Philippines

As part of a business restructuring plan, the flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has laid off 300 employees to handle losses suffered by travel restrictions on coronavirus-stricken destinations. PAL announced on Friday that PAL has introduced a “voluntary separation program for long-serving workers and a retrenchment process” which was completed on 28 February. The mass lay-off is part of the …

According to a study compiled by AFP from official sources, the number of new coronavirus cases in the world grew to 82,560 including 2,813 deaths across 50 countries and territories by 1700 GMT on Thursday. Advertising 1 296 new contaminations were found in the 24 hours following the previous count at 1700GMT on Wednesday. China— excluding the territories of Hong …

Last year, air quality in the country was deemed unhealthy and unsafe for Pinoys based on a report from the IQAir air monitor based in Switzerland. The Philippines was said to have 17 ug / m3 of PM2.5 according to the 2019 World Air Quality survey. The PM2.5 is a small, inhalable pollutant, less than 2.5 micrometer in diameter. The …

After manifesting symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a health official reported Thursday night, three male repatriates quarantined at New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac were brought to a hospital. Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the repatriates were taken to the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in Pampanga from the coronavirus-hit …

There are 11 Korean tourists are being monitored in Boracay amid the threat of the new 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. The 11 were from Daegu City, the epicenter of South Korea’s COVID-19 outbreak. The tourists arrived at Kalibo International Airport on Tuesday 25 February, a day before the Philippine government imposed travel restrictions on parts of South Korea due …

There are every sign the world is about to be hit by a coronavirus pandemic, said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday, as Canberra kicked off emergency measures to curb the spread of the disease. Coronavius infected about 80,000 people worldwide and killed over 2,700, the vast majority of whom were in China. While the spread within China has …

The Immigration Bureau (BI) has yet to impose the travel ban on inbound passengers from the North Gyeongsang province of South Korea due to problems determining the travel history of the passengers, the spokesperson for the agency said Thursday. Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said it is difficult to ascertain whether inbound passengers from South Korea came from places where a …

President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of calamity in Calabarzon because of the effects of the Taal Volcano eruption in January. Advertising The state of calamity shall cover the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon and shall last for one year, unless it has been lifted sooner, in accordance with Proclamation 906 signed by Duterte on 21 February. …

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Thursday he was willing to be jailed on his stand that even after his franchise had expired, ABS-CBN could continue to operate under a provisional authority. Advertisement The House Committee on Legislative Franchises had previously written to the National Telecommunications Commission to order the NTC to issue an interim authority for ABS-CBN, while the House …

The Transportation Department (DOTr) clarified Thursday that it was the concessionaire who decided to open commercial spaces at MRT7 Quezon Memorial Circle station. The government had previously stated that the railway project concessionaire would open the station’s business spaces to prevent rises in fares or amortization costs to be paid by the Government. DOTr Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran explained …