COVID-19 Crisis: Almost 7,000 people vaccinated in Las Piñas City

Here’s a quick look at the China virus situation in Las Piñas City. The Manila Bulletin reported recently that almost 7,000 people in the said city got vaccinated specifically with the China-sourced COVID-19 vaccine.

For transparency, below is an excerpt from the Manila Bulletin’s April 14, 2021 report. Key details in bold…

A total of 6911 individuals received the China-made Sinovac vaccine since the start of the Las Piñas City government’s vaccination rollout last March with the theme of “Ligtas na Las Piñero, Lahat Bakunado.”

The City Health Office (CHO) reported to Mayor Imelda Aguilar that a total of 3902 frontline workers composed of doctors, nurses, and other health workers coming from public and private hospitals, including clinics, already received their Sinovac jabs.

A total of 1,745 senior citizens have also been vaccinated in the city. The inoculation for the other senior citizens will continue after the Department of Health (DOH) approved the use of Sinovac.

The report also showed that a total of 1264 persons with comorbidities also received their first dose of vaccines.

The Public Information Office said the city government is continuing to conduct vaccination simultaneously at the city’s 10 vaccination sites.

For the newcomers reading this, it was confirmed previously that Las Piñas senior citizens got vaccinated with AstraZeneca vaccines (click here and here) which the City Government already paid for. Why AstraZeneca was not mentioned in Manila Bulletin’s report is curious.

Meanwhile, local citizens reading this who wish to avail of COVID-19 vaccines are encouraged to get themselves registered with the City Government by means of digital method (QR code scanning, Google account to be used) or the manual method. For reference about Las Piñas vaccine registration, posted below are official images of instruction.

If anyone of you reading this is a certified resident of Las Piñas City and if you got vaccinated (or you are still waiting to get vaccinated), you might want to share to me your experience or observations about the vaccination process or the local vaccine registration processes by contacting me directly online.

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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

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COVID-19 Crisis: Important update for SSS members in MECQ areas

Do you have important transactions to do with regards to social security? Are you struggling to do that because of the restrictions that come with the current MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) status? Very clearly the China virus (AKA COVID-19) remains a major problem to us all.

Well, pay attention closely here because the Social Security System (SSS) announced via social media yesterday that members like you located in areas under MECQ – National Capital Region, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, the City of Santiago in Isabela, Quirino, and Abra – can continue to use online services or drop boxes as all SSS offices and branches located in the mention areas will operate with minimum personnel (skeletal workforce) until April 30, 2021 (the supposed end of MECQ).

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from their Facebook post. Some parts in bold…

In line with the declaration of the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) in the National Capital Region, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, the City of Santiago in Isabela, Quirino, and Abra from April 12 to 30, 2021, all offices and branches of the Social Security System (SSS) located in the covered areas will operate with only skeleton workforce to ensure the continuous delivery of services.

For this reason, SSS is advising its members, pensioners, covered employers, and the public to continue using its online services and drop box system when transacting with its offices and branches as the national government extends quarantine limits to curb the spread of COVID-19. Only 50 percent of branch employees during this period are assigned to physically report for work, while the rest will use alternative work arrangements.

With the 8:00 PM to 5:00 AM curfew enforced during the MECQ period, the said SSS branches will be open on weekdays only from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Branch transactions are limited to the following:

Appointments set with the branch, Submission of documents through the drop box (for transactions that are not available online), Pick-up of Unified Multi-purpose Identification (UMID) Cards and subsequent educational loan checks, Compliance with the Annual Confirmation of Pensioners’ Program (only for those with suspended pensions), and Use of tellering services.

The said measures will also apply to other areas placed under MECQ by virtue of an Executive Order issued by their respective Local Government Units.

Selected SSS branches will continuously implement the number coding system. The prescribed transaction days of members, claimants, and employers are based on the 10th digit of their social security (SS) or employer (ER) ID—1 and 2 every Monday, 3 and 4 every Tuesday, 5 and 6 every Wednesday, 7 and 8 every Thursday, and 9 and 0 every Friday.

For Funeral or Death Benefit Claims, the basis for the prescribed transaction day will be the 10th digit of the deceased SSS member’s SS ID.

However, if the prescribed transaction day falls on a holiday, the member, claimant, or employer may transact with the SSS on the next working day. In case of system downtime, the SSS will set an appointment with those in line or opt to wait until the system is operational.

The SSS also encourages the transacting public to use the pension fund’s online service channels such as the My.SSS Portal of the SSS website at www.sss.gov.ph, SSS Mobile App, and Text-SSS at 2600.

Information about the mandatory online transactions and other online services are posted on the SSS’ Facebook page at https://bit.ly/31wTXch and https://bit.ly/3tnW12c. Likewise, members can access the list of various payment channels at https://bit.ly/3lpPYaR.

With those details laid down, you have more options to choose on how to do your transactions with SSS. Please share this article to others so they can be helped. Thanks.

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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

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COVID-19 Crisis: Stricter quarantine outside of NCR Plus ruled out

Are you feeling tired of the restrictions that come with the quarantine for the past month? Moving from GCQ (general community quarantine) to ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) and recently MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) made life in the so-called NCR Plus region (the National Capital Region plus the nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal) a bit more complicated. Not only were people told to stay at home, there were several businesses that negatively got affected too.

As for those living outside the NCR Plus region, there has been fear brewing that they will find themselves living under a stricter quarantine soon. Those fears can be put to rest as Malacañang officially ruled out the possibility of a restrictive quarantine in communities and places outside of NCR Plus.

The brewing fear was the result of recent reports of the Department of Health (DOH) showing an increase of COVID-19 cases in five regions other than the National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal. To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the article published through Philippine News Agency (PNA).

In an online press briefing, Health Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there was an upward trend of Covid-19 infections in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region.

While the government is monitoring the situation in areas outside NCR Plus, it does not see the need to impose stricter quarantine rules in the entire Luzon, Roque said.

“Sa ngayon po, binabantayan naman po natin ang datos at wala pa naman pong ganoong conclusion ang nakikita natin. Ang talagang paglobo po ng mga kaso ay nandito sa NCR Plus. At kaya nga po ang response natin dito muna sa NCR Plus (As of now, we are monitoring the data and we have not arrived at a conclusion [to implement stricter quarantine measures in Luzon]. Rise in Covid-19 cases is seen in NCR Plus. So our response is focused on NCR Plus),” Roque said.

Roque added that the Covid-19 surge in other areas is not that “bad” unlike in NCR Plus.

“As I said, binabantayan din natin ang kaso sa iba’t ibang lugar ng Pilipinas pero so far po (we are monitoring the cases in different parts of the Philippines but so far), nothing as bad as what we are seeing in the NCR Plus,” he said.

Two weeks after being under the most restrictive enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal are now under the less stringent modified ECQ (MECQ) until April 30.

Apart from NCR Plus, the City of Santiago in Isabela, Quirino province, and Abra are also under MECQ.

A more relaxed general community quarantine (GCQ) is imposed in Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Batangas, Tacloban City, Iligan City, Davao City, Lanao del Sur, and Quezon.

The rest of the country remains under modified GCQ.

So there you have it. The above news and details should remind you that it is essential to follow health protocols by means of sanitizing yourself frequently, wearing face masks and face shields, and practicing social distancing.

Please share this article to others so that they will know that no stricter quarantine is planned outside of NCR Plus.

Now if only more vaccines could be made available locally so that this China virus pandemic will stop…

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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, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

COVID-19 Crisis: 2,579 senior citizens receive first jab in Muntinlupa City, total inoculated comorbids at 97%

At least 2,579 senior citizens from Muntinlupa City received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while the number of inoculated members of A3 priority group is now at 97%, according to a report from Muntinlupa City Health Office (CHO).

As of April 13, Muntinlupa CHO recorded 2,579 senior citizens, comprising of 47.8% of the target population, who were vaccinated in 12 local vaccination sites. Of the total number of inoculated A2 members, 1,606 received Sinovac while 973 were vaccinated with AstraZeneca.

For members of A3 priority group or persons with comorbidities, 5,250 individuals have received their COVID-19 vaccine, of which 5,153 were inoculated with Sinovac and 97 received AstraZeneca.

There are 12,952 vaccinated Muntinlupa residents from A1 – A3 priority groups as of April 13. Recently, Muntinlupa CHO announced the roll-out of CoronoVac (Sinovac) among senior citizens starting April 12.

Among the first senior citizens in Muntinlupa who received their COVID-19 vaccine was former Press Secretary and former Muntinlupa Mayor Ignacio “Toting” Bunye (center), 70 y/o, last April 13 at Muntinlupa National High School – Tunasan Annex. Joining Bunye were Public Information Officer Tez Navarro (left) and Muntinlupa City Technical Institute director Francisco Santella (right), both senior citizens. As of April 13, Muntinlupa City Health Office recorded 2,579 senior citizens, comprising of 47.8% of the target population, who were vaccinated in 12 local vaccination sites. (source – Muntinlupa PIO)

Vaccination sites in Muntinlupa include Tunasan Elementary School (ES), Victoria ES, Muntinlupa National High School – Annex, Muntinlupa National HS Main, Poblacion ES (SV3), Pedro E. Diaz HS, Ayala Alabang Health Center, Cupang Health Center, Buli ES, Sucat Covered Court, and Bagong Silang Elementary School. Recently, Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi received his first jab of COVID-19 vaccine after President Rodrigo Duterte allowed the inoculation of mayors in “high risk” cities and towns.

Fresnedi, who is also a senior citizen at 70 y/o, has been vaccinated with the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine together with other healthcare workers and persons with comorbidities from priority groups last April 8.

The local exec urges fellow senior citizens and qualified residents who are members of the priority groups to avail the vaccination services of the government for them to have an added protection against the adverse effects of COVID-19.

He also encouraged the public to pre-register in the city’s COVID-19 vaccination registration through www.vaccine.muntinlupacity.gov.ph/muncovac and to still strictly observe health protocols such as frequent hand-washing, wearing of face masks and face shields, and physical distancing.

Further, Muntinlupa City started distributing the emergency subsidy from the national government to families affected by the enhanced community quarantine in NCR Plus. As of April 13, Muntinlupa City has 9,246 confirmed cases with 7,165 recoveries, 1,838 active cases, 243 reported deaths, 191 suspect cases, and 781 probable cases.

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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, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

Buy-bust operation in Las Piñas City results two fatalities and over P200 million worth of suspected illegal substance seized

Following the anti-drug operations it pulled off in the cities of Parañaque and Pasay, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and its strategic partners scored another one with its buy-bust operation in the city of Las Piñas where they seized 31 kilograms of the suspected illegal substance referred to as shabu which was estimated to be worth P210 million. The same operation also resulted the deaths of two men.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the report published through Philippine News Agency (PNA)…

PNP Chief General Debold Sinas facing the media at the scene of the crime. (source – Philippine National Police Facebook page)

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Gen. Debold Sinas, on Wednesday identified the slain suspects as Jen Jieko Amarga, alias Koy-koy and Coco Amarga, and Andrew Garcia.

Citing a report from the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG), Sinas said the two were known distributors of illegal drugs in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon and were connected to drug syndicates operating in the country.

“Their source of illegal drugs came from a certain Chinese national from the country of Myanmar and being discreetly transported to a warehouse somewhere in Pampanga,” he said.

The operation, conducted by police officers and agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), started at about 10 p.m. along Sherack St. in Barangay Almanza Uno after a poseur buyer was able to convince the suspects to sell a kilogram of shabu worth PHP6.8 million.

Sinas said after the exchange of the shabu and the buy-bust money, the policemen declared that the suspects were being arrested.

“Nakipagbarilan sila, so namatay yung dalawang suspects (They shot it out with our personnel so they got killed),” he said.

The PDEG is conducting follow-up operations to find the suspects’ cohorts.

It is notable in the above news report that the illegal substance came from Myanmar handled by a still unidentified Chinese national. How it got smuggled all the way from Myanmar to Pampanga has yet to be explained. As for the two men who died and were alleged to be experienced distributors, it remains to be seen how their demise will impact the local drugs problem for at least the short term.

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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, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

500 LGUs reminded to automate biz one-stop shop this year

Are you a business owner who recently struggled with the processes at your local government unit (LGU) because their electronic Business One-Stop Shop (e-BOSS) did not function properly and proved to be inefficient? Perhaps they did not have an e-BOSS?

Here are some good news – a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) was approved yesterday designed to ensure that the e-BOSS systems of LGUs get automated this year.

To put things in perspective, e-BOSS uses the Electronic Business Permitting and Licensing System or eBPLS developed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology allowing the public to perform government transactions online. e-BOSS targets to fully automate transactions in LGUs from downloading of forms, using e-signature, up to online payment.

By comparison, the old system BOSS is defined as a single-window system that streamlines application forms and submission of documents in government offices in one window only.

Going back to the news related to the JCM, below is an excerpt from the news release published through Philippine News Agency (PNA). Some parts are in bold to highlight importance of details.

Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) director general Jeremiah Belgica targets to have at least 500 local government units (LGUs) rolling out the electronic Business One-Stop Shop (e-BOSS) by end-2021.

During the virtual signing ceremony of the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) 01-2021 Tuesday, ARTA reminded LGUs that they should have automated their BOSS before June 17 this year.

The JMC establishes the guidelines for processing business permits, related clearances, and licenses in all cities and municipalities.

“Hopefully by the end of the year, we will have 500 LGUs already automated by DICT’s (Department of Information and Communications Technology) IBPLS (Integrated Business Permits and Licensing System) software,” Belgica said.

DICT project manager for IBPLS Del Basada said the department has signed memoranda of agreement with 446 LGUs, of which more than 200 LGUs are already in the operational stage of the system.

“(We are) just making sure that everyone’s (is) onboard for IBPLS which is an online system. We look at their readiness first if they can adopt the system,” Basada said, adding the DICT is assisting LGUs in addressing challenges to do online transactions.

Meanwhile, Belgica said while the IBPLS software works well even with smaller LGUs, he urged highly urbanized cities to fast-track adopting the integrated system so they can go online for their BOSS before the June 17 deadline.

“We are encouraging the highly urbanized cities to actually automate the soonest because they have the most number of businesses,” he added.

Under the newly signed JMC, the e-BOSS should have the following functions: accepting electronic submission of application; electronic issuance of tax bill or order of payment; accepting online payment, releasing of electronic version of permits, licenses, and clearances; and providing gateway facility linked to courier service where applicant prefers hard copy of the documents.

The JMC also limits the documentary requirements and will implement a unified application form with a unique identification number.

ARTA reminds LGUs that they should not require notarization of the requirements.

It added barangay clearances related to business permit applications shall be integrated and processed by the Business Processing and Licensing Office. Number of signatories in the documents shall be limited to three.

So there you have it! An official document made it final that local government units should have the e-BOSS automated and functioning with the expected efficiency, transparency and results fulfilled. Given the fact that we are all still living under the pandemic of the China Virus (COVID-19), this latest development is indeed crucial and improvements on the part of LGUs should happen this year.

If you are a business owner who struggled with the processes at your local government and you wish to speak out, please post in the comments below. You can also send to me a private message.

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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, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

COVID-19 Crisis: Muntinlupa City starts vaccinating seniors with Sinovac, completes inoculation of healthcare workers

Following the approval of the Food and Drugs and Administration on the vaccination of senior citizens with Sinovac, the City Government of Muntinlupa officially started its roll-out among seniors yesterday.

The Muntinlupa City Health Office announced the roll-out of CoronoVac (Sinovac) among senior citizens starting April 12 in 14 initial vaccine centers in the city.

A senior citizen gets vaccinated with Sinovac. (source – Muntinlupa PIO)

Vaccination sites in Muntinlupa for A2 members (senior citizens) include Tunasan Elementary School (ES), Victoria ES, Muntinlupa National High School – Annex, Muntinlupa National HS Main, Poblacion ES (SV3), Putatan ES, Soldiers Hills ES, Lakeview Integrated School, Bayanan ES Main, Pedro E. Diaz HS, Cupang ES, Cupang Health Center, Buli ES, and Sucat Covered Court. The City Government targets to inoculate at least 44,000 senior citizens in Muntinlupa.

As of April 10, Muntinlupa CHO has received 20,317 COVID-19 vaccines from the national government, of which 20,063 are Sinovac and 254 are AstraZeneca. There are only remaining 13,964 vials, of which 13,921 are Sinovac and 43 are AstraZeneca.

Further, the vaccination of healthcare workers from A1 priority group was completed with 5,123 (100%) medical frontliners who were inoculated, of which 2,145 received Sinovac and 2,978 were vaccinated with AstraZeneca. While 4,189 (77.6%) individuals received the vaccine from A3 priority group (persons with comorbidities), of which 4,100 were given Sinovac and 89 received AstraZeneca.

Recently, Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi received his first jab of COVID-19 vaccine after President Rodrigo Duterte allowed the inoculation of mayors in “high risk” cities and towns.

Fresnedi, who is also a senior citizen at 70 y/o, has been vaccinated with the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine together with other healthcare workers and persons with comorbidities from priority groups last April 8.

The local exec urges fellow senior citizens and qualified residents who are members of the priority groups to avail the vaccination services of the government for them to have an added protection against the adverse effects of COVID-19.

He also encouraged the public to pre-register in the city’s COVID-19 vaccination registration through www.vaccine.muntinlupacity.gov.ph/muncovac and to still strictly observe health protocols such as frequent hand-washing, wearing of face masks and face shields, and physical distancing.

Further, Muntinlupa City started distributing the emergency subsidy from the national government to families affected by the enhanced community quarantine in NCR Plus. As of April 12, Muntinlupa City has 8,930 confirmed cases with 6,938 recoveries, 1,757 active cases, 235 reported deaths, 216 suspect cases, and 771 probable cases.

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The above information was provided by the City Government of Muntinlupa for the purpose of public information and transparency. Some parts were edited for this website.

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, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

COVID-19 Crisis: Pre-registration for vaccine in Muntinlupa City ongoing

By now, some of you may have learned about the recent news that Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi got vaccinated for COVID-19. That being said, that particular news should remind all residents of Muntinlupa about something very important…Pre-registration for local citizens to avail of the COVID-19 vaccine is currently ongoing!

All residents of Muntinlupa City who wish to avail of vaccines are encouraged to prepare their own information and then proceed to the official pre-registration form link at https://vaccine.muntinlupacity.gov.ph/muncovac/

The online pre-registration will take a bit of your time as it will require you to not only write down your personal information (including your PhilHealth number, employment information history of COVID-19 infection). You also have to be ready to input information about your personal allergy and medical history.

Afterwards, you will also have to read the key details of the private notice and waiver sections before finally submitting all the accumulated information.

Once these are done, the website will acknowledge completion and you will have to wait a while for the local authorities to send you an email which will have the link for you to click on to verify your registration. In my experience, it took a few days before the local authorities sent me an email.

When you complete the email verification, a QR code generated for you will be shown online (for your private viewing) which you can print in hard copy (a consent form with QR code). You can also do a screen capture of the QR code for your digital reference.

Knowing these details, you should head on to https://vaccine.muntinlupacity.gov.ph/muncovac/

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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, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

COVID-19 Crisis: National Capital Region (NCR) and 4 nearby provinces plus a few other places now under MECQ until April 30, 2021

After two whole weeks of being placed under the restrictive ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the National Capital Region (NCR) and the provinces Cavite, Bulacan, Rizal and Laguna (note: these form NCR Plus as called by the local authorities) are now under MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) until April 30, 2021. Far away from NCR Plus are the City of Santiago, the Province of Quezon and Abra in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) which also have been placed under MECQ status.

The shift to MECQ was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte in relation to the commitments made by more public and private hospitals to provide rooms and beds for patients suffering from COVID-19 (China Virus). The President urged PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation) to expedite the payment of claims of hospitals. For more details on this, read the Philippine News Agency’s (PNA) article.

MECQ is supposed to be the less restrictive form of quarantine. For one thing, the hours of curfew in Metro Manila has been adjusted to 8PM to 5AM (versus 6PM to 5AM under ECQ). To put things in perspective, here is an excerpt from the PNA’s article…

According to amended omnibus guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) as of April 3, 2021, strict home quarantine shall be observed in all households under MECQ. Movement of persons shall be limited to accessing essential goods and services, and for work in permitted offices or establishments or such activities allowed.

Persons below 18 years old, those who are over 65 years old, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, or other health risks, and pregnant women shall be required to remain at home at all times except for obtaining essential goods and services or for work.

Under the IATF-EID guidelines, the following establishments, persons, or activities shall not be permitted to operate, work, or be undertaken during MECQ:

— Entertainment venues with live performers such as karaoke bars, bars, clubs, concert halls, theaters, and cinemas;

— Recreational venues such as internet cafes, billiard halls, amusement arcades, bowling alleys, and similar venues;

— Amusement parks or theme parks, fairs/peryas, kid amusement industries such as playgrounds, playroom and kiddie rides;

— Outdoor sports courts or venues for contact sports, scrimmages, games, or activities;

— Indoor sports courts or venues, fitness studios, gyms, spas or other indoor leisure centers or facilities, and swimming pools;


— Casinos, horse racing, cockfighting and operation of cockpits, lottery and betting shops, and other gaming establishments except for the draws conducted by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office;

— Indoor visitor or tourist attractions, libraries, archives, museums, galleries, and cultural shows and exhibits;

— Outdoor tourist attractions;

— Venues for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions;

— Personal care services which include beauty salons, beauty parlors, medical esthetic clinics, cosmetic or derma clinics, make-up salons, nail spas, reflexology, aesthetics, wellness and holistic centers, and other similar establishments; acupuncture and electrocautery establishments, and massage therapy including sports therapy establishments. It also includes establishments providing tanning services, body piercings, tattooing and similar services. Home service for these activities is likewise not permitted; and

— Indoor dine-in services of food preparation establishments such as commissaries, restaurants, and eateries.

Now that the MECQ is in effect, we will find out soon enough how the many struggling businesses will perform, how many affected employees will be able to return to work, how vehicular traffic on the highways and major roads will turn out and how these changes will affect the daily count of new COVID-19 cases which has been averaging over 10,000 a day recently.

It has been over a year since the China Virus spread worldwide and negatively impacted the way people lived, brought down their earnings, made attending on-site worship harder (note: the authorities in California did Satan’s bidding and the United States Supreme Court struck down their abuse of power legally), and pushed varied authorities to adjust the way they manage their places and constituents. No matter how grim the situation is, I urge you my readers to never lose hope and always look up to Lord Jesus who is the true Savior for us all. I encourage you to grab a copy of the Holy Bible and read the full Chapter 91 of the Book of Psalms, believe in it and come to Lord Jesus.

God will make a way for those who are faithful to Him. You do not need religion. You do not need unbelief. You do not need to believe in this screwed-up world we live in. You do not need idols for they are unholy and idolatry itself is foolish. You need unwavering faith in Him for He is holy and only He deserves our worship, trust and honor.

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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, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

COVID-19 Crisis: More senior citizens of Las Piñas City vaccinated with AstraZeneca

The City Government of Las Piñas confirmed that more of their local senior citizens got injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 (China Virus) recently at the designated vaccination sites at CAA Elementary School Main, Almanza Uno Covered Court, Pamplona Elementary School Central. No specific numbers were revealed, however.

For comparison, the April 1 launch of vaccinating local senior citizens resulted 300 who were injected with the same vaccine at the sites at Verdant Covered Court, Bambusteum Cover Court and Almanza Dos Covered Court.

Senior citizens waiting for their turn for AstraZeneca shots at a vaccination site. (source – City of Las Piñas Facebook page)

It is recalled that this past January, the City Government signed an agreement with AstraZeneca for the procurement of 300,000 doses of their vaccine. Within South Metro Manila, AstraZeneca also provides the same vaccine to the City Government of Muntinlupa (read this and this).

On the national level, it has been announced that the use of AstraZeneca vaccine on persons younger than sixty-years-old has been suspended. For insight, below is an excerpt from the Philippine News Agency (PNA) article…

The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday adopted the recommendation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to temporarily suspend the use of AstraZeneca vaccines for individuals aged below 60 years old, following reports of rare cases of blood clots with low platelets detected in some individuals inoculated with the vaccine.

“We are aware of the recommendation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to list blood clots as very rare side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. While we have not seen such incidents in the country, the FDA has recommended to temporarily suspend the use of the vaccine for persons below 60 years old as we await results of the review being done by our local experts, as well as the official guidance of the WHO,” FDA Director General Rolando Enrique Domingo said in a news release.

Health authorities assured the public that experts are reviewing information related to this new development to craft appropriate recommendations on the vaccine’s use.

Meanwhile, Las Piñas citizens who wish to avail of COVID-19 vaccines are encouraged to get themselves registered with the City Government by means of digital method (QR code scanning, Google account to be used) or the manual method. For reference about Las Piñas vaccine registration, posted below are official images of instruction plus the list of vaccination sites in the city.

If you are a recipient of a COVID-19 vaccine in Las Piñas City and you wish to share to me your observations or complaints, please feel free to comment below. Thank you very much.

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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, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673