BusinessMirror August 27, 2023

INSIDE THE WORLD OF THE MANGYAN

The

But Leyto is no ordinary Mangyan, the indigenous people who originally inhabited the island, and known for their unique culture as a “gentle people.” His college degree sets him apart from the indigenous community, which has been struggling to preserve its traditional beliefs and practices.

Leyto, however, confided that he was adopted when he was six by local officials in Barangay Buenavista, where their community was classified as a sitio in the local municipality. He decided to return home eight years ago after completing a fouryear course in fisheries management at the Laguna State Polytechnic University in Los Baños.

He also opted to work first with the provincial government, which provided him an opportunity to join the Indigenous People’s Affairs Office in his hometown. His personal success serves as an inspiration and a positive example for other indigenous people, showcasing the potential for their growth, empowerment and advancement within their community.

According to Leyto, they call themselves “Alangan,” simply because they want their own identity since their ancestral villages are found near the border that divides the two island provinces of Mindoro, which has seven other major Mangyan tribes.

Unlike some of the tribes which are fast being absorbed into the mainstream culture, he said they continue to be a people thriv-

ing in a subsistence economy, with activities focused for their own need, rather than the market.

We have learned to survive through the traditional charcoal making, kaingin farming and the planting of kamoteng kahoy and kamoteng baging for our food,” he said.

“But don’t get us wrong. We have already learned to cope with the challenge of the mainstream culture [on the island],” he added.

L eyto then offered to guide us around his community village, if only to show to the “Tagalogs”— as they call the local migrants— “what makes us as a community.”

Preserving traditional practices

THE Mangyans, he said, are determined to preserve their traditional practices that were passed down through generations, including their own system of governance and justice.

A lthough they were never a united people, each of the communities among the eight major indigenous people (IP) groups has an elected leader they now call “mayor” with a lupon—their council of elders.

They have no royalty, but Leyto considers himself privileged since their leader is now his brother-in-law, while his father has been a long-time member of their lupon

During the pandemic, he said, the Mangyans got their fair share of ayuda, but what his community really appreciated was the completion of their own concrete basketball court. “We are a proud people. We have known how to survive in any calamity because we have the forest,” he said.

They even had their own concoction of local herbs and barks of trees for their medicine to prevent a surge of the Covid virus in their communities.

To ensure peace and order, the Mangyans continue to adhere to their pangaw —which literally means handcuffs, comprised of the rules and punishments that guide them for their moral values and practical legal system.

For instance, Leyto said, contrary to popular beliefs, the Mangyans are prohibited from being involved in polygamous relationships. An adulterer, he pointed out, will be stoned and whipped by a rattan cane as punishment, apart from being locked during his trial in an actual pangaw, a wooden structure that locks the convicted person’s feet and hands, until he has served his prison sentence.

A p erson accused of theft is given a chance to prove his innocence in a trial by ordeal. He is asked to hold a stone in boiling water and if he doesn’t feel the pain, then he is deemed innocent of the crime.

Declining culture

STILL, some of their elders concede that challenges to their culture, such as modernizing and increasing interaction with external influences, is contributing to their decline.

Dado Dalisog, a 50-year-old member of the Siraya Mangyan, said that while they have no known religion, they have begun opening their village near the capital town of Mamburao to a Korean “missionary” group—only to find out that regular visits from some prominent members who provided them old clothes were only a ploy

to showcase them as an “evangelized people” so that the sect could collect money from their flock.

“ Wala kaming problema sa relihiyon [We don’t have any problem with religion],” noted Dalisog, who confided that he recently joined the Iglesia ni Cristo. “Huwag lang abusuhin ang aming pagmamabuting loob [Just don’t abuse our being warm-hearted].”

W hile acknowledging it is difficult to sustain their old ways, he expressed the hope their people would continue to adhere to a peaceful life. The Mangyans, he pointed out, were never involved in any tribal war.

Dalisog said the Mangyans always practiced “barter” in peddling their forest products until one government agency recruited them into an upland community program in the early ’90s. In exchange, they received money through government officials and “people’s organizations” after being recruited to work in forest protection and conservation.

Hindi namin naiintindihan ang pera, kaya siguro lagi kaming niloloko [We really don’t understand money, perhaps that’s why we are often fooled],” Dalisog said, recalling how some of their people started selling bulk of their forest products in exchange for cash or cheap products from the market.

The local elders explain that they were vulnerable to such exploitation since many of their people have learned to appreciate money to cope with modern times,

particularly for buying cell phones, which they found to be the best alternative to the television—the long-aspired-for appliance they never had.

“Siguro ’di naman kami inaapi ng mga Tagalog [as they call the migrants]. Kaya lang kung minsan hindi maiwasan ang diskriminasyon lalo’t di nakakapag-aral ’yung mga katutubo [Perhaps we’re not really being mistreated by the Tagalogs, but sometimes discrimination can’t be avoided when most of the indigenous people are uneducated],” according to Leyto, whose task as a local government worker is to ensure that municipal services reach the Mangyan communities.

For several years now, he said, in their village alone, a day-care center has been operating to cater to toddlers until they reach Grade 2 before they enroll in nearby public elementary schools.

But he concedes that being a scholar has always been a struggle for the Mangyan who are seeking higher education, since all applications have to be validated by the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office.

Still, the Mangyan elders believe that there is no option but to encourage their people to study if they are to overcome potential barriers related to cultural preservation and socioeconomic factors.

It seems counterintuitive, but from his experience, this much can be said: to survive and preserve their way of life, they must learn how the “outside world” lives.

DURING the pandemic, the Mangyans got their fair share of ayuda, but what the community really appreciated was the completion of their own concrete basketball court.

Mangyans of Occidental Mindoro thrive in a ‘subsistence’ economy, but painfully, slowly learn to handle cash to acquire modern ‘treasures’ like cell phones.

The World

• Editor: Angel R. Calso

Europe’s sweeping rules for tech giants about to kick in. Here’s how they work

By Kelvin Chan AP Business Writer

The first phase of the European Union’s groundbreaking new digital rules will take effect this week.

The Digital Services Act is part of a suite of tech-focused regulations crafted by the 27-nation bloc— long a global leader in cracking down on tech giants.

The DSA, which the biggest platforms must start following Friday, is designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content that’s either illegal or violates a platform’s terms of service, such as promotion of genocide or anorexia. It also looks to protect Europeans’ fundamental rights like privacy and free speech.

Some online platforms, which could face billions in fines if they don’t comply, have already started making changes.

Here’s a look at what’s happening this week:

Which platforms are affected?

SO far, 19. They include eight social media platforms: Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Snapchat.

There are five online marketplaces: Amazon, Booking.com, China’s Alibaba AliExpress and Germany’s Zalando. Mobile app stores Google Play and Apple’s App Store are subject, as are Google’s Search and Microsoft’s Bing search engine.

By Petra Sorge & Alberto Brambilla

THE steam and geysers rising from the valleys of Tuscany inspired Dante Alighieri’s vision of hell in The Divine Comedy. Centuries later, they’re providing Italy with an inexhaustible supply of renewable energy.

Larderello is home to the world’s oldest geothermal power site, where Enel Green Power turns heat released by the Earth’s core into electricity. The facility started powering light bulbs in 1904 and now the whole site generates more than 5 percent of the nation’s clean power production.

The same could be done in countries across Europe, which thirsts for green energy to uncouple itself from fossil fuels and become climate-neutral by 2050. The US government posits that geothermal could meet global energy demand twice over, and BloombergNEF calls it a “possible game changer” in the business of renewable power.

Even with all that, the technology is underfunded and marginalized in the European Union’s blueprint for addressing global warming. While the bloc pours billions of euros into wind, solar and hydrogen, it commits just a fraction of that to exploit underground reservoirs of hot water for power and heat — something even the Roman Empire did.

“Geothermal is the Cinderella of renewable-energy sources in Europe,” said Bruno Della Vedova, chairman of the

Google Maps and Wikipedia round out the list.

What about other online companies?

THE EU’s list is based on numbers submitted by the platforms. Those with 45 million or more users— or 10 percent of the EU’s population—will face the DSA’s highest level of regulation.

Brussels insiders, however, have pointed to some notable omissions from the EU’s list, like eBay, Airbnb, Netflix and even PornHub. The list isn’t definitive, and it’s possible other platforms may be added later on. Any business providing digital services to Europeans will eventually have to comply with the DSA. They will face fewer obligations than the biggest platforms, however, and have another six months before they must fall in line.

Citing uncertainty over the new rules, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has held off launching its Twitter rival, Threads, in the EU.

What’s changing?

PLATFORMS have started rolling out new ways for European users to flag illegal online content and dodgy products, which companies will be obligated to take down quickly and objectively.

The DSA “will have a significant impact on the experiences Euro -

Italian Geothermal Union. “Despite its huge potential, investors are wary of the risk of exploration. Pioneers aren’t backed by a proper European fund.”

The bloc spent about €700 million ($763 million) on research subsidies for geothermal energy in the decade to 2020, according to a European Commission report.

By comparison, solar energy technology received €30 billion in subsidies in 2020 alone, followed by wind’s €21 billion, a separate report said.

What’s holding geothermal back from widespread adoption is its upfront capital costs (at least €20 million for drilling); the risks versus returns (one in five searches fails); and technological challenges (utilities typically can’t map the subsurface), according to industry officials and analysts.

Global geothermal power capacity was about 16 gigawatts as of 2021, according to BNEF, and the EU’s share was about 1 gigawatt, primarily thanks to Italy.

“Solar and wind energy have it easier because everyone can see the sun, feel the wind,” said geologist Inga Moeck, vice president of Germany’s geothermal association. “No one can sense underground geothermal energy.”

An EU working group calculated that €937 million was needed to promote deep geothermal for power and heating by decade’s end, and it said half of that money should come from private industry.

The catch is that insurers shy away from backing the risks of exploration. HDI Global SE,

peans have when they open their phones or fire up their laptops,”

Nick Clegg, Meta’s president for global affairs, said in a blog post.

Meta’s existing tools to report illegal or rule-breaking content will be easier to access, Clegg said.

Amazon opened a new channel for reporting suspected illegal products and is providing more information about third-party merchants.

TikTok gave users an “additional reporting option” for content, including advertising, that they believe is illegal. Categories such as hate speech and harassment, suicide and self-harm, misinformation or frauds and scams, will help them pinpoint the problem.

Then, a “new dedicated team of moderators and legal specialists” will determine whether flagged content either violates its policies or is unlawful and should be taken down, according to the app from Chinese parent company ByteDance.

TikTok says the reason for a takedown will be explained to the person who posted the material and the one who flagged it, and decisions can be appealed.

TikTok users can turn off systems that recommend videos and posts based on what a user has previously viewed. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat users will

one of Europe’s largest insurers for geothermal projects, only covers damages to the drilling site and equipment, a spokesman said.

Without guarantees, lenders and investors are reluctant to fund the initial work. No venture capital investments for deep geothermal have been recorded by the EU, according to last year’s status report.

“This initial phase has to be subsidydriven before you can get commercial lenders on it to secure the risk,” said James Carmichael, an energy equity analyst with Berenberg Bank in London. “In order to grow, some sort of help from the EU and governments will probably be needed.”

Hungary, the member most dependent on Russian energy, is seeking bloc funds to boost capacity. Ancient Romans used geothermal to heat Budapest, and the country now has about 900 wells primarily used for the same function.

Magyar Bankholding Zrt., its secondlargest commercial bank, previously loaned money to three companies with geothermal plans and covered the exploration risks. Now, though, it wants any borrower to assume the risk because a failed drilling may jeopardize the return on a loan, according to a statement.

The European Investment Bank has supported geothermal energy projects since the late 1970s but generally only after the exploration phase, when there’s certainty about a project’s viability, budget and schedule, a spokesman said.

That puts the onus on governments, said Rolf Bracke, a geologist and chairman

have similar options. Such systems have been blamed for leading social media users to increasingly extreme posts.

The DSA prohibits targeting vulnerable categories of people, including children, with ads.

Snapchat said advertisers won’t be able to use personalization and optimization tools for teens in the EU and UK Snapchat users who are 18 and older also would get more transparency and control over ads they see, including “details and insight” on why they’re shown specific ads.

TikTok made similar changes, stopping users 13 to 17 from getting personalized ads “based on their activities on or off TikTok.”

Is there pushback?

ZALANDO , a German online fashion retailer, has filed a legal challenge over its inclusion on the DSA’s list of the largest online platforms, arguing that it’s being treated unfairly.

Nevertheless, Zalando is launching content flagging systems for its website even though there’s little risk of illegal material showing up among its highly curated collection of clothes, bags and shoes.

The company has supported the DSA, said Aurelie Caulier, Zalando’s head of public affairs for the EU.

“It will bring loads of positive changes” for consumers, she said. But “generally, Zalando doesn’t have systemic risk (that other platforms pose). So that’s why we don’t think we fit in that category.”

Amazon has filed a similar case with a top EU court.

What happens if companies don’t follow the rules?

Officials have warned tech companies that violations could bring fines worth up to 6 percent of their global revenue—which could amount to billions—or even a ban from the EU. But don’t expect penalties to come right away for individual breaches, such as failing to take down a specific video promoting hate speech.

Instead, the DSA is more about whether tech companies have the right processes in place to reduce the harm that their algorithmbased recommendation systems can inflict on users. Essentially, they’ll have to let the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm and top digital enforcer, look under the hood to see how their algorithms work.

EU officials “are concerned with user behavior on the one hand, like bullying and spreading illegal content, but they’re also concerned about the way that platforms work and how they contribute to the negative effects,” said Sally Broughton Micova, an associate professor at the University of East Anglia.

That includes looking at how the platforms work with digital advertising systems, which could be used to profile users for harmful material like disinformation, or how their livestreaming systems function, which could be used to instantly spread terrorist content, said Broughton Micova, who’s also academic co-director at the Centre on Regulation in Europe, a Brussels-based think tank.

Big platforms have to identify

and assess potential systemic risks and whether they’re doing enough to reduce them. These risk a ssessments are due by the end of August and then they will be independently audited.

The audits are expected to be the main tool to verify compliance—though the EU’s plan has faced criticism for lacking details that leave it unclear how the process will work.

What about the rest of the world?

Europe’s changes could have global impact. Wikipedia is tweaking some policies and modifying its terms of use to provide more information on “problematic users and content.” Those alterations won’t be limited to Europe and “will be implemented globally,” said the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the community-powered encyclopedia.

“The rules and processes that govern Wikimedia projects worldwide, including any changes in response to the DSA, are as universal as possible,” it said in a statement.

Snapchat said its new reporting and appeal process for flagging illegal content or accounts that break its rules will be rolled out first in the EU and then globally in the coming months.

It’s going to be hard for tech companies to limit DSA-related changes, said Broughton Micova, adding that digital ad networks aren’t isolated to Europe and that social media influencers can have global reach.

The regulations are “dealing with multichannel networks that operate globally. So there is going to be a ripple effect once you have kind of mitigations that get taken into place,” she said.

A P videojournalist Sylvain Plazy contributed from Brussels.

of the Fraunhofer IEG research institute in Bochum, Germany.

“Why don’t we set up a state guarantee or a fund of €2 billion to €3 billion with our development banks, like we do with all our geothermal projects in Africa and Latin America?” Bracke said.

The Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility, organized by the African Union in 2012, has contributed $131 million toward projects such as surface studies and drilling programs. Most are in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Participants include Germany’s KfW Development Bank, which said it’s in talks with the government to develop a similar tool at home. Funding for exploration isn’t part of the nation’s €212 billion Climate and Transformation Fund.

Oil and gas producers have the knowhow and equipment to drill into the Earth’s crust, but they’re reluctant to spend more on geothermal exploration when they’re earning record profits from fossil fuels. Shell Plc, BP Plc, Eni SpA and Chevron Corp. are accelerating investments in natural gas.

The majors also are loath to share underground data, said Moeck, who helped build Germany’s largest database on geothermal energy.

“The municipalities are left completely alone,” she said.

The German oil, gas and geoenergy group BVEG said it releases whatever information is required by law. With assistance from Michael Nienaber, Veronika Gulyas and Matthew Brockett/Bloomberg

LONDON—Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people encounter online.

Dante Alighieri’s ‘Inferno’ may have the answer for Europe’s energy bind

THE Facebook logo is seen on a cell phone on October 14, 2022, in Boston. Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people encounter online. AP/MICHAEL DWYER

The World

Black landowners fight developers to maintain property and history

By James Pollard The Associated Press/Report for America

PHILLIPS COMMUNITY, S.C.—The Rev. Elijah Smalls Jr. once grew okra, butter beans and other vegetables in the neighborhood where his family has lived near the South Carolina coast since not long after the Civil War. That was before new half-a-million-dollar homes in a nearby subdivision overwhelmed the drainage system.

Runoff meant for sewers now pools in the 80-year-old veteran’s backyard, making gardening impossible.

Smalls and his relatives are among the many original families still living in historic settlement communities around Charleston. People who had been enslaved at Phillips Plantation bought patches of it to make their futures. Their descendants question whether the next generation can afford to stay.

“This is the only place I wanted to live and raise my family,” said Fred Smalls, standing outside the home where his two sons grew up.

All along the South Carolina coast, land owned by the descendants of enslaved people is being targeted by developers looking to make money on vacation getaways and new homes. From Myrtle Beach south to Hilton Head, Black landowners who inherited property have been embroiled in disputes with investors looking to capitalize on rising real estate values.

State reforms approved in 2017 provided what supporters described as “shark repellant”—a law that made it harder for developers to strike deals below market prices with distant heirs who had long since moved away.

But skyrocketing property taxes are creating a growing burden as assessments rise. Younger family members may not qualify for homestead exemptions and other tax breaks. Elders worry that their family legacies—established by formerly enslaved ancestors who acquired land despite entrenched racism across the defeated South—are slipping away. Most of the hundreds who still live on the remaining 450 acres or so of Phillips Community trace their lineage to the founders. Residents enjoy the pace of the South Carolina Lowcountry in the settlement communities, where neighbors have long taken care of each other.

“If we don’t take steps to protect them, we’re going to lose them parcel by parcel,” said Coastal Conservation League Executive Director Faith Rivers James.

Lush greenery gone ORANGE mesh fencing lines the dirt expanse of a new development site that encircles the ranch-style house where Josephine Wright has taken her stand. The 93-year-old woman is the matriarch of a family that has owned land on Hilton Head Island since reconstruction.

“I’m being surrounded, really,” Wright said recently in the Brooklyn accent she picked up before returning to her late husband’s home 30 years ago in Jonesville Historic Gullah Neighborhood. They wanted tranquility as his Parkinson’s disease progressed. But gone is the lush greenery that once grew on 29 acres previously owned by other relatives bordering Wright’s home. A Georgia-based developer, Bailey Point Investment, LLC, broke ground last sum -

most conservative estimates from a 2023 study led by rural sociologist Ryan Thomson at Auburn University. It’s a strain acutely felt by Black landowners given the Deep South’s legacy of enslavement.

Some remaining owners are more determined than ever to stay.

Julia Campbell, 60, has spent two decades establishing a family tree to identify every heir with even the slimmest stake in the 25-acre John’s Island land her family has held since the 19th century. The former member of a Charleston group established to protect Black cemeteries emphasized that the ground itself bears witness to history.

Hilton Head neighborhood that is home to some of the largest Gullah extended families.

But Davis, 70, could soon lose nearly a third of it. The land is stuck in a cumbersome legal dispute with other heirs dating back to 2009. A judge has ordered that 11 acres be placed on the market for $7 million. A previous deal fell apart after a North Carolina firm rescinded its $7.5 million offer.

By Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—Female soldiers face rampant sexism, harassment and other gender-related challenges in male dominated Army special operations units, according to a report Monday, eight years after the Pentagon opened all combat jobs to women.

US Army Special Operations Command, in a lengthy study, reported a wide range of “overtly sexist” comments from male soldiers, including a broad aversion to females serving in commando units. The comments, it said, are “not outliers” but represent a common sentiment that women don’t belong on special operations teams.

“The idea that women are equally as physically, mentally and emotionally capable to perform majority of jobs is quite frankly ridiculous,” said one male commenter. Others said they’d quit before serving on a team with a female, and that serving in such a situation it would create problems and jealousy among their wives.

mer on a 147-unit vacation rental complex there.

Managers of her family’s trust failed to pay escalating tax bills. The land sold at a 2014 tax auction for just $35,000—a fraction of its current worth.

Then the investment company sued Wright, who owns her one acre separately. The company alleged that a corner of her screened-in porch, a shed and a satellite dish encroach on the construction project. A lawyer for the company did not return a call from The Associated Press.

She suspects they want to run her off, but she’s not intimidated. NBA superstar Kyrie Irving and filmmaker Tyler Perry have lent their support. Town officials don’t intend to issue building permits until the case is closed. She says other residents have thanked her for holding out.

She expected to spend these days in peace. Her small home remains the gathering spot for an extended family that includes 40 grandchildren, generations who she hopes will also enjoy the land.

“I just want to be able to live here in this sanctuary with a free mind,” Wright said.

Heirs’ property under threat

THE first self-governed town of formerly enslaved people in the United States was located on Hilton Head Island. Wright’s neighborhood gets its name from a Black Civil War veteran named Caesar Jones who had escaped enslavement and purchased more than 100 acres himself, finding refuge in marshland that had been dismissed by colonists as unsuitable for farming.

It’s hardly undesirable today. The advent of air conditioning helped make coastal land more appealing. New highways improved access to the coast, where population increases have made South Carolina the 10th fastest-growing state during the past decade.

Those searching for land found easy targets in the Gullah Geechee community, owned by descendants of West Africans who were forced into slavery on rice, indigo and cotton plantations along the Atlantic coast. They developed their unique culture on isolated islands, but their separation from the US legal system left them vulnerable to exploitation.

Developers took advantage in many cases of what’s known as heirs’ property—land transferred from generation to generation without a will and shared equally by partowners whose numbers balloon with each branch in the family tree. South Carolina developers could buy a single heir’s interest and wind up taking everything from outmatched families suddenly navigating an unwieldy system.

Heirs’ property is under threat throughout the Black Belt.

Roughly 5 million acres over 11 states worth almost $42 billion collectively remains trapped in cloudy titles, according to the

It’s important for her to document—especially at a time when she said “some people want to close the book on us.”

“These people who could barely read or write were able to hold onto the property,” she said. “We should be able to hold onto it.”

Preserving African American property

SOUTH Carolina’s 2017 reforms stymied some predatory behavior, according to Josh Walden of the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation. The Charleston-based nonprofit has helped clear titles for over 3,000 tracts worth some $17.5 million since 2009, but his most modest estimates suggest about 40,000 tracts remain held in heirs’ property across six coastal counties alone.

Risk persists for those facing heightened assessments that come with exurban gentrification.

“Obviously, people are still looking for land,” Walden said. “They’re still approaching heirs’ property owners asking if they’ll sell their interests.”

The clamor for these lands is so feverish that even people with clear titles remain vulnerable. James calls it “the next frontier in preserving African American property.” South Carolina tax law evaluates residential land at its highest usage—a boon to sellers but a burden for those who want to stay.

“They’re not planning to take the money and run,” Phillips Community Association President Richard Habersham said of his neighbors. “They’re planning to pass it down.”

James has proposed that state lawmakers ease growing pains by passing a new “cultural property preservation” tax exemption to provide incentives to support historic communities, just like existing credits help preserve historic buildings.

A statewide measure could resemble local efforts. One ordinance blocked a golf course on Gullah Geechee land on St. Helena Island.

Last month, the Beaufort County Council rejected a developer’s request to remove a 502-acre plot from a zoning district that bans gated communities and resorts in locations considered culturally significant. Other officials are soliciting feedback from Gullah Geechee and African American communities to identify historical sites in the Charleston area for preservation.

“Property is not just a commodity,” James said. “Property has a sentimental value that the law should recognize.”

Cumbersome legal dispute

THAT value became more elusive for Queen Mary Davis when a housing development next door restricted her access to a family cemetery by requiring her to gain admission from security guards.

A formerly enslaved ancestor named Dennis Allen purchased the first patches of what is now the family’s 31-acre property back in 1897. It’s nestled in a

The situation is an egregious example of sagas that attorney Willie Heyward has seen all too often during a 37-year career largely focused on heirs’ property. He’s represented members on both sides of Davis’ contentious case at various points, and says many families get mired in costly, yearslong court battles that ultimately diminish the returns for everyone.

This generation of heirs’ property owners will be the last with numbers Heyward considers manageable—about 250 relatives is the most he’s seen.

As family trees number thousands of people, any outcome other than land loss can become impractical—a “crushing” prospect for his elderly clients clinging to the last vestiges of their ancestry.

Relatives interested in selling have a legal right to pursue that option, and defending land becomes especially difficult when families aren’t united. Heyward and James both want legislators to expand opportunities for mediation so resource-limited families don’t rack up legal fees trying to protect their interests.

What was once a vehicle for maintaining ownership has become an engine of its demise.

“I see a very dark future on the horizon if something is not done,” Heyward said.

Death of the community

LONGTIME residents report that Phillips Community sounds different nowadays. Traffic thrums along a busy road. The scuttle of fiddler crabs no longer accompanies walks to a nearby creek. Woods once filled with the calls of raccoon hunts have been replaced by a quiet subdivision.

And still more development looms. A private Charleston-based company has plans for several dozen houses in the center of the neighborhood, spreading closer to the 35 acres bought by the Smalls’ great grandfather and largely kept within the bloodline since 1875. The Rev. Elijah Smalls Jr. said he’s heard rumblings about new commercial enterprises entering the frenzy.

If that comes in, that would definitely be the death of the community,” he said.

Some of Smalls’ neighbors may have left, but the pastor says he’s not going anywhere. He built the brick house that sits right off Elijah Smalls Road. He can’t start over at his age, and nearby homes cost too much anyway.

Fred Smalls isn’t moving either. Wearing a black baseball cap with “ARMY” emblazoned in gold, he notes that many original members fought for their own freedom in the 128th Regiment of the US Colored Infantry. Paintings of 19th century African American soldiers hang on his walls.

His Army service took him to Germany, Turkey, Alaska and Oklahoma. But he always knew he’d return.

The blunt and sometimes crass comments ring familiar to many who have watched the difficult transition as women moved into the military’s front line combat jobs. And they paint a disturbing, challenging picture for leaders.

The exhaustive report surveyed more than 5,000 people assigned to Army special operations forces units, including 837 female troops, 3,238 male troops and the rest defense civilians.

It revealed that “the vast majority” of the negative attitudes toward women serving in special operations “unfortunately did come from senior noncommissioned officers. So it does seem to indicate that it is generational,” Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann, the most senior enlisted soldier in the command, said in a call with reporters Monday about the findings.

However, the negative sentiments revealed the 2023 report echo sharp opposition voiced by special operations troops across the services in 2015, when surveyed on whether women should serve in the dangerous commando jobs. Later that year, in a landmark decision, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered all combat jobs open to women.

That change followed three years of study and debate, and reflected a formal recognition that thousands of women had served—and many were wounded or killed—on battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since then, women have made significant strides throughout the military, gaining high level command posts, but the report underscores that significant biases remain.

“I think people’s perspectives change when they interact and see the awesome soldiers that are out there,” said Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, USASOC commander. “I’m talking about personal interactions that I’ve had with female special operations aviators that have performed some of the most daring denied-area-of-penetration rotary wing insertions in history,” Braga said, referring to how special operations pilots carry forces into areas where they are under fire or under threat.

“I don’t think anyone in the back of this helicopter is like, ‘Man, I wish there was a male pilot.’ No, they want them to be an awesome pilot.”

Two years ago, Army special operations leaders ordered a study to identify and eliminate barriers to females serving in their force. USASOC is the first to do this type of study of its specialized force. It’s unclear if other services will do similar reviews.

The Army study focused on women serving in operational roles such as Green Berets, Ranger Regiment, aviation and psychological and civil affairs teams. The study and meetings, however, also included women in a wide array of support jobs such as engineers, mechanics, fuelers and communications and intelligence personnel who work with or sometimes accompany commandos on missions. The recommended changes are designed to benefit all females in the command.

The report, which is only now being released, identified a number of major issues, as female soldiers complained of sexism, isolation, poor-fitting and inadequate equipment, and lack of child care and health care, particularly involving pregnancy. They also expressed an overwhelming belief that they are passed over for jobs that are then given to less qualified men and that they have to do more and be perfect to get respect.

“I have to work hard to prove my excellence, while men have to work hard to prove their mediocrity,” one female soldier said.

Many male soldiers said female soldiers are respected and have the same chance for promotions as men. But the numbers dip when asked if woman have equal skills.

One male soldier dismissed any idea that women were pursuing career goals, saying women asking for special operations assignments “are looking for a husband, boyfriend or attention.” But there also were some who countered that men with negative opinions hadn’t worked with women, and that once they did they would realize their value.

All together there are roughly 2,200 female soldiers in USASOC—or nearly 8% of the 29,000 active duty soldiers. There also are 427 female civilians. Of the 2,200, a bit more than 250 are in what would be considered operational jobs with the Green Berets, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the Ranger Regiment and psychological and civil affairs teams.

Four women have passed the grueling course to become Green Berets, and several are serving in those jobs. Seven females are serving in the Ranger Regiment, which totals about 3,000 soldiers.

The report made 42 recommendations. Several involving increased training and messages to the force to expand awareness of sexual harassment, mentorship, health care and other issues, have been done. Other changes are in progress.

Overall, the report said that gender bias is “deeply embedded” in staffing and equipping the special operations force.

And, it reflected confusion. While there is solid agreement that standards cannot be lowered for females, many interpret that as prohibiting any gender-specific accommodations.

“Women may require different tools than men to perform the same task,” the report said. “A mentality change is necessary to modify the archaic attitude that supplying tools to female service members is an act of accommodation versus simply providing our warfighters with the right tools for the job.”

Key examples are body armor, helmets and rucksacks that are often too big for female soldiers and small-stature men. The Army has been struggling for years to address the body armor problems, and two years ago began distributing short and longer small-sized protective vests and combat shirts designed to better fit women.

The new report, however, said that USASOC has too few of those scalable vests, and efforts to address the helmets and rucksacks are ongoing.

Sexual harassment is a common, but complicated complaint.

While nearly every woman in focus groups said she had experienced sexual harassment, only 30% called it a challenge and very few were willing to report or publicly acknowledge it. According to the report, 25 sexual harassment complaints were filed by female special operations command soldiers between 2016 to 2020.

Women said they fear reprisal and don’t trust commanders to take action because of a “good ol’ boys club.” And female officers said they’re told to develop a “thick skin” so they can survive in a man’s world.

In contrast, male soldiers said that sexual harassment training has made them fear interaction with women because a joke or comment could end their careers.

A P writer Tara Copp contributed to this report.

Female soldiers in Army special operations face rampant sexism, harassment–report

DOST OneLab expands foreign network; adds Vietnam to list

headed by HCMC Laboratory Manager Nguyen Anh Vu and Business Development Manager Pham Thi

Nhan on August 3.

Located at the Saigon Hightech Park, Tan Phu Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chio Minh City, Eurofins has testing services for additives, allergens, amino acids, antibiotics/ veterinary drugs, dioxins, fatty acid profile, genetically modified organism, heavy metals, mycotoxins, nutrition, pesticides, and vitamins.

New Bangon Marawi S&T scholars announced

THE new qualifiers to the Bangon Marawi Program in Science and Technology Human Resource Development (STHRD) were announced recently. A program of the Department of Science and Technology—Science Education Institute (DOSTSEI), the Bangon Marawi scholarship program has 29 new qualifiers and four potential qualifiers.

Upon signing a memorandum of understanding, OneLab will be adding Vietnam’s Eurofins Scientific Sac Ky Hai Dang to its current list of eight international member laboratories—including those in Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and United Arab Emirates. This is in addition to its local network—composed of 16 DOST Regional Standard and Testing Laboratories, seven DOST Research and Development Institute laboratories and 28 non-DOST testing laboratories.

Short for One-stop Laboratory Services for Global Competitiveness, DOST OneLab is a network

of testing and calibration laboratories aimed at ensuring availability and broadening public access to testing and calibration services at a single touchpoint through an IT-based platform.

OneLab uniquely facilitates the seamless laboratory transaction from sample receipt to release of test and calibration results as facilitated by its Referral System.

With this efficient system, customers and stakeholders get the fastest turn-around time and expanded test and calibration offerings in the market.

Admer Rey C. Dablio, registered chemist and the customer

relations officer for the OneLab, said that Philippine stakeholders—such as big companies and micro, small, and medium enterprises—will benefit much from membership of testing and calibration laboratories abroad since not all test parameters are within the capability of local laboratories in the country.

“With the growing demand for testing and calibration services from the industry, we need to expand our reach of network so that we can immediately identify laboratories, which can cater to test and calibration requests needed to ensure raw material and product safety and quality for the purpose of regulations, product

Womenpreneurship at its best through science

By Violy B. Conoza

IN 2020, the whole world was caught unprepared with the onslaught of the killer virus, Covid-19. Who would ever think that amid all the anguish, something good and beautiful is about to happen to a Filipina that would change not only her life but also of those around her?

Monica Sandra Cariño Ronda, 30, sought to turn the tide and took her chances by putting up a business, focusing on unique halal beauty and personal care products.

Born in Dubai to a Jordanian father and a Filipino mother, she is married to journalist Rainier Allan Ronda, her business partner.

From VCO

BEFORE venturing into halal personal care, Ronda was a reseller of virgin coconut oil (VCO) from San Pablo, Laguna. The business was doing good since VCO is in demand for cosmetics, food and body massage, among others.

Their company, Affection8, was registered with the Department of Trade and Industry and soon ventured into importing cosmetics or make up products from the United States.

Online marketing was then booming, prompting her to start posting on social media in May 2020.

Besides VCO, Affection8 carried products like cooking oil, nasal spray and cosmetics.

While her imported cosmetics were doing well, Ronda thought of local products that are on a par in quality with imported ones.

To halal cosmetics via DOST-ITDI

IT came timely when then-Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña announced that the Department of Science and Technology’s Industrial Technology Development Institute’s (DOST-ITDI) halal cosmetics and personal-care products were ready for adoption.

The development of DOST-ITDI’s halal cosmetics and personal care products was pioneered by then-Chief of Standards and Testing Division (STD) Dr. Rosalinda C. Torres, now retired. She was cited as one of the 2019 Asian Scientists 100.

The project was funded by DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Research and Development.

The couple inquired with DOST-ITDI, submitted their letter of intent to adopt the technologies, and later signed a memorandum of agreement on July 29, 2021.

“We thought it is better this way instead of developing the product on our own, which is costly. Besides, we don’t have technical people to do it,” Ronda said.

Technology fees cost them P300,000, or P100,000 each for three halal-compliant products—moisturizing lipstick, moisturizing and whitening soap, and hair growthpromoting shampoo—and training fee of P50,000 for the three products.

The couple’s initial investment for technology fees and halal certification amounted to about P1 million.

Carrying the brand name Shaheen, Affection8 started producing and selling the three halal-compliant products.

“From the very start of our journey DOSTITDI was with us and never left us,” Ronda said. “Their assistance was not confined to the technology only. They even provided training and a list of suppliers to make sure that what we produce comply with halal standards.”

While the Philippines is not a Muslim country, it has a growing market for halal products, especially for cosmetics and personal care.

Affection8 sources other materials abroad—from Nepal, Korea and China— making sure that all their raw materials are halal-certified.

Amid the pandemic, they had to undergo a lot of processes with the Food and Drug Administration for halal certifications which are very costly.

Affection8 started producing in November 2021 with the help of DOST-ITDI’s Rachel Parcon, technology generator, then OIC, now chief of STD.

The company was then eyeing to join the Dubai Expo the following month, but it did not materialize.

They produced 500 pieces each of soap, lipstick and shampoo. But the lipstick and shampoo would be expiring in 12 months, with no knowledge of how to dispose of them.

Failing to join the Dubai expo did not discourage them. But with a twist of faith, they were able to have their own small plant, where they stored their products.

Online shop

ANOTHER positive development: They were invited to join TikTok shop in June 2022.

An online shopper herself, she created her account and received the first order for 40 pieces of soap on July 29, 2022, exactly a year after signing the MOA with DOST-ITDI. While the soaps were sold out, however, the shampoo was not moving. It took a nineyear-old girl, a TikTok user, to jumpstart the shampoo’s sale.

The girl asked if the shampoo helps the hair grow longer. Ronda answered and promoted the benefits of the hair growth-promoting shampoo.

developments and improvements,” Dablio said.

Eurofins Scientific Sac Ky Hai Dang, an accredited laboratory of Vietnam’s Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (Vilas), Bureau of Accreditation, was the first testing laboratory the DOST OneLab Project team visited since the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

DOST OneLab Project Management Team composed of Project Leader and DOST Regional Office

IX Assistant Regional Director Rosemarie S. Salazar and DOSTITDI OneLab Project Coordinator and Quality Manager Admer Rey C. Dablio were welcomed by the Vietnam laboratory executives

It also has invested in modern laboratory facilities in Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho City, and a new laboratory newly opened in Hanoi City.

Eurofins is staffed with qualified technical personnel and offers services on analyses for residues and contaminants: pesticides, antibiotics, mycotoxins, heavy metals; nutritional analyses: vitamin and carbohydrates testing, amino acid profile analysis, fatty acid analysis, lipids, inorganic components.

Other technical personnel are experts in microbiological testing; analysis of agricultural and aquatic products, processed food, animal and poultry feed; environmental monitoring samples: water, air, soil, mud; and inspection and audit services.

Rosemarie C. Señora/S&T Media Service

In no time, the shampoo flew off the shelves!

“It is now our bread and butter,” Ronda beamed.

UAE-certified

AFFECTION8 has improved its production efficiency with upgraded equipment through a loan from the DOST’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (Setup).

As a result, all Shaheen products are Prime United Arab Emirates-certified. The company now produces 3,000 to 4,000 bottles (250ml) of shampoo in five hours, and 100 to 150 pieces of lipstick by hand per day.

For the soap, 20,000 pieces are produced a day for Affection8 by a bigger halalcertified and also DOST-assisted company based in Batangas. They are packed with the Shaheen brand.

Affection8 added more new halal items— Lippy puff lip tint, collagen supplement (Klasik Tita), which is on market test, and keratin conditioner (Keracondi), a match to Shaheen shampoo.

Marketing strategies

WHILE Shaheen products initially found their way in Shopee in January 2022, it was TikTok that paved the way for hot sales. Ronda’s vlogging capitalized on “what makes the products distinct from the rest, what sets them apart.”

Halal products are fast gaining their niche in the market, especially among the millennials and Gen Zs, who are critical in their choices of skin/personal care/ cosmetics.

“Being halal is an added value to our products,” she pointed out. When consumers learn that halal products conform to the highest level of purity, cleanliness and quality, even non-Muslims seek them out.

Affiliates

AFFECTION8 currently has 17,000 affiliates. To help increase their income, Ronda offered them commissions when they get buyers through TikTok.

Looking back, they started with a monthly sale of around P100,000, she shared: “Our sales spiked. This May 2023, we had our highest sale at P2.4 million and last June at P2 million. Take note po. We are on Top 5 on TikTok with the sale of our shampoo.”

Shaheen products are ranked among the top-selling products on TikTok and Shopee.

Distributorship AFFECTION8 now have regional distributors and resellers. While focusing on e-commerce,

they are open to having physical stores in the future.

Regional distributorship is picking up with one in Region XI putting up displays in salons.

Distributors are given 40-percent to 50-percent discount from retail price. An entry fee of P60,000 worth of products of their choice is the only requirement for regional distributors. There is no membership fee.

Distinct from the rest

AFFECTION8 had its share of bashers, recounted Ronda, which they countered by focusing on the products’ attributes— being halal-certified and developed by DOST-ITDI, thus, they have undergone rigorous scientific process.

Noteworthy to mention was Shaheen’s entry in international exhibitions. The soap met the EU standard and qualified for the “European Standard Natural Cosmetics,” enabling the company to join the “BiofachVivaness 2023” exhibition in Europe from February 11 to 17.

Beaming with pride, Ronda said: “Our products were the only cosmetics at the Philippine Pavillion. We were very proud of that.”

In 2024 Shaheen shampoo will also be exhibited having passed the Natural products standards with its surfactant less than 20 percent as per Cosmos, one of the leading certifiers for naturals.

Learnings

RONDA said one of her significant learnings is realizing that time is of the essence. One needs to be up and about early and start the day right.

Being innovative, especially in marketing the products, is very critical, too.

For those wishing to have their own business, her advise: “Do what makes you happy and start early, as in now.”

She added: “I found joy in this endeavor because I’m doing something I love and that makes me happy on my own time, on my own terms.”

How would she define success? “It is being able to create jobs and hire people to help them fend for themselves and their families; and being able to inspire them to be better persons,” she beamed.

Affection8 has 11 regular employees, who, with the company’s positive outlook, were able to overcome the pandemic jitters.

Looking forward

“THERE ’s no turning back,” Ronda quipped. In the next five to 10 years, Affection8 envisions to expand its reach by collaborating with business owners abroad, perhaps with Asean countries that do halal like Malaysia.

She hopes to put up a company in Malaysia, where electricity is cheaper.

As for funds, after paying the initial loan from DOST-Setup that required no interest, Affection8 is applying for another loan to purchase bigger-capacity equipment for expansion.

Overall experience

HEARING Ronda described her womenpreneuship journey and experience was truly heartwarming.

“DOST is different from the other government agencies we have encountered. It has a different culture, and you could get your tax’s worth from the service they provide. They are a big help, not only to us entrepreneurs, but also to others they reach,” she pointed out.

The Bangon Marawi Program STHRD is a scholarship program granted to qualified second year students enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses who were affected by the armed conflict or were displaced from their communities during the Marawi siege in 2017.    The four potential qualifiers are under consideration, pending resubmission of requirements for further evaluation.

A total of 65 students enrolled in priority S&T programs at Mindanao State University-Main Campus, MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology and MSU-Lanao National College of Arts and Trades took the pen-and-paper qualifying examination on March 7 at the MSUMain Campus, Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.

With the aim to uplift the hopes of the youth after the Marawi siege, qualifiers who will avail themselves of the grants will enjoy benefits, including a monthly stipend of P7,000, learning materials and/or connectivity allowance of P10,000 per academic year, among others.

Scholars will be able to benefit from the scholarship for a maximum of four years as a retroactive grant.

DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette Biyo said, “I believe that STEM could create solutions to various societal problems we have today. Thus, while Bangon Marawi Program is here, I encourage all students to grab the opportunity to pursue significant STEM careers and contribute to reviving Marawi.”

Upon completion of their degree programs, scholars should be working in their fields of specialization in the country, ideally in their home regions, for a period equivalent to the length of years in which they enjoyed the scholarship.

The Bangon Marawi Program is one of DOST’s responses to rebuild the human and social infrastructures of Marawi City after the 2017 siege.

Since 2018, the program has provided scholarships for Marawi students enrolled in STEM courses in the undergraduate and graduate levels.

It has already produced 369 graduates with bachelor’s degree, 14 in the master’s program and four PhD scholargraduates.  Jasmin Coleen Intia/ S&T Media Service

CONCEIVED in 2014 in response to the challenge of initiating the harmonization of testing laboratories in the country, the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) OneLab Network has gone a long way. From being a network of laboratories in the country, it is expanding its foreign network that will include Vietnam.

Vietnam’s Eurofins Scientific Sac Ky Hai Dang executives welcome DOST OneLab Project Management Team on August 3. DOST ONELAB NETWORK PHOTO

AFFECTION8 owner Monica Sandra Cariño Ronda with her halal-manufactured Shaheen brand cosmetics and personal care products. DOST-ITDI PHOTO

Pope’s Mongolia visit shows his priorities

According to historian Robert Merrihew Adams, the missionary activity of Nestorian Christians in central Asia from the seventh to the 13th centuries was “the most impressive Christian enterprise” of the Middle Ages because of its rapid spread and influence.

country, according to the Harvard International Review, has been called “Minegolia.”

The United States has made significant investment in Mongolia’s mining industry, and China is a major importer of Mongolian coal.

This will be the pope’s 43rd trip abroad since his election on March 13, 2013: He has visited 12 countries in the Americas, 11 in Asia and 10 in Africa.

What do these visits tell us about this pope’s mission and focus?

As a scholar of Roman Catholicism, I have studied Catholicism’s appeal for immigrants and refugees, and I argue that the pontiff’s official travels since 2013 are part of his decadelong effort to rebrand the Roman Catholic Church as a religious institution that centers the poor.

Prioritizing the poor

WHILE previous popes have included the poor in their speeches, what has distinguished this pope is that he has focused on the Global South and prioritized immigrants, refugees and the less privileged, from Bolivia to Myanmar to Mongolia.

At his July 2013 visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa to commemorate migrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, Francis gave a blistering critique of the world’s failure to care for the poor.

“In this globalized world, we have fallen into globalized indifference. We have become used to the suffering of others: it doesn’t affect me; it doesn’t concern me; it’s none of my business!” he said.

Three years later, the pope flew 12 Syrian Muslim refugees from a Greek refugee camp to Rome. Francis is the first pope to relocate refugees and to work with groups like The Community of St. Egidio charity in Rome that have successfully resettled thousands of refugees.

During my own interviews with Central American Catholic immigrants and refugees in central and eastern Iowa between 2013-2020 for my book, “Meatpacking America,” I heard from women and men who fled violence and poverty in their home nations that they look up to this pope “because he cares about us,” as Fernando said. And Josefina told me back in 2017 that this pope is “the real deal” in terms of supporting immigrants and the poor.

Francis and liberation theology

HIS predecessors—Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict—specifically condemned liberation theology, a philosophy rooted in Catholic social teachings that calls for a preferential option for the poor and an embrace of Marxist ideology.

According to Austen Ivereigh prior to his becoming pope, Francis—then Jorge Mario Bergoglio—condemned liberation theology as well.  He would say “that they were for

the people but never with them,” wrote Ivereigh, in his biography of Pope Francis.

Since his election as pope, however, Francis has undertaken what I call “people-focused” liberationism.

In one of his first official announcements in 2013, “Evangelii Gaudium,” or “The Joy of the Gospel,” the pope wrote about the essential inclusion of the poor in society.

He argued that “without the preferential option for the poor, the proclamation of the Gospel, which is itself the prime form of charity, risks being misunderstood or submerged by the ocean of words which daily engulfs us in today’s society of mass communications.”

In other words, the Gospel’s message that all Christians proclaim doesn’t mean a whole lot if the poor are not central to the goal of personal as well as collective salvation.

Journeying to Mongolia

HOW does the pope’s upcoming visit to Mongolia factor into this decade-spanning trajectory of his people-focused liberation?

Christianity has been present in Mongolia since the seventh century.

Nestorianism, an Eastern branch of Christianity named after the Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius, who lived from 386 C.E. to 451 C.E., coexisted alongside an even older religious practice, shamanism, which emphasized the natural world and dates to the third century.

Nestorians believe that Christ had two natures—one human and one divine.

While Mary was seen as important within Nestorian theology as Christ’s mother, she is not seen as divine.

This is similar to Roman Catholic theology where Mary is deemed special because she is Christ’s mother and worthy of veneration.

Archdiocese discovers saint’s image was switched in 2016

By Patrick V. Miguel

THE Archdiocese of Lingayen initiated a search for a religious statue after discovering that the image of San Jacinto de Polonia was replaced with another one of “later provenance” several years ago.

According to Archbishop Socrated Villegas, the switching of images could have occurred sometime between August 17 and September 23 in 2016.

“I have mandated the parish priest to explore all means to recover the missing image of San Jacinto de Polonia in the parish church,” Villegas said.

Recovering and returning the image of San Jacinto de Polonia is a “demand of Catholic morality,” the Archbishop said.

“We also sin against this commandment by willfully cooperating in the act of taking or keeping stolen objects,” he said.

Edict issued for sainthood process of Laoag girl

ANORTHERN Philippine diocese has issued an edict inviting testimonies about a 13-year-old Filipino girl being pushed for sainthood.

The edict was published on August 16, exactly 30 years after the death of Niña Ruiz-Abad, whose short-lived life was devoted to the Eucharist.

The cause of Abad was set in motion by the Diocese of Laoag, where she spent nearly half of her life and was buried in 1993.

In signing the edict, Bishop Renato Mayugba said that it was in response to a petition from the “God First Association,” which called for the opening of Abad’s cause.”

The edict was read during Sunday Masses in all the parishes of the diocese, asking the people to provide information “of any kind,” whether in favor or contrary to the opening of the diocesan inquiry.

“I invite all of the faithful to provide me useful information regarding the said cause,” Mayugba wrote.

The bishop will then assess the merits of testimonies before deciding whether to accept the petition or not. If the decision is affirmative,

he will request the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints for the nihil obstat (nothing hinders), paving the way for the official diocesan investigation on Abad’s life.

In July, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) agreed to support the

introduction of Abad’s cause.

The documentation from the diocesan inquiry will be sent to the dicastery for saints’ causes, which will review the gathered information.

If the Vatican adheres to the findings of the diocesan tribunal, it will issue the “Decree of Validity.” From this, a Relator will be appointed to guide the Postulator in the writing of the “Positio,” the official report of the Cause.

The writing, in most cases, will take years. This report will be reviewed by Vatican theologians and cardinals.

Once approved, it is presented to Pope Francis for the “Decree of Heroic Virtues.” Only then will Abad become “Venerable.”

The next steps would involve beatification and canonization, both of which require proof of miracles attributed to her intercession. CBCP

Adams argues that Nestorianism’s spread was in part because of its belief that Christ was a two-natured individual—one divine and one human. These two natures in one body meshed well with preexisting shamanic beliefs, as shamanism sees individuals as able to harness the supernatural.

In addition to this branch of Eastern Christianity, Tibetan Buddhism came to Mongolia in the 13th century, as did Islam.

Today, Buddhism is the dominant religion of Mongolia, while Islam and Christianity remain very small percentages at 3 percent and 2.5 percent.

Pope Francis has made it clear throughout his tenure that interfaith dialogue is an essential remedy to division. During his visit he will preside over an interfaith gathering and the opening of a Catholic charity house.

Strategic visit

THE past decade has brought rapid urbanization and growth in major cities, such as the capital of Ulaanbaatar, along with high rates of unemployment and Covid-era economic downturn.

And yet, according to the World Bank, the economic forecast for Mongolia remains “promising” because of its rich natural resources, such as gold, copper, coal and other minerals.

However, extraction of Mongolia’s resources is occurring at a rapid pace—so much so that the

Two rail lines connecting Mongolia to China were installed in January 2022 and a third is being built.

In the past, Francis has made strong comments against corruption and environmental degradation, and it would not be surprising if he addressed the challenges of the mining industry during his trip.

During his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023, he critiqued the Global North that contributed to “the poison of greed” that has “smeared its diamonds with blood.”

In 2018, the pope spent a few hours in Madre de Dios, an area in the Peruvian Amazon, where mining has led to large-scale environmental degradation.

The pope’s visit will be bold given the challenges before Mongolia and its geographic location between Russia and China.

A peace delegation on behalf of Pope Francis for the war in Ukraine, led by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, that visited Russia this summer is likely to head to China in the coming months.

As Italian Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, a missionary in Mongolia for two decades, has emphasized, Pope Francis’s visit to this country with a tiny minority of Catholics will “manifest the attention that the [pope] has for every individual, every person who embarks in this journey of faith.” Kristy Nabhan-Warren, University of Iowa/The Conversation (CC) via AP

Church saddened by death of DMW chief Toots Ople

THE Catholic Church’s migrants commission on Wednesday expressed grief over the death of Susan “Toots” Ople, the secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers.

“We lost a hero,” said Bishop Ruperto Santos, vice chairman of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP-ECMI).

“It is a sad news, a very sad occasion especially for our OFWs [overseas Filipino workers]. Her heart is completely for them. Her whole life is for our country,” he said.

The labor rights advocate passed away on Tuesday aged 61.

Ople was the first secretary of the DMW, a government agency formed last year to protect the rights and promote the welfare of about two million OFWs.

She was the daughter of Blas F. Ople, a former Labor and Foreign Affairs secretary, and Senate president.

With a heart for the OFWs, Susan Ople founded the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute (Ople Center) in 2004, a nongovernment organization focused

on helping OFWs and combatting human trafficking.

The cause of her death was not immediately clear but the DMW said it would be releasing more details soon.

News reports say she was already in remission from breast cancer when she was appointed as DMW head in 2022.

A B usiness M irror obituary said Ople sought for a two-week leave on July 25 after her two elder brothers—Blas V. Ople Jr. and former Hagonoy Mayor Felix “Toto” Jr.—died five days apart last June to grieve and be with members of her family “while also looking after her own wellness needs” as she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Santos added Ople had “served well doing all sacrifices for the best of our nation and utmost welfare of our people.”

“Her legacy as of her father, Blas, lives on,” Santos said.

“We, at CBCP-ECMI, pray and offer our Holy Masses for her eternal rest. We are one with our OFWs and her family in this moment of sorrow and bereavement,” he also said.

and

POPE Francis’s upcoming visit to Mongolia on August 31, which is home to fewer than 1,500 Catholics, has elicited curiosity among Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

THE Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan says the original image (left) of San Jacinto de Polonia in the parish of San Jacinto in Pangasinan province was switched with a replica approximately seven years ago. ARCHDIOCESE OF LINGAYEN-DAGUPAN

News

FILE photo of Niña Ruiz-Abad. DIOCESE OF LAOAG

POPE Francis meets a group of people from Burkina Faso, during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican on August 23. AP/ANDREW MEDICHINI

Asean Champions of Biodiversity

Media Category 2014

Biodiversity Sunday

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Creating space for plastic waste economy

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

AMAJOR contributor to ocean plastic

pollution, the Philippines is struggling to combat the perennial garbage problem owing to the failure of various sectors to comply with Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

The law promotes proper waste segregation to reduce, reuse and recycle for appropriate disposal in an engineered sanitary landfill.

Its poor enforcement by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), compelled Congress to enact Republic Act 11898, or the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022, which now passes the responsibility of recovering waste to a large-scale manufacturing company to curb ocean plastic pollution.

NSWMC is composed of various national government agencies, led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and with compliance by concerned local government units (LGUs), Plastic waste producer

THE Philippines generates 61,000 metric tons of solid waste daily, 12 percent to 24 percent of which is plastic waste.

Worse, Filipinos use more than 163 million p lastic sachet packets, 48 million shopping bags and 45 million thin-film bags daily.

Thirty-three percent of these is disposed of in landfills and dumpsites, and around 35 percent is leaked into the open environment and oceans.

According to a 2021 World Bank Market Study for the “Philippine Plastic Circularity Opportunities and Barriers: East Asia and Pacific Region Maritime Plastics Series,”

0.8 million tons of plastics are disposed of yearly, with about 28 percent of key plastic resins being recycled.

Still, a majority of the material value of plastics is lost to the Philippine economy each year, equivalent to a value loss of $790 million to $890 million.

Threat to marine biodiversity

OCEAN plastic pollution is now considered a serious threat to marine biodiversity.

Marine tur tles and other large marine mammals inadvertently ingest plastic, which they often mistake for food, resulting in the animals’ untimely demise.

Plastic pollution also adversely affects corals, which are essential species-building ecosystems along with seagrass and mangroves.

Broken into microscopic pieces, plastics are also ingested by fish and other seafood, eventually posing a serious threat to the human health and well-being that eat them.

Private sector help

AS the DENR aggressively promotes compliance with the EPR Act and moves to make waste recycling inclusive for the waste pickers, it is now getting the muchneeded boost from the private sector,

specifically in waste recovery to prevent them from reaching the ocean and worsen ocean plastic pollution.

Plastic Bank empowers the social recycling movement to stop ocean plastic pollution and help alleviate poverty.

Empowering communities

THE group has partnered with communities that act as collection agents to facilitate the exchange of plastic waste as currency for income and life-improving benefits, such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, health insurance, digital connectivity and financial technology services.

The collected materials are processed into social plastic feed stock for reuse in products and packaging, helping create a new life for old plastics.

Plastic Bank currently operates in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In the Philippines , it has gathered 19.7 million kilograms of plastic waste, or 989 million equivalent plastic bottles.

It has a total of 7,950 collection agents from the Philippines.

Globally, Plastic Bank has over 600 collection branches, and more than a third, or 216, are in the Philippines—scattered

all over Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Zambales and Naga.

Profound impact

AS a way of giving back to its partners from the communities in the country, David Katz, founder of Plastic Bank, went to pay Philippine collectors a visit from August 14 to 17.

Visited were individual collectors to whom Katz demonstrated selflessness, compassion and dedication to their families and their communities.

“Our collection members are making a profound impact on our planet and our communities with each day they spend on preventing plastic from entering the ocean,” he said.

During his visit, Katz surprised select individuals by offering financial assistance to fulfill their aspirations.

Creating space for plastics

INTERVIEWED via Zoom on August 17, Katz said Plastic Bank recognizes that 80 percent of plastics entering the oceans are coming

ACB, MPIC renew partnership for biodiversity conservation

THE Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) have recently renewed ties to boost biodiversity conservation efforts through various programs and activities.

The renewal of the partnership extends joint activities and collaboration in the next three years.

Under the partnership agreement, which was signed during the recently concluded Asean Biodiversity Heroes Forum in Manila last August 11, ACB and MPIC committed to working further to mainstream the values of biodiversity and implement joint programs and activities for ecosystem restoration.

“We are happy to work side-by-side with MPIC as one of our private sector partners in championing biodiversity

conservation in the country and in the whole of Asean. This partnership renewal is not just a recognition of the successes of our previous collaboration, but this speaks a lot about the effectiveness of our work in integrating biodiversity across various sectors,” said Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, ACB executive director.

During the initial partnership forged in 2021, ACB and MPIC jointly implemented regional conservation initiatives, such as the Asean Green Initiative, the seventh Asean Heritage Parks (AHP) Conference, business and biodiversity dialogues, and the Asean Biodiversity Heroes recognition program.

MPIC is also supporting Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, one of the 55 AHPs in the region, through its Shore It Up! Project.

AHPs are protected areas in the region that were recognized for their rich biological resources and effective management. The ACB serves as the secretariat of the AHP program.

These activities resulted in increasing biodiversity awareness and inspiring meaningful actions and synergies among youths, private, and public sectors; the protection of around 5,300 mangroves in the country, and the improvement of the flora and fauna among the Asean member states that eventually contributed to ecosystems restoration and coastal and marine conservation.

“Being a business involved in essential services, MPIC has embraced a holistic approach in doing sustainability. We underscore the importance of protecting nature and the environment and it is important for us

to partner with ACB since we have been doing many good initiatives together,” said June Cheryl Cabal-Revilla, chief financial officer and chief sustainability officer of MPIC.

“Renewing our partnership is a testament to our commitment in supporting and in participating in many initiatives so we can collectively protect nature and have a good future for everyone,” Cabal-Revilla added.

The signing of the partnership renewal instrument was led by Lim and Cabal-Revilla, in the presence of Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, who is one of the recognized Asean Biodiversity Heroes, the highest distinction given to Asean citizens with outstanding contributions to biodiversity conservation in the region.

Jonathan L. Mayuga

Spotless giraffe born at Tennessee zoo

AGIRAFFE without spots at a Tennessee zoo may be plain, but she’s definitely not ordinary.

The female reticulated giraffe was born July 31 at the family-owned Brights Zoo in Limestone, a rural community in northeastern Tennessee.

David Bright, one of the zoo’s owners, said the plain brown animal is a rarity: Research found another giraffe that was born without a pattern in Tokyo in 1972 and two others before that. The spots serve as camouflage for giraffes in the wild.

The yet-unnamed baby is healthy and on display at the 103-acre zoo along with her mother, he said.

The zoo took the unusual step of posting about the giraffe on its Facebook page in an effort to help conservation efforts, Bright said.

“We generally do not post really any babies in the zoo but with this being such a unique situation, we knew that it would bring a lot of attention to giraffes, which would help us point people in the right direction of ‘hey, here’s how you can help giraffes in the wild,’” he said.

The number of animals in the wild have declined in recent decades, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. There were about 155,000 giraffes in Africa in the 1980s compared to about 117,000 today.

“We believe that giraffe numbers have dropped by about 30 percent in the last 30 to 35 years, however, we also see that conservation efforts are making a difference,” foundation Director Stephanie Fennessy said in a statement.

Along with asking the public to help pick a name for the animal, the zoo is also asking people to consider donating to conservation efforts.

“We want to ensure that future generations get the opportunity to see these wonderful animals in the future,” the post reads.

Proposed names for the baby include Kipekee, which means unique; Firali, which means unusual; Shakiri, which means most beautiful; or Jamella, which means great beauty.

Votes will be tallied on September 4 and the new name announced. Rebecca Reynolds Associated Press

Facilitating commitments

LIKE other players, he said Plastic Bank will play a significant part so that organizations can facilitate their commitments to be able to substantiate the return of the volume of materials that they are putting into the environment, to create the space for recycled content to be used locally as well.

The EPR law, he said, also plays a significant role for the chief executive officer of a large corporation, whose duty is to shareholders first, substantiating that they must do nothing to compromise the return to the shareholders.

from areas of poverty.

In the Philippines , Plastic Bank’s role is to create a space for every piece of plastic, every piece of material, and its value is revealed in a manner that people don’t throw it away.

“We talked about cleaning the oceans. To keep the ocean clean, from needing to be cleaned to begin with,” he said.

A good law, a good start

ACCORDING to Katz, the EPR law is a very good start.

“It is a very strong headway as we find in many countries,” he said.

W hile he said it is not a perfect law, he quickly said that the perfect is sometimes the enemy if you’re good enough.

He said implementing the law, nevertheless, will help create the space for additional enforcement.

Katz said turning garbage into gold is all part of improving solid waste management.

“It’s all part of it. T he law, of course, is important. T he ability to execute the law is critically important as well,” he said.

“The EPR law now gives us space for the CEO to commit to doing what is right in the world as well. So the compromise of shareholder return is justified. It gives the legal space for public corporations to do what is right,” he said.

Dollar earning opportunity

COLLECTING plastic waste, according to Katz, is a dollar-earning opportunity as well.

He cited that Plastic Bank has a variety of processing partners that prepare the materials they collect for export.

“We are providing a space for those processors to export the materials and receive dollars as well,” he said.

Giving the poor self-worth

MORE importantly, Katz said Plastic Bank provides an opportunity for the waste pickers to have a purpose—and be part of something big.

Ha ving peace of mind as they earn or make money, keep earnings in a bank book, and wear a uniform while at work makes them feel proud.

“ They can walk with heads high because they know they are part of something,” he said, adding that having a feeling of self-worth is something Plastic Bank is also proud of.

GENEVA—A new scientific study published Thursday suggests the world should start preparing to protect the ecosystems that emerge from under the disappearing ice, as a warming planet is inevitably causing glaciers to melt.

If nothing is done to stop global warming, the world could lose glaciers totalling the size of Finland by 2100.

Even a best-case scenario—if the targets of the Paris Agreement to stop climate change are met—foresees glacier shrinkage the size of Nepal, according to the study published in the scientific journal Nature.

The analysis from Swiss and French scientists adds to worries about glacier melt and a growing call to step up efforts to protect the planet from climate change.

In their research, the scientists say humans have grown to live with glaciers for millennia, and the worrying retreat of the ice cover—currently amounting to 10 percent of the Earth’s land surface—will require both action to stop it and adaptation for its impact.

Glaciers play a key role on the planet, by reflecting sunlight or providing fresh water for irrigation, power generation and consumption, says study co-author JeanBaptiste Bosson, a French-Swiss glacier expert with the National Council for the Protection of Nature in Annecy, France.

He said work is being done to slow down the retreat of glaciers, though it won’t be “decisive” in saving them.

“But after the glaciers [melt] not everything is lost,” Bosson said in an interview.

“We especially need to protect the nature that will follow the glaciers: we need to protect the forests of tomorrow, the great lakes of tomorrow, the great fjords of tomorrow,” he explained.

The areas where glaciers once were will be “degraded” when the ice melts, Bosson said, adding that nature should be left to do its work.

“There is a chance for ecosystems to rebound if we leave them space and time... nature itself will find solutions: It will capture carbon, purify fresh water, create habitats for biodiversity.”

Glacier retreat hit unprecedented high levels in Europe last year, especially in Switzerland.

The team behind the Nature study analyzed some 210,000 glaciers on Earth, not including the gigantic Greenland and

Antarctic ice sheets, and found that glaciers covered some 665,000 square kilometers, about the size of Afghanistan, in 2020.

Depending on the different scenarios, which the experts slice up from worst-case to best-case, the world could lose between roughly 149,000 square kilometers to some 339,000 square kilometers, by 2100. The team accounts for possible statistical variance. The loss could be much larger.

“Melting glaciers have become icons of climate change. People are mostly worried about the impact glacier melt will have on sea-level rise, seasonal water availability, and geohazards,” said Prof. Ben Marzeion, of the Institute of Geography at Germany’s University of Bremen.

“This study shows that there is more we need to be prepared for. It also shows that we are still in the process of uncovering the multitude of impacts climate change will have,” said Marzeion, who was not involved in the research.

Twila Moon, deputy lead scientist at the US National Snow and Ice Center, laid out the challenges that policy-makers will face as landscapes change with glacier retreat.

“There is no question that ice loss around the world is a serious issue, from influencing water availability to raising our sea levels,” Moon, who wasn’t involved in the study, said in an e-mail.

“This research highlights another impact—the uncovering of new land as glaciers shrink,” she said.

“Glacier retreat can cause increasing hazards, like the outburst flood that destroyed homes in Juneau earlier this summer, or change water availability for drinking and crops,” Moon wrote.

“We must plan ahead while also work hard to reduce heat-trapping gas emissions and limit future damage,” she said.

Bosson says that r ecord high temperatures reached this year in the northern hemisphere are producing worrisome outcomes that could have an even greater impact in the future—though not all data is in yet.

“We try to tell the story of the future of the surfaces today occupied by glaciers on Earth,” he said in a video call from the French Alpine town of Annecy.

“Then we ask: Will tomorrow still see big glaciers, or smaller glaciers depending on the climate scenarios?” Bosson said.

Jamey Keaten/Associated Press

DAVID KATZ visits one of Plastic Bank’s successful collectors in Rodriguez, Rizal, on August 17. PLASTIC BANK PHOTO

As glaciers melt, new study seeks protection of ecosystems that emerge

Editor: Jun Lomibao

New boxing body adds six

more members

LOS ANGELES—Six more national boxing federations have joined a new organization seeking to replace the embattled International Boxing Association (IBA) as the sport’s governing body at the Olympic level.

The federations representing Germany, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Honduras and Sweden announced their affiliation with World Boxing on Thursday, giving the group 12 members. The federations of the US, Britain, England, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands formally founded the group in April.

World Boxing is attempting to gather enough support and credibility to replace the IBA, which was stripped of Olympic recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in June.

The IBA and its Russian president, Umar Kremlev, have been at odds with the IOC for years.

The IOC suspended the IBA, then known as AIBA, back in 2019 over concerns about its finances, governance and competition credibility. The IOC appointed a task force to run the boxing competition at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and a similar task force will run the competition in Paris next year.

By Lito Cinco Special to BusinessMirror

PEOPLE get involved in sports for various  reasons, a lot of them common ones with different results.

For 75-year-old  bowling legend Olivia “Bong” Coo, it was for an uncommon reason that she got into sports, she was then 21 with two kids, a college undergraduate and, unfortunately, just separated from her husband whom she married at 17.

Worried about her seemingly rudderless life with nothing to do, her siblings Del and Elanio, who got into bowling ahead of her, convinced their mom to try the sport for therapy— Bong, Coo’s nickname, wasn’t new to sports, she was into softball and volleyball in high school.  She did try the alley and the rest is history.

Coo emerged as the country’s most successful athlete. Her career that spanned  30 years arguably could never be equaled. Her achievements are just too many to detail. On record, she has 137 tournament victories and as a national athlete, has brought home 78 medals, 37 of them gold.

She owns four world championship trophies—all events and doubles AMF Bowling World Cup and world championships champion in 1979 and 1983, besides winning three gold medals at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok.

A nd at 60 and 64 years old in 2008 and 2012, she still won two seniors titles and up to now, still manages to do recreational bowling.

W ith those achievements, it follows that her awards and recognition are a lot, coming from practically all local and international

OLIVIA ‘BONG’ COO: TRUE SPORTSWOMAN

bowling and sports organizations.

B ut what Coo treasures most are the awards and recognition given her by international bowling bodies especially the title as one of the greatest international bowlers of all time and World Bowler of the Year in 1986.

Coo, too, was one of the first inductees in the International Bowling Hall of Fame.

She prides herself as being the first Filipino athlete recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for her back-to-back and recordbreaking effort in the FIQ World Championships in Manila in 1979 and in Venezuela four years later.

T hese two events, Coo said, are the most memorable in her storied career.

I feel so blessed in life and looking back, I won’t change anything at all if given the opportunity,” said Coo, now a commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission. “Actually I did not realize then that I had won that many, all I was thinking each time I compete was to win for the country and for my children because I wanted them to be proud of me.”

Coo said her appointment at the PSC is the Mt. Everest of her life, a fitting finale for a career that saw her

rise from being an athlete, a coach and now a sports administrator at the highest level.

Being a former athletes, we in the [PSC] board all think alike, and now we are working more with the different national sports associations, discussing their plans and programs,” said Coo, now a grandmother to six and great grandmother to two.

“ There’s much work to do, particularly on a grassroots sports program,” she said.

She wants to leave a legacy in her own sport while she’s in the PSC.

I believe one reason why bowling declined after our glory years in the late 1970s and 1980s was the lack of a bowling center for our athletes,” she said. “My plan is to build a modern and high-tech 2-story center at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.”

Coo envisions a bowling center with 14 to 16 lanes on both floors with the second floor dedicated to national team members.

Science now plays a major role in the success of athletes, maybe I could have even been a better athlete had I enjoyed what current bowlers now enjoy in terms of equipment and facilities,” she said.

But she also acknowledged that success in sports goes beyond equipment.

“ During my time, I wanted to learn everything that would help me win, I was never complacent,” she said. “When I played with American professional bowlers there for training, I would score 230s, enough for me to win here.”

But there, I would see them score in the 270s regularly. I made a lot of sacrifices for the game, practicing every day at times until midnight,” she said. “No social life, no parties.”

She added: “There’s the willingness to endure pain and I would say my commitment and passion for bowling resulted from two things I believe  made me succeed— discipline and dedication.”

Coo said distractions are aplenty these days, things athletes don’t need.

“ Present day athletes have too many distractions and they need to have a deeper sense of commitment and discipline,” she said.

She acknowledged the influence of her coaches—besides her two brothers—including Japanese Madoka Amano.

“ I remember Toti Ponce Enrile teaching me how to focus during games by looking down and not minding the crowd,” she said. “He taught me that I should not be satisfied by just winning, that was the time I set new records in Caracas.”

Vingegaard-Roglic tandem ride in Evenepoel’s way in Vuelta

BARCELONA, Spain—Remco

Evenepoel could hardly face a tougher lineup of challengers to his Spanish Vuelta title defense when the three-week race begins in Barcelona on Saturday.

The Belgian leader of SoudalQuickstep will be up against one of the best collections of talent that the Vuelta has attracted in years.

Evenepoel’s biggest threat will likely come from the super strong Jumbo-Visma team, which is bringing two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard and theetime Vuelta champion Primoz Roglic Evenepoel skipped the Tour this year after withdrawing during the Giro d’Italia due to a positive Covid-19 test. But he arrives on a high after winning the time trial world championship this month. In 2022, he won the road race world championship two weeks after his Vuelta title.

I n last year’s Vuelta, Evenepoel took the red leader’s jersey on Stage 6 of 21 and never let it go. Roglic was poised to push Evenepoel for the title until the Slovenian crashed and had to pull out. The title made Evenepoel the first Belgian to win a grand tour race since 1978.

“ It will be quite special to return at La Vuelta with bib No. 1 on my back,” Evenepoel said. “If you look

THE super strong Jumbo-Visma team is bringing two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard (right) and three-time Vuelta champion Primoz Roglic

over the course and the start list, you can see it’s going to be a very tough race, but I had a good preparation and can rely on a strong squad, so I have a lot of confidence and motivation.”

The opening stage is a team time trial in Barcelona. The race turns south before finishing in the mountainous north. As usual, it features lots of climbs, with 10 stages finishing atop summits. Riders can be grateful that a heatwave scorching

the Iberian Peninsula is forecast to abate this weekend.

The only individual time trial comes on Stage 10 in the central city of Valladolid. Stage 13 will cross into France to ascend the Col du Tourmalet, a classic climb for the Tour. The climb to the Alto de l’Angliru on Stage 18 could be key, before the race’s longest stage, a 208-kilometer (129-mile) trek on the penultimate stage in the hills outside Madrid.

Permanently in the shadow of the Tour, the Vuelta will bask in the promise of some great duels. The winners of the last three grand tours will be vying to finish first in Spain’s capital on September 17. The biggest names missing the Vuelta are twotime Tour winner Tadej Pogačar and former Giro winner Richard Carapaz.

The tandem of Vinegaard and Roglic, backed by their experienced Jumbo-Visma teammates, arguably gives the Dutch outfit the edge over Evenepoel’s Soudal-Quickstep.

Jumbo-Visma is one step away from an unprecedented team sweep of all three grand tours in the same year after Roglic won the Giro d’Italia in May and Vinegaard repeated as the Tour champion in July.

“It is an ambitious goal that we dare to declare, and for which we can field a very versatile and strong eight-man squad in Spain,” Jumbo-Visma sports director Marc Reef said. “We are ready for anything with this team.”

Reef said Roglic and Vinegaard were both team leaders, so one subplot will be to see who can establish himself as the best positioned to win. Roglic will be trying to reclaim his title and match Roberto Heras’ record of four Vuelta victories. Vinegaard is riding his first Vuelta since 2020, when he supported Roglic. AP

“ I had an American coach, Pam Buckner, in the 1981 SEA [Southeast Asian] Games here, my Indonesian opponent kept on hitting strikes in the finals, and I was asking my coach when will it stop. What she told me stuck in my mind—that I should not want her to stop but instead, match her strike for strike,” she said. Summing up Coo’s life is the true measure of what sports can do for a person—the sacrifices, fame and perks. But without the kind of passion she had for sports, it would not have come to pass.

World Boxing said its 12 members have agreed to several standards of conduct, including transparent elections for their leadership, the adoption of prominent anti-doping standards and formal recognition by their own nations’ Olympic committees.

World Boxing will hold its inaugural Congress in November, said Simon Toulson, the group’s Secretary General. “ Becoming a member takes time, as it is a detailed and meticulous process to ensure that a national federation is suitable for our organization,” Toulson added.

“We are receiving more and more interest and requests from national federations and boxing organizations to join World Boxing on a weekly basis and currently have a number of applications from those wanting to join or going through the membership application process.”

The IBA has remained defiant since it was suspended from recognition four years ago, claiming serious flaws in the IOC’s evaluation of its operations. AP

King’s push for equal prize money in 1973 being felt at US Open

NEW YORK—When Billie Jean King won the US Open in 1972, she didn’t make the usual remarks about hoping to win again. Instead, she threatened to not play at all the next year—and added that no other women would, either.

Th at’s because she earned $10,000 for her championship, $15,000 less than what Ilie Năstase won for his.

I said: ‘This really stinks,’” King recalled Thursday. “And, of course, deep down in my heart of hearts, in my brain, I’m going, ‘I haven’t talked to them yet. You sure you’re doing the right thing here?’ This is the other voice in my head: ‘What if they don’t agree with you on this? I think they do, because we talk about it all the time, but we didn’t talk about this move.’ And so I said, ‘The heck with it. I don’t think we’ll be back.’”

Th at led the US Tennis Association (USTA) to make the 1973 US Open the first sporting event to offer equal prize money to female and male competitors. The 50th anniversary of that seminal moment will be celebrated this year during the Grand Slam tournament staged at the facility that now bears King’s name.

We might take that for granted now, but the USTA was so far ahead of the rest of the sports world and society in 1973,” said Stacey Allaster, who in 2020 became the first female US Open tournament director. “Simply no question that Billie’s courage and her leadership...opened the door for me.”

K ing was aware of a survey that had been conducted at the US Open around that time showing that women’s players enjoyed more popularity than even they suspected. However, she believed that didn’t matter unless they were given the same paychecks, so she took it upon herself to seek out sponsors she hoped would make up the $15,000 difference.

If I can bring in the money, then how are they going to say no?” King thought.

Bristol Myers Squibb told her it

BILLIE JEAN KING’S advocacy decades ago is now a reality. AP wanted to pay the entire sum, and it was announced that summer that both the men’s and women’s US Open champions would receive $25,000. Th is year, the winners will each receive $3 million, with total player compensation rising to $65 million. Tennis players accounted for seven of the 10 highest-paid women’s athletes in 2022, according to Forbes.

I think the presentation of the sport and equal prize money being secured 50 years ago has come a long way as to why women in tennis have achieved what they’ve achieved,” said Lew Sherr, the executive director of the USTA.

The WTA Tour was also formed in 1973, the same year King went on to beat Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” which remains the mostwatched tennis match in history.

Equal pay came much later in the other Grand Slam tournaments, but King sees things speeding up now in women’s sports. She just returned from the Women’s World Cup in Australia, played to large crowds and huge local TV ratings, and is an investor in multiple professional teams and events.

E arlier this year, the Women’s Tennis Association announced plans to soon  increase the pay  at some high-profile tournaments to the same as the men. AP

OLIVIA “BONG” COO with the medals she won at the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games then and now fulfills her task as commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission. PHOTOS COURTESY OF PSC AND ARIS GARCIA

Wealth, social class impact hoW Gen Zs plan their future

OUT OF NOWHERE PLAYERTWO and their happy accident

By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto

WHAT’S your happy accident?

For the alternative hip-hop group PLAYERTWO, it’s the way the five of them met, which led to writing and producing the songs in their first album, HAPPY ACCIDENTS Vol. 1, launched last August 18.

In this 8-track album, which they suggested listening to chronologically, PLAYERTWO introduces who they are with “P2 ENERGY,” parades their strength and confidence with “HDYF” and showcases their kinetic prowess with the energetic bop, “SHOWER MUSIC.”

The boys are at that age where all sorts of emotions are felt when you’re madly in love with someone, and those feelings are perfectly captured in their songs “THINKIN OF LOVE,” their viral hit “THAT’S MY BABY,” “TIKTIKTOKIN,” and “WHAT’S ON MY MIND.” The album is concluded with the mellow beats of “CHASING KITES,” which evokes a sense of nostalgia and just being back to the good old days.

A new player

What sets PLAYERTWO apart from other hip-hop groups is their sound, which they envisioned as fun and fresh. Labeling themselves as an alternative hip-hop group, Ivo noted, “We would like to not box ourselves in that genre,” and they would mix and match different genres.

“Sometimes there’d be guitars, alludes of punk or new metal, sometimes jazz. That’s what we want—to always keep going and keep pushing out to be a different sound in the industry in hiphop,” Ivo pointed out.

“We’re really different individually pero we have common interests and mindsets when it comes to producing art,” Ken commented on their chemistry as a group.

Every time they have a session in the studio, they will never expect what kind of music they’ll end up with, Luke added, owing their collective sound to their approach in arrangements.

met Wave P, Ven, and Ken at an event in Davao called “We Out Here,” and Ken shared Wave P “fell in love” with the duo’s music and wanted them to all work together.

Ivo recalled Wave P sliding into his Instagram DMs, “At first it was just going to be a collab, then we did a song and then did another and another.” On October 2022, they became PLAYERTWO after just one session together.

The way they met, Ven said, was a “piece of luck,” and even the album covers, Wave P added, were not planned. All these are not mistakes, but rather, happy accidents.

Luke shared he drew inspiration from Bob Ross’s famous quote, “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents,” and has been keeping it since 2020, even before PLAYERTWO happened.

Publisher :

Editor-In-Chief :

Concept :

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Contributing Writers :

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Tony M. Maghirang, Rick Olivares, Patrick Miguel

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John Eiron R. Francisco

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PLAYERTWO is composed of five members, namely, Wave P, Luke April, and Ivo Impreso, as rappers and producers, with creative directors Ven Villariza and DJ PUHKEN all hailing from Davao.

When asked by SoundStrip if their songs were products of “happy accidents,” Ivo agreed and cited “HDYF,” which was made in between making a different song. He further elaborated on their songwriting process: “A lot of songs there is just out of nowhere, accidentally, and we just went with it. We went where it took us.”

Coming from the South, the group also incorporates Visayan verses in their songs, Wave P shared, “There’s a lot of Bisaya elements in our whole album. It’s our way of representing [the] Visaya[s] and Davao.”

They don’t make mistakes

ORIGINALLY a duo with just Ivo and Luke in February 2022, Ivo told SoundStrip that they met in their school’s Battle of the Bands and that Luke thought of the name PLAYERTWO. A few months later, they

From making themselves known in Davao’s thriving music scene to being heard in all regions through their viral song “THAT’S MY BABY,” PLAYERTWO was able to land a record deal with Warner Music Philippines.

Masterminds

WITH over 27 million plays on Spotify and used on almost a thousand videos on TikTok, Wave P, who works in digital marketing, revealed it’s all planned, equipped with a hook and call to action. They would post their songs on TikTok every day, with the texts “Posting this song until someone will notice” and “POV: You just found the next upcoming artist of the Philippines.”

Like manifestations, the statements worked. “Someone did notice,” Ivo said, and all of them chorused, “a lot.”

Admitting they don’t often use TikTok, they thanked Wave P for pushing them to do it.

Owing to their consistency too, Ken said they’re lucky that Cong TV, one of the top Filipino YouTubers, noticed them and asked if he could use their song in one of his vlogs.

“Next thing you know, people were like, ‘Is this artist international?’ akala nila Korean or si Lany after kasi non, nagspike,” Ken beamed.

They still post TikTok videos every day, this time with the caption “Posting this until it goes international.”

Taking it one step at a time, PLAYERTWO declared that’s where they want to go. Ken mused, “Hindi naman kami nagmamadali eh, basta we know na we’ll be getting there sometime soon.”

PLAYER Two (Photo by Reine Juvierre S. Alberto/BM)

BREAKING TRADITION

Dear Dahlia and their different brand of OPM

By John Eiron R. Francisco

yung song without understanding it, it’s a danceable song, but yun pala, malungkot ‘yung meaning niya.”

In an interview with SoundStrip during the press conference, the members of Dear Dahlia shared their thoughts on the OPM Industry as well as on their single’s release and their aspirations for the future .

“For the OPM industry, we are aiming for the same vibe and career but we’re trying to baliin[break] the tradition. We’re trying to create different music but still nasa line pa rin sya ng OPM,” Christian shared.

Adding Mark’s perspective on how people will remember their band, “We represent ourselves not only in our music, but how we present ourselves, like kasama na rin sa amin yung branding, from the themes of the songs na kailangang gawin."

And he believes that people can truly relate to them since their music talks about different seasons of emotions and the way they see things differently.

That’s singer-actor Mark Oblea talking about how his indie pop-rock band, Dear Dahlia, got their name. During a recent press conference that also served as their launching pad for their debut hit single, “Malabo” under Universal Records, Oblea is joined by fellow guitarist Christian La Guardia and drummer Keann Barsaga.

Although the trio attempted to add another member for their band, the plan did not materialize and they eventually signed a recording contract with Universal Records Philippines as a three-piece act.

A lot of band names were also put into consideration, but they collectively agreed to name their band, Dear Dahlia, after a delicate flower that symbolizes both the fragility and resilience of the human spirit.

Adding that Dahlia suits as their band name as it reflects their connection to people, family, and emotions.

“Basically, it’s a message and letter to the people,” Mark said.

Together they are ready to share songs

about life and love as they blend infectious hooks and energetic rhythms of pop-rock modern indie-pop sensibilities.

The track they recently released is a song that talks about the gloomy feeling of unrequited love as you wait for that person to reciprocate the attention and affection you’ve been giving even though the chances are slim.

“o’ giliw ko / maghihintay sa’yo kahit malabo / sabihin mo / ika’y magbabalik kahit malabo”

Mark recalled how he was able to write the song. “So one quiet night, I’m just missing someone, na I know malabong bumalik agad ‘cause she’s out of town. Wala lang I just felt alone that night, so habang nagtitipa ako ng gitara, ‘yan ‘yung mga lyrics na lumabas,” he shared.

When asked about the overall direction of the sound of this new song, he added, “Actually solid ‘yung kinalabasan since yung ganung sound yung ineexpect namin, like yung feeling na pag pinakinggan mo lang

“Sinusubukan rin naming mag-adopt sa mga bagong modern sounds,” Keann added.

As the country’s music landscape continues to evolve, Dear Dahlia emerges as a promising addition, captivating hearts of fans with their blend of harmonies, and relatable lyrics. And there’s certainly nothing “malabo” about that.

“WE decided to play with the names of the flowers, nandun kami sa ideya ng mga flowers, kasi each flower represents a different kind of uniqueness.”

DEAR Dahlia (Photo by John Eiron R. Francisco/BM)

Wealth, social class impact how Gen Zs plan their future

By Olivia Konotey-Ahulu Bloomberg

Students sitting their exams this year have already faced a deluge of bad news around their futures. A more lenient grading system introduced to compensate for exam cancellations during lockdown is predicted to mean a steep drop in the number of students getting top marks, heightening the risk of missing out on university places. New student loan terms also mean this will be the first generation where individuals are still paying off their student debt even after they retire.

The aftershocks of lockdown restrictions are also still being felt across schools, with absences roughly doubling since before the pandemic. At the same time, this group is increasingly suffering from mental health illness; a quarter of young people aged between 17 and 19 now have a probable mental health disorder, according to the NHS.

But these societal shifts have had a lopsided effect on different groups, often down the lines of their household income and social class. Young working-class people, for example, are less likely to apply to university in the first place or say they’d fallen behind their peers compared to their classmates with parents in managerial or profes-

sional occupations, research from the Sutton Trust shows.

This has an impact; in addition to not obtaining valuable skills, those who decide not to go to university will earn an average of at least £100,000 less over their working lives than those who do, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

“The impact of the pandemic has been to reverse decades of progress in closing the attainment gap between children along lines of disadvantage,” said Sarah Atkinson, CEO at the charity The Social Mobility Foundation. “It’s also not good news economically—we’re in a skills and productivity challenge as an economy so we mustn’t be wasting hard-working, aspirational young people.”

Both the main political parties have prioritized the question of how to revamp the UK’s flagging productivity and boost a skills shortage ahead of a general election that could take place as soon as next year. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested making some form of maths compulsory for all schoolchildren until the age of 18 while and Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer said he would break the “class ceiling” in education and work and integrate communication skills into schools.

That might not be enough. “Both of those are good things,” said Atkinson but “they’re specific elements of what needs

to be a much more big, coherent and ambitious plan.”

A different university experience

IN the meantime, the cost-of-living crisis is squeezing families, putting pressure on the choices young people are making about their future. More than a third of students are considering living at home if they get into their preferred university, according to the Sutton Trust with University College London. That compares with about 20 percent of first year undergraduates in England living at home while studying before the pandemic.

For a significant proportion, that’s down to money. “Our concern is cases where cost or related factors are driving this decision, which is likely to entrench existing inequalities between those from different socioeconomic groups,” the authors of the report said.

That’s partly because the most prestigious universities “are disproportionately in more advantaged areas,” said Jake Anders, the lead researcher for the project at University College London.

There’s rising concern that this is putting opportunities further out of reach for more disadvantaged children, an area that the UK lagged behind its peers, even before the pandemic.

“The wider discourse on social mobility

indicates that we are one of the developed countries in the world where there are lower rates of intergenerational mobility,” said Anders.

Both Tayaba Khan and Daniel, who didn’t want to give his surname to avoid judgment from his peers, are excited to for the new stage of starting university. But they have had to make significant adjustments to their education over the course of the pandemic and beyond.

During Covid-19 lockdowns, Daniel shared a bedroom with his young brother and had to find pockets of time to study in the middle of the night or at scattered times throughout the day while preparing for exams.

If Khan gets the grades to study medicine at Leeds University, she’s considering commuting the two hours from her family home on the outskirts of Manchester. She is considering the option of living in student accommodation instead if her course is more demanding but the prospect of managing that financially “really stressed me out,” she said. It would likely require her to work part-time.

Daniel, who plans to study Law and French at Warwick University, would also commute over an hour from Leicester if he gets a place, involving the train and the bus. As a student who’s settled in the UK as an EU immigrant, he isn’t entitled to a maintenance loan which would help to cover living costs. “I kind of have no choice,” he said.

For Jack Buckley, who hopes to study computer science at Oxford University, one of the main repercussions of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis has been maintaining the social life of a normal teenager. “Sixth form isn’t just about studying, it’s about going out and making mates and seeing people,” he said.

But as the price of everything from transport to the cinema has gone up, he and his friends are sometimes having to miss out. “I just don’t have the money for it,” he said.

Gen Zs outpace other age groups in searches for sad music

GEN Z is searching for sad music on Spotify Technology SA more than any other generation, leading the streaming platform to dub the past few months a “bummer summer” for the youth.

“Sad” is Gen Z’s most-searched term on Spotify globally, the audio service said in a recent blog post. In comparison, it’s the 13th most-searched term for Millennials.

“To match the vibe in the US and Canada,” Spotify said it’s added new “sad” playlists and even installed a fountain of tears

shaped like the artist d4vd in Houston, Texas.

The rise in Gen Z’s searches for sad music comes as the younger generation’s mental health is increasingly seen as at crisis levels. Nearly all indicators of poor mental health among high schoolers increased from 2011 to 2021, according to a Center for Disease Control youth risk behavior report, while a McKinsey & Co. Inc. survey found Gen Z had the “least positive” life outlook.

The desire for sad music also contrasts

the upbeat tone of the summer’s biggest concert tours—Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. The pop stars brought millions in tax revenues to cities across North America, and Swift’s tour looks set to gross more than $1 billion.

Younger listeners are seeking music that helps “normalize their feelings and humanity,” Spotify said in its blog post, adding that the new playlists include “moody” and “soul-filling” songs, and aren’t exclusively “sad.” Bloomberg

the next generation of Britain’s workforce recently received exam results that determined their future plans. But for some, the twin crises of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living situation have already left a mark on their career paths.

Cover photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels

“Sad” is Gen Z’s most-searched term on Spotify globally, the audio service said in a recent blog post. Photo from BloomBerg

“The impact of the pandemic has been to reverse decades of progress,” said Sarah atkinson, CeO at the charity The Social Mobility Foundation. Photo By cottonBro studio on Pexels

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wine Dine&

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz | Sunday, August 27, 2023

MEETING WORLD-CLASS FILIPINOS AND EXPLORING SOME OF THE BEST SINGAPOREAN FOOD IN SINGAPORE

By Brian K. Ong (@briankingong)

NESTLED at the crossroads of diverse cultures and traditions, Singapore stands out as a vibrant testament to the mingling influences of history. Shaped by the British, Japanese, and an array of ethnic communities including the Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian, the city-state boasts of a rich heritage that narrates tales of unity amidst diversity.

In this captivating narrative of cultural fusion, Singapore emerges as a culinary and sensory wonderland. Its culinary landscape not only mirrors its history but also weaves a tale of flavors that resonate across time.

Within this context, it’s fascinating to observe the contributions of over 200,000 Filipinos who have found a home within this cultural mosaic. Throughout the city’s bustling streets, one can spot the industrious spirit of Filipinos gracing the corners of restaurants, bars, and hotels, crafting an experience that’s both flavorful and diverse.

During a recent trip to Singapore, the Hotel101 team, led by my General Manager Gel Gomez, together with our E-commerce Manager Ron Nunez, participated in the annual Digital Travel APAC held at Sentosa. It was two full days of learnings and keeping up with the trends in digital within the travel and hospitality landscape.

Likewise, serendipity added another layer of excitement, as DoubleDragon Corporation also re -

cently announced that we are opening the Hotel101 Global’s office and showroom at the PLUS Building on 20 Cecil Street in Singapore this September 2023.

W hile there are so many exciting things going on with work, the allure of Singapore’s culinary scene proved irresistible. We seized the chance to explore the culinary treasures hidden within the Garden City.

Lolla

Filipino chef Johanne Siy of Lolla in Singapore was just recently named Asia’s Best Female Chef as part of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023. This made Chef Johanne the first-ever Singapore-based chef to win the title and the second Filipino to take home the award after Chef Margarita Forés in 2016.

The award, the 50 Best says, is “voted for by the 300-plus members of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy.” It “celebrates women in gastronomy who push the boundaries of excellence with their skills, techniques and craft.”

C hef Johanne, as not many

would know, started in the corporate world dabbling with brand and marketing for a multinational company. After leaving that, she pursued her passion for food at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and earned her culinary experience in some of the best restaurants in the world with Le Bernardin in New York, Restaurant André in Singapore, Fäviken in Sweden, and Noma in Copenhagen.

L olla, now ranked 63rd in the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, serves inspired Modern Mediterranean Cuisine at Ang Siang Road. Expect European and Asian accents in tapas-style sharing plates.

W hile the best seats are the 14-seater counter seating directly in front of the open kitchen to catch all the action, there is also a basement dining section with a long communal dining table that can accommodate 22 diners.

Since it was a weekday lunch when we went, we were served the a la carte menu. Lolla’s tasting menu is only available on Fridays and Saturdays, or upon coordinating with them days ahead for dinner service.

Our meal started with the Toasted Sourdough with Kombu Butter (SGD 14), freshly baked bread together with umami rich butter which I wish I could pack and take home with me. We also had the Duck Fat Potato0es (SGD 19) fried to crisp perfection.

For Mains we got the Grilled Octopus (SGD 45), the Hand Torn Pasta with Brown Crab (SGD 44), and the Seasonal Crab “Relleno,” Aligue Sauce, Kaffir Lime (SGD 49), which actually includes three kinds of crab (Blue Crab, River Crab and Japanese Snow Crab), for our Seafood, while we also got the Grilled Iberico Secreto (SGD 46) and the Glazed Lamb Shoulder (SGD 49) for our Meat. Everything celebrated each of the

ingredients and were so good and packed with flavor.

C hef Johanne says that “after winning the award, we have become part of the itinerary of tourists, especially Pinoys, coming to Singapore.” And that’s what we were there for, as Lolla was actually our first stop upon landing in Singapore. After our meal, I understood why people return and make sure to put Lolla as a stop when in Singapore – the food is superb, and the warm hospitality is vibrant.

The Bar at 15 Stamford

Located at the heart of the garden city, the Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore offers a “harmonious blend of timeless heritage and modern luxury,” following years of restoration brining the best of the neoclassical-style Capitol Building (1933) and Venetian Renaissancestyle Stamford House (1904). Nestled within this illustrious five-star Heritage Landmark lies The Bar at 15 Stamford, seamlessly integrated into its opulent surroundings.

The Bar at 15 Stamford offers an extensive range of rum varieties, classic cocktails and bespoke creations amidst an intimate mahogany designed 80-seater bar befitting its location’s colonial charm.

We have more than 350 kinds of rum in our collection,” shares the Filipino-Chinese Bar Manager Edriane Lim. This establishment stands as a beacon for connoisseurs, renowned for possessing one of the most comprehensive lists of rum in Singapore. Complementing this, “we also proudly curate rum flights and tasting experiences,” an extraordinary addition to their menu.

Edriane did his internship at the Marriott in Singapore, fresh out of college from De La Salle – College of St. Benilde and has worked in the Singapore F&B and Hospital-

ity scene since then. His experience brought him to SKAI Bar at Swissôtel The Stamford and later on to Atlas, where he was part of the team who got Altas to the 8th place in 2019’s World’s 50 Best Bars.

A nd indeed, we tried different cocktails and drinks and these are some of my favorites:

n Peranakan Old Fashioned –Mount Gay XO Rum, Gula Melaka, Pandan, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Angostura Bitters

n Royllo Island – Flor De Cana Rum 12yr, Red Wine Syrup, Amontillado Sherry, Orange Bitters

n Remember the Balestiers

Appleton Jamaica Rum 12yr, Sweet Vermouth, Cherry Brandy, Maraschino Liqueur, Absinthe

National Kitchen by Violet Oon Singapore

While in Singapore, we also suggest that you go for something local!

My cousin Christine, and her husband Winston, brought us to try National Kitchen by Violet Oon, Singapore’s own national treasure and one of its greatest ambassadors, celebrating Singapore’s fine flavors highlighting Peranakan cuisine. National Kitchen is located on the 2nd floor of the iconic historical City Hall building now home to the National Gallery.

Peranakan cuisine, or Nyonya cuisine, which comes from the Peranakans, descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia, inter-marrying with local Malays. It’s one of the local cuisines which Singapore is known for highlighted by bold flavors, which comes from the frequent use of unique ingredients like coconut milk, a ginger-like root plant called galangal, kaffir lime leaf, and lemongrass.

For Starters we got the Ngoh

Hiang (SGD 20), deep fried prawn, crab meat, chicken and water chestnut rolls seasoned with five spice powder wrapped in bean curd skin, and the Kuay Pie Tee (SGD 19), julienned bamboo shoot and turnip poached in a brawn bisque served in a deep fried “top hat” cup topped with prawn, chili sauce and a sweet fruit sauce.

For Mains we ordered the Beef Rendang (SGD 28), tender beef shin braised in a mélange of spices flavored with kaffir and bay leaves in a creamy coconut cream sauce; the Sayor Lodeh (SGD 19), mixed vegetables and tempeh in a mildly spiced fragrant coconut gravy; and the Garam Assam Fish (SGD 28), red snapper fillets in a spicy and sour gravy with pineapple slices and ladies fingers topped with julienne pink ginger flower.

Old Airport Road Hawker

Another place you need to give a try are the Hawker Food Centers, and there are quite a few throughout Singapore. You could say that your Singapore trip will not be complete without passing by one of them and eat like the locals do.

So, they brought us to one on our last night. At more than 50 years old, the Old Airport Road Food Centre is one of Singapore’s best-loved hawker complexes, with more than 100 stalls spread across a single floor in neat rows.

Generally, you order food from different stalls for sharing. I suggest you order some Singaporean staples such as Laksa , a noodle dish prepared with a rich and spicy coconut broth seasoned with sour asam; Satay, seasoned, skewered and grilled meat (chicken or pork) served with peanut sauce; and Hokkien Mee , fried yellow wheat noodles doused in a seafood stock and studded with prawns or pork or both.

Ang Siang Road, where Lolla is located.

Toasted Sourdough with Kembu Butter

Grilled Octopus

The interior of The Bar at 15 Stamford

Royllo Island

Kuay Pie Tie

Laksa

Beef Rendang

Satay

Wine Dine&

Raging Bull Burgers Unveils a Symphony of Burger Flavors, Craft Beers, Irresistible Sides

By John Eiron R. Francisco

IN the heart of the city’s bustling culinary scene at Shangri-La Plaza Mall (North Wing) along EDSA in Mandaluyong City, Raging Bull Burgers has emerged as a beacon of flavorful innovation, captivating taste buds with their succulent burgers, inventive alcoholic drinks, refreshing frappe juice, and unforgettable fries.

At Raging Bull Burgers, a symphony of flavors awaits burger enthusiasts. Selecting the proper blend for your burger is essential considering the different cuts of beef have varying flavor profiles, textures, and fat contents.

Burgers Beyond Ordinary

THIS nose-to-tail burger restaurant has a meat-to-fat ratio of 70/30, which is the perfect balance for a tender patty.

“It’s not just about the ratio; it’s also important to choose highquality beef that is fresh and free from additives — that’s my number one rule,” says Raging Bull Burgers Chef John Buquir.

R aging Bull Burgers lives up to its words by grinding their burgers daily using the finest Australian and American beef selections.

R ather than frying, Chef John opts for the raw, smoky richness

of the chargrill, preparing the meat to medium-well perfection to ensure every bite bursts with a delightful taste.

So, ready yourself for an explosion of flavors offered in Raging Bull Burgers. Here is what to expect and must tries for everyone visiting.

The Mighty Beast is the quintessential traditional burger, designed for devoted enthusiasts of this timeless preferred choice. Every mouthful of this high-quality patty made from US Angus beef will elicit joyous excitement in your taste receptors.

If you’re looking for a vibrant and powerful flavor journey, Raging Wagyu is the ideal choice. Crafted with a generous 1/3 pound of top-grade Australian Wagyu beef, recognized for its rich marbling and tenderness, this burger embodies the essence of a genuine

superstar in the world of taste.

Kickass unquestionably delights the masses, presenting an impressive 1/3 pound of sheer captivating vitality within each bite.

K ickin’ Chicken takes the spotlight by showcasing the de -

Angkong’s love language

By Ardee de los Angeles

ANGKONG (Chinese Filipino for paternal grandfather) had a canteen-type restaurant in Binondo, Manila in the 1960s. His specialty was the kikiam and chicken barbecue that had customers come back for more. Cooking and serving food to his family and customers are his love language.

A ngkong would cook for his family every weekend. Sundays would be filled with food, laughter and lots of family bonding. Unfortunately, Angkong had to retire from the business in the early 2000s because he had issues and had to focus on his health.

Twenty years later, the family’s younger generation decided to revive it into an online business. They started selling frozen packs of Angkong’s authentic Chinese Kikiam and Boneless Chicken BBQ to family and friends and it became quite popular.

Sadly, Angkong passed away in February of 2022 but the family is still keeping his legacy alive through this business, his food, and his love language. Up until today, the business continues to support the family, which is something Angkong has done his whole life.

Brothers Miles and Troy Ong are now managing the business named “Angkong’s Kikiam.” Their original products are the Kikiam and Chicken BBQ. They then added other items like Siomai, Taiwanese

Bold mixtures such as the pairing of Knockout Wheat Ale beer with their kickass burgers on the menu create an ideal match.

These combinations elevate the dining experience by seamlessly blending flavors, resulting in a delightful fusion of tastes. For those seeking a lighter option, the Milkshake section of the menu presents an array of refreshing sweet shakes.

They offer vanilla, chocolate and mocha shake, creating a revitalizing drink that’s perfect for quenching thirst on a hot day.

Fries That Impress

NO burger experience is complete without a side of fries, and Raging Bull Burgers elevates this humble side dish to new heights.

The “Messy Fries” are a sensation, featuring a mountain of crispy fries topped with pulled pork, and filled with Raging Bull Burgers BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese. These indulgent fries prove that the journey to culinary excellence extends to every corner of the menu.

R aging Bull Burgers has firmly established itself as a must-visit destination for food enthusiasts in search of extraordinary flavors.

lectable savoriness of its grilled chicken. A nd Raging Bull’s house-made BBQ sauce, resulting in a fusion of flavors and mouth watering textures that are guaranteed to tantalize your taste buds.

Unconventional Pairings

WHILE the burgers steal the spotlight, Raging Bull Burgers goes the extra mile by offering a selection of thoughtfully crafted alcoholic beverages that complement the flavors on the menu.

With a menu that marries tradition with innovation, and an unwavering dedication to culinary excellence, this establishment continues to push the boundaries of taste and redefine the burger dining experience.

W hether indulging in a mouthwatering burger, sipping on an inventive drink, or savoring loaded fries, patrons are sure to leave with a satisfied palate and a craving for more.

HAIL TO THE COFFEE KING

INTERNATIONAL fast-food chain Burger King (BK) has just brewed something special for its Filipino customers. Introducing the BK CAFÉ. This new line of beverages offers a broad range of expertly roasted and specially brewed coffee drinks using 100 percent Arabica beans that come from the Netherlands.

Thanks to the state-of-theart Cafitesse coffee machine technology, the globally famous quick service restaurant (QSR) never fails to make every sip a perfect balance to enjoy any time of the day.

New cup on the BlocK COFFEE selections at BK CAFÉ come either hot or cold.

The three iced coffee flavors are: Iced Sweet Black, Iced Vanilla, and Iced Mocha. They are best paired with any of the BK’s signature flame-grilled beef burgers, breakfast, and rice meals. With their perfect combination, every bite of the main entrées is

heavenly cool with the revitalizing taste of these delectable beverages.

Coming from the BK CAFÉ’s debut, the QSR has also rebranded its Joe Coffee as Roast Coffee. Its name may have been c hanged but the exceptional taste that the patrons know and love remains.

Starting at just P49, the latest product line remains affordable as it maintains its superb quality and flavor that surely satisfy the coffee cravings of every Filipino.

BK CAFÉ will be a staple on the bistro’s menu nationwide.

It is available through dine-in, drive-thru, take-out, or delivery anytime, anywhere. Those who want to have a sip of it at home or office across the country can easily get their hands on this newest offering via different platforms such as the Burger King App, Grab, and FoodPanda.

What’s in store

FEEL privileged like a royalty with exciting promotions exclusive on the BK App!

C hoose from the perfect

combo of an Iced Coffee drink and a delicious rice meal or burger—all at a discounted price. Worth trying is a variety of featured pairings: any burger or sandwich with a drink of choice.

BK CAFÉ enthusiasts who miss the delightful flavors of the Mocha Joe Frost, rejoice! They can now upgrade their Iced Mocha drink to a coffee float so they could still enjoy that similar, irresistible taste. All they need is simply tap on the “Add Sundae” option. Voila! They’ll be able to savor the delightful blend of coffee and sweetness of the wellloved Mocha Joe.

“ With the launch of BK CAFÉ, every sip becomes a moment of bliss, perfectly matched to our customers’ enjoyment. BK CAFÉ invites you to savor the exceptional, indulge in the extraordinary, and redefine your perception of what coffee and fast food can truly be,” said John Velasco, general manager of Burger King Philippines. Rhoderick Abad

Quench your thirst with the bold taste of Knockout Wheat Ale Beers

The perfect combo a juicy burger and “Messy Fries”

Iced Sweet Black Coffee | Iced Vanilla Coffee | Iced Mocha Coffee

Angkong’s assorted cooked plate

Miles and Troy Ong of Angkong’s Kikiam.

Angkong started his food business in the 1960s.

Sausage, Radish Cake, Pork Dumplings, Kuchay Dumplings, Beancurd Rolls, Asado Siopao, and Bola-Bola Siopao.

A ngkong’s Kikiam is the new generation food business but it still speaks the same language of love from their Angkong.

Wine Dine&

Give in to your crispy pata craving with Pelayo’s

to worry not only about the food that needs to be prepared and served but your staff as well.

“ In a restaurant, you are very dependent on your cook. For Pelayo’s, you only need a small space and someone who knows how to fry because you need to just fry the crispy pata, the sisig and the lumpiang shanghai. That’s an additional source of income if you have a sari-sari store,” he said.

He added that compared to a running a restaurant, a Pelayo’s outlet is cheaper to run because you only need one person to run it and it only occupies a small space. R ad also decided to include Pelayo’s in his Healthy Meals PH online business. He related that he has an inhouse call center which relays orders to the nearest Pelayo’s branch. If the call center receives an order from Pasig, it will be directed to the Mandaluyong outlet because that is the closest,

With Christmas fast approaching, Pelayo’s is another option for you to consider for your office party or family gatherings. We will soon be launching our Patatim Box where we will be offering desserts. You only have to heat the Patatim and then fry the dessert and they will be ready for delivery or pick up,” Rad said.

O n August 18, 2023, Rad opened the Banawe branch which will also serve as Pelayo’s office, commissary, and training facility. It also has an area that can host events for up to 30 people.

This is our way of telling our possible franchisees that we are serious about this business and want our master franchisees to be confident about doing business with us,” he added.

Training seminars

By Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

S eeing an opportunity to increase his market presence, Rad Pelayo converted his Health

Meals PH concept into a buffet style restaurant in Quezon City. When that did not work out,

Pelayo tried another concept, a restaurant that served food he grew up with. He even named the restaurant after his mother. B ut then the pandemic happened, and everyone was forced to close shop. When quarantine restrictions eased a little, Rad offered his restaurant as a drop off point for vegetable suppliers. There they could sell their wares to customers who lived in the area. Despite these hard times, he also managed to send out meals to frontliners on a regular basis.

Takeout stall

THREE years after the pandemic, Rad felt that it was the right time

to launch a concept that he has been working on for a while. Last February, he launched Pelayo’s. It’s a takeout stall concept that also caters to deliveries. The star of Pelayo’s is the crispy pata. However, you cannot buy the crispy pata on its own. It comes in what Rad terms a Patabox. There’s Patabox Sosyal where for the price P999 you get a crispy pata, pancit, six orders of Dilis Rice, 4 Sawsawan ng Bayan and free 1.5-liter soft drink. Then there is PataBox Bongga where for P1,499 you get crispy pata jumbo, pancit, sisig, eight lumpiang shanghai, lechon hamonado, six dilis rice and 1.5-liter soft drinks.

Since it was launched in February, Rad has already opened eight branches, five of them are in Metro Manila (Mandaluyong, Banawe, Caloocan, Munoz and UP, while the other three are in Central Luzon (Bataan, Bulacan and Pampanga).

People have been telling me that I have been moving too fast with this business, but they do not realize that I have been in the food business for the past seven years. What I am doing now is based on experience and making use of what I have learned,” he related in an interview.

Staff

One thing Rad has learned is that it is really difficult to run and maintain a restaurant. You have

NOTING that problems may arise in the course of managing a franchise, Rad said the Banawa branch will also offer seminars that will cover hiring to firing, licensing, Marketing 1010 and what is your why in doing the business.

I n addition to Pelayo’s take out counters, Pelayo’s also offers food carts and food trays. Also in the works is a restaurant which will be opening in Caloocan near a school and hospital. “ Failure is not an option for me. I have to pick up the pieces and rebuild and come up with a business that will click and has potential. I have found that in Pelayo’s,” he said.

For more information about Pelayo’s visit their Pelayo’s Sisig & Crispy Pata Facebook Page.

‘GREEN’ DINE-IN IS IN

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor

WHO says that food chains are junks?

They may be serving not-so-dietfriendly items on their menus, but some are becoming conscious enough to now offer the customers something healthy to eat and, at the same time, implement eco-business strategies that are beneficial to Mother Earth.

This holds true for McDonald’s Philippines, which is getting “greener” as it continues to lead the adoption of environment-friendly and sustainable solutions, this time by using solarpowered rooftops in select branches.  With the 25 Green and Good stores that harness the heat of the sun, they are able to save a total of 546,000-kilowatt per hour, which lessens electricity consumption to as much as 36 percent compared to stores that do not utilize renewable energy.  This initiative was preceded by McDon-

ald’s six flagship Green & Good outlets—each of which realizes an annual reduction of 52,500-kilogram of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 102,000 liters of water.

Other ecological solutions the company is using include rainwater harvesting tanks that help decrease water consumption; as well as inverter air-conditioning technology, LED lights and photo and motion sensors inside that mitigate CO2 emissions.

Likewise, it is working on minimizing its waste with 60 percent paper- or fiber-based packaging and strawless lids for cold beverages. These materials have lessened its plastic waste by 273 metric tons.

Eco-warrior customers are always welcome to dine-in to the quick service restaurant (QSR) as the stores are also equipped with Bike and Dine areas so they can enjoy eating their McDonald’s favorites on their bicycles. Select stores are also equipped with e-Charging stations for use by customers with two-wheel electric vehicles.

Expanding its store network in a responsible manner, the firm leads the industry in sustainable construction methods by using repurposed and alternative building materials, offsite construction, as well as reduced site waste. With more than 700 branches nationwide, the food chain giant “carries a strong commitment to environmental responsibility,” according to McDonald’s Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth S. Yang.  “We will continue to find solutions to make our operations more efficient and better for the planet. With the results of our Green & Good initiatives so far, we believe that it is possible to grow sustainably. Our stakeholders can look forward to enjoying more McDonald’s stores that are Green & Good in the future,” he said.

Starting with the first of such kind of an outlet along UN Del Pilar Avenue in Manila in 2020, McDonald’s Philippines aims to bring the total number of Green & Good stores to 130 by the end of 2023.

HE has been in the food business for seven years now. He started with Healthy Meals PH where he would offer to deliver three healthy meals a day every day for a contracted period of time.

Rad Pelayo (fourth from left) and his family open the Pampanga branch

This is how a Pelayo’s outlet looks like

The Banawe Branch

Coming soon is the Patatim Box

Patabox Bongga

Wine Dine&

The Café at Hyatt Regency Manila, City of Dreams reopens with a vengeance

Shake Shack’s First Asia-Pacific Stadium Opens in Araneta City, Blending Innovation and Heritage

By Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

I crave noo -

WHENEVER

dles and soup, my go to place is Noodle8 which is located in the casino area of the City of Dreams. I enjoy choosing the noodles, the meat, which for me is wonton, vegetables and condiments. The last time I enjoyed a bowl of noodles there was definitely before the pandemic.

I fi nally had the opportunity to go back to the City of Dreams when Charisse Chuidian, Vice President, Public Relations and Romina Gervacio, Director, Public Relations, invited a group of journalists last August 23, 2023 to experience the dinner buffet at The Café of Hyatt Regency Manila.

C had Ogden, Director, Food & Beverage Operations of the City of Dreams, pointed out that The Café had been open to serve breakfast buffet for quite some time. It was only this August that the hotel decided to reopen its door for lunch and dinner.

We are re-opening The Café for lunch and dinner because it was closed when the pandemic happened. Whenever we design a buffet, there is a carving station, seafood and dessert. A must try is the carbon neutral roast beef and the salmon,” Ogden said.

Carbon neutral

ACCORDING to August Escoffer

School of Culinary Arts, carbon neutral refers to offsetting carbon emissions by implementing practices that remove carbon from the atmosphere. The result is net-neutral carbon emissions. By imple -

menting carbon neutral practices, companies can increase their sustainability and also increase their appeal to consumers.

In addition to the salmon sashimi which came highly recommended, another must try at The Café are the desserts, specifically the croffle. The croffle is pastry dough rolled like a croissant and pressed in a waffle iron until golden brown on the outside and filled with flaky layers. It is then topped with ice cream and fruits.

The Café is the only buffet that has croffles so you have to try it when it is available. What also makes the buffet stand out is we have the most competitive price and there is value for money and we have free flowing wine and beer,” he added.

Since my favorite buffet station is the dessert station, I made a mental note to try that dessert. However, it was not available that evening but with a phone call from Ogden, we were able to taste this

famous dessert. It was a really delicious dessert with the croffle going well with the ice cream.

Dessert spread

ALSO at the dessert station was a selection of confectionery like jellybeans, jelly snakes, jelly bears and sour strips. You can also make your own halo-halo and a spread of Filipino desserts. But for me the winner was the chocolate ice cream and I did not regret asking for two scoops. Another must try is the Choux au Craquelin with a choice of fillings, sauces and toppings.

The seafood is served on ice and diners can have them cooked in garlic and butter. The seafood that was available at that time were prawns, hard shell clam, and crabs. You can witness the chefs preparing dishes at the restaurant’s vibrant cooking stations. As you walk through the various stations, you can experience a different country or culture.

By John Eiron Francisco

Evolving menu cycles ensure a different dining experience during the week. The buffet stations consist of the classics and chefs’ innovations, comprising: Italian and other Western favorites Asian comfort fare such as dim sum, popular Filipino and Southeast Asian dishes, a selection of Japanese staples, and a Carving of the Day, which is a dinner exclusive. Charcuteries, cheeses, breads, a variety of noodles and rice options, healthy choices such as seafood, soups, salads, and an array of pastries and other sweet delights complete the spread. Engaging displays of fresh produce complement the buffet stations.

The modern, high-ceilinged interiors enhance guests dining experience in the spacious 345-seater restaurant. The Café offers a range of seating options at the main and elevated sections, ideal for gettogethers for families and friends. Two private dining rooms that each seat 10 guests are also available.

The Café’s buffets are offered at: P2,350 net, dinner; P1,250 net, lunch, and P1,150 net, breakfast. Breakfast rate is inclusive of freeflowing coffee and tea. The Café buffets are available at 6:30 to 11 a.m. for breakfast ,12noon to 3 p.m. for lunch, and 5:30 to 11 p.m. for dinner.

For inquiries and reservations, call 8691 1234 local 1163 or 8800-8080, or e-mail guestservices@cod-manila.com. For more information, visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com. Explore more of City of Dreams Manila’s promotional offers, rewards, or instantly check Melco Club points with the new Melco Club App, available for free download on iOS and Android.

This new outlet commemorates the fusion of innovation, heritage, and the vibrant tapestry of individuals converging at the iconic location of Araneta City.

Jo an Aquino, General Manager, Specialty Food Retailers, Inc. told BusinessMirror that they gave advice on how each store would look at the City of Firsts. “For the Shake Shack Araneta, we are right beside the stadium. It is very different and this is the lone shack in the Philippines with a counter resembling that of a stadium,” explained Aquino.

S hake Shack Araneta welcomes customers with its signature modern yet inviting ambiance. The restaurant’s distinct design elements and mural artworks portray the vibrant story of where this restaurant is situated.

It is evident from within the store that it is a masterpiece by Bitto, an artist and muralist hailing from Quezon City. This beckons guests to immerse themselves in the dynamic ambiance of the latest Shack location.

“ In terms of the total theme of the store, it gets inspiration from what the Araneta Center is known for,” Aquino said. “We have murals with a parade, where there are different activities that remind you of beauty pageants, concerts and boxing matches and all of the other stuff that are around in Araneta.”

I n celebration of the grand opening on August 25, the very first guest was given one year’s

worth of Shakes and Araneta Shack swags.

Furthermore, according to the management, the initial 100 visitors (excluding the very first guest) received exciting discounts, surprises and promotions on the store’s opening day.

The lucky first 100 customers to enjoy a fantastic offer: Received a complimentary Shack tumbler when they dine in or take away with a minimum single receipt of P1,000 to P1,999.

But that’s not all! For the next set of 100 customers (excluding the very first guest), who indulge in dine-in or take away with a minimum single receipt of P2,000 and above, a deluxe reward awaits - a Shack tumbler accompanied by a P500 Gift Card, primed for your next visit.

I f customers prefer dining at home, they can relax as they can now enjoy a special offer.

Starting from August 28 until September 3, they can place an order through GrabFood and receive a free serving of Cheese Fries for orders valued at P1,000 or more.

The star of Shake Shack’s menu, their juicy, made-to-order burgers, have quickly become the talk of the town. From the classic ShackBurger to the indulgent SmokeShack, there’s a burger to suit every palate. Vegetarian options like the ‘Shroom Burger cater to non-meat eaters, ensuring that everyone can relish the experience.

O f course, no visit to Shake Shack is complete without a side of their cheesy crinkle-cut fries and the “shackdown” milkshake and comes with an array of flavors. The restaurant also offers a selection of refreshing beverages, including Shack-made lemonades and craft sodas.

W ith the arrival of Shake Shack at the New Gateway Mall 2, Araneta City residents and visitors now have the chance to enjoy the renowned flavors that have made the brand a global sensation.

W hether it’s a casual lunch, an indulgent dinner, or a quick snack on the go, Shake Shack offers a delicious escape into the world of exceptional burgers and shakes right in the heart of Araneta City.

SHAKE Shack has opened the Asia Pacific region’s first stadium shack at the “City of Firsts.”

Complete

trio:

The sea’s bounty showcase, with different pairing sauces or cooked à la minute with butter and garlic is a favorite section.

The Café’s Asian section is sure to satiate cravings for well-loved Chinese, and Southeast Asian food

Beautiful cakes, confectionery, and other sweets complete The Café’s buffet offering. Bread and pastry lovers are spoiled for choice with an array of homemade baked creations

The essential John Lloyd Cruz

What did he learn from being alone all those years he was away from showbiz?

John Lloyd Cruz said: “When you finally get the silence you badly need, you realize this is the time you can really pay attention to what you need to hear.”

BusinessMirror

By Pablo A. Tariman

JOHN LLOYD CRUZ did it again.

Friday, August 11 on the year of his 40th birthday, the showbiz world received another good news.

The erstwhile matinee idol turned compleat actor John Lloyd Cruz won the Boccalino d’Oro prize for best actor at a film festival in Switzerland for his role in Lav Diaz’s “Essential Truths of the Lake.”

From the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chair Tirso Cruz III came the initial congratulatory words. “It is with great joy and pride that I congratulate one of the most talented artists of our country, Mr. John Lloyd Cruz. Thank you for bringing honor to our country.”

Indeed, his triumph was cheered by Filipinos.

ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

BUT he got the equivalent of a double ovation when his acceptance speech went thus: “Para sa Pilipinas, para sa Pilipino, para sa lahat ng pinatay at mga naiwan nila (For the country, for the Filipino, for everyone killed and the people they left behind.”

The quote which one immediately posted on FB has reached more than 45,000 netizens and still increasing.

His timely acceptance speech came at a time when the Filipino policeman is again in the limelight for merciless killing of a teenager in Navotas City.

It brought back memories of the young Kian Loyd de los San -

tos who was mercilessly killed in August 2017 by policemen emboldened by the former president’s anti-drug war.

By coincidence, Cruz’s role in the award-winning Lav Diaz film is that of Lt. Hermes Papauran who the Variety reviewer described as a “tortured enforcer afflicted with a skin condition that reflects on the surface the conflict and cynicism roiling within him. He’s a good cop in a corrupt country, furious with how Rodrigo Duterte mishandled the war on drugs.”

LAV DIAZ COLLAB

HIS character in the Lav Diaz film felt very much like the embattled forensic expert seeking closure for many murder cases with dubious history on how they were killed.

To be sure, it wasn’t the actor’s first collaboration with Diaz.

Cruz was also in Diaz’s A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis), a 2016 historical fantasy drama which competed for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin Film Festival where it won the Alfred Bauer Prize (Silver Bear).

The actor’s versatile side was seen in another Diaz film, Ang Babaeng Humayo (The Woman Who Left) where he played a cross-dresser and victim of gang rape. The film won the Golden Lion Award at the 2016 Venice film festival.

BANKABLE STAR

BORN in the early 80s and a certified bankable star in the late 90s, John Lloyd Cruz got rid of

his saccharine roles and went on to find meaty roles.

In 2009, he shifted to a controversial project with Vilma Santos in the film In My Life. Many were taken by surprise— Cruz portrayed Luis Manzano’s lover.

In 2014, Cruz departed again from his ‘kilig’ movies with a challenging part in a Chito Rono film called The Trial. He portrayed a young man with mental disability who finds himself in trouble in a world dominated by so-called normal people.

Recalled the actor of that Chito Rono film. “Just when you least expected it, you get a role totally opposite of what you do and another director comes in to give you another way of exploring the role. This is a dream come true for me. Not that I disliked the romantic parts I am identified with. But once in your acting life, you also aim to accomplish something different.”

Rono said of Cruz’s role in The Trial: “I want an actor who can explore the heart and mind of the mentally challenged character and John Lloyd delivered. The long nights of shooting and the fatigue that went with it were all worth it. The actor gave me what I wanted.”

Cruz shared an insight into the character he played: “What I learned doing this part is that a person with disability or not, people love the same way the socalled normal people do. Social barriers no longer count when you fall in love. My character gave me a memorable portrait of a person with disability falling in love and was ready to fight for it. I would say this role was a very profound experience and Direk Chito helped me discover new ways of exploring the character.”

There was no turning back as Cruz savored his initial taste of true cinema away from screaming fans.

In 2015, another challenging part came through Erik Matti’s

date to the dressing room, and even the pianist was surprised. “Oh, it’s you,” Licad greeted the actor. “I saw your film in California. Was it The Mistress?”

John Lloyd later told a lifestyle editor about his first Licad exposure: “I was blown away by her performance. It was like watching an actor perform. I don’t know much about music, but my take is on how Cecile affects me emotionally. She took me along on her journey as she performed.”

film, Honor Thy Father. It was one of the more engrossing entries in the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival.

For this role, Cruz shaved his hair and delivered a highly focused and multifaceted acting worthy of a cineaste’s citation.

EXPLORING THE ARTS

MEANWHILE , the actor was determined to explore the other seven arts.

He watched a lot of gallery openings and soon became an art collector.

In January 2016, he watched his first classical music concert at the CCP with no less than Cecile Licad as soloist of the Philippine Philharmonic.

It was an evening of Tchaikovsky’s First and Rachmaninoff’s Second—all great warhorses in piano repertoire. From where I sat, I tried to see how the actor was reacting to the pianist. I could see that his attention went beyond fascination. He was so focused on the pianist; I could see another Cecile Licad fan in the making.

During intermission, I approached him and Ms. Virgie Ramos, and asked him, “Would you like to meet Ms. Licad after the concert? I will escort and introduce you.”

After the Tchaikovsky concerto, I could see excitement all over his face. And I added, “I can give you this book (Rosario Licad’s My Daughter Cecile) and have it autographed.”

“I would be happy to meet her,” the actor said. And he added, “Thank you for that beautiful review of my film, Honor Thy Father. It meant a lot to me.”

“Oh, you are most welcome,” I answered.

After Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, there was euphoria in the theater. I saw John Lloyd with Ms. Ramos joining the standing ovation. I had not seen happier faces in a long, long time.

I escorted the actor and his

FOUR-YEAR HIATUS

IN 2017, he took a sudden and indefinite leave from showbiz. Occasionally, one saw him watching musicals with Bea Alonzo and documenting theater pieces at the CCP. He was in some art openings, refusing to be interviewed even by showbiz media friends. He was traveling all over the country without doing any showbiz project.

Later during that year, I learned he had become a father to a bouncing boy named Elias Modesto (mother is former girlfriend Ellen Adarna).

When the pandemic struck, one learned he traveled a lot all over the islands.

He has been seen going to the wet market incognito, riding jeepneys, and greeting fans on the streets. Later, I would see more pictures of him and Elias on the beach, enjoying the boy’s third birthday party. I could see that the actor was going through young fatherhood and enjoying it immensely.

Before joining the new network, he had a radio interview focused on his life, and less on showbiz. He made it clear that his desire was just to come back to what was simple and natural.

To be sure, the four-year hiatus is indeed a long time to be isolated from the work he has learned to love for two decades. And yes, he was raring to work again. But beyond his screen roles, he is keen on fulfilling his real-life role. I can see him figuring out a beautiful dream for his son Elias Modesto. Yes, he is also ready to love again.

What did he learn from being alone all those years he was away from showbiz? He said, “Nang tumahimik na lahat, doon mo talaga maririnig yung dapat mong marinig.” In other words: “When you finally get the silence you badly need, you realize this is the time you can really pay attention to what you need to hear.”

John Lloyd Cruz with son Elias Modesto

John Loyd Cruz with pianist Cecile Licad and author after a 2016 CCP concert.

1966 FAMAS Awards Night, where Robert and wife Barbara Perez won Best Actor and Best Actress for the movie, “Ang Daigdig ng Mga Api,” which also won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Child Actress Best Story and Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.

Scene from “Inagaw Mo ang Lahat sa Akin,” directed by Carlos Siguion-Reyna. Here Robert is laughing at the offcam Maricel Soriano’s character, begging for his love.

Robert Arevalo: May 6, 1938-Aug. 10, 2023

By Bibeth Orteza

REAL name, Robert F. Ylagan. Actor, writer, director, producer, advertising executive, one-time TV Patrol newscaster; married to Barbara Perez; father of Anna, Gina, and Christian; son of Eustacio Ylagan, aka Tito Arevalo, composer/musical director, and Guadalupe Francisco, teacher and pre-school proprietress, grandson of Hermogenes Ylagan, acknowledged “father” of the Filipino zarzuela, a known descendant of Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar.

The man was proud of his lineage, of his grandfather Hermogenes and his father’s siblings, and how most were—save perhaps for the two who died young—college graduates as if it was an Ylagan requirement to get schooled first before getting into the arts.

He’d recall bits and pieces from stories handed down to his generation, of how a visiting parish priest from Manila was so impressed with his Lolo Moneng’ s extraordinary singing as a tiple (male soprano) in a church in Bigaa (now Balagtas), Bulacan, brought him and the entire family to Manila, where he got to be singer at the Sta. Cruz Church, appeared in zarzuelas, received a scholarship at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, and after the Spanish zarzuelistasreturned to Spain during the Spanish-American war, went on to produce Filipino zarzuelas, wrote over a hundred zarzuelas, and in 1902 established the Compania Lirico-Dramatica Tagala de Gatchalian y Ilagan, also known as Compania Ilagan, the first Filipino-run zarzuela troupe in the country.

Robert’s eyes would shine brightly, a half-smile playing in his face, remembering his grandfather cuddling his five-year-old self shortly before World War II, in the old house in Sampaloc. He’d count the four lawyers in the bloodline, his father included, actor Angel Esmeralda (Jay Ilagan’s dad), Rose, and Hermogenes Jr, a radio commentator, composer and lyricist. Cesar, the philosophy graduate, was shot by a Japanese soldier in the war.

He’d talk about how music was very much a part of his life, for it wasn’t only his father and Hermogenes Jr. who wrote songs. Conrado Conde, the kuya, left the college of dentistry to do musical scores and eventually direct movies himself. Alfredo, a painter and scriptwriter, was one of the first producers of Tawag ng Tanghalan Aunts Luz and Honor were voice culture graduates, and the pharmacist Pilar, aka Laling Talte, the comedienne, sang as well.

Then he’d go into their one medical doctor: Gerry de Leon, posthumously recognized as National Artist for Film in 1982, whose many notable works included AngDaigdig ng Mga Api, where Robert and wife Barbara Perez won the first and yet-to-be-duplicated husband-andwife Best Actor and Best Actress awards, in 1966. He explained an old photograph showing him seemingly distracted while he and the widelysmiling Barbara were clutching their trophies: “I wanted a family photo with Uncle Gerry, as he won Best Director and our film was Best Picture. Isipin mong tatlo kami sa isang gabi ng FAMAS?”

SERIOUS ACTOR

INTERVIEWING him for the first time in 1975, as a newbie reporter for RPN News and Public Affairs, I asked: “What do you feel when people refer to you as a ‘serious’ actor?”

He replied: “Amused. I think all actors should be serious, whether they’re doing drama or comedy.”

The serious actor had a sense of humor. I found out, while doing a bit-role as an Igorota in Aawitan Kita’s musical dramatization of Amador Daguio’s The Wedding Dance sometime in the same year He caught me examining his wellbuilt muscular back and I admitted: “Inutusan nila ako sa make-up room para inspeksyunin kung talagang makinis ka, at walang an-an.”—he threw his head back laughing, revealing his not-so-pearly whites.

Not-so-pearly, from his own admission, sharing that while being cast as Andres Bonifacio to Armida Siguion-Reyna’s Gregoria de Jesus in Lakambini at ang Supremo, someone in production wasn’t so keen on him, “ ...kasi sungki ang mga ngipin!”

Vindication came only after the first set of rushes had been viewed, when that same person gushed, “Tama si Armida, magaling nga siya, makakalimutan mo ang mga sungki niya!”

He was so much into Andres Bonifacio, that, as first president of the Screen Actors Guild under the umbrella of the Film Academy of the Philippines in 1981, he had it renamed Katipunan ng mga Artista ng Pelikulang Pilipino, with an august board of directors composed of no less than Vic Silayan as chairman, and Jaime de la Rosa, Dindo Fernando, Vic Vargas, and Tommy Abuel as members.

I was saling-pusa.

The relationship with his Gregoria de Jesus somewhat soured, a few years later. Armida studied the KAPP’s incorporation papers and saw it silent on the matter of proxies, meaning, the KAPP could allow proxies for the forthcoming general election of 1983. Robert heard through the grapevine about Armida’s gathering proxies, and wanted to verify it from me, the guild secretary. I kept on avoiding his calls, each time he’d ring up my house, he’d be told “Natutulog ho ” This went on for weeks, until finally he’d had enough, and asserted: “Ilang linggo nang natutulog iyan, tingnan n’yo nga, kung humihinga pa?”

They happily made up, and really well. He defended Armida’s production of Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Selya, directed by Carlitos, as member of the Jess Sison MTRCB. The movie got an “R-18 rating with cuts”, he told the board, and correctly so, “Maniwala kayo sa akin. Hindi tatanggapin ni Armida ang rating na iyan.” Armida became MTRCB chair in 1998, she had him back in the agency. He was a semi-regular in Aawitan Kita that ran for 35 years on television, and in a few episodes of Aawitan Kita sa Makati, a monthly operetta-of-sorts staged at the University of Makati from 2005-2015, where kundimans, danzasand balitawswere strung with OPM material, to tell a story.

GENEROUS STORYTELLER

RETURNING to the MTRCB with Atty. Toto Villareal as chairman in 2013, Robert was generous with his story-telling and advice to younger members, except with the deliciouslooking lunch sandwiches he never, as

in never, shared with any of us: “ Gawa ito ng asawa ko para sa akin lang.”

It was a great privilege to have known and worked with him outside of TV. In InagawMoangLahatsaAkin (1995), he played husband to Armida and father to Maricel Soriano and Snooky Serna, a role he thought of turning down—“Minamarkahan ko ang mga linyako,angkonti,angiba,voice-over pa.” until he read the script in its entirety. “Markado pala ako.”

Going into the making of Hari ng Tondo for Cinemalaya X in 2014, Carlitos and I could think of no other to play the patriarch whose sudden financial losses pushed him to bring his grandchildren to Tondo, where once there were kings: “Tuturuan ko kayo kung paanong magka-bayag!”

He won Cinemalaya’s Best Actor award, and no one was surprised.

The film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September that year, and he joined our delegation. In the hotel, he found out from the Filipina room attendant that Robert Downey Jr. was there, too. He asked for the other Robert’s room number, she said: “’Dipo namin puwedeng sabihin, e.”

He shot back: “OK lang. Basta huwagmoringsasabihinsakanyaang room number ni Robert Arevalo, ha?”

He’s sure to be sorely missed.

By the way, his grandson Anton Villa-Ignacio, La Salle Kundirana bassist from 2014-2015, is now in the third year of his medical studies. While Robert was earlier on joyful about Anton’s going into medicine, the happiness may also have sprung from him thinking this apo could still end up doing movies, like LoloGerry.

It runs in the blood. Ylagan was, is, and will be.

Scene from “Hari ng Tondo.” Robert Arevalo’s character returns to the Tondo he grew up in and is pained by what it’s become

Dinner at Armida Siguion-Reyna’s house. Seated (L-R) Rafa and Yanah SiguionReyna, Bibeth Orteza, Manet Dayrit, Tony Veloso and Mario Hernando. Standing (L-R) Pinky Amador, Robert, Pete Lacaba ang Marra Lanot

Photo still from “Hari ng Tondo” (L-R) Lui Manansala, Liza Lorena, Ciara Anna Sotto, Ice Seguerra, Mark Tayag, Cris Villonco, Carlos Canlas, Robert Arevalo, Rez Cortez, Rafa Siguion-Reyna. Jelson Bay and Lorenz Martinez in the back. Carlos Siguion-Reyna directing Robert Arevalo for “Hari ng Tondo.”