News Roundup 14 July 2023
Jul 14, 2023 • 4 min Read
No more laughs: P3-M Pagcor logo draws calls for probe | INQUIRER.NET – You’ve laughed at the parodies. Now comes the serious part.
Two days after being unveiled, the new logo of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) continued to draw scrutiny not only for its design and rationale, but also for its P3-million price tag and other issues.
Members of the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the “questionable” contract awarded by Pagcor for the rebranding project.
The lawmakers noted that the contract was awarded to Printplus Graphic Services, an entity enrolled in the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) just last month and registered in the Department of Trade and Industry in March 2021 with “only a barangay scope for its business name.”
Filed by ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, the resolution cited the wave of criticism triggered by the logo since being launched by Pagcor on July 11 for the gaming regulator’s 40th founding anniversary.
Full Story at: No more laughs: P3-M Pagcor logo draws calls for probe | Inquirer News
Traditional chemo, targeted therapy: What’s the difference? | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines—In the past years, much has been achieved in finding better care for cancer patients. Not long ago, newer treatment options—aside from traditional therapy—has been made available for patients in the Philippines.
In the Philippines, where breast cancer is the leading type of cancer and is the most common cancer among women of all ages, searching for better treatment against the Big C has been a huge priority among health experts and cancer support groups.
Common cancer treatments include radiation therapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. The last, according to the US-based Mayo Clinic, is the most often used treatment method.
At the UP-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Cancer Institute, which offers quality comprehensive cancer treatment, charity inpatients and outpatients receive chemotherapy mainly through an IV drip.
Since a single session of IV chemotherapy takes from 20 minutes to several hours—on top of that, the UP-PGH Cancer Institute has a limit of 100 IV chemotherapy per day—lines usually form outside the hospital’s Cancer Institute building.
Aside from traditional chemotherapy and other standard treatment options, many countries have begun offering a newer type of treatment called targeted therapy. In the Philippines, targeted therapy has been an available treatment option for breast cancer patients since 2011.
To understand more about these treatment options, in this article, INQUIRER.net will detail the difference between traditional chemotherapy and targeted therapy.
Full Story at: Traditional chemo, targeted therapy: What’s the difference? | Inquirer News
COA tells UP to blacklist PLDT subsidiary over upfailure to complete million-peso IT project | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit has recommended to the University of the Philippines to blacklist a PLDT subsidiary for its failure to complete a multi-million digital infrastructure project that was supposed to be concluded six years ago.
In its 2022 audit report on the UP system, government auditors noted that the state university has failed to sanction ePLDT for the five years and 11 months delay in the full implementation of the eUP project.
The eUP project was a systemwide initiative that aimed to harmonize and automate the information systems of all UP campuses. It is the legacy project of then-UP President Alfredo Pascual, who is now secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry.
Pascual and ePLDT Inc. entered into an agreement for the eUP project in 2012.
The delay in the completion of the eUP project and “nonsubmission of key deliverables” has led to a running bill of at least P38 million in “imposable liquidated damages” as of November 2022.
This had “(deprived) the intended beneficiaries, particularly the students that could have been benefited by the full completion of the project,” COA noted.
Full Story at: COA tells UP to blacklist PLDT subsidiary over failure to complete million-peso IT project | Philstar.com
Jeepney, UV Express consolidation still at 64.4% ahead of 3-day strike | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The number of traditional jeepneys and UV Express services consolidated under cooperatives and corporations stood virtually unchanged since February 2022 — with many at risk of not meeting the December 31 deadline as part of the state’s PUV modernization program.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on Thursday shared to reporters that only 64.4% have started consolidating, a move that the government says would “help” drivers and operators purchase “modern” PUV units costing up to P2.8 million a piece.
“Percentage was based on the number of consolidated franchises over Distribution of Land Transportation Services (DLTS) as of December 2022,” said LTFRB Thursday.
Full Story at: Jeepney, UV Express consolidation still at 64.4% ahead of 3-day strike | Philstar.com
