Opinion-Editorial NEWS

OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT

The ramped-up delivery of vaccine supplies to the country and acceleration of vaccination by local government units (LGUs) have brought about a significant increase in the public’s willingness to be vaccinated.

The dynamism of the domestic capital market provides the proverbial silver lining amid the deep recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural reforms have evidently taken root, especially in the fixed-income securities market.

In various residential communities in Metro Manila, one would know it is already National Nutrition Month when schoolchildren and their parents walk around the barangays in a mini-procession, the kids dressed in colorful vegetable costumes like eggplant, tomato, apple, egg, milk, etc.

 The escalation of cyber attacks against critical infrastructure in the United States was brought up by President Joe Biden with President Vladimir Putin in their Geneva summit last month — raising the profile of what has emerged as a major global security concern.

For centuries, overpopulation had been a dark cloud hovering over our future. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) predicted that there would be more of us by 2050 than the planet could accommodate. Based on the latest UN projections, there will be 8.6 billion of us by 2030, 9.8 billion by 2050, and 11.2 billion by 2100.

As the spiritual leader of more than 1.3 billion Catholics, Pope Francis’ health invites more than just passing concern, considering that he is now 84 years old — and he continues to tackle the enormous responsibilities of his office.

First, the good news: Inflation slowed to 4.1 percent in June.  This is lower than the inflation rate of 4.5 percent in March, April and May, but quicker compared with 2.5 percent in June 2020.

It is, in the words of Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, that lawyers must “conduct themselves with honesty and integrity.”  These two virtues were extolled by the Chief Justice during the oath-taking of the new officers and members of the Board of Governors of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

At his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 2020, President Duterte issued an ultimatum to the country’s two leading telecommunication firms (telcos) – Globe and PLDT-Smart –  to improve their services by December or close shop.

Due to the resurgence of “anomalously high sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission” from Taal Volcano, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has imposed Alert Level 3 to warn against the dangers posed by a “high level of volcanic unrest.”  Just a notch lower than Alert Level 4 that was raised in January 2020, this has prompted the evacuation of residents from nine Batangas towns, namely: Agoncillo,  Laurel, Taal, Lemery, Balete, Cuenca, Mataasnakahoy , San Nicolas, and Talisay, and Tanauan City.

Now, the hard part begins.  After co-signing a joint manifesto of commitment with the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), the government must demonstrate its capacity to deliver the goods: further easing business regulations, completing vital infrastructure projects, and most importantly, improving the management of the pandemic.

Today’s celebration of Philippine-American Friendship Day evolved from the previous years’ observance of the fourth of July as Independence Day.  This day in 1946 marked the end of US sovereignty: the American flag was lowered just as the Philippine flag was raised in a ceremony at the Luneta.

As the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) celebrates its 28th anniversary today, it is proud that it has become “greener” and has embraced the principles of sustainable development.

Much ado about vaccine passports, even if they aren’t quite new.

Two Philippine cities — Manila and Butuan —  have been selected to the top 50 cities among over 600 cities worldwide by the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 2021 Mayors Challenge.  Manila and Butuan were among the eight cities in Asia-Pacific which made it to the global 50 and the only two cities in Southeast Asia.

Practically every country has to deal with the scourge of fake driver’s licenses. For some time, these fakes have been laughably bad copies and quite obvious to the trained apprehending officer.

The Philippines’ economic potential remains despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic that continues to wreak havoc in the communities. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is confident that the gross domestic product (GDP) would return to its pre-pandemic level by next year.