PHO-Davao de Oro to launch feeding programs in LGUs

 

Davao de Oro Province---In celebration of the Nutrition Month with the theme ““New normal na nutrisyon, sama-samang gawan ng solusyon,” the Provincial Government of Davao de Oro headed through the Provincial Health Office (PHO) will continue to strengthen its programs to counter malnutrition incidence in the province.

Recently, the Adopt-A-Child Program, an initiative spearheaded by the PHO rehabilitated a total of thirty-three (33) children beneficiaries formerly under the brink of malnutrition in the municipality of Laak. The program successfully addressed barriers that impedes children to access a healthier life, and regulated the effects of malnutrition among the beneficiaries. During its operation, the program offers weekly supplies for every beneficiary funded by the different departments of the provincial government.

According to the PHO, community-based feeding program operations of the provincial government will continue to operate starting-off in the municipality of Pantukan, with the second highest malnutrition incidence following Laak, this second week of July. The community-based feeding program will also cover the rest of the municipalities in the province.

Earlier this morning during the regular flag raising ceremony, PHO encouraged each and every employee of PLGU-DdO to a healthier lifestyle in order to further adapt with the changes brought by the pandemic. A nutrition hut was also established by PHO at the provincial capitol lobby, offering fresh farm-produce from the Nabunturan Vendors initiated by the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office (PAGRO).

Governor Dorothy Montejo Gonzaga visited the hut together with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Board Members and PG Department Heads of the provincial offices. (Jasteen Abella, Information Office Davao de Oro, photo by J. Cadiz)

Make war to gain peace

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

THAT is not a smart-alecky statement. It has to be taken seriously, since in a sense it comes from Christ himself. Note what he said in the Gospel of St. Matthew:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.” (10,34-36)

But lest we think such a statement is just a capricious, if not evil desire of Christ, he made some clarification. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (10,37-39)

It’s clear that Christ wants us to make war against anything that would prevent us from being with him. And it is only with him when we can have our true and lasting joy and peace.

We just have to make sure though that when we wage war as suggested by Christ, we do it not out of hatred against anybody or anything, since God loves everyone and everything that he created. We have to do it with the same love God has for everyone and everything. It’s actually a war of peace and love.

We have to understand that in this life we have to make war to have peace. And peace can only come about, at least in this life, as a consequence of some war. Our life here on earth will always be a war of peace. We should not be surprised by this phenomenon anymore. It should be a given.

The war we will be waging here on earth will be a constructive war, not destructive. It is a war to win our way toward heaven. It is a war to make ourselves “another Christ,” a new man, stepping out of the old man that we all are due to sin. Any obstacle along the way, including those who are very close to us but who compete with God for our love, should be fought and rejected.

We have to remember that we always have to contend with powerful enemies in our spiritual life. The first one would be our own selves, our own flesh that has been weakened by sin. There is such thing as concupiscence, a certain attraction to evil that leads us to have a lust of the eye, lust of the flesh and the pride of life.

Yes, our Christian life here on earth will always involve some war, some struggle and effort, some combat. But all of this would be done in peace and for peace. The combination may sound incredible, but that is what Christ is showing and telling us.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace,” he told his disciples. “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33) If by faith and effort, we do our best to stick with Christ, we know that victory is always assured for us. Peace is gained by making war.

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

 Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

No bank sought BSP support since pandemic

by Lee C. Chipongian, Manila Bulletin

Not a single bank applied for financial assistance since the pandemic began in 2020, according to the central bank’s highest-ranking official.

“No bank needed financial assistance,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe M. Medalla told Manila Bulletin.

Medalla is referring to all banks — the big banks or the universal and commercial banks, the medium-sized thrift banks, and the small rural banks supervised by the BSP.

He said banks remain adequately well-capitalized with enough liquidity and buffers even as non-performing loans (NPLs) and non-performing assets (NPAs) rose in the last two years. NPLs are unpaid loans for more than 30 days while NPAs are loans in default.

The BSP has remedial measures to help solvent banks resolve temporary liquidity problems from “causes beyond their control” such as the pandemic. It extends fully-secured emergency loans to banks as financial assistance.

Medalla confirmed that no bank has approached the BSP for financial support because of the public health crisis and its resulting mobility restrictions which impacted on borrowers’ capacity to pay loans.

During the lockdowns, especially in 2020 and the middle part of 2021, business operations were stalled and jobs were lost. Banks had limited activities but it was business as usual for majority of financial institutions via digital means.

“Universal and commercial banks have more than adequate capitalization,” said Medalla.

Based on the BSP Charter, the BSP’s financial assistance to banking institutions is limited to the amount needed by the applicant bank to overcome the emergency or financial predicament but should not exceed 50 percent of its deposits and deposit substitutes. In addition, any emergency advance will be collateralized by government securities and other unencumbered first-class collaterals such as real estate.

As for the rural banks, Medalla said the BSP will soon launch the Rural Bank Strengthening Program (RBSP) which is aimed at assisting small banks hit by the pandemic.

The RBSP, which will replace the Consolidation Program for Rural Banks, will be implemented for three years. It is described as a structured program with four key elements: strengthened capital base; holistic menu of five time-bound tracks; incentives and capacity building interventions; and review and enhancements of existing regulations. These five time-bound tracks are merger and consolidation, acquisition/third party investment, voluntary exit/upgrade of license, capital build-up, and supervisory intervention.

Under RBSP, the BSP wants at least P60 million minimum capital requirement for rural banks. For rural banks with more than five branches, the minimum capital should be P200 million.

Meanwhile, the central bank recently circulated a proposed circular for banks’ guidelines for crafting their recovery plans. Basically, the BSP wants all banks to report within 24 hours if triggers in their recovery plans are breached and to activate recovery measures within three days.

The recovery plans of banks are expected to be commensurate to their size, nature and complexity of operations, overall risk profile, and systemic importance.

Once the circular is approved, banks will submit a recovery plan every June 30. Banks have until July 15 to post feedback or suggestions to the BSP on the guidelines of the recovery plans.

Since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, the BSP closed the operations of 21 rural banks while two rural banks voluntarily surrendered their banking licenses.

As of end-May this year, the BSP is supervising 498 banks, of which 45 are big banks which control over 90 percent of total banking resources. There are currently 43 thrift banks, 383 rural banks and 24 cooperative banks.

The banking sector’s NPL ratio has dropped to a 17-month low of 3.75 percent as of end-May while gross NPLs fell to P429.11 billion in May versus P447.44 billion in April. NPAs also decreased to P550 billion from P568.86 billion previously.

As of end-March, the BSP’s loans and advances amounted to P422 billion, lower compared to same period in 2021 of P665.4 billion and slightly up from the start of 2022 of P421.82 billion. These loans and advances include rediscounting loans and overdraft credit lines.

“The BSP extends discounts, loans and advances to banking institutions in order to influence the volume of credit consistent with objective of price stability and maintenance of financial stability. It also grants loans or advances to banking institutions in precarious financial condition or under serious financial pressures, subject to certain conditions,” said the BSP.

THRILLMAKER: Doesn’t she remind you of her mom?

by Joee Guilas, Manila Bulletin

That’s the first comment I heard about her when one of my team members spotted her as among the featured models in the “Denim Daze” fashion show at the Newport Mall Plaza recently.

“Which girl is that?” I asked, looking at the sea of models rehearsing at the Plaza.  “That one!” My assistant whispered, pointing to a girl wearing her standout natural Afro locks.  Now zooming in to a gaze, I easily saw her resemblance to one of the country’s most recognizable supermodels.     

19-year-old Asiana Doesnt need not explain where she got her looks and natural strut.  She grew up being known as Wilma Doesnt’s daughter, and she looks and moves it.

“That’s very flattering for me kasi mom’s pretty.  She really is.  She’s a supermodel.  Someone comparing me to a supermodel is wow,” she exclaimed when I finally got to chat with her and noted how much she looks like her famous mother.

Now an incoming second year Legal Management student at San Beda Alabang, the young stunner is slowly following in her mom’s footsteps and has already been getting her taste of the runway for about a year now.  Asked about her plans to take modeling seriously, her quick response was: “I’d rather take my studies more seriously,” but adds: “but this is an opportunity, and I’m gonna grab it every time it is offered to me.”

As a kid, she claims to have never really known much about her mother’s celebrity status.  She only realized how big her mom really is when she got to see one of her fashion shows: “I remember being so shocked by her ‘cause you know as a kid you don’t really see your mom dressed up like that every day and there you see her walking in the runway, she’s a superstar.”

And just when you thought, this daughter would have things a bit easier for her in the modeling world, Asiana clarifies that Wilma’s not the spoon-feeding type: “She never taught me how to model, all she said was just for me to be myself.”  Emphasizing uniqueness, Asiana shares the biggest lesson her mother taught her: “She always says: she’s her, and I’m me, para din hindi kami ipag-compare ng mga critics.”

While shutting the door for the possibility of her being a funny lady on TV—for now, Asiana only has high praises for her “model mom” for being like a friend to her.

“Sobrang saya.  There’s no dull moment with her,” she proudly says.

At 5’8, having a pretty face, a killer walk and good communication skills, Asiana is also being asked to consider joining the country’s most prestigious beauty pageants.  Now that’s something she’s not closing her doors to.

“Kung open opportunity po iyon, of course, I’ll grab it pero syempre kailangan ko pa rin ng proper training, and mentors, but I’d rather study first.”