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Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Flash floods, landslides threaten parts of Mindanao, N. Luzon due to ITCZ, ‘amihan’
Nov 27, 2024 09:58 AM
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned on Wednesday, Nov. 27 of possible flash floods and landslides in parts of Mindanao and Northern Luzon due to continuous rains from the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the northeast monsoon (amihan).
PAGASA said cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms are expected to affect Caraga, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi due to the ITCZ—a weather system where winds from the northern and southern hemispheres converge. It is also known for being a breeding ground for tropical cyclones.
Meanwhile, the amihan will bring cloudy skies and rains to Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
PAGASA warned that moderate to heavy rainfall from both weather systems could lead to flash floods and landslides, particularly in these areas.
The amihan may also bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains to the Ilocos Region.
The rest of the country will experience similar conditions, triggered by localized thunderstorms.
PAGASA advised the public to remain vigilant for flash floods and landslides during severe thunderstorms.
Sense of humor
BY FORMER SENATE PRESIDENT MANNY VILLAR
Nov 27, 2024 00:11 AM
OF TREES AND FOREST
Filipinos are world famous for the longest celebration of the Christmas season. We usher in the holidays beginning with the so-called “Ber” months. And so on Sept. 1 when the clock strikes 12:01, Filipinos, who are also world famous for their fun-loving character as well as their presence on social media begin creating and sharing what has become the symbol of the start of the season: Jose Mari Chan.
I am not exactly sure when this tradition started but it was most probably because of the fact that Jose Mari Chan, an accomplished businessman and singer, has been known for his Christmas songs. In particular, his song “Christmas in our hearts” has become a staple as far as Christmas carols are concerned that people have referred to him as “King of Philippine Christmas Carols.”
I really enjoy this yearly ritual among Filipinos. For one, some of the memes are downright hilarious and really showcase the creative minds of Filipinos. It also shows that unmistakable character of Filipinos of not taking everything too seriously. This is something I have noticed over decades of interaction with people when I was in politics and even now in business as I go around visiting most parts of the country: Filipinos will find humor in everything.
Filipinos are known for cracking jokes at every occasion. Filipinos love to laugh. Whenever I went on a palengke tour during my electoral campaigns, people were so welcoming, shaking my hands, talking to me, and, perhaps more importantly, as a marker of intimacy, joking with me.
I am sure we all know this as Filipinos. There are certain indicators that show the level of intimacy among people. When people feel comfortable enough to go near you, touch you (shake your hands, kiss you on the cheeks, give you a hug), that means the awkward barrier has been pierced. More importantly, when people begin telling you jokes, or when Filipinos start making jokes about you, then that is a clear sign that they are very, very comfortable around you.
Sometimes, we do take it too far. Filipinos have been known to come up with insensitive jokes or have humor that offend other people. There have been too many brawls on the street or in restaurants started by offensive jokes. And in a world that insists on political correctness, sometimes this propensity for humor is taken the wrong way.
But Filipinos, in general, are very respectful. Those who have studied the Filipino psyche point to the Filipino sense of humor as a coping mechanism. This theory states that humor serves as our coping mechanism that we have developed over centuries of challenges and hardships. Some might find it perverse but this is how we deal with disasters, hardships and obstacles that come our way — humor.
I can certainly understand the logic in this theory. I think most people use humor as a release. When you are in the middle of a crisis and people around you are very serious and tense, there will always be someone who will find a way to crack a joke not for the purpose of trivializing the moment but to give everyone an opportunity to release the tension, to step back and then go back to dealing with the crisis with a fresh perspective.
There are some who criticize the Filipinos’ propensity for “toilet humor” or “slapstick comedy” but I think it is important to understand the important role of humor in the way we deal with one another and with what is going on around us. For instance, the Covid-19 pandemic did not deter Filipinos from showing their sense of humor — some of them offensive but some were so funny they gave people the perfect reprieve from being locked inside their own homes for weeks and months.
Our sense of humor is one of the things that I love about our people. In a country where millions of people are still mired in poverty, where people go on about their daily struggles, it is a joy to see them bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Is it escapism? Perhaps, for that moment. It does not mean we are ignoring the problem. That is, in fact, one of the many ways we deal with the problem. Besides, what is wrong with escapism? When you have all this political noise surrounding you, it is probably a good thing.
(mbv_secretariat@vistaland.com.ph and/or http://www.mannyvillar.com)
Are you happy? Or sad? Or both
When emotions, good and bad, come simultaneously and you are crying and laughing at the same time
Nov 27, 2024 12:45 PM
AT A GLANCE
Some things cannot be fixed. They can only be carried. —Megan Devine, It’s OK that You’re Not OK
Sometimes, I don’t know if I’m well.
It’s not about looking A-OK when you are rotting away inside. I feel good and bad at the same time on some days that I get confused which is which.
When I was younger, I thought it was because I was writing all the time, expressing myself, and I have no problem discussing my personal life the way I would discuss the apartheid or the Holocaust or an impending zombie apocalypse. It is also the reason I have never ever in my life needed a shoulder to cry on, or so I think. But I usually keep my troubles to myself, sharing them only when it’s appropriate, never quite to vent off or release the pressure, but by way of conversation, which really is my ice breaker, unskilled as I am in the art of small talk, so I get to talk beyond the weather or appearances or the freshness of the floral centerpieces at a party, even with strangers, as long as they are as open as I am.
When Jo Malone, for instance, was launched in Manila, we were at Blackbird’s airy, bright dining room with the noonday streaming sunbeams in through the picture windows, and, well, it was a fashionista event blathering with fashion statements. But by the time dessert was served, I was surrounded by all these girls, the most beautiful in the room, and we were deep in conversation over champagne. No, we weren’t talking about wood sage and sea salt, English pear and freesia, blue agava and cacao, or nutmeg and ginger on this good day, we were talking about depression and suicide and how hard it was to be lonely or worried or terrified for no or all reasons.
Either I am in full control of my emotions or I am an emotional wreck that has yet to be diagnosed, not that I am a stranger to psychology. I saw a psychiatrist, no less than the head of the psychiatry department at St. Luke’s, for a whole year when I was in my teens, but even she, the late great Dr. Lourdes Lapuz, did not give me any diagnostic label as much as my friends did or still do, who would so easily, as if they had a master’s in psychology, call me an overthinker or self-indulgent with feelings of loneliness or oversensitive or reeling from generational trauma.
Nor did Dr. Lapuz prescribe any meds for me, which she did for my younger brother, who was seeing her at the same time. And yet, throughout my life, I feel I have been searching for answers I cannot even pin down, whether through philosophy or meditation or religion or history.
The truth is I suspect I am happy. I am at home in this world, where I have found many friends and a place I can call my own. Recently, at a dinner for my book club, The Very Extra Book Club, which has four Scorpios, including me, among its members, the others being Nix Alañon, Jae de Veyra-Pickrell, and Stephanie Zubiri, I raised the question: Would you rather cry in a Rolls-Royce or in a trike and is there difference? I raise the idea of being Scorpio because Scorpios are often described as intense, intuitive, and deeply emotional, but I can say the same thing of our other non-Scorpio members Pauline Juan, Rajo Laurel, Rocio Olbes, Marielle Santos-Po, and Farah Mae Sy, who would know that crying in a Rolls-Royce or in a trike is a statement on the universality of anguish. The Very Extra Book Club, especially before the pandemic, which put our mental health under grave assault, has neither been afraid of life’s most terrifying truths nor most terrible lies. We have always faced up to the most unsettling questions literature raises about life.
In a way this is me—I’ve never been protective of my psyche or my soul or my heart. I read everything, including trash. I would watch the most depressing film, if it means washing my soul of it after with something uplifting the way I read Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull after immersing myself in Gabriel García Márquez’s 100 Years of Solitude and its disturbingly comic, senses-grating, soul-moving magic realism. I am drawn to people who have as great potential to hurt me as to love me or even to people who cannot love me but whose presence in my life I treasure. As a teenager, though I was 150 percent loved and though I love people, I resonated with Morrisey’s contempt for people in The Smiths’ classic “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.”
But I guess self-awareness is no antidote to the deep lows of life and, in recent years, now that I am older, the blows are more personal, more damaging. And yet I still walk the earth with a spring in my step. And yet I still break into dance even as I am harboring a broken heart. And yet my heart sings to desperate songs like Måneskin’s cover of “Beggin.’” And yet I love some people as much as I hate them, or I love them even as I see through their lies, their machinations, their contempt, their indifference.
Life is hard, that’s true, a bed of roses full of wounding, deadly thorns. I want to be happy 100 percent. Impossible, I know, but I think it’s all a matter of perspective. I can be 10 percent happy. It’s just 10 percent, but if I should focus on the 10 percent, without being blind to the rest of the equation, I should realize I am happy anyway.
Wird Heizen für viele unbezahlbar?
Foto: Thomas Banneyer/dpa
Die Wärmeversorgung in Deutschland wird immer teurer … und bald unbezahlbar?
▶︎ Fast jedes zweite Stadtwerk (41 Prozent) hält eine bezahlbare Wärmeversorgung für NICHT mehr gesichert! Das ist das Ergebnis einer Umfrage des Verbands kommunaler Unternehmen (VKU). Nur 38 Prozent der befragten Unternehmen können eine bezahlbare Wärmeversorgung auch künftig garantieren.
Grund für die Sorge: Die Energiewende frisst Rekordinvestitionen! Bis 2030 sagt der VKU einen Investitionsbedarf in Höhe von 721 Mrd. Euro voraus.
Energie-Experte Professor Manuel Frondel (RWI – Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung) warnt: Wenn sich die Sorge der Versorger bewahrheitet, „hat dies Konsequenzen für die Energieverbraucher in Form höherer Energiekosten“.
DENN, so Frondel zu BILD: „Die Energieversorger werden die höheren Kosten an die Verbraucher weitergeben müssen, um nicht selbst darauf sitzen zu bleiben.“
Die Heizpreise sind gesunken. Doch einige Verbraucher müssen erst handeln, um zu sparen.
Aktuell werden noch etwa die Hälfte aller Wohnungen und Häuser (48,3 Prozent) in Deutschland mit Erdgas beheizt, rund 23 Prozent mit Heizöl. Auch das wird allerdings durch die beschlossene Wärmewende immer teurer: 2025 steigt die CO2-Steuer von aktuell 45 Euro pro Tonne auf 55 Euro pro Tonne.
Keine verlässlichen wirtschaftlichen Anreize
Ab 2045 darf in Deutschland dann nur noch mit erneuerbaren Energien und unvermeidbarer Abwärme (z.B. aus Müllverbrennungsanlagen) geheizt werden. Damit das überhaupt gelingen kann, fordert Liebing „einen entschlossenen Umbau – und eine entschlossene, verlässliche Förderung.“
83 Prozent der befragten Energieversorger erwarten, dass Fernwärme für sie in Zukunft eine wichtigere Rolle spielen wird. Doch es drohen horrende Kosten.
Arbeiter rangieren im Morgengrauen einen Kohlezug vor dem Heizkraftzwerk am Westhafen der Stadt und sorgen so mit dafür, dass in vielen Wohnungen der Stadt Strom und Fernwärme fließen
Arbeiter rangieren im Morgengrauen einen Kohlezug vor dem Heizkraftzwerk am Frankfurter Westhafen und sorgen so mit dafür, dass in vielen Wohnungen der Stadt Strom und Fernwärme fließen
Fast alle Befragten (97 Prozent) erwarten in den kommenden Jahren mehr Investitionen in die Erzeugung und Infrastruktur von klimaneutraler Wärme.
„Um die Fernwärme massiv ausbauen zu können, brauchen wir klare rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen und kein ständiges politisches Hin und Her“, sagt VKU-Hauptgeschäftsführer Ingbert Liebing (61).
Für Energieversorger keine ausreichenden und verlässlichen wirtschaftlichen Anreize, in die Wärmewende zu investieren. Zwar sei die Bundesförderung für effiziente Wärmenetze grundsätzlich gut, der entsprechende Finanz-Topf aber deutlich zu klein.
Der VKU-Chef fordert: „Damit der Ausbau in Schwung kommt, braucht es eine Aufstockung von aktuell 3,5 Milliarden Euro insgesamt bis 2034 auf 3,5 Milliarden Euro pro Jahr.“
Balitanghali marks 19 years of bringing comprehensive news to Filipinos
BY MANILA BULLETIN ENTERTAINMENT
Nov 27, 2024 12:29 PM
AT A GLANCE
Catch Balitanghali on weekdays from 10 a.m. on GTV. Global Pinoys can watch the newscast on the Network’s international channel, GMA News TV.
Balitanghali, the longest-running noon-time newscast on Philippine free TV, continues to deliver truthful, timely, and relevant news to viewers as it celebrates its 19th anniversary this November.
Anchored by award-winning and seasoned journalists Connie Sison and Raffy Tima, Balitanghali provides viewers with the latest and the biggest developing news as well as topics close to the hearts of Filipinos. Joining Connie and Raffy is “Mare, Ano’ng Latest” segment host and entertainment reporter Aubrey Carampel for the hottest showbiz news and lifestyle features.
As Balitanghali celebrates its 19th year on television, Connie, Raffy, and Aubrey expressed how honored they are to be part of the long-running newscast.
“[I am] so grateful to be a part of the longest-running Filipino language noontime newscast! Though I have joined Balitanghali 9 years after it was launched, I most definitely cherish co-anchoring Balitanghali for the past 10 years now. Taos-pusong pasasalamat sa lahat ng aming mga loyal viewer mula noon hanggang ngayon. Asahan ninyong lalo pa naming pagbubutihin ang aming paghahatid ng mga nangungunang balita sa loob at labas ng bansa. God-willing, marami pang mga taon tayong magkakasama-sama,” says Connie.
"Being with Balitanghali for the past 19 years has been a great honor and a privilege as a journalist. I can hardly believe that almost 2 decades have passed since we first began airing Balitanghali as the first Filipino noontime newscast. Since that time, other newscasts have followed, proving that Balitanghali has blazed a new trail and earned new viewers looking for the latest news and entertainment. Isang malaking karangalan na hanggang ngayon bahagi pa rin ako ng Balitanghali at patuloy na naghahatid ng balitang mapagkakatiwalaan at totoo," expresses Raffy.
"Balitanghali was launched in 2005, the same year I became a showbiz reporter for GMA News. Hosting its segment, ‘Mare Ano’ng Latest?,’ is a dream come true. Every time I am in the studio, I always feel like I am that ‘kumare’ who shares the latest showbiz news updates about local and even international celebrities, keeping our ‘mga mare at pare’ informed and entertained at the same time. It’s a passion, and I enjoy every moment of it. It is also an honor to be alongside seasoned journalists and news anchors, Raffy Tima and Connie Sison. I am learning a lot from them," shares Aubrey.
Senior Vice President and Head of GMA Integrated News, Regional TV, and Synergy Oliver Victor B. Amoroso considers Balitanghali’s milestone part of GMA Integrated News’ commitment to the public. “As we proudly celebrate 19 remarkable years of our longest-running noon-time newscast on Philippine free TV— it is a testament to our role as ‘the News Authority of Filipinos.’ This milestone marks not just our legacy but a renewed commitment to a bigger mission: delivering truthful, timely, and relevant news to a much larger audience. As we move forward, expect us to reach new heights, innovate with purpose, and continue empowering communities with stories that matter. Thank you to our Kapuso viewers for making this journey possible!” says Amoroso.
Segments close to Filipinos’ heart
Since 2005, Balitanghali has become a significant part of Filipinos’ lives every lunch time – “kumpletos rekados ang pananghalian ninyo sa Balitanghali…19 taon n’yo nang kasalo.”
With the program being the “kasalo” of Kapuso viewers, on top of the biggest developing news of the day, Balitanghali has been offering exciting segments that are close to the hearts of Filipinos.
Because local news matters, the "Regional TV News" segment brings the relevant local stories gathered by the various GMA Regional TV stations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to the national audience. The segment is hosted by Cris Zuñiga, Cecille Quibod-Castro, and Sarah Hilomen-Velasco of GMA Regional TV.
“Magkano na ba?” aptly asks the very question in every consumer’s mind – the prices of basic goods from rice to gasoline, from school supplies to noche buena items.
Anchored by Aubrey, “Mare, Ano’ng Latest?” features the latest scoops in the entertainment and lifestyle world, both locally and abroad.
“Balita Abroad” provides a broader view of the world. It offers a global perspective and awareness on issues and events outside the country that Filipinos can still relate to.
“Health is Wealth,” meanwhile, gives viewers practical tips on how to take care of their health and keeps the public informed with the latest medical breakthroughs.
The segment “Good Job” features individuals who deserve a pat on the back for the pride and inspiration they bring to the Filipino people.
The "Wow" segment is exclusively for videos or stories that make the viewers exclaim "WOW."
Lastly, “Trending” features the hottest videos online that warm viewers’ hearts and bring smiles to their faces.
Catch Balitanghali on weekdays from 10 a.m. on GTV. Global Pinoys can watch the newscast on the Network’s international channel, GMA News TV.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
FDA exempts 17 more medicines from VAT
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has added 17 more medicines to the list of health products exempted from value-added tax (VAT), making these more affordable to Filipinos.
Under FDA Advisory No. 2024-1618, signed on Nov. 22 by Director General Samuel Zacate, the regulatory body endorsed to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) an exemption from the 12-percent VAT for eight medicines for diabetes, four medicines for cancer and three for mental illness.
Under BIR rules, the effectivity of the latest VAT exemption starts on Nov. 25, when the FDA made the updated list public.
This is the sixth time this year that the FDA updated its list of VAT-exempted medicines. Under the law, the FDA must provide an updated list 30 days before the beginning of every quarter.
Tumors, disorders
Included in the latest VAT-exempt drugs are Degarelix (80 milligrams and 120 mg) used for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer in patients requiring male hormone deprivation therapy; and Tremelimumab (25 mg/1.25 mL and 300 mg/15 mL) used to decrease the tumor growth for different types of cancer.
Also on the list are different doses and forms of Sitagliptin and Linagliptin (5 mg), which are used with other medications to lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Medicines for mental illnesses that are now VAT-exempt are Clomipramine Hydrochloride (25 mg), used to treat symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder; Chlorpromazine (200 mg), used to manage and treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and acute psychosis; and Midazolam (15 mg), used for inducing sleepiness and easing anxiety before surgery or other procedures.
SEE ALSO
Cancer med delisted
The FDA, however, removed Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (5000 IU) as a VAT-exempt cancer medicine, saying that it is used for “treatment of anovulatory infertility or oligo-ovulatory and superovulation in women, and treatment of hypogonadism, cryptorchism and delayed puberty associated with insufficient gonadotropic pituitary function in male. Hence, it is not classified as treatment for cancer and shall be delisted from the subject list.”
The listed medicines were in addition to the more than 2,000 drugs indicated for the prevention and management of diabetes, hypertension, cancer, high cholesterol, mental illnesses, tuberculosis and kidney diseases, which were exempted from VAT under Republic Act No. 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or Train Act, and RA 11534, or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.
A searchable database of all the “VAT-Exempt Health Products” can be accessed at verification.fda.gov.ph.
Scientists say world's largest coral found near Solomon Islands
Handout photo shows a diver swimming over the world's largest coral located near the Pacific's Solomon Islands Manu San Felix for National Geographic Pristine Seas via AFP
Agence France-Presse
SYDNEY, Australia — Scientists say they have found the world's largest coral near the Pacific's Solomon Islands, announcing a major discovery "pulsing with life and color."
The coral is so immense that researchers sailing the crystal waters of the Solomon archipelago initially thought they had stumbled across a hulking shipwreck.
"Just when we think there is nothing left to discover on planet earth, we find a massive coral made of nearly one billion little polyps, pulsing with life and color," marine ecologist Enric Sala said.
The standalone structure had been growing for some 300 years, the researchers said, formed from a "complex network" of tiny coral polyps.
It was distinct from a coral reef, which is made from many distinct coral colonies, they explained.
Measuring 111 feet wide and 104 metres long, the team said the "mega coral" was three times bigger than the previous record holder — a coral dubbed "Big Momma" in American Samoa.
"While Big Momma looked like a huge scoop of ice cream plopped down on the reef, this newly discovered coral is as if the ice cream started to melt, spreading forever along the seafloor," said lead scientist Molly Timmers.
It was longer than a blue whale and was thought to be "so colossal" that it could "be seen from space."
The coral was discovered at the southeastern tip of the Solomon Islands in an area known as the Three Sisters. It was spotted by a National Geographic team embarking on a scientific expedition in the region.
Hotter and more acidic oceans have drained the life from corals in many of the region's tropical waters, including Australia's famed Great Barrier Reef. But this latest discovery offered a small glimmer of hope, the research team said.
'Beacon of hope'
"While the nearby shallow reefs were degraded due to warmer seas, witnessing this large healthy coral oasis in slightly deeper waters is a beacon of hope," said coral scientist Eric Brown.
The lush rain forests and pristine waters of Solomon Islands have long been celebrated for their ecological diversity.
Wildlife observations made in Solomon Islands in the 1920s helped prove a key part of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
"There is so much to learn about the richness of marine life and the ocean ecosystem, but this finding opens doors of knowledge," said top Solomon Islands official Collin Beck.
"More scientific research is needed to better understand our rich biodiversity and our planet."
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