AS CONCURRENT DEPED CHIEF VP to produce learners who can achieve their full potential

 

Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio (left) receives the Department of Education official seal as well as a copy of the Basic Education Development Plan 2030 from outgoing Secretary Leonor Briones during the joint farewell and welcoming event at the DepEd headquarters in Pasig City on Monday, July 4, 2022. FACEBOOK PHOTO/VP INDAY SARA DUTERTE

By Kaithreen Cruz, Manila Times

VICE President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio vowed to produce learners who can achieve their full potential when she received the DepEd flag and official seal, as well as a copy of the Basic Education Development Plan (BEDP) 2030 from former Secretary Leonor Briones on July 4 at the DepEd headquarters in Pasig City.

BEDP 2030 is the country's first long-term plan for the education sector, covering formal education from kindergarten, elementary, junior high school to senior high school, as well as non-formal education through the Alternative Learning System (ALS).

Briones said she turned over to Duterte-Carpio a department that had persevered amid the Covid-19 pandemic and developed great initiatives for the Filipino learners.

She highlighted the education gains during her six-year term including the Sulong EduKalidad campaign to improve the quality of education, empowerment of the regions through its regional directors, participation in international assessments such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), transformation of the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) to capacitate teachers, and salary adjustment and provision of benefits and allowances to teachers, among others.

She also recognized the collective effort of DepEd employees to provide support to learners and teachers.

Briones agreed to stay with DepEd as a consultant after her term in the department.

In her message, Duterte-Carpio said she will take inspiration from Briones — from her courage, dedication, commitment, integrity, selflessness and grace.

"But I will also take on the task with the reminder that we shall continue to find ways to improve basic education in terms of access, equity, resiliency, and governance," Duterte-Carpio said.

Education stakeholders hope for a bright future

"Secretary [Briones] is a force. And I am humbled and honored to follow in the footsteps of a much-admired academic, public servant, social activist and change-maker. I would also like to acknowledge the equally devoted men and women, our undersecretaries and assistant secretaries who supported Ma'am Liling in the last six years. Daghang salamat kaninyo (Thank you very much to all of you)," she said.

Duterte-Carpio said she aims to produce learners who can achieve their full potential as individuals who are responsible, skilled, knowledgeable, productive and determined to achieve their dreams for themselves and for the country.

DepEd gave tribute to Briones and outgoing Undersecretaries Nepomuceno Malaluan, Diosdado San Antonio and Josephine Maribojoc for their service to the department.

Briones also joined the choir during the video presentation and singing of "When You Believe" by Stephen Schwartz for Duterte-Carpio.

Briones turns over DepEd to VP Sara

In a recent Facebook post, the new DepEd chief said she praised and thanked Briones for her untiring service for six years in the department, making sure education for the youth continued despite the challenges of Covid-19. She is likewise happy that her predecessor agreed to continue as consultant in the Education department.

No more lockdowns'

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA

By Catherine S. Valente  and Red Mendoza, Manila Times

THE Covid-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) has jumped to 9.3 percent, almost double the ideal positivity rate of 5 percent set by the World Health Organization (WHO), but the government is unlikely to implement community lockdowns despite the sharp rise in cases.

The country's positivity rate also increased to 6.8 percent in the week of June 28 to July 3.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday said that lockdowns are no longer needed because the majority of Filipinos have been inoculated against Covid-19.

"I think no country now, except China, will go into general lockdowns. I think we have now graduated from being pandemic to endemic," Diokno said when asked if the Marcos economic team will adopt the previous administration's policy of not imposing any wide lockdowns.

"We have to live with the virus. Most of us are vaccinated anyway, some of us even have boosters. In fact, that (vaccination) is also key to the 100 percent opening or face-to-face opening of classes. The plan is, it will start opening up by August and then 100 percent by November," he added.

On Wednesday, the Department of Health (DoH) said that Cordillera, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) and Western Visayas regions also had positivity rates above the 5 percent threshold set by the WHO.

The department, however, said that health care utilization rates remained low, with a 19 percent total bed utilization rate despite an increase in admissions by around 6.7 percent.

The average daily reported cases increased by 55 percent from June 21 to 27 to 1,103 cases per day across the country, as compared to 711 cases reported from June 21 to 27.

In NCR, cases increased by 57 percent to an average of 537 cases per day from June 28 to July 4, while Mindanao provinces have shown a slight uptick.

Davao bar owners urged to tighten security measures

By Ruth Palo, Manila Times

DAVAO CITY: The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) urged bar owners here to enforce stringent security measures following the shooting incident on Saturday, July 2, where a 21-year-old student was shot dead by non-uniformed personnel of the Davao Police Regional Office.

Maj. Ma. Teresita Gaspan, DCPO spokesman, said the incident started as an altercation among intoxicated men, which could have been avoided had the weapon been barred from the establishment.

"This is included in our investigation because it is prohibited to carry firearms in establishments that serve alcoholic drinks, especially when the person is already intoxicated. We will investigate why this restobar (restaurant and bar) allowed this to happen as it would have been different if this was regulated. Actually, we have been advocating that it is really prohibited to carry firearms inside establishments, especially in bars and clubs," Gaspan said in an interview over Disaster Radio.

She said the police are now looking into the accountability of business owners in providing a secure environment for their patrons by making sure they follow the prohibitions of the existing liquor ban and have competent security personnel.

She said the city police will be talking to business owners regarding the tightening of security measures in their establishments.

"Actually, we will be meeting with owners and operators of the restobars and bistros in the city, especially those patronized by many to capacitate them. They have their own security guard, and bouncers, and their capabilities must be enhanced. Because we have the citizen's arrest, they can make arrests also, especially if they have personal knowledge of the incident. They should not let something like this happen," she said.

She said the case of murder has not yet been filed against the suspect, Dr. Marvin Rey Andrew Pepino, pending the preliminary investigation as requested by the latter.

Meanwhile, the family of the victim, Amierkhan Pulalon Mangacop, who was shot seven times outside Lugar Café and Bar reportedly by Pepino, is now calling for justice for the murder victim.

Despite the incident, Davaoeños have been assured that the DCPO is currently on top of the situation.

"This is an isolated case. There is nothing to worry about. Let us continue our legal work. DCPO is on top of the situation. This is a particularly unprecedented incident that is why there really will be an investigation of the police with jurisdiction over the area so that no similar incident will occur in the future," she added.

Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte, meanwhile, said the implementation of the 2013 Ordinance 004-13, which prohibits the selling of liquor from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. will be enforced more strictly. This is to curb the number of crimes induced by alcohol intoxication.

"I've said this before that we will be implementing the liquor ban because, well the incident did not happen entirely because of the lax implementation of the ban... but I suppose if we implement the ban more strictly, we can avoid these incidents from happening because when people are intoxicated with alcohol, bad things can happen at any point in time," Duterte said.

Beer is good for intestine – study

View of beer made with water collected by fog catchers in Ovalle, Chile, on June 30, 2022. AFP PHOTO

LISBON: Drinking beer is beneficial to the intestine and has the potential to prevent chronic diseases, according to research by the Center for Research in Health Technologies and Services (Cintesis), a nonprofit research and development unit, in the city of Porto in northern Portugal.

"Beer consumption contributes to the improvement of the composition of the intestinal microbiota, a factor that has been associated with the prevention of very common chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases," said Cintesis in a statement on Monday.

During the study, healthy men ages 23 to 58 drank 330 milliliters of beer daily, with or without alcohol, for four weeks. The results obtained by the research pointed out that beer consumption "increases the diversity of the intestinal microbiota, without increasing weight and fat mass."

Drinking beer "does not significantly interfere with cardiometabolic biomarkers" such as glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides, the statement said. The researchers point out that the beneficial effect of beer is linked to the polyphenols present in the drink, as has already been proven in red wine.

The study, published recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, revealed that the benefit of beer on gut health "proved to be independent of alcohol content" or absence of this element.

What is the pre-colonial word for "Kumusta" (Hello) in Tagalog?

 By

Dayang Marikit

Philippine History Professor

(Kumusta) is derived from the Spanish phrase (Como Estas?) which translates to (How are you?). In Tagalog this would translate to (Na pa'ano ka na?).

• During pre-colonial times, the earliest type of greeting that was recorded is (Swasti), which was written on the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. This was dated to be from 900AD, or 1,100 years ago. This greeting was adopted from Hinduism.

• The second greeting was (Salamat), which is derived from the Islamic greeting (Salaam). This is also related to (Shalom), which is a Hebrew greeting. However, in modern times (Salamat) simply translates to "Thank You" in Filipino. In our neighboring countries of Malaysia and Indonesia, (Selamat) is still a greeting.

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Visayas, Mindanao internet to get boost

By Francis Earl Cueto, Manila Times

THE Marcos administration plans to improve the internet connection in Visayas and Mindanao with the help of mega-billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communications network.

Information and Communications Secretary Ivan John Uy on Monday said Starlink is ideal for such an upgrade because it uses low-orbit satellites.

"The scope of coverage is far greater and can reach areas that can't be reached or are hard to reach," Uy said in a press briefing.

He said telecommunications companies or telcos usually find it hard to set up in "missionary routes" or areas that have few users.

A network of low-orbit satellites like Starlink's is ideal for such a venture, he said.

"So far, the coverages are [in] the northern part of the Philippines and not much in the southern part where we badly need satellite connectivity. That is why a new satellite might be launched that would cover central Philippines," Uy said.

He did not say if the project will be handled by the government or a private firm, but that it is targeted to be done by the end of the year.

Uy said that right now he is reviewing the projects of the agency since there are numerous problems that need to be dealt with first.

Among them is the strengthening or reviving of the free public WiFi.

"We are studying it; we have to sit down and work on it. There are many and different issues that need to be resolved first," he said.

The free WiFi project has been saddled with problems, including the nonpayment to the subscriptions for connectivity, and hardware and contractor issues.

Uy vowed that the DICT "will continue to make the free public WiFi more effective."

DoT chief kicks off listening tour

By Tricia Antido, Manila Times

On her first day in the office, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco personally visited the offices and greeted the employees of the Department of Tourism (DOT). Photo from Facebook page of the Philippines Department of Tourism. 

On her first day in the office, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco personally visited the offices and greeted the employees of the Department of Tourism (DOT). Photo from Facebook page of the Philippines Department of Tourism.

TOURISM Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco will start her "listening tour" this week to see and hear the concerns and challenges faced by regional offices of the Department of Tourism (DoT) and stakeholders.

She emphasized that the goal of the Department of Tourism is to help the economy rise and recover.

Garcia-Frasco thanked DoT personnel for their warm welcome and gave assurances that all stakeholders will be given equal opportunities through the tourism program that will be made available nationwide.

Speaking before undersecretaries, directors, division chiefs and employees on Monday, July 4, 2022, Garcia-Frasco vowed to address the tourism issues brought on by the pandemic, noting that the sector was one of the hardest-hit industries in the Philippines. She said that under her term, the department will give attention to tourism sites, promotion of local products as well as Filipinos. The Tourism department will also prioritize reaching all regional offices and their partners in local government units.

"I have full trust in the workforce of the Department of Tourism because you have been forged in the fire of the pandemic. We've been through it, we have survived, and we have thrived. There is no other challenge that we could not possibly surmount. And so, I ask for your support, I ask for your unity, I ask for your commitment to the Filipino people, that our brothers and sisters may be given equal economic opportunities through tourism programs that are made available in sites, provinces, cities, municipalities nationwide," she said.

Gov Dorothy Gonzaga to prioritize health care, education, infra, among others

 

Davao de Oro Province—A new face of governance officially sets Davao de Oro province on a trajectory of progress and development focusing on the welfare of the people of the whole province in terms of health care, education, infrastructure, and commendable public service.  

On July 4, 2022, Governor Dorothy Montejo Gonzaga gave her message during the Monday convocation at the provincial capitol lobby before the whole workforce of the provincial government instilling them with three attributes for exemplary public service for the people: faith, hope, and love. 

In the governor’s message, the administration will give priority to adequate health care service to Dabawenyos in the four (4) provincial hospitals in the province: DdOPH Pantukan, DdoPH Montevista, DdOPH Maragusan, and DdOPH Laak.  

The administration will also revisit the scholarship program of the provincial government and plans to maximize its resources thereby extending the scope of the program for the admission of more grantees, making equitable access and opportunity for tertiary education, “Mas maayo gyud ug makapa-eskwela ta because when they’re educated, their lives will really change.” said Gov. Gonzaga.

Moreover, the administration will also maximize the available resources of the PLGU, from the machinery to its budget, for the establishment of more infrastructure projects.  

“I'm really thankful and proud seeing all of you (employees) in attendance today, kay mao ra gyud na ang kapital sa atung pag panerbisyo, our love for the service” added Gov. Gonzaga.

Earlier, a flag-raising ceremony was held at the capitol park followed by a Holy Mass attended by the employees of the PLGU-DdO, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Board Members, and the Bureau of Fire Protection. (Jasteen Abella PAO-IPRD, photos by J. Cadiz and A. Dayao)

Butterfly Symbolism and Meanings Spirit Animal Guide

When we find ourselves helpless

By Fr. Roy Cimagala* 

SITUATIONS like this can happen in our life. In fact, we have to expect them. With our many limitations and the varying conditions we are subject to, there surely will be times when we find ourselves helpless in spite of all the effort we do to find solutions to our problem.  

In the gospel, there was this official who approached Christ to importune for help for his dead daughter. “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” (Mt 9,18) He must have been hoping against hope that something can still be done for his daughter. And he did the right thing. He approached Christ.

This is the lesson that we too should learn, especially when we find ourselves in similar situations. We should develop the instinct of going immediately to Christ. Let’s avoid rotting in sadness, lamentations, victim complex, etc. We know that what is impossible for us is always possible with Christ. What cannot anymore be solved by us can always be solved by Christ, if not here and now, then in the hereafter.

Thus, we need to strengthen our faith so we can be quick to entrust ourselves to the workings of the spiritual and supernatural realities that also govern our life. We have to remember that we are not ruled simply by biological laws or physical, chemical, social, political, economic laws. There is a higher law that governs us and that would enable us to transcend our human and earthly limitations.

This is the law of grace, a law that is spiritual and supernatural in nature. It is the law that enables us to go beyond our human limitations without, of course, compromising our humanity. It is the law that enables us to enter into the very life of God who created us to be his image and likeness.

We have to learn to feel at home with this particular condition of our earthly life. We have to acquire the relevant attitude and skills to be able to live with this condition. It is when we seem to reach our human and earthly limitations that we have to abandon ourselves to the more powerful and merciful dynamic of God’s providence over us.

We should always go to Christ. He always has the solutions to our problems, the answers to our questions. He always gives them, albeit not in the form we want, but always in a way that would be beneficial to us.

In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always go to Christ to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and his providence, even if the outcome of our prayers and petitions appears unanswered, if not, contradicted.

This should be the attitude to have. It’s an attitude that can only indicate our unconditional faith and love for God who is always in control of things, and at the same time can also leave us in peace and joy even at the worst of the possibilities.

We just have to remember that Christ never abandons us and is, in fact, all ready and prompt to come to our aid, albeit in ways that we may not realize, at first, just like what happened in that story of the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus. (cfr. Lk 24,13-25)

We should not allow our feelings of sadness to be so dominant and pervasive that we shut off Christ’s many and often mysterious ways of helping us. 

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com