'FOREVER THANKFUL': DUTERTE SALUTES HEALTH WORKERS FIGHTING COVID-19OUTBREAKMANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte hailed health workers on the frontlinesof the battle against the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak as heassured them of a “more tangible” expression of gratitude in due time.Duterte said the Filipino nation will "forever be thankful" to the healthprofessionals leading the fight against the rapidly spreading COVID-19 whichhas claimed at least 12 lives in the country.“Our formalities to our doctors, health professionals and health workers, towhom we will be forever be thankful,” Duterte said in a public address onMonday where he placed the entire Luzon under an “enhanced communityquarantine.”Duterte also instructed the Department of Budget and Management, and theDepartment of Health to "find a way to best compensate our health workers.""In due time, we shall express to them our gratitude in a more tangible way,when this crisis is over," the President said.SISON: CPP TO 'SERIOUSLY STUDY' CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL AMID COVID-19 THREATMANILA — Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria"Joma" Sison said they will look into President Rodrigo Duterte’s ceasefireproposal amid government efforts to contain the spread of the deadly novelcoronavirus disease (COVID-19).“The offer will be seriously studied by the [National Democratic Front ofthe Philippines and the CPP,” the communist leader said.Sison, chief political adviser of the NDF, said that they will look into theceasefire proposal not only in relation to COVID-19, but also resumption ofthe peace negotiations.“If he is really serious with his offer to have a ceasefire with the NDFP hemust make a formal offer through the [Government of the Republic of thePhilippines] negotiating panel to the NDFP negotiating panel,” he added.Duterte on Monday night said he is “asking” for a ceasefire with the NewPeople’s Army, the armed wing of the CPP.“If you really want that we will be at all times on talking terms, in thistime of crisis, kindly cooperate and help. It will be better if you helpfirst. I will repay you with a good heart in the coming days,” he added in amix of English and Filipino.PHILIPPINE AIRLINES CANCELS ALL DOMESTIC FLIGHTS UNTIL APRIL 12 DUE TOCOVID-19 QUARANTINEMANILA -- Philippine Airlines said Tuesday it cancelled all domestic flightsuntil April 12 as the entire Luzon was placed on quarantine to stop thespread of COVID-19.The flag carrier said it would continue operating international flightsuntil March 19. The status of international flights from March 20 to April12 will be announced soon, it said."Please note that this is a developing situation, and the quarantine rulesare subject to periodic review by the Philippine government's Inter-AgencyTask Force for COVID 19," PAL said.Domestic flights will resume on April 13, PAL said, adding it would complywith flight regulations under the enhanced community quarantine.International flights departing the Philippines from March 17 to 20 willcarry foreign nationals and OFWs or overseas Filipino workers, PAL said.Inbound international flights during the same period will be allowed tocarry Filipino nationals, their foreign spouses and children and holders ofpermanent resident visas.PAL said its Terminal 2 ticketing office will remain open. All otherticketing offices in Metro Manila will be closed. It advised travelers tocall its hotline (63 2) 88558888 or email wecare@pal.com.ph.LUZON UNDER ENHANCED COMMUNITY QUARANTINE AS COVID-19 CASES RISEMANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte announced Monday an enhanced communityquarantine in Luzon as the government sought to contain the rapidlyspreading new coronavirus disease that has claimed at least 12 lives in thecountry.“I am placing the entire mainland of Luzon under quarantine until April 12,2020 coinciding with the entire end of the Holy Week. Let me make myselfclear, this is not martial law,” President Duterte said in a public address.The enhanced community quarantine which is equivalent to an “absolutelockdown or total lockdown” is effective “immediately,” Duterte’s spokesmanSalvador Panelo said.Establishments offering basic services and goods meanwhile will be allowedto operate, Duterte said.The tougher quarantine means strict home confinement in all households,suspended transportation lines, regulated provision for food and essentialhealth services, and heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforceisolation procedures."It means that all persons will be subjected to strict home quarantine, nomovement and no transportation, except only for frontline health workers,authorized government officials, medical or humanitarian [reasons] as wellas transport of basic services and necessities," Panelo earlier said.Work, especially in all government offices, will be suspended but skeletalforce will be maintained.“We want to do business, we want to make money...but there is no interactionnow and there is no trade to speak of,” the President said as he urged bigbusiness firms to continue paying their workers during the quarantineperiod.PHILIPPINE BANKS ADJUST OPERATING HOURS DURING COVID-19 QUARANTINEMANILA - Philippine banks announced adjusted operating hours and otherpayment guidelines to ensure continued services despite during theLuzon-wide COVID-19 quarantine that started on Tuesday.BDO UNIBANK• Select branches in Metro Manila and Luzon will have shortened bankinghours• Visayas and Mindanao branches will continue with regular banking hours• ATMs, cash deposit machines and online banking services will be availableSECURITY BANK• Select branches in Luzon will be open until 3 p.m. Visit the bank'sofficial page for the map of operating branches [MAPwww.securitybank.com/map/• Bank hours nationwide (including Visayas and Mindanao) will be shortenedto 3 p.m.• All Cash Accept Machines (CAM) and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) areoperational• Loan and credit card payments will be extended by 30 days• A skeletal workforce and "increased sanitation" will be imposed in allbranches and officesBANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS• Select BPI branches will open in Luzon• All BPI Banko branches nationwide will remain open• Skeletal workforce in select branches and offices as well as shortenedbank hours will be implemented• Social distancing and limiting of clients within premises will beimplemented• "Business as usual" in all Visayas and Mindanao branches• Online and mobile banking as well as ATMs and CAMs ware also availablePHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK• PNB is supposed to be "business as usual." However, strict quarantinemeasures including stranded or staff turned away in check points may causedelays in operations for some branches• Updates on changes in operating hours will be regularly postedRIZAL COMMERCIAL BANKING CORP (RCBC)• Waived Instapay transfer fee via the RCBC online banking until April 15EASTWESTBANK• Payment due dates for auto, personal, mortgage loans and credit cardsshall be extended by 30 days for eligible customersDSWD READY TO AID LGUS IN ENSURING QUARANTINE FOOD SUPPLYMANILA -- The social welfare department will help local governments that areprimarily responsible for supplying food to their constituents during themonth-long lockdown of Luzon as the Philippines moves to contain the novelcoronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año saidTuesday.Local governments already have a database of the families who need foodassistance during the March 17 to April 12 home quarantine of all householdsin the island, Año said.LGUs that have declared a state of calamity can tap their quick responsefunds for this. The budget department will also release guidelines forrealigning funds towards social services, he said.If these funds are insufficient, LGUs can seek help from the provincialgovernment and the social welfare department, Ano said."Kailangan talaga dito e tuloy-tuloy na ugnayan sa mga ahensya," he said."Inaasahan ko na kikilos lahat ng ating LGU officials na mas dobleng effortang gagawin nila," he added.QUARANTINE FEEDING PROGRAM POSES 'LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE': MARIKINA MAYORMANILA -- An order by President Rodrigo Duterte for local governments tofeed their constituents during the monthlong quarantine of Luzon poses a"logistical nightmare", Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said Tuesday, as hesought additional guidelines on the move to contain the novel coronaviruspandemic.Duterte placed all households in Luzon under home quarantine until April 12and ordered village officials to feed their constituents. Teodoro said heunderstood this meant that local governments should use their quick responsefund to ensure food for residents.Some cities like Marikina, however, have a smaller budget compared to theirneighbors and can only feed residents for a few days, he said."Question ng resources iyan e. Hindi naman puwedeng sa mahaba-habang panahonmagpakain ka sa maraming bilang ng tao. Maaaring sa sandaling panahon peroon a long-term basis, logistical nightmare iyan para sa marami, lalo na samga lungsod na katulad namin," he told DZMM.Local governments can request help from the provincial government and thesocial welfare department to feed residents, Interior and Local GovernmentSecretary Eduardo Ano said in a separate interview.Teodoro said the social welfare department did not have implementingguidelines yet as of Monday night.MUSLIM COMMISSION URGES ATTENDEES OF MALAYSIA RELIGIOUS EVENT TOSELF-QUARANTINEMANILA — The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos called on attendees ofa religious gathering in Malaysia from February 27 to March 1 to subjectthemselves to self-quarantine, after it was confirmed that an attendeetested positive for COVID-19.The commission in a statement Tuesday said that Malaysia recorded a rise inthe confirmed cases in their country. A report from Straitstimes.com quotedHealth Minister Datuk Seri Dr adham Baba as saying that “majority of thesenew cases are linked to the cluster involving the ‘itjimak tabligh’gathering at the Jamek Sri Petaling Mosque.”A Lanao del Sur resident attended the gathering tested positive for thenovel coronavirus disease and was admitted to a hospital in Cotabato.“We are urging everyone who attended the event in Malaysia, or who hadcontact with those who attended, to coordinate with the [Department ofHealth] or with the [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-DOH],”the commission said.The event was attended by 16,000 people from different countries. In thePhilippines, 215 attended the religious event, mostly hailing from BARMM.The commission asked the attendees to subject themselves to self-quarantineand cooperate for contract tracing.LUZON AIRPORTS TO BE CLOSED ON FRIDAYMANILA — All airports in Luzon will be closed once the 72-hour windowprovided by authorities ends, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.According to a report by GMA News, no one will be allowed to depart andarrive at Luzon’s gateways once the window hour ends, including overseasFilipino workers and their families.The window hour started upon the effectivity of President Rodrigo Duterte’s‘Enhanced Community Quarantine’ of the entire Luzon island, which began 12a.m. of March 17, Friday, to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.NO GROUPS AUTHORIZED BY GOVERNMENT TO DO HOME SANITATIONMANILA — The government has not authorized any group to conduct homesanitation, state-run Philippine News Agency reported.“Please be alert and careful. Kindly inform all family and friends not toopen the door to any person or group claiming to be in charge of any partyto sanitize homes from the virus,” PNA reported.It added that houses were looted by supposed criminals with this scheme.TRADING SUSPENSION: GOV’T RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY PARALYZES LOCALSTOCK MARKETMANILA — Trading of local shares will be suspended starting Tuesday, March17, “until further notice” after President Rodrigo Duterte expanded hisexisting lockdown of Manila to include the rest of Luzon.In a memorandum, Philippine Stock Exchange President and CEO Ramon Monzonsaid the trading pause was meant to “ensure the safety of employees andtraders in light of the escalating cases of the coronavirus disease.”The PSE last Monday shortened the trading hours after Duterte sealed off thecapital in a desperate bid to contain the virus.PESO WEAKENS ON VIRUS FEARSMANILA, Philippines — The peso shed 47 centavos yesterday to close at afive-month low of 51.5 to $1 from Friday’s 51.03 as the coronavirus disease2019 or COVID-19 continued to wreak havoc on financial markets around theworld.Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno brushed aside theweakening of the peso, saying the Philippines has strong macroeconomicfundamentals enough to survive the impact of the virus outbreak.“The peso is fairly stable and in fact it is at the lower end of ourmacroeconomic assumptions and has been fairly stable because of the strongeconomic fundamentals of the country,” Diokno said in a televisioninterview.The BSP chief said the country has enough foreign exchange buffer as thegross international reserves (GIR) increased to $87.61 billion in Februaryfrom $86.87 billion in January.The central bank continued to beef up the buffer that peaked at an all-timehigh of $87.84 billion last December due to strong inflows from overseasFilipino workers’ remittances, tourism receipts, earnings of the businessprocess outsourcing sector, among others.“Because of our huge GIR, I am not a bit worried about the peso in the lightof the current developments. In fact it is the fourth strongest currency inthe world,” Diokno said.Diokno said the peso is “strong and a bit sustainable at the current level.”“It is not affected at all by the global drop in the stock market as aresult of this COVID-19,” the BSP chief said.The BSP is expected to slash interest rates by as much as 50 basis points tocushion the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLEALL IS WELL BETWEEN SHARON CUNETA, DAUGHTER KCMANILA – It seems all is well now between Sharon Cuneta and KC Concepcion.This after Cuneta promoted the new YouTube page of her daughter through apost on her personal Instagram page.“Baby#1 has a new YouTube channel. Hope you can all support her,” she wrotein the caption.Concepcion appreciated her mom’s gesture and left a comment on her post tothank her. But it was their next exchange that melted the hearts of theirsupporters.“You are welcome. I love you no matter what. That will never change,” Cunetatold her daughter.To which, Concepcion replied: “I love you too, Mama, no matter what.”In January, Concepcion’s absence from Cuneta’s televised birthdaycelebration triggered an exchange of messages on social media. WhileConcepcion apologized for her absence, Cuneta lamented that her daughter hasbecome increasingly distant from her side of the family.Concepcion is Cuneta’s daughter with ex-husband Gabby Concepcion. Cuneta hasthree children with her current husband, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.TOM HANKS, WIFE RITA WILSON LEAVE HOSPITAL AFTER COVID-19 TREATMENT: PEOPLEMAGAZINESYDNEY -- Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have lefta hospital in Australia's Queensland state 5 days after testing positive forthe coronavirus, People magazine reported on Monday.The pair are now resting at a rented home in Australia and remain underquarantine in the house, the US magazine's report said, citing arepresentative of the actor.Last week, Hanks wrote on Twitter that he and Wilson had tested positive forthe virus in Australia, where he is working on a film, after they felt tiredand achy with slight fevers. Both Hanks and Wilson are 63 years old.Hanks had traveled to the Gold Coast, on Australia's east coast south ofBrisbane, to begin filming a movie about Elvis Presley. He is set to playPresley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, in the Warner Bros production. WarnerBros is owned by AT&T.Hanks and Wilson were the first major American celebrities known to havecontracted the coronavirus, which causes a disease, COVID-19, that haskilled more than 70 people and infected more than 3,800 in the UnitedStates.INDICATORSFOREX $1 = P 51.50