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The community organization rallies behind purveyors of cuisine during the COVID-19

lockdown period. 

Featured Content by The Filipino Food Movement

Media Release

April 7, 2020

(San Francisco, CA) — For the foreseeable future, everyday life and business around the world have changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the numerous, significantly impacted sectors are American Filipino restaurants and chefs, whose collective work has strongly influenced the American food scene.  As social distancing and the quarantine continue, businesses pivot their models, and adapt from in-house dining to take out and delivery services. This change is the impetus for two campaigns led by the Filipino Food Movement that will launch this week — Support Filipino Takeout and Kulinarya LIVE!

Support Filipino Takeout is a call to action for all Filipino restaurants and food purveyors to submit their menus to the Filipino Food Movement which will be made available via the nonprofit’s social media platforms. The national directory aims to make Filipino food accessible to a nation that continues to stay at home. Chefs, food entrepreneurs, and restaurateurs can submit their info here: https://bit.ly/2wqrwkA

On social media, the Filipino food scene has shown a significant uptick in activity and interest with daily menus, food photography, cooking demonstrations, and a constant search for easy recipes to make at home. 

On April 9, at 12 pm Pacific, Filipino Food Movement will premiere a live-streamed series, Kulinarya Live! The series will bring Filipino chefs from around the world into mobile phones and screens, streaming over Facebook (@filipinofoodmovement.) Its first live stream features a multi-awarded San Francisco chef, Francis Ang of Pinoy Heritage. 

“The idea was to utilize our social media reach to promote Filipino food business. Each chef or restauranteur is encouraged to compete in the digital space. We want to amplify their voices,” shared Sonia Delen, President of the Filipino Food Movement. “We hope that both projects continue to push the presence of Filipino cuisine in the global food scene and bring comfort and enjoyment to Filipinos all over the world.”

Filipino Food Movement is a community-based organization that was formed in 2014 to generate broad awareness, appreciation, and enhanced investment in Filipino culinary arts. Its mission is to support Filipino cuisine and its purveyors to create a recognizable footprint in the mainstream food scene. 

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Media Contact: 
Wennie Conedy
Wennie@filipinofoodmovement.org

MEDIA RELEASE

April 4, 2020

The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) is encouraging the public to “travel from home” by providing virtual backgrounds that people can feature in video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Webex, and many more.

The photos can be downloaded from www.philippines.travel/fromhome for free and will allow users to showcase the beautiful landscapes of the Philippines from the safety and comfort of one’s home.

To make the most of your virtual travels, consider exploring user-friendly courses for Apple users at jmapprendre.com. These courses provide valuable insights into maximizing the features of your iPad or iPhone, ensuring you can seamlessly navigate through the captivating virtual backgrounds and immerse yourself in the beauty of the Philippines, all from the comfort of your home.

The “Travel From Home” virtual backgrounds take you to some of the most popular travel spots in the country and are arranged to reflect the relevant times of day do you can have your early morning meeting with a glorious mountain sunrise and your evening one with a golden beach sunset.

The DOT reminds everyone that while our destinations miss you, it’s vital that you stay at home as much as possible during the community quarantine so you can return to your favorite places in the Philippines soon.

#TravelFromHome

#SaveOurSpots

#WeHealAsOne

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Featured Content by Asian Journal Press

March 30, 2020

The first-ever American TV series filmed entirely in the Philippines debuts on Monday, March 30 on WGN America.

“Almost Paradise” is an action-thriller show created, written and produced by award-winning Filipino American filmmaker Dean Devlin.

Known for his work on “Independence Day,” “Godzilla, “Leverage,” and “The Librarians,” this is Devlin’s first project involving his Filipino roots.

The series is centered around Alex Walker (Christian Kane, “The Librarians” and “Angel”), a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent who goes into early retirement and moves to a beach in the Philippines he remembers visiting years ago. Alex finds himself drawn into cases where he uses his skills as a longtime operative to put away the bad guys that cross his path.

The idea came to Devlin during his honeymoon in Hawaii some 14 years ago when the local news had a story about residents capturing a drug dealer on their own.

“It just got me thinking about island justice, island culture and island spirituality. I always said, ‘I really would like to write something about that,’” Devlin told the Asian Journal. “Over the years, I thought, ‘Why do it in Hawaii?’ I’m half Filipino and I’ve never done anything connected to my own culture so when the idea came to put this story in the Philippines then things started to accelerate quite quickly.”

Beyond the “poverty porn” and other stereotypical notions people may have about the Philippines, Devlin didn’t want to make the storyline about the current political climate and the controversial drug war.

“To be able to bring things from the culture — the looks, the costumes, the traditions — and put that seamlessly in a very American show…one of the goals here is not to say that Filipinos are the other. The goal is to say Filipinos are us and we’re all part of the same beautiful community,” he said.

As for the challenges that came with filming in the country, Devlin joked, saying “The better question is what wasn’t the challenge?” His production company, Electric Entertainment, partnered with ABS-CBN and built a soundstage at Bigfoot Studios in Cebu.

Thankfully, the production had finished and left the Philippines before the government stopped international flights because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“We literally wrapped production 18 hours before they stopped the international flights. It was crazy. It felt like we were on the top of that building in Saigon during the fall of Vietnam trying to get the last helicopter out. But we finished the season,” Devlin said.

The 10-episode series, shot in the island of Cebu, features a predominantly Filipino cast and crew. Actors Samantha Richelle and Arthur Acuña star as detectives Kai Mendoza and Ernesto Alamares, respectively.

When Devlin and Kane took a trip to Manila to scout local talent, Richelle auditioned for the role of Kai Mendoza upon the recommendation of Dela Torre and blew them away.

“In me preparing for the role of Kai, I literally fell in love with her…She’s such a ballsy character, but yet also very sympathetic. It was just amazing to be able to delve into that,” Richelle told the Asian Journal, adding that a week before filming began, she did combat training and learned how to shoot.

“You’ll see in the show, every episode we pushed a little bit farther on [how] she can go as an actor and every time we raised the expectations, Samantha reached it. This character really develops over the course of the season and this is no easy acting job,” Devlin said. “She’s really the breakout actor on this show.”

Filmmakers Francis Dela Torre, Hannah Espia, Dan Villegas and Irene Villamor directed several episodes; meanwhile, Pao Orendain served as director of photography and Digo Ricio as production designer.

“This is a very intense American way of doing a TV series…This crew was amazingly responsive because this was not in their comfort zone at all. It’s not the way that they do shows in the Philippines. They were all eager to learn [and]…they all kind of wanted to show what they could do,” Devlin added.

With more Filipino faces on an American network, Devlin sees it as a way to usher in more Filipino representation.

“There’s been a wonderful explosion of diversity in entertainment over the last few years. But the Asian community in general — and the Filipino community in specific — has really been left behind that. We wanted to be part of the energy that’s correcting that and part of pushing us into the spotlight and saying, ‘Hey, take a look. I think you’re gonna like what you see,’” he said.

“Almost Paradise” airs on WGN America at 10 p.m. ET.

MEDIA RELEASE

March 24, 2020

MANILA – At least 10,300 individuals, mostly foreign travelers affected by the enhanced community quarantine, have been assisted as of Tuesday, March 24, 2020 by the Department of Tourism (DOT), Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat disclosed.

A virtual COVID-19 command center coordinated the skeletal workforce of the DOT regional offices throughout the country.

From this number, 7,915 are tourists assisted through sweeper flights that transported stranded tourists from various destinations to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and Clark International Airport, in joint efforts with Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Air Asia and Air Swift. Chartered flights were also made available to move stranded tourists.

“The Department of Tourism has been doing everything within its resources to ease the congestion in the different regions by facilitating the movement of foreign tourists stranded in the different islands of the country,” stressed Secretary Puyat.

Five sweeper flights carried stranded tourists out of Siargao to Clark Airport last Saturday and Sunday.

At least four sweeper flights will fly out of Boracay Island over the weekend, with two more scheduled on Thursday March 26. Meanwhile, additional sweeper flights will fly out of Iloilo, Tacloban, and Cagayan de Oro tomorrow, March 25.

Three sweeper flights are set to leave from Davao and Puerto Princesa on March 26.

Meanwhile, DOT regional offices are facilitating the transport of travelers by land in Luzon and by sea with inter-island vessels, like the Philippine Coast Guard boats used to sail tourists from the islands of Bohol, Siguijor, and Negros to Cebu.

Also arranged were shuttle services and hotel accommodations provided to some stranded tourists. Free food and hygienic items, called MalasaKits, were distributed at the NAIA terminals.

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MEDIA RELEASE

18 March 2020

The Department of Tourism (DOT) welcomed the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to lift the 72-hour window for individuals departing overseas.

DOT coordinated with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employments to provide the joint guidelines for the lifting of the ban.

OFWs, Balikbayans, and foreign nationals will be allowed to leave at any time during the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon, provided they travel only to the airport within 24 hours of the date and time of their departure. Outgoing passengers must provide documents of their departure, such as an electronic ticket or flight itinerary.

Filipino citizens are strictly not allowed to take outbound international flight to countries where travel restrictions are in place. 

Outbound passengers may be accompanied only by one companion/driver to and from the airport, who shall likewise carry a copy of such e-ticket or itinerary. 

Select Hotels To Remain Open

Hotels and similar establishments shall remain closed under the guidelines of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, except for the following: 

1. those with foreign guests that have existing booking accommodations as of March 17, 2020;

2.those with checked-in guests on long-term leases; 

3.those accommodating employees from exempted establishments under the provisions of the March 16, 2020 Memorandum from the Executive secretary.

Hotels and similar establishments except for those classified in #3 above are not allowed to accept new bookings.

Assistance to All Tourists

The DOT has created a Tourism Airport Team to provide 24-hour service to tourists at airport including assistance in arranging flights, securing bookings, transportation, meals and accommodation. DOT is in close collaboration with local government unit (LGU) officers, local airport staff and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for this effort.

The Regional Offices of DOT have been proactive in informing tourism stakeholders such as hotels, island resorts, tour operators and local government units to communicate the intensified travel restrictions of the Enhanced Community Quarantine to foreign tourists in each destination, especially those in remote islands.

“The DOT is committed to working with all stakeholders, especially the LGUs and the inter-agency task force (IATF), in ensuring that the safety and the needs of our domestic and international tourists are addressed and resolved,” stated Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

Please visit the official Philippines travel advisory website for more updates. https://philippines.travel/safeph

#SafeTravelsPH

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MEDIA RELEASE

March 9, 2020

In light of recently reported community transmissions of COViD-19, the Department of Tourism (DOT) calls on all tourism industry stakeholders to remain calm, to be constantly updated and to report suspected cases to local health authorities.

The DOT defers to the Department of Health (DOH) as lead agency of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, for decisions and announcements pertaining to the COVID-19 concern.

Needless to say, the DOT has the safety and well-being of visitors and locals as its utmost priority. As such, it will continue to coordinate and work closely with the IATF, partners from other government agencies and the private sector to mitigate the impact of the disease.

The DOT continuously issues health protocols for the airports, hotel establishments and tour operators to cascade guidelines to make sure that precautionary measures are in place in order to contain the spread of the virus in the country. Among those measures include thermal scanners at the entrance, provision of hand sanitizers and food preparation based on global Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) standards. DOT-accredited hotels are continuously cleaning and sanitizing premises, particularly the common and frequently used areas.

Tourists are directed to visit the DOT’s travel advisory bulletin at www.philippines.travel/safeph in order to know the consolidated efforts of the Philippine tourism industry to contain the spread of the COVID-19 and maintain the safety and well-being of visitors.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat likewise enjoins the industry to extend any assistance possible to affected tourists in their respective areas.

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MEDIA RELEASE

February 14, 2020

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Department of Tourism (DOT) welcomes the lifting of the travel ban on Taiwan to minimize the impact of the nCov global scare on the local tourism industry.

“The lifting of the travel ban on Taiwan is highly assuring and we hope that the nCov crisis would soon be resolved, worldwide. Ultimately, the recovery of all affected countries is a universal prayer, especially that tourism is an inclusive and sustainable business for and of the people,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette-Romulo-Puyat.

The temporary ban on Taiwan was lifted by the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases after it was established that Taiwan has been implementing very strict and excellent protocols in handing travelers.

The Task Force underscores the need to review on a regular basis how the Philippines’ source countries heighten precautionary measures and implement stricter protocols to contain the corona virus disease (COVID-19).

Taiwan is the country’s fifth largest tourist source market raking up an impressive double-digit increase of 37.07 percent for its 305,570 arrivals in Jan. to Nov. 2019.

All preventive and precautionary measures have been put in place by the national government to contain the spread of the COVID-19. The guidelines in handling guests in tourism enterprises during this global emergency are being implemented in hotels and resorts around the country and facilities are equipped with infrared thermometers and more hand sanitizers.

The temporary entry ban for tourists coming from China, its Special Administrative Regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macau, and the 14-day quarantine for Filipinos coming from the said places is still in effect.

Meanwhile, the tourism sector rallied behind the DOT to mitigate impact on inbound tourism by rolling out a tactical program that will offer more value-added tour packages, discounted accommodation rates and marked-down prices for domestic flights.

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Media Release

February 2, 2020

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has immediately advised its foreign offices in China to relay to all stakeholders involved in bringing markets to the Philippines on the latest directive by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to temporarily ban “the entry of any person, regardless of nationality, except Filipino citizens and holders of Permanent Resident Visa issued by the Philippine Government, directly coming from China and its Special Administrative Regions”, Hong Kong and Macau, in order to contain the spread of the novel corona virus (NCov).

The directive also includes the following travel guidelines:

• Temporarily banning the entry of any person, regardless of nationality, except Filipino citizens and holders of Permanent Resident Visa issued by the Philippine Government, who within fourteen (14) days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, has been to China and its Special Administrative Regions;

• A mandatory fourteen (14) day quarantine for Filipinos and Permanent Resident Visa holders coming from any place in China and its Special Administrative Regions;

• Temporary ban on Filipinos from travel to China and its Special Administrative Regions

The DOT is coordinating with the travel trade sector in the Philippines to ensure the full implementation of this directive. As support to calls for precautionary measures, the Department has earlier released Guidelines in Handling Guests in Tourism Enterprises in the Advent of nCOV Global Health Emergency.

The DOT is in close coordination with all concerned government agencies and assures that precautionary steps are being taken to ensure the safety of Filipinos and travelers from other countries who are visiting the Philippines.

“The safety and protection of our citizens thriving in our tourist spots, the employees of the tourism sector, and domestic and foreign tourists alike remain the Department of Tourism’s priority. We call on everyone in the tourism industry to follow these directives until the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Philippine government deems it safe to resume travel to these parts.”, stated Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat.

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