Of those fully vaccinated, some 561,135 people— 0.51% of the total population — have received a booster shot.

Government officials had largely discredited the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index when the Philippines was at the bottom of the listing and refused to acknowledge potential missteps in their handling of the pandemic.

“We are targeting around seven million for the second dose, so we can achieve the goal to fully vaccinate 54 million individuals by the end of the year,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a public briefing.

Petitioners pointed to Marcos' 1995 conviction over his failure to file his income taxes for four consecutive years.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III prefers that the Philippines remains under Alert Level 2 as mobility is expected to increase during the holidays and as the Omicron coronavirus variant threatens the country’s reopening.

“The PNP will make sure that the provisions on regulating, manufacturing and distributing firecrackers will be strictly implemented."

UP said it would carry over the use of its Admissions Scoring Model to field first-year students for the upcoming academic year.

"Isn’t it ironic that while Secretary Cusi is gagging the media, he and Mr. Dennis Uy are avoiding answering the Filipino people's questions?" 

Fr. Nicanor Austriaco stressed the need for the public to be cautious and for the health system to be prepared.  

The tax court's First Division said that Ressa can travel outside the Philippines from December 8 to 13.