Rising to El Niño’s challenge

from government agencies.”

A tourism secretary is basically a salesperson who can sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo.

Abolish the MTRCB

The call of some senators for the Movie and Television Ratings and Classification Board (MTRCB) to ban the movie “Barbie” because it showed the “nine-dash line” of China that was outlawed by the Hague Arbitral Court way back in 2016 brings to fore the existence of the MTRCB following the global information and communications technology that with just a tap of the finger, it enables one to access movies and television worldwide.

Santa Banana, why should a movie and television ratings and classification board exist when it cannot by any means rate and classify movies and television programs shown on the internet? It doesn’t make sense.

But, here in the Philippines, we have the 35-member MTRCB trying to ban a movie from Hollywood. I believe it’s time to abolish the MTRCB.

Perhaps, the Philippines is the only country in the world still having a censorship agency.

Santa Banana, how can MTRCB censor Netflix, HBO and the many things shown in the movies and television?

Just by looking at the membership of the MTRCB, it has existed as a dumping ground for political proteges.

My gulay, I saw all the episodes of the highly rated HBO series Game of Thrones, with all its sex scenes and nudity. Was the MTRCB able to censor it?

Just to recall how MTRCB started, it was created by a proclamation of then President Ferdinand E. Marcos, father of BBM.

At that time, the communist insurgency was becoming a threat to national security, and one access was movies and television.

Thus, it was created with a 35-member board.

To justify it, it soon became a dumping ground of political proteges with its own budget.

REASSURING that the government is prepared for El Niño, a warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said with preparations and mitigation measures in place, the country is expected to be up to the challenge of the weather phenomenon.

In 1982-1983, El Niño-related droughts affected 450,000 hectares of farmland in the Philippines and the most severe El Niño occurred in 1997-1998, when rainfall fell to half of historical levels, causing drought in two-thirds of this basically agricultural economy..

As early as March this year, climate monitoring and analyses by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA suggested the unusual warming of sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific.

For one, the Department of Agriculture is mapping out the areas that could be negatively affected by the dry spell while the Department of Social Welfare and Development said it has stockpiled food and nonfood items, ready to be augmented by local government units.

Edillon added some areas in Luzon are already experiencing dry spell, and 36 more provinces across the country are expected to be hit by dry spell by December.

Moderate El Niño is seen by the end of 2023 and there is an 86 percent probability that El Niño will become moderate between November 2023 and January 2024.

With the lifting of the state of public health emergency, COVID-19 cases will just be considered as a health problem, like flu, cold, diabetes, hypertension, etc.

But, being elderly, my wife and I still wear masks outdoors or indoors when among other people, my gulay!

We cannot be too careful knowing that many of our friends and relatives died because of the pandemic! Thanks to vaccination and the Bivalent vaccine.

Love the Philippines. For what?

Amid all the conundrum about the new slogan of the Department of Tourism, I still wonder what tourists from abroad can love about the Philippines.

For instance, when they arrive at NAIA, the main gateway of the country, and go through it, Santa Banana, I wonder how they can love the Philippines?

Not after they have gone through the international airports of Singapore, Hong Kong, Narita in Japan or through the international airports of other Asian countries.

And when tourists want to go to Boracay, its white sand beaches, or to the other resorts they have heard of too, but when NAIA gets hit by brownouts and when its air conditioners don’t not work, will they love the Philippines?

It’s all for these reasons why there’s a need for Congress and lawmakers to probe the DOT and ask all these questions in connection with the rebranding of the country slogan, which needs to be trumpeted worldwide if the DOT can expect more tourists to come to the Philippines.

As for the recent mess and fiasco that came about with an advertising agency contracted by the DOT to promote the slogan worldwide to our great embarrassment using stock footages of other countries, I now wonder about the capability of the DOT on what it will do to convince tourists to come to the Philippines.

With all the mess that came about with the contracted agency, I also believe that DOT Secretary Cristina Garcia Frasco was also to blame for not pre-screening the tourism promotion video.

Obviously, she did not.

For the DOT to allow that ad agency to come out with those stock footages at the launch of the new slogan was clearly the fault of the DOT Secretary, and no amount of support can correct that fiasco.

Coming right down to it, I am now beginning to wonder if the DOT secretary is capable of promoting the Philippines with that new “Love the Philippines” slogan with the measly budget it has.

Using CNN alone to air minutes-long slots will certainly cost hundreds of millions of pesos.

Did Frasco ever consider how much it would cost for promotional materials, like posters, brochures and other promos to “sell” places that tourists can love about the Philippines?

It is for this reason there is the need for DOT to seek the proper budget.

I say just abolish it and save a lot of money.

Another thing, I could not believe it with the MTRCB reclassifying and giving newscasts and news programs on local TV as needing parental advice.

That’s clearly silly and stupid.

Reduced flights

Another stupid solution to avoid constant delays and cancellation of flights which has become a big irritation on the part of airline passengers is the reduction of flights.

Upon recommendation of the Department of Transportation and the Manila International Airport Authority, the reduction of airline flights will solve flight delays and cancellations because airlines have the problem of grounded planes mostly due to inability of spare parts.

Santa Banana, reduction of flights of airlines is likened to burning a house because of rats.

If the problem of flight delays and cancellations is due to grounded planes, then the airlines are to blame. They are expected to have enough planes and available spare parts, and this could be a problem for airline passengers.

The proposed solution of reducing flights can only worsen the problem.

On twinkle toes, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered government agencies to prepare for the possible impact of El Niño, ensure “protocol-based and scientific” longterm solutions, and come up with a campaign to generate public awareness of water and energy conservation.

According to Undersecretary Edillon, “We always have El Niño. Three years in, three years out,...Its impact really depends on how well we prepare for it. The people already know how to deal with it with help

PAGASA climate monitoring chief Ana Liza Solis told a public briefing those with health condition should take precaution against high temperatures and advised the public to conserve water and check for water leaks, as well as to save energy.

She added if the El Niño prolongs, “there is a possibility that it [2024] could be one of the highest (hottest) year on record.”

Currently, weak El Niño persists, and this could possibly result in dry spell or drought in the next two months.

Officials have noted that reduction in rainfall is likely, and, if this prolongs, high temperature will prevail, especially towards next year.

Women’s groups demand resignation of NBI Director De Lemos

WOMEN’S groups want National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Medardo de Lemos to resign for a scandal that took place during an official conference of the NBI. The conference was held at the plush Manila Diamond Hotel last June 30, attende by top NBI officials and key personnel. The entertainment consisted of a provocative dance performed by a nearly nude woman. How the male members of the audience reacted was not reported by the media.

Anyway, when the scandal was reported by the media, De Lemos apologized for “any offense caused, particularly to women.”

Observers noted De Lemos seemed to dismiss the magnitude of the scandal when he asserted the dance number was just a part of a “fellowship” activity where regional and national officers of the NBI can “bond.”

The NBI chief added a formal investigation has been conducted on this incident.

De Lemos denied public funds were spent to finance the conference and the dance number. He said the expenses for the conference were covered through contributions from NBI officials and agents.

Gabriela Women’s partylist Representative Arlene Brosas, also the Assistant Minority Leader in the House of Representatives of Congress, said De Lemos’ apology is insufficient. She demanded an investigation and public accountability from the NBI.

For Brosas, the incident under De Lemos as NBI director condones “the explicit objectification of women most especially during an official function.” She added “it is a shame if the NBI would (sic) find a way out of the mess by mere apology.” condoned it.

Brosas will file a resolution urging the House to investigate this scandal. In sum, Brosas said the lewd activity is a violation by top NBI officials of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials.

It appears the controversial NBI conference took place when Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla of the Department of Justice was on medical leave for heart surgery.

When news of the NBI scandal came out, Remulla, who had returned to the office after his post-surgery recovery period, was visibly upset. He ordered the NBI, which is a bureau under the DOJ, to speed up the investigation promised by De Lemos.

Remulla has good reason to be upset. He had been working hard to maintain the public reputation of the DOJ and its bureaus, and this scandal has compromised the public image of a key bureau under the DOJ.

Analysts noted Remulla had just taken an emergency medical leave, and during this brief period he was on leave, the NBI under De Lemos created a scandal with sexual overtones, enough to get women’s organizations angry.

The same concerned sectors find that De Lemos’ excuse—that the expenses for the event were covered by contributions from NBI officials and agents—only magnifies the scandal.

They say that since the conference was an official activity of the NBI, it must have been paid with public funds.

Thus, they contend that taxpayers money was spent on an official NBI conference which featured a sexually provocative dance number for the entertainment fare.

They also stress that even if the scandalous dance number was paid for by contributions from NBI officials and agents, that does not erase the fact that the NBI under De Lemos, held an official activity with a nearly nude woman dancing in public as part of the paid entertainment.

They noted that had Remulla been on leave for a longer period, who knows what other scandals may have taken place in the NBI under De Lemos.

Observers ask, since De Lemos must have been present at the conference in his capacity as NBI Director, why didn’t he stop the lewd dance number?

Also, if the scandal been kept from public knowledge, would De Lemos even bother to apologize for the incident?

Some concerned sectors argue that by acquiescing in the lewd activity, done in an official NBI event at that, and apologizing only after the media found out about it, De Lemos

Many women were just as offended by De Lemos’ narrative that the scandalous dance number was just a part of a “fellowship” activity where regional and national officers of the NBI can “bond.”

For them, De Lemos admits that regional and national officers of the NBI “bond” with each other while watching a nearly nude woman dancing to entertain NBI officials in an official bureau activity.

They maintain that if top NBI officials “bond” this way, and at government expense, the NBI has no moral high ground to be involved in the administration of justice. It should stop using the word “integrity” in its official seal.

To many, De Lemos should take the honorable way out of the scandal by resigning.

‘Love letters’ from death row: Pre-execution photo shoots

SINGAPORE—Death row inmate Nazeri

Lajim beams at the camera, fingers raised in a “V” sign, wearing a shirt emblazoned with large motifs and showing no signs of his impending hanging.

Taken days before his execution at Singapore’s Changi prison, the picture is among the last mementoes Lajim’s family has of the 64-year-old, who was executed on charges of drug trafficking.

In the city-state, prison officials offer a photo shoot shortly before an inmate’s hanging, providing simple props like chairs and other items.

“When I see his photograph he’s (a) very healthy man, he’s very good looking man... his face shines,” Nazira Lajim Hertslet, his sister, told AFP.

“I was very upset... that he was taken away just like that.”

Singapore imposes the death penalty for a litany of crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping. It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis can result in the death penalty.

Thirteen people have been hanged since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a program first introduced in the 1990s, they were offered the option to pose for photographs before their death.

‘Quite cruel’ Usually taken against a pale-green flow- ery backdrop, the photos offer a glimpse into the last days of the condemned.

The Singapore Prison Service says participation in the program is voluntary, and that the photo shoots “allow family members to have recent photographs of their loved one”. Relatives, however, say they have mixed feelings about the practice.

“Actually it’s quite cruel to do such thing, to take photograph on his last days,” said Hertslet, pointing to the horror inmates might feel knowing it was their last time being photographed alive.

“But at least we have his last photo for memories when he’s really gone,” she added.

Nazeri was hanged last year for trafficking more than 33 grams (1.2 ounces) of heroin.

In his sister’s favorite photograph of him, he is wearing a white Muslim prayer robe, his hands clasped in front, looking at the camera.

A ‘veneer of thoughtfulness’

Little information is publicly available about Singapore’s death row inmates.

The Transformative Justice Collective, which provides support to families of death row prisoners and advocates for the abolition of the death penalty, estimates about 53 people are on death row, the majority convicted of drug offenses.

Authorities generally notify inmates and their families about a week before an execution.

During that time, the inmate is allowed to have daily visitors, but they are separated by a glass pane and no physical contact is allowed, according to the TJC.

Spiritual counselors are also provided.

Kokila Annamalai, a TJC activist, said the photo shoots are an attempt “to lend a veneer of thoughtfulness” to the executions.

In the photo sessions, prisoners can strike a particular pose or wear clothing that means something to a family member, she said.

“And so, I think that the photos are also like love letters to them.”

‘Every night I cry’ Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have long called on Singapore to abolish capital punishment, but the government insists it is an effective deterrent against crime.

Tangaraju Suppiah, a 46-year-old Singaporean, was hanged in April for conspiring to smuggle one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cannabis.

“Every night I cry and every night I think about him,” his sister Leelavathy Suppiah told AFP.

Tangaraju initially refused to do the photo shoot, but relented after his family persuaded him, she said.

Leelavathy has framed a photograph of him smiling, holding his thumb and forefinger in a heart shape –- a pose popularized by K-pop stars.

“I’m very happy when I see the photos. At least he’s there in the photos,” she told AFP, speaking in English.

“This is the photo our family members everybody like because he smile,” she added.

Still, she wondered what must have been going through her brother’s mind in his final days.

“They know they’re going to die,” she said. “It’s cruel, you know?” White sneakers

Kalwant Singh’s family bought him a pair of white sneakers, which he wore with a Tshirt, sweatpants and a broad smile in one photograph.

Sonia Tarlochan Kaur, the 31-year-old Malaysian’s sister, told AFP he only got about half an hour during the photo shoot to wear the shoes, and so ran around the cell block to make the most of them.

After Kalwant’s execution for heroin trafficking last year, Sonia said she cannot bring herself to look at the photographs.

“They could have just given me that half an hour to hug him tight.” AFP