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DOJ’S REMULLA GOES ON 10-DAY WELLNESS LEAVE

PH SIGNS $1.14-B WORLD BANK LOAN TO SPUR RECOVERY

NEWS / A3

NEWS / A4 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 132 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

End of COVID state pushed

Herbosa to ask President to lift public health emergency in PH By Macon Ramos-Araneta

AYING that the coronavirus pandemic no longer posed an emergency, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa on Monday said he will recommend the formal lifting of the COVID-19 state of public health emergency in the country.

Declaring the end of the emergency state would have an impact on the use of emergency funds for the use of vaccines, and the Department of Health’s

current marching orders from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to ensure that health workers continue to receive their COVIDrelated allowances, even though the state

of calamity has expired. Herbosa said COVID-19 could be treated as any other disease that the DOH monitors like influenza, cough, and cold. “Actually, there is no longer an emergency. I think I would actually ask the lifting of the public health emergency in the country,” he said. Last February, President Marcos said he would no longer extend the state of calamity that expired Dec. 31, 2022, sign-

aling that the government believes the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Three months later, the President said there was no need to change the country’s status on COVID-19 after the World Health Organization lifted the global public health emergency status on the disease. Former President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of public health emergency in the country during the onset of Next page

DOH planning nat’l advisory panel for nurses By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz HEALTH Secretary Ted Herbosa said he will establish a national advisory council to address the concerns of Filipino nurses, particularly their departure for better-paying jobs abroad. At a press conference Monday, Herbosa said he would issue an administrative order to create a National Nursing Advisory Council with a de facto chief nursing officer who will function at the level of an undersecretary. Herbosa added that he would also ask Congress to pass a law to make the appointment of the chief nursing officer legal. Herbosa recently drew fire for his plan to hire unlicensed nurses to fill 4,500 vacancies in over 70 government hospitals nationwide and to address a severe shortage in three to five years. But the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC) has pointed out that there is no provision in the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 that would legally allow the issuance of temporary licenses to nursing graduates who have yet to pass the Nursing Licensure Examination. His plan has also been criticized by senators, who view the hiring of unlicensed nurses as dangerous. Herbosa said the proposed national advisory council would be made up of nurses from the private and public sectors, including the heads of the Next page

FOR THE FUTURE. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. plants a Molave tree seedling at the compound of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Monday in celebration of the 160th Anniversary of the Philippine Forestry Service Philippine Environment Month. With Mr. Marcos are (from left) Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Lagdameo Jr., House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, and Senator Cynthia Villar. Ver Noveno

Rumors of Senate coup to unseat Migz swirl; Jinggoy, Loren deny it By Macon Ramos-Araneta RUMORS continued to swirl Monday about an alleged leadership coup at the Senate, which came as Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri was still in Washington DC, on an official visit.

The persistent speculation in the upper chamber was that Zubiri would be ousted during the opening of the 2nd Regular Session of the 19th Congress on July 24 and that he would be replaced by Senator Jinggoy Estrada or Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda.

Zubiri, who has yet to return from the United States, said previously: “I serve at the pleasure of my colleagues.” Both Legarda and Estrada denied the rumors, calling them mere gossip. Estrada on Monday said there was no such thing as a coup against Zubiri.

In a media briefing, Estrada said he does not know where the rumor came from. He said the “supermajority” in the Senate is very supportive of Zubiri. He also described Zubiri’s leadership as “good.” Next page

CdO’s Rodriguez files bill to shelve Cebu Pacific’s legislative franchise By Maricel V. Cruz

Carlito Galvez Jr.

Lorenzo Gadon

Marcos returns Galvez PBBM appoints Gadon to peace adviser post as poverty counselor By Vince Lopez

By Charles Dantes

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. back to his former post as the chief of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU). Galvez was the peace adviser in the Duterte administration, but Mr. Marcos tapped him as officer-in-charge of the Department of Defense until the President named Gilbert Teodoro

CONTROVERSIAL lawyer Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon has been named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday as the Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation, Malacañang said. The Palace said Gadon’s appointment ref lects the government’s commitment to addressing “one of the most pressing challenges” in the country.

CAGAYAN de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Monday made good on his promise to file a resolution seeking the suspension of airline Cebu Pacific’s legislative franchise as punishment for its “terrible” service. In a still unnumbered resolution filed at the House of Representatives last Saturday, Rodriguez said the principal

reason for the grant by Congress to a private company “is for the benefit of the public.” However, he said Cebu Pacific “has a history of unsatisfactory service to the public.” In a statement, the Gokongwei-owned airline said: “We are aware of the Congressional resolutions which have been filed at the House of Representatives.”

the highest security alert status as part of their pursuit of the leader and around 50 cohorts of the suspected private armed group. Mudjasan and his men figured in a gunfight with government troops over

THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) emerged as the top-ranking agency for approval and trust ratings among government offices in the recent Pahayag second quarter survey, the research firm Publicus Asia said Monday. TESDA received the highest level of approval at 72 percent and trust at 58% among the 1,500 persons surveyed from June 7 to 12, the firm added. They said the agency’s commitment to providing quality technical education and skills training “garnered widespread support.” The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) saw a slight decline in its approval rating to 66% and trust rating

Mudjasan ‘armed and dangerous’ as cops chase 50-plus men in Sulu FUGITIVE former Maimbung, Sulu vice mayor Pando Mudjasan is “fully armed and very dangerous,” the Philippine National Police said Monday, as the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was placed on

TESDA gets top approval, trust rating in survey