Coronavirus Lockdown: Supply Chain Resilience, Bhutan PM, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government. 

Preisdent Marcos has sat down with the Prime Minister of Bhutan to seek enhanced ties across several sectors. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1271445

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay on Thursday expressed commitment to elevating Manila and Thimphu’s tourism, trade, investment and cultural relations.

The commitment was made during their first historic meeting at Malacañan Palace in Manila, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement.

During the meeting, Marcos emphasized the need for representation for non-resident ambassadors between the Philippines and Bhutan to enhance the two nations’ ties.

“President Marcos likewise stressed that after the pandemic, there is a realization of the need to forge new partnerships with friends around the world, not only in tourism and cultural exchange, but also in people-to-people, trade, and investment,” the PCO said.

Marcos also expressed elation over the present engagement between the two countries through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for skills training and upskilling of workers.

The Bhutan Prime Minister, who is visiting Manila to attend the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Asia Pacific Food Systems Forum (APFSF) 2026 this March, requested a courtesy call on Marcos on the sidelines of the event.

The Bhutanese leader’s visit marks the first since the formal establishment of diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Bhutan on Oct. 6, 2025.

The PCO said the meeting between the two leaders marks an important milestone to step up cooperation on priority areas of bilateral and broader cooperation.

The Philippines has been exporting commodities to Bhutan, including electronic products, machinery and transport equipment, as well as woodcrafts and furniture.

Its top import commodities from Bhutan, on the other hand, are wine, fresh grapes and virgin olive oil.

In terms of tourism, the Philippines welcomed 335 Bhutanese tourists as of Nov. 2025 and 380 travelers in 2024.

As for the Filipino diaspora in Bhutan, available information indicates that Filipinos work there as hotel managers.

Marcos says the pandemic made him realize the country needs to seek out new partnerships around the world. 

The Philippines also needs a stronger supply chain. 

https://www.unitednews.net.ph/en/article.php?post=122045

Two leading United States and Southeast Asian business groups are pushing to advance the supply chain resilience agenda under the Philippines’ chairship of the 2026 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

At a high-level roundtable gathering of senior officials and industry leaders on Wednesday, the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines (ASEAN-BAC Philippines) highlighted the mounting pressures on Southeast Asian supply chains arising from geopolitical tensions, climate disruptions and structural inefficiencies in trade and logistics systems.

“ASEAN’s supply chains are being tested by a convergence of external shocks and structural constraints. Like the COVID-19 pandemic, current geopolitical tensions underscore how quickly disruptions can ripple across trade, energy, and logistics systems,” USABC Philippine Chief Representative Herminio Bagro said.

Bagro said as a leading investors group in the region, USABC wants to see practical solutions, greater policy transparency, stronger public-private coordination and more efficient customs systems elevated by ASEAN this year.

During the discussions, illicit trade emerged as a key concern, with business leaders noting that fragmented enforcement regimes and uneven regulatory capacity continue to enable the proliferation of counterfeit and smuggled goods.

Among the recommendations outlined were regulatory guidance to reduce uncertainty for investors and operators, and deeper public-private coordination to mitigate energy price volatility and supply chain disruptions.

Also pushed were streamlined customs, logistics and regulatory approvals to improve efficiency and reduce trade frictions; and the removal of unnecessary cross-border bans to ease regional supply chains.

“Supply chain resilience and sustainability are central to ASEAN’s long-term competitiveness,” ASEAN-BAC Philippines senior adviser Gil Gonzales said.

“This roundtable reflects our commitment to ensuring that private sector solutions are translated into concrete chairship deliverables that strengthen regional integration and economic stability,” he added.

The roundtable is the third of its kind, following the convening of USABC and ASEAN-BAC dialogues centered on health care, and sustainability and food security.

The USABC and ASEAN-BAC Philippines said these meetings will shape a coherent private sector agenda designed to support the Philippines’ 2026 ASEAN chairship.

At a separate forum on Thursday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said the Philippines is committed to driving an ambitious ASEAN economic agenda to secure policies that will assist the bloc achieve its goal of becoming the fourth largest economy despite global economic shocks affecting the region.

"Resilience is not just about weathering the storm; it is about building the capacity to thrive within it. It is about being agile enough to pivot when traditional markets close, and bold enough to innovate when the status quo is dampened," she said.

Of course the pandemic revealed how fragile the supply chain really is. One break in the link and inflation goes hog wild. 

Japanese restaurant Manmaru opened exactly one year before the pandemic. And during the pandemic the business was able to keep afloat due to deliveries. 

https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/03/16/2514520/burgers-and-fries-tempura-and-sushi/amp/

Kristopher Yang, the son of George Yang – the tycoon who secured the franchise of the famous McDonald’s brand and brought it to the Philippines – has reportedly consolidated control and local franchise ownership of the popular Manmaru Japanese Izakaya brand that first gained a strong consumer base at the Makati Cinema Square, right across the Little Tokyo restaurant enclave along Pasong Tamo.

The popularity of Manmaru, which opened in March 2019, was such that even during the pandemic, it helped keep the Japanese restaurants in the area popular for takeouts, and has even spurred the opening of new reasonably priced Japanese eateries in the area after the pandemic.

The original Manmaru Izakaya was established by Osaka-based Eat Factory Holdings Co., Ltd.

Due to its popularity and reasonable prices, in September 2024, a second Manmaru Japanese Izakaya branch opened along Tomas Morato St. in Quezon City in partnership with the Yang family.

And just last year, in November, a third branch opened in BF Homes in Parañaque.

They continue to expand in another showing of a local business weathering the pandemic and its aftermath. 

The nominations for the 2026 Ateneo Art Awards - Purita Kalaw - Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism are here. The theme is "Futurities."

https://www.ateneo.edu/news/2026/03/aaa-pkl-call-for-entries-2026

Co-presented with the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc., the Ateneo Art Gallery is now accepting submissions for the 2026 Ateneo Art Awards  Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism. On its 13th year, the prize welcomes entries on the theme of “Futurities.”

The Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prizes in Art Criticism will have English and Filipino categories. A panel of jurors will shortlist a maximum of six (6) writers from each category. From this shortlist, winners will be selected by the editors of partner publications. Read the full mechanics at https://go.ateneo.net/PKL2026Mechanics.

Submit entries at https://go.ateneo.net/PKL2026Entry. Submissions will be accepted until 30 JUNE 2026, Tuesday, 11:59 pm. 

About the theme

“We have been through a war but very few of our painters seem to know it.” In 1950, Purita Kalaw-Ledesma said this when asked by columnist IP Soliongco about her thoughts on genre landscape paintings. The Second World War had ended only five years earlier. 

For us in the present, six years ago marked the first year of facing the global pandemic. Recently, we commemorated the 40th anniversary of the People Power Revolution, which reshaped Philippine governance through collective action. Today, not only in this country but around the world, we continue to face unrest and war, as well as urgent debates about generative AI that unsettle our sense of humanity and more. Alongside persists the effort simply to survive. 

With all these, can we still imagine futurities—a plurality of possible futures—amid what is unfolding in the present? 

Art has long served as humanity’s instrument to imagine. In an undated article, “Art and the Nation,” from PKL Scrapbook Vol. 2 (c. 1950–1952), written in the context of the Art Association of the Philippines fostering art “during times of storm and stress,” the author reflects: 

“It is to [poets and artists] that we turn when everything seems dark. [...] Through their works, whether it is a painting or a poem, they afford the rest of us a glimpse of that beauty and perfection which can only belong to a future world.” 

Perhaps the task today is not to picture beautiful or perfect futurities, but to remain capable of imagining at all.

War, people power, global pandemic! Can art show us the way to a beautiful future or is it all too bleak to behold?