The last word

The last word is the best news of all. A happy ending after all? Really?

"The Last Word" is an offbeat romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Geoffrey Haley. It stars Winona Ryder and Wes Bentley. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and it had a wider release in 2008.

We sense it at rare moments. We see the good, the beauty in new crops, in flowers, in sunshine, and even in rain. Last night's thunderstorm in Davao City scarred me a lot. Lightning, flood… wow.

This world may be full of pollution, war, crime, and hate. But inside us, all of us, linger remnants that remind us of what the world could be like – of what we could be like.

The Old Testament prophets dreamed of “that day”, when creation would be made new. And those sensations, following a dismal monotone of predicted catastrophes, burst out of the last few chapters of Revelation. That perfect world is not merely a dream. Yes, I am pretty sure, it will come true.

I really enjoy reading Revelation again and again. Revelation shows us a new world at last. There will be no more tears then nor pain.

Revelation ends on a note of great triumph. Somehow, out of all the bad news augured here, good news emerges-spectacular Good News. I remember my radio show hosting on a Good News Radio FM-station in Davao City more than 20 years ago. Yes, good news.

To those who believe, Revelation becomes a book not of fear, but of hope. God will prevail. All will be made new.

The Bible began, remember, back in Genesis, with a tragic defeat, when humanity, made in the image of God, rebelled. It ends with a reunion – a marriage, Revelation calls it. A happy ending after all…

A perfect world? How could you design it? What would it look like? I am really waiting for your comments and suggestions.

Learning from the lessons of ‘Yolanda’

by Manila Bulletin

Super Typhoon Yolanda, with international name Haiyan, is one that we, as a nation, will never forget. When it made landfall on Nov. 8, 2013 in Eastern Visayas, it affected the lives of millions of people, plunged towns in darkness, and destroyed much of the structures in its path, with Tacloban City “wiped off” the face of the earth. It didn’t spare anyone, carrying with it devastating winds, a destructive storm surge, and massive flooding.

Aside from the gargantuan damages wrought to property, infrastructure, and roads by this Category 5 storm, lives of at least 6,000-plus Filipinos were cut short, making this tally one of the deadliest ever in the history of typhoon casualties in the world. It was a humanitarian nightmare, one that overwhelmed the government and LGUs, shocked Filipinos, and stunned the world.

Until today, Nov. 8, 2022, when the nation marks the 9th anniversary of the storm, mere mention of “Yolanda” sends shivers down the spine. More recent typhoons were always benchmarked against “Yolanda,” with government agencies stepping up their game to avoid another similar tragedy. Lessons were learned from “Yolanda,” and terms such as disaster mitigation, early warning system, climate change, typhoon resiliency, etc. entered the lexicon of the Filipino nation. 

People then realized that super typhoons such as “Yolanda” will not be the last of its kind. Various studies published after the tragedy indicate that there is a correlation between super typhoons and climate change. A study from the World Meteorological Organization’s Task Team on Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change, said, “Warming of the surface ocean from anthropogenic (human-induced) climate change is likely fueling more powerful tropical cyclones. The destructive power of individual tropical cyclones through flooding is amplified by rising sea level, which very likely has a substantial contribution at the global scale from anthropogenic climate change. In addition, tropical cyclone precipitation rates are projected to increase due to enhanced atmospheric moisture associated with anthropogenic global warming.”

This study is revealed in the behavior of recent super typhoons, when they underwent “rapid intensification,” gaining immediate, rapid strength after just a short time.  “With global warming, some regions will experience increases in rapid intensification, and slowing of the forward motion of tropical cyclones,” the study added.

Considering this information, we have to call on the government to be ready, resilient, and responsive to climate change. The Marcos administration has made several steps in the right direction, with the President acknowledging the need for climate-resilient policies and highlighting the importance of sustainability and green energy.

Today’s commemoration will be solemn and dignified.  The local governments of Tacloban, Palo, San Isidro, and Carigara in Leyte, and Marabut in Samar have suspended classes on all levels and work in government offices today, with Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez saying: “The commemoration is a way to recognize the lessons that ought to be learned from the experiences and pay homage to the people who suffered and those who survived the catastrophe, as well as to highlight the resilience of the people.” 

We join everyone in prayer as we remember the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda. May we also continue to learn from the lessons that have emerged from the tragedy — to combat climate change in our own ways, to strive for a greener lifestyle, and to call for a sustainable future.

Not paying child support? This solon will send you to jail via his bill

Published November 8, 2022, 11:13 AM

by Ellson Quismorio, MB

Parents who deliberately and repeatedly neglect their obligation of providing child support should be sent to jail. 

(Ye Jinghan/ Unsplash)

Thus, said Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte, author of House Bill (HB) No.4807.

Under the measure, parents with recurring offenses of failing to send financial support to their child or children will be punished with imprisonment of two to four years, depending on the discretion of the courts.

These “deadbeat” parents will also be made to pay a fine ranging from P100,000 to P300,000.

“Solo parents already have the responsibility of taking care of their kids on their own. They should not be burdened with the problem of compelling their irresponsible and negligent ex-partners to pay child support,” Duterte said.

“This proposed law aims to ensure that their kids have sufficient support for their subsistence and other essential needs,” added the Mindanaoan.

Noting that most negligent parents withholding child support are men, Duterte said these deadbeat fathers should be made to own up to their responsibilities by imposing stringent penalties on them.

The amount of child support under HB 4807 shall not be lower than P6,000 a month, which is equivalent to P200 a day. The combined monthly net incomes of both parents shall be used in determining the amount of child support, which shall be divided proportionately between the two based on their respective net incomes.

First-time offenders may be granted probation under the measure.

Benguet lone district Rep. Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Party-list Reps. Edvic Yap and Jeffrey Soriano are Duterte’s co-authors.

PH named head of ASEAN judiciaries to review, propose guidelines on video conferencing in courts

Published November 8, 2022, 10:00 AM

by Rey Panaligan, MB

Supreme Court Justices led by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo during the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices in Malaysia, Nov. 5, 2022. 

The Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines has been named by the Council of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chief Justices (CACJ) as head of a working group on the adoption of common principles and guidelines on the conduct of video conference hearings (VCH) in judicial cases within the region.

A working group on VCH was set up by the ASEAN chief justices at the conclusion of the two-day CACJ meeting last Nov. 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The adoption of VCH in the ASEAN judiciaries was proposed by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo as he cited the gains achieved by the Philippines’ judiciary in the use of technology-based system and infrastructure at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his message last Nov. 4 to CACJ delegates and other participants, Chief Justice Gesmundo said “in the interest of consistency, efficiency, and mutual protection, therefore, a CACJ ASEAN protocol on the conduct of video conference hearings would be ideal.” 

He said the Philippine judiciary “has successfully adopted the VCH modality for all our courts, including the Supreme Court (SC).”

“Aptly dubbed ‘a child of necessity,’ we issued Guidelines for the VCH to ensure the uninterrupted and timely delivery of our court services despite the continuing threat of the Covid-19 virus,” he also said.

He pointed out that “due to this high success rate, the Supreme Court is presently updating its Guidelines on VCH to transition the use of the rule to a post-pandemic world, making it a permanent device and option in every Filipino judge’s trial toolkit, especially for the best interests of child witnesses, for enhanced victim protection and prevention of re-victimization, for easier access to counsel and even family for detained witnesses and parties; and, in general, for greater time and cost efficiency.”

The use of VCH, which will be further enhanced in the Supreme Court’s (SC) five-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI), has resulted in the release of 132,916 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) with 2,120 of them children in conflict with the law.

In its meeting with the Philippines’ justice system stakeholders in Davao City last Oct. 24, SC Associate Justice Midas P. Marquez said as of Oct. 13, 2022 there had been 1,139,720 VCHs conducted by the courts nationwide with a success rate of 89.27 per cent.

VCH was pilot tested by the SC in 2019 and utilized during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 so as not to disrupt court operations nationwide.