Issuu

More workers at San Lazaro catch virus

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM MARCH 29)

1,418

NUMBER OF CASES

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Vito Barcelo

THREE San Lazaro Hospital health care workers assigned in wards handling COVID-19 patients have tested positive for the virus, the hospital’s chief adult infectious diseases Dr. Rontgene Solante. Philippine Medical Association president Oscar Tinio said 12 doctors have already died fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 47 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

343

NEW CASES

PNP’s Eleazar: Arrest curfew offenders

CHARRED REMAINS. Photos from Twitter and other social

media show the extent of the damage caused by the fire and crash that killed eight persons on board Lion Air flight RPC 5880 Sunday night at NAIA runway 624. Inset shows a Facebook post by one of the crash victims, Edmark Jael, who mentions his trip to Tokyo, Japan just two hours before the incident.

FOLLOWING appeals from local government units, the Philippine National Police will arrest more curfew violators during the COVID-19 coronavirus quarantine even as the number of offenders has reached over 40,000, Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said Sunday. Speaking as commander of the Joint Task Force Corona Virus Shield (JTF CV Shield), Eleazar said local chief executives also asked the PNP not to be lenient on violators of the curfew, which lasts from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. in most areas in the country, especially in Luzon. “We will continue to arrest violators,” the PNP chief of directorial staff said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV. This developed as Malacañang has released a memorandum directing four government agencies to create a

8 killed in NAIA plane crash

Fatalities include 6 medical evacuation crew bound for Japan—MIAA By Joel E. Zurbano

SCARE TACTICS. Police inspector Rajesh Babu, wearing a coronavirus-themed

helmet, speaks to a family on motorbike at a checkpoint during a governmentimposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 in Chennai, India on March 28, 2020. Police in Metro Manila have banned backriders and also threaten to arrest curfew violators. AFP

IX Filipino members of a medical evacuation flight and two foreign passengers were killed when their West Wind 24type aircraft operated by Lion Air caught fire and crashed while taking off at runway 624 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday night.

All persons on board the plane died, according to initial information released by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), as rescuers worked to recover their remains. The aircraft, registered as RP-C5880 and bound for Haneda airport in To-

kyo, Japan, was on a medical evacuation mission when the crash happened around 8 p.m., three minutes after its scheduled departure. MIAA ordered the immediate closure of the runway. Next page

Snorkeling mask as ventilator BRUSSELS-As hospitals face an overload of COVID-19 patients struggling to breathe, innovative medical staff are turning to snorkeling masks from sports stores to stop their lungs collapsing. The idea started in Italy, the European country worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with hospitals in other nations taking note and adding their own specific medical parts to make it work. Next page

IMPROVISING.

A medical worker tests a Decathlon snorkeling mask, with a 3D-printed respiratory valve fitting attached, at the Erasme Hospital in Brussels. Hospitals turn to snorkel masks to ease respirator overload. AFP

Global deaths exceed 30,000; Trump junks NY lockdown MADRID―The coronavirus death toll shot past 20,000 in Europe on Saturday with Italy and Spain each reporting more than 800 dead in one day, as US President Donald Trump decided against putting the hard-hit New York region under quarantine. Up to one-third of the world’s popu-

lation is under lockdown as the virus leaves its devastating imprint on nearly every aspect of society: wiping out millions of jobs, straining health care services and weighing heavily on national treasuries for years to come. Meanwhile, the shock postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has dealt a

CANDLE-LIT MESSAGE.

With the use of lit candles, a volunteer creates a formation that reads “FIGHT COVID-19” during the Earth Hour environmental campaign near a Catholic church in Borongan City, Eastern Samar on March 28, 2020. AFP

600 medical workers sign up as volunteers in fight to stop virus By Macon Ramos-Araneta

fight against COVID-19, answering the Health Undersecretary said some 593 Hospital in Caloocan City and the Lung call of the Department of Health for people had signed up to be assigned in Center of the Philippines in Quezon CLOSE to 600 Filipino doctors and help as the number of cases in the coun- the Philippine General Hospital in Ma- City, which the DOH has designated for Next page nila, the Jose M. Rodriguez Memorial nurses have volunteered to support the try continues to rise.

savage blow to Japan’s hotels and tourism industry, which are already reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Many operators have seen bookings decimated by the virus and had been clinging to the hope that the Games would help them claw back this year’s losses. Next page

China envoy rejects DOH Usec remark By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Chinese Embassy in Manila on Sunday debunked as what it described as “irresponsible remarks” issued by an official of the Department of Health insinuating that some coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing kits

News

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Oil prices cheaper by P2/liter By Alena Mae S. Flores

HE oil companies will again cut pump prices by as much as P2 per liter to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market.

Seaoil Philippines led the latest price cuts of P2 per liter of gasoline, P1.95 per liter of kerosene and P0.50 per liter of diesel from 6 a.m. on Monday. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Petro Gazz will cut prices at the same rates starting at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The other oil distributors are expected to follow suit.

“Please see fuel price rollback of Shell effective 6AM Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Gasoline, P2 per liter decrease, kerosene, P1.95 per liter decrease and diesel, P0.50 per liter decrease,” Pilipinas Shell said in its advisory. This will be the fourth consecutive weekly oil price rollback as many countries become severely affected by

China envoy... From A1

8Fromkilled... A1

donated by China were found with a low 40 percent accuracy rate. “The Chinese Embassy firmly rejects any irresponsible remarks and any attempts to undermine our cooperation in this regard,” the embassy said in a statement. The statement was released after Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that some COVID-19 testing kits donated by China were not used because they had only a 40 percent accuracy, which was much lower than those from the World Health Organization (WHO). In an apparent effort to assuage the Chinese government, Health Secretary Franciso Duque III texted Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian on Sunday, assuring him that “there is nothing wrong with the real timepolymerase chain reaction machine which is used for generating positive or negatives result as the case may be.” “Again your Test Kits BGI and Sansure Biotechnology are very good and up to the standards as those which were donated by WHO and approved by our RITM,” Duque said, even as he expressed the Philippines’ gratitude and appreciation to the ambassador and the Chinese government. The Chinese Embassy said a check with the DOH showed that two batches of 2,000 BGI PCR0type test kits and 100,000 Sansure PCR-type test kits donated by the Chinese government were assessed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and found to be at part with the WHOprovided kits, and that those test kits were of high quality and standards with no accuracy problems. It said the test kits mentioned by Vergeire in a March 28 press briefing “were neither tested by RITM which did not receive any kit sample for lab validation nor donated by the Chinese government.” “Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, China has continually provided assistance as needed to support the Philippines’ battle against the epidemic. At this moment of crisis, we should fight in solidarity to overcome the epidemic at the earliest date,” the embassy said. Vergeire said they only recommended usage of testing kits from China if they showed the same results as those coming from WHO. The Chinese government earlier donated 100,000 testing kits to the Philippines. However, the DOH official did not specify how many of the testing kits from China showed inaccurate results. The Singapore government, meanwhile, has donated 40,000 COVID-19 testing kits and six ventilators to the Philippines. During the turnover ceremonies, Chief of Presidential Protocol and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs Robert E.A. Borje received the donations from Singapore Ambassador Gerard Ho. The testing kits and two ventilators were donated by Temasek Foundation based in Singapore. The Department of Foreign Affairs also received the ventilators flown in from Singapore and donated by the Filinvest City Foundation.

MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal said in a press conference that he could not release information on the passengers, as flight operator Lion Air was still trying to contact the victims’ next of kin. But according to a copy of the airplane’s general declaration obtained by Manila Standard from an assistant of Senator Manny Pacquiao, the passengers were identified as John Richard Hurst, aged 63, of Canada; and Marilyn Vergara De Jesus, 58, of the USA. The pilots were identified as Capt. Ren Edward Nevado Ungson, Capt. Melvin Bruel De Castro, and Capt. Mario Rosello Medina Jr. The others were Dr. Cenover Nicandro Bautista II and nurses Conrado Tomeldan Jr. and Edmark Saes. Eric Apolonio, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman, said the declaration was “not official.” While the accident was unfortunate, Monreal said they could ground the whole Lion Air fleet in the country while investigations continued on the crash. He confirmed the foreign nationals killed were Canadian and American. Last year, another Lion Air plane on a medical evacuation mission also caught fire and crashed in Calamba City in Laguna, killing all nine persons on board. An incoming Korean Airlines flight that was to use runway 624 last night was diverted to Clark International Airport, Monreal said. Only seven flights

600 medical... From A1 COVID-19 patients. Vergeire said volunteer health workers would go on a “two-weeks-on, twoweeks-off” schedule because frontliners must go on two weeks of quarantine after treating COVID-19 patients. The DOH, which was roundly criticized for offering the volunteers P500 a day, apologized to them and promised the rate would be increased. “We assure everyone that at this point, the proposed Health Care Warriors Benefit Package is a provsional one,” a DOH statement said. Senator Christopher Go appealed to the DOH and the Department of Budget

PNP’s Eleazar:... From A1 list of private establishments that could be taken over under the newly enacted Bayanihan Law or Republic Act. The memo, issued by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on March 28, tasked the departments of Health, Transportation and Tourism and the Office of Civil Defense to create the list now. Section 4(8) of the recently signed Bayanihan law allowed President Rodrigo Duterte to “direct the operations” of any privately-owned hospitals, medical facilities, passenger vessels, and other establishments that will be used to house health workers or serve as quarantine areas, relief distribution locations, or temporary medical facilities. The JTF CV Shield, the enforcement arm of the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said a total of 42,826 curfew violators were apprehended in the first 11 days of the enhanced community quarantine to fight COVID-19. “The number of curfew violators will

Global deaths... From A1 “This is an enormous shock for us, with sales in many of our member hotels already down by half because of plunging demand for tourism, not only from abroad but also inside Japan due to the coronavirus,” said Shigemi Sudo, secretary general of the Tokyo Hotels and Ryokans Association. “Many rooms are going to be and Management to compensate the volunteers properly, noting that they are professionals and highly-skilled. “And they will be risking their lives here,” he said. “Compensation is not the only issue here. The best way to help the health sector respond to this crisis is by sufficiently providing them with the tools and protection needed to do their job,” Go added. Rep. Eric Go Yap said lawmakers were willing to allot payment for the volunteer health workers equivalent to the regular salary of their counterparts. Volunteer doctors should be hired and paid at least P50,000 a month, which is the entry-level salary grade for government-hired physicians, while nurses should receive at least P22,000, Dr. Geneve Reyes, secretary-general of Health Action for Human Rights said.

More... From A1 This brought the total casualties to the disease to 71, as Department of Health spokesperson Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire confirmed 343 new cases on Sunday, which brought to 1,418 the total number of confirmed positive cases for COVID-19 as of March 29, with 42 total recoveries. “We still have some other patients confined and fighting the illness at this time. Hopefully, we don’t add more to the list of deaths among our practitioners, our physicians,” said Tinio. “We’re still grieving but, at this point, we cannot do anything about what has lapsed already, what has been done already,” he added. Solante said all health care workers in the San Lazaro wards were tested after one or two showed symptoms of the new coronavirus. “When you are dealing with this infection, when you regularly talk with health workers, there’s always this fear and uncertainty they may be having the infection... the fear they cannot go back to their homes and see their families,” said Solante. He said he would recommend testing personnel every two weeks. Solante said San Lazaro has already reached its full capacity in accepting COVID-19 patients as 27 or 28 out of 36 beds are currently occupied. “Just yesterday, we had eight new admissions. Probably today, we’ll be in full capacity already. If the wards are already full, that’s the time that we cannot really accept patients,” he said. He also said their personal protective equipment are only allocated only in these rooms. “We also have to factor in our health workers. We cannot compromise safety of our health care workers while taking care of these patients,” said Solante. Furthermore, Solante said that those who tested positive for the virus acquired the disease and manifested symptoms before Luzon went on lockdown two weeks ago. “The incubation period by which a particular individual will manifest is within 14 (days). Probably, we can add another week and look at the trend,” he said. After that week, he said they will evaluate and see if the trend of the infection is going down. “But up to now, we have observed it is still going up,” Solante said. Malacañang on Sunday said that the spike in number of confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID- 19 was a result of of more tests comducted by the Department of Health as supplies of testing kits comtinues to arrive. “As we have previously stated, the reason for a few reported cases of confirmed cases two weeks ago was because there was a lack of testing kits to ascertain the number of those afflicted with the disease,” Panelo said. He said that if the ECQ had not been imposed the number of the COVID-19 cases could have been staggering.

COVID-19, prompting demand to fall significantly as people stay home to avoid being infected. On March 24, the oil firms cut gasoline and kerosene prices by P3.50 per liter and diesel by P2 per liter. On March 14 to 17, the oil companies also cut prices by P4.25 per liter of gasoline and diesel and P4.35 to P4.50 per liter of kerosene. The year-to-date adjustments now stand at a net decrease of P12.85 per liter of gasoline, P14.59 per liter of diesel and P16.29 per liter of kerosene, according to the latest data from the Energy department.

As fuel demand goes down amid the 30-day enhanced community quarantine, oil retailers may be forced to reduce operating hours or close shop. Demand for cooking gas, however, is going up as families stay home due to the quarantine. “I don’t have the numbers but a lot of gas stations both the major and smaller players are affected. The bigger you are, the more you are affected because of the bigger overhead,” Eastern Petroleum chairman Fernando Martinez said earlier. “Stations with minimum required volume are open with half the operating hours.”

were scheduled to land and take off at NAIA on Sunday owing to the country’s coronavirus lockdown, he added. According to MIAA during the presscon, the flight tower at NAIA was alarmed the airplane could not take off despite being light enough to clear the length of the runway. The plane had just come from Iloilo to deliver medical supplies, it added. The CAAP clarified that RP-C5880 was airworthy and that all its pilots’ licenses were current. “The flight, which was on a medEvac mission to Haneda, Japan, was carrying two (2) passengers and six (6) crew members. Immediately after the incident, the MIAA Fire and Rescue team were dispatched to the site to douse the flames with chemical foam. Unfortunately, no passenger survived the accident,” MIAA added in a statement. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines sent a team of investigators from its Aircraft Accident Investigation Board to determine the cause of the incident. “Our fire and medic teams were already dispatched to NAIA Terminal 2 to respond to the plane crash incident involving Lion Air Flight RPC 5880. Eight passengers consisting of a flight medic, nurse, doctor, three flight crew, one patient and a companion were on board,” said Senator Richard Gordon on his Twitter account. “The plane caught fire and exploded as it was taking off the NAIA runway 24,” he added. Apolonio said the Agusta WW24 aircraft bound for Japan encountered a technical problem while rolling for takeoff. He said the Philippine Aeronautical

Rescue Coordination Center (PARCC) is gathering additional information about the accident. Apolonio said Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AAIIB) chief investigator Rainier Baculinao has been dispatched to help determine the cause of the accident. Killed in the Laguna incident last year were plane pilot Capt. Jesus Fernandez and co-pilot First Officer Lino A. Cruz, Jr.; Dr. Garret Garcia; Kirk Eion Badilla and Yamato Togawa, both registered nurses; Tom Carr, a patient from New Zealand, and his wife Emma; flight mechanic Raymund Bulacja, and one Ryx Gil Laput. CAAP officials said only eight of the nine passengers were listed in the flight manifesto of the 11-seater Beechcraft King Air type (BE350). It stated that “Erma Carr, a Filipina with New Zealand citizenship, is the wife of the New Zealander patient.” CAAP incident reports showed that the aircraft also operated by Lion Air with registry number RP-C2296 crashed around 3 p.m. in a private resort in Barangay Pansol in Calamba. A mother and her son, who are the caretakers of the resort where the plane crashed, were also hurt and rushed to a hospital in Calamba following the incident. Authorities said the plane crash triggered a blaze in the area. The flight, which comes from Dipolog Airport in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, “lost radar contact at around 3:10 p.m. while flying 25 nautical miles from Manila,” according to CAAP.

just continue to rise if we become lenient on them,” Eleazar said in a statement. “This will definitely defeat the purpose of the declaration of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) which President Duterte approved purposely to contain the COVID-19,” he added. Earlier, Eleazar said the enforcement will be “a little lenient” against curfew violators as police would allow them to go home after booking them, instead of detaining them until they posted bail, owing to the lack of jail facilities as well as government prosecutors that would attend to the filed cases. The Department of Justice only has a limited number of personnel at this time, the police general explained, but the agency has now activated online inquest proceedings. “[Offenders] will be brought to police stations for booking, and through electronic or online inquest proceedings, we will refer their cases to the skeleton force of the Office of the Prosecutor,” Eleazar said. As for suitable jail facilities, Eleazar said PNP Chief General Archie Gamboa approved having a temporary detention center with enough space for

violators to observe social distancing. Gamboa also approved the task force’s recommendation to coordinate with local chief executives on proper disposition of arrested violators based on their respective ordinances. “If the curfew violators will be released over a decision that the regular filing of the case will be done after the ECQ, curfew violators must be held for a maximum of 12 hours while being admonished, so as to deter them from repeating the offense,” Eleazar added. Meanwhile, the DOH, DOT, DoTr and the OCD under the Department of Defense are directed “to submit to the Office of the President an inventory of all available or potential assets, and proposed guidelines to exercise such power,” Medialdea said in his memo issued Saturday. “Such guidelines must conform with the relevant limits enshrined in Section 17, Article XII of the Constitution,” he added. That section of the Charter explains that temporary taking over or directing the operations of privately-owned business is possible during a national emergency, “when the public interest so requires.” With Francisco Tuyay

canceled, and it will be difficult to fill those empty rooms with new customers given the situation,” he said. Globally, the death toll from COVID-19 has stormed past 30,000 and officials in some countries say the worst still lies ahead. But in the Chinese city of Wuhan where the virus first struck late last year, officials took tentative steps back towards normality, partially reopening it after more than two months of near-total isola-

tion for its 11 million residents. Trump decided late Saturday against imposing a broad lockdown on New York and its neighbors after a strong pushback from local political leaders and warnings of the panic it could spark. “A quarantine will not be necessary,” Trump tweeted, about eight hours after he stunned the New York metropolitan region―the epicenter of the US outbreak― with a proposal to place it under quarantine. The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, however, asked residents not to travel except for essential purposes. Trump’s reversal came on the same day the US death toll topped 2,100, more than doubling in just three days. Of the fatalities, more than a quarter were in New York City. Health officials say they fear New York may follow the deadly path charted by Italy, with health professionals exhausted and hospitals desperately short of protective equipment and ventilators. AFP

Snorkeling... From A1

full-face masks, where the snorkel is meant to go, allowing them to connect to standard BiPAP machines that feed pressurized air into masks. This helps prevent the collapse of alveoli, lung air sacs needed for the intake of oxygen into our bodies and the exhalation of carbon dioxide. Pneumonia brought on by COVID-19 inflames the lung membrane and fills those sacs with liquid. In the worst-case infections, patients have to be hooked up to respirators in intensive-care units. But respirators are in desperately short supply worldwide because of the sheer number of patients. The snorkeling mask solution could be a stop-gap measure for patients on the brink of intensive-care treatment but for

whom no beds or respirators are available. Hospital masks for the less-intensive BiPAP [bilevel positive airway pressure] machines are also lacking. Bonnier said that from Monday he will testing 50 of the masks on patients. They are the same brand as those used by Italian doctors, donated by the French sportswear retailer Decathlon that has stores worldwide. The masks themselves are made in Italy. He explained they were far more comfortable than the hospital ones that fit over the nose and mouth, biting into the skin. But he cautioned they were not tested to medical standards, meaning they were one-use only, unable to be sterilized between patients. The Italian design for the 3D-printed valve also needed reworking. AFP

One such is the Erasme Hospital on the outskirts of Belgium’s capital Brussels. It is attached to the city’s ULB university―and through it to a private spin-off, Endo Tools Therapeutics, whose knowhow in 3D printing for medical use has proved invaluable. “They are to be used for patients with severe respiratory problems. The aim is to avoid having to intubate the trachea of the patient and put them on a respirator,” said Frederic Bonnier, a respiratory physiotherapist at the hospital who also teaches at the university. He spearheaded the design of a custom-made valve that fits to the top of

Command center eyed

A FORMER president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) on Sunday suggested that a coronavirus disease 2019 command and control center be created for an organized response to the COVID-19 threat. Dr. Tony Leachon said the command center would organize the execution of delivery of services, and correct the fragmented approach taken by the Department of Health, local government units and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. PNA

News IN BRIEF Protect children, village execs told CHILD rights advocates on Sunday urged barangay officials to ensure that child protection laws are being followed at all times during the coronavirus quarantine period. Eule Rico Bonganay, Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns secretary general, said child protection laws are still in effect even during public health crisis. He called on the Duterte administration to implement a proper response to the crisis, a medical solution. Government officials must observe the proper and appropriate way of handling children violating the rules on curfew, he said. Bonganay criticized village official Noel Anot Catibayan of Malainen Bago, Naic, Cavite for putting a minor inside a coffin as a punishment for violation of the curfew hours. “May we remind barangay captain Catibayan that there are existing operational standards in handling children who have violated barangay ordinances, such as curfew. He must be held accountable for his abusive and irresponsible actions that undoubtedly caused trauma to the concerned minors as well as other children in his community,” the Salinlahi official said. Other child rights violations in relation to the curfew have gone viral in social media, such as minors and other violators who were placed in a dog cage in Barangay Gatid, Sta. Cruz, Laguna, he noted. “Study the law for children. Don’t punish children; instead, teach them and correct their wrongdoings the proper way. Follow the rules for children. As the head of the community, government officials should extend their patience,” Bonganay said. The children and the youth are still adjusting from the quarantine situation, he added. Rio N. Araja

‘Bio-men’ keep on working—Villar STRICTLY adhering to social distancing, the so-called “bio-men,” or the barangay-employed collectors of kitchen wastes, continue to bike around Las Pinas City to collect kitchen wastes, said Sen. Cynthia Villar. Despite the enhanced community quarantine being imposed in Luzon and other parts in the country, Villar stressed that proper handling of waste products can still be done. AS chairperson of the Senate Environment Committee, Villar said it is important that garbage collection and recycling efforts continue to prevent additional health and sanitation woes. “We continue to generate waste even if we are under quarantine. Garbage will pile up if these are not collected and overwhelm our landfills if not properly segregated and recycled,” Villar said. The senator also added that used masks and gloves can easily mix with household waste when these should be treated as hazardous wastes. She urged local government officials to implement environmentally-sound practices alongside measures battling the spread of COVID-19. In her home city of Las Pinas, Villar said composting and recycling facilities continue operating to properly manage the city’s waste and at the same time continue to provide livelihood to residents. The bio-men, she said, turn over their collection to composting and vermi-composting centers where kitchen wastes were converted into organic fertilizers in their own barangay. “In a month, we produce 70 tons of fertilizer and give them out to farmers in nearby provinces. In Metro Manila, there are also urban gardeners and vegetable farmers who benefit from this free farm input,” Villar said. Waste coconut husks are also collected to be turned into coconet and charcoal. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Clark teacher makes, donates ethyl alcohol CLARK FREEPORT—A faculty member of the Philippine Science High School inside this Freeport was able to formulate much-needed ethyl alcohol from the school’s laboratory supply and donated about 30 liters to hospitals in Pampanga, including police personnel manning some checkpoints. Using what is available in the inventory of the school, chemistry teacher Rohit Tilwani was able to make 60 bottles of 500 mL ethyl alcohol. Primary recipient was the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Medical Center in the City of San Fernando, the designated regional hospital for COVID-19 patients. He also donated to the Rafael Lazatin Medical Center in Angeles City (formerly Ospital Ning Angeles). “Rather than being left unutilized, we put it to good use. We hope it could help prevent the spread of the virus,” Tilwani said in an interview.

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Buy fresh produce from provinces—Divisoria vendors By Randy Caluag VENDORS in Divisoria—the trading center for fruits and vegetables in Metro Manila—are urging Metro citizens to prioritize buying fresh produce from the provinces. The call came as people rush to stock up on canned goods and preserved foods while fresh vegetables are left to rot because of deteriorating sales and slow de-

livery due to quarantine measures implemented amid the COVID-19 outbreak. “Paunti-po ng paunti ang delivery kasi nahihirapan na rin pong mag-deliver ang mga farmers dito sa Divisoria ”(Deliveries become difficult by the day because it’s getting more difficult for farmers to deliver to Divisoria), according to Lilian Dayrit, a small vegetable stall owner. Dayrit gets her goods daily from Benguet and Abra vegetable dealers.

“Tapos marami din pong natitira dahil mas gusto ng tao ung de lata dahil hindi agad nabubulok.” (We have a lot of leftovers because people prefer canned goods which last longer). A truck driver who delivers vegetables from Benguet admits to Manila Standard that they still experience long delays because of the checkpoints going to Metro Manila. “kahit po may special lane, mahaba pa rin po ang byahe namin, kaya na

discourage na rin po magdeliver ung mga boss namin. (Even with a special lane, it’s still a long travelfor us. Our bosses are getting discouraged to deliver)” This, aside from the fact that dealers also experience delays in transaction in trading posts in La Trinidad, Benguet because of the quarantine measure. Dealers are reportedly discouraged on the long delays and could only deliver once a day.

SJ mayor goes into self-quarantine By Rio N. Araja and Joel E. Zurbano

T LEAST two cities in the metropolis— population nearly 13 million people—have registered 186 coronavirus cases and 19 deaths, with Bataan reporting its seventh positive case and Ilocos Sur registering its first.

DPWH FOR PGH. Skilled workers of the Deparment of Public Works and Highways will reinforced in-house laborers of the Philippine General Hospital in the preparation of four COVID-19 wards. DPWH Underscretary Emil K. Sadain reported to Secretary Mark A. Villar that DPWH National Capital Region Director Ador G. Canlas has sent a team of construction workers and electricians to fix electrical and ventilation systems of the identified space to be utilized by coronavirus patients at UPPGH beginning next week

Palace slams NPA attack vs soldiers in Rizal By Vito Barcelo MALACAÑANG on Sunday condemned the treacherous attack by the New People’s Army (NPA) against government soldiers in Rizal Province, where a soldier and a rebel were killed in the clash, five days after the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) agreed to a nationwide ceasfire from March 26 until April 15 as the Philippines grapples with the rising number of coronavirus cases. In a statement, Palace spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the Saturday clash between the rebels and the military in Barangay Puray, Rodriguez, Rizal,

only shows the “insincerity” of the NPA on the declaration of a ceasefire amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) health crisis. “We strongly condemn in the strongest terms the NPA attack on our soldiers while the latter were doing community work in Barangay Puray, Rodriguez, Rizal in the face of a declaration of ceasefire on both sides and in the midst of an emergency health crisis,” Panelo said. The Palace official said the attack is a blatant disregard by members of the NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, to protect the welfare of the Filipino people. “This armed attack by the NPA against

our soldiers exposes the insincerity of the former in declaring a ceasefire as well as their blatant disregard of the welfare of the Filipino people they claim to fight for as their armed assault against the soldiers who were doing community work in connection with the government’s battle against COVID-19 have placed the civilians in imminent danger and disrupted the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in that area,” Panelo said. Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) which will last until April 15.

In Metro Manila, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora himself admitted in a statement he has gone self-quaratine after one staff had tested positive for COVID-19, the same city which reported 73 cases and 10 deaths. Quezon City itself, the country’s former capital, has reported 186 cases and 19 deaths, with nine recoveries thus far. “In the interest of public safety, I will be going on self-quarantine starting today until April 11, 2020. Rest assured that... I will continue to manage San Juan’s day to day operations,” Zamora said in a statement distributed to media, adding he was “in perfect physical condition.” In Quezon City The former national capital has reported additional nine cases of COVID-19, raising the total of confirmed cases to 113. The city government reported additional two deaths with a total of 19 deaths but no new recovery from the already reported nine. “The total number of recoveries in the city is nine,” the city government said in its official Viber account. Mayor Joy Belmonte placed 16 villages under extreme enhanced community quarantine—Tandang Sora, Kalusugan, Ramon Magsaysay, Maharlika, Tatalon, Batasan Hills, Pasong Tamo, Central, San Roque, Paligsahan, Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, South Triangle, Culiat, Bahay Toro, E. Rodriguez and San Isidro Labrador. In Paranaque City Despite the citywide curfew imposed in Paranaque City from 8 pm to 5 am, several foreigners were seen in public places and hotels drinking beers and liquors until wee hours and completely disregarding social distancing.

Produce more local rice, gov’t urged By Maricel V. Cruz A PARTY-LIST group representing the agriculture and food sector on Sunday asked the government to ramp up domestic rice production via massive production subsidies in the wake of the decision of Vietnam and Thailand to stop all rice exports. At the same time, the Butil party-list group suggested that part of the funds to be realigned by President Duterte under the special powers granted to him by the Congress should be dedicated to rice production support, “ which is now imperative given the changed rice supply environment in the ASEAN Region.” Former Butil party-list Rep. Cecil Chavez said the export freeze decided by Vietnam and Thailand literally closed the import windows we used to have. The two countries supply 90 percent

of the country’s rice imports. Chavez, the group’s spokesperson, said of the three million metric tons imported by the Philippines last year under the import liberalization law, 2.1 million metric tons came from Vietnam while a portion came from Thai suppliers. “We have to understand that the volume of rice traded on the global market is actually very thin. Some 6 million metric tons traded on the open market. And Vietnam and Thailand are two of the major sources , along with Bangladesh. With China’s agriculture spooked by the virus, we have no idea on how this will add to the uncertainty of the global rice market, “ Chavez said. The supply uncertainty can only be remedied by a ramped-up domestic rice production and with the funds for production support drawn from the special powers of the president, she said.

BUY FRESH. Vendors in Divisoria—the trading center for fruits and vegetables in Metro Manila—are urging Metro citizens to prioritize buying fresh produce from the provinces. This as people rush to stock up on canned goods and preserved foods, while fresh vegetables are left to rot because of deteriorating sales and slow delivery due to quarantine measures implemented amid the coronavirus outbreak. (See story above) Randy Caluag

PNP orders hunt vs massacre suspects By Willie Casas

PAGCOR’S AID. Employees of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) prepare relief goods at their warehouse Nayong Pilipino in Pasay City, which will be distributed to locked-down places as a result of the enhanced community quarantine. Norman Cruz

DESPITE the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Philippine National Police has ordered an intensified manhunt for 76 Maguindanao massacre suspects who remain at large. Acting on the directive of Chief PNP P/Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa, the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management of the PNP has issued a Memorandum dated March 13, 2020 to all units “on the Tracking and Accounting of Wanted Persons Involved in the Maguindanao Massacre.” In response to this PNP-wide directive, P/Lt. Col. Edilmar Alviar, officer-incharge of the Operations Management Division of the Police Security and Protection Group, issued another memo directing his men to “publish the photos of the abovementioned accused via TV, Radio, Internet

and Media (TRIM) and cause the implementation of their Warrant of Arrest. The Special Agents of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) are also members of the PSPG. Other PNP units besides the PSPG similarly cascaded the directive to their field personnel, who were required to submit their action taken by 5 p.m. of March 26, 2020. Authorities have placed a bounty for the capture of suspects Datu Bahnarin A. Ampatuan and Datu Saudi Ampatuan Jr. at P300,000 each, while the amount of P250,000 each will be the reward for the arrest of the remaining suspects. PTFoMS Executive Director USec Joel Egco said that despite the national emergency caused by COVID-19, the PNP, through Gamboa, has actively pursued the delivery of justice for the massacre’s victims and their families.

Opinion

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

Frontliners CROSSROADS

J.A. DE LA CRUZ SINCE the COVID-19 outbreak we have been deluged with references to the frontliners—mainly all medical and health workers attending to the needs of those who get to the hospitals or those who simply give advice, directly or through media, or even those who planned out no matter how belatedly our responses to the outbreak.

Let’s all do our share. tribu Their courage, fears, needs, tribulations and hopes have been the continuing thread of our time. That they have truly become the face of our main combat formation in this battle is beyond question. Equally, although belatedly noted and making the rounds, are the tales of all others who are themselves in the thick of the fight, making sure that the wheels of our daily existence keep turning. They are soldiers, policemen, LGUs and other government personnel manning the posts, workers in the food industry, service workers of all kinds from the delivers of essential needs, banking, transport and the like and all others out there. They have made their mark etched in the minds of a grateful people. But wait. These heroes of our time have now gone on record telling us in not so many words that in the end it is you and me, us, the entire community who should be considered the frontliners in this critical undertaking.

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

One hospital worker, a certain Doctor Michelle Au of Emory Hospital in the US, says that the front line is us: you and I, tasked with the challenge of keeping the entire community safe. In her words, the hospital staff is the last line of defense to take care of those who have to finally get to the hospital. "The history of public health, " Dr. Au says, "is a story of prevention. It is preventing larger problems before these happen. It is done through social distancing and preventing community spread, cleaning, sanitizing, making sure that everyone is safe." She says she would be more than thankful if nobody needs to be hospitalized. Dr. Au's words resonate with all the ones aired by a number of other hospital staff, here and abroad, who in a sense are saying: we are working hard and staying here at the hospitals at such great risk for you, so you can stay home for us. One video message from a hospital worker aired in You Tube under " Life Goals" captures such a heart rending message which should keep us all in check. This message about You and I being, in the final analysis, the front liners in this battle is the clear advise of Yale University epidemiologist Jonathan Smith. Noting that lockdowns and similar social distancing measures decrease contacts with the larger society, it increases one with the basic societal group - the family. It is that grouping which should be the object of far, more intense scrutiny and social distancing measures. Thus, he notes that while connections between groups, i.e., social dinners, gatherings, schools, playgrounds, offices, groceries, markets, etc., can be properly ascertained and measured, that within the family may not be as scrutinized making it the most prob-

Grieving the noble

HESE past two weeks we heard about the death of at least 11 doctors who had succumbed to COVID-19. While some have recovered, countless others are ill—either aware that they have contracted the virus, or still waiting for their test results. Alas, we must prepare to hear of more such deaths in the coming days. The doctors became infected while carrying out their sworn duty. These days hospitals are battlefronts, even as many of them have released notices that they are down to their bare capacities and could no longer accommodate patients exhibiting COVID symptoms. The number of confirmed cases has surged and even the most sophisticated hospitals find themselves no match to the virus. Imagine what conditions other hospitals have to put up with.

Despite these conditions, doctors and other health care workers—if they are fortunate enough not to have to go on quarantine, or not to feel sick, themselves— show up, anyway. They are exhausted, afraid and overwhelmed, and yet they don their coats and see their patients, fully aware of the risks they face, not only for themselves but for the families they go home to. Doctors enjoy high esteem in society because of the hard work they put in, and continue

to put in, studying medicine, and because of the nobility of what they do—save lives. A doctor in the family is always a source of pride and comfort. They prepared long and hard for the job they do every day, and a fallen physician is truly a loss, as an individual and as an agent of good in society. Woe to those who dare believe they are above all rules and who imperil the lives of others—including the doctors and other health workers who take them in in all good faith—with their deceit and arrogance. We grieve with the families and the nation for the fallen doctors. We lost good people—too many of them—in the span of only a few days. May those remaining carry on despite the odds, in the hope of seeing us through to better days.

Turn to A5

Baffling logic I HATE having to ask some questions at a time when we probably should not “be crying over spilled milk” as the trite saying goes. In earlier column articles, I have stated that we should all just cooperate and follow what our government tells us to do in these difficult times. I have absolutely no doubt about the sincerity of the President, and fully support his pained appeals to the public to sacrifice. But appointed government officials who are primarily in charge of the state of public health should have made, and should be making decisions based on the need to address a crisis of “pandemic” proportions. Yet often, the logic of decisions and indecisions coming from our Department of Health baffles. And they continue to baffle. First off, when China declared the existence of the coronavirus epidemic which had thousands in Wuhan infected at an alarmingly quick rate, our DOH secretary failed to advise the President or the agencies in charge, such as the Bureau of immigration, to meanwhile ban travelers from the country. And the reasons he gave were “political and diplomatic” complications, neither of which were in his charge to divine. The inaction defied logic. For months on end, DOH failed to test as many possibly infected persons, even those who were most vulnerable, such as senior citizens with symptoms. Meanwhile, they were testing asymptomatic persons of privilege who just wanted themselves and their families tested, invoking political rank. Again, the reason must have been obviously “political.” But was it logical, let alone morally correct? And, pray tell, why did we get stuck for two months with just 2,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits? Why did they confine test evaluation to a single laboratory un-

der the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine here in Metro Manila, when they should have known that between the period of Wuhan discovery and their travel ban (February 6), thousands of Chinese visitors had already been in the country, in Cebu, Boracay and elsewhere, as this was the peak of Asian travel with the Lunar New Year long holidays? Why did the DOH not order more PCR test kits and more protective equipment in preparation for the “invasion” of a virus that was already devastating by leaps and bounds across the length and breadth of neighboring China? Lack of budget?

What about ordinary people? be That would be lame reason, because a health emergency provides reason to cut bureaucratic corners, and in any which case, an appeal to a quick-deciding President would have remedied the situation. Now that we have breached the thousand-victim mark, with cases piling up because “we now have more test kits” as the DOH spokesperson (an excellent, cool-headed communicator) admits, are we also admitting that all the time we were proudly announcing we only had three coronavirus cases, it was because we were doing no tests? The logic ties up. And then again there is the question of contact tracing or tracking possibly infected persons. Were the DOH people doing the tracing themselves? Would not plain and simple logic have indicated that contact tracking is best done through the Philippine National Police, aided by the local government units? There were identified victims after we admitted that three became five, and thereafter. Was appropriate tracking done thereafter? I cite this matter because when a Taiwanese tourist returning to Taipei from the Philippines was discovered to have had the virus, he was immediately isolated and the Turn to A5

The height of irresponsibility THE Department of Health is supposed to be the lead agency, if not one of the lead agencies, in the fight against COVID-19. Unfortunately, it seems Secretary Francisco Duque is fast losing control of his troops as manifested in a series of major blunders.

We should not change horses in the middle of the stream, but it won’t hurt to dump a few deadweights along the way. First, there was that “encoding error” in the results of the testing for House Appropriations chair, ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Yap, which triggered panic in Malacañang. Yap came into contact with persons close to President Rodrigo Duterte when the Bayanihan to

Heal As One Act was presented to the chief Executive last week. In fact, the Presidential Security Guard was even preparing to file charges against the lawmaker for endangering the life of the President through possible exposure to the virus. Then the other day, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in a press briefing, said that the first Coronavirus disease 2019 test kits received from China were only 40-percent accurate. The xenophobic critics of the administration were quick to pounce of Vergeire’s statement denouncing China and its effort to help the country cope with the pandemic. But before noon, yesterday, the China Embassy in Manila issued a strongly worded statement against Vergiere’s pro-

nouncement. “The Embassy of China in the Philippines took note of reports about the comments of a Philippine Department of Health (DOH) official regarding the accuracy of the test kits donated by China,” the statement read. According to the statement, the Embassy immediately checked with DOH and according to the clarification of the DOH, “the two batches of 2,000 BGI PCR-type test kits and 100,000 Sansure PCR-type test kits donated by the Chinese government have been assessed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) to be at par with World Health Organization-provided kits, and those test kits are of high quality and standards and have no accuracy problems, which are being used in Philippine test laboratories and have helped accelerate the testing process.” Further, the test kits mentioned by Vergiere in her press briefing last Saturday were found to have been neither tested by RITM which did not receive Turn to A5

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Opinion

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

COVID-19 on the frontlines THE FIFTH GOSPEL JUDE ACIDRE

(Part 1) FRONTLINES. An all-too-familiar term that we have used these recent weeks to refer to the doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientists, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who have been working round the clock to address the growing COVID-19 pandemic. But it seems that bleak is the sight at the so-called frontlines of this battle against a ruthless invisible menace. Many of the major hospitals in the country’s capital city have announced that they are already operating beyond their available bed capacity and thus, they could no longer admit new patients. With more and more doctors succumbing to this dreaded disease, and many more healthcare workers in strict quarantine, it appears that we are now losing—at the frontlines. If this is a war that we are fighting, what we need is a change in the order of battle. If we were to win against COVID-19, we cannot fight this war in the hospitals, our first line of defense should be on our streets and in our barangays. It has been said many times in many ways—the virus cannot travel on its own. It needs carriers—unfortunately, that is, a human carrier. There are more than six billion of those “carriers” on this planet, almost one hundred million in this country. Close to ten million in Metro Manila alone. If we want to defeat COVID-19, we need to prevent further spread of the disease. Therefore, the only way forward to win against COVID-19 is to make this enhanced community quarantine work. China, where this outbreak reportedly started, has proven that to effectively reverse the trend of COVID-19, shutting down a city of more than ten million people

was an absolute and logical necessity. It was a decision made at huge human and economic cost, because imposing a quarantine at such enormous scale has simply not been done before. The frontlines in this fight against COVID-19 must be on the streets. First, we must empty the streets of all carriers—that means of the people who could cause the further spread of the virus.

These measures amount to only half the solution. It will be an unpopular choice, but as in any war, decisions have to be made at a huge cost. As long as carriers are on the move, possibly spreading infecting the rest of the population, more and more COVID-19 cases will pour into our already overwhelmed hospital system. Epidemiological models have already shown that if unabated, around 75 thousand Filipinos will be infected by the coronavirus, and 5 percent or around four thousand would be critically ill and would need to be in an intensive care unit. Sad news—we only have a little more than a thousand ICUs in the country. Clearly, a sustained influx of COVID-19 patients will cripple our hospital system. If our hospitals were our frontlines, then we are at an even graver crisis. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has already placed Luzon under enhanced community quarantine. Local government executives in the Visayas and Mindanao have followed suit, imposing varying levels of community quarantine. Public transportation in and out of the quarantined areas has been suspended. People have been asked to stay indoors, while providing exemptions for personal and medical emergencies. Schools at all levels have been closed. Work-from-home

Baffling... From A4

health officials here asked him where he had been when he was in the Philippines. The Taiwanese government immediately supplied the information to our government. The potential number of contacts should have been in the hundreds. Were they tracked and tested at all? I wonder. On March 14, another Taiwanese returned from the Philippines, and because symptoms were detected at the airport, he was brought to the hospital, where information was given as to where he stayed while in our country. When we learned about the case, my MECO administrative director immediately called his contacts in the Philippine National Police. Overnight, the Bulacan police authorities were able to trace the family, and a senior citizen-relative of the Taiwanese was immediately brought to the hospital for isolationand treatment. Nowadays we learn only of prominent persons, like the movie actor Christopher de Leon voluntarily asking those who may have been in contact with him to have themselves tested. Or isolate themselves. Or high officials like the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. But what about ordinary people? Thus, the appeal of Sen. Ping Lacson which I read in yesterday’s papers, asking COVID-19 victims to voluntarily shed off their right to privacy, so that persons who they had been in contact with could come out and be tested, is but proper and sensible. Being infected with COVID-19 is not like having HIV an infection, which privacy laws protect identification thereof, because of the social stigma yet attached to it— unfairly, I must say. Come out and contribute to proper contact tracing. The life you save may be kin or friend.

The height... From A4

any kit sample for lab validation nor donated by the Chinese government. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Embassy said China has continually provided assistance as needed to support the Philippines' battle against the epidemic. “At this moment of crisis, we should fight in solidarity to overcome the epidemic at the earliest date. The Chinese Embassy firmly rejects any irresponsible remarks and any attempt to undermine our cooperation in this regard,” the statement added. Aware his agency committed a diplomatic faux pas, Duque immediately sent a text message to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian which read: “Hi! There is nothing wrong with the real time polymerase chain reaction machine which is used for generating positive or negative result as the case may be!” “Again your test kits BGI and Sans-

arrangements have been encouraged. Businesses have been shut, except for groceries, banks and pharmacies. Only one person per family is allowed to buy necessities. A curfew from eight in the evening to five in the morning has been imposed, wearing masks has been made obligatory, and temperature of anyone going through checkpoints is being monitored. Public gatherings have been prohibited. Everyone has been encouraged to strictly observe social distancing measures. But clearly, these measures amount to only half the solution. China took three months before they were able to effectively stop the spread of the virus. With the restrictions already imposed by the Philippine government, it might take us less that time to achieve the same results. But we need sustained, focused and closely coordinated action. It is important that Filipinos stay inside their homes, and if necessary, food and other necessities should simply be rationed to them, or at least a supply distribution chain should be in place in order to minimize the number of people going out of their houses. Remember, a lesser number of people in the streets means a lower chance of spreading the disease. This means a total lockdown for two to three weeks might be a logical solution. If the frontlines were on the streets, we must get rid of the enemy’s capability to advance. This means strictly enforcing that people stay in their homes—even if this requires that the military and the police take charge. Businesses should act in concert, ensuring that food supplies and other necessities would reach the people. While the government must ensure that the movement of goods must remain steady and unobstructed, business must acknowledge the fact that profit and competition need to take a step back and first consider the general welfare. (To be continued)

Finally, the matter of accrediting test kits. There is ongoing debate among physicians and the DOH regarding the slow-result PCR method and the point-of-care testing of antibodies taken from blood samples. The latter has been widely utilized in South Korea and China, and now in Europe. The test kits are not mutually exclusive; they can both be strategically used to determine the positive cases. For instance, mass testing on the barangay level could be done by health workers because results would show after 15 minutes from the time the blood sample taken from the finger is tested with a reagent. If positive, the person even if asymptomatic could be immediately brought to a hospital for further testing through the DOH-approved PCR method which involves throat or nasal swabs, and forwarded to laboratories that would need days to validate. Again, the DOH is intransigent. Meanwhile, many have died, of “pneumonia” or “heart attack” or whatever else, while the test results come days after they have died. The cri de coeur of the next of kin of such victims who died without knowing test results, if any, fill the pages of social media. And the dead are cremated instantly to prevent possible infection of the living, absent wakes, mourning of the bereaved turning into anger against government. Which now makes me quote a paragraph from an article now viral in social media, attributed to former Antipolo City congressman and respected PNP general, Romeo Acop, whose wife and four children are all medical professionals likely among the frontliners in the battle to save as many of our people from the scourge: “To those of you who are physically, intellectually, and morally weak, and incapable of giving your best self, we hope you find the courage and patriotism to step aside and let others more capable to do the job.”

ure Biotechnology are very good and up to the standards as those which were donated by WHO and approved by our RITM. Again, our gratitude and appreciation to you and Chinese Government,” Duque stressed in his text message which was made available to the media by the Chinese Embassy. This is one hell of a blunder which the President could not just let pass by. actually, this is not the first time Duque had shown his biases against China’s effort to extend assistance to the government’s fight against COVID-19. Last week, Duque reportedly blocked the entry of Chinese doctors who have volunteered to join local doctors at the frontline of the COVID-19 battle. But an irate Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin lambasted Duque in his social media account for his refusal to let the doctors come to the country, and threatened the Health Secretary with the words: “Don’t piss me off!”

Duque had to oblige and explain that he refused at first to let the Chinese doctors come because of a misunderstanding on who would assume responsibility over the interpreters although it was very clear from Locsin’s media account that the Chinese General Hospital had already agreed to shoulder the responsibility over the issue of interpreters. Since the start, Duque has been highly criticized for his handling of the COVID-19 situation. He had been accused of withholding information and holding the release of PPE. He has also been accused of sitting on the accreditation of rapid test kits, even as he remains silent on Senator Manny Pacquaio’s use of such. Such criticisms are not helping a bit in the fight against this deadly virus. Duque’s irresponsibility is taking its toll on the Duterte administration. I maintain that we should not change horses in the middle of the stream. Still, it would not hurt to dump a few deadweights along the way.

Class dimensions of the COVID-19 crisis FILIPINOS have one of the most creative coping mechanisms when it comes to crisis situations. Memes, songs, poems, and of course, humor in various styles and undertones are being passed along by netizens, which at this time is probably the whole population. One Facebook post from a good friend that I liked and shared in red background and bold letter said, “WHAT PART OF STAY AT HOME DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND!” I don’t know the original source but the simple comment which I assume is a reaction to people still unmindful of how critical social distancing is in stopping the spread of COVID-19. Changing people’s behavior has always been difficult even with well communicated enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) guidelines hammered 24 by 7 in all mediums. Government will expectedly match crisis policies with more stringent enforcement that will have some overstepping incidents. Keeping people apart to cut off person-to-person infection, though logical and seems simple enough, will need discipline, something many people are not used to nowadays, and deliberate behavioral modification that will challenge every individual to overcome our naturally social culture. The social distancing and lockdown environment that is globally accepted as an effective anti-virus measure is easier for some and more difficult for most. This is a reality that is reflective of the socio-economic demographic of our society. According to the report of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), “Addressing the Social and Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic” (March 19, 2020), “The COVID-19 crisis appears to involve a class dimension: at the onset, the upper- and middle-income classes are the ones directly infected, because they are the ones who travel or are acquainted with ones who have travelled. Currently, the impact on the lower-income classes is mainly through the response measures being undertaken.” “The response measures going forward should be re-configured to delicately balance the health and economic objectives, particularly as the impact varies by economic class. Otherwise, the situation could deteriorate to a social and political crisis.” The report reveals that the total economic impact “given the simultaneous adverse effects on the supply and the demand side of the economy, we expect a cumulative loss of P428.7 to P1,355.6 billion in gross value added (in current prices), equivalent to 2.1 to 6.6 percent of nominal GDP in 2020. Without mitigating measures, this would imply a reduction in the Philippine’s real GDP growth to -0.6 to 4.3 percent in 2020. The government’s swift and appropriate response remains crucial in the softening the blow of COVID-19, particularly on the most vulnerable members of our society.” If the negative impact persists until June, the NEDA’s high-end estimates on the potential impact on

employment are estimated to affect 1.8 million persons with Luzon bearing the brunt with 1 million jobs lost. By sector, hard hit will be: Transport and Tourism, 56,000; Exports, 6,700; Remittances, 4,500; and Consumption at 62,500 workers. NEDA further warned that if the lockdown goes beyond the one month and the virus further spreads, these figures will be much worse.

They don’t have savings. They don’t have water to wash their hands. They live in crowded shanties. Two weeks into the ECQ, we’ve seen how millions of poor citizens surviving to scratch out a living were shocked when all their daily patrons, their source for daily cash income, won’t be there to support them for at least a month. This is the desperation of the people living in slums. They don’t have savings. They don’t have water to wash their hands. They live in crowded shanties. You can see how this lockdown puts the poor in a desperate situation. Multiply this to thousands of families and you have a potentially destabilizing situation. Not good for anyone. Thankfully, local governments pro-actively mobilized to give relief to their stranded constituents as the government shifted to crisis mode. Without much prodding, the forward thinking culture of the country’s top business groups quickly committed P1.5 billion to jumpstart Project Ugnayan in cooperation with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation and Caritas Manila for the door to door distribution of grocery vouchers to at least 1 million families in the megapolis. As of this writing more than 30 big business groups are raising funds to reach more vulnerable families. The project also boosts ABS-CBN’s Pantawid Pag-ibig project. On the government side, the Bayanihan Heal as One Act recently signed into law by the president authorizes the distribution of emergency cash aid of P5,000 to P8,000 (depending on prevailing minimum wage in the region) to 18 million low-income families. PhilHealth will shoulder all medical costs of workers during the duration of the ECQ. Health workers will also receive special risk allowance in addition to regular hazard pay. Now that the policy is in place, speed and efficiency will be key to the successful execution of all these emergency measures. The guiding mantra set by the WHO is to Isolate, Test, Treat, Trace. We are starting to get the hang of social distancing but there is resistance from the DOH for mass testing because of the usual lack of resources. This is a frustratingly typical but valid point. Perhaps this is where the private sector and other funding institutions can come in for some creative approaches. The thinking is that if we know who has the virus and who does not, we can start planning on how to get the country back on track. The government can focus on testing the front liners and those who can’t afford. For those who can afford the tests, they should have ready access.

Frontliners From A4

able risk area which can break the chain of prevention. Said Smith: "Seemingly small social chains get large and complex with alarming speed.If your son visits his girlfriend and you later sneak around for coffee with a neighbor, your neighbor is now connected to the infected office worker that your son's girlfriend's mother shook hands with any of those happening that can break the chain." He adds: "In contrast to hand washing and other personal measures, social distancing measures are not about individuals; they are about societies working in unison. One quick little get together can undermine the entire framework of a public health intervention." His words are similar to those of Dr. Au and all other health workers: "Until we get a viable vaccine this unprecedented outbreak will not be overcome in grand, sweeping gestures, rather by the collection of individual choices our community makes in the coming months." It is, as one meme in social media noted, I and U that will put this v I r U s out of circulation for good. Let us do our share in solidarity with all.

World

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

North Korea fires ballistic missiles off its east coast

IN BRIEF Aussie domestic violence cases surge SYDNEY―Australia on Sunday announced a nearly US$100 million boost in funding to tackle domestic violence after support services reported a spike in coronavirus-related family abuse. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there had been a 75 percent surge in Google searches for help during the ongoing nationwide shutdown of non-essential services to curb the spread of COVID-19. Women’s Safety, a domestic violence charity in Australia’s most populous New South Wales state, has reported that more than 40 percent of workers had seen an increase in client numbers, with over a third of cases directly linked to the virus outbreak. In neighboring Victoria, women’s support service Wayss said police requests for assistance with cases had almost doubled in the past week, as they dealt with a form of abuse “not experienced before”. “Just having the people in the house, rather than having the pressure release of going to work, or being able to travel freely outside of the house are contributing factors,” Wayss CEO Liz Thomas told public broadcaster ABC. “We’ve also seen half a dozen examples in the past week where perpetrators have actually used COVID-19 as a form of abuse -- telling their partner that they have the virus, therefore they can’t leave the house.” Perpetrators have also invited “people into the house where the woman is selfisolating, saying that the visitor has COVID-19 and is going to infect them”, Thomas said. AFP

US infant dies from COVID-19 WASHINGTON―A US infant has died from the COVID-19 illness, officials in the state of Illinois said on Saturday, marking an extremely rare case of juvenile death in the global pandemic. At a news conference, Governor JB Pritzker said “an infant” was among the fatalities linked to the new coronavirus over the previous 24 hours. The state Department of Public Health said the child who died in Chicago was younger than one year old and had tested positive for COVID-19. “There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant,” the department’s director Ngozi Ezike said in a statement. “A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death.” Pritzker described himself as shaken by the news. “I know how difficult this news can be, especially about this very young child,” he said. “It’s especially sorrowful for the family of this very small child, for the years stolen from this infant. We should grieve.” Last week, top French health official Jerome Salomon said a 16-year-old girl had died in the Ile-de-France region of Paris and its surroundings. “Severe forms [of coronavirus] with the young are very rare,” Salomon noted. In the US state of California last week, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said that a teenager had tested positive for COVID-19 and died. But the agency added the case is complex and there may be an alternate explanation. Multiple studies have found the virus disproportionately affects older patients and those with underlying conditions. The United States has the highest number of new coronavirus cases in the world, more than 120,000, although its death toll of more than 2,000 is still below that of other countries including Italy, Spain and China. AFP

US coronavirus deaths over 2,000 WASHINGTON―Deaths from the new coronavirus in the United States surged past 2,000 on Saturday, doubling in just three days, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The number of deaths late Saturday was 2,010, about a quarter of them in New York City, the country’s hardest-hit region, Johns Hopkins reported. Confirmed cases in the United States topped 121,000, according to the tally. The surge came as President Donald Trump said he was considering a quarantine on the greater New York area to slow the disease’s move from the US epicenter. New York has reported more than 52,000 cases, and 517 of the US deaths were in New York City. “There’s a possibility that sometime today we’ll do a quarantine―short-term, two weeks―on New York, probably New Jersey, certain parts of Connecticut,” Trump said, adding that it was important to protect Florida, a favorite winter destination for people in the northeast. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo objected to the idea, which he said Trump had not discussed with him. “If you said we’re geographically confining people, that would be a lockdown. Then we would be Wuhan, China, and that wouldn’t make sense,” Cuomo told CNN, referring to the city in central China where the virus outbreak began, which was almost totally isolated by Beijing. Cuomo said he did not believe such an act would be legal, and added: “Why you would want to just create total pandemonium on top of a pandemic, I have no idea.” AFP

SNOWFALL. A man wearing a face mask walks along a street as snow falls in Tokyo on March 29, 2020. AFP

Scared workers slam their lack of protection EW YORK―Medical staff in America’s coronavirus hotbed New York are struggling with long hours and a dire need for protective equipment―and as infections surge, they increasingly fear for their own safety.

Doctors and nurses are working around the clock caring for patients hit by the fast-spreading infection, risking their lives on the front lines of the global crisis. The same week the United States became the new epicenter of the pandemic―with about 120,000 confirmed cases of infection and 2,000 deaths―Kious Kelly, a nurse manager at a Manhattan hospital, succumbed to a fatal case of the COVID-19 illness. The death of the 48-year-old crystallized fears of many medical workers who’ve lamented severe shortages of necessary supplies, including plastic protective gowns and hospital-grade masks. “It’s abysmal,” said Andrew, a psychiatry resident in a New York hospital who spoke on condition his name be changed. He is now quarantined at home with a likely case of the virus himself. “There’s not enough money, there aren’t enough tests, there’s not enough personal protective equipment [PPE] for people who are dealing with this―not just the doctors, but nurses, ancillary staff, janitors―everyone in the hospital who are getting huge exposure to the virus,”

he told AFP in an interview punctuated by coughs. About 20 health care workers protested their working conditions on Saturday morning outside the city’s Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. “We risk our lives to save yours,” one of their signs said, appealing for “#PPENow” -- masks, goggles, gloves and other protective gear. Diana Torres, a former colleague of the late Kelly at New York’s Mount Sinai hospital group, said hospital staff are “devastated” that he “paid the ultimate price.” The mother of three told AFP there are units of the hospital filled to the brim with coronavirus patients. She works in a rehabilitation section of the facility and personally has handled at least three patients known to have the virus -- perhaps more, as a lack of testing makes it impossible to be sure. Kelly’s death triggered an outpouring of angry posts on social media over inadequate protections, including one viral photo showing staff wearing garbage bags over their scrubs.

Mount Sinai said in a statement it was “grieving deeply” over Kelly’s death, while also emphasizing that “we always provide our staff with critically important PPE.” But Torres said it took significant pushing to acquire one face shield, just one N-95 respirator mask and one gown -- which she said she must reuse. “I have nothing for my head, nothing for my shoes,” she said. “There is this sense of hopelessness.” “Everybody is scared.” New York state has counted more than 50,000 positive cases, with around 6,500 people hospitalized. Andrew is among the many New Yorkers who have fallen ill but has been unable to get tested because tests are reserved for the most critical cases. A week ago he came down with a scratchy throat that evolved into the virus’s customary symptoms: dry cough, body aches, headache, chest pressure and elevated temperature. Andrew also experienced an abrupt inability to taste or smell -- believed to be a sign of infection -- and has yet to regain his olfactory senses. His case is mild, but he worries others in hospitals could develop more severe infections because of constant exposure to sick patients without proper safety measures. “People on the front lines aren’t getting protected. They’re lambs to slaughter,” he said. “It’s criminal.” AFP

SEOUL—North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Sunday, the fourth such launch this month as the world battles the coronavirus outbreak. The string of weapons drills come as a prolonged hiatus in disarmament talks with the United States drags on, and despite recent overtures from Washington offering help to contain the pandemic. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired the two projectiles, presumed to be ballistic missiles, from the port city of Wonsan into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. “Such military action by North Korea is an extremely inappropriate act when the entire world is having difficulties due to the COVID-19 outbreak,” they added in a statement. Tokyo’s defense ministry said the projectiles fell short of Japanese waters and the country’s exclusive economic zone. The nuclear-armed North has yet to issue a statement on Sunday’s missiles but attributed its three other launches this month―all of which landed in the Sea of Japan―to “long-range artillery” drills. It last week fired what Seoul said were two short-range ballistic missiles, describing them as a new “tactical guided weapon”. North Korean state media announced the following day that the country’s leader Kim Jong Un had received a letter from US President Donald Trump detailing a plan to develop ties -- a move later confirmed by a White House official. The report cited Kim’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong, who warned that the apparently good personal relationship between the two leaders would not be enough to foster broader relations. Trump “explained his plan to propel the relations between the two countries... and expressed his intent to render cooperation in the anti-epidemic work,” she said in a statement published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korea is one of the few remaining countries in the world yet to report a case of novel coronavirus infection. But the outbreak has turned into a major international crisis, with more than 640,000 confirmed cases and 30,000 dead worldwide. There has also been widespread speculation that the virus has reached the isolated nation, and health experts have warned that it could devastate the country given its weak medical infrastructure and widespread malnutrition. Sunday’s launch was intended to show the country was running normally during the pandemic, said Kim Dong-yub, a researcher at the Seoul-based Institute for Far Eastern Studies. AFP

‘Diskarte’ in times of crises ON THE first day of the Metro-wide lockdown imposed by the government to contain the COVID-19 virus, I finished reading Christopher Hudson’s “The Killing Fields.” Based partly on the screenplay of the award-winning film with the same title, the book tells the story of New York Times’ journalist Sydney Schanberg and of his Cambodian assistant/interpreter Dith Pran at the time of the collapse of the Cambodian government in 1975, and the subsequent ordeal of Pran under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. After escaping execution by the Khmer Rouge by pretending that he was an uneducated man, Dith Pran had to work long hours in the open-pit mines of Dam Dek, east of Siem Reap. Like the other workers, he suffered from malnutrition, having to settle with his daily ration of 150 grams of rice in exchange for the backbreaking work of a slave. But unlike the others, Pran was resourceful. On the few square feet of land around his small hut in stilts at the far-end of the village, he grew tomatoes, tobacco and squash plants. However, the Khmer Rouge guards frowned upon this resourcefulness. Upon discovering Pran’s vegetable plot, they kicked his squash plants and uprooted his tomato plants, and told Pran, “It will no longer be necessary for the individual to supplement his diet! Angka will supply everything! In spite of his rage, Pran controlled his emotions. He knew that if he questioned authority, he dies. It is uncanny how Pran’s experience under the Khmer Rouge mirrors what is now happening in our country. Proactive action and resourcefulness (or ‘diskarte’ as we say it in Filipino) seem to

be frowned upon by the powers-that-be in this time of crisis. Illustrative is the case of Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto, who acted resolutely to deal with the challenges brought about by the epidemic. He implemented a series of wellthought-out actions that endeared him not only among his constituents but also among netizens. He was quick in setting up a Rescue Emergency Disaster (RED) Training Center back on March 8 to prepare for the effects of COVID-19, and then proceeded with disinfecting public places, and with setting up community kitchens that prepared meals for those affected by the lockdown. Pasig also did immediate contact tracing and quarantine of those who had been in contact with COVID-19 patients. After the Luzon-wide quarantine was announced, he pleaded with the national government to allow some tricycles to operate to serve as transportation for health workers, for staff assigned to perform essential services, and for emergencies. “Our risk assessment shows that we cannot completely ban tricycles,” he said, after determining the situation faced by his constituents. He added: “Sana makita po ng mga ginagalang nating lider—na may perspektibo kami sa LGU na maaaring di nakikita mula sa mas mataas.” What he got as a response was a rebuke from Malacañang, which said the national government calls the shots in a crisis, not the LGUs. President Duterte, in an apparent reference to Sotto, even threatened local officials with administrative and criminal charges if they do not strictly follow the lockdown guidelines. Now, wasn’t that an overreaction over a genuine plea? Should he have not instead offered the LGUs sup-

port to help them enforce the guidelines more effectively? In “The Killing Fields,” Dith Pran wondered where the rice surpluses went, having once been to a communal storage depot and seeing enough rice there to feed the whole province of Siem Reap for a month. To him, it was a mystery that they were given so little to eat when there is so much that could be distributed to them. Again, the parallelism to what is happening now is uncanny. One can’t help but wonder why it is the Office of the Vice President, with its small budget allocation, that is taking the lead in providing free transportation service and personal protective equipment (PPEs) to health workers in Metro Manila. Is it not fair to expect the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Health (DOH), given their mandates and much bigger resources, to be at the forefront of these efforts instead? Moreover, the Office of the President has vast powers and resources, including several billion pesos from the President’s discretionary and social funds—have these funds not been utilized for programs meant to address the COVID-19 crisis? Why is there still a shortage of testing kits for our people and of PPEs for our front liners? Why we haven’t seen more concrete action from the concerned government agencies is a mystery to me. Given that the quarantine is now on its third week, the expectation is that the DOH should have already identified locations, and set up laboratories and testing facilities in addition to the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) and the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila

to rapidly augment testing capacity. DOH has yet to reveal its plan for this. In the meantime, we were surprised by Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro, who announced that the city government is ready to set up its own COVID-19 testing center. However, it could not proceed because the DOH disapproved the proposed center on the grounds that it does not meet strict biosafety standards. While we recognize the DOH’s ultimate authority in deciding matters of public health, one cannot help but be frustrated by what is happening. There is clearly something wrong when, in a time of crisis, proactive efforts by LGUs are dampened, and improvised solutions are discouraged, not only by a paralyzing bureaucracy but also by an insensitive national leadership. The Khmer Rouge promised that “Angka will supply everything!” As a result, millions of Cambodians died under probably the bleakest chapter in its history. I hope that there will be no similar situation here in our country. Raymund B. Habaradas is a Full Professor at the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University (DLSU), where he teaches Methods of Research, Management Action Research, and Qualitative Research. He is also a Governor of the Philippine Academy of Management (PAoM), and the holder of the Ambassador Ramon V. del Rosario Chair of Entrepreneurship. He welcomes comments at rbhabaradas@yahoo.com. The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

Business

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Profit taking to cap stock rallies T By Jenniffer B. Austria

RADERS expect share prices to remain volatile this week, with investors quick to cash in on gains during rallies.

BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the market barometer Philippine Stock Exchange Index managed to post significant gains last week as investor confidence slowly came back after several government agencies announced their financial packages to boost the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “The U.S. rally helped dispelled some of the gloom, this reprieve is temporary since the pandemic is still spreading locally and globally,” Ravelas said. “The week’s close at 5,266.62 highlights this technical rebound (dead cat bounce) has still some gas to try the 5,500-5,800 levels in the near-term. Ex-

pect some profit-taking as we near said levels,” Ravelas added. First Metro Investments Corp., meanwhile, said the market recovery will ensue once the spread and fatality rates of the virus slow down significantly. The PSEi last week jumped 10 percent to close at 5,266.62 while the broader All Shares index rose surged 9.2 percent to 3,219.50. All major sub-indices also ended in green led by services (+13.4 percent), property (+12.7 percent), holding firms (+11.7 percent) and mining and oil (+9.5 percent). Financials also advanced by 4.6 percent while industrial improved by 3 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers during the week by P3.8 million, while the average daily value traded stood at P6.9 billion from the previous week’s average of P7.5 billion. Weekly top price gainers were Cirtek Holdings Philippines Inc., which jumped 63.6 percent to P6.30; 2Go Group Inc., which soared 38 percent to P6; and AC Energy Philippines Inc., which advanced 27.3 percent to P1.96. Weekly top price losers included Megawide Construction Corp., which declined 14.4 percent to P5.84; Universal Robina Corp., which dropped 9.8 percent to P98; and Union Bank of the Philippines, which fell 3.8 percent to P52. Meanwhile, stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic retreated Friday as investors banked profits from the week’s rally sparked by massive government and central bank action to protect economies from the coronavirus.

“Today’s sell off is most probably a consequence of three days of strong gains and a paring of risk ahead of the weekend,” said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK. He said it was “a welcome sight to see European stocks finish the week higher for the first time since mid-February, offering a welcome respite to some pretty battered portfolios.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 4.1 percent, or 915 points, to finish at 21,636.78, but leaving the index with its biggest weekly gain since 1931. Oil markets saw another dismal day under the twin impact of the pandemic and an ongoing price war, with European benchmark Brent crude plumbing lows last seen in 2003. “European markets have pulled back... with caution being the order of the day after such a good rally,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at trading group Markets.com. With AFP

Manila Standard BuSineSS Weekly StockS revieW STOCKS

MARCH 23-27, 2020 Close Volume

Value

Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI Bright Kindle Resources China Bank COL Financial Eastwest Bank Ferronoux Holding First Abacus I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp. PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

44.5 102.10 63.95 0.60 20.1 15.6 8 3.19 0.5 0.93 750.00 0.280 37.9 0.68 8.9 17.00 20.00 45.75 172 17.5 106.8 1450.00 52.00 1.15

25,200 20,412,740 23,789,920 259,000 738,200 29,600 1,523,500 4,000 89,000 63,000 100 1,360,000 35,409,600 209,000 30,200 1,400 4,415,000 8,500 17,740 116,600 3,592,870 220 89,630 5,000

FINANCIAL 1,069,970.00 2,046,231,087.00 1,373,916,177.00 158,140.00 14,978,418.00 456,400.00 11,611,931.00 12,200.00 44,500.00 58,130.00 66,300.00 382,350.00 1,310,122,685.00 138,190.00 246,040.00 23,808.00 83,823,530.00 310,470.00 2,862,764.00 1,978,522.00 387,219,837.00 303,305.00 4,711,777.50 5,450.00

Aboitiz Power Corp. AC Energy Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons. Axelum Basic Energy Corp. Cemex Holdings Century Food Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Conc. Aggr. ‘B’ Crown Asia Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Eagle Cement EEI Emperador Euro-Med Lab First Gen Corp. First Holdings ‘A’ Fruitas Holdings Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Greenergy Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp. Liberty Flour Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide MG Holdings Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. Petroenergy Res. Corp. Petron Corporation Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils. Pilipinas Shell Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings SFA Semicon Shakeys Pizza SMC Food and Beverage SPC Power Corp. Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp. Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp. Vivant Corp. Vulcan Ind’l.

26 1.96 6.45 0.53 0.8 2.03 0.169 1.09 13.24 6.3 60 59.85 1.85 3.2 4.800 7.6 5.34 8.50 1.98 17.02 48.05 1.17 31.85 0.8000 12.36 4.55 1.010 107.00 40.00 3.2 4.80 9.28 4.72 5.84 0.144 220.00 4.94 1.3 3.00 2.40 9.38 9.10 9.98 18.7 4.1 4.30 1.42 1.38 0.78 5.11 51 8 0.110 0.72 98 2.51 0.88 12.00 0.60

15,247,200 30,024,000 977,200 921,000 56,000 4,256,000 7,520,000 39,035,000 5,427,700 15,085,400 400 240 85,000 338,000 24,980,000 3,536,900 2,070,900 31,955,200 17,532,000 18,615,800 912,800 66,013,000 226,600 4,407,000 479,700 1,589,000 3,161,000 15,023,960 1,700 26,000 86,900 15,726,200 4,618,000 4,514,300 1,600,000 2,316,830 2,000 681,000 70,000 27,690,000 15,000 1,000 906,900 2,385,600 41,000 169,000 7,639,000 73,000 4,048,000 3,921,100 2,487,200 738,400 1,460,000 317,000 13,003,160 23,000 47,903,000 1,200 2,425,000

INDUSTRIAL 396,920,420.00 53,956,740.00 6,152,952.00 448,790.00 49,610.00 8,669,770.00 1,200,080.00 39,938,900.00 59,097,686.00 94,682,657.00 24,000.00 14,297.50 158,030.00 1,106,550.00 222,854,590.00 24,404,386.00 11,413,941.00 227,830,996.00 33,887,070.00 297,895,884.00 41,197,585.00 75,988,060.00 6,742,950.00 3,395,340.00 5,862,376.00 6,370,710.00 3,071,270.00 1,516,325,398.00 70,345.00 82,310.00 413,254.00 144,873,662.00 22,109,410.00 27,843,978.00 208,630.00 493,890,404.00 9,880.00 883,510.00 208,260.00 62,327,710.00 134,580.00 9,100.00 8,761,725.00 44,277,320.00 159,180.00 724,960.00 10,224,040.00 101,440.00 3,128,270.00 19,621,864.00 119,497,730.00 5,772,303.00 157,950.00 218,080.00 1,297,670,434.00 49,330.00 40,533,060.00 16,568.00 1,379,540.00

Abacus Cons. À’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor À’ Asiabest Group ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp À’ Ayala Land Log Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings Filinvest Dev. Corp. GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Keppel Holdings À’ Keppel Holdings `B’ Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. Lopez Holdings Corp. LT Group Mabuhay Holdings À’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. Pacifica À’ Prime Media Hldg Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp À’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Top Frontier Transgrid Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.520 32.50 6.87 0.55 6.00 5.71 0.530 0.620 493 1.780 5 3.60 8.99 409 3.60 51.20 4 6.8 0.415 2.98 7.24 0.550 2.6 2.7600 0.750 2.60 90.00 805.00 0.82 0.63 152.000 150.00 0.1870 0.133

23,518,000 7,160,900 182,880,500 793,000 246,400 197,700 6,231,000 3,688,000 4,397,600 2,854,000 9,443,000 53,805,000 240,500 967,020 352,000 10,513,640 200 45,900 360,000 1,376,000 44,797,600 155,000 319,091,000 71,000 223,000 78,000 1,786,350 2,747,780 478,000 382,000 3,570 880 630,000 2,510,000

HOLDING FIRMS 11,848,470.00 220,650,220.00 1,182,866,495.00 413,580.00 1,563,734.00 1,161,173.00 3,083,145.00 2,035,900.00 2,057,517,531.00 4,546,400.00 43,655,670.00 187,615,600.00 1,944,804.00 398,868,340.00 1,283,900.00 502,117,935.50 800.00 312,120.00 147,400.00 2,952,580.00 288,809,112.00 83,710.00 803,646,770.00 199,310.00 170,200.00 187,800.00 157,024,150.50 2,159,287,120.00 386,540.00 241,100.00 519,199.00 125,590.00 111,040.00 320,060.00

3,599,100 12,910,000 100 462,000 2,824,000 106,622,500 5,813,000 2,268,000 115,900 14,270,000 228,000 67,000 18,270,000 430,000 770,700 2,002,400 1,350,000 50,000 72,769,000 2,245,000 369,862,000 31,450,000 4,987,000 250,000 1,360,000 74,000 18,814,100

PROPERTY 47,128,296.00 6,868,275.00 899.00 507,940.00 1,504,510.00 3,180,115,320.00 7,495,970.00 8,599,420.00 693,930.00 4,958,500.00 162,690.00 50,570.00 2,353,600.00 98,820.00 5,407,861.00 32,519,082.00 415,650.00 5,000.00 62,902,080.00 1,526,300.00 805,651,570.00 4,215,200.00 3,236,160.00 78,500.00 323,500.00 113,700.00 245,561,670.00

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Anchor Land Holdings Inc. Araneta Prop À’ Arthaland Corp. Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. À’ CEB Landmasters Cebu Holdings Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. À’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp. DM Wenceslao Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Filinvest Land,Inc. Global-Estate Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil Infradev Phil. Estates Corp. Phil. Realty À’ Primex Corp. Robinson’s Land `B’

12.500 0.54 8.99 1.080 0.560 31.000 1.31 3.93 6.1 0.370 0.74 0.790 0.131 0.230 6.900 16.3 0.295 0.100 0.91 0.75 2.39 0.142 0.6700 0.3150 0.250 1.7 14.86

MARCH 16-20, 2020 Close Volume Value

STOCKS

MARCH 23-27, 2020 Close Volume

MARCH 16-20, 2020 Close Volume Value

Value

Rockwell Shang Properties Inc. SM Prime Holdings Sta. Lucia Land Inc. Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. Vista Land & Lifescapes Vistamalls

1.5 2.74 28.50 2.15 1.150 4.280 3.450

1,893,000 167,000 89,150,000 10,274,000 6,720,000 19,154,000 631,000

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel AllHome APC Group, Inc. Apollo Global Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ. Chelsea DFNN Inc. Discovery World Easy Call “Common” Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ Island Info ISM Communications LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp. Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Metro Retail MetroAlliance A MetroAlliance B NOW Corp. Pacific Online Sys. Corp. PAL Holdings Inc. PH Resorts Group Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp. Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp. SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Waterfront Phils. Wilcon Depot

6 16.06 1.25 4.6 0.245 0.039 15.78 2.3 5.70 0.0270 43.45 6.03 2.65 3.00 1.95 5.05 1949 5.18 371.00 12.80 0.76 74.25 1.00 0.078 1.5300 11.5 1.38 0.70 4.90 11.34 0.370 2.1 1.44 1.55 1.51 1.390 1.6 6.60 3.80 7.6 130.00 1.60 1070.00 0.202 0.310 39.00 54.50 6.00 1.20 0.405 0.154 0.375 13.500

361,500 997,300 63,000 7,203,100 22,170,000 17,100,000 700 202,000 46,062,600 28,800,000 2,569,900 400 10,487,000 50,000 9,000 160,100 415,455 1,535,700 3,040 100 2,419,000 10,523,890 15,000 4,010,000 165,054,000 21,200 2,694,000 60,000 8,072,000 17,000 750,000 58,000 10,632,000 16,040,000 368,000 11,607,000 105,000 128,200 70,000 1,000 2,297,160 8,211,000 1,352,615 11,853,000 43,431,000 16,281,400 3,569,490 19,000 10,333,000 9,400,000 9,870,000 890,000 18,667,300

SERVICES 2,129,856.00 15,923,728.00 74,190.00 82,345,523.00 5,817,300.00 661,100.00 11,056.00 418,760.00 231,671,480.00 774,700.00 103,563,945.00 2,546.00 25,455,770.00 142,810.00 16,770.00 783,223.00 778,163,835.00 7,572,536.00 1,007,650.00 1,280.00 1,653,030.00 747,594,661.00 15,000.00 256,920.00 229,875,720.00 247,262.00 3,611,370.00 39,600.00 38,142,740.00 197,602.00 257,950.00 116,800.00 14,244,530.00 23,438,080.00 546,410.00 15,223,200.00 159,790.00 805,033.00 256,320.00 7,600.00 296,103,034.00 12,580,230.00 1,353,009,780.00 2,539,130.00 14,090,550.00 558,717,495.00 185,838,375.50 112,763.00 11,177,670.00 3,777,850.00 1,497,220.00 335,300.00 241,409,752.00

Abra Mining ACE Enexor Apex À’ Atlas Cons. À’ Atok-Big Wedge À’ Benguet Corp À’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto À’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining À’ Manila Mining `B’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. À’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Philex À’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. À’ Semirara Corp. United Paragon

0.0011 5.4500 0.72 1.82 10.86 1.0500 2.53 0.250 6.50 0.560 0.186 0.074 0.075 0.0061 0.0071 0.54 1.56 0.85 0.3900 0.4400 0.0082 0.0094 2.02 4.24 0.0070 10.60 0.0041

191,000,000 502,500 5,445,000 184,000 67,100 7,000 635,000 220,000 30,800 23,012,000 1,260,000 10,320,000 1,100,000 20,000,000 5,000,000 1,246,000 25,062,000 18,320,000 100,000 540,000 9,000,000 28,000,000 1,420,000 3,708,000 57,000,000 13,916,800 7,000,000

MINING & OIL 192,600.00 2,532,264.00 3,800,820.00 331,100.00 703,800.00 7,350.00 1,565,180.00 54,500.00 194,841.00 12,601,070.00 229,410.00 685,890.00 76,340.00 121,000.00 26,700.00 640,985.00 39,258,080.00 15,734,470.00 35,700.00 245,850.00 77,200.00 246,200.00 2,824,560.00 14,476,160.00 384,800.00 145,343,790.00 29,100.00

55,200.00 110,396,611.00 2,236,429,985.00 55,080.00 58,500.00 50,460.00

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. Alco Preferred B Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ CPG PREF A DD PREF First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B House Preferred MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred 2B PCOR-Preferred 3A PCOR-Preferred 3B PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H

14 98 498 496 96 97.8 102 498 5 970 989 93 99 1039 1020 1000 99 105 998 76 75 74.05 74.3 74.2 74.5 74.8

426,800 26,570 7,380 8,470 20,790 273,850 10,330 110 11,808,800 205 880 19,430 2,770 1,855 7,155 7,565 24,850 3,220 23,010 125,170 1,521,830 1,019,350 2,171,620 100,130 110,560 1,167,080

PREFERRED 6,026,094.00 2,651,794.00 3,689,930.00 4,200,880.00 2,084,688.00 26,803,113.00 1,076,200.00 54,780.00 57,275,979.00 198,522.50 860,390.00 1,821,677.00 275,030.00 1,904,120.00 7,246,030.00 6,871,935.00 2,460,136.00 339,640.00 7,139,372.50 9,417,952.00 114,133,900.00 75,482,027.00 161,748,721.00 7,455,423.50 8,279,650.00 87,532,159.00

373,850.00 259,250.00

LR Warrant

0.680

353,000

SME Italpinas Kepwealth Xurpas

2.04 5.85 0.5

1,558,000 289,600 4,454,000

First Metro ETF

81.6

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

10.3 9.7 0.87

44 97.00 55.00

18,100 19,444,020 9,897,520

773,955.00 1,842,016,557.50 559,820,869.50

20 15.9 7.5 3.3 0.5 1.09 650.00 0.300 39.1 0.57 8 16.00 20.00 36 132.1 17 115 1420.00 54.10 1

143,700 141,000 1,500,300 12,000 5,000 68,000 240 730,000 18,323,700 43,000 105,900 1,700 1,226,400 12,000 3,030 106,200 1,483,790 70 49,120 122,000

2,742,611.00 2,325,460.00 11,331,645.00 33,250.00 2,500.00 65,200.00 161,500.00 219,700.00 718,246,295.00 24,510.00 944,318.00 28,600.00 25,490,448.00 450,225.00 418,675.00 1,744,310.00 160,996,708.00 98,200.00 2,568,590.50 121,200.00

24 1.54 6.49 0.45 1.01 1.95 0.160 0.99 10.8 3.85

8,712,200 18,163,000 3,144,700 859,000 301,000 3,107,000 690,000 21,998,000 8,175,400 1,173,000

209,219,035.00 27,790,350.00 19,730,518.00 405,980.00 303,010.00 5,800,840.00 112,600.00 20,915,920.00 90,433,643.00 4,614,270.00

61.6 1.92 2.5 4.070 6.48 5.68 7.50 1.72 14.76 46.05 1.05 32.80 0.7000 12.40 3.52 0.960 100.00

100 8,243,000 490,000 29,184,400 1,323,200 217,400 73,926,800 16,196,000 12,276,700 175,320 41,552,000 31,000 6,377,000 604,400 1,119,000 1,563,000 7,541,530

4,721.00 16,312,620.00 1,361,710.00 124,556,463.00 8,557,608.00 1,271,196.00 665,139,515.00 34,529,390.00 181,479,036.00 8,592,695.50 43,253,090.00 1,014,200.00 4,706,140.00 7,062,046.00 3,914,680.00 1,488,790.00 808,740,518.00

3.33 5.22 8.76 4.45 6.82 0.105 200.00 4.95 1.3 3.15 2.10 9.38 8.79 9.70 18.5 3.82 4.60 1.35 1.43 0.55 5.24 46 6.9 0.119 0.73 108.7 2.2 0.72

8,000 9,900 17,852,000 1,860,700 2,109,900 210,000 1,896,110 1,000 597,000 33,000 10,529,000 3,200 8,200 678,000 643,500 17,000 64,000 1,749,000 26,000 379,000 14,873,900 1,199,060 753,400 60,000 220,000 7,860,570 966,000 15,110,000

25,680.00 52,238.00 154,958,142.00 9,799,780.00 17,121,732.00 25,050.00 408,787,543.00 4,950.00 791,230.00 96,070.00 23,291,840.00 27,338.00 66,390.00 6,393,366.00 12,599,289.00 66,140.00 285,550.00 2,236,960.00 37,070.00 226,950.00 87,289,499.00 55,916,854.00 5,177,101.00 7,190.00 140,120.00 869,459,108.50 2,180,300.00 11,870,550.00

0.52

3,046,000

1,582,260.00

0.470 30.95 6.23 0.54 6.54 5.5 0.500 0.480 410 1.500 4.75 3.69 7.60 407 3.60 43.35 5 6.8 0.375 2.9 6.03 0.440 2.68 2.7500

12,652,000 8,185,300 88,988,000 161,000 80,500 86,600 2,076,000 2,236,000 2,722,630 2,825,000 2,768,800 38,710,000 106,900 404,180 5,000 7,672,150 123,700 72,300 1,740,000 1,071,000 18,084,300 194,000 167,948,000 6,000

6,018,620.00 265,550,870.00 688,658,532.00 89,620.00 493,415.00 528,835.00 1,083,185.00 1,099,680.00 1,216,606,541.00 4,248,230.00 13,810,079.00 137,113,050.00 866,416.00 184,491,859.00 18,000.00 338,933,002.00 642,121.00 401,810.00 675,100.00 3,120,580.00 110,900,053.00 80,970.00 474,781,070.00 19,550.00

2.40 83.00 721.50 0.80 0.70 140.000

23,000 1,324,410 3,284,410 68,000 98,000 360

0.1880 0.133

1,860,000 2,330,000

14.000 0.51

2,081,700 9,275,000

28,245,968.00 4,879,585.00

1.300 0.470 26.300 1.2 3.94

789,000 3,745,000 89,309,400 2,573,000 1,517,000

961,380.00 1,944,660.00 2,327,092,700.00 3,136,790.00 5,919,450.00

0.350 0.69 0.750 0.120 0.230 6.550 16.3 0.325 0.100 0.82 0.67 2.09 0.125 0.6300 0.3200 0.225 1.62 11.74

6,530,000 27,000 28,000 3,500,000 290,000 150,800 4,383,000 1,040,000 720,000 40,784,000 3,942,000 88,044,000 8,190,000 2,488,000 430,000 240,000 154,000 11,916,800

2,428,750.00 18,390.00 18,500.00 455,620.00 65,100.00 1,035,553.00 70,973,040.00 318,150.00 72,000.00 36,231,740.00 2,806,450.00 202,644,530.00 1,002,750.00 1,593,750.00 144,600.00 59,000.00 242,740.00 153,775,766.00

2,876,330.00 455,090.00 2,444,617,205.00 23,715,360.00 7,608,880.00 68,039,570.00 2,092,240.00

1.55 2.6 26.00 2.04 0.950 3.400 3.550

72,000 73,000 83,006,300 750,000 4,182,000 6,975,900 169,000

119,790.00 186,200.00 2,167,613,320.00 1,525,230.00 4,258,350.00 27,672,361.00 633,170.00

4.35 15.8 1.38 5.05 0.310 0.040 15.98 2.1 4.59 0.0250 39.9 5.6 2.08 2.82

109,900 1,395,400 5,000 5,450,100 1,630,000 4,900,000 30,900 118,000 30,006,200 15,800,000 1,506,500 9,300 2,423,000 161,000

472,434.00 22,363,614.00 6,900.00 31,706,362.00 517,200.00 178,600.00 422,326.00 233,490.00 140,727,463.00 416,500.00 61,440,165.00 55,948.00 5,046,320.00 492,650.00

4.75 1658 4.73 335.00 12.86 0.62 76 1.00 0.058 1.1400 11.08 1.15 0.61 4.18 11.96 0.310 2 1.25 1.17 1.22 1.130 1.54 6.05 3.22 7.6 131.40 1.30 860.50 0.190 0.300 0.32 49.95 6.20 0.95 0.395 0.145 0.410 12.340

10,000 304,430 820,500 830 200 2,015,000 10,282,750 38,000 2,790,000 58,380,000 4,400 356,000 38,000 2,778,400 100 720,000 20,000 7,718,000 8,340,000 289,000 4,522,000 30,000 83,400 30,000 3,300 3,139,790 2,880,000 760,005 5,040,000 16,190,000 5,270,900 707,780 117,200 8,503,000 6,010,000 7,120,000 1,380,000 10,582,200

46,850.00 537,527,510.00 3,824,504.00 286,382.00 2,574.00 1,202,870.00 764,515,612.50 39,590.00 171,810.00 63,578,450.00 52,595.00 424,690.00 23,770.00 12,963,301.00 1,196.00 240,250.00 40,000.00 9,775,920.00 12,995,450.00 413,810.00 5,333,140.00 47,520.00 449,100.00 93,040.00 25,680.00 412,899,292.00 3,642,030.00 685,487,622.50 941,960.00 5,008,400.00 160,628,250.00 33,396,043.00 653,442.00 8,311,630.00 2,364,700.00 1,065,460.00 574,650.00 136,833,034.00

0.0010 5.1900 0.58 1.75 10.30

782,000,000 443,600 5,160,000 44,000 23,600

798,100.00 2,051,054.00 3,206,030.00 76,710.00 234,524.00

2.43 0.250 5.76 0.470 0.177 0.066 0.081 0.0056 0.0049 0.5 1.57 0.78 0.2750 0.4500 0.0082 0.0091 1.90 3.95 0.0067 9.10 0.0040

986,000 250,000 6,100 19,594,000 2,640,000 3,390,000 1,480,000 5,000,000 3,000,000 244,000 6,589,000 410,000 10,000 156,000 194,000,000 34,000,000 2,278,000 1,089,000 20,000,000 11,489,900 1,000,000

2,440,800.00 61,700.00 36,725.00 9,799,245.00 474,170.00 226,260.00 109,480.00 28,600.00 15,500.00 124,140.00 10,429,640.00 319,950.00 2,750.00 73,050.00 1,586,200.00 289,900.00 4,534,570.00 4,506,490.00 146,100.00 122,735,221.00 4,000.00

14 100.2 506 500 100.5 98 107 498 4.9

247,400 19,880 5,990 17,540 40,690 132,710 14,130 6,350 2,012,500

3,622,220.00 1,994,666.00 3,030,940.00 8,700,560.00 4,092,325.00 13,165,733.00 1,497,510.00 3,092,864.00 9,862,493.00

990 95 98.5 1010 1006 1006 99.14 102 990 76.2 75 75 75.2 75 74 75

2,320 15,310 163,350 1,305 21,790 13,665 10,240 8,820 9,860 163,090 19,070 11,300 112,880 16,550 99,690 56,630

2,207,550.00 1,469,580.00 16,331,466.50 1,318,050.00 21,928,820.00 14,341,470.00 1,019,494.00 908,070.00 9,860,330.00 12,422,679.00 1,432,980.00 852,000.00 8,494,795.00 1,256,127.00 7,474,265.50 4,250,604.00

0.630

203,000

133,470.00

1.71 5.7 0.48

683,000 95,800 3,797,000

1,198,880.00 557,570.00 1,838,490.00

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 688,740 56,763,797.50

73.5

788,780

60,139,682.50

DOLLAR DENONIMATED SEC. 30,170 307,330.00 2,330 22,974.20 12,500 10,971.00

10.2 10 0.89

7,140 27,940 1,800

71,878.00 280,060.80 1,603.00

WARRANTS & BONDS 249,320.00 2,991,330.00 1,693,068.00 2,251,385.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. Abra Mining Alliance Global Inc. ISM Communications Ayala Land `B’ SM Prime Holdings Filinvest Land,Inc. Fruitas Holdings Philodrill Corp. `A’

VOLUME 319,091,000 191,000,000 182,880,500 165,054,000 106,622,500 89,150,000 72,769,000 66,013,000 57,000,000

STOCKS Ayala Land `B’ SM Prime Holdings SM Investments Inc. Ayala Corp `A’ Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Jollibee Foods Corp. Bank of PI PLDT Common Metrobank Universal Robina

VALUE 3,180,115,320.00 2,444,617,205.00 2,159,287,120.00 2,057,517,531.00 2,046,231,087.00 1,516,325,398.00 1,373,916,177.00 1,353,009,780.00 1,310,122,685.00 1,297,670,434.00

SEC prohibits Payasian from selling, trading cryptocurrency THE Securities and Exchange Commission issued a cease-and-desist order against Payasian Pte. Ltd. Corp., a company engaged in selling cryptocurrency called Paya without the necessary license. The SEC in an order issued March 20 directed Payasian to “immediately cease and desist under pain of contempt from further engaging in, promoting and facilitating selling and/or offering for sale securities in the form of investment contracts and/or other activities/transactions.” The SEC also prohibited Payasian from transacting any business involving funds in its depository banks, and from transferring, disposing or conveying all related assets for the benefit of the investors. The cease-and-desist order covers the corporation’s partners, operators, directors, officers, salesmen agents, representatives, promoters and all persons, conduit entities and subsidiaries claiming and acting for and on its behalf. Payasian is an SEC-registered company but its registration did not include a license to sell or offer securities to the public, an activity that requires a secondary permit from the SEC. Payasian, based on evidence gathered by the SEC’s Enforcement and Investor Protection Department, is engaged in the sale and offering of securities in the form of investment contracts without license. The SEC in November warned the public against investing in Payasian. Payasian, under its investment scheme, entices investors to buy Paya Coins and hold them for six months in order to receive a 30 percent additional “Paya Rewards.” It also offered referral rewards. Payasian offered “Sharer Packages” starting at P8,145 for 1,040 Paya tokens with a maximum commission of P500 a day. One may invest as much P5,800,058 to buy 740,749 Paya tokens and receive a maximum commission of P10,000 a day. The Securities Regulation Code said securities such as investment contracts should not be sold nor offered for sale or distribution in the Philippines without a registration statement filed and approved by the SEC.Jenniffer B. Austria

D&L allotting over P100m in financial aid to employees THE D&L group of companies allotted over P100 million in financial support to employees and donations to various communities and institutions in its efforts to fight COVID-19. “Despite the various challenges due to the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), our plants remain operational in order to prevent any disruption in the supply of much needed raw materials in the food and sanitation chemicals industry,” D&L president Alvin Lao said. “This is only possible as our people remain committed in fulfilling their various roles in the organization. Likewise, we are equally committed in taking care of them and providing adequate assistance when they are most vulnerable,” added Lao. The company earlier committed to pay the full salary of employees until April 13, whether they are physically present in the office or working from home. The company has already released half of the 13th month pay to employees on March 17. “We have said many times before that our people are our most important asset. This is especially true for a manufacturing company like us wherein people are the backbone of the entire production process. In our 57-year history, we’ve faced several adversities, may it be a natural calamity, political disruption, or a financial crisis. And through and through, it’s our people that have helped the company survive and thrive,” said Lao. D&L is providing further compensation to rank-and-file employees included in the company’s skeletal workforce. It comes in the form of a 30-percent increase in regular rate, 60 percent raise in overtime rate, meal stubs and provision for disinfecting and sanitation chemicals for their households. The company is providing temporary shelter with enough space for a comfortable stay and wi-fi access to production employees who live far from the office to prevent exposure during their commute to work. Meanwhile, Lao Foundation Inc. gave P15,000 in financial assistance to 99 families in communities where D&L operates. The foundation also approved an initial budget of P5 million to extend various forms of assistance to institutions that are in most need. Jenniffer B. Austria

IN BRIEF Insular Life grants 90-day grace period LEADING Filipino insurer Insular Life further extended the grace period on premiums from 60 days as previously announced to 91 days. InLife policyholders with individual insurance whose premiums are due February 15 to May 31, 2020 will have a grace period of 91 days. “As the country and the whole world are gripped with urgent challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we strive to respond as quickly as we can to lessen our customers’ worries and let them focus on their health and well-being”, said InLife president and chief executive Mona Lisa dela Cruz. She assured the public InLife was providing continuous service to policyholders even during these times of uncertainty through the InLife Customer Portal for individual policyholders and the Group Client Portal for corporate clients. “We are able to bring disruptions to a minimum especially in our core operations so that we do not compromise our obligations to our policyholders,” dela Cruz.

2GO Group donates 125,000 food packs 2GO Group Inc., the country’s largest logistics and transportation provider, in partnership with City of Dreams, delivered 125,000 food packs to those in need of provisions amid the enhanced community quarantine period. “2GO is in full support of our government’s initiatives to control the spread of this virus. We believe it is our responsibility to help where we can to mitigate the impact of the ECQ brought about by Covid-19,” said group chief operating officer Waldo Basilla. “By providing the vital transportation required to move food packs containing rice, canned goods, noodles and water to families in depressed areas around Metro Manila, we hope to enable essential goods reach the most in need. We continue to be Ready2GO to support wherever we can to combat this national challenge,” he said. “We are one with the government and private sectors as we do our share to fight COVID-19.”

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

Business

BSP expects contraction in second, third quarters By Julito G. Rada

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects the gross domestic product to post a negative growth in the second and third quarters amid the impact of the enhanced quarantine in Luzon which the government imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus.

BSP Governor Benjamino Diokno said while growth in the first quarter could remain positive at around 3 percent, it is forecast to become negative in the second and third quarters, before picking up in the fourth quarter. “We’ll try to avoid recession as much as possible. We have 84 quarters of continuous growth since the Asian financial crisis. I think the Philippines is resilient

enough. I think, if we do the right thing, we can avoid a recession,” Diokno said in an interview over ANC. Private sector economists also expect a significant slowdown in GDP growth in the first quarter but anticipate a “V” kind of recovery after the onslaught of the pandemic. “Undoubtedly, GDP growth will take a big slice in the first quarter thanks to COVID-19, albeit the magnitude remains uncertain,” economists from the First Metro Investment Corp. and University of Asia & the Pacific said in a joint report. The economists said the positive prints in employment and inflation and the 50-basis-point cut in policy rates to 3.25 percent by the Bangko Sentral should offset the output losses. “In addition, front-loading of infrastructure and government spending should also ease the pain. We see a Vtype of recovery as soon as the spread and fatality rates of the virus clearly decelerate,” they said. Inflation in the first two months aver-

aged 2.8 percent, below the midpoint of the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent. The Bangko Sentral also reduced the banks’ reserve requirement ratio by 200-bps to 12 percent from 14 percent. “Understandably, the ultimate negative impact of COVID-19 on the economy remains uncertain since the extent of local and global spread and resource immobility loom open-ended for now. Nonetheless, there are positive factors that can offset these,” the economists said. ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Mapa said in a report that growth would depend on the length of the quarantine period and the size of the government’s fiscal rescue package. “The length of the ECQ however may not easily be determined although we hope and pray that we can get a hold of virus to be able to finally lift the ‘lockdown.’ What government can however more easily address is how they respond to the current situation and impending economic fallout that follows,” Mapa said.

PaayMaya raises over P7.8m to fight outbreak PAYMAYA Philippines Inc. has raised over P7.8 million in donations from Filipinos all over the world through its digital payments channels to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). “The response we have gotten just a week after launch [of #OneAgainstCOVID19 ] has been tremendous, which only highlights not just the magnanimity but also the creativity of Filipinos in responding to this crisis, aided by technology,” said PayMaya founder and chief executive Orlando Vea. “We will continue to support consumers, businesses, communities, government agencies, and humanitarian organizations in this united effort during this pandemic by providing the most convenient and inclusive means of sending monetary support,” he added. Companies and non-profit organizations such as the Philippine Red Cross, UNICEF, Caritas Manila, OXFAM Pilipinas, the UP PGH Foundation and other groups are working together to mobilize much-needed relief and resources to help combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Darwin G. Amojelar

Meralco posts big drop in electricity demand in Luzon POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. said it saw a huge drop in demand from commercial and industrial consumers during the enhanced community quarantine period in Luzon. Meralco first vice president and head of customer retail services and corporate communications Victor Emmanuel Genuino said that while the company was still finalizing the numbers, “we see a big decline in demand particularly from the commercial and industrial sectors since the start of the quarantine period.” Genuino said that as Filipinos stay home during the quarantine period, it would be “hard for residential [sector] to cover the drop in demand of industrial and commercial customers.” Meralco, the country’s biggest power distributor, has more than six million customers in its franchise area. The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the country’s trading floor of electricity, earlier reported that power demand in Luzon from March 15 to 21 substantially dropped to 7,252 megawatts from 9,198 MW during the week of March 8 to 14, representing a reduction of about 21.2 percent (1,946 MW). IEMOP said that as a result, the average prices at spot market plunged by almost 40 percent in the first week of the quarantine period. The actual average prices dropped to P1.64 per kilowatt-hour in the first week of the ECQ (March 15 to 21) from P2.71 per kWh in the week of March 8 to 14. “This represents a 52.5 percent reduction in average price for the week,” IEMOP said. Alena Mae S. Flores

FACEMASK PRODUCTION. The municipality of Itogon, Benguet, through the initiative of LARNS Hills Association of Ampucao tailors, places a bulk order of washable facemasks for the local community. LARNS is a recipient of the Trade Department’s Shared Service Facility program. Over 3,000 pieces of facemasks In Kalinga are produced in a week while entrepreneurs from other provinces are also sewing masks to augment shortage in the area. Kalinga’s Carol Lines Ethnic Fashion, Balik-Tribo Fashion Accessories, Kinwa Etnika Handicrafts, Jajie’s Native Fashion & Ifka’s Weaving and other members of the Chamber of Kalinga Producers Inc. are also donating their resources, time and effort to frontliners doing extra work to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Triconti wins service contract for big offshore wind projects By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Energy Department awarded Triconti Windkraft Group, a joint venture of Filipino and European companies, the first service contracts for offshore wind energy with a combined potential output of 1,200 megawatts. The projects will rise off the shores of Aparri Bay in Cagayan and Guimaras Strait in the Visayas. “We are excited to bring the benefits that offshore wind power promises to the Philippines,” said Stefan Simon, joint venture partner and managing director of Stream Invest Holding Switzerland in a statement. The Triconti Windkraft Group is a partnership between Filipino-SwissGerman companies that develop wind energy projects in the Philippines. “With its scale and efficiencies, we believe that it [offshore wind] offers a cost competitive and greener alternative to conventional fuel power plants,” Simon said. Following the issuance of the service contract, the Triconti Windkraft Group now holds the exclusive rights to study and develop the very first offshore wind projects in the country. While the Philippines has several wind power projects, all are located onshore. Triconti Windkraft Group president Lila Rosenberger said the management is very optimistic about the country’s offshore potential, specifically the Guimaras Strait and Aparri Bay which showcase excellent, consistent wind speeds and are very accessible from the foreshore in terms of grid connectivity and maintenance. “With the quickly evolving wind turbine and off-shore technology, it is quite realistic to expect that these projects can bring more than 1.2 GW of much-needed clean and affordable power into the market,” Rosenberger said. Aside from these new service contracts, the Triconti Windkraft Group currently has 500 MW of onshore wind under development, bringing its portfolio to over to 1.7 GW in various areas around Visayas and Luzon. These projects are in different stages of pre-development, with the first project in Nabas, Aklan slated to come online by 2022. Stream Invest, based in Kerns, Switzerland, provides comprehensive economical and technical knowledge along the whole value chain of renewable energy projects in Europe and worldwide.

NEDA prepares recovery plan to avoid prolonged economic recession THE National Economic and Development Authority said it is preparing a recovery plan to rebuild business and consumer confidence to avoid a prolonged economic recession as the “Bayanihan to Heal as One” Act is expected to expedite the implementation of measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said over the weekend the Bayanihan Act, recently signed by President Rodrigo Duterte, was aligned with the World Health Organization’s guidelines for preventing the further transmission of COVID-19 through “effective education, detection, protection, and treatment.” “This law enables the government to act swiftly in identifying programs and

targeted measures, together with sources of funds that can be quickly disbursed,” said Pernia. “As part of the Inter-agency Task Force, we are hoping to contribute substantially to the National Action Plan,” Pernia said. He said NEDA was committed to collaborate with the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance and other government line agencies in putting together a holistic package and mobilizing resources. NEDA released a report assessing and addressing the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 24. The report presents a threephased program of interventions.

Pernia said the enactment of the Bayanihan law was a welcome move to fasttrack the implementation of measures especially in the first phase. Phase 1a is clinical and medical response to rising COVID-19 cases. Pernia said this should move very quickly. The Bayanihan Act fast-tracks the accreditation of testing kits needed for early detection, diagnosis and more widespread testing. It also ensures COVID-19 treatment coverage under the National Health Insurance Program, especially of the public and private health workers. He said that for Phase 1b or public health response, the law ensures that the local government units are implement-

ing within the set standards of community quarantine. “Related to work suspension to reduce possible disease transmission, the government recognizes that the poor and marginalized are the ones most affected by this crisis. The Bayanihan Act enables the government to provide emergency subsidy to around 18 million low-income households for two months to help address the impact of loss of income and employment,” Pernia said. He said an expanded and enhanced Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program would be implemented to give households the capacity to purchase basic food and essential items during the community quarantine. Julito G. Rada

NLEX guarantees uninterrupted flow of commodities and medical workers By Darwin G. Amojelar NLEX Corp. said it is prioritizing the transport of basic commodities and medical workers at North Luzon Expressway and Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway amid the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine against COVID-19. “As a key public service company, we are called to ensure service continuity. The expressways are key components of Luzon’s supply chain, and we have adjusted our daily operations following the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force,” said NLEX president and general manager Luigi Bautista. The Department of Trade and Industry said the “movement of all food and

non-food cargoes within, to, and from Luzon shall be unhampered.” The Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines and Santiago Cargo Movers Inc. welcomed the tollway company’s move to prioritize the trucking sector to support the uninterrupted movement of essential cargoes to their destinations throughout Luzon. NLEX’s daily operations are coordinated with the Joint Task Force CV Shield led by the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of Health and other government agencies, including prioritizing cargo trucks delivering basic commodities and the DOTR free bus rides service for health workers.

REFERRAL CENTER. D.M. Consunji Inc. completes the retrofitting of two wards in the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital into a COVID-19 referral center. The medical facility, which will house confirmed COVID-19 patients and high-risk persons under investigation, was formally turned over to UP-PGH. To speed up the construction process and control the exposure of workers, DMCI prefabricated offsite the partition walls, exhaust frames and stairs needed to isolate the COVID-19 facility from the rest of the hospital. A dedicated team of DMCI workers handled the installation of the prefabricated materials.

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor

sports@manilastandard.net

sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

Organizers eye July 2021 for delayed Olympics

Cherry blossoms are seen near the Olympic rings in Tokyo’s Odaiba district on March 25, 2020, the day after the historic decision to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Japan started the unprecedented task of reorganizing the Tokyo Olympics after the historic decision to postpone the world’s biggest sporting event due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that has locked down one third of the planet. AFP

GM Antonio rules Orbe Memorial online chess GRANDMASTER Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. scored 1.5 points in the last two rounds to emerge as the overall champion in the first edition of the Cesar Orbe Memorial Chess 960 blitz series online at the famous chess website: “www.chess. com” recently. Antonio, the 13-time Philippine Open champion defeated National Master (NM) Joey Florendo in the tenth and penultimate round then halved the point with National Master (NM) Rolzon Roullo in the eleventh and final round. He finished with 9.5 points on eight wins and three draws to capture the title in the 197-player online tournament, which was organized by Atty. Cliburn Anthony Orbe, the executive director of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines headed by chairman/ president Rep. Prospero “Butch” Arreza Pichay Jr. Actually, Severino tallied the same 9.5 points output but settled for runner-up honors due to lower tiebreak score. Roullo edged Grandmaster (GM) Darwin Laylo and two other players on tie-break to clinch third place. “I’m very happy and proud to have won this tournament made by my kumpadre Atty. Cliburn Anthony Orbe,” said Antonio, who beat International Master (IM) Daniel Quizon, International Master (IM) Paulo Bersamina and Fide Master (FM) Arden Reyes to go home with the prestigious title. Tournament organizer Atty. Cliburn Anthony Orbe praised Antonio for his achievement. “Congratulations to our Living Legend Grandmaster GM Joey Antonio for ruling the first edition of the Cesar Orbe Memorial Chess 960 blitz series which included some of the best players in the Philippines,” said Orbe. Participants included Olympic-bound GM Darwin Laylo and IM Paulo Bersamina, as well as WGM Janelle Mae Frayna, IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia, IM Daniel Maravilla Quizon and many others.

More sports venues to be used as medical facilities By Peter Atencio

ORE sports facilities that are under the Philippine Sports Commission’s care will be converted into temporary medical facilities.

The historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum has been added to the list of recommended areas which can serve the needs of frontliners and patients alike. PSC chairman William Ramirez said this following talks with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea. This will make the Coliseum as the third sports venues that will be made available in the ongoing efforts of the government to combat the coronavirus pandemic. “Not only the Multi-Purpose Arena and the Philsports track oval, the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex is being considered as well. We offered the facilities to help decongest hospitals. We have the space— newly renovated, fully airconditioned with a steady water supply. We have already discussed this with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea,” said Ramirez. The Department of Public Works and Highways have already sent their staff

to survey the Pasig venue, which is the Philsports Complex in Pasig And they will be visiting the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex next week. Other possible venues to be used at the RMSC are the Ninoy Aquino Stadium and the Rizal Baseball Stadium. All these venues have been used before as evacuation or warehouse and repacking center for relief goods. “I understand that some sectors might become concerned over this. We are not putting our athletes at risk as all but a few of them have left for their respective homes,” said Ramirez. The decision to make more facilities available came after the number of infected cases breached the 1,000-mark last Saturday. “Rest assured though that we will take every step to ensure that safety of all concerned will be ensured and that the facili-

ties are disinfected thoroughly after that virus finally says goodbye,” said Ramirez. There are around 30 athletes and coaches who are staying at the dorms at the Philsports Complex. There are medical and administration staff, along with security personnel who are guarding the complexes. The rest of the national athletes have been asked to go home before the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine. “These challenging times call all of us to be patriots. In ordinary times but more so in extraordinary ones as we have now, we are called upon to do heroic things. Whether to be called at the frontlines or to stay home, we can all do our share to be part of this problem’s solution,” added Ramirez. On the other hand, Senior Executive Assistant and National Training Director Marc Velasco assured that the management committee of the PSC is already crafting plans to ensure that remaining athletes and personnel are secured and isolated from the areas to be taken over. “Thorough disinfection of the venues will be undertaken regularly and after their use,” assured Velasco.

Poligrates eager to join Rizal-Xentro Mall THERE is definitely no shortage of motivation for Eloy Poligrates as he joins Rizal-Xentro Mall for the fourth season of the Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. The former PBA cager inked a oneyear deal with the Golden Coolers hungry to prove himself after being left unsigned by Marinerong Pilipino for the new season of the PBA D-League. Poligrates was expected to return to

the Skippers following an impressive run in the 2019 Foundation Cup that saw him win MVP honors as he led them to the Finals, but the team had other plans. “Sana maipakita ko sa kanila na nagkamali sila sa pinili nilang desisyon,” said the flashy 6-foot guard, who once exploded for 67 points in a game during the said conference. Poligrates believes that Rizal, now his third team in the Chooks-backed league

Eloy Poligrates (23), then with Val City, drives strong to the hoop during MPBL action.

after Cebu City-Casino Ethyl Alcohol and Val City Carga Backload Solution, is the best place for him to do just that. “Sa Rizal, sabi ko naman sa kanila, pagbigyan nila ako ng pagkakataon para ipakita kung anong laro ko,” said Poligrates, who only played for 10 games combined with Cebu and Val City. The 32-year-old Cebuano, though, isn’t losing sight of his main goal, which is to help Rizal tread the path to success. The Golden Coolers had a disastrous campaign in the 2019-20 Lakan Cup as they finished with a 7-22 record, which marked the second straight season that they missed the playoffs. Poligrates knows how challenging it will be to turn things around for his new team but he’s more than willing to take on it, along of course with the help of his teammates and coaches. “Mas gusto ko yung alanganin na team para, kumbaga, kung maaangat ko ‘to, sama-sama kami lahat. Hindi naman tayo si Superman na kaya natin buhatin lahat, ‘di ba?,” he said with a chuckle. “Magtutulungan kami, para yung pangalan namin mabango ulit kung maiaangat namin ‘tong team na ‘to. Pagtutulungan namin. Sinasabi ko lang din sa coaches, tulong-tulong kami.”

Perpetualites mourn Tatay Aric’s passing PERPETUAL Altas community deeply mourned the passing of the legendary coach Januario “Aric” del Rosario who brought the Altas basketball team to greater heights in the oldest collegiate league National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). “Tatay” Aric served as head coach of the Perpetual Altas basketball team from 2012 to 2015, the remarkable years when the team made it to the final four for three consecutive seasons of the NCAA. After his two-year stint as NCAA commissioner in 2009-2011, his good friend and fellow Thomasian, Dr./ BGen Antonio

“Tony” L. Tamayo, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA as well as team owner of the Perpetual Altas, invited del Rosario to return to the sidelines as head coach of Perpetual. “On behalf of all Perpetualites, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family of my former high school basketball teammate in UST. I will never forget the time when you gladly accepted the challenge to mentor my basketball team,” BGen Tamayo said. “I am deeply saddened that I cannot pay my final respects to my dear friend

because of Enhanced Community Quarantine. But my prayers go out to him and his family during this difficult time. Farewell and may you rest in peace,” Tamayo added. Former players, coaches and friends of Coach “Tatay” Aric from University of Perpetual Help also offered their deepest sympathy and condolences to his family. “He was not only a coach but also the father of us. Salamat sa lahat. You’ll be forever in my heart. Love you Coach Tatay Aric,” former Altas, now Gumaca, Quezon Councilor GJ Ylagan of Muntinlupa Cager (MPBL) said in interview. Dennis Abrina

Aric del Rosario

TOKYO, Japan—Tokyo Olympics organizers are eyeing next July as a start date for the postponed Games, Japanese media reported Sunday, following the historic decision to delay the event due to the coronavirus. Given the ongoing pandemic and need for preparation time, the most likely plan would be for the Games to begin on July 23, 2021, public broadcaster NHK said, citing sources within the organising panel. It came after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike raised the idea on Friday of moving the event to a less hot and humid time of year. She argued that this would make marathons and other races easier to endure, meaning they could be held in the capital instead of in northern Sapporo city, where the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had decided to move them. The Tokyo 2020 team led by Yoshiro Mori is currently discussing possible dates with the IOC, according to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. On Saturday, Mori told a Japanese TV station that “some kind of conclusion” would be reached within a week. The Olympics were scheduled to open on July 24 this year with the Paralympics on August 25, but Japan announced last week it had secured agreement from the IOC to postpone the Games—a decision unprecedented in peacetime. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said they would be held in around a year instead as a testament to humanity’s victory over the pandemic. The decision had been seen to open options for Tokyo, with IOC chief Thomas Bach saying that “all the options are on the table” and rescheduling “is not restricted just to the summer months.” Meanwhile, NHK said the Olympic flame would be displayed for a month at the J-Village sports complex in Fukushima, which was used as a base camp for thousands of relief workers in radiation protection suits during the 2011 nuclear disaster. AFP

Frontliners get mattresses from PSC, PSI BIG donation of mattresses that are meant for medical frontliners and patients alike reached the right places. Four hospitals and two medical research facilities located in Metro Manila and the Southern Luzon have gotten these cushions, which were forwarded by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Swimming, Inc. The mattresses will be useful as frontline medical workers deal with the difficulties arising from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Many of the donations, which were turned over last Wednesday, were forwarded by the PSI, through their president, Lailani Velasco. Velasco said they had a total of 120 beddings, and they gave away 90 to the PSC. The PSC, in turn, added 100 more, and they were sent to Manila Medical Center, Emilio Aguinaldo College Medical Center in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Dr. Fe del Mundo Medical Center and the Capitol Medical Center in Quezon City. With a total of 190 cushions distributed, the mattresses have also found their way to Research Institute of Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa, and the University of the Philippines Genome Center in Quezon City. The donations were well-received, according to Dr. Susan Campos, the past president of ManilaMed, who sent her letter of acknowledgment to PSC chairman William Ramirez, and executive director Merly Ibay. “The health workers in these institutions have opted to stay in-house, to conform to quarantine requirements and to avoid transportation difficulties. These mattresses will provide the exhausted frontliners some physical comfort when they have their rest periods,” said Dr. Campos. Around 50 futons from the PSC went to the RITM while the other half are now in the UP Genome Center. “Thanks to these mattresses, our health workers can give better care to COVID-19 patients by allowing them a place to rest,” said Velasco in her letter to Ramirez and Ibay. Peter Atencio

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

Entertainment

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

JM de Guzman muses

JM de Guzman drops a new single entitled ‘Asa,’ a song about onesided love.

on the pains of unrequited love SINGER-ACTOR JM De Guzman struggles with the torture of unrequited love in his new single, “Asa,” and its freshly premiered music video under Star Music. “Asa,” self-penned by JM with ABS-CBN Music creative manager Jonathan Manalo as co-writer and producer, bares an admiration for a special someone and the willingness to love that person from afar because he feels that she is out of

ARIAS ALWIN IGNACIO

WAS bitten by K-Drama bug for sure. Recently, I managed to view some of the most talked-about series on Netflix like Crash Landing On You, two seasons of Kingdom, and film Marriage Story. There’s no need to repeat why people went to the moon feeling giddy with CLOY that stars Hyun Bin, and Son Ye-jin. It is the highest-rated tvN drama and second-highest-rated Korean drama on cable. And some of the reasons for this success, I daresay, might be the undeniable sexual chemistry shared by Hyun who portrayed Captain Ri Jung Huk and Son who played the affluent damsel-in-distress Yoon Se-ri. Both performers are charismatic, eye candies even, pleasurable to the senses no doubt, and when they look at each other, you throw all cautions in the wind, go with the ride and believe that hey, these actors did not fake it, they could be in love. How can they not be? In terms of fashion, I do love the shorter than short corporate skirts worn by Seri complete with tailored top, paired with trench coats or winter jackets, to die for dangling earrings, scarves, belts, bags and those knockout stilettos. For someone who ate so heartily in this Korean drama, Son Ye-Jin seemed to have the tiniest waist. Her male counterpart, Hyun Bin—whether in his military uniform or color-blocked suits and black turtle neck pullovers—was always so fashion runway ready. We know the drill that the characters they gave life to will eventually fall in love and be head all over heels with each other. How they got to that point made the drama ride more kilig. More feels to CLOY courtesy of the sincere kinships shared by Captain Ri and his North Korean comrades who were also beguiled, charmed and found a kindred spirit in Se-ri. Brilliant writing on how the antagonist is

Bitten by K-Drama bug presented and super acting particularly Oh Man-seok who, up to the last breath of his character, shows no remorse for his misdeeds. Everything about Crash Landing On You had a calculation and timing to it, especially the hugging and locking of the lips scene shared by the two major characters. It always happened during a situation you least expect it or at a time when you know it is a must and should end with a kiss and boy,

Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin were as real as it gets kissers. Meanwhile, Kingdom, season 1 and 2 was written like a Shakespearean play, the power struggles that brewed, cooked and put in place inside the palace during Korea’s Joseon period. Ju Ji-hoon gives life to a Crown Prince Lee Chang who becomes embroiled in a political conspiracy and is forced to embark upon a mission to investigate the spread of a mysterious event. What I found most arresting about Kingdom is how believable the zombie story arc is incorporated—truly an integral ingredient that gives the costume drama a more engaging plot sealed with adrenaline and testosterone. One of its more commendable elements is the musical score that rouses the emo-

Crash Landing on You’s Son Yejin and Hyun Bin play star-crossed lovers, Yoon Se-ri, a South Korean Chaebol heiress, and Ri Jeong-hyuk, a member of the North Korean elite.

his league. Its lyric is inspired by JM’s own personal experience. The trippy love song will be one of the tracks included in his upcoming EP under Star Music. Directed by Cris Escolano, the video meanwhile sees JM taking some time off for himself to embark on an emotional and reflective road trip, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Many were quick to voice their appreciation for the “Asa” song. Pami-

tions of the viewers and the fact that the zombies run faster than a speeding bullet and eat anyone in sight added more chills. Big applause to actors Ryu Seung-ryong who gave new meaning to the words sinister, scheming and vengeance as Minister Cho Hak-ju (Ryu Seung-ryong) and Kim Hye-jun as the Queen Regent who coveted and lusted for power and did everything to ensure her hold of it. Chasing and running, sword fighting, blood spurting from decapitated necks, and how a battalion of zombies whose reign of terror ended in an unexpected manner will surely be a topic of long conversations of Kingdom fanatics and virgin watchers. Marriage Story, a drama written, directed, and produced by Noah Baumbach is an emotional knockout. It is like an arrow intended to hit one’s heart to break and pierce it. No denying, it made me cry buckets because of the emotional commitment and ferocity that Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver give to their characters, the Barbers, Nathalie and Charlie. As expected, the film received widespread critical acclaim, with praise drawn towards Baumbach's screenplay and direction, Randy Newman's score, and the performances of Johansson, Driver, and Dern. I was only acquainted with how good Adam is as an actor when he essayed the roles of Rylo Ken and Ben Solo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and anyone, who killed his own father Han Solo, of course, leaves an emotional imprint that can never be erased. In Marriage Story, specifically in the exhaustive confrontation scene with Scarlett, the heart wrenching “Being Alive” song number, the accidental reading of the letter of Nathalie moment, all I can say for Mr. Driver is a wow. Just imagine this tall man, pouring his heart, expressing how he feels, in a dialogue so truthful and hurtful, breaking down at the end, asking for forgiveness, then you get to see him sing, with each line laced with so much honesty, you cannot help but want to hug this big man and tell him, this, too, shall pass. And yes, on point, Johansson is the perfect Nathalie to Adam’s Charlie. Do I mind being bitten by the Netflix bug? Of course not. What I mind though, with such terrific offerings, I hope the forthcoming movies that will be shown in cinemas and the new television shows that will all air after this quarantine season, do not pale in comparison. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Working or studying at home? Here are your top online resources STUDYING or working from home, or mostly known as “telecommuting,” can be beneficial for families as it enables flexibility of work schedule, eliminates daily commute, increases productivity and promotes work-life balance. Technology and the internet now make it easier than ever to work and study from home, as there’s an app or website that can help. Free apps for virtual meetings You don’t need to be together in one place to have meetings. If you’re working from home, you would need a reliable online tool for your scheduled virtual meetings. Software like Google Hangouts, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and even Facebook Messenger allow you to hold meetings over the internet, with options to enable video, virtual presentation, and convenient file-sharing as well. Free apps to help your productivity There are also specific apps that are convenient and safe for file-sharing. You’ve got sites like Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, WeTransfer, and Dropbox to easily share large and confidential documents. You can also take advantage of free apps for notetaking, calendar, timers, and to-do lists that you can conveniently sync on your laptops and mobile phones. These will help you be organized, improve your time management skills, and get more things done. Using these apps will help you stay focused at work and lead a productive and balanced lifestyle for your family at home. Free access to important government and news sites In light of the COVID-19 global pan-

demic, we need to stay updated and informed more than ever while working or studying at home. These sites are important for daily viewing to get the latest news and credible information: Government websites • COVID-19 Tracker (ncovtracker.doh.gov.ph) • National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (www.ndrrmc.gov.ph) • Philippine Information Agency (pia.gov.ph) • Department of Health (www.doh.gov.ph) News outlets • ABS-CBN News (news.abs-cbn.com) • CNN Philippines (cnnphilippines.com) • GMA News Online (www.gmanetwork.com/ news) • News5 (news.tv5.com.ph)

What’s even better is that PLDT Home is providing its WiFi Prepaid and volume-based plans subscribers free access to these important government and news websites. That means you can access them whenever, regardless of the data status of your connection. Free educational tools at home Of course, the opportunity to learn, grow and discover new skills does not stop when working at home. Whether studying different languages, trying on new recipes, or learning how to make videos or graphics online, there are a lot of online resources that you can explore. YouTube is the best place to start, with

DIGITAL MEDIA

For parents working at home, there are also many ways to support your kids and enable them to have fun in their home-schooling.

billions of videos available on just about every topic, including tutorials for anything you want to know. You can also listen to your favorite podcasts online for free. For families with kids who are homeschooling now, this is the best time to enjoy free audiobooks and ebooks online. Amazonowned Audible is now offering free-to-listen catalogue of children’s stories including literary classics, fairy tales, and a lot more for preschoolers, elementary, tweens, and teens. All these are available in six different languages. You can also be creative with fun and educational activities for your kids. Now you can explore hundreds of museums around the world from the comfort of your home. Google Street View’s Arts and Culture section now offers free virtual tours and exhibits of different museums and galleries worldwide including Tour Eiffel in Paris, British Museum in London, Taj Mahal in India, and Lizares Mansion in Iloilo. The National Museum of the Philippines also offers a 360-degree virtual tour on their website. The best thing is that you can enjoy more than just videos and a wealth of educational tools online because PLDT Home is also extending its Double Data promo for Wifi Prepaid until April 30. Enjoy productivity at home with the strongest connections of PLDT Home Wifi Prepaid powered by Smart LTE, the mobile network with the fastest speed and widest 4G availability in the Philippines, as affirmed by global internet testing firms Ookla, OpenSignal, and umlaut. For more updates and information, follow PLDT Home on Facebook at facebook.com/PLDTHome, or visit the website at pldthome.com.

lya Ko fans would also be delighted to know that Alyssa Muhlach, JM’s love interest on the show, will star alongside him on the music video for the single he released last year, “Huling Liham,” which will serve as a sequel to the “Asa” MV. JM is just one of the versatile artists of ABS-CBN Music—which houses many of the best OPM music of today from the country’s leading media and entertainment company, ABS-CBN.

Alden Richards as Joseph, a blind man with extraordinary vision in the series ‘The Gift.’

GMA shows go global via Amazon Prime Video

FILIPINOS all over the world can now watch their favorite Kapuso shows and artists via Amazon Prime Video. Now available on the platform are top-rated shows The One That Got Away, Super Ma’am, Juan Happy Love Story, Beautiful Justice, and The Gift. Starring Lovi Poe (Alex), Rhian Ramos (Zoe), and Max Collins (Darcy), The One That Got Away is a story about women who formed an unlikely friendship after discovering that in different times of their lives, they were romantically linked with the same guy played by Dennis Trillo (Liam). Super Ma’am, on the other hand, is bannered by Marian RiveraDantes as Minerva Henerala. Minerva is a high school teacher who had lost her mother and sister to an archaeological accident many years ago. She had an encounter with winged creatures and shapeshifters called Tamawo. Throughout the years, the Tamawo have their way into the city and abducts and children to feed on their energy. Minerva becomes Super Ma’am, a Tamawo hunter that saves the human world from them. In Juan Happy Love Story, Heart Evangelista plays the role of Happy while Dennis Trillo is Juan dela Costa. The two meet each other when Juan rescues Happy from a thief. Their romance leads to a wedding. Their relationship with their families is opposed and the couple can’t have children on their own, so they decided to adopt instead. Featuring the heart-pounding stories of the unsung heroes of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Beautiful Justice is an action-drama series starring Gabbi Garcia (Brie), Bea Binene (Kitkat), and Yasmien Kurdi (Alice). Finally, Alden Richards once again showcases his acting caliber in The Gift as he takes on the role of Sep—a visually-impaired vendor in Divisoria who discovers his ability to see the past and the future. It centers on hope, transformation, and inspiration. All these Kapuso shows and more are available in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand as well as in Latin America, Asia Pacific/Oceania, and Africa. For the complete list of countries, visit https://www. gmanetwork.com/international/ newsandevents/1121/gma-showsare-now-available-in-58-countries-via-amazon-prime-video/ story?latest_targetednews1.

Life

Bernadette Lunas, Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife @MStandardLIFE

FOOD

Chickenjoy cooked at home Jollibee offers ready-to-cook meals for a limited time

AST food giant Jollibee on Friday revealed that some of its ready-tocook food items are available for sale in select branches “until supplies last.”

HOMECOOKED FAST FOOD. Jollibee offers ready-to-cook food

items—including Fries, Tuna Pie, Chickenjoy, and more—for a limited time, allowing households to stock up on their favorites and enjoy the meals at home.

Answering to a query sent via Twitter, the brand confirmed the availability of the products, saying, “The ready-to-cook items are available in Jollibee stores nationwide that are open for takeout and drive-thru.” The items, however, are sold in a per pack or per box portion and are not for reselling. Ready-to-cook Jollibee favorites for sale include Marinated Chicken (8pcs/pack) for P219, Spicy Marinated Chicken (8pcs/pack) for 223, Beef Tapa (1kg/pack) for P358, Beef Longganisa (1.2kg/pack) for P397, and Bacon (250g/pack) for P137. Also available are Buko Pie (20pcs/box) for P257, Spicy Tuna Pie (10pcs/box) for P193, Tuna Pie (10pcs/box) for P184, Fries (2.7kg/pack) for 305, and Spicy Fries (2kg/pack) for P329. Grated cheese (P348 for 1kg), sliced cheese (P701 for 132 slices), butter (P493 for 1kg tub), and whole corn kernel (P36 for 1 can) are also for sale. Customers are encouraged to call the store first to check if the items are available. In addition to Jollibee food products, Jollibee Foods Corp. also offers some items from

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

Ready-to-cook Buko Pie is sold at 20 pieces per pack.

Mang Inasal and Chowking. Customers may take home ready-to-cook Mang Inasal chicken inasal, barbecue, and bangus sisig, among others. Meanwhile, Chowking’s frozen meat, seafood, and siopao are available for sale. Anyone can make their own halo-halo using Chowking’s halo-halo toppings, also sold until supplies last. Go to stores.jfc.com.ph to know which stores are open. Photos from Jollibee, Chowking, and Mang Inasal social media pages.

Chowking halo-halo toppings and Mang Inasal chicken are also available in frozen variants.

RECIPE FILES

Quarantine cuisine: Dishes using canned goods and instant noodles CANNED goods and instant noodles are vital in times of crisis. They are easy to distribute, easy to procure, easy to cook, and they last longer than meats and fresh produce. Heaven sent they may be, canned goods and instant noodles are not the most palatably exciting meals to eat, especially every day. As part of our “quarantine cuisine” series, we once again compiled easy recipes of dishes that give those instant meals a twist.

1 tbsp. 2 pcs. 1/2 pc. 2-4 cups

Tuna Lumpiang Shanghai (from Mega Global Corp.)

½ tbsp. ¼ cup 1 pound

garlic powder flour burger buns ketchup

Procedure: 1. Mash the garbanzo beans. Add the soy sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and flour to the mashed beans 2. Pour oil into a pan and wait until it sizzles. Arrange the garbanzo mixture into patties in the hot oil. Fry, the burger for 5 minutes. 3.Toast the burger buns and serve the vegetarian patties. Add ketchup and other vegetables (tomatoes and/or lettuce).

sugar eggs white onion, cut lengthwise and into one fourth-inch slices white rice dried chives and shichimi togarashi

Procedure: 1. Grill luncheon meat slices over medium heat in a small saucepan until crispy on all sides. Remove from saucepan and set aside. 2. Using the same saucepan, combine the dashi, shoyu, mirin, and sugar then pour roughly half of the broth. Place half the onion slices in the broth and bring to a boil over medium heat. 3. Lightly beat one egg. Place half the cooked luncheon meat strips on top of the onions and broth, then drizzle one egg around/over the meat. Do not stir, cook covered for 30 seconds then turn off the heat, wait for 30 seconds more. 4.Transfer the egg and meat mixture over the hot rice. Garnish with dried chives and shichimi togarashi.

Sardines Spaghetti (from Mega Global Corp.)

2 pcs. 2 sprigs

eggs spring onions, sliced cooking oil

Procedure: 1. Heat 2 cups of water, bring to a boil. Add instant noodles for and cook for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a strainer, let the water drain. 2.Beat the eggs with the instant noodles’ oil and seasonings. Add the spring onions (you can also add carrots) and cooked noodles. Mix well to combine. 3. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the mixtures in small batches, about 2 tablespoons, in low to medium heat. Fold in half and flip to cook both sides until golden brown. 4. Remove from pan and onto paper towels to drain oil. Serve.

Cheesy Ramen (by Lorrycraves on YouTube)

Luncheon Meat Donburi (by Miss Mochi) Ingredients: 155g 1 cup 1 cup 8 pcs. 1 pc.

Mega Tuna Flakes in Oil diced potatoes diced carrots lumpia wrapper egg, beaten salt and pepper to taste garlic and onion seasoning

Procedure: 1. Season the carrots and potatoes with salt and pepper. Fry them in a pan at high heat. Cook for 3 minutes and then drain the vegetables on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the oil. 2. Drain the tuna of the oil. Squeeze until dry. Next, put the tuna, beaten egg, and vegetables in a bowl. Mix everything with garlic and onion seasoning.

Veggie Burger

(from Mega Global Corp.) Ingredients: 225g Mega Prime Garbanzos 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

Ingredients: 1 tsp. cooking oil 2 cloves garlic 1 pc. medium-sized onion 2 cans sardines in tomato sauce 1 pack spaghetti pasta Procedure: 1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packaging. Set aside. 2. Heat the oil in a pan. Sauté the garlic and onion until cooked. Toss in the sardines. 3. After a few minutes of cooking, put the cooked sardines over the pasta. Mix well and serve. Ingredients: 4 slices 1 1/3 cup 1/4 cup 2 tbsp.

luncheon meat (e.g. Spam), sliced into half-inch thick dashi (soup stock) shoyu (soy sauce) mirin (rice wine)

Fried Pancit Canton (by Yummy Food Meals on YouTube) Ingredients: 1 pack instant noodles (Pancit Canton) 2 cups water

Ingredients: 1 pack 4 cups 1 slice

instant noodles (Shin Ramen) water American cheese green onions (optional)

Procedure: 1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the instant noodles and boil until its soft. Drain water and rinse noodles with cold water. 2. Put the remaining 2 cups of water to the pot and add the noodles’ seasonings and dehydrated vegetables. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir and slowly add the beaten egg to the soup. 3. Add the green onions and cooked noodles to the soup. Stir.

Pets

Desiree Carlos, Editor daycarlos28@yahoo.com

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

Love for cats knows no virus FTER she finishes her chores at night, she checks her supply of cat food which she bought with her salary as a house helper.

Then she puts some cat food in an eco bag, goes down to the lobby of the building, and walks around Ortigas area to feed the stray cats. Teresita “Cita” H. Rodico, 62 years old, does this every night. *** Dolly Angeles Puruganan, a woman in her late 50s who had a heart surgery six years ago, also feeds the cats around the area. Dolly has helped have rescued cats treated for an illness or injury, and has Cita prepares the food to be distributed to the cats. fostered many recovering cats.

Dolly and Cita have been partners in feeding the cats. They share a love for cats that knows no virus.

Cita feeds stray Weasel. Cita put the red collar on Weasel.

*** Dolly usually meets Cita at her condo and the two women walk around Metrowalk and the streets around their building, calling the cats by the names they gave them. The cats approach the women when they are called by their names. They also feed “new” cats in the area. Just a few days ago, they met again at the area and fed the cats. They felt so sad that a lot of cats were so hungry. “Wala ng nagpapakain sa mga pusa dahil sa lockdown,“ Dolly said. The offices were closed and only a few humans were in the area. The cats gobbled up the food. It looked like their evening food from Cita and Dolly was the cats’ first meal for the day. This made the two women more worried for the cats. How will the cats sur-

the cat. After a few months, she realized I actually adopted the cat,” Dolly said. In 2014, Dolly had a heart surgery. “I was scared to go under the knife. But I was more scared that no one will take care of my cat if I die. After surgery, I was bedridden for two months. Depression hit me. I would wake up every hour every night crying. My cat helped me recover. Cookie could sense something was wrong. Cookie would lie down beside me when he sees me crying. It was so comforting,” Dolly recalled. It was at this time that Dolly discovered and joined the cat lovers’ group Cats of Ortigas whose members feed stray cats in the area, and even rescue injured cats, find adopters for the stray cats, and have them spayed or neutered.

“Feeding the cats there was therapy Knowing Cita feeds the cats every for me,” Dolly said. night as long as she has cat food comforts Dolly. *** However, Cita can only buy a limited It was in Ortigas where Dolly met amount of cat food with her salary. There Cita who feeds many cats there. After are more hungry cats at this time and less this, they often fed the cats together. humans feeding them. Dolly and Cita “Cita spends most of her salary on cat fear Cita’s supply of cat food may not be food. She is a true cat lover,” Dolly said. enough to feed the cats every night. There were also many instances when Dolly hopes some cat lovers in the area Cita would knock on Dolly’s door and will also feed the cats, donate some food to would tell her about a cat who needs help. Cita who feeds the cats regularly, and help “Cita would also prod me to adopt. If Cats of Ortigas continue to help the strays I did what she wanted, I would have a through feeding, looking for adopters, and hundred cats by now, “ Dolly said. having the cats spayed and neutered. To help Cita feed the stray cats *** every night, please contact her at Cita feeds till midnight, shared Dolly +639321828871. whose heart condition stops her from To help Cats of Ortigas, please go to feeding the cats every night. their Facebook group page. DC

vive the one-month lockdown? The women decided to continue feeding the cats. Virus or no virus, these two women will find a way for the stray cats to have at least one meal a day--- their evening meal. Despite the danger, they will find time to keep as many cats nourished. *** Dolly has always been a cat lover. “My love affair with cats started when I was a kid. Frequent vacations in Ilocos Norte meant I get to play with over 20 cats of my grandmother,” Dolly said. “In 2007, I cared for three cats in the office. I cried a river when one died. In the same year, I brought home a rescued kitten I named Cookie. I had to lie to my mother. I told her I would only foster

Pets can not transmit COVID-19—WHO PET TALES

BY DESIREE CARLOS

Adopt, don’t buy love THERE are thousands of dogs and cats who have not been hugged or kissed. There are thousands who have been waiting to experience how it is to be loved. Instead of buying a pup or kitten for P30,000 to even P100,000 plus, and making pet store owners rich, why not adopt a rescued dog or cat? Here are some of the rescued dogs in the care of animal welfare group Save ALL Inc.- Save Animals of Love and Light who are up for adoption. Please contact Save ALL in Facebook or admins Is La and Miks Lim. In the first photo is Cinderella, around 5-6 years old. She was a stray dog who gave birth on the street five years ago. She is a sweet, loving furbaby. In the second photo is Ace, a twoyear old neutered dog. His mama was pregnant with him and his siblings in 2017. His mama was to be brought to the pound to be killed but Save ALL rescued her. Ace is a very strong, healthy and sweet doggo.

DOGS and cats can not be infected with corona virus 19. Thus, they can not transmit it to humans, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. “Like previous SARS viruses, Covid-19 transmits primarily through droplets of coughing, sneezing, saliva, or discharge from the nose. While pets generate droplets quite easily, there are significant barriers for the virus to jump from humans to animals, and vice versa,” vetmed.ucdavis reported. But local officials in Zhejiang province in China where many residents tested positive for covid 19 “asked all residents to quarantine animals and slaughtered all stray dogs on the street. Another village in China made a similar rule at the end of January to kill animals to contain the spread of the virus,” vetmed.ucdavis noted. This prompted WHO to issue this statement: “At present, there is no evidence that companion animals/pets such as dogs or cats can be infected with the new coronavirus.” “Covid-19 is thought to have originated from dead animal flesh in a market in Wuhan, which eventually spread to humans. But live animals seem to be safe,” vetmed.ucdavis said. “Although it was reported that pet dog in Hong Kong has tested ‘weak positive’ for coronavirus and had been quarantined, WHO advises that it’s pet owners, rather than pets, that are at risk of spreading it, “ vetmed.ucdavis added.

Canine and feline core vaccines

Cats can not be infected with the new corona virus or covid-19. But there is such a thing as feline corona virus. To protect your cat, please have him or her vaccinated.

Coronaviruses that infect animals can become able to infect people, but this is rare. We do not know the exact source of the current outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).” We do not have evidence that companion animals, including pets, can spread COVID-19. Key points on corona virus We do not have evidence to suggest that The Center for Disease Control and imported animals or animal products imPrevention (CDCP) in the United States ported pose a risk for spreading the 2019 stressed the following: novel coronavirus in the United States.” “Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Some cause illness in people How to stay healthy and others cause illness in certain types around animals of animals. CDCP stressed that there is no eviThere is such a thing as canine corona virus (in dogs) and feline corona virus (in cats). But these kinds of viruses can not be transmitted by pets to humans. Pets are protected against these viruses through their core vaccines.

dence to suggest that animals (pets, livestock, or wildlife) can be a source of Covid 19 infection at this time in the United States. But animals can carry germs that can make people sick, thus it is important to practice healthy habits around pets and other animals. CDCP said these habits are: 1. Washing hands after handling animals, their food, waste, or supplies. 2. Practicing good pet hygiene and cleaning up after pets properly. 3. Taking pets to the veterinarian regularly and talking to the vet if you have questions about your pet’s health.