Surviving without cellphone

 

I remember the time, when one of my first Japanese friends kept on complaining, why I didn’t operate a cellphone. Believe me, during that time, sometime in 2000 or 2001, I was even typing my articles on an old typewriter from Germany.

My Japanese friend then bought me a computer – and a cellphone! Some other friends congratulated me: “Welcome back to the world!”

Now we are living in May 2024.  

Last Sunday, I really got mad. Attending mass, I observed a family (father, mother, boy and girl) keeping on using their cellphones during almost the whole ongoing mass. Heaven forbid! Even while falling in line receiving the holy communion, the father kept on texting and browsing Facebook. Step by step. Just in front of me! Heaven forbid! Guys, why are you still attending mass? Later on, the children kept on playing video games… .

Sometimes, I observed (business-)people operating with two or even more cellphones at the same time. Even while taking lunch in a restaurant. I asked them: “How did you survive doing business before without these units?” Believe me or not. The answers have been mostly: I really don’t know!

Doing business nowadays without a cellphone? Even in a very private life? Many people can’t imagine it anymore. I can! Though Philippines’ cellphone companies really provide us with the widest distribution and the broadest coverage to very affordable charges. I really enjoy, for example, the unlimited call experience – just to mention one. But, not at any time!

But then it happened! I thought I had lost my cellphone. I panic, losing all my important connections. This “thing” really has a special meaning for me. And here we are: not only for business. Just even for a short “Hi – kumusta ka?” I really felt lonely!

.

A couple of hours later, I found IT. Misplaced somewhere in the bathroom under a towel in a silent mood. Four miscalls (yipee!), several text messages. Not only “Hi – kumusta ka?” A special evening meeting had to be confirmed… .

Allow me to quote Philippine Star columnist Igan D’Bayan, who wrote a couple of years ago: “We don’t speak like Hamlet any more. Most of us speak Taglish and write in Filipinized English. And while holding a mobile phone, we type ‘2b or not 2b’. And that’s supposition!”

Btw (‘by the way’), during night time, I turn off my cell phone. How about you? And, I really get mad if my students keep on using their “machine” during class…. .

Alert your family, friends and sports club/society members when you can, and tell them how to reach you in emergencies. Make plans with friends and family in detail ahead of time. Do something different with the time you’d usually spend on your phone – read, go for a walk, go to the gym, study, cook. So do I. 

David Foster praises Filipino singers; brings Brian McKnight, Katharine McPhee to Manila concert

From left: Brian McKnight, David Foster, and Katharine McPhee

The STAR / file, Katharine McPhee via Instagram Jan Milo Severo - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — Renowned songwriter David Foster praised Original Pilipino Music (OPM) singers Martin Nievera, Jake Zyrus and Morissette Amon. 

During the media conference of “HITMAN: David Foster and Friends Asia Tour 2024” recently, David said Martin and him are very close friends. 

"Martin is very fabulous. I love him like a brother — this jacket he gave me," he said. 

"Jake, formerly known as Charice, is amazing. I still get people asking me every day, like, 'Thank you for Jake.'

"And then, of course, there's Morissette, who I think is a global superstar. I've worked with her before, and she's amazing."

David, together with his special guests, happily looks forward to serenading Filipinos once more in the upcoming “HITMAN: David Foster and Friends Asia Tour 2024” in Smart Araneta Coliseum on June 18, 2024. 

Presented by MQLive and Mwell, this concert is expected to be an unforgettable one for Foster, who will share the stage with iconic artists McKnight, All-4-One, and McPhee, alongside Filipino talents JV Decena and Joaquin Garcia.

P3B ready for Aghon relief; typhoon kills 3

 

SAVING LIVES Rescue teams from the Quezon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the city government of Lucena, along with personnel of the Philippine Air Force, seek out residents of Barangay Kanlurang Mayao in Lucena after widespread flooding hit the city on Sunday as Typhoon “Aghon” battered southern Luzon. —PHOTO COURTESY OF QUEZON PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

By: Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Melvin Gascon - @inquirerdotnet

MANILA, Philippines — The national government has allotted up to P3 billion for relief efforts in areas affected by Typhoon Aghon (international name: Ewiniar), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday.

The President said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had already extended humanitarian assistance worth P1.2 million to residents displaced by the storm as it swooped down Luzon over the weekend, following its landfall in Eastern Samar on May 24.

“We have distributed more than P1.2 million in humanitarian assistance, and had readied more than P3 billion as standby funds [for] prepositioned goods and stockpiles to ensure a quicker and more expansive delivery of assistance for our people affected by Typhoon Aghon,” Marcos said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.

The DSWD and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Monday that Aghon has so far injured seven people and affected more than 19,000 others as it battered the Bicol, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) regions. On Sunday at least three people, including a 7-month-old baby, were also reported killed in Quezon province.

“We can anticipate that our agencies will be ready to provide support to each affected community to ensure that they are safe and are in a good state,” the President said.

Coordination with LGUs

Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, DSWD spokesperson, said about 8,800 residents were displaced by the typhoon, with about 2,500 families relocating to evacuation centers. The NDRRMC, on the other hand, placed the number of displaced at 5,343.

The tally of evacuees was much higher at the local level.

Dumlao said humanitarian assistance was extended to affected communities in the provinces of Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Albay, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon.

“We were informed that the shipment of 5,000 food packs had also reached Infanta town in Quezon province [on Monday], in addition to what we have already reported,” she said at the “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” press briefing, adding that the DSWD is coordinating with the local government units (LGUs) to ensure the availability of food packs among the residents.

Dumlao reported further that 615 families had been displaced in Laguna and Quezon, while 290 families in Marinduque had taken refuge in homes of relatives and friends.

The DSWD has also assisted 465 displaced families in the provinces of Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Samar, she said, adding that the DSWD has also distributed nonfood items such as hygiene kits and mattresses.

The agency is also coordinating with the Department of Health regarding medicines that displaced residents may need.

Dumlao urged these residents to get in touch with the social welfare offices of their local governments or with the DSWD field offices for any other assistance that they might need.

“We are here to provide augmentation support to the local government units to ensure these forms of assistance would be provided,” she said.

Fatalities

In Quezon, police reported that a baby boy and his mother were in their shack atop a fish cage in Tayabas Bay at Barangay Punta in Padre Burgos town on Sunday, at the height of the storm.

As huge waves struck their shelter, the child fell into the water and drowned.

Four fishermen spotted the infant’s body in the waters off Barangay Ilayang Polo in Pagbilao town around 11 a.m. on Monday. The mother survived the storm’s onslaught.

In Lucena City, a 14-year-old boy was sleeping in the family home in Barangay Ibabang Iyam in the wee hours of Sunday when a palm tree fell on the house. Police said the boy, who had a wound in the abdomen, died instantly.

In Barangay Sampaga, San Antonio town, a 50-year-old farmer was sleeping alone inside his nipa hut when a huge acacia tree was uprooted and hit the hut on Sunday morning. The farmer also died on the spot.

At least 1,250 families, or 5,607 people, had to flee their flooded homes in several barangays in Lucena City, the provincial capital of Quezon. Lucena had been placed under a state of calamity on Monday.

The evacuees stayed in schools, barangay halls, evacuation centers, and at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena. But most of them returned home by Monday.

In the entire province, 3,638 families or 15,000 people from the 39 towns in Quezon, apart from Tayabas City and Lucena City, were evacuated.

“We’re still gathering data on the number of destroyed houses. Our rapid damage assessment and needs analysis are still ongoing,” Janet Vargas Gendrano, chief of Lucena’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, told the Inquirer.

‘A taste of La Niña’

Henry Buzar, former head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Quezon, described the impact of Aghon as “a taste of La Niña 2024.”

He said “no typhoon had brought such damage, creating a river-like cascading flood entering our homes” in University Village, a subdivision in Barangay Ibabang Dupay.

Quezon Gov. Angelina Tan ordered all local officials to reach out to the typhoon victims and bring them relief goods, food packs and other essentials.

Landslides were reported in parts of Aurora province. Elson Egargue, chief of the Aurora Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the Dingalan-Umiray Road, also known as Sapio Road, in Barangay Butas na Bato was temporarily closed after a landslide struck the area. But clearing operations eventually opened the road to motorists.

Small landslides were also reported at Barangay Umiray in Dingalan town and Barangay Zabali in the provincial capital of Baler.

But Egargue said Aghon did not cause major damage to agriculture and infrastructure in the province.

He said all major roads remained passable and the power supply was stable, although there were power interruptions in some parts of the province.

Casualties, damage

According to the NDRRMC, there were four casualties in Legazpi, Albay; two in Mercedes, Camarines Norte; and one in Santa Magdalena, Sorsogon. All were injured by uprooted and fallen trees.

A total of 19,373 people or 8,465 families were affected in the regions of Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Eastern Visayas, the agency said.

Seven roads were impassable to vehicles in Central Luzon, Calabarzon and in Bicol, where operations in three of the region’s seven airports were suspended.

Aghon is the first storm to hit the country this year. It was classified as a severe tropical storm when it first made landfall in the country on Friday and was reclassified into a typhoon by Sunday.

Cayetano to Taguigeños: Let’s push each other up, let’s push the Philippines up!

 

PRESS RELEASE

“Let’s push Taguig up, let’s push each other up, let’s push the Philippines up!”

This was Senator Alan Peter Cayetano's message to the candidates and the audience during the Mutya ng Taguig 2024 coronation night on May 25, 2024.

Aligned with this year’s theme, "Taguigueña, Panalo Ka" which honors the exceptional qualities of the women of Taguig, Cayetano emphasized that the candidates must be good role models and representatives of the city.

He encouraged the candidates to use their platforms to positively influence people, telling them to be good ambassadors and influencers.

“You don’t need to have the name ‘influencer’ or have a million followers to be an influencer. You are already influencers; you don’t have to be Ms. Taguig to be one,” he said.

The independent senator also shared how the saying “Whatever you celebrate, you elevate,” by preacher and motivational speaker Myles Munroe, has influenced his perspective.

“This means that when you’re in the habit of pushing something up, then expect someone to also push you up. And expect that someone will push you up. Sooner or later, lahat kayo naitataas,” he said.

“So when we celebrate four hundred and thirty seven years of Taguig, itinataas natin ito. When we celebrate Ms. Taguig later on, itinataas natin siya. At siya naman ay itataas niya ang Taguig,” he added.

Cayetano concluded his message by urging all Taguigeños to embrace this practice for the continued upward trajectory of the city and ultimately the entire country.

“Let’s push Taguig up, let’s push each other up, let’s push the Philippines up! Para tunay na magiging siksik, liglig, at umaapaw ang bayan ng Pilipinas,” he said. ###

How Ahtisa Manalo, Alexie Brooks got their respective The Miss Philippines titles

Miss Cosmo Philippines Ahtisa Manalo and Miss Eco International Philippines Alexie Brooks. Photos from THE MISS PHILIPPINES / FACEBOOK

By: Armin P. Adina

INQUIRER.net / 03:00 PM May 27, 2024

Ahtisa Manalo from Quezon Province and Alexie Brooks from Iloilo City were two of the frontrunners in the 2024 Miss Universe Philippines pageant whose exuberant fans ignited their own intense campaigns online. And while they may not have captured the top prize, the ladies ended up having their own national titles eventually.

Manalo was crowned as the first-ever Miss Cosmo Philippines, while Brooks received the Miss Eco International Philippines crown, and both of them will be representing the country in global contests. But how did they end up getting those two titles, both under the Miss Universe Philippines pageant’s sister search The Miss Philippines?

Voltaire Tayag, executive vice president of the Miss Universe Philippines Organization (MUPH) exclusively shared with INQUIRER.net the process they followed in awarding the two additional titles, as well as the Miss Charm Philippines and the Miss Supranational Philippines crowns.

“I spoke with them (Miss Universe Philippines delegates) individually, and asked them if they will be open to getting a different crown,” he said at the sidelines of the post-coronation media conference of newly-crowned Miss Universe Philippines Chelsea Manalo held at Belmont Hotel in Pasay City on May 24.

It was only nine days before the final show when MUPH announced that four more titles under The Miss Philippines will be awarded to winners who will be chosen from the roster of Miss Universe Philippines 2024 delegates.

The four additional titles were awarded after the culmination of the national pageant at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City early morning of May 23, with the Miss Supranational Philippines title going to Baguio City’s Tarah Valencia and the Miss Charm Philippines crown going to Pampanga’s Cyrille Payumo.

Manalo was second runner-up in the just-concluded competition, while Valencia was third runner-up. They were brought back to the stage at the end of the show along with Brooks, Payumo, and their fellow Top 10 finalists Anita Rose Gomez from Zambales and Raven Doctor from Palawan, and Top 20 semifinalists Alexandra Rosales from Laguna, Bianca Tapia from Hawaii, Christina Chalk from the United Kingdom, and Kayla Carter from Northern California.

“The 10 delegates who competed for the four crowns in The Miss Philippines were the highest-ranking delegates who were eligible for one of more of the titles and voluntarily expressed their desire to be considered for titles under The Miss Philippines,” Tayag shared.

“Eligible delegates were given the choice to either accept of waive their right to be considered for the titles under The Miss Philippines. We have the utmost respect for the decision of the eligible delegates who opted out,” he added.

Tayag also explained that for finishing as second runner-up in the national pageant, Manalo had first dibs on the crowns at stake, and chose the Miss Cosmo Philippines title, making her the country’s official bet to the first-ever Miss Cosmo pageant in Vietnam in October.

The three other winners, meanwhile, will be competing in international competitions in 2025, because their predecessors are the Philippines’ bets for the 2024 editions of their respective global tilts.