Malacañang and the Department of Budget and Management have withheld at least P80bn in congressional realignments, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Wednesday. Advertisement Lacson said some legislators tried to realign at least P80 billion from the “Build, Build, Build” flagship program of the administration to the “Pet Projects” of their districts within the national budget for 2020. He praised President Rodrigo …

The Cagayan de Oro City Second District Representative and House Constitutional Amendments panel Chair Rufus Rodriguez said Tuesday, the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments was set to vote on several recommendations for amendments to the Charter. Rodriguez noted that his panel should give weight to the interagency panel’s recommendations on constitutional amendments which included: Electing senators for each of the …

According to data from the Department of Health (DOH), only around a quarter of the 527 people under investigation (PUIs) for suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Philippines are still admitted to hospitals. Announcement By 12 p.m. 387 PUIs, or 73 per cent, were discharged from medical facilities on Tuesday. In the Philippines the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases …

The Philippine Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association (PHAP) on Tuesday cautioned that pharmaceutical companies will reduce their labor force as a result of potential loss of competitiveness due to the high retail price recently levied on certain medicines. PHAP’s opposition to price control has been consistent since global experience showed that artificial measures lead to market inefficiencies and lack of supply …

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order imposing a maximum retail price for certain products, a top official from Malacañang said Monday. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said Duterte had signed EO 104, which aims to improve access to affordable medicines for the Filipinos. A copy of the EO has yet to be released by The Palace. Later the Department …

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana claimed on Saturday that President Rodrigo Duterte has not formally ordered a notice of termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) to be sent to the US, contrary to a previous announcement by Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo. “This is fake news. Sec. Locsin has not yet[ seen] the document,” Lorenzana told reporters in a chat group, …

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Tuesday that the government would allocate more than P2 billion for the procurement of protective gear for health workers and an additional P10 million for face mask supplies in the country. Advertisement During a Senate hearing on the government’s readiness for the possible spread of 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease in the Philippines, …

President Rodrigo Duterte has asked private hospitals to help stem the spread of the country’s novel coronavirus. He made an appeal during a meeting in Malacañang with top government officials and health experts. The President also called on private hospitals to help the government counter the epidemic by treating patients seeking treatment after hearing reports that some private institutions refuse …

President Rodrigo Duterte has placed a ban on tourists from China’s Hubei province and from other Chinese areas affected by the novel coronavirus (nCoV) Panelo released the statement a day after the Health Department (DOH) announced the country’s first nCoV event— a 38-year-old woman from Wuhan City, China. Wuhan is a town in province Hubei. Less than a day after …