Cebu Pacific won’t accept foreigners from countries covered by PH travel ban

by Ariel Fernandez, Manila Bulletin

The government has extended the ongoing travel ban until Jan. 31 following the detection of the new COVID-19 variant in the country.

As a result, budget carrier Cebu Pacific spokesperson Candice Iyog said they will not accept foreign nationals who originated from, transited via, or visited any of the 34 countries covered by the extended travel restrictions imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force.

Only Filipinos will be accepted on flights from Dubai, Hong Kong, Nagoya (Japan), Singapore, and Seoul (South Korea) during this period, Iyog said.

The list of affected countries and complete details may be viewed at http://bit.ly/IATFResoNo94_011521

Passengers affected by the temporary ban may avail of any of the following options:

– Free rebooking within 90 days – waived rebooking fee and fare difference

– Full travel fund, valid for two years

– Full refund

In compliance with IATF regulations, Filipinos who wish to proceed with their travel plans will be subjected to mandatory 14-day quarantine in an accredited facility upon arrival in Manila.

Cebu Pacific said they will continue to operate its domestic and international flights as scheduled. Before going to the airport, Cebu Pacific advised passengers to check the real-time status of their flights in their website.

“We continue to work closely with the authorities and will provide updates through our website and official social media accounts as necessary,” Cebu Pacific said.

Philippines: Vaccinated individuals still need to follow travel protocols

by Charissa Luci-Atienza , Manila Bulletin

Individuals who got inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines still need to follow the national government’s travel protocols, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

(AFP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said there is no certainty that all vaccinated individuals will be exempted from travel restrictions or protocols set by the  Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

“We get more data as the vaccines are rolled out or administered to a growing number of individuals, but right now the policy of the IATF based on the recommendation of experts, they will continue to follow on these existing protocols. They will not be exempt just because they have been vaccinated, because as earlier pointed it is not yet clear nor there is sufficient body of evidence that showed  the vaccines can actually prevent the transmission,” he told the House Committee on Health, chaired by Quezon 4th District Rep. Angelina “Helen” Tan.

It was Palawan 3rd District Rep. Cyrille “Beng” Abueg-Zaldivar who asked if the vaccinated individuals will later on be exempted from the IATF’s travel protocols or restrictions. 

Duque said “the evidence is not sufficient” as to whether the vaccines could prevent transmission.

Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvana of the DOH-Technical Advisory Group (DOH-TAG) cited the need for the country to have a transmission blocking vaccine to warrant the lifting of travel restrictions. 

“If we actually have a vaccine that is proven to be 100-percent transmission blocking then anybody who is vaccinated with it should be able to travel freely. They don’t need to wait for everybody kasi hindi ka nakahahawa (because you are not contagious).

“‘Yun talaga ang problem (That is the problem) eh even like for Moderna what evidence we have limited evidence, maybe it prevents two-thirds of a symptomatic infection may one-third pa rin ‘yun so hindi pa tayo makakasigurado (there’s remaining one third, so there is no assurance). Remember it only takes one transmission to start another cluster,” Salvana explained. 

“If not necessarily getting everybody vaccinated, it is more important that we have a transmission blocking vaccine which, for now, we don’t have data yet, the DOH official said.

CARELESS WORDS THAT HURT

My column in  MINDANAO DAILY, BusinessWeek Mindanao and The Metro Cagayan de Oro Times

OPINION

By KLAUS DORING

 January 17, 2021

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Matthew 12:34 says, "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks". Indeed, the place to begin with our words is inside in our thoughts about others and us. If we accompany that with a commitment to stop speaking hurtful words. We have begun a dramatic mid-course correction in life, a religion writer, Dave McCasland said a long time ago.

 

The power of words, written as well as spoken out, is a weapon, which can hurt or even kill. Writing with a wicked pen or talking with a sharp tongue doesn't mean that all of us should walk disrespectfully through other's lives.

 

Careless words can really inflict wounds that last for a lifetime. On the other hand, kind words can bring healing and encouragement. Yes, everything we say has the power to hurt or to heal.

 

The religious and philosophical writer Tulushkin stressed: "If you can't go for 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, you have lost control of your tongue. Joseph Telushkin lectured on the awesome power of words and our sometimes "dirty tongues".

 

He suggested taking a revealing "tongue test" to see where we stand. "Monitor your conversation for two days", he said. "Note every time you say something negative about someone, who is not personally present. Also record, when others do so, as well as your reactions when it happened. Do you try to silence the speaker, or do you ask for more details?" And then, Telushkin concluded: "Most of us who take this test are unpleasantly surprised!" And now, my dear readers you can guess, why ... .

 

I found another good description in Proverbs 6:16-19, relate to the causes and effects of hurting and damaging words: "Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers".

 

I really had to think of one of the other details  from the past few days reaching us from the global newsrooms... .

Das Auswärtige Amt Berlin gibt bekannt

Philippinen: Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise (Teilreisewarnung und COVID-19-bedingte Reisewarnung)

15.01.2021

Letzte Änderung: Aktuelles (Einreise)


Lagen können sich schnell verändern und entwickeln. 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

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Letzte Änderungen:
Aktuelles (Einreise)

Aktuelles
Die Ausbreitung von COVID-19 https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/reise-gesundheit/gesundheit-fachinformationen/reisemedizinische-hinweise/Coronavirus/-/2309820 führt weiterhin zu Einschränkungen im internationalen Luft- und Reiseverkehr und Beeinträchtigungen des öffentlichen Lebens.

Vor nicht notwendigen, touristischen Reisen in die Philippinen wird derzeit gewarnt.

Epidemiologische Lage

Die Philippinen sind von COVID-19 stark betroffen. Regionaler Schwerpunkt ist die Hauptstadtregion Metro Manila.
Die Philippinen sind weiterhin als Risikogebiet https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogebiete_neu.html eingestuft.

Aktuelle und detaillierte Zahlen bieten das philippinische Gesundheitsministerium https://www.doh.gov.ph/ und die Weltgesundheitsorganisation WHO https://covid19.who.int/.

Einreise

Reisenden aus Ländern, in denen bestimmte neue Varianten von COVID-19 festgestellt wurden, auch Deutschland, und die nicht die philippinische Staatsangehörigkeit besitzen, ist die Einreise in die Philippinen zunächst bis 31. Januar 2021 untersagt.

Flughafentransit-Passagiere aus diesen Ländern sind von der Einreisesperre nicht betroffen. Sie müssen sich bei Einreise am Flughafen in den Philippinen einem PCR-Test unterziehen und unterliegen den aktuellen philippinischen Quarantänevorschriften.

Durch- und Weiterreise

Reisen zwischen den Provinzen sind nur eingeschränkt möglich. Es müssen Gesundheitszeugnisse, gegebenenfalls ein negativer PCR-Test, vorgelegt und in der Zielprovinz im Einzelfall Quarantäne abgeleistet werden. Die Ausreise ist Ausländern, die sich im Land aufhalten, jederzeit erlaubt. Viele Fluggesellschaften verlangen für den Reiseantritt in den Philippinen einen negativen COVID-19-Test.

Reiseverbindungen

Für die Einreise über den Flughafen in Manila bestehen Kontingente. Fluggesellschaften erhalten ihre Kontingente mit geringem zeitlichen Vorlauf, was zu kurzfristigen Umbuchungen oder Flugstornierungen führen kann.

Beschränkungen im Land

Die zwischenzeitlich unterbrochenen regulären Verkehrsverbindungen zwischen den Inseln des Landes wurden teilweise wiederaufgenommen, können jedoch jederzeit kurzfristig wiedereingestellt werden. Inlandsflüge nach Manila finden nur unzuverlässig statt.
Die touristische Infrastruktur ist seit Beginn der Pandemie stark eingeschränkt, zahlreiche Hotels und Resorts sind weiterhin geschlossen. Die Regierung der Philippinen ändert die seit Mitte März 2020 geltenden landesweiten Quarantänemaßnahmen turnusmäßig im monatlichen Rhythmus, bei Bedarf auch sehr kurzfristig. Es bestehen weiterhin umfangreiche Einschränkungen bei Versorgung und Bewegungsfreiheit. Es gelten variable nächtliche Ausgangssperren im Zeitraum von 21 bis 5 Uhr.

Hygieneregeln

In der Öffentlichkeit gilt die Pflicht, einen Mund-Nasen-Schutz sowie zusätzlich einen Gesichtsschutz zu tragen. Es gibt das Gebot, sozialen Abstand zu wahren. Massenansammlungen sind verboten. Verstöße sind mit Geld- bis hin zu Gefängnisstrafen bewehrt.

Im Fall einer Infektion erfolgt die Isolierung in staatlicher Unterbringung.

• Achten Sie auf die Einhaltung der AHA-Vorschriften und befolgen Sie zusätzlich die Hinweise lokaler Behörden. Bei Verstößen gegen die Hygienevorschriften können hohe Geldstrafen oder Gefängnisstrafen verhängt werden.
• Informieren Sie sich über detaillierte Maßnahmen und ergänzende Informationen der philippinischen Regierung.
• Falls Sie im Besitz eines Langzeit- oder Geschäftsvisums sind, erkundigen Sie sich bei den philippinischen Behörden, in Deutschland z.B. bei der Philippinischen Botschaft, ob Sie zur Gruppe derjenigen gehören, für die eine Wiedereinreise möglich ist.

• Erkundigen Sie sich bei Ihrer Fluggesellschaft über die genauen Vorgaben.
• Bei COVID-19 Symptomen oder Kontakt mit Infizierten kontaktieren Sie das lokale Gesundheitsamt.
• Beachten Sie die Test- und Quarantänepflicht bei Einreise aus Risikogebieten (nicht Transit) nach Deutschland und kontaktieren Sie das Gesundheitsamt Ihres Aufenthaltsortes. Weitere Informationen zur Testpflicht bietet das Bundesministerium für Gesundheit.
• Aufenthalte in fremden Staaten können sich derzeit auf Einreisemöglichkeiten in andere Länder auswirken. Informieren Sie sich daher vor Antritt jeder Reise über aktuelle Bestimmungen zu Einreise, Durchreise und Quarantäne der jeweiligen Reiseländer über die Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise.

• Bitte beachten Sie unsere fortlaufend aktualisierten Informationen zu COVID-19/Coronavirus.

Sicherheit - Teilreisewarnung

Vor Reisen in folgende Regionen oder Gebiete wird gewarnt:

- Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX)
- Northern Mindanao (Region X)
- Davao-Region (Region XI) mit Ausnahme des Stadtgebietes von Davao City
- Soccsksargen (Region XII)
- Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)
- Inseln des Sulu-Archipels
- Süd-Palawan mit Ausnahme von Puerto Princesa

DDO turns over 111,897 kindergarten modules to DepEd Davao de Oro Division

Davao de Oro Province--- A total of 111, 897 number of books/modules for kindergarten pupils where officially turned over to the Department of Education Division of Davao de Oro today (January 11).

Amounting to P1,746,595.20 from the Local School Board - Special Education Fund of the province.

15, 778 kindergarten pupils were the target beneficiaries of the said modules covering the entire province.

This is a support program and initiative of the Davao de Oro Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy for the distance learning program of DepEd.

 The ceremonial turnover was held at the lobby of the DepEd building, Capitol Complex, Cabidianan, Nabunturan, Davao de Oro.

 

Attending the ceremonial turnover were District - II Board member Vevincia Secuya representing Governor Uy with the presence of the Bayanihan Para sa Karunungan Program (BPSK) personnel and staff from the Information Divison of the provincial capitol.

 

The modules were officially received by Schools Division Superintendent Eufemia T. Gamutin with Dr. Ruben Reponte Schools Governance Operation Division (SGOD) Chief with the Education Program Supervisors and other DepEd officials and employees.

 

According to Secuya "we will prioritize the kindergarten for the said modules as they don't have enough budget from DepEd."

 

Meanwhile, Gamutin expressed her gratitude to Governor Uy and the provincial officials for the continued support in terms of DepEd learning programs.

(Rey Antibo, ID Davao de Oro)

Davao de Oro continues Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Initiatives

 

Davao de Oro Province--- With the “Bayanihan 4Ps+” as the province’s blueprint in governance, Davao de Oro continues to ascend towards progress thru infrastructure projects and agricultural development which speeds up the delivery of local produce to markets through road networks, upgrade farming practices of its local farmers and making far flung areas much more accessible than before.

Through the Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO) more or less 80 infrastructure projects were currently on-going in construction. These projects includes road concreting, construction of potable water systems, bridge construction, multi-purpose building, covered court, and rehabilitation and improvement of various projects. These on-going projects will lay the foundations towards ensured progress in various places within the province. For its long term effects, the said projects will not just provide comfort for the residents, with proper utilization, these will open opportunities for business ventures, provide easy access to tourism destinations, transport of agricultural produce from the high-lands to town proper and more job opportunities for the locals.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office (PAGRO) continues to support local farmers in the province through various initiatives. The Rice Expansion Project in Bahi, Maragusan, Davao de Oro continues to operate. As of December 2020, 3.38 hectares of land was cleared and grubbed, 0.87 hectares completely converted to rice area and 2.51 hectares is available for conversion. This project aims to expand rice production capacity of the province ensuring food security for its people.

On agri-fishery initiatives, the province also turned-over Fishing Paraphernalias to Fisherfolks in Mabini, Maco, and Pantukan. Total materials given were 133 units of gill net, 110 units of multiple hand line, 43 units of hook and line, 5 Tuna handline, 10 units jigger with flasher, 2005 bags of bangus feeds, 150,000 pcs. of Bangus Garungan and 1 unit fiberglass banca with complete accessories.

PAGRO also conducted lecture on vegetable, sweet corn, adlay production and natural farming technology system and demonstration of bio pesticides and fertilizers for farmer’s organization in Longanapan, Laak, Davao de Oro. These various interventions of the provincial government concretes the path towards sustainable development.

 (Jasteen P. Abella, Information Division Davao de Oro)

HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD

 

In addition to the pandemic, there is another topic that we often lose sight of: the climate change. Well, you can already guess: 2020 ties 2016 as the hottest year on record. 

A warm winter and autumn have made the previous year the hottest ever recorded, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service has found. The Arctic continues to warm more quickly than the planet as a whole. The last decade was the hottest on record globally.

Average global temperatures in 2020 stood at 1.25 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) higher than pre-industrial levels, according to the service. The years from 2014 to 2020 were the hottest on record with both 2020 and 2016 hitting the record for the single hottest year.

Scientists urged governments and corporations to drastically slash their emissions in order to have any chance of achieving the 2015 Paris Agreement and to avoid a catastrophic climate change crisis.

"The extraordinary climate events of 2020 and the data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show us that we have no time to lose," said Matthias Petschke, Director for Space in the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

The biggest jump was seen in the Arctic Ocean and the north of Siberia, where temperatures soared to an unprecedented six degrees above the former average. The report also revealed that carbon dioxide emissions continued to rise, reaching a new high of 431 parts per million by the end of the year.

Yes, nature always strikes back. The figures are particularly alarming because, unlike in 2016, they were reached without the help of the El Nino weather event which added up to two tenths of a degree to the record four years ago, according to NASA and the UK's Met Office.

The increase in temperature has brought with it other extreme climate events such as droughts, heatwaves and floods. We have seen enough of the latter in the Philippines. The new year also brought us many storms and floods, especially in Mindanao.

In 2020, the world was also hit by a record number of hurricanes in the Atlantic, to the extent that the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ran out of letters to name them. The 2020 record came despite global lockdowns which led to a dramatic 7% drop in emissions.

"Since CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere like water in a bathtub, if we turn down the tap by 7%, the CO2 level just rises a bit more slowly," Stefan Rahmstorf, head of Earth system analysis at the German Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told AFP. "We need to shut off the tap to get a stable climate again."

Even if every country were to stick to their pledges from the Paris Agreement, global temperatures would still reach an increase of 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. A really sad outlook into the future for all of us and the following generations.

PAG-ASA GONE AT 28 💔

 

By Ian Garcia, Davao City

The Philippine Eagle Foundation is sad to announce the passing of beloved Philippine Eagle, Pag-asa.  Pag- asa succumbed to infections associated with Trichomoniasis and Aspergillosis. Both diseases are fatal for raptors. Although treatment was done over a week ago, he continued to deteriorate and died at 8:03 pm on January 6. 

Pag-asa would have turned 29 years old on Jan 15, 2021.  He was the first-ever Philippine Eagle bred and hatched in captivity using the cooperative artificial insemination techniques. Pag-asa’s birth- the culmination of 14 years worth of research, heralded hope for the critically endangered species and the entire conservation mission.

Years after he was hatched, the PEF reached yet another milestone with Pag-asa in the form of his first and only offspring. She was named Mabuhay and was also bred and hatched through CAI. Even after he retired from breeding, Pag-asa lived his life as an icon of hope for Filipinos, young and old, and was a constant inspiration to the people working tirelessly to save our National Bird from extinction.

Pag-asa was gone too soon indeed, but his legacy lives on. (PEF PR)

ALL GOOD INTENTIONS

We could spend all year living healthier, more productive lives, so why do we only decide to make the change at the start of EVERY year? Why do we all make (and break) New Year resolutions?

Many of us will start 2021 with resolutions too - despite or because of the pandemic: to get fit, learn a new skill, eat differently. If we really want to do these things, why did we wait until an arbitrary date which marks nothing more important than a timekeeping convention? British psychologist Tom Stafford asked this. And not only him. The answer tells us something important about the psychology of motivation, and about what popular theories of self-control miss out.

At bedtime you might want to get up early and go for a run, but when your alarm goes off you find you actually want a lie-in. When exam day comes around you might want to be the kind of person who spent the afternoons studying, but on each of those afternoons you instead wanted to hang out with your friends on social networking.

You could see these contradictions as failures of our self-control: impulses for temporary pleasures manage to somehow override our longer-term interests. One fashionable theory of self-control, proposed by Roy Baumeister at Florida State University, is the 'ego-depletion' account. This theory states that self-control is like a muscle. This means you can exhaust it in the short-term – meaning that every temptation you resist makes it more likely that you'll yield to the next temptation, even if it is a temptation to do something entirely different.

A corollary of the 'like a muscle' theory is that in the long term, you can strengthen your willpower with practice. So, for example, Baumeister found that people who were assigned two weeks of trying to keep their back straight whenever possible showed improved willpower when asked back into the lab. 

But, and more importantly, that theory doesn't give an explanation why we wait for New Year's Day to begin exerting our self-control. If your willpower is a muscle, you should start building it up as soon as possible, rather than wait for an arbitrary date.

Another explanation may answer these questions, although it isn't as fashionable as ego-depletion. George Ainslie's book 'Breakdown of Will' puts forward a theory of self and self-control which uses game theory to explain why we have trouble with our impulses, and why our attempts to control them take the form they do. The virgin page of a new calendar marks a clean break between the old and new you - a psychological boundary that may help you keep your resolutions. 

And, so to speak with Tom Stafford again, Ainslie gives us an answer to why our resolutions start always on 1st of January. The date is completely arbitrary, but it provides a clean line between our old and new selves. The practical upshot of the theory is that if you make a resolution, you should formulate it so that at every point in time it is absolutely clear whether you are sticking to it or not. The clear lines are arbitrary, but they help the truce between our competing interests hold.

Good luck for your 2021 resolutions! But the most important thing for all of us is to stay healthy.

PLGU-Davao de Oro holds Ground-breaking Ceremony ...

 

... of two-storey Multi-Purpose Building for Women’s Council

Davao de Oro Province--- On December 28, 2020 the Provincial Government of Davao de Oro officially held the ground-breaking event and time laying-capsule to begin the construction of the two-storey Multi-Purpose Building for the Women’s Council of the province at the Provincial Capitol Ground, Cabidianan, Davao de Oro.

The event was attended by Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy together with Vice Governor Maricar Zamora, Provincial Women Development Council Chairperson Sholai Lim, Congresswoman Claudine Diana Bautista, representative of the DUMPER (Drivers United for Mass Progress and Equal Rights) Partylist and other officials of the province.

The 10 Million Pesos worth of project is sponsored by DUMPER Partylist and will soon be accomplished by May 2021 which will give support to women empowerment and development in Davao de Oro by providing them with their own-building for all women activities and projects that will be held sooner. Meanwhile, around 500 beneficiaries in Pantukan received cash assistance of DOLE’s Tulong Panghanap-Buhay sa ating Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program funded also by the DUMPER Partylist at the same day.

 The assistance would greatly help the beneficiaries especially in this time of crisis. The welfare of its constituents remains a priority of the provincial government, through its rolled out projects and upcoming initiatives anchored in the “Bayanihan 4Ps+”, Davao de Oro will stand firm to continue giving developments and improvements for the greater good. 

(Jasteen P. Abella, Information Division, Davao de Oro, Photos by: Albert Dayao)