Monsoon rains should not be destructive

and area covered by their use for the bases. Marcos was also able to secure a collective bargaining agreement for Filipino workers working inside the bases including the payment of tax on imported items made by US servicemen residing inside them.

The Marcos administration then embarked on a massive and ambitious construction of specialized hospitals. It was the First Lady Imelda R. Marcos that diligently took the task of providing affordable medical service to our people.

Today, the Philippines boasts of having built the first Heart Center in Asia; introduced the pioneering medical science of kidney transplant by building the National Kidney Center and Transplant Institute; established the only specialized Children’s Hospital in Asia; created the Lung Center of the Philippines in lieu of the Philippine Tuberculosis.

The First Lady also opened a general hospital for government personnel which former President Marcos initially named “Ospital ng Bagong Lipunan” to serve all in the public service.

For reason of hatred of the past administration, the successor administration changed the name of the hospital by giving it an obscure and insignificant name to maliciously erase Marcos’ program of government.

Despite the barrage of slander – Marcos was called a dictator by the radicals – Imelda improved and widened the facilities of the Philippines General Hospital to help most of its indigent and the poorest of the poor.

But in her eagerness to raise funds, she was accused of corruption, only to be acquitted of the unfounded charges. The fourth priority of the then Marcos administration was to improve the conditions of the working masses.

Unknown to many, Marcos Sr, is the only president who issued numerous decrees in favor of the working class to truly make him as the representative of the workers.

He issued decrees that significantly improved the working conditions and welfare of the workers.

For Marcos Jr. to switch from this line directly deviated from what our people wants.

He failed to analyze the urgent needs of our people from the need to maintain our national security.

National security is more of a policy and requires intensive investment for armaments.

Our current problem is more of propaganda to justify the specific objectives of the US.

We may be able to survive without fulfilling our security obligation but the US will still have to weigh their obligation to us.

On the contrary, it was during the old Marcos time when the limitation on the number of US bases was renegotiated and instead put a time limit for the stay of their bases.

He did this despite the obvious interference of Malaysia, the UK and US intelligence services.

The three took turns in manipulating the defense policy.

Marcos Jr. failed to balance the priority of our economy in favor of securing our own defense.

The Marcos era marked the period when the Philippines, not the US, was the one that dictated our foreign policy.

Previously or right after the grant of our independence, the Philippines enjoyed the utmost right to determine which element in our country constitutes a threat to our security or which country poses a threat to our security.

Yes, we have communist threat in the 50s, but again these are threats borne by the local insurgency movement.

During the then Marcos administration, we had two identifiable threats to our security: the local communist party headed by the Communist Party of the Philippines and by its military arm, the New People’s Army, and by the secessionists National Liberation Front. Marcos never took them seriously, believing that security problem was solely the government’s responsibility.

(rpkapunan@gmail.com)

Full text at www.manilastandard.net

METRO Manila and the rest of the Philippines experienced heavy rains in the last few days as Typhoon Egay induced monsoon rains.

The downpours resulted in floods and landslides in the north and caused damage to properties.

Heavy rains are a bane to farmers, their crops and the general public.

The floods they bring can destroy roads and bridges, and disrupt transportation. For those residing in low-lying areas, rising waters can threaten their houses and endanger lives.

Residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas of Marikina the other day had another scare after local authorities issued a second alarm, as the the water level in Marikina River rose to 16 meters.

A grade 2 alarm meant the local government needed to evacuate affected residents.

The Marikina City government reported the river’s water level first hit the 15-meter mark on the same day, or the first alarm, at around 5:38 a.m. and advised residents of potential evacuation.

PRESIDENT Bongbong Marcos’ State of the Nation speech last Monday, which lasted for over an hour, centered around the economy and business.

Throughout the address, the President presented various statistics, aiming to demonstrate the country’s purportedly remarkable economic revival after the pandemic.

Marcos said in recent months, we’ve witnessed a decline in the prices of various goods across different sectors.

We successfully demonstrated our ability to reduce the costs of rice, meat, fish, vegetables, and sugar, as illustrated in a Flourish data visualization.

Yet as has been pointed out, there is need to clarify his assertion regarding the decreasing prices of goods.

The consumer price index data, which compares average prices to those of 2018, indicates the prices of rice, meat, fish, vegetables, and sugar have either risen or remained stable in the past few months.

During Marcos’ initial year as president and agriculture chief, he had to contend with soaring prices of essential kitchen staples, such as onions (experiencing a peak increase of 560 percent since June 2022), sugar (with a 40 percent surge between June and August 2022), and eggs (witnessing a 40 percent rise since June 2022).

Regrettably, these prices are yet to fully recover.

Marcos also pointed out the employment rate had increased to 95.7 percent, which he deemed as compelling evidence of an improvement from the “severe unemployment” experienced during the pandemic.

However, a noteworthy aspect that Marcos omitted from his speech was the concerning rise of unpaid workers.

However, as has been clarified: Among the recently employed individuals in the nation, more than a million are classified as “unpaid workers.”

An unpaid family worker is characterized by the Philippine Statistics Authority as an individual who toils without remuneration on their family-operated farm or business, and this work is typically performed for another member residing in the same household.

Once the water level reaches the third alarm or the 18-meter mark, authorities will implement a forced evacuation of residents affected by the flood.

Residents in other low-lying areas in the Philippine, especially those near river banks, likely experienced the same flood of certain critical issues (which) are equally pressing in the life of Filipinos

It’s important to note that food or allowances are not considered as part of their salary.

Marcos stressed that in 2022, the gross domestic product (GDP) experienced a growth of 7.8 percent; yet failing to highlight the Philippines was one of the countries severely impacted by the pandemic, facing one of the most significant economic downturns.

Marcos emphasized the inflation rate has improved, decreasing from 8.7 percent in January to 5.8 percent in June.

However, it is important to note that the current figure is still considerably distant from the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent.

Furthermore, recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority indicates a slight increase in rice inflation, with the price of this staple food rising to 3.6 percent in June, up from 2.7 percent in January.

Marcos started his speech with encouraging economic indicators such as the 7.6 percent economic growth in 2022, “the highest in 46 years.”

However, it is important to note the firstquarter GDP growth of 6.4 percent marked a significant decline of two percentage points from the 8.3 percent growth recorded in the same period last year.

Furthermore, it was also slower than the 7.1 percent growth achieved in the final quarter of 2022.

Marcos failed to mention the 6.4 percent growth in the first quarter is still the country’s slowest economic expansion since it emerged from the recession caused by the

Vibrating vests translate music for deaf concertgoers

Previous methods that deaf and hard of hearing individuals would use to enjoy live music included literally putting their hands on speakers, or holding a balloon to feel vibrations in their fingertips.

The aim of the vests -- along with bands at the wrists or ankles -- is to allow for a full-body experience, creating sensations that render the feelings music can evoke.

“Nobody expects it to be so engaging,” Hanlon said of the vests.

“And when you see it in people’s eyes, it’s magical.”

Jay Zimmerman, a composer whose ability to hear was damaged due to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, says the vests are an example of new technology offering more flexibility and dynamism than had been available previously.

“My hope is down the road, is that we will be able to let deaf kids have experiences with real vibrations and real materials up close, so they start building this library of auditory memory—even

The aim of the vests—along with bands at the wrists or ankles—is to allow for a full-body experience, creating sensations that render the feelings music can evoke if it’s not auditory through their ears, it’s just different sensations,” he told AFP.

“I think if we can put it all together, there’s real opportunities for us.”

‘Immersion’

Lincoln Center, the prestigious arts complex on New York’s Upper West Side, began working with Music: Not

Impossible in 2021, both for orchestra shows and for their popular outdoor silent disco series. Its most recent collaboration had 75 vests on offer during its outdoor concert as part of Korean Arts Week, which featured renditions of Korean folk music as well as Mozart’s Concerto No. 2.

Liza Fiol-Matta was among the attendees, and though she is not hard of hearing, she was excited to test the tech.

“Music is my major love, and the idea that there can be an experiential sense of the music for anybody” is exciting, she said. “But also for the deaf and hearing impaired—that’s perfect.”

“I love the idea of immersion, the whole immersive experience... music happens at so many different levels.”

Flavia Naslausky, the business head for Music: Not Impossible, described how during early testing, Mandy Harvey —a singer who lost her hearing after an illness—was able to match the sound of threat in Marikina. It is the monsoon season in the country. pandemic in 2021. The SONA is remarkable in the nonmention of certain critical issues.

But for many Filipinos, the heavy downpours should be a blessing—not a curse.

Authorities can harness the heavy rainfall and make it a boon to farmers, instead of letting the water run its course and empty into the West Philippine Sea or the Pacific Ocean.

More mini-dams can store the excess water for use as irrigation during the dry season.

In the case of Marikina River and other tributaries, authorities should encourage the construction of a series of dams upstream to control the water flow. Marikina River serves as the route of headwaters coming from the Sierra Madre Mountains in Rodriguez, Rizal province, before merging with Pasig River. Elevating roads or building well-designed drainage structures leading to the creeks, meanwhile, will not significantly solve the flooding of Marikina and nearby towns.

The dams can also serve other purposes. It will boost the water source of Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. More importantly, the dams will mitigate flooding in Metro Manila and ease the fears of residents living on low-lying areas.

For example, Marcos made no mention of China’s aggressive actions towards Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea, the controversial “Love the Philippines” tourism campaign, pressing public transportation issues, and the reinstatement of the International Criminal Court’s investigation into the Duterte administration’s handling of the drug war.

These issues are equally pressing in the life of Filipinos.

For instance, China’s assertiveness in the region has escalated tensions and posed significant challenges to the Philippines’ sovereignty and territorial integrity, leading to diplomatic disputes and security concerns in the area.

Efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the issue have been ongoing, but the situation remains complex and sensitive.

The nation’s strategic viability and prosperity hinge on its relations with the superpowers, yet the SONA conspicuously sidestepped addressing the most critical foreign policy issue in recent years.

Despite the promise to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty, Marcos refrained from denouncing the global superpower and its persistent disregard for the arbitral ruling, which invalidated its claim over the South China Sea.

The most glaring omissions were on corruption, human rights, and the peace process with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

As long as there is social conflict, as long as violence prevails in our society, and as long as impunity prevails in our islands, the state of the nation is cannot be bad and is perpetually in crisis.

Website: tonylavina.com. Facebook: tonylavs Twitter: tonylavs the music after feeling the vibration that translated it.

“That’s when we knew that we were right on, because if somebody that wasn’t hearing, from that vibration could match that note—we were on the right direction,” Naslausky said.

Music: Not Impossible’s vests are not genre-limited. Hanlon explained audio leads like him can adjust the vibration points to fit a show’s vibe, from rock to disco.

The vests have been used at Greta Van Fleet and Lady Gaga concerts.

Zimmerman is excited about the technology’s potential—but there’s still a far way to go.

“Ultimately, the big goal for me is that I will be able to feel a soft violin and it will be so gorgeous to my body and my mind that I would cry,” he said. “And I could feel that exact same note come through a trombone blast and it will be so hilarious I’m going to laugh.”

“That is the big dream.” AFP