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PHILIPPINES NEWS

3 April 2020

WEARING MASKS NOW MANDATORY

 

MANILA — For better protection against the coronavirus disease 2019

(COVID-19), Malacañang ordered yesterday all those living in areas under

enhanced community quarantine to wear face masks or other forms of

protective equipment when they go out to buy essential items.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who is also spokesman of the Inter-Agency

Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), said

the call was part of the governmentÂ’s intensified efforts to contain the

COVID-19 outbreak.

In addition to the strict home quarantine and social distancing policies,

Nograles enjoined the public to follow the guidelines on the wearing of face

masks. Local government units are tasked to make sure that their

constituents will follow the protection measure.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has warned

citizens that people caught not wearing face masks in public would be

accosted.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said they would immediately implement the

mandatory wearing of face masks for people who step outside of their house.

Año said that the new measure will apply to everyone who are given

exemptions from the lockdown, including those who have quarantine passes to

buy groceries in the market.

 

 

DISCRIMINATION VS COVID-19 PATIENTS, FRONTLINERS NOW ILLEGAL IN MANILA

 

MANILA — Those who will discriminate against patients with coronavirus

disease, people suspected to have infection and frontliners will now be

penalized in Manila City.

The city government of Manila passed the Anti COVID-19 Discrimination

Ordinance of 2020, which prohibits any act that “causes stigma, disgrace,

shame, humiliation, harassment or otherwise discriminating against” COVID-19

patients, persons under investigation and persons under monitoring.

“Since the emergence of COVID-19, we have seen instances of public

stigmatization among persons who have contracted the disease including PUIs

and PUMs and the rise of harmful stereotypes... Stigmatization could drive

people to hide the illness to avoid discrimination and prevent people from

seeking health care immediately and discourage them from adopting healthy

behaviors,” the ordinance read.

The ordinance will likewise punish any public officer who refuses to give

assistance to PUIs, PUMs and healthcare workers who intend to return to

their places of residence.

Those who will publicly claim, post on social media or announce that a

person is infected or suspected to have COVID-19 will be also held liable.

Violators of the ordinance will be fined P5,000 or face imprisonment of up

to six months or both. Maximum penalty will be imposed if the offender is a

public officer.

Police units across the country were ordered to provide assistance and

security to healthcare workers after there were reports of hospital staff

suffering abuse and harassment amid panic over COVID-19 infections.

The new coronavirus has so far infected 2,633 people in the Philippines—107

of whom have died. There are additional 1,154 PUIs and 6,321 PUMs.

 

 

TASK FORCE SEES START OF MASS COVID-19 TESTING BY APRIL 14

 

MANILA — The National Task Force on COVID-19 sees mass testing for the novel

coronavirus disease to start by April 14, presidential peace adviser Carlito

Galvez Jr. said Thursday.

In a press briefing on the developments in the country's efforts to curb the

spread of COVID-19, Galvez said that there are now nine accredited hospitals

that can conduct the tests.

He added that the task force has asked the Department of Health to expedite

the accreditation of more hopsitals to boost testing capability.

"On massive testing for [Patients Under Investigation] and [Patients Under

Monitoring], we are also determined to fast track the accreditation of

substantial laboratories so we can start the massive testing," he also said.

"We expect that by April 14, we shall be able to start massive testing,"

Galvez, who is chief implementer of the National Action Plan on COVID-19,

said.

A lack of test kits and accredited laboratories has hampered the country's

ability to detect COVID-19 cases, with some dying before test results came

back from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, the main laboratory

for those tests.

On March 25, the Department of Health said that mass testing was still not

an option.

"While we already have 100,000 testing kits, we expect more to arrive, these

are not enough to conduct mass testing," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario

Vergeire said then in a televised press briefing.

 

 

FRONTLINERS GET MOBILE PHONE 'RAPID PASS' AT CHECKPOINTS: COVID-19 TASK

FORCE

 

MANILA -- Frontliners can download QR codes on their mobile phones for

quicker and near contact-free passage at checkpoints, the government's

coronavirus task force said Friday.

The Rapid Pass can be secured through the website rapidpass.ph. The QR code

can be scanned as a mobile phone download or a paper printout, Cabinet

Secretary Karlo Nograles, spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for

COVID-19.

Similar to bar codes, QR codes are used in mobile banking and cashless

transactions.

"Ito pong RapidPass System ay kinonceptualize po namin sa IATF para

mapabilis ang systema ng pag check ng ating mga sasakyan at mabawasan ang

person-to-person contact sa mga frontliners na gumagawa ng kritikal,"

Nograles said.

The Rapid Pass is not a requirement and frontliners can still pass through

checkpoints with their IDs, he said.

Checkpoints were placed in areas around Luzon to ensure that the enhanced

community quarantine imposed from March 17 to April 12, to stop the spread

of COVID-19, is properly implemented

 

 

LOCKDOWN LIFTING RESTS ON HEALTH BEFORE BUSINESS: TRADE CHIEF

 

MANILA -- The Philippines will consider health before business in deciding

when to lift lockdown on half of its 100 million people to fight the

COVID-19 pandemic, an economic manager said Friday.

President Rodrigo Duterte's inter-agency coronavirus task force will

"balance" health concerns with the need to restart businesses and resume

work for people in Luzon, Trade Sec. Ramon Lopez said.

"The major basis of the lifting is health-related, not business-related,"

Lopez told DZMM. The task force will assess if numbers have improved, he

said.

Luzon is on the third week of lockdown, which is scheduled to end on April

12. As of Thursday, the Philippines confirmed 2,633 cases including 107

deaths and 51 recoveries.

Lopez said a ''new normal" would take hold at the end of the lockdown,

wherein people will observe physical distancing and wear protective gear to

avoid spreading disease.

 

 

DSWD STARTS DISTRIBUTING COVID-19 CASH AID TO POOR FAMILIES

 

MANILA - The Department of Social Welfare and Development on Friday will

start distributing cash aid to poor Filipino families in the cities of

Manila, and Parañaque to help them rebuild their lives from the coronavirus

pandemic, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said.

Families in the 2 Metro Manila cities who are entitled to the subsidies will

be approached by government representatives, Nograles said. Cash aid

distribution in other parts of the country will follow in the coming days,

he said.

"We have been informed by the DSWD that the subsidies will be distributed

starting today in Manila and Parañaque, and we expect other jurisdictions to

be distributing these to their residents in the next few days," Nograles

said in a virtual press briefing.

The subsidies, ranging from P5,000 to P8,000 will be distributed in cash as

part of the government's P200-billion social amelioration program.

Cash aid for the beneficiaries of the government's Pantawid ng Pamilyang

Pilipino Program (4Ps) will also be distributed starting Friday, Nograles

said.

The Cabinet official urged the beneficiaries to wait for the announcements

of their local government units on the distribution of the cash assistance.

 

'BAWAL EPAL': DILG BARS LOCAL OFFICIALS FROM PUTTING NAMES, PHOTOS ON

LOCKDOWN AID

 

MANILA - The interior department said Friday it banned local officials from

plastering their photos and names onto relief aid for indigent families

during a Luzon-wide lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency received reports that some barangay officers had prepared

envelopes with their names to put in cash aid that the national government

would give, said Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.

"Hindi po ito panahon ng pamumulitika, panahon po ito ng public service," he

told DZMM. "Naglabas na rin po si Secretary [Eduardo] Año ng kautusan sa

ating mga LGU na walang epal, walang pangalan, walang picture at hayaan ang

mga barangay na i-handle nang tama ang paglalabas ng ayuda."

Barangay officials are required to submit a list of the 18 million poorest

Filipino families that will receive cash aid on top of food packs, "subject

to vetting and approval" of the social welfare department, said Malaya.

The beneficiaries will also include the elderly, migrant workers in

distress, persons with disability and single parents, he said.

The house-to-house aid distribution will start this afternoon in 2 pilot

barangays in Tondo, Manila and Parañaque chosen by their city governments,

said the official.

Residents in other areas should wait for the aid announcement from their

barangay leaders and prepare IDs for claiming the assistance, Malaya said.

The Philippines as of Thursday confirmed 107 deaths out of its total 2,633

cases of the respiratory disease.

Even during the lockdown, cases of the disease could spike the recent

delivery of test kits and the accreditation of additional screening

laboratories, the health department earlier said.

 

 

LOW INTEREST LOANS AVAILABLE FOR SMALL BUSINESSMEN POST-LOCKDOWN: TRADE

CHIEF

 

MANILA -- Small and medium enterprises can avail of loans up to P500,000 to

reboot from the coronavirus lockdown, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said

Friday.

The government is offering up to P200,000 for micro SMEs and up to P500,000

for medium-sized firms, with 0.5 percent monthly interest and payable in 2

to 5 years. There will be a grace period of 5 to 6 months for payments,

Lopez said.

Micro businesses have P3 million in assets, small firms have P3 million to

P15 million while medium enterprises have P15 million to P100 million,

according to the government's definition.

"Ayuda ito sa kanilang working capital para makabangon agad (This will boost

their working capital, helping them recover)," he said.

The loan fund, dubbed Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso, will include food

carts, Lopez said.

Businessmen can apply for loans at the Department of Trade and Industry's

Negosyo Centers after the lockdown, which is scheduled to end on April 12.

 

 

WHERE CAN YOU GET TESTED FOR COVID-19 IN THE PHILIPPINES?

 

MANILA- The Philippines is stepping up its testing capacity for the new

coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as more cases of the disease are recorded in

the country.

As of Friday, the Philippines already has 8 COVID-19 testing centers in the

following areas:

LUZON

1. Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City

2. San Lazaro Hospital in Manila City

3. UP National Institutes of Health in Manila City

4. Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City

5. Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center in Benguet

VISAYAS

1. Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City

2. Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City

MINDANAO

1. Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City

Other health facilities meanwhile are still undergoing accreditation for

COVID-19 testing.

The government is eyeing to implement mass COVID-19 testing by April 14

after the health department announced that it could already run 1,000 tests

a day from the previous daily average of 300.

 

 

GAMBOA SEEK PRAYERS FOR 2 GENERALS STILL IN ICU AFTER CHOPPER CRASH

 

MANILA - The chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday

appealed for more prayers for the fast healing of two colleagues who were

among those in the helicopter crash in Laguna last March.

“Unfortunately, 2 pa sa classmates ko ang struggling. They are both in the

intensive care unit at syempre very maselan sila,” said PNP chief Archie

Gamboa.

Gamboa was with Major Generals Jovic Ramos and Mariel Magaway, his

comptrollership and intelligence heads, respectively; Brig. Gen. Bernard

Banac, the PNP spokesman; an aide, a technician and 2 pilots when the

2-year-old Bell 429 chopper crashed in San Pedro, Laguna on March 5.

The accident left Ramos and Magawas still in critical condition.

“We continuously pray na sana they recover their health and we hope they

could live their normal lives again,” he said.

Gamboa said relatives of the two generals could not visit them due to the

present coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

“Hindi rin sila mabisita ng kanilang mga kamag-anak dahil na rin sa threat

ng COVID-19,” he said.

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

 

 

P1M IN 1 HOUR: LEA SALONGA WOWS WITH FACEBOOK LIVE CONCERT FOR BENEFIT OF

COVID-19 FRONTLINERS

 

MANILA — A consummate artist who's performed on the big stage worldwide, Lea

Salonga treated a room inside her home no different on Thursday, as she

streamed an hour-long concert for the benefit of vulnerable sectors amid the

coronavirus crisis.

Salonga is the latest in a dozens-long list of artists lending their voices

to "Bayanihan, Musikahan," an online concert series that aims to raise funds

for frontline workers, as well as the urban poor whose livelihood have been

affected by the community quarantine.

The stage veteran channeled her theater background as she performed tunes

from her Broadway outings, including "Gaman" from "Allegiance," and "The

Human Heart" from "Once on this Island." The latter — along with "Bring Him

Home" from "Les Miserables" (which she did not perform as part of its cast)

— Salonga dedicated to healthcare workers and other frontliners.

Salonga also sang OPM classics including "Nais Ko," "Bakit Labis Kitang

Mahal," "Sana Maulit Muli". She ended her stream fittingly with "Paraiso,"

about yearning for Earth's recovery.

In between her performances, Salonga shared updates on "Bayanihan,

Musikahan's" fundraising progress. Since the program was launched on March

18, it has raised P22.3 million — and that's excluding the concerts that

were streamed on Thursday.

Salonga's online concert alone raised over P100,000 in its first 10 minutes,

then over half a million after half an hour, until it crossed P1 million

before the show's end.

"That's amazing!" Salonga exclaimed.

"There's no such thing as too small of a contribution or a donation,"

Salonga said, "because when you pool all of these resources together, it

becomes one whole big thing and so many people will be able to get the help

that they need, the protection that they need."

 

 

ANNE CURTIS, REGINE VELASQUEZ LEND HAND TO ANGEL LOCSIN'S TENT DRIVE FOR

HOSPITALS

 

MANILA — Anne Curtis and Regine Velasquez are among the celebrities who are

helping provide additional room for COVID-19 patients at overwhelmed

hospitals, through the program of fellow Kapamilya actress Angel Locsin.

Locsin has been spearheading the fundraisder #UniTentWeStand, which is now

in the process of delivering 12x24-meter tents to dozens of hospitals in

Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.

Curtis and her husband, restaurateur Erwan Heussaff, as well as Velasquez

and her husband, music veteran Ogie Alcasid, were among the showbiz

personalities who pledged tents early on.

On Thursday, Locsin showed on Instagram that the tents from the Heussaffs

and the Alcasids have been set up at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center

and Diliman Doctors Hospital in Quezon City, respectively.

Ten 15x15-meter tents were also donated to the National Kidney and

Transplant Institute by the Alcasids, according to Locsin.

Later on Thursday, Locsin, along with her fiancé Neil Arce, also delivered

three tents to the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Quezon

City.

As of April 1, Locsin's #UniTentWeStand has already set up a total of 22

tents at 11 hospitals. Her group will deliver tents to 38 more locations,

including the PNP General Hospital, in the coming weeks.

 

 

SPORTS

 

 

YULO, DIDAL MAKE ELITE ‘FORBES’ LIST

 

MANILA — Olympics-bound gymnast Caloy Yulo and skateboard queen Margielyn

Didal landed in Forbes Asia’s “30 under 30” for 2020, joining three other

Filipinos in the list of the most influential youngsters across the

continent.

The 19-year-old Yulo, who won the countryÂ’s first world title last year, and

the 20-year-old Didal, one of four Pinoy gold medalists in the Asian Games,

were among entertainment and sports personalities named to the elite roster

yesterday.

They shared the spotlight with Francis Plaza, founder of payments processing

platform PayMongo, Louise Mabulo, founder of The Cacao Project and

multimedia artist Breech Asher Harani, who were feted in the other

categories.

“Carlos Yulo is a Filipino gymnast who became the first male athlete in

Southeast Asia to win a gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics

Championships in 2019, when he won the men’s floor exercise,” Forbes Asia

said of Yulo.

It also cited his two-gold, five-silver debut at the SEA Games and the

PresidentÂ’s Awards bestowed on him by the Philippine SportswritersÂ’

Association.

Didal was honored for her putting the Philippines on the skateboarding map.

“At the most recent Asian Games in 2018, Margielyn Didal helped win one of

four gold medals for the Philippines by winning the womenÂ’s street

skateboarding event,” Forbes Asia said.

“As of this writing, Didal is preparing to qualify for the Olympic Games in

Tokyo, where skateboarding has been included in the Games for the first

time,” it added of the Cebuana, who just last month claimed bronze at the

maiden WomenÂ’s Open of the Tampa Pro competition in Florida.

According to Forbes Asia, the 2020 list “highlights 300 young entrepreneurs,

leaders and changemakers who are changing the world.”

“This year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list-makers inspire optimism in what is

promising to be a tough year ahead,” Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia editor Rana

Wehbe said.

“They are a resilient and energetic bunch who are facing challenges head-on

and actively working for a future that matches their aspirations,” Wehbe

added.

 

 

INDICATORS

 

FOREX $1 = P 50.85

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

Much ingenuity with a little money is vastly more profitable and amusing

than much money without ingenuity. - Arnold Bennett

Comments (0)


Today
8:03am
Hi Jenna! I made a new design, and i wanted to show it to you.
8:03am
It's quite clean and it's inspired from Bulkit.
8:12am
Oh really??! I want to see that.
8:13am
FYI it was done in less than a day.
8:17am
Great to hear it. Just send me the PSD files so i can have a look at it.
8:18am
And if you have a prototype, you can also send me the link to it.

Monday
4:55pm
Hey Jenna, what's up?
4:56pm
Iam coming to LA tomorrow. Interested in having lunch?
5:21pm
Hey mate, it's been a while. Sure I would love to.
5:27pm
Ok. Let's say i pick you up at 12:30 at work, works?
5:43pm
Yup, that works great.
5:44pm
And yeah, don't forget to bring some of my favourite cheese cake.
5:27pm
No worries

Today
2:01pm
Hello Jenna, did you read my proposal?
2:01pm
Didn't hear from you since i sent it.
2:02pm
Hello Milly, Iam really sorry, Iam so busy recently, but i had the time to read it.
2:04pm
And what did you think about it?
2:05pm
Actually it's quite good, there might be some small changes but overall it's great.
2:07pm
I think that i can give it to my boss at this stage.
2:09pm
Crossing fingers then

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