Philippines

Top Philippine banks gave consumer and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loan customers a grace period, giving them leeway during Luzon’s month-long coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic lockdown. BDO Unibank, the country’s largest lender, gave the longest 60 day grace period, covering credit card, auto, home, SME and personal loan customers with due dates up to April 15, 2020. Bank of the …

Qatar Airways on Monday handed a letter of resignation to about 200 Filipinos who worked for the company.   According to David Desang, Philippine Labor Attaché in Qatar, the dismissal of workers takes effect on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.  Most of those who were fired were employed in the technical department, in positions such as engineers, maintenance personnel, and other …

Four Brooklyn Nets players have tested positive for the latest coronavirus, including Kevin Durant, taking the total to seven established NBA players. The Nets didn’t name the players on Tuesday, but Durant stated to The Athletic that he was one of them, saying: “Everybody be patient, take care of themselves and quarantine. The Nets confirmed one player had symptoms while …

Three mayors from Metro Manila City have told their respective city government personnel, including contract staff, that they will earn their full wages given a skeleton workforce operation during the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine compliance. Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano promised in a statement on Wednesday that 3,000 city hall workers will earn full salaries and their 13 month pay. …

Local and international health experts have cautioned that if the virus is not controlled in the Philippines, the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) could infect as many as 75,000 people in the next three months. Speaking at a state-run PTV’s “general” press conference on Wednesday, Health Under-Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the number was calculated by Health Department and World Health …

The Department of Health (DOH) announced that three more individuals who tested positive for the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had died, taking the total number of deaths to 17 as of 12 noon Wednesday. Among the new deaths is a 58-year-old Filipino male from Lanao del Sur who has a history of traveling to Malaysia, health department said on Wednesday. …

Tax managers will challenge the decision of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to adhere to the April 15 deadline for filing annual income tax returns (ITRs), following Luzon’s one-month quarantine to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Romeo H. Duran, president of the Philippines Inc.’s Tax Management Association, said his organization could appeal for the deadline to be reconsidered. In …

The municipal government is investigating whether it can put the town in a state of calamity to control the spread of avian influenza that is now threatening local quail, chicken and duck farms. Mayor Sylvia Austria said that the municipal council and members of the local disaster risk reduction and management committee are supporting any measure taken to curb bird …

In a rapid escalation of measures to prevent the spread of the latest coronavirus, President Rodrigo Duterte placed Luzon as a whole under “enhanced neighborhood quarantine” on Monday, just one day after the quarantine of the general community in Me-tro Manila took effect. The Luzonwide quarantine order came as coronavirus cases dwindled to just two on Monday, but thousands crowded …

The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) was closed to drivers coming to and from Metro Manila. According to NLEX Corp., only delivery trucks carrying basic goods, frontline workers ‘ vehicles and emergency vehicles were allowed through checkpoints at the south entrances of the Balintawak Toll Plaza, Ciudad de Victoria, Marilao Southbound, Mindanao Toll Plaza. The Bocaue toll plaza was also closed …