# data[].attributes.headline
 Step 1 Look for problems or challenge the norm.

# data[].attributes.subject
 Step 1 Look for problems or challenge the norm.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
DepEd coordinating with authorities to probe online group promoting cheating | ABS-CBN News

# data[].attributes.headline
 Step 2 Ask questions that initiate change and address different needs.

# data[].attributes.subject
 Step 2 Ask questions that initiate change and address different needs.

# data[].attributes.body
What should the academe do to address online cheating?

# data[].attributes.body
Step 1
- "Filipino students continue missing education opportunities in another year of school closure."

Step 2
- With students missing another year of opportunities because of the COVID-19 lockdown. Should the government allow the implementation of face-to-face classes in the midst of the pandemic?

Thesis statement
- Because the majority of the population of students have not been vaccinated, thus face to face classes in areas have not been implemented. Vaccination should be made compulsory for all students, as it prevents the spread of COVID-19, and ensures the safety of all students. We must require that all healthy and able students be vaccinated in order to attain herd immunity and save on future medical costs.

# data[].attributes.headline
Example: While the online class is the driving force that continues the students' education, it opens opportunities to compromise the integrity of the students' output. Therefore, the educational leaders must create academic policies that will end mass cheating. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Example: While the online class is the driving force that continues the students' education, it opens opportunities to compromise the integrity of the students' output. Therefore, the educational leaders must create academic policies that will end mass cheating. 

# data[].attributes.body
Unemployment and Job quality

"Unemployment rate eases in July, but job quality remains a concern amid pandemic"

https://www.bworldonline.com/unemployment-rate-eases-in-july-but-job-quality-remains-a-concern-amid-pandemic/

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THE NUMBER of jobless Filipinos declined to 3.073 million in July, but job quality remains a concern as more employed Filipinos are still seeking additional work, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.

Preliminary results of PSA's July 2021 round of the monthly Labor Force Survey (LFS) showed the unemployment rate at 6.9% in July, down from the previous month's 7.7% which translated to 3.764 million jobless Filipinos. This was also lower than the 10% jobless rate in July 2020, when 4.569 million did not have work.

The July unemployment rate was the lowest since the 5.3% logged in January 2020.

On the other hand, the underemployment rate - the proportion of those already working, but still looking for more work or longer working hours - worsened to 20.9% in July from 14.2% in June and 17.3% in July 2020.

The underemployment rate in July marked the highest reading since the PSA started releasing the LFS on a monthly basis. Including the quarterly releases, this was the highest since the 21% underemployment rate in July 2015.

The latest figure translates to 8.692 million underemployed Filipinos, up from 6.409 million the previous month and 7.136 million last year.

The size of the labor force was approximately 44.740 million in July, down from 48.840 million in June. This brought the labor force participation rate to 59.8% of the Philippines' working-age population in July from 65% the previous month.

"A significant improvement was seen in the National Capital Region (NCR), where the unemployment rate dropped from 14.4% in April 2021 to 9.0% in July 2021 as the quarantine restrictions were eased from modified enhanced community quarantine to variations of the general community quarantine from May 15 to July 31. Moreover, in areas outside NCR, the unemployment rate also improved from 7.9% to 6.5% in the same period," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua, Department of Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Department of Budget and Management Officer-in-Charge Tina Rose Marie L. Canda said in a joint statement.

"[D]espite the improved unemployment rate, the reduction in the labor force participation rate... resulted in a net job loss of 3.4 million from June to July, bringing total employment to 0.8 million below pre-pandemic level," the economic managers said, adding majority of those who left the labor force cited concern over the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as the reason for not currently working.

The employment rate went up to 93.1% in July from 92.3% in June. However, this was down in absolute terms with 41.667 million employed Filipinos in July compared with 45.075 million in June, as the decline in employment was offset by the shrinking size of the labor force.

The service sector made up 57.9% of the total employment in July, slightly up from the 57.6% in June. The industry sector likewise saw its employment rate go up to 20% during the period from 18.1%.

On the other hand, agriculture had an employment rate of 22.1%, down from 24.3%.

"Around 1.8 million of the month-on-month job loss came from the vulnerable agriculture sector, as Typhoon Fabian hit the country around mid-July, destroyed some P700-million worth of output, and affected multiple regions from Northern Luzon down to Western Visayas," the economic managers said.

In an e-mail, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri, Jr. said the latest jobs data were "not surprising" as the economy has "clearly lost its recovery momentum from the community quarantines implemented from March to May."

In a separate e-mail, ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said latest results indicate that although jobs were created, workers may not have been able to get enough work hours due to lockdown restrictions or muted economic demand.

"Firms may likely be operating on staggered shifts or may have opted to operate in sets or teams to limit the spread of the virus, which in turn capped the number of hours available to workers," he explained.

CAUTIOUS OUTLOOK
Economists remain cautious on the jobs outlook.

For Asian Institute of Management economist John Paolo R. Rivera, the persistence of the pandemic makes the employment situation "unstable" given the continued restrictions that forced firms to downsize, restructure, or shut down.

"If such a situation continues, no significant improvements in the labor market figures/conditions can be expected," he said in an e-mail interview.

ING Bank's Mr. Mapa was also less optimistic. "NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) admitted that the labor market will be challenged and unemployment will stay between 7-9% over the next two years. Given how sluggishly the economy is operating, we do not expect jobs to be created fast enough to satisfy demand and we agree that unemployment and underemployment levels will stay quite high in the medium term," he said, referring to the government's updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 approved by the NEDA board in early January.

"We expect the labor market to only completely recover and revert to the pre-COVID average of 5.4% by mid-2023, which should also be the time we can expect the Philippines to return to 2019 GDP (gross domestic product) levels," he added.

BPI's Mr. Neri said the economy and labor market are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels "more likely in late-2023, if not early-2024" as demand for jobs in high-contact services remains subdued.

"We think we will see the same [underemployment rate of 6.9%] by the end of the year, but with a higher participation rate and a lower underemployment print. We are assuming here that there will be no more ECQs until end-2021 and that the economy can reopen again as the majority of elderly Filipinos will have already been vaccinated by then," he said. - Abigail Marie P. Yraola

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Unemployment rate eases in July, but job quality remains a concern amid pandemic - BusinessWorld

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
THE NUMBER of jobless Filipinos declined to 3.073 million in July, but job quality remains a concern as more employed Filipinos are still seeking additional work, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.

# data[].attributes.body
What must the government do in order to address the problems of unemployment and underemployment?

Why do employees look for additional work?

# data[].attributes.body
Although the unemployment rate has thankfully decreased in the past few months, the job quality of Filipino workers remains a question. Numerous employees have desired for additional work and working hours which implies a lack of earning. Thus, the government must act out to address the problem of their workers.

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https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-effects-of-environmental-degradation.php

# data[].attributes.body
Disadvantages and advantages of schools teaching online compared to how schools teach before the pandemic

# data[].attributes.body
what are things that schools can do to help enhance the teaching capabilities of teachers and learning capabilities of students

# data[].attributes.body
As of 2021, Students can not go back to school because of the pandemic and should take advantage of it being online, they should be able to utilize and practice time management, and the ability to self-pace themselves to increase their learning capabilities while learning is online.

# data[].attributes.body
Air, noise, and light pollution in urban areas

# data[].attributes.body
How does air, noise, and light pollution affect our health and daily lives?
Do these forms of pollution affect the behavior of animals living in cities?

# data[].attributes.body
"Poverty and a successful pandemic response in the Philippines"

# data[].attributes.body
The lack of sexual education in the Philippines and how "the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the unplanned pregnancy crisis"

# data[].attributes.body
As of 2020, 16.7% of the Philippine population is suffering from a lack of basic needs and health essentials. We, as capable citizens, need to do more to help fellow citizens plunged into indigence to solve this health crisis once and for all.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Why are we not doing more to help our fellow citizens who are struggling to make ends meet?
2. What can the government and capable citizens do more to help those plunged into poverty?
3. How does poverty affect the attempt to a successful pandemic response?

# data[].attributes.body
"With Schools Closed, Covid-19 Deepens a Philippine Education Crisis"

# data[].attributes.body
1. Why is sexual education important to all adolescents?
2. How will its implementation address the increasing amount of teenage pregnancies?
3. What's stopping schools from adding it to their curriculum?
4. What is DepEd doing about the issue?

# data[].attributes.body
"The importance of vaccinations, especially the Covid-19 vaccine"

# data[].attributes.body
1. What has the government done in order to move towards the direction of at least partially opening the schools?

2. Why is the Philippines still considered as the country with one of the lowest vaccination rates in Asia? What is the government doing to resolve this issue?

# data[].attributes.body
To move forward with at least partially reopening the schools, the Philippine government should make Covid vaccinations mandatory in order to increase vaccination rates in the country and begin to open schools in low risk areas to vaccinated students with caution.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Why do some people resist to get vaccinated?
2. What should the government do to convince the people to be vaccinated?

# data[].attributes.body
Schools nationwide should fast-track their implementation of comprehensive sexual education to teach youths about respecting their body, healthy decisions, boundaries, and emotional well-being amidst the rising amount of teenage pregnancies and spread of STDs.

# data[].attributes.body
Internet connection issues during online classes

# data[].attributes.body
Why is the internet in the Philippines so slow?

# data[].attributes.body
Climate Change issues

# data[].attributes.body
farming and fishing that cause threat to the coral reefs of the Philippines

# data[].attributes.body
Since the internet here in the Philippines is pretty slow compared to other countries, people should try to subscribe to better internet services so that it will be smooth sailing from there and so that people can go to online classes without as much problems.

# data[].attributes.body
How do we help protect Earth from global warming and climate change?

# data[].attributes.body
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1484095/covid-test-costs-windfall-for-the-rich-plague-for-the-poor

https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2020/04/08/pricing-and-profiteering-from-covid-19-tests/?sh=67b190e01ccb

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MANILA, Philippines-One of the surest ways for businesses to rake in profits is to have a captive market but as the Philippines and the rest of the world grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, a huge portion of this captive market has become those who can ill afford to spend, particularly on coronavirus testing.

While testing expenses further drain the finances of those who can barely make ends meet, these have added billions more to the already wealthy investors in testing technologies that opened the doors for more wealth regardless if this comes at the expense of the poor.

Test results are required for stranded individuals to cross borders to reach home, jobless workers to get employment, travelers to board flights, furloughed employees to return to their work. Nearly everyone has to take the tests, which means nearly everyone has to pay.

But many, like security guard Rolin Alonsabe, could barely afford the costs of the tests.

He has since joined an online group that was created to help people find the lowest cost for coronavirus tests in Metro Manila. He knew how draining the additional expense was as he had to pay for the tests when he returned to his province.

Alonsabe took what was considered to be the "gold standard" in testing technology-reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR-which was worth P3,800 in public labs and P4,500 to P5,000 in private labs.

He said P3,800 to P5,000 is "too expensive" for individuals earning the minimum daily wage of just P537 per day.

But while Alonsabe and millions of other poor Filipinos dip deep into their pockets to pay for the tests, at least 40 people who headed companies producing testing kits are now on Forbes' list of 2021 billionaires.

The US business magazine said the new billionaires were engaged in the development of vaccines, coronavirus tests, personal protective equipment (PPE), antibody treatments, and software that help governments in pandemic response.

Getting richer

The list showed that seven of the 40 individuals are from companies directly involved in coronavirus tests:

Sansure Biotech

Dr. Lal PathLabs

Guangzhou Kingmed Diagnostics Group

Universal Health Services

Shenzhen New Industries Biological Engineering

Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech

Abbott Labs

The Forbes report said these people who either head or had invested in the companies are now some of the world's newest billionaires:

Dai Lizhong of Sansure Biotech has $2.4 billion

Arvind Lal of Dr. Lal PathLabs has $1.5 billion

Liang Yaoming of Guangzhou Kingmed Diagnostics Group has $1.4 billion

Allan Miller of Universal Health Services has $1.3 billion

Rao Wei of Shenzhen New Industries Biological Engineering has $1.2 billion

Li Wenmei of Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech has $1.1 billion

Jack Schuler of Abbott Labs has $1.1 billion

Last March 26, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) said the Philippines has 133 brands of testing kits approved for commercial use in 279 testing labs nationwide.

The DOH said there are 116 licensed laboratories in Metro Manila, eight in Ilocos Region, five in Cagayan Valley, 23 in Central Luzon, 25 in Calabarzon, six in Mimaropa, four in Bicol Region, 18 in Western Visayas, 21 in Central Visayas, and three in Eastern Visayas.

There are seven licensed labs in Zamboanga Peninsula, nine in Northern Mindanao, 12 in Davao Region, eight in Soccsksargen, seven in Caraga Region, five in the Cordillera Administrative Region, and two in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

According to data from the DOH and the FDA, five of the 133 approved testing brands in the Philippines are manufactured by billionaires from Sansure Biotech, Shenzhen New Industries Biological Engineering, Abbott Labs, Roche Diagnostics GmbH and bioMérieux.

Roche's Maja Oeri and bioMérieux's Alain Mérieux were also on Forbes' list-"Healthcare Billionaires that have Gotten Richer"- with $3.2 billion and $7.6 billion.

Data company Statista said that as of Sept. 3, 2021, 18,874,753 tests were already performed in the Philippines since the beginning of the COVID-19 health crisis last year. Multiplied by the lowest cost of the test-P3,800-the amount spent would have already reached at least P70 billion.

Rising inequality

In January, non-governmental organization Oxfam said the COVID-19 health catastrophe was worsening inequality "with the richest quickly getting richer while it will likely take years for the world's poorest to recover."

"The 1,000 richest people on the planet recouped their COVID-19 losses within just nine months, but it could take more than a decade for the world's poorest to recover," the group said.

"The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to lead to an increase in inequality in almost every country at once, the first time this has happened since records began," it added.

Oxfam said the pandemic has exposed "our collective frailty and the inability of our deeply unequal economy to work for all."

"It has exposed, fed off and increased existing inequalities of wealth, gender and race. Over two million people have died, and hundreds of millions of people are being forced into poverty while many of the richest-individuals and corporations-are thriving," it said.

'Not surprising'

Forbes said that when the World Health Organization declared the existence of a crisis on March 11, 2020, "markets collapsed and economies around the world plunged into recession."

However, a year later, "things couldn't be more different" because 493 individuals got richer, "propelled by a red-hot stock market and unprecedented economic stimulus."

Judy Taguiwalo, CURE COVID spokesperson and former social welfare secretary, said it is "not surprising" that companies in the US, Europe and China are "amassing more wealth in the midst of the pandemic."

She said that at the expense of poor nations and their people, the global demand for vaccines, tests, PPE sets, and the protection provided to these companies by the World Trade Organization's intellectual property rights regimen "have guaranteed super profits for these companies."

"Prioritizing profits over the people's right to health is deplorable," she said.

She said that CURE COVID supports the demand for the waiver of intellectual property rights in vaccines, medicines and equipment. She added, however, that the Philippines should have its own industries to produce vaccines and other tools needed to fight the ongoing and future pandemics.

TSB

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
COVID test costs: Windfall for the rich, plague for the poor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
MANILA, Philippines-One of the surest ways for businesses to rake in profits is to have a captive market but as the Philippines and the rest of the world grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, a huge portion of this captive market has become those who can ill afford to spend, particularly on coronavirus testing.

# data[].attributes.body
Air, noise, and light pollution, along with other types of pollution, can have long-term health consequences for humans, as well as disrupting the natural behavior of animals. The government must make an effort to reduce or minimize the various types of pollution that exist in metropolitan regions.

# data[].attributes.body
Just looking at the sky, our climate and weather is getting dangerous. It is usually rare for it to be raining and the sun shining at the same time, but now it is getting more common. This is just happening at the Philippines, for other countries there are tornados, bizarre weather conditions, and more. We should help the environment by buying eco-friendly products, metal straws are an example.

# data[].attributes.body
What are the different types of Covid-19 tests available? What makes them different? What is the price difference between them?
Does Covid-19 testing help reduce the spread of the virus?
Why are Covid-19 tests expensive?
Are lower income households able to afford the Covid-19 tests?
What makes Covid-19 tests expensive?
Can the tests be sold at a lower price?
What difference would it make if the tests costed lower than they do now?

# data[].attributes.body
Covid-19 tests should be free in order to allow impoverished individuals to take them, reduce the spread of the virus and potentially prevent the state of individuals infected by the covid-19 virus from worsening.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Is killing those that use drugs the right way to end drugs in the Philippines?

# data[].attributes.body
The Government is in the wrong in the drug war and takes the lives of the innocent instead of helping them.

# data[].attributes.body
The lack of efficiency with online classes

# data[].attributes.body
1. Why is the setup of online classes very flawed?

# data[].attributes.body
Unsafe air quality in many parts of the Philippines.

# data[].attributes.body
Is the air we breathe when we go out even safe? If not what are the consequences of inhaling dangerous substances in the atmosphere?

# data[].attributes.body
Pollution in the streets

# data[].attributes.body
Vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines: https://www.pri.org/stories/2021-05-19/filipinos-hesitant-about-getting-covid-jab-after-dengue-fever-vaccine-debacle

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The pandemic has been really hard for Heidi Figura.

The 42-year-old food stall worker from Antipolo City, a municipality in the sprawling Metro Manila area, is the breadwinner of her multigenerational household. She said she had "no choice" but to keep working while COVID-19 cases in the Philippines began to rise.

This was particularly risky for Figura, a breast cancer survivor and a diabetic. But even though the virus scares her, Figura said she won't get a COVID-19 vaccine because she fears its effects, in light of her comorbidities.

"I'm afraid because I had breast cancer, because if I take [the COVID-19 vaccine], I might suddenly get weak."

Heidi Figura, 42, food stall worker, Antipolo City, Manila, Philippines

"It's still in its beginning stage," Figura said through a translator. "I'm afraid because I had breast cancer, because if I take it, I might suddenly get weak."

Figura said she's heard stories from friends about people getting the vaccine, becoming weak and then dying. She plans to wait "a long time from now" to make sure the vaccine is safe - and it's a sentiment her whole family, and much of her neighborhood, shares.

Vaccine hesitancy is a nationwide problem in the Philippines, despite the archipelago having one of the worst COVID-19 infection rates in Southeast Asia. Cases have topped 1.1 million, mainly in the Metro Manila area; over 19,200 people have died.

Meanwhile, the vaccine rollout has been slow.

To date, the Philippines has only inoculated less than 1% of its population of more than 108 million people. Still, even as doses trickle in, most Filipinos are hesitant to get the jab. A Pulse Asia survey released earlier this year revealed that 6 out of 10 Filipinos didn't want to get vaccinated.

There are many reasons why, including rampant misinformation passed by word-of-mouth, and conspiracy theories spread online about the vaccines.

Many Filipinos also say they don't want to get vaccinated because there aren't yet enough vaccines in the country for everyone to get inoculated properly, or that they're waiting for better options to arrive. Most of the doses that have come to the Philippines are from China, and not as effective as Pfizer or Moderna.

Additionally, vaccine appointments can be an arduous, inefficient and time-consuming process that has many people thinking twice about whether it's worth it.

This has health professionals understanbly frustrated, particularly since just a handful of years ago, the Philippines had some of the highest vaccine confidence in the world.

Vaccine trauma

So what went wrong?

Experts point to the DengVaxia controversy as the reason Filipinos lost faith in vaccines so quickly. The debacle, which involved a dengue fever vaccine made by the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi, continues to loom large in the minds of Filipinos.

"Dengue fever is an endemic disease in the Philippines," said Dr. Madeline Ong, a researcher at Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health. "So in 2016, when the dengue vaccine, or more commonly called DengVaxia, became a viable vaccine as recommended by the WHO [World Health Organization], it was a big deal for the country."

The program, which aimed to vaccinate 1 million 9-year-olds through their schools, was rolled out in April 2016.

Then, more than a year later, Sanofi came out with a devastating statement that basically said: Children who have never had dengue fever would be at a higher risk of getting hospitalized or having a severe case of dengue if they were to be infected, after getting vaccinated with DengVaxia.

After that, Ong said things "spun out of control."

Stories of mothers who believed their children had been harmed by the vaccine spread like wildfire. Government agencies publicly blamed each other, emotional hearings were broadcast and an investigation was launched.

"I think this [dengue fever] controversy sort of ran in a protracted nature. ... It wasn't a one-week or a month event. We were hearing about DengVaxia for a really long time."

Dr. Madeline Ong, researcher, Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health

"I think this controversy sort of ran in a protracted nature," Ong said. "It wasn't a one-week or a month event. We were hearing about DengVaxia for a really long time."

Even though the deaths of only three children were found to have been linked to DengVaxia, Ong said public confidence was crushed. Surveys following the controversy found that the Philippines' confidence in vaccines tanked from 93% in 2015 to 32% in 2018.

Dr. Joshua San Pedro, with the Manila-based nonprofit Coalition for People's Right to Health, which earlier this year gave the Philippine government's response to the pandemic an "F," said he'd prefer to say the country is traumatized, rather than hesitant.

Health professionals have their work cut out for them, he said, because a lot of the public just does not believe the government will have their backs if something goes wrong with the COVID-19 vaccines, too.

Government information about vaccines has been prolific, but it has also been confusing, and even contradictory, at times. For instance, earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte got inoculated with China's Sinopharm vaccine, which isn't even one of the seven approved vaccines in the Philippines' arsenal.

WATCH: President Rodrigo Duterte is vaccinated with Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine Monday night, May 3. No Sinopharm vaccine has yet to be issued emergency use authorization by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration, but Duterte said his doctors allowed him to get the vaccine. pic.twitter.com/kaiwv6Nukr
- Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) May 3, 2021

After receiving backlash, Duterte sent many of the Sinopharm doses back to China. That same week, the WHO approved the vaccine for emergency use.

San Pedro said bad messaging from the government "leads to a lot of fake news and misinformation." His group is working to combat that with education, and by meeting the public on a cultural level to calm their fears.

"Instead of scaring them by telling them that if they don't get vaccinated, you won't be able to travel, you won't be able to go to work, we are really focused on discussing it as a right."

Dr. Joshua San Pedro, Coalition for People's Right To Health, Manila, Philippines

"Instead of scaring them by telling them that if they don't get vaccinated, you won't be able to travel, you won't be able to go to work," he said, "we are really focused on discussing it as a right."

Ultimately, though, getting vaccinated is a decision people have to make for themselves, San Pedro said. And it's likely going to take some time for the Filipino people to gain back their confidence in vaccines.

Time that they may not have.

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Filipinos hesitant about getting COVID jab after dengue fever vaccine debacle

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The pandemic has been really hard for Heidi Figura. The 42-year-old food stall worker from Antipolo City, a municipality in the sprawling Metro Manila area, is the breadwinner of her multigenerational household. She said she had "no choice" but to keep working while COVID-19 cases in the Philippines began to rise.

# data[].attributes.body
The setup of online classes are not effective due to the lack of resources, poor internet connection, and limited teching methods.

# data[].attributes.body
Is this issue increasing and affecting the public image of the Philippines and the health of the citizens?

# data[].attributes.body
The Philippine government should be stricter with the everyday use of harmful chemicals to ensure a safe air quality for all Filipinos.

# data[].attributes.body
1. people resist to get vaccinated because they wanna be safe from the virus and from the pandemic that is happening right now. people is also scared to get hit by the virus because many people is dying from the virus.
2 from my opinion, the govermnet should required everyone to get vaccinated because to also make the safe through the virus and to make less people to die from the virus or COVID-19. Some peole doesnt want to get vaccinated because of the side effect after you get shot by the vaccine like fever, bodt ache and dizzyness.

# data[].attributes.body
https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pubmed/fdab254/6312952?login=true

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Online support groups during the COVID-19 pandemic: a necessity or an added calamity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are online support groups really necessary during this Coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic. With the increasing availability of digital services, these groups

# data[].attributes.body
Pollution should be reduced in the Philippines using various countermeasures such as clean-up programs and adding more trash bins and places where people can dispose of waste properly.

# data[].attributes.body
1.Should students need to get vaccinated in order to have face to face online in the Philippines? Since the pandemic is still rising here in the Philippines what possible things we need to do?

# data[].attributes.body
Students should have vaccination against Covid-19 to let them have face to face classes.

# data[].attributes.body
What are the big reasons for environmental degradation?
What can we do about it?

# data[].attributes.body
We can be said to be the biggest culprit of environmental destruction. Garbage, gas that comes out when we use transportation, oil, etc...  Many of these things take a large stake in destroying the environment. We have to solve these problems to protect the Earth. For example, using an electric car that doesn't need gas, or paying less attention to the waste. For this, I think the country needs great help.

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https://energytransition.org/2016/07/a-struggle-between-coal-and-renewable-energy-in-the-philippines/

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The struggle between coal-fired and renewable energy plants in the Philippines is heated. Pete Maniego Jr explains the resurgence of coal and the need for a renewable energy transition in order to meet the COP21 goals.

After more than seven years since the passage of the Renewable Energy Law (RE Law) in 2008, the Philippines has finally gained momentum in the development of renewable energy resources. As of April 2016, more than 1,000 MW of renewable energy projects had been completed under the Feed-in Tariff System (FIT) of the RE Law.

Almost all of the 1,000 MW installed renewable energy capacities were completed within the last two-and-a-half years. In addition to installations under the FIT, approximately 2,500 kW have been installed under the net metering mechanism. During the construction and subsequent operations of the renewable energy plants, conservative estimates pegged the number of jobs created to around 100,000 .

At first glance, it would appear that renewable energy is winning the battle against fossil fuel. However, the reality is closer to the opposite. New coal and natural gas plants built since the passage of the RE Law have much higher capacities, and have substantially reduced renewable energy's share in the power mix.

At present, there are 17 operating coal plants with several expected to go online within the next several months. Greenpeace Philippines reported that another 29 plants are in the pipeline . In addition, there are five natural gas plants, two of which started their operations in April 2016. According to Mr. James Ooi, IHS Senior Director for Gas & Power in Asia Pacific ‒ "If coal projects are implemented as planned, Luzon's coal generation share will be over 75% by 2030, and many coal plants will be uneconomic." He observed that this will make the Philippines the country with the highest coal share in Asia. It would be a complete reversal for the country where the share of renewable energy reached a high of 44% in 1999, and that until now boasts of having the highest renewable energy share in Southeast Asia.

When the RE Law was passed in 2008, the share of renewable energy in the power mix and the installed capacity were both at almost 34%. As of December 2014, the share of renewable energy in the power mix in MWh was down to 25.6%, while the share of the total installed capacity in MW declined to 32.8%. If the rate that new fossil-fired power plants are being constructed continues, with capacities ranging from hundreds of MWs to GWs, the share of renewable energy will continue to decline in the coming years.

The Philippines has other apparent barriers to fossil fuel development. On top of the RE Law, the Philippines has one of the most stringent laws to control air pollution. The mandated standards under the Clean Air Act of 1999 are considered to be stricter than those of the United States. The Philippines had also committed to reduce its GHG emissions, conditionally, by 70% from business-as-usual under COP21 by 2030.

What then are the reasons why fossil-fired plants, especially coal, continue to be favored by the power sector over renewable energy?

The primary reason is that the Philippines has one of the highest electricity rates in the world. Thus, any incentives or measures perceived to increase the power rates will encounter strong resistance from end-users, civil society organizations and politicians. The drastic reduction in coal prices since last year delayed the much anticipated renewable energy to coal fuel parity.

Moreover, coal has many inherent advantages over renewable energy under the current regulatory regime. Under the current pricing regime that does not include externalities, such as health and environmental costs, the lowest cost power supply option will always be favored. Fossil-fuel plants are secure investments providing continuous revenue streams, since the proponents could avail themselves of automatic pass-through of their fuel costs to consumers. On the other hand, renewable energy projects are considered to be high risk investments as the resources fluctuate widely from year to year. Financing institutions are very familiar with coal plant development, and power companies are well-versed in their construction and operations. With respect to renewable energy projects, the Philippines has not yet gained sufficient experience in their development and operations and must rely heavily on foreign contractors. Thus, renewable energy project costs in the Philippines are much higher compared to Europe and the United States.

The proliferation of coal plants would also make the grid integration of variable renewable energy more difficult. Coal plants cannot be turned on and off to cope with intermittent renewable energy supply. The Electric Power Industry Management Bureau of the Department of Energy has projected that the coal plant generation will exceed the baseload demand in the Luzon, Visayan and Mindanao grids once the new coal plants are fully operational within the year. With their current low costs per kWh, the generation from these coal plants is already displacing geothermal and hydropower plants. Although the short term impact would be lower electricity rates, what would happen once fossil fuel prices inevitably rise to their former levels? Already, the exploration and development of many hydropower and geothermal plants are on-hold as they could not compete with coal.

What are approaches to counter the inherent advantages of coal-fired plants?

1. A shift from centralized generation to distributed generation in the Philippines
The Philippines consists of more than 7,100 islands; interconnecting even all the bigger islands would be prohibitive and not feasible. The interconnection of the major islands had not been accomplished; Mindanao is not connected to Luzon and Visayas yet. Many of the submarine cables need to be upgraded to handle both the increased supply and demand. With more than 20 typhoons visiting the Philippines per year, transmission lines are frequently damaged, causing long black-outs and requiring costly restorations. Moreover, the long transmission lines cannot be sufficiently guarded and are subject to vandalism and sabotage.

2. A re-examination by the Energy Regulatory Commission of pass-through costs for fossil-fired plants
Pass-through costs for fossil-fired plants shield against fuel price fluctuations and provide them an undue advantage over renewable energy sources. For big business, coal plants are virtual money machines with minimal risks and certain returns. The return on capital expenditures and operating expenses are guaranteed under power purchase agreements for 20 to 25 years. It is true that renewable energy plants are entitled to FITs. However, the developmental risks are much higher, the installations are subject to caps, and approval of new rates once the caps are exceeded could take six months to a year.

3. Implementation of all other mechanisms under the RE Law such as the Renewable Portfolio Standards, Green Energy Option, Renewable Energy Market and Renewable Energy Trust Fund
Renewable Portfolio Standards would mandate distribution utilities to augment their power supply with renewable energy sources. The Green Energy Option would enable end-users to demand clean energy as well as benefit from the exemption of renewable energy supply from value-added tax. The Renewable Energy Market would facilitate trading in Renewable Energy Certificates. The Renewable Energy Trust Fund would provide funds for research and development, training and information dissemination.

4. Implementation of the provisions under the Clean Air Act and the Solid Waste Management Act
The communities living around coal plants and garbage dumps have already suffered for too long from pollution-related health problems, environmental impacts and hazards. The responsible regulatory agencies and local government units must ensure that these plants and unsanitary landfills comply with all the standards under the law and severely penalize them for failure to do so.

Coal plants appear to be coming out ahead in their struggle against renewable energy sources. How could coal plants be prevented from sealing a victory?

The Philippines could follow the examples of Germany and other countries in pushing for a renewable energy transition, including closing old coal plants and preventing the construction of new ones. The Philippines would need to focus on renewable energy development in order to retain its leadership position in renewable energy utilization. The policy and objectives under the RE Law of 2008 were very clear: develop indigenous renewable energy sources to achieve energy independence and mitigate GHG emissions. The 70% GHG reduction committed by the Philippines under COP21 is achievable, but these policy directions and actions are needed if the Philippines' targets are to become reality.
Pete Maniego Jr is the Chairman for the National Renewable Energy Board of the Philippines. Under his chairmanship, the FIT Rules, FIT Rates, FIT Eligibility Guidelines, and Net Metering Guidelines were finalized and approved.

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A struggle between coal and renewable energy in the Philippines | Energy Transition

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The struggle between coal-fired and renewable energy plants in the Philippines is heated. Pete Maniego Jr explains the resurgence of coal and the need for a renewable energy transition in order to meet the COP21 goals.

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Questions for Thesis Statement:
1. Will clean energy resources possibly reach influence all over the Philippines and finally contribute to net-zero carbon emissions?

2. If a nationwide clean energy establishment is possible, are the costs possible to meet?

Questions for Statement of Facts:
1. What are the different kinds of energy sources that could be favorably used in the Philippines?

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Clean energy sources could be possibly established all over the Philippines, although the nationwide implementation would be costly beyond the real expectations.  Holding on to pursuing such implementation, regardless of the extremely exorbitant costs, is strongly imperative as this would meet national sustainable development and will save the Philippines as a whole from the further consequences of human-driven climate change.

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1. Why is it important to get the COVID-19 vaccine?
2. How has the previous Dengvaxia vaccine issue contributed the the low vaccine rates against COVID-19 in the Philippines?
3. What has been the role of social media or media in general in the decline of vaccine confidence?
4. What can we do to improve vaccine confidence in Filipinos? (ex. government, private sectors, as an individual)

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Coping with loss During Covid-19.

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How can we cope with loss during quarantine?

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1.how will our community act on us destroying our nature?
2.what restrictions will the government put due to this problem?

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Despite the availability of free vaccines given through the government’s vaccination program, only 20% of our country’s population are fully vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy is a prominent issue in the Philippines and must be addressed because once people understand the benefits of getting immunized, we will be able to achieve the ideal vaccine coverage rate, and as a community protect ourselves against vaccine preventable diseases.

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While our Country is facing destruction of coral reefs. This will lead to our marine animals to vanish. This is in our communities hands.

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Philippines responnse during the pandemic

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How can the response of the Philippines during covid-19 be further imrpoved?

What are any issues that need to be addressed by leaders of the government?

How can we implement policies and laws to be able to adress these issues?

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With the increase of cases and deaths in the Philippines, we must enforce new policies and laws to be able to combat the rising cases of covid 19

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Coping with a loss is hard and even harder during quarantine due to not being able to see them or even hold a funeral for them due to Covid-19.  But we can cope with losses by having people to talk to that know you and are willing to be there for you during your hardship.