More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
One lawmaker is suggesting the House pass a bill declaring March 22nd as COVID-19 Heroes' Day.
AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee on Thursday lauded the government’s “much-awaited” release of the last tranche of the health emergency allowance (HEA) for healthcare workers who worked during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We thank President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for fulfilling the promise made to our frontline healthcare workers by finally releasing this much-awaited allowance that has long been due them,” Lee said in a news release.
“This allowance recognizes the heroism of our healthcare workers, even if we know that money cannot compensate their sacrifices when they chose to serve the country and their fellowmen at the height of the pandemic amid the safety risks,” Lee said.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released the remaining PHP27.453 billion HEA on July 5.
The amount covers the 5,039,926 unpaid HEA and 4,283 Covid-19 sickness and death compensation claims of eligible healthcare and non-healthcare workers who served the country during the pandemic.
Lee said that while the allowance release is commendable, much work remains to improve the working conditions and benefits for the healthcare workers.
“Our healthcare workers deserve better salary and benefits. They deserve better than waiting for years to receive their allowances and suffering from poor working conditions,” the Bicolano lawmaker said.
“Everybody has the right to equitable, compassionate and quality healthcare service. Healthcare workers play a big role in achieving this, that’s why they should not be neglected and left behind,” he said.
Lee also urged the House of Representatives to approve House Bill No. 6335, or the “Filipino Covid-19 Health Care Heroes Remembrance Act,” declaring March 22 of every year as a special working holiday in remembrance of the heroism of the frontliners during the pandemic in the Philippines and around the world.
On March 22, 2020, Dr. Romeo Gregorio "Greg" Macasaet became the first healthcare worker in the Philippines to die of Covid-19. An anesthesiologist at the Manila Doctors Hospital, he worked selflessly and tirelessly to treat Covid-19 patients in the emergency room until he himself became ill.
As of January 2022, some 29,368 health care workers contracted the virus, from which 117 died.
“Our healthcare workers fought to save as many lives as they could working with whatever information and medical intervention they know and the supplies and equipment they have. The roles that they played have been key to us weathering the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic as a country, many among them losing their lives in the line of duty,” he said.
“We must never forget the lessons of the past and remember those who served our country during the darkest days of this generation. Our Covid-19 medical frontliners deserve to take their place in our country's, and the world's history and their heroism be memorialized to serve as inspiration to future generations of Filipinos,” Lee said.
Yes let us never forget "the darkest days of this generation" when nations around the world shut down their economies which has led to massive inflation, forcibly prevented anyone from going to Church or the gym or anywhere deemed "non-essential" without a special pass and without wearing a face shield and face mask, and then did their best to mandate the public receive an experimental injection, one of which has been pulled from the market for causing deaths and serious injuries, all because of a virus with a 99% survival rate. And let us never forget healthcare workers were an essential part of all of that.
It turns out the government wasn't the only one engaged in crimes during the pandemic.
The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office has approved the indictment of a former executive of JacintoColor Steel, Inc. (JCSI) and her husband for allegedly stealing millions of pesos worth of raw materials from 2020 to 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a resolution dated May 9, City Prosecutor Vimar M. Barcellano ruled that probable cause has been found to indict former JCSI vice president Sissie Elamparo Bongat and her husband, Christopher Foronda Bongat, for four counts of qualified theft before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) with no bail recommended.
Barcellano also found probable cause to indict Sissie alone before the Quezon City RTC for the complex crime of qualified theft through falsification of commercial document with no bail recommended and before the Quezon City RTC Commercial Court for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 with bail recommended at P40,000.
On the other hand, Barcellano dismissed the complaint against the son of the couple, Charles Elamparo Bongat.
The city prosecutor explained “being a minor on the alleged date of the incident, the charges against respondent Charles Elamparo Bongat who is 16 years of age having been born on April 18, 2016 is dismissible outright.”
In its resolution, the Barcellano said the elements of the crime were “properly alleged and supported by the documentary evidence of the complainant.…”
“She was able to obtain raw materials from foreign and local suppliers in the total amount of P648,266.818. However, some of these raw materials never reached the plant or warehouse of JSCI but were instead immediately and directly diverted by her for sale to the local steel traders who purchased the same at prices well below their landed or acquisition cost and for which no Official Receipts were issued,” the city prosecutor said.
“After a thorough investigation, of the P648266,818, only P568,178,366 had been accounted for leaving a balance of P80,000,000. Further, out of the P568,178,366 only P148,043,914 were used to manufacture and produce the products of JSCI. The P420,134,452 and additional of P80,088,452 were sold to local steel traders personally by Respondent Sissie,” the prosecution also said in the resolution.
Everyone in the Philippines has a side hustle. Not everyone gets caught though.
Filipinos are still ben ton "revenge travel" and are buying cheaper foreign Chinese appliances to the detriment of Philippine manufacturers.
Filipinos are “intense” about fulfilling their travel goals on their bucket list – so much so that it has impacted sales of home appliances.
That’s according to one of the largest appliance manufacturers and distributors in the Philippines.
Filipinos are prioritizing spending on travel over purchases of appliances and other products as revenge travel continues post-pandemic.
Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation (Panasonic Philippines) disclosed on Friday, July 12, that sales of its Panasonic appliances and other products were lower in 2023 due partly to Filipino consumers opting to spend more on travel.
It also attributed its lower sales performance to cheaper China products, “demand slowness in export,” high interest rates, and high inflation.
Based on its 2023 annual report, Panasonic Philippines said its P14.3-billion sales in 2023 were lower by 94% than in 2022.
It cited Filipino consumers’ “spending shift mostly to travel,” as well as “the emergence of China brand products with lower selling price,” as among the reasons for lower sales.
And, it’s not just the spending shift to travel, said Panasonic Philippines, but the “spending intensity.”
Elaborating on the rise of Chinese appliances, Panasonic Philippines said market competition has seen the “emergence of China products with aggressive promotions.”
The price difference between established local manufacturers’ appliances and many Chinese imports is big. For instance, an 8.5 kilogram (kg) fully automatic washing machine of established brands are twice more expensive than some 8 kg fully automatic China brands, a check with a major e-commerce site in the Philippines showed. Another e-commerce site showed that established brands’ air conditioners can be as high as double the price of some China brands.
In response to the sales slowdown, Panasonic Philippines stressed the quality of its products, adding that its sales and marketing group had drawn up “various strategies, including but not limited to winning the competition by Brand Value and One Panasonic approach.”
Panasonic Philippines was incorporated in the Philippines in 1963. It is a subsidiary of Japan’s Panasonic Holdings Corporation.
Various official data showed that Filipino revenge travel continued in 2023. The number of Filipino travelers is moving close to the peak of over 8 million reached in 2019, or the year before COVID-19 shuttered global travel.
Although the available data from the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) latest accomplishment report do not categorize the purpose of travel, it nonetheless gives a good picture of revenge travel.
It is always better to buy quality products that will last longer rather than cheaper products that will break down. But many people think in short terms of how much is being immediately spent.
Business class seats in Asia-Pacific Airlines is beginning to pick up after the pandemic.
Demand for business class seats in Asia-Pacific is beginning to show signs of life for the first time since the pandemic, driven by the resurgence of corporate travel in the region.
In a report, the Center for Aviation (CAPA) said Asia-Pacific is starting to catch up with other regions in terms of travel recovery, but is struggling to rebound to pre-pandemic levels due to weak demand from the Chinese market.
In particular, CAPA noted that premium travel in the region is expanding at a pace quicker than that of economy cabins, highlighting one of the bright spots of Asia-Pacific travel.
“For Asia-Pacific airlines, recovery in both classes of travel has lagged well behind wider global recovery. Part of this was the delay in the region’s reopening to international travel that has been exacerbated by the sluggishness in the Chinese market,” CAPA said.
“However, even with these issues, premium travel in the region is recovering at a faster rate than that of economy cabins. In concert with this, business travel has also not undergone the extensive structural downturn that some feared would result from the pandemic,” it added.
As such, CAPA said airlines in Asia Pacific can look forward to a sustained growth in premium travel, especially as some airports in the region land among the top routes.
“While corporate travel volumes are still well behind broader recovery, most notably in Asia and the Pacific, there is reason to be optimistic about the outlook overall for business travel,” CAPA said.
Premium business travel is picking up across the region.
Schools closed during the pandemic forcing children to learn from home. This also resulted in mothers being forced to quit their jobs to attend their children.
A study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) revealed that women with school-aged children suffered higher rates of employment loss during the coronavirus pandemic.
This was the highlight of the PIDS study titled “School Closures and Parental Labor Supply” from December 2023. The study was made public on July 8.
“The findings suggest a continuation of traditional gender roles where women are often primarily responsible for childcare. As a result, they are more likely to reduce their participation in the labor market to support their children during remote learning or academic breaks,” said Ma. Christina Epetia, one of the authors of the said study.
It was noted in the study that “school closures have a negative effect on the probability of paid employment of women with school-age children.” The study also revealed that “highly educated women – and, to some extent, highly educated men – with school-age children are found to exert more hours of work when schools are closed to in-person learning.”
The study highlighted the need for preserving employment for women.
“The school closures coupled by the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment could then generate larger losses in human capital for women, making it more difficult to reintegrate in the labor force or acquire better labor market conditions once they decide to go back to working,” the study said.
Aside from the Philippine school system being unprepared for the shift, remote education also posed a major challenge for students who did not have anyone to facilitate learning at home, or whose parents were not capable of guiding them due to lack of knowledge.
When Vice President Sara Duterte assumed the role as education secretary in 2022, she issued a tall order mandating all schools in the country to return to face-to-face classes. This, however, was criticized due to the lack of health protocols in place and the long-standing problem of inadequate school facilities.
The PIDS study was also presented in a webinar last June 27. It was attended by a representative from the labor department, Grace Baldoza.
Baldoza said the study highlighted the need for “lifelong learning and upscaling” among Filipino workers. She also said the labor department has been staying true to its commitment of “enhancing workforce development in response to evolving labor market dynamics driven by technological advances.”
Baldoza cited some initiatives of the government, such as the Government Internship Program, public employment, and labor market information services like the Assistance to First-Time Jobseekers and Integrated PhilJobNet – PESO Employment Information System, as well as other local employment regulations.
Lots of people lost their jobs during the pandemic not just mothers. The lockdowns wrecked the entire economy.
However, some mothers who lost their jobs became entrepreneurs selling homemade items.
Just as we had inspiring heroes fighting for the Philippines’ right to self-government and freedom from colonial rule in 1898, we also have modern-day heroes who continue to contribute to the nation’s growth and to individual self-sufficiency.
These are not just overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) but also Filipinos who overcome hardships to achieve personal and financial empowerment through entrepreneurship right in our own country.
For Lois Gabriel, mother of three girls and an OFW in Dubai for six years back in the early 2000s, the secret to becoming an entrepreneur was using her biggest skill: coordinating things.
“Not everyone can coordinate with too many suppliers all at the same time. I am very good at reminding clients, following up suppliers, and doing quality control during execution,” she said.
In Dubai, she used her degree in communication and her skill at organizing events to put together events for her friends and church mates. When she came home to the Philippines to give birth, she decided to put up Lois Gabriel Events, where she wears many hats, such as event coordinator, host and professional makeup artist.
The pandemic put her business to a halt, but not her dreams. “My husband was earning enough for our daily needs, but we had no savings. Also, a very important reason for starting a business was my self-fulfillment as a woman and human being — that I am able to surpass the mediocrity cast upon women. It takes a lot of sweat and tears to be able to sustain a business,” she explained.
April Ocampo was an OFW in Macau and Singapore until the pandemic hit. In 2020, she came home to the Philippines, on maternity leave from work abroad. The pandemic left her unemployed for the next three years, and so she became a full-time mom.
She wasn’t used to not working, and thus suffered from post-partum depression. It made her question her worth and deal with anxiety and self-pity.
“Napaka-ganda ng tinatakbo ng career ko noong wala pa akong anak. OFW po ako at tumutulong sa pangangailangan ng pamilya namin, may sariling pera at kalayaan dati. Nawalan ako ng identity,” April confessed.
To be honest, she said, in the beginning, she decided to put up a business simply for herself, “para sa aking sarili, para po sa sanity ko, at lalong-lalo na po sa self-worth ko.”
In January this year, she put up Bounty Honey, which sources wild honey in Mindanao. Her business began with only 18 bottles and a capital of P3,200. Now, she is faced with the happy problem of supply since the demand for her honey is rising.
Mommy Princess is a mompreneur who embodies an entrepreneur who tried her hand at business while still working as an employee (she worked in business process outsourcing for 18 years), until she finally decided to quit her job and run her business full time.
During the pandemic, her company paid its employees three months’ salary despite halting work (they went back to the office after).
While stuck at home, she sold homemade body wash under the name Isla but pressed pause because she couldn’t find the right supplier. In 2022, she pivoted Isla to handmade accessories using macramé and clay because they do not expire.
Funny how the writer compares these people to the Filipino revolutionaries of 1898. The only difference is no one has taken their economic independence from them.
