Brilliant Ilonggo execs save Dinagyang

“Men are like the stars; some generate their own light while others reflect the brilliance they receive.”

—Jose Marti

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

WE all know that Iloilo City’s Dinagyang Festival 2020 was the only annual festival that survived and was held in January this year before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COIVD-19) pandemic eviscerated the holding of all other religious and cultural festivals, including mammoth sports and corporate events slated in 2020.

Dinagyang Festival 2020 made it in the nick of time before the pandemic-induced lockdown and social distancing protocol was imposed all over the Philippines, as well as in other parts of the world, when COVID-19 fatally rolled out like a prairie fire.

Because the pandemic had refused to go away, there were fears the holding of the crowed-drawer Dinagyang Festival 2021 two months from now would be scrapped.

COVID-19 is still a threat anywhere in the world with 54,473,877 people have been infected and 1,313,468 have died as of November 17.

Not until some intelligent and creative Ilonggo executives came up with a brilliant idea to still hold the event next year by going digital.

This became known to the public when the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) officially introduced Dinagyang Digital 2021 on Nov. 13, with the theme “One Dinagyang, One Iloilo, Halad kay Senior Sto. Niño.”

 

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By going digital, Dinagyang Festival 2021, to be hosted by Miss Iloilo Philippines 2020 and Ambassador of Dinagyang Digital 2021

Rabiya Mateo, will not become a “super spreader event” even as IFFI president Jobert Peñaflorida made an assurance the virtual celebration in the new platform will be fully supported by the Iloilo City Government, Parish of San Jose de Placer, and the Department of Tourism (DOT).

"Dinagyang can now be seen from across the country and around the globe," vowed Peñaflorida, a lawyer and former ABS-CBN Iloilo news anchor.

The festival's Virtual Opening Salvo and Virtual Religious Sadsad are reportedly set on Jan. 15, 2021 and Jan. 23, 2021, respectively.

Peñaflorida said, "On January 24, 2021 is our Virtual Dinagyang Mass, followed by a full day Dinagyang Digital 2021.”

Featuring the city's "wonderful sites", the activities will be livestreamed on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The 2021 edition of the festival will showcase "world-class virtual performances."

Peñaflorida disclosed further: "We have gathered our best Ilonggo directors, videographers, and choreographers to work together to deliver pre-filmed performance videos featuring our devotion to Sto. Nino, the indigenous people - the Ati and Panay Bukidnon -performance from our Ilonggo artists, individual performances from our select tribes, collaborative tribe performances, and our tribute to the frontliners and the city of Iloilo.”

We laud Peñaflorida and other brilliant IFFI officials for helping save the Dinagyang Festival 2021.

 

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‘NO VACCINE BEFORE THE DINAGYANG 2021’. Although it has been reported that about more than 1 billion people could be immunized against coronavirus by the end of next year with shots from the first two companies to reveal positive results, after the latest vaccine was shown to be nearly 95 percent effective in trials, there’s no assurance that the vaccine will be available in the Philippines before the Dinagyang Festival 2021 on January 15-24.

The Philippine government reportedly intends to borrow $300 million for the purchase of the coronavirus vaccine, as revealed by President Rodrigo Duterte following recent reports that a vaccine developed by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech was 90 percent effective.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, US top infectious disease official, meanwhile, has hailed “the light at the end of the tunnel.” 

This was after the US biotech firm Moderna announced “impressive results” for its mRNA vaccine on November 16, a week after interim results for a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine showed 90 percent effectiveness.

The inclusion of high-risk and elderly people in the Moderna trial reportedly suggested the vaccine would protect those most vulnerable to the disease.

Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, described the results as “tremendously exciting”.

Moderna’s vaccine could potentially provide a major advantage over Pfizer’s, which requires ultracold freezing between -70C (-94F) and -80C from production facility to patient though it is reportedly more expensive.

If the Philippine Government can make a deal with vaccine companies early next year and the Filipinos will be able to avail it immediately, the Dinagyang Festival’s old format might hopefully be revived in 2022. 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, was a former editor of two dailies in Iloilo, Philippines)

 

 

Our fame and shame

“Festivals cause diseases, since they lighten cares but increase gluttony.”

—Apollonius of Tyana

By Alex P. Vidal

IT looked like we have surpassed the other festivals in the country venerating the feast of the historical child Jesus in many aspects.

Unlike the other festivals, the Iloilo Dinagyang Festival has showcased not only the event’s cultural and religious ingredients, but also heavily the tourism and the rapidly burgeoning beauty pageant.

The Ilonggos’ propensity to innovate and cultivate an aura of competitiveness and easily attract global attention is also manifested in the way the organizers, led by the Iloilo City Festivals Foundation, Inc. (ICFFI), repackaged and remodeled the myriad of colorful activities that jibe with the sociocultural, spiritual, and political climate.  

The Dinagyang Festival has truly become the Ilonggos’ major source of fame and pride.

It can also be a platform of unity and camaraderie when all sectors chip in their resources and talents.

It can be a source of shame, however, if we can’t sustain its glory and the startup gains due to apathy, neglect, ningas cogon attitude, and politics.

Because of this year’s  impressive display of creativity and aesthetics the modern Dinagyang is now in the radar of the universe. We can’t afford to be passive, slow down, relax, and revert back to age-old occultism while technology is on a dizzying speed upward.     

To sustain, maintain, and buttress what we have discovered and started is the beginning of true progress and success.

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LATEST ON THE CORONAVIRUS. Snakes—the Chinese krait and the Chinese cobra—could be the original source of the new coronavirus.

This was learned from the The Conversation's Haitao Guo, Guangxiang "George" Luo and Shou-Jiang Gao.

This was what they reportedly learned: The many-banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus), also known as the Taiwanese krait or the Chinese krait, is a highly venomous species of elapid snake found in much of central and southern China and southeast Asia.

The study of the genetic code of 2019-nCoV reveals that the new virus is most closely related to two bat SARS-like coronavirus samples from China, initially suggesting that -- like SARS and MERS -- the bat might also be the origin of 2019-nCoV. The authors further found that the viral RNA coding sequence of 2019-nCoV spike protein, which forms the "crown" of the virus particle that recognizes the receptor on a host cell, indicates that the bat virus might have mutated before infecting people.

But when the researchers performed a more detailed bioinformatics analysis of the sequence of 2019-nCoV, it suggests that this coronavirus might come from snakes.

In the case of this coronavirus outbreak, reports state that most of the first group of patients hospitalized were workers or customers at a Wuhan seafood wholesale market which also sold processed meats and live consumable animals including poultry, donkeys, sheep, pigs, camels, foxes, badgers, bamboo rats, hedgehogs and reptiles. However, since no one has ever reported finding a coronavirus infecting aquatic animals, it is plausible that the coronavirus may have originated from other animals sold in that market.

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IT is expected that further international exportation of cases may appear in any country, this was according to the recent meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Committee.

Thus, all countries should be prepared for containment, including active surveillance, early detection, isolation and case management, contact tracing and prevention of onward spread of 2019-nCoV infection, and to share full data with WHO.

Countries are required to share information with WHO according to the IHR.

Technical advice is available here.  Countries should place particular emphasis on reducing human infection, prevention of secondary transmission and international spread and contributing to the international response though multi-sectoral communication and collaboration and active participation in increasing knowledge on the virus and the disease, as well as advancing research. Countries should also follow travel advice from WHO.

To the global community: As this is a new coronavirus, and it has been previously shown that similar coronaviruses required substantial efforts for regular information sharing and research, the global community should continue to demonstrate solidarity and cooperation, in compliance with Article 44 of the IHR (2005), in supporting each other on the identification of the source of this new virus, its full potential for human-to-human transmission, preparedness for potential importation of cases, and research for developing necessary treatment.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Bad timing

“Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.”

—Gore Vidal

By Alex P. Vidal

INSTEAD of staying calm and enjoying the repackaged 2020 Dinagyang Festival, many sensitive Ilonggos are in a state of panic following the reported “arrival” from China of the deadly novel coronavirus.

The timing of this unique virus was bad; it’s a killjoy. 

It exploded in national consciousness at a time when many people will be mixing in the crowd to celebrate the feast of the infant Jesus in the month of January.

The same celebration is held annually in Cebu, Aklan, and other parts of the country where Senior Santo Nino is venerated.

During this celebration, many tourists and locals will make physical contacts with each other in whatever circumstance and breath approximately the same quality of air.

No one knows who came from China, or in places where the novel coronavirus is believed to have spread.

Thus the paranoia of those who will be in the large crowd during the festival is already at fever pitch.

Even if the country’s health officials couldn’t yet categorically confirm if this virus has already started to transfer from one human being to another, worries and fears have started to hound the Ilonggos.

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To exacerbate the horror, Department of Health (Doh) Undersecretary Eric Domingo announced on January 23 that the virus “has already gone to several countries so that (the) idea of international spread is no longer theoretical. There is a confirmed case in the US, which is farther (from China) and supposedly has lower risk. There is higher risk within the Asian region.”

Chinese authorities, meanwhile, had confirmed 571 cases of the novel coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, by the end of Wednesday aside from a report earlier report of another 393 suspected cases.

Of eight known cases outside China, Thailand has confirmed four, while Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States have reported one each.

Domingo added: “Realistically, the strategy now of WHO (World Health Organization) is really to make sure that when it does spread and when it happens, we’re able to isolate and contain the cases and manage them well.”

Flight attendants have been advised to closely observe passengers who appear to be ill. Only two airlines—Pan Air and Royal Air—have direct flights between Kalibo, Aklan and Wuhan, which began last year. 

The last flight from Wuhan to Kalibo arrived on Thursday morning, and all passengers were determined to be healthy.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Philippine Ports Authority also said they were implementing stricter screening of travelers in coordination with the DOH and the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ).

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Buddy Britanico Jr., oldest son of Banat Partylist Rep. Salvador Britanico and Dr. Lita Celestial, sent to me this statement on January 24:

BRITANICO AND LAO FAMILIES STATEMENT ON THE MURDER OF DELFIN BRITANICO

We the members of the Britanico and Lao families condemn the broad daylight shooting and murder of our dearest husband, father, son, brother and family member Delfin Celestial Britanico in Barangay Nabitasan, Lapaz, Iloilo City last Sunday, 19 January 2020.

Del was killed at the young age of 36 years old.

The families trust that the law enforcement agencies supported by the local and national government will catch those responsible for this gruesome act and swiftly bring them to justice.

We are appealing to those who have knowledge or information that may lead to the arrest of the perpetrators to share these with the law enforcement agencies and to mobile number Globe 09369181307

#JusticeForDel

Ilonggo: Kami nga himata sang familia Britanico kag Lao, amon gid ginakondenar ang pagluthang kag pagpatay kay Delfin Celestial sa Barangay Nabitasan, Lapaz, Iloilo sang nagligad nga Domingo, 19 Enero 2020.

Kami naga pangabay, sa sin-o man nga may nahibal-an ukon impormasyon para sa madasig nga pagdakop sa mga kriminal. Palihog lang ipalab-ot sa mga awtoridad kag sa telepono 09369181307.

Gapangadi kami sang lubos nga maangkon namon ang hustisya, kag sa may responsable sang makangilidlis nga krimen kabay pa nga mahatagan kamo sang gakaigo nga silot. #JusticeForDel

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Twin killings jolt Dinagyang month

“When I hear about people murdering, I wonder, What has to go through your brain to say, I don't want him breathing anymore? What makes you get that angry? How can you take someone's breath away? That just blows my mind.”

—Gilbert Arenas

By Alex P. Vidal

IT’S so sad that one of the victims in last Sunday’s senseless killings in Iloilo City was Delfin “Del” Celestial Britanico, youngest son of former Iloilo assemblyman and Banat Partylist Rep. Salvador “Buddy” Britanico and Dr. Lita Celestial-Britanico.

According to a popular digital resume Linkedin, Del was the “Co-Head at Britlao Corp/Manager at KM Haulers Britlao Corp Ateneo de Manila University.”

What a waste of life; Del was not an ordinary Ilonggo. 

He was a productive and worthy member of society.

Del, a legitimate businessman, was highly regarded in his field and came from a very educated and well-respected family in Western Visayas.

In one of his articles posted online, Del narrated how he decided to leave “a great job at a stable company to a smaller organization or a start up.”

Del, a bike enthusiast, wrote that “I stayed in the new company for 2 years. I only disengaged because I had to settle down with family outside Manila. In those two years I could proudly say that the company grew tremendously. Being the small kid on the block or in our industry, we picked our battles. We found our own niche. Growth was so well that our suppliers brought us to their headquarters in the US. Looking back yes I missed on some benefits especially when the old company I used to work for was acquired by a foreign giant. I saw Facebook and Instagram posts of my former colleagues being sent around the world for trainings, etc. But deep inside, I was contended. I made an impact and I am proud of it. My involvement in that smaller company opened some doors in terms of business ventures which are already materializing now.”

What a short life for a great young entrepreneur and possibly a future leader in the industry he had chosen to be part of.

Our sincerest condolences to the Britanico and Celestial families.

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MAYOR Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas has all the reason to be jittery after the twin killings in separate places in Iloilo City on Sunday, January 19, the day before the official countdown of the 2020 Dinagyang Festival week.

The crimes happened just after the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) has assured the public it was beefing up the metropolis’ security measure to ensure a peaceful celebration of the Feast of Señor Santo Niño.

Treñas was apparently disturbed by the coincidence of the macabre murders of call agent Allen Muller, 42, at 12 noon in Brgy. Cuartero, Jaro district and businessman Delfin Britanico, 36, minutes later in Brgy. Nabitasan, La Paz.  

“Why they happened during the Dinagyang month when the whole world is watching us?” the city mayor must’ve wondered. 

Why all of a sudden two successive murders when Iloilo City’s peace and order has not been so alarming these past months? 

For sure the killers didn’t commit the crimes to embarrass the ICPO and Iloilo City, which is expecting a lot of tourists for the annual ati tribe competition this week.

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“Of course we are worried. We have dignitaries coming. I don’t want incidents similar to Sunday’s to happen again,” Treñas bewailed.

The mayor was right.

All the efforts of his infant administration to attract visitors and potential investors through this once-a-year huge event would be jeopardized if peace and order was in dire straits.

Violence and brazen murders like what happened last Sunday could destroy the image of the “City of Love” which is now inching its way back to normalcy following the weird accusation from President Duterte that it was the “most shabulized” in the country.

In the month of January, Iloilo City competes with other Philippines cities, provinces and regions in terms of public attention owing to its colossal cultural and religious celebration now known in most countries all over the world.

Tourists and Santo Niño devotees regularly checked the Google and other Internet sites for the latest news about the popular festival and all they could read was about the killings.

We had chided  authorities or those in charge of implementing this administration’s wild and woolly anti-illegal drugs campaign not to sully the image of the Dinagyang Festival by the blood of victims of EJK or extra-judicial killings.

It appears our appeal turned out to be another voice in the wilderness.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Ilonggos always quick to extend help

“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”

—William Shakespeare

By Alex P. Vidal

WHEN Iloilo was hit by calamities like the super typhoons “Yolanda” and recently “Ursula”, assistance came pouring in from other regions and provinces in the Philippines.

Because the world was watching, foreign assistance followed suit. 

Although the damages on agriculture and infrastructure were sometimes grotesque, the LGUs and the sectors directly affected could quickly bounce back to normal life because of the concern and empathy of those Good Samaritans—institutions and individuals.

Ilonggos have been both blessed and resilient that they were able to survive some of the worst calamities in recent memory.

And when it is their time to help, their countrymen can always count on them; Ilonggos know how to reciprocate a kindness and benevolence.

Thus it’s not a surprise why the Ilonggos were among the first and quickest to respond when Taal volcano spewed lava and plumes of ash since Sunday.  

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In Iloilo City, Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas has vowed to send financial assistance and other aid necessary for the people of Batangas affected by the volcanic eruption.

Once details of the assistance have been finalized by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) soon, the assistance will be sent “hopefully before the Dinagyang Festival highlights (January 25-26),” the city mayor was quoted as saying by the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

It was reported as of January 16 that more than 50,000 people have fled Taal volcano’s potential “explosive eruption.”  

An eruption could rain rocks and magma and set off a tsunami from the lake in which the volcano sits, volcanologists have warned.

Thick ashfall from the volcano has reportedly cloaked many towns in the Batangas province causing millions of dollars worth of damage to crops. 

Also clouds of ash were blown 62 miles to Manila, forcing hundreds of flights to be cancelled.

Cracks were reported to be emerging around the Taal volcano raising the likelihood of an imminent major eruption, according to scientists.

 Experts at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology  (Phivolcs), which said the threat level from the Taal volcano south of Manila remained at level 4 on Tuesday (January 14)– one short of an active eruption. 

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Let’s hope the police will not taint the week-long Dinagyang Festival with the blood of suspected drug pushers and users now that the crackdown against the suspects has been tightened these past days as reported in the Western Visayas media.

A tough police official, Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido, deputy director for operations of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), who was assigned in Bacolod City on purpose of “wiping out” the remnants of drug syndicates there, was in the news most recently warning the traffickers that “they have only one month” saying “everything has an end.”

Any violent crackdown against any criminal element in the region will always have a spillover in Iloilo City since both the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo are inter-connected in many aspects.

While we laud Espenido’s no non-sense anti-illegal drugs campaign, it would be best if his timing wasn’t bad.

Why not eliminate all those dregs of society when there was no forthcoming important event that attracts visitors from other countries?

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Dinagyang’s real ‘problem’

“Paranoia is just another word for ignorance.”

—Hunter S. Thompson

By Alex P. Vidal

THERE’S nothing to worry actually.

The Dinagyang Festival 2020 is in the safe hands.

So far, it has been managed magnificently by the Iloilo City Festivals Foundation, Inc. (ICFFI), which was constituted under the Treñas administration last year.

The Department of Tourism (DoT), headed by Regional Director, Atty. Helen C. Catalbas in the regional office, and Iloilo City Hall Tourism Office headed by Junel Ann Divinagracia, have been on top of the situation in as far as promotion of the mammoth religious and cultural festival is concerned.

What is the problem? 

Nothing except the paranoia and over acting (OA) of some city officials and the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO).

Their “fear” of a terroristic attack during the street celebration was actually a copycat of the same weird reaction by the authorities who handled the security of Pope Francis’ visit in Manila in 2015 and the Black Nazarene procession in Quiapo.

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Iloilo City, historically, has never been a target of extremists or hardline terrorists.

Not even a disturbance or interference from the right and the left militants. 

Ditto for the Dinagyang Festival which is a non-political affair.

Ilonggos are religious and peaceful; no terrorist—real or imagined—will waste his time to terrorize the Ilonggos during this solemn but festive occasion for no reason at all.

Ilonggos neither harm nor incite violence and aggression against any group that is identified to be engaged in religious and political violence and terrorism.

It is their uncanny and thought-provoking reactions that make other people think from other regions that there’s a real and present danger and threat in the celebration of the Dinagyang Festival.

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The decision to jam the telecommunication lines during the highlight of the Dinagyang Festival on the final day was the combined handiwork of the paranoid ICPO and the City Council.

They swallowed hook, line, and sinker the police “intelligence” report that terrorists might sabotage the festival.

Which terrorist?

Who are these terrorists?

Its mere figment of their imagination.

Troublemakers like the drunken revelers, gang members, sex offenders, muggers, snatchers who mix the crowd aren’t terrorists.

They can be dealt with accordingly by manual police force.

These street rascals don’t operate time bombs and laser-laced gadgets that would totally disrupt and destroy the Dinagyang celebration.

-o0o-

Meanwhile, heading the set of ICFFI interim officers that are doing a yeoman’s job for the success of Dinagyang Festival 2020 are businessman Rogelio Florete as chairperson; vice chairperson Felipe Uygongco; president Jobert Peñaflorida; vice president Ronald Raymond Sebastian; treasurer Roland Uy; PRO Judgee Peña.

ICFFI members are the following: John Alexander Que; Allan Ryan Tan; Phillip Chua; Joemarie Layson; Atty. Eugenio Hautea; Molly Grande; Ivy Gurrea; Angel de Leon, Jr.; and Honorato Espinosa.

Our Dinagyang Festival 2020 is penciled to mount unprecedented heights under the able and pro-active role these people have been doing for the occasion these past months.

No to jamming of phone signal during ‘Dinagyang’

“There is no country on Earth where Internet and telecommunications companies do not face at least some pressure from governments to do things that would potentially infringe on users' rights to free expression and privacy.”

—Rebecca MacKinnon

By Alex P. Vidal

NOW it’s the Iloilo City Council which approved the suggestion of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) to shut down the telecommunication lines—but only for one day—during the main highlight of the “reinvigorated” and “repackaged” Dinagyang Festival 2020.

Three years ago, we spearheaded the opposition and criticism in the Iloilo media on the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) proposal to shut down for two days the telecommunication signal in Iloilo City during the Dinagyang Festival’s final days held in the third week of January.

Although we respect the authorities and their expertise in the handling of our security, we thought it was a veritable copycat of what the PNP did when Pope Francis visited Manila on January 15-19, 2015 and during the Black Nazarene procession.

It’s also a clear case of infringement on users' rights to free expression and privacy especially now that we live in the world of Internet and in golden age of social media.

-o0o-

We insisted that when communication lines are shut down during important events like the Dinagyang Festival, the comfort and safety of visiting tourists and the residents who update their relatives in other regions and abroad on what’s going on in their locality are jeopardized.

We pointed out that drug addicts and drunken dolts don’t use high-tech communication gadgets to create a trouble.

We are glad and we congratulate Councilor Allan Zaldivar who cast the lone vote to oppose the same proposal this year. 

Police deployed in performance areas can always manually overpower any amok in the crowd.

We argued that no real terrorists from other regions–or even outside the country– will commit a “hara-kiri” or “kamikaze attack” by sneaking inside the well-guarded Iloilo City, surrounded by treacherous rivers, just to sabotage the Dinagyang.

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“If they only intend to extort cash, bringing an explosive device in Iloilo City is like holding a microphone in public and announcing that they would pee at the Plazoleta Gay,” I wrote in jest.

“If they intend to send a political message, they will not only be barking at the wrong tree, they will be in the wrong place of the planet. Malacanang and Imperial Manila are several islands and regions away.”

Here’s what I wrote about the controversial jamming of telecommunication lines during the historic festival: “I grew up in Iloilo City in the Philippines and witnessed how Dinagyang Festival started as a ramshackle religious and cultural activity until it blossomed into a behemoth international attraction.

Since the actual street dancing Dinagyang festivities romped off in the 70’s, the real problem was peace and order–drunken revelries, ill-behaved drug addicts and gangs composed of skinny but tattooed teenagers.

No invasion of the third kind. No rebellion. No earth-shaking tumult.

There were incidents of mugging, snatching, vandalism, acts of lasciviousness, street rumble, stabbing, among other street-level crimes. The police handled the situation and nipped the troublemakers in the bud.

It’s the proliferation of illegal drugs, especially shabu, and the sales of liquor in the streets that should be regulated if not stopped during the week-long festival in the month of January.

Not the “jamming” of cellular phone signals.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Tension could affect Fil-Ams’ festival attendance

“You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”

—Wayne Dyer

By Alex P. Vidal

ALTHOUGH tension between the U.S. and Iran appeared to have simmered down when President Trump on January 8 decided to step back from confrontation with the angry Islamic state which fired several rockets to the U.S. military bases in Iraq, many anxious Filipino-Americans (FIl-Ams) may have decided to cancel their trip to other foreign lands.

The step may be considered as a precautionary measure and to ensure their safety.

Some of them may even skip this year’s most popular cultural and spiritual festivals in the Philippines like the celebration of the feast of Senior Santo Nino in Iloilo City (Dinagyang Festival), Cebu City (Sinulog Festival), Kalibo, Aklan (Ati-Atihan Festival).

Americans will continue to be a target of terroristic attack anywhere in the world today where there are presence of pro-Iran sentiments and militant groups that are anti-America.

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We’ve learned that some US-based Pinoys who regularly visit the Philippines during this season are now adamant to fly because of the unpredictable situation.

Some of them were supposed to go home this month for the Senior Santo Nino Festivals, among other important cultural and religious celebrations.

Their paranoia has been exacerbated by the mysterious plane crash in Tehran Wednesday involving a Ukraine passenger jet (Boeing 737-800) that killed 167 passengers and nine crew members from different nations.

The plane crashed hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers. 

To compound the matter, Ukrainian and Iranian authorities gave no indication the plane crash and the missile attack are related although investigation as to the cause of the air mishap was still ongoing.

Some aviation observers continued to be skeptical even after Iranian officials pointed to the possibility of engine failure.

It was immediately reported that in most major airline crashed around the world, U.S. officials participate in the investigation. It was now unclear whether U.S. officials would be allowed to follow the standard procedures given the recent missile attack.

-o0o-

Observers pointed out that the U.S.—despite President Trump's boasts that Americans are safer with Soleimani gone—seems to have come out of the conflict in a worse geopolitical position. 

Iran has reportedly wriggled out of the last constraints of the Obama-era nuclear deal, raising fears of a possible race to an atomic weapon within months.

The US now seems far closer to being forced out of Iraq after striking Soleimani on Iraqi soil, in an insult to Iraqi sovereignty, says analyst Stephen Collison. 

Trump compounded the damage by threatening to sanction the star-crossed nation invaded by US-led troops in 2003 if American forces are kicked out, he explained.

Any US departure from Iraq would hamper the fight against extremism and hand a prize to Baghdad's bigger, more powerful neighbor. 

For reasons of military logistics, it would likely force the US to abandon the remnants of its fight against ISIS in Syria.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

  

Fil-Ams will still come to watch ‘Dinagyang’

“It has been said that a pretty face is a passport. But it's not, it's a visa, and it runs out fast.”

—Julie Burchill

By Alex P. Vidal

THE “tit for tat” response of the Duterte administration on Uncle Sam’s decision to ban from entering in the United States government officials responsible for the continued incarceration of Sen. Leila de Lima has sent shivers down the spine of many Filipino-Americans (Fil-Ams) who regularly go home to the Philippines.

Although the Duterte administration has banned only the US senators who pushed for the Bill that resulted in enforcement of the travel ban on Filipino politicians involved in De Lima’s jailing, it also announced that American citizens entering the country would be required to have a travel visa. 

But we received reports that the Philippine government “won’t be harsh” on Fil-Ams scheduled to visit the Philippines this year to watch and participate in prominent religious and cultural festivals like the Dinagyang in Iloilo City, Ati-Atihan in Aklan, Sinulog in Cebu, among other popular destinations for celebration of the feast of Senor Santo Nino in the month of January.

The Philippines will be in the receiving end it its top leaders mishandle this conundrum with the US government in this David vs Goliath diplomatic row.

The religious and cultural festivals we mentioned to be held in the different regions are among the top drawers of balikbayans who are mostly coming from the United States.

They shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire and their vacations be disrupted only because our top government officials have chosen to trade tongs and hammer against mighty America instead of silently settling the problem and avoiding a potential catastrophic diplomatic crisis.

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US citizens have access to 184 countries and territories without a travel visa or with a visa on arrival as of October 1, 2019, it was learned. 

Of the countries that do not require a travel visa, some have different time frames after which a passport is reportedly required. 

These time frames can be 30, 60, 90, or 180 days and so on or unlimited, according to the World Population Review (WPR).

Because of the high number of countries that US citizens can travel to without a visa, it's simpler to mention some of the ones that do require a visa.

Here’s what we have learned more from the WPR: US citizens do not need a tourist visa to enter any of the 28 countries that are European Union members. 

This includes the United Kingdom, which is possibly leaving the European Union, and US citizens will not need a visa either way. If a US citizen wants to travel to Russia, however, a visa is required, can take up to three weeks to process, and costs $139.

In countries where visas are required, travelers are subject to registration fees, departure taxes and fees, fingerprinting, and being photographed. 

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Additionally, the WPR added, some countries, such as Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Niger, require an International Certificate of Vaccination.

In Libya, Sudan, and Syria, anyone with Israeli entry or exit stamps on their passport may be denied entry into the country.

China requires a travel visa for US citizens. The application must include travel dates, itinerary, and proof of onward travel out of China and the application must be typed with no handwritten corrections. Additionally, every visitor between the ages of 14 and 70 is fingerprinted upon arrival and departure.

US citizens are not permitted to travel to North Korea, with or without a visa. 

The travel ban took effect in 2017 after a United States student died after being released from a North Korean prison. Failure to adhere to the rules can result in criminal penalties and having one’s passport revoked. 

In order to travel to North Korea, US passport holders would need to obtain a special passport validation from the United States government.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)