News Roundup 02 January 2020
Jan 02, 2021 • 4 min Read
1,097 more COVID-19 infections push Philippines’ total cases to 476,916 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health recorded Saturday 1,097 new coronavirus infections, bringing the country’s total number of cases to 476,916. The DOH also reported that five more people died due to the highly contagious respiratory disease, pushing the death toll to 9,253. Meanwhile, 47 more people recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of survivors to 439,942. With these new cases, deaths and recoveries, the number of active cases is now at 27,721, representing 5.8% of all recorded cases.
DOST: Sinopharm wanted Philippines to fund trials of its COVID-19 vaccine | PHILSTAR.COM – Chinese state-owned drugmaker China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (Sinopharm) wanted the Philippines to fund its clinical trials for its coronavirus vaccine in the country, the Department of Science and Technology said Friday. In a statement with the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, the DOST said Sinopharm reached out to them with two proposals for collaboration, among them is for the Philippines to shoulder the costs of its vaccine’s clinical trial. DOST said it responded by saying that the Philippines only funds trials under the World Health Organization’s Solidarity Trial. Sinopharm never responded back, DOST said. Another option for collaboration that Sinopharm floated, according to the DOST, is for the Philippines to recognize the vaccine’s approval in China. DOST did not say what their response was to this particular suggestion, but the local FDA only fast-tracks the approval of drugs that have been granted authorization by regulatory agencies it deems to be mature — and China’s FDA is not among them. China has approved Sinopharm’s coronavirus vaccine for general use after the drugmaker announced that it has an efficacy rate of 79%.
Drilon: Veto can’t stop oversight power of Congress | INQUIRER.NET – A simple presidential veto cannot stop Congress from using its oversight power to scrutinize even the government’s multibillion and top-secret intelligence funds, nearly half of which would go to the Office of the President (OP), Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon asserted on Friday. “It is incumbent upon [the] Senate to continue exercising its oversight power over the utilization of P9.5-billion confidential and intelligence funds,” the opposition senator told the Inquirer. The comment was prompted by President Rodrigo Duterte’s partial veto message on Dec. 28 after he signed the P4.5-trillion General Appropriations Act of 2021. The President vetoed a general provision requiring Malacañang to submit quarterly reports on the use of intelligence funds to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President. “Intelligence funds cover programs, projects and activities related to national security. In this regard, matters relating to national security are deemed confidential or classified information, which is one of the recognized exceptions to the right to information,” Duterte explained. But Drilon maintained that the mandate of the Senate and the House of Representatives to scrutinize public funds was superior to the President’s veto power. “Even with the vetoed special provision, the Congress can exercise its oversight power,” he said.
Filipina nurse in UK awarded British Empire Medal for outstanding role in COVID-19 response | Manila Bulletin – Charito Romano, a nurse from the Philippines, was included in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year honors list for her contribution to the coronavirus response. In a tweet on Saturday, United Kingdom (UK) Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce congratulated the Filipina and cited her “outstanding” services to nursing care in Surrey. “Many congratulations to Staff Nurse Charito Romano, from the Philippines, (she had been) awarded a British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honors for her outstanding work at Arbrook House Care Home in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the envoy said. A British Empire Medal (BEM) is given to individuals for “hands-on” service to the local community. This could be a long-term charitable or voluntary activity, or innovative work of a relatively short duration that has made a significant difference.
WHO allows emergency use of Pfizer vaccine | The Manila Times – The Department of Health welcomed the issuance of an emergency use listing by the World Health Organization (WHO) to the Covid-19 vaccine of American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc, saying it would hasten the vaccine’s approval in the country. “The [approval by the] WHO is a welcome addition to the regulatory approvals and therefore, that should be a lot easier for our own FDA to review all the documents and assess the risk benefit ratio of the said candidate vaccine,” Duque said. FDA Director General Rolando Enrique Domingo said the agency might issue an emergency use authorization for the vaccine at “the soonest possible time.” “The WHO emergency use listing is very significant. Our experts are currently evaluating the documents submitted by Pfizer. I will issue a decision on the application as soon as all the regulatory requirements and procedures are completed,” Domingo said.
