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(PhilStar) MANILA, Philippines — Eumir Marcial has reunited with countrymen and fellow boxers Irish Magno, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam in Tokyo, Japan after training separately during the pandemic in pursuit of the country’s first Olympic gold medal.

Marcial planed in at the Haneda Airport early yesterday from Colorado Springs where he spent the final phase of his training while Magno, Petecio and Paalam followed suit moments later from Thailand where they held camp since March this year.

“Dito na kami,” said Petecio, who was accompanied by coaches Ronald Chavez and Nolito Velasco and Australian consultant Don Abnett.

It marked the first time the four got to see each other in person since face-to-face training started early this year with Marcial flying to Los Angeles, California late last year for his pro debut, and the three heading to a bubble training camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna in January before proceeding to Thailand.

“They are now at the Olympic Village and met by our secretariat,” said Association of the Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) secretary-general Ed Picson.

The four had the chance to compete together in the ASBC Elite Men’s and Women’s Championships in Dubai last May but Magno, Petecio and Paalam were pulled out in the last minute due to quarantine restrictions, leaving Marcial to fight with several non-Olympic-bound teammates.

Visa problems also prevented Marcial from joining the rest of the national team in Thailand last month.

Marcial was instead sent to Colorado Springs by the ABAP for a few weeks to train.

Petecio, the 2019 World Championship gold medalist, will be the first to see action as the women’s featherweight class starts next week.

Magno is next in the women’s flyweight division unfurling the next day while Marcial and Paalam, who are entered in the flyweight and middleweight categories, respectively, will climb the ring on July 26… Read More

(BusinessWorld) HEALTH experts asked the government on Sunday to ban nonessential travel to and from Manila, the capital and nearby cities to stop the spread of a more contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

“We recommended that we place the National Capital Region (NCR) and surrounding provinces in a bubble,” Fredegusto Guido P. David, a research fellow at the OCTA Research Group from the University of the Philippines, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

This would let the government keep the general lockdown in Metro Manila or even relax it to a modified general quarantine as long as the Delta variant from India is kept out, he added.

“We hope to prevent Delta from coming in so we can prevent lockdowns in NCR.”

The Health department on Friday said 16 more Filipinos had been infected with the Delta coronavirus variant, bringing the total to 35.

Five of the 16 were returning migrant Filipinos, while 11 were locals, the agency said in a statement on Friday.

One of the workers arrived in the Philippines on April 26 from the United Kingdom and has since recovered after a 14-day quarantine. Two arrived in the Philippines on June 15 from Qatar and have also recovered. Information on the other two were still being verified. .. Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — Ramped up contact tracing and isolation will be implemented in all local government units in Metro Manila amid the threat of a more contagious Delta variant in the country.

“Nag report lang sila on the situation right now, what’s going on and what we have done before — ‘yung intensive prevention detection, isolation, treatment, rehabilitation, lalo na ang contact tracers itutuloy namin,” MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos said, moments after the Metro Manila Council meeting on Sunday.

[Translation: They reported on the situation right now, what’s going on and what we have done before — the intensive prevention detection, isolation, treatment, rehabilitation — especially the contact tracing which we will continue.]

What the local executives are trying to avoid now is an overwhelmed hospital system in the middle of a health crisis.

Because of the Delta variant’s high transmissibility, LGUs are coordinating with different branches of government to ensure safety protocols are strictly adhered to.

Some mayors are even considering adjusting their city’s guidelines in case of a possible surge in cases.

“Dati kasi pinapayagan pa natin ‘yung home quarantine. Ngayon ‘di na talaga papayagan and we will be working more intensely with the police and the city legal department. Pwede naman kasi ang mga abogado na ang mag-convince because this is a public health concern,” said Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte… Read More

(SunStar) (UPDATED) With the detection of the first local cases of the Delta variant, the government went on emergency mode and activated the second half of a four-door strategy to ensure that measures are in place nationwide to address and immediately contain a possible surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19, said Friday, July 16, 2021, that the country is “well-prepared” for a possible surge in infections such as what happened in India and Indonesia.

Galvez said hospitals have been given funds to stock up on medicines, modular hospitals with at least 110 beds each have been constructed, a mega hospital with 336 beds has been built in Metro Manila, and the One Hospital Command has been activated.

The plan now is to set up a command center at the PICC to put all task forces related to pandemic response under one roof.

He also said the 3.2 million doses of the single-dose Janssen (J&J) viral vector vaccine that are expected to arrive on Monday will go to so-called “areas of interest” such as Northern Mindanao, National Capital Region and Western Visayas… Read More

(BusinessWorld) Sixteen more Filipinos have been infected with the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant, bringing the total to 35, according to the Department of Health (DoH).

Five of the 16 were returning migrant Filipinos, while 11 were locals, the agency said in a statement on Friday.

One of the workers arrived in the Philippines on April 26 from the United Kingdom and has since recovered after a 14-day quarantine. Two arrived in the Philippines on June 15 from Qatar and have also recovered. Information on the other two were still being verified.

Of the 11 local cases, six were detected in Northern Mindanao, two in the National Capital Region and two in Western Visayas.

All of them have recovered, except for one patient from Metro Manila who died after being rushed to the hospital on June 28, DoH said.

One other patient who was initially tested in the metro but had an address in Central Luzon has also recovered.

Of the 11 cases, nine had tested positive between June 23 and 28, while two tested positive on May 27, the agency said.

Health authorities said they were coordinating with the Centers for Health Development and local governments for contact tracing. The Bureau of Quarantine and Department of Transportation were on high alert to implement strict border controls.

The Health department reported 5,676 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections on Friday, bringing the total to 1.496 million.

The death toll rose to 26,476 after 162 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 2,670 to 1.421 million, it said in a bulletin.

There were 48,480 active cases, 91.8% of which were classified as mild, 2.1% were asymptomatic, 2.6% were severe, 1.85% were moderate and 1.6% were critical.

DoH said 13 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 10 of which were tagged as recoveries. Twenty-eight recoveries were reclassified as active cases and 116 recoveries were tagged as deaths. Three laboratories failed to submit data on July 14. .. Read More

(BusinessWorld) A Philippine senator has filed cyber-crime charges against Google Philippines and the owners of two YouTube channels at the Justice department for showing videos alleging domestic violence and adultery in his family.

“Social media sites need to step up and be more responsive to reports and more especially to legal complaints,” Senator Francis N. Pangilinan said in a statement on Friday. “These are harmful to individuals and to families.”

Mr. Pangilinan said Google, the owner and service provider of YouTube since 2006, is “liable under Philippine laws as a foreign corporation doing business in the Philippines.”

He added that his office had reported 82 fake and malicious videos to YouTube, which rejected 28 reports for lack of merit. It had yet to decide on 54 reports, he said.

The videos were uploaded on YouTube on May 2021 alleging that Mr. Pangilinan had physically abused his wife, actress Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan. Some of the videos also claimed his wife had committed adultery.

His family has denied all the allegations… Read More

(SunStar) PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte approved the extension of the general community quarantine (GCQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR) for another two weeks until July 31, 2021.

Under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), the second highest quarantine classification, until July 31, 2021 are Bataan in Central Luzon; Cagayan de Oro City in Northern Mindanao; Davao Occidental, Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur and Davao del Norte in Davao Region; and Butuan City in Caraga.

Placed under GCQ with heightened restrictions are Cagayan Province; Laguna and Lucena City in Calabarzon; Naga City in Bicol; Negros Oriental in Central Visayas; Zamboanga del Sur; and Davao City until the end of July.

Aklan, Bacolod City, Antique, and Capiz in Western Visayas Region will be under GCQ with heightened restrictions until July 22, 2021.

Under GCQ for the second half of July are Baguio City and Apayao in the Cordillera Administrative Region; City of Santiago, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino in Cagayan Valley; Bulacan in Central Luzon; Cavite, Rizal, Quezon and Batangas in Calabarzon; Puerto Princesa in Mimaropa; Guimaras and Negros Occidental in Western Visayas; Zamboanga Sibugay, City of Zamboanga and Zamboanga del Norte; Davao Oriental; General Santos City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, Cotabato and South Cotabato in Soccsksargen; Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, and Surigao del Sur in Caraga; and Cotabato City in Bangsamoro… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 15) — Metro Manila will ease some restrictions as it shifts to the regular general community quarantine until the end of the month along with Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced Thursday.

Metro Manila, Bulacan, and Rizal were under GCQ with “some restrictions” prior the new classification, while Cavite used to be under GCQ with “heightened restrictions.”

The announcement comes days after the Health Department flagged an uptick in new cases among seven cities in the National Capital Region.

The OCTA Research Group likewise recommended retaining NCR under GCQ until the end of the month, citing the need to strengthen the enforcement and monitoring of health protocols given the threats posed by the more transmissible Delta coronavirus variant.

Laguna, meanwhile, will remain under GCQ with “heightened restrictions” until the end of the month. Lucena City, Naga City, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga del Sur and Davao City will also be under this classification until July 31.

Aklan, Bacolod City, Antique, and Capiz will likewise be placed under GCQ with “heightened restrictions” but only until July 22.

These areas will be placed under GCQ until the end of the month:
– Cordillera Administrative Region: Baguio City, Apayao
– Region 4-A: Batangas, Quezon
– Region 4-B: Puerto Princesa
– Region 6: Guimaras, Negros Occidental
– Region 9: Zamboanga Sibugay, City of Zamboanga, Zamboanga del Norte
– Region 11: Davao Oriental
– Region 12: General Santos City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, Cotabato and South Cotabato
– CARAGA: Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Sur
– BARMM: Cotabato City

Meanwhile, the following places will be under modified enhanced community quarantine until July 31:
– Region 3: Bataan
– Region 6: Iloilo City, Iloilo Province (until July 22)
– Region 10: Cagayan de Oro City
– Region 11: Davao Occidental, Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte
– CARAGA: Butuan City

The rest of the country will be under modified GCQ until end-July… Read More