Philippines

In order to enable them to incorporate distance learning modalities, public school teachers will receive an extra P1,500 allowance this year. The Department of Education (DepEd) said the rise in the annual teaching allowance from P3,500 to P5,000 was included in the 2021 budget recently approved by President Duterte. In view of this, They would like to express their appreciation …

Unauthorized distribution and administration of unregistered coronavirus vaccines will not be excluded from the National Bureau of Investigation which is probe by the Presidential Security Group. However, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who ordered the investigation, said yesterday that the NBI would not concentrate solely on the security personnel of President Duterte. Earlier, PSG staff were found to have taken shots …

Previously, around a dozen clauses of the 2021 national budget have been vetoed by President Rodrigo Duterte, including one which allows the executive branch to send to Congress quarterly reports on the utilization of intelligence funds. Duterte shared in a 16-page veto letter on next year’s spending, intelligence funds protect national security related services, initiatives and operations that are considered …

Transport supporters meet the condition set by the coronavirus task force of the government for cyclists to wear face shields over their face while outside, citing the increased danger in which riders are put. The Step as One mobility alliance in a statement pointed to the warped image for riders and the resultant pressure on commuters, calling on the Inter-Agency …

Monsour del Rosario and Alvin Aguilar, veteran Filipino martial arts artists, predict an exciting boxing bout in Dubai next year between Sen. Manny Pacquiao and UFC superstar Conor McGregor. Established as a taekwondo sensation since the mid-80s, Del Rosario claims that a rather durable McGregor, a two-weight category winner in the UFC, will face the defending World Boxing Association welterweight …

In spite of the absence of regulatory approval and despite an earlier declaration that medical frontliners are the top priority for vaccination, health workers and advocates slammed the early COVID-19 vaccination granted to the safety detail of President Rodrigo Duterte and Cabinet members. But here’s the thing, no vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration which is needed …

The central bank’s monetary board’s decision to increase its inflation forecasts further moved real interest rates into negative territory, said DBS Bank Ltd. of Singapore. After an ambitious easing that saw rates drop by 200 basis points to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas agreed to hold interest rates steady at an all-time low …

Just in the middle of celebrating Christmas, the media and several senators criticized the decision by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III not to enforce a travel ban on countries with cases of a new form of the novel coronavirus, even though it was more infectious than the first. In an emergency meeting recently of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the …

Surprisingly, President Rodrigo Duterte will no longer allow the Department of Education to pilot face-to-face classes in January next year, amid increasing concerns about a new strain of coronavirus that experts fear will be more infectious than the first. Duterte said during a television meeting with his COVID-19 task force telling that he is calling back the order and he …

In his Christmas letter, President Duterte praised the indomitable spirit of Filipinos and urged them to stay optimistic as considering the difficulties facing the Philippines this year, there are better days ahead. Duterte noted that 2020 was a tough period for all Filipinos and that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other natural calamities, several lives were lost and changed …