Manila Standard - 2020 December 29 - Wednesday

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Duterte expands travel ban

Now covers 20 foreign points with COVID variant cases, curbs up to Jan. 15 By Maricel V. Cruz, Darwin G. Amojelar, and Joel E. Zurbano

A

MID discordant announcements from officials, the Philippines on Tuesday finalized a wider travel ban on arrivals from 20 countries to prevent the spread of a new, and perceived to be more contagious coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom.

President Rodrigo Duterte has prohibited from entering the country from 12:01 a.m. of Dec. 30, 2020 until Jan. 15, 2021 all foreign travelers coming from, or transiting through, the following territories, or who have been to these places 14 days before arrival in the Philippines, said his spokesman Harry Roque. The countries are the UK, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Next page

AIRPORT INSPECTION. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (left, back to the camera) waves at an arriving overseas Filipino worker from Singapore during his inspection, together with other government officials, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 in Pasay City on Tuesday. Inset shows Philippine Coast Guard personnel guiding other OFWs undergoing the strict NAIA quarantine procedures, as all arrivals – especially from 20 countries that have reported the new coronavirus strain -would undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine. PNA, PCG photos

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 297 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Solons linked to infra kickbacks blast PACC for ‘baseless’ charges COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM DEC. 29)

471,526 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

886

23,348

9,162

38

439,016

253

NEW

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

ACTIVE

NEW

NEW

By Maricel V. Cruz SEVERAL of the nine lawmakers tagged by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) on Tuesday denied receiving kickbacks from public works projects after President Rodrigo Duterte read out their names Monday night. “I am open to any investigation to establish the truth on this matter and I am sure that my honor will be vindicated. My conscience is clear," said Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman. Roman said she was shocked to hear her name mentioned by the President, but “comforted” when he said the list was not based on any verified information. “Public service has never been a money-making venture for me or my family Next page

READY FOR RIZAL DAY. Rizal Park maintenance workers unfurl a giant Philippine flag in Manila on Wednesday during ceremony rehearsals for the Rizal Day celebrations on December 30. (See related articles on B1 and C4). Norman Cruz

Gov’t eyes 150m doses of vaccine to blunt criticism

Palace: PSG given donated drugs By Vito Barcelo, Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta A PALACE spokesman on Tuesday defended the use of an unauthorized Chinese vaccine against COVID-19 that was given to some members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG), saying the government accepted them as “tokens” of small value. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the law prohibiting public officials and workers from soliciting and accepting

By Willie Casas, Maricel V. Cruz, and Joel E. Zurbano, HOPES run high the Philippines will be able to secure supply deals for 150 million doses of vaccines against the novel coronavirus by January, Malacañang said Tuesday, rejecting criticism on the pace of the government's efforts to procure the drug. Presidential and Inter-Agency Task Force Spokesman Harry Roque told a virtual conference the government was still negotiating for the vaccine supply, in reference to Secretary Carlito Galvez who heads inoculation efforts against COVID-19. Roque said: “Your government has not been negligent on this matter. As our vaccine czar said, January of next year will not end without us sealing contracts for Next page 150 million vaccine doses.”

STILL STRANDED.

A young girl looks out from the window of the bus that took her and her family to the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, where locally stranded individuals spent the night as they queued for their scheduled swab tests (inset) before boarding the buses back to their province in Siaton, Negros Oriental on Tuesday. Norman Cruz

SWS: Pinoys looking at 2021 with hope, optimism are still hopeful about their future in 2021, to 25, showed that 7 percent will enter a recent survey by the Social Weather Sta- the New Year with fear, three percentage points up from 4 percent in 2019. DESPITE the continuing threat of CO- tions (SWS) shows. Next page The survey conducted from Nov. 21 VID-19 pandemic, 91 percent of Filipinos

By Vito Barcelo

gifts or anything of monetary value was “not absolute.” However, Roque did not say if the vaccines were legally brought in or passed through proper channels, since such products need government permits. In his regular press briefing, Roque said no government funds were used to purchase the vaccines given to the PSG members. “It was not paid for so it’s a donation, but that’s all that I know,” he said. Next page

Rody keeps intel funds classified By Macon Ramos-Araneta

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte, who vetoed some provisions of the 2021 national budget, has refused to tell Congress how intelligence funds in the 2021 national budget would be spent. In a virtual press conference, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte exercised his power to veto cer-

tain “unconstitutional items” before signing the P4.5-trillion national budget for next year on Monday. Duterte said intelligence funds covered programs and projects "related to national security" and matters related to this "are deemed confidential or classified information." "All activities involving intelligence Next page

BURN DRUG LORDS ALIVE, DU30 SAYS

PACQUIAO FIGHTS AGAIN NEXT YEAR

NEWS / A2

SPORTS / C1


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