EU-Philippines move closer to signing free trade deal

In a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 22, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič announced that both sides had reached a “substantial agreement” on the FTA. This is expected to clear the path toward the formal conclusion of the free trade pact in the coming months, with the signing set for next year. Read more

The Family that never ends

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

@gmail.com AT first glance, Christ's words seem unsettling. "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it." (Lk 8,21) Was Jesus distancing himself from his own Mother? Not at all. He was revealing why Mary is the greatest of all creatures. She is blessed not simply because she gave birth to Christ, but because she heard God's word, welcomed it with complete faith, and lived it to the full. Blood relationship is a gift. Spiritual relationship is greater. Christ throws open the doors of his family to everyone. Membership is not determined by race, status, or ancestry. It depends on one thing: hearing God's word and putting it into practice. That changes everything. Christianity is not simply about belonging to an institution or carrying a religious label. We become members of Christ's family by living in communion with him. The Gospel is meant to shape our thoughts, decisions, work, relationships, and even the smallest details of daily life. We may know the teachings of the faith, attend Mass, and say our prayers, yet still fail to let God's word direct our lives. Hearing without obeying is incomplete. Faith must become life. God's word is not merely information to be learned but a living reality meant to transform us. Every command of God is an invitation to share in his own life. Every circumstance becomes an opportunity to seek and fulfill his will. The consequences are far-reaching. If hearing and doing God's word make us members of Christ's family, then holiness cannot be confined to churches or moments of prayer. It must reach the office, the classroom, the marketplace, the home, the traffic jam, and even our moments of rest. There is no neutral ground in the Christian life. Every situation can and should bring us closer to God if we respond with faith and love. Work is no longer just work. It becomes prayer when offered to God. Family life becomes a school of charity. Daily duties become opportunities for sanctification. Ordinary life is not an obstacle to holiness but its ordinary path. This also transforms how we see other people. If everyone is called to belong to Christ's family, then every person deserves respect, patience, and genuine charity. The difficult colleague, the demanding client, the noisy neighbor, and even those who oppose us are persons loved by God and called to holiness. We cannot claim to belong to Christ while refusing to love those whom he loves. There is another important consequence. Belonging to Christ's family also means sharing in its mission. Every Christian is called to be an apostle—not necessarily through preaching, but through professional competence, cheerful service, integrity, kindness, and authentic friendship. Our ordinary life becomes our apostolate. Mary remains our perfect model. She listened, trusted, and obeyed. She united prayer and daily duty so completely that every ordinary task became an expression of her love for God. That is why she is both the Mother of Christ and his first and greatest disciple. The Gospel leaves us with a simple question: Are we merely hearing God's word, or are we living it? The answer is found not in what we say but in how we work, forgive, serve, suffer, and love. Every ordinary day offers countless opportunities to show that we truly belong to Christ's family.

I am thinking about moving to Germany. What are some things I should know beforehand?

 

Manak Shah

 · 

M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering, Hochschule Furtwangen University (Graduated 2016)

The following points are important to know:

1. Learn some German and then come to Germany. Most of them know English but knowing German will help you a lot.
2. Ask for help whenever you need, Germans are the most friendliest people I have ever met. Most of them will try to talk with you in English, just be patient and explain them your situation.
3. It is a safe and a secure place; currently 3 km away from my house there is a refugee camp from 2 months and nothing has changed, I still walk back home at 2 in night safely.
4. Keep yourself posted about the DB Bahn before landing in Germany, the train strikes takes place sometimes in Germany, so that you don't get stuck on Airport when you land. If you are having multiple connections and when you can't get on your 2nd train due to strike or bad weather you can ask for a Taxi at the DB Bahn office.(This condition is rare though)
5. Check the Weather and have proper provisions in order to face them. It rains regularly, sometimes its windy and sometimes it also snows.
6. Don't pay for your rent in advance from your home country if you are renting an apartment for 6 months or more. There are scams sometimes.
7. Learn to keep things clean. Germans take cleanliness seriously and they like things clean and neat.
8. Don't be loud after 10 pm, during afternoon and on weekends.
9. Avoid talking loudly in Public transport too at anytime.
10. Smile at strangers, most of the Germans will say Hello or Morgen in return.
11. If you are coming as a student then you should keep some cash with you, avoid credit cards because at some places they don't accept them.
12. Get temporary health insurance for 2 or 3 moths in order to take care of health problems if they arise.
13. Most of the Train Stations have WiFi and also some restaurants. So use them whenever you need them.
14. Telephone booth still exists in Germany, so you can make calls wherever you want to in Germany.
15. Keep small coins like 1 or 2 € coins for small stuff. If you don't have them, then generally at Airports they do exchange 10 or 20 € notes with small coins
16. Don't talk about the World War 2 and the things of Hitler in Public and don't do the Nazi salute in public, you may get arrested.

Edit:

Joe Hoy suggested one of the most important points which I forgot.

Be Punctual and be always on time or little bit before time

 

Governing education right

BY CIELITO F. HABITO

SEPTEMBER 22, 2026

Our future as a nation literally hangs on the education of our children and the education system that molds them, and the way things stand, we’re facing a rather murky future indeed. I wrote last week how the 2025 Program for International Student Assessment no longer puts us at the bottom in education outcomes. But we remain among the bottom one-fifth in the world, and up to three out of four Filipino students remain below minimum proficiency levels. On top of that, the already wide learning gap between rich and poor widened even more. Our education crisis persists.

It became evident early on to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) that fixing our flawed education governance is paramount. The heaviest drags on the sector have to do with (1) too centralized, top-down governance; (2) policy directions that change with every new secretary of education (who changes even more frequently than the President); (3) insufficient budget worsened by inefficient and ineffective budget execution; and (4) inadequate appreciation and support for optimizing the role of the private education sector in the overall education system.

I’ve written of the “memocracy” that prevails in the Department of Education (DepEd). Edcom 2 learned that school principals will not (and believe they cannot) decide and take any action, especially on creative, locally adapted learning approaches, methods, and content, unless a memo from above explicitly instructs or permits it. Local government officials with a genuine desire and capacity to improve the learning environment in their schools cannot effect beneficial changes when principals and district supervisors feel constrained by perceived restrictions from above. And yet the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001 (Republic Act No. 9155) promulgated “shared governance” and “school-based management,” explicitly empowering principals to, among others, “introduce new and innovative modes of instruction to achieve higher learning outcomes.” To his credit, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara has enabled wider latitude for school heads and their immediate superiors, so they do not feel straightjacketed by imagined restrictions from above. He is also enabling moves toward decentralization and devolution of education governance functions best left at lower levels. This contrasts directly with the atmosphere that appears to have prevailed under his predecessor, known for whimsical directives that trumped time-tested education practice, apart from the suspicious use of unprecedented confidential funds. Still, “memocracy” is an ingrained culture that will not vanish overnight and will take years of sustained and consistent empowering leadership to overcome.

Those who hear the word of God and act on it

 

By Manila Bulletin Newsroom

Published Sep 22, 2026 12:05 am | Updated Sep 21, 2026 05:22 pm

REFLECTIONS TODAY

Practice makes perfect. This also applies to our life of faith.

Hearing God’s word remains incomplete unless what has been heard is put into practice.

We have to live up to the challenge of acting on the word of God, submitting our will to God’s divine will. God’s divine will includes the raising of God’s divine family on earth.

Today’s Gospel narrates that the mother and brothers of Jesus came because they wished to see Jesus.

Jesus points out that his mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and act on it. With these words, Jesus emphasizes what his mother Mary has actually exemplified—hearing God’s word and acting on it (Lk 1:38).

Upon hearing God’s word, Mary acted on it by saying her “Yes” to God’s divine plan.

Mary cooperated with God, becoming an instrument in God’s salvific act. She is truly a handmaid of the Lord through whom the divine will is done according to God’s word.

How do we put into practice God’s word? How willing are we to cooperate with God’s divine plan? Do we say yes to God’s will?

Gospel • Luke 8:19-21

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.

Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2026,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.

Philippines needs ₱1.1-trillion investments to avert water security risks by 2040—OECD

 

The Philippines needs about ₱1.07 trillion in water and sanitation investments through 2030 as mounting demand, fragmented regulation, as well as financially weak service providers threaten the country’s long-term water security, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Read more

54 years after Martial Law, rallyists push Filipinos to remember

 

54 years after Martial Law, rallyists push Filipinos to remember; Rep. Diokno advocates vigilance to protect democracy

Young rallyists gather at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, to mark the 54th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law. (Photo taken by Shane Quiachon/MANILA BULLETIN)

Fifty-four years after Martial Law was declared, young protesters and those who experienced the period firsthand gathered in Manila on Monday, Sept. 21, calling on Filipinos to remember the lessons of the past while raising concerns over issues facing the country today. Read more

Meanwhile, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, whose life was deeply affected by martial law, asked Filipinos on Monday, Sept. 21, to keep alive the lessons of martial law and remain vigilant in protecting democracy, freedom, and the people’s right to hold government officials accountable. Read more

7 Rules of Happy Life

1. LET IT GO. Never ruin a good day by thinking about a bad yesterday.
2. IGNORE THEM. Don't listen to other people live a life that's empowering to you.
3. GIVE IT TIME. Time heals everything.
4. DON'T COMPARE. The only person you should try to beat is the person you were yesterday.
5. STAY CALM. It's okay to not have everything figured out. Know that in time you'll get there.
6. IT'S ON YOU. Only you are in charge of your happiness.
7. SMILE. Life is short.

MY PRAYERS AND ME

 

By Klaus Döring  

Prayer is how we as Christians draw close to God as well as a necessary condition for us to be moved by the Holy Spirit, and enlightened and illuminated by God. If we genuinely pray to God, and understand the principles and practices of prayer, when we encounter difficulties or dilemmas in our life, we’ll be able to face them in a relaxed way.

“The Power of Prayer” is a 2020 song by Bruce Springsteen from his album Letter to You. It was only released as a radio single, and a promotional video was released on November 23, a month after the release of the album.

The song has a spiritual language. Springsteen was born in a Roman Catholic household, and that turned him off religion, but he didn’t lose his faith. The video features archival footage from his youth and clips of Springsteen and the E Street Band working on the song in the studio. The message of the video is about old friends he’s lost and the optimism of that era, reflected in the footage of Jersey Shore in the summertime during Springsteen’s youth. 

When tragedy strikes, it’s easy to harden our hearts and cry out, “God, why did you let this happen?” Maybe then, we started praying. Before, when everything went smoothly, we would not even think a minute about praying… .

“To be a Christian without prayer, “said Martin Luther, “is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Prayer is the only way of becoming what God wants us to be. This is the reason why Jesus spent many hours praying.

Unquestionable, our needs bring us to a place of prayer. Confronted with danger or tragedies, as I mentioned earlier, we look for God’s help. Difficult times always cause the hearts of men to turn to God into prayer.

Let me ask you: How long has it been since you’ve brought your burdens to God? Since you asked His forgiveness for your shortcomings?

In his very interesting book “People in Prayer”, Dr. John White reminds us that prayer is a divine-human interaction and it is always God who takes the initiative. White writes: “God speaks and we respond. God is always speaking. To hear his voice is not usually a mystical experience. It consists merely of a willingness to pay heed to God who lays a claim to our lives.”

Yes, God always speaks. It is up to us whether we will listen and respond to Him. Many think we are the ones who initiate prayer. But prayers begin and end with God.

There was a time, I wasn’t in the mood to pray any more. It seemed that God didn’t listen to my prayer any more. I didn’t get what I prayed for. Of course, not… ! That’s not the meaning of praying to God. Will all my wishes be granted? Heaven forbid!

Sometimes, after we have prayed, God’s answers may puzzle us. But as time goes by and as events unfold we see God’s purpose in His answers. We might get a larger vision, what HE likes. Not what WE like… .

Think about it for a moment: How does the idea that prayer begins and ends with God affect me now? Do I have the habit of listening to God? How do I respond to Him? How do I usually pray?

I confess that a long time ago I have been trying to persuade God to change other people in my surroundings or circumstances. Nothing changed. Of course not, what a fatal attraction? I got confused because God never granted my requests. Meanwhile I got God’s answers to my prayers. Maybe very simple: I was willing to let God change me… .This is how each one of us should start. Happy endings. Because I prayed according to His will… .

Nowadays, I live a wonderful life in my second and last home, the Philippines. I never regretted moving here for good. I have everything I could ask for. I can do everything I wish to do. Thank you Lord for all the blessings

A most down-to-earth book

 

By Klaus Döring

September 22, 2026

There is no single factual answer to what the most powerful book in the world is, but cultural and historical consensus often points to foundational religious texts like the Holy Bible and the Quran for shaping billions of lives globally.

High-IQ individuals typically read complex nonfiction, advanced popular science, and intellectually challenging literature that exercises their critical thinking skills. Rather than reading specific “IQ-boosting” titles, people with high cognitive abilities generally gravitate toward material that expands their mental models and questions assumptions.

When tragedy strikes, it’s easy to harden our hearts and cry out, “God, why did you let this happen?” Maybe then, we start praying. Before, when everything went smoothly, we would not even think for a minute about praying.

“To be a Christian without prayer,” said Martin Luther, “is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Prayer is the only way of becoming what God wants us to be. This is the reason why Jesus spent many hours praying.

Unquestionably, our needs bring us to a place of prayer. Confronted with danger or tragedies, as I mentioned earlier, we look for God’s help. Difficult times always cause the hearts of men to turn to God in prayer.

Let me ask you: How long has it been since you’ve brought your burdens to God? Since you asked His forgiveness for your shortcomings?

In his very interesting book “People in Prayer,” Dr. John White reminds us that prayer is a divine-human interaction, and it is always God who takes the initiative. White writes: “God speaks and we respond. God is always speaking. To hear his voice is not usually a mystical experience. It consists merely of a willingness to pay heed to God who lays a claim to our lives.”

Yes, God always speaks. It is up to us whether we will listen and respond to Him. Many think we are the ones who initiate prayer. But prayers begin and end with God.

There was a time when I wasn’t in the mood to pray anymore. It seemed that God didn’t listen to my prayers anymore. I didn’t get what I prayed for. Of course not! That’s not the meaning of praying to God. Will all my wishes be granted? Heaven forbid!

Sometimes, after we have prayed, God’s answers may puzzle us. But as time goes by and as events unfold, we see God’s purpose in His answers. We might get a larger vision of what HE likes, not what WE like.

Think about it for a moment: How does the idea that prayer begins and ends with God affect me now? Do I have the habit of listening to God? How do I respond to Him? How do I usually pray?

I confess that a long time ago, I tried to persuade God to change other people in my surroundings or change my circumstances. Nothing changed. Of course not! What a fatal attraction! I got confused because God never granted my requests. Meanwhile, I got God’s answers to my prayers. Maybe it was very simple: I was willing to let God change me. This is how each one of us should start. Happy endings. Because I prayed according to His will.

Talking about prayer, we also have to mention probably the most down-to-earth book in the Bible, which is Proverbs. Its teachings prepare you for the street and the marketplace, not the schoolroom. The book offers the warm advice you get from growing up in a good family. It covers small questions as well as large ones: talking too much, visiting neighbors too often, and being unbearably cheerful too early in the morning. Proverbs simply tells how life works most of the time.

I always love to quote proverbs, which express the truth about life in an elegant, witty kernel. You should not hunt through it for proverbs you might like. You should study the whole book to get its overall point of view. This takes time, for Proverbs covers dozens of subjects in subtle detail.

***

The Daily Guardian is a renascent Iloilo-based publishing firm and media outfit with bureaus across Western Visayas and beyond. Led by Iloilo's most respected journalists, we pledge to tell the Ilonggo story as seen through the various lenses of society so that every side may be told.

BUREAUS:

Kalibo

Boracay

Roxas

Bacolod

Antique

Guimaras

Manila