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Sunday, July 9, 2023
Germany, France back PH complaint on Chinese harassment
Germany and France have expressed support for the Philippines after another incident of harassment involving China's Coast Guard against its Filipino counterpart right in the country's waters.
German Ambassador to the Philippines Anke Reiffenstuel said an "aggressive behavior," particularly when Chinese personnel made a dangerous maneuver against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), "has no place in the South China Sea."
She called for respect toward the rules-based maritime order, with the 2016 Arbitral Ruling pertaining to the Philippines' sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, as the "center."
Reiffenstuel also agreed with the sentiment of US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, who had earlier expressed concern about China's "irresponsible" behavior in the waters.
Meanwhile, France also called for a dialogue between concerned parties to resolve possible disputes.
The French Embassy in Manila said it is concerned about the recent developments and is calling for "for respect for international law and the resolution of disputes through dialogue."
"We are resolutely opposed to any use of force or threat to do so. We recall, in this regard, the Arbitration award rendered under UNCLOS on the 12th of July 2016," it added.
On June 30, the PCG said it was "constantly followed, harassed and obstructed" by the CCG after providing support in the naval operation of the Philippine troops.
The incident happened in the waters off Ayungin Shoal, an area legally and internationally recognized as part of the Philippine territory but is being claimed by China.
Japan and the US—which have close relations with the Philippines—had also expressed concern about the incident.
It's another hot, humid Sunday
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By Arlie O. Calalo
July 9, 2023 30
It will be a hot and humid Sunday as the easterlies will continue to prevail, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
Weather specialist Daniel James Villamil said the easterlies, winds coming from the east that pass through the Pacific Ocean and bring warm and humid weather, will prevail in most parts of the country especially in Luzon.
Along with the inter-tropical convergence zone, an imaginary line where the air from the northern and southern hemisphere meet, the weather system will bring overcast skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in Visayas, Caraga, Northern Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, Masbate and Sorsogon.
"We can expect hot, humid weather especially in Luzon areas although isolated downpour and thunderstorms will be likely in the afternoon or at night," Villamil said.
Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.
Mixed adjustments in pump prices seen on Tuesday
AT A GLANCE
The colliding factors which influenced oil prices last week had been the niggling forecast of slower global economic growth and inventory drop in the US versus the production cut of Saudi Arabia extending into August as well as the pronouncement of the US Federal Reserve on continued enforcement of interest rate hikes.
Motorists using diesel products will pay more next week while gasoline users can look forward to a price cut, according to the oil companies.
Industry players said diesel prices may rise by P0.55 to P0.85 per liter while RON92 gasoline, which is widely patronized in the Philippines, will likely be down by P0.30 to P0.60 per liter. For RON95 gasoline products though, the calculation is a marginal hike of P0.05 to P0.15 per liter.
For kerosene, which is a commodity generally used in households and as a base for aviation fuel, there is expectation for a moderate increase of P0.35 to P0.65 per liter.
Being the usual grind in the domestic petroleum sector, the oil firms will be adjusting their prices on Tuesday, July 11, to be anchored on the cost swings of the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the reference pricing being employed by the industry.
As culled from the monitoring report of the Department of Energy (DOE), price adjustments since the start of the year logged net decreases of P3.70 per liter for diesel and P6.00 per liter for kerosene while gasoline products posted aggregate hike of P5.85 per liter.
Pricing seesaw dominated global oil markets last week with prices going down in the initial trading days due to the broader inventory drop reported by the United States, the world’s biggest oil consumer due to lingering concerns of slower global economic growth.
The antithesis to those developments, however, had been last week’s pronouncement of the US Federal Reserve that interest rate hikes would still very much be on its agenda and the announcement of Saudi Arabia on its production cut extending into August.
The colliding factors influencing oil prices essentially pushed international benchmark Brent crude above $78 per barrel as of end-week trading on July 7 from a lower base of $75 per barrel level in the prior week.
Other geopolitical factors monitored in global oil markets had been the month-on-month decline in Venezuela’s oil production as well as the oil tankers of Iran that had been seized by the US Navy in the Gulf of Oman.
Closer to home, industry traders are also closely keeping track of the ‘energy crunch’ predicament of Singapore that had been compounded by the power price cap enforced by its government, as that too, could exert pressure on fuel commodities being traded in the region in the days and weeks ahead.
The world is not the same without you
The mental health pandemic in the Philippines is ongoing and must be addressed with urgency.
AT A GLANCE
- Drink this water of the spring, rest here awhile, we have a long way yet to go and I can’t go without you. —Ursula K. Le Guin
By ALEX AMANSEC
SOMEONE TO LEAN ON An important reminder to anyone that you are not alone (Cottonbro Studio)
I was alone in my room past midnight on Tuesday, June 27, when I called the Philippine National Center for Mental Health. In other words—no longer hiding it under any professional euphemisms—I called the suicide hotline.
This wasn’t the first time I called them. The first time I did was only an attempt, two outgoing calls that were never answered at two in the morning on June 18, 2022. The second time was when I needed someone to talk to on March 23, where I called the hotline at noon and was surprised that someone picked up, a woman whose voice gave away the years in terms of her age, but her tone was tender and promised safety. I broke down as she listened and when I had nothing left to say, she said everything I wanted and needed to hear.
It wasn’t exactly the same reinvigorating experience. The woman who picked up was certainly younger, less experienced. I told her everything from how I was both alone, lonely, in need of someone who would be willing to listen, all the way to implying thoughts of self-harm. I was looking for assurance that everything was going to be okay, but her lack of experience was given away based on her first response to my brokenness.
“It’s just a phase,” she said over the line. “Look on the bright side of things. We need these challenges to make us stronger.”
There’s a lot of things to unpack from what she told me. I still was fortunately in the right mind to recognize that she had good intentions, for sure. But after ending the call earlier than expected, in the dead of the night, I was left to cross the abyss on my own.
Mental health in the Philippines
On June 21, we commemorated the fifth year since the signing of Republic Act 11036, or the Mental Health Act of the Philippines—but is it being implemented properly? Many societal symptoms are showing we still have a long way to go.
When I returned to my condominium in Quezon City the very next midnight, there were police cars and an ambulance parked in front of the neighboring building. A security guard informed me that a student had allegedly jumped from their window just a few minutes earlier. I do not know the student’s name or, scarier, whether he or she is still alive (I’m praying). What is equally serious is how I also cannot be sure whether the student reached out to anyone before succumbing to suicide.
In October 2022, the University of the Philippines Populations Institute (UPPI) released the results of a nationwide survey saying that nearly one in five young Filipinos have considered ending their lives, and six in 10 of those did not reach out to anyone about it. Only one in 10 are aware of any suicide prevention program or service being offered.
There is a grave mental health pandemic ongoing in our country. Besides the stigmatization on the person-to-person level, the budget and allocation of resources toward the very few local mental health facilities have been poorly executed.
In April, after a surprise ocular inspection, Senator Raffy Tulfo called out possible cases of corruption or negligence that manifest in the dismal state of the National Center for Mental Health in Mandaluyong City. Dr. Dinah Nadera, a highly-esteemed psychiatrist in the field of public mental health in the Philippines, even stressed the need to further train healthcare providers in general hospitals on their knowledge and skills when it comes to mental health.
Hope is the thing with feathers
In these times when everyone is tethered to social media platforms that deceive us to think we are more connected to each other, we must remind ourselves that we do not know everything.
I write this passage on the last train to Santolan station. The collective experience of every body swaying in sync to the momentum of the vehicle, every body needing some form of contact besides its two feet on the floor—something to grip, someone to lean on. For if not, the body might fall. I am writing this to remind anyone who reads this that you are not the only passenger. You do not have to go through this alone. And if, by chance, you know anyone who might be losing their balance, I urge you to reach out to them and ask how they are doing.
The systems set in place need to be reviewed, and I write this as an appeal to the Philippine government and healthcare institutions to recognize that the time for action is now. At the same time, with the few days that have passed since I called the suicide hotline, I write this as proof to myself and to anyone else who reads this that there is hope, and it will be okay. You are heard, you are seen, and you are loved. In the words of American novelist Ursula K. Le Guin, “Drink this water of the spring, rest here awhile, we have a long way yet to go and I can’t go without you.”
HANDANG MAKINIG The National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) crisis hotlines can be reached at these numbers for anyone in need of someone to listen (doh.gov.ph)
The National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) crisis hotlines can be reached at 1553 (Luzon-wide landline toll free), 0917899-USAP (8727), 09663514518, and 09086392672. (https://doh.gov.ph/NCMH-Crisis-Hotline)