A German Expat in The Philippines - Ein deutscher Auswanderer auf den Philippinen

You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Celebs who lead the charge to protect our environment

by Manila Bulletin Entertainment

By Carissa Alcantara

Aside from playing notable characters on the screen, celebrities create a huge impact by using their platforms to raise awareness in saving and protecting Mother Earth.

Besides appearing on the red carpet, posing with expensive cars, or holding unending parties, some celebrities also do great things for society. Their immense fame also comes with significant influence, and many use it for a good cause.

While some are great advocates for human rights, gender equality, and proper governance, a good number of them are pursuing the ultimate fight to care for the environment. These celebrities have been doing their part in encouraging others to do the same.

We applaud anyone who uses their celebrity status to promote awareness about climate change and other threats to our environment.

Chai Fonacier

Using her comedy character named “Kurdapya Jones,” Cebuana actress Chai Fonacier collaborated with Sutukil Sauce to create a six-part series on debunking climate change in 2017.

Iza Calzado

Appointed as one of the female national ambassadors for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) in 2016, actress Iza Calzado has been an active volunteer in spreading environmental education awareness and sustainable living.

Nadine Lustre

As a beach lover, Nadine Lustre showed her support by participating in a beach cleanup with Greenpeace PH’s anti-plastic campaign. Since then, Nadine has been practicing some ways of becoming eco-conscious.

Jasmine Curtis Smith

Jasmine Curtis-Smith was appointed as the Youth Ambassador for Independence Energy in 2019. Jasmine has always been an active advocate when it comes to environmental aspects. She fulfills her duty to influence the government and private sectors to create alternative energy sources that are indigenous and sustainable.

Pia Wurtzbach

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach teamed up with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) for their #speakupfornature campaign. Pia donated P250,000 to support the causes of WWF.

Piolo Pascual

During his stay in Mabini, Batangas, award-winning Piolo Pascual teamed up with Ang Probinsyano Partylist for a coastal and underwater cleanup drive. The community cleanup activity yielded a total of 135 kilograms of waste materials collected by 50 volunteers headed by the local tourism office of Mabini.

Luis Manzano

A long-time diver and certified lover of seas, Luis Manzano, champions the organization’s Marine Conservation Programs, which include initiatives on sustainable fisheries plus food security, community-based ecotourism, and biodiversity conservation.

Richard Gutierrez

Aside from his career as an actor, Richard Gutierrez is also passionate about helping the environment. In 2019, Richard took the initiative of partnering up with Kiehl’s Made Better campaign. As an avid underwater photographer, the actor dedicated the campaign to preserving Anilao beach.

Enzo Pineda

Aside from being an actor and marine reservist, Enzo Pineda also has a passion for the environment. He donated collectibles and fashion items for auction to support families near conservation sites like the Ipo Watershed. The actor is also a plant enthusiast. He advocates for food security and raises awareness of proper urban gardening practices.

Leonard DiCaprio

Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 to help “restore balance to threatened ecosystems, ensuring the long-term health and well-being of all Earth’s inhabitants.” Leonardo has been named the United Nations climate change representative and donated millions of dollars to environmental activist groups.

Ellen DeGeneres & Portia De Rossi

Ellen De Generes (left) and Portia de Rossi (Facebook)

Actress Portia De Rossi gifted her wife television host Ellen De Generes the Ellen Fund, which partly works to save mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

BTS

In 2019, the seven members of the hit band BTS became Formula E ambassadors, promoting the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the only race in the world that uses solely electric cars. One year later, they became the faces of Hyundai’s IONIQ electric car, and to celebrate the partnership, they released a video full of beautiful earthy imagery.

Jane Fonda

Before COVID-19 hit, Jane Fonda was just getting started with her “Fire Drill Fridays,” bringing famous friends, scientists, and civilians together in Washington, D.C., to rally for climate change. The Grace and Frankie star even wrote a book about climate change entitled “What Can I Do?”

Mark Ruffalo

Aside from starring in various Marvel films, Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo is a climate activist who has helped to launch The Solutions Project, which aims to switch Americans to renewable energy. It has so far found over 100 projects and desires for everyone to have 100 percent clean air.

Jaden Smith

At 12, Jaden Smith learned that the ocean is alive but dying due to pollution and rising temperatures. So in 2015, he created JUST Water, a company that strives to make an alternative to petroleum-based products that require plastic and emit CO2 in production.

Shailene Woodley

Known for her role in the film “The Fault in our Stars, Shailene Woodley has always been open about her best practices for saving the Earth: foraging for food, sourcing her Water, and making her cheese and soaps, for starters. In 2016, she put her activism to work publicly by joining rallies that have an advocate for clean Water for the indigenous people in North Dakota.

Gisele Bündchen

Becoming a Goodwill Ambassador, Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen began advocating for clean Water in her native country in 2004 and has since become a fierce supporter of several of the UN’s environmental initiatives.

Cate Blanchett

Australian actress Cate Blanchett became an ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation to help campaign for environmental justice and encourage people to share their real-life concerns about climate change. Cate also took part in putting up a solar-powered roof for Australia’s Sydney Theatre Company and has assisted organizations like I Speak Earth and SolarAid throughout her career.

Ben Affleck

An actor and Philanthropist, Ben Affleck is a lifelong environmental activist who fights for critical environmental issues and raises awareness to combat Climate Change. He was the recipient of the Environment Media Award in 2013. He has always been very vocal about climate change impacts and pollution in nature.

Prince Harry

The Duke of Sussex Prince Harry is one of the great environment campaigners like his father and grandfather. The royal family has always served their significant commitment to advocate for environmental causes and their preservation. He has always shown his passion for nature and urged others to initiate climate actions to save the planet.

Enchong Dee

Aside from becoming an actor and professional swimmer, Enchong Dee has been vocal about his passion for a greener and cleaner Philippines. The actor has been part of cleanup drives and has spoken about how to strengthen environmental protection since 2015.

Bea Binene

Award-winning actress Bea Binene took her environmental advocacy into her own hands. In 2017, Bea self-produced an indie film entitled “Fading Paradise,” which follows a story about a lush island in Bohol that becomes poisoned by commercialization.

Janine Gutierrez

Outside her work as an actress and TV host, Janine Gutierrez promotes proper waste management in order to protect wildlife and their habitats. She has visited project sites in Donsol, Sorsogon as a youth ambassador, working closely with WWF-Philippines’ National Youth Council, where young students were taught about relevant species—like the local whale sharks!

Robi Domingo

TV host Robi Domingo grew up in an environmentally conscious household that led him to practice sustainability and have a love and passion for the outdoors. Becoming an active ambassador of WWF-Philippines, Robi hosted a nine-part web series called Sustainably Yours, Robi, to invite enthusiasm and active participation from young people through everyday eco-friendly activities.

The Manila Bulletin marks 123 years of service and commitment to the nation

Published February 2, 2023, 12:02 AM

by Manila Bulletin

One hundred twenty three years — more than a century of delivering news, shaping minds, and fully informing the nation.

It is not an easy feat for any media institution to survive the challenges of our times, which included two World Wars, changes in political administrations, tumultuous elections, record-breaking natural disasters, a global health pandemic, etc. Amid these pivotal events, the Manila Bulletin stood not only as a curious observer, but as a veritable witness and opinion shaper to Filipinos who deserve fast, accurate, and reliable news and information. With the changing times and modernizing landscape, dominated with the flow of technological advancements, the newspaper embraced “transformation” and planned for the future, alongside the introduction of the desktop computer, arrival of high-tech printing machines, connection to the internet, ascent of social media, to the emergence of A.I.

The resilience of the Manila Bulletin can be traced back to its strong foundation and storied history. The first issue came out on Feb. 2, 1900. Originally a shipping journal, its purpose was to give “the public accurate and reliable shipping and commercial information.” It was set up by Carson C. Taylor, a teacher from Illinois, who had served in the US Army during the Spanish-American War. Taylor and H. G. Farris, editor, constituted the entire staff of the paper.

“It was a four-page newspaper with pages sized 10″ by 12″. It was distributed free… (and) was printed by El Progreso at 10 Carriedo, Manila up to 1901 when it set up its own plant,” according to historical records. “In 1912, it came out in a six-column tabloid format. Six years later, it switched to the standard size with eight columns.”

“In the next century — except for the four years that it was closed by the Japanese during the occupation — the Manila Bulletin came out every day.” A minor interruption happened during the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. Even with constraints during that time, the paper was able to thrive and stay true to the tenets of journalism.

Indeed, no challenge or tribulation was too gargantuan for the management, editors, reporters, and the staff in different departments for the Manila Bulletin to halt its printing and forget its commitment to the people.

After the People Power Revolution, the paper flourished, retaining its preeminent position as the “exponent of Philippine progress” and “the Philippines’ leading national newspaper.” This was the time, around 1989, when Bulletin Today was renamed the Manila Bulletin.

Under the guidance of philanthropist-businessman Dr. Emilio T. Yap, the Manila Bulletin became a public corporation traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange. It began a series of changes, including acquisition of the country’s biggest printing equipment — a five-story press that occupies its own building beside the Manila Bulletin’s main office in Intramuros.

After Dr. Yap’s passing in 2014, his son Basilio C. Yap took over as Chairman of the Board, with Dr. Emil C. Yap III as President and Vice Chairman of the Board. They have initiated transformation in the company that allowed the Manila Bulletin to stay relevant in the digital era, gathering a new generation of readers and followers.

Amid all changes, the Manila Bulletin continues to ride on the waves of history, carefully navigating the ocean of information with its brand of responsible, accurate, and fully researched reportage. There’s no doubt that 123 years young is just the beginning of more exciting things as for the Manila Bulletin, the best is yet to come!

An der Nordseeküste droht eine Sturmflut - Frachter kurzzeitig in Seenot

Auf einem Strandabschnitt in Norderney hat das Sturmtief Schäden angerichtet

Quelle: dpa/Volker Bartels

Das Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt hat für die deutsche Nordseeküste eine Warnung herausgegeben. Auf Norderney wurde frisch aufgeschütteter Sand durch den Sturm erneut weggespült. Retter mussten auch einem Frachter mit Maschinenschaden helfen.

Für die deutsche Nordseeküste besteht am Mittwoch eine Gefahrenlage, auch eine Sturmflut könnte drohen. Wie das Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) mitteilte, werde das Hochwasser am Vormittag und Mittag an der ostfriesischen Küste und im Wesergebiet dreiviertel bis einen Meter höher auflaufen als normal. An der Nordseeküste spricht das BSH von einer Sturmflut, wenn das Hochwasser mindestens 1,5 Meter höher als normal aufläuft. Von einer schweren oder sehr schweren Sturmflut wird erst ab Werten von 2,5 beziehungsweise 3,5 Meter gesprochen.

Der Höhepunkt des Sturms werde am Mittwochnachmittag und in den Abendstunden erwartet, sagte Meteorologe Andreas Tschapek vom Deutschen Wetterdienst (DWD) in Hamburg. Vor allem im Zusammenhang mit Schauern und Gewittern, die von der Nordsee kommend aufziehen, seien auch schwere Sturmböen mit Windgeschwindigkeiten um 95 Kilometer pro Stunde möglich.

Neben der Küste und im Harz ist es auch im Binnenland stürmisch: Dort erwartet der Wetterdienst Windböen der Stärke 7 um 55 Kilometer pro Stunde oder stürmische Böen der Stärke 8. „Ab der zweiten Nachthälfte wird sich der Wind wieder abschwächen“, sagte Tschapek.

Auch eine Fähre verzögerte sich

An der Küste überspülte das Wasser vereinzelt bereits am Mittwochmorgen Hafenflächen und Strände. Auf Spiekeroog war etwa die Hafenfläche überflutet, so dass sich eine Fährabfahrt verzögerte, wie die Nordseebad Spiekeroog GmbH mitteilte. Auch auf der Nachbarinsel Wangerooge sorgen hohe Wasserstände laut der Deutschen Bahn, die den Schiffsverkehr betreibt, für Abweichungen im Fahrplan. Von und zu anderen Inseln lief der Fährverkehr weitgehend nach Plan.

Auf Norderney tosten die Wellen am Strandabschnitt „Weiße Düne“ um ein Holzgerüst, auf dem in den Sommermonaten Umkleidekabinen und die Badeaufsicht untergebracht sind. Dann ist das Gerüst am Strand mit Sand zugeschüttet. Vergangene Sturmfluten haben den erst im letzten Jahr neu aufgeschütteten Sand bereits wieder fortgespült.

In Hannover blieben der Große Garten und die Freiflächen des Berggartens in den Herrenhäuser Gärten am Mittwoch wegen des Sturms geschlossen. Die Stadtverwaltung warnte vor dem Betreten von Wäldern und Parkanlagen.

Bei Sturm und vier Meter hohen Wellen sorgte bereits am Dienstagabend ein mit Maschinenausfall treibender Stückgutfrachter auf der Nordsee westlich von Helgoland für einen Einsatz des Havariekommandos. Der Notschlepper „Nordic“ lief zu dem Havaristen aus und stellte eine Notschleppverbindung her. Ein Hubschrauber der Bundespolizei setzte zudem zwei Spezialisten auf dem Frachter ab. Nach einigen Stunden konnte die Maschine des Frachters wieder zum Laufen gebracht werden.

Be amazed and avoid over-familiarity

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

“A PROPHET is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” (Mk 6,4) Famous words of Christ that tell us that we should be wary of our tendency to take the things of God for granted, especially nowadays when we can feel we can depend on God less and less because we happen to know more, do more and achieve more.

This is a very common danger to all of us, and is at bottom a result of letting ourselves be simply guided by our senses, or feelings and our other ways of human estimation, without the guidance of our faith that should lead us to develop the appropriate piety.

We have to be more aware of this danger of over-familiarity and install the necessary defenses against it. More than that, we have to aggressively cultivate the art of always being amazed at God and at all his works. That should be the proper state for us to be in.

Yes, we should cultivate the attitude and habit of always being amazed at everything since everything in the end comes from God and is meant to lead us to God and to glorify him.

We always tend to believe that we can manage to live our life and to handle all kinds of situations just by relying on our own powers, practically denying the fact that our powers come from God and are supposed to be a participation of God’s powers. This is especially so since we now appear to be gaining more power through our inventions and creations.

We obviously have to do our part. In fact, we have to make full use of everything we have to resolve whatever problems, difficulties, issues, etc., we have in this life. Yes, we have to be very realistic and practical about everything. But we should not forget that we always need God.

Even in our small, usual and very manageable concerns, we should go and be with God first before we attempt to tackle them. We have to remember that everything depends on God, and also in a certain sense, everything also depends on us. It’s a 100%-100% proposition.

This does not mean that we are getting too dependent on him. Truth is, we actually depend on him for everything even if we also should fully use whatever capabilities we have. Yes, we enjoy a freedom that enables us to have a certain autonomy but never a total independence or separation from God.

We have to remember that being God’s creatures who have been created in his image and likeness, we are meant to live our whole life with him. Our relationship with him is not that of a parasite to a host, but rather that of a child to his father. That is our undeniable and inalienable lineage. God and us are meant to be together always. We are meant to share the same life and nature, since God made us his image and likeness.

We have to understand, though, that this abiding state of amazement that we should try to develop is simply not a matter of sensations. Of course, it would be good if we can always feel amazed and in awe. But given the limitations of our bodily organisms, we cannot expect that to happen all the time.

The ideal abiding state of amazement is more a matter of conviction, of something spiritual, moral and supernatural. It should be the result of grace that is corresponded to generously and heroically by us.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Digital agenda of the Philippines

by Anna Mae Lamentillo

NIGHT OWL

The Philippines gears up to be a digital nation. The government’s aim is to be a prosperous middle-class society by 2040 and we aspire to be a globally competitive knowledge economy.

In line with this, digital transformation is a national priority of the government. As information and communications technology (ICT) systems have become crucial in more aspects of people’s lives and the economy, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. has emphasized the need for universal connectivity to ensure that no citizen is left behind, a fully digital government that is sensitive to the people’s needs, and enabling a conducive environment for the digital economy.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) under Secretary Ivan John Uy, is creating and implementing both mid-term and long-term plans for digital transformation across government sectors through improved interoperability and collaboration across the government and ecosystems.

The DICT is doubling efforts to provide mobile and internet services to the most remote parts of the country, aggressively implementing key programs such as the BroadBand ng Masa Program, which provides Free Wi-Fi sites in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs); the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure, which will increase total government capacity from 40,000 Mbps to 2,000,000 Mbps in the next six years; and the establishment of the National Government Data Center. Moreover, through the Common Tower Policy, we can fast-track the deployment of common towers across all regions of the country, especially in the unserved and underserved areas.

For this year, the DICT targets the completion of the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure (LBI) Phase 1; while 15,834 Free Wi-Fi sites are targeted to be launched for 2023 in public places, and 100,000 sites are expected to be made operational by 2025.

On e-governance, we are pushing for the consolidation of the E-Government and E-Governance bills that were filed before the two Houses of Congress. These measures will be crucial in transforming governance to one that is digital, anti-red tape, and efficient.

The DICT’s efforts also gave way for the initiation of the eGov Super App, which aims to become the single application that any Filipino citizen would ever need to avail of virtually all local and national government services.

We were also able to pilot launch the Integrated Local Government System (iLGU) in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to implement an end-to-end business registration with LGUs for business permits, clearances, real property tax, business tax, civil registry, and other permits. This will remove long lines in the city and municipal halls and streamline citizens’ transactions with LGUs. Currently, there are around 906 LGUs that will implement the Integrated Business Permit and Licensing System or iBPLS.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is consolidating its global leadership in IT-enabled services through the provision of analytical and AI skills development, a competitive enabling environment, cost efficiencies and the close cultural proximity to an international audience thereby ensuring that investors can profitably serve international and fast-growing regional markets.

The Philippines is a top-tier destination for IT-BPM services such as contact center and business process, global shared services, IT and software, healthcare, animation and game development.

To further support the growth of this industry and nurture investments in the ICT sector, aside from our efforts to provide robust and strong digital infrastructure, the Philippine Government is creating a favorable regulatory environment, including through the enactment of laws such as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act; the Amended Public Service Act (PSA), which allows full foreign ownership in key sectors, such as telecommunications, data center operations and logistics that will support IT- BPM activities; the Amended Foreign Investments Act (FIA), which allows investments from foreign startup firms involved in advanced technology; and the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Act, which led to a series of improvements in the delivery of government services that catapulted the country’s competitiveness ranking from 124th to 95th in 2020, making it to the top 100 economies cited by the World Bank in 2019.

The DICT has also laid out programs to help cities and municipalities in the countryside become better suited to host IT-BPM companies, side by side with programs that will help promote digital inclusion and narrow the digital skills gap in the country.

The Digital Cities 2025 program highlights the value of countryside development and the capability of key locations outside Metro Manila to become thriving business districts and viable investment hubs for IT-BPM services; while the Digital Startup Development and Acceleration Program (DSDAP) aims to raise awareness and offer programs that will guide start-ups to improve their respective communities.

The DICT is also implementing learning and capacity-building programs that will help our people adapt to new modes of learning and working, such as the Tech4Ed Program, a national digital inclusion initiative that establishes physical centers or hubs that provide critical e-government and ICT-enabled services in communities with minimal to no access to information and government services. At present, we have more than 1,000 centers nationwide.

In addition, the DigitalJobsPH Program is creating meaningful ICT- enabled jobs in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in the country, while providing technical training to develop the digital skills of Filipinos, especially those living in the countryside.

Finally, on cybersecurity, we hope to strengthen cybercrime education by promoting cyber hygiene education especially in the primary level, and prevent cybercrime by putting in more resources in cyber investigation and computer forensics. The SIM Registration Law is seen to help deter cybercrime in the form of scams, harassment, libel, and smishing, among others.

As the primary agency tasked to develop and promote the use of ICT in the country, the DICT is fully committed to do it