Responding to the president’s call to provide immediate assistance to the victims of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that jolted Saranggani Davao Occidental and the rest of Regions 11 and 12, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has opened its emergency loan window starting today, November 21, for GSIS members and pensioners adversely affected by the earthquake.

“Binuksan   agad natin ang emergency loan ng GSIS sa mga naapektuhan ng malakas na lindol upang maaga nating matugunan ang kanilang pangangailan.  Ang agarang pagbibigay ng pampinansyal na suporta ay malaking bagay para sa kanilang pangangailangan sa pagkain, gamot o pangkukumpuni ng nasirang tahanan,” Veloso said.

A total of   171,341 members and 27,962 pensioners who are either working or residing in Regions 11 and 12 may apply for the emergency loan. The loan will be available to members and pensioners in the following areas: South Cotabato (including Koronadal City), Sultan Kudarat (including Tacurong City), Sarangani Province, General Santos City (including Kidapawan City); Davao Del Sur, Davao City, Digos City, Davao del Norte, Tagum City, Davao De Oro, Davao Occidental, and Davao Oriental (including Mati City).

“We have earmarked a total of P6 billion for our emergency loan budget this year.  This is to ensure that we have an adequate amount of funds to assist those who need help after the earthquake,” Veloso said.

Old-age and disability pensioners residing in the calamity areas may also avail of the loan provided their net monthly pension after availing of the loan is at least 25% of their basic monthly pension.

Members with existing emergency loan balance may borrow up to Php40,000 to clear the balance of their previous emergency loan and receive a maximum net amount of Php20,000. Meanwhile, pensioners and those without existing emergency loan may apply for a Php20,000 loan.

The loan offers a low-interest rate of 6% and has a repayment period of three years. It also includes redemption insurance coverage, which will pay off the loan balance in case of the borrower’s death during the loan term, for as long as the payments are updated.

To qualify for the GSIS Emergency Loan Program, active members must be residing or working in the calamity areas. They should not be on unpaid leave, have no pending legal cases, have paid premiums within the last six months and their net take-home pay should not be lower than P5,000, the amount required under the General Appropriations Act after all monthly obligations are deducted.

Members and pensioners may apply for the loan using the GSIS Touch mobile application, which is available for download from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. They may also apply through the GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (GWAPS) kiosks, found in all GSIS offices, selected Robinson’s and SM supermalls, and large government offices such as the Department of Education.

For inquiries, visit the GSIS website (www.gsis.gov.ph) or Facebook page (@gsis.ph), email gsiscares@gsis.gov.ph, or call the GSIS Contact Center at 8847-4747(if in Metro Manila) or 1-800-8-847-4747(for Globe and TM subscribers) or 1-800-10-847-4747 (for Smart, Sun, and Talk ’N Text subscribers).

The Social Security System (SSS) has announced that members who applied for their Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID) cards between August 2017 to December 2020 have only until December 29, 2023 to pick up their unclaimed cards.

After the deadline, the unclaimed cards, including those that the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) returned to SSS after two unsuccessful delivery attempts, will be disposed of based on SSS’ retention policy.

To check the status of UMID card application, members are advised to log in to their My.SSS Portal account at www.sss.gov.ph, and click on “UMID/SSS ID Details” under the “MEMBER INFO” tab. If the transaction status is “Card Generated”, members can claim the card at the SSS branch where the UMID application was filed.

SSS members are likewise advised to keep their contact information updated so they will not miss important notifications from the SSS.

Since February 2023, SSS has stopped accepting applications for regular UMID cards, but is currently offering UMID ATM Pay Card exclusively to SSS members who either have existing UMID cards or pending UMID card applications.

SSS has also recently announced its partnership with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to integrate the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) into their processes and services, which include the issuance of a similar ATM-enabled SSS card for initial applicants.

Regardless of the season, SM malls in Marilao, Baliwag, and Pulilan will make everyday a holiday as the malls bring in some of the latest additions to their exciting mix of food tenants for a fun and exciting shopping experience.

Perfect for the season of giving, SM City Marilao welcomes Caramia Cakes & Gelato. Sweet tooth or not, one can’t resist Caramia’s premium lineup of cakes, gelato, and shakes that are enough to make any celebration or a simple day merrier. Here you may find Caramia’s bestseller cakes, such as Ube Cake, Midnight Dream, Pistaccio Cioccolato, and Salted S’mores. Of course, their all-time favorite gelato flavors include Pistachio, Chocolate Therapy, and Cookies & Cream. Also try their newest offerings— Mango Cream Pie, and gelato in Maltesers and Peach Mango Caramel flavors. Whether it’s a gift, a treat, or a simple craving, Caramia Cakes & Gelato will surely fit any occasion or anyone’s heart. Visit them now at the second level of SM City Marilao.

A highly recommended place to drink, eat, and unwind unveils as Nextgen Cafe opens at the ground-level, mall annex of SM City Baliwag. Shoppers will be thrilled, as Nextgen Cafe is the ideal place to stay with its cozy ambience and enticing menu. Seize the day with a sip of their specialty coffee, such as Café Español, Café Yemen, and Vietnamese Coffee. Compliment your drinks with their bestseller menu—bacon, sausage, spam, choice of wafflesor rice- serve with omelet. The store also offers refreshing Sensazione series drinks available in 10 irresistible flavors, among others. Furthermore, Nextgen Café is pet-friendly, so fur parents are welcome to chill here with their pets, with rules applied accordingly.

Call the squad and assemble for a yummy feast as The Crunch – Boneless Fried Chicken opens at the ground level of SM Center Pulilan. Indulge in their unique style of tasty and mouthwatering boneless fried chicken. The store offers Chicken Shots, Shots Bucket, Half Chicken (6 pcs/flavor), and Whole Chicken (12 pcs/flavor), available in different delicious flavors such as Classic, Honey Garlic, K-Style, Spicy K-Style, Teriyaki, Cheesy Bacon, and Texas BBQ.

Left photo: Celebrate occasions big or small with bestselling, blissful cakes from Caramia’s Cakes & Gelato, located at the second level of SM City Marilao.

Right photo: Go heavy with The Crunch – Boneless Fried Chicken rice meal and other selections now cooking at the ground level of SM Center Pulilan.

Plan your next food crawl and visit the latest food destinations only at SM Bulacan malls. Stay updated, as the malls will unveil some of the best store concepts in the coming days. Follow the social media pages of SM City Marilao, SM City Baliwag, and SM Center Pulilan for the latest trends and happenings.

CITY OF MALOLOS – One hundred fifty-one Bulakenyo fisherfolks received fuel subsidy cards from the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources 3 through the Provincial Agriculture Office during the “Distribution of Fuel Subsidy Card to Fisherfolks in the Province of Bulacan” held at the Eco Commercial Complex, Capitol Compound here earlier today.

Four barangays from the City of Malolos including Namayan, Masile, Caliligawan and Pamawaran each received fuel subsidy cards worth P3,000 each.

The said program aims to boost the productivity in the fishery sector by giving subsidy to fishermen so that they will be able to take home more earnings for their family. 

Moreover, Vice Governor Alexis C. Castro said he hopes that the subsidy would ease their financial burdens and that it will allow more flexibility in terms of budgeting for essential and day-to-day expenses.

“Nawa po ay makatulong ang fuel subsidy sa inyo—makatulong sa inyong paghahanapbuhay at kahit papaano ay makabawas po sa inyong pang araw-araw na gastusin. ‘Yung tatlong libo na matitipid ninyo ay maaari nang maipambili ng iba pang pangangailangan at panggastos sa araw-araw,” Castro said.

Pursuant to Special Provision No. 20 of the General Appropriation Act (GAA) FY 2022, the amount of P500,000,000 is designated for fuel discount to farmers and fisherfolk owning and operating agricultural and fishery machinery individually or through a farmer organization, cooperative or association (FCAs).

Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Governments are failing to test, treat and prevent TB in children. Governments must immediately implement latest WHO guidelines to stop children dying from this deadly yet curable disease.

Geneva, 14 November 2023 – Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) welcomed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ‘Roadmap towards ending TB in children and adolescents’ released today, and urged all countries with high TB burdens to prioritise adoption, implementation and scale up of the WHO’s consolidated guidelines on management of tuberculosis to reduce the number of children killed by this deadly yet curable disease. TB remains a major killer in children, causing the death of a child every 3 minutes.

Released in 2022, the WHO’s TB guidelines for children and adolescents recommend several key interventions to save more children from TB: using integrated treatment decision algorithms that allow many children to be diagnosed based on symptoms alone; using the GeneXpert test on stool specimens which is easier to manage than having children cough up sputum (phlegm) samples; using a four-month treatment for non-severe drug-susceptible TB instead of previous six-month regimens; and providing three-months of treatment to prevent TB in children who are exposed to someone with TB in their home. However, these recommendations have not been sufficiently implemented in most high-TB-burden countries.  

“The WHO’s recommendations serve as a crucial tool to help health workers diagnose TB in children in all settings, even when there is limited access to laboratory tests and Xray, but we’re still not seeing enough countries implementing them to save more children’s lives,” said Dr. Gabriella Ferlazzo, TB medical advisor for Doctors Without Borders Access Campaign. “We urge governments to adopt and start putting the WHO recommendations into practice so that more children are diagnosed and started on treatment right away, which also means training and support for staff to make this possible. Governments must leave no stone unturned to find every child with TB and treat them right away.”  

Under-diagnosis of TB in children has led to under-treatment and high numbers of deaths. The diagnostic tests available for adults with TB are not adapted for use in children, as they lack the sensitivity to detect the low levels of TB bacteria that make children sick. This has resulted in the fact that even in the most resourced settings, it is only possible to confirm TB in a minority of children.

While sputum (phlegm) is the preferred specimen used to test TB in adults, most children are unable to cough up sputum on demand. WHO now recommends that children are tested on gastric, naso-pharingeal or stool samples using the GeneXpert Ultra test. Trying to get gastric fluid samples from children can be invasive and is often not possible or very challenging in small or ill children, leaving stool testing as the only option in many settings, even if this option still poses practical difficulties, especially for outpatients. In the absence of accurate and accessible diagnostic tests to detect TB in children, health providers must ensure an early diagnosis based on signs and symptoms, as also recommended by WHO. There is an urgent need for more research and development to find better tests to diagnose TB in children.

“It’s baffling that only 40% of children with TB get the treatment they need to stay alive, because the right tools to test TB in kids still don’t exist,” said Dr Nasiba Maksumova, who works in the Doctors Without Borders TB project in Tajikistan. “We desperately need more effective TB tests for children that can be used in the most remote settings using samples that are easy to collect, like mouth swabs or finger-prick blood. More efforts are needed from researchers, donors and pharmaceutical corporations to develop improved TB tests, and once developed, these must be available and affordable in all countries with high TB burdens. Children with TB can’t afford to wait any longer for the world to get its act together on this deadly disease.”

Apart from testing and treatment, implementing preventive treatment in children and adolescents who have been in close contact with people affected with TB in their family or in the community remains a major challenge.

In the Doctors Without Borders TB project in the Philippines, teams visit the households of confirmed TB cases and encourage their close contacts to get screened. From January to October of 2023, our teams found these households to have 104 children aged 0 to 4 years old, and 246 contacts aged 5 to 14 years old. In the 0 to 4 age bracket, while 57 out of 104 were found to be eligible for preventive treatment, only 46 initiated treatment, and of these, only 22 were able to complete treatment. In the 5 to 14 age group, 61 out of 246 children were found eligible, but only 53 initiated treatment, and only 31 completed treatment.

Shorter, three-month regimens to prevent TB have been recommended for many years for children, but their scale-up remains insufficient. Countries need to increase access to preventive treatments and start eligible children on these treatments to reduce the risk of this vulnerable population developing active TB.  

“After decades of pressure and waiting, we finally have child-friendly formulations of drugs to prevent TB,” said Dr Kennedy Uadiale, who works in the Doctors Without Borders project in Sierra Leone. “Still, so few kids get preventive TB drugs because the screening process to identify them is so cumbersome. It’s time now for countries to fulfil commitments made in the UN Political Declaration on TB last month and save lives by reaching all children affected by TB.

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa called out a UN rapporteur for suggesting to abolish the country’s anti-insurgency task force.

Dela Rosa, who was defending the 2024 proposed budget of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) at the Senate plenary on Wednesday, reacted to a proposal made by UN Special Rapporteur Ian Fry to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF- ELCAC) and to his statement that the body is “operating with impunity.”

“That is why we are in quandary right now, Your Honor. NTF-ELCAC is all about good governance and delivery of basic services to the communities and they are not involved in armed confrontation with the enemies of the state. Why are they lambasting the NTF-ELCAC? Maybe they are being fed with wrong information,” Dela Rosa stated.

The Mindanaoan said this in response to Senator Francis “Tol” Tolentino who sought for the former’s comment after Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel made an inquiry with regard to OPAPRU’s mechanism in addressing alleged human rights violations made by the task force, the office’s attached agency, against members of the leftist organizations.

olentino also asked OPAPRU, through Dela Rosa, if they were involved in the visit preparations for the UN expert.

“OPAPRU is not involved, Your Honor. Had they been involved, for sure, magbabago iyong paningin noong foreigner na iyon sa NTF-ELCAC. They will be informed accordingly,” Dela Rosa said.

Fry just recently wrapped up his 10-day visit to the Philippines after several meetings with different civil society organizations and government officials to talk about the country’s climate change policies.

Dela Rosa expressed dismay and believed the UN expert was misinformed and was only able to hear the side of the leftist groups.

“Hindi naman porke nasa gobyerno tayo, pero ‘yung tama lang na information dapat ang nakakarating sa kanila,” Dela Rosa lamented.

In the same session, OPAPRU’s budget was deemed submitted along with Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA), Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) which were all sponsored by Dela Rosa. 

The Social Security System (SSS) tapped the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as its new local fund managers to enhance the return on investment (ROI) from its investment portfolio for the next three years.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Rolando Ledesma Macasaet announced that LBP-Trust Banking Group (LBP-TBG) and DBP-Trust Banking Group (DBP-TBG) will manage the P2 billion worth of investible funds for Pure Fixed Income starting October 2023.

LBP-TBG and DBP-TBG received P1 billion in investment funds each, which they got in two tranches last October 13 and 17. They will manage the funds within specific risk parameters for three years to expand the SSS investment portfolio and generate more earnings.

“We see that SSS will greatly benefit from tapping external fund managers to manage a portion of our investible funds. We can take advantage of their expertise to help grow the SSS funds and diversify the investment portfolio,” Macasaet said.

LBP-TBG and DBP-TBG will complement the other fund managers hired to manage Pure Fixed Income investibles. Earlier this year, SSS tapped Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Asset Management and Trust Corporation, and Security Bank Corporation-Trust and Asset Management to handle P2 billion funds allocated for Pure Fixed Income investments.

SSS Executive Vice President for Investments Sector Rizaldy T. Capulong said that under Republic Act No. 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018, SSS can appoint local or foreign fund managers to handle its Investment Reserve Fund (IRF). IRF is a portion of the SSS Reserve Fund allocated for investments wherein income derived from it goes back to the reserve fund and helps it grow.

Hiring qualified local fund managers has been part of SSS’ investment strategy since 2016. “Tapping more investment savvy fund managers is a best practice worldwide, particularly with pension funds. This strategy allows pension funds like SSS to access the expertise of fund managers in frontier markets where they do not have a competitive advantage like foreign investments,” SSS Senior Vice President for Fund Management Group Ernesto D. Francisco, Jr. explained.

To date, SSS has already awarded the management of seven segregated investment mandates for Pure Fixed Income Fund, Balanced Fund, and Pure Equity Fund worth P8 billion to five local fund managers.

All ten topnotchers of the Philippine Regulation Commission’s (PRC’s) recently-conducted annual Geologists Licensure Exam are from the UP Diliman College of Science National Institute of Geological Sciences (UPD-CS NIGS). 

Jerome Garcia Formaran aced the exam with a score of 84.70%, followed by Paulo Lim Realengo and Twinkle Caubalejo Kang at 83.80% and 82.00%, respectively. The rest of the top performers in the fourth to tenth spots were Gerard Vann Vincent Tacuyan Gomez (82.80%); Venus Aquino Tagle (82.70%); Aris Paolo Afable Castro (82.50%); Paul Joshua Paclibar Villora (82.40%); Sophia Therese Leonida Pamati-an (82.20%); Rio Angela Funakoshi Castro (81.80%); and Rose Valerie Aranda Pimentel (81.60%).

UPD-CS NIGS was also the overall top-performing school, with 48 of 52 examinees having passed the licensure exam—a passing rate of 92.31% for the Institute. In comparison, the total passing rate for all 351 examinees from across the country was 47.01%.

The PRC Geologists Licensure Exam was computer-based, and held online from November 13 to 15, 2023.

Pursuant to Republic Act 10166, also known as the Geology Profession Act of 2012, the PRC Geology Licensure is a requirement for any individual who wants to practice geology as a profession in the Philippines.

For interview requests and other concerns, please contact media@science.upd.edu.ph. 

MAKATI CITY–Philippine Daily Inquirer Correspondent for Bulacan and NEWS CORE publisher and editor-in-chief Carmela Reyes-Estrope is one of this year’s 12 winners in the 16^th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards along with 11 other journalists from different parts of the country.

With the theme, “Harvesting Progress,” the awards night was held at Fairmont Hotel here on Monday.

Estrope bagged the Best Agriculture News Story (National) category for her article, “Bulacan Moves to Protect Poultry Farms from Bird Flu,” which focuses on the challenges and importance of protecting poultry farms across the nation from bird flu, which has become a serious problem that affects the Philippine poultry market.

The news article which came out on February 14 this year and landed in the front page of Inquirer focused on the positive steps the Bulacan provincial government through the provincial veterinary office headed by Dr. Voltaire Basinang implements in protecting the poultry farms in the province. Their works had served an exemplary example in the countryside and mainstream poultry meat-producing provinces and areas while the country was then under threat with another fowl influenza.

Reyes-Estrope has been in the Inquirer for 25 years now and a journalist for 30 years. She founded NEWS CORE in 2006.

This year’s Bright Leaf Awards has 12 categories–Agriculture Story of the Year Best Agriculture TV Story Best Agriculture Radio Story Best Agriculture News Story (National) Best Agriculture News Story (Regional) Best Agriculture Feature Story (National) Best Agriculture Feature Story (Regional) Best Online Story Best Story in Tobacco Product Alternatives Best Tobacco Story Tobacco Photo of the Year Agriculture Photo of the Year.

Willie Lomibao, a photographer of Philippine Daily Inquirer in Pangasinan won for his photograph for Sunday Punch, titled, “Gold Harvest” which features a tobacco farmer diligently inspecting tobacco leaves that were being dried on his farm in Barangay Angio in San Fabian, Pangasinan. Here, the tobacco industry has been a source of income and provided a livelihood to most residents in the region.

According to Dave Gomez, global communications head of PMFTC Inc., the business combination between the LTG and Philip Morris International (PMI), which currently organizes the Bright Leaf Awards said the theme  “Harvesting Progress” brings the best and the brightest agriculture journalists and their stories from across the country in three years through a face to face event following the pandemic.

Gomez said the awards is a celebration of what agriculture journalists have achieved for the country amid the challenges brought by the pandemic and other major agricultural concerns. “We are able to celebrate what we have achieved and to bring agriculture stories in different news platforms,” he said. “We are sowing the seeds for the future journalists as there are bounty of stories to also celebrate the unsung heroes in agriculture”.

Gomez also led a one minute of silence and prayer for the death on Sunday of Rina Jimenez-David, a consistent judge in the Bright Leaf Awards for five years.

The Bright Leaf Journalism Award is an annual journalism competition given to individuals and teams who created different agricultural stories in the Philippines. But beyond that, the Bright Leaf Awards builds a sense of community and integrity among agricultural journalists and media practitioners, while still emphasizing the value of telling stories about Philippine agriculture and providing hope and inspiration to their readers. Every year, winners receive a variety of prizes: including cash, a trip to a destination in Asia and a Bright Leaf trophy.

Krip Yuson, chairman of the panel of judges said the awards honors Filipino journalists by providing them platforms to showcase their outstanding works. The winners are a combination of veteran and budding journalists. “Truly, their works speak for the theme of harvesting progress,” he said.

Yuson also announced that the Bright Leaf Awards next year will be back on its earlier regular time.

The Bright Leaf Awards began in 2007, with less than a hundred participants submitting entries. It is currently organized by PMFTC Inc., the business combination between the LTG and Philip Morris International (PMI). The name Bright Leaf is derived from Virginia Tobacco leaf which turns into a bright yellow color after the curing process. From its humble roots, this year, we have over 500 submissions that made the cut, successfully showcasing a variety of topics in agricultural journalism in the earlier mentioned 12 categories up for the Bright Leaf Awards.

From its humble roots, there have been over 500 submissions that made the cut, successfully showcasing a variety of topics in agricultural journalism in the earlier mentioned 12 categories up for the Bright Leaf Awards.