Expert: Philippines now exiting Covid-19 pandemic

By THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunStar Manila

AN INFECTIOUS disease expert said on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, that the Philippines is already exiting from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

In a Laging Handa public briefing, infectious disease specialist and government pandemic response consultant Dr. Rontgene Solante said this is indicated in the continuous decrease in Covid-19 cases and the country’s ability to deal with severe and critical infections.

“Yes, I think we are on that process now, our mindset, hopefully, we can be exiting this pandemic, we can exit with this pandemic. Napaka-importante ng pagbaba ng kaso (The decline in cases is very important) because this is an important indicator na once we had na lower na ‘yung cases natin, we can deal with the virus, we know how to deal with it,” he said.

“And I think isa sa mga punto natin we also have available anti-viral agents that are appropriate against this infection we have oral and IV antivirals, our health care facilities are already equipped on how to deal with severe Covid, so for me, we are better of prepared now compared to two or one year ago,” he added.

Solante also maintained the importance of vaccination against Covid-19, especially the booster, in order for the country to be free from the pandemic and shift to endemic or learning to live normally along with the virus.

The country has shifted to low risk classification following a surge brought about by the Omicron variant in January.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, in his report during President Rodrigo Duterte’s Talk to the People Address on Monday, February 21, noted the continuous decline in Covid-19 cases nationwide, as well as hospital admissions brought about by Covid-19 infection.

Duque said from the seven days average of 16,000 cases on January 25 to 31, it went down to 1,972 from February 15 to 21.

The Department of Health (DOH) reported a total 1,019 fresh Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, pushing the total active cases to 56,668.

The country has a total Covid-19 caseload of 3,654,284, with 55,776 deaths and 3,541,840 recoveries.

Of the active cases, 704 were asymptomatic, 51,395 were mild, 2,840 moderate, 1,425 severe and 304 critical.

Of the 90 million targets of the National Government, 62,505,204 have been fully vaccinated while over 61.9 individuals have received the first dose. (SunStar Philippines)

Local pump prices are up

Coverage by Angelica Yang

Local pump prices are up for the eighth straight week. The energy department cites a tight global market supply and supply disruptions owing to the Ukraine-Russia tensions.

What's next: The Senate is mulling the suspension of excise taxes on petroleum products. At least two senators, both running for president, are in favor of discussions for a moratorium.

DFA calls European Parliament reso on rights issues an attempt to influence elections

Photo shows the Department of Foreign Affairs main building along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.

Gaea Katreena Cabico - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs condemned the European Parliament for adopting another resolution on human rights abuses in the Philippines, calling it an attempt to interfere in the country’s electoral process.

In a statement Sunday, DFA said the allegations raised in the text are "unfair, largely baseless" as it dismissed the resolution as another intrusion in the country’s internal affairs.  

"We condemn the misguided attempt of the European Parliament to interfere in the Philippine electoral process through its resolution raising already discredited allegations of human rights violations in the thin hope of heavily influencing the outcome in favor of its choice," it said.

Last week, the European Parliament issued a resolution calling on the Philippines to immediately end violence against suspected drug offenders and to stop labeling activists and journalists as supporters of communist rebels. It also warned of the temporary withdrawal of trade benefits if calls remain unheeded.

The parliament adopted the text with 627 votes in favor, 26 against and 31 abstentions.

DFA claimed without basis the calls of European lawmakers were prompted by "supporters of libelous journalists and bitter critics of the current administration because they miserably lost the previous election."

"The resolution is based on a deliberately falsified impression of the actual human rights situation in the country. The resolution is presumptuous given the historical record of its main proponents," it said, adding the United Nations Joint Program for Human Rights have already addressed such allegations, including extrajudicial killings of activists and trade unionists and deaths from the government’s bloody "war on drugs."

Signed last July, the joint program is meant as capacity-building assistance to and technical cooperation with Philippine authorities in several areas, including strengthening domestic investigation and accountability mechanisms, data gathering on alleged violations by the police and implementing a human rights-based approaches to drug control.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said then that the program "manifests the sincere efforts of the Philippine Government to infuse its law enforcement and investigative operations with a human rights dimension in a non-political setting." A Department of Justice review of "drug war" cases has led to charges against some police officers.

The department also called out European Parliament Vice President Heidi Hautala who said the winner in the May polls "will have a major task to reverse a dire human rights situation which has seen an appalling deterioration under President Duterte."

"For the Parliament to pass a resolution of this manner is a clear attempt to influence the outcome of our coming elections in May instead of accepting the sovereign will of the Filipino people as manifested in the previous elections," DFA said.

The European Parliament issued similar texts in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Nevertheless, the department said it is looking forward to the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences monitoring mission from Feb. 28 to March 4, noting the views of European lawmakers do not reflect those of the EU as a whole or of its individual member states.

Davao de Oro duna nay Branch Office sa PCSO

Duna nay opisina ang Philippine Charity Sweepstakes (PCSO) sa Davao de Oro diha mismo sa kapitolyo nga gituyo pagbutang, matud ni PCSO Davao del Sur(Davao City) OIC Manager Ellyn A. Ostan, aron mapaduol sa mga katawhan sa Davao de Oro ang mga programa niini sama sa padayong paghatag og Medical Assistance ug libreng serbisyo sa panglawas diha sa Malasakit Center ug magdasig sa mas kusog nga promotion sa mga produkto sa PCSO nga sagad ang dakong bahin sa kita mopaingon sa charity services sa gobyerno.  

Ang pag-operate gisugdan sa malampusong “Blessing and Opening of PCSO Davao de Oro Branch” nga gipangunahan mismo ni Gov. Jayvee Tyron Uy kauban ang mga dagkong opisyal sa PCSO nga sila PCSO OIC Branch Manager Ellyn A. Ostan, Davao del Sur/Davao City Branch; PCSO Vice-Chair Person and General Manager Royina Marzan-Garma, PCSO Assistant General Manager for Branch Operation Sector Atty.Lauro A Patlag, ug PCSO Mindanao Department Manager Engr. Federico A. Damole.

Ang giusang Blessing and Opening nahitabo niadtong Pebrero 18,2022 sulod sa opisina niini diha sa 2nd Floor Left Wing sa Provincial Capitol of Davao de Oro sa Brgy. Cabidianan, Nabunturan nga gitambongan sad nila Mayor Lema Bolo sa Compostela ug Mayor Maricel Colina Vendiola sa Maragusan nga midawat niadtong adlawa sa tseke nga Share sa LGU ug sa P50 mil nga medisina nga gitunol sa mga dagkong opisyal sa PCSO. (Gilbert Magadan Cabahug PAO-IPRD DdO, Photos from Godofredo Mativo)

What makes the Philippine folk dance unique and peculiar?

Bisaya

Barok and Takya Blog | Bisaya Podcast

There’s no other dance quite like the Philippine folk dances. They are trendy, and each one is unique in its way. 

Some more well-known dances include the Tinikling, the Pandango sa Ilaw, and the Singkil.

What makes these dances so unique? First of all, they are deeply rooted in Filipino culture and history. Each dance tells a story and often has a specific purpose or meaning. Additionally, the movements are very intricate and require skill to perform correctly. Finally, the costumes are colorful and elaborate – often featuring traditional embroidery and beadwork.

The Philippine folk dances are indeed something special – and worth watching!

What is the culture of the Philippines?

 

Cymark Ferdinand Mirasol

Originally Answered: How would you describe and define the Filipino culture?

Filipino culture is a rather amusing mixed bag. A contradictory enigma of sorts. On one hand, we have this fascination with foreign culture — including stuff from the US, Japan, and most recently, Korea. On the other hand, we also love to indulge in #pinoypride — which is basically being super-proud of the accomplishments of any Filipino or anyone with even a smidgen of Filipino blood in their ancestry, or some joker just claiming to be “Filipino” in general who achieves worldwide recognition.

This is pretty apparent when you see any foreigner saying something negative about “pinoys” or “pinoy culture” or “Filipinos abroad” in general. You’ll see a flood of social media posts from angry pinoys shortly afterwards.

There is this intriguing hypocrisy etched into our culture stemming from how highly we value public perception in general. I believe that our obsession with public perception comes from our colonial Spanish lineage, but since we were also a colony of the US for a time, we also inherited a little bit of their independent mindset. Thus, what we are left with is a mixed bag of people who are easily fascinated with things from abroad while also being extremely proud of anything “Filipino” that manages to achieve worldwide recognition.

DOH: Gov't still studying return to 'new normal' Alert Level 1 by March

 Commuters disembark from a train at a station in Manila on Feb. 16, 2022

By Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — With cases around the country going down and vaccination numbers rising, the national government is preparing to shift to Alert Level 1 or the “new normal,” the head of the One Hospital Command Center said Sunday. 

Speaking in an interview aired over DZBB Super Radyo, health undersecretary and treatment czar Leopoldo Vega said that the IATF would mull a shift to Alert Level 1 once more by end-February. The Department of Health has since taken the position that the public will "have to move on and live with the virus."

What will 'new normal' look like? Full capacity at venues but face masks stay on

"We are still looking at the metrics now and they are good, although they are looking good... under Alert Level 1, almost everything is normal but that doesn't mean the virus is gone," he said in Filipino, adding that the relaxing of restrictions should still be done gradually.

"If we are to be downgraded to Alert Level 1, we must have flexible plans in case we are returned to Alert Level 2... We must have something like 'infection forecasting.'"

As of this writing, 80.7 percent of Metro Manila is fully vaccinated. Vega pointed out, however, that only around 20 percent of the Bangsamoro region are fully inoculated. 

"Our next target is 80% of the population at 80 million by June," he said. "There are still some parts of Mindanao that are still difficult to vaccinate after Typhoon Odette."

Trend still downward: OCTA

In a tweet, Dr. Guido David, a fellow of the independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research, noted that the coronavirus numbers in Metro Manila have been "nearly flat the past 3 days."

"Numbers in the NCR are not decreasing as fast as what we wanted...but this should not be a cause for concern," he said. 

The Department of Health reported just 1,923 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday afternoon, only 392 of which were from the National Capital Region. "This shows that the trend is still downward," David said. 

Of that number, 74 cases were from the City of Manila while 67 were from Quezon City. Parañaque also had 41. No other city in the Metro breached 40 cases. 

A number of Metro Manila's COVID-19 indicators — namely the reproduction number and healthcare utilization rate — were classified as "very low" as of Friday. 

Of note, the positivity rate as of February 18 was at a moderate risk six percent, getting close to the World Health Organization's recommendation of five percent for opening economies. 

Among provinces and regions in the country, Cebu and Davao Del Sur recorded 131 and 101, respectively. No other area had more than 100. 

— Franco Luna 

Protect the vulnerable online from scammers and fraudsters

by Manila Bulletin

The digital age has touched almost all aspects of our lives, more so during the pandemic when even ordering food is done online through apps and using an e-payment system. It is now impossible to do the majority of transactions, whether it is with banks, schools, the government, or even merchants, without the use of any digital device or having an online account.

With people doing more transactions online, it is inevitable for fraudsters and scammers to also do their “hunting” online—finding their next prey among the millions of citizens who use the internet for various purposes on a daily basis.

Looking into the history of online scams, a study has shown that it started in the early ’90s during the rise of e-commerce in the world. Soon, these online scams reached a wider scope and became more sophisticated, targeting the most vulnerable such as kids, the elderly, the illiterate, or those who are not tech-savvy.

Internet scams cover a lot of activities done by cybercriminals. Their faces may be hidden in the shadows but their fraudulent ways have been uncovered via phishing emails, fake tech support calls or emails asking for your passwords or credit card numbers, fake SMS on phone declaring you a winner of a raffle or lottery, or social media links that illegally capture your online credentials once you click it.  Each day, multiple versions of these scams appear on emails, social media, or SMS endlessly, hoping to bait a few of the most vulnerable.

In the country, Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, is the law protecting us from cybercrimes, which include cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data, among others. Though the law has a noble purpose, is fully implemented, and has already penalized those who have done illegal acts online, there is still a need to look into this once again as in the duration of 10 years, so many advancements in technology and e-commerce have emerged.  What was done online in 2012 is so much different compared to 2022. There is also a rise in the number of internet users, as in 2012, data revealed only 36 million users. Today, it is estimated at 76 million Filipinos.

More online frauds will happen. Online scams couldn’t be totally eradicated as catching one cyber criminal only emboldens the others to find different ways to scheme. What the government can do are three things: First, update the law on Cyber crime Prevention; second, improve the skills and learning of our law enforcement (they have to be 10 steps ahead of a cyber criminal); and third, educate and raise the awareness of Filipinos, especially the most vulnerable, about these kinds of crimes.

News from Congress revealed that there are lawmakers who intend to update the law to make it more attuned to the times. Technology advances by the hour and we can’t have a law that is updated only after a decade. This, however, has to wait when Congress sits down to work after the entry of a new administration. We hope that the next president would have this as part of his or her legislative agenda.

On the side of awareness, information is sadly still lacking. Each day, thousands of Filipinos are victims of cyber criminals who steal their identity or hard-earned money. The vulnerable members of our society, such as the elderly continue to be targeted as they share online information to supposedly members of “tech support.”  The least we could do is to not only inform our parents or grandparents but also to give time when they ask about the internet, e-payments, or credit card transactions. We owe it to them to be patient and understanding as technology evolves at an unprecedented pace.

Our country can’t have a strong “e-conomy” as long as these issues are not addressed properly. And as long as online fraud is rampant, there can be no progress, no innovations, and no peace of mind for all internet users.

Our basic need for prayer

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

MORE than our need for food, water and air, we all need to pray. Prayer is the most basic necessity we have, since that is what unites us with God our Creator and Father in whose life we are supposed to share knowingly and lovingly. And the simple reason is that we have been created in God’s image and likeness. 

It may sound too much to express it in words, but how God is, is also how we ought to be. And that very image of God is given to us in Christ who is precisely God who became man to offer us “the way, the truth and the life.” When we pray, we start assuming the identity of Christ. Not only that. We start to share his power and everything in him.

This truth of our Christian faith is somehow illustrated in that gospel episode (cfr. Mk 9,14-29) where the apostles asked Christ why they could not cure the boy who was possessed with a mute spirit. The response of Christ was: “This kind can only come out through prayer.” (Mk 9,29)

We have to realize that prayer should always have priority over all other activities we have during the day. Better said, we have to learn how to convert everything into prayer so that we can say that our whole life is a prayer itself, as it should be.

And that is always possible because all we have to do is to fulfill our duties and responsibilities out of love for God and neighbor, doing them in the best way we can, for such is the way of love. And the duties and responsibilities we have are the usual tasks we do everyday.

It’s when we pray that we manage to relate who we are, what we have, what we do, etc. to our ultimate end which, to be sure, is not something only natural but is also supernatural. Nothing therefore can rival the importance of prayer. In other words, prayer is irreplaceable, unsubstitutable, indispensable. It’s never optional, though it has to be done freely if we want our prayer to be real prayer.

Of course, we also have to understand that prayer can lend itself to many different ways. There’s vocal prayer, mental prayer, contemplative prayer, liturgical prayer, ejaculatory prayer, etc. It can adapt itself to different situations and conditions. 

The absolutely important thing that makes prayer real prayer is when we manage to give all our mind and heart to God in whatever thing we do or in whatever situation we may find ourselves in.

We have to be reminded that the quality of our prayer determines in the end the quality of our life. How our prayer is will somehow shape how our life will be. And that’s simply because our prayer is the basic way of connecting with God who is the source and keeper of our life, and in fact, in whose image and likeness we have been created, and whose life we are supposed to participate.

We have to train ourselves in this area. It’s actually easy to do because being a spiritual operation, prayer can always transcend whatever limitation we can have in time and space. It can even transcend whatever conditions we are subject to—physical, emotional, psychological, temperamental as well as social, political, economic, etc. It can be done anytime, anywhere. If we would just have the mind to do it, it can actually always be done.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Why did the Philippines join ASEAN?

Dayang C Marikit

My Quora account is mainly focused on promoting and educating people about the pre-colonial period.

The Philippines was actually the one who proposed ASEAN to its neighbors.

• The concept originated as “Maphilindo” which stands for (Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia)… This started as a way to reinvigorate their historical connections prior to Western colonization.

• However due to some anomalies on the part of the Philippines and Indonesia, this concept fell apart. The Philippines and Indonesia were trying to halt the formation of Malaysia and they plotted to divide the island of Borneo among themselves.
• After their failed attempt at creating “Maphilindo”… Filipino lawmakers later proposed the concept of (ASEAN) to our neighbors, but this time the concept included all of mainland and maritime Southeast Asia.

---

So the answer to your question is… (The Philippines joined ASEAN because Filipino lawmakers were the ones who proposed it to our neighbors.)