News Roundup 31 December 2022
Dec 31, 2022 • 4 min Read
Fuel prices up next week; LPG to decrease | PHILSTAR.COM – Higher pump prices are expected to greet motorists during the first week of 2023, while prices of cooking gas could see a decrease. “Unfortunately, we will see an increase next week for all petroleum products,” Department of Energy (DOE)-Oil Industry Management Bureau director Rino Abad said in an interview with dzBB yesterday. Based on the first four trading days of the week, Abad said there could be a more or less P2 per liter jump in gasoline and diesel prices, while that of kerosene could see a more than P2 per liter hike. Abad said the supply and demand balance in the international oil market remains very tight, causing prices to go up. Meanwhile, an oil industry source estimates a more than P2 per liter increase in gasoline and diesel prices for next week and around P3 per liter for kerosene. The price adjustments will be announced by oil companies on Monday, which will take effect the next day. Last Tuesday, a mixed movement in fuel prices was implemented by oil firms, with gasoline and kerosene prices increasing by P0.95 per liter and P0.50 per liter, respectively, while the price of diesel was reduced by P0.20 per liter. These resulted in year-to-date net increase of P14.90 per liter for gasoline, P27.30 per liter for diesel and P21.30 per liter for kerosene, data from the DOE showed.
DOH: No COVID-19 calamity state, no bivalent jabs | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health (DOH) warned yesterday that the country’s purchase of bivalent vaccines may no longer push through if the state of calamity due to COVID-19 will not be extended. “If the extension will not be approved, we can still continue with the COVID-19 vaccination program using existing doses, considering their validity is hinged on their Emergency Use Authorizations. But we cannot procure additional doses, including the bivalent vaccines,” it said in a statement. Bivalent vaccines are new generation jabs that target specific variants of COVID-19, notably the more transmissible Omicron. The DOH said these should be made available in the country by the first quarter of 2023. “It is also expected that the number of vaccinators will decrease as other cadres such as pharmacists may no longer be tapped, and willingness to vaccinate may decrease as immunity from liability is not guaranteed,” the agency said. However, the DOH said it would continue to consider other alternatives to ensure undisrupted vaccination, including the granting of a special authority to purchase and the passage of the Philippine Center for Disease Control (CDC) bill. It added that it is conducting talks with vaccine manufacturers and the COVAX Facility about securing the bivalent vaccines this coming year. The DOH also requested the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office to have the CDC Bill “certified as urgent by the President.” “Once passed into law, the CDC Act shall serve as legal basis for the continued and uninterrupted implementation of the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program and response for other future public health emergencies, without the need for the declaration of a state of calamity,” it pointed out. “They are studying it (submitted recommendations) carefully. We are continuously coordinating with the Office of the President. Let us wait for the President’s decision,” it said. DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said they have submitted an official request to President Marcos to extend the state of calamity due to COVID-19.
Enrile’s ex-chief of staff, Marcos’ campaign writer are new OPS appointees | INQUIRER.NET – The latest appointees of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) have been named – one is the former chief of staff of then Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, while the other served as Marcos’ head writer during the 2022 presidential polls. The OPS, in a statement on Saturday, said Marcos designated Cherbett Karen Maralit and Francisco Rodriguez III as its new Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary, respectively. Maralit and Rodriguez have taken their oath of office before Marcos at the Malacañang Palace. Maralit, according to the OPS, worked as the chief of staff of Senate Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, and then Senate Majority Leader and now Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile. Rodriguez, on the other hand, was Marcos’ traditional media team head writer during the May 9 elections, the OPS noted.
