Gov Dorothy Gonzaga to prioritize health care, education, infra, among others

 

Davao de Oro Province—A new face of governance officially sets Davao de Oro province on a trajectory of progress and development focusing on the welfare of the people of the whole province in terms of health care, education, infrastructure, and commendable public service.  

On July 4, 2022, Governor Dorothy Montejo Gonzaga gave her message during the Monday convocation at the provincial capitol lobby before the whole workforce of the provincial government instilling them with three attributes for exemplary public service for the people: faith, hope, and love. 

In the governor’s message, the administration will give priority to adequate health care service to Dabawenyos in the four (4) provincial hospitals in the province: DdOPH Pantukan, DdoPH Montevista, DdOPH Maragusan, and DdOPH Laak.  

The administration will also revisit the scholarship program of the provincial government and plans to maximize its resources thereby extending the scope of the program for the admission of more grantees, making equitable access and opportunity for tertiary education, “Mas maayo gyud ug makapa-eskwela ta because when they’re educated, their lives will really change.” said Gov. Gonzaga.

Moreover, the administration will also maximize the available resources of the PLGU, from the machinery to its budget, for the establishment of more infrastructure projects.  

“I'm really thankful and proud seeing all of you (employees) in attendance today, kay mao ra gyud na ang kapital sa atung pag panerbisyo, our love for the service” added Gov. Gonzaga.

Earlier, a flag-raising ceremony was held at the capitol park followed by a Holy Mass attended by the employees of the PLGU-DdO, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Board Members, and the Bureau of Fire Protection. (Jasteen Abella PAO-IPRD, photos by J. Cadiz and A. Dayao)

Butterfly Symbolism and Meanings Spirit Animal Guide

When we find ourselves helpless

By Fr. Roy Cimagala* 

SITUATIONS like this can happen in our life. In fact, we have to expect them. With our many limitations and the varying conditions we are subject to, there surely will be times when we find ourselves helpless in spite of all the effort we do to find solutions to our problem.  

In the gospel, there was this official who approached Christ to importune for help for his dead daughter. “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” (Mt 9,18) He must have been hoping against hope that something can still be done for his daughter. And he did the right thing. He approached Christ.

This is the lesson that we too should learn, especially when we find ourselves in similar situations. We should develop the instinct of going immediately to Christ. Let’s avoid rotting in sadness, lamentations, victim complex, etc. We know that what is impossible for us is always possible with Christ. What cannot anymore be solved by us can always be solved by Christ, if not here and now, then in the hereafter.

Thus, we need to strengthen our faith so we can be quick to entrust ourselves to the workings of the spiritual and supernatural realities that also govern our life. We have to remember that we are not ruled simply by biological laws or physical, chemical, social, political, economic laws. There is a higher law that governs us and that would enable us to transcend our human and earthly limitations.

This is the law of grace, a law that is spiritual and supernatural in nature. It is the law that enables us to go beyond our human limitations without, of course, compromising our humanity. It is the law that enables us to enter into the very life of God who created us to be his image and likeness.

We have to learn to feel at home with this particular condition of our earthly life. We have to acquire the relevant attitude and skills to be able to live with this condition. It is when we seem to reach our human and earthly limitations that we have to abandon ourselves to the more powerful and merciful dynamic of God’s providence over us.

We should always go to Christ. He always has the solutions to our problems, the answers to our questions. He always gives them, albeit not in the form we want, but always in a way that would be beneficial to us.

In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always go to Christ to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and his providence, even if the outcome of our prayers and petitions appears unanswered, if not, contradicted.

This should be the attitude to have. It’s an attitude that can only indicate our unconditional faith and love for God who is always in control of things, and at the same time can also leave us in peace and joy even at the worst of the possibilities.

We just have to remember that Christ never abandons us and is, in fact, all ready and prompt to come to our aid, albeit in ways that we may not realize, at first, just like what happened in that story of the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus. (cfr. Lk 24,13-25)

We should not allow our feelings of sadness to be so dominant and pervasive that we shut off Christ’s many and often mysterious ways of helping us. 

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Sara opens OVP satellite offices in regions

Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio. PHOTO BY JOHN RYAN BALDEMOR

By Kaithreen Cruz, Manila Times

(UPDATED) THE Office of the Vice President (OVP) has opened satellite offices in six regions to bring the services of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio closer to the people.

The offices are in Region 1 (Ilocos), 7 (Central Visayas), 8 (Eastern Visayas), 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), 11 (Davao Region), and Caraga.

The OVP office in Region 1 is located in Dagupan City, the office in Region 9 is in Zamboanga City, and the one in Region 11 is in Davao City.

The office in Region 7 is located at Escario Central, Camputhaw in Cebu City, the one in Region 8 at JT Commercial Complex, Barangay 74, Lower Nula-tula, Tacloban City in Leyte, and the one in Caraga at Villa Bali, corner Balilahan-Tandurpass, Barangay Mabua, Tandag City in Surigao del Sur.

"Sa aking unang buong araw bilang bise presidente, nagbukas po tayo ng mga satellite office sa iba't-ibang bahagi ng bansa upang matulungan ang ating mga kababayan na magkaroon ng madali at agarang access sa mga serbisyong mula sa Office of the Vice President (On my first full day as vice president, we opened satellite offices in different parts of the country to provide easy and immediate access to the services of the OVP)," Duterte-Carpio said.

The establishment of satellite offices is one of the projects she promised during her campaign.

Duterte-Carpio said the offices will also consolidate support from parallel groups in the regions to help build and develop communities.

In a media briefing held a day after the Vice President's inauguration, she said she will reside in Davao City but will spend her work days in Metro Manila.

Duterte-Carpio to focus on entrepreneurship, peacebuilding

Duterte-Carpio will also be joining former Education secretary Leonor Briones in a ceremony today, July 4, for the turnover for the Department of Education.

Bill on absolute divorce filed in House of Representatives

By Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino, Manila Times

Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman filed a bill that seeks to legalize divorce in the country.

House Bill 78 or the proposed Absolute Divorce Act was filed in the 19th Congress because the Senate failed to act on a similar bill in the 18th Congress.

Under the bill, the grounds for absolute divorce are physical violence or grossly abusive conduct, moral pressure to compel a spouse to change religious or political affiliation, attempt to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement; final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years, drug addiction, habitual alcoholism or chronic gambling, homosexuality, bigamy, attempt against the life of the spouse and abandonment.

Under the bill, there must be a six-month cooling-off period after the filing of a petition for absolute divorce before a court can start trial of the petition "[e]xcept for grounds under summary judicial proceedings."

During the six-month cooling-off period, the court "shall exercise all efforts to reunite and reconcile the parties."

The bill's requirement of a cooling-off period does not cover cases involving violence against women and their children "or attempt against the life of the other spouse or a common child or a child of the petitioner."

The 19th Congress will open in July.

Weaker peso favors exports, consumption

 A money exchange kiosk displays the exchange rate of the Philippine peso to the US dollar last April. PHOTO BY AARON RONQUILLO

INSTEAD of being alarmed by the peso's depreciation against the US dollar, economic managers and other policymakers should try capitalizing on the advantages. That may seem odd for some people because politicians often equate a strong peso with a healthy economy. But in actuality, changes in every economic indicator benefit some people and at the same time, hurt others. That is why interpreting changes in the economy can be challenging. As the late American economist Edgar Russell Fiedler quipped: "Ask five economists, and you'll get five different answers — six if one went to Harvard."

Clearly, Filipino families, receiving remittances from relatives working abroad, are better off when the peso is weaker. The dollars they receive buy more pesos. That is good for the Philippine economy, which is largely driven by consumption that contributes about 70 percent to gross domestic product (GDP).

A rebound in consumption could hasten economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The more worrisome indicator now is high inflation, which constricts spending both in the private and public sectors. That is natural since higher prices discourage people from buying or make them buy less.

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As many have heard, inflation is pushed up by skyrocketing fuel prices, which is linked to the war in Ukraine. Because of the economic sanctions imposed on the aggressor, Russia, it cannot sell its oil to the global market. Russia is the third-largest oil producer in the world after Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Complicating the problem is the peso's depreciation because the Philippines imports fuel. Worse, rising pump prices make basic goods more expensive, particularly food that need to be transported from farms to markets.

But as mentioned earlier, there is a good side. A weaker peso — or more accurately, a stronger US dollar — favors exports and local consumption of domestic goods.

One way to capitalize on the peso's value is to reduce the balance of trade, resulting in higher GDP growth. For now, the Philippines is a net importer, meaning Filipinos buy more things from abroad than what they export. If exports can grow, that will benefit local manufacturers that sell abroad.