Coronavirus Lockdown: E-Notarization, Baguio Arboretum, and More!

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

Baguio’s arboretum was developed during the pandemic as the city looked for more outdoor spaces to support residents’ mental well-being. The project aimed to give people safe, nature-based activities at a time when indoor gatherings were restricted. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/article/baguio-arboretum-to-open-to-public-oct-19

The city government will open its Arboretum to the public on Oct. 19, offering visitors a chance to reconnect with nature through forest bathing, bird watching, and other outdoor activities.

The City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) said the arboretum, located beside Teachers Camp and near the Baguio Botanical Garden, features lush greenery and tree-lined walkways.

CEPMO head Rhenan Diwas said on Wednesday that the city has partnered with the Haring Ibon Foundation to offer bird-watching tours.

“The city will offer cultural and bird-watching activities, with the Haring Ibon Foundation providing tours for interested visitors,” Diwas said.

The opening will feature the unveiling of the Baguio Arboretum Gallery, developed in collaboration with the city government. 

The gallery will showcase bird species found in Baguio City and the Cordilleras, as well as trees and other plant species in the arboretum.

Diwas said the facility could also serve as a venue for conservation, education, research, and nature appreciation.

Located beside the Botanical Garden, the arboretum will be accessible through the same designated entrance, with no additional admission fee, he added.

The area was developed into an arboretum during the pandemic as the city sought more outdoor and nature-based activities to support mental well-being. Its opening was postponed several times due to damage caused by heavy rains.

Under City Ordinance 18-2016, entrance fees for tourists are PHP110 for adults and children aged 13 and above, and PHP27.50 for children aged 12 and below. Senior citizens and persons with disabilities are entitled to a 20 percent discount.

For Baguio residents, the fees are PHP55 for adults and PHP27.50 for children and students aged 13 and above, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities. Children aged 12 and below may enter for free.

The city government has been developing parks and tourist attractions to expand recreational options, including for repeat visitors.

The walkway around Burnham Park Lake is undergoing improvements after showing signs of damage following its reopening on Sept. 1.

The Rose Garden and Children's Park are next in line for development, while work on the Baguio Athletic Bowl complex is ongoing.

Its public opening, originally delayed by weather damage, is now set for October 19. The site will offer forest bathing, bird watching, and other outdoor experiences that grew in importance during the COVID-19 period.

The Supreme Court will begin rolling out electronic notarization on October 19, allowing notaries to serve clients remotely. Justice Benjamin Caguioa noted that the push for digital notarization was partly driven by the difficulties people faced accessing government services during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2324656/sc-rolls-out-e-notarization-oct-19

The Supreme Court will begin rolling out digital notarization on Oct. 19, allowing accredited notaries to provide services regardless of their physical location and easing public access to legal services.

The launch of electronic notarization, or e-notarization, marks a shift from traditional notarial services, which are restricted to a notary public’s territorial jurisdiction.

The first batch of accredited electronic notary public facility providers includes NotarizeIT by Unawa, Twala by Ohelio and QLegal by Quanby Solutions.

The rollout follows the high court’s approval in February 2025 of the rules governing e-notarization and the guidelines for accrediting electronic notary public facility providers.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa said the judiciary’s push to digitalize notarization was partly prompted by the difficulties people encountered in accessing government services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The adoption of e-notarization is intended to make notarial services more accessible by allowing authorized notaries to perform the service remotely, removing the need for clients to be physically present within the notary’s traditional area of jurisdiction.

The initiative forms part of the judiciary’s broader efforts to use technology to improve access to legal services and make transactions more convenient.

Caguioa also said the Supreme Court had begun discussions with the Department of Foreign Affairs to extend e-notarization services to overseas Filipino workers.

The proposed arrangement could help Filipinos working abroad access notarial services without having to return to the Philippines, although details of the planned implementation have yet to be announced.

The rollout begins as the judiciary continues to explore digital solutions to address barriers to legal services, particularly those arising from geographical distance and the need for in-person transactions.

The new system removes the old requirement that clients appear in person within a notary’s territorial jurisdiction. This change is part of broader efforts to make legal services more accessible after the pandemic exposed the limits of purely in-person transactions.

Dr. Kei Rebolledo completed his dermatology residency at the height of the pandemic, when lockdowns made opening a traditional clinic impossible. He and his family converted their open-air garage into a makeshift treatment space, which he considered safer because of the ventilation. 

https://bnc.bilyonaryo.com/doc-kei-started-in-a-pandemic-garage-now-hes-bringing-real-skin-transformations-to-tv-no-ai-required/lifestyle-entertainment/

Dr. Kei Rebolledo finished dermatology residency at the height of the pandemic, when, he said, opening a clinic was impossible because no one was allowed to go outside. So he and his family turned to the one place that felt safe: their garage. It was open-air, he said, and that made it safer.

Patients came anyway. “A lot of patients of mine really went to our garage even if there’s no aircon,” Rebolledo said. “They had their warts removed.” The demand, he said, showed that people were worried about their skin.

Today, he leads a network of skincare clinics across Metro Manila, runs a product line called KBK Skin, and hosts Kutis Reveal with Doc Kei, a reality show that follows real skin transformations over three to four months.

The show, he said, is his answer to a feed full of filters. “You see many before-and-after photos, I’m sure, in your feed, and you don’t know if it’s true, right?” he said on BNC’s “The Daily Dish” program. “Because everything can be generated now by AI.”

So he refused to hurry it. “We cannot rush this,” Rebolledo said he told the production team, because he wanted to show genuine results.

The slow pace mirrors the clinic. Some patients complain after one or two months, he said, and he tells them from the start to expect at least three months. “A lot of people now, especially these days, are very impatient because we’re used to instant things,” he said. “But for the skin, it’s impossible.”

The show is also meant to widen access. Not everyone can visit his clinic, he said, but much of his advice can be applied at home. Asked how he manages being both physician and chief executive, he was blunt. “I don’t know. I just do it,” he said. “It’s not an easy thing to do every day.”

Its participants include people with skin cancer and other cancer patients. “It’s not a show about vanity; it’s a show about restoring dignity, restoring the self-confidence and the belief of our hopefuls with their lives,” he said.

His own story is part of the pitch. Rebolledo said he struggled with skin problems and self-confidence as a teenager, and that the pimples run in the genes. “Your confidence, your mental health, it’s also tied to your skin,” he said.

Patients often come for reasons beyond their skin. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not only a dermatologist, I’m also a psychiatrist,” he said. They want, he said, “to change something in their lives.” Consultations, he said, begin with counseling before any procedure is discussed.

The clinic’s name, Kutis by Kei, was chosen on purpose. Kutis is the Tagalog word for skin, a choice he said was meant to make dermatology feel less intimidating and more relatable.

His advice is deliberately simple. Some patients arrive with whole bags of products, he said, and he tries to pare them back. “I try to make it simple,” he said. “You don’t need to use all of that, because the more products you use, the more your skin gets annoyed.”

For people without specific concerns, he recommends a gentle cleanser with moisturizing ingredients such as glycerin and hyaluronic acid. He said he is surprised that some patients skip cleanser and use only water. Water is not enough, he said, especially for people who wear makeup.

He called niacinamide, retinol and vitamin C serum the “cornerstones” of skincare. Those are among the products in his own KBK Skin line, which he said focuses on essentials and also includes an invisible sunscreen gel.

Sunscreen is the centerpiece. He compared daily use to brushing one’s teeth and said people should not skip it. Indoors, away from sunlight, one application is enough, he said. Under continuous exposure, such as a day in Boracay, he advised reapplying every two hours. His two-finger rule: fill two fingers with sunscreen for the face and neck.

He also addressed a rumor, which he said circulates especially in the United States, that sunscreen is carcinogenic. He said the claim has been debunked and that sunscreen protects against skin cancer. “It’s one of the most proven ways to protect our skin from skin cancer,” he said.

On counterfeits, Rebolledo said there are now many fake injectables on the market. Many of his clinic’s branded injectables carry a QR code that patients can scan to check authenticity, and he encouraged patients to ask staff to let them scan the product box before treatment. “If our clinic is confident that our products are authentic, of course you can,” he said.

On new technology, he said he tests devices on his own skin before buying them for the clinic. Some expensive devices he tried were not effective, he said, though he declined to name them.

When any “before-and-after” can be generated with a click, Rebolledo wants viewers to see what an image cannot show: skin treatment is a process, and real results cannot be rushed.

Catch Kutis Reveal with Doc Kei every Saturday at 10 a.m. on Bilyonaryo News Channel.

Patients still came despite the lack of air-conditioning, seeking procedures such as wart removal and demonstrating that skin concerns persisted even during the crisis. That improvised garage practice laid the foundation for the network of clinics and the television show he runs today.