ASEANEWS FRONT PAGES: Govt will do whatever it takes to help Singaporeans through Covid-19 outbreak: PM Lee
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BRUNEI- COVID-19: Only one new case, six more recover
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Ruling party spares ‘Koko’
PDP-Laban won’t impose sanctions on Pimentel but legal group vows to sue him
All members of the ruling party PDP-Laban were asked to undergo self-quarantine after being exposed to Senator Aquilino Pimentel III during a March 4 meeting at Senator Manny Pacquiao’s house, Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said Friday.
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In other developments:• Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte proposed that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) scale up its case rate packages from the current P4,000 to P32,000 per beneficiary to a range of P150,000 to as much as P400,000 for each treated patient afflicted with COVID-19.• Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte on Friday offered a pubic apology for his son Omar, who disobeyed anti-COVID-19 measures at a supermarket in the city. “It has come to my attention that my son, Omar Duterte, went to S&R (Membership Shopping) Davao and he did not line up to conduct the stringent screening requirements of the establishment,” Duterte said in a statement. “It is with humility that I apologize for the behavior of Omar and his impertinence shall be dealt with accordingly.” The congressman, the President’s son, said the alleged misconduct of Omar’s security team would also be investigated. In a Facebook post, Omar also admitted he made a mistake and apologized.
READ MORE: https://manilastandard.net/news/top-stories/320584/ruling-party-spares-koko-.html
‘No extended quarantine, no military control’
Palace asks public: Don’t spread fake news
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang refuted yesterday rumors that the government is planning to implement a 60-day extended Luzon quarantine and that the military will take over the government.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, spokesman for the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), branded as totally unfounded, baseless and untrue the reports of a total lockdown.
“These rumors being passed around are not harmless and only highlight the need to institute measures to discourage the public from spreading them. Like a virus, rumours like these are dangerous and we need to take steps to stop them because they are harmful to the public,” he said. / Christina Mendez – The Philippine Star
READ MORE: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/03/28/2003946/no-extended-quarantine-no-military-control
DOH pressed to expand, speed up virus testing
Senators and one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic advisers on Friday expressed frustration over the slow and small number of people being tested by the Department of Health (DOH) for the new coronavirus disease around the country which they believe could undermine efforts to stop the COVID-19 outbreak.
Business leader Joey Concepcion, the presidential adviser for entrepreneurship, said the lockdown imposed on Luzon to curb the spread of the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the severe acute respiratory ailment, had already brought down confidence among many businessmen.
He said the “main objective right now is … how do we eventually restore confidence.”
Some employers were having difficulty urging their employees back to work since people were afraid of catching the virus, he said.
The bulk of the supply is being used in the United States, which has nearly 86,000 cases, now the most numerous worldwide, he told the Inquirer.
Domingo said negotiations were ongoing for an earlier delivery date. By: Jovic Yee, Julie M. Aurelio, Marlon Ramos – Philippine Daily Inquirer
READ MORE: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1249766/doh-pressed-to-expand-speed-up-virus-testing
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Govt will do whatever it takes to help Singaporeans through Covid-19 outbreak: PM Lee
SINGAPORE – While the economic challenge caused by the coronavirus outbreak is very grave, the Government will do “whatever it takes” to stabilise the economy, preserve jobs and help companies stay afloat, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday (March 27).
“Whatever it takes to do that, we will do them,” Mr Lee told reporters as he spoke on the $48.4 billion Supplementary Budget that Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat unveiled on Thursday.
“We want to see people through this; we are under no illusions that this is the end of the story because nobody can tell what lies ahead,” Mr Lee said in an interview at the Istana.
“We have the dry powder,” he said. “If we need to do more, when we need to do more, we will do that down the road.”
The Government’s aim is very clear, he said – to protect jobs and help companies stay in business by reducing their costs. Key industries like aviation will be helped so they can “continue in semi-suspended animation, but able to come back to life when the opportunities come”.
“There will be ups and downs,” he said. “Therefore, it is critical that we go into this eyes open, (with) strong leadership, good government, united and determined to see this through.”- Lim Yan Liang
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Lim Yan Liang
Six more cases of COVID-19 confirmed, bringing country’s total cases to 169
