BulletLine Issue #31
The Philippines on 24 March 2021 received 400,000 additional CoronaVac doses donated by the People’s Republic of China, in addition to the initial 600,000 doses that arrived last February 28.
More vaccination hubs underway More medical facilities will be used as vaccination hubs to ensure that the rollout of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program will be more inclusive
and accessible to all Filipinos, Presidential
Martin Andanar assured on March 22, 2021 during an information drive on the national COVID-19 Communications roadmap in Loreto, Operations Office Dinagat Islands. (PCOO) Secretary He said that
1,623 vaccination sites have been set up and more will be set up to make the vaccination drive more inclusive and accessible to each and every Filipino.
President Duterte has approved the recommendation of the Inter Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF- EID) to place the National Capital Region (NCR), Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, under Enhanced Community Quarantine from March 29April 4, 2021 due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. Palace Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque Jr said curfew is set at 6:00 pm to 5:00 am in these areas also called the NCR plus. However, authorized persons outside of residence (APOR), workers, cargo vehicles, and public transportation are not covered by the 11-hour curfew. Under ECQ status all households must observe strict home quarantine except APORs. 1 PIA Bulletin Online
Don’t let your guard down during Holy Week; COVID-19 cases continue to rise Anticipating the temptation by people to congregate during the upcoming Holy Week, Senator and Philippine Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon warned the public against letting their guard down. “Next week, we will likely see the number of daily COVID-19 cases go down because people will probably not be testing as
much during Holy Week, but we must not be fooled by this. The rate of positivity remains dangerously high so we must continue to be vigilant about the safety measures we are taking,” Gordon said. To prevent the spread of the disease, Gordon called on people to avoid the three Cs: closed spaces with poor ventilation,
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
crowded public spaces, and closecontact settings that put people in range of droplets from speaking, coughing, and sneezing.
Back to back turnover of Yolanda housing units in Iloilo
DILG to PNP: Strictly enforce use of face shield
By Josephine L. Babaran - PIA/IDPD
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Local Government Units (LGUs) to strictly enforce the face
shield requirement amid the surge of COVID-19 cases. Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that based on the latest NTF data, while the use of facemask is at 91%, the use of face shield is only at 32%, thus the need to increase
use of face shield to get maximum protection at this time of the surge. Medical experts have said that proper use of face shield and face mask and physical distancing provide more than 90% protection against COVID-19.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles as Task Force Yolanda Chair, the National Housing Authority, and beneficiary local governments, led the back to back distribution of free housing units in Iloilo on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 as part of the Duterte administration’s commitment to finish all Yolanda housing construction by 2022. Since assuming the chairmanship of the Inter-agency Task Force for the Unified Implementation and Monitoring of Rehabilitation and Recovery Projects and Programs in Yolanda-affected Areas, Nograles has turned over 35,386 houses to different towns and municipalities in Western Visayas. PIA Bulletin Online 2
Follow vaccine prioritization
Adhere to the agreed vaccine priority list Sen. Go
“Alam niyo, dapat sumunod muna tayo sa priority list dito. Darating naman po ang punto na hanggang sa baba naman po ‘yan ay mababakunahan. So ngayon, uunahin muna ‘yung mga health workers, pagkatapos naman po ay ‘yung mga senior citizens,” Sen. Bong Go said.
Amidst reports of non-medical frontliners getting inoculated, the Department of Health (DOH) and the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) reiterated that with the limited supplies of vaccines, all currently
available doses are allocated for, and should first be given to the medical frontliners/ healthcare workers who have the highest exposure to COVID-19 and are most at risk of contracting the disease. DOH and NTF said the approved
prioritization framework of the National COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan should be followed assuring that the national government is exhausting all its efforts to secure enough vaccines to vaccinate all Filipinos.
Special email for claims of deceased uniformed personnel’s families The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) has launched a special email for families of deceased soldiers and cops who may have issues and concerns regarding the processing of death benefit claims. ARTA Director General Jeremiah Belgica said claimants need not wait for the creation of the interagency task force tasked to simplify the processing of death benefit claims as claimants with pending applications at the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) or other related concerns can email at afppnpclaims@arta. gov.ph. 3 PIA Bulletin Online
Ivermectin hindi maaring gamot sa COVID-19 -FDA
Muling idiniin ng Food and Drug Administration na hindi rekomendado sa ngayon ang paggamit ng Ivermectin laban sa COVID-19. Ayon kay FDA Director General Eric Domingo ang nakarehistro na Ivermectin sa bansa ay gamot para sa hayop at lubhang mapanganib ang paggamit nito sa tao. Wala rin daw nakarehistro sa bansa na Ivermectin para sa tao. Bagaman may mga kasalukuyang pag-aaral aniya sa gamot na ito hindi pa sapat ang mga datos upang mapatunayan na maari itong maisama sa treatment guidelines laban sa COVID-19.
What to do if someone is sick in your household?
By Mary Rose de los Santos - PIA/IDPD
Steering Committee for Innovative Startup Act The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) signed on March 22, a Joint
Administrative Order (JAO) creating a Steering Committee under Republic Act 11337 or the Innovative Startup. Under the JAO, DTI, DICT, and DOST are authorized to provide the following
incentives to startups and startup enablers that have passed the selection and application process: access to capital funding, streamlined and subsidized business registration and other administrative
Walang kaugnayan sa anumang non-government organization (NGO) o mga pribadong grupo dito sa bansa ang programa ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) na Tulong Pag-Unlad ng Samahang OFW o Tulong PUSO, paglilinaw ni OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac. “Ang lahat po ng programa ng OWWA, kabilang ang Tulong PUSO, ay derektang maa-avail sa mga Regional Welfare Office ng OWWA lamang,” ani Cacdac. Ang paglilinaw ay isinagawa bunsod ng mga katanungan mula sa publiko hinggil sa kaugnayan ng grupong AKO OFW sa naturang programa ng OWWA. Ang programang Tulong PUSO ng OWWA ay para sa mga grupo ng OFW na nagnanais magtayo o magpalawak ng kanilang negosyo. Depende sa bilang ng mga miyembro, ang isang lehitimong grupo ng OFW ay maaaring makatanggap ng financial grant mula Ph150,000.00 hanggang Php1Milyon.
and operational perks, training and research and development, and endorsement
for the expedited processing of applications and travel visas, among others. PIA Bulletin Online 4
EAP backs DILG memo discouraging civil servants from joining CTG-led orgs Secretary Alexander Macario Undersecretary cautioning its Reynaldo B. employees Mapagu head of from joining the Enhanced organizations that Comprehensive are suspected to Local Integration have affiliations Program (ECLIP) with identified and ECLIP Communist Amnesty Program Terrorist Groups (EAP) cluster of (CTGs). the National Task Mapagu said Force to End the directive Local Communist is intended to Armed Conflict ensure that public (NTF-ELCAC) servants are not supported the call exploited or used of Interior and to undermine Local Government the government Assistant and the stability By Melinda T. Quiñones - PIA/IDPD
of the Republic and should not be construed as infringement on the rights of employees
to join associations. It should be seen as a reminder for civil servants, by the virtue of the
positions they hold, to remain loyal to the Republic and the Filipino People.
Six HEIs as vaccination centers Six (6) higher education institutions (HEIs) with retrofitted facilities and safe spaces have agreed to serve as vaccination centers of the local government unit where they are located for the first wave of vaccination. Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Prospero De Vera III said these HEIs are: University of Santo Tomas Hospital (NCR); Manila Central University Gymnasium (NCR);St. Louis University Baguio Gymnasium (CAR);De La Salle Medical Health Sciences Institute (Region 4);Our Lady of Fatima University (NCR); and Central Philippine University (CPU) De Vera said they are encouraging the other HEIs to also offer their facilities as vaccination centers. He added that “In return, we ask the LGUs to include the HEI faculty, staff and students who are assisting in the vaccination drive in their vaccination list so they can assist their LGUs,” 5 PIA Bulletin Online
Budget for Covid-19 vaccine sufficient - DOF including waste disposal, Finance The government Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has allocated said. P82.5-billion “Php82.5 billion total financing will buy us enough for vaccine doses to inoculate procurement, 100 percent of our logistics and adult population. other supplies By Guilberto Contreras - PIA/IDPD
Dominguez said. Of the Php 82.5 billion, P2.5 billion is from the Department of Health budget, P10 billion from the Bayanihan 2. The remaining Php70 billion will
be sourced from foreign loans amounting to Php 58.4 billion from World Bank (Php24.3 billion; Asian Development Bank (Php19.5 billion);
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (php14.6 billion); and Php11.6 billion as additional official development assistance (ODA). PIA Bulletin Online 6