HAPPY EASTER!

To die is to live! We are always shocked when in the middle of our surroundings, somebody passes away. Our usual questions are: "Why die so young? Why he, why she? A natural reaction, indeed.

When Jesus finally gave up His spirit on the cross after three hours of bitter agony, the Pharisees said: "Finally, that impostor has gone. He deserved to die that kind of death!"

Let's remember: After the waving of the tree branches by the Jewish crowd and Hosannas of Palm Sunday, the arrest of Jesus betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Olives, the imprisonment and humiliation of Holy Thursday night, the carrying of the cross, crucifixion, and death at Good Friday, - Jesus Christ rose from the tomb on Easter Sunday - glorious and will never and die again!

For Jesus, dying was not the end of everything. It was the beginning of a new life. Symbolically we see the Easter Resurrection of our Lord depicted in various ways, which always point to life after death. Especially in parts of the world where deep winter lets all plants and trees "sleep" for a couple of months, people enjoy the spirit of the new shoots that come out of a big trunk of a tree.

Eggs were usually symbols used in springtime long before Christianity came into existence. The eggs symbolize life, which its causing it to grow. Since Easter usually occurs at spring time (March or April), which is already summer in the Philippines, this egg-symbol was still in use among the pagans of early times when Christian were celebrating Easter.

A blessed Easter to all of you, my dear readers. Walk this day with great confidence in your heart, mind and soul.

And, enjoy your egg hunting with your loved ones...!

Python adding threats to endangered Philippine eagle

by Antonio Colina IV, Manila Bulletin

DAVAO CITY – Animal keepers at the Philippine Eagle Center have set up traps to catch a reticulated python that’s preying on animals inside their enclosure in Barangay Malagos, Baguio District in Davao City.

Espoir at three months (Photo courtesy of Philippine Eagle Foundation)

This is after a juvenile Philippine eagle named ‘Espoir’ was found dead inside its enclosure at around 12:13 a.m. last April 5. Espoir, a French word for “Hope,” was an offspring of eagle parents Ariela and MVP Matatag.

Last month, a Philippine subsidiary of global animal health company, Ceva Santé Animale, adopted the chick. The Philippine Eagle Foundation and Ceva signed a Memorandum of Agreement on the adoption of Espoir where the company pledged to provide an annual support of P200,000 to cover the eaglet’s food, keeper care, veterinary care, and shelter maintenance.

 

The foundation said the animal keepers immediately took measures to capture the snake, a species classified as a hazard under the center’s biosecurity measures. Consequently, pythons are adding threats to the Philippine eagle which is listed as critically endangered owing to loss of habitat.

“Reticulated pythons are natural resident species inside the Philippine Eagle Center and the surrounding watershed area,” it said.

It added that traps have been set up around the center and search parties mobilized at night to capture the snake.

“Preventive measures are in place to ensure enclosures for animals are safe against hazards and incidents of this nature. The walls of the enclosure were snake proofed with an added layer of ½ inch wire mesh on top of the original cyclone wire with hole size of 2 by 2 inches,” it said.

PEF said that the center suspected that the possible entry points could be the feeding chute, made of a PVC pipe where food is dropped, or the screen ceiling.

PEF said the enclosure of the eaglet is adjacent to an adult Philippine eagle from the wild that can easily catch a snake but “unfortunately for fledglings, they are still vulnerable to predation.”

“They are classified as hazards under the PEC’s biosecurity measures. As such, snake proofing was done on the enclosures of the eaglet and other animals that a snake can prey on,” it said.

 

Dr. Jayson Ibañez, the foundation’s director of research and conservation, said the snake has not yet been captured.

He said the center has already enlisted two Lumad forest guards for help to catch the snake.

“Nagpatulong kami sa aming IP forest guards who are good at trapping wildlife. Two IP forest guards ang nakaduty for trapping ngayon with our own team (Two IP forest guards are on duty for trapping with our team),” he said.

MAKE MUSIC - NOT WAR!

Music - from the Greek "mousikos" and pertaining to one of the nine muses in the Greek mythology - is the art of combining sounds or sequences of notes into harmonious patterns hopefully playing to ears and satisfying to our emotions. An insipid and dry explanation - I must confess. 

Can you, my dear reader, imagine a life without music? For me, it would be such a monotonous and boring world. I don't think only about the musical "mayfly" or the so-called "musical nine days wonder". Music doesn't consists of Groove or Techno alone. I am not against these or other music trends, because each generation has its own music development. But we have greater riches of different kinds of music by going back to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance (which means 'rebirth'), the Baroque Age, the Classical Period, and the Romantic Era up to 1900. The Western tradition of music has its origins in the chant tradition of the Early Christian Era.

Everybody can develop his  or her own passion of music. When I was four or so, I grew up already with those kinds of music. I asked my parents voluntary if I could get piano lessons. It was easy for us because the church organist at that time was our neighbor and a proud owner of a grand piano. I listened my first organ recital composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. My passion of music was in stage of development that made it possible for me to join the school band. The Beatles - and Rolling Stones later - era followed - much to the disappointment of my parents and grandparents, who still dreamed of their music, such as Jazz and Swing back to the Golden Twenties.

Everybody has his or her own music philosophy. I learned from my dentist friend in Los Angeles, that her patients lose their state of anxiety by listening soft background music during having their teeth attended to. A gynecologist explainEd, that if a pregnant woman mostly listens to classical music, her child might hear, learn, find out and experience another (better?) development then other children. 

The church reformator Martin Luther (1483-1546) explained it in this way: "Many times, when I was in terrible darkness, I prayed - and I listened music, which delivered and refreshed me!" The German poet and composer E. T. A. Hoffmann said 1801: "If you start simply being speechless, music will take over!" And Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), without doubt one of the true and just awesome Western composers said: "Music is utmost revelation then an wisdom and philosophy!" 

"I feel like flying after entering a church, praying and listening the music of heaven!" the German poet Friedrich Schiller (1759-1809) philosophized about music in his drama "Maria Stuart".

A simple melody can make feel us happy, sentimental, smiling or crying, aggressive or relaxed. A form of light entertainment in which songs, dialogue, dance, and humor are combined with a not too serious plot is as much as important then a dramatic opera or the single musician or street singer, not being a man of culture, but entertaining us people.

Let's develop our own passion of music, so that we might see the great resources for our daily life, if we accept, that music plays a rule in it. Make music - not war!

What is one food you'll never eat in the Philippines?

 

Paolo Emmanuel

Born and raised in the Philippines

Woodworms, also known as “Tamilok” by the locals in Palawan island. They serve it raw with lots of vinegar.

As the name implies, they love chewing on wood, LOTS of wood. It wasn’t long before the locals decided to experiment on the slimy fuckers and found out that they are edible——-Thus, the delicacy was born!

cringe

Anyway, I was at Palawan last month and a nice lady approached me and asked me if I wanted to try the local delicacy. She showed me what it looked like…and to be honest, it didn’t look bad at all.

The presentation was beautiful! If I didn’t know what it was.. I would’ve ate it without second thoughts.

So, I decided to give it a try, even though my old man warned me. But, I just shrugged him off and YOLO’ed the thing.

Bear Grylls would be proud!

The taste wasn’t awful, it somehow reminded me of oysters. The spicy vinegar really helped.

BUT….

After a few hours of ingesting the worms.. I felt sick! It was like a warzone in my stomach. I then had to endure the agonizing pain for an hour because I was on a scheduled tour with other people.

After the tour was over, I literally ran to the nearest restroom and finally relieved myself! *Phew*

Who would’ve known that a bunch of worms could cause so much trouble? So, I made a vow to myself that I’m never gonna touch those again. EVER!

A taste of Twitter’s Tinola War

Chicken Tinola

Last year, Twitter cooked up a storm when Tinola hit the trending topic. A lot of people went around slandering the famous Pinoy dish. Some netizens even posted negative tweets saying stuff like ”Tinola is only chicken boiled in water” or how they “Haven’t had a single Tinola dish that’s actually delicious.” Of course, a hot take like this on Twitter did not go unnoticed. Netizens had so much to say about it, one of the Twitter threads gained over 15.6K Likes. Not only that, several social pages on Facebook joined in on the conversation! Facebook posts from Kabalastugan and FTTM garnered more than 3K shares.

Netizens were quick to call out the slanderers and defended the underrated Pinoy dish. 

Shots were fired and Tinola defenders fought back hard.

A lot of users also pointed out the deep connection they have with the dish ever since they were kids.

And when you wake up with a killer hangover from a night of drinks and partying, Tinola is here to save the day.

However, what really made Tinola so dear to a lot of Filipinos is its simple ingredients and recipe. For most Pinoys, Tinola is the first-ever dish they learned how to cook at home. It’s usually tied to a heartwarming memory of their parents or grandparents teaching them their ways to cook it. No matter the difference in experiences, one thing they share in common is getting in on the secret to a flavorful bowl of love. A surefire way to level up Tinola– Knorr Chicken Cubes.

No joke, Tinola is such a comfort food! Plus it is so easy to do plus the taste is definitely ! https://t.co/OjAiA1ZSTd

— Trish Denise (@trishramos) February 28, 2022

No matter how you cook your Tinola–with papaya or sayote–I think we can all agree that every spoonful of this hearty dish feels like a warm hug from our childhood. So make it even more special and flavorful with Knorr Chicken Cubes! 

Davao de Oro under state of calamity

RALPH LAWRENCE G. LLEMIT, SunStar Davao

THE entire province of Davao de Oro was declared under state of calamity on Friday, April 8, 2022, due to the recent heavy rains resulting in many families that were evacuated.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan, headed by Vice Governor Maricar Zamora, signed Resolution 1813-2022, declaring the entire province under state of calamity.

This is upon the recommendation of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council headed by Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy.

According to the resolution, the state of calamity in the province was due to the low pressure area (LPA), a weather disturbance that caused continuous heavy to torrential rains on April 5 and 6.

The LPA had affected several municipalities in the province, resulting in the suspension of classes and work, and the pre-emptive and forced evacuation activities among residents.

Based on the initial rapid damage assessment and needs analysis conducted by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), several houses, infrastructures, livelihoods, crops and other agricultural products were damaged, along with the powerlines.

"In order to facilitate expedient delivery of services to the affected individuals and/or communities in our Province, a declaration of State of Calamity is deemed necessary," the resolution states.

In a situation report provided by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, as of April 5, a total of 896 families were affected from reports received in Monkayo, Compostela, New Bataan, Mawab, while 353 internally displaced families were reported in Monkayo and Mawab. Meanwhile, two persons were reportedly missing.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Heavy Rainfall Warning No. 3 issued at 8:10 p.m. on Tuesday evening, Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental were placed under Red Warning Level due to the continuous rising of water levels which possible severe flooding in low lying areas and landslides in mountainous areas.

Possibility of LPA developing into tropical depression not ruled out — PAGASA

The LPA was seen 375 kilometers east of Surigao City, PAGASA said in an advisory issued at 11 a.m.

MANILA, Philippines — State weather bureau PAGASA said Friday it is not ruling out the possibility of a low pressure area off Mindanao becoming a tropical depression.

The LPA was seen 375 kilometers east of Surigao City, PAGASA said in an advisory issued at 11 a.m.

“The development of this LPA into a tropical depression is not ruled out. It is embedded along the Intertropical Convergence Zone affecting Visayas and Mindanao,” it said.

According to PAGASA, the weather disturbance will dump moderate to heavy rains over Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Eastern Visayas, Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Norte, northern portion of Surigao del Sur, and Dinagat Islands in the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, light to moderate with at times heavy rains will be experienced over the southern portion of Quezon province, Romblon, Marinduque, and the rest of Bicol region, Visayas and Mindanao.

“Under these conditions, scattered flooding and rain-induced landslides are likely, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps and in areas with significant antecedent rainfall,” PAGASA said.

Metro Manila will experience isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms due to localized thunderstorms on Friday.

Weather forecasters are also monitoring a tropical cyclone outside the Philippine area of responsibility. It was last seen over 2,000 km east of Mindanao. — Gaea Katreena Cabico

Palm Sunday

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for the Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

WITH the celebration of the Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, we mark that triumphal procession of Christ as King that would lead to his passion, death and resurrection.

We should not fail to note the intimate relationship between what is truly to be a king and the need to go through the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. If we want to share the kingship of Christ since we are supposed to be patterned after him, we have to understand that we need to suffer and die with him in order to resurrect also with him in glory. (cfr. Rom 6,8)

The underlying message of Palm Sunday despite the gory details of the Lord’s passion is that of hope, joy and victory. We should never miss this message if we want the celebration of the Lord’s passion a meaningful one.

We have to realize that we need to suffer. Why? Because in the first place, suffering is a consequence of our sins, not to mention our weaknesses, mistakes, and the fact that we have to contend with a supernatural goal that simply goes beyond our natural human powers.

Suffering is unavoidable in this life. No matter how much we try to avoid or ignore it, it will simply come. In fact, the ultimate suffering that no one is exempted from is death. It will come one way or another, sooner or later.

But if we follow what our Christian faith tells us, suffering indeed holds great value in our life. From something to run away from, it has become a goal to pursue, because as long as our suffering is experienced with the spirit of Christ, it becomes good news, not bad news.

Every suffering we have should be an invitation for us to go back to Christ, to be converted again, that is, to identify ourselves with him through the work of the Holy Spirit, so we can effect in our mortal flesh that very transformation that took place in Christ, who died and rose from the dead.

This is the challenge we have—how to go beyond mere human considerations of our suffering so as to savor its ultimate religious value. We need to develop the skill to escape from the self-focusing dynamics of suffering when considered only humanly, to be able to hitch ourselves with the saving dynamics of Christ’s suffering.

Are we just content with complaining and groaning and moaning when we suffer? Or do we start as soon as we can to enter into the more glorious dimensions that our suffering offers?

When Christ said, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me,” (Mk 8,34) he for sure does not mean that he’s leading us to our self-annihilation.

Far from it. It will rather lead us to our self-fulfillment. It is asking us that instead of our own selves, we should have Christ as the center of our attention always, the very core and substance of our consciousness. We need, of course, to exercise our faith to live by this divine indication.

Let’s always remember these words of the Psalms, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.” (18,6) These words should be carved deep and hard into our mind and heart, so we can always remain at peace and with great hope despite our weaknesses and sinfulness, and all the many other things that can cause us anguish—difficulties, trials, failures, setbacks, etc.

IATF allows rapid antigen test as entry requirement

MANILA. A foreign passenger wearing a protective mask as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus pushes his cart as he arrives at Manila's International Airport in the Philippines on Thursday, February 10, 2022. (AP)

By: THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunStar Philippines

ARRIVING international travelers can now present as a travel requirement a result of a rapid antigen test conducted by a healthcare professional, said acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar Wednesday, April 6, 2022.

He said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved it, and the test may be done in a healthcare facility, laboratory, clinic, pharmacy, or other similar establishments from the country of origin of the traveler 24 hours before departure.

Previously, the IATF only approved laboratory-based antigen test results from arriving foreign passengers.

On February 10, for the first time since the start of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic in 2020, the National Government allowed the entry of tourists from non-visa countries.

The acceptance of travelers from visa-required countries started on April 1.

The National Government also lifted the mandatory isolation protocols for arriving passengers.

Among the conditions are 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 antigen result taken 24 hours before departure.

They are also only required to self-monitor within seven days upon their arrival and report to the local government unit of their destination if they manifest any symptom of Covid-19.

Andanar said the IATF also approved the acceptance and recognition of the national Covid-19 vaccination certificates of Bangladesh, Mexico, Panama and Slovak Republic, for purposes of arrival, quarantine protocols, as well as for inter zonal/intrazonal movement.

The IATF directed the Bureau of Quarantine, the Department of Transportation – One-Stop-Shop and the Bureau of Immigration to recognize only the proofs of vaccination thus approved by the IATF. (SunStar Philippines)

Do we really believe in Christ?

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

IT’S a question that we have to ask ourselves, since there are many indications that even those who profess to believe in Christ do so more out of formality. They do not really know him, much less, love him, because if they do, they would be burning with desire to follow him and to bring him to others.

In the gospel, many of the leading Jews during Christ’s time were always skeptical of him. They even went to the extent of doing him harm, and eventually of putting him to death. (cfr. Jn 10,31-42) Some of the people, of course, believed in him, due to the miracles and the splendid preaching he did. Truly, Christ was and continues to be a sign of contradiction.

We have to understand that with Christ, it is not enough to know him. We also have to love him. With Christ, to know him truly is to love him also. In fact, we cannot say we really know him unless we love him too, that is, we become like him. 

With him, these two spiritual operations of ours merge into a unity, although they have different directions. In knowing, the object known is in the knower. It has an inward movement. The knower possesses the known object. 

In loving, the lover is in the beloved. It has an outward movement. It is the beloved that possesses the lover. The lover gets identified with the beloved. The lover becomes what he loves.

In knowing, the knower abstracts things from his object of interest and keeps them to himself. In loving, the lover gives himself to the beloved. In a sense, the lover loses himself and identifies himself with the beloved.

Of course, there are many things that we know but which we do not have to love, or even that we should not love. We can know a lot of evils, but we should never love them. If anything at all, our knowledge of them is just for the sake of prudence.

But whatever good we know, we should also love, otherwise we would fall into some anomaly of inconsistency. Whatever is good, we should not be content with knowing it only. We should love it. Let’s remember what St. Paul said in his first letter to the Corinthians in this regard:

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” (8,1-2)

And we can add that if one is known by God, he somehow already knows everything that he ought to know since God, who possesses him because he loves God, knows everything. In other words, he shares the knowledge of God.

Since Christ is for us the highest good we can have, we should both know and love him to the max. We should not just know him and not love him, nor should we just love him without knowing him—or at least, trying to know him the best way that we can, since being God, Christ has aspects that are a mystery to us, that is, beyond our capacity to know him fully.

We can know Christ by studying the gospels and the Church’s teachings about him. But in order to love him, we should put this knowledge of God into practice, converting it into our life itself, to such an extent that we become “another Christ.”

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com