Opinion-Editorial NEWS

REFLECTIONS TODAY

Realizing the value of employees in the success of their operations, a vast majority (95 percent) of Philippine employers are now prioritizing workers over the next three years in order to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Generally optimistic, most Filipinos see hope and readily shift to a lighter disposition whenever September 1 appears on the calendar. The day opens the four-month season of festivities amidst a cooler temperature for this tropical country, albeit also a season of typhoons and floods.

The country’s agricultural sector, already hard-hit by the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak when the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year, continued its decline in the second quarter of the year as reported by the Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) earlier this month.

National Heroes Day, celebrated on the last Monday of August every year, is the occasion at which Filipinos honor all known and unknown individuals who devoted, risked or even sacrificed their lives in the name of achieving Filipino identity, justice against tyranny, freedom and peace.

Global outrage continues to be expressed over the heinous terrorist attack on crowds waiting to be evacuated from the Kabul airport last August 26.  According to the Afghan Health Ministry, the death toll has risen to more than 170 killed and at least 200 wounded.

As public schools across the Philippines prepare to open in September, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern that millions of Filipino children will spend another year missing out on many opportunities for optimum education.

Shortly after the delayed reopening of classes last year, Education Secretary Leonor Briones reported to the Senate that only 2.1 million or less than half of an estimated 4.3 million learners enrolled in private schools.  Moreover, 865 out of 14,435 private schools nationwide suspended operations.  She surmised that more than half of them transferred to public schools as the global coronavirus pandemic caused serious economic dislocation.

The culprits are in the air and we use a mask to fight a two-way invisible battle: a microscopic virus and tiny particles from the vog. The virus here is COVID, which continues to break record number of infections, while the vog is from the volcanic smog of Taal Volcano, swept by the wind northward, making the air of Metro Manila less breathable. Never has there been a time in our modern history when breathing becomes a worrisome “chore.”

“Still the People’s Champ” is how most Filipinos regard Manny Pacquiao despite his loss to Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas last Saturday (Sunday, Manila time), August 21.  He said he will make an announcement next month, but this will likely be regarding his political plans.  His current term as senator ends next year, so he would have to decide whether he wants to seek reelection or aspire for higher office.

Every year in August we celebrate International Youth Day (Aug. 12), as established by the UN General Assembly on Dec. 17, 1999 “to bring youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrate the potential of youth in today’s global society.”

After two weeks of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), government policymakers decided to place Metro Manila, Laguna and Bataan under a modified ECQ (MECQ) until August 31, 2021.  The latest classification is “without prejudice to the strict implementation of granular lockdowns” if deemed necessary by local officials.

On the 38th death anniversary of the late Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., it is well to recall the circumstances of his death that led to national recognition of his heroism.  When he was assassinated on August 21, 1983, there were only 51.4 million Filipinos; presently, our population is estimated at more than 111 million.  Hence, around 60 million Filipinos could rely only on historical accounts as they seek to know more about him today.

The Commission on Audit’s role as “watchdog” on the proper use of government resources has come into sharp focus.  In his recent regular weekly televised address, President Duterte criticized its audit report calling attention to certain “deficiencies” in the way the Department of Health (DOH) was managing the pandemic.

Today, August 19, the nation celebrates the 143rd birth anniversary of President Manuel L. Quezon, the president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines who served from 1935 to 1944.  We remember him as the first chief executive who ruled over the entire Philippine islands, whereas those before him governed only in parts of the territory.

Fake news, riding on the power of social media, brought thousands of people to vaccination centers early morning of August 5. They were “convinced” to line up for vaccination by the news that only the vaccinated can claim the ‘ayuda’ (cash aid) from the government, as the unvaccinated will not be allowed to go out of their houses after the ECQ starts.

With the recent memorandum of the Land Transportation Office, the Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS) is once again being rolled out in areas where they are operable.

The Department of Trade and Industry has become more resolute in protecting domestic manufacturing industries with its aggressive move to exercise the right of the government to impose safeguard duty to stop the surge of imports of certain products as provided under the Safeguard Measures Act.