Lucio Tan Admitted To Hospital Due To COVID-19

Business tycoon Lucio Tan was hospitalized after contracting COVID-19, his daughter confirmed on Saturday.

In an Instagram post, Vivienne Tan thanked everyone who prayed for his father’s swift recovery.

“He is in stable condition, responding well, and recovering,” she said.

Vivienne also asked for some privacy at this time.

“Please continue to pray for his speedy recovery. Thank you,” she wrote.

Lucio Tan, 86, is the chairman of MacroAsia and LT Group.

He also owns Philippine Airlines and Philippine National Bank.

Dar Al Ber Society Donates AED20 Million For 100 Million Meals Campaign

Dar Al Ber Society, one of the first charities established in the UAE, donated AED20 million to the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign aimed at providing food parcels for disadvantaged individuals and families across 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Dar Al Ber’s contribution will help provide 20 million meals to low-income communities in beneficiary countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Angola, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

Food parcels are distributed in an integrated network of collaboration between the campaign’s organizer Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), the United Nations World Food Programme, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment (MBRCH), Food Banking Regional Network, and local humanitarian organizations in beneficiary countries.

Mohammed Souhil Al Muhairi, Executive Director of the Dar Al Ber Society, said: “The 100 Million Meals campaign embodies the UAE’s commitment to its core values of giving, especially during Ramadan, the month of goodness, righteousness, and charity. The UAE plays a significant humanitarian role globally, and the vision and directives of our leadership has paved the way for an effective and sustainable implementation of philanthropy.”

Al Muhairi stressed Dar Al Ber’s commitment to actively participate in humanitarian initiatives, national relief campaigns, and joint charity projects, and to rapidly respond to the country’s humanitarian efforts.

Massive donations continue to pour in from individuals, businessmen and companies inside and outside the UAE since the campaign launched on April 11. Every AED1 donated helps provide one meal for beneficiaries in targeted countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The campaign is part of UAE’s contribution to global efforts to combat hunger and malnutrition, exacerbated by the outbreak of COVID-19. Today, more than 52 million people in the MENA region are undernourished, and most of them women and children.

The objectives of the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign are intertwined with the pillars on which Dar Al Ber Society was founded, aiming to reach disadvantaged groups, carry out sustainable inclusive humanitarian work, and promote solidarity in the face of crises and challenges.

The 100 Million Meals campaign is open to donations from inside and outside the UAE. Donations to the 100 Million Meals campaign can be made in four simple ways. First, through the campaign’s website www.100millionmeals.ae; second, by making a transfer to the designated bank account through Dubai Islamic Bank (AE08 0240 0015 2097 7815 201); third, by sending “Meal” on SMS to the specified UAE numbers (Etisalat and Du) listed on the website.

COVID-19 patients in tents, isolation and swab tests - President Duterte Tells Philhealth To Cover

Malacañang said on Tuesday that President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or Philhealth to shoulder COVID-19 patients in tents, isolation, and even their swab tests.

“Nagbigay ng direktiba po ang ating Presidente sa Philippine Health Insurance Corp. na kasama sa health insurance coverage ang RT PCR tests, isolation sa accredited community isolation units at hospitalization para sa mild at critical cases ng COVID-19,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a briefing.

“Kaugnay nito, kung ang tents ay kasama sa in-patient care, kailangan covered ito sa kasalukuyang in-patient COVID-19 package,” he added.

In a hearing at the House of Representatives, a lawmaker exposed that some patients pay hospitals for Php1,000 per hour even though they were only admitted in tents.

PhilHealth said in a statement that it has noted the current situation where patients are temporarily placed in tents because hospitals can no longer admit them in regular hospital beds.

Some medical facilities are allegedly charging a P1,000 per hour rate for patients in tents. Philhealth said that they will investigate these claims.


“Be it COVID-19 or not, patients should be afforded with all the financial help as guaranteed by the Universal Health Care Law,” the statement read.

The statement was made after some COVID-19 patients and their relatives complained that they have to pay their hospital bills since being admitted in tents is not covered by Philhealth.

PhilHealth said it “has been reviewing existing policies to better respond to the extraordinary demands brought about by this pandemic.”

“Enhanced guidelines will be issued the soonest to ensure that adequate financial protection is duly provided to the patients without compromising the quality of care,” the agency added.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte flies to Singapore

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio confirms that she flew to Singapore on Tuesday.

“Yes. I am on leave and I have a travel authority from DILG,” she told Inquirer.net in a text message.

The presidential daughter however refused to disclose the details of her Singapore trip.

Duterte-Carpio arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 from Davao on board a Philippine Airlines flight around 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

She later boarded a Singapore Airlines flight at 2PM together with one of her children, a nanny, and a member of the Presidential Security Group.

This is not the first time Duterte-Carpio went to Singapore. She went there last year for a medical treatment