Three Filipina queens eye global crowns

by Robert Requintina, Manila Bulletin

Miss World Philippines 2021 Tracy Maureen Perez and two other Filipino beauty queens are ready to shine on the international stage as they represent the country in prestigious global pageants in the coming weeks.

Perez flies back to San Juan, Puerto Rico in the hope of continuing her winning streak on the coronation night of the 70th edition of the Miss World 2021 pageant scheduled on March 16 (March 17, 8:00 am, Manila time).

 It will be remembered that the Miss World Organization issued its last-minute decision to reschedule the pageant just a few hours before the Dec. 16 coronation night, due to the alarming and unforeseen surge of Covid-19 cases in Puerto Rico at that time.

To keen pageant watchers, the decision seemed anti-climactic for Tracy, who was then clearly ahead of her game—having just assured herself of a Top 40 spot after winning the Head-to-Head and Beauty With A Purpose challenges.

“It could be frustrating for some, but I tried my best to compose and calm myself because it’s something I couldn’t control. I’ll just take it as a blessing that I’ll have more time to prepare,” said Tracy, during a grand official send-off at the luxurious B Hotel in Quezon City last Saturday, March 5, for the three queens.

Miss Eco Philippines 2021 Kathleen Paton also flew to Cairo, Egypt last March 6 to compete in the 7th edition of the Miss Eco International 2021 pageant, to be held from March 6-18, with the coronation night slated for March 16 (March 17, 12:30 a.m. Manila time).

Miss Environment Philippines 2021 Michelle Arceo feels more than ready to compete in the 1st edition of the Miss Environment International pageant scheduled from March 21-April 2 in Mumbai, India, with pageant proper scheduled on April 2, 5 pm IST/April 2, 7:30 pm Manila time.

Miss World Philippines National Director Arnold Vegafria is optimistic about the trio’s impending global conquest.

“With the normalization of the global health situation, I am very confident that Tracy, Kathleen, and Michelle can wave our flag proudly and outperform their competitors every step of the way. In Tracy’s case, the odds are already in her favor, based on her very impressive pre-pageant performance, so we can only hope and pray that she remains in top fighting form,” said Vegafria.

The MWPO also revealed a teaser for its revitalized slogan, “Exceptionally Empowered Filipina.”

“The past pandemic has given us ample time to rethink our strategies, and we feel that a rebranding can do so much to heighten our imaging and marketing potentials, and I’m very proud that our team has churned out a creative synergy that should take us to even unprecedented heights this year,” Vegafria said.

Taking its cue from Miss World Organization founder Julia Morley’s inspiring precedent, the Miss World Philippines Organization hopes to further its noble cause for women empowerment by writing its own unique narrative for its revitalized brand campaign.

The organization’s auspicious rebranding comes close on the heels of its recent announcement for the search for this year’s batch of aspiring queens, with final screening scheduled for April 19 and coronation night on May 29.

More than just being a celebration of exceptional beauty, substance, and purpose, the Miss World Philippines pageant has stood out for championing more relevant advocacies, which have empowered its winning queens to harness their collective energies in furthering their advocacies, which have so far included such relevant issues as cyberbullying, mental health, suicide prevention, gender equality, environmental awareness, and many others.

To date, the brand makeover has already captured the attention of keen pageant fans and netizens online. As evinced by its eye-catching fashion templates on its social media pages, the Miss World PH organization has obviously rewritten its style bible, utilizing slicker layouts and more engaging content.

𝐍𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐨

The night never seems to end as Dabawenyos bang their heads to the beat of the country's renowned artists in the music industry during the 24K Golden Concert of Davao de Oro.

The nostalgia of festivities finally breaks after two (2) years when thousands of Dabawenyos rounded up in the Provincial Capitol Grounds during the finale night of the DdO's 24th Founding Anniversary. 

Earlier in the day, more or less 3,000 women flocked at the Capitol grounds celebrating women as one of the enablers of success in the province through their significant contributions in empowerment. 

Various artists gave Dabawenyos doses of adrenaline when they performed their hits. First to perform are the Davao Comedians wherein laughter echoed in the atmosphere of the capitol, followed by an extraordinary performance  of the Garbo All Stars; the product of the provinces' original singing contest since 2008. Senior Board Member Arturo "Chiongkee" Uy also gave a song number with the Garbo All-Stars.  The singing former governor was instrumental in the most anticipated Garbo Comvalenyo held during Bulawan fest event. 

The heartbreaking and inspiring music of This Band, who performed the famous "Kahit Ayaw Mo Na" and other hits hyped and captured the hearts of the youth during that night. 

Governor Tyron Uy in his message thanked all Dabawenyos for their support throughout the years in giving pride and achieving a successful province. The governor also encouraged them to get vaccinated to fully bring back festivities and other face-to-face activities for the months to come. 

The crowd's energy went up again as TJ Monterde, a balladeer with irresistible charm performed his famous Visayan love songs. Further, the young actress Barbie Imperial with captivating beauty also graced the 24k Golden Concert. 

Finally, capping off the 4-day celebration is the grand fireworks display, a symbol of success and significant achievements of the province. For 24 years, Davao de Oro remained golden for its people. Through its dynamic leaders, the province continues to evolve, now more than able to cope with the need of modern times. 

(JA-PAO IPRD, photos by A. Dayao, J. Cadiz and R. Alvarez)

Praying without ceasing

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

“Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” (Mt 7,7-8)

The words of Christ are very clear. We are asked to persevere in prayer since no matter how things look bad and hopeless, God always will love us and will take care of us. “If you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Mt 7,11)

We should never doubt the effectiveness of our sincere prayer even if initially it may appear as if we have been ignored if not rebuffed. God would never fail to take care of us—but of course in his own way, which is actually what is best for us. His way may not be what we want, but definitely it would be what is best for us!

How important therefore it is to be persistent and persevering in our prayer, for which a strong faith is needed. We have to remind ourselves of these reassuring words of St. Paul that tell us that no matter how things develop, we can be sure of God’s will to put things to their proper end. “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Phil 1,6)

The Pauline words somehow tell us that the secret of perseverance is our strong faith in God, in his omnipotent and merciful providence that can always make do with whatever situation we may find ourselves in at any given moment.

We have to see to it that we keep that faith alive and burning. And to make that faith vibrant, we need to keep ourselves always in love. It’s love that keeps our faith going. It should be a love that goes beyond good intentions, sweet words and nice feelings. It has to be expressed in deeds.

One clear manifestation of an operative love that nourishes our faith that in turn enables us to persevere and to be faithful to the end is the practice of a daily examination of conscience.

The examination of conscience is a very helpful tool in our effort to be faithful and persevering in our earthly pilgrimage toward our eternal goal. There we make a proper closure to our day as we enter our daily rest at night.

The examination of conscience is a wonderful moment of ending everything with God everyday. After all, God is everything to us, and we should realize that we need to be with him at the end of the day, no matter how we were during the day.

It’s a practice that we have to deliberately cultivate, since it is often not felt and perceived by the senses, or by the body in general, but rather by the spirit, by our mind and heart enlightened by faith. It’s a practice that is often ignored and even rejected by many worldly concerns, trends, fashions, ideologies and political systems.

  If we keep this practice of examining our conscience regularly and properly, we can manage to keep our faith and love for God going irrespective of how things go in our life.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

4 women farmers who are breaking gender stereotypes in agriculture

A photo of Gigi Morris, MOCA Family Farm RLearning Center’s farm school director

by Vina Medenilla, Manila Bulletin

 

Women’s roles in Philippine agriculture have always been vital to the sector’s development. Despite their contributions, women continue to suffer from inequities and are still underrepresented in several branches of this male-dominated field.

An article published in Food and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region’s website wrote that even though laws and private and public initiatives are put in place to fight gender imbalance, some female farmers and fisher folk in the Philippines remain marginalized in comparison to their male counterparts.

While the word “farming” still conjures up images of men working in a sunny field, there are empowered women who are going beyond such stereotypes and carving their own path in agriculture. Here are four of them, whose inspiring stories have previously appeared on Agriculture Online.

Morris, Ka Gigi to the local community, shared that she felt an implicit bias or stereotype when she first entered the agribusiness. 

In her own words, she says, “I think many in the government service back then thought that farming is not a career for someone who [isn’t] ‘economically challenged.’ Navigating for help and assistance in government programs back then was not easy for new farmers.”

This did not hold her back and instead served as a motivation for her to arrange events for small farmers.

 

Through MOCA Family Farm RLearning Center, a private extension service provider for Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Calabarzon, she joined forces with the Department of Agriculture (DA) in working with new and existing farmers in the delivery of agricultural extension programs and in implementing capacity-building activities for women-led family farms.

“Organizing farm events and agri-conferences created an opportunity for me and other women-led family farms. It was an opportunity to remove the implicit bias or implicit stereotype I faced when I started. It was a chance to get the conversation started,” she said. 

Dengue cases soar in Zamboanga City

An employee of the City Health Office conducts fogging activities in one of the communities affected by the dengue virus. (Zambo LGU photo)

by Liza Abubakar-Jocson, Manila Bulletin

ZAMBOANGA CITY- The Zamboanga City Health Office expressed alarm over the soaring number of dengue cases in Zamboanga City over the past two months.

Since January this year, 338 dengue cases were recorded with nine fatalities, mostly children.

 

Six barangays in the city were reported to have the highest number of dengue cases. These are Mercedes with 15 cases; Culianan, 9; Divisoria, 9; Zambowood, 9; Lanzones, 3; and Quiniput, 3.

City Health Office personnel started to make the rounds of these barangays to conduct fogging activities.

Health personnel visited residents in these communities to help them in the eradication of mosquito breeding sites.

Dr. Dulce Miravite, City Health Officer, reiterated her call to residents to practice the 4-S strategy to combat dengue. The strategy includes search and destroy the breeding places of mosquitoes, seek early consultation, self-protection, and fogging activities.

Peso sinks past P52:$1 level for the first time since 2019, stoking inflation fears

The STAR / Miguel de Guzman, File photo

The last time the local currency traded at this level was back in September 2019, when the government’s ambitious infrastructure program pushed up demand for the greenback amid heightened importation of construction materials.

Ramon Royandoyan - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine peso dropped past the P52 barrier for the first time since 2019 on Monday as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to prop up the US dollar, triggering inflation concerns amid already high oil prices.

The local unit shed 44 centavos from its previous finish to close at P52.18 against the greenback. Its worst showing for the day was at P52.19 versus the dollar.

Inflation steadies in February despite high oil prices

The last time the local currency traded at this level was back in 2019, when the government’s ambitious infrastructure program pushed up demand for the greenback amid heightened importation of construction materials.

As it is, the peso is trading within the Duterte administration’s P48-P53 average forecast for this year. The currency has fallen by 2.3% since the beginning of 2022.

Emerging market currencies like the peso have been one of the economic casualties of the ongoing war in Ukraine amid investor concerns over the escalating conflict in Europe which has sent global oil prices rallying to multi-year highs.

Worsening the capital flight was Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s statement last week that the US central bank may begin tightening this month. At home, dollars traded on Monday amounted to $1.6 billion from $793.2 million previously.

For Nicholas Antonio Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank in Manila, the currency slump could create a big problem for Filipino consumers. This, Mapa said, may force the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to lift rates sooner even as it wanted to sustain its ultra-loose monetary policy for much longer to nurture a nascent economic recovery.

"Peso weakness will likely fan even more imported inflation. Inflation expectations also now becoming disanchored as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas retains dovish tone amid a hawking Fed and now skyrocketing energy prices,” Mapa said.

“Case for BSP to hike to corral runaway inflation expectations cannot be more apparent,” he added.

Sonny Africa, executive director for nonprofit IBON Foundation, agreed with Mapa. "Half our energy comes from oil and virtually all our oil is imported so a falling peso greatly increases our oil bill and worsens inflationary pressures. Recovery will be even slower with accelerating inflation," Africa said in a text message. 

"Rising prices will dampen consumption spending already depressed by high joblessness and low incomes, and make it even harder for struggling businesses to stay afloat much less expand. Overseas remittance-receiving families will at least see some gain but this will likely not be enough to offset lockdown-driven depressed incomes across so much of the economy," Africa added.

Always be sincere in prayer

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

WE have to be wary of the danger to turn our prayer into mere babble of words. Christ pointed this out when he said: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.” (Mt 6,7)

To be sincere in our prayers, we need to review the crucial relationship between God and our capacity to stick to the truth or to be sincere. Nowadays, with the plethora of data and information, we have to remind ourselves constantly that truthfulness or sincerity is not a matter of simply confirming these data and pieces of information to our own designs. We need to process these raw data to leaven them with the love of God and submit them to God’s will.

To put it bluntly, we can only be in the truth when we are with God. Outside of him, let’s wish ourselves sheer luck, because the most likely thing to happen is to slip from the truth. It's like chasing the wind. For all the excitement and advantages a Godless pursuit of truth gives, everything will just turn out to be vanity.

And so, prayer is a must. It’s what vitally, existentially unites us with God. Without it, we will just be on our own, an easy prey to our own weaknesses, let alone, the temptations around.

Very vulnerable to the temptation to distort the truth and to fall into the tricks of hypocrisy and pretension are persons endowed and favored with all sorts of talents, intelligence, position, power and who may already have attained a good level of sanctity. That’s because their situation attracts all sorts of temptations.

We have to be more aware of this phenomenon and be able to handle it. Even Christ himself was tempted by the devil to deviate from his Father’s will. And the devil employed the subtlest of tricks, even quoting Scripture, to bend Christ to the devil’s will. The devil will always reserve the worst strategy to those who dare to get close to God.

Thus, those of us who try our best to follow God should not be surprised when the most “irresistible” temptations come to us not only from time to time, but even persistently. We somehow should expect this thing to happen, and be ready for it.

One gauge that can tell us that we have a good prayer, one where we truly have an intimate encounter with God, is when we come out of it burning with zeal for love and concern for the others. Somehow we would catch the fire behind these words of Christ: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Lk 12,49)

Yes, real prayer has that effect. If, on the contrary, we come out of it just thinking of our own selves, or worse, feeling low and dry, then we are not actually praying. Prayer will always sharpen our mindfulness and thoughtfulness of others. We would be willing to suffer for them, helping them bear their burdens.

Prayer is by definition an act of love. And love in turn is always self-perpetuating. It never stops giving itself to God. As St. Francis de Sales would put it, “The measure of love is to love without measure.”

And because of our love for God, then our prayer which is an act of love for God will always lead us to love others. That is always the trajectory of a true, love-inspired prayer. Its vertical aspect never leaves behind the horizontal aspect.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

LIFE BRIDGES

 "If you are good at building bridges, you will never fall into the abyss!" said Mehmet Murat Ildan. Understanding is the bridge between two minds; love is the bridge between two souls.

We are all bridge builders during our whole life. I am not talking about the raised platform on a ship or a bridge mounting for false teeth or, as in the bony part of the nose. I am talking about spiritual bridges establishing connections between us and other people - or, between God and us.

Another elementary example is the "birthday bridge" or the turn to the year, that takes us from the old into a new period of life. A very important bridge in life takes people to me and me to people. It does not matter if our skin is black or white, if we are rich or poor, man or woman, being sad or happy.

So obvious our daily life is that we might even forget simple things easily. Self-esteem, respect and freedom from anxiety are the necessary and conclusive foundations for this kind of bridge.

Earl Nightingale discussed topics with regards to human character development and behaviors. He was known for his deep voice and clear diction. He was the voice of 'Sky King', which was a radio adventure series.

Nightingale also co-authored a book called 'The Strangest Secret' which is considered to be one of the greatest motivational books of all time. Earl Nightingale's 'Our Changing World’ was a five-minute radio commentary program which spoke about personal development.

Every person experiences a struggling period in their lives where they learn, and understand the wonders of life precisely.

“Your problem is to bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach”, Earl Nightingale describes the significance of the bridge and how it helps one to travel through the hard phase of our lives. The bridge is a path and a direction that motivates us to move towards enlightened life.

What comes out from dark times is a whole new person who has risen up and has crossed the bridge for a brighter world. Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.

Small but important bridges every daily - how easily are they to be built: gestures of love - like a medicine; a handshake together with commendation and praise, encouraging words, a warm smile, instead of a superficial "How are you?" and the expected "Fine" or "OKAY LANG!".

Allow me to say it clearly and directly to the point: Separations result from crumbled or fit for demolition bridges. Destroyed spiritual bridges can be found at any corner. Look into your neighbourhood or, don't drive away and repress this topic in your family. Insignificant trifling matters, minor arguing, misinterpretations, results in silence - and after the destroyed bridge follows an invincible wall not only between estates but also in the hearts and minds of stubborn human beings. Men as well as women build too many walls and not enough bridges.

I was born and grew up together with my parents in a parish house. Up to the time of my active performances - among many other things - I did learn this: 

"Build your own bridge to God and never doubt in Him. Always remember His promise. When a rainbow appears, it confirms His proximity and neighbourhood and His faith. God's unique bridge, a rainbow, is always there and durable, long lasting and solid. The main bridge, which affords passage to God, is the institution "church".

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.

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.