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Sunday, June 26, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 261

P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

BREWING DISCONTENT

New law aiming to professionalize AFP hierarchy stirs some compelling questions within the ranks

I

By Rene Acosta

N less than a week, President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. will become the new Commanderin-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). His appointee, retired General Jose Faustino Jr., will also take the helm of the Department of National Defense (DND).

For some military officials, both the Commander-in-Chief and Faustino’s incoming stewardship of the defense and military establishment may be rough, if not troublesome, as a result of the recently enacted threeyear fixed term in the AFP, which, if not properly handled, may even run the risk of resurrecting adventurism in the military.

“Unless the law is fully explained now down the line and the soldiers are pacified and reas-

sured in the process, grumblings and adventurism are real possibilities,” one senior officer who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue told the BusinessMirror.

According to him, the military is currently facing territorial challenge in the West Philippine Sea, while at the same time waging internal security operations, and as such, it could not afford to have a demoralized or, much worse, an adventurist

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.4910

force that may threaten the stability of the Marcos administration.

The signs

THIS early, there have been signs of “restiveness” in the military, although publicly unnoticed, due to concerns by soldiers on the effects of the three-year fixed term, or Republic Act 11709, on their careers and promotions, especially officers who are graduates of the Philippine Military Academy, the primary source of “commissionship” into the AFP. From junior to senior officers, former graduates of the country’s premier military school were talking and meeting in groups and by classes where concerns about the impact and bearing of the recently enacted law on their future and into the military institution as a whole were being discussed.

The concerns, as voiced out in group discussions, were more evident at the level of senior officers, especially those who have made projections for their careers up in the ladder of the military hierarchy.

Officers who joined the mili-

tary outside of the PMA, and even enlisted personnel, the BusinessMirror was told, were also worried about the possible impact of the law on their careers.

For them, the law is replete with inconsistencies, has unclear or questionable provisions and even favors only senior officers.

Best solution?

OUTGOING President Rodrigo Duterte signed in April this year RA 11709, or the “Act Strengthening Professionalism and Promoting the Continuity of Policies and Modernization Initiatives in the Armed Forces of the Philippines

by Prescribing Fixed Terms for Key Officers thereof, Increasing the Mandatory Retirement Age of Generals/flag Officers, Providing for a More Effective Attrition System, and Providing Funds therefor.”

When Malacañang announced last month the signing of RA 11709 in April, both the leaderships of the DND and the AFP welcomed it, with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana explaining the ramifica-

tions of the new law.

“The principal objective of this law is to allow general officers sufficient time, i.e., three years time-in-grade, to do their jobs. If they are not promoted to the next higher grade, they are retired. This ensures that only the best officers ascend the ladder of leadership. This also puts an end to the revolving door system in the AFP leadership that resulted from the retirement law passed in 1979,” Lorenzana said.

Lorenzana, an ardent supporter of RA 11709, said the law would limit the number of general officers to “0.01 percentum of the AFP’s total strength and will reduce the number of its general officers from the present 196 to 153, which we believe is the optimal number of generals to efficiently and competently lead the AFP.”

‘Too many’ stars

BEFORE the law was passed and while it was being deliberated upon last year, Lorenzana told the Senate that there have been too many

generals in the AFP. The ideal ratio, he said, should be a one-star rank officer for every 1,500 soldiers or, at the least, one general for 1,000 personnel.

“Our strength is 143,000. That means we should only have 143 generals in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. I believe, personally, that we have too many generals in the Armed Forces,” he said at that time.

The AFP said RA 11709 will bring stability to the organization as it ensures only those qualified will ascend the ladder of leadership while ending the revolving door policy, thus ensuring the implementation and continuity of its plans and programs.

“This shall make the AFP a more efficient and effective organization and will contribute to the realization of our vision of a more credible Armed Forces which is a source of national pride,” it said through its spokesman Col. Ramon Zagala.

Under the law, the three-year fixed term covers the posts of chief Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4038 n UK 66.8169 n HK 6.9420 n CHINA 8.1332 n SINGAPORE 39.1965 n AUSTRALIA 37.5770 n EU 57.3518 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.5224

Source: BSP (June 24, 2022)

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A broader look at today’s business

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, June 26, 2022

www.businessmirror.com.ph

World’s dirtiest oil and gas fields are in Russia, Turkmenistan and Texas

By Naureen Malik

O

Bloomberg News

IL and natural gas fields in Russia, Turkmenistan and Texas are the most climate-damaging on Earth, according to a first-of-its kind analysis that looks at greenhouse-gas emissions across entire supply chains and finds they vary widely. The dirtiest fields emit more than 10 times as much carbon dioxide equivalent as the least emissions-intensive sites, it finds.

Released Thursday by the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute, the Oil Climate Index plus Gas (OCI+) web tool ranks 135 global oil- and gas-producing resources— which together account for half of the world’s supplies of those commodities—based on a full life-cycle analysis of their 2020 emissions.

Russia’s Astrakhanskoye natural gas field has the biggest footprint across its supply chain because of prolific leaks on pipelines and other infrastructure “downstream,” according to the analysis. Turkmenistan’s South Caspian basin and the Permian Basin in West Texas rank second and third; the majority of their emissions arise “upstream,” during production.

Created by researchers at RMI, Stanford University, the University of Calgary and Koomey Analytics, the OCI+ tool and an accompanying report conclude that significant fossil-fuel emissions occur not just at

the point of combustion, but directly at the wellhead and during processing, refining and transportation.

RMI estimates that the US Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas reporting program undercounts oil and gas industry emissions by a factor of two. The project received funding from the philanthropic organization of Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, which owns Bloomberg News.

Methane, a greenhouse gas that is the primary component of natural gas and a powerful globalwarming agent, accounts for more than half of operational emissions at sites worldwide. Curbing the flaring and venting of the gas and ensuring that oil-field equipment is working properly can help significantly reduce upstream emissions, the report says, calling methane reductions “the highest priority for the oil and gas sector.”

A NATURAL gas flare stack at an oil well in Midland, Texas, Monday, April 4, 2022. BLOOMBERG

The initiative draws on years of research by academics and nonprofit institutions, public data and satellite images. It boils down to the questions, “Who has the worst barrel, and who are the suckers buying the bad stuff?” said Deborah Gordon, senior principal of climate intelligence at RMI, the research lead. That’s where the spotlight needs to be to combat climate change, she said.

Oil and gas prices have surged after demand rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic and due to dislocations caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Despite growth in renewable power generation, global reliance on fossil fuels is poised to grow before tapering amid a transition to alternatives like wind and solar.

Yet the urgency to cut emissions has grown. A United Nations-

backed panel of scientists recently warned that emissions must be significantly reduced by 2030 to help avoid the catastrophic impacts that would result from warming exceeding the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5° and 2° Celsius.

The report recommends buying fuel locally as much as possible to save on transport-related emissions, but according to the OCI+ analysis, Europe might actually avoid some emissions by buying gas from the US

that is super-chilled into liquid and shipped across the ocean rather than from Russia.

Sourcing gas from Russia is “horrid” because of leaks, Gordon said: On the OCI+ digital emissions map, Russia’s pipeline system jumps out in bright yellow and orange due to concentrated methane emissions. (New York City and Boston, which have aging pipe infrastructure, show up as smaller, less intense hot spots, while Rus-

sia’s liquefied natural gas export terminal in Siberia is a blip.)

For decades, policies have targeted reducing emissions from cars and power plants, which puts the responsibility on the consumer with little transparency on emissions from producers themselves, Gordon said. “Conventional wisdom is that the consumer is responsible for 86 percent of the emissions from the barrel.” But the research shows that’s not the case for the most polluting oil and gas fields, she said.

The researchers also estimated a price for carbon, and OCI+ shows how accounting for lifecycle emissions would tack on more than $50 per barrel for the highest-emitting sites.

If a fee reflecting the social cost to carbon were imposed today, the production-weighted average cost for the 135 fields would be $7 per barrel of oil equivalent, less than $1 for refiners and $4 for shippers, according to the analysis. The values are based on a cost of $56 per metric ton that was modeled by the US government. (Carbon fees can be adjusted in OCI+ to account for different scenarios.)

Aging oil and gas fields become more GHG-intensive as more energy and water are needed to extract the fuel from underground.

The average emissions of a typical large oil field will double over 25 years, according to past research.

Two prime candidates for decommissioning are the Minas field in Indonesia and Wilmington in California, since they already require large injections, Gordon said.

The web tool also breaks out the share of sites’ emissions from flaring, or burning off excess natural gas. This practice is notoriously common in the Permian Basin, where oil is the most profitable fuel and natural gas is a nuisance byproduct.

“The Permian looks terrible,” Gordon said, but “if Texas cleans up its act and really focuses on not leaking methane and not flaring its gas, it will be there right at the top” of the lowest-emitting areas.

BREWING DISCONTENT Continued from A1

of staff; vice chief of staff; deputy chief of staff; commanding generals of the Army and the Air Force; flag officer of the Navy; AFP inspector general; and the heads of the area commands, unless their tour of duties are terminated by the President.

The military currently has six area commands and these are the Northern and Southern Luzon Commands, the Central Command, which has reverted to its old name as Visayas Command, the Eastern Mindanao Command, Western Mindanao Command and the Western Command, which is based in Palawan.

RA 11709 also mandated a fouryear tour of duty for the superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy, who should have the rank of a lieutenant general or the equivalent rank in the Navy, which is vice admiral, and whose age should not be more than 58.

Those occupying the positions covered by the three-year fixed term and even the superintendent of the PMA must be retired upon the completion of their tours of duty. The only exception is when a senior officer holding a three-year term is promoted or elevated as chief of staff.

The law explicitly provided that officers holding the ranks of second lieutenant or ensign in the Navy up to colonel or captain in the Navy and enlisted personnel, who form the bulk of the troops, would be compulsory retired after rendering 30 years of service or upon reaching the age of 56.

On the other hand, senior officers or those holding the ranks of brigadier general or commodore in the Navy up to lieutenant general or vice admiral in the Navy will be retired upon reaching the age of 59.

‘Unequal treatment’

THE “unequal treatment” in the

age of retirement in the military between senior officers and those of enlisted personnel, junior and middle-grade officers was among the gripes of personnel who said it gives preferential treatment to senior military commanders.

“If the aim of RA 11709 is to professionalize the military, then the least…it should do is not to create a division among the ranks by virtue of age or service retirement.

The retirement age of 59 should cover us all; if not, then let us stick to the old and original mandatory retirement age which is 56,” one middle grade officer said.

A senior officer, however, said that for years, the military has pushed for reforms, professionalization in the ranks and a stop to the revolving-door policy through a threeyear fixed term for senior positions, which was not able to go through Congress. And now that a law was passed, as soldiers, they should follow the line.

However, another senior officer questioned the wisdom behind the fixed three-year term, since this will stall the promotion and movement of officers down the line, thus affecting the morale and welfare of the officer corps.

“We understand if the threeyear term will cover the post of chief of staff since he is the overall commander, but to stall or secure the nonmovement of senior officers in the other key positions, it will freeze the promotion in the senior level,” he said.

“Remember, the law says three years,” he said.

The senior officer said that if there is no movement in key positions, and then it would ultimately affect other ranks and positions, thus resulting in faster and higher rate of attrition.

“This is not the way to profes-

sionalize the ranks and recognize the sacrifices of our so-called heroes,” he said.

Soldiers, especially junior and middle-grade officers, should be promoted within three years after their last promotion, otherwise they would be covered by the military’s attrition law and forced out of service.

The attrition law has been a headache for the Army during the past years, as most would-be officers joining the military prefer the Army as their branch of service.

The three-year term, some of the officers noted, did not take into account the yearly number of PMA graduates being incorporated into the AFP officer corps, most of whom also choose the Army.

Another senior officer said the three-year term will affect seniority, which is both sacred and a long-held tradition in the military, since if officers are designated in the positions that it covers, they should not be less than 56 years of age, thus bypassing their senior officers, who happen to still have one or two years remaining in service.

Promotion and professionalism were among the reasons that compelled the Magdalo, whose members include former Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV and other young officers, to launch a mutiny during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The same reasons, including discontent, also drove senior Army Scout Rangers and Marines to go against the Arroyo government, which ended in a standoff at the Marine headquarters at Fort Bonifacio.

Promotion, professionalism, factionalism and other causes were likewise among the compelling reasons behind the military coups during the administrations of former Presidents Ferdinand E. Marcos and Corazon Aquino.

The World

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

‘The impossible’: Ukraine’s secret, deadly rescue missions

By John Leicester & Hanna Arhirova The Associated Press

K

YIV, Ukraine—As was his habit before each flight, the veteran Ukrainian army pilot ran a hand along the fuselage of his Mi-8 helicopter, caressing the heavy transporter’s metal skin to bring luck to him and his crew.

They would need it. Their destination—a besieged steel mill in the brutalized city of Mariupol—was a death trap. Some other crews didn’t make it back alive.

Still, the mission was vital, even desperate. Ukrainian troops were pinned down, their supplies running low, their dead and injured stacking up. Their last-ditch stand at the Azovstal mill was a growing symbol of Ukraine’s defiance in the war against Russia.

They could not be allowed to perish.

The 51-year-old pilot—identified only by his first name, Oleksandr—flew just the one mission to Mariupol, and he considered it the most difficult flight of his 30-year-career. He took the risk, he said, because he didn’t want the Azovstal fighters to feel forgotten.

In the charred hell-scape of that plant, in an underground bunker-turned-medical station that provided shelter from death and destruction above, word started reaching the wounded that a miracle might be coming. Among those told that he was on the list for evacuation was a junior sergeant who’d been shredded by mortar rounds, butchering his left leg and forcing its amputation above the knee.

“Buffalo” was his nom de guerre. He had been through so much, but one more deadly challenge loomed: escape from Azovstal.

Clandestine helicopter missions

A series of clandestine, against-the-odds, terrain-hugging, high-speed helicopter missions to reach the Azovstal defenders in March, April and May are being celebrated in Ukraine as among the most heroic feats of military derring-do of the four-month war. Some ended in catastrophe; each grew progressively riskier as Russian air defense batteries caught on.

The full story of the seven resupply and rescue missions has yet to be told.

But from exclusive interviews with two wounded survivors; a military intelligence officer who flew on the first mission; and pilot interviews provided by the Ukrainian army, The Associated Press has pieced together the account of one of the last flights, from the perspective of both the rescuers and the rescued.

Only after more than 2,500 defenders who remained in the Azovstal ruins had started surrendering did Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy first give wind of the missions and their deadly cost.

The Azovstal fighters’ tenacity had frustrated Moscow’s objective of quickly capturing Mariupol and prevented Russian troops there from being redeployed elsewhere.

Zelenskyy told Ukrainian broadcaster ICTV that pilots braved “powerful” Russian air defenses in venturing beyond enemy lines, flying in food, water, medicine and weapons so the plant’s defenders could fight on, and flying out the injured.

The militar y intelligence officer said one helicopter was shot down and two others never came back, and are considered missing. He said he dressed in civilian clothes for his flight, thinking that he could melt into the population if he survived a crash: “We were aware it could be a one-way ticket.”

Said Zelenskyy: “These are absolutely heroic people who knew what was difficult, who knew that it was almost impossible....

We lost a lot of pilots.”

Buffalo’s story

If Buffalo had had his way, he would not have lived to be evacuated. His life would have ended quickly, to spare him the agony he suffered after 120mm mortar rounds tore apart his left leg, bloodied his right foot, and peppered his back with shrapnel during street fighting in Mariupol on March 23.

T h e 2 0 - y e a r- o l d s p o k e t o T h e Associated Press on condition that he not be identified by name, saying he

didn’t want it to seem that he is seeking publicity when thousands of Azovstal defenders are in captivity or dead. He had been on the trail of a Russian tank, aiming to destroy it with his shoulderlaunched, armor-piercing NLAW missile on the last day of the invasion’s first month, when his war was cut short.

Tossed next to the wreckage of a burning car, he dragged himself to cover in a nearby building and “decided it would be better to crawl into the basement and quietly die there,” he said.

But his friends evacuated him to the Ilyich steel mill, which subsequently fell in mid-April as Russian forces were tightening their grip on Mariupol and its strategic port on the Sea of Azov. Three days passed before medics were able to amputate, in a basement bomb shelter.

He considers himself lucky: Doctors still had anesthetic when his turn came to go under the knife.

When he came around, a nurse told him how sorry she was that he’d lost the limb.

He cut through the awkwardness with a joke: “Will they return the money for 10 tattoo sessions?”

“I had a lot of tattoos on my leg,” he said. One remains, a human figure, but its legs are gone now, too.

After the surgery, he was transferred to the Azovstal plant. A stronghold covering nearly 11 square kilometers (more than 4 miles), with a 24-kilometer (15-mile) labyrinth of underground tunnels and bunkers, the plant was practically impregnable.

But conditions were grim.

“There was constant shelling,” said Vladislav Zahorodnii, a 22-year-old corporal who had been shot through the pelvis, shredding a nerve, during street fighting in Mariupol.

Evacuated to Azovstal, he met Buffalo there. They already knew each other: Both were from Chernihiv, a city in the north surrounded and pounded by Russian forces.

Zahorodnii saw the missing leg. He asked Buffalo how he was doing.

“Everything is fine, we will go clubbing soon,” Buffalo replied.

Zahorodnii was evacuated from Azovstal by helicopter on March 31, after three failed attempts.

It was his first helicopter flight. The Mi-8 took fire on its way out, killing one of its engines. The other one kept them airborne for the remainder of the 80-minute early morning dash to Dnipro city on the Dnieper River in central Ukraine.

He would mark his deliverance with a mortar-round tattoo on his right forearm: “I did it not to forget,” he said.

Buffalo’s turn came the following week.

He was ambivalent about leaving. On the one hand, he was relieved that his share of the dwindling food and water would now go to others still able to fight; on the other, “there was a painful feeling. They stayed there, and I left them.”

Still, he almost missed his flight.

Soldiers hauled him on a gurney out of his deep bunker and loaded him aboard a truck that rumbled to a pre-arranged landing zone. The soldiers wrapped him in a jacket.

The helicopter’s cargo of ammunition was unloaded first. Then, the wounded were lifted aboard.

But not Buffalo. Left in a back corner of the truck, he’d somehow been overlooked.

He couldn’t raise the alarm because the mortar blasts had injured his throat, and he was still too hoarse to make himself heard over the whoop-whoop-whoop of the helicopter rotors.

“I thought to myself, ‘Well, not today then,’” he recalled. “And suddenly someone shouted, ‘You forgot the soldier in the truck!’”

Because the cargo bay was full, Buffalo was placed crosswise from the others, who’d been loaded aboard side by side.

A crewmember took his hand and told him not to worry, they’d make it home.

“All my life,” he told the crewmember, “I dreamed of flying a helicopter. It doesn’t matter if we arrive—my dream has come true.”

AP journalists Sophiko Megrelidze in Tbilisi, Georgia, and Oleksandr Stashevskyi in Kyiv contributed.

BusinessMirror

Sunday, June 26, 2022

A3

War derails program to ditch coal after UK championed global cuts

W

By Rachel Morison & Jess Shankleman

hen the COP26 climate talks concluded in November, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared the world had reached a point of no return in phasing out coal. At the same time, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned Europe that Russia was amassing forces near its border.

Piles of coal are seen next to cooling towers at Uniper SE’s coal-fired power station in Ratcliffeon-Soar, UK. Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Those seemingly unrelated proclamations in Glasgow and Kyiv have become entwined seven months later as Russia’s war on Ukraine forces countries to make up for limited gas supplies. The UK now aims to keep a reserve of coalfired plants available this winter rather than shutting almost all of them over the next three months as planned.

Efforts to get rid of dirty power are being slowed as the war hits European economies, with soaring gas and electricity prices stoking inflation and raising the specter of recession. While peers such as Germany are also rethinking coal ahead of this winter, the change of tack by the UK in particular highlights how energy security has turned into the top political priority in such a short time for a government that was so zealous at COP26.

UK gas prices were up almost 50 percent last week alone. While the country only imports 4 percent of its gas from Russia, the market is exposed to prices in Europe where cuts to flows along a key pipeline are driving huge spikes in costs.

Even environmentalists concede that higher emissions in the short term may be the cost of reducing reliance on Russian fuels in the longer term.

“We have bigger problems to worry about,” said Dave Jones, a global electricity analyst at London-based climate think tank Ember. “The government is taking some decisions—like keeping a coal power plant open—that, to some people, look like a softening on fossil fuels. To me, it looks like a rational short-term decision to help keep the lights on.”

T he com m it ment rem a i ns to end coal generation by 2024

at a time when people are already struggling with record-high bills and interest rates are rising.

Johnson’s Conservative government has been excoriated by opponents for not doing enough to help the nation through the worst cost-of-living crisis for decades.

It refused to impose a windfall tax on energy company profits like in other European countries, though backtracked as inflation accelerated. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak also promised a one-time payment for all households to help reduce energy bills in the fall when a price cap set by the regulator is expected to jump again.

“Once again this government finds itself flailing around for answers to the energy crisis, and costing us all more in the process,” said Alan Whitehead, the energy spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, which overtook the Conservatives in opinion polls late last year. “In its efforts to keep the lights on this winter—the most basic requirement of our energy system—it’s now having to rely on more coal, the most-polluting form of energy.”

Leaders around Europe agree that building more renewable capacity is the best way to wean the continent off Russian gas and ultimately cut emissions. If ministers allowed the lights to go out this winter, though, that could harm the push to net zero in the long run, said Josh Buckland, partner at energy consultant Flint Global and a former government adviser.

The UK government’s stance toward phasing out oil and gas supplies has indeed softened in recent months. When the COP26 summit ended, Johnson said the final communiqué agreed by leaders “united the world in calling

and boost renewable sources such as wind and nuclear energy.

Coal emits almost twice as much carbon as burning natural gas.

The issue now, though, is timing.

Operations are being extended at least at one station that would otherwise have closed. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has described the measure as a “sensible, precautionary step.”

Last week, Electricite de France SA signed a deal to keep a unit of its West Burton A coal plant on standby in case it’s needed this winter.

That comes after the government asked National Grid Plc in May to secure extra backup supply from plants that were about to close or weren’t operating. Deals with Drax Plc and Uniper SE are expected to be announced soon, too.

“With uncertainty in Europe following the invasion, it’s right we explore all options to bolster supply,” Kwarteng said on Twitter on June 14. “If we have available backup power, let’s keep it online just in case. I’m not taking chances.”

In Germany, a similar reserve is being extended to include retired stations in case Russia cuts off supplies to Europe completely.

The stations could be used for six months as a lever in a three-stage emergency plan. Unlike the UK, Germany is abandoning nuclear after a promise made in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in 2011, and shut down the remainder of its nuclear capacity this year.

Playing it safe, though, won’t come cheap for the UK. EDF, France’s biggest power supplier, will receive tens of millions of pounds for keeping the plant available, a person familiar with the matter said. That extra cost will be recouped from households

time on coal.” The pact, signed by nearly 200 countries, pledged to phase down the use of unabated coal power.

“We will hold all coal producers, importers and mining countries around the world to their commitments to reduce our global dependence on coal,” Johnson told the UK Parliament. “They have made them in black and white in the Glasgow climate pact and we will hold them to account.”

Spin forward, and the Jackdaw natural gas field in the North Sea was approved earlier in June, eight months after the country’s regulator blocked the project on environmental concerns. Companies will also be able to offset some of the new 25 percent windfall tax on oil and gas profits by making fresh investments in oil and gas extraction.

The UK has gone from spearheading the end of coal to a “farcical” extension of coal-fired power stations, said Luke Murphy, associate director for energy, climate, housing, and infrastructure at think tank IPPR. Part of the problem is that the UK government didn’t focus on energy security in recent years, leading to under-investment in the industry, said John Browne, the former chief executive officer of oil giant BP Plc. “It’s a bit like defense: a nation can’t work without energy,” he said.

In particular, the rapid decline in North Sea oil and gas production has left the UK without enough homegrown power sources and more vulnerable to any kind of external shock. That will keep dirty fossil fuels such as coal in the mix, said Browne, regardless of the “aggressive push” by the government.

“They will be with us for quite a long time,” he said. Bloomberg News

Brexit cost London big chunk of IPO market share in Europe

B

oris Johnson’s vision for London to boost its standing as a global financial center and stock-market listings hub post-Brexit hasn’t exactly panned out so far.

Since the shock vote to split with the European Union in June 2016, initial public offerings have been losing steam in the UK. They made up 30 percent of total listing proceeds in Europe, down from 40 percent in the six preceding years, data compiled

by Bloomberg show.

The UK has been on a charm offensive to attract more IPOs, changing some of its previously contentious listing rules like allowing founders to retain control of

their business even after it goes public. The government has lobbied tech companies from Swedish payments firm Klarna to SoftBank Group Corp.-backed chipmaker Arm to list in London.

To little avail, so far. British startups are flocking to the deeper pockets and higher valuations to be found in New York, while listings in the UK are at their slowest in more than a decade. Optimism after a last-minute Brexit deal at the end of 2020 was short-lived, as it left many regulatory issues unresolved.

“The lack of a financial services accord has led to the flight of some European funds, and broader economic malaise means there are simply fewer

floats than before,” said Christopher Raggett, co-head of corporate finance at UK broker FinnCap Group Plc. A string of high-profile flops over the past two years has also done serious damage to investor confidence in London IPOs, with the likes of Deliveroo Plc, Wise Plc and THG Plc all down more than 60 percent since going public. “ Timing is ever ything for listings and unfortunately ‘tech ’ company IPOs have had a distinctly rocky ride over the past two years in London,” said Susannah Streeter, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Plc. “A key test for London’s ability to become a tech launch pad will be the

UK’s attempts to lure chip designer Arm back.”

An intensifying costof-living crisis, soaring inflation and the looming prospect of a recession in the UK are piling more pressure on London’s already bleak listings landscape.

Any pickup in activity will likely take many months, with much depending on how the first companies out the gate fare.

“I can’t see anything coming to market before September at least,” said Alexandra Jackson, manager of the Rathbone UK Opportunities Fund.

“We will need something that’s a surefire hit to reopen the market and reignite enthusiasm.”Bloomberg News

A4

The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, June 26, 2022

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Fishing feud at end of the world split US and Britain over Russia

By Joshua Goodman

M

The Associated Press

IAMI—It’s one of the world’s highest-fetching wild-caught fish, sold for $32 a pound at Whole Foods and served up as meaty fillets on the menus of upscale eateries across the US. But Russia’s obstruction of longstanding conservation efforts, resulting in a unilateral rejection of catch limits for the Chilean sea bass in a protected region near Antarctica, has triggered a fish fight at the bottom of the world, one dividing longtime allies, the US and UK governments.

The diplomatic feud, which has not been previously reported, intensified after the UK quietly issued licenses this spring to fish for the sea bass off the coast of South Georgia, a remote, uninhabited UK-controlled island some 1,400 kilometers east of the Falkland Islands.

As a result, for the first time since governments banded together 40 years ago to protect marine life near the South Pole, deep-sea fishing for the pointy-toothed fish is proceeding this season without any catch limit from the 26-member Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources or CCAMLR. The move essentially transformed overnight one of the world’s bestmanaged fisheries into a France-sized stretch of outlaw ocean—at least in the eyes of US officials threatening to bar UK imports from the area.

“In a world beset by conflict, the UK is playing a risky game,” said Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace UK “The history of Antarctic protection is one of peaceful cooperation for the common good of humanity. Russia’s consistent willingness to abuse the process cannot excuse unilateral action by other Members. We trust that countries who have previously imported South Georgia toothfish will not accept the catch of what is now an unregulated fishery.”

For decades, the fisher y near South Georgia was a poster child for international fisheries cooperation, one that brought together sometimes adversarial powers like Russia, China and the US to protect the chilly, crystal blue southern ocean from the sort of fishing free-for-all seen on the high seas.

Last year, as tensions with the West were rising over Ukraine, Russia took the unprecedented step of rejecting the toothfish catch limits proposed by the Antarctic commission’s scientists. The move was tantamount to a unilateral veto because of rules, common to many international fisheries pacts, which require all decisions to be made by unanimous agreement.

But critics say the UK’s response— issuing licenses without a CCAMLRapproved catch limit—is unlawful under the commission’s rules and weakens the Antarctica Treaty established during the Cold War that set aside the continent as a scientific preserve. US officials have also privately told their UK counterparts that they would likely bar imports of any toothfish caught near South Georgia, according to correspondence between US fisheries managers and members of Congress seen by The Associated Press.

The fight underscores how Russia’s attempts to undermine the West have extended to even obscure forums normally removed from geopolitical tussles. It also risks reviving Britain’s tensions with Argentina, which invaded South Georgia in 1982 as part of its war with the UK over the Falkland Islands.

But the outcome couldn’t be more consequentia l: Wit h f ish stoc k s across the globe declining due to over f i sh i ng , consu mers a re de manding greater transparency about where the filets on their plates are sourced. Central to that effort is rules-based international fisheries management on the open ocean and environmentally sensitive areas like the polar regions.

“It sets a dangerous precedent,” said Evan Bloom, who for 15 years, until his retirement from the State Department in 2020, led the US delegation to the CCAMLR. “What the Russians did clearly violates the spirit of science-based fisheries management,” added Bloom, who is now an expert on polar issues

at the Wilson Center in Washington.

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the UK can act unilaterally.”

Three of the four vessels authorized by the UK to fish near South Georgia starting May 1 belong to Argos Froyanes, a British-Norwegian company that pioneered techniques credited with dramatically reducing seabird mortality in the south Atlantic.

One of its customers is New Yorkbased Mark Foods, the largest US supplier of sea bass certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, the industry’s gold standard for sustainability.

CEO Barry Markman declined an interview request but said his company would not import any product deemed illegal by US authorities.

“We have been working collaboratively with US officials to resolve this situation in a favorable manner,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Chilean seabass—the commercial name of Patagonia toothfish—from South Georgia is sold at both Whole Foods and Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, which operates the finedining chains Eddie V’s and The Capital Grille. Neither company responded to a request for comment.

An official from the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which issued the licenses in coordination with the UK foreign office, said it took action so as not to give in to obstructionist tactics by Russia that it doesn’t expect will end anytime soon.

The fishery is one of the best managed in the world, with catch limits set by South Georgia below even the quota recommended by the Antarctic commission. In addition, all vessels authorized to fish near the island have observers and tamper-proof electronic monitoring equipment on board.

Officials say that closing the fishery would’ve taken valuable resources away from research and monitoring because about 70 percent of the island chain’s budget comes from the sale of licenses.

They point out that the population of toothfish—a bottom-dwelling species capable of living up to 50 years— almost collapsed in the days before CCAMLR due to poachers, many from the former Soviet Union, drawn to the high prices paid for the fish, which can weigh over 200 pounds. However, thanks in part to the multinational efforts of the commission, the species has bounced back.

But US officials have taken a dim view of the UK’s actions.

Janet Coit, a senior official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, wrote in an April 25 letter obtained by the AP that in the absence of approved protections, any fishing near South Georgia would be of “questionable legality” and have “serious implications” for the Antarctic commission.

She also stated that any shipments of fish harvested in what’s known as subarea 48.3 would likely be barred from entering the US, a preliminary view she said was shared with the UK government and US importers to guide their decision-making.

“We recognize that fish from this subarea has represented a substantial percentage of toothfish imports,” according to the letter, which was sent to a bipartisan group of seven House members concerned about the impact of a ban on the seafood industry.

“However, we are bound by our obligations under the CAMLR Convention, applicable conservation measures in force, and relevant US law.”

The financial hit for the seafood industry from any import ban could be significant.

Every year, the US imports around 3 million pounds of MSC-certified toothfish from South Georgia, worth about $50 million. The loss of those imports can’t be easily substituted because the four other MSC-certified toothfish fisheries in the CCAMLR convention area—run by Australia, France and the Falkland Islands—are fishing at or near capacity. Overall, about 15 percent of the more than 12,000 metric tons of toothfish caught in the CCAMLR convention area comes from South Georgia.

Under US law, fishing conducted in a way that disregards conservation measures, such as catch limits, adopted by international fisher y organizations to which the US is a party, is considered illegal. Vessels that engage in such activity can be denied access to US ports and blacklisted within the Antarctic commission framework.

Meanwhile, the UK has shown no sign of backing down. Even with no conservation measure in place, it insists it will continue to operate the fishery in the conservative way it always has, basing its decisions on the quota and other guidelines proposed by commission scientists.

“Russia egregiously blocked the agreed catch limits citing spurious scientific concerns not recognized by any other member of the CCAMLR,” the UK’s foreign office said in a statement. “The UK will continue to operate the toothfish fishery within the framework agreed by all CCAMLR Members.”

Dubai becomes new Switzerland for traders of Russian commodities

By Archie Hunter, Ben Bartenstein, Verity Ratcliffe & Isis Almeida

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raders of Russian commodities are rushing to set up businesses in Dubai as Switzerland makes it increasingly challenging for them to deal with Moscow.

Switzerland has for decades been home to middlemen helping to match Russian producers with buyers all over the world. Now, a ratcheting up of sanctions is prompting a migration to the emirate in the Persian Gulf.

Russia’s three largest oil producers are in the process of evaluating Dubai for trading operations, and several other firms have already relocated there. For Switzerland, some kind of exodus appears inevitable after the country followed European Union bans targeting exports from Russia.

“The trade will go on,” said Wouter Jacobs, director of the Erasmus Commodity & Trade Center at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. “Middle Eastern and Eastern jurisdictions will gain in importance relative to the rather euro-centric situation of the commodities business up to now.”

Progressively restrictive sanctions have made trading difficult for Russia’s stateowned firms, including those transporting the country’s commodities. Unofficial selfsanctioning has also been an issue—banks

have pulled credit lines crucial for financing deals, while shipping companies and insurers are also cutting off their services.

That’s created an opening for Dubai, which has steered clear of imposing sanctions on Russian individuals and entities— intensifying the competition Switzerland already faces as a nerve center of global commodities trading.

Swiss sanctions

While Switzerland claims neutrality and won’t allow its weapons to be taken to the conflict zone, it has followed the EU in imposing increasingly stringent restrictions on some commodities, banks and individuals deemed close to the Kremlin. By the end of 2022, the EU will have restrictions in place banning the insurance and financing of transporting Russian oil to countries outside of the bloc and Switzerland has said it will do likewise. “The Federal Council announced it will do exactly the same and so this is part of it,” a spokesperson for Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs—or SECO—said by phone. “It’s really the same, we take all the ordinance of the European Union into Swiss law.” If fully enacted, that’s likely to make dealing with Russian oil more difficult and adds to Switzerland’s outright ban on brokerage, sales and providing financial services on Russian coal that was announced in April.

But the regulations will also contribute to

some businesses moving elsewhere.

“A trade between Russia and China for energy may normally have been done by a commodity house in Switzerland, with financial support from a banker in London—who wants to do that now?”

Jacobs said. “It’s likely outfits that do will necessarily move to a new jurisdiction.”

Companies moving

Executives from Russia’s state oil producer Rosneft PJSC have last month jetted into Dubai to explore the idea of a trading venture. Meantime, Gazprom Neft PJSC, Russia’s third-largest oil producer, is also looking to expand its presence in the city, people familiar with the matter said.

Litasco SA, the sales and trading arm of Russian energy giant Lukoil PJSC, is looking to relocate some Russian trading and operations staff to Dubai from Geneva in anticipation of making that the new central hub of the company and expanding on a small number of traders already there. Lukoil is Russia’s second-largest oil producer. Another Geneva stalwart— Solaris Commodities, a trader of Russian grain, opened an office in Dubai last week, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information is private. While sanctions don’t include agricultural products, the trader has found it harder to get access to financing as Swiss banks are shying away

from Russian commodities—whether they incur penalties or not, the person said.

And there’s also a hit to the financing of commodity traders as Russian banks had stepped in to lend to the business as lenders including BNP Paribas and ABN Amro retrenched or pulled out of the sector altogether. Sberbank, which was recently added to the list of sanctioned entities, saw its commodity trade finance business in Switzerland double in volume last year, with money flowing mainly to the petrochemicals, metals, grains and fertilizers sectors. Those flows now won’t be possible. Other Swiss towns are facing departures. Zug, long a hub for commodities trading because of its ultra-low taxes, became infamous globally in the 1980s as a refuge from US justice for legendary trader Marc Rich. Commodities businesses there are also looking to the Middle East. Zug-based Suek AG, the exclusive marketer of coal from Russia’s biggest producer, is planning to set up a Dubai trading business. EuroChem Group AG, one of the world’s largest fertilizer producers with the majority of its assets in Russia is also setting up a Dubai-based venture. Both were formerly owned by billionaire Andrey Melnichenko until after the Ukraine war began.

Several boutique firms in Dubai with links to some larger trading houses have also explored Russian deals, people familiar with the matter said.

Science Sunday

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

BusinessMirror

Sunday, June 26, 2022

A5

Science for Change Program wins United Nations Public Service Award

DOST’s S4CP is ‘game changer’ in PHL innovation

‘T

By Lyn B. Resurreccion

his rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive administration,” said Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña on Thursday.

The Science chief was referring to the the United Nations Public Service Award (UNPSA) given to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the Science for Change program [S4CP] in the category of “Enhancing the effectiveness of public institutions to reach the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs].”

A total of 10 awardees from various countries won the award this year, with three from the same category with the Philippines.

The DOST’s S4CP was chosen from 350 applications from 58 countries. The UNPSA is the most prestigious international award for excellence in public service.

The UN said in the online awarding ceremony: “Your institution’s [DOST ’s S4CP] outstanding achievement has demonstrated excellence in serving the public interest and it has made a significant contribution to the improvement of public administration in your countr y. Indeed, it will ser ve as an inspiration and encouragement for others working for public ser vice.”

De la Peña lauded the S4CP during the online news conference, saying: “[The] Science for Change Program brought game-changing dynamics to the Philippine innovation ecosystem.”

4 subprograms

The S4CP is being implemented by the DOST Office of the Undersecretar y for R&D, led by Undersecretary Rowena Cristina

Guevara, in cooperation with the DOST Undersecretar y for Regional Operations and four DOST councils.

It has four subprograms that Guevara conceptua lized—the Niche Centers in the Regions (Nicer) for R&D, Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (Cradle), Business Innovation through S&T (BIST) for Industry Program, and the RDLead Program.

Guevara said at the news conference that the S4CP’s framework, through its four subprograms, enabled it to encompass 11 of the 17 UN SDGs which made it win the award.

She said the DOST and S4CP „share“ the award with the 43 Nicers, 86 Cradles, 68 RDLeaders and 4 BISTs, friends in media and all those who contributed to the success of S4CP. Guevara said: “It feels good to receive recognition and affirmation that Science for Change is Science for the People!”

Funding, partnerships

De la Peña and Guevara said separately during the event that before the program was implemented disparity was deeply felt in R&D funding with the lion’s share going to National Capital Region and nearby provinces.

De la Peña said the lack of opportunities in regions prompted Filipino scientists to take alternative careers, or worse, “bring their genius to other countries.”

L o c a l bu s i ne s s e s , mo s t l y

UN Undersecretary General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin reads the award for the DOST’s S4CP during the online announcement of the award on June 22. Screenshot

The poster of the United Nations Public Service Award to DOST’s Science for Change Program. S4CP

MSMEs, invest in foreign technologies to sustain operations and build up competitiveness, he added.

Implementing the S4CP in the past five years «brought gamechanging dynamics to the Philippine innovation ecosystem,» de la Peña pointed out.

“By encouraging partnerships between government, academe and industry, we forge deeper connections that bring S&T into the structure of our local companies,” he explained.

Guevara said the Nicers, or R&D centers, in 17 regions in the country, had a total of P2.3 billion grants to higher education institutions.

Funding for Cradle partnerships to solve problems of companies amounted to P396.6 million grants.

Meanwhile, the BIST financial assistance for technology acqui-

DOST officials hold an online news conference on June 23 announcing the United Nations Public Service Award won by the Science for Change Program. (From left, top) Undersecretary for R&D Rowena Cristina Guevara, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña, Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang, NRCP Executive Director Dr. Marietta Sumagaysay, PCAARRD Executive Director Dr. Reynaldo V. Ebora, PCIEERD Deputy Executive Director Ninaliza Escorial and Dr. Paul Ernest de Leon of PCHRD. Screenshot

sition of local companies reached P43.3 million.

At the same time, the RDLead Program funded 65 RDLeaders with P59.91 million grants in 63 host institutions.

Guevarra noted also that in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, DOST’s targeted to reach 300 researchers per million population in 2022.

On a positive note, this was already breached four years ago with 356 researchers per million population.

De la Peña explained that with the S4CP, the DOST has expanded its public service and enhanced the effectiveness of public institutions nationwide by establishing R&D infrastructures and collaboration, technology acquisition and capacity building, thereby reducing inequality, improving inclusivity, increasing sustainability and having higher productivity in investment in S&T and human resource.

Meanwhile, Guevara announced that the Nicer Program will be devolved to the regions in 2024, and the RD Lead to National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP).

Impact of the award

De la Peña said the award gives value and recognition, and encourages young people to pursue a career in public service.

It “added to the prestige of working for the DOST,” he said.

De la Peza gave credit to the S4CP staff, saying that the award “was a fitting recognition to the high-caliber performance demonstrated by the the S4CP team” led by Guevara, and adds to the “attractiveness and credibility of S4CP.” “It shows that the objective of S4CP is consistent with the objectives of UN to render public service to help our people and contribute to SDGs,” he said.

Guevara said the award rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide.

“Through an annual competition, the UN Public Ser vice Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service,” she said.

Guevara pointed out: “Efficient government service implemented through [S4CP] is intended to accelerate regional development, thereby providing scientific solutions to food security, ensuring good health and well-being of all Filipinos, providing affordable and clean energy, supporting innovation and industrialization, ensuring sustainable cities and communities, sustaining climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as protecting both the country’s marine and terrestrial resources.”

10,487 qualify in DOST-SEI undergrad S&T scholarships

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t o ta l o f 1 0 , 4 8 7 s t u d e n t s qualified as new science scholars of the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) for school year 2022-2023.

Of this year’s batch of qualifiers, 5,567 qualified under the Republic Act 7687 Scholarship Program, the scholarships for students with high aptitude for science coming from economically disadvantaged families; while 4,920 qualified under the Merit Scholarship Program.

To avail themselves of the scholarship award, qualifiers must enrol in identified priority S&T courses in state universities and colleges, or in private higher education institutions recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as Centers of Excellence or Centers of Development, or with at least Level III accreditation from the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines for the priority S&T courses.

The list of the scholarship qualifiers and the list of priority S&T courses can be found on the DOST-SEI web site https:// www.sei.dost.gov.ph/ Qualifiers will enjoy full benefits of the scholarship for the whole duration of their programs of study.

These include monthly stipend of P7,000; tuition subsidy of up to P40,000 per academic year for those who will enroll in private institutions; learning materials and/or connectivity allowance; one-time MS/PE clothing allowance; one economy-class roundtrip fare per academic year for those who will study outside their home province; group health and accident

insurance; and thesis and graduation allowance.

“The institute is pleased to award these scholarships to these students who have indicated interest in careers in S&T. They have been the core part of our mandate since SEI’s foundation 35 years ago,” DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette T. Biyo said.

“We believe that this year’s batch of qualifiers will add to the pool of highly qualified scientists and engineers in the future and will take active participation and leadership roles especially in S&T research and development [R&D] activities,” Biyo added.

“Aside from the financial benefits that the scholars enjoy, the institute has support programs which can help them grow holistically and become productive citizens of the country. We are more than happy to welcome them to the S&T community and to support them as they pursue their S&T degree programs,” Biyo explained.

For his part, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña is optimistic that the new scholars will eventually be a significant addition to the country’s pool of S&T experts.

“The Department shall continue to provide opportunities to deserving students who intend to take up careers in science and technology through the scholarship programs that we implement. In four or five years, these scholars will become S&T professionals who will be working on basic and innovative R&D activities and S&T services and eventually become leaders in various industry sector,” de la Peña said.

“We continue to support the country’s

goal of producing world-class S&T human resources as this is an important component of our socio-economic development,” he added.

On the list of qualifiers, 4,465 names are marked with one asterisk implying some information or documents in their application that have to be revalidated.

At the same time, there are 513 potential qualifiers whose names are withheld because some information/document in their application relative to their eligibility to the scholarship have to be revalidated.

They will be advised on the submission of these information/documents.

For two consecutive years, DOST-SEI did not conduct the national scholarship qualifying examination due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To identify the qualifiers, the institute employed data analytics and proxy indicators in place of the exam.

Documentary requirements were collected through the E-Scholarship Application System including the students’ grades in Grades 9-11.

DOST-SEI scholars are required to render service in the country after graduation, preferably along their fields of specialization, for a period equivalent to the number of years they enjoyed the scholarship.

The qualifiers and the potential qualifiers will be receiving their notices in the coming weeks from the DOST-SEI, or the DOST Regional Offices.

The qualifiers and their parents/legal guardians must attend the Orientation on the Scholarship Policies prior to signing the Scholarship Agreement on the schedule indicated in their notices. S&T News Service

Thailand bamboo (left) and Yellow bamboo. DOST-FPRDI photo

DOST-FPRDI to study lesser-used bamboo species

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ow many kinds of bamboo do you know? One? Two? Did you know that there are more than 1,500 bamboo species in the world, and many of these are found in the Philippines? Of the ones growing in the country only a handful are popular and used commercially, however.

To optimize the use of the country’s rich bamboo resources, the Department of Science and Technology’s Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) has recently started a project that will

uncover information on the basic properties of lesser-used local bamboos.

According to DOST-FPRDI’s Forester Oliver S. Marasigan, the research project aims to give the bamboo industry and plantation growers a wider range of options for bamboo plantation and reforestation projects.

The results will be useful for those engaged in bamboo cultivation and processing, such as people’s organizations, private bu s i ne s s e s a nd go v e r n me nt agencies.

“The research will provide rec-

D O S T Unde r s e c re t a r y for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang said the prestigious UN award “corroborated what we’ve already confirmed in the past summits, that the [S4CP] program and its contributions are vital to the country’s development and growth with focus on the countryside.”

Mabborang said S4CP “changed the landscape of R&D in the country,” to which agreed Executive Director Dr. Marietta Sumagaysay of NRCP; Executive Director Dr. Reynaldo V. Ebora of Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development; Deputy Executive Director Ninaliza Escorial of DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development; and Dr. Paul Ernest de Leon of Philippine Council for Health Research and Development.

Sumagaysay said the program also “ builds confidence to do research.”

For his part, Ebora said the S4CP helped improved research facilities, and that research is now “being done for development” not just for the purpose of doing research.

Escorial said industry partners are encouraged to do R&D. She added that Nicer brings together small institutions and enhances “big-brother and small-brother” types of partnerships. ommendations for the possible end-uses of selected lesser-used bamboos, such as Dragon bamboo (Dendrocalamus giganteus), Solid bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus), String bamboo (Gigantochloa apus), Iron bamboo (Guadua angustifolia), Yellow bamboo (Bambusa v ulgar is var. striata), Thailand bamboo (Thyrsostachys siamensis), and Fishpole bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea),» Marasigan explained.

“Bamboo is one of the best alternative materials for timber as it is fast-growing with high carbon sequestration rate, and can be re-harvested without any harmful impact on the environment,” he added.

The study will look into the form and structure of each species, their cells and tissues, as well as their physical and mechanical properties.

R esu lt s w i l l be publ i shed and will serve as inputs to a policy brief on their potential uses, whether as materials for construction, furniture, handic r a f t s , e n g i ne e re d b a m b o o, among others.

The P5 million research project is funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, and is in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau. Apple Jean M. de Leon/S&T Media Services

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Sunday, June 26, 2022

Faith

Sunday

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

Pope: Traditionalist Catholics ‘gag’ church reforms

R

OME—Pope Francis has complained that traditionalist Catholics, particularly in the United States, are “gagging” the church’s modernizing reforms and insisted that there was no turning back.

Francis told a gathering of Je s u it e d itor s i n com me nt s published last week that he was convinced that some Catholics simply have never accepted the Second Vat ic a n Cou nc i l, t he meetings of the 1960s that led to Mass being celebrated in the vernacular rather than Latin and revolutionized the church’s relations with people of other faiths,

among other things. “ T he number of groups of ‘restorers’—for example, in the United States there are many— is significant,” Francis told the editors, according to excerpts published by the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica.

“Restorationism has come to gag the council,” he said, adding that he knew some priests for

Pope Francis holds on his aide, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, as he arrives with a cane to attend his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on June 22. AP/Andrew Medichini

whom the 16th century Council of Trent was more memorable than the 20th century Vatican II. Traditionalists have become some of Francis’s fiercest critics, accusing him of heresy for his opening to divorced and civilly

remarried Catholics, outreach to gay Catholics and other reforms.

Francis has taken an increasingly hard line against them, re - i mp o s i n g re s t r ic t ion s on celebrating the old Latin Mass and taking specific action in

dioceses and religious orders where traditionalists have resisted his reforms.

Just last week, in a meeting with Sicilian clergy, Francis told the priests that it wasn’t always appropriate to use “grandma’s lace” in their vestments and to update their liturgical garb to be in touch with current times and follow in the spirit of Vatican II. “It is also true that it takes a century for a council to take root. We still have 40 years to make it take root, then!” he told the editors.

Speaking about the church in Germany, Francis also warned that he still had an offer of resignation in hand for the archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, who faced strong criticism for his handling of the church’s sexual abuse scandal.

Francis gave Woelki a “time out” of several months last September, but still hasn’t definitively ruled on his future.

That has kept the situation in Cologne uncertain and frustrated the head of the German bishops’ conference, who has pressed for a decision one way or the other. “ W he n t he s it u at ion w a s ve r y t u r bu le nt , I a sk e d t he a rc hbishop to go away for si x mont hs, so t hat t h ings wou ld c a l m d o w n a nd I cou l d s e e c lea rly,” Fra nc is sa id.

“When he came back, I asked him to write a resignation letter. He did and gave it to me. And he wrote an apology letter to the diocese. I left him in his place to see what would happen, but I have his resignation in hand,” the pope added. AP

Catholic social action network joins opposition vs Tampakan mining project

An ancient church near the “Camino de Santiago,” or St. James Way, between Tardajos and Castrojeriz, northern Spain, on June 2. Over centuries, villages with magnificent artwork were built along the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile pilgrimage route crossing Spain. Today, Camino travelers are saving those towns from disappearing, rescuing the economy and vitality of hamlets that were steadily losing jobs and population. AP/Alvaro Barrientos

Camino pilgrims help Spain’s emptying villages survive

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ER R A DI L L OS DE L OS TEMPL A R IOS, Spain— Amid the vast grain fields of Spain, a medieval church stands guard over the handful of adobe homes where some 50 people live—and twice as many travelers along the Camino de Santiago spend the night this summer.

Terradillos de los Templarios, and dozens of villages like it, were built to host medieval pilgrims walking the 500-mile (800-kilometer) route across Spain to the Apostle James’s tomb in Santiago de Compostela.

Today’s Camino travelers are saving them from disappearing.

“This is life for the villages,” said Nuria Quintana, who manages one of Terradillos’ two pilgrim hostels.

“In winter when no pilgrims come through, you could walk through the village 200 times and see nobody,” she said.

In this hamlet named after a medieval knightly order founded to protect pilgrims, and all along the route, the return of travelers—after pandemic-related disruptions—is helping restore the livelihood and vitality of villages that were steadily losing jobs, population, even their social fabric.

“If it weren’t for the Camino, there wouldn’t even be a café open.

And the bar is where people meet,” said Raúl Castillo, an agent with the Guardia Civil, the law enforcement agency that patrols Spain’s roads and villages. He’s spent 14 years based in Sahagún, eight miles (13 kilometers) away, from where agents cover 49 hamlets.

“The villages next door, off the Camino—they make you cry.

Homes falling in, the grass sprouting on the sidewalks up to here,” he added, gesturing to a tabletop.

From the Pyrenees Mountains at the border with France, across

hundreds of miles of Spain’s sunroasted plains to the mist-covered hills of Galicia rolling toward the Atlantic Ocean, once-booming towns of farmers and ranchers started hemorrhaging population in recent decades.

Mechanization drastically reduced the need for farm laborers.

As young people moved away, shops and cafes shuttered.

Often, so did the grand churches full of priceless artwork—the heritage of the medieval and Renaissance artists brought in by prospering town burghers, said Julia Pavón, historian at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, the Camino’s first large city.

But starting in the 1990s, the Camino regained international popularity, with tens of thousands of visitors hiking and biking it each spring, summer and fall.

After a serious dip amid the pandemic in 2020 and the start of recovery with mostly Spanish pilgrims in 2021, 2022 feels like the “at last” year, as Quintana put it, with more than 25,000 visitors in May alone on the most traditional route, the “French way.”

With daily visitors outnumbering residents tenfold in the tiniest hamlets, the impact is huge.

“Now all that works [in town] is the hospitality industry,” said Óscar Tardajos, who was born on a farm along the Camino.

For 33 years, he’s managed a hotel and restaurant in Castrojeriz, a hillside village of stone buildings that was a center of the wool trade centuries ago, when its half dozen churches were built.

The Camino helps create jobs and maintain the cultural heritage, said Melchor Fernández, professor of economics at the University of Santiago de Compostela.

“It has put the brakes on depopulation,” which is 30 percent

higher in Galician villages off the Camino, he said.

W hile most pilgrims spend only around €50 euros a day, it stays local.

“The bread in the pilgrim’s sandwich is not Bimbo,” Fernández said, referring to the multinational company. “It’s from the bakery next door.”

In Cirauqui, a hilltop village in Navarra, the lone bakery survived because dozens of pilgrims stop by it daily, said baker Conchi Sagardía while serving a pastry and fruit juice to a pilgrim from Florida.

Besides pilgrims, the main customers of the shops are older residents of the villages, where few younger adults live.

“In the summer, the grandmas sit down along the Camino to watch the pilgrims go by,” said Lourdes González, a Paraguayan who for 10 years has owned the cafe in Redecilla del Camino. Its only street is the Camino.

Her concern—shared widely along the route—is to keep that unique pilgrim spirit alive even as the Camino’s popularity leads to greater commercialization.

In growing instances, the signature yellow arrows lead to bars or foot massage businesses instead of the Camino.

One recent morning in the town of Tardajos, Esteban Velasco, a retired shepherd, stood at a crossroads pointing the correct route to pilgrims.

“The Camino wouldn’t have a reason to exist without pilgrimage,” said Jesús Aguirre, president of the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago in Burgos province. “One can do it for different reasons, but you keep imbuing yourself with something else.”

For many, that is a spiritual or religious quest. The incentive to keep churches open for pilgrims

revitalizes parishes, too, in rapidly secularizing Spain.

The 900-year-old church of Santa María in Los Arcos is one of the Camino villages’ most magnificent, with a soaring belltower and intricately sculpted altarpiece.

Pilgrims often double the numbers attending weekday Masses, said the Rev. Andrés Lacarra.

In Hontanas, a cluster of stone houses that appear suddenly in a dip after a trek through the wideopen plains of Castilla, there’s only Sunday Mass, as is often the case where one priest covers multiple parishes.

But on a recent Wednesday evening, the church bells tolled rapturously—the Rev. Jihwan Cho, a priest from Toronto on his second pilgrimage, was readying to celebrate the Eucharist.

“The fact that I was able to celebrate Mass … it made me really happy,” he said.

International pilgrims like him are making some towns increasingly cosmopolitan.

In Sahagún, the English teacher instructs Nuria Quintana’s daughter and her classmates to shadow pilgrims and practice their language.

In tiny Calzadilla de la Cueza, “people have become much more sociable,” said César Acero.

Fellow villagers called him “crazy” when, in 1990, he opened the hostel and restaurant where, on a recent afternoon, two farmers on tractors got a quick coffee next to a group of bicyclists riding from the Netherlands to Santiago.

“Now you see people that when I was little I never saw, of all nationalities,” said Loly Valcárcel, who owns a pizzeria in Sarria.

It’s one of the busiest towns on the Camino because it’s just past the distance needed to earn a completion “certificate” in Santiago.

Bishop Cerilo Casicas of Marbel (front row, fourth from left) joins a march towards the South Cotabato capitol building in Koronadal City to protest the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining in the province on June 1, PHOTO COURTESY OF CLYDE JOMOC/SAC-MARBEL

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he Catholic Church’s social action network has added its voice to the opposition against the massive copper-gold project in South Cotabato province’s Tampakan town.

Speaking on behalf of the network, Caritas Philippines National Director Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo backed the anti-mining campaign of Marbel diocese through its social action center.

Bagaforo said they “firmly believe that local actions matter greatly in the fight against climate emergency and planetary crisis.”

“We encourage and join the people of South Cotabato in demanding for public accountability and in carrying out regular scrutiny of government transactions related, in particular, to environment actions,” Bagaforo said in a statement.

The statement was released recently after the 40th National Social Action General Assembly (Nasaga) held in General Santos City.

Far fewer pilgrims take the ancient Roman road through Calzadilla de los Hermanillos, where as a child Gemma Herreros helped feed the sheep that her family tended for generations.

She runs a bed-and-breakfast with her Cuban husband, a former pilgrim, near the town’s open-air museum portraying the history of the ancient road.

Herreros hopes the village w i l l continue to t hr ive—but without losing entirely the “absolute freedom and solidarity” of her childhood.

More than 240 delegates from at least 71 dioceses attended the four-day assembly.

South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. earlier vetoed a local council resolution lifting the ban on open-pit mining in the province.

The veto came after thousands of people took the streets to show their opposition against mining.

The Nasaga participants urged the province’s officials “to work more tediously to guard the ecological sanctity of Tampakan and respect the will of the people.”

They also hope that with such collective voice and action, “the national government will heed the call of its people to make the moratorium against mining in the country a national institutional policy and make all parties involved in irresponsible and unlawful mining operations face justice.” CBCP News

In Hornillos del Camino, a onestreet village of honey-colored stone houses, Mari Carmen Rodríguez shares similar hopes.

A handful of pilgrims came by when she was little. Now, “the quantity of people almost makes you afraid to go into the street,” she said as she stepped out from her restaurant to buy fish from a truck—a common fill-in for grocery stores in many of the villages.

But she quickly added, “Without the Camino, we would go right back to disappearing.”

Giovanna Dell’Orto/Ap

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, June 26, 2022 A7

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Green groups to Marcos: Carry out protection measures

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Preparing for the worst

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

arely a week from assuming the country’s highest position, President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has yet to name his secretary who will manage the country’s environment and natural resources.

Environment Acting Secretary Jim O. Sampulna has already formed a transition team for the next Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) leadership and has assured a smooth turnover of the agency’s programs and projects to the incoming administration.

Ahead of Marcos Jr.’s anointed DENR chief, various groups are already anxious about its leader and what will be Marcos’s marching orders that will define his policy in the next six years.

Fight illegal fishing, restore ocean abundance

Oceana Philippines, an ocean conser vation nongover nment organization and its network of stakeholders, was among the first to urge the incoming Marcos administration to continue the fight against illegal commercial fishing, and to strengthen policies to restore ocean abundance.

The group told the Business Mirror via e-mail on June 22 that the new administration should continue the reforms made in the fight against illegal commercial fishing in municipal waters to attain food and nutritional security, and alleviate the worsening poverty in coastal communities all over the country.

“Our municipal waters can be a major source of protein for the Filipino people. But in order to do that, the government must continue to protect our fragile marine habitats and the preferential rights of our artisanal fishers to the municipal waters” and the licenses of violators “must be revoked,” Oceana added.

Oceana Philippines Vice President Gloria Estenzo Ramos pointed out that they wish the next administration “to embed protection and resiliency of our marine and natural ecosystems first and foremost, and fully implement our fisheries and environmental laws, especially the vessel-monitoring mechanisms.”

Eco group’s wish list for BBM

The group EcoWaste Coalition, a waste and pollution watchdog, and its network of environmental groups came up with a wish list for Marcos Jr. A ileen Lucero said No. 1 on their list is for the issuance of a directive to hasten the phaseout of Nonenvironmentally Acceptable Products and Packaging with single-use plastic as an immediate priority.

The group’s No. 2 wish is for the Marcos administration to hasten government ratification of the Basel Convention Ban Amendment

A web-style viewing platform of Masungi Georeserve in Rizal province with a spectacular view of Laguna de Bay. Wikimedia CC BY SA-4.0

and stop waste importation. “[Marcos Jr. must] develop a legislative agenda for the environment, with the active participation of rights holders and impacted communities and sectors, to adequately address waste and pollution issues amid a climate emergency,” Lucero told the BusinessMirror via Messenger on June 22.

Third, the new administration must also declare the government‘s commitment to sustainable and socially just-waste policy and programs, and suspend, if not reverse, the planned shift to wasteto-energy incineration and other “false solutions” to the garbage problem, Lucero said.

Lucero added that Mr. Marcos should reiterate the government‘s commitment to toxic polychlorinated biphenyls-free Philippines by 2025.

She added that the government should ensure compliance with all other chemical safety-related targets, including, but not limited to the 2020 phase-out of mercuryadded products, and the 2017 and 2019 phase-out of lead-containing decorative and industrial paints.

Lucero pointed out that the new

leaders should “stop red-tagging among environmental defenders and start convergence.”

Climate action, justice a must

Asked what they expect from the incoming Marcos administration, Lea Guerrero, country director at Greenpeace Southeast Asia Philippines, said with the country being among the most vulnerable to climate impacts, action and justice must be Marcos Jr.’s top priority.

Guerrero admitted that Marcos Jr. comes to office at a crucial time when the world only has a few more years to keep global temperature rise within the 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

“Concretely, this means he must prioritize dropping all nuclear plans,” Guerrero told the BusinessMirror via Messenger on June 22.

“Nuclear [power] is the most dangerous and most expensive way to generate electricity. It will put Filipino families at risk and will not solve the climate crisis,” she added.

Stop fossil fuel expansion

She said stopping the further

Colgate-Palmolive PH, Green Antz ramp up program for plastic neutrality

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private company, and a circular economy and innovation group have stepped up a program on plastic waste collection to achieve plastic neutrality.

The program initiated by Colgate-Palmolive Philippines and Green Antz Builders includes agreements w ith the governments of Manila, Quezon City and Taguig in collaboration with Department of Education (DepEd) units and City Environment and Natural Resources Offices, a news release said.

The program also encompasses drop-off points for plastic waste in various Ayala Malls in Metro Manila.

Colgate -Pa l mol ive PH a nd Green Antz celebrated the first year of a closed loop plastic waste management initiative in Bulacan that diverted from the environment hundreds of tons of plastic waste in cooperation with five local government units (LGUs) and 112 public schools under the auspices of the DepEd. The LGUs are those of Baliuag, Malolos City, Plaridel, Pulilan and San Ildefonso.

The plastic waste is collected by the LGUs, communities and schools, and sent to Green Antz to make into eco-bricks.

They are then used in the building of “Wash and Brush Stations,” which are turned over to the LGUs. Some 20 handwashing stations have been constructed during the period.

An innovative and visionary social enterprise, Green Antz offers building and housing solu-

A new “Wash and Brush Station” made of eco-bricks at the Plaridel Municipal Hall is inaugurated by Mayor Tessie Vistan (right), Colgate-Palmolive Philippines President and General Manager Arvind Sachdev (center), and Green Antz President and CEO Rommel Benig.

tions that integrate eco-friendly practices and green technologies in its products and services.

T he company helps create livelihood opportunities as it produces eco-bricks, eco-pavers, and other materials composed, in part, of plastic waste. Its tagline is “Creating Sustainability. Challenging Poverty. Now.” The Bulacan initiative covers more than 2,000 teachers and almost 70,000 students, who, besides collecting plastic waste, learn proper solid waste management habits at an early age.

The initiative is changing residents’ mindsets on plastic waste, inspiring new behavior and understanding about environmental responsibility. Plastic waste is exchanged for bond paper, printers, segregation bins, clock towers, thermal scanners or alcohol dispensers for schools.

Incentives for Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Offices and collectors include rice and grocery packages.

Marking their first-year milestone in Bulacan, Colgate-Palmolive PH and Green Antz renewed their partnership agreement as well as a memorandum of understanding with the Municipality of Plaridel.

A new “Wash and Brush Station” at the Plaridel Municipal Hall was turned over to Mayor Tessie Vistan by Colgate-Palmolive PH President and General Manager Ar vind Sachdev and Green Antz President and CEO Rommel Benig.

“I am always on the lookout for trusted allies in delivering essential services to our constituents. The LGU needs partners, especially in our goal to safeguard the environment. We are

very pleased that we can count on Colgate-Palmolive Philippines and Green Antz Builders, both committed like us to provide for a more sustainable future,” Vistan remarked.

Sachdev said: “Plastic waste is one of our most serious environmental problems, globally and locally. At Colgate-Palmolive PH, we have the responsibility to be part of the solution and take a leadership role to confront the plastic waste challenge.“ “We are allocating resources to divert plastic waste away from landfills and the ocean, to help collect, recover and recycle the equivalent amount of plastic we generate in the market and achieve our vision of achieving plastic neutrality,” Sachdev added.

“We are not just collecting plastic waste,” he said. “We are also providing Filipinos with more sustainable products, like the eco-friendly Colgate Bamboo toothbrush with biodegradable and compostable handles.

Our Pa lmolive Shampoo and Palmolive Soap sachets are now in mono-material recycle-ready packaging. Our Colgate Naturals Toothpaste is in recyclable tubes.”

He said that Colgate-Palmolive is “making sure that our packaging systems in the future will use less plastic. This way we are increasing the acceptability of Colgate-Palmolive products’ packaging in the recycling stream.”

Sachdev said that renewing partnerships, “is our way of continuing our commitment to preserve the environment and to make the planet a better place.”

expansion of fossil fuels, including fossil gas, means canceling all fossil gas projects in construction and in the pipeline, upholding the coal moratorium to cancel all projects in the pipeline, as well as dropping plans of exploration.

She added that the Commission on Human Rights final report on the National Inquiry on Climate Change has given basis for the Philippine government to ensure Carbon Majors are compelled to undertake human rights due diligence and are held accountable for failure to remediate human rights abuses arising from their business operations.

“If he is sincere in his pronouncements on climate action and promoting renewable energy, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must drop all plans for nuclear energy and fossil gas,” Guerrero said.

“The key to a healthy environment is a healthy democracy,» she said.

To promote this, she said the new president must support people’s participation in governance, strengthen democratic institutions, and advance and protect justice and human rights.

Meanwhile, a skeptical Leon Dulce, national coordinator of Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment, said they are preparing for the worst from the Marcos administration.

“We know their bottom lines are mega infrastructure, dirty energy and extractive projects to feed their edifice complex, and we know they will employ massive disinformation tactics to ‘greenwash’ over the destruction,” Dulce said via Messenger on June 21.

According to Dulce, the network, along with its network of environmental groups, “will hit the ground running on day one of the new administration with demands to reimpose a moratorium on mining applications and a national ban on open-pit mining.»

Overhaul EIS system

Dulce said they will demand a full overhaul of the Environmental Impact Statement system, which he said has been deliberately weakened by bureaucrats in the DENR to make it easier to railroad the implementation of destructive bigbusiness projects.

“We will demand decisive action over land-use conflicts with critical watersheds, such as the Masungi Georeserve in Rizal, and the Environmentally Critical Areas Network of Palawan,“ Dulce pointed out. „We will accept nothing less than an accomplished, independent scientist or environmental lawyer who has extensive field and community experience as Environment secretary in Marcos Jr.’s cabinet,” he added.

Dulce explained that the next environment chief should serve as a check and balance to the various big business interests in the Cabinet.

Research: Flooding, drought to impact millions of people, cost cities $194B yearly

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ONDON, United Kingdom—The C40 Cities, that includes Quezon City, has revealed a new research on the dire impacts of climate-driven drought and flooding on the world’s largest cities and its residents, a news release said.

Supported by the Grundfos Foundation, C40’s analysis, titled “Water Safe Cities,” leverages data from the network’s nearly 100 member cities to forecast the potential impacts of global temperature rise on urban economies and infrastructure, .

The findings show that if global warming continues unabated, 7.4 million people in the world’s largest cities will be exposed to severe river flooding within the next three decades, with damages to urban areas expected to cost $ 64 billion per year by 2050, even with current levels of global flood protections in place.

C40’s research suggests that devastating river and coastal flooding will unleash enormous economic, health and social consequences that will affect millions across the globe.

While cities across both the Global North and Global South are going to be affected by rising sea levels, populations in the Global South are 10 times more likely to be affected by flooding and drought than residents in the Global North.

At the same time, residents of Global North cities will face higher urban damage costs than residents of cities in the Global South.

As many as 2,400 hospitals and healthcare facilities in C40 cities could be underwater by 2050, with nearly half of them in India.

The research underscores that the world’s most vulnerable populations will increasingly find themselves on the front line of the climate crisis and are forced to endure its worst impacts.

C40’s analysis also shows how urgent action—such as using green solutions for water permeability and flood protection, improving water system efficiency and incorporating climate risk into urban planning—can help cities to adapt to the climate emergency and work towards a climate-safe future for their residents.

Some key findings Include: n River flooding is expected to cost C40 cities $136 billion in GDP each year over the next three decades. n More frequent and severe droughts will increase water losses in C40 cities by 26 percent and will cost $111 billion in damages per year over the next three decades. n Over 300 power stations across C40 cities are at risk of being flooded by 2050.

More than half of the power stations affected are located in US cities. The potential loss of energy from these stations would be sufficient to power 8.4 million US homes for one year.

“Sea-level rise, flooding and drought are three of the most significant climate-related risks that cities face today,” said Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities.

“Cities have a wealth of tools and knowledge at their disposal to ensure that they are adequately preparing for the realities of the climate crisis, but effective action starts with an understanding of the scope and scale of the challenge.

“We are grateful to the Grundfos Foundation for supporting this critical research on climate-related water hazards, and we look forward to working together with cities in our network in the coming months and years to ensure they can effectively respond to these growing threats.”

Following the study, C40 is announcing that C40 mayors will collaborate over the next several years to make and deliver upon new, ambitious commitments aimed at protecting urban populations from flooding and drought.

Phase two of the Water Safe Cities project, supported by the Grundfos Foundation, will establish data-driven targets, indicators and implementation pathways to track cities’ progress in mitigating these risks.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, also the chairman of C40 Cities, pointed out: «To address the climate emergency, mayors around the world need to create resilient cities that are adapted to the impacts of climate change including flooding. As chairman, I’m working closely with C40 mayors to take urgent action so that our cities are safer, greener and more prosperous for all.

A8

Sports BusinessMirror

Sunday, June 26, 2022

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

FIFA allows bigger World Cup squads in pandemic-era

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ENEVA—FIFA has approved bigger 26-man squads for the World Cup in Qatar, deciding Thursday to extend soccer’s relaxation of rules that help coaches and players during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The move was expected from the FIFA Bureau— comprising the presidents of FIFA and soccer’s six confederations—after 23-player rosters were expanded for recent continental championships.

Adding three players to the typical World Cup roster follows UEFA doing the same for the European Championship last year.

There were 28-player squads also approved for the Copa América tournament in South America last year and at the African Cup of Nations in January.

The extra numbers help the coaches of the 32 teams cope with possible outbreaks of virus cases.

It also means additional players are already following health protocols within the camp in Qatar rather than be brought from their home country.

The squad size change will send a total of 96 extra players to the World Cup being played from November 21 to December 18. The 28-day tournament compares to 32 days four years ago in Russia.

Most of the extra players will likely come from European clubs whose domestic seasons must pause by November 13 for the first World Cup held during the northern hemisphere winter.

Squads will be together for just one week before the tournament kicks off instead of the usual preparation time of about two weeks.

FIFA has created a $209 million fund from its World Cup revenues to compensate clubs with a daily rate of about several thousand dollars for releasing players to national-team duty.

World Cup teams can also now use five substitutes in the regulation 90 minutes instead of three.

What started as an interim rule in 2020 to ease player workloads in congested game schedules during the pandemic is now codified in the laws of the game.

The FIFA Bureau also set March 16 next year for a presidential election to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, during the annual congress of 211 member federations.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is seeking a new four-year term to extend his leadership of soccer’s world body to 11 years.

No potential opponent has yet emerged and the deadline to enter the contest is four months before the election. That will fall in mid-November, days before the World Cup starts.

Russian appeals against bans from international soccer because of the country’s war in Ukraine, meanwhile, are set to be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July.

The court on July 5 will hear the Russian soccer federation’s appeal against FIFA and UEFA’s joint decision to suspend its national and club teams days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

A second CAS hearing on July 11 will consider an appeal by four Russian clubs, including national champion Zenit St. Petersburg, against exclusion from the next UEFA club competitions.

UEFA’s executive committee made that separate ruling on May 2 among decisions affecting more than 15 European competitions.

The Russian women’s team was also removed from the European Championship that kicks off next month in England.

Lawyers and officials involved in the cases confirmed the CAS hearing dates which have yet to be listed formally by the court.

Urgent verdicts could be requested by the clubs ahead of scheduled games in qualifying rounds of the Champions League and other UEFA competitions.

The high-profile soccer cases could set the tone for similar appeal cases pending at CAS between Russia and governing bodies of Olympic sports.

The IOC has said suspending Russian athletes and teams is intended not to punish them but to protect the safety and integrity of events at a time of “deep anti-Russian” feelings.

UEFA and FIFA in imposing their bans said on February 28 that “football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine.”

Russian soccer officials tried to freeze the FIFA ban ahead of a World Cup qualifying playoff on March 24, but that was rejected by a CAS judge. Russia’s scheduled opponent Poland had refused to play the game citing the invasion of Ukraine.

FIFA lawyers supported Poland’s move and later cited the risk of “irreparable and chaotic” consequences for the World Cup in Qatar if Russia was cleared to play and then advanced to the final tournament in November.

“Having considered all these factors, FIFA must act to guarantee the efficient organization and smooth running of its competitions,” soccer’s governing body argued to the court in March.

Lawyers for the Russian soccer federation argued the ban was “a disguised disciplinary sanction” where the right to be heard at the FIFA Council was denied.

Poland did eventually qualify for the World Cup and on April 1 was drawn in a group with Argentina, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. AP

WIMBLEDON 2022: SERENA WILLIAMS walks to the practice courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Thursday. AP

WHO’S PRESENT? WHO’S MISSING?

BY HOWARD FENDRICH The Associated Press

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IMBLEDON, England—At least at the outset, before a tennis ball is struck, this edition of Wimbledon is as much about who—and what—is missing as who’s here.

And that’s even taking this into account: It is no small matter that the grass-court Grand Slam tournament marks the return of Serena Williams to singles play after a year away.

The No. 1-ranked man, Daniil Medvedev, was barred from competing by the All England Club, along with every other player from Russia and Belarus, because of the war in Ukraine.

“It’s a mistake,” International Tennis Hall of Fame member Martina Navratilova said about the ban. “What are they supposed to do, leave the country? I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”

The two professional tours reacted by pulling their ranking points from Wimbledon, an unprecedented move in a sport built around the rankings in so many ways. In turn, some athletes opted not to show up, including 2014 runner-up Eugenie Bouchard and fourtime major champion Naomi Osaka.

For others, though, it was a no-doubt-about-it decision to show up. This is, after all, Wimbledon, with its unique surface and long-standing traditions, its powerful prestige and—let’s face it—tens of millions in prize money.

“It’s definitely hard to swallow that there are no points. I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m happy about it. But the cards are dealt. At the end of the day, if I tell my mom I’m not playing Wimbledon, she’d be like, ‘Are you nuts?!’ So I’m going to go, no doubt,” said

Frances Tiafoe, an American who is seeded 24th in the men’s field. “It’s out of everybody’s hands. It’s a tough situation, a crazy time. And it’s not just about you. It’s not a ‘Why me?’ problem.”

There were rumors among players that prize money would be cut, too, prompting one, Fabio Fognini, to joke that he’d be thankful for that because—without any ranking points available and with less cash on offer—he’d head to an island for some vacation time with his wife, 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, and their young children.

But it turned out that’s all that was—a rumor: The All England Club wound up announcing it would provide a record total of about 40 million pounds ($50 million) in player compensation.

There are other important names staying away for different reasons.

Reigning women’s champion Ash Barty retired in March at age 25. Eight-time men’s champion Roger Federer still has not returned from the latest in a series of knee operations; he has not participated in any tournament since last year’s Wimbledon. No. 2-ranked Alexander Zverev is sidelined after tearing ligaments in his right ankle at the French Open.

Also gone in 2022 at Wimbledon, for the first time in its lengthy history: a scheduled day off on the middle Sunday (so what had been a 13-day tournament becomes a full two-week event).

Ah, but guess who’s back? Yes, Williams, thanks to a wild-card invitation, bringing enough star power to fill the spotlight for however long she remains in the bracket.

The owner of seven championships at the All England Club—and 23 from all majors, a record for the professional era—last competed in singles in June 2021, when she slipped on the slick Centre Court grass

and injured her right leg, forcing her to stop in the first set of her first-round match.

Williams made a surprise appearance in doubles with Ons Jabeur on grass at Eastbourne this week, but the 40-year-old American will not have played singles before next week.

If Williams can crank up her best-in-the-game serve and move well enough to stay in points until she can end them with her stinging groundstrokes, who knows what she’ll be able to do? Plus, she has made a habit of winning matches soon after returning from lengthy absences.

Also planning to play is Rafael Nadal, who is halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam for the first time after winning the Australian Open in January and the French Open this month. The latter title, his 14th in Paris and men’s-best 22nd at a major, came despite chronic pain in his left foot, which made the 36-year-old Spaniard question whether he could be at the All England Club—or continue at all.

This fortnight will not lack for story lines, certainly.

French Open champion and top-ranked Iga Swiatek enters on a 35-match winning streak.

Novak Djokovic bids for a fourth consecutive championship at Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam trophy overall, knowing that, as things currently stand, he will not be able to go to the US Open in August because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19. And this marks the centenary of the current Centre Court, which made its debut in 1922.

“I’m going to be in Wimbledon if my body is ready to be in Wimbledon. That’s it. Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss,” said Nadal, the champion in 2008 and 2010 but absent last year because of his foot.

“Nobody wants to miss Wimbledon.”

Nigerian government allows basketball teams to play again

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APE TOWN, South Africa—The Nigerian government made a sudden U-turn on Thursday and cleared its national basketball teams to return to competition immediately.

The decision to lift a ban on the teams playing in international competitions came after an appeal to the government by the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) and “intervention” by former Nigerian international players, the sports ministry said. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari approved the return to play, the ministry said in a statement.

The Nigerian government withdrew its teams from international competitions for a two-year period last month citing a leadership struggle and other administrative problems within the national basketball federation.

That move led to the women’s team losing its place at the World Cup in Australia in September. It’s unclear if Nigeria’s women will be able to get their place at the World Cup back after international governing body FIBA replaced them with Mali. The Nigerian sports ministry said it had recently been speaking with FIBA. The two-year ban also threatened the men’s team’s qualification for the 2023 World Cup. The World Cup qualifiers start again on July 1 and the Nigeria men’s team said on Twitter following the lifting of the ban that it was “scrambling” to see if it can now make the qualifying competition in Kigali, Rwanda.

The men’s World Cup also serves as the qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Nigeria is in danger of missing both if it misses those qualifiers in Rwanda.

The Nigeria men’s team is coached by Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown and put itself on the map

NIGERIA’S Jahlil Okafor (15) celebrates with teammates after making a basket during a preliminary round game against Italy at the Tokyo Olympics in Saitama, Japan. AP

by upsetting the United States in a warmup game ahead of last year’s Tokyo Olympics.

The government’s decision last month to pull the teams from international competitions was fiercely criticized by players on the Nigeria teams but also drew reaction from figures in the NBA. Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri and Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka, who are both of Nigerian descent, expressed their frustration with the leadership of Nigerian basketball.

The sharpest criticism of the authorities came from the men’s team, which posted on Twitter early

this month: “We hope someday Nigeria will be led by a government without corruption & greed. The future of Nigeria basketball is extremely bright and we are being held back by our leaders.”

There’s been a long history of problems at the Nigerian Basketball Federation but the latest issues center on a leadership tussle after two separate presidents were elected to lead the NBBF in parallel elections. The sports ministry said the lifting of the ban depended on the NBBF honoring a commitment it gave to work with the ministry to resolve all its “issues.” AP

THE Nike logo hangs at a store in Miami Beach, Florida. AP

NIKE MAKES FULL EXIT FROM RUSSIA AFTER SUSPENDING OPERATIONS

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IKE will fully shut down operations in Russia, joining other international companies that have withdrawn from the country after its brutal invasion of Ukraine.

Nike Inc. suspended operations three months ago at all of its company-owned and operated stores in Russia but like other major corporations, has attempted to avoid exposing employees to hardship during a complete withdrawal.

The Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported last month that Nike had ended its relationship with Inventive Retail Group, its largest franchisee in the country.

“Our priority is to ensure we are fully supporting our employees while we responsibly scale down our operations over the coming months,” the sports apparel maker said Thursday.

McDonald’s and Starbucks, after suspending operations, also fully withdrew from Russia in recent weeks.

Three Russian officials won a court ruling Thursday to overturn being barred from this weekend’s International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) elections.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld appeals by Maxim Agapitov, who is an IWF board member, Dmitry Chernogorov and Aleksandr Kishkin. All three were excluded last month from the elections by a panel vetting potential candidates.

The IWF-appointed panel did not have authority to make what were effectively disciplinary decisions against the Russians, CAS said in a statement.

Although Russian teams and athletes have been banned from many international competitions because of the country’s part in the war in Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee and most Olympic sports have not suspended their members from Russia.

The CAS verdict should clear the three men to stand for various IWF positions, including president, at the two-day election meeting in the Albanian capital of Tirana.

The elections are the IWF’s first since an investigation broadcast in January 2020 by German channel ARD accused the body of widespread corruption.

Long-time IWF president Tamás Aján, a former IOC member, was ousted weeks later after being implicated in financial misconduct and tampering with the sport’s anti-doping program.

Aján was banned from sports for life last week by a separate CAS panel.

The elections this weekend are key for the IWF to rebuild trust at the IOC. Weightlifting has been left off the sports program for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with the IOC due to make a final decision next year. AP

BusinessMirror

June 26, 2022

Got a savings goal? Consider forming a savings circle

2

BusinessMirror JUNE 26, 2022 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

MOVING FORWARD Bryan Termulo returns from self-imposed hiatus

BRYAN Termulo

Publisher

: T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Editor-In-Chief

: Lourdes M. Fernandez

Concept

: Aldwin M. Tolosa

Y2Z Editor

: Jt Nisay

SoundStrip Editor

: Edwin P. Sallan

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

Columnists

: Niggel Figueroa Anabelle O. Flores : Tony M. Maghirang, Rick Olivares, Darwin Fernandez, Leony Garcia, Stephanie Joy Ching Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez : Kaye VillagomezLosorata Annie S. Alejo

Photographers

: Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes

Y2Z & SOUNDSTRIP are published and distributed free every Sunday by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing Inc. as a project of the

The Philippine Business Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd Floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725.

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817-1351,817-2807.

Circulation: 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. www.businessmirror.com.ph

B

By Leony R. Garcia

RYAN Termulo surprised the entertainment press with his new sound and looks during a recent virtual media conference to launch his new single, “Heart That You Break”. He further revealed that he had been based in the United States since 2020.

Bryan first made his name in the Philippine music industry when he joined GMA Network’s Pinoy Pop Superstar Year 3 in 2006, where he eventually finished as a runner-up. He eventually gained the title “Prince of Teleserye Theme Songs” for singing the theme song of Filipino TV series Walang Hanggan entitled “Dadalhin” and 100 Days to Heaven’s “Bihag,” plus “Sa Isang Sulyap Mo” for “Juan dela Cruz”, among others.

Bryan’s first taste of the US came in 2010 when he competed in WCOPA (World Championships of Performing Arts) where he earned two silver medals in Rock and Original Works and a bronze medal in the RnB category. That same year, he was cited by the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) Star Awards for Music as one of the nominees for “New Male Recording Artist.”

On the side, he has been given acting assignments as well. He left for the US in January 2020 to try his luck as a singer but his plans went awry when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. All the shows that had been lined up for him were being canceled one by one because of the pandemic.

“Supposedly, I had three singing engagements in California starting

off with a Valentine show. But things changed and all the shows got canceled because of the lockdown.

“I was thinking of going back to the Philippines but just the same there was the lockdown. So, I decided to stay in the US for a while until it went on for a year. Luckily by the third quarter of 2021, the US started allowing live shows. So, I had some gigs,” he reminisced.

Moving to the US in 2020 was among the major changes that happened to him. Bryan confessed it was never an easy journey: he moved to a foreign country, adjusted to a new culture, had a career hiatus, and had projects put on hold. All these and more brought his spirit down and broke his heart.

But Bryan did not allow this feeling to affect him negatively. He used it as a driving force to propel his ambition. He has always believed that the right time will come.

“Experience is the best teacher. If ever you feel frustrated, all you have to do is keep on reinventing. Maybe that is what you need,” he said.

“In 2020, I was planning to release a single. My plan was to release a new single as I started a new musical career in the US, but Covid came along the way. So, I

got a firm decision that this 2022 my plans got to be materialized. It’s been a while. I didn’t have a new song for almost five years! I reached out to my producers that I want something different. If you listen to the single, it’s not the usual Bryan Termulo songs. This time it’s totally different,” he said.

The first time Bryan listened to “Heart That You Break,” he first fell in love with the melody and his emotions has grown deeper after he soaked up the lyrics and its message.

Bryan relates to the song not because he came from a romantic breakup, but mainly because everything has taken its toll on him.

“Heart That You Break” best sums up everything in my musical journey right now: “I choose to move forward, I have to face my heartbreak headon, and no matter what life throws at me, I will remain strong. It’s true what the song lyrics say, “You can’t take back a heart that you break” but you can definitely choose to stay strong and move on,” he said.

Bryan said that’s the kind of refreshing feeling he enjoys while singing this song. It’s like the melody is seeping into his skin that it invigorates his body and the lyrics shed light on a future that is within reach.

The move to try something unfamiliar was for him a bit scary for Bryan at first, but the realization that he has the potential to grow in a different genre fueled his desire to venture into something new and different.

“It’s my personal choice to change the genre for this project. I was told bakit hindi mo subukan na magkaroon ng upbeat song para naman maiba?

At lagi nilang sinasabi na andito ka na sa America so dapat magtunog America ka na rin.

“It’s about time to do something that I haven’t done before. I was apprehensive but at the same time confident with the change because I have people around me who support me and are honest enough in giving me constructive feedback,” Byan said.

Now sporting a more defined, manly face and a leaner body, Bryan is set to conquer the US with bigger plans to jumpstart his singing career anew. He intends to try musical theater and eventually have his name synonymous with Las Vegas entertainment.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | JUNE 26, 2022

BUSINESS

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

A new round of pop, rock, cloud rap and shoegaze sounds T

NOA MAL My Corrupted Hard Drive

G

AL rocker from Lucena City Noa Mal must be one of the most prolific songwriters unknown to most OPM listeners.

She has more than 15 singles and albums to her credit on most digital platforms yet she’s hardly mentioned in the same breath as your average boy band. Then again, her latest release, despite its unconventional unpromising title, might just push Ms. Mal in the upper echelons of the local indie circle. You see, she’s reined in her sound from the slacker DIY charm of two years back to a more accessible approach to her craft of late. Oh, she still excels in mating garage rock with grungelite for an all-ages appeal in the likes of “You’re An Empty Calorie,” “Kill (The Feeling),” and “Malware.” They’re probably part of the reason she’s in a recent show headlined by Sandwich, no less. Way to go, Ms. Mal!

FAX GANG Dataprism

HIS multinational group led by PK Shellboy from the Philippines promotes something called ‘cloud rap” which carries a whiff of experimentalism on its own. In the case of their debut album “Dataprism”, Fax Gang meshes and mashes the heat of funk, the ethereal haze of shoegaze and the slicing of the human voice into ghostly slivers. Dress it up in fractured narratives of indeterminate nature and the entire project feels like prog-rock (or is it jazzfusion?) got punked! Coolest to check out: “Guardian Angel,” “Pendulum” and “No Evil (feat.

Mx.PurpleHaze).

Some mental fault line actually divides Deliluh’s record into inventive and derivative halves.

THE DREAM SYNDICATE Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions

F

DELILUH Fault Lines

T

HIS Toronto-based quartet is being billed as a postpunk head case. Sure enough, album opener “Credence” is guitar-driven opus built around such post-punk attributes rhythmic repetition, swirling synths, twinkling piano and disembodied vocals. “Amulet” presents its punky cred in backbeat swiped from Marianne Faithfull’s “Broken English” even as “Body and Soul” shakes things up via repeated banging of a digital maracas. However, the final three tracks starting with the elegiac “Monument” mute all blare and fanfare in favor of some sort of paean to ‘70s new age music, or at best, the shallow end of jazz-fusion.

OR those expecting the days of wine and roses redux, get a grip, will ya? Still piloted by guitar supremo Steve Wynn, The Dream Syndicate, once young gods of the ‘80s paisley underground, aren’t going back to the fuzz and screech of the second garage rock revival. But that doesn’t mean the band, reunited since 2012 with new members, are now acting their gilded age. Far from it. Off their latest album, just listen to the new fuzz in the reverb-washed grandeur of “The Chronicles of You,” the screech of fired-up psychedelia in “My Lazy Mind,” blue collar post-punk in “Ender” and “Damian” is simply a lovely pop-rocker. Here’s to keep on truckin’!

WET LEG Wet Leg

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ORGET about those titles.

Just dive into the first track and get transported immediately into the inner mind of someone deliriously in love. The big beat and pretty synth/guitar workout temper the anxiety a bit to make it an ear-hugging pop song. In “I Don’t Want Go Out,” the musical modus turns the paranoia of a young millennial into something to smile about. Intense jealousy is glossed over by the syrupy epiphany of “Loving You” while in the lead single “Chaise Lounge,” getting a Uni degree gets deflated to achieving blah.

Irony lives in Wet Leg and finds bitterness its BFF.

CATSHELF RECORDS Top of the Shelf: Volume 1

W

HEN not dabbling in progressive issues of our strange times, Catshelf Records puts out compilations that pay tribute to OPM. Their latest release serves Pinoy shoegaze in its excellent form and not-so-great side of select indie bands Cinéma Lumière, Public Places, Strange Creatures and Spacedog Spacecat, the exception being Megumi Acorda whose two contributions just about wipe ‘em all.

Check out digital music platforms especially bandcamp for albums reviewed in this round-up.

3

Got a savings goal? Consider forming a savings circle

By Hal M. Bundrick

A

NerdWallet

breezy January morning made the mid-30 temperatures feel even chillier. But it was an important day for the young man pushing 30 himself.

He was about to face his entire family to ask for a loan to seed his new business idea. He had contributed to the family’s savings circle, but he was asking for a withdrawal this time.

What is a savings circle?

A savings circle is a group of family members or friends who regularly contribute to a collective fund. Members gain access to a share of the proceeds on a rotating basis or as needs arise.

A savings circle can also be called a money pool. Or flip the benefit, and it’s known as a lending circle. It can be an informal gathering with regular monthly contributions and one disbursement or one individual’s request for funding approved by the group.

Some savings circles predetermine automatic withdrawals for each member in a particular order.

The savings circle that rocked the world Berry Gordy was 29 that cold Detroit day in 1959 when he faced the

family’s pointed questions regarding a $1,000 loan from the Ber-Berry Coop—named after his parents, Bertha and Berry. After a lengthy discussion, the group voted to give him $800.

And with that seed money, Motown Records was born.

David Ellis, a digital media curator at the Motown Museum in Detroit, says Gordy’s parents created the savings effort to help seed family business ideas. Each family member, including spouses, contributed $10 monthly to the fund.

“The funniest part…is the interest that Berry Gordy had to pay. They were family, but they were still very profes-

for $61 million in 1988 . A 50 percent share of the Motown song catalog garnered an additional $132 million for Gordy in 1997.

How to start a savings circle of your own If you are looking to start your own savings circle, enlist trusted friends and family. Emphasis on “trusted.” In 2020, the Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert about pyramid schemes tied to sou-sous, a term for informal saving and lending traditions.

Your group will need to determine the amount and frequency of deposits and the order of individual withdraw-

“A savings circle can also be called a money pool, an informal gathering with regular monthly contributions and one disbursement or one individual’s request for funding approved by the group.” sional people,” Ellis adds.

Unlike many traditional family and friends savings circles, Gordy had to repay the loan and would be charged 6 percent interest if he didn’t pay off the note within one year.

However, repayment wasn’t a problem. Motown Records became a music institution, and Gordy sold the label

als. For example, if 12 members put in $100 per month and distributions occur monthly on a rotating basis for one year, who gets the first $1,200?

It’s an important consideration because early withdrawals are essentially zero-interest loans, while later distributions are effectively interest-free savings plans. AP

The next chapter is the ‘Origin Story’

F

ollowing the successful release of the adidas City Shop “Manila Hoops” tee collection in collaboration with Filipino muralist and illustrator Jappy Agoncillo, adidas Philippines unveils the next chapter of its hyperlocal collaboration with the featured artist through the launch of the D.O.N Issue #3 “Origin Story.” A special edition release of NBA Star Donovan Mitchell’s signature basketball shoe, the Filipino-designed colorway has been released earlier this month.

Inspired by Filipinos’ vibrant street style, Jappy’s love for superhero comic books, and the heroic origin story of threetime NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell, the Filipino-designed colorway features unique elements that pay tribute to both Donovan and Jappy’s roots.

For instance, there’s an ode to the significance of tigers to Jappy and Donovan.

With the animal being Jappy’s signature

The special edition colorway of the D.O.N. Issue #3, the latest adidas signature shoe of NBA star Donovan Mitchell, designed by Filipino artist Jappy Agoncillo mark and Donovan’s middle school team, the Greenwich Country Day School Tigers, tiger stripes run across the heel of the shoe.

“We at adidas Philippines know and value the importance of being true to one’s roots,” said adidas Philippines Brand Communications and Sports Marketing Manager JD Cortez. “Like our past Filipino-inspired projects and through collaborations

4 BusinessMirror

Join in on the fun of foodpanda’s 8th birthday

such as this, we are proud to give local artists like Jappy Agoncillo the platform to represent and illustrate the true essence of being Filipino beyond what the world already knows about us.”

The collaboration with Jappy is a continuation of adidas Philippines’s commitment to supporting Filipino Creators through hyperlocal releases. The D.O.N. Issue #3 “Origin Story” is the fourth Filipino-designed adidas footwear, following the releases of Harden Vol. 5 “Manila Heritage” and Quiccs Forum by toy designer Juanito “Quiccs” Maiquez and the Ultraboost DNA City Pack by Gregg “Egg Fiasco” Guleserian.

The new D.O.N. Issue #3 “Origin Story” was released in adidas stores across the Philippines and Southeast Asia on June 12.

More information is available at facebook.com/adidasphilippinesonline and instagram.com/adidasph.

JunE 26, 2022

The #8thOurPautasticBirthday at Glorietta

S

urprises, raffles, and booths await carnival-style in select malls for everyone to enjoy as part of foodpanda’s biggest bash to date from June 17 to July 3.

At #8thOurPautasticBirthday, get the chance to pose with Pau-Pau photobooth, experience running on a giant hamster wheel for exclusive merch and vouchers, and more. Catch the party at the BHS Amphitheatre on June 24 to 26. Meanwhile, details of the final leg of celebrations happening on July 1 to 3 will be announced soon on foodpanda’s official Facebook page.

Exciting prizes are in store as well on the big birthday raffle, including all-expense paid trips to Boracay and Palawan, Apple iPad Pro 11, Nintendo Switch and foodpanda vouchers.

There’s also exclusive prizes for pandapro subscribers, from gift certificates to various gadgets and vouchers.

To join, enter and use the multipleuse voucher codes on the foodpanda checkout page and complete the purchase. One entry is worth one voucher redemption. n For food delivery: 88FOOD for P88 off with a minimum spend of P499 n For groceries: 88GROCERY for P88 off with a minimum spend of P888 n For pickup: 88PICKUP for P88 off with a minimum spend of P599 n For pandapro: 88PRO for P88 off with a minimum spend of P399 The raffle is open to new and existing users, including pandapro subscribers. The contest period runs from June 1 until June 30, 2022. Winners will be announced on July 10, 2022.

To know more about foodpanda’s programs and promos, follow foodpanda at facebook.com/foodpandaphilippines and instagram.com/foodpanda_ ph. Download and order through the foodpanda app now at www.foodpanda. ph.

sunday, june 26, 2022

Cover story

Pepot Art: Transmuting Media and Colors into Stories HABULAN NG HIGANTE, diorama characters by Pepot Art

Joffrey ‘Pepot’ Atienza is busy at work on ‘Pahiyas, Planting Rainbow Seeds’ book project, written by Eugene Evasco.

Work-in-progess: diorama for ‘Pahiyas, Planting Rainbow Seeds,’ to be published this year.

Grandma at the balcony

The arangya still shot

Atienza’s book, ‘Ang Nanay kong Drayber’

Diorama test shot

Sewing clothes for the doll characters

Making kiping scene

Carabao and parago diorama

Mr. Awkward Swings, a forest guardian from Quaggaru forest creature series

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome’ character sculpture

Mortimer, the Keeper of Potions from Quaggaru forest

BusinessMirror

Sunday, June 26, 2022 3

Pepot Art: Transmuting Media and Colors into Stories

S

By Korinna Pia Saavedra Images courtesy of the featured artistz

omeone said color is a language on its own, without words, and Joffrey (Pepot) Atienza is transmuting the canvas of his spirit and his facility for various media, into stories.

As a multidisciplinary artist, he goes by Pepot to family, friends, and now, everyone familiar with his work. He was born in Atimonan, Quezon, and resides in Lucban, popularly known as the art capital of Quezon Province, and a town that has inspired his current body of work.

Colors and drawings had always been a part of Pepot’s life.

He d istinct ly remembers having won first place as a child for a kindergarten contest piece featuring smiling people and characters, allowing him to feel validation for his love of art, the use of all the colors he had a facility for using, and a fascination for creative expression.

Fast forward to 2017, Pepot submitted his 3D illustration, Malong: The Magic Cloth, as a contest piece to the inaugural A SE A N I l lust rat ion Awa rd s hosted by the International Children’s Content Rights Fair (ICCRF) and won the first-ever Illustrator Award (Best in Fiction) in Chang Mai. The following year, he flew to Chiang Mai again, but this time to conduct art workshops also through the auspices of the ICCRF. In retrospect, all this does not come as a surprise. Indeed, when Pepot asks, his artist mother Thea Mujares would tell him how he would draw on the walls as a toddler and exhibit, as it were, his potential even then. Not that he had had any inkling of what this all meant at the time.

But just as truth makes itself known as smoke signaling the

presence of fire, his spirit for creation and color could not be repressed. And the truth is that he loved creating things from scratch. It was the act of creation that absorbed him.

When did he discover his passion for stop motion clay animation?

Pepot started his career as a motion graphics artist for a Yey! Kids Channel in ABS-CBN years ago.

“Part of my work routine was to explore different styles and trends in animation so that I can constantly generate fresh ideas for work. I stumbled upon stop motion animation movies like Boxtrolls and Coraline by Laika Studios, as well as films by Wes Anderson, such as Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs, and the level of detail in those works blew my mind.

“I was floored by the craftsmanship of those films—truly moving works of art. I looked for more stop motion animation movies to study. I tried doing stop motion execution mostly in clay and eventually in other styles for TV promos, interstitials, and channel IDs. “As I became a children’s book illustrator I realized that I really wanted to delve into stop motion production, so I focused on making dioramas and dolls. This was because I realized that learning the technicalities of these things will strengthen my skills and the foundation of my craft.”

Compa red to t rad it ion a l animation, stop-motion is a filmmaking technique where

Joffrey Atienza and his mother Cynthia Zamora, a.k.a. artist Thea Mujares, who introduced him to a world filled with colors and stories. objects are physically manipulated in small increments to mimic movement between individually photographed frames, taken using special cameras so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames is played back.

Pepot counts Chris Sickels and Jim McKenzie as influences, saying, “I really loved the depth of Sickels’ characters and how human they are. (While) Mackenzie creates these very eccentric, almost alien forms.”

He a lso happens to love Spanish sur rea list Sa lvador Dali (Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí y Domenech) whose work, he says, is of the weird and the fantastical.

“I love stories about fantasy, exploration, and (things that) are out of this world. I really dig stories that push the boundaries of the known and unknown.

Aside from that, I’d like to cover some serious issues, tackling very real-world stuff focusing on what kids deal with as they grow up. I want to challenge myself in the future and publish my own stories someday.”

“My favorite (art piece) would be ‘Alice in Wonderland Syndrome.’

It’s my latest sculptural work that incorporates some movable practical armatures or mechanics so that it can be animated.

I really love how it turned out because I got really creative and

got to go crazy with the overall concept. I based it on a rare neurological condition that I happen to have where I experience a sudden distortion of reality whenever I get very excited or happy. They call it the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AWS) from the classic stories.”

As for his sources of inspiration, Pepot says his personal projects are usually inspired by childhood memories and experiences. “Ang dami kasing masaya and super lungkot. Malaking influence ‘yung maraming laruan.”

Growing up, he was surrounded by many toys. His mother managed a toy store back then and he had a run of the place.

And books. The kind that introduced the world to his impressionable mind.

“Books also taught me a lot about local and world cultures.

Expanding knowledge is a way of also expanding one’s creativity, so I am glad for the early exposure. I am also fond of stories of strange and fantastical creatures told by the most interesting people I know. They made my imagination run wild with a never-ending supply of inspiration and ideas.

“Priority ng nanay ko yung lagi akong nakakapagbasa.”

Needless to say, Pepot enjoys doing the work. It felt like he had his own world.

To date, he is working on children’s books with digital artwork

and a complex Pahiyas diorama for which Lucban is known.

He is also fervently awaiting the actual release date of the books he has worked on, saying these may be released during the Manila International Book Fair.

He started work on them during the onset of the pandemic and is hoping he would be around to see them before he leaves in September.

What is happening in September? Spain. Pepot has signed up to start a postgraduate course at the BAU, Centro Universitario de Artes y Diseño de Barcelona (BAU, College of Arts and Design) and he is flying to Spain a month early to prepare.

“Sayang e. Ayaw ko magkaroon ng regrets,” he said.

“I always wanted to push my talents to their full potential.

I love to surprise myself that I can still do big scary things that I never imagined I could achieve.

And eventually, I want to be that spark of inspiration and impart everything I learned and this passion to the younger artists.

That may sound very lofty but that is, for real, my goal.

“This master’s program is one of the only few animation programs in the world that is solely dedicated to stop motion animation. Usually, stop motion animation courses are squeezed in as an elective subject in Fine Arts and Computer Animation programs.”

The program itself will have theoretical-practical workshops conducted, including viewings and analyses of outstanding examples of each technique. During these workshops, students must experiment with the principles of animation and apply them to the various stop-motion techniques by completing exercises and guided practice in each technique and sub-technique. “(Classes) start in October,” he said, and you can hear the excitement and anticipation in his voice. His tone echoed by the smiles he insists to color the world by.

BusinessMirror

6 Sunday, June 26, 2022

Escuela Taller reax on La Loma Church mixed reviews

By Kathleen A. Llemit Photos courtesy of Erick Cloma & Escuela Taller

E

scuel a Taller understands the mixed reaction to the restoration done on the facade of the La Loma Cemetery Chapel that went viral recently. While it said that it does not blame the public for its reaction, the non-governmental organization (NGO) appeals for open minds and a sense of objectivity while discussing heritage conservation.

There were a number of reactions that applauded the efforts of Escuela Taller, the NGO that

was tapped to helm the planned five-year restoration project of the 19th-century church.

Q ue st ion s a nd conce r n s were raised, however, by a number of people on a social media post that featured the church’s newly restored facade. Many of them wondered why the facade was painted yellow, while there were others who felt that the church’s new look felt less authentic to its old Spanish stone church vibe.

Yellow for a reason Completed in 1884, the La Loma Cemetery Chapel was built as a response to the environmental and health concerns during

Spanish time. Among these are the 1863 Manila earthquake, the overflow of other state-run cemeteries such as Paco and Sampaloc cemeteries, and the need for more organized burials which also responds to the growing population of that time. It was also used as a fort by Filipino fighters during the Philippine-American War and was later partly shelled by a bomb.

Its former look and materials aged over time with vegetation growing on its facade.

On its Facebook post on May 1, Escuela Taller shared that they painted it yellow based on the “residues and material evidence” found on the church wall’s layers of plastering.

“Conservation remains to be a young field in the county and therefore we cannot blame the public for their mixed reactions as to the final outer look of the chapel. Escuela Taller as a technical consultant and implementer to these conservation projects is very keen on rigorous and methodical processes,” said Philip Paraan, Communications and Special Projects Officer of Escuela Taller.

He added that Escuela Taller “faithfully” follows and observes international standards as well as considers the context and specific issues of each heritage site it works on.

No easy feat It was not an easy time to

embark on an ambitious, skillspecific project amid a pandemic. To address the team’s mobi l it y i ssues r ig ht a f ter the project’s announcement in June 2021, Escuela Taller held a bike donation drive for its team.

Sixteen (16) graduates of Escuela Taller worked on the first phase of the La Loma Cemetery Chapel restoration efforts. These include carpenters and masons trained in the traditional trades or techniques. The team also had a site officer, a consultant-historian, and an officer in charge of heritage architecture.

After the end of the first phase, the conservation team was able to

BusinessMirror

Sunday, June 26, 2022 7

THE century-old La Loma Church before and its new look after restoration.

Escuela Taller carpenters and masons are trained in the traditional trades or techniques.

Traditional stones have been repointed, covered, and protected through lime plastering. remove the destructive vegetation that crept over the masonry stones for years, get rid of the cement plaster that once covered the building, and rehabilitate and replace deteriorated and damaged masonry units. The team also reinstated lost details of the facade, removed the hazards in the cupola including the preparation of wooden posts, and repaired the wooden dowel atop the right pilaster.

The restoration project addressed the buildup of lost volumes and details at the façade and buttresses.

PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE is a must to stop the regrowth of vegetation on the plastered walls.

Call for conservation measures Paraan shared that the whole chapel or church is estimated to be restored within five years. The left and right sidewalls are estimated to be restored in a year, while 10 months will be allotted for the rear and another two years will be spent on the dome and interiors of the chapel.

Fr. Paul Woo, Director of the

Eroded ornamental details were restored.

The La Loma Church is estimated to be fully restored within five years.

Diocesan Commission on Cultural Heritage of the Diocese of Kalookan, said that efforts are now directed toward looking for more sponsors, benefactors, and other assistance needed for the conservation of the left and right sides of the church.

The Diocese and Escuela Taller have also begun working on a Conservation Management Plan that will help find ways and means

for funding and other resources needed to realize the plan.

Paraan said that preventive maintenance should be in place.

This includes regular cleaning of the plastered walls to avoid the regrowth of vegetation. It is also ideal to occasionally apply limewash.

“Ideally, there should be a maintenance plan to regularly check the condition of the

building and check and arrest potential threats to the building especially now that we have very volatile climate conditions.

It is always good to consult experts including architects and engineers and even artisanscraftspeople who understand how these buildings were constructed and respond to time, weathering, deterioration, etc,” Paraan noted.