In Pasig, fighting corruption yields COVID-19 cash aid for the people

Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto began his term by cleaning up the local government’s procurement process and auditing its assets. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the city had money to help every household, and then some.

‘Common sense’ and speed shield Marikina City from the coronavirus

Marikina, a city of 450,000 residents, has one of the fastest reduction rates in cases. Mayor Marcy Teodoro says the city government simply did what public health experts advised: test, contain, and treat with speed.

Sagada council declines shooting permit of Joyce Bernal, Piolo Pascual for Duterte's SONA

The council cites the municipal’s strict quarantine ordinance as their main reason for disallowing Bernal and Pascual's team to shoot

How Iloilo City became ‘Wakanda’ of the Philippines

Iloilo City’s successful coronavirus response was not devised in a day. Neither can it be credited to only one person.

People vs Pandemic: How these mayors’ priorities protected their communities

Rappler features local governments that have been ahead in responding to the coronavirus pandemic

Legazpi City prepares a table for the quarantined

‘The local government should be felt. ’Pag nag-lockdown ka, ’tapos pinabayaan mo ang mga tao, ’wag ka na,’ says Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal

Valenzuela City’s pandemic response: ‘Everything has to happen now’

Mayor Rex Gatchalian says, ‘If we can do it ourselves, do it on our own, it’s the most helpful thing we can do for the national government’

In the fight vs COVID-19, these women mayors didn't take chances

Mayors Trina Firmalo-Fabic of Odiongan, Romblon, and Krisel Lagman-Luistro of Tabaco, Albay, consult their constituents and get creative in their response to the health crisis

Vietnam warns of economic calamity at ASEAN summit

The immediate focus for the 10-member bloc is the crippling cost of the coronavirus, which has ravaged the economies of tourism and export-reliant countries such as Thailand and Vietnam

Indonesia jails ISIS-linked couple who tried to assassinate minister

A Jakarta court hands a 12-year sentence to Syahrial Alamsyah, and 9 years to his wife Fitria Diana, after convicting them on terrorism charges for trying to kill then security minister Wiranto in October last year

Democracy under threat during pandemic, global leaders warn

'Democracy is under threat, and people who care about it must summon the will, the discipline, and the solidarity to defend it,' says the open letter signed by political and civil society leaders, Nobel laureates and rights groups

Bayanihan Musikahan shifts gears to give livelihood to urban poor communities

Through the Mask4AllPH project of Bayanihan Musikahan, communities are empowered to establish and manage their own production hubs of face masks to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for their residents

[ANALYSIS] Balancing education risks during this pandemic

The pandemic has made distance learning a necessary tool. But it cannot serve as the exclusive approach to education while we wait for a vaccine.

COVID-19 task force adviser says he was eased out over critical tweet

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque supposedly 'did not like' Dr Tony Leachon's social media criticisms about the government's coronavirus response

Pandemic shuts Earth's eyes on the skies

Scientists are unable to take advantage of the pristine skies over Chile's Atacama desert since late March, when its array of world-renowned observatories were shuttered

Bong Go's Balik Probinsya trips suspended

The senator's pet project hits a roadblock as the government decides to prioritize the return of stranded OFWs, students, tourists, and workers

IN PHOTOS: ‘My jeepney, our home’

Without a home and livelihood for nearly 3 months because of the coronavirus lockdown, driver Julius Evangelista and his family live inside his jeepney

[ANALYSIS] Pandemic and the new authoritarianism

Far-right nationalism and authoritarianism ride on economic and social exclusion to stoke anger and heighten fear – political currencies for their electoral victories

Tesda eyeing 'gulayan sa barangay' in Camalig as agri school site for Bicolanos

Residents of Barangay Salugan in Camalig, Albay, can get free vegetables in the 'gulayan'

Singapore otters' lockdown antics spark backlash

There are estimated to be about 90 otters in Singapore, making up 10 families, and appearances at popular tourist sites around the city-state's downtown waterfront have transformed them into local celebrities

News Corp to stop printing more than 100 Australian papers

News Corp Australia says the permanent changes had been brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, which had impacted the sustainability of local publishing

Chinese in Canada a target of increased hate during pandemic

Vancouver police are investigating 29 anti-Asian incidents over the past two months, 7 times more than the same period last year

Hong Kong high school students go back to class

Hundreds of secondary schools open their doors for senior students, the first classes in the state sector since late January

China must 'coexist' with a democratic Taiwan, says Tsai

In her speech during a deliberately stripped-down inauguration, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen says, her country and China 'have a duty to find a way to coexist over the long term '

Rappler+ Webinar: Cushioning the coronavirus impact

Happening Thursday, May 21, 10 am

U.P. experts say 'open data' is part of fight vs COVID-19

The UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team, a group of some 200 professors, researchers, alumni, and students, says data sharing 'must be used to generate knowledge'

ECQ alone won't curb coronavirus, PH needs mass testing – UP expert

'Mass testing, isolation, and contact tracing – this is where we should invest,' says Professor Jomar Rabajante of the UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team

European Central Bank ready to reload as 'unprecedented' slump hits

'The euro area is facing an economic contraction of a magnitude and speed that are unprecedented in peacetime,' says European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde

Herd of dugongs sighted off the coast of Thai island

Drone images released by the National Marine Park Operation Center show the dugongs sunning themselves beneath clear turquoise waters off the coast of southern Libong island

Lockdown lessened rate of coronavirus infections in PH – U.P. experts

The UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team says that the country's health care system should be prepared for an 'expected surge' in coronavirus cases once the Luzon-wide lockdown is lifted

Rappler+ Webinar: Reality and response in a pandemic

Join us on Friday, April 24, 10 am via Zoom

To stop coronavirus spread, suspend classes till December 2020 – U.P. experts

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque says the President has yet to decide on the suspension of classes

[ANALYSIS] Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic: How do we 'heal as one?'

The first thing we need to do is to go back and review well-established workflows for disaster risk reduction and management: prevent, prepare, respond, recover

The other pandemic: World urged to learn TB lessons

While tuberculosis was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization back in 1993, it remains the world's number one infectious killer

World underestimated pandemic, says economist who saw it coming

Economist Ian Goldin says countries must cooperate to find a way out of the coronavirus crisis. But he asks, 'Is the world capable of developing a coordinated action plan?'

Cebu province reports first coronavirus case

The patient, who is from Mandaue City, is recovering, says the regional health director

Rappler Talk: The exponential growth of a pandemic

Tomas Pueyo, the author of the Medium article 'Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now,' talks about the lessons he learned from data and what nations should do next

Novel coronavirus: What makes an outbreak a pandemic?

The World Health Organization says they have never seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus

Italy shuts all stores except pharmacies and food shops

'As soon as the emergency has passed, we will organize a free carbonara day for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers,' a closing note by a restaurant says

Pandemic: What does it mean and does it matter?

WHO Chief Tedros hints that designating the outbreak a pandemic prematurely might do more harm than good

After Ebola, World Bank creates pandemic insurance plan

The new Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility PEF covers outbreaks of several classes of infectious diseases most at risk for epidemics

#PugadBaboy: The horror that is gay marriage punchline 3

WHO: World is better prepared for next flu pandemic

An influenza pandemic is the most global of infectious disease events currently known It is in every country’s best interests to prepare for this threat

World must prepare for 'war' vs global pandemic – Bill Gates

Bill Gates says the risk of a worldwide pandemic meant it was reckless not to act now

World 'dangerously unprepared' for pandemics – World Bank chief

WB President Jim Yong Kim: We need to prepare for future pandemics that could become far more deadly and infectious than what we have seen so far with Ebola

Philippines, Indonesia among countries at risk of H7N9 flu

H7N9 which has already claimed about a hundred lives is more difficult to detect than H5N1 because it can be asymptomatic in birds

Online pictures of dead birds spur China flu openness

China has won international praise for its transparency on the H7N9 strain which has killed 14 people so far

One in five were infected by pandemic flu

A study confirms warnings that so called swine flu was highly contagious and estimates that the flu s lethality as previously reported was low