ABS-CBN, GMA Network sign historic deal

(Top row from left) Gilberto R. Duavit Jr., Felipe S. Yalong, Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes, Jose Mari R. Abacan. (Bottom row from left) ABS-CBN’s Mark Lopez, Carlo L. Katigbak, Cory V. Vidanes, Ricardo B. Tan Jr., and Olivia Lamasan

by Stephanie Bernardino, Manila Bulletin

GMA Network hosted a historic contract signing with ABS-CBN to license some of Star Cinema’s most popular and well-loved movies.

The news was confirmed by the two media giants via simultaneous reports on “TV Patrol” and “24 Oras” on April 5.

Present during the virtual event were GMA Network President and Chief Operating Officer Gilberto R. Duavit Jr.; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Felipe S. Yalong; GMA Network Films, Inc. President and Programming Consultant to the Chairman and CEO Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes; First Vice President for Program Management Department Jose Mari R. Abacan; Vice President for Corporate Affairs and Communications Angel Javier-Cruz; Assistant Vice President For Program Management Department Mitzi Garcia; and Assistant Vice President for Corporate Communications Jojo Aquio.

In attendance from ABS-CBN were Chairman Mark Lopez; President and Chief Executive Officer Carlo L. Katigbak; Chief Operating Officer for Broadcast Cory V. Vidanes; Group Chief Financial Officer Ricardo B. Tan, Jr.; Managing Director of ABS-CBN Films Productions Olivia Lamasan; Head of International Sales and Distribution Pia B. Laurel; Vice President of Corporate Communications Kane Errol C. Choa; PR Director Christelle Belmonte; and PR Manager Tonichi Tataro.

“Every storyteller’s dream is to have as many people as possible experience their creations. And now, because of the kindness of our friends at GMA, we have the special opportunity to bring our Kapamilya stories to a new audience. We hope the Kapuso find joy and inspiration in viewing our Star Cinema movies, and we also look forward to a new era of friendship and cooperation within our small industry,” said Katigbak.

Duavit said: “Because the significance of our partnership today ushers in the possibility of a far broader set of conversations, potential partnership, and cooperation that will have the benefit not only neutrally to GMA and ABS-CBN but as importantly, if not, perhaps, more importantly to the benefit of the public we both serve, the Filipino viewer. Looking forward since we have, as they say, broken the ice. There’s great optimism that these conversations will continue or start and continue, and we look forward to the possibility of this type of opportunity again, moving forward.”

Some of the notable movies that will air on GMA-7 include “Alone/Together,” “How to Be Yours,” “Till My Heartaches End,” “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank,” “Ang Cute ng Ina Mo!,” “It Takes a Man and a Woman,” “Just The Way You Are,” “Fantastica,” “Can We Still Be Friends?,” “Finally Found Someone,” “No Other Woman,” “Won’t Last A Day Without You,” “Must Be…Love,” “The Panti Sisters,” “Isa Pa With Feelings,” “James & Pat & Dave,” “Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay,” “Feng Shui,” “Suddenly It’s Magic,” and “I Love You, Hater.”

Prior, GMA teased about the historic collaboration.

“Ang mga pelikulang napapanuod sa GMA, madadagdagan. Dahil ang dating impossible, mangyayari. Abangan ngayong Abril,” said the voice-over, while the logos of GMA Pictures, Regal Entertainment, Viva Films, and OctoArts Films were being flashed on screen. “The START of new age of television,” this text also appeared,  emphasizing the word “STAR.”

This is not the first time that GMA and ABS-CBN have joined forces.

In 2020, Kapamilya star Kathryn Bernardo worked with Kapuso actor Alden Richards on the highest-grossing Filipino film “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina and produced by Star Cinema.

𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 “𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄" 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐲

Amidst increasing incidents of abuses and exploitation in the online world, the provincial government of Davao de Oro called for immediate prevention and response activities to safeguard the people on the internet by providing an environment conducive to the free and healthy flow of information.

The online world brought a negative impact on the lives of people where fake news, identity theft or scams, cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, and harassment are rampant on any social media platform. With this, the PLGU-Davao de Oro per Executive Order No. 0043.2021 “An order creating the Safe Space Online initiative” creates advocacy for the people to promote the responsible use of social media and provide an online space that is in accordance with allowed community policy rules and regulations. 

This advocacy is inspired by R.A 11313 also known as the “Safe Space Act” which would help each individual to be responsible for the safety use of the internet especially on filtering information and what should we take in. 

Moreover,  this serves as a network of support targeted against the vulnerable such as women and other sexual minorities, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, the elderly, and others, so that they will be guided with the right information, combat foul, discriminatory, and malicious language and feel that they are far from any physical and emotional abuses. 

Furthermore, this assures that teachers, parents, students, the youth, and the entire public have access to the free content online along with the Prevention, Protection, and Empowerment principles.  “Digital Parenting” is also provided so that parents and teachers give proper guidance, support, and control over what the child sees or does on the internet or social media. Also, the importance of “Data Privacy” is highlighted so that each individual will be responsible for controlling his or her personal information over where it is used on the internet. 

On April 1, 2022, the “Safe Space Online Advocacy” (SSO) in Davao De Oro was officially launched via Zoom and Serbisyo Oro Mismo (SOM) neteleradyo. During the launching, some of the attendees are DepEd teachers and students represented by Dr. Hilda Opeña, Education Program Supervisor in English-DepEd DDO Division, State Colleges and Universities students, Municipal Women Council Presidents in DDO headed by  Sholai Lim, Chairperson-Provincial Women Development Council, Michael L. Uy, Information Center Manager-PIA Davao de Oro, Kim Khael Calabio, Supreme Students Government Provincial President, and Atty. Niel John Villarico, PG Department Head-Provincial Legal Office. 

Guest Speaker Renee Boy Binondo, Regional Coordinator-Council for the Welfare of Children Region XI gave his insight on the use of social media platforms. “We recognized that one out of three internet users are under 18 years old but also we would like to associate with this that more women are using this internet gadget and in perspective also, unsang klaseng pag gamit sa mga kababainhan ug kabataan ug kalalakihan sa pag access aning internet, then rapidly increasing internet penetration. Estimated that over 120 million na mga kabataan naga adtu nagyud online especially that explains our two years lockdown pandemic ug distance learning offered by the Department of Education. Then, the digital world provides critical opportunities to learn, connect, and play, but also amplifies and creates risk. I’ve heard gyud na maayu ang digital world, maayu ang mga instruments but also dunay disadvantages if we don’t put mechanisms and systems that would protect the people” Binondo said.

Hence, this advocacy was created by the task group led by Fe F. Maestre, PAO-Information Division Supervisor, with its members Joyzel R.  Odi, PAO-Information Technology, and Communication Development Office, Josephine M. Frasco, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer, Atty. Niel John R. Villarico, Provincial Legal Officer, Zenith Maceda, PGO-Women Development Program , Edu C. Macabatas , PGO-Bayanihan para sa Karunungan (BPSK) , Allin Joy M. Camile and  Arianne Dacalos from Provincial Governor’s Office. (Jaynus Fernandez PAO-IPRD)

When the truth would really set us free

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

WE need to be clear about this. The truth that would really set us free is when we identify ourselves with Christ who, while teaching what is good and evil, eventually bore all the sins of men for our salvation. More than just proclaiming the truth in terms of what is right and wrong, he offered mercy to all, including those who crucified him. That is the ultimate truth.

All this truth of our faith that relates truth to Christ is encapsulated in Christ’s words: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

To be sure, truth is not only a matter of facts and data, much less, the possibility and the fear that something that is speculative would happen in the future. The truth that would really set us free is when like Christ, we are willing to suffer even as we proclaim always with charity what is right and wrong, what is good and evil. 

In this life, to be in the truth and enjoy authentic freedom, we have to expect suffering. The idea of truth and freedom that excludes suffering here on earth is neither the truth and the freedom that Christ revealed to us.

We need to understand this truth of our faith well, because nowadays it is very easy to be confused about where to find freedom and how freedom should be. That’s because all sorts of ideas promoted by all kinds of ideologies and spread by powerful groups have been flooding the world.

Nowadays, freedom is mainly understood as the power to do whatever a person or a group would like to do. It is purely a subjective freedom, based only on one’s conception of it or on the consensus of a certain group.

There is also the erroneous idea that freedom is anything that gives one some pleasure, some convenience, some advantage, etc. Again it is an idea of freedom that is self-oriented, not other-oriented which is how it should be, since freedom is a matter of loving, and loving is self-giving, not self-serving.

Because of these confusing if not erroneous ideas, the sacrifices involved in loving the way Christ has loved us—Christ who is the standard of love and freedom—turn off many people who cannot accept the freedom offered to us by Christ. After all, Christ himself said that if we want to follow him, we have to deny ourselves and carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24)  

We need to promote the real freedom that is offered to us by Christ. We have to preach about it, in season and out of season, and explain it thoroughly, using arguments that are adapted to the different mentalities and cultures of the people.

Our problem in this regard is usually that of being ineffective in our preaching because we use complex or subtle arguments, examples, etc., that are above people’s head. This is not to mention the fact that many times people find inconsistency in what we preach and in what we do. We do not walk the talk.

If only we manage to convince people, using both human and supernatural means, that we can actually get in contact with Christ who is always alive and is in touch with us, then we can see this authentic freedom lived out all over the place.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Entry of poultry products strictly monitored in Davao City amid bird flu outbreak

by Antonio Colina, Manila Bulletin

DAVAO CITY — The City Government of Davao City has intensified efforts to monitor the entry of poultry products following the outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI) H5N1 in some provinces of Luzon and Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, an official said.

Dr. Cerelyn Pinili, head of the City Veterinary Office, said that the security personnel here have been directed to screen the poultry products upon entry at checkpoints to check if these are not transported from areas with reported bird flu outbreaks.

She said the city has put up more veterinary checkpoints in Lasang, Calinan, Marilog, and Sirawan in Toril.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) confirmed an outbreak of bird flu in the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, and Camarines Sur and reported confirmed cases in Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Tarlac, and Benguet.

 

According to DA, the “possible sources of infection and spread of the virus in those areas are the presence of migratory or resident wild birds, late or non-reporting of suspect cases (sick/dying birds), and illegal movement of infected birds from H5N1 infected areas as per disease investigation conducted by veterinary authorities.”

Pinili said the transport of live birds coming from these areas has been banned in pursuance of DA’s Memorandum Circular No. 6 Series of 2022 released on Tuesday, which prescribes the “Guidelines on the movement of domestic and captured wild birds and poultry products and by-products during the avian influenza outbreak.”

According to the DA, the policy regulates the movement of ducks, quails, chicken, and other poultry commodities in affected areas, particularly those coming from within the one-kilometer (km) quarantine area.

She assured local consumers that the city remains free from bird flu.

“Based on our monitoring, we have no reported case yet. We have obtained several samples from our forms and results tested negative,” she said.

But Pinili encouraged the poultry raisers to immediately report to authorities any reported deaths of poultry caused by flu to contain the spread of infection.

She said the local government’s surveillance has been focused on Talomo and Tugbok Districts where the city’s big commercial poultry farms are situated.

 

In a press release issued by the City Government of Davao, Pinili said that the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) reported an outbreak of bird flu last March 10 in nearby Tacurong in Soccsksargen wherein 1,000 ducks had been culled.

Oil firms announce rollbacks for 2nd time this year

Angelica Y. Yang - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — Consumers can expect lower fuel prices this week amid hopes of resolving fighting prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other developments affecting the global oil market, where the Philippines mainly gets its supply from.

This marks the second time this year that fuel prices went down. 

On Monday, two oil firms announced price rollbacks in their fuel products. In an advisory, Seaoil Philippines announced a price reduction for gas by P2.30 per liter, diesel by P1.85 per liter and kerosene at P1.65 per liter, effective Tuesday. 

Another oil company Cleanfuel announced similar adjustments for its diesel and gas products. 

"One reason for the rollback is the positive feedback that the negotiator reported on the possible resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict," Rodela Romero, assistant secretary of the Department of Energy's Oil Industry Management Bureau told Philstar.com in an online exchange on Monday. 

She explained that sentiments and speculations trigger oil price adjustments. 

Romero noted three more reasons for the fuel price decrease this week. These are:

A US move to consider releasing a total of 180 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months by May.

 The lockdown in Shanghai in China amid the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Russia's announcement to scale down its military operations in Ukraine.

Gas, diesel and kerosene prices in the Philippines have been increasing since the start of the year due to tight supply, which was partly worsened by the invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this year, the Philippine government announced that it will double its fuel subsidies to P6.1 billion for affected groups such as the transportation and agricultural sectors in a bid to help them cushion the impacts of the oil price hikes. 

Based on data collected from the announcements of oil firms since the start of the year, the price adjustments of oil products are as follows: P16 per liter for gasoline, P26 per liter for diesel and P24.1 per liter for kerosene. 

Over 176,000 foreign tourist arrivals in PH since February

MANILA. Tourists from Germany carry their bags as they arrive at Manila's International Airport, Philippines on Thursday, February 10, 2022. (AP)

By: THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunSTAR

OVER 176,000 tourists from abroad arrived in the Philippines after it opened its borders to foreign travelers amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said on Monday, April 4, 2022.

Puyat said from February 10 to April 2, there were a total of 176,857 tourist arrivals from both non-visa and visa-required countries.

She said majority of the tourists were from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and South Korea.

On February 10, the National Government allowed the entry of tourists from non-visa countries in the country, while the acceptance of travelers from visa-required countries started on April 1.

This aims to boost the recovery of the country’s tourism sector, which has been in drought due to strict border controls brought about by the Covid-19 crisis.

Foreign travelers should be fully vaccinated except for children while they are also required to present a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test result taken 48 hours prior to their trip, or a negative laboratory-based antigen result taken 24 hours before departure.

Puyat said they are elated by the continuous arrival of foreign tourists, as well as domestic travelers going on a trip amid the easing of quarantine restrictions in the country.

She said almost all of the resorts and hotels in tourist destinations nationwide were already fully booked for the upcoming Holy Week vacation.

Puyat reminded the public, however, to strictly adhere to minimum health protocols while having fun during their vacation to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

She urged individuals to get fully vaccinated and get their booster doses before going on a vacation to ensure their protection against severe and critical illness brought about by the virus.

The Department of Health recorded on Sunday, April 3, 690 additional Covid-19 cases, bringing the total tally to 3,679,629.

So far, over 65 million individuals have been fully vaccinated in the country, while more than 64 million have received the first dose a

Is rice dangerous for a kidney stone patient?

 

Lucia Garcia

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My name is Lucia Garcia, 36 years old. I was graduated from the Pritzker School of Medicine at University of Chicago, my major is clinical medicine. I have been working at Hospitals. I am fully committed to helping people take control of their health and realize their potential as human beings. As a doctor, my motto is “Knowledge not shared is wasted”.

Rice is the staple food for more than half of the world's population, including countless people with kidney stones, but they still eat rice every day.

Rice is an extremely nutrient-rich food, and rice has nothing to do with kidney stones.

Kidney stones are preventable and treatable, and the easiest way to prevent and treat kidney stones is to eat the right foods.

Studies have shown that approximately 70% to 80% of stones are calcium oxalate stones.

The accumulation of oxalic acid in the body is the main factor leading to kidney stones.

In addition, excessive intake of high-sugar, high-protein and high-purine foods is also linked to kidney stones.

Kidney stone patients should eat less foods high in oxalic acid, such as spinach, beans, carrots, mushrooms, amaranth, coriander, celery, grapes, oranges, strawberries and so on.

It is recommended that patients with kidney stones often eat some black fungus. Black fungus contains alkaloids and various minerals, which can produce a strong chemical reaction to kidney stones, dissolve the stones, shrink them and excrete them from the body.

Patients with kidney stones also are advised to drink plenty of water. Studies have shown that a 50% increase in urine output can reduce the incidence of kidney stones by 85%.

Why is God so merciful?

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

THE simple answer is that because he loves us. His love does not alter even if we go against him. He will do everything to bring us back to him. He will offer forgiveness. He will bear with us the consequences of our sins. And yes, he not only is willing to be like us in everything except sin, but also to die for our sins.

This mercy of God is shown in a graphic way in that story of the woman caught in adultery. (Jn 8,1-11) That woman, all covered with shame, did not even explicitly say she was sorry, but Christ did not condemn her. He just told her to sin no more.

We have to realize that mercy is the ultimate expression of love, and God is love. Love is the very essence of his being which, as we all know, is an eternal being, that is, no beginning and no end. Love can never be measured. It has the character of infinity, no borders, no limits, no walls.

And since we are supposed to be his image and likeness, then we have to realize also that we have to love and be merciful the way God loves and is merciful to everyone. “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful,” Christ said. (Lk 6,36) Indeed, how God is should also be how we ought to be. It’s a tremendous goal we have to pursue, but God has actually given us everything so we can reach that goal, in spite of our limitations.

We should just learn how to be forgiving and understanding of others. For this, we should be willing to make sacrifices for others, since to have this God-like attitude of mercy, we cannot help but, like Christ, be willing to suffer for the others. And this is not being unfair with our own selves, inflicting severe injustice on our own selves. We have to realize that given the fact that we are all brothers and sisters, and children of God, object of the constant love of God, mercy becomes the fullness of justice.

If Christ can offer forgiveness to those who crucified him—and there can be no worse evil than killing Christ who is God—why do we find it hard to offer forgiveness to others?

It is presumed that all of us sin one way or another. That’s why St. John said: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 Jn 1,8) I am sure that our personal experience can bear that out easily.

No matter how saintly we try ourselves to be, sin always manages to come in because of our wounded humanity and the many temptations within and around us. As St. John said, we have to contend with three main enemies: our own wounded flesh, the devil and the world corrupted by sin.

The awareness of this truth is not meant to depress us but rather to keep us humble and always feeling in need of God. We should be wary when we would just depend solely on our own resources to tackle this predicament. We need God!

The awareness of this truth should also help us to develop the attitude to forgive one another as quickly as possible, since that is the only way we can be forgiven. When we find it hard to forgive others, it is a clear sign that we are full of ourselves, are self-righteous, proud and vain. It is a clear sign that we are not yet with Christ.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND?

“Money makes the world go round; however, happiness greases the axle.

Without this lubricant, life will seize.”

― Paul Van Der Merwe

The lyrics of 'Money makes the world go round' may be somewhat repetitive but ... that the speed with which the money went around would affect the economy.

"People Make the World Go Round" is a song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, originally recorded by The Stylistics and released in 1972 through Avco Records as the final single from their self-titled debut studio album, The Stylistics (1971). It reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, #25 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #6 on the Soul Singles chart in the United States.

Some people have money to burn! Every time I observe them, I feel that their money is going down their drain. Yes, "money talks". The more money you have, the more you might become avaricious. Every time we have to dig deeper into our pockets, we might long to be like those people, who don't see the difference between a 500 or 1,000 bill.

I am really not rich! I also wouldn't hesitate to say that I would like to be so! Being rich means having wealth! Wealth is abundance, opulence and affluence. Affluences become quickly influenced. Dyed-in-the-wool millionaires or even multi-millionaires lose their view of reality many times. They can't even see the horizon, which could be the demarcation of their real estate. They don't even recognize the wonderful flowers growing and blooming in their gardens.

Money calms down! Sure. No doubts at all! We all need an income to survive for our daily needs - and, maybe, a little bit more. Many of us struggle through life and work like slaves for a pitiful daily minimum wage. If you're rich, you might be on the top. But believe me, once you are on top, you will have some unwelcome, mostly acceptable companions such as loneliness, so-called friends (!), parasites and free-loaders.

These companions will let you scream in pain, because you will start missing things you have expected from them: real friendship, love, care, comprehension, understanding, sympathy, appreciation... .Remember such things? Miss such things?

Yes, money can give you a wonderful sleep, and you might stay in one of the most luxurious beds - but being awake, while your poorest neighbor sleeps better and more peacefully on the floor. There are many sayings about money. I like this one: Money can buy books but not brains. You might study a lot and get a lot of experiences; it's just a pity, if you don't use them at the right time for the right people in your surroundings.

Money can buy food but no appetite. Who reaps the benefits of it? A full to overflowing store room will never be satisfying, if sour free-loaders join your table and push away your real friends.

Our last earthly dress has no more pockets. The remembrance of how we acted and lived together with our fellow creatures will remain forever. With money, we might be able to let the devil dance. But, money alone doesn't make us happy. Money kills more people and friendships than a cudgel.

The more money, the more problems.

The more money, the more we have to pay and the higher our bills become... .

Money makes the world go round, the world goes round ... .

LPG prices up by P3.25-P3.27/kg

by Myrna M. Velasco, Manila Bulletin

Household budget for cooking fuel will be stretched anew this April as the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products have been increased by P3.25 per kilogram to P3.27 per kg or aggregate P35.75 to P35.97 for the standard 11-kilogram cylinder.

The LPG price hike took effect Friday, April 1 until end this month, based on the pricing parameter being enforced in the industry.

As of this writing, LPG firms that already adjusted their prices had been Petron Corporation for its Gasul and Fiesta LPG; Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. for its Super LPG; and Solane LPG.

Of the three players, Solane implemented the biggest hike of P3.27 per kilogram, while Petron and Phoenix LPG products raised their prices by P3.25 per kg.

Additionally, Petron announced P1.81 per liter hike on its autoLPG while Phoenix Petroleum imposed a slightly leaner increase of P1.80 per liter for that alternative fuel for the transport sector.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has attributed the uptick in international contract prices that had been primarily benchmarked with Saudi Aramco, the pricing reference for Asian markets.

Prior to this round of cost adjustment, the pick-up price of LPG products in Metro Manila retail outlets had been at P880.45 to P1,140 per tank, according to the monitoring report of the energy department.

In April 2021, LPG prices ranged from P605 to P784 per cylinder as against this month’s prices of P995 to P1,175 or roughly P300 to P400 higher in just a span of one year.

Costlier LPG will further erode the purchasing power of Filipino consumers, who in several months had also been saddled with series of astronomical upswings at the pumps.

For next week, however, the general expectation will be rollback for gasoline and diesel prices.