Let’s always feel God’s constant love for us

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

“AS the Father loves me, so I also love you.” (Jn 15,9) Words of Christ that are worth engraving indelibly in our mind and heart. They clearly show us how much God loves us. Imagine, the love that God the Father lavished on God the Son is the same love that is also lavished on us!

This truth of our faith should drive us crazy as well as move us to learn to love God in return and to love everybody else with the same love God has for all of us. And Christ gives us the secret of how we can have such love that, according to him, will give us our complete joy. (cfr. Jn 15,11) 

And that is to keep God’s commandments. “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,” he said, “just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” (Jn 15,10)

Given the way love is understood by many of us, we need to learn to distinguish between what is genuine love and fake love, between what is objectively good and evil and what may just be our own ideas of them that do not conform to the truth.

Nowadays, the ability to distinguish these essential elements in our life is most needed since we are in very complicated times and many people, especially the young, the so-called millennials, are unfortunately thrown into deep confusion and ignorance. Some people have even described such sad phenomenon as invincibly irremediable.

But I believe there’s always hope and that we can still manage to get to the truth. And so, the first thing that we can say with regard to this issue is that to distinguish between truth and falsehood, between good and evil, between genuine love and fake love, we need to have a close, intimate relationship with God.

After all, he is the creator of all things, the first and ultimate lawgiver, the very foundation of reality. Without him, we go out on a limb, and expose ourselves to many dangers. Not that with him, we are free of dangers. In fact, with him, we will always be hounded by temptations from inside us and outside us. But at least with him, we are sure of the path we are taking, and the choice we will be making.

Our love, to be true, can only flow from God who loves himself. And that love is shown to us and is made available to us by Christ who commanded us precisely to love one another as he himself has loved us. (cfr Jn 13,34)

This love that comes from God through Christ in the Holy Spirit will always be in the truth, will always be consistent irrespective of our conditions and circumstances, will always know how to adapt itself to different situations without getting lost.

And given our human condition that is prone to confusion and error, we should realize that we need to always renew and purify our love. That’s simply because of the tension between our nature and our supernatural goal, not to mention our present wounded human condition that is prone to temptation and sin and to all kinds of weaknesses. We unavoidably contend with these conditions in our earthly life. 

We can always start with good intentions and the best of our efforts in anything that we do. But if we do not constantly renew and purify our love for God and neighbour that should inspire all our actions, we simply cannot go the distance.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Filipinos continue to rule dancesport

By Jean Malanum

GOLDEN PERFORMANCE Mark Jayson Corales Gayon and Mary Joy Guiao Renigen of the Philippines compete in the slow foxtrot category of the dancesport event at the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, on Monday, May 16, 2022. PHOTO BY NHAC NGUYEN/AFP

GOLDEN PERFORMANCE Mark Jayson Corales Gayon and Mary Joy Guiao Renigen of the Philippines compete in the slow foxtrot category of the dancesport event at the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, on Monday, May 16, 2022. PHOTO BY NHAC NGUYEN/AFP

THE country's successful campaign in dancesport at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Hanoi, Vietnam, has proven once again that the Filipinos are the best in the region.

After winning five golds, five silvers and two bronzes, the Philippines retained the overall title it won during the 2019 edition held at Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.

Philippine Dancesport Federation president Becky Garcia commended the Standard and Latin teams for making their country proud.

"They did their best because they are focused and passionate in their dancing," Garcia told The Manila Times on Wednesday.

Ana Leonila Nualla and Sean Mischa Aranar produced three gold medals in Standard Viennese Waltz, Standard Tango and Standard All Five Dances, the same three events they ruled in 2019.

In the Viennese Waltz event, they defeated Thailand's Anucha Wijitkoon and Pasraporn Phandech while Vietnam's Minh Vu Hoang Anh and Xuan Nguyen Truong won the bronze.

They triumphed in the Tango event, beating Thailand's Thanawan Yananun and Issaparung Duangkaew (silver) and Vietnam's Duc Hoa Nguyen and Yeu Nguyen Thi Hai, while in the All Five Dances, they conquered Anucha and Pasraporn (silver) and Duc Hoa and Yeu Nguyen (bronze).

"Our fighting spirits are high during the competition. We are determined to give them three gold-level performances," the 30-year-old Nualla, a licensed chemist who is now a full-time athlete, said.

"We never stopped training even during the pandemic. We're always thinking about the SEA Games. In our own way, we made sure that we will be ready for the competition," Nualla, who has been dancing with Sean for nine years, added.

Mary Joy Renigen and Mark Jayson Gayon also retained their title in the Standard Slow Foxtrot event, beating Thailand's Anucha Wijitkoon and Pasraporn Phandech (silver) and Malaysia's Leonard Jie Ren Hoh and Ning Huan Mu (bronze).

They claimed the silver medal in the Standard Quickstep event won by Thailand's Thanawan Yananun and Issarapong Duangkaew with Vietnam's Minh Vu Hoang Anh and Xuan Nguyen Truong placing third.

In the Standard Waltz, Renigen and Gayon lost the gold medal to Thanawan and Issarapong while Vietnam's Duc Hoa Nguyen and Yen Nguyen Thi Hai secured the bronze medal.

"I can say that our performance as partners has gone to another level because we trust each other more. I know in my heart that my partner is more confident this time, he's the one telling me to relax because we are competing outside of the country," the 27-year-old Renigen from Taguig City said.

She graduated from University of Makati with a physical wellness degree majoring in dance and is currently dancesport head coach of Rizal Technological University in Mandaluyong City.

Renigen and Gayon stopped dancing for two years during the pandemic and resumed only in October last year.

"Before the SEA Games, we trained in London, United Kingdom from April 14-26. We fund-raised a budget for it and by God's grace and with the help of many generous people, we were able to pursue it. We also trained in Cebu from April 30 to May 4, with Italian coach Paolo Bosco, a seven-time world champion in Standard. This training is through the generosity of Pagcor chair Andrea Domingo," Renigen shared.

Renigen and Gayon have been dancing partners since 2014. They joined the national team in 2017.

"These are great help for us in winning these medals and of course, all the people behind us who never stopped believing and trusting us, despite all the struggles," she added.

Coach German Enriquez is all praises for the Standard dance team, saying "the team performed very well. Better than in practice."

He also observed that the dancers from other countries "have also improved in terms of power."

The country's only gold medal in the Latin category was delivered by Michael Angelo Marquez and Stephanie Sabalo in the Cha-cha event.

Vietnam's Kien Nguyen Trung and Anh Pham Hong took the silver medal while Thailand's Shinawat Lerson and Preeyanoot Patoomsriwiroje won the bronze medal.

Marquez and Sabalo placed second to Vietnam's Doan Minh Truong Nguyen and Huong Dang Thu in the Jive event. Thailand's Jettapon Inthakun and Apichaya Kuptawanith were third.

They also finished second to Doan and Huong in the All Five Dances event, while Thailand's Lerson and Patoomsriwiroje walked away with the bronze medal.

Wilbert Aunzo and Pearl Marie Caneda won the silver medal in the Samba. Kien and Anh Pham Hong got the gold medal while Thailand's Jettapon Inthakun and Apichaya Kuptawanith took the bronze medal.

Kien and Anh beat Jettapon and Apichaya for the gold medal in Rumba while Aunzo and Caneda picked up the bronze medal.

Aunzo and Caneda also bagged the bronze medal in the Paso Doble, where Vietnam's Doan Minh Truong Nguyen and Huong Dang Thu pocketed the gold medal while Lerson and Patoomsriwiroje won the silver medal.

𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐔 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐯 𝐔𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Strongholds are weakened and progress starts to sprout in the corners of Davao de Oro’s valleys formerly under the grasp of the communist groups. 

The deterioration of the red strongholds significantly turned the tables in favor of the residents in far-flung communities who suffered circumstances brought by the clash between the government and the rebels in the past years.

Since 2016, the eleven (11) identified guerilla fronts in Davao de Oro have turned down to one (1) in 2021, a shred of concrete evidence that the provincial government unleashed all its efforts to bring the program of the Duterte’s Administration in combating insurgency into action.

Recently, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) honored thirty-eight (38) Leaders as partners of peace at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). Seventeen (17) of which are Mindanawon Leaders including Governor Tyron Uy of Davao de Oro.

In a statement by OPAPRU Undersecretary David Diciano, OPAPRU honors its stakeholders for helping the agency towards pushing forward its programs and projects which enable former combatants to smoothly reintegrate into mainstream society and live as peaceful and productive Filipinos.

In Davao de Oro, one of the determiners of progress is achieving peace all throughout its scope through programs under its Peace Agenda. From 2016 to 2021, a total of 1,116 former rebels in the province received assistance and firearms remuneration from the Enhanced Comprehensive  Local Integration Program (ECLIP) of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). 

Moreover, the Oplan Pagbabago program, a flagship program under Gov. Uy’s peace agenda, is instrumental to the achievements in relation to peace and order in the province. The program was able to pull-off accomplishments through provisions of assistance to former combatants and community-based serbisyo caravan which offers services to Dabawenyos in hard to reach areas.

Further, its strategic communications team also continues conducting information drives to prevent the infiltration of the communist groups in vulnerable sectors in the society such as the youth sector, labor groups, indigenous peoples, and women groups among others.

OPAPRU thanked its partners and stakeholders who worked with them side by side, focused on the goal of achieving secured and peaceful communities, and transforming the lives of former combatants. 

Governor Uy expressed his gratitude to be a part of the OPAPRU, and prays that achievements of peace in the province will be sustained in order for every dabawenyo to live in peace and harmony. (JA PAO-IPRD, photo from Mindanews and J. Cadiz)

It must be ‘all hands on deck’ to help protect PH tourism

by Manila Bulletin

Among the most affected by the pandemic is the hospitality and tourism industry when lockdowns and quarantines forced hotels, resorts, bed-and-breakfast inns, amusement parks, etc. to shut their doors. Suddenly, the thriving and booming tourism sector faced its worst nightmare – airports were closed, tours got called off, room bookings were cancelled, events were put on hold indefinitely.

For a country that relied on tourism for decades to boost the local economy and employ thousands of workers, the global health pandemic in March 2020 was a tragedy that no one had predicted.  It should be noted that prior to the pandemic, the tourism sector contributed US$92.6 billion to the economy, which plummeted to only US$17.8 billion in 2020.

 

Fast forward two years and there is currently a semblance of normalcy due to the low number of new Covid cases. Even after the campaign season and the elections, health experts saw no spike in Covid numbers, allowing them to recommend to the IATF the extension of Alert Level 1 until the end of the month.

With this encouraging news, it seems it is “business as usual” as the country remains open to tourists from countries with low Covid cases. But it is not enough to just “open” the doors of businesses involved in tourism – the government and stakeholders must now work hand-in-hand to strengthen the industry to make it ready, responsive, and resilient so that it can withstand and survive any future “shocks.”

In a report entitled “Supporting Post Covid-19 Economic Recovery in Southeast Asia” by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) last May 13, 2022, it said that the Covid-19 crisis has “exacerbated the tourism industry’s pre-pandemic structural challenges.”

“Prior to the pandemic, the tourism sector was beset with four structural challenges – first, there was over reliance on foreign tourists with focus on a few destinations; second, a lack of infrastructure outside major destinations; third, high informal employment; and last, the (tourism sector in Southeast Asia) only attracted low-cost travelers.”

The structural challenges, the ADB added, worsened when Covid-19 struck and created new challenges for the industry.

“Now that tourists are more aware of the importance of health precautions, it has become a crucial consideration in selecting travel destinations. Moreover, there are indications that Covid-19 could lead to a fundamental decline in long-haul international tourism, which was exacerbated by the adoption of digital tools for virtual meetings, conferences, and events tourism,” the ADB reported.

To address these concerns, the regional bank suggested four policy response areas for tourism.

“The first is focusing on ways to restore demand as well as strengthening domestic tourism by developing marketing campaigns to convince travelers it is safe to travel. Second is building new channels of demand to diversify tourist destinations and develop lesser-known points of interest, while tapping into high growth segments like ecotourism, health and premium wellness experiences, and halal tourism,” said the ADB.

Meanwhile, the third involves capacity building to support future digital demand, touching on the need for authorities to invest in training workers in both digital and non-digital skills to tackle the issues of low pay and informality.

The fourth calls for increasing industry resilience, where the tourism industry in each country must work closely with governments to improve communication channels.

“Creating a permanent crisis management task force may also ensure that a country’s tourism sector is better able to cope with future shocks,” the ADB said.

All of these suggestions form part of an “all hands on deck” approach to ensure that no matter what happens in the world’s affairs, our tourism industry will not be crippled and deemed “useless” because of the lack of foreign tourists or cancellation of plane flights.  Since it is more fun in the Philippines, we now have to make it safer for all.

Comelec names 12 senatorial bets to be proclaimed

(JEL SANTOS/MANILA BULLETIN)

by Jel Santos, Manila Bulletin

As the uncanvassed certificate of canvass (COC) can no longer affect the senatorial race, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), has named the 12 winning senatorial candidates who will be officially proclaimed by the poll body at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Forum Tent on Wednesday, May 18, at 4 p.m.

In its Canvass Report No. 7 which covered 172 out of 173 COCs, the senatorial bet with the most number of votes was Robin Padilla, garnering a total of 26,612,434 votes.

Padilla was followed by Loren Legarda with 24,264,969 votes and third in rank was Raffy Tulfo who got 23,396,954 votes.

The other senatorial candidates who won were Win Garchalian (20,602,655 votes); Chiz Escudero (20,271,458 votes); Mark Villar (19,475,592 votes); Allan Peter Cayetano (19,295,314 votes) ; Migz Zubiri (18,734,336 votes) ;Joel Villanueva (18,486,034 votes) ; JV Ejercito (15,841,858 votes) ; and Risa Hontiveros (15,420,807 votes).

The last spot was won by Jinggoy Estrada who garnered 15,108,625 votes.

As the number of the remaining untransmitted votes from Lanao del Sur and Shanghai, China will no longer affect the 12 winning senatorial candidates, the poll body’s supervisory group has recommended to the Comelec en banc to push through with the official proclamation of the winning bets on May 18.

“Even if we add the 685,643 registered voters of Lanao del Sur and the 1,991 registered Filipino overseas voters from Shanghai with the votes of the 13th ranked candidate 13,263,970 votes, the votes of the 12th ranked candidate 15,108,635 votes will no longer be overcome considering the margin of 1,844,655 votes,” it said, which was approved by the Comelec en banc.

Recently, Comelec Acting Spokesperson John C. Laudiangco said the poll body will proclaim the senators-elect without their rankings yet as they will still wait for the conduct of special elections in several barangays in Lanao del Sur this month.

The poll body said the winning senators will only be allowed to bring five companions.

The Comelec en banc, sitting as the NBOC, is canvassing the votes for senators and party-lists at the Philippine International Convention Center Forum Tent in Pasay City.

It can be recalled that elections in Shanghai, China did not push through due to Covid-19 lockdown. Meanwhile, the Comelec declared failure of elections in 14 barangays in Lanao del Sur, forcing the poll body to order special elections.

Das Auswärtige Amt in Berlin gibt bekannt: Philippinen Reisehinweise per 17.5.2022

www.auswaertiges-amt.de

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Philippinen: Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise (Teilreisewarnung)

17.05.2022

Letzte Änderung:

Aktuelles – Wegfall des Abschnitts Wahlen,



Lagen können sich schnell verändern und entwickeln. Insbesondere die COVID-19-Bestimmungen unterliegen laufenden Änderungen.Wir empfehlen Ihnen:
- Verfolgen Sie Nachrichten und Wetterberichte.- Achten Sie auf einen ausreichenden Reisekrankenversicherungsschutz. https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/reise-gesundheit/-/350944
- Abonnieren Sie unseren Newsletter https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/newsroom/newsletter/bestellen-node oder nutzen Sie unsere App „Sicher Reisen". https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/app-sicher-reisen/350382
- Folgen Sie uns auf Twitter: AA_SicherReisen https://twitter.com/AA_SicherReisen
- Registrieren Sie sich in unserer Krisenvorsorgeliste. https://krisenvorsorgeliste.diplo.de
- Erkundigen Sie sich vorab bei den Behörden/Botschaften Ihres Reiselandes https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/vertretungen-anderer-staaten zu den aktuell geltenden, verbindlichen Einreisebestimmungen sowie bei Flug- und Bahngesellschaften nach den geltenden Beförderungsbestimmungen.
- Beachten Sie unseren Haftungsausschluss https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/haftungsausschluss/2500954 und den Hinweis zu Inhalten anderweitiger Anbieter. https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/inhalte-anderweitiger-anbieter/2500956

Aktuelles

COVID-19

Angesichts der weltweiten COVID-19-Pandemie bestehen weiterhin Risiken bei internationalen Reisen, insbesondere für Personen ohne vollständigen Impfschutz. Hierzu mehr unter COVID-19. https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/reise-gesundheit/gesundheit-fachinformationen/reisemedizinische-hinweise/Coronavirus/-/2309820

Einreise

Bestimmungen zur Einreise ändern sich mit der Pandemielage häufig. Bitte informieren Sie sich zusätzlich auf der Webseite der Regierung der Philippinen https://www.doh.gov.ph/.

Die Einreise für vollständig geimpfte Ausländer ist für touristische Aufenthalte und Geschäftsreisen bis zu 30 Tagen möglich, wenn sie unter Executive Order No. 408 (s. 1960) https://dfa.gov.ph/list-of-countries-for-21-day-visa fallen und hierdurch von der Visumspflicht befreit. Reisende müssen einen negativen PCR-Test nicht älter als 48 Stunden oder negativen Antigentest mit englischsprachigem Zertifikat (kein Selbsttest) nicht älter als 24 Stunden vor Abflug vorlegen.

Reisende müssen außerdem bei Einreise im Besitz eines noch sechs Monate gültigen Reisepasses sein und einen Flugschein über einen Rück- oder Weiterflug und eine in den Philippinen anerkannte Reisekrankenversicherung mit Mindestdeckungsschutz in Höhe von 35.000 USD für den vorgesehenen Aufenthaltszeitraum vorlegen können. Hiervon ausgenommen sind ausländische Ehepartner und Kinder philippinischer Staatsangehöriger sowie ehemalige philippinische Staatsangehörige mit „Balikbayan Privileg“ und deren mitreisende ausländische Ehepartner und Kinder. Die Staatenliste kann auf der Webseite der philippinischen Botschaft in Berlin http://philippine-embassy.de/visas/ abgerufen werden. Deutschland gehört derzeit zu diesen Ländern. Ausländische Kinder unter 12 Jahren müssen nicht voll geimpft sein und auch keinen Nachweis über ihren Impfstatus vorlegen, wenn sie ihre vollständig geimpften Eltern begleiten.

Die Einreise für vollständig geimpfte Inhaber von Langzeitvisa ist unter den genannten Bedingungen ebenfalls möglich, ein „Entry Exemption Document (EED)“ ist nicht mehr erforderlich.
Nicht vollständig geimpften ausländischen Reisenden oder Reisenden mit fehlendem anerkannten Impfnachweis wird die Einreise verweigert.
Als vollständig geimpft gilt, wer einen Impfnachweis über eine in den Philippinen erfolgte vollständige Impfung oder einen von den Philippinen anerkannten ausländischen Impfnachweis vorlegt. Deutsche Impfnachweise in Form des gelben WHO-Impfbuches oder das Digitale COVID-Zertifikat der EU werden anerkannt. Kreuzimpfungen werden akzeptiert, eine einfache Impfung nach einem durchgemachten Infekt ist hingegen nicht ausreichend.
Nach Einreise ist keine Quarantäne aber Selbstbeobachtung auf Symptome für sieben Tage erforderlich. Bei Auftreten von Symptomen ist die Kontaktaufnahme mit den lokalen Gesundheitsbehörden verpflichtend.

Nähere Informationen können bei der philippinischen Botschaft http://philippine-embassy.de/ erfragt werden.

Reisende müssen sich vor Einreise über das Portal „One Health Pass" https://www.onehealthpass.com.ph/e-HDC/ registrieren. Der Nachweis in Form eines QR-Codes ist den Fluggesellschaften am Check-in vorzulegen.

Informationen zu eventuellen Erfordernissen für Flugreisen erteilen die einzelnen Fluggesellschaften.

Ausreise und Transit

Die Ausreise ist Ausländern, die sich im Land aufhalten, jederzeit erlaubt. Manche Fluggesellschaften verlangen für den Reiseantritt in den Philippinen einen negativen PCR- oder Antigentest oder einen Impfnachweis. 

Beschränkungen im Land
Die Quarantänemaßnahmen sind regional unterschiedlich. Derzeit gilt im Großraum Manila eine niedrige Quarantänestufe mit teilweise Einschränkungen in der Bewegungsfreiheit. Stadtbezirke können diese Einschränkungen eigenständig verschärfen.
Die zwischenzeitlich unterbrochenen regulären Verkehrsverbindungen zwischen den Inseln des Landes wurden wiederaufgenommen, können jedoch jederzeit kurzfristig wiedereingestellt werden. Reisen zwischen den Provinzen sind eingeschränkt möglich, allerdings variieren die Regularien stark. Es müssen teilweise Gesundheitszeugnisse, ein negativer PCR- oder Antigentest bzw. Impfnachweise vorgelegt werden. Die Nutzung öffentlicher Verkehrsmittel (auch Inlandsflüge und Fähren) ist zunehmend nur noch geimpften Personen erlaubt.
Die touristische Infrastruktur ist eingeschränkt, einige Hotels und Resorts sind geschlossen.
Im öffentlichen Raum (in Gebäuden wie auch im Freien) gilt Maskenpflicht, Abstand ist zu wahren. Menschenansammlungen sind nur eingeschränkt zulässig.

BIR poised to shut down Megaworld

 

By Mayvelin U. Caraballo, Manila Times

​​​​​​​The Bureau of Internal Revenue on Tuesday gave notice that it will serve a closure order against Megaworld Corporation but it did not disclose the reason.

The BIR requested media coverage on the "issuance of closure order against Megaworld Corporation" on May 18, Wednesday, in an advisory released on Tuesday.

It said that BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa, Regional Director Eduardo Pagulayan Jr. and several other offi

Guballa refused to provide additional information about the closure order.

Meanwhile, Megaworld said that it was verifying the issue with the BIR.

"We got hold of the media advisory regarding the closure order. We are currently verifying and clarifying this with the Bureau of Internal Revenue," Francisco Canuto, compliance and corporate information officer at Megaworld, said in a statement.

Megaworld has been involved in real estate development, leasing, and marketing since its inception in 1989, according to its business profile on the Philippine Stock Exchange. When it started developing the Eastwood City township in 1996, the company turned its focus to supplying office buildings to support business process outsourcing (BPO) businesses.

Its real estate portfolio comprises condominium apartments, subdivision lots and townhouses, as well as office and retail buildings. Megaworld's three main business sectors are residential real estate sales, leasing of office and retail space, particularly to BPO companies, and hotel operations management.

The company and its affiliates have built roughly 725 residential structures, 72 office towers, 24 lifestyle malls, and 12 hotel brands, including condotels, since its incorporation.

Is eating rice equivalent to eating sugar?

By: Christian Heicks

Quite a lot of answers here, but nobody really answers the question directly: Eating rice is NOT equivalent to eating sugar. Rice will become glucose in the body, while sugar is a 50/50 mixture of glucose and fructose.
Also, everybody's talking about blood sugar levels, but that's not the whole story. Fructose, for example doesn't even raise the blood sugar(glucose) level, but it's still bad - it's significantly worse than glucose, for several reasons:

1. Fructose can't be used by most cells of the body, so most is metabolized in the liver, with effects similar to alcohol (after all, alcohol is made from fructose). Excessive fructose consumption might contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

2. Fructose oxidizes proteins about 7 times faster than glucose. Oxidation of proteins occurs naturally in the body, rendering the proteins unusable. (Search for "advanced glycation end products"). This is also why a high blood sugar level isn’t good.

3. Fructose is converted to fat more "efficiently" than glucose. I don't know the exact number right now, but I think it was about 30 %, while only 10 % of glucose is converted to fat. (Yes, those numbers only apply for the specific amount used in that study, but other amounts shouldn't change that ratio too much.)

There are several other reasons, you can look them up on wikipedia or just google a bit. Or watch this talk:

So, what's with rice? Sure, rice has a higher glycemic index than sugar (that's because half of sugar - the fructose - doesn't contribute to the blood sugar level), but the glycemic index itself doesn't say much.
Rice isn't usually eaten separately. If eaten in a meal with other food, the glycemic index of rice (and with other foods as well) decreases dramatically.
Generally, fat, acid (e. g. vinegar) and fiber are responsible for that. So be careful with "low-fat"-meals.... (I don't think much of the whole "low-fat-movement", anyway).

So: If you eat rice in a meal, the glycemic index is often only half the value found in the tables - for normal amounts of rice, the resulting blood sugar level is no problem. And the body needs glucose, after all.

BEAT THE BLUES!

What does "beat the blues" mean? Without context, I would suppose it to mean "to overcome a blue mood or tendency toward feeling depressed."

The more rainy days like at the moment - the more people feel low. Not really depressed but a bit lackluster. Especially during Sundays or the first days of a longer vacation. Living in the Philippines is also much more different than in my home country Germany. As an expatriate, I learned to change my lifestyle here. I don't want to give suggestions or advice "about what to eat and to drink", or, better "what NOT"! Other experts and fellow columnists might do that much better.

However, I experienced myself that some simple things are really working well:

Distract yourself: the last thing you should do is lying in the bed wallowing in self-pity. It's better to distract yourself with a dose of normality. Watching a movie (possibly not a drama or tragedy!) or even cleaning the kitchen on a Sunday can help. Important is, that you move away from where you feel bad. I mostly love to re-arrange my office at home or do a simple walk around into nature. It really does miracles.

Forgive someone: when you forgive someone or even yourself, you release anger and resentment that's bogging you down. If you remain angry, you're carrying all the negatives of the day and maybe from the whole world. Check the news: there is already enough negativism. Natural disasters, war, corruption, incompetent politicians, bullying neighbours etc. etc.

Switch to realistic thinking: the happy medium between rose-tinted positive thinking and beat-yourself-up-negativity is when you can say, "Okay, I am having a bad day, but it doesn't make me feel a failure", instead of, "I feel awful and/or my life is awful". The last will only make you feel worse.

Develop a positive attitude: I met several expatriates, who love to complain about everything and everyone. I try my best to stay away from them. Nowhere on earth is paradise! Examine your thoughts and perceptions, and replace unhelpful thoughts patterns with a more positive approach. The difference between a happy person and someone who is really depressed isn't that one has all the world's luck. But, they perceive what's happening to them differently.

Do a life audit: some people become stuck in a rut because they don't take time to work out where they are heading. Try to make decisions to change your life and ask yourself what is getting in your way and what can you do about it. It is the same principle as going through your cupboards and tossing out the clothes that don't fit you any more. If there are no uses, they are just cluttering your life. And remember, you might even laugh about it later. Stop crying to "cope" (making sure everything goes smoothly!) and deal with life more simply.

Whether it's the weather, trouble at work or a broken heart, if you are dragging yourself through the day like a little slug of sadness I've got these ways to improve your mood that are free, easy and involve chocolate and hugs.

The distinctive mark of a true Christian

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

CHRIST said it very clearly. “This is how all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another,” he said. (Jn 13,35) And in another instance, he described how this love for one another should be. “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.” (Jn 15,12)

Let’s make no mistake about how this love should be. It definitely has a universal scope, such that even our enemies would be objects of our love. It’s a love that is inclusive despite our unavoidable differences and conflicts. It’s a love that, as St. Paul would describe it, “is patient and kind, does not envy or boast, not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Cor 13,2-8)

And the secret is to learn to see Christ in everyone, including those with whom we may have serious differences or are in conflict, no matter how deformed the image of Christ they bear. We have to go beyond seeing others in a purely human way without, of course, neglecting the human and natural in us.

In short, we have to see others in a spiritual way, within the framework of faith, hope and charity. Otherwise we cannot avoid getting entangled in our limited and conflict-prone earthly condition. And no amount of human justice and humanitarianism can fully resolve this predicament.

Thus, we need to develop and hone our skills of looking at others beyond the merely physical, social, economic, cultural or political way. While these aspects are always to be considered, we should not be trapped by them.

There are many reasons for this. First would be that we are all brothers and sisters, created by God in his image and likeness, and made children of his through his grace.

In spite of our differences—race, culture, beliefs, etc.—we are meant to care and love one another. Thus, our Lord told us to “love your neighbour as I have loved you.” (Jn 13,34) 

And how did Christ love us? By becoming man and assuming all our sinfulness, dying to it to give us a new life in him. His love was for everyone, and especially for those who were weak and handicapped not so much in the physical sense as in the moral sense.

It’s a love that is inclusive in spite of our unavoidable differences and conflicts in the areas of lifestyles, cultures, ideologies, opinions, preferences and even in beliefs, spiritualities and morals.

This is the inclusivity of charity that goes together with the exclusivity of truth. Working this combination out will always be, of course, a work in progress, with prudence and fortitude playing an important role in the process. Let’s just take it easy and be cool and calm as we also seriously undertake the lifelong task of combining this inclusivity of charity with the exclusivity of truth.

We need to remember that we always have to contend with our natural human limitations, not to mention the more subtle effects and consequences of sin, ours and those of others. We should not be too surprised and worried about this given condition in our life. We just have to do something about it.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com