MANILA – With coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases on the upswing, National Task Force Against Covid-19 chair, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, on Thursday reminded the public to properly wear their face masks and comply with other safety and health protocols. “Mga kababayan, dumarami ang nagkaka-Covid. Ang pagsusuot ng face mask at ang pagsunod sa iba pang safety and health protocols ay mga mabisang paraan panguntra sa Covid-19. Nananawagan ako isuot natin ng maayos ang ating mga face mask (My countrymen, an increasing number of people are getting infected with Covid-19. The proper wearing of face and strict compliance with safety

MANILA – The Duterte administration’s proposed 2022 budget spending aims to ramp up the response efforts against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and ensure the country’s recovery from the pandemic-induced economic slump, Malacañang said on Thursday. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque issued the statement in a virtual presser, after several lawmakers questioned the supposedly “misplaced” priorities in the government’s 2022 budget plan. “Ang importante po is dalawang bagay ang ating pinaghahandaan para sa susunod na taon – unang-una, ‘yung paglaban natin sa sakit mismo, pangalawa, ‘yung pagbangon ng ating bayan dahil nga sa pandemya (What’s important is we are preparing for

MANILA – A total of 362,700 doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine arrived in the country Wednesday night, as more life-saving shots are expected to be delivered in the coming weeks that would ensure stable supply until yearend. Air Hongkong flight LD456 carried some 262,080 doses, which were then transported to the PharmaServ Express cold-chain storage facility in Marikina City. Some 50,310 doses were directly unloaded in Cebu City around 5 p.m. on the same day. The same number of doses will be delivered in Davao City Thursday. Assistant Secretary Wilben Mayor, head of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF)

MANILA – The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) vowed on Thursday to pay 60 percent, or around PHP17 billion, of in-process claims it owes to hospitals through the Debit Credit Payment Method (DCPM) by next week. PhilHealth President and CEO Dante Gierran made the commitment during the hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability into the non-payment of health care facilities’ claims by the state medical insurer. Gierran said PhilHealth will settle around PHP17 billion out of the PHP21 billion worth of unpaid claims to hospitals, leaving a balance of PHP4 billion. “So itong 17 billion