Students of top 4 Phl schools to CHED: Stop online classes

By Samantha Bagayas

Students of the top schools in the country on Wednesday, March 25, urged the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) to suspend online classes nationwide, as the country grapples with the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Student governments of the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila, and University of Santo Tomas (UST) submitted the petition to CHED after several student groups aired their concerns about transitioning to e-learning in the middle of an pandemic.

“We humbly request the Commission on Higher Education to exercise its administrative powers to issue a memorandum order regarding the suspension of online classes and consider our arguments and recommendations. It is our utmost responsibility to uphold our rights as students and ensure our welfare amidst the crisis,” they said in the petition asking CHED to suspend online classes until the end of the Metro Manila lockdown on April 14.

“While we understand the need for learning to continue, the different circumstances of students across universities are not ideal and conducive for such,” they added.   

In a bid to contain the spread of the virus, several areas of the Philippines, including the whole island of Luzon which houses over 57 million residents, are on lockdown. In Metro Manila, classes in all levels and government work are suspended until April 14, coinciding with the duration of the 30-day lockdown in the capital region.

However, several schools have opted to make up for lost time with online classes, following a CHED advisory that encourages schools to use “available distance learning, e-learning, and other alternative modes of delivery in lieu of residential learning if they have the resources to do so.”

Main issues

Echoing concerns raised by both students and faculty members, the student governments cited in their petition 3 main issues that hamper the conduct of online classes, especially as households nationwide adjust to life under quarantine.

The student governments pointed out how access to internet connection and learning devices continued to be a “privilege up to this day,” placing those with poor internet access at a disadvantage when it comes to online classes.

They also stressed how the coronavirus outbreak’s effect on the community may make it difficult for students to focus on academic requirements, especially if they were already struggling physically, mentally, and financially. Others may also be coping with household preparations in light of the restrictions imposed by the lockdown.

“Adding more workload for the students increases their burden and contradicts the purpose of the lockdown, which is to help their families prepare and adjust to the situation at hand,” they said.

Another issue they raised was the probable lack of environments conducive to learning at home and the effectiveness of the online lectures.

They noted that the suspension of online classes should include the suspension of requirements such as quizzes, deadlines and submissions to allow students to focus on “necessary household preparations as the country faces the COVID-19 pandemic.”

They also suggested the distribution of online materials for self-learning at one’s convenience, and adjustments to the academic calendar as alternatives to online learning.

However, the student governments clarified that the online materials should only be “supplementary in nature while face-to-face classes are suspended,” and could also help prepare students for the resumption of classes.

They said that deadlines in the first week should be waived to allow students to adjust after a long period of class suspension.

They also proposed that possible adjustments to the academic calendar and shifts in academic requirements should be consulted with all sectors involved, and with “utmost consideration” given to graduating students as well.

Aside from the 4 student governments, the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) and Students’ Rights and Welfare Philippines (STRAW PH) have submitted a position paper to CHED on the same appeal – to suspend online classes amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Several institutions including UP, Ateneo de Manila University, and Lyceum of the Philippines University, among others, have canceled their online classes.

While DLSU Manila initially suspended online classes, the classes were conducted starting March 25, though faculty members are not allowed to force students to participate.

Several others are still employing the e-learning method to catch up on their curriculum. – Rappler.com

 

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Kalinga assures dialysis patients access to facilities

By Jesse Maguiya  

TABUK CITY, Kalinga -- The local government of Kalinga has assured dialysis patients access to facilities while the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine is in effect.

The Inter Agency Task Force for emerging and re-emerging diseases in the province said a list of names and addresses of locals who undergo dialysis or chemotherapy in medical facilities in Region 2 is already collated.

                 Governor Ferdinand Tubban said the list would allow the provincial government, the six municipalities and this component city, to address the needs of the patients during the month-long quarantine.

During the IATF-Kalinga meeting on Tuesday, Tubban said the towns should submit the list as there are about 100 kidney patients from the province undergoing either dialysis or chemotherapy in Cagayan Valley's capital of Tuguegarao and nearby Isabela province, who need to be assisted as they cross borders. Tuguegarao is only a 45-minute drive from this capital town.

Others who need to go to Tuguegarao for medical treatment will also be included.

              In Kalinga, there are four medical facilities -- the government-run Kalinga provincial hospital, Almora General Hospital, Taclobao Hospital, and San Juan General Hospital.

Only Almora Hospital offers dialysis services but limited to 20 patients per day and will not be able to serve the additional 100 reported patients.

Tubban said a memorandum containing the list would be issued and distributed to the checkpoints to avoid a repeat of an incident where a patient going to Tuguegarao was prevented by cops from leaving.

In the meeting, Tubban said the national protocol exempts medical purposes from the quarantine, as he recommended carpooling for kidney patients who have no vehicles while those with service must get a quarantine pass.

Medical practitioners holding clinics in Kalinga are likewise allowed entry upon showing proof of their profession.

As of Tuesday, Kalinga Province has 37 persons under investigation and 1,197 persons under monitoring for Covid-19. (PNA)

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Health personnel with symptoms priority in Covid scan analyzer

By Pigeon Lobien  

BAGUIO CITY – A new technology that could detect coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will start to operate at the Baguio General Hospital Medical Center (BGHMC).

               The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Covid- 19 Scan Analyzer, a new technology developed by telecommunication giant Huawei will first test health personnel showing symptoms of the Covid-19.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong said on Monday initial tests using the AI Covid 19 Scan Analyzer could show results within two minutes that would relieve patients as well as health workers from the burden of having to wait for days for results to come out.

This would give them time to go into quarantine and medication, he said.

“I am not saying that test results of this technology are confirmatory because they are not but it is said to have 98 [percent] accuracy so at least we can have a heads-up on whether a particular patient is a presumptive case or not,” Magalong said.

He said the machine could be helpful as cases that will not turn presumptive could go home and not swamp hospital or quarantine facilities that have a limited number of rooms.

Philip Puzon, head of the city’s Management Information and Technical Division (MITD) which worked with Huawei-EVI support team and Baguio doctors in installing the program, said Baguio is lucky to be the first recipient of the technology.

“The technology works in that its server is connected to the AI Cloud of Huawei which scans Philippine test results and compares them to the repository of results then tells the doctor if the case is highly probable in terms of percentage of diagnosis. However, in the end, it is still the doctor who will decide on the diagnosis,” Puzon said.

               Baguio has recorded its first Covid-19 case on March 23- a when a 61-year old Filipino overseas worker from Italy who was tested positive while several others are the presumptive positive and awaiting result.

Although Huawei’s program’s diagnostic capability is limited, it can still tell probable cases, Puzon said.

The technology is expected to be operational this week.

Meanwhile, the city government is working out the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) to supply the needs of hospital workers and ensure that they are protected while attending to Covid patients.   

City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña said the city is swamped with requests for face masks, gloves, and others from public and private hospitals.

Magalong said they already ordered 500,000 masks; 300 forehead thermometers and 15,000 gowns and booties however they are encountering difficulties in working out the purchases due to limited supply.

Last weekend, the city gave two boxes of 3M face masks to the Triage and Radiology Office of the BGHMC and one box to Saint Louis Hospital of the Sacred Heart.

The Filipino-Chinese community also donated 2,500 pieces of masks, making their total donation run up to 15,000 which were all given away to hospitals. (PNA)

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Baguio limits crowds at city public market

By Dionisio Dennis, Jr. and Pamela Mariz Geminiano  

BAGUIO CITY – The local government here announced on Tuesday the scheduling of buying food and supplies at the public market to prevent people from crowding and avoid possible infection from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

In an advisory from the city information office, starting Wednesday, the city government will impose window hours for villagers who are not covered by the 24-hour curfew exemptions, to go out of their homes to buy essential supplies such as medicines and food.

The schedules will adopt the groupings by the district of the 128 villages, where residents will be allowed on specific hours.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be the schedules of Districts 1 and 2 - 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.; Districts 3, 4 and 5 - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Districts 6 and 7 - 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Districts 8, 9 and 10 - 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays will be for Districts 11, 12 and 13 - 7 am to 11 a.m., Districts 14 and 15 - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Districts 16, 17 and 18 - 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Districts 19 and 20 - 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

"Sunday is lockdown day except for medical emergencies," the advisory said.

This is applicable to all residents whether riding public or private transportation or walking.

Those covered by curfew exemptions particularly those working in critical establishments are exempted from the directive.

Emergency Home Community Quarantine Passes with serial numbers, date and time will be issued to monitor the number of persons going out of the barangays. Only one person per household is issued the passes.

Arrivals of essential products and deliveries will be allowed earlier or depending on what was prescribed for vendors, suppliers, viajeras, dealers, distributors, wholesalers-buyers which will be allowed from 4 a.m. onwards to replenish the goods, stocks and other food items in the market.

The advisory also said on Sundays, vital establishments such as groceries and drugstores located outside the city market will remain open.

Earlier, the city government issued a directive limiting the operation of the market from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. only followed by the two-hour cleaning time.

After the operation hours, all vendors are directed to help clean the market and sanitize daily.

Flushing of water by the fire department is also done on schedules.

On a daily basis, fire trucks are deployed on the main roads in the central business district for flushing activities. (PNA)

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Benguet mulls total lockdown

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet --  The Provincial COVID Inter-Agency Task Force mulls the imposition of a province- wide total lockdown to protect the province from the dreaded corona virus 2019 or COVID-19.

In a meeting of the task force on March 23, the idea for a total lockdown was proposed  following the Department of Health’s confirmation   of    positive COVID-19 cases in Baguio City. Considering the proximity of Baguio City to Benguet municipalities, the group fears for the spread of COVID-19 in the province. 

               They tackled the limitations of the province particularly in terms of facilities and human resources.  

The Benguet General Hospital lack specialty doctors. Should there be increase in critical patients, there is a pool of medical experts who committed to look after such patients.  But the lack of facilities such as respirators and personal protective equipment for health workers are other limitations, Diclas said. 

                “We cannot afford in case there will be increase in the number of patients. That is why prevention is better than cure,” said Diclas who is a doctor by profession. 

Pending the lockdown guidelines, the province  continues to observe  protection and preventive measures and implements the enhanced community quarantine that has been imposed in Luzon since March 17 to curb the spread of COVID. 

On the emerging concerns on the implementation of the ECQ particularly in checkpoints, curfew hours and restricted public transport and human movement, it is the mandate of the provincial government is to make quarantine not very difficult, but the  health of the people should not be compromised as the government is bound to protect in order to avoid the spread of the virus, Diclas said.

He reiterated his appeal for the people of Benguet to stay in their homes, avoid going out if not necessary, observe proper hygiene  and maintain social distancing, which others call as “physical distancing.” (JDP/SCA-PIA-CAR, Benguet)

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Benguet Congress Rep. donates P1M to help fight coronavirus

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- House of Representatives committee on appropriations chairperson and Benguet caretaker congressman Eric Go Yap donated P1 million to augment the financial resources of the province during the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon due to the threat of the COVID-19.

               Representatives from the Office of the Congressman led by Head Coordinator Anthony Kuan turned over the donation for the battle against COVID19 to Governor Melchor Diclas and Vice Gov. Johnny Waguis at the Benguet Capitol on Thursday, March 26 

The amount is a personal donation of the lawmaker who recently tested positive of the COVID-19.

He earlier   provided Vitamin C to the senior citizens in the province to boost their immune system.

Meanwhile, following Yap’s announcement Wednesday night that he tested positive for COVID-19, Congressman’s Office in Benguet was placed in the state of physical quarantine effective March 26.   

“Although we have very minimal reason and proof to believe that the office has indeed been compromised, we have decided that it is better to err on the side of caution to take preventive measures and protect not only for our staff, but largely also our dear constituency as well from this pandemic,” Yap stated   in his social media post .

The Congressman last visited the province in February 20 to 23 during the consultation on the proposed nationalization of the Benguet General Hospital and series of meetings with the local chief executives and line agency heads. 

Clients may still continue to share your concerns by sending messages through the official facebook page (Eric Go Yap) or through mobile hotline: +639658798532. 

The people of Benguet wish Cong. Yap’s speedy recovery from this coronavirus dreaded disease. (JDP/RMC- PIA-CAR)

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Ifugao adds more members in fight against Covid-19

LAGAWE, Ifugao -- With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)  fast spreading in different parts of the country , Gov. Jerry Dalipog  expanded  membership of the COVID-19 Provincial Task Force (CPTF)  to include other stakeholders  to oversee and implement preventive measures  to stop the entry of  the dreaded disease in the province.  

Through Executive Order No. 26, the CPTF chaired by the Governor with the Vice Governor as the vice chairman, is now composed of 50 members to include all Sangguniang Panlalawigan members, mayors, chiefs of hospitals, heads of provincial and national offices, representatives from the academe, business and transport sectors.

The task force will formulate and institute polices and systems for preparedness and response to the COVID-19, authorize and mobilize provincial teams and resources for appropriate and prompt response as needed or requested.

It is also tasked to develop plans and adopt measures relative to the prevention of entry and minimization of spread of the disease; establish, strengthen and manage a functional network with other government and non-government offices, and asses the COVID19 preparedness and response situation of the province.

                The reorganization also include the core teams of the task force like the provincial spokesperson; media relations, information and communication; disease surveillance and operation; hospital preparedness; logistic support; mobilization and transport; planning and checkpoint.

Funds for the implementation of plans and measures against the COVID-19 will be charged to budget under the Provincial Health Office, Provincial Risk Reduction Management Office and other available funds of the provincial government. 

As of March 26, Ifugao remains free of Covid-19. It has listed 34 persons under investigation with one admitted in hospital, 8 discharged, 22 managed at home, 2 recovered and one managed at quarantine area. There are also 1895 persons under monitoring with 1,455 still to complete their 14-day quarantine. (JDP/MBL- PIA CAR, Ifugao)

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Baguio folks told: Set up 'survival gardens'

By Pamela Mariz Geminiano 

BAGUIO CITY – The city government here is urging residents to plant vegetables via "survival gardens" amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

In a press release on Tuesday, the local government said the repacked vegetable seeds are distributed by the City Veterinary and Agricultural Office (CVAO) to the villages to establish their respective veggie gardens as an emergency response to Covid-19 pandemic.

Among the seeds being distributed by the CVAO include pechay, lettuce, pole beans, spinach, okra, eggplant, garden peas, green shingkang, bunching onions, and others that can be harvested in two months.

The survival gardens can save the families in case of a food supply shortage due to the impact of the community quarantine to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease.

The project aims to sustain the supply of vegetables in the coming months in barangays and households that have spaces or container gardens, the media release said.

"This is also a way to supplement their rations during the enhanced community quarantine period," it added.

The city has earlier identified villages, where agricultural production can be done, have received the seeds.

Residents who have ready spaces, pots or containers for planting can also avail of the free seeds. (PNA)

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Baguio eyes Sto. Tomas strawberry plantation as agriculture eco site

By Pigeon Lobien  

BAGUIO CITY – A Baguio councilor wants a strawberry plantation atop one of the highest peaks in southern Cordillera as an agricultural eco-tourism center.

Councilor Philian Weygan-Allan has filed a proposed ordinance that seeks to establish Sitio Bilis in Barangay Santo Tomas Central as an agricultural eco-tourism center that is “an agriculture-based operation that brings visitors to a farm or ranch for the purpose of leisure, education, or active involvement in the activities therein.”

"Santo Tomas Central is an agricultural barangay in the City of Baguio producing high-value crops such as strawberry and leafy vegetables," the proposed measure said.

It added: "The barangay has its natural mountain terrain and vegetable location for bikers and sightseers and a natural cave for spelunkers."

The proposed measure said a masterplan will be designed for the development of agricultural eco-tourism in the said barangay.

The masterplan will be crafted by the Bilis community in partnership with the City Government of Baguio and other government and non-government agencies, it added.

It also said the proposed agricultural design for the project will include walk paths, stopping areas for refreshment and souvenirs, photo areas, a car park, and other features that the community may want to include.

             If approved, a technical working group will be created consisting of the City Mayor or his representative; the chairperson of the Committee on Market, Trade and Commerce, and Agriculture of the Baguio City Council; the City Veterinary and Agriculture Officer; the City Planning and Development Officer; the Punong Barangay and/ or other barangay officials; a local cooperative member; a representative of the Local Farmers Organization; the Baguio Tourism Officer; and a local community representative.

The proposal said the city government will designate the specific location of the agricultural eco-tourism site in the barangay after the completion of the masterplan.

According to the proposal, tourism activities will be done in the agri-tourist attraction during the summer months while its operation will be closed during the rainy months.

It proposes the collection of fees from persons who will enter the agricultural eco-tourism area including parking, environmental and entrance, strawberry and vegetable picking fees, and other fees to be determined as needed.

Barangay Santo Tomas is one of the barangays that border Poblacion, Tuba and found in the middle of the mountain which was home to La Presa, a made-up village for a television series of the same title that made this mountain a must-visit for lowlanders.

It is an agricultural village where leeks, cabbages, lettuce, and other highland vegetables are also planted. Farms, however, were devastated by strong rains last year. (PNA)

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Ifugao closes main road to stop Covid-19

LAMUT, Ifugao --  After a week of the implementation of  the enhanced  community quarantine CQ and with   confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases  in  nearby areas,  the local chief executive   announced that  all entries  to and from this   municipality  dubbed the “Gateway  to Ifugao”   will be closed for the protection of everybody.

Mayor Mariano Buyagawan, Jr. in his advisory said the Lamut Bridge connecting the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Ifugao and other entry points  of the municipality will be closed to all commuters starting night of March 26 until further notice. 

“The time has come and we are very sorry but we have to close the Lamut Bridge,”Buyagawan stated. There will be no entry of commuters coming inside the municipality of Lamut and province of Ifugao except on health emergencies, medical attention outside province and for health workers. It is also closed   to all Ifugao commuters going outside the province.

Alternate  entrances  in barangay  Ambasa and Pieza are now also  totally closed to commuters.

The mayor appealed to the public for more understanding on the inconvenience that this closure will create but foremost is for the interest and safety of the people of Lamut and province as a whole. 

Health officials on Monday confirmed the death of the first COVID-19 fatality in the Cagayan Valley Region, 65 year old male confined at the Region 02 Trauma & Medical Center in Bayombong, N. Vizcaya. 

There are now also four COVID cases in the Cordillera region, three of them in Baguio City.

As the different barangay local government units continue to implement community quarantine and social distancing guidelines   and strengthen monitoring of    persons under monitoring and persons under investigation, Buyagawan   urged his constituents to “Please stay home and pray." (JDP/MBL- PIA CAR, Ifugao) 

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Baguio village locked down; Barangay officials castigated

By Pigeon Lobien  

LOCKDOWN. Policemen are stationed at the entries and exits to Barangay Pinget, Baguio City . Mayor Benjamin Magalong had the village declared on lockdown Wednesday for not following the enhance community quarantine. – PIO Baguio

BAGUIO CITY – Police on Wednesday night placed checkpoints at the entry and exit points to Barangay Pinget here after it was declared under lockdown by Mayor Benjamin Magalong for the failure of its officials to implement the enhanced community quarantine to control the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

               Baguio City Police Office chief, Col. Allen Ray Co said they had already implemented the lockdown around 6:30 p.m.

"We established checkpoints in all the entry and exit points of the barangay and no one will be allowed to leave or get in except the critical establishment workers," he said.

After several warnings starting Tuesday last week to comply with the curfew, staying at home and mandatory wearing of face masks for residents, Magalong finally declared the said village under lockdown.

“Matigas talaga mga ulo at ayaw sumunod ang mga residente (The residents are hard-headed and refuse to comply [with the quarantine]),” Magalong said.

“We found out today that some residents continue to loiter around and do not adhere to the prescribed physical distancing,” he added.

Magalong said the villagers could still go out during the four-hour window to go to the market and purchase goods for their sustenance.

Pinget is in District 8, which has a quarantine window of Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 1-5 p.m.

Two more barangays might also be locked down for failure of its village officials to implement the community quarantine to stop the spread of the Covid-19.

Magalong on Thursday warned residents of barangays San Carlos Heights and Quezon Hill Extension that they will follow the fate of Barangay Pinget.

Magalong visited the two barangays and told residents there to comply with the community quarantine or face lockdown.

7 villages on escalated quarantine

Seven barangays are on a 14-day escalated enhanced community quarantine where one has a confirmed case of Covid-19 and two are presumptive positive of the deadly disease.

Magalong earlier declared Barangay Loakan and its neighboring villages under an escalated quarantine. The six barangays include Loakan Proper, Loakan Liwanag, Loakan Apugan, Atok Trail, Kias and Fort del Pilar that houses the Philippine Military Academy.

“I have also declared barangay Trancoville under the same situation after one of the presumptive positive cases is from that barangay,” he told a recent media forum.

Magalong said as of March 25, three cases have been reported in the city, all of them came from outside. The first was a 61-year-old female overseas Filipino worker from Italy, followed by a 52-year old female from Ortigas, Mandaluyong and a 55-year-old male from Makati City.

Four patients under investigation have been reported to have died but the laboratory test result of the two that was later released by the Department of Health-Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (DOH-RITM) showed negative of Covid-19.

Latest figures show that Baguio has 1,847 persons under monitoring (PUMs) who went on a 14-day quarantine.

A total of 425 PUMs have completed their 14-day quarantine. There are 259 patients under investigation (PUI) in isolation and 21 admitted in medical facilities. (PNA)

 

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Baguio residents urged: Don’t discriminate health workers

COVID ANALYZER. Mayor Benjamin Magalong inspects the Huawei Artificial Intelligence (AI) CT Scan System which will test its first Covid-19 person under investigation. Baguio is the first recipient of the scanner developed by Huawei. The results of the scan are not conclusive and confirmatory but will give the city a heads up. (PNA photo courtesy of PIO Baguio)

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY -- – The Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) urged the public not to discriminate the health workers, especially those that are handling persons under investigation (PUIs) and presumptive Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 cases, because they do not deserve such stigma compared to the risk that they are taking just to save lives.

BGHMC Medical Center Chief Dr. Ricardo Ruñez disclosed that the hospital already received reports from the concerned health workers on the alleged discrimination being done against them and the members of their families considering their handling of the PUIs and presumptive COVID cases which should not be the case.

He said health workers handling high risk cases such as PUIs and presumptive COVID cases are fully protected when dealing with their patients that is when they go out of the hospital and go home, they will not contaminate their family members and relatives.

The BGHMC official explained that the problem only occurs when there is a break in the personal protective equipment of the health workers but such instances are remote possibilities as the hospital is trying to make sure that the protective equipment of health workers do not have the defects that will expose them to such life-threatening illness.

“We appeal to the public not to discriminate our health workers because it is not worth the sacrifices that they are making just to save the life of individuals who contract the deadly virus. Our health workers do not deserve such kind of stigma because they are risking their lives for the benefit of the welfare of others,” Dr. Ruñez stressed.

The medical center chief said aside from being provided with the required personal protective equipment, health workers handling high risk cases also underwent the necessary training that allows them to be able to effectively and efficiently handle such cases without being contaminated with the deadly virus that is why it is still safe to mingle with health workers and for them not to be stigmatized.

According to him, the discrimination of health workers is unfair because the stigma against them is not commensurate to the risk of the job that they are doing aside from being exposed to being contaminated with the contagious disease, thus, the public should learn to understand the nature of their job so that they will be able to learn to appreciate the sacrifices being done by the frontliners in confronting the challenges posed by the deadly virus.

Earlier, the BGHMC was designated by the health department as one of the five sub-national testing centers in the country to facilitate the conduct of the initial screening of persons under investigation to reduce the huge backlog of pending tests in the different parts of the country.

Ruñez called on the public to also understand the prioritization being done by the hospital to prevent the influx of individuals wanting to undergo the COVID test conside4ring that the priority will still be those that possess the severe symptoms of the illness and those that have underlying medical conditions to maximize the limited test kits that have been initially provided to the sub-national testing center by the health department.

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4 Baguio hotels used by PUIs, health workers

By Dexter A. See and Pigeon Lobien

BAGUIO CITY – Owners of four hotels in the city allowed the use of their hotel rooms as containment area for persons under investigation (PUIs) and as a temporary lodging area for health workers of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) during the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine until April 15, 2020.

The management of Lindi Hotel along Legarda Road allowed the city government and the health department to use its existing 28 rooms as the city’s centralized containment area for moderate risk PUIs who have been advised to go on 14-day quarantine while the management of the Star Wood Hotel allowed the free use of its hotel rooms as temporary lodging and accommodation area for health workers of the BGHMC who are now working round the clock in handling the increasing number of PUIs and presumptive Corona virus Disease (COVID) 2019 cases in the city.

The management of 3BU Hostel Baguio along Bonifacio and Gov. Pack road and Beth and Bernie Pagar building offered their establishments to be temporarily used by health workers having difficulty of travelling from their places to their work so that they will not be exhausted.

Initially, two PUIs were accommodated in the established centralized containment area while the city government and the City Health Services Office are putting the final touches in providing the additional monitoring devices to convert the facility into a semi-hospital set up.

On the other hand, the BGHMC management is currently working out the prioritization of health workers who will use the hotel rooms of the Star Wood Hotel as their temporary lodging and accommodation area while rendering the required services to the hospital during this period of enhanced community quarantine when transportation from their residences to the hospital is not available.

Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong expressed the city government’s gratitude to the management of Lindi hotel for allowing its hotel rooms to be used by the city as its centralized containment area for moderate risk PUIs considering the expected influx of patients following the designation of BGHMC as a sub-national testing center for the initial screening of the illness and to the other hotels for providing free accommodations to health workers who are sacrificing their lives to care for the affected patients.

The city chief executive stated the offer of the Lindi hotel management for the use of their hotel rooms for free greatly contributes to the efforts of the city government to provide added confinement areas aside from the existing hospital rooms in both the private and public hospitals in the city.

Earlier, BGHMC announced it has some 19 available isolation rooms to accommodate high-risk PUIs while awaiting their confirmatory test results from the Manila-based Research for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

BGHMC medical center chief Dr. Ricardo Ruñez also expressed the management’s sincerest gratitude to the owners of Star Wood hotel for allowing their hotel rooms to be used for free as lodging and accommodation for their health workers allowing them to pace their workers for their round-the-clock duty in the coming weeks for PUIs and presumptive COVID cases in the city. - Dexter A. See

Owners of the Lindi Hotel, a two-story building on Legarda Road, asked not to be named, Magalong said.

Magalong appealed to the owners of the former Santo Nino Hospital on P. Burgos Road, which has been vacant after its closure some five years ago, to lend the area as a confinement center which the owners granted but residents are opposing use of the facility as Covid-19 center.

It is owned by the Fernandez family, who owns the Baguio Central University and honored early this year with a street named after the school’s founder Margarita Fernandez.

Magalong said the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) might not be lifted any time soon, with the way things are going.

“I am not that all optimistic that this will not be over in one month, not optimistic with two, three could be probable,” Magalong said.

During the special city council meeting on Tuesday, the Local Finance Committee said the money could be augmented coming from the city’s PHP2.2-billion annual budget, but this needs legislation, “especially if the ECQ will be extended beyond the one month.”

On the same day, a total of PHP2.5 million was released from the city’s PHP29 million quick response fund (QRF) which was distributed to the 128 barangay heads as an initial salvo for the food distribution for the “poorest of the poor.”

Another PHP101 million was accessed by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) to help Baguio residents as a 24-hour curfew had been imposed to stop social contact.

Magalong said the second week will be even more crucial as food will be more difficult to get.

“Baka gutom na tao by that time (People could go hungry by that time),” he said.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the local government has already distributed food packs with PHP450 worth of food consisting of milk, rice, noodles, and canned goods.

“That is good only for three days for a family of five,” Magalong said even as the city’s quick response fund and that of the barangay will not be enough to buy food for the more than 350,000 residents.

“Soon, we need to augment that,” said Magalong referring to the QRF.

Magalong said the city needs to stock more on alcohol, face masks and the like in the next days.

For alcohol, stocks come regularly but the first to run low due to high demand, the city has ordered in large volumes.

The city is also set to get 500,000 face masks while a disinfection tent will soon be arriving to be used by health workers, for them to be safer from getting infected.

Magalong said there will be more Covid-19 test kits so that there will be “mass testing (even) if we buy.”

To date, there are only 100 test kits which are not used exclusively by residents but even from other provinces with the Baguio General Hospital as a secondary national testing center of the Department of Health.

Magalong is also awaiting the four packs of test kits from the SM Foundation. Each pack contains 250 test kits or a total of 1,000.

Magalong said they are also awaiting a CT scan like apparatus from Huawei that has an artificial intelligence analyzer for the lungs.

As for food supply, Magalong has already asked the city’s big supermarkets to have rolling stores that will cater to the food needs of the 128 barangays covered by 12 districts.

Each district, consisting of five to eight barangays, will have a rolling store. – With PNA reports

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Police RoundUp

Drug store robbedin Lingayen town

By Eva Visperas

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — A drug store lost an undetermined amount of cash to robbers who broke into the establishment here in Barangay Poblacion on March 22.

The robbery at the St. Joseph Drugstore on Solis street was discovered when pharmacy assistant Manilyn Estrada, 32, and her companion opened the store at around 8 a.m.

Estrada told police the robbers destroyed the doorknob at the backdoor.

She said the incident was not captured by a closed circuit television camera installed in the store as the CCTV is switched off during closing time.

Pangasinan exec nabbed for violating quarantine

By Eva Visperas

STO. TOMAS, Pangasinan — A municipal councilor was arrested for disobeying authorities manning a checkpoint in Barangay San Antonio in this town at past midnight on Tuesday.

Top Jigur Peregrino, 38, of the nearby Alcala town, reportedly refused to cooperate and showed arrogance as he was being questioned by officers enforcing the enhanced community quarantine.

Peregrino was placed under the custody of the Sto. Tomas police for proper disposition.

Sixteen other violators of the Luzon-wide quarantine being imposed by the government to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 were nabbed at different checkpoints in Bayambang, Binalonan, Dasol, Malasiqui  and Dagupan City.

 

1,200 arrested in Central Luzon for breaking COVID-19 curfew

By Franco Regala

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — More than 1,000 residents have been arrested in Central Luzon for violating curfew aimed at controlling the spread of coronavirus, Regional Police Office 3 (PRO3) said Wednesday.

PRO 3 Director Police Brig. General Rhodel O. Sermoni said the 1,200 violators have been arrested across the region since the strict implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in Central Luzon since the curfew came into effect on March 17.

Local government units have been imposing curfew of 8 p.m. to 5 .m. force the public to stay in their homes until April 12 and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Central Luzon police chief personally inspected all enhanced community quarantine control points to ensure the strict implementation was being carried out.

The violators were taken to the police stations where they were assessed fines as penalty for violating the curfew hours and were advised to go home.

The police regional chief continued to appeal for public cooperation and encourage them to stay at home if they have no business going outside.

“We are doing all we can to protect everyone but we also need your cooperation to protect each other to fight the virus,” he added.

Wakes banned during Luzon lockdown: PNP

By Rambo Talabong

Even wakes, which are customary overnight vigils in the country, are banned under the lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Philippine National Police (PNP) Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said on Tuesday, March 24.

"There are no more wakes, just the burials, because that (wake) is a mass gathering," Eleazar said during the government-organized Laging Handa press briefing, adding that the ban applies regardless if the death is coronavirus-related.

Eleazar is the leader of the Joint Task Force Coronavirus Shield, the temporary group of top police, military, and Coast Guard officials assigned to oversee the implementation of guidelines issued by the national government to stem the spread of the virus.

It is a Filipino tradition for crowds of mourners to gather in overnight vigils before burying the remains of departed loved ones.

"We know that we have a culture. We have our religion. But the situation now is different," Eleazar said.

Still, religious leaders who will administer the burial rites should be allowed by cops to travel from their homes, Eleazar said.

The reminder comes a week after President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire island region of Luzon on lockdown or what they call the "enhanced community quarantine", which banned mass gatherings, restricted travel, and ordered people to stay home unless they are procuring needs. – Rappler.com

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Joma to CPP-NPA: Declare virus truce

Exiled Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison has advised his allies in the rebel movement at home to declare a unilateral truce as a response to the United Nations call for an immediate global ceasefire amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

In his letter, seen Tuesday, Sison said as Chief Political Consultant, he was advising the negotiating panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) to recommend to its principal, the NDFP National Council, the issuance of a unilateral ceasefire declaration by the Communist Party of the Philippines to the New People’s Army.

This would respond to the call of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a global ceasefire between warring parties for the common purpose of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

Guterres, in a brief speech at the UN headquarters in New York, said it was time to put armed conflict on lockdown and “focus on the true fight of our lives.”

“The NDFP and the broad masses of the people themselves need to refrain from launching tactical offensives to gain more time and opportunity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and to look after the health and over-all welfare of the people in both urban and rural areas,” Sison said in his letter.

But the rebel leader said once a unilateral ceasefire was declared, the NPA must be vigilant and prepared to act in self-defense against any tactical offensive launched by the military, police and paramilitary forces.

“The world must know that long before the belated quarantine declarations and repressive measures of the GRP, the NDFP and the revolutionary forces have been informing, training and mobilizing the people on how to fight the pandemic,” he said.

Sison initially refused to reciprocate the ceasefire declared by the government, calling it “premature, if not insincere and false.”

He said enemy forces had persisted in launching tactical offensives and bombing of communities in the countryside as well as campaigns of red tagging, abductions and murder in the urban areas, adding “ it is understandable why the NDFP has desisted from reciprocating the false unilateral ceasefire declared by the GRP last March 15, 2020.”

“While committed to their unilateral ceasefire declaration, the NPA and revolutionary forces can remain vigilant and militant in arousing, organizing and mobilizing the people not only against the Covid-19 pandemic and the far deadlier Duterte virus of tyranny and corruption,” he added.

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