On Thursday evening, the Department of Health Central Visayas (DOH-7) released its official, consolidated data of the COVID-19 cases in the region as of March 3, 2022.
The whole island of Cebu — Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, and Cebu Province — recorded 64 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 133 new recoveries, and 5 new deaths. Cebu’s total active cases slightly increased to 1,471 (from 1,463).
Cebu City – Total confirmed: 53,526 (+29 new) – Total recoveries: 51,174 (+41 new) – Total deaths: 1,670 (+3 new) – Active cases: 682
Lapu-Lapu City – Total confirmed: 16,994 (+4 new) – Total recoveries: 16,422 (+6 new) – Total deaths: 503 (+0 new) – Active cases: 69
Mandaue City – Total confirmed: 15,373 (+7 new) – Total recoveries: 14,773 (+8 new) – Total deaths: 491 (+0 new) – Active cases: 109
Cebu Province – Total confirmed: 45,990 (+24 new) – Total recoveries: 42,678 (+78 new) – Total deaths: 2,772 (+2 new) – Active cases: 540
SUMMARY OF COVID-19 CASES IN CEBU:
Total Active Cases in Cebu: 1,380 (from 1,471)
Total Confirmed Cases in Cebu: 131,883 (+64 new)
Total Recoveries in Cebu: 125,047 (+133 new)
Total Deaths in Cebu: 5,436 (+5 new)
A total of 1,636 laboratory results were released.
NOTES from DOH-7:
*As per DOH-7, the additional deaths in the report are not due to the overnight spike in deaths but due to more accurate data collection and validating efforts. Not all of those deaths occurred today but occurred more than a week ago.
Reports maybe subject to change as these claims undergo thorough validation by the local healthcare offices and health personnel.
The Cebuanas are here. Cebuana beauty was celebrated and represented greatly on last year’s Miss Universe Philippines (MUPH) and now we get to meet the beauties that will makes us proud for MUPH 2022.
We have four candidates from Cebu and they can all slay. Not only are they very beautiful but they are all power woman as well.
Chantal Elise Schmidt – Cebu City
Photo from Miss Universe Philippines Facebook Page
Age: 20 years old
Height: 5’10
Education/Job: Law Student at a German University, Bilingual International Baccalaureate Diploma in German and English
A newbie in the pageant world, Chantal Elise Legaspi Schmidt is a model since was 16 years old. Her mother is from Bacolod while her father is from Frankfurt, Germany. She is currently taking up law through an online class.
She wants to break the stereotype that intelligence and beauty are mutually exclusive.
Lou Dominique Piczon- Cebu Province
Photo from Miss Universe Philippines Facebook Page
Age: 26 years old
Height: 5’8
Education/Job: Account Executive
One of the returnees as Lou Dominique Piczon joined Miss Universe Philippines in 2020 representing Mandaue City and made it to the Top 16. She was also named Best in National Costume and Best in Runway that year.
Lou is a mental health advocate for the RiseUp Campaign.
Sashi Chiesa- Lapu-Lapu City
Photo from Miss Universe Philippines Facebook Page
Age: 26 years old
Height: 5’9
Education/Job: International model/ Aspiring actress, International Baccalaureate Diploma in Medicine (undergraduate) from the University of Lausanne
Sashi Chiesa is a Swiss-Filipino born in Switzerland to a mom from Talisay, Cebu and a dad from Chiasso, Switzerland. This Eurasian beauty was Miss Mandaue 2017 1st runner up and is multi-lingual speaking Italian, German French and Spanish among others. She has modelled in LA, London, New York and Manila and has written a screenplay which will be made into a movie and has also worked as an assistant director in a movie set.
She believes to stand up for her fellow Filipina women unable to be the authors of their own destiny.
Isabel Dalag Luche – Mandaue City
Photo from Miss Universe Philippines Facebook Page
Age: 22 years old
Height: n/a
Education/Job: Political Science student
Isabel is one of those new and fresh faces in the pageant industry. She is also a member of the influencer squad to have joined being a TikTok star with 1.7 million followers. Though she is ready to conquer and inspire the universe, she remains simple and sincere, an island girl hailing from Malapascua Island.
Isabelwants to uplift others to be beautiful in their own way flaws and all.
A beauty with substance and a beauty with heart, a Cebuana will always have these which is why we must support them and vote for them for this year’s competition.
After more than a year of commercial operations, the country’s third telco DITO Telecommunity began rolling out its first-ever 5G home WiFi in 146 pilot barangays in Metro Manila.
Photo from DITO PH Official Website
Barangays in Manila, Caloocan, and Quezon City will be the first to experience download rates of “up to 500Mbps” with the DITO 5G Home WIFI Starter Kit.
Subscribers may get the DITO 5G Home WiFi Starter Kit at DITO Experience Stores in SM Manila, SM North EDSA in Quezon City, Robinson’s Galleria in Quezon City, and Greenhills.
The Starter Kit has a suggested retail price of P12,990.
Photo from Unsplash
Meanwhile, here’s the Double Data promo:
100GB – ₱590
200GB – ₱990
340GB – ₱1,490
500GB – ₱1,990
Photo from DITO PH Official Website
As a welcome gift, subscribers will receive 50GB of open-access data valid for 30 days, a free 3-month HBO GO membership, and 30 days of double data promotions (with DITO Rewards and data rollover).
Do you think this is worth it? For a new player like DITO with still limited towers, we expected them to offer far more affordable products and services. Given the price, I think most people would let it pass and maybe go for Smart Skyrocket and Globe’s GOMO that offer both unlimited internet and/or non-expiry data.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), together with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released an updated list of guidelines identifying developmental milestones of children. Since its first release in 2004, this is the first ever update released by the renowned body in almost 20 years.
For those who don’t know, developmental milestones “are things most children do by a certain age,” says CDC. It offers “important clues about a child’s developmental health.” Most parents are familiar with these lists as they are discussed by their kids’ pediatricians during scheduled visits.
Photo from Unsplash
As released by CDC together with AAP, the checklist entitled “Learn the Signs. Act Early” provides specific milestones for children two months old up to five years old. Composed of 12 milestone lists, in this version, eight child development experts reviewed and updated the said list. The changes were made on recent research and findings about child development for the past two decades.
“The earlier a child is identified with a developmental delay the better, as treatment as well as learning interventions can begin,” said Dr. Paul H. Lipkin, a member of AAP Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and Council on Children with Disabilities and assisted with the update as reported by CNN.
Dr. Lipkin also added the revision of the guidelines with expertise and data from clinicians in the field accomplishes the goal of identifying any developmental delays a kid might have. He also mentioned that the guidelines are not meant to cause unnecessary confusion among professional or even to the families.
Photo from Unsplash
UPDATED SUMMARY OF GUIDELINES
Here’s a summary of the changes from the newly-released update:
Adding a checklist for 15 and 30 months
Identifying additional social and emotional milestones (an example is smiling to get parents’ attention at four months old)
Removing vague language like “may” or “begins” for certain milestones
Fewer milestones in total; duplicates were removed. From the original 216 milestones for 10 checklists, there are now only 159 milestones in total spread across the 12 lists (two months up to five years old).
Providing new, open-ended questions to spark discussion between pediatricians and parents. For example: Is there anything your child does or does not do that concerns you?
Revising and expanding tips and activities to promote kids’ development.
The timeliness of the update with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is also noted, as some experts the pandemic might be affecting the development of children.
With now divided into four categories, which are social/emotional, language/communication, cognitive, and movement/physical, Parents, a blog focusing on parenting content and tips, reported that the updated guidelines are controversial, particularly in the adjustment of fine motor skills.
Its article says, “About one-third of milestones like fine motor skills have been bumped up to older ages. Because of the setback, children may worsen their developmental delay, making it harder to provide early intervention, explains Jessica Hatfield, a pediatric occupational therapist for TheraTree Pediatric Therapy.
Photo from Unsplash
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO FILIPINO FAMILIES?
The Philippine Pediatric Society has yet to release any comment or statement regarding the update provided by CDC and AAP’s ‘Learn the Signs. Act Early’. As of this writing, the organization recommends maternal and childcare through First 1000 Days, their official position paper. This includes topics about nutrition, child-care rules and tips up to the child turns two years old.
Dr. Jenny Radesky of the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital says that while the developmental milestones are important, she reminds parents that the milestones are not everything. Explaining that the milestones’ main goal is to determine if a particular child has a developmental delay, the open-ended questions provided in the guidelines should encourage parents to take a holistic approach toward their child’s development.
Photo from Unsplash
“These aspects of parent-child relationship are not measured through milestones, but are crucial to children’s mental wellbeing,” she said.
On Wednesday evening, the Department of Health Central Visayas (DOH-7) released its official, consolidated data of the COVID-19 cases in the region as of March 2, 2022.
The whole island of Cebu — Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, and Cebu Province — recorded 87 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 74 new recoveries, and 13 new deaths. Cebu’s total active cases jumped to 1,471 (from 1,463).
Cebu City – Total confirmed: 53,497 (+31 new) – Total recoveries: 51,134 (+36 new) – Total deaths: 1,667 (+2 new) – Active cases: 696
Lapu-Lapu City – Total confirmed: 16,990 (+11 new) – Total recoveries: 16,416 (+5 new) – Total deaths: 503 (+0 new) – Active cases: 71
Mandaue City – Total confirmed: 15,366 (+21 new) – Total recoveries: 14,765 (+13 new) – Total deaths: 491 (+4 new) – Active cases: 110
Cebu Province – Total confirmed: 45,966 (+24 new) – Total recoveries: 42,602 (+20 new) – Total deaths: 2,770 (+7 new) – Active cases: 594
SUMMARY OF COVID-19 CASES IN CEBU:
Total Active Cases in Cebu: 1,471 (from 1,463)
Total Confirmed Cases in Cebu: 131,819 (+87 new)
Total Recoveries in Cebu: 124,917 (+74 new)
Total Deaths in Cebu: 5,431 (+13 new)
A total of 1,751 laboratory results were released.
NOTES from DOH-7:
*As per DOH-7, the additional deaths in the report are not due to the overnight spike in deaths but due to more accurate data collection and validating efforts. Not all of those deaths occurred today but occurred more than a week ago.
Reports maybe subject to change as these claims undergo thorough validation by the local healthcare offices and health personnel.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) confirmed on Monday that the Philippine government officials met with Elon Musk’s SpaceX last November 16, 2021 to discuss Starlink’s possible expansion to the country.
The meeting intended to discuss “Starlink’s plan to establish a Philippine-registered business that will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpaceX Exploration Technologies Corp.”
Photo from BOI
SpaceX is said to be planning to deliver satellite internet services and broadband connectivity to remote areas in the Philippines that are typically inaccessible to traditional internet service providers.
“With the entry of Starlink into the Philippines, high-speed satellite broadband connectivity is expected to be delivered to customers nationwide, specifically in areas where connectivity has been a challenge,” Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Ceferino Rodolfo, Trade Undersecretary and Managing Head of the Board of Investment (BOI), said that following the ratification of the Public Services Act (PSA), which eases restrictions on foreign ownership of satellite internet services in the country, a series of follow-up online meetings were held since December.
WHAT IS STARLINK?
Starlink is a SpaceX subsidiary that uses low-orbit satellite technology to deliver an internet connection to the Earth. In May 2019, Starlink deployed 60 operational satellites. The company was launching up to 60 satellites at a time since then, and as of February 4, 2021, it launched a total of 1,085 satellites. Its goal is to deploy 1,440 satellites to provide near-global service by late 2021 or 2022.
Photo from Starlink Official Website
HOW MUCH DOES THE SERVICE COST IN THE PHILIPPINES?
As of writing, Starlink costs USD 99 (or PHP 5,000) per month. The hardware costs USD 499 (PHP 25,000) as a one-time fee, then shipping and handling of USD 50 (PHP 2,500), plus taxes. Orders will be fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis and could take 2-4 weeks or more, depending on where you are in the ordering queue.
Starlink View from Man’s Eye View | Photo from tamekich YouTube Channel
According to a study released by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), a bad internet connection is a pressing problem in the country alongside poverty and corruption. And with COVID-19, a meaningful internet connection is now a prerequisite to being “productive.” The absence of a meaningful internet connection, especially in unserved and underserved communities, means many workers, learners, and citizens will be excluded and left behind.
Well, it seems like more and more countries are accepting a mass number of immigrant Filipinos all over the world.
The latest which is Taiwan having recently passed a law allowing migrant workers to become permanent residents.
Photo from Unsplash
This action is prompted by a shortage of skilled workers there.
When this is implemented, there will be about 35,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW’s) in Taiwan that can be eligible to become permanent residents of the island based on an official.
The new law is set to be implemented in April as said by Philippine labor attaché in Taiwan Cesar Chavez. He says there are still no full detailed guidelines yet but initial guidelines to apply for permanent residency states that:
A migrant worker who has worked 6 years in Taiwan can apply to be reclassified as an intermediate skilled worker
Once reclassified, the worker needs to serve for another 5 years to be able to apply for the residency
Calculating those two, it will take the entire process up to 11 years.
Taipei, Taiwan | Photo from Unsplash
Now there are at least 142,000 Filipinos employed in Taiwan, and around 35,000 have been working for more than 6 years.
These 35,000 OFWs are the ones eligible for reclassification and take note that their employers will be the ones who will apply for the reclassification of their workers.
Eight-five percent of OFWs in Taiwan work in the manufacturing industry while the remaining are mostly domestic workers, according to Chavez, noting that most workers usually stay for about 12 to 14 years.
Taoyuan City Airport | Photo from Unsplash
Workers’ salary conditions
Manufacturing workers – not less than 33,000 NT
Domestic & caregivers (long term care homes) – not less than 29,000 NT
Caretaker at domestic worker caregivers (live-in) – not less than 24,000 NT
Taipei, Taiwan | Photo from Unsplash
Summary of requirements
To sum it up you need to have the number of years working in Taiwan, have the salary condition met and also have a proficiency in the Chinese language to be able to apply for permanent residency. Aside from those, prepare all your professional skills training certificates from government-approved training courses as they are also required.
Though it’s a long process, once a worker has been granted permanent residency, they will be able to bring their families to the island so it’s definitely worth the wait.
This is probably your sign to start your own coffee shop.
This 25-year-old full-time employee quit her job and is now the owner of a coffee shop business with 15 branches nationwide.
Photo from Anna Herman Magalona
Anna Herman Magalona was worried about losing her job just like many others due to the pandemic so she was thinking of some other side hustle. She then decided to open a coffee shop and tried to juggle her job and business before actually quitting her job.
Photo from Anna Herman Magalona
Her coffee shop named “But First, Coffee” opened in August 2020 at her own rented condominium. Her business was a success and quickly expanded and she was able to quit her job on her 4th branch to focus on her growing business.
Out of 15 branches all over the country, Anna owns three of them. Her secret? Determination and good marketing strategies. What’s even more impressive is she achieved all these in just a year.
Though she hoped to be successful, she didn’t expect it to be that fast too.
With a starting capital of P6,000 and as a coffee lover, she personally tried and tested her recipes where she enjoyed crafting her own blends.
Photo from Anna Herman Magalona
So it seems that aside from the determination and good marketing, she also had passion added for her to succeed.
“Everything was very uncertain in those days. I personally felt that uncertainty. So, I used that uncertainty as a motivation for something or to make something that will catch me if anything happens to my career,”
Photo from Anna Herman Magalona
The franchise owners or co-owners of branches are also Anna’s friends. The 15th branch of But First, Coffee opened last December 2021.
This just proved that a business can thrive amid the pandemic, if you have the right attitude and strategy.
Not only are they stars in television and movies but they are also stars to look up to in real life.
These three young actresses Nadine Lustre, Liza Soberano, and Yassi Pressman have invested in a company that aims to promote mental health awareness in the country.
It is called Mind You which aims to provide Filipinos with easier and affordable access to mental health experts.
Nadine, Liza, and Yassi have all been very vocal about addressing mental health issues with each actress taking to social media on their strong stands about it.
Nadine Lustre
Nadine Lustre said that issues on mental health in the Philippines are not widely talked about and that there is still a stigma when it comes to mental health. She emphasizes that normalizing mental health issues can help a lot of people. “[Mind You] is a platform for mental health. The easiest way to describe it is that it’s a platform that will make [access to] therapists or psychologists easier and cheaper.”- Nadine
Photo from Nadine Lustre Facebook Page
Liza Soberano
Liza Soberano also reacted to the poster of the film “Tililing”, a Philippine musical black comedy film. She posted on Twitter: “Really hoping this movie will spread awareness and enlighten us on the struggles of dealing with mental health. But the poster? It’s a no for me. Mental health is NOT a joke. Stop the stigma.”
Photo from Liza Soberano Facebook Page
Yassi Pressman
Yassi Pressman spoke up about taking care of her mental health during the World Mental Health Day. Sharing her story in getting past her struggles. Yassi actress hopes to encourage others to not give up and to continue believing in themselves.
“Take care of yourself, your mental health, your peace. Find people and places that make you happy.”-Yassi
Photo from Yassi Pressman Facebook Page
During the last National Mental Health Summit 2021. They have this power statement “Let’s end the stigma” which we should all practice in our daily lives in handling mental health issues.
On Tuesday evening, the Department of Health Central Visayas (DOH-7) released its official, consolidated data of the COVID-19 cases in the region as of March 1, 2022.
The whole island of Cebu — Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, and Cebu Province — recorded 84 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 171 new recoveries, and 5 new deaths. Cebu’s total active cases declined to 1,463 (from 1,554).
Cebu City – Total confirmed: 53,467 (+41 new) – Total recoveries: 51,103 (+54 new) – Total deaths: 1,665 (+1 new) – Active cases: 699
Lapu-Lapu City – Total confirmed: 16,979 (+8 new) – Total recoveries: 16,412 (+11 new) – Total deaths: 503 (+0 new) – Active cases: 64
Mandaue City – Total confirmed: 15,345 (+5 new) – Total recoveries: 14,753 (+13 new) – Total deaths: 487 (+0 new) – Active cases: 105
Cebu Province – Total confirmed: 45,942 (+30 new) – Total recoveries: 42,584 (+93 new) – Total deaths: 2,763 (+4 new) – Active cases: 595
SUMMARY OF COVID-19 CASES IN CEBU:
Total Active Cases in Cebu: 1,463 (from 1,554)
Total Confirmed Cases in Cebu: 131,733 (+84 new)
Total Recoveries in Cebu: 124,852 (+171 new)
Total Deaths in Cebu: 5,418 (+5 new)
A total of 1,767 laboratory results were released.
NOTES from DOH-7:
*As per DOH-7, the additional deaths in the report are not due to the overnight spike in deaths but due to more accurate data collection and validating efforts. Not all of those deaths occurred today but occurred more than a week ago.
Reports maybe subject to change as these claims undergo thorough validation by the local healthcare offices and health personnel.
