#TruthInAction: Globe holds forum to help students fight fake news
Globe encourages the Filipino youth to be more discerning and more responsible in using technology and the Internet as it joins the PANAF Youth Creativity Festival (YCF) on April 29-30.
As a staunch advocate of the fight against fake news, Globe brings together esteemed journalists from the country’s top print and online media to talk about the importance of being responsible digital citizens especially for young communicators amid the alarming proliferation of fake news.
Globe aims to educate the estimated 5,000 participants of this year’s summit about the risks of going digital and how they can become ambassadors of truth. Participants are mostly budding young communicators, creatives and content creators from various colleges and universities. The summit also aims to educate the youth about the characteristics of fake news, how to spot them and verify their veracity as well as inform the students about the objective behind spreading fake news, who benefits from it, how it spreads, the adverse effects of sharing false information, and most importantly, how to fight it.
“It is not just the spread of viruses that we must contain. We also need to contain and stop the proliferation of fake news or misinformation. The youth, who are now more exposed to social media and other online platforms, must be responsible stewards of truth and integrity of information,” said Yoly Crisanto, Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP for Corporate Communications.
Globe continues to conduct its Digital Thumbprint Program (DTP), a series of workshops designed to increase students’ knowledge of digital citizenship and cybersafety by taking a critical look at their online behavior and helping them develop insights into the influences of the online world and the choices they are making.
PhilHealth expedites reimbursements, provides HCFs with needed funds
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) recently announced the implementation of the Debit-Credit Payment Method (DCPM) to fast-track payments to its partner-hospitals.
Under the DCPM, PhilHealth shall facilitate the settlement of accounts by paying 60% of the total amount of applicable HCF receivables minus withholding tax of 2%, while the remaining 40% (minus 2% withholding tax) of the total amount of good claims shall be paid following compliance to existing claims processing requirements and procedures, and full reconciliation of the 60% initially paid to the HCF.
Atty. Dante A. Gierran, PhilHealth President and CEO, said that, “The idea behind this [DCPM] is to immediately pay 60% of the total P7.01 billion of hospital claims in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus area.”
Reimbursements through the DCPM only apply to in-process claims filed from March 8, 2020 to April 7, 2021. However, claims that were returned to hospitals, denied, and under further investigation shall not be paid under the DCPM. Likewise, claims approved for payment by April 7, 2021 were excluded from the payment.
All PhilHealth-accredited hospitals in the NCR Plus bubble (NCR, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal) including Pampanga and Batangas treating COVID-19 patients may avail of this payment method. In compliance to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Resolution No. 111 dated April 22,2021 and IATF Resolution No.113-A dated April 29, 2021, PhilHealth is expanding the DCPM to high and critical areas that include the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) provinces of Abra and Ifugao and Region II cities of Santiago and Quirino.
Eligible HCFs must submit a properly accomplished undertaking duly signed by their respective owner or medical director subject to the concurrence of PhilHealth. “The DPCM is now on-going, and our Regional Offices are awaiting the facilities’ filing of their Letter of Understanding,” said Gierran. There will be an automatic credit that PhilHealth will pay.
Upon receipt of payment, the HCFs shall issue an electronic copy of the official receipt (OR) to the concerned PhilHealth office within five days and the original OR must be submitted within 15 days. PhilHealth shall withhold all succeeding payments to HCFs should they fail to submit the OR.
As of April 29, 2021, PhilHealth has disbursed payments to 114 HCFs under the DCPM amounting to P5.14 billion.
MakatiMed Outpatient Center at Discovery Primea opens
Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed) opened its Outpatient Center at the Discovery Primea last April 10 to provide top-class healthcare services to its hotel and condominium guests, residents, employees, and staff as well as those living and working nearby.
Operational 24/7 including holidays, the Outpatient Center located at Discovery Primea 3/F 6749 Ayala avenue is manned by dedicated, trained, duly licensed medical practitioners and personnel who are equipped with adequate training to respond to emergency situations and any healthcare issues and concerns. It primarily provides consultation, hospital admission assistance, ambulance referral, and comprehensive first aid services such as blood pressure monitoring and wound cleaning and dressing.
The medical facility will also offer diagnostic services including laboratory tests, X-ray procedures, ultrasound scans, and electrocardiograms (ECGs). The center has its own reception area, consultation room, extraction areas, X-ray room, ultrasound room, and ECG room to ensure that services will be provided as efficiently and as timely as possible.
SNAP Group promotes Safety Anywhere
SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP) Group held a virtual activity on April 28 to commemorate the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
SNAP teams in Benguet, Isabela, Ifugao, and Taguig joined the event where their health, safety, and environment (HSE) leaders highlighted the importance of occupational safety and health (OSH) systems in achieving safety goals, building organizational resiliency, and responding to crises. Site HSE leaders shared how SNAP protocols enabled teams to prepare for and respond to calamities such as typhoons. They also shared how SNAP continues to manage the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic through continuous improvement of response and management measures. One of the highlights of the celebration was the employees’ demonstration of how the company helps them deal with crises at home and in the workplace
As of March 31, 2021, SNAP-Benguet and SNAP-Magat have worked 4,885,310 and 1,809,490 injury-free work-hours, respectively. Both sites are certified in Integrated Management System including ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018, which respectively cover environmental management as well as occupational safety and health management systems.
PLDT Enterprise, Figaro tie up
PLDT Enterprise recently fortified its partnership with Figaro Group as it provides additional digital services that will augment the connectivity and communication requirements of Figaro’s branches nationwide.
Figaro Coffee Systems signed up for PLDT Enterprise’s ISDN PRI Services, with a total of 60 Channels, to complement their already existing Trunk line service in all branches.
This is in addition to using BEYOND FIBER, part of PLDT Enterprise solutions that will speed up and further secure their communications and data transmittal processes.
With the increased demand for online food deliveries given the pandemic, Figaro can immediately attend to orders and deliveries of their customers since their hotline and network are founded on the reliable services of PLDT Enterprise.
Converge keeps the quarantined connected
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is providing quarantined patients in Kamia Hall, UP Diliman’s dormitory turned isolation facility, free fiber-powered internet in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC).
With Converge powering up the dormitory’s fiber broadband connection patients, and medical staff are given internet speeds up to 150 Mbps. This will be boosted further upon PRC’s provision of access points.
The Kamia dormitory has a bedspace of at least 180 to accommodate patients, medical staff, and equipment. According to the PRC, the Kamia Hall isolation facility has started admitting patients since April 19, this year.
In May of last year, Converge provided the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) with free, enterprise-level fiber connectivity to ensure the taskforce has sufficient bandwidth for its communication and information dissemination needs.
