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As example, BBM can slash power rates in home region

As example, BBM can slash power rates in home region

by | Dec 7, 2022 | Gotcha

(Electricity map of Eastern Visayas – ERC)

GOTCHA

Presidential influence is boundless. Bongbong Marcos Jr. can sway electricity generators to halve rates where it is costliest – Leyte-Biliran-Samar. That will spur commerce and industries in Region 8, among the country’s poorest, from where his mom hails. Generators elsewhere will follow suit, to be on his good side.

Asia’s highest power rates will thence drop. The biggest block to investors finally will melt. Livelihoods will thrive. Turning around the economy will be Marcos Jr.’s legacy. Let it not be said that he had that one chance yet blew it.

Waray-land’s main generator is GNPower Dinginin. Owned by Aboitiz Power, the coal plant supplies all 11 electric cooperatives there.

Convincing Aboitiz Power to slash rates should be easy. Chairman Sabin Aboitiz leads Marcos Jr.’s Private Sector Advisory Council. PSAC billionaires counsel the President on the economy. The tycoons made Sabin their head not only because of his closeness to Marcos Jr. but also for his congeniality.

Marcos Jr. knows the power of influence. Last August, he got the Big 3 mall chains’ 2,000-plus outlets to retail sugar at only two-thirds its price per kilo.

Once convinced by Marcos Jr., Aboitiz Power can scrap its “pass-through” provisos in power supply agreements. Such provisos allow it, like most other generators, to raise charges at will. Distributors and co-ops pass on the increased charges to customers.

The Energy Regulatory Commission approved the pass-through deals.

The National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms has long been begging ERC to abolish the pass-throughs. Founder Pete Ilagan calls them “illegal, unreasonable, onerous.” They violate the 2001 Electric Power Industry Reform Act.

EPIRA requires power rates to be “at the least cost to consumers.” Pass-throughs include variable expenses like rising cost of coal, diesel and bunker – even operational inefficiencies.

Ilagan complained anew against the pass-throughs last April 26 to then-ERC chairman Agnes Devanadera. He cited runaway generation charges to Leyte Electric Cooperative (Leyeco)-II, Biliran Electric Cooperative (Bileco) and Samar Electric Cooperative (Samelco)-II.

 

The Supreme Court declared in 2006 that pass-throughs negate EPIRA’s least-cost policy. Ilagan reiterated this on Oct. 3 to new chairman Monalisa Dimalanta.

His pleas “falling on deaf ears,” Ilagan wrote Marcos Jr. on Oct. 10 to denounce the pass-throughs.

ERC then rejected a joint plea of Meralco and two San Miguel Corp. generators for slight, temporary rate increases in Greater Manila. Unlike nine other Meralco suppliers, SMC’s two coal plants have no pass-through escalation clause. But they need a six-month breathing spell from multibillion-peso losses due to the quintupling of coal prices with the Indonesian export embargo and the Ukraine invasion.

Ilagan wondered why ERC ignored SMC’s coal woes. Only last June 20 Devanadera had explained the “high cost of electricity” in Leyte-Biliran-Samar. It was due to GNPower Dinginin of Aboitiz Power, among others, “using coal.”

Ilagan on Oct. 24 asked Marcos Jr. to “ban illegal pass-throughs.” He pointed out that SMC’s generators are Meralco’s second and third lowest suppliers at P4.05 per kilowatt-hour. In contrast, Thai-owned Quezon Power with an escalation pass-through, charges triple, P13.34.

Marcos Jr. can persuade Aboitiz Power to match in Leyte-Biliran-Samar SMC’s P4.05/kWh in Greater Manila.

Pressuring ERC to do the rate slashing would be an abuse of presidential power. Although the President appoints the chairman and four commissioners, ERC should be an independent quasi-judicial body.

Persuading Aboitiz Power is also better than pressuring the Court of Appeals. Marcos Jr. had called “unfortunate” the CA’s intention last week to review ERC’s rejection of the Meralco-SMC petition. Think-tank Infrawatch convenor Terry Ridon cautioned him against interfering in judicial proceedings, a breach of constitutional separation of powers.

Marcos Jr.’s fellow-Leyteño, Ilagan obtained from ERC GNPower Dinginin billing statements in Region 8. Generation charges are detailed:

(1) Leyeco-I (Don Orestes Romualdez Electric Cooperative) – P11.48/kWh in Nov. 2022. Up from P5.63 in Nov. 2021.

(2) Leyeco-II – P9.27/kWh in May 2022. From P5.63 in Nov. 2021.

(3) Leyeco-III – P9.98/kWh in July 2022. From P5.53 in Oct. 2021.

(4) Leyeco-IV – P10.61/kWh in June 2022. From P5.71 in Nov. 2021.

(5) Leyeco-V – P9.83/kWh in July 2022. From P5.56 in Oct. 2021.

(6) Bileco – P10.23/kWh in July 2022. From P5.58 in Oct. 2021.

(7) Southern Leyeco – P10.26/kWh in July 2022. From P5.49 in Oct. 2021

(8) Samelco-I – PP10.90/kWh in June 2022. From P5.94 in Oct. 2021.

(9) Samelco-II – P11.17/kWh in June 2022. From P6.20 in Oct. 2021.

(10) Eastern Samelco – P10.67/kWh in July 2022. From P6.04 in Oct. 2021.

(11) Northern Samelco – P10.96 in June 2022. From P5.67 in Nov. 2021.

This week SMC offered its plant at only P1/kWh if Meralco gets natural gas as fuel. Natural gas is a State wealth. Marcos Jr. can ask Aboitiz Power facilities that use geothermal, another State wealth, to match SMC’s P1.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Malaysian opposition leader extols Rizal for ‘Malay union’

Malaysian opposition leader extols Rizal for ‘Malay union’

by | Sep 25, 2022 | Gotcha

Photo of Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim in front of Jose Rizal

GOTCHA

written on June 23, 2021

Sinovacety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Political foes tried to break Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim with solitary imprisonment on trumped up charges. He stayed firm, immersing himself in the Qur’an, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. José Rizal’s two novels, which he reread six times, inspired him no end to fight for democracy and international dialogue. Anwar became visiting professor at Georgetown University. He is esteemed as among the world’s most modern and erudite Muslim statesmen.

Last June 19, Rizal’s 160th birth anniversary, Anwar paid homage:

“‘Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilising races. It subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest.’ – Dr. José Rizal

“Today we celebrate the 160th birthday of one of the greatest Malayans, the Philippine National Hero, Dr. José Rizal who was truly an Asian Renaissance Man. A polymath, Rizal’s knowledge and scholarship was beyond measure and his contributions as a writer, thinker and artist was titanic. Dr. Rizal is the ultimate demonstration of how education can take anyone, regardless of race, religion or identity, to seize their moment in history, empowered to make for better tomorrows.

“To call José Rizal a revolutionary is disingenuous, for he denounced violent uprisings and referred to himself as a reformer. Without doubt, his efforts helped to launch the Philippines’ fight for independence from Spain, but his pen was mightier than the Spanish sword. The potential power given in his education, received from the West, helped him lead his community out of colonial slump. His two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are a testament to global literature and demonstrate mastery of language, satirizing the Spanish colonial project with allusion to classic Spanish literature and history, judging the brutal methods used with their own mythology. In his essay, ‘The Philippines a Century Hence,’ Rizal’s foresight warned the Spanish Empire of the struggle ahead if reform is not pursued and predicted the US’s growing influence in the Pacific. His hope was to inspire peaceful reform and gradual transition, but Spain labelled him a traitor and, at the age of 35, he was executed by firing squad in Manila in 1896.

“Rizal’s efforts took him beyond acclaim in just one nation. He not only believed in the indigenous peoples of the Malay Archipelago, but demonstrated what they were truly capable of. He advocated the union of the Malay lands against colonialist rule. He saw education as the highest element of any society that would ensure its survival and prosperity into the future. ‘In my blood runs the wanderlust of the Malays’ was a saying of Dr. Rizal. Let us take his example and seek the betterment of ourselves and our neighbors to build better futures.

“Rizal’s message reverberates today in his concept of the Malayan world and those sentiments of community we need to embody. For international cooperation and regional partnership, we should all take a page from Dr. Rizal’s words. His message remains important as we still find ourselves plagued by poverty and injustices in Southeast Asia.”

Malaysia’s parliament was closed in January, supposedly due to pandemic, which broke out a year ago. The king has urged 18 political party heads to reconvene, no more delays. Reports are that when parliament resumes late this month, Anwar might be installed as new prime minister, with his People’s Justice Party to lead a new majority coalition.

*      *      *

The Philippines’ confused pandemic response shows in the use of face shields. Advising people for weeks to continue wearing them, health officials cite studies of 96 percent protection from infection by wearing face shields with masks. Added to physical distancing, frequent handwashing and disinfecting, the face gear can stop the spread of the deadlier Delta variant. Mass media dutifully helped spread the word.

Wielding highest authority, President Rody Duterte told Senate President Tito Sotto last week that face shields no longer are needed except inside hospitals. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque confirmed Monday morning, June 21, that Duterte prefers discarding shields outdoors except in public transports and crowded markets. But that night Duterte ordered continued use of shields, as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force.

Who heads the IATF and most of its working committees? The same health officials who for weeks have been advising to keep those shields on.

“Now I know why the handling of the pandemic is not good!” Sotto tweeted.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Government still won’t disclose vaccine purchase prices

Government still won’t disclose vaccine purchase prices

by | Sep 25, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Sinovac vaccine

GOTCHA

written on June 18, 2021

Sinovacety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Executive officials continued to withhold from the public the national government’s purchase prices of COVID-19 vaccines. They gave only price ranges at the Senate inquiry Tuesday.

Invoking nondisclosure agreements with suppliers, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez and Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez declined to detail the prices. “This is a public hearing so we cannot disclose,” both said, adding that they might talk if behind closed doors. The Senate is reviewing the P82.5-billion 2021 mass inoculation budget.

Minority Leader Frank Drilon reminded them that the public will pay for the vaccine procurements and loans. The Constitution requires transparency in public transactions. Commission on Audit scrutiny is fundamental.

Dominguez replied: “It’s a public forum so we cannot give numbers, but if COA wants, it is open to audit.”

He said lenders Asian Development Bank and World Bank won’t release if the vaccines are overpriced, thus a COA audit is a “double check.” A senator remarked that the multilateral institutions have their own rules, but the Constitution binds Filipino officials and agencies.

Three pharmaceutical makers have been contracted so far: Sinovac of China, Gamaleya of Russia and Moderna of the United States.

Dominguez said their prices ranged from $6.75 to $27.59 per dose. He did not specify which seller is lowest or highest, and the quantity. Other price factors are vaccine type (attenuated virus or messenger-RNA), time of order and the country’s paying ability.

The national government has received 12.7 million vaccines as of June 14. Of that number, only half, or 6.68 million, was purchased.

Bulk of the purchases, 6.5 million, was from Sinovac. Another 180,000 was Gamaleya.

The remaining six million or so were donations. A million came from Sinovac. Five million-plus – 2.55 million AstraZeneca of Britain and 2.47 million Pfizer-USA – was under the COVAX Facility/World Health Organization. Two million of the Pfizer doses under COVAX/WHO came from the US government.

In initial Senate reviews in January, Galvez had refused to disclose prices too but promised to tell all when the vaccines start arriving. Senators told him that confidentiality covered only the makers’ proprietary information but not prices. They were incensed that the Department of Health had priced Sinovac at P1,820 per dose, when reports of Thai and Indonesian orders were for only P240-P350. The DOH later said the price it gave Congress for budgeting came only from online postings and not direct inquiries.

Last Tuesday, Drilon and Sen. Panfilo Lacson were more concerned about the slowness of the immunization program. Three-and-a-half months since rollout, only 1.6 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, and 4.3 percent given the first jab.

Senators last January had noted several causes of delay. Foreign Secretary Teddy Locsin remarked that DOH “dropped the ball” on ten million Pfizer doses arranged by the US State department. (Health Secretary Francisco Duque denied sitting on the documentation.) President Rody Duterte was also misadvised against making down payments for emergency purchases. Galvez belatedly told Congress to allocate indemnification required by vaccine makers in case of fatal adverse effects.

The new Senate hearings are to consider additional P25 billion to immunize 12-17-year-olds. Lacson will recheck the figures given in January by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. He will zero in on IATF’s plan to inoculate 70 percent of 83.8 million adults for herd immunity.

Checking with the Philippine Statistics Authority, the projected population by July 1, 2021 is 110 million, Lacson told The STAR yesterday. Sixty-two percent, according to PSA, are adults aged 18 and above, or 68.2 million.

“That’s way below 83.8 million,” he said. “Multiply the difference by the average cost of P446 per dose, it is many billions of pesos more than what is actually needed. It’s a lot of money.”

“I hope the discrepancies are not deliberate,” Lacson said.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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Sotto, Lacson can crush crooks in Congress

Sotto, Lacson can crush crooks in Congress

by | Sep 25, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Panfilo Lacson (left) and Senate president Vicente Sotto III

GOTCHA

written on June 11, 2021

Senate President Tito Sotto’s return of P20-million bribe from a congressman set the standard of his limited tenure. It meant that he would ensure legislation based on merit and not money.

If he names and charges the briber, Sotto would set a lasting precedent. He would scare crooked lawmakers from assuming everyone else is, like them, ready to sell public interest for personal gain.

Sotto’s closest pal in the chamber, Senator Ping Lacson, recounted Tuesday the bribery attempt. It happened early last year, when Sotto was new in the highest Senate post. A congressman had sent P20 million to Sotto’s office in relation to a franchise bill being deliberated on plenary. Lacson called it “lobby money.” It was bribe, plain and simple.

(Lobbying, or presenting one’s cause in Congress, is legal. Lobbyists are required to formally register. It’s cash changing hands under the table and perks, like free travel and lavish gifts, that give lobbying a bad name.)

Sotto confirmed the incident to reporters. He sent the money back, he said, but did not identify the culprit.

Every year during debates on the national budget bill, Lacson and Sotto partner to stave off pork barrel inserters in the House of Reps. Sometimes they name the culprits. Oftentimes the pork ringleaders stand up publicly to defend their multibillion-peso commissionable pet projects as if there’s nothing immoral about them.

Legislators bribing each other was reported ever since Congress was revived in 1987. Most prominent were during investigations and debates on sin taxes, pollution, mining, public utilities and road works.

Opposers of the rackets are reluctant to expose the crooks, however. The votes of the baddies are also needed to enact good laws.

Lacson and Sotto can break the impasse. They can indict briber-colleagues at the Ombudsman if not the Congress committee on ethics. Reforming the legislature would boost their planned presidential and VP tandem in 2022.

*      *      *

Women mayors and governors are booming globally this 21st century. A Japanese study attributes it to maternal instinct. More than males, females as local government executives are sharper at innovating to provide basic services.

Makati Mayor Abby Binay is a prime example in the Philippines. Her focus since election into office in 2016 has been on more effective ways to meet the foremost needs of home life, like incomes for adults, education for youngsters, telecoms for the family. Those are among her reports on the city’s 351st anniversary last week.

Her initiatives have caught the attention of heads of LGUs and captains of industry abroad. Last month, she was a featured speaker at an online session hosted by the Kuala Lumpur Regional Training Centre in Malaysia: “Nurturing Human Assets for Urban Excellence.” Discussants included the mayor of Kuala Lumpur, the principal policy advisor of Local Government New Zealand and representatives from the University of Seoul and The United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific.

Binay shared via teleconference the results of her project “Dyipni Maki.” Launched in September 2020, it brings mobile learning hubs to students with no access to the internet and distance learning devices. At the same time, it gives displaced jeepney drivers and teachers a steady source of income.

Dozens of jitneys are dispatched Mondays to Saturdays to barangays. Each Dyipni Maki is equipped with laptops and internet connections, books and other learning materials.

Drivers who lost jitney routes due to pandemic lockdown and less ridership are paid as learning implementers. With face-to-face classes still infeasible and marginalized students lacking the resources to study online, the drivers bring the school to them with the help of teachers who would have otherwise been jobless as well. Disruption of learning and livelihoods due to the pandemic is lessened.

Conferees admired Binay’s flexibility and imaginativeness. They noted that, through engagement with communities, stakeholders and the private sector, she saw opportunities and adaptations.

Lately, Dyipni Maki also helps accelerate Makati’s COVID-19 vaccination program by assisting residents unable to register online. Speaking of vaccination, Binay is keen to immunize everybody in Makati, including transient daytime workers.

For that, she melds pandemic response with her ongoing buildup of Makati as the country’s first smart city. Free WiFi in all public places, parks, school campuses and barangays hasten delivery of services and improve government processes, she stated in a recent webinar of the Stratbase Albert Del Rosario Institute. “Aside from cash assistance to homes and shops affected by the global health crisis, the portal allows Makatizens, non-resident workers and business owners to register for free vaccination – whether for flu, pneumonia or COVID-19,” Binay said.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

Catch “Sapol” radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM)

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Don’t cuss vaccine hesitaters for spotty supply and access

Don’t cuss vaccine hesitaters for spotty supply and access

by | Sep 25, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of health worker vaccinating a Filipino

GOTCHA

written on June 16, 2021

Sinovacety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Three-and-a-half months after rollout, COVID-19 vaccinations remain lackadaisical. The Philippines is third slowest among ten ASEAN states. As of June 8, about 4.3 percent of Filipinos, or 4.63 million, had one dose; only 1.6 percent, or 1.68 million, were fully vaccinated. As of June 12 the average rate of vaccination was 137,543 per day. At that trickle, herd immunity – 65 percent of the population, or 70 million of 108 million – would be achieved in two-and-a-half years, or February 2024.

Malacañang mechanically blamed it on vaccine skepticism. Hesitaters were again cussed to get injected or else prepare for cremation.

Profanity is a sign of a lazy mind. A quick look at other figures would give clues on where the problem lies:

• As of June 10, about 12.6 million doses had been received by the national government;

• Targeted vaccinees are adults aged 18 and older, 60 percent of Filipinos, or nearly 65 million;

• Forty percent of adults surveyed, or 26 million, want to be inoculated;

• Fifty-two million doses are needed to inoculate the 26 million;

• With only 12.6 million doses on hand, the government is short of 39.4 million doses.

So the question to ask is, where are the vaccines? No need to cuss the officials who are ignoring the facts.

They can consider other inputs. Metro Manila vaccinations had to stop last week due to absence of doses. Only 3.5 million of Metro Manila’s 14 million people want to be injected, or seven million doses for them alone. Half of initial vaccinees have not returned for their second jabs. That includes frontline health workers, 98 percent of whom have had first jabs, and are not vaccine doubters.

The question from these are: Are the vaccines accessible or tied up in red tape and poor logistics planning? Is vaccination made easy for priority sectors, or are they barred from commuting to the clinics? Are they informed of immunization schedules and venues to begin with?

*      *      *

AnaKalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor’s hard sell of Ivermectin against COVID-19 can do it more harm than good. Doctors and other lawmakers who advocate the drug’s wide availability wish he’d tone down the politicking. Let science speak, they post online. Some rant that he’s taking his initials too seriously, acting like a medic when he’s not.

Before Defensor joined, the Ivermectin lobby had won adherents. Presented were dozens of international studies on the effectiveness of the 40-year-old anti-parasitic med against coronavirus. At only 10¢-80¢ per capsule, it might better prevent and treat the pandemic than the $100-$800 vaccines and IVs. But many specialists also frown on the findings. With experts split on the issue, Philippine drug regulators cautiously will first hold domestic clinical trials. Still, manufacturing licenses have been issued for anti-parasitic use, and compassionate special permits given to six hospitals for COVID patients.

Impatient with the process, Defensor gave away Ivermectin tablets in Quezon City’s Old Balara district where he resides. To the shock of health advocates, no regard was made of the recipients’ age, weight or medical history. Unsigned prescriptions were handed out.

Days later Defensor attributed to his drug distribution the drop in infections in Old Balara. The medical advocates had to dissociate from him. His claim might make them look ignorant of statistical and causal evidence gathering.

There are many probable reasons why the cases went down, including quarantine restrictions and the vaccination drive. The efforts and sacrifices of medical frontliners should not be invalidated.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Philippines, take note: resurgence seen in early users of China vaccines

Philippines, take note: resurgence seen in early users of China vaccines

by | Sep 23, 2022 | Gotcha

PNA photo of Sinovac vaccine

GOTCHA

written on June 9, 2021

Sinovacety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Filipino health officials need to find out why. COVID-19 infections are resurging in countries that were first to roll out China-made vaccines.

Was it due to alleged poor efficacy, or a slew of other causes? Since the Philippines is largely dependent on Sinovac and Sinopharm, vaccine authorities can learn from overseas experiences.

Coronavirus transmissions spiked in Chile and Uruguay in May, weeks after mass inoculations with Sinovac, the science and technology news site Arstecnica.com reported Saturday, June 5.

Cases in Chile suddenly multiplied 21 percent, although 53 percent of the target population has been fully immunized with two Sinovac doses. Chile is third only to Israel and the United Kingdom in number of vaccinees per 100 citizens, according to CNBC News. Eighty percent of the new cases have not received both jabs, its health ministry assessed.

In Uruguay the infection uptick came after 43.5 percent of citizens already were injected, Reuters noted. Like Chile, Uruguay reopened shops, restaurants and resorts upon reaching inoculation thresholds.

Similar pandemic jumps were reported in Bahrain, Dubai and Seychelles. The three were among the early adopters of Sinopharm jabs, Arstecnica added.

Bahrain, first to order from China, has administered at least one dose on 58 percent of its population. Reliant as well on Sinopharm, Dubai has covered 52 percent.

With the rise in infections, both Gulf states are offering vulnerable sectors that have received two Sinopharm jabs to get a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech. Bahrain is doing so openly, Dubai quietly, Arstecnica said.

“Seychelles, which has vaccinated a higher proportion of its population than any other country, is struggling to contain a new surge in infections, raising questions about the effectiveness of the Chinese shot the island nation has administered to the majority of its vaccinated residents,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote May 10. Seychelles has far fewer people, but the outbreak per capita is worse than in India.

The findings emerged as China belatedly ramps up its own inoculation program to 20 million persons a day. It has immunized 780 million, 400 million in May alone.

Unpublished studies in Serbia suggest that some vaccinees do not produce enough antibodies to repel the pandemic virus three months after, Arstecnica said. The University of Belgrade shared the findings with WSJ.

The head of China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, George Gao, seemed to confirm the problem. “The efficacy of the existing vaccines is not high,” he told a conference on the country’s inoculants last April. The following month Beijing began planning for third jabs, Arstecnica added.

The World Health Organization granted Sinovac emergency use listing only last week, and Sinopharm in May.

Sinovac has 51 percent efficacy, barely passing the WHO’s minimum of 50 percent. Sinopharm’s 78 percent rating in clinical trials was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. But the tests were mostly on healthy young males.

None of the 35 states with stringent regulatory agencies has endorsed Sinovac or Sinopharm. Both vaccines make use of inactivated coronavirus to trigger antibodies.

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration approved Sinovac earlier for emergency use. Not recommended for frequently exposed health care frontliners, the elderly and sickly, and youths below age 18, FDA specified. Malacañang overruled it, however, when only Sinovac vials trickled in to Manila for those desperate sectors.

The Presidential Security Group and certain politicians received unauthorized Sinopharm jabs as early as last September-October 2020. The FDA belatedly gave it compassionate use permit.

President Rody Duterte hemmed and hawed about getting a jab until his preferred additional Sinopharm doses arrived last May. Without citing studies, he claims that Chinese vaccines are far superior than six Western makes.

The Philippines has received 9.3 million doses as of weekend, two-thirds from Sinovac. Last Monday inoculations commenced on essential government and private workers.

Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, Cebu and Davao, suffered spikes in April and May. Same with major cities in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, all also early users of Sinovac. But their immunization percentages are too low to attribute to vaccine efficacy. More likely causes were safety complacency and large religious gatherings.

Taiwan, too, is experiencing resurgence. Beijing criticized Japan and America for “interference” in donating 2.5 million vials to its supposed renegade province.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

* * *

            “Gotcha: An Exposé on the Philippine Government” is available as e-book and paperback. Get a free copy of “Chapter 1: Beijing’s Bullying and Duplicity”. Simply subscribe to my newsletter HERE. Book orders also accepted there.

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

Sinovac safety efficacy and price still need clarifying

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The data we collect by using cookies is used to customize our website to your needs. After we use the data for statistical analysis, the data is completely removed from our systems.

Please note that cookies don’t allow us to gain control of your computer in any way. They are strictly used to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not so that we can provide a better experience for you.

If you want to disable cookies, you can do it by accessing the settings of your internet browser.

 

Links to Other Websites

Our website contains links that lead to other websites. If you click on these links jariusbondoc.com is not held responsible for your data and privacy protection. Visiting those websites is not governed by this privacy policy agreement. Make sure to read the privacy policy documentation of the website you go to from our website.

 

Restricting the Collection of your Personal Data

At some point, you might wish to restrict the use and collection of your personal data. You can achieve this by doing the following:

 

  • When you are filling the forms on the website, make sure to check if there is a box which you can leave unchecked, if you don’t want to disclose your personal information.
  • If you have already agreed to share your information with us, feel free to contact us via email and we will be more than happy to change this for you.

 

jariusbondoc.com will not lease, sell or distribute your personal information to any third parties, unless we have your permission. We might do so if the law forces us. Your personal information will be used when we need to send you promotional materials if you agree to this privacy policy.

 

II. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All materials contained on this site are protected by the Republic of the Phlippines copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of jariusbondoc.com or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

However, you may download material from jariusbondoc.com on the Web (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal, noncommercial use only.

If you wish to use jariusbondoc.com content for commercial purposes, such as for content syndication etc., please contact us at jariusbondoconline@gmail.com.

Links to Websites other than those owned by jariusbondoc.com are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of jariusbondoc.com was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

 

III. TERMS OF SERVICE

 

  1. GENERAL RULES AND DEFINITIONS

 

1.1 If you choose to use the jariusbondoc.com service (the “Service”), you will be agreeing to abide by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement between you and jariusbondoc.com (“jariusbondoc.com “).

 

1.2 jariusbondoc.com may change, add or remove portions of this Agreement at any time, but if it does so, it will post such changes on the Service, or send them to you via e-mail. It is your responsibility to review this Agreement prior to each use of the Site and by continuing to use this Site, you agree to any changes.

 

1.3 If any of these rules or any future changes are unacceptable to you, you may cancel your membership by sending e-mail to jariusbondoconline.com (see section 10.1 regarding termination of service). Your continued use of the service now, or following the posting of notice of any changes in these operating rules, will indicate acceptance by you of such rules, changes, or modifications.

 

1.4 jariusbondoc.com may change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time, including the availability of any Service feature, database, or content. jariusbondoc.com may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of the Service without notice or liability.

 

  1. JARIUSBONDOC.COM CONTENT AND MEMBER SUBMISSIONS

 

2.1 The contents of the jariusbondoc.com are intended for your personal, noncommercial use. All materials published on jariusbondoc.com (including, but not limited to news articles, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips and video clips, also known as the “Content”) are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by jariusbondoc.com or the party credited as the provider of the Content. You shall abide by all additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Service.

 

2.2 The Service and its Contents are protected by copyright pursuant to the Republic of the Philippines and international copyright laws. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as provided in Section 2.3 of this Agreement), create new works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the Content or the Service (including software) in whole or in part.

 

2.3 You may download or copy the Content and other downloadable items displayed on the Service for personal use only, provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein. Copying or storing of any Content for other than personal use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from jariusbondoc.com or the copyright holder identified in the copyright notice contained in the Content.

 

  1. FORUMS, DISCUSSIONS AND USER GENERATED CONTENT

 

3.1 You shall not upload to, or distribute or otherwise publish on the message boards (the “Feedback Section”) any libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, or otherwise illegal material.

 

3.2 (a)Be courteous. You agree that you will not threaten or verbally abuse jariusbondoc.com columnists and other jariusbondoc.com community Members, use defamatory language, or deliberately disrupt discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or “spam.”

 

3.2 (b) Use respectful language. Like any community, the Feedback Sections will flourish only when our Members feel welcome and safe. You agree not to use language that abuses or discriminates on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual preference, age, region, disability, etc. Hate speech of any kind is grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.2 (c) Debate, but don’t attack. In a community full of opinions and preferences, people always disagree. jariusbondoc.com encourages active discussions and welcomes heated debate in our Feedback Sections. But personal attacks are a direct violation of this Agreement and are grounds for immediate and permanent suspension of access to all or part of the Service.

 

3.3 The Feedback Sections shall be used only in a noncommercial manner. You shall not, without the express approval of jariusbondoc.com, distribute or otherwise publish any material containing any solicitation of funds, advertising or solicitation for goods or services.

 

3.4 You are solely responsible for the content of your messages. However, while jariusbondoc.com does not and cannot review every message posted by you on the Forums and is not responsible for the content of these messages, jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to delete, move, or edit messages that it, in its sole discretion, deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, or otherwise unacceptable.

 

3.5 You acknowledge that any submissions you make to the Service (i.e., user-generated content including but not limited to: text, video, audio and photographs) (each, a “Submission”) may be edited, removed, modified, published, transmitted, and displayed by jariusbondoc.com and you waive any moral rights you may have in having the material altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you. You grant jariusbondoc.com a perpetual, nonexclusive, world-wide, royalty free, sub-licensable license to the Submissions, which includes without limitation the right for jariusbondoc.com or any third party it designates, to use, copy, transmit, excerpt, publish, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, create derivative works of, host, index, cache, tag, encode, modify and adapt (including without limitation the right to adapt to streaming, downloading, broadcast, mobile, digital, thumbnail, scanning or other technologies) in any form or media now known or hereinafter developed, any Submission posted by you on or to jariusbondoc.com or any other website owned by it, including any Submission posted on jariusbondoc.com through a third party.

 

3.6 By submitting an entry to jariusbondoc.com’s Readers’ Corner, you are consenting to its display on the site and for related online and offline promotional uses.

 

  1. ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY OF SERVICE AND LINKS

 

4.1 jariusbondoc.com contains links to other related World Wide Web Internet sites, resources, and sponsors of jariusbondoc.com. Since jariusbondoc.com is not responsible for the availability of these outside resources, or their contents, you should direct any concerns regarding any external link to the site administrator or Webmaster of such site.

 

  1. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

5.1 You represent, warrant and covenant (a) that no materials of any kind submitted through your account will (i) violate, plagiarize, or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy or other personal or proprietary rights; or (ii) contain libelous or otherwise unlawful material; and (b) that you are at least thirteen years old. You hereby indemnify, defend and hold harmless jariusbondoc.com, and all officers, directors, owners, agents, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all liability and costs, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of any breach by you or any user of your account of this Agreement or the foregoing representations, warranties and covenants. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any such claim. jariusbondoc.com reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you.

 

5.2 jariusbondoc.com does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information displayed, uploaded, or distributed through the Service by any user, information provider or any other person or entity. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, memorandum, or information shall be at your sole risk. THE SERVICE AND ALL DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE ARE DISTRIBUTED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

 

  1. COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN JARIUSBONDOC.COM AND MEMBERS

 

6.1 If you indicate on your registration form that you want to receive such information, jariusbondoc.com, its owners and assigns, will allow certain third party vendors to provide you with information about products and services.

 

6.2 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to send electronic mail to you for the purpose of informing you of changes or additions to the Service.

 

6.3 jariusbondoc.com reserves the right to disclose information about your usage and demographics, provided that it will not reveal your personal identity in connection with the disclosure of such information. Advertisers and/or Licensees on our Web site may collect and share information about you only if you indicate your acceptance. For more information please read the Privacy Policy of jariusbondoc.com.

 

6.4 jariusbondoc.com may contact you via e-mail regarding your participation in user surveys, asking for feedback on the Website and existing or prospective products and services. This information will be used to improve our Website and better understand our users, and any information we obtain in such surveys will not be shared with third parties, except in aggregate form.

 

  1. TERMINATION

 

 

7.1 jariusbondoc.com may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Service for any reason, including, without limitation, breach or assignment of this Agreement.

 

  1. MISCELLANEOUS

 

8.1 This Agreement has been made in and shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the Republic of the Philippines law. Any action to enforce this agreement shall be brought in the courts located in Manila, Philippines.

 

8.2 Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, nothing in this Terms of Service will serve to preempt the promises made in jariusbondoc.com Privacy Policy.

 

8.3 Correspondence should be sent to jariusbondoconline.com.

 

8.4 You agree to report any copyright violations of the Terms of Service to jariusbondoc.com as soon as you become aware of them. In the event you have a claim of copyright infringement with respect to material that is contained in the jariusbondoc.com service, please notify jariusbondoconline.com. This Terms of Service was last updated on November 7, 2020.