More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
The Health Emergency Allowance is still being doled out. Personnel of San Juan Medical Center have been assured they will be paid.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/10/16/san-juan-medical-center-s-employees-to-receive-covid-19-health-emergency-allowance |
San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora on Wednesday, October 16, assured all personnel of the San Juan Medical Center (SJMC) who served during the Covid-19 pandemic that they will receive their Health Emergency Allowance (HEA).
Zamora gave the assurance in a memorandum after he received multiple complaints from qualified employees who claimed that they were being removed from the list or were not receiving the full amount of the compensation they expected.
"I have received a lot of concerns and complaints from qualified employees who claimed to have been dropped from the list or did not receive their expected amount of compensation," he said.
"I am closely looking into this, and rest assured, I am working on all possible ways to ensure that qualified employees receive the HEA in the correct amount," Zamora added.
The HEA was established under Republic Act No. 11712 in April 2022. It grants allowances to both health and non-health care workers, including contact tracers and staff at the isolation centers, vaccination sites, and other facilities.
It added that the allowance is based on the number of days of work and the worker’s exposure level in low, medium, or high-risk areas.
The mayor also advised employees to reach out to SJMC’s Personnel and Administrative Division for inquiries or clarifications by contacting Karen Hermosa at (02) 8725-3928 or 0939-2655040.
He added that employees can also contact the mayor’s office through 137-135 loc. 111.
People are reported being removed from the list of recipients or not receiving the correct amount. That is not good at all.
Families expereincing hunger have risen to the second highest since the pandemic.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/10/17/hunger-rises-in-september-second-highest-since-pandemic-1647 |
More Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the third quarter of 2024, a recent national survey by the Social Weather Stations showed.
In its national Social Weather Survey, conducted from September 14 to 23, the research firm found that 22.9 percent of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger, or being hungry and not having anything to eat, at least once in the past three months.
The September 2024 hunger figure was 5.3 points above the 17.6 percent in June 2024 and is the highest since the record-high 30.7 percent in September 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The survey also showed the experience of hunger was highest in Mindanao at 30.7 percent of families, followed by 26 percent in Visayas. Hunger in Metro Manila was at 21.7 percent, and 18.1 percent in balance Luzon.
Compared to June 2024, the experience of hunger in Mindanao almost doubled from 15.7 percent to 30.7 percent. There was also a sharp increase in Visayas, from 13.7 percent in June 2024 to 26 percent in September.
According to SWS, the 22.9 percent hunger rate is the sum of the 16.8 percent who experienced "moderate hunger", and 6.1 percent who experienced "severe hunger".
Moderate hunger refers to those who experienced hunger "only once" or "a few times" in the last three months, while severe hunger refers to those who experienced it "often" or "always" within the same time frame.
The September 2024 survey likewise found 59 percent of Filipino families rating themselves as "mahirap" or poor.
On self-rated food poverty, based on the type of food eaten by their families, 46 percent of Filipinos rated their families as food-poor in September 2024.
The rate of total hunger, or the sum of moderate and severe hunger, also rose sharply among the self-rated poor from 21.3 percent in June 2024 to 29.3 percent in September 2024.
The Third Quarter 2024 Social Weather Survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults nationwide, with 600 from Balance Luzon, and 300 each from Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.
No word on what is driving these reported cases of hunger.
Overseas Filipino nurses have received many commendations for their work during the pandemic. Here is another nurse who has made the shortlist for a global award.
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| https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2024/10/18/uae-based-filipino-nurse-is-on-final-shortlist-for-250000-prize-for-efforts-during-pandemic/ |
A Filipino who started a wellness programme in the UAE to bolster the resilience of the workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic has made the shortlist for a global award.
Nelson Bautista, 49, who works in Al Ain and led a team to establish the Your Health First scheme to support the well-being of frontline nurses in the UAE, is among nine others from more than 78,000 entries representing at least 200 countries to compete for the Aster Guardian Global Nursing Award.
A $250,000 (Dh981,500) prize is up for grabs for the winner who will be announced at a ceremony in India in December.
A father of a 16-year-old boy, Mr Bautista, who works as a clinical resource nurse at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain, said a friend had asked him to apply for the award last year and he was thrilled to find out he is one step closer to the final ceremony.
“I was happy when I read the email that I was in the shortlist,” Mr Bautista told The National. "It is an honour. I’m proud because I’m representing UAE and also the Filipino community."
His nomination came after a long career as a nurse in the UAE. In 2019, he led a team for an initiative to support the well-being of nurses before Covid-19 unfolded. "We implemented the programmes in different hospitals and it is still running now. We wanted to make the nurses more resilient," Mr Bautista said.
It involved simple activities such as distributing healthy sandwiches and juice to the nurses because they could not leave the rooms in which they were working.
“I remember one nurse began crying because she was touched by this gesture," he said. "It was a difficult time for everybody and such small gestures raise their spirits."
He has been actively engaged in several campaigns aimed at elevating the standard of nursing education and refining methodology.
“I lead the digital transformation in nursing education,” he said. "We started digitising the nursing orientation project, to streamline and expedite the onboarding process for new nurses."
Graduating from a nursing college in his home country, Mr Bautista said his parents had initially not wanted him to become a nurse.
"My parents at first opposed the idea but nursing was something that appealed to me," he said. "I always wanted to help others and nursing is something I wanted to do."
He was a working student but was able to graduate and worked for two years in the Philippines before moving to Saudi Arabia where he worked for seven years.
"I moved to the UAE and worked as a bedside nurse in the hospital before becoming a nurse educator," he added. "It’s been 16 years with the same hospital.
He said it was important to have compassion and dedication to become a nurse. “The nursing profession is a highly stressful one. We have to be patient with others and understand their situation. Helping others is the core of being a nurse. You must have the spirit of services to others.”
Mr Bautista was granted the UAE’s golden visa for his efforts as a frontline worker during the Covid-19 crisis.
Why haven't any local nurses been the recipient of such praise? They are still fighting to get the money the government owes them.
Small and medium businesses were absolutely wrecked by the pandemic while big box retailers raked in the dough in one of the largest wealth transfers in history. Now those SMEs are learning how to adapt and thrive in the post-pandemic world.
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| https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/10/19/business/top-business/adapting-thriving-in-the-post-pandemic-world/1987419 |
THE Covid-19 pandemic drastically impacted businesses worldwide, with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines bearing much of the economic burden. SMEs, which constitute over 99 percent of registered businesses in the country, faced immense challenges as the pandemic unfolded. Many had previously taken out loans to expand or maintain operations, but the economic downturn left them struggling to meet financial obligations.
For the leasing and finance industry, which plays a critical role in supporting SME growth, the pandemic was a turning point. As SMEs defaulted on loans and many stopped operations, leasing and finance companies faced a surge in non-performing loans (NPLs) and financial strain.
Before the pandemic, the Philippines experienced robust economic growth, with SMEs at the forefront of this expansion. Leasing and finance companies provided capital to help businesses invest in new technology, equipment and infrastructure. This enabled SMEs in sectors like manufacturing, transportation, and construction to grow, supported by flexible payment terms that spread out asset costs over time.
However, the optimistic outlook that fueled this growth was short-lived. The arrival of the pandemic in early 2020 drastically changed the economic landscape.
The government-imposed lockdowns to curb the virus had an immediate and devastating impact on SMEs. Many businesses were forced to close temporarily or faced a sharp decline in demand. Retailers, restaurants and service providers dependent on foot traffic were hit hardest, while supply chain disruptions compounded the challenges.
As revenues plummeted, SMEs with pre-pandemic loans struggled to make payments. With diminished cash flow, many were left with the difficult decision to either continue operations under immense financial pressure or close permanently.
Leasing and finance companies, which had long provided crucial financial support to SMEs, were caught flatfooted. A surge in NPLs left them exposed to significant financial risks, as their SME clients could no longer meet loan obligations. While SMEs benefitted from government programs like Bayanihan Acts 1 and 2, leasing and financing companies received no such assistance and had to navigate the crisis independently.
Many companies offered moratoriums, restructured loans and extended flexible payment terms to help SMEs survive, but this placed further strain on the leasing and finance industry.
Despite these efforts, many SMEs could not adapt quickly enough to the digital platforms that became essential during the pandemic. Businesses in retail, hospitality and travel were particularly affected, with numerous closures impacting the leasing and finance industry. As businesses shuttered, these companies faced a growing portfolio of non-performing assets, such as repossessed machinery and vehicles.
However, some SMEs demonstrated resilience by embracing digital transformation. E-commerce, food delivery and online services provided lifelines for those able to pivot quickly. This agility highlighted the importance of innovation during crises.
The pandemic underscored the importance of financial flexibility and the need for both SMEs and the leasing and financing industry to adapt. SMEs must build financial cushions and embrace digital tools, while leasing and financing companies need to refine their lending practices, focusing on resilient industries and offering tailored solutions and the need for a more conservative yet adaptive and flexible approach to lending.
The pandemic has been a defining moment for both SMEs and the leasing and financing industry. While the road to recovery will be long, the lessons learned during this period of crisis can help businesses and financial institutions alike build a more sustainable, resilient future. Those who adapt and innovate will not only survive but thrive in the post-pandemic world.
This is really a dumb article. Fact is the unnecessary ecumenic lockdowns wrecked small businesses and they are still recovering. Digital transformation isn't going to help pay those defaulted loans.
People around the world adopted new hobbies during the pandemic. One Negros woman began paddleboarding. Now she has set a world record.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1995065/bacolod-woman-on-paddleboard-sets-record-crosses-iloilo-negros-waters |
An Ilongga businesswoman has become the first person to cross the sea between the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental on paddleboard.
Lucy Lynette Ponce Uygongco, 54, covered a distance of 23.02 kilometers in 5 hours, 27 minutes and 6 seconds, paddling at 4.2 km per hour on Oct. 19.
Uygongco, also a social media influencer who goes by the meta profile name of “LpuKids Ibike” and “Ipaddle,” left the boulevard of Banate town in northern Iloilo at 3:23 a.m. and arrived at Pasil Sandbar in Barangay Latasan, EB Magalona town in Negros Occidental at 8:50 a.m.
“The water was most perfect and as flat as the Iloilo River,” said Uygongco, a native of Bacolod City whose family owns fast food franchises in the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo.
Having slept for only three hours prior to Saturday’s crossing out of excitement, Uygongco chose to cross on Oct. 19, four days before a typhoon was expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Oct. 23 to Oct. 29.
The Iloilo to Negros crossing happened after one and a half years when she reunited on Oct. 12 with her stand-up paddleboard (SUP) coach Gary Neil Benedicto.
Benedicto coached her on her Iloilo to Guimaras crossing on May 26, 2022 and on June 10, 2022, making her also the first woman to cross the two islands on a paddleboard.
Uygongco said she learned to do SUP when she had nothing to do during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021.A new hobby was born when Uygongco spotted Benedicto on a paddle board while capturing photos at the Iloilo River Esplanade for her blog.
Initially seeking permission to feature him on her blog, Uygongco later asked Benedicto if he could teach her paddle boarding. The following day marked their first lesson together.
During that time, Uygongco would practice paddle boarding early in the morning from Monday to Saturday, using an 11-foot-2-inch SUP that was 30 inches wide and 4.5 inches thick. Each day, she would paddle approximately 10 km, spending around 2 hours and 18 minutes on the water.
Prior to her passion for SUP, Uygongco has been taking photos of the Iloilo River and its development as well as other locations of Iloilo City in general.
She would post these in her blog as a way of helping the city with its tourism promotions, with the city government sharing many of her posts on its Facebook page.
“The Iloilo government gave us residents access to open space and nature is within reach. Thus, I was able to develop this lifestyle—bike and paddle,” said Uygongo.
Her most popular posts are those of her paddling in Iloilo River, one of the most popular being the one on Jan. 27 this year during the Dinagyang celebrations.
The influencer was wearing a fancy Dinagyang headgear while paddling with her three dogs—Peanut, Butter and Sandwich—beside her on the paddle board, also wearing their own Dinagyang headdresses.
“Never doubt, always believe that you can and you will and believe in that even if you are 50 years old and beyond,” Uygongco said.
Surely she won't be the last person we read about who's skills learned during the pandemic have matured.
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