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Politics

PRC EYES NATIONWIDE SALIVA TEST ROLLOUT BY FEB. 1

Senator Dick Gordon, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), disclosed that they are targeting a nationwide roll out by February 1 of the saliva RT-PCR test that the Department of Health gave the green light to recently. Following the DOH’s approval of the use of saliva as an alternative specimen to the […]

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Politics

DECLARE CATANDUANES AS PH ABACA CAPITAL – VILLAR

Senator Cynthia Villar, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, is pushing for the declaration of the Province of Catanduanes as the “Abaca Capital of the Philippines” in her recently filed Senate Bill No. 1748. The Philippines is the top producer of abaca in the world. Catanduanes is the top abaca producer of […]

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Politics

SECURE JUDGES, KEEP JUDICIARY INDEPENDENT – GORDON

Aiming to improve the administration of justice in the country, Senator Dick Gordon sponsored before the plenary the committee report on a proposed measure that would ensure the protection and security of the members of the Bench and the entire judiciary. “Today, I am sponsoring another breakthrough bill for the judiciary. The killing of 34 […]

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Politics

SALIVA TEST DEMOCRATIZES COVID DETECTION – GORDON

The Philippine Red Cross reached another milestone with the use of the Saliva RT-PCR testing for COVID-19, which, Senator Dick Gordon said, will democratize testing and detection of the disease. At the official launching of the new testing system that the Department of Health has recently approved for use in the Red Cross’ molecular laboratories, […]

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Government

NEA: POWER RESTORATION IN ALBAY ALMOST COMPLETE

Electricity has been restored to 98 percent of consumers affected by the recent typhoons in Albay, while restoration work continues to the remaining households still without power in the province, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) said. Based on the monitoring of the NEA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department as of Thursday (January 21), the […]

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Politics

LGUS SHOULD TAKE LEAD IN DIGITAL SERVICES – ANGARA

To bolster the country’s efforts in developing and implementing e-government services, Senator Sonny Angara said that local government units (LGUs) should take the lead in digital transformation for the public sector. Angara noted how the shift to digital or online services has accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and “government cannot afford to […]

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Politics

CONDUCT ‘PRACTICE RUNS’ FOR COVID VACCINE – VILLANUEVA

While waiting for the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, the government should conduct “practice runs” that will test the readiness of the country’s health infrastructure to vaccinate millions of people, according to Senator Joel Villanueva. Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee explained that “test runs” would also allow the government to “fix kinks, plug manpower […]

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Politics

GATCHALIAN TO DEPED: RELEASE B2HELP FOR LEARNERS

Senator Win Gatchalian is urging the Department of Education (DepEd) to accelerate the release and distribution of financial aid allotted by the extended Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2 (Republic Act 11494) to qualified basic education learners who are facing financial difficulties because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gatchalian made this call following […]

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Politics

USE ‘3M RULE’ IN COVID VACCINE CHOICE – VILLANUEVA

Senator Joel Villanueva defended the Senate hearings on the national vaccine plan, saying their ongoing probe will “save lives and money” in a country that is among the hardest hit in the region but last in securing vaccines. “When we finetune the plan, then we are not competing but we are collaborating with the executive. […]

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Politics

LIFELINE ELECTRICITY RATES BILL GETS SENATE OK

Senator Win Gatchalian said low-income households can look forward to a continued subsidy in their electricity consumption bills in the next 10 years. Senate Bill No. 1877, the measure extending the implementation of subsidized electricity rate to marginalized end-users, particularly those households consuming not more than 100 kilowatt hour (kWh) or less per month, was […]