Businessman Francis Leo Marcos slammed his neighbors after getting informed that someone filed a complaint against him after he vlogged the super-exclusive subdivision in Quezon City he living in yesterday.

In the latest video, Marcos also revealed the decision of the said subdivision to block the entry of the truck he hired to deliver 5-tons of rice to the communities in Payatas, Quezon City.

He suspected that the decision of the subdivision to block the vehicle is because of the complaint filed by his neighbor, accusing him of endangering the people living in the neighborhood because of exposing their houses on the internet.

According to him, he’s having difficulties in transporting the rice stored in his house to the truck outside the subdivision because they’re only using an SUV to deliver it, in and out.

He also revealed that some of the workers of his neighbors went personally to his home and asked him for a sack of rice.

“Kung sino ka man na nagrereport sa akin, ayan milyong milyong Pilipino ang nanonood sa akin, wala kang kwentang nilalang, baka yung katulong mo pa nga yung pumunta dito at humingi ng bigas eh, ang kapal ng mukha mo,” he said.

Marcos said that he’s not going to stop to his philanthropic activities despite the complaints he received from his neighbor.

“Pare parehas tayong taga dito, hindi lang ikaw ang may karapatan dito, pati ako dito dahil taga rito ako,” he told his neighbor.

He also clarified that the criticisms he said in the published yesterday were intended to his neighbors who didn’t even help other people amid the crisis being faced by the country.

Marcos also insisted that they should allow the truck to enter the subdivision because they’re using it for humanitarian aid.

“Mayroon tayong lockdown rules, pero pwede bang makiusap ang sabi ko, ‘in every rules, even the rules of the land, there will always be an exemption as long as there a justification, especially if it is committed or connected to humanitarian reason’,” he said.

Marcos also told his neighbors that they should be proud of him instead of complaining about his actions because what he’s doing is helping the needy.

Yesterday, Marcos posted a vlog to urge his neighbors to go outside their mansions and help the people affected by the enhanced community quarantine.

READ MORE: Businessman violates super-exclusive subdivision rules to urge his rich neighbors to help the people: “Makasarili kayong lahat!”

“Para sa mga kapitbahay ko dito sa subdivision, para sa akin makasarili kayong lahat, kayong mga hindi tumutulong sa ating mamamayan,” he said.

He also admitted that what he did was against the rules of their subdivision, but he still did it to spread awareness.

According to him, his live videos on Facebook was deleted due to unknown reasons.

Senator Risa Hontiveros criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for calling the health professionals who lost their lives because of the coronavirus as ‘fortunate’.

In a statement, Hontiveros said that the health workers are not lucky to lose their lives because of the virus, saying that no frontliners would perish if the government just gave them the right equipment to protect themselves from getting sick.

“Hindi po ‘swerte’ ang mga health workers na namatay dahil sa COVID-19. Our health workers should not have been dying in the first place if they had been given ample PPEs & access to testing! Ngayong may special powers & funds, no more excuses,” Hontiveros who’s also the only Senator who rejected the ‘Bayanihan To Heal As One Act’ tweeted.

She then urged the government to enhance the testing capacity in the country to prevent the spread of the virus.

Hontiveros also asked the government about their steps to ensure that the people affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) are going to receive help.

“What are the steps being taken to enhance our capacity for mass testing? How do we ensure that there are enough PPEs? How do we get the funds to the most vulnerable ASAP? We need to mobilize the funds now-kailangan na ito ng taumbayan. To defeat COVID,we need a sense of urgency,” she said.

“The Quarantine is essential at this time to slow the spread of the virus. But it cannot stand alone. For it to be effective, it should be backed up by intensified actions to increase the capacity of our health system, conduct mass testing, & protect our health workers,” she added.

Hindi po ‘swerte’ ang mga health workers na namatay dahil sa COVID-19.

Our health workers should not have been dying in the first place if they had been given ample PPEs & access to testing!

Ngayong may special powers & funds, no more excuses.

— risa hontiveros (@risahontiveros) March 31, 2020

According to Hontiveros, Duterte should act faster now as he already got the special powers he needed to address the problem as soon as possible.

“W/ all the funds & special powers at his disposal since last week, the Pres should at least act w/ a sense of urgency & provide the people w/ concrete plans to address the COVID-19 crisis. But after an almost 8-hour delay, his late-night talk show was a prelude to bad sleep,” she said.

Yesterday, President Duterte said that health workers who sacrificed their lives while fighting the virus are fortunate enough to leave this world as heroes.

“I assure you that your efforts will be rewarded. Your heroism will not be forgotten. Saludo kami sa inyo,” Duterte said.

“May doktor mga nurses namatay, sila ‘yong nasawi ang buhay para lang makatulong sa kapuwa. Napaksuwerte nila. Namatay sila para sa bayan,” he added.

“‘Yon ang dapat rason na bakit tayo mamatay,” Duterte said.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development already explained the process of how to avail the social amelioration program aimed to help the people affected by the enhanced community quarantine.

On Tuesday, DSWD published a video to teach the netizens how to avail of the social amelioration package from the government.

DSWD will provide social amelioration measures amounting to P5,000 to P8,000 for two months to families belonging to vulnerable sectors who have been affected by the community quarantine amid the COVID-19 crisis as mandated by Republic Act  (RA) 11469 or the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.”

The help will be distributed first in the form of food assistance, then after that they’re going to distribute it in the form of cash.

Photo: Usec. Annalyn M. Sevilla

Here are the steps on how to avail the package:

• The local government units (LGUs) are going to distribute the Social Amelioration Card (SAC) to their constituents.
• LGUs are required to distribute the card house-to-house.
• The applicant is going to receive two copies of the SACs, one copy for the IATF, and one copy for the beneficiary.
• The head of the family is going to list down the information of his/her kin in the SAC.
• The information should be written in all capital letters.
• The applicant should ensure that all the information they put in the SAC is complete.
• A representative of the LGU is going to visit their house again to get the form.
• You should only give the IATF copy to the LGU and keep the beneficiary copy for reference and monitoring.
• The social amelioration package is going to be distributed by the DSWD via LGUs.

DSWD clarified that the SAC form is only a ‘validation tool’ to see the families who need the most help from the government and receiving SAC doesn’t mean that you’re automatically a beneficiary.

“Ang lahat po ay nilalayon naming makatanggap ng Social Amerlioration Progran sublalit ang pagpapamahagi po ay naayon sa lebel ng pangangailangan. Kung kaya’t ang inyong pong kooperasyon, pagbibigayan at pangunawa ay higit na kinakailangan,” DSWD said in the video they published.

For more information, you can call the DSWD hotline 8-951-2803.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles already said that the social amelioration package should be distributed as soon as possible by the government.

Nograles ensured that only the eligible people are going to receive the help because aside from the LGUs they’re also going to look at the database of DSWD to see the list of families that really belong to the vulnerable sector.

“Yung national database po punong puno po yan ng lahat ng beneficiaries mula sa DSWD, mula sa DOLE, mula DA, at iba pang mga ahensya ng gobyerno… so lahat po yan ay naka centralize na sa database ng DSWD, so lahat ng government agencies are required to share their database ng beneficiaries nila para yung DSWD nalang ang mag coconsolidate ng listahan ng mga beneficiaries,” Nograles said.

“Mula sa database na yon ay makikita po natin kung sino yung kwalipikado based dito sa joint memorandum circular ng social amelioration program, so yun po yung mauuna nating bibigyan sa pasada na yan, habang ginagawa po natin yan ay hihingin po natin yung listahan mula sa LGUs at kasama na diyan mula yung sa barangay kapitan pero dapat ang pagbibigay ng listahan ay based sa guidelines natin yung kwalipikado na beneficiaries,” he added.

According to the joint memorandum circular, their target beneficiaries are families belong to either poor or informal sector which are at risk of not earning a living during the enhanced community quarantine, who may have at least one member belonging to any of the following vulnerable or disadvantaged sectors:

• Senior Citizens
• Persons with Disability
• Pregnant and Lactating Women
• Solo Parents
• Overseas Filipinos in Distress
• Indigent Indigenous Peoples
• Underprivileged Sector and Homeless Citizens
• Informal Economy Workers

President Rodrigo Duterte warned the Local Government Units (LGUs) not to attempt to corrupt the help going to be sent by the national government, including the funds for the ‘biggest social protection program’ in the country’s history.

According to him, public officials should not act like they own the money of the people and they must honestly distribute the help to their constituents.

“I will see to it even tomorrow, if I discover some embezzlements, some hoarding there, at dina-divert ‘yung pagkain sa mga tao na dapat hindi sa kanila, you better think. I am not a cruel man. Pero kung may report ang pulis, I will order your detention hanggang matapos itong COVID-19,” Duterte said in his televised address.

“Sabi ko huwag ngayon. Huwag na huwag kayong mandaya, mangurakot at taguin ‘yung mga pagkain at ‘yung iba hindi bigyan kasi… You know, people sometimes think that they own whatever they receive from government. This is not yours, neither is it mine,” he added.

The President then vowed to punish every public official that would attempt to use the money of the government for personal purposes.

“Pero kung mamulitika ka tapos mabalitaan ko na ‘yan ang nagawa mo, I will suspend you ora mismo. And for those who are really absconding the money, I will detain you, I said, and maybe I will release you pagkatapos ng COVID.”

Yesterday, President Duterte announced the 200-B social protection measures for the poor and called it the “largest and widest social protection program in the country’s history,”.

Under the “Bayanihan to Heal As One Law” low-income households should receive P5,000 to P8,000 monthly from the government for two months.

Senator Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan III asked President Rodrigo Duterte if he already did anything since he signed the Bayanihan to Heal as One law.

In a Facebook post, Pangilinan who’s also the president of the Liberal Party asked the Duterte administration about the promises they made to the people like the food packs, money and personal protective equipment (PPE).

“Where is the money? PPEs, food packs? Plan?” Pangilinan said.

The said law gives the President special powers to hasten the procurement of necessities.

It also includes the monthly ₱5,000 to ₱8,000 emergency subsidy for 18 million low-income households for up to two months.

Pangilinan cited that The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) led by Duterte was required to submit a weekly report about the progress made by the national government since the special powers were given to the chief executive.

“It’s been five days since the emergency powers, and as required by law, IATF needs to submit to Congress and effectively to the people a progress report every week,” the Senator who also voted in favor of the Bayanihan law said.

“We’re almost halfway in our enhanced community quarantine, at katulad ng nabanggit natin sa ating pahayag nang ipasa ng Senado itong batas na ito, gusto nating makita na ipinapatupad ang batas at inilalaan ang pondo nang ayon dito at gaya ng inaasahan,” he added.

One of the most notable progress made by the Duterte administration since the activation of Bayanihan Law was the purchase of 1,000,000 pieces of PPEs worth P1.8-B to address the shortage of equipment being used by the medical frontliners in the country.

The President was expected to address the nation tonight and probably going to inform the people about the actions made by the government during the first week of the Bayanihan law.

Senator Manny Pacquiao said that worldly riches are valueless now amid the C̶O̶V̶I̶D̶-19 crisis happening in the Philippines and other countries.

In a statement, Pacquiao who’s under home quarantine said that having too much money is useless nowadays because people couldn’t go out to spend their money and wearing luxury things are pointless because no one would see it.

According to him, the enhanced community quarantine is the right time to spend more time with your family.

“Walang value ‘yung pera ngayon no? Kahit ang dami mong pera, wala kang mabili, kasi lahat sarado. Kahit anong ganda ng kotse mo ngayon, wala kang mapuntahan. Kahit LV o Gucci pa suot mo, nasa bahay ka lang din naman,” Pacquiao said.

“In this time of crisis, you’ll appreciate more all your memories and quality time with your families and friends. ‘Yun lang yung meron tayong lahat ngayon,” he added.

He then told the people that after the crisis, they should be more humble and focus on having a relationship with God than seeking more wealth.

“Kaya pagtapos ng lockdown na ito, we should learn to humble ourselves na it is not the material things that we should crave for. It is about our relationship to God and the memories and the legacy that we will leave to our children,” he said.

Pacquiao is one of the most richest Filipinos in the Philippines, but he’s also known for being religious and humble because of experiencing poverty before he became a successful boxer.

A few days ago, Pacquiao was ordered by the officials of Dasmarinas village in Makati to undergo quarantine after having contact with Senator Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel III who tested positive in the said virus.

The Mayor of Angeles City Carmelo ‘Pogi’ Lazatin was receiving criticisms on social media after he ordered the closure of a private hospital for accepting a c̶o̶r̶o̶n̶a̶v̶i̶r̶u̶s̶ patient from another place.

According to the City Information Office of Angeles City, the Philippine Rehabilitation Institute (PRI) in Barangay Pampang admitted a c̶o̶r̶o̶n̶a̶v̶i̶r̶u̶s̶ positive and three people under investigation from Quezon City which according to Lazatin is against the agreement between his government and the hospital.

He accused PRI of endangering the people of Angeles, that’s why he ordered the total lockdown of the hospital.

“PRI has put the entire Angeles City in danger. Pinalusutan nila tayo ng positive patient na hindi taga rito,” Lazatin said.

Lazatin also ordered the Business Permit and Licensing Divison to immediately revoke the business permit of PRI.

“The city government will also prepare legal actions against PRI for putting the entire Angeles City in danger. Under my term, hindi na mabubuksan yang hospital na yan,” Lazatin said.

Mayor Pogi also ordered the law enforcers in Angeles to be more strict in guarding the borders of the city.

“Wala na pong makakapasok sa syudad Angeles maliban na lamang sa pagkain, medical emergency na hindi connected sa COVID 19 at yung iilang nakasaad sa direktiba ng DILG,” Lazatin said.

Lazatin also deployed policemen and barangay tanods to make sure that no one could get out of PRI building, even if they’re nurses or doctors.

Meanwhile, PRI said in a statement that they’re the only private hospital in Angeles City agreed to become the COVID-19 center.

They also said that the agreement between their hospital and Angeles City was not finalized because of the lack of support from the LGU.

“Since the first meeting on March 19, 2020, PRI Medical Center got 1 gallon of alcohol and one infrared scanner from the Local Government Unit,” the statement read.

PRI also informed the Mayor that they could not refuse any patients, citing their Hippocratic Oath to treat anyone regardless of race, religion, and ethnicity.

The hospital also narrated that all the hospital staffs were in full PPE gear when the patients from Quezon City arrived.

According to them, the patients include a 66-year old cardiologist, his wife, his nephew, and his driver.

They also assured the people of Angeles that they did proper security measures to ensure the safety of the communities near the hospital.

Meanwhile, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) reminded local government officials that they have no right to close down any hospitals.

“Hindi pupuwede ‘yun. May mga procedures naman tayo kung papaano ihahandle ‘yung isang PUI (person under investigation) o positive COVID patient. ‘Yan ay global problem, hindi pupuwede ‘yung ‘babakuran namin ito,'” DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said in a Dobol B sa News TV interview.

“Lalo ngayon kailangan natin ang lahat ng Level 2, Level 3 hospitals, may atas ang DOH (Department of Health) na ready silang tumanggap ng COVID patients,” he added.

Año said that they already talked with Lazatin about the issue and already decided to allow the PRI to operate again.

The DILG Sec also urged all LGUs to help each other amid the crisis being faced by the country.