Metro Manila Covid-19 positivity rate increasing, may reach 20% — OCTA

BY ELLALYN DE VERA-RUIZ

  

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The Covid-19 positivity rate in Metro Manila is still rising, according to the most recent monitoring of the OCTA Research.

OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David reported on Thursday, April 27, that Metro Manila's seven-day positivity rate increased from 8.4 percent on April 19 to 13.4 percent on April 26.

Moreover, he does not completely rule out the possibility that Metro Manila's Covid-19 positivity rate will continue to rise in the days to come.

“This is expected to increase further, perhaps up to 20 percent,” David said.

Metro Manila’s Seven-Day Positivity Rate as of April 26, 2023 (OCTA Fellow Dr. Guido David / Twitter)

The OCTA fellow previously stated that the Covid-19 Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 spreading in the country may be the cause of the increasing Covid-19 cases.

Positivity rate refers to the number of individuals who yielded positive results from among those who have been tested for Covid-19.

The benchmark for the positivity rate set by the World Health Organization is 5 percent.

On Thursday, the Department of Health announced 781 new Covid-19 cases across the country.

David projected that the country may record 900 to 1,100 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, April 28.

Marcos asks media to take lead in helping Filipinos discern real information, fake news, propaganda

 BY BETHEENA UNITE

  

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President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has urged the fourth estate to help the citizenry discern between real information and propaganda at a time when fake news threatens the country's stability and objectivity.

President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Noel Pabalate)

Speaking at the 50th anniversary of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) on Thursday night, April 27, Marcos recognized that the media industry has been facing various issues such as the challenge of ensuring the integrity
and credibility of information.

"Well, we started with mistaken information, then it became more active, disinformation, and misinformation and now, out-and-out, fake news," Marcos said.

He said these are among the negative effects of technological advancement and the social media age.

"However, it is something that is to be expected considering how powerful the tool social media has become," he further said.

"And like any powerful tool, it cuts both ways. And it is up once again to the KBP to bring a measure of stability, a measure of objectivity, to help our people discern what is the real information and what is propaganda," he added.

The President said in this situation, the fourth estate stands as "the stalwart partner of our conscientious and peace-loving citizenry, also of our legitimate and equally conscientious government."

He stressed that the press and broadcast media are instrumental in informing the citizenry, in shaping public opinion, and triggering social mobilization and change.

"Therefore, I exhort the KBP to continue your very important work with our people and with the government, addressing and remedying the issues and challenges that we face," he said.

"Take the lead and foster public discussion, truth and credibility, the rule of law, especially in the practice of broadcasting, news reporting and information-dissemination," he added.

'Continue to be the strong voice'

Marcos also encouraged the KBP to "continue to be the strong voice, it always has been."

The chief executive then committed that the government will continue to ensure transparency and good governance, freedom of expression and of the press, and the protection of media practitioners and their rights in the practice of their profession.

He also vowed that the government will work hand in hand with the press  to improve the Philippines' ranking in the World Press Freedom Index, where the country sits at 147th place.

"Onward to many more decades of important and relevant existence, may you genuinely dedicate them to upholding the truth, freedom, and social justice for the benefit and upliftment of the present and of succeeding generations of Filipinos," he said.

The KBP is a non-government and non-profit organization created on April 27, 1973.  It advocates for professional and ethical standards geared toward promoting responsible and free broadcast media, as well as maintaining a relevant role for its members in society when it comes to press freedom.

Heat index likely to hit 40 C in Metro Manila – Pagasa

April 28, 2023 20

 

By Arlie O. Calalo

WITH the easterlies expected to bring hot, humid weather across the country, residents especially in Metro Manila may experience as high as 40 degrees Celsius heat index on Friday, according to the state-run weather agency.

Weather specialist Benison Estareja of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reminded the public anew that going outdoors, especially during noontime and early afternoon when the heat is most intense must be limited.

"But if it is really necessary, make sure to cover your body against the sun and keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water to avoid heat cramps and heat exhaustion, among others," he told The Manila Times.

Other areas like Tuguegarao City, Dagupan City, Cabanatuan City, Laoag City, Legazpi City and San Jose (Mindoro) will also experience even higher heat index, Pagasa said.

Although weather disturbance is unlikely until Labor Day, May 1, the state weather bureau said the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) spotted near the Mindanao area may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility over the weekend or on the first day of May.

"This may bring rain showers over the eastern sections of Visayas and Mindanao where a low pressure area may be formed within the ITCZ," Estareja said.

ITCZ, according to Pagasa, is an imaginary line where the northern and southern air meet and bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms.

In particular, Pagasa said that Metro Manila and the rest of the country will likely have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with occasional downpours and thunderstorms due to the easterlies and localized thunderstorms.

Preparing for El Niño

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:07 AM April 28, 2023

With the official weather bureau forecasting an 80-percent probability of El Niño in the coming months, pertinent government agencies have no excuse to dawdle on their job and should now speed up preparations for this catastrophic but expected weather phenomenon. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, the probability of an El Niño occurrence has increased from 55 percent to 80 percent in June, July, August, and September, with an El Niño alert set to be issued next month.

El Niño, which is caused by the seasonal warming of the Pacific Ocean, upsets normal weather patterns and brings heavy rainfall in some countries, and dry spells and drought in others, including the Philippines. Fishermen from South America first noticed the phenomenon in the 1600s, and noted that it usually occurred toward the Christmas season, hence the name El Niño which refers to the child Jesus. Climate change however has broken that pattern such that El Niño may be expected in other months of the year.

This extreme weather condition has been known to cause the outbreak of diseases, heat stress, and respiratory ailments, as well as wreak devastation on agricultural lands that result in lower crop yields and, consequently, longstanding food shortages. Over the past decade, the Philippines has incurred P463 billion in damages from extreme weather events, 62 percent of that in the agriculture sector. The fisheries sector has not been spared, with warm ocean waters dispersing and driving schools of fish into deeper waters and drastically reducing one’s catch. Severe temperatures and lower ocean waters have also exposed and bleached fragile coral reefs, killed plankton, and triggered fish kills. Forest fires, degraded water sources, and other environmental risks can also be expected.

While there’s little that humans can do to influence El Niño’s onset, duration, and intensity, its severe effects can be mitigated with sound policy interventions, preemptive government actions, and long-term strategies informed by science. Expected to lead these initiatives is the Department of Agriculture (DA), and its acting secretary, President Marcos himself.

So far, the DA has outlined its plans to help the fisheries and agriculture sector cope with El Niño’s effects, including putting up more water-related infrastructure such as hydroelectric power plants, irrigation canals, and diversion dams. Small scale irrigation projects would also be developed or rehabilitated, and made available to farmers. The DA also said that it has already identified hybrid varieties of rice and other high value crops that can be planted during dry spells.

All well and good, though it remains to be seen if the agency blamed for spotty policies behind the skyrocketing prices of sugar, rice, and onions could follow through its plans and prove detractors wrong.

For his part, the President could have expounded on his announced plan for the government to slowly convert the country’s dependence on water supply from underground to surface water, since conventional wisdom has it that groundwater, being less polluted, is easier and cheaper to treat than surface water. Knowing about the risk of groundwater depletion and the reduction of water in streams and lakes, as well as the deterioration of water quality, should be enough to convince most people to go for it. The plan to help local government units install their own water supply systems should rain prove insufficient is sound, however. As is the executive order that the President said he had signed to create an office to manage the country’s water resources.

Just as noteworthy is the mitigation and adaptation plan set up by the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Unit that includes the promotion of drought-tolerant and early maturing crop varieties, organic fertilizer to increase retention of soil moisture, the adjustment of the planting calendar, and crop shifting.

PH detects first Arcturus case

April 26, 2023 2970

Some citizens are seen wearing facemasks while other choose not to wear one, along Ilaya Street in Binondo, Manila. Health Officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire does not see the need to reimpose more stringent restrictions such as mandatory masking even if cases of Covid-19 continue to increase in the country. (PHOTO: MIKE ALQUINTO)

(UPDATE) THE Philippines has detected its first case of the Arcturus or XBB.1.16 subvariant, the Department of Health (DoH) said Tuesday.

The subvariant was found in a sample from Western Visayas and is one of the 89 samples that had Omicron subvariants during the latest sequencing run of the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, and San Lazaro Hospital from April 12-17.

Arcturus is a sublineage of the XBB subvariant that was recently added to the list of subvariants under monitoring by the World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Control.

It has been detected in 33 countries.

"Limited information is available for the variant and researchers are currently characterizing the variant in terms of transmissibility, immune evasion, and ability to cause more severe disease," the DoH said.

Public health expert Dr. Tony Leachon also warned the public against the Arcturus XBB.1.16 variant, which started in India.

Its symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, and conjunctivitis or sore eyes.

"This should be something we should watch out for, but we should not panic because these are milder cases," Leachon said.

"I don't think there will be an increase in the hospitalization rate. And I can assure the public there will not be any economic lockdown, basically because of the milder cases that we're seeing right now, not only in the Philippines but also in other parts of the world."

As of April 23, the Covid-19 positivity rate was at 10.9 percent, although the health care utilization rate remains low.

Leachon said the wearing of masks should be mandatory to prevent viral transmissions.

Getting a second booster shot against Covid-19 for the general population is a "welcome opportunity," he added.

"The general population is actually the vulnerable one," he said, citing a Philippine Statistics Authority report that it is this group that could be more prone to getting the virus.

Leachon said the public should be concerned that 26 provinces have been placed under Alert Level 2 by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

"It's something the public should be concerned about, but we should not panic because most of these cases will be milder," he said in a video interview with The Manila Times.

The provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, Quezon, Palawan, Camarines Norte, Masbate, Antique, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Western Samar, Lanao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, North Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, Dinagat Islands, Basilan, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are under Alert Level 2 until April 30.

Leachon cited a World Health Organization (WHO) declaration last January that the world is still under a public health emergency and that the pandemic is not yet in the endemic stage, but at a "transition point."

"We are in a transition point where we have mild Covid cases, but we are not out of the woods yet," he said in a Viber message to The Times.

"We will have episodic surges due to poor vaccination, waning immunity and lack of bivalent vaccines. We need to prepare the population if we need to open up the economy to investors and revitalize major industries," Leachon added.

Health Officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire does not see the need to reimpose more stringent restrictions such as mandatory masking even if cases of Covid-19 continue to increase in the country.

The Health department reported that there was a 32 percent rise in Covid-19 cases in the country during the week of April 17 to 23, translating to a daily average caseload of 450 cases per day.

During a media briefing at the sidelines of the Malaria-Free Awarding Ceremony in Quezon City on Tuesday, Vergeire shot down suggestions that there should be more restrictions in mobility among the unvaccinated and the resumption of mandatory masking. She instead urged the public to be more cautious and vigilant.

"Every one of us has the right to know what our risks are so that we will know if we would wear our masks or not," Vergeire said.

It is also counterproductive to reimpose restrictions now that the economy is slowly moving back on track after two years of lockdowns, she added.

She said the increase in the number of cases should not be attributed to the Holy Week exodus, but to the presence of more transmissible Covid-19 variants and the interaction of people during the dry season, among other things.

She noted that the IATF-EID has not elevated some provinces under Alert Level 2, explaining that the 26 areas remained under Alert Level 2 because of the level of vaccinations there.

Vergeire said the IATF' s new policy on the alert level system was still being discussed, specifically on the "decoupling" of the restrictions to the alert level system and that the system would just be used as a "warning signal" as a guide for local government units.

"We gave local governments the flexibility [to implement restrictions] as long as we follow the layers of protection to prevent more people from getting sick," she added.

Vergeire said the local government units were enjoined to implement the vaccination of second booster doses as the guidelines for its administration have been issued, and urged the public to get their booster shots at the nearest health center.

Tulfo most trusted, approved senator — survey

 BY ELLALYN DE VERA-RUIZ

Apr 26, 2023 09:31 PM

  

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Senator Raffy Tulfo received the highest trust and approval ratings among the country's current senators, according to the findings of a big data research firm's nationwide survey.

Tulfo received a 90 percent trust rating and an 83 percent approval rating from the 2,000 respondents in the Tangere survey, which had results released on Wednesday, April 26. 

(Photo from Senator Raffy Tulfo’s Facebook page)

Senators with the next-highest trust and approval ratings were Senator Grace Poe (84 percent trust rating and 79 percent approval rating), Senator Joel Villanueva (83 percent trust rating and 76 percent approval rating), Senator Sherwin Gatchalian (80 percent trust rating and 75 percent approval rating), and Senator Francis Escudero (80 percent trust rating and 74 percent approval rating).

Based on the survey results, the top five senators consistently received high ratings for both trust and approval, according to Tangere founder and CEO Martin Peñaflor.

Meanwhile, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano (53 percent trust rating and 51 percent approval rating), Cynthia Villar (55 percent trust rating and 51 percent approval rating), and Bong Revilla Jr. (57 percent trust rating and 53 percent approval rating) were "consistent" in the bottom rankings, Peñaflor said.

The mobile-based survey was conducted from April 17 to 20 with survey respondents proportionately representing the following areas nationwide: 12 percent from Metro Manila, 23 percent from North and Central Luzon, 22 percent from South Luzon (including Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Bicol), 20 percent from the Visayas, and 23 percent from Mindanao. 

What are the top 10 mind blowing facts about the Philippines?

 

Mark Rhysand

Studies philosophy, humanities, anthropology and metaphysics

Living the Introvert’s dream

Here are ten mind-blowing facts about the Philippines that you may find surprising:

1. The Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands, making it one of the largest archipelagos in the world.
2. The country is home to the world's smallest monkey, the tarsier, which can fit in the palm of your hand.
3. Filipinos are known for their love of basketball, and it's not uncommon to see makeshift basketball courts on streets and alleys throughout the country.
4. The Philippines is the world's leading producer of coconuts and is also a major exporter of pineapples and bananas.
5. The world's largest pearl, weighing in at 14.1 pounds and valued at $100 million, was found in the waters off the coast of the Philippines.
6. The country is home to the world's largest indoor arena, the Philippine Arena, which can seat up to 55,000 people.
7. The Filipino language, Tagalog, has a unique way of expressing time. For example, instead of saying "one o'clock," Filipinos say "alas una ng hapon," which translates to "one of the afternoon."
8. The Philippines is one of only two predominantly Catholic countries in Asia (the other being East Timor), and Catholicism plays a significant role in the country's culture and traditions.
9. The country is home to some of the world's most beautiful beaches, including Boracay Island, which was named the best island in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine in 2012.
10. The Philippine eagle, also known as the monkey-eating eagle, is one of the largest and most powerful birds of prey in the world and is found only in the Philippines.

Regenerative farms where every month is Earth Month

 Beyond Earth Month itself, many farms are already practicing regenerative agriculture for the sake of healthier people and environment.

BY RALPH LAUREN ABAINZA

Apr 25, 2023 10:47 AM

  

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Earth Month is an annual celebration every April, highlighting the importance of environmental movement in achieving a more sustainable future for the planet. 

Regenerative agriculture is an emerging movement from conventional agricultural practices to more resource-efficient and environmentally conscious ones. It consciously aims to reduce the use of water and other inputs and prevent land degradation and deforestation. It improves soil, biodiversity, climate resilience, and water resources while making farming more productive and profitable.

Here are some local farms that are taking regenerative agricultural practices into their day-to-day activities: 

Terra Grande Farms

Close-up of the herd happily eating grass in the pasture area. (Ruel Silvano)

Terra Grande Farms is a goat farm in Negros Occidental that raises Anglo-Nubian goats and upgraded Philippine native goats. The goats are raised as naturally as possible using semi-intensive management, and it also hosts a nursery for agroforestry. The farm is known for its various regenerative agricultural practices in raising goats, such as rapid rotational grazing systems, silvopasture, keyline design principles, permaculture, and even agroforestry. With the sustainability concept at the center of its operations, the farm also has more than 50 kinds of high-value crops. 

Raskin Timmangao’s Farm 

A pond where Timmangao grows an expensive aquatic species locally called chalet, the same type of eel being popularly consumed in Japan. (Daniel Jason Maches)

Considering indigenous farming and sustainability, the Raskin Timmangao’s Farm was started by Arnold Timmangao by planting native trees in heavily denuded land in Natonin, Mountain Province. The area that was previously landslide-prone and with virtually nonexistent wildlife is now an integrated agroforestry farm that acts as a rainforest, while raising high-quality Arabica coffee beans, such as Mondo Novo and Bourbon. In a bid to create a more productive, yet sustainable ecosystem, Timmangao also planted different fruit trees such as durian, rambutan, and cacao. The farm is also home to native vegetation, including swamp gabi, to grow on the site.

La Granja de Reyna

View of La Ganja de Reyna farm atop a hill. (Daniel Jason Maches)

La Granja de Reyna, located in Tacloban City, Leyte, is known for growing a variety of crops cultivated organically and even has an organic-integrated farm certification. When it was established in 2010, the farm first produced legumes, kangkong, cabbage, and mustard. With an agricultural engineering background, the farm owner, Martina Reyna, was able to craft farming practices that are organic and regenerative, especially after the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. The farm's kangkong also became one of the food sources for many typhoon victims in Leyte after. The farm highlighted the importance of collaboration and consideration of regenerative practices to ensure that the farm's ecosystem can fully recover after a disaster, such as a typhoon. 

These are just some examples highlighting the vital role of considering the environment in making farms more profitable and sustainable. There are still many farms taking the idea of Earth Day into their day-to-day operations, ensuring a more sustainable future for all. This Earth month, it is important to remember the farmers who are taking care not just of the world's food and other raw materials supply, but also help in taking care of the planet's environment. 

VP Duterte highlights value of sports in Filipino youth

BY RAYMUND ANTONIO

Apr 25, 2023 10:20 PM

  

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Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Tuesday, April 25, turned the spotlight on the role of sports in teaching Filipino youth the discipline and hard work they need to succeed in life.

Vice President Sara Duterte speaks at the inauguration of Oriental Mindoro Sports Complex in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. (OVP photo)

Speaking during the inauguration of Oriental Mindoro Sports Complex in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, the official emphasized that sports could be the key in the growth and development of Filipino youth.

For her, sports and education are deeply connected in ensuring that children are protected from forces that hamper their pursuit of better lives and future.

“Winning becomes the fire that ignites their (children and youth) desire to win more games,” she said.

“But most importantly, sports teach them that winning is sweeter when it is celebrated with humility and when magnanimity becomes a source of inspiration for others to play future games better,” Duterte added.

She believed that those who get into sports learn “the value of discipline, hard work, and healthy competition.”

But more than winning, the Vice President also stressed the lessons learned from losing in competitions.

“In defeat, on the one hand, sports teaches them to harness their inner strength and maturity to persevere, work harder, and pick themselves up when they fall — and stand with a strong resolve to once again fight and fight to win,” she said.

She commended the local government of Oriental Mindoro for building the sports complex, which she described as a “symbol of the aspiration” of the local leaders for their children and youth.

“Magsisilbi itong simbolo ng pag-asa para sa ating mga kabataang may interest sa sports (This will serve as a symbol of hope for our youth who has interest in sports),” Duterte said.

However, this should also serve as a reminder for the officials that they need to push for the programs that would guide the youth toward a better future.

The sports complex features a multi-purpose hall, standard-sized track and field oval, tennis court, basketball court, and a volleyball court.

The inauguration of the sports complex was in time for the opening of the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Athletics Meet, where six teams have enlisted to compete in various fields.

Duterte extended monetary contributions to all six participating units, their coaches, and technical officials.

The joys and fruits of language learning

By: Inez Ponce de Leon - @inquirerdotnet

Ambeth Ocampo, my friend and colleague from both the Ateneo and the Inquirer, had an interesting column last week. He talked about how he had to learn Spanish in college, and then linked it to the value of Filipinos learning another language besides English and Filipino to equip themselves for a globalized world.

To this, I have two things to add.

First, I agree with the idea of investing time in learning a language. Most people will contend that they are too old or too busy to do it. A 2019 review of research over the past decades by Fox and colleagues, however, shows that being multilingual has a wide range of benefits, no matter what age you start learning.

Multilingual people can associate with multiple cultures and are more confident. Later in life, those who spend time learning languages also have stronger memory, can do more cognitive tasks, and delay the onset of dementia.

Language learning can be difficult and costly, but there are free, helpful apps. Ambeth and I use Duolingo. I’ve been on a streak for over six years now: I started with Italian; when I finished it, I added Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Ukrainian. I spend 30 minutes a day on weekdays, 90 minutes on weekends.

What’s the point? Language learning has indirect benefits: The brain stretches its memory-retaining muscles, so to speak, because it is forced to remember where words are placed, how sentences are formed, how verbs are conjugated to meet both tense and doer. This is why most of our first memories revolve around our first words: The capacity to remember things is connected to the capacity to connect words with objects, and objects to meaning.

Learning languages has since helped me spot themes in data, making analysis easier; it also helps me check students’ papers faster.

This brings me to my second point: The fruit of learning new things goes beyond knowing.

A student recently posted online that she didn’t need to learn things beyond her college major, like writing, languages, or philosophy. She needed only science because it was the only thing she would ever need anyway.

I was disappointed in the post and those who agreed with it. To confine oneself to a single field is to betray one’s ignorance of how all fields and professions are integrated—how all fields and professions should work together to solve our wicked problems. To ask, “Why do I have to do this?” is to refuse to learn how other fields are related to one’s own.

True: having more classes does not mean better students; but having quality classes, even in subjects outside one’s field, can strengthen one’s toolbox of ideas and skills. Having well assessed tasks can also help students grow beyond the classroom.

Writing research papers, for instance, helps students organize their thinking and trains them to always cite sources for their claims. Relegate the entire task to ChatGPT, and a student loses their ability to work independently. They are no better than the troll that ends their empty rhetoric with “you’re ugly and stupid.”

Interpreting literary texts helps students deepen their understanding of the human condition, allowing them to develop a sense of empathy. Philosophy trains them to use logic to build arguments. To dismiss such fields and skills as useless betrays a lack of imagination.

This lack of imagination then leads to arrogance, in this case, the state in which one refuses to learn new things because they believe that they should learn only what their field appears to be about. This is arrogance because a beginner in the field truthfully has no idea what the future will hold and how their field will evolve.

They have imprisoned themselves in the present and condemned themselves to a state of not adapting to the changes that will eventually, inevitably come—because knowledge will not always be the same.

That, too, is the gift that any kind of learning brings: the willingness to open oneself to other worldviews in a globalized world.

One might be learning a new language in their old age, restarting their career in middle age, reading a new author in college, embarking on a project in high school, identifying colors in elementary, forming their very first word—learning is and should always be a joy, whether or not one is in school, no matter what field one is in.

iponcedeleon@ateneo.edu

Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/?p=162663#ixzz7zwsPNijJ

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