124 terrorists killed in 1st half of 2020 — Army
MANILA, July 18 (Mabuhay) — Some 124 terrorists were killed in 279 armed encounters against communist and local terror groups in the first semester of 2020, the Philippine Army (PA) said on Saturday. In a statement, Army commander Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said 95 others were captured while 422 firearms were seized from these operations […]
BI ready to impose IATF rule on entry of foreigners
MANILA, July 17 (Mabuhay) — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Friday said it is ready to implement the new resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) allowing the entry of foreigners with existing visas into the country. “We have yet to see the new IATF resolution but […]
De Lima tells Duterte: ‘Kung pagod ka na, mas pagod kami sa pamumuno mo’
MANILA, July 17 (Mabuhay) — The Filipino people are allegedly getting exasperated over President Rodrigo Duterte’s obliviousness to their needs in the past four years and especially now that there is a pandemic, detained Senator Leila de Lima said Friday as the fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) approaches. “Ginoong Duterte: Kung bukambibig mong […]
US lawmakers urge Philippine gov’t to repeal anti-terror law
MANILA, July 16 (Mabuhay) — At least 45 lawmakers in the US urged the Philippine government to immediately repeal the recently-signed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. In a virtual press conference on Wednesday night (Manila time), Representative Janice Schakowsky of Illinois called the law a new ‘weapon’ to suppress dissent in the Philippines. “We stand together […]
NCR still under GCQ; Cebu City eases to MECQ
MANILA, July 16 (Mabuhay) — After a month of being under the most restrictive enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to a spike in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases, Cebu City has eased to a less restrictive modified ECQ from July 16 to 31. President Rodrigo Duterte decided to downgrade the quarantine classification in Cebu City, Presidential […]
1,392 new cases bring Philippines’ COVID-19 tally to 58,850
MANILA, July 16 (Mabuhay)– The Philippines’ tally of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rose to 58,850 on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 1,392 more infections—512 “fresh” or newly validated and 880 reported late. The five provinces with the highest number of new cases were Metro Manila with 708, Cebu with 198, Iloilo with […]
Hold departure order issued vs crew of MV Vienna Wood — PCG spox
MANILA, July 16 (Mabuhay) — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday said its motion to issue hold departure order against crew members of MV Vienna Wood has been granted, spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo said Wednesday. Balilo confirmed to reporters that the respondents of the criminal complaint for reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide and […]
Duterte ‘unlikely’ to call for special session of Congress to pass Bayanihan 2 — Palace
MANILA, July 16 (Mabuhay) — President Rodrigo Duterte will not likely call for a special session of Congress to pass the bill on the country’s COVID-19 recovery program, Malacañang said Wednesday. Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said the proposed measure will be deliberated after Congress resumes session on July 27. “I don’t think we will be […]
Solon proposes to use ABS-CBN frequencies for distance learning
MANILA, (Mabuhay) — A lawmaker has proposed the temporary use by the government of ABS-CBN’s former television and radio frequencies for effective distance learning. Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte filed on Tuesday House Resolution 1044, a copy of which was sent to the media on Wednesday. Villafuerte said the unused frequencies can be tapped to […]
Duque claims Philippines has flattened COVID-19 curve then takes it back
MANILA, July 16 (Mabuhay) — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Wednesday claimed the Philippines has succeeded in flattening the curve amid the COVID-19 pandemic, only to take it back later and admitted that the number of cases is still rising. Duque made the pronouncements just two days after over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases were […]
COVID-19 testing widened further for economy’s reopening — Vergeire
MANILA, (Mabuhay) — The Department of Health has expanded the testing guidelines for COVID-19, now including teachers, as well as workers in tourism, transportation, manufacturing sectors, among other related industries. In a press conference on Wednesday, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergiere said the new guidelines have been already signed by Secretary Francisco Duque III. “[Na]-expand […]
DepEd says ready for coming school year
MANILA, (Mabuhay) — The Department of Education (DepEd) said Wednesday it was ready to start the coming school year in August, which will see a shift from traditional in-person classes to an unprecedented distance learning scheme. Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the DepEd was ready to start classes based on simulations of distance learning conducted […]
80k COVID-19 cases in Philippines seen by end of July — UP expert
MANILA, (Mabuhay) –Th e total number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines may breach the 80,000 mark by the end of July, according to an expert from the University of the Philippines Institute of Mathematics on Monday. “Tatama talaga ng 70,000 and higit pa. Ang lower estimate natin ngayon nasa 80,000 na eh, sa end […]
Contact tracers must have ‘investigative mindset,’ Magalong says
MANILA, (Mabuhay) — Tracing czar and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Monday said contact tracers needed at this time of COVID-19 pandemic should have an “investigative mindset.” At a press briefing, Magalong said contact tracers, especially those conducting interviews among patients, are composed of medical personnel and police investigators. “Ang isa sa mga qualifications […]
DOH fails to report daily tally of COVID-19 cases on Sunday, cites ‘significant volume of data’
MANILA, July 13 (Mabuhay) — The Department of Health (DOH) announced late Sunday night that it will release the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case updates for July 12 on Monday morning instead, citing a “significant volume of data” that still needs to be processed. In a statement sent to reporters near midnight, hours after the […]
DENR promotes plant-based diet to fight climate change
MANILA, July 13 (Mabuhay) — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Saturday urged Filipinos to help fight climate change by switching to plant-based diet, which has been shown to reduce the ecological footprint of human food consumption. In a press release, the DENR, through its Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), has launched a […]
75% of Filipinos in favor of ABS-CBN franchise renewal — SWS survey
MANILA, July 13 (Mabuhay) — A Social Weather Stations poll found that three out of four Filipinos or 75 percent of those polled were in favor of Congress renewing ABS-CBN’s franchise, and over half of those polled considered a non-renewal a major blow to press freedom. The SWS’ National Mobile Phone Survey, taken from July […]
Move to kill ABS-CBN’s franchise bid damages trust in gov’t- Archbishop Soc Villegas
MANILA, (Mabuhay) — The House franchise committee’s decision to deny ABS-CBN Corp’s bid for a new broadcast license has “damaged people’s trust in the workings of the government,” Lingayen Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said on Saturday. In a statement, the former chief of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that members of […]