Positivity rates in 8 provinces down

By Franco Jose C. Baroña

(UPDATE) THE weekly positivity rates have decreased in at least eight provinces in Luzon where Covid-19 cases might have already peaked, the independent monitoring group OCTA Research said on Monday.

Pampanga recorded the biggest decrease in weekly positivity rate from 35 percent on August 6 down to 26 percent on August 13.

Positivity rates also went down in Benguet (from 22 percent to 21.6 percent), Cavite (21.1 percent to 18.2 percent), Isabela (47.6 percent to 46.5 percent), Laguna (33.2 percent to 29.5 percent), Pangasinan (25 percent to 21.6 percent), Quezon (25.1 percent to 22.1 percent), and Zambales (28.6 percent to 24 percent).

Positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for Covid-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

However, aside from Cavite which has been reduced to a "moderate" positivity rate, these provinces, together with six others (Albay, Cagayan, Camarines Sur, La Union, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac), continue to have "very high" Covid-19 positivity rates.

Meanwhile, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David reported that the one-week growth rate of Covid-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) decreased to -1 percent on Sunday.

David said that NCR's growth rate was at 9 percent as of August 7.

He pointed out that this development may mean that the Covid-19 infections in the NCR are beginning to dip.

"This could be the start of a downward trend, although the one-week growth rate will have to decrease even further (e.g., -50 percent) to see significant decreases in daily new cases in the NCR," David said.

Covid positivity up in Visayas, Mindanao

He said the NCR's Covid-19 cases may have already peaked with its weekly positivity rate dropping to 16.4 percent on August 12, from 17.5 percent on August 6.

As of Saturday, August 13, the NCR's positivity rate was at 16.2 percent from the 17.4 percent recorded on August 6.

David also said on Monday that the NCR's reproduction number — or the number of people infected by one case — also went down to 1.15 on August 11 from 1.21 on August 4.

The average daily attack rate (ADAR) in NCR also decreased slightly to 8.70 per 100,000 population on Saturday from 8.77 on August 7.

Covid positivity rate in NCR dips

ADAR refers to the incidence showing the average number of new cases in a period per 100,000 people.

NCR's health care utilization, however, had an uptick on August 13 at 37 percent from 36 percent on August 8. Its intensive care unit occupancy, on the other hand, remained at 31 percent over the same period.

David said the NCR is still at moderate risk for Covid-19.

Davao Light to build digital substation in Panabo

INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY  Davao Light president and COO Rodger Velasco (fourth from right) and Panabo City Mayor Jose Relampagos (third from right) lead the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Panabo City Substation on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. They are joined by other Davao Light executives and Panabo City officials. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By Leander C. Domingo, Manila Times

A NEW digital substation in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, will be built by the AboitizPower subsidiary Davao Light and Power Co. Inc. (Davao Light).

According to Janelle Jacinto, AboitizPower Corporate Branding and Communication unit head, Davao Light is setting up the substation in Panabo City, their fourth facility. The Panabo substation will have a capacity of 33 megavolt-amperes.

"Davao Light is set to build this new digital substation in Panabo City due to the growing population and economic activity in the area," she said.

Jacinto said this new facility is more than three times that of the existing substation in Cagangohan in Panabo City. It can also be remotely monitored and controlled, leading to faster and safer troubleshooting.

Davao Light president and chief operating officer Rodger Velasco said they are determined to supply reliable electricity and remain a partner in the progress of the communities they serve.

Oil companies to lower pump prices

By Ed Paolo Salting, Manila Times

On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, Pilipinas Shell, Seaoil, Cleanfuel and PetroGazz will cut their diesel prices by P1.05 per liter and gasoline by 10 centavos per liter.

Pilipinas Shell and Seaoil said they will lower the cost of kerosene by 45 centavos per liter.

This will be the seventh consecutive week of price rollback for diesel .

Based on the Department of Energy's oil monitoring, as of August 9, 2022, oil companies have reduced the prices of gasoline by P2.10 per liter, diesel by P2.20 per liter and kerosene by P2.55 per liter.

DOE eyes 100% foreign RE ownership to spur manufacturing investments

by Myrna M. Velasco, Manila Bulletin

The Department of Energy (DOE) is studying prospects of opening up the renewable energy (RE) sector to 100 percent foreign ownership, primarily in the domain of solar and wind farm installations, for the manufacturing sector.

Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla raised this possibility as he acknowledged the need to address the high cost of electricity for the manufacturing sector, which investment potential has been hampered by the country’s high cost of electricity.

“One way of doing that is to open up renewable, for example, to 100-percent foreign ownership; so that foreign locators can actually also develop their own sources of power,” said Lotilla.

The energy chief further noted that subsidizing the cost of power for the manufacturing sector is not a feasible option given the fiscal situation of the government, hence, there must be alternative ways to pare electricity rates for industrial users in the country.

In other economies, deployments of solar tech solutions are largely embraced by commercial and industrial (C&I) end-users because that has been a way for them to save on costs – especially for energy-intensive industries.

For the Philippines, however, the restrictive policy on foreign ownership is weighed up as a major hurdle to capital flow when it comes to RE investments.

Under the Duterte administration, 100 percent foreign ownership to other RE technologies, primarily geothermal which had been classified as “mineral resource”, had already been permitted within the ambit of the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) albeit that came with a condition that the minimum capital to be funneled by foreign investors must top $50 million for integrated steam resource exploration and power plant installation.

For hydro, full foreign ownership is allowed in the power plant component while water resource utilization still has restrictions, in favor of Filipino companies or entities. Biomass technology is also open to a hundred-percent foreign equity.

On the sphere of solar and wind farm developments, however, energy officials are still assessing if they can come up with “technical justification” that will allow higher percentage of foreign investors’ shareholdings in RE projects.

The DOE and the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) previously indicated that any policy adjustment to be carried out shall be in keeping with the prescriptions of the Philippine Constitution relative to the exploration and exploitation of indigenous resources.

It was emphasized that if a technical legal justification could not be established, the only way to widen foreign ownership in these emerging RE technologies shall be through Constitutional amendments.

In many RE projects in the country, capital injection and technology rollout are often buoyed by foreign investors, but until the ownership limitation is addressed, it may take longer time for the Philippines to win back its allure on RE investments given the stiff competition that it has been facing with Asian neighbors.

The best kind of travel

By GeneRose Tecson, Davao City (text and photos)
 

The best kind of travel is when you just pack up and go with your most favorite people in the world, my Laag Gang.

Sometimes we’re all together, most times we’re not, but we made and are making memories together and for each other.

This time, we went to Davao de Oro. It is more than worth the trip, nature tripping at its best. From Bilawa Hot Waterfalls (although I hope that they can still reconsider the set-up), to Lake Leonard and on to Tagbibinta Falls (kudos to the Maragusan LGU for the set-up and for preserving the naturalness of the site of the falls. TOs should visit this site and take note) to our stay at Tita Araceli Lanoy Ayuste’s Ayuste Highland Mountain Resort.

Thank you also to JohnJohn Colina and Dickson Diez for welcoming us and cooking one of the best nilotlot I’ve ever tasted!

The dignity of our human body

By Fr. Roy Cimagala*

ONCE again, we celebrate this very wonderful Solemnity of the Assumption of our Lady to heaven (August 15), reminding us that like her, we too are meant to be both body and soul in our definitive state of life, hopefully in heaven, at the end of time.

Let’s remember that man is always a unity of body and soul. He is not just pure body nor pure spiritual soul. And as our Catechism teaches us, the body, properly animated by the spiritual soul, shares in the dignity of the “image of God.” (cfr. CCC 364)

This is how the Catechism explains it: “The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit. Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity.”

The Catechism further teaches that, “Through his very bodily condition he (man) sums up in himself the elements of the material world…He is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.” (CCC 362 ff.)

Our attitude toward the body and the material world, I am afraid, has suffered a dangerous mutation, a radical reversal of God’s designs for them. We seem to be falling into two extremes. 

One is to consider the body as completely evil, as when the distinction between the body and the soul becomes exaggerated that they by nature become hostile to each other. This mindset is prevalent among those who may be regarded as ‘too spiritual’ in their life.

The other extreme, the more common one, is to consider the body as completely good, with no more need for spiritual animation and direction. This is the case of a variety of people—the hedonists, the naturalists, etc.

We need to understand that our body is organically linked to our spiritual and the supernatural character of our life. While distinct, it cannot be separated from our integral human nature and condition, from our beginning and end, and from the plan and purpose God our Father and Creator has for us.

Given the dignity of our human body, we have to make sure that our piety and our devotion to God and everything related to him has to involve both the body and soul. It has to involve our whole person. It just cannot be purely spiritual or purely material. It just cannot be only a matter of knowing the doctrine, quite cerebral in approach, without some external manifestations, or of practicing all sorts of devotional exercises, without knowing the doctrine of faith.

If piety has to be authentic and consistent in all circumstances, then it has to be lived both in our spiritual soul whose main faculties are our intellect and will, and in our material body whose link to our soul, the principle of life, are the emotions and passions, the memory and the imagination, our temperament and psychological state, etc.

When piety is limited to one or the other essential element of our being, to either our spiritual soul or the material body, then it cannot be consistent. It cannot hold out against that anomaly for long. It sooner or later will fall into the tricks of hypocrisy and self-deception.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Imee: What onion shortage?

This July 29, 2022 file photo shows Sen. Maria Imelda Josefa ‘Imee’ Marcos at the premiere of 'Maid in Malacañang,' of which she is a producer, at a mall in Quezon City. AFP PHOTO

 

By Bernadette E. Tamayo, Manila Times

SEN. Maria Imelda Josefa "Imee" Marcos said she is "unconvinced" there is a shortage of white onions because the Department of Agriculture (DA) has not presented an inventory of the crop.

Marcos renewed her tirade against the Agriculture department, this time for its reported plan to import white onions.

"The DA was urged to assess white onion shortage, as it was asked on sugar and porcine PAP (processed animal protein) shortages," she said in a statement on Sunday.

"Again, no data could be presented, just blanket claims that, 'Wala po talagang laman ang mga bodegang pinuntahan namin (The warehouses we inspected were really empty),'" she said.

"Tama na, buking na. Hindi na kami magpapaloko (Enough of this deceit. You can't fool us anymore)," Marcos said.

She earlier blasted the attempt to import sugar under a dubious authority that forced the resignation of a top Agriculture official.

"Let this serve as a fair warning to all concerned. We are aware of the modus operandi going on. It's the same old story. Paulit-ulit na lang, eh (It just keeps repeating itself)," Marcos said.

"First, they smuggle. Then they create a shortage and produce a legitimate import permit. By next week, I have no doubt smuggled onions will flood the market covered by a 'legitimate' importation order of gargantuan proportions," she said.

The senator noted that at the height of the sugar import fiasco last week, about P36 million worth of onions misdeclared as "spring roll patties" and "plain churros" were confiscated in Misamis Oriental.

Taal Volcano smog blankets nearby communities amid high level of sulfur dioxide emission

by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz, Manila Bulletin

Taal Volcano’s main crater emits steam-rich plumes at 9:11 a.m., Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, as seen from Phivolcs’ monitoring station in Cuenca, Batangas. (PHIVOLCS)

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Friday, Aug. 12, advised residents around Taal Volcano in Batangas to avoid outdoor activities as the active volcano continued to emit a high level of sulfur dioxide in the past 24 hours.

“A total of 13,572 tons per day of volcanic sulfur dioxide or SO2 gas emission from the Taal Main Crater was recorded yesterday (Aug. 11) that produced significant volcanic smog or vog over Taal Caldera,” Phivolcs said in an advisory.

“Airborne volcanic gas is expected to be drifted to the general east to north-northeast of Taal Volcano Island or TVI based on air parcel trajectory data from PAGASA,” it added.

Phivolcs said that Taal Volcano averaged 7,818 tons of SO2 per day since July 15, which has been an increase from the average of 1,289 tons per day between May and mid-July 2022.

“Since the beginning of August 2022, there has been an increase in degassing activity in the form of visible upwelling of volcanic fluids in the Main Crater Lake and emission of voluminous steam-rich plumes that last night rose 2,800 meters above TVI,” it pointed out.

‘Vog’ threats

Phivolcs said the volcanic smog or “vog” over the Taal Caldera started to “thicken” between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Thursday.

It added that sulfurous stench was reported by residents of Banyaga, Agoncillo; Poblacion 5, Boso-boso, and Gulod, Laurel; and Poblacion, Talisay, Batangas.

“Vog consists of fine droplets containing volcanic gas such as SO2, which is acidic and can cause irritation of the eyes, throat and respiratory tract with severities depending on the gas concentrations and durations of exposure,” Phivolcs said.

“People who may be particularly sensitive to vog are those with health conditions such as asthma, lung disease and heart disease, the elderly, pregnant women and children,” it added.

Phivolcs advised those vulnerable to vog to limit their exposure by avoiding outdoor activities, staying indoors, and shutting doors and windows to block out vog.

Likewise, residents were urged to cover their nose, “ideally with an N95 facemask.”

“Drink plenty of water to reduce any throat irritation or constriction. If belonging to the particularly sensitive group of people above, watch over yourself and seek help from a doctor or the barangay health unit if needed, especially if serious effects are experienced,” Phivolcs added.

Moreover, crop damage that likely resulted from acid rain was also reported in Cabuyao, Laguna on Aug. 8.

Acid rain can be generated during periods of rainfall and volcanic gas emission over areas where the plume disperses, causing damage to crops and affecting metal roofs of houses and buildings.

Phivolcs said Taal Volcano remained under Alert Level 1, which means it was still in an abnormal condition and should not be interpreted to have ceased unrest nor ceased the threat of eruptive activity.

“Should an uptrend or pronounced change in monitored parameters forewarn of renewed unrest, the Alert Level may be raised back to Alert Level 2,” it said.

“Conversely, should there be a return of monitoring parameters to baseline levels after a sufficient observation period, the Alert Level will be further lowered to Alert Level 0,” it pointed out.

Under Alert Level 1, sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within the Taal Volcano Island (TVI).

“Phivolcs strongly recommends that entry into TVI, Taal’s permanent danger zone or PDZ, especially the vicinities of the main crater and the Daang Kastila fissure, must remain strictly prohibited,” it said.

PLGU Davao de Oro maintains ISO certification

 

Quality-service delivery, accountability, and proficiency in managing people's resources is among the top priority and goal of the provincial government of Davao de Oro headed by Governor Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga. 

In the recently concluded audit report by the certification body auditors or International Organization for Standardization (ISO) evaluators from TÜV SÜD PSB Philippines Inc., the provincial government maintained its certificate for international standardization after it passed the 1st Surveillance Audit of the ISO 9001:2015 Certification, which indicates that the institution continues its efforts not just to continually improve the efficiency of its systems and processes but also consistently provide the high-quality service delivery that the constituents deserve. 

Moreover, the Enterprise Feedback Management System (EFMS) plays a vital role in the Quality Management System (QMS) since it is a management tool for customer satisfaction and continual improvement. The system was formulated by the Provincial Information and Technology Office (PICTO), headed by Joyzel Odi, and was commended by the ISO evaluators for its timely consolidation of external and internal feedback into a single, time-saving platform, increasing access to and simplifying the use of valuable client data across the entire institution.

"EFMS enables authoring of survey forms. Response collection is via paper forms (which are encoded to the system) or URL link or qrcode link (which are scanned by the raters). Department heads or admin officers are notified via email for every below satisfactory feedback. They manage responses by viewing complaints and indicating actions (which are emailed to the rater)", Odi said.

She also added that "Implementation status of the indicated actions are validated by the Internal Audit Office. The system provides data analytics thru tabulations, charts, and trends. It also identifies issues and sentiments". 

Furthermore, the Provincial Human Resource Mgt. & Development Office (PHRMDO) head Lara Kristy Bermejo expressed her appreciation to all department heads and process owners for their unwavering support in realizing the goals of QMS for the institution despite the challenges brought by the pandemic.

"To the ISO Core Team...thank you all so much! Seeing you all working silently but very diligently is truly heartwarming! I see in each one of you the true desire of making our institution improve consistently," Bermejo said.

The success of the ISO audit was another milestone under the administration, which is one of the pillars of good governance in the province. Thus, achieving and maintaining the ISO certification yields many benefits, such as satisfied clients, management, and employees. (PAO-IPRD DdO)

DepEd urges learners to vaccinate vs Covid

By Ruth Palo, Manila Times

DAVAO CITY: The Department of Education (DepEd) here has continued to call on students to get vaccinated to protect themselves against Covid-19 as classes start on August 22.

Based on the data provided by the agency, there were only 284,696 learners in the entire Region 11 who had been inoculated as of July 2022 data.

Out of the 284,696, 45,977 are elementary school pupils, 167,125 are in junior high school, 62,771 senior high students, and 8,823 are enrolled in the Alternative Learning System.

DepEd regional spokesman Jenielito Atillo, during the I-Speak media forum on Thursday, August 11, said that they cannot force the parents and their children to get vaccinated since there is no law mandating them to do so.

Atillo said the department is fully supportive of the government's effort to vaccinate children. However, he said the only problem as far as DepEd is concerned, this is not mandatory.

"There is this constitutional guarantee on the freedom of choice that is why if you can remember in all our engagements we say we encourage all to be vaccinated but of course we cannot force them really to be inoculated for so many reasons," Atillo said.

Religion and health concerns are among the many reasons why parents refused to have their children vaccinated, according to Atillo.

Despite the low turnout of vaccination among learners, the department continues to encourage parents to have their children inoculated.

Atillo, meanwhile, said almost a million students in the Davao Region have already enrolled for the school year 2022-2023.

As of August 11, a total of 951,312 students have already enrolled. The figure is already 68 percent of last year's 1,395,893 enrollees, with over a week left for enrollment.

Out of the more than 950,000 students enrolled, 349,557 are from Davao City.

Atillo, however, said the number is a "far cry" from the number of enrollees in the past two years of the pandemic.

Atillo said that for the first months of the school year, all schools will offer a hybrid modality of learning, and will shift to a full face-to-face learning scheme on November 2.

19.26M enrolled for new school year

He said the return to full face-to-face classes is "going to be a resurrection of the traditional conduct of classes in the country."

Atillo assures us that the department has already prepared contingency plans to respond to any health risks and incidents such as the possibility of another surge of Covid-19 cases.