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Tuesday, February 14, 2023
World’s Most Dangerous Roads | Philippines, Serpentines | Free Documentary
Higher bread prices take effect today
by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat, MB
Big bakers will start implementing higher prices on Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal today, Valentine’s Day, almost a week after the Department of Trade Industry announced price adjustments in the suggested retail price (SRP) on basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs).
Jerry Lao, president of the Philippine Baking Industry Group (PhilBaking), said the 450-gram Pinoy Tasty will have a new price tag of P40.50 with P2 price hike per loaf and the ten-piece pack Pinoy Pandesal at P38.50 with P1.50 increase starting today.
“Effective day of increase is tomorrow,” Lao said, as he explained that the implementation schedule will depend on the cut off date of respective supermarkets that their group members are serving.
Lao, however, said that the price increase granted was only half of the amount they requested since last year with the DTI. This means, he said, they will still pursue the balance of their petition.
“We are going to appeal after the implementation of the first tranche, we will ask them (DTI) when is the next balance,” he said.
At present, he said, bakers are supposed to get P8 price adjustment because the price of flour already went up to P1,050 per bag of 25-kilogram wheat flour from only P800 before August last year. The price of flour went up due to several factors including supply chain disruption due to the Russian war in Ukraine and the depreciation of the peso. The rule of thumb is that for every P40 increase in flour prices is a corresponding P1 price hike in loaf bread.
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But PhilBaking members sought for a P6 price adjustment for Pinoy Tasty but got P2. They also sought for P3 price increase for Pinoy Pandesal but got only half of what they wanted based on the SRP released by DTI on Feb. 8. The price increase they sought did not yet include higher cost of fuel, sugar, and other ingredients, Lao pointed out.
Demand this year is also very uncertain although the full reopening of classes is expected to boost sales.
Sales in December last year was dismal compared to the previous 2021 as more people went home to the provinces and there was a marked decline in foot traffic at the supermarkets last Christmas season. January and February were also quiet, he said.
Personally though, his company’s Tiffany brand was able to post a 10 percent increase in sales last year.
“Hopefully, sales for the rest of the year would perk up with the opening of classes,” Lao said.
Meantime, the Filipino Chinese Bakery Association, Inc. (FCBAI) President Gerik Chua and past President Henry Ah and other officers announced the much-awaited “Bakery Fair 2023” on March 2, 3 and 4, 2023 at the World Trade Center on hopes to fully revive the baking industry in the country.
“This is a comeback fair,” said Chua noting that the Bakery Fair 2023 is the first after four years and after the pandemic. “This signals the revival of the Philippine baking industry despite inflation and other challenges,” said Chua.
The “Bakery Fair” is the biennial (once every two years) civic project of the FCBAI to promote and uplift the Philippines bakery industry and support socio-economic development.
The biggest and most star-studded Philippine bakery event, Bakery Fair 2023 has 136 exhibitors covering 10,000 square meters or one hectare of the World Trade Center. There shall also be many educational technical seminars by different top bakery industry-related companies, bakers, chefs and experts.
One of the exciting events of Bakery Fair 2023 is the “FCBAI Bakers Cup Wedding Cake Competition 2023”, which is a comeback after the pandemic and it shall showcase exciting and awesome wedding cake creations of “Kasalang Pinoy” theme. Be mesmerized with the bakers’ amazing creations using fondant, royal icing, gum paste and many more. This is one of the most awaited events of the year, wherein the first prize winner will have a chance to receive a prize worth P80,000 pesos. Winners shall be announced on March 2 and the wedding cakes of finalists shall be on exhibit throughout Bakery Fair 2023.
Another important event in Bakery Fair 2023 is “Angel Cup 2023”. The Angel Cup-Bread Display Competition highlights the making of Bread Showpiece, Artisan Bread, Healthy Bread and Sweet Dough with dough filling.
Love in the time of tech
Published February 14, 2023, 12:05 AM
For generations, artists, writers, even scientists have tried their best to define “love.” From “love is blind” to “love is a many splendored thing,” humanity’s motivation to wake up and live another day, to become better, to fight for a cause or to stand down for others is motivated in some ways by love. After all, love has many facets — love for a Higher Being, for country, for family and friends, for a partner, and of course, love for oneself.
Today is Valentine’s of 2023. It may be one of the usual Valentine’s of years past but historians in the future may note this year for two things — this is the first post-pandemic Valentine’s; and driven by the pandemic, there is the rise of a “digital love,” which saw more people utilizing online tools and apps to find a partner, express emotions, or even to break relationships.
As this Valentine’s Day is, in the minds of many, at the tailend of the pandemic, we will notice today if some age-old traditions will be revived, retooled, or totally forgotten. Restaurants, hotels, and resorts have reintroduced their Valentine’s menu for couples. So, are there more reservations tonight? Or is cooking at home and date night at the couch more practical due to inflation? Are businesses happier with the Valentine’s bump, or it’s so inconsequential that it’s just business as usual?
On the aspect of digital love, we have to note that the Gen Z (those born from 1997-2012) are now the “trendsetters” — the segment that advertisers target as they are the future consumers and decision-makers. At the end of the spectrum of Gen Z are the early teeners who have lived their lives with a smartphone, tablet, or laptop beside them 24/7. They are starting to feel and discover what “love” is with their first crushes, celebrity idols, and, with the resumption of face-to-face classes, they see their classmates in a new “light.”
How the Gen Z will express love will be so much different from Millennials. The Gen Z will have all the online tools at their disposal; but will these help? Or impose unwanted expectations? Being gregarious online doesn’t automatically translate to someone being sociable in a physical setting.
The young ones are blessed in a way that in these tech-driven times: Searching for a partner is easier with apps that let you swipe left or right until you meet someone physically attractive. Meeting that person is less awkward with a tweet or a DM. For romantic dates, apps are helpful as you can read a restaurant’s review before making a reservation. You would even know if there’s a parking space, if it’s pet-friendly, or if there are vegetarian options. If you want to send a “thank you” gift after a date, you have a host of online sellers to choose from. The world, so to speak, is at your fingertips.
Don’t know what to say or how to express love? Then there’s AI to help you compose a message. It can define it for you, as what it has generated here: “Love is a complex and multi-faceted emotion that has the power to shape our lives and influence the world around us. It is a feeling that transcends boundaries, cultures, and backgrounds, and can take many different forms.” Not bad for an AI language model who “doesn’t have personal beliefs or emotions.”
"CUPID" IS ABOUT LOVE: EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS
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Not all earthquakes are acts of God. Some are triggered by man's abuse
of nature and environment, and of his gift of liberty and free will.
What better way for the world to think about love this month of
February than to think of multiple thousands of victims of the 7.8
magnitude earthquake that has just hit Turkey and Syria and ruminate
over their great losses, griefs and agonies at this moment. What if it
happened to us, in our country?
May we all be moved in compassion to pray intense prayers and plead
Heaven that those who still breathe under the rubbles of buildings,
houses and structures that crumbled down would be rescued alive
(miraculously), and that those whose loved ones were among the many
thousands of fatalities would be comforted and find strength in the
midst of the tragedy. Thousands more dead bodies are believed still
trapped and yet to be taken out from the equally numerous buildings
that collapsed.
Dozens of countries had their respective rescue teams immediately
flown to help in the search and retrieval operations and to alleviate
the plight of the injured and badly affected by the beastly temblor.
Such is love in action and such, as the song says, is "what makes the
world go round." Colossians 3:12-14
No person or nation is too poor to be unable to help others in times
of great need. It is refreshing that our government sent help to
Turkey without second thoughts and later (a day after) decided to do
the same for Syria as both nations were jolted by the massive temblor,
notwithstanding our own nation being battered and bombarded left and
right by problems/issues like never before - from onion, inflation,
corruption to China invasion. Proverbs 11:25.
Do we often/usually do this as a nation? Nope. What is common is our
country being a recipient of kindness/charity/generosity and various
types of help and assistance from other governments when natural
calamities and catastrophes hit our land.
President Bongbong Marcos was prompt in his decision/offer to help
(beyond reciprocal) as he appeared genuine, having a heart for the
victims of the massive earthquake that resulted in several thousands
of confirmed deaths, and the figure climbs each day which may top up
to over 40,000 fatalities in the days to come.
BBM is showing some signs that he's different from most of his
predecessors in this aspect and in some other areas that he can be
lauded, notably his seemingly openness/receptiveness to criticisms
and/or public outcry, vis-a-vis his policies, programs and actions.
"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth
unto counsel is wise." - Proverbs 12:15
Having the victims of the earthquake in our hearts (and those of wars
and government atrocities) could make this year's Valentine's Day the
most meaningful and most joyous - for, after all, mythology's Cupid is
an ancient Roman god of love. And the one and only true God of the
Bible is a God of love (undefiled and unselfish). The occasion is
about love, not pleasure,.
"But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love." - 1 John 4:8
DOH: Celebrate Valentine’s Day safely, inexpensively
Vendors selling heart-shaped balloons wait for customers on Valentine's Day at a flower market in Manila
Mayen Jaymalin - The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines — Amid rising inflation, the Department of Health (DOH) advised Filipinos to celebrate Valentine’s Day safely and inexpensively.
According to the DOH, lovers as well as families can still observe Valentine’s Day without spending too much money.
The DOH said couples can go on a date in a park.
“Aside from being free, going to green spaces helps your mental health,” the DOH posted in Filipino on social media.
The agency stressed that a healthy mind is key to a healthy relationship.
Couples, DOH said, can also spend quality time together watching movies at home, and learn new skills together like cooking healthy food or new sports so they could both stay fit and healthy.
To stay protected against COVID-19, the DOH also encouraged couples to go to vaccination sites and get their booster shots together.
Monday, February 13, 2023
Oil firms again to cut pump prices
By Francis Earl Cueto
February 13, 2023 110
Oil companies are set to implement another big-time price rollback on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.
In separate advisories, Pilipinas Shell and Seaoil said that they will cut their diesel prices by P2.20 per liter and kerosene by P2.50.
However, the price of gasoline will remain the same.
The price adjustments will take effect at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
Last week, oil firms slashed the cost of gasoline by P2.10 per liter, diesel by P3 and kerosene by P2.30 per liter.
'Basted': 50% of Pinoys who confessed love for a friend left unrequited, according to SWS
James Relativo - Philstar.com z
MANILA, Philippines — While more than half of Filipinos are "very happy" with their current love life, others are not so lucky when it came to matters of the heart, according to the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
This is according to a Fourth Quarter 2022 SWS survey released four days before Valentine's last Friday, with three out of 10 (30%) Pinoys reportedly confessing their love for a friend.
Most of those who chose to confess their feelings to friends were noticeably males:
- males (40%)
- females (25%)
"Among those who confessed love for a friend, half (50%) experienced unrequited love," according to the survey firm.
On a lighter note, many Filipinos are still admittedly optimistic with their love lives, with 57% saying they are "very happy" with their current relationships:
- very happy (57%)
- could be happier (25%)
- have no love life (17%)
"SWS employs its own staff for questionnaire design, sampling, fieldwork, data processing, and analysis and dose not outsource any of its survey operations," said the group.
The survey was done last December 10-14 using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide, with a sampling error margin of +-2.8%.
Last 2009, SWS found out that around 71% of Filipinos value recieving love over giving it.
In 2010, around 51% of respondents said that they would prefer someone rich but ugly while 46% said they would choose someone good-looking but poor.
A 2019 study, on the other hand, said that around four out of five Filipinos are more attracted to brains than body.
Fewer Pinoys taking up nursing
Mayen Jaymalin - The Philippine Star
February 13, 2023 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Despite the huge demand for healthcare workers (HCWs) abroad, the local recruitment industry yesterday reported a downtrend in the number of Filipinos opting for a nursing degree.
Recruitment leader Lito Soriano observed that fewer Filipino youth are now enrolling in nursing schools because of the prevailing cap in the deployment of HCWs abroad.
Soriano, who owns an agency deploying health workers to Saudi Arabia, said there has been a decline in the number of nurses applying to work since the pandemic as a result of the deployment cap.
“We have been posting on social media job vacancies offering good salaries and numerous benefits for registered nurses, but we have few applicants,” Soriano disclosed.
According to Soriano, there are few applicants because the country is also producing fewer nursing graduates.
Soriano said young Filipinos are discouraged from taking up nursing because of the belief that the deployment cap limits their chances of working abroad.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the government set an annual deployment cap of 7,500 for HCWs to ensure a sufficient supply of nurses in the country.
Citing data from the Professional Regulation Commission, Soriano said a total of 48,686 nursing graduates passed the licensure examination from 2016 to 2022.
The figure he said is insufficient to fill the huge demand for HCWs in the United States, United Kingdom and other European countries.
To curb the downtrend, Soriano urged the government to raise or totally lift the deployment cap.
Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople previously reported that the government is currently studying the possibility of raising the deployment cap for HCWs.
The way the Bisaya were
Published February 13, 2023, 12:05 AM
WALA LANG
Looks
The Bisaya were called “pintados” for good reason. The author of the Boxer Codex’ chapter 5 admires their tattoos, “…done in the manner of illuminations, painting all parts of the body, such as the chest, stomach, legs, arms, shoulders, hands, and muscles …” Some had tattoos on their butts too. There were experts who worked with iron or brass rods heated on a fire. Women wore tattoos on their arms and hands.
(Tattooed couple)
Men wore elaborately colored g-strings that were dos brazas (about 11 feet) in length and ¾ brazas (about four feet) wide. Heads were covered with cloth with strips of gold worn like turbans.
Women wore double-layer skirts of stiped silk and collar-less blouses with sleeves that were either full-length or elbow-length. Blouses were loose and women would go around with bare midriff. High-status women kept blouse and skirt in place with gold fasteners and chains. Gold and ivory were valued for jewelry.
Both men and women kept their hair long and oiled and tied in a knot. Both sexes also wore several pairs of earrings, having more than one hole in their earlobes. Earrings called panica were doughnut-shaped while earrings shaped like roses were called pomaras. Women wore numerous bracelets of gold and ivory and both men and women wore gold and fiber rings on their legs, below their knees.
Governance
Villages were independent, with each having its own datu. There was constant warfare among them, over land, crops, real or perceived wrongs. Recall how Spanish conquistadors sometimes played one group against another to overcome resistance.
Datus and revered elders were respected, but in general, the aggrieved exacted reparation promptly and directly (“an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”). In cases where both sides call it quits, peace is sealed with a blood compact wherein blood is drawn from the arms of the contending parties and both drink of it mixed with a special beverage.
Social structure
A datu could declare anyone he pleases as his slave. Parents sometimes sold children and siblings sold siblings to slavery in times of need or to settle some obligation.
The Spanish observer described a system of slavery, based on the type and length of service that a datu or a slave-owner could demand of the so-called slave. The description is vague and I read it as having three categories.
The first seems to be like slavery in the US South pre-Civil War. Slaves lived in or by the house of the master and were assigned to do household service (for women and children) or field work for able-bodied males.
The second category consisted of people who lived with their families elsewhere but who were obliged to do assigned work for say a certain number of days a week.
The third category included people who were basically free but who were called upon to join in battle or other non-recurring work.
Character
The Spanish did not admire the men. “In general, they are great idlers and enemies of work. They spend most of the year loitering and drinking…They have neither orchards nor vegetable gardens, nor fruit trees to cultivate because all their fruits are wild, sour, and bad tasting. Only the bananas are good.”
They are described as drinking and carousing when not busy caring for roosters and going to cockfights. The narrator added alcoholic beverages were made from coconut, palm, nipa, and rice. Trying to draw the locals away from old habits, the newcomers taught them checkers (dama) and chess.
Jose Rizal disagreed, saying that our ancestors became lazy when they realized that whatever they produced would go to the Spaniards anyway.
Occupations
Among the Bisaya were excellent carpenters and furniture makers, shipbuilders, blacksmiths, and goldsmiths.
With all the fighting among clans and villages, there was demand for weaponry. The Codex mentions daggers with wooden scabbards, lances, wooden shields, poison arrows, blowguns, helmets, breastplates, and armor made of the skin of certain fish, buffalos, or elephants that were then hunted in Jolo.
Shipbuilding was highly developed. Large ones, called barangay, were wind- and/or oar-powered ships that could hold 50 to 100 people and transport 500 to 600 fanegas of grain, each fanega measuring about two cubic feet.
The Boxer narrator was not impressed with architecture, although he did note that the Bisaya used bamboo trunks as thick as a man’s thigh and seven or eight yards long. He was not impressed with the cuisine, either, turning up his nose at the smelly dried fish (tuyô no doubt) that the natives liked and at the plain taste of the chicken, pork, and buffalo meat that were staples.
Family life
A suitor (and his family) had to give an agreed sum to the bride and her family. After marriage, the wife usually took over family resources. Wives were industrious, constantly engaged in spinning and weaving and working in fields. They preferred to have only one or two children and abortion was taken casually.
A husband could divorce his wife and marry someone else without difficulty but the discarded wife keeps whatever came from the husband and his family. Virginity was not an issue when wedding bells ring but pregnancy outside of wedlock marked a woman for life. At the same time, a cuckolded husband could kill the adulterers.
The funeral of a Datu was elaborate. He was laid in a coffin in a wake that lasted more than two months. Slaves were killed in the same manner that the deceased died. If the chief died by drowning, slaves were drowned. Ditto when the cause was stabbing, a fall down a cliff, whatever. When the chief died from sickness, slaves were either drowned or buried alive.
The scandalized and/or mesmerized conquistador-author wrote a lengthy account of the “biggest and most bestial vice … invented by the devil,” namely a “wheel or ring with rounded spurs…made of lead, brass, and in some cases gold,” which is worn like a ring on the “miembro del hombre.” Sorry I can’t figure out the fine details, but it’s fastened and held in place by a pin—it must be painful. Anyway, “thus they have access with the women, with whom they remain joined for a day or a night …”
Notes: (a) This article is based on Luis Donoso et. al., transcribers, translators, and editors, Boxer Codex (Quezon City: Vibal Foundation, Inc., 2016), chapter 5; and (b) Penis rings (the “devil’s invention”) is also known as sagra or sakra and is/was fairly common in Southeast Asia, notably in Borneo, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
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53 Filipino families find shelter in Turkiye capital after 7.8-magnitude quake
by Betheena Unite, MB
More than 50 Filipino families were evacuated to shelter in Ankara, Turkiye following the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said 53 Filipinos, including their husbands and children are currently taking shelter in the Turkiye capital, while 25 Filipinos have already received relief goods as of Saturday afternoon, Feb. 11.
“They (Philippine Embassy in Turkiye) will try to give additional data on the number of Filipinos met, called, texted, emailed plus increases in number of evacuees and Filipinos given relief goods in due course,” Daza said.
She added that “the shelter referred to is a dormitory arranged by the Embassy for its evacuees.”
In a statement on Sunday, the Philippine Embassy in Ankara said “the number of Filipino families sheltered in Ankara” while kind-hearted Filipinos continue to share their own resources and time to augment the Embassy efforts amid the disaster.
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It also reiterated the Embassy will continue to accommodate evacuees.
“We acknowledge that several intrepid Filipinos were able to escape danger on their own accord, through sheer will and the kindness of their Turkish friends and family. We reiterate that the doors of the Embassy shelter are open for them,” the embassy said.
It also disclosed that a Filipino and her children remain missing and “feared to be still under rubble” in Hatay City. This, according to the embassy, was confirmed by her husband and her sister-in-law.
The embassy has sought assistance from search and rescue teams to find her and her children.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent, through the direction of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, were assigned to conduct structure assessment on collapsed buildings and establish a satellite field hospital to cater to patients and injured personnel.
A team from the embassy also continues to be present in Mersin, less than 100 kilometers (km) to Adana and roughly 250 kms to Hatay, in order to respond to the needs of Filipinos there.
The embassy can be reached via telephone and WhatsApp (+905345772344), via email at ankara.pe@dfa.gov.ph, and Facebook at www.facebook.com/PHinTurkey.
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