BusinessMirror April 23, 2023

MISSION: LIBERATE FUEL PLATFORM AT ALL COSTS!

By Rex Anthony Naval

PROTECTING key energy

infrastructure like offshore oil drilling rigs and platforms is of paramount importance during peacetime, as any operational interruption could spell severe damage to a nation’s economy.

In war time, defending such assets from enemy attack is a top priority, as capture of such vital infrastructure could cause the defeat of the country through energy deprivation, which could halt production essential to its war effort.

With this in mind, the iteration of this year’s “Balikatan” exercises between the Philippines and the US includes embarking on a socalled “gas-oil platform” (GOPLAT) takedown among the major drills the troops will undertake.

The GOPLAT for this year’s Balikatan was tentatively scheduled this April 20 (Thursday) and 21 (Friday) at the Matinloc platform off El Nido, Palawan.

A s a warm-up practice for this specialized exercise, jointly conducted by Filipino and American troops as part of Balikatan, Philippine Air Force (PAF) and Philippine Navy (PN) units conducted a unilateral version of the exercise off the above-mentioned platform on Sunday, April 16.

GOPLAT takedown and recovery is performed in cases of attacks and takeover of the Malampaya Natural Gas to Power Project (MNGPP) by the enemy. A swift and coordinated movement must be performed in order to recover the platform from an enemy force. Two types of insertion and extraction [were] performed—by air, and by sea,” the Western Command

(Wescom) said in a Facebook post on Monday, April 17. Malampaya is classified as a deep-water, onshore, ultra-deepwater pipeline project. It uses state-of-the-art technology to extract natural gas and condensate from the depths of the Palawan basin and process the gas in a nearby shallow-water production platform and transport it to three provinces through an underwater pipeline.

A n onshore gas plant in Batangas receives the gas for further processing before sending it to five power-plant customers.

On that date, PN unmanned aerial systems conducted reconnaissance followed by the deployment of the boat assault force composed of a sea, air and land (SEAL) team on board a rigid-hull inflatable boat.

Meanwhile, the PAF provided the Bell 412 combat utility helicopter for the so-called helicopter assault force, which consists of one SEAL team and high-angle snipers.

The helicopter is part of the PAF’s 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing.

Wescom said these drills were sequentially arranged to simulate the preparation of the platform up to the insertion of the operatives.

“As the operatives [were] inserted, a close-quarter combat and deck clearing in respective sectors ensued. Likewise, one multipurpose attack craft with a medical team served as escort vessel of the boat assault force,” it added.

Special tactics

WESCOM said a “fast rope insertion and extraction system” (FRIES) was also performed where troops are inserted to and extracted from the platform using the Bell 412 combat utility helicopter and ropes.

FRIES is a specialized mechanical system that enables rapid tactical insertion and extraction of personnel in areas where helicopter landings are not permissible.

Th e same training event was conducted by the Philippines and US militaries on Wednesday, April 19.

‘Balikatan’ exercises simulate a combat scenario to retake a petroleum facility seized by an ‘enemy’

AFP Western Command starts exercises in El Nido as part of Balikatan. PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE

FILIPINO special troops from the Air Force and Navy conduct a rehearsal of the “gas-oil platform” (GOPLAT) takedown simulation exercise at the Matinloc platform off El Nido, Palawan, on Sunday, April 16. The drills are part of a rehearsal for the Balikatan GOPLAT, which was tentatively scheduled for April 20 and 21. AFP WESTERN COMMAND

When managers try to be therapists, worker mental health suffers

By Matthew Boyle Bloomberg News

Nine out of ten US adults believe that the country is facing a mental-health crisis, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

W hile workplaces usually have basic guidelines for managers on how to address issues like worker anxiety and depression, few have guardrails in place so they know what not to say. That leads to what experts say are haphazard attempts by bosses to air mentalhealth struggles in the workplace, which, though well meaning, may increase strains on workers.

More than seven in 10 employees polled by professional network Fishbowl said they’re not comfortable discussing their mentalhealth needs and challenges with their managers.

“Managers are lost,” said Christina McCarthy, executive director at One Mind at Work, a mental-health nonprofit. “Those who are on the frontlines, the middle managers, are fundamentally illequipped.”

Where to invest?

SPURRED by the pandemic-fu-

eled spike in mental-health issues among workers, organizations have responded with increased awareness and investment.

With long-held stigmas easing, once-guarded business leaders now speak honestly about the challenges they’ve faced. Two out of three CEOs said they talk about their mental health in the workplace, according to a survey last year by Headspace Health, up from just one in three who said so in 2020. But that doesn’t mean they’re doing so appropriately.

Companies and their leaders have been trying to find the right approach to workplace mental health for years. In 2015, a corporate consultant named Mike Robbins did a TED talk titled “Bring Your Whole Self to Work,” positing that the key to success was bringing “all of who we are” to an organization, including our “fears, doubts and insecurities.”

His speech built on earlier work by researcher Brené Brown, who has highlighted the “power of vulnerability.”

But as these new-age leader-

ship approaches have gained traction, employees have begun to gripe on workplace blogs about managers encouraging workers to bare their souls before budget meetings.

One even set up a “condolence corner” during team calls, where staffers were expected to open up

about a recent misfortune, like the death of a parent.

“Managers are not therapists—it’s a liability,” McCarthy said. “Most organizations would be concerned if they heard their managers were acting in this way because of the potential for unintended consequences.”

‘Psychological vampires’

MELANIE NARANJO, vice president of people at Ethena, a training platform, recalls having a boss early in the pandemic who wanted her to talk about things she’d rather keep private.

Employees want to know managers care about their wellbeing and their success,” she said.

“That does not mean saying, ‘Hey, I struggle with depression. I’d like to open it up and see who else has!’”

L eaders who do that are like “psychological vampires,” according to James Pratt, a former human-resources executive who has grappled with bipolar disorder. “They feed off everyone else’s pain, and people can get profoundly hurt by it.”

Training helps, and is more prevalent nowadays, but only goes so far, experts say. “It’s just click the box and move on,” said Bernie Wong, senior manager of insights and principal at Mind Share Partners, a mental-health nonprofit. The best advice experts have for a layperson pulled into a coworkers’ problems: listen and guide them to the appropriate source of assistance.

Employers are trying to improve. KPMG, the tax and audit giant, is piloting a program in which managers call and test out the firm’s employee-assistance program (EAP), a confidential service that connects employees to mental-health resources. In doing so, they gain a better understanding of how the process works when an employee really does need help.

If somebody came to us and was bleeding, we would not ask just anybody to be a doctor,” said Jason LaRue, who oversees KPMG’s benefits and wellbeing plans as US total rewards leader. “You steer them to the help they need.”

One concern is that mentalhealth resources might fall prey to cost-cutting campaigns that continue to gain steam across the economy. Just 25 percent of employees surveyed by Headspace Health last year said that their companies have kept up their focus on the issue as the pandemic has waned. That would be unwise, said Wong, of Mind Share Partners. In downturns, when employers feel they need to tighten belts, that’s when employees are looking for support the most,” he said.

Mission: Liberate fuel platform at all costs!

Wescom, through Joint Task Force Malampaya, will continue to sharpen its sphere in protecting and securing the country’s economic crown jewel, the MNGPP,” it added.

Meanwhile, PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said the exercise’s objective was to develop mutual defense capability and strengthen the country’s maritime security. “ The demonstration involved the protection of a retired Matinloc platform, which served as a standin for the Malampaya platform.

The Bell 412 helicopter facilitated the vertical insertion of the elite assault troops from the Naval Special Operations Unit (NAVSOU) through FRIES,” she added.

Th is year’s Balikatan, scheduled from April 11 to 28, is the 38th iteration of the annual military exercise between the Philippines and the United States.

A round 17,680 combined troops from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US military are taking part in this year’s exercises.

Aerial gunnery, replenishment drills

MEANWHILE, participating Filipino and American naval ships in this year’s Balikatan exercises conducted aerial gunnery and replenishment-at-sea exercises off Brooke’s Point town in Palawan on April 14.

Naval Forces West (NFW) chief Commodore Alan M. Javier, in a statement, said these drills took place shortly after the amphibious raid in Barangay Samariñana, Brooke’s Point, on Friday, April 14.

Naval vessels that took part in these exercises are the guided missile frigate, BRP Jose Rizal (FF150), landing dock BRP Tarlac (LD601), and the Wasp-class amphibi-

ous assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD-8).

FF-150 and LHD-8 performed the aerial gunnery exercise, while all three ships performed the replenishment-at-sea,” Javier said. The aerial gunnery exercise simulated an aerial contact, which the participating naval vessels will have to detect and engage.

W hile replenishment-at-sea is the conduct of refueling and reprovisioning by other vessels while underway, both exercises must be performed with precision and coordination.

“After the performance of the said exercises, the three ships will group sail en route back to Zambales for other activities and exercises scheduled thereat,” Javier said.

Amphibious raid exercise

EARLIER, NFW announced that joint Philippine and US forces have successfully conducted an amphibious raid exercise in Palawan also on April 14.

The exercise was also held at the beachhead of Barangay Samariñana in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.

“Following the arrival of the surface assets in Palawan [on April 14] an amphibious raid exercise was performed at the beachhead of Barangay Samariñana, Brooke’s Point, Palawan,” Javier said.

Different units highlighted this capability, namely, BRP Jose Rizal, BRP Tarlac, amphibious assault vehicles, Marine amphibious ready units and Marine reservists.

The US forces, meanwhile, employed their force reconnaissance platoon.

Amphibious raids are usually performed against the enemy. It is accomplished by employing a special force into an area that is controlled by enemy forces. Amphibious raids are commonly quick and swift, leaving minimal footprints on the ground,” Javier said.

Wescom logs more maritime air patrols in WPS

IN a related development, Wescom reported a significant increase in its maritime and aerial patrols in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) for the first quarter of this year.

“ The AFP Wescom reports a substantial increase in its operational tempo, or ‘optempo,’ in the WPS for the first quarter of CY 2023. This means that more government ships are staying out at sea for longer periods of time and government aircraft flights over WPS have become more frequent,” Wescom chief Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos explained in a statement.

Th is initiative of Wescom is in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s announcement that not a square inch of Philippine territory will be lost under his watch.

“

Together with our partner agencies—the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine National Police Maritime Group and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources—the Philippine Navy established a strong maritime presence in the area with the sustained deployments of their respective ships in WPS, especially in the vicinity of Pagasa Island,” Carlos stressed.

These efforts are meant to counter the increased presence of suspected foreign militia vessels in the area, the Wescom chief pointed out.

It also boosted the number of its maritime air patrols to closely monitor the activities of foreign vessels in the WPS and the developments on foreign-occupied features in the area.

“Good weather and the availability of surveillance aircraft from the Philippine Air Force and our partner agencies allowed Wescom to have a comprehensive, accurate and timely maritime domain awareness picture in the WPS,” he added.

C arlos estimates that the increased optempo is about 50 percent above 2022 figures.

LAYOFFS, return-to-office battles and concerns over artificial intelligence replacing jobs have elevated employee stress levels, exposing a troubling workplace deficiency: Very few managers know how to deal appropriately with workers’ mental-health concerns.

Continued from A1

Japan’s cybersecurity nightmare also everyone else’s problem too

By Jamie Tarabay, Min Jeong Lee & Takahiko Hyuga

KOJIMA Industries Corp. is a small company and littleknown outside Japan, where it produces cup holders, USB sockets and door pockets for car interiors. But its modest role in the automotive supply chain is a critical one. And when the company was hacked in February 2022, it brought Toyota Motor Corp.’s entire production line to a screeching stop.

The world’s top-selling carmaker had to halt 14 factories at a cost of about $375 million, based on a rough calculation of its sales and output data. Even after the initial crisis was over, it took months for Kojima to get operations close to their old routines.

The company is just one name on Japan’s long list of recent cyber victims. Ransomware attacks alone soared 58 percent last year compared to a year earlier, according to the National Police Agency, and hacking incidents have exposed shortcomings ranging from slow incident response times to a lack of transparency. In a nation that exported chip components worth $42.3 billion last year—dominating the supply of some materials—supply chain issues can have global implications.

Comparative data on cyberattacks can be hard to find. But Mihoko Matsubara, the chief cybersecurity strategist at Japanese telecommunications company NTT Corp., says the nation has had a particularly tough time.

“Along with the increasing number of ransomware attacks, Japan was hit by Emotet attacks more than any other country in the first quarter of last year,” she said, referring to a type of malware often spread through phishing e-mails. “Japan had a difficult year to deal with more cyberattacks on industry, government and the health care sector.”

But while Japan has its own particular problems with hackers, many of its vulnerabilities are shared by the US and other technologically strong nations. From the Colonial Pipeline attack in the US to the Australian telecoms hack that exposed 10 million users’ personal data, wealthy countries have been repeatedly caught underestimating the harsh realities of cybercrime.

Meanwhile attacks on vital services such as Japan’s hospitals—which delayed surgeries and other treatments—have served as a reminder that money is not all that’s at stake.

“The ransomware attacks were a wake up call to the Japanese,” Matsubara said. “Because now human lives are at risk.”

The Kojima attack on February 26, 2022 was what’s known as a supply chain hack: Hackers penetrated the systems of a third-party business partner and used them to access Kojima’s file servers. By 9 p.m., they’d encrypted data on some servers and computer terminals, according to a Kojima spokesperson.

The breach was detected at about 11 p.m. The hackers had sent a ransom demand but Kojima’s engineers never responded to any kind of communication with the hackers, the spokesperson said.

Before dawn, Kojima shut down the systems it uses to communicate with external suppliers and the following day, Toyota announced

Taiwan urges US to calm rhetoric on China chip risk

By Debby Wu & Jenny Leonard

SPOOKED by the threat that China might invade Taiwan, the US wants to cut its dependence on the island’s world-beating microchips. Officials in Taipei believe the Biden administration is going too far.

In quiet conversations and back-channel warnings, Taiwanese officials have urged their American counterparts to tone down their rhetoric about the dangers of relying on chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

ber command that’s being stood up within Japan’s defense force.

it would suspend operations at all of its domestic plants. The breach meant subsidiaries including Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. also had to halt production.

“Attacks in Japan are on the rise, and more firms are becoming aware of the risks,” said Shinpei Izumo, an underwriter at Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. He estimates cyber insurance sales are up 20 percent to 30 percent from the previous year.

Smaller firms have few protections, he added. “They don’t know what to do in the event of an emergency or incident, and they aren’t taking measures to prevent the damage from spreading.”

High-end powerhouse SUPPLY-CHAIN hacks have huge potential to disrupt the economy. While much manufacturing and assembly happens in lower-cost markets, Japan is a powerhouse in producing a select group of high-end goods. Products like phones, computers and electric toothbrushes often contain Japanese parts.

The country produces about 80 percent of fine chemicals for electronics and dominates the global supply of photoresist, a light-sensitive material that’s used in making semiconductor chips, according to Ulrike Schaede, professor of Japanese Business at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. Having those industries vulnerable to cyberattacks would have an untold impact.

“Not a day goes by where you don’t use an item that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the Japanese part in it,” Schaede said.

“Japanese companies are an important part of the global supply chain,” she added. “The more upstream you go, the more Japan is in there.”

Last year, manufacturers Fujimi, Denso, Nichirin and TB Kawashima all experienced cyberattacks on overseas subsidiaries that hold Japanese intellectual property.

Japanese clothing manufacturers, furniture makers, credit card companies, libraries and a social media services operator were also among hackers’ targets. And in September, pro-Russian hacker group Killnet downed 20 Japanese government websites in a distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack.

In response, the Japanese government said it would introduce new laws to engage in offensive cyber operations to “begin monitoring potential attackers and hack their systems as soon as signs of a potential risk are established.”

It’s a marked escalation in the government’s approach to cybersecurity, which previously adhered to the spirit of Japan’s constitutional commitment to pacifism following the end of World War II. The changes are being reflected in the new cy -

Western allies have been waiting for the country to acknowledge it has to do more, says David Suzuki, managing director for Japan at security firm Blackpanda.

“I think there’s finally been a realization in Japan that cyber security, it’s not an IT issue. It’s a security issue, right?” he said. “Because it’s not a machine that’s hacking you. It’s a bad guy, using machines.”

Recovery costs

FOR all of its advanced technological knowledge, Japan is also a place where traditional ways of doing business are deeply entrenched. When ransomware attacks occur, companies are often able to keep operations running using paper inventories and offline backup systems—reliable and unhackable, but also slow and cumbersome. And as companies slowly restore their systems, breaches are not always reported, according to industry officials and cyber experts.

Historically, Japanese companies avoided paying ransoms by relying on punishingly slow data-recovery firms to piece together corrupted networks, says Tatsuhiro Tanaka, a retired major general who is now a research principal at Fujitsu System Integration Laboratories Ltd. But the rising frequency of attacks means the recovery cost is increasing too.

“There are very few companies that employ a kind of incident commander, the person who deals with the cyber attack and business continuity,” Tanaka said. “We have to change the mindset.”

There’s also resistance within some Japanese companies to disclosing attacks and upgrading systems, which stems from societal norms around assigning blame, according to Scott Jarkoff, who heads the strategic threat advisory group for cyber firm CrowdStrike and has lived in Japan for more than three decades.

That culture hinders the nation’s ability to build a local population of security experts, said Hiroshi Sasaki, an associate professor of manufacturing and innovation at the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan.

“They need to be both accountable and responsible when a cybersecurity incident happens. Other countries that pay attention to their critical infrastructure will learn the importance of the supply chain from Japan’s situation,” he said.

But while Japan might be an extreme example of such vulnerabilities, it is far from the only country at risk.

In the US, cybersecurity regulation has been patchy, and the government has long relied on businesses to voluntarily adhere to cybersecurity guidelines. But in releasing its national cyber strategy in March, the Biden administration endorsed tougher measures, pushing federal agencies to use existing authorities to set minimum cybersecurity requirements in critical sectors.

In Australia, businesses that failed to mitigate easily preventable security breaches faced minimal financial penalties until last year, when the government introduced fines of up to A$50 million ($33.5 million) or 30 percent of a company’s adjusted turnover in the relevant period. Meanwhile the European Union noted in a recent report that much of its software originates in the US, and that its own cybersecurity industry needed to grow to address vulnerabilities. Cyberattacks in the region grew 26 percent in 2022 compared to a year earlier, according to Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

The government agency in charge of overseeing Japan’s network security says the country’s disclosure rules aren’t that different from those of other advanced nations.

“No country makes it mandatory for companies to publicly disclose accounts of their cybersecurity attacks,” said an official from the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, who asked not to be named. “This is because they include information that could impact their business operations.”

Instead Japan asks companies that provide critical infrastructure such as telecommunications, power, gas and railways to voluntarily rep ort any cybersecurity incidents. Over a thousand companies fall under this category and a total of 407 reports were made in 2021.

“Even though it’s not an obligation, the reports are done properly and necessary information is shared,” the NISC official said. “One unique thing about Japanese culture is that once people are committed, they comply with what’s asked of them regardless of whether it’s voluntary.”

Japan has some cyber victories to celebrate. NTT cybersecurity strategist Matsubara points out that the country fought off tens of thousands of cyberattacks targeting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics without fanfare. Japan has also been included in NATO’s annual cyber exercises for the past two years, she said, even though it’s not a NATO member.

“Even Japanese people I talk to didn’t know that,” she said. “But this year everyone is more interested in cybersecurity because they’re worried about financially motivated or geopolitical cyberattacks.”

Japan is far from the only country that is reluctant to admit its cybersecurity failings. But the relentless attacks its manufacturing industry has suffered in recent months serve as a cautionary tale for other wealthy nations with supply chains to protect. Japanese executives are “still hesitant” compared to those in other countries, according to Kouji Morii, the head of security at Segue Group Co., an information services firm.

“There’s a tendency that Japanese employers don’t think cyberattacks have anything to do with them unless they’re attacked. We have to change the thinking.”

Taiwan’s concerns were described by people familiar with the government’s stance who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.

The nervousness they described highlights the conundrum that Taiwanese officials face in maintaining the island’s role as home to 90 percent of the world’s advanced semiconductors, which power everything from smartphones to artificial intelligence chatbots, while also trying to attract the military and diplomatic support needed to deter an invasion.

The officials are particularly unhappy with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who has called US dependence on Taiwanese chips “untenable” and “unsafe.” They were also uneasy with remarks by a top Republican lawmaker, Michael McCaul, during a recent trip to Taipei. He said Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is a strategic asset that’s “very vulnerable to invasion.”

“The window’s closing,” McCaul said about a US push to move the chips supply chain out of Taiwan. “We don’t have a whole lot of time.”

China views Taiwan as its territory and a national security priority. Beijing has watched warily as President Tsai Ingwen has said the self-governing island is essentially already an independent country, even if few nations recognize it as such, and as President Joe Biden repeatedly said the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if attacked.

“The Taiwan question is the core of the core interests of China,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Friday at the opening of Shanghai’s Lanting Forum.

A PRODUCTION line at Toyota’s Tsutsumi plant in Toyota City in 2017. NORIKO HAYASHI/BLOOMBERG

Worthless degrees creating unemployable young Indians

By Bibhudatta Pradhan & Vrishti Beniwal

Why are teen girls in crisis? It’s not just social media

By Lindsey Tanner & Angie Wang The Associated Press

ANXIETY over academics. Post-lockdown malaise. Social media angst. Study after study says American youth are in crisis, facing unprecedented mental health challenges that are burdening teen girls in particular. Among the most glaring data: A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed almost 60 percent of US girls reported persistent sadness and hopelessness. Rates are up in boys, too, but about half as many are affected.

Adults have theories about what is going on, but what do teens themselves say? Is social media the root of their woes? Are their male peers somehow immune, or part of the problem?

said she “deserved to be raped.”

More than 1 in 10 girls said they’d been forced to have sex, according to the CDC report, the first increase noted in the government’s periodic survey. Sexual threats are just one of the burdens teen girls say they face.

“We are trying to survive in a world that is out to get us,” Amelia said.

Emma, an 18-year-old aspiring artist in Georgia with attention deficit disorder and occasional depression, says worries about academics and college are a huge source of stress.

“Lately in myself and my friends, I realize how exhausted everyone is with the pressures of the world and the social issues and where they’re going to go in the future,” Emma added.

Desperate to get ahead, some of these young people are paying for two or three degrees in the hopes of finally landing a job. They are drawn to colleges popping up inside small apartment buildings or inside shops in marketplaces. Highways are lined with billboards for institutions promising job placements.

It’s a strange paradox. India’s top institutes of technology and management have churned out global business chiefs like Alphabet Inc.’s Sundar Pichai and Microsoft Corp.’s Satya Nadella. But at the other end of the spectrum are thousands of small private colleges that don’t have regular classes, employ teachers with little training, use outdated curriculums, and offer no practical experience or job placements, according to more than two-dozen students and experts who were interviewed by Bloomberg.

Around the world, students are increasingly pondering the returns on a degree versus the cost. Higher education has often sparked controversy globally, including in the US, where for-profit institutions have faced government investigations. Yet the complexities of education are acutely on show in India.

It has the world’s largest population by some estimates, and the government regularly highlights the benefits of having more young people than any other country. Yet half of all graduates in India are unemployable in the future due to problems in the education system, according to a study by talent assessment firm Wheebox.

Many businesses say they struggle to hire because of the mixed quality of education. That’s kept unemployment stubbornly high at more than 7 percent even though India is the world’s fastest growing major economy.  Education is also becoming an outsized problem for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he attempts to draw foreign manufacturers and investors from China. Modi had vowed to create millions of jobs in his campaign speeches, and the issue is likely to be hotly debated in the run up to national elections in 2024.

“We do face a challenge in hiring as specific skill sets required for the industry are not currently easily available in the market,” said Yeshwinder Patial, director for human resources at MG Motor India.

The complexities of the country’s education boom are on show in cities like Bhopal, a bustling metropolis of about 2.6 million in central India. Massive billboards with private colleges promising young people degrees and jobs are ubiquitous. “Regular classes & better placements: need we say more,” says one such advertisement.

Promises like this are hard to resist for millions of young men and women dreaming of a better life in India’s dismal employment

landscape. Higher degrees, once accessible only to the wealthy, have a special cachet in India for young people from middle and low-income families. Students interviewed by Bloomberg cited a string of reasons for investing in more education, from attempting to boost their social status to improving their marriage prospects to applying for government jobs, which require degree certificates from applicants.

One Bhopal resident, twenty-fiveyear-old Tanmay Mandal, paid $4,000 for his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He was convinced the degree was a pathway to a good job and a better lifestyle. He wasn’t deterred by the fees that were high for his family, which has a monthly income of only $420. Despite the cost, Mandal says he ended up learning almost nothing about construction from teachers who appeared to have insufficient training themselves. He couldn’t answer technical questions at job interviews, and has been unemployed for the last three years.

“I wish I had studied from a better college,” said Mandal. “Many of my friends are also sitting idle without a job,” said Mandal. He still hasn’t given up. Even though he didn’t find his last degree useful, he wants to avoid the disgrace of being unemployed and sitting idle. So, he’s signed up for a master’s degree at another private institution because he believes more degrees can at least enhance his social status.

In the heart of Bhopal is a bustling market with institutes training for civil services, engineering and management. Students said they had enrolled in these courses to upgrade their skills and boost chances of better career opportunities after regular degrees didn’t get them the jobs of their choice.

One of Bhopal’s educational institutions came under a particularly sharp spotlight in recent years because it was involved in a case that went all the way up to India’s highest court. In 2019, the Supreme Court barred the Bhopalbased RKDF Medical College Hospital and Research Centre from admitting new students for two years for allegedly using fake patients to meet medical college requirements. The college initially argued in court that the patients were genuine, but later submitted an apology after an investigative panel found that the purported patients weren’t really sick.

“We have noticed a disturbing trend of some medical colleges in projecting fake faculty and patients for obtaining permission for admission of students,” the court said in its judgement. The medical college didn’t respond to request for comment.

The medical school is part of RKDF Group, a well-known name in central India, which has wide network of colleges in areas from engineering to medicine and

management. The group faced another controversy last year. In May last year, police in the southern city of Hyderabad arrested the vice chancellor of RKDF Group’s Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan University as well as his predecessor for alleged involvement in giving out fake degrees. Still, students could be seen flooding into several of RKDF’s institutions in Bhopal. One branch had posters of their “Shining Stars”—students who were placed in jobs after graduating.

The SRK University and RKDF University of the RKDF group didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. On its website, the group says it provides quality education through teaching and imparting practical skills while making an effort to provide strong infrastructure and facilities.

Elsewhere in Bhopal, was another college operating out of a small residential building. One of the students who studied there said it was easy to secure admission and get a degree without attending class.

India’s education industry is projected to hit $225 billion by 2025 from $117 billion in 2020, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation, a government trust. That’s still much smaller than the US education industry, where spending is estimated to be well above $1 trillion. In India, public spending on education has been stagnant at about 2.9 per of GDP, much lower than the 6 percent target set in the government’s new education policy.

The problems at colleges extend across the country, with a string of institutions in various states drawing official scrutiny. In some parts of India, students have gone on hunger strikes protesting the lack of teachers and facilities at their institutes. In January, charges were filed against Himachal Pradesh-based Manav Bharti University and its promoters for allegedly selling fake degrees, according to a press release from the Directorate of Enforcement. Manav Bharti University didn’t respond to request for comment.

While institutions publicize campus placement to students, many aren’t able to fulfill the promise. In 2017, one institution in the eastern state of Odisha gave fake job offers during campus placements leading to protests by students.

Anil Swarup, a former secretary for school education estimated in a 2018 article that of 16,000 colleges handing out bachelor’s qualifications for teachers, a large number existed only in name.

“Calling such so-called degrees as being worthless would be by far an understatement,” said Anil Sadgopal, a former dean of education at Delhi University and a former member of the Central Advisory Board of Education, which guides the federal government. “When

millions of young people are rendered unemployable every year, the entire society becomes unstable.”

All that’s a challenge for big business. One study by the human resource firm SHL found that only 3.8 percent of engineers have the skills needed to be employed in software-related jobs at start-ups.

“The experience of everybody in the IT industry is that the graduates need training,” said Mohandas Pai, the former chief financial officer of Infosys Ltd. and a board member and co-founder of private equity firm Aarin Capital. One of the companies in the Manipal Education & Medical Group that Pai is on the board of “trains a lot of people for banking. They are not job ready, they need to be trained.”

Even though companies are looking to recruit in areas like electric vehicle manufacturing, artificial intelligence and human-machine interface, the smaller Indian universities still teach outdated material such as the basics of the internal combustion engine, said Patial. “There is a gap between what the industries are looking at and the course curriculum they have gone through.”

India has regulatory bodies and professional councils to regulate its educational institutions. While the government has announced plans to have a single agency that will replace all existing regulators, that’s still at the planning stage. The education department didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The Modi administration is also trying to address the shortcomings in the education sector in its 2020 new education policy, committing to improve the quality of its institutions. It’s also begun the process of allowing leading foreign universities to set up campuses and award degrees in the country.

In the meanwhile, finding work for this generation remains a challenge. Unemployment is a ticking time bomb because close to a third of the nation’s youth aren’t working, studying or under training, according to the World Bank. Some are getting drawn into crime and violence. Last year, angry young people facing bleak job prospects blocked rail traffic and highways, even setting some trains on fire.

Pankaj Tiwari, 28, says he paid 100,000 rupees for a master’s degree in digital communication because he wanted a job and higher status in society. That was a big outlay for his family, which has an annual income of 400,000 rupees. Though his college had promised campus placements, no company turned up and he’s still unemployed four years later.

“If I had received some traini ng and skills in college, my situation would have been different. Now, I feel like I wasted my time,” said Tiwari. “I just secured certificates on paper, but those are of no use.” With assistance from Saritha Rai/Bloomberg

The Associated Press interviewed five girls in four states and agreed to publish only their first names because of the sensitive nature of the topics they discussed. The teens offered sobering—and sometimes surprising—insight.

“We are so strong and we go through so, so much,” said Amelia, a 16-year-old Illinois girl who loves to sing and wants to be a surgeon.

She also has depression and anxiety. Like 13 percent of US high school girls surveyed in the government report, she is a suicide attempt survivor. Hospitalization after the 2020 attempt and therapy helped. But Amelia has also faced bullying, toxic friendships, and menacing threats from a boy at school who

“All of these things pile up and crash down.” Zoey, 15, was raised in Mississippi by a strict but loving single mother who pressures her to be a success in school and life. She echoes those feelings.

“School can be nerve racking and impact your mental health so much that you don’t even ... recognize it, until you’re in this space where you don’t know what to do,” Zoey said. She’s also had friendship struggles that ended in deep depression and felt the discomfort of being the only Black kid in class.

Several girls said they face added pressure from society’s standards that put too much focus on how they look.

“A lot of people view women’s bodies and girls’ bodies as sexual,” Emma said. “It’s overwhelming to have all these things pushed on us.”

Taiwan urges US to calm rhetoric on China chip risk

Continued from A3

For Taiwan, the US warnings about the risk of attack have taken on new urgency amid signs that some investors are listening. They include billionaire Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. cut its TSMC holdings by 86 percent in the fourth quarter over concern about tensions between China and Taiwan.

“I re-evaluated that part of it,” Buffett said in an interview with CNBC. “I didn’t re-evaluate the business, the management, or anything of the sort.”

Pressed on Taiwan’s concerns, a Commerce Department official, who asked not to be identified per agency policy, said the US will continue to work with allies including Taiwan to diversify and strengthen supply chains. That includes through increased investment and trade with Taipei, the official added.

In some w ays, officials say, Taiwan’s government is a victim of its own success. Support for the island is now firmly bipartisan in Washington, with Republicans and Democrats accusing Beijing of a plan to have its military ready to forcibly take Taiwan as early as 2027.

McC aul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, went to Taipei at the government’s invitation, and President Tsai has courted China’s ire by meeting lawmakers including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his Democratic predecessor, Nancy Pelosi. Beijing responded to both the McCarthy and Pelosi meetings with military exercises around Taiwan.

While China has not ruled out using force to take over Taiwan, there’s no sign an invasion is imminent. President Xi Jinping faces a myriad of domestic issues as the world’s secondbiggest economy continues to emerge from strict Covid-19 policies. Even top US officials have backed away from warnings that China could be ready to invade by 2027.

“The time-line—everybody will have an opinion on when it is,” Admiral John Aquilino, the head of US Indo-Pacific Command, said at a hearing on Capitol Hill on April 18. “I think everybody’s guessing.”

The tensions over China have also put Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party in a difficult spot, with presidential elections set for January. The party’s popularity has rested in part on taking a tougher stance toward China than its rival, the Kuomintang. Concern about China is also the reason officials have cited for key initiatives such as expanding compulsory military service.

Sensing a vulnerability, the Kuomintang has accused Tsai of allowing the US to hollow

out its economy, citing TSMC’s investment in new facilities in Arizona. To dispel those domestic attacks, TSMC Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei said repeatedly last year that “there is no way” that TSMC and Taiwan will get hollowed out just because it is creating a new site in Arizona.

D espite the public rhetoric, the White House understands the economic and political realities Taiwan faces, the island’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roy Chun Lee said in an interview last week. He urged the US to find the “right balance” between adding resilience to the semiconductor industry by constructing plants around the world and the efficiency of concentrating plants in a handful of countries. The Biden administration has billed the $50 billion Chips and Science Act as a way to bring more manufacturing jobs back to America and address national security risks associated with being reliant on Taiwan. But the size of the Chips Act, which passed with bipartisan support, is relatively small, something the US realizes, Lee said.

“It’s not a plan that is going to make the US become the global hub of semiconductor manufacturing,” Lee said. “The hub remains to be in Taiwan.”

TSMC, which is likely to receive some of the grant money, has committed $40 billion in investments to the Arizona facilities but is adamant that its research and development and most advanced tech will not leave the island. That means any Taiwan war scenario would still leave America—and other countries around the world—starved of the most advanced chips in case of conflict.

“Companies understand that if they don’t place orders with TSMC they may fall behind their rivals who do if a war does not break out in the Taiwan Strait,” Taiwan’s National Development Council Minister Kung Minghsin, who also sits on the board of TSMC, said in an interview. “It is not possible that companies will shift their orders away just because of risks that will not necessarily happen.”

Analysts’ opinions of TSMC back up that assessment. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, all but one of the 40 analysts who cover the stock have a buy or equivalent recommendation on the world’s biggest chipmaker. That proportion is the highest in at least two decades.

“Chip designers will still have their most important products made by TSMC or manufactured in Taiwan,” Kung said. “This will be very unlikely to change within the next decade or two.” With assistance from Jing Li/Bloomberg

BUSINESS is booming in India’s $117 billion education industry and new colleges are popping up at breakneck speed. Yet thousands of young Indians are finding themselves graduating with limited or no skills, undercutting the economy at a pivotal moment of growth.

IN the heart of Bhopal is a bustling market with institutes training for civil services, engineering and management. ANINDITO MUKHERJEE/BLOOMBERG

Science explains the ‘aswang’ myth in Panay

By Lyn Resurreccion

It was said that even the Spanish colonists in the 16th century have noted that it was the Filipinos’ most feared mythical features.

D r. Eva Maria C. Cutiongcode la Paz, executive director of University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, said the foreigners, the Spaniards and Americans, visiting the Philippines island “could not explain these transforming persons.

T hanks to science, the myth of aswang has an explanation now, she said.

C utiongco-de la Paz spoke at the hybrid forum titled, “From Lab to Lives: Impact of DOST-led Genomics Program in PH” at the Philippine Genome Center. She talked about the “Genetic prevalence of X-linked dystonia-parkisonism [XDP],” especially on Panay Island in the Visayas.

X DP was first published in 1976 based on photos of drawings of Dr. George Vitervo of Capiz, Panay Island, showing a person with

distorted body. It was then called dystonia muscolonium deformans.

S ciencedirect.com said Viterbo referred to the neurology section of the Philippine General Hospital in the early 1970s five of the six cases of dystonia musculorum deformans.

T his initiated an epidemiologic survey, which resulted in the first paper published in 1976. In the original paper described 28 adult male cases with torsion dystonia, from 25 families.

C utiongco-de la Paz said partly in Filipino: “At first the person could work, maayos ang isip [could think clearly], but later the body shape would change.”

T he condition was earlier called torsion dystonia by doctors who checked many families with the condition on Panay Island.

C utiongco-de la Paz explained that X-linked dytonia parkinsonism, locally known as lubag, is a severe neurodegenerative disease

that presents as a movement disorder. “ They could not control the movement of their body,” she added.

T he US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website explained that dystonia coexists or is replaced by parkinsonism usually beyond the 10th year of illness.

A ccording to Cutiongco-de la Paz, it is inherited in an X-linked manner.

NCBI explained that X-linked recessive disorders transmit through healthy carrier females to their son. And there is no male-to-male transmission.

Males are mostly affected although there are some women who are seen to be affected,” Cutiongcode la Paz said partly in Filipino.

S he further explained: “Any male anywhere in the world who presents a combination of dystonia and parkinsonism, for sure is a Filipino and has maternal origins in the Panay

group of islands.”

T he rare disease is noticed in adulthood, between the age of 35 years and 39 years that severely limits productive years of those affected.

H aving no known cure yet, “XDP is a progressive disease with patients becoming more disabled, immobile and dependent on others for care, particularly toward the late stages of the disease,” the UP NIH head said.

W ith no cure, the treatment is directed at relieving symptoms, said the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

T his inherited disease gives huge burden to the patient and family, with loss of quality of life, stigma is creates.

C utiongco-de la Paz admitted that there is still a gap in the knowledge of XDP with its actual frequency remaining unknown.

S he said the project’s goal is to provide a comprehensive picture of

Foreign expert lauds DOST in PH genomics program

AN American scientist lauded the Department of Science and Technology for effectively translating “basic research into useful products” and the creation of successful startups related to genomics technologies.

Dr. Sally O’Connor, United States Embassy Science and Technology Fellow and National Science Foundation program director, gave her report through video at the forum “From Lab to Lives: Impact of DOST-led Genomics Program in PH” at the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) on April 14.

She highlighted how “investments in genomics research also found success in battling the spread of SARS CoV2 through public surveillance of outbreaks, tracking of the spread of specific variants, and influencing policy to prevent further spread of the virus.”

This is in reference to the swift response of DOST in rolling out programs and projects related to Covid-19 detection, tracking and management technologies.

The DOST also supported a new study on a disease that exclusively affects people of Filipino ancestry. Called X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism (XDP), or lubag, it is a debilitatingly severe, inheritable neurodegenerative disease affecting males with maternal ancestry tracing back to the Panay region of the Philippines. (See related story.)

Besides this, the DOST supported the expansion of genomics applications to forensics through the project “Philippine Population Database Utilizing DNA Fragment Analysis, Capillary Sequencing, and Next Generation Sequencing for Forensic Applications.” Its studies include the history, evolution, origins and applications of Filipino genomes. The study helped resolve child sexual abuse cases. In agriculture, DOST, in partnership with the Philippine Carabao Center, provided strategic sciencebased interventions to address low productivity of swine through the development of the DNA marker aided selection technology.

DNA-marker selection technology has higher selection efficiency and offers a great opportunity to hasten genetic improvement—in terms of improving productivity, production efficiency and meat quality, and elimination of genetic defects—in swine as compared to the traditional method of selection.

The DOST showcased the exhibits of spinoff companies created due to successful R&D programs like the Manila Health Tek Covid-19 Test Kit, Andali Rapid Test Kit for ASF, practical applications of genomics on criminal investigations (sexual assault kit) and disease forecasting (DiWa app), and new breakthroughs or technology on genomics.

According to Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr., “Investing in R&D is critical for the Philippines’ future.”

Solidum said that the DOST Genomics Program is an excellent example of how investing in R&D can lead to significant advancements in various fields, creating new products and business opportunities and employing additional staff, resulting in income-generating partnerships with private institutions.

He also acknowledged that by investing in such programs, the Philippines is creating a more resilient and sustainable society, driving innovation, economic growth, and improving the quality of life for its citizens.”

For her part, Science Undersecretary Leah J. Buendia said: “The DOST Genomics Program’s impact spans diverse sectors, including human health, agriculture, forestry and marine resources. Its contributions have been indispensable in the fight against a health crisis.”

“R&D is critical to our ability in addressing the challenges of today and the unknowns of tomorrow,” she added.

UPD-CS scientists lead the way EVER since the inception of the country’s genomics program in 2009, scientists from the University of the Philippines Diliman-College of Science (UPD-CS) have been advancing the country’s genomics research in many surprising ways.

Major outbreaks worldwide, such as dengue, SARS, and H1N1, brought the Philippines to realize the vital role of genomic research in predicting, diagnosing, and treat -

the prevalence of the genetic cause of XDP in the Philippines.

T he researchers also want to provide crucial data on the development of health services and allocation of resources, such as Philippine Health Insurance Corp. packages that can improve the quality of life of those affected with XDP.

S he explained that the researchers analyzed anonymized (with no identifying details) residual dried bloodspots from NIH Newborn Screening Program, with ethical approval, from samples from Luzon, Visayas to Mindnao to get the prevalence and identify changes in the gene that cause XDP.

T he genetic basis of XDP was identified based on the research of Filipino experts in collaboration with scientists abroad.

T he researchers from UP performed automated high throughput genotyping for disease screening from the residual dried bloodspots, while the researchers

from Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Collaborative Center for XDP developed genotyping assay; provided training in advanced research methods, Cutiongco-de la Paz explained. With these research we want to establish the first Philippine Disease Screening Laboratory at PGC,” she said, adding that the Philippines has many health condition with unknown health prevalence which is important to identify in order to provide resources for their management or cure.

T he UP NIH head said the utmost goal of genomic research is to improve the lives of filipino patients. There is no other genetic screening campaign that has been performed at this scale by a single nation tackling a rare neurodegenerative disease,” she said. “ This cost-effective and scalable genotyping platform can be used to advance our understanding of diseases that greatly impacts the Filipino population,” she added.

A cknowledging the support of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Cutiongco-de la Paz said they will use science to remove the myth of aswang on Panay Island.

W ith DOST’s support, she said the Philippines now has a chance to contribute to the global research effort on a uniquely Filipino disease.

T he Philippine Genome Center is a genomics-focused multidisciplinary research unit of the University of the Philippines. It offers a full range of DNA sequencing services from single gene sequencing to high-throughput sequencing and a suite of bioinformatics services.

Nuclear med for more affordable cancer detection, treatment coming up in PH

ing diseases before they spread to a greater degree.

In the same year that the DOST set the country’s genomics agenda, UP established the PGC, which aims to improve the quality of the lives of Filipinos through genomics-focused multidisciplinary research.

PGC was founded by four scientists, two of whom are from the UPD-CS: Dr. Gisela Concepcion of the Marine Science Institute (MSI) and Dr. Cynthia Saloma of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB), who also currently serves as the Center’s executive director.

UPD-CS scientists also helm the PGC’s Executive Committee: Institute of Biology’s (IB’s) Dr. Neil Andrew Bascos, Director of the Protein, Proteomics, and Metabolomics Facility, and Dr. Michael Velarde, Director of the Biobank Core Facility; and Natural Science Research Institute’s (NSRI’s) Dr. Maria Corazon De Ungria, Director of Biodiversity, Ethnicity, and Forensics.

At the “From Labs to Lives” forum, UPD-CS scientists presented and discussed the significant milestones and progress that the Philippines’ genomics program has achieved over the last decade.

De Ungria showcased the NSRI DNA Analysis Laboratory’s locallydeveloped sexual assault investigation kit (SAIK) that doctors can use to facilitate justice for victims.

The event was capped by the unveiling of the PGC’s new Protein, Proteomics, and Metabolomics Facility that will enable the center to further its research into the effects and end-products of genes’ functions in the body.

Filipino researchers have vastly expanded genomics applications in health care in the Philippines in various ways. Through their pioneering research studies and contribution to the genomics program of the country, UPD-CS scientists continue to use science for national progress, embodying UP’s commitment to serving the Filipino people.

NUCLEAR medicine in the Philippines has advanced in the past decades that could lead to more affordable treatment of various non-communicable diseases.

“Nuclear Medicine has developed a lot in the past two decades which is good news. We have improved a lot on the use of nuclear medicine technology in the diagnosis and staging of cancer. Also, now, it is being used in the cases of detecting dementia,” said Dr. Thomas Neil Pascual, an S&T Fellow from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) in a TV interview.

Pascual, a nuclear medicine expert, is a former Balik Scientist and currently one of the S&T Fellows assigned at the DOSTPNRI. Both Balik Scientist and S&T Fellows are programs of the DOST designed to step up the research and development (R&D) capacity of the DOST RDIs and Councils to deliver innovative activities, programs, and services to Filipinos by being part of a pool of science experts.

In 2021, 189 of every 100,000 Filipinos were affected with cancer, with four Filipinos dying of cancer every hour, or 96 cancer patients every day, according to a study by the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Genetics-National Institutes of Health.

One roadblock to fighting cancer is the high cost of diagnosis. One scan requires patients to shell out up to P100,000, a prohibitive cost that makes cancer staging and diagnostic procedures available to only those who can afford it.

Responding to this need, the DOST-PNRI prioritized its R&D on radiopharmaceuticals to find alternative ways to provide costefficient diagnostics and treatment for cancer and other diseases such as dementia.

Radiopharmaceuticals are drugs containing radioactive isotopes which can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents.

Helping PNRI bring to Filipinos closer to the dream of lower diagnostics and treatment costs is the Nuclear Medicine Research and Innovation Centre (NMRIC).

According to Pascual, the center will be a research facility that will produce an array of tracers that can be used to help in the management of cancer.

“Right now, we have one or two

radioactive tracers available but, hopefully, with this facility, we could develop more types of tracers that can be used in the management of cancer and other diseases such as dementia or even heart diseases,” he said

Once completed, the NMRIC will house a medical cyclotron and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PETCT) imaging center, which will make cancer detection, treatment, and management more accessible and affordable to Filipinos.

Cyclotrons produce special drugs called radiopharmaceuticals that contain radioactive atoms in safe doses. At present, there are only three operating cyclotrons in the country, and they are all located in Metro Manila. Meanwhile, PET scanners are vital in diagnosing various types of cancers. To further advance nuclear medicine in the country, this R&D facility will also serve as a training hub for those who want to specialize in the fields of PET radiochemistry and PET radiopharmaceutical production, among others.

“So far, we have improved technology, and the DOST-PNRI thinks it can do more by doing more research. Having this type of technology available to the Filipino people improved the management of different diseases such as cancer and dementia,” he said.

Pascual explained said that the center will be open to everybody, but there will be an evaluation process to determine who is qualified or where it is appropriate to use the technology.

“But being a government facility, it has to be open to the Filipino people. We just need to know who the right people are or who would be needing the procedure,” he said.

This project is under the program

“Innovating Nuclear Medicine Research and Services: Development of Emerging PET Radiopharmaceuticals for Early Cancer Staging and Assessment of Biologic Functions in Cancer Cells” led by Adelina DM. Bulos, with the assistance of Pascual.

The center, which had its groundbreaking ceremony last year, augurs well for the less fortunate patients because early detection, treatment, and management of cancer and other diseases will now be more accessible and affordable.

LEADING the “From Lab to Lives: Impact of DOST-led Genomics Program in PH” forum at the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) on April 14 E (From left) PGC Executive Director Dr. Cynthia Saloma, Science Undersecretary Dr. Leah Buendia, Science Secretary Dr. Renato Solidum, DOH Director of Epidemiology Bureau Dr. Alethea De Guzman and DA Biotech Program Office

PHILIPPINE folklore has plenty of aswang (monster) stories— creatures with contorted or shape-shifting figures, to which belong the witches, vampires, manananggal (which upper body separates from the lower part), viscera suckers and ghouls, and many others.

‘Iftar’ as a celebration of faith, friendship

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as Christians, an expression of our sincerity that seals, so to speak, our good will, and the divine source and goodly nature of our message, is to close by saying—my thoughts and our love I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen,” he added.

Fr. Carlos Reyes, Archdiocese of Manila Minister for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs, recalled in his message that both Muslims and Christians observe fasting. The Muslim for 30 days, while the Christians, including the Catholics, observe lent for 40 days of penance, including fasting.

Usually, Muslim families gather together for the meal.

But the iftar on April 20—a day before Eid al-Fitr, as if to welcome the end of Ramadan—was a momentous event. Dubbed as “Friendship Dinner,” it was attended by people of different faiths.

The interfaith celebration was organized by Religions for Peace Philippines, the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID) and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church of Jesus Christ).

The breaking of the Muslim fast was aimed at fostering unity

and friendship among people of different faiths, with many Catholics, Buddhists and members of Protestant denominations joined in breaking bread with their Muslim brothers and sisters.

Elder Yoon Hwan Choi, First Counselor of the Philippines Area Presidency of Church of Jesus Christ, and Dr. Dimapuno

A. Datu-Ramos Jr., OIC Regional Director of the National Commission for Muslim FilipinosNational Capital Region also graced the event.

In his message, Elder Steven R. Bangerter, Philippines Area Presi -

Bishops elevate appeal against Palawan mining ops to Marcos

CATHOLIC bishops in Palawan province have elevated their appeal to President Marcos Jr. to end mining operations in the biodiversityrich island.

Bishops Socrates Mesiona of Puerto Princesa and Broderick

Pabillo of Taytay urged Marcos to “permanently stop” the operations of Ipilan Mining Corp. (INC) and other mining activities in watersheds and protected areas. The bishops’ appeal was contained in a joint pastoral statement released following what they described as “violent dispersal and unlawful arrests” of anti-mining protesters in Brooke’s Point town.

The incident, they said, was perpetrated by dozens of INC security guards, “backed up by a contingent of 30 police force who silently watched and abetted them”.

Several farmers, fisherfolk and indigenous peoples have been manning a barricade since February 18 to prevent mining

trucks containing nickel ore from entering a private port.

“They have endured hunger, heat, rain and grave threats to their life and safety to make a collective stand up in preserving and protecting our beautiful Palawan,” the bishops said.

The mayor’s permit of INC had expired on February 1, and Brooke’s Point local government had issued a ceaseand-desist order against its operations.

“Rather than fully complying with the rule of law, Ipilan Nickel Corp. acted in blatant defiance of the law by continuously operating its mine,” the prelates said.

“Worse, the company took the law into its own hands by deploying its large private security force in violently dispersing the peaceful rallyists,” they added.

The church leaders urged the provincial prosecutors to dismiss all the “trumped-up charges” against the ralliers and hold accountable the people behind the harsh dispersal and illegal arrests.

dent of Church of Jesus Christ, enumerated some examples of shared and separate beliefs of Muslims and the Church of Jesus Christ—on mutual respect, profession of faith in God, posterity of Abraham, Jesus Christ, helping those in need, family and holy places, among others.

“Our dear friends of the Muslim faith, we honor your dedication as during this holy month you devote yourselves to draw nearer to God

by participating in this, one of the sacred Five Pillars of Islam,” he said.

As followers of Jesus Christ, “we share your reverence for fasting as a means of drawing close to God. We join our hearts with yours as you engage in this sacred process during Ramadan and pray that this may be for you a month filled with peace, joy, and holiness,” Bangerter pointed out.

“For members of The Church of

Amina Rasul-Bernardo, president of PCID, said in her video message, “Events like this serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of building bridges of understanding and fostering harmony among different faiths and communities.”

She added: “As we gather to partake in this blessed occasion, we are reminded of the shared values of compassion, generosity, and mutual respect that are central to our respective faith traditions.”

“We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to join you in this celebration, as we collectively embrace the spirit of Ramadan and its teachings of self-reflection, selfdiscipline and compassion toward others,” she said.

He asked: Why would a person willingly to deny himself of food that is necessary for life and to cause himself suffering?

Reyes explained: “I think the answer would be faith. Only a person with faith will fast. We fast because we have faith. I fast because I love God, and I want to obey God. Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days, denied himself food for 40 days.”

Muslims also obey God, he said, and they have a deeper term for obedience.

“For them it is submission, from a Latin term submittere, to put yourself under someone. It is more profound than obedience; to put one’s self under the dominion of God,” he pointed out.

Caritas Manila offers scholarship for agri students

THE social action arm of the Manila archdiocese expressed its “presence to support young farmers and fishermen” as it assured continued support to qualified students who take up agriculture and other related courses by providing them with scholarships.

In an article posted on the Manila archdiocese’s website, Caritas Manila Executive Director Fr. Anton CT Pascual said they aim to train at least a thousand

students per year to become agrientrepreneurs.

He said the church agency wants to contribute to sustainable agricultural practices and development in the country.

According to him, 1,000 out of 5,000 scholars of Caritas Manila’s Youth Servant Leadership Education Program (YSLEP) take interest in agriculture.

The priest also suggested to the government to further intensify the “modernization efforts”

to help the agricultural sector. This can be done, he added, through the availability of modern equipment or studies on modern planting and fishing methods.

“We need to help each other to strengthen our agri-sector. The Church is also present to support the young farmers and fishermen through Caritas Manila,” Pascual added.

In 2022, Caritas Manila has allocated P111.7 million for its 5,000 YSLEP scholars. CBCP News

Pope: Insinuations against John Paul II are ‘baseless’

ROME—Pope Francis recently publicly defended St. John Paul II, condemning as “offensive and baseless” insinuations that recently surfaced about the late pontiff.

In remarks to tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said he was aiming to interpret the feelings of the faithful worldwide by expressing gratitude to the Polish pontiff’s memory.

Days earlier, the Vatican’s media apparatus had described as “slanderous” an audiotape from a purported Roman mobster who insinuated that John Paul would go out looking for underage girls to molest.

The tape was played on an Italian TV program by Pietro Orlandi, brother of Emanuela Orlandi, the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee who lived at the Vatican. The disappearance of the 15-yearold in 1983 is an enduring mystery that has spawned countless theories and so far fruitless investigations in the decades since.

Francis noted that in Sunday’s crowd in the square were pilgrims and other faithful in town to pray at a sanctuary for divine mercy, a quality John Paul stressed often in his papacy, which spanned from 1978 to 2005.

“Confident of interpreting the sentiment of all the faithful of the entire world, I direct a grateful thought to the memory of St. John Paul II, in these days the object of

offensive and baseless insinuations,” Francis said, his voice turning stern and his words drawing applause.

Last week, Pietro Orlandi met for hours with Vatican prosecutors who earlier this year reopened the investigation into his sister’s disappearance.

Italy’s Parliament has also begun a commission of inquest into the case.

Emanuela vanished on June 22, 1983, after leaving her family’s Vatican City apartment to go to a music lesson in Rome. Her father was a lay employee of

the Holy See.

Among the theories about what happened to her have been ones linking the disappearance to the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt against John Paul in 1981 in St. Peter’s Square or to the international financial scandal over the Vatican bank.

Still other theories envision a role played by Rome’s criminal underworld.

The recent four-part Netflix documentary “Vatican Girl” explored those possible scenarios and provided new testimony

from a friend who said Emanuela had told her a week before she disappeared that a high-ranking Vatican cleric had made sexual advances toward her.

Her brother has long insisted the Vatican knows more than it has said. The Vatican prosecutor in charge of the probe says the pontiff has given him free rein to try to find the truth.

While at the Vatican last week, Pietro Orlandi provided Vatican prosecutors with an audiotape from a purported Roman mobster insinuating that John Paul would go out looking for underage girls to molest.

The Vatican’s editorial director in a scathing editorial noted the insinuation lacked any “evidence, clues, testimonies or corroboration.”

Writing in the Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, Andrea Tornielli said “no one deserves to be vilified in this way, without even a shred of a clue, on the basis of the ‘rumors’ of some unknown figure in the criminal underworld or some sleazy anonymous comment produced on live TV.”

John Paul’s longtime secretary, Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, also criticized the insinuations as “unreal, false and laughable if they weren’t tragic and even criminal.”

Pietro Orlandi’s lawyer, Laura Sgro, has insisted her client wasn’t accusing anyone.

Story & photos by Lyn Resurreccion

‘IFTAR” is the meal eaten by Muslims at sunset to break their whole-day fast during the monthlong Ramadan that was held from March 22 until April 21 this year.

ELDER STEVEN R. BANGERTER (fourth from left), Philippines Area President of Church of Jesus Christ, and wife, Susan Bangerter (fifth from left); Pastor Alvaro O. Senturias Jr. (third from right) of United Church of Christ in the Philippines, with Church of Jesus Christ’s members.

RETIRED Justice Raoul Victorino (second from right), president of Unida Ecumenical Church, with Pastor Alvaro O. Senturias (fourth from left), and wife Dr. Erlinda Senturias (third from left), and guests.

SALMA PIR T. RASUL , Esq. (fourth from left), PCID programs director, is with Muslim guests.

BISHOP Socrates Mesiona (left) of Puerto Princesa and Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Taytay. CBCP NEWS

Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Regina Coeli noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, on April 16. AP/ANDREW MEDICHINI

FR . Carlos Reyes, Minister for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs of Archdiocese of Manila.

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Experts train six Ilocos Region LGUs on waste analysis, characterization

WASTE management experts underscored the importance of efficient solid waste management system during a two-day training-workshop of six local government units (LGUs) in Ilocos Region aimed at providing communities science-based knowledge on proper waste management.

The Department of Science and Technology Regional Office 1 (DOST-I), through its Provincial Science and Technology Office (PSTO) Pangasinan, in collaboration with the DOST-Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI), held the Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS) TrainingWorkshop that benefitted six local LGUs in the Ilocos Region at the Dagupan City E-Library in Dagupan City.

In ac cordance to Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, the participants were trained on how to use a streamlined method of conducting WACS as an input in the development of their municipality’s 10-year solid waste management plans.

Representatives from six LGUs attended the training. They were from Dagupan City, Laoac, Dasol, Mapandan, Urdaneta City, in

Pangasinan, and Rosario in La Union.

The training capacitated the participants on WACS, its functions and relevance in formulating strategies, programs, projects and activities that could improve each LGU’s solid waste management programs.

The DOST-ITDI waste management experts composed of Dr. Myra Tansengco, Engr. David Herrera, Ma. Theresa Arthuz and Engr. Joven Barcelo served as the resource speakers.

The primary function of WACS, according to the experts, is to provide baseline data for LGU monitoring and performance evaluation of solid waste management plans and activities.

Hence, WACS data can be utilized to identify relevant programs and strategies for LGUs’ specific needs.

T his endeavor is aligned with the country’s aim to expand science, technology and innovation (STI) assistance to communities and production sectors, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprise, and to provide STI-based solutions for disaster risks and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Likewise, this initiative supports the strategy of the current DOST administr ation on sustainability.

El Niño is coming, ocean temps at record highs can spell disaster for fish, corals

IT’S coming. Winds are weakening along the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Heat is building beneath the ocean surface.

By July, most forecast models agree that the climate system’s biggest player—El Niño—will return for the first time in nearly four years.

El Niño is one side of the climatic coin called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It’s the heads to La Niña’s tails.

During El Niño, a swath of ocean stretching 6,000 miles (about 10,000 kilometers) westward off the coast of Ecuador warms for months on end, typically by about 1 degree Celsius to 2 degrees Celsius.

A few degrees may not seem like much, but in that part of the world, it’s more than enough to completely reorganize wind, rainfall and temperature patterns all over the planet.

I’m a climate scientist who studies the oceans. After three years of La Niña, it’s time to start preparing for what El Niño may have in store.

How El Niño affects the planet

NO two El Niño events are exactly alike, though we’ve seen enough of them that forecasters have a pretty good idea of what’s likely to happen.

People tend to focus on El Niño’s impact on land, justifiably. The warm water affects air currents that leave areas wetter or drier than usual.

It can ramp up storms in some areas, like the southern US, while tending to tamp down Atlantic hurricane activity.

El Niño can also wreak havoc on the many marine ecosystems that support the world’s fishing industries, including coral reefs and seagrass meadows.

Specifically, El Niño tends to trigger intense and widespread periods of extreme ocean warming, known as marine heat waves.

Global ocean temperatures are already at record highs, so El Niño-induced marine heat waves could push many sensitive fisheries to a breaking point.

The problem with marine heat waves

A MARINE heat wave is just that: a “wave” of extreme heat in the ocean, not dissimilar to an atmospheric heat wave on land.

At their smallest, marine heat waves can inundate local bays and coves with hotterthan-normal water for a few days or weeks.

At their largest, marine heat waves like the Northeast Pacific Warm Blob of 20132014 can grow to gargantuan proportions, with regions three times the size of Texas experiencing ocean temperatures about 2°C to 3°C above average for months or even years.

Warm water might not seem like a big deal, especially to surfers hoping to leave their wetsuits at home.

But for many marine organisms that are highly adapted to specific water temperatures, marine heat waves can make living in the ocean feel like running a marathon.

For example, some fish increase their metabolism in warm waters by so much that they burn energy faster than they can eat, and they can die.

Pacific cod declined by 70 percent in the Gulf of Alaska in response to a marine heat wave.

O ther impacts include bleached corals, widespread harmful algal blooms, decimated seaweeds and increased marine mammal

Sunday, April 23, 2023

TAMARAW PROTECTORS ARE SEARCHING FOR POPULATIONS OF THE ICONIC MINDORO BUFFALO AND ITS SUITABLE HABITAT ON THE ISLAND

A7

Hunting the elusive tamaraw

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

PARK rangers, conservationists and researchers are on the hunt for one of the world’s rarest buffaloes—the Philippine tamaraw. The hunt is not to kill, but to save the species from extinction.

Scientifically called Bubalus Mindorensis and also referred to a s the M indoro dwarf buffalo, the Philippine tamaraw once roamed freely on Mindoro Island.

Because of a deadly animal disease outbreak, habitat loss and persistent hunting for its meat and as trophy, its population is on the brink of extinction.

In the early 1900s, around 10,000 of the highly elusive land mammal inhabit the island.

Today it is on the brink of extinction, with slightly over 500 individuals inhabiting the hinterlands of Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park (MIBNP), and a remnant population in at least three other areas on Mindoro Island.

strandings. All told, billions of US dollars are lost to marine heat waves each year.

Marine heat waves flare up for a variety of reasons. Sometimes ocean currents shift warm water around. Sometimes surface winds are weaker than normal, leading to less evaporation over the ocean and warmer waters.

Sometimes cloudy places just aren’t as cloudy for a few months, which lets more sunlight in and heats up the ocean. Sometimes both weaker winds and fewer clouds happen at the same time, producing record-breaking marine heat waves.

Where El Niño fits in IN the climate system, El Niño is king. When it dons its fiery crown, the entire planet takes notice, and the oceans are no exception.

But the likelihood of increased marine heat wave activity during El Niño depends on where you are.

Along the US West Coast during El Niño, surface winds that normally blow from the north tend to subside. This weakens evaporation and slows upwelling of colder, deeper water. That increases the chances of coastal marine heat waves.

Peruvian fishers have for centuries weathered periods of extreme ocean warming that drive fish away. It wasn’t until the 1920s that scientists realized that these South American marine heat waves were related to the Pacificwide ENSO.

In the Bay of Bengal east of India, interactions between El Niño and a tropical air flow pattern, known as the W alker Circulation, elevate the risk for marine heat waves.

Seafloor heat waves are another risk

EVEN if marine heat waves aren’t more obvious at the ocean surface this year, it doesn’t mean all is well down below.

In a recent study, my colleagues and I showed that marine heat waves also unfold along the seafloor of coastal regions. In fact, these “bottom marine heat waves” are sometimes more intense than their surface counterparts. They can also persist much longer.

For example, a 1997-1998 bottom marine heat wave off the US West Coast lasted an extra four to five months after surface ocean temperatures had already cooled.

Events like this can be related to El Niño and put a lot of stress on bottom-dwelling species.

Bering Sea snow crab landings were down 84 percent in 2018 after a marine heat wave reached the seafloor.

We’re in (for) hot water WITH El Niño on the horizon, what can we expect for this year?

The good news is seasonal forecast models can skillfully predict marine heat waves three to six months in advance, depending on the region. And forecasts tend to be most accurate during El Niño years.

The latest forecast predicts several active marine heat waves to persist into June-August, including in the North Pacific, off the coast of Peru, southeast of New Zealand and in the tropical North Atlantic.

The same forecasts predict El Niño to ramp up over the next six to nine months, increasing marine heat wave risk in January to March of 2024 for the US West Coast, the western Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and the tropical North Atlantic. Dillon Amaya, NOAA/The

O utside the MIBNP reports of sightings of the iconic land mammal are calling for further studies to help save the species from extinction.

Ongoing search, studies

NEIL ANTHONY DEL MUNDO Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) national coordinator and Protected Area assistant superintendent of the MIBNP, told the B usiness M irror through Messenger on April 10 that there are three ongoing studies in search of the Philippine tamaraw.

These are the Tamaraw Metapopulation Research in Mindoro Island funded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Office led by the TCP; the Tamaraw Dietary Analysis conducted by the Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc.; and the Mangyan and Tamaraw-Driven Landscape Program being conducted by d’Aboville Foundation.

The Upper Amnay Watershed, Mount Halcon, Mount Gimparay and Mount Calavite are targets of ongoing search because of animal tracks, wallowing area and even feces, which suggest the presence of the tamaraw. These areas were the once safe havens of this elusive land mammal.

Known tamaraw habitats

EMMANUEL SCHUTZ of d’Aboville Foundation told the BusinessMirror that they are working on all sites across Mindoro where tamaraw is still present.

H e said there are four known locations, including the MIBNP, where the species is limited to an area of less than 2,500 hectares (ha), or approximately less than 3 percent of the park size.

Another area is the Aruyan-Malati region in Sablayan municipality, where a camera trap study suggested the species is restricted to around 300ha with very few animals and not a viable population.

Meanwhile, the Upper Inner Mindoro Range currently assessed across the border of the two provinces in the municipalities of Sablayan and Naujan with above 6,000ha has several dozen animals.

In Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary, the camera trap study being conducted in collaboration with another partner has yet to provide a clue of the existence of the species in 2023.

In the Upper Inner Mindoro Range, Schutz said d’Aboville and the TCB are conducting surveys to assess if the distribution is larger or if other small groups persist in the region.

Human pressure

HE explained that human pressure has caused the population of the tamaraw to shrink.

“The species was known to occur on the whole island a century ago but human pressure has fragmented the population leading to isolated few subpopulations,” Schutz said.

Tamaraw populations outside the MIBNP, he said, are remnant sub-populations of former larger ones.

However, he said it is important to understand that the current distribution of the species has little to do with the biology of the animal.

Search for Tamaraw haven

THE tamaraw population on Mount Gimparay, in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, was reported in 2018 following an expedition to verify the presence of the tamaraw in the area.

Rodel B oyles, former TCP National Coordinator and currently the Community Environment and Natural Resource Officer of Socorro, Oriental Mindoro, which has jurisdiction of Naujan, said they are waiting for the TCP to come up with a population count to confirm the presence of the viable population.

We need to have a verified population count to declare a specific area as a critical habitat for tamaraws,” Boyles told the B usiness M irror on April 3.

He said Mount Gimparay, like MIBNP, needs to be protected to protect the tamaraw.

Meanwhile, the ongoing search in Mount Calavite will boost the plan to relocate a viable population in the area from the MIBNP as part of an ex-situ, or off site, conservation breeding program being eyed by the TCP.

Mount Calavite: A future tamaraw sanctuary

IN 2000, Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary was proclaimed as a national park with the passage of Republic Act 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System (E-Nipas).

It has a total area of 18,172.69 ha covering the three barangays of Harrison, Alipaoy and Mananao in Paluan municipality, Occidental Mindoro.

The wildlife sanctuary is being eyed as a potential site for the plan to revive the tamaraw captive-breeding program B esides tamaraws, Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary is known to harbor a wide range of endemic flora and fauna.

“We also have premium species of dipterocarp trees and we have vast grassland, which is suitable for tamaraw habitat,” Boyles said.

Formerly known as the Calavite Game Refuge in 1920, the Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary harbors the Mindoro hornbill, Mindoro warty pig and a variety of flora and fauna.

There are four river systems on Mount Calavite, which keeps the ecosystem healthy.

But like any other large mammals on the planet, animals can only be seen in the 21st century where humans allow them to, generally in areas with lower anthropic or human pressure because they are remote, or not productive, or Indigenous people’s lands, he said.

“We hope there are still a few other small populations or groups outside known sites; this is what we are searching for, with TCP. Besides, there is the phenomenon of vagrant animals, generally young males, that disperse and end up outside subpopulations wandering,” Schutz said.

Danger of inbreeding

THE existence of a fragmented population on Mount Halcon or any other area outside the MIBNP is raising serious concerns.

“ There is a phenomenon called inbreeding, which over time, can prove dangerous to isolated wild animal populations,” explained

environmentalist Gregg Yan.

“Inbreeding happens when animals from the same general group keep mating. Over many generations, this limits and erodes their genetic diversity, leading to mutations and difficulty reproducing,” Yan told the B usiness M irrror via Messenger on April 3.

He said such is already happening to the global population of cheetahs, which is estimated to still be 8,000 strong.

“Imagine what inbreeding must [do] to the 600 or so tamaraws left on Planet Earth,” said Yan, an explorer and wildlife photographer who has joined numerous expeditions to find and document wild tamaraws on Mindoro.

“The work being done by park rangers, conservationists and the TCP on Mindoro Island is priceless as new populations can prove to be a goldmine for genetic diversity,” he said, adding that finding the tamaraw is easier said than done.

Arlene Valencia-Francisco, protected area superintendent of Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary, said that based on a population survey conducted by the TCP in June 2019, there were already sightings of dams or feces and a reported spotting of a juvenile tamaraw as well.

According to Francisco, she welcomes the idea of translocating a viable population on Mount Calavite as a safety measure.

“Since it is a protected area, why not? Translocating a viable population here will help conserve the tamaraw,” Francisco told the B usiness M irror via Zoom on April 12, adding that the serious threats posed by zoonotic diseases that can wipe out entire populations.

She said the DENR continuously works with various stakeholders to educate the community about the importance of Mount Calavite and the tamaraw.

THE Agbokbok Falls inside Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary is a tourist magnet for nature lovers. COURTESY OF MCWS/PASU ARLENE FRANCISCO

TAMARAW bull GREGG YAN

Editor: Jun Lomibao

Smart putting premium on fan excitement for FIBA World Cup

SMART and TNT subscribers have the full homecourt advantage this year with this month’s International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup and other events expected to excite fans this month.

To further gear up and engage sports fans, Smart held a Smart Sports Invitational Golf Cup on April 20 at the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Cavite to encourage the media and sports community to be unified in hosting the FIBA World Cup (FIBAWC) 2023.

A mong the golfers in attendance were basketball icons, athletes, sports personalities and celebrities including Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann, Gilas Pilipinas Coach Chot Reyes, Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin, basketball legend Chito Loyzaga, Vince Hizon, Wesley Gonzales, Joseph Yeo, Marlon Stockinger, Rep. Richard Gomez and Donny Pangilinan.

“As a global partner of FIBAWC

203, Smart will be raffling off game tickets. We are also bringing the world’s biggest basketball games closer to basketball fans by streaming the games live on the Smart

LiveStream App,” said Francis Flores, SVP and Head of Consumer Business Group-Individual at Smart. More importantly, we will be providing Filipino basketball fans an experience of a lifetime with perks and privileges leading up to the final World Cup games,” Flores added.

Fans who want to witness Gilas Pilipinas up close and personal and experience the games and see some of the world’s best basketball players in action, may join ticket raffle contests to be announced via Smart’s official social media accounts.

Smart customers can also stream all the upcoming FIBA games via the Smart LiveStream App, the go-to app for exclusive live sports and music events as well as on-demand video content.

To qualify for all Smart’s ticket promos and perks for the FIBA Basketball World Cup lined up for the rest of the year, subscribers must register their SIM cards in compliance with the SIM Registration Law.

Smart Prepaid and TNT subscribers may register their SIMs at smart.com.ph/simreg, while Smart Postpaid customers simply need to text YES to 5858 and wait for the confirmation message from Smart.

Badminton keeps barring Russia as Olympic qualifying gets going

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—

Badminton upheld its ban on Russian and Belarusian players in international competitions days before Olympic qualifying begins.

B adminton’s qualifying period for next year’s Paris Olympics starts on May 1 and uses a calendar-year ranking.

Meanwhile, modern pentathlon said it would set up a “pathway” for athletes from the two countries to return but didn’t commit to a date.

The Badminton World Federation cited security concerns and the need for “more clarity” on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) “complex criteria” to admit some Russians and Belarusians as neutral athletes without national symbols but keep excluding others, such as military personnel or those who have supported the invasion of Ukraine.

The IOC also recommends allowing athletes from only Russia and Belarus to compete individually and not in team sports or “team events in individual sports.” That raises the prospect in badminton of players being allowed to play singles but not doubles as a national team, a point the BWF did not address directly in its statement on Thursday.

The recommendations from the IOC last month aren’t binding on sports’ governing bodies, which can implement them as they wish. The IOC has said it hasn’t made a decision on what happens at the Paris Olympics.

Modern pentathlon’s governing body, known as the UIPM, said it would follow the IOC’s recommendations but didn’t set any timetable. It will be up to an “independent panel” to decide when and how Russians and Belarusians are readmitted, the governing body said.

It is our firm belief that sport should be politically neutral and now, more than ever, must act as a vehicle for peace and a symbol of solidarity between athletes,” the UIPM said.

O ther Olympic sports which have followed the IOC and said they want to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes include wrestling, taekwondo and triathlon. Athletics, weightlifting and equestrian have all maintained bans. for a lottery draw where winners can

AUTISTIC FANS WATCH IN COMFORT IN BRAZIL

pushed her joyous and shrieking son out of the room and into the crowd after the Corinthians beat Cruzeiro, 2-1, in a Brazilian championship match.

“Hamilton is a hardcore soccer fan, like the entire family. He watches until the very end, he celebrates with the players. It feels great to include him here,” she said.

disabilities, many facilities for the disabled were built into the country’s soccer stadiums ahead of the 2014 World Cup, and some have been improved since.

buy tickets for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris closed on Thursday.

Entries for the draw ended at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), and applicants must now wait until early next month to find out if they were successful.

A fter a first phase of ticket sales featuring packages ended March 15, registration for a lottery draw for single tickets began that day.

O n Thursday, Paris 2024 organizers tweeted a final message at around 3 p.m. to encourage any lastgasp applicants to sign up.

They wrote “cross the line before 18H ” along with a photo of multiple Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix of the United States crossing the line victoriously at the 2016 Rio Games.

Figures on the number of applications, where they were from and other statistics, were not made available Thursday. Details were expected to be provided on Friday.

Those successful in the lottery will each receive an allocated time slot for when they can purchase their tickets starting May 11, after which they have 48 hours to buy.

A ll will be informed two days beforehand as to when  their allocated time slot  is going to take place. Tickets will be available in five categories according to price.

A m aximum of 30 tickets overall can be bought for each account holder who took part in the lottery draw, with a maximum of six for any particular session at the Games. AP

SÃO PAULO—Hamilton

Moreira is a huge fan of Brazil’s Corinthians, one of the country’s top soccer clubs.

But the 16-year-old, who uses a wheelchair and has autism, never saw them in person until last Sunday after his mother learned of their stadium’s special room for people with autism.

It’s built into the ninth floor high above one of the goals.

He just loved this,” Ana Moreira, 53, told The Associated Press as she

The facility in NeoQuimica Arena is called a “sensory room,” designed to have a calming effect. It has noise-proof glass walls, special lighting, crayons spread on multiple tables, toys and food—all of which can keep occupants busy during matches.

any Brazilian soccer teams are increasingly accommodating autistic fans by offering them free tickets, free snacks, hearing protection and sensory rooms.

ome people with autism find it difficult to deal with the roar of the crowd, or to be still for 90 minutes. Not so with Hamilton, who was hyper-focused on the entire match between the Corinthians and Cruzeiro. e suffers from a rare, severe disorder called Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, which includes autism, and his mother previously was leery of bringing him to a game. However, things went so well that she wants to try having him watch from an open part of the stadium.

“ Next time I want to take him to the wheelchair section. I think he can handle the noise,” she said.

Autism spectrum disorder is an umbrella term for a broad range of developmental disorders that can involve widely varying degrees of intellectual, language and social difficulties, and repetitive behaviors. Brazil’s health ministry says as many as 10 million people in the country of 213 million are on the autism spectrum.

Though most Brazilian cities offer little accommodation for people with

The noise-proof facility at the Corinthians’ stadium was begun for the World Cup, became a full-fledged sensory room during the 2020-21 pandemic period and now is gaining wide use as the São Paulo-based club becomes a national standard-bearer for accommodating autistic fans.

L ast year, a fan group named Autistas Alvinegros, or Black and White Autists, got permission to place their banner in a prime lower section of the stadium, always visible during TV broadcasts. The team’s veteran goalkeeper, Cássio, is the father of a 5-year-old autistic daughter who his wife posts about. And 41-yearold Corinthians fan Luis Butti has become a social media sensation with posts and podcasts about soccer, the team and his autism.

Even teams without their own stadiums have played a role. In the latest Rio de Janeiro state championship final, the Flamengo and Fluminense clubs arrived handin-hand with children with autism.

Sergio Cordeiro, 51, and a Corinthians fan, brought his 25-yearold son with autism, Pedro Roberto, to the sensory room at NeoQuimica Arena on Sunday even though the son is a fan of a rival team—the one his late grandfather favored.

Cordeiro said he’d like to change his son’s allegiance, but “it is hard to change the mind of an autistic person, and he is no different.”

We came because of this sensory room; it’s great,” Cordeiro said. “My son is not very verbal. It is quieter here. I don’t know how he would handle it downstairs. If there were fireworks, it would be impossible to be with him here.”

“ The autistic are becoming a nation of their own in Brazil. They

Protesters won’t disrupt London Marathon

LONDON— Environmental protesters are not planning to disrupt the London Marathon on Sunday after two other big sporting events in Britain were targeted by activists over the past week.

Extinction Rebellion, a climate activism group, is staging a four-day protest outside Parliament Square in London that started on Friday but has been in talks with marathon director Hugh Brasher since November to ensure minimal disruption on the day of the race.

It’s our intention to facilitate the marathon to take place smoothly,” Extinction Rebellion said on Thursday.

BADMINTON’S qualifying period for next year’s Paris Olympics starts on May 1 and uses a calendar-year ranking. AP

Brasher previously said Extinction Rebellion would be asking its activists to “help guard the London Marathon” and called on other environmental groups such as Just Stop Oil to let the race take place free from protests.

protester interrupted a match at the world snooker championship on Monday by jumping on the table and releasing a packet of

O n Saturday, the Grand National horse race

are growing a lot and there’s few public policies to address their needs. Soccer clubs are doing their part,” Cordeiro said. Some autistic fans can handle the noise relatively well, including 10-year-old Jean Lucca Alvarez, who wore an Autistas Alvinegros shirt and also came to the soccer stadium for the first time Sunday. However, he sat out in the stands with his mother, Amanda Alvarez, 44.

“

We are here waiting for a goal. When everyone screams, if needed, we have hearing protection for him,” Amanda Alvarez said when the match was still 0-0. “Every staffer here was super prepared for him since we arrived.... They point us to the right direction, help us.”

Jean Lucca, who asked to be interviewed by the AP, said his interest in soccer blossomed during last year’s World Cup in Qatar. It is so beautiful here. It is so cool. And there’s some very cool people here,” he said, seconds before Corinthians scored its first goal. “I am an autistic Corinthians fan. I am.”

Butti, the podcaster, also watches from the stands, where he has been given his own personal seat. He said his autism was diagnosed at 31 when he moved from the countryside to São Paulo. He now works at the stadium as a tour guide.

When I got here to work no one talked about autism. It was not something mean, to exclude me. It just wasn’t a big topic for our society. It was a bubble,” Butti said. “Thank God that bubble has burst and now this is a topic for everyone.”

I n the sensory room, some kids choose to play with small footballs or even watch cartoons if they tire of watching the game.

I like this room because of the other autistic children,” said Ana Moreira, Hamilton’s mom. “This is a place of happiness. We need more of those.” AP

A total of 118 people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and public nuisance offenses in a bid to disrupt the race.

Just Stop Oil confirmed on Thursday it had also been in talks with Brasher, and activist Anna Holland told British broadcaster GB News: “I’m just going to say now, we’re not going to disrupt the marathon.”

British marathoner Chris Thompson is competing in Sunday’s race and said he believes it would be the wrong stage for protesters to use. What better statement for these causes than thousands of people running the streets of London for health and wellbeing reasons, and raising money for charity,” Thompson told a news conference on Thursday. “The race in itself is a statement. I’d like to think, if anything, the London Marathon as a sporting event stands out as something to aspire to do.” Mo Farah, a multiple world and Olympic champion in 5,000 and 10,000 meters, said he hoped his final London Marathon was free of protests. AP

POLICE detain protesters who tried to block the start of the Grand National horse race at the Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England, on April 15. AP

HAMILTON MOREIRA, 16, watches from a special isolated room as Luis Butti leads a tour group at the Neo Quimica Arena in São Paulo. AP

Media royalty erika tulfo on carving her own path

STILL LIVING THE DREAM

Dream Theater on their upcoming ‘epic evening of music’ concert

By Jill Tan Radovan

“IT was a little overwhelming, because we’ve never been there. And we knew that that our fans were going to be very excited to see us so you know that it was all this anticipation, and we were very excited to once and finally be going and being able to play for our fans in the Philippines,” said James LaBrie, vocalist of progressive metal band Dream Theater, in an exclusive online interview with SoundStrip.

He pauses, as if in deep thought, probably trying to recall more details from the band’s first ever concert in the Philippines five years ago.

That was one sonic and visual masterpiece of a show, something you’d appreciate whether or not you were a fan of the band. Dream Theater is known

for elaborate and lengthy performances that showcase and highlight the godtier skills of every band member.

“So, it was a real amazing experience because the show starts and then everybody was just up in arms and everybody’s clapping and singing along. And it was very endemic. It just felt incredible. It was just an incredible experience. And we’re hoping that we can repeat that when we go back again, very shortly.”

Publisher :

Editor-In-Chief :

Concept :

Y2Z Editor :

SoundStrip Editor :

Group Creative Director :

Graphic Designers :

Contributing Writers :

Cabangon

Lourdes M. Fernandez

Aldwin M. Tolosa

Jt Nisay

Edwin P. Sallan

Eduardo A. Davad

Niggel Figueroa

Anabelle O. Flores

Tony M. Maghirang, Rick Olivares, Patrick Miguel

LaBrie wasn’t kidding—Dream Theater is coming back to Manila to perform, but this time, in a much bigger venue—the Araneta Coliseum—on May 4 as part of its Top of the World Tour and courtesy of Ovation Productions.

The band had been itching to perform live after a long break during the pandemic, but its members—LaBrie, John Petrucci (guitars), John Myung (bass), Jordan Rudess (keyboards) and Mike Mangini (drums/percussion)— had to think hard and plan extensively before they finally made the decision to go on tour.

Logistics, however, wasn’t the band’s utmost concern.

“The most important aspect of it was, what about our health? So, you know, it really was a conversation that was had for quite some time before we finally felt comfortable enough to go out, which we started last February 2022,” LaBrie added.

The pandemic had given the band plenty of time and opportunity to reflect.

“The band had to really reflect on what was important what our priority should be. Realizing just how fragile life is, I really think that it lent itself to us appreciating everything that we have both individually and collectively as a band, as Dream Theater.”

ll that rumination played a role in determining the outcome of the band’s latest studio album, A View From The Top Of The World, for which they won a Grammy for the song “Alien.”

“We were able to take that, that kind of that pondering and that profoundness and be able to apply it to who and what we are as a band as human beings. And I think that that’s why the last album I think, has has its dynamics and has its emotions that it does and the songs came out the way they do is because that was our mindset at that particular moment in time.”

Dream Theater will, of course, play songs from its last album in its upcoming show, but will also include tracks from previous albums—Awake, Images and Words and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, to name a few—that have really struck a chord, so to speak, with fans.

any of the older songs from Dream Theater’s catalog.

Dream Theater is two years shy of its 30th anniversary, and it remains one of the most prolific, highly skilled, and extremely gifted group of musicians in the industry. Apart from the members’ obvious talents, musical background (founding members Myung, Petrucci and Mike Portnoy are Berklee alumni) and collective experience, there must be something more that has ensured Dream Theater’s success for almost three decades. And this writer of course had to ask James LaBrie about the band’s secret to success.

LaBrie’s facial expression initially turned even more serious, then his face lit up as he gave a lengthy yet meaningful response.

“We love what we do, put it that way. And I think the fact that we still stand behind everything that we do one hundred percent is what really is very evident.”

“When anybody sees us they know that we’re not just walking through the motions. You know, we’re not just doing this because we make money. We’re doing it because we love it. And I think because of that we’re all united, we’re all on the same page. We all know that what we do, we love to do and we want to give it our best.”

Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes Y2Z

Photographers :

“First of all, the logistics that are involved when a band like ourselves go out. There’s so much involved in production in people that are a part of our crew and the technicians and so it’s a very big machine to put back on the road,” said LaBrie.

There’s a lot of ground to cover in terms of playing older songs. To date, the band has released 15 studio albums since it was formed in 1985. LaBrie is thankful that he (and most likely, his bandmates) doesn’t get tired of playing

“And I think that’s not only when we’re playing live, but that’s also when we’re going in to create the music to create something new. We’re there for the reasons that we want to be there. That’s the first reason we want to be there. And we want to continue to grow as a band. And I think collectively and individually, that’s what keeps us really, I think, completely involved and, and grounded into something that we truly do believe in—that engagement. You can’t pretend that. There’s no way that you can pretend; people can see through.”

Dream Theater will be playing a new playlist on its upcoming show. Expect stunning visuals with lights moving to possibly every chord and drumbeat, Expect dramatic guitar and percussion solos and LaBrie’s astounding vocal chops breathing life to the lyrics of Dream Theater’s songs.

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Expect it to be a show dreams are made of. Expect the concert to be spectacular—or even better—than the last. Take it from LaBrie himself.

“It’s going to be a real epic evening of music. It’s going to be a grandiose evening, for sure.”

T. Anthony C.

DREAM Theater (Photo by Rayon Richards)

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD

Queer rock, people’s war, Metallica, Depeche Mode and more

DEATH BY ELEPHANT This Album Should Be Played Loud

ATOMIZE the ten songs reflecting the artist’s own experiences and you’ll come up with the fact that volume stitches the tracks together. While loudness may be key, the collaborative project named Death By Elephant ensures it’s just a part of a bigger agenda to showcase the collective ability to traverse various genres. There’s funk (“I don’t Mind”), noise (“Unicorn”) and weird pop in “Friends,” a song about paranoia. “Until The Numbers Fall” even cobbles together a couple of micro-genres including wahwah guitars for a roller coasting sonic ride. This is a cool mix of the astute and the eclectic.

BANDIDOBAND

Walang Kasarian Ang Digmang Bayan OST

PEOPLE’S war is such an archaic battle cry that it’s been defaced nowadays by the more infamous war on drugs and probably the brewing tinderbox in the once South China Sea. Nonetheless, the concept of socialist liberation by the proletariat continues and this soundtrack is a musical tribute to the inevitable triumph of the armed struggle. Concluding track “Martsa ng Pagkakaisa” in jazz rock mode posits the overthrow of imperialism and its evil minions. A rewrite of “Pag-Ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa” rallies nationalist consciousness to a higher cause. It’s somehow difficult though to connect the ‘sex-agnostic’ part in the album title with the words and music Bandidoband puts across.

DEPECHE MODE Memento Mori

HOW to do you pay your last respects to a lifelong friend? On their new album, synthpop forerunners Depeche Mode gives pioneering member Andy Fletcher who died in May last year one of the most moving sendoffs to the Great Beyond. Third track “Ghosts Again” is that heartbreaking ballad about “a thousand midnights lost in sleepless lullabies” from here on, trumping Puff Daddy’s pop requiem in elegiac content. Coming close seconds are the Gothic torch ballad, “Don’t Say You Love Me” and the hopeful “My Cosmos Is Mine.” Lend a sympathetic ear and “Memento Mori” (translation: “Remember that you must die.”) will be a marker in loving memory of the dearly departed.

PRY The Party’s Over

RELEASED by a queer-run, queer-focused cassette label, Pry’s debut album has a peculiar way of sending “Fuck you!” to toxic machismo and its variants. Its generally seething sentiments and furious attack could as well ring true with almost every human rights issue under the sun. Most likely, it’s very personal to the five man group so they keep the scorching dissidence bubbling under the surface as they go from punk assault to grunge to power pop. Then there’s “Fancy Pants” that’s pure rock and roll with louder guitars. Listen to them grow from strength to strength.

METALLICA

72 Seasons

UNDENIABLY, metal gods Metallica has forged a maverick, if uber viable path towards global domination via the hugely successful “Black” album way back when. Still, the first single titled “Lux Æterna” off the band’s latest album looks headed towards groovy prog-rocking direction. Alas, when the proper album arrives, it begins with an avalanche of primordial thrash harking back to “Ride The Lightning.” The initial single is lodged at the middle like a bullet hole ripping apart end-to-end blistering riffs. That’s not exactly a complaint because Hetfield and company have crafted some of most memorable lyrics of their career. It’s enough balm to the merciless cacophony that comes with the package.

BLONDSHELL  Blondshell

NEWCOMER Sabrina Teitelbaum aka Blondshell takes personal confessionals a notch higher spinning her tales into alt rock territory and Britrock too in some places. Her songs are love croons at heart but when she pumps electric in her guitar playing and the backbeat tightens things up, tracks like the ripping “Joiner” and the wistful “Veronica Mars” find Blondshell capturing listeners across generations. In the same breath, Sabrina gets to convey her private thoughts to an amorphous public that shares her views on love and life. A word of caution: Those private ruminations (for example: “The sex is almost always bad/I don’t care, ‘cause I’m in love”) can be as explosive as the music.

Check out digital music platforms, especially bandcamp, for the albums reviewed here.

Media royalty Erika Tulfo on carving her own path

By Jt Nisay

AdAy before the April 4 arraignment of former US president donald Trump in a case centered on hushmoney payments, Fordham University journalism and history sophomore Erika Tulfo was having a conversation with one of her professors.

Erika expressed her intention to become a TV reporter. The 19-year-old felt she was ready and wanted to transition to the other end of the camera, from working the control room as an intern-producer and into broadcast reporting, much like her parents Erwin Tulfo and former reporter Karen Padilla. Erika’s professor, a broadcasting veteran who has worked with major American networks, told her that she could go about it several ways, whether to start in a producing role in big networks or earn her stripes on air in smaller channels.

“’Well,’” Erika remembers saying in response, “’I want to be able to do what I love to do as soon as possible.’”

As bold and driven as Erika is, however, not even she could have expected that “as soon as possible” meant the next 24 hours. Shortly after that discussion with her professor, Erika suddenly found herself covering the historic Trump arraignment for a CNN affiliate network.

Becoming part of the past and present

ONE of Erika’s few Instagram posts shows her as a toddler, sitting on the lap of her father who was working a radio booth. While the photo provides a snapshot of how she practically grew up in the world of journalism, Erika maintains that the decision to pursue it in college was entirely her own.

Being able to express herself, especially through writing, has always appealed to her at an early age. A star student in high school at Everest Academy in Taguig, Erika connected more with the arts and humanities than any math or science subject. The self-confessed “academic-at-heart” gushes over Van Gogh’s life and devotes chunks of her time to learning a specific period in history. During the height of the pandemic, it was the Renaissance. Recently, it was ev-

erything Napoleonic.

Given her penchant for history and journalism, it comes as no surprise that Erika chose to major in both at Fordham.

“Journalism to me is being able to get a front-row seat to watching history unfold,” she said. “I love that marriage between the past and the present, and it makes me so excited to be a part of it.”

One of the reasons Erika chose to attend Fordham, over her other choices Wellesley College, Harvard University’s sister school, and the University of the Philippines-Diliman, is the chance to pursue big-city journalism in New York. Living in the Big Apple grants Erika access to manifold opportunities that otherwise would not be available elsewhere.

For one, she landed an internship stint at major business media outlet CNBC. Her days begin at 6 a.m., working for a morning market show until 1:30 in the afternoon. Then, she leaves for school. After class, she attends to her duties as the school newspaper’s deputy managing editor. Erika finishes her day with the organization’s regular meetings, which sometimes last until 7:30 in the evening.

Aside from learning journalism in school and a real-life setting, Erika makes the most of the opportunity by connecting with connected people in the industry. It’s this valuable network that led Erika to land her first big break in her young journalism career.

The importance of staying ready SHORTLY after Erika shared with a professor her desire to step up in front of the camera as a reporter, another one sent an email.

It was about the aunt of the professor’s former student—who’s working as a news producer at News18, a CNN-affiliate TV channel in India—looking last-minute for someone to cover the Trump arraignment. The qualification: He or she must be a New York student who knew enough about the issue and could speak confidently about it on live TV.

Erika did not hesitate to submit a demo reel. Luckily for her, there was one conveniently available as a requirement she made for class. She submitted the demo at 8 a.m. while at work. Shortly after, Erika was asked to send another by 1:30 p.m., where she was talking about the arraignment for two minutes. Erika was coming off work, wrote the new script in the car and filmed the demo at home. That night, she was told that she was in.

“My mom and I were so excited,” Erika said. “[The producer called] and we were taking notes while she was talking, letting me know what I needed to do.”

Erika was confident of her knowledge of

the issue, but she wanted it to be “airtight,” being a perfectionist. On the day of the coverage, Erika made sure that all her stuff was packed. It consisted of a selfie stick, a ring light, and a clip-on microphone, which she admitted to being a “very amateur setup.”

The arraignment was scheduled at 2 p.m., but Erika and her mom, who doubled as her cameraman, arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Court at 8 a.m.

They arrived early enough that the press tent, the holding area for credentialed media members, was still easily accessible. Erika hesitated to squeak in, but her mom nudged her to go, telling her that it was part of her job to not be afraid.

Going into the coverage, Erika’s producer and professors told her that it was going to be near-impossible to get a shot of her standing in front of the court. Having at least a clear, distant view of it in the background would do, they said. But arriving early and getting into the tent allowed Erika to surpass their expectations and secure the money shot.

Erika held on to that precious spot the whole day and reported right in front of the criminal court. She also managed to become one of the first to break the news that controversial congressmen George Santos and Marjorie Taylor Greene were at the venue, and that there were more news people present than there were protesters during the proceedings.

“I was really intimidated at first because I’ve had no professional experience prior to it,” Erika said. “But I gained confidence as time went on because once you’re there, you really need to be in that mindset and know that they’ve chosen you for a reason. It’s really all about having faith in your abilities.”

On the right path

LIKE any other person, however, there

are days when Erika still has her doubts. Did she make the right choice in pursuing journalism? What if she chose a different career?

Erika faces these questions by reminding herself of one thing, which is “mainly just thinking how blessed I am to have all these opportunities and thinking, if this wasn’t meant for me, it wouldn’t have been given to me, right?

“I like to think that I’m someone who works hard,” she added. “[I believe] this is the path that I’m supposed to be on, you know, just putting faith in that. That’s enough to assuage my worries.”

After the Trump arraignment coverage, Erika was flooded with congratulatory messages. Two that meant the most were from her parents.

Erika said she appreciates her mom for being present in her life’s biggest moments. She was there during her big TV break, as she was there to lace her skates as a kid participating in competitive figure skating. She was also there to make sure that her dress didn’t have any wrinkles when she joined the Miss Teen New Jersey pageant.

“She’s such a huge part of my life,” Erika said. “I feel that without her, as a grounding presence at that arraignment, I would have been really frazzled.”

“She was my cameraman and my mom, both persons that I needed,” Erika added. “I needed a cameraman, somebody to tell me this is how I should conduct myself, this is where I need to stand. She was also there as my mom to reassure me that nobody expects me to be perfect, because I’m only 19, and this is the first time I’m on air. Having her there was hugely beneficial and I would’ve been completely lost without her guidance.”

Erika also values highly her dad’s stamp of approval. “People may notice that he is not the type to sugarcoat anything,” she said. “But when he told me that he was proud of me, that I handled it gracefully, that’s when I knew that I did a good job.”

More importantly, perhaps, getting her first taste of live TV reporting deepened Erika’s appreciation of her parents. She said growing up and watching them do what they did felt like an everyday thing, until it was her turn to step in front of the camera.

“It gave me a sense of renewed appreciation for the talents of my parents,” she said. “Hearing them as people who have been in the industry for as long as they have think that I was doing a good job, it really made me feel like this is the path that I should be pursuing.”

n Cover photo by Shaira Luna for Erika Tulfo’s belated 18th birthday celebration on July 2022

Fordham University journalism and history sophomore Erika Tulfo, 19, is one to shoot for the stars. But even she was surprised to get the donald Trump arraignment as her first professional assignment on april 4 at the manhattan Criminal Court in New York.

‘I know I’m an ambitious person, that I like being able to make big moves in my career at an early age, but that Trump arraignment coverage was a meteoric transition,’ says the 19-year-old college sophomore