16
Weekend
BALITA
Travel
Visit www.Balita.com
Saturday-Friday | November 21 - 27, 2020
CEBU CITY
eyes new tourism products to attract more visitors
CEBU CITY – The Cebu City Tourism Commission (CCTC) here has bared plans to offer new tourism products to travelers visiting the provincial capital. CCTC chairperson Jocelyn Pesquera on Wednesday said they will be developing coastal tours in the city, which is hoped to become a new tourist draw as the industry eventually recovers next year. CCTC is looking to take advantage of the city’s long coastline stretching from the South Road Properties,
CUrfeW... from PAge 1 Heading into colder months and the flu season compounds the sense of urgency,'' Ferrer explained. On Friday, the following will go into effect: — Private outdoor gatherings may only include 15 people who are from no more than 3 households, including the host household. — The number of patrons at outdoor restaurants, breweries and wineries will be limited to 50% maximum outdoor capacity. Restaurants, breweries, wineries, bars, and all other non-essential retail establishments must close from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. This is not a curfew, but rather restrictions on operating hours. As permitted to operate, businesses can still offer pick-up and delivery services outside of these hours. — The number of customers at cardrooms, outdoor mini-golf, go-karts and batting cages will be limited to 50% maximum outdoor capacity. — Non-essential businesses permitted to operate indoors - including retail stores, offices, personal care services - will be limited to 25% of the maximum occupancy allowed. — Services at personal care establishments may only be provided by appointment to customers wearing face coverings by staff wearing face coverings. — Services that require either the customer or the staff to remove their face covering, such as facials and shaves, are not permitted. — Food and drinks cannot be served at these establishments to customers. In addition, the County has established thresholds for additional actions if cases and/or hospitalizations continue to increase. If the five-day average of cases is 4,000 or more or hospitalizations are more than 1,750 per day, outdoor and indoor dining at restaurants, breweries, wineries and bars will be prohibited and these businesses will only be able to offer pick-up and delivery services. If the five-day average of cases is 4,500 or more or hospitalizations are more than 2,000 per day, a Safer at Home Order will be mandated for three weeks. The Order would only allow essential and emergency workers and those securing essential services to leave their homes. In addition, a 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew would be mandated, with essential workers exempt.
which is seeing rapid commercial developments, to the city’s ports in the downtown areas. This also bodes well for the redevelopment project for the Carbon Public Market, which could soon become a new tourist attraction in the city’s downtown. Development works for the coastline tour project are expected to take off in 2021, Pesquera said in a statement. Further developing mountain tours will be also prioritized, she said, to offer tourists more outdoor experiences. In recent years, the city had seen the rise of farm tourism sites in the mountain barangays that give travelers an escape from the bustling city life. Pesquera also revealed that they plan to expand tour routes that would explore the city’s historical connections to the American and Japanese era. “We’re not limiting our tour routes to the Spanish era. We have structures here that trace back to the American and Japanese era. We just need to develop this with the help of the creative industry,” she said. Meanwhile, CCTC commissioner Butch Carungay emphasized the contribution the creative sector can bring to tourism. He added that the creative commu-
tOuriSM PLAN. The Magellan’s Cross is one of the frequently visited historical structures
in Cebu City. The Cebu City Tourism Commission has announced that it plans to develop new tourism products starting next year to help the industry recover from the coronavirus crisis and attract more visitors. (Photo courtesy of mycebu.ph)
nity will be closely working with the tourism industry on how they can further collaborate. Carungay is among those in the private sector who, together with the Department of Trade and Industry in Central Visayas, had worked hard for the designation of Cebu City as a creative city. He said CCTC is now exploring the prospect of experiential creative tourism in Cebu City, to diversity from the traditional mass cultural tourism, which mostly involves tangible heritage sites. While there aren’t concrete plans yet, Carungay noted they are working to “get this moving forward.” Part of the plan, he said, is to create
tours that allow tourists to discover and develop their own creative potential; and give more flexible and authentic experiences which can be co-created between the host and the tourist. “We just need to unlock synergies from, already, the intertwined sectors,” he said. Carungay said the city has to take advantage of its designation as a Creative City by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to further its tourism appeal. The city’s vibrant creative scene is already given, and it’s just a matter of bringing this to its good advantage by integrating it into the tourism sector, he pointed out. (PNA)
nos studying to be medical assistants, pharmacists and related pursuits. “The pharmacist has to speak Spanish. The pharmacy tech has to speak Spanish. We can't send our patient at the pharmacy and the pharmacist doesn't speak Spanish. Our treatment is not going to work,” said Loeza. “One of the most frustrating things during this pandemic is seeing that Latinos are dying more than any other group and knowing that some of the answers are that we need more Latinos in the health professions,” she said. Rosalie Garcia Bernal, a medical assistant at Kaiser Permanente, said she too was discouraged by a high school counselor from pursuing a medical career. She persisted nonetheless. Her first job was in
East San Jose where she spoke Spanish with patients all day long. “I didn’t realize the need in the community.” Bernal was hired by Kaiser because of her Spanish skills and has been interpreting there for over 30 years. She said that besides good and steady compensation, she has created a family relationship with many of the patients, who she first saw as babies, and are now bringing their babies to the clinic. Viviana Row, a recent immigrant from Colombia who recently completed the English readiness course, called it an excellent stepping stone in her dream to become a medical assistant. Information about the “Tu Nuevo Futuro” program can be accessed here: www.tunuevofuturo.com.
CoVID... from PAge 3 “The pandemic has really demonstrated that we need competent bilingual services at every hospital, and at every clinic,” said Armendariz, explaining that the quality of care improves if the provider and patient can understand each other. Dr. Margarita Loeza, chief information officer at the Venice Family Clinic in Southern California, said as a high school student with straight As, she was discouraged from pursuing medicine “because my skin is brown and I’m a woman.” The physician and her colleagues developed Mi Mentor — mimentor.org — which mentors under-represented students, including DACA recipients who are interested in medical careers. The program started out mentoring Latino medical students, but now supports Lati-
NAVY... from PAge 1 51), travels all over the world to visit various ports. "With the prevailing pandemic, however, the ROKN opted for an at-sea exercise with the PN on their way to Malaysia in lieu of a port visit," she added. The Passex is a customary undertaking to ensure that vessels and aircraft communicate and cooperate. It is also a form of rendering honors to transiting foreign naval vessels and affirms the strong ties between the Philippines and South Korea.
HoNTIVeroS:... from PAge 1 Roxas said the BRP Conrado Yap established communications with the ROKN ships at about 10 a.m., which was followed by low-altitude flybys by Philippine Air Force FA-50 PH jet fighters. "Part of the exercise was the transport of the South Korean-donated 10,000 pieces of face masks and 2,000 pieces of hand sanitizers to PS-39 through rigid inflatable boats. The gesture was inspired by South Korea's deep appreciation of the Philippines for being
the first Asian country to send troops in their support during the Korean War in 1950," she said. This was followed by the three ships' tactical maneuvers that culminated in a farewell sail. The ROKN has been among the key defense partners of the Navy with their contributions to the latter’s modernization. Most recent among these was the transfer of the former Pohang-class corvette, now the BRP Conrado Yap, to the Navy in 2019. (MNS)
sakuna at pandemya,” Hontiveros said in a statement. "The 144 session PhilHealth coverage isn’t just crucial just because we are in a public health emergency. Dialysis is life-saving, but it is a massive financial burden to have to cash out 12,000 pesos a week, with or without an economic crisis," she added. "Kaya iminumungkahi ko na gawing permanente ito para hindi na malito sa pabago-bagong polisiya." She also urged PhilHealth
to immediately release the implementing rules and regulations for the adjusted coverage of dialysis sessions so that there will be no room for excuses for erring health institutions. "I am warning non-compliant dialysis centers that your accreditation can and will be revoked if you do not follow the circular. Dapat mahigpit itong i-monitor ng PhilHealth, at sana tulungan din sila ng support groups,” Hontiveros said. (MNS)
