HEADS UP: What's Next for Pacquiao After Loss to Ugas? (Aug. 23)

Here’s a Heads Up from reportr on news you need to know today, Aug. 23.

BOXING NEWS

• Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao lost to Cuban fighter Yordenis Ugas via unanimous decision in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Pacquiao said sorry to his fans but hoped they still enjoyed the match. He would also decide whether it’s time for him to retire from boxing.
• It’s not the end yet for Pacquiao, though. The fighting senator is set to announce whether he is running for president or not in the 2022 elections next month.

NEWS EXPLAINED

• State auditors flagged the Department of Health over deficiencies in the management of P67 billion COVID-19 funds. We did the math, and here’s how that amount of money can be spent.
• Health Sec. Francisco Duque III’s emotional fit over the COA findings spawned a number of memes. What does it say about how Filipinos perceive pain and suffering?
• Filipino Gen Z are patiently waiting at the end of the line to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Here are their stories.

COVID NEWS

• The Philippines on Friday reported a record-high 17,231 new COVID-19 cases in one day. On Sunday, an additional 16,044 were tallied.
• Metro Manila and other high-risk areas were downgraded one notch to modified enhanced community quarantine until Aug. 31. What will change from ECQ?
• More COVID-19 vaccines arrived in the Philippines, including 582,500 AstraZeneca doses and a total of 2 million Sinovac and Sinopharm jabs.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Need to go to the mall for essentials? Here are the operating hours of select Metro Manila malls during the MECQ period.
• You can now get your vaccine in Mandaluyong City even if you are not a resident there.
• Good news, fitness buffs: Jogging and biking are allowed under MECQ.

NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• President Rodrigo Duterte defended the “overpriced” face masks and shields that COA flagged, saying that it’s an issue of supply and demand.
• Activist and revolutionary poet Kerima Tariman died in an encounter between the military and communist rebels.
• Mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases isolated at home will soon be allowed to avail a benefit package from PhilHealth.
• A new study showed that the effectiveness of a Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 declines much faster than that of an AstraZeneca jab.
• As chaos in Afghanistan continues, some people have already died waiting for a plane to evacuate them from the country.