A total of 130 workers of the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) and those working for its maintenance provider have received booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. In a Facebook post on Friday, MRT-3 Officer-in-Charge, Assistant Secretary Eymard Eje, said providing employees with booster shots is part of their mandate to ensure the safety of workers and passengers alike. “Tinitiyak talaga natin na bakunado ang ating mga empleyado dahil tayo sa hanay ng MRT-3 ang araw-araw na sumasabak para magserbisyo sa mga pasahero (We’re ensuring that our workers are vaccinated because here at MRT-3, we are in the frontlines serving passengers
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Friday reported that about 1,200 returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and are in isolation. “Our last count, there are 1,200 who tested positive. They are now in isolation. Accommodations have been extended. When they tested positive, they were immediately transferred to quarantine facilities where they will stay until they recover,” OWWA deputy administrator Arnell Ignacio said in a virtual forum. Ignacio attributed the number of infected returning OFWs to the surge in cases due to the Omicron variant, noting that most of them are
Federal Reserve rate hikes anticipation and reports of higher-than-expected growth of the Philippine and US economies in the last quarter of 2021 hurt the local bourse’s main index on Friday but the peso improved. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.30 percent, or 21.55 points, to 7,251.97 points. All Shares followed with a drop of 0.14 percent, or 5.41 points, to 3,856.08 points. Most of the sectoral counters also finished the week in the red – Property, 1.70 percent; Services, 1.39 percent; Holding Firms, 0.96 percent; and Mining and Oil, 0.18 percent. On the other hand, Financials rose by
Metro Manila is now at “moderate risk” for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) from a high-risk case classification, a health official said on Friday. In a Palace briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the National Capital Region (NCR) saw a 67-percent decrease in cases compared to the previous week. “Bumaba na po nang husto ang mga kaso at dumating na tayo sa moderate risk classification (The cases have declined significantly and we have now reached a moderate risk classification),” Vergeire said. She said the NCR recorded an average of 4,398 daily Covid-19 cases in a seven-day moving average, compared
Financial inclusion encompasses not just broader access to financial products but provides opportunities even for people in the lower bracket of society to move up the ladder, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said Friday. In his speech during the hybrid event held both virtually and physically for the launch of the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 2022-2028, Diokno said stakeholders defined what financial inclusion is in the local setting when they launched the original NSFI in 2015. He said the initial program allowed greater public and private sector collaboration towards bringing more Filipinos into the formal
For the second straight day, the number of new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections stayed within the 18,000-mark, with 18,638 infections recorded on Friday. The Department of Health (DOH), in its latest Covid-19 tracker, said Friday’s cases are slightly higher than Thursday’s 18,191 new cases. The new infections raised the active cases to 231,658, made up of 219,811 patients who have mild symptoms; 7,055 who are asymptomatic; 2,971 with moderate symptoms; 1,509 with severe symptoms; and 312 in critical condition. On the other hand, the DOH reported 13,106 new recoveries, a drop from Thursday’s 22,014, bringing the country’s total recoveries
