BusinessMirror December 19, 2021

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A broader look at today’s business n

Sunday, December 19, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 72

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 12 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

By Manuel T. Cayon

I

N the country’s southernmost backdoor, December 12, 2021, will perhaps be the most memorable date for some 287 Sama Bajaus, the tribe infamously dubbed as Filipino sea gypsies. The date would be etched deep into their psyche, similar to many who remember birthdays and marriage anniversaries that are dear to their hearts.

For this is the day that the Bajaus, or Badjaos, received their birth certificates, the first by anyone in their tribe since time immemorial. With the issuance of this document, they would cease to be nameless and stateless.

If not for the Covid-19 pandemic, the nation could have beamed its spotlight on the ceremony in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, which saw them anxiously panning their eyes on the piece of paper bearing their names and other personal record that would, henceforth, be their key to transacting business or receiving social welfare benefits.

However, international attention was not wanting. Representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) witnessed the event as godfathers would stand as sponsors.

Only this time, they were the two UN agencies which worked with the national government and the Bongao municipal government to ensure the event would unfold.

‘At risk’

THE two UN agencies said the Sama Bajaus form one of the “stateidentified populations at risk of statelessness in the Philippines.”

“Because of their itinerant way of living and generations of non-registration among families, they face documentation issues, which in turn puts them at risk of statelessness,” their joint statement read.

Through the 2019 UNHCRUnicef Joint Strategy for Addressing Childhood Statelessness, both UN agencies supported the local government unit of Zamboanga City in piloting birth registration for Sama Bajaus.

In 2021, the project expanded to reach Sama Bajaus in TawiTawi following an assessment conducted in 2019 led by the Geneva-based Joint IDP Profiling Services (JIPS) and UNHCR, which found the prevalence of non-registration of birth among respondents in Bongao.

Without these indispensable official papers, “Sama Bajau children and families who are not registered at birth are excluded from

STATELESS NO MORE In a historic first, a group of Sama Bajaus, or Badjaos, receive their birth cerficates in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

TRADITIONAL Bajao sea-dwellings, stilt huts built on shallow waters. EW CHEE GUAN | DREAMSTIME.COM

the Conditional Cash Transfer program, have limited access to other social services, and become limited in their movement,” the statement added.

“Most of the Sama Bajaus in Bongao are also internally displaced due to natural disasters, further heightening their level of vulnerability,” the statement added. “Because they lack awareness on the importance of birth registration, have limited finances, and are unfamiliar about the process, some Sama Bajaus have not been able to register their birth. Cases of multiple birth registration also surfaced as a concern, posing difficulties for the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) in reconciling its records,” it said.

Collaboration

THE 2019 UN initiative was conducted with key government agencies from the Bangsamoro

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.1350

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), civil society organizations, and other UN agencies.

Barangay Lamion in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, was identified as a pilot community in coordination with key officials of the municipal government. In response to the report’s findings that health workers play a vital role in cascading health-related information among Sama Bajau communities, the initiative tapped the health workers in Lamion for the birth registration activities.

Staff from the Bongao LCR and members of U-Report Philippines from Tau-Social Peace Advocate of Real Tawi-Tawian Active Network (Tau-SPARTAN), KAKASIE, Youth Volunteer Organization and Simunul Youth Guild, Path for Peace and Nutrieskwela Radyo Kasannangan were also trained on birth regis-

tration and advocacy ahead of the rollout.

The UNHCR provided support to the digitization process of the Bongao Local Civil Registry by providing information and communications equipment and trained the office personnel in the database system to address the issue of multiple birth registration.

“We extend our sincerest appreciation to the municipality of Bongao for its leadership and commitment to the birth registration of Sama Bajaus, a population facing double vulnerability since they are also internally displaced in addition to being at risk of statelessness,” said Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo, head of the Philippine office of UNHCR.

Beacon for wanderers THE

Bajaus

are

conspicuous

street fixtures in many Philippine cities, often dressed shabbily and begging for coins or food scraps on the table, using sign language and facial expressions to persuade persons to share with them some loose change and some food leftovers.

In coastal cities, they would gladly oblige to dive to catch the coins thrown by boat passengers or strollers along dikes and wharves.

Through the years, some have veered away from this culture of begging and turned to hawking ukay-ukay, or used clothing, shoes and bags.

Lawyer Marlisa Gallo, chief of the Davao City Social Services and Development Office, said “the Badjao community in the city has been gradually reeducated from begging to vending.”

“It is the city’s livelihood assistance to them,” she said.

Some cities, like Davao, have opened other permanent programs for them, such as special education sessions tailored to their itinerant ways, and some have become professionals and currently taking over the teaching chores from non-Bajau teachers.

In the BARMM, Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal turned over 55 classrooms to 24 schools in the Schools Division of TawiTawi in April this year, including those for the Bajau learners.

In July, two members of the Bangsamoro Parliament filed a bill to protect the welfare of the indigenous peoples’ communities, which include the Sama Bajaus.

Melanio Ulama and Romeo Saliga introduced Cabinet Bill 40, otherwise known as the “Indigenous Peoples Rights Act in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region,” in the plenary. “This humble representation believes that this measure would help uplift the lives of the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the Bangsamoro region and address the injustices committed against them,” Saliga said in his sponsorship speech.

He said the bill intends to serve all IPs in the BARMM, including the Tèduray, Lambangian/Balèg, Dulangan Manobo, Erumanum Ne Menuvu, Badjao, Sama, Yakan, Higaonon, Blaan and other indigenous tribes recognized by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MIPA).

Among the powers and functions placed in the ministry was assessing IPs’ conditions, issuing property titles, developing and implementing programs for economic, social and cultural development, providing legal assistance, and guiding the chief minister on matters relating to IPs.

Documentation

THE December 12, 2021, distribution of birth certificates for the Sama Bajaus in Tawi-Tawi was also a product Unicef’s U-Report, a social messaging tool and data collection system to improve adolescent and youth citizen engagement, inform leaders, and foster positive change.

“The youth volunteers will spearhead the conduct of community-based advocacy on birth registration targeting parents, caregivers, government officials and decision-makers in Bongao.”

Unicef Philippines Country Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said, “As we celebrate Unicef ’s 75th anniversary, we recognize the clear reminder of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), that every child must be registered at birth and given a name and nationality.”

He added: “Children need to be officially registered and be recognized by the government to where their protection is ensured against any form of violence or exploitation against children.

Government as duty-bearer needs to ensure that every child has access to quality basic services like health, nutrition, education, safe water, safe environment and protective family to attain their full potential.”

“We will continue to work with partner agencies such as Unicef to ensure the protection of Sama Bajaus through their access to documentation,” said UNHCR’s Valdeavilla-Gallardo.

“Our efforts are in line with the Philippine Development Plan, the National Action Plan to End Statelessness by 2024, and the 2030 Agenda of leaving no one behind.”

n JAPAN 0.4409 n UK 66.7949 n HK 6.4246 n CHINA 7.8717 n SINGAPORE 36.7828 n AUSTRALIA 36.0120 n EU 56.8130 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.3601

Source: BSP (December 17, 2021)

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, December 19, 2021

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Hong Kong’s property tycoons sacrifice profit to appease Beijing

O

By Shawna Kwan | Bloomberg News

NE Hong Kong developer is offering half-price flats in the world’s most expensive residential market. Others have donated sprawling farmlands for public housing. And the scion of a property empire says it’s time to put the city’s betterment above profits.

Two years after street demonstrations rocked Hong Kong and Chinese authorities pointed a finger of blame at sky-high home prices, the city’s tycoon developers are under pressure to help ease its housing crisis. Asia’s pre-eminent financial hub isn’t just expensive, it’s also one of the world’s most densely populated, squeezing most of its 7.5 million dwellers into tiny flats, or worse into smaller “cage” or “coffin” homes.

Attention from Beijing has made questions of equity and affordability an urgent concern for developers who’ve long profited off Hong Kong’s unbalanced market. On the mainland, Xi Jinping’s

crackdown on housing speculation and monopolistic business practices has brought numerous billionaires to heel.

In Hong Kong, Carrie Lam’s government has accelerated seizures of vast land banks held by local magnates and diluted their political power. The message is clear: better to be seen as part of the solution than the problem.

Shift to charity

UNDER a new generation of leadership, the property dynasties are now burnishing their philanthropic credentials—helping to build almost 10,000 social housing units on land they donated to charities

AN occupant watches television inside a subdivided residential unit, known as a “coffin home,” located inside a building in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. Hong Kong, a city of soaring skyscrapers and glittering luxury boutiques, has become perhaps the epitome of income inequality in the developed world. Housing is the least affordable in the world, according to housing-policy think tank Demographia. BLOOMBERG

following the protests. Several heirs told Bloomberg they will keep doing charitable work, with one saying they are prepared to sacrifice some profits as a result.

“They are capitalists—winner takes all. That’s still the spirit of Hong Kong,” Bernard Chan, convener of Lam’s Executive Council, said in an interview. “But I think the younger generation now rising in the management totally understand that you cannot just simply ignore the needs of the people.”

Hong Kong’s biggest developers, including Li Ka-shing’s CK Asset Holdings Ltd., Lee Shau Kee’s Henderson Land Development Co., the Cheng family’s New World Development Co. and the Kwoks’ Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., owe much of their success to government policies that encouraged a small group of deep-pocketed firms to bid at auctions of land parcels, fueling the city’s affordability crisis. The wealth they amassed helped them expand into industries including electricity and gas utilities, supermarket chains and telecommunications.

The vast government income generated from land auctions has long supported Hong Kong’s low-tax capitalist system, making it a successful international financial hub.

Electoral change

BUT since protests challenging the mainland’s grip on the city, the developers’ political influence has waned. Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng told local officials in March that they needed to work on solving the housing problem. A few months later, the head of China’s top agency overseeing Hong Kong, Xia Baolong, set a goal to tackle the issue and bid farewell to cage homes or coffin-like subdivided apartments for the poor.

In May, at China’s behest, Hong Kong handed more than 10 percent of developers’ votes to select the city’s chief executive to smaller businesses and mainland Chinese firms.

The change in the electoral system is a sign that for “all these conglomerates, their wings have been clipped,” said Regina Ip, a lawmaker and also a member of Lam’s Executive Council.

Even so, the tycoons went out of their way to publicly support the move, placing advertisements in pro-Beijing newspapers. During a campaign to promote the election

‘I

don’t think the large companies in Hong Kong feel the same level of obligation as would their counterparts on the mainland. But I think they all get it now, they are doing it.” —Bernard Chan, convener of Lam’s Executive Council revamp in September, heirs including Henderson Land’s Martin Lee and Sun Hung Kai’s Adam Kwok were seen handing out leaflets to residents explaining China’s vision for Hong Kong.

When asked whether they face pressure from Beijing, spokespeople from Sun Hung Kai and New World declined to comment. CK Asset and Henderson Land didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Local real-estate firms have become less important to China since 2019’s political turmoil, said one heir, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that Beijing expects them to uphold national security and support the Hong Kong government.

Firms including Henderson Land and Sun Hung Kai have donated at least 2 million square feet of land, equivalent to about 30 football fields, for social housing since 2019. In December, New World unveiled a plan to offer 300 homes at about half of their market price, becoming the first privatesector developer to subsidize housing in the city.

At least one property scion has framed the donations as part of his company’s growing interest in charity, rather than an effort to appease Beijing. The post-millennial generation craves “purpose over profits,” New World Chief Executive Officer Adrian Cheng said in a recent speech at the University of Hong Kong. “Charitable efforts and business opportunities should be intertwined.”

‘PR stunts’

BRIAN WONG, a researcher at nongovernment organization Liber Research Community, is skeptical.

He calls the land donations “PR stunts” since the property is given to charities on a temporary basis.

“Will they solve the housing shortage? No,” he said. Better for the government to seize land permanently for public housing, he said.

Lam’s government has taken back around 90 hectares over the past two years, compared with just 20 hectares in the previous five, it said in May. It’s looking to claw

back 700 hectares in the future.

The authorities have so far steered clear of Chinese-style price restrictions, a move some investors had feared a few months ago.

Instead, Lam plans to expand land supply by building a new urban center in the city’s rural north— with the developers’ help.

Her goal is for a Northern Metropolis to transform the territory bordering mainland China into a residential and high-tech hub for 2.5 million people. If executed right, it could be a boon for the property clans, who own at least 100 million square feet of land in the area—almost three times the size of New York’s Central Park.

The plan shows that the government realizes it’s more efficient to cooperate with the developers, said Philip Tse, director and head of Hong Kong and China property research at Bocom International Holdings Co. Developing a Northern Metropolis ensures business opportunities for the city’s biggest builders, Tse said. The message from the central government is stick to the rules and don’t try to influence policy, he added.

While details of the initiative have yet to be ironed out, builders have publicly expressed their support. The Real Estate Developers Association said the endeavor will boost housing supply. New World said it would help the government implement the project, and Sun Hung Kai also praised it. CK Asset and Henderson Land didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Such enthusiasm for a plan that integrates Hong Kong with China also reflects the need to be seen as cooperative amid increasing scrutiny from Beijing. The developers are aware that to keep off Xi’s radar they will need to play their part to make homes more accessible and address inequality, conversations with realestate executives show.

“I don’t think the large companies in Hong Kong feel the same level of obligation as would their counterparts on the mainland,” Chan said. “But I think they all get it now, they are doing it.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World

Omicron severity masked by prior 72% infection rate in South Africa

L

eading scientists cautioned that the level of immunity against the coronavirus among South Africa’s population due to earlier infections may be masking the severity of illness caused by the Omicron variant.

Since the discovery of the variant in South Africa and Botswana was announced on November 25, hospitalization rates in South Africa have risen, though at a much slower pace than in previous waves, even as cases are rising more rapidly. The number of deaths has also been lower.

A recent seroprevalence survey in Gauteng, the South African province where the Omicron variant was first identified, showed that 72 percent of the population had a previous infection with the coronavirus, said Shabir Madhi, a vaccinologist at the University of the Witwatersrand. That compares with about 20 percent when the Beta variant emerged a year ago, said Madhi, who led trials of both AstraZeneca Plc’s and Novavax Inc.’s shots in South Africa.

“The evolution of the Omicron variant is coming at a very different stage of the pandemic,” Madhi said in an interview with the Global Health Crisis Coordination Center. “That is important to keep at the back of our minds when we see what is unfolding in South Africa and what we might see in other settings, which might have a very different epidemiology.”

Unnoticed infections

Official statistics don’t reflect the extent of the pandemic’s impact on South Africa, with just 3.2 million positive tests and about 90,000 deaths.

Excess deaths, a measure of mortality compared with a historical average, show that about 275,000 people may have died from the disease.

The disparity between official statistics and the likely extent of infections is more pronounced in South Africa, though not unique. The US Centers for Disease Control estimates that over the course of the pandemic until September, there were 146.6 million infections and 921,000 deaths as a result of Covid-19. Official statistics show more than 50 million infections and 799,000 deaths.

Madhi’s hypothesis is backed up by other scientists.

“You have large pockets of population immunity,” Tulio de Oliveira, who runs two gene-sequencing institutes in South Africa, said in an interview with CBS News on Dec. 12. “We’re going to have to tease apart if the mild cases are due to young people getting infected or if the previous population immunity from infection and vaccination are responsible for decreasing the number of hospitalized individuals.”

About 6,000 people are in the hospital in South Africa with Covid-19, about a third of the number at the peak of the second and third waves of infection. Current daily cases are close to record levels.

“That could really be due to the fact that immunity in the country is high either from natural immunity, from past infection, or from vaccinations,” Barry Schoub, chairman of South Africa’s Ministerial Advisory Council on Vaccines, said in an interview with Sky News.

Of South Africa’s 60 million people, about 26 percent are fully vaccinated. That compares with 70 percent in the U.K. While Omicron has, in early studies, shown that it can evade antibodies produced by vaccinations or previous infections more easily than previous variants, Madhi says immunity may stem from protection by T-Cells, which kill infected cells.

“In South Africa, there is seemingly significant population protection against severe Covid due to underpinning T-cell immunity, despite omicron being antibody evasive,” he said by text message.

Beta variant

South Africa’s experience with Omicron may once again raise the concept of so-called herd immunity, whereby enough of the population has been vaccinated or had a previous infection to blunt the impact of waves of infection. Still, the ability of the coronavirus to mutate and the different paths the pandemic has taken around the world may make that elusive.

“The data coming from South Africa are indeed very encouraging,” said Sam Fazeli, senior pharmaceutical industry analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. “Let’s not forget that South Africa had a wave of infections with the Beta variant, which was not seen elsewhere. This may make a difference to the response to Omicron.” Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

Sunday, December 19, 2021

A3

Powell resets Fed goals for job market in light of Covid reality

F

ederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has tempered his ambition to restore the labor market to its pre-pandemic strength, as the central bank confronts surging inflation and a workforce still constrained by Covid-19.

The Fed on Wednesday reiterated that reaching full employment was an expected step for raising interest rates, but officials also penciled in three hikes in 2022. While about 3.9 million workers are still missing on payrolls, Powell said maximum employment needs to be defined in the context of the “reality” of today and that the US is already very close to the mark.

“We’re not going back to the same economy we had in February of 2020,” Powell said at a press conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Early on, that had been the sense of where the country was headed, he said. But not any more: “The post-pandemic labor market and the economy in general will be different.”

The Fed hasn’t given an explicit definition of its employment goal. Powell said the evolving definition of what a full-employment labor market would look like is subjective and a committee judgment, unlike the more tangible definition of reaching the 2 percent inflation goal. In previous press conferences and speeches, Powell and other Fed officials have cited the shortfall of millions of jobs from the February 2020 level as slack that would return to the labor market.

Powell and his colleagues have come to see that the labor force will be constrained by continuing issues caused by the virus, said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton LLP. “The idea that we return to pre-pandemic norms requires the pandemic to abate, which it hasn’t. Within the context of where we are, it is past time that

the Fed acknowledges we move beyond pre-pandemic norms,” she said. “The one constant of the Powell’s tenure as Fed chair is his humility and willingness to adjust course when necessary.

He shows no hubris.”

But some saw Powell’s remarks as backtracking on prior guidance that Fed officials would be patient before raising rates in order to achieve full employment that was both broad and inclusive.

“They are trying to redefine wh at m a x i mu m employ ment means,” said Aneta Markowska, chief US financial economist at Jefferies LLC. “Up until now they said they would look at broad measures of slack, and all of that seems to be out the window basically. He was pretty explicit: He said there were structural reasons that participation is down and we don’t have the luxury of time because inflation is high right now.”

The chair, defending the progress already made toward restoring maximum employment, cited the rapid decline in the jobless rate to 4.2 percent, which is near the 4 percent level that officials see as full employment. He also called out record job openings, increasing wages, rising numbers of people quitting their jobs and improvements among how various demographic groups are faring.

“The labor market is, by so many measures, hotter than it ever ran in the last expansion,” Powell said, hearkening back to a period that, before the pandemic, delivered the lowest unemployment rate since 1969.

“Powell reiterated several times that the labor market is making “rapid ” progress toward maximum employment. He also said

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Bloomberg photo

he does not expect it to return to the February 2020 level. Given the rate at which the labor market is approaching maximum employment, he does not anticipate the committee will need to invoke the provision in the Fed’s framework that specifies what to do when the two components of the dual mandate are in tension with one another,” according to Bloomberg economists Anna Wong, Yelena Shulyatyeva, Andrew Husby and Eliza Winger.

The one measure that has been “disappointing” has been laborforce participation, Powell said.

While there had been the expectation that many workers would return in the fall with schools reopening, that didn’t happen. Still, the chair made it clear that metric alone wouldn’t be enough to stop interest-rate hikes.

“The reality is we don’t have a strong labor-force participation recovery yet, and we may not have it for some time,” Powell said. “At the same time, we have to make policy now. And inflation is well above target, so this is something we need to take into account.”

The latest shift represents a change for other Fed policy makers too. Fed Richmond President Thomas Barkin, among others, has cited the percentage of Americans who are employed as a key metric.

It remains far below its peak before Covid.

What’s more, the Fed’s new policy framework, adopted before inflation became a hot issue, called

for full employment to be defined as a goal that is “broad-based and inclusive,” indicating all groups should be faring well in the job market.

The 4.2 percent unemployment rate last month was still above the 3.5 percent rate that prevailed before the pandemic, but way down from the peak of 14.8 percent in April 2020. In November the White unemployment rate was 3.7 percent while the Black unemployment rate was 6.7 percent.

“The Fed is embracing the Great Resignation theme,” said Thomas Costerg, senior US economist at Pictet Wealth Management. It’s a “sudden U-turn from the Fed, which has long highlighted the hidden slack in the labor market to turn very suddenly and now highlight the quit rate and the very tight labor market.”

Among the indicators, Powell spent some time in his press briefing highlighting the quits rate, which is near a record, as a sign of workers’ confidence in the job market.

It’s “one of the very best indicators” and suggests a very tight labor market, he said. It was also a favorite labor market indicator of former Chair Janet Yellen, now Treasury secretary.

“I wouldn’t say they’re throwing in the towel on full employment but rather gradually learning what that means in this environment,” said JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief US economist Michael Feroli.

Bloomberg News

Afghan currency slides, prices surge as economy worsens H ERAT, Afghanistan—The value of Afghanistan’s cur renc y is tumbling, exacerbating an already severe economic crisis and deepening poverty in a country where more than half the population already doesn’t have enough to eat.

The afghani lost more than 11 percent of its value against the US dollar in the space of a day earlier this week, before recouping somewhat. But the market remains volatile, and the devaluation is already impacting Afghans.

Afghanistan’s economy was already troubled when the international community froze billions of dollars’ worth of Afghanistan’s assets abroad and stopped all international funding to the country after the Taliban assumed power in mid-August amid a chaotic US and NATO troop withdrawal. The consequences have been dire for a country heavily dependent on foreign aid.

Afghanistan was also slated to access about $450 million on August 23 from the International Monetary Fund, but the IMF blocked the release because of a

“lack of clarity” about the country’s new rulers. Since then, international envoys have warned of a looming economic meltdown and humanitarian catastrophe.

“People have no money and the prices have gone up,” said Sayed Umid, a 28-year-old shopkeeper selling basic food items such as rice, beans and pulses in a main shopping street in the western Afghan city of Herat.

“Since this morning I haven’t had a single customer,” he said.

With rent to pay on his shop and home expenses, he worries he can no longer make ends meet.

Khan Afzal Hadawal, former acting governor of Afghanistan’s central bank, said that the sanctions on the Taliban and the freezing of Afghanistan’s reserve funds “have put the country’s aid-dependent economy on the verge of full economic collapse, leading to historic depreciation of currency.”

“The development agencies, donors, the international community, the US, all these should help in this crisis,” he said. “We do understand the concerns of the international community but

An Afghan moneychanger holds a stack of Iranian currency at Khorasan market in Herat, Afghanistan, on December 15. The value of Afghanistan’s currency is tumbling, exacerbating an already severe economic crisis and deepening poverty in a country where more than half of the population already doesn’t have enough to eat. AP/Mstyslav Chernov

there are mechanisms [that] can help to manage the crisis and to assist the Afghan people.”

According to the United Nations’ World Food Program, 22.8

million of Afghanistan’s 38 million people already face acute food insecurity, and malnutrition in the country is increasing.

A combination of the coronavi-

rus pandemic, a severe drought and the Taliban takeover have left many without jobs, and the currency’s sliding value has been pushing up food prices.

Shopkeeper Jafar Agha said the price of a large container of cooking oil was about 700 afghanis three months ago (roughly $8 at the time), but now costs about 1,800 afghanis (around $18).

“My business has fallen to zero,” he said. “I’m not selling because people have no money.... We don’t have any hope for the future.”

In the bedlam of the Herat Money Exchange market, traders frantically check the ever-changing currency rate on their mobile phones as they jostle through the crowd shouting out prices and waving wads of cash.

A taser-wielding guard keeps the entrance free from the crush, the sound of its sharp clicks enough to send money changers scurrying past into the exchange.

Wednesday wasn’t a good day for trader Said Nadir. He sold US dollars at a rate of 105 afghanis, but then bought at 113 afghanis to the dollar as the currency began

to slide and he worried it might fall further. “ The situation is very bad.

When the price increases, we cannot find dollars,” he said.

In early August, the afghani was trading at around 80 to the dollar, jumping to around 90 in October. It briefly spiked from 110 on Sunday to 123 on Monday, before recouping somewhat. On Thursday it was trading at around 100 afghanis to the dollar.

For Farzad Haidari, a 34-yearold who imports and sells women’s shawls and scarves, the currency fluctuations have wreaked havoc on his business.

Importing many of his goods from neighboring Iran and with rent on his store in a shopping mall in central Herat set in dollars, he’s seen much of his income evaporate. If the situation continues and prices keep increasing, he said, he could be forced to close his shop.

“Before, when there was uncertainty because of war, we had our business,” he said. “Now there is security, but we’re losing our business.” AP

Journey

»life on the go

A4

Sunday, December 19, 2021

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

It’s Christmas Time in the City

Giant Lanterns of San Fernando

Tangub City Christmas Village

T

By Bernard L. Supetran

he Philippines has arguably the world’s longest, most colorful and happiest celebration of the Christmas Season. Across the archipelago, local governments light up and adorn the public areas, while homes deck the halls with boughs of holly.

But beyond the usual glitz of the lights, there are localities which observe the season with timehonored traditions which make Christmas more heart-warming and meaningful.

Easily accessible to Metro Manilans is the Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando, Pampanga, which holds a weeklong nightly light and sound show of 50-foot lanterns at Robinsons Starmills.

The decades-old extravaganza is also a showcase of Kapampangan craftsmanship in their lantern-making industry, which has earned the city the title of being the country’s “parol capital.”

Despite the pandemic and scaling down of the events in the past two years, it never fails to mesmerize people with the dazzling lights and the hope it has come to symbolize.

Further up north in Tarlac is Belenisimo Festival where towns set up the “belen” or manger tab-

leau of the Nativity with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, the shepherds, and the Wise Men. Road trippers can drive around the province and hop around the public plazas, but the center of the festivities is around the postcard-pretty Provincial Capitol Complex in Tarlac City.

Albay province, home of the majestic Mayon Volcano, takes pride of the “Pastores” depicts the shepherds’ jubilation on the birth of Jesus, and features musical groups interpreting the “Pastores a Belen” (“Shepherds to Bethlehem”) through song and dance.

Introduced by Spanish priests in the late-1800s, it spread across the Bicol region. It continues to be observed across different towns, with Legazpi City as the locus of performances and contests organized by the Department of Tourism and local government units.

It is also interesting to note that the Pastores is also used as a

Pastores Bikol in Legazpi City.

Citadines Cebu City one-bedroom suite.

song by carolers to keep the musical tune alive.

A new go-to place in Albay is Tres Hijos Hotel and Resort in Sto. Domingo town whose Christmas Village has been drawing Bicolanos with its colorful night light displays and food park. With and a 60-foot Christmas tree as the centerpiece and silhouette of the towering perfect-coned volcano in the backgound, the place is an Instagrammable getaway for families and friends.

Down in the Visayas, Cebu City is the epicenter of celebration with its unique mix of Old World charm and cosmopolitan living.

Unknown to many, this is where the most popular Filipino carol “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit” originated in 1933 under its original

Better Bike Buy-1-Give-1 holiday promo

title “Kasadya Ning Taknaa” by Vicente Rubi.

A bastion of Catholicism dating back to five centuries, its busy city sidewalks are dressed in holiday style and in the air there’s a feeling of Christmas. As it is in the song, children are laughing and people passing, meeting smile after smile, and on every street corner you’ll hear warm greetings of the season.

With the city and the province dotted by Spanish-era churches and landmarks of Christianity, Cebu celebrates the Advent with deep devotion which spills up to the Feast of the Epiphany and the runup to the Sinulog Festival.

On the dining table, the mouthwatering lechon is an ubiquitous delicacy in almost every Cebuano home as a sign of thanksgiving

and to welcome guests.

A cozy place to stay during the holidays in Citadines Cebu City, which is right smack in the heart of the old middle-class residential district. A service apartment tower, it evokes approximates the convenience and comforts of a modern house.

With the amenities of a typical home, families can recreate a Cebuano Christmas table with heirloom dishes and delicacies while on staycation in the Queen City of the South. Located at a gentrified neighborhood and the city’s heritage zones, Citadines guests can immerse with the local community as they observe the Season.

In Mindanao, the relatively-unknown City of Tangub in Misamis Occidental is shoved into the limelight, quite literally, at this time of the year as it reclaims its title of being the “Christmas Symbols

Capital of the Philippines”.

While public decorations are a common sight across the country, not all Christmas symbols are created equal as Tangub outshines its counterparts with its soughtafter annual thematic displays.

A few years back, the city took their display to the next level as it recreated the world’s most popular landmarks in bright lights to transport guests to other parts of the globe.

At day time before the lights are turned on at nightfall, people can ascend to Belvedere-Hoyohoy View Deck on or the Hoyohoy Highland Stone Chapel Adventure Park further up for a breathtaking panorama of Mount Malindang Range Natural Park.

Take your pick and visit these places with your loved ones, because it’s Christmas time in the city.

Ride into the season of giving with quality and affordable bikes

M

ake a Christmas wish come true for you and your loved one with the special Buy-1-Get-1 holiday promo of Better Bike, the local bike brand that combines quality riding and affordable pricing.

Join your friends’ fun rides, go around town in style or exercise for a healthier lifestyle as Better Bike allows you to get hold of its two bestselling models for the price of one.

Buy-One-Give-One Village Bike for P10,999

Under the limited-time offer, you can ride with your special someone like Asianovela stars with the chic Village Bike, now at its best price yet. Previously priced individually at P11,996, get two for just

P10,999. Colors include white, black, and coffee.

Buy-One-Give-One Foldable Bike for P14,999

Meanwhile, for space-savers or those always on the go, spread the holiday cheers with the stylish Foldable Bike. Originally offered at P15,998 per piece, double the fun this Yuletide season by buying one and getting one for free for only P14,999. Pick from teal, tangerine, lime, black, and white.

Act fast and make the most of the special offer, which ends in January 2022. For more information, visit https://betterbikeph.com/. Follow Better Bike on Facebook and Instagram at @betterbikeph.

Science Sunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

BusinessMirror

Sunday, December 19, 2021

A5

New innovations like gene editing in agriculture are said to promise improvements

Interest growing in agri’s new breeding techniques

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By Clement Dionglay

onsider this: It took thousands of years for the world’s population to reach 1 billion. Yet, in only 200 years or so, it suddenly grew seven-fold.

The United Nations estimated that the world population reached 7.9 billion this December, exceeding agricultural capacity and posing more challenges, including hunger, malnutrition, climate change, and dwindling natural resources worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

New breeding innovations New breeding innovations, including genome editing, is a game changer in food and agriculture, with the promise of improvements, such as increased yields and protection from pests and diseases.

While the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) involves the insertion of genes from other organisms, genome (gene) editing is a new breeding technique that allows scientists to improve the characteristics of living organisms, including plants, animals and microbes.

The technologies used for genome editing work like molecular scissors, cutting the DNA in a specific location, then remove, add, or replace known DNA sequences where the cut was made.

Genome editing The most used technologies in genome editing are clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (CRISPRCas9), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (Talens), zincfinger nucleases (ZFNs), and homing endonucleases,

or meganucleases.

CRISPR-Cas9 technology can be applied to nearly every organism, with many potential applications in medicine and agriculture.

It could be used in crops to improve traits, such as yield, plant architecture, plant aesthetics and disease tolerance.

Talens can be used to protect plants from the effects of climate change.

The technology has been used in the improvement of crops, such as soybeans, rice, potatoes, corn, and wheat.

Gene-edited soybean plants that produce premium quality high-oleic soybean oil sold as Calyno by Calyxt became available in the US market in 2019, making it the first commercialized product from a gene-edited plant.

Primer launch The enormous interest on these new techniques brought the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), together with the Department of Agriculture (DA) Biotechnology Program Office and Biotech Coalition of the Philippines to release a primer on new breeding innovations titled, “Breaking Barriers with Breeding: A Primer on New Breeding Innovations for Food Security,” on December 13.

The primer, released as ISAAA Brief 56, intends to raise public awareness and a deeper appreciation of new breeding innovations, their products, regulation, prospects, and contribution

ISAAA Board Chairman Dr. Paul S. Teng speaks at the launching of Brief 54 on August 29, 2019. ISAAA photo to food security.

A team of international experts on new breeding innovations from Argentina, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States were the authors of the primer’s seven chapters to ensure that the technology is accurately covered in the right perspective, with a preface written by Dr. Rhodora Romero-Aldemita.

The primer’s first two chapters focused on the tools and techniques of breeding crops and animals using genome editing, while the third chapter discussed the regulation of breeding innovations in agriculture.

Two succeeding chapters presented the prospects of new breeding innovations in Asia and Africa and the last two chapters explored communicating genome editing and the potential contributions of new breeding innovations in food security.

Threats to food security ISAAA Board Chairman Dr. Paul S. Teng was one of the nine authors of the primer. He was the keynote speaker during the one-hour primer’s virtual launch.

Teng, a food security expert from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, focused on the challenges that the

world is facing in order to feed and clothe itself.

Many threats to food security became more evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

“We really need new technologies and new mindsets to use these new technologies to produce more and reduce losses,” Teng added.

He also pointed out that new breeding innovations provide opportunities to increase the yield potential of crops using existing genomes and the possibility of breeding plant varieties that can withstand abiotic stresses, such as submergence and drought.

Better solutions and more choices DA Biotech Program Office DirectorCoordinator Annalyn Lopez said at the primer’s launching that agricultural innovations continue to provide better solutions and greater choices for farmers and consumers worldwide.

“Plant breeding innovations or new breeding techniques enabled the efficient development of new varieties of crops and animals that are high yielding, more adaptable to extreme climatic conditions, more resilient to pests and diseases, and more nutritious in a way that is faster and more precise than conventional breeding techniques.”

Lopez cited the current policy discussions at the National Committee

on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP) and the resolution on the regulation of plants and plant products derived from plant breeding innovations and new breeding techniques.

The resolution issued in April 2021 states that products of plant breeding innovations that do not possess a novel combination of genetic materials will not be covered by the existing regulations for GMOs. Genome editing allows scientists to make precise alterations as it is more targeted and speeds up the process by decades, according to Dr. Justin Bredlau, science and technology fellow at the US Department of AgricultureOffice of the Chief Scientist, and coauthor of the chapter “From Labs to Farmers: New Breeding Choices for Better Livestock.”

He added during the launching event that researchers use genome editing to develop animals that can resist deadly diseases like African swine fever, tuberculosis, foot-andmouth disease and avian influenza.

Philippine Seed Industry Association Executive Director Dr. Gabriel O. Romero, author of the chapter “Prospects of New Breeding Innovations in South and Southeast Asia,” said that Asian countries that were previously cautious in adopting GMOs may need to reconsider their approach now that the power of gene editing and its advantages are available.

Support to available agricultural applications In Africa, the new breeding innovations are important tools that the continent is eyeing to improve agricultural productivity for crops and livestock, said ISAAA AfriCenter Director Dr. Margaret Karembu.

The co-author of the chapter “Prospects of New Breeding Innovations in Africa,” Karembu said in a video message that new breeding innovations must help sub-Saharan Africa respond to agricultural challenges such as pests, diseases, and drought.

ISA A A Global Coordinator Dr. Mahaletchumy Arujanan’s message is centered on the possibilities offered by new breeding innovations.

“This technology can support all the currently available applications in agriculture to ensure food security, nutrition security, and reduce waste, leading to sustainable food production,” Arujanan said.

The primer’s chapter authored by Dr. Diana Horvath of The 2Blades Foundation discussed Talens, one of the tools in new breeding innovations with practical applications in plant science and other biosciences.

Dr. Martin Lema’s chapter presented the regulation of breeding innovations in agriculture—crops and animals—in different countries and world regions.

Growing interest in new breeding innovations The primer’s launch was attended by almost 100 participants from 11 countries who were the first group of people to get access to the primer.

ISAAA has been at the forefront of promoting education and sharing information about new breeding innovations, including genome (or gene) editing since 2016.

Articles from peer-reviewed journals are published every week in the Crop Biotech Update, as well as regulatory updates and other relevant news about genome editing from credible sources.

In July 2020, the Genome Editing Resource page was created in the ISAAA website, and has since attracted more than 6,000 unique pageviews.

Interest in genome editing in crops, livestock, aquaculture, and health was evident in the large number of attendees during the ISAAA webinar series on genome editing with an estimated reach of 18,000 from 70 countries in almost two years.

The downloadable PDF of the primer is available in the Brief 56 page on the ISAAA web site.

Underprivileged children in Cavite, Manila to benefit from Gulayan sa Pamayanan proj.

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nderprivileged children at Bukid Kabataan Center in General Trias, Cavite, and selected areas in Metro Manila will benefit from a Gulayan sa Pamayanan project.

All vegetable harvests from the project being led by the Department of Science and Technology Regional Office IV-A (DOST IV-A) and DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOSTPCAARRD) will be distributed to the beneficiaries for free.

The implementation of the ongoing DOST-PCAARRD-funded and -monitored project, titled, “Employing Hydroponics and Vegetable Gardening Technologies to Alleviate Covid-19 Threats to Food Security in Selected Municipalities in Region IV-A,” is being led by Director Fernando E. Ablaza of the Provincial Science and Technology Center-Rizal.

The project has two sites— General Trias, Cavite, and Angono, Rizal.

It is part of the GalingPCAARRD Kontra Covid-19 Program- Component 3—Pagkain at Kabuhayan sa Pamayanan.

According to Jazzner de Dios, program manager of Bukid Kabataan Center, besides the children-beneficiaries in General Trias, Cavite, around 10,000 malnourished and hungry

DOST-PCAARRD‘s Adoracion B. Armada (right) discusses with project leader PSTC-Rizal Director Fernando E. Ablaza the vegetables’ potential production per cycle.

Sarah Hazel Maranan-Balbieran, PCAARRD-PCAARRD

children in Metro Manila will also benefit from the project.

He said during the recent DOST IV-A’s Greenhouse Launching at Bukid Kabataan Center in General Trias, Cavite, that their main objective is to use less manpower, less inputs, and less space to grow more vegetables for the communities.

According to DOST IV-A Regional Director Emelita P. Bagsit, the project is timely because agricultural lands are diminishing due to their conversion into other purposes, such as subdivisions and shopping

malls.

In a small space with just one greenhouse, 7,000 lettuce seedlings can already be grown through hydroponics technology, Bagsit said.

The greenhouse will be managed by two persons only, unlike in conventional farms where more space and more farmers are needed to take care of 7,000 seedlings.

The improved greenhouse design, local materials, hydroponics technology and vegetable seeds were made possible through the DOST-PCAARRD-

funded projects led by Central Luzon State University (CLSU) Professor Dr. Chito F. Sace.

Sace emphasized that the greenhouse design and the hydroponics technology are products of his research at CLSU which is funded by DOST-PCAARRD and Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute.

He said that DOST-PCAARRD funded a total of three projects to establish demo farms at CLSU, where he showcased his studies on greenhouses, hydroponics, and aquaponics.

DOST-PCAARRD and CLSU also held several training courses on hydroponics for different institutions in the country to promote the adoption of the technology.

DOST-PCAARRD Executive Director Reynaldo V. Ebora thanked and congratulated DOST IV-A for its patience and determination despite the constraints brought about by COViD-19 pandemic.

He said that establishing the greenhouse structures and the procurement procedures may not been easy, but with their diligence, these became possible.

Before the end of the project, two more greenhouses with hydroponics and aquaponics technologies will be completed and used for growing different kinds of vegetables. Sarah Hazel

Maranan-Balbieran/S&T Media Services

The Medical City (TMC) Clark President and CEO Dr. Almario Jabson (third from right) leads the ribbon cutting of the Julius K. Quiambao Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center with TMC Enterprise President and CEO Dr. Eugene Ramos (center). They are joined by Nuclear Medicine Center Chairman Dr. Eric Cruz (left), TMC Enterprise Chairman of the Board Jose Xavier Gonzales (second from left), Bayambang Pangasinan Mayor Cezar Quiambao (third from left), Provincial Board Member Mylyn Cayabyab (second from right), and TMC-Clark Sales and Marketing Director Evelyn Yumul (right). CDC-CD photo

TMC Clark opens nuclear med and molecular imaging center

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LARK FREEPORT—The Medical City (TMC) Clark recently launched its Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center that is seen to further reinforce the appropriate treatment and care for patients who develop cancer.

The Julius K. Quiambao Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center is first in Central and Northern Luzon. It will have new services such as PET-CT scan, radionuclide therapy, radioimmunoassay (RIA) and bone densitometry.

The facility offers tests and procedures employing radioactive tracers, or radiopharmaceuticals, for imaging and treatment of benign and malignant diseases.

During the event, Clark Development Corp. (CDC) President and CEO Manuel R. Gaerlan expressed his message of support for the opening of the center.

“This Nuclear Medicine Center will not only serve patients from Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zones and Pampanga but also other parts of Luzon. Having this facility shows the advancement of technology and with it comes better care for patients. It also manifests how equipped

TMC Clark is amid the global health crisis that we are dealing with right now,” he said.

Gaerlan also extended his good wishes to the executives of TMC Clark who also witnessed the event.

“I would like to congratulate the President and CEO of TMC Enterprise Dr. Eugene Ramos and Chairman of the Board Xavier Gonzales, the whole TMC Clark team, especially the diligent frontliners that provide an abundance of care and support to the patients,” he added.

Besides Gaerlan, messages of support were also conveyed by Tarlac Gov. Susan Yap, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Atty. Wilma Eisma, and President Carlos da Silva of Association of Health Maintenance Organization of the Philippines.

TMC Clark President and CEO Dr. Almario Jabson also gave his message during the ceremony.

“The launch of this center makes us one step closer to the completion of our comprehensive cancer program.

This is just one innovative way to serve our patient partners and show that TMC Clark cares beyond boundaries, especially in the cancer care area,” Jabson said.

A6

Faith

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Sunday

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph

As more devotees are allowed inside the church on 2nd pandemic year

‘Simbang Gabi’ gives hope to faithful More faithful attend the “Simbang Gabi” at the Our Lady of Light Parish in Cainta, Rizal. Churches are allowed to have 50 percent capacity inside the church for the vaccinated faithful, while those unvaxxed are urged to hear the Mass at an open space provided outside the church, or virtually. Bernard Testa

T

By Bernard Testa

his year’s “Simbang Gabi” is providing people hope that the almost two-year pandemic will soon be a thing of the past as more Catholics are able to attend the novena since December 16.

The Simbang Gabi, or dawn Mass, this year welcomed more people inside churches compared to last year’s, when the health protocol was stricter owing to high incidence Covid-19 cases.

This year the pandemic situa-

tion in the country has eased up to Alert Level 2, allowing 50 percent indoor-venue capacity, including for in-person religious gatherings.

Like in Our Lady of Light Parish in Cainta, Rizal, the faithful who could not be accommodated

inside the church just stayed outside, where they listened to the Mass.

However, despite the increase in church capacity, the government urged unvaccinated individuals to attend the dawn Masses virtually to minimize their risk of contracting Covid-19.

Acting Presidential Spokesman, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles also reminded the vaccinated devotees to continue observing minimum public health standards of wearing face mask, washing hands and keeping distance, the Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported.

He said the people should not let their guards down, especially with the threat of the new Omi-

cron variant. It was reported a few days ago that the Philippines has registered two travelers have tested positive of the new variant.

Following government directives, Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco said tents were set up outside the church for unvaccinated churchgoers, the PNA said.

“We always follow what the government or IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases] say or their directives. For instance, they allow unvaccinated people to attend outside. We put tents in some places to accommodate those unvaccinated,” he said.

On the other hand, Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay, Palawan, has

earlier called on the faithful to attend the nine-day Simbang Gabi in preparation for the birth of Christ.

In a pastoral letter, Pabillo urged the faithful “to reflect on the countless God-given blessings.”

“Our life, our time, our faith, our environment, our talents, and whatever little we have. These are all blessings, gifts from our Creator,” said Bishop Pabillo.

Pabillo also encouraged the faithful to go to confession, to renew his faith, and to ask for forgiveness for sins committed.

“Let us welcome Christ with clean hearts. Let us receive Holy Communion with our hearts filled with hope for our safety amid this pandemic,” he said.

Simbang Gabi is traditionally

held at dawn, but the Philippine Catholic Church officials in the past years have allowed the holding of anticipated Masses in the evening.

The holding of the dawn Masses started in the early days of Spanish rule in the Philippines as a compromise to farmers, who start work before sunrise.

Priests say Mass in the early mornings instead of the evening novenas that is more common in the rest of the world. This Christmas custom eventually became a distinct feature of Philippine culture.

It is a folk belief that God will grant the devotee’s novena prayer request if he or she completes the nine days of Simbang Gabi.

Pope to young addicts: Don’t be afraid of your suffering

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OME—Pope Francis has encouraged young people suffering from addiction to take an honest look at their suffering, and courageously invite Christ into their lives.

“Do not be afraid of reality—of the truth—of our miseries,” the pope said during his December 8 visit to the Rome headquarters of the Cenacolo Community.

“Don’t be afraid, because Jesus likes reality as it is, not made up;

the Lord doesn’t like people who make up their souls, who make up their hearts,” he said.

The Cenacolo Community was founded in Italy in 1983 to support young people experiencing addiction or marginalization.

T he com mu n it y h a s si nce expanded to include houses in nearly two dozen countries, including the United States.

T he pope spent about two hours at the headquarters. He

met with several families and young people involved in the communit y, and 25 brot hers and sisters of the local Good Samaritan fraternity.

He watched a film on the life of St. Joseph that was produced by members of two fraternities in Medjugorje.

He also blessed a chapel at the headquarters that was entirely constructed by recycled materials, to symbolize the renewal of

life of each person in the Cenacle Community.

T he p o p e l i ste ne d to t he stor ies of t he you ng people present, a nd encouraged t hem to cont inue sha r ing t heir sto r ies, in order to help ot hers who may f ind t hemselves in sim i l a r sit u at ions.

“Have the courage to say: ‘I think that there is a better way,’” the pope said. Kate Olivera/Catholic News Agency via CBCP News

How Christmas became an American holiday tradition with a Santa Claus, gifts and a tree E ach season, the celebration of Christmas has religious leaders and conservatives publicly complaining about the commercialization of the holiday and the growing lack of Christian sentiment.

Many people seem to believe that there was once a way to celebrate the birth of Christ in a more spiritual way.

Such perceptions about Christmas celebrations have, however, little basis in history. As a scholar of transnational and global history, I have studied the emergence of Christmas celebrations in German towns around 1800 and the global spread of this holiday ritual.

While Europeans par ticipated in church services and religious ceremonies to celebrate the birth of Jesus for centuries, they did not commemorate it as we do today.

Christmas trees and gift-giving on December 24 in Germany did not spread to other European Christian cultures until the end of the 18th century and did not come to North America until the 1830s.

Charles Haswell, an engineer and chronicler of everyday life in New York City, wrote in his “Reminiscences of an Octoganarian” that in the 1830s German families living in Brooklyn dressed up Christmas trees with lights and ornaments.

Haswell was so curious about this novel custom that he went to Brooklyn in a very stormy and wet night just to see these Christmas trees through the windows of private homes.

The first Christmas trees in Germany

Only in the late 1790s did the new custom of putting up a Christmas tree decorated with wax candles and ornaments and exchanging gifts emerge in Germany.

This new holiday practice was completely outside and independent of Christian religious practices.

The idea of putting wax candles on an evergreen was inspired by the pagan tradition of celebrating the winter solstice with bonfires on December 21.

The bonfires on the darkest day of the year were intended to recall the sun and show her the way home. The lit Christmas tree was essentially a domesticated version of these bonfires.

The English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge gave the very first description of a decorated Christmas tree in a German household when he reported in 1799 about having seen such a tree in a private home in Ratzeburg in northwestern Germany.

In 1816 German poet ETA Hoffmann published his famous story “Nutcracker and Mouse King.”This story contains the very first literary record of a Christmas tree decorated with apples, sweets and lights.

From the onset, all family members, including children, were expected to participate in the gift-giving. Gifts were not brought by a mystical figure, but openly exchanged among family members—symbolizing the new middle-class culture of egalitarianism.

From German roots to American soil

American visitors to Germany in the first half of the 19th century realized the potential of this celebration for nation building.

In 1835 Harvard professor George Ticknor was the first American to observe and participate in this type of Christmas celebration and to praise its usefulness for creating a national culture.

That year, Ticknor and his 12-year-old daughter Anna joined the family of Count von Ungern-Sternberg in Dresden for a memorable Christmas celebration.

Other American visitors to Germany— such as Charles Loring Brace, who witnessed a Christmas celebration in Berlin nearly 20 years later—considered it a specific German festival with the potential to pull people together.

For both Ticknor and Brace, this holiday tradition provided the emotional glue that could bring families and members of a nation together.

In 1843 Ticknor invited several prominent friends to join him in a Christmas celebration with a Christmas tree and giftgiving in his Boston home.

Ticknor’s holiday party was not the first Christmas celebration in the United States that featured a Christmas tree.

German-American families had brought the custom with them and put up Christmas trees before. However, it was Ticknor’s social influence that secured the spread and social acceptance of the alien custom to put up a Christmas tree and to

exchange gifts in American society.

The introduction of Santa Claus

For most of the 19th century, the celebration of Christmas with Christmas trees and gift-giving remained a marginal phenomenon in American society.

Most Americans remained skeptical about this new custom. Some felt that they had to choose between older English customs, such as hanging stockings for presents on the fireplace and the Christmas tree as proper space for the placing of gifts.

It was also hard to find the necessary ingredients for this German custom. Christmas tree farms had first to be created. And ornaments needed to be produced.

The most significant steps toward integrating Christmas into popular American culture came in the context of the American Civil War. In January 1863 Harper’s Weekly published on its front page the image of Santa Claus visiting the Union Army in 1862. This image, which was produced by the GermanAmerican cartoonist Thomas Nast, represents the very first image of Santa Claus.

In the following years, Nast developed the image of Santa Claus into the jolly old man with a big belly and long white beard as we know it today.

In 1866 Nast produced “Santa Claus and His Works,” an elaborate drawing of Santa Claus’ tasks, from making gifts to recording children’s behavior. This sketch also introduced the idea that Santa Claus traveled by a sledge drawn by reindeer.

Bishop Francisco de Leon of Antipolo leads the inauguration of the “Hail Mary Wall” at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo City on December 8.

ANTIPOLO CATHEDRAL MEDIA MINISTRY Photo

Antipolo shrine launches ‘Hail Mary Wall’ for pilgrims

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NTIPOLO CITY—A new structure will welcome local and foreign pilgrims at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo City—the “Hail Mary Wall.”

Bishop Francisco de Leon of Antipolo on December 8 led the inauguration of the wall at the eastern grounds of the first national shrine in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

The wall features markers of four foreign translations of the “Hail Mary” prayer in Latin, English, Spanish and Mandarin.

On each side is a translation of the prayer into 10 Filipino dialects: Tagalog, K apampang a n , I lo c a no, Pa ng a s i ne n se, Y banag, Bicolano, Hiligaynon, Masbateño, Cebuano and Waray.

Antipolo Shrine Rector Fr. Reynante Tolentino said the structure was inspired by the Church of the Pater Noster found near the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where translations of the “Lord’s Prayer,” or “Our Father,” are found.

“The prayers found on this wall are an effort on the part of the Antipolo Shrine to be welcome to pilgrims of different nationalities and also those from the various regions of the Philippines to pray

and reflect through Mary’s maternal care,” Tolentino said.

He added that “the project lasted around six months and is part of the programs being executed by the national shrine in order to welcome and be hospitable to pilgrims who come from different countries and part of the Philippines.”

According to the 2020 report of the Antipolo City Culture, Arts and Tourism Promotions Office, an estimated 4 million pilgrims visited the shrine despite the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In their recent report from January to May 2021, which covers the summertime Antipolo pilgrimage season, the shrine accepted an estimated 3 million pilgrims.

This year the shrine is celebrating the 95th anniversary of the canonical coronation of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, which was inaugurated on November 28 with a Mass led by Cardinal José Advincula of Manila and other bishops and priests from the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila.

In July, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines approved the diocese’s petition for the Vatican to declare the shrine as an international shrine.

Kendrick Ivan B. Panganiban/CBCP News

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

‘Govt should include MSMEs in its climate-change agenda’

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

T

o help the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) confront the challenges of climate-change, the government must develop a bigger perspective of the total picture on the threats posed by unpredictable climate patterns.

Renato Redentor Constantino, executive director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), said MSMEs would have a hard time getting the assistance and resources of government agencies until they realize that the aspect of climate-change does not only involve disasters or the environment.

“Slow onset effects, such as rising seas, ocean acidification and the steady decline or increase of rainfall across decades, take place without the drama of calamities and body counts. But they are likely to bring the economy to its knees in the long run if we don’t act fast,” Constantino told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview on his views about the just concluded United Nations 26th Conference of the Parties conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

On the macroeconomic level, Constantino said resilience must be put on top of planning and must be urgently integrated into long-term development strategies.

He lamented that the economy is limited in using GDP as the sole yardstick of progress. Just like a lot of countries around the world, the Philippine economy has shown itself to be incapable of responding to nonfinancial external shocks, he said.

Moreover, he urged the Philippine scientific community to draw out plans to avoid future disruptions

to the supply chain and enable the MSMEs to continue their operations despite the pandemic.

“Certainly this will not be the last pandemic we will encounter and in addition to pandemics more climate impacts should be anticipated,” he said.

Constantino urged national agencies to cascade scientific climate research outcomes and analysis to provincial planners and local government units who can help craft strategies that channel MSME-tailored interventions.

Constantino said the MSMEs must also be included in the climate-change agenda because they are a vital cog in the economy, making up over 99 percent of the registered businesses in the Philippines.

Moreover, MSMEs a lso contributed close to 36 percent of the country’s 2018 GDP, generating 5.7 million jobs, or 63.2 percent of the year’s total employment.

“This needs to change, and we need to steadily measure our ability to enhance the country’s protection against the impacts of the climate crisis while increasing productivity despite the constraints of climate-change by its positive impacts on MSMEs,” Constantino said in an earlier conference.

Constantino lamented that the country is giving little opportunity to MSMEs develop low-carbon development products and services for the sector.

He said supporting MSMEs to develop green products will result in boosting the growth of the private sector, cooperatives and households.

Moreover, he added that retooling of labor in the MSME sector will benefit the workers as more job opportunities will be available to them.

DENR sets automation of permit issuance for trading of flora, fauna

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he Philippine government adopted the automated permit issuance system for the trading of flora and fauna to enhance global trade transparency and to prevent the illegal trade and sustainably develop the country‘s biodiversity, said Growth Features.com in a news release.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has started issuing permits for the trading of flora and fauna electronically in compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).

The electronic platform will be through the eCitesPH.com.

The information can be accessible anywhere, thereby facilitating trade.

The electronic permitting system will be integrated into the country‘s national single window system.

Through the process, international trade of threatened animals and plants will easily be monitored and controlled. “ The system will improve the control of international trade in endangered species. Automation of Cites processes will help enforce regulations, increase transparency and facilitate processing and electronic data exchange with customs and other agencies,” said Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) Assistant Director Amelita Ortiz.

“Electronic information exchange will reduce opportunities for corruption and the use of fraudulent documents in the trading of endangered species,” Ortiz added.

The DENR has been tapping information technology to enhance its capability building to produce experts in wildlife trade.

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said the addition of two online

learning platforms “enables the DENR to uphold its mandate of educating the people about the country’s wildlife resources despite the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.”

T he BMB has introduced t he eTraining Course on Basic Wildlife Law Enforcement (BWLE) and the Wildlife Philippines Podcast.

This project is under the DENRAsian Development Bank/Global Environment Facility Project on Combating Environmental Organized Crime in the Philippines.

The project also involves aid from the United States Department of the Interior International Technical Assistance Program-Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Project 3.

Modules under this e-learning project include Wildlife Law Enforcement in the Philippines; Species Commonly involved in Wildlife Crimes; Substantive Laws on Wildlife Resources Protection; Other Crimes against Wildlife; Roles and Responsibilities of Government Agencies in Wildlife Law Enforcement; and Procedural Laws on Wildlife Resources Protection.

Each year, the BMB issues more than 1,500 permits on a tedious manual basis.

But the new automated permit issuance system eases the burden of manual work. This is aligned with Republic Act 11032 of 2018, or Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery.

More than 38,700 species, including 5,900 species of animals and 32,800 species of plants, are protected under the Cites, an international treaty signed by Philippines. It was entered into force in 1975.

Each species is under any of three appendices depending on the degree of protection they need.

A7

PHL’s Expo 2020 Dubai pavilion is tribute to nature and Filipinos

D

UBAI—Asean’s biodiversity and its contribution to daily lives were spotlighted on December 12 at the Philippines’s pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai called Bangkóta, an ancient word for coral reefs.

The Embassy of the Philippines in the United Arab Emirates, in cooperation with the Asean Centre for Biodiversity, held the second Embassy Bangkóta Apex Speaker Series called, “Ugnayan: Connected by seas, sharing one vision for people and nature,” on December 12, an ACB news release said.

The 30-minute talk of ACB executive directorDr. Theresa Mundita Lim, highlighted the interconnectivity of marine ecosystems and biodiversity in the Asean region and the Philippines’ key role being at the centre of the center of global marine biodiversity.

A region connected by seas The Asean—composed of the 10 countries of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam— boasts of abundant marine resources, 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs, 35 percent of mangroves and at least 33 percent of all seagrass habitats.

The Asean region is home to vast coral reefs, mangroves, estuaries, sandy and rocky beaches, seagrass and seaweed beds and other soft-bottom habitats.

These ecosystems account for a third of the world’s coastal and marine environments and provide breeding, nursing and feeding grounds for marine plants and animals, as well as food and resources vital to coastal populations’ livelihoods.

Fisheries, coastline protection, tourism, recreation and aesthetic aspects are estimated to provide total potential yearly economic net benefits per square kilometer of healthy coral reefs alone in the region, ranging from $23,100 to $270,000, the news release said.

“This sector employs approximately 80 million people. The processing, marketing, distribution, and supply industries associated with fishing and aquaculture employ up to another 10 million people,” Lim said.

The Asean’s coastline and marine areas are expected to house close to 500 million people by 2050. The region also accounts for 17 percent of the world’s fish production.

“While the seas may physically separate us, these bodies of water also help connect our islands, our lives and our cultures. People depend on these coastal and marine ecosystems for food, livelihood, and transportation, among others,” Lim said.

She explained that islands are linked by the waters due to larval dispersal brought by ocean currents.

Ocean currents can transport coral and fish larvae over great distances.

The term “connectivity” refers to how this type of movement connects habitats.

The region’s interconnectedness is also demonstrated by the movement of migratory birds traversing across the seas, and thereby connecting nations and regions.

This connectivity is exemplified by the Bangkóta design of the Philippines’s Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai. As explained by the visionary architect behind the Bangkóta, Royal Pineda and designer Budji Layug, it “is a living coral reef, pulsating with people, movement, activities, flora and water features; all functioning as one global ecosystem.”

The Bangkóta is a representation of our deep connection with nature that dates back to prehistoric times, ACB said.

According to the Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn M. Quintana, who opened the lecture, the Bangkóta is a metaphor for sustainability and is also a tribute to Filipinos all over the world, who manage to thrive wherever they are, despite the circumstances.

PHL as the center of the center of global marine biodiversity Endowed with two-thirds of the world’s biodiversity, or 70 percent to 80 percent of plant and animal

An image of the rafflesia flower projected on the 67.5-meter tall Al Wasi dome. It is part of the Expo 2020 Dubai, dubbed as the “World’s Greatest Show,” as part of the celebrations of the Asean Honour Day on December 13. Produced by the ACB, with the support of the European Union through the Biodiversity Conservation and Management of Protected Areas Project, the 360-degree video projection titled, “Experience Asean,” featured the region’s natural treasures premiered at the Al Wasl Plaza of the Expo. ACB photo species, the Philippines is a treasure trove of the Asean region’s marine biodiversity.

The Philippines, along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, make up the Coral Triangle, which has most of the world’s coral reefs.

The Coral Triangle is a vital part of the region’s marine environment and is the core of the worldwide distribution of reef-building corals, as it contains more than 75 percent of the world’s coral reefs.

As the center of the Coral Triangle, the Philippines serves as an abode to 18 of the world’s more than 67 species of seagrass, and to over 500 coral species, 2,500 reef fishes, and other marine biodiversity, the ACB news release said.

Part of the Coral Triangle is the Tubbataha Reef Natural Park (TRNP) in the Philippines. Tubbataha is the country’s last remaining pristine seabird habitat where more than 30,000 seabirds breed. It also has the highest density of the world’s whitetip reef sharks.

The TRNP was designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site; a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance; an East Asian-Australasian Flyway site; a Blue Park and Particularly Sensitive Sea Area; and an Asean Heritage Park.

Biodiversity conservation, a shared responsibility The most visible response in Asean to the need to safeguard marine biodiversity has been the creation of marine protected areas.

The Asean Heritage Parks (AHP)

program is Asean’s flagship initiative for promoting effective protected area management and contributing to the conservation of ecosystems and resources.

It recognizes the region’s national parks and reserves for their uniqueness, ecological diversity and conservation values.

As the secretariat of the program, the ACB supports the AHPs by providing capacity enhancement activities, monitoring equipment, and law enforcement support to these outstanding protected areas in the region.

The ACB, the only Asean center hosted by the Philippines, was created by the Asean member-states to facilitate the conservation and protection of biodiversity and ecosystems that are connected to the lives of the Asean people.

Currently, there are 50 AHPs—nine of which are in the Philippines.

The AHPs in the Philippines are Mts. Iglit Baco National Park in Mindoro, Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park in Bukidnon, Mt. Malindang Natural Park in Misamis Occidental, Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve in Laguna, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Palawan, Mt. Hamiguitan Range Natural Park in Davao Oriental, Mt. TimpoongHibok-Hibok Natural Monument in Camiguin, and Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Agusan del Sur, the ACB news release said.

“Like what the BangkÓta says, man is nature. Nature and our rich biodiversity are part of our origin, our voyage, and our destination,” Lim said.

She added that the important connection between biodiversity and its contribution to our daily lives is a reminder of our role to protect it.

Pawikan hatchlings dash to freedom

By Henry empeño

O

live ridley hatchlings dash to the open sea when they were released by animal care technicians of Ocean

Adventure Park at the Camayan Beach Resort in the Subic Bay Freeport on December 12.

The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), the smallest and the most abundant

Pawikan hatchlings released to the sea. Henry Empeño

of sea turtles, is just one of the five sea turtles, or pawikan species found in the Philippines and among the only seven species in the world.

Subic Bay is among the

known nesting sites of the pawikan. Subic beach resorts care for the eggs deposited in the sand by sea turtles until they hatch and are ready for release into the sea.

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 | S

unday, December 19, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

All-American Trippi’s amazing life reaches crowning achievement

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press

A

TLANTA—If you think today’s hybrid National Football League (NFL) players are something special, check out Charley Trippi.

He could do pretty much anything with a football.

Run with it. Throw it. Punt it.

Catch it. Stop others from catching it.

When the opposing team kicked off or punted, he could return it, too.

Trippi had a simple explanation for his dazzling array of skills.

“In those days, the more things a player did, the more pay he could demand,” Trippi said, according to his bio on the Pro Football Hall of Fame web site. “I could run, kick, pass and catch, and that made me a valuable property.”

Valuable, indeed.

On Tuesday, Trippi celebrated perhaps the crowning achievement of a remarkable life.

He turned 100 years old.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart was among those who stopped

by Trippi’s Athens home to deliver a cake topped by 100 candles.

Trippi managed to blown them all out.

“Was I impressed to see him blow out all the candles?” Smart said afterward. “Being such a great second-effort athlete, he wouldn’t stop until he blew them all out. I was really overwhelmed.”

Longtime friend Loran Smith, best known for his work on Georgia’s football broadcast team, ordered the cake and made sure it had the proper number of candles.

“We counted ‘em,” Smith said.

Trippi, wearing a jacket with the Pro Football Hall of Fame logo, seemed pleased with himself after getting them all extinguished. His wife, Peggy, along with a daughter and a grandson, cheered him on.

“When it was time to huff and puff, he knew what we wanted,” Smith said, chuckling. “...He wasn’t gonna quit until he got ‘em all out.”

Trippi’s centenary fell on a year when both his college and pro teams are having hugely successful seasons.

The Georgia Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 most of the year and are among four schools headed to the College Football Playoff. The Arizona Cardinals are 10-3 and, despite a loss Monday night, are projected as one of the leading contenders to reach the Super Bowl.

Trippi played for Georgia in the 1940s, his college career interrupted by a stint in the military during World War II. He led the Bulldogs to a Rose Bowl victory, finished as runner-up to Glenn Davis for the 1946 Heisman Trophy, and was a No. 1 overall draft pick by the Cardinals, who then called Chicago home.

“If you know anything about his legend at Georgia, you know he was, perhaps, the greatest all-around football player on our campus,” Smart said. “Many historians and observers have said that and from reading about him, I understand why.”

In Trippi’s rookie season with

the Cardinals, the team won what remains its only undisputed NFL crown with a “Dream Backfield” that also included Elmer Angsman, Paul Christman and Pat Harder.

The 1947 title game was played at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, where the Cardinals hosted the Philadelphia Eagles on a baseball-turned-football field coated with a thin sheet of ice on a bitterly cold day.

Unable to get much traction is his cleats, Trippi switched to a pair of sneakers. He led Chicago to a 28-21 victory, scoring a pair of touchdowns on a 44-yard run and a 75-yard punt return.

“The only time I played an NFL game in tennis shoes was in Chicago for our championship team,” Trippi told me in a 2014 interview. “We got better footing in tennis shoes. You couldn’t stand up in cleats.”

When the Cardinals made their first Super Bowl appearance in 2009, Trippi was thrilled by their success and pulling hard for another championship.

“Well, I never lost hope,” he quipped before the big game, “but I was a little apprehensive there for a long time.”

Alas, the Pittsburgh Steelers knocked off the Cardinals 27-23, so that Trippi-led championship remains the franchise’s most recent.

He played nine seasons with the Cardinals, lining up pretty much anywhere he was needed.

Trippi started out as a halfback, switched to quarterback for two seasons and closed out his career playing mostly defensive back. He also was the punter, in addition to excelling as a kickoff and punt returner.

In 1968, Trippi was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He remains the only member to post 1,000 yards rushing and receiving and passing.

There’s more. He was responsible for 53 regular-season touchdowns over his career: 23 rushing, 16 passing, 11 receiving, two on punt returns, and one with an interception return.

And lest we forget, Trippi averaged 40.3 yards as a punter, had four career picks, and recovered 13 fumbles.

On Tuesday, he achieved another rare distinction: Trippi joined Clarence “Ace” Parker as the only members of the Hall of Fame to live to 100.

Parker died on November 6, 2013, at the age of 101.

Coming from a brutal sport where far too many have died far too young, Trippi and Parker truly beat the odds.

Smith gives the credit for Trippi’s longevity to a lifelong commitment to moderation.

In everything he did. AP

GEORGIA Bulldogs All-American Charley Trippi is shown here during practice in 1946 and on Tuesday celebrating his 100th birthday with Georgia head coach Kirby Smart in Athens, Georgia on Tuesday. AP

CHILDREN learn the basics of golf from caddie Marcelo Modesto on the grounds of the Nusacquilombo cultural center in Cidade de Deus or City of God favela, in Rio de Janeiro. AP

KIDS PLAY GOLF IN RIO FAVELA

R

IO DE JANEIRO—Saturday is not a school day, so kids in Rio de Janeiro’s City of God favela fill the dirt roads playing soccer or pretending to be cops and robbers around dangerous alleys.

All the while, parents are watching over them, hoping their children don’t get scouted by drug dealers seeking messengers and couriers.

Another person is watching them.

Marcelo Modesto was born in a calmer City of God than the infamous one of the 2002 film. He’s aiming to take some kids off the favela streets and try and turn them into professionals of a sport many Brazilians deem elitist, or exclusive to white people.

Golf.

A caddie for four decades, the 54-year-old Modesto has opened a golf training center in the most violent area of the favela. Without public or private funding, from just a sheer

passion for the sport, Modesto has attracted 100 kids to the ground in hope of starting some on the path to becoming professionals, or doing something to get off the favela streets.

The City of God golf training ground is part of a program that hopes to develop children from one of Brazil’s most violent favelas into budding golfers who are invited to use the course from the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

Their introduction to golf is rudimentary, at best.

The City of God training ground is only 1,600 square feet (150 square meters), which is less than the size of your average putting green. A community center once filled the site. Interested kids, who are mostly Black, play with donated clubs and balls. Instead of holes, they hit buckets. As a warmup, they swing wooden sticks around their backs.

And no matter how intense practice gets, they remain alert for any sound of gunshots.

61-FOOT GAME WINNER

“I have friends who died, others were jailed. They didn’t have the opportunities like those I have had with golf,” Modesto told the Associated Press during a recent Saturday practice, only hours after his shift as a nightwatchman. “Once you get the ball and start swinging, you fall in love.

And so have these kids.”

Modesto saw golf as a good idea for City of God kids from his own introduction. When he was 20 and had just left the Army, criminals came to him as a potentially great asset—he was a young man who knew how to fight and shoot.

Plus, he had a connection with the favela.

“That shook me,” Modesto admitted.

What changed his life was an invitation to work at a golf club.

“I am very grateful to golf. It was like a second family. Club members were like the father I never had,” he said. “I learned how to speak well, I was distinguished here. I got clothes from club members, went out with the best looking

The New Orleans Pelicans’ guard Devonte’ Graham (4) celebrates with teammates after hitting the game winning basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in Oklahoma City. Graham’s 61-foot heave at the buzzer gives the Pelicans a 113-110 win. The Pelicans inbounds to Graham, who launches the ball from near the three-point arc on the other end of the floor to win it. AP

B

ATON ROUGE, Louisiana— Basketball great “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s college letterman jacket sold for nearly $117,000 at an auction over the weekend, more than 50 years after his record-setting career at Louisiana State University.

The auction of various Maravich memorabilia, conducted by Grey Flannel Auctions of Scottsdale, Arizona, netted over $160,000, including the earnings from the jacket, according to The Advocate.

The purple jacket, trimmed with gold and featuring a gold “L” on the left breast, was worn by Maravich during his three seasons as a Tiger. It went for $116,924. The rest of the auction items included his 1978 National Basketball Association All-Star game jersey, AllAmerican plaques from all three seasons at LSU, and the jacket he wore in 1987 for his induction into the Naismith

girls here. I became a reference.”

Modesto hopes to spread the initiative into other Rio favelas so at least 60 children can go to the city’s Olympic golf course by February to take classes and be fed. Two have already been selected.

Ray de Souza Teixeira, 13, is already confident he will become a professional golfer even though he started playing on a proper course only last week. Teixeira’s grip of a club reminds Modesto of Tiger Woods.

Teixeira played rounds at the Olympic course on Monday, and was suitably dressed in khaki shorts, white shirt and black sneakers.

“No one had ever told me this existed in Brazil, only the rich knew about it,” Teixeira said between rounds. “I want to play a professional tournament and win so I can take my family out of the favela.

Life there is too difficult.

“Whenever I hear gunshots, someone dies. Whenever there’s a police raid, someone dies. It is very bad when there’s police raids, there’s protests after that, too. Golf is my joy now.”

The Olympic course has seen little action since the 2016 Games, at high risk of becoming a white elephant.

Many clubs have restrictive membership, and Brazil only has about 20,000 registered players, a figure that hasn’t changed much since the Olympics.

But none of that matters much to Leijane Silva, 50, who is also a volunteer with the City of God golf project. All she wants is for her daughter, Sofia, and other kids to stay away from crime.

“I just want these children to be out of the streets,” she said. “They develop another perspective here, they understand sport better. I am very thankful that my daughter is here.”

Jack Correa, the vice-president of Rio’s Olympic golf course, believes kids won’t be frustrated if they don’t become professional golfers because there’s other activities around golf that can attract them.

“More than 80 percent of our association today is former caddies. The bubble was burst,” Correa said. “The Olympics did push the sport forward. Now anyone can play, get to know the sport.”

Modesto believes the golf project can also improve the views of many Brazilians about children coming from City of God. He has ambitions to develop additional pieces of land so he can build a course, add two tennis courts and, if possible, a swimming pool.

“Golf was the light at the end of the tunnel for me,” he said. “I hope it will be just the same for some of those kids. I jokingly tell the people in power here that they will have to import workers in the future because the children of City of God will be too busy with sport.” AP

‘Pistol’ Pete’s LSU letterman jacket fetches nearly $117K Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

According to The Advocate, the items were all obtained directly from the Maravich family.

Maravich died in 1988 from heart failure at the age of 40. The Pennsylvania native remains the all-time leading scorer in Division I men›s college basketball history with 3,667 points in three seasons at LSU from 1967-70. He also holds the Division I records for most points per game for his career (44.2), and most points per game for a sophomore (43.8), junior (44.2) and senior (44.5). He was voted national player of the year in 1969 and 1970.

LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center, known as “The House that Pete Built,” was named for him shortly after his death. AP

“PISTOL” PETE MARAVICH strikes a pose for Louisiana State University in November 1969. AP

BusinessMirror

December 19, 2021

How Mrs. Claus embodied 19th-century debates about women’s rights

2

BusinessMirror DECEMBER 19, 2021 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

AUTHENTIC WOMANHOOD SILVY and the power to influence people through music

A

By Stephanie Joy Ching

FTER the rise of such movements such as the #MeToo movement and #HijaAko in our own shores, it is clear that the current wave of feminism is pushing back against outdated ideals of how a woman should behave and dress. Known as the fourth-wave of Feminism, it is defined by Bustle in a 2015 article as “queer, sex-positive, trans-inclusive, body-positive, and digitally driven.” As such, it comes as no surprise that many female artists of this generation have included this message into their art.

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: T. Anthony C. Cabangon

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For Thai-Italian singer song-writer SILVY, this means presenting a version of modern womanhood that isn’t perfect, but authentic and true. This mirrored her own journey into accepting who she is as an artist.

“The way I am, just like this, it

Group Creative Director : Eduardo A. Davad Graphic Designers Contributing Writers

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SILVY

comes from the part where I already tried to fit into the standard. I realized that I already tried and I will never be enough to other people. So I just started being my own self and not let other people’s opinion drown out the voice in my head,” she said.

SILVY first started singing as a

child, with her mother introducing her to “diva” artists such as Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Later, she found herself in a label that she described as “strict” and left her feeling confined into a beauty standard that always told her she was not enough. Eventually, she left the label and found her own voice as an artist, debuting with her body positive English single, “XL.” “This song ‘XL’ is all about confidence. I wanted to write a song that people can sing, dance, shake their booties to with pride – no matter what shape or size they are. I really share my personal story in this one, about the time I overcame my deepest insecurity,” she commented.

Almost like a follow up to “XL”, her next single “Queen” is also an upbeat power anthem that encourages everyone to “come out and be their true selves.” Combined with her powerful voice and authoritative stage presence, SILVY crafts a song that practically forces people to embrace their true selves without any fear.

“I just want people to feel the beat and dance to it, it’s just an uplifting song. Every time you open “Queen” you would feel like a queen even if you’re just going to the market to buy groceries,” she joked.

“I just want people to find their own way, that’s what I’ve been struggling with and I want people to find their own way too,” she added.

With many of her songs centering around women empowerment, SILVY believes that artists such as herself have the responsibility and “the power to influence people.”

“Artists have the power of influencing people. I have been doing this type of content in my social media for a while now, but it gets nowhere. But once I do it in a song, it makes a lot more people understand and get the subject very quick, cause it’s just three minutes.

And if you get the message right, a song can be very impactful to make one person feel something.”

SILVY’s “XL” and “Queen singles are now available on major streaming platforms.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | DECEMBER 19, 2021

BUSINESS

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

More hot tracks for a cold December genres with a modern-classic feel.

It’s a Yuletide song which revisits the nostalgia of missing a loved one during the holidays whilst keeping the overall mood light and hopeful.

ED SHEERAN and ELTON JOHN “Merry Christmas

CLINTON KANE ‘Go To Hell’

T

WO of the world’s biggest recording artists ring in the Yuletide season with their all-new charity single ‘Merry Christmas’, which provides the perfect dose of Christmas cheer - packed with sleigh bells, uplifting arrangements and joyous harmonies, topped

by Ed and Elton’s heart-warming lyrics. The official video for ‘Merry Christmas’ pays homage to scenes from legacy Number 1 Christmas music videos and iconic Christmas films.

F THE ITCHYWORMS “Christmas Starts When The Bers Begin”

T

HE Itchyworms continue to celebrate their 25th anniversary with the second installment of their holiday-themed album, “Christmas Starts When The Bers Begin.” Their latest release contains two new tracks, namely “Halo-Halo” which is a festive reinforcement of the classic tradition with characteristically Pinoy sensibilities and “Meri Xmas 2 U” which serves a fun and sparkly reimagining of the Pinoy Christmas carols in one rocking shimmy treat.

ILIPINO-NORWEGIAN singersongwriter Clinton Kane has finally released this breakup song that finds him reeling from the dissolution of a romantic relationship. Often referred to as “the rock song” on socials, the track shows another side of the dynamic artist while keeping his songwriting at the forefront. Speaking about the new track, Clinton emphasizes that the song is completely different from anything that he has released in the past, and that it has a more alternative rock-leaning edge to it.

YSABELLE CUEVAS, DREA ROSE “Christmas In Paradise “

NICOLE ASENSIO “Christmas Without You”

A

N original composition by Nicole Asensio herself, “Christmas Without You” bridges pop, blues, and big-band

F

ILIPINO indie singer-songwriter Japph projects an aura of bohemian cool when it comes to his music. On his official debut single “I Will,” the acoustic troubadour sends out feel-good music that resonates on a broader front: sundappled guitars, laid-back singing, and a winsome hook to whistle your way to the countryside. The song is accompanied by a music video that Japph directed himself with cinematographer Welvin Medina, which revolves around friends escaping the bustling city life over the weekend, and enjoying the nofuzz thrills of a beach hideaway.

KAIA “Kaya”

T

HIS smooth pop duet written for the Christmas romantics and the butterflies you get when with someone who makes you feel like your favorite holiday every single day. Growing up in the Bay Area and in the Philippines, songwriters Drea and Ysabelle draw from the perspective of spending Christmas in the tropics, enjoying the California breeze, and celebrating the mundane moments with the people you love.

JAPPH “I Will”

BLASTER “Pasko’y Hindi Na Masaya”

F

ILIPINO experimental/ alternative artist Blaster redefines the Christmas tune canon with a new single that essays the profound sadness and grief of celebrating the holidays in the time of pandemic. His latest offering “Pasko’y Hindi Na Masaya,” is dedicated to countless people whose lives were hit hard by unfortunate circumstances, and are dreading of the challenges that lie ahead. While “Pasko’y Hindi Na Masaya” doesn’t fall under the conventional holiday songs that articulate the merry Yuletide spirit, the modern day anthem gives a sobering reality to folks who happen to experience Christmas in a different light.

A

FTER being officially launched last month by ShowBT Philippines, P-Pop girl group KAIA is now ready to seize the spotlight with an upbeat electro-pop track that tackles the importance of coping with turbulent times, and being able to bounce back stronger amidst the adversities in life. Produced by Mr. Lee Oh Won (SB19, SHINee’s Taemin, Stray Kids, TVXQ and Wanna One and Han Seungtaek), “Kaya” delivers a catchy banger that serves as a strong introduction to the members’ interesting and diverse personalities.

“We are nervous and excited at the same time,” the all-girl ensemble shares in a statement.

“We are excited to show people what we’ve been working hard for in the past months, and we’re hoping that people will give love and support to our pre-debut single, Kaya.”

tick, tick...BOOM! Official Soundtrack

S

ONY Music Masterworks has released the official soundtrack to the acclaimed Netflix film, tick, tick… BOOM!— an album containing music from the film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical. The soundtrack features songs by Jonathan Larson, who revolutionized theater as the creator of Rent, as performed by the likes of Academy Award nominee and Tony Award winner Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Tony Award nominee Robin de Jesús, and Tony Award nominee Joshua Henry, among its star-studded cast. Rounding out the 17-track collection are 4 bonus numbers, including a special reprise of “Come To Your Senses” featuring powerhouse singer/ songwriter Jazmine Sullivan.

3

How Mrs. Claus embodied 19th-century debates about women’s rights

By Maura Ives

C

Claus trades places with Santa on Christmas Eve. But when she attempts to climb down chimneys to deliver gifts, she is attacked by “hateful imps” that embody children’s “naughty words and deeds.” Depicting Mrs. Claus’ advocacy for children as unrealistic and naive, Dickinson echoes anti-suffrage arguments that emphasized the dangers awaiting women who abandoned the home.

Texas A&M University

lement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” redefined Christmas in America.

As historian Steven Nissenbaum explains in The Battle for Christmas, Moore’s secular St. Nick weakened the holiday’s religious associations, transforming it into a familial celebration that culminated in Santa Claus’ toy deliveries on Christmas Eve. Nineteenth-century writers, journalists and artists were quick to fill in details about Santa that Moore’s poem left out: a toy workshop, a home at the North Pole and a naughty-or-nice list. They also decided that Santa Claus wasn’t a bachelor; he was married to Mrs. Claus.

Yet scholars tend to overlook the evolution of Santa Claus’ spouse. You’ll see brief references to a handful of late-19th-century Mrs. Claus poems—especially Katharine Lee Bates’ 1888 “Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride.”

But as I discovered when I began work on a class about Christmas in literature, the writers who created Mrs. Claus were not just interested in filling in the blanks of Santa’s personal life. The poems and stories about Mrs. Claus that appeared in newspapers and popular periodicals spoke to women’s central role in the Christmas holiday. The character also provided a canvas to explore contemporary debates about gender and politics.

The hardest-working woman in the North Pole Christmas in 19th-century America depended on women’s time and labor: Women prepared family celebrations, organized

‘Goody Santa Claus’ takes the reins

Why did she do all the work while Santa got all the glory? What would happen if she delivered the toys? Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/The Conversation community and church events and worked in industries that fed seasonal demand for cards, toys and clothing.

This work was both essential and, at times, exhausting: As the century drew to a close, the Ladies’ Home Journal urged its readers not to “tire themselves out preparing for Christmas.”

Many literary depictions of Mrs. Claus paid tribute to the long hours, practical know-how and managerial skills that women’s holiday preparations required. But on Christmas Eve, Mrs. Claus hit the North Pole’s glass ceiling.

For Conant, Mrs. Claus was as “indispensible” as Santa, an equal partner in the “joint work” of preparing for holiday festivities. Still, in most Mrs. Claus literature, Santa traveled the world filling stockings while Mrs. Claus stayed home to await his return. In 1884’s “Mrs. Santa Claus Asserts Herself,” Sarah J. Burke’s tearful Mrs. Claus, ignored by Santa and his fans, is left to “cower alone” clasping the fingers she’d “worked to the bone” as Santa speeds off on his sleigh.

A few writers did, however, reward Mrs. Claus’ hard work with a sleigh ride of her own.

Georgia Grey’s 1874 short story “Mrs. Santa Claus’s Ride” allows Mrs. Claus to venture out alone, but only after Santa— adamantly “not a woman’s rights man”— makes her promise to remain unseen. To avoid questioning Santa’s authority or the belief that women belonged at home, the anonymous author of the 1880 tale “Mrs. Santa Claus’s Christmas-Eve” manufactures an emergency: Santa has taken off without some dolls, so Mrs. Claus must saddle Blitzen and deliver them.

Mrs. Claus on the naughty list Other writers were less willing to allow Mrs. Claus to step outside the home.

Negative representations of her Christmas Eve travels reflected backlash against women’s demands for independence and the vote. The majority of Mrs. Claus writing took place after the Civil War, alongside state and national efforts to grant voting rights to women.

Charles S. Dickinson’s “Mrs. Santa Claus’s Adventure,” which appeared in the December 1, 1871, issue of Wood’s Household Magazine, offered a cautionary tale for disobedient wives. Refusing to believe that some children were too naughty to visit, Mrs.

Nineteenth-century writing about Mrs. Claus focused primarily on her work ethic and whether that work would ever allow her a share of Santa’s Christmas limelight.

But scholar and suffragist Katharine Lee Bates, best known as the author of America the Beautiful, took a different tack: She gave Mrs. Claus a voice and personality of her own.

Drawing upon elements of previous Mrs. Claus literature, Bates’ Goody Santa Claus on A Sleigh Ride creates an outspoken Mrs. Claus who loves her work and her husband—and is not about to be left behind when Santa makes his deliveries.

Most Mrs. Claus literature highlights her domesticity, but Bates’ Goody is equally adept at housework and outdoor chores.

As Santa snacks on Christmas treats and relaxes by the fire, Goody tends Christmas trees, an orchard and toy-growing plants; she also raises livestock and takes on the risky-sounding task of chasing thunder to “fashion fire-crackers with the lightning.”

The themes and plots of 19th-century Mrs. Claus writing—including stealth sleigh rides—reappear in Mrs. Claus narratives to this day, and for good reason.

Katharine Bates’ thunder-chasing, bonnetwearing, sweet-talking Goody—and the many Mrs. Clauses who came before her— still speak to every woman who has ever dreamed of a little rest, a little recognition and a seat in the sleigh. The Conversation ON THE COVER: Photo by Laura James on Unsplash

Buyers’ guide for sustainable Christmas trees

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nvironmental impact is a complex question for any product, and Christmas trees are no exception.

Lifecycle analyses, which look at how much carbon is used in every step of a product’s life, have estimated that plastic trees have a carbon footprint between 10 and 20 times greater than that of a real tree. This isn’t surprising since plastic is derived from fossil fuels, and takes a lot of energy to manufacture.

Real trees, on the other hand, take carbon out of the atmosphere to grow.

But once you add in chemical fertilizers,

also fossil-fuel hungry, fuel for machinery and transportation, it’s clear that both types of trees will have a solid carbon footprint, albeit lower for a real tree than a plastic one. Unless you invest in a beautiful plastic tree that you or someone else reuse for at least a decade, it might be better to buy a real, grown tree.

How does all this translate in practice? Here are a few tips: If you like being able to have the same tree that you can store and reuse for years, then a plastic tree might be an option. But check where

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and how it is produced (sustainability isn’t only about the environment, it is also about people).

Buy locally grown trees, with Forest Stewardship Council certification. If possible, check for additional characteristics such as whether it’s organically grown, native and not grown on peatland. And don’t have it wrapped in a plastic net.

Ask your council about recycling options. If you can do it yourself, chip the wood and use as mulch, or use the branches to build nests for native bees.

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Consider buying pot-grown trees, which you can keep for several years.

But note that this is different from potted trees, which are grown in the soil and then dug up—the root system of potted trees won’t really support them.

If you are not too attached to the traditional look of a tree, why not consider timber-made alternatives that you buy or make yourself, or even just decorate your house plants?

After all, in a world of overconsumption, the most sustainable option is to avoid getting a new tree at all.

The Conversation

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