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Latest new from all over the Philippines.

President Duterte approved the implementation of Alert Level System for COVID-19 Response for the whole country

November 11, 2021

President Duterte just signed Executive Order No. 151 (EO 151), which is the adoption of Alert Level System (ALS) for COVID-19 Response for the whole country.

In the EO, the rollout of ALS will be in 4 phases. The pilot areas where ALS is already implemented will be consider as the first phase and other regions will follow in the succeeding phase.

Here is the breakdown of the phases;
Phase 1 – NCR, Region 3, 4-A, 6, 7, 10 and 11
Phase 2 – Region 1, 8 and 12
Phase 3 – Region 2, 5 and 9
Phase 4 – Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Region 4-B, Region 13 (CARAGA) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)

The shift to Phase 2 can be done anytime after the effectivity of the EO, as determined by Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases but will not be later than the end of the November 2021. The next phase will then take place every week until it covers the whole country.

The guideline for the implementations of ALS in Pilot area and its amendments will be approved by the IATF once the EO is in effect. For regions not under the ALS, Community Quarantine will still be implemented.

You can read the full text of Executive Order No. 151 below;

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte withdraws candidacy for Mayor of Davao City

November 9, 2021
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte withdraws candidacy for Mayor of Davao City

In a facebook post, Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte confirmed that she will be withdrew her candidacy for Mayor of Davao City and said that her brother Sebastian Duterte, who is currently the Vice Mayor, will replace her to run as the new Mayor of Davao City.

She did not provide any reason as to why she withdrew her candidacy and there’s a speculation that she will be running for a much higher position this coming 2022 election.

It can be recalled that then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte file his candidacy for reelection as Davao City mayor in October 2015 but withdrew his Mayor candidacy and filed as a substitute candidate for President instead.

DOTr to increase seating capacity of Jeepneys to 70% and will no longer require the plastic barrier

November 1, 2021

In a facebook post, Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to increase the seating capacity of road-based and rail transportation by 70% on November 4, 2021, and the plastic barrier will no longer be require in PUJs.

Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved DOTr’s proposal to increase the seating capacity of jeepneys and rail transport last Oct. 28th. The proposal was made after quarantine status in the NCR was downgraded from Alert Level 4 to a more relaxed Alert Level 3 last October 16 until October 31.

Here is DOTr’s announcement;

Malacañang releases list of special and regular holidays for 2022

October 31, 2021

Last Friday, October 29, Pres. Duterte signed the Proclamation No. 1236, declaring the holidays 2022, which includes the regular, special non-working and working holidays for 2022.

Here are the lists of regular holidays, special non-working days and working days listed in Proclamation No. 1236;

Regular holidays

  • January 1, 2022, Saturday – New Year’s Day
  • April 9, 2022, Saturday – Araw ng Kagitingan
  • April 14, 2022, Thursday – Maundy Thursday
  • April 15, 2022, Friday – Good Friday
  • May 1, 2022, Saturday – Labor Day
  • June 12, 2022, Sunday – Independence Day
  • August 29, 2022, last Monday of August – National Heroes’ Day
  • November 30, 2022, Wednesday – Bonifacio Day
  • December 25, 2022, Sunday – Christmas Day
  • December 30, 2022, Friday – Rizal Day

Special non-working days

  • February 1, 2022, Tuesday – Chinese New Year
  • February 25, 2022, Friday – EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary
  • April 16, 2022 – Black Saturday
  • August 21, 2022, Sunday – Ninoy Aquino Day
  • November 1, 2022, Tuesday – All Saints’ Day
  • December 8, 2022, Thursday – Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

Special working days

  • November 2, 2022, Wednesday – All Souls’ Day
  • December 24, 2022, Saturday – Christmas Eve
  • December 31, 2022, Saturday – last day of the year

The Proclamation No. 1236 also mentioned that the government will issue a separate proclamations declaring national holidays for the observance of Eid’l Fitr and Eid’l Adha, which are two Islamic holidays and are determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar or the lunar calendar.

You can read the full text of Proclamation No. 1236 below;

Source:@PiaRanada

LTO will start issuing driver’s license with 10-year validity

October 29, 2021

Land Transportation Office (LTO) will start issuing driver’s license with 10-year, whether it’s for new drivers or those renewing their driver’s license. LTO started the started the new 10-year validity yesterday, October 28th.

According to LTO, driver’s who have not committed any traffic violations will be entitled to the 10-years validity, while those with violations will have 5-years validity.

The 10-years validity of driver’s license is included in a provision in Republic Act No. 1093, signed into law in 2017, which states;

Except for the student-driver’s permits, all drivers’ licenses shall be valid for five (5) years reckoned from the birthdate of the licensee, unless sooner revoked or suspended. Provided, however, That subject to Section 26 of Republic Act No. 4136, as amended by Batas Pambansa Blg. 398, any holder of a professional or nonprofessional driver’s license who has not committed any violation of Republic Act No.4 L36 and other traffic laws, rules and regulations shall be entitled to a renewal of such license for ten (10) years.

Facebook renames its corporate brand to Meta

October 29, 2021

In a video posted on his official Facebook account, Mark Zuckerberg officially announced that the Facebook will change its corporate name to Meta. Meta will now be the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus. Zuckerberg’s announcement was made on the first day of the company’s annual Connect conference.

Here’s a video where Mark Zuckerberg introduce the company’s new name.

The new name will not affect any of Meta’s products or services, since this is more of a corporate restructuring similar to what Google made in 2015 when they changed its corporate name from Google to Alphabet, even though we still associate all of its company and subsidiary to “Google.”

Mark further explained what their vision for metaverse in a 1 hour video;

The change in Facebook’s corporate name was first reported by Alex Heath of The Verge. You can already read Meta’s official statement here.

Trillanes warns voters against Ferdinand Marcos Sr. for the “greatest robbery of a government”

October 27, 2021
Trillanes warns voters against Ferdinand Marcos Sr. for the “greatest robbery of a government”

In a tweet (embedded above), Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV warns voters against the Marcos family and Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in particular for holding the “Greatest robbery of a Government.”

He added that “Don’t take my word for it. I-google nyo” referring to the conduct their own research regarding the issue.

In the Guinness World Records article;

The government of the Philippines announced on 23 Apr 1986 that it had succeeded in identifying $860.8 million (£569.5 million) salted away by the former President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos (1917–89) and his wife Imelda. The total national loss from November 1965 was believed to be $5–$10 billion.

Trillanes is running for Senator under the opposition standard-bearer Vice President Leni Robredo. He is also known as one of Duterte’s fierce critic even before he won he became the President of the country.

Sonny Matula is the 12th member of Leni Robredo’s senatorial lineup

October 24, 2021

After more than a week of waiting, Presidential candidate Leni Robredo announced that the 12th member of her senatorial lineup will be Sonny Matula of Labor Party Philippines.

Sonny Matula will be running as an independent candidate and will included among the guest candidate in Robredo’s senatorial slate.

Robredo’s senatorial lineup for the coming 2022 National Election will now compose of re-electionists, former opponents and long-time allies.

Here’s the complete list.

  1. Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV
  2. Senator Risa Hontiveros
  3. Senator Leila de Lima
  4. Humanrights lawyer Jose Manuel ‘Chel’ Diokno
  5. Former Ifugao representative Teodoro Baguilat Jr.
  6. Alex Lacson of Kapatiran Party
  7. Senator Richard Gordon
  8. Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri
  9. Sorsogon Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero
  10. Senator Joel Villanueva
  11. Former Vice President Jejomar Binay.
  12. Labor Leader Sonny Matula

You can watch Leni Robredo’s announcement and why she choose Matula as one of her senators;

Leni Robredo announces Senatorial lineup for the 2022 Election

October 15, 2021

Presidential candidate Leni Robredo just announced her 11 senatorial candidates for the coming 2022 election.

The lineup is a mixed-bag of personalities coming from different parties and political background.

  1. Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV
  2. Senator Risa Hontiveros
  3. Senator Leila de Lima
  4. Humanrights lawyer Jose Manuel ‘Chel’ Diokno
  5. Former Ifugao representative Teodoro Baguilat Jr.
  6. Alex Lacson of Kapatiran Party
  7. Senator Richard Gordon
  8. Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri
  9. Sorsogon Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero
  10. Senator Joel Villanueva
  11. Former Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Leni Robredo and her party is yet to announced their 12th candidate, who they are still ‘wooing’. The announcement was made with her Vice president aspirant Kiko Pangilinan and Senator Franklin Drilon, and streamed online.

Veteran Newscaster Noli De Castro withdraws Senate Candidacy

October 13, 2021

Seven days after filing his COC for senator, Veteran news anchor and former vice president Noli de Castro is withdrawing his candidacy for senator, this was confirmed by Aksyon Demokratiko chairman Ernest Ramel.

It’s unclear why ‘Kabayan’ Noli de Castro pulled out of the senate race but De Castro said “serve Filipinos better by continuing to work in the news industry, rather than in politics.”

You can read his full statement at ABS-CBN News website – READ: Kabayan Noli De Castro statement on withdrawal of candidacy

Here’s the statement of ABS-CBN News;

Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa files COC to run for President

October 9, 2021

In another plot twist, a long time Duterte ally Bato Dela Rosa has filed his COC to be the standard bearer of the Cusi-led PDP-Laban faction.

While filing his COC, it’s noticeable that Sen. Bato Dela Rosa is wearing a Hugpong ng Pagbabago party shirt instead of the PDP-Laban faction. ‘Hugpong ng Pagbabago’ is the regional party of Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Before taking a seat as a Senator om 2019, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is a long time PNP officer and served as the chief of the Davao City Police Office from 2010 to 2016, before being handpicked by then President-Elect President Rodrigo Duterte as the new PNP Chief on May 19, 2016.

Sen. Bong Go, who is also a long time Duterte associate, will be Sen. Dela Rosa’s running, while filed his COC earlier this week.

It’s unclear if Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa will be the ‘real’ Presidential candidate of the Cusi-side of PDP-Laban or will later be substituted by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte by November 15. I guess, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Celebrity reacts to Leni Robredo’s bid to run for President in 2022 Election

October 7, 2021
Celebrity reacts to Leni Robredo’s bid to run for President in 2022 Election

It looks like VP Leni Robredo’s presidential bid is off to a good start as a number of celebrities showed their support after formally announcing her candidacy.

Celebrities posted their support on their respective social media accounts by using the hashtag #LeniRobredo2022 #LetLeniLead, while others posted their pictures with anything that’s pink, which is Robredo’s official.

Since it’s now official that Leno Robredo is running for President, we can all agree that what we are now waiting for Eraserhead’s announcement for their reunion concert.

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Leni Robredo formally announce her candidacy for the coming 2022 National Election

October 7, 2021
Leni Robredo formally announce her candidacy for the coming 2022 National Election

In a press conference, Philippines’ Vice President Leni Robredo formally announce her candidacy to run for the highest position in the country.

Her announcement came a week after 1Sambayan officially nominates her for the position of President for the 2022 Election. It is reported the Leni Robredo’s running mate for the Vice President position will be Sen. Kiko Pangilinan.

“Buong-buo ang loob ko ngayon: Kailangan nating palayain ang sarili mula sa kasalukuyang situwasyon. Lalaban ako; lalaban tayo. Inihahain ko ang aking sarili bilang kandidato sa pagkapangulo sa halalan ng 2022.”

VP Leni Robredo was the wife of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo. Her political career started when she served as the representative of Camarines Sur’s 3rd district in 2013 then won the Vicpresident in 2016. She defeated the son of late Dictator, Bongbong Marcos Jr. by a narrow margin, which was later contested and dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Bongbong Marcos to run for President in the 2022 National Elections

October 5, 2021

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. has officially announced that he will be running for President in the 2022 national elections. He is the second child and only son of former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

He previously ran for Vice President in the 2016 National Elections but lost to the eventual winner VP Leni Robredo. He disputed the election results before the Supreme Court but the High Tribunal dismissed his election protest. It is unclear who will be Bongbong Marcos running mate for the VP position.

If VP Leni Robredo decides to run for President, we may see a rematch of the 2016 Election with a number strong candidates namely Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Isko Moreno and Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.

Sen. Bong Go files candidacy for Vice President

October 3, 2021

Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go officially files his certificate of candidacy (COC) for Vice President. He was accompanied by Pres. Duterte, Saturday, October 2nd.

In a statement, Go said he will run for vice president after Duterte announced his “retirement” from politic, withdrawing his acceptance of the PDP-Laban nomination for the same post.

“Given that President Rodrigo Duterte decided to withdraw his acceptance of nomination, I am here to take on the challenge as PDP-Laban’s Vice Presidential candidate,” Go said in a statement.

Sen. Bong Go was originally nominated for the position of President by the Cusi-side of the now divided PDP-Laban. With the latest development, it’s unclear who will be the new candidate for the position of President and if the replacement will even have a chance of running against Isko Moreno and Ping Lacson, who already announced their intension to run for the highest office in the country.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte retires from Politics

October 3, 2021

In a surprising twist, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he will be retiring from politics. His announcement was made while accompanying longtime aide Senator Bong Go in filing his certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice president.

His retirement means that he will no longer continue with his plans to run of the Vice President, as previously announced.

This is not the first time that Duterte announce his retirement from politics, if you can recall, in 2015, then Davao City Mayor Duterte said that he “will retire from public life for good. I believe it’s no longer my time to be in politics.”

Sen. Bong Go and President Duterte was nominated by Cusi-led faction of PDP-Laban, for President and Vice President, respectively but now that Bong Go filed for the position of Vice President and Pres. Duterte looming retirement, it’s unclear whole will the standard bearer of PDP-Laban to run for President, since Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte already filed her candidacy for a reelection for Mayor of Davao City.

Of course, we cannot discount the fact that Rodrigo Duterte can still change his mind and later run for the the VP position, since as reported by One New, this was an old strategy that Duterte already used. I guess we’ll know by Nov. 15th.

Manny Pacquiao officially files for candidacy for Philippine President

October 1, 2021

After announcing his retirement from the sports of boxing, Sen. Manny Pacquiao has officially file his candidacy for Philippine President on Friday, October 1.

Manny Pacquiao will be the standard bearer of Pacquiao/Pimentel-led faction of PDP-Laban. Deputy Speaker
of the House of Representatives Lito Atienza will be his running mate for VP.

Manny Pacquiao, the only 8-division world boxing champion, started his political career last 2010 as a Representative of Saranggani then after two-terms as a Congressman, Pacquiao won as a Senator in 2016, under the Duterte-led PDP-Laban. Pacquiao garnered over 16 million votes, landing 7th among 12 new members of the Senate.

Read the full report from Rappler – First presidential bet to file candidacy: Manny Pacquiao

Updated the article to include Lito Atienza as Manny Pacquiao running mate for VP.

You can now switch mobile carrier and use the same phone number as Mobile Number Portability takes effect

October 1, 2021

The Mobile Number Portability Act or RA 11202 officially takes effect, last Sept. 30th. In a nutshell, the Mobile Number Portability Act allows mobile users to keep the same mobile number when switching carrier or their subscription from postpaid to prepaid and vice versa, free of charge.

Smart, Globe and even DITO telecom are now accepting “switchers” for those who wants to change network providers and keep their mobile numbers.

According to Telecommunications Connectivity Inc. (TCI), a joint venture company formed by DITO, Globe and Smart, and the implementing arm of Mobile Number Portability Act, the basic requirements at conditions ng MNP o Mobile Number Portability below;

  1. Government issued ID
  2. Unique Subscriber Code (USC)
    • This is a 9-digit code issued by your current network provider to start the porting process
    • This serves as a clearance that your account is free from unpaid fees and balances.
    • This is valid for fifteen (15) days upon date of issue.<\li>
  3. Proof of mobile number ownership.

You can visit the respective FAQ page of the different telecoms below;

1Sambayan officially name Leni Robredo as their Presidential bet for the 2022 Election

September 30, 2021

After announcing their nominees for President more than 4 months ago, 1Sambayan coalition has named VP Leni Robredo as one of their official Presidential candidate for the coming 2022 National Election.

The announcement was made by retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Antonio Carpio, in a 50-minutes video (embedded below) titled ‘TAPATAN Media Forum: ANG PAMBATO NG 1SAMBAYAN’ that was streamed live on the coalition facebook page and then alter shared on their official twitter account.

1Sambayan’s announcement came just 10 days after Isko Moreno announced his Presidential bid. Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is one of the 1Sambayan’s Presidential candidate.

Vice President Leni Robredo has yet to formally declare her Presidentail run, she is however expected to announce her plans for the 2022 Election soon, since filing of the President and Vice President candidacies starts this Friday, October 1, 2021 and will end on before midnight of October 8, 2021.

Liberal Party of the Philippines announces their senatorial candidates for the 2022 National

September 29, 2021

Liberal Party of the Philippines has officially announced their senatorial bets for the coming 2022 National election.

LP’s senatorial lineup as of this time are reelectionist Senators Francis Pangilinan and Leila de Lima, and former senator Bam Aquino, who was part of the Otso Diretso and failed to win in his re-election bid in the 2019 election, placing 14th overall.

Reelection bid of Akbayan Sen. Risa Hontiveros and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, who announced his candidacy a couple of weeks ago, as endorsed two guest candidates.

The announcements was made during LP’s national executive council meeting attended by party leaders, including its Vice President Leni Robredo, Pangilinan, Sen. Franklin Drilon, Rep. Kit Belmonte and former representatives Teddy Baguilat of Ifugao and Loreno “Erin” Tañada III of Quezon.

The party is yet to announce their Presidential and VP bets, since VP Leni Robredo will make her announcement before Oct. 8, which is the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for the 2022 elections.

Ely Buendia tweets a “possible” Eheads reunion “Pag tumakbo si Leni”

September 28, 2021

In a Twitter Q&A as part of promotions for “SUPERPROXIES,” a virtual concert featuring Buendia and Filipino indie rock band Nobody’s Home this October 9th, eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia just broke the internet by hinting of a “possible” Eheads reunion if VP Leni Robredo ‘runs’, though he did not clarify on what position.

The tweet is in response to Ben La Dean (@jaydemaps), who asked him regarding a possible Eheads reunion. Ely, candidly and jokingly, replied “Pag tumakbo si Leni.”

Ely’s tweet have been trending and gone viral receiving 34.9 likes, 6,241 retweets and 2,264 quote tweets.

Here are some of the response that Ely’s tweet got from VP Leni’s supporters and Eraserheads fans;


Ely later clarified that his political views and opinions are his own.

Trillanes to run for President if VP Robredo decided to exit politics

September 27, 2021

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV to run for President if VP Robredo will not run for the highest position in the country, by 12 noon of October 8th.

That’s what the former senator announced on his twitter account Monday, Sept. 27th.

Trillanes’ announcement at a time when VP Leni Robredo is uniting the anti-administration forces and has not made any announcement regarding her plans for the coming 2022 election.

Candidates who plan to run for President, Vice President, and Senator are required to submit their candidacy between Oct. 1st to Oct. 8th.

Isko Moreno to run for President in the 2022 National Election

September 21, 2021

It’s official, Manila Mayos Isko Moreno to run for President in the coming 2022 National election. His running mate will be Willie Ong, this was confirmed by his campaign manager Lito Banayo.

Francisco Moreno Domagoso or more popularly known by his screen name Isko Moreno, gained fame as a matinee idol for being part of part of That’s Entertainment. His political career started when he won as one of the councilor for Manila’s first legislative district in 1998, then was reelected in 2001 and 2004. He became Manila’s vice mayor in 2007 and reelected in 2013. In 2016, he ran for a senator under the Partido Galing at Puso coalition of presidential candidate and Senator Grace. He unsuccesful to win a seat, placing 16th overall.

Isko Moreno currently serves as the mayor of Manila, after winning the position tin he 2019 elections.

Image: IMBD

Willie Tan Ong, is a registered Cardiologist and the chief resident in Manila Doctors Hospital. He became popular because of his television show and his appearances on ABS-CBN’s Salamat Dok. Dr. Ong maintained his online presence thru his YouTube channel in 2007 where he posted video health tips. He currently have 6.54M subscribers on his youtube channel and 16.3 million followers on his official facebook page.

He previously ran for a seat at the senate in the 2019 Philippine elections but lost, finishing 18th in the polls with 7.5 million votes.

Source: Rappler

Philippines received additional 3 million Sinovac vaccine

September 19, 2021

Philippines just received an additional 3 million doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccines arrived today, September 19, at 6:00 PM, in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2.

As of September 18, 2021, there have been 41.25 million vaccine administered and around 18.47 million can be considered as fully vaccinated individuals.

Sen. Manny Pacquiao to run for President in the 2022 Elections

September 19, 2021

At the assembly of Pacquiao/Pimentel-led faction of PDP-Laban, Sen. Manny Pacquiao has accepted the nominations of at least 20 PDP-Laban chapter leaders, for him to run for President in the coming 2022 Elections.

“I am a fighter and I will always be a fighter inside and outside the ring. Sa buong buhay ko, wala akong laban na inaatrasan dahil sa ngalan ng prinsipyo, karangalan ng bayan ay tumayo ako, nanindigan at nakikipaglaban,” Pacquiao said during the event.

Manny Pacquiao, the only 8-division world boxing champion, started his political career last 2010 as a Representative of Saranggani then after two-terms as a Congressman, Pacquiao won as a Senator in 2016, under the Duterte-led PDP-Laban. Pacquiao garnered over 16 million votes, landing 7th among 12 new members of the Senate.

You can read the full report of Katrina Domingo from ABS-CBN News here.

Chel Diokno to try and run for Senator again this coming 2022 elections

September 15, 2021

Jose Manuel “Chel” Icasiano Diokno, J.D., a Filipino lawyer, educator, and human rights advocate, will try his luck and will run again as Senator for the 2022 elections. He will run as an independent candidate.

Chel Diokno can often be seen on social media providing free “legal advice” or answering “legal-related” questions from his followers.

Or this tweet, where he answer the question regarding the “the legal age of consent for sex in the Philippines?”

You can also see him reacting to trending topics like this one.

He initially run for Senator under the opposition slate Otso Diretso in the 2019 midterm elections but did not make the cut, ranking 21st in a race for 12 which was dominated by President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies.

GACA issue new guidelines for residents and visitors entering Saudi Arabia and shorten quarantine period

September 14, 2021

Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) issued today, Sept. 13th, new instructions to all airliners operating in the Kingdom’s airports to update their respective entry mechanism and procedures, for residents and visitors arriving in the Kingdom from permitted countries and to reduce the period of institutional quarantine.

Here’s the official statemenet from GACA;

First: A non-vaccinated person who has received one dose of the approved vaccines in the Kingdom, provided that he submits a negative (PCR) exam of a sample swab taken within (72) hours before leaving to the Kingdom at the latest, and that institutional quarantine procedures are applied to him for a period of five days. Furthermore, a corona exam to be conducted within (24) hours of arrival, and another exam on the fifth day after arrival (the recipient must adhere to the times of the corona examination based on what appears to him in the “Tawakkalna” application in the chronology service). The period of institutional quarantine ends with the appearance of a negative test result.

Second: Arriving passengers who completed one of the vaccines not approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and not approved in the Kingdom, or who completed one of the vaccines approved by the World Health Organization and not approved in the Kingdom, provided that he submits a negative PCR exam of a sample swab taken within (72) hours before leaving for The Kingdom at the highest estimate, and that institutional quarantine procedures are applied to him for a period of five days, and that a corona examination is conducted within (24) hours of arrival and another examination on the fifth day after arrival (the recipient must adhere to the times of corona examination based on what appears to him in the Tawakkalna application, in the chronology service), and the period of institutional quarantine ends with the appearance of a negative test result.

GACA also stated that dependents can also enter the country with their “immune” relatives, in accordance to the following;

First: Unvaccinated dependents under the age of eighteen shall be subject to home quarantine procedures for a period of five days, provided that a corona exam (for those who have completed eight years and above) is conducted on the fifth day, and that they’re committed to applying all precautionary measures determined by the Ministry of Health.

Second: Institutional quarantine procedures are applied to unvaccinated dependents who are eighteen years of age, or older.

These new guidelines will take effect on Sept 23rd.

GCA also stressed the following;

  • Arriving residents must complete the vaccine doses available in the Kingdom after the end of the institutional quarantine period, and whoever completed one of the vaccines approved by the organization and not approved in the Kingdom (currently the Sinopharma vaccine and the Sinovac vaccine) should obtain a booster dose from one of the vaccines available in the Kingdom after arrival.
  • Arriving passengers must register on “Quddum” platform before going to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • Isolation procedures will be applied according to the Ministry of Health protocols, for those who will be tested positive during institutional quarantine
  • Recovery from infection with the Coronavirus is not considered as a justification to not undergo Institutional quarantine procedures.

GACA also added that the amendment of the home quarantine procedures also applies to the non-vaccinated, which requires a home quarantine for a period of five days, and a PCR exam will be conducted on the fifth day in accordance to Ministry of Health protocols. A person will not be allowed to all places, activities, events and government and private facilities and the use of public transportation without being vaccinated with one of the approved coronavirus vaccines in the Kingdom.

Source: GACA

Philippine Red Cross releases report for their COVID-19 pandemic response accomplishment

September 12, 2021

A day after President Duterte threaten to stop any government transactions with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), the humanitarian agency releases their first report regarding their COVID-19 pandemic response accomplishment.

These are the numbers so far;

  • Tested 4,199,910 swab and saliva samples, which is 22% of all tests conducted in PH.
  • Vaccinated 205,060, where 31.35% or 64,288 are fully vaccinated.
  • Helped 3,253 patients in isolation
  • Deployed 121 medical tents in 62 hospitals that served 34,660 patients.

Also included in the report are the numbers of patients served by their ambulance and the people who ate the hot meals served by their rolling kitchen. You can also see the numbers for their blood services, dialysis treatments as well as those who received covalescent plasma from PRC.

COVID-19 for Sept. 12th: DOH reports 21,411 new cases with 2 million patient who recovered from the coronavirus

September 12, 2021

In today’s COVID-19 update, Department of Health (DOH) just reported that there are 21,411 new COVID-19 cases and and 168 deaths, with 2 million patient who recovered from the coronavirus, which is a bright spot in the report.

Since the pandemic started, the total number of cases in the Philippines is now at 2,227,36, and the total number of deaths just crossed the 35k mark with 181,951 active cases.

Edson C. Guido, ABS-CBN News Data Analytics Head, also pointed out that the “positivity rate decreased for the 3rd straight day but is still at least 27% for the 10th straight day.” and “ICU bed occupancy rate is at 77%,” the highest to date.

COVID-19 Updates September 9th: Philippine registered 22,820 new COVID-19 case, a new record high

September 9, 2021

After delaying today’s case bulletin, Department of Health (DOH) reported that the country has registered 22,820 new covid-19 case, a new record high. The previous record for the single day tally was last September 6, 2020, with a recorded 22,347 of new covid-19 cases. DOH added that the there have been 12,337 recoveries and 61 died because of coronavirus.

The new report will push the total number of cases in the Philippines to 2.16 million, with 166,672 active cases, 1.96 million have recovered from coronavirus and a total of 34,733 deaths.

According to DOH, the data is from the contribution of 5 labs for the past 14 days.