By Macon Araneta Pro-death penalty senators pushed anew for the revival of the capital punishment on the heels of the shooting to death a mother and her son by a Paranaque policeman in Paniqui, Tarlac, last Sunday. Currently, there are 10 pending death penalty bills in the upper chamber that were all referred to the Senate Committee on Justice. The proposed measures imposing the maximum penalty of death were filed by eight out of 24 members of the Upper Chamber. They...

By Macon Araneta The Philippines’ average Internet connection speed remains very sluggish and is way behind those of its peers as it  ranks 110th in Internet speed among 139 countries  in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr.  Citing figures from The Speedtest Global Index, Campos said the Philippines – with an average mobile Internet speed of only 18.49 megabits per second (Mbps) – ranks number 110 among 139 coun...

By Macon Araneta While the global assessment Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 revealed that the Philippines lags behind 57 other countries in Math and Science achievements, the study also reported that less than 50 percent of Grade Four learners were receiving instructions with “high clarity.” For Sen. Win Gatchalian, this only reinforces the need to improve the quality of teacher education and training as the country’s basic ...

By Macon Araneta Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go said that the new version of the Department of Overseas Filipinos (DOFil) Act of 2020, or Senate Bill number 1949, intends to implement a one country-team approach of government offices and personnel posted abroad. Go filed the proposed measure early December. It  has been recently certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte.  He said the  one country-team approach requires all officials in Philippine dip...

By Macon Araneta Sen. Panfilo Lacson on December 28 warned that antagonizing Americans might have sealed the country’s fate in settling for China’s Sinovac instead of the US-made Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. President Rodrigo Duterte threatened the US,  “We need a vaccine. You have a vaccine then you should give us some. You need our territory for the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). We will give that but if you don’t give us vaccines then do your VFA...

By Macon Araneta Sen. Imee Marcos asked the government to explain why it will pay more than double what rich countries have negotiated to buy the same vaccine against Covid-19. Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on Economic Affairs, said Belgium’s Budget Sec. Eva De Bleeker publicly  disclosed that member states of the European Union (EU) will be buying the AstraZeneca vaccine for only 1.78 euros or about PHP105 per dose, which is 2.3 times less than what...

By Corina Oliquino MANILA -- Manila Mayor Isko Moreno on December 15, ordered the city’s police and health officials to probe any unauthorized COVID-19 vaccination activity in Binondo. "If true, this is definitely unauthorized since the undersigned has not ordered the same nor is, he aware or informed that any national government agency will already conduct the said activity," Moreno said. "Moreover, the national government has not yet approved any form of COVID-19 v...

By Macon Araneta Sen. Grace Poe urged the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to work together to pursue the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). She noted that NAIA should be fixed at the soonest possible time while passengers are still hesitant to travel amid the pandemic. As MIAA recently revoked the original proposal of Megawi...

By Macon Araneta Citing reports that in America alone, up to 30 percent of the nurses  succumbed to COVID-19 are Filipinos, Anakalusugan Partylist Rep. Michael Defensor said Filipino nurses  in the US and other parts of the world are bearing the brunt of the pandemic. Defensor, House Health committee vice-chairperson, said this is due to the exceptional work ethic of Filipino nurses “Filipino nurses in America, for instance, won’t hesitate to perform additional work ...