Metro Cagayan de Oro

FDA Approves five brand of Rapid Antibody Test Kits for COVID-19

In what could be a critical turning point in the country’s battle against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved today, March 30, 2020, the use of five (5) brands of Rapid Test Kits for COVID-19.

“We approve kits that are registered and used in countries with advanced technology and wide experience with COVID 19. We want the people to have access to testing but of course, proper evaluation and safeguards will still be in place,” FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in press statement posted in the FDA website.

According to the FDA Advisory No. 2020-483, approved where the following (with countries of origin): NANJING VAZYME 2019-nCoV IgG/IgM DETECTION KIT (Singapore); NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (2019-NCOV) IgM/IgG ANTIBODY DETECTION KIT (COLLOIDAL GOLD METHOD) (China); DIAGNOSTIC KIT FOR IgM/IgG ANTIBODY TO CORONAVIRUS (SARS-CoV-2) (COLLOIDAL GOLD (China); 2019-nCoV ANTIBODY TEST (COLLOIDAL GOLD) (China); and SARS-CoV-2 ANTIBODY TEST (LATERAL FLOW METHOD (China).

FDA also approved the SARS Cov2 kit by Gene Xpert from Abbott Laboratories which can detect the virus within 5 minutes. This test kit is PCR based. To date, FDA has approved 17 PCR based test kits for commercial use.

RT SARS-CoV-2Amplification-Kit-with-Vials

As a safety precaution, the FDA shall require the product inserts or label of the Rapid Test Kits to state the following: “This product is strictly for medical professional use only and not intended for personal use. The administration of the test and interpretation of results should be done by a trained health professional. Confirmatory testing is required.”

“The rapid test kits will yield a faster result compared to PCR based kits, but it is important that a trained health professional will evaluate and interpret the results,” Domingo stressed.

Earlier last week, affiliate chambers of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) in Mindanao urged President Rodrigo Duterte to ramp up of mass screening of possible COVID-19 cases in the country through the adoption of the Rapid Serologic Test (RST) as a surveillance tool and for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant Emergency Use Authority to approve the applications for registration of verifiable suppliers of RST Kits that already underwent the registration process with their respective FDAs in their country of origin.

“We urgently need to check the health of our communities and this is only possible using mass testing in the field. Having statistics of sick patients in the hospital is just too late,” said Ma. Teresa R. Alegrio, PCCI area vice president for Mindanao.

“We need to know actual cases in the field even before they become symptomatic or no longer symptomatic (unknowingly healed) to make targeted decisions before they even get to hospitals,” she added.

PCCI is advocating the immediate rollout of the mass screening program using RST starting with all PUIs awaiting access to PCR testing, all PUMs, vulnerable persons within the vicinity of a cluster of Covid-19 outbreak, and among front liners in the hospital and in the field. Persons who test positive from RST mass screening should also be required to undergo priority confirmatory testing by PCR.

However, the FDA stresses the need for caution in the deployment of rapid test kits which should only be used by certified medical professionals, and called on local government chief executives, heads of agencies, hospitals and private companies to be cautious in using the approved test kits. Further, the agency asked doctors to help in testing and guide patients in the interpretation of the results.

“We have to be very cautious in using these rapid test kits because they measure antibodies and not the viral load itself. The body takes time to develop antibodies and this might give a negative result for patients who have been infected but antibodies have not yet developed antibodies. A positive result due to cross reaction with other bacteria or viruses is also possible, which is why a confirmatory PCR based test is still required,” Domingo noted.

Domingo also emphasized the need for the DOH to increase the number of capable laboratories accredited to perform the PCR confirmatory tests.

DOH-10 Regional Director Dr. Adriano Suba-an said they plan to convert the TB (tuberculosis) Reference Center at the DOH compound in Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City into a coronavirus disease COVID-19 testing laboratory during the Regional Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (RIATF-EID) held March 27 in Cagayan de Oro City.

The DOH-10 TB Reference Center has an RT-PCR (real time polymerase chain reaction) equipment that can actually be used for the testing subject to compliance with COVID-19 testing standards and other requirements of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

The Indonesian Society of Respirology (PDPI) has said diagnostic test kits for tuberculosis could be modified and used for COVID-19 since Cepheid, the US-based molecular diagnostics company producing the Xpert TBM/RIF diagnostic kits, has redesigned its Xpress Flu/RSV cartridges so that they can detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the deadly COVID-19 disease.

Genexpert system with Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test.

Dr. Faisal Yunus, a member of the PDPI advisory board, said regular tuberculosis diagnostic machines in Indonesia could now detect COVID-19 if their cartridges were replaced with the new redesigned cartridges, Faisal told The Jakarta Post recently.

The technology recently received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is now approved to run COVID-19 tests in the US.

“FDA remains steadfast in its obligation to protect the public. Despite the global crisis we are faced with, FDA continues to safeguard public health by ensuring that health commodities, especially those related to addressing the COVID 19 emergency, are certified following regulatory standards – through streamlined processes,” Domingo noted.

“Let us remain vigilant and hopeful as we protect each other’s welfare against those who seem to take advantage of this vulnerable situation. During this rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in the country, the agency continues to serve the people by giving them access to testing without compromising our mandate of ensuring the safety, efficacy and quality of every health product for the public,” he added.

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Chambers propose mass screening with RST to curb CoVid-19 spread

© RITM Researchers at the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine prepare to load reagents into a real-time PCR machine as they check their testing kits for the Zika virus on Wednesday, February 3.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry today endorsed to President Rodrigo Duterte a resolution from its affiliate chambers in Mindanao urging the ramping up of mass screening of possible COVID-19 cases in the country through the adoption of the Rapid Serologic Test (RST) as a surveillance tool.

In its letter to the president coursed through Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea dated today, PCCI President Amb. Benedicto V. Yujuico also requested the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant Emergency Use Authority to the application for registration of verifiable suppliers of RST kits, and to set up “PCR Sub-National Reference Laboratories” in all regions of Mindanao.

PCCI is advocating the immediate rollout of the mass screening program using RST by local government units in partnership with national agencies, Philippine Red Cross and other NGOs starting with all PUIs awaiting access to PCR testing, all PUMs, vulnerable persons within the vicinity of a cluster of Covid-19 outbreak, and among front liners in the hospital and in the field. Persons who test positive from RST mass screening should also be required to undergo priority confirmatory testing by PCR.

The chambers are also requesting the Food and Drug Administration Philippines (FDA) to grant Emergency Use Authority to approve the applications for registration of verifiable suppliers of RST Kits that already underwent the registration process with their respective FDAs in their country of origin.

Not the least, PCCI also supports the call of many LGUs and regional bodies to set up “sub-national reference labs” in all regions of Mindanao in addition to the four already being set up in the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, the Baguio General Hospital & Medical Center in Benguet, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City, and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.

The Western Visayas Medical Center and the Bicol Public Health Laboratory are also being prepared for testing.

In addition to the University of the Philippines – National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH), five private hospitals are also being assessed by the DOH and the World Health Organization as possible extension laboratories.

These are the molecular biology laboratories of St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City, Makati Medical Center, The Medical City, St. Luke’s Medical Center – Quezon City and Chinese General Hospital.

Medical workers at Kaiser Permanente French Campus test a patient for COVID-19 at a drive-thru testing facility in San Francisco, California on March 12. (AFP, Josh Edelson)

Indonesian Experience

A week ago, Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered the rollout of rapid tests for COVID-19 across the country in a bid to accelerate detection of the disease.

Rapid tests are easier to perform than regular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and can detect COVID-19 cases quicker.

Since rapid tests like the RST only require blood serum as a sample, these can be conducted by most health laboratories across the country enabling mass testing in COVID-19 hit areas to be performed quickly.

It is easier to implement than the regular tests like PCR, which must be performed in level two biosafety laboratories, since they involved the sampling of nasal fluids or larynx substances which contain the virus as main specimens.

Since rapid tests are easier to perform, Indonesia expects more people to be tested and sent to hospitals if found positive. To anticipate a rise in confirmed cases, Jokowi called for hospitals to set up health protocols for handling those who had performed the test.

The West Java administration conducts COVID-19 rapid tests for 300 medical workers & staff of Hasan Sadikin Hospital at Anggrek Polyclinic, Bandung, Indonesia on March 25. (West Java public relations)

PCR too slow to determine virus spread

Although PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is a tried and tested method to confirm COVID-19 infection in PUIs and PUMs, it does not give a true picture of the spread of the infection in a community due to the length of time it takes to confirm a test, now worsened by the backlog at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) due to the sheer volume of samples, the shortage of testing kits to meet the demand, and the extended time to send samples to RITM due to the lockdown of the national transport network.

RITM is the sole testing facility in the country at present since the four additional regional centers are not yet ready to conduct tests.

The US Center for Disease Control & Prevention is distributing 1.1 million PCR test kits in a bid to curb the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. (techcrunch.com)

Indirect Method

“RST is an excellent tool to check the presence of antibodies naturally produced by the human body as a defense mechanism to fight the presence of a destructive foreign body, e.g. the SARS-CoV2 /COVID-19 virus,” said Roderico Biaco, PCCI-X Regional Governor. “It is an indirect method of detecting the presence of the virus (the infection), unlike the PCR test which detects the actual virus itself.”

“Each has innate limitations, serve different functions, but should be used together to complement each other in combating the global pandemic,” Biaco noted.

Biaco said needs a better surveillance tool that is affordable, reasonably accurate and reliable, easily deployable in the field with minimal technical skill (no need special laboratory with HVAC and negative room pressure, etc), and safer (no need to transport live virus samples).

It is also important to note that our field operatives and front liners know that they have fair access to the testing themselves to boost their morale, he added.

“Furthermore, we can map out (geo tag) the existence of the spread of the virus using GIS (geospatial information system) and updating the GIS database is faster using RST,” Biaco stressed.

“This is critical in planning and executing decisions in the field. We need to analyze faster patterns and trends the virus spreading in the community to make proactive policies and timely decisions.”

RST vs. PCR explained

In the early stage of infection( first 5-6 days), a true positive person may be tested negative by RST (false negative) because his body may not yet have produced enough antibodies that can be detected by RST. RST is not the proper tool to monitor the ongoing infection, that is the role of PCR, he explained.

On the other hand, science journals are saying that the infection starts in the lungs and the virus may not still be present in nasal tracts or sputum 1-5 days after exposure for the PCR test to detect possibly yielding a false negative also.

PCR also cannot detect the virus if the person has already completely healed from the disease.

How RST buys time

The IgM and IgG antibodies that are specific to the COVID-19 virus may take around 5-6 days after exposure for the body to produce enough antibodies detectable by RST.

At that point, the infected person may start showing symptoms. Most healthy persons are expected to show mild reaction to the virus and may even be asymptomatic, but his immune system already produces antibodies combating the virus.

Upon successfully fighting the virus, the infected person gets rid of the virus in his system, but the antibodies may remain in his body for several days.

In this event, PCR test can no longer determine the presence of the virus nor diagnose if the person went through the infection in the first place in the absence of prior testing. However, in this case, RST can determine with a high degree of accuracy a past infection of the person from COVID-19.

“This is a critical function of RST not doable by PCR. RST is an excellent tool to diagnose the general health of the community, while PCR for the individual patient,” Bioco said.

In the event of intercepting by RST a healthy person that went through the disease undetected, we have the opportunity to conduct contact retracing, isolate, contain and mitigate and stop the cluster from breaking out (that otherwise PCR screening alone cannot do).

Reports also claim that most of the transmission of the virus is by asymptomatic persons. Thus, it is important to cast a wider net to catch the virus, and do it fast.

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CDO Fil-Chinese Community delivers first batch of medical supplies to NMMC

Tomas Sia of the CDO Filipino-Chinese Community officially turns over the donated medical supplies to NMMC Domingo Gobalane. (photo courtesy of Jeffrey Ang)

The Filipino Chinese Community of Cagayan de Oro has delivered needed medical supplies to assist two government hospitals at the front line of the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Northern Mindanao (Region X).

On Monday, March 23, 2020, the group delivered to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) the first tranche of medical supplies worth P1-million earlier requested by hospital chief Dr. Jose Chan for health care workers.

Domingo Gobalane, representing NMMC receives the symbolic P1-M check donation from CDO Filipino-Chinese Community Chairman Sonny Choi

The NMMC is the only hospital in Region X with the capability to test and treat CONVID-19 Patients Under Investigation (PUI).

NMMC representative Domingo Gobalane received the truckload of locally purchased supplies worth P365,000 from CDO Filipino-Chinese Community President Sonny Choi, COVID-19 Response Committee Chair Efren Uy and other active members of the group at a local restaurant to reduce the risk of infection to the donors.

The first batch of medical supplies was turned over to NMMC at a local restaurant on March 23, 2020. (photo courtesy of Jeffrey Ang)

The initial shipment consisted of 60 cartons rubbing alcohol and sanitizing gel, two units knapsack sprayer, 12 pails disinfectant solution (chlorine), safety goggles, rubber boots, protective raincoats with pants, face shields, and 50 cartons disposable water tissues/paper towels

“The second tranche which we are purchasing outside the city will be arriving end of the month, and includes N95 face masks, chemical suits, gloves, shoe covers, hazardous material suits earlier requested by Dr. Chan,” Uy said.

COVID-19 Response Committee Chair Efren Uy of the CDO Filipino-Chinese Community being inteviewed by local media. (photo courtesy of Jeffrey Ang).

Although DOH Region X regional director Dr. Adrian Suba-an announced earlier Sunday, March 22^nd, that “ten PUIs have tested negative to COVID-19”, Chan clarified Monday that the number of PUIs in NMMC remain the same at 10 (with one in critical condition) because while some have been discharged, still other new cases have been admitted.

During the same press conference, Cagayan de Oro City Mayor read the latest updates on COVID-19 cases in Northern Mindanao (Region X).

“The DOH-10 data lists 58 PUIs, of whom 17 have been admitted to hospitals; 111 are under home quarantine and a further 1,579 are Persons Under Monitoring (PUMs). There was one fatality originating from outside the region that expired last March 13 with no further fatalities to date.”

Dr. Claire Paglinawan of the City Health Office also said the continuing house-to-house canvassing of possible COVID-19 cases has found 453 persons under monitoring (PUM) under home quarantine, and 149 who have already ended their mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

Moreno also reported that the NMMC, the J.R. Borja General Hospital and other private hospitals in the city are working out harmonized and synchronized operations, among which are moving maternal deliveries and minor cases from NMMC and JRBGH to the private hospitals.

Later this month, Uy said the CDO Filipino Chinese Community will also be donating urgently needed medical supplies worth P500, 000 earlier requested by the J.R. Borja General Hospital through Dr Liova de Guia, for 30 pcs. Virusolve Trigger Spray, 20 boots, Virusolve for soaking (10 gallons), individual sterile surgical gowns with set-in sleeves (1,500 pcs), N95 masks (1,500 pcs), 1,500 yellow aprons, and 30 spore clear wipes

The Filipino-Chinese Community of Cagayan de Oro includes 21 community organizations, including family associations, chambers of commerce, schools, martial arts, civic and religious fraternities.

These including the following: Misamis Oriental Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc.; Mindanao Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China in the Philippines; Cagayan de Oro Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc.; Cagayan de Oro You We Tong Civic & Religious Fraternity, Inc.; Oro Christian Grace School; Misamis Oriental Liong Tek Fraternity Association, Inc.; Sejo-Lim Family Association-Northern Mindanao Chapter; Cagayan de Oro Bell Church Foundation, Inc.; Kong Hua School; Cagayan de Oro Volunteer Fire Brigade, Inc.; Phil. Wushu Federation-Cagayan de Oro Chapter; Phil. Kim Mun Association-Misamis Oriental Chapter ; Cagayan Gospel Church ; Cagayan de Oro Filipino-Chinese Amity Club; Cagayan de Oro San Lorenzo Filipino-Chinese Catholic Community; Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc.-Misamis Oriental Chapter; Philippine Chinese High School Alumni Association-Cagayan de Oro Chapter; Misamis Oriental Progressive Mason Temple, Inc.; Kong Hua School, Inc.; and the Chee Kung Tong Chinese Free Mason Misamis Oriental Branch.

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IP rituals invoke protection vs. COVID-19

Elders of the Higa-onon Catanico-Tablon-Cugman-Ancestral Domain in Malasag, Bgy. Cugman, Cagayan de Oro City perform traditional rituals seeking protection vs. the COVID-19 Pandemic. (Photo by Datu Masikal Jabiniar)

Indigenous Peoples of Northern Mindanao are invoking the protection of their spirit guardians through traditional rituals against the ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

On Sunday, March 22nd, the Higa-onon Catanico-Tablon-Cugman-Ancestral Domain (CATATCU AD) organization conducted their traditional rituals on the tribe’s sacred grounds seeking protection from all tribal folk and other citizens against the COVID-19 coronavirus within their tribal domain.

Datu Masikal Jude C. Jabiniar, who sits as Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) in the Cugman Barangay Council and Buntola Sayuda (liaison officer) to their tribe, said their baylans (high spiritual leaders) conducted the Panagpeng at their sacred grounds on the hills of Pegtawagan, Sitio Malasag, Barangay Cugman, Cagayan de Oro City from 3:00am to 12 noon with the blessings of Barangay Chair Wendolyn L. Escobia.

“This ritual invokes protection against deadly diseases which can cause calamities in our communities,” Jabiniar explained in Bisaya. “Through this ritual our baylans and elders ask Magbabaya (The Creator) through the guardians of the four corners of the world, to stop the spread of this deadly disease COVID-19.”

Bukidnon, Talaandig and Higaonon tribal elders gather in the Kaamulan Grounds, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon to perform the Panalawahig-Pamugsa Ritual vs. the COVID-19 Pandemic. (photo by Ma. Easterluna Canoy)

The ritual was headed by Datu Sumisilang/Roger A. Painato and Bae Florita Sayongan, baylans of the 2^nd District of Cagayan de Oro. They were assisted by Datu Lumad/Ireneo L. Jabiniar, Higaonon Chieftain of Barangay Cugman, and other members of the Higaonon Tribal Council.

Interestingly, when the blood of one of the chickens offered as sacrifice during the ritual was shed on a white cloth, it showed what appeared to be a woman sitting with her back to the viewer.

“Our baylan believes it could be the picture of the woman who could have been the first victim of this virus,” Janiniar shared.

Earlier, tribal elders of the Taalandig, Bukidnon and Higaonon tribes conducted their own rituals a tent shelter beside the Kalawaig River at the Kaamulan Capitol Grounds in Malaybalay City last Wednesday, March 18 from 8:30am till noon.

Led by Datu Makapukaw/Adolino Saway and Bae Inatlawan/AdelinaTarino, and several other leaders performed two ritual prayers seeking protection for the people from the threat caused by the COVID19 virus pandemic sweeping the globe.

“According to our tribal elders, the rituals sought mercy from the water spirit and protection against the threat of COVID-19,” said Ma. Easterluna S. Canoy, Executive Director of Kitanglad Integrated NGOs, Inc. (KIN) which promotes and advocates the rights of indigenous peoples, especially their welfare and cultural survival through sustainable development, ecological integrity and cultural democracy.

The Panalawahig Ritual is directed to the Bulalakaw—the guardian water spirit to seek mercy for human transgressions that has made our waters unclean, and for the waters to help humans wash away impurities like the virus that afflict them.

Bae Inatlawan and Datu Makapukaw send offerings down the Kalawaig River during the concluding part of their Panalawahig Ritual as a recompense for human’s pollution of the river. It also symbolizes the baylan’s prayer–invoking the cleansing power of water to sweep away the COVID-19 virus for the salvation of humanity. (photo by Ma. Easterluna Canoy)

The Pamugsa Ritual is conducted to block catastrophes that would affect mountains, forests and all life forms, especially the communities, or humanity in general.

Aside from the two rites that were performed in public owing to the support of the Provincial Government of Bukidnon, tribal elders and ritual experts are also duty bound to perform important rituals held in their respective communities, or in the sacred grounds of their forest domains or beside river systems.

“These emergency rites are invoked to summon nature spirit guides in the event of foreseen and on-going disasters that affect the tribe and its neighboring areas—even those far away, foreign places,” Canoy noted.

“Spiritual leaders of the tribe have performed rites directed to everyone all over the world, as they believe that despite one’s ethnic differences, we are all bound by one humanity, one Mother Earth,” she added.

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Mindanao Private Sector petitions PRRD for comprehensive COVID-19 relief package

The regional chambers of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Mindanao have petitioned President Rodrigo Duterte to consider a comprehensive package of measures to cushion the adverse effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and its countermeasures on business and workers in the island.

The petition was signed by Maria Teresa R. Alegrio, Area Vice President for Mindanao of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI) and the governors of the PCCI regional chambers of South Eastern Mindanao, Central Mindanao, Northern Mindanao, Eastern Mindanao, Southwestern Mindanao, Western Mindanao, BARM Mindanao and Promote Normin Foundation headed by its President Elpidio M. Paras.

“There are about 45 PCCI local Chambers of Commerce (LCCIs ) in Mindanao, around 90% belong to MSMEs whose capitalization range from Php3M-100M while large companies comprise about 10% of the chamber members,” Alegrio said.

PCCI AVP for Mindanao Ghaye Alegrio (center, in red) presides over the PCCI Davao Regional meeting with PCCI President Amb. Benedicto Yujuico, RG Art Milan & MinDA Asec. Romeo Montenegro.
(photo supplied)

PCCI National President Amb. Benedicto Yujuico has endorsed the petition to President Rodrigo Duterte through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III .

The petition describes how the lockdown of major cities and constraints placed on the movements of people and goods and services have left thousands of citizens without the means to provide for their daily needs, much less comply with the stringent measures to prevent the further spread of the virus among the populace, thus the urgent need for relief by adopting the following measures for the duration of the state of national emergency from the constraints and uncertainties imposed on livelihood, mobility and health.

Centrio Mall along C.M. Recto Avenue Monday morning, 16 March 2020. (photo by Joanne Sullano Cheng)

“Recognizing the continuing impact of COVID-19 crisis nationwide, the enforced “Community Quarantine” on Metro Manila, including many areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the cancellation of all air, land and sea travel to and from the metropolis, and key areas of the country like Cebu and Davao, restrictions to minimize the contagion, have affected businesses particularly in the travel, tourism, and their related sectors.”

Urgent Fiscal Measures

Most of the requested measures in the petition involve finance and taxation, such as requesting the Department of Finance (DOF) to allow tax payments after April 15th and waive applicable penalties and interest charges for delayed tax remittances; That Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and DOF encourage banks to declare a moratorium on loan amortizations falling due within six (6) months from the occurrence of COVID-19 for business, consumer, home and loans to large enterprises, provided affected MSMEs and corporations apply with their respective banks for the moratorium to take effect; to re-consider the holiday pay for workers for April 9, Holy Thursday (also Araw ng Kagitingan) from 300% (if a business is in operation) and 200% (if closed) to 200% (if in operation), and 100% (if closed);

Using the Conditional Cash Transfer/Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino (CCT/PPP) Program to subsidize Micro and Small Businesses; for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to establish a rehabilitation fund for affected MSMEs for technical assistance and special financing for working capital and equipment/machinery acquisition; and for DTI to encourage Mall owners/management/lessors to waive rentals for MSMEs during the period of the closure order; or, grant a special arrangement as a support to our MSMEs.

UNUSUALLY DESERTED. Only a few motorists and bystanders were in Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro March 17 at 10 minutes before 10pm curfew ordered by officials to stop the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Froilan G)

The chambers also cited the need for DTI to strictly enforce price controls to keep food prices (and inflation) low, protect food supply and other basic and prime commodities, especially for the marginalized sectors, and enable trade to continue.

Critical communications, utilities & vital industries

Recognizing the critical role of communications in this crisis situation, the petition also asks the Department of Information & Communications Technology (DICT) to enjoin PLDT and Globe to remove all Data Capping in mobile Broadband Internet services, to allow their customers a continuous service 24/7 until the crisis is declared over.

A habal-habal driver and some taxis tarry in Cagayan de Oro’s normally busy Plaza Divisoria. PU drivers report a drastic drop in income following the community quarantine and curfew. (Photo by Froilan Gallardo)

Likewise, the need for vital industries like power, water, transport, telecommunications and others that provide essential services continue to operate with businesses and workers exercising the recommended protocols as prescribed by DOH and guidelines issued by DOLE.

Equally important, the private sector recognized the need for the immediate construction of critical health infrastructure to prevent health facilities from collapsing with the expected peaking of cases in the coming weeks.

A health team prepares disinfectant solution after city officials ordered a city-wide disinfection in all places of worship following the death of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in CDO. (Photo by Froilan Gallardo)

The petition asks government to consider re-aligning allocated public infrastructure funds for the immediate construction of Specialized Covid19 Monitoring and Treatment facilities across the country;

It is also asking government to create and fund a Task Force that will be responsible for updating data and maps needed for a comprehensive snapshot of areas adversely affected by COVID-19 and the government resources deployed to curb its spread.

“Such data will be necessary for a more efficient and accurate modeling studies which will help the private sector direct its resources where it can be of most help in helping curb and eradicate COVID- 19 as well as rehabilitate businesses and workers adversely affected by the current government countermeasures vs. COVID-19,” the petition read.

Army soldiers patrol along Corrales Avenue after city officials implemented a 10pm to 5am curfew in Cagayan de Oro starting March 17 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Froilan Gallardo)

On top of these, LGUs through the provincial, city and municipal health offices should aggressively campaign for the public to immediately adopt positive health habits such as personal hygiene, eat healthy food, particularly locally grown fruits and vegetables, to boost personal immunity and lessen the effects of infection.

Keeping the food chain open

Recognizing Mindanao’s key role as the food basket of the country, the petition asks that Mindanao be declared a separate food quarantine area to allow the unhampered delivery of food for the entire country.

“The Department of Agriculture’s declarations on quarantined agricultural products (affected by the foot and mouth diseases, avian flu, etc.) cover the entire country. Location-specific Quarantine will help with the continued supply of food in the country.”

Not the least, the petition urges the creation of a “food logistics backbone” from General Santos to Cebu City and Tagbilaran City via Davao and Bukidnon and government to put up cold storage at key points to keep the food chain going.

Mindanao key to PH economy

Home to about 24 percent of the country’s population, Mindanao also accounts for over 40 percent of the poor. Its share of the national budget, which has ranged from 13 percent to 15 percent, is now up to 17.9 percent.

Although three of Mindanao’s regions experienced accelerated growth in 2018 (Davao Region with 8.6 percent; Northern Mindanao, 7.0 percent, and Zamboanga Peninsula, 6.3 percent; Mindanao’s economic output per capita of about $1,800 remains approximately half of the national level. One of its regions, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Mindanao (BARM), has the lowest per capita GDP among all regions in the country.

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Korean firm starts construction of Panguil Bay Bridge

President Rodrigo Duterte lays the time capsule for the Panguil Bay Bridge Project in Tubod, Lanao del Norte on November 28, 2018.

The joint venture group of three major Korean construction firms has begun the design and construction of the Panguil Bay Bridge Project in Tubod, Lanao del Norte.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) issued the group a Notice to Proceed on Feb. 14, 2020 and civil works for the project officially started on February 28, 2020.

Joint venture contractor Namkwang-Kukdong-Gumgwang earlier advised DPWH of their readiness to start the detailed engineering, design, and construction with the mobilization of personnel and equipment on Friday, February 28, 2020.

“Hopefully the project will be completed before the end of 2022,” said National Economic & Development Authority Region X Director Mylah Faye B. Cariño.

Mega Bridge Program

The Panguil Bay Bridge project is the first listed undertaking of DPWH’s Inter-island Linkage (Mega Bridge) Program which involves the construction of a series of short- and long-span bridges linking island provinces to eventually connect Mindanao and Visayas to Luzon via land travel.

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said the moving P1.7-trillion plan involves the construction of 17 short- and long-span bridges with a total length of 175,650 meters to be funded through a mix of foreign loans and grants, public-private partnerships, and the General Appropriations Act (GAA), a law Congress passes annually which defines the annual expenditure program of the national government and all of its instrumentalities.

.First dibs

The Panguil Bay Bridge is the first project under the master plan.

Once completed, the Panguil Bay Bridge will be the country’s longest at 3.77 kilometers, some 1.57 kms longer than the 2.2-kilometer San Juanico Bridge that links Samar and Leyte.

DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain, project director in-charge of DPWH UPMO Operations and Technical Services, said it is envisioned to be a two-lane bridge which would connect Tangub City in Misamis Occidental and Tubod town in Lanao del Norte that would drastically reduce travel time between these two points from two-and-a-half hours to seven minutes.

It will also shorten trips from the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan to Tangub as well as the Zamboanga Peninsula Region.

Villar said bridges are key to developing the Philippine transport industry, as they are crucial in improving mobility and interconnectivity among adjacent cities and provinces.

Aside from spurring economic growth, bridges would also reduce the country’s estimated P3.5-billion daily productivity loss due to traffic.

THE Panguil Bay Bridge Project, to be financed through official development assistance from South Korea, broke ground November 27, 2018,

The $100.13-million loan for the project was obtained from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) in 2016 through a loan agreement with the Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

Cost overruns

The Panguil Bay Bridge Project was one of three bridges under the national government’s Build Build Build infrastructure program which incurred the highest cost overruns in the 2018 national budget due to high inflation and project changes, according to data released by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Neda’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) Portfolio Review 2018 report, total cost overruns—additional costs over and above the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC)-approved project cost—increased 264.02-percent to P24.79 billion in 2018, from P6.81 billion in 2017.

Inflation in 2018 averaged 5.2 percent with September and October posting the highest inflation rates of 6.7 percent in the year.

The change to the Panguil Bay Bridge Project and Integrated DRR was brought about by the increase in the length of approach roads and the width of the main bridge by a meter.

The scope of the project was also widened with an increase in the length of the pile foundations; borehole diameters; inclusion of a seismic design; and additional temporary facilities.

The changes increased the project cost of the Panguil Bay Bridge Project P2.52 billion (51.57 percent) to P7.38 billion from the ICC-approved cost of P4.86 billion.

Neda said the revised cost includes actual expenses for RoW [right-of-way] acquisition in Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte.

Reallocation

The project also had to re-allocate US$9,093,000 from Contingencies to Civil Works and Detailed Engineering & Design (DED) loan categories, since the original loan allocation for civil works and DED amounting to US$86,038,000 was deemed insufficient to cover the US$125,519,000 actual bid price of the winning civil works contractor.

“These changes in scope involved costs which required the concurrence and approval of the funders so it resulted in delays since negotiations involve time but hopefully with the notice to proceed and start of civil works we can now proceed with less of these delays,” Cariño noted.

The Department of Finance earlier requested the Export-Import Bank of Korea’s Economic Development Fund (KEXIM-EDCF) approval for the re-allocation while assuring the bank the US$9,093,000 shortfall resulting from this would be financed by the Philippine Government from its counterpart funds.

KEXIM subsequently approved the request as well as the Contract Agreement and Notice of Disbursement Limit for Design-Build of the project.

The remaining US$30,388,000 for civil works and DED contract shall be sourced from the national government’s counterpart funds, which has already been covered by the ICC approval in July 2018 of the DPWH request for change in the aforementioned scope and 52 percent increase in project cost. (compiled by RMB)

FDA issues Exemption Certificate for local SARS CoV-2 PCR Detection Kit

Harnessing the ingenuity of Filipino scientist and doctors with the full backing of the DOST, Dr. Raul Destura and his team were able to create the Lab-in-a-Mug device.
(Photo from the Philippine Genome Center).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Certificate of Exemption for the locally developed and manufactured SARS CoV-2 PCR Detection Kit that will make it much cheaper for Filipino health professionals to test for the coronavirus.

The project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD).

The SARS CoV-2 PCR Detection Kit technology is developed by local scientists led by Dr. Raul V. Destura from the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Health (UP-NIH).

The kit will be used for field testing coupled with gene sequencing at the Philippine Genome Center. The DOST also helped Dr. Destura in forming his spin-off company Manila Health Tek and will make available test kits at a fraction of the cost of imported text kits.

The COVID-19 kit costs PhP28,000 per 25 tests and the RNA extraction kit costs PhP10,000 per 50 reactions. The RNA extraction kit is for extracting the virus from the specimen.

The cost for each test is P1,120+200 = P1,320 or only 16 percent of the current cost of imported test kits at P8,500.

Researchers at the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine prepare to load reagents into a real-time PCR machine as they check their testing kits for the Zika virus. RITM

Around 200 kits can be manufactured in a week but is currently limited by the supply of raw materials. The present inventory is enough for 6,000 tests with another 20,000 on order and expected to be delivered in two weeks.

Manila Health Trek has not yet maximized its production capacity because of some uncertainties with the Department of Health, but DOST reports it has already started today upon receiving the FDA certificate. The firm will deploy 1,000 tests this week by Friday, another 2,000 next week, to be followed by another 3,000 the week after. #

RAC-X endorses P900B reg’l agency priority projects for 2021

RDC-X Advisory Committee members review FY 2021 RLA and SUC budget proposals for endorsement to the RDC-X Full Council.

The Advisory Committee of the Regional Development Council in Northern Mindanao will support the budget proposals of government agencies, state universities and colleges for Fiscal Year 2021 amounting to P900 –Billion.

The Advisory Committee of Northern Mindanao (RAC-X) consists of congressional representatives from the region, RDC-X officers and sectoral committees.

“How can we give the right services if we do not have the right funding? We have to connect the missing links and the missing gaps. There are many things that we can do for the region. We can make a plan we can call our own, that each of us can support,” challenged RDC-X Chair and Misamis Occidental Gov. Philip T. Tan during the council’s 1^st Quarter Meeting held 6 March 2020 at a local hotel in Cagayan de Oro City,

NEDA-X Regional Director Mylah Faye Aurora B. Cariño, CESO III stressed that it is important for the region to harmonize its development interventions with its priorities in order to realize local goals and aspirations.

RAC-X reviewed and accepted majority of the proposed programs and projects with their additional recommendations and endorsed for the approval of the RDC-X Full Council on 16 March 2020.

Approved programs and project would be subsequently endorsed to the respective agencies’ central offices.

The body also approved the priority legislative agenda of the Regional Development Plan 2017-2022 Midterm Update and committed to lobby for 115 regional catalytic projects for inclusion in the following fiscal year.

These projects are identified as having: a) high potential to cause corresponding and complementary development impact on surrounding geographic areas particularly for Convergence Areas for Peace and Development (CAPDev), b) totaling budget costs of P1 billion and above, or c) existing RLA and SUC projects pending completion.

Also endorsed was the establishment of a regional government-run TV station, to be housed in the 4^th Infantry Division, Philippine Army at Camp Evangelista.

“This will serve as a platform to promote government services, programs, policies and accomplishments, and to address the communication needs of our people in NorthMin,” explained Regional Director Franklin P. Gumapon of the Philippine Information Agency-X.

“It is about time the region has its own TV station,” remarked Committee Convenor and Cagayan de Oro 2^nd District Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez as he pushed for the PhP126M-project for funding.

Rep. Ma. Lourdes Acosta-Alba (1^st District, Bukidnon) cited the creation of the country’s first Government Communication Academy, planned to rise in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, which the RAC-X also endorsed.

The One: The Magical Aerial Oddysey of Capt. Patrick Roa, Garbo sa Cagayan de Oro

Patrick Roa flies A320 and A321 airliners, and calls himself an accidental airline pilot. But was it really accidental?

Patrick hails from Cagayan de Oro. Like many young boys, he dreamed of becoming a pilot. But he didn’t really know why.

His grandfather died when Patrick was just 5. (You will meet the grandfather later in this tale.) Even today Patrick remembers holding a Matchbox toy, a green and white Cessna 421, during the funeral services at Xavier University.

His grandmother, a Cebuana, left him a trust fund when she died ten years later. The money was for his higher education. Today Patrick considers his grandmother the primary enabler of his aviation career.

The day they opened the new Laguindingan Airport in MIsamis Oriental.

Only later did he learn the other half of the story.

Patrick first immersed himself in aviation at old Lahug airfield in Cebu, where the storied hangar denizens infected him with the passion for General Aviation.

After Lahug closed, Patrick took his training at Archie Po‘s flying school at the AirSpan hangar at NAIA, where the high tempo of non-stop General Aviation operations exhilarated him. He soloed in a Cessna 152XP with a 150-horsepower engine, the equivalent of putting a BMW engine in a Volkswagen.

In 1993 a close cousin flew a Pacific Airways Grumman Tiger into IMC between Cotabato and Lebak, and was lost at sea. Patrick has lost other friends in aviation, but that first loss was a wake-up call, like a railroad switch that rechanneled him with the knowledge that mistakes and misfortune in aviation are paid for in blood.

Flying in the Piper Seneca I, checking out the guy in the left seat. I recall we flew to Ilo-Ilo and landed in the old Mandurriao Airport before it closed. This was in 1997.

After multi-engine training with Meynard Halili (also featured in Clear Prop), Patrick acquired a Piper Seneca, and with that and another pilot’s Cessna 421 he began what can only be described as a mix of “Air America” and “American Made” missions that will not be described here (NO, he wasn’t carrying poppy leaves or paratrooper pigs).

Night flights, uncontrolled airstrips, Islanders, DC-3s, a pressurized Beech 88 Queen Air with generators instead of alternators – he was young, charged with adrenalin and flying with one of the legends of Philippine General Aviation. Patrick began to build the 13,000++ hours he now has in his logbooks, which also record an astounding 40+ different types and models of aircraft that he has flown.

With Capt. Pat Neri, building experience in a Beech 18 Volpar. Cloud seeding back in the day, I’m forever grateful to Capt. Neri and
Capt. Roque Loquias Balaba for letting me fly with them.

In 1996, Patrick visited the Asian Institute of Management to ask about its famed Airline Transport Management Course. The course was run by Professor/Capt. Roberto Lim, an Annapolis graduate who trained pilots in B-17s and B-29s during World War II.

Capt. Lim pushed PAL into the jet age with the Douglas DC-8. Lim also established the Aviation Safety Foundation Philippines after his wife was lost in the PAL HS748 CFIT accident on approach to Baguio in 1987.

Bobby Lim met with Patrick, as he did with all the applicants for the course. Looking Patrick straight in the eye, he asked about Patrick’s goals. Then Lim leaned back then asked, “Are you in any way related to the tall Olympian Pio Roa from Cagayan de Oro?”

The question surprised Patrick. Pio Roa was Patrick’s grandfather, an Olympian athlete, an Ateneo Hall of Fame sportsman, and a basketball coach for the pre-war Blue Eagles. Patrick was just 5 years old when his grandfather died.

Now Capt. Lim of PAL/AIM was asking a grown-up Patrick if he was related to the elder Roa.

“Yes sir, I happen to be his first grandson.”

Lim smiled warmly and leaned back. “So, you’re the one.”

It turned out that whenever Capt. Lim flew VIPs and ex-Presidents to Cagayan de Oro, grandfather Pio Roa would be Lim’s host, wanting to talk about airplanes and aviation.

With CDCP’s Baron 55 at Lumbia Airport around 1977-78. The crew chief the late Kid Zosa, was later crew chief for A. Soriano Corp. Aviation Dept’s fleet and the Amanpulo Dornier Do-228s.

The elder Roa often told Lim that he wanted his grandson to be a pilot, an aviador. When Patrick was a toddler, his grandfather took him to the Camp Evangelista Army airfield. Army officers made the tiny Patrick sit in Cessna 180 cockpits. His grandfather also took Patrick to Lumbia Airport to watch the C-123s, YS-11s, F-27s and the loud BAC-111s. His grandfather didn’t say much. He just carried his toddler grandson in his arms as the airplanes thundered in and out.

Now the grandson WAS a pilot, and was beginning to understand where all the influence and passion for aviation came from. His grandfather was an aviation nut who had purposely infected his tiny toddler grandson.

When Patrick heard these stories, his aviation career took on a deeper meaning and purpose. Patrick owed his aviation career to his grandmother AND his grandfather, after all.

With CDCP’s Baron 55 at Lumbia Airport around 1977-78. The crew chief the late Kid Zosa became my good friend, teacher, and godfather to my daughter Patricia.

Even today, Patrick continues to read anything he can about aviation. He credits a lot of his aviation knowledge to reading, and labels himself an aviation nerd. As we’ve said before in Clear Prop, a good pilot never stops learning.

Can the aviation passion bug jump across generations? One day, out of the blue, Patrick’s daughter proclaimed her desire to become a pilot. Patrick played it by ear to see how badly infected she was.

Today Regine has a commercial pilot license and is closing in on her instrument check ride. Her next step is multi-engine training in the Baron that Meynard Halili used to own. Full circle.

Accidental pilot? At Clear Prop, we don’t believe in accidents.

Patrick Roa With BGen. Levanza, the late Col. Garcia, and Capt. Fernando R Erny (now flies a G-IV)

Founded in 2018, Clear Prop we will inspire and motivate professionals and enthusiasts in Philippine aviation, by sharing knowledge and insight from the best aviation professionals in the country.

If you haven’t listened to Patrick’s advice to pilots and aspiring pilots, you can listen to him in all the episodes of Clear Prop. https://www.facebook.com/clearpropph/

Clear Prop is committed to sharing aviation knowledge and expertise without bias or endorsements. We will always feature the best pilots and aviation experts available to us, and we will always choose them thoughtfully and deliberately. Our video series is entirely free.

Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss a single episode.

Clear Prop
Inspiration for Pilots, by Pilots

Oro Residents: Time is right for refilling stations for consumer products

Nutri-Asia’s BYOB refilling staton at The Mind Museum, BGC, Taguig City is open Mondays thru Sundays 12NN to 8PM. (photo courtesy of orangemagazine.ph)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Local environment and consumer groups have hailed the inspiring initiative of refilling stations for consumer products in Metro Manila, saying “the time is right” for similar initiatives in Mindanao’s fastest growing city.

The local governments of Taguig and Quezon City recently launched their environmental initiatives that aim to reduce plastic waste and improve solid waste management in their localities.

In Taguig, the city government aims to attain an 80-percent solid waste diversion by 2023 through joint efforts of LGUs and the public and private sectors.

Mayor Lino Cayetano unveiled Taguig’s Zero Waste Plan during a recent quarterly meeting with some 150 barangay and city leaders.

Under the plan, the city government will establish a Sustainable Livelihood Office, require all future infrastructure projects to have a materials recovery facility, support a “no single-use plastic” drive, and implement an information dissemination campaign focusing on proper waste segregation.

“We are pledging our full support to the Zero Waste Plan. We will make sure all the barangays implement everything in it. We will also onboard experts and build all the required hardware to make our beloved city truly green,” Cayetano said.

NutriAsia’s Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) refilling station was built with eco-bricks that use plastic discards as components. These came from the Arca South Eco Hub, a project of Arca South, Green Antz, and Ayala Land Inc. The store also serves as a drop-off point for donated plastic materials to be used for repurposing. BYOB was launched last July 30 and runs until September 12, Mondays through Sundays, 12NN to 8PM at The Mind Museum in BGC. (photo courtesy of orangemagazine.ph)

Nutri-Asia Inc. first launched a pop-up store at The Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) last August dubbed Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) that remained open until September 12.

The store encouraged visitors to bring their own clean plastic or glass bottles to the pop-up store to get a refill of condiments, sauces and cooking oils at discounted prices.

Products offered at the refilling station included Datu Puti soy sauce, Datu Puti vinegar, UFC Banana Catsup, Golden Fiesta Palm Oil, Golden Fiesta Soya Oil, Golden Fiesta Canola Oil and Golden Fiesta Corn Oil. These items were sold 5-15% cheaper than their suggested retail prices. The store also gave a 40% discount to buyers of locally-blended juice drinks.

The BYOB booth was frequented by working moms, young professionals and residents of the area who got a minimum 200 grams of their desired products and a maximum of 2 liters.

According to NutriAsia staff, customers brought at least two empty bottles for refill; others just dropped by their store to donate plastic containers.

NutriAsia has partnered with the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for a series of refilling activities across Central Luzon since last year.

Jerome Manangkil, one of the visitors, expressed his appreciation and support for NutriAsia’s initiative, saying: “Iyong mga ganitong event, okay siya. Mas mura na, same quality pa ng mabibili mo sa mga supermarkets. At good siya sa environment.”

For returning customer John Allan Adriatico, the BYOB campaign was good news to practical consumers like him. “Actually, second time ko na rito. Mas affordable at makatutulong ka pang mabawasan ‘yung mga plastic na basura,” Adriatico said.

Carenderia owner Vanjie Esperanza also found the campaign beneficial to small business owners. “Malaking menos sa gastos at tulong sa araw-araw. Kasi may maliit na carinderia kami sa amin, kaya noong nabalitaan ko ‘to, hinanda ko na agad yung mga bote-bote rito sa bahay. Mas maganda kung magkakaroon nito malapit sa amin,” she explained

Meanwhile, Quezon City started its ban on single-use plastics in hotels, restaurants and other establishments last month.

QC Mayor Joy Belmonte said she has been pushing for the plastic ban since she was vice mayor.

Belmonte saw the urgent need to implement such ban after the Philippines ranked high in the list of the world’s biggest plastic polluters.

In support of LGUs’ sustainability efforts, NutriAsia Inc. set up its “Bring Your Own Bottle” stores in Taguig and Quezon City.

NutriAsia incentivizes consumers who reuse their plastic bottles by giving them big discounts on its condiment and sauce products.

Belmonte said that their partnership with NutriAsia shows the city’s strong commitment to environmental sustainability.

“We are glad that NutriAsia chose us to be the first local government unit to engage with in this eco-friendly initiative,” Belmonte added.

Encouraged by these initiatives, consumers clamored for similar refilling stations to be set up around Cagayan de Oro city.

“When we had a sari-sari store long time ago, I remember people bringing their soft drink bottle to buy kerosene, no plastic was used during those days,” recalls Mel Francisco C. Cucueco.

“We do not have much choice but to bring our own bottles. Ban single-use plastic bottles now,” said environmentalist Bencyrus Ellorin, former executive director of environment watchdog Task Force Macajalar.

“Timely and environmentally friendly,” said Ronilo Ravanera, a founding member of the local consumer group Konsumanteng Kagay-anon, Inc.

“Yes yes kaayo! We at the Council can help them also disseminate,” said Dr. Hilly Ann Roa Quiaoit, executive director of the Cagayan de Oro River Basin Management Council.

“Dapat. Kung hindi ngayon kailan?” said Raoul T. Geollegue, a former DENR Regional Executive Director who is now a consultant of the environment group Hineleban Foundation which is engaged in the reforestation of the mountain ranges of Mindanao by partnering with Indigenous Peoples living in the buffer zone areas, introducing Arabica coffee as a source of livelihood, and transforming the IPs to guardians of the forest.

Still other consumers are encouraged by the refilling stations, coming as they do on the heels of the city government’s strict implementation of the ban on single use plastics in supermarkets and public markets.

“Seriously, I practice bring-your-own-container when I buy fish from the street vendor,” said Elson T. Elizaga. “He puts a cellophane of fish on a weighing scale. Then I transfer the fish to our bowl and return the cellophane to him.”

The Philippines throws away 60 billion sachets every year, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) estimates based on its five-year waste audit. These wastes remain in our environment for thousands of years, polluting our lands, seas, and air.

A total of 48 million shopping bags were used per day, adding up to more than 17.5 billion a year, GAIA said.

A 2018 study by the United Nations Environment Program showed that the Philippines is among the top five countries that produce the most plastic waste in the world. The world produces 300 million tons of plastic waste annually, 99 percent of which are non-renewable chemicals like high-density polyethylene mostly used in shampoo bottles.

Other companies such as Unilever and Human Heart Nature also launched earlier similar refilling stations for personal care products and cosmetics, and home cleaning products.

Unilever PH All Things Hair Refillery Station

Unilever’s All Things Hair Refillery Station pilot ran in March -April 2019 in Trinoma, Glorietta 3, and Alabang Town Center.

Consumers brought their empty, clean shampoo or conditioner bottles to the refilling station, refilled these at the matching product pumps, and paid for their products based on the weight of their refill. Even those without empty bottles were able to buy refillable bottles for only P10 each, thus minimizing plastic waste from their households, and got their products at a much cheaper price.

Similarly, eco-friendly advocate Human Heart Nature (HHN) also rolled out 2 refilling stations in its flagship store in Commonwealth and in a Quezon City mall last March, 2019 for its “fast-moving” home care products such as liquid detergent, dishwashing liquid and baby bottle and utensil cleanser which were sold per gram.

HHN founder Anna Meloto-Wilk said consumers just needed to bring empty, clean, dry and sanitized bottles for product refills, and they are now working with designers to come up with simpler versions for nationwide implementation.

HHN is also lobbying with the government to allow refilling for cosmetic products to further reduce waste.

Refilling Home Care Products at HHN Ph Refilling Station (credit nolisoli)

Together with environmental advocates and nonprofits like Save the Philippine Seas, Mother Earth Foundation, Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines, and WWF Philippines, Meloto-Wilk has filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to change the existing rules to be more responsive to refilling setups.

They also have an ongoing online petition where they raised three opportunities that deal with safety, traceability, and adaptation of the products for the agency to enhance the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 9711 (The Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009).

Meloto-Wilk argues that that if water refilling is allowed provided refillers comply with set standards, a similar setup for cosmetics and home products should also be accommodated.

“We seek to bridge the policy gaps and promote a sea change in the way responsible Filipino companies and ordinary citizens use plastic—not just temporary measures, but permanent and lasting policies, structures, and systems,” the proponents argued in their petition.

Besides Unilever and HHN, other brands such as Lush, Ecobar and Suds have starting selling shampoo bars to minimize the use of single-use plastic containers.

For more information about BYOB, visit https://nutriasia.com/bring-your-own-bottle/

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