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Politics

NO REASON TO PANIC ON COVID-19 – ANGARA

“Now is the time to be careful and vigilant but don’t panic because there is no reason to do so.” Senator Sonny Angara said the “first local transmission” of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country is not surprising considering the number of people traveling in and out of the country regularly. “What is […]

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Politics

EXEMPT FACE MASK, SANITIZERS FROM TAXES – REP. HIPOLITO-CASTELO

Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo urged Congress yesterday to exempt facemasks, sanitizers and similar protective goods from import duties and local taxes amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat.Castelo, who is vice chairperson of the House committee on Metro Manila development, said exempting facemasks and other products like antiseptics from taxes could “assure adequate […]

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Politics

DOH MUST BE MORE TRANSPARENT, HAVE TEST KITS READY FOR COVID-19 – ABANTE

With the country recording its first confirmed local transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), House Minority Leader and Manila Rep. Benny Abante Jr. on Sunday urged officials of the Department of Health (DOH) to be more transparent in its updates to the public, and to ensure that there are an adequate number of test […]

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Government

DOH CAN ORDER REPORTING AND QUARANTINE OF COVID-19 CASES — NOGRALES

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said that with President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of a State of Public Health Emergency, both the public and private sectors can be mobilized to respond to the COVID-19 issue. Nograles explained on Saturday that the Department of Health (DOH) is empowered to require the mandatory reporting of “emerging infectious diseases” as […]

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Politics

TAIWAN TRAVEL BAN LIFTING TO BENEFIT OFWS — ABANTE

Minority Leader Rep. Benny Abante Jr. on Saturday welcomed the government’s decision to remove Taiwan from the list of areas covered by the country’s travel ban, saying the move would benefit the 120,000 overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan and help lessen the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus on the economy. “This is good news for […]

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Politics

HOUSE COMMENDS PH TEAM FOR BRINGING HOME FILIPINOS FROM WUHAN – ABANTE

The House of Representatives has commended the Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) emergency repatriation teams for successfully bringing home 30 Filipinos from Wuhan City in China’s Hubei Province, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. The chamber adopted House Resolution 711 honoring the heroism, courage, and great compassion of the 10-member […]

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Government

BOOST IMMUNITY VS NOVEL CORONAVIRUS WITH FRUITS, VEGETABLES – DAR

While scientists are racing against time to come up with a treatment protocol and vaccine against the 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease  (2019-nCoV ARD) Agriculture Secretary William Dar is advising Filipinos to boost their immune system. “Let’s heed and support the call of the Department of Health to boost our body’s immune system to fight […]

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Government

DUTERTE STILL HAS TRUST AND CONFIDENCE ON DUQUE – NOGRALES

Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III still has the trust and confidence of President Rodrigo Duterte despite the scolding he got from senators over the apparent lack of leadership in dealing with the novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD) threat in the country. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles gave the assurance after opposition […]

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Politics

INCREASE BED CAPACITY OF EAST AVENUE MEDICAL CENTER – ANGARA

Senator Sonny Angara has filed a bill to increase the bed capacity of the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City from the current 600 to 1,000. A tertiary hospital under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health (DOH), the EAMC is constantly operating at overcapacity so in order to accommodate more patients in need of […]

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Politics

DOH HOTLINE SHOULD BE MANNED 24-7 FOR NCOV CONCERNS – PANGILINAN

Lack of leadership and the fear of infection by Filipinos were seen as factors in the failure to contain the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the country, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan said. Pangilinan took Health Secretary Francisco Duque to task for being unprepared to handle the situation, and for not knowing the basic […]