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A broader look at today’s business n

Sunday, July 12, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 276

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

By Ashley Manabat

A

NGELES CITY—While the coronavirus outbreak has adversely affected most industries around the globe, the demand for fixed broadband service has tremendously risen, as the workfrom-home (WFH) scheme and social distancing became an integral part and practice in the age of the “new normal.”

In what could be the largest public listing in the Philippines this year, Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc. (Converge ICT) is eyeing to raise as much as P35.9 billion from its planned initial public offering (IPO) this October.

It was reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged that it has received the firm’s registration papers last week and that the planned IPO would facilitate the listing of fiber-optic internet and other consumer-centric digital services providers on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The potential net proceeds of 90 percent from the sale of its primary shares would be used to fund the capital expenditure requirements to accelerate its nationwide fiber-optic network rollout, while 10 percent would be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital requirements.

It was also reported that the offer period is set from October 13 to 19, while the expected listing date is on October 26.

Converge ICT tapped Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte. and UBS AG Singapore to be the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners of the transaction.

BPI Capital Corp. will be the sole local coordinator, joint local underwriter and joint bookrunners, while BDO Capital & Investment Corp. will be the joint local underwriter and joint bookrunner.

From Betamax biz to ICT

FOUNDED in 2015 by business-

man Dennis Anthony H. Uy (not the Dennis Uy of Udenna fame), its current chief executive officer, Converge ICT is described as the largest high-speed fixed broadband operator in the Philippines with a 54-percent market share of highspeed residential fixed broadband subscription as of March 2020.

A self-made man who started out as a trader of Betamax tapes back in the early ’80s, Uy is now in the cutting edge of the ICT that would soon connect the Philippines to the world.

With this in place, the cost of internet in the Philippines would be greatly reduced and its speed will become faster, making Uy’s consortium a formidable third (or even fourth) player in the ever-improving multibillion- peso ICT industry.

Converge ICT Solutions Group of Companies, which leads a consortium of foreign companies, is now undertaking the construction of thousands of kilometers of subsea fiber-optic cables from Hong Kong to the Philippines and on to Guam for an international gateway facility (IGF).

Uy said in time, his consortium would have completed the $120-million infrastructure project that would connect the Philippines to the rest of the world.

The contractor is NEC Corp., which will lay out the subsea fiberoptic cables between Hong Kong and the Philippines for some 1,100 kilometers and between the Philippines and Guam for another 2,560 kilometers, said Uy. The capacity of the IGF backbone will be seven terabytes per second, he added.

The man behind what could be the biggest public listing of a fiberoptic firm has humble beginnings in Pampanga

Uy started out when he was only in high school.

During his first year at the Chevalier School here, he would often go to Greenhills in San Juan, Metro Manila, to buy Betamax and VHS tapes to be rented out in their store, Jack’s Video, operated by his eldest brother Jack.

During his senior year in high school, Uy was already selling the first Apple computers to big businessmen in this city and nearby San Fernando.

“I still remember during my high-school days at 3 p.m. after our classes, I still have to go to Greenhills via Pantranco bus to get the computers,” he recalled.

“Only the rich people could afford to buy computers at that time because they cost around P60,000 each,” he added.

He ventured into all sorts of brands like Commodore and Atari and learned how to repair them.

“I learned how to repair the machines because I follow the transition in technology,” he said.

At that point, he said, he realized the speed in which technology was evolving and this inspired him to keep up and learn more.

“Imagine nag-umpisa kami [we started out with] Betamax, VHS, CD, LD and now flash disk, flash drives and the cloud,” he said.

Uy started attending international trade shows and technology conferences abroad to keep up with the pace.

Soon it became apparent that he has nobody to sell to any more in Pampanga.

“So, when I realized that a lot of people are now into selling computers, I went into a higher level which is networking products, installing servers for niche markets using Sun Microsystems servers for banking, government usage and multinational companies. I tried to avoid competition,” he said.

“I was the first Philippine distributor of Sun Microsystems,” he said.

Cable television

THE pioneering spirit in him again inspired him to venture into cable television just a year after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991.

DENNIS ANTHONY H. UY, Converge ICT Solutions Inc. founder and CEO

Continued on A2

The US-China rivalry is broadening from trade to everything

T

By Enda Curran |

Deepening divisions

Bloomberg News

HE US-China rivalry is shifting into new and unpredictable areas, engulfing everything from a popular video app to Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub.

The latest tensions are overshadowing a trade agreement in January that was meant to draw a line under the trade war and be a boon for business.

Instead, differences between both powers are deepening right at a time when the world economy is facing its worst crisis since the Great Depression.

This week alone, President Donald Trump said he is considering banning ByteDance Ltd.’s short video app TikTok as retaliation against China over its handling of the coronavirus. Some of his top advisers want the US to undermine the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the greenback to pun-

ish China for recent moves to chip away at the former British colony’s political freedoms. There are even concerns over the visa status of hundreds of thousands of Chinese students who enroll at US colleges and universities each year.

China in turn has promised its own response, warning the US and others to stop interfering in Hong Kong and other issues.

“The Ice Age in relations is here to stay,” said Pauline Loong, managing director at research company Asia Analytica in Hong Kong and a veteran China watcher. “It will get much colder before there will be any thaw.”

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 49.4440

RIOT police detain a demonstrator in Hong Kong, January 2020. BLOOMBERG

THE economic backdrop could hardly be more stark, with the IMF estimating that by the end of this year 170 countries—almost 90 percent of the world—will have lower per capita income. That’s a reversal from January, when it predicted 160 countries would end the year with bigger economies and positive per capita income growth.

The deepening divisions are forcing difficult decisions for global business. Facebook Inc., Google and Twitter Inc.—all of which are blocked in the mainland—are at risk of the same fate in Hong Kong.

Hours after Hong Kong announced sweeping new powers to police the internet on Monday night, those companies plus the likes of Microsoft Corp. and Zoom Video Communications Inc. all suspended requests for data from the Hong Kong government. It’s not yet clear how the authorities will respond to that lack of compliance with local rules.

ByteDance’s TikTok, which has Chinese owners, announced it would pull its viral video app from Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4612 n UK 62.3439 n HK 6.3798 n CHINA 7.0711 n SINGAPORE 35.5150 n AUSTRALIA 34.4081 n EU 55.7976 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.1833

Source: BSP (July 10, 2020)

NewsSunday

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A2 Sunday, July 12, 2020

“When we started the cable company, it was just in our house in Villa Gloria Subdivision [Angeles City] in 1992,” he narrated.

It was there that the Angeles City Cable Television Network (ACCTN) was born with only a few hundred subscribers. Uy said back then, it cost about P3,500 to have an analog cable TV installed in your house.

But now, with the advent of digital technology, ACCTN is using underground fiber-optic cables piping in high-definition (HD) channels to households at a lower cost.

“Ing eganagana [All of my]backbone from La Union to Clark is now underground up to Metro Manila,” Uy said.

At present, Uy is working to bring cable television to the masses via prepaid cards for as low as P100 a month.

“I understand that for these people, cable TV is not a necessity, it is a luxury to them but if I can bring cable like P100 to the masses, no boxes no everything with just a certain number of channels. So, no need for the aerial antenna,” he said. “I have 35 cable companies all over Central Luzon already,” he added.

In 1996 ACCTN went into providing cable TV for the Mimosa Leisure Estate inside the Clark Freeport. The Clark venture has sparked another bright idea for

‘T

the visionary businessman who anticipated the boom of the ICT industry.

ComClark, a company he founded, started laying out the fiber-optic cables in the business center.

Rise of the BPO industry in Clark

SHORTLY after the groundwork was laid out in Clark, the boom of the business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry had began and Uy and his companies were ready.

“I laid out the fiber optics for the whole Clark in anticipation of the future,” he said.

“Tinarget ke nung nukarin la reng mangaragul locator; inabang ku nala [I targeted where the big locators were. I readied the connections],” he narrated.

“Maswelu ya ing Clark uling meg boom ya ing [Clark is fortunate with the rise of the] BPO industry because the fundamental fiber optics is laid out already,” Uy said.

“Sasalpak nalamu anyapin miparanun ya meg boom ing BPO industry [They just link the connections, that is why Clark has blossomed early as compared to Subic in the BPO industry],” he added.

“How come Subic has no BPO? Because the infrastructure system is not ready,” Uy explained.

JUNPINZON | DREAMSTIME.COM

Continued from A1

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Equipment

UY said they are the trendsetter when it comes to equipment. “I invest in technology. We have bor-

he internet is slow because of the cost. Among the Asian countries, we have the most expensive internet because our backbone subsea landing…to other points of termination is owned by only two companies and they charge 500 percent higher than other countries.”—Uy

ing machines which can bore or dig without much compromise. It only needs a meter of space to start boring from one side of the road to the other. No need to demolish or break the concrete and block the road,” he explained.

Uy said in other circumstances, only two inches of the concrete is cut where the fiber-optic cable is inserted with no disturbance to traffic.

Slow internet in PHL

“THE internet is slow because of the cost. Among the Asian countries, we have the most expensive internet because our backbone subsea landing … to other points of termination is owned by only two companies and they charge 500 percent higher than other countries,” he revealed.

“I will put a landing station in La Union,” he said. “The IGF is

intended to enhance all the traffic in applications such as Facebook, Viber, Facetime and the other social-media applications. The content all pass through the subsea cable in and out of the Philippines,” Uy explained.

“But there are only two companies that have this. So, we need a third player so that it will bring down the cost,” he reasoned.

“The cellular phone will be-

come obsolete because the future is internet protocol (IP). No one will pay just to send SMS, or call someone, when they can do that for free using social-media applications which will be the king in the future,” Uy predicted.

“That’s how the Philippines can communicate to the world via IP,” he said. “This is the link. This is the network,” he declared.

The US-China rivalry is broadening from trade to everything

PEOPLE wearing face masks to protect against the new coronavirus walk past a Huawei store in Beijing.

China demanded Washington stop “oppressing Chinese companies” after US regulators declared telecom equipment suppliers Huawei and ZTE to be national security threats. AP/MARK SCHIEFELBEIN Continued from A1

the territory’s mobile stores altogether in the coming days.

HSBC Holdings Plc., which draws more than two-thirds of its pretax income from Hong Kong, slumped in Hong Kong trading on Wednesday on fears it would lose out if the Trump administration moves ahead with any plan to punish banks in the city and destabilize the currency peg to the dollar.

The expectations are that threats and counter threats will

only ratchet up further ahead of the US presidential election in November, with little prospect of a near-term reset.

“I don’t see any immediate circuit breaker,” said Fraser Howie, author of Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of China’s Extraordinary Rise.

“Certainly not in the sense that there is a reset where everyone says ‘weren’t we all being foolish, let’s get back to being friends.’ I don’t see that coming any time soon.”

PRESIDENT Donald Trump said he is considering banning ByteDance Ltd.’s short video app TikTok as retaliation against China over its handling of the coronavirus. SAVCONSTANTINE | DREAMSTIME.COM

Raging conflict

AND it’s not just the world’s two biggest economies being affected.

India said it will ban 59 of China’s largest apps after a deadly Himalayan border clash with Chinese troops that killed 20 Indian soldiers. China warned the UK it will face “consequences” if it chooses to be a “hostile partner” after it emerged the government is preparing to begin phasing out the use of Huawei Technologies Co. equipment in the UK’s 5G telecommunications

networks as soon as this year.

Since April, China has imposed crippling tariffs on Australia’s barley industry, halted beef imports from four meat plants and urged its tourists and students to avoid going to the nation due to the risk of attacks from racists. The government in Canberra had earlier called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.

While economists said it’s unlikely that the US would follow through on its threat against the Hong Kong dollar, given the risk

of damage to US banks and companies, even the discussion of such a move is unnerving for confidence.

“It is a nuclear option, which could result in a financial crisis for Hong Kong, as well as considerable collateral damage for US banks and investors,” said Kevin Lai, chief economist for Asia excluding Japan at Daiwa Capital Markets. “It is not impossible, but we think it is unlikely to happen.”

The idea of striking against the Hong Kong dollar peg—perhaps by limiting the ability of Hong Kong

banks to buy US dollars—has been raised as part of broader discussions among advisers to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and hasn’t been elevated to the senior levels of the White House, Bloomberg News reported.

“There is a fast evolving realignment of forces happening,” said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist with Natixis SA. “The spiraling threat will remain with us at least until the US election and, very likely, also afterwards. It is just a new paradigm.”

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso

‘Slave monkey’ scandal forces Thailand to rethink coconut trade

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hailand, the world’s top producer of coconut milk, said it will enable retailers and consumers to trace coconuts back to their source to show whether monkeys have been used for harvesting.

The $400-million industry, which relies on monkeys at some plantations, is facing possible boycotts in the US, Europe and Australia after the People of the Ethical Treatment of Animals, known as PETA, alleged that monkeys are being abused and “treated like coconut picking machines” for Thai growers and producers.

Officials from the country’s commerce ministry, animal welfare agency, and representatives from the industry met in Bangkok on Wednesday, and have agreed to create measures that ensure the traceability of Thai coconut products, according to a statement.

Packages will be marked with a code that can be used to track the products back to their source, which will show whether they came from monkey-free plantations.

The PETA report caused waves across the world, with several British supermarkets saying it will stop selling some Thai coconut products, according to local media reports. A major Thai producer also said it is receiving inquiries from US and Australian retailers.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s fiancee, Carrie Symonds, also weighed in, issuing a series of tweets urging stores to boycott products using monkeys.

PETA alleges that an undercover investigation at eight farms and several monkey training schools revealed “shocking abuse” where “monkeys are chained, confined to cramped cages, and forced to climb trees and pick coconuts.” The organization called on the Thai government to ban the “enslavement of monkeys.”

Still, not all coconut plantations in Thailand use monkeys. Some coconuts that are harvested for its water are often grown from dwarf trees, allowing them to be collected by humans using tools like a long bamboo stick or a pole pruner. Coconut trees that are harvested for milk tend to be taller than 15 meters, so monkeys are often used instead.

Monkey school

“We have to understand that climbing tall trees for humans is a very dangerous job that could end in injury or death,” said Somjai Saekow of the First Monkey School, a training center for coconutcollecting monkeys in southern Thailand. “It would be great if we can find an alternative way to collect coconuts. Many of us will be happy to change.”

Other coconut-growing regions, such as Brazil, Colombia and Hawaii, harvest coconuts using methods such as tractor-mounted hydraulic elevators, humans, ropes or ladders, PETA said.

Using monkeys to collect coconuts is an old tradition that may need to change with time even if very few growers still practice it, according to Naris Khamnurak, a lawmaker from southern Thailand, the biggest coconut growing area.

Thailand’s two major coconut producers that PETA alleges are using monkey labor denied the claims. Theppadungporn Coconut Co., the maker of Chaokoh coconut milk, said that the company buys coconuts from plantations that use humans to harvest, adding that retailers abroad have been contacting the company on this issue. Thai Agri Foods Pcl, the maker of Aroy-D coconut milk, said its products aren’t sourced from plantations that use monkeys.

Thailand is among the world’s biggest producers of coconuts, producing about 1.3 million tons of each year. It exports a range of products, from fresh and desiccated coconuts to coconut milk and oil. The PETA campaign has affected sales in the UK as well as other European countries, Thai Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said.

On the Thai measures to improve traceability, PETA responded on Thursday by saying that while the new system is welcome, it requires companies to be forthright.

“PETA and every kind consumer looks forward to seeing a Thai coconut industry that leaves monkeys alone,” Jason Baker, the group’s senior vice president of International Campaigns, said.

Bloomberg News

Is it safe to visit the dentist during Covid-19 pandemic?

I

s it safe to visit the dentist during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Dentists can’t eliminate all risk, but they are taking steps to minimize the chances of spreading the coronavirus.

You’ll likely notice changes as soon as you enter the office. Many dentists have removed magazines from waiting rooms, for example, as well as some chairs to encourage social distancing. They also are spacing out appointments to avoid crowding their offices.

You may be asked to arrive for your appointment with a facial covering and to wait in your car until equipment is cleaned and the dentist is ready. Before receiving care, you can also expect staff to take your temperature and ask about Covid-19 symptoms.

Procedures are changing, too.

Coronavirus is spread mainly

through droplets people spray when they talk, cough or sneeze.

Dental care requires close quarters and procedures that can generate a spray of saliva and water. To reduce risk, dentists are returning to manual tools for procedures like teeth cleanings, instead of other instruments that may do the job faster but create more of that spray.

Staffs also have started wearing masks, face shields and other personal protective equipment.

Some dentists are charging for all the extra gear, so ask in advance if you should expect extra costs.

As the pandemic spread earlier this year, dental offices in the US mostly closed, except for emergency care. By the end of June, nearly all offices had reopened, according to surveys by the American Dental Association. AP

Sunday, July 12, 2020

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Europe’s next rescue idea: Public stakes in small firms

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By Carolynn Look & Alexander Weber

uropean policy-makers who frantically assembled plans to help their economies weather the coronavirus lockdowns are starting to focus on how to prevent cascading bankruptcies that could derail the rebound.

T he ne x t big idea ga ining traction among officia ls and economists is potentially taking stakes in small and mediumsized businesses, in contrast to early efforts that relied heavily on loans to keep cor porations af loat.

The European Commission and the Bank of England have both floated the concept, and France’s finance ministry is examining the option. So is Germany’s economy ministry, according to a spokesman. The nation’s DIHK business association, which says almost half of its members have seen their capital depleted, is supportive.

Equity support in itself isn’t new—banks were bailed out during the global financial crisis and Germany still holds a more than 15-percent stake in Commerzbank.

But efforts that focused on l a rge compa n ies t r ig gered a bac k l a sh aga inst aut hor it ies for ignoring struggling smaller businesses that employ the vast majority of workers.

Now, the disruptions from the pandemic mean many of those businesses face a cash flow squeeze that could see them fail even as they resume operations.

Such intervention would thrust the state into an even-deeper role in managing the economy, and would inevitably lead to accusations of picking winners and losers. The economists backing such proposals, however, say relying on yet more loans could weigh so heavily on businesses that it sucks the life out of the economy.

“There’s a risk that companies will have to ramp up debt to such an extent during the crisis that aggressive investments afterward become unlikely,” said Jan Krahnen, director of the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE in Frankfurt, and one of the authors of a proposed European Union-wide equity proposal. “This would be counteracted directly with another form of financing.”

Solvency support

The EU Commission identified corporate solvency as a key risk this week, warning that a rise in bankruptcies “could amplify and lengthen the pandemic shock while raising non-performing loans.”

It estimates as much as 720 billion euros ($811 billion) will be needed this year alone to ensure the survival of otherwise-viable

firms in the EU. Officials have proposed a “solvency support instrument”—as part of the bloc’s recovery fund that leaders will debate this month—which would leverage a small public budget to mobilize 300 billion euros in private equity investment.

“We’re entering a phase where corporate solvency may be shaken as national governments could start reducing the policy support put in place in the first phase of the crisis,” OECD Chief Economist Laurence Boone told a European Parliament hearing in June.

“Where state aid has taken the form of equity injections, corporates will be more resilient.”

The proposal by Krahnen and five economists from other universities argues for a “European Pandemic Equity Fund” that would make an initial cash investment in return for a share in future earnings. It would be open to companies of all sizes, and firms could ultimately buy themselves out of the scheme at a pre-set price.

Similar to the EU proposal, it would leverage a smaller public budget by selling bonds or take investments from institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers.

In the UK, the BOE sees the cash-flow deficit at companies reaching 50 billion pounds ($63 billion), and Governor Andrew Bailey has pledged to work with the government on ways to boost equity finance to plug that gap.

Such plans would throw up some dilemmas. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde says the crisis will probably accelerate preexisting trends toward less globalization, more digitization and greener industries. Governments may feel not all parts of

the economy should be restored to their pre-virus standing.

Researchers at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels wrote in an opinion piece that any publicly backed equity fund should set a “clear political direction” with post-virus goals such as climate neutrality and social cohesion.

“I imagine this is ver y hard to do in practice,” Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, head of economic research at debt collector Creditreform, said. “How do you want to select companies that only got in trouble because of the cr isis, and idea l ly be a l l about green technologies? The devil is in the details.”

Others say publicly backed loans that were handed out in recent months could be the starting point for equity support. Olivier Blanchard, Thomas Philippon and Jean Pisani-Ferry wrote a paper for the Peterson Institute saying that firms could get the option to convert debt into “equity or quasi-equity in the form of preferred shares or, for privately held firms, higher profit taxes.”

If that were to happen in Germany, for example, where companies have applied for more than 50 billion euros worth of loans from the state-back development bank KfW, thousands of firms could find that the state has joined their shareholder roster.

“These loans have not been used before during times of economic crisis—nobody knows what will happen now,” said Dirk Ehnts, a Berlin-based economist who cofounded Pufendorf Gesellschaft, an NGO focusing on political economy education. “The German government, without initially intending it, could become a very, very big business owner. Bloomberg News

Womenomics pioneer tells bosses in Japan to nurture female talent

By Isabel Reynolds

J

apan has hit a wall on progress for working women after a big push, and the pioneer of “womenomics” thinks she has the answer.

It’s been 20 years since Kathy Matsui, vice chair of Goldman Sachs Japan, first showed how empowered women could bolster the economy of the rapidly aging and labor-starved country, in a series of reports that helped spur the government to take action.

Japan’s female labor force participation is now higher than in the US, but it’s fallen well short of its target of getting women into 30 percent of supervisory positions in all fields by 2020. And that’s not entirely the fault of authorities, Matsui said in an interview with Bloomberg. Companies need to learn to retain and train women, across the region, not just in Japan.

“Governments can only do so much, they can’t intervene in the inner workings of an organization,” Matsui said. “That’s going to be where the next stage is, if we really want to hit those targets.”

Her book How to Nurture Female Employees will be published

by Chuko Shinsho R akure in Japanese on Thursday.

To be effective, diversity policies need to be run right from the top of companies, which should establish networking opportunities for female employees to discourage them from quitting, she said. Mentors and sponsors can help promising women succeed.

“I grew up in America, t h i n k i ng boy s a nd g i rl s a re

Kathy Matsui Junko Kimura-Matsumoto/Bloomberg

e x act ly ident ica l, t here’s ab solutely no d if ference and why shou ld we be t reated d if ferent ly,” Matsu i sa id. “O ver my a l most 30 -yea r ca reer in t h is indust r y, I ’ve come to rea l i ze there are definite differences.”

She said she often sees a confidence gap, with women questioning their own qualifications for a new role, focusing on the negative side of evaluations and sometimes needing to be asked twice before accepting a promotion.

Ask twice

“Rarely does that second conversation happen,” Matsui noted, adding that she asks CEOs: “Why didn’t you push? Why didn’t you ask her again and say I’ll back you?”

She explains that the worst career advice she ever received as a young woman was to work hard and keep her head down. Managers need to tell women to keep “their antennae up,” be aware of opportunities and learn to promote themselves, she said.

Matsui’s book comes as the num-

ber of women employed in Japan fell in April for the first time in more than eight years, reflecting the economic blow of the coronavirus pandemic. Most workingwomen in Japan lack full-time status, which means they have fewer benefits and little job security.

“I don’t think Japan is unique in this regard. Women have borne the brunt of the job displacement—look at the US, look at Europe,” she said.

“The majority of women who work outside the home are in temporary or irregular jobs. Naturally, they’re again going to suffer more.”

School closures have also placed an added burden on women, who tend to handle the vast majority of household and family duties in Japan.

Yet the pandemic hasn’t been all negative for working women with families, because it has spurred a move toward remote working, Matsui said. Fujitsu, for example, said this week it will cut its office space in Japan by 50 percent over the next three years, encouraging 80,000 office workers to primarily

do their jobs from home.

Disappointed that Japan has failed to reach its targets for women managers— media reports indicate they may be delayed for another decade—Matsui wants the government to explain and address the obstacles, which include tax incentives for married women to work full time.

Japan already boasts generous parental leave rights and companies are required to publish data about the status of their female employees and managers. The government has also passed a law meant to stop companies from paying full-time workers more than their part-time colleagues if they perform the same tasks.

Yet a government survey published last July showed the proportion of women in management positions in companies with more than 10 employees had risen to 11.8 percent, up 0.3 percentage points, but still well short of the 30-percent target.

From the investment side, a belated rush in Japan to so-called Environment, Government and Governance or sustainable assets is also pressuring companies to do more to improve diversity. From less than a trillion yen ($9 billion) in assets under management five years ago, it grew to 340 trillion yen last year, according to Matsui.

For her, enabling women to reach their potential at work is not a matter of corporate social responsibility.

“This is a war for talent, particularly in this country,” she said.

“If you want to win, you want to compete, you’ve got to attract the best people.” Bloomberg News

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The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, July 12, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Trump changed the world order and leaders don’t know what to do

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By Ian Wishart, Kait Bolongaro & Arne Delfs

fter Donald J. Trump became president, some of the US’s oldest allies believed they could anticipate his next move. The billionaire’s approach was unorthodox for sure, but there was certain logic.

Many realize now that their thinking was not only misguided, but that they don’t have much power to influence him. There is also a growing dread that the embattled leader will stop at little in a brutal fight to get reelected come November. Polls show him badly trailing his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

The geopolitical consequences of any sudden decision in the next four months, from yet another escalation in the conflict with China to more trashing of Nato, could reverberate beyond whoever winds up winning.

From Berlin to Tokyo, officials speaking on condition of anonymity acknowledge a few truths. One is that when it comes to dealing with a president who likes to shock to gain the upper hand, even friends are caught off guard. Another is that trying to stay out of harm’s way is one way to avoid getting targeted, but by no means enough.

That flattery works, but will only get you so far.

And perhaps most critically, that multilateralism, as it was conceived in the post-war era with the likes of Nato and the United Nations, has been so compromised that it may never recover.

According to an official close to the leader of one big Group of Seven economy, governments have come to realize that in their dealings with Trump, they can only be reactive. It’s impossible to plan ahead with a leader who behaves in such

an erratic way, the person said.

Leaders from the Group of 20 are bracing themselves for the American president to get even more unpredictable. From Trump calling Canada’s Justin Trudeau “two-faced” after a hot-mic incident, to a report he told Germany’s Angela Merkel she was “stupid” during a phone call, the idea that crystalized for many is that anyone is fair game.

While the coronavirus gave some allies an excuse to keep Trump at arm’s length for a few months, his readiness to blame the rest of the world for America’s economic ills, could make them targets in his frenzied campaign.

In the past month, Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the World Health Organization and pull a large number of American troops from Germany, ending an arrangement since World War II. He is also belligerent with China and the European Union with what officials see as a personal fixation with the US’s trade deficit.

China, w ith a giant economy to r iva l t he US, has its ow n strateg y. Europeans are caught in t he m idd le.

“They want to avoid any provocation from Trump during the election campaign,” said Pierre Vimont, French ambassador to the US from 2007 to 2010. “But even if they remain silent, it’s hard to believe he won’t put things like the European trade imbalance at

In this June 1, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he visits outside St. John’s Church across Lafayette Park from the White House in Washington. Trump began June with his Bible-clutching photo op outside the church after authorities used chemicals and batons to scatter peaceful demonstrators, and the month never got less jarring or divisive.

Now, some Republicans are expressing concern about the month’s impact on their party’s ability to hold the Senate. AP/Patrick Semansky

the heart of his political message, simply because it plays well with his political base.”

Trump’s time in office has tested the ability of many a political veteran to adapt to a new way of doing politics.

Merkel knows that more than most. She’s been a frequent target for Trump’s ire. On a video call in June, when European leaders held a brainstorming discussion about the EU’s next few months, she cited the US election as one of the risk factors, according to an official.

For weeks she has found herself dragged into a debate over his attempts to rearrange a G-7 in person despite Covid-19 running rampant in the US. Merkel wasn’t the only one surprised by a May 20 tweet announcing his plan to reschedule for close to the original date, officials say.

Her reluctance to attend was due in part to her unwillingness to help Trump’s campaign. She has since signaled she’s prepared to attend the event, now slated for after the summer, in the spirit of “multilateralism.”

Merkel may be in the firing line but her dilemma is felt across

the globe. If the G-7 goes ahead as Trump intends, leaders will be performing a delicate balancing act mere weeks before US elections.

An official close to President Emmanuel Macron said in order to ensure the G-7 doesn’t become a Trump rally, France should try to set the agenda in advance. That smacks of hubris, given how Trump has been a consistent wild card in events he was attending, never mind one where he is a host.

Trump’s conduct at previous international gatherings certainly has diplomats gritting their teeth.

At the Nato summit in Brussels in 2017, he hesitated to endorse the military alliance’s sacrosanct clause—an attack against one ally is considered as an attack against all.

At the G-7 meeting in Canada in 2018, he did agree to sign up to an anodyne joint communiqué only to then renege on it and rage at Trudeau—in two tweets, on a plane out to a summit on North Korea.

Past experiences can sting.

Trudeau now tries to keep a low profile on anything that might upset relations with the White

House, an official said. Mexico’s A nd res Ma nuel L opez Obrador flew to Washington to see Trump—but Trudeau politely declined an invitation to join.

The EU has a similar approach, according to an official in Brussels. Even during the election campaign, officials said the aim is to keep channels of conversation open and resist drawing attention to setbacks or give any inkling they might prefer Biden in the White House.

Political observers can see how charged the atmosphere is.

With the US failing to contain the virus and the Black Lives Matter movement gaining momentum, Trump has tried to reignite his flagging campaign.

On July 4, celebrating American independence from English colonial reign, he blamed “the radical left” for threatening the American way of life. There are other targets, too, that complicate the political calculations.

Trump also lashed out at China in the same speech, blaming it for “secrecy, deceptions and cover-up” in its handling of the virus.

As they design strategies for dealing with the US, before and after the election, governments are increasingly finding they must do so in tandem with shaping policy on an increasingly assertive Beijing, which has made a bold bid to seize broad control of Hong Kong and defy global condemnation in the process.

That puts the UK, which controlled Hong Kong until 1997, in a particular bind. It is desperate for Trump to deliver rapidly on a trade deal to burnish its post-Brexit independence and it plans to phase out China’s Huawei Technologies Co. from its 5G networks.

The EU is more reluctant to pick sides. It doesn’t help that the bloc is split between countries like Germany and France, whose leaders are as skeptical of Beijing as they are of Trump.

Italy is the perfect embodiment

of that tension. Close to Trump, but ready to dive head first into cooperating with Xi Jinping’s trademark Belt and Road investment and infrastructure program.

“It has not been a good presidency for the alliance system the US built up since World War II,” said David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China. “China has taken advantage of that and begun to pressure middle powers like Canada and Australia.”

Still, Trump’s time in office hasn’t been difficult for everyone.

Populists in power in Hungary and Poland feel a natural affinity to Trump’s “America First” and the chest thumping. In the EU, there is a shared enemy. Those eastern countries receive a lot of aid from the bloc but defy its rule of law.

Saudi Arabia is grateful Trump declared US support for the kingdom after allegations that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi. A Saudi official said it was incumbent to maintain a good relationship with the president, whoever it is.

And in South Korea, Trump is seen as being integral to opening up a dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-In “have good chemistry,” said Boo Seung-Chan, former adviser to South Korea’s defense minister. That is a point of view contradicted by former national security adviser John Bolton in his recent memoirs.

For anyone hoping a Biden victor y might restore the US to being the world ’s global policeman, officials warn that American politics might have changed forever even if Biden would be a well-known entity.

As Kuni Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat, put it: “Which is better, Biden or Trump for Japan?

My conclusion is neither. It’s never been easy to deal with an American administration, especially a new American administration.”

Bloomberg News

Czech volunteers develop working ventilator in days

By Karel Janicek

P

The Associated Press

RAGUE—Tomas Kapler knew nothing about ventilators—he’s an online business consultant, not an engineer or a medical technician. But when he saw that shortages of the vital machines had imperiled critically ill Covid-19 patients in northern Italy, he was moved to action.

“It was a disturbing feeling for me that because of a lack of equipment the doctors had to decide whether a person gets a chance to live,” Kapler said.

“That seemed so horrific to me that it was an impulse to do something.”

And so he did. “I just said to myself: ‘Can we simply make the ventilators?’” he said.

Working around the clock, he brought together a team of 30 Czechs to develop a fully functional ventilator— Corovent. And they did it in a matter of days.

Kapler is a member of an informal group of volunteers

formed by IT companies and experts who offered to help the state fight the pandemic. The virus struck here slightly later than in Western Europe but the number of infected was rising and time was running out.

“It seemed that on the turn of March and April, we might be in the same situation as Italy,” Kapler said.

Ventilators had become a precious commodity. Their price was skyrocketing and so was demand that the traditional makers were unable to immediately meet.

Components for the ventilators were also in critically short supply. So Kapler said he set out to “make a ventilator from the parts that are used in common machines.”

A crowdfunding campaign ensured the necessary finances in just hours.

Kapler approached Karel Roubik, professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Czech Technical University for help. He, in turn, assembled colleagues through Skype, while his post-graduate student

A worker checks a lung ventilator “Corovent” manufactured in Trebic, Czech Republic, on June 17, 2020. A group of volunteers in the Czech Republic was working round the clock to prevent critical shortage of ventilators for Covid-19 patients. A team of 30 developed a fully functional ventilator—named Corovent—in just days. They secured the necessary finances through crowdfunding, approached a leading expert in the field with a request for help and gave him all possible support. AP/Petr David Josek

tested the new design in their lab in Kladno, west of Prague.

They had a working prototype in five days, something that would normally take a year.

Roubik said their simple design makes the machine reliable, inexpensive, and easy

to operate and mass-produce.

A group of volunteer pilots flew their planes to deliver anything needed. And then MICO, an energy and chemical company based in Trebic, 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Kladno, offered to do the manufacturing.

Flights between the two places helped fine-tune the production line in a few weeks.

“I didn’t do anything more than those people who were making the face masks,” said MICO’s Chief Executive, Jiri Denner. “They did the maximum they could. And I did

the maximum I could.”

With the certification for emergency use in the European Union approved, the ventilator was ready in April—but it was not needed in the Czech Republic, which had managed to contain the outbreak.

MICO has submitted a request for approval for emergency use in the United States, Brazil, Russia and other countries. Meanwhile, they’ve applied for EU certification for common hospital use.

“Originally, we thought it would be just an emergency ventilator for the Czech Republic,” Kapler said. “But it later turned out that the ventilators will be needed in the entire world.”

Kapler looks back at the effort with satisfaction.

“I had to quit my job and I have been without pay for several months,” he said. “But otherwise, it was mostly positive for me. I’ve met many fantastic people who are willing to help.”

Or to quote the slogan printed on the ventilator’s box: “Powered by Czech heart.” AP

Science

BusinessMirror

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

Sunday

Sunday, July 12, 2020 A5

PHL scores higher, at 47.6%, against global average of 40.2% in GHS index D Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala addresses the 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the National Academy of Science and Technology on July 9.

Zobel: Embrace S&T for a ‘better normal’ E

mbracing science and technology is key to a better, more resilient normal.

Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala gave this message in his keynote address at the 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the National Academy of Science and Technology that was held virtually on July 9.

Zobel emphasized the impor tance of strengthening the ties among science, industry and government in finding long-term solutions to address the country’s most pressing challenges.

He cited Task Force T3 (Test, Trace and Treat), which aims to expand the country’s reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction in Covid-19 testing capacity, as an example of a highly successful public-private partnership model which may be applied in other areas.

Ayala’s contribution to the Task Force T3 includes the conversion of the World Trade Center into a 502-bed quarantine facility and donation of swabbing booths for all four Mega Swabbing Centers.

In addition, together with other private companies, Ayala has built and capacitated seven Biosafety Level 2 Laboratories across the country to augment the national Covid-19 testing capacity which has now reached almost 75,000 tests per day.

“I am a firm believer in the power of co-creation and collaboration. Let’s reimagine the world we live in and the way things are using this crisis as a way of refashioning the way we live. I believe that the sciences and the science-based approach has a lot to teach us in that regard,” Zobel said.

On education, Ayala believes that the current shift to distance learning may become an integral part of the Philippine education system given its many benefits for both students and teachers.

Ayala Corp. itself has also explored online learning platforms, such as Coursera and Degreed, to maintain a high level of productivity and engagement within its workforce a significant number of whom continue to work from home.

Zobel also emphasized the importance of data and insights in understanding and developing solutions to the long-standing societal problems the country faces today.

He shared that the Ayala group regularly gathers data from across its different business units to better understand evolving consumer behaviors and needs, thus allowing it to provide improved services and relevant products.

He gave as example that with the rising demand for digital platforms for the delivery of basic goods and services, Ayala’s AC Healthcare Holdings (AC Health) penetrated the telemedicine space through HealthNow, an all-in-one digital platform developed in partnership with Globe 917 Ventures.

This digital platform serves as an alternative channel for patients to access primary healthcare without leaving the safety of their homes.

During its April to June pilot run alone, the platform had over 11,000 patient consultation requests with the top specialization requests covering family medicine; dermatology; obstetrics and gynecology; and ear, nose and throat concerns.

Zobel also noted that the community quarantine caused by the coronavirus pandemic brought on a significant increase in consumer engagement on digital financial apps, such as Globe’s GCash and BPI’s mobile banking app.

From March to June, GCash experienced a 138 percent increase in daily active users and 157 percent jump in daily active transactions.

Transactions on the BPI mobile banking app, on the other hand, accounted for 90 percent of all bank transactions as of mid-April compared to only 70 percent prior to the quarantine.

He said the digitalization of its financial services has been the main driver of Ayala’s efforts to promote financial inclusion across a broader demographic particularly the unserved and underserved segments of the population.

DOST-FPRDI prioritizes study of tree plantation species

T

he country’s wood industries have been suffering from a shortage of raw materials for many years now. This has been caused mainly by decades of indiscriminate logging which have systematically reduced the areas of the country’s natural growth forests.

To help beef up the country’s wood supply, the Department of Science and Technology’s Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) started a research program for studying different kinds of tree plantation species (TPS).

According to the institute’s Dr. Dwight A. Eusebio, “TPS are fastgrowing trees that are either native or introduced to a particular place, and grown in tree farms at least half a hectare in size.”

Tree farms or plantations became popular in the Philippines since the 1980s, and especially in the last 10 years after the government finally imposed a logging moratorium on all natural growth forests.

TPS are grown mainly as substitutes to traditional species, and those commonly found in local tree farms, include yemane (Gmelina arborea Roxb.); malapapaya (Polyscias nodosa [Blume] Seeman); mangium (Acacia mangium Willd.); river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh); falcata (Falcataria moluccana [Miq.] Barneby & J.W. Grimes); large-fruited red mahogany (Eucalyptus pellita F.v. Muell); large-leaf mahogany (Sweitenia macrophylla King) and bagras (Eucalyptus deglupta Blume).

“DOST-FPRDI studies TPS not only because they make good construction and housing materials, but also because they have a host of other industrial uses,” Eusebio said.

They can be used for pulp and paper, veneer and plywood, composite boards (particleboard, fiberboard, etc.), power and telecommunication poles, and packaging materials (pallets, fruit boxes, crates, etc.).

They can also be tapped for builders woodworks (doors, windows, door and window jambs, moldings, balusters, stairs and railings, shingles and shakes, parquets, etc.), fancy woodwork, wooden shoes, pencil slats, ice cream spoons, chopsticks, matchsticks, toothpicks and many more.

Eusebio explained: “The uses of wood, of course, are dependent on its inherent qualities. For example, is the wood light or heavy? Durable or not?

Easy or difficult to dry, machine or finish? These are some things we need to know to determine its applications.

“Thus, for three decades now, DOST-FPRDI researchers from diverse fields have been looking into the properties of 15 TPS [mostly eucalypts and acacias]—their anatomical, chemical, physical and mechanical, sawmilling, machining, finishing, drying characteristics, natural durability and treatability.”

All the information generated has consequently been published in handbooks and bulletins.

“In the coming years, we are committed to conduct research and development studies on other TPS that have not yet been tapped by our client-industries,” Eusebio added.

According to the Forest Management Bureau of the Department of Science and Technology, the wood sector needs about 6 million cubic meters of raw materials a year. This is way beyond the 1 million cubic meters produced, 75 percent of which is supplied by tree plantations.

Rizalina K. Araral/S&T Media Service

espite the criticisms on how the Philippine government is handling the measures to address the coronavirus pandemic, a welcome news is that the country scored 47.6 percent in overall readiness rating, or higher than the global average of 40.2 percent among 195 countries rated for the Global Health Standards (GHS) Index, getting the 53rd ranking.

This was reported by Dr. Raul V. Destura at the recent first virtual Annual Scientific Conference of the Department of Science and Technology-National Research Council of the Philippines (DOST-NRCP).

A DOST-NRCP vice president, Destura was behind the development of the first Philippine production of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) test kit, that showed the country’s readiness to coronavirus pandemic side by side with other countries.

Countries weak in health security

Destura said the 2019 GHS Index show a global overall “disturbing average” score of 40.2, that leads to the finding that “national health security is fundamentally weak around the world.”

He said there is also “no country that is fully prepared” for the world’s most omnipresent risks: infectious disease outbreaks that can lead to international epidemics and pandemics, and every country has important gaps to address. In terms of biopreparedness, the figure below tells clearly that there are still nuances in biopreparedness that need to be understood.

The GHS Scoring has six categories: 1) Prevention, 2) Detection and Reporting, 3) Rapid Response, 4) Health System, 5) Compliance with International Norms, and 6) Risk Environment.

Philippines scores

Where does the Philippines stand

in the GHS Scoring in terms of the six categories?

The country got 47.6 percent in overall readiness rating of the 100 perfect score, or 53rd ranking from 195 countries.

Notably, the Philippines scored 100 percent in data integration between human/animal/environmental health sectors; 91.2 percent in immunization; 83.3 percent in laboratory systems; 84.6 percent in communication infrastructure; and 87.5 percent for international commitments of the country, Destura reported However, it got zero score in biosafety and dual-use research and culture of responsible science, linking public health and security authorities, communications with healthcare workers during a public health emergency and Joint External Evaluation and Performance of Veterinary Services.

The Philippines other scores: n Prevention: 38.5 percent (global average: 34.8 percent) n Detection and Reporting: 63.6 percent (global average: 41.9 percent) n Rapid Response: 43.8 percent (global average: 38.4 percent) n Health system, 38.2 percent (global average: 26.4 percent) n Compliance with International Norms, 49.8 percent (global average 48.5 percent) * Risk Environment, 50.3 percent (global average: 55.0 percent) Destura emphasized that global infectious disease emergencies is a recurring phenomenon, “it will not end with SARS CoV 2,” the cause of the Covid-19.

“The current pandemic taught us that the country can be cut-off from the rest of the world and vice-versa, therefore, in-country self-sustainable biopreparedness program is needed,” he said.

“Bioprepreparedness programs require analysis of what works around the world and why it will or will not work in our setting. But more importantly, is that the science and technology sector has to be involved ‘years’ [he pointed out] before the onset of a pandemic,” he added.

“Global infectious disease emergencies demand the attention and cooperation of the GloCal [global and local] community. As members of the community of science, the humanities, engineering and technology, we must strive to actively participate in the national and global effort to alleviate the impact of emerging and re-emerging infectious disease emergencies,” he pointed out.

Destura said this could be done “by building on existing local research strengths and growing international collaboration, providing excellence and innovation in the field of research, training health professionals and creating and sharing health knowledge.”

How the other countries scored

Accordingly, fewer than 7 percent of countries scored in the highest tier for the ability to prevent the emergence or release of pathogens, while only 19 percent of countries receive top marks for detection and reporting, Destura said.

There are also fewer than 5 percent of countries scored in the highest tier for the ability to rapidly respond to and mitigate the spread of an epidemic.

In terms of health system, the average score indicators is 26.4 of 100, making it the lowest-scoring category.

Further, less than half of countries have submitted Confidence-Building Measures under the Biological Weapons Convention in the past three years.

It was an indication of their ability to

DOST pushes for 30-year ‘foresight plan’ to solve PHL woes

By Edwin P. Galvez @EdwinGalvez

T

he Department of Science and Technology (DOST) exhorted scientists, researchers and government policy-makers to craft a 30-year “strategic foresight plan” offering inclusive and sustainable solutions to the country’s woes.

“This is the perfect time to convene for solutions to long-standing concerns, especially that the threat of Covid-19 and other infectious diseases has brought so many challenges to various disciplines,” said Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña at the opening of the 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST PHL) on July 8.

The Science chief is pushing for the creation of a strategic plan up to 2050 anchored on “inclusive growth and sustainable development” with the NAST PHL, an attached organization to the DOST, tasked to submit it before yearend.

NAST PHL acts as an advisory body to the President and the Cabinet on policies related to science and technology by virtue of Executive Order 818 in 1982.

At present, the NAST PHL has 72 members called academicians, 12 of whom were conferred with the Order of National Scientist.

“We have the tradition of meeting with the science community and our private and public partners and stakeholders in discussing and formulating science and technology-grounded recommendations on vital and current issues related to the country’s growth and development,” said NAST PHL President Rhodora V. Azanza in her welcome remarks.

She said this is done through “regional fora and meetings culminating with an annual scientific meeting, which we are doing virtually this year because of the disruptive Covid-19 pandemic.”

Solutions to long-standing concerns

The three-day scientific meeting with the theme “Science and Technology for Society: Solutions to Long-Standing Concerns” gathered the country’s leading scientists and members of the science and technology community and decision-makers from both the public and private sectors to discuss five societal concerns and “formulate policies or implement guidelines in providing [for their] solutions.”

Topics in the plenary sessions focused on food system and health; energy and water; environment, climate change, and blue economy; information and communications technology, shelter, and other infrastructure; and science education and talent retention.

The meeting also discussed “learnings from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“To analyze and integrate the effects of the virus

on various socio-economic sectors, the last two of the seven sessions are devoted to the new and evolving dispensation,” said Academician Reynaldo B. Vea, chairman of the meeting’s steering committee.

De la Peña said the topics were geared to “come up with efficient resolutions to help our government and fellow countrymen in overcoming difficulties through science, technology and innovation.”

He also said the meeting aimed to “bind all the members of the academe, researchers, scientists and government agencies across the country to share and profile their research with particular focus on the applications of science and technology for the Philippine path toward sustainability, resiliency and recovery.”

NAST STI Foresight 2050

“The pandemic has imbued this meeting with an additional perspective,” said Vea, who discussed the framing of the “30-year plan being crafted by NAST for DOST” called the NAST Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Foresight 2050. “[The plan] will involve a national interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and participatory planning process with the goal to build up the country’s scientific capital as a basis for producing systems, processes, and goods for inclusive growth, sustainability, and competitiveness,” Vea said.

He said the annual meeting would serve “as an opportunity and a vehicle to provide inputs” to the plan and “weave all of these various elements into a coherent whole.”

First day

On July 8, on the topic Food System and Health, Academician (Acd.) Eufemio T. Rasco Jr. discussed “Feeding Metro Manila in 2050,” while Acd. Antonio Miguel L. Dans spoke on “The latest data on diet and health.” Acd. Edward H.M. Wang served as moderator.

The topic Energy, Water, and Transportation Systems had Acd. Filemon A. Uriarte Jr. talked on “Energy and water in the time of Covid-19,” while Dr. Jose Regin F. Regidor, professor at the UP Institute of Civil Engineering, discussed “Transportation system in the new normal.” Acd. Aura C. Matias was moderator.

The subject Environment, Climate Change and Blue Economy was tackled by NAST President Azanza, who spoke on “Blue Economy,” while Acd. Rodel D. Lasco talked on“Climate Change and Environment.”Acd. Marie Antonette J. Meñez served as moderator.

Second day

On July 9, ICT, Shelter, and Other Infrastructure was discussed by Acd. William T. Torres through his topic, “Harnessing the digital ecosystems approach for small and medium enterprises,” while Acd. Benito M. Pacheco dealt on “Adapting the Philippine Building Act of 2020 with S&T innovations in regulations and standards for a new normal.” Acd. Guillermo Q. Tabios III was the moderator.

On Science Education and Talent Retention, Acd. Christopher C. Bernido talked on “Strategies for basic education under Covid-19 conditions,” while Acd. William G. Padolina spoke on “On Higher Education.” The moderator was Acd. Jose Maria P. Balmaceda.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman and CEO of Ayala Corp., discussed “Challenges under the new normal (Geopolitical and socio-economic concerns)” under the topic The Way Forward. It was moderated

by Vea.

Third day

On July 10, for the topic “Learnings from the Covid-19 Pandemic: Preparing for the New Normal,” Health Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario S. Vergeire, spoke on “Ensuring health and safety of communities”; Dr. Ma. Regina Justina E. Estuar of the Ateneo de Manila University and project team leader of DOST FASSSTER, dealt on “Enhanced disease surveillance;” and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, also the co-chairperson of Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, talked on “Addressing societal concerns: Economy, business and education.” The discussion was moderated by Acd. Jaime C. Montoya, also the executive director of Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of DOST. Montoya gave a “Recap of the last two and a half days,” Acd. Reynaldo B. Vea presented the “Resolutions of the 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting,”Dr. Karl Kendrick Chua, acting secretary of the National Economic Development Authority, gave his response; and de la Peña responded for DOST. NAST PHL members are clustered into six divisions, namely, Agricultural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering Sciences and Technology, Health Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences.

Awards

Awards were given to the best scientific poster, with Acd. William T. Torres, chairman of the Scientific Poster board of judges, outstanding book/monograph, and outstanding scientific paper.

The NAST Environmental Science Award, NAST Talent Search for Young Scientists, Outstanding Young Scientist Award, oath-taking of new academicians and CMS, and closing remarks of NAST PHL vice president Acd. Fabian M. Dayrit followed.

“The Academy is mandated to recognize outstanding achievements in science and technology and help develop a reservoir of competent, scientific, and technological manpower for the country,” Azanza said.

NAST PHL members are clustered into six divisions, namely, Agricultural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering Sciences and Technology, Health Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences.

adhere to important international norms and commitments related to biological threats, he said.

On risk environment, only 23 percent of countries score in the top tier for indicators related to their political system and government effectiveness.

‘Research for public good’

Destura is one of the country’s experts in the field of infectious diseases and aptly the resource person on the global scenario of health risks.

The conference was themed “Research for Public Good,” which exacts accountability and inclusivity in every research undertaken and that results should be used by anyone.

Destura said that infections that newly appeared in a population or have existed previously are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range and may be classified as: 1) newly emerging; 2) deliberately emerging and 3) re-emerging/resurging.

On why the Covid-19 happened at this time, he said it is due to several factors combined to make the ideal time for an emergence of infectious diseases, as follows: genetic and biologic flexibility of microbes; changes in the environment; breakdown in global public health measures; human behavior and activities; high-speed travel, and threat of terrorism.

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña, at a recent webinar, congratulated the country’s scientists for the country’s GHS scores, saying that this was the fruit of their continued innovation and research that have been helping the Philippines adapt to the scourge of the pandemic.

He noted that the test kit for Covid-19 that Destura developed was an innovation from the scientist’s original test kit for dengue. He lauded such kind of Filipinos’ talent for innovation.

Maria Elena A. Talingdan/S&T Media Service

Connecting schools, developing digital skills for equitable, quality education

A

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

lthough digital technology plays a vital role in the current scenario in education, 50 percent of the world’s population don’t have Internet access, and there are still a lot of people who don’t have the skills to use digital devices.

Chinese technology giant Huawei said it plans to help in addressing the digital divide in education.

“We believe that everyone, everywhere has the right to education and the equality of opportunity it brings,” Huawei Deputy Chairman Ken Hu said in the recently concluded Global Education webinar titled, “Driving Equity and Quality with Technology.“ Hu said as a technology company, Huawei wants to help with connectivity, applications and skills by focusing on two important areas of connecting schools and developing digital skills, respectively.

Moreover, Hu pointed out that “connecting schools and skills development are the two strategies of Huawei to improve equitable and quality education.”

The webinar was joined by leaders and experts from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), GSMA, the Ministry of National Education of Senegal, universities and educational institutions, as well as the private sector. GSMA is an industry organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.

Hu discussed the company’s vision and action plan for education under its digital inclusion initiative, TECH4ALL. To address the digital divide, Hu said the company will help to provide access to high-quality educational resources, such as digital curriculums and e-learning applications, and teacher and student training by connecting schools to the Internet with partners.

In South Africa, Huawei recently launched the DigiSchool project in partnership with operator Rain and educational nonprofit organization Click Foundation.

It aims to connect 100 urban and rural primary schools over the next year, in addition to the 12 already connected through 5G technology.

In terms of digital skills development, Huawei plans to provide digital skills training for vulnerable groups in remote areas, especially female students, through projects, such as DigiTruck in a program called “Skills on Wheels.”

As a global corporate citizen, Huawei has stepped up by being more active through its TECH4ALL initiative in support of Unesco’s Global Education Coalition, designed to tackle the global challenges affecting education caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This crisis has changed the face and future of education. It has demonstrated how fast change can happen through partnership, when expertise and resources are matched up with local needs to ensure learning continuity, especially for the most marginalized students,” Unesco Assistant Director General for Education Stefania Giannini said in a news release.

Faith A6 Sunday, July 12, 2020

Sunday

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

Church leaders welcome govt nod for 10% seating capacity in Masses E

Monks, experts in social distancing, find strength in physical isolation

ver since the rainy season retreats of the Buddha 2,500 years ago, sages have celebrated the transformative power of being alone.

In Christian monasteries, silent mindfulness became part of the everyday routine in the 6th century after the appearance of a book of monastic principles and guidelines called The Rule of Saint Benedict.

In periods of trouble and isolation, my studies as a historian of medieval European religion draw me to the monks who’ve taught that solitude heals the mind and body and brings one closer to others.

C

atholic bishops welcomed the government decision allowing Churches in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) to hold Masses with 10 percent seating capacity starting July 10, saying “it is a good sign.”

“It is a good start in reopening our Churches,” Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao said.

The decision was made by the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

Religious gatherings have been suspended in all places of worship since March 19 when many parts of the country were placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. The measure aimed to prevent the spread of the disease.

Some bishops earlier appealed to the government to reconsider its guideline allowing only 10 people to join religious services in areas under GCQ. “There is a good development.

There’s a big difference between 10 persons and 10 percent,” said Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, D.D. In areas under modified GCQ (MGCQ), Churches are allowed to hold services at 50 percent seating capacity.

Diocesan guidelines around the resumption of Mass have been issued to parishes, and are in line with national protocols.

“We follow the government protocol in helping prevent the spread of coronavirus,” Ongtioco said.

Parishioners who are at higher risk from Covid-19 are encouraged to stay home.

Many dioceses also opened opportunities for bringing Holy Communion to homes.

Cubao bishop, priests undergo coronavirus tests

To ensure that they are fit to perform church duties, Ongtioco and his priests were tested for coronavirus this past week as parishes prepare to resume public religious services.

The bishop said the rapid testing included all the staff at his residence and some employees of the diocese’s chancery office.

“All [test] results of our priests and staff in my residence plus some in the chancery are negative,” Ongtioco said.

“This is to ensure that we are fit to serve our people and [that we] also [ensure] their safety and health,” he added.

Bishop Ongtioco said they are also asking clearance from the Quezon City government before they resume public Masses last Saturday.

“This morning our Vicar General had a meeting with Mayor Joy [Belmonte] to get clearance in order to resume our

public Masses following government protocol,” he said.

Last June 22, Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos and his clergy also underwent mandatory rapid tests for coronavirus and all of them tested negative.

Pasig Churches reopen on Saturday

“With great joy, I am happy to announce to you that we will reopen our Churches beginning July 11, Saturday, Memorial of St. Benedict, for the public celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals,” Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara said in a recent statement.

He, however, added t hat t he Churches will accept the parishioners at 10 percent seating capacity, in compliance with the protocols set by the IATF-EID. “We rejoice that we are now allowed under the [GCQ] to hold religious gatherings at 10 percent seating capacity of our Churches and places of worship,” he added.

At the same time, Vergara reminded the faithful that the Covid-19 is very much around, the reason why the diocese is ready to implement proper health and safety standards needed in attending religious gatherings.

“Those below 21 years old and 60 years old and above, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidities, or other health risks, and pregnant women are still required to remain in their residence at all times according to the regulations under GCQ. That means they cannot come to church to attend the Mass; instead, they can join the live stream celebration of Mass in their homes with different media platforms. We will post the scheduled only Masses in our Diocesan Facebook Page,” he added.

He said Masses after 2 p.m. on Saturday using Sunday liturgy can be considered “Anticipated” Sunday Mass.

“The dispensation from the Sunday obligation will still be temporality maintained during this time while the vaccine is not yet available and the threat of the virus is still widespread.

This is also to ensure that those impeded because of the regulations under GCQ and those who prefer to exercise extreme caution will not feel obligated to attend,” Vergara added.

Manila Cathedral to reopen by middle of July

Meanwhile, Fr. Reginald Malicdem, chancellor of Archdiocese of Manila, said the reopening of the Minor

On listening and acting

A priest hears confession inside the San Felipe Neri Parish Church in Mandaluyong City on June 19. ERIC PAUL GUANLAO/CBCP News Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, or the Manila Cathedral, could be by the middle of this month.

“Maybe middle of July. Our official announcement will be made through our Facebook page,” Malicdem said.

More Churches in provinces reopen under MGCQ

More Churches in provinces are reopening after the areas have been declared under the MGCQ. The dioceses of Balanga and Tagbilaran have announced that church activities, such as the holding of Eucharistic celebrations, or Masses, are now allowed in the Churches under them.

“Opening now our Church with its 50 percent of total capacity is a welcome relief, much-needed comfort to our people who are very much thirsting and hungry for Jesus,” said Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos in a pastoral directive on Thursday.

He, however, said the faithful must not be complacent amid the easing of quarantine rules.

“There is no rejoicing, no valedictory speech nor victory walk. Covid-19 is still there. And so, we should not let our guard down. We have still to be vigilant. We have to still take the necessary precautions and observe preventive measures,” he said.

He assured that safety precautions are in place in all Churches to ensure the safety of the churchgoers.

“As we open our Church, let us not forget what they [government and health officials] always tell us— ‘physical, social distancing and wearing face masks,” Santos added.

Meanwhile, Tagbilaran Bishop Alberto Uy said Churches in the diocese are now allowed to hold weddings and baptisms at a limited capacity.

“With our MGCQ status, religious gatherings, weddings, baptisms are now allowed at 50 percent capacity of the venue,” he said in a statement.

He also reminded the faithful to continue to be cautious.

“Let us continue to observe safety protocols so as to protect one another.

We are not yet victorious over Covid-19.

Now is not the time to be complacent.

Padayon sa pag-amping ug sa pag-ampo [Continue to be careful and to pray].

God bless you all,” he said.

Earlier, the Diocese of Tarlac announced that Churches under it have resumed public Masses starting July 1.

The province is also now under MGCQ.

Zambo archdiocese resumes Masses

The Archdiocese of Zamboanga resumed last Wednesday the holding of masses as this city shifted to MGCQ from GCQ. Fr. Marciano Villagracia, Archdiocese of Zamboanga spokesman, said that strict health protocols, including 50 percent church capacity, are being observed in all Churches while holding mass.

Villagracia said the health protocols include the strict compliance with the entrance and exit guides; no face mask, no entry; check of body temperature before entry; safe physical distancing; use of foot bath; hand sanitation; communion by hand; and no touching and kissing of sacred images.

“God is so good that He allows His people once again to come to worship Him in His church,” Villagracia added.

Quiapo Church reopens after 14-day quarantine

The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, also known as the Quiapo Church, reopened to devotees on July 3 after a 14-day lockdown.

Fr. Douglas Badong, parochial vicar, said they started accepting the faithful on July 3, the first Friday of the month, after completing the mandatory quarantine.

Badong noted that the 14th day of their quarantine was on July 4 but they sought permission from the Manila city government for them to reopen on Friday, Quiapo Day, which was approved.

However, he said the 10-personsper-Mass policy was implemented.

Badong also reported that results of their rapid testing for Covid-19 turned out negative.

“Our tests are negative. We also complied with the 14-day quarantine,” he said.

Quiapo officials implemented a lockdown on June 19 after a priest who stayed in the church had tested positive for the virus upon returning to Mindanao.

The Quiapo Church has five masses scheduled at 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. daily. CBCP News and PNA

Islam’s 7th century anti-racist message still resonates today

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ne day, in Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad dropped a bombshell on his followers: He told them that all people are created equal.

“All humans are descended from Adam and Eve,” said Muhammad in his last known public speech. “There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a non-Arab over an Arab, and no superiority of a white person over a black person or of a black person over a white person, except on the basis of personal piety and righteousness.”

In this sermon, known as the "Farewell Address," Muhammad outlined the basic religious and ethical ideals of Islam, the religion he began preaching in the early 7th century.

Racial equality was one of them. Muhammad’s words jolted a society divided by notions of tribal and ethnic superiority.

Today, with racial tension and violence roiling contemporary America, his message is seen to create a special moral and ethical mandate for American Muslims to support the country’s anti-racism protest movement.

Challenging kinship

Apart from monotheism—worshipping just one God—belief in the equality of all human beings in the eyes of God set early Muslims apart from many of their fellow Arabs in Mecca.

Chapter 49, verse 13 of Islam’s sacred scripture, the Quran, declares: “O humankind! We have made you…into nations and tribes, so that you may get to know one another. The noblest of you in God’s sight is the one who is most righteous.”

This verse challenged many of the values of pre-Islamic Arab society, where inequalities based on tribal membership, kinship and wealth were a fact of life.

Kinship or lineal descent—“nasab” in Arabic— was the primary determinant of an individual’s social status.

Members of larger, more prominent tribes like the aristocratic Quraysh were powerful. Those from less wealthy tribes like the Khazraj had lower standing.

The Quran said personal piety and deeds were the basis for merit, not tribal affiliation—an alien and potentially destabilizing message in a society built on nasab.

'Give me your tired, your poor'

As is often the case with revolutionary movements, early Islam encountered fierce opposition from many elites.

The Quraysh, for example, who controlled trade in Mecca—a business from which they profited greatly—had no intention of giving up the comfortable lifestyles they’d built on the backs of others, especially their slaves brought over from Africa.

The Prophet’s message of egalitarianism tended to attract the “undesirables”—people from the margins of society.

Early Muslims included young men from less influential tribes escaping that stigma and slaves who were promised emancipation by embracing Islam.

Women, declared to be the equal of men by the Quran, also found Muhammad’s message appealing. However, the potential of gender equality in Islam would become compromised by the rise of patriarchal societies.

By Muhammad’s death, in 632, Islam had brought about a fundamental transformation of Arab society, though it never fully erased the region’s old reverence for kinship.

'I can’t breathe'

Early Islam also attracted non-Arabs, outsiders with little standing in traditional Arab society. These included Salman the Persian, who traveled to the Arabian peninsula seeking religious truth, Suhayb the Greek, a trader, and an enslaved Ethiopian named Bilal.

All three would rise to prominence in Islam during Muhammad’s lifetime. Bilal’s muchimproved fortunes, in particular, illustrate how the egalitarianism preached by Islam changed Arab society.

An enslaved servant of a Meccan aristocrat named Umayya, Bilal was persecuted by his owner for embracing the new faith. Umayya would place a rock on Bilal’s chest, trying to choke the air out of his body so that he would abandon Islam.

Moved by Bilal’s suffering, Muhammad’s friend and confidant Abu Bakr, who would go on to rule the Muslim community after the Prophet’s death, set him free.

Bilal was exceptionally close to Muhammad,

too. In 622, the Prophet appointed him the first person to give the public call to prayer in recognition of his powerful, pleasing voice and personal piety.

Bilal would later marry an Arab woman from a respectable tribe—unthinkable for an enslaved African in the pre-Islamic period.

Black lives matter

F o r many modern Muslims, Bilal is the symbol of Islam’s egalitarian message, which, in its ideal application, recognizes no difference among humans on the basis of ethnicit y or race but, rather, is more concerned with personal integrity.

One of the United States’ leading Black Muslim newspaper, published between 1975 and 1981, was called The Bilalian News.

More recently Yasir Qadhi, dean of the Islamic Seminary of America, in Texas, invoked Islam’s egalitarian roots.

In a June 5 public address, he said American Muslims, a population familiar with discrimination, “must fight racism, whether it is by education or by other means.”

Many Muslims in the US are taking action, supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and protesting police brutality and systemic racism.

Their actions reflect the revolutionary—and still unrealized—egalitarian message that Prophet Muhammad set down over 1,400 years ago as a cornerstone of the Muslim faith.

Asma Afsaruddin/The Conversation

The author of The Rule, Benedict of Nursia, lived during the chaotic last years of ancient Rome, a period of plagues, intolerance, and, for some early Christians, self-isolation.

Rather than retreat to the desert or live atop pillars, attempting to imitate Christ in acts of extreme aceticism, Benedict wanted a monastic life that combined “ora et labora”—work and prayer. It should impose, he thought, “nothing harsh or rigorous.”

The monastic lifestyle may seem stark for modern times, but Benedict’s take on religious contemplation was moderate compared to the experiments of his era.

His guidance for monks—which begins with a gentle, poetic invitation to listen with “the ear of the heart”—quickly became the monastic standard.

Today, it remains the traditional frame by which historians, philosophers and theologians regard contemplation as a monastic pursuit.

Some 1,400 years after Benedict’s Rules, Thomas Merton’s writings about his experience as an American Trappist monk influenced generations of Christians seeking spiritual healing.

Born in France in 1915, Merton moved to the United States after his mother died when he was six.

His father died soon after.

His 1948 autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain describes the long period of soul searching that ended when he recognized that solitude had became the antidote for his suffering.

Being alone in silence was not about withdrawal from the world for Merton. Rather, solitude, as the foundation for heightened self-awareness, led to greater compassion for others.

Merton expressed this realization, which sustained his lifelong activism in peace and social justice causes, in No Man Is an Island, published in 1955 and now a classic in Christian spirituality.

“We cannot find ourselves within ourselves, but only in others,” he wrote, “yet at the same time before we can go out to others we must first find ourselves.”

Compassion is a rough road

Not all monks succeed in finding inner peace through solitude, as Merton did.

Take the Dominican Order of Preachers. While researching a book on the order’s experiences during a diseased and disoriented 14th century in Spain, I found many failures among the mendicant friar-brothers.

Beyond some examples of illicit sex and public criminality, there are many instances of disruptive, lewd and uncouth behavior.

In 1357, just after the Black Death, for example, two of the order’s men, Francesç Peyroni and Bartomeu Capit, came to blows, hitting and kicking each other until, finally, clobbered with a stone to the head, Capit lost the ability to speak.

Meanwhile, some of the Dominicans I studied sought personal advantage by corrupting the order’s electoral system and government, by encouraging crusader violence and by leading repressive inquisitions.

The exploits of Spain’s bad-boy friars make for good reading, but they also raise a disheartening question: If seasoned professionals can fail at contemplative progress, how can regular folks even hope to achieve the benefits of solitude?

Keep it simple, keep it moving

For some solace, consider the Cloud of Unknowing, a practical manual for the work of reflective solitude.

Written by an anonymous author of the late 14th century, it is widely regarded as one of the greatest of the medieval spiritual guides.

The Cloud of Unknowing calls the practice of solitude an exercise. An everyday comparison helps here: As with running or walking, some exercise is better than nothing at all, and more is even better. Encouraging oneself to be still, quiet and alone is beneficial, no matter how much effort goes into it.

The Cloud author says that a guide or coach might offer helpful advice, various “tricks and devices and secret subtleties,” but none of that is necessary.

What is most important is getting started and staying at it: “Do not hang back then, but labor in it until you experience the desire.”

Doing the exercise of solitude, rather than perfecting it, is what counts.

Contemplative practice in the Western world has historically been the pursuit of privileged men, like so many other realms. In the Middle Ages, clerics often scorned female spirituality. Today, of course, meditation by and for women is common.

Aspiring practitioners of solitude in today’s turbulent times may find a capable guide in Anthony De Mello, an Indian Jesuit priest, psychotherapist, storyteller and spiritual teacher active into the 1980s— kind of a Catholic yogi.

Like the author of the Cloud of Unknowing, De Mello focused on reflective silence as a way of detaching from the words, concepts and emotions that can cause trouble.

His 1978 bestseller, Sadhana–A Way to God: Christian Exercises in Eastern Form, offers practical advice with an encouraging “Well, that’s a good start” message.

Many websites offer audio and video recordings of De Mello’s conferences. They are super retro, but also, I think, just right for this moment of violence, illness and protest.

When every day conspires against inner peace, moments of solitude are all the more worthwhile.

Michael A. Vargas/The Conversation

Interfaith group: No Buddhist or Hindu statues in nightclubs

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OSTON—America’s nightclubs are largely closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, but that isn’t stopping an interfaith coalition from launching a campaign to stop what organizers call the “disrespectful” use of sacred Buddhist and Hindu statues as decor.

Representatives of the Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Jewish and Christian traditions have formed an improbable alliance to end the practice, starting with upscale clubs in Boston and other cities that are managed by Beverly Hills, California-based Live Nation Entertainment.

Specifically, they’re targeting Foundation Room clubs in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Anaheim, California, that are part of Live Nation’s House of Blues network.

Campaign spokesman Rajan Zed told The Associated Press the campaign was not deliberately timed to coincide with the national conversation on injustice in the aftermath of high-profile deaths of Black Americans, but acknowledged the time may be ripe to address what he called the “highly inappropriate” misuse of sacred icons.

“Symbols of faith shouldn’t be mishandled,” said Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, a Reno, Nevada-based organization that works to promote Hindu identity and foster dialogue between religions. “Hindu deities are meant to be worshiped in temples or home shrines—not to be thrown around loosely in a nightclub for dramatic effect.”

The coalition draws a distinction between sacred depictions of religious leaders, such as Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and the “Laughing Buddha” or “Fat Buddha” statues frequently seen at Asian restaurants.

In addition to pushing for the removal of statues of Buddha as well as Hindu divinities, such as Ganesha, Shiva, Rama and Hanuman, the group

is demanding a public apology from Live Nation executives for misappropriating the sacred figures.

Statues of revered figures, such as Mahavira and Parshvanatha, “belong in temples for veneration, not to be misused or mishandled by nightclub patrons,” Jainist leader Sulekh C. Jain said in a statement.

He suggested that Live Nation, which includes the Ticketmaster entertainment events platform, could donate the statues to Jain temples in the US, and the Jain community would pay the shipping costs.

Live Nation's House of Blues said in a statement that its Foundation Room clubs have "always been focused on promoting unity, peace and harmony— which is more important now to the world than ever.”

“In this spirit, we reached out to the coalition last week to discuss and mutually understand how we can best work together for the common good.

We deeply apologize and immediately removed the statue Mahavira from all of our venues,” it said.

It added: "We are reassessing the presence of all deities in our venues and engaging with the coalition and other religious experts to advise on next steps, including removal, relocation or other appropriate actions. We have always strived to promote dialogue to bring us closer together and are committed to this sentiment moving forward.”

Zed has campaigned against what he considers the misuse of Eastern religious imager y for commercial purposes for several years.

In 2019, he extracted an apology from a Virginia brewery that brewed a beer named for a Hindu deity, saying that associating Lord Hanuman with alcohol was disrespectful.

Practicing Hindus object to wine glasses being placed by intoxicated club patrons near or on sacred statues, Zed said, calling it “highly insensitive" and "quite denigrating.” AP

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

A7

Bubonic plague in China’s Inner Mongolia

Are we in real danger?

Threats: Illegal wildlife or pet trade

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

A The Asean Centre for Biodiversity headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna. ACB photo

ACB welcomes Asean‘s giving premium to nature in response to Covid-19

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he Asean Centre for Biodiversity welcomed the call of President Duterte during the 36th Asean Summit to intensify the regional response against the Covid-19 pandemic and enable the ACB to help curb wildlife trafficking in the region.

Duterte said that as the current pandemic may not be the last, and the region has to strengthen its capacity to address future infectious disease outbreaks.

“We can do this by promoting research and capacity-building on health technology development.

We must enable the [ACB] to contribute in combatting wildlife trafficking to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases,” Duterte said in his intervention at the virtual summit chaired by Vietnam on June 26.

In the chairman‘s statement of the 36th Asean summit, on the other hand, Vietnam reaffirmed the importance of advancing cooperation on environmental protection and conservation with greater efforts to address cross-cutting issues for sustainable development, such as climate change, marine debris, biodiversity conservation, and transboundary haze pollution.

ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim expressed her support to the pronouncement of President Duterte and the thrust of Vietnam’s chairmanship for a cross-sectoral approach in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The ACB is more than ready to embark on this challenge and serve the Asean better, most especially in fulfilling its mandate of facilitating cooperation among the Asean member states to conserve the region’s rich but highly threatened biodiversity. We appreciate the Asean leaders’efforts to take up medium- to long-term measures in order to address the emergence of zoonotic diseases,” Lim said.

She noted the Asean leaders’unity and commitment to environmental protection and climate action, as demonstrated in previous Asean summits.

With the grave health-related risks posed by the increasing humans and animal interactions, the ACB is planning to support the development or roll-out of applicable tools for wildlife disease surveillance relating to early detection of zoonotic disease outbreaks in the region, Lim said.

“Monitoring and surveillance of species previously implicated as carriers of diseases, such as bats and pangolins, can greatly facilitate timely action and prevent the emergence of outbreaks and pandemics,“ Lim said.

“We likewise need to work with existing organisations to coordinate efforts and help link ongoing activities in Southeast Asia that can give us a better understanding of the nature of zoonotic diseases that could occur in the region,

as well as propose measures on building immunity or developing cures against newly discovered pathogens,” she added.

The ACB has been carrying out initiatives linking health and biodiversity and facilitating regional discussions on the development of One Health approaches.

One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral and transdisciplinary approach with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognising the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.

On May 21 the ACB and the Asean Secretariat led an online discussion with officials of the Asean and experts from different parts of Asia on the interlinkages of biodiversity and health and how biodiversity considerations can be integrated into the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and other nature-based solutions to avoid pandemics in the future.

Representatives from concerned Asean sectoral bodies participated in the webinar.

Lim cited some of the existing Asean initiatives and mechanisms that ensure and promote the effective management of protected areas in the region and thus, also safeguarding wildlife habitats and helping address poaching and illegal wildlife trade to keep zoonotic diseases at bay.

One such initiative is the Asean Heritage Parks (AHPs) Programme, a flagship programme of the ACB, which recognises protected areas of regional importance.

The ACB recently conducted an online survey for the managers of AHPs and other protected areas in the region in May 2020 to assess the impacts of the Covid-19 on protected areas and their communities in the region.

The results of which will inform the ACB’s future actions on enhancing the role of AHPs in disease prevention, and feed into the development of the regional action plan for the program.

Similarly, the ACB, in an ongoing collaboration with NatureServe, is developing the Asean Biodiversity Dashboard, an interactive user-friendly platform that will visualise the progress of the Asean member states in meeting the biodiversity conservation targets.

The dashboard can help in raising awareness of and support for evidence-based policy-making in biodiversity-related issues, including the occurrence of zoonotic diseases, Lim explained.

“The ongoing public health crisis presents a unique opportunity to scale up efforts in integrating nature and biodiversity into the medium- and long-term plans for pandemic prevention and maintaining public health,” Lim said.

Environment group endorses Senate measure regulating use of plastic bags

A

n environmental advocate has endorsed Senate Bill 114 on regulating the use of plastic bags, which pollution has reached epidemic proportions in the Philippines that is now ranked third among top plastic polluters in the world.

In its position paper supporting the bill, Alagaan Natin Inang (ANI) Kalikasan deplored the fact that while plastic was once considered a wonder material, the “untold and unexpected ravages it is causing the planet are no longer tolerable.”

The bill filed by Sen. Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay reaffirms President Duterte’s thrust to stamp out the plastic problem initially by months-long sustained clean up of the world-renowned Boracay Island and Manila Bay with Baguio City and Palawan following suit.

The bill ensures that the ban in single-use plastic is not limited to the discretion of the local government units by ensuring that the ban mandated by a law and is applicable all over the country.

“The bill is practical and obvious: no singleuse plastics, no epidemic [proportions in plastic pollution],” the group led by Jun Evangelista said.

The bill has also the support of Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, the chairman of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC).

NSWMC Resolution 1363 Series of 2020 bans the use of unnecessary single use plastics by the

national government, local government units offices and all government controlled offices “as a solid waste avoidance and minimization strategy.”

Plastics have been causing garbage disposal problems. They have clogged Metro Manila’s waterways, even allowing informal settlers living along canals and esteros walk on closed rivers made solid with plastic waste.

Technology harnessed to safely dispose of plastics has proven more detrimental to the world’s air and water environment.

ANI Kalikasan said it has been clearly established by scientific researches that plastic materials have even become unseen by the naked eye.

While it is thought that seas and oceans are plastic-free, fishery researchers have discovered that “microplastic” has found its way into fishes, clams, shellfishes and other marine animals which people consume, making the same microplastic “invades” the human body.

Just like the Covid-19 virus which has no cure yet, current technology has yet to come up with an effective solution to rid the planet of plastic waste, ANI Kalikasan said.

ANI Kalikasan said it was among the first to introduce a Philippine-made fully biodegradable shopping bags, takeout food containers, drinking straws, coffee cups, spoon and fork and sachet to protect the environment.

s the world’s new coronavirus disease cases top 12 million, and the Philippines’s cases has reached more than 50,000, the unwelcome report of bubonic plague afflicting a herdsman in China’s Inner Mongolia was reported last weekend.

This prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to place China’s bubonic plague situation under strict monitoring.

Six months since the first new coronavirus case was reported in Wuhan, China, the disease that spread into a pandemic has caught governments across the world unprepared.

The Philippines, for one, is still struggling and is not getting any closer into flattening the curve, much more, stop the spread of the virus.

After Chinese authorities confirmed the case of the bubonic plague, news reports said that Russia stepped up patrols to stop hunting and eating of marmots near its borders with China and Mongolia.

Marmots are giant ground squirrels, also called rodents, found primarily in North America and Eurasia, Britannica.com said.

While Inner Mongolia is 3,450 kilometers away from the Philippines and with no less than the WHO saying it is “not a high risk,” the very thought of a bubonic plague reaching the country’s shores while it is still reeling from the adverse impact of Covid-19 sends chills down the spine.

But before people go on panic mode, here’s what we need to know about plagues and the bubonic plague.

Plagues and bubonic plague

According to the WHO, bubonic plague is caused by bacillus Yersinia pestis.

A zoonotic disease affecting rodents and transmitted by fleas from rodents to other animals and humans, direct person-to-person transmission of the disease does not occur except in the case of pneumonic plague, through respiratory droplets, being transferred from an infected person to another person in close contact.

There are three clinical forms of plague depending on the route of infection—pneumonic (affecting the lungs), septicaemic (infection of the blood) and bubonic (swelling inflamed lymph nodes in the armpit or groin).

“Bubonic plague is the form that usually results from the bite of infected fleas. Lymphadenitis develops in the drainage lymph nodes, with the regional lymph nodes most commonly affected. Swelling, pain and suppuration of the lymph nodes produce the characteristic plague buboes,” the WHO said on its web site.

The scary part about the disease is that “without prompt and effective treatment, 50 percent to 60 percent of cases of bubonic plague are fatal, while untreated septicaemic and pneumonic plague is invariably fatal.”

14th-century bubonic or Black Plague

Among the early known bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, spread across Europe that killed 50 million people from 134653, Ole J. Benedictow, emeritus professor of History at the Universtiy of Oslo, Norway, said in the article ”The Black Death: The Greatest Catastrophe Ever” posted on historytoday.com.

Researchers generally agree that the Black Death swept away 20 percent to 30 percent of Europe’s population during the period.

Pieter Bruegel’s The Triumph of Death reflects the social upheaval and terror that followed bubonic plague, which devastated medieval Europe. Wikimedia Commons

A marmot seen on top of Mount Dana, Yosemite in California, USA. Wikimedia Commons

According to Lim, Philippine authorities should be on the lookout for the trading of wild animals, whether for the pet trade or for consumption—for their meat, skin, or parts—which is strictly prohibited under the law.

The annual cost of the illegal wildlife trade in the Philippines is P50 billion. Globally, it is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Hunting of critically endangered animals has been driving unique Philippine species to the brink of extinction.

According to Lim, while there is no marmot in the Philippines, private collectors who want to bring them in as pets or part of their wildlife collection is something we should all worry about.

Hence, Lim said like any other zoonotic disease, bubonic plague can spread across borders through wildlife trafficking or illegal wildlife trade.

“Illegal wildlife trade can definitely contribute to transmission.

When wild rodents are hunted or captured, killed or smuggled into the country, and they happen to carry the pathogen, their fleas can move and bite other species that they come in contact with, including domestic rats and humans, who will contract the disease and can spread them,” she said.

Benedictow, known for his research on plagues especially the Black Death, said the plague occurred when rodents in human habitation, normally black rats, become infected. The black rat, also called “house rat” and “ship rat”— having lived on ships, the main means of trade transportation in the MiddleAges—likes to live close to people.

The infection takes three days to five days to incubate in people before they fall ill, and another three days to five days before, in 80 percent of the cases, the victims die.

He explained that the plague bacteria can break out of the buboes and carried by the blood stream to the lungs and cause a variant of the plague that is spread by contaminated droplets from the cough of patients, becoming the pneumonic plague.

Recent incident

It is largely believed that the plague had been already eradicated.

However, occasional cases are still reported, especially among hunters coming into contact with fleas carrying the bacterium, the Associated Press said on July 6.

The last major known outbreak was in 2009, when several people died in the town of Ziketan in Qinghai province on the Tibetan Plateau.

A cause for alarm?

Is the bubonic plague something Filipinos should worry about? Yes and no. Here’s why.

Environment Assistant Secretary Ricardo Calderon said chances that the bubonic plague from Inner Mongolia reaching the country is a “far-fetched idea.”

In a telephone interview on July 7, Calderon said that on record, the Philippines had no interaction with marmots, hence, it is impossible for the dreaded disease afflicting Filipinos in the country.

“While we have rodents in rice fields and sugarcane plantations, it is not that prevalent,” added Calderon, the concurrent director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Pests, not pets

He said Filipinos’ treatment of rats is more of pests rather than

disease-carrier.

“Fortunately, rats are not palatable as being hunted and eaten,” he said.

In certain areas, he said rats are indeed considered a delicacy, but again, such practice is “not prevalent.”

He added that a marmot is not engaging as a pet. Hence, marmots being brought into the Philippines is unlikely, he explained.

Proper hygiene, sanitation

Calderon said the spread of any disease can be effectively prevented by simply practicing proper hygiene and sanitation at home. “ W hen it comes to zoonotic disease, our response is always proper hygiene and sanitation,” he said.

Moreover, he said the Philippines is strictly guarding its borders to prevent smuggling of wild animals.

Even those with special permits, he said, go through stringent quarantine procedures.

“We have the Bureau of Quarantine taking care of that, too,” Calderon explained.

However, he maintained that the best way to avoid contracting a zoonotic disease is by “staying away from wild animals.”

Still vulnerable

A biodiversity expert, Theresa Mundita S. Lim, executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) said bubonic plague “is something to worry about.”

In fact, the Philippines, as with the rest of Southeast Asia, is vulnerable to the deadly plague, because of the existence of rodents Interviewed via Messenger on July 7, Lim, said the Philippines has populations of domestic rats in urban areas, which are the known carriers of the plague.

“Once the causative agent [Y. pestis], spills over into our domestic rat population, we become highly vulnerable,” says Lim. However, she was quick to point out that “there is no evidence yet that native wild rats are a reservoir of the pathogen.”

“We do have a high diversity of wild rodents [more than 70 multiple species] native to the Philippines, but there is no evidence yet that our indigenous wild rats are a reservoir of the pathogen,” Lim said.

Human to human transmission

According to Lim, a licensed veterinarian with expertise on zoonotic diseases, bubonic plague can be transmitted from human to human. From the rats, it can spread to the human population, like the coronavirus.

Worse, like Covid-19, she said there is still no vaccine for the bubonic plague, although it is curable.

“Even if there is as yet no evidence of the bacteria present in our indigenous rodent population, they can, technically, harbor them, or any similar pathogen, for that matter.

But for as long as our native rodents are maintained in their natural habitats, they can keep these potential pathogens at bay,” she said.

A wave of zoonotic diseases

Sought for reaction, Leon Dulce, national coordinator of the environmental group Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment, said the bubonic plague case along the borders of China, Mongolia and Russia is part of the expected continuing wave of zoonotic epidemic and pandemic outbreaks.

“Locally, we are experiencing avian flu, swine flu and dengue outbreaks on top of the Covid-19 contagion,” said Dulce, who connected the spread of zoonotic diseases to habitat loss and species’ extinction occurring in various parts of the world.

Sixth mass extinction event

“The United Nations has called for the effective protection of 30 percent of critical landscapes and seascapes across the world if we are to avert the extinction of over a million flora and fauna species over the next few decades. If we fail to avert this sixth mass extinction event, hardier species that carry viruses and other dangerous microorganisms will proliferate and spill more emerging infectious diseases into human populations,” Dulce said.

Worse, he said the country’s public health care systems will not be able to manage the increasing load if we do not address these diseases on a planetary health scale.

“There must be greater resources allocated by all governments of the world on stopping destructive projects like large-scale mining, poaching and mega infrastructure that destroy our natural defenses to diseases, he said.

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Sports BusinessMirror

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Court filing alleges $400K paid to Williamson family in 2018

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HE legal fight over National Basketball Association (NBA) rookie Zion Williamson’s endorsement potential now includes an allegation that his family received $400,000 from a marketing agency before his lone season for Duke.

Prime Sports Marketing and company President Gina Ford filed a lawsuit last summer in a Florida state court, accusing Williamson and the agency now representing him of breach of contract. That came a week after Williamson filed his own lawsuit in a North Carolina federal court to terminate a five-year contract with Prime Sports after moving to Creative Artists Agency LLC. In court filings Thursday in North Carolina, Ford’s attorneys included a sworn affidavit from a California man who said the head of a Canadian-based firm called Maximum Management Group told him he paid Williamson’s family for his commitment to sign with MMG once he left Duke for the NBA. The documents include a marketing agreement signed

by Williamson with MMG from May 2019, a December 2019 “letter of declaration” signed by Williamson and his stepfather agreeing to pay $500,000 to MMG President Slavko Duric for “repayment of a loan” from October 2018, and a copy of Williamson’s South Carolina driver’s license—which listed Williamson’s height as “284” and his weight as “6’06.”

In a statement to The Associated Press, Williamson attorney, Jeffrey S. Klein, said those documents were “fraudulent.”

“The alleged ‘agreements’ and driver’s license attached to these papers are fraudulent—and neither Mr. Williamson nor his family know these individuals nor had any dealings with them,” Klein said. “We had previously alerted Ms. Ford’s lawyers to both this fact and that we had previously reported the documents to law enforcement as forgeries, but they chose to go ahead with another frivolous filing anyway.

“This is a desperate and irresponsible attempt to smear Mr. Williamson at the very time he has the opportunity to live his dream of playing professional basketball.”

The affidavit is from Donald Kreiss, a self-described entrepreneur who worked with athletes and agents in

marketing relationships. He had recently contacted Ford then provided the affidavit last week outlining interactions with MMG and Williamson’s family, according to one of the filings.

Ford’s attorneys have sought to focus on Williamson’s eligibility. His lawsuit stated that Prime Sports violated North Carolina’s sports agent law, both by failing to include disclaimers about the loss of eligibility when signing the contract and the fact neither Prime Sports nor Ford were registered with the state.

Ford’s attorneys have argued the Uniform Athlete Agents Act wouldn’t apply if Williamson was ineligible to play college basketball from the start.

Ford’s attorneys had sought to have last summer’s No. 1 overall NBA draft pick and New Orleans Pelicans rookie answer questions in Florida state court about whether he received improper benefits before playing for the Blue Devils. They had also raised questions about housing for Williamson’s family during his Duke career in a separate filing in North Carolina.

A Florida appeals court last month granted a stay to pause the proceedings there, shifting the focus to the North Carolina case.

Duke has repeatedly declined to comment on the case because it isn’t involved in the litigation, but issued a statement in January that school had reviewed Williamson’s eligibility previously and found no concerns. AP ZION WILLIAMSON’S rookie year is mired by a legal battle. AP

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

TIGER’S BACK AT MUIRFIELD

Tiger Woods will play at the Memorial, a tournament he has won a record five times, as he goes after his record 83rd career victory on the Tour. AP

By Doug Ferguson

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The Associated Press

UBLIN, Ohio—The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour returned five weeks ago with some of its strongest fields. Now it gets its biggest star.

Tiger Woods announced Thursday on Twitter he will play next week at the Memorial, a tournament he has won a record five times, as he goes after his record 83rd career victory on the PGA Tour.

“I’ve missed going out and competing with the guys and can’t wait to get back out there,” Woods said.

It will end a five-month break from competition for Woods. He last played on February 16 at the Genesis Invitational, where he shot 76-77 at chilly Riviera to finish alone in last place.

Woods said he felt stiffness in the cold weather. He chose not to go to Mexico City for a World Golf Championship, then skipped three straight tournaments in Florida before golf was halted because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

His only competition was an exhibition match on May 24 at his home course in Florida, with Peyton Manning as his partner against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady.

The tour resumed June 11 at Colonial in Fort Wor th, Texas, and most weeks brought some level of speculation that Woods was going to play. He had contemplated coming to Muirfield Village

for the Workday Charity Open, a one-time event that replaces the canceled John Deere Classic, but ultimately waited until the second week at Memorial.

That will give him at least one start, and possibly two if he plays a World Golf Championship in Tennessee, before heading into the first major of a reconfigured year.

Woods had said in April he was ready to go for the Masters until it was postponed because of the coronavirus. The Masters is now scheduled for November 12 to 15, with Woods as the defending champion.

The PGA Championship is August 6 to 9 at Harding Park in San Francisco, where Woods won a World Golf Championship in 2005. The US Open at Winged Foot is scheduled for September 17 to 20.

Woods has played only three times this season on the PGA Tour, starting with his recordtying 82nd victory at the Zozo Championship in Japan. He also played at Torrey Pines and Riviera.

He has gone from No. 6 in the world when he won in Japan to No. 14.

Aside from the majors—Woods is three away from matching the standard set by Jack Nicklaus—Woods is missing additional incentive to play, with the Olympics and the Ryder Cup postponed until 2021.

Three players who have tested positive for the coronavirus but are no longer symptomatic, meanwhile, will play together at the Workday Charity Open, the PGA Tour announced Wednesday in the

Japan to consider easing travel restrictions for Olympic athletes

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APAN is reportedly considering easing travel restrictions for foreign athletes who are due to compete at next year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics as they bid to hold the Games even though the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic has not subsided.

Sources said the Japanese government would prioritize athletes and personnel by putting a system in place to safeguard them from any potential curbs, Kyodo News reported.

Since February, Japan has restricted foreign travel for inbound visitors in a bid to prevent the

spread of Covid-19.

Tokyo 2020 was postponed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in March due to the pandemic and the Olympics are now set from July 23 to August 8, 2021.

It is expected that around 11,000 athletes from more than 200 nations and territories will compete in Tokyo.

The subject of allowing an exception to travel restrictions is likely to be raised in September in a meeting between Japanese government officials, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing

ALONSO RETURNS TO F1 AT 39

FOR Fernando Alonso, age is not a barrier. AP

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PIELBERG, Austria—Although Fernando Alonso will be 39 when he returns to Formula One next season with Renault he feels his reflexes and racing craft will not weaken with age.

His widely anticipated F1 return was became official on Wednesday, when the French manufacturer announced that he will replace Daniel Ricciardo next year.

Alonso won both of his world titles with Renault way back in 2005 and 2006, but still looked sharp driving an uncompetitive car during his last season with McLaren in 2018 before walking away.

“The stopwatch is the only thing that matters, not the age,” he said Wednesday during a media session. “I never had a classification on the race based on the passport, my date of birth. It’s always on

stopwatch. Hopefully we’re still fast.”

That remains to be seen considering Renault struggled last season, finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship and one place behind McLaren, the team it supplies engines to.

But he certainly feels in good enough shape to take up the challenge.

“I had to start very specific fitness preparations, I started in February, so now I’m 100 percent,” he said. “We did a couple of fitness tests 15 days ago and I had the best results ever in my career, so I’m extremely motivated, happy and stronger than ever.”

However, because of rule changes teams will use the same cars for 2021 and Alonso may not have a genuinely competitive car until 2022, when he will turn 41 in late July.

“I will try to do my best, and try and help the team be a world champion team. If that’s

latest revision of its Covid-19 policies.

Nick Watney—the first tour player to test positive—will play alongside Dylan Frittelli and Denny McCarthy during the first two rounds at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, the tour said.

All three players continue to test positive for the virus but have met the Centers for Disease Control criteria for returning to work, the tour said. Players in those circumstances will either be grouped together or play as singles. They will also have no access to indoor facilities at the tournament site.

Watney reported mild symptoms after he tested positive before the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina. He self-isolated for 10 days before driving back home to Austin, Texas.

Frittelli tested positive after missing the cut at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. McCarthy tested positive after the first round of the Travelers.

The tour said it made the change because players can continue to test positive even after the infectious virus is no longer present and they have met all other CDC criteria. Those include: no fever for at least three days, improvement in respiratory symptoms and a period of at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared.

Last week, the tour allowed players and caddies to return if a positive test is followed by two negative tests at least 24 hours apart and they show no symptoms. That change allowed Cameron Champ to play at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, where he finished in a tie for 12th.

Committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, according to The Japan Times.

There are now 129 countries and territories on Japan’s entry ban list after it added another 18 last week. These include Algeria, Cuba and Iraq.

Japan, however, has opened its borders back up to Vietnam for business travelers and is looking into easing restrictions under certain conditions for countries including Thailand.

A prerequisite for entering as an athlete will likely be proving they are not infected with the virus, with the need to take several tests before and after traveling to Japan.

Other potential restrictions would see limited contact with people during their stay. The IOC in June agreed to hold a “simplified” Games to ensure safety from the virus, as well as financial stability in a time of economic recession. Insidethegames with me driving, fantastic but if that’s with a future younger driver, I will feel proud anyway,” he said.

“I think the 2022 rules will hopefully bring some fairness to the sport and some close action with teams more level and less scope to invent something that has a large performance advantage.”

Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said part of Alonso’s role will be to offer and advise and support to young prospects coming through the Renault Sport Academy.

“His presence in our team is a formidable asset on the sporting level,” Abiteboul said. “His experience and determination will enable us to get the best out of each other.”

Alonso, who will race alongside French driver Esteban Ocon next year, had quit F1 to focus on winning motorsport’s triple crown.

Having already won the Monaco Grand Prix, he then won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race but not the Indianapolis 500.

Alonso won 32 F1 races and is widely considered one of the most talented drivers of his era alongside six-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.

“It’s a great source of pride and with an immense emotion I’m returning to the team that gave me my chance at the start of my career,” Alonso said. “I have principles and ambitions in line with the team’s project.”

Alonso showed remarkable consistency when finishing on the podium in the first nine races of the 2006 campaign, and has 97 top-3 finishes in total in F1.

“He is an incredible talent and we can’t wait to have him back on the grid,” F1 Chairman Chase Carey said.

Alonso is sixth on the all-time win list but his last came at the Spanish GP seven years ago with Ferrari. He finished runner-up in the title race three times with the famed Italian manufacturer before joining McLaren in 2015.

McLaren struggled badly after switching to a Honda engine, and he failed to secure a podium finish in four seasons. AP

The kids are alright YA post-disaster novels can teach us about trauma, survival

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BusinessMirror JULY 12, 2020 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

CULTURAL COCKTAIL Mishaal embraces musical diversity and delivers a winning sound

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By Stephanie Joy Ching

RESH from his success with the single “Friends”, Saudi-Ecuadorian artist Mishaal returns with his new single, “I Don’t Wanna Wait for Summer.” Armed with a distinct sound that is a cocktail of different cultures, the 21year old singer-songwriter is considered to be one of RCA Records’ most promising talents.

Publisher

: T. Anthony C. Cabangon

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Born in Saudi Arabia to a Saudi father and an Ecuadorian mother, Mishaal grew up listening to a variety of different songs from both cultures.

“I grew up listening to a lot of Arabic and Spanish music. If you listen to ‘Arabian Knights,’ for instance, you will find out that it’s written in Spanish, Arabic and English. I use a lot of beats and rhythm from the Middle East, as well as a lot of melodic structure from South American music...and I think it sounds cool” he said during a recent online interview with SoundStrip and other entertainment media through Zoom.

After an accident he sustained as a child, a doctor suggested that he play the guitar as part of his physical therapy to regain control of his arm. However, it wasn’t just the physical aspect of playing the instrument that helped him, the emotional aspect of the music itself also helped him stay positive amidst the bullying he experienced.

Through his songs, Mishaal hopes to be there for other people who may be experiencing similar things.

“If you’re out there, you’re not alone. I don’t know the answer to the problem, I don’t know the solution, but I’m dealing with the same thing, and I’m here for you,” he stated.

Other than the cultures of his parents and his life experiences, he also is inspired by artists such as Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd and Metallica from compilation CDs he received while growing up.

The lo-fi community, however, had the biggest impact and remains a strong influence on his artistic sensibilities.

Mishaal revealed that during his early days of uploading his material on both SoundCloud and YouTube, samples of his work were often taken and looped by several artists of the lo-fi community. “I would be nowhere without them,” he recalled.

This multitude of influences has resulted in a unique sound that while not quite pop, is also not quite lo-fi at the same time. From the upbeat sound of “Friends”, a collaborative

Mishaal (Photo from his Instagram page)

project with lo-fi star Powfu, to his more somber-sounding “I Don’t Wanna Wait for Summer,” Mishaal is able to capture a wide range of emotions in both his singing and his song writing.

“I’ve always been open with the songs I’m writing. I’m a very shy person, it’s hard for me to express my emotions. But with these songs, I manage to express them in a way that I can with normal words.” he stated.

Accompanied by a homemade video shot by his cousin, Mishaal says “I Don’t Wanna Wait for Summer” is about taking charge of your own happiness and not waiting for anything to come to make you happy.

“I wrote the song in the winter of

2019, and I was far away from my family and friends,” he shared, “I was living alone and couldn’t leave because the building was blocked. I was also getting over a breakup. The situation I was in got me thinking, ‘I can’t wait for summer and meet someone new. I will be happy once this or that happens,’” Like many of us in quarantine, Mishaal also realized that happiness is what you make of your situation.

“You can be happy with what you have. It’s what’s within ourselves that’s important. Don’t wait for someone to make you happy. So, I thought, ‘I don’t wanna wait for summer / I don’t wanna change my mind / I won’t wait for someone / When all I that needed / Was always mine.’” he concluded.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | JULY 12, 2020

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BUSINESS

BREAKING BORDERS PhilPop 2020 targets global hitmakers

PhilPop Boot Camp coach and folk icon Noel Cabangon (Photo by Bernard Testa/BusinessMirror)

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By Stephanie Joy Ching

VER since its inception back in 2012, the PhilPop Foundation has always been about polishing and promoting local songwriters. According to National Artist and PhilPop Music Fest Foundation Board Member and Bootcamp Master Ryan Cayabyab, the foundation had consistently aimed to be the “primary champion of Filipino songwriters” through their many songwriting boot camps and festivals. Indeed, the foundation has time and time proven its ability to break borders and launch local songwriters into the limelight.

PhilPop 2018 grand finals

It is only fitting therefore that the festival now aims to break borders of a different kind. With its new tagline, #MusicBreakingBorders, PhilPop 2020’s songwriting festival is a collaborative project with Warner Music Philippines.

This year, judges will be choosing three entries from across the nation, namely Metro Manila, South Luzon, North Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. After they have been chosen, they will be working with Warner Music as they complete the final rounds by November 14. As Warner Music is an international label, it is the hope of the organizers that this festival will be able to spark international interest in our music.

From thousands of expected songs submitted, only three (3) songwriters will eventually represent each cluster through rigorous adjudication process spearheaded by Warner Music Philippines and PhilPop.The top

15 songs will have the chance to work with Warner Music Philippines and compete in the final rounds. Standout entries (Top 3) will be getting cash prizes from the MVP Group of Companies: P1,000,000 for the Grand Champion P500,000 for the 1st runner up P250,000 for the 2nd runner up Finals night will happen on November 14, 2020.

“We do have a network of A&R and marketing people all around the world,” shared Warner Music managing director Ian Monsod during PhilPop’s recent virtual presser via Zoom, “In terms of judging and production process, we’ll bring that unique value of this presence to the project. We share this ambition to elevate the Filipino artist to a global stage. It’s a difficult path, but I think with our partnership, we can improve the odds.”

In addition to bringing Filipino

pop to the international stage, the foundation also wants to extend its reach outside of Metro Manila.

As such, this year’s festival is welcoming entries written in different dialects, provided that they also include an English translation in their entries.

“When we had a major pivot in 2018, the first thing that we did is to make the festival biennial,” said PhilPop Music Fest Foundation executive director, Dinah Remolacio.

“In between those years, we mounted all these songwriting workshops in different parts of the country to empower other songwriters in the region, so that they could submit entries to PhilPop. We want to diversify the winning entries in every festival,” she added. According to PhilPop Boot Camp coach and folk icon Noel Cabangon Noel Cabangon, this festival aims to “democratize” the music scene” rather than

concentrating in the National Capital Region.

“We want to recognize that there are also good songwriters from other regions of the country.

So we give more encouragement to these talented songwriters,” Cabangon pointed out.

“Our mantra is: ‘you write your songs in the way you want to express them.’ Each language has its own inflections, the sound becomes more unique and more interesting, We won’t force ourselves to copy international sounds, we always say, ‘Why should we copy them when we can make our own?’,” Cayabyab concluded.

PhilPop Songwriting Festival 2020 is an initiative of the PhilPop Music Foundation, chaired by Mr. Manny V. Pangilinan. This year’s PhilPop is co-presented by SMART, MERALCO, MAYNILAD and Warner Music Philippines.

The kids are alright YA post-disaster novels can teach us about trauma, survival

By Troy Potter

compassion, donating toilet paper and food to those in need. Because of this, we were confronted with questions about how we want to survive.

YA post-disaster novels allow us to explore similar questions of humanity. In these fictional worlds, teenage characters are faced with moral dilemmas about who to help and who to harm. How does someone look out for themselves while still expressing empathy and consideration for others? How can characters maintain their humanity if their survival means another’s suffering or death?

The University of Melbourne

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OVID-19 is changing the way we live. Panic buying, goods shortages, lockdown—these are new experiences for most of us. But it’s standard fare for the protagonists of young adult (YA) postdisaster novels.

In Davina Bell’s latest book, The End of the World Is Bigger than Love (2020), a global pandemic, cyberterrorism and climate change are interrelated disasters that have destroyed the world as we know it.

Like most post-disaster novels, the book is more concerned with how we survive rather than understanding the causes of disaster. As such, we can read it to explore our fears, human responses to disaster and our capacity to adapt.

The day after Kelly Devos’s Day Zero (2019), and the soon-to-be-released Day One (2020), use cyberterrorism as the disaster. Like Bell’s novel, Day Zero focuses more on how the protagonist, Jinx, maintains her humanity when she must harm or kill others in order to keep herself and her siblings alive.

A form of speculative fiction, YA postdisaster writing imaginatively explores causes and responses to apocalyptic disasters. (Some readers categorize YA juggernaut The Hunger Games and the recently released prequel as dystopian, rather than post-disaster. Others think it’s both.)

Who to save

Many YA novels in this genre explore issues of survival and humanity following a catastrophe. In YA post-disaster novels, teenage protagonists must learn to exist in a fractured world with little support from elders.

When they are explained, the fictional causes of catastrophe can illustrate social concerns of times they were written in.

Because of this, YA post-disaster books allow us to reflect on our current beliefs, attitudes and fears.

Davos’s Day Zero can be read as commenting on contemporary concerns about cyberterrorism and political corruption.

Bell’s The End of the World Is Bigger than Love expresses similar anxieties, but is also prescient given the current pandemic.

War is the cause of disaster in Glenda Millard’s A Small Free Kiss in the Dark (2009) and John Marsden’s Tomorrow series. While Millard’s novel raises questions about homelessness, Marsden’s series expresses an anxiety about invasion from Asia. The author has expressed re-

gret about this aspect of the books since their publication.

A latent xenophobia is also present in Claire Zorn’s, The Sky So Heavy (2013), in part because the nuclear disasters are attributed to “regions in the north of Asia.”

Passive ideologies of racism that pervade some YA post-disaster novels are problematic, as are other underlying ideals that promote any form of discrimination.

Us against the world Literary texts that reinforce fear about Asia, particularly China, are especially problematic in the context of coronavirus, which reportedly saw an increase in racist attacks.

Panic buying and the stockpiling of goods during the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak established an “us against them” dichotomy in our “struggle to survive,” reminiscent of YA postdisaster fiction.

Not everyone hoarded food and items for themselves though. Others showed

Tied up with the question about how we survive, then, is who survives. The protagonist, Jinx, in Day Zero is continually faced with this dilemma. As she flees the corrupt government, Jinx must decide who to help, and how.

While Jinx readily uses violence to overcome her aggressors, she eventually must shoot to kill to save her stepsister. Doing so, Jinx loses a part of herself and becomes “something else;” she must now reconcile her actions with her sense of self.

It’s not so far from the choices medical professionals in Italy, the United States and elsewhere have had to make about who to treat due to limited ventilators and a rapid influx of patients.

No matter the cause of catastrophe, the literary exploration of questions of survival provides opportunities for teenagers, parents and teachers to discuss a range of contemporary issues, including humane responses to disaster.

Given the current crisis we are in, perhaps it is time to critically read more YA post-disaster novels. If they hold up a mirror to our current attitudes and behaviors, they can help us reflect on our humanity, and on what and who we think matters. The Conversation

Understanding intersectional feminism

By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez

‘U

SA Today’s” Alia Dastagir said that while a white woman may be discriminated for her gender, she has “the advantage of race.”

Dastagir added that not all women enjoy the same luxury, saying that “a black woman is disadvantaged by her gender and her race,” and that a Latina lesbian, for example, “experiences discrimination because of her ethnicity, her gender and her sexual orientation.”

“Intersectional feminism” is a term first introduced to academe in 1989 by African-American scholar and civil-rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw, referring to how race, age, class, socioeconomic status, physical or mental ability, gender or sexual identity, religion, or ethnicity “intersect” with one another and overlap.

In light of recent global protests and ensuing discussions centered on gender-based discrimination, Araneta City, under The Araneta Group, has partnered with the Samahan ng mga

Pilipina para sa Reporma at Kaunlaran (SPARK Philippines) to tackle the social relevance of intersectional feminism for a better understanding of gender equality and sensitivity.

“Intersectionality is the complex correlation of women’s issues because women are discriminated not only for their sex, but also for their multiple identities,” said Hans Mandaguit, senior program manager of SPARK Philippines Inc., who spearheaded the recent webinar, titled “Unity in Diversity: Understanding Intersectional Feminism.”

Mandaguit stated that different identities can make women “more vulnerable, unsafe, insecure and more oppressed,” and that it can also affect their work ethic and decision-making, as well as personal beliefs and values.

Therefore, he added, this begs the question on what type of woman people are really fighting for when they say that they stand for feminism.

“Intersectional feminism stands for the rights of all women and puts forward the idea that categories of identity and difference cannot be separated,” Mandaguit said. “By under-

4 BusinessMirror

standing this, feminist movements can be more diverse and inclusive.”

In essence, discrimination doesn’t exist in a bubble, as any kind of prejudice can be fueled by social aspects of culture and even fundamentalist beliefs, thus explaining why intersectional feminism is a recurring theme in many sociopolitical discourse and national conversations.

For example, in conflict-ridden countries like Pakistan and Syria, women journalists fighting for women’s rights are constant targets of sexual threats and assaults. In Guatemala, women have been fighting against systematic discrimination against indigenous peoples for decades.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, there are a number of reports regarding cops who are facing rape charges from disadvantaged female detainees.

Another manifestation of the relationship between intersectionality and feminism is the gap between feminist theory and trans and intersex theory. Just recently, Harry Potter author JK Rowling on Twitter appeared to define women

July 12, 2020

as “people who [only] menstruate,” dismissing the notion that transgender and gender non-binary people can also experience menstruation.

In a personal essay defending her stance on the subject matter, Rowling cited that she is “concerned” about “the huge explosion in young women wishing to transition and also about the increasing numbers who seem to be detransitioning.”

LGBTQ+ organization GLAAD, or Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, has since responded to Rowling’s comments, writing: “JK Rowling continues to align herself with an ideology which willfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans.”

These scenarios underpin the importance of questioning power structures and accepted norms and speaking out against the root causes of inequalities.

“Fighting for equality,” according to Mandaguit, “means not only turning the tables on gender injustices, but rooting out all forms of oppression.”