Coronanotgood

by Tony Lopez, Manila Standard, 23 Oct 2020 “You cannot possibly get a better economic team than these two whiz kids of management and economics.” During the world’s worst crisis of the last 100 years, President Duterte has been blessed to have in his economic team the tandem of Finance Secretary Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez and…

30 Aug 2020 – What does it matter – the ‘low’ inflation rate – when, in COVID-19,  households are buying different commodities from what were in the CPI basket in 2018. True, nominally, minimum wage earners have lost buying power (about P15 in Metro Manila), but little consolation for those millions who have lost their…

Manila still looking to flatten curve while others already well By: Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Although it imposed the longest and most stringent COVID-19 lockdown in the Asia-Pacific region, the delay in mass testing and dodgy contact tracing failed to contain the spread of the deadly…

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by Agence France-Presse, 16 Oct 2020 COPENHAGEN, Denmark — European countries have unveiled tough new measures to try to curb a surge in coronavirus infections which the World Health Organization warned Thursday is of “great concern”.

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by Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — With Europe seeing a rapid spike in new coronavirus cases partly due to “pandemic fatigue,” the Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday advised the public to accept that “little sacrifices” have to be made to avoid a surge in infections.

by Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — More than 254,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been sent home amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chair Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Wednesday night.

by Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Some 3.5 million workers have been displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Thursday.

by Gabriel Pabico Lalu, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Despite 71 percent of Filipino families saying they got financial assistance from the government, a recent survey revealed that at least two-thirds claimed they received aid only once.

by Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star), 14 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the Philippines is expected to suffer the biggest blow from the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic in the region with a deeper economic recession this year despite the projected less severe global contraction.

by Jovic Yee, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 13 OCt 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) issued new guidelines on Monday on good ventilation and proper air circulation in enclosed spaces, amid the continuing threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

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by Cathrine Gonzales, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) has achieved a “100 percent” enrollment in public schools amid the adverse impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the education sector.

by Gabriel Pabico Lalu, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — An overwhelming majority of Filipino adults — 86 percent — have admitted that they have been stressed over the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

Workers, labor groups look to DOLE, lawmakers to fill the gaps in the government response to their sector’s pains during the pandemic—hopeful that moving forward, the pain will be better shared among all stakeholders. By Samuel Medenilla, Businessmirror, 8 Oct 2020 In this May 20, 2020 file photo, garment workers in Taytay, Rizal, whose livelihood…

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by Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star), 3 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Businesses in the service sector and wholesale and retail trade can now operate at full capacity, while restaurants and fast food outlets may seat beyond 50 percent capacity in general community quarantine (GCQ) areas, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.

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by Ian Nicolas Cigaral (Philstar.com), 29 Sep 2020 MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE 1 1:06 p.m., Sept. 29) — Around 2 million Filipinos would slide back to poverty this year because of the pandemic, nearly erasing gains over the past 5 years and making a rebound to pre-pandemic growth a struggle for the Philippines.

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Fifty-five workers were killed, four injured or ill, in nine* serious work incidents in the Philippines in January-August 2020, an NTUC Philippines compilation of media reports show. One incident in agriculture, another in a mill warehouse, three in  construction, one construction worker on the way to work,  one March medevac airplane incident, one June quarantine…

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by Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), 25 Sep 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Income among Filipinos and other workers worldwide has dropped significantly due to the coronavirus disease pandemic, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).

by Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star), 23 Sep 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was not able to distribute some P10 billion in aid to an estimated four million families affected by COVID-19 as mandated by the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

by Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star), 20 Sep 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has directed banks and other financial institutions to immediately comply with the provisions of a new law including the 60-day reprieve on loan payments amid the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

Happy to share my latest column @voxeu with my colleague Hannah Liepmann on the need to combine #ALMPs with #socialprotection to improve workers’ perspectives. https://t.co/hhId3uJEQA pic.twitter.com/4MkOxUSq64 — Verónica Escudero (@VeEscudero_) September 19, 2020