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IMF chief says pandemic will unleash worst recession since Great Depression

WASHINGTON – The pandemic sweeping the world will turn global economic growth “sharply negative” in 2020, triggering the worst fallout since the 1930s Great Depression, with only a partial recovery seen in 2021, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva painted a far bleaker picture of the social and economic impact of the new coronavirus than even a few weeks ago, noting governments had already undertaken fiscal stimulus measures of $8 trillion, but more would likely be needed.

She said the crisis would hit emerging markets and developing countries hardest of all, which would then need hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid.

“Just three months ago, we expected positive per capita income growth in over 160 of our member countries in 2020,” she said on Thursday in remarks prepared for delivery ahead of next week’s IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings.

“Today, that number has been turned on its head: we now project that over 170 countries will experience negative per capita income growth this year.”

If the pandemic faded in the second half of the year, the IMF expected a partial recovery in 2021, Georgieva said, but she warned the situation could also get worse.

“I stress there is tremendous uncertainty about the outlook: it could get worse depending on many variable factors, including the duration of the pandemic,” she said.

The IMF, which has 189 member countries, will release its detailed World Economic Outlook forecasts on Tuesday.

The novel coronavirus that emerged in China in December has raced around the globe, infecting 1.41 million people and killing 83,400, according to a Reuters tally.

Georgieva said the pandemic was hitting both rich and poor countries, but many in Africa, Asia and Latin America were at higher risk because they had weaker health systems. They were also unable to implement social distancing in their densely populated cities and poverty-stricken slums.

She said investors had already removed some $100 billion in capital from those economies, more than three times the outflow seen during the same period of the global financial crisis.

With commodity prices down sharply, emerging market and developing countries would need trillions of dollars to fight the pandemic and rescue their economies, she said.

“They urgently need help,” she said, estimating hundreds of billions of dollars would have to be pumped in from outside sources since those governments could only cover a portion of the costs on their own, and many already had high debts.

Georgieva said it was encouraging that all governments had sprung into action, enacting some $8 trillion in fiscal measures and massive monetary measures.

To ensure a future recovery, Georgieva called for continued efforts to contain the virus and support health systems, while averting export controls that could slow the flow of vital medical equipment and food.

“The actions we take now will determine the speed and strength of our recovery,” she said.

It was critical to provide affected people and companies with “large, timely and targeted” measures such as wage subsidies, extended unemployment benefits and adjusted loan terms, while reducing stress to the financial system.

Coordinated fiscal stimulus was critical, and monetary policy should remain accommodative, where inflation remained low.

“Those with greater resources and policy space will need to do more; others, with limited resources will need more support,” she said.

The IMF was created for times like these, and stood ready to deploy its $1 trillion in lending capacity, Georgieva said.

The Fund’s executive board had approved doubling its emergency funding to $100 billion to meet the requests of over 90 countries, and staff were racing to process those requests.

The IMF was also looking at ways to provide additional liquidity support, including through creation of a new short-term liquidity line, and solutions that would allow lending even to countries whose debt was unsustainable, she said.

The IMF was also looking to increase its Catastrophe Relief and Containment Fund, which provides grants for the poorest countries to cover IMF debt service payments, to $1.4 billion from around $200 million, she said.

To further aid the poorest economies, the Fund and the World Bank were urging creditors such as China and other countries to temporarily stop collecting debt payments on their bilateral loans. — Reuters

WB approves $500-M loan for PHL disaster, COVID-19 response

The World Bank Group has approved a $500 million (around P25 billion) loan for the Philippine government to strengthen its national disaster response capacity, including its battle against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Washington-based multilateral lender said its board of executive directors approved on Thursday the third risk management development policy loan, which is part of “long-standing support to the Philippines’ broader policy efforts to boost its resilience and capability to prepare for and recover from disasters.”

“The World Bank is committed to supporting efforts to strengthen the Philippines’ capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters as well as health and economic shocks like COVID-19,” World Bank Acting Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand Achim Fock was quoted as saying in the statement.

World Bank said the facility will support key reforms such as the implementation of a unified rehabilitation and recovery planning framework; and promotion of integrated hazard and risk analysis in planning.

“[The loan will also support] developing multi-year investment plans for seismic risk reduction and retrofitting of important government buildings [and] implementation of an emergency cash transfer program during shocks,” it said.

The Philippines is vulnerable to natural calamities such as earthquakes and typhoons.

“Natural disasters and pandemics disproportionately hurt poor families and communities. Enhancing risk management and the capacity to address these challenges can help ensure that the Philippines can sustain progress in poverty reduction,” Mr. Fock said.

The country has not been spared from the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected over 1.5 million in 212 countries. Nearly 90,000 have died from COVID-19, a Reuters tally showed.

In the Philippines, the Department of Health on Thursday reported 21 new deaths and 206 additional cases of COVID-19, bring the total death toll to 203 and total cases to 4,076. The DoH said 124 recoveries have been recorded so far.

World Bank has a $14 billion fast-track package to support developing countries’ fight against COVID-19 via a mix of fast-track funding, policy advise and technical assistance.

It said the bank will deploy up to $160 billion over 15 months to protect vulnerable sectors, support businesses and help economies around the world recover from the crisis.

The Finance department has said it is looking to borrow around $5.7 billion (around P280 billion) from multilateral lenders including World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The additional funding will support the government’s $23 billion (P1.16 trillion) economic stimulus package to contain the virus and help affected sectors.

So far, the ADB extended an $8-million grant and pledged another funding package worth at least $1.6 billion for the Philippines.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said the country’s budget deficit may balloon to 5.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year from the previous target of 3.2%. Its debt level is also expected to reach 47% of GDP against the record-low of 41% last year.

Mr. Dominguez also said the economy could post a flat growth (0%) or contract by as much as one percent this year as the coronavirus and the Luzon-wide lockdown brought the economy at nearly a standstill. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Ron Hose is sticking with his prepaid phone: Lessons from the founder of Coins.ph

In this excerpt from  Asian Founders at Work, a book by Ezra Ferraz and Gracy Fernandez, Coins.ph Founder Ron Hose shares his experiences as a serial entrepreneur, and why he left Silicon Valley for a shot at building the next big thing in the Philippines.

In 2014, Ron Hose co-founded Coins.ph with Runar Petursson. Coins.ph began as a cryptocurrency marketplace, although the co-founders knew that they wanted to pursue the larger opportunity in creating a digital wallet of choice in the Philippines. Hose had the necessary expertise to build this product, having graduated from Cornell University with a master’s degree in computer science and serving as the co-founder and CTO of TokBox, which was acquired by Telefonica Digital in 2012.

Once Coins.ph focused on its digital wallet, its user base grew exponentially, eventually reaching five million customers by 2018. In 2019, ride-hailing platform and super-app Gojek, which had been thwarted from entering the Philippines by government regulators, bought Coins.ph in a deal valued at US$95 million.

Ezra Ferraz: After experiencing success as an entrepreneur in the United States, what beckoned you to the Philippines rather than building another business there or choosing to go somewhere else?

Ron Hose: I’ve always been purpose driven. One reason I decided to come here is because I wanted to create something big that can tackle bigger problems and that has a significant impact on people’s lives.

Each country has its own strengths and opportunity profiles. I felt that, across the board, the Philippines is good in all sectors. It has a large enough market domestically, but it is also a good base for a company in that region. It has a fast-growing economy, and GDP has steadily grown for the last couple of years.

In general, despite a lot of infrastructure design-wise, we had a lot of challenges, such as low Internet penetration. I think there’s still a lot of value to unlock in this market. For me, this lack of irregular infrastructure is a sign of opportunity. People here are tech savvy, but at the same time, there are a lot of improvements that can be made for everyday life with technology. There’s still a lack of access to basic necessities like healthcare, education, financial services, and commerce. And technology, in my experience, can help connect Filipinos to these services. I felt that if I were to spend five to ten years of my life building a business, I wanted to do it somewhere that I really felt at home. The culture and people of the Philippines made me feel at home from day one. This made me want to stay.

Ferraz: Can you take us into the earlier days of Coins? What was it like when you finally decided to found the company? How did you find your co- founders, and how did you build the product?

Hose: I came into the market with a very high-level idea about the problem I wanted to solve. Emerging markets were experiencing fast economic growth, but most people were still left behind when it came to access to very basic services.

What I saw was that mobile penetration was going to create a bridge, so that you could now offer direct access to these services. I actually met my co-founder, Runar, when I was already in Manila, and then we spent almost a year looking at various business models and trying to figure out where we could do something that creates value. This was in 2013. I figured the research I conducted would help other investors and entrepreneurs looking at the Philippines, so that was also when we wrote a Philippines startup report.

We spent a long time researching different business models. As we were doing this, the thing that kept coming up was that in almost every aspect of business, banking was a friction point, and this had an impact on everyone from consumers to SMBs, and all the way up to big businesses. To send money home, Filipinos had to pay six to seven percent extra. When they wanted to pay bills, they had to get on a jeepney in scorching heat or torrential rain, and then stand in line for an hour at the payment center. With no bank account, consumers and small business owners had no credit history, and so relied on informal “five six” lending, where they had to pay twenty percent monthly interest for a loan to grow their business.

Additionally, businesses here are fundamentally based on cash, and there is not a lot they can sell in a short time. So the two to three days for the money to come up are two to three days wherein funds are audited, as that is the economic cycle. This slows the GDP process, and businesses like sari-sari stores, because they’re not with a bank, cannot earn a lot of money or grow beyond that initial scale. Upward mobility is difficult for them, and they have a hard time developing. Basically, everywhere we looked there was a pain point with money, and that’s what made for the interest in the opportunity.

Ferraz: At what point did you decide to take on the movement to relieve the financial institution problem in the Philippines?

Hose: This was really baked into our vision from day one. Every so often, I go back and look at our early fundraising decks because I like to see how we are doing compared to what we promised investors and how on track I am with my mission and vision. If you look at our seed round fundraising decks from the very beginning, the mission always revolved around financial inclusion.

Ferraz: What were the challenges of building a cryptocurrency platform in the Philippines, and how did you go about addressing them?

Hose: One of the biggest challenges was that we were early in the crypto space. I think we were one of the very first ones who got into providing services on top of blockchain. We had a lot of firsts, which took a lot of trial and error. From a technology perspective, we had to figure out how to build it, what the product should look like, and how to make it consumer-friendly.

The second challenge was regulatory compliance. We needed to understand how the business would be regulated because at the time we started, there wasn’t any regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. There was a lot of work and education. It involved learning about how to fit what we were doing into the right framework to make sure that consumers are protected and the risks were mitigated, and subsequently, with that to be at reach with other industry players. We’ve invested heavily in measures to assure that every aspect of the business is protected and following the rules.

Ferraz: Around the time that Coins.ph was rising, there were also several other cryptocurrency companies in the Philippines. When did you realize that there was a much bigger opportunity in mobile money compared to cryptocurrency? How did you set about pursuing this business direction?

Hose: It was from day one. That’s the difference between us and the others. We are looked at as a blockchain company, but for me, blockchain was always the means but not the end. We are focused on providing financial access to our customers.

Our customers need to be able to send money to their families, to get a loan if they don’t have credit history, to top-up their phones without having to find a sari-sari store, and to pay their bills without the pain of traveling far. So it is always going to be about alleviating pain.

Ferraz: Once you went into mobile money, you faced competition that had much larger war chests. How did you compete—and eventually beat—these companies as an agile startup?

Hose: The interesting thing is that it takes an understanding of how the emerging market functioned. The strength of this organization is not just the depth of our balance sheet but that of our relationships. There are two other groups in the market that have wallets and are backed by the largest conglomerates here, wherein their market power is much greater than their capital. To be honest, that definitely kept us up a lot of the time. At the same time, what helped is a lesson learned from Silicon Valley: when it comes to business, it doesn’t matter how big or small you are, it matters how fast you run. Building a startup takes risk-taking, agility, and speed. Big companies struggle with this. I guess we were also naive in that way and thought, “Okay, they’re big, formidable, and have a lot of resources, but I’m not going to compare myself to them. I’m just going to do my own thing.”

We did not carve five million customers away from any of those companies. I would not say we outsmarted them, but that we were able to grow faster because we were small and worked really hard.

I recently heard that one of our competitors had $16 million worth of budget for 2018. We used about $10 million of our capital in five years, which meant that we always had to be focused, strategic, and diligent in our efforts. The team knows that this is the culture our company revolves around. Not all wars are won with money. What cannot be replaced is team culture. We were able to hire young and ambitious talent that really cares about what we do. They have worked hard for us and learned a lot. If you ask me, that is one of the things that made us successful.

Ferraz: Why did you choose to raise money from Naspers Ventures rather than other VC firms?

Hose: Actually, the leads of the series were Maximum Accelerate, Kickstart, and Wavemaker. I was looking for the investors that would really help us. I found it challenging because many US-based investors might not understand the nuances of the Filipino. They know the nuances of executing the American market.

Each of three investor leads brought something different to the table based on their area of expertise. Kickstart, being a corporate group, brought us local connections. Maximum Accelerate, which was a global fund, brought us direct industry expertise. Wavemaker is based in Singapore but has strong ties in the Philippines and understands the evolution of the business. So each one of them had local growth and technical expertise. That was our triangle for series A.

Naspers actually came in right after that. Every investor you bring in must be strategic. Basically, it is like hiring another person to the team. So, I really took the time to choose the best fit. Every investor brings value.

Ferraz: That’s really interesting because I think a lot of young entrepreneurs pitch to whoever is willing to give money, but you were really strategic on how you chose your investors, which I think is awesome advice.

Hose: Yes, that is why I advise you to raise money as early as you can. However, I usually raise a little late. Every time we raise, it is further than our actual break-even. I like going a little late because rather than focus on trying to get the highest possible valuation, we focus on getting the investors that are able to help us.

Ferraz: So in 2018, you reached five million users. I’m sure you used numerous strategies to reach this milestone. Which of these channels surprised you the most and why?

Hose: The people at the bottom of the pyramid spend their earnings on a day-to-day basis, and we thought that the market is not only sensitive to costs. While cost is important, and we work really hard to improve that, what is even more important is service and convenience.

Even the people at the very bottom of the pyramid value their time and con- venience. It matters a lot. So we realized our value proposition to people is not in saving money. If you go on our website today, you will see the main page of the website is about how much time we save people.

Ferraz: If focusing on the value proposition of time in your messaging helped you onboard more customers, which strategy didn’t work?

Hose: A lot [laughs]. Ninety percent of what we do. The key lesson is to try many things quickly. Test, learn, and improve. My decision needs to be fifty-one percent accurate. I need to make a lot of decisions. That’s how you improve.

We tried a lot of on-the-ground marketing. We are much better at digital. I think we are good at things we can measure and quantify. It is because we can justify exactly what is happening and how consumers are reacting. But even there, we do stuff that fails all the time. The biggest lesson is that in this part of business, you have to roll out ten products to be successful with one.

Ferraz: What’s your attitude toward failure?

Hose: I always say that success is about being able to deal with failure. How you work your way out of failure is what makes you successful.

There are so many things that I messed up when I was building this business. So many setbacks. So many times that I said, “Okay, this is it. We’re not making it another day.” Success is definitely your tolerance for failure and willingness to get up and keep running. That’s it. There is no entrepreneur that did not fail a lot of times. We live in this social media world now, where we only see the positive outcomes. All the people are going to hear about is how entrepreneurs and startups exited. They do not know all the blood we shed on the way. There were a lot of nights we did not sleep.

Ferraz: Can you share the story of the Gojek acquisition? How did the idea come up, and why did the deal make sense?

Hose: Last year, we were at a point in which the business was moving very quickly. We were looking at fundraising, and then in the process, we met some Gojek guys.

As the conversation was going, we learned that our ambitions and our values are very similar. We figured that we could do more together. We built up a market here for tech, and we built a really strong team. We think that Gojek has complementary products and complementary technology that can help us scale up a pretty sizeable balance sheet. I guess the math was actually very simple. This is our decision for a business to help us grow and to create a sustainable business. I look at this acquisition as a large fundraiser with a better path and better growth for business—from a CEO execution point of view. My true north is the growth of the business. This is the best possible path.

Ferraz: What is your vision now for Coins.ph?

Hose: It is still the same. There are 100 million people that need to have access to financial resources. The banks are the traditional financial providers, and we help connect the banks to consumers and segments of the market they are not able to reach.

Ferraz: What unconventional advice would you give founders in Asia who want to build a company as successful as Coins.ph?

Hose: If you want to build a business in this market, you really have to understand it in depth. You have to feel the same pain your customers feel every day. As an example, I’m still using a prepaid phone line. I’ve been living here for almost six years, but I’m still on a prepaid phone line. Why? Because most of our customers are using prepaid phones.

Ferraz: So you’re experiencing the same things as them?

Hose: Exactly. I’ll never be able to experience every last thing, obviously, but I want to be immersed because it helps me learn what I can do to make my customers’ lives and experiences better. In emerging markets, it is really important for you to live in the context of the consumer to really understand and relate to their experience.

Ferraz: What else besides the prepaid phone?

Hose: I minimize my use of banks in general. I do have US bank accounts, and a plastic card, but as much as possible, I try to reduce my reliance on financial services outside of Coins. I use Coins to pay my bills, rent, everything. It’s great! And when it’s not working great, then that’s good too, because I learn about the limitations of our product. And then we figure out what we can do better to address it for our customers.

Ferraz: You told other entrepreneurs to come here. What do you think they would feel when they actually see for themselves that more than 100 million people don’t have access to financial services.

Hose: I think the opportunity for using technology to improve people’s lives goes beyond financial services. There are opportunities for growth in agriculture, healthcare, commerce, and transportation. The important thing is that you need to experience them. For example, if you’re going to build technology for farmers, you need to spend time on the farm. You need to be in the countryside to understand what is driving them.

Living here, I get to know what a tingi-tingi [sachet culture] economy is. It is not just about getting a loan from the bank. It’s about thinking, “Hey, I need to buy butter. I’m going to buy a quarter of a bar.” And someone is actually splitting it. That’s a fact. That’s a financial product, right? That person is splitting the butter into four. He’s basically providing a financial service. Sounds like a food vendor, right? It’s not. Every sari-sari store in this country is a financial services provider. So the truth is that everybody has access to financial services. They are just informal or not optimal.

We have to spend some more time to understand all the social economics of their life. “How do I save money? Is there going to be money there when my turn comes?” Those are pains people experience here.

Ferraz: Can you share an example where failure to be field-oriented or user- centric has resulted in products that have failed?

Hose: I’ll give an example from Google, my favorite company. About six years ago, Google tried to build a mobile wallet.

They had a lot of capital to do it, but they were not successful. I suspect that one of the reasons is that it is much more difficult to launch a product that is what you think your customers need.

We want them to use our wallet because it solves a problem for them. To understand people’s pains, you have to live it. That is the answer. I was lucky enough to stay a whole year in the Philippines before I even started my business. I spent a lot of time in the province. I didn’t live a very luxurious life. I’ve been on top of jeepneys.

Ferraz: No way! On top of jeepneys?

Hose: Yeah, and I’ve slept in the barangay halls. Those experiences shape how we build our product. And the experiences with my team shape it, too, because when we launch something, we always think, “Does this make sense? Does it actually help?”

—

This story has been excerpted by courtesy of the publisher from Asian Founders at Work by Ezra Ferraz and Gracy Fernandez (Apress, 2020).

To purchase the book, please visit Amazon.

How to make work-from-home work for you—Kickstart Ventures

Editor’s Note: We spoke with Kickstart Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Globe Telecom, on how they’re tackling the new productivity challenges of Covid-19.

Joan Cybil Yao, Kickstart Ventures’ Vice-President of Investments

For the Investment Team at Kickstart, the work goes on: We continue to receive pitches from startups all over the world, and are constantly scheduling calls with founders to learn more about their businesses. We rely heavily on cloud communications platforms to keep us connected to each other, and to the companies that we study.

Because of the lockdown, we are doing our best to gather as much information about potential investees through discussions with management, reference calls, product demos, and desktop research and analysis. There’s no substitute for in-person meetings, but the team is doing everything possible to move our diligence processes forward despite current limitations. Due diligence trips will resume once travel restrictions are lifted; in the meantime, we encourage everyone to keep safe.

In terms of tips: It’s useful to have shared and unified sources of truth—documents, platforms, and tools that team members can refer to in real-time for information and status updates on our shared work and tasks. We are on calls a lot together, and don’t hesitate to reach out if we have questions to ask or random stories to share.

It’s important not to lose that sense of normalcy and camaraderie; in these extraordinary times, humor and compassion are the most valuable commodities.

—

Joan is Vice-President of Kickstart Ventures. She is a member of the Kickstart Deal Team. Prior to Kickstart, Joan was Investment Manager for Southeast Asia at LGT Venture Philanthropy, a global impact investing firm headquartered in Europe.

WhatsApp to address the ‘infodemic’ currently coursing through its platform

WhatsApp has recently come under the spotlight for the way the platform can be used to spread misinformation about supposed cures for COVID-19. It is now attempting to stem this tide of misinformation by implementing a new limit on the number of users a message can be forwarded to. Viral (or highly forwarded) messages sent through a chain of five or more users can soon only be forwarded to one person at a time.

The most recent measure prior to this was in 2019, when the app decided to allow a user to share frequently forwarded messages only up to 5 chats at a time. Until 2018, users had been able to forward a message to 256 people at once.

WhatsApp hopes this new update will slow the speed at which information passes through the platform, reports The Verge.

Stemming an infodemic

WhatsApp has had a long history of being used to spread misinformation. In eastern Congo, for instance, misinformation, rumours, and falsehoods about the ebola virus disease proliferated beyond control in 2018 through the popular messaging app, in specific cases becoming as deadly as the disease itself. This led to widespread scepticism about the disease and distrust around the government’s response to it.

Due to the encryption WhatsApp uses, the company cannot see the contents of messages sent via the platform, which prevents it from employing the same content moderation strategies that other platforms like Twitter might.

“It’s not that [Facebook] can’t, or that they’re refusing to take [misinformation] down,” said Claire Wardle of First Draft News in an interview with The New Humanitarian. “They don’t know what messages are being shared. Removing the encryption would undermine what can also make WhatsApp so important to many users – its emphasis on privacy.”

Misinformation notwithstanding, the company nevertheless believes that not all forwarding is bad, stating in a blog that “many users forward helpful information, as well as funny videos, memes, and reflections or prayers they find meaningful. In recent weeks, people have also used WhatsApp to organise public moments of support for frontline health workers.”

PHL economy’s best-case scenario is zero growth – Dominguez

Philippines Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the best-case scenario for the economy this year is zero growth, while the government’s massive spending to fight the pandemic will bloat the budget deficit.

Gross domestic product could shrink by as much as 1% — its first contraction in more than two decades — while the budget deficit may widen to 5.3% of GDP, from a target of 3.2% last year, Mr. Dominguez said in a televised briefing alongside President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials.

“COVID-19 has hit us in a very hard way,” Mr. Dominguez said. Mr. Duterte, whose term ends in 2022, said he expects the virus and its aftermath to last for two years.

The Philippines has lined up some P1.17 trillion ($23 billion) to fight the coronavirus outbreak, including P830 billion from central bank actions, said Mr. Dominguez, who is a member of the bank’s monetary board. To fund the deficit, the government will borrow $5.6 billion from agencies including the Asian Development Bank and World Bank, then tap the overseas bond market, he said.

“We are confident we have the financial capability to bridge this problem,” the finance secretary said. “The program is to spend, first, to help the poorest families, and then to help the small and medium enterprises, and then to provide support for the companies that are supported by their banks.”

The number of confirmed virus cases in the Philippines had risen to 3,870, with 182 fatalities, as of Wednesday.

Mr. Duterte has placed the main island of Luzon — which is home to 60 million people and accounts for 70% of the Philippine economy — on lockdown since mid-March, shuttering hundreds of factories and businesses until the end of April.

The president has pledged to sell government assets to raise funds if needed. The government may have to raise taxes in the next year or two, Mr. Dominguez told CNBC on Wednesday.

Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said the government has “built sufficient funding buffers” to handle the current crisis, citing a record 310.8 billion peso retail bond sale in February.

“We remain agile for good opportunities to further bolster our war chest,” she said in a text message. – Bloomberg

Edukasyon.ph offers free tools for students, schools struggling through COVID-19

Edukasyon.ph, the largest online platform empowering Filipino Gen Z youth from education to career, recognizes the serious toll that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing on schools and students nationwide. Since the enhanced community quarantine was declared in March, the edtech startup has been working on several initiatives to improve connectivity, enhance efficiency and bring convenience to its student and partner communities through its platform.

Edukasyon.ph’s school services have led to over 500 senior high schools and colleges joining the platform in the last three years. However, during these challenging times, these online tools do much more: ensure process continuity and help protect frontline staff from unnecessary physical contact with students or parents.

By offering all senior high schools, colleges and technical-vocational institutions free access to their own dedicated Edukasyon.ph account, their Admissions Departments can:

  • Create a school profile page and upload all relevant information including admissions requirements, photos of facilities, videos and important school updates/announcements
  • Respond to questions from Edukasyon.ph’s eight million annual students in real-time
  • Turn on an online application form and process all student applications received

Nearly 200 new partner schools have signed up to the Edukasyon.ph platform in the last four weeks alone, including University of the Visayas campuses, University of Mindanao campuses and the AMA Education System—joining existing partners like Ateneo de Manila University, Mapua University and Silliman University.

“These months have historically been peak season for senior high students searching for courses, colleges and scholarships on Edukasyon.ph, and we are now seeing 10x more online inquiries given the challenges of community lockdown,” said Henry Motte-Muñoz, Founder and CEO of Edukasyon.ph. “We’re grateful that more schools are opening up to online operations and are pleased to offer our services for free to ensure both schools and students are connected and supported.”

Interested schools can sign-up for Edukasyon.ph’s free platform here.

Break for Asia’s clogged capitals as coronavirus curbs traffic

MANILA – Strict lockdowns, school closures and curbs on commerce are giving Asia’s congested capitals rare respite from transport mayhem, as the global fight to contain the coronavirus creates a free-flow of traffic not seen in years.

Horns have fallen silent across many Asian cities as cars, vans and motorcycles hum along highways in India, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, home to some of the world’s worst traffic jams, and its worst levels of air pollution.

Reuters journalists have captured footage of various intersections in New Delhi, Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta, contrasting previous chaos with a new calm that has followed government measures to arrest the spread of the highly contagious virus.

Seven of the 11 most gridlocked cities in the world are in Asia, according to the 2019 Traffic Index of Dutch digital mapping company TomTom, topped by Bangalore then Manila, where the average driver spends the equivalent of 10 days a year in traffic queues.

In Manila, where street snarl-ups cause an estimated $67 million in daily business losses, the city’s chronically jammed Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) thoroughfare was unusually quiet, with home quarantine measures keeping most of the city’s 3.5 million registered vehicles off the roads.

An average 400,000 of those use EDSA on a typical day, according to the transport authority, but strict lockdown laws in the Philippines – which has 3,870 confirmed cases – have slashed traffic volume by a staggering 96% compared to a year ago, according to TomTom data.

That data was compiled as Reuters crew filmed its 23.8-kilometer commute, which took just 20 minutes compared to more than two hours normally.

In Delhi, which has nearly 11 million registered vehicles, congestion was down by about 59%, due to a lockdown of the country’s 1.3 billion people. India has reported 4,789 cases

Traffic is lighter too in Jakarta two weeks into a state of emergency that saw schools close and employees encouraged to work from home. Volume was down 48% from a year ago at the time of filming on Tuesday. Indonesia has 2,738 reported cases.

Authorities in Singapore are expecting a sharp traffic reduction following closures of offices and schools, while Malaysia is seeing quieter streets in its capital Kuala Lumpur, where an average 509,000 vehicles drive on an average day.

Bangkok registered a million new vehicles last year, adding to 10 million already in use, but few were around on Tuesday, and no sign of the usual jostling between cars and motorcycles.

Thailand, which has 2,258 confirmed coronavirus cases, has closed malls and entertainment venues and is encouraging working from home, helping to cut Bangkok’s traffic on Tuesday by 31%. — Reuters

Stuff to do at home

BGC High Street virtual stations for Holy Week

Bonifacio High Street (BHS) provides the public with different ways to mark the Lenten season while under lockdown. The public can take a virtual walk through Walkway: Journey to the Cross of Christ, BGC’s annual Stations of the Cross, at http://withoutwalls.ph/walkway. Through this interactive online platform, visitors can go through each of the 14 stations, reflect, and pray over the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. There is also a Walkway Kids Edition which has a special map to help guide parents and children as they go through the stations together. BHS will also be hosting an Easter Expedition on April 12 on its Facebook page, with a virtual Easter Egg Hunt and other activities. Capping off the Holy Week activities is Walkway: Journey to the Cross of Christ Easter Concert. This live-streamed concert will be headlined by Martin Nievera along with surprise guests. It will be shown on BGC’s Facebook page on April 12, 8 p.m. For more details and updates, visit https://www.facebook.com/BoniHighStreet/ and http://withoutwalls.ph/walkway for Lenten Season activities.

 

Andrea Brocelli live from Milan on Easter

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will give a solo performance at the historic Duomo cathedral in Milan, Italy on April 12. It will be exclusively streamed live globally on the tenor’s YouTube channel at https://AndreaBocelli.lnk.to/LiveFrom on April 13, 1 a.m. (Philippine time).

 

PETA’s Charot! The Unwanted Prequel 

Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) launches episodes of Charot! The Unwanted Prequel once a week at its official Facebook page. The story is a prequel to its play, Charot! The Musical. The prequel is set in a country known as “P.I.,” which is governed by Papsy, as the nation deals with the “Charona veerus.” New episodes will be uploaded on PETA’s official Facebook page weekly. Aside from online content, the theater company is also conducting two donation efforts. One for the distribution of rice to 300 families in Brgy. Kristong Hari, Quezon City; and another for medical equipment such as personal protective equipment for the frontliners of East Avenue Medical Center. To stream the show and for more information on donation efforts, visit https://www.facebook.com/PETATHEATER/.

 

Bid for a role

Theater Fans Manila, in cooperation with Open House (an online fundraising project for the benefit of the performing arts community), is auctioning off two roles in a live streamed reading of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night by the members of C.A.S.T. (Company of Actors in Streamlined Theatre). The live online reading features Mako Alonso, Reb Atadero, Cathy Azanza-Dy, Maronne Cruz, Tarek El Tayech, Wanggo Gallaga, Nelsito Gomez, Jill Peña, Dean Rosen, and Brian Sy. Bids open at P2,500. State one’s bid in the comments section of the Open House Instagram posts for the male role or the female role. Bidding closes at midnight on April 12. All proceeds will go to the Open House fundraising campaign. For details, visit https://www.facebook.com/OpenHouseFundraiser.

 

Color Manolo Blahnik designs

Shoe designer Manolo Blahnik shares a selection of his original sketches in an online coloring book. The shoe designs are downloadable at https://www.manoloblahnik.com/gb/smile.html.

 

DUP’s plays online

Three Dulaang UP  plays – Floy Quintos’ The Kundiman Party, Ang Nawalang Kapatid, and Nick Joaquin’s Father’s and Sons –  are now available for streaming on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm2k83BMK9Fq39P6yJH9lng.

 

Podcasts on Philippine crime

Stories After Dark features podcasts on Philippine true crime and mystery stories. It currently has 14 episodes including The Maguindanao Massacre (2009), The Ozone Disco Fire (1996), and Pepsi Paloma: Rape or Publicity Stunt? Suicide or Murder? (1982/1985). To listen, visit https://www.facebook.com/storiesafterdarkph/.

Open House show, classes, workshops

The Artists Welfare Project Inc., Philstage, SPIT, Third World Improve, the Theater Actors Guild, and Ticket2Me continue with the Open House online fundraising project for the benefit of the performing arts community. The project allows viewers to stream live online classes, shows, and workshops featuring some of the industry’s biggest names for free. On April 12 (10 p.m.), PalabasTayo AfterParty will feature the cast of Philippine Repertory’s Anna in the Tropics for backstories, lighthearted tea, and general shop talk. For more information and to stream programs, visit https://www.facebook.com/OpenHouseFundraiser. To donate, visit http://bit.ly/DonateOpenHouse.

Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals online

Andrew Lloyd Webber offers his musicals for free in the online series The Shows Must Go On. The series continues with Jesus Christ Superstar (2012), starring Tim Minchin, Melanie C and Chris Moyles. To watch, visit https://www.youtube.com/theshowsmustgoon.

Palacio de Memoria virtual tour

Art and history enthusiasts can now go on a virtual tour of Palacio de Memoria, the Colonial Revival mansion, and marvel at its luxurious facilities and hundreds of Euro-Filipino paintings, sculptures, art displays, and historical pieces online. It features the showroom of Palacio de Memoria’s auction house, Casa de Memoria, which houses the Lhuillier family’s collection of antiques, the Mosphil Lounge, and a passenger plane that was refitted to be a lounge for special occasions. To view the Palacio de Memoria’s virtual tour, visit https://www.palaciodememoria.com/tours.

Intramuros virtual tour 

Visit the sites of Intramuros through its virtual tours at https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/intramuros-administration?fbclid=IwAR0aRtUOboFvmpk73FwjO_OZBBD5OKRfoFBWUOGgPAUUpaA7DquxNG0Jlks. The walled city’s sites may also be visited through the Experience Philippines augmented reality app. The app is free and available on Google Play or the App Store.

 

Photography workshops with Canon PH

Canon Philippines is offering photography workshops for the month of April via its official Facebook page. The workshops will feature Canon brand ambassadors and professional photographers who will tackle basic to advanced techniques, and specialized topics such as food, architecture, wedding, and music events photography, and vlogging. View the workshop schedule at https://www.facebook.com/canonphils/photos/a.436807569702668/2967524323297634/?type=3&theater.

 

MSO’s music online

The Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) presents Ennio Marricone’s “Nella Fantasia” from The Mission (1986), which was recorded separately by its musicians while in quarantine, in the hope that it brings some comfort to the listener’s soul. To listen, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceKQHi-9OKQ&feature=youtu.be. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/manilasymphony/.

 

E-coloring books

The Getty Museum and the Getty Research Institute of Los Angeles offers the “Color Our Collections” edition for 2020. To view, visit http://library.nyam.org/colorourcollections/page/11/.

 

NFB animated shorts online

Watch animated short films from the National Film Board of Canada at

https://www.nfb.ca/animation/.

 

Silverlens launches Art Boost

To keep in touch with art lovers, Silverlens presents Art Boost, an online drive to maintain engagement with art through social media, exhibition catalogues, and videos. Follow Silverlens’ official social media pages for a series of #athomewith, #weeklyartwork, #trivia, and #sundayread. Visit Silverlens’ official YouTube and Vimeo for artists profiles such as Gary-Ross Pastrana, and Patricia Perez Eustaquio.

 

National Museum of the Philippines 

The National Museum uploaded a coloring sheet of Juan Luna’s Spoliarium by Bryan Ferrer which may be physically or digitally colored. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/nationalmuseumofthephilippines/posts/3123148164376147.

Children’s books online

Enjoy digitized children’s book titles from the University of California (UCLA)’s children’s book collection at https://archive.org/details/yrlsc_childrens&tab=collection; and University of Florida’s digital collection of the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature at https://ufdc.ufl.edu/baldwin/all/thumbs.

Five-hour museum tour

Experience a five-hour tour in Russia’s Hermitage Museum, shot by filmmaker Axinya Gog on an iPhone 11 Pro. To watch, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=49YeFsx1rIw&feature=emb_title.

Guitar lessons with Fender

Fender is offering three months of free lessons for guitar, bass and ukulele. It includes high-resolution videos with teachers, and a progress tracker. Follow along to videos, and practice at your own pace with the adjustable scrolling tablature and a metronome. To sign up, visit https://try.fender.com/play/playthrough/?utm_source=bouncex&utm_medium=popup&utm_campaign=PlayThrough_BXPopup&utm_term=fender&src=emaill00DTplaypopup/

Toei anime on YouTube

Japanese animation studio Toei’s YouTube channel will stream shows for free. Seventy shows with English subtitles have been released; on April 13, it will release episode 3 and 4 of National Kid (updated on Mondays); and April 14, it will release episode 3 and 4 of Suki Suki Majo Sensei (updated on Tuesdays). To watch, visit https://www.youtube.com/user/ToeiAnimationUS.

 

Educational TV shows return to ABS-CBN

ABS-CBN brings back 1990s educational TV shows every Saturday. Sineskwela (8:30 a.m.) explains topics on science, Bayani (9 a.m.) is about historical figures and events, and Hiraya Manawari (9:30 a.m.) which focuses on values.

 

Cirque Du Soleil online

Enjoy free 60-minute specials from shows such as Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities, O, and Luzia.To watch, visit https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/cirqueconnect.

 

Ayala Museum online

Continue learning at home with the Ayala Museum’s resources available online. Enjoy previous exhibitions and performances, coloring pages, and playlists. Visit https://www.ayalamuseum.org/online-resources/?fbclid=IwAR2psdA2kvBhhEC-iJs-seLvPXICAZ4zWO-bBIwvxjrhuTm18C_0zyOm3VE.

 

E-books for kids

Expand your kids’ library at home through the BuriBooks app. Titles include books from publisher Adarna House, reviewers, and Filipino textbooks. Access the app via iOS, Android, or a web browser. Sign up via https://buribooks.com/. Enjoy it free for 30 days.

 

National Gallery of Victoria’s virtual tours 

The National Gallery of Victoria has developed several virtual tours. Audiences can view exhibitions such as Companionship In The Age Of Loneliness of New York-based artist Brian Donnelly, a.k.a. KAWS; and the world premiere of Crossing Lines, featuring the works of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Visit  https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/channel/.

New free plays on Thursdays 

The National Theatre in London brings its shows to YouTube. Every Thursday (7 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. EST), National Theatre at Home will release a new play free to watch for one week. It includes cast and creative interviews and post-stream talks. The shows are Jane Eyre on April 9, Treasure Island on April 16, and Twelfth Night on April 23. For information, visit https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/nt-at-home?queueittoken=e_safetyevent25mar20~q_b79a6e28-67d9-44de-88e6-29cedc812122~ts_1585490458~ce_true~rt_safetynet~h_8c7928d22caa971981f7edf53563d20e2fe8f68a3a3a1458b34b1cb17f11b50b.

Ballets at the Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre in Russia showcases The Golden Series of classic opera and ballet performances via livestream on the theater’s YouTube channel. Livestreaming began on April 1 with The Tsar’s Bride. To watch, visit https://www.youtube.com/user/bolshoi.

Free Murakami books online 

Japanese best-selling author Haruki Murakami’s stories are made available online for free at http://www.openculture.com/2014/08/read-five-stories-by-haruki-murakami-free-online.html. Titles include Kino, A Walk to Kobe, and Samsa in Love.

Free books on modern art

Enjoy PDF and ePubs on modern art from the Guggenheim Museum’s archive. The collection includes books on Francis Bacon, Max Ernst, and Mark Rothko. Visit https://archive.org/details/guggenheimmuseum.

Free vet consultations online

Dr. Cyron Sarmiento opened his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mcejsarmiento) and Twitter (@Cyrooon) accounts for free online consultations.  For more inquiries, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/648196199302932/. Consultations will run for the entire duration of the enhanced community quarantine.

Free Japanese courses

The Japan Foundation Manila launched an e-learning program of free Japanese courses. It includes six-month beginner and intermediate lessons on calligraphy, vocabulary, grammar, and conversation. Sign-up for your chosen course at https://minato-jf.jp/?fbclid=IwAR2SrhYV-9nH4Hbc9TbTspxg0t39DH6xtLQ-jz1n1uOkeGMK3bCdL022O8I.

Arts and Culture

Learn something new every day with Google Arts and Culture from virtual tours of sites, and museums to food, fashion, and design. Visit https://artsandculture.google.com/.

 

Frida Kahlo’s artworks online

View Frida Kahlo’s work online through the Google Arts & Culture platform. The website has 800 paintings, photographs, and objects by the Mexican artist from 33 international museums. To view the exhibition, visit https://artsandculture.google.com/project/frida-kahlo.

Scribd materials for free for 30 days

Enjoy free books, audiobooks, magazines, and documents for 30 days at Scribd. To view titles, visit https://www.scribd.com/readfree?fbclid=IwAR363ywNP9yoBbKJVQFYCtilfGfljPDGeOatqKJgWMV5Pj9-p7j-gkaGOb8.

Classic Pinoy films online

Director Mike de Leon uploaded classic Filipino films from the 1930s to 1960s on his vimeo account, Citizen Jake. Titles include Manuel Silos’ Pista sa Nayon (1948), Gregorio Fernandez’s Kung Ako’y Mahal Mo (1960), and Lamberto V. Avellana’s Aklat ng Buhay (1952). Watch films at https://vimeo.com/user83013343.

Free Neil Gaiman stories online

Best-selling author Neil Gaiman offers free essays, audiobooks, book excerpts, and videos at his official website under “Cool Stuff and Things.” Visit https://www.neilgaiman.com/Cool_Stuff.

Arts BGC at Home

Every Wednesday, Arts at BGC offers creative prompts at the Arts at BCG (https://www.facebook.com/artsatbgc/ and @artsatbgc) and BGC Art Center ( https://www.facebook.com/BGCArtsCenter/ and @bgcartscenter) Facebook and Instagram pages. Join the Arts at BGC Community to get in touch with other participants. https://www.facebook.com/groups/artsatbgc.

Ballet and opera free online 

The Royal Opera House is showing its performances online through its Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/royaloperahouse/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/RoyalOperaHouse) pages. Performances include Mozart’s Così fan tutte on April 10; and the ballet The Metamorphosis on April 17.

Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries – Quarantine Edition online

Best-selling author of The Princess Diaries Meg Cabot offers The Princess Diaries – Quarantine Edition for free on her official website. Entries are updated daily. Visit https://www.megcabot.com/2020/03/corona-princess-diaries-day-1/?utm_content=122945851&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-67512624694.

NHCP Documentaries on YouTube

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines makes Philippine history education accessible through documentaries on YouTube. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/historymuseumsPH/posts/997233837339314. Titles include: Jose Rizal: Sa Landas ng Paglaya, Apolinario Mabini: Talino at Paninindigan, Kababaihan ng Rebolusyon, and,  Gregoria de Jesus: Lakambini ng Katipunan.

 

Drawing lessons for kids with Mo Willems

Best-selling author and illustrator Mo Willems is hosting drawing lessons for kids called Lunch Doodles every weekday on YouTube. Each session will be between 20 to 28 minutes long. Mr. Willems is also welcome to questions (send to: LUNCHDOODLES@kennedy-center.org) which he will try to answer during sessions. For sessions of Lunch Doodles, visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL14hRqd0PELGbKihHuTqx_pbvCLqGbOkF.

Paulo Coelho’s books online 

Best-selling author Paulo Coelho has made his books available for free. Titles include: The Way of the Bow, The Manuscript Found in Accra, and Brida. Visit his blog at https://paulocoelhoblog.com/books-online/.

Shakespeare plays online

Shakespeare’s plays recorded at the Globe Theater are now available for online streaming. Titles include Hamlet and The Two Noble Kinsmen. To watch, visit https://globeplayer.tv/

Learn at home with Scholastic 

Scholastic is offering free online courses for levels pre-kindergarten to Grade 6. Duration of the courses is approximately three hours per day. They include writing, research projects, and virtual field trips. The website is accessible on any device. Visit https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

 

Free opera streaming online

OperaWire will host Nightly Met Opera Streams of the Metropolitan Opera for free. The performances begin at 7:30 p.m. EST and will be available to stream for 20 hours. Visit https://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-to-offer-up-nightly-met-opera-streams/. The Paris Opera is also streaming operas for free. Visit https://www.operadeparis.fr/.

 

Free films on YouTube

Catch Filipino films for free on the following channels: Regal Entertainment (https://www.youtube.com/user/regalcinema/featured); Cinema One Originals (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzggCZVkynvnjNV29L9EccA); and TBA Studios (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChh0rmwGvToBd3owvN2vRMg).

 

Free online courses

Enjoy 1,500 free online courses from leading universities such as Stanford, Yale, Harvard, and more. Download the audio and video courses (from iTunes, YouTube, or university web sites). Topics include archeology, art, finance, writing, law, health, religion, mathematics, and personality development. Visit http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses.

 

Online yoga classes

YogaPlus offers daily yoga classes via Facebook live. For schedules, visit https://www.facebook.com/yogaplusph/.

 

Free Broadway performances online

Enjoy your favorite Broadway performances online for a limited time at https://www.broadwayhd.com/.

 

Virtual tours 

Explore museums around the world through virtual tours: the Solomon R. Guggenheim https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/solomon-r-guggenheim-museum?hl=en; the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits); the Louvre Museum (https://www.youvisit.com/tour/louvremuseum).  View animals such as otters, penguins, turtles, and corals on live camera at https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams

 

Bayanihan Musikahan concerts

Bayanihan Musikahan, a fundraising effort to help urban poor communities in Metro Manila who are suffering from the lockdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, gathers Pinoy musical artists online in a marathon concert series. On April 9, it is the turn of Bayanihan Huntahan (5 p.m.) and Gary Valenciano (8 p.m.). For more information and live shows, visit https://www.facebook.com/pg/bayanihanmusikahan/about/?ref=page_internal. To donate, visit pymy.co/pbsp (for.Mastercard, Visa, JCB, PayMaya); donation.ph/pbsp (for BPI Credit/Debit cards, GCash, GrabPay); and http://give2asia.org/pbsp (for donations in US dollars).

CalCheese is one with the Filipinos against COVID-19

In the first week of quarantine, cheddar cheese wafer CalCheese sent out products to immediately aid the frontlines. The makers of CalCheeseis giving 20% discount to LGU’s on all their biscuits from April onwards. This is to extend support to the LGU’s providing relief to their constituents that are currently kept home during the quarantine.

They started their efforts in Metro Manila where most COVID-19 cases were. Partnering with GMA Foundation, they provided them with an initial P1Mworth of assorted biscuit products that include Malkist, Valmer, Wafello and Superstar.

When the government rolled out the enhanced community quarantine early last month, these brands partnered with various NGO’s like Frontline Feeders PH. The group made by doctors and restauranteurs sent out the products to National Capital Region hospitals. These includes those that are in the forefront of the fight, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippine General Hospital, San Lazaro Hospital and the Lung Center of the Philippines.

The effort of CalCheese is part of the P6M worth of product donations from PT Mayora Indah Tbk an Indonesian company. They are the makers of well-loved brands Kopiko, Energen and Le Minerale.

“What we are going through is a hardship we won’t wish for any generation. We need to take each day at a time while remaining hopeful. Our efforts are geared towards assisting the real heroes in the frontline and wish that somehow, we make their day a little brighter, said Coleen N. Ducusin, Marketing Manager for Biscuits, Chocolates and Candies.

The company has made measures that they have a steady supply of products for their consumers with a nationwide distribution to over 300,000 outlets.

Business guides offer continuity tips amid global lockdown

At a time when the world seems to have temporarily closed, industry leaders have had to make hard choices in order to ensure the longevity of their organizations through the current COVID-19 crisis.

The comprehensive continuity guides below were written specifically with the pandemic in mind. They include practical strategies that allow businesses to become more resilient in the coming months and even after the pandemic situation dies down. Everyone can use a bit of help in these trying times.

FastJobs Philippines

The job opportunity platform FastJobs Philippines created its Business Continuity Guide as a means to  help business owners – especially those with small and medium enterprises – plan in response to Covid-19. It covers the following key business operational risks: human resource management; processes and business functions; supplier and customer management; and communications. The aim is to guarantee plans are in place by minimizing the risk to employees as well as ensuring alternative arrangements with suppliers so that operations can continue.

The continuity guide is written with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) – Requirements (SS ISO 22301; ISO 27031) and relevant government agency advisories in mind. You may download a copy here or email customercare@fastjobs.ph to access the latest version of the guide. 

The Founder Institute

This Novel Coronavirus Plan Version 2.1 for startups and small businesses was recommended by Rick Rasmussen, an Industry Fellow at the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology in UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering and guest speaker at the recently concluded TBI 4.0 Virtual Conference.

Created by Silicon Valley-based Founder Institute, the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, they used their experience of developing policies and transformed it into a basic template for anyone to copy, edit, and use.

Some of the recommended actions in the Response Plan include closing the office to non-essential staff, setting up technology that support remote work, reinvesting the time normally spent commuting to boosting team morale, and considering ways to preserve capital.

You may obtain a copy of the template at the link above. The bottom part of the said link also includes additional resources for fellowships, mental wellness, and free startup events.

People who are more vulnerable to COVID-19

By Michaela Tangan, Features Writer, The Philippine STAR

With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, everyone is put ina new battleground.Hence, moreknowledge about the disease is essential. According to experts, there are certain groups of people whoare at higher risk for developing severe illness due to COVID-19.

SMOKERS

The COVID-19 attacks healthy cells, especially the ones in the respiratory tree (nose, throat, lungs), making smokers who are likely to have lung disease or reduced lung capacity more at risk of developing severe complications.

The World Health Organization (WHO) explained, “The act of smoking means that fingers (and possibly contaminated cigarettes) are in contact with lips, which increases the possibility of transmission of the virus from hand to mouth.”

“Smoking products such as water pipes often involve the sharing of mouthpieces and hoses, which could facilitate the transmission of COVID-19 in communal and social settings,” WHO added.

PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

Current data points that people with underlying medical conditions — chronic lung disease, moderate to severe asthma, chronic kidney disease, serious heart conditions, diabetes, immune deficiencies, and severe obesity — record higher COVID-19 deaths.

This group’s immune defenses are weak, do not function normally, and thus have reduced the ability to fight and recover when the virus infects their healthy cells.

OLDER PEOPLE

Current clinical data show that older adults are at higher risk of severe illness and even death associated with COVID-19.

Italy has recorded a high fatality rate due to its aging population.

People’s immune systems weaken in time, making the elderly more vulnerable to all types of infections and at risk of developing severe disease due to COVID-19, especially if they have pre-existing conditions.

PREGNANT WOMEN

Women’s immune system is complex during pregnancy. They are advised to take extra precautionary measures to avoid any sickness as this might harm or affect the growth and development of unborn babies.

As of now, it is unclear if pregnant women with COVID-19 can transmit the virus to their babies. However, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in the UK is looking into the probability of mother-to-baby transmission of COVID-19 during pregnancy or birth after reporting a single case where this scenario appears likely.

In China, some mothers with COVID-19 symptoms reportedly deliver their babies prematurely to save both from possible complications or death.

 

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