Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, January 21, 2022, brought to you by Wilcon Depot, the country's leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer. Shop conveniently 24/7 with the Wilcon online store, just go to shop.wilcon.com.ph.
READ: Ease air travel rules – Concepcion
PRESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd on Thursday called for the relaxing of Covid-19 testing and quarantine requirements for international travel, saying it would invigorate the economy. Concepcion, founder of Go Negosyo, said the use of facility-based quarantine and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests should be reviewed.
READ: Robredo confident of Bicol's support
VICE President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo is confident the Bicol region will support her presidential bid. Robredo made the statement after the camp of her presidential rival, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., said at least 11 mayors in Camarines Sur were backing him. She said that in 2016, when she was running for vice president, almost no big politician in Bicol supported her. But of the five Bicolanos running for the position, she still got almost 70 percent of the Bicolano vote.
READ: Drugstores double as vaccination sites
SELECT drugstores and private clinics in Metro Manila doubled as vaccination sites for Covid-19 booster shots starting Thursday as the government tried out its new approach to get more people protected against the virus. During the launch of the "Resbakuna sa Botika" at the Watsons pharmacy at the SM Supercenter in Pasig City, National Task Force Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. acknowledged that the government is way below its target of having 75 million individuals jabbed with a booster shot. Galvez said only 5 million boosters have been administered so far.
SPORTS: Obiena: I'm not in best shape to compete
A WEEK away from his first tournament in 2022, world No. 5 pole vaulter Ernest John "EJ" Obiena said he is not 100 percent, physically and mentally. In a roundtable interview with The Manila Times on Thursday, he said he will take part in the Init Indoor Meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, on January 28. A week ago, Obiena went under the knife to clean his meniscus and remove the screw that was placed in his knee during an ACL reconstruction procedure in 2017. It is the stress from his run-in with his national federation, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa), that is affecting his preparations for the indoor meet.
READ: Health workers to get Covid allowance
THE Department of Health (DoH) said it would issue a new allowance for all health care workers in line with the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to increase their benefits starting this year. The One Covid-19 Allowance (OCA) will supersede the special risk allowance for health care workers directly exposed to Covid-19 patients and other benefits such as active hazard duty pay, meal accommodation and transportation allowance which are only given to a limited number of healthcare workers. The DoH said the OCA will be provided to all health care workers taking into account their Covid exposure classification based on the health facility they are assigned, work setting, and nature of work. Those considered high-risk for exposure will receive P9,000 per month, while those under moderate and low risk will be given P6,000 and 3,000, respectively. The DoH has urged public and private health facilities to comply with the OCA guidelines to prevent miscommunication. The guidelines are being looked over by the Department of Budget and Management.
READ: UniTeam bares 10 Senate bets
THE tandem of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Thursday released their senatorial lineup which included former members of President Rodrigo Duterte's Cabinet. The UniTeam's Senate bets are Senators Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian and Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri, former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista, former Defense chief Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro, Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta and lawyer Lorenzo "Larry" Gadon, former Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr., former senator Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, and former Public Works and Highways secretary Mark Villar. Except for Legarda, all Senate candidates in the lineup were present during the online caravan of Marcos and Duterte-Carpio on Wednesday.
BUSINESS: 2022 BoP deficit seen hitting 1.6% of GDP
Topping business, the Philippines' balance of payments (BoP) deficit will likely widen this year as imports continue to grow, Australia-based ANZ Research said. According to its economists, the BoP deficit is expected at 1.6 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in 2022 compared to 0.9 percent of GDP in 2021. The forecast is significantly wider than the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' outlook of a 0.2-percent 2022 shortfall. The current strength in imports was said to be unusual at this stage of the business cycle, the economists said without going into further detail. Latest BoP data shows that following jumps in all major commodity groups, goods imports increased by 30.2 percent to $77.2 billion in the first nine months of 2021. As a result, the merchandise trade deficit grew by 50.6 percent to $36.6 billion from $24.3 billion.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao calls on media outlets to rid themselves of "red" reporters, while Torres tackles the "no vax, no ride" rules of the government.
Today's editorial believes the demand for electricity caused a rise in carbon emissions. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe Friday ahead.