Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, May 28, 2021.
READ: PH running out of nurses – Bello
THE Philippines is running out of nurses and other medical personnel to man hospitals and health facilities attending to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd warned on Thursday. The shortage of nurses is the reason Bello will likely reject the request of Germany for 15,000 nurses. Germany had asked the government for exemption to the 5,000-per-year-deployment cap for Filipino nurses and other health care workers imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). The task force ordered the cap to ensure that there will be nurses left as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Bello said a study conducted by a Technical Working Group (TWG) composed of personnel from the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Health, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration revealed the shortage of medical personnel.
READ: Govt sets inoculation of youths
The inoculation of youths ages 12 to 15 years can start once the Pfizer vaccine ordered by the Philippines arrives, Malacañang said on Thursday. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Pfizer's tozinameran is the only vaccine the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized for use on the particular age bracket. Roque said the government cannot start inoculating teenagers since the country's supply of tozinameran remains limited. The 193,000 tozinameran doses donated through the Covax Facility have been reserved for indigents, he said. Now that the FDA has approved the use of the vaccine on youths, the government is expected to buy more doses, Roque said.
READ: Gains cited in shifting to digital retail
Top e-commerce entrepreneurs are pushing the shift to digital retail as online trading continues to gain traction in the country. Speaking during a virtual forum organized by The Manila Times on Thursday, Shopee Philippines Director Martin Yu was upbeat on the future e-commerce in the Philippines. Yu sees the logistics industry benefiting from the rise in e-commerce, saying it complements the growing acceptance of digital payments.
READ: House drops impeach complaint vs Leonen
The House of Representatives' Committee on Justice on Thursday dismissed the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Mario Victor Leonen. All 44 members of the committee voted against the complaint during a virtual meeting. The panel, chaired by Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso, said it considered the complaint filed by journalist Edwin Cordevilla an "unsigned pleading" that is not based on his personal knowledge but on newspaper articles.
READ: Lenient lockdown in Metro Manila likely
The mayors of Metro Manila proposed the further easing of quarantine restrictions in June, and President Rodrigo Duterte is likely to approve it. Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr., chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, said on Thursday the mayors, who make up the Metro Manila Council, agreed on Wednesday night to propose to President Duterte the opening of more businesses and increasing the allowable limit for religious gatherings and establishments in the region. Abalos said in a media briefing the council will support the proposal of Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat to gradually reopen more establishments and allow more people to shop and dine.
READ: Duterte OKs new districts for Caloocan, Bulacan
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law bills creating new legislative districts in Caloocan City and Bulacan. Duterte signed Republic Act (RA) 11545 on May 26, dividing the first district of Caloocan City into two legislative districts. The law will take into effect during the 2022 elections. RA 11545 mandates that the first legislative district of Caloocan will be composed of barangay (village) 1 to 4, barangay 77 to 86, and barangay 132 to 177. The city's additional legislative district shall be composed of barangay 178 to 188. Caloocan is the fourth most populous city in the Philippines with a population of 1.6 million.
BUSINESS: Citi keeps PH growth projection at 4.9%
In business, global banking giant Citi has maintained its 4.9 percent growth forecast for the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) this year, taking into consideration the economic effects of an earlier-than-expected relaxation of community quarantine in Metro Manila The estimate is lower than the government's adjusted growth target of 6-7 percent, although it is better than the Philippines' 9.6 percent dive last year. The economy stayed in recession as of the first quarter of the year after contracting by 4.2 percent.
SPORTS: Marcial shoots for finals berth
In sports, Eumir Marcial of the Philippines shoots for a finals berth when he faces Uzbekistan's Saidjamshid Jafarov in the semifinals of the men's middleweight category at the Asian Elite Men's and Women's Boxing Championships on Friday at the Grand Ballroom of the Le Meridien Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The bout starts at 10 p.m (Manila time) Marcial, who is participating in this tournament as preparation for his Tokyo Olympic stint in July, has yet to fight in the competition. As the top seed in the 75-kilogram class, Marcial earned a bye in the preliminary round to qualify outright in the quarterfinals. The 25-year-old was supposed to make his debut fight in the tournament on Wednesday night, but his Mongolian opponent Otgonbaatar Byamba-Erdene forfeited the bout, resulting in a walkover victory for the Filipino.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao calls on Congress to probe the Scarborough Shoal issue, while Torres wants the people to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Today's editorial revisits the theory of how a laboratory leak started Covid-19. Read the full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
For more news and information, get a copy of The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and Keep Up With The Times.
With Dafort Villaseran, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. May you have a safe Friday ahead.
READ: PH running out of nurses – Bello
THE Philippines is running out of nurses and other medical personnel to man hospitals and health facilities attending to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd warned on Thursday. The shortage of nurses is the reason Bello will likely reject the request of Germany for 15,000 nurses. Germany had asked the government for exemption to the 5,000-per-year-deployment cap for Filipino nurses and other health care workers imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). The task force ordered the cap to ensure that there will be nurses left as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Bello said a study conducted by a Technical Working Group (TWG) composed of personnel from the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Health, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration revealed the shortage of medical personnel.
READ: Govt sets inoculation of youths
The inoculation of youths ages 12 to 15 years can start once the Pfizer vaccine ordered by the Philippines arrives, Malacañang said on Thursday. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Pfizer's tozinameran is the only vaccine the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized for use on the particular age bracket. Roque said the government cannot start inoculating teenagers since the country's supply of tozinameran remains limited. The 193,000 tozinameran doses donated through the Covax Facility have been reserved for indigents, he said. Now that the FDA has approved the use of the vaccine on youths, the government is expected to buy more doses, Roque said.
READ: Gains cited in shifting to digital retail
Top e-commerce entrepreneurs are pushing the shift to digital retail as online trading continues to gain traction in the country. Speaking during a virtual forum organized by The Manila Times on Thursday, Shopee Philippines Director Martin Yu was upbeat on the future e-commerce in the Philippines. Yu sees the logistics industry benefiting from the rise in e-commerce, saying it complements the growing acceptance of digital payments.
READ: House drops impeach complaint vs Leonen
The House of Representatives' Committee on Justice on Thursday dismissed the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Mario Victor Leonen. All 44 members of the committee voted against the complaint during a virtual meeting. The panel, chaired by Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso, said it considered the complaint filed by journalist Edwin Cordevilla an "unsigned pleading" that is not based on his personal knowledge but on newspaper articles.
READ: Lenient lockdown in Metro Manila likely
The mayors of Metro Manila proposed the further easing of quarantine restrictions in June, and President Rodrigo Duterte is likely to approve it. Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr., chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, said on Thursday the mayors, who make up the Metro Manila Council, agreed on Wednesday night to propose to President Duterte the opening of more businesses and increasing the allowable limit for religious gatherings and establishments in the region. Abalos said in a media briefing the council will support the proposal of Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat to gradually reopen more establishments and allow more people to shop and dine.
READ: Duterte OKs new districts for Caloocan, Bulacan
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law bills creating new legislative districts in Caloocan City and Bulacan. Duterte signed Republic Act (RA) 11545 on May 26, dividing the first district of Caloocan City into two legislative districts. The law will take into effect during the 2022 elections. RA 11545 mandates that the first legislative district of Caloocan will be composed of barangay (village) 1 to 4, barangay 77 to 86, and barangay 132 to 177. The city's additional legislative district shall be composed of barangay 178 to 188. Caloocan is the fourth most populous city in the Philippines with a population of 1.6 million.
BUSINESS: Citi keeps PH growth projection at 4.9%
In business, global banking giant Citi has maintained its 4.9 percent growth forecast for the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) this year, taking into consideration the economic effects of an earlier-than-expected relaxation of community quarantine in Metro Manila The estimate is lower than the government's adjusted growth target of 6-7 percent, although it is better than the Philippines' 9.6 percent dive last year. The economy stayed in recession as of the first quarter of the year after contracting by 4.2 percent.
SPORTS: Marcial shoots for finals berth
In sports, Eumir Marcial of the Philippines shoots for a finals berth when he faces Uzbekistan's Saidjamshid Jafarov in the semifinals of the men's middleweight category at the Asian Elite Men's and Women's Boxing Championships on Friday at the Grand Ballroom of the Le Meridien Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The bout starts at 10 p.m (Manila time) Marcial, who is participating in this tournament as preparation for his Tokyo Olympic stint in July, has yet to fight in the competition. As the top seed in the 75-kilogram class, Marcial earned a bye in the preliminary round to qualify outright in the quarterfinals. The 25-year-old was supposed to make his debut fight in the tournament on Wednesday night, but his Mongolian opponent Otgonbaatar Byamba-Erdene forfeited the bout, resulting in a walkover victory for the Filipino.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao calls on Congress to probe the Scarborough Shoal issue, while Torres wants the people to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Today's editorial revisits the theory of how a laboratory leak started Covid-19. Read the full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
For more news and information, get a copy of The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and Keep Up With The Times.
With Dafort Villaseran, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. May you have a safe Friday ahead.