Sarah Geronimo in Times Square billboard

by Punch Liwanag

Sarah Geronimo is the latest big name Pinoy pop act to be featured on a New York billboard.  

The “Tala” pop superstar’s recent image was spotted in the giant electronic billboard on Times Square in New York.

Geronimo’s long time label Viva Records, shared photos of Sarah Geronimo’s image towering above the famed New York city spot.

Said billboard is part of Spotify’s EQUAL playlist campaign. A popular playlist on the streaming platform. Said listing spotlights female artists from around the world. The Pinoy version of the playlist’s description reads: ‘Listen to women from the Philippines at full volume.”

Several Pinoy music acts have already been featured on said Billboard, but this is the first time that a Pinoy artist of Sarah Geronimo’s caliber has been featured on the EQUAL billboard.

Sarah Geronimo recently released her much anticipated new single titled “Dati Dati” a fortnight ago. This was the first time the multi-hyphenate released a brand-new song since her 2018 album “This 15 Me” (the title stylized to commemorate her 15 years in the music scene).

Sarah Geronimo is on the EQUAL Philippines playlist on the strength of her disco inspired new single “Dati Dati.”  

Spotify also saw fit to feature Geronimo on the cover of said playlist.  

Fans were delighted to find out that SG dropped a surprise single release last weekend when her version of “The Gift” – a duet with husband Matteo Guidicelli—found its way on digital streaming platforms.  

It is speculated that Sarah Geronimo will release a full-length album soon.

Church must guide PH youth to the ‘right path’ — VP Sara

by Raymund Antonio, MB

Amid temptations of substance abuse, rebellion, and extremism that face today’s Filipino youth, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Wednesday, Oct. 26, called on the Church to shape the minds of the youth and guide them toward the “right path” as she vouched for the government’s support.

Vice President Sara Duterte speaks during the Jesus is Lord Church Pastors’ Congress at Novotel Manila on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. (OVP photo)

The official spoke during the Jesus is Lord Church Pastors’ Congress at Novotel Manila for its 44th anniversary.  

Citing the Church’s “significant role” in shaping the mind and conscience of the community, especially the youth, Duterte underscored how Filipinos all over the world seek the Church when they celebrate milestones and struggle with life’s challenges.

But she particularly urged the Church to guide the Filipino youth and contribute in rebuilding the nation.

“Our youth are vulnerable and easily impressionable and I call upon the Church to help us guide our young Filipinos into the right path. The lures of substance abuse, violent extremism, and rebellion keep pulling away our country’s future. I believe this is where the Church can support nation-building,” the Vice President said.

“Your ministries to the communities have never been more relevant than now when our youth’s mental and psychological health are held hostage by various social media influences and peer and social pressure,” she added, noting also how the isolation brought by the Covid-19 pandemic led to loss of confidence to navigate life.

(Photo from Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook)

“Without professional help and spiritual guidance, some have been driven to self-harm and harm others,” she furthered. 

But aside from the youth, the official also highlighted how the Church must unify the family as society’s basic unit.

“As you come together to reinforce your vision of nation-building, rest assured that we, at the government, are your partners in advocacies and ministries for the Filipino people,” she said, adding that a society guided by a “moral compass” is a shared dream by the Church and government.

“The call to build a strong nation is an open invitation. It is for us all. After all, we speak in universal truths of kindness, compassion, love, joy, and peace for all,” Duterte asserted.

The Vice President, who shared that Bro. Eddie Villanueva’s Jesus is Lord Church is the same age as hers, expressed admiration for the Church’s 44 years of dedication “to spreading the word of God and winning spiritual battles for our nation.”

“Your commitment and sacrifice to reach out, spend time, and minister to these people have truly changed lives one prayer at a time,” she said.

What is one word you would use to describe your country (the Philippines)?

 

Bisaya

Proud Bisaya Ko

Barok and Takya Blog | Bisaya Podcast

What other words would you use to describe other countries that you have visited or lived in before?

Passion. It's the one word I would use to describe my home country, the Philippines. Passionate about our families, friends, work, and hobbies. Passionate about life itself. You can see it in the way we sing and dance, the way we laugh and love. Passion

[1]

 is at the heart of everything we do. And it's this passion that makes the Philippines such a special place. Sure, other countries have unique charms, but there's something about the Philippines that feels different. Maybe it's the fact that we're always striving to make things just a little bit better. Or perhaps it's because we know that, no matter what life throws at us, we'll always have each other to lean on. Whatever the reason, I'm proud to be Filipino. And I can't wait to see what the future holds for my country and its people.

Footnotes

[1] 

Barok and Takya Blog

NGCP repairs bombed transmission line, restores power in affected Mindanao provinces

By Eireene Jairee Gomez October 26, 2022 

THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Wednesday said power has been restored in the Zamboanga peninsula, Misamis Occidental, and parts of Lanao del Norte after the Baloi-Aurora 138-kiloVolt (kV) line serving these areas has been repaired, after it was bombed on Monday.

In an advisory, NGCP said the affected transmission line in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, was repaired at 4:39 a.m. Wednesday.

The NGCP said an Emergency Restoration System (ERS) was put up for the toppled Tower No. 8 less than 36 hours after the incident.

"It is NGCP's mandate to provide reliable power transmission services. We are committed to our mandate, and we will continue to deliver on this commitment, despite challenges posed by lawless elements," NGCP said.

"We laud the efforts and bravery of our line personnel who pursued immediate restoration without hesitation. We thank the local police and armed forces who secured the area and ensured the safety of our people," the company added.

NGCP reiterated that any malicious activities that are intended to damage or cripple NGCP's transmission lines and facilities may serve only to burden ordinary power consumers.

Suspicious activities involving NGCP's transmission facilities may be reported to the NGCP TIP hotline at 0917-8476427. 

LPA off Eastern Visayas may become tropical depression in 24 hours – Pagasa

By Arlie O. Calalo October 26, 2022 

THE low pressure area (LPA) off Eastern Visayas has a big chance of developing into a tropical depression within 24 hours and it will be named "Paeng", the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Wednesday.

The LPA was last spotted at about 3 a.m. some 1,010kilometers east of Eastern Visayas, according to weather forecaster John Rey Bagalanon.

Bagalanon told The Manila Times that the shear line, the point where the cold and warm air converges, is affecting Southern Luzon.

The state-run weather agency said the trough or the extension of the LPA is bringing rain and thunderstorms over Palawan, Visayas and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, the northeast monsoon or "amihan" is bringing cloudy skies with rains over Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, Aurora, Ilocos Region and the rest of Central Luzon, Pagasa said

Climate risks pose ‘significant threat’ to PH growth

by Chino S. Leyco

Climate change poses a significant threat to the country’s development that would potentially result in higher economic and human costs particularly for the poor, the World Bank said. 

Souleymane Coulibaly, World Bank lead economist said climate shocks would negatively affect the country’s economic growth by eroding natural and physical capital, as well as reducing labor productivity.

Coulibaly also said that the effects of climate change would weaken the country’s financial stability, alter domestic and external competitiveness and strain government finances. 

Ultimately, climate shocks would drag down the government’s poverty reduction effort, whose metrics mainly depend on economic growth and income distribution, Coulibaly noted.

Based on the World Bank estimates, the average output losses of the Philippines due to climate change will be at 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 and could further rise to 5.7 percent by 2040.

Under the much worse scenario, the World Bank estimated that the costs of climate shocks could amount to 7.6 percent by 2030 and 13.6 percent by 2040. 

The World Bank estimates were derived using the country’s historical typhoon information.

“As illustrated by this figure, you can see the poor would suffer the most. The poorer the households, the more negatively the consumption is estimated to be affected by climate change,” Coulibaly said.

According to the World Bank economist, if no measures is taken to address climate change, the poverty rate will increase by nearly one percentage point by 2040, economic insecurity by 3.3 percentage points and inequality by 0.3 percentage point.

The financial sector will also be affected for a one percentage rise in the typhoon damage ratio, and the non performing loan ratio rising by an average of 0.66 percent in the same period, Coulibaly said.

“This is this significantly increases in your credit risks,” he said.

However, the good news is that adaptation actions can reduce the impact of climate change.

“Measures to adapt to climate change could reduce economic losses by around two-thirds,” Coulibay said. “The cost of climate adaptation is substantial, but easily outweighed by the economic benefits of reduced climate change.”

World Bank estimated that the cost of making vulnerable new infrastructure in the Philippines climate resilience is estimated to be about 0.6 percent of GDP annually.

Whilethe agriculture sector measures to boost climate resilience would cost the government about 0.06 percent of GDP per year.

“However, depending on the financing mechanism of adaptation investment, short run GDP could be boosted by 0.7 percent compared to the baseline without investment,” he added.  

6 hurt, several houses damaged after M6.7 earthquake in Abra – NDRRMC

Published October 26, 2022, 8:55 AM

by Martin Sadongdong, MB

At least six persons were hurt while several houses were damaged when a powerful magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked Abra and nearby provinces in Northern Luzon on Tuesday night, Oct. 25.

At least six persons were hurt and six houses were damaged in Lagayan, Abra after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked the province on Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Lagayan MDRRMC via Office of Civil Defense – Cordillera Administrative Region)

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) started assessing the extent of damage caused by the earthquake, the epicenter of which was recorded in Tineg town at 10:59 p.m. 

Based on initial report released Wednesday morning, Oct. 26, at least six persons were hurt and six houses were totally damaged in Lagayan, Abra when the earthquake struck in the middle of the night.

At least six persons were hurt and six houses were damaged in Lagayan, Abra after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked the province on Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Lagayan MDRRMC via Office of Civil Defense – Cordillera Administrative Region)

At least six persons were hurt and six houses were damaged in Lagayan, Abra after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked the province on Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Lagayan MDRRMC via Office of Civil Defense – Cordillera Administrative Region) 

At least six persons were hurt and six houses were damaged in Lagayan, Abra after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked the province on Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Lagayan MDRRMC via Office of Civil Defense – Cordillera Administrative Region)

At least six persons were hurt and six houses were damaged in Lagayan, Abra after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked the province on Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Lagayan MDRRMC via Office of Civil Defense – Cordillera Administrative Region)

The Lagayan municipal disaster risk reduction and management council (MDRRMC) said it immediately provided relief assistance and food items for the affected families.

Meanwhile, landslides and rockslides were also reported along the Abra-Ilocos Norte road, the Office of Civil Defense in Cordillera Administrative Region (OCD-CAR) said.

Landslides and rockslides were reported along Abra-Ilocos Norte Road following the magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Abra on Oct. 25, 2022.

A separate situational report released by the NDRRMC National Operations Center said that the national road in Brgy. Labben and a local road in Brgy. Centro East both in Allacapan, Cagayan were damaged by the quake, affecting motorists.

Initial assessment also revealed that a residential unit was damaged in Brgy. Punta, Aparri, Cagayan. 

Residents in Brgy. Centro East in Allacapan and several barangays in Gattaran, Cagayan were also blanketed by darkness as the earthquake resulted to power interruption.

Tourism will help fast-track our economic recovery and growth

by Manila Bulletin

The country witnessed in the past few weeks a flurry of events related to tourism. Just a few days ago, the Philippine Travel Exchange or PHITEX tallied a record-breaking ₱172 million in business sales leads in just two days. PHITEX, now in its 21st year, is the biggest government-led travel trade event organized by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB). Alongside it, the 6th World Travel Expo was being held in another hotel and also recorded robust sales and attendance. Based on these two separate events, there is so much optimism in the coming months, especially in 2023, for the pandemic-battered tourism industry.

Before these two events, stakeholders gathered in a “Philippine Tourism Industry Convergence Reception” where the President made his message clear — that his administration is committed to revitalize the tourism industry.

“It became very clear that as we transform our economy, one of the possible and high potential drivers for the transformation for the economy was tourism and the reason is we in the Philippines have been so fortunate to have been born in this very beautiful country. Even more so, we have been so lucky to be born to such beautiful people,” the President said. To his credit, the President was up and about as an unofficial “tourism ambassador” as he led in various events that will help promote and publicize the country not only to international travelers, but also to domestic tourists. 

The President spearheaded the ceremonial lighting of the San Juanico Bridge, the first of its kind in the country where a bridge will feature an aesthetic light and sound show. It is touted as the newest tourism drawer, an attraction that will repurpose the bridge not only as a vital link between Samar and Leyte, but as a catalyst to help boost local tourism around the area.

Over the weekend, the President also joined the MassKara Festival in Bacolod City, highlighting the message that the country is “reemerging from a crisis.”

“The pandemic is fading away. We are learning to manage it… it is now time for us to go back to work, to go back to our normal lives, to remind ourselves of all the opportunities that were before us before the pandemic,” he said, noting that the MassKara Festival signaled not only the opening of Bacolod City, but more so the country to tourists all over the world.

Stressing the vital role of tourism in our economic development, the President’s latest vlog also suggested that Filipinos must “explore, travel, and discover the beauty of the Philippines.” 

“Please remember that every trip and travel inside our beautiful Philippines will help in our (economic) recovery,” the President said. He also noted that the coming weekend — a long one due to the declaration of Oct. 31 as a non-working holiday — is an opportune time to join our families to discover the countryside.

He added: “From the beginning, we have already identified tourism as one of the key drivers to revitalize our local economy. We can create more jobs if we develop our tourism sector.”

So, what is there for us to do? Time to pack our bags, check our cars (or the bus schedules), book a hotel or resort online, and just go as every peso that we spend for local enterprises is a peso that will help lift up their lives, their communities, and ultimately, our country. 

32M scam and spam SMS blocked

By Francis Earl Cueto, Manila Times

GLOBE Telecoms on Monday said they were able to block 32.2 million scam and spam text messages with clickable links in just two weeks after enforcing its measure against all person-to-person SMS with links.

In a statement, Globe said that the figure covered September 28 to October 13 when it started enforcing the measures, which resulted in blocking 2.4 million SMS with clickable links on average every day within that period.

"The amount of text messages with clickable links we blocked within just about two weeks shows the staggering number of spam and scam SMS that disrupt and threaten customers every day. This is empirical proof that our security measure was warranted," Anton Bonifacio, Globe's chief information security officer, said.

Globe implemented this measure in response to growing concern over escalating spam and scam messages, particularly those containing mobile users' full names.

The statement also said that Globe has logged a new record in blocked spam and scam messages, with a total of 1.3 billion from January to end September. This exceeds the 2021 total of 1.15 billion.

Under the new security measure, all person-to-person SMS with clickable links from all networks are blocked.

This has forced fraudsters to find new ways to craft their scam messages, showing that the blocking measure has been effective.

"We reiterate our call on our customers to remain vigilant as fraudsters will continue to find ways to circumvent measures that aim to thwart them. Do not engage with SMS from anonymous sources making enticing offers," Bonifacio said.

Globe has spent $20 million or P1.1 billion to date to step up its spam and scam SMS detection and blocking system.

FDA warns vs 'toxic' cough syrups

By Kristina Maralit October 25, 2022 

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) on Monday echoed an earlier warning by the World Health Organization (WHO) against four "substandard" cough syrups for children.

The WHO tagged the cough syrups manufactured by India-based Maiden Pharmaceutical Ltd. under the brands Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup as unsafe for consumption because they contain "toxic ingredients."

The warning was issued following the death of 66 children in the West African country of Gambia last September.

In its advisory, the FDA said the four brands contain diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol which are considered as contaminants and toxic to humans.

Consumption "may result in abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death," it said.