Home Blog Page 6947

Moderna reaches supply deal with Philippines for 13 million vaccine doses

Moderna Inc said on Saturday it has agreed to supply the Philippines government 13 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, with deliveries set to begin in mid-2021.

The company will work with regulators to pursue necessary approvals prior to the distribution, it said in a press release.

Moderna said it expected to reach a separate deal with the Philippines government and private sector to supply an additional 7 million doses.

In January, the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration approved the COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE for emergency use. – Reuters

Inflation hits 26-month high in February

Consumer prices rose faster for a fifth straight month to a 26-month high in February as food prices continued to surge, the Philippine Statistics Agency reported on Friday.

Preliminary data from the PSA showed headline inflation at 4.7% last month, picking up from 4.2% in January 2021 and 2.6% in February 2020.

The February inflation result marked the fastest pace since the 5.1% in December 2018.

February Inflation

The latest headline figure is a tad lower than the 4.8% median in a BusinessWorld poll conducted late last week but falls within the 4.3%-5.1% estimate given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for February.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno reiterated the uptick appears to be “transitory,” reflecting the impact of the African Swine Fever (ASF) on food prices, higher global oil prices and weather-related disturbances.

“The overall balance of risks to future inflation continues to lean toward the downside owing mainly to the continued uncertainty caused by the pandemic on domestic and global economic activity. Meanwhile, upside risks could emanate from the possibility of an early roll-out of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccines in the Philippines,” he said in a Viber message to reporters.

Mr. Diokno also said the near-term inflation caused by supply-side shocks will not require a monetary response “unless they lead to second-round effects.”

Year to date, February inflation settled at 4.5%, beyond the BSP’s 2-4% target for the year.

Core inflation, which discounted volatile prices of food and fuel, stood at 3.5% in February, picking up from 3.4% the previous year and 3.2% a year earlier. It averaged 3.5% so far this year.

The PSA attributed the uptrend in headline inflation mainly to the uptick in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 6.7% from 6.1% in January.

It also noted higher annual increases in the following commodity groups: alcoholic beverages and tobacco (12.2% from 11.7% in January); housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (0.9% from 0.5%); health (2.9% from 2.5%); transport (10.4% from 8.7%); communication (0.3% from 0.2%); and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services (3.2% from 3%).

The food-alone index accelerated to 7% in February from 6.6% the previous month, and 2.1% a year ago.

Among select food items, faster price increases were observed in meat (20.7% from 17.1% in January); fish (5.1% from 3.7%); oils and fats (3.3% from 2.9%); food products not elsewhere classified (4.6% from 3.2%); and rice (0.5% from zero percent).

Meat prices have surged in recent months, due to supply constraints amid the ASF outbreak.

Similarly, the February inflation rate for the bottom 30% of households picked up to 5.5% from 4.9% in January 2021 and 2.1% in February 2020. The inflation rate for this segment was the fastest since the 6.3% reading in December 2018.

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said the acceleration in transport prices came from tricycle, jeepney and bus fares.

“The ‘new normal’ in public transport, with fewer people allowed to ride and allot for social distancing protocols and other restrictions may be taking a toll on supply of transport with tricycle, jeepney and bus drivers and companies adjusting to the new schemes. Anecdotal stories on the ground of higher charges for transport confirm these observations,” he said in an e-mail.

He also expects meat prices to continue rising due to lack of local supply, but noted this trend is not limited to the country.

In a note sent to reporters, ANZ Research economists Sanjay Mathur and Kanika Bhatnagar said most of the components in the consumer price index will “remain subdued” despite price changes in the more volatile food and transport subindices.

“As such, we see no compelling reason for the BSP to exit its accommodative monetary policy stance this year. However, we are cognizant of the possible ‘second-round’ impact of higher food and fuel inflation on inflation expectations and spill-over effects to the prices of other goods and services,” they said.

ING Bank NV Bank Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said he expects the central bank to “remain sidelined for 2021 while inflation will likely remain elevated in the near term before gradually decelerating by the [third quarter].”

For JPMorgan’s Research Analyst Milo Gunasinghe: “Headline inflation is set to remain around current levels and above the BSP target in coming months, and likely falling back into the target range in 3Q, considering base effects on fuel prices picking up despite food price pressures likely subsiding. We think the BSP will stay on hold through 2021 and maintain their accommodative policy stance given the fragile economic recovery,” he said.

“Any second-round effects from the transitory supply-side pressures would likely cause a shift in this view,” he added.

The BSP’s Monetary Board at its first meeting on Feb. 11 kept key policy rates unchanged.

The central bank last year slashed rates by a total of 200 bps to provide support to the virus-stricken economy. This brought down the overnight reverse repurchase, lending, and deposit rates to current record lows of 2%, 2.5%, and 1.5%, respectively.

The Monetary Board will next meet on March 25 to discuss policy. — Lourdes O. Pilar with inputs from Luz Wendy T. Noble

Philippine banks’ NPL ratio may rise up to 5% by end-2021 – Fitch

The Philippine banking industry will likely see a rise in soured loans this year as many consumers struggle to settle their debts amid the crisis, Fitch Ratings said.

The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio is expected to spike to 4.5-5% by end-2021 as more bad loans pile up in the first half, the debt watcher said in a note released on Friday.

“We expect Philippine borrowers to have a harder time meeting their debt obligations after the expiry of the moratorium, than borrowers in more developed markets where aggressive fiscal stimuli have resulted in larger cash handouts and stronger employment support,” Fitch analysts Tamma Febrian and Willie Tanoto said.

While employment prospects will likely improve as the economy gradually recovers, they noted the jobs market will remain sluggish for at least several quarters.

This in turn will impact consumer loan quality that will keep NPL ratios elevated this year.

The jobless rate in the country stood at 8.7% or about 3.813 million unemployed Filipinos in October, much higher than the 4.6% or 2.045 million jobless a year earlier. This was an improvement from the record 17.6% unemployment rate in April when 7.228 million individuals were jobless amid the lockdown.

“The improvement in the national jobless rate has not translated into better consumer loan asset quality. This was partly because the unemployment ratio within the National Capital Region (NCR), where most of the banks’ customers are concentrated, remained stubbornly high at 12.4%,” Fitch analysts said.

The industry-wide bad loan ratio stood at 3.61% as of end-December, easing from the 3.78% in the prior month partly due to the impact of the temporary grace period for borrowers which expired in December. However, this was still higher than the 2.08% seen as of end-December 2019.

As of end-September, Fitch analysts noted the consumer loan segment with the worst NPL ratio was for motor vehicle loans (9.7%). This was followed by residential mortgages (8.4%) and credit card receivables (7.5%).

Meanwhile, the debt watcher flagged risks related to real estate loans.

“Banks that were actively underwriting mortgage loans at the height of the property boom in late 2019 and early 2020 are more vulnerable to heightened provisioning risks from the recent price correction as the property values of some of these loans may already be underwater, raising the incentive for borrowers to default or reducing collateral recovery rates,” Fitch analysts said.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin E. Diokno earlier dismissed financial stability concerns related to asset price bubbles.

Central bank data showed residential home prices slipped 0.4% year on year in the third quarter last year, as prices of condominium and duplex homes decreased by 15% and 8.8%, respectively.

However, prices of townhomes and single detached/attached houses rose by 12.4% and 7.4%, respectively in the same period.

As bad loans pile up, Fitch said the passage of the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Law will be a source of relief for the banking industry. Republic Act No. 111523 will cover assets of banks that will be deemed non-performing until end-2022.

“SPV (special purpose vehicle) law may help banks to offload NPLs, though pace of disposal will likely hinge on implementation and economic recovery,” the Fitch analysts said. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

BSP expands types of loans counted as Agri-Agra compliance

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) has expanded further the type of loans counted as compliance with the mandatory credit allocation for agriculture and agrarian reform activities.

“This is an interim measure while awaiting the amendment of Republic Act (RA) 10000 (Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009) itself,” Monetary Board member V. Bruce J. Tolentino said in a Twitter message.

Circular No. 1111 signed by BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno on March 3 said loans for activities involved in the agricultural value chain from farming, fishing, as well as other processes involved in converting an agricultural product from raw material to its consumption form will now be counted as agri-agra credit.

This means even loans to businesses related to input production, farm and fishery operations and management, equipment and supplies manufacturing, food processing, trading, and retailing will also be qualified as compliance with the Agri-Agra law.

The central bank also expanded its definition for agrarian reform beneficiaries to include communities and integrated development made up of farmers that were granted land or benefited from redistributed land through previous agrarian reform programs.

Loans to surviving family members in case initial beneficiaries die or are already incapable to manage awarded land are also included in the revised measure.

Moreover, bonds issued by banks whose proceeds will finance lending to agrarian reform beneficiaries will also be counted as part of the agrarian reform credit quota.

“The amendments to the implementing rules and regulations of RA No. 10000 is expected to mobilize financing toward the agri-agra sector since it expands avenues for compliance by a bank within the legal ambit of RA No. 10000,” BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier said in a text message.

House Bill No. 6134 was passed on third reading in March 2020 and has already been transmitted to the Senate. Its counterpart Senate Bill 1924 is pending in the committee level.

As of December, banks disbursed loans worth P642.371 billion as part of their compliance for the agricultural segment of the Agri-Agra law, BSP data showed. This is only 9% of their P7.136 trillion loanable funds, short of the 15% minimum requirement.

Compliance for the agrarian reform segment meanwhile stood at P71.228 billion, only 1% of their loanable funds and also lower than the 10% minimum. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Security Bank to face asset quality risks due to large retail loan portfolio

SECURITY BANK Corp. will continue to face asset quality pressures this year mainly due to its “troubled retail portfolio,” S&P Global Ratings said on Friday.

“The bank has aggressively expanded into retail banking during the past five to six years, with its consumer banking portfolio reaching 28% of the overall loan book at its peak in December 2019, compared with 5% at end-2013. About 15% of the retail book is from unsecured retail products such as credit cards and personal loans,” the debt watcher said in a note.

Consumer loans make up 25% of Security Bank’s credit portfolio, higher than the industry average of 19%, it noted.

S&P also noted the bank’s elevated credit cost, which it expects to go beyond the industry average. The bank’s credit costs reached P26.4 billion or 4.7% of its gross loan book in 2020 from just P4.2 billion or 1.3% of the total in 2019.

“In our base case, we project Security Bank’s credit costs will be 2%-2.5% of gross loans in 2021, compared with our industry forecast of 1.7%,” S&P said.

The debt watcher said factors that buoyed the bank in 2020, such as a rise in net interest margin (NIM) and better trading gains, are “unsustainable” this year.

“Security Bank’s earnings in 2021 are likely to stay weak owing to a shrinking NIM, unrepeated trading gains, as well as still-elevated credit costs. We forecast a 20-25 bps compression in NIM in 2020, barring further cuts in the reserve requirement ratio,” it said.

The bank’s performance will depend on the country’s economic recovery, S&P said. Elevated credit costs and a prolonged period of weak earnings will be key risks to the bank’s capital strength, it added.

However, despite asset quality risks, S&P said Security Bank will likely continue to log a capital adequacy ratio within 11.5% to 12% in the next two years, still above the required minimum.

Security Bank booked net earnings worth P7.4 billion last year, dropping 26.7% from the 10.1 billion seen in 2019 as it boosted its loan loss provisions amid the pandemic.

Its shares finished trading at P128.10 apiece on Friday, down by P1.40 or 1.08% from its previous close. — L.W.T. Noble

PSBank’s net income drops 63% in 2020

PHILIPPINE Savings Bank booked a lower net income in 2020 as it hiked its loan loss provisions amid the pandemic.

The bank’s net profit stood at P1.108 billion last year, it said in a filing with the local bourse on Friday. This was 63% lower than the P3.03 billion it booked in 2019, based on its annual report for that year.

It tripled its loan loss reserves to P6.4 billion last year amid the crisis, it said.

“As a matter of strategy, we took a conservative stance on credit provisioning in anticipation of risks associated with the pandemic,” PSBank President Jose Vicente L. Alde said in a statement.

The bank’s gross revenues increased 13% to P16.57 billion. Meanwhile, operating income before provisions climbed 31% year on year to P7.45 billion in 2020.

Net interest income also increased 21% to P13.75 billion last year on the back of growth in its low-cost current account, savings account deposits and amid lower interest rate of term deposits.

Meanwhile, the bank’s operating expenses rose 2% in 2020.

PSBank’s capital position stood at P34.51 billion. Total assets closed at P219.41 billion as of end-2020.
The bank’s total adequacy ratio and common equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 19.4% and 18.1%, respectively.

“As the economy slowly opens up in 2021, we shall remain positive and hopeful that our recalibrated business models will deliver and continue to adapt to the new environment,” Mr. Alde said.

The bank’s shares went up by 35 centavos or by 0.64% to close at P55.35 apiece on Friday. — L.W.T. Noble

Central bank sells P80 billion in short-term bills

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) made a full award of the one-month bills it offered on Friday even as rates climbed following data showing a quicker inflation print for February.

The central bank raised P80 billion as planned from its offering of 28-day bills that were met with P106.674 billion in tenders, higher than the P102.12 billion in bids logged last week.

Accepted rates for the securities ranged from 1.725% to 1.95%, a narrower range compared to the 1.665% to 1.995% band seen last week. The average rate for the papers stood at 1.8%, higher by 6.97 basis points from the 1.7303% seen previously.

Both the BSP securities and term deposits are used by the central bank to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system and to better guide short-term market rates.

“The rise in the BSP bills’ rate can be attributed to market participants’ continued search for yield amid the ongoing issuance of retail Treasury bonds (RTBs) as well as market reaction to the newly released February inflation data,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. said in a statement.

The government sold P463.3 billion in three-year retail Treasury bonds. Broken down, P411.8 billion were fresh funds or “new money” while P51.5 billion were raised under the bond exchange program.

Meanwhile, headline inflation stood at 4.7% in February, beyond the central bank’s 2-4% target and faster than the 4.2% print in January. It was also the fastest since the 5.1% print in December 2018.

The rates of central bank securities increased as they tracked yields on US Treasuries, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a text message.

Yields on the 10-year US Treasury bonds were at around 1.55% on Thursday, Reuters reported. It hit a high of 1.614% on Feb. 25. — L.W.T. Noble

Peso rises as RTB sale ends

THE PESO climbed against the greenback on Friday following the end of the government’s retail Treasury bond (RTB) offering the day prior.

The local unit closed at P48.56 per dollar on Friday, gaining six centavos from its Thursday finish of P48.62. It also appreciated by three centavos from its P48.59-per-dollar close on Feb. 26.

The peso opened Friday’s session at P48.66 a dollar. Its weakest showing was at P48.67 while its intraday best was at P48.525 against the greenback.

Dollars traded increased to $933.45 million on Friday from $817.23 million on Thursday.

The peso strengthened after the closure of the RTB offering, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a text message.

“[This] could have entailed some foreign buyers and inflows of dollars despite higher inflation data,” Mr. Ricafort said in a text message.

The Bureau of the Treasury on Thursday said it raised P463.3 billion in three-year retail Treasury bonds, marking its second-biggest issuance for the securities so far following the record P516.3 billion in five-year RTBs sold last year.

Broken down, P411.8 billion were fresh funds or “new money” while P51.5 billion were issued under the bond exchange program.

Meanwhile, a trader said profit-taking ahead of the US jobs report also fuelled the peso’s strength on Friday. — LWTN

Over 3,000 COVID cases logged on Friday, highest since Oct. 16

THE health department reported on Friday 3,093 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily case rate in almost five months, and more cases of the new variants.

The March 5 tally was the highest since the 3,139 reported in October 16, 2020.

This brings the country’s total coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases to 587,704, including 40,074 active cases.

Over 89% of the active cases are mild while 5.6% are asymptomatic. For critical, severe, and moderate cases, the Department of Health (DoH) said they are at 2.0%, 1.9%, and 0.77%, respectively.

Additional recoveries were at 178, putting the total at 535,207. Total deaths were at 12,423, including the additional 19 deaths on Friday.

The DoH also reported on Friday that its targeted sequencing detected 52 additional cases positive for the South Africa Variant; 31 new cases for the UK Variant; and 42 new cases with mutations of potential clinical significance.

These were among the 350 samples tested by the University of the Philippines Philippine Genome Center.

Health officials again cautioned the public that minimum health protocols must be strictly followed despite the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in the country this week.

“Yes, vaccines are here but it will take some time before it is our turn (to get vaccinated)… The next best thing to do is to continue to wear our face masks and shields. They are just as effective as vaccines,” John Q. Wong, adviser to the national task force handling the coronavirus response and a member of the Technical Working Group on COVID-19 Variants, said in a virtual briefing on Friday.

He noted that in a recent monitoring exercise, it was observed that 91% of people wore face masks properly but only 31% did so with face shields.

DoH Health Promotion and Policy Head Rodley M. Carza said COVID-19 cases would have increased higher than its rate now if people still doubt the efficacy of using face shields along with their face masks.

“I think that highlights why face shields are important because we are imposing face shields now and we are still seeing increasing cases. What more if we remove face shields,” he said in the same forum.

Emerging cases of the new variants, which are more transmissible, has also contributed to the recent rise of daily COVID-19 cases, according to Mr. Wong, citing that a similar trend has been seen in other countries. — Gillian M. Cortez

Ambassadors assure more COVID vaccine supply coming by mid-year

THE Philippines is expected to receive the initial batch of coronavirus vaccines developed by Amerian firm Moderna Inc. by June or earliest in late-May, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said on Friday.

We’re hoping to have the first delivery by either end of May or early part of June,he said in a televised news briefing. Thats our target.

The Philippine government earlier announced that the possible arrival of Moderna vaccines will be in the third quarter of the year.

Mr. Romualdez said Manila has already concluded its supply agreement with the American pharmaceutical company. He is confident that the delivery would be no later than the second quarter as Washington has doubled up its vaccine production.

We’re threshing out the supply kung kailan nila puwedeng i- (when they can) deliver itong  Moderna,he said.

The Philippine government, along with the private sector, has signed a deal with Moderna to secure 20 million vials of its vaccine against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

The supply agreement was financed by the World Bank.

Mr. Romualdez said the doses will be divided among private firms, the central government, and local governments. 

“Almost half of that will go to the private sector and their employees. And then the other half will go to our health workers and the rest of the Filipinos that will be receiving the Moderna through the LGUs (local government units) and other entities in the Philippines,” he said.

At the same briefing, the envoy said Manila will take delivery of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines developed by another American drugmaker, Pfizer Inc.,within the next couple of weeks.

Mr. Romualdez said Johnson and Johnson has also committed to provide six million doses to Manila, although it has yet to give a definite date of delivery as vaccine manufacturers in the US have answered to the call of President Joe Biden to inoculate all American adults by the end of May.

The envoy assured that Washington will deliver on its commitment to supply coronavirus vaccines to other countries as it is back in the WHO (World Health Organization) and they are also contributing to the COVAX facility (which) will give access to most countries especially the Philippines.

BRITISH ENVOY

The Philippines on Thursday received its first shipment of AstraZeneca shots, consisting of 487,200 doses, supplied under the WHOs global initiative for equal vaccine access.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel R. Pruce said the arrival in the Philippines of the COVID-19 vaccines developed by British-Swede drugmaker AztraZeneca will be followed by over 20 million more doses.

Around 23 million doses of AztraZeneca vaccine should arrive in the country this year,Mr. Pruce said in a video message on Friday.

The total includes around five million under the COVAX facility and the rest are covered by the tripartite agreements with the national government and local governments, or private sector.

The British government is one of the largest donors of COVAX, giving £548 million to the facility.

I dont know how to express my gratitude to the donor countries that you remembered the poor nations is in fact already a plus for humanity,said President Rodrigo R. Duterte during the AstraZeneca arrival ceremony late Thursday.

 

PAL, Cebu Pacific transport COVID vaccines to provinces

THE country’s two biggest air service providers, Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Air, Inc. (Cebu Pacific), have been delivering the country’s first batch of coronavirus vaccines to areas outside the capital region.

In a statement on Friday, PAL said a total of 145,520 doses of CoronaVac vaccine donated by the Chinese government to Manila were delivered to various parts of the country.

The vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd arrived in the country on Feb. 28 and were initially brought to cold chain storage facilities at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila and Metropac Logistics in Marikina City.

PAL, through its commercial flights, said it carried 10,580 doses to Iloilo, 17,480 doses to Cebu, 6,600 doses to Bacolod, 17,940 doses to Cotabato , 8,940 doses to Butuan, 2,680 doses to Tagbilaran, and 6,900 doses to Tacloban.

Earlier this week, the flag carrier flew 17,400 doses to Cagayan de Oro, 21,600 doses to Davao, 12,000 doses to Legazpi, and 4,200 doses to Cotabato.

Another 12,000 doses were brought to Davao and 7,200 doses to Cebu.

“PAL continues to be of service to the nation by doing its share towards healing and recovery,” it said.

Also on Friday, CebGo, operator of Cebu Pacific’s turboprop fleet, delivered 21,000 vials of CoronaVac to Zamboanga and Tuguegarao .

“We are happy to support the rollout of the government’s vaccination program. As a public service with the widest domestic network, we will do all we can to help ensure the timely and successful distribution of vaccines across the country, as we all work together to pave way for the recovery of our economy,” CebGo President Alex B. Reyes said in a statement.

Meanwhile, coronavirus response team deputy chief implementer Vivencio B. Dizon said President Rodrigo R. Duterte wants the simultaneous rollout of the CoronaVac vaccine and the shot developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc, which arrived in Manila on Thursday.

“The rollout will start immediately, as based on the instructions of our President, that he wants the rollout to be simultaneous so that also our healthcare workers are given a choice,” Mr. Dizon told CNN Philippines. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Prisoners in priority list of vaccine recipients—DoH

PRISONERS, or formally referred to as persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), are included in the government’s priority groups for vaccination against coronavirus, the Health said on Friday.

“Groups at significant higher risk including all PDLs as determined by (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) and (Bureau of Corrections) are included under the Priority Eligible Group B-9,” Department of Health-National Vaccine Operations Center Chair Myrna C. Cabotaje said in a letter to Kapatid, a group representing families of political prisoners

She also assured that every consenting Filipino will be vaccinated, “including all Political Prisoners.”

Kapatid earlier appealed to the government for elderly inmates and those with grave illnesses to be given priority in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) inoculation program “as part of the most at-risk groups to directly control the spread of sickness and deaths inside prison facilities, which also affects the communities surrounding them.”

The also previously asked for the inclusion of about 215,000 inmates in the country’s crowded jails in the priority list of groups to be vaccinated.

TEACHERS
Meanwhile, a lawmaker on Friday called on the government to also prioritize public school officials and employees for COVID-19 vaccination.

BHW Party-list Rep. Angelica Natasha Co in a statement said the Department of Education (DepEd) should look into vaccinating its personnel as discussions are ongoing for the resumption of face-to-face classes.

“By now, DepEd should be checking on the health status and vaccination readiness of all its 900,000 personnel and the personnel of the private schools preparing to inevitably reopen,” she said.

Over 2,000 teaching and non-teaching personnel under DepEd were tested positive for the COVID-19, the lawmaker noted.

Ms. Co also said the Commission on Higher Education and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority should likewise look into its capability to vaccinate its personnel. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago and Gillian M. Cortez