Business leader in Cebu released today a manifesto supporting the call by Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella for the city to revert to General Community Quarantine (GCQ). The leaders of various business groups said the decision to place Cebu City under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was based on flawed data. It was also done “without…
Category: Feature
Tech bridges heritage conservation to the ‘new normal’
Technology not only helps in the preservation of heritage, it can also do wonders in reinventing how we experience it. The Cebu Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church (CACCHC) in partnership with start-up tech company InnoPub Media, and Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), have started working on a mobile application that would facilitate…
Extend enhanced quarantine in Cebu City to prevent resurgence of cases: UP researchers
As Metro Cebu prepares to reopen for business by June 1, a group of researchers based at the University of the Philippines recommended that the enhanced quarantine (ECQ) in Cebu City be extended to prevent a resurgence of cases. The COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) is expected to decide this week whether to extend the…
Location data show how Pinoys stayed home, avoided public places during ECQ
Visits to public places such as groceries, pharmacies, retail outlets, transit areas, and workplaces plunged as a community quarantine was put in place in the Philippines in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19, phone location data show. Stays at home dramatically increased in the same time period, according to information made available by…
Cebu business leaders ask for more funds, equitable distribution to help workers
The leaders of the different business chambers in Cebu today asked government to add funds to its assistance program for workers and make its distribution equitable. “Our productive sector deserves better treatment from the very government to whom they have regularly remitted their taxes,” said a joint statement signed by the business leaders. The signatories…
Confirmed COVID-19 positive cases: an interactive map
More cases of COVID-19 infection have been detected in areas throughout the country. Cebu City is among the areas with an increasing number of confirmed cases. These infections are clustered in the city jail and communities like Barrio Luz, Barangay Suba, and Mambaling. Below is an interactive map of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cebu. It…
1918-1919 influenza pandemic: the 2nd wave was a tsunami of deaths
The second wave of the trancazo pandemic in 1918 will be less severe and only the very young and old are vulnerable, health officials said in a story on Manila Times published on October 27, 1918. They were gravely wrong. “This official announcement is interesting not only for its dismissive tone and lack of seriousness,…
Spanish Flu pandemic deaths in the Philippines: an interactive map
The 1918-1919 influenza pandemic claimed more than 80,000 lives in the Philippines. As in other parts of the world, the contagion came in three waves, with the second surge being the most virulent. Areas hit by the first wave of infections in the middle of 1918 had fewer deaths during the more virulent episode at…
Keeping the faith in digital spaces during Covid-19 crisis
The Covid-19 pandemic may have changed how the Filipino faithful are observing their Holy Week traditions this year, but it has not dampened their faith. With the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) implemented nationwide, regular church activities such as public celebration of masses have been temporarily suspended. Thus, churches have turned to digital means to sustain…
DENR, Smart, Huawei join hands to save Philippine rainforests
Mobile phones can now help save endangered rainforests of the Philippines. In a landmark initiative, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), PLDT wireless unit, Smart Communications, and Huawei Technologies Philippines (Huawei), are collaborating to pilot test an Internet of Things (IoT) solution that taps mobile technology to detect and record rainforest sounds that…
How do you like your sikwate? Batirol serves it with mint, salted caramel, or honey
Iced and served three different ways. Batirol by The Chocolate Chamber is putting a new spin to the chocolate drink made from pure cacao liquor known locally as “sikwate”. Anthony Choa, who oversees Batirol in Robinsons Cybergate Cebu, said they now offer three new flavors to iced sikwate: Mint, Salted Caramel, and Honey.
Bantayan is under the patronage of St. Peter; how did St. Paul get into the picture?
Upon its turnover to secular priests at the dawn of the 17th century and for 400 years, the Bantayan parish was under the patronage of St. Peter and only under him. When the parish celebrated its 400th founding anniversary, it did so under the patronage of the fisherman held by Catholic traditions as the first…
PAL resumes direct Cebu-LA flights
National flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will resume its Cebu-Los Angeles nonstop flights beginning May 2, 2020, expressing confidence in the success of the route with Cebu’s world-class airport and a new aircraft suitable for the long-haul trip. Harry Inoferio, PAL Senior Assistant Vice President for Sales, also cited the strengthened Cebu hub as among…
Manila Chocolatier promotes Filipino culture with chocolate flavors
With such chocolate flavors as barako coffee, banana cue, and salabat, Manila Chocolatier has managed to create a world class product that pays homage to Filipino flavors. Now available at the Kultural Filipino store in SM City Cebu, the chocolates also come in the delectable tastes of kalamansi, ube, Palawan honey, buko pandan, leche flan,…
Menya Hachi cooks up union of Japanese, Hawaian flavors
With such ramen dishes as Cheese Bari Kote, Shoyu, and Oxtail and specials like Mochiko Chicken and Loco Moco, Menya Hachi in Ayala Malls Central Bloc aims to add diversity to Cebu’s culinary scene. Couple Robert and Mary Tambis, who co-own the restaurant with two other family members, said they wanted to put up something…
Ding How pioneers digital innovation in Ayala Central Bloc branch
Ding How Dimsum House rolls out an innovative digital ordering system for its branch in Ayala Central Bloc to bring about a better dining experience for customers. Harbour City Group Marketing Director Steven Kokseng said the innovation, which allows diners to browse the full menu and pick orders on touch-screen monitors that can be found…
Sinulog a spectacle for tourists, ‘not authentic’ representation of indigenous roots: historian
The Sinulog grand parade is a spectacle for tourists and locals and devotees should just stay home and let visitors enjoy it, a historian said in a forum tracing the roots of Sinulog yesterday. It is not authentic but a commercial celebration designed for outsiders, said Dr. Jose Eleazar Bersales, an anthropologist at the University…
Megaworld launches 5th residential development in Cebu
20-storey The Pearl Global Residences to add 222 residential units in the 30-hectare The Mactan Newtown Property giant Megaworld is launching its fifth residential development inside the 30-hectare The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. The 20-storey The Pearl Global Residences will add 222 units in the existing 1,836 residential unit inventory in the township.…
Faithful spread devotion in Sto. Niño exhibit at Ayala Center Cebu
More than 40 images of the Sto. Niño are on exhibit at Ayala Center Cebu in time for the celebration of the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City. The display showcases curated images of the Child Jesus in different representations but mostly as the Sto. Niño de Cebu.
Cisco highlights disaster response, management solution
Drawing from lessons its TacOps response team learned during Typhoon Yolanda, Cisco has made available a response and management solution that taps its various technologies to innovate disaster response and management. The product is Cisco KONEKTADO, an end-to-end solution that enables easy and effective collaboration and communication before, during, and after a disaster such as…