OP ED EDITORIAL & CARTOONS: MANILA- Pliant amid disaster
The Filipino capacity for resilience, seen by psychologists and behaviorists as a virtue, rose notches higher once more with the offensive made by powerful Typhoon “Ompong” in Northern Philippines.
More than just rubberlike behavior, the Filipinos showed their bouncy, if kneadable, character as they helped family members and neighbors stand up to the fury of the 15th typhoon to enter the Philippines this year.
It will be days before the final toll tab—in death and destruction to agricultural crops and infrastructure—would be officially signed.But Ompong’s immediate victims reflected the resilience of other Filipinos in the other areas of the archipelago to adapt properly and well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant wellsprings of stress.The near knockout punch inflicted by Ompong this month underlined what outsiders have seen in the Filipino, whether he is at home or overseas, with his power and ability to return to his original form of being buoyant and strong after being bent, compressed or stretched.
How else can one explain the capacity of the Filipino to adapt and bounce back when, as in the case of those in the typhoon-whacked Cagayan Valley, the Cordilleras, and the Ilocos, the residents, whose eyes were jabbed by beaten agricultural terraced lands, have not lost their hardy character?Perhaps, they continue to cherish family and social support, apart from relishing in their humanity the spirit of bayanihan, among Tagalogs, or the tagnawa, among northerners, which is deeply rooted in many towns where community members volunteer to help neighbors in various levels of cooperation.Philippine society has not been deficient in this spirit, with volunteerism and teamwork at the core of the Filipino soul and character, which defines properly the Filipino, who continues to have his faith in his God.A recipe to be pliant amid disaster.
7.1. No moral authority – Daily Tribune – Massacre or myth?
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7.2. Manila Bulletin –Record remittances from our overseas workers
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The latest report from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on remittances to the Philippines from Filipinos abroad stresses the big role played by our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in the national economy.
In the first seven months of this year (January to July, 2018) , cash remittances sent through the international banking system totalled $16.6 billion. Over 79 percent of these remittances came from the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom, Qatar, Canada, Germany, and Hong Kong. This amount is 3 percent more than last year’s $16.09 billion, said BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr.
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7.3. The Manila Standard- Pliant amid disaster
7.4. The Manila Times – CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
7.6 The Philippine Star – Empowering the COA
8.0. The Straits Times
The Straits Times says:
Celebrate Singapore’s ventures abroad
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Cooking doyenne Violet Oon is the latest Singapore food brand with ambitions of going global. She recently laid out her plan to conquer foodies – from a new restaurant at Jewel Changi Airport next year, to food retail at posh international grocers thereafter, to restaurants in London and Tokyo by 2020. She is not the first home-grown food brand to do so. BreadTalk has a strong presence in China and Hong Kong, Mr Bean attracts queues at its strategically located kiosk in Tokyo’s Shibuya station, and Old Chang Kee’s curry puffs are now available in London’s Covent Garden.
These brands bring a taste of Singapore to foreign lands. But increasingly, it is Singapore’s bespoke brands and creative nous that have quietly made headway abroad. This may surprise those who think of the Republic as a sterile city, known more for its streamlined efficiency, tough laws and economic growth than creative prowess. But this little red dot, designated a Creative City of Design by Unesco in 2015, has spawned a surprising list of successful creatives. There is fashion label Ong Shunmugam and its signature blend of ethnic fabrics and updated cheongsam silhouettes. Graphic novelist Sonny Liew’s prestigious Eisner award wins were celebrated, but writers J.Y. Yang and Vina Jie-Min Prasad must be equally lauded for their Hugo award nominations for their fantasy and science fiction works. For a country long seen as a cultural desert, Singapore has also exported administrators overseeing arts and theatre to the region and beyond. The range of talent should give pause to naysayers. Singaporeans, having grown up at a crossroads of cultures, are well placed to take these cultures international. Besides an ease with code-switching between East and West, Singaporeans’ facility with English also gives them an edge. It is time to acknowledge that Singapore soft power is having a moment on the world stage. Long may it flourish.
TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/celebrate-singapores-ventures-abroad
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