Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, January 28, 2022, brought to you by Wilcon Depot, the country's leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer. Shop conveniently 24/7 with the Wilcon online store, just go to shop.wilcon.com.ph.

READ: Vaccine hesitancy drops to new low

MOST Filipinos are now willing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as vaccine hesitancy dropped to 5 percent in December from a high 22 percent in September 2021, the OCTA Research's Tugon ng Masa (TNM) National Survey showed. Hesitancy to get jabbed was highest in the Visayas and Mindanao at 9 percent each, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) and Balance Luzon, at 3 percent each. Uncertainty on the vaccines' safety remained the top reason why some Filipinos were unwilling to get inoculated. Other reasons raised by those unwilling to get the jab were the uncertainty of the effectiveness of the vaccine (25 percent), belief that the vaccine is not needed to combat the virus (12 percent), and having a medical condition that prohibits them from getting the vaccine. Some said there were no vaccines in the city or municipality (7 percent). The survey also found that 74 percent of respondents have received their Covid-19 vaccines — 51 percent have completed their primary series while 23 percent have received their first dose during the conduct of the survey. Compared to data from September, the percentage of people who have received their jabs increased by 37 percent. Fifteen percent of the survey respondents also said that they were willing to get the jab but were not yet vaccinated. OCTA said that the capital region had the highest percentage of adult Filipinos vaccinated at 91 percent, followed by Mindanao at 75 percent, Balance Luzon at 72 percent, and the Visayas at 63 percent.

READ: Concepcion pushes pandemic exit plan

PRESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd and OCTA Research fellow Nicanor Austriaco called for the immediate drafting of a Philippine pandemic exit plan as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country continue to decline. In a letter addressed to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., Concepcion and Austriaco said the national government should start the country's transition from a pandemic mindset to an endemic mindset.

READ: Philpost diversifies to expand service

THE Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost) forged alliances with e-commerce giants Lazada and Shopee in an effort to service far-flung areas and reduce the cost of parcel delivery. Speaking at The Manila Times online forum, The PH Logistics Industry Scales Big and High: An Industry Outlook for 2022 and Beyond, Postmaster General Norman Fulgencio said e-commerce is only concentrated in areas where they make the big money, like Metro Manila and Calabarzon and in capital cities. Fulgencio said that the Covid-19 pandemic and Typhoon "Odette" severely affected the country's postal service because of damaged communication facilities, impassable roads, and the reduction of domestic and international flights.

READ: Covid stalls Marcos' DQ case resolution

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Thursday that the spike in Covid-19 cases delayed the issuance of a resolution on the consolidated disqualification cases against presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, head of the Comelec First Division, explained that based on their internal rule, a resolution should be released 15 days after it has been raffled to the "ponente" or the commissioner member who will write the decision. Guanzon said she learned that the lawyer assigned to the case got infected with Covid-19, and possibly infected the ponente, which was later quarantined.

REGIONS: Mass testing wasteful – Duque

Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd on Thursday said the conduct of mass testing is just a waste of the government's limited resources because it is being done without any concrete direction to help in containing the surge in Covid-19 cases triggered by the more infectious Omicron variant. Duque, who led the launch of the "Resbakuna sa Botika" at Watson's in SM City Baguio, said a more prudent and a better way of managing funds is the conduct of riskbased and targeted testing. He pointed out that the mass testing that had been undertaken by developed countries did not result in a decline in Covid-19 cases.

BUSINESS: Economy rebounds, grows 5.6 percent

Over to business, the economy grew by 5.6 percent last year, exceeding the government's revised target and rebounding from 2020's 9.6 percent contraction as looser Covid-19 restrictions boosted consumer spending. In a briefing on Thursday, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, raising the year-to-date expansion above the government's full-year goal of 5.0 to 5.5 percent. The October-to-December growth was an improvement from the third quarter's 6.9 percent — revised downwards from 7.1 percent initially — and a reversal from the 8.3-percent plunge recorded a year earlier.

SPORTS: PSC tells Obiena, Juico: Reconcile for our country

Topping sports, Philippine Sports Commission chairman William "Butch" Ramirez has called on pole vaulter Ernest John "EJ" Obiena and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association to talk and reconcile for the good of the country. In a Facebook live program, Ramirez said the issue between Obiena and the Patafa is very embarrassing. Obiena and the Patafa remain at odds and based on the developments that took place this week, reconciliation is no longer on the table. On Monday, Obiena announced his decision not to participate in the mediation process initiated by the PSC. On Wednesday, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) officially recognized Patafa president Philip Juico as persona non grata. Juico, on the other hand, claimed there was no due process at the POC General Assembly on Wednesday because "there was no division of the house." The PSC first offered to mediate in late November and offered again on January 11.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao weighs in on the situation in Ukraine, while Torres asks if anyone can catch up to presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. in this year's elections.

Today's editorial believes the United States and China are back in the brinkmanship game. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe Friday ahead.