Former president Arroyo mourns death of former press secretary

Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Tuesday mourned the passing of her last press secretary as president, Crispulo "Jun" Icban, who died Monday.

In a statement, Arroyo paid tribute to Icban's work inside and outside government.

"I join those whose lives Jun Icban touched in mourning his death. Jun has always been a fighter, silently but resolutely facing all of life’s challenges thrown his way. Even when COVID-19 was rampaging in NCR, he still consistently reported to work at the Manila Bulletin. Such was his devotion and commitment to his profession. When he served as my Press Secretary during my presidency, he showed his outstanding mettle not just in media affairs but in people management. He was well-loved and respected by reporters and his peers," she said.

"Jun was the embodiment of old school journalism, objective with an eye for detail and accuracy. He pursued truth and exacted and personified professionalism. The media industry has lost a bright star in the passing of Jun. He will be missed," Arroyo added.

Icban became Arroyo's press secretary shortly before she ended her term in 2010.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/06/21/former-president-arroyo-mourns-death-of-former-press-secretary

The World Tonight | ANC (6 April 2021)

THE 700 CLUB ASIA | Pangarap | April 06, 2021

What is Your View of God?

 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28

 

The reflections of an old man who senses that death is near are always meaningful. Such were the words of Moses who reflected on a life of challenge and who wrote, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands” (Deuteronomy 7:9).

First—Moses called God “the faithful God.”  And what does faithful really mean? Simply put, it means that the one who promises something performs—not because of the praise he gets, not because of the money or reward he might get in return, but because of the integrity of His heart. His nature compels Him to keep His Word.

What a contrast to the relationships we have with people—sometimes those with whom you do business, sometimes your friends, sometimes even the one who stood by your side at a marriage altar and pledged to be by your side until death should separate you.

Moses called what God had committed to do “a covenant of love,” understanding that we as mortals could never repay God for His kindness and acts of mercy.  But we often lose sight of the fact that the blessings of God have two conditions: (1) we who are blessed by His kindness love Him, and (2) we keep His commandments.”

It’s very much the same thing that Paul wrote to the church at Rome some 1400 years later. Remember the often-quoted verse found in Romans 8:28 that goes, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28)?

In relationship to God, love and obedience go hand in hand—like two sides of the same coin. For a few moments let’s focus on those two pre-requisites to blessing.  First, you will never really love someone until you overcome your fear of that person. As long as you think of God as an angry deity, a cosmic policeman with a big stick who is out to get you, or as an old senile gray-bearded man who would like to help you out but just can’t quite get it together, you will never know Him.

Should the attitudes I’ve just mentioned be even a slight reflection as to how you view God, you don’t know the God of the Bible. You are being stopped by a caricature that the world has of God. The Bible says He is a loving Father, and Moses refers to what He promises to do as a “covenant of love.”

Once you really know God, you will love Him, and when you love Him, you will find it easy to comply with His demands.  And when you do that, you begin to walk in obedience to what God wants, trusting the Father’s heart when you cannot see His hand.

When I was a boy, Packard Motor Company used to advertise, “Ask the man who owns one!” That was the way they promoted the quality of their car. Just listen to the person who drives one!

Thomas Chisholm embodied the testimonies of generations of men and women who embraced this God who keeps covenants, writing, “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father! There is no shadow of turning with thee; Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not. As thou has been thou forever wilt be.”

There is only one way to experience His faithfulness and that is to trust Him, to embrace His direction and demands and to love Him. Then you too can say with Paul, “The one who calls you is faithful… He cannot deny Himself.”

Resource reading: Lamentations 3:22-27

https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/gods-covenant-of-love-with-us/

WATCH: PCSO 9 PM Lotto Draw, April 6, 2021

Erap's older sisters, daughter-in-law positive for COVID-19 following exposure

 The elder sisters of deposed president Joseph "Erap" Estrada and the wife of his son Jinggoy have tested positive for COVID-19 following exposure to the family patriarch, who is now battling the disease. 

In an interview on ABS-CBN's Teleradyo Tuesday afternoon, the younger Estrada said his aunts and his wife, Precy, were asymptomatic for the disease, and would not need hospitalization. 

He said they may have caught the virus following a family dinner where his father was also present. 

"Nag-dinner pa kami... 'Yung aking asawa, nag-positive kagabi. 'Yung aking mga tiyahin na kapatid ng tatay ko na mas matanda sa tatay ko, nag-positive rin and I think they are asymptomatic," Jinggoy explained when asked how his family and relatives are holding up as they are direct contacts of the former president. 

(We had dinner. My wife tested positive last night. My aunts, my dad's sisters who are older than him, also tested positive but they are all asymptomatic.) 

No further details were given on who among the sisters of Estrada were positive for COVID-19. 

Jinggoy earlier in the day said Estrada was sent to the intensive care unit due to his condition. He was then intubated and mildly sedated.

Despite this, the older Estrada's vital signs are normal, he added. 

The former senator also said his father may have gotten the virus from a recent visitor.

"Every Sunday kasi, we get together as a family. Minsan may visitors ang tatay ko, di natin alam if carrier or positive, tas kumakain rin kasama namin," he said. 

(Sometimes my dad has a visitor, we do not know if there was a carrier or someone who is positive for the disease. They all shared a meal with us.) 

The former chief executive, who is turning 84 on April 19, tested positive for the respiratory illness last week.

Estrada won the presidency in 1998 but saw his term cut in 2001 as he was ousted over corruption allegations. 

He was convicted of plunder on September 12, 2007 and sentenced to life imprisonment, but his successor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo pardoned him on October 26, 2007. He was elected mayor of capital Manila in 2013 but lost his last reelection bid in 2019 to the incumbent Isko Moreno. 

The country is battling a new surge of coronavirus infections, over a year since the government imposed lockdowns to stem the virus spread. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/06/21/eraps-older-sisters-daughter-in-law-positive-for-covid-19-following-exposure

Defense Secretary Lorenzana tests positive for COVID-19

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday he tested positive for COVID-19.

"The result of my RT-PCR test today, 06 April 2021, came up positive. I will be undergoing isolation, following the quarantine guidelines to avoid infecting others," Lorenzana, 72, said in a statement.

Arsenio Andolong, Director of the Department of National Defense (DND) Communications Service, told ABS-CBN News that Lorenzana is asymptomatic.

"Those who have been exposed to me have been informed. They have been advised to isolate and get tested for COVID-19 as well," Lorenzana said in his statement.

He said the DND will continue its services as it operates with a skeletal work force.

"I would like to remind everyone that the threat of the virus is as real as ever, more so now due to the new variants. Let us all cooperate and abide by the prescribed health protocols to help in curbing the spread of COVID-19," said Lorenzana, who is also chair of the National Task Force Against COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, the Philippines has recorded a total of 812,760 COVID-19 cases. The tally includes 13,817 deaths, 646,381 recoveries, and 152,562 active cases.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/06/21/defense-secretary-lorenzana-tests-positive-for-covid-19

WATCH: PCSO 5 PM Lotto Draw, April 6, 2021

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WATCH: Press briefing with Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque | April...

THE 700 CLUB ASIA | Masaganang Buhay | April 05, 2021

Ex-IATF adviser Leachon lists suggestions to slow down COVID-19 surge in PH

A former government adviser to the Philippine inter-agency COVID-19 task force offered 10 suggestions to slow down coronavirus transmission amid the continued rise of infections in the country.

Dr. Tony Leachon, in a statement Monday, proposed a "blueprint for change" to contain the second surge. He reiterated one of his earlier suggestions that government should intensify its capacities on mass testing, contact tracing, and construction of isolation and quarantine facilities.

"ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) to complete two weeks. This will be useless if basic pillars are not in place: mass testings, contact tracings, isolation and quarantine facilities," he said.

Leachon also said daily COVID-19 tests in the Philippines should reach 100,000. The country's current testing capacity, at 26,000, is not enough, he noted.

"PH doing only 26K tests per day. Why? We need to do 100K tests a day," he said, adding that improving contact tracing is a "must."

He also proposed the following:

Construction of field or satellite clines, or use of empty buildings to decongest hospitals

Establish command center for COVID-19 and non-COVID-10 cases

Strategic, agile, and transparent communication plan

Fast rollout of vaccination program in Metro Manila and other COVID-19 hotspots

Enhancement of data management and science-based projections

Intensify capacity on telemedicine and create protocols for mild COVID-19 patients

Stockpile coronavirus treatment for home care and hospital patients

"Many leaders and netizens have proposed a plan of action. Excellence in execution is needed," Leachon said.

The health expert earlier said the worsening COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines can be attributed to leaders' failed response.

"I think we are back to square one but worse than last year given that our problems are not only COVID but we also have non-COVID cases right now," Leachon said.

His has been at odds with government over its handling of the pandemic. Last February, he called for the abolition of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases for allowing traditional cinemas to reopen. 

Leachon also slammed presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for saying that Filipinos could not pick which brand of vaccine they would receive for free against COVID-19.

The task force said it removed Leachon as an adviser last year due to his "preemptive" releases of information. 

But the physician said he was let go due to his differences with the Department of Health's policies, such as its lack of urgency and transparency in communication processes.

The Philippines' COVID-19 cases has swelled above 800,000, of which 143,726 are active, one of the highest in Asia. Death toll due to the virus in the country has reached 13,435 while 646,237 others recovered.

A group of independent researchers estimates that the cumulative total of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines will reach 1 million by the end of April.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/06/21/ex-iatf-adviser-leachon-lists-suggestions-to-slow-down-covid-19-surge-in-ph

Utilization rate ng mga COVID-19 bed sa Pampanga halos 75% na, ayon sa health office

 Halos 75% na ang utilization rate ng COVID-19 beds sa Pampanga, ayon sa mga health officials nitong Lunes.

Ayon sa Pampanga health provincial office, nasa 10,312 na ang kumpirmadong kaso ng COVID-19 sa lalawigan, at 1,800 dito ay aktibo pa rin.

Dahil dito, nag-abiso na ang ilang mga ospital sa Pampanga na malapit nang mapuno ang kanilang mga pasilidad pagkatapos umabot ng 74.7% ang utilization rate ng mga COVID-19 bed sa mga ospital sa probinsiya.

Binuksan na ng provincial government ang bagong isolation facility sa Barangay Santa Catalina sa bayan Lubao.

May 110 capacity ang 5 container vans mula sa DPWH na kinonvert bilang isolation facility sa tulong ng provincial engineering’s office at general servicers office.

Bawat kwarto ay may sariling hospital bed, aircon, dextrose, oxygen, at banyo. Ito raw ang nakikitang paraan ng kapitolyo para maresolba ang mabilis na pagsirit ng kaso ng COVID-19 at ang unting-unting pag-puno ng mga nakalaang pasilidad para sa covid sa mga ospital sa lalawigan.

“Dahil po sa surge natin yung mga hospitals, problema na punong-puno hindi na nila ma-accomodate even private, so tutulong rin po kami," ani Pampanga Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda.

Bukod pa sa Lubao, nakatakda na ring buksan ang isa pang isolation facility na may 90-bed capacity ngayong linggo.

Sa kabuuan, mahigit sa 1,000 ang kapasidad ng lahat ng isolation facilities ng lalawigan sa National Government Administrative Center; Mexico; NCC Athlete’s Village; Lubao; at sa San Fernando City. — Ulat ni Gracie Rutao

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/06/21/utilization-rate-ng-mga-covid-19-bed-sa-pampanga-halos-75-na-ayon-sa-health-office