METRO MANILA – Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that the country can’t afford to extend the imposed restrictions anymore as the economy can no longer sustain the extended lockdown beyond August 18. Roque claim that the next two weeks modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) will have a negative impact to the economy as 67% of our Gross Domestic Product comes …

METRO MANILA – Officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. have pocketed around P15 billion in funds through alleged corruption in the agency, a whistleblower revealed during a Senate hearing yesterday. Thorrsson Montes Keith who resigned as Philhealth’s anti-fraud legal officer revealed the widespread corruption happening inside the agency and that a “mafia” was behind the fraudulent schemes he called  …

Organizations that catered mainly to visitors prior to Covid-19 are growing digital services and redeploying capital in the midst of prolonged travel restrictions due to the pandemic. For starters, the Nam Ho Group travel company plans to launch virtual tours of travel destinations as well as an online shop selling popular overseas snacks and items. In addition , following the …

Narumon Pinyosinwat resigned from the role of government spokeswoman, further fueling the rumors that she would be named Deputy Labor Minister in the new cabinet line-up. The Prime Minister’s Office announced that she had resigned on 31 July, and said that she had resigned on 30 July. Former Business School lecturer at the National Institute of Development Administration recently emerged …

The main opposition Pheu Thai Party declared on Monday that it would table a motion in Parliament on Tuesday to pave the way for a charter rewriting body to be set up, although it risks being vetoed by the Senate, according to a political source. Pheu Thai’s key figures told the press conference on Monday that the amendment to the …

A joint wildlife rescue team on early Tuesday morning successfully saved five long-tailed macaques or locally called “kera” (monkey), from a business that runs ‘masked monkey shows’ or locally known as topeng monyet in the area of Cakung, East Jakarta. The team consists of 32 personnel from the Ministry of Forestry, the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN), the Jakarta public …

A controversial video interview case between “Profesor” Hadi Pranoto and Indonesian singer Anji about the claim of coronavirus cure is still continuing. In Anji’s YouTube channel called Dunia Manji, Hadi Pranoto, who is referred to as a professor and microbiologist, claims to have found a drug in the form of Covid-19 antibodies which has been the subject of various discussions. …

PETALING JAYA – Rosmah Mansor’s former aid Rizal Mansor has pressured and demanded money from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin to sponsir his family’s trip to perform the Umrah in Mekah, the High Court was told today. Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah testified on court that Rizal Mansor had forced and convinced Saidi to sponsor the religious pilgrimage …

KUALA LUMPUR – AirAsia will be resuming their Malaysia and Singapore flights following the decision to go ahead and implement the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL). According to AirAsia, the resumption of flights will be followed by other international destinations but will be subjected to the approval from the authorities. The budget airliner will also launch weekly flights between Singapore and …

MANILA – Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato dela Peña has confirmed on Tuesday that the country has commited to reserve 3M vaccines worth P1.5B via the Gavi COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility. During the press briefing, the country has reserved vaccine volume equivalent to a minimum of 3% of the population and additional 20% will be …