NATIONAL GOVERNMENT CALLS THE SHOTS IN A CRISIS, NOT LGUS — DUTERTE MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte in a public address on early Friday morning asserted the authority of the national government over local government units in times of crisis. In his address, the president appealed to local government units to abide by the directives set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Though he did not mention any names, Duterte also warned that noncompliance on the part of local government officials could lead to administrative and even criminal cases filed against erring officials. "We are in a critical time [and] the national government needs your help during this time. Do not make this quarantine more difficult for our people than it already is," the chief executive said. "You are setting your own standards and making this lockdown more difficult for all," he added. Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo also wrote in a later statement that "the national government will not countenance such deviation and disobedience. Errant local officials will face administrative sanctions and criminal prosecution," "The LGUsÂ’ actions must be in sync and in unison with the national governmentÂ’s directives in this state of national health emergency and calamity," he added. DOH ANNOUNCES 15 NEW COVID-19 CASES; TOTAL NOW AT 217 MANILA — The Department of Health on Thursday said there were 15 new cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), bringing Philippines' total to 217. Meanwhile, another patient was reported to have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 8. There are a total of 17 fatalities among the COVID-19 cases. The DOH clarified that the 16th fatality, PH57 is from Bulacan and not from Pasig City. The patient initially said he lived in Pasig City but, according to DOH, “upon further validation it was found that it is a family member of his who lives there." DUTERTE TELLS FILIPINOS HIT BY LOCKDOWN: GO TO MILITARY CAMPS FOR FOOD, SHELTER MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte said Filipinos affected by the Luzon-wide lockdown can go to military camps for food and accommodation. Duterte, in a video message released early Friday, said he will talk to all military commanders in the country to open their camps to those who might need food and shelter as most economic activities, including public transport, grind to a halt. "Yung stranded, we will try to help you. Your Air Force and your Army will help you wherever you are. Kung wala na kayong mauwian, kung wala na kayong matulugan, I am asking the military commanders of different camps all over the country that you can go there and ask for accommodation at pagkain and they will [give you]," he said. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo earlier said Duterte would not allow anyone to get hungry during the month-long Luzon lockdown, as daily wage earners face loss of livelihood amid the halt in work and transport under the enhanced community quarantine. 60-DAY PRICE FREEZE SET MANILA — To prevent people from taking undue advantage of others during the public health emergency, the government has imposed a nationwide price freeze on essential goods for 60 days. “Walang gulangan,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said yesterday as he explained that the move was being undertaken “to ensure that no one takes advantage of anyone.” Under a joint memorandum issued by the trade, agriculture and health departments on Wednesday night, a price freeze on basic commodities would be implemented until May 15 as the country, now under a state of calamity, grapples with the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 contagion. Under Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act, prices of basic goods in an area under a state of calamity is automatically frozen at prevailing prices. With a price freeze in effect, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said prices of goods in the market should not increase from current levels. The price freeze also applies to online sellers, he said. PHILIPPINES STOPS VISA ISSUANCE AS COVID-19 CASES RISE MANILA - The Philippines will suspend the issuance of visas, a move that will prohibit the entry of foreigners to the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), its top diplomat said Thursday. "Starting today, all our embassies and consulates will temporarily suspend visa issuance to all foreign nationals, as well as visa-free entry privileges to all foreign nationals," Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. posted on his official Twitter account. All previously issued Philippines visas to foreign nationals are deemed canceled while visas issued to foreign spouses and children of Filipino nationals remain valid, he said. Halting visas on arrival for foreigners is up to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Locsin said in a separate tweet. “What I just signed is stopping the issuance of visas in all our foreign posts and here, and no visas upon arrival above all but thatÂ’s BI,” he wrote. DEPARTING FOREIGNERS FLOCK TO NAIA MANILA — Foreigners swarmed the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 departure area as early as 6 a.m. yesterday to catch flights out of the country and avoid a government-imposed travel ban that was eventually lifted. Several foreign nationals camped out at the departure area while waiting for their flights, some playing cards or just taking a nap. A Caucasian man said he arrived in the Philippines on March 6 and had intended to stay longer but decided to cut his vacation short after the government gave foreign visitors 72 hours to leave or get caught in a travel ban. Some Asians – apparently Chinese –were in raincoats and wearing masks as they awaited a China Southern flight to Guangzhou. Koreans were queuing at the Asiana Airlines counter for their flight to Incheon. Many of the tourists went to the airport without ticket confirmation, as they were afraid to be caught by the travel ban. They were already at the airport when word came out that the 72-hour deadline had been lifted. The Department of Tourism (DOT) organized a sweeper flight to bring stranded foreign passengers in Cebu back to Manila. The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced the lifting of the 72-hour window for foreigners to leave the Philippines after Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said at a press briefing that some changes had to be made in his March 16 memorandum on the enhanced community quarantine over the entire Luzon. According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, foreign nationals may now leave anytime during the community quarantine period, unless their flights get cancelled by the airlines or the Civil Aeronautics Board. ALLEGED US WARNING ON LUZON LOCKDOWN LOOTING IS FAKE: NBI MANILA - The National Bureau of Investigation on Friday refuted a supposed US warning on potential looting incidents in Luzon during its month-long lockdown to curb the novel coronavirus pandemic. A text message that recently made rounds claimed that the Philippines was vulnerable to looting because the average Filipino family only had a weekÂ’s worth of savings. The message cited a supposed study by the US State Department. "No such study exists," said NBI officer-in-charge Eric Distor, who quoted information from his agency's US counterpart. The Philippine National Police earlier Friday said the supposed US study on looting was unverified and false. Officers were also dispatched to areas where social media users claimed there were incidents of looting and found no such crimes there, said PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac. "Nababahala ang PNP dahil sa mga netizens natin na hindi alam kung papaano aliwin ang mga sarili, napagdidiskitahan ang social media na magpakalat ng impormasyon na 'di naman beripikado at wala namang katotohanan," the official told DZMM. "Huwag po tayo ang maging dahilan para magkaroon ng pangamba ang ating publiko," he added. COVID-19 TEST KITS FROM CHINA, KOREA TO ARRIVE THIS WEEKEND: HEALTH CHIEF MANILA - About 125,000 test kits for the novel coronavirus will arrive in the Philippines this weekend from South Korea and China, Manila's health minister said Friday. A limited number of testing kits has prompted the Philippines to reserve it only for the elderly and patients who have been exhibiting symptoms of the respiratory disease including fever, headache, cough and colds. "Tinututukan ko iyong mga test kits kasi may parating na 25,000 from South Korea saka 100,000 from China, tomorrow at 5 a.m.," said Health Secretary Francisco Duque. "Tinututukan ko na iyong Bureau of Customs at FDA (Food and Drug Administration) ay bilisan ang release kasi nga iyon ang number one nating kakulangan," he added. PGH FACILITY, DR. JOSE M. RODRIGUEZ DESIGNATED AS EXCLUSIVE COVID-19 HOSPITALS MANILA — In a move to centralize efforts as private hospitals are reeling from a drastically reduced workforce and resources, Health Secretary Francisco Duque designated two public hospitals as exclusive facilities for COVID-19 patients. Duque on Friday directed public hospitals UP-Philippine General Hospital to transform one building and the Dr. Jose M. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital to serve those gravely ill with the novel coronavirus infection. The health secretary bared this in an interview with dZMM on Friday morning in a response to the plea of a group of private hospitals. The alliance of 11 hospitals issued a statement Thursday, March 19 calling on the national government and the Department of Health to designate hospitals for patients infected with the new pathogen, saying the growing health crisis had begun to overwhelm healthcare centers. Duque said that PGH would provide some 140 rooms for COVID-19 patients while Rodriguez, also called DJNRMHS, would be a "specialized COVID hospital." The private hospitals, meanwhile, said that once a centralized arrangement has been ordered, non-COVID-19 patients would have to be transferred from the designated facilities to other hospitals. SISON TOLD: COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS YOUR CHANCE TO PROVE YOU WANT PEACE MANILA - The COVID-19 pandemic is exiled communist leader Jose Maria SisonÂ’s chance to prove his patriotism, Malacañang said Friday as it criticized his doubt of the governmentÂ’s motives for declaring a unilateral truce due to the public health crisis. Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo criticized Sison, who refused to reciprocate the governmentÂ’s ceasefire, for the communist leaderÂ’s supposed “insensitivity” over the disease outbreak as more cases of COVID-19 are recorded day by day. “…Mr. Sison, in these times of national health emergency and calamity, would rather have a hostile environment where Filipinos argue with, if not kill, each other,” Panelo said Friday. “This circumstance is a golden opportunity for Mr. Sison to show his patriotism by extending his hands for peace, for the sake of the Filipino people,” he said. Sison however responded by saying that rebels are not assured of the government's ceasefire declaration. "The NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) is not assured and satisfied that the reciprocal unilateral ceasefires are based on national unity against [coronavirus disease 2019] (COVID-19)," he said. “Unless it receives sufficient assurances from the GRP, the NDFP will be inclined to think that the GRP unilateral ceasefire declaration is not sincere and is not intended to invite reciprocation by the NDFP but is meant to be a mere psywar trick," he added. CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN: MAYOR TELLS POGO WORKERS TO STAY HOME MANILA -- Bacoor Mayor Lani Mercado on Friday urged workers of online gambling hubs to follow a lockdown of Luzon to curb the novel coronavirus. Several Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) are located in the neighboring towns of Kawit and Imus, and some of their mostly Chinese workers rent apartments and houses in Bacoor, said Mercado. Some workers in Manila POGOs also live in Bacoor, she said. "Ang amin pong lungsod ay nagiging tulugan po ng POGO [workers]. Mayroon pong galing Maynila na nagugulat po kami na pumupunta po ng Bacoor samantalang mayroon naman pong mga bahay, hotel, apartelle sa Maynila," she told DZMM. "Bakit po sila nakakapasok po, napunta po dito sa amin samantalang I gave instructions already na 'pag kayo po ay taga-Maynila e doon na po kayo sa Manila. 'Wag na po kayong pumasok sa amin dahil extreme enhanced community quarantine na po kami," she added. Local officials, she said, visited the POGO workers, checked their IDs, passport and body temperature, and advised them to "stay home", said the mayor. COVID-19 DIY TEST KITS SOLD ONLINE HAVE 'VERY LOW RELIABILITY, ACCURACY' - FDA MANILA - The Food and Drug Administration on Friday cautioned the public against buying coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing kits as these do-it-yourself tools have "very low reliability and accuracy." COVID-19 testing kits sold online are not approved by the FDA, the agency's Director General and Health Usec. Eric Domingo told DZMM. "Pinag-iingat po namin sila... Wala pong ganitong mga produktong registered sa FDA at pag ginamit nila ay hindi naman po natin masisigurado ang quality nito at accuracy," he said. "Ang test po na mga instant, kung totoo man po siya ay very low po ang reliability at accuracy ng mga ito," he said. While the FDA recently approved the commercial sale of 4 brands of testing kits from South Korea and China, these can only be brought by government and private hospitals, Domingo said. "Sa mga ospital at sa mga laboratory lang siya puwede ibenta kasi hindi naman siya instant do-it-yourself kit," he said. MORE COPS ON LOOKOUT VS POTENTIAL QUARANTINE LOOTING, CRIMES MANILA - The Philippine National Police said Friday it deployed more officers on streets to fend off crimes and potential looting while all households in Luzon were on a month-long quarantine to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The PNP earlier dispatched officers to areas where social media users claimed there were incidents of looting. The policemen found no such crimes there, said PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac. "Lahat ng mga police commanders ay binigyan na ni PNP chief Gen. Arcie Francisco Gamboa ng direktiba na increased presence of police sa ating mga lansangan at damihan pa ang ating roving patrol para bigyan ng assurance ang publiko na titiyakin nating wala pong magaganap na disorder sa ating palibot," he told DZMM. "Wala pong dapat ipangamba at tayo po ay makakaasa na lahat po ay gagawan ng paraan ng ating pamahalaan upang maibsan ang dinaranas ng lahat ng kababayan natin," he added. "Nababahala ang PNP dahil sa mga netizens natin na hindi alam kung papaano aliwin ang mga sarili, napagdidiskitahan ang social media na magpakalat ng impormasyon na 'di naman beripikado at wala namang katotohanan," said the official. "Huwag po tayo ang maging dahilan para magkaroon ng pangamba ang ating publiko," he added. ENTERTAINMENT AFTER RAISING P3.3M, BELA PADILLA STARTS DISTRIBUTING GOODS TO STREET VENDORS AFFECTED BY QUARANTINE MANILA — After raising P3.3 million, actress Bela Padilla on Thursday started distributing goods to street vendors affected by the Luzon-wide community quarantine amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Photos of Padilla aboard a military truck, loaded with the bundled goods, made the rounds on Twitter. Padilla, in her own tweet, shared photos of a grocery store and the packed items earlier on Thursday, indicating she had just purchased them hours before the distribution. Another photo from Padilla showed an elderly woman receiving a pack from a military personnel, along what appears to be Roxas Boulevard. Padilla, 28, launched the fundraiser just four days ago on Monday, as reports of street vendors losing their livelihood due to the month-long quarantine emerged. "Our favorite taho, dirty ice cream and banana cue vendors won't be able to secure enough money to guarantee food for their families at the end of the day for one month until our community quarantine is over," wrote in her gogetfunding.com fundraiser. The amount raised, she explained, would be used in "16 ways," including the packed goods, and split among the 16 cities of Metro Manila. In three days, the fundraiser reached nearly P1.4 million, past its goal of P1 million. Then on Wednesday, Padilla reported that one individual donated P2 million to her cause. MORE FREE MOVIE OPTIONS AS REGAL FILMS RELEASES CLASSICS ON YOUTUBE MANILA — Regal Films is the latest showbiz giant that is treating Filipinos to free streaming of its full movies, amid the month-long community quarantine due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The Lily Monteverde-led group has actually been releasing full films on YouTube — one per day — since the start of the month. However, following the implementation of the Luzon-wide quarantine early this week, it has since expanded its offerings according the themes. Movies with strong women leads, horror classics, comedies, feel-good family stories, and action flicks are among the rotating genres that determine uploaded releases on a given day. ABS-CBN has similarly made available a wide array of its film productions via its streaming platform iWant, where over 1,000 movies are free to watch, as well as Cinema One's YouTube page. LIFESTYLE FUTURE 'QUARANTEENS'? COVID BRYANT AND COVID ROSE TREND AS FILIPINO NEWBORNS SUPPOSEDLY NAMED AFTER VIRUS MANILA — The name "Covid Bryant" will have a familiar ring to anyone who's had access to news in the last few months, as it's inspired by the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant — and apparently, the new coronavirus disease. COVID-19, the name established by the World Health Organization, has swept headlines and daily conversations in the past month as the virus became a full-blown pandemic. The ubiquity of the term, it appears, rubbed off on a number of Filipino parents who recently welcomed their newborns, to the extent of naming them after the disease. That is, according to viral posts that pushed "Covid Bryant" and then "Covid Rose" to top Twitter trends in the Philippines on Wednesday and Thursday. Covid Bryant drew amusement on the social media platform initially on Tuesday, as user Niña Cayosa wrote that she saw an exchange of messages involving one household helper who named her newborn after the basketball superstar and the pandemic. Then, in a since-deleted tweet, one user shared on Wednesday a photo of a Sutan Kudarat child's birth certificate. The first name indicated: Covid Rose. While Covid Bryant and Covid Rose aren't yet confirmed to be actual, given names to newborns, some Filipino netizens appeared to welcome the light-hearted distraction amid uncertainties surrounding COVID-19. "They will meet someday and will talk about the history of their names and will eventually fall in love. And they will have cute little quaranteens," one user quipped. INDICATORS FOREX $1 = P 51.10 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Great leaders are not the best at everything. They find people who are the best at different things and get them all on the same team. - Eileen Bistrisky