15 Luzon provinces notch 'very high' Covid positivity rates

OUCH A child gets a jab against Covid-19 at the Baclaran Elementary School in Parañaque City on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, as the government prepares for the opening of classes. PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTO

By Franco Jose C. Baroña, Manila Times

(UPDATE) FIFTEEN provinces in Luzon recorded "very high" Covid-19 positivity rates, OCTA Research reported on Monday.

The positivity rate refers to the percentage of people found positive for Covid-19 among the total individuals tested.

OCTA Research fellow Guido David said Camarines Sur had the highest jump in positivity, with 48.7 percent on August 6 from 30.3 percent on July 30.

Two other provinces recorded more than 40 percent positivity — Isabela with 47.6 percent and Tarlac with 41.9 percent.

Provinces with more than 30 percent positivity rates were Cagayan (30.5 percent), Laguna (33.2 percent), Nueva Ecija (38.4 percent) and Pampanga (35 percent).

 Provinces with more than 20 percent positivity were Albay (28.2 percent), Benguet (22 percent), Cavite (21.1 percent), La Union (29.4 percent), Pangasinan (25 percent), Quezon (25.1 percent) and Zambales (28.6 percent).

In the National Capital Region, the positivity rate rose from 15.5 percent on July 30 to 17.5 percent on August 6.

The positivity rates in three provinces dipped slightly — Bataan (from 20.8 to 13.2), Batangas (from 15.7 to 15.2) and Ilocos Norte (from 10.4 to 9.9).

The World Health Organization recommends that the proportion of Covid-19 tests coming back positive should be below 5 percent to ensure that the spread of the coronavirus is under control.David said the "prolonged" Covid-19 wave in the country could last throughout the "ber" months, or the last four months of the year.

Netherlands latest to detect 'Centaurus' subvariant

"It started here in the Philippines around June, then July, August, so we should be in our second month already," said David. "But we're not at the peak yet. It's taking longer. Right now, it's looking like it will last up to four to five months, well into the 'ber' months."

David said the lingering Covid-19 wave may be due to other variants.

Another possibility is the waning vaccine immunity, since fewer individuals were getting booster shots.

"Most of them had their vaccines last year and fewer people got their booster shots, so there is waning immunity. Our antibody levels are going down. Then, adherence to minimum public health standards is always important," David said.

Covid-19 positivity in 14 provinces 'very high'

The Philippine Genome Center (PGC) said the Omicron subvariant BA.5 is the "most predominant" sample sequenced in the country in the past month alone.

PGC Executive Director Dr. Cynthia Saloma said the majority or "anywhere above 85 percent" of sequenced Covid-19 samples have traces of the BA.5 subvariant.

"We can probably say that this current wave is really the BA.5 wave in the country," Saloma said, adding that there were only a few cases of BA.2.3 which was the dominant strain last January.

Covid positivity rate 'very high' in five provinces – OCTA

She said that with the dominance of BA.5, several cases of BA.5.2 have been detected.

In the United States and Europe, the dominant subvariant is BA.5.1.

Saloma said that there are no new cases of BA.2.75, which is more transmissible than the original Omicron variant, in the country.

As of August 5, the Department of Health (DoH) has reported 95 new BA.5 cases. Of these cases, 67 were from Davao Region, 25 from Soccsksargen, and one case each from Northern Mindanao, Caraga and the National Capital Region.

This brings the total Omicron BA.5 cases detected to 3,107.

The DoH also reported two cases of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.75 in the country last August 2. The cases were from Western Visayas.

On Monday, the DoH reported that almost 700,000 Filipinos had received their first booster shot under the government's "PinasLakas" campaign.

The DoH launched PinasLakas on July 26, with a goal of boosting 23.8 million Filipinos or 50 percent of the eligible population within the first 100 days of the Marcos administration.

"As of August 6, we have already vaccinated almost 700,000 individuals for the first booster shot, and for the senior citizen, around 43,000," DoH Officer in Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

Vergeire said the department was bringing vaccine delivery closer to communities to ramp up booster coverage.

Some of the places being used as vaccination sites are markets, places of worship, workplaces and schools, she said.

LPA spotted off Davao City

By Arlie O. Calalo, Manila Times

A low pressure area was spotted off Davao City by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

At the same time, the weather bureau is monitoring an active tropical depression outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

The LPA was last seen some 530 kilometers east of the city.

Meanwhile, the tropical depression outside PAR was 550 kms north-northwest of Kalayaan Island, Palawan and is almost stationary, Pagasa said.

It had maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 55 kph, the weather bureau said.

The LPA is affecting Caraga and Davao Region while the southwest monsoon, is affecting Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon.

The southwest monsoon also brought cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan).

The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and localized thunderstorms in the next 24 hours, Pagasa said.

DepEd: Enrollment for SY 2022-2023 breaches 16M mark

(DepEd file photo)

by Merlina Hernando-Malipot, Manila Bulletin

Over 16 million learners have already enrolled for the incoming school year, the latest data from the Department of Education (DepEd) showed.

Data as of Aug. 5 from the Learner Information System (LIS) for School Year (SY) 2022-2023 showed that there are now 16,029,252 registered students for the incoming school year.

Region IV-A still has the largest number of enrollees with 2,367,246; followed by the National Capital Region with 1,870,470, and Region III with 1,591,722.

Per grade level, Kindergarten has the most number of enrolled learners with 1,060,138 followed by Elementary (Grades 1 to 6) with 7,376, 586.

There are 5,179,673 enrollees in Grades 7 to 10 (Junior High School) and 2,412,855 learners in Grades 11 and 12 (Senior High School).

DepEd opened the enrollment for public schools on July 25. Enrollment will continue until Aug. 22, 2022, which is also the first day of classes as announced by DepEd.

Meanwhile, DepEd continues to encourage parents and guardians to enroll their children as soon as possible.

To ensure the safety of everyone, DepEd schools are implementing various enrollment methods which include in-person, remote, and dropbox enrollment.

For the Alternative Learning System (ALS), DepEd said that learners can now enroll in-person or online.

In a recent press conference, DepEd recognized that the opening of classes “will not be without challenges.”

Despite this, the agency remains optimistic that these challenges would be addressed by working together.

From Aug. 22 to Oct. 31, DepEd said that schools will be allowed to implement blended learning.

However, all schools offering basic education are expected to have transitioned to five days in-person classes starting Nov. 2, 2022.

The natural and the supernatural

By Fr. Roy Cimagala*

WE have to learn to live in the natural world while pursuing our supernatural goal. This aspect of Christian life is somehow highlighted in that gospel episode where Christ talked about his impending passion, death and resurrection, and proceeded to ask Peter if Christ also should pay taxes. (cfr. Mt 17,22-27)

In that gospel, Christ implied that as the son of God, he ought to be exempted from paying taxes, but so as not to offend the earthly authorities, he decided that he too should pay the tax. Here Christ is showing us how to live naturalness which we have to learn. 

Naturalness has something to do with how to handle our human condition considering what we ought to be and what we are at the moment. Fact is, we have a supernatural goal, nothing less than to be united with God, which we have to pursue in the context of our human and natural world.

Naturalness is about how to mix the spiritual and material dimensions of our life, our personal and social aspects, and other elements in our life that, given the way we are, appear to compete with each other. How to integrate and harmonize them is the task of naturalness.

Naturalness is a very active affair, lived day to day, moment to moment, as we grapple with the continuous flow of our concerns. It’s the front man who does the dirty job of the bigger virtues of discretion, prudence and ultimately charity, the foot soldier who does the hand-to-hand combat, the peddler who does the door-to-door selling.

It has to know when to push and when to pull, what to say and show and what to be quiet about and hide. Obviously, it has to follow a game plan, with a clear goal in mind and a detailed knowledge of all the elements it has to contend with.

It has to know when to be active and when to be passive, when to be aggressive and when to be patient and tolerant. Of course, in our spiritual life, these elements, while initially contrasting, can be blended and lived simultaneously, obviously an effect of grace and our cleverness.

It also has to know how to project oneself to the future, given the data of the present and of the past. It has to learn how to relate history and current events with eternity. It should know how to connect the mundane with the sacred.

Naturalness is strengthened when we deepen in our convictions about our ultimate goal as well as in our continuing observations and growing wealth of experience of passing things.

The secret to blending all these apparently contrasting elements in our life is to pray always. When we keep our conversation with God going, we certainly would know what is proper for us to do at any given moment.

Prayer should be kept alive always and we should just try our best to find the appropriate ways to achieve it amid the changing circumstances of our day and despite setbacks, mistakes, failures and the sins that we may commit along the way.

We have to be wary of our strong tendency to converse only with our own selves or, at least from time to time, with others. We need to talk to God. Without him, there is no way but simply for us to be confused, tempted and eventually fall.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

BEING ON THE RIGHT TRACK?

Very often, we asked ourselves this question. That's normal. That's human.

Even though you didn't get the job I think you're on the right track because you're getting lots of callbacks for interviews.  Don't worry, you'll get a job offer soon.

We're on track for completing the prototype by the end of the month. Looking positively. 

I just had my performance review and my boss said I'm on the right track for a promotion next year. Congratulations. You deserve it.

"Help! I can't finish this algebra equation!" "Calm down and keep thinking, you're on the right track." My mathematics professor mentioned this a thousand times.

Many times we compare our life with a way. We talk about a "human life way". We describe a determined human such as, "He's on the right track (way)". We must make our tracks, but we will  take a path across a rice-field. We learn that there are many ways to solve problems. We also don't want to stand in other people's way. Sometimes we prefer to keep out of someone's way. Sometimes, we already plan to get someone out of our way. It just happened in my surroundings. Most of all, we do try to find the golden middle course. "Hay nako" - that's the hardest task in life!

Many different ways have been offered to us during our whole life. Whole life? I am 69 now. Whole life? Mmmmh, let's wait and see and have a cup of tea! How can we be able to choose the right way? The correct one? Which signs can be trusted blindly? These are urgent and vital questions for all of us, and, during this time, important like never before. In the past traditions and custom demands have been produced our ways unquestionably. Nowadays permanently, constantly and continually we must think about decisions and look for the correct plan - but, more and more alone!

Today's man is like a ship's captain.This ship contains solid iron. The compass needle is no longer able to show the Northern direction as expected, because of the ship's iron inflexible body. You only have one choice: look up to the stars and study their guiding support. A very wise idea by German atom-physicist Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976).

We are all happy and proud while having the perfect means at our disposal. On the other hand, our blindness allows us to intricate and confused destinations in life, aims, goals and objectives. We all know the headlines of our daily life, which always turn us away and distract our views to the stars - means to say: to God.

I am the way - not only a traffic sign or a shepherd without responsibility or a "mailbox-doctor a la Doctor Love. I am the way - the only right way. His deeds colored our fates. Let's keep our eyes open for the most important signs at our way, such as

- Ready to help the unprotected and defenseless weak;

- Struggle for freedom and justice;

- Commitment of peace;

-  Most of all: Love, which doesn't calculate and count - love without measurements, boundaries and limits.

If you know you are on the right track, if you have this inner knowledge, then nobody can turn you off... no matter what they say.

First lady breaks bread with woman ambassadors

By Catherine S. Valente and Kristina Maralit, Manila Times

(UPDATE) First lady Liza Araneta-Marcos recently bonded with resident woman ambassadors by hosting a luncheon for them in Malacañang.

DAMES OF DIPLOMACY First lady Louise ‘Liza’ Araneta-Marcos poses with resident lady ambassadors inthe Philippines in Malacañang on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Mrs. Araneta-Marcos hosted a luncheon to thank the envoys for supporting theadministration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. SCREENSHOT FROM RTVM VIDEO

Those who attended the gathering last Wednesday were Ambassador Mary Kay Loss Carlson of the United States, Ambassador Bartinah Ntombizodwa Radebe-Netshitenzhe of South Africa, Ambassador Betty Palaso of Papua New Guinea, Ambassador Bita Rasoulian of Austria, Ambassador Shobini Kaushala Gunasekera of Sri Lanka and Ambassador Folakemi Ibidunni Akinleye of Nigeria.

Also present were Ambassador Annika Gunilla Thunborg of Sweden, Ambassador Grete Sillasen of Denmark, Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel of Germany, Ambassador Michèle Jeannine Andrèe Boccoz of France, Charge d'Affaires Monica Theodora Geertruida van Daalen of The Netherlands and Charge d'Affaires Lhuana Pamella Lopez Amorim of Panama.

"Thank you for supporting my husband's administration. I hope we get to do this more often," the wife of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in her brief speech as shown in a video posted by Radio Television Malacañang online.

In response, Carlson said the first lady plays just as an important role as the President.

"I really appreciate the atmosphere here of women supporting other women and their important roles. And that's why we are so honored to be here for your (Araneta-Marcos) official engagement. As a very important woman in this country, and frankly, in this region, it's a very challenging position to take on, and we are very grateful for the opportunity to be here," the US ambassador added.

Prior to sharing a sumptuous meal at the Rizal Dining Hall where the visitors were also treated to a brief cultural show, the first lady gave them a walking tour of the Palace where she also shared tidbits of its colorful history.

Meet Miss Philippines-Earth's Top 20 for 2022

All 20 candidates will vie for the Miss Earth-Philippines 2022 crown tonight in Coron, Palawan. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN

By Arlo Custodio, Manila Times

FROM 41 Miss Philippines-Earth (MPE) 2022 official candidates introduced in May, the final Top 20 who will compete on coronation night were presented to the media on July 28.

Held with Okada Manila's The Fountain for a backdrop — the wonder that is touted as the world's largest multicolor dancing fountain — the candidates proceeded to compete in the swimsuit preliminaries at this meet and greet. At each one's turn on the runway, the girls likewise presented their respective environmental advocacies in keeping with pageant tradition and theme.

The day's emerging standouts were Mandaluyong's Jennifer De Asis, who won the Gold for her presentation, and Santa Ignacia, Tarlac's Jenny Ramp and Manila's Justiene Ortega, who were awarded Silver and Bronze, respectively.

Completing the Top 20 are Merhyl Kit Paraluman representing Alabel, Sarangani Province; Trisha Van Eldik, Balagtas, Bulacan; Nice Lampad, Bayugan City, Agusan; Jayra Aliyah Olvinada, Cadiz City; Kiara Liane Wellington, Cebu City; Rache Santos, Dipolog City; Chrisdalyn Yvonne Abrenica, Dubai, UAE Filipino Community; Jimema Tempra, Jasaan, Misamis Oriental; Bea Cecilio, Las Piñas City; Eryka Vina Tan, Legazpi City; Trina Martinez, Makati City; Micaela Legarda, Muntinlupa City; Jazmine Calma, Pateros; Lourdez De Leon, Quezon City; Jarizz Borcela, Sagay City; Jasmine Paguio, Toronto, Canada Filipino Community; and Angel Santos, Trece Martires City.

The finals and grand coronation of MPE 2022 will unfold tonight, August 6 in Coron, Palawan. The pageant will have a next-day telecast on August 7 on A2Z Channel 11 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

The international Miss Earth 2022 competition is once again set in the Philippines towards the end of the year, with organizers already announcing Vietnam as the host country for 2023. Fittingly Miss Earth 2018 Nguyen Phoung Khanh of Vietnam has already agreed to be the event emcee.

Seasoned actress Cherie Gil passes away

By Iza Iglesias  and Aric John Sy Cua, Manila Times

AWARD-winning veteran actress Cherie Gil passed away on Friday. She was 59.

Her talent manager Annabelle Rama posted the news on social media, saying, "Cherie Gil just passed away at 5 p.m. today please pray for her."

A few hours later, Gil's nephew actor Sid Lucero confirmed it through a couple of Instagram posts.

Sharing a photo of her aunt, he wrote, "I love you;) big hug:) #bugluv" Followed by a video of crying emoji he drew from his phone.

The reason for her passing, however, has yet to be disclosed as of press time.

It was in February this year when she was reported to have moved out of the Philippines and started a new life in New York to be with her kids.

Explaining in her Mega magazine cover wherein she revealed a shaved head bald look "as a symbol of rebirth," the actress grew tired of herself and "felt angry and unhappy" at the same time.

"I got rid of all the clothes I had that symbolized a past life. I'm completely finding myself and coming to terms with who I really am. It's just great to have this opportunity and to be alive to start over. It's like a rebirth of sorts," she told Mega.

"I just had to make sure that first and foremost, my mental, emotional, spiritual states were getting the priority. I was getting tired of myself. And I was just so angry and unhappy, so I sold everything and packed up," she added.

Evangeline Rose Gil Eigenmann in real life, Gil is known in the entertainment industry as the Philippines' "La Primera Contravida" for her versatility in acting, especially with portraying villain roles.

Through her 50-year career, Gil won a number of awards, including from Famas. She was a recipient of the Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honor) award by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and a Hall of Famer at the Metro Manila Film Festival in the "Best Supporting Actress" category.

In 2015, Gil won the highly coveted "Best Actress" trophy at the Asean International Film Awards. The same year, she also won "Best Lead Actress in a Foreign Language Film" at the 2015 Madrid International Film Festival. In 2019, she won her first Gawad Urian Award in the category "Best Supporting Actress" for her portrayal in "Citizen Jake."

Gil came from a family of actors. She is the daughter of showbiz luminaries, the late Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil. Her brothers are Michael de Mesa and the late Mark Gil.

JUST A LOAN

Sweet words are easy to say; nice things are easy to buy; but good people are different to find. Life ends, when you stop dreaming; hope ends, when you stop believing; friendship stops, when you stop sharing. A good friend of mine sent me this quotation. I commented back: So very true and very well said!

Our life is borrowed - from God. No rental charges are collected from us. Many of us have forgotten this and live life to the fullest. Our life is equal to a book from a library that lends one. But how insatiable and unbearable are we in disdainful acting towards life and therefore to ourselves? Remember: life is just a loan!

My life is on loan, like money borrowed from a bank. God is the lender, and He retains the right to call in the loan any time. Though I am responsible for taking care of it, I do not own this life; it is borrowed. Why should I fear its loss or the loss of anything else in this world when I must surrender it all anyway?

Life seems to be nothing, just being ready to riddle one with bullets. Life seems to be nothing, just being broken through indifference and unreliable and immoral behavior. Life seems to be nothing for those people who don't understand cries from the heart of other people around them - cries for their hearts and families, for justice and for many other things.

Life with all its ups and downs, is just a loan, but for many of our fellow creatures it just seems to be nonsense to be littered like a dump. And, if people try to survive, especially during these days, and if they just experienced (once more!) indifference, arrogance, ignorance or cheating by whomever - they will give up! 

I can assure you that every one of us can at first help in prayers and in reading the bible. "Proverbs" is the probably most down-to-earth book in the bible. Its teachings prepare you for daily life, the street and the market place. The book offers warm pieces of advice you get; practical guidance for making your way on earth. Proverbs covers any kinds of questions you might have right now. Anybody can relate to the generalities of Proverbs, because this book simply tells how life works most of the time.

While writing this piece, I observed that more and more people struggle through life: tired, hopeless, experiencing their rock-bottoms, believing in fallacious "people" around them. I also observed a lot of people living a thief life, as if it has been giving them without limitation.

"Let's enjoy every single loophole in law!" What a sad and fatal attraction!

PSEi rallies on positive earnings reports

By Ed Paolo Salting, Manila Times

THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) went up again on Wednesday by 67.78 points to close at 6,430.08.

Philstocks Financial Inc. research associate Claire Alviar and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said good earnings reports from the index members boosted market sentiment.

"Gains from the heavyweight companies, particularly the 3.38-percent income bump of SM Investments Corp., helped lift the PSEi," Alviar said.

Ricafort added that the market also took into account Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla's signal that inflation may have peaked in July 2022 and factored in the policy rate hike of 25 to 50 basis points on Aug. 18, 2022.

Alviar pointed out that since the market has breached its 6,400-resistance level, it will test the sustainability of that benchmark in the coming days. If the market breaks 6,400, the next indicator is 6,600.

In the United States, Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis Limlingan said that investors turned away from US markets as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit to Taiwan added to the already tense US-China relations. Stocks also fell further after three Federal Reserve presidents hinted that further rate hikes would be necessary to combat high inflation.

For local catalysts, investors await the release of the PH CPI (Philippine consumer price index) on Friday and continue to be guided by release of additional earnings reports.

Oil prices are on the upward trajectory again. Limlingan said that oil futures edged up ahead of a meeting of OPEC+ producers this week that may not lead to a boost in crude supply amid concerns a possible global recession could limit energy demand. Brent futures rose 51 cents to settle at $100.54 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 53 cents to $94.42 per barrel.

Market volume was up, with a net value turnover of P6.09 billion, the highest since July 8's P6.27 billion.