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Quarantines relaxed nationwide on June 1

THE country will be transitioning into more relaxed lockdowns starting June 1, with fewer restrictions on people’s movement and more outdoor activities and physical reporting to work allowed.

Most areas in the Philippines will be placed under a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) — the least strict lockdown level — the starting Monday, while Metro Manila, Davao City, Region 2 (Cagayan Valley), Region 3 (Central Luzon), Region 4-A (Calabarzon consisting of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), Pangasinan, and Albay will be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ).

The Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) states that GCQ involves the imposition of temporary measures on movement of transportation, industries, and presence of uniformed personnel. However, this is less strict than the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) which was originally imposed on Metro Manila and many parts of the Philippines and allowed only sectors delivering basic goods and services to operate and with public transportation prohibited.

MGCQ is also called the “transition to the normal,” with much fewer restrictions than GCQ.

In areas under GCQ, persons under the age of 21 and those 60 and above, and people who suffer from immunodeficiencies, or have comorbidities or other health risks, and pregnant women, are not allowed to leave their homes unless they are obtaining essential goods and services or have to go to work in permitted industries and offices. The same limitation is imposed on the people living with them. But under MGCQ, everyone is allowed to leave their residence.

The GCQ restrictions on leaving the house do not apply though when it comes to outdoor exercise. Everyone is allowed to do outdoor non-contact sports and exercises under GCQ such as walking, jogging, running, biking, golf, swimming, tennis, badminton, equestrian, and skateboarding as long as minimum public health standards are followed such as the wearing of masks, observing social distancing, and no sharing of equipment.

For MGCQ, both outdoor and indoor non-contact sports and exercises will be allowed. The same minimum health standards should be observed.

Unlike GCQ areas where mass public gatherings are banned and leisure establishments and areas are closed, under MGCQ movie screenings, concerts, sporting events, entertainment activities, community assemblies and non-essential work gatherings, among others, are allowed — but attendees will be limited to 50% of the venue’s capacity.

Under MGCQ, employees of public and private offices can resume physically reporting to work at full operating capacity. All public transportation will also be allowed to operate as long as minimum health standards are implemented, especially social distancing.

No face-to-face or in-person classes will be allowed under GCQ, while under MGCQ, tertiary schools can conduct face to face classes as long as minimum health standards are followed, although the mass gathering of students will still be banned. For those in K-12, the Department of Education’s Learning Continuity Plan, which includes remote and distance learning, will be adopted for areas under GCQ and MGCQ. — Gillian M. Cortez

Senate to focus on Bayanihan law extension, no time to pass other priority measures

SENATE MAJORITY Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said that the Senate may not be able to pass all priority measures such as the economic stimulus act and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) before Congress adjourns next week due to the limited number of session days left, adding that the upper chamber will be prioritizing the bill extending the validity of the Bayanihan to Heal As One Law instead.

“Out of practicality, I don’t think we will be able to finish all these measures in three working days…. because these are very important and very tedious topics that we really need to concentrate on per sector. So what we have on the table that we will tackle next week is the extension of the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act,” he said during a virtual joint hearing of the Senate committees on Finance and Economic Affairs on Friday.

Mr. Zubiri said the Malacañang will issue a certificate of urgency to extend the law.

“I called up our contacts in the Palace, I was told that they will issue a certification on the measure. They’re just waiting for the committee report from the chairperson,” he said.

The Bayanihan law allowed President Rodrigo R. Dueterte to realign the budget for anti-COVID-19 measures. Under the law, low-income households were supposed to get as much as P8,000 in monthly cash aid for two months.

Senate Bill (SB) 1546 seeks to extend the effectivity of the law — which will expire next month — until September. Its counterpart measure, House Bill 6811, was also filed in the lower chamber.

“On the issue of PESA (Philippine Economic Stimulus Act) and CREATE, we are also looking into it, prioritizing it, but it is a little bit more complicated so it may take a bit longer in terms of discussions and debate in the Senate,” Mr. Zubiri said.

PESA, a measure currently pending for second reading in the House of Representatives, seeks to inject P1.3-trillion into the economy between 2020 to 2023 to help workers and businesses cope with the impact of the pandemic.

The CREATE bill, also deemed urgent, is being repurposed as a stimulus measure and accelerates the timetable for bringing down corporate income tax to 25% from the current 30% by July.

At least four stimulus packages have been filed at the Senate to address COVID-19: SB 1417 (P108 billion), SB 1449 (P370 billion), SB 1542 (P548 billion for 2020, P80 billion for 2021), and SB 1561 (P600 billion). The upper chamber has yet to agree on a specific amount and consolidate these measures.

Meanwhile, representatives from various sectors have aired their struggles during the pandemic and proposed several measures for consideration by the committees.

Film Development Council of the Philippines Chairperson Mary Liza Diño-Seguerra asked for the inclusion of film businesses in the targeted mass testing and subsidy efforts of the government, saying that thousands of audio-visual workers are now unemployed.

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Chairperson Danilo Ramos asked that farmers, fishermen, and other agricultural workers be included in the bill for subsidies and zero interest loans. The amount is projected to hit up to P400 billion.

Defend Jobs Philippines Spokesperson Thadeus Ifurung proposed to ban layoffs in the next three months and an additional P30,000 subsidy for those rendered jobless during the pandemic.

Philippine Liner Shipping Association President Mark Matthew F. Parco also asked for government support, saying there has been a 70% drop in cargo volume, while passenger volume has dropped by 90%.

Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald U. Mendoza said that the government should focus on boosting the country’s health capacity and set aside the CREATE bill until the crisis subsides.

“Our suggestion is to delay implementation of… CREATE. On paper, these reforms, in a world not in crisis and if done right, might help boost the country’s competitiveness. A strong healthcare system and social protection system underpinning the recovery and providing a credible assurance of coverage for all citizens… will also be critical in backstopping the psychology of recovery. That should be the main focus of our stimulus and crisis recovery effort,” he said. — Genshen L. Espedido

DoH to change how it reports COVID-19 cases

THE Department of Health (DoH) said that it will be changing the way coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases are reported to the public, saying that it will identify those that are “fresh” and those that came from “delayed reporting.”

Kung noon ay pinapakita namin ay simpleng bilang lang ng mga pumapasok at na-va-validate na kaso ng epidemiology bureau, simula po ngayon ay hahatiin na po namin ang numero upang ipakita kung ilan sa mga numerong ito ay fresh or newly validated case kada araw at ihahawalay na rin po namin kung ilan naman ang late o nagmula lamang sa delayed reporting,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said during a virtual briefing on Friday.

(While before we would report the simple count of all the cases that came in and had been validated by the epidemiology bureau, starting now we will divide the number to show how many are fresh or newly validated cases each day, and will separate those that came in late or are from delayed reporting.)

She said that out of the 539 new infections reported on Thursday, only 109 were fresh cases which meant they had been reported in the last three days. The remaining 430 came from “delayed reporting” of cases from the past week.

Ang balanse na mahigit kumulang na 400 ay mga late cases o mga kaso na ang mga resulta ay lumabas noong nakaraan pang linggo (The balance of more or less 400 were late cases or cases whose results had come out the week before),” Ms. Vergeire said, adding that the reporting of cases depends on how early hospitals or local government units submit their data.

She also said that the daily update of COVID-19 deaths does not necessarily mean that patients died on the same day it was reported.

Sa mga namatay, 17 ang nireport natin kahapon. Pero hindi ibig-sabihin nito, kahapon lamang sila namatay. Kung ang pagbabasehan ay date of death at hindi death reported, naitala ang pinaka maraming namatay noong March 31 kung saan 30 ang namatay,” Ms. Vergeire said. (We reported 17 deaths yesterday. But this does not mean that they all died just yesterday. If we base things on the date of death and not on the death reported, we could see that the most died on March 31 when 30 people died.)

The release of the daily COVID-19 case bulletin has been delayed in order to validate the number of cases. The DoH usually releases the bulletin in the afternoon.

As of Thursday, the health department reported 15,558 COVID-19 cases in the country, 921 of whom have died while 3,598 have recovered.

Globally, the virus has sickened 5.9 million and killed about 362,000 people, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including data from the World Health Organization. — Genshen L. Espedido

DoLE promises all stranded OFWs will be brought home before Duterte’s deadline

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said it will be able to make sure all stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) make it home before the deadline President Rodrigo R. Duterte set, with 19,000 out of 24,000 already brought home.

In an online briefing on Friday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said that around 5,000 remain out of the 24,000 OFWs who were reportedly unable to return home despite testing negative for the COVID-19 virus and accomplishing the mandatory 14 day quarantine.

“We are just short by about 5,000 OFWs who are still waiting to be transported back home so as to accomplish what we were tasked to do. As of last night, we were able to send home 19,010 OFWs,” Mr. Bello said.

The deadline given by President Duterte earlier this week is this coming Sunday.

The DoLE has set up a command center to prevent any similar mishaps from happening. Mr. Bello also said he has signed an administrative order calling for the establishment of a crisis management center that will address OFW concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be led by former DoLE Secretary Marianito Roque.

Mr. Bello said he expects around 42,000 more OFWs to fly back to the Philippines by June. — Gillian M. Cortez

1,000 stranded indigenious people brought home

ALMOST 1,000 indigenious people (IP) who had been stranded in Metro Manila when the lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was imposed, have been brought back to their homes by the government.

In a Laging Handa briefing on Friday, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Commissioner Jennifer Pia Sibug-Las said they created a special task force to help IPs get back home after they had been stranded in Metro Manila and nearby provinces for more than two months due to the strict lockdown.

Called the “Oplan Bayanihan for Stranded IPs,” Ms. Sibug-Las said, “We already have located 3,121 stranded IPs here in Metro Manila.”

Ang nasi-serve pa lang po namin of the moment is 937, so mayroon pa kaming 2,184 na un-served stranded IPs (We served 937 of them at the moment, so we still have 2,184 left who are still stranded),” she added.

The program aims to help not only stranded IPs in Metro Manila go home to their localities but also assist those who have been displaced from their work by giving them cash aid and food packs through the Department of Social Welfare and Development. — Gillian M. Cortez

Country should not rely on private sector for COVID-19 tests — Garin

THE Philippines should not rely on the private sector to cover mass testing and vaccines for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and former Health Secretary Janette Garin said.

“Government should spend on this. It should not be passed on to the business sector because the business sector is already suffering much,” Ms. Garin said in a Go Negosyo webinar on Friday.

“If you keep on passing all medical and healthcare costs to the business sector, then you end up [with business] terminating employees.”

Ms. Garin is pushing for House Bill No. 6707 or the Crushing COVID ACT, which would have the government cover the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for asymptomatic Filipinos returning to work or returning from abroad.

She added that vaccines, when they are developed, should be made available and accessible by the government.

“Vaccination is not just a right. It’s the government’s obligation. You cannot let the businesses absorb this,” she said, adding that businesses must invest in health measures for employees.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO of Ayala Corp., said that the private sector “fills a vacuum” in the short term, saying that there will be more dialogue between private and public sectors on how they will take on the needed health measures.

“The business community basically rose to the occasion; they tried to fill a vacuum in equipment that was needed. We tried to be helpful as much as possible. But then, as the situation begins to normalize and both the government and the private sector begin to understand the new cost-structure around getting us effectively through this pandemic, then there has to be a decision made on who takes on more responsibilities,” he said.

He said the private sector worked on short-term solutions to make sure employees can safely return to work.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey A. Concepcion said that he believed that quarantine gave the private sector the time to boost its testing capacity.

“We will have to regularly test our employees to create that vigilance,” he said.

Mr. Concepcion spearheaded Project ARK (Antibody Rapid test Kits), a private sector-led project to increase COVID-19 testing that has acquired 1.2 million rapid test kits so far. — Jenina P. Ibañez

22,522 inmates released through video conference hearings — Supreme Court

THE Supreme Court said that 22,522 inmates have been released through videoconferencing hearings.

In a press release on Friday, the Supreme Court said that in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, it had provided some 1,000 trial courts in key cities nationwide with official Philippine Judiciary 365 accounts. These accounts have enabled courts nationwide to receive pleadings electronically, and select courts in key cities to conduct video conferencing hearings.

Supreme Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez said that these 1,000 trial courts were initially authorized to pilot-test the conduct of videoconferencing hearings on urgent matters in criminal cases involving people deprived of liberty (PDLs).

The Court eventually expanded the coverage of videoconference hearings to “all matters pending before (the courts), in both criminal and civil cases, whether newly filed or pending, and regardless of the stage of trial.”

Meanwhile, some 350 more courts were also authorized to conduct hearings via video conferencing, bringing the total number to 1,350 courts.

Mr. Marquez said that while parts of the country were still on lockdown, 3,201 video conference hearings had been conducted. He also said that 22,522 inmates have been released since the lockdown, either through bail or on their own recognizance, or after serving the minimum imposable penalty for the crime with which they were charged.

“All told, the new normal (makes) justice accessible to everyone at all times. We just have to embrace enabling technologies that are reliable, malware-free and COVID-free,” he said.

In March this year, Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta issued Administrative Circular 31-2020 ordering all 2,630 courts nationwide to drastically reduce their operations and to maintain only the necessary skeleton-staff to immediately act on urgent matters brought before them. He however emphasized that the Constitution and the laws were not suspended, and that the “courts are not shutting down in times of emergencies.”

The Supreme Court said that courts all over the country are utilizing videoconferencing technology to eliminate the “safety, security and health risks posed by the personal appearance of PDLs who are considered to be high-risk or afflicted with highly contagious diseases.”

“Such risk is not only posed on the accused but also to judges, court personnel, and the public in general. This will also guarantee the accused’s rights to be present and confront witnesses against them and to ensure the continuity of proceedings in criminal cases,” it said. — Genshen L. Espedido

House OKs bill to spur economic growth in Eastern Visayas

ON THURSDAY evening, the House of Representatives approved on second reading House Bill 6869 which seeks to create the Eastern Visayas Development Authority (EVDA) which is meant to spearhead investment promotion and implement economic development strategies in Region 8.

“With EVDA, we can ensure that our investment priorities and promotion strategies are in sync with our development needs and our regional strengths such as our geographical location, our skilled human resources, and our immense tourism potentials,” Tingog party-list Representative Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and House Majority Leader and Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, the primary authors of the bill, said in a joint statement on Friday.

By providing an integrated and coordinated direction to agricultural, industrial, economic and social development, the two lawmakers said EVDA will serve as the lead agency tasked to “steer the sound and balanced industrial, economic and social growth of Eastern Visayas and carry on with the speedy rehabilitation in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan.”

In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda), one of the strongest typhoons in recorded human history, flattened parts of Eastern Visayas resulting in great loss of life, livelihood, and property.

Ms. and Mr. Romualdez said that even before Typhoon Haiyan struck, the incidence of poverty in the region had already been worsening.

“While the nation’s overall economic situation has been improving on the average, poverty in the region worsened from 2006 to 2012. In 2014, poverty incidence was at 54.9%; more than half of the region’s population of 4.10 million is now extremely poor and unable to earn the minimum amount necessary to address their basic needs,” they said.

Ms. and Mr. Romualdez said that EVDA will be able to address these issues through its programs and projects that will “increase trade, tourism and investments in the region, encourage private enterprise and advance efforts towards progress and development.”

“Once the promise of a resilient economy is fulfilled, the right economic and social conditions will be realized — one that will provide jobs to the people, especially those in rural areas, increase their productivity and their individual and family income, and thereby improve the level and quality of their living conditions,” the lawmakers added.

The bill seeks P1 billion to cover the initial operating costs of the agency. This will be charged against the unexpended contingency funds of the Office of the President.

The measure will have to go through a third reading before it hurdles the lower chamber. It will be transmitted to the Senate for its own deliberations. — Genshen L. Espedido

Courts in full operation starting June 1

ALL judicial courts will be in “full operation” starting June 1, following the easing of lockdown restrictions in most parts of the country.

“All courts and offices of the courts nationwide beginning 1 June 2020 shall be in full operation from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the National Capital Judicial Region, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Regions 1 to 12, Monday to Friday,” Supreme Court Circular No. 41-2020 read.

Considering that mass transportation is not yet in full operation, the courts may continue to function with a skeleton-staff if necessary.

All inquiries on cases and transactions, including requests for documents and services, will be initially processed only through hotline numbers, e-mail, and/or social media accounts of the courts. No walk-in requests will be entertained by any branches.

Raffling of cases will also proceed regularly. Meanwhile, the raffling of cases through videoconferencing will no longer be conducted.

Hearings of cases, regardless of the stage of the trial, will all be held in-court, except cases involving persons deprived of liberty (PDL) who will continue to appear remotely from their detention facility.

In-court hearings should strictly follow hygiene protocols such as the wearing of masks, thermal scanning, and social distancing. In the case of videoconferenced hearings, justices or judges will preside from the courtrooms or their chambers at all times.

There will be no extensions in the filing of petitions, appeals, complaints, motions, pleadings and other court submissions that will fall due beginning June 1. In addition, periods for court actions with prescribed periods beginning June 1 will not be extended.

The Supreme Court earlier ordered all courts nationwide to “physically close” starting March 23 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. — Genshen L. Espedido

Sanofi says will have COVID-19 vaccine in 18-24 months

PHARMACEUTICAL firm Sanofi Pasteur, Inc. said that developing a vaccine against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could take 18 to 24 months.

“We can be confident enough in saying that within 18 to 24 months, we should have a vaccine ready for registration,” said Sanofi Philippines Country Manager Jean-Antoine ZinsouIn in an online briefing on Friday.

But he cautioned that COVID-19 is still being studied by researchers and scientists worldwide.

“A vaccine is dealing with biologicals. It means we are dealing with living materials which are viruses. Yes, we can project some timelines but there is no guarantee because we don’t know how the virus will react. When you develop a vaccine, there is always a risk of failure,” he said.

He added that even though developing a vaccine against the virus is urgent, Sanofi will still practice vigilance and follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mr. Zinsou said they began the early stages of vaccine development a few months ago. At the moment, they are doing candidate specification of the vaccine.

Sanofi has partnered with international pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). If they are successful in developing a working vaccine, they will need to produce around 600 million to 1 billion doses every year.

The WHO earlier said that it would take at least 12 to 18 months before a vaccine can be released to the public. — Gillian M. Cortez

COVID-19 test machine distributor denies allegations of overpricing, monopoly

OMNIBUS Bio-Medical Systems Inc. has denied allegations that it has hoarded and sold overpriced coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing equipment and kits to the national government.

“There is no truth to the reports that the company directly sold Sansure Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machines and test kits to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Central Office Bids and Awards Committee-Department of Health (DoH), and PhilHealth,” the company said in a statement.

Omnibus, the local distributor of medical equipment from China-based company Sansure Biotech Inc., said the confusion over the prices of COVID-19 testing machines happened when general statements were made.

“The allegations failed to note that the company was actually offering packages with different inclusions for clients,” the company said.

Omnibus said that when it facilitated the sale of a Sansure machine for Go Negosyo’s Project Ark, the price was $35,000 or around P1.75 million.

“This was done via a free on board or FOB arrangement. Go Negosyo was the one who paid the additional costs for air transport, destination charges, storage, and warehousing,” the company said.

Omnibus said it offered a similar machine to the DBM’s procurement service on April 23.

The ready-to-use package, priced at P4.3 million, included 25,000 NATCH consumables, which are the plastics used to carry out the ribonucleic acid (RNA) extraction.

“It also included costs such as air transport, destination charges, storage, warehousing, local delivery fees, and warranties, among others,” the company said.

Omnibus said it offered another package to the DBM on May 6.

The offer, which was a promotional letter, amounted to P4 million and included marketing materials for budgetary and reference quotations.

“It was a slightly lower price because the machine and NATCH consumables were priced separately. That was the only difference. All other additional costs were included,” the company said.

The company said it was operating within a difficult delivery scenario and was rushing to accomplish everything in a short delivery period.

Taking into account all the challenges, the company said costs added up to P4.3 million for the machine with PCR consumables, and P4 million for the machine only.

“We stand by our statement that we offered a fair price for both packages mentioned,” the company said.

Meanwhile, Omnibus also denied allegations of monopolizing PCR machines and COVID-19 testing equipment and kits.

“Anyone can easily confirm that they only distribute one of the brands available in the market. Omnibus is the exclusive distributor for the Sansure brand only,” the company said.

According to Omnibus, the Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that there are around 45 approved brands for PCR-based testing.

Even with the claimed exclusive distributorship of Sansure products, Omnibus said there are at least three other companies selling similarly branded products in the Philippines.

In addition, Omnibus said that it lost the bid for the COVID-19 test kits and does not have an existing business transaction with the DBM, DoH, and PhilHealth with regard to test kits and medical equipment.

“We value our customers and will never engage in profiteering, hoarding, or blackmailing. We stand on two decades of hard work and service commitment to our stakeholders through the selfless dedication of our employees,” the company said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Pag-asa seaport set to open in June

THE seaport project in the heavily contested Pag-asa Island is slated to commence operations on June 12, the Department of Transportation reported late on Thursday.

In 2017, the Philippine Congress allotted P450 million to the department for the construction of a port within Kalayaan, Palawan, also called the Spratly Islands, located in the West Philippines Sea.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade told President Rodrigo R. Duterte during the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) that there will be no formal ceremony to open the port.

Sabi ko wala nang inaugurate-inaugurate. Mahigit 10 ‘yan. Sabi ko, operate na lang (I said, there will be no inauguration. There might be more than 10 people to attend. I said, just operate it),” Mr. Tugade said.

On May 13, the Philippine Navy was able to dock a vessel at Pag-asa for the first time as construction of the port was about 90% complete. The ship’s visit was part of its rotation and reprovisioning mission through various detachments among the Kalayaan islands.

A beaching ramp and a 1.3-kilometer airstrip project by the Department of Defense are also nearing completion. These are meant to expedite the delivery of construction materials to the island.

In 2017, President Duterte ordered the reinforcement of Pag-asa. Less than 400 residents reside on the remote island, which has one elementary school and a five-bed clinic.

It was reported that China has militarized seven reefs in Kalayaan which the Philippines has also been claiming. The government established the island town in 1978.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration affirmed the Philippines’ exclusive sovereign rights over the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea.

Meanwhile, also at the IATF-EID meeting, Mr. Tugade said an electronic ticketing system for maritime transportation is set to run by December.

“By December, pwede nang umpisahan (the ticketing system can start). Ngayon, nasa test run (it is currently undergoing a test run). May ticket na pag sumakay ka ng maritime vessels (There will be tickets now when you travel via maritime vessels),” the Transportation official said.

He said the ticketing system, which is currently employed in train and aviation platforms, would eliminate tickets reselling and overloading of ships. — Adam J. Ang