Marcos: Covid-19 is fading away; ‘it’s time to get back to work’

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos, MB 

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that while the past few years have been difficult for everyone, it is time for the people to return to their normal lives as the Covid-19 pandemic is now “fading away.”

President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (RTVM Screenshot)

Marcos said this in a welcome luncheon at the MassKara Festival in Bacolod City on Sunday, October 23. 

In his speech, the President recognized that the celebration was important as it signals that the situation was slowly returning to normal and in time for the Christmas season.

“It is a good thing to remind people that the pandemic may have been difficult, the pandemic really put us through the wringer, but we are back,” he said.

According to the President, the pandemic is now “fading away,” and Filipinos are now learning to live with it.

“The pandemic is fading away. We are learning to manage it, and now it is time for us to all go back to work, to all go back to our normal lives, to remind ourselves of all the opportunities that were before us before the pandemic,” Marcos said. 

“Now, after that, we have normalized the situation a little bit, then it is time for us to go back to all of those endeavors that we were undertaking before the Covid hit,” he added.

President Marcos said the celebration of the MassKara Festival allows Filipinos to show the rest of the world what they can do.

“It is time for us to go back and exercise once again, show once again the Filipino resilience, the Filipino resourcefulness, the Filipino industry, the Filipino talent,” he said.

“Ito ngayon ang MassKara Festival ay isang pagdiriwang hindi lamang sa pagbubukas ng Bacolod kung hindi sa buong Pilipinas (The MassKara Festival is a celebration of not just the opening of the Bacolod, but of the entire Philippines),” he added.

The MassKara Festival began in 1980 following a series of sugar crises suffered by Bacolodnons and Negrenses. Specifically, the crisis was caused by the oversupply of sugar in the international market, which caused world sugar prices to drop.

The colorful smiling masks in the festival symbolize their resiliency and unity despite challenges and problems

The limits of our human laws

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

IN the gospel, many are the instances where Christ had to correct the leading Jews at that time for their too strict and too literal interpretation of their laws. (cfr. Lk 13,10-17) These Jews acted as if they had the exclusive possession of what is right, moral and legal just by citing their laws. Obviously, they themselves could not follow those laws to the letter. And Christ pointed that out to them.

We obviously need to craft laws to guide our life in common. But we need to understand that since these laws are human laws, they cannot capture everything involved in man’s life that can also involve spiritual, let alone, supernatural realities. Even in the level of our ordinary human affairs, complicated situations can take place that can go beyond the purview of our legal system. Depicting justice as a blindfolded woman with a weighing scale tells us a lot about this predicament.

We should be wary of our tendency to fall into legalism, formalism and political correctness. Thus, Christ bewailed this common danger among the leading Jews by saying, “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” (Lk 11,42-44)

We should always be on guard against all these forms of inconsistency, always rectifying our intentions and also regularly editing our life, much like what writers do with their work before they are submitted for publication. That way, we can monitor how things are going and can have the chance to make appropriate corrections, improvements, revisions, etc. 

Our human laws are meant to lead us to our ultimate goal which is none other than to be with God, to be holy as God is holy, etc. Irrespective of their immediate temporal purpose, our laws should lead us little by little to become God’s image and likeness as we are meant to be. They in the end should serve the fundamental religious purpose of our life. That should always be the constant purpose of our laws. 

All the other objectives of our laws, let alone their technical requirements, serve only as an occasion, a reason or motive for this ultimate purpose. Setting aside this ultimate purpose would empty our laws of their real legitimacy, making them rife for all kinds of manipulations and maneuverings by some shrewd men who may enjoy some power at a given moment.

We have to realize that it is Christ who ultimately gives the real meaning and purpose of our laws. We have to disabuse ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our traditions and culture, etc.

While these things have their legitimate role to play in our legal and judicial systems, we have to understand that they cannot be the primary and ultimate bases. It should be God, his laws and ways that should animate the way we make laws as well as the way we apply and live them. After all, being the Creator of all things, he is the one who establishes what is truly good and evil.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

National IP Month celebrates our cultural heritage

Published October 23, 2022, 12:05 AM

by Manila Bulletin

On Oct. 23-24, representatives of Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities will gather in a celebration called “Dayaw” to present with pride their rich cultural heritage through music, dance, and oral tradition performances, and to share stories on best practices in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH).
Leading the celebration is the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) through the Subcommission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts (SCCTA). The theme that will unite the celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Month is “Pagtataguyod ng pamayanang kultural para sa isang matatag na Pilipinas (Upholding cultural communities for a robust Philippines).”

Presidential Proclamation 1906, signed in 2009, declared October as the “National Indigenous Peoples Month” that mandates the “recognition and protection of the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICC). The gathering of cultural communities kicked off last Oct. 2 at the Rizal Park, with performances representing IP communities around the country. Today, Oct. 23, the Dayaw performance will be at the Rizal Park open air auditorium. On Oct. 24, the Dayaw forum will be held at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila.

The heart of the celebration will be the sharing of best practices on safeguarding ICH which are “measures aimed at ensuring the viability of the intangible cultural heritage” so that efforts in its preservation, promotion and transmission to the next generation will be initiated.

ICH includes “traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.”

Its importance, according to UNESCO, “is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next.”

The Philippines has a wealth of intangible cultural heritage, some familiar to many of us now but others still remains to be documented and disseminated so that it will continue to give us “a sense of identity and continuity, providing a link to our past, through the present, and into our future.”

The NCCA has been developing projects and programs and nominating ICH elements to the UNESCO Representative and Urgent Safeguarding Lists. In the UNESCO Representative List of Humanity are three ICH elements of IP in the Philippines. These are the Hudhud chants of the Ifugao province, the Darangen epic of the Maranao people of Lake Lanao Maranao, and the tugging rituals and games of the Tuwali tribe in Ifugao, the NCCA announced.

LPA likely to enter PAR, to be named 'Paeng'

 

By Arlie O. Calalo October 23, 2022 

THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) is closely monitoring a low pressure area (LPA) that may enter the country in 36 hours and escalate into a tropical depression.

Weather specialist Benison Estareja told The Manila Times that the LPA was last spotted 1,460 kilometers east of Mindanao.

Once it enters the country, the LPA will be named Paeng.

"Based on Pagasa's forecast track, this may approach the landmass and make landfall somewhere in Luzon or Eastern Visayas by Thursday," Estareja said.

The weather agency said the inter-tropical convergence zone is affecting Mindanao where cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms may prevail.

Meanwhile, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region will likely have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains due to the northeast monsoon.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

37 countries to participate in Eurovision 2023

The list of countries participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE

By Aric John Sy Cua, Manila Times

The full participant list was revealed on the Contest's YouTube page on Thursday.

The countries participating in Liverpool are as follows: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and host country the United Kingdom.

Next year's contest will have the lowest number of participating countries since the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, which also had 37 countries.

Going directly to the grand final are Germany, France, Spain, 2022 hosts Italy and 2023 hosts United Kingdom, as they comprise the "Big Five", which are the biggest financial contributors to the Contest. For next year's show, having won the 2022 contest, Ukraine will have the automatic qualification for the 2023 grand final.

"Of the 37 nations taking part, 31 will compete in two Semi-Finals with 10 successful acts from each Semi-Final joining 4 of the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), hosts the United Kingdom and Ukraine in the Grand Final," a statement from the European Broadcasting Union read.

Not returning to next year's Contest are Bulgaria, Montenegro and North Macedonia. Russia and Belarus are both ineligible to participate because their broadcasters are currently suspended by the EBU.

Although Bulgaria's Eurovision Twitter handle said they have lost interest in the Contest, there are reports saying the withdrawal was due to financial reasons. They recently returned to Twitter after briefly deactivating to wish the participating countries going to Liverpool all the best.

Feast of Saint Anthony Claret on Oct. 24

by Christina Hermoso, MB

Roman Catholics will celebrate on Monday, Oct. 24, the Feast of Saint Anthony Mary (San Antonio Maria) Claret, a popular Spanish saint, and founder of the Claretians.

St. Anthony Mary Claret (Catholic Online)

Commemorative masses will be held at the San Antonio Maria Claret Parish in Old Balara, Quezon City. Novena masses in his honor will be offered from Oct. 15 to 23. 

St. Anthony Mary Claret is a well-loved Spanish bishop and founder of the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, more popularly known as the Claretians.

Ordained priest in the year 1835, St. Anthony was a missionary worker, confessor, preacher, and religious writer. He authored around 200 spiritual books, the most famous of which was “The Right Way,” which was read by millions of Roman Catholics across the world. He promoted the teaching and discipline of the clergy and popularized devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the holy rosary.

Born in Catalonia, Spain on Dec. 23, 1807, he served as archbishop of Santiago in Cuba for seven years. In 1849, he founded the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, whose main apostolate was local and foreign missions. The Claretians, in the early 21st century had over 450 houses and 3100 members, with missions in five continents,

In 1842, the Vatican declared St. Anthony as an “Apostolic Missionary.” He died in 1870 and was canonized by Pope Pius XII on May 7, 1950.

The films that made it to MMFF 2022

by Stephanie Bernardino

The eight entries to the 48th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) were finally announced.

The selection committee headed by veteran actress Boots Anson Rodrigo said they picked the eight films based on the following criteria – 40% for artistic excellence, 40% for commercial appeal, 10% for Filipino cultural values, and 10% for global appeal.

The final four are Nadine Lustre’s horror movie “Deleter” directed by Mik Red and produced by Viva Communications, Inc.; Noel Trinidad and Liza Lorena’s family drama “Family Matters” directed by Nuel Naval and produced by Cineko; Edu Manzano, Aljur Abrenica, and Paolo Gumabao’s action-drama “Mamasapano: Now It Can Be Told” directed by Lester Dimaranan and produced by Borracho Film Production; and Jake Cuenca, Dimples Romana’s drama “My Father, Myself” directed by Joel Lamangan and produced by 3:16 Media Network. 

The first four official entries based on script submissions were announced last July.

These are: Coco Martin and Jodi Sta. Maria’s “Labyu With An Accent” by ABS-CBN Film Productions; Vice Ganda and Ivana Alawi’s “Partners In Crime” by ABS-CBN Film Productions; Joey de Leon and Toni Gonzaga’s “The Teacher” by TEN17P; and Ian Veneracion, Heaven Peralejo, and Mon Confiado’s “Nanahimik Ang Gabi” by Rein Entertainment Productions.

With this year’s message “Balik Saya sa MMFF 2022” the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and MMFF Concurrent Acting Chairman Engr. Carlo Dimayuga III urged moviegoers to support the festival, which has been part of the Filipinos’ Christmas tradition over the years.

The 48th MMFF will run from Dec. 25 to Jan. 7, 2023.

Jean Kiley explores Latin dance pop in ‘Te Amo’

by Punch Liwanag, MB

Singer-actress-host Jean Kiley is out with a delightfully catchy and body-moving new song.

Titled “Te Amo,” the song is a Latin pop-tinged number written by the former Pop Girl member herself.

Note the song also features actress Ella Cruz and singer Krissha Viaje.

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According to Jean, she is simply going to her first love, which is dancing, with “Te Amo.”

She added, “I am a big fan of dance music. Hearing Latino style sounds, reggaeton and the like makes people groove a little and dance. That’s the quality that attracted me to it rather than the usual solemn, mellow songs that we listen to now.”

She also added that she went for her gut feeling when it came to choosing what style of  music to do next. “Dance music has always been a passion project that I always wanted to do.”

As to what led her to collaborate with Ella and Krissha, Jean said, “I love K pop and it was my dream to do a collaboration with people who share the same enthusiasm for K pop. I happen to know that Ella and Krissha are big K pop fans themselves. So we clicked on our common interests.” 

Jean wrote “Te Amo” in the early days of the Pandemic. “My demo was only an acoustic version. I reached out to a producer friend to collaborate. We arranged the song together and finally got the version we wanted.”

Jean also wrote the rap verse for the song and on the spot, while she was already in the studio to record the tune.

As for the theme of “Te Amo,” Jean is doubling down on his K pop influence. “I was inspired by a character in a K-drama I watched on Netflix. After watching, I wrote down the lyrics about the characters feelings, then got my guitar, found the right chords to back up my melody. After about an hour or so, I finished the song while I snacked on some dark chocolates.” 

Jean revealed that it was a scene from the hit drama “Itaewon Class.”

“The song is all about Kim Da Mi’s character Jo Yi Seo’s feelings,” Jean shared. “You know when you love someone, you get butterflies, you want to say it, confess, you want them to like you back, you’re kinikilig and all that, I just translated those feelings into words.”

“Te Amo” is now available in digital music platforms.

Agricultural damage of Typhoons ‘Maymay’, ‘Neneng’ reaches P583.45M — DA

by Jel Santos, MB

The agricultural damage caused by Typhoons “Maymay” and “Neneng” has reached P583.45 million, the Department of Agriculture (DA) bared on Friday, Oct. 21.

FLOOD caused by severe tropical storm ‘Neneng’ shuts down the Claveria Detour Bridge on the Manila North Road in Claveria, Cagayan on Sunday, Oct. 16. (DPWH/Alain Garret Badiang)

Per the DA’s Bulletin No. 5, the areas covered in the estimate are Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, and Cagayan Valley, devastating 21,986 hectares of agricultural areas. 

Around 21,324 farmers and fishers have been affected by Maymay and Neneng.

The agriculture department pegged the production loss at 36,872 metric tons.

Rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock and poultry, and fisheries are among the commodities affected, the DA said.

The agriculture department explained that the values of damage and losses for Maymay and Neneng have been combined as the “two tropical cyclones occurred in a span of one week and affected the same agricultural areas in CAR, Ilocos Region and Cagayan Valley.” 

According to the DA, it is constantly coordinating with concerned national government agencies, local government units, and other disaster risk reduction and management-related offices on the impact of tropical cyclones, as well as available resources for interventions and assistance.

Mobile Kadiwa centers are being prepared for deployment in areas impacted by Maymay and Neneng in order to stabilize agri-fishery commodity prices and supply, it added.

Here is the list of aid made available by the DA for affected farmers and fishers:

• Rice, corn and assorted vegetable seeds
• Drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry
• Fingerlings and assistance to affected fisherfolk from Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)
• Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) with loanable amount of up to P25,000 payable in three years at zero interest
• Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of affected areas

BOI holds regional cold chain roadshows in Cebu, Davao, and Pampanga

Aiming to grow investments in cold chain to increase warehousing capacity in the

Philippines, BOI holds regional cold chain roadshows in Cebu, Davao, and

Pampanga.

In an aim to grow investments in the country’s cold chain industry that is seen to eventually

increase the cold chain warehousing capacity nationally, the Philippine Board of

Investments (BOI) is holding a series of Supra-Regional Cold Chain Industry Roadshows

initially in three major regions of the country from October to November 2022 and the rest of

the other regions next year.

Described as inclusive, stakeholder-driven, and market-oriented, the Philippine Cold Chain

Industry Roadmap eyes to increase local cold chain warehousing capacity by 50,000 pallet

positions each year in the short term by generating investments in the industry and address

the increasing demand, particularly in the agribusiness sector.

The first leg was held in Mandaue City in Cebu on October 12. The subsequent roadshows

will be held in Davao City on October 25, and Clark in Pampanga on November 9.

The Cebu-round covered those coming from Regions 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central

Visayas), and 8 (Eastern Visayas). The Pampanga-round, meanwhile, will cover

participating firms from Regions 1 (Ilocos Region), 2 (Cagayan Valley Region), 3 (Central

Luzon Region), and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) . On the other hand, the Davao

roadshow will include Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), 11 (Davao Region), and 12 or South

Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City

(SOCCSKSARGEN region).

During the roadshows, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) will provide

the regional economic situation, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will present the

Agriculture and Fisheries Performance and Cold Chain services needs while Land Bank of

the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines will present financing

opportunities. Also, initiatives of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization

(UNIDO) through its Food Cold Chain (FCC) Project specifically the Cold Chain Innovation

Hub will be discussed.

A significant part of each roadshow is the one-on-one consultation between the prospective

investors and the BOI, DA, UNIDO, LBP, and DBP.

The roadshows are BOI’s platform to inform prospective investors on the recent

legislative/policy developments such as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for

Enterprises (CREATE) Act and the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP) and

amendment of the Public Service Act (PSA) that liberalized foreign equity participation in

cold storage warehousing activities.

Significantly, the development of the country’s cold chain industry will lead to reduced post-

harvest losses, longer shelf life of food, a deeper linkage of the production and

manufacturing sectors, and deeper integration with the domestic and global value chains.

FOR MORE INFORMATION/REFERENCE, PLEASE CONTACT:

BOI Information and Communications Division

Office Address: 3/F Board of Investment Bldg. #385 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Makati City 1209

Telephones: 8897.3086 / 8897-6682 local 277 | E-mail: infocomms@boi.gov.ph

PR2022-090

Moreover, the roadshows will not only result in leads in generation for the cold chain but will

also be critical in meeting the BOI’s target to generate new cold chain capacity to serve

particularly the agribusiness sector.

The BOI is focused on the development of the country’s cold chain industry. Last February,

the BOI, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), and InsightSCS Corp. signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a cold chain integrated supply chain

solution in the Philippines – the “Development of a Cold Chain Integrated Supply Chain

Solution for Evidence-based Policy Making and Investment Programming.” The said

partnership aims to utilize data analytics to identify best locations for prospective cold chain

projects and digitally onboard cold chain operators through the DELIVER-E 2.0 platform.