The government failed to hand out the full P10 billion allocated to small businesses more than a year after a stimulus law expired. State auditors found that tedious application processes discouraged small businesses from taking out emergency loans.

Fines from lockdown arrests have bled poor Filipinos dry while the rich and famous get wrist slaps for similar offenses. Calls for a different approach grow louder as the pandemic lockdown enters its second year.

'I am not convinced that the capacity to vaccinate 70 million by year's end is there,' says former health secretary Manuel Dayrit. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) asks him 10 questions about the country’s situation a year since the imposition of one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.

Economic difficulties arising from the pandemic have seen Grade 11 and 12 students from private schools flocking to public schools struggling to implement the K to 12 Basic Education Program. Over a hundred private schools offering senior high school education have closed because of low enrollment.