The OCTA Research said new cases in the country could reach as high as 6,000 a day by the end of March, with a surge in infections seen in Metro Manila.

"I hope we don't get complacent even if there are available vaccines now," Robredo said in mixed Filipino and English. 

The government is tightening on the enforcement of COVID-19 safety measures and is closely monitoring the spikes in the number of infections, including those caused by the more transmissible South African variant, Malacañang said Sunday.

While President Rodrigo Duterte has been very visible to the public recently, his security aides would continue to implement "very strict" measures to ensure his safety during his engagements, Malacañang said Saturday.

It has been 355 days since the first enhanced community quarantine was hoisted. The Philippines is still under the world's longest quarantine. 

Police raids that swept across three provinces in Calabarzon left at least two people dead including an activist leader, groups said on Sunday with one lawmaker describing the operations as a "bloodbath."

"We hope that more can be convinced because this is the most effective way for us to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19,” Malaya said.

"It looks like [the commitments] of the DTI and DSWD have been lip service," LKI president Vic Dimagiba, a lawyer, told Philstar.com in Filipino in an online exchange. 

Moderna will supply some 13 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the Philippines, officials announced under a deal reached over the weekend.

A magical Anita Magsaysay-Ho, titled “Tinapa Vendors,” returned to its homeland and set a world record for the artist at a stunning P84 million, inclusive of buyer’s premium.