Oil firms announce rollbacks for 2nd time this year

Angelica Y. Yang - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — Consumers can expect lower fuel prices this week amid hopes of resolving fighting prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other developments affecting the global oil market, where the Philippines mainly gets its supply from.

This marks the second time this year that fuel prices went down. 

On Monday, two oil firms announced price rollbacks in their fuel products. In an advisory, Seaoil Philippines announced a price reduction for gas by P2.30 per liter, diesel by P1.85 per liter and kerosene at P1.65 per liter, effective Tuesday. 

Another oil company Cleanfuel announced similar adjustments for its diesel and gas products. 

"One reason for the rollback is the positive feedback that the negotiator reported on the possible resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict," Rodela Romero, assistant secretary of the Department of Energy's Oil Industry Management Bureau told Philstar.com in an online exchange on Monday. 

She explained that sentiments and speculations trigger oil price adjustments. 

Romero noted three more reasons for the fuel price decrease this week. These are:

A US move to consider releasing a total of 180 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months by May.

 The lockdown in Shanghai in China amid the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Russia's announcement to scale down its military operations in Ukraine.

Gas, diesel and kerosene prices in the Philippines have been increasing since the start of the year due to tight supply, which was partly worsened by the invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this year, the Philippine government announced that it will double its fuel subsidies to P6.1 billion for affected groups such as the transportation and agricultural sectors in a bid to help them cushion the impacts of the oil price hikes. 

Based on data collected from the announcements of oil firms since the start of the year, the price adjustments of oil products are as follows: P16 per liter for gasoline, P26 per liter for diesel and P24.1 per liter for kerosene. 

Over 176,000 foreign tourist arrivals in PH since February

MANILA. Tourists from Germany carry their bags as they arrive at Manila's International Airport, Philippines on Thursday, February 10, 2022. (AP)

By: THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunSTAR

OVER 176,000 tourists from abroad arrived in the Philippines after it opened its borders to foreign travelers amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said on Monday, April 4, 2022.

Puyat said from February 10 to April 2, there were a total of 176,857 tourist arrivals from both non-visa and visa-required countries.

She said majority of the tourists were from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and South Korea.

On February 10, the National Government allowed the entry of tourists from non-visa countries in the country, while the acceptance of travelers from visa-required countries started on April 1.

This aims to boost the recovery of the country’s tourism sector, which has been in drought due to strict border controls brought about by the Covid-19 crisis.

Foreign travelers should be fully vaccinated except for children while they are also required to present a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test result taken 48 hours prior to their trip, or a negative laboratory-based antigen result taken 24 hours before departure.

Puyat said they are elated by the continuous arrival of foreign tourists, as well as domestic travelers going on a trip amid the easing of quarantine restrictions in the country.

She said almost all of the resorts and hotels in tourist destinations nationwide were already fully booked for the upcoming Holy Week vacation.

Puyat reminded the public, however, to strictly adhere to minimum health protocols while having fun during their vacation to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

She urged individuals to get fully vaccinated and get their booster doses before going on a vacation to ensure their protection against severe and critical illness brought about by the virus.

The Department of Health recorded on Sunday, April 3, 690 additional Covid-19 cases, bringing the total tally to 3,679,629.

So far, over 65 million individuals have been fully vaccinated in the country, while more than 64 million have received the first dose a

Is rice dangerous for a kidney stone patient?

 

Lucia Garcia

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My name is Lucia Garcia, 36 years old. I was graduated from the Pritzker School of Medicine at University of Chicago, my major is clinical medicine. I have been working at Hospitals. I am fully committed to helping people take control of their health and realize their potential as human beings. As a doctor, my motto is “Knowledge not shared is wasted”.

Rice is the staple food for more than half of the world's population, including countless people with kidney stones, but they still eat rice every day.

Rice is an extremely nutrient-rich food, and rice has nothing to do with kidney stones.

Kidney stones are preventable and treatable, and the easiest way to prevent and treat kidney stones is to eat the right foods.

Studies have shown that approximately 70% to 80% of stones are calcium oxalate stones.

The accumulation of oxalic acid in the body is the main factor leading to kidney stones.

In addition, excessive intake of high-sugar, high-protein and high-purine foods is also linked to kidney stones.

Kidney stone patients should eat less foods high in oxalic acid, such as spinach, beans, carrots, mushrooms, amaranth, coriander, celery, grapes, oranges, strawberries and so on.

It is recommended that patients with kidney stones often eat some black fungus. Black fungus contains alkaloids and various minerals, which can produce a strong chemical reaction to kidney stones, dissolve the stones, shrink them and excrete them from the body.

Patients with kidney stones also are advised to drink plenty of water. Studies have shown that a 50% increase in urine output can reduce the incidence of kidney stones by 85%.

Why is God so merciful?

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

THE simple answer is that because he loves us. His love does not alter even if we go against him. He will do everything to bring us back to him. He will offer forgiveness. He will bear with us the consequences of our sins. And yes, he not only is willing to be like us in everything except sin, but also to die for our sins.

This mercy of God is shown in a graphic way in that story of the woman caught in adultery. (Jn 8,1-11) That woman, all covered with shame, did not even explicitly say she was sorry, but Christ did not condemn her. He just told her to sin no more.

We have to realize that mercy is the ultimate expression of love, and God is love. Love is the very essence of his being which, as we all know, is an eternal being, that is, no beginning and no end. Love can never be measured. It has the character of infinity, no borders, no limits, no walls.

And since we are supposed to be his image and likeness, then we have to realize also that we have to love and be merciful the way God loves and is merciful to everyone. “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful,” Christ said. (Lk 6,36) Indeed, how God is should also be how we ought to be. It’s a tremendous goal we have to pursue, but God has actually given us everything so we can reach that goal, in spite of our limitations.

We should just learn how to be forgiving and understanding of others. For this, we should be willing to make sacrifices for others, since to have this God-like attitude of mercy, we cannot help but, like Christ, be willing to suffer for the others. And this is not being unfair with our own selves, inflicting severe injustice on our own selves. We have to realize that given the fact that we are all brothers and sisters, and children of God, object of the constant love of God, mercy becomes the fullness of justice.

If Christ can offer forgiveness to those who crucified him—and there can be no worse evil than killing Christ who is God—why do we find it hard to offer forgiveness to others?

It is presumed that all of us sin one way or another. That’s why St. John said: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 Jn 1,8) I am sure that our personal experience can bear that out easily.

No matter how saintly we try ourselves to be, sin always manages to come in because of our wounded humanity and the many temptations within and around us. As St. John said, we have to contend with three main enemies: our own wounded flesh, the devil and the world corrupted by sin.

The awareness of this truth is not meant to depress us but rather to keep us humble and always feeling in need of God. We should be wary when we would just depend solely on our own resources to tackle this predicament. We need God!

The awareness of this truth should also help us to develop the attitude to forgive one another as quickly as possible, since that is the only way we can be forgiven. When we find it hard to forgive others, it is a clear sign that we are full of ourselves, are self-righteous, proud and vain. It is a clear sign that we are not yet with Christ.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND?

“Money makes the world go round; however, happiness greases the axle.

Without this lubricant, life will seize.”

― Paul Van Der Merwe

The lyrics of 'Money makes the world go round' may be somewhat repetitive but ... that the speed with which the money went around would affect the economy.

"People Make the World Go Round" is a song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, originally recorded by The Stylistics and released in 1972 through Avco Records as the final single from their self-titled debut studio album, The Stylistics (1971). It reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, #25 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #6 on the Soul Singles chart in the United States.

Some people have money to burn! Every time I observe them, I feel that their money is going down their drain. Yes, "money talks". The more money you have, the more you might become avaricious. Every time we have to dig deeper into our pockets, we might long to be like those people, who don't see the difference between a 500 or 1,000 bill.

I am really not rich! I also wouldn't hesitate to say that I would like to be so! Being rich means having wealth! Wealth is abundance, opulence and affluence. Affluences become quickly influenced. Dyed-in-the-wool millionaires or even multi-millionaires lose their view of reality many times. They can't even see the horizon, which could be the demarcation of their real estate. They don't even recognize the wonderful flowers growing and blooming in their gardens.

Money calms down! Sure. No doubts at all! We all need an income to survive for our daily needs - and, maybe, a little bit more. Many of us struggle through life and work like slaves for a pitiful daily minimum wage. If you're rich, you might be on the top. But believe me, once you are on top, you will have some unwelcome, mostly acceptable companions such as loneliness, so-called friends (!), parasites and free-loaders.

These companions will let you scream in pain, because you will start missing things you have expected from them: real friendship, love, care, comprehension, understanding, sympathy, appreciation... .Remember such things? Miss such things?

Yes, money can give you a wonderful sleep, and you might stay in one of the most luxurious beds - but being awake, while your poorest neighbor sleeps better and more peacefully on the floor. There are many sayings about money. I like this one: Money can buy books but not brains. You might study a lot and get a lot of experiences; it's just a pity, if you don't use them at the right time for the right people in your surroundings.

Money can buy food but no appetite. Who reaps the benefits of it? A full to overflowing store room will never be satisfying, if sour free-loaders join your table and push away your real friends.

Our last earthly dress has no more pockets. The remembrance of how we acted and lived together with our fellow creatures will remain forever. With money, we might be able to let the devil dance. But, money alone doesn't make us happy. Money kills more people and friendships than a cudgel.

The more money, the more problems.

The more money, the more we have to pay and the higher our bills become... .

Money makes the world go round, the world goes round ... .

LPG prices up by P3.25-P3.27/kg

by Myrna M. Velasco, Manila Bulletin

Household budget for cooking fuel will be stretched anew this April as the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products have been increased by P3.25 per kilogram to P3.27 per kg or aggregate P35.75 to P35.97 for the standard 11-kilogram cylinder.

The LPG price hike took effect Friday, April 1 until end this month, based on the pricing parameter being enforced in the industry.

As of this writing, LPG firms that already adjusted their prices had been Petron Corporation for its Gasul and Fiesta LPG; Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. for its Super LPG; and Solane LPG.

Of the three players, Solane implemented the biggest hike of P3.27 per kilogram, while Petron and Phoenix LPG products raised their prices by P3.25 per kg.

Additionally, Petron announced P1.81 per liter hike on its autoLPG while Phoenix Petroleum imposed a slightly leaner increase of P1.80 per liter for that alternative fuel for the transport sector.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has attributed the uptick in international contract prices that had been primarily benchmarked with Saudi Aramco, the pricing reference for Asian markets.

Prior to this round of cost adjustment, the pick-up price of LPG products in Metro Manila retail outlets had been at P880.45 to P1,140 per tank, according to the monitoring report of the energy department.

In April 2021, LPG prices ranged from P605 to P784 per cylinder as against this month’s prices of P995 to P1,175 or roughly P300 to P400 higher in just a span of one year.

Costlier LPG will further erode the purchasing power of Filipino consumers, who in several months had also been saddled with series of astronomical upswings at the pumps.

For next week, however, the general expectation will be rollback for gasoline and diesel prices.

Dagupan City sizzles at 52°C heat index

by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz, Manila Bulletin

The highest heat index in the country on Friday, April 1, was recorded in Dagupan City, Pangasinan at 52 degrees Celsius (°C).

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) defines heat index as the measurement of how hot it feels when relative humidity is factored in with the actual air temperature.

If the heat index is over 52°C, PAGASA said there is “extreme danger” as “heatstroke is imminent.”

Based on its monitoring on Friday, the five monitoring stations that logged the highest heat index values for the day were:

Dagupan City, Pangasinan (52°C, 2 p.m.)

Masbate City, Masbate (41°C, 2 p.m.)

Calapan, Oriental Mindoro (41°C, 2 p.m.)

Iba, Zambales (41°C, 2 p.m.)

Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur (40°C, 1 p.m.)

With heat indices between 41°C and 51°C, PAGASA said there is impending “danger as heat cramps and heat exhaustion are likely,” while “heat stroke is probable with continued activity.”

So far, Dagupan City registered the highest heat index in 2022 at 53℃ on March 17.

Heat index is at least 3 degrees Celsius (°C) to 4°C higher than the actual air temperature.

However, PAGASA said that full exposure to sunshine can increase the heat index by 8 degrees Celsius.

From March to May, PAGASA provides heat index monitoring and forecast information that can be viewed on their website.

All Fools Day in the age of fake news

by Manila Bulletin

Are you sure you’re reading this right? It’s April Fools’ Day.

It’s celebrated around the world in many different ways, but in any way it is observed, someone has to play the fool.

In the Philippines, as in Spain and Mexico, there is a Yuletide version of April Fools’ Day — Niños Inocentes, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, as we call it, or Dia de los Santos Inocentes as it is for the Spanish and the Mexicans. It’s celebrated every year on Dec. 28 in remembrance of the massacre of the newborns and the firstborns in Bethlehem by order of King Herod of Judea in reaction to a prophecy that, the King of the Jews thus born, one of those children could oust him.

Through the years, the commemoration of this biblical tragedy has not been as grim, being part of a festive season. An angel warned Joseph, who brought his family, the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, to safety in Egypt before the massacre took place, so the joke was on Herod. He played the fool and so the day, much like its April counterpart, has since become a day of pranks, the day revelers try to find someone, a friend or family member, to play Herod, the fool.

Niños Inocentes is All Fools Day in December, replete with spoof reports and lots of humor in the newspapers and the news channels in most Spanish-speaking countries, where the jokes are called “inocentadas.” Until the 1980s, Filipinos would avoid lending anything, especially money, on Dec. 28 because chances were they would never get it back.

Today is All Fools’ Day in April and in most countries, this is the day to play pranks on unsuspecting folk. No one knows exactly where it originated. There have been suggestions that it might have been prompted by reactions to the Edict of Rousillon, promulgated by Charles IX in 1564, to change the date of the New Year from Easter to Jan. 1 throughout Christendom. Those who failed to see that Easter was lunar — meaning falling on “the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox” — and therefore a moveable feast were subsequently called poisson d’avril or April fools.

Once upon a time, All Fools Day was a big deal.

In 1957, the BBC played a spoof documentary of a family in Ticino in Switzerland harvesting strands of spaghetti from a tree, like grape from a vine, to which Americans reacted with as much incredulity as with great interest, wanting, as the BBC has put it, “to find out where they could purchase their very own spaghetti bush.”

In the mid-1990s, Taco Bell took out full-page ads in seven leading American newspapers to announce that, in the hope of helping the US reduce its debt, it had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell, eliciting thousands of calls, many from irate citizens, for both Taco Bell and the National Park Service, before it was revealed at noon on April 1, 1996 that it was all a hoax. The ad won many awards.

Those days are gone. Nowadays, we potentially play the fool every time news on the web astounds us. The internet has ruined All Fools Day — or made it every day.

DA declares bird flu outbreak in the Philippines

The Department of Agriculture (DA) declared on Wednesday, March 30, an outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI) or H5N1 in the country.

This, as the DA reported an increasing number of avian flu cases mostly in Central Luzon.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said duck and quail farms in Central Luzon farms are mostly affected by bird flu, which he reiterated, was caused by migratory birds visiting the country.

We need faith for miracles to happen

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

GIVEN the precarious and wounded condition of our human life, plus the fact that we are meant to live a supernatural life, one that is simply beyond our human powers to attain without the help of God’s grace, we have to understand that many times we need to ask for miracles, those extraordinary interventions we ask of God for the simple reason that we would just find ourselves in some situations to be helpless and hopeless.

In fact, in the world today, we can detect an increasing number of predicaments that often reduce us to helplessness. This can be brought about by the new technologies that, while giving us a lot of advantages, can also cause great harm. Yes, these new technologies are a double-edged sword.

This truth about our need for faith for miracles to happen was illustrated many times in the gospel where all sorts of people approached Christ asking for some miracles. In the gospel of St. John (4,43-54) for example, we are given that episode of a royal official who begged Christ to heal his ill son. And the main factor that made that miracle take place was the faith that officials had.

“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe,” Christ said. But the royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” And since that official believed, his son was cured.

We have to have a strong faith for miracles to happen. If we have this kind of faith, we know that we always need to go to Christ, like those many helpless characters in the gospel who approached him for a cure. In other words, we cannot anymore rely on our human natural and human powers alone to handle our extraordinary predicaments. We have to beg for miracles!

Miracles are certainly part of what God has made available for our problems. When St. Paul said: “God will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it,” (1 Cor 10,13) he must have included this extraordinary recourse to miracles as one of God’s ways for us to endure any temptation or predicament.

And so let us go to Christ like the blind man Bartimaeus (Mk 10,46-52), the woman with the flow of blood (Mk 5,25), the 10 lepers (Lk 17,11-19), the man born blind (Jn 9,1-12), the man possessed by a legion of devils (Mk 5,1-10), and many others. Let’s go to him without delay, without hesitation.

We can also help others go to Christ if they themselves cannot do it, like what the father of a possessed boy did (Mk 9,17-24), those who brought a paralytic to Christ (Mk 2,4), the centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant (Lk 7,1-10), etc. We can do a lot of good to others if we do this.

What is important is that we approach Christ with deep faith. In those miraculous cures Christ did, he always referred to the great faith of those who asked for those miracles.

Let us humble ourselves so that that faith can grow and show itself in deeds, like intense prayers and sacrifice. Remember what Christ told his disciples why they could not cure an epileptic boy. It was because of their little faith. (cfr. Mt 17,20)

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com