DA-CAR head Odsey on ‘disposal of veggies by farmers due to low prices’

>> Friday, April 3, 2020


BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon

(Dr. Cameron P. Odsey, OIC Regional Executive Director of Department of Agriculture Cordillera makes this rejoinder on reported disposal of vegetables by Cordillera farmers due to very low prices):

BAGUIO CITY -- It was reported that carrots and Chinese cabbage that were brought to La Trinidad on March 23 were returned by farmers to their farms unsold and disposed as fertilizers because of very low prices.
Based on the price monitoring at the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC), the prices of these two commodities were abnormally low on Monday, however, it normalized on the succeeding days until today.
On March 23, the wholesale price of Chinese cabbage ranged from five (5) to eight (8) pesos per kilo, which was abnormally low, but eventually normalized to 15-20, 15-18 and 10-15 on the succeeding days.
Similarly, for carrots, the price was 1-8 on March 23, 2020 but increased to 10-17; 8-30 and 20-25 the next succeeding days.
The prices on that day were therefore unusual rather than the norm and most farmers were able to sell their produce at higher prices the following days.
The DA has been responding to situations such as this in several ways. We have been assisting small vegetable coops and associations transport their vegetables to their buyers in Metro-Manila to reduce their transport cost. Just yesterday, we have transported 10 tons of vegetables of a farmers’ group in Tublay, Benguet to Quezon City. This was in coordination with the Municipal Government of Tublay, Benguet.
Pursuant to DA Secretary William Dar’s directive under these trying situations, trucks from the DA are used to assist small farmers groups in this regard.
We continue to arrange for the transport of vegetables from various farmers groups in Benguet to DA organized Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita stores in Metro-Manila. These are venues organized in strategic sites that sell agricultural commodities from the provinces at cheaper prices as middle men are not involved. This will be done as the Kadiwas are organized in various sites in the metropolis and are scheduled on a regular basis.
In cooperation with the City of Baguio and the Department of Trade and Industry, the DA is arranging for vegetables from Benguet be incorporated in Kadiwa Rolling stores being organized that will sell grocery items and farm products in all barangays of the City. This will start next week and will be regularly conducted, it is expected that a large volume of vegetables will be sold this way.
The various LGUs of Benguet have also started to procure vegetables for their constituents, especially for non-vegetable producing municipalities. They are encouraged to continue do this.
We also continue to exert all efforts to issue Food Passes to truckers who transport agricultural produce so that they can pass unhampered in all enhanced community quarantine check points. This is critical to ensure the smooth and fast passage of food items like vegetables to Metro-Manila and other urban centers. Since we started last week we have been able to issue 1,300 passes as of today. This has facilitated the transport of 8,180 metric tons of assorted vegetables from Benguet to Metro-Manila and other provinces from March 18 until today.
We would like also to appeal to our local government unit partners to kindly follow the ECQ guidelines so as not to impede the smooth flow of farm and food products to the markets and consumers.
We will continue to exert all efforts to minimize the losses incurred by our farmers and bring cheaper vegetables to Metro-Manila and other areas even as we wait for the abnormal situation to normalize due to COVID- 19 pandemic.

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Is COVID-19 a sinister plot to destroy America?


PERRYSCOPE
Perry Diaz

While scientists delve into the origin of the novel coronavirus (a.k.a. COVID-19), the conspiracy theorists are drawn to the political aspects of the deadly virus.  Who created it and why was it created?  Was its creation accidental or was it planned? 
If it was created accidentally, then let the scientists find out how?  If it was planned, then it raises the question: What is the purpose of creating this “manufactured” virus?  Was it intended as a “biological weapon,” that is, a weapon that kills people in a controlled environment, unlike nuclear weapon that destroys everything that’s within a certain range?
In an article written by J.R. Nyquist for the Epoch Times (January 31, 2020), it said, “In a secret speech given to high-level Communist Party cadres nearly two decades ago [in 2003], Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Chi Haotian explained a long-range plan for ensuring a Chinese national renaissance.”
Gen. Chi identified the two vital goals that must be achieved, to wit: (1) To expand China’s living space because it was severely overpopulated and its environment is deteriorating; and (2) To conquer new lands, in which a “second China” could be built by “colonization.”  
Chi warned his listeners: “This appears to be shocking, but the logic is actually very simple. … [China is] in fundamental conflict with the Western strategic interest.  Therefore, the United States would never allow China to seize other countries to build a second China.  The United States stands in China’s way.”
Chi explained it as follows: “Would the United States allow us to go out to gain new living space? First, if the United States is firm in blocking us, it is hard for us to do anything significant to Taiwan, Vietnam, India, or even Japan, [so] how much more living space can we get?  Very trivial! Only countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia have the vast land to serve our need for mass colonization.”
“We are not as foolish as to want to perish together with America by using nuclear weapons,” Chi said. “Only by using non-destructive weapons that can kill many people will we be able to reserve America for ourselves.”
The answer is found in biological weapons
Cleaning up America
“When Comrade Xiaoping was still with us, the Party Central Committee had the perspicacity to make the right decision not to develop aircraft carrier groups and focus instead on developing lethal weapons that can eliminate mass populations of the enemy country,” Chi said.
Surmise it to say, the Chinese have been experimenting with biological weapons and the communist regime considers this to be the most important weapons to accomplish their goal of “cleaning up America.” 
Gen. Chi credits former Party leader Deng Xiaoping for prioritizing biological weapons ahead of all other weapons in the Chinese arsenal.  Chi said, “We must not forget that the history of our civilization repeatedly has taught us that one mountain does not allow two tigers to live together.”
According to Gen. Chi, China’s overpopulation problem and environmental degradation will eventually result in social collapse and civil war.  He estimated that “more than 800 million” Chinese would die in such a collapse. Therefore, the Chinese Communist Party doesn’t have any policy alternative but to “clean up” the U.S. by biological attacks; otherwise, it will suffer a national catastrophe.
“We must prepare ourselves for two scenarios,” Chi said. “If our biological weapons succeed in the surprise attack, the Chinese people will be able to keep their losses at a minimum in the fight against the United States. If, however, the attack fails and triggers a nuclear retaliation from the United States, China would perhaps suffer a catastrophe in which more than half of its population would perish. That is why we need to be ready with air defense systems for our big and medium-sized cities.”
“Our economic development is all about preparing for the needs of war!” he said.
It’s not about improving the life of Chinese people in the short run. It’s not about building a consumer-oriented capitalist society. “Publicly,” said Chi, “we still emphasize economic development as our center, but in reality, economic development has war as its center!”
Weaponizing viruses
This is the underlying motive behind China’s ready participation in the West’s P4 microbiology labs (Pathogen Lethality Level 4 labs), where the world’s deadliest microbes are studied. This has emerged during the novel coronavirus pandemic that occurred at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in Wuhan, China, which is China’s first biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory.  It was first conceived in 2003 during the SARS outbreak.  However, it took a decade to complete and become operational in 2015.  It specializes in deadly viruses.
Genesis of Novel Coronavirus
The first case of novel coronavirus was on June 13, 2012, when a 60-year-old Saudi man was admitted to a private hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a 7-day history of fever, cough, expectoration, and shortness of breath. He had no history of cardiopulmonary or renal disease, was receiving no long-term medications, and did not smoke.
On May 4, 2013, a sample of this novel coronavirus, then known as Saudi SARS, from the very first infected Saudi patient arrived in Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg, Canada via Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands who sequenced the virus sample.
In March 2019, in mysterious event, a shipment of exceptionally virulent viruses from Canada’s NML ended up in China.  The event caused a major scandal with Bio-warfare experts questioning why Canada was sending lethal viruses to China?
In July 2019, a group of Chinese virologists led by a Chinese Bio-Warfare agent Dr. Xiangguo Qiu were forcibly removed from Canada’s NML, the only Level-4 facility equipped to handle the world’s deadliest diseases where Coronavirus sample from the first Saudi patient was being examined. 

Dr. Xiangguo is married to another Chinese scientist Dr. Keding Cheng.  The couple is responsible for infiltrating Canada’s NML with many Chinese agents posing as students from a range of Chinese scientific facilities directly tied to China’s Biological Warfare Program.
Dr. Xiangguo made at least five trips to the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, which is part of WIV, located 20 miles from the Huanan Seafood Market where it was believed to be the epicenter of the outbreak.
In late 2019, the novel coronavirus outbreak -- then known as SARS-CoV-2 -- occurred when an accident happened when a deadly virus was weaponized and escaped at the National Biosafety Laboratory (NBL) in Wuhan.  NBL is China’s only Level 4 microbiology lab equipped to handle deadly viruses. 
Later on, SARS-CoV-2 was renamed COVID-19. It is interesting to note that in 2008 the Chinese government established the Thousand Talents Program to recognize and recruit leading international experts in scientific research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.  Its purpose is to steal western technology.
Indeed, China’s national strategy of “military-civil fusion” has highlighted biology as a priority, which places the People’s Liberation Army at the forefront of expanding and exploiting this knowledge.  Chinese military strategists guide China’s interest in biology as an emerging domain that delve into potential “genetic weapons” and the possibility of a “bloodless victory.”  And this ties in to Gen Chi’s goal he had set in 2003 to destroy America with biological weapons. 
Facts of life
While the case remains a mystery, research is being conducted to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, which is spreading rapidly and exponentially.  If no vaccine is developed, humankind as we know it is undergoing a great deal of change.  “Social distancing” is the name of the game, albeit it is not enough to stop the virus.  Handshaking and hugging will become taboo.  People around the world will soon get accustomed to wearing masks, carrying bottles of hand sanitizers, and washing their hands. Public events will be banned including sports, weddings, processions, and funerals.  Children will be schooled in the privacy of their homes.  Streets will be deserted.  Restaurants and theaters will be closed.  Travel will be restricted and curfew hours will be enforced.  Welcome to an anti-social world.
But panic we should not.  Let’s accept this as a fact of life until COVID-19 disappears from the face of the earth, just like the Spanish Flu of 1917-1918 where more than 50 million people died.  
Notwithstanding what the conspiracy theorists were saying, the world’s scientists will not allow COVID-19 to stay on earth.  They’re working day and night, racing against time.  Sooner or later, a vaccine would be discovered and then humankind can rejoice again.  But a lesson is to be learned. 
Homo sapien would evolve into a society that acts and thinks differently from their ancestors in an environment that confines them in a habitat sans the freewheeling luxuries of yesterday.  Self-quarantine will become as common as the common cold.  Sooner or later, everybody will be infected and become immune to COVID-19.  But the human race will survive.  It’s the fittest species to inhabit the earth. 
With all the problems that arose from the accidental COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, which puts a stop to China’s sinister plot to destroy America, it makes one wonder:  What could have happened if the plot succeeded?  Would it have led to the destruction of Western Civilization?



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SSS suspends confirmation of pensioners, UMID applications


EDITORIAL

The Covid-19 disease has also affected operations of the Social Security System. The SSS announced the temporary suspension of its Annual Confirmation of Pensioners Program (ACOP) until the end of April 2020 amid the threat of the deadly virus.
"In this time of crisis, the importance of providing our pensioners with the SSS pension they can rely on and ensuring their health and safety overshadows the need for their timely compliance with the ACOP requirement," SSS President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio said.
Ignacio added that for humanitarian consideration, SSS would continue to release the monthly pensions of pensioners who failed to comply with the ACOP requirements since January 2020.
The ACOP ensures that SSS pensions are given to the rightful beneficiaries. It requires all survivor and total disability pensioners in the Philippines and retiree, survivor, and total disability pensioners residing abroad to annually report at SSS offices on their birth month or of the deceased members'. 
The SSS conducts home visits for pensioners who are 85 years old and residing in the Philippines. Home visits are also administered for pensioners who cannot personally report to SSS branches due to medical conditions such as total blindness and amputation of two or more extremities.
Pensioners abroad may also comply with the ACOP via video conference.
Under normal circumstances, failure to comply with the program leads to the suspension of the benefit.
On the other hand, retirement pensioners who are 85 years old and below and residing in the Philippines are no longer required to comply with the ACOP since October 2018.
Also, SSS is temporarily suspending the applications for the Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID) card since it involves direct contact. Be guided accordingly.

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Cordillera records 4th Covid-19 positive case


Baguio, Cordillera towns bar entry of travelers 

By Liza Agoot and Pigeon Lobien  

BAGUIO CITY-- The Department of Health in the Cordillera Administrative Region on Thursday recorded its fourth positive case of Covid-19.
On its social media page, the DOH-CAR reported a 23-year-old male who has a travel history at the National Capital Region was tested positive.
He is the fourth confirmed positive case in Baguio, along with a 61-year-old and 52-year-old, both females.
The first confirmed case is a 39-year-old male from Abra, an overseas Filipino worker who came home for a vacation.
The DOH-CAR also said there are 198 patients under investigation (PUIs) in the region.
Of the number, 65 are admitted in health facilities, 77 are under home quarantine, and 56 others have been discharged and/or have completed the 14-day mandatory quarantine.
The DOH-CAR said there are also four deaths among PUIs. Two of those who died were tested negative while the test results for the other two are still pending. 
This, as Mayor Benjamin Magalong issued an order March 27 banning non-essential travelers to this city, including Baguio residents who have been stranded in other provinces, except Benguet to lessen spread of Covid-10.
The ban will be effective for the next two weeks but will not include deliveries of food, medicines and other essential items.
Most of the city’s confirmed COVID-19 cases were residents who had history of travel to infected areas.
Magalong said the restriction order was meant to make Baguio “stay ahead of the curve. “We are escalating our ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) status, and will no longer allow Baguio residents who were stranded in other provinces (except Benguet) to enter the City in the next two weeks. During our meeting on March 27, I learned from health officials that we don’t have any local transmission. With this information, an opportunity is present to fast-track our healing process by closing our borders in the next two weeks to non-essential travels, except food and other essential item deliveries and cargoes. I ask for your cooperation and understanding,” said Magalong in a briefing with Baguio health professionals and frontliners.
Mayor Magalong also ordered on Wednesday the police to help the City Epidemiology Surveillance Unity of the Health Services Office to boost the city’s contact tracing system to help arrest the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Magalong has authorized the contact tracing of potential cases ahead of the release of the confirmatory test from the Department of Health-Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (DOH-RITM).
“We have to expedite early contact tracing to prevent those persons from infecting others. We should not wait for the confirmatory tests which take days because by that time it will be too late,” he said.
Magalong said the inclusion of investigators from the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) is needed due to their expertise in aiding patients to recall their whereabouts and the people they were with.
He also directed the city Management and Information Technology Division to develop a computer program as a database for patients and their contacts.
He said the present contact tracing system is working well but there are gaps that are now being addressed to make it more effective.
Magalong earlier has asked the DOH-Cordillera and health officials to be more vigilant in contact tracing of highly positive persons and not wait for the final confirmation of the RITM.
Once the “red flag” is on, the DOH should start its contract tracing to be able to be more effective in battling the spread of the disease after the death of one government official whose test result showing Covid-19 positive after the person died and four other persons under investigation.
Baguio has recorded two positive cases now, a 61-year old overseas Filipino worker from Italy and a 52-year-old person.
The city has ordered barangay officials of Loakan Proper, Loakan Liwanag, Loakan Apugan, Fort del Pilar, Kias and Atok Trail to escalate in the next 14 days the enforcement of the enhanced community quarantine.
The two positive cases are said to be from Loakan and Fort del Pilar. – With PNA reports

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Ex-Pangasinan provincial board member succumbs to COVID-19


By Liezle Basa Iñigo

LINGAYEN,Pangasinan – A former provincial board member and a 25-year-old from Bani munipality were the latest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) fatalities in Pangasinan.
In his Facebook post, Urbiztondo Mayor Martin Raul Sison II confirmed the death of his father Raul Sion, a former provincial board member, at the Medical City in Pasig City last Thursday afternoon.
“Ang huling punta niya ng Urbiztondo Pangasinan ay lamay at libing ng kanyang ina na si Bae Concepcion P. Sison noong January 20-30,” the young Sison posted on his page.
He also disclosed that the cause of his father’s death was listed as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Secondary to Pneumonia.
He also said his father had undergone a heart procedure a few years ago.
The second fatality was a man from Barangay Ranao in Bani town.
He died at the Region 1 Medical Center, also on March 26.
According to reports, the patient had just come from Tondo, Manila, and was awaiting the result of his COVID-19 test.
As of 9 a.m., March 27, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pangasinan was six, with three deaths.
                The other three are still confined in hospitals.
There were 44 patients under investigation (PUIs), and 62,306 PUMs.

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Cagayan Valley reports 2 new coronavirus cases

By Kurt dela Peña and Earl Jon Taguinod


TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan -- The Department of Health (DOH) - Cagayan Valley confirmed March 26, that Cagayan province has two new cases of the coronavirus disease.
In a press briefing, DOH-Cagayan Valley officer-in-charge Leticia Cabrera said a 39-year-old resident of Tuao town and a 70-year-old resident from Gattaran town were the two new cases in the province and the Cagayan Valley region as well.
Designated as PH 661, the province’s second reported case traveled all the way from Manila to Tuguegarao on March 14 after fetching his wife who arrived from Hong Kong. The couple was reported to have boarded a Florida bus from the country’s capital. Upon their arrival in Tuguegarao, the two also rode a public utility jeep and tricycle.
Meanwhile, PH662 used a private vehicle when he traveled from Manila to his hometown on March 12. Cagayan Provincial Office later revealed that PH662 was former Cagayan congressman Ramon Nolasco Sr, citing a report from radio station DZCV.
According to Cabrera, both patients had fever, while PH662 also had a mild cough.
The patients were tested on March 20 and March 18, respectively.
PH661 is now isolated at the Cagayan Valley Medical Center (CVMC), while PH662 is under strict home quarantine, according to Cabrera.
“According to the Municipal Health Officer, [PH662] is doing well and under strict home quarantine,” she said.
Dr Glenn Mathew Baggao, chief of CVMC, said PH661 is on his 8th day in isolation and is now stable.
Meanwhile, the health officials urged the public to cooperate with efforts to locate all persons that need to be traced.
             "Tayo po ay nakikiusap po at umaapila sa ating kababayan na doblehin natin ang ating pag-iingat….Tumulong po tayo. Sama-sama po tayo labanan ang virus na ‘to para sa ngayon tumigil na po at hindi na madagdagan ang nasasawi at hindi na madagdagan ang mga kaso natin," added Baggao.
             (We are appealing to the people to double their efforts in staying safe...Let's help each other out and join the fight against the virus, so it'll stop and our number of confirmed cases will no longer rise.)
With the two new cases, the total of confirmed coronavirus cases in Cagayan Valley is now 3.
The region reported its first case last Saturday, March 21. As of Thursday, 9 am, Cagayan Valley (Region 2) also has 185 persons under investigation, and 49,581 persons under monitoring.
There are still no reports of cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, from the rest of the Region 2 provinces. These are: Batanes, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.
The province of Cagayan has been placed under lockdown after President Rodrigo Duterte imposed an “enhanced” community quarantine in the entire Luzon Island.
As of Wednesday, March 25, the Philippines has 636 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 26 recoveries, and 38 deaths. – Rappler.com

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PAL suspends remaining international flights Mar. 26


Philippine Airlines on Tuesday suspended all remaining international flights beginning March 26 until April 14 due to losses caused by the travel restriction imposed by the government in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

“We regret to advise that all remaining Philippine Airlines international flights will be suspended temporarily, starting from 26 March 2020, Thursday until 14 April 2020.  All domestic flights had ceased as of March 17, 2020,” the PAL management said in a statement.
After careful consideration, the airline concluded that it could no longer sustain even a limited number of international flights for the following compelling reasons: 1) The strict travel and entry restrictions imposed by more and more countries; 2) The resulting collapse in demand for travel; and 3) Continuing challenges in staffing our Manila airport hub during the ongoing lockdown.
“Accordingly, our last flight to depart from Manila this week will be PR 104 bound for San Francisco at 10:10 PM on March 25.  Several flights will continue to arrive in Manila on March 26 from Los Angeles, Tokyo Narita and Jakarta, and on March 27 from New York JFK, San Francisco and Los Angeles,” the airline stated.
               PAL is hoping it will resume flight service operations beginning April 15, if warranted by Philippine and international authorities, global public health conditions and the travel environment. 
It urged clients to stay posted for announcements on its official website www.philippineairlines.com and its PAL Facebook and Twitter social media accounts.
“We shall now turn our attention to the task of conserving our resources in anticipation of the recovery and caring for the needs of our PAL team members, while we keep our fleet ready for the day that we resume flying. We shall continue to make aircraft and service personnel available for special flights to retrieve stranded passengers as well as cargo flights to keep intact critical supply chains across our islands,” PAL stated.
“We understand that this pause in operations will be an inconvenience, and we hope for your understanding as we at PAL look to the safety of our colleagues and our families as we all face this global contagion.”
The flag carrier also acknowledged its employees for their dedication and courage in the face of “these unprecedented challenges, and to all of our service partners and government authorities who are working with us. We will stand together as the world deals with the COVID-19 virus.”
“We thank you, our valued customers, for your support and patience during this most difficult time. The global crisis is monumental in scale, but we are confident that we can all join together and work to overcome the challenges, and that your flag carrier will soon be back in the air to again link our beautiful country together and connect us with the world.”

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PNP starts manhunt vs rapist in Cagayan


By Liezle Basa Inigo

TUAO, Cagayan – Police of this town are searching for a man, who was a suspect in raping a 22-year -old woman here in Barangay Purok 5, Bagumbayan.
The Police Regional Office 2 identified the suspect as Eduardo Espinosa, 52, farmer and resident of Purok 5.
He was accused of raping his neighbor.
Tuao Police said they received a call from Barangay Kagawad Reymundo Bauit, asking for police assistance to locate and arrest the suspect regarding a rape incident that transpired in their barangay.
The police said suspect will be facing charges of rape and violation of RA 11332 known as Law on reporting of Communicable Diseases.
Meanwhile, five persons on board a red Hyundai Van bearing plate number XCD 415 were arrested in Barangay Patagueleg, Peñablanca, when flagged down at a quarantine checkpoint.
              Barangay officials manning the checkpoint told police suspects violated the enhanced community quarantine aside from reeking of liquor.
Arrested were Teodoro Barcelona, 34; Arnel Barcelona, 42; Early Gueroro, 56; and Pablo Quizzagan Jr, all residents of Madella St. Bagay, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.
They were brought to Peñablanca Police Station for proper disposition.

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Kalinga studes told: Stay put amid quarantine


By Jesse Maguiya  

Those studying at the Kalinga State University here who were not able to go home to the villages will also be provided assistance.
During the joint meeting of the IATF, Governor Ferdinand Tubban agreed to give aid to Kalinga students who were not able to go home to the province or to their respective villages prior to the implementation of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
"All students from Kalinga who are locked down outside the province and in Tabuk as a result of the Enhanced Community Quarantine will have to stay where they are now," Tubban said.
Around 2,000 persons are either studying at Kalinga State University and in colleges and universities in Baguio City, Isabela, Cagayan, Metro Manila, and other provinces.
Students can contact the government by texting or calling numbers 09060950821 (Globe) and 09289948599 (Smart).
                "Kindly indicate your school, the address where you are staying now, and your address here in Kalinga," the IATF said.
"We are trying our best to be of help to you in these difficult times. While we do this, I appeal to each and every one of you to strictly observe the guidelines and regulations the government mandates us in order to stop the spread of this Virus," Congressman Allen Jesse Mangaoang said.
He said aside from the students, he has allotted personal funds for the purchase of food items that are now being packed.
"The relief items will be distributed to the poor residents as stop-gap assistance," Mangaoang said.
Kalinga is located some 10-hours drive from Baguio and La Trinidad, Benguet where major universities and colleges in the Cordillera Administrative Region are located. It is about an hour away from Tuguegarao, Cagayan, and Isabela. (PNA)


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64K Cordillera families to get DSWD food packs


By Liza Agoot  


BAGUIO CITY – An official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Friday they will distribute food packs to 64,643 families listed as the poorest of the poor in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) who are hard-hit by the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
               DSWD-CAR regional director Leo Quintilla said they have initially prepared around 5,000 food packs, prepared in Baguio, La Trinidad, and Tabuk City, to be distributed to the provinces in the region.
“We are adding more food hubs in other provinces for easier distribution,” he said.
The food packs contain six kilos of rice, four each can of sardines and corned beef, coffee, and cereals.
Quintilla said each food pack is food for two to three days for a family of five.
“We are expecting another batch of delivery of supplies by next week, which will be re-packed as food packs for the continues supply to our poor families,” Quintilla said.
He said they are preparing for 100,000 families to be able to provide for others who are in need of food rations.
“This is an augmentation to the local government provided food assistance. Being the frontliners, they already started their distribution, what we will do is just to augment,” he said.
In Baguio, the local government has started as early as Wednesday the distribution of relief goods to the residents.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong said they are fast-tracking the distribution to avoid any resident from going hungry, considering the 24-hour curfew in effect in the city. (PNA)


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LandBank: CCTP funds will be released


The state-run LandBank of the Philippines, fourth-largest lender in terms of assets, assured beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer program of the government of the continuous release of their cash grants amid the coronavirus 2019 pandemic.

                 In a statement Tuesday, LandBank said it would continue to release the cash grants as scheduled through the beneficiaries’ LandBank cash cards.
The government’s social intervention program called the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) is under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
                Crediting of the cash grants to a total of 2,528,122 CCT beneficiaries nationwide will be on March 24, 26 and 28, 2020, the bank said.
                At the same time, LandBank reminded the beneficiaries, including the general public, that the cash cards may be used for cashless purchases of groceries and medicines in supermarkets and drugstores through the point-of-sale machines at the cashier or check-out counters.
                Also, in line with safety and health measures being adopted by the bank, clients are encouraged to use LandBank’s ATMs and electronic banking channels which may be accessed 24/7, anytime, anywhere, instead of going to its branches.
                These include the LandBank Mobile App, iAccess, WeAccess, Link.Biz Portal, Electronic Tax Payment System and Phone Access.
                Meanwhile, Land Bank also assured the public of its continued banking operations. Selected Land Bank branches in the National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will remain open.
The onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic compelled the government to place the entire Luzon island under a month-long enhanced community quarantine that will last until April 12, 2020.
The government allowed supermarkets, public markets, drugstores, groceries, and banks to remain open to service the needs of the general public.
               Aside from being the distribution arm for the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, LandBank is also in charge of releasing the fuel subsidy cards for jeepney operators and drivers under the Pantawid Pasada program.
This is meant to ease the effects on them of the fuel excise tax adjustments under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN). 

 


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100% Cordillera LGUs follow COVID-19 orders


By Ivy Carasi

BAGUIO CITY Since the state of public health emergency has been declared in the country, all local government units (LGUs) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) were reported to be compliant with the orders from the national government.
               In the situational report from the Cordillera regional office of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG-CAR), all 77 local chief executives have been present in their respective area of responsibilities, and are fully informed of the updates regarding the 2019 Coronavirus Infectious Disease or COVID-19.
As of March 24, DILG-CAR reports that 100% of the LGUs are compliant with the Interim Minimum Critical Preparedness and Response Actions or the performance of their responsibilities as specified by the agency – this includes conducting of emergency meetings, mobilizing of Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs), alerting communities, and executing plans or policies in line with health and safety.
Also, all six (6) provinces continue to undertake measures to #FightCOVID19 such as issuance of advisory to LGUs, organization of networks for augmentation of needed resources, activation of their provincial emergency operations centers.
Meanwhile, the DILG-CAR reiterates the responsibilities of all LGUs to fully implement the Presidential directives in line with the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). DILG issued memorandum circular 2020-062 which highlights the general and specific guidelines for LGUs on the implementation of the ECQ. These are orders on the reactivation of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils (LDRRMC), utilization of Quick Response Funds (QRFs), strict home quarantine, suspension of classes, work-from-home scheme, establishment of checkpoints, curfew, among many others. Failure of LGUs to comply or to align their actions and programs to the guidelines shall be dealt with accordingly.
DILG-CAR regional director Marlo Iringan appeals to the LGUs for their assistance, and the general public for their full cooperation to ensure the safety of everyone.
“LGUs are expected to be at the frontline in times of crisis. Your full participation in our fight to contain and combat the virus is absolutely vital given that our local government leaders are the ones familiar with the circumstances in their respective jurisdictions, the needs of their constituents, and the availability of resources to meet those needs.” said Dir. Iringan.
Although work-from-home scheme is being implemented by DILG-CAR, it has activated its regional emergency operations center with skeletal forces on duty to closely monitor LGUs. For important, urgent concerns, send a message to dilgcarcloud@gmail.com.

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Magalong orders contact tracing for presumptive COVID-19 positive cases


BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Benjamin Magalong ordered the strengthening of the city’s contact tracing system to help arrest the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Magalong authorized the conduct of contact tracing of presumptive cases even ahead of confirmation from the Department of Health-Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (DOH-RITM).
“We have to expedite early contact tracing to prevent those persons from infecting others. We should not wait for the confirmatory tests which take days because by that time it will be too late,” Magalong said.
He said the City Health Services Office contact tracing teams, led by the City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit under Dr. Donnabel Panes, have been beefed up with the inclusion of investigators from the Baguio City Police Office to tap their expertise in aiding patients to recall their whereabouts and the people they were with.
As of March 23, the Baguio City Health Services Office in their COVID-19 Monitoring Bulletin has already recorded one COVID-19 death – a 55-year-old female government employee.
The confirmed COVID-19 cases were that of a 61-year-old female overseas worker; 52- year-old woman from Ortigas in Metro Manila; and a 55-year-old male from Makati City.
The presumptive cases waiting for the results of their tests for COVID-19 were a 31-year-old man working in Makati, a 49-year-old male bus driver from Baguio, and a 23-year- old man working in Ortigas.
Persons under investigation (PUIs) on home isolation numbered 259, PUIs admitted at hospitals, 21; and persons under monitoring (PUMs) on 14-day quarantine, 1,847. PUMs who have already completed quarantine number 425.
Magalong ordered on Wednesday barangay officials to escalate in the next 14 days the enforcement of enhanced community quarantine in Loakan Proper, Loakan Liwanag, Loakan Apugan, Fort Del Pilar, Kias and Atok Trail amidst report that two of those that turned positive with COVID-19 were from Loakan and Fort Del Pilar.
He also directed the City Management and Information Technology Division to develop a computer program as data base for patients and their contacts. The present contact tracing system is working well so far but there were gaps identified and are now being addressed to make it more effective.
Magalong ordered on Wednesday, March 15, the lockdown of Barangay Pinget after barangay officials failed to correct their haphazard implementation of the enhanced community quarantine measures.
“We found out that some residents continue to loiter around and do not adhere to the prescribed physical distancing,” he said.
“I thought that after getting a warning they learned their lesson because they showed improvement when I visited them last weekend however they did not sustain it.”
City Police Director Allen Ray Co said they implemented the lockout starting 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
“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,” Co said.

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