Philippines may re-introduce

controversial dengue vaccine

The Philippines is considering re-introducing a
dengue vaccine whose use was ceased
because of links to several deaths.
As reported in Reuters, as authorities battle to
contain a dengue outbreak that has killed more
than 450 people this year, the Philippines is
considering re-introducing a dengue vaccine
whose use it halted because of links to the
deaths of several children.
Concerns over the dengue immunisation for
nearly 734,000 children aged nine or older
sparked two congressional inquiries, a criminal
investigation and a sharp fall in the number of
parents seeking routine vaccinations for their
children, the report continued.
If the government decided to revive the use of
the vaccine (Dengvaxia), it would be
administered with “utmost caution”, according
to presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo. “If
Dengvaxia is proven effective to those who
already had dengue in the past, then its
application to these individuals will surely
cause the decline of the overall number of
cases.”
Dengvaxia use was ceased in late 2017, when
the Philippines ordered the drug’s
manufacturer to stop selling, distributing and
marketing when it was warned that the
vaccine could worsen the disease in some
cases.
In March, the Department of Justice said it had
found probable cause to indict the
manufacturer, and former and current
Philippine health officials, over 10 deaths it
said were linked to the use of Dengvaxia,
which the manufactuer has repeatedly said is
safe and effective.
Panelo continued that the government would
follow a protocol set by the World Health
Organization (WHO) for all individuals to be
screened before receiving the vaccine, to
determine if they have ever been exposed to
the infection. Any decision to start
administering the vaccine again would not
affect cases against individuals involved in the
controversy, he added.
Hong Kong lawyers march in
silence to support anti-
government protesters
07 Aug 2019 05:31PM
Lawyers and members of the election
committee's legal sector hold a silent march in
Hong Kong on Aug 7, 2019. (Photo: AFP/Philip
FONG)
HONG KONG: Hong Kong lawyers held a silent
march on Wednesday (Aug 7) in support of anti-
government protesters and to call on the
government to safeguard the independence of
the city's department of justice.
Hundreds of lawyers dressed in black marched
under the scorching sun from the city's highest
court to the justice secretary's office.
Hong Kong has faced months of protests that
began with opposition to a now-suspended
extradition Bill and that have evolved into a
direct challenge to the government of
embattled leader Carrie Lam.

The legal professionals - who usually

avoid demonstrations - have now marched
twice since early June.
They are backing the protest movement's
demand for an independent inquiry into law
enforcement tactics but they also said they
were marching against politically motivated
prosecutions from the city's Department of
Justice.
"I really dislike how this government uses
scaremongering and divisive tactics," senior
counsel Anita Yip told AFP.
"They carry out prosecutions selectively ...
How would people still have confidence in the
government?" she added, referring to the
perceived different treatment given by police
to protesters and their opponents, pro-
government thugs with suspected triad links.
Lawyers and members of the election committee's legal sector
hold a silent march against what they claim is political
persecution by the Secretary for Justice, and demanding an
independent inquiry into the anti-extradition law crisis. (Photo:
AFP/Philip FONG)

The attorneys called for an independent inquiry

to be held to determine the causes of the
crisis, independent of the government and the
police, said Solicitor John J Clancey.
"Secondly, we want a very independent
prosecution procedure (against protesters),"
he added.
Hong Kong police have arrested more than 500
protesters and charged dozens with
rioting, which carries a maximum 10 years in
jail.
But they have so far only arrested 19 men for
last month's attacks on democracy protesters
that hospitalised 45 people, and only on the
less serious charge of unlawful assembly.
Hong Kong legislator Dennis Kwok said in
Cantonese: "We would like to tell all Hong Kong
people, if you are arrested or accused, the
legal profession will not just stand by."
A female lawyer who declined to be named
said she was marching "to make sure the
government knows that within the legal sector,
we will not allow judicial independence to be
compromised by politics or pressure from the
Chinese government".
A group of unidentified government
prosecutors published an open letter last week
accusing Secretary of Justice Teresa Cheng of
putting politics above legal principles.
"All we want is justice and all we want is
consistency," said prominent lawyer Kevin
Yam, who also protested. "We don't want to see
thugs get away while the best of our youth get
prosecuted. We uphold the rule of law and we
ask for justice."

Hello, Love, Goodbye’ Earns P250 Million in

5 Days
Posted on August 5, 2019 by Admin // 0 Comments

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The romantic drama “Hello, Love, Goodbye” completed its opening weekend
run with an impressive box-office gross of P250,040,718.80 in 465 cinemas
nationwide. It currently ranks 3rd in 2019’s highest 5-day gross in the
Philippines with “Avengers: End Game” at no. 1 and “Spider-Man: Far From
Home” at no. 2 which raked P292.5 million from July 3 to 7 in 678 screens in
the country.
The Alden Richards-Kathryn Bernardo starrer is on its track to become the
second Filipino movie to surpass the P600 million mark after “The Hows of
Us” in 2018. The said film which was also directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina
and also starred Kathryn Bernardo registered a domestic earing of P601
million and worldwide earning of P915 million.
The film is set to premiere in Singapore, the Middle East, and other countries
this week

Senior high
students join
nationwide
earthquake
drill
LAOAG CITY, June 23 (PIA) - - More than 500 senior
high students and faculty members of the Ilocos
Norte National High School actively participated in
the National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED)
for second quarter on June 22.
Done quarterly, the activity aims to prepare the
students and academe staff for occurrence of
earthquake in the province.

A siren signaled the start of the drill at 2:00 p.m.

wherein students performed the “duck, cover, and
hold” stance.

In times of earthquake, students are practiced not to

panic when inside the classroom but advised to take
cover under a table or desk.

Officials and volunteers from Bureau of Fire

Protection, Philippine Red Cross, and City Disaster
Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO)
provided assistance in the medical and rescue
operations.

After the drill, INNHS attained a satisfactory rating

for the active and cautious conduct among the
students and staff.

“Lumalaing dagiti estudyante ken dagiti responderda

gapo ta quarterly iti pinag ensayo dagiti ubbing.
Makitatayo met nga kapigsa dagitoy ubbing ken
nunto man addanto iti ambulansya dan kaya danton,
very good da! (Gumagaling ang mga estudyante at
pati na rin ang mga respondent dahil sa quarterly na
pag-ensayo sa kanila. Nakita naman natin na aktibo
ang mga bata at kung mayroon na silang sariling
ambulansya, kaya na nila. Very good sila,” said Dr.
Melvin Manuel, head of the CDRRMO.

Meanwhile, the school also takes pride on the

immediate and responsive action of the student-
members of the Red Cross Youth.

“Maganda talaga itong earthquake drill lalo na sa

aming mga active members. Nagkaroon din kami ng
mga ganitong training na lifesaver training para
maging handa kami sa mga ganitong insidente,” said
Mark Dave Lorenzo, president of the said
organization