MANILA, Philippines—Voter registration and certification in the NCR Plus and other provinces under modified enhanced community (MECQ), and other areas that will be placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or MECQ by their respective local governments will remain suspended from April 12 to 30, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Advisory: Schedule of COMELEC Offices from April 12-30, 2021@jabjimenez @dirfrancesarabe pic.twitter.com/issStWTsfm

— COMELEC (@COMELEC) April 12, 2021

As announced by Malacañang, areas under MECQ include the National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna,  and Rizal in the NCR Plus; Santiago City, Isabela and Quirino in Region 2; and Abra in the Cordillera Autonomous Region.

Meanwhile, for other areas in the country under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), registration will open from Mondays to Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and voter certification will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. AAC

MANILA, Philippines — The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF)  has approved the construction of a vaccination facility at the Nayong Pilipino compound in Paranaque City, the Department of Tourism (DOT) confirmed Monday (April 12).

A DOT-attached agency, the Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) agreed to use a vacant lot in the area for the construction of the facility to help in the government’s vaccination program.

“This is expected to be a game-changer in the vaccination program. The facility, which will be a public-private partnership, is expected to vaccinate at least 12,000 people a day,” the DOT said in a statement.

The project will be made possible through an agreement between the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) and the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, whose board had already given its preliminary approval of the project to ensure its immediate execution.

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday expressed disagreement with proposals to implement a nationwide academic break amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying the decision for such measure should come from basic education and higher education institutions.

In a statement, Gatchalian said poor and vulnerable learners will only be left behind due to additional disruptions that the nationwide academic break will bring.

He also said that prolonged school closures may result in learning loss, widening inequalities, and increased exposure to violence, among others.

“I don’t agree with the call to implement a nationwide academic break. Iba-iba naman ang quarantine qualification at may mga lugar na walang lockdown. Mahirap naman pong mag-academic freeze sa isang lugar na walang kaso ng COVID-19. Kaya hindi pwede itong academic freeze para sa pangkalahatan dahil iba-iba ang sitwasyon,” said Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate committee on basic education.

“Sa basic education, isang taon nang hindi nagpupunta sa mga eskwelahan ang mga bata at kapag sila ay patuloy na bibigyan ng break at hindi sila mag-aaral, talagang makakalimutan na nila ang kanilang pinag-aralan,” he added.

The senator pointed out that in Isabela, which is currently under general community quarantine, the Department of Education (DepEd) suspended the distribution and retrieval of self-learning modules and other face-to-face activities after five DepEd personnel recently died due to COVID-19.

Teachers in the division, however, are expected to remotely continue their follow-ups and monitoring of learners, according to Gatchalian.

Meanwhile, some colleges and universities in the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna – called ‘NCR Plus’ – already suspended classes or implemented academic ease measures due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. These include the University of Santo Tomas, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Cavite State University, and De La Salle University.

While the NCR Plus is now under modified enhanced community quarantine until the end of the month, Gatchalian pointed out that most of the country is under general community quarantine and modified general community quarantine, where the implementation of distance or flexible learning can still continue.