Video editor captures 'uncrowded' Metro Manila while on COVID-19 lockdown

MANILA - A month into the already extended enhanced community quarantine covering Luzon, Metro Manila- the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic- remains removed from its busy, traffic-congested previous reality. 

While authorities have been railing against motorists and pedestrians violating the lockdown, the temporary transformation of the metro is still apparent in many places, especially the main highways. 

Makati-based freelance video editor Vir Ascabano captured this in a video titled "Uncrowded: Metro Manila," which shows the skyline and city streets from sundown to sunrise free from the usual hustle and bustle. 

The video, set in somber music, also captured various frontliners such as health workers and street cleaners at or on their way to work. 

Ascabano said he shot the clips in snippets for nearly a month since the start of the lockdown during the times he had to go outside to do errands. 

The video, uploaded on April 15, also used clips from Ascabano's earlier video "Makati: Uncrowded," which offered a rare glimpse into the quiet central business district at the first week of the quarantine. 

"I just wanted to capture an angle of what it looks like outside. But this time, not just in Makati but in some areas also," he told ABS-CBN News via chat. 

"I observed the same uncrowded streets and peaceful areas. But not sure though [about streets leading to] other areas since I only travel [in the] major roads."

One thing he noticed during his trips, however, were street dwellers and people begging for food and help. This was why he also began using his errand time to drop off assistance to those he encountered. 

Ascabano said his Makati video became an unexpected source for the assistance after some companies and institutions used clips from it for their own productions. 

"I decided to use a portion of what I earned and gave it to those people. It may be not much but a little could help."

He said he has adjusted to the lockdown and plans to use the remaining time to continue developing his multimedia skills. 

"Because of this positive feedback to the video and the current situation, it inspired me to make more videos that give a positive impact and [a] sense of calmness and peace in times like this." 

news.abs-cbn.com

Dingdong Dantes learns to play guitar during lockdown

MANILA — Actor Dingdong Dantes has learned a new skill during this period of enhanced community quarantine.

In an Instagram post on Monday night, Dantes shared that he finally fulfilled his childhood dream of learning how to play guitar.

View this post on Instagram

Back in grade school, i was a drummer of an amateur rock band whose only claim to fame was winning first runner up in the school’s ‘94 Battle Of The Bands. Second out of only 2 participating groups! 🤣 Since then, I’ve always wanted to learn how to play a whole song on guitar. The farthest i’ve reached was learning 3 chords— G, D and A, mula pa sa kabanda kong magaling mag gitara. I had given up on that dream not until i saw the post of @kuyakim_atienza wanting to learn the instrument during this ECQ. So ayun, kailan pa ba ako matututo kundi ngayon?! I am grateful to my friend (and grade school classmate) for hooking me up with one of their stocks! Mabuti na lang at may on-line tutorials din for beginners like me. First on the list is for my little Buddy’s celebration this coming Thursday— ang napakahirap at napakalupet na Happy Birthday song.😆 Ikaw, ano request mo? (kuha ni @marianrivera) @jbmusicphilippines @jericofer

A post shared by Dingdong Dantes (@dongdantes) on Apr 13, 2020 at 5:56am PDT

“Back in grade school, i was a drummer of an amateur rock band whose only claim to fame was winning first runner up in the school’s ‘94 Battle Of The Bands. Second out of only 2 participating groups! 
Since then, I’ve always wanted to learn how to play a whole song on guitar. The farthest i’ve reached was learning 3 chords— G, D and A, mula pa sa kabanda kong magaling mag-gitara,” Dantes recalled.

“I had given up on that dream not until i saw the post of (Kim Atienza) wanting to learn the instrument during this ECQ. So ayun, kailan pa ba ako matututo kung 'di ngayon?! I am grateful to my friend (and grade school classmate) for hooking me up with one of their stocks! Mabuti na lang at may online tutorials din for beginners like me. First on the list is for my little Buddy’s celebration this coming Thursday — ang napakahirap at napakalupet na Happy Birthday song,” he said.

sce: news.abs-cbn.com

McDonald's Philippines issues P500-M response fund to aid employees, communities it serves

Golden Arches Development Corporation (McDonald's Philippines), majority owned and operated by Dr. George T. Yang, has announced the release of a response fund of P500 million to enable the company to provide assistance for its employees and the communities it serves given the current crisis that the whole nation is facing.

For company employees, the fund covers:

* Salaries of restaurant crew and managers—whether they are unable to come to work or not—and head office employees, to be released for the period of the Enhanced Community Quarantine.

* A special premium pay package to be provided for crew and managers who are able to come to work in selected stores that remain open to serve the community in enhanced quarantine areas.

* Special benefits like provision of care kits (face masks, alcohol and vitamins) to ensure employee safety in the workplace as well as provisions for premium pay.

For communities, the fund covers:

* Food to be donated to frontliners like medical health workers, LGU workers, NGO volunteers, and the marginalized sector who are challenged to have access to food during this time.

According to McDonald's Philippines Chairman and Founder Dr. George Yang, ''amidst any crisis, people must come first; we do what we can to ensure their welfare. We also have a responsibility to our partners to ensure that they can continue doing business and be able to care for their own people. Finally, as a Filipino company, we have a duty to be a partner of the government in serving the public in whatever way we can.''

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Coca-Cola suspends product ads to fund COVID-19 response

MANILA- Coca-Cola Philippines said Friday it would put on hold advertising of its products to use the money for COVID-19 relief efforts.

The beverage giant in a statement said it would re-channel P150 million for the provision of protective equipment for health workers, and delivery of food packs to families most vulnerable to the pandemic.

“Starting today, commercial advertising of Coca-Cola and all our brands in the Philippines will be put on hold. All our committed advertising space and budgets will be redirected towards supporting COVID-19 relief and response efforts for the most affected communities,” it said in a statement.

Coca-Cola said it would also provide beverages to health workers and support for small retailers affected by the economic fallout due to the pandemic.

The Philippines, as of Thursday, had 230 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 18 fatalities, while 8 patients have recovered.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

‘No work, no pay’ laborers trudge despite virus threat

MANILA--Wary shoppers rushed with carts filled to the brim at a Quezon City supermarket Monday afternoon, as news went around of an impending large-scale quarantine of the entire Philippine island of Luzon to contain a fast-spreading coronavirus.

It’s a privilege parking attendant Benjamin Christopher, 53, didn’t have as he guided vehicles outside the grocery, a job that could earn him some P600 on a good day.

But it's not always the case and what he usually earns is barely enough for his wife and 3 young children, he said, wondering how they would get by with most establishments shut down during the month-long quarantine.


The prospects could be worse for the poorest of the poor, who will be confined to home quarantine unless they had to go out to buy food and for other essentials.

To minimize exposure to the new coronavirus, families were told to assign a representative, who would purchase groceries good for a week, an arrangement that might not work for those whose meals depend on whether they had income for the day.

“If those people are made to stay home due to the quarantine, they will most likely need support and social safety nets,” professor Ronald Mendoza, dean of the Manila-based Ateneo School of Government, told ABS-CBN News.

“Otherwise they will continue to try to seek work.”

NO WORK, NO PAY

Which apparently happened the morning after President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he was expanding the initial Metro Manila-wide quarantine to cover the rest of Luzon.

Workers clogged border checkpoints trying to enter Metro Manila. Within the capital region, others also took a chance even if mass transportation was suspended.

“They face ‘no work, no pay’ conditions, so they will likely comply with the quarantine only if their incomes are somehow guaranteed,” Mendoza said, citing the predicament of those in the informal sector comprising around 16 million of the country’s workforce.

These include street vendors and pedicab drivers, who enjoy no “adequate social protection,” which could come in the form of “unconditional cash transfers, subsidies on essential goods and tax payment rescheduling, or outright relief,” he said.

All these, he said, were meant to “stretch the purchasing power of already cash-strapped households” now forced to go in quarantine.

STIMULUS PACKAGE

The government has announced measures to assist such families, with the president reminding local governments to provide food relief with help from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.


A P27.1-billion funding will also be made available to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on workers, especially those in the tourism industry, which was heavily hit by the massive drop in tourist arrivals.

In Congress, a number of legislators have filed bills pushing for various amounts of stimulus packages, including one worth P108 billion proposed by Marikina Rep, Stella Quimbo.

Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez’s proposal pools an additional P23 billion for workers and businesses affected by the spread COVID-19, which has infected 187 people as of Tuesday.

Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the ways and means committee, said his office did the math and projected that the Luzon lockdown “will prevent up to 26,500 more infections by May 4.”

Without the measure, mass transmission of the coronavirus would shave 4.13 percent off the GDP, while a lockdown would decrease it by 2.95 percent, he said.

“It saves lives and saves the economy,” Salceda said in a statement, describing the lockdown as both game-changing and life-saving.”

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Supermarkets open but no public transport: What 'enhanced community quarantine' means

MANILA  — Effective midnight March 17, Tuesday, the entire Luzon will be placed under an enhanced community quarantine that will see the suspension of mass public transport and imposition of home quarantine, among many other restrictions, on all residents in the main island until April 12.

"A strict home quarantine shall be observed in all households; movement shall be limited to accessing basic necessities... Mass public transport facilities shall be suspended; and land, air and sea travel shall be restricted," according to the memorandum issued by Malacañang.

In an earlier public address, President Rodrigo Duterte said tougher quarantine measures are meant to prevent the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from spreading to other parts of the country.

"I am placing the entire mainland of Luzon under quarantine until April 12, 2020 coinciding with the entire end of the Holy Week... We do not have the luxury of time to wait if there is really such a connection of a contagion somewhere. I cannot go into a guessing game. I have to act," Duterte said in a pre-taped public address.

In a later press conference, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the "general rule" of the Luzon-wide quarantine is to "stay at home."

"Ang general rule ay stay at home. If you leave your home to buy necessities, only one person ang puwede bumili, hindi puwede isama ang buong pamilya... Gusto natin 'yung walang galawan because we want the virus to stop from spreading," said Nograles, who is also the spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) leading the country’s response to the virus outbreak.

Private establishments providing basic necessities are allowed to operate during the enhanced quarantine period, according to the Palace. These include:

* public markets
* supermarkets
* groceries
* convenience stores
* hospitals
* medical clinics
* pharmacies and drug stores
* food preparation and delivery services
* water-refilling stations, manufacturing and processing plants of basic food products and medicines
* banks
* money transfer services
* power, energy, water, and telecommunications supplies and facilities

Meanwhile, classes and all school activities in all levels in Luzon are suspended until April 14.

A work-from-home arrangement will likewise be implemented in the executive branch, except the PNP, AFP, PCG, and health and emergency frontline services, border control and other critical services, which will operate on a "skeletal work force."

Media personnel intending to travel within the quarantine area are required to obtain identification cards from the Presidential Communications Operations Office within 72 hours from the issuance of the memorandum.

The new declaration is a stricter and wider version of a general community quarantine which was earlier imposed in Metro Manila.

Nograles said the enhanced community quarantine may be abbreviated or expanded, depending on the assessment of IATF.

"Puwede siyang mapaikli if the situation warrants pero puwede din humaba depende sa situation."

As of Monday night, there are 142 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, including 12 fatalities.

source: news.abs-cbn.com