-
55,000 applied as contact tracers, says DILG
By John Clifford Lintao OVER 55,000 individuals, mostly displaced workers, have applied as government contact tracers, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government. At the Senate budget hearing, DILG Undersecretary Bernardo Florece said that the number of applicants for contact tracer positions plummeted to 55,213, exceeding its target of 50,000. “We have already…
-
DOJ resolution on Jolo carnage out this month
By John Clifford Lintao THE Department of Justice has said that it is expected to release this month the resolution over the criminal complaints on the police shooting of four military men in Jolo last July. Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon said that the case will be submitted for resolution this month “barring any…
-
Bataenos: Plan to revive Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is ‘dead’
By Mar T. Supnad MARIVELES, Bataan – The plan of the Department of Energy to revive the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is definitely “dead” because local leaders and the Bataeńos are, since from the start, strongly opposing it. This latest development came after Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque quoted President Rodrigo Duterte as having instructed…
-
No funds for vaccination centers
By Fernan Angeles WHOEVER drafted, deliberated and submitted the 2020 proposed national budget must have forgotten one of the most essential service aspects in the government’s COVID-19 action plan. One of the President’s priority plans embarking on establishing vaccination centers at the police stations nationwide, does not have any allocation under the proposed 2021 national…
-
PHL short of 40,000 hospital beds for COVID-19 patients
By Fernan Angeles HOW do we solve the highly infectious COVID-19 scare if we can’t even provide separate beds for every infected patient? At the Laging Handa press briefing, Secretary Carlito Galvez, the chief implementer of the government’s COVID-19 response, cited the need for funds to address shortage of 40,000 hospital beds to provide medical…
-
PhilHealth boss opposes privatization of state insurer
By Fernan Angeles Philippine Health Insurance Corporation President and chief executive officer Dante Gierran, who had just been on board the embattled state insurer for weeks, doesn’t seem amenable to the idea of privatizing the graft-tainted agency. According to Gierran, privatizing PhilHealth might give an impression that government officials cannot be trusted in managing the…
-
Metro mayors hint at NCR shift to MGCQ in November
By Fernan Angeles METRO Manila mayors appear confident that they would be able to institute local protocols in November, when contamination in the National Capital Region would have been flattened. Metro Manila Council chairperson Edwin Olivares said that only then would Metro Manila be able to shift to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the least…
-
Sandigan rules to keep Enrile’s aide in jail
By Fernan Angeles NOT even humanitarian grounds amid the pandemic compelled the Sandiganbayan to consider issuance of provisional release to Jessica “Gigi” Reyes who is facing a P172-million plunder case in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam. In a 50-page ruling dated September 29, the anti-graft court ruled that Reyes failed to present evidence…
-
Yolanda victims’ housing units ready before 2022 elections
By Fernan Angeles A TOP government official hinted at the completion of some 26,000 housing units for families displaced by typhoon Yolanda seven years ago, before the 2022 elections. In a hearing called for by the Commission on Appointments, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario admitted that thousands of housing…
-
Frontliners don’t need travel pass, says official
By Fernan Angeles PROVINCE-BASED medical frontliners and employees of industries cleared to operate during the community quarantine are not required to get a travel pass to board Metro Manila-bound passenger buses. Task Force Covid Shield commander Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar made the clarification amid reports that all passengers boarding buses heading to Metro Manila…