Teodoro: Government studying hosting...

looked into the security aspects of the issue, reiterating that there is nothing to discuss if the request is not permitted under the law.

“We have not gone that far.

With regard to claims that there is an agreement already, we are not yet there,” he said. “All our actions should have a legal basis.”

Earlier this month, Sen. Imee Marcos, sister of the president, questioned why the U.S. wanted to house the Afghans in the Philippines instead of the American mainland or countries closer to Afghanistan.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Afghans are not refugees but people “who have worked with the U.S. government and their qualified members.”

The Afghans worked for the American government before the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021 and are in the final stage of their U.S. special immigration visa application.

Some sectors and personalities, including Vice President Sara

Duterte, are against the request, fearing the arrangement might worsen the situation as regards the local terrorists in some places and violate Philippine sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Teodoro said on Monday that proposals to bring the West Philippine Sea issue before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) have to be carefully studied first, even as he stressed that the Philippines’ rights under international law must be asserted.

Some senators have backed retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio’s suggestion for the government to elevate the WPS issue to the UNGA, the highest policymaking body of the UN, as China continues to ignore the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in favor of the Philippines.

Teodoro agreed that the WPS issue must be brought before the international community to reassert the rights of the country under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“We must bring to the consciousness of the entire world the right of the Republic of the Philippines under the UNCLOS. We really need to transfer the debate on the WPS from our country to the rest of the world so they know our cause and if this should be done through the UNGA, the DFA has to weigh on that and study the matter,” he said.

In Senate Resolution 659, Sen. Risa Hontiveros called on the Philippine government through the DFA to sponsor a resolution before the UNGA that will call on China to stop its harassment of Filipino vessels in the WPS.

“Despite the Hague ruling, China continues to harass our navy, remain hostile to our fisherfolk and put the fishing industry in the area in jeopardy. This is nothing but a constant rejection of the basic tenets of international law. Beijing’s blunt refusal to accept her legal fate should have serious consequences. The UN General Assembly should be able to tell China to behave,” Hontiveros said. (Helen Flores, Cecille Suerte Felipe)

DOH chief wants COVID-19 health...

concern” on Jan. 30, 2020. It lifted the global emergency status for COVID-19 on May 5 this year.

In the Philippines, Proclamation No. 922 issued on March 8, 2020 shall remain in effect until the President lifts it.

Proclamation 929, issued on March 16, 2020, declared a COVID-related state of calamity nationwide. It remained in effect until Dec. 31, 2022.

The country recorded close to 3,500 COVID-19 infections in the past week, the DOH reported. The latest COVID-19 Bulletin issued by the DOH showed 3,442 new cases logged from June 19 to 25.

The DOH also recorded 37 patients in severe and critical condition, and no COVID-19 death from June 5 to 18.

The daily average number of new COVID-19 cases is 492, which is 20 percent lower than the figure recorded from June 12 to 18.

Last Sunday, June 25, the health department recorded 325 patients who sought admission to hospitals due to severe and critical COVID-19. The number was 10.7 percent of the total COVID-19 admissions in the country.

Out of the 1,564 ICU beds intended for COVID-19 patients, 204 (13 percent) were occupied while 17.7 percent or 2,274 of 12,855 non-ICU COVID-19 beds were being used.

The DOH also reported that as of March 19, more than 78 million individuals or 100.44 percent of the target population have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The figure included 5,371 individuals vaccinated from March 13 to 19.

Furthermore, more than 23 million individuals have received their booster shots, including 10,177 individuals boosted in the same week.

The DOH likewise said that 7.1 million senior citizens or 82.16 percent of the target A2 population were able to receive their primary vaccine series.

The health department has advised the public to continuously observe minimum public health standards.

The DOH said the elderly, as well as those with comorbidities and the immune compromised