COVID-19 Crisis: Muntinlupa launches localized targeted COVID-19 mass testing, to confine confirmed cases
A medical staff member from the Muntinlupa City Health Office performs swab collection as the city starts its targeted COVID-19 mass testing. (source – Muntinlupa City Public Information Office.)
The City Government of Muntinlupa officially started its targeted COVID-19 mass testing yesterday, beginning with persons under investigation (PUI) and will begin confinement of confirmed cases.
Muntinlupa City Health Officer Dra. Teresa Tuliao said five PUIs were initially transported to a field-testing area located at the local health office by Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERT) and DRRMO personnel for the collection of swab samples.
Swab booths are being used by CHO personnel during the targeted mass testing to lessen the exposure of health workers to possible COVID-19 patients.
Tuliao said the Muntinlupa City Government partnered with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for the processing of samples. The local health officer said the results will be released three to four days after testing.
“Initially, we are testing city residents showing flu-like symptoms and those who are suspected cases of COVID-19. For those who will test positive, we will subject them for confinement and referral to isolation site in Ospital ng Muntinlupa,” Tuliao added.
Confirmed cases will be registered to PhilHealth for medical assistance. While those who will test negative will be allowed to go home, but are still required to undergo self-quarantine for 14 days.
Muntinlupa City aims to test all 180 persons under investigation (PUIs) in Muntinlupa until April 17. The City Government recently received 240 test kits from the Department of Health (DOH) and will augment the testing conducted by RITM.
Mayor Jaime Fresnedi said that through mass testing, the local government would be able to assess the impact of COVID-19 transmission in the city and help identify necessary interventions.
“We need a more aggressive approach such as the early detection of a COVID-19 infected person to contain the spread of the virus. This localized targeted mass testing is critical in the determination of medical assistance to be administered to our residents and identification of measures to be implemented by the local government,” Fresnedi said.
While mass testing is ongoing in Muntinlupa, barangay health workers continue to daily monitor reported cases of PUI and PUM in the communities and distribute vitamins and medicines for those with underlying conditions.
As of April 12, the Muntinlupa City Health Office recorded 77 confirmed cases with 13 deaths and 13 recovered cases. According to CHO, there are 215 persons under monitoring (PUM) and 180 patients under investigation (PUI). While confirmed COVID-19 rises in the city, the number of cleared cases also improve with over 533 cleared PUMand 229 cleared PUI.
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.
COVID-19 Crisis: Muntinlupa City records fourteen COVID-19 recoveries, to conduct mass testing of PUIs to “flatten the curve”
As of April 13, the Muntinlupa City Health Office recorded 14 recoveries of COVID-19 patients and improving cases of over 590 cleared persons under monitoring (PUM) and 253 cleared persons under investigation (PUI).
Muntinlupa Public Information Officer Tez Navarro said the increase in recoveries and cleared cases translates to the local government’s stricter quarantine measure and pro-active initiative to “flatten the curve.”
Navarro noted that the local health office alerted barangay health workers and physicians in barangay health centers to implement tougher measures against sustained local transmission in the communities.
Muntinlupa health personnel in the barangay daily monitor reported cases of PUI and PUM in the communities and distributed vitamins and medicines for those with underlying conditions.
“The improvement we see in COVID-19 recovered patients and cleared cases can be accounted to the local government’s pro-active community-based campaign in identifying and providing immediate health care assistance to city residents manifesting symptoms of COVID-19 and locals with travel history,” Navarro added.
Isolation areas in barangays were also installed for residents suspected to have contracted with the virus for monitoring by the local health office. A field hospital has been constructed in Ospital ng Muntinlupa to treat patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
In a bid to flatten the curve and strengthen its fight against COVID-19 in the city, the local government is also set to purchase testing kits through its Quick Response Fund and eyes to conduct mass testing of its residents starting with PUIs.
The Muntinlupa City Council approved a resolution allowing Mayor Jaime Fresnedi to procure Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machines and testing kits following the rise in confirmed cases and persons under monitoring and investigation in the city.
Fresnedi said a more aggressive medical intervention is needed to effectively contain the virus. He added that early detection of a COVID-19 infected person can deter the spread of the virus and the purchase of PCR machines and testing kits is critical in the determination of the medical assistance which must be administered to the locals.
Muntinlupa LGU has designated Ospital ng Muntinlupa to house the testing area of the PCR machine upon the approval of DOH.
To date, Muntinlupa City has 77 confirmed cases with 13 reported deaths.
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.
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from Love-Love Tioseco by means of an interview and 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.
All photographs used in this article are properties of Love-Love Tioseco and were approved for publishing.
In a Time of Crisis and Quarantine, Love-Love Tioseco Gives Food to the Frontline Personnel
It’s really mind-boggling how microbes in the form of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) stopped much of the world. Not only have most economic activities stopped, people have been advised by their respective authorities to stay at home in order to avoid getting infected.
Here in Metro Manila in the Philippines, enhanced community quarantine and a 24-hour curfew (specifically in the cities of Muntinlupa, Las Piñas and Parañaque) have been implemented around which severely limited people from traveling out of their homes. Checkpoints have also been set up along national roads while businesses that were allowed to operate had to use thermal scanners and set up sanitizers for people to use.
To put things in perspective, the people who work for long hours each day at the checkpoints, at the village gates, on the roads, and inside the commercial joints still operating are referred to locally as the frontliners. At the frontline, they work not only to serve and guide people but also provide security in accordance to the guidelines of the declared quarantine. Such work is undoubtedly hard and tiring, even risky since any person infected with COVID-19 could approach them any time of the day. The frontliners definitely deserve support from anyone blessed who is generous to be a blessing to them.
Very recently, I saw my very dear college buddy Love-Love Tioseco share via social media images of her generous act of giving food to the frontliners. I was very touched by it so I immediately reached out to her and publish this exclusive article for you all.
Love-Love Tioseco with the hard-boiled eggs provided by The Rustic Kitchen.
Introduction
Again, to put things in perspective, Love-Love and I were classmates at Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the late 1990s. We both finished Communication Arts there. She was a member of the Philippine TaeKwonDo Team for 11 years and, along the way, she was a 3-time gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), a 3-time bronze medalist in the Asian Games and a 3-time 5th placer in the World Games.
Back in college, Love-Love was a working student in the media and the entertainment industry. After graduation, she worked as a bartender at Italianni’s restaurant for 3 years but still continued working for the media and the entertainment industry.
Love-Love went on to become an advocate of safety oriented driving. She also engaged in motorcycling and competed for a time which ultimately paved the way for the acceptance of women who ride and drive motorcycles. Love-Love also appeared on TV in some entertainment programs as well as motoring-related shows.
Today, she is in the business of selling batteries of Imarflex Battery and is the current Secretary of the Luzon Motorcyclists Federation, Inc. (LMFI). To this day, she is still active in the motoring industry and continues to emphasize the essence of driving safely and following traffic rules to make local travel safer for everyone. Below is a 2017 Alisto video which involved her as a guest traffic analyst. Love-Love starts appearing at 0:20 on the timer.
Being blessed and being a blessing to others
Going back to assisting the frontliners who have worked so hard and long during the quarantine, I asked Love-Love what inspired her to make a move.
“During this time of the quarantine period, I asked God how can I show my appreciation in my own little way to heroes or frontliners who have been on duty while risking their lives being exposed to the virus,” Love-Love said. “Then one of my scooter friends Micar Briones Santana of The Rustic Kitchen sent a message that she had hard-boiled eggs from her bakery up for donation but she needed someone who can help her give away those eggs, so I told her right away that I will do it and, yes, I did it.”
Emergency personnel were pleasantly surprised with the eggs offered by Love-Love.A soldier grabs something to eat.
Clearly the God answered Love-Love’s question paving the way for the opportunity to help the frontliners. After getting supply of hard-boiled eggs, she organized things first. The hard-boiled eggs with broken shells were made into egg spread sandwiches (as energy food for the garbage collectors). With the help of a fellow LMFI club member named Willy Lopez (Takaz Boyz), she received onions which became a key ingredient of her egg spread recipe.
Subsequently, Love-Love went around the metro to feed the MMDA Patrol Team on both the northbound and southbound lanes of EDSA, feed the MMDA Rescue Team under the EDSA flyovers, feed the personnel at the Mandaluyong checkpoints, feed the Makati City police officers on patrol, feed the security guards at an Army Navy branch, feed the Transportify delivery drivers, the motorized drivers of Grab Food and Food Panda, feed the attendants at a Caltex fuel station, feed the manpower staff at Bel-Air Village, and feed a truck-full of Philippine Army soldiers.
I asked Love-Love how the frontliners reacted when she first approached them with the prepared food.
“At first, they thought I was selling eggs to them but when I told them the eggs were free, some of them got more than three eggs, and I did not have time to count how many people got free eggs because my mind was focusing on giving to the deserving ones,” she recalled.
Frontline personnel outside an Army Navy were happy to receive free eggs from Love-Love.
Love-Love’s generous move is a clear example of her being blessed by the Lord as well as being a blessing to others. To put things in perspective, read the words of Lord Jesus in the following scripture from the Holy Bible.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5: 16 (NKJV)
Unsurprisingly, the frontliners thanked her for the eggs as it provided them some much needed relief from the stress they accumulated. To Love-Love’s surprise, there were delivery personnel who took selfie shots with her for them to post on Facebook.
In an April 3, 2020 Facebook page post, Lim stated: Maraming salamat sa lahat ng mga sumusuporta sa serbisyo ng #MMDA, lalo na ngayong panahon ng #COVID19! Salamat kina Ms. Micar Briones Santana ng The Rustic Kitchen at Ms. Love-Love Tengsico Tioseco para sa malasakit na binibigay niyo. Kahit sa simpleng paraan man, laking tulong ito sa pag-boost ng morale ng ating mga kawani. Makakaasa kayong paiigtingin pa natin ang ating frontline at emergency services. Patuloy ang pagtutulungan natin laban sa krisis na ito.
I asked Love-Love if she will repeat her moves of generous assistance to the frontliners.
“Yes, of course. I hope there will be more generous sponsors soon for me to distribute their donations again,” she said.
CONCLUSION
MMDA personnel worked so hard, Love-Love’s giving of eggs proved to be a major relief for them. They were very thankful to her.
Love-Love’s special message to those who could help
“Spread the love, action speaks louder than words especially with helping others, and share the simple joys of life.”
Love-Love’s special message to those who are affected by the quarantine
“Please be a prayer warrior and pray that the virus will be gone already instead of being paranoid or being a basher, which is no help at all with the crisis we are all experiencing now.”
In closing this, here is a video of the Hillsong performance of Thank You, Lord (my Christian Music Appreciation of it right here) that will remind you to be thankful to the Lord who is the source of opportunities, happiness, protection, prosperity, provision and so much more. God is the source! Enjoy!
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Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced by means of interviewing Barangay BF Homes Sangguniang Kabataan (BFSK) chairperson Mariel Angela Tumang. 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.
Youth group organizes private donation-driven assistance for the needy affected by ECQ in key areas of Barangay BF Homes
The Oplan SendNudels team together. (contributed by Mariel Angela Tumang)
Like the rest of Luzon, families residing in Barangay BF Homes, Parañaque City have no choice but to stay at home to avoid any risk of getting infected with coronavirus COVID-19 under the rules of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). With the exception of stores, food businesses and groceries, most businesses have been shut down which negatively impacted a lot of people leaving them jobless and with no new income of their own.
Under the ECQ, families can designate one authorized household member (if he/she has a quarantine pass) to go out and buy the essential food and household materials. Unfortunately in Barangay BF Homes, there are families who are poor and don’t even have the means to shop. Adding more to their problems is the recent extension of the Luzon ECQ until April 30.
As such, a private donation-driven assistance project called Oplan SendNudels is being implemented in the above-mentioned community by Barangay BF Homes Sangguniang Kabataan (BFSK) chairwoman Mariel Angela Tumangand her friends. To be clear, this is NOT a project nor an operation of the BFSK even though one of the SK Kagawads joined in to help Tumang and friends. Here are the details I received straight from her.
“My friends and I formed this project. While it does not necessarily target the whole of Barangay BF Homes, we are selecting the families who are the poorest among the poor based on the volunteers. We also helped families and individuals who are now struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Enhanced Community Quarantine,” Tumang elaborated. “Our donation drive is divided into the Barangay BF Homes areas of Villonco, Estrada 1, Estrada 2, Masville, Warerfun and Goodwill 2.”
Tumang stated that the current Oplan SendNudels (#OplanSendNudels) donation-driven assistance project for poor families is not the first but the latest of an ongoing series. She confirmed that the most recent donation drive they organized helped one hundred and twenty of the poorest families they found plus seventy frontliners and fifty street dwellers.
“The Oplan SendNudels project has helped a large number of families and persons who got hit hard by the pandemic. These families are trying hard to make ends meet because they lost their capability with the low-income jobs due to the Enhanced Community Quarantine,” she added.
Donations are being accepted as of this writing.
How to donate
Mariel Angela Tumang (standing 3rd from left) and her many friends plus BFSK Kagawad Jerry Dalmero (standing 4th from right) are dedicated with their private donation drive to assist the poorest of the poor in key areas of Barangay BF Homes. (photo contributed by Mariel Angela Tumang)
Donations are accepted in the form of packed lunches (for the frontliners, the volunteers and street dwellers), in-kind goods and toiletries and cash donations.
Anyone who wants to donate cash to Oplan SendNudels and the BFSK take note of the following bank details:
Metrobank account number 6423642207491 (Mark Anthony Luzano)
BDO account number 0035-5034-7213 (Mariel Angela Tumang)
UCPB account number 101480131018 (Marilou Babatio)
GCash 09176436467 (Aira Mae Vargas)
If you have enough resources and you are interested to help Mariel Tumang and her pals keep organizing Oplan SendNudels to help others, take time out to go to the bank or contact the above recipients via Facebook Messenger.
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.
Note: Pictures above approved for publishing by Mariel Angela Tumang.
COVID-19 Crisis: 1,191 displaced workers in ECQ employed by Muntinlupa City Government thru TUPAD
Some displaced informal sector workers are now doing work for the City Government of Muntinlupa. (contributed by City Government of Muntinlupa)
1,191 informal sector workers who were displaced by the enhanced community quarantine were employed by the City Government of Muntinlupa through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.
TUPAD is a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers including transport drivers of tricycles, jeeps, and pedicabs for a minimum period of ten (10) days.
Mayor Jaime Fresnedi said the City Government recognizes the plight of daily earners and marginalized workers who have lost their livelihood and whose livelihoods are affected by the community quarantine.
“We are providing a temporary wage employment for our displaced workers in the city since they are one of the most hardly-hit sectors in the COVID-19 pandemic. The first batch were already deployed to aid the barangays in the repacking and distribution of relief goods as well as disinfection activities within the respective barangays,” Fresnedi noted.
A total of P6.396 million were allocated for the program under the Local Disaster Fund. The program is facilitated by the local Public Employment Service Office and will be implemented by batches.
The City Government is also set to roll out the DOLE-TUPAD #Barangay Ko, Bahay Ko Disinfecting/Sanitation (#BKBK) Project fund which will add another 184 beneficiaries from the barangays and additional 522 informal beneficiaries through the DOLE funding from the Office of Congressman Ruffy Biazon. Under the TUPAD #BKBK program, workers shall participate in the disinfection/sanitation of their houses and immediate vicinity of their houses.
In a bid to help affected workers, Mayor Jaime Fresnedi also requested lessors of commercial establishments and residential units to waive rental fees and charges of tenants and partners in Muntinlupa City amid the COVID-19 emergency.
The mayor implored the lessors to extend consideration to tenants and renters considering the huge impact of the closure of business establishments during the quarantine period. Fresnedi hopes for the full support of lessors in the local government’s battle against COVID-19.
As of April 7, the Muntinlupa City Health Office recorded 71 confirmed cases in Muntinlupa with eight deaths and four recovered cases. According to CHO, there are also 290 persons under monitoring (PUM) and 195 patients under investigation (PUI). While confirmed COVID-19 rises in the city, the number of cleared cases also improve with over 321 cleared PUM and 120 cleared PUI.
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.
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced directly from Dante Pacheco, the officer-in-charge of the Office of Senior Citizen Affairs of Parañaque (OSCA-Parañaque). 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.
Parañaque, a city with over one hundred fifty confirmed cases of COVID-19 (as of April 5, 2020), has something coming for its senior citizens who are legitimate members of the OSCA Cares program under the Office of Senior Citizen Affairs of Parañaque (OSCA-Parañaque).
Today OSCA-Parañaque officer-in-charge Dante Pacheco confirmed to me that an estimated fifty-seven thousand (57,000) members of OSCA Cares in the city will soon be receiving from the City Government gift certificates of SM Hypermarket.
Each SM Hypermarket gift certificate is worth P1,000. Do the math, the value for the declared number of OSCA Cares beneficiaries is worth at least P57,000,000. Based on the current foreign exchange rate with the United States Dollar, that is worth over $1,000,000.
Pacheco further said that each gift certificate will be delivered to the homes of the beneficiaries via Air21. He also stated that this move is the brainchild of mayor Edwin Olivarez.
If you are a senior citizen in Parañaque (or if you live with a senior citizen in the same city) and you have something to say about this breaking development, please reply to me via the comments below.
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.
Muntinlupa City approves COVID-19 Anti-Discriminatory Ordinance
This passed Monday, the City Government of Muntinupa passed an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), persons under monitoring and investigation, including frontliners serving in medical facilities.
Mayor Jaime Fresnedi signed Ordinance No. 2020-085 known as the “COVID-19 Anti-Discrimination Ordinance” penalizing acts of discrimination, harassment, violence or any action that causes stigma, shame, humiliation, disgrace or harm against COVID-19 infected persons, PUMs, and PUIs.
Fresnedi said the since the rise of COVID-19 cases in the country, infected persons including PUMs, and PUIs are presently experiencing stigma because of the perceived danger they pose in spreading the virus.
“To arrest the worsening fear of people against confirmed patients, PUMs, and PUIs, we shall penalize individuals that cause humiliation, harassment or discrimination against such persons through a local ordinance,” the local exec noted.
Under Ordinance No. 2020-085, it shall be unlawful for any public official, public employee, or essential service provider to refuse assistance or deny service to a confirmed COVID-19 patients, close contacts, PUMs, PUIs, health workers and frontliners.
Further, spreading of rumors, uttering information or any communication that causes unnecessary fear, anger, panic or violation of rights of such person shall be prohibited. It shall also be unlawful for any person to maliciously disclose information of patients including their actual names, address and other information that reveals their identities.
Those caught violating the ordinance would be fined P5,000 or face imprisonment of up to six months. If the offender is a public official or public employee, the maximum penalty shall be imposed.
The Muntinlupa City Council also passed a resolution honoring all frontliners, especially city residents, who are rendering service in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by placing the Philippine Flag in half mast.
As of April 6, the Muntinlupa City Health Office recorded 64 confirmed cases in Muntinlupa with four deaths and one recovered case. According to CHO, there are also 278 persons under monitoring (PUM) and 212 patients under investigation (PUI).
While confirmed COVID-19 rises in the city, the number of cleared cases also improve with over 319 cleared PUM and 100 cleared PUI.
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.
COVID-19 Crisis: Muntinlupa City to start second wave of distribution, targets to give 94,847 food packs
In the third week of the Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine, the City Government of Muntinlupa is set to provide its second wave of relief packs to an additional 94,847 families in the city.
Muntinlupa Public Information Officer Tez Navarro said the second wave of the local government’s distribution aims to saturate at least 85% of the city’s total population, including residents in subdivision and gated communities.
Navarro added that the Social Service Department and barangays have initially distributed relief goods to 111, 585 indigent families and priority groups in the previous weeks translating to 70% of Muntinlupa’s population.
Each relief pack consists of five kilos of rice, 12 pcs of canned goods, coffee packs, and sugar. Navarro noted that the distribution of relief goods will be conducted twice a month for four to six months.
Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi recently assured city residents that the City Government is prepared to provide food assistance for as long as four months should the enhanced community quarantine be extended.
Fresnedi said that the City Government has adequate supply of basic commodities for distribution to indigent residents and daily earners affected by the disruption of work. He also ordered the early release of Muntinlupa City Hall employees’ monthly salary to help them tide over the COVID-19 crisis.
Further, Muntinlupa City Council passed ordinances providing two-month payment extension on real property taxes and business taxes without penalties given the strict measures implemented during the enhanced community quarantine.
Lessors of commercial establishments and residential units were also requested to waive rental fees and charges of tenants and partners in Muntinlupa City amid the COVID-19 emergency.
As of April 5, the Muntinlupa City Health Office recorded 62 confirmed cases in Muntinlupa with four deaths and one recovered case. According to CHO, there are also 287 persons under monitoring (PUM) and 187 patients under investigation (PUI).
While confirmed COVID-19 rises in the city, the number of cleared cases also improve with over 298 cleared PUM and 88 cleared PUI.
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 plagiaristsand NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments.
For the past few weeks, the coronavirus disease COVID-19 halted much of the world’s societies and economies compelling families to stay at home as the authorities struggle to prevent infections from spreading.
Community quarantine and regional lockdown have been implemented which strongly limited people from traveling around and also negatively affected truck deliveries which really hurt manufacturing and other key economic sectors like food production (and the businesses that sell food), retailing and more.
Unsurprisingly, special events that attract a lot of people as attendees have been postponed or cancelled. In the city of Parañaque here in the Philippines, the planned 2020 cityhood anniversary celebration had to be scaled down dramatically because of COVID-19-related fear. The said celebration’s most popular events such as the Bb. Parañaque beauty pageant and the Sunduan Festival could not be organized and as of this writing, no new dates for organizing such events have been announced. Under the current quarantine procedures, mass gatherings have been prohibited.
That being said, it would be best to forget about crowded fun events for the short term and just focus on being safe at home, managing your precious funds and maintaining faith in the Lord (note: study the Holy Bible and pray in tongues to Him).
Let’s focus on this excerpt from Comic Book Resources:
Comic conventions long have been an integral part of fan communities. Before comic-book movies and TV shows were a multibillion-dollar enterprise, fans looked forward to these annual gatherings as a chance to be surrounded by people who shared their interests. They (were) a sacred place where fans could collectively celebrate something they were really passionate about.
And they were fun. Really fun. Fans from across the country would make the pilgrimage to get up close and personal with the writers and artists they idolized. It was a dream come true for members of what was then a tight-knit community.
Over the years, that’s all changed. The conventions that were so beloved by a small group of people have ballooned into massive undertakings, drawing thousands of people from all over the world. They’re not so much fan-driven conventions anymore as much as they are trade shows for the entertainment industry.
That’s not to say these super conventions aren’t fun in their own right; they absolutely are. They offer fans a chance to witness major announcements, take part in Q&A’s with their favorite stars and celebrate pop culture on an unprecedented level. They’ve become an annual staple for the promotion of the latest film and television franchise projects, and big names continuously turn up.
Now, however, with the justifiable closure of these conventions due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s unclear how much we really need these super conventions.
To put things in perspective, any convention that is focused on fun would not be possible without the strong interest of multiple fans or enthusiasts who are not only willing to make time to attend such an event but also bring a good amount of money with them and spend on their respective interests.
The San Diego Comic-Con in California, the New York Comic Con in New York, and the AsiaPop Comicon here in the Philippines all require paying a fee (for the ticket or badge) in order to enter the venue which has most entertainment events and booths that fans can go to.
When it comes to special activities, private screenings of trailers of upcoming blockbuster movies occasionally get organized as well as Q&A panel sessions with entertainers or industry professionals, press conferences and more.
However, we are now living in the age of social media, wide access to the Internet and smartphones which enable users to take pictures or videos in high-definition and upload them for people to see online. Think about it carefully.
What good is a closed-door press conference with celebrities when a fan in attendance can capture everything on video and beat the bloggers and members of the press by releasing content on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram?
What good is a private screening (which restricts attendees from taking footage) of a trailer or a short scene from a highly anticipated blockbuster movie when such content will only be released by the movie studio on YouTube, Facebook and other sites where Internet users can watch for free at the comfort of their homes?
What good is a fan convention if attendees post pictures/videos of embarrassing moments (example: someone throws a pie on the face of a movie star in front of the fans) online within minutes and become viral?
What good is buying classic comic books at the comic convention when the comic publishers themselves failed to wipe out the widespread online piracy (note: entire issues of comic books in digital form) of their comics which people can find and read for free?
One key point here is that fan conventions and other fun-oriented events that attract a lot of people are slowly losing their relevance. Convention organizers will have to come up with ways not only to stay relevant, not only to ensure exclusive stuff in their event is truly exclusive, but also innovate and raise the convention’s overall quality.
Going back to COVID-19, it is clear that the said virus is highly infectious and this alone defeats the purpose of organizing a huge event for as long as the risk of infection remains. As of this writing, local authorities are struggling to clean and disinfect places. Killing the virus is a costly and time-consuming affair.
Think about those words: digital events. Digital events can be done by companies to make a special presentation of their products or services in the form of a lengthy and detailed pre-recorded video or by organizing privately their showcase event (held in a venue that the company has all to itself) live via livestreaming. With the access of the Internet and the massive reach that social media provides, digital events can make fan conventions even more unnecessary. Digital events are also very useful for companies because they not only have complete privacy but also a lot more control in terms of creativity as well as amount of information to be released. This also spares companies from the hassles of crowd control as well as rampant questioning from members of the news media.
Together, COVID-19, wide Internet access and social media are factors that make organizing crowded fun-oriented showcase events more challenging than ever before. Why bother attending a local beauty pageant live in Parañaque City when viral infection, live-streaming and even crime incidents could happen?
Even after the end of this COVID-19 crisis, the community quarantine and regional lockdown, I foresee that it will take a lot more time before life really goes back to normal.
By then, I don’t think enthusiasm for crowded fun-oriented events would be restored to high levels immediately. Sports events, in my opinion, have a better chance of resuming given the nature of sports competition which remains very important with Filipinos. Other events like food fairs and shopping bazaars are more important to people in the local communities than beauty pageants or fan conventions. What people clearly want once this current crisis is over is worshiping the Lord together at church on Sundays.
Attending church is more essential than a crowded beauty pageant or a fan convention. There is no doubt about that!
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
It is simply too easy for us people to let our feelings dominate us and lead ourselves to undesirable outcomes in life. There are times that we make decisions not based on faith but based on how we feel at the moment. Even worse, is carrying wrongful feelings for long even to the point of putting ourselves in a crisis.
To get to the point, feelings are part of our living in the flesh but as Christians who got born again and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, we must always remind ourselves and even orient the unsaved souls the truth that faith in God is much more essential than feelings. Let’s start with a bible verse.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:5 (NKJV)
The verse above is about moving by faith, not by feelings and not by the limitations of our perception and understanding. When you trust the Lord, you do it wholeheartedly and not because you relied on the inaccurate indications of your feelings deep inside. You should not rely on your feelings to do something with your faith. Remember that God’s kingdom is not of this world we live in which is full of unfortunate events or things that move people’s perception and feelings almost all the time.
Let me cite an example here. Imagine yourself anticipating a blockbuster movie you waited months for and already you secured in advance a ticket for a specific time slot for opening day. Suddenly, as your drive on the way to the movie theater, you received a call from a family member who needs you to go to the bank to do a very essential transaction which ultimately prevents you from watch that movie. The natural effects of such a scenario are disappointment, anger and, worse, resentment. In other words, negative feelings fill your heart which should never be because you already have the Holy Spirit in your heart. You should always be led by the Holy Spirit, not your feelings.
In the Kingdom of God as well as in the Body of Christ (we Christians are the church), we are supposed to be pure in heart and be living with the holiness of the Lord. Feelings, whether negative or positive, are not essential and they are never meant to be utilized as indicators on how we live, what we do and what we think of. As Christians, we are supposed to be more reasonable and be wiser under the watch of the Lord. Always remember that while you can hide your feelings from people, you can never ever hide those feelings from God. Remember that whatever feelings we have here on Earth are meaningless in the spiritual realm.
Let’s examine some notable examples of life that cause people to feel (and then giving in to those feelings) while they live in the flesh.
First example is unbelief. You see those secularists or atheists who speak out loud on TV or on social media? They often reject God and deny His existence. They believe that humans can exist, remain moral and prosper without God, without faith (or religion as they often call it) and without discipline. Those secularists and atheists can easily offend the feelings of a Christian at first. However, any anointed and mature Christian would always know to prioritize God and maintain faith in Him instead of giving in to feeling offended or feeling weakened by those who have no faith. Remember this always and go around telling your fellow Christians to never give in to their feelings and never ever let unbelief dominate them. Remind them of being faithful to the Lord. Remind them that they already have the victory of the Lord over Satan. Let’s read the following scripture from the Holy Bible.
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 (NKJV)
Wow! Those were powerful words from Lord Jesus Himself! He achieved a major victory that nobody else could ever match – redeeming the whole world by sacrificing Himself, then returned to enlighten more with holiness before ascending to Heaven! Jesus holiness is very real and there truly is a God who created us, accepted us as His children when we got born again and blessed us since. The truth of Christianity shows that there is no good reason at all as to why we Christians should surrender to our feelings and allow the non-believers to drag us down to their level. We Christians are not only believers but are also citizens of God’s Kingdom complete with armor, weapons and other spiritual means that with Him, we are more than conquerors. Moving on, let’s read the next holy scripture.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 2:14 is another clear example as to why we the faithful are living in victory. Unbelief combined with feelings are actually a weak combination and we Christians are never meant to allow ourselves to be defeated by them. We are spiritually stronger under God. Always remember that!
Secularists and atheists are more likely to manipulate other people (those with weaker faith or even none at all) through their feelings and then trap them into accepting unbelief. This is sad but not hopeless for us Christians. We can unite and pray to the Lord that unbelief will be overwhelmed and then time will come that the secularists and atheists will realize the errors of their ways and soon will decide willingly to apologize to the Lord and submit to Him peacefully. We can also pray for the victims as well as all the unsaved and lost souls who embraced unbelief. Remember that unbelief is a weapon of the ever-stubborn loser Satan. We can always defeat Satan by remaining strongly faithful with God and preach His Word to this screwed-up world we live in.
The next example that spark feelings in people is religion which is often confused with faith. To put it in simple terms, religion is a deeply flawed approach of worshipping the Lord as it involves a lot of man-written rules, sacraments and a bunch of other stuff that are not really holy. Having gone through a past life of religion (followed by a short life of unbelief) myself, I confirm the truth that religion is frustrating (this is the most notable feeling) and is actually a hindrance to achieving truth faith in the Lord.
Religion involves idolatry (worshiping people, images and man-made items) which is very wrong as confirmed by the following holy scripture.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV)
Think about the sin of idolatry carefully. You worship a person, that makes you unrighteous. You pray to a statue or statuette, that makes you unrighteous. You pray to a painting or a relic, that makes you unrighteous. You keep on practicing idolatry, it will impact you to developing a whole bunch of unnecessary feelings deep inside you which will give you a false perception of faith in the Lord (which you are not really achieving). In religion, idolatry is also a tradition falsely believed to be holy. Be aware that idolatry itself makes religion unholy and our Heavenly Father is a jealous God. Even Satan uses religion and idolatry is a useful tool for him to prevent people from being with God. Learn from the following scriptures.
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Exodus 20:3-6 (NKJV)
Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:4 (NKJV)
Apart from idolatry, religion also comes with its own traditions that were not made by God’s chosen people who wrote the Holy Bible. Such traditions trap people and make them more emotional and prone to being dictated by their feelings. This alone should be of deep concern for anyone seeking the Lord. In my old life, I practiced religious traditions of visiting seven churches of religion, praying with repetitive prayers, praying with a relic that was never holy, submitting to a religious hierarchy that has a history of abuse and corruption for centuries, praying to man-made objects, forcefully getting pushed to participate in a religion-driven brainwashing event called family encounter (now a tradition for a certain group religious people here in the Philippines), participating in a religion-based youth movement (also a tradition for the above-mentioned group of people) and the like. So I went through all of that in my old life and ultimately I really never got connected with the Lord, nor was I ever able to discover the ways to establishing a true personal relationship with Him.
Religion and its traditions, rituals, idolatry and culture of forceful imposition deeply frustrated me. This is the ultimate feeling I had long ago. Because religion was hollow, mean and so frustrating to me, I rejected religion and, incidentally, I got myself separated from the Lord which is why there was a period of almost ten years in which I lived a non-believer. I even became antagonistic towards the Lord and Christianity as whole. All that time before, I did not realize that faith and religion are not one and the same. I also had not discovered back then that it was possible to be with God without religion.
And then, when I was a little over forty-years-old, something wonderful and holy happened. My dearest friend in life invited me to her church to attend a holy seminar. I attended with her and the many church members (the Body of Christ) present, just behaving myself since I was still a non-believer. I was still living in darkness (which started since my old life with religion). After attending that event, meeting the pastor and brought home with me a holy bible that was given to me, I saw the light again and eventually I willingly got born again. I became a new creation, a true Christian and a child of God. The darkness of religion and unbelief that overwhelmed me ended and I have no desire to go back to my old life ever again.
Since then, I attended Sunday worship regularly and also participated in bible study sessions and holy seminars to grow spiritually and deepen my established personal relationship with God. Along the way, I learned from our pastor that our faith in the Lord should never be dominated nor affected by our feelings which is the precise topic of this article. To end this part, religion is truly frustrating and unnecessary. Being religious is not the same as being faithful with the Lord.
Another factor that sparks feelings in us is Satan. The enemy knows well that feelings, emotions and sentimentalism are effective weapons for him to dumb us Christians down, and worse, overwhelm people who are not aware of their true purpose under God. The enemy would not hesitate to use a person or an event to arouse our feelings inside to keep us distracted from being focused Christians. Satan is also known to spread temptation which itself sparks feelings.
Take for example, an earthquake rocks and heavily damages a major city causing a lot of deaths, injuries and property damage. That tragedy gets magnified by the morally bankrupt cable TV news organizations which only cause viewers around the world to feel sad, sorry, fearful and even defeated. Such tragedies that spark tons of feelings to weaken people delight Satan. We as children of God should never ever allow our feelings nor our perception of magnified tragedies overwhelm our faith in the Lord. We the Christians have been redeemed by Jesus long ago and it is our mission to always remain focused and very strong with faith in Him. We the children of God are not mere followers but we are special and we have a much greater purpose in the spiritual realm even though we are still living in the flesh on this world that Satan had screwed-up long ago. Learn from the following scripture.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesians 6:10-20 (NKJV)
Those were such powerful words! More than that, Ephesians 6: 10-20 confirms the truth that we the faithful should always be strong in the Lord and with Him, we have the means to overcome Satan and all other forces of evil. That also includes completely defying the feelings we have while living in the flesh. That being said, we the children of God have no reason to be fearful at all. We only fear the Lord because it leads to wisdom (Proverbs 9:10), strong confidence (Proverbs 14:26) and opposing evil (Proverbs 8:13).
Satan is not as powerful as most people think. He is simply a loser who just refuses to stop and will continue to exploit the weak to screw up many people and spread chaos worldwide. War, famine, riots and pandemics are such examples of global tragedies with people falling for Satan’s tricks and failing to keep strong faith in God.
We the children of God know much better. Therefore, Satan’s strategy of using chaos (being magnified by the global news media giants), fear and negative vibes to bring us down through our feelings can be deflected for as long as we continue to be strong with God. It is a matter of being faithful over being full of feelings.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying feelings are totally useless. As God’s children living in the flesh here on Earth, it is okay to have feelings like the happiness that comes with being with the family or a special someone, the deep satisfaction we have inside as we enjoy the prosperity and protection God blessed us with, etc.
We can live with feelings but we always prioritize our faith in the Lord eternally. We can keep on living with feelings but we must not be led by them because we were created by God to be led by the Holy Spirit. We were not created to be religious but to be faithful Christians.
Now let me reach out to the unsaved souls and the lost souls among you, my readers…
If you seek salvation now, learn that the first step is to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Never be fooled into believing that your past defined you and your future. With Jesus, you will become a child of God and a whole new creation complete with your sins from the past washed away! You will become a true Christian with a holy purpose!
Once you are ready, pray this simple prayer (I learned from my pastor) in sincerity from your heart:
Dear God,
I believe that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is alive! Right now I call on the name of Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me by the power of Your blood. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life! Help me now to follow Your plan for my life. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! Praise the Lord and always be faithful to Him! No more darkness in your life caused by unbelief or religion (and the idolatry, traditions and rituals that come with it). Your new life has begun!
Always study the Holy Bible, apply its lessons into your life and pray in tongues regularly to Him. The Holy Spirit is in you and you are now a new creation! You can also start your spiritual growth immediately under the eyes of the Lord! Today is a happy day for you!
In ending this piece, feel free to enjoy these Christian praise-and-worship YouTube videos. Hallelujah!!!
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.
Author Carlo Carrasco 