Search for 2023 bicycle-friendly cities, workplaces, and establishments is on

BY CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT PHILIPPINES

Aug 1, 2023 04:45 AM

  

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Public nominations for this year’s Mobility Awards are now open. Citizens, workers, and consumers can now nominate bicycle-friendly cities, workplaces, and establishments in the country.

The Mobility Awards is the first citizen-led, incentive-driven campaign encouraging the public to recognize acts of leadership by cities, private companies, and employers to do more for better, safer, and more accessible mobility for the 88 percent of Filipino households who do not own cars.

“We are challenging Filipino citizens to name cities, business leaders, and employers worthy to be recognized, and we are challenging laggards to do more. This year, all Philippine cities will be competing; it would be good to see whether there are new cities, businesses, and employers who have taken on and made bold improvements to do more for the cycling commuters,” said Celine Tabinga, national coordinator of the Mobility Awards.

“We are looking for leaders who are enabling breathable air, moving more people, and are doing more to help reduce dependence from fossil fuels.”

Similar nominations are also open for individuals under the Padyak Power to the People! Awards, namely Siklista ng Bayan and Padyak Champion categories.

“Aside from recognizing entities paving the way for a more inclusive and sustainable mobility system, this year’s Awards also wish to celebrate hardworking Filipinos using bicycles in their everyday lives. These include innovative entrepreneurs using bicycles or cargo bikes for their businesses, and outstanding cyclist messengers and delivery riders,” said Nazrin Castro, manager of The Climate Reality Project Philippines. “These people experience firsthand the challenges brought by a car-centric approach to urban mobility. Despite this, they continue to serve our homes. Their stories must be told.”

Public nominations, which will be open until Sept. 7, 2023, can be submitted through mobilityawards.ph/nominate. The awardees will be announced in October in advance observance of World Cities’ Day.

The Mobility Awards is jointly organized by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, MNL Moves, The Climate Reality Project Philippines, 350 Pilipinas and Pinay Bike Commuter Community, in partnership with League of Cities Philippines and 28 regional partners across the country. The initiative aims to inspire action, involvement, and coordination among local government units, workplaces, and commercial establishments aiming to improve conditions for urban mobility.

In addition to its individual and bicycle-friendly awards, the Mobility Awards is currently running the Bilang Siklista in major cities nationwide. Bilang Siklista is a citizen-led national bicycle count that aims to provide evidence-based justification for investing in better bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Counts have so far been conducted in San Juan City, Quezon City, Pasig City, Marikina City, Baguio City, Mandaluyong City, Davao City, Taguig City, and Cebu City.

IN PHOTOS: New National Museum in Cebu to showcase the rich history and culture of the Queen City of the South

Visit the NMP-Cebu and discover the treasures of Cebu's past.

BY FELICIANO RODRIGUEZ III

Jul 31, 2023 04:38 PM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• The museum will be open to the general public for free starting Aug.1, 2023

• Photos from the official DOT Facebook page

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The newly inaugurated National Museum of the Philippines in Cebu (NMP-Cebu) will open to the public on Aug. 1, 2023. It is located in the heart of Cebu City's shipping district and features five key art galleries that showcase the rich history, culture, and natural wonders of Cebu.

The interiors of the new museum

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, and other high-ranking officials from the Philippines, the National Museum of the Philippines, and Cebu Province were among the first visitors to the newly inaugurated NMP-Cebu.

“The inauguration is a true testament that when we pursue a united approach to any task, we can accomplish projects that will benefit generations of Filipinos,” Marcos said, in the inaugural event.

"Remain steadfast in further strengthening your institution’s resolve to pursue its mandate of managing and developing national collections in the fields of arts, cultural heritage, and natural history."

The inaugural event of NMP-Cebu last July 28, 2023

The first gallery, "Kinaiyahan: Cebu's Natural Wonders," features unique geological features and plant and animal species endemic to the area. The second gallery, "Ang Karaang Sugbo ug ang mga Kabiling Bahandi," contains significant archaeological finds that further educate visitors about the history of Cebu. The third gallery, "Paglawig: Cultural Movement Across the Seas," features exhibits on maritime history and industry. The fourth gallery, "The Philippine Center New York Core Collection of 1974," showcases artworks of leading Filipino artists in the early 1970s. The fifth gallery, "Ang Kamamugnaon ug Kinaadman ni Maestro Tinong," highlights the work of famed Cebuano artist Martino "Tinong" Abellana.

Here are some photos of the exhibits in the new museum:

The NMP-Cebu is a valuable resource for tourism and education, and is sure to be a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. Kudos to the National Museum for this endeavor. One hopes that more localized branches of the National Museum will be built in the other regions of the islands.

The museum will be open to the general public for free starting Aug.1, 2023, from Tuesdays to Sundays, (except on religious holidays) from 9 a.m to 5 p.m.

Carly Rae Jepsen releases new album 'The Loveliest Time'

BY CARISSA ALCANTARA

Jul 31, 2023 03:38 PM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• "I drove home thinking – that’s the type of artist I want to be for people. Or rather the type of experience I want to create. Music has always been to me this beautiful invitation saying ‘you’re invited to feel all of it safely.’ It’s therapeutic. It’s joyful and healing!”

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Carly Rae Jepsen drops new album 'The Loveliest Time'

The loveliest time indeed as award-winning singer Carly Rae Jepsen gave her fans an early holiday gift after launching her newest album.

The 37-year-old pop singer revealed the news on her Twitter post. She shared that making the album was inspired by another singer James Taylor.

"I drove home thinking – that’s the type of artist I want to be for people. Or rather the type of experience I want to create. Music has always been to me this beautiful invitation saying ‘you’re invited to feel all of it safely.’ It’s therapeutic. It’s joyful and healing!”

“It turns out I was gifted all of that and more while writing for these sister projects. The Loneliest Time and The Loveliest Time. A few pages from my life to yours.”

“So here is to all of us climbing up on the roof one night soon and feeling the weight of the world slip away…I want that for you with this album. Have The Loveliest Time indeed,” she wrote in post.

Just her any album, "The Loveliest Time" is the side b version of her album "The Loneliest Time" which was released on October 2022.

Let’s always be hopeful

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THERE are times when we have to wait, desist from acting at the moment, and hope for a better time that will surely come, although in ways that may not be according to our expectations.

We are reminded of this act of prudence in that gospel parable about the good seed and the weeds. (cfr. Mt 13,36-43) The point of the parable is that there are situations in life when acting at the moment may cause more harm than good. And so, we just have to wait, be patient and hopeful.

In the meantime, what we can do is to continue doing a lot of good, praying, making sacrifices, generously fulfilling our duties and responsibilities, reaching out to others, growing in the virtues, etc.

We have to remember that due to the God-designed life of communion we enjoy among ourselves, we know that anything good we do will always have a good effect on the others. The awareness of this truth of our faith should prod us to be generous in doing a lot of good. We also know that good in itself is self-diffusive. It is in its nature to spread. So, we should just do a lot of good.

As can be seen, to wait, to be patient and hopeful, does not mean to do nothing. What we cannot do at the moment, out of prudence, should push us to do many other good things. Instead of feeling lethargic, we should feel very energetic.

Especially with our present condition that involves an increase of pressure, confusing knowledge overdrives, increasingly sophisticated challenges and difficulties, we need to seriously cultivate this virtue of hope. There’s no other way. It’s either that or we get into a free-fall toward disorder, chaos and desperation.

Our problem is that, as usual, we have a very limited idea of hope. And from that handicapped position, it’s obvious that all sorts of dangers, confusion and errors can ensue.

Among the anomalies besetting our understanding of hope is that it is a purely man-made virtue, with only earthly and natural dimensions and relying solely on human and material resources.

We seem to get stranded in the external properties of virtue, without entering into its real essence, significance and practicability. We need to recover the true nature and purpose of hope, and spread its knowledge and skill far and wide. That’s what we urgently need these days.

First, we need to understand that hope is a gift from God, one of what are called theological virtues. As such, it always goes in this life with the other pair of faith and charity.

The direct corollary of this reality is that the first thing we have to do about it is to ask for it, often kneeling and begging God our Father not only to grant it to us, which he actually does unstintingly, but also to increase it all the time.

We should never be casual about this fundamental and indispensable requirement of hope. Though we have to be discreet about it and natural in living it, we have to understand that without this condition met, no amount of human ingenuity can substitute it.

Of course, hope increases also to the extent that we deepen our faith and enrich our charity. In this life, these three theological virtues go together and mutually affect one another.