ORMOC CITY-Excessive heat while cooking copra resulted in the conflagration of the copra dryer at about 3:30 PM on Sunday (March 5) in Sitio Mahayahay of Barangay San Miguel, San Isidro, Leyte.
The burned copra dryer was owned by Mary Ann Arabis,30.
Major Reymund Quinagutan, town police chief, said that at about 1 pm on that day, laborers lit up the copra kiln to cook the copra but due to the heat and oil excreted from the copra, the fire became uncontrollable and spread above the kiln which was made of concrete and light materials that subsequently spread out at the adjacent shanty.
The workers immediately called the local fire office for assistance which got help from the nearby fire station of Tabango.
The fire was declared under control at about 4: 55 pm and fire out at about 5:43 pm.
No injury was reported because of the fire with estimated total damage of P100, 000. (ROBERT DEJON)
Leading digital solutions platform Globe has made history by becoming the first company in the country to test Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity for Short Messaging Service (SMS) and emergency alerts in partnership with global firm Lynk Global.
During the field trial, which took place in Bataan from February 16 to 20, 2023, standard mobile phones connected directly to Lynk’s LEO satellites and successfully sent and received text messages. The satellite was also able to broadcast an emergency message to the phones registered to the Lynk network.
This breakthrough technology is expected to augment Globe’s existing terrestrial networks and provide cellular connectivity to more Filipinos in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
In April of this year, Lynk will launch its global commercial service providing periodic SMS services and cellular broadcast emergency alerts that are roaming-like from a network and user perspective. Over time, Lynk’s service will become seamless and add more services, such as app-based messaging, voice, and data.
“Globe is exploring new satellite technology solutions to reach more people, especially in far-flung areas that do not have any terrestrial network coverage. There are still places within the archipelago where people can benefit from additional mobile coverage,” said Gerhard Tan, Director and Head of Network Strategy and Technology Enablement at Globe.
“At Lynk, we believe that people should be able to use their mobile phones to communicate no matter their location and no matter how remote. Our network of satellites that work as cell towers in space paves the way for Globe to enhance their mobile coverage of the Philippines,” added James Alderdice, VP, Asia-Pacific at Lynk.
The two companies signed an agreement last year for Globe to experience the innovative aspect of the service, specifically the ability for standard unmodified phones to communicate with an LEO satellite in orbit acting as a mobile base station.
“Low Earth Orbit Satellites will dominate the space industry. It will create a strong wave of opportunity to connect the unconnected. This satellite technology will revolutionize basic cellular service and the internet in the country, enabling a digitally-connected Philippines,” Tan said.
Lynk has been working on the technology and satellite service for over five years and has launched several LEO satellites with direct-to-mobile phone service to offer mobile operators and their subscribers’ additional coverage for cellular connectivity. (PR)
CLEMELLE L. MONTALLANA,DM, CESE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR III
CLEMELLE L. MONTALLANA,DM, CESE ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR III
There are many crimes that involves uniformed personnel, for some, the uniform is reason enough to perpetrate crimes and yet for some, the uniform is a tool to mislead the police.
As lawlessness slowly heats up in our midst where ambush of politicians and government officials are usual fodder in our on-line and mainstream news outlets, there is a remarkable commonality among it all. The common denominator was the fact that they are wearing military uniforms.
The suspects in the brutal saying of Aparri Cagayan Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda were wearing police uniforms. The vice mayor was killed together with 5 others. The PNP prompted by this reality ordered monitoring of uniform dealers.
The recent broad daylight and very public assassination of Governor Rolly Degamo was perpetrated by men wearing pixelized military uniforms. The assailants killed 5 more citizens. these folks happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Military Uniforms , bears identity and evokes symbolism . It is a revered piece of symbol that counts previous heroic and past glories. Tonni Pfaner wrote that The military uniform is a form of clothing with a particular symbolism and a long history and tradition. Even individual regiments may dress differ- * Editor-in-Chief of the International Review of the Red Cross. The article reflects the views of the author alone. Military uniforms and the law of war TONI PFANNER* wrote his Essay Military Uniforms and the Laws of War RICR Mars IRRC March 2004 Vol. 86 No 853 93 The uniform reflects order and discipline, and calls for subordination by displaying a variety of insignia, including badges that indicate rank and emphasize the hierarchical structure of armies. It also calls for respect and fear and symbolizes strength and power: it includes features designed to make its wearer appear broader or taller, and thus to enhance the soldiers’ stature in the eyes of comrades, civilians and the enemy. Finally, it helps to create an identity of appearance and an esprit de corps and is thereby conducive to the bonding process.
This time however, it was a flaunted symbol because it evokes gallantry but it can also be used to mislead. It can be a convenient confusing tool aimed to put an investigation in Thus, because of the symbolism, fear and the ability to mislead, the wrong camouflaged shirts and pants became mainstay and I would say this quite alarming.
While the uniform creates a calm and confidence of protection on the population, sometimes, like this late, it creates danger or at least a feeling of danger after all the armed personnel and its uniforms were conveniently found to be part of the usual assassins get-up. It had always been a usual element in the assassins props , and they have been typecast as part of the commission of the crime. Thus, authorities should and must dwell and act on this recent yet alarming reality.
For sometime now the issue about soaring prices of sugar and its by-products
has been hugging the headlines of Philippine newspapers, as led news item of TV and radio news reports. In economics, the situation is attributed to Supply and Demand of sugar -Low production, dictates the price of the commodity. More often than not artificial shortage of consumer items in markets and groceries the businessmen shout as palliative and/or band-aid solution for the government to import as stop gap strategy, flood the outlets with imported stuff to the dismay of the sugar farmers/planters.
Importation, some sectors sympathetic with the lowly farmers, agree to the idea of importation notwithstanding the market prices or even if the prices of locally produced sugar and farmers livelihood are compromised. An importation, as an option to serve the interest of consumers, should me done during the lean months wherein sugarcane plants are not yet or still immature for harvesting and buffer stock of sugar are waning?
The Victorias Milling Co. (VMC) report about the company’s income showing a five-fold increase from August November 2022, is a much welcomed news. It douses the hot issue and apprehension on local sugar production.
The VMC report filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange, states that “its consolidated ne income amounted to P772.7 million from August to November last year, soaring by 446.76 percent fromP141.32 million in the same period in 2021.”
And, that its net profit margin increased from 7 percent to 14 pecent. Also, “revenues jumped by 167.53 percent to P5.49 billion from P2.04 billion as the company’s sale of goods and service income more than doubled”, said VMC.
The sugar miller company was quoted saying “Despite the industry challenges, its balance sheet remains strong while the company remains highly liquid.” Indeed, the report card of VMC is proof of well-managed company.
MY COMMENT:
I would like to believe that the other sugar millers in country have similar success stories on production output and income generation report cards as that of the VMC. If so, the healthy and bright sugar industry is due to rebound in due time and the woes of the consuming public and the marginalized population shall have been addressed properly and timely. Also, sustained intervention by the government in the form of cheaper fertilizer and/or soil conditioners, controlled oil prices shall remain as the sugar planters, millers dream. ooo000ooo NEXT TOPIC : “DA To empower more young farmers through Internship Program” SHARE S & T THOUGHTS through E-mail: drpacjr@yahoo.com.
THE reason can be found in that parable Christ told his disciples about the rich man, dressed in purple, and the poor man, Lazarus, who was lying at the rich man’s door, covered with sores and waiting to get even the scraps of food that fell from the rich man’s table. (cfr. Lk 16,19-31).
As the parable unfolded, both of them died. The poor man was carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham, while the rich man was buried in the netherworld. While at first sight, the parable might strike us to be unfair, since if God is a God of love and mercy, he should therefore be willing to save both of them.
But I suppose that without detracting from the universal love and mercy God has for everyone, the purpose of the parable is simply to teach us about the deadly danger of worldly wealth and the great redeeming value of Christian poverty and austerity.
Wealth in itself is not evil as long as we do not allow it to corrupt us. In fact, poverty and austerity can be bad if they are lived in bitterness and anger, if not hatred against God.
For wealth to be a good thing, it has to be lived with the Christian spirit of poverty and austerity. That means that wealth is used to give glory to God and to serve everybody else. It is not meant to be used for self-indulgence.
Money and richness can become a problem when we are led to get attached to them such that we cannot anymore give ourselves fully to God. They can blind us with respect to our duty to God and to everybody else. We may give the appearance that we are giving a lot, but if it is not the whole of ourselves, then it is not total self-giving which God deserves and expects from each one of us.
Let us always remember that God wants the whole of ourselves. He wants our entire heart, not a divided heart. He wants to be everything to us, the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega. He wants to be given priority over everything else, including our own life.
Especially these days when we are practically bombarded with so many tempting things, we should really be guarded, otherwise we end up completely materialistic and consumeristic, completely dead and numb to the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life as children of God.
We need to regularly check on what we have at the moment, what our real desires of our heart are, to see if indeed we are living the proper spirit of poverty and austerity that Christ himself lived. We know how easy it is for us to lapse into the opposite of poverty and austerity, like greed, envy, etc. With the way the world is developing these days, this practice of checking is very important.
Poverty and austerity allow us to love God and others properly. They clean our hearts of any trace of selfishness and self-indulgence. They make us simple, enabling us to develop many other virtues with ease. They rid us of unnecessary burdens in our life.
Poverty and austerity actually enrich us with a richness that is proper to us. It is the richness of being with God and in communion with everybody else. They enrich us with the love that channels the very love of God for us.
Some things just do not stop in this life. Knowledge is one of them. Its quest continues. Each discovery leads to another, and it’s never-ending. That’s why we have pres and posts because even if one concept has been thoroughly investigated, there are still reactions, protests, and other issues that follow.
Look at the idea of meaning, for example. According to Plato, meaning can be had from what we see, hear, observe, and notice in the environment. Reality according to this view provides meaning for things. But this was questioned later on. Structuralists believe surface meaning is shallow and superficial because underneath, there is an underlying structure that provides more meanings.
For instance, a protruding soil that creates a small mound cannot be interpreted just by looking at its appearance. You have to dig deep to find out what’s causing the soil to protrude. By doing so, you will discover the soil is being pushed upward because there is a piece of camote underneath. That’s the meaning, the explanation, the reason why the surface looked that way.
But finding the growing camote underneath is not the end of it all. According to the post-structuralists, finding the underlying structure is not enough to explain meanings. Because according to them, meaning is unpredictable and changing, and it’s multiple. For instance, the piece of camote underneath could also mean food for the farmer; it could also mean a kind of root crop or a kind of plant root, it’s also medicinal, etc.
From there, sources of meaning can still be reassigned to many other concepts and phenomena. The people behind this constant transfer of meaning from one source to another do not stop theorizing about other possibilities. Meaning then becomes elusive though it is constantly cornered by theorists. The result is an endless proliferation of theories, generating concepts and insights that later become widespread.
The concept that we think already explains everything is, after all, questionable in many aspects. The view that meaning can be had from reality is too shallow, they say. So there is a need to dig deeper to find the underlying reason behind it. But even that reason again is not enough, because it could have plentiful meanings and interpretations.
This makes meaning too elusive, requiring an endless quest for it. It’s like a game that must be played continually, or else there will be no winner, and we will end up losers in life’s playground.
