This might not be the typical expat blog, written by a German expat, living in the Philippines since 1999. It's different. In English and in German. Check it out! Enjoy reading!
Dies mag' nun wirklich nicht der typische Auswandererblog eines Deutschen auf den Philippinen sein. Er soll etwas anders sein. In Englisch und in Deutsch! Viel Spass beim Lesen!
You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?
There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!
Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!
Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!
A FARMERS' group on Thursday warned of a possible shortage in the rice supply in 2023 amid the devastation of Super Typhoon "Karding," and the decline in the palay output due to the high cost of agriculture inputs.
In a radio interview, Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Montemayor said that the damage from the super typhoon could reach P4 billion to P5 billion.
"The damage of Karding is between 5 to 10 percent of the country's rice total production. The estimate of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is about P2 billion. But this is expected to double, since it has yet to assess all the affected areas, so we're looking at around P4 to P5 billion," Montemayor said.
While the rice supply is stable until the end of 2022, the buffer stock will be depleted by 2023, he said.
"Our worry is the supply for next year, the excess from 2022 will be limited. The government needs to work double time to increase the production to lessen our dependence on rice imports, which is very expensive," Montemayor added, referring to the peso devaluation.
According to Montemayor, prior to the onslaught of Karding, the farmers were already affected by the high prices of farm inputs.
"Based on the estimate of the DA, the rice output will decline by 1 million metric tons of palay as farmers did not use enough fertilizers and pesticides because of the high cost. Others decided to limit the number of hectares they planted," he noted.
Montemayor said that the DA should immediately release the assistance to the farmers to start planting again.
He expects an increase in the retail price of imported rice between P3 to P4 per kilo amid the high dollar rate.
Birds fly along the Canso Causeway as wind and rain from Post-Tropical Storm Fiona hit the region on September 24, 2022 in Port Hastings, Nova Scotia, Canada.Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP
By Agence France-Presse
September 30, 2022
ALMOST half of all bird species are in decline globally and one in eight are threatened with extinction, according to a major new report warning that human actions are driving more species to the brink and nature is "in trouble."
The four-yearly State of the World's Birds report, which provides a snapshot of the plight of species globally and more broadly a barometer for biodiversity, comes as the United Nations steers an international process to protect nature.
"One in eight bird species is threatened with extinction, and the status of the world's birds continues to deteriorate: species are moving ever faster towards extinction," said the report released this week by BirdLife International.
Using data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the report said 49 percent of bird species worldwide have declining populations, with populations falling even in species not normally rare or at risk.
Roughly 13 percent are considered threatened.
The main threats include the growth of unsustainable agriculture, logging, invasive species, over-exploitation and climate change.
Most bird populations face a combination of human-caused threats.
"The natural world is in trouble. Human actions are driving species rapidly towards extinction, undermining ecosystem functions and services vital to our own survival," the report said.
BirdLife International, which has decades of survey data, said there are now 2.9 billion fewer individual birds in North America than there were in 1970, an estimated drop of 29 percent.
The European Union has seen a net loss of around 600 million birds, roughly 18 percent since 1980.
In both cases, the losses are most acute among long-distance migrants and farmland birds.
Birdlife said many key bird preservation zones were in a poor state and called for a global push to protect and restore habitats.
In December, nations gather to finalize a treaty to halt the decline of biodiversity and set humanity on a path to "live in harmony with nature" by mid-century.
BirdLife International chief Patricia Zurita said the framework under negotiation was "the world's best and perhaps last chance to halt the loss of nature" and restore biodiversity.
"The birds and the rest of nature are depending on us. And we are depending on them," she said.
(UPDATE) THIRTEEN of the 17 local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region or Metro Manila continue to see higher Covid-19 cases and some have registered increased hospitalization rates, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Thursday.
The continuing rise in cases prompted the department to again prepare for the mobilization of the One Hospital Command Center.
Only the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela were not considered as moderate risk, acting Health secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a briefing Thursday.
Tagged as moderate risk are the cities of Manila, Quezon, Marikina, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pasay, Parañaque, Taguig, Las Pinas, San Juan and Muntinlupa, and the town of Pateros.
Vergeire said the national daily average of 2,334 cases from September 22 to 28 is 7 percent higher than the previous week.
Covid-19 hospital admissions are also up in Pasig, Muntinlupa, Malabon, Makati, Navotas and Caloocan.
Vergeire said that despite the increase in admissions, overall bed utilization in Metro Manila remained below 70 percent.
Because the increase is more than 50 percent, the DoH has begun to monitor the situation, Vergeire said.
She said she has met with the DoH Metro Manila Center for Health Development, the LGUs and the different hospitals in the region to prepare the National Patient Navigation and Referral Center (One Hospital Command Center) for possible patient transfers, especially those with mild and asymptomatic symptoms.
Vergeire said there is no need to open additional quarantine and isolation facilities because there are enough quarantine and isolation centers to handle the new cases.
The rise in cases in the region was expected, and should not be blamed solely on the easing of the mask mandate, she said. Also coming into play are increased mobility, the presence of more infectious variants, and waning immunity.
"We all need to change our mindset, and we all need to remember that the virus will continue to stay with us, we will have to live with the virus," Vergeire said.
She added that if hospital admissions continue to rise and the number of severe and critical cases reaches more than 50 to 60 percent, the DoH will recommend bringing back the mandatory wearing of masks outdoors.
THE University of the Philippines (UP) will allow the conduct of 100 percent in-person classes "in all its undergraduate courses" in the second semester of academic year 2022-2023, the UP Media and Public Relations Office announced on Thursday.
"This is complementary to the university's adoption of hybrid and blended learning to equip students for the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and achieve educational resilience in a volatile and rapidly changing world," it explained.
The announcement came after Senator Pilar Juliana "Pia" Cayetano questioned five state universities and colleges (SUCs), including UP, for not fully implementing in-person classes.
UP clarified in the same post that "100 percent face-to-face classes for laboratory, studio, and practicum courses, among others, and all courses" in some of its constituent units for the first semester of the current academic year.
Warren Fernandez, editor-in-chief of The Straits Times in Singapore
We live in bewildering times.
War is raging in the heart of Europe, with the senseless fighting expected to make for a long, hard winter.
Food and fuel prices have spiralled as a result, portending hunger and hardship, not least for vulnerable communities far flung from the conflict.
Rising tensions in East Asia, amid the rivalry between the United States and China, make Taiwan a tinderbox that could flare up into a major confrontation that no one wants, nor may be able to control once set off.
Against this backdrop, the welter of reports on extreme weather — sweeping floods, roaring fires and devastating droughts — across the world, raise alarms that the climate crisis is getting harder to address by the day.
Little wonder that audiences say they are exhausted by the news. People are anxious about present developments and where they might be heading.
Fake news and misinformation add to the malaise. Some of this is spread deliberately, to sway public opinion, but much is also shared innocently, even unthinkingly, on social media platforms. Yet, curbs to check the former could constrain legitimate interaction.
At times like these, World News Day, which we mark today, is of added significance. Today, we reflect on how journalism can make a difference, and why it is so important that it does.
Journalists in professional newsrooms have a vital role to play in safeguarding the well-being of the communities they serve. Our democracies depend on them doing so, effectively and purposefully.
How best to do so?
To my mind, we need to focus on delivering information, insight and inspiration.
Credible information — fact-based, reliable, and timely — remains vital if we are to have reasoned, and reasonable, debates on how to tackle the challenges we face and figure out the ways forward. While we might all be entitled to our opinions, we are not entitled to our own facts. Without any agreement on even basic facts, democratic discussions are reduced to a cacophony of assertion, where “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity,” as Yeats put it.
Fact-based journalism requires painstaking legwork by reporters, relentless cross-checking and quality control by editors, as well as authoritative analysis and interpretation by seasoned commentators.
Not surprisingly, in this age of bewilderment, audiences are seeking out trusted voices, whom they can rely on to deliver reliable reports and insightful commentaries. Multiple studies show that apart from the news, audiences value explainers, backgrounders, analysis — whether online, on video or through newsletters.
Beyond this, faced with relentless waves of doom and gloom, people also want inspiration. They want to hear about possible solutions to the problems at hand, as well as of those who are stepping up to address them. So too content that seeks to shine a light in dark corners, and give voice to communities and subjects that are more often neglected or ignored.
Allow me to cite one example: a video series, titled “Invisible Asia,” in which my colleagues from The Straits Times cast a spotlight on people living in the shadows of their societies, largely unseen and unheard.
These include the ostracized burakumin or “untouchables” in Japan, to the hardships endured by sewer cleaners in modern-day India and China’s silent army of odd-job migrant laborers, as well as the sense of isolation faced by unsuspecting brides drawn from abroad to marry men in Singapore.
The series was awarded the top prize for investigative/enterprise video journalism at the global Editor & Publisher EPPY Awards 2021. (See:https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/2021/03/invisible-asia/index.html?shell)
Many more examples of how journalism has made an impact can be found on the World News Day website. (https://worldnewsday.org) The old newsroom adage, “show, don’t tell,” applies here.
At a time when Orwellian “War-is-Peace,” “Freedom-is-slavery” doublespeak and state-sponsored misinformation campaigns are rampant, it seems fitting to turn to that journalistic sage, George Orwell, for inspiration on World News Day.
In his 1946 essay, Why I Write, Orwell argued that all writing, but perhaps especially journalistic endeavors, has a political purpose, as well as a quest for telling a good story well.
His words ring true today. He wrote: “My starting point is always a feeling of partisanship, a sense of injustice.
“When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art’. I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.
“But I could not do the work of writing a book, or even a long magazine article, if it were not also an aesthetic experience…I am not able, and do not want, completely to abandon the world view that I acquired in childhood. So long as I remain alive and well I shall continue to feel strongly about prose style…
“The job is to reconcile my ingrained likes and dislikes with the essentially public, non-individual activities that this age forces on all of us.”
So it was, and so it remains, especially today.
About the author:
Warren Fernandez is president of the World Editors Forum, a network of editors under the World Association of News Publishers, and also editor-in-chief of The Straits Times in Singapore.
Khimo Gumatay, Ryssi Avila, Kice, Ann Raniel, and Bryan Chong feel blessed to be part of the biggest talent reality show in the country, "Idol Philippines" Season 2 and shared how it changed their lives.
"Idol Philippines' was indeed a humbling experience and also a blessing po, stated "Idol PH Season 2" grand winner Gumatay.
"Actually po, nung una hindi po dapat ako sasali ng 'Idol Philippines' pero sa tulong po ng mga taong nakapaligid po sa'kin na mag-push po talaga na sumali dito. Ngayon po, I'm beyond thankful po na sumali po ako rito sa 'Idol Philippines," he added.
For Avila, the competition allowed her to clean her name and for her talent to outshine the controversies thrown at her.
"Nabago po ng 'Idol' yung buhay ko kasi sila yung nagbigay sa akin ng chance na ipakita yung talent ko sa mga tao at iyon ang tignan nila at hindi yung mga controversy na nagdaan sa buhay ko," she said.
Kice mentioned that the show made him closer to his loved ones.
"Yung family ko from all over the world, they connected even mga family members ko na hindi ko kilala, naglalabasan lang because they watch me," he shared.
Lea Salonga PHOTO FROM LEASALONGA.COM/RAYMUND ISAAC
By Iza Iglesias, Manila Times
(UPDATED) THE Philippines' very own Broadway superstar Lea Salonga was one of Time magazine's TIME100 Impact Awardees for 2022.
The award recognizes "global leaders who have gone above and beyond to move their industries — and the world —forward."
In a feature written by Sanya Mansoor, Salonga was described as the "Voice of Disney Princesses" and "A life-long role model for kids of color."
"In her four-decade award-winning career as an actress and singer, Salonga has emerged as not only a Disney and Broadway icon but a role model for children of color. Salonga prides herself on promoting representation in Hollywood and on Broadway, and showing underrepresented groups that their stories matter," the article read.
Time also recognized some of her notable roles on stage and on screen such as Tuptim in "The King and I," Kim in "Miss Saigon," Mrs. Lovett in "Sweeney Todd," Elodie in the HBO MAX series "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin," Gail in "Yellow Rose," and as the voice of Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan.
"Her Filipino heritage made playing Mulan especially meaningful. She brings honor to herself and to her family...and she does it with grace. What's more, she's one of the only princesses that doesn't end the movie with a grand wedding," Time mentioned.
"It's not easy breaking down racial barriers in historically white spaces and roles, and Salonga says she relies on her sense of humor, which she describes as sometimes inappropriate and sometimes irreverent to stay sane," it added.
Apart from Salonga, also included in the 2022 TIME100 Impact Awards are fellow musicians Ellie Goulding, Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am, actor and producer Alia Bhatt, former James Webb Space Telescope Program director Gregory L. Robinson, and computational geneticist Dr. Pardis Sabeti. Time will host Salonga and the other award winners at the National Gallery Singapore following the inaugural Time 100 Leadership Forum on October 2.
The agricultural damage wrought by super typhoon Karding has reached P1.29 billion, according to the latest data released by the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday, Sept. 27.
Super Typhoon Karding’s strong gusts caused rice crops to bow in Mayantoc, Tarlac. (Screenshot taken from a video posted on Mayantoc Agriculture FB)
Based on the DA’s Bulletin No. 5 that was issued at 1 p.m., the areas covered in the estimate are Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Bicol Region.
Affected by Karding’s devastation are 82,158 farmers and fisherfolk, it added.
The DA said 141,312 hectares of agricultural areas have been hit by the super typhoon. This translates to 72,231 metric tons of production loss.
“Affected commodities include rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock and poultry, and fisheries,” the agriculture department said.
As the estimate of agricultural damage went up, the DA has also increased the assistance it will provide to Karding-affected farmers and fishers.
The agriculture department said it will give farmers P27.47 million worth of rice seeds, P13.23 million worth of corn seeds, and P12.64 million worth of assorted vegetable seeds.
They will also receive P2.45 million worth of animal heads, drugs, and biologics for livestock and poultry, the DA added.
GMA New Media, Inc. (NMI) showcases its portfolio of bespoke software solutions and platforms at the “GMA New Media Goes to Davao” event at the Sinamay 2 function room in Seda, Abreeza in Davao this Sept. 28.
In partnership with Microsoft Philippines and Westcon Comstor, GMA NMI, as GMA Network’s subsidiary and digital arm, continues its mission to fuel and accelerate the country’s digital transformation by offering its expertise to MSMEs in need of a digital boost.
With more than 20 years of experience in systems integration, software development, and IT solutions, GMA NMI has been providing services to several companies in Mega Manila. The group is now poised to penetrate the VisMin market, starting with the industry hub of Mindanao, Davao City.
For entrepreneurs who are interested in taking their business to the next digital level, register now at https://tinyurl.com/4v9ened4.
The World Bank raised its economic growth outlook for the Philippines despite the damage from the Typhoon Karding onslaught, which the government said would not take the country off track of its full-year goal.
In the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific October 2022 Economic Update, the Washington-based multilateral institution raised its gross domestic product (GDP) outlook for the Philippine to 6.5 percent.
The latest growth estimate was well above the 5.7 percent forecast previously released in April.
“A relaxation of border closures and the related recovery in tourism activity is expected to boost growth,” World Bank said in the report on Tuesday, Sept. 27.
“Output in Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels of output in 2022,” the bank added.
World Bank’s new GDP projection, however, is at the lower-end of President Marcos’ full-year target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent, but aligned with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) downward revised forecast.
On Monday, the IMF cut the Philippine growth projection for this year to 6.5 percent from the previous of 6.7 percent in July.
But despite conservative protections of the World Bank and IMF, the National Economic and Development Authority is confident that the country could weather the impact of the recent typhoon that struck the country.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent economic growth target for 2022 is achievable.
“We are thankful Karding (Noru), which whipped on the belly of the Philippine economy (Luzon’s landmass), was not Ondoy, Ulysses, or Yolanda,” Balisacan twitted on Tuesday.
“Still, damage appeared considerable, though not likely at a level that would make us kiss goodbye to our growth target for this year,” he added.
The economy grew by 7.8 percent in the first half, faster than the target set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee, an inter-agency body that is tasked to set the country’s macroeconomic assumptions.
Based on initial estimates of the Department of Agriculture, damage and losses to the farm sector caused by Typhoon Karding were estimated at P141.38 million.
The initial assessment covers 16,229 hectares of land in the Cordillera Administrative Region, the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon, as of 12 noon on Monday, Sept. 26.
This translates to a volume of production loss of 5,866 metric tons of farm produce such as rice, corn, and high value crops, affecting 740 farmers.
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