Philippines

It’s been a week since the enhanced community quarantine. Many families have turned to their relatives for food and other forms of assistance to get by. Some are based on remittances sent by families abroad and provincially. The fear that if the quarantine ends, which deprives them of their food, they may die from malnutrition, not from the disease. An …

Everyone’s going crazy and impressed about the swift and decisive actions of Pasig Mayor, Vico Sotto in dealing with the pandemic COVID-19 to make sure that the people in the city are safely monitored. He leaps into numerous initiatives, including assuring Pasig government employees that they will continue to be paid, buying drones to disinfect the town, building disinfectant tents …

Facing the pandemic COVID-19 has been challenging to all filipinos. In the middle of this dilemma, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is taking actions to help the people take the edge off this problem.   One of it was the resolution of suspension for the market vendors and stall owners’ rental fees to be temporarily halted this month. The City Council …

Starting Friday in the midst of the Luzon-wide extended community quarantine due to the COVID-19 threat, a 24-hour curfew was imposed on Muntinlupa City. Residents would not be permitted outside their homes under Ordinance 2020-074 except with some exemptions. Those found violating the curfew for the first offense will have the violation recorded in a blotter and their benefits such …

On Saturday the Department of Health announced there were 32 new positive cases of COVID-19, taking the number to 262. One COVID-19-positive patient died while another five were recovered. The country’s death toll owing to COVID-19 is 19 as of Saturday. Thirteen patients have recovered from the disease so far. Dr. Aileen S.P. Baviera, former dean of the University of …

Healthcare staff are becoming more vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Metro Manila hospitals, with stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) running out as the number of suspected and confirmed cases continues to increase. Dr. Rontgene Solante, Chief Executive Officer of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), expressed concern on Saturday that the current supply of protective equipment for …

PBA stars pulled out their singing talents to cheer up Filipinos in the country’s fear of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The players sang Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World,” taking the cue from the Hollywood cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” shared by Gal Gadot. Tenorio sang Paul Lee, Marc Pingris, Scottie Thompson, Jimmy Alapag, Gabe Norwood, Jayson Castro, Japeth Aguilar, …

Golden Arches Development Corp. (McDonald’s Philippines) said Friday that it has reserved half-a-billion pesos for its workers and the local community where its stores are located. In a statement, George Yang-led McDonald’s Philippines announced the creation of a P500 million peso response fund to allow the company to provide assistance to its employees and communities. According to McDonald’s master-franchise manager, …

President Rodrigo Duterte has warned local chief executives that the instructions for the month-long enhanced community quarantine over Luzon would go beyond. Duterte told local government units (LGUs) in a taped speech aired early Friday that it is the national government that will “call the shots” and it is the duty of the LGUs to comply in the midst of …

Given the scarcity of alcohol and hand sanitizers due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Philippine Polytechnic University (PUP) has developed its version of ethyl alcohol that can help fight the spread of the virus. Dr. Armin S. Coronado, director of the University Institute for Science and Technology Research, said that a pilot alcohol batch was developed on March 11, following …