200 endemic trees planted in DdO's celebration of “Arbor Day”

Davao de Oro Province--- The 25th of June marks the celebration of the “Arbor Day”, a special day dedicated to tree planting, mitigating the effects of climate change, pollution and calamities due to the dwindling number of trees in terrestrial planes.

With this, the Provincial Government of Davao de Oro spearheaded by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) in partnership with DENR planted more or less 200 seedling of endemic species of trees such as Molave, Almon, Bagtikan, Bayug and Dau at one of the sites of “Oplan Liwanag” center in barangay Libasan, Nabunturan Davao de Oro.

Together with the employees of PLGU-Davao de Oro, Municipal-LGU employees, partners in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Libasan Cooperative participated in the activity.

“Dili lang kutob sa pagpananom ug kahoy ang atuang ginahimo, kundili atua pod kining alimahan, pinaka-main nga purpose niini mao ang pag hatag ug importance sa atung environment kay ang kinaiyahan kung walay kahoy maglisod pod kitang mga katawhan.” said Eugene Alaba, PENRO-DDO Department Head.

The “Oplan Liwanag” center was chosen as the site planted with the endemic trees to ensure its growth and survival providing comfort for our brothers and sisters undergoing healing for a life anew.

(Jasteen Abella, ID DAVAO DE ORO)

SONGS FROM THE HEART

In good and in bad times - I used to read the bible. Here at the very center are songs, rising up like a tune from the heart. Cries from the heart - songs for sorrow as well as joy. I am talking about the psalms. They capture the innermost thoughts and prayers of the Old Testament people - and they will speak directly to our needs.

For every motion and mood, you can find a psalm to match. The psalms wrestle with the deepest sorrow and ask God the hardest questions about suffering and injustice. Their voice is refreshingly spontaneous. They do not tip flowery compliments toward God: they cry out to Him, or shout for joy before Him.

In almost every psalm you find the presence of God, not as a philosophical principle, but as an active, strong, and loving ruler. Since reading the psalms, I found out that God really makes many differences in my life.

How did the psalms come together? They seem to have been compiled as hymnbooks for use in temple worship. Some psalms were written from an individual's experiences, but were adapted for congregational use. Directions for musicians were added.

Living by faith is not always easy - especially in these times of the "new normality". These powerful poems of worship and praise offer no magical formulas to make troubles go away. Yet, while real life questions, struggles, and discouragements have strong voices in these poems, more powerful still is the voice of joy and security in strength.

The best way to read the psalms is also the most common way: to make these ancient prayers your own and speak them directly to God. So many of the poems catch deep human feelings that you can't help being moved by them.

There are so many psalms. It is indeed the longest book of the bible. The richest lessons from psalms may come from difficult poems you must read again and again until you understand them. They merely ask time and close attention. My suggestion: read and reread them. They grow richer with careful study.

Wirecard kollabiert nach Bilanzskandal

Wirecard (picture-alliance/dpa/S. Hoppe)

Im Wirecard-Skandal überschlagen sich die Ereignisse: die Affäre um Luftbuchungen hatte bereits personelle Konsequenzen und juristische Ermittlungen zur Folge. Jetzt gerät das ganze Unternehmen in den Abwärtsstrudel.

Nach einem gigantischen Finanzskandal steht der Zahlungsanbieter Wirecard vor der Pleite. Angesichts eines 1,9 Milliarden Euro großen Lochs in der Bilanz meldete Wirecard am Donnerstag Insolvenz wegen drohender Zahlungsunfähigkeit und Überschuldung an. Es werde geprüft, ob auch Insolvenzanträge für Wirecard-Töchter gestellt werden müssen, teilte der Konzern mit. Es ist eine der größten Pleiten der Bundesrepublik, die das Vertrauen in den Finanzplatz Deutschland erschüttert. Erstmals in der mehr als 30-jährigen Geschichte des Leitindex Dax kollabiert ein Dax-Mitglied. Die Aktien stürzten nach einer vorübergehenden Aussetzung des Handels um knapp 80 Prozent auf 2,50 Euro ab. Dennoch wird die Aktie wohl noch bis im September im Leitindex bleiben.

Wirecard hatte in den vergangenen Jahren angeblich ein rasantes Wachstumstempo hingelegt und im September 2018 die Commerzbank aus dem Dax verdrängt. Zu Hochzeiten kostete die Aktie 200 Euro, doch die Geschichte vom erfolgreichen Fintech aus Deutschland erwies sich als Illusion. Zwar sah sich das Unternehmen aus Aschheim bei München seit der Gründung vor zwei Jahrzehnten immer wieder mit Vorwürfen der Bilanzfälschung konfrontiert, doch erst vergangenen Woche brach das Kartenhaus zusammen: Die Wirtschaftsprüfer von EY verweigerten das Testat für die Bilanz 2019, als sich herausstellte, dass Bestätigungen über Treuhandkonten in den Philippinen offensichtlich gefälscht waren. Die dort angeblich liegenden 1,9 Milliarden Euro gab es in Wirklichkeit wohl nie.

Die Gläubigerbanken versuchten sich in den vergangenen Tagen ein Bild davon machen, wie viel des angeblichen Wirecard-Geschäfts tatsächlich existiert und ob sich ein gesunder Kern der Firma retten lässt. Doch die Zeit wurde zu knapp, der Vorstand sah sich zu dem Insolvenzantrag gezwungen. "Ohne eine Einigung mit den Kreditgebern bestand die Wahrscheinlichkeit der Kündigung und des Auslaufens von Krediten mit einem Volumen von 800 Millionen Euro zum 30. Juni 2020 und 500 Millionen Euro zum 1. Juli 2020", erklärte Wirecard.

Ein Großteil der Umsätze existiere anscheinend nur auf dem Papier, die Kosten dagegen seien korrekt ausgewiesen, sagte eine mit der Angelegenheit vertraute Person. "Es gibt keinen Weg, dass sie ihre Schulden von insgesamt 3,5 Milliarden Euro aus dem gesunden Kerngeschäft zurückzahlen können."

Nun müssen die Gläubiger hoffen, möglichst viel Geld im Insolvenzverfahren zu retten. Doch die Chancen scheinen gering. "Das Geld ist weg", hieß es aus einer Bank. "In einigen Jahren werden wir vielleicht ein paar Euro zurückerhalten, aber wir werden den Kredit jetzt abschreiben." Auch aus zwei anderen Banken hieß es, der Kredit werde abgeschrieben. Fraglich sei, was von Wirecard verwertet werden könne. Wettbewerber bräuchten die Wirecard-Technologie wohl nicht und die Kunden, zu denen Firmen wie Aldi, Ikea oder die Fluggesellschaft KLM gehören, könnten sie einfach auf ihre Plattform herüberziehen.

Die Finanzaufsicht BaFin, die erst spät gegen Wirecard vorgegangen ist, steht massiv in der Kritik. "Bei der Finanzaufsicht müssen Köpfe rollen", sagte der Linken-Finanzpolitiker Fabio de Masi. "Der Insolvenzantrag von Wirecard ist ein Fiasko für den Finanzplatz Deutschland." Ins gleiche Horn stieß der Grünen-Finanzpolitiker Danyal Bayaz. "Dass ein Dax-Konzern innerhalb kürzester Zeit als Börsenstar in die Insolvenz schlittern konnte, wirft ein schlechtes Licht auf den gesamten Standort Deutschland", sagte Bayaz. "Besonders die BaFin und Abschlussprüfer müssen umfassend erklären, warum diese Entwicklung zu keinem Zeitpunkt vorhergesehen und verhindert werden konnte."

Dem Wirtschaftsprüfer EY, der jahrelang die Bilanzen von Wirecard testiert hatte, drohen eine Klagewelle und Geschäftseinbußen nach dem massiven Reputationsschaden. Erste Anwaltskanzleien werben bereits für Sammelklagen. Von EY war zunächst keine Stellungnahme zu erhalten.

Die Staatsanwaltschaft München ermittelt bei Wirecard wegen des Verdachts der Bilanzfälschung und der Marktmanipulation. Auch die Insolvenz von Wirecard schaue sich die Behörde an. "Wir werden alle in Betracht kommenden Straftaten prüfen", sagte eine Sprecherin der Staatsanwaltschaft. Sie hat bereits den ehemaligen Konzernchef Markus Braun, der fast 20 Jahre an der Spitze von Wirecard stand, im Visier. Nach einer Nacht in Haft kam er am Dienstag gegen eine Kaution von fünf Millionen Euro auf freien Fuß. Auch Ex-Vorstand Jan Marsalek, der das Unternehmen an der Seite von Braun rund 20 Jahre lang geprägt hat und sich nun möglicherweise auf den Philippinen aufhält, steht im Fokus der Strafverfolger. 

(C) 2020 by DW - Deutsche Welle

Emergency Employment Program for displaced ball-mill operators in Mt. Diwalwal

Davao de Oro Province---When the movement “Lihok Alang sa Naboc” started its operation to rehabilitate the polluted Naboc River, where for over 25 years served as a catchment basin for all waste coming from mining operations in Mt. Diwalwal, more or less 300 small mineral processing plant operations were ceased, temporarily displacing one of the residents’ source of income.

It can be recalled that an intervention has been made relocating them to a proper site in Mabatas Area wherein their operations can take place as the zone has a containment facility preventing direct discharge of waste to the river.

With this, another intervention was made through the initiative of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) under the Provincial Government of Davao de Oro in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) through its Emergency Employment Program, giving jobs to former ball-mill operators and employees.

A total of 136 former operators availed the program with a daily wage of Php 396.00. The said program lasted for 20 days with a budget of more or less 1.1 million pesos from DOLE. Pay out for their wages will be thru MLhullier estimated to be released on June 25, 2020 onwards.

To date, ball-mills were transferred in the Mabatas Area wherein they can resume their operations without sacrificing the Naboc River. (Jasteen Abella, ID DAVAO DE ORO)

PHYSICAL DISTANCING TO PREVAIL WHEN ROXAS NIGHT MARKET REOPENS

Posted on June 25, 2020  by administrator

The Roxas Night Market, which remains closed amid the efforts to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), might soon reopen – albeit, with a limited number of vendors, Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte said.

“We can expect nga ing-ana [control of the number of vendors at the Roxas Night Market] ang mahitabo because of the new normal requirements of [physical] distancing,” Mayor Inday said.

While she cannot give a definite time frame as to when the Roxas Night Market could reopen, she said she was hoping that it would happen very soon.“Of course di nato gusto nga next year pa because dili nato gusto padugayon ang delay sa pagbalik sa trabaho and sa negosyo sa tao,” Mayor Inday said.

She said the reopening of the Roxas Night Market entirely depended on how soon the quarantine measures against the coronavirus disease 2019 are lifted.The Roxas Night Market, despite having been bombed in September 2016, continues to gain popularity as a destination, not only among the locals but also tourists.It was shut down when the virus struck the city a few months back.To cushion the impact of its closure on vendors, they were enrolled in the TUPAD program of the city and the Department of Labor and Employment, under which, they were asked to do minimal work in exchange for P396 per day for 30 days. CIO

Davao de Oro partners with UP-Mindanao, DOST XI to build COVID test lab

DAVAO DE ORO --- Ramping up the efforts to curb the COVID-19 threat, the Provincial Government of Davao de Oro has partnered with the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) of the University of the Philippines-Mindanao, and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) XI for the planned construction of a COVID-19 testing laboratory at the Davao de Oro Provincial Hospital-Montevista (DdOPH).

The ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was recently signed yesterday, June 22, 2020 (Monday), at the PGO Conference Room, Capitol Complex. Under the agreement, PGC UP-Mindanao and DOST XI obliged to capacitate the facility in accordance with the guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH). They are also to provide bio safety and molecular diagnostics training for its future facility personnel.

“We would like to thank everyone for being part of this project and I’m very proud to hold the province as one of our partners who came early in initiating this project. I hope this will be the beginning of a partnership that we’re going to strengthen further,” UP Mindanao Chancellor Larry N. Digal said.

“Kinahanglan jud ta mag establish ug atung kaugalingong testing laboratory aron magsilbi natu kining weapon to fight this unseen enemy because we cannot see them unless we test them, ug dili kita angay mabalaka kay aduna’y plano ang probinsya inubanan sa dakong tabang ug suporta sa atuang partners aron masuta ang risgadong dala sa COVID19,” Governor Tyron Uy in his statement.
To date, the province has eleven cumulative COVID19 cases--eight being current active cases, plus three recoveries.

There are only two accredited COVID-19 testing labs in Mindanao, the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao City, and Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) in Tagum City. PLGU Davao de Oro aims to operationalize the testing lab by August, with its budget drawn from the Bayanihan Grant to the Provinces.

(Rheafe Hortizano, ID Davao de Oro)

How anxiety affects you

My column in Mindanao Daily, Businessweek Mindanao and Metro Cagayan de Oro Times

A drawn-out stressful situation can make simple tasks feel more difficult than they used to be. I experienced it myself since my German Consulate Office in Davao reopened. Both, my consulate clients and I got the same feelings.

Feel like you can’t concentrate on anything at the moment? You’re not alone. The extra anxiety caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has impaired our working memory, experts say. As writer and journalist, Kate Morgan stresses several days ago: we all know the feeling. You walk into a room with a mission and then stop, confused, and a little disjointed, realizing you have completely forgotten why you’re there.

Since the coronavirus’ spread began, almost all of us have been having that feeling of forgetting why I’m in another room dozens of times a day. We're finding it almost impossible to focus on anything at all. 

I can’t keep a phone number in my head long enough to dial it, and it takes forever to write a simple email. I start in on a task, and it’s only a few minutes before I’m distracted. My productivity has plummeted. Meanwhile, when at my home office alone, it's getting better step by step...

What was happening, is a malfunction of working memory: the ability to grasp incoming information, form it into a cohesive thought, and hold onto it long enough to do what you need to with it. “Think of it as the mental platform for our cognitive operations, for what we’re thinking now,” says Matti Laine, a professor of psychology at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. “Working memory is closely related to attention. You’re focusing on some task, some goal, some directive or behavior you want to get accomplished.”

In other words, working memory is the ability to reason in real-time, and it’s a big part of what makes the human brain so powerful. But research has shown that rapidly changing circumstances, worry, and anxiety can all have a significant impact on your ability to focus.

Rapidly-changing circumstances, worry, and anxiety can all have a significant impact on your ability to focus

“Long before the pandemic, we completed an online study with a large group of American adults who filled out self-assessment questionnaires,” says Laine. “We saw a trend of a negative relationship between anxiety and working memory. The higher the anxiety, the lower the working memory performance.” When you’re having an acute anxious experience – say, someone, threatening is walking behind you on your way home in the dark – it means you might have trouble recalling the details of their face. A drawn-out stressful situation can also ravage the working memory, making even the simplest tasks feel more difficult than they used to be.

“We’re talking about anxiety and stress that’s not acute,” says Laine. “It’s related to a deeply uncertain future. You don’t know – does it continue this summer, this autumn? Nobody knows. It’s leading us to a more chronic anxiety situation.”

New situations. New experiences. 

While collecting data for an as-yet-unpublished study on working memory training this spring, Laine says he and his team asked about 200 people from the UK and North America whether they had anxiety specifically linked to the pandemic.

Sustained anxiety can also cause insomnia, explains Oliver Robinson of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. “Lack of sleep is a really good way of impairing working memory,” he says. “If you’re not sleeping as well, that’s a great way to wreck it.”

Even if you’re not explicitly aware of being more on edge, “it’s something you’re processing,” adds Robinson. Working memory problems might also be due in part to a cognitive load that’s overwhelming your brain’s capacity.

Ducking out to the shops used to be a mundane activity. Now with Covid-19, there are many more steps in the process that increase anxiety and mental load, wrote Kate Morgan. 

The good news is you can exercise working memory. There are lots of ‘brain games’ out there, but playing most of them, experts agree, doesn’t do anything except make you better at that game. “Cognitive training games don’t make me better at remembering my shopping list,” says Robinson. “That’s like trying to train people to play tennis by having them run.”

In other words, rebooting your working memory may also mean cutting down on your news consumption and considering a break from social media. But the most effective thing to do might simply be to convince yourself it’s OK to be struggling. That helped me a lot for several days....

Wichtige Hinweise der Deutschen Rentenversicherung (DRV)

Stand: April 2020 

Wichtige Hinweise der Deutschen Rentenversicherung (DRV) zu den Auswirkungen der Covid19- Pandemie auf die Ausstellung von Lebensbescheinigungen und Rentenzahlungen im Ausland

Bitte beachten Sie, dass die folgenden Hinweise unter Mitwirkung der DRV erstellt wurden und nur für deren Rentenzahlungen verbindlich sind. Bei Lebensbescheinigungen und Rentenzahlungen anderer Versorgungsträger (z.B. Versorgungswerke oder private Rentenversicherer) gibt es möglicherweise andere Regelungen, die im Einzelfall abzuklären und zu beachten wären.

1. Vereinfachtes Verfahren für Lebensbescheinigungen der DRV im Jahr 2020

Aufgrund der weltweiten Situation, in der Menschen aufgefordert sind, zu Hause zu bleiben und viele Behörden und Ämter ihren Kundenverkehr eingestellt oder stark eingeschränkt haben, möchte die DRV darauf hinweisen, dass es bei Lebensbescheinigungen für das Jahr 2020 für alle Rentenberechtigten im Ausland ein vereinfachtes Verfahren geben wird. Eine Bestätigung der Lebensbescheinigung durch eine Behörde / amtliche Stelle im jeweiligen Wohnsitzland wird nicht erforderlich sein. Die Rentenempfänger füllen die Lebensbescheinigungen selbst aus und senden diese direkt (ohne Bestätigung einer amtlichen Stelle) an die DRV zurück.

Die DRV wird die Rentenberechtigten unmittelbar im Anschreiben zur Lebensbescheinigung über dieses vereinfachte Verfahren informieren. Zudem werden auf den Internetseiten der Deutschen Post AG / Renten Service und der Deutschen Rentenversicherung entsprechende Hinweise zum vereinfachten Verfahren zur Verfügung gestellt, falls das Anschreiben mit dem Lebensbescheinigungs-Formular den Rentenberechtigten nicht erreicht haben sollte. 

2. Begutachtungen

Gegenwärtig werden keine ärztlichen Begutachtungen im Zusammenhang mit Anträgen auf Erwerbsminderungsrenten durchgeführt; dies betrifft auch Rentenverfahren mit Auslandsbezug. 

3. Beeinträchtigung der Postzustellung von Schecks in das Ausland

Im Hinblick darauf, dass Rentenempfänger ihre deutsche Rente unter anderem auch per Scheck (insbesondere USA und Kanada sowie Italien) erhalten, wird darauf hingewiesen, dass es aktuell sowohl beim internationalen Postverkehr als auch bei der lokalen Postzustellung zu Beeinträchtigungen und Verzögerungen kommen kann. Dies kann dazu führen, dass Rentenberechtigte den Scheck verspätet oder teilweise gar nicht zugestellt bekommen. Die DRV möchte daher rein vorsorglich auf die Möglichkeit einer Umstellung von Scheckzahlung auf Kontozahlung hinweisen.

Nähere Informationen bezüglich der Zahlungserklärung finden Rentenberechtigte auf der Internetseite des Deutsche Post - Renten Service: 

https://www.deutschepost.de/de/r/rentenservice/downloadcenter.html 

Bei möglichen Einschränkungen des Kundenverkehrs von Banken und Geldinstituten gelten folgende Erleichterungen, falls die Bank keine Bestätigung der Zahlungserklärung vornehmen sollte bzw. der Rentenberechtigte sein Geldinstitut derzeit nicht aufsuchen kann: Anstelle einer Bankbestätigung genügt auch ein aktueller Kontoauszug (nicht älter als 30 Tage), aus dem die Angaben zur Bankverbindung des Rentenberechtigten hervorgehen. Die Zahlungserklärung und evtl. der Kontoauszug mit den Angaben zur Bankverbindung können per Post/Fax/E-Mail an die Deutsche Post AG, Renten Service geschickt werden: 

Deutsche Post AG Niederlassung Renten Service 13496 Berlin Germany

 E-Mail: rentenservice@deutschepost.de 

Telefon: +49 221 5692-777 Fax: +49 221 5692-778

STAY ALERT DURING RAINY SEASON

Posted on June 17, 2020  by administrator

Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte has advised Dabawenyos, especially those residing in danger-zones, to stay alert and vigilant against risks of disaster and diseases common during wet season.

Mayor Sara warned that calamities such as flooding and landslides can happen as the country enters the rainy season from June to December.“Ang dala sa ulan, number one – landslide, ikaduha – baha, lightning. Mag-ingat ta everytime na kusog ang ulan (The rainy season can cause number one – landslide, second – flood, lighting. Let’s be vigilant during heavy rains),” she advised.

The mayor said it is also the season when diseases affect people such as leptospirosis, dengue, and tetanus.“Usually dala aning ulan is ang mga sakit nga leptospirosis, mao na siya ang hugaw sa ilaga na naa sa floodwater. So dili ta basta-basta mulusong sa tubig baha because duna na siya’y dala na mga hugaw, mga kagaw. Dili lang ang leptospirosis, posible tang masamad and magkasakit ta og tetanus (Usually the rain brings diseases like leptospirosis which is a bacterial infection acquired from rats during flood. We should avoid floodwater because of the bacteria and germs in it. Aside from that, we can get wounds and get tetanus),” Mayor Sara stressed.

She also reminded the people to be aware of their surroundings as dengue can be widespread influenced by rainfall. Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection.“Paniguraduhon nato nga malabay nato ang mga nagpundo nga hugaw nga tubig kay posible ni siya nga mahimong balay sa mga lamok (Let’s ensure to throw away the dirty, stagnant water because mosquitos inhabit there),” she warned.She said that increase of cases like these (dengue, leptospirosis, tetanus) will add to the problem in the hospitals not being able to serve so many patients.“Kung mudaghan atong mga dengue cases, kung mudaghan atong mga leptospirosis, ang mga nasakit ug tetanus… tanan nga lain nga sakit, magdungan sila tanan sa hospital so mubalik na pud ta sa atoang problema nga dili na makakaya ang atoang hospital nga magcarry og mga tao nga dunay sakit (If our dengue, leptospirosis, tetanus cases, and all other diseases increase and patients overwhelm the hospital, we will go back again to our problem of hospitals not being able to cater everyone),” Mayor Sara said.

CIO

DDO goes digital for household profiling and assessment

After a series of launching for the digital innovations of the Davao de Oro farmers (DDO Bagsakan), Virtual Capitol for the on line services, Call DdOC for those who needs medical attention thru online for the out-patient in 4 hospitals of the province, this time the household survey will be fully digitalized.

Through KoboCollect-powered application for the Household Profiling and Needs Assessment (HNPA), it is an easy way to get data and information from the people of DDO. Using any mobile device with Koolbox Apps, the transmission of data online for validation is faster compare to manual data gathering.

The main purpose is to value the importance of establishing a concrete, accurate and reliable baseline data that provides a point of reference and serves as basis for the decision makers and development planners to come up with an evidence-based quality, doable and implementable plans, policies programs and projects to be prioritized in facing the COVID-19 crisis.

Through this way the government will get new, accurate and correct data in terms of health, demographics characteristics, building/house structural characteristics, climate change and disaster information, and accessibility and communication.

On June 10, 2020 the Provincial Household Profiling and Needs Assessment Committee (PHPNAC) of DDO kicks off its activities with the Households Enumeration and Geo-tagging. Trained teams went to Barangays Sao-sao, Conception, Nueva Visayas and Andili of the Municipality of Mawab for the ongoing survey.

"The provincial management acknowledges the importance of having a qualify data set that facilitates in understanding the general situation and specific characteristics of individual households and family or all households in the population of the province, whereby decision making and policy investments will be appropriately directed towards implementation of programs and projects that best serve to the people in need", part of the Executive Order 0039-2020 states.

This activity is set to be completed until November this year and shall be conducted in all municipalities of the province as part of steeping up data collection, and improving DDO through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

(Rey Antibo, ID DDO)