BusinessMirror January 01, 2023

‘BIG BANG’ FOR 2023

PAF’s T-129 ‘Atak’ helicopters now ready to greet insurgents, terrorists with its immense firepower, aerial agility as a brand New Year starts.

By Rex Anthony Naval

THE Philippine Air Force (PAF) will be literally greeting communist insurgents and terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group terrorists literally with a “massive bang” this 2023, as its capability to conduct close-air support has been greatly enhanced with the arrival of two more Turkish-made T-129 “Atak” helicopters, bristling with hightech and sophisticated weaponry, and effectively increasing to four the number of these rotary-winged aircraft in its inventory.

Armed with a three-barreled 20mm automatic cannon in the chin and a precision-guided launcher (Cirit), which fires a laser-guided 70mm rocket, and certified to be capable of firing air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles, the T-129 is an intimidating aircraft, especially with weapons that could fire in one brutal gigantic crescendo.

The T-129s are the first purposely-acquired attack helicopter of the PAF, which has grown accustomed to flying lightly armed gunships for ground-support missions.

Lightly armed in this case means being armed with only the conventional .50 caliber machine guns and rocket launchers firing largely unguided projectiles.

Mission: h u nt and obliterate WHILE deadly to its intended targets, PAF helicopters armed with these weapons configuration simply cannot compete with the

more modern and heavily armed T-129s as this aircraft is designed purposely to hunt and obliterate ground targets.

The Turkish Aerospace Industries T-129 was acquired by the PAF with the approval of the Department of National Defense (DND) as part of the efforts to beef up its fleet of lightly armed helicopters like the McDonnell Douglas MG-520 and AgustaWestland 109E, which are being used for counterterrorism and ground support missions.

The first two T-129 units were delivered last March 9, while the second batch of two were delivered on November 24, and ceremonially blessed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Malacañang Palace last December 9.

All four T-129 attack helicopters are assigned to the 15th Strike Wing based in Sangley Point, Cavite. The remaining two units are expected to be delivered to the PAF by 2024. The budget for the six T-129s is placed at around P13.8 billion.

ready for dispatch

THE PAF’s T-129 is a twin-engine, tandem seat, multi-role, all-weather attack helicopter based on the Agusta A-129 Mangusta platform. The first two of the T-129s are now “fully mission capable.”

Meanwhile, the first two T-129s, delivered last March 9, were categorized by the PAF in May as also fully mission capable. This means that the air assets are ready for their role as “strike aircraft, with the crew and the pilots done with the training and ready to be employed in areas needed.”

The two T-129s were declared fully mission capable shortly after the Sanay Tudla 2 exercises, held from May 16 to 24 at the Col. Ernesto Rabina Air Base in Capas, Tarlac.

However, the Air Force did not provide the geographic location of the two attack helicopters for security reasons. But it would be safe to say that these

aircraft are near those areas where the military is conducting constant security operations.

PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo earlier said the T-129 project is under Horizon 2 of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program. The aircraft were procured using government-togovernment mode under Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

t-129 missions, roles under PaF CASTILLO said the T-129s will be utilized for territorial defense, aerial surveillance and reconnaissance, counter-insurgency combat operations and combat support operations.

“Its roles are close air support, precision strike, deep strike, suppression of enemy air defense, security/urban warfare and air-to-air warfare. T-129 is a twin-engine, tandem seat, multirole, all-weather attack helicopter,” she added.

The DND, then headed by Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, signed the contract for acquisition in July 2020.

Six climate breakthroughs that made ‘22 a step toward net zero

By Leslie Kaufman & Laura Millan Lombrana Bloomberg News

THE damage caused by climate change over this past year was at times so immense it was hard to comprehend. In Pakistan alone, extreme summer flooding killed thousands, displaced millions and caused over $40 billion in losses, Fall floods in Nigeria killed hundreds and displaced over 1 million people. Droughts in Europe, China and the US dried out once-unstoppable rivers and slowed the flows of commerce on major arteries like the Mississippi and the Rhine.

In the face of these extremes, the human response was uneven at best. Consumption of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, rebounded in 2022. Countries like the UK and China seemed to back away from major climate pledges. But all of this gloom came with more than

a silver lining. In fact, it’s all too easy to overlook the steps toward a lower-carbon world that came about in between more attentiongetting catastrophes.

As 2022 unfolded, a clear pathway of climate hope emerged. New policy breakthroughs have

‘BIG BANG’ FOR 2023

Continued from A1

Aside from the weapons mentioned earlier, Castillo said the T-129s are capable of doing all these missions and roles as it is equipped with highly advanced sensors and targeting systems, which include integrated aerial fire support system, targeting sight unit, night vision device, helmet mounted-display, helmet integrated cueing system, electronic warfare system, missile warning system and countermeasure dispenser system for chaff and flares.

Castillo said the T-129s have a cruise speed of 120 knots or around 222.24 kilometers per hour and range of 250 nautical miles, which is equivalent to 463 kilometers. The PAF spokesperson added the T-129s have an endurance of around two and half hours before needing to land and refuel.

"The capabilities of a T-129 are very far and different from the old helicopters; it has a 20-millimeter three-barreled gun on the nose, it has a sensor system, it is an all-weather platform and is designed for advanced attack and reconnaissance missions in hot and high environments and rough geography in both day and night conditions," Castillo said.

Logistics train of T-129 secured

THE PAF spokesperson also said the weapon, logistic support, training and other packages are included in the budget. “These are the things that we [made] sure of before we acquired [the aircraft] so that we can maintain it for another 10, 20, or 30 years,” she pointed out. And as a force multiplier in the battlefield, these helicopters will be an

integral component supporting all ground and maritime operations, Castillo said.

“These helicopters will complement the capability of the PAF and the AFP to provide an enhanced surface strike platform to support ground operating troops,” she added.

Modernization focus

MEANWHILE, President Marcos, who was the guest-of-honor at the ceremonial blessing of the second batch of T-129s last December 9, expressed his support for the ongoing modernization of the PAF.

He hopes that PAF’s recent advancement will drive it to enhance its defense capabilities consistently, perform its duties effectively and protect the nation with vigor and pride. At the same time, the Commanderin-Chief hailed the invaluable contributions of the PAF and the AFP to the nation's external defense, internal security operations, as well as disaster relief and response operations.

Marcos also expects the T129s to improve the Air Force’s operational readiness and responsiveness.

PAF chief’s major roles in Battle of Marawi

WHILE the PAF ended the year well in terms of capability enhancements, the same may also be said of its leadership, as Maj. Gen. Stephen P. Parreño, who replaced Lt. Gen. Connor Anthony Canlas Sr. as Air Force chief last December 20. Parreño fulfilled a major logistics role in the five-month Battle of Marawi.

In the entire duration of the campaign, which started May 23 and ended on October 15, 2017,

the potential to unlock enormous progress in the effort to slow and reverse warming temperatures. Below is a list of six encouraging developments from a very momentous year, as nation after nation elected more climate-oriented governments and enacted new efforts to curb greenhouse gas.

1. President Biden’s big win changes everything

Just when it seemed that Washington was hopelessly gridlocked, in August the Biden administration and a narrow Democratic majority in Congress managed to pass the Inflation Reduction Act.

This new US law, backed by some $374 billion in climate spending, is the country’s most aggressive piece of climate legislation ever.

Its provisions ensure that for decades to come billions of dollars will roll toward the energy transition, making it easier to deploy renewable energy, build out green technologies and subsidize consumer adoption of everything from electric cars to heat pumps.

Experts on energy modeling predict the law will eliminate 4 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

2. The EU taxes carbon dioxide at its border

The European Union started to make good on its pledge to cut emissions by 55 percent in 2030 (from 1990 levels). The bloc’s

27 members reached a historic deal to set up the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, an emissions levy on some imports that’s meant to protect Europe’s carbon-intensive industries that are forced to comply with the region’s increasingly strict rules. Once it take effect, there will be additional costs imposed on imported goods from countries without the EU’s restrictions on planet-warming pollution.

A separate milestone from 2022 saw the biggest overhaul of the EU carbon market that will extend it to road transport, shipping and heating. This expansion of the policy will also accelerate the pace at which companies— from energy producers to steelmakers—are required to reduce pollution. The accord provided certainty to companies and investors, sending European carbon prices to a record high for the year.

3. Birds, bees and biodiversity get a big break

Just two weeks before 2022 ended, negotiators at the COP15 United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Montreal delivered a surprise win in the form of a pledge by 195 nations to protect and restore at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and water by 2030. Rich nations also committed to pay an estimated $30 billion per year by 2030 to poorer

nations in part through a new biodiversity fund.

4. Rich nations agree to fund loss and damage, energy transition

The biodiversity breakthrough came one month after another historic moment at a UN-backed conference. Delegates at COP27 in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh reached a last-minute agreement to create a loss-and-damage fund to help developing countries impacted by climate change, a decades-long demand by nations that have contributed the least to warming of the planet.

Another form of climate funding, Just Energy Transition Partnerships, also went into wider use in 2022. The mechanism is meant to help emerging economies heavily dependent on coal move away from the most polluting fossil fuel in a way that doesn’t leave workers and communities behind.

South Africa’s 8.5 billion JETP, announced in 2021, became a blueprint for these deals. Additional deals made in 2022 are set to mobilize $20 billion for Indonesia and $15.5 billion for Vietnam.

5. Changes in leaders, change in attitudes

Voters delivered big changes in leadership in several key countries. In Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the presidency in part by promising to zero-out

deforestation of the Amazon. Pro-climate parties also won big in Australia’s elections.

In November, meanwhile, President Joe Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and reset the relationship that had been suspended by a diplomatic standoff over Taiwan. Cooperation between the top two economies (and emitters of greenhouse gas) has been essential in cementing previous climate breakthroughs like the 2015 Paris Agreement. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was in both nations’ interest to tackle climate change in a cooperative manner.

6. Taking methane matters more seriously

The world has been slow to understand the dangers of methane, a particularly powerful heat-trapping gas. But ever since last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, nations have been signing up to a global pledge to cut those emissions, which can come from oil and gas wells, coal seams, landfills and livestock. In the lead-up to COP27 in Egypt, for instance, new nations such as Australia joined the pledge and brought the total number of countries signed up to over 150. In the US, meanwhile, the Biden administration pushed forward stronger rules that would require energy companies to do more to stifle methane leaks.

he capabilities of a T-129 are very far and different from the old helicopters; it has a 20 millimeter three-barreled gun on the nose, it has a sensor system, it is an allweather platform and is designed for advanced attack and reconnaissance missions in hot and high environments and rough geography in both day and night conditions.’

it was learned that Parreño flew Lockheed C-130 “Hercules” cargo planes repeatedly for resupply missions needed to sustain military operations amid the raging

conflict.

"Notably, he was greatly involved in the air mobility efforts of the PAF during the Battle of Marawi where he

flew as the flight commander of C-130 flights, flying to and from Guam and Arizona to the Philippines, to pick up and transport logistics for the sustainment of the ongoing joint operations," Castillo said.

Prior to his appointment as PAF chief, Parreño served key positions in the Air Force, including stints as 220th Airlift Wing commander, Air Mobility Command deputy commander, Air Logistics Command deputy commander, Tactical Operations 3 group commander, chief-ofstaff air staff, and vice commander of the service to name a few.

Parreño is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1991, in which he was the lone “Starman” (a highly distinguished cadet for both academic performance and conduct) and graduated as class salutatorian. He is also a member of PAF Flying School Class 1993 and

he graduated Number 3 in this class.

Parreño replaced Canlas, a member of PMA Class of 1989, who retired after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 last December 20. Canlas served for more than 38 years at the time of his retirement.

“He grew his wings in the PAF as a skillful and competent pilot, officer and an athlete. His leadership and managerial skills enabled him to handle key leadership and management positions at the tactical, operational, and strategic units and levels of the PAF,” Castillo said of the new PAF chief.

She added the entire PAF welcomes the new leadership with eagerness and high hopes of reaching new heights and become a credible and agile force, adaptable to modern warfare and responsive to national and regional security and development.

Th E Turkish-made T-129 “Atak” is the first purposedly acquired attack helicopter of the Philippine Air Force. Four now are in service with another two units expected to be delivered by 2023. Photo courtesy of Phili P P i ne Air f o rce

‘T

–Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo

Making pig livers humanlike in quest to ease organ shortage

By Lauran Neergaard AP Medical Writer

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.—The ghostly form floating in a large jar had been the robust reddishbrown of a healthy organ just hours before. Now it’s semi translucent, white tubes like branches on a tree showing through.

This is a pig liver that’s gradually being transformed to look and act like a human one, part of scientists’ long quest to ease the nation’s transplant shortage by bioengineering replacement organs.

The first step for workers in this suburban Minneapolis lab is to shampoo away the pig cells that made the organ do its work, its color gradually fading as the cells dissolve and are flushed out. What’s left is a rubbery scaffolding, a honeycomb structure of the liver, its blood vessels now empty.

Next human liver cells—taken from donated organs unable to be transplanted—will be oozed back inside that shell. Those living cells move into the scaffolding’s nooks and crannies to restart the organ’s functions.

“We essentially regrow the organ,” said Jeff Ross, CEO of Miromatrix. “Our bodies won’t see it as a pig organ anymore.”

That’s a bold claim. Sometime in 2023, Miromatrix plans

first-of-its-kind human testing of a bioengineered organ to start trying to prove it.

If the Food and Drug Administration agrees, the initial experiment will be outside a patient’s body. Researchers would place a pig-turned-humanlike liver next to a hospital bed to temporarily filter the blood of someone whose own liver suddenly failed. And if that novel “liver assist” works, it would be a critical step toward eventually attempting a bioengineered organ transplant—probably a kidney.

“It all sounds science fiction-ey but it’s got to start somewhere,” said Dr. Sander Florman, a transplant chief at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, one of several hospitals already planning to participate in the liver-assist study. “This is probably more of the near future than xenotransplantation,” or directly implanting animal organs into people.

More than 105,000 people are on the US waiting list for an or -

gan transplant. Thousands will die before it’s their turn. Thousands more never even get put on the list, considered too much of a long shot.

“The number of organs we have available are never going to be able to meet the demand,” said Dr. Amit Tevar, a transplant surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “This is our frustration.”

That’s why scientists are looking to animals as another source of organs. A Maryland man lived two months after receiving the world’s first heart transplant from a pig last January—an animal genetically modified so its organs didn’t trigger an immediate attack from the human immune system. The FDA is considering whether to allow additional xenotransplantation

experiments using kidneys or hearts from gene-edited pigs.

Bioengineering organs is markedly different—no special pigs required, just leftover organs from slaughterhouses.

“That is something that in the long term may very likely contribute to the development of organs we can use in humans,” said Pittsburgh’s Tevar. He’s not involved with Miromatrix—and cautioned that the planned outside-the-body testing would be only an early first step.

The Miromatrix approach stems from research in the early 2000s, when regenerative medicine specialist Doris Taylor and Dr. Harald Ott, then at the University of Minnesota, pioneered a way to completely decellularize the heart of a dead rat. The team seeded the resulting scaffolding

with immature heart cells from baby rats that eventually made the little organ beat, garnering international headlines.

Fast forward, and now at university spinoff Miromatrix sit rows of large jugs pumping fluids and nutrients into livers and kidneys in various stages of their metamorphosis.

Stripping away the pig cells removes some of the risks of xenotransplantation, such as lurking animal viruses or hyper-rejection, Ross said. The FDA already considers the decellularized pig tissue safe for another purpose, using it to make a type of surgical mesh.

More complex is getting human cells to take over.

“We can’t take billions of cells and push them into the organ at once,” Ross said. When slowly infused, “the cells crawl around and when they see the right environment, they stick.”

The source of those human cells: donated livers and kidneys that won’t be transplanted. Nearly a quarter of kidneys donated in the US last year were discarded because hospitals often refuse to transplant less than perfect organs, or because it took too long to find a matching recipient.

As long as enough cells still are functioning when donation groups offer up an organ, Miromatrix biologists isolate usable cells and multiply them in lab dishes. From one rescued human organ the company says it can grow enough cells to repopulate several pig liver or kidney scaffolds, cells responsible for different jobs—the kind that line blood vessels or filter waste,

for example.

In 2021, researchers with Miromatrix and the Mayo Clinic reported successfully transplanting a version of bioengineered livers into pigs.

That set the stage for testing a “liver-assist” treatment similar to dialysis, using bioengineered livers to filter the blood of people in acute liver failure, a life-threatening emergency. Doctors now have little to offer except supportive care unless the person is lucky enough to get a rapid transplant.

“If you can just get over the hump, then you might actually recover”—because the liver is the only organ that can repair itself and regrow, said Mount Sinai’s Florman. “I’ll be excited when they get their first patient enrolled and I hope that it’s with us.”

It’s not clear how soon that testing can begin. The FDA recently told Miromatrix it has some questions about the study application.

If the outside-the-body liver experiment works, what’s next?

Still more research aimed at one day attempting to transplant a bioengineered organ—likely a kidney, because a patient could survive with dialysis if the operation failed.

While regrowing kidneys isn’t as far along, “I was completely stunned” at the progress so far, said Dr. Ron Shapiro, a kidney transplant expert at Mount Sinai.

He treats many older patients on dialysis who “will wait for years and years to get a kidney and likely die waiting on the list who would be perfect” for such experiments—if they come in time.

Fight to curb food waste increasingly turns to science

By Dee-Ann Durbin AP Business Writer

HATE mealy apples and soggy french fries? Science can help.

Restaurants, grocers, farmers and food companies are increasingly turning to chemistry and physics to tackle the problem of food waste.

Some are testing spray-on peels or chemically enhanced sachets that can slow the ripening process in fruit. Others are developing digital sensors that can tell—more precisely than a label—when meat is safe to consume. And packets affixed to the top of a takeout box use thermodynamics to keep fries crispy.

Experts say growing awareness of food waste and its incredible cost—both in dollars and in environmental impact—has led to an uptick in efforts to mitigate it. US food waste startups raised $4.8 billion in 2021, 30 percent more than they raised in 2020, according to ReFed, a group that studies food waste.

“This has suddenly become a big interest,” said Elizabeth Mitchum, director of the Postharvest Technology Center at the University of California, Davis, who has worked in the field for three decades. “Even companies that have been around for a while are now talking about what they do through that lens.”

In 2019, around 35 percent of

the 229 million tons of food available in the US—worth around $418 billion—went unsold or uneaten, according to ReFed. Food waste is the largest category of material placed in municipal landfills, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, which notes that rotting food releases methane, a problematic greenhouse gas.

ReFed estimates 500,000 pounds (225,000 kilograms) of food could be diverted from landfills annually with high-tech packaging.

Among the products in development are a sensor by Stockholmbased Innoscentia that can determine whether meat is safe depending on the buildup of microbes in its packaging. And Ryp Labs, based in the US and Belgium, is working on a produce sticker that would release a vapor to slow ripening.

SavrPak was founded in 2020 by Bill Birgen, an aerospace engineer who was tired of the soggy food in his lunchbox. He developed a plant-based packet—made with food-safe materials approved by the US Food and Drug Administration—that can fit inside a takeout container and absorb condensation, helping keep the food inside hotter and crispier.

Nashville, Tennessee-based hot-chicken chain Hattie B’s was skeptical. But after testing SavrPaks using humidity sensors, it now uses the packs when it’s catering fried foods and is working with SavrPak to integrate the packs into

regular takeout containers.

Brian Morris, Hattie B’s vice president of culinary learning and development, said each SavrPak costs the company less than $1 but ensures a better meal.

“When it comes to fried chicken, we kind of lose control from the point when it leaves our place,” Morris said. “We don’t want the experience to go down the drain.”

But cost can still be a barrier for some companies and consumers.

Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery chain, ended its multiyear partnership with Goleta, California-based Apeel Sciences this year because it found consumers weren’t willing to pay more for produce brushed or sprayed with Apeel’s edible coating to keep moisture in and oxygen out, thus extending the time that

produce stays fresh.

Apeel says treated avocados can last a few extra days, while citrus fruit lasts for several weeks. The coating is made of purified monoand diglycerides, emulsifiers that are common food additives.

Kroger wouldn’t say how much more Apeel products cost. Apeel also wouldn’t reveal the average price premium for produce treated with its coating since it varies by food distributor and grocer. But Apeel says its research shows customers are willing to pay more for produce that lasts longer. Apeel also says it continues to talk to Kroger about other future technology.

There is another big hurdle to coming up with innovations to preserve food: Every food product

has its own biological makeup and handling requirements.

“There is no one major change that can improve the situation,” said Randy Beaudry, a professor in the horticulture department at Michigan State University’s school of agriculture.

Beaudry said the complexity has caused some projects to fail. He remembers working with one large packaging company on a container designed to prevent fungus in tomatoes. For the science to work, the tomatoes had to be screened for size and then oriented stem-up in each container. Eventually the project was scrapped.

Beaudry said it’s also hard to sort out which technology works best, since startups don’t always share data or formulations with

outside researchers.

Some companies find it better to rely on proven technology— but in new ways. Chicago-based Hazel Technologies, which was founded in 2015, sells 1-methylcyclopropene, or 1-MCP, a gas that has been used for decades to delay the ripening process in fruit. The compound—considered non-toxic by the EPA—is typically pumped into sealed storage rooms to inhibit the production of ethylene, a plant hormone.

But Hazel’s real breakthrough is a sachet the size of a sugar packet that can slowly release 1-MCP into a box of produce.

AP National Writer and Visual Journalist Martha Irvine contributed from Belding, Michigan.

A PIG liver that has been “decelled” is held by a technician in a Micromatrix laboratory on December 8, 2022, in Eden Prairie, Minn. The first step for workers in this suburban Minneapolis lab is to shampoo away the pig cells that made the organ do its work, its color gradually fading as the cells dissolve and are flushed out. What’s left is a rubbery scaffolding, a honeycomb structure of the liver, its blood vessels now empty. AP/ANDY CLAYTON-KING

House Jan. 6 committee report blames Trump, aims to prevent return to power

By Mary Clare Jalonick The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—A massive final report released by the House Jan. 6 committee late Thursday places the blame for the 2021 Capitol insurrection on one person: former President Donald Trump.

The dense, 814-page document details the findings of the panel’s 18-month investigation, drawing on more than 1,000 witness interviews and more than a million pages of source material. The committee found a “multi-part conspiracy” orchestrated by Trump and his closest allies, all with the aim of overturning his 2020 election defeat.

By laying out the extraordinary details—his pressure on states, federal officials and Vice President Mike Pence—the committee of seven Democrats and two Republicans says it is trying to prevent anything similar from ever happening again.

The panel is also aiming to prevent Trump, who is running again for the presidency, from ever returning to power. Among other recommendations, the panel suggests that Congress consider barring him and others who helped him from federal office for his role in the insurrection, in which a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.

“Our country has come too far to allow a defeated President to turn himself into a successful tyrant by upending our democratic institutions, fomenting violence, and, as I saw it, opening the door to those in our country whose hatred and bigotry threaten equality and justice for all Americans,” wrote the committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, in a foreword to the report.

A look at the findings and what’s next:

‘One

man’ to blame

THE report traces Trump’s lies about widespread election fraud to conversations with some of his allies ahead of Election Day, evidence that his plan was “premeditated,” the committee says. After he carried out that plan by questioning the legitimate results on election night—“Frankly, we did win this election,” he told the TV cameras— he purposely disseminated false allegations of fraud.

Many of Trump’s White House advisers told him the lies were not true, according to multiple committee interviews, and his campaign lost a series of lawsuits challenging the results. But the former president did not waver.

“Donald Trump was no passive consumer of these lies,” the committee wrote. “He actively propagated them.”

The false claims “provoked his supporters to violence on January 6th,” the committee wrote. Trump summoned them to Washington and instructed them in a fiery speech to march to the Capitol even though some “were angry and some were armed.”

And after the violence started, Trump waited hours to tell them to stop. That was a “dereliction of duty,” the committee said.

Pressure on the States

AS he lost in the courts, Trump “zeroed in” on key battleground states Biden had won and leaned on GOP state officials to overrule the will of their voters. The plan was wide-ranging, the committee shows, from pressuring state legislatures and election officials to creating false slates of electors. The panel obtained e-mails and documents showing talks within the White House and with outside advisers about how such a scheme could work.

Perhaps the most stunning attempt to pressure a state official was Trumps’ remarkable Jan. 2, 2021 phone call with Georgia’s secretary

of state, Brad Raffensperger, in which he asked him to “find” votes.

Raffensperger did not comply.

After speaking with election officials from several states, the committee said that Georgia call was “one element of a larger and more comprehensive effort—much of it unseen by and unknown to the general public—to overturn the votes cast by millions of American citizens across several states.”

The panel assessed that Trump and his inner circle engaged in “in at least 200 apparent acts of public or private outreach” to state officials between the election and the insurrection. At the same time, the president was trying to get Justice Department officials to go along with his plan.

“Had enough state officials gone along with President Trump’s plot, his attempt to stay in power might have worked,” the committee wrote.

“It is fortunate that a critical mass of honorable officials withstood President Trump’s pressure to participate in this scheme.”

Pence’s life at risk AS Trump aggressively pushed Mike Pence to illegally object to the congressional certification of Biden’s victory as he presided over

the joint session of Congress, the vice president’s life was increasingly in danger, the committee found. At 8:17 a.m. on January 6, Trump tweeted, “Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!”

By the start of the joint session at 1 p.m., Pence had announced that he would not. By then, there were hundreds of Trump’s supporters outside the Capitol, some chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!” Pence eventually fled the Senate chamber and narrowly escaped the rioters.

According to Secret Service documents provided to the panel, agents were aware of growing threats against Pence. In one instance, an agent in the intelligence division “was alerted to online chatter ‘regarding the VP being a dead man walking if he doesn’t do the right thing,’” the report says.

“It was an unprecedented scene in American history,” the committee wrote. “The President of the United States had riled up a mob that hunted his own Vice President.”

Thwarted trip to the Capitol

TRUMP was determined to go to the Capitol with his supporters, the investigation found, but nearly everyone thought that was a bad idea—most of all his security detail.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide, testified over the summer about a conversation she had with former Trump security official Tony Ornato, where he recalled Trump lashing out at his security after his speech and even grabbing the wheel of the presidential SUV.

In the report, the committee writes that Ornato denied Hutchinson’s story in a deposition last month, saying he was not aware of a genuine push by Trump to join his supporters at the Capitol. The committee said it continues to have “significant concerns about the credibility” of his testimony.

The driver of the presidential SUV testified that he didn’t see Trump and could not recall if Trump had lunged toward him. The driver, who is not named in the report, did recall Trump asking within 30 seconds of getting inside the vehicle whether he could go to the Capitol. One Secret Service employee testified to the committee that Trump’s determination to go to the Capitol put agents on high alert.

“(We) all knew...that this was going to move to something else if he physically walked to the Capitol,” a unidentified employee said. “I don’t know if you want to use the word ‘insurrection,’ ‘coup,’ whatever.”

Trump stayed at the White House, watching the violence on television for hours while refusing to ask his supporters to leave.

Foreign interference

THE report includes an appendix on the role of foreign influence in the 2020 presidential campaign, saying that while adversaries including Russia, Iran and China sought to sway American voter opinion, there was no evidence to support Trump’s repeated claims that foreign actors had interfered in the voting process or did anything to manipulate the outcome.

“President Trump’s relentless propagation of the Big Lie damaged American democracy from within and made it more vulnerable to at -

tack from abroad. His actions did not go unnoticed by America’s adversaries, who seized on the opportunity to damage the United States,” the report states.

The report suggests that even Trump himself did not believe some of his allies’ claims about foreign actors.

According to testimony from longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks, Trump appeared somewhat incredulous when he was talking on the phone to lawyer Sidney Powell, who had pushed theories of hacked voting machines and thermostats.

The report says that while Powell was speaking, Trump muted his speakerphone and laughed, “telling the others in the room, ‘This does sound crazy, doesn’t it?’”

What’s next

THE committee is dissolving over the next week as the new Republican-led House will be sworn in on January 3.

But the panel ensured that its work will live on, officially recommending that the Justice Department investigate and prosecute Trump on four crimes.

While a so-called criminal referral has no real legal standing, it is a forceful statement by the committee and adds to political pressure already on Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel Jack Smith, who is already conducting an investigation into Jan. 6 and Trump’s actions.

The panel recommended the department investigate charges of aiding an insurrection, obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to make a false statement, all for various parts of his scheme.

The committee is also making its work, including transcripts, public for the Justice Department and the public to see.

“We have every confidence that the work of this committee will help provide a roadmap to justice,” Thompson said.

Greece goes all in on tech–Now it needs skilled workers

By Sotiris Nikas & Paul Tugwell

WHEN

Epameinondas

Gerolimatos, a softspoken 41-year-old, got his degree in economics in 2003, he assumed, like many other Greeks, that a career in banking would mean long-term job security. The 2010 financial crisis and its decade-long fallout rattled his country’s faith in the industry, but Gerolimatos is again part of a sector that is shaping up to become one of Greece’s most influential—tech.

After signing up for a national unemployment registry, in May Gerolimatos was offered a spot in a free certificate program run by Microsoft. A month later, he was one of 25 out of 150 to pass his course, which is part of an effort to train 100,000 would-be specialists in information technology by the end of 2025. Three months and yet another Microsoft certificate program later, Gerolimatos was weighing job offers, eventually becoming a security engineer at a global accounting firm.

As tech companies go big on Greece, Gerolimatos’s story may soon become common. While a recent surge in inflation and a growing fear of recession could

slow international investment, so far, the sector has been thriving.

In 2020, Microsoft announced plans to build three data centers outside Athens, doubling its number of local employees to just above 300 for the time being. In Thessaloniki, the country’s second-largest city, Cisco set up an international innovation and digital skills development center, and Pfizer is building a network of research hubs focused on artificial intelligence. This fall, Google announced that it would break ground on a cloud hub near Athens that it claims will boost the country’s economic output by more than 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) and create 19,400 new jobs by 2030. The government has also been pouring money into the sector: in coming years, it plans to develop innovation districts in Athens and Thessaloniki that will house large enterprises, academic institutions, startups and incubators.

Beyond the Mediterranean nation’s obvious charms and easy access to Africa and the Middle East, global tech players have also been lured by generous tax incentives and an abundance of renewable solar and wind energy. Although the numbers remain relatively low—just above 330 million euros in 2021—for -

eign direct investment in Greece’s information and communication technology sector has more than tripled in the past two years, and now accounts for roughly 3percent of the country’s total GDP. If the ruling New Democracy party has its way, that number could grow bigger still. In a recent speech at the opening of a new data center run by cloud computing company Digital Realty, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced his ambition for technology to contribute 10percent to the country’s economic output in the next five years.

“This year, Greece set a record in filing and granting approvals for new patents,” the Prime Minister told the crowd, citing this as evidence of ongoing innovation. Since taking office in 2019, when the country was starting to climb out of its debt crisis, Mitsotakis has pushed tech as one of Greece’s paths toward prosperity.

This is an appealing narrative, and a slightly ironic one for a prime minister in the midst of a tech-related scandal. Mitsotakis has been under intense pressure since August, when it was revealed that businesspeople, journalists and political opponents had their phones tapped with sophisticated malware. The government has repeatedly denied that its security

services bought or used the spyware, called Predator, whose parent company was based in Greece. Still, action has been taken to rein in renegade tech use. In early December, the lawmakers approved a law that would ban malware and make it harder for national intelligence services to put someone under surveillance.

Mitsotakis, naturally, wants to direct public attention elsewhere. With a national election scheduled for next year, he has been trying to make good on previous campaign promises, such as making it easier for people who left the country during the economic crisis to return home. A rise in well-paid tech jobs has offered a critical assist in achieving this goal.

“Some 20percent of new hires are people who were living and working abroad,” said Theodosis Michalopoulos, Microsoft’s general manager for Greece, Cyprus and Malta.

One returnee is Christina Leimoni, who left a director-level job in the UK to become Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer for Greece, Cyprus and Malta. Before she took the position, Leimoni hadn’t considered moving back to her home country, in part because she was concerned that as a lesbian, she and her wife and daughter

“would not have been regarded as a family.” The dynamism of today’s Greece convinced her to take the role, and rather than return to the closet, Leimoni has become an advocate for LGBTQ issues. “There’s an amazing momentum in the country,” she reflected.

The c-suite isn’t the only rank at which the demand for experience has outpaced available supply. To draw in skilled international talent, the government launched a visa program in 2021 for digital nomads, and so far has issued some 450 visas. For local talent, tech companies have taken it upon themselves to train prospective employees. In addition to Microsoft’s certificate programs, more than 250,000 businesses and individuals have gone through Google training initiatives in Greece.

“Technology can’t be useful if there are no digital skills,” said Peggy Antonakou, the company’s Southeast Europe general manager.

Of course, Athens is far from the only city with aspirations of becoming a tech hub. Lisbon has tried for years, with limited success. But with Greece now on stable political and economic footing, big tech companies say that investing in it isn’t a difficult decision. The country has sped up its digital transformation in recent years,

boasts a well-educated population whose salary expectations are a relative bargain for international employers, and is renowned for its stunning natural beauty and quality of life. As Antonakou said of the search giant’s investment, “If not now, then when?”

On a warm and sunny November morning in Athens, a mix of journalists, laid-back locals and government officials gathered at a café and events space close to the site of an ancient market for the launch of a new app that was the result of a collaboration between Google, the tourism ministry and the city. As attendees stretched out on blue banquettes bearing the logo of Olympic Airlines, presenters explained how the app’s curated audio walks offered a novel take on Athens by featuring stories from native Athenians. The aim, they said, was to transform the Greek capital into “an openair museum.”

Athens, of course, has long been described as a museum. But the infusion of tech money and jobs promise something different, for both the capital and country at large. Rather than looking backward, the hope is that Greeks may soon have another success story to brighten their future.

PAGES from the final report released by the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol is photographed on Thursday, December 22, 2022. AP/JON ELSWICK

Giant 3-kg Mangoming mango, anyone?

December to January.

By Lyn Resurreccion

A

GIANT mango that weighs more than 3-kilogram (kg) a piece? The gigantic mango caught the attention of President Marcos Jr. himself at the exhibit of researches and innovations at the recent National Science and Technology Week (NSTW). The incident likewise brought it in the public eye.

The mango, named “Mangoming,” is actually a Guinness Book of World Records holder from 2009 to March 2020 for being the Biggest Mango weighing 3.435 kg.

Owned by Maria Socorro M. Bodiongan from Iligan City, it was exibited at the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) booth at the NSTW.

Its name Mangoming was derived by Bodiongan from two words, mango and mine, said Carolyn E. Alcasid of the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB-IPB) told the BusinessMirror

“ It is her form of endearment and belongingness to the tree,” Alcasid said, adding that the mango tree inherently bears huge fruits.

“ There were no special treatments that were done,” to make it bear big fruits, she explained.

A ccording to Alcasid, there are more than 1,500 recipients of Mangoming seedlings that Bodiongan gave away across the country.

However, there is no data yet on its volume of harvest because “most of the planting materials are not yet in reproductive stage,” Alcasid said.

Mangoming mango, besides being big, has red blush skin, high edible portion, very good eating quality. It was evaluated at UPLBIPB and released as new DA-NSIC mango variety last November 21, 2018.

Its tree is more than 25 years. It is 10 meters tall and has a spreading growth habit. The tree bears fruits twice a year with a peak of fruiting from June to July and from

“The tree was very vigorous, yielding more than 100 kg of fruits in one fruiting season,” the DOSTPCAARRD said.

The ellipsoid fruit has an average fruit weight of 1,275.39g and a yellowish green peel with attractive red blush on the fruit shoulder.

Its yellow orange pulp is firm, very juicy and has low to moderate fibers. It has high edible portion (84.77 percent) and very good eating quality. Fruits can be consumed as fresh and ideal for processing.

‘Manila Super Mango’

WHAT is the situation of the country’s mango industry? President Marcos Jr.’s having been attracted with the giant mango put to the fore the researches being made to improve the varieties of mangoes in the country in order to develop the industry.

P CAARRD Executive Director Reynaldo Ebora told the BusinessMirror in an online interview that President Marcos was very supportive of research and development in agriculture, and has shown great interest in crops, livestock and aquatic resources.

“ He had a lot of questions regarding the exhibits [at NSTW] particularly the longline technology for mussels and oysters, egg production by Itik Pinas and crop breeding,” Ebora said.

I also informed him [Marcos] that he is actually a member of the PCAARRD Governing Council, being the DA Secretary,” Ebora added.

Mango is recognized as the country’s national fruit. It is hailed as among the sweetest.

The mango industry is one of the backbone industries of the country’s agriculture sector. It ranks third as the most important fruit crop in terms of volume of production and area after banana and pineapple.

The Philippines and Thailand supply most of the Southeast Asian market, the PCAARRD said in a document.

“Carabao” mango, the country’s

only export variety, is one of the best varieties in the world.

It is known all over the world as “Manila Super” mango with its distinct taste and nutritional value, putting it above any other mango varieties worldwide, PCAARRD said.

A lcasid told the BusinessMirror that the Philippines’ carabao mango, that includes the popular Guimaras mango, is among the “sweetest mango in the world.”

However, despite high production and the good climatic conditions to produce mango fruits allyear round, the carabao mango’s export potential have some challenges, such as small land holdings resulting in inconsistency in quality, low percentage of exportable quality production and short shelf life.

Thus, researches are needed to increase the yield, reduce postharvest losses and enhance the capability of mango growers on Integrated Crop Management, Postharvest Quality Management

and Good Agricultural Practices.

At this level comes the initiatives of the DOST-PCAARRD for Industry Strategic S&T Program for Mango.

The program, “Enhancing the Competitiveness of Philippine Carabao Mango through Varietal Improvement” identified new promising mango varieties and selections.

It aims to identify carabao mangoes with target traits—such as red blush, thick peel and resistance to anthracnose (a fungal disease of plants causing dark lesion) and fruit fly.

Characteristics of varieties, selections

THE program has facilitated the registration of two carabao mango varieties—Mangoming and “Farrales”—to the National Seed Industry Counci (NSIC).

L ed by Alcasid, the program also identified carabao mango selections with proposed names “Kyla Luz,” “Tommy Atkins,” “Carotene,” and

four strains, IPB Carabao 1, FOC Accession Nos. 12-053, 12-209 and 12-127 for NSIC-registration.

Farrales mango REGISTERED along with Mangoming, Farrales mango has red blush skin, has very good eating quality, and is resistant to fruit fly.

It was registered with the NSIC in November 2020.

It’s seedling with unknown pedigree, was owned by Perla Farrales from Castillejos, Zambales. The tree was more than 30 years old with an approximate height of 12 meters.

It bears fruits twice a year with peaks of fruiting from January to February and July to August and yields 200 kg in one season. The ellipsoid fruits weigh 222.68 g and had an attractive yellow with red blushed peel.

T he orange pulp is very juicy and has a very good eating quality. It has a 66.62 percent edible portion and medium sweetness (16.62°B), making it very ideal as table type mango.

Its resistance to fruit fly make its seedlings more in demand.

Kyla Luz mango

WITH Kyla Luz as proposed name, this mango has high edible portion, excellent eating quality and moderate resistance to anthracnose.

From Rapadas Farm in Tiaong, Quezon, this 20-year-old tree is 8-m tall with a spreading growth habit. It bears fruits from May to June annually when chemically induced, yielding an average of 550kg per season. The fruits weigh 286.86g on the average.

The pulp is yellow-orange with intermediate texture and medium sweetness. It is juicy and has a mild aroma. It is ideal as table type mango.

Carotene mango

THE Carotene mango from UPLBIPB, bears oblong-shaped fruits with peaks of fruiting on May and June, and yields 350 kg in one season.

T he fruit weighs 334.95g on the average with 0.94mm peel thickness. This has attractive yellow with

red blush peel. The pulp is yelloworange in color with mild aroma when ripe.

It is sweet, juicy, low in fiber, has a very good eating quality and has 76.22 percent edible portion.

It is moderately tolerant to anthracnose and least susceptible to fruit fly. This selection is ideal for both direct consumption and processing.

Its proposed name is Carotene because besides it has high vitamin A content compared to other mango varieties.

Tommy atkins mango

“

TOMMY ATKINS ” mango originated in Florida and widely grown commercial variety in the United States. The tree is around 10 feet to 12 feet tall, bearing extra-large oblong-shaped fruits from June to August without flower induction.

The fruit peel is of yellow with red color and intermediate thickness. The yellow orange pulp is juicy, sweet and has an intermediate texture.

It has a 77.68 percent edible portion, low total soluble solid, mild aroma and low to moderate fiber. It is tolerant to anthracnose, least susceptible to fruit fly, and ideal for both direct consumption and processing.

IPB Carabao 1 mango

THE registration of “IPB Carabao 1” with IPB-GTRRO was approved in July 2021. Its 25-year-old tree is 10 feet tall and vigorous.

The fruits are ellipsoid with an average fruit weight of 262.32g. When ripe, the peel is yellow and 0.76 mm thick. The yellow orange pulp had an intermediate texture, juicy, medium sweetness, low fibers and excellent eating quality. This selection had high edible portion of 78.57 percent.

Fruits also has an intermediate tolerance to anthracnose and ideal as table type mango.

The other carabao mangoes that are candidates for NSIC registration are: FOCS. Acc. No. 12-127 that has moderate resistance to fruit fly, and FOC Accession 12-053 and 12-209.

PhilSA issues advisory on estimated debris drop from China’s satellite

THE Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) issued a precautionary advisory on the expected drop in the country’s territory of unburned debris from China’s Long March 3B rocket scheduled for launch on December 29 between 12:33 p.m. and 01:10 p.m.

Philippine time

THE Filipino passengers’ transportation woes, such as the transfers in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the lack of buses on EDSA and around the country may soon be things of the past with the agreement entered into by the leaders of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The DOTr is considering to use the DOST-developed Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) System as a means to connect Terminals 1 to 4 of the NAIA, said Zalda R. Gayahan of the of the DOST’s Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC) in a news release.

Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. welcomed Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista’s intention as they signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) regarding the partnership of the DOTr with the DOST, through the Electronics Product Development

Center of the DOST. Present to witness the MOA signing was DOST-MIRDC Executive Director Engr. Robert O. Dizon.

Dizon presented to Bautista the alternative mass transportation technologies developed by DOST-MIRDC. They are the AGT

System;

During the meeting, Bautista immediately saw the benefits of adopting the home-grown mass transportation technologies, particularly the AGT, which offers the best solution to make transfers to various terminals of the NAIA easy and convenient.

Besides the AGT, the HERT is also seen as a possible alternative to buses for the EDSA Carousel and the articulated buses for the proposed Bus Rapid Transit systems in the country, Gayahan said.

To formalize the concepts, the DOTr and DOST agreed to work on the preparation of a project proposal for further consideration by the two agencies.

Should this proposal progress and be implemented as a joint project, the public can expect to have safer and more convenient public transportation, Gayahan said.

The launching was from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, Sichuan Province, China, PhilSA said in a news release.

PhilSA said that upon confirmation of planned launch dates, it immediately issued an advisory to all relevant government agencies on the estimated drop zone area and proposed the issuance of appropriate warnings on air and marine access.

Based on the Notice to Airmen issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, “expected unburned debris, such as the rocket boosters and payload fairing, are projected to fall within a drop zone area located within the vicinity of Recto bank, approximately 137 kilometers from Ayungin Shoal and 200 kilometers

from Quezon, Palawan,” PhilSA said.

The unburned debris is designed to be discarded as the rocket enters outer space.

PhilSA explained that “while not projected to fall on land or inhabited areas within the Philippine territory, falling debris poses danger and potential risk to ships, aircraft, fishing boats and other vessels that will pass through the drop zone.”

It added that the actual drop zone area may change because of various factors, such as the Earth’s rotation, weather, and climate conditions.

“There is also a possibility for the debris to float around the area and wash toward nearby coasts. Furthermore, the possibility of an uncontrolled re-entry to the atmosphere of the rocket’s upper stages returning from outer space cannot be ruled out at this time,” it added.

PhilSA reiterates its earlier public advisory to immediately inform local authorities if suspected debris is sighted.

It also cautions the public against retrieving or coming in close contact with the materials that “may contain remnants of toxic substances, such as rocket fuel.”

Lyn Resurreccion

DOTr eyes DOST-developed mass transport systems in NAIA, on EDSA

Hybrid Electric Road Train (HERT) and Hybrid Electric Train, Gayahan added.

THE mass transportation alternatives developed by the DOST-MIRDC. (From left) the Automated Guideway Transit (AGT), Hybrid Electric Road Train (HERT) and Hybrid Electric Train. DOST-MIRDC

(FROM left) Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista, Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. and DOST-MIRDC Executive Director Engr. Robert O. Dizon discuss the possibility of using DOSTdeveloped mass transportation technologies, including the Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) to connect Terminals 1 to 4 of the NAIA. DOST-MIRDC PHOTO

IT’S not a papaya. It’s a mango that President Marcos Jr. is holding. The big, more than 3-kilogram mango caught the president’s attention at the exhibits of research products at the recent National Science and Technology Week held at the World Trade Center. With the president are Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr., Undersecretary Maridon Sahagun, PCAARRD Executive Director Reynaldo Ebora (back to the camera) Henry Ansaldo de Leon. STII PHOTO

Sunday

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

THE HISTORIC VISIT COINCIDES WITH SAINT THÉRÈSE’S 150TH BIRTHDAY, AND THE CENTENNIAL OF HER BEATIFICATION

Pilgrim relics of Saint Thérèse starts 5th visit to PHL on Jan. 2

FOR the fifth time, devotees of Saint Thérèse of the Child

Jesus will again be able to venerate her pilgrim relics during a visit to the Philippines starting on January 2, 2023.

The visit coincides with the historic dates in the saint’s life— her 150th birth anniversary on January 2, and the centennial of her beatification on April 30, 2023, which will be the end of the pilgrim relics’ tour.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) prays that through this visit, “we continue to learn more profoundly about her life and the message of God’s gift of merciful love through her Way of Spiritual Childhood.

By her example and intercession, Saint Thérèse continues to enrich the lives of Filipino people.”

The CBCP endorsed the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, as the Shrine of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus on Newport Boulevard, Pasay City, is also the Diocesan Shrine of the MOP.

The pilgrim relics of Saint Thérèse have visited the Philippines in 2000, 2008, 2013 and 2018.

Coming after the celebration of the 500th Year of Christianity in the Philippines and the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the relics’ visit will call on the 54 archdioceses and dioceses, who invited Saint Thérèse to join the Catholic Church celebration of Synod on Synodality. Hence, the visit’s theme is, “Lakbay tayo Saint Thérèse! Ka-Alagad, Kaibigan, Ka-Misyon.”

The relics will visit as far as Tabuk, Kalinga province, in the Cordillera Administrative Region in the north, to Jolo, Sulu, in Mindanao in the south.

In honor of her 150th birthday, the National Organizing Committee (NOC) of the relics’ visit is sharing the honor of hosting and inviting generous devotees

to make up 150 Patrons of the Pilgrim Relics, whose gift will make possible Saint Thérèse visit to the homes and hearts of every Filipino.

The welcome ceremony will be held on January 2, at the Shrine of St. Thérèse at 4 p.m. with a civic reception followed by a welcome Mass with the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown, as presider and homilist, the NOC said.

The theme song of the relics’ fifth visit will be unveiled at the close of the Mass. It was the winner of the Song Writing Competition held in cooperation with Jesuit Music Ministry (JMM).

The song is “Walk With Us, Dear Thérèse,” with lyrics by Francis Edward Baasis, and music by Leonard Laurio, the JMM announced on its Facebook page.

Coming second in the competition is the song, “St. Thérèse, Kaalagad, Kaibiga’t Ka-misyon,” by Gerardo Millan Ebarle.

The third placer is “Santa Te -

resa Aking Gabay,” with the lyrics by Sheryl Avanceña and music by Kirby Guevara.

As in the previous visits of Saint Thérèse Relics, the MOP is generously supported by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Philippine Army, Philippine Navy, Philippine Air Force, Bureau of Fire Prevention, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Customs, and many generous devotees and followers of Saint Thérèse.

Parents also saints; sisters were nuns SAINT Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, her religious name, is also known as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, having entered the Carmelite Monastery in Lisieux.

She was born on January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France. She died on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24.

Her pious parents, Saints Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin, were canonized by Pope Francis on October 18, 2015. They were the first spouses to be canonized together as a couple.

She was the youngest of nine children, and among the five who survived. Her four elder sisters also became nuns.

Her sister, Léonie Martin, the only one of the five sisters who did not become a Carmelite nun,

The beauty of devotion to Blessed Virgin Mother

Fr. Roberto Francis Maria Tiquia, SThD

AT the foot of the Cross our Lord relayed this request to His Beloved Mother: “Woman behold Your Son,” and to St. John, His beloved disciple, He said: “Son behold your Mother.” The gospel says that from that hour the “disciple took her into his home” (cf. Jn.19:27)

The Fathers of the Church tell us that St. John represents all Christians who faithfully and willingly follow our Lord Jesus Christ. The disciple took Mary into his home would mean he took her into his heart.

The last will and testament of our Lord is that we, who are now the beloved disciples of the Lord, must take Mary into our home, into our hearts.

As the Catholics celebrate the solemnity of Mary Mother of God on January 1, the devotion to Our Lady is a great incentive to our spiritual life. The more we become close to Our Lady the more we appreciate our discipleship to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Never would devotion to the blessed Mother distract us or turn us away from our love and commitment to Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour. On the contrary, far from straying our path to Jesus, it actually facilitates our easy union with Jesus Christ.

St. Louis Monfort reminds us that Mary does not keep a soul for herself. Anyone who comes to Our Lady will be formed and fashioned by her so that the soul would be fit

to come to our Lord.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus imagines herself to have been adorned by Our Lady and fixed in dress and hair before she comes to receive Jesus in Holy Communion.

There is no way that devotion to our Lady would conflict in our love and service to Jesus, Our Lord.

Treasurer of the whole heavenly goods ACCORDING to St. Bernard Clairvaux, it is by the will of God that graces that come to earth should pass through the hands of Our Lady. He says that it is God’s prerogative to make that decision. Mary is a powerful advocate who can obtain from the Judge all graces for her servants.

St. George, Archbishop of Nicomedia, says that the Redeemer, as if to discharge the obligation, which

He owes to His mother for having given Him his human nature, hears all her prayers.

Hence, St. Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, has written: “The Son is pleased that His Mother should pray to Him because He wishes to grant her whatsoever she asks, in order to repay her for the favor received from her in giving Him flesh.”

One day St. Bridget heard the conversation of Jesus and His beloved Mother Mary. Jesus was addressing His mother in the following words: “Ask from Me what you wish; for your petition cannot be fruitless. My mother, ask as much as you please; for I shall hear all your prayers.”

He then tells the reason: “Because you refused Me nothing on earth, I will refuse nothing to you in heaven.” You refused Me nothing when I lived on earth; it is just that I should refuse nothing to you now that you are with me in heaven. (Cf. St. Alphonsus de Ligouri meditation on the power of Mary’s prayer.)

Being the treasurer of the whole heavenly goods we can always ask her of all the graces we need so that we can persevere in following, serving and loving God all throughout our life.

According to St. Alphonsus de Ligouri there is no sinner, however abandoned, whom Mary cannot save by her intercession.

St. Peter Damian, likewise, says that nothing is impossible to her who can raise even those who are in despair to a hope of salvation. She is rightly called as “refuge of sinners” and in the prayer of Hail

Mary we say at the last part “Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

In an exorcism performed by a renowned exorcist, he was told by the devil that Mary is his antithesis. From the mouth of the possessed, the devil was forced to say that as long as we hold our Rosary and pray it fervently the devil cannot destroy us.

In fact, the reason why the devil could not totally destroy the society and the Church is because we still have devotion to Mary.

Furthermore, the devil says that he is the most proud but Mary is the most humble, he is the most disobedient but Mary is the most obedient, and he is the most impure and Mary is the most pure.

Hence, the devil writhed and confessed that if we have devotion to Mary he cannot anymore destroy us.

Let us continue our devotion to the Mother of God. St. Alphonsus believes that devotion to her is a great assurance to our salvation for she will procure for us the graces we need in order to persevere in our love and service to Jesus our Lord. Through her we shall overcome our weaknesses and failures.

We shall, in not for long, be able to live a life in total conformity with our Savior.

Ave Maria!

Fr. Roberto Francis Maria Tiquia, SThD, is from the diocese of Virac, Catanduanes, and also the National Spiritual Director of Alliance of the Holy Family International.

is also a candidate for sainthood.

St. Thérèse is a patron saint of missions and of florists.

She entered the Carmelite Monastery of Lisieux at the young age of 15 after obtaining a permission from Pope Leo XIII.

Third woman Doctor of the Church ONE of the most popular Catholic saints, Saint Thérèse was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church

by Pope John Paul II in 1997— 100 years after her death at the age of 24.

She is the third woman to be so proclaimed, after Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresa of Avila.

As a Doctor of the Church, she is the subject of much theological comment and study, and as an appealing young woman, whose message has touched the lives of millions, she remains the focus of much-popular devotion, the primer on the pilgrim relics’ visit said.

Relics are the remains of a saint or holy person after death, as well as the objects sanctified by contact with his or her body.

The Catholic faithful venerate the relics of saints because as intercessors with God for the living, through their relics—a record of the saint—God manifests His presence.

“To welcome the relics of Saint Thérèse is to welcome the saint herself,” the primer said.

“In the presence of and contact with her [Saint Thérèse] mortal remains, God, who had received from her so many acts of love when she was alive here on Earth, is pleased to manifest His love through the remains of her humanity,” the primer said.

Since her death, millions have been inspired by her “little way” of loving God and neighbor. Many miracles have been attributed to her intercession.

She had predicted during her earthly life that “My Heaven will be spent doing good on Earth.”

St. Thérèse wrote: “You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.”

The book, “Story of a Soul,” discusses the saint’s spiritual development and pursuit of holiness.

Lyn Resurreccion

CHURCH JOINS RELIEF EFFORTS TO FLOOD VICTIMS

CARITAS Philippines announced efforts to provide relief to flood victims, particularly in the southern Philippine province of Misamis Occidental.

The Catholic charity said its relief efforts are underway in partnership with the Archdiocese of Ozamis’ social action center.

“Caritas Philippines is now providing assistance to communities affected by the flooding in Misamis Occidental due to heavy rains in the area,” it said in a social media post.

Immediately responding to the needs of the victims, the archdiocese’s parishes provided shelter for those whose houses have been washed out or damaged by the flood.

Archbishop Martin Jumoad of Ozamis earlier asked for prayers and help for the people affected by the calamity.

The archbishop offered prayers for the flood victims during his Christmas Day Mass at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Birhen sa Cotta and appealed for relief for those affected.

“Let us continue to pray that more help will come to them,” Jumoad said as the archdiocese’s Social Action Center started their relief operations.

“Let us also offer prayers that weather conditions improve,” he said.

Caritas Manila, meanwhile, called for donations to provide emergency assistance to flood victims in Misamis Occidental.

The social action arm of the Manila archdiocese said the immediate needs are ready to eat foods, drinking water, hygiene kits and medicines.

“Your voluntary support for this fundraising campaign will go a long way in helping communities and families recover from the devastation caused by the flooding,” said Caritas Manila.

According to the national Caritas, several parishes have also welcomed evacuees from high risk areas and given them food packages, potable water, hygiene kits, and clothing, among others.

Heavy rains and floods that devastated

parts of the Philippines over the Christmas weekend have left at least 32 dead and 24 missing, the national disaster response agency said on Thursday, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

More than 56,000 people were still in emergency shelters after bad weather disrupted Christmas celebrations in the eastern, central and southern Philippines.

Images from the southern province of Misamis Occidental showed rescuers carrying an elderly woman on a plastic chair as they waded through a flooded street.

Some residents in the province were seen hanging on to floaters as coast guard rescuers pulled them across chest-deep floods using a rope.

Eighteen of the 32 deaths were reported in the Northern Mindanao region, while 22 of the 24 missing were from Eastern Visayas in the central Philippines and the eastern Bicol region, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

Deaths were also logged in the Bicol region, Eastern Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula.

Most of the deaths were from drowning, while among the missing were fishermen whose boats capsized, the agency said.

Over 4,000 houses were damaged by the floods along with roads and bridges, and some areas were without power or water, the agency reported.

A shear line—the point where warm and cold air meet—triggered rains in parts of the country, the state weather bureau said.

It forecast light to heavy rains in the next 24 hours for some of the same areas affected by the floods, AP said.

The NDRRMC said nearly 400,000 people were affected, with over 81,000 still in evacuation centers.

The Misamis Occidental province, as well as the city of Gingoog in Misamis Oriental, have been placed under state of calamity due to shear line-induced rains that caused continuous flooding. CBCP News and Associated Press

THE image of the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Mount Carmel at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Quezon City. LYN RESURRECCION

THE statue of Saint Thérèse at the Shrine of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus on Newport Boulevard in Pasay City, on January 2, 2017. LYN RESURRECCION

SUPERTYPHOON Yolanda survivors pray for intercession of the “Little Flower” as they venerate the first class relics of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus at the Sto. Niño Church in Tacloban City, on May 28, 2018. NESTOR ABREMATEA/CBCP NEWS

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Biodiversity Sunday

Tamaraw protectors mulling to revive captive-breeding program

By Jonathan L. Mayuga Photos by Gregg Yan, Best Alternatives

THE protectors of the Philippine tamaraw are eyeing to implement anew the ambitious captive-breeding program in order to boost the efforts in saving the critically endangered species from extinction. At the same time, they are looking into an ideal location to relocate a viable population outside their habitat within the Island of Mindoro.

Over the years, human encroachment into the tamaraw’s known sanctuary on the island continues to put pressure on the world’s rarest and most elusive buffalo.

Scientifically known as  Bubalus mindorensis , the tamaraw is a type of water buffalo that can only be found on Mindoro.

It is estimated that around 400 of the 600 tamaraws are concentrated on top of Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park (MIBNP).

Critically endangered

ALSO known as Mindoro’s dwarf buffalo, the Philippine tamaraw’s population remains critically endangered, a conservation status that means the species is only a step away from extinction.

Although in the last decade, due to conservation efforts including strict management regime at MIBNP, the population of the largest land mammal in the Philippines remains

highly vulnerable to various threats, said Neil Anthony del Mundo, assistant protected area superintendent of the MIBNP and concurrent OIC of the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) said.

This is based on the number of buffalos showing up in different sites in recent years as part of the annual survey conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and its conservation partners.

“That is why we are looking at implementing a captive-breeding program for the tamaraw,” del Mundo told the BusinessMirror in an interview at the sideline of a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Biodiversity Finance Initiative (Biofin) Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Dialogue at a hotel in Pasay City.

Asean Heritage Park

ITS designation as an Asean Heritage Park (AHP) is anchored on the fact that the MIBNP is the only refuge of the tamaraw. It is the only known place in the world where the biggest remaining population of the tamaraw can be found.

According to the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), which implements the AHP, the declining population of the tamaraw warranted the area to be established as a game refuge and bird sanctuary.

Initially, it covers a total area of 8,956 hectares. On November 9, 1970, the area was increased to

Manila Water gets Management Level ratings for climate change, water security disclosures

MANILA Water received a Management B rating for its 2022 CDP Climate Change and Water Security Disclosures, improving its Climate Change rating from Awareness level (C), while maintaining the management level rating in Water Security.

CDP, formerly Carbon Disclosure Project, aims to make environmental reporting and risk management a business norm, driving disclosure, insight and action toward a sustainable economy.

Manila Water’s B rating on the CDP Score Report on Climate Change for 2022 is now above the Asia regional average of C and also higher than both the global average and non-energy utilities sector average of C.

It also garnered a B rating on the CDP Score Report for Water Security for 2022 which is in the management band. This is the same as the Asia regional average of B but higher than the non-energy utilities sector and global average, which are both at C rating.

Receiving the B ratings exemplified the company’s strengthened climate actions, a solid testament to its efforts to address risks and opportunities brought about by climate change.

It also manifested the firm’s steadfast commitment to provide 24/7 water and wastewater services to customers within its service areas.

Manila Water’s Sustainability Head Sarah Bergado said that the company reaffirms its commitment to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on Climate Action and the Paris Agreement through the company’s climate change adaptation and

mitigation initiatives.

“We build our infrastructure to be climate-resilient as we endeavor to implement nature-based solutions such as watershed protection and reforestation to adapt to and mitigate climate change,” Bergado said.

“In par tnership with South Pole, an international climate solutions provider, we are developing our net zero and decarbonization roadmap to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain,” she added.

CDP Worldwide is a not-for-profit charity that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to measure and manage their risks and opportunities on climate change, water security and deforestation.

The CDP Score Report allows companies to monitor their progress toward environmental stewardship through benchmarking and comparison with their peers, in order to continuously improve their climate and water governance.

The rating is based on four levels: Leadership (A/A-): Implementing current best practices; Management (B/B-): Taking coordinated action on climate/water issues; Awareness (C/C-): Knowledge of impacts on, and of, climate or water issues; and Disclosure (D/D-): Transparent about climate and water issues.

CDP is a partner of the United NationsWater in collecting corporate data related to contributions toward Sustainable Development Goals 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation indicators, including 6.3 on Wastewater, 6.4 on Water Use Efficiency, and 6.6 on Ecosystems.

75,445 hectares upon its declaration as a National Park by virtue of Republic Act 6148.

Shrinking territory

HOWEVER , despite its vast area, the territory of the tamaraw has been shrinking due to human encroachment, del Mundo said.

He said the increasing presence of humans and their destructive activities, such as farming at the periphery of the MIBNP, as well as hunting of wild animals for food and trophy, disturb the elusive wild buffaloes, prompting them to move farther to the hills.

Some of the tamaraws are seen near residential communities nowadays. Their protectors suspect they got lost or were forced to move out of the range of a territorial bull that does not tolerate competition in time for the mating season.

“Because of the shrinking territory, bullfighting happens. They are highly territorial,” del Mundo explained.

Last year alone, he said at least six young bulls were killed in what they believe were due to injuries from deadly horns in a bullfight.

Hunting for food, trophy

FAUSTO NOVELOZO , the chieftain of the Taw’buid, one of the seven known tribes of Mangyans on the island, blamed the outsiders, or “dayo,” who go up the mountains of Mindoro to track down and kill the tamaraw for food and trophy.

“If it were only us [Mangyans], the tamaraws would still be roaming the island by now. We don’t hunt and eat that much. It [hunting of tamaraws] started when outsiders began coming to Mindoro. We have been living on the island for as long as I can remember and the tamaraws were plenty. But when the lowlanders came, they were here just like yesterday, and just like that, the tamaraws are gone,” Novelozo said in Filipino.

According to Novelozo, Mangyans seldom hunt tamaraws.

“We don’t do it very often. Once a year, perhaps, but that’s it.  Unlike the lowlanders, they kill them at every opportunity they get,” he said.

The visibly sad “Punong Tribo [chieftain]” of the Taw’buid said hunters from the lowlands use more sophisticated weapons that easily kill the elusive tamaraw, unlike Mangyans who rely on their traditional hunting practice.

Saving the species

IMPLEMENTING a captive-breeding program for the tamaraw is one way of saving it from extinction, del Mundo said. He noted that it can be done on the site or off site, but they prefer it on the island of Mindoro.

He said this is the reason why he has been recommending relocating a viable population of the tamaraw to other areas outside the MIBNP.  However, he said the area should be set aside for conservation—either a national park, a game refuge or a wildlife

sanctuary, where the tamaraws can roam without human intervention— and more importantly, free of threats.

Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the candidates for the plan, he said.

Pre-pandemic plan

“WE actually started this plan before the pandemic. But because of the lockdowns, the plan was set aside. We are now reviving,” he said. Del Mundo said the DENR’s TCP is in close coordination with experts and some institutional partners to make the plan work.

He said reviving the captivebreeding program means capturing young, ready-to-breed bull and female tamaraws, probably in the same gene pool where “Kalibasib” was born— the Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation, Research and Educational Center in Barangay Manoot, Rizal town, in Occidental Mindoro province.

Born on June 24, 1990, Kalibasib, short for Kalikasan Bagong Sibol, died on October 10, 2020, due to multiple organ failure as a result of old age. He was the only product of the first captive-breeding program.

Lessons learned ACCORDING to del Mundo, they have a lot of lessons learned from the failed captive-breeding program of the Tamaraw Conservation Program.

During the first implementation in the 1990s, he noted that the tamaraws were not carefully selected.

“Some may be old or no longer in their reproductive stage,” del Mundo said in a mix of English and Filipino.

He added that learning from breeding by natural selection that takes place in the wild, they may consider letting the tamaraws roam free in the enclosure and let the breeding take place naturally.

The enclosure where Kalibasib was allowed to roam freely, he noted, was big enough for a bull and several females mate and reproduce.

“Of course, we need to consult the scientists who implemented the captive-breeding program,” he said.

Funding

LIKE other government programs, the TCP’s captive-breeding program is faced with funding challenges.

Maintaining the TCP’s 24 Tamaraw Rangers alone is a huge challenge, he said, let alone protecting the entire MIBNP.

Del Mundo said they are eyeing for appropriation from the annual General Appropriations Act and other funding support to implement the various activities of the TCP, including the proposed captive-breeding program.

“That is why we are working with UNDP Biofin. We are looking for funding support for all our programs,” he said.

Del Mundo, nevertheless, remains confident that funds to save the iconic Philippine tamaraw will flow to make this ambitious program happen.

Can climate labels on menus turn people off cheeseburgers?

CLIMATE labels on fast-food menus can help steer people in the US away from ordering beef—the food with the worst impact on the climate—and toward meals that are better for the planet, according to new research.

Food systems contribute roughly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and much of it coming from raising cows and other livestock.

As people look for climate solutions to rapidly cut down their greenhouse gas emissions, “one of the biggest changes we can make is reducing the red meat we consume,” says Julia Wolfson, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and one of the researchers behind the new study. (The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is supported by Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies.)

In search of ways to shift consumer behavior, Wolfson and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, Harvard University and the University of Michigan created an experiment to test two types of climate labels on fast-food menus.

The researchers specifically targeted fast food because it’s a major source of beef consumption in the US. More than one-third of Americans consume fast food on a given day.

Using a large fast-food chain’s menu as a model, the researchers came up with three menu versions—one without climate labels, a second with red labels under every beef option noting “high climate impact,” and a third with green labels

noting “low climate impact” under chicken, fish and vegetarian meals.

Roughly 5,000 participants were randomly assigned to view one of the three menus and then prompted to select an item they would hypothetically like to order for dinner.

The group that avoided beef looked at menus with the high-impact label, with 61 percent of them ordering a more sustainable option, according to the study in the medical journal Jama Open Network

More than half of people who saw the low-impact labels, 54.4 percent, made a more sustainable choice, and just less than half of those who saw no labels at all decided to avoid beef.

“The main takeaway is that both labels effectively increased the proportion of participants who ordered a sustainable item,” says Wolfson,

BY SA 4.0

“but the most effective was the high climate impact label on the red meat item.”

That finding “is consistent with previous research showing that negative-framed messages may be more influential than positive ones,” says Lindsey Smith Taillie, a nutrition epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was not involved in the study.

She cited research showing that labels on the front of packages warning of “high in sugar” foods can lead to reduced consumption.

Kristie Ebi, a climate and health professor at the University of Washington who was also not involved in the study, sees the result as a sign “that with more information, the American public could make better choices in terms of healthiness and

in terms of sustainability.”

More research is needed to determine the most effective climate labeling, and Ebi suggested looking to the history of warning labels on cigarettes which have since “been improved in terms of their effectiveness.”

While the research suggests climate labels could help move the needle on eating more sustainably in a fastfood setting, it’s not definitive proof.

“This was an online study with a hypothetical food choice,” says Wolfson.

“It will be really important to see in the future if these results and the magnitude of these impacts would be replicated in real world settings where people are making real choices, they are spending their real money and they are then having to really eat the foods they select,” he adds.

The researchers also found that people who selected the non-beef or more sustainable option, regardless of the climate labels they saw, were more likely to view that choice as healthier—even if that wasn’t necessarily the case.

“It’s really important how we think about striking that balance when trying to nudge consumer behavior toward both more sustainable selections as well as healthier options,” says Wolfson.

Ebi pointed out that none of the menu items in the labeling study were actually healthy, regardless of their climate impact.

“This suggests that fast-food restaurants need further encouragement to provide healthier food choices,” he says. Zahra Hirji/Bloomberg

TAMARAWS on Mindoro Island

A TAW’BUID tribesman of Mindoro

THE ridges of Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park where majority of tamaraws on Mindoro are found.

CHEESEBURGER served with French fries from a restaurant in Sacramento, California.

Culture of winning fuels PLDT Group’s continued support for Filipino athletes

THE year 2022 was big for Philippine sports following the return of face-to-face events as pandemic restrictions continued to ease and people embraced the new normal.

PLDT Inc. (PLDT), Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) and the MVP Sports Foundation (MVPSF) have reiterated their commitment to promote and develop sports and Filipino athletes by supporting the industry through various ways.

I n the first quarter of the year, MVPSF established two training grounds to help cultivate the skills of Filipino athletes hoping to represent the country in global sporting events.

The MVPSF Center for Sports Excellence in Antipolo City will support the training of badminton players and boxers, while the MVPSF Gymnastics Center in Intramuros will provide a venue for the training of the country’s gymnasts.

PLDT and Smart also reiterated their support to Olympians Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, who won gold at the weightlifting world championships; Carlos Yulo, who bagged silver and bronze at the gymnastics world championships; and pole vaulter EJ Obiena, who landed multiple gold medals in the European circuit.

The list includes boxers Nesthy Petecio and Hergie Bacyadan who garnered bronze at the Asian Elite Boxing Championships, the women’s national football team which earned a ticket—the first for the country— to the Women’s World Cup and Smart Omega Call of Duty Mobile team which qualified for the world championships.

The group has long been supporting 17 national sports associations through the MVPSF, along with notable national teams like Gilas Pilipinas, men’s and women’s national volleyball teams and Smash Pilipinas and sponsorships for Smart Omega Esports, PLDT High Speed Hitters, among others.

The pride that our athletes give the Philippines when they represent our country is priceless.

PLDT and Smart have always believed that sports plays a key role in shaping individuals and communities to build a better nation,” said Jude Turcuato, Head of Sports at PLDT and Smart and Executive Director at MVPSF.

Our mission is to be the driving force in the development of worldclass Filipino sports champions. We want to foster a culture of winning using the grassroots programs and partnerships that we’ve established in various sporting events,” Turcuato added.

To bring events like the Southeast Asian Games, FIBA World Cup and FIBA Asia Cup, Premiere Volleyball League, University Athletic Association of the Philippines, FIVB Volleyball Nations League, Philippine Basketball Association and others closer to sports-loving Filipinos, Smart has boosted its streaming

platform Smart Livestream App.

T hrough Smart Livestream App, fans can cheer for their favorite athletes through their mobile phones, no matter where they are.

PLDT and Smart have also bolstered this year’s Universities and Colleges Basketball League with connectivity support for livestreaming their games. Smart has also powered up one of the country’s top sports sites, NBA.com/Philippines.

A nd as a staunch supporter of esports development, Smart and Moonton marked their 5th year of partnership with the 2022 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Pro League tournaments that recognized the amazing talents of the Filipino youth in esports in the global arena.

Smart also launched the first all-inone esports platform for Filipino mobile gamers, GIGA Arena, to empower Filipinos with the best mobile gaming experience powered by the fastest mobile network.

Speed and coverage have never been more crucial in our increasingly digital world, particularly, in sports,” said Francis Flores, Head of Consumer Business Group-Individual at Smart. “Whether Filipinos are playing in competitive esports, watching a do-or-die finals game, or supporting your favorite team as they compete overseas, our curated products and services are here to empower sports-loving Smart customers to live more through our superior network.”

Under their digital wellness advocacy, PLDT and Smart collaborated with like-minded organizations and individuals to generate collective impact for its advocacy on mental health.

Together with MVPSF and Smart Sports, inspiring Filipino athletes participated in the Better Today conversations for sports and mental resilience and they have also partnered with Football for Humanity to launch the Better Today for Kids Playground, where 50 children joined the football workshop to channeling sports and play for rehabilitation.

We believe that sports can become an enabler for strong mental resilience and well-being, which is fundamental to our much broader digital wellness advocacy. We hope to promote a culture of empathy among our community members,” said Stephanie Orlino, AVP and Head of Stakeholder Management at PLDT and Smart.

These initiatives emphasize the commitment of PLDT and Smart to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG #3: Good Health and Well-Being.

ANOTHER BUMPER YEAR IN PHL SPORTS

gold medal in Tokyo in July 26, 2021— at the Bogota world weightlifting championships early in December.

D iaz-Naranjo did it with a flourish—93 kgs in snatch, 114 kgs in clean and jerk and 207 kgs in total lift—to sweep her division in the worlds where a gold is awarded in each of the two lift variations and the total lift.

It was mission accomplished for the 31-year-old fourtime Olympian—she has won basically everything there is to win in sports—Olympics, world championships, Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games.

Mo nths before Diaz-Naranjo’s success, Obiena made his own statement at the world athletics championships in Eugene, Oregon, last July.

He leapt to 5.94 meters to finish behind pole vault wonder Armand Duplantis and American Chris Nilsen, an achievement that kept him in the company of the world’s elite. But Obiena had to labor first against his own athletics federation before going on a winning binge at the Vietnam SEA Games and in the outdoor season in Europe.

H is conflict with the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association had to go through an ugly mediation that eventually led to a settlement.

old Eala was in tears as she spoke to the crowd at Flushing Meadows holding her US Open girls’ juniors trophy—the first-ever victory by a Filipino in a tennis major.

“Buong puso ko itong pinaglaban hindi lang para sa sarili ko kundi para makatulong din ako sa kinabukasan ng Philippine tennis,” Eala told the crowd and multitude others on television. “Hindi lang ’to panalo ko, panalo natin lahat. Thank you.”

W hat the Azkals have yet to accomplish the Filipinas did by qualifying for the Women’s World Cup that will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand in July and August 2023—also a first for the Philippines.

L ed by the impeccable Sarina Bolden, the Filipinas qualified for women’s football biggest stage after making the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup last January in India.

Tsukii, always jolly and smiling, was a fearsome combatant at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, last July where she won gold—the second for the country in the competition after pool artist Carlo Biado in 2017 in Wrocław, Poland—in women’s kumite -50 kgs of karate.

mark with silver  in vault and bronze in parallel bars at the world artistic gymnastics in Liverpool in November.  Rubilen Amit, Carlo Biado and Johann Chua sustained a world tradition by Filipinos dominating billiards with their conquest at the Predator World 10-Ball Team Championship in Klagenfurt, Austria.

P ro boxing went on a skid in 2022. After having as many as five world champions, the year wasn’t that generous to Filipino pugilists who lost their belts atop the ring—Jerwin Ancajas, Mark Magsayo, Rene Cuarto and Nonito Donaire Jr.  leaving the country no legitimate world champion at the moment.

At the Philippine Basketball Association, San Miguel Beer regained the Philippine Cup while at the collegiate front, it was Letran through and through in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press

LUKA DONCIC had  60 points and 21 rebounds and 10 assists  on Tuesday, a stat line never seen before in National Basketball Association (NBA) history.

Nikola Jokic had 41 points and 15 rebounds and 15 assists on Sunday, a stat line that was managed on only two other occasions.

Two amazing games without a single dunk.

T he two best players in the NBA right now—and likely the current frontrunners in the MVP race— do not play with LeBron James’S strength and force, or with Michael Jordan’s acrobatic creativity, or with Wilt Chamberlain’s ability to just overmatch anyone who dared to stand near his path. They do not put on the shooting and dribbling display of a Stephen Curry, or glide from one end of the floor to the other like Giannis Antetokounmpo, or make scoring look as easy as Kevin Durant does.

Doncic and Jokic do it differently. They dominate by making the game get played at their pace. They do what they want, when they want, almost always making the smartest play. Play off them, and they shoot the midrange or the 3. Play up on them, and they’ll use their bulldozing ability to create just enough space for a move or the right pass.

“ He’s special,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic’s latest masterpiece. “The history of the game is written by the players, and that was written again...Luka doing something that’s never been done before. It’s hard to do.”

Forget the numbers for a second. Consider how Doncic got Tuesday’s game into overtime. The

By Josef Ramos

HIDILYN DIAZNARANJO finally won gold at the world championships, Ernest John “EJ” Obiena cleared the bar to become No. 3 in the world, Alexandra “Alex” Eala proudly spoke in Tagalog at Flushing Meadows and the country—and Asia— lost an icon, Lydia de Vega.

The year 2022 turned out as an extension of Filipino athletes’ success on the global stage from last year’s amazing Tokyo Olympics, producing one world champion after another, to name some—karate’s Junna Tsukii and jiu-jitsu’s  Meggie and Kimberly Anne Custodio.

And the Filipinas, formerly known as Malditas, punched a ticket to the Women’s World Cup, unprecedented in a country where football doesn’t rank up there among sports well-loved by Filipinos.

“Thank God!” DiazNaranjo immediately posted on her Facebook page minutes after ruling the women’s 55 kgs category—barely 17 months from winning the country’s first Olympic

Mavericks were down by nine with 27 seconds left in regulation. No team in the last 26 years—since play-by-play records of games began getting tracked digitally—had outscored an opponent by nine points in the last 27 seconds of a fourth quarter, according to SportRadar.

The Mavs did it, with a Luka Miracle finishing it off. Down by three with 4.2 seconds left in regulation and at the foul line, Doncic made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second. The Knicks botched two tries at controlling the rebound, Doncic leaped for the ball

We at the POC fully appreciate his focus, outlook and attitude as an athlete,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who fought for Obiena’s welfare during those difficult times. “He needs all the support possible, like for all the other Filipino athletes.” O ver in New York in September, a 17-year-

Women power was also evident in 2022 with victories by Ochoa and Custodio at the world jiu-jitsu championships in Abu Dhabi last November and Jovelyn Gonzaga and Sisi Rondina at the World Beach Pro Tour last December in Subic.

A sian champion Vanessa Sarno also added credence to the tag as the heir apparent to Diaz-Naranjo by winning gold in Asian Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan—a similar accomplishment pulled off by Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam who fought in the next higher weight class at bantamweight to dominate at the Asian Elite Men’s and Women’s Championships also last November in Amman, Jordan.

But the country and all of Asia wept over the demise of former Asian Sprint Queen and the Darling of Asian Athletics Lydia de Vega, who for at least three years, hid from the public that she’s been fighting breast cancer. She succumbed on August 10.

C arlos Yulo didn’t get any gold medal this time but still made his

Oddly, two University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball finals were held in the same year with University of the Philippines beating Ateneo de Manila University in May for the Season 84 crown and the Blue Eagles getting back at the Fighting Maroons middle of December to reign supreme in Season 85.

Th at oddity was borne out of restrictions wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, which, obviously, waned significantly in 2022 with majority of Filipinos getting the vaccine.

Thus, it’s almost back to pre-Covid practices—social distancing is passe, face masks are optional and sports is back almost everywhere.

Proof of Covid’s defeat was Ilocos Sur’s hosting of the Philippine Sports Commission-Batang Pinoy National Championships where at least 6, 000 delegates—3,000 of them athletes aged 15 under—converged in Vigan City and Bantay for in-person competitions.

A nd because it was a general elections year, a changing of the guard—twice, in fact—occurred at the PSC. Veteran sportsman William Ramirez stepped down co-terminus with former President Rodrigo Duterte and in his place was former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala.

But politics always is unpredictable side and Eala had to give way to former Alaska basketball player Richard “Dicky” Bachmann.

Tolentino said that country’s success in sports cascaded from the golden year that was 2021— where the Philippines won its first ever Olympics gold medal through weightlifter Diaz-Naranjo, two silvers through boxers Paalam and Nesthy Petecio and a bronze through another boxer, Eumir Felix Marcial. That was the most successful campaign by the Philippines in a close to century of participation in the Olympics.

It’s part of the extended Golden Years of Philippine sports,” Tolentino told BusinessMirror , referring to the amazing Tokyo Olympics campaign. “There are so many athletes who brought pride and glory to our country. We are hoping we’ll see the same, or better, results in 2023.”

and shot a 10-footer all in the same motion. It went in, the game went to overtime and history was made.

I guess I was kind of lucky,” Doncic said.

B eing prepared to take advantage of an opportunity is how players make their own luck. That’s also how 60 points and 21 rebounds and 10 assists happen–it isn’t getting lucky. Nor was a 41-15-15 effort by Jokic to get a Christmas win over Phoenix.

It’s hard to win the MVP award, harder still to win it twice and Jokic is going to find out how difficult it is to win it three consecutive years. Doc Rivers has said many times that players like Jordan or James would have more MVP’s if not for voter fatigue and people simply getting tired of the same person winning every year. He’s right, and Jokic will probably have to deal with some of that when the ballots get sent in next April.

But he’s obviously earned serious consideration. So has Doncic, obviously. So has Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, whose monster season so far includes a 59-point, 11-rebound, eight-assist, seven-block game in November. So has Jayson Tatum, who has Boston looking very much like a team poised to win an 18th NBA championship.

The numbers are just absurd, everywhere. Scoring is up in the league, again. Entering Wednesday there were 51 players averaging more than 20 points per game. More than half of them won’t be going to the All-Star Game, because there’s only 24 spots in said game.

O n average, somebody has a 40-point game every night the NBA plays now. There have been 70 such games so far this season. There were 119 in the entirety of the 2021-22 regular season; this season, the

league is on pace for 168 of them this year. Big nights have never seemed to come this easily.

A nd Doncic and Jokic are making them look easier than anyone else.

T hey each have seven tripledoubles already; nobody else has more than three. Doncic is averaging 33.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.8 assists; since assists started getting tracked, nobody has ever ended a season averaging so much in all three categories. Jokic goes into Wednesday averaging 25.3 points, 11 rebounds and 9.5 assists; only Oscar Robertson has ended a year with those kind of averages.

T he season isn’t even half over yet. The fun is just starting. Others are in the race, others may still get into the race, but Doncic and Jokic have already put the league on notice that the MVP battle this year might be one for the ages.

HIDILYN DIAZ-NARANJO adds another breakthrough in her already successful career, Ernest John “EJ” Obiena sets the bar higher, Alexandra “Alex” Eala is one proud Filipino and yes, Lydia de Vega, she’ll be missed.

LUKA DONCIC and Nikola Jokic do it differently— they dominate by making the game get played at their pace. AP

LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST

Eraserheads mesmerize fans at ‘Huling El Bimbo’ concert

Publisher : Editor-In-Chief : Concept : Y2Z Editor : SoundStrip Editor : Group Creative Director : Graphic Designers : Contributing Writers : Columnists : Photographers :

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Aldwin M. Tolosa

Jt Nisay Edwin P. Sallan Eduardo A. Davad Niggel Figueroa Anabelle O. Flores Tony M. Maghirang, Rick Olivares, Leony Garcia, Patrick Miguel

Kaye VillagomezLosorata Annie S. Alejo Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes Y2Z & SOUNDSTRIP are published and distributed free every Sunday by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing Inc. as a project of the

The Philippine Business Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd Floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725.

Fax line: 813-7025

Advertising Sales: 893-2019; 817-1351,817-2807. Circulation: 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. www.businessmirror.com.ph

Text and Photos By Jill Tan Radovan

TWO decades after it officially disbanded, the Eraserheads still attracted an estimated 75,000 people to attend Ang Huling El Bimbo, supposedly the band’s last major concert in the Philippines, at the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque.

The venue was packed by the time the Diegos roused the audience with a ‘90s themed playlist —playing everything from “Everyday People” to “Laklak.”

Audio output wasn’t as impressive during the Eraserheads’ first set—the mixing of vocals and instruments could have been better. Sound engineers fixed it before the next two sets.

Music director Mel Villena and the AMP Big Band added an impressive brass section, though, while Mikey Amistoso, Jazz Nicolas and Audrey Dionisio proved worthy of being extra ’heads.

Fans again realized how enamoring Ely is as a frontman and guitarist; how talented Buddy is as a bassist; how skilled Marcus is as a guitarist; and how exceptional Raimund is as a drummer—a rarity when he performs with his other bands. It was also a chance to remember the genius songwriting behind the Eraserhead’s discography.

The ‘heads have proven that their greatest legacy—their music—is one that hasn’t faded and will not fade with the passage of time. It continues to live in the hearts and minds and playlists of the people who supported them from day one.

These were the kids who patiently waited for the band’s songs to be played on the radio, called radio stations to vote so the songs would rank higher in charts, and eventually bought the band’s cassette tapes and compact discs with their savings.

They were your grade school or high school classmates, college buddies, friends, brothers and sisters.

They stood for hours in anticipation of the first song at the concert, but nonetheless screamed enthusiastically when the opening riff for “Superproxy” found its way to the speakers. They cheered loudly when the hologram of the late Francis Magalona appeared on stage to simulate a collaborative performance with his sons, Elmo and Arkin, and Ely’s son, Eon.

They probably didn’t mind standing for hours because they were having a fine time,  just like in the song. They rejoiced upon realizing that the band was playing every track—except one— from its bestselling third album, “Cutterpillow,” in order.  They sang “Gusto kong matutong mag-drive” to “Overdrive” even if they already knew how to drive, apologized for sucking at courtship as they sang to “Torpedo” and joined a field trip to the pencil factory, similar to the one mentioned in “Huwag Mo Nang Itanong.”

They had their own version of Kim, someone they missed during sembreak and knew what the phrase basketball sa banyo meant. They serenaded someone with “Ligaya,” promising to love that person sa tanghali, sa gabi at umaga. Or they were probably the late bloomer who was told, “Medyo pangit ka pa n’on” but who has since glowed up, worthy of an appearance on the centerfold of a magasin.

They were moved when the band performed “Lightyears” either because of its poignant lyrics or because it triggered an old, sad memory. Their mood lightened upon seeing Gary Valenciano on stage for “Christmas Party.”

They warned people against misconceptions or maling akala and advised them to face challenges with a smile. At the concert, they were startled when the band played the hard-hitting song “Insomnya” right after they had just stopped swaying their arms to “With a Smile.”

They felt lost and asked for the world to stop spinning—itigil muna ang pag-ikot ng mundo—via “Spoliarium,” whose haunting lyrics and musical arrangement continues to baffle and enchant listeners.

They cussed with burning passion to “Pare Ko,” reminisced college memories with “Minsan,” and felt an instant high that prompted them to jump and headbang to “Alapaap” like teenagers stuck in 1994. They held hands, cried salty tears or both as the Eraserheads performed the last song for the evening; either because the lyrics echoed deeply personal sentiments (Magkahawak ang ating kamay/At walang kamalay-malay/Na tinuruan mo ang puso ko/ Na umibig na tunay), or their profound love for the band. It could have been their last night together, the last time they’d ever see the band play, and sing and dance to their songs—their huling el bimbo.

They are probably everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to see the concert They are all of us.

We may have been 10 or 15 or 25 when we first discovered the Eraserheads and we may be writers and doctors and carpenters and mothers and fathers or all sorts of professions now, but back then we were all the same, under one umbrella, when we listened to and sought solace in the band’s songs.

And on the night of their recent concert, we found comfort in their songs anew. The Eraserheads told the stories of our youth. We may have forgotten those stories and perhaps only momentarily remembered them during the concert, but we never forgot—and will never forget— the songs we grew up with and for some, even grew old with.

THE Eraserheads at their ‘Huling El Bimbo’ concert. From left: Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro and Raymund Marasigan

DREAM COLLABORATION

Gary V on sharing the stage with the Eraserheads

By Annie S. Alejo

THE recent Eraserheads reunion concert that reportedly drew a crowd of fans 75,000 strong had its share of musical high points gift-wrapped in a much-awaited pre-Christmas package of what itself was an astonishingly giant musical highlight of 2022. Joining the iconic pop band on stage was Mr. Pure Energy himself, Gary Valenciano, who played out what ‘Heads frontman Ely Buendia described as a “dream collab” with the song “Christmas Party” off the “Fruitcake” album.

While Gary V was reportedly originally eyed to also do another song with the band, the show’s director Paolo Valenciano preferred to keep much of the focus on the ‘Heads—Gary reportedly agreed with his son’s assessment. Nevertheless, the Filipino pop superstar added blast of energy to the number when he busted out a mid-song percussion solo peppered with some scatting. The 18-piece AMP orchestra boosted the Kool & the Gang “Celebration” feel thanks to its brass section.

Gary V, of course, has been in the industry years before the ‘Heads. In the span of his career, he’s been known as much for his style (at some point early in his career, he was touted as the Michael Jackson of the Philippines—owing to his dancing prowess and r&b leanings— before the Mr Pure Energy moniker took hold) as his music (a long list of pop hits), his messages (he is a Christian who has not shirk from sharing his faith through music), and also his personal advocacy as man living with diabetes.

Relevance in the industry and among music fans shouldn’t be so much the question as his massive contribution to OPM, and the soundtrack of our times. Gary V still sang and performed in a way that could only be looked up to by other guests in the concert, maybe save from the late Francis M’s appearance because, you know—hologram!

In an earlier online press gathering before his participation at the ‘Heads concert was even announced, Gary took the time to highlight his diabetes advocacy by talking about a new technology called Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM). Gary was diagnosed when he was only 14 years old (“a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” he interjected). Naturally, as a performer, this proved to be tricky for him.

“The struggles of monitoring how high my glucose (level) was of how low it was before switching to CGM started way back when… actually I felt like a chemist… because (back then) there was no such thing

as finger-pricking for blood. It was actually done with a test tube, a tablet, urine, and… how high or low my sugar was depending on how the tablet would respond,” he shared. “It was more or less a guessing game to see where I was at.”

He also spent years finger-pricking to test the blood before more accurate, less arduous process evolved. “When the technology started advancing, which I’m so thankful for, all the more it spurred me on to carry on the advocacy of helping Filipinos living with diabetes,” he noted.

“Diabetes can be the most deceiving of all illnesses because sometimes you think you are ok but things could be going on inside of you if you don’t take care of yourself the way you should,” the artist related.

Beyond medical advances, Gary V certainly credits his faith in keeping him going in the challenging world of show business. “There’s got to be a reason why I still have my diabetes after so many years, over 4 decades now. Ive been given the best doctors… I’ve been provided a lot of things to make things easier.”

Entrenched in his artist persona is an “advocacy… to provide medical assistance to Filipinos with diabetes through the Shining Light Foundation that my wife and I decided to put up a long time ago. It was first used to channel support for church workers, and then it branched out to those underprivileged. And then now it’s to provide medical support to Filipinos living with diabetes through donations and diabetes education.”

The ‘Heads’ reunion concert certainly isn’t the group’s “huling el bimbo” as Ely has reportedly teased a 2023 world tour. One can only wonder if Gary V will figure as a guest in any of the stops, but for sure, the music veteran is certainly taking care of himself to enable him to indulge other artists in more dream collabs, and contribute more musical and performance milestones to Pinoy entertainment. (With interview by Edwin P. Sallan)

GARY Valenciano with Ely Buendia at Eraserheads ‘Huling El Bimbo’ concert (Photos courtesy of WEU Event Management Service)

All the cinema (and sequels) we have to look forward to in 2023

By ari Mattes University of Notre Dame Australia

Well, this might be because it is—at least when it comes to the American cinematic media ecology, with the majority of the most-hyped Hollywood films for 2023 being sequels and reboots.

Even if there are a handful of substantially original films slated for 2023, it’s difficult not to be snarky when major studios continue to show such contempt for the intelligence of viewers.

So, what do we have to “look forward to” in 2023?

Major franchise films

If you love superhero franchises, there are some notable releases in 2023. Two of them look watchable, including a new AntMan movie and the sequel to the excellent animation film of 2018, Into the Spiderverse, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse

There’s also a new Guardians of the Galaxy film that fans of the series will probably rush out to see. If that doesn’t scratch your superhero itch, there’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, directed by the supremely stylish James Wan.

There are some other notable nonsuperhero sequels.

There’s a new Magic Mike movie, again directed by Steven Soderbergh, who seems perpetually to be coming out of retirement to direct more movies, this

one co-starring Salma Hayek and set in London. There’s Fast X, the new fa st and the fu rious movie, the tenth entry in a franchise that has historically produced some solid action films but whose last couple of entries have started to feel a little dusty.

There’s Scream 6, the second Scream film since the death of horror maestro Wes Craven and the attempted series “reboot” (is there a more annoying word?) with Scream (2022), the first not to star series anchor Neve Campbell as the harangued and courageous Sidney Prescott.

for some bizarre reason, there’s yet another Ghostbusters movie being released in 2023. Actually, it’s not bizarre at all, the sequel and reboot, especially of

WHEN it comes to describing a certain type of film, the word blockbuster dates back nearly 80 years. It was first used in the 1940s in film trade magazines such as Variety and Motion Picture Herald. In the 1970s, with the release of Jaws (1975) and Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), the concept of the blockbuster became commonplace.

Conversely, the term “forgotbuster” was first coined by US film critic Nathan Rabin in 2013 to describe those movies that were among the top 25 grossing films the year of their release, but have receded culturally.

Rabin’s first example was Monster-In Law (2005), a now largely forgotten comedy vehicle for Jane fonda and Jennifer Lopez. The subjective list would also include the likes of Hannibal (2001), Disclosure (1994) and What Women Want (2000). By far his

most controversial choice was Avatar

There are three other reasons Avatar might be regarded as a forgotbuster.

fi rstly, the movie encouraged film studios to subsequently hike ticket prices based on a “3D premium.” Paying $15 for a regular ticket suddenly became $20 for Avatar and the dozens of movies that followed in the period from late 2009 to mid-2012.

f i lms were often retrofitted for 3D as studios sought to capitalize on Avatar’s success. This resulted in many sub-standard films being released that offered this supposed 3D experience–and cast Avatar as the film responsible for this surge in bad 3D.

Secondly, beyond its technological advances and impressive visual feats, what else do we remember from Avatar? What

nostalgic 80s fare, have become virtual mints, printing money for studios with minimum creative effort. There’s also a new Transformers film coming— Rise of the Beasts —this time without Michael Bay directing, there’s a new John Wick film, and, perhaps weirdest of all, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Perhaps the sole sequel I am eagerly anticipating is Meg 2: The Trench. The Meg was one of the most delightful shark romps in years, and the sequel once again stars diver-turned-action man Jason Statham and is directed by Ben Wheatley, who has made some of the most unnerving films of the last decade (Kill List, A Field in England, In the Earth). Wheatley has a cinephile’s sense of genre and spectacle, so Meg 2 at least promises to be pleasurable.

Other major releases

PEoPLE will be queuing up, I’m sure, to see contemporary auteur Christopher Nolan’s treatment of the biography of atomic bomb scientist J. Robert o ppenheimer. Nolan is one of the most pretentious directors around, and his films are deeply conservative, but o ppenheimer is a striking enough character that it would be hard to sap the energy out of his story.

Similarly, Martin Scorsese is doing another biopic, this time of Theodore Roosevelt, with perennial Scorsese collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role.

There’s a new Guy Ritchie spy caper— o peration fortune: Ruse de Guerre, starring Ritchie stalwart Jason Statham, along with Aubrey Plaza and Hugh Grant, who has really reinvented himself in recent years, embracing the kind of dissolute sociopathic prat that always lurked under the façade of his good guy roles in films like Notting Hill.

one of the few releases that genuinely

generates interest is the Barbie feature film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. films based on toys are notoriously terrible, and there’s no reason to think this won’t be, but it will be fascinating to see how flavor of the month director Greta Gerwig (responsible for one of the more inept films of recent years, Little Women) makes a film out of the Barbie toy and legend.

Notable more minor releases

Ev EN if major Hollywood productions seem to be tied up now, much of the time, to multimedia money-generating franchises (are many people over the age of five really excited to see Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie or Neil Blomkamp’s film Gran Turismo, based on the video game, both coming out in 2023?), there are some smaller films coming out of the US in 2023 that look promising.

The bluntly-titled Plane promises to be an engaging genre film. Starring Gerard Butler and directed by genre filmmaker Jean-françois Richet (Blood father), it follows a pilot trying to escape after an emergency landing in a hostile region in the Philippines.

Indie-philes will probably be interested in the new coming of age film When You Finish Saving the World, the directorial debut of actor Jesse Eisenberg, released by A24, and also in A Good Person, written and directed by actor Zach Braff and starring f lorence Pugh and Morgan freeman.

All in all, there is not much promise on the horizon as far as American cinema goes, for the next year at least. Luckily films from the sound era go back nearly a hundred years, and many of the best have been released on physical media and streaming services, so it will be easy to watch these instead. The Conversation

was the name of the lead character? or the planet he landed on? or the tribe he spent time with?

Avatar’s frozen-in-time memorability stems in large part from its status as an “event.” People went to the cinema multiple times, with family, then friends, then again alone, each time slipping on the 3D glasses and watching in awe at the immersive visual spectacle.

Unlike Cameron’s other classic films, full of indelible figures like Ripley in Aliens (1986) or Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984), Avatar lacks memorable characters or iconic lines.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, Avatar is not like other contemporary blockbusters. It is not a sequel, or part of a connected cinematic universe (yet), or based on an existing property. It is not full

of star names. It trades heavily on ecological, pro-environmental, and anti-military themes.

Given that Avatar’s cultural footprint was temporary, what then will happen to Avatar 2? Will it endure?

Despite the mixed reviews, the early indications are Cameron’s sequel will be a roaring commercial success, and will presumably gross in excess of $2 billion at the global box office. Avatar 3 is due in December 2024, and two more sequels have been greenlit.

Perhaps this extended Avatar universe will ultimately help both the sequels and the original re-enter popular culture and remind us of Cameron’s impressive skill at blending action, special effects, and the narrative beats that define the contemporary blockbuster. The Conversation

EvEr get the feeling that everything’s just another rerun of a mediocre show?

Can you name a single character from ‘Avatar’? What is a ‘forgotbuster’ and is ‘Avatar’ one of them?

The bluntly-titled Plane stars Gerard Butler and is directed by genre filmmaker Jean-François Richet (Blood Father). The movie follows a pilot trying to escape after an emergency landing in a hostile region in the Philippines.