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Journalists are not health-care workers, but they are, in a sense, frontliners absorbing a nation’s anguish in a time of pandemic

SPONGE

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By Roderick L. Abad | Contributor

ONSIDERING how perilous their line of work is, most members of the media today feel more threatened by the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic than the usual risks they face while doing their jobs out in the field.

“Living dangerously is the old normal for many media professionals, especially those who are in news and public affairs,” professional coach Anjie Ureta told the press during a recent webinar, titled “Mind the Gap: How do we get to the new normal?”

With the changing times, however, then came an unprecedented health emergency which, according to her, most of them have never encountered yet in their generation.

“It’s the first time that we actually experience something like this ‘pandemic of epic proportions.’ So how do we actually deal with some-

thing that we have no knowledge about?” she said.

Journalists, according to the American Psychological Association (APA), are “vicarious frontliners” during this difficult time.

While they are not directly responsible for attending to the sick and the dying like what the medical workers do, they are in the front and center of the scene, gathering stories and reporting to allow the rest of the world to see what they witness.

Because of this unique nature of work of the media, many of them, especially those covering the news,

may also experience a feeling of severe guilt, which the APA called as “moral injury.”

In a word, it’s “that feeling where after witnessing a terrible event, you realized you’re not able to intervene, you’re not able to do anything about it,” said Ureta, who also works as a writer, producer and communications consultant with over 20 years of experience in mainstream broadcasting.

“And this feeling is not unique to the time of pandemic. I’m sure many of us, one time or the other, felt that we have risked our lives for a situation that we’re helpless

to change, or that we have delivered messages that fell on deaf ears, or worse, messages that could get us into really big trouble.

“So if danger is already part of our reality, why are we so affected by the impact of Covid-19? [It’s because] this is what makes us feel powerless, anxious and, in a lot of ways, vulnerable. And that’s a really tough feeling to face because how do we dodge a death-carrying missile that we cannot see,” she stressed.

Rising stress levels

EVEN without actual data, the Continued on A2

Young Americans are partying hard and spreading Covid-19 quickly

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By Rachel Adams-Heard | Bloomberg News

OVID-19 is increasingly a disease of the young, with the message to stay home for the sake of older loved ones wearing off as the pandemic wears on.

The dropping age of the infected is becoming one of the most pressing problems for local officials, who continued Wednesday to set curfews and close places where the young gather. US health experts say that they are more likely to be active and asymptomatic, providing a vast redoubt for the coronavirus that has killed almost 130,000 Americans.

Young and ‘invincible’

IN Arizona, half of all positive cases are people from the ages of 20 to 44, according to state data. The median age in Florida is 37, down from 65 in March. In Texas’s Hays

County, people in their 20s make up 50 percent of the victims.

At the start of the pandemic, young people were told to stay at home as an act of selflessness: Do it for dad. For grandma. For your neighbor. Then states started reopening and, almost instantly, photos began circulating of packed clubs and crowded restaurants.

There were massive street protests over police brutality and racial injustice. Case counts soared to record levels.

“We did jump the gun on reopening too soon,” said Ian Grimes, 27, of Austin, home of Texas’s flagship university, scores

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 49.7770

PEDESTRIANS walk past customers sitting outside at a bar in Tucson, Arizona, on May 11, 2020. Restaurants and coffee shops can start offering dine-in service while limiting occupancy and checking employees for Covid-19 symptoms before their shifts, Azcentral reported. BLOOMBERG

of technology companies and a self-consciously bohemian party culture. “Especially us Austinites, we’re impatient when it comes to having fun.”

Grimes, who is in real estate, sits outside when grabbing a beer and wears a mask if he’s out and about. But his brand of conscientiousness is offset by rambunctious peers bursting out of lockdown.

“There’s complete burnout,” said Sandy Cox, mayor of Lakeway, an Austin suburb. Last week, Cox posted a live video on Facebook warning residents that high schoolers had held a “very large party” just outside her city. Since then, a number of those who attended have tested positive for Covid-19, according to Austin Public Health.

“You’re young, you’re invincible, you don’t think it’s going to happen to you, and if it happens to you, you think you’re going to be fine,” Cox said in an interview. “The messaging is care for thy neighbor, but it is hard to get through to people.”

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n JAPAN 0.4630 n UK 62.0769 n HK 6.4228 n CHINA 7.0446 n SINGAPORE 35.6876 n AUSTRALIA 34.4556 n EU 55.9543 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.2721

Source: BSP (July 4, 2020)

IGOR SAPOZHKOV | DREAMSTIME.COM

A STRESSED SOCIETY’S

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A stressed society’s sponge anxiety being felt by the local media is reflected in current local studies that show the grave effects of the virus to the people.

One of which, Ureta cited, is the latest Social Weather Stations report released on June 14, showing that nine out of 10 Filipinos are stressed by the Covid-19 crisis.

Out of these numbers, 55 percent admitted that they were undergoing “great stress”, 34 percent said they were having “much stress”, and only 11 percent shared they experienced “little or no stress”.

“This is something to be concerned about,” she said, while noting that cases of anxiety and depression have already increased globally in the last three months.

Tell-tale signs

STRESS, per the Mayo Clinic, is an ordinary physical and psychological reaction to the demands of everyday life.

“So it’s normal to feel a little more stress during a crisis. But a prolonged exposure to crisis, which has multiple challenges, just like this Covid pandemic, can really push us beyond our ability to cope,” Ureta reminded her colleagues.

With this in mind, she enumerated the following stress indicators that they should be wary of: Mood swings, emotional outbursts, trouble concentrating, changes in appetite, not sleeping well, body aches and pains, feeling more tired than usual, excessive enthusiasm or extreme productivity, forgetfulness, and intense loneliness or isolation.

“These are just like some of the tell-tale signs,” she said. “A lot of people may develop mental health concerns during this time, especially on the lines of anxiety and depression, while others who already are facing

mental health issues can get all the more aggravated.”

For a person who undergoes a personal crisis, especially if it involves mental health, the best thing he or she can do is to work on it by himself or herself, the professional coach advised. He admonished, though, that seeking professional help is needed when the symptoms last for several days in a row.

“They’re not there to judge you.

They’re there to help you. And now, more than ever, people are so open already about dealing with their mental health problems. There’s no shame in that,” she said.

Rewriting the narratives

JOURNALISTS as storytellers write for other people for their consumption. Looking back at how the virus spread up to the last 100 and so days of the lockdowns, they have reported in trimedia the health and safety issues and protocols, the rising Covid-19 cases or deaths, the new normal, and also the political, economical and social effects of the crisis here and abroad. “[But] as we go about our daily lives, let’s take a pause and ask ourselves: What narratives are we creating for ourselves today?” Ureta asked her fellow media practitioners. “Let’s look inward and ask ourselves, what’s my narrative? Is it a story of wisdom, or is it a story of woe?”

Contrary to the negative impacts of the pandemic, she pointed out that there is also a great opportunity for something fresh to emerge out of this crisis.

“We can rewrite our personal story, but only if we perceive with an open mind and an open heart.

So how can we turn crisis into an opportunity for growth? By our willingness to transform. And this transformation usually happens in stages. So this is how we rewrite our story.”

First is to cope up with the “body,

While journalists are not directly responsible for attending to the sick and the dying like what the medical workers do, they are in the front and center of the scene, gathering stories and reporting to allow the rest of the world to see what they witness. mind and soul intact” while trying to make the best out of the situation.

Next is adapt, wherein people have changed enough to survive and grow within this new environment. Then, as time goes by, evolve by developing qualities that are more appropriate to the new normal.

“So this is the story of our lives. Why are we afraid of something that we have been doing for the last 600 million years, which is evolving. This should be in our DNA,” Ureta said. “If you identify

yourself from any of these stages, then we can already start to move forward, start getting unstuck.”

Take a pause

COVID-19 has brought the Philippines and the rest of the world to their knees. Life has grounded to a halt when most of the global community was placed under quarantines to flatten the curve.

The silver lining of a situation where peoples’ movement has been restricted is that some have found

their inner talents and joys while in lockdowns. They had the luxury of time to tap into their “inner baker, chef, carpenter, urban gardener, and even TikTok dancer.”

“For those who spent days upon days just staring at the ceiling or the wall, not even wanting to get up, take a shower, good for you, too, because you’re still here.

You didn’t give up, and you allowed yourself time to just be. We don’t lose our self-worth just because we’re standing still,” Ureta said.

What the pandemic and lockdowns have taught people, according to her, is the importance of taking a pause at some point of their lives. “[These] remind ourselves that we are human beings and not human doings. And this is why we have to take a conscious step backwards and reclaim our power. Our true power lies not in being able to control all the moving parts of our given situation, but our power is in the ability not to be controlled by them,” Ureta stressed.

Young Americans are partying hard and spreading Covid-19 quickly Continued from A1

Curfew

OFFICIALS around the nation are trying their best. On Wednesday, Miami Beach instituted a 12:30 a.m. curfew. California closed restaurants, bars, museums and movie theaters in 19 counties, including Los Angeles.

Arizona and Texas had already closed their bars. Madison, Wisconsin, and surrounding Dane County did the same on Wednesday following a surge in cases. Over roughly two weeks in June, 614 people in the county tested positive, almost half of them from the ages of 18 to 25.

Of those cases, 132 people traced their infection to bars.

“Gathering in bars in particular is a concern because groups of people mix, bars are often loud spaces that require loud talking to communicate [which can spread infectious droplets farther], alcohol impairs the judgment of patrons, and people often are not able to identify or provide contact information for the people they were in close contact with,” the local public health office said in a statement.

Packed clubs and high-school ragers are obvious dangers. But many cooped-up people in their late teens and 20s have engaged in what they thought were lower-risk activities only to be unpleasantly surprised.

Sequoia Gregory, a 17-year-old in Eugene, Oregon, got to see her friends for the first time two weeks ago. She was in isolation for four months. They kept their distance, particularly because Gregory’s mother has stage 4 colon cancer and Gregory worried about mak-

ing her sicker still. She’s glad she did: Turns out that her friends had been hanging out with people who tested positive after a house party.

Younger people are far less likely to die from Covid-19 than those 65 and older. And because testing was initially limited to those who were hospitalized, the drop in median age may be partially attributable to increased access to tests.

“It’s hard to assign causality to some of the aspects of this, but there is no question that it’s a real uptick in cases and that’s not simply a reflection of testing,” said Caroline Buckee, associate director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

‘Extremely ill’

IN Houston, where hospitals have been strained by the influx of patients, many young people are in intensive care, David Persse, the city’s director of emergency medical services, said during a media briefing Monday.

“They are extremely ill,” Persse said. “If they’re thinking, ‘I’ll get sick and then I’ll get over it,’ recognize that 15 percent of the people in ICUs now are in their 20s and 30s.”

Simran Bal, a 23-year-old Chicago resident, fears the only way some of her peers will get the message is if a close friend gets severely ill.

“It’s pretty disheartening to say that I feel like extreme measures are the only way people are going to get the idea,” said Bal, who has to navigate crowded pubs when she picks up orders for Door Dash.

That’s part of the reason

A LARGE crowd fills the beach in Manasquan, New Jersey, on June 28, 2020.

With large crowds expected at the Jersey Shore for the July Fourth weekend, some are worried that a failure to heed mask-wearing and social distancing protocols could accelerate the spread of the coronavirus. AP/WAYNE PARRY

21-year-old Kate Capitano plans to be especially careful when she returns to the University of North Carolina this fall, even though she’ll be surrounded by students and not aging relatives.

“Our biggest thing is getting people to be able to socially distance inside the house,” said Capitano, who’s president of the Alpha

Delta Pi sorority chapter. Each room will house just two women versus the typical four, she said, and there won’t be any social functions at bars.

One way public health officials can help prevent the type of lockdown-burnout that may have led young people to flock to bars and parties is by emphasiz-

ing risk reduction, said Catherine Troisi, an epidemiologist at the UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston.

“As we know with sex education, abstinence doesn’t work that well,” she said. “It’s really about risk reduction, not holing yourself up in your bedroom for weeks.”

But Lily Scott, an 18-year-old

Austinite, said she’s probably going to cancel a trip with friends to the beach town of Port Aransas as cases in Texas climb.

“It’s hard to see our generation being represented this way, because so many of us are being cautious and trying to flatten the curve,” she said. “I’m trying to be a team player.”

EAKKACHAI HALANG/DREAMSTIME.COM

Continued from A1

www.businessmirror.com.ph

World Companies BusinessMirror

With Google antitrust case looming, states split on investigation strategy

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ith the US Justice Department nearing a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.’s Google for antitrust violations, a coalition of states that are conducting a parallel investigation are divided over the best strategy for taking on the Internet giant, according to people familiar with the matter.

While the multistate investigation into Google’s dominance of the digital advertising market is in its final stages, some state attorneys general are advocating to take more time to investigate Google’s conduct in other markets and potentially bring a broader case against the company, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter.

The disagreement could affect whether states join a Justice Depar tment complaint about Google. Like the states, federal antitrust enforcers have been investigating whether Google is thwarting competition in the digital advertising market, where it holds a commanding position.

T h e Ju s t i c e D e p a r t m e nt , which is coordinating with the states, wants to move quickly, two of the people said, and is on track to file a complaint this summer, another person said, t hough it w a sn’t c lea r wh at conduct the complaint will ultimately target. The department declined to comment.

“While we continue to engage with ongoing investigations, our focus is on creating free products that lower costs for small businesses and help Americans every day,” Google said in a statement.

State attorneys general can play a pivotal role in enforcement cases against companies when they band together in group investigations.

They joined the Justice Department in suing Microsoft Corp. in 1998 for antitrust violations. The case nearly led to the break-up of the company when a judge sided with the government. After an appeals court reversed the ruling, the Justice Department under the George W. Bush administration settled the case.

Two people familiar with the states’ investigation said the split among the states reflects normal tension about the best

litigation strategy. A broad complaint would cover more conduct but would take more time to complete.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading the investigation into Google’s conduct in the digital advertising market, which was announced in September on the steps of the Supreme Court. Other states, including Utah and Iowa, are focusing on Internet search. Google dominates Web search in the US, and rivals have complained that the company has prioritized its own services, such as travel and restaurant reviews, in results.

Texas declined to comment.

Representatives from Utah and Iowa didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The digital advertising part of the probe focuses on Google’s control of the tools that deliver display ads across the Web. Google owns much of the technology used by publishers and advertisers to buy and sell advertising space. Google has been accused of using its dominance to siphon advertising dollars from publishers.

Texas is in the later stages of its probe in advertising and could join the Justice Department’s case with some states, said two of the people. States are still waiting to get a full look into the federal complaint, one of the people said.

The investigations are so complex that few among the enforcers have a sense of what the Justice Department and all the states are doing, two of the people said.

The investigation into online search is not advanced as far as Texas’s probe into the digital ad market, and some states are pushing for more time to investigate, said the people. At one point, states were also looking at the company’s mobile operating system, Bloomberg reported last year, though it wasn’t clear whether that is an active part of the investigation.

The chief executive officer of Google search rival DuckDuckGo Inc. said last month that state and federal enforcers have asked detailed questions about how to limit Google’s power in the search market as recently as the spring.

Bloomberg News

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being “beer-making heroes” and encouraging them to keep 2 meters apart. The penthouse bar, which had a dozen taps including Camden Town lager and Goose Island ales, has been closed.

Employees’ temperatures will be checked before they enter the building, near Saint Paul’s Cathedral. The brewer has stockpiled thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer at its breweries, and batches will be periodically shipped to the head office.

Only every second desk will be available to use.

Frugal culture

Staying shut and broadly embracing remote working— as some tech companies have said they’ll do in the wake of Covid-19—was never an option for AB InBev, which is known for a frugal, hardworking culture that’s made it the most profitable player in the industry. Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito has lectured business students about how workplace pressure can yield outsized productivity and how he’d rather not hear about

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HSBC pledges investments in China as tension escalates

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SBC Holdings Plc. pledged to boost investments in China to capture more wealth and retail clients even as political tension escalates after Beijing launched sweeping new security legislation to crack down on Hong Kong.

The bank, which has come under fire over its support for the legislation, announced Friday it was starting a new service to provide customers in mainland China with digital wealth and insurance planning services. It will initially cover new customers in Guangzhou and Shanghai, according to a statement. The bank is also establishing a fintech company to support its business.

At a time of increasing political turmoil, China’s rapidly growing middle and upper class is still the grand prize for banking giants across the world, with

households sitting on about 90 trillion yuan ($12.7 trillion) in investable assets. Firms from UBS Group AG to Nomura Holdings Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG have identified wealth management as a prime focus for their onshore businesses amid a market opening.

“These new investments mark HSBC’s continued efforts to capture high-growth opportunities in Asia, particularly in mainland China, the region’s biggest wealth pool and one of the world’s largest insurance markets,” said Greg Hingston, HSBC’s head of

wealth and personal banking in Asia-Pacific.

London-based HSBC, which makes a bulk of its revenue in Asia, is walking a political tightrope in its attempts to further push into the world’s most populous nation.

The bank last month endorsed China’s new security law and is now drawing further criticism, as the broad scope of the legislation was unveiled this week.

The US Senate on Thursday gave final approval to legislation that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials cracking down on dissent in Hong Kong.

The legislation also provides for sanctions against financial institutions working with Chinese officials who are determined by the US to be interfering in Hong Kong affairs. The bill heads to President Donald J. Trump for his signature or veto.

W hile authorities in Beijing are mov ing to quel l dissent, they are also opening up more business in Hong Kong. Regulators including the People’s Bank of China announced in June the

kick off of a long anticipated program called Wealth Management Connect, which will allow residents in Hong Kong, Macau and southern China to invest across the border.

HSBC’s push for wealthy clients dovetails with Chief Executive Noel Quinn’s plan to deploy more resources into Asia as the group cuts jobs and underperforming businesses in Europe and the US as part of a massive overhaul.

In a statement on its official WeChat account last month, the London-based bank pledged to continue to invest and support the Chinese economy after the local media reported that its layoff plan means that HSBC may put an end to its China business.

Earlier this year, HSBC combined its retail banking and wealth management, and private banking businesses with $1.3 trillion in assets. Its private banking unit said in March that it targets to triple the number of billionaire clients in Greater China in the next three years. Bloomberg News

Tesla Q2 deliveries rise over Q1 despite factory shutdown

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ETROIT—Tesla says it delivered more electric vehicles worldwide in the second quarter than it did in the first. The increase came even though coronavirus restrictions forced it to shut down its only US factory for much of the period.

The company says it delivered 90,650 vehicles from April through June as it rolled out the new Model Y SUV in the US and China. That’s a 2.5-percent increase over the first quarter’s 88,400. But it was a 4.8-percent drop from the second quarter of 2019, when Tesla delivered 95,200 vehicles.

Coronavirus restrictions adopted in the San Francisco Bay Area forced Tesla to close its only US assembly plant

in Fremont, California, for almost two months starting March 23. It didn’t reopen until May 11.

The Palo Alto, California, company said it delivered 10,600 of its older Models, the S sedan and X SUV. The newer Y small SUV and Model 3 smaller car accounted for the bulk of the sales at 80,050.

The sales performance beat Wall Street estimates of 72,000 for the second quarter, according to FactSet. It came with a feverish push to crank out and sell more vehicles in the US, and it gives the company a shot at breaking even when second-quarter financial results are released.

The push came with numerous quality problems reported on Tesla owner

Budweiser brewer turns off taps at post-lockdown London office ust as British pubs reopen, the world’s biggest brewer is shutting the bar in its London offices.

That’s just one of the changes in store as AnheuserBusch InBev NV prepares to welcome employees back to its UK headquarters site.

The move makes the brewer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona one of the first major employers—aside from banks—to repopulate London’s financial district more than three months after coronavirus lockdowns began.

AB InBev will reopen its doors on Monday, two days after pubs. The beer giant worked with social norms professors to refurbish its offices, providing a window into what to expect from big companies elsewhere if and when their headquarters get back to business under the new normal.

About 100 workers in AB InBev’s advance guard—onethird of the London site’s total staff—will be greeted by posters featuring cartoon characters thanking them for

Sunday, July 5, 2020

his employees having “fun,” something he’s said is more appropriate for the beach.

Nurturing that zeal has become especially important after beer sales plunging amid the closure of many of the world’s bars and nightclubs.

It would be harder to do from home than within the confines of an office, the company says.

“It would be a real loss to us if we were to be a fully remote business,” Cara Sargeantson, who works in human resources and is one of 15 employees managing the return to the London office, said in an interview. “A massive part of it for us is our culture. If this went on for any degree of time, we would lose that.”

The company, which has a brewery in the former virus epicenter of Wuhan, China, was one of the first employers to reopen its Shanghai building.

The windows are opened three times a day for ventilation, the canteen is disinfected twice a day, packages are sanitized with alcohol spray, and employees are asked to clean their

mobile phones and keys with disinfectant wipes once home.

Asian sites

Almost all of AB InBev’s offices in Asia have reopened in a limited capacity, as have sites in Mexico and Colombia. AB InBev has also been one of the driving forces funding the nightlife industry’s return to a sense of normalcy, providing thousands of bars with financial support and reopening kits packed with protective equipment and suggested layouts that comply with social distancing guidelines.

“We really followed China and Korea closely,” Lindsay King, the vice president for people continuity, said in a video interview from the company’s New York office as she took a break from laying arrows on the floor for a one-way system to prepare for reopening this month. “We’ve got stacks and stacks of masks and sanitization products. We’re actually in our ripped jeans and running shoes right now, ready to do the dirty work and get everything up and going.” Bloomberg News

forums and social media.

Many Model Y buyers reported rejecting their SUVs due to mismatched paint and body panels that didn’t fit properly. Many others reported that their vehicles were flawless.

At the end of the second quarter, CEO Elon Musk told employees in an e-mailed note that prospects for the company breaking even for the period are tight, and he’s asked them to go all-out to make it happen.

In the message to Tesla’s roughly 48,000 workers, Musk wrote that it “really makes a difference for every car you build and deliver.”

In the first quarter, the company eked out a $16-million net profit, its third-straight profitable quarter.

At the opening bell, Tesla’s share price shot up 8.7 percent to $1,216.65.

“While our main factory in Fremont was shut down for much of the quarter, we have successfully ramped production back to prior levels,” Tesla said in a statement on Thursday.

The second-quarter numbers bring Tesla’s sales for the first half of the year to 185,850, behind the pace needed to meet Musk’s brash prediction of selling more than 500,000 cars for the year. That would be significantly higher than the company’s sales of 367,500 last year.

The sales figures came one day after Tesla’s market capitalization surpassed Toyota to become the world’s most valuable auto company. AP

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The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, July 5, 2020

Trump threatens ‘decoupling’ as US-China feud gets nasty

By Jennifer A. Dlouhy & Todd Shields

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Bloomberg News

he US and China are moving beyond bellicose trade threats to exchanging regulatory punches that threaten a wide range of industries including technology, energy and air travel.

The two countries have blacklisted each other’s companies, barred flights and expelled journalists. The unfolding skirmish is starting to make companies nervous the trading landscape could shift out from under them.

“There are many industries where US companies have made long-term bets on China’s future because the market is so promising and so big,” said Myron Brilliant, the US Chamber of Commerce’s head of international affairs. Now, they’re “recognizing the risk.”

China will look to avoid measures that could backfire, said Shi Yinhong, an adviser to the nation’s Cabinet and a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. Any sanctions on US companies would be a “last resort” because China “is in desperate need of foreign investment from rich countries for both economic and political reasons.”

Pressure is only expected to intensify ahead of the US elections in November, as President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden joust over who will take a tougher line on China.

Trump has blamed China for covering up the coronavirus pandemic he has mocked as “Kung Flu,” accused Beijing of “illicit espionage to steal our industrial secrets” and threatened the US could pursue a “complete decoupling” from the country. Biden, likewise, has described President Xi Jinping as a thug, labeled mass detention of Uighur Muslims as unconscionable and accused China of predatory trade practices.

And on Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats have found rare unity in their opposition to China, with lawmakers eager to take action against Beijing for its handling of Covid-19, forced technology transfers, humanrights abuses and its tightening grip on Hong Kong.

“China is going to be a punching bag in the campaign,” said Capital Alpha Partners’ Byron Callan. “But China is a punching bag that can punch back.”

China has repeatedly rejected US accusations over its handling of the pandemic, Uighurs, Hong Kong and trade, and it has fired back at the Trump administration for undermining global cooperation and seeking to start a “new cold war.” Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month said China had no interest in replacing the US as a hegemonic power, while adding that the US should give up its “wishful thinking” of changing the country.

Both sides have already taken a series of regulatory moves aimed at protecting market share.

The US is citing security concerns in blocking China Mobile Ltd., the world’s largest mobile operator, from entering the US market. It’s culling Chinese-made drones from government fleets and discouraging the deployment of Chinese transformers on the power grid. The Trump administration has also tried to constrain the global reach of China’s Huawei Technologies Co., the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer.

Meanwhile, China prevented US airline flights into the country for more than two months and, after the US imposed visa restrictions on Chinese journalists, it expelled American journalists. It has stepped up its scrutiny of US companies, with China’s state news agency casting one probe as a warning to the White House. China also has long made it difficult for US telecommunications companies to enter its market, requiring overseas operators to co-invest with local firms and requiring authorization by the central government.

One of the most combustible flash points has been the Trump administration’s campaign to contain Huawei by seeking to limit the company’s business in the US and push allies to shun its gear in their networks.

The US Federal Communications Commission moved to block devices made by Huawei and ZTE Corp. from being used in US networks. And the Commerce Department has placed Huawei on blacklists aimed at preventing the Chinese company from using US technology for the chips that power its network gear, including tech from suppliers Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Inc. A f ter suppl iers fou nd workarounds, Commerce in May tightened rules to bar any chipmaker using American equipment from selling to Huawei without US approval. The step could constrain virtually the entire contract chipmaking industry, which uses equipment from US vendors such as Applied Materials Inc., Lam Research Corp. and KLA Corp. in wafer fabrication plants.

The curbs also threaten to cripple Huawei. Although the company can buy off-the-shelf or commodity mobile chips from a third party such as Samsung Electronics Co. or MediaTek Inc., going that route would force it to make costly compromises

on performance in basic products.

Huawei was on a list the Pentagon unveiled last week of companies it says are owned or controlled by China’s military, opening them to increased scrutiny. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing accused the Trump administration of “violating the very market economy principle the US champions.”

“We are strongly opposed to this,” the foreign ministry said on Sunday in response to question last week about the Pentagon’s designation.

“China urges the US to stop suppressing Chinese companies without reason and provide a fair, just and non-discriminator y environment for Chinese companies to operate normally in the US.” After the new restrictions, the editor of the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper tweeted that China would retaliate using an “unreliable entities list” that it first threatened at the height of the trade war last year.

Although China didn’t identify companies on the list, the Global Times has cited a source close to the Chinese government as saying US bellwethers such as Apple Inc. and Qualcomm could be targeted.

The fallout could extend to companies heavily reliant on Chinese supply chains, as well consumer-facing brands eager to expand sales in Asia.

Boeing Co., which recorded $5.7 billion of revenue from China in 2019, and Tesla Inc., the biggest US carmaker operating independently in China, are among companies most exposed if relations sour further. “ We’re play ing in a much w ider field now,” said Jim Lucier, manag ing d irector of resea rc h f ir m Capital A lpha Partners. “ We’re not simply talking about ‘you tariff me’ and ‘I tariff you.’ The play ing field is virtually unlimited.”

Planes and automobiles

US automakers have also been singed.

In June, China fined Ford Motor Co.’s main joint venture in the country for antitrust violations, saying Changan Ford Automobile Co. had restricted retailers’ sale prices since 2013.

Aviation has been another source of tension, as both countries squabble over access to their skies. China’s decision to limit US airlines operations to those services scheduled as of March 12 hurt carriers such as United Airlines Holdings Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., and American Airlines Group Inc. that had suspended passenger flights to and from China because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The US responded earlier this month by initially threatening to ban all flights from China, then relenting to allow two flights weekly once Chinese officials eased their restrictions. Now, in what appears to be a staged de-escalation, China gave US passenger carriers permission to operate four weekly flights to the country and earlier this month, the Trump administration matched the move by also authorizing four flights from Chinese airlines.

It’s happening outside of aviation too. Consider the US government’s decision to seize a half-ton, Chinesemade electrical transformer when it

arrived at an American port last year and divert the gear to a national lab instead of the Colorado substation where it was supposed to be deployed.

That move—and a May executive order from Trump authorizing the blockade of electric grid gear supplied by “foreign adversaries” of the US in the name of national security—have already sent shock waves through the power sector.

The effect has been to dissuade American utilities from buying Chinese equipment to replace aging components in the nation’s electrical grid, said Jim Cai, the US representative for Jiangsu Huapeng Transformer Co., the company whose delivery was seized. Although Cai said the firm has supplied parts to private utilities and government-run grid operators in the US for nearly 15 years without security complaints, at least one American utility has since canceled a transformer award to the company, Cai said.

Trump’s directive is tied to a broader effort to bring more manufacturing to the US from China. “This is a part of the administration’s efforts to impair China’s supply chains into the United States,” said former White House adviser Mike McKenna.

Escalating tensions could jeopardize the US economic recovery, as well as China’s trade commitment to purchase $200 billion in American goods and services. Trump declared on Twitter last week that the pact “is fully intact,” adding: “Hopefully they will continue to live up to the terms of the Agreement!”

It may also affect the November presidential election. Former US national security adviser John Bolton alleges in a new book that Trump asked Xi to help him win reelection by buying more farm products—a claim the White House has dismissed as untrue.

“I don’t expect one single blow to send this relationship in a tailspin,” the chamber’s Brilliant said. “Each side will calibrate their reactions in a way that will not tip the scales too far.”

Take the recent spat over media access. After the US designated five Chinese media companies as “foreign missions,” China revoked press credentials for three Wall Street Journal staff members over an article with a headline describing China as the “real sick man of Asia.”

Then the Trump administration ordered Chinese state-owned news outlets to slash staff working in the US. Beijing responded in March by effectively expelling more than a dozen US journalists working in China.

Both the US and China have ample opportunities to ratchet up regulatory pressure. A bill passed by the Senate last month could prompt the delisting of Chinese companies from US stock exchanges if American officials aren’t allowed to review their financial audits.

And last week, as the US State Department imposed visa bans on Chinese Communist Party officials accused of infringing the freedom of Hong Kong citizens, a senior official made clear the move was just an opening salvo in a campaign to force Beijing to back off new restrictions on the city. Bloomberg News

Hot news cycle leads CNN to best ratings in 40 years

N

EW YORK—An extraordinary stretch of news with the coronavirus pandemic and racial reckoning triggered by George Floyd’s death has led CNN to its biggest audience for any three-month period in the network’s 40-year history.

Fox News Channel and MSNBC also had recordsetting quarters ending in June, according to the Nielsen company. But CNN’s audience increased at a higher pace than its rivals, and it is also seeing strong numbers for its digital operation.

The news is welcome at a network that has been relentlessly attacked for four years by President Donald Trump and his allies, who often mocked CNN as “failing.”

“All of our research shows we are the most trusted name in news,” Jeff Zucker, chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports and CNN chief executive, said on Wednesday. “Others may not believe that, others may scoff at that, the president of the United States makes fun of it, but it’s true.”

CNN’s weekday prime-time audience of 1.95 million was up 120 percent over the same period last year, Nielsen said. Fox News, which has led in the ratings for nearly two decades, had an average of 4.07 million viewers, a 43-percent increase, while MSNBC’s count of 2.47 million was up 13 percent from 2019.

They are routinely the three most-watched networks on all of cable TV. For the total day, CNN’s viewership was up 119 percent over 2019, Fox jumped by 48 percent and MSNBC by 34 percent.

“We are a news organization that is built for this kind of time,” Zucker said. “The others in this space are political talk channels, and so even when they’re talking about these stories, they’re talking about the politics of the stories. We’re talking about the news of the stories.”

That comment rankled MSNBC President Phil Griffin, who said his network brings an unmatched level of smart, in-depth analysis.

“Our reporters are at the heart of the story,

putting themselves in harm’s way every day,” Griffin said. “They’re doing a hell of a lot more than ‘political talk.’”

Fox News did not have an immediate comment.

CNN has its share of political talk, especially on its increasingly opinionated prime-time lineup of Anderson Cooper, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon.

But when politics is the dominant story, that plays more to the strength of Fox and MSNBC, said news consultant Andrew Heyward, a former CBC News president. CNN, meanwhile, can tap a wider network of news affiliates in the United States and has a much larger reporting staff overseas, and that has been invaluable for the pandemic and racial stories, he said.

“CNN built its reputation on broad coverage of breaking news,” Heyward said.

During the breaking stories, CNN responded by assigning more of its top people, like Wolf Blitzer, to weekend work. It has simulcast the CNN International network overnight in the US,

Zucker said.

He said everything the president and his administration have tweeted about CNN has been proven false.

“More people are watching us than at any time in 40 years,” he said. “The mere fact that there’s a handful of people left in Washington who can’t figure that out is not our problem.”

A survey this past winter by the Pew Research Center pointed to some potential problems for CNN, particularly with the greater emphasis on opinion in prime time. A Pew survey in 2014 found that 33 percent of Republicans said they didn’t trust CNN, a number that leaped to 58 percent in questioning last November.

Zucker said that CNN’s own research indicated that increased level of mistrust was the result of Trump’s attacks. The ratings of the past three months proved those viewers still return to CNN when there is important news, he said.

“There are no red flags,” he said. AP

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Can Facebook weather the advertising boycott?

By Barbara Ortutay

Ap Technology Writer

O

n July 1, 2020, more than 500 companies officially kicked off an advertising boycott intended to pressure Facebook into taking a stronger stand against hate speech. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to meet with its organizers early next week.

But whether Zuckerberg agrees to further tighten the social network’s carefully crafted rules probably boils down to a more fundamental question: Does Facebook need big brand advertisers more than the brands need Facebook?

In a broad sense, the current boycott, which will last at least a month, is like nothing Facebook has experienced before. Following weeks of protests against police violence and racial injustice, major brands have for the first time joined together to protest still-prevalent hate speech on Facebook’s platforms by taking aim at the social network’s $70 billion in annual ad revenue.

After years of piecemeal measures to address hate, abuse and misinformation on its service, Facebook’s critics hope that pinching the company where it hurts will push it toward more meaningful change. As of Wednesday, 530 companies have signed on—and that’s not counting businesses like Target and Starbucks, which have paused advertising but did not formally join the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign, which calls its action a “pause” rather than a boycott.

“Many businesses told us how they had been ignored when asking Facebook for changes,” campaign organizers wrote in a letter to advertisers this week.

“Together, we finally got Facebook’s attention.”

But Facebook’s already-tarnished public image may sustain more damage than its business. If the ad pause lasts one month, Citi Investment Research analyst Jason Bazinet estimates, the likely impact on Facebook’s stock will be $1 per share. Based on Wednesday’s closing price of $237.92, that’s a decline of less than half a percent.

If the businesses ex tend their boycott indefinitely, Bazinet suggests the likely impact would be $17 a share, or about a 7-percent decline.

That’s less than the 8-percent drop Facebook shares sustained on Friday after global consumer-products maker Unilever said it would pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the rest of the year.

Also, Facebook shares have already bounced back from that dip.

On Wednesday, Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice

president of global affairs and communications, tried to reassure businesses that Facebook “does not benefit from hate” and said the company has every incentive to remove hate speech from its service. He acknowledged that “many of our critics are angry about the inflammatory rhetoric President Trump has posted on our platform and others, and want us to be more aggressive in removing his speech.”

Clegg, however, offered few concessions, and instead repeated Zuckerberg’s frequent talking point that “the only way to hold the powerful to account is ultimately through the ballot box.” He pointed to Facebook’s get-out-the-vote efforts as evidence of the company’s commitment, along with the billions of dollars, tens of thousands of content moderators and other investments it has made in trying to improve its platform.

While Facebook is making efforts to hear out its critics, it remains clear that ultimate decisions will always rest with its founder and CEO, who holds the majority of the company’s voting shares and could effectively run the company for life, should he desire to.

It’s not clear that he’ll see any reason to bend further to meet protesters’ demands.

“Data of past boycotts suggests the observable impact is relatively mild,” said Brian Wieser, global president of business intelligence at GroupM, adver tising holding company WPP ’s media agency arm.

At the same time, he added, given these “extraordinary times,” it’s possible that a long-term, pervasive boycott could shift advertising dollars away from Facebook to other companies.

Beyond bad PR, though, experts say the protest isn’t likely to make a lasting dent in Facebook’s ad revenue, in part because plenty of other advertisers can step in. Stifel analysts said in a note to investors this week that “well over” 70 percent of Facebook’s advertising dollars come from small and mediumsized businesses and “these advertisers may be less concerned with the optics of where their ads are placed than large brands.” Citing data from Pathmatics, Stifel said the top 100 brands spent roughly $4.2 billion on Facebook ads last year, representing around 6 percent of the company’s nearly $70 billion of total ad revenue in 2019.

Facebook hosts more than 8 million advertisers, according to JPMorgan. “We do not expect significant risk to numbers for Facebook as many other marketers...will take advantage of potentially lowerpriced inventory,” JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth wrote in an investor note. AP

Hong Kong bankers recruited

by Taiwan after security law

T

aiwan is ramping up efforts to lure bankers and other skilled workers who want to escape China’s tightening grip on Hong Kong.

Just hours after the financial hub’s controversial new security law came into effect on June 30, Taiwan officially opened an office dedicated to making migration easier for Hong Kong residents and companies. It will provide help with everything from capital raising to school enrollment and arranging accommodation.

“We hope to attract capital and professionals from Hong Kong to Taiwan, especially talent in the financial industry,” Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chen Ming-tong said. The government is also conducting a wide-ranging review of regulations that currently inhibit migration, including the income tax rate.

Taiwan’s government sees a potential exodus of young Hongkongers as a chance to reinvigorate an economy grappling with a peaking population, a worsening shortage of skilled workers and shrinking exports. President Tsai Ing-wen is also looking to follow through with concrete measures to help the territory’s residents after her support for last year’s pro-democracy protests contributed to her overwhelming election victory in January.

Taiwan saw a record pace of immigration and investment from Hong Kong in 2019, a trend that has continued this year. The number of Hongkongers settling in Taiwan between January and May rose 96 percent versus the same period last year, while the number of investments—mostly small-dollar amounts by individuals—climbed 25 percent. Taiwan grants residency to Hongkongers for an investment of as little as NT$6 million ($200,000), less than half the NT$15 million needed for nationals from other countries.

The influx has been welcome news for Taiwan employers. More than 75 percent of local businesses encountered difficulties finding staff with the requisite skills in 2019, up from 45 percent in 2014, according to a survey conducted

by Manpower Group that placed Taiwan alongside Japan as one of the economies with the most severe talent shortages.

One of Taiwan’s biggest economic challenges is its rapidly declining birthrate, according to Chen Chih-jou, a sociology professor at Academia Sinica.

He said the government should amend its laws to

allow Hong Kong students studying in Taiwan to stay on after graduation and find work.

In addition to its sometimes restrictive immigration rules, Taiwan’s comparatively low salaries and high tax rates are potential barriers to attracting Hong Kong talent. The highest bracket of individual income tax in Taiwan is 40 percent, though certain expats are allowed to pay a 20-percent flat rate. That compares with a top rate of 17 percent in Hong Kong. Rates on corporate tax are also slightly higher in Taiwan.

Some Hongkongers may also be turned off by Taiwan’s own contentious relationship with China.

Beijing views the island as an inalienable part of its territory and regularly threatens to impose unification with the mainland through military force. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s claims of sovereignty over the island.

“Like Hong Kong, there is a political risk in Taiwan that emanates from China,” said Wu Jiehmin, a sociologist at Academia Sinica. “It’s not the safest haven.”

One risk for the Tsai administration is that a flood of new immigrants from Hong Kong will push up property prices and make it harder for local college graduates to find well-paying jobs, according to Malte Kaeding, a lecturer at the University of Surrey who specializes in Hong Kong and Taiwanese political identities.

“The arrival of young Hongkongers fleeing from prosecution through the national security law and a deteriorating political situation in Hong Kong, without a well-thought plan, would add pressure on the Taiwanese job market,” Kaeding said.

Despite the hurdles, all signs point toward more Hong Kong-to-Taiwan migration. George Lee, director of Ark International Consultancy, s a i d t h e n u m b e r o f Ho n g Ko n g re s i d e nt s requesting his company’s help to move overseas has doubled since the national security law was first proposed in May. Having outperformed many other countries in keeping the coronavirus under control, Taiwan has become one of the most requested destinations, ahead of traditional favorites such as the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, Lee said. A familiar language and culture, a slower pace of living and a highly regarded health-care system have added to Taiwan’s allure. Bloomberg News

Science

BusinessMirror

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

PHL, Japan experts partner in mapping of mangroves

By Cai U. Ordinario

F

ilipino and Japanese researchers proposed a new mangrove vegetation index (MVI) to map mangroves and maximize its benefits.

The MVI is a mangrove-specific index or measure that distinguishes mangrove areas from other vegetation. The MVI value increases with higher probability of an area being classified as mangroves.

University of the Philippines Diliman Senior Researcher Alvin Baloloy said the data to be used in the MVI will be derived from free satellite images.

“A mangrove mapping index derived from free satellite images is crucial for regular monitoring of our mangrove forests, especially when it is integrated in online mapping platforms like Google Earth Engine,” Baloloy said.

“We have recently simplified a mangrove index that will support rapid and accurate mapping of mangroves that will not only be useful in our study sites in the Philippines and Japan but also in other mangrove-rich countries,” he added.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency said in a statement that this is a joint project of Filipino and Japanese researchers from the University of the Philippines Diliman and Tokyo Institute of Technology.

A scientific paper on the MVI was released this June and is published in the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Journal via ScienceDirect, a global database of scientific and medical journals.

The MVI analyzed the characteristics of mangrove and nonmangrove sites in the Philippines and in Japan and was incorporated in IDL (a scientific

programming language) and Google Earth Engine.

The study developed and implemented two automated platforms: an offline IDL-based MVI Mapper and an online Google Earth Engine-based MVI mapping interface. These platforms can be used to identify and measure areas with mangroves.

The latter was used in generating the latest mangrove extent map of the Philippines—with an estimate of 227,808 hectares for year 2019.

It is estimated that a hectare of mangroves can provide more than $3,200 worth of direct flood-reduction benefits per year, according to the World Bank.

Apar t from this, mangroves help in the absorption of carbon dioxide or blue or organic carbon. When ecosystems are damaged this leads to adverse effects to the environment.

“We aim to leverage our findings to support a Blue Carbon Strategy to help mitigate the impact of extreme weather and other threats to coastal environments and ensure a future worthy for the next generation,” said Nadaoka Kazuo, Japanese chief technical advisor of the BlueCARES project.

The Blue Carbon Strategy refers to the policy framework on blue carbon conservation that can be implemented at the national and local levels.

The development of the MVI also utilized field data from the IAMBlueCECAM Program, the BlueCARES counterpart program in the Philippines.

IAMBlueCECAM stands for Integrated Assessment and Modelling of Blue Carbon Ecosystems for Conservation and Adaptive Management.

The program is funded by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development.

A researcher collects water samples from production and domestic wells in Pampanga to analyze for salinity and possible contamination of the groundwater in the area. PNRI

Isotope techniques used to ensure clean freshwater in Pampanga

T

he new coronavirus pandemic underscores the need for freshwater for health and hygiene. Thus, constant water shortages in various parts of the country are not only inconvenient but also pose a threat to efforts in preventing the spread of Covid-19.

To help ensure that the precious freshwater sources are not only available but also free of salinity contamination, scientists from the University of the Philippines–Diliman (UP Diliman) and the Department of Science and TechnologyPhilippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) used nuclear techniques to analyze where the salinity of the groundwater in different localities in Pampanga province is coming from.

The abstract of the research explained that Pampanga relies heavily on groundwater for freshwater sources.

Wells and other groundwater sources are vital to Pampanga residents’ homes and businesses, according to earlier studies by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

However, seawater coming from Manila Bay may contaminate the fresh groundwater in the coastal municipalities in the southern border of the province.

To help authorities prepare the proper mitigation strategies, the researchers assessed the groundwater in Pampanga on whether its salinity comes from the sea or from other sources.

They studied the isotopes of iodine to learn about the movement between different sources.

Iodine 129, in particular, is a radioactive isotope prominently used in the study. Isotopes are atoms with the same number of protons, but differ in numbers of neutrons.

While Iodine 129 is commonly known as a byproduct of nuclear weapons testing, nuclear fuel reprocessing, or nuclear accidents, it is a suitable tool for tracing because it has distinct signatures in various bodies of water, such as in rain, seawater, river water, and in groundwater.

Out of the 32 samples studied, seven contained elevated traces of salinity. The good news is that none of the samples so far showed salinity from

seawater intrusion from Manila Bay. As it turned out, the salinity of one of the samples was from brine (salty) fossil water trapped underground, one sample from possible wastewater, while the rest were due to evaporation, which actually increases groundwater salinity.

The abstract said: “The results of this study will be helpful to the government, civil society, and other organizations for monitoring, policymaking, and management of the groundwater and the subsurface formations that will be crucial to continuously supply the freshwater needs of the present and future generation.”

Beyond being helpful to zoning, monitoring and crafting of water resources management policies in the country, the results of the study also proved that isotope and nuclear techniques can be applied in other regions with problems in groundwater contamination, the PNRI news release said.

The study was led by Dr. Sunshine Tan of UP Diliman’s Environmental Engineering Program, under the mentorship of Dr. Angel Bautista VII of the DOST-PNRI’s Nuclear Analytical Techniques Applications Section.

The study also received assistance from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Micro Analysis Laboratory, Tandem Accelerator of the University of Tokyo, where the samples were analyzed.

Tan is a grantee of DOST-PNRI’s Graduate Student Research Grant Program (GSRGP). Her dissertation went on to win First Place for Best Oral Presentation Award at the 2019 International Conference on Environmental Radioactivity in Prague, Czech Republic, with participants from 41 countries.

The PNRI GSRGP is a research grant program implemented by DOST-PNRI and funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development.

The study was published recently published in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity.

S&T Media Service

Sunday

Sunday, July 5, 2020 A5

Pagasa: 10 to 14 typhoons to hit PHL from July to Dec

A

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

n estimated 10 to 14 tropical cyclones or typhoons may enter the country or develop between July to December this year, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

In a recent webinar, Pagasa senior research analyst Ana Lisa Solis presented an outlook of the country’s rainfall in the next six months.

For July, she said the country will experience generally near normal rainfall conditions, except for some patches of below-normal rainfall over western Luzon, Bicol, Mindoro provinces and some parts of the Visayas.

Solis, who belongs to the Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section (CLIMPS) unit of Pagasa, said August will have generally near- to above-normal rainfall condition in most parts of the country, except for the provinces in northern and Central Luzon, while the National Capital Region and parts of Calabarzon will probably experience below normal rainfall condition.

“September will have a generally near normal rainfall condition for the whole country,” added Solis.

In October, Solis said the country will experience a near-normal rainfall condition except for some patches of below-normal rainfall over Ilocos Norte.

Solis said the country will have a generally near- to above-normal rainfall condition in November, except for some patches of belownormal rainfall over Ilocos and parts of Central Luzon.

In December, Solis said the country will have a normal to above-normal rainfall condition, while above normal conditions will be likely in most parts of Visayas and Mindanao.

“Generally near to above average temperature is predicted in most areas of the countr y during the forecast period except for slightly below average temperatures in July in some areas of Luzon and the Visayas,” Solis said.

Meanwhile, CLIMPS also gave its forecast of tropical cyclone fre-

Pagasa said the Philippines will have two to four tropical cyclones or typhoons this July. The graph shows the possible direction of the typhoon. Pagasa Facebook page

quency from July to December of this year.

Solis said July will have the biggest number of tropical cyclones with an average of two to four, while August to October are projected to have two or three each month. November and December are expected to have two or three tropical cyclones.

On maximum temperature, Pagasa gave its forecast for northern Luzon, lowlands Luzon, mountainous Luzon, Metro Manila, lowlands Visayas, lowlands Mindanao and mountainous Mindanao in July.

Northern Luzon will also have a hot temperature average starting from 32.8 degrees Celsius to 40.2°C, while lowland Luzon will

also have a warm temperature from 30.6°C to 38.7°C. Residents of mountainous Luzon will experience colder weather with an average of 25.3 degrees C to 27.4 degrees C. Metro Manilans will have a warm temperature that with a range from 33.7 degrees C to 36.3 to degrees C. The lowlands of the Visayas will also be warm with an average of 32.6 degrees C and 36.9 degrees C, while lowlands Mindanao will be in almost in the same situation with an average of 32.6°C and 36.2°C. Meanwhile, the mountainous Mindanao will be surprisingly warm with an average of 30.8°C and 32.8°C.

NAST announces its new members T

By Lyn Resurreccion

h e National Academy of Science and Te c h n o l o g y P h i l i p p i n e s ( N A S T PHL ) recently announced its new members and corresponding members, whose names were added to the roster of its current 101 academicians.

The new NAST PHL members include Arnel N. del Barrio, PhD (Ruminant Nutrition), Charlotte M. Chiong, MD (Otolaryngology) and PhD (Medical Sciences), Christopher P. Monterola, PhD (Physics), Maribel G. Nonato, PhD (Chemistry), and Windell L. Rivera, PhD (Medical Sciences).

The new corresponding members are Francis L. de los Reyes III, PhD (Environmental Engineering), Gonzalo C. Serafica, PhD (Chemical Engineering), Ramon B. Gustilo, MD (Or thopaedics), and Annabelle P. Villalobos, PhD (Chemistry).

The new academicians were presented during the recent first #PilipiNAST Virtual Kapehan.

Membership to the NAST is based on peer recognition and carries with it the title of “Academician,” its web site said.

Resident Filipino scientists who have made exemplary contributions to science and technology and have advanced its cause in the Philippines are elected as Academicians.

Corresponding membership, on the other hand, is conferred on nonresident Filipino scientists who have made exemplary contributions to the advancement of science and technology and have continuing connections and contributions to Philippine science. They regularly come to the Philippines to practice their field of expertise.

Filipino citizenship and residency are waived as long as the three qualifications are met.

Members

Del Barrio: He is currently the executive director of Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture.

Under his leadership, PCC was given the “2018 Outstanding Institution Award” by the National Research Council of the Philippines and the “Bronze Awardee of PRIME-HRM” for having managed and implemented the processes under the four core HRM Systems.

In addition, PCC was recognized as the 3rd among the Top Performers of the Department of Agriculture in terms of obligation for the fiscal year 2018.

TUV SUD Asia Pacific also certified the PCC National Headquarters and Gene Pool for its compliance with the integrated systems of quality management (ISO 9001:2015), environmental

management (ISO 14001:2015) and occupational health and safety (OHSAS 18001:2007). PCC likewise forged meaningful partnerships and collaborations with both national and international institutions.

Chiong: She is an internationally recognized exper t in the field of otolar yngology. Her researches in otology and neurotology-skull base surgery have been very beneficial to the advancement of knowledge in these fields in the country and abroad.

She pioneered in cochlear implantation surgery and other implantable hearing devices in the Philippines for the surgical restoration of hearing, especially in deaf children.

The founding director of the Newborn Hearing Screening Reference Center, she was a former director of the Philippine National Ear Institute and was responsible for the modernization of the Philippine General Hospital Ear Unit.

Recognizing that there are eight Filipinos born deaf daily and a cost of P4 million per deaf child not given intervention, she led the researches that became the basis of Republic Act 9709, or the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention Act of 2009.

Monterola: He holds an Aboitiz Chair in Data Science at the Asian Institute of Management where he is also a professor and the head of the Aboitiz School of Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, under which is an advanced analytics industr y-facing research lab—the Analytics, Computing, and Complex Systems (ACCeSs) lab where Chris is the pioneering executive managing director.

Since its inception in March 2018, ACCeSs@ AIM has won prestigious international awards, including the 2019 Times Higher Education Innovation of the Year, considered as the “Oscars in Education.”

In 2018, the research lab received the Innovation that Inspires Award from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business for championing industry-government-academia partnerships through research and development and “technopreneurship.”

Nonato: She carried out pioneering research on the pandanus or pandan grown in the Philippines. The discovery of novel pandanus alkaloids became a significant contribution to the chemistry of alkaloids. It established the Genus Pandanus as new sources of alkaloids.

Nonato’s researches in pandanus has been acknowledged by her peers in the Asian communities. The P. amar yllifolius alkaloids

showed antibacterial activity while the leaves of showed blood sugar lowering, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. Growth on pandanus researches ranging from systematics, phytochemicals, and biological studies was observed from 1994 to 2018.

Rivera: He has significantly contributed to the advancement of microbiology in the Philippines.

His most important scientific accomplishment is his pioneering work on the development of a diagnostic tool to accurately differentiate the morphologically identical yet genetically distinct Entamoeba species, the amebiasis- causing Entamoeba histolytica and the nonpathogenic Entamoeba dispar.

His research publications have been cited by many authors around the globe working on molecular diagnostics and epidemiology of these protozoan parasites.

The protocol he developed is now being used to accurately diagnose and document the prevalence of these intestinal parasites in a number of E. histolytica-endemic countries, including his own research group in the Philippines.

Recently, his group has also developed a rapid and accurate detection kit for amebiasis patients through the use of salivary IgA which received a Philippine patent in 2015.

Corresponding members:

De los Reyes: He has pioneered the integrated use of molecular microbial and biotechnological tools with biological process engineering to improve analysis, design, and operation of engineered and natural systems for converting waste to energy and resources.

He has developed and applied leading-edge molecular (DNA- and RNA-based) techniques, mathematical modeling, and lab- and field-scale experiments on several important environmental bioprocesses.

These bioprocesses include: activated sludge systems for treating industrial and domestic wastewater, anaerobic systems for converting liquid and solid wastes to energy and valuable products, deposit formation in sewer lines, photobioreactors for biofuel production, and microbial transformations in pit latrines, soils, and natural treatment systems.

Gustilo: His international reputation as a leader in the field of orthopaedic surgery was first gained through his landmark research in classifying open fractures, and recommending treatment based on classification.

The Gustilo Classification of Open Fractures was

instrumental in improving the care and outcome of severe fractures throughout the world. His paper on fracture classification is one of the most cited articles in orthopaedic surgery literature.

His leadership in the care of patients with orthopaedic injuries led him to establish the O r t h o p a e d i c Tra u m a H o s p i t a l A s s o c i at i o n and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association. He was the founding president of both of these organizations.

Serafica: A microbial cellulose scientist, he holds 10 US patents and 13 international patents covering permanent implants, such as a dura substitute (brain patch), soft tissue replacements, adhesion barriers and artificial skin.

H i s b i o m ate r i a l s re s e a rc h f o c u s e d o n production optimization and product development which he started during his PhD in Chemical Engineering (Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, 1997).

He has over 20 years of experience with technology commercialization and intellectual property development. In 1996, he co-founded Xylos Corp. and led the venture as VP for Research and Development. He also served as VP Intellectual Property and Technology (2005-2012).

Xylos Corp. is a venture capital backed company that has invested more than $25 million in developing various microbial cellulose-derived medical devices. Its portfolio includes seven US FDA-cleared products.

Villalobos: B efore giving back to the Philippines, she is a technical expert lead in an important blockbuster biotech drug Eprex of Johnson & Johnson. Eprex saves lives and marketed worldwide for anemia of chronic renal failure, chemotherapy in cancer, AIDS and autologous donation for perisurgery.

She also did technical support to other Johnson & Johnson drugs Orthoclone OKT3 against organ rejection, and Remicade for rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, Chron’s disease, and ankylosing spondylitis.

42nd Annual Scientific Meeting

Nast Philippines President, Academician Rhodora V. Azanza announced that the academicians will have their 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting from July 8 to 10 via Zoom with the theme “Science and Technology for the Society: Solutions to Long-Standing Concerns.”

NAST PHL is an attached agency to the Department of Science and Technology mandated by law to advise the president and the Cabinet on matters related to S&T.

Faith A6 Sunday, July 5, 2020

Sunday

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

Pope: In life’s ups and downs, make prayer your constant

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ATICAN—King David is an example of being consistent in prayer no matter what life throws at you or what good or bad you do, Pope Francis said during his general audience this past week.

Prayer “is able to ensure the relationship with God, who is the true Companion of man’s journey, in the midst of the many hardships of life: good or bad,” the pope said.

“But always prayer: ‘Thank you, Lord. I’m afraid, Lord. Help me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord.’”

Speaking via livestream from the apostolic library, Francis continued his general audience talks on prayer with a reflection on the life of King David.

This was the pope’s final general audience before the summer break in July.

David, he said, was “saint and sinner, persecuted and persecutor, victim and executioner, which is a contradiction. David was all this, together. And we too have often opposite traits in our lives; in the plot of living, all men often sin inconsistently.”

But, the pope emphasized, the consistent “thread” in David’s life was prayer.

“David the holy, prays; David the sinner prays; David the persecuted prays; David the persecutor prays; David the victim prays. Even David the executioner prays,” he stated.

In the psalms, “David teaches us to bring everything into dialogue with God: joy as guilt, love as suffering, friendship as much as an illness. Everything can become a word addressed to the ‘You’ who always listens to us.”

Pope Francis went on to explain that though David knew solitude and loneliness in his life, through the power of prayer he was never alone.

“David’s confidence is so great that when he was persecuted and had to flee he did not let anyone defend him,” the pope noted. David thought, “‘If my God humiliates me like this, He knows,’ because the nobility of prayer leaves us in the hands of God. Those hands, wounds of love: the only safe hands we have.”

In his catechesis, Francis looked at two characteristics of David’s life and vocation: that he was a shepherd and that he was a poet.

David “is a sensitive person who loves music and singing,” the pope noted. “The harp will always accompany him: sometimes to raise a hymn of joy to God [cf. 2 Samuel 6:16], other times to express a lament, or to confess his sin [cf. Psalm 51:3].”

“His gaze catches, behind the unraveling of things, a greater mystery,” he said, adding that “prayer arises from there: from the belief that life is not something that slides into us, but an amazing mystery, which evokes in us poetry, music, gratitude, praise, or lamentation, supplication.”

Francis explained that though David often did not live up to his task as a “good shepherd” and king,

Pope Francis at his weekly General Audience on June 24. VATICAN MEDIA

in the context of salvation history David is the “prophecy of another King, of whom he is only an announcement and prefiguration.”

“Beloved by God since he was a boy, he is chosen for a unique mission, which will play a central role in the history of the people of God and our own faith,” he said.

In his greeting to Spanish speakers after his catechesis, Pope Francis noted the 7.4-magnitude earthquake which struck the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico last week, resulting in injuries and at least two deaths, as well as extensive damage.

“We pray for all of them. May the help of God and brothers give you strength and support. Brothers and sisters, I am very close to you,” he said.

New archbishop finds strength in ‘monastic prayer’

Meanwhile, for outgoing Malaybalay Bishop Jose Cabantan, there is nothing more powerful than prayer—monastic prayer is one of his most potent sources of spiritual grace.

C aba nt a n s a id pray i ng i n various monasteries in the diocese offered him a new source

of st reng t h in h is episcopa l ministry.

“The greater are our responsibilities, greater is our need for prayer,” Cabantan said. “I am privileged here with the presence of monasteries where I can spend a period of solitude, reflection and prayer.”

Pope Francis on June 23 has appointed Cabantan as the new archbishop of his native archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro. He will replace the 77-year-old and Jesuit Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, whose resignation was accepted by the pope.

Cabantan said the appointment was unexpected, adding that his “unworthiness” for the post brought him to “rely solely” on God’s “love and mercy.”

Bishop Cabantan will be installed as the fifth archbishop of Cagayan de Oro on August 28, during the feast of Saint Augustine of Hippo, the patron saint of the city.

The archdiocese covers the suffragan dioceses of Butuan, Malaybalay, Surigao, and Tandag. Hannah

Brockhaus/Catholic News Agency and Ryan Christopher J. Sorote/CBCP NEWS

Francis names 6 Filipino priests to mercy mission

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ix new Filipino Catholic priests have been named by Pope Francis as “missionaries of mercy.”

Two priests from the Diocese of Malolos were recently appointed by the pope after he earlier named four priests from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan as missionaries of mercy.

The pope called Fr. Prospero Tenorio and Fr. Nap Baltazar, both from the Malolos diocese, to be the signs of God’s mercy to people.

The special mandate also calls the priests to make themselves available in bringing about the reconciliation of God through the Ministry of Confession.

The appointments were made in the Vatican on March 30 but the priests received it only last week.

Tenorio is currently the rector of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Bulacan’s Marilao town, and the national spiritual director of Divine Mercy-Philippines.

“All the more in order for us to transcend the mercy of God to the faithful, we really need to always think of mercy, speak of mercy and always do acts of mercy,” he said.

Baltazar, meanwhile, is the parish priest of Nuestra Seniora de Lourdes in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan.

He said that they will continue the formation and training of the Divine Mercy devotees as part of the New Evangelization.

“To be merciful is to be joyful. The mercy of God gives joy,” Father Baltazar said.

Tenorio and Baltazar are also the SecretaryGeneral and Assistant Secretary-General of the World Apostolic Congress on Mercy in Asia.

Four priests from LingayenDagupan

The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan on June 24 announced that four of its priests received the same papal mandate as missionaries of mercy.

Named to the new mission to spread the works of mercy were priests Allan Morris Abuan, Danille Chad Pecson, Matt Jason Molina and Roy Joel Rosal.

Missionaries of mercy are authorized by the Vatican to give presentations, retreats, workshops and hear Confessions with an emphasis on the scriptural, theological and pastoral dimensions

of the mercy of Christ.

The new appointments bring the total number of missionaries of mercy in the Philippines to 13, including six other Filipinos and a foreign missionary, who received the same papal mandate in February 2016.

The other missionaries of mercy in the country are Franciscan priests Jerome Ponce, Andrew Rañoa, Joe Litigio, Robert Manansala, Andres Rañoa, and Father Jose Lito Escote of the Antique diocese, and Father Darek Drzewiecki of the Congregation of the Marian Fathers in Davao.

Around a thousand priests have been tapped by the pope to become missionaries of mercy from all over the world during the Jubilee of Mercy from December 2015 to November 2016.

For the past few years, the Filipino missionaries have been working to offer an avenue for mercy through their daily ministries, including talks and retreats in and outside the country.

An emphasis on confession is also central to their work.

Each priest was granted special authority to pardon sins that carry penalties that only the Vatican can lift, such as an attempt against the life of the pope or a priest who violates the seal of confession.

The pope also gave the missionaries the power to forgive abortion, a right previously reserved for bishops or special confessors.

“The Church wants to bring the grace of forgiveness to everyone,” said Fr. Jerome Ponce, a missionary of mercy. “Usually we offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the parishes.”

The new appointments came nearly four years after the pope prolonged their ministry even after the holy year ended as part of the New Evangelization.

The missionaries’ role is seen as a way to help people who have, for whatever reason, fallen away from the Church or find its teachings irrelevant.

“During the conclusion of the Jubilee of Mercy, in an apostolic letter, Pope Francis praised the many fruits of the efforts of the missionaries of mercy around the world and extended the mandate indefinitely so as to continue the ‘concrete sign that the grace of the Jubilee remains alive and effective the world over,’” Ponce said. CBCP News

Retired pope’s elder brother, Rev. Georg Ratzinger, 96

3 Metro Manila churches closed due to Covid-19 cases

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hree Churches in Metro Manila have been placed on lockdown after a parish priest, a visiting priest and staff members tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The affected Catholic Churches were the Santisima Trinidad Parish in Malate, Manila, the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish in Quezon City and the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, popularly known as Quiapo Church.

In a statement posted on the parish Facebook page on June 26, Santisima Trinidad Parish Priest Fr. Jojo Buenafe said they decided to temporarily close the Church after he and a staff member have tested positive for the disease.

“Beloved parishioners, in an unexpected event, this your humble servant and Kuya Homer Sunga, our convent staff member, were afflicted with the Covid-19,” Buenafe said in his statement in Filipino.

“I am recuperating in my room away from my convent companions who are on voluntary quarantine and have shown no symptoms.

Kuya Homer is confined and recuperating at San Juan de Dios Hospital,” he said The Catholic priest added that they have coordinated with the barangay leader and the Archdiocese of Manila regarding the matter based on the government and Church protocols.

“We are also contacting the Ministry on Health Services of the Archdiocese of Manila for our medical needs,” he said.

Buenafe added that they temporarily closed the Church and its

Santisima Trinidad Parish Priest Fr. Jojo Buenafe distributes food packs to parishioners during the enhanced community quarantine in May. Santisima Trinidad Parish Facebook page

office to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

He said that contact tracing has been conducted with the people they have mingled with.

He asked the faithful for their patience, and requested to pray for them “for our quick recovery and so they could overcome their trial.”

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish

Meanwhile, the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish in Quezon City has decided to close for two weeks after one of its parish office staff tested positive for Covid-19 on June 26.

“It is with deep regret that we announce the temporary lockdown starting June 26 of our Par-

ish Church for at least two weeks.

This temporary measure has been immediately decided and implemented, in addition to subsequent swab testing of parish personnel, for the protection of everyone,” an announcement from the parish’s Facebook page read.

The parish is scheduled for disinfection and assured the faithful that online Masses will continue during the two-week lockdown.

Quiapo Church

Quiapo Church has been placed under lockdown after a priest from Mindanao was tested positive for Covid-19.

Rev. Fr. Douglas Badong, parochial vicar of St. John the Baptist Parish, the canonical name of the

Church, said devotees were not allowed inside theChurch since June 19, the day the priest, who was not identified, had tested positive for the disease.

“To be safe and to prevent [the spread of the coronavirus], we stopped allowing people inside. We don’t know where he [the priest] got it or the virus might still be there [in the Church]. So to ensure the public is safe, we decided to close the Church,” Badong said in an interview.

He said the priest from the southern part of the country was stranded in Manila and stayed at the Minor Basilica after the government implemented the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon last March.

Badong added that the priest left for Mindanao on June 13 and they learned he tested positive for the virus after six days.

“When he reached his destination he was tested positive both through rapid and swab tests. We found this out on June 19,” he said.

He added that the Quiapo Church is being disinfected and all its staff are under quarantine.

“We stopped the operations although the online Mass continued,” he said. “We continue to monitor ourselves and so far we don’t have symptoms. Last Wednesday we underwent rapid testing and all of us have tested negative.”

The lockdown ended on July 4.

Last Sunday, Badong said they learned that the priest from Mindanao is now coronavirus free.

“He recovered fast, [the priest said in] his text message,” Badong added. Lyn Resurreccion and PNA

In this October 27, 2007, photo, Pope Benedict XVI (center, left) applauds, as his brother, Georg (right) looks on, during a concert by the German Symphonic Orchestra Bayerischer Rundfunk and the Bamberger Symphoniker, at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. AP/Andrew Medichini

B

ERLIN—The Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, who earned renown in his own right as a director of an acclaimed German boys’ choir, has died at 96.

The Regensburg diocese in Bavaria, where Ratzinger lived, said that he died on Wednesday.

His death came just over a week after Benedict made a four-day visit to Regensburg to be with his ailing brother.

Ordained on the same day as his brother, Ratzinger proved to be a talented musician and went on oversee the recording of numerous masterpieces and concert tours around the world by the Regensburger Domspatzen, a storied choir that traces its history back to the 10th century.

But his reputation was tarnished as he apologized for using corporal punishment to discipline boys amid a wider investigation into sexual and physical abuse in the Church.

He remained extremely close to his brother throughout his career, expressing dismay when Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope that the stress would affect his health and that they would no longer spend so much time together.

The pope had his quarters in the Apostolic Palace modified with a special apartment for his brother, who traveled frequently from his home in the Bavarian city of Regensburg to Rome.

Elected to the papacy in 2005, Benedict

stepped down in 2013 and was succeeded by current Pope Francis.

The two came from a religious Catholic family, the sons of police officer Josef and Maria Ratzinger, and great nephews of the German politician Georg Ratzinger, a priest and social reformer who was a member of the Bavarian and Federal parliament.

Born on January 15, 1924, in the Bavarian town of Altoetting, Georg Ratzinger showed an early talent for music, playing the Church organ at age 11.

The family eventually settled outside nearby Traunstein in 1937, where he and his brother joined the seminary.

During World War II, Ratzinger told The Associated Press in an inter view that he remembered huddling with the blinds drawn with his younger brother and father listening to Allied radio broadcasts, because their father wanted them to know the truth about the Nazi regime.

Though the Ratzinger family was anti-Nazi, Georg Ratzinger was enrolled into the Hitler Youth in 1941. In his book, Salt of the Earth , Benedict remarked on the time and his own subsequent enrollment at age 14.

Official details of the boys’ Hitler Youth days no longer exist, as all of the organization’s archives for the area were burned ahead of the American advance at the end of the war. AP

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, July 5, 2020

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

A7

Are we ready for the next pandemic?

As the world struggles to survive the impacts of the dreaded coronavirus disease, the next zoonotic disease may just be around the corner.

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

s scientists continue to find a cure for the dreaded coronavirus disease that has affected more than 10 million people worldwide, the lingering question is: Are we ready for another zoonotic disease that may cause another pandemic?

A new report by World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) warns that the conditions are rife for the next pandemic—unless action is taken.

Through the report, “Covid-19: Urgent Call to Protect People and Nature,” WWF has called for urgent global action to address the key drivers it has identified which will cause future zoonotic disease outbreaks.

Zoonotic disease drivers The environmental factors driving the emergence of zoonotic diseases include: trade and consumption of high-risk wildlife; land-use change leading to deforestation and conversion; expansion of agriculture and unsustainable intensification; and animal production.

In a news release highlighting the launch of W WF’s latest report, Marco Lambertini, director general of W WF International, said there is an urgent need to recognize the links between the destruction of nature and human health.

“We must curb the high-risk trade and consumption of wildlife, halt deforestation and land conversion as well as manage food production sustainably,” he said.

He said such actions will help prevent the spillover of pathogens to humans, and also address other global risks to society like biodiversity loss and climate change.

“There is no debate, and the science is clear: we must work with nature, not

c u r rent t h r u st s a nd prog ra m of t he DENR-BMB. “Our pipeline projects, the biodiversity corridor project, and an upcoming project, Sibol, a consortium with USAID [United States Agency for International Development], was conceptualized years ago but they are still aligned with the path of the new normal we are going through,” Calderon said.

Human capital investment The forest of Coron in Palawan is considered home to a diverse species of flora and fauna. The forest is considered by indigenous people communities as nature’s pharmacy because of the abundance of plants used for traditional medicine. Gregg Yan/Best Alternatives

against it. Unsustainable exploitation of nature has become an enormous risk to us all,” he added.

with nature and mitigate the risks of future pandemics.

Unsustainable global food system

“World leaders must take urgent action to transform our relationship with the natural world. We need a ‘new deal’ for nature and people that sets nature on the path to recovery by 2030 and safeguards human health and livelihoods in the long term,” he said.

For his part, W WF-Philippines Executive Director Joel Palma also noted that it is high time to start treating environmental issues with the same urgency as economic trepidations.

“Science has proven that planetary health is related to human health. This pandemic is a manifestation of our disregard for the environment. We have put on the s i d e e nv i ro n me nt a l p rot e c t io n over economic gains. Our environment can only give as much and is now within its limits that even our economic gains are threatened.

It’s about time to prioritize the environment so that we can sustain healthy communities with an equitable economy,” he said.

On top of trade and consumption of animal wildlife, the report partly blames the unsustainable global food system, which is driving the largescale conversion of natural spaces for agriculture, fragmenting natural ecosystems and increasing interactions among wildlife, livestock and humans.

“Since 1990, 178 million hectares of forest have been cleared, which is equivalent to the size of Libya, the 18th-largest country in the world, and around 10 million hectares of forest are still being lost each year through conversion to agriculture and other land uses,” WWF International said.

The report pointed out that the Covid-19 crisis revealed the need for systemic changes to address the environmental drivers of pandemics.

‘One Health’ approach WWF is advocating a “One Health” approach that link the health of people, animals and their shared environment.

Specifically, WWF wants the organization to be included in decisionmaking on wildlife and land-use change, and be incorporated within all business and financing decisions related to global health.

According to Lambertini, there is an opportunity to heal man’s relationship

Urgent action

Back to basics Biodiversity experts agree with the WWF report’s key findings.

Sought for reaction, Assistant Secretary Ricardo Calderon, the concurrent director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resourc-

es-Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) described the report as an “accurate observation.”

Calderon said in a telephone interview with BusinessMirror on June 25 that coping with the challenges of Covid-19 and preparing to face the threats of new ones requires a step back to be able to go back to the basics which are anchored on natural-resource management and nature-based solutions.

“It goes back to basics. We are going back to the management and protection of our natural resources, including our flora and fauna. Despite this pandemic, whether this is natural or synthetic, just the same, we are going back to nature,” the DENR-BMB chief said in mixed English and Filipino,

Solutions in nature Citing the mantra of the Convention on Biological Diversity, he said the solutions are in nature.

“We can see that even in our economic recovery, we must consider our natural capital as window to survive the new normal. We should go back to basics. [Protecting and conserving] our water, our forest and our wildlife. We should start all over again,” explained Calderon, a forestry expert and a former national coordinator of the government’s National Greening Program, said.

He noted that the road to recover y being eyed by ex per ts amid the pa ndem ic is a l ig ned w it h t he

Beyond investment in protection and conservation of natural resources, he said the DENR is also heavily invested in human capital.

“If you can see, the DENR is heavily invested not only in natural resources, but also in people in upland and coastal areas as our partner in natural resources management” Calderon added.

He explained that the investment in human capital is a two-way process.

“The people [residents] will benefit and us,” referring to the DENR that has been implementing various programs in the rural areas, such as those that tap into the indigenous knowledge and the people in upland communities who are familiar of the local situations, as well as the residents in coastal areas.

Sustainable livelihood, income Citing the potential adverse impact of Covid-19, the loss of jobs means a need for a sustainable source of income. This, he said, can be provided by “green jobs program.”

“There are many displaced OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] and this new normal points to the direction of economic activities that are dependent on natural resources, such as farming. To increase agricultural productivity, there’s a need to ensure good water source,” he said.

“The road to recovery, although there’s a need to invest in the health sector, there’s also a need to invest on the natural resource sector as part of the new normal,” he ended.

Biodiversity decline The Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) said the threats of new zoonotic diseases, possibly dead lier than

Cov id-19, are real.

Interviewed via Messenger on June 25, ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim, a licensed veterinarian with specialization on wildlife management and disease, said that as with the rest of the world, the Southeast Asian region has experienced biodiversity decline over the years.

“According to Asean Biodiversity Outlook 2, the region stands to lose 13 percent to 42 percent of its species by 2100. It is a concern that biodiversity decline, if it will continue unabated, can trigger the spillover of viruses that are dormant or inactive, leading to their transmission to domestic animals and humans,” she said.

Health and biodiversity She noted that the recent pandemic has indeed made the connection between biodiversity and health more palpable—public health is dependent on the richness and health of biodiversity, or the variability among living organisms.

“As biodiversity underpins all ecosystems and the fundamental services that they provide for humanity’s daily subsistence, the decline of biodiversity could spell out the reduction of these services,” she said The ACB chief cited that scientists have estimated that there could still be around 1.7 million viruses in wild mammals and birds that could potentially cause pandemics.

Lim, a former director of the DENR-BMB, said bats have been identified as a natural reservoir for most of such viruses.

“The Asean region is a center of diversity for bat species. If left alone and protected, these bats will continue to keep these potential pathogens at bay,” she said.

According to Lim, having the mandate to facilitate cooperation a nd coord i n at ion a mong A sea n member-states, the ACB has been supporting the region in tackling these issues, including the resolve of Asean member-states to address the drivers of biodiversity loss that could lead to more health crises in the future.

‘Solving traffic is unlike prescribing to an obese to buy bigger trousers’

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By Rizal Raoul Reyes

he onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic showed the systemic weaknesses of the country in handling its biggest crisis since World War II. Moreover, the health crisis has emphasized the urgent need to pursue a green agenda in the new normal so the people can experience a better quality of life.

Amid this situation, R enato R edentor Constantino, executive director of Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), told the B usiness M irror in an e-mail interview that the government did the right thing in implementing measures to prevent the spread of the virus which was complemented by Congress’ marshalling the efforts and resources of the country to respond decisively to the impact of the novel coronavirus.

Being a country vulnerable to natural disasters, Constantino pointed out that government must implement what he calls a forward-looking spending program to future-proof the country’s capabilities in the short term and long term to handle future calamities.

Moreover, he urged the government to pursue collaborative mechanisms among vulnerable countries to combat climate change.

“We cannot and should not face multiple crises on our own, when the region should be acting together as well,” Constantino said.

“Just as important, core spending to address the pandemic fallout can very well be the same resilience spending that is required to adapt to climate change,” he said.

This, he added, can only move the country closer to securing what it must continue to chase, “the country’s early attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Renewable energy

Constantino said developing environmentalfriendly fuels, such as geothermal energy must

be pushed further.

Although daily global fossil carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 17 percent in early April 2020 compared with 2019, “there is still a lot to be done.”

“Although individual actions, such as work from home and reducing car and plane travel have contributed in the decline of CO2 emissions, individual actions are not sufficient,” he explained.

“Individual actions are absolutely vital. But they are also insufficient. Collective action is essential, and we also need to understand how deeply embedded fossil capital is in the global economy. Extricating its deep roots is very much possible but it will take concerted efforts and effective strategies,” Constantino pointed out.

Corporate response

On the corporate front, he sees good indicators on how corporations are pursuing their own green energy programs.

He said the Aboitiz Group has seen the writing on the wall. However, the challenge for the group is how fast it can lock-in a new forward-looking trajectory.

According to finance analyst Sara Ahmed, Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) “is the first and only company in the Philippines to register as a supporter of the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures in line with its commitment to environmental, social and governance.”

Ahmed said Aboitiz “aims to better improve the reliability of data they share with stakeholders, and rightly so, because undisclosed risk will remain a mismanaged risk.”

She added: “This is good, but there’s a long way to go to demonstrate the company is seriously aiming for the long term.”

Aboitiz Power’s renewable-energy portfolio includes solar, geothermal, run-of-river hydro and large hydroelectric plants Meanwhile, the move by Ayala Energy to stop developing coal plants starting 2030 is most

of Filipinos faced horrific experiences in buying basic food and medical needs especially during the enhanced community quarantine period.

Constantino also urged the government to take a proactive and long-term approach in handling the water and the food security issues.

“We are in what we might even consider a pretty serious practice run, because our very own scientific community has been telling us for a while that we’re in for a very rough ride,” he said.

He explained: “The central parts of Mindanao are projected to experience declines in water over the next two decades that go far beyond climate extremes in historical observations. These are places where conflicts are growing as extremism takes root and where poverty runs deep. In many places, the challenge is not about productivity in terms of agricultural exports but about food security itself.”

Residents of Sulu-an in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, install solar panels on top of their community store. Glinly Alvero/ ICSC welcome, according to Constantino.

He said the conglomerate has proven they are looking into the long term by pursuing a green agenda in energy development program.

At the same time, Constantino lauded the efforts of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) in its green energy development road map.

SMC plans to launch at least 800 megawatts of renewable energy this year as part of the conglomerate’s objective of opening around 1,200 MW of clean-energy power plants in the next few years.

Fur thermore, the company points to a prospective pipeline of 10,000MW of renewableenergy investments over the next 10 years.

It is also raising $500 million in investment to carve out its role in battery-storage technology.

“Again, this is welcome. But it comes across as fragmented, tentative and lacking in long-term vision. Way more needs to be done to ensure their

Democratizing mobility own shareholders truly gain from the promise of an early, accelerated and comprehensive energy transition,” Constantino pointed out.

He added that the moves of Aboitiz and SMC “appear timid and they need to be more decisive, otherwise, as coal assets strand, their stakeholders might be left holding the garbage bag as coal turns into the new sub-prime.”

Food security

With visionary leadership, Constantino said Filipino farmers can rise to the challenge.

“The pandemic has shown how ready our farmers remain in terms of producing what our people need,” he said.

He pointed out the country’s decrepit supply chains—from medical services and supplies to food supply that is so disconnected to the great and growing nutrition needs of the poor and the middle class were among the major reasons a lot

In terms of people’s mobility, Constantino said government needs to look at transportation as a fully defined expression of democracy.

He lamented the fact that around 88 percent of the households in Metro Manila who do not own cars have to daily squeeze into and fight over 20 percent of the metropolitan commons in the form of roads and highways, while the minority 12 percent who own cars hog 80 percent of the streets.

“This needs to change. Government needs to drop its pursuit of traffic management and instead focus on transport. Move people, not cars,” he pointed out.

The recent 122nd celebration of the country’s independence would be a good starting point to liberate the 88 percent of the population from their daily commuting agony, according to Constantino.

“We need to free our long toiling people from needless suffering and exhaustion created by ignorance and outdated thinking still too prevalent among our urban planning officials, “ he said.

In one of its studies, the Japan International Cooperation Agency warned of the colossal impact of the traffic in Metro Manila.

The Japanese agency pointed out the country will lose P5.4 billion to traffic daily by 2035 if no measures are implemented in Metro Manila.

Earlier, it estimated that the Philippines loses P3.5 billion daily due to traffic congestion.

Bicycle lanes

Constantino said the champions of sustainable transport system in the Department of Public Works and Highways, and in the Department of Transportation must be supported because they understand the kind of solutions the country needs today and the opportunity that the pandemic provides.

“We need to amplify their voices, enable the acts of solidarity of cyclist groups who are reaching out and assisting frontliners and first-time bicyclists,” he urged.

The recent study by ICSC with MNL Moves and the Enschede, the Netherlands-based University of Twente showed great demand for interconnected, protected bicycle lanes not just in Metro Manila but, even more importantly, in newly urbanizing areas in the country.

They have the option to avoid repeating the horrendous mistakes of Metro Manila, which “literally cemented inefficient, polluting, undemocratic, car-centric development into our urban areas.”

Constantino urged government planners not to be fixated on the traffic issue alone which, he said, is just a mere symptom.

“The fixation is behind the persistently mistaken moves by government to build more flyovers and embark on more road widening to please private car owners. This is just downright crazy. It is like a doctor prescribing to an obese patient to buy bigger trousers and a longer belt,” he said.

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 | S

unday, July 5, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

ARGENTINES PLAY ‘HUMAN FOOSBALL’

By Almudena Calatrava

P

The Associated Press

ERGAMINO, Argentina—Soccerstarved Argentines have found a way to play their beloved sport while social distancing, though the rules have been altered and the dazzling end-to-end dashes produced by national legend Diego Maradona are impossible.

Dubbed “metegol humano,” or “human foosball,” the system designed for the coronavirus pandemic involves dividing the field with white chalk into 12 rectangles and restricting each player to a defined space. The ball can be passed across rectangles, and players can dribble inside their areas. The modified game emphasizes passing and shooting over running and fancy footwork. And of course there are no rough tackles.

Members of the Vende Humo FC and Los Mismos de Siempre amateur teams tried the new form of soccer at the Play Fútbol 5 sports complex in the city of Pergamino, about 240 kilometers from the capital of Buenos Aires. Players concentrated Wednesday on not stepping over the lines as they dribbled and defended. Leaving one’s rectangle incurs a penalty.

They agreed it was great to be playing again after a 100-day drought. Professional soccer is suspended, and players cannot train. For amateurs

who usually rent fields for games, it was like breathing again.

“Now I feel free and happy, getting together again with friends and playing soccer,” said Martín Rodríguez, a defender from Vende Humo FC. “If it were up to me, I would do this from Monday to Monday.”

A week ago, Pergamino became the first place to test the new game, which has just five players on each team, instead of the traditional 11. That allows games to be played within the framework of Argentina’s quarantine, which allows outdoor activities with up to 10 people.

Rodríguez said he is adapting to the changes. “It is about paying attention and keeping the distance the game allows us. We have to know how far we can go.

We cannot go over the line,” he explained.

Players acknowledge that some of the magic is missing, particularly the game’s friction, the “in the ear” trash talk and the kicks followed by apologies. But the point of the new system is to keep a distance.

Gustavo Ciuffo, owner of the Play Fútbol 5 complex, devised the new game, which has been replicated in recent days in other parts of Argentina, a soccer-mad nation that produced Barcelona megastar Lionel Messi as well as Maradona.

Ciuffo took advantage of Pergamino’s low infection rate, which let the city enter a looser phase of the quarantine imposed on March 20. Authorities in Pergamino authorized the sport on Friday, and a game started the next day. In other parts of the country with

French Open to allow fans in stands

P

ARIS—The French Open will allow fans to attend this year’s postponed tournament.

The French Tennis Federation said Thursday up to 60 percent of the stands can be filled with fans when play starts in September at Roland Garros.

Tickets will go on sale on July 16 for the September 27 to Ocobert 11 tournament.

The clay-court tournament had been scheduled to start on May 24 but was postponed to September 20 because of the coronavirus pandemic. It then got pushed back another week.

The FFT has prepared a health and safety protocol to ensure the safety of fans. No more than four people can sit together in one group and

limited circulation of the virus, sports activities have also gradually returned, but not in Buenos Aires, which has been a hot spot for infections.

Ciuffo said he was happy to have found a solution “at a very hard time,” when the lockdown exacerbated the country’s economic crisis and demoralized so many Argentines. Getting the ball rolling again was the best antidote to depression, he said.

“Soccer for Argentines is as important as mate,” the country’s traditional tea-like beverage, he said.

Before each game, players must clean their shoes and hands and sign an affidavit on the state of their health. Once on the field, they can play without a mask.

If a team fields a single defender, the player can move in two adjacent rectangles. But if the team “is more conservative” and has two defenders, each one must stay inside his or her rectangle. In the absence of contact and with limited space, the game is more continuous, intense and requires a precise shot, Ciuffo said.

Goaltender Leonardo Vanney chooses not to focus on the limitations.

The “great joy” of getting together with his teammates and competing in a tournament is what is important to him, he said.

MEN play soccer at local club Play Futbol 5 in Pergamino, Argentina. AP

there must also be one chair left empty between each mini-group of people in the same row.

“The number of spectators allowed in the stadium will be 50 percent to 60 percent of the usual capacity,” the FFT said. “This reduction will allow strict distancing measures to be respected.”

Wearing masks is recommended but will not be obligatory when fans line up outside or sit in the stands, but must be worn when fans are moving around inside the grounds.

Hand sanitizers will also be available. AP

Eight-month wait almost over for resumption of China soccer

A

N eight-month wait for the new Chinese Super League to start is nearly over, a delay nearly as long as it takes to play a regular season. And July 25 can’t come soon enough for the players and coaches.

With the central city of Wuhan the original epicenter of the coronavirus that brought sport around the world to a halt, the 2020 Chinese soccer league, due to kick off on February 22, was the first to be suspended. While neighbors such as South Korea restarted in May and Vietnam in June, Chinese teams have had to wait.

There was talk of May and June starts in China, too, but with stars such as Marouane Fellaini, who joined Shandong Luneng from English giant Manchester United in 2019, becoming infected and new cases of the virus springing up in the country, there were growing concerns that the season would be canceled.

“We played our last game at the start of November and the most challenging aspect of this was that the league kept getting delayed,” Afshin Ghotbi, coach of top-tier team Shijiazhuang Everbright, told The Associated Press. “That was difficult for the players who have been through quarantine and isolation from their families.”

Shijiazhuang spent two months in an Abu Dhabi training camp before being allowed back to

China in March to undergo 14 days in quarantine.

The Chinese Football Association announced the start date on Wednesday.

“China’s battle to prevent and control the epidemic has achieved major strategic results and the national epidemic prevention and control situation continues to improve,” it said in a statement.

Ghotbi said it was a “big thing” to finally have a date.

“It gives us something to aim for,” he said.

“When I told the players, I could see their concentration and energy move up a level. They now know it is time to step up.”

When the league finally kicks off it will do so in the twin hub cities of Suzhou and Dalian in order to minimize travel and risks of infection. Details have yet to be confirmed but it is expected that the league’s 16 teams will be divided into two groups of eight with the winners playing off against each other.

It’s most likely that group stage matches will be held without spectators. A decision will be made whether to allows fans to the latter stages of the season.

While Shijiazhuang does not have the deep pockets of big-spending teams such as Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai SIPG,

Ghotbi, a former head coach of Iran, hopes that his background working with national teams will help with the shortened format.

“I have worked at World Cups and Asian Cups and this may be a similar tournament style situation with many games in a short space of time. We also have an advantage in that we have all our foreign players with us and have the entire team together.”

China’s tightening of entry requirements for foreigners from March and the reduced number of international flights have meant that teams have had a tough time bringing players and coaches back from overseas. Beijing Guoan is still waiting for Brazilian stars Renato Augusto and Fernando to arrive from South America.

Some clubs resorted to drastic measures. In June Dalian Yifang paid a reported ¥3.57 million ($530,000) to hire a charter flight to bring Head Coach Rafael Benitez back from Spain.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid coach has been busy trying to get his players, who have not had competitive action since November, up to speed by July 25.

“Players in the English Premier League were concerned about the lack of training time before the games started” Benitez said. “This is the situation we face too.” AP

DAVIS: LAKERS’ CHANCES IMPROVED LAKERS forward Anthony Davis (3) shoots against the Bucks’ forward Giannis Antetokounmpo during their game in Los Angeles in March. AP

L

OS ANGELES—The sudden suspension of the National Basketball Association (NBA) season was a double disappointment for Anthony Davis.

“It happened on my birthday, which is kind of a bummer because I couldn’t do anything,” the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-time All-Star big man said with a laugh.

Davis turned 27 on March 11 when the NBA shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic. After a few homebound months spent largely improving his video game skills, Davis is back at work as the Lakers attempt to achieve their interrupted goals.

Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers are gathered for individual workouts this week in preparation for their trip to Orlando, where they’re among the favorites to win it all in this extraordinary NBA season. The Lakers (49-14) were leading the Western Conference and

preparing for their first playoff run together when everything stopped.

Davis still loves the Lakers’ chances of contending for the franchise’s 17th championship.

“Actually, I think our chances are higher, just because we’re all rested and we’re all ready to go,” Davis said Thursday in his first extensive public comment since March. “If anything, our chances got higher, and it’s going to be about just who wants it more.”

The time off was a particular benefit for Davis, who mostly played through his usual assortment of nagging injuries during his first season after engineering a trade from New Orleans to the Lakers so he could improve his chances of winning a ring. Davis had problems with his elbow, tailbone and shoulder at various points of this season, but

they’re all memories now.

“It’s been good for me to let some of the lingering injuries I had toward the time when the NBA stopped kind of recover and heal,” Davis said. “[I can] get back into the best version of myself. I feel 100-percent healthy. Well, I don’t ‘feel,’ I am [100-percent healthy]. I feel like I’m ready to go.”

Davis has played splendidly when healthy for the Lakers, averaging 26.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists with 27 doubledoubles in 55 games. He also averaged 2.4 blocks, while playing stellar defense for one of the NBA’s top defensive teams.

“Hopefully the best is yet to come,” said Lakers Coach Frank Vogel, who praised Davis’s ability to play through injury. “Any time Anthony Davis takes the floor, you have a chance to see something special. He continues to get better, and he works extremely hard.” AP

How risky

is flying during the

coronavirus

pandemic?

2

BusinessMirror JULY 5, 2020 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

RHYTHM & RHYME

by Kaye Villagomez-Losorata Madonna

MOOD MUSIC FOR WFH Soundtracks to get you into work mode

E

VEN as the economy is slowly beginning to open up with the re-opening of many offices and establishments, many employees are still required to work from home.

Publisher

: T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Editor-In-Chief

: Lourdes M. Fernandez

Concept

: Aldwin M. Tolosa

Y2Z Editor

: Jt Nisay

SoundStrip Editor

: Edwin P. Sallan

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

: Niggel Figueroa Anabelle O. Flores : Tony M. Maghirang, Rick Olivares, Darwin Fernandez, Mony Romana, Leony Garcia, Stephanie Joy Ching Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez

Columnists

: Kaye VillagomezLosorata

We are aware that tackling productivity these days is like walking on eggshells. You have to survey the room because who wants to read productivity articles these days when some of us are having a hard time getting a nice, long sleep or dreaming extra vivid alternate worlds during slumber?

Also, WFH seems like working for 24/7 for some. Work chat groups keep buzzing during weekends, holidays and late at night. Work apps don’t survey the room first before directions meant for sudden executions. WFH is sometimes confused with pushbutton mode. Circumstances like these leave employees without a choice but to power through and remain productive. After all, we’re grateful we have jobs to sustain life during new normal.

When you were at the office, there was that constant pace of noise from people coming in and out or stopping

Annie S. Alejo Photographers

: Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes

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The Beatles (AP File Photo)

Michael Jackson

Game of Thrones

by your cubicle for quick alignments.

Remember the usual noise peaking when lunch hour is minutes away?

That same pleasant moderate collective banter returns when people are about to end the work day.

We don’t have that kind of clatter at home. If you’re living with kids, there’s no pattern for the noise. If you’re living alone, there’s utter silence. Either way, there will be days when it’s a bit more difficult getting to that point where you have access on deep and productive focus.

I used to go for some loud songs from Incubus when I wanted to concentrate at the office. This doesn’t quite work at home so here are some soundtracks that helped me get going over the past couple of weeks.

Music from Ramin Djawadi. Yes, the soundtracks of Game of Thrones and Westworld tend to force me to pound on my keyboard these days.

It has something to do with the escalating style of the composer— that gradual transition from eerie to ominous to tragic eruption of music result to a pushy feel. Somehow, listening to these songs makes you want to evolve with the soundtrack.

Westworld

When you need to be productive a good music “story” that has a beginning, middle, climax and ending may really do the trick. It probably has something to do with the classical feel of the songs. And we all know that classical music is known to inspire.

The 1980s. When it comes to setting the mood, the ’80s is a music supermarket for pumped-up feels and adrenalin rush. There is a reason why this decade remains the most defined in music. Apart from the entire fashion and culture that went with it, the ’80s sound had a lot of quality songwriting going with the beat that held that generation together. You can always play Madonna and Michael Jackson to get those creative juices flowing.

The Beatles. Imagine the geniuses of John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the background with some of George Harrison’s toppermost of the poppermost contributions. The songs of the Fab Four are like raffle entries inside a fish bowl—with your name written in every raffle entry. You always win.

So let’s rock our own mood music because getting the soundtrack of your life is way easier now compared to before. You just need Spotify or Apple Music and let’s say a Smart Giga Music subscription and you’ll never run out of soundtracks to afford eargasmic escapes or mood transformations.

The author is a former entertainment reporter and editor before shifting to corporate PR. Follow @kayevillagomez on Instagram and Twitter for more updates.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | JULY 5, 2020

BUSINESS

3

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

WEIRD AND ECLECTIC Expand your musical horizons with these emerging genres

Ariel Pink (Photo by Julio Enriquez Creative Commons)

O

nce there was just pop and rock and roll. Then, hard rock, heavy metal, power pop, punk and new wave inflated the musical lexicon courtesy of daring critics and fervid fans. Now, there must be a galaxy of new musical terms to shock your grandmother and we picked out some of the strangest ones for your listening delight. Here’s ten of them: lowercase. A type of electronic music transforming the shuffle and crumple of paper into magical compositions. Variations include ambient chunks of sounds interspersed with long silences and a kind of post rock where the music builds slowly from quietude to an extreme treatment of paper sounds. Pioneer Steve Roden has found kindred spirits in noise musician Caretaker and classically trained composer William Basinski.

Bummer pop. This reformulation of soft rock moves to the guilty pleasures of chugging poprock chords and lyrics that project the angsty drama of teen love. Hardcore fans kneel before Weezer’s poignant pop rockers and their current acolytes can be heard on Bummer Pop Volume 1, available on your favorite online music platform.

Hypnagogic pop. Coined by music writers of the venerable UK monthly publication Wire, hypnagogic pop artists like Ariel Pink borrow from the guitar-driven psychedelic pop of ‘80s bands to fashion an update of millennial power pop. The hypnagogic element refers to the ghost-

like recall of an earlier sound and lyrics that’s nostalgic of a fading past.

Glitch hop. It’s your typical hip hop glitched or interfered (I say gouged) with other sounds by manipulation using a computer. The interference aka cross-breeding results from chopping, crushing, beat repeats, insertion from anything from funk to psychedelia to classical music to produce an altogether mesmerizing new track. Mostly heard on computer games, glitch hop’s current poster boys are Flying Lotus and Prefuse 93.

Black MIDI. Not associated with a rising Brit rock band, the term refers to MIDI files that are remixed and stuffed with thousands, millions, and even billions of notes. The black designation refers to the massing of notes to create a sort of ‘black’ mess of characters in traditional piano score. Yourtube must have has gazillions of samplers and 101 intros that rack up millions of views, with musicians collaborating on various Black MIDI Vaporwave. It’s a mash-up of the softer sides of muzak, new wave, lounge jazz and modern pop remixed, some critics call it manipulation, to create nostalgia for the late ‘80s when the world was transitioning from analog to digital technology. It’s supposed to sonic throwback to interest in cyberpunk and Japanese anime during the period. Oneohtrix Point Never alias Daniel Lopatin is a leading veporwave star.

Cute metal (Kawaii core). The Japanese trio Babymetal created the musical and visual imagery that this genre puts across.

They mix sugary pop hooks with machinegun

metal attack so the cuteness is ironically on the money. Throw in some Gothic almost horrific tropes and Kawaii core becomes a nice alternative term. Resist at your peril.

Blackgaze. Lovely shoegaze shoved into the monster sound of death metal is what’s this strange beast is all about. You get the quiver of shoegaze plugged to the nightmarish howl of dark metal. The genre’s heroes are beloved by any metal head and best ones come with such great names like Wolves in the Throne Room and Deafheaven (from the US of A) and Alcest (from France) Pornogrind Also known as pornocore, this is relentless death metal pushed by a mindset obsessed with deviant forms of sexual encounter and violent abuse. Some describe it to be the end of an already extreme form of music. ( I wonder what to call the music of a performer who shat onstage during his shows?). Beware though that after playing pornogrind (from Torsofuck and Oral Piss Olympics, for example), you have 95% chance of getting kicked out of the house!

Skweee. Originating from Scandinavia, the genre’s name comes from “squeezing out” the grooviest sound possible from exciting funk, soul and R&B sources. So, it’s purely electronic music meshing early hip hop beats with the musical attractions of Rick James, Dazz band, Parliament and Kraftwerk. A typical skweee track is also peppered with computer game blips, pops and drones as can be heard from Beem, Daniel Salvio, Color Separated and Wankers United!

How risky is flying during the coronavirus pandemic?

Illustration by Peter Hamlin

By The Associated Press

F

lying can increase your risk of exposure to infection, but airlines are taking some precautions and you can too.

Air travel means spending time in security lines and airport terminals, which puts you into close contact with other people. As travel slowly recovers, planes are becoming more crowded, which means you will likely sit close to other people, often for hours, which raises your risk.

Once on a plane, most viruses and other germs don’t spread easily because of the way air circulates, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Airlines also say they are focusing on sanitizing the hard surfaces that passengers commonly touch.

Some airlines like Alaska, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest are blocking middle seats or limiting capacity. But even if every middle seat is empty you will likely be closer than the recommended distance of 6 feet to another passenger now that planes are getting fuller.

American, United and Spirit are now booking flights to full capacity when they can. All leading US airlines require passengers to wear masks. Lauren Ancel Meyers, an ex-

pert in disease outbreaks at the University of Texas, says that can help limit risk.

For air travel, and all other types of transportation, the CDC recommends washing your hands, maintaining social distancing and wearing face coverings.

Several airlines announced Monday that they will ask passengers about possible Covid-19 symptoms and whether they have been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus in the previous two weeks.

Still, Meyers said you still might consider whether you need to be on that plane.

“We should all be in the mindset of ‘only if necessary’ and always taking the most precautions we can to protect ourselves and others,” she said.

Does wearing a mask pose any health risks?

N

o, not for most people. Babies and toddlers should not wear masks because they could suffocate. The same goes for anyone who has trouble removing a mask without help.

Others can wear masks without risking their health, according to experts, despite false rumors to the contrary.

In areas where Covid-19 is spreading, health experts agree that wearing masks or other face coverings in public helps reduce the risk of spreading the virus when people can’t socially distance by staying 6 feet apart.

The coronavirus mainly spreads through droplets that are emitted when people talk, laugh, sing, cough and sneeze.

Masks lower the likelihood of those droplets reaching other people. Even if you don’t have symptoms, you could be carrying the virus and could spread it.

When it’s humid outside, it could feel like it’s harder to breathe if you’re not used to wearing a mask, said Benjamin Neuman, a professor of biology at Texas A&M University-Texarkana. But he said masks don’t meaningfully decrease oxygen in the body.

“The body is quite good at adjusting to keep oxygen levels where they need to be,” he said.

There’s also no evidence that the use of masks causes fungal or bacterial infections, according to Davidson Hamer, an infectious disease expert at Boston University. Disposable face masks are meant to be used once, then thrown in the garbage.

With cloth masks, it’s a good idea to wash them regularly.

Wearing a mask may be uncomfortable, but health officials say you should resist any urge to touch your face. That could bring germs from your hands into your nose, mouth or eyes. AP

Book shares start-up success stories for youth to emulate

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

N

ecessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.

The current pandemic has forced companies, including start-ups, to look for ways to maximize results with scare resources. A key element for the survival of businesses in the new normal, according to Gracy Fernandez, is technology.

Fernandez is a coauthor of the book Asian Founders at Work. Along with Ezra Ferraz, she interviewed people who started their companies with the goal of addressing a problem that the world of analog and tradition could not fulfill.

One of featured subjects is Winston Damarillo, CEO and founder of GlueCode.

Damarillo is a staunch advocate of inclusivity in technology who wanted to develop an alternative platform that could be used by everyone for their Internet-based transactions. Using open source technology,

GRACY FERNANDEZ, coauthor of Asian Founders at Work GlueCode broke barriers and democratized access when technology giants Oracle, Sun and IBM dominated the market.

As Asia Pacific reels from business closures and record unemployment amid the current pandemic, Fernandez stressed that start-ups have to be innovative to recover swiftly in order to find a place in the new normal. For one, given the increasing

4 BusinessMirror

prevalence of remote work, Fernandez said digitizing operations is necessary to allow start-ups to upscale in ways that otherwise would not be possible. Furthermore, with the new normal mainly relying on technology as a primary link to the world, she emphasized that it is necessary for professionals to upskill and adapt in order to safeguard and grow their careers in an increasingly digital world.

“Innovation is crucial at a time like this,” said Fernandez, who is a regular contributor to business and finance media outlets Entrepreneur Asia Pacific and KitaMo. “With the recession drawing near, these stories need to be heard and studied perhaps more than ever before.”

Fernandez is a start-up founder herself, having established the venture-backed car rental platform Graventure. The company centralizes tens of thousands of listings onto a one-stop, online platform that connects car rental agencies to consumers.

July 5, 2020

More stories of innovation and perseverance from start-ups are featured in Fernandez and Ferraz’s book, which is a compilation of exclusive one-on-one interviews with founders of some of Asia’s largest tech companies. Among the featured groups are Carousell, e27, GoJek, Lalamove, ONE Championship and Rappler.

Fernandez and Ferraz urged young people to read the book for insights on how businesses manage to stay afloat by taking heed of what some of the most innovative companies did right. “It’s worth noting that this book is not solely aimed at tech leaders,” said Ferraz, who is also the managing partner of Ambidextr, a tech-focused digital marketing agency. “Whether your business is corporate, small business, or social enterprise, there is always something to be picked up from how the largest tech companies managed to make it big. Growth during the recession may be challenging, but it is achievable with the right knowledge.”