Lorenzana faints during Rizal Park rites

By Kristina Maralit  and Francis Earl Cueto, Manila Times

(UPDATED) DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was rushed to hospital after he collapsed during the Independence Day rites at Rizal Park on Sunday.

Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, who was at the flag-raising ceremony, told reporters he heard what he believed was Lorenzana's head hitting the pavement.

"When we talked to him, he said he got dizzy," the senator said.

An ambulance took Lorenzana to an undisclosed hospital.

Go said the Defense chief was able to talk.

"I hope he's stable. I think he lacks sleep; he just came from a trip. It's really difficult when you haven't slept and the weather is quite hot," he said.

The 73-year-old outgoing secretary was among the top government officials who joined President Rodrigo Duterte during the flag-raising and wreath-laying at Rizal Park. Defense department spokesman Arsenio Andolong later said in a statement that Lorenzana fainted but is in "stable condition." Lorenzana "has been advised to rest" by his doctors, Andolong added.

He said that during the past weeks, the secretary went through a "hectic schedule," and was made to endure the hot weather on Sunday morning.

Lorenzana arrived from Singapore early Sunday where he attended a dialogue with his regional counterparts, he said.

"The Secretary also traveled recently to South Korea and other parts of the Philippines, while overseeing the defense operations of the country and transition to a new administration," Andolong said.

Lorenzana is now back in high spirits and is able to talk, Andolong said.

The Defense chief wanted to go home, but his doctors urged him to stay in the hospital for further observation, he said.

Another phreatic eruption detected in Bulusan

By Kaithreen Cruz, Manila Times

THE Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon in the Bicol Region had another phreatic eruption on Sunday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.

The eruption occurred at 3:37 a.m. and lasted 18 minutes based on seismic records.

Phivolcs, however, said the eruption plume was not visible on its camera monitors.

Bulusan remained at Alert Level 1 or low-level unrest, meaning that it is currently in an abnormal condition.

In its 24-hour observation from 5 a.m. on June 11 to 5 a.m. on June 12, Phivolcs recorded 136 volcanic earthquakes, with plumes 150 meters high in moderate emissions drifting west-northwest and northwest.

As of June 10, the recorded sulfur dioxide flux in the volcano was at 613 tons per day.

Phivolcs reminded concerned local government units and the public that entry into the 4-kilometer radius permanent danger zone is strictly prohibited and that vigilance in the 2-kilometer extended danger zone on the southeast sector should be exercised because of increased possibility of sudden and hazardous phreatic eruptions.

"People living within valleys and along river/stream channels, especially on the southeast, southwest and northwest sectors of the edifice should be vigilant against sediment-laden stream flows and lahars in the event of heavy and prolonged rainfall should [a] phreatic eruption occur," the agency said.

It also advised civil aviation authorities to avoid flying close to the volcano's summit as ash from any sudden phreatic eruption can be hazardous to an aircraft.

Last week, June 5, Bulusan also had a phreatic eruption that lasted 17 minutes, which placed the volcano from Alert Level 0 (normal) to Alert Level 1.

SHOPPING OR LOVE AND CARE?

Plastic money (or better known as credit cards), loneliness, and advertising - that's a dangerous mixture, owing to more and more people falling straight into shopping ecstasy.

Yesterday was Thursday again, the sunbeam touched us too much outside, the heat maybe too much too.  We were on the way to a shopping mall. Yes, they are really tempting us with their offers. The credit cards of many people glowed - everyone is all right for the money.

We don't need decent clothes any more! Our shoes make us a laughing-stock. Top stylish or even the latest fashion for a few pesos, sure, we can afford it!

Women especially (really?) arrange to meet very often for substantial shopping sprees. It's just fun, but sometimes it becomes a competition: Who gets hold of the most stylish and best special offers? It's paradoxical; actually they are not able to afford it. In spite of their strained financial situation, many people do unnecessary free-living shopping. They feel happy, content, satisfied, and relaxed.

Is shopping a substitutive or vicarious satisfaction because of less love and care? Yes, for a short moment shopping satisfies and eases mostly unfulfilled longings for love, appreciation, receiving attention and affection.

The shopping ecstasy will be followed by a happiness-intoxication. The new dress becomes a four-leaf clover and a lucky break. But, we became addicted... .

Disastrous, unlucky and awkward in shopping is that the special offers are not really needed. That's the point: it's just a kick-down which can be felt while shopping for useless things. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, or cosmetics will be used just once or once in a while, they will be cleared or concealed and hidden from other people. Our conscience is pricking us. Depression follows, an empty inwardness causes pain - up to the next ecstasy!

It's a dangerous vicious circle, which can bring us to a financial precipice. For a long time experts have warned: "The limits between pleasure, desire, frustration, and ecstasy shopping are fluent and fluid." I remember the lady yesterday "trying" to pay an amazing amount with three credit cards - always getting the cashier's "Excuse Ma-am, there is a problem with your credit card!". The lady went away by saying the wonderful sentence: "Okay lang, actually I don't need all this stuff!". Wow... .

Let me anticipate this: I don't want to mess up anybody's  shopping mall stroll. Not everybody buys a lot and is at the same time shopping-addicted. Boisterous and superfluous "reward-shopping" can be absolutely normal. Only a permanent recurring irresistible shopping compulsion needs an immediate action.

By the way: Love and care are emotions inherent in human beings. They are crucial in every relationship.  Care refers to a feeling of concern or interest or the act of attending to someone or something. Love, on the other hand, bears broader meaning.

The pursuit for truth

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

WE have to realize that the pursuit for truth is a very tricky one. To be sure, truth is not just a matter of citing facts and data. Though these are important and even indispensable, they are useless unless they are animated by the true spirit of truth.

We need to be familiar with the Spirit of Truth. He is the one who will show us the whole truth and not just some aspects of it. If we really want to be in the truth and not confused and lost in the many appearances of truth, we need to get in touch with the Spirit of Truth.

Christ himself said: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (Jn 16,13)

We have to take note that this business of getting to the whole truth involves a process. It’s not a one-shot deal. It involves some kind of journey. No one can ever say he has the whole truth until he reaches where the Spirit of truth would finally lead him, and that is when God becomes “all in all.” (cfr. 1 Cor 15,28)

We have to remember that everything that exists has something of the truth, since by merely existing, that something is already true. But as to whether it has the whole truth, it would depend whether it has the Spirit of truth or not.

The most important thing is to see if something that we consider to be true is in conformity with the Spirit of truth. Otherwise, we will be deceived and trapped by the many appearances of truth that do not bring us to the real thing which, in the end, can only be God.

Thus, we can say that even the devil, who is a liar and is the father of lies (cfr. Jn 8,44), has some truth in him. That he exists is already an indication that he is true and real. And everything that he says to tempt us certainly contains a lot of truth, otherwise we would not be tempted.

We really need to know what the truth is. That was the question Pilate asked Christ. (cfr Jn 18,38) But Christ already answered that question before it was asked. “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice,” he said.

There we have a clear answer as to what the truth is. It’s when we hear the voice of Christ, this time in the Holy Spirit. It’s a voice that is full of charity, understanding and compassion on others, patience and mercy. It’s also a voice that knows how to be strong and implement the requirements of justice.

Truth therefore is not just cold facts that we observe, nor some objective data that we derive from our studies and researches. Much less is it simply a matter of political opinion or some ideological bias or things of that sort. While giving us some aspects of truth, these do not have the last word. And as such, they are incomplete and can easily be manipulated.

That is why right now with everyone trying to say the truth without God, we are practically sinking in an ocean of fake news, hoaxes, disinformation, urban legends, propaganda, inane trivias, superstitions, biased opinions that seek to absolutize the relative and relativize the absolute, etc. As a consequence, we generate a very toxic atmosphere where conflicts, anger and hatred dominate.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Why does the Tagalog language use 'Mahal' which means 'expensive' or 'precious' to say 'love'?

 

Dayang Marikit

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Because when you love something, it's of high value, it’s precious and priceless… (Mahal) originated in Arabic meaning “abode”, it got adopted in Persian and Indian languages and became the word for (Palace). Then in Southeast Asia it got adopted as the word for “expensive”. Lastly in the Philippines, (Mahal) took on several meanings… expensive, love, and also as a honorific for royals.

• (Mahal) pertaining to something expensive was adopted from Malay.
• (Mahal) pertaining to love is to express that someone is very precious to you.
• (Mahal and Kamahalan) in the context of being royal honorifics are similar to “your highness” when conversing with a rajah/ruler... again, to express that this person is precious.

Lastly the original Tagalog word for (Love) is (Sinta), similar to (Cinta) in Indonesian.

10 regions seeing spike in dengue cases

 File photo

TEN out of the 17 regions in the country have shown an increase in dengue cases, based on the data of the Department of Health (DOH).

In a statement Friday, June 10, 2022, majority of regions have recorded more dengue cases compared to the numbers in 2021.

"Ten out of the 17 regions showed increasing cases of dengue," said the DOH.

The regions are Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, Cordillera Administrative Region and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Overall, the DOH said there were 34,938 dengue cases reported from January 1 to May 21, 2022.

Germany donates drone to PCG

DRONE DONATION Philippine Coast Guard (PCCG) Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu accepts the drone donated by Germany, through its Ambassador to the Philippines Anke Reiffenstuel (center) and the German Corporation for International Cooperation Country Director Immanuel Gebhardt (right). The turnover ceremony was held at the PCG headquarters in Manila on Friday, June 10, 2022. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By Franco Jose C. Baroña, Manila Times

THE Federal Republic of Germany has donated an unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone, to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to support its capability development.

In the turnover ceremony at the PCG headquarters on Friday, PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu expressed his gratitude to the German government represented by its Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel and the German Corporation for International Cooperation Country Director Immanuel Gebhardt for the donation.

In his remarks, Admiral Abu recognized the emerging importance of unmanned systems in the performance of coast guard functions.

"More than its contribution to maritime surveillance for drug interdiction, illegal fishing operations, marine pollution and other nefarious activities, these UAV can improve PCG disaster response and relief operations particularly in damage assessment and in identifying areas where relief operations are badly needed," the PCG commandant said.

Abu said the UAV will also be utilized to provide imagery for reconnaissance purposes and generate high-resolution maps that can be used for a variety of maritime scenarios, such as rapid damage assessment of an oil spill incident or a quick survey of an area of interest for possible unlawful acts at sea.

"For these, the PCG and the whole Filipino nation are truly grateful to the German government. We are looking forward to our continued engagement and fostering a stronger partnership with our German friends," Abu said.

Peso takes a beating against dollar

Philippine peso had its worst day in three-and-a-half years, falling to P53 to the United States dollar. File Photo

 

By Mayvelin U. Caraballo, Manila Times

June 11, 2022

(UPDATE) THE Philippine peso had its worst day in three-and-a-half years, falling to P53 to the United States dollar on Friday.

The local currency bled 5 centavos to $53:$1 from the previous day's close of P52.95. It hasn't been this soft since Dec. 20, 2018, when it closed at 53.10:$1.

The peso's slide was probably due to market participants anticipating the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) 50-basis-point interest rate hike next week, Domini Velasquez, chief economist at China Banking Corp., said.

"Generally, we still see USD-PHP (dollar-peso rate) moving upwards both because of the Fed's aggressive monetary tightening cycle and domestically, the value of import purchases are still bound to increase as oil and food prices continue to remain elevated. Hence, still more demand for dollars," Velasquez said.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said the peso was simply following the trend among regional currencies.

US inflation becoming everyone's problem.

"Hawkish tilt from the ECB (European Central Bank) and a likely similar stance from the Fed keeping Asian currencies on the backfoot. Markets await US inflation out later tonight for more direction," Mapa said.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the recent increase in US Treasury rates to above 3 percent for most long-term tenors contributed to the dollar's recent rise against key global currencies.

"Market sentiment also weighed as global crude oil prices posted new 3-month highs recently and also near 14-year highs, at above US$120 per barrel recently, that could potentially add to elevated inflation and could also add to the country's oil import bill," Ricafort said.

He also said the peso has recently depreciated slightly against the US dollar due to signs of a probable reduction in large banks' reserve requirement ratio later this year.

But the depreciation has been countered by the possibility of more local policy rate hikes during the next rate-setting sessions in June and August this year, Ricafort said.

Friday's close already hit the upper end of the government's P50-53:$1 peso-dollar exchange rate forecast for the year.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee said various depreciation (for example, US policy normalization, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and widening trade gaps) and appreciation pressures (higher foreign exchange inflows via tourism, business process outsourcing and overseas Filipino workers remittances, and ample foreign exchange reserves) continue to influence the peso's medium-term outloo

𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐨'𝐬 𝐅𝐌𝐑𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐳 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

Another farm-to-market road opens new beginnings in Brgy. Napnapan Pantukan, Davao de Oro. Recently, completed Barangay Development Program (BDP) funded projects undergo ongoing official turn-over ceremonies by the provincial government.

In total, Davao de Oro ranks second after Davao City with the most projects from BDP of the National Task Force ELCAC, with one-hundred twenty-eight (128) projects received by sixty-five barangays (65) formerly under the brink of chaos due to insurgency.

The right implementation of the BDP-funded projects in DdO sets a trajectory for sustainable development in tourism in the province. Formerly hidden and hard to reach, more eco-tourism spots were now discovered and businesses began to boom which open more jobs for the people. From coffee shops in the mountain ranges and lake-side to highland resorts and adventure parks are some of BDP’s positive impacts in Davao de Oro.

According to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Davao de Oro is the best implementer for the BDP Projects, evidence of good governance through implementing government programs for the benefit of communities in far-flung communities.

Governor Tyron Uy, together with the DILG, PNP, AFP, and the office of Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), personally handed the completed FMR in Brgy. Napnapan with a length of 1,580 meters, following other turn-overs of much-needed community projects such as water systems, and health centers. 

Other completed FMRs were now of service to the people of  Brgy. San Miguel Compostela, Lebanon Montevista, Brgy. Golden Valley Mabini, Brgy. Kahayag New Bataan, Brgy, Ngan Compostela, Brgy. Magangit, Sangab and Libay-libay of  Maco, Davao de Oro. (Jasteen Abella, PAO-IPRD, photos by G. Mativo)

GenSan fishers reeling from oil price increases

By Franz R. Sumangil, Manila Times

A GROUP of 300 fisherfolk in General Santos City has appealed to the government to help them through subsidies amid increases in oil prices.

Ruel Libawan, a member of the Minanga Buayan Fishermen Association, on Monday said his expenses for fuel had increased from P500 a day to P700.

"We went fishing early Monday morning on our motorized bancas but returned with only a small catch. It could not even pay for our gasoline expenses," Libawan noted.

Another member, Guillermo Libawan, said his gasoline expenses for a day were usually an average of P500 but now would amount to P1,000.

"We have no catch yet as we are afraid to go far into the sea as we might run out of gasoline. We hope the government can help us," Libawan added.

He said he has not yet heard of any government subsidy that could help them.

Dominic Salazar, president of the Soccsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAII), called for the incoming Marcos administration to suspend the implementation of value-added tax and excise tax.

Salazar said fishing companies and other local fisherfolk have been suffering from spikes in operation costs as a result of continuing increases in oil prices.

He said the SFFAII has been meeting with the city government and other national agencies for possible remedies.

PH petroleum group backs government-run crude oil reserve

Salazar, also the president of the tuna fishing group South Cotabato Purse-Seiners Association, also said they might be able to sustain operations if the value-added and excise taxes are temporarily suspended.

During the 20th National Tuna Congress in 2018 hosted by the SFFAII, industry players passed a resolution urging the Office of the President to revisit the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion Law.

In particular, they called for removal of the "excise tax on petroleum products that are directly used by the masses, otherwise, exempt such products from being subjected to excise tax, provided the same [products] are used for fishing and fishery activities."