DSWD Sec Gatchalian leads financial aid distribution to the earthquake-affected families in DdO

 

"Ang dala natin agad ay mabilisang financial assistance para makabangon sila uli, pero babalik kami para naman meron tayong long term sustainable livelihood grants" Gatchalian said. 

On February 20, 2023, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian conducted a courtesy visit and distribution of financial assistance to the earthquake-affected families in the municipalities of Monkayo and Compostela in Davao de Oro. 

During the visit, Secretary Gatchalian handed over Php 3,000 in financial assistance to the 490 families in Monkayo and 620 families in Compostela, through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program. The aid package is intended to help them to recover and start anew. The Secretary also listened to their concerns and issues, promising to address their needs and provide additional support as necessary.

Meanwhile, Secretary Gatchalian visited PLGU-Davao de Oro led by Governor Dorothy Gonzaga to discuss further the possible programs and projects intended for the development of the communities in the province. He also visited the newly constructed DSWD Davao de Oro Provincial Operations Office situated at the Provincial Capitol Complex.

The visit of the Secretary serves as a testament to the government's commitment to assist its citizens, especially during times of crisis. The DSWD will continue to work with local government units and other agencies to ensure that those who need assistance will receive the help they deserve.

 (J. Fernandez, Photos by R. Naval & PIA Davao de Oro)

THE ROOT OF "EDSA": NINOY AND BBM

ReniMV Valenzuela

Edsa is a street symbolic of something great for Filipinos.

The Edsa revolution of1986 did not happen because Juan Ponce Enrile
and Fidel Ramos, together with the members of Reform the Armed Forces
Movement (RAM), rebelled against their Commander-in-Chief, Ferdinand
Edralin Marcos. Neither did "Edsa" occur because Jaime Cardinal Sin
summoned the Filipino people to go out and gather at Edsa.

Nobody among the living then, including Cory Aquino and the people who
flocked to Edsa, can take credit for the miracle. No, it was not
"people power." It was God's power manifested and bestowed upon the
oppressed/abused citizenry and exploited/used country.

However, if there is one person worth honoring every time we
commemorate "Edsa," it is Ninoy Aquino. "... Render honor to whom
honor is due." - Romans 13:7. It was Ninoy's selflessness as a public
servant and his death/martyrdom three years prior to that
momentous1986 resurrection for Filipinos that is the root of "Edsa" -
in the same manner as Jesus Christ rose from the dead after being in
the tomb for three days as a crucified/dead Son of God - to save the
world from thereon.

"Edsa" commenced the very moment Ninoy was assassinated on the tarmac
of Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983. The whole nation
stopped and grieved, got awakened and stirred. Millions of Filipinos
joined the funeral procession for the fallen hero - in the streets,
everywhere, and on TV and radio. There was massive groaning. "Edsa"
was just the culmination.

Our liberation from the Spaniards is no different. It was a result of
the heroism of Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora (Gomburza) and the
gallantry, sacrifices and patriotism of Gomburza-inspired Jose Rizal,
Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, together with my great, great
grandfather, Pio Valenzuela, and a host of other Filipino heroes
(excluding killer Aguinaldo) two decades later during the 19th
century.

The way to commemorate and celebrate "Edsa" is to hail Benigno "Ninoy"
 Simeon Aquino Jr., not any rebellious opportunists and those who've
taken advantage of the miracle; those abusive and corrupt that have
occupied positions of power in the government after the deposed
president/dictator fled Malacanang - until now.

Politics aside, if Marcos Jr. will do right as President of our
country now, he can well be a part (a good part) of the continuing
"Edsa" revolution - to make Ninoy's dream come true - for all of us.

P.S.
BBM did it right in declaring February 24 as a special non-working
holiday in solemn and somber remembrance of the great 1986 Edsa
Revolution. It is an act big and admirable of him.

renivalenzuelaletters@yahoo.com

DAVAO CITY's FAMOUS GIFT SHOP CALLED ALDIVINCO IS RELOCATED TO C. BANGOY...

The Manila Times partners with DZRH radio

 

MEDIA PARTNERSHIP (From left) Ruperto S. Nicdao, Jr., president of the Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC); The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante 'Klink' Ang 2nd; and lawyer Rejie Jularbal, DZRH station manager, sign a memorandum of agreement (MoA) to create more and better content for a wider audience. The partnership between two of the oldest and respected media groups was formalized on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at the MBC Building, home of DZRH, in Pasay City. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA

By Christian Crow Maghanoy, Manila Times

February 24, 2023 

(UPDATE) THE Manila Times and Manila Broadcasting Company's (MBC) DZRH radio on Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) to create more content for two of the oldest and most respected media companies in the Philippines.

Manila Times Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd said the partnership hopes to "tap each other's expertise" to produce better content.

Lawyer Rudolph Steve Jularbal, DZRH station manager, said "collaboration is the key now — the more content creators get together for collaborative creation, the better it is for everyone." The agreement was signed at the MBC Building, home of DZRH, in Pasay City.

The tie-up will provide a more comprehensive coverage of key national events, particularly the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on October 30, Ang and Jularbal said.

DZRH and The Times' qualitative content will "fill each other's gaps" in terms of its online and real-time presence for listeners and readers.

"We can make use of their (Times) content. Same way as far as we (DZRH) can share our content," Jularbal said.

"We are helping each other and covering national affairs has become a very expensive endeavor and there are gaps in any organization, so this is where the partnership comes in," Ang said.

Ang said the composition of stories from DZRH and The Times will be the area of collaboration, particularly the crafting of reliable news which will also battle the proliferation of fake news online.

"I think at the end of the day, people will have to rely on sources like MBC, DZRH and The Manila Times that are reliable, believable, factual and complete," Ang said.

For Jularbal, the collaboration provides limitless possibilities in delivering content to the public.

Ang said it was an "initial step" in bringing the partnership forward.

"MBC will have to see kung nakakadagdag ba kami (if The Times is useful to them), and certainly I think we will be happy if the partnership will be long-term. But then we (Times) don't want to impose ourselves on them. Small steps muna," Ang said.

The collaboration will make sure "that the Filipino people is better informed through reliable sources like MBC and The Manila Times about things that are happening around the country and around the world," Ang said.

Despite the fire that razed the MBC compound in 2019 and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, DZRH never stopped regular operations, Jularbal said.

This is the second collaboration between The Times and DZRH. The first was the joint coverage of the 2022 elections.

The MoA is good until Dec. 31, 2023

First in Southeast Asia: DICT welcomes Musk’s Starlink to PH

Published February 24, 2023, 10:56 AM

by Charie Mae F. Abarca, MB

Billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink operated by SpaceX is now in the Philippines, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) confirmed on Friday, Feb. 24, calling it a “game changer” in terms of enabling better internet connectivity, especially in remote areas. 

Ahead of the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s confirmation, SpaceX, on Wednesday, Feb. 22, announced the availability of Starlink’s services in the Philippines (Photo courtesy of SpaceX / Twitter)

DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy welcomed this development, stressing that Starlink will “complement” existing broadband capacities in the country, raising the chances of improving internet access across the nation. 

“In welcoming this new technology that is Starlink, our BroadBand ng Masa can now provide free high-speed internet access to our geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in the Philippines, ensuring that no Filipino will be left behind,” said Uy in an official statement on Friday.  

Broadband ng Masa is the ongoing project of DICT which seeks to ensure that all Filipinos have access to “efficient and effective” information and communications technology services in hopes of eradicating the so-called digital divide. 

As of writing, Starlink has 3,580 operational sites, but according to the DICT, it is aiming to establish around 40,000 satellites in order to fulfill its goal of providing “high-speed” and “low-cost” internet. 

The Philippines was the first country in Southeast Asia to offer Starlink’s internet services.

 

Palace moves EDSA holiday to Feb. 24 but wants its historical significance maintained

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos

Pursuant to the principle of holiday economics, Malacañang has declared Feb. 24, 2023, a special nonworking holiday in celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution anniversary, which falls on a Saturday this year.

Proclamation No. 167 declares Feb. 24, 2023, a special nonworking holiday in celebration of the 37th EDSA People Power Revolution anniversary (File photos)

The Palace released Proclamation No. 167 on Thursday evening, a day before the new holiday date.

The Proclamation was signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and confirmed by Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil in a text message. 

Based on Proclamation No. 167, Malacañang moved the celebration of the EDSA holiday to “enable our countrymen to avail of the benefits of a longer weekend pursuant to the principle of holiday economics.”

However, the Palace said that the historical significance of the People Power Revolution should be maintained.

“The celebration of EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary may be moved from 25 February 2023 (Saturday) to 24 February 2023 (Friday), provided that the historical significance of EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary is maintained,” it read.

The country will mark the 37th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution on Feb. 25. The occasion commemorates the toppling of the first Marcos administration. 

In November last year, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., through Proclamation No. 90, said there was a need to follow the principle of holiday economics.

“There is a need to adjust these holidays pursuant to the principle of holiday economics wherein a longer weekend will help encourage domestic travel and increase tourism expenditures in the country,” the Proclamation read.

“Holiday economics” became a buzzword during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Under the principle, holidays falling on weekends may be moved to the nearest Monday or Friday. Even holidays falling in the middle of the week may be moved.

MAGNITUDE 6.6 NA LINDOL: YUMANIG KANINA SA DAVAO OCCIDENTAL | SARANGGANI

TINGNAN LAGAY NG PANAHON NGAYON⚠️ MAY PARATING NA BAGYO?| WEATHER UPDATE...

'Last trip': Individual traditional jeepneys to stop operations after June 30

 

James Relativo - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — Individual operators of traditional jeepneys will no longer be allowed to continue their operations after June 30, 2023 — unless they start joining a cooperative or a corporation.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) shared this after approving Memorandum Circular 2023-013 last Monday, a move done amidst the calls of various transport groups and commuters to stop the much assailed phaseout of traditional jeeps.

"Individual operators may continue to operate by virtue of a [provisional authority], which is automatically extended until 30 June 2023 under this Memorandum Circular," said members of the board last Monday.

"Individual operators may join an existing consolidated entity until 30 June 2023. Only those individual operators who are able to join an existing consolidated entity on or before 30 June 2023 shall be allowed to have their PA extended until 31 December 2023."

The provisional authority of individual traditional jeeps in the National Capital Region was originally set to expire last April. The LTFRB earlier said the extension was already the "fourth and last time."

For routes without a "consolidated entity" (cooperative or corporation) or filed application for franchise consolidation, its application will only be entertained until October 31.

LTFRB chairperson earlier said that only 60% of the target number of vehicles for modernization have complied with the requirements under the program such as industry consolidation into cooperatives. The remaining 40% continue to ply routes using traditional jeepneys.

Cooperatives are being pushed at the moment to enable operators to afford the purchase of "modern jeeps" said to be worth at least P2.6 million each via loans from financial institutions.

The certificate of public conveyance (franchise) of individual operators who fail to join the exiasting consolidated entity after June shall be reverted to the State.

'High costs' of modernization prohibitive to operators

Mody Floranda, national president of transport group PISTON, last February 6 earlier explained that many jeepney operators continue to avoid entering into the PUV Modernization Program because of the high costs to change their vehicles, besides the posibility of losing their livelihood once they enter the franchise consolidation.

Floranda said that a reasonable way for the Department of Transportation and LTFRB to handle said concerns is to fully suspend the implementation of the DOTr Department Order 2017-011, which stipulates the rules and requirements of the PUVMP, and all its supplementing LTFRB memoranda while conducting a thorough review of the program.

"In the process of reviewing the whole program of modernization, the government must ensure that all jeepney drivers and small operators are consulted," he said in Filipino.

"Thousands of jobs are at stake, so it's important that we work together with the state in identifying how a proper transition towards modernization could be justly undertaken."

PISTON reiterated that they do not oppose modernizing traditional jeeps as long as the modernization program ensures and prioritizes a "fair and just transition for transport workers and all affected vulnerable sectors."

Manila faces worsening floods

By Agence France-Presse

BARAS, Rizal: From her house in a Manila suburb, Rowena Jimenez can't see the bare mountains around the built-up city. But she feels the impact of deforestation every time her living room floods.

Slash-and-burn farming, illegal logging, open-pit mining and development fueled by population growth have stripped the once-densely forested Philippines of much of its trees.

In Manila, where more than 13 million people live, low-lying areas are often inundated when storms lash the Sierra Madre mountain range, which lies east of the city and acts as a barrier to severe weather.

But without enough trees to help absorb the rain, huge volumes of water run off the slopes and into waterways that flow into the metropolis, turning neighborhoods into disease-infested swamps.

Jimenez, 49, has lost count of the number of times the Marikina River has broken its banks and flooded the ground floor of her family's two-bedroom concrete house, a few blocks from the water's edge.

"There is always fear that it will happen again," said Jimenez, who lives with her husband, youngest daughter, sister, nephew and mother.

"Your heart sinks because you realize the things you worked so hard to buy will be destroyed again."

Jimenez blames environmental "abuses" upstream in the nearby Upper Marikina River Basin — a catchment spanning roughly 26,000 hectares (64,500 acres) in the southern foothills of the Sierra Madre.

Only 2.1 percent of the watershed was covered by dense "closed forest" in 2015, according to a World Bank report.

Runoff from the mountains drains into the basin, which is critical for regulating water flow into Manila.

It was declared a "protected landscape" in 2011 by then-president Benigno Aquino, under a law aimed at ensuring "biological diversity and sustainable development."

That was two years after Typhoon "Ketsana," known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm "Ondoy," had submerged 80 percent of the city and killed hundreds of people.

But by then, many of the trees in the catchment had been cleared to make way for public roads, parking lots, private resorts and residential subdivisions.

Jimenez still shudders at the memory of the water reaching 23 feet (7 meters) high and forcing her family to huddle together on the roof of their house.

"We didn't salvage anything but ourselves," she said.