-3 25 24 21 26 96
Nuggets6-4 30 34 27 22 113
BALL ARENA, DENVER, CO
SCORING LEADERS
J. Butler MIA
31 PTS 5 REB 8 AST
N. Jokic DEN
25 PTS 15 REB 10 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Hawks4-7 34 31 20 28 113
Warriors9-1 32 29 41 25 127
CHASE CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA
SCORING LEADERS
T. Young ATL
28 PTS 3 REB 9 AST
S. Curry GS
50 PTS 7 REB 10 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Suns6-3 34 33 31 11 109
Kings5-6 28 36 12 28 104
GOLDEN 1 CENTER, SACRAMENTO, CA
SCORING LEADERS
C. Payne PHO
24 PTS 4 REB 3 AST
H. Barnes SAC
26 PTS 6 REB 2 AST
FINAL/OT
1 2 3 4 OT T
Hornets5-7 26 34 27 28 8 123
Lakers6-5 29 32 33 21 11 126
STAPLES CENTER, LOS ANGELES, CA
SCORING LEADERS
T. Rozier CHA
29 PTS 2 REB 3 AST
A. Davis LAL
32 PTS 12 REB 4 AST
INDICATORS
FOREX $1 = P 50.09
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
People would rather be wrong than be different. - Henry Jacobsen
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