Five little ways to help others during the quarantine : The little acts of kindness go a long way to show how we are #OneAgainstCOVID19

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As the entire country deals with the current public health situation, it can be tough to find spots of hope and happiness in the confines of our home. While we may be healthy physically, it is also important to keep our mental health in check. In a time of difficulty, it isn’t too hard for all of us to be someone else’s source of light with small acts of kindness even when we cannot be physically there.

You might be thinking how to do anything when you’re practicing social distancing and staying at home. With the help of apps like PayMaya, it’s easier than ever to send some love and share your blessings with others. Here are little ways to spread love in the time of COVID-19.

1. Send money to anyone who needs it

Whether you want to help out a relative, a friend, or the family of your kasambahay, you can transfer funds quickly and easily to any PayMaya account, Smart Padala agents, Palawan Express, or any bank accounts under Instapay using the PayMaya app. In these trying times, helping them with funds for food and other supplies can really mean a lot.

Just make sure your account is upgraded so you can easily send funds to your peers. PayMaya’s upgrade is pretty easy and can be done within 24 hours, provided that you have sufficient documents. Learn how to upgrade your account by visiting https://www.paymaya.com/upgrade.

2. Help pay the bills

Now that work is a little harder to come by, there may be people you know who need help paying bills, such as your parents or your kasambahay. If you’re able to, chipping in for bills can go a long way in this time of need. Fortunately, it’s also incredibly easy to pay a wide variety of billers on the PayMaya app, like Meralco, Smart, Manila Water, and a lot more.

You can do this with a few taps on your PayMaya app’s Pay Bills function in just a few minutes – and in the comfort and safety of your home to boot.

3. Buy a hearty snack for a friend

Some of us may be having a hard time emotionally during this crisis, so a favorite snack could do a lot to cheer our friends up. Why not have milk tea delivered to a friend who’s craving for it? You can pay for food delivery services with your PayMaya card, and restaurants like Domino’s Pizza, Goldilocks, Burger King, and Army Navy with your PayMaya number. So it’s definitely easy to do!

4. Treat a delivery person to a meal

You might have some food delivered every now and then during the quarantine, so why not take the time to treat your hardworking riders to an extra meal or snack to keep their energy up? When you pay for food delivery using PayMaya, consider ordering another item for your rider to show them how much you appreciate what they do. Angkas, for example, has launched a PayMaya QR code where you can donate directly for the benefit of their drivers.

5. Donate to organizations providing response and relief

If you’ve got some money to spare, especially some Balik Bayad from PayMaya, why not consider donating it to organizations that need your help? There are a lot of organizations raising funds to provide protective equipment, food, and other essentials to both frontliners and Filipinos affected by COVID-19, and you can immediately donate to any of them through the PayMaya app or donate.paymaya.com as part of the #OneAgainstCOVID19 initiative. These organizations have collectively raised P11 million in a week through this platform, proving that all it takes is extra left over to be pledged for a good cause.

With all these little acts of kindness, we can help each other out in this crisis and stand as #OneAgainstCOVID19. If you don’t have a PayMaya account yet and would like a faster and more convenient way to help, you can easily make one by downloading PayMaya for iOS or Android from the App Store or Google Play.

For more information and updates on PayMaya’s donation drives, follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. To help you maximize your PayMaya account, just visit https://www.paymaya.com/quick-guide.

PhilHealth sets new case rate benefits for COVID-19 patients starting April 15

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PhilHealth President Ricardo Morales said on Tuesday that all corona virus (COVID-19) patients admitted April 15 onwards will be covered by a new case rate package of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, to be divided into four categories.

Mild pneumonia: P43,997 

Moderate pneumonia: P143,267 

Severe pneumonia: P333,519 

Critical pneumonia: P786,384

“Up to April 14, sasagutin ng PhilHealth. Walang dapat ibayad ang mga pasyente (Up to April 14, PhilHealth will shoulder everything. The patient should not pay for anything),” Morales said in the Laging Handa virtual briefing.

“Yung pneumonia kasi is the complication of COVID-19. Ang babasehan nito yung date of admission. If they are admitted after April 14 or April 15 onwards, ito ang gagamitin na rate sa kanila (Pneumonia is the complication of COVID-19. We will base it on the date of admission. If they are admitted after April 14 or April 15 onwards, these are the rates that will be used for them),” Morales explained.

While PhilHealth has “sufficient” funds, Morales noted it is not “unlimited” hence the new case rate for COVID-19 patients.

“Kaya nga tayo mag-e-enforce nitong case rate para meron tayong sustainability sa anti-COVID campaign. Although yung pondo ng PhilHealth is sufficient, hindi naman unlimited,” he said.

(This is why we are enforcing a case rate so that we have sustainability in our anti-COVID campaign. Although Philhealth’s fund is sufficient, it is not unlimited.)

PhilHealth earlier said it will shhe Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine was extended until April. It was originally expected to be lifted by midnight of April 13.

The government is also eyeing to start mass testing of persons suspected of being infected by COVID-19 on April 14.

Chinese medical experts arrived in Manila to share their learnings in handling COVID-19 cases

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Twelve Chinese medical experts arrived in Manila April 5 to share their learnings in handling COVID-19 cases with Filipino medical professionals.

“They have a lot of good practices when they managed their COVID-19 patients in Wuhan and Hubei,” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, referring to the Chinese medical experts who had firsthand experience in the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

However, Duque clarified that their tasks will be purely advisory. “It is really guiding how to improve, level-up our COVID-19 response, learn different levels of surveillance, risk-assessment, isolation strategies, detection through accurate testing, clinical case management, and non-pharmaceutical public health measures," he added. 

The Chinese medical experts, together with DOH staff, are scheduled to visit RITM, the Lung Center of the Philippines, San Lazaro Hospital and quarantine facilities to train Filipino medical professionals. They will be here for 15 days or until April 19. 

The Chinese experts also brought with them 5,000 PPEs, 300,000 surgical masks, 30,000 medical N95 masks, 5,000 medical protective face shields and 30 non-invasive ventilators from the Chinese Government.

(Press Release/5 April 2020)

Being Courageous May Not Always Be Easy — But These Women Are Proving It Can Be Done: Canva & The Purposeful Creative celebrate courage and persistence on International Women’s Day

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“What am I doing with my life?”, “Am I falling behind?” and “How can I make my life truly matter?”. These are some of the questions that often pop up in the minds of women around the world - and sometimes, not having the answer can be frustrating. 

Courageous women in leadership shared what it’s like to face these questions as part of “Existential Courage,” an International Women’s Day event held by The Purposeful Creative in partnership with global design platform Canva. 

Held at Canva’s Philippines headquarters, the event brings people together to share real-life stories of what it’s like to bring purpose and passion to what you do, and all the struggles that come with it. 

“We want this event to celebrate hope, courage, and persistence. We want to show young people examples and stories of how we can and should keep on creating & doing things despite and because of the times we live in,” shared Arriane Serafico, founder of The Purposeful Creative and author of Existential Courage, a book released last December under Summit Books.

“I started at Canva in 2015 where I was the first recruiter based in the Philippines. Here, I helped to grow the local team to over 100 amazing individuals. Today, we’re a team of 250 working to empower everyone in the Philippines, and around the globe, to achieve their goals through powerful messaging designed with Canva. Our culture is testament to the amazing impact women continue to create in the workplace,” said Yani Hornilla-Donato, country manager of Canva Philippines.

“It’s important to us that women are represented on every level, in every team. We not only embrace but also celebrate gender diversity and inclusion,” added Donato.

On Finding Courage and Purpose

Held at Canva’s headquarters in Makati, Existential Courage brings together a range of young people to hear from a panel of women in leadership.

Over 150 attendees were treated to meaningful conversations with inspirational women leaders who, just like them, have gone through the journey of self-doubt and self-discovery.

Audrey Pe, founder and executive director of WiTech (Women in Tech), Ayen Dela Torre, co-founder of Where To Next, and Trina Tanlapco, corporate executive and founder of A Little Montessori, shared what it takes to be a true influencer in an increasingly digital world and how one can use her power to impact a community. Pe, Dela Torres, and Tanlapco all echoed what the attendees needed to hear: that in a world where your social media following seems to be the standard for influence, one can still be an ‘influencer’. 

“It’s not about followers, it’s about putting yourself out there,” was the key takeaway from the panel discussion.

Anna Oposa, Chief Mermaid of Save The Philippine Seas, and Carmel Valencia, Head of Corporate Communication and Sustainability at L'Oreal, led another meaningful panel discussion with Donato to shine light on the importance of using one’s voice even if that voice might be drowned by a million others. They also shared tips for women to step up and change things for the better, especially for those in leadership positions.

Donato, Canva Philippines country manager, highlights the importance of speaking up and empowering others when instigating change within institutions.

When asked about their advice for young people who feel like they don’t have power, Oposa posed a thought-provoking insight: “It’s not about if it’s possible. It’s about ‘how do I make it possible?’ 

Donato, a leader of over 250 Canva employees, encourages her team to not be scared to speak up. She said, “If there is an absence of anything in the office, don’t take it as the absolute truth. Challenge it.” 

Valencia who has been with L’Oreal for 16 years knew what it was like to be a small voice in a big room back when she was still starting in the global company. She advised the audience to find like-minded allies. Just because you want to change the world doesn’t mean you have to do it on your own.” 

Together with author of Paano Ba ‘To and Founder of She Talks, Asia Bianca Gonzales, and Rags2Riches Founder Reese Fernandez, Serafico discussed how women can keep persisting no matter the challenges and ways in which to find inspiration when there seems to be none. For them, purpose is not something that you have to find, it’s something that you bring.

Gonzales, Fernandez, and Serafico highlighted that sometimes, people stay where they are for the wrong reasons. Fernandez’s journey as a social entrepreneur, for example, has always been driven by her principle. “Every decision I make can affect someone in a positive way,” Fernandez said. Gonzales advised the audience to work hard, share opportunities with others, wait for the right season for things to happen in your life, and to maintain a growth mindset.

“We want to create more conversations about Existential Courage. We want to break out of our bubble, and to stop only preaching to the choir. Existential Courage was an afternoon of fun, mentorship, and meaningful conversations for passionate, creative, curious and purposeful individuals,” Serafico added.

Want to honor the courageous women in your life? Canva has released an additional 50 design templates, encouraging its design community around the world to celebrate, praise and unite with women this International Women’s Day. Check out the full photography collection here.

For more information on Canva, visit https://www.canva.com/.

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ABOUT THE PURPOSEFUL CREATIVE

The Purposeful Creative is a positive online space where purpose-seeking women can find stories that resonate, a supportive community, and highly-actionable workshops and mentorship. With over 15,000 students from all over the world, they help creative individuals explore different ideas on how to build a career and life around their purpose and passion--and get clearer on their own version of what that looks like for them. The Purposeful Creative is also available as a podcast on Spotify.

ABOUT CANVA

Launched in 2013, Canva is an intuitive online design and publishing platform with a mission to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere. Featuring a simple drag-and-drop user interface and a vast library of templates ranging from presentations, social media posts, posters, invitations to resumes, a huge collection of stock photography, illustrations and fonts, anyone can take an idea and create something beautiful. Canva is available on web, iOS and Android.

Globe addresses loading concerns of prepaid customers through loan credits without service fees

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With the majority of Filipinos now at home due to enhanced community quarantine, Globe is providing its customers with a way to borrow load or subscribe to promos so they can remain connected with their loved ones and social circles during this time of crisis.

Globe’s load and promo loans provide a safer alternative that Globe and TM customers may avail of since they cannot go out to the store or any loading center to buy prepaid load. Service fees are temporarily waived to ease the burden customers are faced with at this time.

“We are constantly looking for ways to support our customers especially with the current health situation. We understand that many of our customers may be struggling financially or have no access to load or mobile services because of the ECQ in many areas. Through Globe’s load and promo loans, we hope we can help our customers especially at this time,” said Diane Bautista, VP, Globe Feel Valued Tribe.

Eligible prepaid customers can avail of loan products from P5 to P50 in the form of load and promo. Those not qualified for load and promo loans may avail of emergency services comprising 5MB of data for P5 or 3 texts to Globe/TM and 1 load for P4. The borrowed amount will only be collected once they top up.

Customers may dial *143# on their mobile phone and choose “Loans” for Globe or “Utang” for TM to check the available load loan, promo loan and emergency text or data services.

Although customers may still see a service fee in the menu description when they visit *143#, Globe gives the assurance that the said fees are waived until April 15, 2020.