I LOVE LIFE!

 

Sometimes, we feel our life is turning miserably. Especially now. Living with the big "C"! Our negativism doesn't allow us to keep our eyes, ears - and, most important! - our minds, hearts and souls opened. We're reaching our breaking point. Me and you!

This breaking point can be the prelude to our strongest moment. Can be! Must not! But try it! Despite the virus! But if yes, then it is when we reach our breaking point,  we discover our real strength. Allow me to ask you, my dear readers: "What happens to you or with you when you reach your breaking point?" Do you face it or do you run away? I'll be giving you a very simple answer: If you face it - you break it. If you run away (and/or close your ears, eyes and mouth) - it breaks you!

Are you in love with life? No? Why not? Sure, in my previous column at this corner, I stated that it's okay if you feel bad. But many have taken this as a general instruction.

Everyday - a dull reality! Many of us will answer this question with a big YES! Actually, we do like to cover a newborn day already with grey veil.But, each day has a new face, but sometimes we don't have the strength to watch its countenance. Of course, not every day has adventures and highlights. Would be really too easy!

Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that, at the same time, seemed especially desolating and painful with a particular satisfaction. Indeed, everything I have learned, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction and not through happiness.

If it ever were to be possible to eliminate affliction from your earthly existence, the result would not be to make life delectable, but to make it too banal and trivial to be endurable.

By observation, we can feel that many of us need help to manage our everyday life. We need something that would keep us going as we journey through life. Many times we can also learn from other people and their experiences.

And here is one more thing: Affection is the humblest love - it gives itself no airs. It lives with humble and private things: soft slippers, old clothes, old jokes, and the thump of a sleepy dog's tail on the kitchen floor. The glory of affection, the disposition of mind, the good will and tender attachment, that can unite those who are not "made for one and another"! .

For me life has been a thing of ups and downs in approximately equal measure. I don't have something sensational to report every day about my progress. Often, I wonder if fulfillment in life is necessarily tied to change for the better. But one thing is for sure: I keep staying in love with life. Maybe you can feel my great optimism .... .

Das Auswärtige Amt gibt bekannt: Reisehinweise Philippinen (17.3.2021)

 

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

17.03.2021

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

- Folgen Sie uns auf Twitter: AA_SicherReisen https://twitter.com/AA_SicherReisen

- Registrieren Sie sich in unserer Krisenvorsorgeliste https://elefand.diplo.de/elefandextern/home/login!form.action 

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

Mit Wirkung vom 20. März 2021 ist Ausländern die Einreise in die Philippinen bis zunächst 19. April 2021 landesweit verboten; davon ausgenommen sind nur Diplomaten und Angehörige internationaler Organisationen, die in den Philippinen akkreditiert und im Besitz gültiger 9(e)-Visa sind.  

Reisende unterliegen nach Einreise einer 14-tägigen Quarantänepflicht, während der am sechsten Tag ein PCR-Test durchgeführt werden muss.

Durch- und Weiterreise

Reisen zwischen den Provinzen sind 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 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 22 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 Langzeitvisums sind oder eine Sondereinreisegenehmigung mit bereits ausgestelltem und noch gültigem Touristenvisum beantragen möchten-, erkundigen Sie sich bei den philippinischen Behörden, in Deutschland z.B. bei der Philippinischen Botschaft, ob Sie zur Gruppe derjenigen gehören, für die eine Einreise 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 Quarantäne-  und Testpflicht bei Einreise aus Risikogebieten 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.
• Beachten Sie unsere fortlaufend aktualisierten Informationen zu COVID-19/Coronavirus.

WITH BEETHOVEN UNDER PALMS (IX)

 A GERMAN EXPAT IN THE PHILIPPINES

Chapter IX: Roller Coaster Life

"What would you like to drink?" - "Excuse me Sir, what would you like to drink?" The voice of the friendly smiling stewardess pulled me out of my dreams. "Coke Rum, please", I mumbled ... .

I couldn't believe I was engaged to Rossana. 

It was really a great coincidence that I met her. Rossana's Uncle, Nicolas Balcom, International Harvardian University Principal) and I met weeks earlier at the beach. "I have to go now, Klaus. My niece is leaving for Switzerland. We'll take her to the airport. Do you still have some time this afternoon?"  Of course I had time. 

At the Davao International Airport, I met Rossana for the first time. "Nice meeting you Miss. Uhm, again what's your name?" I must have been very excited. I asked her name several times. Uncle Nick invited me for coffee in his house. A week later, the remainder of my six-week vacation in his house.

Whenever I came back to Germany from a trip abroad, Frankfurt was the first destination. I always called at home to let my parents know that I would be back home safe and sound. The phone rang a lot. A strange woman's voice was at the end of the line. My father stayed already together with another woman. My mother's cancer had progressed dramatically. 

There was a lot of work waiting for me in Berlin. My publisher gave me all the work as Managing Editor for 4 law magazines. "Well, how was it in the Philippines?" he asked me with a bright smile on his face. He had long since discovered my engagement ring.

Since he was also a lawyer, he immediately started preparing the marriage documents. Yes, I wanted to fly back to the Philippines as soon as possible and get married. One week before my flight, my mother got operated again.  Cancer stage 3! "Just go, you can't help me anyway, it's just a shame that I can't be there at your wedding", she said.

Rossana and I got married  in 1983. The year before, I had already got to know what it means to live in a Filipino family. But even now already, I had the thought of wanting to stay in the Philippines forever. But, of course, the newlyweds should start their mutual life first in Germany. And Rossana's culture shock was just around the corner... .

(To be continued!)

Pope Francis thanks Filipinos for the joy ...

 

... they bring to the world, Christian communities; says Filipino women in Rome are ‘smugglers’ of faith

by Leslie Ann Aquino

Manila Bulletin

Pope Francis thanked Sunday, March 14, the Filipino people for the joy they bring to the whole world and Christian communities.

Pope Francis listens to Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (not in picture) during a mass to mark 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, on March 14, 2021 at St. Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / POOL / AFP)

“Dear brothers and sisters, five hundred years have passed since the Christian message first arrived in the Philippines. You received the joy of the Gospel: the good news that God so loved us that he gave his Son for us. And this joy is evident in your people. We see it in your eyes, on your faces, in your songs and in your prayers. In the joy with which you bring your faith to other lands,”he said in a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in celebration of the 500 years of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.

“I have often said that here in Rome, Filipino women are ‘smugglers’ of faith! Because wherever they go to work, they sow the faith. It is part of your genes, a blessed ‘infectiousness’ that I urge you to preserve,” added the Pope.

“I want to thank you, then, for the joy you bring to the whole world and to our Christian communities,” he said.

In his homily, the Pope also urged Filipinos to persevere in the work of evangelization and to keep bringing the faith, the good news they have received 500 years ago, to others.

“On this very important anniversary for God’s holy people in the Philippines, I also want to urge you to persevere in the work of evangelization – not proselytism, which is something else,” he said.

“The Christian proclamation that you have received needs constantly to be brought to others. The Gospel message of God’s closeness cries out to be expressed in love for our brothers and sisters,” added the Pope.

“I know that this is the pastoral program of your Church: a missionary commitment that involves everyone and reaches everyone. Never be discouraged as you walk this path. Never be afraid to proclaim the Gospel, to serve and to love,” he said.

The Mass started with a procession of an image of the Sto. Niño (child Jesus) and a replica of the Magellan’s cross.

The pontiff was joined by Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the pope’s vicar of Rome.

In the Philippines, most dioceses will launch the year-long commemoration on April 4, Easter Sunday.

In 2019, Pope Francis also led the Philippine traditional “Simbang Gabi” Mass with the Filipino community in Rome and acknowledged the role of overseas Filipino workers in the growth of Catholic Church throughout the world.

In his message after the Mass, the Pope called on Filipinos, especially those who are living abroad, to “continue to be smugglers of the faith”.

When he visited Manila in 2015, he also described how the Philippines is gifted “for it is the foremost Catholic country in Asia”.

“This is itself a special gift of God, a special blessing,” the pope said in his homily during Mass at the Luneta Park. “But it is also a vocation. Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia.”

Italy hosts the largest population of OFWs in Western Europe.

Release of PH’s second nanosatellite, Maya-2 to space from ISS delayed

 

by Charissa Luci-Atienza, Manila Bulletin

This afternoon’s release of Maya-2, the country’s fourth satellite and second nanosatellite. to space from the International Space Station (ISS) will be delayed for more than one hour, the Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) said Sunday, March 14.

“The release of Maya-2 will be delayed, the schedule has been adjusted to 6:50 p.m.,” DOST-ASTI Chief Science Research Specialist Alvin Retamar told the Manila Bulletin in a Viber message.

He said the reasons for the delay were not cited.

It was earlier announced that Maya-2, along with two other cube satellites–Japan’s Tsuru and Paraguay’s GuaraniSat-1–under the fourth Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project or BIRDS-4 Project, was set to be deployed into orbit from the ISS on Sunday, March 14, at 5:25 p.m.

In a Facebook post, STAMINA4Space said the “program will start at 6:50 p.m. (Phillippine Time) instead of the originally announced 5:25 p.m.”

BIRDS-4 Project is a global small satellite development project under a strategic partnership pact between the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) and the Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency (JAXA).

On Feb. 21, 2021 at 1:36 a.m. (local time), the 1.3 kilogram-cube satellite was successfully launched into space aboard the S.S. Katherine Johnson Cygnus spacecraft. The 1.3 kilogram-cube satellite was successfully launched together with the nanosatellites of Japan and Paraguay at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Station in Virginia, United States and was eventually launched to the ISS on Feb. 22.

The 1.3-kilogram Maya-2 is a technology demonstration and educational platform geared to collect data remotely by Store-and-Forward (S&F) Mechanism.

Aboard the satellite is a camera for image and video capture, an Automatic Packet Reporting System Message Digipeater (APRS-DP), attitude determination and control units for active attitude stabilization and control demonstrations, Perovskite solar cells and Latchup-detection chip.

The development of Maya-2 started in 2018.

Maya-2 was developed by three Department of Science and Technology (DOST) scholars while pursuing their doctoral degree programs in Space Engineering in Kyutech in Japan. They are Engineers Izrael Zenar “IZ” Bautista, the BIRDS-4 project manager; Marloun Sejera, and Mark Angelo Purio.

An ideal Pilipina

by Sol Vanzi, Manila Bulletin

The Pilipina is eternally a work in progress, evolving with every political and social change. The females in five successive generations of my family illustrate how the Pilipina has adapted beautifully through 120 years.

THE LAST DALAGA

Florentina, born in 1901, belonged to the last generation of your typical dalagang Pilipina. She wore layers of clothing that hid every part of her body from the neck down to her ankles.

Her long hair was always twisted into a right bun, kept in place by a comb whittled from carabao horn or turtle shell. Gugo bark served as her shampoo; coconut milk her conditioner, and calamansi juice her final hair rinse. She stayed home until her hair was dry and coiffed; it was considered indecent for single women to appear in public with wet untied hair.

She could not curse or use foul language. Nor could she laugh out loud, run, skip rope, or play tag. She walked gracefully and kept her knees demurely together when she sat.

On moonlit nights young men serenaded her but tradition dictated that she stay away from windows lest they think she’s flirting with them. The young men were never invited into the house.

Her social life consisted of attending wakes, fiestas, trips to the barrio well to wash clothes, weekly excursions to the next town on market day to sell produce from their small farm, and worship day at the Aglipayan church, popular in communities which lost families during the revolt against Spain.

fter a long courtship, she married Alejandro, a kutsero who, like her, taught himself to read and write. They settled in the next town where Alejandro opened a carroceria (calesa repair shop). After World War II, he started converting US military jeeps into passenger jeepneys. Among his workers were Leonardo Sarao and Anastacio Francisco, who both became giants in the jeepney industry.

Florentina blossomed as Alejandro’s wife and partner, opening a convenience store and carinderia to cater to the needs of the community and those of her husband’s workers. Together, the couple earned enough to send two daughters to a top Catholic university in Manila. Ely became a teacher; Amor became the town’s first female doctor.

Florentina broke many rules and set new standards. She was owner, not mere storekeeper, of the sari-sari store and the carinderia. The businesses, which gave her financial independence, took her to market at dawn and kept her cooking all day. There was enough to send all their grandchildren to school.

PAYING FORWARD

Amor married Vic, a classmate, and considered the possibility of migrating to the US. The two physicians, however, decided to serve their countrymen first.

They enlisted as government rural doctors and were assigned to Bohol. Based in the remote town of Anda, they were the only doctors serving the medical needs of half a dozen towns. There was no electricity, no running water.

They were in Bohol during a cholera outbreak, the worst ever in the province. Their four kids had to be kept in boarding school in Tagbilaran while the two fought the epidemic.

Florentina and Alejandro were beaming with pride when told of the doctors’ sacrifices.

AHEAD OF HER TIME

Florentina stood out for being ahead of her time on the matter of LGBT rights. When told that three granddaughters and one grandson were gay, all she said was “As long as they are good persons.”

When a granddaughter started going bra-less, her only advice was to avoid wearing transparent shirts. She frowned upon heavy makeup, which to her looked “cheap” and ugly.

She also believed a harmonious live-in relationship was better than a violent marriage.

Hard to believe Florentina, my ideal Pilipina, was born only 120 years ago

Deutsche Sprache Kurs in Davao City/German Language Course in Davao City

Ateneo de Davao University - online. Enroll now!!! 

IT'S OK TO FEEL BAD

 

By accident, I stumbled upon an article of British writer Allie Volpe. Yes, Allie is so right when she says, "Amid grim times, putting on your biggest smile may seem like the best coping mechanism.  Over the last year, as the pandemic has morphed from terrifying to inconvenient to long-term life-altering event, our coping mechanisms have had to adapt and evolve. Yet there have been differences in the ways we’ve approached time spent in isolation".

For many, including me,  positivity has been essential to coping with the crisis – many have relished a chance to slow down and reevaluate, felt grateful to still have a job or kept the good things in perspective (even while balancing virtual schooling, remote work and keeping the family safe). 

I also caught myself writing columns that sounded as positive as possible in the past weeks. Of course, as Volpe wrote: staying upbeat and expressing gratitude are hardly adverse practices, but this unrelenting optimism – known as ‘toxic positivity’ – paints negative emotions as a failure or weakness. Plus, there are few things more grating than encountering a toxic positivist when you’re grappling with grim reality.

And failing to acknowledge hardships can have a detrimental effect on our mental health. Persistent reminders to reflect on ‘how good we have it’ in the midst of strife and struggle don’t make sadness, fear or anxiety dissipate, research shows. Instead, suppressing negative emotions can actually make us feel worse.

By contrast, another mindset approach boasts a more realistic framing. ‘Tragic optimism’ posits there is hope and meaning to be found in life while also acknowledging the existence of loss, pain and suffering. First defined by Austrian psychologist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl in 1985, proponents of tragic optimism maintain there is space to experience both the good and the bad, and that we can grow from each.

Experts suggest that this kind of philosophy may be exactly what we need to cope as we’re still trudging through the pandemic – and may help us once we’re on the other side, too.

A cornerstone of the philosophy is the ability to find meaning and purpose amid challenges and setbacks. “Suffering is a part of life, and the question is how are you going to cope with it?” explains Esfahani Smith, author of The Power of Meaning. “A lot of people are going to deny or ignore their suffering, and a lot of other people are going to be completely overwhelmed by it.” To be tragically optimistic is a happy medium where instead of crushing our spirit, difficulties and challenges provide us with a learning moment, like re-framing the stress of giving a public speech as a challenge rather than a threat.

Meanwhile I learned how to face and adapt to whatever life throws at me. I learned that people who had accepted that life comes with difficulties – and were prepared for them – coped with lockdowns more effectively than those who did not. I learned from Paul Wong, a psychologist and professor emeritus of Trent University in Ontario, who says the road to this transformation may be uncomfortable, because life currently isn’t easy. “It’s OK to be lonely,” he says. “It’s OK to feel bad, it's OK to feel anxious. Welcome to the human club.”

So, although it may feel tempting just to grin and bear it, taking the slightly more uncomfortable route of a tragic optimist may actually help us see that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel – and help us take a breath as we wait to reach it.

Honestly, right now I do enjoy all possible re-openings in the Philippines. I take every chance e.g. to travel, to swim, to unwind - of course, with strict compliance with still existing health regulations.

PLGU DdO joins the nation in celebrating the 2021 National Women’s Day

Davao de Oro --- The Provincial Women Development Council of Davao de Oro in partnership with the Philippine Information Agency conducted an Online Forum on BIDA Bakunation and the Role of Women in Peace and Development entitled Juana Laban sa Pandemya at Terorismo: KAYA! to all sectoral women’s in the province as a way of commemorating with the nation in the celebration of the 2021 National Women’s Month on March 8, 2021, via zoom platform and Facebook Live.

During the forum, PHO Department Head and EOC Manager, Dr. Antonio Ybiernas and MAJ Davy Siao, Gender and Development Officer of the 10th Infantry AGILA Division gave inputs about the COVID-19 Vaccination updates and discussed the extraordinary roles of Juanas in the society in fighting insurgency and attain sustainable and inclusive development in the province.

This year’s campaign is different from previous ones because it highlights women’s participation in battling the pandemic and the dedication in bringing change in the communities – be it in the far-flung or in the metros.

The said activity was attended by Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy, PIA Director-General Ramon Cualoping III represented by Karl Louie Fajardo, OIC PIA XI, Ms. Sholai Lim, Chairwoman of PWDC, Presidents of 11 Local Councils of Women, Gender and Development Offices under the 10th ID, Women Inmates of BJMP Montevista, PNP and AFP Women, and other sectoral women’s in the province.

Meanwhile, “Gulayan Sa Tahanan by Cathy Cares” was launched in the Municipality of Pantukan as one of the Serbisyo para kay Juana that aims to promote the cultivation of vegetables in their own home which is really great and aids in food-sufficiency in the province amidst pandemic.

A total of seventy members from the Council of Women's located in the coastal barangays of Pantukan have received vegetable seedlings and gardening tools during the simple ceremony on the same day.

For the year 2021, the PLGU-DdO is committed to deliver quality services to its women stakeholders through the implementation of various programs and activities under the PWDC. These initiatives are sustainably being upheld to nurture women’s capability to bring about positive and sustainable changes in the community. (Rheafe Hortizano – Provincial Information Office of Davao de Oro)

Bill declaring Davao City, Davao Region as chocolate, cacao capitals passed

CAPITAL. Voting 22-0-1, the Senate passed on Monday, March 8, Senate Bill 1741 (SB 1741), also known as "An Act declaring the City of Davao as the Chocolate Capital of the Philippines and the entire Region XI (Davao Region) as the Cacao Capital of the Philippines." The bill was sponsored by Senator Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. (RJ Lumawag)

By: REUEL JOHN F. LUMAWAG, SunStar Davao

DAVAO City being declared as the Chocolate Capital of the Philippines and Davao Region as the Cacao Capital of the Philippines will open more opportunities to local cacao farmers and processors.

Voting 22-0-1, the Senate passed on Monday, March 8, Senate Bill 1741 (SB 1741), also known as "An Act declaring the City of Davao as the Chocolate Capital of the Philippines and the entire Region XI (Davao Region) as the Cacao Capital of the Philippines."

The bill was sponsored by Senator Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

Villar filed the bill on July 27, 2020.

The bill is co-authored by Senators Christopher Lawrence T. Go and Ronald dela Rosa, both from Davao Region.

Section 2 states that the bill seeks to recognize Davao City and Davao Region "as the country's biggest producer of cacao and its vital contribution in making the Philippines world-renowned and sought after by chocolate makers from the US, Japan, and Europe."

Leo Brian Leuterio, City Agriculturist's Office head, said they welcome the passage of SB 1741 because it recognizes the efforts made by local cacao farmers, processors, and chocolate makers.

Villar said in her sponsorship speech on February 9, 2021, that based on the latest data her office received from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Davao Region produces around 78.76 percent of the annual production of cacao in the Philippines.

She cited Malagos Chocolate, which has bagged 28 international awards, for its chocolate products. Also under the Cocoa Excellence Programme in 2017, cacao produced by Malagos Agri Ventures has been included among the best 50 cacao beans globally.

Villar also said Laguna-based and multi-awarded chocolate brand Auro Chocolates also sources its cacao beans from Davao-based farming farmers.

She also recognized Cacao City and Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao Inc. (Cidami) as among the contributors to the growth of the chocolate and cacao industry in Davao City and Davao Region.

Cacao City is an outlet store for cacao products while Cidami is a non-profit based in Davao is also the leading cacao value chain organizer in cacao.

"This recognition proves that we are already there, na achieve nato atong mga targets. The fact nga maka-produce ka quality chocolate, means naka-produce ka quality cacao beans, quality [imong] fermentation, at the end of the day it means hawod imong farmer (The recognition shows that we have achieved our targets of producing quality cacao products. Having quality chocolates means we are producing quality cacao beans, which have been fermented properly. At the end of the day, it means that our local farmers have the know-how in cacao production)," Leuterio said.

He said local farmers will directly benefit from Davao Region and Davao City's recognition as Cacao and Chocolate capital.

Leuterio said the recognition will increase awareness of locally made chocolates. This is seen to produce better prices, industries, and side-table demand for chocolates and cacao.

"It can produce more interest. More interest means more market and sales. More market and sales mean good stable prices of raw materials, which always benefit the smaller farmers in the [value] chain," he said.

In a press statement on February 9, Villar said "her bill simply gives recognition for the pioneering, outstanding collective contribution of the cacao farmers who supply dry cacao beans to the processors and manufacturers."

Meanwhile, Armi Lopez-Garcia, national chairperson of the Philippine Cacao Industry Council, said they hope President Rodrigo Duterte will veto SB 1741.

"The Senate chose to ignore the unanimous voice of the Philippine cacao industry opposing SB 1741, which runs against the national policy to develop the cacao industry nationwide. But what can we do? We hope that the President will veto the bill because it is unfair to the industry players of the other regions. However, we will no longer work for a Presidential veto especially since he is from Davao, the main beneficiary of the bill," Lopez-Garcia said in an interview with SunStar Davao on March 9, 2021.

Earlier, the PCIC submitted a position paper opposing SB 1741. The group said the bill "discriminates against the many cacao planters and chocolate producers in other regions."

"It discriminates against the weak regions that are responding to the government's call for the development of the cacao industry in the country. These fledgling regions, provinces, cities, and the hundreds of farmers cooperatives are the ones in need of help. And they should not be discriminated against. They should be supported instead," PCIC said.

It added that the bill could be disadvantageous to other cacao-producing areas in the country "because Davao city would have the definite advantage in marketing and branding."

"How can the other producers compete with a chocolate product that comes from the chocolate capital of the Philippines? Clearly, a great disadvantage that will tend to a restraint of trade because the level playing field of fair competition has been slanted in favor of Davao city," the group said.

However, Garcia said they do acknowledge the achievements Davao Region and Davao City have made in the cacao industry. But they do not see the need that there should be legislation on this.

"Wala me kaso i-acknowledge ang Davao but dili lang i-legislate (We do not find an issue acknowledging Davao but it did not need to legislate it)," Lopez-Garcia said.

Meanwhile, Lopez-Garcia said the council will continue to work on its mandate to help develop the cacao industry as it has lined-up several projects.

"We have to look after ourselves. We are now thinking of so many projects that will really lift up the spirits of the industry players all over the country," Lopez-Garcia said.

The PCIC is a private sector-led council created to spearhead the development of the cacao industry. This will be composed of public and private sector representatives with the Department of Agriculture as co-chair of the Council.