(PNA file photo) MANILA - The fourth Bayanihan Bakunahan national vaccination drive has surpassed its vaccination targets for the first and second doses, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday. In an online media forum, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 115 percent of the target population for the first dose of Covid-19 jabs have been vaccinated. About 134 percent of the target population for the second dose have received the shot. For the administration of booster shots, about 70 percent of the target fully vaccinated individuals have been immunized. The fourth national vaccination drive was originally scheduled from March 10 to 12 but this was extended up to March 18 to reach more senior citizens for the primary series and fully vaccinated individuals for booster shots. Vergeire said more than 65.2 Filipinos are fully vaccinated, 70.4 million received at least one dose of Covid-19 jab and 11.6 million got their booster shots. "Tuloy-tuloy lamang
BIR INTERNET LOUNGES. Mayor Lino Montilla (left) and Revenue Region 18 Director Rodrigo Rivamonte (2nd right) leads the ribbon-cutting of the first-ever Bureau of Internal Revenue eLounge (inset) in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, on Thursday (March 17, 2022). Another eLounge facility for the online filing of their income tax return (ITR) and tax payment was also launched on the same day in Isulan town, Sultan Kudarat. (Photo courtesy of Pat Diaz Jr. - BIR-RR 18) KORONADAL CITY - Taxpayers in the city of Tacurong and the nearby town of Isulan in Sultan Kudarat province need not go far for the online filing of their income tax return (ITR) and tax payment with the opening Thursday of the "BIR eLounge." Aileen Punzalan, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Revenue 109 district officer, said the "BIR eLounge" is BIR's first-ever online filing and payment system in the country, created in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (
(PNA photo by Gil Calinga) MANILA - The country's vaccine experts are working on the implementing guidelines for the administration of Sinovac's Covid-19 vaccine for children six years old and above, a health official said Tuesday. On March 11, the Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use authorization (EUA) for Sinovac's CoronaVac which allows the Chinese vaccine to be used for pediatric vaccination. "Parang paggamit din natin sa 5 years and above, kailangan titignan natin mabuti kasi ang nasa EUA ng Sinovac ay for healthy individuals, healthy children. So, baka hindi kasama 'yung ating mga (It's like [the administration of vaccine] for 5 years and above, we need to be careful because the EUA for Sinovac states for healthy individuals, healthy children. So, this may not include children) with comorbidities," National Vaccination Operations Center Chief Myrna Cabotaje said in a televised public briefing. Cabotaje noted that the same CoronoVa
US GOV'T AID. US Embassy Charge d' Affaires ad interim Heather Variava delivers her speech during the launching of the "Bida Kid" vaccination drive at the Ayala Center Cebu in Cebu City on Tuesday (March 8, 2022). The Cebu City government, through Mayor Michael Rama, lauded the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for its assistance in the Covid-19 response, particularly its vaccination efforts. (PNA photo by John Rey Saavedra) CEBU CITY - The United States Agency for the International Development (USAID) has partnered with the city government in the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination awareness campaign aiming to disseminate accurate messages across the Cebuano populace. US Embassy Charge d' Affaires ad interim Heather Variava graced the launching of the "Bida Kid" vaccination drive for children aged 5 to 11 at the Ayala Center Cebu Tuesday. In her speech, Variava said assisting the Philippines in the Covid-19 response
NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillion (Screengrab from RTVM) MANILA - An official of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) stressed the importance of government subsidies in helping address the impact of rising fuel prices on the public. During the Palace briefing on Tuesday, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillion said the government has allocated under this year's national budget a PHP2.5 billion fuel subsidies for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators and a PHP500 million subsidy for the agriculture sector. She said NEDA is requesting for an increase in the amount of subsidies to PHP5 billion for the transport sector and to PHP1.1 billion for the agriculture sector. She, however, said they need to wait for the March 2022 fiscal report to check if there will an increase in revenue collections, which will be tapped for the additional subsidies. "Kapag magkakaroon ng excess revenues from the program, ito po ay magagamit natin sa pag-fund ng tinata