We scour the ‘net for major Philippine stories to share and keep you informed about what’s happening on this corner of the globe.
Here are some of the top headlines from this second week of March 2021.
Pagasa: LPA unlikely to turn into tropical depression; Visayas, Mindanao to see rains
Despite having only a slim chance to turn into a storm, the low pressure area (LPA) east of the country may still bring light to moderate rains over Visayas and Mindanao, state meteorologists said.
Weather reports from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration on March 11 showed that the LPA was last seen 140 kilometres east of General Santos City.
Roque: Over 114,000 individuals vaccinated vs. COVID-19
The Philippines has vaccinated 114,615 individuals against COVID-19 so far, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on March 11.
Roque said that of the total number, 25,538 were given the COVID-19 vaccine within the day.
Duterte to open economy soon, says social distancing impossible
Despite the recent steep increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would reopen the economy in a matter of weeks because Filipinos needed to return to work and avoid going hungry.
The President, however, conceded that he is having difficulty with his timeline because the Philippines’ supply of COVID-19 vaccines stood only at 1.12 million doses.
Unemployment up in January
The number of unemployed Filipinos went up by 200,000 in January 2021, a survey made by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
In a briefing, National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said that based on the results of the latest Labor Force Survey, 4 million joined the ranks of the unemployed, compared to 2.4 million in the same period last year.
Daily new COVID-19 cases in NCR may reach 5,000 by March 31 —OCTA Research
An expert from the OCTA Research group on March 9 said the daily new cases of COVID-19 in the National Capital Region may reach 5,000 by March 31 as the projected reproduction number may have already increased.
OCTA Research’s Dr. Guido David said the estimated reproduction number may have already increased to 1.8.
Taal Volcano raised to Alert Level 2 over ‘increasing unrest’
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the status of Taal Volcano in Batangas from Alert Level 1 to Alert Level 2 on the morning of March 9.
Alert Level 2 was raised due to “increasing unrest,” coming from Alert Level 1’s “low level of unrest.”
