Opinion

I was expecting new names, new personalities, multi-sectoral at the very least, in the slate of Bacolod mayoralty candidate, Albee Benitez. I was not that disappointed, but I wasn’t impressed either.Many are excited about Albee of course. The video presentation that I caught on social media about provincial officials and the medical community vouching for him with regards to his cohesive response to the COVID-19 pandemic was a good reminder that indeed, the clamor for change and why Albee was convinced to run for mayor, all started because people were so frustrated with how the city government handled the pandemic.I’ve said it then when I was still writing for another paper that this pandemic can make or break sitting officials. Which is also why Vice-Mayor El Cid Familiaran’s popu...

Last week, we have seen that in Israel, without the national vaccination campaign, the country would have had 3X the number of hospitalizations and deaths, which could have overwhelmed its healthcare system. This time, we have yet another real world evidence showing that COVID vaccination, without a doubt, prevents hospitalizations and death. In Scotland, less than 0.05% of at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19 were hospitalized or died from the virus, according to a large, population-based study looking at data from Dec 8, 2020, to Apr 18, 2021. The results, published in The Lancet, showed that of 2,572,008 Scottish people, 883 needed COVID-19–related hospitalization, and 541 died from COVID-19 infection after the first dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech (32.7%)...

Almost two years into this COVID-19 pandemic, and there are still people who will attempt to endanger others for their benefit.It was incredulous to hear what happened in one of our private hospitals here in Bacolod over the weekend due to an expectant mother who intentionally withheld proper information that led to chaos.According to my source, the mother who was from Talisay City was scheduled to give birth and as part of the protocol, was asked to have an RT-PCR test before admission. She initially went to Red Cross and her test came back positive. She then went to another testing lab where another RT-PCR came out with negative results. This was what she presented to the hospital upon admission and she was admitted to the ward along with negative moms.As part of protocol tho...

On Thursday, October 7, my life's page turns 58 years old, and looking back, more than half of it, 32 years to be exact, had been solely devoted to various facets of conservation work here in the country and, to a certain extent, on a global front. If I had an option to rewind all those years, no doubt, conservation work would still be the better option for me in spite of its numerous challenges - both rewarding and fulfilling, but sometimes also frustrating and exhausting.During all those years, I realized that working for conservation is not just a career to pursue, but it is more of a commitment, mission, and passion to make a positive difference for nature and people, little as it may, either working in government or nongovernment institutions, individually or collectively, and loc...

The issue of divorce is one of the thorniest controversies facing society since the time of Jesus. Today, there is a bill on divorce pending in Congress. In the gospel, the Pharisees ask Jesus whether it is lawful for a husband to divorce his wife. Their intention is actually to test Jesus and snare him into an insidious trap of either contradicting Moses, who sanctioned divorce, or opposing God, who instituted marriage.Jesus responds by saying that Moses allowed divorce as a concession because of man’s “hardness of heart.” But, he insists that “from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So, they are no longer two but one flesh.”Beyond the mali...

As of this writing, the petition to exclude Bacolod mayoralty candidate, former Cong. Albee Benitez, from the list of voters in Brgy. Mandalagan is being heard at the Hall of Justice. The case includes Bacolod Election Officer, Atty. Kathrina Cana and the members of the Election Registration Board that approved the former congressman’s transfer of voter’s registration from the 3rd district, to Bacolod.The petitioners, Hector Yula, Teodoro Abao and Jonah Abao are said to be allies of Grupo Progreso, the party of incumbent Bacolod Mayor Bing Leonardia.If this case will be booted out of court, I am sure they will find another issue or venue to file anew, not because they believe they will be victorious, but because any irritant like such, is a strategy to distract your opponent.Re...

Israeli scientists, using national surveillance data routinely collected by the Israeli Ministry of Health, estimated that without the national vaccination campaign, Israel would have had 3X the number of hospitalizations and deaths compared with what actually occurred during its latest and largest wave of COVID-19, which could have overwhelmed its healthcare system.From Dec. 20, 2020, to Apr 10, 2021, Israel launched a massive national COVID-19 vaccination campaign.Israel has a population of approximately 9·2 million people, of whom 6.5 million are aged 16 years or older. The COVID vaccine was offered to all residents of Israel, initially targeting healthcare workers, long-term care-facility residents, people who are immunocompromised, and those aged 60 years and older.Vaccina...

A few days ago, CNN reported the findings of the European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service claiming that the hole in the ozone layer is now larger than the Antarctica.The report added that the ozone depletes and forms a hole over the Antarctic in the Southern Hemisphere during spring, which is from August to October. It was observed that the ozone hole is now larger than 75 percent of the records in previous years and bigger compared with the snow-covered continent it hovers. Antarctica is estimated at 14.2 million square kilometers, a measurement equivalent to the combined sizes of the United States and Mexico.The ozone is an important layer in the atmosphere that protects us from the deadly ultraviolet radiation from the sun. It also helps regulate the different c...

When Joshua asks Moses to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying because they were not present at the bestowing of the Spirit, Moses replies, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!” Likewise, when John complains that somebody, who is an outsider, is casting out demons using Jesus’ name, the Lord responds, “Do not prevent him… for whoever is not against us is for us.”Jealousy is an ugly thing that has been with us since Cain and Abel (since Adam and Eve, actually). It diminishes us and renders us petty and bitter, “acting more like children than children.” Worse, it blinds us from seeing the goodness (God’s gift) in people, and drives us to frustrate, if not destroy that goodness.In today’s gospel, Jesus continues to educate his apostles by...

The global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is progressing at “two alarmingly different speeds”, UN agency leaders said in a statement, highlighting that less than 2 percent of adults are fully vaccinated in most low-income countries compared to over 50 percent in high-income nations.The heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group, World Health Organization (WHO) and World Trade Organization (WTO) met with the CEOs of leading vaccine manufacturing companies to discuss strategies to improve the access to COVID-19 vaccines, especially in low- and lower middle-income countries and in Africa. The task force said without urgent steps, the world will not be able to meet its 40% vaccination goal by the end of 2021, which in a statement they note is a critic...