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Every year for many decades, July 16, 2023 is “Friendship Day” for members of the University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R) Dramatics and Cultural Ensemble (Drac) and Amparito L. Lhuillier Educational Foundation and Speechcom alumni. The date coincides with the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. So, USJ-R has novena masses and other related activities during this religious event.

The USJ-R Drac alumni across the globe find time and ways to renew their friendship ties.

Thank you for the prayerful greetings from my colleagues from Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko; We Care; Zonta Clubs 1 and 2; Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry; American Chamber; Cherrypie Callelero; USJ-R; and Benedicto College.

Deaths in Japan’s 4,900 love hotels, usually used as a discreet place for sexual encounters, are rare but were reported in 2021 and 2018.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration has failed to address the pressing issues that concern the youth sector of the country, particularly on providing free education for all and helping graduates secure jobs that match their courses, a militant leader said.

Kyle Enero, chairperson of Kabataan Party-list Cebu, said they were not disappointed with Marcos’ performance in his first year in office since they did not expect him to do projects that will be beneficial to the disadvantaged members of the youth.

"We are not expecting from him at all. Because in reality, he wasted his first year in presidency, he wasted the opportunity in helping the common Filipino. If we rate him, it will be 0/0," Enero told SunStar Cebu during a protest rally on Monday, July 24, 2023, hours before Marcos will deliver his second State of the Nation Address (Sona).

The militant youth leader urged the National Government to invest more on quality education in the country so more youth can avail themselves of free and accessible education, in contrast to the slashing of budget of state universities and colleges (SUCs) last year.

Based on the proposed national budget for 2023, SUCs were allocated funds amounting to P93.08 billion, lower than the P103.97 billion budget in 2022.

He also challenged the government to increase the budget allocation for education to six percent of the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) following the international standards or education set by the United Nations.

According to the Philippine Institute for Domestic Studies (Pids), since 2010 to 2019, the government has only been spending amounts equating from 2.2 percent to 3.6 percent of the GDP to education.

Job mismatch

Enero also hit the National Government for not intervening on the lack of job opportunities available for college graduates, which led to job mismatching.

Job mismatch is a growing phenomenon wherein the skills required to be successful in a certain position and the skills possessed by a certain employee are not completely aligned with each other.

According to a Pids report in August 2022, 40 percent of employed Filipinos have academic credentials beyond what is needed in their jobs and that these Filipinos were only earning five percent more for finishing their studies despite being relatively overeducated for their positions.

Enero said more youth chose to enter the freelancing industry now instead of applying for a job where they can fully utilize the degree program they have graduated from in college.

No crimes

Police Major Efren Diaz Jr. of Cebu City Police Office told SunStar Cebu that the protest rally in Cebu City remained orderly, adding that they have not recorded any crimes relating to the event.

Diaz said the police office deployed around 100 personnel on standby to maintain the peace and order during the demonstrations.

He said among the places that they focused on were Colon Street in downtown area, Plaza Independencia in Barangay San Roque, Fuente Osmeña Circle in Osmeña Boulevard, and Carbon Freedom Park in Barangay Ermita.

Aside from Kabataan Party-list Cebu, 11 other groups joined the protest rally in Cebu City on Monday. These include Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Central Visayas, Partido Manggagawa, Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Kilusang Pambansang Demokrasya, Freedom from Debt Coalition, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Urban Poor Alliance Cebu, Akbayan Citizens Action Party, Alyansa ng mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno, All UP Academic Employees Union Cebu, University of San Carlos Supreme Student Council and Independent Vendors for Empowerment and Development.

The groups said there were more or less 600 activists from Cebu-based progressive groups who joined the rally on Monday to air out their grievances concerning issues from different sectors in the community. (KJF)

It’s a promise that he has repeatedly vowed to honor in previous speeches, but was left out in his major report to the people.

President Joko Widodo has widely been called the kingmaker of the next election, but is yet to officially endorse a candidate.

July 24, 2023 7:25 PM

Taming inflation takes center stage in Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's second State of the Nation Address.

CEBU Governor Gwendolyn Garcia described the State of the Nation Address (Sona) delivered by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Monday afternoon, July 24, 2023, as comprehensive.

"The President gave a very comprehensive report on the gains of the PBBM administration in just one year. And considering that he started with an economy ravaged by the pandemic restrictions, I must say he has done admirably well," Garcia told reporters on Monday, July 24.

The governor also admired the finale of Marcos’ speech that gave emphasis on tourism slogan “Love the Philippines."

"Most of all, I really appreciated the ending. This is a President who, by word and by deed, is leading our country and all of us Filipinos to genuinely and truly Love The Philippines!," Garcia said.

The governor had praised the president for his sacrifices on behalf of the nation.

These include traveling abroad to create positive relationships and attract investments to the country.

In his Sona, Marcos Jr. also underlined the importance of forging friendships with all nations in order to create a more orderly, peaceful, and successful nation.(ANV, TPT)

In a move to foster economic growth and development, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. unveiled the government’s plans to enhance the nation's infrastructure and connectivity during the second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

At the top of the short list of priority legislation that Marcos mentioned in his second SONA were related to the country's Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, including measures on taxes.

Outside Congress where Marcos spoke, hundreds of protesters pressed the government to deal with higher wages, inflation and the environment.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. urged the public to conserve water in preparation for the impact of the El Niño phenomenon as he bared the government's preparedness during his second State of the Nation Address.

I remember years ago when I jogged at the oval of the Cebu City Sports Center. One time, the late Cebu Daily News (CDN) fotog Tonee Despojo approached me while I was doing the rounds. I was surprised by his presence and he told me his friends and he would be using the football field for a bit of an exercise. He said he did not want to grow old with any physical disability, so he had to do some exercises to improve his physical health. Yet, Tonee died relatively young nevertheless, succumbing to a cardiovascular ailment.

When you get old, you have to take good care of the organs of your body, like the heart. Another CDN fotog, Junjie Mendoza, suffered from a heart attack recently, but he is on the road to recovery. Former SunStar Cebu reporter Elias Baquero suffered from heart problems also -- before he retired a few years ago. He told me about how his friend Augusto Go of the Chong Hua Hospital, saved him from expensive heart bypass surgery, which was recommended by his doctor, by advising him to get a second opinion on the matter. He got well without surgery, but when he went back to normal living, a heart attack soon felled him. He died.

And who would have thought that another friend, Art Barrit of the Associated Labor Unions, and a seemingly healthy Cebu City Sports Center top gun Ricky Ballesteros, would succumb to cardiovascular ailments? This is the reason heart attacks and strokes are considered “traitor diseases.” You feel healthy enough not to watch what you are eating -- and then when the body already has enough, the attack comes. Often, it is already too late.

I used to joke about how people who grew up in poverty are malnourished because of the lack of resources while growing up. They strive and get rich -- and just when they already have the money to buy food, the doctor tells them to slow down on the food and go on a diet. That’s what life is sometimes: ironic.

I was hospitalized recently when my blood pressure shot up and refused to go down despite medication. I had to act before another stroke would hit me after the mild stroke I suffered a couple of years ago. At the hospital, I was fed with food that had less salt while a dietitian had to lecture me about the benefits of going on a diet. What we eat makes us what we are. My blood pressure shot up because I loosened up on what I ate. And I didn’t exercise much.

Disciplining oneself is among the difficult parts of living. There are even some religions that spend a good deal of time discussing the virtues of eating the right food and at the right amount. But practicing what is preached is difficult. So some people hold on to the opposite. We Cebuanos have a word for that: “pamahala.” We close our eyes, live the life that we want to and forge ahead. If we die in the process, at least we enjoyed life. And if we survive, well and good.

By the way, I would dedicate this column to Landring, a friend when I was growing up spending vacation time in the hometown of my father, Tudela. Landring succumbed to a heart attack recently. May his soul rest in peace.

Every year, over a thousand highly skilled Filipino workers and professionals leave the country for better opportunities abroad. The emigration of highly trained individuals and professionals from the country to the United States, Western Europe, and other Asian countries is disturbing.

It is because most of them are medical and non-medical professionals like nurses, medical technologists, engineers, teachers and skilled workers highly needed in the country. Usually, the high salaries and lucrative benefits are the motivating forces behind the exodus, unmindful of the pain and nostalgia away from home. Because of its temporary benefits like foreign remittance, many disregard the devastating impact of brain drain. Ironically, they are called modern heroes because of their sacrifices and economic contribution.

But what is the actual economic impact of brain drain? Brain drain harms the developing country that is sending the individuals away. Such a country will experience unemployment and a decline in human resources. Highly skilled and talented professionals will be scarce in the locality. It can affect economic development as industries suffer from a lack of labor force. It can also lead to a lack of expertise in major sectors such as health and education, leading to a decrease in the quality of living standards for citizens.

In addition, the country will lose out on tax revenue generated by these individuals, which could weaken the economy. The remittances sent back by professionals can help to boost the economy in the short term, but in the long run, it can lead to an outflow of foreign exchange. Further, it can reduce the country’s ability to invest in newly acquired technology or other economic developments.

Another adverse effect of working abroad is the infidelity issue and family breakdown. Extramarital affairs are high among overseas contract workers in this age of social media. The disintegration of families resulted in abandoned and neglected children in society. No amount of financial success can compensate for the failure at home.

Brain drain is a serious issue that our socioeconomic managers and planners should look into. Its long-term impact could destroy the future and moral fiber of our nation. We cannot allow short-term benefits over long-term damage and drawbacks. The preservation of Filipino families should be our top priority in nation-building.

The first year of Marcos Jr.’s presidency in the Philippines was primarily focused on building his public image, as he attempted to rebrand his regime as “Bagong Pilipinas,” reminiscent of his father’s corrupt and violent “Bagong Lipunan” regime.

However, no amount of rebranding can conceal the inherent corruption and decay at the core of his administration. Marcos Jr. has proven to be incapable of addressing the pressing demands of the people, offering nothing more than an illusion of productivity. This administration is merely an echo of his father’s tyrannical rule.

One of the glaring examples of this is the Maharlika Investment Fund, which was railroaded into law, despite widespread clamor from economists and the broad masses against it.

Under this scheme, public funds, including those of pensioners through SSS and GSIS, are jeopardized by false promises of foreign investment. Instead of focusing on strengthening and industrializing the nation, the so-called economic growth is being placed in the hands of foreign companies and private corporations.

This is clear evidence that Marcos Jr., like his father, continues to be a puppet of imperialist countries. The investment fund also serves as a means for him to institutionalize cronyism, a notorious characteristic of his father’s regime that allowed the Marcos family to amass wealth at the expense of the Filipino people.

No amount of rebranding can hide the ongoing violence perpetrated by Marcos Jr.’s administration against peasants in rural areas.

In Negros, for instance, 21 civilians lost their lives during intensified military operations, with most of them being peasants falsely labeled as “rebels” in staged encounters, which were nothing more than cold-blooded murders.

Through propaganda tactics, the administration attempts to shift blame onto the revolutionary forces for the massacres that state forces themselves have orchestrated. A heartbreaking example is the Fausto family, where two minors were among the victims. They recycle the old narrative of “purging” to justify their lies and atrocities.

Civilians and peasants are still being duped into surrendering as “rebels” in the guise of livelihood projects. Negros, thus, remains a lab rat for human rights violations in the government’s US-led counterinsurgency program through the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

More rights violations are expected in the coming years, as the administration has declared another “deadline” to crush the revolutionary movement. But we assert that a militaristic approach to the armed conflict can only lead to more civilian deaths, and it is only through the resumption of peace talks that meaningful steps toward genuine peace could be attained.

Instead of providing mere band-aid solutions like food stamps or establishing Kadiwa stores, Marcos Jr.’s response to the worsening hunger crisis in the country should prioritize comprehensive, scientific, and people-centered policies and programs toward food sovereignty. Instead of boosting local production, this administration only plans to import from other countries, as is the case in the sugar industry, where the government announced another plan to import 150,000 metric tons of refined sugar on July 6.

It is a shame that, as the Department of Agriculture Secretary, he has nothing to show for addressing the historical problem of landlessness for our farmers. As much as we welcome his move to cancel the loans of farmers, it will not uplift them from the current slave-like conditions they are experiencing now. Farm workers continue to suffer from the piece-meal rate and they still remain without land, despite the bogus land reform program, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Thus, Bayan Negros, and all the progressive groups under it, calls on all Negrosanons to remain vigilant, as the first year of Marcos Jr. will only spell out worse things to come.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday kept his lips sealed on the Philippines’ claim over the West Philippine Sea. 

“In order to repay the sacrifices made by our health workers in private and public hospitals during the pandemic, their COVID-19 health emergency allowances and other pending benefits will be distributed to them,” Marcos said in his second State of the Nation Address. 

A WEEK after Rhea Mae Tocmo was murdered, police in Cebu City already have persons of interest (POIs) in the case.

A native of Jasaan town in Misamis Oriental, the 19-year-old Tocmo was found dead and wrapped inside a cardboard box left on the roadside in Sitio Mohon, Barangay Tisa, Cebu City on Monday, July 17, 2023.

She arrived in Cebu last June 11 to find a job.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, deputy city director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), however, refused to divulge the names of POIs pending an ongoing investigation, but promised to get statements from anyone who had contact with the victim.

Rafter claimed that they have expanded the scope of their investigation into the incident by adding police personnel.

"We are on the right track in our investigation because of the leads we acquired as we go along the way,” the lady police official said.

Rafter admitted that all of Rhea Mae's colleagues that they interviewed have so far cooperated in their investigation.

The CCTV footage from Mandaue City, where Tocmo was picked up by a man on a motorbike, and along the path leading to Sitio Mohon, where her body was discovered, was one of the leads gathered by the police.

The CCPO informed the victim's family that they would not give up until the girl's murder was brought to justice.

"We assured that it wouldn't be abandoned and we really do see to it that justice is done,” Rafter said.

There were already results of the autopsy on Rhea Mae's body, but Rafter did not disclose the findings while their investigation is still ongoing.(AYB, TPT)

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. touted the upskilling of Filipino seafarers in his second State of the Nation Address to keep up with the global shipping industry’s green transition—this while the need to train on handling alternative fuels remains a challenge.

A MOTORCYCLE driver fell into a cliff and died, while his backride survived.

The incident occurred at 7:40 p.m. on Sunday, July 2, 2023 in Sitio Acacia, Barangay Manipis in Talisay City, Cebu.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Randy Caballes, chief of the Talisay City Police Station, identified the victim as Alvin Villamor, 30, a construction worker from the northwest town of Tuburan.

His female backride, Maricel Abranilla, 35, from Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City, sustained injuries but was declared in safe condition.

According to the police investigation, Villamor lost control of the motorcycle after it skidded and went off the road as they were traveling to Toledo City.(BBT, TPT)

The 13-year-old had been used in an undercover operation to help catch a man she met on a dating app.