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Politics

DON’T RELAX AMID SLOWING COVID CASES — ANGARA

Senator Sonny Angara cautioned the authorities and the general public against being complacent in observing the minimum safety protocols now that the number of COVID-19 cases is going down in the country. The Department of Health recently reported a positivity rate of 7.6 percent based on the 41,049 tests. In its latest report, the OCTA […]

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Politics

VILLANUEVA TO DOH: DON’T HIRE CONTRACTUAL WORKERS

Senator Joel Villanueva raised what appears to be conflicting numbers in the Department of Health’s (DOH) hiring program, saying that while the DOH was asking for P3.8 billion in funds to hire additional personnel under its emergency hiring program, there still remained over 14,000 unfilled positions in the department. Villanueva asked DOH representatives at the […]

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Politics

INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF FRONTLINERS’ BENEFITS URGED

Senator Kiko Pangilinan has sponsored a measure seeking to institutionalize benefits for public and private frontliners during a state of public health emergencies as he aims for faster disbursement so they can use it for the needs of their families. Pangilinan said Senate Bill No. 2421 if passed into law, will help avoid a repeat […]

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Politics

SEND MORE COVID-19 VACCINES TO PROVINCES – BINAY

Senator Nancy Binay backed the call of local government units outside the National Capital Region for a more equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. “I appeal to the national government to heed the cry for help of our local chief executives outside NCR for them to have a share of the vaccines that are coming in,” […]

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Politics

VILLANUEVA: SEND SRA ‘BUDGET ERRATA’ TO CONGRESS

If government really intends to extend the grant of Special Risk Allowance (SRA) and COVID-19 Active Duty Hazard Pay (AHDP) to health workers next year, it should send to Congress a “budget errata” specifying the required amounts that will have to be included in the 2022 national budget, Senator Joel Villanueva said. “Kung seryoso po […]

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Politics

ABANTE TO DUQUE: MAKE GOOD ON YOUR WORD AND RESIGN

Deputy Speaker Benny Abante Jr. on Thursday said it is time for Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III to make good on his word and hand over his resignation to President Rodrigo Duterte to end the “epidemic of incompetence” hounding the government’s COVID-19 containment efforts. Duque earlier announced that he will resign after […]

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Politics

RETURN CANCER FUND IN 2022 DOH BUDGET – BINAY

Senator Nancy Binay slammed the removal of the line item for the country’s cancer fund for 2022 by the Department of Health, saying it was a “step back” after Congress “had gone through a lot of hoops to fully empower the national cancer control program”. “The DOH should have taken our cue when we allocated […]

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Politics

ANGARA TO DOH: SPEED UP HIRING OF DOCTORS, NURSES

Senator Sonny Angara prodded the Department of Health (DOH) to address the issue of contractualization within its ranks and hasten the regularization of the doctors and nurses working in its hospitals and other facilities. As chairman of the Committee on Finance, Angara confronted the DOH about underspending in the amount of P24 billion, a portion […]

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Politics

ABANTE TO DUQUE: BE HUMBLE, STEP DOWN FROM DOH

Deputy Speaker Benny Abante Jr has a biblical passage for Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque after President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday evening revealed that he would accept the resignation of the beleaguered health chief if he offered to resign: “the Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.” (Psalm […]

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Politics

NURSES ARE SLEEPLESS WITHOUT BENEFITS — ABANTE

While he sympathizes with Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque due to his recent bout with insomnia, Deputy Speaker Benny Abante Jr. said on Wednesday he is more concerned about the sleepless nights of nurses who have yet to receive their benefits from the DOH, which is why he has called on the DOH […]