Rock star David Crosby dies at 81

FILE - David Crosby, right, and Graham Nash perform at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009, in New York. Crosby, the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young, has died at age 81. His death was reported Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, by multiple outlets. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)

By Associated Press

DAVID Crosby, the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young, has died at 81, several media outlets reported Thursday.

The New York Times reported, based on a text message from Crosby's sister in law, that the musician died Wednesday night. Several media outlets reported Crosby's death citing anonymous sources; The Associated Press was unable to reach Crosby's representatives and his widow.

Crosby underwent a liver transplant in 1994 after decades of drug use and survived diabetes, hepatitis C and heart surgery in his 70s.

While he only wrote a handful of widely known songs, the witty and ever opinionated Crosby was on the front lines of the cultural revolution of the '60s and '70s — whether triumphing with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young on stage at Woodstock, testifying on behalf of a hirsute generation in his anthem "Almost Cut My Hair" or mourning the assassination of Robert Kennedy in "Long Time Gone."

He was a founder and focus of the Los Angeles rock music community from which such performers as the Eagles and Jackson Browne later emerged. He was a twinkly-eyed hippie patriarch, the inspiration for Dennis Hopper's long-haired stoner in "Easy Rider." He advocated for peace, but was an unrepentant loudmouth who practiced personal warfare and acknowledged that many of the musicians he worked with no longer spoke to him.

Crosby's drug use left him bloated, broke and alienated. He kicked the addiction in 1985 and 1986 during a year's prison stretch in Texas on drug and weapons charges. The conviction eventually was overturned.

He lived years longer than even he expected and in his 70s enjoyed a creative renaissance, issuing several solo albums while collaborating with others including his son James Raymond, who became a favorite songwriting partner.

Crosby became a star in the mid-1960s with the seminal folk-rock group The Byrds, known for such hits as "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Mr. Tambourine Man." Clean-cut and baby-faced at the time, he contributed harmonies that were a key part of the band's innovative blend of The Beatles and Dylan. Crosby was among the first American stars to become close to The Beatles, and helped introduce George Harrison to Eastern music.

Troubled relations with bandmates pushed Crosby out of The Byrds and into a new group. Crosby, Stills and Nash's first meeting is part of rock folklore: Stills and Crosby were at Joni Mitchell's house in 1968 (Stills would contend they were at Mama Cass'), working on the ballad "You Don't Have to Cry," when Nash suggested they start over again. Nash's high harmony added a magical layer to Stills' rough bottom and Crosby's mellow middle and a supergroup was born.

Crosby was born David Van Cortlandt Crosby on Aug. 14, 1941, in Los Angeles. His father was Oscar-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby of "High Noon" fame. The family, including his mother, Aliph, and brother, Floyd Jr., later moved to Santa Barbara.

EU-funded P245 M project for Bangsamoro people launched

by Bonita Ermac, MB

MARAWI CITY — The Bangsamoro government, European Union in the Philippines and UNICEF launched a project which will boost community resilience and services for the children in conflict-affected municipalities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The launching was held at the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol here on Thursday, Jan. 18.

Dubbed as ‘Building Community Resilience and Delivery of Essential Services for Post Conflict Recovery in Lanao del Sur/Marawi City,’ the project aims to strengthen community resilience, increase coverage of essential services, and promote child-friendly family and community behaviors in 44 municipalities in the province of Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon. 

The project costs four million euros or P245 million which will fund health, education, child protection and disaster risk reduction programs targeting 680,000 children, 200,000 parents and 120,000 internally displaced persons affected by the Marawi conflict in May 2017.

It will be implemented in three years’ time.

Project outcomes include maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health, water and sanitation services; early childhood education and basic education services, child protection/social welfare systems, and child-friendly and municipal planning and investment for children’s rights and reduced disaster risks.

“Our journey to development and peace lives on in every Bangsamoro youth who carries our dreams into the future,” explained Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim. 

Thus, relenting support of our partners enables us to shape a Bangsamoro that nurtures the health and well-being of each and every child, said Ibrahim.

UNICEF Philippines representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov stated that sustainable development, peace and security will not be achieved until every child has their rights fulfilled, respected and protected.

“Children have a right to just be children and play, learn and spend time with family and friends. Safeguarding the next generation from the effects of armed conflict is our collective responsibility,” said Dendevnorov.

“This project we are launching today supports the BARMM’s regional and local authorities’ capacity to plan and deliver services, from health and sanitation, to education and social protection,” said European Union Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron.

“It will contribute to the fulfillment of basic human rights of the populations benefitting from this project,” added Veron.

“The EU is very proud to have the opportunity to help fund this effort and partner up with the Bangsamoro authorities and with UNICEF, as part of our longstanding commitment to the wellbeing of children, and of course to peace and development in the BARMM,” the EU ambassador stressed. 

The people of Lanao del Sur through their Provincial Governor Mamintal ‘Bombit’ A. Adiong expressed gratitude for all the services poured into this province, saying this would benefit not only the current generation but also of the future.

“As we strive for a healthier, more secure, socially protected, child-friendly and protected Lanao Province and, ultimately, the Bangsamoro region, they committed their support to the Bangsamoro government’s Mindanao Peace and Development Program and its peace interventions,” said Adiong.

Citing that the province and the entire Bangsamoro region are at the crossroads of recovery and normalization both from the conflict and the pandemic, the Governor said the newly launched project is a leap toward achieving sustainable peace in Mindanao which would consequently improve the social cohesion and resiliency of the communities within.

Adiong also said the projected project outcomes are seen as a compliment to the provincial government’s previous and future endeavors also aiming to extend unwavering support to children, women and all people in the province.

Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra said it made him happy and proud that the EU and UNICEF have teamed up with the provincial and city governments.

He also expressed his dedication to continue supporting the international organizations’ programs as they all share the same goal which is to have better and more resilient communities through the effective delivery of much-needed services to the people.

Gandamra said he is fervently hoping that this program will bring the help that the people need to become not just resilient members of the society but also become peace and change-makers that his land needs.

Expect rain showers in parts of VisMin due to trough of LPA, says PAGASA

Published January 21, 2023, 10:48 AM

by Charie Mae F. Abarca

Rain showers may prevail in parts of Visayas and Mindanao on Saturday, Jan. 21, due to the trough or extension of the low pressure area spotted outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), said the state weather bureau.

(PAGASA)

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Weather Specialist Grace Castañeda, in a public weather forecast, said the LPA may enter the Philippine boundary in the next few days. Although still outside PAR, its extension will continue to affect parts of Visayas as well as Mindanao – particularly Caraga and Davao Region.

“[Pinapayuhan na mag-ingat] ang ating mga kababayan sa [posibleng] pagbaha at pagguho ng lupa (We are advising the public to be vigilant against possible flooding and landslides),” said Castañeda.

Apart from this weather disturbance, PAGASA is also monitoring the shearline and the northeast monsoon.

The shear line – a weather system that forms due to the convergence of warm and cold winds – is still affecting the Bicol Region. With this, overcast skies and rainy weather may prevail in the area in the next 24-hour period.

The northeast monsoon, locally called amihan, may likewise bring cloudy skies with rains in Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, Aurora, Rizal, Laguna Quezon, Mindoro Provinces, Marinduque, and Romblon. This weather system may also trigger partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with light rains in Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, the rest of Central Luzon, and CALABARZON.

Why do many people dislike Filipino food?

Jan Krusat

For me it depends: There are quite a few Filipino dishes I love and cook myself here in Germany, but there are others I don’t like (and in some cases don’t like their German counterparts either).

I find a lot of food from the Tagalog regions rather bland, e.g. Sinigang

But I love a lot of the spicier dishes from Bicol or from the Muslim regions of Mindanao, e.g. Bicol Express or Beef Rendang.

I also like Cebuano Beefsteak, Adobo and Kare Kare (I love the combination of peanuts and coconut milk). And sometimes Filipino style spaghetti.

Unfortunately I’m allergic to fish and seafood, and I’m not particularly fond of poultry.

I don’t like Pata (fried pig knuckle), but I also don’t like their German equivalents Schweinshaxe and Eisbein either. The same goes for Dinoguan and its German equivalent blood sausage.

Humba (barbecued spare ribs) are a bit too fat for me and you can chase me with balut (boiled duck eggs with a duck embryo inside).

I love Filipino desserts, like Leche Flan, Biko (cooked it last week), Halo-Halo, Filipino fruit salad and Bibingka.

What is the history of Mindanao?

 

Datu Ulap

Was it an independent state before it was colonized by Spain like Visayas and Luzon? If so, what was its name or kingdom name if ever existed at all?

Mindanao is known for being one of the places that successfully resisted Spanish colonization. But the whole island was never under a single kingdom, but rather multiple kingdoms.

The oldest of these kingdoms was the precolonial kingdom of Butuan. Many gold artifacts from the former realm have been uncovered here, including the Golden Tara. Envoys from Butuan have been sent to China since 1001. Butuan enjoyed relations with other local kingdoms as well as with larger empires like the Majapahit.

• Golden Tara shows Hindu-Buddhist influence in the area.

• Elaborate gold pieces like this kinnari vessel have been discovered here.

• Ancient Ivory Seal suggests Indianized influence and international trade.

The Sultanate of Maguindanao was another sultanate that ruled over present-day Maguindanao Province. This was a centralized sultanate that was founded in 1520, but before that, there was a predecessor state called Wenduling in 1304.

• Shariff Mohammed Kabungsuwan of Johor was credited with bringing Islam to the region.
• The sultans successfully resisted Spanish forces. Sultan Kudarat in particular was known for his resistance against the Spanish in the 17th century.

• The Sultanate ended during the American period when the entire island was occupied by Americans.

• Yellow was a color of royalty for the sultanate, showing Chinese influence.

The Lanao Confederacy was a decentralized confederation of many royal houses and sultans in the Lanao area. They seceded from the Sultanate of Maguindanao in 1616 and stayed a decentralized group of sultans.

• There were 16 royal houses in this territory.

• During the Spanish period, Maranao and Iranun forces conducted regular raids on the Visayas. They took on many slaves during these attacks.

• While they resisted Spanish colonization, they eventually fell to American invaders.

The Sultanate of Sulu was founded in the 1400s by a Johor-born religious scholar. At its peak, it spanned the Sulu Archipelago, Mindanao, and present-day Sabah in Malaysia.

• The Sultanate used to have the largest royal palace built in the Philippines.

• The archipelago had connections to Majapahit as evidenced by the Kakawin Nagarakretagama, and was under the name Solot.

• Sulu freely traded with Champa, with merchant Chams settling in Sulu.
• A sultan named Paduka Pahala moved to China, and his descendants currently live in Dezhou where they maintain his royal tomb.

• Karim ul-Makhdam arrived in 1380 and brought Islam to the islands. The first mosque in the Philippines is currently in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi.

• The sultanate broke free of Brunei in 1538.
• Raids from Sulu were common in the 17th and 18th centuries, with many slaves in Sulu coming from the Visayas.

• The sultanate eventually ceased power to the Americans in 1915, bringing the entire archipelago under American rule. The Bud Dajo Massacre in 1906 was one of the many war crimes Americans committed against the people in the Philippines, this one, in particular, happened in Sulu.

Philippine Travel Update: Cheaper Flights | A Customs Warning for Travelers

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Davao town receives P1M for prefab coffee storage

By Ruth Palo

DAVAO CITY: The regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) has turned over P1 million to the local government unit (LGU) of Bansalan in Davao del Sur for the construction of a prefabricated coffee storage in Sitio Gagpang, Barangay Alegre in the town.

The project aims to ensure coffee quality and available supply for marketing.

In a turnover ceremony on Wednesday, January 18, in Davao City, DA 11 regional executive director Abel James Monteagudo said the project is part of the intensified support of the agency for coffee farmers in the Davao Region.

"Coffee beans from the foothills of Mt. Apo are regarded as one of the best in the country and even made headlines as they have won the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition since 2018," Monteagudo added.

With this project, according to him, the number of local and international buyers could increase and there is a need for postharvest facilities to help the coffee farmers meet the required quality and demand.

He said a postharvest facility determines the quality of coffee cherries as every step of postharvest activities can cause significant quality loss and lead to a lower market price.

Here’s the newest basilica in the Philippines

 

The St. Dominic Parish in San Carlos City was formally declared a minor basilica during Mass presided over by Archbishop Charles Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, on Jan. 14, 2023. (CBCP News)

By Roy Lagarde via CBCP News 

The church of St. Dominic in Pangasinan province’s city of San Carlos was formally declared a minor basilica Saturday, making it the first church of such stature in Asia under the patronage of the founder of the Order of Preachers.

At a Mass on Saturday, Jan. 14, the parish was formally declared a minor basilica, and the church will now be known as the “Minor Basilica of Saint Dominic”.

The liturgy was presided over by Archbishop Charles Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, with Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, his auxiliary bishop Fidelis Layog, and Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner, the Master of the Order of Preachers, as concelebrants.

At the start of the service, Bishop Layug read the decree from the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments designating the 250-year old church as a minor basilica.

Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila then blessed the special insignia of a minor basilica: the “ombrellino” or a large umbrella highlighted with alternate red and yellow silk stripes, and the “tintinnabulum” or a bell mounted on a pole.

In his homily, Fr. Timoner said that the new basilica under the patronage of St. Dominic is the fifth in the world— three are in Italy and one in Argentina that were declared basilicas shortly before or after the 7th centenary of the death of St. Dominic.

“This is the first, and perhaps, the only one after the 8th Jubilee celebration,” Fr. Timoner said.

Of the approximately 1,800 minor basilicas in the world, the Philippines is home to 21 and two of them are in the Lingayen-Dagupan archdiocese.

A minor basilica is a special designation conferred on churches from the Vatican based on, among others, architectural beauty, historical or cultural significance and liturgical celebrations.

Minor basilicas are located throughout the world while major basilicas are all located in Rome.

A basilica ranks in importance right below the principal church of the archdiocese, which is St. John the Evangelist Cathedral, the archbishop’s church in Dagupan City.

Various privileges and obligations such as plenary indulgences are attached to visits to a minor basilica by the faithful.

Cardinal Advincula said the basilica also shows Pope Francis’ “closeness with us all”.

“He has given official recognition to the depth and intensity of our devotion to St. Dominic, and he urges us to invite more people to come closer to the Lord to experience his great love,” the cardinal added.

The rich Catholic history of San Carlos, originally known as Binalatongan, dates back to 1587 with the arrival of Dominican missionaries that evangelized Pangasinan. The town’s first church was made of bamboo and nipa.

The church’s original site was moved to higher locations three times in the 17th and 19th centuries due to seasonal flooding.

In the 18th century, most churches were built of bricks and the largest bricks produced then were from San Carlos. After the Palaris revolt in 1765, a new church in its current site was built and completed in 1773.

Santo Domingo Ybanez de Erquicia who received the crown of martyrdom in Japan’s Nagasaki prefecture and San Francisco Gil de Federich who died for the faith in Vietnam’s Gulf of Tonkin were both Dominican missionaries who once ministered in the parish.

We have the same mission as Christ

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

IT’S intriguing to note that Christ would just appoint as his apostles practically anyone. It would look like his choice was done purely at random. He would even choose someone who would betray him. And many times, he would scold his apostles for their lack of faith and understanding. And the severest rebuke was even given to Peter, the head of the apostles, whom he told, “Get behind me, Satan!” (Mt 16,23)

We are reminded of this fact when in the gospel of St. Mark, Christ simply chose 12 out of the many disciples who followed him. (3,13-19) What we can derive from this observation is precisely that we, being meant to be conformed to Christ, the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, are also meant to be apostles, to be involved in his mission. Christ treats us the same way he treats himself.

We have to be more aware of this truth about ourselves and try our best to act on it. To be an authentic Christian is not simply to be interested in one’s own sanctification. He also has to be involved in the sanctification of everyone. A Christian is at once interested in sanctifying himself and in sanctifying others as well.

To be sure, if we have the proper Christian frame of mind, we know that every event, circumstance, situation and condition in our life is an occasion to do apostolate. Even when one is isolated for one reason or another, he still can do apostolate, because this duty is not limited to dealing with others in a direct, physical way. It can be done with prayers, sacrifices and intentions. Indeed, there is no moment in our life when we cannot apostolate!

We also have to realize that our pursuit for sanctity cannot be genuine if it does not involve doing apostolate. In fact, the tasks of sanctification and apostolate mutually help each other. One cannot be without the other.

When we are active in the apostolate, we get the chance to deal with our weaknesses and shortcomings better. Temptations can hardly affect us when we are occupied with this business of doing apostolate.

Obviously, if we are sincere in our pursuit for holiness, we would also feel more strongly the urge to do apostolate. If our prayer is authentic, if our sacrifices are generous and purely intended, if our recourse to the sacraments and the waging of ascetical struggle are stable, there can be no other effect than for us to get involved in the lives of others for their own sanctification.

What should ideally happen is to have the same drive and zeal that Christ had in carrying out his mission. He once said: “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!” (Lk 12,49) This will obviously require a lot of effort and discipline. But let’s never forget that we have to ask for God’s grace for this ideal to take place.

We can be sure that by earnestly pursuing this duty of ours as Christians, we would receive the joy and peace that the world cannot give, a joy and peace that, while involving a lot of effort and sacrifice, will always be palpable.

This is what we can see in Christ and in all the saints!

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Census finds 32 water bird species thriving in 2 Agusan del Norte towns

by Philippine News Agency

BUTUAN CITY (PNA) – At least 32 water bird species are found thriving inside the monitoring site in Lake Mainit stretching across the towns of Jabonga and Kitcharao in Agusan del Norte province, highlighting the need for sustained ecological preservation.

WHITE Browed Crake (DENR CENRO Tubay FB)

“The census also recorded 12 new water bird species foraging and taking refuge inside the monitoring site in Lake Mainit,” the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in Tubay, Agusan del Norte (CENRO-Tubay) said in a statement on Thursday, Jan. 19. 

It was referring to the Annual Asian Water Bird Census (AWC) launched on Wednesday, Jan. 18, which is conducted during the second and third week of every January not only in the country but also in other parts of the world, particularly in Asia.

The Top 5 water bird species with the highest number found inside the monitoring site in Lake Mainit include the Tufted Duck, Whiskered Tern, Intermediate Egret, Common Tern, and the Javan Pond Heron.

“The census also recorded 12 new water bird species foraging and taking refuge inside the monitoring site in Lake Mainit,” the CENRO-Tubay said.

The new bird species include the Yellow Bittern, Purple Swamphen, Wood Swallow, White Throated Kingfisher, Philippine Duck, White Browed Crake, Common Tern, Slender-billed Crow, Swiftlets, Short-Billed Brown Dove, Olive Backed Sunbird, Yellow Vented Bulbul, and Spotted Dove.

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The CENRO-Tubay noted the number of thriving bird species inside the sites this year decreased compared to 2022.

“Last year’s total individual count was 44,508 water birds. We recorded an almost 17 percent of decrease in their number this year,” it said.