Tag: Author Carlo Carrasco

Muntinlupa City Government to implement stricter home quarantine for residents due to rise of COVID-19 cases

Muntinlupa City Government to implement stricter home quarantine for residents due to rise of COVID-19 cases

carlocarrasco

Muntinlupa City Government to implement stricter home quarantine for residents due to rise of COVID-19 cases

20200311_142615.jpg
Muntinlupa City Hall.

In a bid to slow down and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Muntinlupa, the City Government will implement stricter measures on home quarantine for city residents.

As of March 19, the Muntinlupa City Health Office recorded 55 Persons Under Monitoring (PUM), 43 Persons Under Investigation (PUI), and four confirmed cases in the city.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi urged barangay officials to strengthen efforts in prohibiting city residents to get out of their homes amid enhanced community quarantine.

“We plead to our constituents to stay at home during this health emergency. The local government is restricting movement of people only for accessing basic necessities and essential work,” Fresnedi said.

The public is advised to stay indoors and consider cancelling non-essential travels as Muntinlupa also imposes curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting March 16 until April 14.

Muntinlupa Public Information Officer Tez Navarro said PNP Muntinlupa augmented roving personnel and will start apprehending violators.

Recently, the Muntinlupa City Government ordered the closure of establishments including malls, beauty parlors, spas, barber shops, and similar establishments with potential face-to-face contact of clients. Those providing essential services were exempted such as banks, pawnshops, money transfer firms, groceries, supermarkets, drug stores, pharmacies, and hardware stores.

Restaurants, carinderias, and other eateries were only allowed to only accept take-out orders and refrain from providing dine-in services to ensure implementation of social distancing. Restaurant owners and operators were encouraged to post notices and warnings on the spread and ill effects of COVID-19 in their premises.

Further, public and private recreational facilities were also mandated to halt operations such as fitness gyms, swimming pools, saunas karaoke bars, and country club facilities for sports that entail close person to person contact. While, a liquor ban was enacted to prevent gathering opportunities for city residents in the duration of the quarantine period.

In a bid to address panic-buying, the Muntinlupa City Council also approved the anti-hoarding ordinance that restrict bulk-buying of basic commodities.

For concerns related to community quarantine and COVID-19 testing, Muntinlupa City residents may reach hotline nos. 0977-240-5217 or 0977-240-5218.

This is an official Press Release issued by the City Government of Muntinlupa. Some parts were edited for this website.

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments.

Restaurants in Muntinlupa only allowed to accept take-out orders, other establishments to close amid COVID-19

Restaurants in Muntinlupa only allowed to accept take-out orders, other establishments to close amid COVID-19

carlocarrasco

Restaurants in Muntinlupa only allowed to accept take-out orders, other establishments to close amid COVID-19

20200311_142615.jpg
Muntinlupa City Hall.

The City Government of Muntinlupa today ordered the suspension of dine-in services of restaurants in the city while other establishments were urged to close amid the novel coronavirus disease’s (COVID-19) sustained community transmission in the country.

To promote social distancing during the enhanced community quarantine period, the Muntinlupa City Council passed Ordinance No. 2020-070 mandating restaurants, carinderias, and other eateries to only accept take-out orders and refrain from providing dine-in services.

Restaurant owners and operators shall also post notices and warnings on the spread and ill effects of COVID-19 in their premises.

Other establishments ordered to close include malls, beauty parlors, spas, barber shops, and similar establishments with potential face-to-face contact of clients.

However, those providing essential services are exempted such as banks, pawnshops, money transfer firms, groceries, supermarkets, drug stores, pharmacies, and hardware stores.

Further, the City Council also passed Ordinance No. 2020-072 urging the closure of public and private recreational facilities such as fitness gyms, swimming pools, saunas karaoke bars, and country club facilities for sports that entail close person to person contact.

Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi said this initiative aims to help contain the spread of the virus by restricting the movement of people and encouraging them to stay at home during the health emergency faced by the entire country.

Fresnedi encouraged city residents to be vigilant and follow health protocols. He reminded the public to practice frequent hand-washing, proper cough etiquette, and other precautionary measures wherever they are as the virus may be transmitted through direct contact or respiratory droplets.

As of March 18, Muntinlupa City Health Office recorded 49 Persons Under Monitoring (PUM), 43 Persons Under Investigation (PUI), and three confirmed cases in the city.

The field hospital installed in Ospital ng Muntinlupa is now operational to treat patients with COVID-19 symptoms. Isolation areas in barangays are also in place for residents suspected to have contracted with the virus for monitoring by the local health office.

For concerns related to community quarantine and COVID-19 testing, Muntinlupa City residents may reach hotline nos. 0977-240-5217 or 0977-240-5218.

This is an official Press Release issued by the City Government of Muntinlupa. Some parts were edited for this website.

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments.

 

My Observations: The Official Specs of Xbox Series X

My Observations: The Official Specs of Xbox Series X

carlocarrasco
XboxSeriesXinternalparts
The components of Xbox Series X. (photo source – Xbox.com)

Very recently Microsoft and some members of the gaming press revealed the official specs of the next-generation console Xbox Series X. As a long-time gamer, this newest development is nice and exciting even though I am still enjoying my basic Xbox One console a lot for my video gaming and movie viewing (note: I’m a Blu-ray movie collector). The current generation console I bought way back in 2015 still works well and so far showed no signs of breaking down or slowing down (when compared to my previous console the Xbox 360). Even so, I intend to acquire the Xbox Series X to replace my Xbox One although not necessarily during the new system’s launch. Here is hoping that Microsoft will announce a launch price of not more than $499.

So let’s get on with the specs of the next-generation Xbox starting with the CPU (central processing unit) and the GPU (graphics processing unit).

CPU: 8x Cores @ 3.8 Ghz (3.6 GHZ w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU

GPU: 12 teraflops, 52 CUs (compute units) @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU

Die Size: 360.45 mm2

Process: 7nm Enhanced

Memory: 16 Gigabytes GDDR6 w/ 320b bus

Memory Bandwidth: 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s

Internal Storage: 1 terabyte NVME SSD (solid state drive)

I/O Throughput: 2.4 GB/s (raw), 4.8 GB/s (compressed with custom hardware decompression block)

Expandable Storage: 1 terabyte Expansion Card (matches internal storage exactly)

External Storage: USB 3.2 External HDD Support

Optical Drive: 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray Drive

Performance Target: 4K @ 60 frames-per-second, up to 120 FPS.

On face value, those specs are very impressive and worthy of being referred to as next-generation at least in terms of potential. The Xbox Series X, with those specs, unsurprisingly surpassed my Xbox One and even the Xbox One X (released in 2017) which is currently the most powerful game console in the world. With a performance target of 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160) with a frame rate of 60 frames-per-second and even up to 120 FPS, now is a great time to upgrade your HDTV by means of replacing it with an UHDTV (or 4K TV).

Apart from improved speed and efficiency, the Xbox Series X will come with Xbox Velocity Architecture (XVA) which features the tight integration between hardware and software. It’s a new architecture optimized for streaming of in-game assets and should be useful for game developers who in turn will have instant access to an estimated 100 gigabytes of the said assets.

“It’s about revolutionizing how games can create vastly bigger and more compelling worlds,” Technical Fellow on Xbox Series X Andrew Goossen described XVA.

When it comes to video games with those large in-game environments, nothing can be more annoying than load times, delayed textures and noticeable drop of frame rates. In my experience playing Mass Effect on my Xbox 360 way back in 2007, the game’s long load time (with the overly long elevator ride designed to conceal the loading) was so bad it took me out of the game. And then there were newly loaded segments in which the polygons lacked the proper textures for the first seconds. Open-world games I played before such as Saints Row: The Third, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 each had their own bouts of annoying load times or delayed loading of key visual elements. If the XVA delivers the promised benefits for both the game developers and the gamers, then such technical hiccups should be a thing of the past and the immersion should be much better for players. More on load times, they should not be a problem anymore in the next-generation now that the Xbox Series X will have SSDs.

Check out these official Xbox Series X videos about quick loading and quick resume.

As far as my Xbox history is concerned, I am a multi-generational Xbox LIVE user and my account has lots of Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles recorded with regards to playing history and achievements made. I also enjoy the backward compatibility feature Microsoft launched in 2015 which makes playing my old Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One possible without having to pay anything extra. I also love the fact that Xbox LIVE allows me to select and buy Xbox 360 games (via digital download) that I never played before and there are hundreds of titles of the 360 offered all the time!

That being said, the backward compatibility experience will continue with Xbox Series X guaranteeing that all the Xbox 360 and Xbox One games I have will never go to waste! For the next-generation, backward compatibility on Xbox Series X will see benefits like improved booting time, shortened loading times, improved resolution, more stable frame rates and enhanced visuals. I can imagine playing the Xbox One versions of Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto V, Resident Evil 2 remake (and very soon the remake of Resident Evil 3) and Gears 5 on the Xbox Series X in the near future with the technical improvements in place.

Going back to the announcement of the specs, it has been declared at long last that the memory of Xbox Series X is set at 16 gigabytes using GDDR6 which is a more advanced RAM (random access memory). By comparison, my Xbox One has 8 gigabytes of DDR3 RAM and the Xbox One X has 12 gigabytes of GDDR5. Honestly, I was anticipating that Xbox Series X would come with 24 GB GDDR6. I’m not saying that I’m disappointed with the declared 16 GB GDDR6 and I will look forward as to how that memory of the new console will be beneficial for both gamers and game makers.

The internal storage declared was 1 terabyte NVME SSD. I’m surprised that just one terabyte will be used to launch the Xbox Series X. That’s because games as well as their respective patches, expansions and other digital stuff nowadays consume a lot of storage space. My current Xbox has only 500 GB storage and the Xbox One games alone in our household could not be fitted. This means uninstalling games and other digital pieces. I was hoping that at least 2 terabytes would be offered at launch. In fairness, Microsoft announced that the storage can be expanded with an Expansion Card (1 terabyte).

The way things are right now, I intend to buy the Xbox Series X not because the specs are impressive but also because of the very bright future of games coming. Microsoft in recent years acquired a whole lot of game studios to produce content for the Xbox and Windows platforms. Already a whole lot of new games are in the pipe line being produced gradually. Clear to say, Microsoft’s 1st party games lineup in the next generation will no longer be limited to the Halo, Forza Motorsport, Forza Horizon and Gears of War game franchises. At the same time, I am also excited for new games from 3rd party developers for this coming new console generation and soon we will find out how great their games will be on Xbox Series X.

Due to the coronavirus scare happening worldwide, we won’t see a new E3 this year and it is now up to the game publishers and Microsoft to come up with new ways to announce, emphasize and promote their next-generation games. I’d watch out for the upcoming Xbox digital event from Microsoft if I were you.

If you want to immerse yourselves with the very, very technical examinations of the Xbox Series X, I highly recommend you watch these embedded videos below.

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

 

Muntinlupa City Government Eyes Extension of RPT, business tax payment due to COVID-19 Crisis

Muntinlupa City Government Eyes Extension of RPT, business tax payment due to COVID-19 Crisis

carlocarrasco

Muntinlupa City Government Eyes Extension of RPT, business tax payment due to COVID-19 Crisis

20200311_142615.jpg
Muntinlupa City Hall.

In light of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, the City Government of Muntinlupa announced today it is set to extend the payment period on real property tax and business tax for locals who are already experiencing inconveniences on moving around and doing transactions.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi announced that the Muntinlupa City Council will convene to pass an ordinance for the extension of payment deadlines on taxes given the strict measures implemented during the enhanced community quarantine.

Fresnedi said RPT deadline of payment will be extended until April 30, while the business tax payment deadline shall be extended to the next quarter upon the approval of the City Council. The local exec added that the interest incurred on penalty for traffic violators is also being reviewed to be waived through an ordinance.

On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte declared an enhanced community quarantine over the entire Luzon as part of a continuous measure to prevent the large-scale spread of COVID-19.

In response to the suspension of mass public transport facilities, the City Government will provide shuttle for the mobility of front liners providing essential services such as healthcare workers and those in the BPO industry.

Muntinlupa Traffic Management Bureau noted that six (6) e-Jeepneys will be available for deployment in National Road routes including Muntinlupa City Public Market going to Tunasan (Muntinlupa – San Pedro Boundary) and Muntinlupa National High School to Plaza Central (vice versa).

“We commit to support our front line workers in our fight against COVID-19 by providing them free shuttle service in the city. In addition, the local government will also boost our social service programs for our city residents,” Fresnedi noted.

The PNP, with the assistance of barangay security force, continues to be on full alert in the borders and checkpoints installed across the city.

Muntinlupa City announced its second confirmed case of COVID-19 as of March 17. Muntinlupa CHO also recorded 46 Persons Under Monitoring (PUM), 43 Persons Under Investigation (PUI), and two confirmed cases to date.

The field hospital installed in Ospital ng Muntinlupa is now operational to treat patients with flu-like symptoms. Isolation areas in barangays are also in place for residents suspected to have contracted with the virus for monitoring by the local health office.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi urged the city residents to be vigilant and follow health protocols in the ongoing emergency health situation. The local exec encouraged the public to refrain from sharing unverified news but follow official sources such as the City Government of Muntinlupa and DOH’s social media accounts.

For concerns related to community quarantine and COVID-19 testing, Muntinlupa City residents may reach hotline nos. 0977-240-5217 or 0977-240-5218.

This is an official Press Release issued by the City Government of Muntinlupa. Some parts were edited for this website.

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments.

 

A Look Back At Friday The 13th Part 3

A Look Back At Friday The 13th Part 3

carlocarrasco

Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced by means of watching the movie and doing research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Long before movie franchising and shared cinematic universes became normal in modern day Hollywood, the very low-budget Friday The 13th movie of 1980 became a very profitable success and paved the way for sequels throughout the decade. Really, the first movie was just a standalone, self-contained story of horror set in the American summer camp. There really was no plan back then to turn that particular film into a series of movies that showcased people getting killed in slasher horror style.

Because Friday The 13th grossed almost $60 million worldwide, its first sequel Friday The 13th Part 2 was rushed into production (with more than double its predecessor’s budget) and eventually got released less than a year later. Part 2 made $21.7 million in America (note: overseas ticket sales remain unavailable) which was barely half that of its predecessor ($39.7 million) in the same market.

Creatively, Part 2 was made with Jason Voorhees as the antagonist because (SPOILER) his mother was the killer in the first movie. While Jason was indeed a victim in the 1980 movie, the Part 2 filmmakers had to make hard changes to establish him as the new killer and expand on the previous film’s concept. The result was that, within Friday The 13th’s version of history, Jason somehow witnessed his mother’s death from a distance and motivated him to become a territorial killer at Crystal Lake (note: the first movie established him as having drowned to death because the summer camp counselors did not watch him). This paved the way into introducing a grown-up Jason (wearing a potato sack as mask) as the new killer in the sequel.

Even though the box office reception for Part 2 was weaker, this did not stop the filmmakers and Paramount Pictures from pushing through with a sequel: Friday The 13th Part 3. To say the least, the business model on making Friday The 13th movies with very low budgets and raking big profits was too good for the filmmakers to stop doing. At the same time, the 1980s saw a huge demand for slasher horror. As if that was not enough, there was a short-lived revival of 3D cinematic viewing (moviegoers wore the old-style red-and-blue 3D visors to see the 3D effects on the screen) which the Part 3 filmmakers (led by director Steve Miner and producer Frank Mancuso, Jr.) decided to capitalize on. As such, they used special cameras and lenses to make Part 3.

Screenshot_20200313-225025_YouTube.jpg
This is what the film looked like in 3D and this is the 3D yoyo scene.

Enough with the history of the Friday The 13th film franchise for now. This is my retro movie review of 1982’s Friday The 13th Part 3.

Early Story

The movie opens (SPOILER for Part 2) with a recap of the final conflict in Part 2 showing Ginny (Amy Steel) in Jason’s shack in the forest. After some struggle near the makeshift shrine which had the decapitated head of Jason’s dead mother, Ginny’s boyfriend Paul arrived to save her from Jason. As Jason focused on fighting Paul, Ginny struck the killer with a blade on his left shoulder putting him down. After Ginny and Paul left the shack, it turns out that Jason (in brand new footage for the movie, a creative attempt to revise key story elements) was still alive and slowly moved.

The next day – Saturday the 14th – at a small town store (with a private residence), Jason (still wearing his clothes from Part 2) arrives and kills the couple (the owners) in the evening. Before getting killed, the wife saw TV news footage of Ginny being moved into an ambulance (using daytime footage from the ending of Part 2) establishing the current day as Saturday.

Screenshot_20200312-230358_YouTube.jpg
The bodies of the husband and wife being moved into the ambulance. Jason killed them on the evening of Saturday.

And yet the next day – Sunday the 15th – a group of teenagers travel together in a van heading towards the private property of Higgins Haven which is located by Crystal Lake. Due to the lack of security, Jason moved there in secret becoming a danger to them…

Quality

With a budget that was much bigger than that of Part 2, Friday The 13th Part 3 has better production values. Higgins Haven in the film was a nice physical set that was actually constructed from scratch in California. The vacation house, the barn and even Crystal Lake (which looked radically different from the first two films) were all made on location. Of course, money had to be spent on making tracks and setting up the cameras which had special lenses for filming in 3D. I also noticed that Part 3’s visuals are a lot more colorful to look at than in Part 2 which is the result of using the cameras with special lenses. The downside of this is the constant lack of sharpness on the visuals when compared to Part 1 and 2.

Screenshot_20200312-230434_YouTube.jpg
Larry Zerner’s Shelly (middle) is one of the most memorable characters of the entire Friday The 13th film franchise.

In terms of storytelling, this movie looked generic on face value when compared to not only the other Friday The 13th films but also with the many other slasher horror movies that were released. There is a group of people who don’t realize they were being stalked by a killer. The killings are done in secret. Some people either have sex or use illegal drugs. The film’s protagonist encounters the killer and somehow survives. The storytelling is shallow and the characters were designed to be mostly killed off by the antagonist. Of course, there was no real room for any character development.

The good news about this particular movie is that it was nicely paced, there were no boring moments, the on-screen kills were visceral enough, there was an amount of humor to balance the tone enough, and most of all, Part 3 is a lot more fun to watch than any of its predecessors.

Screenshot_20200312-231454_YouTube.jpg
Nothing like being stalked by Jason.

Adding more to the fun factor was that the cast of characters was pretty good. Dana Kimmell as Chris Higgins is charming, romantic, physically capable and also sympathetic. Larry Zerner meanwhile is funny to watch as Shelly who is an overweight guy trying hard to gain attention and friendship. Zerner has a certain appeal of being funny without ever becoming an on-screen annoyance. Like Chris, Shelly is also sympathetic.

Similar character traits are also found in Debbie played by Tracie Savage, and Vera played by Catherine Parks. Vera is the lady on a blind date willing to have fun as she goes on a journey of discovery with her friend. Debbie is pretty, sweet and loves to have fun with her boyfriend even though she is already pregnant. By the way, Tracie Savage acted early as a little girl and her performance her shows it. In real life, Savage went on to become a credible journalist and she was involved in covering the O.J. Simpson murder story of the mid-1990s. Check out Tracie Savage in these embedded videos below.

Screenshot_20200313-224951_YouTube.jpg
Tracie Savage in 3D as Debbie!

And then there are the arrogant, leather-wearing bikers who were written only to cause trouble. Kevin O’Brien as Loco is tough, Gloria Charles as Fox is rude and yet has a weakness for doing something fun, while Nick Savage as Ali is both savage and even funny.

As for Rick played by Paul Kratka is the least interesting character as the good-intentioned boyfriend of Chris. Rick is bland not because of Kratka’s performance but rather the way he was written for the film.

Richard Brooker, a circus performer, excelled in his portrayal as Jason Voorhees and he provided the template on how the icon should act on screen. Not only was he physically imposing, he had to endure the tough procedure of going through several hours of movie makeup (for Jason’s distorted face) before even wearing the hockey mask. Brooker’s Jason is a major improvement over than of Part 2 and it’s too bad we never got to see him reprise the villain.

Screenshot_20200312-231540_YouTube.jpg
Richard Brooker as Jason Voorhees. Believe it or not, the use of a hockey mask in the film was unplanned and it so happened than one of the film crew members was an ice hockey fan and he had a mask with him.

When it comes to on-screen spectacle, the killings by Jason were creative and visceral at the same time. Apart from a few on-screen kills that paid homage to key kills in the 1980 movie, Brooker and the filmmakers delivered a good job on showing how deadly Jason is as the killer. We also get to see that Jason is not only unstoppable but also is very strong (look at what happened to Rick) and even agile (look at his first encounter with Ali). It was also in this film where moviegoers got to see for the first time how visceral a hockey mask-wearing killer could be on the big screen.

Dana Kimmell proved to be capable with the stunts she was given and the action during the encounters between Chris and Jason. Her attempts to fight back at Jason with the knife was believable in terms of character desperation. She is comparable with Amy Steel (Part 2’s Ginny) but is ahead in terms of doing the stunts. Kimmell even had an accident during a chase in which she tripped and fell down face-first.

On storytelling, Part 3’s fimmakers made the right gamble by having the film set immediately after the events of Part 2. Originally there was a plan to make Part 3 feature Ginny in a new story setting her up with another encounter with Jason. Because Amy Steel turned the role down, this particular movie became the result. Part 3’s filmmakers scored a right move having the story set at a private vacation property by Crystal Lake which is a nice change from the summer camp settings of its predecessors.

When it comes to cinematic style, I just love the way director Steve Miner had Jason appear discreetly on screen long before he gets the hockey mask. To see Jason standing on the foreground (no head shown) looking at the characters in the background remains creepy and stylish, slowly adding to the build-up of suspense. To see Jason slowly creeping in the background was also creepy. These are cinematic moves that were not used that much anymore in the sequels that followed.

If there is anything lack here, it definitely is the 3D cinematography which involved a process that is crude and ineffective by today’s standards. The old-style 3D (with 3d visors of red and blue) visuals can be viewed on an HDTV when selected but such visuals have not aged well. I personally prefer to watch it in old-fashioned 2D even though the sharpness of the pictures is lacking and even though the key on-screen moments originally filmed for 3D (with objects captured close to the camera) look out of place. Back to storytelling, I felt that Chris Higgin’s recall of a past incident in the woods felt like an afterthought on the part of the screenwriters.

Conclusion

Overall, Friday The 13th Part 3 is a fun horror movie to watch again. It is not only one of the best ever Friday The 13th films released, but also one of the strongest among all slasher horror movies released in the 1980s. That being said, it made the original Friday The 13th look more of a bore and it made Friday The 13th Part 2 look half-baked. Truly, Part 3 was the film that had the standards of fun and engagement of its film franchise raised higher. Of all the Friday The 13th movies I saw in my life, I declare that Part 3 is the 2nd best film of the franchise.

In terms of cinematic artistry, Part 3 serves as the template on storytelling and structuring for the franchise similar to how Goldfinger became a standard for the James Bond film franchise. To make things clear, this film not only showed Jason wearing for the first time an ice hockey mask (now iconic in American pop culture) but also showed why he is so dangerous whether he stalks people or strikes them down. This film marked the true beginning of the now iconic Jason Voorhees and the filmmakers did a nice job in showcasing him as a horrifying antagonist, easily blowing away the Part 2 potato sack hermit Jason.

Screenshot_20200312-231703_YouTube.jpg
Dana Kimmell as Chris (right) in a scene that copied a similar scene in the first movie.

The film has, in my view, the most appealing cast of characters. There are key characters worth caring for and when you see the most likable characters killed off, you will feel very sorry for them.

What struck me most was what happened to Chris at the very, very end of the film. Granted, she is the final girl of this movie but what I saw when this film ended will always stick me. Without spoiling anything, I should say that Dana Kimmell’s Chris is creatively a standout among all the many slasher horror movie final girls that were presented. I really felt sorry for Chris and Dana Kimmell was very convincing with her performance.

Back to Friday The 13th Part 3’s quality and overall fun factor, I can boldly declare that without this film, the filmmakers of the sequel Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (Part 4) would not even have the foundation and concepts to make their own film great. Really, Part 3 is really good and it’s even intriguing to learn that it was originally made to mark the end of its franchise.

Overall, Friday The 13th Part 3 is highly recommended. To those who are about to watch it for the first time, remember that this movie is a part of 1980s Hollywood history.

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Muntinlupa City Now in a State of Calamity due to COVID-19 Crisis

Muntinlupa City Now in a State of Calamity due to COVID-19 Crisis

carlocarrasco

Muntinlupa City Now in a State of Calamity due to COVID-19 Crisis

20200311_142615.jpg
Muntinlupa City Hall.

Today the City Government of Muntinlupa declared a state of calamity in response to the increasing number of cases of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi announced the declaration following the passing of an ordinance to enable the city’s emergency response team to speedily access the local calamity fund.

“The move to place the city under the State of Calamity will allow us to purchase PPE for frontliners, medicine, food, supplies and other equipment to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in Muntinlupa,” Fresnedi said.

Following the declaration, the Muntinlupa City Council also approved the anti-hoarding ordinance that restrict bulk-buying of basic commodities to address the public’s panic buying.

Further, the City Council approved a liquor ban to prevent gathering opportunities for city residents in the duration of the community quarantine. Ordinances on the temporary closure of malls, except for stores providing essential services, and closure of public and private recreational facilities such as gyms, beauty parlors, spas, and the like, were approved in a special council session on Monday.

The City Government eyes to provide relief goods for informal settlers and displaced workers affected by the temporary closure of establishments. The public has been advised to stay indoors and consider cancelling non-essential travels as Muntinlupa also imposes curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting March 16 until April 14.

Muntinlupa City announced its first confirmed case (PH139) as per update of DOH on March 15. The patient is a 44-year-old female and is currently monitored and being treated at Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Muntinlupa City Health Officer Dra. Teresa Tuliao said the City Government with the DOH has been conducting contact tracing for persons who came in contact with PH139 who tested positive for COVID-19.

As of March 16, Muntinlupa CHO recorded 33 Persons Under Monitoring (PUM) and 38 Persons Under Investigation (PUI) in the city.

The City Government already installed designated triage areas to serve as quarantine rooms in Ospital ng Muntinlupa. Barangays were also instructed to install isolation areas for residents suspected to have contracted with the virus for monitoring by the local health office.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi urged the city residents to remain calm and to be vigilant in the emergency situation. The local exec encouraged the public to refrain from sharing unverified news but follow official sources such as the City Government of Muntinlupa and DOH’s social media accounts.

For concerns related to community quarantine and COVID-19 testing, Muntinlupa City residents may reach hotline nos. 0977-240-5217 or 0977-240-5218.

This is an official Press Release issued by the City Government of Muntinlupa. Some parts were edited for this website.

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments.

Overcome Fear by Keeping Faith in Our Lord and Staying Pure with His Holiness

Overcome Fear by Keeping Faith in Our Lord and Staying Pure with His Holiness

carlocarrasco

There is so much fear in people’s minds nowadays mainly due to the continuing spread of the coronavirus, or specifically COVID-19. Not only has the coronavirus infected and killed many people worldwide, it is also bringing down most forms of business or economic sectors such as tourism, investments and manufacturing.

Here in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte suspended classes in Metro Manila for the days of March 10 to 14 as the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that there are now locals infected by coronavirus.

Considering these mentioned developments are only a few of many negative developments related to the spreading coronavirus, they have still proven to drag down a lot of people deep inside. Instead of being optimistic, those who believe in the danger of coronavirus are feeling lost, scared, depressed and even panicking.

Even though the danger of COVID-19 is real, I am not scared at all and there is no good reason for me to be afraid and panicky. Why? Because my faith and trust in the Lord remains as strong as ever and I know for a fact that God will never leave us nor forsake us. It is faith in the Lord – not religion, not unbelief, not feelings and certainly not idols – that will spare us Christians from the danger and disasters of this screwed up world we live in. Instead of hiding or spending our time on our smartphones, we all should still be reading God’s Word in the Holy Bible and keep praying to Him no matter what happens.

To puts things into perspective, let’s look at key verses of Chapter 91 of the Book of Psalm in the Holy Bible.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by the day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

Psalm 91:1-10 (NKJV)

The scriptures above make it clear that our Heavenly Father is a caring, loving and protective creator and we, as His creations, need to be faithful to Him and keep serving Him. Remember that in emphasizing His love for us, God sent His Son Jesus who spread the good news, died on the cross, got resurrected and flew to Heaven. Jesus saved humanity! He redeemed us! He saved us! Jesus made people realize their true purposes as God’s creations!

Verses 9 and 10 of Psalm 91 emphasize the promise of divinely protected health. The passage promises protection from sickness as a blessing of the redeemed life. Always remember these details and for as long as you remain faithful and trusting in the Lord while applying His Word in your personal life, you will be protected from harm, poverty and disease. Not even coronavirus will bring you down.

It is essential to remember that fear is a weapon of Satan who never gave up in trying to neutralize Christians and make them fail in their relationship with God. Like past diseases, coronavirus struck fear into the hearts of many people around and those who panicked showed signs that their faith and trust in the Lord are weak. Coronavirus also made people panic and doing desperate acts like panic buying. What also come with panic buying are increased vehicular traffic on highways, increased physical presence of people in and out of the retailers (note: this incidentally would increase the risk of getting infected with COVID-19), increased air and noise pollution, and other risks of incidents.

The coronavirus paranoia shows how powerful fear is and why Satan is delighted to see people lose control of themselves and, at the same time, separate Christians from the Lord through their weakness. First of all, God did not just create us to be mere creations on Earth. He really wanted Earth to be filled with perfect beings which was what He planned with Adam and Eve. Unfortunately, Adam rebelled against God when he ate the fruit Eve gave him (which was the result of her getting tempted by the serpent to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil). This rebellion (note: God specifically commanded Adam to never eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil) committed by Adam gave dominion to Satan and cursed humanity with sin, and this led to a downward spiral for the human race thousands of years later as recorded in the Holy Bible. As we know by now, God had a plan to redeem humanity by sending His Son Jesus into the world. It was through the acts and sacrifice of Jesus that humanity was saved and He proved God loves and cares for us. Jesus Himself stated that becoming born again is needed in order to see the kingdom of the Heavenly Father (read John 3:3 in the Holy Bible).

God’s plan for His creation is so great, Satan will stop at nothing to take it all away by exploiting human weakness. Fear is a favorite weapon Satan uses along with unbelief, religion, idolatry, doubt, greed, hatred, covetousness, homosexuality, deception, division and temptation. Fear leads to anger, hatred, panic, desperation, resentment and the weakening of faith in the Lord.

As Christians who were born again (accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior), we are targets of the enemy. Satan, who was defeated long ago when Jesus redeemed humanity, will strike against each of us through feelings, fear, pressure, symptoms and negativity. For us Christians, living in holiness with Jesus in our hearts becomes challenging due to our obligations such as careers, businesses, family matters and other worldly matters. As if that was not hard enough, our screwed-up world has lots of religion-blinded authorities who teach the wrong theology that God is in control of everything and allows bad things to happen to the innocent as well as to His own children (us Christians). And then these same authorities teach people to worship idols (both the living and those man-made objects like statues, statuettes, images and relics) which is sinful (refer to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10), to practice religious traditions and rituals, and to follow a bunch of rules that were not really part of the Holy Bible. Being religious is not the same as being faithful to the Lord.

As I mentioned before, we Christians need faith in the Lord, not religion, not idolatry, not traditions, not rituals, not sacraments, not feelings, and certainly not unbelief. By being faithful with Him, we each can establish a personal relationship with God which is strictly off-limits to others (even your own biological family members have no right whatsoever to interfere in your relationship with the Lord).

Let’s read these scriptures from the Holy Bible.

Therefore He says: “Awake you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”

Ephesians 5:14 (NKJV)

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.”

Luke 21:34 (NKJV)

The scriptures above clearly show that as we have been redeemed by Jesus, He warned against spiritual lethargy and wants us to be always ready for His return. To live in holiness with Jesus in our hearts, read God’s Word through the Holy Bible, pray to Him constantly and dedicatedly (which include praying in tongues), preach His Word around, help save the unsaved and lost souls, keep trusting Him and maintain strong faithfulness in Him are all part of preparing ourselves for Jesus’ promised return.

Next scripture…

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NKJV)

The above scripture makes clear why there are many unsaved and lost souls around the world. In verse 4, Satan blinds the minds of people (including the ones who practice religion, idolatry, traditions and rituals) and the sad thing is that they choose not to believe which results their failure to see and realize the glory of Christ.

Once a man realizes the light of God and starts being faithful to Him, Satan gets defeated.

Yes, you read that right! Christians who are edified by God can defeat Satan and keep resisting him each time he tries to strike back. By having powerful faith in the Lord and following the examples of Jesus, we Christians can truly live in holiness and in victory over the enemy! Fear becomes nothing!

Having lived an old life of religion, idolatry, traditions, rituals and unbelief myself, I can say that I was hounded by darkness all the way. Since the day I got saved I realized that faith in the Lord is truly essential and true Christian living is simpler than I thought. My becoming born again is the greatest miracle in my whole life and through Jesus, I became a new creation free from the darkness of unbelief, religion, idolatry, traditions, sacraments and rituals that burdened me. I also realized that with the Lord, Satan and any other forms of evil can be defeated not once but multiple times!

The following scripture will compel you to be with Jesus.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

Now let’s look at the Passion Translation.

Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (TPT)

To put things in perspective, being a new creation means having a fresh, new start spiritually. By realizing your true purpose under God, you are in a race for holiness, a race to meet His High Call. To live in holiness with Jesus in your heart. This leads me to the next scripture.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12: 2 (NKJV)

We live in a chaotic and screwed-up world. As we live in the flesh, we are vulnerable to the trouble around us and that only means we need to resist the fear sparked by Satan that started the mess. The loser Satan thinks he can use this physical world against God by going after us and trying to defeat us spiritually. All the more reason why we should NOT be conformed to this world and we must focus always on maintaining holiness under God. We Christians have the Holy Spirit already in our hearts, and we should always be led by the Holy Spirit. We must live with purity under Jesus. The truth is that the path to godly living is not complicated, nor is it energized by our flesh. We the believers should always submit to God’s provisions and ways.

The next scripture will remind you of the battle with Satan.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

1 Peter 5:8-9 (NKJV)

You are definitely not alone with your effort to resist Satan and living on as a Child of God. You are part of the Body of Christ (the church – refer to 1 Corinthians 12:12-30) and it is essential for us to keep living in holiness, serving the Lord (who will never abandon us nor forsake us – read Deuteronomy 31:6) and always ensure that the enemy will NEVER win. Satan can use unbelief, temptations or religion (with idolatry, traditions, rituals, sacraments and the wrongful theology) as weapons against you but as long as you know you were saved and got anointed by the Lord, and as long as you know your true purpose as a Christian, you will get to defeat Satan and beat him again on each and every subsequent attack he throws at you. Always maintain strong faith in God! God is the source and the following scripture explains why.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

James 1:17 (NKJV)

James 1:17 emphasizes that the Heavenly Father is not responsible for human sin. God is in fact the source of all good, He is also faithful, He is just and He always keeps His promises. God’s promise to Abraham of a son (Isaac) through his wife Sara is one of the most notable promises ever made and fulfilled. Behold the existence of Israel which not only has the Holy Land but also its own State. We Christians have a goal to support the State of Israel, love the Jewish people and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Whatever promise God made to you, rest assured He will fulfill it in due time. Don’t let the devil or anyone representing darkness fool you. Don’t let fear overpower you. You definitely do not want to settle for less knowing that God has a plan for you complete with blessings coming.

Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His Love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:12-14 (NKJV)

The above scripture emphasizes that we Christians are qualified to receive blessings from the Lord and this includes Kingdom Wealth. As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we will each be rewarded according to our respective work. Lord Jesus Himself said in Revelations 22:12 – And behold, I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.

Lord Jesus Himself pulled us out of darkness and helped us break the chains that symbolized danger, death, sickness, hostile situations, wickedness and other negative elements the enemy used on us. As Christians, we have been freed and saved by Jesus. We are new creations, citizens of God’s Kingdom and are living in victory under Jesus whom we worship directly (note: we are not hindered by a religion-led hierarchy which itself only exists to get in the way between a Christian and the Lord).

On with the next scripture…

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)

We Christians each have a race to endure and finish. The race, if you are imagining sports competitions like foot races, is obviously about our souls and the goal of achieving holiness. This means laying aside anything that would hinder the progress being made. Avoiding the committing of sin is a must! However we race, we should not focus on each other as contestants or competitors at all since we are God’s children and citizens of his Kingdom. Instead, when we race, we should always focus on Lord Jesus who saved us.

As part of living in holiness, we Christians should do more than just attending church every Sunday. For one thing, going to church on Sunday is to be done not as an obligation, not as a tradition but rather to prioritize our relationship with God by truly connecting with Him right in the presence of the many members of the spiritual family. Apart from Sunday worship, we need to attend, as much as possible, seminars and prayer meetings at church held during the weekdays. The learning of God’s Word is ever enduring and we need to keep on learning and applying the lessons into our respective lives. This is living in holiness! By doing these dedicatedly complete with strong faith in the Lord, fear as well as other forms of attacks launched against us by Satan will be futile! There is more to deepening our personal relationship with God. Let’s examine the next scripture below.

The LORD upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The LORD preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.

Psalm 145:14-20 (NKJV)

It is clear in Psalm 145: 14-20 that God is gentle, loving, protective and caring for His children while remaining firm to punish those who are wicked. For us, His children, God really loves us and wants to bless us, and all we need to do is to keep submitting to Him, live in holiness and endure to honor, praise and serve Him. Those who sin and keep on doing what is evil and what pleases Satan will end up with doom. This should serve as a reminder that we Christians must make efforts to save the unsaved souls around the us by preaching God’s Word and magnifying the Lord to them. Eventually the unsaved souls will realize something and decide to reach out to God.

Going back to fear, we only need to fear God because it will lead to wisdom (read Proverbs 9:10). All other forms of fear are to be rejected and resisted without question! This way, Satan is defeated yet again!

Another reason to constantly pursue holiness under the Lord is that God has a vision to make you and your church unstoppable and moving on driven by faith. God, after all, is the source of all vision, success, prosperity, progress and holiness. We Christians all need to humble ourselves to Him and to realize His vision for you, you need to tell Him to show it. For insight, read Jesus’ words in John 12:26 and the Lord’s words in Jeremiah 33:3.

Here’s one more scripture…

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

God truly loves us. When we His children commit errors, He makes ways to correct us. When we His children are troubled, he comes to us to help and pave the way for the better. For as long as we His children remain faithful to Him, God’s plans for each and every one us will manifest in due time. Knowing that God’s plans are definitely good, there is no more reason for us to be fearful and weak. Satan has been defeated and will only be defeated again and again.

As of this writing, we in this chaotic world are living in the middle of the storm caused by coronavirus COVID-19. There are people who are suffering from coronavirus and there were those who died. Still no matter what happens, we the faithful Christians have no reason to be scared and lose hope because the Lord is with us. Always maintain strong faith in Him, keep trusting Him, honor Him and thank Him for all the good and the care He keeps on providing us.

We all need to pray to the Lord and trust in Him that coronavirus COVID-19 will fade away, that no more people will be infected and those who are already infected will be spared. Don’t limit your prayer into asking (note: also you should not beg), but believe that God will do it. Trust the Lord! The fear that has crippled millions of people worldwide has gone far enough and already economies have slowed down. The time to keep standing with the Lord on ending this time of crisis is now! The coronavirus COVID-19 crisis is the battle that only the Lord can fight and conquer!

The Lord is our refuge, our protector and provider! Fear and all other negative elements are nothing when we the faithful are with God.

Let me conclude this post with this holy scripture. This one will be remembered for a long time.

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved souls out there.

If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Tahanan Village Playground Being Redeveloped

Tahanan Village Playground Being Redeveloped

carlocarrasco

Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced by means of interviewing people of the Tahanan Homeowners Association (THA) and those connected with them. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

This morning I visited Tahanan Village in Barangay BF Homes, Parañaque City to meet some of my friends and check on the latest with their homeowners’ association, the Tahanan Homeowners Association (THA).

And then I noticed something at the village park, specifically at the corner of Chrysanthemum street and Jasmin street…..the children’s playground (identified as Tahanan Children’s Park on Google Maps) was being redeveloped and there were several personnel working under the heat of the sun.

20200314_092936.jpg
A view of the work going on at the playground at the Tahanan Village park.

According to former THA president and current village administrator Augusto Tejada, the playground was being redeveloped and it will involve digging and, most notably, fill the gaps with brand new garden soil. The intention was to make the playground a better, safer and cleaner place for children to play at.

A THA maintenance worker at the playground confirmed to me what Tejada said. He added that in order to get the job done, he and his fellow workers had to collect the many stones as well as all the volcanic ash that came from Taal Volcano which erupted this past January. Around the park were these piles of volcanic ash and garden soil.

20200314_093126.jpg
A THA maintenance worker pounds something.

Once the redevelopment of the children’s playground has been completed, it should become much more suitable for the kids to spend time at.

Coronavirus impact on THA

Going back to Tejada, he confirmed to me that their association had to postpone several planned activities due to the impact of the spreading coronavirus or COVID-19. Some meetings that were planned did not push through, and organizing new meetings as well as getting lots of villagers together have gotten more challenging as mass gatherings have been prohibited as part of the Metro Manila community quarantine related to the national government’s effort to prevent COVID-19 from infecting anymore Filipinos.

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments.

 

 

Huelgas and Burgos Lead All Vermosa Aquathlon 1 Winners

Huelgas and Burgos Lead All Vermosa Aquathlon 1 Winners

carlocarrasco

Huelgas and Burgos Lead All Vermosa Aquathlon 1 Winners

2-time Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) gold medalist Nikko Huelgas and Erika Nicole Burgos proved how strong they are among all the winners in the standard distance contest of the Vermosa Aquathlon 1 which was held recently at the world-class Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus City, Cavite.

Huelgas was unstoppable from start to finish as he finished the 500 meter swim- 5 kilometer run course in a swift 25 minutes and 54 seconds, easily winning the Male 25-29 age-group title. Meanwhile the next two fastest males were from the 18-24 category namely Juan Francisco Baniqued and Inaki Lorbes who finished in 27:00 and 27:17 respectively.

20200308_083334.jpg
2-time SEA Games gold medalist Nikko Huelgas posed for this blog after the race at Vermosa.

Among the ladies in the event presented by Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub, Standard Insurance, Apollo Petroleum Jelly, Alviera, LeGarde L-Carnitine, Smart, official timing partner Garmin, hydration partners Pocari Sweat and Sip Purified Water, shoe partner Saucony and recovery partner Air Relax Massage Guns Philippines, Erika Nicole Burgos emerged as the Female 18-24 champion after clocking in 30:33. She was followed by Female 15-17 champion Olivia Kwon with 33:25 while Female 18-24 entry Bea Marie Quiambao registered the 3rd fastest time of 34:30.

The relay champions declared were Team AA (All-Female) composed of Mikaela Arroyo and Boo Pascual, Team Good Boiz (All-Male) composed of Hjalmar Pasaylo and Lorenzo Joaquin Solda, and Team GG (Mixed) composed of Gabriella Venturina and Mark Garin.

Nikko Huelgas, who won the SEA Games gold medals in 2015 and 2017, had high praise for the quality of the design of the race course stating that the lanes in the Olympic-sized swimming pool were spacious while the angular roads around Vermosa provided nice challenge. This was also his first time ever to race in the venue.

Meanwhile, Get Coach’D coach Doray Ellis stated that their team’s preparations, which includes training at Vermosa, paid off nicely as their members won a huge number of awards across different age-groups. For the past two years, their youth athletes developed their racing skills and became more competitive as they grew. Erika Nicole Burgos is a member of their team.

“Despite what has been going on around us, we are very happy with the huge turnout of participants as well as Bike King’s decision to push through with this first race we hosted this year. We are looking forward to hosting this June’s triathlon event and two more aquathlon events in the months to come,” said Vermosa operations manager Andrea Intalan.

The Top 20 finishers of the standard distance contest individual category in the event earned points for the simultaneous Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub Series and the Sun Life Aquathlon Series. The Top Aquathlete per age group will be declared later this year.

For complete race results and lists of winners (including the shorter distances) of Vermosa Aquathlon 1, visit http://bikekingphilippines.com.

——————————————–

Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub (AVSH) is a complete one stop training facility for tri athletes and sports enthusiasts.  The first development in the country that integrates an Olympic size pool, football field, track oval and sports and science laboratory.

This press release was issued on behalf of Bike King Philippines and Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub.

Muntinlupa City Government installs isolation areas, to regulate hoarders under “community quarantine”

Muntinlupa City Government installs isolation areas, to regulate hoarders under “community quarantine”

carlocarrasco

Muntinlupa City Government installs isolation areas, to regulate hoarders under “community quarantine”

Tent-1
Members of Muntinlupa City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office install an isolation tent to serve as quarantine area at Ospital ng Muntinlupa grounds following the declaration of Code Red Sub-Level 2 and “community quarantine” in Metro Manila. (source – Muntinlupa PIO)

Following the declaration of Code Red Sub-Level 2 and “community quarantine” in Metro Manila, the City Government of Muntinlupa is rolling out tougher measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including the installation of isolation areas and regulation of hoarders.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi called for an emergency meeting with members of the Local Disaster Risk Response and Management Council today to discuss the city action plan with barangay officials and representatives of the private sector.

Fresnedi called for the active participation of all sectors, especially the barangays, to prevent the large-scale spreading of the novel corona virus in Muntinlupa City.

“As the situation on COVID-19 develops, we all have a responsibility to ensure that the virus won’t rapidly spread in our communities,” the mayor noted.

Muntinlupa City Health Officer Dra. Teresa Tuliao said that there are now designated triage areas to serve as quarantine areas in Ospital ng Muntinlupa for suspected COVID-19 cases.

Barangays are also instructed to install isolation areas for residents suspected to have contracted with the virus for monitoring by the local health office.

“The quarantine areas in the barangays serve as an augmentation to the triaging efforts of our tertiary hospitals. Our barangays will be the frontline in our fight against the spread of the virus. The barangay health centers are equipped to handle Persons Under Investigation,” Tuliao noted.

She said that the city’s barangay health workers were given training on protocols for the transfer, referral, and management of suspected COVID-19 cases.

Request for the transport of patients in Muntinlupa is 24/7 and can be coordinated through the City Health Office at 541 4813 or Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office at 925 4382.

The Muntinlupa City Council also eyes for the passing of an ordinance regulating consumer behavior during the “community quarantine.”

Coun. Raul Corro, the city council’s majority floor leader, said that they will look into passing a local legislation to address panic buying and prohibit the hoarding of basic commodities. Corro added that the City Council will also discuss the passing of a resolution encouraging the youth to observe a time of prayer during the health event of COVID-19.

Further, the PNP Muntinlupa has identified choke points in the city’s boundaries for initial inspections while awaiting the final guidelines for the restriction of land travel to and from Metro Manila.

The mayor encouraged the public to refrain from panicking and remain calm in this difficult situation. Fresnedi urged the city residents to practice good personal hygiene, observe social distancing, and adopt healthy lifestyles to increase body resistance against infections.

This is an official Press Release issued by the City Government of Muntinlupa.