KC Concepcion's fundraising to finish movie gathers $10K

KC Concepcion on the set of ‘Asian Persuasion.’ INSTAGRAM PHOTO/KRISTINACONCEPCION

By Shennah Romanillos, Manila Times

KC Concepcion and her team from "Asian Persuasion" have yet to reach their goal to raise $50,000 to finish their Hollywood film.

Over the weekend, donations reached $10,748 or 21 percent of the goal.

The actress earlier appealed to her fans for financial help to finish her film after encountering financial problems during its filming.

One of the film's main stars contracted Covid-19, pausing production for 12 days. The delay cost them $100,000.

"We are asking for your help to recover the funds lost during our one-week pause. While we are actively continuing to fundraise throughout the post-production period, we currently need $100,000 to supplement our ongoing private fundraising efforts to complete this movie," the team said in a statement.

"Asian Persuasion" is a romantic-comedy about chef Mickey (Dante Bosco) who sets up a scheme to marry off his ex-wife, KC, to avoid his alimony obligations. It is directed by three-time Tony-Award and Grammy-winning producer Jhett Tolentino.

On Instagram, the 37-year-old actress appealed, "The filming is done, now the hard work begins. And YOU can help bring our movie to the FINISH LINE."

The actress also shared why she agreed to do the movie — more than getting an acting job in America, Asian Persuasion presents an opportunity for Concepcion to represent Asians and Filipinos.

"I think I speak for so many Asian actors who grew up wishing and waiting for this time to come for us to be seen, heard, and represented, in all our different skin tones, body shapes, and backgrounds. This movie is about family, relationships, love, failures, resilience, success, and fighting for what you love. That's why this story is YOURS, as much as it is mine."

10 regions seeing spike in dengue cases

 File photo

TEN out of the 17 regions in the country have shown an increase in dengue cases, based on the data of the Department of Health (DOH).

In a statement Friday, June 10, 2022, majority of regions have recorded more dengue cases compared to the numbers in 2021.

"Ten out of the 17 regions showed increasing cases of dengue," said the DOH.

The regions are Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, Cordillera Administrative Region and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Overall, the DOH said there were 34,938 dengue cases reported from January 1 to May 21, 2022.

Peso takes a beating against dollar

Philippine peso had its worst day in three-and-a-half years, falling to P53 to the United States dollar. File Photo

 

By Mayvelin U. Caraballo, Manila Times

June 11, 2022

(UPDATE) THE Philippine peso had its worst day in three-and-a-half years, falling to P53 to the United States dollar on Friday.

The local currency bled 5 centavos to $53:$1 from the previous day's close of P52.95. It hasn't been this soft since Dec. 20, 2018, when it closed at 53.10:$1.

The peso's slide was probably due to market participants anticipating the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) 50-basis-point interest rate hike next week, Domini Velasquez, chief economist at China Banking Corp., said.

"Generally, we still see USD-PHP (dollar-peso rate) moving upwards both because of the Fed's aggressive monetary tightening cycle and domestically, the value of import purchases are still bound to increase as oil and food prices continue to remain elevated. Hence, still more demand for dollars," Velasquez said.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said the peso was simply following the trend among regional currencies.

US inflation becoming everyone's problem.

"Hawkish tilt from the ECB (European Central Bank) and a likely similar stance from the Fed keeping Asian currencies on the backfoot. Markets await US inflation out later tonight for more direction," Mapa said.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the recent increase in US Treasury rates to above 3 percent for most long-term tenors contributed to the dollar's recent rise against key global currencies.

"Market sentiment also weighed as global crude oil prices posted new 3-month highs recently and also near 14-year highs, at above US$120 per barrel recently, that could potentially add to elevated inflation and could also add to the country's oil import bill," Ricafort said.

He also said the peso has recently depreciated slightly against the US dollar due to signs of a probable reduction in large banks' reserve requirement ratio later this year.

But the depreciation has been countered by the possibility of more local policy rate hikes during the next rate-setting sessions in June and August this year, Ricafort said.

Friday's close already hit the upper end of the government's P50-53:$1 peso-dollar exchange rate forecast for the year.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee said various depreciation (for example, US policy normalization, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and widening trade gaps) and appreciation pressures (higher foreign exchange inflows via tourism, business process outsourcing and overseas Filipino workers remittances, and ample foreign exchange reserves) continue to influence the peso's medium-term outloo

Drastic steps pushed vs food, energy crunch

By Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino

 and Eireene Jairee Gomez

President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said over the weekend that boosting the agriculture sector would ensure food security in the country.File Photo

President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said over the weekend that boosting the agriculture sector would ensure food security in the country.File Photo

THERE is an urgent need for the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to consider drastic measures that would ease the adverse effects of a looming food and energy crises in the country brought about by global environmental and health woes and the war in Ukraine.

Albay Second District Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente "Joey" Salceda said that fighting inflation and keeping food affordable should be the immediate economic priorities of the incoming administration.

"It's the most pro-poor policy the new president can take on his first few days in office," Salceda said.

The lawmaker, who has been reelected, said "I am also recommending a package of bills..."

"Apart from funding provisions and provisions allowing the President to redirect some unused appropriations and resources, I am also proposing that we enact a package of anti-inflationary measures, such as anti-price gouging in the food and fuel sectors, price unbundling for fuel, some key tariff removals for imported farm inputs such as fertilizers and equipment, and boosting the production of domestic energy sources such as coal, until we can overcome this global price problem," Salceda said.

   

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday that headline inflation in the country increased further to 5.4 percent in May 2022 from 4.9 percent in April 2022.

Marcos said over the weekend that boosting the agriculture sector would ensure food security in the country.

Energy Undersecretary Benito Ranque said one of the viable solutions which should go hand in hand with other energy measures is the use of modular nuclear reactors for deployment to island provinces suffering weeks of darkness and economic standstill in the aftermath of strong weather disturbances.

Why Russia's war on Ukraine poses a risk to global food security

Taking cue from the use of modular or mobile nuclear power reactors in the United States and China, Ranque said that he is inclined to believe that it is perfectly safe to adopt such — but with caution and strict supervision of whoever the Philippine government secures a contract with to provide what he deemed as extremely necessary "if only to ease the impact of an energy shortage in 2023, as predicted by no less than former Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla."

When asked as to what could have triggered an imminent energy crisis, Ranque admitted that the government has failed to facilitate the establishment of sufficient power plants in anticipation of the rapidly growing number of electricity users.

"Let's be candid about this one. The government wasn't able to push for building sufficient power generating facilities for the last 20 years. During these years, the population rapidly increased, which means more people are using the same buffer supply we had back in 2002."

Citing the compact size of the modular nuclear reactors, Ranque said that these facilities could easily be transported anywhere — with high emphasis to places frequently suffering from power outages in view of extreme weather disturbances.

Expert sees no need to cut fuel taxes

Moreover, Ranque said that each modular nuclear reactor has the capacity to produce more than enough electricity to light up an entire island like Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Samar, Leyte and other island provinces, which had suffered months living without electricity because the typhoons destroyed power grids in those areas.

Sought for safety assurance, Ranque said he would prefer to forge a contract which would include two essential provisions ─ one is for the supplier of the modular nuclear reactors to administer its use and number two, for the same supplier to find a place outside the country where they would dump or process nuclear wastes.

"They have the technology in disposing or handling the nuclear waste so it is best for us to include that provision in the contract," he noted.

UN: Food crises loom

Ranque, however, stressed that while the government is dealing with the immediate energy concerns, it is still most advisable to empower small electricity cooperatives in the countryside by helping them acquire its own renewable power plants while simultaneously working on the "underground cabling," prioritizing typhoon prone areas to allow uninterrupted power supply by the distribution utilities such as electric cooperatives.

The United Nations on Tuesday warned about multiple, looming food crises on the planet, driven by climate "shocks" like drought and worsened by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine that have sent fuel and food prices soaring.

Let’s be responsible of each other

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

WHETHER we are aware of it or not, and despite our differences and conflicts, we all share the same humanity, the same status as creatures of God made in his image and likeness. We are one people, forming one body of which each one of us ought to be a living member, doing a specific role for the good of everyone. We have to care, love and help one another!

That is why we need to be living members, as St. Paul once said. “The body is a unit,” he said, “though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.: (1 Cor 12-13)

And the best way to be living and helpful members of the same body is to follow Christ’s indication for each one of us to be “salt and light” to everyone. (cfr. Mt 5,13-16). Christ wants us, like salt, to provide Christian flavor in a world that is fast evolving, as well as help in preserving the true Christian spirit in a world that is so exposed to a lot of changes, many of them with their luggage of dangers even as they also offer a lot of benefits.

We also are meant to give light to the others by giving good examples and by actively doing apostolate, leading people to God along the right if prudent and tortuous and treacherous paths of this world. With rectitude of intention, we have to inspire others to follow us so that with us they can come to Christ.

Let’s make St. Paul’s words ours also: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor 11,1) These words are a corollary to what Christ said about us being light of the world: “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Mt 5,16)

Let’s try our best so that we too can echo another of St. Paul’s words: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20) This is the ideal to aim at, because Christ himself said, “I am the light of the world…the man who follows me will have the light of life.” (Jn 8,12) 

We can only give the true light if we have the light of Christ, if we are with Christ and so identified with him that whoever sees and hears us sees and hears Christ. (cfr. Lk 10,16)

We have to understand that we have a duty to always inspire others. It’s a most important duty that is actually incumbent on everyone of us, and not just on some special people. We know that we are all interrelated, obviously not biologically that only has a limited scope, but definitely to a large extent, politically, economically, socially, etc. The fact that we all live in the same one world somehow makes us all interrelated.

But there’s actually a more radical basis of our interrelation. And that is that we are all creatures of God, children of his, meant to be the people and the family of God. It is a relationship that is spiritual more than material, forged by a supernatural principle and not just something natural. That’s why we have to care for each other, and be responsible for one another.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘎𝘺𝘮𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 "𝘔𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘕𝘏𝘚"

 

Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy spearheaded the ceremonial turnover of the "𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝑮𝒚𝒎𝒏𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔" worth Php3.5M which was formally received by Chuchie Ferrando-Yog, School Principal IV/DCP, duly represented by Beverly A. Ordonio, OIC Head Teacher I and Maria Evelyn C. Tanutan, Master Teacher I, together with other teaching personnel. 

Head Teacher Ordonio extends her words of gratitude to the government as the said projects would be a great help not only for holding school-related activities or programs but also for any big events in the community.

"The Mabini NHS is very much happy to accept the projects ... Nakahinumdom ko sauna nga wala pay bleachers , among mga studyante  magtindog maskig init kay dili sila magdala ug bangko. So with these bleachers, this would provide a degree of separation between spectators and participants, especially during the school programs. With this, they can still have a comfortable spot to sit on and they will be gathered in one place ... The Mabini NHS promised to take care of these ... we see to it that this would be well-maintained and the next generation can use it" Ordonio said.

Present on the said event were Mayor Reynaldo Dayanghirang of Mabini, and Brgy. Captain Asalain Pilarito Buntag of Brgy. Cuambog, duly represented by Brgy. Councilors Maribel Fernandez, Reynante Salaza, Alberto Pancho Jr and other Brgy. officials. (Jaynus Fernandez, PAO-IPRD Photos from J. Cadiz and G. Mativo)

PH jumps to 33rd place in Nikkei Asia’s latest Covid-19 Recovery Index

by Analou de Vera, Manila Bulletin

Makati CBD skyline

The Philippines was ranked 33rd in the Covid-19 Recovery ranking by Tokyo-based news magazine Nikkei Asia.

Based on its June 3 report, the country made a big jump in this latest ranking as Nikkei Asia said that the Philippines “had occupied last place in the index during 2021” or placed 121st on its recovery index in October last year. Nikkei Asia ranks 121 countries based on its infection management, vaccine rollouts, and social mobility. 

“The higher the ranking, the closer a place is to recovery, characterized by lower infection and death rates, better inoculation coverage, as well as fewer movement restrictions,” said Nikkei Asia.

“Vietnam and the Philippines logged their best performances in Nikkei’s Covid-19 Recovery Index for May, as both countries managed to ease restrictions while keeping infections low,” it also stated.

Nikkei Asia noted the consistent decline in new cases in the Philippines, with low to no confirmed deaths in recent weeks.

It also cited the move of the Philippine government to reopen the country’s borders to fully vaccinated international tourists.

“Domestically, business has largely resumed and the government is encouraging all schools to hold face-to-face classes again this month,” said Nikkei Asia.

Nikkei Asia sourced its figures from Our World in Data, Google Covid-19 Community Mobility Reports, Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker, Cirium, and Nikkei Asia Research.

The Department of Health (DOH) welcomed the result of this latest ranking.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said that “this remarkable recovery reported by independent external observers is being balanced by safety protocols managed by the Department of Health and our partners.”

“The DOH has always been aware that the Covid-19 pandemic response is more marathon than sprint. We are carefully pacing ourselves using the whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach, led by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” said Duque.

Duque also cited the Filipinos’ “diligent” compliance with the minimum public health standards such as wearing of face masks, isolation, vaccination, and ensuring proper ventilation.

He also cited the capabilities of both the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and Philippine Genome Center (PGC) in detecting new variants and subvariants of Covid-19 virus.

“As the current administration ends, we are confident that the next administration and its incoming Secretary of Health will continue or even improve our march to recovery in the new normal,” he added.

What are the different Filipino values that we have ignored?

 

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In a rapidly globalising world, it is easy to lose sight of our own identity. We become caught up in the search for material success and forget the things that make us unique. 

As a result, we often neglect the values that define us Filipinos. These values include family, faith, and community. We are known for our close-knit families, yet we increasingly live far away from home, pursuing more significant opportunities. Our religious beliefs are a source of strength and guidance, but we often turn to them only in times of difficulty. And while we are renowned for our sense of community, we often fail to support those less fortunate than us.

 If we want to preserve our identity, we need to rediscover these values and start living them daily. We can only hope to create a brighter future for ourselves and our country.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn align this June for rare conjunction

 Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn align this June for rare conjunction

By Kristofer Purnell - Philstar.com

All five naked-eye planets line up in their proper order from the Sun during the month of June. At dawn on the 24th, the crescent Moon joins the planetary lineup.

MANILA, Philippines — Amateur astronauts are in for a treat this June as the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will all be seen in a rare alignment for the first time in 18 years.

Sky & Telescope magazine, headed by the American Astronomical Society, said the five naked-eye planets — meaning they can be viewed without a telescope — will be in an orderly conjunction from the Earth's point-of-view the entire month of June around thirty minutes before sunrise.

Mercury will at first be hard to spot but as June carries on the small planet climb higher and shine brighter in the pre-dawn sky.

To be able to see the alignment clearly, it is suggested to have binoculars and face a clear view of the eastern horizon. Those in the Northern Hemisphere can see the alignent from the eastern to southeastern horizon while those in the Southern Hemisphere should look from the eastern to northeastern horizon.

According to Sky & Telescope, the best day to view the five-planet alignment will be on June 24, where the conjunction can be viewed for an hour before the Sun completely shines.

Additionally on this day, the waning crescent Moon will be positioned in between Venus and Mars, acting like a substitute for the Earth in the alignment.

The last time these five planets aligned in their correct sequence was in December 2004, but this time around the distance between Mercury and Saturn is shorter. The alignment will again occur in 2040.

THAT TELLS ME ALL... ... I need to know!

Know-it-alls, who prefer an oppressing or suppressing crab mentality should be really out of place. They poison us and our dignity and our feelings of our own worth. Unfortunately we can find these people at any corner.

I stayed in many places worldwide - places with people belonging to different kinds of religion. I really don't care which belief people are in. Most importantly, they believe in God or Allah and they live a Christian life. I am always very happy when I find churches or prayer places - always open and filled up with praying and worshipping people.

Yesterday I was invited to a Moslem wedding.

I am always very happy, when I meet hopeful and promising Christians: priests, pastors, lay people, friends, family members, who know how to share and inspire, and also know how to be patient while starting with a -maybe - "new beginning".

I am also very happy, because I still observe infinite and endless good things every day coming into my life. Slowly but surely, I started to pay attention to such things. I observe several people, who don't! I really try to do preliminary exercises for instance, for amazing things or just for a simple gratitude. With these attitudes I'll be winning each battle a thousand times against those people who live believing that God's creation goes to the dogs and kicks the bucket.

I am really happy if I meet people who understand the real meaning of responsibility. Responsibility to a child, to the family, to a company and its employees, to a public service, an association or a registered society, or anything that supports, sponsors and promotes my surroundings without being egoistic, indifferent or listless. "I don't give a damn!"

I am always happy to notice people around me, who mean and act "YES" if they say "YES"!

I am always happy to notice something that is taken for granted: parents have time for their children and patience with the youth (really a difficult task sometimes!); someone who takes time to visit a sick neighbour or friend; someone who asks the address of a possible lonely fellow...

Every time period is in God's hands. Let's fulfill these periods and let's also allow our loved-ones at our side to live the same way. 

EU sees deeper ties with PH under Marcos

European Union Ambassador to Manila Luc Véron and President-elect Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. PHOTO BY BBM MEDIA BUREAU

By Bernadette E. Tamayo, Manila 

EUROPEAN Union Ambassador to Manila Luc Véron is confident that the EU-Philippines relations "will deepen" under the Marcos administration.

Véron on Monday paid President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. a visit.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to meet President-elect Marcos ahead of his inauguration. I do not doubt that the EU-Philippines cooperation based on shared values and objectives will deepen under the Marcos administration," Véron said in a statement.

The envoy said he and Marcos "had an excellent conversation about the state of the world and his ambitions for the Philippines in the coming years."

"I am also heartened to hear that the incoming President is willing to work with the EU and its member states," Véron said.

He said that Marcos will be invited to attend the 45th anniversary of EU-Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) relations commemorative summit in Brussels, Belgium on December 14, 2022.

The ambassador conveyed the wish of all EU member states ambassadors to meet Marcos at the earliest opportunity.

He welcomed the importance that Marcos "attached to the enhanced partnership" between the Philippines and the EU and its member states.

Véron said he agreed with Marcos on the need to respect international law in the South China Sea, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its dispute settlement mechanisms.

He presented the scope of the bilateral relationship between the EU and the Philippines ranging from trade and investments to the extensive cooperation on justice system, socio-economic development, sustainable energy, governance, peace in Mindanao and vaccination against Covid-19.

The EU Mission in the Philippines said both sides agreed that addressing climate change and the green economic recovery from the pandemic must be at the forefront of the bilateral agenda.

The EU conveyed its readiness "to stay engaged, at the [Philippine] government's wishes, to further consolidate the peace process in the Bangsamoro region."

Another problem, another chance to grow

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

“I HAVE told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world, you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (Jn 16,33)

What very reassuring words of Christ for us! That’s why no matter what happens in our life, even if we are drowning with all sorts of problems and troubles, we should remain at peace and confident, since Christ has taken care of everything.

Instead, we should sport that have-a-go attitude that would lead us to even take advantage of these situations, to derive something good from them, in order to grow in our humanity and our Christian life, etc.

Remember St. Paul’s words to the Romans: “God works all things together for the good of those who love Him.” (8,28) Yes, even our limitations, our mistakes, our defeats in life, if referred to God, can lead us to something good. These actually are great opportunities to learn new things, to grow and strengthen our virtues, etc.

Yes, if we have faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for us, we know that everything will always work out for the good. If we are with God, we can always dominate whatever suffering can come our way in the same manner that Christ absorbed all his passion and death on the cross.

Let’s always remember that God, in his ineffable ways, can also talk to us through these crosses. In fact, he can convey precious messages and lessons through them. It would be good that we have a theological attitude toward them, and be wary of our tendency to react to them in a purely human way, based only on our senses and feelings and on worldly trends.

In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always go to God to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and his providence, even if the outcome of our prayers and petitions appears unanswered, if not, contradicted.

We need to trust in God’s providence and mercy. We have to learn to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. If we truly have a deep faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for us, everything will be taken care of and some good can always be derived even from our mistakes and failures.  God always has the last word. He always wins. We just have to make sure we are with him in all situations of our life.

When we are faced with our limitations, let’s just be game and sport about them, and try our best—with the help of God’s grace, of course—to try to go beyond our limits. There is always that possibility since we are not purely a material and natural being, but also a spiritual being capable of entering the supernatural order. With God’s grace, we can go beyond what our nature can only give.

As an old love song would put, let’s have that attitude that whenever we are faced with difficulties, we should be convinced that we can overcome them. And when it is something impossible for us to do, let us also convince ourselves that it may just need a little more time to get it.

The fact is, Christ is always around. He allows some negative things to happen in our life to derive a greater good for us!

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

LIFE IS NOT FAIR

Plenty of people work hard but never get what they feel they deserve. Plenty of people are incredibly decent but always seem to get the short end of the stick. Plenty of people are smart but never seem to apply their academic excellence to entrepreneurial or professional achievement.

Plenty of people fall in love only to see their love squandered on someone who doesn’t reciprocate.

The conclusion most of us reach . . . life isn’t fair.
Or, is it that many of us just don’t understand the “protocol” and have a bad relationship with “fairness”?

Many times I have observed that children at a young age like to cry out: “It isn’t fair”, whenever they feel they are wronged. Just a couple of days ago, I heard one father, whose patient was already very thin, responding grimly: “The whole life is not fair!”

Even we adults often have problems with the idea of fairness. the laborers in the vineyard certainly did. They received exactly what they had bargained for, yet they complained when others got the same pay for less work.

If this parable was a story about earned wages, the grumblers would have been quite right to complain. But this story is about the way God deals with us, and how can we say that God is not fair?

Fairness means clearness and being free from fault or stain. Fairness is the light-colored, hopeful and plausible part of our life – the span between life and death. Life is and cannot always be fair – of course not! But we could make it a little bit fairer, though many times our world is ruled by falseness.

Fairness requires people to be put into categories. Anyone who fulfills certain requirements will receive a certain reward, regardless of differences in the situation. But only God knows that categories only outline the sort of people we are. He knows that each one of us is unique and with individual needs.

In our everyday life, do we really practice the idea of fairness at our workplace and in our dealings with others? How? Let’s analyze ourselves. May we learn what it means to be fair to another person… .

I learned a lot from Steve Wohlenhaus, CEO of Weatherology, the leading company in the world at disseminating audio weather information. Wohlenhaus said, “We need to spend more time focused on the present and less time ruminating about the past. We need to accept the unpleasant aspects of our past and do our best to move on. Concentrate on the present and create a beautiful and better future. That’s energy well spent. 

When we get trapped believing our past defines our future, life seems unfair. When we spend too much time contemplating the future and believe our destiny is outside our control, we feel helpless and life seems “unfair”. Allocating our emotional energy wisely helps us dedicate our time to what truly matters and gain control over the belief that life is unfair”.

Proverbs, probably the most down-to-earth book in the bible, prepares us for our daily life. In its prologue (Purpose and Theme) it says in 1:3: “…for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just fair”. The Colossians added in the “Rules for Christian Householders” in 4:1, “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair… .”.

True love described

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

CHRIST said it very clearly. He who is not only the fullness of the revelation of God but is also the embodiment of what true love is said: “Love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15,12-13)

Somehow those words tell us that true love can only have a universal scope. We can note that he simply said to “love one another as I love you” without further qualification.

And immediately after those words, he described what it is to be his friend that gives us an idea about what the essence of friendship is. “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (Jn 15,14) Thus, friendship is all about doing Christ’s commands. It’s not so much about having common likes and dislikes with others, or some other criteria or standards.

If our love is true, that is, it is a love that is a vital part of Christ’s love for all of us, then it is open to anything. That love would remain steadfast and would continue to grow and to be creative irrespective of how it is received by the object of such love.

It can be received well or not, it can be reciprocated generously or be betrayed. Regardless of the fate it falls into, that love will remain faithful. Thus, St. Paul once said: “If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (2 Tim 2,13)

This basic truth about true love should be known and appreciated by everyone of us, and especially those who are into some commitments, like married people and those with special vocations. They have to pattern their love and sense of commitment after Christ’s love that has as its objects the Father and all of us.

Christ was and is open to anything because of pure love. This is the kind of love that we should try our best to cultivate in ourselves too. It’s purely gratuitous, and even more, it will do everything to recover the beloved even if the latter not only does not correspond to that love but also betrays and goes against that love. It’s a love that is willing to bear the sins, mistakes and offenses of the others, and even willing to offer one’s life for them.

We can only do this if we are true friends of Christ, that is, persons who obey Christ’s commands. It’s this friendship with Christ that would enable us to be friendly with everybody else regardless of how the others are.

As one saint said, we should be willing to go to the very gates of hell, without entering it, of course, if only to save a soul. This obviously would require us to be tough and clear about the real goal to reach, and yet flexible and adaptable to any person and to any condition.

In this regard, we have to learn how to fraternize with sinners. We have to replicate Christ’s attitude towards sinners, who actually are all of us—of course, in varying degrees. We have to give special attention to the lost sheep and to the lost coin. We have to open all possible avenues to be in touch with all sinners.

This is what true love is all about. It may not be all sweet according to our human standards. But it is what is truly proper to us!

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Das Auswärtige Amt in Berlin gibt bekannt: Philippinen Reisehinweise per 17.5.2022

www.auswaertiges-amt.de

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Philippinen: Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise (Teilreisewarnung)

17.05.2022

Letzte Änderung:

Aktuelles – Wegfall des Abschnitts Wahlen,



Lagen können sich schnell verändern und entwickeln. Insbesondere die COVID-19-Bestimmungen unterliegen laufenden Änderungen.Wir empfehlen Ihnen:
- Verfolgen Sie Nachrichten und Wetterberichte.- Achten Sie auf einen ausreichenden Reisekrankenversicherungsschutz. https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/reise-gesundheit/-/350944
- Abonnieren Sie unseren Newsletter https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/newsroom/newsletter/bestellen-node oder nutzen Sie unsere App „Sicher Reisen". https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/app-sicher-reisen/350382
- Folgen Sie uns auf Twitter: AA_SicherReisen https://twitter.com/AA_SicherReisen
- Registrieren Sie sich in unserer Krisenvorsorgeliste. https://krisenvorsorgeliste.diplo.de
- Erkundigen Sie sich vorab bei den Behörden/Botschaften Ihres Reiselandes https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/vertretungen-anderer-staaten zu den aktuell geltenden, verbindlichen Einreisebestimmungen sowie bei Flug- und Bahngesellschaften nach den geltenden Beförderungsbestimmungen.
- Beachten Sie unseren Haftungsausschluss https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/haftungsausschluss/2500954 und den Hinweis zu Inhalten anderweitiger Anbieter. https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/inhalte-anderweitiger-anbieter/2500956

Aktuelles

COVID-19

Angesichts der weltweiten COVID-19-Pandemie bestehen weiterhin Risiken bei internationalen Reisen, insbesondere für Personen ohne vollständigen Impfschutz. Hierzu mehr unter COVID-19. https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/reise-gesundheit/gesundheit-fachinformationen/reisemedizinische-hinweise/Coronavirus/-/2309820

Einreise

Bestimmungen zur Einreise ändern sich mit der Pandemielage häufig. Bitte informieren Sie sich zusätzlich auf der Webseite der Regierung der Philippinen https://www.doh.gov.ph/.

Die Einreise für vollständig geimpfte Ausländer ist für touristische Aufenthalte und Geschäftsreisen bis zu 30 Tagen möglich, wenn sie unter Executive Order No. 408 (s. 1960) https://dfa.gov.ph/list-of-countries-for-21-day-visa fallen und hierdurch von der Visumspflicht befreit. Reisende müssen einen negativen PCR-Test nicht älter als 48 Stunden oder negativen Antigentest mit englischsprachigem Zertifikat (kein Selbsttest) nicht älter als 24 Stunden vor Abflug vorlegen.

Reisende müssen außerdem bei Einreise im Besitz eines noch sechs Monate gültigen Reisepasses sein und einen Flugschein über einen Rück- oder Weiterflug und eine in den Philippinen anerkannte Reisekrankenversicherung mit Mindestdeckungsschutz in Höhe von 35.000 USD für den vorgesehenen Aufenthaltszeitraum vorlegen können. Hiervon ausgenommen sind ausländische Ehepartner und Kinder philippinischer Staatsangehöriger sowie ehemalige philippinische Staatsangehörige mit „Balikbayan Privileg“ und deren mitreisende ausländische Ehepartner und Kinder. Die Staatenliste kann auf der Webseite der philippinischen Botschaft in Berlin http://philippine-embassy.de/visas/ abgerufen werden. Deutschland gehört derzeit zu diesen Ländern. Ausländische Kinder unter 12 Jahren müssen nicht voll geimpft sein und auch keinen Nachweis über ihren Impfstatus vorlegen, wenn sie ihre vollständig geimpften Eltern begleiten.

Die Einreise für vollständig geimpfte Inhaber von Langzeitvisa ist unter den genannten Bedingungen ebenfalls möglich, ein „Entry Exemption Document (EED)“ ist nicht mehr erforderlich.
Nicht vollständig geimpften ausländischen Reisenden oder Reisenden mit fehlendem anerkannten Impfnachweis wird die Einreise verweigert.
Als vollständig geimpft gilt, wer einen Impfnachweis über eine in den Philippinen erfolgte vollständige Impfung oder einen von den Philippinen anerkannten ausländischen Impfnachweis vorlegt. Deutsche Impfnachweise in Form des gelben WHO-Impfbuches oder das Digitale COVID-Zertifikat der EU werden anerkannt. Kreuzimpfungen werden akzeptiert, eine einfache Impfung nach einem durchgemachten Infekt ist hingegen nicht ausreichend.
Nach Einreise ist keine Quarantäne aber Selbstbeobachtung auf Symptome für sieben Tage erforderlich. Bei Auftreten von Symptomen ist die Kontaktaufnahme mit den lokalen Gesundheitsbehörden verpflichtend.

Nähere Informationen können bei der philippinischen Botschaft http://philippine-embassy.de/ erfragt werden.

Reisende müssen sich vor Einreise über das Portal „One Health Pass" https://www.onehealthpass.com.ph/e-HDC/ registrieren. Der Nachweis in Form eines QR-Codes ist den Fluggesellschaften am Check-in vorzulegen.

Informationen zu eventuellen Erfordernissen für Flugreisen erteilen die einzelnen Fluggesellschaften.

Ausreise und Transit

Die Ausreise ist Ausländern, die sich im Land aufhalten, jederzeit erlaubt. Manche Fluggesellschaften verlangen für den Reiseantritt in den Philippinen einen negativen PCR- oder Antigentest oder einen Impfnachweis. 

Beschränkungen im Land
Die Quarantänemaßnahmen sind regional unterschiedlich. Derzeit gilt im Großraum Manila eine niedrige Quarantänestufe mit teilweise Einschränkungen in der Bewegungsfreiheit. Stadtbezirke können diese Einschränkungen eigenständig verschärfen.
Die zwischenzeitlich unterbrochenen regulären Verkehrsverbindungen zwischen den Inseln des Landes wurden wiederaufgenommen, können jedoch jederzeit kurzfristig wiedereingestellt werden. Reisen zwischen den Provinzen sind eingeschränkt möglich, allerdings variieren die Regularien stark. Es müssen teilweise Gesundheitszeugnisse, ein negativer PCR- oder Antigentest bzw. Impfnachweise vorgelegt werden. Die Nutzung öffentlicher Verkehrsmittel (auch Inlandsflüge und Fähren) ist zunehmend nur noch geimpften Personen erlaubt.
Die touristische Infrastruktur ist eingeschränkt, einige Hotels und Resorts sind geschlossen.
Im öffentlichen Raum (in Gebäuden wie auch im Freien) gilt Maskenpflicht, Abstand ist zu wahren. Menschenansammlungen sind nur eingeschränkt zulässig.

Is eating rice equivalent to eating sugar?

By: Christian Heicks

Quite a lot of answers here, but nobody really answers the question directly: Eating rice is NOT equivalent to eating sugar. Rice will become glucose in the body, while sugar is a 50/50 mixture of glucose and fructose.
Also, everybody's talking about blood sugar levels, but that's not the whole story. Fructose, for example doesn't even raise the blood sugar(glucose) level, but it's still bad - it's significantly worse than glucose, for several reasons:

1. Fructose can't be used by most cells of the body, so most is metabolized in the liver, with effects similar to alcohol (after all, alcohol is made from fructose). Excessive fructose consumption might contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

2. Fructose oxidizes proteins about 7 times faster than glucose. Oxidation of proteins occurs naturally in the body, rendering the proteins unusable. (Search for "advanced glycation end products"). This is also why a high blood sugar level isn’t good.

3. Fructose is converted to fat more "efficiently" than glucose. I don't know the exact number right now, but I think it was about 30 %, while only 10 % of glucose is converted to fat. (Yes, those numbers only apply for the specific amount used in that study, but other amounts shouldn't change that ratio too much.)

There are several other reasons, you can look them up on wikipedia or just google a bit. Or watch this talk:

So, what's with rice? Sure, rice has a higher glycemic index than sugar (that's because half of sugar - the fructose - doesn't contribute to the blood sugar level), but the glycemic index itself doesn't say much.
Rice isn't usually eaten separately. If eaten in a meal with other food, the glycemic index of rice (and with other foods as well) decreases dramatically.
Generally, fat, acid (e. g. vinegar) and fiber are responsible for that. So be careful with "low-fat"-meals.... (I don't think much of the whole "low-fat-movement", anyway).

So: If you eat rice in a meal, the glycemic index is often only half the value found in the tables - for normal amounts of rice, the resulting blood sugar level is no problem. And the body needs glucose, after all.