Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, April 22, 2021.

READ: Govt to offer home quarantine services

THE government will unify its medical services for patients infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) who are under home quarantine, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Wednesday. It will integrate its telemedicine, triage or screening to determine where patients should go for treatment and the One Covid-19 Referral Center system for effective monitoring by a primary care physician, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told reporters. Vergeire said hospital utilization rate in Metro Manila was at 67 percent, or in the "moderate risk" category, which means 84 percent of intensive care unit (ICU) beds were in use.

READ: Duterte leads support for community pantries

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COMMUNITY pantries have gotten the nod from President Rodrigo Duterte and other sectors for helping Filipinos severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic and were assured of support amid red tagging fears raised by their owners. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said community pantries exemplify the best of the Filipino character in times of challenges. Roque issued the statement a day after some community pantries set up by private individuals temporarily stopped operations after the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), on social media, shared posts linking them to communist rebels.

READ: Concepcion: Give private firms 'flexibility' on jabs

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion 3rd said on Wednesday that private companies should be given flexibility in vaccinating their workers against Covid-19. Concepcion was pushing for the prompt inoculation of the A4 category that includes workers in commuter transport; public and private markets; food retail, including food delivery services; hotels and accommodation establishments; and news media.

READ: Pakistan to help modernize PH military

Pakistani Ambassador to the Philippines Dr. Imtiaz Ahmad Kazi on Wednesday said Pakistan was willing to help the Philippines modernize its military. During The Manila Times roundtable, Kazi said Pakistan was eyeing to export to the Philippines arms, ammunition, drones and other security-related equipment. The ambassador said the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra has been a producer of topgrade warplanes that include the JF-17 Thunder, a fourth-generation multirole combat aircraft developed jointly by Pakistan and the Chengdu Aircraft Corp. of China. Kazi said the JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft, which entered service in 2007, could outperform the American F-16 fighter jet.

READ: PH backs intl conservation, use of marine resources

 THE Philippines has pushed for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the high seas or areas beyond national jurisdiction. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in a statement on Monday said that this instrument should be under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) framework.

READ: Duterte asks Senate to give EO on imported pork a chance

 PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has asked the Senate to give Executive Order (EO) 128, which lowers the tariff rates on pork import, a chance. EO 128 lowers the tariff rates of pork imports within the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) quota to 5 percent in the first three months to 10 percent in the succeeding nine months. The order also lowers the tariff rates on out-of-quota pork imports to 15 percent in the first three months to 20 percent in the succeeding nine months.

READ: DoJ wants 'no bail' for Cam

 The Department of Justice (DoJ) has recommended “no bail” against Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Director Sandra Cam for the crime of murder, Manila Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento told The Manila Times. The case has been raffled and went to Regional Trial Court Branch 42 Judge Dinnah Aguila Topacio. Judge Topacio is the wife of Citizen's Crime Watch and Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption lawyer Ferdinand Topacio. As a matter of procedure, an arrest warrant is expected to be issued anytime upon the filing of the case and appreciation of the judge.

BUSINESS: Diokno sees GIR ballooning to $120B

In business, the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) could climb to $120 billion by the year end and would continue to support the local currency, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno. Diokno’s latest estimate is higher than the central bank’s official forecast of $114-billion foreign exchange reserves for 2021, which is equivalent to 11.8 months of import cover. Latest data showed that the country’s dollar reserves slid to a four-month low of $104.82 billion as of the end of March on the back of debt servicing by the national government and lower gold prices. Nevertheless, Diokno said the latest GIR level remains supportive of the strong Philippine peso.

SPORTS: Kai Sotto signs with Adelaide in Australia’s NBL

Topping sports, Filipino basketball prodigy and NBA hopeful Kai Sotto is headed to Australia.

On Wednesday, veteran NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the 7-foot-3 Sotto has signed a multi-year deal with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League (NBL).

The 36ers confirmed this report in a press release, saying that it came into an agreement with the 18-year-old Sotto for a three-year deal, with an option in the third and last year of the contract.

Adelaide chairman Grant Kelley said that the 36ers are thrilled to have Sotto on the team, which will get the former Ateneo Blue Eaglet on board starting in the 2021-2022 NBL season. The preseason usually begins in August, while the season in October.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Yen Makabenta, Ramon Tulfo and Arch. Felino Palafox Jr. are today’s front page columnists. Makabenta believes medical doctors are underscoring the importance of rationality in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, Tulfo believes there is no coup plot against President Rodrigo Duterte while Arch. Palafox discusses the philanthropic architecture, planning, and design for Covid-19 vaccination centers.

Today’s editorial calls on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to be careful when it comes to engaging with the military regime in Myanmar. Read a full version on the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

 

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With Dafort Villaseran, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. May you have a safe day ahead of you.