More senior citizens to enjoy 5% electricity discount under House bill

BY ELLSON QUISMORIO

May 11, 2023 10:00 AM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• Sorsogon 1st district Rep. Marie Bernadette Escudero files House Bill (HB) No.7919, which seeks to expand the coverage of the discount on electricity consumption given to senior citizens.

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(MANILA BULLETIN)

A recently filed House bill (HB) in the 19th Congress seeks to expand the coverage of the discount on electricity consumption being given to senior citizens.

Sorsogon 1st district Rep. Marie Bernadette Escudero penned and filed HB No.7919, also known as the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2023.

The full title of the measure reads, "An Act granting senior citizens a 5 percent discount on their first 200-kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity consumption and exemption from payment of any senior citizen subsidy collected by the government, amending for the purpose Republic Act (RA) No.9994, otherwise known as the 'Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010'."

Under the current law, a 5 percent discount is only given to senior citizens whose monthly consumption is 100 kWh or below.

"Republic Act No.9994, also known as the 'Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010', amended the previous law, RA No 7432, to provide better services and assistance to senior citizens. However, due to changes in their needs over time, certain provisions of the law need further amendment," Escudero wrote in her explanatory note.

"For example, Section 4.c. of RA No.9994 entitles senior citizens to a minimum of 5 percent discount on their monthly electricity consumption, but the current Filipino household consumption, as of March 2023, exceeds the limit of 100 (kWh) set by the law, making only a limited number of senior citizens eligible for the discount," she said.

The measure, if and when enacted, will double the limit to 200 kWh.

"Moreover, ineligible senior citizens are still required to pay for the Senior Citizens Subsidy under Article 5. Resolution No.23, Series of 2010 of the Energy Regulatory Commission. This implementation undermines the original intent of RA No.9994," HB No.7919 further read.

"Therefore, it is respectfully requested that this bill be enacted into law to address these issues and ensure that the rights and privileges of senior citizens are properly upheld," it added.

Fans in frenzy as Beyonce kicks off concert tour

BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

May 11, 2023 10:53 AM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• Hours before the doors opened hundreds of people were thronging outside the stadium, including some who had travelled halfway around the world to catch the show, anxious to see the global music icon -- one of the world's best-selling artists.

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Beyonce (AFP)

SWEDEN (AFP) - Ecstatic Beyonce fans sang and danced in feverish excitement in Stockholm Wednesday as the superstar kicked off her first solo tour in seven years with a futuristic spectacle featuring a lunar rover, an airborne horse and wall-to-wall rhinestones.

Hours before the doors opened hundreds of people were thronging outside the stadium, including some who had travelled halfway around the world to catch the show, anxious to see the global music icon -- one of the world's best-selling artists.

Once the concert was about to begin, the tens of thousands of fans in the 60,000-capacity Friends Arena -- filled to the brim -- erupted in cheers as their "queen" emerged on stage. 

"Just want to say: Y'all make me so happy," Beyonce said as the concert began. 

"I see familiar faces, people that flew from very, very far to come see the first show tonight," she told the audience at the outset of the three-hour space and science fiction themed show.

The show features Beyonce performing atop a lunar vehicle, playing the role of a news anchor while dressed as a queen bee, and suspended above the crowd as she sits on a model horse completely covered in sparkling rhinestones.

"This was another level. Amazing, I can't wait for the rest of the tour," Abdul Ibraimoh, a 33-year-old artist manager from London, told AFP after the show.

"There was a lot of anticipation for what she was going to do, and yes I'm speechless, it was just incredible," Shane Barkey, a 31-year-old radio host from Ireland, said.

Beyonce, who has a record 32 Grammy awards; is in the top 10 biggest grossing female artists. She is also a fashion icon, with designers queueing up for her attention.

Many of the fans in Stockholm sported cowboy hats and rhinestones, mimicking the look of the performer's outfit in the ads announcing the 57-stop European and North American tour.

Julie Vargas, who flew in from Houston, Texas -- Beyonce's hometown -- confessed to having a "shrine" dedicated to the star at home.

"I don't want any spoilers, I wanted to be the first to see it and take the news back to H-town baby!" the 38-year-old surgical technologist told AFP as she waited in line in the early afternoon.

- 'The queen' -

The "Renaissance World Tour", announced in February after being teased last autumn, is the star's first solo tour since 2016.

Tickets sold out so quickly for the opening show that tour organisers added a second concert at the same venue for Thursday. From there, she goes to Brussels this weekend.

The tour, which continues until September, is expected to earn the international artist nearly $2.1 billion, according to business magazine Forbes. She is already a multi-millionaire.

"We love Beyonce, she's the queen, that's why we are here of course," 36-year-old artist Kasher Bloom from Riga told AFP.

"Beyonce is the queen! Our mother, everything! I would do anything for her," Jarra Jatta, a 21-year-old fan from Helsingborg in southern Sweden. 

In February, Beyonce made history by becoming the most successful artist in the history of the Grammys, surpassing the late classical conductor Georg Solti's long-standing record of 31 lifetime trophies.

But despite winning another four Grammys, fans were disappointed that she missed out on the award for album of the year for her seventh studio album, the house-tinged "Renaissance". The 16-song 2022 album was an instant hit and earned wide praise for its deep ambition.

- Decades at the top -

Born Beyonce Giselle Knowles, the now-41-year-old has been in the upper echelons of pop music since her teenage years.

She initially rose to fame as part of Destiny's Child -- whose smash hits included "Survivor" and "Say My Name" -- before embarking on a wildly successful solo career.

From setting the standard for the overnight album drop to delivering her earth-shattering "Homecoming" show at Coachella in 2018, Beyonce has long bucked the industry's conventional wisdom. She is simultaneously one of music's most private and most watched stars.

Her paradigm-shifting 2016 album "Lemonade," which emphasised Black womanhood against the backdrop of America's heritage of slavery and culture of oppression, remains one of the most venerated musical projects in recent memory.

Then she dropped the critically acclaimed song "Black Parade" in June 2020, amid nationwide protests ignited by the murder of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a white police officer.

Metro Manila Covid-19 positivity rate soars to 24.2%

BY ELLALYN DE VERA-RUIZ

May 11, 2023 10:35 AM

  

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The seven-day positivity rate in Metro Manila rose from 19.7 percent on May 2 to 24.2 percent on May 9, OCTA Research Fellow Dr. Guido David said on Wednesday night, May 10.

He noted that the rate will most likely exceed 25 percent, revising his previous projection that it would not reach 25 percent before the expected peak. 

However, David said that OCTA is still expecting the peak of the surge as early as next week.

“Exceeding 25 percent is almost a given at this time. We still expect the peak to happen within one to two weeks,” he pointed out.

Metro Manila’s seven-day positivity rate as of May 9, 2023 (OCTA Fellow Dr. Guido David/Twitter)

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.

Meanwhile, David said that hospital bed occupancy for Covid-19 patients in Metro Manila is at 27 percent, which is classified as “low.”

On May 10, the Department of Health reported 1,476 new Covid-19 cases across the country, of which 621 cases were recorded in Metro Manila.

David projected that the country may record 1,900 to 2,100 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, May 11.

He said the country’s current positivity rate is 22.4 percent, up from 20.9 percent during the previous day.

DOH says COVID-19 pandemic not yet over after global health emergency lifting

Gaea Katreena Cabico - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — The public should not be complacent as the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over, the Department of Health said Tuesday following the move of the World Health Organization to end the global emergency status for the coronavirus crisis.

Last week, the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the COVID-19 pandemic, which killed millions of people and wreaked economic and social havoc, no longer constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern.” PHEIC is the WHO’s highest level of alert.

“Even though the WHO has already lifted the PHEIC status, they didn’t say the pandemic is already over,” Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.

“We want to remind everyone that even though the PHEIC has been lifted, we cannot be complacent at this point. We still need to be vigilant,” she added.

For Marcos' approval

The Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, which the DOH chairs, met Monday to discuss the impacts of the WHO declaration and the policies that will be affected.

Vergeire did not disclose the task force’s recommendations, but said these will be submitted to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. next week for his consideration and approval.

“For now, all policies based on the president’s executive orders and other IATF resolutions shall still be in effect until otherwise repealed,” she said.

The WHO first declared PHEIC over the crisis on Jan. 30, 2020, and classified it a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte on March 8, 2020 declared a state of public health emergency due to COVID-19, allowing national and local government agencies to implement urgent and critical measures to contain the spread of the virus, and mitigate its effects to the community. This declaration is yet to be lifted.

“We are going to align whatever existing policies there are if the public health emergency is lifted,” Vergeire said.

In anticipation of the possible lifting of the country’s public health emergency over COVID-19, vaccine manufacturers are being encouraged to apply for certificate of product registration as the Food and Drug Administration will no longer be able to issue emergency use authorization for jabs, the health official said.

A CPR is issued by the FDA to manufacturers to distribute, market or sell their products to the public.

Increase in cases

COVID-19 cases in the Philippines are on the rise, with the DOH reporting 9,465 infections in the past week. There were 12,161 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday.

“Although we have seen an increase in COVID-19 cases, this does not translate to an increase in hospital admissions, severe and critical cases remain low, and many of the cases are mild,” Vergeire said.

According to Vergeire, 96% of these cases were either mild, asymptomatic or moderate, and the country’s healthcare utilization rate remains at low risk.

The Philippines has confirmed over 4.1 million COVID-19 infections, with more than 66,000 deaths, since the pandemic began in early 2020.

‘Dangerous’ heat continues with 20 areas recording heat indices above 41°C on May 9

BY ELLALYN DE VERA-RUIZ

May 9, 2023 07:29 PM

  

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The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that 20 locations across the country experienced dangerously high heat indices on Tuesday, May 9.

PAGASA recorded Tuesday’s highest heat index, or temperature as perceived by the human body, at 46 degrees Celsius (°C) in Ambulong Station in Tanauan, Batangas.

A heat index of 42°C to 51°C indicates imminent “danger,” as “heat cramps and heat exhaustion are likely,” and “heat stroke is probable with continued activity,” according to PAGASA.

Other areas that registered dangerously high heat indices on Tuesday were Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte (45°C); Sangley Point, Cavite (45°C); Legazpi City, Albay (44°C); Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Pasay City (44°C); San Jose, Occidental Mindoro (44°C); Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur (44°C); Dagupan City, Pangasinan (43°C); Laoag City, Ilocos Norte (43°C); Roxas City, Capiz (43°C); Alabat, Quezon (42°C); Borongan, Eastern Samar (42°C); Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro (42°C); Coron, Palawan (42°C); Cotabato City, Maguindanao (42°C); Dauis, Bohol (42°C); Iba, Zambales (42°C); Juban, Sorsogon (42°C); Masbate City, Masbate (42°C); and Virac, Catanduanes (42°C).

(Image courtesy of Pixabay)

Based on PAGASA’s data, the highest heat index recorded since March 1, 2023, was 49℃ on April 16 in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

In the next 24 hours, PAGASA said Batanes and Babuyan Islands will have cloudy skies and rains due to the frontal system, a weather system where cold and warm air merge.

PAGASA warned of moderate to occasional heavy rains that could cause flooding or landslides in these areas.

Meanwhile, the rest of the country will continue to experience partly cloudy to cloudy weather with isolated rain showers or localized thunderstorms due to the easterlies or warm air from the Pacific Ocean.

Here we go again: Solon slams NGCP for failing to prevent Luzon summer blackouts

BY ELLSON QUISMORIO

May 10, 2023 09:35 AM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• AnaKalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes slams the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for the rotating power interruptions in Luzon, saying it failed to prevent the scenario despite his warnings.

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A pro-health congressman has castigated the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for the rotating power interruptions in Luzon, saying it has failed to prevent the scenario despite his warnings.

“Maaga pa, sinabi na natin (We told them early on) that ancillary services must be given attention with the then-looming threat on the grid and its capacity to transmit electricity to electricity distributors and the consuming public, especially the health facilities," Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes said in a statement Wednesday, May 10.

The NGCP announced a red alert over the Luzon grid Monday, resulting to the rotating power outages

It said the entirety of Luzon was on red alert from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and again from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A yellow alert was observed from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The reason for this was the forced outages experienced by five power plants, while three others were running on derated capacities.

Reyes said the surge in electricity demand during the summer months is not an unforeseen scenario, and could have been easily addressed had NGCP and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) acted according to their mandates.

"Para na tayong sirang plaka, pero tag-ulan pa lamang ay hinahanapan na natin ng kontrata sa ancillary services ang NGCP (We're like a broken record, but we've been asking for ancillary service contracts since the previous rainy season).

“Nasaan na ang ancillary service contracts ng NGCP? Nagdilim ang Western Visayas last week, dito sa Luzon dalawang araw na ang nakalipas. Hihintayin pa ba nating buong bansa ang mawalan ng kuryente? (Where are the ancillary service contracts of NGCP? Western Visayas went dark last week, the same with Luzon two days ago. Should we wait for the entire country to experience a blackout?)" asked the solon.

Ancillary services are back-up power supply agreements with power generation companies which are supposed to be contracted by NGCP to serve as alternative power supply sources in the event that regularly-contracted operators in the generation side of the energy industry stop operating due to overwhelming electricity demand, emergency breakdowns, and other unforeseen events adversely affecting their operation.

In March this year, NGCP blamed ERC for its failure to process or approve the ancillary services contracts it applied for with other players in the generation sector of the industry.

As early as February, Reyes had already warned against the inaction of NGCP, and urged them to secure the operation of the grid and guarantee unhampered power transmission service during the summer months when electricity demand goes beyond regular consumption levels.

"There is a surplus of generated electricity in Mindanao that we can harness to augment the fluctuating supply of power in Luzon and Visayas... NGCP continues in its failure to connect these regions as provided for by their Transmission Development Plan. Its delayed contracting of much-needed ancillary services makes the current situation worse,” the solon earlier said.

ILTM Asia Pacific, region's leading luxury travel event, returns in June

BY JOHANNES CHUA

May 10, 2023 02:19 AM

  

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The region’s leading luxury travel event -- ILTM Asia Pacific -- is set to take place at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore on June 19-22, 2023. It is expected to attract a thousand delegates, reaching pre-pandemic levels of attendance, and a show of confidence that the luxury travel market has recovered.

According to a statement from the organizer, this year’s edition "sees a myriad of business opportunities for international and regional luxury travel brands and destinations alike, with over 450 select luxury travel advisors from across the region looking to connect with over 450 luxury travel providers."

Networking session during the ILTM Asia Pacific in 2022.

During the three days, pre-scheduled meetings and networking opportunities will happen. Luxury travel agents, representing the region’s highest net worth of clients, will be hosted at the event by ILTM in Singapore, with 44 percent being new to the trade show this year. The majority (60 percent) will be from Australasia, while 9 percent will come from South-East Asia, 8 percent from China, 7 percent from India and Hong Kong, 6 percent from Taiwan, and 3 percent from Japan.

The show has also already seen confirmation from smaller, independent luxury travel suppliers such as ÀNI Private Resorts (the world’s first collection of exclusive and all-inclusive private resorts), Jawakara (a new, high-end family friendly and multigenerational Maldives island), and Angama (a stunning new safari lodge in Kenya).

Established brands such as Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Marriott International Luxury Brands, IHG Hotels & Resorts and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will be present, as well as XO Private, Preferred Hotels, Small Luxury Hotels of the World and Leading Hotels of the World who will be showcasing many of their member hotels. Attendees can tour several international destinations across the show floor with Fiji, Italy, Portugal, and Korea all committing to attend.

“ILTM Asia Pacific will bring new levels of travel expertise and boundless energy. The success of ILTM is not just the appointments on the show-floor, but the many different opportunities to meet, connect, network, and build relationships – often officially and informally,” said Alison Gilmore, director of ILTM Portfolio with RX Global.

Established and new luxury travel brands will be present for the 2023 edition.

Another highlight will be the results of the latest ILTM research undertaken in collaboration with research specialist Altiant, to be launched during the event’s opening forum, which will be held at the Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore.

“The last three years have seen the travel industry confronted by unique and unprecedented challenges, giving way to predictions, opinions, and forecasts. And as China moves out of a prolonged period of lockdown the travel industry needs to understand which trends are being reflected and which are mere speculation,” Gilmore added.

For more information, visit www.iltm.com/asiapacific.

PH women's volleyball team dumps Cambodia in SEAG opener

  

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AT A GLANCE

• The Filipina spikers hardly flexed their muscles against the host country, dominating the match from start to finish by firing attacks on all angles to nail their first win in the group stage.

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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—The Philippine women’s volleyball team blasted an inexperienced Cambodian side, 25-5, 25-5, 25-5, to jumpstart its title campaign in the 32ndSoutheast Asian Games at the National Olympic Stadium here.

Members of the Philippine women's volleyball team pose for a photo before their game against host Cambodia. (Kristel Satumbaga)

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The Filipina spikers hardly flexed their muscles against the host country, dominating the match from start to finish by firing attacks on all angles to nail their first win in the group stage.

The PH spikers opened with a 13-2 lead and ripped the game wide open to 18-3 en route to the set victory and sustained their charge in the next two frames.

Team captain Alyssa Valdez did not play in the match, but her teammates led by Jema Galanza, Tots Carlos and Jia De Guzman had it all under control to school their rivals.

Cambodia is fielding a women’s volleyball team for the first time, and first-game jitters probably caught up against their players as they fell into a maze of errors for most parts of the match.

PH team’s Brazilian coach Jorge de Brito said they did not take the game lightly, knowing that Cambodia is determined to play with its heart and soul despite the lack of experience.

“Cambodia is on the way, even if we saw the difference on the playing levels,” said de Brito.

“It’s also how you put your team inside so they’re really committed.”

Up next for the Filipina spikers is Vietnam, silver medalist in last year’s edition, on Wednesday.

Let’s be united with Christ always

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

KNOWING who we really are—that is, that we are image and likeness of God, sharers of his divine life and nature, having been patterned after Christ—we need to realize that we are meant to be united with God always through Christ in the Holy Spirit.

We are reminded of this truth of our faith in that gospel parable where Christ said that “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you.” (Jn 15,1-4)

We need to realize more deeply that Christ, being the vine, is always with us. He is where we are attached to just as branches are attached to the vine. But we need to be fruitful, otherwise we would be taken away. It’s also good to note that Christ has given us everything so that we would be fruitful. He has pruned us with his word so that we can precisely be fruitful.

The challenge we have to face and tackle is how we can always be aware that we are actually united with Christ and be faithful to him by following his word and example, so that we can keep ourselves being united to him.

For this, we need to avail of some means that would help us to be always in his presence, aware and desirous to do his will and ways, even as we immerse ourselves in all our temporal and earthly affairs.

We have to be most wary of our strong tendency to do just our own will without relating it to Christ’s will. That would constitute sheer self-indulgence that will shortly fizzle out just as a branch cannot live long when detached from the vine, the giver and source of life and fruitfulness.

Thus, we need to make several pauses during the day so that we can recover and keep our presence of God all day long, and put ourselves in the proper condition to carry out God’s will.

We have to learn how to resist being swallowed up and trapped in our temporal affairs which nowadays can be very irresistible and absorbing. We have to sharpen our awareness that our life is meant to be a shared life with God through Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Yes, our life, whether considered in its purely natural aspect or in its supernaturally oriented spiritual dimension, that is, particularly our Christian life, is by definition a shared life.

We need to develop the skills not only to protect and keep this property of our life, but also to continually reinforce and enhance it. That’s because our life is always a dynamic affair, with new challenges and changing circumstances.

We cannot remain naïve and think that our life more or less would just automatically be a shared life. Some people say so, because they claim we cannot avoid sharing our life with others.

To a certain extent, that assertion is true. But neither can we be blind to the fact that we and the world in general have ways, often subtle and deceptive, that effectively annul this shared characteristic of our life.

We just have to be keenly aware that whatever situation we find ourselves in, Christ always has something to say, and we just have to follow it.