PHILIPPINES LAUNCHES COVID-19 TRACKING, EMERGENCY RESPONSE ONLINE PLATFORM

MANILA - The Philippines launched an online and mobile platform that can

help the government track people exhibiting symptoms of the coronavirus

disease and conduct more efficient contact tracing.

Manila-based developer Multisys created StaySafe.ph, which "encourages

people to report their health condition as well as those of their family

members," the National Task Force against COVID-19 said in a statement.

Users will be asked during the online registration process if they manifest

COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, cough, fatigue, muscle pain, runny nose,

sore throat, shortness of breath and diarrhea. The platform will then

generate a result indicating mild, moderate or severe depending on the

number of symptoms the user is experiencing.

The data will be forwarded to a "heat map" in the admin dashboard of

StaySafe.ph, which will then show the areas and the number of people showing

symptoms of the highly-contagious illness.

The developer pointed out that users do not have to disclose sensitive

information such as birthdate when registering in the platform.

Healthcare workers, local governments and private companies will be given

access to the admin dashboard to aid them track the number of confirmed

cases, persons under investigation and monitoring, deaths, recovered

patients and the location of these patients.

Frontliners will receive alerts from the StaySafe.ph system so they could

respond to severe COVID-19 cases and provide direct online consultations to

patients. The platform also allows companies to identify employees who need

help.

Multisys said it developed the online and mobile platform at no cost to the

national government.

PHILIPPINES' CORONAVIRUS CASES CROSS 4,000-MARK

MANILA - The Philippine government on Thursday confirmed 206 new coronavirus

disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, raising the nation's tally to 4,076.

The country's health ministry also reported 21 new deaths from the virus,

bringing the death toll to 203.

Meanwhile, another 28 patients have recovered from the highly-contagious

disease. A total of 124 have so far recovered from COVID-19 in the country.

The pandemic originated from Wuhan City in Hubei province, China before

spreading to nearly 200 countries and territories.

According to tally of the Agence France-Presse, more than 1.5 million cases

of the novel coronavirus have been registered worldwide, of which, more than

87,000 people have died.

DUTERTE URGES COVID-19 SURVIVORS TO DONATE BLOOD

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte asked those who have recovered from

COVID-19 to donate blood so they may help treat those severely ill from the

pathogen.

In a televised meeting past midnight Thursday, Duterte urged those who

survived COVID-19 to donate their blood, citing the University of the

Philippines-Philippine General Hospital's ongoing study on how transfusion

from survivors may help those infected.

"Those in UP... those who recovered, they gain anti-bodies... If you

survived COVID, this means your anti-bodies, that fought the virus, are in

your body," he said in Filipino.

"Do it as goodwill. And I think if it were me, I should volunteer. That is

the way of thanking God that you have survived," Duterte said.

Dr. Jonas Del Rosario, spokesperson of PGH, called for blood donations last

week.

He told GMA News' Dobol B sa News TV that those who have recovered or

are"COVID-19 survivors" carry antibodies in their blood. "Because they have

recovered, they have produced an immune response through their antibodies."

Del Rosario, however, said that this is not a standard practice and still in

the "experimental stage." He said that this was also done in past pandemics.

Convalescent plasma, the fluid in blood teeming with antibodies

post-illness, has proven effective in small studies to treat infectious

diseases including Ebola and SARS.

POPE GUIDES LOCKED-DOWN WORLD THROUGH VIRTUAL EASTER

VATICAN CITY -- Church doors will be shut and the Vatican sealed off when

Pope Francis leads 1.3 billion Catholics in Easter Sunday celebrations held

under a worldwide coronavirus lockdown.

Fear and confusion in the face of a disease whose toll has unrelentingly

climbed towards 100,000 are reshaping society and transforming the way

religion is observed.

Even such hallowed traditions as the pope's messages to the faithful on

Saint Peter's Square are being replaced by livestreamed prayers that Francis

reluctantly records from the seclusion of his private library.

The Vatican has been closed to visitors for a month and the 83-year-old

pontiff -- beloved for breaking stuffy customs and mingling with the people

-- has complained of feeling "caged".

"We have to respond to our confinement with all our creativity," Francis

said in an interview published by several Catholic newspapers this week.

"We can either get depressed and alienated... or we can get creative."

The pope's virtual prayers are just the starkest example of religious

improvisation in the age of social distancing and confinement.

Others abound worldwide -- from the Archbishop of Panama blessing his tiny

Central American nation from the air in a helicopter to the faithful in

Spain blasting religious music from their balconies during Holy Week.

The scale of the unfolding tragedy has seen a New York City cathedral

replace rows of wooden seats with hospital beds in case of overcrowding in

surrounding emergency wards.

The powerful Catholic Church in the Philippines is urging the faithful not

to kiss the cross and its Orthodox counterpart in Greece is planning to hold

mass behind closed doors for its Easter on April 19.

"Seven out of 10 Greeks enjoy roasting lamb for Easter," Greek meat trader

Angelos Asteriou told AFP in Paris.

"That's not happening this year."

Jews across the world did their best by using Zoom or other video

conferencing apps to "seder-in-place" when the eight-day Passover holiday

kicked off on Wednesday evening.

Westminster Abbey in London is following the technological trend by

releasing Easter podcasts for the faithful of the Anglican Church.

Prince Charles -- the heir to the British throne who was briefly quarantined

last month after testing positive for the virus -- recorded a reading of the

Gospel for Easter Sunday.

And priests at France's Roman Catholic shrine in the southwestern town of

Lourdes began relaying nine consecutive days of prayers on Sunday by

Facebook Live and YouTube.

P100M DONATION TO HELP FUND QUARANTINE SHIPS, TERMINALS - DOTR

MANILA - The Department of Transportation on Friday said that a P100 million

donation by the Lopez Group of Companies will help fund its COVID-19

containment efforts, especially the maritime sector's operation of

quarantine ships and terminals.

The transportation department earlier partnered with private shipping

companies to repurpose passenger ships into "floating quarantine centers"

that would temporarily house a predicted influx of Filipino repatriates,

including asymptomatic and untested individuals, who would undergo a

two-week quarantine period.

"It is truly overwhelming that during these trying times, the support and

selflessness of our private sector partners keep on coming to back us

up...Gagastahin natin ito ng naayon sa tama at nararapat. Maraming kababayan

'ho natin ang siguradong makikinabang dito," Transport Secretary Arthur

Tugade said in a release.

Following the donation, Philippine Ports Authority General Manager Jay

Daniel Santiago said that another quarantine facility will be "be

established and be of use very soon."

"We will ensure that every centavo donated will be accounted for and spent

according to its intended purpose. Now, we are already in the process of

planning the conversion of the Eva Macapagal Terminal into a quarantine

facility," he said.

BAGUIO CITY BEGINS DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL AID

BAGUIO CITY - Beneficiaries of the government's aid package have started

receiving assistance through the city hall.

Beneficiaries in at least four of Baguio City's 128 barangays have received

aid of P5,000 each after submitting complete documents and after assessment

by local officials.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong directed City Social Welfare and Development Officer

Betty Fangasan to take steps to further speed up the process of validating

beneficiaries and facilitate the release of the funds.

Fangasan said they had communicated to all Barangay Health Emergency

Response Teams (BHERTs) and barangay officials to organize teachers and

volunteers in their areas to help out in the assessment process.

The volunteers will be oriented on the assessment and filling out of the

Social Amelioration Cards, which are limited to one per family.

The city's personnel as well as more than 200 volunteers will work through

Holy Week to get the aid released sooner.

"This will be our form of penitence for the Holy Week," according to the

mayor who will also be on hand to supervise the implementation of all

control and prevention measures against the coronavirus disease during the

Lenten period.

'OUR HEROES': COVID-19 SURVIVORS DONATE BLOOD PLASMA, RAISE HOPES FOR

TREATMENT

MANILA - A seaman and 2 nurses who survived the coronavirus disease on

Thursday set in motion a blood plasma donation drive at the Philippines'

main government hospital that it hopes to use on severely ill patients, a

doctor there said.

The trio underwent plasmapheresis after they met criteria for potential

donors, said Dr. Thaddeus Hinunangan, a pathology resident at the Philippine

General Hospital.

Plasmapharesis separates the plasma from blood cells. In the absence of a

vaccine for COVID-19, the PGH is eyeing convalescent plasma therapy to help

treat patients.

The 31-year-old seafarer, Ceasar Ian Frias, is a crew member of the Diamond

Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan due to the virus. He

tested positive for March while on quarantine in Tarlac province, north of

Manila and was cleared that same month.

"Hindi ko in-expect, ganun pala ka big deal 'to. Akala ko, just like

ordinary routine lang na ginagawa kapag nagdo-donate sa Red Cross.

Importante pala talaga 'to, said Frias, a regular at blood donation drives.

"Proud ako na naka-contribute ako sa procedure na ginagawa ngayon ng mga

doctors ng PGH," Frias said.

Hinunangan described the plasma donations from the 3 as an "optimistic

start," adding, "Imagine, despite the lockdown, despite being Holy Week,

despite the discrimination of health workers, the blood bank team and the

Pathology residents were still able to start the convalescent plasma

program."

"That speaks a lot of how determined we are," he told ABS-CBN News.

The convalescent plasma, which contains antibodies, will be transfused to a

suitable recipient in the hope of neutralizing the new coronavirus.

BABYSITTERS NO MORE, FILIPINO NURSES IN SPAIN FIND PLACE ON COVID-19

FRONTLINES

MADRID - Filipino nurses here are ditching their odd jobs to respond to the

Spanish government's call to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic in one of the

worst-hit countries in Europe.

The Ministry of Employment here is accelerating the issuance of work permits

to immigrants with medical diplomas to build a workforce against the

pandemic. Nurses who have yet to qualify are called in to work.

It was a welcome announcement for Filipinos here, who were required to take

extra credits to practice their profession. They also need to overcome the

language barrier.

Jionisia Rosario was accepted for the first time in a Spanish hospital after

working as a babysitter here for 2 years.

"I don't want to miss this job opportunity. It is also helping our fellow

Filipinos and being of service to the society that has embraced me," said

Rosario.

Aileen Grace Carillo is now practicing her nursing studies after working as

a waitress. She said she had to soothe her parents' fears.

"They used to push me to pursue my nursing career in Spain, but then, they

were also hesitant to let me work. I had to make them realize that nursing

is actually a risky job, pandemic or not," the 25-year old Carillo said.

"One of my COVID patients thanked me before leaving hospital. He said that

the care and help I extended to him were priceless. When you hear those

words from patients who were in a battle against death, it just boosts up

your spirit to keep on," she said.

John Matthew Villapol, who was into emergency medical services in the

Philippines and currently works as a language teacher, was hired even when

he was only thinking of volunteering.

"I saw the post on Facebook and I asked if I could still get the job even if

I'm not exactly a nurse and within 2 days, I was in the hospital," said

Villapol.

Incorporation in the hospital was not easy for Filipino nurses, who had not

practiced their medical training for years. Some were assigned double shifts

and attended to as many as 60 patients.

"They left me to learn the system on my own. I said to myself, I can do

this. I didn't give up and tried to remember my training and experience back

in the Philippines," said Christel Castro.

DOJ: ONLY DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS VS LGU OFFICIALS HALTED, NBI PROBES WILL

CONTINUE

MANILA - The National Bureau of Investigation will continue its probe into

local government officials who may have violated the Bayanihan to Heal as

One Act, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.

This was after President Rodrigo Duterte suspended disciplinary proceedings

against government officials amid the Luzon-wide enhanced community

quarantine.

Administrative Order No. 29 dated April 7 states that the suspension applies

to all appeals, petitions for review, and administrative disciplinary cases

filed against governors and members of the sangguniang panlalawigan, mayors,

vice mayors, and members of the sangguniang panlungsod and presidential

appointees.

But Guevarra explained that the NBI is conducting investigations into

matters that are criminal in nature, and not disciplinary cases where it has

no jurisdiction.

"The NBI is not engaged in disciplinary actions against government

officials. Its mandate is to investigate crimes," he said in a message to

reporters.

"The Bayanihan law... specifically directs the Department of the Interior

and Local Government to file administrative cases, and the DOJ to

investigate (through the NBI) and prosecute local government officials who

wilfully violate or contravene the mandatory provisions of the Bayanihan

law," he added.

LIST: HOLY WEEK 2020 ONLINE MASS SCHEDULES

MANILA - From drive-through confessions, where a priest - seated a meter

away - hears a parishioner confess his sins while inside his car, to

receiving holy communion in front yards, the Catholic Church has found

innovative ways to engage its flock in prayer and participate in church

activities amid the worldwide novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

pandemic, which necessitates everybody to practice physical distancing,

among other things.

Filipinos, as well as most people of the world, will still be staying at

home under enhanced community quarantine as we observe the Holy Week,

starting Palm Sunday, April 5, until Easter Sunday, April 12. But everybody

will be blessed, Pope Francis said. And Holy Week will be celebrated online,

with masses to be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube by various dioceses

across the country.

At the Vatican City, the Pope celebrates daily masses at 2 p.m. at Vatican

News English on YouTube.

The following is the schedule of masses in various Philippine churches:

Manila Cathedral

Time: Sunday - 8 a.m.,10 a.m., 6 p.m.; Monday to Friday - 7:30 a.m., 12:10

p.m.; Saturday - 7:30 a.m.

Where: Manila Cathedral's Facebook page

Quiapo Church

Time: Daily - 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m.

Where: Quiapo Church's Facebook page

Diocese of Kalookan

Time: Sunday - 6:30 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 3 p.m., 4:15 p.m.,

5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m., 8 p.m.; Monday to Friday - 6 a.m., noon, 6 p.m.

Where: Diocese of Kalookan's Facebook page

Diocese of Cubao

Time: Sunday - 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 6 p.m.; Monday to Saturday - 8 a.m.

Where: Diocese of Cubao's Facebook page

Diocese of Pasig

Time: Sunday - 6 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m.; Monday to Saturday

- 6 a.m., 8 a.m., noon, 6 p.m.

Where: Pasig Cathedral's Facebook page

Philippine Jesuits

Time: Daily - 8 a.m., 1 p.m.

Where: Radyo Katipunan Facebook page and Radyo Katipunan YouTube channel

Radio Veritas

Time: Daily - 6 a.m., noon, 6 p.m.

Where: Radio Veritas' Facebook page

Sambuhay TV Mass

Time: Saturday (anticipated mass) - 5 p.m.; Monday to Friday - 6:15 a.m.

Where: Sambuhay's Facebook page

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

'YOUR NAME' DIRECTOR THANKS FILIPINO FANS AFTER MOVIE'S ABS-CBN RE-AIRING

TRENDS ONLINE

MANILA -- Japanese animator and director Makoto Shinkai thanked his fans in

the Philippines after a local television airing of his 2016 movie "Your

Name" topped the country's trending topics on Maundy Thursday.

The Filipino-dubbed version of "Your Name," also known by its original title

"Kimi no Na wa," was shown on ABS-CBN 2 as part of its Holy Week

programming.

"Your Name" soon became the most talked about topic on Twitter as viewers

and anime fans reminisced about the romantic fantasy drama flick, which

holds the title for the highest-grossing anime film of all time.

After a viewer in the Philippines tagged Shinkai in a post about his movie's

trending status, the director tweeted:

"Thank you to all the fans in the Philippines! The world is tough time now

please take care of your days."

Tokyo and some areas of Japan have been declared under a state of emergency

on Wednesday due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philippine island of Luzon has been on lockdown for nearly a month to

prevent the spread of the infection as positive cases in the country

breached 4,000.

"Your Name" was first shown on ABS-CBN 2 in 2018, 2 years after a local

cinema run.

Aside from the hit movie, the Kapamilya network also slated 2 other Japanese

romantic drama animation films to air this Holy Week, both being carried on

the channel for the first time.

The 2016 movie "A Silent Voice" airs on Good Friday at 8 a.m, while

"Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?" from 2017 will be

shown on Holy Saturday at the same time slot.

VIC SOTTO, PAULEEN LUNA CONTINUE TRADITIONAL 'PABASA' AT HOME

MANILA - Despite the lockdown, celebrity couple Vic Sotto and Pauleen Luna

have continued the traditional Pabasa o Pasyon.

In her Instagram post on Thursday night, Luna shared photos of her husband

doing the Pasyon inside their home.

"Continuing family tradition despite the lockdown. Vic and I take turn every

10-20 pages. Day 2 tomorrow. Around 60 pages left," Luna wrote in the

caption.

Apart from the Pabasa, Luna also initiated a prayer brigade, with the couple

singing praise and worship songs.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Winners talk about the solutions. Losers talk about the problems." -

Jeffrey Fry