BulletLine Issue #23
Media workers also in vaccine priority list
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar stressed the need for media workers to be prioritized in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine once it is available. “Frontliners ‘yan. Kahit anong mangyari, ang media ay araw-araw nand’yan nagbabalita, at kailangan ng kababayan natin na mayroong nagsasalita na nagsasabi sa kanila kung ano’ng gagawin [They are frontliners. No matter what happens, the media is always there reporting the news every day, and the people need the media to tell them what to do],” he said. As previously announced, the first batch of vaccines is expected to arrive in the Philippines in the third or fourth week of February. The government will prioritize the medical and government frontliners, poor families, and the vulnerable sectors for the vaccine.
Pres. Duterte: Minors too risky to go out
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday, 25 January 2021, recalled a government decision last week allowing minors to go out in modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) areas, citing dangers posed by a new COVID-19 variant already detected in the country. “So balik ho kayo sa bahay muna and besides ‘yung 10 years old to 14... Itong medyo matanda na mahirap itong i-manage but itong
10, 11, 12 puwede na ‘yan sila sa TV. They can glue their attention sa TV the whole day,” President Duterte said during his weekly public address Monday
night. “Pasensiya na po kayo. Mine is just a precaution. Wala itong bisa… Takot lang ako kasi itong bagong strain strikes the young children,” he added.
for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and the DOH Omnibus Guidelines on Prevention,
Detection, Isolation, Treatment and Reintegration Strategies for COVID-19.
New testing and quarantine protocols The IATF said effective February 1, 2021, all persons who shall be allowed entry to the Philippines regardless of their origin, shall be required to undergo facility-based quarantine upon arrival and undergo RT-PCR test on the 1 PIA Bulletin Online
fifth day from their date of arrival in the country, unless the passenger shows symptoms at an earlier date while on quarantine. Once a passenger tested negative, the passenger shall be endorsed to the LGU of destination
where the passenger shall continue the remainder of the 14-day quarantine under the strict monitoring of the LGU. Appropriate patient management shall be observed as outlined in the guidelines of the Philippine Society
PRC to roll out nationwide saliva test by Feb. 1 Senator Richard J. Gordon, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross, disclosed that they are targeting a nationwide roll out by February 1 of the saliva RTPCR test that the Department of Health gave the green light to last week. Following the DOH’s approval of the use of saliva as an alternative specimen to the nasopharyngeal swab for RT-PCR testing in PRC’s
Editorial Director Benjamin Felipe Editor-In-Chief Marie Angelie Villapando Associate Editor Jake Coballes Staff Writers IDPD Art Department CPSD headed by Bradley de Leon Layout Artist Gabriel Villanueva Production/ Aggregation DDCU with Team Leader Kate Shiene Agna
laboratories, the PRC officially launched the new system last Monday, 25 January 2021. “Our goal is to go nationwide by
Feb. 1. Today, we opened our machines in Manila and Mandaluyong for saliva test,” the PRC chief said. “You cannot do
proteksyon ka din ng hugas kamay at distancing because even if you get the vaccine, you could away with testing. still be a carrier. Pangalagaan natin Kahit na meron ang mga sarili ka ng vaccine, kailangang magte- natin para hindi test ka. Kailangan tayo makakasakit may proteksyon ka ng ating mga pa ding face mask, mahal sa buhay,” he stressed. kailangan may
Go: Unity against terrorism Senator Christopher “Bong” Go called on Filipinos to unite against terrorism in remembrance of the 44 Special Action Force members of the Philippine National Police who paid the ultimate price for peace and security in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25, 2015. “Huwag nating kalimutan ang serbisyo na ginawa ng
apatnapu’t-apat na miyembro ng SAF. Hindi matutumbasan ang sakripisyo na kanilang ginawa para lang manatiling ligtas ang ating mga mamamayan at gawing mapayapa ang ating lipunan. Hindi rin natin mababayaran kailanman ang sakit na nararamdaman ng mga pamilya na kanilang naiwan,” Sen. Go said. President
Rodrigo Duterte in Proclamation No. 167, signed February 2017, declared January 25 of every year
a “Day of National Remembrance” of the Fallen 44 who will henceforth serve as a “constant reminder
of the continuing sacrifices being made by our valiant uniformed men and women in the line of duty”. PIA Bulletin Online 2
Zero Hunger Task Force leads private sector strat plan session
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, head of the government’s Zero Hunger Task Force, led the strategic planning session with private sector stakeholders and organizers of Pilipinas Kontra Gutom (PKG) to concretize linkages and programs aimed at addressing hunger and malnutrition among Filipino children. The session was attended by reps of Task
Force member agencies and non-government program partners. Different “work streams” were formed last
week, with the planning ending on Wednesay, January 27, 2021. “Our session and breakout groups were
very productive. Working closely with our partners, we were able to agree on specific goals and set up concrete
roadmaps which we will implement this year as part of Pilipinas Kontra Gutom,” the Malacañang official said.
DepEd: no massive dropout Photo from PNA
3 PIA Bulletin Online
The Department of Education (DepEd) denies misleading claims on the dropout rate in basic education for School Year 2020-2021. Learners did not drop out from school according to DepEd but they either shifted from one mode of learning to another or migrated from one geographical location to another. Further, the slow return of students to schools after holiday season and school vacations is typically observed annually, DepEd said. DepEd assured that they are also continuously implementing academic ease measures to help families, learners, and teachers who are still adjusting to the distance learning set-up,as well as extend expanded their respective mental health and socioemotional well-being support programs.
Limited face-to-face PNR welcomes classes for medical, new fleet allied health programs By Melinda T. Quiñones - PIA/IDPD
By Josephine L. Babaran - PIA/IDPD
Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque Jr confirmed the resumption of limited face-toface classes for medical and allied health programs in higher educational institutions under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) areas.
“This is for medical schools, and medical and allied health programs in higher educational institutions (HEI) in MGCQ and for HEI in GCQ with base hospitals that
cater to COVID-19 patients,” Roque said. He added that face-to-face classes for doctors and other allied professionals are necessary to keep their numbers sufficient.
ISDApp for fisherfolks weather forecasts and sea conditions to provide the ISDApp, a onefisherfolk community of-a-kind community with important safety app that pulls information sent together scientific as SMS messages data on local through the local By Melva C. Gayta PIA/IDPD
government was recently launched by Team iNON (It’s Now or Never). ISDApp was developed by Team iNON during the 2018 NASA Space Apps Challenge, and was the Philippines’ first-ever NASA Space Apps global champion entry, beating out 1,395 entries worldwide to win the Galactic Impact category. “The NASA Space Apps Challenge helped us in the ideation of ISDApp, where there’s a collaboration between idea, data, and technology,”
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Philippine National Railways (PNR) inaugurated the newest Diesel Hydraulic Locomotives (DHLs) and Passenger Coaches, with a maximum design speed of 120 kph and maximum passenger capacity of 1,330. It has been 50 years since PNR acquired mainline locomotives and the first time after more than 40 years that the PNR Metro Commuter Rail Line will be served by a new fleet said PNR General Manager Junn Magno. The passenger coaches consist a 5-car formation, with the middle coach having a conductor’s room that controls the door operation, CCTV monitoring, switch for lightings, public announcement system. It is also equipped with 36000 kcal/hour air conditioning unit in each coach that is suitable to the temperature for tropical countries like the Philippines. The new trains have 2 driver cabin at both ends, equipped with 7000kcal/h cooling capacity at each cabin. It features an interior access to the engine room, the first of its kind for the PNR fleet.
Test run of PNR’s newest Diesel Hydraulic Locomotives (DHLs) and Passenger Coaches held at the PNR Dela Rosa Station to Tutuban Station (Photo from DOTRPhilippines)
ISDApp Solutions Designer JC Torreda explained. The launch was co-sponsored by Globe Telecom, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Region
IV-A, the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), and the Sariaya Municipal Agriculture Office in Quezon and the US Embassy in the Philippines. PIA Bulletin Online 4
DA and state schools partnership for food security Under the partnership agreement, DA will The Department provide funding of Agriculture (DA) support to SUCs for forged partnerships data and information with 32 state gathering on universities and the following: colleges (SUCs) for Focus areas and research and data conduct review gathering that will and validation of generate updated Registry System field-level data and for Basic Sectors in information, as well Agriculture (RSBSA) as create regional and other farmers database on and fishermen’s agricultural and rural databases; Impact development. assessment of DA’s
By Marie Angelie Villapando - PIA/DDCU
program on target communities and beneficiaries; Analysis of technology utilization by farmer and fishermen in every region; and Survey on current sources of funding for the production of activities of farmers and fishermen. The UP-NCPAG will lead the development of sampling design, research protocol,
Road clearing Ops deadline – Feb 15.
and data collection instrument which will be used by other academe in conducting the research study. Each SUC will
receive P1.5-million funding support, while UP-NCPAG will receive P3 million from DA’s Bayanihan II allocation.
One-stop-shop online business registration
By Josephine L. Babaran - PIA/IDPD
Local government units have until February 15 for their road clearing operations to give them enough time to prepare for their local vaccination plans against COVID-19, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said. For LGUs under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with a required partial implementation of road clearing, Validation Teams (VTs) will select three to 10 local roads within the LGU and assess whether road 5 PIA Bulletin Online
By Melinda T. Quiñones - PIA/IDPD
obstructions exist along or within the entirety of the selected roads. LGUs under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) will be validated according to their full implementation of road clearing operations which means the removal of road obstructions, enactment of an enabling ordinance, conduct of an inventory of road
obstructions, crafting and implementation of a displacement plan, rehabilitation of cleared roads, creation of a grievance mechanism, and compliance with the ban on tricycles along national roads. The DILG’s validation of LGUs’ compliance has also been moved from January 18 to February 16, to March 2, 2021.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) launched the Central Business Portal (CBP), an online one-stop shop for registering businesses in a faster and more convenient way. Business applicants can now log on to https://business.gov.ph to apply for the necessary permits and licenses from national government agencies online, saving time and effort. The CBP allows business registrants to apply for the necessary permits and licenses from national government agencies online, saving time and effort. On the part of the government, the online applications will make it easier to monitor and regulate the business registration traffic, making processing more efficient. “This program will promote great transparency and efficiency in the registration of businesses in the country… for a more productive and empowered citizenry,” President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said in his message.
BSP guidelines on virtual asset service providers
By Marites B. Paneda - PIA/IDPD
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) through its Monetary Board (MB) approved the guidelines on virtual asset service providers (VASP), or entities that facilitate financial services through the conduct of virtual asset (VA) activities to cover new business models and activities. This amended the regulations on virtual currency exchange (VCE) issued in 2017. The MB-approved framework expanded the activities that are subject to the licensing regime of the BSP from initially covering only those involved in facilitating the exchange of fiat and virtual assets. In particular, activities that shall be subject to the BSP’s licensing requirements are regulatory expectations for money service business (MSB) as well as anti-money laundering (AML), and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT). Also included is proliferation financing (PF) obligations such as exchange between one or more forms of VAs, transfer of VAs, and safekeeping and/ or administration of VAs or instruments enabling control over VAs. This new framework also emphasized that all transactions involving the transfer of VAs shall be treated as a cross-border wire transfer, and that VASP’s are expected to comply with corresponding BSP rules governing wire transfer.
Phase 2 of MR-OPV SIA starts on Feb 1
By Josephine L. Babaran - PIA/IDPD
The Department of Health in partnership with local government units and other partners, are set to conduct the phase 2 of the vaccination campaign for Measles Rubella and Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity (MR-OPV SIA) from February 1 to 28 in
Visayas Regions, National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon and CALABARZON. The Phase 2 MROPV SIA aims to vaccinate 5.1 million
of 9-59 months old children for the Measles Rubella (MR) vaccine and 4.8 million children of 0-59 months old for Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).
FDA grants EUA to AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Director General Eric Domingo said. FDA said that the adverse effects seen for this vaccine are mild, similar to getting any flu injection. In the EUA, FDA said that the vaccine regimen consists of 2 equally standard doses of 0.5 ml each given 4-12 weeks apart. Domingo also explained that a person, who get a least dose of the vaccine will get 70
percent chance of preventing possible COVID-19 infection, as well as almost 100 percent preventing severe symptoms in case they are reinfected. Domingo added that while the vaccine was only 70 percent effective in preventing COVID-19, those who took part in the initial trial had only mild to moderate
symptoms of the disease. “Yung data naman ng AstraZeneca shows that it is very good in preventing severe COVID-19. Halos 100% din. Kaya lang siyempre, medyo maliit pa ang datos nila at magupdate pa yan as we get more data on the people included in the clinical trial,” he said. PIA Bulletin Online 6