World News

The Food and Drug and Administration (FDA) has warned the public not to use two face mask brands which did not go through the proper authorization process. In an advisory released on Friday, FDA Director-General Rolando Enrique D. Domingo said a brandless product referred to as “Disposable Face Mask” and…

The Department of Labor on Employment (DOLE) is beefing up its campaign against business establishments that do not observe health protocols against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). DOLE Undersecretary Benjo Santos M. Benavidez on Friday said the agency will strictly impose penalties on erring companies, citing Republic Act (RA) No.…

The government’s task force on pandemic response has included the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hungary in the list of countries with travel restrictions in a bid to prevent the spread of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Malacanang said on Friday night. Presidential Spokesperson Harry…

The Department of Health (DoH) on Friday reported 2,048 additional positive cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as the country faces a post-holiday surge of the virus. This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 496,646, the DoH said in its daily case bulletin. Only…

Deputy Speaker calls for early approval of economic amendments to Constitution It would be better to pass pending economic reform measures instead of pushing for Charter Change (Cha-Cha), the Trade and Industry Secretary said on Friday, citing the limited time available to amend the 1987 Constitution. The House of Representatives…

The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday announced that oral arguments on petitions against the Anti-Terror Law that were to be held next week have been reset for February as some members of the Solicitor General’s staff have tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In a social media post on…

Over 30,000 personnel will be needed in the government’s rollout of mass vaccinations against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). If the initial rollout of the vaccination program will have to vaccinate over 24 million Filipinos, “we will need about 35,240 vaccinators and an additional 176,200 personnel,” Health Secretary Francisco T.…

After securing $13.36 billion in loans and grants from foreign sources to finance its pandemic response last year, the government is now seeking to raise $1.46 billion (P70 billion) from multilateral agencies to fund the country’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination programs. The Asian Development Bank has approved $3.93 billion…

More than 50 private sector groups are urging lawmakers to immediately enact a bill that would cut corporate income tax and streamline fiscal incentives. Legislators are set to convene the bicameral conference committee to reconcile clashing provisions in the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act passed by…

The Philippines’ dollar reserves reached a new all-time high as of end-2020, the central bank said on Friday. GROSS international reserves (GIR) — which shield the country from liquidity shocks — stood at $109.8 billion as of end-December, up 4.8% from $104.8-billion level as of end-November and 25% higher than…