Consumer prices quickened for the third straight month in December, stoking worries that a projected recovery this year would be hampered by rising prices which nonetheless ended 2020 at a manageable level.

Inflation, as measured by consumer price index, hit 3.5% year-on-year last month, . the fastest  since February 2019's 3.8%, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Tuesday.

For all of 2020, inflation averaged 2.6% year-on-year, well within the central bank's 2-4% target.  In 2019, inflation hit 2.5%.

Sulu is placed on a 14-day lockdown starting Monday against possible transmission from the new strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) from the nearby state of Sabah, Malaysia.

Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan Sr. says the closure of its border is part of its preventive and preemptive measures to protect its constituents from the contagion, citing the province’s proximity to Sabah where the new COVID-19 variant was reportedly detected.

“Effective January 4 to 17, 2021 no passengers from airplane or boat are allowed to enter or leave the province of Sulu,” Tan says in his advisory. — The STAR/Roel Pareño

COVID-19 cases in the Philippines reach 478,761 with 959 newly reported cases on Monday. Of the total cases in the country, 21,219 are considered active.

The total of recovered patients climb to 448,279 with 26 additional recoveries, while the death toll rose to 9,263 with 4 new deaths. 

Manila residents who are returning home after the holidays would have to head to a quarantine facility to get tested for COVID-19 before they are welcomed back into their respective barangays.

This new policy, aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, was laid out in a recent letter from the Manila Health Department to barangay chiefs and is effective beginning Saturday, January 2. — Philstar.com/Xave Gregorio

More here.

 Chinese state-owned drugmaker China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (Sinopharm) wanted the Philippines to fund its clinical trials for its coronavirus vaccine in the country, the Department of Science and Technology said Friday.

In a statement with the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, the DOST said Sinopharm reached out to them with two proposals for collaboration, among them is for the Philippines to shoulder the costs of its vaccine’s clinical trial. — Philstar.com/Xave Gregorio

Read the story here.

 The Department of Health recorded Saturday 1,097 new coronavirus infections, bringing the country’s total number of cases to 476,916.

Most of the new infections were reported in Davao del Norte where 65 of the new cases were tallied. Davao City followed with 60 new infections, then by Laguna (53), Batangas (48), and Cavite (43). — Philstar.com/Xave Gregorio

More here.

The country's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caseload hit 472,532 on Thursday after the Department of Health logged another 1,014 infections, after a streak of three consecutive days that the department recorded fewer than a thousand new positive cases.

Among the total cases, exactly 23,793 — or 5.0% — are marked as active cases, referring to patients who are still recovering in hospitals or quarantine facilities.

Full story here.

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the P4.5-trillion national budget into law on Monday in Malacanang.

In his speech after the ceremonial signing, Duterte vowed to "efficient use of resources" to ensure that the economy, set for its record slump this year, would rebound strongly in 2021.

The budget was signed before the year ended, paving the way for its timely implementation that would allow critical government projects to be funded on the first day of next year.

The budget contains P70-billion in funding to purchase coronavirus vaccines when they become available, although the money was lodged as unprogrammed fund. This means funds may only be tapped when there are excess revenues or by incurring more debt.

Another 23 cops contracted novel coronavirus on Christmas day, bringing the national police's caseload to 8,844.

Of the total number of cases among police, 309 — or 3.49% — are marked active per the Philippine National Police's Friday night tally.  

— Bella Perez-Rubio

Read the story here.

The health department on Saturday reported another 1,406 COVID-19 infections, pushing the national caseload to a grim 469,005.  

Of the total cases recorded, 28,883 — or 6.2% are active, which means these patients are still undergoing quarantine or treatment. — Bella Perez-Rubio

More here.