HEADS UP: Why are Filipinos so Invested in LJ Reyes, Paolo Contis?

Here’s a Heads Up from reporter on news that you need to know today, Sept. 10:

CULTURE EXPLAINED

• Why are Filipinos so invested in the breakup of actors LJ Reyes and Paolo Contis? It’s not your ordinary celebrity uncoupling.

ECONOMY EXPLAINED

• Forbes released its 2021 rankings of the Philippines’ richest billionaires. How rich are they? Let’s estimate their net worth in air fryers.

2022 ELECTIONS

• Since President Rodrigo Duterte is running for vice president, her daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said she would no longer run to succeed her father.
• Fresh off his presidential campaign launch, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, once criticized by President Duterte for his hairstyle, said he would not go the toxic politics route.

QUARANTINE NEWS

• Why was the GCQ with granular lockdowns in Metro Manila postponed at the last minute? Here’s the explanation of the National Task Force on COVID-19 and NCR mayors.
• Cebu plans to shorten the quarantine period for returning fully-vaccinated Filipinos from abroad to five days instead of seven.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Here’s the updated operating schedule of the LRT-2, now that it’s fully operational from Recto to Antipolo and vice versa.
• The 2021 Physician Licensure Exam was canceled two days before it was scheduled to start.

NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• A reminder to stay home. At a Quezon City orphanage, 99 kids were among 122 who got COVID-19 following contact with an asymptomatic patient.
• Typhoon Kiko, the strongest storm so far of 2021, is expected to reach peak strength today, threatening to bring heavy rains to extreme Northern Luzon.
• The DBM explained to senators yesterday why health workers’ special risk allowance was not funded in the proposed 2022 national budget -- there was no Delta threat when it was drafted.
• Animals’ bodies are changing to keep their bodies cooler, adapting to climate change, a new study found.
• The WHO has called on world leaders to suspend COVID booster jabs until 2022 as many countries battle Delta variant outbreaks with limited vaccine supply.
• Google is ramping up online collaboration tools, betting that WFH and office work combined will stay post-COVID.
• Real life “Mara Clara” in Spain, a 19-year-old woman is suing a hospital where she was switched at birth.