Ang Caviteno Newsweekly January 07-13, 2019 Issue | Page 6

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Enero 07-13, 2019
Rizal’s timeless challenge – To Serve the Nation
IN these times of unprecedented exodus abroad of youth
searching for jobs or the fulfillment of their dreams; of
public servants going back on their oath of honest service,
in exchange for the returns of Mammon; of activists who
continue to disappear and die in the course of their mission
to change society for the least of that society; or of the rare
Filipino who risks his own life and family if only to serve
the cause of truth- it would be fitting to remember Rizal’s
timeless call to all patriots of past, present and future as a
gauge of our own place and worth as Filipinos at this point
in our history.

It may be said that Rizal’s foremost mission in
life had been determined for him by fate- and early in his
life. In 1872 Fathers Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomes and
Jacinto Zamora, priests whose names were identified with
the movement to reform the priesthood, and the Catholic
Church itself, in the Philippines, were executed on the
ground of inciting the Mutiny of Cavite. That execution
proved to be Rizal’s political epiphany, the beginning of
his coming of age as a Filipino aware of being part of one
nation. It was to culminate in full fruition at his death
more than 20 years later, but by then a generation of his
fellow natives had been molded, by his life’s work, into
Filipinos with a sense of nation.

The generation into which Rizal was born was
the generation that up till then produced the greatest of
Filipino youth. It grew up in the worst and best of times,
a time of upheaval, and revolution and sacrifice, the call to
which Rizal and his fellow youth had unhesitatingly, and
without looking back, answered.

Among them, however, Rizal and Marcelo
H. del Pilar, a fellow Propagandist, stood out for their
determination. Del Pilar had left homeland, wife and
two daughters to wage his political struggle in Spain. He
would die there. Rizal was driven by one thing and one
thing only: to serve the nation. He spoke of it a year after
he left his homeland for studies in Spain: “In my heart I
have suppressed all loves, except that of my native land;
in my mind I have erased all ideas which do not signify
her progress; and my lips have forgotten the names of the
native races in the Philippines in order not to say more
than Filipinos.”

Rizal’s chief aim was to reform Philippine society,
first by uncovering its ills and second, by awakening the
Filipino youth. His enemies were the oppressive colonial
government, but especially the corrupt elements among
the friars, members of the religious orders that exerted the
greatest influence over the government and thereby held
complete sway over the lives of the Filipinos.

Rizal knew the best way to awaken the youth and
lead them toward right action was through education, but
especially foreign education. For local education, being
controlled by the friars then kept the Filipinos in the dark,
ignorant of their rights and heritage- and meek in the face
of oppression. This was partly why he left for Spain in
1882, to continue his studies there.

Championing the cause of the nation for him
entailed becoming the best person he could be. He carried
over to his activism the mental and physical disciplines he
learned from his elders.

His capacity for self-denial had developed to
such a degree that enabled him -when he was short on
funds abroad- to breakfast on a few biscuits for days on
end; to take exams on an empty stomach or go for hours
without food; to burn the candle at both ends studying his
lessons or learning a new language; to steel himself from
falling into the trap of drinking and gambling, which had
waylaid many of his compatriots from their mission; to
retain his empathy for the downtrodden as when moved
upon encountering a child begging in the streets of Madrid,
perhaps reminding him of the child beggars back home.

He plunged himself into the thick of the
Propaganda, a movement that agitated for government
reforms in the Philippines, foremost of which was
Filipinos’ assimilation in the Spanish nation through
representation in the Cortes (Spanish Parliament). He
waged his campaign among progressive members of the
Cortes and Spanish intellectuals; he wrote letters and
articles for La Solidaridad, the Propaganda mouthpiece,
as well as other publications, producing some of his best
work during this period such as “The Indolence of the
Filipinos”; “Message to the Women of Malolos”, or “The
Philippines a Century Hence”.

Despite his deprivations, he continued to push
himself to serve his nation’s cause finally producing
his greatest work, the novels Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo, works that paved his way to an untimely
death but also to a lasting place in the hearts and minds of
his compatriots.

Of his vision for the Filipinos, Rizal wrote his
comrade Mariano Ponce in 1888: “Let this be our only
motto: For the welfare of the Native Land. On the day
when all Filipinos should think like him [Del Pilar] and
like us, on that day we shall have fulfilled our arduous
mission, which is the formation of the Filipino nation”. To
Rizal that nation was a nation free of injustice, oppression
and corruption. May the Filipinos of today finally begin
fulfilling this timeless challenge of Rizal. (Ma. Cielito
Reyno, 2012 / NHCP)
First 1,000 Days Law - the best Christmas gift of Duterte
admin to Filipino mothers, babies
MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH), the
National Nutrition Council (NNC) and its member
agencies, and UN children’s agency UNICEF celebrated
together the passage of the “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng
Mag-Nanay Act," more popularly known as the First 1000
Days law.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act
11148 last November 29. The law seeks to scale up the
national and local health and nutrition programs through
a strengthened integrated strategy for maternal, neonatal,
child health and nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life.

"This law will complement the much-awaited
Universal Health Care Law to further boost the country’s
health status on our way to make Filipinos the healthiest
in Southeast Asia by 2022 and in Asia in 2040,” said
Department of Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III.

Malnutrition remains a significant public health
concern in the Philippines with an estimated 4.2 million
children who are stunted (short for their age) and more
than 300,000 children under 5 years who are severely
wasted (thin for their height). Children who are stunted
have life-long damaging consequences on their cognitive
and intellectual capacities.

On the other hand, children who have severe
wasting—also known as severe acute malnutrition—have
at least nine to 12 times increased risk of death.

In January of 2018, UNICEF, in partnership
with the DOH and NNC, launched two costing studies
that showed the impact of undernutrition to the national
economy and how much investment we need to address
this issue.

The first study, “The Economic Consequences of
Undernutrition in the Philippines: A Damage Assessment Report (DAR),” shows that the Philippines is losing and
will continue to lose around $4.5 billion per year if current
rates of undernutrition are not addressed. In 2015, this
loss was equivalent to around 1.5% of the country’s GDP,
which has made a significant dent in the national economy.
The second study, “Business Case for Nutrition Investment
in the Philippines,” shows how effective implementation
of affordable and equity-focused nutrition interventions
can significantly decrease the annual economic burden of
undernutrition. It also presents that for every $1 invested
to address undernutrition, there will be a $12 return to the
overall economy.

“Good nutrition is the foundation of a child’s
survival, health and development. We congratulate the
Philippine Government for this huge achievement – for
prioritizing interventions and investments for children
and their mothers during their first 1000 days which is
the best Christmas gift they can ever receive. UNICEF is
committed to continue supporting the Government as it
defines the package of interventions and accountabilities
of all Government Agencies to operationalize and scale up
effective nutrition services in the country. With this law,
we hope that the much-needed investments for evidence-
based interventions can finally move the needle towards
taller, brighter, and healthier Filipino Children,” UNICEF
Philippines Deputy Representative Julia Rees said.

UNICEF is committed to continue supporting
the Government as it defines the package of interventions
and accountabilities of all Government Agencies to
operationalize and scale up effective nutrition services
in the country. With this law, we hope that the much-
needed investments for evidence-based interventions
can finally move the needle towards taller, brighter, and
QUEZON CITY -- Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr looks forward
to the operationalization of the Executive Order No. 70 or
the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed
Conflict in 2019.

In an interview Wednesday, January 2, Lt. Gen.
Madrigal stressed the need for all government agencies
- both national and local government units - to come
together to totally eradicate the root causes of conflict and
violence.

"We have made significant progress and have
headways in our campaign to end insurgency, but to reach
what we can call a complete victory, we need to create
communities that are conflict-resilient and we need local
and national government agencies to attain this," Lt. Gen.
Madrigal said.

In 2018, consolidated data from ground units of
the AFP indicate a total of 12,017 CPP-NPA members and supporters have been neutralized.

The figure includes 130 that were killed and
264 that were apprehended in legitimate security and law
enforcement operations.

A total of 11,623 have also surrendered
including 1,227 regular NPA fighters. AFP units also
confiscated 1,920 assorted firearms and seized 316 enemy
encampments.

Madrigal added that a series of meetings and
plannings is on-going to operationalize E.O. Nr 70 and
create a National Peace Framework anchored on the
Whole-of-Nation approach institutionalized as a national
policy.

"Aside from focusing on our enemies, we also
have to look at our people and communities through
a people-centered strategy to make our communities
resilient from communist recruitment, propaganda, and
exploitation," Lt. Gen. Madrigal said. (AFP)
AFP Chief vouches for National Task Force vs insurgency
healthier Filipino Children,” UNICEF Philippines Deputy
Representative Julia Rees added.

With support from UNICEF, DOH and NNC
advocated for the importance of the First 1000 days
Window of Opportunity (a child’s life from conception
up to two years old) since 2014. Through key partners
like the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population
and Development (PLCPD) and the Philippine Coalition
of Advocates for Nutrition (PhilCAN), this advocacy
prompted various Local Government Units to prioritize
interventions and investments for the first 1000 days of a
child’s life.

"Indeed, this is an early Christmas gift for our
women and children. We thank our legislators and their
staff who worked hard for the passage of the law. We thank
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for signing the bill into law
as a manifestation of his love and caring for the Filipino
child. We are confident that the law will trigger action
from national government agencies, local governments,
and non-government organizations to invest and scale up
action for nutrition. The NNC and its national and local
network will participate actively in formulating the IRR.
We will also do aggressive public dissemination of the law
and continue to forge strategic alliances and partnerships
for concerted action for good nutrition in the first 1000
days. The Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act
promises to help not only the achievement of the targets
of the Philippine Plan of Action on Nutrition 2017-2022
but also help in the attainment of each Filipino child’s
potential for growth and development” said Assistant
Secretary of Health and NNC Executive Director Maria-
Bernardita Flores.

Over the next few weeks, DOH will convene
relevant stakeholders in drafting the Implementing Rules
and Regulations of RA 11148. This is a significant step
forward that supports DOH’s Philippine Health Agenda,
NNC’s Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition 2017-
2022, and UNICEF’s essential interventions and strategies
to improve Child Survival and Early Childhood Care
and Development, all of which aim to end all forms of
malnutrition and give every child the best start in life.
(DOH)
EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE AMONG HEIRS
Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late PURIFICACION A.
ESPIRITU who died intestate on December 3, 2018 at 16 Jasmin St.,
Cuevas-Arlantico Subd. Brgy. Salcedo 1, Noveleta, Cavite leaving
certain bank account with Bank of Commerce-NAIA Terminal 3 Branch
hereinafter referred to as the “Bank”, the following bank account:
Savings Account with account number 092-20-001097-5, at Bank
of Commerce NAIA Terminal 3 amount of P41,947.53 and Savings
Account with account number 092-20-001071-1, at Bank of Commerce
NAIA Terminal 3 amount of P13,922.03, has been extrajudicially settled
by her hiers as per Doc. No. 512; Page No. 104; Book No. VIII; Series of
2018 Notary Public Atty. Joel Golez Tinitigan.
Ang Caviteno
December 24, 31, 2018 & January 7, 2019