BusinessMirror August 28, 2022

Resort to Congress

www.businessmirror.com.ph n Sunday, August 28, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 324 P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

win Gatchalian filed Resolution 78, urging Congress to look into the impact of the ongoing war be tween Russia and Ukraine on the country’s energy security and af fordability.There is a need for Congress to be apprised of the short-, me

dium- and long-term effects and implications of the Russian inva sion of Ukraine on the Philippine economy, in particular, the coun try’s oil supply and the effects of the continuous elevated global oil and coal prices on domestic oil and petroleum products,” the senator said.

THE DOE’s next move was to ask Congress to amend the Oil Deregu lation Law to provide a framework for the government to effectively intervene and address sudden, pro longed oil price spikes. The House Committee on En ergy has approved amendments to the law, institutionalizing the minimum inventory requirement and pushing for the unbundling of fuel Pprices.ump prices went up for 11 consecutive weeks since the start of the year up to March 15, fol lowed by a price rollback the week after, then another price increase at end-March.InApril, pump prices went down twice and increased three times. A mix of oil price hikes and rollbacks occurred in May. Based on figures, there was a 22-percent increase in gasoline pric es to P77.71 per liter in May from P63.58 per liter in January, and diesel pump prices soared by 49 per cent to P75.92 per liter in May from P50.95 per liter in January. Oil prices for the whole month of June went up as against a whole month of price rollbacks for July. For August, there were three weeks of price reduction for diesel and kerosene, while gasoline prices went down twice. O n Monday this week, oil firms announced that they would raise pump prices starting August 23. They unleashed an increase of P0.70 per liter in gasoline prices, P2.60 per liter hike in diesel, and P2.80 upward adjustment for ker osene.Prior to this week’s oil price hike, the year-to-date total adjust ments stood at a net increase of P17.45/liter for gasoline, P29.10/ liter for diesel and P24.30/liter for kerosene.During the successive in creases in oil prices, many public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers opt ed not to ply their usual routes, while provincial buses and taxis were operating only at 20 percent to 30 percent capacity, which led to a severe lack of available public transportation.Inlightofthis, Senator Sher A ‘GIFT’ TO OIL COMPANIES?

BM GRAPHICS: ED DAVAD/SOURCE: DOE GASOLINE RETAIL PRICEIMPORTBREAKDOWNCOSTINDUSTRYTAKETAXESETHANOL

By Lenie Lectura

A broader look at today’s business EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS 2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion PANDEMIC:

Amid the lingering contagion and spike in crude price, local petro firms continue to rake in mega profits

ENERGY Undersecretary Gerardo Erquiza: “Our hands are tied. We can appeal but it is really up to the oil firms to heed our requests.”

According to data released by the Department of Energy (DOE), import cost made up 47 percent of the retail price of gasoline during the week of August 16 to 22; taxes at 24 percent; industry take at 21 percent; and ethanol at 8 percent. At P73.75 per liter of gaso line, this would mean that P34.34 comprised the world market price and landed cost; various taxes at P17.90; industry take at P15.69; and ethanol at P5.81. Cu rrently, the Philippines mandates a blending of 10 percent ethanol on all gasoline products and 5 percent biofuel for diesel sold across the country through the Biofuels Act of 2006 or Repub lic Act 9637. Ethanol is made from sugar while the feedstock for bio diesel is coconut oil. The retail price of diesel, at P73.9 per liter of the same week, is broken down thus: P45.4 (61 per cent), import cost; P13.92 (19 per cent), taxes; P12.86 (17 percent), industry take; and P1.73 (2 per cent), CME or coco-methyl ester. These are just estimates. We won’t know exactly until the oil firms submit a detailed computa tion, which is what the DOE has been pushing for,” said DOE Direc tor for Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) Rino Abad. The agency issued a depart ment circular mandating unbun dling in 2019, but it was subjected to an injunction by the local courts. The DOE maintains that unbun dling of the cost of petroleum retail products will determine their true and passed-on costs.

June this year, 255 percent more than the P2.2 billion recorded in the same period last year. Other oil firms reported hefty profits mainly due to higher rev enues, fueled by improving sales volume and prices. Since the oil industry is de regulated, which means the DOE could not intervene or dictate pric es, the agency has asked oil firms to provide discounts to consumers and temper the price increases by possibly implementing the up wards price adjustments in weekly installments.“Ourhands are tied. We can appeal but it is really up to the oil firms to heed our requests,” said Energy Undersecretary Gerardo Erquiza.

THE so-called industry take, or the amount comprising the recovery of all the operating costs and profit margin of an oil company, is the third largest component of the retail price of gasoline and diesel.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.0080 n JAPAN 0.4104 n UK 66.3079 n HK 7.1379 n CHINA 8.1799 n SINGAPORE 40.3254 n AUSTRALIA 39.0880 n EU 55.8792 n KOREA 0.0419 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.9116 Source BSP (August 26, 2022) DREAMSTIME.COMFURGISONANTHONY

THERE had been suggestions for government to buy back Petron Corp., which supplies about 40 percent of the country’s oil re quirements.PetronPresident Ramon Ang said that he would even be will ing to sell Petron even through installments over five years if gov ernment wants it back. This was Ang’s reply when militant groups accused Petron of raking in profits amid skyrocketing oil prices. In the first half of the year, Pe tron reported a net income of P7.71 billion from P3.87 billion in the same period last year. Consolidat ed revenues surged by 129 percent year-on-year to P398.52 billion, fueled by the sustained increase in sales volume and prices. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (PSPC) also saw its net in come surge to P7.8 billion at end-

FACEBOOK.COM/DOEGOVPH

Petron buyback

Gatchalian, who chaired the Committee on Energy in the 18th Congress, conducted a hearing last March to seek specific solutions and programs of the DOE and relevant government agencies to mitigate the impact of the RussiaUkraine crisis on the country’s oil supply and prices.

WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING ABOUT RISING ENERGY PRICES? OFFICIALS say they have set aside a package of support worth £37 bil lion to help with the cost of living. All households will receive £400 off their energy bills this winter, and millions of low-income people will get a further £650. The measures have been wide ly criticized as inadequate, but no new policy is expected until after September 5, when the Conserva tives announce who they have cho sen for a new leader.

HOW DOES THE UK COMPARE WITH EU NEIGHBORS?

THE LNG (liquefied natural gas) ship Attalos arrives at the Isle of Grain terminal, east of London, Wednesday, August 24, 2022, after traveling from Australia carrying a cargo that originated at the North West Shelf project.

NewsSunday BusinessMirror www.businessmirror.com.phSunday, August 28, 2022A2

GARETH FULLER/PA VIA AP

ENERGY prices are rising in other European countries, too, but people in some countries have not seen the same level of rocketing bills as the UK. In France, gas prices are fro zen at October 2021 levels, and the freeze has been extended until the end of the year following a govern ment decree announced in June. Low- and middle-income house holds also receive €100 to buy gas and electricity.InGermany, average electric ity prices for households rose up to 38 percent over the past year. A new levy to prop up energy compa nies buying more expensive natu ral gas would add several hundred euros for an average household per year. But the government is tem porarily lowering taxes on natural gas from 19 percent to 7 percent to offset those costs and has ap proved one-off cash subsidies. Italy also has seen increasing calls for an energy price cap amid parliamentary election campaigns. This month, the government earmarked €8.4 billion to help lowincome households and businesses offset the increase in energy costs, fol lowing relief it previously approved.

A lthough Britain only imports a small percentage of its gas from Rus sia, the UK relies more on gas than its European neighbors because it has less nuclear and renewable en ergy. It also does not have as much capacity to store gas, forcing it to buy on the short-term spot market that sees greater volatility in prices.

WHY ARE ENERGY PRICES RISING? GLOBAL oil and gas prices have been rising sharply since last year as econ omies worldwide recovered from the coronavirus pandemic and demand for energy surged. Russia’s war in Ukraine created a full-on energy cri sis as Moscow reduced or cut off nat ural gas flows to European countries that rely on the fuel to power indus try, generate electricity and heat and cool homes.Shrinking supplies, higher demand and fears of a complete Russian cutoff have driven natural gas prices to record highs, further fueling inflation that has squeezed people’s ability to spend and raised the risk of a recession in Europe and the UK. “ The market shows no sign of finding a new equilibrium,” Rystad Energy analyst Lu Ming Pang said. “Market sentiment is a mixture of price record fatigue with quiet ac ceptance that this new normal is here to stay.”

By Sylvia Hui | The Associated Press

UK energy bills are skyrocketing. Why is it happening?

The UK energy regulator on Friday was set to announce the latest price cap, which is the maxi mum amount that gas suppliers can charge customers per unit of energy. It could mean people pay up to £3,600 ($4,240) a year for heating and electricity, according to analysts’ forecasts. Scores are already strug gling to make ends meet as infla tion soared to 10.1 percent last month—the highest in 40 years— and the rapidly spiraling costs of energy and food are certain to hit the poorest the hardest. The government is facing widespread calls to do more to of fer relief, but no new measures are expected before the Conservative Party chooses a new prime minis ter to replace Boris Johnson. Here’s a look at the rising en ergy costs in the United Kingdom: HOW STEEP IS THE RISE? ANNUAL energy bills for the av erage household paying by direct debit have already risen by a record 54 percent so far this year. Now, bills are capped at £1,971 ($2,320) a year, compared with about £1,200 last winter.Underthe revised price cap Fri day, average household energy bills are expected to jump to around £3,600 a year starting in October. They will go still higher when the price cap is updated again in Janu ary, expected to exceed £4,000. US bank Citi forecast that the huge energy cost increases could drive UK inflation to 18 percent next year. The Bank of England predicts a recession starting later this year. C harities and public health leaders warn that the rocketing bills will be a “catastrophe” for poorer people heading into winter, as growing numbers are forced to make impossible choices between heating their homes and putting food on the table. The energy regulator, the Of fice of Gas and Electricity Markets, said the quarterly update is meant to mitigate volatility in the energy market, allowing energy suppli ers to better manage their risks so there’s no sudden cost hikes for consumers.

LONDON—A deepening cost-of-living crisis in Britain is about to get worse, with millions of people expected to pay about 80 percent more a year on their household energy bills starting in October. Some, including the opposi tion Labour Party, have called for officials to significantly increase financial support for people and to freeze the energy price cap. Labour proposed to pay for it by extending the government’s temporary tax on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies.NeitherLiz Truss nor Rishi Sunak, the two politicians vying to become the next prime minister, appear to back such a plan. Some critics say the UK’s fully privatized energy market—which can be traced back to Margaret Thatcher’s liberalization drive in the 1980s—is partly to blame for the crisis. Giovanna Speciale, chief ex ecutive of the Southeast London Community Energy group, which helps people in need with their household bills, said the energy market is “fundamentally broken.”

Receiving “£400, or £1,200 in government support is not going to help very much—these are just sticking plasters,” Speciale said. “What we need to address is sys temic problems. Because the sys tem is entirely private, there’s very little that the government can do to intervene in this.”

Bloomberg News

When the US warned of impend ing war earlier this year, officials and analysts in Washington and Europe alike assumed Russia’s much larger and better equipped military would quickly dominate Ukraine’s forces. They also believed Putin would find himself constrained by a weak domes tic USeconomy. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley even warned Con gress that Kyiv could fall within 72 hours of an invasion being launched. President Joe Biden said he would turn the ruble to “rubble.” In the Kremlin, meanwhile, Putin and his closest ad visers saw Ukraine as a nation divided with incompetent leaders that would lack the will to fight. Yet those expectations have proved drastically wrong.  War’s uncertain outcome WHAT this eventually will mean as Ukraine marks a half year of war and continued independence is as uncer tain as the conflict’s outcome. What’s clear is that rather than reassert Mos cow as a global military power as Putin hoped, his decision to invade Ukraine has launched a profound rethink of Russia’s conventional capabilities. It also prompted further expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza tion, with hitherto neutral Finland and Sweden resolving to join the mili taryRussiaalliance.“is not a peer military to the US” or even smaller NATO forc es, said Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The war showed it “is not able to run complex operations in the way the British or French or Israelis can do, so in those terms it isn’t even a second tier mili taryUkrainepower.” has suffered extensive damage to infrastructure, towns and cities and heavy military casualties, while the conflict has forced millions to flee the country. Its economy is struggling.Still,President Volodymyr Zelen skyy has emerged as a defiant wartime leader able to rally his nation to inflict huge losses on Russia’s military, which was forced to retreat from around the capital, Kyiv, and regroup in the east.  Ukraine remains supported by sup plies of advanced US and European weapons, even as it is yet to show it can mount a successful large-scale counteroffensive and its allies find themselves under growing economic pressure.

Russia cuts back gas to Europe

The next “5 to 10 winters will be difficult,” Belgian Prime Minister Al exander De Croo said on Monday, as European natural gas prices rose to about 15 times their summer average. O’Brien was among the few West ern defense analysts to predict a quagmire for Putin in Ukraine even before the war, and events since have only deepened his skepticism of the quality of Russian equipment, train ing and Russiacommand. failedto find a response to just 20 long range HIMARS rocket systems, a 1980s US technology that Ukrainian troops are using to destroy ammunition dumps and logistics systems deep behind Russian lines, O’Brien said. “The US has 540 of them. Russia isn’t even in the same league.”  Inside and outside the government, some Russian policy makers and ad visers say they were well aware of the military’s weaknesses—and the chal lenges it would face in Ukraine—be fore Putin launched his February 24 “special military operation.” That’s why so many refused right to the end to believe he would pull the trigger.  One person close to the Russian defense establishment said the view was any invasion would be like the Korean War in the 1950s, with a po sitional front developing. Even they, however, thought Russia would be able to take more territory east of the central Dnipro River. One reason for Russian under per formance is that only since the war has it become clear its military was over counting to hide its underinvestment in personnel, according to Michael Kofman, director of Russia Studies at CNA, a Washington think tank. As Russia gathered troops around Ukraine for the invasion, estimates for the scale of the force were based on a count of so-called Battalion Tac tical Groups, or BTGs—maneuverable units with their own artillery, air de fense, logistics and about 50 tanks and armored vehicles—assumed to include 700-900 troops each. That suggested an invasion force of about 150,000. Inreality, the average BTG had 600 personnel or fewer, and the total force may have included just 90,000 regular Russian troops, Kofman said in a recent podcast with West Point’s Modern War Institute. With the bulk of personnel cuts coming to infantry, “they were essentially going to war and there was nobody in the vehicles.” That had a huge impact on the war, explaining Russian difficulties in get ting off roads, engaging effectively in urban warfare and taking territory, ac cording to Kofman. Still, he remains cautious about drawing conclusions, recalling the difficulties encountered by the US against vastly inferior mili taries in Afghanistan and Iraq. Underperformance of the Russian air force and air defenses has also led to questions over the quality of the equipment itself, as well as the train ing of Russian pilots and soldiers that operateRussia’sthem. ability to produce techno logically advanced weapons is likely to be further eroded as sanctions hamper imports. A study of Russian equipment captured or destroyed on Ukraine’s battlefields found 450 foreign-made components in 27 Russian critical arms systems, including drones, mis siles and communications equipment. The majority of those parts were made by US companies, with the remainder coming mainly from Ukraine’s supporters. While smug gling and espionage can fill some of the void, “Russia and its armed forces remain highly vulnerable to multilat eral efforts to choke off these compo nent flows and raise the costs of its aggression in Ukraine,” said the Aug. 8 report by the Royal United Services Institute in the UK. At the same time the motivation and ability of Ukrainian forces to in novate, out think Russian command ers in the field and deploy unfamiliar NATO standard weaponry has sur prised many, with some analysts— and according to one August opinion poll, 98% of Ukrainians—now con vinced they can win the war. Russia may not even be able to sustain its nuclear arsenal over the long term, so long as it remains sanc tioned, according to Pavel Luzin, a defense analyst at Riddle, a think tank devoted to Russia, and a former adviser to jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

6 months of Putin’s war unravels Russia’s global superpower image

“The West underestimates the degree of elasticity of the Russian system—because it is poor and in competent, but also quite explosive because it is global,” said Gleb Pavlov sky, a Kremlin political adviser during Putin’s first decade in power.   “And at some point it will explode, but how it will explode is another question.”

Seeking solutions HOWEVER , Indian and Belgian buyers and jewelry retailers from key markets such as China and the Middle East remain keen to buy Russian diamonds, and have been seeking solutions after banks became unable or unwilling to process payments once the sanctions hit. Alrosa is effectively state controlled: the federal government owns 33percent and another 25percent is held by local authorities. The company competes globally with De Beers, owned by Anglo American Plc, and the two companies produce about the same amount of diamonds annually.  After the initial chaos in the wake of the US sanctions on Alrosa, the fresh flow of Russian gems is quickly easing tightness in the market. In recent months, accredited De Beers buyers could make a profit of about 10percent by trading their purchases to other gem manufacturers facing tight supplies.  Now, prices for some goods in the “secondary” market—where traders and manufacturers sell among themselves—have fallen sharply in the past month and that margin has now disappeared, the people said. De Beers held prices steady at its latest sale last week, and with the steep correction in market prices that discount has now evaporated, removing most profit margins for its buyers, the people said.

By Aisha S Gani & Abhinav Ramnarayan T ECH mavericks who made buy-nowpay-later an option for shoppers worldwide are grappling with mounting losses and investor skepticism. Now big finance is on their tail. British retail giants NatWest Group Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays Plc and Virgin Money as well as Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. have recently launched new ways to spread the cost of purchases as they cater to the gradual shift from credit cards to the kinds of services offered by newcomers Klarna Bank AB, Affirm Holdings Inc. and Afterpay. “Even though banks are just getting started, they are well positioned to scale fast,” said Dilnisin Bayel, a managing director who specializes in credit in Europe at Accenture Plc. “Although the concept of paying in installments is more than a century old, the real-time delivery of BNPL on any card is new and convenient for users. Banks have an opportunity to put their unique stamp on theThisoffer.”growing competition adds to pressure on buy-now-pay-later providers, which allow customers to split online purchases via their own apps or an extra button on retailers’ checkout pages. After several years of rapid growth, rising borrowing costs risk eroding their margins just as soaring inflation makes credit more tempting—and more dangerous—for many customers across Europe and the US.

BusinessMirror Sunday, August 28, 2022 The World www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso A3 By Marc Champion S IX months into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the war has upended fundamental assumptions about Russia’s military and economy.

Bloomberg News Buy-now-pay-later

THE offices of HSBC Holdings Plc, left, and Barclays Plc, right, in the Canary Wharf, London. BLOOMBERG

Asked by the Swiss newspaper Blick this month whether she feared Russia might target NATO member Estonia next, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said she saw no threat at her borders, despite Putin name-checking the Estonian city of Narva in a June speech where he discussed the need to recover lost Russian lands.  “The right question would be: Is it NATO’s turn next?” Kallas told Blick. “Is Russia ready for this?” Forecasts of Russia’s economic col lapse have proved just as wide of the mark, with gross domestic product falling at a grim, but less than cata strophic rate of 4% in the second quar ter, as rising energy prices underpin budget revenue. As recently as May, Russia’s own finance ministry fore cast a 12% contraction this year for an economy weighed by a blizzard of international sanctions.

UKRAINIANS visit an avenue, where destroyed Russian military vehicles have been displayed in Kyiv, Ukraine on August 20, 2022. Drawing the attention of large numbers of pedestrians and amateur snappers on Saturday in downtown Kyiv a large column of burned out and captured Russian tanks and infantry carriers were displayed on the central Khreshchatyk boulevard. AP/ANDREW KRAVCHENKO

RUSSIA has cut back on supplies of natural gas to Europe, wielding an unexpectedly potent economic weapon of its own. Though prepa rations have been made to mitigate the impact of further Russian supply cuts, officials from Finland to Ger many in recent days warned citizens to prepare for hardship.

With assistance from Daryna Krasno lutska/Bloomberg T HE panic that gripped the diamond world this year is starting to unwind as sanctioned Russian mining giant Alrosa PJSC has quietly revived exports to near pre-war levels. Alrosa accounts for about a third of global rough-diamond supply, and the $80 billion industry was thrown into turmoil as cutters, polishers and traders hunted for ways to keep buying from Russia while their banks couldn’t or wouldn’t finance payments. The sudden shortage of stones sent diamond prices surging, especially for the smaller and cheaper gems that Alrosa specializes in. Now, after months of paralysis when it was hit with US sanctions, Alrosa is back selling more than $250 million of diamonds a month, with sales currently only about $50 to $100 million a month below prewar levels, according to people familiar with the matter. The sales have restarted as some Indian banks become more comfortable with how to facilitate transactions in currencies other than US dollars, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Most of the Russian stones are heading to manufacturers in India—the biggest among a handful of industry hubs, where hundreds of mostly family-owned businesses cut and polish rough stones into the finished products, ready to be used in earrings and engagement rings. Alrosa has been selling diamonds to buyers in India and Europe, mostly in exchange for rupees, the people said. There is no indication that any sales have breached sanctions or laws. But there is still a widespread unease about the implications of dealing in Russian goods, said the people. The deals are being done quietly—even by the closed-doors standards of the famously secretive diamond world—and Alrosa has stopped publishing any information on its sales or financial performance. A spokesperson for Alrosa declined to comment. The return of one of the world’s main sources of precious gems will be a relief to the manufacturers and traders who rely on its stones. However, rough-diamond prices were already showing signs of softening in response to a worsening economic outlook, and the increased supply is adding further weakness.  The restarted sales show how buyers of Russian products, from oil and gas to coal and aluminum, have found ways to keep its raw materials flowing despite the fallout from the war.  For the diamond trade, there is a bigger reputational threat as well. If consumers want to avoid Russian diamonds they may simply stop buying altogether as the nature of the industry means it’s hard to keep track of any specific stone, with millions of interchangeable gems flowing between dozens of traders and manufacturers before eventually ending up in the display window of a jewelry store. Some parts of the diamond industry have been pushing to exclude Russian production—US jewelers Tiffany & Co. and Signet Jewelers Ltd. have said they will stop buying new diamonds mined in Russia, while countries including the US have sought to have the gems labeled as “conflict diamonds,” the New York Times reported.

“The lack of industrial equipment, technologies and human capital will make the current numbers of ICBMs, SLBMs and heavy bombers just impos sible,” Luzin said, referring to Russia’s land, submarine and air launched nuclear missiles.  For all that, Russia remains a nucle ar superpower with a fearsome capa bility to escalate the conflict that may yet prove decisive. The Soviet Union managed to develop its arsenal with out access to Western (or modern Chi nese) technology, obtaining it through espionage networks where necessary.

While the US and its close allies have imposed sanctions, many coun tries—from China, to India and the Middle East—have not, continuing to trade with Moscow.

ALROSA is selling more than $250 million of diamonds a month. BLOOMBERG Sanctioned Russian diamonds quietly flowing again after months of paralysis

And investors, who viewed Klarna as more valuable than some of Europe’s banks last year, are rethinking their enthusiasm. Klarna’s latest fundraising in July slashed its valuation to $6.7 billion from $45.6 billion, while in the US, Affirm’s market capitalization has dropped more than 70 percent this year to $8.4Traditionalbillion. credit providers tend to have more funding and longstanding relationships with millions of customers, giving them a headstart in challenging the newcomers. They also have experience of the sort of regulatory clampdown that’s on the horizon for BNPL in the UK and elsewhere, with large firms encouraging stricter rules in future, to the chagrin of some startups. There’s lucrative business at stake: Barclays, for example, made £541 million, or about 16 percent of its UK income, from its Barclaycard UK consumer lending arm in the first half of the year. To be sure, it’s smaller than its business lending or mortgage operations, but it would be painful to lose this customer base. BNPL transactions reached about $147 billion in 2021, nearly doubling in a year to represent about 2.7 percent of global commerce transactions, according to GlobalData. The data firms believe this has room to rise to about 7.1 percent of global commerce by 2026. With more providers big and small joining the market, growth looks set to continue “especially in a macro-economic environment with inflationary pressures where consumers need to look for alternative sources of credit to cover living expenses,” said Jeff Tijssen, a partner at Bain & Co. tech pioneers squeezed as big banks muscle in

Economist Michael Strain of the conservative American Enterprise Institute says the price tag makes the program “a hard sell.” Wooden counters that the program will have an immediate impact, leading to real-time behavioral changes in planning, academics and ambition. “How much is enough to inspire a kid and their family to think about the future,” he said. “There is a high value that should be placed on hope. We know what hopelessness looks like in ourManning,communities.”theexpectant mother, said knowing about the program and its payout would change the way they talk about her son’s future. “It would be much more focused,” she said. “’Do you know what you want to do? What are your plans?’”

MANY STILL SEEKING FOOD, SHELTER A YEAR AFTER STRONG HAITI QUAKE

“The money just wasn’t there,” said Manning, 25. “I knew I wasn’t going to finish so I just had Afterfun.”a year, she was back in the nation’s capital working fast food jobs. Now she lives largely on public assistance in a two-bedroom apartment with her boyfriend, his mother and his 9-year-old daughter from another relationship. She still has student debt and there’s a baby boy on the way. She sees a brighter future for that baby, thanks to a landmark social program being pioneered in Washington. Called “Baby Bonds,” it will provide children of the city’s poorest families with up to $25,000 when they reach adulthood—for use on multiple purposes, including education.

The concept’s journey from academia to on-the-ground policy received a boost from the national conversation on poverty brought on by the pandemic as multiple proposals put forward at the state level. But most have failed to see daylight. Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., publicly backed a Baby Bonds proposal in 2020. But the Legislature stripped it from his budget, and Murphy did not propose it again. In June 2021, Connecticut’s legislature approved America’s first state-level Baby Bonds program. But in May of this year, that same government delayed the start by two years.

One week after giving birth to her second child, a daughter named Kali, Aaliyah Wright told The Associated Press that she didn’t anticipate having much savings to help her children when they reached adulthood, especially with about $80,000 in college loan debt. She and her husband, Kainan, are on Medicaid despite steady jobs (she’s a case worker at a nongovernmental organization and he’s a barber) and an estimated annual income around $70,000.

The government says it has planted 400 tons of beans, cleaned 10,000 meters of canals, distributed 22,000 bags of fertilizer and donated more than 300,000 baskets filled with basic goods. It has provided $100 each to vulnerable people in tens of thousands of homes across the south. The state also opened a temporary bridge over the Grande-Anse River in early August. But UNICEF warned last week that more than 250,000 children still have no access to adequate schools and that the majority of 1,250 schools destroyed or damaged have not been rebuilt. It noted that a lack of funds and a spike in violence have delayed reconstruction.Increasingly powerful gangs have seized control of the main road leading from the capital of Port-au-Prince to Haiti’s southern region, disrupting efforts to provide food, water and other basic goods to those in need. A lot of organizations have been forced to pay bribes to avoid staff being kidnapped while driving to the south. Cindy Cox-Roman, CEO of Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit HelpAGE USA, said there is “a great feeling on the part of people there that they’re alone in this.”

“I think it’s an idea that’s growing,” Booker said. “And it’s a big idea. It’s on the level of Social Security. It’s on the level of Medicare.” He added: “One generation would create a dramatic change.” But for politicians, the price tag can be daunting. Booker’s national plan envisioned annual costs of $60 billion, something he proposes funding by raising taxes on the wealthy. Washington’s program will cost $32 million for the first four years alone. Despite the price tag, Baby Bonds proposals have recently emerged in Wisconsin and Washington state, while Massachusetts has convened a task force on the issue. California just created a version, with Baby Bonds funds specifically for children who lost parents to Covid.

By Ashraf Khalil The Associated Press W ASHINGTON—Aaliyah Manning’s dreams of becoming a psychologist ended abruptly during her freshman year at Potomac State in West Virginia when the cost of continuing her education became overwhelming.

The Baby Bonds idea has swiftly moved from a fringe leftist concept to actual policy—with the District of Columbia as first laboratory. Lawmakers from coast to coast are monitoring the experiment, one that proponents say could reshape America’s growing wealth gap in a single generation if instituted on a federal level.

Connecticut’s plan would pay about $13,000—something Wooden described as “pretty much the floor” for a serious Baby Bonds attempt. Naomi Zewde, an assistant professor in health economics at the City University of New York, said her 2019 analysis of the Baby Bonds concept suggested the program would boost the economic standing of both white and Black Americans while massively shrinking the racial wealth gap. But there are detractors.

Washington’s program is open to families on Medicaid making less than 300% of the federal poverty line: about $83,250 for a family of four. Connecticut’s will automatically enroll any newborn from a family on the state’s Medicaid program. Booker’s proposal would have granted every newborn a Baby Bonds fund and $1,000 in seed money; all subsequent payments into the fund would have been heavily weighted toward poorerTherefamilies.arealso differences in payouts. Booker’s proposal would have paid about $46,000 to children of the poorest families, while Washington expects to pay a maximum of $25,000.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.—The conviction of two men for conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shows that jurors in a deeply divided nation can still reach agreement in politically charged cases, according to experts.

AALIYAH WRIGHT, 25, of Washington, reacts on seeing a smile from her newborn daughter Kali, as her husband Kainan Wright, 24, of Washington, holds their son Khaza, 1, during a visit to the children’s grandmother in Accokeek, Md. on August 9, 2022. A landmark social program is being pioneered in the nation’s capital. Coined “Baby Bonds,” the program is designed to narrow the wealth gap. The program would provide children of the city’s poorest families up to $25,000 when they reach adulthood.

AP/JACQUELYN MARTIN DC’s pioneering ‘Baby Bonds’ plan aims to narrow wealth gap

IN this image made from video, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks with educators, parents and students during a back-to-school event at Novi High School on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, in Novi, Mich. A day earlier, two men were convicted of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer.

poverty. Marie Dadie Durvergus, a kindergarten teacher who lives with her two children in one camp, said a bag of rice that cost 750 gourdes ($6) last year now costs 4,000 gourdes ($31).

The case unfolded against a backdrop of nationwide polar ization.Whitmer, a rising Democratic star, had exchanged barbs with former President Donald Trump and was unpopular with conser vatives, including over her poli cies early on during the Covid-19 pandemic.Trumpand other Republicans had accused the FBI of being a tool of Democrats. He described the Whitmer kidnapping plan as a “fake deal.” Jury selection in the retrial of Fox and Croft hap pened the day after federal agents searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents. During the trial, a man appar ently angered by the search tried to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati of fice and was killed. Even so, the jury in Michigan’s Western District—a blend of ur ban, suburban and rural areas representing a broad political spec trum—delivered “a real statement that citizens of our country aren’t going to put up with violent actions against public officials,” said Mark Chutkow, a former Detroit federal prosecutor.Lessclear is what, if any, effect the case will have on anti-govern ment extremism and white-hot partisanship. Following the ver dict, Whitmer renewed her call to “lower the temperature.” “This is about every Ameri can who is serving the public, who’s dealing with threats, whether it’s an election worker or it is a police officer or a teach er,” she told reporters Wednes day after a back-to-school event in suburban Detroit. “This con tinued political rhetoric that is aimed at inspiring people to hurt their fellow Americans is dangerous.”Theconvictions of Croft and Fox could be another rallying cry for far-right extremists, al though likely not as potent as 1990s sieges in Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho, said Jon Lewis, a research fellow with George Washington University’s program on extremism. “It’s possible that individuals in anti-government spaces could leverage this as an example of continued tyranny, abuse of the rights of Americans,” Lewis said. A more concerning outcome could be an increase in lone-wolf attacks as extremist groups be come more wary of the potential for infiltration by undercover op eratives, he said. “It’s much harder with the lone actor,” Lewis said. “He doesn’t tell anyone his plans, he has legal access to firearms.”

AP/MIKE HOUSEHOLDER

The World BusinessMirrorSunday, August 28, 2022 www.businessmirror.com.phA4

The George Washington pro gram is tracking cases against 49 people charged with “offenses re lated to the boogaloo movement,” a loose confederation of believers in a second civil war, he said. Far-right paramilitary groups were gleeful about the first trial’s outcome and probably are un happy with the convictions, said Mark Pitcavage, senior research fellow with the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. But history suggests guilty verdicts are less likely to incite violent re actions than arrests perceived as unjust, he said. It’s equally doubtful that the case will bring about a calmer tone in politics, Pitcavage said. “We’re in such a heavily polar ized society right now and few people seem to want to step back from the brink,” he said. The most significant ripple effect, he said, might be what was avoided: another defeat and further damage to the FBI’s credibility.NeamaRahmani, a former fed eral prosecutor in California who has followed the Michigan case and criticized the government’s performance in the first trial, said the convictions vindicated the bu reau’s“Obviouslyinvestigation.thereare folks who are always going to distrust the FBI,” he said. “But this is a big win.” The convictions may boost public understanding of the FBI’s tactics in combating domestic terrorism, particularly use of un dercover operatives, said Dennis Lormel, president of the Society of Former FBI Agents. “I understand the concerns about overreaching, especially with the rhetoric about the FBI be ing politicized,” Lormel said. “But the opportunity to insert FBI em ployees or cooperating witnesses is critically important. If we lose that, we will be in a lot of trouble, we’ll see more terrorist attacks.”

Whitmer kidnap plot convictions unlikely to curb extremism in US

Connecticut’s treasurer, Shawn Wooden, who championed the program, said he remains convinced the policy’s time has come. “There’s quite the level of interest in this,” he said. “And always with these things we need what we call first movers.”

Even at that income level, their new daughter still would qualify for the district’s program, although at a lower level.

By John Flesher The Associated Press

“It would be such a different opportunity for him, a lot different than what I had,” she said.

Berline Laguerre, a former street vendor who once sold used clothes, said the money she had saved to buy more clothes went to feed her children. There was nothing left over to send them to school or buy them uniforms or books.“Andthe kids are asking me, ‘Mom, when am I going back to school?’ My friends are going, ‘What about me?’” she said. On a recent morning, Laguerre stood in line with other people in front of tent #8, where Bauzile Yvenue was making sweet coffee for neighbors in need, a system that has become key to survival. “I can’t do this every morning, but the days I do it, it makes me feel good that I’m able to share coffee with my neighbors,” said the 48-year-old mother of two. But a moment later, she said she worries that her 14-year-old daughter could be raped at the camp. Rape was a common occurrence at similar camps that proliferated after the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed an estimated 300,000 Haitians. Jocelin Juste became the informal manager of Camp Devirel after the most recent big quake. He and other self-appointed leaders have written dozens of letters by hand and visited local nonprofits to try and catch the attention of government officials. “We are doing everything we can to survive,” he said. CotoreportedfromSanJuan,PuertoRico.

The Associated Press reporters Mike Householder in Novi, Michi gan, and Ed White in Detroit con tributed to this story.

But it leaves unanswered ques tions about the potential for vio lence by extremists with a ven detta against government and law enforcement, they say. “I hope it will be a deterrent in the future, but we need to see some softening of the rhet oric before we can accurately predict that,” said Michael Edison Hayden, spokesman for the nonprofit Southern Policy Law Center, which monitors hate groups. A federal jury in Grand Rap ids, Michigan, returned guilty verdicts Tuesday against Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. on two counts of conspiracy. Two others in the plot, Kaleb Franks and Ty Garbin, pleaded guilty earlier. Franks’ sentencing hearing is set for October 6, Fox’s for Decem ber 12 and Croft’s for December 28. Garbin is serving a six-year term, but prosecutors Wednes day asked a judge to cut that to three due to his “remarkable” assistance to the government. Prosecutors said they planned to grab Whitmer at her vacation home and blow up a bridge to stop police from responding. A different jury in April dead locked on Fox and Croft while acquitting two other men. That outcome prompted worries that the overheated political landscape was hampering jurors’ ability to put aside biases, particularly when the FBI—a frequent target of right-wing activists and com mentators—was involved. Some legal observers criticized the government’s handling of the case and questioned the wisdom of retrying it. Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor, said refusing to do so would have been “the coward’s way out.” “We’re seeing an escalation of threats of violence against public officials,” McQuade said. “The only way to stop that is by holding people accountable when they en gage in acts like this, threatening to harm public officials.”

“Think about all the things that people with money do to support themselves or what parents do for kids,” said Kenyan McDuffie, a District of Columbia Council member who pushed the Baby Bonds program through last summer. The city has so far identified 833 babies born since then who will receive up to $25,000 when they turn 18. The concept, originally proposed by academics in 2010, came to mainstream attention when New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., made it a centerpiece of his 2020 presidential campaign.

By Evens Sanon & Dánica Coto The Associated Press L ES CAYES, Haiti—The cinderblock home with a tin roof that Erline Castel and Dieunord Ernest rented was among the more than 130,000 houses damaged or destroyed by a powerful earthquake that struck southern Haiti last year, killing more than 2,200 people. In the days after the magnitude 7.2 quake hit, they gathered sheets, tarpaulins and wood and made a shelter for themselves and their three children. More than a year after the Aug. 14, 2021 quake, the family is still living in the same makeshift tent like hundreds of others, and still wondering if anyone will help them. If recent history is any guide, few people will. The Associated Press visited several camps surrounding the southern coastal city of Les Cayes, which was one of the hardest hit areas, and over and over again people complained that no government official had visited them despite repeated promises that they would come to help. As the family waited for help, Ernest died of prostate cancer last year. So today, Castel is alone, fighting for her family’s survival like many struggling to restart their lives after the quake.OnThursday morning, she tried to get her 9-month-old daughter to suckle. But after a year of surviving on scraps in a makeshift camp, Castel had no milk. The tiny girl, Wood Branan Ernest, fell asleep during her failed attempt.

“The situation is volatile,” he said. Meanwhile, double-digit inflation has deepened

“At that stage of maturity and adulthood, that money can be a door opener to some pretty big things,” Kainan Wright said. The bonds are more accurately trust funds, designed to provide a financial boost at a critical time for the poorest children. At age 18, each enrolled child would receive a lump sum payment that can be used to fund higher education, invest in a business or make a mortgage down payment.

Cassendy Charles, emergency program manager for the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Mercy Corps, estimates it could take five years for the region to fully recover from the earthquake. The organization has been forced to use boats and planes to ferry supplies to the south, but even that is complicated because the port is located by the Cite Soleil slum, where more than 200 people are believed to have been killed recently as rival gangs fought over territory.

Wooden has discussed Baby Bonds with members of President Joe Biden’s domestic policy team. McDuffie’s office has fielded queries from multiple state governments. The concept is new enough that it’s still being tinkered with in real time, with multiple models and internal debates among advocates on issues like how best to determine eligibility.

Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, said the program could tie up millions that could be used to address immediate needs. At the same time, she said, it “does nothing to encourage the culture of savings.”

“I don’t have anything to provide for them,” CastelWhat’ssaid.worse, others are victimizing the quake victims. In one camp, friends of the property owner are trying to take back the land where the refugees settled. Thugs have ripped apart the shacks, thrown rocks at families and tried to set the camp on fire twice in recent months. The camp, like several others, also floods quickly when it rains, forcing hundreds to flee to higher ground as they watch their belongings get drenched.“Idon’tknow how long I can continue like this,” said Renel Cene, a 65-year-old who lost four children in the earthquake and once toiled the nearby fields of vetiver, a plant whose roots produce an oil used in fine perfumes. Families walk to get well water, sometimes letting the sediment settle before drinking it. Many have no work. They rely on the neighbors for their only meal of the day. Those living in the camps say they’ve heard on the radio that local government officials have met with international leaders about the post-earthquake plights, but they question if they’ll ever be helped. “So far, it’s all been promises,” said 55-year-old farmer Nicolas Wilbert Ernest. “I don’t know how long have to wait.” On the earthquake’s anniversary, a group of government officials held a press conference describing the advances of the administration of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who began leading the country shortly after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021.

“ We need to look into agri culture or food commodities to address import substitution, es pecially because of various logis tics supply and global tensions,” he Tsaid.here is also a need to maximize the use of Philippines crops, that can substitute for wheat, like the root crops, such as sweetpotato, carrots and cassava that were used for the enhanced nutribun. A griculture and aqua-culture have to be improved so that the small famers and families can benefit from these, he added. He noted that the DOST does not only produce but also provide added value, especially on the development of more nutritious products, which must be formu lated on certain agricultural prod ucts with supply chain maps and intervention options.

T he coconut industry has a chance to be revived with an in crease in production as shown by the research on somatic embryogenesis technology, where more trees can grow from one seed, unlike the for mer only one tree from one seed.

Linda Francia, Bantay Gubat Marcelino Francia and Twinkle Ferraren LILY VILLANUEVA

SCIENCE Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. HENRY DE LEON, DOST-STII • Lyn Resurreccion

left: Barangay

Rose from the ranks

ARTEMIS I LAUNCHING ON AUG. 29 NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B on August 17, after being rolled out to the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launching of the uncrewed flight test is set not earlier than August 29. NASA’s Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. NASA’s SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built. It is the only rocket that can send the Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon on a single mission. It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a four to six-week mission. NASA/JOEL KOWSKY

Representatives from Panublix Social Enterprise, University of Santo Tomas and the Royal Col lege of Art in London, among many others, will also be speak ing at the event. The webinar will culminate on September 2 with the launch of the virtual exhibition of “From land to loom, from fibre to form: Woven Networks research proj ects,” curated by Tessa Maria Guazon. It will celebrate program highlights and feature objects from the National Museum of Anthropology collection. The four-day webinar is free but registration is required via the British Council Philippines’ webpage. It will be from August 30 to September 2, via Zoom from 4 p.m, to 5:30 p.m. Philip pine time, and 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. UK

H e said: “This can help the DOST to be more efficient and effective.”Itwillbe used for every process in the DOST by developing an ap plication that can be used by the whole department and linking its regional and provincial offices into one system. “ I hope we could do this at the lo cal governments where we use the various technologies we have so we can develop smart communities. In reality you can link everything and apply to local government units,” he Hsaid.eexplained this could be done by linking the various technologies in food security, health, transport, energy, education, disaster and climate resilience, digital trans formation into one system.

THE new DOST chief pointed out that the DOST has various levels of intervention in socio-economic development.Hepointed out the Science for Change Program (S4CP) that was initiated by former DOST under secretary for Research and Devel opment (R&D), Rowena Cristina Guevara, to support and sustain industrial development are ef forts to create more and better employment opportunities for Filipinos.S4CP’s has already a number of projects under its sub-programs that deals with academe, industry, local R&D and other government agencies.DOSTAssistant Secretary Leah J. Buendia, OIC for the Undersecre tary for R&D, told BusinessMirror, that Niche Centers in the Regions for R&D, has established 43 Niche Centers nationwide. T he Collaborative R&D to Le verage Philippine Economy pro gram, which provides R&D solu tions to industry programs, has forged 86 partnerships between the academe and local companies.

SOLIDUM is the first DOST sec retary who rose from the ranks. He has been with the DOST for 38 Fyears.romScience Research Special ist I in 1984, he rose to serve as the director of Phivolcs from 2003 to February 2017. He was assigned as its OIC from March 2017, when was appointed as DOST undersecretary for Di saster Risk Reduction and Climate Change, and then undersecretary for Scientific and Technical Ser vices since October 2019.

Editor:

change.creasedunsustainableexploitationcraftotherthemabaca,berTheywomenaccordingtheindigenouscommunities.andtainableknowledgeectstheopmentlaborativeofrationtures globalciltion andbetweenests” ischangemakers“Woventime.Networks—Craftconservingforaone-yearpartnershipthe ForestFoundatheBritishCounthroughits CraftingFuprogram,incollabowiththeNationalMuseumthePhilippines.Itaimstosparkexcitingcolresearchanddevelof theweavingsectorinPhilippines.ItsupportsprojthatchampionindigenoussystemstowardssusresourcemanagementimprovedlivelihoodofcraftTherearearound60millionpeoplewhorelyonforestfortheirlivelihood,totheUnitedNations.InthePhilippines,manyareartisansandweavers.greatlydependonnontimforestproductslikerattan,raffia,orpandan,turningintoclothing,basketsandobjects.However,massproductionofproductshasledtooverofforestresources,practices,andinvulnerabilitytoclimateFormoreinformation,please Crucial craft and forests links topic of Aug-Sept webinar

“ When we will talk to the peo ple, especially at the regional and provincial levels, we will represent the whole of DOST, [not just as one sub-agency,” Solidum told the in a Zoom interview. Four DOST functions ASKED about the specific DOST plan on socio-economic develop ment, Solidum said the depart ment seems to be doing many things through its 15 research institutions and sectoral coun cils but all of them focus socioeconomic development. He summarized the activities of DOST agencies in four func tions: Wealth creation, through economic development and job cre ation; wealth protection, through climate and disaster resilience; human wellbeing, through health, education, access to water and en ergy; and sustainability, by making sure that the natural resources are protected and conserve for future generations.Hepinpointed some of the DOST agencies with their functions, such as food and agricultural technolo gies may be provided by the Phil ippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development; well being and value-chain addition by the Philippine Council for Indus try, Energy and Emerging Technol ogy Research and Development, and the Food and Nutrition Re search Institute; mechanization, industry and job creation through the Metals Industry Research and Development Center; artificial in telligence, research and develop ment (R&D) may be handled by the regional offices, and its other attached agencies.

“ You cannot pinpoint a single big effort by DOST, you need to cover many things [within the DOST to provide socio-economic development],” he explained. O nce gaps were identified addi tional programs may be adopted, he said.

DOST as one team SOLIDUM said he will continue the “Science for the People [SFTP]” slogan of the DOST under former secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña but will have an additional tagline. “ I want DOST as one team. I be lieve that if you have the passion for service and for making sure that our people are served better by STI [sci ence technology and innovation], we will have an additional tagline besides SFTP. It is ‘One DOST for you.’ We should talk to the people, especially at the regional and pro vincial levels, bringing the whole DOST,” he explained. H e added that the DOST is do ing many things “but we need to create a better impact to our so ciety by working as one for the people.”

From EARTH to HEART WHEN asked whether the DOST will be affected by the new ad ministration’s rightsizing plan for the bureaucracy, he said even if the national leaders have not announced one, an organization has to evaluate itself regularly. S olidum recalled his first mes sage as secretary of DOST on the August 15 flag ceremony. A s a geologist, he said he uses the acronym EARTH in looking at how public servants should work. E stands for excellence, by doings one’s best; A for alignment, where one’s ambition should be aligned with the plan of the organization; R is for respect; T for team work, teaching and trust; and H for heart or passion in providing public service. B ut with H being the most im portant, he is putting it in front to make a HEART. “ We should always have to eval uate if our agency is doing well. Can this program still help? What is its performance? That is why there is a strategic plan, to define what we have to do and change when ever needed. Change is necessary. Rightsizing means job security, which is also being done in the private sector,” he explained.

F or health security, the Virol ogy Vaccine Institute, which has the support of President Marcos Jr. can do research on disease control. The DOST also has its other health programs like the Tuklas Lunas drug discover, di agnostics, functional foods, hos pital equipment and bio-medical devises; disaster-risk reduction and climate change related to health and other techs. Water security and environ mental protection are also DOST’s concerns, Solidum said, but it has to work with the Environment department.Thecurrent problem on the wa ter crisis is mainly on the quality. especially in big cities. We need to look into this by developing R&D programs for water security, such as watershed studies for the res ervoir, water-quality access and availability, and how the commu nities can tap this and make sure the environment is protected,” he said.A f ormer director of  Philip pine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology, Solidum said there is a need to continue improving the capabilities of Phivolcs, and Phil ippine Atmospheric, Geophysi cal and Astronomical Services Administration forecasters, ge ologists, volcanologists and add equipment and facilities.

New DOST Sec Solidum: ‘One DOST for you’

A WEBINAR titled “Woven Networks Sharing Ses sions” will be held from August 30 to September 2 fea turing craft changemakers from the Philippines and the United KingdomSpeakers(UK).will present stories and findings from Woven Net works, a research grant program aiming to grow forest resources and livelihood by strengthening the role of artisans in sustainable development.“ThroughWoven Networks, we wanted to highlight the im portance of craft in responding to global challenges, such as climate change and social inclusion. The interdependence between liveli hood, forests and culture is not always understood,” said Malaya del Rosario, head of arts at the British Council. “In partnership with the For est Foundation, we awarded grants to trusted intermediar ies—designers, academics and development experts. We were able to map 15 craft communities in the Philippines, from weaving cooperatives in Isabela to the indigenous Higaonon weavers in Bukidnon,” del Rosario said. The grantees also involved artisans, foresters and UK-based counterparts in their projects. As cited in a 2019 British Council report, international exchange and cross-sectoral collaboration are key in solving complex problems. A notable finding by grantee, Carmen Roceli Lopez, is that in Samar and Leyte 4 percent of mat weavers are aged 15 to 24, while 50 percent are 65 to 74 yearsTheold.small number of young, culture bearers is alarming for a disaster-prone region that is highly dependent on tradi tional mat weaving for their livelihood.Lopez’sresearch cites recom mendations on what can be done.

BusinessMirror A5Sunday, August 28, 2022 Science Sunday www.businessmirror.com.ph

Digital transformation ADOPTING a digital transfor mation is also on DOST’s plan. A roadmap for it has been laid out, he said. It is similar to what was developed in disaster risk reduc tion program, where hazards are analyzed and assessed in less than 1 minute through the geospatial platform Georisk Philippines.

Various levels of interventions

F or the Business Innovation through S&T for Industry Pro gram, Buendia said four projects have received funding for the ac quisition technologies so they can undertake their R&D. Meanwhile, the RDLead Pro gram, which aims to help develop and strengthen the research capa bilities of the academe, research and development institutions, and other government line agencies na tionwide, has engaged 68 RDLead ers in 66 host institutions. O n the micro, small and me dium enterprises, Solidum said programs provide funding and technical assistance, such as the Small Enterprise Technology Up grading Program; Community Empowerment through Science and Technology; StartUP Grant Fund; and Technology Innovation for Commercialization.WhatIwantedisfor these ini tiatives to really look into how we can significantly contribute to job creation or improvement for the productivity of the industry or the private sector by using STI,” he pointed out.

Detailed tasks SPECIFICALLY, he enumerated the tasks the DOST’s attached agen cies have to look into. For the food security and resil ience, there is a need to increase the crop yields especially in rice and other crops.

FROM Chairman

By Lyn B. Resurreccion ‘ONE DOST for you” will be the banner slogan of the new administration at the Department of Science and Technology under Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. as he will “harmonize” the current programs of the agency with the socio-economic agenda of the administration of President Marcos Jr.

SCIENCE Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. speaks at the flag ceremony, his first as DOST chief, on August 15. TEDDY R. AMANTE, DOST-STII

K EA, Greece—Blending the spiritual with the material, mid-August marks the high point of Greece’s summer season that attracts crowds of city-dwellers back to their ancestral villages.

Spiritual, material mix at Greek mid-August feast

Rene Escalante, chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts said these church edi fices are located in the provinces of Abra, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. In a news conference in Vi gan City, Escalante said that the national government will only concentrate on “big-ticket res toration works.” In Ilocos Sur, he said among the structures that need “a lot of intervention” include the Vigan Cathedral, the Bantay Church and its iconic bell tower, and par ish churches in the towns of San Esteban, Candon and Sta. Maria. “These will be submitted as the priority projects of the national government,” said Escalante, who also chairs the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. According to him, they will soon finalize the list of structures that the government will restore. The official also said they might tap the help of interna tional agencies if government funding for the restoration works will not be enough. At present, he said the struc tures are undergoing detailed engineering studies to further assess the damages and the ex tent of restoration needed.

AP

FOR almost two weeks, the Vatican was publicly silent about the in vestigation of Álvarez. The silence drew criticism from some Latin American human rights activists andOnintellectuals.August12,Monsignor Juan Antonio Cruz, the Vatican’s perma nent observer to the Organization of American States, expressed con cern about the situation and asked both parties to “seek ways of under standing.” Gabriela Selser and María teresa Hernández/Associated Press

The August 15 feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (or Mother of God as the Greeks usually refer to her) is a major religious event coupled with festivals, known as “Panigiria,” that can last more than a day with music, dancing and food, as itinerant traders’ stalls sell anything from toys to clothes. Greece has other important religious feast days, but August 15 is one of the most intense. There is also a sense that shortly afterwards the summer holidays will end, everyone will return to the cities and the long, hard slog of everyday life will begin. So people seem to celebrate hard enough for the memories to last through the dreary winter months ahead. Devotees flock to churches or well-known monasteries. On the island of Tinos, a main pilgrimage site, the more determined crawl on their knees to the church in an expression of piety and, often, in hope of a miraculous cure or other divine intercession.

Quiapo Church has new rector, vicar M EXICO CITY—Earlier this month Nicaragua shuttered seven radio stations belonging to the Catholic Church and launched an investiga tion into the bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, ac cusing him of inciting violent actors “to carry out acts of hate against the population.”

The celebration of the Dormition was the first in three years without the restrictions imposed by the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic, and people turned out in droves.

Tension heightens between Nicaragua govt, Catholic Church

Figures, such as Cardinal Leop oldo Brenes and Managua Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Báez, have been out spoken in rejecting violence. Brenes called the demonstra tions justified, and Báez rejected any political decision that would harm the people. Báez left the country in 2019 at the Vatican’s request, a transfer that was lamented by the opposition and celebrated by the ruling Sandinistas. Ortega has responded by accus ing some bishops of being part of a plot to overthrow him and calling them “terrorists.” In March the papal nuncio in Managua, Monsignor Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, who par ticipated as a mediator and lobbied for the release of jailed government opponents, was forced by Ortega’s administration to leave the country in what the Vatican called an “un justified decision.”

Cultural agencies assure repair of quake-damaged heritage churches

CBCP News

THE St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish Church in Tayum, Abra, was among those damaged by the 7-magnitude earthquake on July 27. PHOTOS FROM NCCA

CBCP News

Churches filled as people expressed relief that they could finally attend open events, but also fears that new restrictions could be imposed once the summer is over. “People have relaxed; now, of course, only God knows [what’s next], but think it was time. People can’t stand it any more,” Father Lefteris, the priest in the Panagia Kastriani church on the island of Kea, also known as Tzia, told The Associated Press. His service was packed with people and the island, close to Athens, chock-full with the cars of vacationers who came from the Greek capital by ferry. On the mainland, festivities in Hassia, on the northern fringes of Athens, were also exceptionally well-attended—both the religious service at the Church of the Dormition and the colorful bazaar in the village. Hassia is also renowned for its traditional eating spots, and the gluttonous feasting on tender meat was for many the highlight of their stay there. Stavrakis/Associated CITY—The country’s cultural agencies recently assured help to repair heritage structures including some churches that were damaged by the recent 7-magnitude earthquake in northern Philippines.

Thanassis

What about the latest churchstate conflict? THE church radio stations were shuttered by the government on August 1, and police investigating Álvarez, the Matagalpa bishop, ac cused him of “organizing violent groups.”Álvarez has called for profound electoral reform to “effectively achieve the democratization of the country” and also demanded the release of some 190 people he con siders political prisoners. Last month he staged a fast in protest of what he called persecu tion against him. Since August 3, authorities have confined Álvarez to the episcopal complex where he lives. After six days without making public state ments, he reappeared in a live social media broadcast at a Mass, accom panied by six priests and four lay people who are also unable to leave theThecomplex.Archdiocese of Managua has expressed support for Álvarez. The conference of Latin American Cath olic bishops decried what it called a “siege” of priests and bishops, the expulsion of members of religious communities and “constant harass ment” targeting the Nicaraguan people and church. On Saturday, hundreds of Ni caraguans attended a Mass under a heavy police presence after the government prohibited a religious procession in Managua. Church leaders announced a day earlier that the National Police had banned the planned procession for Our Lady of Fatima for reasons of “internal security.” Instead, the church called the faithful to come peacefully to the cathedral. What is Vatican’s response?

Faith Sunday A6 Sunday, August 28, 2022 Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph

CARDINAL Leopoldo Brenes blesses the faithful at the end of procession to the Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, on August 13. The Catholic Church called on the faithful to peacefully arrive at the Cathedral in Managua after National Police denied permission for a planned religious procession on the grounds of “internal security.”

“We are behind your desire to restore these heritage structures… let us rebuild better,” Escalante said. The powerful tremor last July 27 claimed at least four lives and left widespread destruction.

Press FATHER Rufino “Jun” Sescon Jr.  of Manila CATHEDRAL PHOTO V IGAN

This is not the first time Presi dent Daniel Ortega has moved ag gressively to silence critics of his administration. In 2018 the gov ernment raided the headquarters of the newspaper Confidencial, led by journalist Carlos Fernando Cham orro, who is considered one of the most prominent critics of Ortega. Then, throughout 2021, authori ties arrested seven potential presi dential candidates for that year’s November elections. Pope Francis, on August 21, voiced worry about the situation in Nicaragua.Callingfor “open and sincere dialogue,” the pontiff made his first public comment on the raid of Alva rez’sTheresidence.detention of Alvarez and an unknown number of priests came amid worsening tensions between the church and a government in creasingly intolerant of dissent. Francis told thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his customary Sunday noon remarks that he was closely following with “worry and sorrow” events in Ni caragua that involve “persons and institutions.” He didn’t mention the detentions.“Iwould like to express my con viction and my hope that through means of open and sincere dialogue, one can still find the bases for re spectful and peaceful co-existence,’’ the pope said. The National Police confirmed the detentions, saying the opera tion was carried out to allow “the citizenry and families of Matagalpa to recover normalcy.” It didn’t cite specificÁlvarezcharges.washeld under guard at a house in Managua and allowed to meet with relatives and Brenes, the police statement said. The police didn’t name the priests who were taken into custody. Here’s a look at the fraught rela tionship between the church and the government amid a political stand off that’s now in its fifth year, with no end in sight. Who is Daniel Ortega? ORTEGA , 76, is a former guerrilla with the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front who helped over throw dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979 and first served as president from 1985 until he left office in 1990 after being voted out. He lost three more elections af ter that before returning to power in 2007. He won a fourth consecu tive term in the 2021 ballot, which is widely discredited since he faced no real Ortega’sopposition.opponents regularly compare him to Somoza for his au thoritarian tendencies, and also ac cuse him of dynastic ambitions. His wife, Rosario Murillo, is his power ful vice Underpresident.Ortega, Nicaragua has cultivated strong ties to allies Cuba and Venezuela, two staunch foes of the US government. How did the unrest begin? A SOCIAL security reform in 2018 triggered massive protests backed by businesspeople, Catholic leaders and other sectors. The government’s response was a crackdown by security forces and allied civilian militias in which at least 355 people were killed, about 2,000 hurt and 1,600 jailed, accord ing to the Inter-American Commis sion on Human Rights. Political stability has never fully returned.Months before last year’s vote, a poll found that support for five opposition candidates put Ortega’s re-election in real doubt. Within weeks all five were arrested, along with two other potential candidates. Authorities accused them of re sponsibility for the 2018 unrest, saying it was tantamount to a “ter rorist coup” attempt purportedly backed by “OrtegaWashington.decidedtosuppress any possibility of losing.... And that meant arresting everyone,” political analyst Oscar Rene Vargas told The Associated Press back then. What role has the church played? NICARAGUA is predominantly Catholic, and the church was close to the Somozas from the 1930s until the 1970s, when it distanced itself from politics af ter many abuses were attributed to the dictatorship. The church initially supported the Sandinistas after Somoza’s oust er, but that relationship frayed over time due to ideological differences. Under Ortega, Catholic leaders have often backed the country’s conservative elite. When the protests first erupted, Ortega asked the church to serve as mediator in peace talks, though they ultimately failed. The Nicaraguan church has been notably sympathetic toward the protesters and their cause. In April 2018, Managua’s cathedral shel tered student demonstrators and was a place for collecting food and money to support them.

C ARDINAL Jose Advincula of Manila has appointed Fr. Rufino “Jun” Sescon Jr. as the new rector of the Mi nor Basilica of the Black Naza rene, more popularly known as Quiapo Church. The priest will replace Mon signor Hernando Coronel, who served the post since 2015. Sescon was the private sec retary of Cardinal Jaime Sin. He is currently the chaplain of the Sto. Niño de Paz Chapel, or Greenbelt Chapel, in Makati City sinceAdvincula2005. also named Fr. Jona than Noel Mojica as Quiapo paro chial vicar, while its former rector, Msgr. Jose Clemente Ignacio, will serve as attached priest. The new appointments were made public by the archdiocese on TheMonday.cardinal also named Fr. An tonio Wang Yuhang as parochial vicar and vice rector of the Nation al Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus, which is close to the Malacañang compound.Ignacio, the current vicar general of the archdiocese, ear lier said that the reshuffling of clergy assignments is scheduled in November.Butsomepriests, he added, were already reassigned because of “seminary needs.”

“Our estimate is that the ancestor of this new genus and species diverged from their closest relative about 5 mil lion years ago,” Heaney added.    Balete is known for his work on the taxonomy and conservation of Philippine mammals.

Study: Already shrunk by half, Swiss glaciers melting faster

Evolution BOTH Ibanez and Heaney believe that Mount Kampalili is an ecosystem where species of plants and animals have adapted and evolved over mil lions of “Thatyears.part of Mindanao is one of the oldest parts of the Philippines. The mountain is probably more than 20 million years old,” Heaney said.

While scientists knew that Balete’s mouse feeds on earthworms, Ibañez said it will be exciting and interest ing to know which animals prey on the newly discovered shrew mouse.  The discovery of Balete’s mouse highlighted once more the country’s rich biological diversity and the need to protect critical habitats, such as Mount Kampalili in Davao Orien tal, where the unique species was discovered.“Theymight not get as much at tention as the Amazon Rainforest or the Great Barrier Reef, but the moun tains of the Philippines are one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Inch for inch, these misty cloud for ests are home to more unique species of mammals per square mile than anywhere else on Earth,” Chicago’s Field Museum said in a news release.  Enormous contribution HEANEY said Balete’s contribution to science through his research was enormous.Heaney, who has been doing field work in the Philippines for over 40 years, said it is only fitting to name Balete’s discovery to the late Filipino biologist in recognition of his achievement. “Naming a new species after any one is a big deal, a major honor given to people who make long-term, highimpact contributions to biodiversity science,” Dakota Rowsey, the study’s first author, a vertebrate collections manager at Arizona State University, and research associate at the Field Museum, said in the Chicago Field Museum’s a news release. “Naming a new genus after some one is one of the highest honors bi ologists can bestow,” Rowsey added. Rare discovery HEANEY said new species are some thing being discovered regularly. In the 1990s, he experienced studying mammals in Mindanao, including Mount Kitanglad, but rarely that an entirely new genus is discovered. This is only the fourth time that he has experienced the discovery of an entirely new genus, he said. Heaney said in 2007 and 2010, in expeditions jointly conducted by Chicago’s Field Museum and the PEF, Balete spearheaded the teams.  He had spent at least a month doing fieldwork in the mountains, narrating how, during Balete’s astounding discov ery, the Filipino scientist immediately called him to tell him of the discovery. Balete, as a researcher of the Chi cago Field Museum, was then a rep resentative of Heaney’s team along with the PEF team that looked at several animals on the mountains of Eastern Mindanao, including Mount Kampalili, Ibañez narrated. Home to endemics “IN the past several decades, we’ve learned just how incredibly important the Philippines are in terms of being home to mammals that are found no where else, and a lot of that knowledge can be traced back to fieldwork led by Danny Balete,” Heaney pointed out. He noted that the mountainous geography of the Philippines con tributes to its biodiversity. Its high mountains are cooler and much wetter than the surrounding lowlands, and it is difficult for small mammals to get from one mountain peak to the next. As a result, they tend to stay isolated on their own “sky islands,” evolving separately from each other and forming new species, Heaney explained.

GUIDED tours to European Alps, including on Matterhorn, one of the highest summits in Europe, are currently canceled owing to possible dangers brought about by the current extremely dry and hot conditions, Internet sources said. Matterhorn is a nearsymmetric pyramidal peak that straddles between Switzerland and Italy. Lying in the Pennine Alps, it is within the basin of the Zmutt glacier. This photo was was taken on January 30, 2020. LYN B. RESURRECCION

NEWLY born twin panda cubs, male at left and female at right, at the center in Xi’an, in northwestern China’s Shaanxi Province, on August 23, this photo released by Qinling Giant Panda Research Center shows. The male cub weighed 176.4 grams while the female cub weighed 151.2 grams when they were born, according to the Qinling Panda Research Center.

QINLING GIANT PANDA RESEARCH CENTER VIA AP

R. verrucosa is the tenth species of Rafflesia found in the Philippines An Internet source said Balete is credited for the discovery of several species of Moreover,Rafflesia.Ibañez said being home to the Philippine eagle, Mount Kam palili’s protection should be strength ened further.

Home to unique species IBAÑEZ said the discovery under scored the important role of the mouse in the ecology of the area.

for comparisons of the shape and position of images of terrain, and the use of cameras and instruments to measure angles of landTheareas.teams compared surface topography of glaciers at different moments, allowing for calculations about the evolution in iceNotvolumes.allSwiss glaciers have been losing ice at the same rates, the researchers said. Altitude, amounts of debris on the glaciers, and the flatness of a glacier’s “snout”—its lowest part, which is the most vulnerable to melting— all affect the speeds of ice retreat. The researchers also found that two periods—in the 1920s and the 1980s—actually experienced sporadic growth in glacier mass, but that was overshadowed by the broader trend of decline. The findings could have broad implications for Switzerland’s long-term energy sources, since hydropower produces nearly 60 percent of the country’s electricity, according to government data. Keaten/Associated

NAMED AFTER LATE BIOLOGIST DANILO S. BALETE, WHO DISCOVERED THE MAMMAL ‘Balete’s mouse’ discovered on Mindanao mountain

ETH Zurich, a respected federal polytechnic university, and the Swiss Federal Institute on Forest, Snow and Landscape Research announced recently the findings from a first-ever reconstruction of ice loss in Switzerland in the 20th century, based in part on an analysis of changes to the topography of glaciers since 1931. The researchers estimated that ice volumes on the glaciers had shrunk by half over the subsequent 85 years—until 2016. Since then, the glaciers have lost an additional 12 percent, over just six “Glacieryears.retreat is accelerating. Closely observing this phenomenon and quantifying its historical dimensions is important because it allows us to infer the glaciers’ responses to a changing climate,” said Daniel Farinotti, a coauthor of the study, which was published in scientific journal TheByCryosphere.area,Switzerland’s glaciers amount to about half of all the total glaciers in the European Alps. The teams drew on a combination of long-term observations of glaciers. That included measurements in the field and aerial and decades-oldregularlyglaciersgaps.thetwotakenphotographs—includingmountaintop22,000frompeaksbetweentheworldwars.Byusingmultiplesources,researcherscouldfillinOnlyafewofSwitzerland’shavebeenstudiedovertheyears.Theresearchinvolvedusingtechniquestoallow

B EIJING—Twin giant pandas have been born at a breeding center in southwestern China, a sign of progress for the country’s unofficial national mascot as it struggles for survival amid climate change and loss of habitat. The male and female cubs, born on August 23 at the Qinling Panda Research Center in Shaanxi province, are the second pair of twins born to their mother, Qin Qin. Another panda, Yong Yong, gave birth to twins at the center earlier this month. Qin Qin was also born at the center and previously gave birth to twin females in 2020. State media gave no word on the father, but Chinese veterinarians for years have been using artificial insemination to boost the population of the animals, which reproduce rarely in the wild and rely on a diet of bamboo in the mountains of western China. The efforts have paid off, with some captive-bread pandas being released into the wild. The population of wild pandas has ticked up gradually, reaching an estimated 1,800. About 500 others live in captivity in zoos and reserves, the majority in the mountainous, heavily forested province of Sichuan.Encroachment on their land by farmers and industry has reduced the pandas’ space while cutting them off from other populations with which to breed. Like much of central and western China, Sichuan has been hit by soaring summer temperatures and drought this year that have sparked forest fires and the withering of crops and forests, generally attributed to global climate change. AP

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

More than five years after his untimely passing in 2017, Balete’s discovery of a long-nosed “shrew mouse” has been finally established and recognized by the scientific com munity, not only as a new species of mountain mouse in Mindanao, but as an entirely new genus of shrew mice. ‘Balete’s mouse’ IN honor of discovering the new mice genus as a result of his fieldwork and discovery way back in 2007 and 2010, scientists finally named it after him: “Baletemys” or “Balete’s mouse.”

Mount Kampalili: A shared ecosystem IBAÑEZ said Balete’s discovery high lighted the need to protect both the species and its unique ecosystem, which happens to be home to the criti cally endangered Philippine eagle. Moreover, he said the Philippine Eagle and the new Balete’s mouse are “neighbors” to the Indigenous Mandaya“Indigenousgroup.peoples get very ex cited whenever they learn that they share their homeland with a totally unique life form,” he said. He said helping protect Mount Kampalili, “we also protect the primary watershed, airsheds and biocultural sanctuaries for much of southeastern Mindanao, giving huge benefits to all the people who live here. With all of the threats from watershed destruction and climate change, we need all the help we can get.”

Press A7Editor: Lyn Resurreccion Sunday, August 28, 2022 Biodiversity SundayBusinessMirror Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

THE “Balete’s mouse,” a long-nozed shrew mouse discovered by the late Filipino zoologist and biologist Danilo S. Balete. DANILO S. BALETE’S PHOTO FILIPINO zoologist and biologist Danilo S. Balete during his fieldwork on Mount Kampalili PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. LARRY HEANEY

Panda twins born in China as species struggles for survival

“The taller and the bigger the mountain range, the more species of mammals living there don’t live any where else in the world,” Heaney said.

A S tiny and elusive as they are, rodents are hard to spot on mountains. But not for a passionate scientist like the late Danilo S. Balete. The Filipino zoologist and biologist was recognized for his numerous studies and discoveries of new species in the Philippines.

G more1,400ENEVA—Switzerland’sglaciershavelostthanhalftheir total volume since the early 1930s, a new study has found, and researchers say the ice retreat is accelerating at a time of growing concerns about climate change.

Both renowned biologist Dr. Larry Heaney, curator of mammals at Chi cago’s Field Museum and senior author of the paper published in the Journal of Mammalogy, and Jayson Ibañez, co author and director for Research and Conservation of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), described Balete’s mouse as a very exciting new discovery in theThePhilippines.FieldMuseum, which ex amined the animal, described it as a “dark brown mouse with small eyes and a long, tapering nose like a shrew.” The Field Museum is a re vered Chicago institution and one of the world’s great museums of natural history. Its exhibits explore every thing from ancient cultures to the latest scientific discoveries, draw ing from a collection of more than 24 million objects. A total of three specimens were brought from Mount Kampalili to the Field Museum of Chicago to be studied by scientists. It took more than 15 years to finally declare that indeed, “Balete’s mouse” is a new spe cies and entirely new genus. Balete, who was known to dis cover new species of animals during his field works in mountainous ar eas, was quick to say that the shrew mouse is different from anything he had seen on the island of Mindanao at his first sight of the elusive moun tainHemouse. believed it looked more like a mice that he had seen hundreds of miles away on Luzon island, prompt ing him to pursue the new study. Little-known mouse DESPITE being discovered in 2007, very little is known about the shrew mouse.“From what we can tell, they are somehow unusual. Unlike most spe cies of mice, the females produce one or two babies in each litter and have only one litter per year,” Heaney, who had studied the mammals of Luzon in the 1990s, told the BusinessMir ror via Zoom interview on August 24.  “They probably live for five to six years, longer than other species of rodents of mouse known to science,” he surmised.“Ifyoucompare to one of the mouse species, the females have five young, and they produce more than once in a year,” Heaney said. Naturally, Balete’s mouse is part of the food chain and could be part of the diet of some raptors, snakes or other large animals. But there’s no evidence yet to say that it is part of the diet of the Philippine eagle, Ibañez said for his part.

“The fact that it can only be found there [Mount Kampalili], it is per forming a very important role in that environment, feeding on earth worms. If we lose this animal, we lose the ecological function of this animal and that cascades to the ecology of the area,” he explained “Mount Kampalili is an area where new species are evolving,” Ibañez added.He said other new species were also discovered on the mountain, including a rare plant with unusual flower known for its large size and pungent smell, which description re fers to Rafflesia, the fourth species of which, Rafflesia verrucosa, was found on Mount Kampalili in 2010.

Jamey

TEACHING HOW TO WIN, HOW TO LOSE AS WELL

Serena faces unseeded Estonian Kovinic in first round of US Open Matthäus returns Maradona’s jersey from ’86 World Cup final museum in the Spanish capital. It was always a great honor to play against him,” Matthäus said of the late Maradona, through a translator. “As a player and a person, he was always someone very important to me. He will always be in our hearts.” Matthäus said he also exchanged jerseys with Maradona after the 1990 World Cup final won by the Germans in Italy. He said that shirt was in a museum in Germany. The jersey Maradona wore against England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup, when he scored the controversial “Hand of God” goal, was sold for more than $9 million in an online auction by Sotheby’s in May, the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of sports memorabilia. Matthäus was given a plaque at the Argentina Embassy in recognition of his soccer career and contribution of sporting values. I n Istanbul, Karim Benzema and Alexia Putellas won UEFA’s player of the year awards, making it a sweep for Spanish clubs. B enzema had been the heavy favorite for the men’s award after scoring 15 Champions League goals to lead Real Madrid to a recordextending 14th European title. P utellas won a second straight UEFA women’s best player award after helping Barcelona reach the Champions League final in defense of its title. Barcelona lost to Lyon. She was expected to lead Spain at the European Championship in July but suffered a serious knee injury days before the tournament started in England.Putellas limped up several steps to the stage to collect her trophy minutes after the men’s Champions League groups were drawn. The coaching awards went to the winners of the two biggest events last season—Carlo Ancelotti of Madrid and Sarina Wiegman, who led England to the Euro 2022 title.

AP

A dam Naylor, the leader of performance psychology for Deloitte, who has worked with high-level athletes for decades, says it’s important for coaches to remember their role. Coaches “have an opportunity to teach how to win and lose,” Naylor said. “Step one is remember you’re a model and you have this tremendous teaching opportunity.”

N EW atWilliams’sYORK—Serenafirstopponentwhatshehasindicated will be her last US Open—and, indeed, the last tournament of her career —is unseeded Danka Kovinic. W in that, and Williams could face No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the second round. The brackets for the women’s and men’s singles events were released by the US Tennis Association (USTA). Play begins Monday, and the USTA announced hours after the draw that Williams’s half of the women’s field will compete that day. The first round continues Tuesday. The 23-time Grand Slam champion who turns 41 on September 26, announced this month she was preparing to step away from her playing career. She did not explicitly say when she planned to stop but made it sound as if the US Open would mark her farewell. W illiams has won the hardcourt tournament in Flushing Meadows six times. Kovinic has never been past the second round in four appearances at the US Open. She is a 27-year-old from Montenegro who is 80th in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings this week and has been as high as 46th. W illiams and Kovinic have never played each other in singles. Williams is just 1-3 this season, having recently returned to singles action after a year away following a firstround injury exit at Wimbledon in 2021. Her first match back came at the All England Club in late June, and she lost her opener there in a third-set tiebreaker to 115th-ranked Harmony Tan. A fter winning a match at a tournament in Toronto, Williams was eliminated in straight sets there by Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic, then lost again in straight sets at Cincinnati against reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu. B ecause Williams has said she’s preparing to wind down her tennis

Sports BusinessMirror A8 SundAy, AuguSt 28, 2022 Editor:mirror_sports@yahoo.com.phJunLomibao

Th is year’s Little League World Series is the first since 2019 to include international teams. The 2020 tournament was canceled due to Covid-19, and only American teams competed last year. A ustralia’s representative in the Williamsport area this week was the first LLWS team to come from Brisbane North Little League in Queensland. They were eliminated after two games but still hope to have made an impact Down Under.

ENNIS patron and Unified Tennis Philippines (UTP) President Jean Henri Lhuillier hailed Ruben Gonzales for winning the Republica Dominicana Open with doubles partner, American Reese Stalder. The tournament is part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Circuit. I’m extending my heartfelt congratulations to Ruben for this achievement, just to be able to compete regularly in the professional tennis circuit is by itself is impressive,” Lhuillier said. “More so that he has been very competitive, he has been representing the country for a long time in the Davis Cup and Southeast Asian Games, the last of which he and partner Treat Huey won the doubles gold even in 2019.” “It was doubly impressive because Ruben and his partner were not seeded at all but right from the start of the tournament beat the third-seeded team,” Lhuillier said. “He has the heart of a champion and I take pride in knowing Ruben personally. I look forward to seeing him don the national colors anew in the near future.” Gonzales expressed his appreciation to Lhuillier. “It was a tough fight for us and I am happy that we won the finals, and I am happy too that our Philippine tennis benefactor Jean Henri found the time  to recognize our achievement, now I am looking ahead to another opportunity to play for the Philippines in the future,” Gonzales said.

NCC gears up for duathlon nationals

PARTICIPATION ON THE RISE IN POST-COVID-19 LITTLE League International says participation in its baseball and softball leagues was up this season, and team managers are optimistic about another bump next year coming off the first full-scale Little League World Series since the pandemic.Afterthe number of participating teams dropped 7 percent from 2020 to 2021, mostly because of Covid-19, the organization saw a 17 percent rebound this season, Little League spokesman Kevin Fountain told The Associated Press on Thursday. Little League’s baseball and softball programs now reach approximately 2 million children in 80 countries, he said. The growth comes amid a push by Major League Baseball to reach young fans by encouraging bat flips on TikTok, among other initiatives.

The end of a Little League run is always tricky for tookpraisingthatacknowledgingcoaches,nobodywinsallthetimewhiletheeffortittogettoSouthWilliamsport.

SPORTSMAN Jean Henri Lhuillier (right) with Ruben Gonzales.

Indiana manager Patrick Vinson took a similar approach to Ramos when reflecting on the tournament. He acknowledged not just how difficult it is to make it this far, but also how tough it is to sustain the level of play that got the team here. Teams in the United States bracket must win three tournaments just to have a shot at taking home a LLWS title. “ They’re disappointed,” Vinson said of his team. “I don’t think they were up for the grind. I don’t want to say they were content with making it here.”The road to the LLWS is so long and so tough that just making it to Williamsport is coveted. “ It is an exhausting grind,” Vinson said. “It’s a good exhaustion when you start practicing as early as we did. You’re at the pinnacle of youth sports. It’s still hard to believe we’re here.” Not all coaches take the same approach when addressing their teams and the media following the end of the tournament run. New York manager Ronald Clark was matter-offact Monday night when his team fell to Pennsylvania.Clarkmentioned that the team’s “bats stayed behind in Bristol, [Connecticut],” where the Metro region championship was decided. He added that, while there were tears at the end, expectations weren’t met and the “box score says everything.” W hen baseball fans look back on end-of-season messages from coaches in South Williamsport, many recall Dave Belisle’s speech to his Rhode Island team after being eliminated in the 2014 LLWS. I love you guys,” Belisle told his team. “I’m gonna love you forever. You’ve given me the most precious moment in my athletic and coaching career, and I’ve been coaching a long time—a long time. I’m getting to be an old man. I need memories like this, I need kids like this. You’re all my boys. You’re the boys of summer.” I n many cases, LLWS players are facing more pressure than they’ve ever confronted on a field, and sometimes the shock of playing—and losing—can be overwhelming.

Lhuillier all praises for Gonzales

MADRID—The jersey Diego Maradona wore in the 1986 World Cup final was back in Argentine hands Thursday thanks to German great LotharMatthäus,Matthäus.whoswappedjerseyswithMaradonaathalftimeofthefinalwonbyArgentinainMéxico,returnedthehistoricapparelataceremonyattheArgentinaEmbassyinMadrid.Theshirtwillbedisplayedatanewsoccer career, her every move will be the focus at the start of the US Open. Fans will pay close attention, because each match could be her last. W hile Williams has spent more than 300 weeks at No. 1, her lack of activity has contributed to a slide; she is 410th this week. Th at meant she would not be seeded in New York and couldplayer.againstfield—andbeenhaveplacedanywhereintheany O opponentspossiblether for Williams, should she progress through the tournament, include No. 27 seed Martina Trevisan of Italy in the third round and 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez of Canada or 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in the fourth. W illiams could face her older sister, seven-time major champion Venus, only in the final, because they are on opposite sides of the bracket. AP SERENA WILLIAMS looks at a small dog while warming-up before practicing at Arthur Ashe Stadium before the start of the US Open where she’ll face unseeded Danka Kovinic in the first round. AP

“ You have to allow for the healthy emotions,” Naylor said. “Emotions are an important piece of sport. Acknowledge the emotion without making it too dramatically bad or trying to take it away.”

T HE country’s best duathletes are expected to participate in the National Duathlon Championships (NDC)  on December 4 at the New Clark City (NCC). Southeast Asian Games medalists Fer Casares, Kim Mangrobang, Andrew Kim Remolino, Raven Alcoseba and John Chicano will lead athletes from the national team. Joining them in the event organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) are their national teammates Raymund Torio, Ephraim Inigo, Jarwyn Banatao, Joy Trupa, Elaine Quismundo, Moira Erediano, Jena Valdez, Maynard Pecson and John Ciron.Races will be in the Standard Distance (10-km run, 40-km bike and 5-km run), Sprint Distance (5-km run, 20-km bike and 2.5-km run) and Super Sprint Distance (2.5-km run, 10-km bike and 2.5-km run). The event is part of the selection process for the members of the national for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia. Malaysia, meanwhile, confirmed that its athletes will use the NDC to select. Members of their squad also for the Cambodia SEA Games. The race is part of TRAP’s grassroot program to discover young and potential athletes who can be part of the association’s developmental team.  O nline registration is still ongoing at RaceYaya.com. Registration fees cover the cost of participation, timing chip rental, race bib, bike and helmet stickers, finisher’s medal, event shirt and light post-race snack. The NDC was originally scheduled for November 27 last year but was eventually rescheduled for December 4 to give way to another event at Clark.

SOUTHSeriesatanPennsylvania—FollowingWILLIAMSPORT,8-1losstoNicaraguatheLittleLeagueWorld(LLWS),Ubaldo Ramos IV gathered his Panama team one final time. It was an emotional group, as tears were shed in the postgame handshake line. A journey that had lasted all summer was over. But, like many coaches, Ramos had nothing but positive things to say. He congratulated his group, reminding the boys from ages 10 to 12 that so much more lies ahead. I told the players this continues,” Ramos said through a translator. “They keep on playing baseball on to the next level.” Panama was one of four teams that saw their seasons end on Tuesday. Indiana, Canada and Iowa also lost elimination games. Of the 20 teams in the LLWS, only one will be the champion on Sunday. The end of a Little League run is always tricky for coaches, acknowledging that nobody wins all the time while praising the effort it took to get to South Williamsport.

T

HAGERSTOWN (Indiana) manager Patrick Vinson (right) talks with his team on the mound during the second inning of their Little League World Series game against Hollidaysburg (Pennsylvania) in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, last Tuesday. AP

isfanstocouldmeoutstandingly“PeopleinthePhilippineshavebeenkindandsupportivetoandofmymusic,sotheleastIdoisreciprocatethatandcomeashow,”Alexander23said.ForAlexander23,havingFilipinowhoreallyappreciatehismusic“mindblowing.”“IgrewupintheMidwest,inthemiddleoftheUnitedStates,sothefactthatanyoneinthePhilippinesevenknowswhoIamissomethingIam

When he found out that he would be performing in Manila, he shared that he was able to say: “Finally!”

Alexander 23 looks forward to performing live again

ALEXANDER

The Illinois native’s babyface looks, gentle demeanor and matching calming voice that made his monster gain popularity was only heard in the virtual landscape. Instead of standing on a stage, he was only boxed on a small rectangular Because of that, Alexander 23 (born Alexander Glantz) felt like there was something missing in his past performances—the profound joy of singing on a stage, hearing the loud cheers of the audience he would have been“I’vefacing.been doing these Zooms for the past two years, since IDK You Yet came out,” the American singer said. “It’s been an honor and privilege to get to know everyone through the computer but I’m really really looking forward to that in-person interaction that you can’t feel in the computer.”

INCE the pandemic, the closest way Alexander 23 got to sing in front of his fans is through his computer. His voice would only be heard by his fans in their homes, same as how he would perform his music virtually. grateful for,” he explained. “I just felt so much kindness from them, and they’ve been so unconditionally supportive of me as a person and as a musician.”

Asked on how excited he is to perform in Manila, Alexander 23, without second-thoughts, outright said,For“23/10.”now,he is looking forward to performing IDK You Yet and the songs from from his new album Aftershock in front of an actual live audience. IDK You Yet is his most popular song, having accumulated around 371 million streams on Spotify alone as of this “There’swriting.somany places in the world where I haven’t gotten to do that yet,” he said, explaining why he is excited to perform his hit song live. “So many people in the world connected to that song, so I’m excited with Olivia Rodrigo and “The Hardest Part” which finds him at his most vulnerable, remembering a friend he lost touch with, then lost forever. “I guess the hardest part of getting old,” he sings on the moving chorus. “Is that some people that you love don’t.” Another track, “Somebody’s Nobody,” which deals with the aftermath, or in the singersongwriter’s case, aftershock of a devastating breakup. “You used to stay at my place, now you just stay on my mind. We had a good run, baby but you just can’t outrun time…,” he croons. Alexander admits that this is his favorite song in the album. And then there’s the slightly uptempo, “If We Were A Party” which showcases Alexander’s lighter side or as he reflects upon the best moments of an otherwise doomed affair. “If we were a party, the best party ever we were. Drunk and in love, thought that it’d last forever...”

Tickets for Alexander 23’s concert at SM Aura Samsung Hall are Hisnewalbum‘Aftershock’releasedlastJulyisnowavailableonallmusicstreaming

Outside of his own songs, one thing Alexander is very upbeat about is finally meeting his fans in-person. “It’s been years in the making and it’s finally happening. I’m so happy to be able to close the Zoom calls by saying ‘I will see you on this date’ instead of ‘I will see you soon.’”

By Patrick V. Miguel

BusinessMirror YOUR MUSIC AUGUST 28, 2022 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com2 T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Aldwin M. Tolosa Jt EdwinNisayP. Sallan Eduardo A. Davad Niggel NonieBernardAnnieLosorataKayePatrickLeonyRickTonyAnabelleFigueroaO.FloresM.Maghirang,Olivares,Garcia,MiguelVillagomez-S.AlejoP.TestaReyes Y2Z & SOUNDSTRIP are published and distributed free every Sunday by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing Inc. as a project of the The Philippine Business Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd Floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025 Advertising Sales: 8893-2019;17-1351,817-2807. Circulation: 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. www.businessmirror.com.ph Publisher : Editor-In-Chief : Concept : Y2Z Editor : SoundStrip Editor : Group Creative Director : Graphic Designers : Contributing Writers : Columnists : Photographers : ZOOMING OUT AT LAST

Alexander 23 is set to perform live at SM Aura Samsung Hall on September 3, 2022. He shared that performing live has been on top of his list for so long, so feeling a sense of relief after getting the news is just right. “It was just a sense of relief and immediate joy,” he said. He added that apart from performing live, his excitement is also rooted in performing in the Philippines—in front of his Filipino fans.

PSVLM “Leave The Club”

F ILIPINO alternative soul/ rock outfit of Mercury powers through a kind of love that knows no bounds in their new single “Enough,” Written collectively by the band, the song deals how relationships grow stronger over time with accepting compromises and weathering storms as partners and as individuals. The eclectic trio shares, “Enough” is all about the doubt you had in your relationship. It’s a whole cloud of questions in your head where you wonder if you’re worth it to someone knowing the kind of things that you go through as a human.

F ILIPINO alternative pop band Any Names Okay has finally dropped their much-awaited sophomore EP titled Leaving Home. The 6-track release digs deeper into the journey of navigating adulthood and embracing the uncertainties in the process. “As a band, we’re maturing in our songwriting and the way that we operate as creatives,” shared the five-piece outfit. “We want to grow old with our listeners—which can be scary, but very exciting. A lot of those fears and joys can be found in this collection of songs.” Its focus track “Takbo” is one of the standout cuts in the EP as it tackles breaking free from burnout and hustle culture. The release of the song comes with a visual that encapsulates the feeling of weightlessness in all that running.

SoundSampler by Tony M. Maghirang

JASON DHAKAL “Can’t Get Enough”

It’s raining singles this August

T HE song tells the story of a supposed broken girl who searches for whatever temporary satisfaction she could get in the club. It exposes a common youth culture where temporary love can be found in the loud, crowded, and wild clubThesetting.useof a very dark bass and drowned pads throughout the song sets up an ‘after the party’ vibe to introduce some intimacy in the softer parts of the song. The man behind the song, Psalm Timothy R. Molano, also known as Psvlm, is an R&B artist from Iloilo who keeps his sound fresh by experimenting with the fusion of pop and hiphop in his releases.

OF MERCURY “Enough”

F IVE-PIECE act Nobita’s new single “Paano Uusad?” captures someone’s inability to move on after the tragic demise of a loved one. The heartfelt track weaves a melodic poprock sound with bluesy riffs and tasteful guitar solos According to the band, the song was inspired by an OPM icon who took his life due to depression. “It’s all about the people who keep wondering why they were left behind by someone dear to them.” Nobita said, “Jae wrote a song while watching the livestream of the late icon’s wife, struggling to put into words how it felt to cope with the loss of a special someone.”Thetrack is accompanied by a music video directed by John Selirio, who shared “The concept has something to do with the 5 stages of grief. I wanted to capture that vibe in its most intimate form.”

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ANY NAME’S OKAY Leaving Home EP

But in this bombardment of doubt and struggle, you realize that that person would love you regardless of the mistakes you made, regardless of the things you’ve done. With that kind of love in your life, that is something that you can never get enough of.”

T HIS single offers a preview of an upcoming full-length project from O.F. (Owfuck). The track infuses a gritty attitude to a more matured lyricism from group members Astro, Lexus, and Paul Cassimir. It moves with a hypnotic flow expected of any Owfuck song but with a more calculated pace and newfound strength in balance. With the a single being this powerful, hiphop fans could expect nothing less than the best when it comes to Owfuck’s long-awaited album.

NOBITA “Paano Uusad?”

O.F. (OWFUCK) ‘Di Na Tama”

C ONTEMPORARY queer R&B singer-songwriter Jason Dhakal’s latest song titled “Can’t Get Enough” starts off soft and dreamy before launching into an all-out fun uptempo neosoul song about queer love at its peak. Complete with live guitars, keys, horns and drums that keep you off your feet, Jason’s unique sound offers an impressive array, full of sultry passion rooted in fearlessly speaking, writing and living his ownBorntruth. and raised in Oman, Jason set out for his motherland in 2017 to pursue an independent life in and of music in Manila. He marked his breakthrough with his critically-acclaimed debut EP ‘Night In’ in 2018, which saw collaboration tracks with Jess Connelly and dot.jaime.

“Remember, social media is not all bad,” wrote nelson; “in many cases, it helps recruiters get a good feel for your personality and potential fit.” The Conversation

Professor flexibility, recorded lectures Some positive

Patchwork of responses

“Many first-year college students report feeling ‘stressed most or all of the time,’ regardless of where they go to college,” Schwartz wrote. But with some advance preparation, parents can help alleviate that 2stress.

3Make the most out of the library carrie M. Macfarlane, director of research and instruction at Middlebury college, wrote that plenty of college seniors told her they regretted not learning more about their library in their first year of school.Macfarlane laid out four ways to make the most out of the college library. Borrowing from the library helps students cut the cost of supplies, and research shows that using the library correlates to students’ earning a higher Gpa

By terence Day Simon Fraser University the Covid-19 closure of university and college campuses and move to online learning in March 2020 was a massive global impacts.catorsandperiment,straineddisadvantageddentsexperiment.educationalManystu-wereseverelyandduringtheex-otherscopedsomethrived.edu-aredividedonits

Reducing student stress ST UDen T mental health became an issue during the pandemic, but there were also rising numbers of students with mental health issues prior to the pandemic. conversations in the media also made it easier for students to talk about their challenges. The causes of mental health issues are diverse, but student workload has been increasing in recent years and increased during the pandemic. The transition from face-to-face classes to an online environment encouraged the addition of new assignments to courses, often in addition to the old ones. Some faculty are beginning to rethink not just how they teach, but also their curriculum.

Manage student mental health nicholas Joyce, a psychologist at the University of South Florida, gave new college students tips on what they can do to maintain their mental health in school. He told students to take responsibility for making sure their work is completed and getting to classes on time. a l so, students should not expect colleges to fix their mental health issues. Medical exceptions for mental health can be helpful when students start having poor grades, but they delay graduation dates.

4Be careful with what you post Social media posts are part of an individual’s brand, according to Thao nelson, a career counselor and lecturer at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. In an open letter to students she wrote in 2017 that still rings true, she warned students that “what you post can wreck your life.” She recommended students cultivate an online presence that will improve their chances of getting a job.

How to college: 4 essential reads for incoming first-year students and their parents

With international colleagues who are geography experts, I studied lessons learned during the pandemic. Taken together, the lessons may form the foundation for what post-pandemic post-secondary education could look like in coming decades. Improved educational practices could be one of the few positive outcomes from the pandemic.

The large-scale result is more choice for students in how they are taught with better access for more students. But realistically, the lessons will be applied in different ways by professors, academic departments and institutions to create a patchwork of unique approaches.

THe online experience also informed faceto-face courses with more thought by faculty on how to engage students during a lecture. During online learning, course leaders achieved this engagement through online discussion boards and other collaborative tools. That experience carried over for some faculty, and online learning management systems like Moodle and canvas are now widely used in some face-to-face courses.

1Parents, help students prepare for college Graduating from high school and enrolling in college are not all that emerging college students need to worry about. l ara Schwartz, director of the project on civil Discourse at a merican University, gave parents tips on preparing their kids for college. She wrote, “Knowing what to expect can make a major difference in a student’s psychological well-being.”

IT is vital for emerging college students to understand the many changes in the newest chapter in their lives to have a rewarding college experience. For the backto-school season, The conversation has put together four articles from our archive that give first-year students and their parents tips on how to set themselves up for success during the college years.

nelson advised against posting foul language, bad-mouthing and putting illicit content online. Such posts can always be screenshot and reshared even if the user deletes it. However, nelson said that students can search their profiles to delete content they do not want job recruiters to see.

“There has never been a more flexible time to be a student,” posits Terence Day, the writer of the story and an adjunct professor of Geography at Simon Fraser University.

W HIle administrators at universities and colleges are still struggling with post-pandemic responses, many decisions have already been made by individual professors. Some take attendance at lectures, require assignments to be submitted on paper and refuse to record their lectures or provide copies of their slides. Others are more accommodating. There has never been a more flexible time to be a student. The Conversation university of the pandemic

Students end up spending more time— and money–to earn their degree.

legacies

BusinessMirror August 28, 20224

Schwartz suggested that parents do five things to help students feel ready for college. parents should let their children know that professors will expect students to reach out when they need help. They should also discuss what they expect from their children, like how often they should communicate. Because it is the first year, parents should expect students to make mistakes but also encourage their children to recover from those mistakes.

New forms of online learning SpecI a lISTS in online education distanced themselves from emergency online teaching at the start of the pandemic. However, improvisation by untrained online educators produced a surprise. Our research documented how some students who had previously taken and hated online courses with slick presentations and high production values found they enjoyed a course with professors who could relate well to students online. In these cases, topical bad jokes and a peek at the professor’s home office more than compensated for grainy video and poor sound. Some online courses that proved successful continue to be offered by some faculty, even though colleges and universities are now fully open. Students can enjoy the convenience of an online course, and connect with their professor. Students also quickly learned that online courses don’t need to be taken from home.My anecdotal impression from colleagues in the United States and canada, including some B.c colleagues at meetings hosted by the British columbia council on ad missions and Transfer—a body that oversees credit transfers between postsecondary institutions—is that online sections are filling up faster than face-to-face sections of the same course in some universities and colleges. More online components

“More importantly, getting a medical exception does not resolve the underlying issue that led to the failure in the first place,” Joyce wrote.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 COVER STORY PAGE 6 PAGE 7 HISTORICAL REENACTMENT: MAKING HISTORY COME ALIVE NEVER FORGET: THE MESSAGE OF KATIPS ON MARTIAL LAW AND STATE BRUTALITY HISTORY AS STUDY, JUDGE, AND A CONFLAGRATION RFRG reenacting trench warfare JOHNNY TILLAR

LA Liga Cebu Reenactors Group at Fort San Pedro ORLAND JAMES ROMARATE WORLD War 2 reenactors with Bulacan Rep. Linabelle Villarica at the Meycauayan Pista ng Kasaysayan MEYCAUAYAN CITY FB GUARNICION EN INTRAMUROS reenactment in Fort Santiago STOP & SHOOT BATTLE of Manila 1899 reenactment at Fort Santiago JAN SY AMERICAN troops at Fort Santiago JAN SY Battle of Manila 1899 Reenactment JAN SYBattle of Manila 1899 Reenactment JAN SY CIRIACO Brigade of Meycauayan JAN SY HISTORY Month observance at the Taguig City Hall TAGUIG CITY FACEBOOK PUBLIC lectures during reenactments at Fort Santiago STOP & SHOOT LA Liga Cebu Reenactors with tourists at Fort San Pedro BERNARD SUPETRAN THE writer at Museo Sugbo FELJUNE ALLECER RFRG at the Stop and Salute the Flag event at the RIzal Park ALEXANDRE AVILA HISTORY TaytayobservanceMonthin TOBIT CRUZ RFRG at the Independence Day parade in Kawit, Cavite BERNARD SUPETRAN

BusinessMirror 3Sunday, August 28, 2022

Historical Reenactment:

RFRG has also forged a collaboration with the Intra muros Administration and Renacimiento Manila for the periodic holding of reenact ments in the Walled City as an added attraction to the special historic district. It has already mounted two events, which also became an op portunity to educate the Sunday visitors of Fort Santiago with his torical tidbits on the Philippine Revolution, Republic, uniform, weaponry, insignias, and fight ing techniques, among others.

By Bernard L Supetran

IN many historic tourist destinations around the world, it is a common sight to see reenactors garbed in period costumes portraying typical chores of the time to create a complete multi-sensorial experience for visitors.

Making History Come Alive

Javier, an engineer by profes sion and one of the group’s pio neers, would emerge as the pro verbial “poster boy” of historical reenactment with his extensive research and collection of mili tary uniforms. He also became a production consultant for the historical movies “Heneral Luna” and “Goyo” to make them as au thentic as Becausepossible.oftheir close resem blance to the actual soldiers, the reenactors were made the models for “Warriors and He roes,” a two-volume coffee ta ble book of the Philippine Army that showcases the uniforms and equipment of the Filipino warrior through the centuries. More than typical cosplay ers who get the kicks donning the battle garb of our valiant forebears, historical reenactors pour time and effort to ensure the accuracy of the military uniforms, insignias, and weap onry being used, as well as the character of the personalities beingTheyportrayed.alsoinvest in their own uniforms, mostly the World War II khaki pair, the Repub lican Army-style rayadillo Norfolk jacket, and trousers, and replicas of period-accurate weapons which are custommade by fellow enthusiasts.

The composite group de cided to form the Philippine Living History Society, mostly for reenacting World War II commemorative events and photo shoots and became a permanent feature in annual observances such as the Araw ng Kagitingan held at Mt. Sa mat in Pilar, Bataan, and Camp O’ Donell Death March Shrine in Capas, Tarlac.

Called Guarnicion en Intra muros (Garrison in Intramur os), the recent event recreated the Battle of Manila in February 1899 when American troops be longing to the 13th Minnesota Volunteers A Company attacked the city after the outbreak of the Fil-Am War. The reenact ment featured the Brigade of Gen. Mariano Noriel and the Cruz Roja which demonstrated the administration of first aid to the Filipino casualties. According to RFRG head Joshua Matipo, who essays the role of President Emilio Agui naldo, the group intends to touch base with local govern ments and historical societies across the country for the for mation of reenactment groups and relive the glorious victories of our freedom fighters. He said that historical re enactment can create a big boost to the heritage tourism thrust of Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco and create more income opportunities for tai lors, souvenir and merchan dise makers, artisans, tour operators, and the reenactors themselves.Meanwhile, down south, afi cionados have also organized themselves into the La Liga Cebu Reenactors Group to bring historical appreciation to the grassroots.Founded by Louis Kenneth Villaflor, Marion Makabenta, Bong Espenido, and Ferdinand Azcarraga, they made their public debut at the launch of the National History Month at Fort San Pedro in Cebu City early this month. The group, which creates im pressions of local revolutionary leaders Generals Leon Kilat and Arcadio Maxilom, aims to ex pand its ranks, make more pub lic appearances and populate social media with their images. With historic characters jumping out of textbooks, com ing to life, and doing snapshots with the people, history has never been this exciting.

WARRIORS and Heroes coffeetable book of the Phiippine Army

Popularly known as “heri tage villages”, these modern recreations enhance the Old World charm of a locality, heighten appreciation of his tory and culture, and draw in more tourists as a consequence. Locally, historical reenact ment has been around in the country for decades but is sadly still in its infancy stage as ear lier efforts have faltered along theAndway.as the country observes National History Month, we pause and look back once more on how we can imbibe the lessons of the past beyond the wearing of period attire or the usual fancy “cosplay” (costume play). Passion-driven reenactment had its genesis at the University of the Philippines grounds in Diliman in the mid-2005 when like-minded friends, Pedro Antonio Javier, Selwyn Clyde Alojipan, Joey Felizco, and the late Nonito Flores formed the Buhay na Kasaysayan (BNK) Philippines, a branch of an earlier chapter founded in San Francisco, USA. At the onset, the group did impressions of a wide range of colonial-era prominent Filipino heroes, warriors, and revolu tionary leaders. With the eyecatching and elaborate designs of uniforms and parapherna lia, not to mention the actionpacked battles being portrayed, military history became a fa vorite theme for both the reen actors and the viewing public. Not long after, some members of the International Plastic Mod elers’ Society—Manila chapter, the World War II Asian Airsoft Alliance, the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society, and freelance members started to take up re enacting activities or combining them in other events.

Arguably the most active and visible reenactor in recent years is the Republica Filipina Reenactment Group (RFRG) which was formed in 2019 to specialize in the Philippine Revolutionary Era, which is key in the attainment of Indepen dence, and the formation of the Republic and Constitution, the first of its kind in Asia. The said era covers the out break of the Revolution in 1896, the Filipino-American War in 1899, to the execution of Gen eral Macario Sakay in 1907 by theRFRGAmericans.hastaken part in the 124th Independence Day parade at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite; the 128th Birth Anni versary of Apolinario Mabini at the Mabini Shrine in Tanauan, Batangas; and the recent Stop and Salute the Flag campaign of the National Historical Com mission of the Philippines at the Rizal Park. It has also made its presence felt at the History Month obser vances in cooperation with the local governments of Taguig, Taytay, and Meycauayan City which recently held its first His Con (History Congress) Pista ng Kasaysayan which gathered various reenactor groups, in cluding the Philippine Living History Society, the Wartime Heritage Group, and its very own Brigada Ciriaco Tiradores.

Never Forget: The Message of Katips on Martial Law and State Brutality

While the dialogue in some scenes was clunky and awkward (like the cringe-worthy conver sations between the theater art ist Lara and the student leader Greg, or the confrontational ex change between Lara and activ ist Alet), there is no denying the power and compelling artistry of the songs and more importantly, how the actors sang them. They sang with conviction and with heart, and it was impossible to miss the depth of raging love on the one hand and sickened outrage behind the songs that denounced the dictatorship on the one hand, and gave tribute to the activists from different basic sectors that risked all they had for a cause greater than them selves on the other. There were very few moments of levity, but the moments when the main characters shared inside jokes and traded good-natured insults made the characters less two-dimensional, more real, and believable. What will stick and cause the most visceral reactions, however, are the torture scenes. These are very graphic, very vio lent, and most hateful. The scenes were filmed in such a way that they effectively expose the bru tality police forces are capable of when they act with complete impunity. Protected by martial law, they were savage: beating up their victims within an inch of their lives, electrocuting their private parts, committing rape, and shooting them in the head at point-blank range. What makes one even more nauseated is the realization that these acts of extreme cruelty and impunity are being perpetrated now. Look up the names Randy Echanis, peasant rights advo cate; Carlito Badion, urban poor community leader; Zara Alvarez, former political prisoner, and or ganizer of sugar farm workers. Much has changed but not necessarily for the better when it comes to the country’s human rights situation, and the improve ments that have become possible mainly through the relentless efforts and assertion of human rightsThereorganizations.arethosewho say that “Katips” missed out on the op

portunity to explain what mo tivated activists from different walks of life and economic and educational backgrounds to fight the dictatorship. Besides the ob vious reasons—evil must always be fought and justice aspired to until it is realized—activists are motivated by great love and deep patriotism. Compassion for those outside our own fami lies and circle of friends and acquaintances is not a given to everyone, but in the dark days of martial law, it is compassion and relentless love for the poor and oppressed that gave mean ing to the lives of activists re gardless of whether they were students, laborers, farmers, or government employees. The years under martial wit nessed shocking violence, but they were also a time when the intellect and emotions of Filipi nos were at their most idealistic, but also grounded. To defeat the dictatorship meant more than just removing a corrupt executive, it meant bringing hope to Filipinos who long lived without hope un der the yoke of poverty and abuse of their supposed leaders. It also meant learning the most humane philosophies and most scientific methods to empower those denied their voices and make them see that united, they are a force that can move mountains and, yes, end dictatorships.Perhapsit is too much to de mand of “Katips”, but it would have added an important dimen sion to its narrative: affirming the courage of Filipinos to em brace dreams of liberation and to die for them if need be. In the end, “Katips” is a good film worth watching. The cast was led by Vince Tañada, Nicole Laurel Asensio, Mon Confiado (worth a special mention as he was particularly loathsome as Lt. Sales), Jerome Ponce, and Sazchna Laparan turned in award-winning performances. They brought the stories of civilians who fought against martial law to come alive, and the film as a whole memo rialized their sacrifices for the country and its people. Never again, never forget. This is the message of “Katips” in all its artistry and passion.

ESPITE all the small and varied weaknesses when it comes to story progression, character development, dialogue, and to some degree, even political messaging, Vince Tanada’s “Katips” is an amazing film that should be watched by as many Filipinos as possible.

BusinessMirror6 Sunday, August 28, 2022

AFTER a successful local screening, muti-awarded Katips will be shown in theaters in Dubai, Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland and the US.

KATIPS is the martial law movie of today’s generation, a much-needed retelling of a dark past that should never be forgotten.

By Ina Alleco R. Silverio D

Set in the early years of the ousted dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos’s martial law, “Katips” is a musical that makes a strong and unequivocal political statement that the lives of Filipinos and life in the Philippines were far from idyl lic during that period. It exposes social realities that the apologists and diehard loyalists of the dead dictator and his family continue to deny, namely the brutality of the police and armed forces as sanctioned by the national gov ernment itself. One of the greatest errors committed immediately after Marcos was overthrown via popular uprising was the fact that the abuses and crimes of the dictatorship were not taught in schools. Apart from the vio lence—the murder of workers, farmers, students, community women leaders—that character ized the martial law years, the years under Marcos saw the Phil ippines’ cesspool of corruption and decadence, as well as shame ful subservience to the whims of the United States government. These should never have been allowed to be forgotten and the killers, cronies, wives, and families of corrupt politicians that feasted like carrion birds on the country and the working people should never have been forgiven. A policy of no political compromise should never have been brokered with human rights violators and thieves. These issues “Katips” sought to bring to light in what ways it could through song and dialogue.

tivated denial, which he then termed“Revisionismnegationism.isan essential part of the process by which his tory, through the posing of new problems and investigation of new possibilities, enlarges its perspectives and enriches its in sights,” stated Professor Emeri tus Maria Luisa T. Camagay, Ph.D. (UP Department of His tory, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy), referring to historical revisionism. Here, revisionism applies to legitimate academic reinterpre tations of the historical record when there is documentary evi dence or actuality aplenty. In direct contrast, negation ism or denialism is a distortion of the historical record, a denial of historical truth. Harold Laswell (1927) stated that the purpose of negationism is to achieve a national, political aim by transferring war guilt, de monizing an enemy, providing an illusion of victory, or preserving a friendship.Anappalling example of ne gationism is Holocaust denial as an attempt to declare as falsity the harrowing experience of Eu ropean Jews. All to misrepresent facts and distort modern-day understanding of how Hitler’s hateful words escalated to dis crimination and inhuman con ditions, which then culminated in genocide.Speaking about this, Flemish author Koenraad Elst said that negationism is the denial of his torical crimes against humanity. Fabricated stories insisted that the final solution was sim ply to deport the Jews, that it did not order their extermina tion, and that the holocaust per se was perpetrated by the Jews, Allies, or the DenialismSoviets.hasoccurred in many other countries including Armenia (genocide in WWI), Ja pan (whitewashing war crimes in WWII), the Soviet Union (restric tions on historiography), Ger many (negation of armed forces participated in the Holocaust), Ireland (an amalgam of stories regarding Irish slavery), Egypt (the burning of the Library of Alexandria), Iraq (ISIS destruc tion of libraries during the Fall of Mosul), the United States (California genocide exclusion, and slavery in the Confederacy), and many Locally,more.theMartial Law era (1972-1985) was referred to as the Golden Age of Prosperity for the Philippines, but because of the lack of dialogue and docu mentary evidence included in the academe, there was not enough discourse on how Martial Law was enacted to silence political dissent. White walls hid a grow ing population in the slums. Pov erty and the rising cost of living were masked by infrastructure and cultural projects. Dissenting opinions from media and private individuals were silenced by atrocity, giving rise to the term Desaparecidos (enforced disap pearance) for people that could no longer be found. But the tale of Desaparecidos does not end there.

“ THE past decides the future of men.” –Jose Rizal

BusinessMirror 7Sunday, August 28, 2022

Let us jump right into that. Negationism (negationn isme) was coined by French his torian Henry Rousso in 1987. In his book, he pointed out how critical it was to distinguish between legitimate historical revisionism and politically mo

History as Study, Judge, and a Conflagration

A conflation of comparable stories involving the silencing of law-mandated protected rights to an opinion after the 1986 EDSA Uprising is just as long if not longer by this time, and the families of the disappeared then and now could only mourn the loss and pain of not knowing. Where to then? Quo Vadis? My friend, it is time to ask questions, condemn logical fal lacies, and hold credible institu tions to their base obligation. History is the study of change and could very well be our judge. The problem with waiting for this to happen in the present is that everyone considers themselves to be on the right side of history. So how does one heal a gen eration? Especially now when the prevailing use of social media, among others, as a purveyor of such communication, only fos ters confusion, conflict, and a growing mistrust of credible institutions.Fearnodiscourse. Invite and pursue parity. Love no one less. If history be our judge, it is time we accept that a historical conflagration is necessary to sweep through the muck of ille gitimate historical revisionism and its denialist spins. It is time that we let a deeper thinking and empathetic re-education emerge from the mess we ourselves have sown because we fear to compre hensively explore and expose the darkness, negationism, and rot in our past. We have suppressed the championing of correction and the value of equable com munication in sterile avenues that are schools, denying the same to multitudes, and so they have become sores that keep our progress at bay. Wounds should be bled and then sterilized, the patient that is all of us nourished back to health. Let history see our healing through the marks that remind us of who we are.

By Korinna Pia A. Saavedra Image by Max Santiago W HEN an esteemed group of historians,writers,re searchers, and editors collabo rated with Reader’s Digest to publish Philippine history from the viewpoint of Filipinos in time for the Philippine Centennial celebrations in 1998, the result was a 10-volume compendium called Kasaysayan: The History of the Filipino People It can be referred to as the first body of work created by Fili pinos for Filipinos and students of Philippine history. A reinven tion of the encyclopaedia as a collectible hybrid coffee table set that did more than that for which it was intended. The most important value of this project, however, is the knowledge and reinforcement that history requires evidence of actuality.Itiserroneous, not to mention foolish, to manufacture narrative if only to sway the world into be lieving that hard-won freedom or unspeakable crimes, for start ers, are the figment of many an imagination. Irrefutable evidence should speak to how timelines progress, even as more emerge over time for due examination, study, and inclusion. The painstaking process of tracking and documenting his tory is how generations learn of their origins, opportunities, and possibilities.Children are taught about family being the smallest unit of society. They then develop an understanding of history, first by knowing of the heroes and their struggles and then later by seeing them as people who have sacrificed much. Their academic studies, de fined by a pedagogical approach that allows students to develop an understanding of the modern world in a multifaceted way, al lowed the exploration of their role and existence as a people. Philosophy, the sciences, other disciplines, and the arts later mold people expectedly able to discern and critically ascertain between conflicting ideas and Historyvalues.isonesuch aspect of a people’s persona—ours—that require thorough and critical attention.Studying history helps us understand how the past has shaped and is continuously shaping relationships between societies and peoples on a local and global scale. History equips us with tools by which we can examine how problems have arisen. It helps us to appreciate the struggles of our people, the lessons that go with them, and the finite human experience. This progress is threatened when the narrative is fabricated to sway or influence knowledge or understanding.“Themosteffective way to destroy people,” as George Or well brilliantly pointed out, “is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”