How to "survive"?

MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR

Sometimes, we might ask ourselves: What is the sense of doing this and that? What is the meaning of life? I am sure, each and every one of us looks for a good life.

Sometimes, we seem to remain very optimistic. We think it's easy to find always a good life. Most of the time, we are in doubt or, we even choose to be unhappy without any reason at all. To wake up in the morning with pessimism and fall asleep at night, dissatisfied and unhappy - yes, that makes life miserable.

Without happiness and satisfaction there is indeed no space for peace in our hearts and minds. Therefore there is no domestic harmony and logically, no peace on earth. The meaning of happiness is trying to manage life even with big problems, difficulties and trials. I learned this from Filipinos since staying in the Philippines as an expatriate for good in 1999.I was really surprised to experience mutual happiness, friendship, love, unity and communal spirit with relatives  in my surroundings.

Of course, I also found myself in very negative situations. I observed people, who seem to live an easy go lucky way life. But, they were like actors and actresses on stage, wearing incredible masks and pretending to be what they are not. 

Hence, in Greek, they are the so-called hypocrites. Maybe also you and me are belonging to them from time to time. Fear of rejection or displeasure of other people are becoming our daily friends. In society, it's called "good public relation". Politely greeting and smiling with a set of purpose: to win them to  their business.

William Congreve (1670-1729), English dramatist  shaped the English comedy of manners through his brilliant comic dialogue, his satirical portrayal of the war of the sexes, and his ironic scrutiny of the affectations of his age. His major plays were The Old Bachelour (1693), The Double-Dealer (1693), Love for Love (1695), and The Way of the World (1700).In his "Preface to Dryden", he wrote: No mask like open truth to cover lies as to go naked is the best disguise. 

So, what really counts for us in life? Success? Power? Strength? Money? Is it contentment? Is it peace on earth? Is it peace in our homes? Zest for life?

Let us go through life's journey: From the time, we have been babies bubbling like a brook on the first blush of spring. We hurried up, unaware of problems and troubles, being unconscious of time, as adults we worried and became conscious of money. Then, suddenly, we looked at our aces, the first wrinkles, and the baldy patch on the forehead, the first grey hair. We observed our teeth falling out and our eyeglasses got thicker and our bones crack here and there. 

We start the familiar line: "When I was young... ." And we realize our mortality. Death could knock at our door any time. We feel humbled. We have mellowed. 

Have I done no wrong? Have I been selfless or selfish? Have I been mission-oriented since then? Have I lived a life worthy in God's eyes? What really counted for me? Ano ang mahalaga? Paniniwala? Pag-asa? O kaya pagbibigayan at pagtutulungan?

Mount Mayon Eruption forces more evacutions

Erupting volcano in Philippines forces evacuation of thousands of villagers

• By COURTNEY HAN

Jan 24, 2018, 11:20 AM ET

Charism Sayat/AFP/Getty Images

WATCHTime-lapse video captures power of Mayon volcano

• Email

The Mayon volcano in the Philippines continue to erupt and spout more lava Tuesday evening, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of more residents in the village, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

Interested in Philippines?

Add Philippines as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Philippines news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

Philippines

Add Interest

Romeo Ranoco/Reuters

A view of the Mayon Volcano after a new eruption in Camalig, Albay province, south of Manila, Philippines, Jan. 24, 2018.more +

“The lava fountains reached 500 meters to 600 meters high,” according to PHIVOLCS. “The public is strongly advised to be vigilant and desist from entering the eight kilometer-radius danger zone.”

Francis R. Malasig/EPA

A view of Mayon Volcano erupts anew in the town of Daraga, Albay province, Philippines, Jan. 24, 2018. Mayon volcano located in eastern Philippines and active over the last 10 days spewed fresh lava and ash in two new eruptions a day earlier.more +

Sky News reported that the first explosions on Monday caused more than 30,000 villagers from the province of Albay to evacuate. Now, more than 56,000 have villagers have evacuated to emergency shelters due to the risk of a full volcanic eruption.

Charism Sayat/AFP/Getty Images

This photo taken from a drone shows a column of ash shooting up from the Mayon volcano as it continues to erupt, seen from the city of Legazpi in Albay province, south of Manila, Jan. 24, 2018.more +

According to Sky News, disaster relief official Cedric Daep said in a press conference, "If pyroclastic flows hit people, there is no chance for life."

European Union Invites Duterte to Brussels, Belgium

By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 25, 2018 - 12:00am

 11  175 googleplus1  3 

President Duterte welcomes to Malacañang the other day Nobel Peace laureate and former Poland president Lech Walesa. Duterte said he sought advice, which he did not specify, from the Polish democracy icon.

MANILA, Philippines — The European Union has formally invited President Duterte to attend the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM12) in Brussels, Belgium in October, EU Ambassador Franz Jessen said yesterday.

At the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay, Jessen, head of the EU delegation to the Philippines, said the formal invitation was sent on Tuesday.

“They just sent the invitation to the President. We don’t have a reply yet,” Jessen said.

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

ASEM12 will be hosted by the EU on Oct. 18 to 19, 2018. The ASEM is an Asian-European political dialogue forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation among its partners.

The ambassador said a visit by Duterte, who has not been to Europe, would be welcome and an opportunity to “develop an understanding of Europe.”

“He’s not been to Europe, and I think he’s actually never been to Europe, and when you think about the importance of the EU-Philippine relationship, it is probably starting to be noticeable that we haven’t had a visit from him,” Jessen said.

Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

“I would very much like him to go there and maybe also to develop his understanding of Europe and what we’re doing in Europe. We are not spending all our time criticizing the Philippines,” he added.

Europe, he said, is itself going through a major change.

The ambassador believes that when Duterte goes to Europe and immerses in discussions, “he will come back with a more positive understanding” of the EU.

Duterte had lashed out at the EU repeatedly for raising human rights concerns over his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs.

He had accused the EU of interfering in the country’s domestic affairs.

Last October, Duterte threatened to expel EU envoys within 24 hours, saying Europe was plotting to get the Philippines ejected from the United Nations.

Philippines presides over UN rights meet

Meanwhile, the Philippines has presided over the United Nations’ meeting as vice president of the Human Rights Council that is reviewing the human rights records of Botswana.

Ambassador Evan Garcia is representing the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) in the Human Rights Council (HRC) bureau, the leadership body of the UNHRC.

Garcia said the Philippines’ election “strongly affirms the high regard and trust in (its) leadership in the field of human rights by the UN member states.”

The election of the Philippines as one of five members of the HRC bureau formalized and confirmed the unanimous decision of the APG that nominated Garcia to the position. He was elected by consensus of the 47 member states of the UNHRC during the Organizational Meeting of the Council held last Jan. 10.

“I am very grateful and honored for this opportunity that the international community has given to the Philippines,” Garcia said.

“This development is consistent with the Philippines’ long-standing policy of active engagement in the field of human rights, in general, and at the UNHRC, in particular.”

Thousands more forced to flee ...

Thousands more forced to flee Philippine volcano Mount Mayon

• Share 
 
• Tweet 
 
• Reddit 
 
• Flipboard 
 
• Email

Last Updated Jan 23, 2018 10:43 AM EST

The Philippines' most active volcano continued to spew fountains of red-hot lava and massive ash plumes Tuesday in a dazzling but increasingly dangerous eruption that has sent 56,000 villagers to shelter in evacuation centers.

Lava fountains gushed up 2,300 feet above Mount Mayon's crater and ash plumes rose up to 1.9 miles at night and before daybreak, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. An explosive eruption at noon Mondaywas the most powerful since the volcano started acting up more than a week ago.

Authorities warned a violent eruption may occur in hours or days, characterized by more rumblings and pyroclastic flows - superheated gas and volcanic debris that race down the slopes at high speeds, vaporizing everything in their path.

After Monday's huge explosion, officials raised Mayon's alert level to four on a scale of five, and the danger zone was expanded to 5 miles from the crater, requiring thousands more residents to be evacuated, including at least 12,000 who left their homes and then returned during gentler eruptions.

Authorities struggled to prevent villagers from sneaking back to check on their homes and farms and to watch a cockfight in an arena in Albay's Santo Domingo town despite the risks and police patrols and checkpoints, said Cedric Daep, a provincial disaster-response official.

In a sign of desperation, Daep told a news conference that he has recommended electricity and water supply be cut in communities within the no-go zones to discourage residents from returning.

Lava spews from the Mayon volcano as it continues to erupt, seen from Legazpi City in Albay province, south of Manila, Philippines, Jan. 23, 2018.

 GETTY

"If pyroclastic flows hit people, there is no chance for life," Daep said. "Let us not violate the natural law, avoid the prohibited zone, because if you violate, the punishment is death penalty."

The daytime eruptions have plunged nearby villages in darkness and sent lava, rocks and debris cascading down Mayon's slopes toward the no-entry danger zone. There have been no reports of deaths and injuries. Airplanes have been ordered to stay away from the crater and ash-laden winds and several domestic flights have been canceled.

Volcanic ash fell Monday in more than a dozen towns in coconut-growing Albay and nearby Camarines Sur province, with visibility being heavily obscured in a few towns because of the thick gray ash fall, Jukes Nunez, another Albay provincial disaster response officer, said by telephone.

"It was like night time at noon, there was zero visibility in some areas because the ash fall was so thick," Nunez said.

Students pass through rice paddy as they run from cascading volcanic materials from slopes of Mayon Volcano in  Philippines on January 22, 2018

 STRINGER / REUTERS

More than 30,000 ash masks and about 5,000 sacks of rice, along with medicine, water and other supplies, were being sent to evacuation centers, Office of Civil Defense regional director Claudio Yucot said late Monday.

Food packs, water, medicine and other relief goods remain adequate but may run out by mid-February if the eruption continues and adequate supplies fail to come on time, officials said.

With its near-perfect cone, Mayon has long been popular with climbers and tourists but has erupted about 50 times in the last 500 years, sometimes violently. The 8,070-foot volcano has generated tourism revenues and jobs in Albay, which lies about 210 miles southeast of Manila.

In 2013, an ash eruption killed five climbers who had ventured near the summit despite warnings. Its most destructive eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1,200 people and buried the town of Cagsawa in volcanic mud. The belfry of Cagsawa's stone church still juts from the ground in an eerie reminder of Mayon's fury.

The Philippines, which has about 22 active volcanoes, lies in the "Ring of Fire," a line of seismic faults surrounding the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.

In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the northern Philippines exploded in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing about 800 people, covering entire towns and cities in ash and partly prompting the U.S. government to abandon its vast air and naval bases on the main northern Luzon island.

The most active volcano in The Philippines ...

By Kristine Phillips, Washington Post January 22 at 12:08 PM 

 0:40

Watch: White hot lava spews from Mayon volcano

Footage captured by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology shows lava fountains shooting out of the Mayon volcano on the night of Jan. 21.(Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology)

Thousands of Filipino families have been evacuated in the Philippine province of Albay as the country’s most active volcano inches toward a possibly major eruption.

A thick gray cloud of ash billowed high above the summit of Mount Mayon on Monday, when officials raised the alert level to four, an indication that a hazardous eruption is imminent. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the volcano has been “exhibiting increased seismic unrest, lava fountaining and summit explosions.” The agency also has extended what it calls the “danger zone” to an eight-kilometer radius (nearly five miles) from the volcano’s vent.

Footage captured by the agency showed bright orange lava fountains shooting out of the volcano’s summit Sunday night.

Renato Solidum, the agency’s director, described two possible scenarios during a news conference Monday. Mayon will either continue to ooze lava with small eruptions in between — like what happened in 2006 and 2009 — or we’re seeing the early stages of a major, and far more catastrophic, blast or pyroclastic flow, a deadly combination of hot lava blocks, pumice, ash and volcanic gas that barrels down a volcanic slope and can devastate residential areas.

[Bali volcano has a history of explosive eruptions and global climate impacts]

Compounding the threat is what’s called lahar, a potentially deadly mud flow of volcanic material that can happen even without a major explosion. Solidum said heavy rain could drive mudflow in the region and cause landslides near already swollen bodies of water.

Romina Marasigan, spokeswoman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told reporters last week that nearly 8,300 families — or more than 34,000 people — in Albay have been moved to 30 evacuation centers. These include families in areas far from the danger zone but who could be affected by mudflow. Marasigan said it could be weeks before families can return to their homes.

Officials have allotted about 5.5 million pesos (about $100,000) worth of assistance, some in the form of food items, for evacuees, Marasigan said.

Classes in several cities and municipalities and flights to and from some areas of the province have also been suspended, Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara announced Monday on Facebook. Bichara also urged people to stay indoors and wear face masks.

Filipino villagers in Camalig evacuate Monday in anticipation of an eruption of nearby Mount Mayon. (Linus Escandor II/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Mayon first showed signs of unrest Jan. 13, when the volcano produced a grayish ash plume, about a mile and a half high, that drifted southwest and sent ash down on nearby areas. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised its alert level to two the following day and then to three hours later.

A state of calamity was declared last Tuesday in Albay in the southeastern part of Luzon island about 300 miles from the capital, Manila.

Mayon, which draws tourists because of its symmetrical cone shape, rises more than 8,000 feet above the Albay Gulf. It has erupted 47 times since 1616. The deadliest, in 1814, killed more than 1,200 people and buried a village. The most recent deadly eruption was in 1993, when more than 70 people were killed. The eruption continued for two months.

Perhaps a close comparison to recent events was an eruption in 2001, Solidum told reporters, according to CNN Philippines.

Mayon is one of the Philippines’ 22 active volcanoes.

 0:20

Ash cloud billows from Mayon volcano on verge of eruption

Smoke and ash erupted from the Philippines's Mayon volcano on Jan. 22. Officials raised the alert level to a four, meaning an eruption could be imminent.