Return to office

Coverage by Jeline Malasig, Philippine Star

If you asked the Trade chief, he would not recommend employees to continue working from home under the loose pandemic restrictions, citing the need to stimulate the economy.

When more people return to their offices, they "will stimulate spending because there are more opportunities to spend going to work and going home," Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

Old normal: While the message on the need to recover economically from the pandemic, there was no mention of the billions of pesos in lost productivity on a daily basis due to road congestion and poor public transportation.

Filipino workers who have seen the benefits of remote work in the past two years expressed worry about commuting costs and hassles, long hours spent in traffic jams and poor workplace ventilation.

 

Public transportation is now allowed to accommodate up to 100% of its capacity, but vehicles and train units' conditions have had to force operators to regularly cram passengers and exceed capacity allotment.

 

Many are supportive of "hybrid" work arrangements. "There are jobs that really need to be done in the workplace, but it’s time for our country to evolve for different setups in working," an employee said.

116 Filipinos remain in Ukraine; 200 seafarers stranded in Black Sea

POLAND. Displaced persons carry belongings as they walk to a border crossing in Medyka, Poland, Thursday, March 3, 2022. More than 1 million people have fled Ukraine following Russia's invasion in the swiftest refugee exodus in this century, the United Nations said Thursday. (AP)

By THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunStar

OVER a hundred Filipinos are still inside Ukraine, while 200 Pinoy seafarers have been stranded in the Black Sea amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict, an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday, March 4, 2022.

DFA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said 31 land-based Filipinos in Ukraine, including 21 seafarers, have already made their way out of Ukraine and awaiting their flight to the Philippines in Romania.

She said there were also 15 Filipinos from Ukraine in Hungary and nine in Austria.

Arriola said 116 Filipinos are still in Ukraine, including those who are married to Ukraine nationals and refused to evacuate. Forty-five of them were in Kyiv, the country’s capital.

She said the DFA has accounted a total of 209 Filipinos in Ukraine.

She said some of the Filipinos refused to leave due to their work in humanitarian and security organizations, which the country needed the most now.

"We're giving them care packages and financial assistance but we’re really asking them to please leave because the problem is the fighting is getting to be more intense," said Ariolla.

“And what we're afraid of is if the train stops operating, there's no other way to get to Lviv. But we understand some can’t leave because they have their families there,” she added.

She said according to the record of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, around 200 Filipino seamen were stranded in the Black Sea, which lies in the northern portion of Ukraine and northeast of Russia, and in several ports in Ukraine.

Arriola said ships are more careful in sailing after two cargo vessels were hit by explosions caused by the Russian invasion.

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“If there’s really heavy fire, the only thing they can do is hunker down and take cover because the one who might extract them might get killed or if they leave the ships they might also get hurt,” she said.

The DFA earlier said 19 Filipinos from Ukraine have already arrived in the country since February when the conflict began.

4 Mindanao HUCs deescalated to ‘low risk’ status for Covid-19

 

SunStar Davao File

By THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunStar

THE cities of Davao, General Santos, Iligan and Zamboanga City in Mindanao have deescalated to low risk classification for coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Octa Research fellow Dr. Guido David said on Thursday, March 3, 2022.

David said the four cities are now under low risk classification after they were classified as moderate risk on February 22, 2022.

Other highly urbanized cities (HUCs) in the region, including Butuan and Cotabato, maintained their low risk classification, while Cagayan de Oro remained under moderate risk with a still high positivity rate at 12 percent.

David said Davao’s average daily attack rate (Adar) went down from 2.86 on February 22 to 2.24 on March 2, but it is still under moderate risk, while its reproduction rate slightly declined to 0.27.

The healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) also slid down to 28 percent, while its positivity rate went down to five percent, the standard set by the World Health Organization.

A five percent positivity rate indicates the low transmissibility of coronavirus in an area.

Cotabato City’s HCUR and positivity rate are at low risk at 32 percent and four percent, respectively.

The positivity rates in General Santos City and Iligan City are also still at high risk at 15 and 18 percent, respectively.

Butuan has a seven percent positivity rate, while Zamboanga City has eight percent.

In Visayas, the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Ormoc, Tacloban and Lapu-Lapu are under low risk, while Iloilo is still under moderate risk.

Of the HUCs in Visayas, Mandaue has the lowest positivity rate at one percent, followed by Tacloban at three percent, Bacolod at four percent and Cebu and Lapu-Lapu at five percent.

The positivity rate of Ormoc is at high risk at 17 percent.

In Iloilo, the Adar is at 7.85, HCUR at 54 percent and positivity rate at 10 percent. Its reproduction rate is at very low risk at 0.42.

Of the HUCs in Mindanao and Visayas, Bacolod, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and Davao were deescalated to Alert Level 1, the lowest quarantine status in the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The other HUCs have remained under Alert Level 2. (SunStar Philippines)

How to deal with temptations

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

IT’S intriguing to note that Christ allowed himself to be tempted by the devil. (cfr. Lk 4,1-13) Although we can presume that the devil would have no chance to succeed in his effort, Christ must have allowed this event to happen to teach us how to deal with temptations which are unavoidable in our life.

Given our human condition, and especially when we enjoy some privileges and other special endowments, we have to realize that we would be a favorite target of the schemes of the devil. We need to be prepared for this lifelong condition of ours.

Whatever good thing we have in life has to be handled most delicately, with great humility. In other words, it always has to be related to God from whom all power and authority on earth comes. (cfr. Rom 13,1) It should be exercised always with God in mind and in heart. Otherwise, there is no way for it to go other than to be abused. Let’s remember that the only thing we are capable of doing without God is to sin.

To know how to exercise whatever power and authority we have according to God’s will and mind, all we have to do is to look at Christ, imitate him and unite ourselves to him. 

Christ, who is the origin and seat of all power, exercises that power with great humility, with justice, charity and mercy. His attitude toward his power is expressed in these words of his: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20,28) That is the attitude we ought to have toward any power we have. Only then can we exercise our power properly.

We should never forget that only with God can we properly deal with our own weaknesses, and the many temptations and sins around. Only with him can we manage to resist the devil himself. Without him, we are easy prey, a sitting duck. Our earnest desire should be how we can be with God always, our union with him as strong and vibrant as ever.

Let’s not forget that if our first parents, still in their state of original justice and therefore in theory should have been in close union with God, managed to sin, how much more we who are already born with original sin and whose lives here on earth will always be hounded by all forms of evil!

In the case of our first parents, we know that in spite of their very good condition, there was a moment when they failed in the proper exercise of their God-given freedom and chose to listen to the devil rather than to remain faithful to God. And so they fell.

We have to understand that without God, the proper exercise of our freedom would be out on a limb, and it would just be a matter of time before we fall into sin. It is that automatic. We would have no sufficient defenses against our real enemies. We may even think that our enemies are our friends and allies.

We should never forget that our freedom is a very intoxicating endowment God has given us. It should only be exercised with God as its beginning and end. Otherwise, we will only misuse and abuse it and lead us to sin. We should constantly make the effort to choose God instead of what we simply like by ourselves.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

DOT's Puyat expects more visitors as virus restrictions ease

by Waylon Galvez, Manila Bulletin

With the implementation of more relaxed health protocols to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat is optimistic that more travelers will be encouraged to visit different tourist destinations in the country in the coming months.

Boracay, arguably the crown jewel of Philippine tourism. (Laimonas Keseriauskis/ Unsplash)

According to Puyat, the Philippines is the first country in Asia to accept fully vaccinated foreign travelers and under the guidelines, the country is no longer implementing quarantine procedures.

“We are proud to say that our entry requirements are delivered in a simple format, without the need for facility-based quarantine primarily for fully vaccinated visitors. Tourists are allowed to travel to all reopened tourist destinations in the country as long as they comply with the requirements from the local government units with jurisdiction over these areas,” Puyat said Thursday, March 3.

Under the guidelines of the Inter Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), the government has approved the entry of foreign nationals and returning Filipinos who wish to visit tourist destinations since Feb. 10.

The travelers, however, must be fully vaccinated from visa-free countries. Puyat said that tourist arrivals since then have been gradually picking up and the DOT looks forward to an uptick during the summer season starting this Holy Week break in April.

As of February 28, the number of international tourist arrivals has reached 47,715, of which 26,306 were foreign visitors and 21,409 were balikbayans or returning Filipinos from abroad.

Those travelers with full vaccines from visa-free countries listed under Executive Order 408 are no longer required to undergo quarantine as long as they are able to present a negative RT-PCR result.

In late February this year, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) called for the lifting of travel bans, stating that they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to economic and social stress.

The tourism department has been proactive in making proposals to the IATF that would balance the recovery of the sector and the restoration of jobs in the tourism sector without compromising the health and safety of the workers and visitors.

Along with the goal toward sustained recovery, Puyat has high hopes to yield stronger programs and partnerships with other tourism ministers and global leaders as the Philippines will host the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) global tourism summit in April.

“We only want what is best for the sector. This hosting of the WTTC Summit will benefit the country by showcasing what the Philippines can offer to the world,” said Puyat.

“More than the recognitions we received over the past years, our goal is to restore jobs and revenue streams for our tourism workers and stakeholders,” she added.

Back to school: This time, it’s for real

Published March 3, 2022, 12:05 AM

by Manila Bulletin

Don’t let the title of this editorial fool you. Online classes, of course, are real — as real as the virtual world would allow. But after almost two years of classes conducted in front of a screen, with students digitally participating, it comes as a breath of fresh, COVID-free air that the Department of Education (DepEd) is now considering more schools for face-to-face classes. 

Since November 2021, the DepEd has given permission for a number of schools to welcome students back into the four walls of a classroom. This setup was briefly halted in January of this year by the unexpected surge in COVID cases brought by the virus’ omicron variant. As of February, however, there have been around 1,700 schools implementing a face-to-face setup, according to the DepEd Sec. Leonor Briones. She added that some 6,213 schools all over the Philippines are now ready to conduct in-person classes now that an Alert Level 1 status has been implemented in the National Capital Region as well as in other parts of the country. Moreover, the ongoing vaccination of children ages five to 11 has definitely contributed to the more relaxed attitude toward schools and the conduct of classes. 

It truly is the way to go. In many other countries around the world, face-to-face classes have since been conducted as early as the first couple of quarters in 2021. While that, in itself, was experimental at best—an adjective one would not have considered to describe face-to-face classes prior to the pandemic—there is no denying that a year or so of classes behind screens has had detrimental effects on learners, particularly on children who are in their more formative years. There is no replacing actual physical interaction among students, although many schools have tried quite hard to remedy the situation. Some resorted to creativity with their Physical Education classes and others even considered creating a semblance of normalcy by encouraging their students to digitally interact with their classmates. 

After almost two years of living in a pandemic, one that some experts are saying is already on the verge of dying down, it is safe to assume that face-to-face classes can no longer be put on the backburner. This, of course, does not mean that every precaution that is necessary to ensure the safety of both educators and learners should be neglected. Despite the high vaccination rate among the DepEd personnel and teachers, and now with more students getting inoculated, a degree of safety should still be practiced—the wearing of face masks, for example, should be strictly enforced.

As parents welcome this move to a new normal in education, it is perhaps the students, especially the younger learners, who are most excited to see their friends again, this time for real. After all, if guidelines allow for children to go out to malls and restaurants, why shouldn’t they be given the chance to learn at the comfort of a classroom once again? 

P977.48 M allotted for progressive expansion of face-to-face classes — DepEd

by Merlina Hernando-Malipot, Manila Bulletin

The Department of Education (DepEd) has approved the allocation of funding to help ensure that participating schools in the progressive expansion of face-to-face classes would be able to respond to emerging needs.

During the Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday, March 2, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that DepEd will be spending close to P1 billion to “strengthen the progressive expansion for the schools.”

In the same briefing, DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla said that DepEd has already met with the concerned regional directors to discuss the funds that might be needed in preparation for the implementation of progressive face-to-face classes in their respective areas.

 

“Marami po sa mga pondo na atin pong pinaghahandaan ay iyong pong physical arrangements ng eskuwelahan – iyon pong protection and safety ng mga learners at mga guro at siyempre po iyong mga learning resources na kailangan natin. (Part of the funds we are preparing is for the physical arrangements of the school to ensure the protection and safety of learners and teachers and of course, for the learning resources that we need),” Sevilla said.

Based on the data obtained by Manila Bulletin provided by Sevilla, a total of P977,477,000 was allotted for participating schools under the school Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE).

Of this amount, P531.36 million will be allocated to elementary schools (Kinder to Grade 6); P303.63 million will be given to Junior High School (Grade 7 to Grade 10); and P142.49 million for Senior High School (Grade 11 to Grade 12).

DepEd said that these amounts are to be downloaded or to be released to the Regional Offices.

“The Regional Directors are authorized to allocate the said amounts among schools considering the implementation status of face-to-face classes in their respective regions,” DepEd said.

DepEd noted 4.24 percent or P41.48 million of the total available funds “shall be retained in the Central Office as a contingency fund.”

Meanwhile, DepEd clarified that the use of the said funds shall also be subject to existing budgeting, accounting, auditing, and procurement rules and regulations.

Thus, in “no case shall these funds be used” for procurement of tangible items beyond the capitalization threshold; hiring of contractual or casual employees, whose salaries and other compensation benefits should be charged against Personnel Services allocations; and payment of other Capital Outlay items such as infrastructure projects.

DepEd said that its Budget Division is preparing the Sub-Allotment Release Order (AROs) to be downloaded to the respective Regional Offices. The target date of downloading to Regions is on March 4.

Traffic jams back in Manila as restrictions ease

MANILA. People walk as traffic builds up as the government places the capital on the lowest rung of a five-step pandemic alert system on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Quezon City, Philippines. (AP)

TRAFFIC jams and outdoor crowds are back in the Philippine capital and 38 other cities and provinces Tuesday, March 1, 2022, after officials allowed businesses and public transport, including shopping malls, movie houses and restaurants, to operate at full capacity as Covid-19 cases continued to drop with more vaccinations, officials said.

In a bid to further boost the pandemic-battered economy, authorities placed metropolitan Manila and 38 other regions under the lowest rung of a five-step pandemic alert system from Tuesday, March 1, to March 15 and lifted most health restrictions, but still required the full vaccination of residents 18 and older against the coronavirus and the wearing of face masks outdoors and in indoor establishments.

Social distancing is no longer required in Manila and the other specified areas, restaurants can now remove plastic barriers on tables, and public gatherings — such as birthday parties, weddings, sport events and family reunions — can fully resume. All government employees have been ordered to return to office for work.

“Now everything is open,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said. “We’re happy seeing the traffic again, it means there’s really economic activity and people are going out.”

The Philippines imposed one of the longest lockdowns and police-enforced quarantines two years ago when successive Covid-19 outbreaks hit and sparked the worst economic recession in 2020 and pushed unemployment and hunger to record levels.

Economic growth has resumed since then and could return to pre-pandemic levels this year unless external turbulence like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine worsens, Lopez said.

Daily Covid-19 cases dropped from over 37,000 during the most recent peak in January to below 1,000. The 951 cases reported Monday bring the total number of confirmed infections to more than 3.6 million with 56,451 deaths, the second-highest totals in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. (AP)

Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

THANK God, for a good number of reasons, Ash Wednesday is celebrated in our country in a very popular way. Even if it exudes a dire, gloomy air, what with all the liturgical protocols on fasting, abstinence and other forms of self-denial, it continues to enjoy a large following among us. Even those who are not very faithful in their Sunday obligation would exert the effort to have their foreheads marked with ash on that day.

Obviously, we should continue to clarify the true significance of this day. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent which is meant to prepare us for the culmination of Christ’s redemptive mission that is liturgically celebrated in Easter. It somehow encourages us to have another renewal of our baptismal commitments or to have another conversion.

In the gospel of that day, we are reminded of having purity of intention in all our deeds. We have to understand that intention plays a very crucial role in our life. That’s where we choose where we want to be—with God or with ourselves, to truly love God and neighbor or to indulge in self-love.

             With our intention, we can direct our acts to God, following what was once indicated by St. Paul, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10,31) That’s how our acts become good, or moral. Otherwise, they are bad, or at least dangerous.

       

             This is so, since God, being the Creator, is the standard for everything. And more than the standard, he is, in fact, the very substance of what is good, true and beautiful, what is fair and just, what is perfection itself.

             

             Nothing is good, true and beautiful, nothing is fair and just, nothing is perfect if it is not done with God and for God. In short, we need to refer all our acts to God. We have to make this affirmation very clear in our mind and do everything to make that ideal a reality.

             

             We need to realize then that we have to take utmost care of our intention, making it as explicit as possible, and honing it to get engaged with its proper and ultimate object, who is God. 

We should try our best to shun being simply casual or cavalier about this responsibility. We can easily play around with it, since intentions are almost invariably hidden from public knowledge. We are urged to be most sincere in directing our intentions properly.

We can easily fall into hypocrisy and deception, doing what can appear good externally but is not internally, since we could refuse giving glory to God, which is the proper intention to have, and instead feed and stir our vanity, pride, greed, lust, etc.

We need to actively purify our intentions, since we have to contend with many spoilers in this regard these days. In fact, we just have to look around and see how openly opposed many people are of directing their intentions to God.

To them, intentions are strictly personal and confidential matters that others do not have any right to meddle. While there is a certain truth to this claim, we have to remind ourselves that our intentions too are subject to a moral law.

That is why we have to pay serious attention to where our intention tilts, to who or what actually holds our heart, for it is the heart, the home of our intention, where we determine the morality of our acts and ultimately where we find our true identity.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

LOSING OUR FAITH?

A friend of mine started talking with me and mentioned the good old days. Yes, those were the days my friend! Well, we all know: times have changed. More natural disasters, more wars, more people all over the world who are losing their faith. 

Faith, like love, is an element that bonds together relationships. And we lose faith like we lose love — for many reasons. Loss comes from misunderstandings, personality conflicts, tragic circumstances, ill treatment and our own ignorance, to name a few.

Some may lose faith because they disagree with religious teachings on current issues, or because the doctrine lacks strong evidence, doesn’t make sense to them anymore, or because it simply does not add up. Others may become disillusioned following personal trauma; unanswered prayers; the existence of natural disasters, diseases and evil; the conflicts caused by religions; or the questionable morality of religious leaders and religious people.

Others say they dislike organized religion and want to make their own decisions rather than listening to somebody else. Still others become distracted by materialism, or find that they’re too busy to participate.

People who walk away from religion usually say, “I shall be just fine. Please do not worry about me.”

To be or not to be. Sein oder nicht sein. Shakespeare. To say it clearly: without faith, we’re really nothing.

Faith is belief; believe in us, in our works, talents and our personalities. We should also believe in our parents – or much better, in our whole family including the black sheep, which can be found everywhere. We should believe in our friends, even though it seems to become very difficult many times.

Please remember, my dear readers: without faith will we reach the rock bottom. Don’t say, it’s a likely story.

The German poet Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1815) has mentioned in his drama “Maria Stuart”: “Even the word might be dead, but faith keeps it alive!” Chapter I of Second Thessalonians gives encouragement to all Christians, who were undergoing persecution for or because of their faith. Yes, faith is really not everybody’s thing, or “not everyone has faith”.

“If I have faith, that can move mountains” (First Corinthians 13,2).

Faith is a tantamount to convincing and conviction. Richard Wagner (German classical composer and poet, 1813-1883) found the following lyric: “Blessed are those people, who know how to live their life in humility and faith.”

So, let’s even continue believing in our governments or the institution church. Faith means also a belief specially in a revealed religion. Faith is trust or reliance. Faith is indeed a pledged word. Yes, I know.

Faithful love is loyal, reliable, exact and honorable love. Faithful love means even to love your enemy.

Allow me to close this column with a Chinese proverb: “People without faith in themselves cannot or will never survive!” – Worth to think about it!