'Climate of fear': Western Visayas bishops hit killings of Tumandok indigenous
Prior to the incident, tribe members had also been "red-tagged" or linked as supporters or members of the communist armed movement. "We empathize with the fear and insecurities of those displaced by the atrocities," the bishops said in a January 15 pastoral letter. "We condemn in the strongest possible term, all the killings and especially, the killings of our brothers — the Tumandoks." Archbishops Jose Cardinal Advincula and Jose Lazo of Jaro along with six other bishops described the incident as having created a climate of "fear and uncertainty." Often it has exposed those tagged to dangers, with activists and human rights advocates having to face threats to their life, intimidation and some ending up being killed.
Source:Philippine Star
January 17, 2021 03:00 UTC
Six more elderly died in Norway after vaccine jabs
Photo: Xin HuaNorway expressed increasing concern about the safety of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying health conditions after raising an estimate of the number who died after receiving inoculations to 29. While it’s unclear exactly when the deaths occurred, Norway has given at least one dose to about 42,000 people and focused on those considered most at risk if they contract the virus, including the elderly. Until Friday, the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech SE was the only one available in Norway, and “all deaths are thus linked to this vaccine,” the Norwegian Medicines Agency said in a written response to Bloomberg on Saturday. U.S. authorities reported 21 cases of severe allergic reactions from Dec. 14-23 after administration of about 1.9 million initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The first Europe-wide safety report on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is due to be published at the end of January.
Source:The Standard
January 17, 2021 00:00 UTC
Essential workers: The many faces of pandemic heroism
ADVERTISEMENTClassified by the government as essential workers, they delivered the necessities and services that keep the business of life going: the food producers/providers (fishers and farmers) and manufacturers, the delivery people, those who minded drugstores, markets, groceries, banks, water stations, cash remittance centers and telecommunications facilities. Also highly at riskMany other medical workers, not at the front lines but also highly at risk, continued to respond to various health emergencies, such as child deliveries, broken bones and sudden ailments. Essential, too, were persons in spiritual ministries who assisted the dying and gave balm to the grieving. Teachers, alas, were left out of the list of essential workers as they were expected to work from home (and not climb onto rooftops or scale hills to catch internet signals). And so the essential workers, or “front-liners in general,” as the Inquirer editors called them during the voting, take a prominent second place as the Inquirer’s 2020 Filipinos of the Year (FOTY).
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 16, 2021 21:41 UTC
Finding ‘3rd generation’ crucial in contact tracing, says Magalong
The close contacts of the first generation comprise the second generation, whose contacts are classified as the third generation. Magalong said mayors should motivate their contact tracers to seek out the third generation contacts by going beyond the first and second generations to attain the ideal ratio. He stressed that finding third generation contacts should be part of standard operating procedures. Mayors must be directly involved so that they could maintain their contact tracing efficiency ratio,” he said. He said the DILG would have to work “with the available budget” allocated for contact tracing to continue the service.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 16, 2021 21:39 UTC
Rappler, Ressa slapped anew with libel
MANILA, Philippines — The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines once again urged lawmakers to decriminalize libel after news website Rappler was slapped with another defamation case. Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and Rappler reporter Rambo Talabong are facing a libel complaint filed by a professor from the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde (CSB) over a report about an alleged “thesis for sale” scheme. The complaint, filed before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 24 on Dec. 7, stemmed from a January 2020 report about CSB students who allegedly paid a professor P20,000 in exchange for a passing mark. Complainant Ariel Pineda said the story was “false, malicious, derogatory and highly libelous imputation” that he gives a passing grade for a price. —Nikka G. ValenzuelaRead Next
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 16, 2021 21:16 UTC
Faces of the News: Jan. 17, 2021
—Jeannette I. AndradeMike PenceOn the eve of the US Congress certifying Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 6, President Donald Trump pressured Vice President Mike Pence into upending the constitutional process and snatching victory for himself. The vice president let Republicans challenge the results and present evidence of irregularities, leading to debates that delayed the certification. His refusal to go Trump’s way, reports said, prompted the president’s supporters to attack the Capitol and disrupt the proceedings. The former NBA MVP had been completely disillusioned after yet another playoff exit in the previous season. Houston also inked big man Christian Wood to bolster a squad that elected to go small ball the previous season.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 16, 2021 21:11 UTC
BSP: PH banking system still sound – The Manila Times
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) supervisory priorities would ensure that the country’s banking system would remain sound moving forward, according to its chief. Bank loan quality was satisfactory and the nonperforming loan ratio was manageable at 3.7 percent as of the 10th month of 2020, higher than the 2.2 percent a year earlier. “The BSP will prioritize the following supervisory areas to ensure the soundness, stability, resilience and inclusivity of the banking system amid the ongoing health crisis,” the Bangko Sentral chief said. These areas are monitoring asset quality; declining profitability; liquidity and capital positions; and the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) and the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (Guide) bills. If passed, FIST would assist the financial system in efficiently mobilizing savings and investments for the country’s economic recovery by disposing of bad loans.
Source:Manila Times
January 16, 2021 16:30 UTC
Legacy of the Corona impeachment – The Manila Times
When Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd was swept to power in 2010, Corona became the target of a nasty move to remove him. For me, CJ Sereno’s removal is bittersweet revenge for CJ Corona. But one thing is sure: Sereno’s removal is a vindication for judicial independence and a divine retribution for CJ Corona who died a broken man. With the backdrop of the Corona impeachment, the tandem emerged as a powerful symbol of a continued campaign of resistance to the previous Corona impeachment and to the continuing folly of the Aquino administration. Even if impeached and broken in death, CJ Corona may yet turn out to have not died in vain.
Source:Manila Times
January 16, 2021 16:29 UTC
US issue is white supremacy and race – The Manila Times
American independence in 1776 from the British empire confirmed this trend, and the WASP — white Anglo-Saxon Protestant — class became the subsequent defining phenomenon of the social and political elites. Race is a prominent issue in American history; the slaves helped build the colonies, and racism was the cause of the 1861-1865 American civil war. One should note that the prospect of the white losing dominance is the implicit message that the white supremacist keeps on propagating the ideology in the Trump era. It must walk a delicate balancing line not to provoke the White supremacists and redefine the new social, cultural norm with a less White element in the new WASP. In the new inward-looking political environment with racial discrimination becoming an important issue, we should closely watch the new evolving American global role.
Source:Manila Times
January 16, 2021 16:29 UTC
PH secures P3.7-B grant from China – The Manila Times
The Philippines has bagged a grant worth 500 million renminbi (about P3.72 billion) from China that will be used to support the implementation of infrastructure projects and other development initiatives of the government. The grant aims to support livelihood projects, infrastructure facilities, feasibility studies for major projects, and other projects to be agreed upon by the parties, it added. The signing of the accord brings to seven the number of grant agreements executed and signed with the Chinese government by the Duterte administration. This brings the grant funds to 3.25 billion renminbi, or about $496.97 million. “Earlier agreements aim to support the conduct of pre-feasibility studies, feasibility studies, provision of equipment, and implementation of infrastructure and other agreed projects,” the Finance department said.
Source:Manila Times
January 16, 2021 16:25 UTC
Lacson twits lawmaker on Cha-cha ‘ignorance’ – The Manila Times
The congressional debate on charter change (Cha-cha) heated up on Saturday as Sen. Panfilo Lacson debunked a new claim by a lawmaker at the House of Representatives that tackling the proposed amendments was in line with a resolution he authored in the 17th Congress. Lacson said Garbin was changing his tune by saying Wednesday’s deliberations were an exercise of a constituent power rather than a constituent assembly. Lacson questioned on Wednesday Garbin’s claim that his panel was sitting as a constituent assembly, as Art.17, Sec. “Last time we heard, the Congress of the Philippines is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Lacson said at the time. Amid recent tirades between members of BTS and Velasco’s allies, Romualdez maintained his commitment to work with all House members regardless of affiliation.
Source:Manila Times
January 16, 2021 16:24 UTC
Britain to close totally starting Jan 18 – The Manila Times
LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday that Britain will close all travel corridors to the country starting at 4 a.m. (12 noon in Manila) on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, in a bid to keep out new coronavirus variants. Britain “will temporarily close all travel corridors from 4 a.m. on Monday,” to “protect against the risk of as yet unidentified new strains,” the prime minister said at a virtual press conference at Downing Street. The new measure means that travelers entering the country must have proof of a negative Covid-19 test in the previous 72 hours. The prime minister made the remarks after Britain on Thursday banned arrivals from South America, Portugal and some other countries over fears about a strain of the virus detected in Brazil. The British government’s Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance also said the restriction measures in place must remain in place to suppress the figures.
Source:Manila Times
January 16, 2021 16:23 UTC
Stewart Cink, Webb Simpson share early lead at Sony Open – The Manila Times
HONOLULU: Stewart Cink could not remember a more ideal day in Hawaii, and he had a round that matched the occasion. Cink already won the season-opener in the Safeway Open in September, his first victory since the 2009 British Open at Turnberry. Simpson holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh hole, hit it tight on No. And then he made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fourth, closed with three straight birdies and felt a lot better. Everything can change quickly at Waialae, as Simpson showed.
Source:Manila Times
January 16, 2021 16:23 UTC
Brooklyn breaks the bank – The Manila Times
The Brooklyn Nets pulled the trigger, acquiring the disgruntled superstar in a four-team trade. Aside from losing promising young players, Brooklyn has no control over their draft picks for the next seven years. In Brooklyn, Harden will team up with superstars on the same level. According to Brooklyn GM Sean Marks, Durant and Irving are willing to make sacrifices to make their trio work. These draft picks translated to Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and allowed the Celtics to acquire Kyrie Irving.
Source:Manila Times
January 16, 2021 16:18 UTC
India starts mass vaccination – The Manila Times
NEW DELHI: India begins one of the world’s biggest coronavirus vaccine programs on Saturday, a colossal and complex task compounded by safety worries, shaky infrastructure and public skepticism. Health workers, people over 50 and those deemed at high-risk are prioritized to receive one of two approved vaccines, although one has yet to complete clinical trials. About 150,000 staff in 700 districts have been specially trained, and India has held several national dry runs involving mock transportation of vaccines. Both vaccines approved so far need to be kept refrigerated at all times, and others being developed will need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures too. To account for this, India has readied tens of thousands of refrigeration tools — including 45,000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41,000 deep freezers and 300 solar refrigerators.
Source:Manila Times
January 16, 2021 16:18 UTC