Duterte says China 'never asked for anything' in exchange for COVID-19 shots

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday said China "never asked for anything" in exchange for donating to the Philippines its first COVID-19 vaccine supply. 

The Philippines on Sunday received 600,000 donated shots from Beijing-based drug maker Sinovac Biotech, which would allow the government to launch its lagging vaccination drive. 

"China never asked for anything. China has been giving us everything but never asked anything from us actually," Duterte said in a press briefing. "Ang pinakamabigat ang Amerikano, ang hinihingi nila ang base."

(The heaviest is the Americans, they are asking for a base.) 

Duterte recently said Washington must "pay" if it wanted to keep its Visiting Forces Agreement with Manila. In the same speech, he said he "cannot afford to be brave in the mouth against China because we are avoiding any confrontation." 

Asked if this meant that the President was tough on the US and soft on China, his spokesman Harry Roque had said, "Hindi naman totoo iyan." (That's not true.)

"Ang ginagawa lang naman po ni Presidente ay nakikipagmabuting kapitbansa sa bansang Tsina dahil sa gustuhin at ayaw natin, talaga namang kapitbansa natin iyan ‘no," he said in an interview on the government's television network. 

(The President is only being a good neighbor to China because whether we like it or not, it is our neighbor.)

"Sabi nga nila, kinakailangang makipagkasundo sa kapitbahay, maski hindi ka makipagkasundo sa kamag-anak ‘no. Importante po talaga na magkaroon tayo ng mainit na pagsasama sa ating mga kapitbansa in the same way na importante iyong pagiging mabuting kapitbahay natin sa ating mga lokalidad." 

(As they say, you need to be in harmony with your neighbor, even if you are not in harmony with your relatives. It is important for us to have warm ties with our neighboring countries, in the same way that it is important to be a good neighbor in our communities.)

 

Beijing has refused to recognize a ruling that junked its sweeping claims to the resource-rich waterway, including parts of the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

 

China is supplying 25 million Sinovac COVID-19 shots to the Philippines. Observers have said Beijing might use its vaccines to push for its regional agenda. 

The Philippines is the last Southeast Asian country to receive vaccine supplies, fueling concerns over the recovery of its economy which suffered its worst contraction on record last year.

The archipelago, which has the second-highest tally of infections and deaths in the region, has suffered lengthy lockdowns, hitting hard a consumption-driven economy.

— With a report from Reuters

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/28/21/duterte-says-china-never-asked-for-anything-in-exchange-for-covid-19-shots

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Duterte says Philippines may return to normalcy in 2023

Filipinos may see some sense of normalcy by 2023, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday, as the Philippines received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines. 

"Early in the first maybe first or second quarter of year '23, 2023, baka, tulong ng Diyos (maybe with the help of God)," he said, when asked for an estimate of when the Philippines could return to normalcy. 

Carlito Galvez Jr, Chief Implementer of the National Task Force on COVID-19, also earlier said the country may return to normalcy by 2023.

"It is only through this that we can implement a sustainable immunization program to recover the economy and restore normalcy in the lives of the Filipino people by 2023 through our bayanihan spirit," Galvez said in a public briefing. 

The Philippines on Sunday received 600,000 China-donated shots of the COVID-19 vaccine by Bejing-based Sinovac biotech. 

The last Southeast Asian country to receive initial vaccine supplies, the Philippines is seeking to secure up to 148 million doses so it can inoculate 70 million people, or two thirds of its population.

The archipelago, which has the second-highest tally of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the region, will mark the first year of its coronavirus quarantine this March. 

The nearly year-long quarantine has left businesses struggling and millions out of work. 

The Philippines' gross domestic product shrank last year by 9.5 percent, its worst contraction since the end of World War 2.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/28/21/duterte-says-philippines-may-return-to-normalcy-in-2023

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ORAS NG HIMALA - FEBRUARY 28 2021

Actual inoculation set on Mar. 1 after Sinovac vax's arrival

By Lade Jean Kabagani

The actual inoculation of Filipinos under the government's priority list will begin this Monday (March 1), following the arrival of 600,000 doses of China-donated Covid-19 vaccines made by Sinovac Biotech pharmaceutical firm in the country, National Policy Against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Sunday.

"As we ramp up our preparations for the vaccine rollout, we call on all our countrymen to take part in this massive and historic immunization program," Galvez, who is also the country's vaccine czar, said during the arrival of the Sinovac vaccines at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.

Galvez earlier said healthcare workers and other medical front-liners working in the major referral hospitals will be prioritized in the inoculation program once the Covid-19 vaccines become available.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said some 300,000 Filipinos, particularly health workers, are expected to get shots of Sinovac vaccines.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will get 100,000 doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines that could inoculate around 50,000 of its uniformed personnel.

Duque said among the hospitals to receive the vials are the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, Lung Center of the Philippines, Dr. Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, V. Luna Hospital, Veterans Memorial Medical Center, and the PNP General Hospital.

He noted that the Covid vaccines for the Visayas and Mindanao will be delivered by March 4 to March 5.

The Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City and the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City will get the first batch of the vaccines.

"Ito po ang dalawang pinakamalaking ospital ng gobyerno at ang mga healthcare workers ang mauunang maturukan (These are the two biggest public hospitals and their healthcare workers will be prioritized in the vaccination)," Duque said.

On the other hand, Galvez said the government's negotiations with other vaccine manufacturers are still ongoing.

"We are also expediting the procurement of another one million doses of Sinovac vaccines which are expected to arrive this March also," he said.

The government is expecting to receive the bulk of the Covid-19 vaccines by the second quarter of this year, he added.

"We will prioritize the preservation of our health institution and it would be followed by the government institutions that are providing essential services and economic front-liners," Galvez said. (With reports from Joyce Racamora)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1132111

NEWS JAM - FEBRUARY 28 2021 ERIC LECAIN

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COVID-19 testing to intensify even as vaccines arrive: official

The Philippines' coronavirus testing czar on Sunday reminded the public of the importance of infection detection even as the country is set to receive its initial batch of COVID-19 vaccines.

The country is "well on target" to meet 10 million COVID-19 tests by end of the first quarter this year with the help of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), said Secretary Vince Dizon.

"Itong pagpasok ng ating bakuna, hindi ibig sabihin nito hihinto na tayo. Kailangan po talaga, tuloy-tuloy po ang prevention, pagsusuot ng mask, pagdidistansiya... Kailangan tuloy-tuloy din po yung ating detection, isolation, at treatment," he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

(The arrival of vaccines does not mean we will stop testing. Prevention, such as wearing of masks and observing physical distancing, will continue. Detection, isolation, and treatment must continue.)

"Napakaimportante po d'yan ang ating detection, ang ating testing. Lalo na sa pagdami ng variants, kailangan po lalo pa nating paigtingin ang testing."

(Detection, testing is very important. We will intensify our testing especially now that there are many variants.)

The Philippines as of Friday has 62 reported cases of the more transmissible COVID-19 variant first detected in the UK. The total number of patients found to have both N501Y and E484K coronavirus mutations is at 34. 

The PRC, aside from conducting COVID-19 tests, has expressed its willingness to assist in the government's COVID-19 immunization program and procurement of its own vaccine supply.

A total of 574,247 infections have been recorded in the Philippines, including 37,093 active cases, since the virus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late 2019.

More than 8.7 million samples and over 8.2 million individuals have been tested in the country for the virus. There are 200 accredited testing laboratories in the Philippines.

On Sunday, the country is set to receive its first official supply of COVID-19 vaccines, courtesy of China's Sinovac, to be followed on Monday by AstraZeneca's product.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/28/21/covid-19-testing-to-intensify-even-as-vaccines-arrive-official

Filipinos seeking to work abroad urged to get vaccinated vs coronavirus: POEA

 Filipinos eyeing jobs abroad are urged to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said Sunday as the country anticipates the arrival of its first supply of vaccines against the coronavirus.

"Kinakailangan po nila ito upang mapanatili at sigurado po ang kanilang safety and health sa countries of destination 'pag sila po ay na-deploy," POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

(They need this so their safety and health in countries of destination are ensured.)

"Dahil sa vaccination ng iba't ibang destination countries, pinapayagan na silang bumalik. Karamihan sa merkado natin, unti-unti nang nagbubukas at tumatanggap ng ating balik-manggagawa."

(They are now allowed to be deployed due to vaccination in various destination countries. Several sectors are re-opening and accepting returning workers.)

The Philippines is set to receive doses of China's Sinovac and the UK's AstraZeneca vaccines on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Overseas Filipino workers are included in the country's second priority groups for inoculation.

Olalia said the country's OFW deployment had declined in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Some 300,000 land-based OFWs were deployed last year, an 80 percent decrease from an annual average of 1.4 million in previous years, he said. The deployment of sea-based workers also halved to 200,000 from an average of 400,000 prior to the pandemic, he added.

The Department of Foreigns Affairs said that as of February 20 this year, a total of 368,736 overseas Filipinos have been flown home the government started its COVID-19-related repatriations.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said last week that the number of OFWs coming home as a result of the pandemic has declined from around 2,000 to 3,000 a day before, to a maximum of 1,500 recently.

"Nabawas-bawasan na," he told TeleRadyo Sunday last week.

The Department of Health will issue COVID-19 vaccine passports to those inoculated, Malacañang earlier said.

Senators, however, said they would move to replace the vaccine passports with COVID-19 vaccine card as it “connotes or affects mobility” and may be construed as discriminatory.

As of Saturday, the DFA said 14,896 COVID-19 cases have been recorded among overseas Filipinos, of whom, 4,499 are undergoing treatment.

In the Philippines, coronavirus infections have reached 574,247, including 37,093 active cases.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/28/21/filipinos-seeking-to-work-abroad-urged-to-get-vaccinated-vs-coronavirus-poea