More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/01/09/2324420/philippines-may-have-aging-population-2030-cpd |
Less, marriages, less births, and increased mortality all due to the pandemic.By the year 2030, the country’s demographic can already be considered an aging population, according to the Commission on Population on Development (CPD).
“Our population continues to grow, but in a slow manner. There is growth, but in a small number only,” CPD executive director Lisa Bersales said on the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon program yesterday. “The UN (United Nations) then can already classify the Philippine population as an aging one. This means those 60 years old and above (are increasing),” she added.
The CPD chief also said that they already provided authorities information concerning this particular population issue.
“We at the CPD already alerted concerned government agencies on this since there is a need to make better the living conditions of our senior citizens,” said Bersales.
An aging population refers to the increase in the percentage of older people, or those aged 60 years and above, in a given country. This also means the number of the young population, or those aged 15 years old and below, is decreasing. The CPD has attributed this projection to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID-19 was really a big factor. Only a few (couples) got married. There were also a small number of women who gave birth,” Bersales said.
At the same time, the CPD said there was an increase in mortality. “There were many deaths that is why the projection is slow in terms of increase in population,” Bersales added.
The commission also pointed out that a study made by the United Nations Population Fund and National Economic and Development Authority showed that the implementation of the K-12 program in the country has resulted to less pregnancies.
“Since there were additional years added to the basic education of the youth, this meant the focus of young members of the population now are on their studies, thus delaying activities causing teenage pregnancy,” Bersales said.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/893876/marcos-in-vin-d-honneur-philippines-back-on-feet-after-covid-19-pandemic/story/ |
The Philippines has gotten back on its feet from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the shocks from the Russia-Ukraine war and conflict in the Middle East, President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. said during the annual Vin D’ Honneur in Malacañang on Thursday.
“These, we hope to address in support of various partners and stakeholders. I continue to enjoin the diplomatic corps to work closely with us in identifying areas where we can pursue joint and collective endeavors and initiatives,” President Marcos as he called on the members of the diplomatic corps to work with his administration in addressing concerns on poverty, food security, peace and order, health, jobs, and livelihood.
“It is with confidence that I announce that the Philippines has... I could say [has] gotten back [on] its feet from the reeling effect of the pandemic and the subsequent shocks that we have suffered from the Ukraine war and now from the conflict in the Middle East,” Marcos said.
The Philippines going back in business is evidenced by the improving economic condition, and with the government’s catch-up spending, a growth target of 6 to 7 percent for 2023 could be seen, according to the chief executive.
The administration has also continued to manage overall inflation at 3.9 percent in December, which could bring the year’s overall inflation to 6 percent, which, while still a little high, it hopefully moves in the correct direction, Marcos noted.
Also, the unemployment rate in November last year declined to 3.6 percent, lower than the unemployment rate of 4.3 percent in October 2023 and November of 2022, he pointed out, that adding underemployment likewise dropped to 11.7 percent in November from 14.4 in the same period a year prior.
“The Philippines is touted to become one of the fastest-growing economies among major Asian countries in 2023 as forecasted by multilateral organizations such as the ADB (Asian Development Bank), the ASEAN + 3 Macroeconomic Research Office, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” Marcos said.
We all know the pandemic shutdowns made the wealthy more wealthy and the poor even poorer. Unemployment may be down but inflation is still up making everything more expensive and this is not limited to the Philippines.
During the pandmeis food delivery companies experienced a boom. These companies are here to stay.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/01/14/2325661/burgers-most-ordered-grab-food-2023 |
Filipinos lessened their orders for sweet delicacies in favor of savory items as fast food staples dominated the list of most purchased products on GrabFood in the Philippines last year.
According to Grab’s Philippine Food and Grocery Trends, burger was the most ordered food in 2023, followed by chicken sandwich and fried chicken.
The index was rounded up by the following: pasta, fries, hotdog, ice cream, dimsum, nuggets and caramel macchiato.
Likewise, Grab reported that Filipinos place an order for food mostly to satisfy sudden cravings in the afternoon and at night. GrabFood also delivered for everyday meals, family meals, special occasions and date nights.
In general, Grab noted that food deliveries remain a popular option for Filipinos in the pandemic aftermath. However, Filipinos are starting to recover their confidence in going out as well, proof of which is the rise in the volume of self pick-up in 2023.
“Deliveries have continued to grow since the pandemic began and now consumers are expanding their repertoire with delivery apps,” Grab said.
“Self pick-up and dine-in’s contribution to total order volume increased by 3.6 times from 2021 to 2023,” the superapp added.
Pandemic or not Grab is very practical.
The BI is aiming for more arrivals this year as travel resurges post-pandemic.
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| https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/ph-eyes-15m-intl-arrivals-after-travel-resurgence |
INTERNATIONAL travel has made a huge comeback after the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic pummeled travel numbers in the Philippines in the last few years, giving the Bureau of Immigration (BI) the confidence to target pre-pandemic levels of arrivals this year as it also rolls out more e-services to boost travel.
In a statement, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the agency recorded 12.6 million arrivals in 2023, more than double the 6.1 million arrivals that the bureau recorded in 2022.
Thus, Tansingco said, they now project much higher numbers for this year of around 15 million arrivals.
“The figures we are seeing are a good sign,” Tansingco said. “It shows that revenge travel is real, and that international travel and tourism has regained its momentum after the worldwide lockdowns.”
The target of around 15 million international arrivals for 2024 approximates the 15.1 million arrivals recorded by the Bureau of Immigration in 2018.
This number shot up to 16.9 million arrivals in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic beginning 2020 destroyed international travel with the imposition of mobility restrictions done in a bid to arrest the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.
International arrivals to the Philippines plunged to 3.6 million in 2020, but this performance was helped by the first quarter tourism numbers as the World Health Organization did not declare Covid-19 a global pandemic until mid-March of that year.
The year 2021 saw the BI record only a dismal 1.4 million arrivals after the full effect of the pandemic on international travel began to be felt.
The Philippines has to set 2018 goals for 2024.
Filipino musicians are now traveling to perform in Australia.
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| https://www.sbs.com.au/language/filipino/en/article/who-are-the-filipino-artists-that-will-hold-concerts-in-australia-this-2024/ite5y50yf |
Original Pilipino Music (OPM) acts as a cultural bridge for Filipinos abroad,including over 400,000 residing in Australia,invoking a sense of nostalgia and connecting them to their roots.However, the pandemic imposed restrictions, leading to the absence of Philippine artists holding concerts and leaving a void in the hearts of the Filipino community Down Under.AsAustralia reopened its international borders in 2022, the concert scene revived, rekindling hopes for a resurgence of live OPM performances.
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