Be Yourself

 

By Carlos V. Cornejo

I watched an interview of Shay Mitchell, a famous Canadian actress who is half Filipina. She was asked, “What were your struggles with your identity during your high school years?”  She replied she wanted not to be different and so she dyed her hair blond, and wore colored contact lenses because she wanted to look like her Caucasian classmates at that time. In other words, she did not like the way she looked especially with her brown complexion.  But now she is celebrating her exotic appearance that makes her uniquely pretty.   She said she learned her lesson and that you should not try to be someone else you are not, but to instead celebrate your being you.  

Many young people nowadays struggle with their identity too.  My advice is: try to be yourself the soonest. The reasons are many.  First, because pretending who you are not can be quite exhausting.  I know of a young fellow who wanted to portray himself as a funny person in front of his classmates and hides his serious side because he feels like he would be more famous that way.  He confided to me that when he comes home from school, he feels drained.  

Second, because as Jim Carey the comedian-actor has said, you become invisible if your aim in life is mainly to be accepted.  Meaning your true self will disappear if you focus on getting accepted by others.  The paradox is when we try hard to appear original and unique, we end up losing our originality.  However, if we just be ourselves our unique identity comes out.  

It’s part of human nature to yearn to be accepted.  In psychology it’s called the sense of belongingness.  It’s the reason why some guys or gals join fraternities and sororities.  They want a group that accepts them.  But you don’t have to join a club or a fraternity to get accepted.  The key to getting accepted by others is when we practice our values or virtues.  How can anyone not get attracted to someone who is kind, caring, patient, helpful and charitable to others?  As I’ve always said, virtues bring out the best in us, we become more human. And the opposite is also true, vices make us less human and actually more of an animal.  When someone devours food as if there’s no more food tomorrow, doesn’t he or she behave like a pig?  We give birth to our true identity by being good not by being bad.  Just look at the saints, they all have different personalities.  In contrast the tyrants and the oppressors of this world, who terrorize and kill people by the thousands if not millions, are very boring because they pretty much have the same character.  It’s not hard to distinguish between Lenin and Hitler.  

You are who you are as God wanted you to be.  God is satisfied creating you and you should also be.  God is the champion and expert in bringing out our individuality.  God brings out our fullest identity if we obey Him and heed His calling or His plan for us in this life.  God will renew us and introduce us to our real selves.  “Behold I make all things new.”  (Rev. 21:5)

ANOTHER ROLLER COASTER LIFE

Life is literally just like a roller coaster. We go up, we go down. We wait for a time when it all evens out and we can trust that the falls are over. It doesn't come.

Yes, nowadays, for many of us life is indeed an emotional roller coaster. All over the world. Political instability, wars, terror attacks, climate change with extreme natural disasters, questionable global economical situations, illnesses AND diseases... .

Questions about how to proceed and move on and nobody really has a correct answer. How then?

As usual, a day starts with a traffic jam and continues with terrible conditions at any workplace. The crab mentality seems to have become nothing unusual now. In any case: everyone for himself. Each one by himself/herself/itself alone is quite nice, but together...? Do we have a problem? So what! It's not everyone's cup of tea.

Life seems to be nothing, just being ready to riddle one with bullets. Life seems to be nothing, just being broken through indifference and unreliable and immoral behavior. Life seems to be nothing for those people who don't understand cries from the heart of other people around them - cries for their hearts and families, for justice and for many other things.

Life with all its ups and downs, is just a loan, but for many of our fellow creatures it just seems to be nonsense to be littered like a dump. And, if people try to survive, especially during these days, and if they just experienced (once more!) indifference, arrogance, ignorance or cheating by whomever - they will give up! 

I can assure you that every one of us can at first help in prayers and in reading the bible. "Proverbs" is the probably most down-to-earth book in the bible. Its teachings prepare you for daily life, the street and the market place, but not for the schoolroom. The book offers warm pieces of advice you get; practical guidance for making your way on earth. Proverbs covers any kinds of questions you might have right now. Anybody can relate to the generalities of Proverbs, because this book simply tells how life works most of the time.

While writing this piece, I observed that more and more people struggle through life: tired, hopeless, experiencing their rock-bottoms, believing in fallacious "people" around them. Can a roller coaster go on forever?

We all know, though, that roller coaster rides don't last forever. That's because the roller coaster loses energy to other forces as it does loop-the-loops, curves, and other hills along the way. This friction slows the roller coaster gradually, as does the air that you fly through as you ride the ride.

Our emotions can feel like a roller coaster ride when we allow our thoughts and fantasies to get the better of us. When we think negative thoughts, these affect our emotions in powerful and negative ways.

PH jumps to 9th place in global IP office ranking

 

by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat, Manila Bulletin

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) jumped to 9th place in the World Trademark Review’s (WTR) 2021 IP (intellectual property) Office Innovation Ranking from 24th in the previous year, making the Philippines the only developing country to have an IP office in the top 10 out of 60 offices ranked worldwide.

IPOPHL made what the WTR dubbed “an impressive rise,” which also put it ahead of the IP offices of Japan and USA. The office enjoys its current spot along with Spain and Switzerland.

The IP Office Innovation Ranking is an annual project by the WTR, an independent news and information service for trademark professionals worldwide. It surveys how IP offices that offer trademark services are transforming from simple administrative agencies into more technologically advanced organizations. It also takes into account offices’ value-add offerings to help fill the gaps of IP utilization in their jurisdictions.

The report grades IP offices based on: Online Capabilities; Value-Added Propositions; and Public Outreach Efforts.

Under Online Capabilities, the Philippines ranked 11th together with Austria, BENELUX (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) and Japan. IPOPHL’s digital capabilities, particularly website functionality and accessibility, trademark e-filing rating and use of AI functionality, were cited.

In terms of Value-Added Propositions, the Philippines and ten other countries ranked second just behind Singapore. Pushing the country’s ranking were its offering of trademark dispute mediation, IP legal advice for SMEs and liaising with enforcement agencies.

Under Public Outreach Efforts, the Philippines ranked 23rd together with Australia, Canada, Sweden and Turkey. Efforts noted include IPOPHL’s conduct of public trademark events; utilization of social media; attendance to non-IP events; and collaboration with other IP offices.

“The good news delivered by the WTR report demonstrates IPOPHL’s adoption of innovations to cope with the pandemic and ensure we can continue to serve the public,” said IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba.

“Our jump in the WTR ranking is the latest to show IPOPHL’s unwavering commitment to serve the public. Yet we aim to reach higher and help local and foreign stakeholders conveniently and strategically utilize their IP assets as essential tools in business recovery and resilience,” Barba said.

At the start of the local community quarantine, IPOPHL fast-tracked putting in place the tools and protocols to allow services online, such as end-to-end registration, mediation, filing of IP violation complaints and other office actions.

IPOPHL also launched its Business Intelligence v2.0 online platform, which incorporates cutting-edge machine learning / artificial intelligence to improve its big data analytics capabilities.

Aside from its thrust towards digitalization, IPOPHL has also been assisting MSMEs, with the launch of its Juan for the World trademark incentive package and the renewal of the Juana Make a Mark and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Filing Assistance Program last year.

IPOPHL has also been recognized by the World Intellectual Property Organization for its performance as one of only 24 International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA) in the world. In the WIPO 2021 PCT Yearly Review, IPOPHL, alongside a few ISA/IPEAs with a 100 percent score, topped the completion of international search reports and the timeliness of transmittal categories.

With increased digitalization, improved services and a wider reach of IP awareness and education campaigns online, IP filings in the first half of 2021 posted a 20 percent year-on-year growth.

Octa: NCR on ‘severe’ Covid-19 outbreak

MANILA. A police officer checks documents at a checkpoint as the government enforced another round of strict health restrictions to control the rise of Covid-19 cases at the outskirts of Quezon City in Manila, Philippines on Monday, January 10, 2022. (AP)

By: THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunStar Manila

THE National Capital Region (NCR) is experiencing a “severe outbreak” of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) following the increase in average daily attack rate (Adar) to 89.42 percent, Octa fellow Dr. Guido David said on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.

David said NCR’s Adar jumped to 89.42 percent (January 4 to 10) from just 12.71 percent in December 28, 2021 to January 3.

“The Adar increased to 89.41 (percent), which is above the Covidactnow threshold for a severe outbreak (greater than 75 per day per 100K),” David said.

He said the seven-day positivity rate increased to 48 percent, while the reproduction number decreased to 5.22 from 5.65.

He said the decrease in the reproduction number indicates a “slight” downtrend.

“Hospital bed occupancy increased to 57 percent and is likely to exceed 70 percent next week,” said David.

“Overall, NCR is classified as a very high risk,” he added.

The Philippines is experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases believed to be due to the more transmissible Omicron variant.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said the Omicron variant is the new dominant variant in the country, overthrowing the Delta strain.

The Department of Health on Monday, January 10, reported a total of 33,169 fresh Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day tally recorded so far since the pandemic began in 2020.

This has brought the country’s total active cases to 157,526.

The NCR is under Alert Level 3 until January 15.

In a press briefing, acting presidential spokesperson Cabinet secretary Karlo Nograles said the Inter-Agency Task Force will discuss the quarantine status in the country by Thursday, January 13.

“Ito ‘yung binabantayan natin total bed utilization pag pumalo ng 71 percent and higher to 84 percent, dito masasabi na i-alert level 4 na ang Metro Manila,” he said.

“As of the moment, hindi pa po tayo nagb-breach ng threshold na yan and that is why Metro Manila still remains under alert level 3,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)

   

PH, Metro Manila now under critical-risk COVID-19 classification

The country is now under critical-risk case classification as well as Metro Manila and two other regions for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the highest risk assessment, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday night, Jan. 10.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said during the President’s late night public address that the country has a critical-risk two-week growth rate at 3663 percent and an average daily attack rate of 10.47 per 100,000 population. Duque also bared that the country’s current seven-day average daily cases is at 20,481 from Jan. 4 to Jan. 10, an increase of 690 percent. From Dec. 28 to Jan. 3, the seven-day average daily cases was only at 2,593 but this was a jump of 726 percent from Dec. 21 to Dec. 27’s seven-day average daily cases of only 314. Duque said that Metro Manila shared most of the caseload. Meanwhile, the National Capital (NCR) has a critical-risk two-week growth rate at 7172 percent and an average daily attack rate of 51.77 per 100,000 population. Region 4-A as well as Region 3 is also at critical-risk case classification with positive two week growth rates and an average daily attack rate of more than seven per 100,000 population.

Developing the apostolic spirit

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

ONE clear sign that we are truly Christians is when we have an abiding apostolic concern. It can only mean that we are sharing in the very mission of Christ who came here to save all men. And that’s what being an apostle is. We have to realize then that we all have an apostolic vocation. Yes, everyone is called to be apostle in whatever circumstance he may be in.

Have you ever wondered why Christ appeared to just choose his apostles at random? He would just pass by a certain place, and upon seeing someone, he would just say, “Come, follow me.” And wonder of wonders, the person called would just follow him without any question. In fact, it is said that the person called would just leave everything behind (“relictis omnibus”).

I guess the only plausible answer to that question is that Christ had all the right to do so, and the person called also had the duty to respond accordingly, because in the final analysis, all of us are actually meant to be an apostle. That is to say, to be some kind of ambassador, a representative of Christ on earth.

At bottom, the answer is because we are supposed to be like Christ, another Christ, if not Christ himself (“alter Christus,” and even “ipse Christus”). All of us are patterned after Christ, and so we cannot avoid being involved in the mission of Christ which is the salvation of all mankind.

We have to process this basic truth of faith about ourselves, channeling and assimilating it into our very consciousness and instincts, because we often take this essential aspect of our identity for granted. 

Especially now, with all the absorbing and riveting things around, we tend to forget that we should always have an apostolic concern that we ought to pursue with utmost zeal. Without this apostolic concern, we would be distorting if not betraying our human and Christian identity.

We have to be apostolic because that is how we are by our very nature. With our intelligence and will and all our other faculties, powers and endowments we have, we are meant and enabled to enter into relation with others, with everybody else, in fact. 

It should be a relation marked by love, by concern, by desire to help and be helped, to lead and be led to what is our good in all its levels and aspects, until we all reach the ultimate good who is God.

We can always do apostolate in any situation, whether we are working or resting, at home or in the office, doing business or politics, etc. In fact, everything in our life should have an apostolic end. More than that, these situations would lack their real value if they fail to attend to the apostolic possibilities they contain.

Our call to holiness will always involve our duty to be apostolic. Sanctity and apostolate cannot be separated. This is simply because to be with Christ, to be another Christ as we ought to be, we have to be involved in Christ’s continuing work of redemption. Our sanctification cannot be deprived of its apostolic dimension.

We have to realize ever more deeply that to feel this urge to be an apostle and to do apostolate all the time, we have to be vitally united and identified with Christ. We cannot overemphasize the need for us to truly pray and meditate on Christ’s life and teaching so that we can acquire the very mind and heart of Christ, his every desire and spirit.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Philippines records highest COVID-19 cases in a day

The STAR / Walter Bollozos

By Xave Gregorio - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines recorded on Saturday its highest number of COVID-19 cases in a single day since the pandemic began.

The Department of Health reported that the country logged 26,458 new coronavirus infections, surpassing the previous peak during the Delta-driven surge of 26,303 cases, bringing the total number of cases to 2,936,875.

Meanwhile, the single-day death toll hit the highest in over two months, with the DOH reporting 265 new deaths, pushing the total number of fatalities to 52,135.

The DOH also reported 1,656 recoveries, bringing the total number of people who got well from the disease to 2,782,723.

Active cases are at its highest in nearly three months with 102,017 people still dealing with a coronavirus infection, according to the DOH.

As new coronavirus infections surge to its highest ever, which the government parly blamed on the local transmission of the Omicron variant, some experts are calling for the government’s pandemic task force to escalate the COVID-19 alert level over areas with increasing cases, particularly virus epicenter Metro Manila.

But presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion told One News’ “Agenda” that the government’s pandemic task force is not yet considering imposing a sweeping lockdown over Metro Manila.

Concepcion, however, admitted that “there are talks” about placing the capital region under Alert Level 4.

Hospital bed occupancy in Metro Manila is gradually increasing as cases rise, including in the Philippine General Hospital, a COVID-19 referral center, where its intensive care unit for coronavirus patients has hit full capacity.

PGH’s workforce is also stretched thin, with 25% of its healthcare workers having been infected with COVID-19. — with a report from Gaea Katreena Cabico

21,819 new COVID-19 cases, highest since September 2021

Patients and their companions crowd outside Amang Rodriguez Medical Center in Marikina City as they wait to be admitted to the hospital on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 as the Philippines records a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases at the start of the year.

By Walter Bollozos, Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health on Friday logged 21,819 new COVID-19 infections — the highest single-day tally since September 18 last year — pushing the total to 2,910,664 cases.

The Philippines is seeing a sharp increase in new COVID-19 cases in the past week driven by the more infectious Omicron variant as well as increased mobility and laxness in observing safety protocols over the holidays.

The DOH also recorded 129 new fatalities and 973 additional recoveries.

63% cases from Metro Manila

Of the new infections logged on Friday, 63% or 13,634 were traced to Metro Manila. Calabarzon region saw 4,129 new cases (19%) while Central Luzon logged 2,084 (10%) additional infections.

The DOH bulletin also showed that the positivity rate is at 40%, meaning two out of every five people tested were positive for COVID-19.

Utilization rates of Intensive Care Units, isolation and ward beds nationwide also continue to rise.

The DOH bulletin showed that 32% of ICU beds, 35% isolation beds and 31% of ward beds across the country are currently being used. In Metro Manila, where majority of the new cases are traced, 48% of ICU beds, 47% of isolation beds and 59% of ward beds are in use.

The national government on Thursday night placed five more provinces and nine cities — on top of Metro Manila and four nearby provinces — under Alert Level 3 until January 15.

Giving witness to our faith in public

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

CHRIST went to a synagogue, unrolled the scroll, read some passages and proclaimed that what he just read was fulfilled in him upon the audience’s hearing. And the people were amazed at the gracious words Christ spoke. (cfr. Lk 4,14-22)

That gospel episode somehow reminds us that like Christ, we too should proclaim our faith as revealed in the gospel first with our own life, words and deeds, before we can proclaim it to everybody else with a certain eloquence and effectiveness.

We have to realize more deeply that we need to live our faith also in our public life. Our faith is not supposed to be only private and personal, since our life in public is an integral and unavoidable part of our life, and there has to be certain consistency of our faith in our private and public life.

But we have to realize also that some prudence and discretion in this matter is required. And that’s because we have to make sure that our faith avoids getting entangled in temporal affairs and matters of opinion where a plurality of views should be respected. Besides, our faith tells us that we cannot solve all our problems here on earth, and that the final judgment belongs to God and not to us.

We have to expect some differences, conflicts and disagreements among ourselves. We have to expect to be misunderstood and to suffer, even up to death, since Christ already showed us how these possibilities can also happen to us as it happened to him who was the perfect embodiment of the Christian faith.

Christ, for example, did not engage in partisan politics although he knew very well the ugly shenanigans of the leaders of that time. He, of course, proclaimed what was right and wrong, did some corrections and even scoldings, especially among those close to him, the apostles. In all these, what was clear was that everything was done with charity which is an indispensable partner of faith. Without charity, faith cannot fly.

But, yes, we have to proclaim our faith in public, in season and out of season, as St. Paul once said. Especially these days when delicate moral issues need to be resolved very clearly: abortion, confusion about sexual identity and human nature, disconnection of science and technology from morality, lack of respect for freedom of conscience, questionable educational thrusts in schools, etc. 

Faith and religion are always involved in these issues. While these issues have to be considered under many aspects, we have to understand that the considerations of faith and religion, being so basic in us, should be given priority.

It’s in our faith and religion that the fundamental and ultimate meaning of these issues are given. It’s where our ultimate common good is determined. The practical, the legal, the social, cultural and historical aspects have to somehow defer to them.

Contrary to some views, being consistent to one’s faith and religion in public office does not make him a fanatic, a fundamentalist or detached from reality. Quite the opposite is true.

Certainly, they have to do this task properly, knowing which part of the issues are open to opinion and therefore can change, and which are of the nature of the eternal truth, that should not be changed. 

They have to master the art of dialogue, knowing how to argue in defense especially of the uncompromisable part of the issues with forcefulness, flexibility and naturalness. This is where their leadership can truly be shown.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022

 

With 2022 knocking on our doors, there is no better way to remember your special friends and family members than with a thoughtful message or a Happy New Year card. The beginning of a new year is the time to let go of old grudges and old worries and to turn over a new chapter of life. 

With 2021 coming to an end, people are eager to celebrate the start of something new. However, celebrations are likely to be muted this year as the pandemic continues to ride the Omicron wave. Across the country, several restrictions have been put in place to slow the spread of the highly-infectious Omicron variant of Covid-19. 

In such a scenario, going out and partying may not be advisable, but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate the arrival of 2022. 

And yes, let's face it: one reason we welcome 2022 is that we can bid 20121 adieu. We are ready to leave some of its disappointments and tragedies behind. Some things, like natural disasters, accidents or illness, we have no control over. But there are some common blocks to happiness we can kick out of the roadway.

Remember: fear is caused by anxiety. Coveting is caused by comparing. Busyness is caused by over-commitment. Our schedules can be so full that we have no time for God, for ourselves, or anyone else. Must not be!

The foundation of happiness is joy. The basis of joy for followers of Jesus Christ is our salvation, our fellowship with God, our delight in serving Him, and our relationship with other Christians.

So what changes will you make in 2022? Personally speaking, I am giving myself more time for myself and for others. I don't know if you made a list of dreams you wish to fulfill this year. Sure, it could be ordinary and small things: losing 10 kilos, quitting smoking... . Maybe you set some even seemingly impossible dreams for yourself.

Again: the foundation of happiness is joy. Joy is a gift from the lord, as Psalm 126:3 says. A gift from the Lord, which we often rob from ourselves. Let's take it back in 2022. It will help us to have a HAPPY NEW YEAR  all year long.