Erwin Colcol News Today

Published April 13, 2021 11:45am Former President Joseph Estrada is now negative for COVID-19, his son, former Senator Jinggoy Estrada, announced on Tuesday. "We are happy to announce that my dad continues to improve and we expect that he can be transferred to a regular room soon," Jinggoy posted on Facebook. "His repeat RT-PCR (swab test) is now NEGATIVE!" he added. Jinggoy said his father is still on high flow oxygen support but at a much reduced rate, and has been allowed to resume a s...

Published April 7, 2021 12:39pm Pharmacists are now allowed to administer COVID-19 vaccines through the Immunizing Pharmacist Certification Program, the Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPhA) announced on Wednesday. In a statement, the PPhA said the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Professional Regulatory Board of Pharmacy have accredited the association to train and certify Filipino pharmacists to administer COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines to adults through the said...

Published April 4, 2021 12:01pm President Rodrigo Duterte believes that the Easter "promise of salvation" will inspire Filipinos to look forward to new beginnings despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his Easter Sunday message, Duterte said the occasion gives Filipinos "a profound message of hope in the midst of suffering and an assurance of triumph over adversity." "As we collectively strive to overcome the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, I trust that the ...

Published March 17, 2021 12:46pm Drilon made the remark after the high court dismissed the petitions challenging President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to withdraw the Philippines from the ICC, which is looking into allegations of abuse in his war on drugs. “While the Supreme Court dismissed the petition questioning the validity of the Philippine government’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute for being moot and academic, the High Court acknowledged the limitations on the power of the Pre...

Past and present senators on Wednesday paid their last respects to the late former Senator Victor Ziga, who passed away on January 31. A necrological service was conducted at the Senate session hall on Wednesday morning in honor of the late legislator, attended by his family, friends, and colleagues.

Published January 31, 2021 12:46am Updated January 31, 2021 8:45am Medical workers lead the inoculation dry run on January 27, 2021 in Barangay Lower Bicutan Taguig City as part of preparations for the rollout of the governments COVID-19 vaccine program. DANNY PATA The National Task Force Against COVID-19 announced Saturday that the government had approved and ratified the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 Vaccines. "All implementing agencies of the National...

By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News Published January 27, 2021 10:47am Two more measures have been filed at the House of Representatives to institutionalize the provisions of the 1989 pact between the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) to the universitys Charter as well as for all other academic institutions. The House Makabayan bloc, led by Kabataan party-list Representative Sarah Elago, filed the two bills on Wednesday, around two weeks after the DND u...

By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News Published January 21, 2021 6:18pm Updated January 21, 2021 7:13pm Quezon City Representative Kit Belmonte on Thursday filed a measure which seeks to apply the provisions of the unilaterally-abrogated 1989 University of the Philippines - Department of National Defense (UP-DND) Accord to all state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country. Belmonte, a UP alumnus, filed House Bill 8443, or the proposed "Academic Freedom Act of 2021," which institutionalizes ...

By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News Published January 14, 2021 2:31pm Crossing party lines, leaders of various political groups and blocs at the House of Representatives signed a manifesto supporting Speaker Lord Allan Velascos proposal to amend the "restrictive" economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution to help the economy recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. "We believe that now is the most opportune time to resume the deliberation on the amendments to the economic provisions spec...

House Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez is calling on the national government to allow local government units (LGUs) to directly procure vaccines against COVID-19 from manufacturers.