Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
PAPAYA-OFF CAMPUS

Ervin C. Verdillo
BSE – English III

Examples of Hard News:

No exact date yet for arrival of COVID-19 vaccines;

vaccination sites should prepare substitute list of vaccinees –
DOH
Published February 10, 2021, 3:22 PM
by Analou De Vera

There is still no confirmed date as to when the vaccines for coronavirus disease (COVID-
19) will arrive in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire (PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the COVAX facility only told them a
“tentative schedule” for the arrival of vaccines here.

“Kailangan natin maintindihan (We need to understand) that the dates that were provided to
us were indicative dates. The COVAX facility initially told us that by the second or third
week of February. Now, this Feb. 15 is an indicative date,” she said in a media forum.

“Kapag sinabi natin na indicative, yan po ay tentative schedule pa lang, wala pa tayong
confirmed dates as to when we are going to start. But definitely, pagdating ng bakuna, after
two to three days we will start the deployment already… We will give you the exact date
kung kailan dadating ang bakuna once we receive the confirmation from the COVAX
facility (When we say indicative, that is just a tentative schedule, we do not have confirmed
dates as to when we are going to start. But definitely, when the vaccines arrive, after two to
three days we will start the deployment already … We will give you the exact date when the
vaccines will arrive once we receive the confirmation from the COVAX facility),” she said.
Substitute list

Vergeire, meanwhile, said that all COVID-19 vaccination sites must come up with a Quick
Substitution List (QSL) to minimize vaccine wastage. She said that the list must have  20
percent additional names of the total number of recipients in a specific vaccination site.

“We are pegging it, gusto natin meron tayo at least 20 percent. Wala tayong basehan sa 20
percent, pero gusto lang po natin makasigurado na kung sakali dumating tayo doon sa day of
vaccination and we will have refusal, at least we have this reserved 20 percent (We are
pegging it, we want to have at least 20 percent. We have no basis for this 20 percent, but we
just want to make sure that we have a reserved recipient  in case someone refuses to take the
vaccine on the vaccination day),” she said.

“We don’t want to have wastage (of vaccines)  in our program so we have this quick
substitution list,” she added.

Vergeire said that the DOH will issue guidelines for the QSL.

“The standards will be finalized on who should be included in the QSL, which is also part of
our priority list,” she added.

Source: https://mb.com.ph/2021/02/10/no-exact-date-yet-for-arrival-of-covid-19-vaccines-
vaccination-sites-should-prepare-substitute-list-of-vaccinees-doh/

Philippines's COVID-19 cases now over 541K, deaths at

11,401
Published February 10, 2021 4:08pm
By JOAHNA LEI CASILAO, GMA News

The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday reported 1,345 new coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) infections, bringing the total to 541,560 as four laboratories failed to submit data on
time.
According to the DOH, total recoveries also rose to 499,971 after 276 more patients recovered
from the illness while the death toll climbed to 11,401 with 114 fatalities.

Twelve duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count while nine cases previously
tagged as recovered were reclassified as deaths after the final validation.

Of the remaining 30,188 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 88.2 percent are mild,
6.1 percent are asymptomatic, 2.5 percent are severe, and 2.6 percent are in critical condition.

Based on data from the DOH, 61 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds are available
while 79 percent of the mechanical ventilators are ready for use.

Meanwhile, the DOH has again sought the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation
in tracking down a 35-year-old male Liloan, Cebu resident who tested positive for the UK
coronavirus variant.

The patient was identified as a returning overseas Filipino with a local address in Liloan, whose
samples were collected on January 17.

The World Health Organization has also called for greater research, recognition, and
rehabilitation for long COVID-19 sufferers.—LDF, GMA News

Source: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/775414/philippines-s-covid-19-cases-
now-over-541k-deaths-at-11-401/story/?just_in

Examples of Soft News:

Moira dela Torre and why ‘Pag-ibig ang Piliin’ is the soundtrack of
her life
Published February 9, 2021, 10:53 PM
by Robert Requintina

PLDT Home brings the message of hope and love this Valentine’s Day through the award-
winning singer-songwriter Moira Dela Torre at the forefront. In her newest single, ‘Pag-ibig
ang Piliin,’ Moira once again tugs the hearts of her fans through an inspiring theme of how
love can build the strongest connection.

Moira dela Torre chooses love as the main message for her brand-new music “Pag-ibig ang
Piliin”, written and arranged by award-winning songwriter Jonathan Manalo and co-written
by Trisha Denise. Moira shares that she ‘feels honored’ for being chosen by PLDT Home
for this campaign. She says, “The message of this song embodies what I have been
advocating for these past few years. Choosing love and positivity, and now we made it into
a song!”

The song tells us that despite the challenges and difficulties of love in the real world, one
can always choose to connect the right way. That’s why this Valentine’s Day, PLDT Home
also encourages everyone to inspire and cultivate positivity because the strongest
connections are made with love.

With “Pag-ibig ang Piliin” as the theme of her newest Valentine’s song, Moira shares her
life’s personal connection to the soundtrack. In her latest social media post, she says, “Every
morning, I wake up to a man who chooses to love me…But then this guy knocks. Every
single day. Knocks until I open the door. Hugs me ‘til I’m out of tears. Takes care of me ‘til
I’m well. Prays with me when I can’t find hope for myself. And for that, I find myself so
thankful. What I’ve learned from marriage is that love is a choice – a very beautiful and
brave choice to make every single morning.”

Winning her way into the hearts of her fans by the sheer beauty and honesty of her songs
over the years, Moira’s journey to fame was not an easy one. Much like her music, it was
filled with challenges, heartbreak, and letting go. But true love does not give up, and neither
did she.

In 2018, Moira released a song entitled “Malaya.” Shattering hearts and records alike, this
hit-single propelled Moira and her mastery of songwriting into greater heights. A multitude
of listeners all claim that Moira’s songs hit more than just the right note, but that they spoke
straight to the heart and echo the feelings and stories of those that listened to them. The hits
continued to pour out; “Tagpuan”, “Ikaw at Ako”, “Paubaya” and many other songs started
to pull at the heartstrings of fans and established Moira as a genuine artist.

Source: https://mb.com.ph/2021/02/09/moira-dela-torre-and-why-pag-ibig-ang-piliin-is-the-
soundtrack-of-her-life/
New volleyball NSA eyes national league in July
By: Mark Giongco - Reporter / @MarkGiongcoINQ
INQUIRER.net / 07:47 PM February 10, 2021

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Volleyball Federation Inc. (PNVFI) is aiming to
launch a national league, which will pit the country’s best volleyball players against each other,
tentatively in July.

Ramon “Tats” Suzara, president of the newly-formed national sports association for volleyball,
said the PNVF Champions League will feature the top eight teams in the country in its inaugural
season.
Suzara said the national league will be like the one in neighboring country’s Indonesia and
Thailand.

“No PSL or PVL and no UAAP or NCAA. This will feature the top eight teams in the country
including at least one from Visayas and Mindanao,” Suzara said in Filipino during Tuesday’s
online session of the PSA Forum.

“We don’t have a national league. We have so many leagues but we don’t have our own federation
league.”

According to Suzara, the Champions League will likely be held in a bubble if the COVID-19
pandemic remains at large.

The local volleyball scene hasn’t returned to action since the pandemic.

The Premier Volleyball League is targeting its restart with its maiden professional season this
summer while the Philippine Superliga is also planning to hold its competitions later this year.

Source: https://sports.inquirer.net/415114/new-volleyball-nsa-eyes-national-league-in-july
The Eight Elements of News

1. Immediacy

Has it just happened?  Notice how prominently Twitter feeds are displayed during live TV and
radio coverage of events.  Whether it's the Super Bowl or a humanitarian crisis, information
provided via the Social Media feeds of individuals is seen as valuable and relevant.

2. Proximity

Is the news geographically local to the readership or close to their hearts?

3. Prominence

Is your information or news about something that is highly topical today?  Is it about something /
someone that people believe to be of great significance or importance?

4. Oddity

There is a reason why videos of animals doing crazy things are so popular on YouTube.  We are
attracted to things that are a little strange, out of the ordinary and unusual.  Progress' own
example is our much loved pup 'Chilly' the SQL coding dog.

5. Conflict

Is there an element of struggle in your story?  Is what you're describing helping a customer to
address a real challenge that significantly impacts their lives or businesses?

6. Suspense

People need a reason to keep reading.  Can you create a 'cliff-hanger' or leave your readers
wanting more?

7. Emotion

Anything that speaks to people's experiences and conveys real emotion will help them to connect
with your message.  The trick is to do this appropriately and with authenticity.  It doesn't have to
be a tear-jerker of a story, nor does it need to be designed to keep your audience in stitches -
sometimes it helps to just be a little bit more human in your communications.
8. Consequence

Does the subject of the story you are telling have an impact on people's lives?

Source: https://www.progress.com/blogs/read-all-about-it!-the-eight-elements-of-news

News article which possess most of the elements of a news:

COVID-19 cases in PH reach 541,560; add'l deaths at 114

Kristine Sabillo, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Feb 10 2021 04:18 PM | Updated as of Feb 10 2021 06:48 PM

MANILA (UPDATE) — The Philippines' total COVID-19 cases climbed to 541,560 on

Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,345 new infections.

The additional tally does not include data from 4 laboratories that failed to submit their results on
time.

This is the 10th straight day that new COVID-19 cases are below 2,000, according to the ABS-
CBN Data Analytics Team.

The DOH reported 114 new COVID-related deaths, the highest since January 15, bringing the
total to 11,401 fatalities. This is the 12th straight day that additional deaths counted more than
50.

The 2.11% case fatality rate is also the highest in more than six months, noted the ABS-CBN
Data Analytics Team. 

Meanwhile, 276 new recovered patients were recorded, raising the number of total recoveries to
499,971.

In a note on its daily COVID-19 bulletin, the DOH said 59 recoveries were reclassified as deaths
after final validation. There were also 9 cases initially tagged as deaths that turned out to be
recoveries.
Of the 30,188 active cases, 88.2% have mild symptoms, 6.1% are asymptomatic, 2.6% are in
critical condition, 2.5% have severe symptoms, and 0.6% have moderate symptoms.

A total of 12 cases, 10 tagged as recovered, were removed from the official tally for being
duplicate entries.

The DOH on Wednesday acknowledged the continued increase in COVID-19 cases in Cebu City
but said hospitals are still able to manage patients.

Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, however, noted the increasing hospital utilization rate in
Lapu-Lapu City and Cebu province itself.

She also said those in Metro Manila and nearby regions that have not seen substantial spike in
cases should not be complacent.

She attributed the increase in cases in Cebu City to the spread of the virus during the holidays
and the delayed consultation of individuals with physicians.

 DOH says COVID-19 rise in Cebu still manageable

There are almost 44.8 million people currently infected with COVID-19 worldwide. Since the
start of the pandemic, 106.9 million people have contracted the disease, according to the Johns
Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard. Of those, more than 2.3 million have died and 59.8
million have recovered.

Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/10/21/covid-19-cases-in-ph-reach-541560-addl-
deaths-at-114