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YINGLONG operations, which are passed off as road construction, heavily scarify the mountainside in Uacon.

CAUSA VERDE

Residents of Uacon village in Candelaria, Zambales, resist a mining operation that threatens their homes, farms

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Text & Photos by Henry Empeño

ACON, Candelaria, Zambales— Even from afar, the scars on the mountain are visible: heavy brown cuts that slashed through the green. These were created by machines that clawed at the earth, ripping apart vegetation in the process, and tearing down whole slopes just to get the nickelbearing dirt. But only residents of this lakeside village now seem to mind the growing danger this operation poses to their livelihood and home.

Uacon Barangay Captain Daniel Esteron said residents first brought the mining operation to the attention of local officials in February when they saw backhoes digging on the mountainside at Duplac, an area east of the Uacon Lake, which is an important water resource in the community.

Esteron said local officials organized an inspection of the work site with Mayor Napoleon Edquid on February 23, and in confronting the workers there learned that Ying­ long Steel Corp., a company based in the neighboring town of Santa Cruz, was constructing roads in the area.

The problem was Yinglong had not applied for permits, and Uacon officials did not know about the project being undertaken in their barangay. “So, Mayor Edquid told Yinglong to stop their operation and to explain before the town council,” Esteron related.

When company officials did explain to the council on March 1, Esteron said they found the explanation hard to believe. “Yinglong reasoned out that they did not know they were already operating in Candelaria,” Esteron said.

No permit to show

AS Esteron and other Uacon residents would learn later, Yinglong has apparently taken over where Westchinamin Corp., a company which had proposed to mine for nickel and build a

ferro-nickel processing plant in Candelaria, had left off.

Earlier, Westchinamin presented its project to President Duterte in Malacañang on April 4, 2018, committing itself to be a responsible miner, and assuring Duterte that it will ensure the simultaneous rehabilitation of mined out areas.

Its project, however, was rejected by Candelaria residents in 2019 and, thus, did not prosper.

On the other hand, Yinglong entered the local picture after its proposed steel production plant project at Barangay Pangascasan in Sual, Pangasinan, did not push through in 2017.

Flores Ednave-Mistica, president of the environment group Save Candelaria, Zambales Movement Inc. (SCZMI), said Yinglong could be using Westchinamin’s Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) and Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), as it is now digging at Parcel VII, a part of Westchinamin’s MPSA. Mistica said Westchinamin’s mining claim originally covered only 286 hectares in Guinabon, Santa Cruz, but this was later expanded in 2016 to cover 3,336 hectares, including various areas in Candelaria.

Mistica recalled that in a consultation for the passage in April of a town ordinance regulating mining operations in Candelaria, representatives of the Mines and

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.8380

THE Yinglong mine site sits atop the Duplac River, which flows into the Uacon Lake and irrigates farmlands.

Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region 3 said that Yinglong was just building access roads, as it was still in exploration stage, and that MGB’s regulatory power did not cover such activity.

“But it’s not only access roads they’re working on,” Mistica said.

“They have been making nickel stockpiles onsite and these are later brought down to a depot in Lucapon South [a barangay in Santa Cruz].”

Esteron said Yinglong officials cannot show any mining permit nor tree-cutting permit for all its ongoing activities at Duplac.

“I’ve also asked them if they have any document to prove that Westchinamin has assigned its area to Yinglong, but what they sent me in return was a box of tikoy,” Esteron added, referring to the sticky Chinese delicacy.

Battle for the mind

IN the absence of legal documents, Yinglong has apparently conduct-

ed an aggressive campaign to win over the residents of Candelaria, most especially local officials. On its social-media page, Yinglong has posted photos of outreach projects all over Candelaria, Santa Cruz and other neighboring communities that it described as “part of our social development effort”.

Under this program, its community relations team distributed “bundles of joy” (bags of bread and other foodstuff) to the barangay halls of Lucapon North and Lucapon South in Santa Cruz, Uacon in Candelaria, the Santa Cruz Police Station, and the Masinloc Coast Guard office on December 23, 2020; alcohol and facemasks to checkpoints at barangays Lucapon South, Gama, and Maya in Santa Cruz and Infanta, Pangasinan, on January 19 and 26; and boxes of special tikoy on Chinese New Year to barangay offices in Taposo, Pamibian, Malabon, Malimanga, Sinabacan and Uacon.

Yinglong also announced giving financial aid to barangay Sinabacan on January 26 this year for

the celebration of the Feast of Saint Lourdes; trash cans to barangay Malimanga on March 18 for waste management; food items, facemasks and alcohol at the villages of Taposo, Pamibian, Malimanga on April 9; burial assistance to two families in Lucapon South and Lucapon North on April 10; and 25 reams of bond paper and eight bottles of printer ink to the Sinabacan Elementary School on April 13 for printing modules.

The company donated to local churches—five sacks of rice, four boxes of facemasks, and two gallons of alcohol each to the Saint Michael the Archangel Parish in Santa Cruz and the Saint Vincent Parish in Candelaria on April 16. On the same day, Yinglong gave medical help to a family and burial assistance to another family in Lucapon South.

On April 21, Yinglong turned over a 32-inch android TV and satellite dish, as well as 11 sets of barangay uniform to Barangay Malimanga, and on the following day, which was “Earth Day”, it con-

ducted a tree-planting event at Lucapon South, a clean-up along the highway in the same barangay, as well as along the coast at Lucapon South.

Last month saw Yinglong donating “assorted goods” to tricycle operators and drivers in the villages of Catol, Babancal and Taposo, and the Malabon community pantry on May 11; financial assistance and assorted raffle items on May 14 to barangay Malimanga for the upcoming feast of the local patron saint; and burial assistance to a family in Lucapon North and three families in Lucapon South, as well as medical help to three other families in Santa Cruz town on May 14.

On May 25, the mining firm gave away water jugs to six tricycle operators and drivers’ groups, and turned over 20 reams of bond paper and 16 bottles of printer ink to the Lucapon South Elementary School.

Yinglong’s latest post on June 15 showed that it turned over a Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4406 n UK 67.9971 n HK 6.2909 n CHINA 7.5458 n SINGAPORE 36.3703 n AUSTRALIA 37.0290 n EU 58.2686 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.0231

Source: BSP (June 25, 2021)

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, June 27, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

CAUSA VERDE Continued from A1

set of computer and printer to the Candelaria police office, donated an audio-speaker to the San Antonio de Padua Chapel in Lucapon South, and financial aid to barangay Libertador for the celebration of its fiesta.

Change of heart

THE barrage of “social development efforts” somewhat eroded the anti-mining solidarity among locals who overwhelmingly rejected Westchinamin’s ferro-nickel processing plant project just two years past.

On October 15, 2018, Candelaria Sangguniang Bayan member Mac Eay successfully shepherded in the town council Resolution 50 to enact Ordinance 2018-19, which banned open pit mining and disallowed the establishment of the proposed ferro-nickel plant and all types of environmentally destructive activities in the municipality.

Eay’s motion was passed unanimously by the municipal council and approved by Mayor Edquid on October 29, 2018.

A video of a prayer rally organized by the Concerned Citizens of Candelaria in October 2018 to reject the proposed ferro-nickel plant showed the town executive expressing his solidarity with the people.

“Ang pulso ninyo ay ang pulso ni Mayor [Your pulse is the pulse of the mayor],” Edquid declared then.

“Kung ang pulso ninyo ay hindi, hindi rin si Mayor [If your pulse is against the project, the mayor will also be against it].”

Yet the ordinance was not implemented. And worse, Edquid, who was reelected in 2019, soon changed his pulse about the project, said Charmie Barrera, secretary of the Save Candelaria, Zambales Movement Inc. “After the anti-mining resolution was passed, the residents somewhat relaxed their guard. So, we were really surprised when the nickel processing plant proposal was revived after the 2019 election,” she added.

Barrera recalled that an ocular inspection by the Sangguniang Bayan at Duplac on March 26 established that Yinglong continued its road construction and nickel extraction activities despite having promised to stop operations when it appeared before the council on March 1.

The inspection team also noted, among others, new stockpiles near the Duplac River, which were not there during inspections on February 23 and 28; trees felled to make way for access roads; more build-up of bunkhouses and guard stations; and that a portion of the Pader Creek was filled in with dirt so that dump trucks can cross it to transport nickel to the Yinglong yard in Lucapon.

Meanwhile, as Yinglong continued to operate at will, local officials moved for the repeal of the anti-mining resolution and crafted what would become Ordinance 16 of 2021, or “An Ordinance Strictly Regulating the Operations of Mining Agreements Within the Territorial Jurisdiction of the Municipality of Candelaria, Zambales, and Providing Penalties for Violation Thereof.”

DUMP trucks and loaders are positioned near nickel stockpiles at the Yinglong mining area.

Outnumbered

ON the surface, Ordinance 16 bode good for it asserted the local government’s power to be co-manager, alongside the national government, of the resources within its area, and sounded the LGU’s commitment to protect and promote a balanced ecosystem and to sanction environmentally destructive activities.

The new ordinance also identified areas closed to mining, set requirements on stakeholder consultation, created the Municipal

Mining Monitoring Council, empowered the municipal government to take action when there is a clear and present danger in mining operations, demanded compliance with ecological solid waste management, required miners to submit periodic reports, and expressly prohibited destructive mining methods.

However, SCZMI director Marilyn Evalle pointed out that the penal provisions of Ordinance 16 appear to make it easy for mining firms to get away with violations, as extraction without mining agreement, lease, permit, or license, and stealing mineral ores, were fined a measly P2,500.

Only the use of destructive mining methods merited six months imprisonment on top of the P2,500 fine. Violation of other provisions of the ordinance even carried a lesser fine of P1,500.

Despite the stated intent to strictly regulate mining operations, the new ordinance made a clear about-face from the Sanggunian’s previous anti-mining stance, Eay pointed out.

The reversal in community acceptance was hammered home by Mayor Edquid during a public consultation by the town council on March 1.

Harking back on his previous “people’s pulse” rhetoric, Edquid said: “Kung ayaw ng tao, ayaw ko rin.

Pero mas marami nang may gusto [If the people don’t want it, I wouldn’t want it, too. But more people are in favor of it now].”

Edquid went on to say that the mining industry would benefit the poor people who needed jobs, and that these poor people’s voices don’t get recognized because they are not on social media.

“Ang mga anti-mining, kayangkaya nilang suportahan ang kanilang sarili—kakain sila nang tatlong beses isang araw, hindi katulad ng mga mahihirap [Those who oppose mining can feed themselves three times a day, unlike these poor people],” the mayor said.

Addressing the anti-mining advocates in the session hall, Edquid said they are not the majority of the residents. “Wala pa kayong 10 percent [You are not even 10 percent of the residents],” Edquid said. “Maingay lang kayo [You are simply noisy].”

Reminded of the anti-mining resolution which he approved previously, Mayor Edquid denied signing the Sanggunian ordinance.

“Hindi ko pirma ’yan; may nag-peke [That was not my signature; somebody faked it],” Edquid declared during the meeting.

On April 19, 2021, Ordinance 16 passed muster at the Sangguniang Bayan of Candelaria with a vote of seven ayes and three nays.

“We were badly outnumbered,” Eay said.

Like wildfire

ON June 13, a Sunday, the BusinessMirror joined a small group

of writers invited by the SCZMI to document the extant anti-mining struggle. From our vantage point at the Uacon Barangay Hall on the shore of Uacon Lake, we motored deep into the grasslands of the village and crossed creeks.

In the foothills of Duplac more than a kilometer away, we watched three yellow backhoe loaders gouging the mountain face, their nimble movements uphill toylike in what was really a destructive dance.

But drone photos taken there revealed more: nine orange dump trucks and a smaller white dump truck were in the area and positioned near the backhoes. And lined up along the “access roads” that crisscrossed the mountainside were neat mounds of nickelbearing dirt that these trucks haul down to the lowlands.

Just below the mined-out slopes were two ponds filled with orange-brown water. These are supposed to be sump pits that would contain rainwater and prevent the same from leaching. And just below the two ponds lay the Duplac River that drains into the Uacon Lake.

This is precisely what bothers Uacon farmers like Rey Estella.

Now 52 and a farmer since birth, Estella has witnessed how mud from the mining site ruined hectares of farmlands that provided sustenance and livelihood to about 86 families in the Uacon area.

There are about 50 hectares being farmed here, Estella said.

And water from the uplands flows directly into the farmlands to nurture them.

“Noon, umaani kami ng mga 100 hanggang 120 cavan ng palay bawat balitang,” Estella said, using the local measure for land area that is roughly equivalent to 0.625 hectare. “Ngayon mga 60 cavan na lang [We used to harvest from 100 to 120 cavans of palay; now we’re down to 60].”

He added that the decline in farm productivity began in 2014 when Westchinamin began mining the area.

The siltation from mining projects also affects fishpond owners east of the Uacon Lake, as well as local fishermen who noticed that mollusks in the lake rapidly decreased since 2014.

And it has degraded the water quality of Uacon Lake, as well.

For a time, the lake was the pride of Zambales, as it was always a national finalist for the Gawad Pangulo sa Kapaligiran’s best inland body of water from 2000 to 2003.

Just two years later, in October 2015, mud from mined-out areas uphill cascaded into the lake when Typhoon Lando whipped up heavy rains, SCZMI records showed.

A video of a village elder recorded previously by SCZMI vividly expressed the fears of residents about mining. He said: “If the

mountain is destroyed, we will not have water. Instead, when the rains come, all that dirt loosened by mining will be washed into rivers and creeks and farms, and when these bodies of water get filled up, the silt will enter our houses,” the man added.

“Mining,” he concluded, “is like a huge wildfire—it doesn’t choose victims.”

Fighting back

AS of now, it is only Barangay Uacon that is keeping up with its fight against the destructive effects of mining, said the village executive Daniel Esteron. The rest of the 15 barangays have reportedly aligned themselves with the pro-mining camp.

Still, Esteron and SCZMI said they must continue with the fight—not only for themselves but for the residents of other barangays who may be keeping their silence on the mining issue at the moment.

Uacon, the northernmost barangay of Candelaria, abuts Santa Cruz, the most heavily mined town in the province. If Uacon gave up the fight, the destruction of mountains would likely spread to other barangays and even nearby towns down the line. Like wildfire.

Which is why, even if they constituted just 10 percent of the population, they had to keep being noisy for everyone, Eay said.

On March 15, despite the passage of the town’s Ordinance 16, the Uacon Barangay Council passed a resolution denying the request of Yinglong Steel Corporation and Westchinamin Corporation to operate and undertake mining activities within the territorial jurisdiction of Barangay Uacon.

In separate resolutions, the council also blocked a similar request by Shangfil Mining and Trading Corporation and denied the request of Zambales Diversified Metals Corporation (ZDMC), which is a subsidiary of the mining giant DMCI Mining Corporation, to amend its MPSA and include 81 hectares in Uacon.

The council also pointed out that it has never endorsed the amendment of ZDMC’s MPSA, as alleged in a letter sent to the town council by the firm’s lawyer on February 1.

In all these resolutions, the Uacon village council asserted its policy to protect and conserve the environment and natural resources, and to boost and enhance local tourism.

It also made clear that the Uacon LGU is adopting the enacted Ordinance 2018-19, which has banned open pit mining and disallowed all types of environmentally destructive activities in the municipality.

Uacon’s fight for the environment, livelihood and home goes on.

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

The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, June 27, 2021

A3

Asia’s richest man unveils $10-B green energy project

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By Rajesh Kumar Singh & Debjit Chakraborty

which Reliance will collaborate with global leaders on the technology; and, the third will build and install electrolysers for separating green hydrogen from water.

ndian tycoon Mukesh Ambani unveiled an ambitious push into clean energy involving 750 billion rupees ($10.1 billion) of investment over three years, marking a new pivot for one of the world’s biggest fossil-fuel billionaires.

Reliance Industries Ltd., which gets 60 percent of its revenue from oil refining and petrochemicals, plans to spend 600 billion rupees on four “giga factories” to make solar modules, hydrogen, fuel cells and to build a battery grid to store electricity. An additional 150 billion rupees will be invested in value chain and other partnerships, Asia’s richest man told shareholders on Thursday.

The move toward green by the Mumbai-based giant, which reported an annual revenue of $63 billion, offers a glimpse of the new order awaiting some of the world’s major fossil-fuel producers. Global giants such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and TotalEnergies SE have been under pressure to pare their carbon footprint, as governments, investors and consumers join to fight climate change and global warming.

Speaking at the company’s virtual annual meeting, Ambani gave scant details of how he

would execute the plan. He was ranked No. 4 among global fossilfuel billionaires by Bloomberg Green last year. The $10 billion in green investment over three years compares w it h a Fitch R atings’ estimate—published Wednesday—of $7.4 billion in annual average capital expenditure by the Reliance group through March 2025.

Shares of the company fell 2.4 percent as of 12:41 p.m. in Mumbai on Friday, set for the worst week since January.

“Reliance is branching out into completely new businesses,” said Horace Chan, an energy analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “That raises concerns whether the investments could generate acceptable return and payback period, given the time to acquire technology know-how and seek strategic partners.”

Ambani isn’t entirely turning his back on his legacy oil and petrochemicals business. On Thursday, he said that a delayed plan to

Fuel cells

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of the Reliance Industries Ltd., right, and his wife Nita Ambani, left, arrive for the company’s annual general meeting in Mumbai, India, on August 12, 2019. Saudi Aramco will buy a 20-percent stake in the oil-to-chemicals business of India’s Reliance Industries Ltd., including the 1.24 million barrels-a-day Jamnagar refining complex on the country’s west coast, Ambani said at the company’s annual general meeting in Mumbai. Bloomberg

bring Saudi Arabian Oil Co. as an investor in the energy division— announced two years ago—will be finalized this year. He didn’t elaborate. In a move to reassure investors, he also said Aramco Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan will join the board of Reliance.

Aggressive targets

The proposed green transformation aligns with the priorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s government, which has been debating aggressive climate targets that would cut net greenhouse-gas emissions to zero by mid-century, a decade before China. Though fellow tycoon Gautam Adani, who built a coal-centered conglomerate of mines, ports and power plants,

is already pursuing a similar path expanding his presence in wind and solar energy, Ambani’s plans are more ambitious in scope.

“The world is entering a new energy era, which is going to be highly disruptive,” said Ambani, 64. “The age of fossil fuels, which powered economic growth globally for nearly three centuries, cannot continue much longer. The huge quantities of carbon it has emitted into the environment have endangered life on Earth.”

One of Reliance’s “giga factories” will manufacture solar modules, enabling 100 gigawatts of solar energy by 2030, including on rooftop installations in villages across the country; the second involves large-scale grid batteries to store electricity, for

Japan sees China-Taiwan friction as threat to its security

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apanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the security of Taiwan was directly linked with that of Japan, as tensions around the island build up and its defenses are increasingly overshadowed by China’s military might.

The comments from a cabinet minister known for his close ties to Taipei came a week after China sent 28 warplanes near Taiwan, in the latest ratcheting up of military pressure around the democratically ruled island, 110 km from Japan at its nearest point. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

“The peace and stability of Taiwan is directly connected to Japan and we are closely monitoring ties between China and Taiwan, as well as Chinese military activity,” Kishi said in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday. “As China strengthens its military, its balance with Taiwan is tipping heavily to the Chinese side,” he said, adding the gap is widening every year.

Taiwan is crucial for Tokyo, with the Luzon Strait to the south an important shipping lane for the

energy tankers resource-poor Japan relies on to power its economy.

On April 17, Kishi visited Yonaguni, the nearest Japanese island to Taiwan and network FNN reported him as saying days later at a ruling party seminar that if Taiwan “turns red,” the situation may change drastically, and Japan needs to be ready for that. China’s Foreign Ministry called the comments reckless and irresponsible.

The younger brother of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Kishi was among a group of lawmakers who paid a visit to Taipei last year to convey condolences over the death of its former president, Lee Teng-hui.

Taiwan has become an increasingly important topic for the US and its allies, many of whom are concerned about China’s growing assertiveness around an island whose semiconductor industry has become a linchpin of the global supply chain.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden emphasized the importance of reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait following their April summit,

the first mention of the issue in a joint statement since 1969.

In the same statement, Japan, whose pacifist constitution leaves it heavily dependent on the US for its “nuclear umbrella,” vowed to bolster its own defense capabilities. Asked how this would affect a defense budget that has been increasing for nine years, Kishi said a limit of 1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) wouldn’t necessarily apply.

“Our defense spending should be based on what equipment and personnel the country needs for its defense, as well as the national security situation,” he said, adding that the country has not tried to keep to the limit since the 1980s.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to link it automatically to GDP.”

Aegis missile defense: The addition of two planned ships equipped with Aegis ballistic missile defense equipment as a replacement for a land-based system abandoned last year due to safety concerns will make it “possible to build a system to protect Japan’s territory continuously in combination with existing Aegis ships.”

Here are some highlights from the interview:

Defense equipment exports: “ Transferring defense technolog y to other countries will contribute to peace, international cooperation and the security of those countries, as well as to the strengthening of our defense industr y base.”

On China: “China is continuously increasing its defense spending at a high rate, with a lack of transparency,” he said. “It is also developing game-changing technology.”

Quad grouping: “Japan, the US, Australia and India, known as the Quad, are free and share values and are responsible partners in the region.

The efforts of the Quad aren’t aimed at any particular country, but are based on common values concerning the freedom of the oceans.”

Bloomberg News

“Is this doable from a standing start in nine years? It’s a stretch, it’s not impossible,” said Tim Buckley, director of energy finance studies at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

“There’s an element of wanting to align with the Indian government and profit in the process. Don’t forget they’ve seen Adani make a lot of money in this. It’s not altruism.”

The fourth factory would be for fuel cells, which use oxygen from the air and hydrogen to generate electricity—a technology that’s being promoted by carmakers including Hyundai Motor Co. but famously dismissed as “mind-bogglingly stupid” by Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk.

The announcement comes the year after India’s most valuable company raised more than $30-billion selling stakes in its technology and retail units, and through a sale of shares to existing investors. Reliance brought on board Silicon Valley giants such as Google and Facebook Inc. to help grow its digital and e-commerce footprint in a $1-trillion retail market of more than 1.3 billion people.

The investment inflows, which Ambani called “vote of confidence” in his businesses, have helped Reliance’s stock rally more than 90 percent since the beginning of April 2020. Ambani’s net worth

is about $82 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.

Adani plans

The Adani-led g roup is a lso raising its game in clean energy goals. Adani Green Energy Ltd. agreed last month to buy SoftBank Group Corp.’s $3.5-billion renewable power business in India, in a bid to achieve its goal of having 25 gigawatts of renewable power capacity by 2025. The green focus has led to a share rally with Adani Green jumping more than 580 percent and Adani Total Gas Ltd.—a joint venture with TotalEnergies—by 670 percent since the beginning of last year.

Reliance last year set itself a target of becoming a net-zero carbon company by 2035—a timeline shorter than the self-imposed 2050 cut-off of many of its global peers including BP Plc. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Ambani’s group bought its first cargo of carbon-neutral crude oil in February and said it was looking for more such partnerships.

India’s government plans to expand its renewable energy capacity nearly fivefold to 450 gigawatts by 2030, as the nation aims to reduce its dependence on coal.

“Reliance’s strategy on energy, data and consumer will ensure the company continues to grow sustainably bucking all cyclical trends,” said Sunil Chandiramani, chief executive officer at Nyka Advisory Services. However, “it will need to navigate challenges of technology innovation, talent acquisition, investor expectations and global turmoil,” he said. Bloomberg News

What should I know about delta variant?

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hat should I know about the delta variant? It’s a version of the coronavirus that has been found in more than 80 countries since it was first detected in India. It got its name from the World Health Organization, which names notable variants after letters of the Greek alphabet.

Viruses constantly mutate, and most changes aren’t concerning.

But there is a worry that some variants might evolve enough to be more contagious, cause more severe illness or evade the protection that vaccines provide.

Experts say the delta variant spreads more easily because of mutations that make it better at latching onto cells in our bodies. In the United Kingdom, the variant is now responsible for 90 percent of all new infections. In the US, it represents 20 percent of infections, and health officials say it could become the country’s

dominant type as well.

It’s not clear yet whether the va r i a nt m a kes people sic ker since more data needs to be collected, said Dr. Jacob John, who studies viruses at the Christian Medical College at Vellore in southern India.

Studies have shown that the available vaccines work against var iants, including the delta variant.

Researchers in England studied how effective the two-dose AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were against it, compared with the alpha variant that was first detected in the UK. The vaccines were protective for those who got both doses but were less so among those who got one dose.

It’s why experts say it’s important to be fully vaccinated.

And it’s why they say making vaccines accessible globally is so critical. AP

EU members bordering Russia reject plan to meet with Putin B RUSSELS—European Union countries bordering Russia rejected a Franco-German plan to resume official meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with one leader likening the move to an attempt to talk a bear out of stealing honey.

In a news statement in the early hours of Friday morning, EU leaders said only that they “will explore formats and conditionalities of dialogue with Russia.” There was no mention of any high-level meetings or plans for a summit with Putin.

The European Union is deeply divided in its approach to Moscow.

Russia is the EU’s biggest natural

gas supplier, and plays a key role in a series of international conflicts and issues linked to Europe’s strategic interests, including the Iran nuclear deal, and conflicts in Syria and Libya.

European heavyweight Germany has strong economic interests there, notably the NordStream 2 undersea pipeline project, and a number of countries, including France, are reluctant to continue waging a sanctions battle with Russia, including over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The EU is concerned that Putin is turning increasingly authoritarian and wants to distance himself

from the West. Both the 27-nation trading bloc and the Nato military alliance are struggling to bring Russia to the table. US President Joe Biden’s meeting with Putin this month was a rare exception.

“We have to deal with Russia, but being very cautious about the real intentions of Putin’s regime,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters at an EU summit in Brussels. “So far, we don’t see any radical change in the pattern of behavior of Russia.”

“If, without any positive changes in the behavior of Russia, we start to engage, it will send very uncertain and bad signals,” Nauseda said.

“It seems to me like we try to engage

a bear to keep a pot of honey safe.”

The other two Baltic states, Estonia and Latvia, are also deeply concerned about reaching out to Moscow when the Minsk agreements meant to bring peace to Ukraine, whose Crimean Peninsula Russia annexed in 2014, are still not being respected. Conflict still simmers in eastern Ukraine with Russia-backed separatists.

“Right now, if it pans out the way it’s proposed, Russia annexes Crimea, Russia wages war in Donbass, and Europe shrugs its shoulders and continues to try to speak a dialogue. The Kremlin does not understand this kind of politics,” said Latvian Prime

Minister Krisjanis Karins.

His Estonian counterpart, Kaja Kallas, said that “what our intelligence [service] tells us is that sanctions work and the European Union has to be more patient.”

But French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe cannot simply tackle its problems with Russia on a case-by-case basis, by continually imposing sanctions or other measures.

“We cannot continue without dialogue. We have to talk, including about our disagreements. It’s the only way to resolve them,” Macron said. “It’s a dialogue that’s necessary for the stability of the European continent, but demand-

ing because we will not give up our interests and values.”

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told lawmakers that “the events of recent months—not just in Germany— have clearly shown that it’s not enough if we react to the multitude of Russian provocations in an uncoordinated way.”

“Instead, we have to create mechanisms to respond in a common and unified way to provocations” to what she described as “hybrid attacks by Russia.” That includes outreach to countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and the western Balkans, but also engaging Russia and Putin directly. AP

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The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Help wanted: Labor shortage plagues US restaurant sector

By Michael R. Blood The Associated Press

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OS ANGELES—Sherry Villanueva’s family of Santa Barbara restaurants employed 350 people before the pandemic took hold and darkened dining rooms across California. Now, with the state’s economy officially reopened, about 250 workers are back on the job.

Villanueva would hire 100 more if she could—but she can’t find people to take the openings.

“We are in the midst of a very severe labor shortage,” said Villanueva, owner and managing partner of Acme Hospitality, which operates eight eateries in the popular seaside destination, though two remain closed. With staffs stretched paper-napkin thin, the employees “are doing the job of two people.”

California fully reopened its economy on June 15 and did away with limits on capacity at restaurants, retail stores and other businesses. People are eager to return to sporting events and amusement parks and enjoy a meal out.

But instead of f u l l d ining rooms, many restaurants are being forced to cut operating hours or leave tables open. Villanueva’s company is offering cash bonuses to workers who recruit new employees.

The worker shortage is also affecting restaurants across the US. The National Restaurant Association has reported the eating and drinking industry shed 2.5 million jobs in 2020. Federal data show nearly 1.4 million job openings in the restaurant and hotel sector in April.

At the Served Global Dining restaurant in Henderson, Nevada, a Las Vegas suburb, chef-owner Matthew Meyer said he needs a dozen or more people to fill positions across the board, including cooks and bartenders.

Plans for a seafood raw bar, togo kits and a chef ’s table to serve

special tasting menus are on hold because he can’t find enough workers. Meanwhile, his labor costs are up by a third because he has to offer more money to lure applicants. Even then, the last two he had scheduled for interviews never showed up.

“We are having extreme difficulties,” he said.

Sam Toia, CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said he’s started talking with federal lawmakers about the possibility of expanding worker visa programs for the restaurant industry to open a new pipeline of labor.

And without enough workers to fill shifts, restaurants are warning customers to expect longer-than-t y pical waits for their meals, Toia said.

T he Ca l ifor nia Restaurant Association earlier estimated as many as one-third of the state’s restaurants would not make it through the pandemic.

For those that survived, the employment gap is a “ full-blown cr isis,” said Jot Condie, who heads the organization.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is fond of saying that California’s economy is roaring back.

Indeed, employment figures released Friday showed the state added over 100,000 jobs in May, the fourth consecutive month of gains after 2.7 million jobs vanished during the early months of the pandemic.

But in the state’s battered rest au ra nt i ndu st r y, t he re turn toward normalcy is being slowed by the struggle to find

In this June 19, Caroline Styne, owner and wine director at The Lucques Group, standing under umbrella, welcomes back regular customers Chris Anokute with his wife Jasmine and their 9-month-old son in Phoenix, at the A.O.C. Brentwood restaurant in Los Angeles. Styne has turned away dozens of customers at the company’s A.O.C. West Hollywood restaurant because she doesn’t have the staff to serve them, leaving seats empty. AP/Damian Dovarganes

an adequate number of cooks, bartenders, food ser vers and kitchen staff. Since May 2020, rest au ra nts a nd hote l s h ave added 420,400 jobs—the most of any sector—but the industr y remains about 450,000 jobs below its pre-pandemic level.

In Los Angeles, Caroline Styne, owner and wine director at The Lucques Group, has turned away dozens of customers because she didn’t have the staff to serve them, leaving seats empty.

“If you can’t fill your seats... multiple times per evening, the financial structure of the restaurant doesn’t work,” Styne said.

“Hiring is a nightmare,” she added. “I’ve never been in a situation like this.”

The sector is notoriously volatile and restaurant employees can be a transient lot—students who drop in-and-out of shifts as time allows, aspiring actors and musicians looking to supplement their income, kitchen staffers who move on for bigger paydays elsewhere. The hours can be long, benefits scarce and the pay low, sometimes reliant on tips.

Styne, Villanueva and other industry experts see a web of factors conspiring to create the scarcity of job applicants.

A mong t hem: C a l i for n i a’s population dropped by 182,000 last year as the pandemic ravaged the economy, scattering workers around the country as many businesses closed. Some workers are hesitant to come back, either over lingering fear of the virus or because of frayed nerves after

struggling through on-and-off lockdowns, home isolation and shifting health regulations.

Extended federal unemployment benefits have provided a cushion to stay home—about 2 million people are still receiving checks. In other cases, there’s a childcare problem with schools closed or in recess for summer.

And after a long break from work to ponder the future, others took on a new career path.

Restaurants and hotels have been “ground zero” for the labor shortage, but other sectors have been struggling to fill jobs, including non-union construction and home health care, said Michael Bernick, a former director of the California Employment Development Department and an attor ney w it h t he Du ane Morris law firm.

For ailing restaurants, a turning point may not come until late summer, when enhanced federal benefits end and schools reopen.

Even then, wages might need to rise to attract workers.

On Saturday, Alec Nedelman was enjoying an early Father’s Day celebration with his family at one of Styne’s A.O.C. restaurants in Los Angeles. The attorney said he has just started to return to restaurants since dining rooms began to reopen, and also was looking forward to having them available for business meetings.

“It’s still a mixed feeling. You are still a little cautious and concerned,” Nedelman said. But “I’m looking forward to being able to be social again.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Russia, China make war-gaming fashionable again in the West

By Marc Champion & Daryna Krasnolutska

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ven as Russia massed over 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders in April, Andriy Zagorodnyuk felt sure President Vladimir Putin wouldn’t go to war.

The former defense minister in Kyiv, who’d also spent years on projects to modernize Ukraine’s military, reasoned that Putin knew an invasion would be no walk in the park for Russia this time.

“Our task has been to make sure we can inf lict unacceptable damage, a damage level so high that they will be demotivated to advance,” Zagorodnyuk said in a video inter view from the Ukrainian capital.

That was a bold bet, though Ukraine had made dramatic improvements to its armed forces since a few thousand Russian troops, in uniforms with no identifiable markings, annexed Crimea without firing a shot in 2014. It could potentially have been catastrophically wrong.

Whatever Putin’s motives for the recent show of force (some of the additional troops have since pulled back), alongside titfor-tat accusations with the UK over a British destroyer transit of Ukrainian waters, comparing military capabilities is difficult and becoming even more so. After a brief post-Cold War interlude in which the US and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners had no serious peer competitors, now they do.

Many common measures of military strength are misleading. Based on defense spending alone, for example, Spain should be stronger than Turkey, Nato’s second-largest military power after the US; Saudi Arabia should be easily able to swat Iran; and Britain could go toe-to-toe in any conflict with Russia. None of the above is the case.

But much more than a topline number goes into how effective a militar y is. Refining budget data, weighing weaponr y for age and effectiveness, and accounting for intangibles such as morale, doctrine, training and geography are just some of the factors at play.

Defense dollars also overstate American strength relative to its rivals, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. “When everything is taken into account, and you normalize for the cost of personnel, etcetera, then you will find that the combined budgets of China and Russia do exceed that of the US Department of Defense budget,” he told the House Armed Services

Committee on Wednesday.

According to their declared defense budgets, China spends about a third of the US administration’s $715 billion request for the coming year and Russia one tenth.

For sure, governments and their intelligence agencies know more than they make public, and generals have motives for exaggerating the threats they face. Milley said in Wednesday’s testimony he would have to go into a classified session if the committee wanted him to explain the math behind his claim. His office also declined to provide details.

In March, Milley’s Chinese counterpart as top uniformed officer, Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang, made a similar appeal to his legislature.

He called for improved capabilities to attain “invincibility” against the threat of conflict with the US. A US State Department index comparing defense budgets around the world stresses the lack of clarity and gives broad spreads for each country—from $228 billion to $433 billion for China, and $66.5 billion to $159 billion for Russia in 2017, the latest available data.

Applying complex sets of information to particular geographies and scenarios is an industry that draws on hundreds of thousands of analysts in defense and intelligence agencies around the world.

Those services have been in growing demand since 2014, in large part because of Russia’s military modernization and its hybrid war in Ukraine, according to David Shlapak, a senior defense researcher at the Rand Corporation, a California-based think tank that works closely on scenario planning with the Pentagon. “When we started work on a Russia-Nato scenario in 2014, the first thing we did was go look at the literature—what we found was no one had thought seriously about a Russia-Nato war for 20 years,” says Shlapak, at the time co-director of the Rand Center for Gaming. “We were in Afghanistan, Iraq—the services had their hands full.”

C h ina’s rapid m i l it a r y de velopment, w it h a l aser-l i ke foc us on c ha l leng ing US capabi l it ies in t he Sout h C h ina S e a a nd Ta i w a n St r a it , h a s a lso cont r ibuted. Resea rc hers at t he Un iversit y of Syd ne y wa r ned l ast yea r t hat C h inese m i s s i le s cou ld w ip e out U S bases in the “opening hours” of any conf lict. In October, President X i Jinping rol led out t he new People’s Liberat ion A r my Roc ket Force as pa r t of a mas sive m i l it a r y pa rade.

Asian Americans lobby to name Navy ship for Filipino sailor

By Janie Har

The Associated Press

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A N F R A NC I SCO — A s i a n A mericans, veterans and civilians in the US and the Philippines are campaigning to name a Navy warship for a Filipino sailor who bravely rescued two crew members when their ship caught fire more than a century ago, earning him a prestigious and rare Medal of Honor.

Supporters say naming a ship for Telesforo Tr inidad wou ld honor not just the only Asian American in the US Nav y granted the nation’s highest award for valor, but the tens of thousands of Filipinos and Americans of Filipino descent who have served in the US Navy since 1901, when the Philippines was a United States territor y.

“I don’t believe it’s a long shot at all; it may be a long timeline, but we’re hoping it’s not,” said retired Nav y Capt. Ron R avelo and chair of the campaign.

“We’re going to be making Nav y ships into the foreseeable future, and there’s no reason one

of those can’t bear the name of Telesforo Trinidad.”

Trinidad, who died in 1968 at age 77, was so eager to join the US Navy that he stowed away on a lifeboat from his home island of Panay to the main island to enlist, said grandson Rene Trinidad. In 1915, while on patrol on the USS San Diego, he risked his life and suffered burns to rescue two crewmates when boilers exploded, killing nine. He received the medal that year, at a time when the honor could be awarded for noncombat valor.

Rene Trinidad, a real-estate agent in Southern California, recalls his grandfather was a man of few words.

“He let his actions speak for himself,” he said, “and I suppose that’s why he did what he did.”

The campaign has grassroots enthusiasm, and support from Democratic Congress members who sent a letter last month to Thomas Harker, acting secretary of the Navy.

Traditionally, different types of ships have different naming conventions, but there are ex-

ceptions, said Samuel J. Cox, retired rear admiral and director of the Naval History and Heritage Command, which suggests names and has previously submitted Trinidad’s for consideration. The secretary of the Navy has final authority and discretion to name and rename ships, he said.

Some memorialize states, US cities, Nav y heroes or distinguished Americans. The number of Navy ships receiving names varies widely by year but averages roughly to about eight, of which three or four are named for people, Cox said.

“There simply are far too many heroes compared to the number of ships to be named,” he said.

Norman Polmar, author and naval analyst, agrees.

“And I hate to say this, I’m getting a little pain when I say this: Increasingly it becomes political—what party you’re in and who’s in the White House, and occasionally the White House gets involved,” Polmar said.

Former US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus drew controversy after naming naval ships for former

US Rep Gabrielle Giffords; the late gay civil rights leader Harvey Milk of San Francisco; and the late farmworker activist Cesar Chavez. The honoring of Giffords broke more modern traditions that the person be dead or old.

Cr it ics a lso sa id t here were plent y of heroic ser v ice members to c hoose f rom. Mabus s a i d h i s p i c k s a l s o d e mo n st rated heroism.

In January 2020, Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly named a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier after Doris “Dorie” Miller, an African American enlisted sailor who received the Navy Cross for his actions during Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

The naming did not sit well with critics who say Miller deserves to have a ship named after him, but not an elite aircraft carrier bearing the names of presidents. There’s also ongoing debate over ships named for the Civil War Confederacy.

Cecilia Gaerlan, Trinidad campaign board member, said they would like a Navy surface combatant, such as a destroyer or

frigate, named for the fireman second class. The naming would be a symbol of the Navy’s commitment to “diversity, equality and inclusion during this time of national racial tensions and unwarranted violence against A sian A mer icans and Pacif ic Islanders,” said Democratic US Rep. Sara Jacobs of California, in a May letter to Harker signed by 10 others.

There are other Navy vessels named for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, including the USS Daniel Inouye, a destroyer.

The former US senator received the Medal of Honor as part of the celebrated 442nd Infantry Regiment, made up of Americans of Japanese descent whose families were incarcerated in camps during World War II. There was a US Navy a ship named for a Filipino person, but Gaerlan says the USS Rizal, a destroyer in service from 1919 to 1931, was donated by the Philippine Legislature and honors José Rizal, a national hero who never served in the military.

More than two-dozen Asian

and Pacific Americans have been awarded the Medal of Honor since its creation during the Civil War, mostly in the US Army, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. There are roughly 3,500 recipients.

Telesforo Trinidad, born in 1890, enlisted in 1910 in the Insular Force established by thenP resident W i l l i a m Mc K i n le y and ser ved in both world wars.

More t h a n 250,0 0 0 Fi l ipi no soldiers ser ved in World War II, and thousands died during the brutal 1942 Bataan Death March in the Philippines.

Rene Tr inidad, 65, said it goes against his cultural upbringing to call attention to his grandfather’s heroism, but his late father wanted the recognition for his father, who overcame hardship, merited a medal and worked hard to provide for his family. Two sons followed him into the US Nav y.

“The bottom line is that Filipinos be recognized for their contribution to the United States, and that every Filipino should be proud of that as well,” he said.

Science

BusinessMirror

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

Sunday

Sunday, June 27, 2021

A5

14 startups get ₧43M in R&D grants from DOST-PCIEERD

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña (second from left) visits the site where iLAB is being constructed. With him are DOST-3 Regional Director Dr. Julius Caesar V. Sicat (third from left) and DOST-Bulacan Director Angelita Q. Parungao (left). DOSTPH photo

Tissue culture lab for ornamental plants to rise in Guiguinto, Bulacan

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he Innovative Tissue Culture Laboratory for Ornamental Plants (iLAB), a joint project between the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Regional Office 3 and the local government of Guiguinto, Bulacan, will become fully operational by the fourth quarter of this year, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said in his recent DOST Report.

The establishment of the tissue culture laboratory called iLAB Garden City Project in Barangay Sta. Cruz in Guiguinto aims to supplement and provide technical assistance to farmers in the production and propagation of ornamental plants.

De la Peña early this month visited the site where the laboratory was being constructed.

Related stor y: htt ps:// businessmirror.com.ph/2019/05/19/ guiguinto-aims-to-become-garden-capital-of-phl/ Once the laboratory is fully operational, 32 Hibiscus hybrids, commonly known as gumamela, developed by the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, will be made available to the growers to propagate them on their own.

It is also planned to get the assistance of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute to transfer nonconventional plant breeding technologies for the project.

The construction of the iL AB

Garden City building was funded by the municipality of Guiguinto under Mayor Ambrocio C. Cruz Jr. DOS T- 3, on t he ot her h a nd , is f und ing t he laborator y equip ment and mater ia ls, sa lar ies of l aborator y personnel, tec h n ic a l tra ining and g row-out faci lit y of propagated or namenta l ex plants under its Reg iona l Grants-in-A id program, which initially allocated P2.79 mi l lion for the project.

The ornamental plant growers in Guiguinto currently employ conventional farm practices, such as cutting, marcotting and grafting, which have high mortality rates of transplants, besides not being applicable for propagating some ornamental plant species.

The establishment of the tissue culture laboratory will be more beneficial to the growers for its many advantages.

These include quickly generating identical mature offspring of one plant with desirable traits, a highly desirable feature especially in the commercial large-scale production of plants.

It can also produce multiple plants even without seeds or pollinators to produce seeds; produce plants from seeds or stems that may otherwise have low chances of growing; produce novel hybrids and genetically modified plants with improved agronomic traits; and produce plants with greatly reduced chances of transmitting diseases, pests and pathogens.

Nutritional value of 12 PHL local veggies to be analyzed

Ampalaya (bitter gourd)

W

Wikimedia Common

hat are the nutritional values of wild ampalaya ( bit ter gou rd), l abong (bamboo shoot), kadyos (pigeon pea) and nine other indigenous vegetables that many Filipinos eat?

This will be determined through a year-long nutritional analysis project supported by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).

In a recent DOST Report, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said, “[Knowing] their [indigenous vegetables] nutritional information will help popularize them and boost their consumption.”

The other Philippine indigenous vegetables were the erwad (blackjack), lupo (sessile joyweed), camansi (breadnut), kulitis/uray (spiny amaranth), papait (jima), amti (glossy nightshade), pannalayapen (chemperai), sapsapon (fireweed) and langka (jackfruit).

He said the project results can also guide the direction of research and development and steer the efforts to maintain this important diversity that has “co-evolved and adapted to the local conditions over generations of continued cultivation.”

The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) will implement the

project under the leadership of Dr. Lorna Sister of the Institute of Crop Science, College of Agriculture and Food Science.

Sister will lead the collection of samples from different locations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, which were also previous documentation sites of the “Documentation of Indigenous Vegetables in the Philippines” project completed by UPLB and DOSTPCAARRD.

Training on edible landscaping

Meanwhile, the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) partnered with the Edible Landscaping Team of the UPLB for a training titled, “Oh My Gulay! (OMG) Sa FNRI: A Step Towards Biodiversity,” to promote homestead food production among Filipino households.

More than 50 attendees via a Zoom two-day conference early this month learned about the principles and practices of edible landscaping and its potential contribution to food and nutrition security among Filipino households, especially during the pandemic.

The training was part of the Edible Landscaping Technology Promotion and Information Dissemination Campaign project funded by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research.

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ourteen startup companies whose technological products and services are expected to “create a huge impact in Philippine society” will receive a total of P43 million in research and development (R&D) grants from the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technolog y (DOST-PCIEERD).

Chosen from 54 R&D proposals submitted to the council on its first call, nine of the country’s “new breed of innovators” came from Luzon, three from Mindanao and two from the Visayas, the DOST-PCIEERD news release said.

“As a leader and partner in enabling innovations, we constantly look for talents to infuse new blood into the Philippine economy through innovative products and services,” DOST PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit explained.

Under the first cycle of the DOSTPCIEERD Startup Grant Fund Program, the 14 startups were selected for their innovative solutions that are aligned with the overall theme, “Jumpstarting the economy in the new normal.”

Here are the 14 startups that provide “automated, digitalized, and contactless solutions” in four out of six priority areas.

Sustainable Industries: These technolog ies f i l l the gap in the value chain of critically important industries to increase productivity, reduce costs and facilitate production and distribution of goods in the new normal.

1. Lesstics’s “Enhancement of Material Property of Lesstics Roofing Tile (Bio-based Insulation Polymer/

Waste Single-Used Plastic Composite)” presents a cost-effective and sustainable material derived from waste single-used plastics.

2. Robin’s “Enhancement and Market Validation of Robin” introduces Recycle On-demand Bin, a reverse vendo machine that collects plastic bottles and aluminum cans in exchange for reward points.

3. IOL’s “Enhancement and Validation of the Advanced Robust Cooperative System, an integrated Software-as-a-Service solution for cooperative management and regulatory compliance” will help cooperatives in the Philippines manage and grow their operations and comply with regulatory requirements by integrating basic and advanced data collection and reporting modules unique to cooperatives in an easyto-use online platform.

Supply chain and logistics management: These technologies reduce dependence on physical labor across transportation, logistics and warehousing or as platforms for online matching and delivery of goods from source to point of use.

4. Agrabah’s “Agriculture Technology Platform automated logistics booking for farmers and fisherfolk” arranges delivery of agricultural produce from farming communities to enterprise, providing farmers a seamless experience to market, easy access to clients and financing to meet volume requirements.

5. Mosaic’s “New Product Development and Market Validation of a Mosaic Online Food and Beverage Procurement Marketplace Platform” caters to food establishments and suppliers.

6. Cawil.ai’s “Enhancement of the Prototype and Market Validation of

Traceability Access for Consumer and Export powered by Artificial Intelligence [TrACE.AI] Software System” is a fish-electronic catch documentation and traceability app that automates catch documentation utilizing AI in identifying fish species.

7. Burket’s “Improvement and Assessment of Marketability of an AIpowered Buyer-Supplier Matching and Management System for Businesses in the Philippines” is a digitized procurement process for business-to-business transaction.

8. Zippee’s “Enhancement and Validation of Zippee Logistics: A Franchise B2B Logistics Platform for Truck Owners and Franchisees” is a B2B logistics service booking platform for truck owners and franchisees.

9. InsightSCS’s “Enhancing the MSME Supply Chain Experience by Integrating Cold Chain Solutions in DeliverE 2.0” integrates different agriculture stakeholders into a single digital platform, from farmerto-consumer, B2B and business-toconsumer, increasing process cycle efficiency by 63 percent, shortening the agriculture supply chain from 8 steps to 4 steps, and allowing transport f leet and warehouses monitoring.

10. Bizk it’s “Enhancement of BizKit [The first local centralized business suite] to better facilitate cross-functional and holistic business operations in the new normal” will streamline processes and information across the entire company and enable real time data visibility of business status.

L ear ning / Educ at ion: T hese technologies support remote learning, distance education and online learning in response to the surge in online

teaching in schools and universities.

11. CodeChum’s “Market Segme nt Va l id at ion a nd Ta rget i ng for CodeC hu m, A n On l i ne P ro g ra m m i ng C l a ss Pl at for m” i s a web-based platform for programming education for teachers and students.

12. Infinit LMS’s “Enhancement and Market Validation of Infinit Learning Management System with Outcomes-Based Education Analytics” is an LMS for online learning and sharing of materials and resources.

13. Ti n kerhou se’s “ En h a nce ment of P rotot y pe a nd M a rket Va l id at ion of T i n k e r C lu b s .com [A STEA M-Learning Platform for K- to - 6 L e a r ne r s]” i s a n on l i ne learning community platform that supports Science, Technolog y, Engineering, A rts and Math workshops, projects and learning kits for young students.

The Digitally empowered tools for public service: These enable government agencies to consistently deliver public services at a faster rate and a wider reach, but with enhanced accuracy and transparency.

14. OBX’s “Enhancement of Local Disaster Reporting and Response System” easily identifies and tracks the location of reported emergency needs.

The two other priority areas are: Work from home productivity tools: Remote workers can use them for connection, collaboration, workforce monitoring, time management, among others.

Content and talent development: Tech support for content and talent development, infusion/ enhancement of new digital tools and technologies, marketing and customer engagement activities.

PCR test, quarantine for PHL shrimp vs viruses

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ears before returning travelers were required to quarantine or get polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Covid-19, a research center is rigorously requiring the same for the country’s shrimp to ward off viruses and other pathogens that cause billions of dollars in losses to shrimp farms worldwide.

These are being done in a birthing center for tiger shrimp at a seaside town in Iloilo, a news release from the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (Seafdec/AQD) said.

After releasing their eggs, the mother shrimp, called spawners, are tested for the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), monodon baculovirus, infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus, yellow head virus, acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease and the parasite Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei.

Because pathogens can be passed on from spawners to eggs, all the eggs are disinfected before they are given entry to the highly biosecure tiger shrimp hatchery of the Seafdec/AQD. Shrimp farms rely on hatcheries to produce shrimp postlarvae, which are seeded into ponds.

But keeping stocks free of viruses has been a constant challenge as minute traces of pathogens at the hatchery can quickly escalate to an outbreak at the farm that could millions of pesos in losses.

The shrimp hatchery is the centerpiece of the research center’s "Oplan Balik Sugpo" program launched in 2017 by Seafdec/AQD Chief Dan Baliao to boost the production of high-quality shrimp seeds and help revive the tiger shrimp industry in the Philippines.

The country was once one of the top shrimp-producing countries in the world, harvesting 120,000 metric tons of tiger shrimp in 1992 worth $300 million, which was equivalent to $571 million or P27.4 billion in 2020.

Various shrimp diseases has shrunk

15 when the postlarvae are referred to as PL15. Postlarvae may be harvested for stocking into ponds between PL15 and PL20.

To date, disinfected eggs from several batches of infected spawners continue to be free from diseases, helping the experimental hatchery achieve a 19 percent survival rate (newly hatched shrimp to postlarvae) in 2020, more than double compared to only 9 percent in 2018 before egg disinfection was done.

Biosecurity measures

Tiger shrimp spawners are being checked if they are ready to spawn at the shrimp quarantine facility of the Seafdec/AQD. Seafdec/AQD the national production to roughly a third of the volume in 1992, or 42,000.45 metric tons worth P20.60 billion.

Saving shrimp eggs At the frontlines of the battle against shrimp diseases is Dr. Leobert de la Peña, a scientist and research division head of Seafdec/AQD. De la Peña noticed over the past two years an increasing number of wildcaught spawners delivered to the facility was infected with the notorious WSSV. “In the mid-2000s, we found that between 0.3 to ten percent of shrimp in the wild are infected with WSSV. Recently, we found out that about 60 percent of the spent spawners we tested are infected,” he said.

While spawning stress may help make pathogens more detectable in PCR, the tenfold increase gives a rough estimate of the alarming spread of WSSV that leads to a significant loss for hatcheries.

Back in 2018, eggs from infected mother shrimp would be promptly chlorinated and disposed, all 200,000 to 1 million of them per brood. Each spawner costs P1,500 to P2,000 while eggs that successfully develop to postlarvae are 20 to 25 centavos per piece.

“Now we collect the eggs from each spawner and wash them with UV [ultraviolet] light-sterilized seawater, after which the washed eggs are then disinfected with iodine before being finally rinsed with sterilized seawater,” de la Peña said.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization recommends that shrimp eggs and nauplii (newly hatched shrimp) must be washed and disinfected appropriately to prevent the transmission of viral, bacterial, fungal, and other diseases from broodstock.

De la Peña said eggs from infected and uninfected spawners are stocked separately but all continue to be tested for pathogens every five days until day

“Technologies in shrimp farming are constantly evolving, and, as scientists, we need to adapt to the current situation in the field,” de la Peña said.

Due to the prevalence of shrimp diseases that can spread through contact with infected shrimp, water, and other surfaces, the Seafdec/AQD shrimp hatchery practices extreme measures to keep out pathogens.

Hand sanitizers and foot baths are provided at entry points so that its staff and visitors can disinfect themselves as humans can also be a passive carrier of diseases. They are also required to take a shower and use scrub suits and boots.

Guests are off-limits for 48 hours if they previously visited another hatchery.

The water and air supply are UVsterilized, while a 0.45-micrometer cartridge filter guards the aeration system. Wastewater from the facility is also disinfected before being discharged.

Baliao also shared that Seafdec/AQD is further refining its protocols and technology for future collaborations with national agencies such as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the National Fisheries Research Development Institute.

“Seafdec/AQD is only getting started,” he said. “There is still much to be done, but our scientists and technicians are hard at work at refining our protocols and technology for the benefit of our stakeholders.”

Faith A6 Sunday, June 27, 2021

Sunday

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

Pope to elderly: The Church needs your prayers like ‘a deep breath’

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ATICAN—There is no “retirement” from spreading the faith, Pope Francis said in a message to grandparents recently, adding that the prayers of the elderly are needed by the Church and the world.

Pope Francis visits the San Raffaele Borona assisted living home in Rieti, Italy, in 2016. VATICAN MEDIA “Think about it: what is our vocation today, at our age? To preserve our roots, to pass on the faith to the young and to care for the little ones. Never forget this,” the 84-year-old pope said.

He said it does not matter how old one is, whether one works or not, and whether one has a family or is alone.

“Because there is no retirement age from the work of proclaiming the Gospel and handing down traditions to your grandchildren. You just need to set out and undertake something new,” he commented.

In his message ahead of the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Francis referred to his own advanced age, and quoted his

predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whom he called “a saintly elderly person who continues to pray and work for the Church.” “‘The prayer of the elderly can protect the world, helping it perhaps more effectively than the frenetic activity of many others.’ [Benedict] spoke those words in 2012, toward the end of his pontificate,” Francis said. “There is something beautiful here. Your prayer is a very precious resource: a deep breath that the Church and the world urgently need.”

“I was called to become the Bishop of Rome when I had reached, so to speak, retirement age and thought I would not be doing anything new,”

he noted. “The Lord is always—always—close to us. He is close to us with new possibilities, new ideas, new consolations, but always close to us. You know that the Lord is eternal; he never, ever goes into retirement.”

In January, Pope Francis established the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, to take place annually on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the feast of the grandparents of Jesus, Saints Anne and Joachim.

This year the celebration will fall on Sunday, July 25, and Pope Francis will offer a Mass with the elderly in St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the occasion.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life has assembled a “pastoral kit” for parishes and dioceses with suggestions for how to celebrate the first grandparents’ day.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Dicastery’s prefect, said during a news conference on June 22 that the day “is meant to be a great celebration. And truly, we need it. After such a difficult year, we need to celebrate grandparents, grandchildren, young, and old.”

The theme of this year’s grandparents’ day is “I am with you always,” taken from Matthew 28:20. “ This is the promise the Lord made to his d isciples before he ascended into heaven,” Francis explained in his message. “ They are the words that he repeats to you today, dear grandfathers and grandmothers, dear elderly friends.” “‘I am with you always’ are also the words that I, as Bishop of Rome and an elderly person like yourselves, would like to address to you on this first World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly,” he wrote. “The whole Church is close to you—to us—and cares about you, loves you and does not want to leave you alone.”

Pope Francis noted that his message came after the difficult period of the coronavirus pandemic, which “swept down on us like an unexpected and furious storm,” and was a time of trial especially for the elderly.

“Many of us fell ill, others died or experienced the death of spouses or

loved ones, while others found themselves isolated and alone for long periods,” he said. “The Lord is aware of all that we have been through in this time.

He is close to those who felt isolated and alone, feelings that became more acute during the pandemic.”

The pope encouraged people to visit their grandparents or other elderly or sick people, saying that they would be like “angels” to them.

He also urged the elderly to pray with the psalms and to read a page of the Gospel every day.

“We will be comforted by the Lord’s faithfulness. The Scriptures will also help us to understand what the Lord is asking of our lives today. For at every hour of the day (cf. Matthew 20:116) and in every season of life, He continues to send laborers into His vineyard,” he said.

As part of the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, the Vatican has also granted a plenary indulgence to those who participate, either by attending a related spiritual event or by physically or virtually visiting the elderly, sick, or disabled on July 25.

An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to sins that have already been forgiven.

The usual conditions for a plenary indulgence, which must be met, are that the individual be in the state of grace by the completion of the acts, have complete detachment from sin, and pray for the pope’s intentions.

The person must also sacramentally confess their sins and receive Communion, up to about 20 days before or after the indulgenced act.

The Apostolic Penitentiary said that the indulgence could also be gained by the elderly, sick, and anyone who cannot leave their homes for a serious reason, by uniting spiritually to the spiritual events of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, “offering to the Merciful God their prayers, pains or sufferings of their lives,” while following the words of the pope on that day through television, radio, or the internet. Hannah Brockhaus/

Catholic News Agency via CBCP News

White Gen X and millennial evangelicals losing faith in the conservative culture wars

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ince the 1970s, white American evangelicals—a large subsection of Protestants who hold to a literal reading of the Bible— have often managed to get specific privileges through their political engagement primarily through supporting the Republican Party.

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan symbolically consolidated the alliance by bringing religious freedom and morality into public conversations that questioned the separation of church and state.

In 2003, President George W. Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act into law. In October 2020, President Donald Trump appointed a conservative Christian, Amy Coney Barrett, to the Supreme Court, and went on to win 80 percent of the white evangelical vote in the following month’s election.

Trump went so far as to appoint a faith consultant board composed of inf luential evangelical leaders.

They included Paula White, a wellknown pastor and televangelist; and James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, a leading organization in evangelical efforts to embed “family values” into politics.

These panel members heralded gestures by Trump, such as signing the “Presidential Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty,” which targeted enforcement of the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 tax law requiring houses of worship to stay out of politics in order to remain tax-exempt.

Although it’s debated what specifically constitutes an evangelical, many agree that they are conservatives who are highly motivated by culture war issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and sexuality.

But even though evangelicals are often presented as monolithic in the media, current research signals a more complex picture.

Over the past six years, I have been working with an interdisciplinary team of scholars at the American Academy of Religion to analyze generational shifts in evangelicalism and religion more broadly in the United States.

We are finding that some of the younger evangelicals are openly questioning their religious and political traditions. In short, the majority of white evangelicals are aging and a portion of younger evangelicals are engaging in both religion and politics differently.

Leaving the faith versus reforming from within

My research consists of hours of participant observation within younger evangelical faith communities, along with 50 in-depth, qualitative inter v iews with individuals who were raised in the politically charged evangelicalism in the southeastern United States, a region dominated by evangelicals.

Taken together, this research indicates increasing disaffection among white millennial and Gen X evangelicals with the cultural and political preoccupations that have strongly motivated their parents and grandparents. There is a growing number of “Exvangelicals” who disavow their previous stances on same-sex marriage, race and sexuality.

Evangelicals, often citing the biblical text, typically maintain that marriage is between one man and one woman. Over 75 percent tend to worship in racially segregated congregations and favor gun rights and ownership more than other faith groups.

But my interviewees tend toward intense critiques of their previous religious tradition, as well as rejecting the evangelical faith completely.

This data parallels other scholarship unearthing racialized structures within white, American evangelicalism like the work of sociologist Robert P. Jones and religious studies scholar Anthea Butler. Likewise, historian Kristen Kobes Du Mez examines how hypermasculinity is embedded in American evangelicalism.

Expanding religion and politics

My research reveals communities of younger evangelicals who are expanding their religious boundaries and rethinking their stances on culture war issues, as well as questioning the merits of the culture war.

These younger evangelicals are trying to reform their communities from within the tradition as loyal but highly critical members. Sometimes these groups are called “emerging evangelicals” or “progressive Christians,” with some debating whether “evangelical” as a label is redeemable.

I observed several younger evangelicals working within their religious communities to encourage acceptance of those outside of the Christian tradition as co-religionists on similar faith paths.

They herald interfaith interactions as positive. One interviewee proudly detailed to me how her church partnered with the local imam and Muslim community to educate each other on their religious practices and volunteered together at a local food bank.

This kind of attitude typically is resisted by their older evangelical counterparts, as I learned in previous research. Many traditional evangelicals believe that their faith is the sole path to religious redemption, and interfaith cooperation might harm their followers.

Additionally, some younger evangelicals tend toward adopting spiritual resources outside of the Christian tradition. Whether incorporating meditation techniques or yoga, my interviewees highlighted the ways in which they are exploring their religious and spiritual beliefs.

This contrasts with older evangelicals who perceive their tradition as providing all necessary resources for spiritual growth and reject any outside or Eastern influences.

One interviewee noted that she had to change evangelical churches after her evangelical church prohibited her from being both a church member and a local yoga instructor.

Losing interest in the culture war

Many of the younger evangelicals in my study stated that their stances on culture war issues were significantly different from the evangelical majority of the past 50 years, which aligns with the findings of a 2017 Pew Research Center poll.

This survey found that younger

generations of millennials are more liberal than older evangelicals on numerous political issues.

My interviewees cited an acceptance and welcoming of those who identify as LGBTQ into their communities as both members and leaders. They support and ally with the objectives of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

In sum, they are actively dismantling many of the insider/outsider distinctions established by older white evangelicals and transforming what it means to be a politically engaged evangelical in America.

Furthermore, many of the people that I spoke with cited a culture war fatigue. Some believe that evangelicalism’s multi-decade investment in campaigning for these conservative stances and alliance with the Republican Party actually harmed the evangelical tradition instead of empowering it, while others are simply trying to opt out of the culture war and focus on their faith instead.

Interviewees also told me that often their views are creating familial conf lict, since their parents and grandparents cannot understand why any evangelical would not be committed to the older generations’ conservative political causes.

Political conversion

Research to date, including my own, has yet to measure how widespread these shifts of attitude and belief among young white evangelicals may be. But there is other evidence of internal unraveling.

Take a recent announcement by Beth Moore, an influential evangelical speaker and author, that she has decided to leave the Southern Baptist Convention—the largest evangelical group in the US—and end her relationship with a prominent evangelical publisher.

Or consider former Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president and pastor Russell Moore’s recent departure from the Southern Baptist Convention’s leadership, amid leaked communications over the denomination’s handling of racial issues. Terry

Shoemaker, Arizona State University/The Conversation (CC)

A traditional graveyard in Tokyo. The boards behind the graves show the Buddhist name the deceased receives after death. The number and prestige of the characters in the Buddhist name depends on the size of the donation to the temple. Wikimedia Commons

With lack of burial space, Japan’s ‘tree burials’ gain in popularity

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s the global population continues to grow, space for putting the dead to rest is at a premium.

In the US, some of the biggest cities are already short on burial land, and so are many other nations around the world.

At the same time, many nations are transforming funerary rituals, changing the way cemeteries operate and even destroying historic cemeteries to reclaim land for the living.

In Singapore, for example, the government has forcibly demolished family tombs in favor of columbariums, structures that can hold the urns of the cremated. Grave spaces in the city-state can be used only for a term of 15 years, after which the remains are cremated and the space is used for another burial.

In Hong Kong, gravesites are among the most expensive real estate per square foot and the government has enlisted pop stars and other celebrities to promote cremation over physical burial.

As a scholar who studies Buddhist funerary rituals and narratives about the afterlife, what interests me are the innovative responses in some Buddhist majority nations and the tensions that result as environmental needs clash with religious beliefs.

Practice of tree burial

As early as the 1970s, public officials in Japan were concerned about a lack of adequate burial space in urban areas.

They offered a variety of novel solutions, from cemeteries in distant resort towns where families could organize a vacation around a visit for traditional graveside rituals, to chartered bus trips to rural areas to bury loved ones.

Beginning in 1990, the Grave-Free Promotion Society, a volunteer social organization, publicly advocated for the scattering of human ashes.

Since 1999, the Shōunji Temple in northern Japan has attempted to offer a more innovative solution to this crisis through Jumokusō, or “tree burials.” In these burials, families place cremated remains in the ground and a tree is planted over the ashes to mark the gravesite.

The Shōunji parent temple opened a smaller temple site known as Chishōin in an area where there was already a small woodland. Here, in a small park, free from the large, stone markers of traditional Japanese grave sites, Buddhist priests perform annual rituals for the deceased.

Families are also still able to visit loved ones and perform their own religious rituals at the site—unlike the scattering of cremated remains promoted by the Grave-Free Promotion Society, which leaves the family without the specific ritual space required for traditional Confucian and Buddhist rituals.

While many families electing for tree burials do not explicitly identify as Buddhist or associate with a Buddhist temple, the practice reflects Japanese Buddhism’s larger interest in environmental responsibility.

Perhaps influenced by Shinto beliefs about gods living in the natural world, Japanese Buddhism has historically been unique among Buddhist traditions for its focus on the environmental world.

Whereas the earliest Indian Buddhist thought framed plants as nonsentient and, therefore, outside of the cycle of reincarnation, Japanese Buddhism frames flora as a living component of the cycle of reincarnation and, therefore, necessary to protect.

As a result, Japanese Buddhist institutions today often frame the challenge of humanity’s impact on the environment as a specifically religious concern. The head of the Shōunji temple has described tree burials as part of a uniquely Buddhist commitment to preserving the natural environment.

Social transformations

The idea of tree burials has proven so popular in Japan that other

temples and public cemeteries have mimicked the model, some providing burial spaces under individual trees and others spaces in a columbarium that surrounds a single tree.

Scholar Sébastian Penmellen Boret writes in his 2016 book that these tree burials reflect larger transformations in Japanese society.

After World War II, Buddhism’s influence on Japanese society declined as hundreds of new religious movements flourished. Additionally, an increasing trend toward urbanization undermined the ties that had traditionally existed between families and the local temples, which housed and cared for their ancestral gravesites.

Tree burials also cost significantly less than traditional funerary practices, which is an important consideration for many Japanese people struggling to support multiple generations.

The birth rate in Japan is one of the lowest in the world, so children often struggle without siblings to support ailing and deceased parents and grandparents.

Concern over traditional ceremonies

This move has not been without controversy. Religious and cultural communities across East Asia maintain that a physical space is necessary to visit the deceased for various afterlife rituals.

Confucian traditions maintain that it is the responsibility of the child to care for their deceased parents, grandparents and other ancestors through ritual offerings of food and other items.

During the festival of Obon, typically held in the middle of August, Japanese Buddhists will visit family graves and make food and drink offerings for their ancestors, as they believe the deceased visit the human world during this period. These offerings for ancestors are repeated biannually at the spring and fall equinoxes, called “ohigan.”

Additionally, some Buddhist temples have expressed concern that tree burials are irrevocably undermining their social and economic ties to local communities.

Since the institution of the Danka system in the 17th-century, Japanese Buddhist temples have traditionally held a monopoly on ancestral burial sites. They performed a variety of gravesite services for families to ensure their loved one has a good rebirth in return for annual donations.

American funeral traditions

Tree burials still remain a minority practice in Japan, but there is evidence they are quickly growing in popularity.

Japanese tree burials, however, mirror trends happening in burial practices in the United States.

Whereas in the past, grave slots were thought of as being in perpetuity, now most cemeteries offer burial leases for a maximum period of 100 years, with shorter leases both common and encouraged.

As represented by the pioneering work of mortician Caitlin Doughty and others, consumers are turning an increasingly doubtful eye to the accouterments of the traditional American funeral, including the public viewing of an embalmed body, a casket communicative of social status and a large stone marking one’s grave.

Part of this undoubtedly reflects sociological data indicating the decline of traditional religious institutions and a rise at the same time in alternative spiritualities.

However, above all, such efforts toward new forms of burial represent the fundamental versatility of religious rituals and spiritual practices as they transform to address emerging environmental and social factors.

Natasha Mikles,Texas State University/The Conversation (CC)

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

A7

Man-made reefs do more harm than good to oceans

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

cean conservation advocate and divemaster Danny Ocampo is appalled by the sight of plastic waste every time he takes a dive in Anilao, a famous dive spot in the town of Mabini in Batangas.

Nestlé PH intensifies info drive against plastic waste

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estlé Philippines (Nestlé PH) has intensified its information drive to help address the plastic waste crisis in the country, its news release said.

The Philippines ranks third among the world’s largest sources of ocean plastic waste, considered one of the “greatest environmental challenges today,” according to the statement.

“As a food and beverage manufacturing company, Nestlé Philippines is committed to tackle plastic waste as an urgent priority in all stages of its value chain,” Nestlé PH SVP and public affairs, communications and sustainability head Arlene TanBantoto said.

“We are also working to drive new understanding and behavior on waste and waste management and support both our consumers and employees in their efforts to live a more sustainable lifestyle,” Tan-Bantoto said.

During the World Oceans Day celebration, Nestlé PH launched “Isabuhay sa Bahay” challenge for its employees who want to take an active role in helping care for the planet by accomplishing different tasks.

Through the initiative, the company and its employees would strengthen their promise to the planet, which they made during the Net Zero Fair in April.

To prepare for the challenge, employees attended a training-workshop with Anna Oposa, executive director and chief mermaid of Save Philippine Seas.

The workshop discussed “zerowaste lifestyle tips, an introduction to segregation, and composting of three important areas” to help them practice responsible solid waste management at home.

“Every lifestyle change you make

depends on your context, resources, and capacity. Whatever you are able to commit to is already a step in the right direction,” Oposa said.

The session participants learned practical ways to cut down waste at home; the importance of segregation and the types of waste that fall under the recyclable, residual, and biodegradable categories; and the methods and benefits of composting.

But more than just practicing these home activities, Oposa encouraged them to extend their efforts to the community.

She said they can support sustainability efforts of corporations and organizations by reaching out to people in authority when needed and influencing others by example.

Nestlé PH is “addressing the complex challenge of plastic waste” with the support of key sectors and partners, including consumers.

For a waste-free future to become a reality, the company engaged in ef for ts that encourage behav ioral change.

These include the development of solid-waste management education modules endorsed by the National Solid Waste Management Commission.

The modules were given out to thousands of public schools for Grades 1 to 10 students through Nestlé’s partnership with the Department of Education under the Nestlé Wellness Campus program.

Condensed versions of the modules were also made available to parents and teens for home use.

In partnership with Plastic Credit Exchange, Nestlé has also established plastic waste collection points at SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa and SM Fairview.

Ocampo, together with his fellow dive enthusiasts, makes it a point to pick up trash, mostly single-use plastics on the ocean floor, as part of their diving and sightseeing activities.

“But what [are we] to do with garbage?” he asked.

Ocampo refers to the wreckages or remnants of failed artificial reef and coral gardening projects that he finds on the ocean floor, which end up polluting the coastal and marine environment in the Philippines.

On his Facebook post to celebrate World Oceans Day on June 8, Ocampo shared the photos he took from his past dives, expressing dismay over what he calls the creeping garbage of man-made reefs.

Man-made reefs An artificial reef is a man-made structure deployed in the ocean to mimic the functions and characteristics of a natural reef.

In the Philippines, the deployment of artificial reefs or artificial habitats aims to address the decline in fish production by allowing the natural regeneration and recolonization of degraded coral reefs and their environment.

Coral gardening, meanwhile, is a method of regenerating corals by transplanting live coral fragments either over the surface of a natural structure such as rocks or degraded reefs, or man-made structures deployed for the purpose. It also aims to provide another tourist attraction in the oceans.

Feel-good projects According to Ocampo, diving resorts offer artificial reef and coral gardening projects in their tour packages for foreign and local tourists, which they consider a way of bringing back to life the country’s degraded coastal and marine environment. “[These tourists] feel good leaving behind something, but after a year this is what happens,” Ocampo told the BusinessMirror in an interview over Zoom on June 20.

“These projects are supposed to have permits from the government.

Some are even implemented together with the BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources], Philippine

Navy, and [Philippine] Coast Guard,” he lamented.

Fad since the 70s Dr. Wilfredo Y. Licuanan, founding director of the Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research Center of the De La Salle University (DLSU), said artificial reef or artificial habitat projects became widespread in the 1970s up to the 1980s.

This period saw old tires, and even old cars, dropped on the ocean floors to provide artificial homes to fish or as replacements to coral reefs damaged by destructive fishing methods.

He also said that even old ships were sunk to provide an artificial habitat for fish and other marine life—an old practice but not a very good idea.

Reef heals itself “One of the things we point out why it’s not a good idea is, in most cases, it is best to just allow the reef to heal itself,” he said.

A full professor at the DLSU Biology Department, Licuanan explained that similar projects commonly shown on social media are not addressing the reason why the reefs are dying to begin with.

“If the factors that kill the corals are still there, gathering the corals in one place makes them more likely to die because they are not normally transferred,” he said.

Licuanan noted that there is a joint order that provides the guidelines for the establishment and management of artificial reefs in the Philippines, referring to the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources, Agriculture and National Defense Memorandum 2000-01.

According to Licuanan, artificial reefs and coral gardening should require special permits from the local mayor and BFAR. The regulation was put in place because these artificial reef and coral gardening projects, which were borne out of the goodness of people, lack the much-needed science, he said.

However, these guidelines were not implemented or followed, resulting in failed projects, including those implemented by communities without the guidance of concerned authorities and experts in related fields of science.

Failed artificial reef and coral gardening projects show fragments of abandoned dead corals. Danny Ocampo

Different reef species Many believe that what they see on social media could be replicated anywhere else, but “they need to realize that there are different species of reefs,” Licuanan said.

The Philippines has, by conservative estimate, about 600 species of reefs, while other areas have no more than 50 coral species.

“This is the big difference,” he said.

Another difference is that rich countries such as the US can spend money on reefs, but this is “not realistic for low- or middle-income countries like the Philippines.”

In a Department of Science and Technology-funded project, Licuanan undertook a nationwide assessment of the coral reefs in the Philippines and found that they are in a worst state.

“Zero percent of the country’s coral reefs are in excellent condition,” he said.

Extensive study needed For coral reef and coral gardening projects to succeed, Licuanan said there should be an extensive study on where an artificial reef can be deployed, stay in place and not easily destroyed by ocean current, especially during strong typhoons. It should also determine which coral species can be used in coral gardening for a particular area.

“Because of the huge number of species here in the Philippines, even experts have difficulty identifying them, so that’s already a problem,” he said.

When the wrong coral species is placed beside another species, one of them tends to die due to competition for essential nutrients, food and space.

Alarming trend According to Licuanan, there is reason to be alarmed when an increasing number of resorts with diving schools or offer diving as an attraction includes artificial reef and coral gardening project as part of a tour package.

He noted that some resort owners who have the capacity to finance such projects—without consulting the experts—may exploit the good intention of people.

In coral gardening, for instance, he noted that some fishermen tapped by these resorts tend to gather live coral fragments by cutting them off from healthy corals and offering them as “corals of opportunity” to be transplanted by tourists.

Reef monitoring Licuanan said that, to help protect and conserve these corals, activities should be limited and communities should be empowered to help in reef monitoring.

Reef monitoring, he said, will enable concerned authorities to know in advance which reefs, natural or manmade, are exposed to serious threats, and can then introduce measures to reduce stress to the threatened corals. This is particularly helpful in case of ocean warming that cause coral bleaching.

“Monitoring provides us early warning. We can identify the areas [where corals are] prone to bleaching as opposed to areas [where] corals recover that are not experiencing bleaching at all. That way, we can do something about it,” he said.

For his part, Ocampo appealed to resort owners and fellow divers to organize activities to help protect and conserve the corals, such as monitoring various threats to them.

Besides coral bleaching, divers can also undertake activities that will address, if not prevent, the outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish that can extensively damage and even wipe out an entire coral reef in a matter of days.

More important, he said, is for dive resorts, dive instructors and divers themselves to discourage artificial reef and coral gardening projects that tend to do more harm than good to the coastal and marine environment.

Coral restoration in Marinduque begins T

Deployment and planting of coral fragments in coral nursery units with the support of fisherfolk in Barangay Tungib-Lipata, Buenavista. DOST-Mimaropa

he Department of Science and Technology has collaborated w it h t he prov inc i a l government of Marinduque, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), local government units and their fisherfolk to deploy coral transplantation technology off the coast of Buenavista, Marinduque, the DOST said in a news release.

This is the first large-scale restoration effort in the Mimaropa region that seeks to reverse reef degradation and improve the productivity of marine resources.

Ten coral nursery units (CNUs) were placed in the Marine Protected Areas of Tungib-Lipata in Buenavista on June 10 and 11, while another 10 CNUs were established in Poctoy, Torrijos, on June 22 and 23.

CNUs are used to facilitate the

growth of the asexually reproduced corals or live coral fragments—also known as the “corals of opportunity” (COPs)—dislodged from a colony through the natural process of fragmentation.

CNUs are set up 25 feet underwater with each CNU designed to hold 500 COPs per batch several times a year.

The technology was developed by the University of San Carlos under the “Filipinnovation on Coral Reef Restoration Program” of the DOSTPhilippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development.

In 2018, the DOST-Mimaropa initiated the assessment of coral reef areas in Marinduque through t he adopt ion of t he Autom ated Rapid Reef Assessment System (Arras) that successfully generated a

comprehensive report and maps of the coral reef and seagrasses.

Arras is a program for coral reef monitoring developed by the University of the Philippines Diliman and funded by the DOST. The long-term monitoring project revealed that major areas in the province have no live coral cover due to siltation and sedimentation along the coast. Hence, a high priority for management and protection was recommended for these degraded areas.

For a holistic approach to address the problem, DOST-Mimaropa collaborated with different stakeholders, including government agencies and communities.

The provincial offices of the BFAR and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources conducted their monitoring and evaluation to

provide pertinent data for the project and processed the necessary permits.

Meanwhile, the provincial government of Marinduque and Marinduque State College engaged experts to install, monitor and maintain these CNUs and covered training expenses.

DOST-Mimaropa led in procuring and deploying the CNUs, provided technical diving experts, conducted periodic monitoring and evaluation of the coral’s growth and survivorship and conducted forum and other awareness activities.

It also ensured that communities were involved in the activities—from planting the coral fragments to setting up the CNUs. The office plans to deploy the technology to six other municipalities in Marinduque by the end of July.

S&T Media Service

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 | S

unday, June 27, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

VINOKOUROV

Vinokourov out of Astana team

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REST, France—Alexandre Vinokourov was relieved of his managerial duties as team principal of Astana-Premier Tech on Thursday just two days before the start of the Tour de France.

The team said in a statement that the former Olympic road champion will step down following a decision from the board of directors and will move to another role.

The team did not specify the reason for his removal.

Giuseppe Martinelli and Steve Bauer will take over Vinokourov’s responsibilities “for the foreseeable future,” the team said.

Vinokourov won the 2006 Spanish Vuelta and four individual stages at the Tour de France between 2003-10. He was banned for two years after testing positive for blood doping at the 2007 Tour but came back to win the men’s road race at the 2012 London Olympics.

He started his managerial career after retiring that year.

The Tour de France starts Saturday from the port city of Brest in the western Brittany region.

The Astana team changed its name to Astana—Premier Tech this year as the Canadian company joined as co-sponsor. AP

BROMELL: BOLT’S HEIR APPARENT?

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UGENE, Oregon—Usain Bolt figures his world record is safe for now.

But that Olympic gold medal—well, it has to go to somebody else this summer.

The 34-year-old Bolt, retired since 2017, will watch from the comfort of his home in Jamaica as someone other than him captures the title in the 100—and later the 200—for the first time since 2004.

One of Bolt’s favorites in the 100 at the rescheduled Tokyo Games will be Trayvon Bromell, who won the event last weekend at the US Olympic track and field trials.

“The fact I get to watch, it’s wonderful and it’s a breath of fresh air for me,” Bolt told The Associated Press on Thursday. “But I’m competitive. And just to see somebody going out there and winning the 100 meters without me is going to be weird.

But I’m excited to watch.”

He likes Bromell for his speed and his story. Bromell was an upand-comer who finished tied for third at the 2015 world championships in a race Bolt won when he passed Justin Gatlin at the line for a .01-second victory. But Bromell dealt with persistent Achilles-heel issues following the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games that kept him on

the sideline for chunks of time.

He has since reemerged and once again demonstrates blazing speed.

“Bromell is showing great promise,” said Bolt, who shares an agent with Bromell. “I must say, it’s something I’m looking forward to.

He’s been a talent over the years and proven himself to be good. But he’s had some bad injuries. He’s showing up this season. I’m looking forward to seeing him in the Olympics.”

As for the 100 record of 9.58 seconds—set at the 2009 world championships—Bolt doesn’t see anyone breaking that. Not this season, anyway.

Possibly down the road.

“But let’s see what happens next,” Bolt said. “I’m keeping my eyes on Bromell because I know the times and seen the work. I’m keeping my eyes on next year and the years to come.”

Bolt stays plenty busy at home in Kingston. He and his partner, Kasi Bennett, recently had twins they named Saint Leo and Thunder. They also have a daughter named Olympia Lightning.

About that name Thunder: “I just wanted to make a statement—Thunder Bolt. He’s going to love it when he grows up. That’s a good name.”

Perhaps a powerful track name,

too—just like Usain Bolt.

The charismatic Bolt has eight Olympic gold medals on his resume. (A ninth, in the 2008 4x100 relay, was stripped because of a doping case involving a teammate).

Bolt had a signature pose after wins, too, and broke numerous records, including the 200 (19.19), which he also set in 2009.

Nowadays, instead of breaking records, he’s making them as part of his music label. The sprinter, who years ago cofounded a Jamaican restaurant-night club called Tracks & Records, focuses on reggae but he envisions branching into the hiphop realm at some point.

“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Bolt said of his burgeoning music career. “I’m spending time in Jamaica to really pursue it and really put some energy behind it. That’s something that I’m looking forward to.”

Although he enjoys the more easygoing pace of his new life, he does miss the world track stage and consistently putting on a memorable show. But one thing always snaps him back to reality— the workouts.

“When I go to the track and start training, I don’t miss it that much,” Bolt cracked. AP

USAIN BOLT likes Trayvon Bromell for his speed and his story. AP

INQUIRY ALLEGES DOPING CORRUPTION IN WEIGHTLIFTING

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ENEVA—A culture of alleged corruption among international weightlifting officials was detailed Thursday in an investigative report of coveredup doping cases for athletes who won Olympic and world championship medals.

Three of the sport’s longtime leaders—former International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) president Tamás Aján, vice president Nicolae Vlad and executive board member Hasan Akkus—were charged with a range of complicity and tampering offenses under the World Anti-Doping Code.

Alleged misconduct for a decade up to 2019, including 146 unresolved doping cases, was laid out in a 50-page document.

The investigation was run by the

International Testing Agency (ITA), which manages anti-doping programs for Olympic sports.

Reasons for the failures to prosecute some doping cases ranged from “chaotic organizational processes” and errors to “outright negligence, complicity, or—at worst—blatant and intentional cover-ups,” ITA investigators wrote. A total of 29 cases cannot be prosecuted due to destroyed evidence or expiring statute of limitations.

Aján and Vlad were implicated in allowing a woman from Vlad’s home country, Romania, whom they knew was implicated in doping offenses, to compete and win a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. The lifter, Roxana Cocoș, was stripped of her medal

years later when retests revealed her steroid use.

The ITA has proposed lifetime bans for Aján and Vlad, while Akkus has been offered a four-year ban. If they don’t accept the bans, the ITA will prosecute the charges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s anti-doping tribunal.

Vlad was a gold medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and longtime ally of Aján at the IWF. Aján was ousted after 20 years as IWF president in the fallout of the allegations first aired by German broadcaster ARD in January 2020.

The ITA report gave “significant credit” to the German program for its “robust investigative journalism.”

The documentary The Lord of the Lifters alleged financial and

anti-doping misconduct and led to an initial IWF-appointed investigation last year by Richard McLaren, the Canadian law professor who uncovered much of the Russian state doping scandal.

Now 82, Aján also resigned his honorary membership of the International Olympic Committee last year. He had been a full member for 10 years until 2010 and took part in choosing Olympic host cities, including Beijing, Sochi and Rio de Janeiro.

Vlad continues to be an IWF vice president and an influential figure as the governing body prepares to elect Aján’s successor. Akkus heads weightlifting’s European governing body.

Weightlifting’s place at the 2024 Paris Olympics is at risk with the

Danish officials confirm at least 7 people infected with delta variant in Euro 2020

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OPENHAGEN, Denmark—At least seven people have tested positive for the coronavirus after attending European Championship soccer games in Copenhagen, Danish health officials said Thursday.

Authorities urged thousands of fans who were at Denmark’s game against Belgium on June 17 to get checked for the virus after at least five people were found to be positive with the delta variant.

Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that about 4,000 people sat near at least some of those who tested positive.

The other two positive cases stemmed from the team’s game against Russia on Monday.

“I don’t know which variant it is, but again that’s a match where people are sitting very close together,” said Thomas Rydahl, the head of the safety and security services for the games in Copenhagen.

Also, Finnish broadcaster YLE reported that at least 80 infections have been found in people who entered Finland from Russia in recent days. They reportedly were soccer fans returning from St. Petersburg, where Finland played two of its Euro 2020 matches.

Authorities in the Russian city tightened anti-coronavirus restrictions last week in an effort to curb a spike in new infections.

That included closing food courts in the city’s shopping malls and its Euro 2020 fan zone.

Separately, the governing body of European soccer said Thursday it was “satisfied with the overall situation” in the tournament’s 11 host stadiums across the continent, where public authorities take the lead on managing virus issues.

“The overall rates of positive results following the group stage of the Euro 2020 tournament are still marginally low,” UEFA said in a statement.

All those who attended the three Euro 2020 games in Copenhagen had to provide valid documents showing they were not infected with Covid-19 before being allowed to enter Parken Stadium.

About 25,000 fans attended the host team’s game against Belgium as restrictions began to ease in the country. Only about 16,000 were allowed inside the stadium for Denmark’s opening match against Finland.

The head of the Danish Agency

for Patient Safety said the people were infected independently of each other and were infected during the game.

“They did not get symptoms until three or four days later, which means that there must have been some kind of unknown source of infection present in the section where they sat,” Anette Lykke Petri told Danish broadcaster DR. Denmark has reported 249 case of the delta variant since April 2.

“In our risk assessment, we have expected somewhere between 10 to 20 infected,” Rydahl said.

“We trace persons that way that every ticket holder needs to register with their name and contact details so we know for each seat who has been sitting there,” Rydahl added. “Then we can provide those data through the ticketing system to the authorities.”

The Danish Patient Safety Authority said there is no recommendation to go in isolation.

Copenhagen will host one more match at Euro 2020 on Monday in the round of 16. Spain will face Croatia in that game.

Denmark next plays against Wales in Amsterdam on Saturday.

The cases in Copenhagen and Finland are among the most notable virus intrusions on Euro 2020, which was postponed after the pandemic was declared last year.

Only a few players from the 24 teams have tested positive and missed games. England players Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell had to self-isolate as close contacts of Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for Covid-19. The three Chelsea teammates had a long talk in the tunnel after their teams played last Friday in London.

UEFA used the first day of no games at Euro 2020 since June 11 to update on managing virus risks.

Asked how Gilmour got the virus within the tournament bubble, Euro 2020 chief medical officer Dr. Zoran Bahtijarević said it was “extremely hard to trace where the infection happened, almost impossible.”

Bahtijarević, the long-time Croatian national team doctor, said a couple of UEFA staff members have tested positive in the 11 different cities hosting games.

“So far we did not really find any unusual results, any unusual peaks,” he said, “that are connected with the mass event.” AP

IOC warning it wants to see reforms and the sport cleaned up.

IWF interim president Michael Irani said in a statement that the investigation showed “just how dark the dark days of our sport were.”

“To all those athletes who were cheated of the opportunity to compete fairly, I would like to offer the IWF’s unreserved apology,” said Irani, who previously served on Aján’s executive board.

The ITA investigation also detailed how weightlifting officials evaded World AntiDoping Agency

scrutiny over several years.

Under Aján, the IWF decided it “could simply ignore Wada’s repeated requests to be provided with doping sanction information in a timely and accurate manner.”

Wada said Thursday it had in the past “limited powers to act against international federations that engaged in the sort of behavior that is alleged.” AP ROMANIA’S Roxana Cocos competes in the women’s 69-kg class at the London 2012 Olympics. AP

BusinessMirror

June 27, 2021

New-school cheating?

Online learning has changed the way students work

2

BusinessMirror JUNE 27, 2021 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

FINDING DADDY

St. Vincent connects with ‘elusive father figure’ in latest album

I

ST. VINCENT (Photo by Zackery Michael)

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.

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By Stephanie Joy Ching

NSPIRED by the early 1970s New York music scene and the recent release of her father from incarceration, St Vincent (Annie Clark) releases her seventh studio album, Daddy’s Home. With its rich and atmospheric instrumentation combined with Clark’s smoky, crooning vocals, the album is her way of connecting with the “elusive father figure” in her life.

“To me, it’s the music that my father introduced me to. And I would say that I mostly knew him through the music that he liked or the books that he would give us or show us. So having that music from an early age is a sort of connection I had to an elusive father figure, it kind of tied into it really nicely with making the record,” she said in a recent exclusive interview with SoundStrip.

The album also marks one of the biggest leaps Clark’s taken as an artist, stating that the type of music on the record is “much more sophisticated” compared to “straight pop” while confessing that she did not know if she was “capable of approaching it until now.”

“As a musician, it’s the kind of music that I really revere and I didn’t feel I was capable of approaching until now-having something to say and putting my own spin on it and having to convincingly play this style,” she said.

Despite her initial doubts, the results paid off in the end. From the sassy, strutting tone of “Pay Your Way In Pain” to the somber tunes of “Melting in the Sun” to the cool defiant “My Baby Wants a Baby”, each song comes together to form an interesting cocktail of sounds.

The instrumentals are slick and bombastic which pair nicely with Clark’s sassy, rock-esque vocals that can swing from confident and defiant to a crooning, modern Edith Piaf-like tone. Combined with her usual eccentric lyricism, the album

manages to blend confidence, melancholy and a hint of modern blues from Jack Antonoff’s contributions to some of the tracks.

Though Clark shared that she wrote almost half the record during the pandemic, she made it a point to not actually write about it. For her, she felt that she “didn’t have much to say.”

“I felt that I don’t have anything to say about it specifically that will be useful since we all kind of had our own bouts with that kind of isolation,” she said.

She also shared that being someone who would normally choose isolation “even if the world was open,” she felt that she still got

ST. VINCENT (Photo by Zackery Michael)

“the same amount of work done.”

The only difference was that there was no “accidental inspiration’’ to be seen.

“You had to seek inspiration out,” she remarked about the time she spent writing the album, “(It’s) like reading a book or watching a film. Cause there’s not a whole lot of that kind of life that just happens when you’re in the city walking around and you see something unbelievable happen that sparks a train of thought.

So I think that was the main difference.”

St. Vincent’s Daddy’s Home is now available on all major streaming platforms.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | JUNE 27, 2021

BUSINESS

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

CAVALCADE OF NEW SOUNDS From the PHL and UK

KAPITAN KULAM Self-titled

I

NSTRUMENTAL hard rock has its trademark sound and this Pinoy rock act knocks out that heaviness to the fullest. The four tracks on their eponymous EP find Kapitan Kulam takes the blues rock jam from spacey to eerie and back again in sonic cycles that in another lifetime would have merited an expanding amoeba on the wall.

“Agimat” sets up the template for the charm right at the opening tiff kick-starting with a groovy backbeat before ‘70s Santana-like riffs slash the pumped-up sonics.

“Manga” transforms the modus to Sabbath-like thunder and by the final track “Wild Flower,” the drone and the monster noise collide and collapse in a 5-minute roller coaster run.

talents is credited to the Dilman campus-based UP Music Circle which serves as a venue for music enthusiasts.

It’s a curious collection, first, because by the track titles alone, none of the 15 acts has anything to say in the spirit of the State University’s long-standing tradition of progressive, nay, activist thinking. Not to disparage the general effort to push for fresh talents but FLK!’s “Who Dis?” would rather talk about “sugar daddies” and “being a bitch” What’s up with that, iskolar ng bayan?

The music, except for the White Stripes drive of Sunny Blues and the dream pop ambition of Heavenly Nobody, stays stuck in the groovy soullounge-fey pop of an older generation. It’s as if today’s state scholars lack the initiative to set the tone for tomorrow’s music.

Homegrown, in this instance, could be interpreted to mean untroubled, contented while the motherland is undergoing an extraordinary crisis.

E H

OME, in this case, is the University of the Philippines campus and the artists featured in this compilation got their start and have been nurtured by the UP system. The release of this showcase of up-and-coming

YEDRESS, otherwise known as Idris Vicuña, is a Filipino singer, musician and producer signed to an international record label. Now based in the US, he has absorbed the lo-fi production aesthetics of his new homeland and in the case of his new album titled “Let’s Skip the Wedding,” Eyedress appears partial to a minimalist approach to shoegaze, Meaning, he allows the pop or the rock and roll underpinning of

opportunity to sound elegiac yet buoyant of what lies ahead.

BLACK MIDI Cavalcade

T

PAUL WELLER Fat Pop Volume 1

A

EYEDRESS Let’s Skip the Wedding

THE UP MUSIC CIRCLE VA- Homegrown 2021

his songs to shine through the allconsuming sensurround of shoegaze.

He does it most of the time anyway. Jangly guitars ride atop the ‘gaze in “Skateboarding Day.” Machine beats propel the title track to dance-friendly new wave heaven. “I Don’t Wanna Be Your Friend” reveals its pop-rocking heart like a lost ‘now found 60s garage punk classic. Still, memories of shoegazey atmospherics from The Cure and The Chameleons show up in “Pay Attention” and “Can’t You See Me Tonight?.”

FTER his angry young man phase with The Jam, Paul Weller aka The Modfather has come to associate his name with melodic pop music on which he sings about yearning for bygone days and hope for the future. His 16th and latest solo album is no different.

The album title focuses on the pop, which actually draws from his superb traditional inspirations like The Beatles, Britpop and Motown then complements them with songs that deal with happier days and better times.

Midway through the album, in a trio of tunes, “Shades of Blue,” “Glad Times” and “Testify,” Weller expertly delivers his musical aces in a golden shower of licks that touches on mod-rock, primordial soul music and upbeat classic pop. They become the prism reflecting impressive colorings on subsequent tracks. By album closer, “Still Glides The Stream,” the Modfather deserves the

HIS young British band unleashed the mighty, earbending mother of a debut in Schlagenheim, a psychedelic jam that stitched metal, jazz and noise in a mesh of hardcore punk backbeat. Their second and latest album rather sweetly titled “Cavalcade” is, from interviews with the band, supposed to be more structured than the “mess” of their first release. Black MIDI members had time to think things over during prolonged lockdowns instigated by the pandemic.

That so-called ‘structure’ can be heard in new album opener John L.” where Mahavishnu Orchestra jazz fusion meets Sun Ra space rock in a methodical jam.

Next track “Marlene Dietrich” is a lovely sultry ode to the film actress; this time, bossa nova groove adds to its bewitching spell.

Elsewhere, “Slow” is cocooned in florid orchestral flourishes that wouldn’t be out of place in a Queen album. “Diamond Stuff,” on the other hand, maintains a link with the debut album, with its serial mini-sections of explosive then quiet moments.

What’s becoming clear is that with “Cavalcade,” the already inscrutable Black MIDI would rather maintain the mystique of being difficult to pin down.

The music in this review can be heard on most digital music platforms, especially Bandcamp.

3

New-school cheating?

Online learning has changed the way students work

By Linda Rowan & Fiona Murray

ams, what are the grounds for accusations of cheating? These grey areas reflect the generally opaque nature of the post-Covid world.

Specifically, what exactly is wrong with students discussing problems, proposing solutions and presenting their own interpretation as their answer?

Teaching Consultant, Massey University

S

ince Covid-19 pushed teaching and testing online last year, the issue of cheating has come into sharper focus.

Exams must evolve Photo by Kevin Ku on Unsplash

Recent reports of University of Auckland students allegedly cheating in online exams highlighted the potential for dishonesty in a trust-based system. But the problem also highlights a tension between cultures: the increasingly online world of higher education, and the everyday world of students.

This has made “cheating” in exams a more complex and evolving question than it once was. It also has implications for the credibility and value of university education and how we perceive student learning.

Traditionally, entry to university exams was controlled using student identity card photo checks. Set in large rooms, exams were invigilated to ensure students couldn’t communicate with each other in order to cheat. Everyone had their place, and what students could take into the room was described and restricted. Teachers set the exams, the students sat them, exams were marked and final grades given—simple enough.

Covid-19 changed all that. For institutions where “blended” (face-to-face and online) learning had already been integrated, the digital switch was not so dramatic. But teachers and students who relied on paper-based or face-to-face

teaching and learning faced something of a crisis: how to integrate existing practices with new technology.

A rushed revolution Of course, the adjustment wasn’t equal.

While some teachers and many students could quickly grab the latest device, connect to Wi-fi and carry on, others struggled to access workable devices and Internet connections.

Universities, teachers and students had to engage with software that couldn’t cope.

Meanwhile, new software was evolving as fast as Covid. We shouldn’t be surprised if the university behemoth struggled to adapt or change fast enough.

Often, paper-based exams were simply transferred into online learning systems with little restructuring to suit the changed circumstances.

Incidences of cheating didn’t appear as prevalent at the end of 2020’s first trimester/semester—possibly because everyone was caught on the hop by what was happening.

However, students have shown they can cope with rapid change. Resourceful and adaptable, they have created their own ways of working and systems for informa-

tion exchange. They form remote and close study groups, work collaboratively and draw on each other’s strengths.

Essentially, they are demonstrating the innovative, adaptable learning skills our education system and future employers expect of them. So why should we be surprised if students apply the same approach to online examinations?

Encouraging collaboration Universities often struggle to explain to students why academic integrity is important (the University of Otago being an exception). Unfortunately, most university policies conflate academic integrity and academic misconduct.

We would argue that definitions of collusion as “working with others when it is not a group assignment” and “providing information to other students” are out of step with the new teaching and learning environment and its expectations.

Furthermore, we know learning collaboratively encourages higher-order understanding—yet the current environment continues to require individual assessment of students. If education systems and teachers can’t provide specific guidance about preparing for and sitting online ex-

In the networked world, the line between what is original and what is adapted is more blurred every day. It isn’t always possible to decide what is original and unique in order to give it individual credit.

If exams are designed to assess higher-order cognitive development—demonstrating individual ability to synthesize and apply knowledge—surely collaboration can be the vehicle for what educationalist John Biggs calls deeper learning. Can’t examination practices change to capture this?

Rather than universities continuing to define student activities via traditional regulation, perhaps instead educators need to think strategically to tap into this new student energy.

University exams need to check for individual (or collective) application, evaluation and synthesis of knowledge, not just rote learning and recall of study notes. It is evident the tertiary environment is evolving and students have demonstrated their creativity in banding together to solve problems in a modern way. Now is the time for examiners and exams to get smarter, too.

Traditional ways of operating are behind us. We need to keep moving forward—away from the comfortable and into the confusing jungle of synthesized, regenerated and expanding knowledge. The Conversation

The wolf is back: Virtual Big Bad Wolf book sale 2021 opens this week

By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez

T

he world’s biggest book sale returns to the Philippines this Wednesday, albeit virtually.

The annual Big Bad Wolf (BBW) book fair, which offers some 60,000 titles at discounted prices, will be held from June 30 to July 7 on e-commerce site, signup-ph.bbwbooks.com/.

According to cofounder Jacqueline Ng, this year’s pivot to an online sale aims to minimize the risk of Covid-19 transmission and make the event more accessible to bookworms outside of Metro Manila. The event will feature bigger title selections in a variety of genres, from children and adult fiction

to self-help and other nonfiction best sellers.

“Whenever we do physical sales, we have logistics and location constraints in terms of the number of books we can bring,” Ng said during the event’s recent launch. “For [the online sale], we opened up our whole inventory.”

The book sale was launched in Malaysia back in 2009. It has since gone global and toured 34 cities in 12 countries.

With web site traffic expected to surge throughout the duration of the sale, BBW cofounder Andrew Yap assured that the site will be running smoothly.

“Even up until our sixth year, we were still struggling with web site traffic,” he said. “The system’s more stable now.”

4 BusinessMirror

Book hunting is now easier, too, as users will be able to browse for books by genre or search by keywords, title, author, or International Standard Book Number (ISBN).

The shipping fee is calculated upon checkout, depending on the volume and weight of the purchase and the location of the delivery. Shipping may take two to three weeks as the books will be shipped from Malaysia.

“Unfortunately, cash-on-delivery is not an option for us,” Ng said. “Although we offer several payment options.”

Online payments will be accepted through e-payment providers including Dragonpay, eGHL, GCash, GrabPay, as well as online bank transactions through BDO and BPI. Free shipping is offered anywhere June 27, 2021

in the Philippines for a minimum purchase of P2,900.

To help raise awareness on the importance of reading, BBW has also partnered with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) in a joint effort to uphold copyright and intellectual property values within the publishing industry and to recognize the principles surrounding copyright laws and the need to safeguard the authors and content creators.

“We’ve always been warmly welcomed in the Philippines, and we’re thrilled to be able to come back virtually,” Ng said. “In the future, once the pandemic dissipates and the world re-opens its borders, we certainly look forward to hosting more physical book sales in the Philippines.”