Ex-DFA chief Albert del Rosario dies at 83

By: Beatrice Pinlac - Reporter / @BPinlacINQ

MANILA, Philippines — Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, 83, died on Tuesday, April 18, his family announced.

The longtime diplomat’s daughter, Dr. Inge del Rosario, broke the news of his passing in a statement sent to Inquirer.

“The family of Ambassador Albert Ferreros del Rosario is deeply saddened to announce his passing today, April 18, 2023.  He was 83. The family requests privacy during this difficult time,” she said.

Enrique Manalo, incumbent chief of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), extended his condolences to the bereaved kin of del Rosario.

“He was a consummate diplomat and an inspiring leader who led the DFA with integrity and unwavering commitment to public service. You will be missed, Mr. Secretary,” Manalo wrote over social media.

Del Rosario was the Philippine Ambassador to the United States from 2001 to 2006 prior to serving as the country’s chief diplomat.

Del Rosario sat at the helm of the DFA from 2011 to 2016 under the administration of the late and former President Benigno Aquino III. 

It was under his watch that the Philippines first elevated to an international court its complaint against China for violating the country’s rights over the disputed West Philippine Sea.

This led to the historic 2016 arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines, which junked China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

At the tailend of the Aquino administration, however, Del Rosario was replaced by Jose Rene Almendras when the former resigned from his post due to health reasons.

 

Del Rosario later provoked the ire of Aquino’s successor, Rodrigo Duterte, after he said that ranking Chinese officials bragged that they had been able to influence the outcome of the 2016 Philippine elections, which catapulted Duterte into the presidency.

Del Rosario had also staunchly called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to veer away from the position of Duterte on the West Philippine Sea.

He said Marcos should “consistently raise” before the United Nations the 2016 landmark ruling on the West Philippine Sea.

BAGYO at LPA FORECAST UPDATE⚠️TINGNAN ⚠️ WEATHER UPDATE TODAY | APRIL 18

COVID positivity in Metro Manila, 13 provinces tops 5%

 

By: Dona Z. Pazzibugan - Reporter / @dpazzibuganINQ

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) reported on Monday that the country’s daily average number of COVID-19 cases rose to 341 last week, a 23-percent increase compared to 278 cases from the week before.

Metro Manila and 13 provinces also saw their positivity rate exceed the 5-percent threshold recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to indicate that transmission of the virus was under control.

Out of the 2,386 new COVID-19 infections confirmed by testing laboratories last week, 17 cases were in serious or critical condition, according to the DOH.

To date, 356 COVID-19 patients were in serious or critical condition out of the 3,163 who had been admitted to hospitals. Those confined accounted for 33 percent of the 9,569 individuals found to still be infected with the virus as of April 16.

But while confirmed cases continued to climb, the occupancy of reserved COVID-19 hospital beds remained at low risk or below 20 percent.

Based on the latest DOH weekly bulletin, 12.3 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 17.4 percent of non-ICU beds were occupied.

Above threshold

The country’s official COVID-19 death toll, on the other hand, rose to 66,439 as the DOH confirmed 20 more deaths, most of which occurred in 2021.

Independent monitoring team OCTA Research, meanwhile, reported a hike in the positivity rate—or the percentage of those found positive for the virus among all who were tested—in Metro Manila and 13 provinces.

According to OCTA, 7.2 percent of COVID-19 tests in the National Capital Region turned out to be positive, above the 5-percent threshold recommended by the WHO, to show that transmission was under control.

The other provinces with a positivity rate above 5 percent were Misamis Oriental, 22.7 percent; Camarines Sur, 21.1 percent; Rizal, 20.2 percent; South Cotabato, 10 percent; Cebu, 9.7 percent; Cavite, 9.4 percent; Davao del Sur, 9.4 percent; Benguet, 8.9 percent; Isabela, 8.3 percent; Laguna, 7.9 percent; Negros Occidental, 7.5 percent; Zamboanga del Sur, 7 percent; and Pampanga, 5.3 percent.

Earlier, DOH officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the positivity rate was “just one of the indicators we use in assessing if there is a significant increase in cases.”

“When we compute (the positivity rate), the denominator is now smaller than before since there are fewer people getting tested. This results [in] higher positivity rates,” she added.

She also stressed that despite the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, there was no cause for concern as hospital admissions and critical cases remained at manageable levels.

Visiting Samal Island from Davao, Philippines 🇵🇭

Jason Billam Travel

Jason Billam Travel

565K subscribers

34,778 views Nov 19, 2022 #philippines #davao #samal

I spend a couple days visiting the Island Garden City of Samal, taking the ferry from Davao, Mindanao. ► If you enjoyed this video, please hit the like button above as this really helps me. ► Due to YouTube's ever-changing algorithm, please also turn on notifications and hit the bell sign, selecting 'All Notifications'. Otherwise you won't get updates. ► Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts - I reply to almost all comments left in the first 48 hours. I'm Jason, a full-time British Travel Vlogger and YouTuber who's been to 55 countries. I've been travelling around the world full-time since 2017. So far, my trips have taken me to Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. I have travel series' from many of the world's best (and least) known destinations. I filmed the first vlogs on my channel in the summer of 2016 after spending a year living in China. A proper solo trip around Eastern Europe followed after graduating from University in the summer of 2017, taking me to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Kosovo. This trip marked the start of my efforts to make a YouTube full-time job. After that European trip I went heavily into exploring Asia, visiting India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea and Kazakhstan (seeing me cover a lot of Far East and Southeast Asia in particular). I have also travelled to North Africa and the Middle East fairly extensively over the last five years, filming videos in Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. To date, I have not yet been to Australasia or South America. Though I am hoping to visit the latter sometime in 2022, along with a first stop in the Caribbean. I've travelled to North America just once as a YouTuber, visiting Mexico in 2021. Though I have been to both the USA and Canada, this was as a child on family holidays. So far in 2022, I've taken my first trip to Sub Saharan Africa, visiting both Kenya and Tanzania, before heading to the Middle East, stopping in Dubai and Lebanon. Europe followed, covering both the Greek and Turkish sides of Cyprus, and afterwards going back to Italy for the second time to cover Milan and Sicily. In the summer I visited the Caribbean for the first time, spending over a month in the Dominican Republic, before stopping in Belgium on my way home. After shooting some videos in Taiwan, I made my way to the Philippines for the second time.

Long-term rehab of areas affected by oil spill needed

BY MANILA BULLETIN

Apr 18, 2023 00:03 AM

  

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When news of the oil spill on the coast of Mindoro spilled to the media and on social media last Feb. 28, 2023, people were not aware of the magnitude and repercussions of that incident. Some assumed that it would only take a few days of cleanup to return the waters to its pristine condition, and a few days more to make the culprit accountable for its actions.

Details, however, emerged soon and the “prognosis” was bleak — and dark, like the spilt black oil that is highly toxic to the marine environment. It turned out that MT Princess Empress, which sank off Naujan in Oriental Mindoro, carried with it almost 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil. En route from Bataan to Iloilo, the oil tanker encountered rough seas mid-way; it was an “accident” that no one had anticipated.

Soon, the oil spill manifested its deadly impact. In a recent report, the DSWD has said that the oil spill has affected nine municipalities in Oriental Mindoro, and two in Palawan. More than 100,000 residents were affected, while hundreds have fallen ill, with some experiencing respiratory-related symptoms.  It should be noted that the Coast Guard described the oil slick as “black and thick, with strong odor.”

Though the oil spill has not yet directly affected the tourist area of Puerto Galera or the “center of the center of biodiversity” that is the Verde Island Passage, no day has passed without these two locations constantly being under threat. Authorities must ensure at all cost that the scope of the present affected areas will not spread out to unspoiled waters. Marine scientists have warned that any oil spill damage to Verde’s protected areas will be “irreversible” and would take generations to repair.

Aside from the environmental impact, the economic effect of the oil spill is also catastrophic, especially to the coastal towns whose residents rely on the waters for livelihood and survival. The Marcos administration was aware of this when the President reiterated the government’s long-term commitment to rehabilitate the oil spill affected areas.

Last April 15, the President conducted an aerial inspection to assess the extent of the damage and held a meeting with local executives in Pola, Oriental Mindoro. He also distributed livelihood assistance packages to the communities.

The President assured residents that all responsible government departments, such as DTI, DSWD, DOLE, and TESDA are committed to assist in terms of providing livelihood, training, and funding.  “Rest assured that we will not leave you. You can count on the national government to be here with you until this issue is resolved, so that we can help you go back to your normal lives,” the President said.

The commitment of the national government for long-term rehabilitation is commendable. But there needs to be lessons learned. For example, the government has to invest in modern equipment and technology to immediately “cut” the source of an oil spill and “contain” the affected areas.
Reactive responses must also be thrown out of the window. Though they can’t prevent oil tankers from criss-crossing our archipelagic nation, maritime authorities must fully ensure that there are measures or protocols in place to assess if a vessel is sea-worthy. Otherwise, this Mindoro oil spill will just be one of the many maritime tragedies we will witness in this lifetime — and not the last of its kind.

DFA services to go digital

BY JOSEPH PEDRAJAS

Apr 17, 2023 02:22 PM

  

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Various services being offered by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will soon go digital as the agency formalized its collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo and DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the digitization of Philippine consular services, which are the processing of the Philippines passports, visas and apostille.

Both secretaries agreed to "collaborate and work on a synchronized and well-coordinated ICT system," according to DFA.

"The MOU is envisioned to promote and ensure the integration, interoperability and interconnection of the DFA and DICT’s respective systems and applications with each other to achieve a more effective and efficient delivery of frontline services," it added.

Also present during the signing ceremony at the DFA headquarters were: DFA Undersecretary Jesus Gary Domingo, DICT Undersecretary David Almirol, and DFA-Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) Assistant Secretary Henry Bensurto. 

Guiuan, Eastern Samar’s heat index hits 49℃ on April 16 — PAGASA

BY ELLALYN DE VERA-RUIZ

Apr 17, 2023 10:47 PM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• Guiuan in Eastern Samar registered a heat index of 49 degrees Celsius (℃) on Sunday, April 16, the highest recorded value since March 1, 2023.
• Seven stations registered heat indexes within dangerous level on Monday, April 17. These are Dauis, Bohol (44℃); Roxas City, Capiz (44℃); Dagupan City, Pangasinan (43℃); Catarman, Northern Samar (42℃); Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte (42℃); Masbate City, Masbate (42℃); and San Jose, Occidental Mindoro (42℃).

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The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Guiuan in Eastern Samar registered a heat index of 49 degrees Celsius (℃) on Sunday, April 16, the highest recorded value since March 1, 2023.

The heat index in the area reached 49℃ around 11 a.m., Sunday, April 16.

According to PAGASA, a heat index between 42℃ and 51℃ would be considered within “danger level,” as heat cramps and heat exhaustion are possible.

It added that continued activity could lead to heat stroke.

Graphics courtesy of PAGASA

Meanwhile, seven stations registered heat indexes at danger level on Monday, April 17.

These are Dauis, Bohol (44℃); Roxas City, Capiz (44℃); Dagupan City, Pangasinan (43℃); Catarman, Northern Samar (42℃); Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte (42℃); Masbate City, Masbate (42℃); and San Jose, Occidental Mindoro (42℃).

In the next 24 hours, the easterlies or the warm air coming from the Pacific Ocean will continue to be the dominant weather system in the country.

PAGASA said partly cloudy to cloudy weather with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms will prevail over most of the country.

Although the hot and humid weather is expected to continue, PAGASA advised the public to remain vigilant as there can be flooding or landslides during severe thunderstorms.

Sudden heavy rains, lightning, thunder, gusts of wind, and sometimes hail, often accompany severe thunderstorms.

Diesel prices cut by P0.40/liter; gasoline up by P0.30/liter

Motorists filling up their vehicles with diesel will experience a breather this week, as the price of this commodity will be down by P0.40 per liter, based on the pricing adjustment advisories of the oil companies.

Conversely, gasoline products will have slight increase of P0.30 per liter; while kerosene prices will have marginal uptrend of P0.10 per liter.

As of this writing, the industry players that already announced their price adjustments had been Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Seaoil, and Cleanfuel effective Tuesday (April 18); while their competitor-firms are all anticipated to follow.

The domestic oil firms will be enforcing cost movements based on the swing of crude and finished products prices in the regional market as referenced on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), which has been the adopted benchmark of the deregulated downstream petroleum industry of the country.

There had been seesaw in prices in the world market last week because of diverging sentiments manifesting when it comes to projections on supply and demand - primarily in the second half of the year.

As noted by industry experts, following the announcement of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its ally-producers (collectively known as OPEC+) in the first week of April, prices escalated to the level of $87 per barrel.

However, due to the forecast of OPEC that demand will likely be weak during the second half of this year, prices dropped to the level of $84 per barrel for most of trading days last week.

By Friday (April 13), international oil prices had been on upswing again because of the pronouncement of the International Energy Agency (IEA) that there could be ‘supply deficit’ by the latter part of this year if OPEC+ producers will concretize their voluntary output cut.

As of Monday (April 17 trading), spot contracts for international benchmark Brent crude climbed to $86 per barrel from a relatively leaner $85 per barrel as of Friday (April 14) trading.

Store water, avoid dengue, DOH urges public

By: Dona Z. Pazzibugan - Reporter / @dpazzibuganINQ

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:20 AM April 17, 2023

Residents of Bgy. 101 in Tondo, Manila line up their plastic containers to collect water as Maynilad Water Services Inc., announced daily water service interruptions across Metro Manila starting on March 28 and 29, 2023, to conserve water as the El Nino phenomenon looms. STORY: Store water, avoid dengue, DOH urges public

MANILA, Philippines — It’s bad enough to deal with a water shortage without having to worry about falling ill with dengue.

Amid the limited water supply induced by the dry season, health authorities reminded the public to properly cover their water containers to prevent a further rise in cases of dengue, a disease caused by mosquitoes that breed in water.

“The usual cause [of an increase in dengue cases] will be the water shortage because every time the water supply is lacking, people store water in containers, pails, and basins that are left uncovered,” Department of Health (DOH) officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Sunday.

She explained that dengue-carrying mosquitoes like to breed in stagnant water, which is commonly found in household water containers.

“We should cover our water containers to avoid mosquitoes from multiplying in our households,” Vergeire said.

The health official also urged households to regularly clean their surroundings to avoid attracting mosquitoes.

“Mosquitoes like to stay in dirty, dark and small places so we all need to clean our surroundings so we can remove the garbage and useless stuff that attract mosquitoes,” she said.

‘Breeding places’

The DOH has recorded 27,670 dengue cases from Jan. 1 to March 18 this year. The figure is 94 percent higher than the 14,278 cases reported during the same period last year.

Dengue is caused by a virus that is spread through the bite of the day-biting Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

The DOH said the main strategy to prevent the spread of dengue is to destroy the breeding grounds of the virus-carrying mosquitoes.

“Search and destroy breeding places such as stagnant water and its containers; use self-protection; do not delay when sick; seek early consultation; where there is an outbreak, support fogging,” the department said.

The DOH also pointed out that while dengue currently has no treatment, the disease can be early managed.

On March 23, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. acknowledged that the country was experiencing a water crisis, adding that the government has not been addressing the problem.

“We do not look at it, [we] just find other ways and put up with the idea that once in a while we’ll have to pull out our buckets and fill our bathtubs with water because there’s not going to be water for the next 24 hours,” he said.

Beyond insurance premiums, seniors need better quality health care services

BY MANILA BULLETIN

Apr 17, 2023 00:02 AM

  

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Senior citizens received good news last week. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released ₱42.93 billion to cover the payment of their health insurance premiums for 2023. Sourced from proceeds of the sin tax law, the allotment benefits over 8.5 million senior citizens enrolled in the national health insurance program of PhilHealth.

But the assurance of funding for the elderly’s health care needs is only part of the equation. What needs to be ascertained is that senior citizens are able to maintain good health and are shielded from their vulnerability to diseases associated with ageing.

Senior citizens constitute roughly 11.31 percent of the country’s population. According to a study on Ageing and Health in the Philippines by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, “the formal pillars of support, such as short- and long-term healthcare, and pension systems are still under development.” It is not surprising, therefore, that official government response is short-term oriented, such as the latest DBM announcement on responding to this year’s funding requirements.

According to a United Nations study, “elderly people were at a significantly higher risk of mortality and severe diseases following infection; and senior citizens are more likely to have underlying, long-term health problems.” It is imperative that the government adopt a more holistic approach to the health care needs of ageing citizens.

During the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that it disproportionately affected the older Filipinos; moreover, 50.7 percent of the confirmed deaths were aged 65 and older.

A visit to the Department of Health website contains entries on a Healthy and Productive Ageing Program that “primarily aims to promote quality life among older persons and contribute to nation building through providing equitable access to quality healthcare.” Evidently, senior citizens are more vulnerable to getting ill or dying from disease.

Yet there is little information on concrete health care programs, only links to copies of existing laws on universal health care and on the selling of medicines with 20 percent senior citizens discount. Listed under Types of Services are two items, namely: Geriatric Training for Primary Service Providers and Pre-Retirement Orientation and Training. These programs are for enabling service providers that cater to senior citizens’ needs; these do not directly provide vital health care services.

With the winding-down of Covid-19 related programs, the public expects the DOH to expand its assistance to senior citizens who need to be supported with responsive health maintenance and health care services.

Echoing President Marcos’ directive on the latest release of funds, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said: “This government must ensure that our senior citizens have the support and resources they need to thrive. Our elderly will always remain vital members of our society who have spent many of their productive years not only in improving the lives of their family members but also in contributing to their communities.”