LAST week, I received a text message from a friend in the province, dismissing the coronavirus as fake. The pandemic is a hoax, she said. Having lost a few close friends to the Covid-19, I felt slighted by the cavalier attitude, but I resisted the urge to engage her in a debate because I knew […]
Category: People
Briones: Hong Kong’s exodus
It can get pretty tiring, you know. It has been Covid this and Covid that for the last 11 months. It almost seems like the pandemic has everyone by the throat and choking the life out of us. Well, guess what? I need some air. And I will even settle for a tiny gasp. So […]
‘Masokista ka, day, o bugo?’: 10 savage Ellen Adarna advice for all marupoks
QUEEN Ellen Adarna to the rescue! It’s no secret that this Cebuana actress has had her fair share of ups and downs when it comes to relationships. And truth be told, her love experiences translate very well as ate advice to those who badly need a little slap on their faces. Fans of Adarna frequently […]
Cebu City’s health care system ‘able to cope’ with rise in cases
EVEN though coronavirus cases in Cebu City are on the rise, the Project Balik Buhay’s (PBB) data on critical care capacity management of private hospitals in Cebu show that the city’s current situation is far better from when the city was under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status in July 2020. Assistant Secretary Anthony Gerard Gonzales […]
CCMC out-patient department ‘fully operational’ on Feb. 1
THE out-patient department (OPD)of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) will be fully operational starting Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. The OPD resumed partial operations after city officials conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the CCMC on Dec. 28, 2020, said City Adminstrator Floro Casas Jr. Although it has been catering to patients, there […]
Pilot mock digital bar exams for Visayas held at UC Banilad
THE University of Cebu (UC)-Banilad campus hosted the pilot mock digital and regional bar exams for the Visayas on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021. Al-Shwaid Ismael, dean of the UC School of Law, said it was a privilege for UC to be selected as one of the venues among hundreds of law schools in the country. […]
Deadline for payment of biz, realty taxes moved to Feb. 20
THE Cebu City Government has extended the deadline for the payment of business and real property taxes to Feb. 20, 2021. The City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) urged taxpayers to pay their tax dues on or before the specified time to avoid paying penalties. City Treasurer Mare Vae Reyes said the deadline of the business tax […]
Special registration for women in Mandaue to start on Feb. 8
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) of Mandaue City will hold a three-day special registration for women starting on Feb. 8, 2021. They can register, transfer, reactivate their voter’s registration, or enter a name correction during this period. Mandaue City Election Officer Anna Fleur Gujilde said they initiated the special registration after realizing some women were […]
Morning fire razes house; damage pegged at P100K
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl who was seen playing with matches might have been responsible for the fire that razed a house in Barangay Balud in the southern town of Dalaguete Sunday morning, Jan. 31, 2021. The girl was unharmed during the incident. Before the fire broke out, Sheila (real name withheld for being a minor) was […]
10 cyclists apprehended for not wearing masks
TEN bicycle enthusiasts were apprehended by the police for not wearing masks, a violation of safety and health requirements amid the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The violators were flagged down in Talisay City on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. Three cyclists were caught outside a roadside store, while the rest were caught while pedaling their […]
Editorial: Opening “doors” for immunity
BEFORE a child can be vaccinated, a parent must first be convinced. The Department of Health (DOH) will conduct the “Chikiting Ligtas” Measles, Rubella, Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity (SIA) from Feb. 1 to 28. The second phase of the supplemental immunization is aimed at addressing the declining immunization rate among children in the […]
Nalzaro: Covid 19 cases rise not alarming
ARE the low health care facilities utilization—hospital bed capacity and isolation centers—and minimal coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in densely populated areas, the only gauge and justification for our local officials to claim that the situation is under control and manageable despite increasing number of cases daily? I pose this question because these are the justifications […]
Gwen bans export of hogs for 6 months
GOV. Gwendolyn Garcia has imposed a six-month moratorium on the export of live hogs to other areas in the country. On Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, Garcia issued Executive Order (EO) 8 prohibiting live hogs from being sold outside Cebu Province to protect the local P11 billion livestock industry from the ravages of the African swine […]
Bidding for BRT civil works ‘to be finished’ in February
CIVIL works on the 39.88-kilometer Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will begin in the first week of April this year. Cebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, committee on transportation chairman, said the bidding for the undertaking of the civil works is expected to be done in February with the awarding of the contract taking place […]
PH travel ban on 35 countries with new variants to end Jan. 31
AS THE end of the travel ban on arriving foreigners from 36 areas affected by new and more contagious variants of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) nears, around 1,200 passengers have arrived at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) from these areas with travel restrictions. GMR Megawide, MCIA’s operator, said all the passengers were returning overseas […]
Local leaders urged not to be complacent
ALTHOUGH Cebu is better prepared now to deal with a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, local officials are urged not to be complacent. This was University of the Philippines (UP) assistant professor and Octa Research member Ranjit Rye’s reaction to the negative feedback the group has received from local officials, including Gov. Gwendolyn […]
Council approves noise ban from Monday to Saturday
THE Cebu City Council has amended the Anti-Noise Ordinance to include the ban on the use of karaoke machines or other items that cause loud noises in residential areas during weekdays and Saturdays while the city is in a state of public health emergency. The council approved the amendment to City Ordinance 309 on Wednesday, […]
Only 55 Covid-19 patients in school isolation unit
DESPITE the rise in the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, only 20 percent of Mandaue City’s isolation facility is being used. Dr. Ligaya Lakambini Dargantes, head of patient care and management of the city’s Emergency Operation Center, said she is referring to the isolation unit at the Mandaue City Central School. She said […]
Benefits: Learning the guitar during the lockdown
On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus pandemic. The financial markets plummeted, driving the rest of the world into fear and uncertainty. Early on, people learned to cope in their own little ways: the slew of K-Dramas on Netflix, the TikTok hype with everybody dancing to some meme beat, the […]
Eugenio: Prepare to shape your destiny
In the study of Chinese Metaphysics, there are three factors which can influence human success or failure. Each of these factors contributes one-third of a whole in the likelihood of one’s destiny manifesting a certain way. Bazi or “heaven luck” is considered to be predetermined or set in stone, yet this destiny can still be […]