PEOPLE talk about...
[1] QUARREL OVER DIMINISHING DISTANCE BETWEEN PASSENGERS in a public utility vehicle: from one meter to 0.75 meter, starting last Monday, September 14; to 0.5 meter, starting September 28; then to 0.3 meter, starting October 12.
Quarrel between Department of Transportation and IATF officials may be obscuring the study on the "science" on distancing and its effect on the campaign against the virus. In short, what difference would inches in distancing make?
The nagging question is who enforces it at each vehicle, how effectively it will be enforced, and whether a measuring device, a "metrosan," be used.
[2] PROCEDURE ON COVID AS CAUSE OF DEATH in current hospital cases is apparently not yet settled, standardized and made clear.
If a patient is tested positive for coronavirus, admitted to and treated at the hospital, recovers, but later dies of some other disease, is he or she still classified as Covid-19 casualty?
3 Garcia brothers
Actually, there were three Garcia brothers who went through the ordeal of contracting coronavirus: the two town mayors, Nelson and Marlon, and the congressman, Pablo John. The three were found positive.
Nelson and Marlon were admitted to the hospital; Pablo John kept himself at home.
Ex-mayor Nelson and Mayor Nelson died, just days apart, September 1 and September 6. Congressman PJ survived, is alive and well, but had to publicly debunk Thursday, September 17, the rumor he had also died.
Course for elective officials
A "product of Harvard" sits at the Cebu City Council and it's not Councilor James Anthony Cuenco who Tuesday, September 15, took his oath to fill the seat of his dad, the late councilor and former congressman Tony Cuenco.
The councilor who has received the Harvard billing is Niña Mabatid who finished an online course on "Creating Public Value and Public Administration" with the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education program.
Prisca Nina O. Mabatid, whose Facebook account carries the catchphrase "Nothing is impossible," is "certified" in the publicized diploma that she "graduated" the course after going through its requirements for the period of March 9, 2018 to May 10, 2020.
Executive Education at Harvard Kennedy School is promoted online as an "invaluable educational opportunity for senior leaders from every sector of society who seek to optimize their effectiveness and make a difference." Specifically, the program aims to give "change-makers the skills and knowledge necessary to advance the public good and make an immediate impact in their communities." The program comprises mostly of eight-week courses, which are supposed to provide educational experiences that are similar to the ones found on campus.
Members of the City Council now have in their midst maybe not the regular Harvard alumna but "a product" still of the school that is the public-policy school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school is also known as John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Next for Mabatid
The additional item in Mabatid's bio fuels the speculation at Cebu City Hall that the city councilor may seek a higher position in the 2020 election.
Her activities during the health crisis tell more than the standard goal of elective officials, which is to get reelected. To Mabatid's base in Mabolo, the goal is to be elected to a loftier office.
P2M insurance for frontliners
Being publicized is the report that businessman Ramon S. Ang has completed providing "some 5,000 frontliners in Cebu with life insurance of P2 million each."
Ang, 66, is a Filipino businessman who is president and CEO of Frontier Investment Holdings Inc., said to be the largest shareholder of San Miguel Corp.
Ang's donation is "to show our deep appreciation and continued support for medical frontliners battling the pandemic."
Frontline public health workers in Cebu may check if they are included among 5,000 beneficiaries of Ang's generosity and appreciation. The announcement didn't specify names or places of work of those given the insurance.
***
Tell us about it.
[paseares1@gmail.com]