Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper (January 17-23, 2022)

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January 17-23, 2022

Unvaccinated people now restricted at home 'Due to high Covid cases, Alert 3 now in Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City, Butuan City, Agusan del Sur and Cotabato City'

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RESIDENT DUTERTE has ordered all barangay officials to restrict the movement of unvaccinated people in their respective areas following the spike in Covid-19 cases in many parts of the country.

Duterte invoked his emergency to order the earlier directed, baranauthority as Chief Ex- mobility restriction on the gay officials were ecutive amid a national unvaccinated. “As I have Continue on page 2

Police vow justice for blast victims A house under lockdown due to Covid-19 infections among households. (Mindanao Examiner)

Security tightened in Basilan BASILAN – Security is tight in Basilan province after a recent bomb ex-

plosion killed a Muslim woman who stepped on a tripwire on a village in

Sumisip.

Police said Junayra Continue on page 5

Why Bongbong Marcos can’t go to the U.S. FERDINAND ‘BONGBONG’ MARCOS Jr, whose father ruled the country Continue on page 3

Filipinos hold an indignation rally commemorating the 49th anniversary of the imposition of martial law by Dictator Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972. (Peoples Dispatch)

ARMM

Eastern Mindanao

POLICE ARE stepping up security in Mindanao after a bomb explosion ripped through a passenger bus and killed a minor and wounded six others in South Cotabato’s Aleosan town.

Brig. Gen. Alexander Tagum, the regional police director, vowed justice for the victims of the attack.

“Be assured that those behind the bombing will Continue on page 5

Man with terminal heart disease gets a transplant of genetically modified pig heart A 57-year-old Maryland man is doing well three days after receiving a genetically modified pig

Western Mindanao

heart in a first-of-its-kind transplant surgery, University of Maryland Medicine said in a news release.

Cebu

David Bennett had terminal heart disease, and the pig heart was Continue on page 6

Manila

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The Mindanao Examiner

January 17-23, 2022

Unvaccinated people now restricted at home

Continued from page 1 enforced a strict adherence to the quarantine protocols, including restraining unvaccinated persons from leaving their houses and they will do this legally. As I have said, we have every right to restrain the (unvaccinated people), we cannot wait for cong(ress to pass) a law,” he said.

“There is no denying that the Covid-19 situation in the country is becoming more alarming every day. Madaling sabi, may problema tayo. Nandito na ‘yung Covid-19, pati ‘yung variants, what makes it difficult to maybe treat on time, halos pareho lang siguro, I hope that’s the same banana that is applicable to all ‘yung mga gamot natin,” Duterte added.

The president also cited reports by medical experts saying new cases of Covid-19 continue to rise daily from more than 21,000 early this month to over 33,000 in a day and he noted a steady spike in the number of infections in the same period from around 77,000 to more than 157,000 now.

Duterte said he is alarmed by the Covid-19 data because of the reproduction rate of the viral transmission also shot up at more than 5% at the National Capital Region alone.

“Experts noted a high Covid-19 reproduction rate in NCR in more than five, meaning there is one Covid positive person that can be able or can infect more than five persons.

Ang taas naman nito, Our positivity rate as of January 10 was about 46 percent - meaning that at least four out of ten persons tested for Covid-19 will turn out to be positive,” he said.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government said barangay officials must follow Duterte’s order and within the bounds of the law.

“The President is merely exercising his authority as chief executive under the public health emergency. He was very clear in his directive that an arrest will only be a last resort. Pakiusapan muna na pumirmi sa bahay. Barangay officials may only arrest the unvaccinated individual who refuse to cooperate and who are leaving the homes for non-essential purposes,” said DILG Secretary Eduardo Año.

Año said that barangay officials are persons in authority and are duty bound to implement the President’s directive as well as the ordinances passed by their respective local governments. He advised the public to bring their vaccination cards

at all times and show it to barangay officials and police officers as proof of vaccination.

DILG spokesman Jonathan Malaya said unvaccinated individuals going to work must present a negative RT-PCR test result every 2 weeks otherwise they will not be allowed to leave their homes, although they can go out to procure basic essentials or medicines.

“We are doing this to protect the unvaccinated themselves because they are prone to critical illness and hospitalization and we need to protect our health care system from being overwhelmed with the exponential rise of coronavirus cases because of the Omicron variant,” he said.

And due to the increasing number of Covid-cases, the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases also placed the following provinces and cities to Alert Level 3 until end of January - Benguet, Kalinga and Abra in the Cordillera Administrative Region; La Union, Ilocos Norte and Pangasinan in Region 1; Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and Quirino in Region 2; Nueva Ecija and Tarlac in Region 3; Quezon Province in Region 4-A; Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro in Region

4-B; and Camarines Sur and Albay in Region 5 in Luzon.

In the Visayas under Alert Level 3 are: Bacolod City, Aklan, Capiz and Antique in Region 6; Cebu City and Mandaue City

in Region 7; and Tacloban City in Region 8.

In Mindanao, also under Alert Level 3 are the following: Cagayan de Oro City in Region 10; Davao City in Region 11; Butuan City and Agusan del Sur

in CARAGA; and Cotabato City in BARMM. All other provinces and cities not mentioned shall remain under their current alert level classification. (Mark Navales and Malou Cablinda)

Philippine Navy commends Malaysia for rescue of 15 Filipinos

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in Sandakan hands over the rescued Filipinos to the Philippine Navy on January 10, 2022. (Bernama) ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Philippine Navy thanked Malaysia for rescuing 15 Filipinos after their boat drifted into Sabah on their way to the southern Philippine island of Taganak.

The Naval Forces Western Mindanao said the Filipinos - seven of them employees of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and eight crew members - were repatriated on January 10.

It said the Filipinos, all residents of Tawi-Tawi province, left the capital town of Bongao on January 6 and was heading to Taganak when their boat developed engine trouble and was rescued two days later by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) near the island in Kinabatangan in Sandakan.

The Filipinos, 13 men and two women, were handed over by Malaysia to the Philippine Navy along the border and brought them back home on January 11.

Philippine Navy’s Col. Nestor Narag Jr, director of the Maritime Coordinating Center in Tawi-Tawi, thanked his counterparts for rescuing the Filipinos.

Brig. Gen Romeo Racadio, commander of Na-

val Task Group Tawi-Tawi and Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi, also commended Malaysia for the rescue of the Filipinos.

The Bernama News Agency also quoted Sandakan MMEA Deputy Director of Operations, Commander Ahmad Firdaus Shaari, as saying that they were alerted by the Eastern Sabah Security Command of a ship capsizing in the waters off Kinabatangan. “They (Filipinos) were on their way from Bongao to Taganak Island to carry out a program when their ship encountered problems and could not be repaired.”

“The ship then drifted into our waters and a strong wave pushed them further and landed on the coast of an island in Kinabatangan, where they realized that the ship was slowly sinking,” he told reporters just before sending off the rescued Filipinos to the Malaysian-Philippine border, where the Philippine navy awaited their arrival.

He said about 40 MMEA personnel escorted the Filipinos in three boats and a ship to the border.

Ahmad Firdaus said all the victims, consisting of 13 men and two women, were brought to San-

dakan where a routine Covid-19 screening was conducted and found all were free from the virus, and were provided accommodation and food as well as other necessities, while arrangement was made to ensure their safe return to the Philippines.

One of the Filipinos, Karnahar Mayan, 41, said she and her colleagues were on their way to conduct training assessment at Taganak Island when the ship broke down in the middle of the sea.

“We left Bongao Island on the morning of January 6.

Then, around 11.30 a.m., the ship broke down and we were left stranded at sea. The ship’s captain and mechanic tried to fix the engine, but by the following morning (January 7) when we woke up, we were still at sea,” she said, adding that at around 6 p.m.

(January 7), a strong wave swept the ship to a shore.

Karnahar said the passengers and crew of the ship sought refuge on the top deck and was fortunate that there were people on the island catching crabs and giving them food and alerted the authorities. She said they were rescued at around 2 p.m. on January 8. (Mindanao Examiner)

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The Mindanao Examiner

January 17-23, 2022

Why Bongbong Marcos can’t go to the U.S.

Organic Kopi Luwak or Civet coffee isn’t really pricey

KIDAPAWAN CITY Coffee lovers in the Philippines may now enjoy the best and the most expensive coffee in the world - Kopi Luwak - but not as pricey as every connoisseurs think.

Kopi Luwak is a coffee that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. The cherries are fermented as they pass through a civet’s intestines, and after being defecated

with other fecal matter, they are collected.

In Manila, a kilogram of Civet coffee sells for as high as P15,000 and over $500 dollars abroad.

But Kopi Luwak can now be enjoyed by every coffee lovers for as low as P150 for a 16 oz. cup that comes with a drip bag, ground organic Civet coffee beans, two packets of brown sugar and a stirrer in a beautiful Kraft paper bag – thanks to the Mindanao Civet Coffee

seller in Zamboanga City.

The new market player in the coffee business, although small, is now offering affordable organic Kopi Luwak – sourced and picked by farmers from the highlands of Mindanao, cleaned and dried and roasted to perfection to give coffee lovers that distinct aroma of Civet coffee berries – chocolaty and nutty and smooth bodied brewed drink.

Mindanao Civet Coffee, which started as a home reseller of coffee beans, now offers organic Kopi Luwak in 250 grams ground Civet coffee and 250 grams Civet coffee beans – all medium roasted to perfection.

Kopi Luwak is also available now in 3rd Cup Café at LM Metro Hotel in Zamboanga City, and resellers in Luzon, Cebu and other parts of Mindanao.

The Mindanao Civet Coffee is a favorite among travellers and tourists and coffee connoisseurs. And for those who wanted the perfect gift for all occasions, Kopi Luwak is the best choice.

And those who are interested to resell or perhaps enjoy a daily hot cup or cold brew of Kopi Luwak may call the Mindanao Civet Coffee at this mobile number 09153976197. (AJC)

Continued from page 1 with a brutal and rapacious hand and whose mother was convicted of graft, enjoys a wide lead in the early polls for the 2022 presidential race.

This is a disquieting fact. It shows that undercurrents of change have been bubbling in Philippine society for years – and have now fully surfaced.

In a past newsletter, I wrote about factors that have helped rehabilitate the Marcoses. There is no single explanation for this phenomenon. I am sure academics, journalists and researchers will write tomes on this phase in our country’s history and help us understand our society better.

We are not unique, though, when it comes to near- or full restoration of disgraced politicians.

In Peru, the daughter of a jailed ex-president, Keiko Fujimori, led the race for the presidency last year but lost in a tight runoff.

This was her third run for president.

Park Gyun-hye, daughter of controversial strongman Park Chunghee, became Korea’s first female president in 2012.

She was dogged by a corruption scandal, was impeached by parliament in December 2016 and officially ousted three months later when the supreme court upheld the decision.

Park was then arrested on corruption charges.

Bongbong and Marcos estate Here at home, supporters of Bongbong Marcos argue that the sins of the parents shouldn’t be visited upon the son. This reasoning seems to gain a lot of traction as the son is portrayed as an innocent bystander while the parents looted the public coffers, stashed these in Swiss banks and elsewhere, and fought lawsuits to keep them. What is overlooked is the fact that Bongbong himself is embroiled in at least two cases involving his family’s ill-gotten wealth and is an active participant in defending their stolen riches.

The first has to do with his role as executor of the Marcos estate together with his mother, Imelda Marcos. When Ferdinand Marcos died in 1989, his heirs – Imelda, Imee, Bon-

gong and Irene – did not pay any estate tax. At the time, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) computed the estate tax at P23.3 billion. Today, with the piling interest rate and penalty, the amount has soared to P203.8 billion.

This case reached the Supreme Court. Before that, it was Bongbong who filed a petition with the Court of Appeals questioning the BIR’s tax assessment, leading the family’s defense.

Here’s what former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio wrote in his Inquirer column last year: “The Marcos heirs simply ignored all the notices sent by the BIR. However, when the BIR served notices to the Marcos heirs that real properties in the name of Ferdinand Marcos would be auctioned off to pay the estate tax, Bongbong Marcos filed a petition with the Court of Appeals questioning the validity of the estate tax assessment on the flimsy ground that the BIR had no jurisdiction over the assets of the deceased Marcos because the assets were in the custody of the probate court. The Court of Appeals dismissed Bongbong Marcos’s petition on the ground that the estate tax assessment had already become “final and unappealable.” Twenty-four years after the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals decision, the Marcos heirs still have not paid the estate tax.”

US warrants of arrest In the US, cases hound Imelda, Imee, and Bongbong. They are wanted in the US because they failed to comply with the decisions of a Hawaii court’s rulings on how the family’s seized assets should have been disbursed to the victims of human rights violations.

Myles Garcia, a USbased writer who has followed the Marcos cases there, wrote in 2016 that a judgment, issued by a Hawaii court in 2011, “specifically for violating a US court order not to dissipate their assets, elevated the classification of the judgments against the Marcoses from ‘civil’ status to ‘criminal,’ thus making the defendants culpable of jail sentences.”

I asked Garcia, via email, what this means. He

said they are “automatically ‘Wanted’ for failing to comply with the law.”

Are there actual warrants of arrest? Garcia said these may have been served to the Marcos lawyer defending their interests in the Hawaii court cases.

Former Supreme Court chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno wrote on this issue in her Facebook post: “Usually po, kapag may deklarasyon ng “contempt” sa isang litigant, mayroong inilalabas na arrest warrant ang korte na nag-uutos sa law enforcement authorities na hulihin at ikulong ang taong in-contempt hangga’t masunod niya ang utos ng korte.” (“Usually, when there is a declaration of ‘contempt’ versus a litigant, the court issues an arrest warrant or authorizes law-enforcement authorities to arrest and jail the person in contempt until he/she complies with the court order.”)

What led to this? Garcia wrote in Positively Filipino, a US-based online magazine, the background of the cases: “In January 2011, after 17 years of the Marcoses appealing the earlier verdicts (all of which were rejected), making Philippine courts try to void the Hawaii court judgments, and all but making no effort to even meet some of the judgments, the Hawaii courts again slapped Imelda, Bongbong and Imee with another $353.6 million fine in contempt of court. It was the largest award for a contempt case ever on record, for ignoring the court’s earlier judgments and the court knowing that the Marcoses have the wherewithal to pay up.

But the Marcoses failed in all their appeals of the…

US judgments.”

At the time, Imelda and Bongbong refused to comment on the contempt of court, the Inquirer reported.

As things stand, will presidential candidate Bongbong be able to travel to the US? No, says Ruben Carranza, former commissioner of the Philippine Commission on Good Government. Arrest warrants await the Marcoses if they set foot in the US. (Marites Vitug/Rappler)

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The Mindanao Examiner

January 17-23, 2022

Sulu Pictures in the News Sulu provincial government at work. This is where your taxes go. (Photos from the Office of the Provincial Governor, Jaques Tutong, Kusug Tausug, Maimbung Municipal Government, Rep. Shernee Tambut, Noenyrie Asiri, and Aziz Salapuddin)

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The Mindanao Examiner

January 17-23, 2022

Police vow justice for blast victims

Police photos show the provincial bus after a bomb exploded under a seat in South Cotabato's Aleosan town. (Mark Navales)

FOR SALE

Continued from page 1 face the full force of the law,” he said.

The bus, operated by the Mindanao Star Bus Company, was travelling the highway in the village of Upper San Mateo on January 12 when the bomb exploded under the rear seat.

Tagum said a special police task group headed

by Col. Michael Lebanan is investigating the attack to determine who was behind it.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but several rebel groups are actively operating in the province and neighboring areas. The attack occurred ahead of the May local and national polls.

The blast came barely a week after police dis-

rupted an improvised explosive discovered by villagers at a riverbank in Sultan Kudarat province.

Members of the Provincial Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Canine Unit recovered an anti-personnel claymore mine, one electric blasting cap and different sizes of metals after disrupting the explosive.

Col. Tom Tuzon, the provincial police director, lauded the efforts and cooperation of the citizens in reporting the presence of explosives in the village of Tinumigues in Lambayong town.

He said civilians phoned the municipal police office on January 8 to say that a suspicious sack was abandoned at the banks of the Allah River.

Tuzon said police forces led by Maj. Jen-

ahmeel Toñacao rushed to the area and immediately informed the Provincial Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Canine Unit about the explosive which was carefully disrupted.

“All recovered pieces of evidence were brought

by Sultan Kudarat EOD office for technical identification and proper disposition. While continuous in-depth investigation and intelligence monitoring were conducted to determine the identity of the suspect and their motive,” Tuzon said.

“We encourage everyone to immediately report suspicious personalities and activities observed in your areas to prevent crimes, and let us work together for a more peaceful and safer Sultan Kudarat province,” he added. (Mark Navales)

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Continued from page 1 Saad was killed instantly by the blast in Upper Benembengan village.

It was not immediately known who planted the bomb or whether the Abu Sayyaf was involved as army soldiers are known to patrol villages in the town.

The victim’s family has

not release any statement, but authorities have in the past blamed the Abu Sayyaf group for the spate of bombings and attacks on innocent civilians in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

The militant group did not say whether it was their explosive, but secu-

rity has been tightened in the town following Saad’s tragic death.

Leaders of the Abu Sayyaf have pledged allegiance to the ISIS or Islamic State and vowed to fight for the establishment of a strict caliphate in the restive, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Disinformation threatens elections integrity, says Rappler CEO TO HAVE an integrity of elections, the country should defeat disinformation as soon as possible, Rappler CEO and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa said at the Senate committee investigation on the disinformation machinery online.

“If we don’t have an integrity of facts, we will not have integrity of elections.

If you look at every study of fascism globally, they first tear down the facts,” said Ressa at the third hearing of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes.

“Facebook is now the world’s largest distributor of news and yet studies have shown that lies laced with anger and hate spread faster and further than the really boring facts. So the reality is, the platforms that deliver the facts to you are biased against facts, they are biased against journalists. And they are, by design, dividing us and radicalizing us,” she added.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, who heads the Senate committee conducting the hearing, said the unprecedented scale, speed, and scope of technology used in disinformation distorts the truth that allows people to make informed decisions.

“Ganito kasama ang kasinungalingan. Apektado ang kalusugan at kaligtasan nating lahat, ang kaban ng bayan, at ang kaayusan ng ating lipunan. Masama na nga ang sitwasyon, sinasamantala pa ang pagka-desperado ng ating mga kababayan sa mga pakalat ng mga paninira,” he said after citing the disinformation on the volunteer-driven program on online consultation and the Typhoon Odette relief operations in Siargao.

“Ano ang pinapatay ng infodemic na ito? Ang katotohanan. At pag patay na ang katotohanan, paano pa nating malalaman kung ano totoo sa hindi totoo. Sa kasinungalingan sa katotohanan? Paano tayo magpa-

pasya nang maayos kung kasinungalingan ang basehan ng ating pagpapasya?”

Pangilinan asked during his opening statement.

According to Ressa, one of the faster ways to defeat disinformation is to create a law that would penalize technology and social media companies that continue to allow disinformation and misinformation to proliferate in their platforms.

“In our country, what can we do? The quick solution would be to actually hold the platforms accountable for what they spread, what they allow to spread.

And when you do that, I bet you that you would automatically see a shrinking of information operations,” Ressa said.

For Ressa, the infodemic online has catapulted the narratives of populist regimes, including President Rodrigo Duterte’s “us vs them” narrative, which has now further divided the Filipinos.

As to the fears that the legislation might trample on freedom of speech, Ressa argued that it is the algorithm of the distribution channels that are seeking to be controlled and not the content. “So where are you going to intervene? Don’t intervene in the content because you can actually be accused of censorship. But if you go to the algorithms of amplification…because everyone can say what they think. But what your neighbor said never reaches broadcast scale until today, because there have been no guardrails on the distribution of lies,” she explained.

“Infodemic threatens the very fiber of our decency as a people. The situation has gone so very bad that even the traditionally quiet community of 18 business groups issued a statement against disinformation and hate speech,” Pangilinan said, adding, he will support any move that will hold accountable the individuals behind the proliferation of fake news and the channels that amplify the same.

“We must have laws

that are up-to-date, responsive to the needs of the times, fool proof as best at it can be against the ingenious minds of criminals ika' nga... We have to craft new laws or legislation cognizant of the new complications that technology poses,” Pangilinan said.

“Sama-sama po nating iilawan ang madilim na mundo ng infodemic. As we grapple for sharper weapons to defeat the night, we shall remember that our torches are puny when alone. Light shines brightest when all the torches stand together in firm defiance of evil.”

In 2016 the National Public Radio quoted Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a report as saying his company has studied fake news and found it is a “very small volume” of the content on Facebook. Zuckerberg also said his team has studied the filter bubble effect and the research shows that almost everyone has some friend on the other side of the aisle. The social network's ability to connect people makes it “inherently more diverse” than the major news stations of 20 years back.

He said right now the problem is not that diverse information is not there. It is there more than it was in the days of traditional media. The problem, he said, is that people do not click on things that do not conform to their worldview. And, he said “I don't know what to do about that.”

He said Facebook is not a free speech platform. It has a long list of rules, called Community Standards, of things you're not allowed to say or share.

“When we started, the North Star for us was: We’re building a safe community,” Zuckerberg said.

He thought about how to control for bullies. One of the things that have shifted, he said, is that now news is a more important part of Facebook content. “We’re still working through what that means,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner contributed to this report.)

January 17-23, 2022

Villamero’s Enterprises For all your newspaper publications or subscription to The Zamboanga Post and The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper, please call or text Villamero’s Enterprises at these numbers (062) 955-8677 and 0917-1223496. Located at Campaner Street, Zamboanga City and serving Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Man with terminal heart disease gets a transplant of genetically modified pig heart Continued from page 1 “the only currently available option,” according to the statement, adding, Bennett was deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant or an artificial heart pump after reviews of his medical records.

“It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice,” Bennett said before the surgery, according to the news release.

The US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for the surgery on December 31.

Three genes that are responsible for rejection of pig organs by human immune systems were removed from the donor pig, and one gene was taken out to prevent excessive pig heart tissue growth. Six human genes responsible for immune acceptance were inserted.

Bennett’s doctors will need to monitor him for days to weeks to see whether the transplant works to provide lifesaving benefits. He’ll be monitored for immune system problems or other complications.

“There are simply not enough donor human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients,” surgeon Dr. Bartley P. Griffith said in a statement. “We are proceeding cautiously, but we are also optimistic that this first-in-the-world surgery will provide an important new option for patients in the future.”

Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company based in Blacksburg, Virginia, provided the heart, according to the news release.

A total of 106,657 people are on the national transplant waiting list,

Bartley P. Griffith, MD and patient, David Bennett.

(Image: University of Maryland School of Medicine) and 17 people die each day waiting for an organ, according to organdonor. gov.

Art Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York University, said he was a little apprehensive when he heard the news of Bennett's transplant. “I hope they've got the data to back up trying this now, based on their animal studies,” he said, noting the United States has a “terrible” shortage of organs for transplants.

He believes engineering animal parts is a solution. “The question is, can we get there with minimal harm to the first volunteers?” he asked.

Pig heart valves have been transplanted into humans for many years.

In October, surgeons successfully tested the transplant of a genetically modified pig kidney into a woman in New York who was brain-dead.

Caplan said it is too early to call the heart transplant a success. That label will come if Bennett has a good quality of life for months, he said. But

it's still possible that he could die. Whatever the outcome, it's important for researchers to learn something that can be applied to future transplants, he added.

He said there also should be an independent review of the data that went into the decision to do this first transplant.

The other ethics issue is around the consent, he said. It should come from others besides the patient, who is very likely to agree to the surgery if he is facing death.

“Consent for the imminently dying is important to get ... but it's not enough,” he said, suggesting a research ethics committee weigh in. “You want to have somebody else say, 'Yes, we agree' this isn't a crazy, too risky thing to try.”

More than 40,000 transplants - a record were done in 2021, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. (By Katherine Dillinger. John Bonifield and Steve Almasy contributed to this report. CNN)

The operation. (Image: University of Maryland School of Medicine)

January 17-23, 2022

The Mindanao Examiner

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Sulu Pictures in the News

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The Mindanao Examiner

January 17-23, 2022

Across : 1. Dazzle 4. Stair section 8. Prayer close 12. Baseball’s ___ Gehrig 13. Lose feathers 14. Movie fish 15. Taco ingredient 17. Make socks 18. Pub beverage 19. List of candidates 20. Pencil ends 24. Wooden nail 25. Down Under 27. Shoemaker’s helper 30. Stand up 31. Soft metal 32. Lumber source 33. SSW’s opp.

34. Peach variety 36. Sugar ___ Leonard 38. Spookiest 39. Garret 41. Pilfer 42. Unbiased 43. Indirect implication 48. Healing plant 49. Steeped drinks 50. Slippery fish 51. Tear apart 52. Shoe part 53. Koppel or Williams Down : 1. Model Carol ___ 2. Court romantically 3. Spain’s cont.

4. Happy one 5. Put up with 6. Building wing 7. School group (abbr.)

8. Leg joint 9. Zoo 10. Give off 11. Musical symbol 16. Sample food 19. Watering place 20. Acquire by labor 21. Wreck 22. Declaration 23. Bread portion

Answer to last week’s crossword:

26. ___ Revenue Service 28. Telescope glass 29. Tootsies 32. Apache, e.g.

34. Manhattan letters 35. Wake up 37. Broadcast 39. Remote 40. Story 43. ___ a boy!

44. Keanu Reeves role 45. Butterfly snare 46. Marginal grade 47. Not new

Weekly Sudoku:

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Answer to last week:

NORTH COTABATO KIDAPAWAN CITY

Paolo De Jesus (0927) 4757936

BARMMͳCENTRAL MINDANAO COTABATO CITY 5-A Pansacala Street (RH10) Cotabato City, 9600 Mark Navales (0916) 6885389

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The Mindanao Examiner

January 17-23, 2022

HEALTH

Top 5 Sakit ng Pilipino Ni Dr. Willie T. Ong

Image : Kenze Malmis Ponce DILI MASABTAN ang emosyon nga nabati sa mga netizens (nalooy, natandog, nainspired) human nakita ang wedding photos sa magtiayong Albores ug Ubay sa Bukidnon human nakita ang handa sa lamesa nga kan-on, linung-ag nga balanghoy ug bihon.

Kita sa nawong sa bride nga dako ang iyahang kalipay sa maong kasal human sa 12 ka tuig nga panag-ipon, sa wakas karon nakasal na. Matod pa sa report dugay na naghandum ang bride nga makasal sila bisan sa kalisod sa ilang panginabuhi .

Mabuhay ang bagong kasal! (Suroyta Bai, OneTV Philippines)

OPINION

Be Yourself

by Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo (Cebu) I watched an interview of Shay Mitchell, a famous Canadian actress who is half Filipina.

She was asked: “What were your struggles with your identity during your high school years?” She replied she wanted not to be different and so she dyed her hair blond, and wore colored contact lenses because she wanted to look like her Caucasian classmates at that time. In other words, she did not like the way she looked, especially with her brown complexion. But now she is celebrating her exotic appearance that makes her uniquely pretty. She said she learned her lesson and that you should not try to be someone else you are not, but to instead celebrate your being you.

Many young people nowadays struggle with their identity too. My advice is: Try to be yourself the soonest. The reasons are many. First, because pretending who you are not can be quite exhausting. I know of a young fellow who wanted to portray himself as a funny person in front of his classmates and hides his serious side because he feels like he would be more famous that way. He confided to me that when he comes home from school, he feels drained.

Second, because as Jim Carey, the comedian-actor, has said, you become invisible if your aim in life is mainly to be accepted. Meaning your true self will disappear if you focus on getting accepted by others.

The paradox is when we try hard to appear original and unique; we end up losing our originality. However, if we just be ourselves our unique identity comes out.

It’s part of human nature to yearn to be accepted. In psychology it’s called the sense

of belongingness. It’s the reason why some guys or gals join fraternities and sororities.

They want a group that accepts them. But you don’t have to join a club or a fraternity to get accepted. The key to getting accepted by others is when we practice our values or virtues. How can anyone not get attracted to someone who is kind, caring, patient, helpful and charitable to others?

As I’ve always said, virtues bring out the best in us, we become more human. And the opposite is also true, vices make us less human and actually more of an animal. When someone devours food as if there’s no more food tomorrow, doesn’t he or she behave like a pig?

We give birth to our true identity by being good not by being bad. Just look at the saints, they all have different personalities. In contrast, the tyrants and the oppressors of this world, who terrorize and kill people by the thousands if not millions, are very boring because they pretty much have the same character. It’s not hard to distinguish between Lenin and Hitler.

You are who you are as God wanted you to be. God is satisfied creating you and you should also be. God is the champion and expert in bringing out our individuality. God brings out our fullest identity if we obey Him and heed His calling or His plan for us in this life. God will renew us and introduce us to our real selves. “Behold I make all things new.” (Rev. 21:5) As C.S. Lewis would say, God loves variety in His children that’s why He made us all unique and different. That’s also why He created many humans. Otherwise, he would only have created one person if He wanted only one kind of personality. (Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo)

1. High Blood Pressure o Altapresyon.

Kapag ang blood pressure niyo ay palaging lampas sa 140 over 90, ang ibig sabihin ay may high blood pressure o altapresyon ka na. Isa sa 4 na Pilipino ay may high blood pressure.

Ang normal na blood pressure ay mas mababa sa 140 over 90.

Heto ang mga tips: (1) Magbawas ng timbang; (2) Magbawas sa pagkain ng maaalat. Umiwas o magbawas sa paggamit ng asin, toyo, patis at bagoong; at (3) Mag-ehersisyo ng 3 hanggang 5 beses bawat linggo.

Kapag palaging mataas sa 140/90 ang iyong blood pressure, kailangan mo nang uminom ng gamot.

2. Diabetes.

Kung ika’y may nararamdamang pamamanhid, laging nauuhaw, madalas umihi, o namamayat, magpa-check sa diabetes.

Kapag ang iyong blood sugar ay higit sa 126 mg/dl pagkatapos ng 10 oras na

hindi pagkain (fasting blood sugar), nangangahulugang may diabetes ka na. Umiwas sa dalawang bagay: Matataba at matatamis na pagkain.

Mag-ehersisyo din ng regular at huwag magpataba.

Depende sa taas ng iyong blood sugar, may mga mura at mabisang gamot sa diabetes, tulad ng Metformin at Gliclazide. Kung hindi mo mako-kontrol ang iyong blood sugar, ay mapapabilis ang pagdating ng komplikasyon nito.

3. Mataas na Cholesterol.

Mataas ang iyong cholesterol kapag lampas ito sa 200 mg/dl. Mag-diyeta na.

Posibleng kailangan uminom ng gamot kapag lampas sa 240 ang cholesterol. Subukang mag-diyeta ng 2 buwan.

Iwas taba, karne, cakes at icing muna. Pagkaraan ng 2 buwan, ipa-test uli ang cholesterol at kapag lampas ulit sa 240 mg/dl, doon tayo magsisimula ng gamot na Statins.

4. Sakit Sa Kidneys (bato).

Kung mayroon kang diabetes o high blood pressure, kailangan mong bantayan ang iyong kidneys. Ang dia-

betes at high blood ay nakasisira sa kidneys. Kadalasan ay walang nararamdaman ang mga taong may sakit sa kidneys. Kapag may kidney failure na, humihina na ang daloy ng ihi.

Heto ang tips: (1) Bawasan ang alat ng pagkain; (2) Limitahan ang protina sa pagkain. Mas kumain ng isda, gulay at prutas; (3) Iwasan ang pag-inom ng pain relievers (gamot sa kirot); (4) Uminom ng 8-10 basong tubig bawat araw.

5. Cancer.

Kapag ang isang tao ay wala pang kanser, ang pinakamagandang kainin ay ang tatlong K: kamatis, karrots at kalabasa. Puwede din ang mga pagkaing ito para makaiwas sa kanser: green tea, curry powder, bawang, sibuyas, sibuyas dahon (leeks), repolyo, cauliflower, tofu o tokwa, at talong. Damihan ang pagkain nitong anti-cancer foods.

Bawasan ang pagkain ng hindi masustansyang pagkain tulad ng baboy, baka, hotdog, bacon, ham at longganisa.

RECIPE

Pancit Palabok INGREDIENTS : • 500 grams rice noodles bihon SAUCE : • 2 tbsp cooking oil • 1/2 lb ground pork • 1 tbsp anatto powder • 3 cups pork broth • 1 piece shrimp bouillon • 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 2 tbsp fish sauce • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper TOPPING : • 1 cup pork belly boiled and sliced thinly into small pieces • 4 ounces firm tofu fried and sliced into cubes • ½ cup tinapa flakes smoked fish • ½ cup chicharon pounded • 2 hard boiled eggs sliced • ½ cup cooked shrimps boiled or steamed • 1/4 cup green onion or scallions finely chopped • 3 Tablespoons toasted garlic • 2 lemons sliced (or 6 pieces calamansie INSTRUCTIONS : 1.

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Soak the rice noodles in water for about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook the sauce by heating a saucepan. Pourin the cooking oil.

When the oil is hot enough, put-in the ground pork and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes Dilute the annato powder in pork broth then pour the mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a boil (If you are using anatto seeds, soak them first in 3 tbsp water to bring-out the color)

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Add the shrimp cube and stir and simmer for 3 minutes Add the flour gradually while stirring.

Add the fish sauce and ground black pepper then simmer until sauce becomes thick. Set aside.

Meanwhile, boil enough water in a pot.

Place the soaked noodles in a strainer (use metal or bamboo strainer) then submerge the strainer in the boiling water for about a minute or until the noodles are cooked. (make sure that the noodles are still firm) Remove the strainer from the pot and drain the liquid from the noodles.

Place the noodles in the serving plate.

Pour the sauce on top of the noodles then arrange the toppings over the sauce.

Serve with a slice of lemon or calamansi.

Share and enjoy!

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The Mindanao Examiner

January 17-23, 2022

January 17-23, 2022

The Mindanao Examiner

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