PH places 44 countries in green list, 2 in red

By THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunStar Manila

THE Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has placed at least 44 countries in the world under the “Green” list category, while two others have remained under “Red” list for November 16 to 30, 2021.

Green has been used for countries that are low risk to coronavirus disease (Covid-19), while Red is for those classified as high risk. Yellow means moderate risk.

Included in the Green list are American Samoa, Bhutan, Chad, China (Mainland), Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Federated States of Micronesia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), India, Indonesia, Japan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Montserrat, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, South Africa, Sudan, Taiwan, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Faroe Islands and The Netherlands are the two areas that are currently in the Red list, while the rest of the countries, territories, and jurisdictions not mentioned are under Yellow list.

Fully-vaccinated travelers entering the Philippines from areas under the green list no longer need to undergo a facility-based quarantine upon their arrival provided that they yield negative RT-PCR test results taken within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

They also have the option to undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test result taken in the quarantine facility upon arrival in the country or not to undergo quarantine, so long as they get a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals, as well as those with unverified vaccination status and those who failed to comply with the “test-before-travel requirements” need to undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test taken on their fifth day in the country.

or fully-vaccinated passengers departing from countries under Yellow list, they need to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test result taken on their fifth day in the Philippines.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated will have to undergo RT-PCR testing on the seventh day of a facility-based quarantine.

Inbound passengers from Red countries will be denied entry in the Philippines if they stayed there 14 days prior to their arrival to the Philippines unless they were Filipino citizens who will be subject to testing and quarantine protocols.

Returning Filipinos are required to spend their first 10 days in a quarantine facility and the last four days at home. They also have to undergo RT-PCR testing on their seventh day.

Travelers transiting through the countries under Red list with proof they only stayed in the airport will not be considered as coming from a red country.

Meanwhile, the IATF also approved to honor the national Covid-19 vaccination certificates of individuals from Australia, Czech Republic, Georgia, India, Japan, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Turkey, and Samoa as recommended by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“The said recommendation is in addition to such other countries/territories/jurisdictions whose proofs of vaccination the IATF already approved for recognition in the Philippines, and without prejudice to such other proofs of vaccination approved by IATF for all inbound travelers,” said Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

“Accordingly, the Bureau of Quarantine, the Department of Transportation-One-Stop-Shop, and the Bureau of Immigration are directed to recognize only the proofs of vaccination thus approved by the IATF,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)

Sarangani Profile

 

Sarangani Southern Philippines’ front door to BIMP-EAGA, is the southern most province in the mainland of Mindanao. It is cut midway by the city of General Santos giving its two sections hammock-like shapes that hug the mountains and Sarangani Bay. Sarangani is surrounded by the Celebes Sea, Sarangani Bay, and the province of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur.

The Province is also a coastal zone of SOCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato Province, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos), one of the country’s fastest growing development clusters.

Sarangani has seven municipalities (Alabel, Malapatan, Glan, Malungon, Maasim, Kiamba and Maitum) with 141 Barangays. Its vast beachfront, rolling hills and plains offers plenty of opportunities.

Major Industries: Aquaculture, Fishery, Agriculture Plantations and Tourism.

Power supply comes from the National Power Corporation (NPC) 69-KV transmission line and redistributed by a local electric cooperative, SOCOTECO II. The Southern Philippines Power Corporation (SPPC) stationed in Brgy. Baluntay, Alabel also supplies 55-MW from its diesel power plant, By 2015, Sarangani Energy Corporation, a coil-fired power plant located at Maasim will be operational with 200-MW capacity.

Water supply is sustained by spring development projects, construction of water systems and digging of artesian and swallow tube wells.

Telephone lines are connected in all seven towns of the province. All seven towns are now covered by the services of the cellular phone networks and wireless internet connection.

A 145Kms. world-class road network connects the seven municipalities and traversing through the city of General Santos, which maintains an international airport and a wharf. Commercial and rural banks provide business institutions and populace easy and efficient access to financial services in each municipality.

Taking a deep breath ...

 

Work, work, work. Now, it's really time to take a deep breath. Thank you Lord.

Preparing for the end times

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THIS is just to be realistic. It’s not meant to scare us or

to be a killjoy or a wet blanket in our life. Not only do we all die.

There is also the end of time itself. Our earthly existence is just a

sojourn, a training and testing ground before we enter into our

definitive life for all eternity, hopefully in heaven with our Father

and Creator God.

          We need to develop a good and healthy sense of our life’s

end, which is our death that can come to us anytime, as well as the

end of time itself. If we follow our Christian faith, we know that

there is nothing to be afraid or anxious about in these truths of our

faith.

          We would know what truly is the purpose of our life here and

of our earthly existence in general. We also would know that we have

all the means to pursue that purpose properly. We are somehow reminded

of this truth of our faith in that gospel episode where Christ talked

about the end of the world. (cfr. Mk 13,24-32)

          But, yes, we have to develop a good and healthy sense of how

to end our life well, properly prepared to meet Christ in our

particular judgment as well as in our general judgment during Christ’s

second coming.

          Having a good sense of the end gives us a global picture of

our life that spans from time to eternity, and sheds light on the

present. It guides us. It gives us a sense of confidence and security.

It reassures us that we are on the right track, that we are doing

well.

          The sense of the end motivates us to make plans always, to

be thoughtful and anticipative of things. It also teaches us a sense

of order and priority. It motivates us to set goals, make schedules

and the prudent use of time. Ultimately, it helps us to distinguish

between the essential and the non-essential in our life.

          A person who does not have a sense of the end is obviously

an anomaly. He tends to be lazy and prone to his personal weaknesses,

to drift off aimlessly and lose control of his life. Such person is

usually called a bum, a tramp or a vagrant.

          In this regard, we have to learn to look forward to the

second coming of Christ. That’s when Christ, the pattern of our

humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, will come again to

make the final judgment on all of us, establishing the definitive and

eternal Kingdom of God that is meant for us. Obviously, we have to

prepare ourselves for it.

          This truth of our faith was implied when some leading Jews

once asked Christ when the Kingdom of God would come. To which, Christ

answered that “the coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,

and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For

behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” (cfr. Lk 17,20-25)

          This attitude of waiting, expecting and making the proper

preparation for the second coming of Christ should be learned by all

of us. And we can do that by strengthening our belief that Christ is

actually already with us. He is everywhere, around us and inside us.

We just have to develop the habit of looking for him in order to find

him.

          Only with Christ, can we be properly prepared to face him in

the final general judgment during his second coming.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

What are the first livelihood skills that Filipinos developed?

 

Bisaya

Filipinos in the early 1500s were primarily farmers and traders. This is one of the reasons why a majority in the present day, 10 million Filipino people in Metro Manila, still reside around slums near public markets.

Life becomes difficult when you continually move from place to place to access clean water, food, or jobs. For our city dwellers not to be deprived of any one of these three, they needed a system that brought everything within their reach to start trading with other countries from all over Southeast Asia by land and sea routes. They created a kiosk-residence type, which became Manila's center point where all population flowed into during breaks between work periods and always found a comfortable room to rest.

For the average Filipino to survive, they needed to produce crops for food and clothing, build their own house, teach English or Spanish in exchange for money with foreigners who came to Manila. These were the first livelihood skills that Filipinos developed before modern technologies were introduced.