News Report 25 March 2020 Local
1. Philippines' COVID-19 cases jump to 552, death toll now at 35 CNN Philippines, 25 March 2020
The Department of Health reported on Tuesday 90 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the country total to 552. The death toll has risen to 35, while the number of patients who have recovered are now at 20.
2. Duterte signs Bayanihan Act into law, thanks Congress for passing bill Manila Bulletin, 25 March 2020
The President has signed into the law the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act” that grants him additional powers to implement measures to fight the coronavirus spread.
The law places the country under a state of emergency and grants the President additional powers for three months, among them realigning certain funds in the national budget, and directing the operation of private hospitals, hotels, and transport firms to augment medical facilities and services, among others, to address the coronavirus threat.
3. Duterte orders PH security forces to ‘ramp up’ gov’t’s ‘national action plan’
Manila Bulletin, 25 March 2020
The President said the government’s action plan for the coronavirus emergency will be chaired by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and co-chaired by Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año. The President directed them to “ramp up” the government’s “National Action Plan” to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
4. Amid rising cases, PHL on right track to slow virus spread–WHO Business Mirror, 25 March 2020, p. A2
Despite the novel the coronavirus surge in local disease cases (Covid-19), the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the country is still in the right direction to slow down its spread.
In a press briefing, WHO Representative in the Philippines Rabindra Abeyasinghe commended the declaration of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon.
5. 5 Metro Manila hospitals reach full capacity for COVID-19 cases Philippine Daily Inquirer, 25 March 2020, p. A4
Five private hospitals (St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) and De los Santos Medical Center, Global City in Taguig City; The Medical City (TMC); and Makati Medical Center (MMC). One government hospital, the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) is urging the same.
6. 4,500 foreigners thrown out by hotels due to Luzon quarantine Philippine Daily Inquirer, 25 March 2020, p. A10
Some 4,500 foreign tourists were “kicked out” of hotels and ended up sleeping in the open since the government declared a Luzon-wide lockdown last week. This was brought to the attention to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. by deputy head of the European Union delegation to the Philippines, Thomas Wiersing.
Secretar Locsin said that he would call on the Department of Tourism (DOT) to blacklist the hotels that kicked out foreign guests. The stranded tourists are from the EU, which has 27 member- countries, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
7. DOT comes to aid of 8,000 stranded foreign tourists Business Mirror, 25 March 2020, p. A4
Close to 8,000 foreign tourists have so far been assisted by the Department of Tourism (DOT) in being transferred from their holiday destinations in the provinces to urban cities where they could later take their homeward bound flights.
DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation Arturo P.
Boncato Jr. said that the DOT have been coordinating with airlines to facilitate the movement of tourists to Manila and Clark via sweeper flights and that military planes will also be used for the same purpose.
Korea -
Economic
8. Fitch downgrades outlook for Philippines banks to negative The Philippine Star, 25 March 2020, p. B1
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the outlook on the Philippine banking sector to negative from stable as the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic is seen testing the asset quality and earnings of major players.
9. IMF sees pandemic causing global recession in 2020, recovery in 2021 Manila Bulletin, 25 March 2020, p. B1
The coronavirus pandemic will cause a global recession in 2020 that could be worse than the one triggered by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, but world economic output should recover in 2021, according to the International Monetary Fund.
10. NEDA pushes 3-phase program to prevent political, social crisis The Philippine Star, 25 March 2020, p. B3
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has proposed a three-phased program of interventions to coordinate the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Phase 1a:
Clinical / medical response; Phase 1b: Public health response; Phase 1c: Short-term augmentation of health systems capacity; Phase 2: Rebuild consumer and business confidence; and Phase 3:
Resume a new normal state of economic activity that is more prepared for another possible pandemic.
