BusinessWorld
April 11, 2021 | 7:34 pm
Reporters
THE PHILIPPINE Defense chief discussed the situation in the South China Sea and regional security developments with his US counterpart on Sunday, according to the country’s military spokesman, amid increased Chinese presence in the disputed waterway.
Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III are both looking forward to war games that got canceled last year because of a coronavirus pandemic, local military spokesman Arsenio R. Andolong said in a statement sent via Viber.
During the teleconference, Mr. Austin also reiterated the importance of the visiting forces agreement “and hopes that it would be continued.” “Secretary Lorenzana committed to discuss the matter with the President as the final approval lies with him,” Mr. Andolong said.
Hotel owners iffy on proposal to convert hotels into temporary hospitals By TED CORDERO, GMA News
Published April 10, 2021 3:30pm The Philippine Hotel Owners Association Inc. expressed doubts that the industry can accommodate a proposal to turn some hotels into temporary hospital facilities as National Capital Region (NCR) hotel rooms, much like healthcare facilities, are fully occupied. “To convert hotels into hospitals, that’s going to be very difficult kasi maraming kailangan to support patients (because there are a lot of things needed to support patients),” Philippine Hotel Owners Association president Arthur Lopez said in an interview on state-run PTV’s Laging Handa briefing on Saturday.
Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas
(Alfred Vargas official Facebook page / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) recently announced that isolation wards would be established at campuses of the Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University (DLSU), and University of the Philippines (UP) for asymptomatic and mild cases to stop the spread of COVID-19 in households.
“I am proud that my two alma maters, the Ateneo and UP, have not hesitated in offering their facilities to help their fellow Filipinos,” Vargas said.
The chairman of the House committee on social services stressed the need for more facilities, as he recounted the difficulties encountered by his constituents in getting admitted in hospitals.
By REGINE CABATO | The Washington Post | Published: April 10, 2021 MANILA, Philippines Rosemarie Santiago was four months pregnant when she walked into prison. She left more than a year later as a mother who had spent just one day with her child. She was taken to a Manila hospital to give birth to her son Jericho. The next day her siblings claimed him, and she returned behind bars. She would not see him for another nine months. When I came back, he was so thin, said Santiago, who was arrested in 2018 on drug charges. I kept thinking about what could have happened if I had not been arrested.