BulletLine Issue #27
PRRD signs into law the Corona Virus Vaccination Program Act of 2021 President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed into law the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination Program Act of 2021 at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila on February 26, 2021. The said law would expedite the procurement and administration
of vaccines for the protection against COVID-19. It also covers the creation of an indemnity fund to cover compensation for those who would experience serious adverse effects to the vaccine. The President is accompanied by Senator Christopher Lawrence Go.
Andanar appeals for whole-of-nation approach to defeat infodemic Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar is calling for a collaborative
Gov’t fast tracking COVID-19 vaccines rollout
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go the public that the government is fast tracking the process of acquiring vaccines against COVID-19. “Alam n’yo, halos araw1 PIA Bulletin Online
araw po naming pinaguusapan ni Pangulong Duterte. Halos araw-araw rin naming kinukulit ang ating mga opisyales, Vaccine Czar natin (si Sec. Galvez), Sec. Duque, at lahat ng mga opisyales na bilisan na po ‘yung proseso,” Go shared. “Itong FDA natin naninigurado lang din po sila. Gusto nila ng safety data dahil inuuna natin po ‘yung safety at efficacy nitong vaccine. Pero sa totoo lang po, ako po’y nananawagan na bilisan na po lahat,” he added.
effort on fighting misinformation and disinformation, especially during this time of the pandemic. During his recent visit in Pagadian City, Secretary Andanar met with members of various sectors, appealing for their help in spreading the correct information to their community on the roadmap of the vaccination
program of the government and other initiatives to curb the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that aside from the threats of the pandemic, the battle against infodemic is also evident in communications platforms, particularly on social media, which are being used by detractors.
PRRD, Sen. Go inspect storm-hit areas in Surigao del Sur; assure immediate gov’t response
President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Tuesday, February 23, visited Tandag City in Surigao del Sur after its communities were severely hit by the massive flooding caused by the heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Auring last Sunday. During their visit, initial relief assistances were distributed to affected
Editorial Director Benjamin Felipe Editor-In-Chief Marie Angelie Villapando Associate Editor Melinda T. Quiñones Staff Writers IDPD Art Department CPSD headed by Bradley de Leon Layout Artist Gabriel Villanueva Production/ Aggregation DDCU with Team Leader Kate Shiene Agna
ensure that delivery of public services is unhampered. The Office of Civil communities after immediately follow-up. Defense, as lead they conducted an and holistically Cabinet aerial inspection respond to the Secretaries were of the National Disaster Risk of the region and needs of affected also asked to Reduction and attended a situation communities. He send respective briefing on the also stressed that representatives to Management Council, will aftermath of the he does not want Surigao del Sur consolidate all storm. local government within the week actions to be taken Duterte instructed officials to have to to assess the by government concerned go to Metro Manila total damage of agencies. agencies to to personally do the the typhoon and
Government and private sector join forces to launch national anti-hunger initiative Pilipinas Kontra Gutom
With the support of private sector, nongovernment organizations, and civil society groups, and spearheaded by the government’s Task Force Zero Hunger (TFZH) chaired by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, Pilipinas Kontra Gutom (PKG) is adopting a whole-of-nation approach to achieve its immediate and long-term goals of addressing involuntary hunger and malnutrition in the Philippines––an urgent concern given the millions of families that grapple with hunger in the country. “Hunger is a silent enemy that can no longer be ignored; maraming apektado, at maraming kailangan tulungan. In our campaign against hunger, we should be all in, all out––anyone who can pitch in should help, and those who can help should go all out,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said. In order to promote projects, to raise awareness
regarding hunger, and to invite companies and organizations to join PKG programs, PKG is set to launch a public information campaign, the details of which will be accessible at pilipinaskontragutom. com. PIA Bulletin Online 2
Permanent shelters for Marawi IDPs
Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Chairman Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario witnessed the distribution of permanent house ownership certificates from the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UNHabitat) to 109 IDP-families during
the inauguration of the Marawi Resettlement Site and Permanent Houses (Phase 1) in Barangay West Dulay. Erected on a 100-square-meter lot, each twostory house has a floor area of 42 square meters and is equipped with toilet and bathroom, a
kitchen, basic lighting and outlets as well as a sewage piping system. The subdivision-like resettlement has electric and water supplies. Secretary Del Rosario said the activity, the firstever turnover of permanent housing, symbolizes the government’s full commitment in helping those affected by the siege get back on their feet in partnership with UN-Habitat, along with SHFC and the TFBM, as well as its implementing agencies.
Expanded Subic Freeport Expressway open for motorists Photo from NLEX official website
By Josephine L. Babaran - PIA/IDPD
The newly completed 8.2 km Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX) expansion is now open to motorists. NLEX Corp. embarked on the P1.6billion expansion project to increase the expressway capacity from a single two-way carriageway to a double carriageway with dedicated lanes in each direction. A total of 16.4 new lane kilometers, two new bridges in Jadjad and Argonaut, and a new tunnel were constructed. The new expressway expansion will help spur investments and boost tourism in the Subic Freeport, benefitting thousands of locators and other business owners. It is eyed to complement the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA’s) infrastructure rehabilitation and development program.
DA-PCIC eases conditions for paying ASF-affected insured hog raisers
The Department Insurance of Agriculture’s Corporation (DAPhilippine Crop PCIC) approved 3 PIA Bulletin Online
the DA proposal to pay losses resulting from governmentordered culling or slaughter of insured hogs, and raise the payable amount up to 100 percent of the insurance cover or the total sum insured. Standard insurance
industry policy does not include governmentordered disposal of stocks when epidemics occur among the compensable risks, while indemnity payments are normally pegged at a maximum of 60 percent of TSI. The move is
expected to help encourage the raising of over 10 million heads of swine among commercial and backyard raisers in support of the government’s initiative to revitalize hog production amid the African Swine Fever (ASF) epidemic.
Unscrupulous law enforcers have no place in gov’t service - PRRD President Rodrigo Roa Dutere said law enforcers involved in the drug trade, extortion and other misdeeds have no place in government and must be removed from service immediately, “Those policemen, PNP, na ang mga kasalanan itong related sa drugs pati itong pera,malversation, there’s only one penalty there.
They should not be in government. They should be out in the streets,” President Duterte said in a public address February 24. The President made the pronouncement as he publicly named Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) personnel involved in anomalies resulting in their dismissal. He ordered the drug enforcement
agency to organize a team that will solely focus on tracking
and monitoring dismissed personnel to know if they continue
their criminal activity after being removed from service.
Gordon calls for inclusion of individual’s last COVID-19 test in vaccine passport Stressing the importance of testing in stemming the further spread of COVID-19, especially with the new and more highly transmissible variant already in the country, Senator Richard J. Gordon proposed on February 22 to include the details of a patient’s last COVID-19 reverse vaccine passport. or the COVID-19 During the period Vaccination transcription of amendment for Program Act of polymerase reaction test in the Senate Bill No 2057 2021, Gordon
proposed to amend Section 11 to include the date of the last
RT-PCR testing and the name of the laboratory that conducted the last RT-PCR testing in the vaccine passport, which will contain the vaccinations received by the individual. Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, sponsor of the bill, accepted the proposed amendment but asked for the phrase “if applicable” to be included. PIA Bulletin Online 4
Duque, Galvez vouch for Sinovac’s efficacy, safety
Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, said the country’s health secretary and vaccine czar citing assurances from the medical community. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Sinovac’s vaccine has 100-percent efficacy rate in preventing severe infections. It has been clinically proven to reduce symptomatic and asymptomatic cases, prevent hospitalization and severe cases, thereby
reducing deaths, he explained to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the meeting in Malacanang Wednesday night,
February 24. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. also vouched for Sinovac’s safety and efficacy noting the jab
has received an approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He also cited world leaders getting
Sinovac shot such as Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
OFWs infected with COVID-19 receives assistance from PH gov’t By Marites B. Paneda - PIA/IDPD
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) International Labor Affairs Bureau Director Alice Visperas reported during the February 22 V-Café @DOLE FB live program that 5,236 5 PIA Bulletin Online
COVID infected Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) were given
$200 financial assistance amounting to US$1,047,200
and 124,582 were also given food and medical assistance totaling to US$2,581,758. Of POLOs reported COVID cases, 14,368 OFWs were infected, 8,829 fully recovered, and 923 deaths. Meanwhile, Dubai and Qatar already started
their COVID-19 vaccine program that included OFWs and POLO employees, while the government of Canada will be giving financial assistance of CAD$2,000 or Php75,000 per month in 12 weeks to all affected workers including OFWs.
Kathagombalay reopens By Melva Gayta PIA/IDPD
One -stop-shop ‘Kathagombalay’ now reopens to serve internally displaced homeowners of the seven sectors of the most affected area (MAA) in Marawi City. Kathagombalay, which temporarily stopped in March 2020 due
to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, not only allows the government to update all data about the residents and structures of the MAA but also provides an opportunity to fix boundaries, records, services and systems of houses in the barangays.
Kathagombalay also offers processing of permits and other clearances for house repair or construction. The 7 sectors covers Tolali, Daguduban, Moncado Kadingilan, Kapantaran, Moncado Colony, Sangkay Dansalan, Norhaya Village, Wawalayan Marinaut, Marinaut East, Tuca Marinaut, Lilod Madaya, Banggolo, South Madaya, Bubonga Madaya. Applicants have to bring the following documents: house tag from DENR’s conducted social cartography, land titles and deeds, plans and zoning receipt, barangay clearance, Bureau of Internal Revenue Tax clearance. The one -stopshop opens every Tuesdays to Fridays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Marawi City Hall.
DepEd adheres to postpone face-toface classes
By Melinda T. Quiñones - PIA/IDPD
The Department of Education adheres to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s decision to extend the postponement of pilot face-to-face classes implementation. In a statement on February 24, DepEd said it would continue to prepare action plans should the President approves the pilot face-to-face classes in the coming months, such as: • Pilot implementation of face-toface classes will only occur in areas categorized as low-risk (at least under Modified General Community Quarantine or MGCQ). • There must be a commitment for shared responsibility of DepEd, the local government unit (LGU), the parents or guardians, and the providers of transportation. • Stringent health and safety standards shall be followed at home, during travel to and from the schools, and within school premises. Around 1,904 public schools nationwide have already been identified as possible participants for the pilot study of limited physical classes. PIA Bulletin Online 6