Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, May 7, 2021.
READ: Govt eyes vaccine ‘mixing’ scheme
THE Department of Health (DoH) is drafting the guidelines that will allow an individual who had been inoculated with one brand of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine for the first dose to be jabbed with a different brand for the second dose. Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Rolando Enrique Domingo said on Thursday the DoH was considering the mixed-vaccine approach after reports that people who had received the first dose developed severe allergies and were not allowed to take the second dose.
READ: Duterte orders Sinopharm pullout
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday ordered the withdrawal of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinopharm after he was criticized for taking the unauthorized drug. In a prerecorded public address, Duterte said he requested Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian to withdraw the donated 1,000 Sinopharm doses amid the controversy over his decision to be jabbed with the vaccine, which has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
READ: Arbitral win ‘just a scrap of paper’
PRESIDENT Duterte on Wednesday said the nation’s landmark victory against China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea was nothing more than a scrap of paper. In his second late-night public address this week, Duterte said the international ruling that nullified China’s claims in the disputed waters led to nothing. The President said he had attempted to assert the 2016 ruling, but the Philippines gained nothing.
READ: Arrest face mask violators, President orders police
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the police to arrest, detain and investigate people who do not wear face masks properly. The President said the government has to be strict because some people use face masks merely for compliance.
READ: Travelers from India ‘no cause for alarm’
MALACAÑANG has played down concerns over the arrival of at least six travelers from India who had tested positive for Covid-19. The public should not be alarmed because the infected arrivals were being quarantined for 14 days in a government facility, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr said in a press briefing on Thursday.
READ: Number of jobless down in March
THE number of unemployed Filipinos went down from 4.2 million in February to 3.44 million in March, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Thursday. National statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said in a press briefing the number of out-of-work individuals translates to an unemployment rate of 7.1 percent, lower than the 8.8 percent recorded a month earlier, based on the latest labor force survey.
REGIONS: Duterte urged to run for VP
Civic, social and non-government organizations and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have joined the call for President Rodrigo Duterte to run for vice president (VP) when his term ends next year. Elvira Go, convenor of the VP Digong 2022 campaign, explained they direly wanted Duterte to be elected to the country’s second highest political post “so he can continue his programs and policies, particularly on the anti-drug campaign and antiterrorism drive. She said since he could no longer run for reelection under the law, “it would be better for him to aspire for vice president.“ During a local news conference, Go cited reforms introduced by the Duterte administration.
BUSINESS: Covid surge to drag GDP recovery – group
Over to business, ANZ Research on Thursday slashed its 2021 Philippine economic growth forecast to 4.8 percent from 7.1 percent, noting that the country will have a “fragile recovery” this year. In a report, ANZ Research Economist Rini Sen and Sanjay Mathur said that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) likely continued to contract in the first quarter due to the increase of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
SPORTS: Mandaue ousts Lapu-Lapu, faces Talisay for the title
Topping sports, KCS Computer Specialist-Mandaue conquered stubborn ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu City, 74-64, Wednesday night at the Alcantara Civic Center in Alcantara, Cebu to earn the right to face unbeaten MJAS Zenith-Talisay City Aquastars for the championship of the Visayas leg of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup. Game One of the best-of-three finals begins at 7 p.m. on Friday at the same venue.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today’s front page columnists. Tiglao agrees with President Rodrigo Duterte’s statements over the 2016 West Philippine Sea ruling, while Torres talks about women at work on Mother’s Day.
Today’s editorial discusses the Group of Seven sailing into the troubled waters of the South China Sea. Read the full version on the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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With Dafort Villaseran, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. May you have a safe Friday ahead.