Coronavirus Lockdown: Philippine Eagle, Ebolavirus, and More!

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

The tourism industry is still recovering form the pandemic. To that end the DOT recently sent a large contingent to attract more Chinese tourists. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1274906

The Philippines has sent its largest tourism business mission to China since pandemic as it doubles down on efforts to attract more Chinese travelers into the country.

The Philippine Tourism Industry Business Mission 2026, led by the Department of Tourism (DOT), brought together 35 Philippine travel-related companies and around 280 Chinese travel agencies.

The Philippine Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday said the delegation will be holding business-to-business meetings with Chinese stakeholders in Beijing, Chengdu, and Guangzhou.

At the mission’s stop in Beijing on May 12, Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz said the event’s strong turnout sends a signal that “despite the challenges and uncertainties of recent years, there remains tremendous interest, confidence, and goodwill between the Philippine and Chinese tourism industries.”

“We are already seeing encouraging momentum. Chinese tourist arrivals to the Philippines have been rising significantly, helped in part by the Philippines’ visa-free policy for Chinese tourists introduced last January,” he said, adding that the Philippines is well-positioned to meet the changing preferences of the Chinese market.

Beyond leisure, the envoy said tourism could serve as bridge to build goodwill and familiarity between Filipino and Chinese people.

“The more our peoples see each other’s sights and sounds, the more they meet each other face-to-face, the more opportunities we create for understanding. And mutual understanding matters especially in times of uncertainty,” he said.

DOT Assistant Secretary Sharlene Zabala-Batin, who is part of the mission, confirmed that this is the DOT's largest tourism business mission to China in terms of the participating stakeholders and coverage since the pandemic broke out in 2019.

Beijing-based Tourism Attaché Ireneo Reyes, who also spoke at the meeting, told Chinese travel firms that the Philippines is ready to welcome more Chinese visitors.

The business mission featured presentations on the Philippines’ diverse tourism offerings, including Boracay, Cebu, Palawan, and Manila, as well as tourism products such as diving; culture and heritage; English language learning; Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE); sun-and-sea tourism; nature-based travel; and cruise tourism.

Business matching sessions and networking activities also provided a platform for Philippine and Chinese stakeholders to discuss cooperation opportunities, market strategies, service improvements, and tourism product development.

New direct routes between China and the Philippines were launched this year, including Chongqing-Manila and Quanzhou-Cebu, with more additional and charter flights in the pipeline, according to the envoy.

Latest DOT data show that arrivals from China reached 150,708 in January to April 2026 from 93,186 recorded in the same period last year.

China currently ranks as the Philippines’ fourth largest source of foreign visitors.

Surely there are other reasons than lack of knowledge about Boracay, et al which are preventing more Chinese tourists to visit. Reasons which are out of the DOT's control. 

During the pandemic Mom's began side hustles which eventually turned into full-time income streams. 

https://mb.com.ph/2026/05/16/from-side-hustle-to-lifeline-how-moms-are-rewriting-the-family-economy

This month, modern Filipino moms are proving that motherhood and entrepreneurship can thrive hand in hand. Across the country, more mothers are stepping beyond traditional roles and embracing life as “mompreneurs,” building businesses from home, pursuing their passions, and reshaping the future of their families through digital innovation.

Through communities like PLDT Home’s Madiskarte Moms PH (MMPH), the modern “side hustle” has evolved into something far more powerful: a tech-enabled lifeline helping families navigate an increasingly unpredictable world.

For many mompreneurs, the journey began with either necessity or a spark of inspiration, a homemade chili garlic recipe, curated thrift finds, bespoke footwear, or personalized digital art. Some were driven by the economic uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially after losing jobs or sources of income. What started as small ventures eventually became sustainable businesses that now support entire households and communities.

“I had just resigned from my corporate job, and I had an 8-month-old baby to take care of. It was challenging at first because running a business means thinking about marketing strategies, finances, and product development 24/7. That’s on top of my responsibilities as a mom. It was daunting at first, but I was able to press on,” says Ayn Stephanie Buyco Angeles, founder of Marikina-based bespoke footwear brand Hers by Godfather.

“My husband and I got laid off in Dubai, so we decided to return to the Philippines to start anew. When I started Momsatwork, all I could think of was that I had to succeed for my family. I wanted other moms who had the same struggles as me to find a support system through MomsatWork. I wanted to make an empowering and educational platform that will provide opportunities for moms like me,” echoes May Martin-Pimentel, founder of consultation firm Momsatwork.

Faced with changing realities, mothers like Angeles and Pimentel chose to adapt, rebuild, and take charge of their futures. With the support of their loved ones and the sisterhood they found through PLDT Home’s MMPH community, they learned how to scale their businesses and to transform homegrown ideas into thriving enterprises.

Apparently this is an advertisement disguised as a news article but it remains true. 

Ebola is making a comeback in Africa. 

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/amp/story/manila/doh-on-alert-vs-bundibugyo-ebolavirus

THE Department of Health (DOH) said Monday, May 18, 2026, that it is currently on alert over the threat of the Bundibugyo ebolavirus after a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a statement, the DOH said it is prepared to face the threat of the virus and is already in close coordination with the WHO.

"The DOH is always ready and on alert. We have been notified through the International Health Regulations (IHR) channels, and are in active coordination with the WHO," said the DOH.

Nevertheless, the health department said there is nothing to worry about the Bundibugyo ebolavirus since the threat is in countries sharing land borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

"The PHEIC declaration is most important for countries sharing land borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, where the event is occurring," said the DOH.

"The WHO advice is clear for countries like the Philippines, where there is no Bundibugyo and that does not share a land border with countries that have Bundibugyo," it added.

For countries like the Philippines, the department said the WHO is merely calling for adequate information dissemination regarding the virus.

"The general public should be provided with accurate and reliable information on the Bundibugyo outbreak and ongoing measures to reduce risk," said the DOH.

Over the weekend, the WHO declared a PHEIC over the Bundibugyo ebolavirus spread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

However, the WHO said the PHEIC does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency. 

Will that be the next pandemic?

The Philippine Eagle is facing threats to its population. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/regionaltv/news/114133/ph-eagle-faces-genetic-threat-amid-declining-population/story/

The Philippine eagle, the country’s national bird and one of the world’s rarest raptors, faces not only diminishing population but also genetic threat that could endanger its survival.

According to a study conducted by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), Philippine Genome Center, and University of the Philippines (UP), the species has extremely low genetic variation, based on analysis of 35 eagles.

Because their population is dropping, they have no other available mates. As a result, eagles are forced to mate with their own relatives within the forest, which is called inbreeding.

Authorities said inbreeding produces chicks that are weaker and more prone to illness, so they have a lower chance of survival.

They also reproduce slowly as they lay only one egg every two years, making it like a race against their own species’ survival.

"One reason why the Philippine Eagle is genetically or less healthy is that there is not much exchange or gene flow in the subpopulation so what is happening is that many Philippine eagles are being shot that have thrived and migrated or gone to other mountains and this is usually immature and young eagles meaning we are losing our young eagles that supposedly would have carried the genetic diversity of their bloodline," PEF Director for Operations, Dr. Jayson Ibañez, said.At present, only around 392 pairs or 784 mature eagles remain in the wild.

Authorities said humans remain the primary cause of their continued decline as juvenile or young eagles are often trapped or become victims of illegal hunting.

“We have scientific evidence na super taas ng juvenile and sub-adult mortality rate. During the pandemic alone, we rescued a total 20 Philippine Eagles from 2019-2022 that’s the highest rescue rate ever these eagles were shot, were trapped some of them fell to the sea, 18 out of 20 eagles were immature,” Ibañez added.

But during the pandmiec more eagles were rescued than at any other time!

Coronavirus Lockdown: Hiking Boom, Pandemic Threats, and More!

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

The Asian Development Bank says the fuel crisis won't impact the Philippine economy has hard as the pandemic. 

https://mb.com.ph/2026/05/07/oil-shock-wont-hit-philippines-as-hard-as-covid-19-say-adb-economists

Amid comparisons by some local firms claiming that the ongoing oil crisis triggered by the  conflict in the Middle East is hurting their business operations more severely than the Covid-19 pandemic, economists from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the broader Philippine economy is unlikely to suffer a shock as deep as the country’s worst post-war recession in 2020.

ADB chief economist Albert F. Park told a media briefing last Wednesday, May 6, that the Manila-based multilateral lender’s latest downgrade in regional growth forecasts remained far less severe than the economic collapse experienced during the pandemic.

Last month, the ADB downgraded its 2026 Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to a post-pandemic low of 4.4 percent, matching last year’s flood-control scandal-weakened expansion, while raising its inflation projection to a possibly 18-year high of 6.3 percent.

“The perspective of private-sector [companies] could be different. But at the economy-wide level, we don’t think it would be the same level of shock,” Park said.

Park explained that the Covid-19 crisis disrupted both supply and demand simultaneously, unlike the current oil-driven shock stemming from geopolitical tensions due to the war in Iran.

At the height of the most stringent pandemic lockdowns, “people are not spending, people are not going out—so it’s hugely disruptive. And I don’t think we’re seeing that” now, he pointed out.

“There’s still quite a lot of robust domestic demand in many countries in the region,” he added.

Still, Park acknowledged that persistently elevated oil and food prices would create significant challenges for both households and businesses, especially firms heavily reliant on fuel inputs.

“This is certainly a headwind. Because if oil prices are high and later food prices are higher, then that’s more money [consumers] have to spend on those things—less money they have to spend on other things in the economy,” Park said.

He noted that such pressures could not only weaken consumer demand but also raise production costs for private firms.

For his part, ADB deputy chief economist Abdul Abiad said the ongoing oil crisis, “even under a more severe scenario,” would be unlikely to trigger a contraction comparable to the Philippines’ economic collapse at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, when annual GDP shrank by 9.5 percent in 2020.

For Abiad, the two crises’ shocks “are very different.”

In this current global oil price and supply crisis, “a lot of what will be felt will actually be on the inflation side rather than real activity,” he explained. Philippine inflation already surged to a 37-month high of 7.2 percent in April.

“The other difference is that you had that sharp contraction in 2020, and then you had a quick bounce back” as the domestic economy gradually reopened from pandemic restrictions, he added.

“It’s hard to say how this Middle East conflict would evolve—it could get worse, but it’s difficult to compare. But definitely, in terms of just the shock to real activity, you’re not going to get something as big as that Covid shock in 2020,” Abiad said.

So, it could get worse but it might not. But it could. 

Economic growth has hit a new post-pandemic low. 

https://business.inquirer.net/589015/philippine-gdp-growth-slows-to-2-8-in-first-quarter

The local economy grew at a slower pace of 2.8 percent in the first quarter as the oil shock from the Middle East war added to pressures from a major infrastructure graft scandal.

The first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday, further weakened from 3-percent expansion in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The figure landed below the government’s 5 percent to 6 percent target for 2026 and also slumped from the 5.4 percent GDP expansion seen in the same period a year earlier.

It likewise missed the 3.4 percent median estimate of 14 economists polled by the Inquirer.

The main contributors to the first quarter 2026 year-on-year growth were:

• Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 4.6 percent; 
• Financial and insurance activities, 3.4 percent; and 
• Public administration and defense; compulsory social security, 8.6 percent.

Among the major economic sectors, services grew by 4.5 percent in the first quarter. On the other hand, the agriculture and industry sectors declined by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

This outcome has now dragged the Philippines economy deeper into one of its weakest runs in 16 years outside the COVID-19 pandemic period.

The country had still been trying to rebound from weak growth in 2025, when infrastructure spending contracted sharply amid the fallout from the flood control corruption scandal, which weighed on both government disbursements and business sentiment.

But in March—the last month of the quarter and the first month of the ongoing Middle East war—an energy shock began to bite, driving up fuel costs and pressuring household purchasing power and business confidence.

It appears the pandemic will remain the weakest economic run but remember, it could get worse. 

The ASEAN is meeting in Cebu this month and they are looking to strengthen "regional healthcare cooperation and building more resilient public health systems amid growing health and pandemic threats across Southeast Asia."

https://mb.com.ph/2026/05/10/asean-pushes-stronger-regional-healthcare-ai-driven-health-systems-amid-pandemic-threats

The 11 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening regional healthcare cooperation and building more resilient public health systems amid growing health and pandemic threats across Southeast Asia.

In the Chair’s Statement of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the leaders emphasized the importance of ensuring universal access to essential health services and accelerating the adoption of digital health systems across the region.

They said ASEAN remains committed to “building a healthier, more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable ASEAN Community” through stronger regional coordination on healthcare and disease response.

The leaders also highlighted the need to address child malnutrition and improve immunization efforts, while enhancing the region’s preparedness and response to outbreaks, pandemics, and emerging health challenges.

Public health emergencies

ASEAN leaders acknowledged the region’s vulnerability to public health threats, including pandemics, disease outbreaks, and natural disasters.

“We reaffirmed our resolve to strengthen regional health security through a coordinated, whole-of-ASEAN approach,” the Chair’s Statement read.

The leaders said ASEAN would work to improve prevention, preparedness, detection, and response systems for future health emergencies.

They also welcomed the planned establishment and operationalization of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED), which will serve as a regional hub for surveillance, research, training, and information exchange.

According to the statement, the center aims to strengthen the region’s preparedness and response capabilities during future public health crises.

ASEAN leaders also underscored the importance of strengthening Emergency Operations Centers and the ASEAN EOC Network to improve information sharing and regional coordination during emergencies.

AI, digital health

The leaders also recognized the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare delivery and public health management.

They said AI could help improve diagnostics, imaging, surgical care, patient monitoring, therapeutics, rehabilitation, healthcare operations, and public health systems.

The bloc also expressed support for the ASEAN Health Sector’s digital health and health information systems initiatives as part of broader efforts to modernize healthcare systems across the region.

Earlier in the statement, ASEAN leaders also emphasized the role of AI and emerging technologies in supporting health services and improving regional resilience.

What's the next pandemic? Hantavirus? 

There has been a post-pandemic hiking boom across the Philippines. It has not been great for the environment. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1274712

Interest in communing with nature surged following the pandemic, as more people sought ways to ease worries and pressures brought about by movement restrictions and the challenges that followed.

Camping and hiking were among the activities that gained more enthusiasts, benefiting the local tourism industry.

One of the beneficiaries is the municipality of Barlig in Mountain Province, which recorded a total of 10,529 visitors across its four tourism areas in 2025 alone.

The municipality is home to Mt. Amuyao, one of the highest peaks in the Philippines with an elevation of around 2,702 meters above sea level, which attracted 1,135 tourists last year. The Macalana Rice Terraces also drew 1,135 visitors, while Lake Tufob welcomed 1,064 tourists and the Eagle View Deck logged 7,195 visitors.

In the first quarter of this year alone, around 2,900 tourists visited the municipality’s destinations.

While this is seen as a positive development for tourism, problems arise when undisciplined visitors leave waste behind or improperly dispose of trash in these areas.

In an interview with the Philippine News Agency, Queenie Martinez Francisco, a mountaineering fundamentals training provider who holds a Leave No Trace (LNT) training certification from the United States, said hiking became increasingly popular after pandemic movement restrictions were lifted.

She said hiking became one of the outlets people turned to “for fitness and mental health, amplified by social media exposure.”

“This growth has brought both benefits and challenges to local communities, generating income through tourism, tour-guiding, and small businesses, but also causing issues like overcrowding, environmental damage, and disrespect of local culture due to irresponsible hikers,” she said.

“To address this, the government can implement stricter permit systems, limit daily visitor capacity, require environmental orientation or accreditation for hikers, enforce penalties for violations, and work closely with local communities to ensure sustainable tourism practices that protect both the natural sites and the people who depend on them,” she added.

Leave No Trace

Francisco emphasized the importance of personal knowledge and preparedness when going to the mountains.

She underscored the need for Leave No Trace (LNT) or basic mountaineering course (BMC) training before starting a hiking or mountaineering journey, noting that “most accidents in the mountains happen because of lack of knowledge, (resulting in) getting lost, dehydration, injuries, or making poor decisions during sudden weather changes.”

“Through training, you learn essential skills like navigation, proper pacing, emergency response, and basic first aid, all of which are critical in real outdoor situations,” Francisco said.

“Training also emphasize environmental responsibility by teaching principles such as Leave No Trace, proper waste management, and respect for nature and local communities. At the same time, it builds teamwork and leadership skills, which are essential since hiking often involves group dynamics, communication, and shared responsibility.”

Francisco, who provides BMC training at a popular sports store in the country, said such training benefits not only tourism sites but hikers themselves by equipping them with the necessary mountain skills.

“Mountaineering training is not just for serious climbers, it is for anyone who plans to hike regularly and wants to do it safely, responsibly, and with confidence,” she said.

“Most importantly, it gives you real confidence, not the kind that relies on guesswork, but one (that is) grounded in knowledge and preparation. In the end, joining mountaineering training is not about being ‘extra,’ but about being prepared, minimizing risks, and fully enjoying the mountains the right way,” she added.

How hard is it not to litter? How hard is it to to adequately prepare by bringing proper supplies and looking at a map? Apparently very hard. 

Coronavirus Lockdown: New Gateway, Lasting Effects on Fatherhood, and More!

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

A long-term study by Harvard University on the USA and the Philippines on the lasting effects of the COVID lockdowns on fatherhood was recently released. 

https://www.newswise.com/articles/long-term-study-of-covid-lockdown-and-family-life-shows-unexpected-lasting-effects-on-fatherhood/

In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, much has been said about how the lockdowns created conditions for dual-parent families to spend more time at home with their children. In an ideal vision of family life, this would have led to parents sharing in quality time and caregiving responsibilities, and bonding with their children in a way they hadn’t been able to do before.

In the United States, ample attention was given to the novelty of how dads, in particular, were getting much more time to participate in the daily, often mundane and yet intimate tasks of child-rearing. Many people hoped that the change would persist, allowing dads more time and flexibility in the long term — ultimately reshaping how we view fatherhood in general.

However, according to new research from anthropologist and fatherhood expert Lee Gettler of the University of Notre Dame, those fathering benefits have not outlasted the pandemic itself.

“COVID didn’t really lead to a large-scale uptick in this new vision for fathering on the part of dads across the board,” said Gettler, the Rev. John A. O’Brien College Professor of Anthropology and chair of the Department of Anthropology, as well as an affiliated faculty at the Eck Institute for Global Health and the William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families.

“I think what’s been missing from many of those initial reports was a wider perspective on what the realities are for families and fathers in the United States and around the world following the pandemic,” he said, “especially as we think about common jobs for men, precarity in the workplace and economic inequality.”

To address those gaps in understanding, Gettler and his team, which included co-author and postdoctoral research associate Sarah Hoegler Dennis, relied on 15 years of longitudinal data to compare fathers’ pre-COVID to post-COVID behaviors. The researchers looked at this data from a non-Euro-American perspective in a major metropolitan area in the Philippines.

What they found was that fathering behaviors, for the most part, did not change much before COVID began versus shortly after the pandemic ended.

“There was this idea out there that a meaningful percentage of dads were spending more time with their kids during the lockdown periods, even if they were still working, and that the dynamics of COVID would lead to this long-term effect on what and how much dads were doing within their families,” Gettler said. “And we just didn’t see that prevailing change.”

The research team drew on a large sample of men who were around 25 years old at the start of the study and followed them for the next 15 years as part of a larger set of research in Cebu, Philippines. Gettler and his team have been studying fathering and the “biology of fatherhood” as part of this project for close to 20 years, and have found that fathers in Cebu have become much more involved in the past few decades, mirroring father involvement in the United States.

During the pandemic, the Philippines also had one of the longest lockdown periods in the world, according to Gettler, with some of the most strict, government-mandated quarantine guidelines in place, making this an appropriate site to test for the effects of the stay-at-home orders on fathering.

The researchers used waves of socio-demographic and fathers’ caregiving data collected prior to the pandemic (2009 and 2014) and after the pandemic (2022-23). The main analyses focused on caregiving changes over time for fathers who had young children at home both pre- and post-pandemic, looking at how involved they were with routine, hands-on care for babies and young children, recreational play and activities, and educational caregiving tasks.

“What we found is that COVID — and the time dads spent at home with their children during that period — did not change fathering in any lasting way,” Gettler said. “As soon as life gets back to normal, we see that dads are continuing to do the same thing they were doing before COVID.”

With one exception, Gettler noted.

For the group of fathers who found themselves going from employed to either unemployed or underemployed because of the pandemic, their involvement with their children’s educational care shot up noticeably, and the change persisted.

“We see this link with employment status and fathers’ ability to spend more time helping kids with school work and homework,” Gettler said. “But that’s the only hint that the conditions surrounding COVID may have contributed to some sort of change in what dads are doing at home.”

At the end of the day, dad’s employment status is the primary predictor for how much care he is providing, Gettler said. He believes that policy changes within the workplace — such as paid paternity leave and widespread flexibility on working from home or setting working hours — might lead to a more lasting change in fatherhood behavior. These structural changes could support permanent shifts in expectations and norms for men as caregivers, and open up more opportunities for dads to get — and stay — involved.

Gettler argued that society needs to recognize how it can better support dads and give them the chance to be more available at home, without the caveat of having to become unemployed or underemployed in order to enjoy such chances to be with their families.

“There are questions remaining about how we can continue to encourage dads in dual-parent families to pull their weight, be a supportive partner or to balance the responsibilities of what it takes to run a household and take care of young children,” Gettler said. “COVID exposed or habituated more dads to what that can look like, but now we need to enable them to continue that behavior.”

Gettler, who is also director of the Hormones, Health, and Human Behavior Lab, works with collaborators at multiple global sites and is an expert on fatherhood and healthy families, including the psychobiology of motherhood and fatherhood and parents’ physical and mental health, as well as child growth, development and physiology. Presently, Gettler works on research projects related to these interests in the United States, the Philippines and the Republic of the Congo.

In the Philippines, lasting increases in fathers’ involvement with young children are unlikely without workplace policies like paternity leave and flexible hours that make caregiving feasible, rather than relying on temporary disruptions like lockdowns.

The pandemic changed the way the Philippines works and now many AI gadgets are available to assist in that change. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/lifestyle/news/132771/new-office-gadgets-offer-ai-driven-tech/story

As the world moves forward with hybrid work, office gadgets are forced to adapt to change.

The pandemic has drastically changed the way the world works. Deliveries are part of daily life, there's a boom in online jobs, and offices have adopted hybrid work systems.

As working from home is now more commonplace, software and hardware products are offering solutions that make home and office setups better.

For Jabra, a tech company known for its headsets and video technology, its products have also evolved from simple audio and video solutions to artificial intelligence-driven products.

“For the past years, the way we work has fundamentally changed. Hybrid work is no longer a trend, it's the reality for many organizations here in the Philippines. The cons are taking calls from busy offices, from the comforts of their home or from a coffee shop or everywhere in between. At the same time, customers' expectations have gone up, every interaction is expected to be clear and of course we all know during calls there are a lot of disturbances,” explained Larsen Sandoval, country head of Enterprise Philippines, Jabra.

“Our mission is simple but judicious, to help people hear more, do more, and be more. For us in Enterprise, that means designing professional audio and video solutions that are not only technologically advanced but also deeply human,” he added during the launch of its latest products.

The company recently launched the Evolve3 headset and PanCast Room Kit.

The new headset has a more sleek design and the mouthpiece is noticeably absent. The brand wants its users to utilize the product while working and can be simply used as headphones for listening to music and other entertainment.

It is powered by deep neural network (DNN) technology delivering a promise of clear calls even in noisy environments. The headset's Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation adjusts in real time and helps reduce background distractions.

It has two variants, the 85 (over-the-ear) and 75 (on-the-ear). It also boasts of 37 hours of battery use. Price starts at P40,725 for the 85 variant and P32,229 for the 75 variant.

On the other hand, the PanCast Room Kit is an audio and video solution for office meeting rooms.

The kit is composed of the 55 VBS video bar that has audio and multi-camera configurations; the SpeakerMic, an extension microphone that can be placed on the table; and expandable camera and intelligent speaker tracking.

It uses an AI-driven multi-camera system powered by Huddly Crew. The SpeakerMic picks up voices from any part of the meeting room for clearer audio.

The new kit will be available in Q2 of 2026.

I think this is an advertisement disguised as a news article. 

Tourism is still recovering. Air China has opened a new gateway to Manila from Chongqing. 

https://bilyonaryo.com/2026/05/03/air-china-opens-new-gateway-to-manila-from-chongqing/travel/

A new chapter in Philippine–China travel connectivity took flight this weekend as Air China launched its first direct service between Chongqing and Manila.

The inaugural CKG–MNL flight, carrying more than 150 passengers, landed shortly after midnight on May 2 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The arrival was welcomed with a reception organized by the Department of Tourism, which described the new route as a strategic step toward restoring visitor flows from China.

Just over an hour later, the same aircraft departed Manila for Chongqing with 145 passengers on board.

Chongqing, one of China’s largest cities and a major outbound travel hub, is expected to generate a steady stream of leisure travelers to the Philippines.

The government recently reinstated visa-free entry for Chinese nationals arriving through key gateways such as Manila and Cebu, allowing stays of up to 14 days.

Air China also operates direct flights to Manila from other major Chinese cities, including Chengdu and Beijing, strengthening its role in reconnecting the two countries.

In the first quarter of 2026 alone, the airline mounted more than 100 direct flights to the Philippines, offering tens of thousands of seats.

Before the pandemic, China was among the Philippines’ top sources of international visitors. While arrivals have yet to fully recover, recent e-travel data shows more than 150,000 Chinese visitors recorded by end-April this year—an encouraging sign of gradual rebound.

However, with the recent worldwide fuel crisis those number might not recover for a while. 

The World Bank has granted the Philippines $18.85 million to battle pandemics. 

https://mb.com.ph/2026/05/04/world-bank-backs-philippines-pandemic-fight-with-1885-million-grant

The World Bank has approved an $18.85-million grant to strengthen the Philippines’ pandemic response, as the country is considered a global hotspot for emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases.

The Washington-based multilateral lender’s board approved last April 29 the investment project financing (IPF) for the Pandemic Fund-Resilient Philippines Project, which aims to improve the country’s capacity to detect, report, and respond to existing and emerging pathogens with epidemic potential among humans, animals, and wildlife, documents showed.

The project will be jointly implemented by the departments of Agriculture (DA) and of Health (DOH), as well as the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

The grant will be sourced from the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Trust Fund (Pandemic Fund), which was established in 2022.

The World Bank said the project has three components focused on human health, animal health, and overall implementation support.

The human health component aims to strengthen early warning and disease surveillance systems, improve laboratory capacity and diagnostics, and build a more resilient health workforce through training and regulatory support, the World Bank said.

Meanwhile, the animal health component enhances surveillance, information systems, and laboratory capabilities while building local government capacity, with the final component covering project management, monitoring, and evaluation, it added.

The World Bank noted in documents published last year that the Philippines is considered a global hotspot for emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases due to its rich biodiversity and factors such as habitat loss, urbanization, and illegal wildlife trade, which heighten the risk of disease spillover.

The lender also cited that the country has faced repeated outbreaks, including avian influenza or bird flu and African swine fever (ASF), alongside growing threats like antimicrobial resistance that complicate disease control and increase economic and health burdens.

While a 2024 World Health Organization (WHO) evaluation noted improvements in Philippine surveillance, laboratory capacity, and emergency response systems, gaps remain in workforce size and specialized skills needed for pandemic preparedness, it pointed out.

According to the World Bank, despite improvements in preventing, detecting, and controlling public health threats, gaps persist due to fragmented surveillance systems, limited local capacity, manual processes, and weaknesses in laboratory standards, diagnostics access, and workforce readiness.

The animal health sector faces similar constraints, with largely reactive surveillance, coordination challenges in a devolved system, and limited resources and integration needed for timely detection and rapid response to disease outbreaks, according to the World Bank.

"The Philippines is considered a global hotspot for emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases." So this grant is mostly for non-human diseases.

Coronavirus Lockdown: Next Pandemic, Toll Free Program, and More!

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

The pandemic is over. Or is it? It's coming back!

https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/4/23/next-pandemic-is-inevitable-what-it-means-for-the-philippines-1400

The world may have moved on from COVID-19, but scientists say the next global health crisis is no longer a distant possibility—it is inevitable.

Speaking to ABS-CBN News following the One Health Summit in Lyon, France, virologist Bruno Lina said humanity is bound to see another pathogen spread across the globe.

"There will be another pandemic. It's not a question of will there be, it's a question of when. We don't know when, but there will be another pandemic," said Lina, president of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1.

COVID-19 may be the most disruptive pandemic in recent memory, but it is far from being the only one.

The 1918 Spanish Flu infected a third of the global population. Influenza outbreaks in 1957 and 1968 followed. In 2009, the "milder" H1N1 swine flu spread worldwide. 

The lesson, Lina said, is simple: pandemics differ in scale, but their occurrence is constant.

Fortunately, experts have and are continuously improving vaccines that can protect individuals from developing serious infections. 

In the case of COVID, Lina said mRNA vaccines have long been researched even before the coronavirus spread across the world, stressing how long-term investment in science made swift vaccine development possible.

More importantly, pathogen data sharing is also seen as something that could greatly improve the world's response for what the World Health Organization is calling "disease X."

In 2025, member states of the World Health Organization adopted the Pandemic Agreement at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. The international treaty aims to strengthen global prevention, preparedness and response to future pandemics.

Among its key aspects is allowing countries fair access to vital information and data on pathogens as well as vaccines and treatments. Such access to information provides governments the opportunity to act and prevent the spread of illnesses with pandemic potential.

For this to be fully realized, countries are encouraged to embark on a "One Health" approach, which acknowledges that no country can ever fully take care of human health, without taking into consideration the health of animals and the environment.

The Pandemic Agreement’s adoption occurred at a time when the Philippines held the presidency of the WHA. But Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson Albert Domingo admitted that some annexes of the agreement were yet to be finalized. 

The Philippines is part of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement that continues to engage in talks with other countries especially in terms of information sharing and access.

"Masalimuot yung usapin dahil maraming mga bansa ang nagsasabi, dapat ang ating pathogen na information, kung saan man yung disease X, dapat agarang din ibigay sa lahat ng mga bansa para makapaggawa ng bakuna," Domingo said.

(It’s a complicated discussion because a lot of countries are saying that pathogen information, wherever disease X may be found, should immediately be given to countries so that they can make vaccines.)

Others argue that if they provide such data, they should be guaranteed free access to resulting vaccines and treatments.

The Philippines, Domingo said, is pushing for equitable access. "Tayo ay pumapanig doon sa open access. Sas mabilis na mapipigilan ang pagkalat ng isang disease X," he said.

(We favor open access. When information is accessed sooner, countries can act faster to prevent the spread of disease X.)

The World Health Assembly is once again scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland in May.

Underlying the agreement is a broader shift in thinking, the "One Health" approach.

It recognizes that human health is deeply connected to animals and the environment — an idea gaining urgency as climate change, deforestation, and urban expansion increase the risk of new diseases.

For Lina, the virologist, preparedness is not just about technology.

"It's a matter of reorganizing things. It's a matter of understanding processes. And so what should the low and middle income countries do to address the questions of one health is maybe not driven by technology but by behavior," he said.

That includes how societies interact with nature whether through land use, agriculture, or wildlife exposure. Protecting ecosystems, he added, could be one of the most effective ways to prevent future outbreaks.

The DOH said the country is better equipped than it was before COVID.

Now, facilities continue to be improved, including testing capacity through the wide use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests that allow the swift identification of pathogens.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), a collegiate body tasked to steer the country through the threats of pathogens, is also something that can be activated should the need arise.

"Ito yung incident command. Sa madaling salita, may nagtitimon, may nagsasabi na pag health ang pinag-uusapan, siya ang masusunod at ito ang ginagawa. Standard operating procedure yan sa lahat ng ating mga emergencies," Domingo said.

(This is the incident command. In other words, it leads and directs. It’s standard operating procedure for all health emergencies.)

The Philippines endured one of the longest lockdowns in the world, drawing criticism over its economic and social impact.

For experts, preparedness now is not just about infrastructure but clarity, coordination, and public trust.

Even as countries negotiate frameworks and refine systems, the next pandemic may already be taking shape somewhere.

Years after COVID-19 brought the global economy to a halt, the warning from scientists remains unchanged: another pandemic will come.

The next pandemic is inevitable in how many years? 

7-Eleven halted growth during the pandemic but is not growing at an exponential rate!

https://business.inquirer.net/586987/7-eleven-sales-in-philippines-steady-amid-rising-costs

The exclusive licensor of 7-Eleven stores in the country said its sales have held steady despite rising costs from the Middle East crisis, even as some goods begin to post price increases.

Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) chair Victor Paterno told reporters on Thursday that the company has yet to see a drop in demand, with convenience stores benefiting from their proximity to consumers as higher fuel costs discourage longer trips.

While some items have become more expensive—such as hotdogs and siopao—due to higher input and energy costs, this has yet to dent sales across 7-Eleven’s offerings, according to Paterno.

“We haven’t seen a decrease in sales due to the crisis,” he said.

To manage risks, PSC has moved to hedge its exposure to rising electricity costs, which Paterno flagged as the main pressure point as liquefied natural gas prices climb.

The company is aggregating the power demand of its stores, allowing multiple sites within a common area to pool consumption.

This initiative now covers a significant portion of its more than 4,500 stores, Paterno said.

On the logistics side, PSC is also preparing for potential diesel supply constraints that could disrupt distribution across its network of around 600 delivery trucks.

Despite the cost pressures, PSC is keeping its expansion plans intact.

PSC aims to open more than 400 new stores by the end of 2026.

Paterno said the rollout is backed by a capital expenditure budget of about P4 billion to P5 billion this year.

In 2025, PSC spent P4.39 billion in capital expenditures, up 11.8 percent from P3.93 billion the year before.

Most of the planned stores have already broken ground, leaving little room to slow down without affecting next year’s pipeline, Paterno said.

“You just keep going. The only time I put the brakes on was the pandemic,” he added, noting that the current crisis differs from the Covid-19 pandemic, when there were mobility restrictions in place.

As such, Paterno said PSC is pushing ahead with its goal to open 5,000 stores by yearend.

As of end-2025, it operated 4,491 stores nationwide, with 53 percent company-owned and 47 percent franchised.

Thank goodness 7-Eleven has not reverted to pandemic times By slowing growth.

Food needs to get to the store so people can buy it. A program launched on April 20th which covers trucks accredited under a program launched during the pandemic is seeking to be extended. 

https://mb.com.ph/2026/04/27/pwede-ba-humirit-villafuertes-seek-expanded-agri-trucks-toll-free-program

Camarines Sur-based lawmakers are prodding the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Transportation (DOTr) to expand the scope and duration of its month-long toll-free transport of farm produce.

Rep. Migz Villafuerte of the province's 5th district and Rep. Luigi Villafuerte of the 2nd district said such expansion would help stabilize for a longer period both the supply and retail cost of rice and other food items amid elevated global fuel prices

The Villafuertes earlier lauded the one-month exemption from tollway fee payments of truckers hauling food items, under a newly launched project facilitated by the DA and DOTr,

Launched last April 20, this “Agri-Trucks Toll Free Program” was facilitated by the DA, DOTr and the DOTr-attached Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) with toll concessionaires Metro Pacific Tollway Corp. (MPTC) and the SMC Tollway Corp. (SMCTC). It covers 1,162 trucks that were already accredited under the DA’s Food Lane program, which was initiated during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure the continuous transport of goods amid mobility restrictions.

The DA says that although there are actually 4,000 registered truckers, only 1,162 have valid accreditation at present.

The solon-siblings expressed hopes these agencies could work with toll operators on making this initiative last for longer and cover as many as 4,000 trucks that transport a combined 16,000 metric tons (MT) of farm goods to markets on a daily basis.

“We are appealing to the DA to take extra effort to onboard the rest of the 4,000 registered truckers as a way to expand the scope of this novel initiative by streamlining its registration process, expanding enrollment on-site and/or online, and faster approvals of interested or would-be applicants,” Rep. Luigi said.

“Also, we are calling upon the DA to consider with the DOTr, TRB, MPTC and SMCTC the possibility of extending this toll-free project for more than a month,” he added.

This initiative is part of the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) program of President Marcos for the agricultural sector, to ensure that food items remain accessible and affordable despite surging oil prices arising from the Middle East war and supply disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz.

According to reports, the 1,162 truckers thus far accredited under this project could save P52 million to P152 million in transport expenses. Every trucker can reportedly save P1,500 to P6,000 per trip.  

Earlier, Rep. Migz backed the proposal of the House Legislative Energy Action and Development (LEAD) Council for a two-month suspension on the collection of the value added tax (VAT) on petroleum products.

“I agree with Rep. Miro that a two-month VAT suspension is feasible, in light of the projected P20 billion windfall profits that the government has thus far collected from the outrageously high diesel and gasoline prices at the pump after  the US-Israel joint attack on Iran began nearly two months ago,” Rep. Migz said. 

The LEAD Council is being presided over by Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Miro Quimbo. It is where House members have pitched both short-term and long-term solutions to fuel price crisis.

It seems the program never went away when it was first initiated. 

According to a new SWS half of Pinoys say life has worsened which is the lowest level since the pandemic. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/04/23/2523043/sws-half-pinoys-say-life-worsened-bleakest-pandemic-era-2021

Half of adult Filipino adults believe their quality of life has deteriorated over the past 12 months, according to a new Social Weather Stations survey, which saw people's perceived well-being sink to its worst since 2021. 

The First Quarter 2026 survey, conducted March 24-31 among 1,500 adults, found 50% said they were worse off, 26% said nothing changed, and 23% said they were better off. 

This produced an overall net score of –26, classified as "low," SWS said. 

That is a 19-point drop from -7 in November 2025, and 18 points below the full-year 2025 average of -8.

The survey results released Thursday, April 23, are the SWS' worst reading of this well-being indicator since September 2021, when the country was grappling with COVID-19 lockdowns, and the score sank to an "extremely low" -44.

The March survey was fielded as inflation, transport costs, and rice prices continued to squeeze household budgets in the first quarter of the year, with the United States-led war in the Middle East driving fuel prices up worldwide.

The November 2025 cycle — the comparison point — had itself already marked a slide from a brief rebound to +12 in June 2025.

Every region, every demographic fell

Mindanao suffered the steepest dive, falling 33 points from +2 to -31. Metro Manila dropped 19 points to -31. Balance Luzon fell 16 points to -23 and the Visayas slid 11 points to -25.

Urban residents took a harder hit than their rural counterparts, falling 22 points to -32 versus a 15-point drop to -18 in rural areas. Men and women declined by nearly identical margins, or 20 and 19 points, respectively.

Young adults lost the most ground

The sharpest single-group collapse came among 18-to-24-year-olds, whose score plummeted 35 points — from an "excellent" +31 in November to a merely "fair" -4 in March. Every older age bracket also worsened, with Filipinos 45 and above now deep in "very low" territory at -38 to -39.

Perceptions of a worsening quality of life also did not vary much by educational background. College graduates posted the mildest decline, slipping 13 points to a "mediocre" -19. 

Non-elementary graduates fell the hardest, dropping 35 points to a "very low" -39.

A gauge tracked since 1983

SWS has asked Filipinos this quality-of-life question 164 times since April 1983, according to its news release.

The score spent most of those decades in negative territory, turned positive only around 2015, then collapsed during the pandemic. 

It briefly recovered to near pre-pandemic levels in mid-2023 and again in the second half of 2024.

With the ongoing fuel crisis, the sinking peso, and inflation it seems attitudes will not be improving.