cooperatives and associations (FCAs) as well as local government units (LGUs) on Tuesday, July

PBBM mulls pursuing G2G fertilizer deals

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday expressed his willingness to pursue government-togovernment (G2G) talks to address the increasing prices of fertilizers. presyo. That’s the whole point of G2G,” he told agriculture officials during a meeting at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Convention Hall in Quezon City. The President asked agriculture officials to provide data on the source of and price of fertilizers, as well as the on the department’s distribution plan during the planting season.

Marcos, who concurrently heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), said the government could avail of cheaper fertilizers through the G2G deals.

“Gusto tayong tulungan, gusto tayong lapitan, eh ‘di take advantage naman tayo, ‘di ba. Sige bigyan niyo kami ng fertilizer na medyo maganda-ganda ang The Chief Executive is looking into communicating with China, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Russia for the country’s procurement of fertilizers.

“I’m thinking would it be useful for us if sulatan ko silang lahat… and I’ll say that we are in the market to buy this volume of fertilizer,” he said. The chief executive decided to temporarily head DA, citing the need to urgently address the looming food crisis. Marcos said the most pressing issues that need to be addressed in the agricultural sector include increasing rice production and reorganizing the DA and its attached agencies. PND

PBBM retains Covid Alert Level System for time being; eyes new health restrictions classification

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday agreed to retain the COVID-19 Alert Level System for time being even as he seeks to reclassify restrictions that are compatible with the current milder strains that afflict the patients.

This developed as health authorities said that they could come up with new alert level classification by mid-August. Marcos said that the alert level could be adjusted or improved if people get their booster shots. “To avoid confusion, we will retain the alert level system for now. We are however thinking, we are studying very closely, and we’ll come to a decision very soon as to decoupling the restrictions from the alert levels,” Marcos said during a meeting with Department of Health Officer-In-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Vergeire said the DOH could come up with new classifications by the second week of August. At the same time, she said midAugust is a suitable period to loosen up to allay fears of the medical community and give them time to make COVID-19 cases more manageable.

The health official said the country is currently experiencing an uptick in COVID-19 cases because of the highly contagious Omicron BA.5 variant.

Based on current projections, more relaxed compliance to minimum public health standards (MPHS) would result in a higher number of COVID-19 cases, Vergeire said, noting, however, that it is preventable.

With the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, the virus’ immune-escaping mechanism also increased. Experts project that if eligible individuals do not take the jabs, the country will witness increased hospitalizations by September, according to Vergeire.

“So that’s why we really wanted to capture all of this eligible population bago dumating ‘yung time na projection na sinasabing September,” she said.

The DOH is also reconstituting the member agencies of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to only those with relevant and intended functions.

Pending the reconstitution, Vergeire said they will streamline IATF meetings and processes with clear directives to assist in safe reopening and will be utilizing the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) platform. The platform will replace the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) to integrate it with the regular processes. This will allow the IATF health expert groups to continue their work as they serve as the voice of science in the country. (PND)

PBBM wants farm-to-market road masterplan to promote food security

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wants the Department of Agriculture (DA) to come up with a farm-tomarket road (FMR) masterplan that will serve as a guide for the government in its bid to promote food security and empower rural communities.

In a meeting at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Convention Hall in Quezon City on Monday, Marcos, who concurrently heads the DA, told agriculture officials that the masterplan should include regional maps detailing the exact locations of the farm-to-market roads to be constructed.

The masterplan must be studied thoroughly by the department and must be presented to the country’s economic managers, stressed Marcos.

“Kung sabihin nila saan ba ang areas na talagang kailangan nating buksan? We will go to Public Works. And also, what are the areas that we really want to open, that really need the FMR? Iyon ang unahin natin,” he said.

The plan should also include funding source, payment terms, as well as the time frame for project completion, he added.

The President also wants official development assistancefunded (ODA) projects to be constructed in priority areas identified by the government. For state-funded FMR projects, he insisted that the DA and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) should take charge of the implementation. The President also pointed out that the government must prioritize areas with active agricultural production to address supply chain concerns.

“FMR is the first step to solve some of the supply chain problem. So unahin muna natin ‘yung nagpo-produce,” he said. be climate-change resistant such as projects that are not prone to landslides and other calamities. The chief executive added that the process of streamlining the functions of DA continues, as part of efforts to bring a tighter focus on its mandate.

“Siguro naman you have been hearing the new term now is ‘rightsize’. So that’s also something that we are going to have to discuss. That we have to rightsize the DA,” Marcos told officials.

Marcos earlier cited the need to rightsize government functions and streamline the bureaucracy to promote efficiency in public sector management.

“I have asked all of the department secretaries to do the same thing for their departments. So seeing as I am now holding the portfolio of Secretary of Agriculture, we also have to do it in our department,” he added. (PND)

Over 1.1M Pinoys receive 2nd booster shot vs. Covid-19

More than 1.1 million healthcare workers, senior citizens, immunocompromised and persons with comorbidities have received their second booster of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine. Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Wednesday about 71.4 million Filipinos are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as of July 19. Of the tally, more than 9.6 million are adolescents and 3.9 million are children.

About 15.7 million have received their first booster shot.

“Sa darating po na July 26, kasama po ang ating Pangulong Marcos, atin pong opisyal na ilulunsad ang PinasLakas katuwang ang ating LGUs [local government units] at ibang stakeholders (On July 26, together with our President Marcos, we will officially launch PinasLakas with the help of our LGUs and other stakeholders),” Vergeire said in a media briefing.

She noted the DOH aims to vaccinate 90 percent of the target elderly population and to boost 50 percent of the target population during the first 100 days of the Marcos administration.

She added the DOH will make vaccines more accessible and available in markets, places of worship, malls, transport terminals, offices, factories, plazas or schools. As for the senior citizens who are unable to drop by the vaccination sites, the DOH will conduct home

(PNA file photo by Avito Dalan) visits for their vaccination and booster shots.

To date, the country and all its regions remain under the low risk classification for Covid-19 despite the continued increase in Covid-19 cases.

Vergeire noted the National Capital Region showed the steepest increase with 900 new cases per day.

Meantime, a continued slow trend of case increase is observed in Mindanao. (PNA/ Ma. Teresa Montemayor)

Rising positivity rate, daily cases ‘no cause for alarm’: OCTA

The increase in positivity rate or the number of people who test positive for Covid-19 in select areas nationwide is not a cause for alarm, the OCTA Research Group said Tuesday. In a televised public briefing, OCTA Research Group fellow Dr. Guido David said the National Capital Region, Region 4-A (Calabarzon), Central Luzon and the Visayas have recorded increases in positivity rate and coronavirus cases.

In the past five consecutive days, the country has logged more than 2,000 new cases per day.

David said that such figures are high but they “are not cause for alarm”.

“Although, mayroon na rin sa Pangasinan and sa La Union na nakikita natin na pagtaas ng cases at ng positivity rate; ganoon din sa Cagayan at sa Isabela. At iyon nga, nabanggit ko nga sa Western Visayas mostly sa Iloilo area. Sa Central Luzon naman naka-center iyon sa (there is also positivity rate increase in Pangasinan and La Union, also in Cagayan and Isabela. And like what I said in Western Visayas, mostly in Iloilo area. In Central Luzon, it’s centered in) Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, then, most of Calabarzon, except maybe Quezon,” he said. “Kung ikukumpara natin noong January, umabot tayo ng almost 40,000 cases in one day at last year noong Delta surge, umabot tayo ng (If we’ll compare last January, we reached almost 40,000 cases in one day last year during the Delta surge, we reached) more than 20,000 cases in a day,” he added.

If the cases or risks are high, the health care utilization rate is monitored and at this point, Guido said the HCUR remains low.

Earlier, the group noted that bed occupancy in NCR hospitals is at 30.7 percent -- lower than the 50 percent threshold for healthcare utilization.

When asked about the possibility of the cases already peaking in the NCR, David said it could already be starting as the region’s positivity rate has gone down to 12 percent (July 17) from 14 percent (July 15) which is the highest it has recorded recently.

(PNA photo by Gil Calinga)

“Ang ibig sabihin nito kung magtuluy-tuloy ‘to, baka pababa na iyong trend natin sa Metro Manila. Hindi pa sa buong bansa necessarily kasi may mga ibang regions pa na nagsisimula pa lang tumaas iyong bilang ng kaso, especially sa ibang bahagi ng Visayas at Mindanao at doon din sa mga mas malayong lugar sa Luzon (This means, if this continues, the case trend in NCR could be going down, but not necessarily nationwide because there are regions which are just starting to have increase in cases especially in the Visayas and Mindanao and far-flung areas in Luzon),” he said.

To keep the Covid-19 numbers low nationwide, David said Filipinos must continue to observe the minimum public health standards, get vaccinated and boosted, and undergo self-isolation when having symptoms to help prevent transmission of the virus. (PNA/ Ma. Teresa Montemayor)

PBBM meets with DOH execs on Covid-19 response

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (File photo)

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday met with officials of the Department of Health (DOH) at Malacañan Palace to discuss the government’s Covid-19 response and possible changes in alert level classifications. a recommendation to implement a new alert level system.

Currently, more than half of the Philippines, including Metro Manila, will stay under the most lenient Alert Level 1, pending the review of the alert level classifications. Other officials present were DOH Assistant Secretary Charade Mercado-Grande of the DOH – Health Regulation Team and Bureau of Epidemiology Director Alethea de Guzman.

This, after the Marcos administration decided to retain the existing Covid-19 alert levels until the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) makes In a Facebook post, Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) said Marcos met with DOH Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire “on matters concerning the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19).”

Presidential Management Staff Secretary Maria Zenaida Angping was also present during the meeting.

No other information was given as of posting time. The Philippines logged

File photo

a total of 14,640 new Covid-19 infections from July 11 to July 17, 2022, around 44 percent higher than the cases reported the previous week, according to the DOH.

This translated to 2,091 daily average cases from July 11 to 17 from 1,467 from July 4 to July 10. To date, 71,322,848 individuals or 91.32 percent of the government’s target population are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Meanwhile, individuals who had booster doses stand at 15,592,533.

Marcos, who recently recovered from his second bout with Covid-19, earlier urged the public to get their booster shots to further enhance or restore protection that might have decreased over time after their first and second Covid-19 jabs.

On Monday, Department of National Defense (DND) Officer in Charge, Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. also presided over the first organizational briefing of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF Covid-19) at the Office of Civil Defense headquarters.

“We cannot tell the virus to stop, so we should also not stop in anticipating what we can do to mitigate an increase in Covid-19 infections,” Faustino, who chairs the NTF Covid-19, told officials and representatives of various government agencies who attended the meeting that aimed to discuss the projected rise in the number of Covid-19 cases.

During the meeting, the DOH presented data on the current uptrend in the number of cases, especially in the use of health care facilities and intensive care units across the country.

The DOH, one of the agencies under the NTF Covid-19, is finalizing a surge plan, which will be disseminated to all hospitals to prepare them for a possible spike. Faustino also relayed to the members of the task force a directive from the President to intensify the distribution and administration of vaccines and booster shots nationwide.

He cautioned the public against becoming complacent during this pandemic and reiterated the importance of strictly complying with minimum safety and health protocols. (with Priam Nepomuceno/PNA/ Azer Parrocha)

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