CHESS super grandmaster and champion Wesley So has officially become a citizen of the United States. According to the United States Chess Federation, the 27-year-old So obtained his American citizenship on February 26, at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services offices in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. In an interview with the US immigration service, So said […]

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the reduction and condonation of real property taxes and penalties assessed on power generation facilities of independent power producers (IPPs).    According to Executive Order (EO) 126 signed by President Duterte on March 4, “all liabilities for real property taxes, including any special levies accruing to the Special Education Fund, for calendar […]

THE Philippines is still “not of the woods” even though it is making progress in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, President Rodrigo Duterte said, as he asked the public to cooperate to ensure the immediate distribution of available vaccines in their communities. In his speech during a ceremony for the arrival […]

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte thanked the international community for donating 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines to the Philippines, saying the assistance to poor nations is a “plus for humanity.” Duterte expressed his gratitude for the “benevolence” of donor countries after welcoming the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines from the World Health Organization-led Covax facility at the […]

THE government is considering the simultaneous rollout of both coronavirus vaccines of Sinovac and AstraZeneca in a bid to address the continuous increase in infections and contain the threat of new variants, the country’s vaccine czar said. Speaking to reporters following the arrival of the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines in the country on Thursday, […]

Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, March 5, 2021. READ: Govt firm: No forced vaccination The government will not force the public to get vaccinated for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles declared on Thursday to dispel apprehensions that some businesses adopted a “No-vaccination, no-work” […]

The two new stations built under the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) East Extension project will start operations next month, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) announced on Thursday. In a statement, the Transportation department said the two stations — Marikina, built in front of the Sta. Lucia and Robinsons Metro East malls; and Antipolo, […]

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) expects revenues from Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) to be reduced by almost half this year, a top official told lawmakers on Thursday. During a Senate hearing, BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa said the bureau projected this amount at P3.92 billion, almost half of the P7.17 billion collected from […]

The government has generated P463.3 billion from its latest retail treasury bond (RTB) offering, a portion of which would be used to finance its efforts to help the economy recover from the coronavirus crisis, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported on Thursday. The amount was more than 15 times the P30-billion issue size the […]

PRESIDENT Rodirgo Dutere said the Chinese government will donate another 400,000 doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines to the Philippines. “China would give us another [400,000] making their donation to this country 1 million,” Duterte said in his speech during the inauguration of new school buildings in Valenzuela City on Thursday. Duterte failed to […]

THE Philippines received on Thursday its first batch of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus shots from the World Health Organization (WHO)-led Covax facility. President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to attended a ceremony to mark the arrival of the initial 487,200 doses, which were delivered via commercial flight. In a statement, AstraZeneca said the supply of Covid-19 vaccines to […]

THE Department of Health, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Educational Fund lauded the arrival of over 480,000 vaccines in the country against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) from British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca through the global Covax Facility on Thursday night. The Philippines is among the first countries in Southeast Asia to receive […]

THE Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Thursday raised Alert Level 1 (Low-level unrest) after it detected a “low-level of unrest”. Phivolcs Chief Renato Solidum said the seismic activity “may be related to tectonic processes beneath the volcano although no imminent eruption is foreseen”. Phivolcs said entry into the Pinatubo crater area must […]

THE government has secured a total of P463.3 billion on the last day of its latest retail treasury bond (RTB) offer, according to the Bureau of the Treasury. The amount is more than 15 times the P30-billion issue size announced by the Treasury last month. National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon told reporters on Thursday that […]

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday assured the public that the government was exerting all efforts to ramp up and accelerate the national vaccination program to ensure the safety of students before the resumption of face-to face-learning in the country. In his speech during the simultaneous inauguration of school buildings at the Gen. Gregorio H. Del […]

THE government is eyeing the inclusion of members of the Duterte Cabinet in the priority list of recipients of the vaccines for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), a Malacanang official said on Thursday. In his press briefing, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the executive will make the proposal to the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group […]

ALMOST half a million doses of British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca’s coronavirus shots from the World Health Organization-led Covax facility are now on their way to the Philippines from Belgium, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Thursday. In a television interview, Galvez said the 487,200 doses would arrive at 7:30 p.m. “We have information na lumipad […]

THERE will be sufficient water supply in Metro Manila not only for the summer season but throughout the entire year, Malacañang assured the public on Thursday. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles said the supply would be enough as the government hastens the implementation of various infrastructure projects to address water requirements in the region. Nograles […]

ASTRAZENECA’S coronavirus shots from the World Health Organization-led Covax facility are being considered for elderly healthcare workers, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Thursday. Galvez said while there were no set protocols yet for the rollout of the vaccine, some doctors recommended it be given to senior healthcare workers. He said the move would […]

Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, March 4, 2021. READ: Vaccine rollout gathers pace THE vaccination program against Covid-19 is seen to pick up its pace as vaccines reach more provinces and more doses are flown in, public officials said. They also cited growing public acceptance of the Sinovac […]

Times Radio in the United Kingdom interviews Manila Times Health Reporter Red Mendoza on the Covid situation in the Philippines at 7:50 a.m. on March 4, 2021 (Manila time). 

The first batch of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine from the Covax Facility will arrive in the country on Thursday, Malacañang said on Wednesday. “This is to confirm that the Philippines is set to receive 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines tomorrow, March 4, 2021, 7:30 p.m. as part of the first round of allocated doses from the […]

The vaccination program against Covid-19 is seen to pick up its pace as vaccines reach more provinces and more doses are flown in, public officials said. They also cited growing public acceptance of the Sinovac vaccine. On Wednesday, the inoculation of more health workers continued, with one big private hospital joining the vaccine rollout. Vaccine […]

STUDENTS of legal age can now directly tap the government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines’ loan program that aims to cover the purchase of electronic gadgets needed for online learning. In a statement on Wednesday, the LandBank said students of legal age are now eligible to apply for its enhanced I-STUDY (Interim Students’ Loan for […]

GOVERNMENT-owned Social Security System (SSS) plans to add more services in its online platforms as more members are shifting from manual to electronic transactions. “In the pipeline this year, we will be working on adding more processes and online services for the convenience of all our members,” SSS Vice President Normita Doctor announced during an […]

THE long arm of the law finally caught up with a rape suspect after he was arrested in Pangasinan on Tuesday by combined elements of the Quirino police and regional intelligence. Hiding from the law for 23 years, Eddie Cariño was arrested at 5:10 a.m. in Barangay Palenae in Urdaneta City in Pangasinan, Gen. Debold […]

FOLLOWING a delay, the first batch of British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca’s vaccines from the Covax facility will finally arrive in the Philippines on March 4, Malacañang and Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go said in separate statements. “This is to confirm that the initial shipment of Astra Zeneca vaccines is set to arrive tomorrow. Details to follow,” […]

SOME P200 million worth of illegal cigarettes and related paraphernalia were seized  anew  by intelligence operatives of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) in two separate operations in Manila and Bataan province as the bureau intensifies its all out war against cigarette smuggling. In an after operations report to Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero on  Wednesday, the […]

SEN. Ana Theresia Hontiveros urged the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to look into the capacity of Dito Telecommunity Corporation to deliver the services it promised as the country’s third telco player. The senator said the NTC should look into Dito’s financial capacity as the company is set to start its operations this month. She made the call amid reports that DITO and its parent company, […]

YANGON: At least six people were killed as Myanmar security forces fired on pro-democracy protesters Wednesday, after the junta hit half a dozen detained journalists, including an Associated Press photographer, with criminal charges. The country has been in chaos since February 1 when the military launched a coup and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu […]

THE Department of Education (DepEd) scrapped its plan to shorten the summer vacation of students amid opposition from concerned sectors, an official said on Wednesday. Education Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio also clarified that his proposal of shortening the school break was “among the many options” of the agency and not an official policy from the […]

THE chief executive of St. Luke’s Medical Center led about 100 frontliners from its hospitals in Taguig and Quezon City in getting inoculated with the vaccine manufactured by the Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech on Wednesday. Dr. Arturo Dela Peña, who is also a survivor of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), was inoculated with CoronaVac, […]

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte may reconsider his move of canceling the three reclassified holidays this year if everything will be back to normal in the Philippines, his spokesman said. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. made the statement  after the holiday declaration drew public criticism, particularly from the labor sector and lawmakers who claimed it would “demoralize” […]

THE Philippine government is eyeing the distribution of the 600,000 coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines from Sinovac Biotech in the country within the week. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. made the statement in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday. “Ang target namin ngayong linggo madispatch na namin, madistribute na namin lahat ng mga […]