Enhanced Community Quarantine Extended High-Risk Regions in the Philippines

Today at eight in the morning, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF-EID, recommended for the extension of the Enhanced Community Quarantine for high-risk areas until May 15.

The announcement was made by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, as approved by President Rodrigo Duterte. These are the following areas:

Region III: Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga
Region IV-A: Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Quezon
Region IV-B: Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro
Region V: Albay, Catanduanes, Visayas, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Cebu & Iloilo
Mindanao: Davao del Norte

Did you know that the IATF-EID that was created in 2014 through Executive Order No. 168 which was issued by then-President Benigno Aquino III? It was organized as government's instrument
to assess, monitor, contain, control and prevent the spread of any potential epidemic in the Philippines.

The two busiest regions in the country, NCR and CaLaBaRZon, in terms of population and economic movement, have the highest incidence of COVID-19 deaths. Metro Manila has 4,673 confirmed cases with 310 deaths while CaLaBaRZon has 818 confirmed cases with 62 deaths as of 4 PM today, April 24,2020.

Visit Google Stats and get regular updates about the COVID-19 in the Philippines. It is important to get Regular Updates for your own peace of mind.

In the last 5 weeks of quarantine what have you done at home?

With the Enhanced Community Quarantine, we were forced to stay home. It was scary right? But it also gave us more time to be with our family. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into a month, we learned how to cope. Some of you found ways to help, others helped in very subtle ways.

We learned to help and cope with the situation. On my part, ECQ gave me time to look into my chess and basketball video collection and realized I can share them on YT. With the videos online, there will be more opportunities and materials for viewers to stay home by watching these videos.

So I am sharing them here with the title and the links. Let me start by sharing my YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/FBPh76

"The French" Volume 1, by GM Daniel King, in 4 parts:

The French Opening Part 1
The French Opening Part 2
The French Opening Part 3
The French Opening Part 4

The second volume is also available for free.

If it helps you and you find it really interesting, you can also check out the second volume on my channel.

You can also check out the Dirty Tricks Volumes 1 and 2 video by GM Nigel Davis

Dirty Tricks for Chess Tactics Volume 1
Dirty Tricks for Chess Tactics Volume 2

I also am sharing the Complete Defense to 1.d4 by GM Jon Levitt in 3 Parts

Complete Defense to d4 Part 1
Complete Defense to d4 Part 2
Complete Defense to d4 Part 3

Here is my favorite, King's Gambit Checkmate Compilation. These are the games I played online using the King's Gambit.

As much as I would love to, and in fact would really appreciate it, if you subscribe to my channel and like our videos, it is still your choice to subscribe to my channel. But I wish you would.

And now, allow me to share some of my basketball videos. Most of these involve coaches and player development. It's been a productive seven-year run for me as a varsity basketball coach.

Let me start with The Shooting Guide Series video from my YouTube Channel in three parts.

NBA Shooting Coach Pete Townsend's Shooting Guide video 1, Shooting Guide video 2 & Shooting Guide video 3.

Here is Coach Tab Baldwin's Fastbreak and Spacing Workshop at the MVP Sports Foundation-Coaches Convention:

And the Basketball Offense by Coach Mitch Buonaguro, in four parts. It includes the following:

Introduction to Offense 5 STAR Basketball Coaching Clinic, Motion Offense Part 1 and Motion Offense Part 2. The last part talks about Late Game Plays where Coach Mitch masterfully explains the nitty-gritty of end game situations.

Coach Mitch Buonaguro of SIENA COLLEGE for Five STAR Basketball  Coaches Clinic. Go check him out guys. Such a great, detailed teacher.

In the last five year, I have been fortunate enough to participate in the National Basketball Training Center's Coaches Convention by Coaches Eric Altamirano and Alex Compton. These two guys have been prominent players in the coaches development in the Philippines.

Here are some of the videos from the Coaches Convention:

With Coach Tab Baldwin:

1. Angles and Spaces
2. On Ball Screens
3. On Fastbreak Drills
4. 2-on-1 Fastbreak Drills
5. 4-Pass Fastbreak Drills    
6. Game-like Fastbreak Drills 
7. Fundamentals of Basketball: Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3
8. Use of Screens ---Efficiently
9. Clever Guy in the Middle for Fastbreaks
10. Taking Care of the Ball During Fastbreaks

And with Coach Bret Coxsedge:

1. Cross-over Dribble and Finish
2. Put-Back Drills
3. Ball Handling and Lay Up Development
4. Offensive Rebounding Drill
5. Defending the Perimeter Shooter
6. Two-Man Drill Attacking the Basket
7. Full-Court One-on-One Drills  
8. Lateral Dribble and Finish
9. Defending the Wing-Man
10. Chase-Down Drill

Gilas Point Guard Jimmy Alapag talks about Leadership, Trust and Vision in the 2017 Edition of NBTC. I've always followed the idea that coaching is more of culture implementation. And the culture of the team is set by the coach, first and foremost.

There are many videos to watch and I hope it helps in keeping the people inside their homes with these video tutorials.

I have discovered this GIPHY Website that helps me create GIPHYS of chess games I played and chess games I wish to study.

Keep safe and your loved ones.

Semper Ad Meloria!

My Random Musing during Holy Week 2020

By now the #StayAtHome has become the call for prevention from an unlikely but fatal enemy, Coronavirus. Also known as Covid-19, it has spread to a number of countries around the world. The virus which was called as NCOV before the World Health Organization declared the infection as Global Pandemic mid-March, came out of China. You ask yourself "how many people died in China from Coronavirus?"

What is it like to stay home, be forced to distance yourself from other people while being paranoid from people about getting sick with the virus?

For one, it can be boring if you won't find a way to do something. Second, you will appreciate what you have in your life. We are bombarded with so many social media trends that for once you feel like throwing your phone away and never to pick it up until your sane enough to read through the negativity that emanates from your friends' shout outs.

Where do we go to for all the noise this world is giving us?

I have my own sanctuary, Family prayers.

Every night at six, since March 15, my family has prayed the Holy Rosary. In two days we will be celebrating Palm Sunday and I really want to catch that Sunday Mass TV. Next week is Holy Week and this will be the first time since 2005 that I wont be able to do my Visita Iglesia. #SocialDistancing and #STAYHOME, because.

For every isolation and meditation, one asks the following:

1. Coronavirus prevention tips, which one must I follow?

2. How can I prevent coronavirus?

3. Is it airborne? Various sources give differing asnwers.

4. How do I make a facial mask?

5. Sanitizer gel, how can I make one?

6. Where can I buy disinfectant sprays?

These are some of the random questions you get to ask yourself. I still have lots of 'em:

7. What are the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Online courses that can take?

8. Will we get our share from the Landbank allotment of Php 10-B Emergency loan to LGUs?

9. The so-called social amelioration program of the government, when will it start?

10. With all the chaos happening, how can we move forward and live a peaceful life?

I have some answers:

Gabbi Garcia and Khalil Ramos starts fundraiser for corona virus frontliners. Feel-good news for a world that's been broken by personal agendas and politicking. Nairobi and her gang is back today on Netflix. Go ahead and binge-watch!

Do you want peace or war? These are the guys at the forefront of every debates, arguments and unfriending: Duterte. Robredo. DDS. Yellow-tards. Bong Go. Governor Remulla and Laguna Governor.

In Hollywood, we have Trump, New York and the rest of the United States of A getting sick and not knowing how to recover.

In China, they've got the solution to every problem, and the answer to every question. And the whole world is pointing fingers at them for spreading this virus. While everyone is getting sick, China is buying, building and bullying weaker economies and nations.


Department of Social Welfare and Development must be at the center of every transaction to help people in dire need of food, housing and support. But how can you be effective when you have not expected any of these? And you haven't been preparing for anything like this?

Watching live streams of news from local news TV, one gets to realize one thing: the world as we know it is over. From news casting, to learning with Zoom as one's platform and watching the Baranggay Tanod do their rounds at 8 PM to the tune of The Purge, everything has changed and we either adapt or perish.

So will you be doing the Seven Churches Visit via the Internet? Whats the weather like in your area? Here in Cavite, it's frying hot.

Yes, schools have closed and so are the businesses and services that we once hated for duping all of us into the economy of living. The NBA season is never coming back and si is the Candidates Matches of FIDE, the world governing body of Chess.

Do you know of a place where there is no corona virus?

Do you  know of a school that operates like before?

Is there cure for this sickness?

So what's news?

I have run three chess tournaments online with my players from different schools.

I have uploaded chess videos over at my channel.

I'm sleepy now. I'll be back next Sunday, hopefully, refreshed from a week of praying and fasting.

Holy week 2020 is here and I'm officially logging off.

And my internet sucks!

Semper Ad Meloria!