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Malicious, Dangerous! ‘Mayor Beng fights back’ M
AYOR BENG Climaco has branded as “malicious” the false information and fake news being peddled by his foes and political trolls amid the coronavirus pandemic. Climaco blasted of the rising number of propagandists who are Covid-19 infections and spreading fake news on the late releasing of test social media, particu- results by health authorlarly on Facebook, and ities. Continue on page 3 especially on the issue
There may be no immunity against Covid-19, new Wuhan study suggests
Mayor Beng Climaco
ZCWD consumers get P500 off their bill THE LOCAL government handed over some P29.36 million in cheque to the Zamboanga City Water District or ZCWD as part of its assistance to tens of thousands of bonafide concessionaires. Mayor Beng Climaco said the P500 one-time cash subsidy to water concessionaires is part of the City Government’s second wave of assistance during the coronavirus pandemic. She said the subsidy will be credited to the Continue on page 3
The study looked at whether hospital workers exposed to infected patients during the early stage of the outbreak in Wuhan had developed antibodies. (Xinhua)
Mayor Beng Climaco hands over a cheque worth over P29 million to the Zamboanga City Water District as part of the local government’s assistance to water consumers. Each bonafide consumer gets P500 subsidy and is credited to their account. (Giana Andrion)
HUMANS MAY never develop immunity against Covid-19, according to new research on antibodies by Chinese and American scientists. Their conclusion was based on a study looking at whether hospital workers in Wuhan who were directly exposed to infected patients at the early stage of the outbreak had developed antibodies. The deadly new disease was
first detected in the Chinese city late last year. At least a quarter of the more than 23,000 samples tested could have been infected with the virus at some stage, according to the scientists. But only 4 per cent had developed antibodies as of April. “People are unlikely to produce long-lasting protective antibodies Continue on page 2
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There may be no immunity against Covid-19, new Wuhan study suggests Continued from page 1 against this virus,” the researchers concluded in a non-peer-reviewed paper posted recently on preprint website medRxiv.org. Many efforts to fight the pandemic are being done on the assumption that people who have had Covid-19 will produce antibodies that will protect them from reinfection. Those efforts include countries considering issuing “immune certificates”, the over 100 potential vaccines in development, and recovered patients being encouraged to give blood for experimental drugs and therapies. But the new research in Wuhan suggested not everyone infected was producing antibodies, or producing long-lasting ones. Antibodies are the molecules generated by the immune system to bind with the virus spike protein and stop it from infecting cells. Some, like immunoglobulin G, or IgG, can remain in the system for a long time – it has been found in severe acute respiratory (Sars) patients 12 years after they were infected. Led by Wang Xinhuan from Wuhan University’s Zhongnan Hospital and scientists from the University of Texas in Galveston, the study looked at samples from health care workers and general hospital staff in the city. They found that 4 per cent of the health care workers and 4.6 per cent of general hospital staff had the IgG
antibody. Earlier research found that 2.5 per cent of hospital employees in Wuhan had contracted Covid-19 during the outbreak, but it has been estimated that the real proportion of infections among this group could be as high as 25 per cent. Some people have mild or no symptoms when they have the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, and may not even know they have it. And with human-to-human transmission not confirmed until late January, many doctors and nurses in Wuhan were not wearing extra protective gear to treat patients. “They just got infected with Sars-CoV-2 and fought off the virus with their own immune systems,” according to Wang and his team, using the clinical name for the coronavirus. Patients with confirmed infections, where the symptoms were usually more obvious, tended to produce more antibodies, according to the researchers. An earlier study found all confirmed cases they looked at had developed the IgG antibody two weeks after the disease onset. Wang’s team also suggested that more than 10 per cent of the people in their study may have lost antibody protection within a month or so. “Our findings have important implications for herd immunity, antibody-based therapeutics, public health
strategies, and vaccine development,” they said. Based on their research, they said antibody tests may not be enough to tell whether someone had been infected, and the presence of antibodies like IgG may not necessarily provide immunity later. “The idea of an immune certificate for recovered Covid-19 patients is invalid,” Wang wrote. Meanwhile, a separate study by a team at Tsinghua University in Beijing suggested that the more antibodies produced by Covid-19 patients, the worse the outcome – the patient with the strongest antibody response in their study died. They pointed to a phenomenon known as antibody-dependent enhancement, in which viruses “hitch a ride” on an antibody to infect cells they could not enter otherwise. Wang said that was “a big concern to be closely monitored”. But Wu Yingsong, director of antibody engineering research at the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, said the Wuhan study should be treated with caution. He noted that most antibody tests only checked for a couple of antibodies to save time and cost – and that could mean false results. “There are still a lot of fundamental things about the coronavirus we don’t understand,” he said. (Stephen Chen – SCMP)
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June 22-28, 2020
Malicious, Dangerous! ‘Mayor Beng fights back’
Continued from page 1 The mayor also branded the accusations as “very dangerous.” “Actualmente este insinuations are very malicious and very dangerous, as Local Chief Executive you do not know what it feels every time I received a (report of Covid) positive case. No one would want to endanger Zamboanga City, aquellos que tiene malicioso pensamiento que ta pensa que ta queda kita alegre na maga caso positivo is very dangerous. Poreso gane este maga tiempo mas bueno pa si concentra ya lang kita na de atun trabaho imbes de hace calayat maga false information.” “We are really praying that every Zamboangueño be healed because if every Zamboangueño is healed then Zamboanga City will be able to recover. Stop insinuating and stop accusing (and) let us work together for the benefit of Zamboanga City,” Climaco said. Working Hard She said the local task force on Covid-19 and health authorities are exercising all measures to ensure public safety despite being under the General Community Quarantine based on the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases and approved by President Rodrigo Duterte and the “We are really exercising every ounce of safety
measures and sometimes people think the City Government is very slow, but we have to be safe than sorry,” Climaco said, adding, the local government has to set three vital measures to further combat the spread of the deadly Covid-19 disease following the emergence of new positive cases. “We have to set three very important measures: One is to strengthen the monitoring in our barangay health emergency response; second is to provide opportunity for data collection and contact tracing and next, we need to also prepare system and a module where every individual Zamboangueño is responsible enough when they are in public. So these three (important measures) have to be set in place so that we will be able to be in a more relaxed, new normal process in the city of Zamboanga,” she said. “Na favor de Dios, el de atun maga paciente de Covid-19 ta recobre embuenamente con el amor, ayuda y compacion del de atun mga medical front-liners pero mientras tiene ta recobre, tiene tamen ta umenta el caso. We need to remain vigilant and to continue carrying out the minimum health protocols. To move forward and to rise from the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to balance el de atun health and the
economy poreso ay esperanza kita el declaracion del national IATF so cosa ya ba el status del ciudad de Zamboanga,” Climaco added. City Health Officer Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite was also saddened by the spread of the black propaganda, saying, health authorities are working hard to ensure the safety of everyone against the Covid-19. Welfare Goods Even the welfare goods distributed to families affected by the health crisis were not spared by those trying to besmirch the reputation of the mayor. Anti-Climaco trolls and black propagandists even made an issue on the 250,000 bags of rice purchased by the local government from 5MJ Marketing and distributed to households in all 98 barangays here. They accused the local government of favoring 5MJ Marketing despite the strict procurement process followed by the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) headed by Erwin Bernardo. Bernardo repeatedly rejected allegations of overpricing in the purchase of the rice. He said the acquisition of rice went through negotiated procurement under emergency case, particularly in the instance, “when time is of the essence arising from natural or man-
made calamities.” He said the BAC approved the purchase of rice at P1,300 per 25 kilo-bag after the supplier, 5MJ Marketing, submitted all legal documents required by laws. Bernardo explained that in order to determine whether the supplier is technically, legally and financially capable to address the emergency, BAC required 5MJ Marketing to submit the following documents – the PhilGeps (Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System) Platinum Certificate, Omnibus Sworn Statement, Latest Income Tax Returns and Business Permit. He said aside from the submission of the documents, it is very important that the supplier has an excellent track record with the procuring entity. “It is equally important to use the contents of the PhilGEPS electronic registry of suppliers to determine the eligibility of a supplier relative to its past transactions with other entities of the government,” he said, adding, “the procurement of rice was done within the bounds of the procurement law and the price is reasonable based on the prevailing market price.” Bernardo said the procurement of rice went through the process and it was done within the bounds of the procurement law and the price is
ZCWD consumers get P500 off their bill
ZCWD General Manager Leonardo Rey Vasquez signs acknowledgement of the local government cheque worth over P29 million as subsidy for water consumers. (Giana Andrion) Continued from page 1 account of all bonafide water concessionaires upon payment of their bill. “This has been our promise to the people of
Zamboanga and today this became a reality with the support of our ZCWD led by General Manager Leonardo Rey Vasquez and the (Chairman of the) Board
led by Jose Vicente Atilano III,” Climaco said. ZCWD executives received the cheque at City Hall during a simple ceremony. Also present during
the ceremonial turnover of the cheque led by Vasquez and Atilano were Engineer Marli de Fiesta, Michael Carbon, Board Vice Chairman James Makasiar and Board Director Arnold Martin Atilano. Vasquez said the ZCWD will deduct the P500 subsidy from the water bill of residential and semi-commercial accounts. And for those with water consumption of less than P500 a month, the remaining amount will be deducted in succeeding bills until the subsidy is consumed. He said the deduction will be reflected in the consumers’ water bills and covered by an official receipt. Climaco said a similar arrangement will also be made with the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative. (Zamboanga Post)
reasonable based on the prevailing market price. “It cannot be denied that we are in a state of worldwide calamity. Hence, this alternative mode of procurement was resorted to instead of the usual competitive bidding because it relates to time element as the primordial reason,” he said. Probe Councilor Joselito Macrohon, a political ally of defeated mayoralty candidate Celso Lobregat, has sent a letter to Duterte in May asking for an investigation into the rice purchase. But Councilor Cesar Jimenez said there is nothing to investigate since no administrative case has been filed against anyone involved in the rice purchase. “Aserca del carta de Consejal Lit-lit Macrohon, el de mio mensaje na maga miembros del Consejo local, hace ustedes el de ustedes trabajo de legislacion. Si tiene ustedes ta mira anomalia na comprada del arroz, y si ta mira ustedes ya aprovecha yo, go ahead and vote and have me investigated I have nothing to hide,” Climaco said. “Bien mucho problema el ciudad y el entero mundo por causa del pandemic, as mayor of Zamboanga City, I have a sworn duty to the people I serve. We did what we need to do, with God’s grace, heal the sick and feed the hungry. Solamente el administracion na favor de Dios, de Beng Climaco el ya puede dale un saco arroz na cada familia - mas de 300,000 familia - aquellos que ta alborota y ta hace grande con este issue del arroz por que aquel tiempo del de ustedes amo ya puede ba dale un saco arroz na maga pobre? Contesta.” Climaco said Zamboanga is facing a health crisis, yet her foes continue to take advantage of the pandemic in destroying the unified efforts of the local government in addressing the Covid-19 situation because of vested political interest. “Bien grande el problema ahora, man politica pa kita? Nosabe gane kita hasta cuando este crisis, nosabe gane kita si quien esta vivo y quien el despide y bien lejos pa gayot el eleccion, bien mucho ta gasta, ta basya cen alli na maga Facebook (sponsored) pages para hace
malo con este administracion. Apurao man gayot man compania, ta tomo bentaja na situacion siendo bien busy kita atende con el necesidad, trabaja anay para protecta con el ciudad. I need to keep my focus on the urgent task as Mayor rather than answering all your insinuations,” Climaco said. “I need to work because this is my sworn duty and the people of Zamboanga elected me to serve you as your Mayor, to protect our City most especially in this time of the pandemic. With God’s grace and la Virgen Nuestra Señora del Pilar, este el de mio tercer termino que ustedes ya dale el victoria para sirvir con ustedes and I will not fail the people of Zamboanga. I will continue to do what is needed to protect our people and focus on what matters in this time of the pandemic with God’s grace, to heal the sick and feed the hungry,” she added. Climaco’s political supporters have previously denounced what they claimed was an orchestrated black propaganda peddled in social media, especially in sponsored public groups believed being funded by anti-Climaco forces. The black propaganda, they said is being used to attack Climaco’s integrity and her strong moral principles, and moral uprightness. And even the local government’s welfare programs are being maligned anti-Climaco groups to reinforce the spread of fake news on social media. Climaco’s political advisers also echoed the same suspicion and said all the black propaganda and fake news against the mayor is part of a strategy as early as today in preparation for the next elections. One of her adviser’s likened these black propagandists to a cancer cell that multiplies and attacks the good cells, but “the mayor’s hard work and outstanding and transparent governance is like a strong antibody that completely destroys the cancer.” This is Climaco’s last and final term and several political personalities are eyeing the top post and the vice mayoralty position, including the two congressional seats. (Zamboanga Post)
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The Zamboanga Post
June 22-28, 2020
Zamboanga Pictures in the News Local government of Zamboanga City at work. This is where your taxes go. (Photos by Bong Serondo, Eugene Elnar, Carlo Ezer Camins, and Giana Andrion)
June 22-28, 2020
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Zamboanga Pictures in the News
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June 22-28, 2020
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June 22-28, 2020
Across : 1. Legendary stories 6. Uno 9. Pig’s pad 12. Box 13. Business VIP 14. Pitching stat 15. Church walkway 16. Burst of bad temper 18. California wine valley 19. Make lace 20. Epochs 21. Caveman’s era (2 wds.) 24. Concurrence 27. Time past 30. ___ Witherspoon of “Sweet Home Alabama” 31. Had 33. And so forth (abbr.) 34. Proposed as a candidate 38. Renovator 40. Pub drinks 42. Shade 43. Stood up 47. Childhood disease 49. Golfer ___ Woods 50. Bathroom rug 51. Tax org. 52. ___ eclipse 53. Lyric verse 54. Compass dir. 55. Printing machine
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June 22-28, 2020
RECIPE
HEALTH
May Lagnat, Anong Dapat Gawin? Ni Dr. Willie T. Ong Pangkaraniwan sa isang tao na magkaroon ng 3 beses na paglalagnat bawat taon. Kadalasan ay trangkaso, sipon, o ubo ang dahilan. Ang lagnat ay isang pamamaraan ng katawan para labanan ang impeksiyon. Kapag may lagnat, pumupunta ang dugo mula sa ating balat at papasok sa mga organo ng katawan. Dahil dito, mas napupuksa ang mga impeksiyon. Kung may lagnat, heto ang mga dapat tandaan: 1. Siguraduhin na may lagnat talaga. Nagbabago ang temperature natin depende sa ating gawain. Kung tayo’y bagong ehersisyo, puwedeng tumaas ang temperature natin. Kapag mainit ang panahon at lalo na sa hapon, mas mataas din ang ating temperature. Ang tunay na may lagnat ay ang temperature na lampas 37.8 degrees Centigrade. 2. Kung walang thermometer, puwedeng gamitin ang balat sa
likod ng ating kamay at ipatong sa noo o leeg ng pasyente. Mas sensitibo itong parte ng kamay (sa may kamao pababa sa mga daliri) kumpara sa ating palad. 3. Uminom ng 8-12 basong tubig o likido sa isang araw. Pinakamaganda ang tubig lang, ngunit puwede rin uminom ng fruit juice. Ang pag-inom ng tubig ay nakapagpapababa ng lagnat dahil inilalabas nito ang init ng katawan sa pamamagitan ng pag-ihi. 4. Punasan ng basang tuwalya ang katawan. Ang pagpupunas sa maiinit na parte ng katawan tulad ng singit, kili-kili at leeg ay nakapagpapaginhawa sa maysakit. Huwag basain ang buong katawan, kundi ilang parte lamang. Kapag napunasan na ang katawan ay huwag na itong tuyuin. Hayaan mong kusang mag-evaporate ang tubig para sumingaw ang init sa katawan. 5. Huwag magbalot ng kumot o jacket. Kahit ika’y giniginaw (dahil sa
pagtaas ng lagnat), huwag magbalot ng kumot dahil lalo lang tataas ang lagnat. Magsuot lang ng komportableng damit. 6. Dapat ay hindi mainit o kulob ang iyong kuwarto. Kung may aircon o electric fan ay buksan ito. Ang preskong hangin ay makatutulong sa pagdaloy ng oxygen. 7. Kumain ng sapat at masustansya. Huwag maniwala sa kasabihan na dapat ay hindi ka kakain kapag may lagnat. Kailangan ng katawan ang lakas para labanan ang sakit. Ang lugaw, prutas at gulay ay mabuti sa katawan. 8. Matulog at magpahinga. Ito talaga ang nagpapalakas sa katawan. 9. Puwedeng uminom ng Paracetamol tablet o syrup tuwing 4 na oras kapag mataas ang lagnat sa 38.5 degrees Centigrade. Kumonsulta sa doktor kung lampas sa 39 degrees ang lagnat, masama ang pakiramdam o higit sa 3 araw ang lagnat.
thecountrycook.net
BUFFALO CHICKEN PASTA INGREDIENTS : • 3-4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks • 2 10.5 oz cans condensed cream of chicken soup • 3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
• • • • • • •
1 medium red onion, finely chopped 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp garlic powder 2 cups sour cream 1/2 cup ranch dressing 1 cup mozzarella cheese 1 lb penne pasta, cooked
INSTRUCTIONS : 1. 2. 3. 4.
In a 5 quart (or larger) slow cooker, mix the cream of chicken soup, buffalo wing sauce and red onion. Season chicken chunks with salt, pepper (optional) and garlic powder. Add the chicken to the sauce and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours (un-
5.
6. 7. 8. 9.
til chicken is thoroughly cooked). Add in sour cream and ranch dressing. (This will cool down the spicy flavors a bit and really add incredible creaminess!) Stir in shredded mozzarella. Stir until well-mixed. Add cooked noodles to the buffalo chicken mixture in your slow cooker. Mix well.
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Follow health protocols, GCQ guidelines
M
AYOR BENG Climaco reminded the public to strictly follow health protocols and community quarantine guidelines after the Zamboanga City Task Force Covid-19 recorded new cases of the novel coronavirus disease. Zamboanga now quently wash hands with has 3 dozen active cases soap and water and pracwith five deaths since the tice social distancing,” pandemic spread here in Climaco said. She said the local task March. Two of the new force on Covid-19 and Covid-19 patients ar- health authorities are exrived here from Cebu, ercising all measures to and the third is a Filipi- ensure public safety deno overseas worker who spite being under the Genreturned to Zamboanga eral Community Quaranfrom Manila via Cagayan tine based on the decision of the Inter-Agency Task de Oro City. The two other cases Force (IATF) on Emerging are a student who had Infectious Diseases and contacts with 2 Covid-19 approved by President Ropatients in Zamboanga drigo Duterte and the “We are really exercisCity, and a sexagenarian ing every ounce of safety who has pneumonia. “We urge everyone to measures and sometimes continue complying with people think the City Govthe General Community ernment is very slow, but Quarantine guidelines, we have to be safe than specifically the mini- sorry,” Climaco said, addmum health standards ing, the local government - wear face mask, fre- has to set three vital mea-
THE LOCAL government and representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Labor and Employment continue inspection of various establishments to ensure it follow quarantine guidelines and compliant to the minimum health protocols under the new normal system. The inspection team included DTI Regional Director Ceferino Rubio and Assistant Regional Director Al-Zamir Lipae, and DOLE Provincial Director Grace Aduca, City Licensing Officer Benjie Barredo and other representatives from different local government offices. (BPLO/DTI) sures to further combat the spread of the deadly Covid-19 disease following the emergence of new
positive cases. “We have to set three very important measures: One is to strengthen the
monitoring in our barangay health emergency response; second is to provide opportunity for
Zambo LGU, DSWD roll out pension program for the elderly
SocPen beneficiaries sign a set of documents during the pension payout in Barangay Baliwasan. (Giana Andrion) THE LOCAL government of Zamboanga City, in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development or DSWD, has rolled out the Social
Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens or SocPen. The DSWD program, which began in 2010, aims to extend additional financial assistance to poor elderly citizens and
help fulfill the objectives of Republic Act No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, according to Mayor Beng Climaco. Climaco said the
Zamboanga City Social Welfare and Development Office and the DSWD have already released P500 stipend to each of the beneficiaries of the program in different barangays to help augment their daily subsistence and other medical needs. The law specifies that senior citizens qualified to receive social pension are those who are frail, sickly or with disability; and without any pension from other government agencies; and without a permanent source of income or source of financial assistance or compensation to support their basic needs. The DSWD earlier said to ensure the efficient SocPen payout, its field offices will provide the official list of social
pensioners to the local government and forge a memorandum of agreement for the distribution of the grant, specifically for the duration of the community quarantine. But some DSWD field offices are also conducting cash payout directly to the beneficiaries through their special disbursing officers. However, the distribution schedules may depend due to the on-going implementation of the community quarantine and other circumstances in the area. Climaco reminded social workers and beneficiaries to strictly follow safety and health protocols to lessen their exposure or risk in contracting the coronavirus disease. (Zamboanga Post)
data collection and contact tracing and next, we need to also prepare system and a module where every individual Zamboangueño is responsible enough when they are in public. So these three (important measures) have to be set in place so that we will be able to be in a more relaxed, new normal process in the city of Zamboanga,” she said. “Na favor de Dios, el de atun maga paciente de Covid-19 ta recobre embuenamente con el amor, ayuda y compacion del de atun mga medical front-liners pero mientras tiene ta recobre, tiene tamen ta umenta el caso. We need to remain vigilant and to continue carrying out the minimum health protocols. To move forward and to rise from the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to balance el de atun health and the economy poreso ay esperanza kita el declaracion del national IATF so cosa ya ba el status del ciudad de Zamboanga,” Climaco added. (Zamboanga Post)