Borrowed life

My column in Mindanao Daily, BusinessWeek Mindanao and Cagayan de Oro Times

OPINION

By KLAUS DORING

 September 27, 2019

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SWEET words are easy to say; nice things are easy to buy; but good people are different to find. Life ends, when you stop dreaming; hope ends, when you stop believing; friendship stops, when you stop sharing. A good friend of mine sent me this quotation. I commented back: So very true and very well said!

When this paper hits the roads, I am still in Manila attending several important diplomatic meetings and celebrating Germany's National Day of Unity on October 3. Especially this celebration let me always think back. 20 years ago, 30 years, even 40 years ago... .

Fact is: our life is borrowed - from God. No rental charges are collected from us. Many of us have forgotten this and live life at his fullest. Our life is equal to a book from a library that lends one. But how insatiable and unbearable are we in disdainful acting towards life and therefore to ourselves? Remember: life is just a loan!

Life seems to be nothing, just being ready to riddle one with bullets. Life seems to be nothing, just being broken through the indifference and unreliable and immoral behavior. Life seems to be nothing for those people who don't understand cries from the heart of other people around them - cries for their hearts and families, for justice, cries for peace and for many other things.

Life with all its ups and downs, is just a loan, but for many of our fellow creatures it just seems to be nonsense to be littered like dump. And, if people try to survive, especially during these days, and if they just experienced (once more!) indifference, arrogance, ignorance or cheating by whomever - they will give up!

I can assure you that every one of us can at first help in prayers and, in reading the bible. "Proverbs" is the probably most down-to-earth book in the bible. Its teachings prepare you for the daily life, the street and the market place, but not for the schoolroom. The book offers warm pieces of advice you get; practical guidance for making your way on earth. Proverbs covers any kinds of questions you might have right now. Anybody can relate to the generalities of Proverbs, because this book simply tells how life works most of the time.

While writing this piece, I observed that more and more people struggle through life: tired, hopeless, experiencing their rock-bottoms, believing in fallacious "people" around them. I also observed a lot of people living a thief life, as if it it has been giving them without limitation.

"Let's enjoy every single loophole in law!" What a sad and fatal attraction!

Comval celebrates “United Nations International Day of Peace Commemoration in Pantukan

Compostela Valley Province---The provincial government of Compostela Valley celebrates the “United Nations International Day of Peace Commemoration” at Pantukan Sports Complex, Pantukan, Comval Province on September 21, 2019 with the theme: "Tapang at Malasakit para sakapayapaan." 

Sparked with the early morning sunshine of Pantukan’s Municipality, the United Nations International Day of Peace started with the registration of Participants at 5 o'clock comprised with Local Government Unit (LGU) Officials, 11 IPs of the eleven municipalities, Barangay Captains, Women's Group, Barangay Officials of Pantukan, PPDOC Comm. Member, PNP and the AFP and directly followed by the "Peace Walk" at 6 in the morning. 

The ceremony proper was opened by the welcome message of the Mayor of the Municipality of Pantukan, Hon. Roberto Yugo highlighting the importance of peace that should root in our hearts leading to listening and whole-heartedly forgiving others.

The United Nations International Day of Peace Commemoration envisions to bring together multi-sectoral groups such as civil society, religious groups, youth organizations, security sectors and others in a common activity where the international celebration will promote awareness in peace issues and showcase peace initiatives.

Compostela Valley Provincial Women Development Council (PWDC) chairperson Sholai Lim was set as the ambasdor of the International Women's Peace Group (IWPG). "My goal is to foster friendship among nations, to share and find consensus in the various issues the world faces today and hopefully restore our faith in humanity," said Lim.

Peace Consuls of Mindanao and other dignitaries attended the event namely Lt. Gen. Felimon Santos of AFP the Commander Eastmincom, BGEN Marcelo C. Morales Director Police Regional Office II and Emmanuel Manny Fantin Pinol the Chairman of MNDA. 

Highlights of the event were the turn-over of balls from Maharlika Sports and Football for Humanity and the Launching of the Solidarity Garden. " Dako akong pasalamat sa paghatag sa amua ug mga bola kay magamit namo sa among practice ug tournament. Sa Futsal nako nakuha ang akong kalipay ug puhon posible nga makaeskwela ko ug libre tungod sa futsal," said Jean Templanza, a member of the Pantukan Futsal team. 

The Solidarity Garden is a joint project of the Provincial Government of Comval and the LGU Pantukan and will be opened for the public soon. #YEStoDavaoDeOro (Justeen Abella, ID Comval) 

Kahimunan Festival in Laak

Gov Tyron Uy joins the celebration of the 9^th Kahimunan festival in Laak on September 21, 2019 with other guests and officials. (M. Lasaca/ID Comval)

Heroes in Action ...

... at the Bayanihan Sa Paraalan 2019 Build in Comval held

Compostela Valley Province--- Bayanihan sa Paaralan 2019 School Build took its official starting day on its estimated 22-day duration in the 3 municipalities in the province, Compostela, New Bataan and Pantukan.

The simultaneous kick-off ceremony to the construction of classroom buildings commenced on September 20, 2019 in various school sites identified as geographically isolated and depressed areas (GIDA) in Pagsabangan, New Bataan, Barangays Panansalan and Side 4, Mangayon in Compostela, and Sitio Sapanglubog, Brgy Tibagon, Pantukan.

Again, following the Bayanihan concept, the provincial government through its different offices led the building of the classrooms along with the municipal and barangay LGUs, national agencies and other private partners. One of which is at Purok 3, Brgy. Panansalanan, Compostela were the Provincial Administrator’s Office under Provincial Administrator Virgilia Allones, Provincial Human Resource Management Development Office, Compostela Valley Scholarship Program, CVPH Laak partnered with LGU Mawab, LGU Compostela and the Department of Education to build the 1 unit-2 classroom building.

Department of Education-Comval represented by Mr. Ruben Reponte thanked the provincial government under Gov. Tyron Uy, the LGUs and the rest of the partners as well as the volunteers for supporting the program.

Panansalan, with its green, lush and mountainous surroundings is also a big challenge in the part of the students living in Purok 3 as most of them will have to walk more or less 8 kilometers to reach the nearest school.

“Mas nindot na ang sistema sa edukasyon sa karun kay makita man gyud nato ang tabang sa gobyerno.” said  Madonio Jacinto, Purok-3 Chairman of Panansalan.

He added that the community has about 39 households with farming as their means of livelihood where residents raise chickens, goats, pigs and plants vegetables for consumption and to generate income for their daily needs.

"Nindot kay makatabang ang bag ong eskwelahan nga mahimo pinaagi sa Bayanihan Sa Paaralan 2019 Build. Dako ang matabang ani sa amua ilabi na ug Sabado ug Dominggo kay makatabang amung mga anak sa uma kay makauli man dayun kumpara sa una nga layo ang eskwelahan.  Ug karun nga naa nami bag ong eskwelahan, possible kaayo nga makahuman amuang mga anak sa high school kay dili na maproblema ug kwarta pambalon, ang importante kaon nalang amuang atimanon," explained Marah J. Magno, a resident of P3 Panansalan.  (Jasteen P. Abella, ID COMVAL)

Is airline food really so bad?

My column in Mindanao Daily, BusinessWeek Mindanao and CagayanTimes

I AM frequent flyer around the globe since my 21st birthday. 1974, my first international flight took me from Germany to Norway. 3 hours. Not a big deal. But, I remember, I  just peeled back the plastic off a freshly-delivered tray right off my airplane’s trolley cart and the mess looking back at you is a grim one. The fault may not lie with the chef, though, but in the plane’s design. Everything is reheated. Sure.

The very nature of air travel, as well as how the plane is built and how it adjusts to high altitudes, make food preparation fundamentally more difficult. There are some technical limitations to being high in the air that make it far simpler to just reheat pre-made food, rather than attempt to actually cook from scratch — particularly in the pressurised air of the plane’s cabin.

Although planes routinely cruise at altitudes of around 40,000 feet, the pressure of the cabin is brought back down to more comfortable altitudes of between six and nine thousand feet above sea level. Even those lowered altitudes, though, are still enough to slow down cook times considerably.

It’s not just the difficulties of cooking, though. Even the food service encourages heat-and-serve style meals. The preference in hot airline meals is for pre-cut, reheated meats, usually swimming in sauce, like boeuf bourguignon - actually one of my favorite dishes. In part, the sauce works to counteract the dryness of the pressurised air cabin. But both the sauce and the slow reheat time also suit today’s blunt-edged airline cutlery sets, which have either no knife or an un-sharpened one. Because it's been so overcooked, you can cut it with a fork.

“Airlines have discovered that, if you also pre-cut the meat, you practically don’t need a knife,” says Guillaume de Syon, a professor at Albright College in the US state of Pennsylvania who studies the history of technology, particularly aviation. "Because it's been so overcooked, you can cut it with a fork." Perhaps the biggest consideration, though, is simply available space.

Within the years, I traveled to Asia and the U.S. Yes sure: more passengers, bigger planes, less attention to individual meals. Please keep in mind, I haven't be a First Class Passenger. That's another story, isn't it?

Anyway, today’s passenger planes are designed to carry well over 300  passengers, all of whom expect to be fed on roughly the same schedule. Before the popularization of the jet in the 1960's, though, let's note that passenger manifests were small, usually fewer than 50 people, giving flight attendants time to devote attention to each passenger’s meal service.

Some of those early hot options would seem unrecognizably lavish to today’s traveller, with menus that featured cooked-to-order omelettes, or mobile carving stations wheeled from seat-to-seat by an attendant. With hundreds to serve instead of dozens, though, today’s flight attendants simply no longer have the time to prep individual trays. Instead, the trays need to arrive ready to go.

The large array of food options on offer to airplane passengers in the 1960's and 1970's simply doesn’t exist in most air travel anymore. But, that doesn’t mean the menu has completely disappeared. It’s just been replaced by menus of another sort. Free unlimited wine, champagne and liquors? Once upon a time ... ! I remember a flight from Berlin to Moscow in 1979: bottomless Vodka. Heaven forbid!

In the last decade, the number of entertainment options aboard the average airplane have exploded — and the design of the seats and cabin have changed to reflect this. Nowadays it's designed for your entertainment — not for your food.
Passengers are offered music, often WIFI, and, most importantly, a large menu of films and TV options served up on demand on personalized screens installed in their seat, instead of a single large screen up front. The installation of personalized screens has taken a lot of focus away from the food service, allowing airlines to cut back on food
.
Today, though, ticket cost is the primary measure of competition and cutting out a meal or two can either add to the airline’s bottom line, or give it a little extra room to undercut a competitor’s price. Profits [could be] gained from chopping the kitchen out of the plane almost entirely. "Nowadays airlines are breaking out the expenses and leaving it up to consumers to choose what they want,” said Bob van der Linden, who is the air transportation curator at the US National Air & Space Museum. “It’s the market. This is pure economics. After deregulation in 1978, airlines are free to compete anyway that they want — and they found the best way to compete is low prices."

The shrinking space for food doesn’t, however, mean that airline meals are completely disappearing. But, as airlines look for ways to trim budgets and save space, they’re turning back to those same ground-prepped cold snacks and sandwiches that airlines began their food service with decades ago.“We’re moving back to the box lunches that we started with in the US during the late 1930's, early 1940's. Something that can be easily transported. Nothing terribly perishable, basically a box lunch, a picnic lunch,” said van der Linden.

Happy trip guys! See you abroad!

Air Quality in Davao remains good and fair

By Zea Capistrano

DAVAO CITY – The Air Monitoring Unit (AMU) of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Region 11 confirmed that a significant increase of fine particles has been detected in the air in Davao City following the forest fires in Indonesia.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) (MANILA BULLETIN)

Melvin Dapitanon, AMU-EMB head, said that based on their monitoring last week, the levels of fine particles in the city was at 20-30 micrograms per normal cubic meter However, from Saturday to Monday, the PM2.5 has reached 40-47 micrograms per normal cubic meter.

“Our standard is at 50 microgram per normal cubic meter, that is the standard set under our Clean Air Act,” Dapitanon said over a phone interview.

The increase was particularly recorded by the air quality monitoring instrument in Calinan National High School. The other instrument is located at the Davao International Airport.

Dapitanon said their hourly monitoring Wednesday was better with a 50 percent decrease, compared to Tuesday’s figures.

“Wala pa tayo sa level na unhealthy,” he said, adding that the air quality in Davao is “good to fair” as of their latest monitoring.

Gawad sa Kaunlaran

Vice Governor Maricar Zamora receives Gawad sa Kaunlaran Award

 The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) awarded the “Gawad sa Kaunlaran" medal to Honorable Maria Carmen S. Zamora, MNSA last September 17, 2019, during the 11th Re-activation Anniversary of the 701st Infantry (Kagitingan) Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army at Mati, Davao Oriental.

The Vice-Governor was recognized for her meritorious and invaluable achievement in the pursuit of programs that helped create peaceful and conflict resilient communities in the province.

During her three terms as the District I Representative of Compostela Valley, she implemented her SMILE (Social Services, Medical Assistance, Infrastructure, Livelihood Opportunities, and Educational Programs) platform which opened opportunities for Comvalenyo’s to pursue a better life. Her pursuit of providing quality education and skills development led to the creation of the Compostela Valley State College, Educational Scholarship Grants, and TESDA Certified Employment and Skills Trainings.

The commander of the AFP Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom), Major General Felimon T. Santos Jr., pinned the medal to Vice-Governor Zamora.

More than the recognition and accolades, Vice Governor is continuously inspired to pursue her programs because of the improvements it has brought to the lives of her constituents.

The AFP’s Gawad sa Kaunlaran is the second to the highest distinction given to citizens and government officials in relation with socio-economic and other non-combat activities.

Other high-ranking military officials present were Brigadier General Henry Robinson, Assistant Division Commander of the 7th Infantry Division, 10th Infantry Division Commander Major General Jose Faustino, Jr., and 701st Brigade Commander Brigadier General Manuel Sequitin. ---

Photo Caption:  Vice Governor Maria Carmen S. Zamora, MNSA receives her Gawad Kaunlaran Award from the AFP with Major General Felimon T. Santos Jr., Brigadier General Henry Robinson, Major General Jose Faustino Jr., Brigadier General Manuel Sequitin, and Governor Nelson Dayanghirang of Davao Oriental. 

Mindanao Fruit Farmers expanding reach to the Visayas

By Allan Nawal

FRUITS GALORE. Fruit lovers in Lingayen, Pangasinan troop to the municipal hall grounds on Saturday (September 14, 2019), for the MinDA Fruit Festival. (Mindanao Development Authority photo)

DAVAO CITY – The fruit festival organized by the Mindanao Development Authority, which aims to link Mindanao's fruit farmers with consumers outside of the island-region, is coming to the Visayas.

MinDA chair Emmanuel Piñol on Saturday said the Visayas leg would take place in Cebu City from September 28-29, 2019.

“Secretary Michael Dino, the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, said he will host the Cebu staging of the MinDA Fruits Festival to give Cebuanos access to fresh fruits from Mindanao at lower prices,” Piñol said.

He said the Visayas leg was finalized during a recent chance meeting with Dino at the Manila Domestic Airport.

“Sec. Dino said he will be able to choose the ideal location for the fruits festival next week,” Piñol added.

Meanwhile, the Pangasinan version of the MinDA fruits festival took place on Saturday, where residents of Lingayen and those from nearby areas started feasting on such popular Mindanao fruits as durian, mangosteen, pomelo, marang, among others.

Piñol said in a Facebook post that it was still dark when prospective buyers came to the municipal hall grounds for the fruit festival.

The Lingayen version was the fourth of such event since last month.

“Next week, the MinDA Fruits Festival will be staged in La Trinidad, Benguet and then Cebu City,” Piñol added.

He said the conduct of the fruits festival would be conducted in a regular and sustainable manner and that MinDA had negotiated with airline companies for a special cargo price for Mindanao's fruits.

Piñol said part of the sustainability plan is the pursuit of trading arrangements with other local government units in Luzon and the Visayas.

He cited that local government officials, such as Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong and Lingayen Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil, were instrumental in the previous and the current fruits festivals.

Piñol said he was also looking forward to increasing the number of suppliers in the future to satisfy consumer demand, noting that in the Baguio experience, 20 tons of fruits were not even enough due to the volume of buyers.

“The more supplier, the better. That way, all sides will benefit. Consumers will enjoy fruits at a reasonable price and fruit farmers will have new and bigger markets,” he said.

Mindanao fruit farmers usually experience supply glut during harvest seasons, pushing the prices so low.

For example, last February, rambutan only sold at about PHP20 per kilogram in Mindanao because of the large volume of harvest. (PNA)

A world without trees

Several months ago, I asked here how a world would look like without water. And, is there any difference? My today;s question is, "What would happen if all the world’s trees disappeared?"

As the Amazon fires continue to burn, writer and journalist Rachel Nuwer asks in an BBC-report: How dependent are we on the survival of forests?

In Mad Max: Fury Road, Charlize Theron’s Furiosa strives to return to “the Green Place” – a tree-filled oasis in the otherwise lifeless wasteland that the Earth has become. When Furiosa arrives at the sacred spot, however, she finds only skeletal trunks and sprawling dunes. She screams in anguish. Without trees, all hope seems lost.

Ask yourself: how would you feel? Hopeless too? Furiosa’s feelings were justified. “Forests are the lifeline of our world,” says Meg Lowman, director of the Tree Foundation, a non-profit organisation in Florida that is dedicated to tree research, exploration and education. “Without them, we lose extraordinary and essential functions for life on Earth.”

Following the Rachel Nuwer's report, trees’ services to this planet range from carbon storage and soil conservation to water cycle regulation. They support natural and human food systems and provide homes for countless species – including us, through building materials. Yet we often treat trees as disposable: as something to be harvested for economic gain or as an inconvenience in the way of human development. Since our species began practicing agriculture around 12,000 years ago, we’ve cleared nearly half of the world’s estimated 5.8 trillion trees, according to a 2015 study published in the journal Nature.

Sad to say but it's unfortunately so very true: much of the deforestation has happened in recent years. Since the onset of the industrial era, forests have declined by 32%. Especially in the tropics, many of the world’s remaining three trillion trees are falling fast, with about 15 billion cut each year, the Nature study states. In many places, tree loss is accelerating. In August, the National Institute for Space Research showed an 84% increase in fires in the Brazilian Amazon rain forest compared to the same period in 2018. Slash-and-burn is also especially on the rise in Indonesia and Madagascar.  

Making me sad and angry, or even better expressed angry first and sad then is the reality, that there have been more than 70,000 forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon in 2019. Barring an unimaginable catastrophe, however, there’s no scenario under which we would fell every tree on the planet. 

“Let me just start with how horrible a world without trees would be – they are irreplaceable,” says Isabel Rosa, a lecturer in environmental data and analysis at Bangor University in Wales. “If we get rid of all the trees, we will live [on] a planet that might not actually be able to sustain us anymore.”  And Isabel Rosa is so very right.

I am living in a big compound in Davao City with many trees and a wild tropical garden. Every time, trees have to cut or shortened, I have to leave. It's painful for me. But it's the wish of my neighbors, because branches of some trees keep on destroying their roofs.

Fact is, if trees disappeared overnight, so would much of the planet’s biodiversity. Habitat loss is already the primary driver of extinction worldwide, so the destruction of all remaining forests would be “catastrophic” for plants, animals, fungi and more, says Jayme Prevedello, an ecologist at Rio de Janeiro State University in Brazil. “There would be massive extinctions of all groups of organisms, both locally and globally.”

The loss of trees from the world would throw the climate off kilter. The planet’s climate would also be drastically altered in the short and long term. Trees mediate the water cycle by acting as biological pumps: they suck water from the soil and deposit it into the atmosphere by transforming it from liquid to vapour. By doing this, forests contribute to cloud formation and precipitation. Trees also prevent flooding by trapping water rather than letting it rush into lakes and rivers, and by buffering coastal communities from storm surges. They keep soil in place that would otherwise wash away in rain, and their root structures help microbial communities thrive.

So what's the difference between my first and today's question? Can you imagine a world without water? Can you imagine a world without trees? Or without both? Worth to think about. Worth to act about it! Even if we could live in a world without trees, who would want to?

Mindanao Peace Council Month Activities 2019

By : Hope Militante Fernandez

Regional Directors

Division Heads

Chiefs of Office

Local Government Officials

Military and Police Officers

**** and unto all whom this message shall come ****

Dear Sirs and Madams:

Warm greetings of peace!

A group of Davao-based non-government organizations, government agencies, civic and volunteer organizations have come together to spearhead the celebration of International Day of Peace this year. With the theme "Climate Action For Peace , a month-long program of activities highlighted by the Mindanao Peace Council (Davao Peace Fair 2019) is envisioned to bring together multi-sectoral groups such as civil society, religious groups, youth organizations, security sector, and others in a common activity where the international celebration will promote awareness on peace issues and showcase peace initiatives. The Davao Peace Fair 2019 will be held on the actual date of the annual International Day of Peace as declared by the United Nations on September 21, 2019.

In lieu of this, we would like to invite your good office to join us and participate in the different activities organized by our Peace Partners in the Davao Region.

1. What are we celebrating on Sept. 21, 2019?

In 2001, the United Nation General Assembly by unanimous vote adopted resolution 55/282 , which established September 21 of every year as International Day of Peace.

2. What is the theme of the celebration this year?

The theme for 2019 is “Climate Action For Peace”

3. What are the objectives?

§ To reflect on the meaning of peace in the world today, and in the midst of what is happening now in our country

§ To educate the people to be aware of our responsibilities in peace-building

§ To celebrate the gift of peace

4. What is the initiative of Davao in response to the International Day of Peace?

In Davao Region, a month long celebration of Peace Fair will be held from September 14 – 29, 2019. The different groups and organizations will gather to celebrate and promote peace initiatives.

Program of Activities

September 14, 2019

3:00 p.m.

The Tionko Football Field,(Ecoland Bridge )

MPC Peace Month Kick – Off

“ BioKite Flying For Peace “

Maharlika Sports Foundation

JCI-Duwaling

September 19, 2019

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

Xavier Hall Training Room, 8th Floor, CCFC Bldg, Ateneo de Davao University

Revisiting IPRA:

An IPRA Law Forum with NCIP

Contact Person :

Dadong Gumatao/Sir Macoy Samante:

UCEAC AdDU Office:

0932-3681546

ateneo.uceac@gmail.com

September 20-22,2019

Venue: Merkadu Strip,4F Skygarden,NCCC Mall, Buhangin, Davao City

KALINAW Bazaar @ Merkadu

Contact Person : Heidi-0908-8209038

Jaki – 0912-9830677

merkadu.davao@gmail.com

Everyone is invited to display and/or give services in the advocacy & public service booth for your respective office/agencies that will be available at the venue.

September 21,2019 MAIN EVENT

( Whole Day ) 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Venue: Municipal Gymnasium, Brgy. Kingking, Pantukan Gym, Compostela Valley

Solidarity Walk

Launching of the Solidarity Garden

“Trees For Peace “

Everyone is invited to display and/or give services in the advocacy & public service booth for your respective office/agencies that will be available at the venue.

Contact Person : Zenith Maceda

0950-3662565/09355651702

September 23, 2019

1:00-3:30 p.m.

Ateneo Training Room, 8th Floor

CCFC Bldg. AdDU

“Being with One “ Brahma Khumaris

An Inter-Faith Gathering

RSVP: 0999-995-3862

Culmination of Peacemonth 2019 :

Last weekof September Schedule (TBA)

Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental in Partnership w/ 73IB,10ID,PA

For all those interested to join please coordinate with the contact persons listed here.

We are hoping for your positive response to this invitation.

HOPE MILITANTE FERNANDEZ-MENDOZA

President/ Founder

H.O.P.E. (Humanitarian Organization for Peace Engagements)

Lead Convener

MINDANAO PEACE COUNCIL

Mobile No: +63 (9) 08-3053408

+63 (9) 550746999

Landline # : ( 082 ) 221-7909

E-mail Ad: hopefernandez@yahoo.com

"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (James 3:18)