READ: Govt way below vaccination target
THE government must ramp up its vaccination efforts starting this month if it is to keep within sight of its target of jabbing 77 million individuals by year's end. National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. admitted the country was still way off its target with four months to go. He said the government is working on increasing the inoculations by this month and next month. The aim is to have 20 million fully vaccinated people by the end of September. The country has 14.1 million fully vaccinated people, which is 18.22 percent of the population. Galvez, the designated vaccine czar, said the NTF is working to scale up the rollout of second doses to 6 million from the current 5 million. As of September 2, the Philippines has received a total of 52,792,130 doses, according to the NTF.
READ: Concepcion: No legal issues on 'bakuna bubble'
PRESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd sees no legal problem with the implementation of his proposed "bakuna (vaccine) bubble," saying it will be done for the "greater good." Concepcion once again defended his proposal from criticisms that the idea of segregating vaccinated from unvaccinated individuals could be questioned in court for "discriminatory treatment." Bakuna bubbles are Covid-19-free zones like restaurants, salons, coffee shops and gyms exclusive for vaccinated people. Unvaccinated persons must present a negative antigen or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test result to gain access to a bubble. In a virtual meeting with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Concepcion said restricting a group of people was justified if the aim was to benefit and protect the majority. He said some top government officials and business leaders were supportive of trying out the scheme in the National Capital Region (NCR) to help step up the pace of economic recovery.
READ: 3 QC councilors want productivity incentives for all city hall workers
THREE members of the Quezon City council have asked their colleagues, through an ordinance, to grant a productivity incentive equivalent to one-month salary to all city hall employees regardless of their status. Councilor Winston "Winnie" Castelo said the proposed measure will benefit over 11,000 city personnel who are either holding permanent positions or contractual.
READ: P888M more released for health workers' SRA
THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released on Friday an additional P888.11 million to the Department of Health (DoH) to pay for the special risk allowance (SRA) of health workers. P369.78 million was released "to fund the Covid-19 special risk allowance of public health workers" and P518.33 million to cover the SRA of both public and private health personnel. The DBM issued P311 million on August 25, enough to compensate 20,208 health workers. But groups of nurses and other hospital staff took to the streets this week to demand full payment of their SRAs and other benefits. Public and private health workers directly catering to Covid-19 patients are entitled to an SRA of P5,000 per month from Dec. 20, 2020 to June 30, 2021. The SRA will be prorated based on the number of days health employees report for work in a month, the DBM said. The DoH will download the funds to its retainer hospitals, treatment and rehabilitation centers, private hospitals and other Covid-19 facilities. The funds were drawn from unprogrammed appropriation and the miscellaneous personnel benefits pool.
READ: Duterte denies masks, face shields overpriced
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday denied allegations that masks, face shields and personal protective equipment (PPEs) recently bought by the government to combat Covid-19 were overpriced. In his prerecorded public address, Duterte said the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), which is under fire from lawmakers for making the purchases, actually bought the items and PPEs below the prevailing suggested retail prices. The masks, according to the President, were procured below the suggested retail price at the time despite the "high demand" as countries raced to secure supplies.
READ: Police task force formed vs illegal recruitment
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) formed a task force to step up its campaign against illegal recruiters, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar announced on Friday. The PNP Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (PNP-TFAIR), according to a memorandum circular that was signed on the same day, will "analyze and aggressively initiate police operations against the modus operandi of illegal recruiters in coordination with other law enforcement agencies." It is intended to protect Filipinos from modus operandi that victimize them in their bid to work abroad.
READ: 'Philippine Red Cross Gordon's milking cow'
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte accused Sen. Richard "Dick" Gordon of using the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) as his "milking cow" to fund his electoral campaigns, forcing the Chief Executive to demand the Commission on Audit (COA) to conduct an audit of the nongovernment organization to see if funds are being spent correctly. In his prerecorded public address on Thursday, Duterte questioned the objective of Gordon's panel to look into the government's Covid-19 pandemic spending.
BUSINESS: Oxford unit: Covid slows down PH GDP
Over to business, the Philippines' economic expansion slowed at the start of the third quarter of this year, according to Oxford Economics, due to declining base effects and the resurgence of Covid-19 cases. The research firm said in a report released on Friday that its growth tracker reveals that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-6 economies' momentum slowed in July. The group's Asean-6 group tracker, which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam, points to a weaker start to the 3rd quarter. Growth fell to 6.4 percent year-on-year in July from 8 percent year-on-year in June, following a steady pick-up in the first quarter and a significant rebound in the second quarter due to favorable base effects, it underscored. It should be mentioned that the Philippine economy grew by 11.8 percent in April-June 2021, rebounding from a contraction of 3.9 percent in January-March this year. Oxford Economics said the drop in the growth tracker in July is partially explained by a declining base effect, but coronavirus outbreaks in recent months have also hampered Asean's economic recovery. From June onwards, a spike of Covid-19 cases in the region prompted increasing concern and stronger government restrictions.
SPORTS: PH ends Paralympics campaign with no medals
In sports, the Philippines ended its Tokyo Paralympics campaign with no medals on Friday. Swimmer Gary Bejino and wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan were the country's last athletes to compete on Friday, but failed to make the podium in their respective events. Bejino swam in lane 1 and clocked 1 minute and 28.87 seconds to finish seventh (last) in heat 2 and 20th overall in the 3-heat, 20-swimmer field in the men's 100-meter backstroke S6 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Bejino also competed in the 200-meter individual medley SM6, 50-meter butterfly S6, and 400-meter freestyle S6 events, where he also finished in the tail end of the race. Bejino, a silver medalist at the 2018 Asian Para Games and a two-time (2015, 2017) gold medal winner at the ASEAN Para Games, managed to log a personal best of 5 minutes and 52.28 seconds in the 400-meter freestyle event. On the other hand, Mangliwan raced in lane 3 and timed 20.08 seconds to finish last among eight participants in the men's T52 100m race at the Olympic Stadium. Raymond Martin, who is of Filipino descent but is representing the United States in the Paralympics, won the gold medal in the event with a time of 16.99 seconds. The Philippines had a total of six athletes bound for the Tokyo Para Games, but only Bejino, Mangliwan, and swimmer Ernie Gawilan were able to compete. The other three -- powerlifter Achele Guion, discus thrower Jeanette Aceveda, and taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin -- had to withdraw from competition after testing positive for Covid-19. The closing ceremony for the Paralympics will take place on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about politicians being clowns, while Makabenta attempts to take a swipe at climate activists by claiming the Antarctic sea ice has been growing, not shrinking.
Today's editorial believes it is not yet time to hold face-to-face classes. Read a 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.
On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe weekend ahead.