Published on: Wednesday, December 30, 2020
By: Agencies
Sotto has defended the move to give inoculations to soldiers of unapproved vaccines.
MANILA: Senate President Vicente Sotto III said there is nothing wrong with the inoculation of soldiers against Covid-19 as “there is no law” that prevents Filipinos from taking a vaccine that has yet to be certified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Sotto’s statement comes after President Rodrigo Duterte said that several soldiers have been vaccinated against Covid-19 despite health officials’ frequent reminder to avoid using drugs that the FDA has yet to approve.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong about that. There is no law that says you cannot take any medicine or vaccine that FDA has not approved,” Sotto told reporters in a text message.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte leads the ceremonial signing of the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) at the Malacañan Palace on December 28, 2020. KING RODRIGUEZ/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed the PHP4.5-trillion national budget for 2021 which is expected to boost the government’s efforts to effectively respond to the challenges of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and provide critical measures to aid the economic and social sectors.
Duterte signed Republic Act (R.A) No. 11518 in a ceremony in Malacañan Palace just three days after Christmas.
R.A. 11518 aims to help address the Covid-19 pandemic, boost infrastructure development, generate job opportunities, and rebuild by assisting communities adapt to the post-pandemic life.
Published December 29, 2020, 3:00 PM
Consumers and tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocates achieved major gains in the Philippines in 2020 as they moved to correct the misinformation sowed by anti-vaping groups, called on health authorities to respect the rights of adult Filipino smokers to choose better smoke-free alternatives to combustible cigarettes, and uncovered the receipt of foreign funds by the very agency that is supposed to draft the regulation on smoke-free products.
PIXABAY/ MANILA BULLETIN FILE
In February, they launched #SmokeFree4Life, an Asia-wide education and information campaign that urged the World Health Organization and the Department of Health to respect the rights of Filipino consumers to choose better products.
Sen. Vicente Sotto III (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I may agree or disagree, but if it involves national security, then I can see his point,” Sotto said in message to reporters.
“The security cluster insists that there are members of Congress who are sympathizers or allegedly connected to the CPP/NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples’ Army) . [President Duterte] probably thinks it’s best not to telegraph the Executive’s intel actions,” he added.
Duterte said in his veto message dated Monday, December 28, that he rejected the provision in the 2021 General Appropriations Act which requires the submission of quarterly reports to the Senate President and the House Speaker on the use of intelligence funds.
Duterte signs P4.5-T national budget for 2021 By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
Published December 28, 2020 6:25pm
Updated December 28, 2020 7:20pm President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed into law the P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021. Duterte signed the General Appropriations Act of 2021 before some members of Congress such as Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco in Malacañang. LOOK: President Rodrigo Duterte signs P4.5-T national budget for 2021 in the presence of some lawmakers from both houses of Congress. @gmanews Next year’s budget is expected to fund measures aimed at improving the country’s healthcare system, ensuring food security, increasing investments in public and digital infrastructure, and helping communities cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.