Okay, here we go again—a new variant of COVID-19 from the UK is already detected in the Philippines, are we all ready for it? On Wednesday, January 13, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that the Philippines has recorded its first case of the UK COVID-19 variant. Here’s what we know so far about the case: According to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC), the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7. was detected in a Filipino male who arrived from the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 7. The patient left for Dubai on Dec. 27, 2020, for a business trip and arrived in the...

Yes, you read it, folks, cold days are coming in the Metro! The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) weather specialist Benison Estareja said that the temperature may drop to 18 to 24 degrees Celsius between January and February in Metro Manila. “Napansin niyo po ba ang malamig na temperatura nitong mga nagdaang araw?  Well asahan pa rin po natin ‘yan hanggang sa katapusan ng Pebrero,” Estareja said. Photo courtesy of Philippine Star   Pinoys can literally enjoy an unlimited and free ‘aircon’ for a little while and expect colder weather until February due to the northeast monsoon....

Oops, BTS fans didn’t like it at all Mr. Cayetano! On Wednesday, January 13, ousted House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano trends on Twitter Philippines for an obvious attempt to ride on the popularity of South Korean boy band BTS. Three months after Cayetano’s ‘congress drama with House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, he announced his comeback together with 6 allies and the launching of their own “independent majority” bloc on January 14, 2020. They’re calling themselves, “BTS sa Kongreso”—well basically, to make waves amongst colleagues and staging a comeback where in a sense, they are using the famous boy group’s fame...

Filipino members of BTS’ official fanbase ARMY told the ousted speaker Alan Peter Cayetano to stop using BTS for political clout. This is after the Former Speaker announced on Tuesday, January 12 that he, along with Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez, Batangas Rep. Ranie Abu, Anakalusugan's Mike Defensor, Bulacan Rep. Kuya Sy-Alvarado, and Capiz Rep. Fred Castro, who likewise lost their posts, will be introducing themselves as "BTS sa Kongreso", he told the media. However, Filipino ARMYs seemed not to like the news as the fans went out on Twitter with the hashtag #CayetanoStopUsingBTS, which became...

As of Tuesday, January 12, 23 local government units (LGUs) in the Philippines have announced signing a deal for an advance purchase of the AstraZeneca vaccine. According to the data released by the Senate committee on finance chair Sonny Angara in December last year, AstraZeneca’s vaccine is one of the cheaper COVID-19 vaccines produced. The cost is only worth P610 for two doses per person. In terms of efficacy rate, researchers earlier noted during the first full peer-reviewed results of phase 3 trials of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University — that it is safe and up...