BusinessMirror March 27, 2022

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A broader look at today’s business

Sunday, March 27, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 170

CHILDREN CROSSING: PREDATORS LURKING n

P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

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AS STUDENTS PREPARE FOR RETURN TO CAMPUS, GROUP CALLS FOR BETTER IMPLEMENTATION OF CHILD PROTECTION POLICIES IN SCHOOLS

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HE school is considered a child’s safe haven for learning and interacting with other children and their teachers; but when a child is afraid to go to school, the purpose of a school comes into question.

One reason may be the school itself and the environment it provides for the school children. The school was cited by 80 percent of children and youth who reported incidents of abuse and violence in their lifetime, along with the community and their homes, according to the 2016 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children, the first-ever study of its kind conducted in the Philippines.

Whether the abuse and violence occurred in the school, community and at home, the experience happened more with boys at 81.5 percent and girls, 78.4 percent, the study noted.

Back to the campus

AS schoolchildren will start going back to schools for face-to-face learning, school personnel, most especially the teachers, need to know how to identify and help the children who were sexually abused.

Take the case of Almira, 15

ZENAIDA ROSALES, CPTCSA executive director: “We are putting together Making Safe Schools Happen but with the help of anyone and everyone who wants to help us as we continue working with children, students and child protection communities.” FACEBOOK.COM/CPTCSA.ORG

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.3640

years old, who was left with her maternal aunt and uncle during the Covid-19 quarantine period because her parents were stranded in their workplace.

During this time, Almira was raped by her uncle when her aunt went out to buy essential items. Another case is Luis, 11 years old, and two of his friends. Luis met a sex offender online. He lured Luis by being friendly and helping him out with his homework. They eventually met up in a mall with two of Luis’s friends.

The offender then invited them to visit his home at a nearby province. The boys agreed, thinking it would just be a day trip, not knowing they would not be able to go home for two months. The boys were rescued by the police, but it was too late. They were already sexually abused during their two-month detention.

Due to the pandemic and the long period of online learning, nobody is truly aware of what the children went through in their respective homes.

Aside from this, we also need to equip the children with knowledge of how to be more assertive, resist abuse, and where to get help. Take the case of Irma, 14 years old, who was left by her mother with a pastor because he promised to send her to school.

The pastor molested her, and eventually raped her. Irma told the person she trusted the most, her mother, who, however, sided with the pastor and told her to apologize

to him. Where do helpless children go from here?

Aside from adults taking advantage of children, the children themselves must be properly educated as well. Take the case of Jasmine, 12 years old, who got drunk at a party and was raped by Kian, 15 years old, and his friends. Apparently, such acts are a norm in their group. Since Jasmine was no longer a virgin and partied a lot, this horrific act is justified, in their group’s eyes.

Backpack visualization

THE Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse (CPTCSA) said the Philippines has a long list of laws and policies that provide support and services to schoolchildren and young students, but there is a lack of implementation and enforcement of these measures.

Zenaida Rosales, executive director of CPTCSA, said, “The Philippines is one of the top countries with the best child protection and childcare measures, but we have yet to see these measures directly addressing children, their protection and development.”

The CPTCSA is launching the Making Safe Schools Happen campaign as visualized through a backpack with three important pockets—the largest pocket is filled with notebooks that represent several of the many laws about child protection; the next pocket has geometry implements that symbolize community-based services such as hospitalbased child protection units (CPUs),

barangay offices and faith-based institutions including the CPTCSA. The most important pocket is filled with crayons and pencils that represent how students can access these laws and services that include needed information, teaching skills to put the information into practice, and building self-esteem to feel confident in accessing the services. These tools that are put into the hands of the students are the most important part of making safe schools happen, because if students cannot access help, then the helping system is moot.

Among the specific things inside the backpack is the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) notebook detailing Section 32 of RA 7610 providing that “all child-caring agencies and individuals must report suspected child abuse within 48 hours.”

In the Personal Safety Mandate notebook is Department of Education (DepEd) Order 45, Series of 2009, which the CPTCSA advocated for and predates the DepEd’s May 14, 2012, DO 40, s. 2012 Child Protection Policy.

DepEd Order 45, s2009, institutionalizes personal safety lessons in elementary and secondary schools nationwide to serve as guiding principles for children’s personal safety and protective behavior and enhance their social skills, self-esteem and vital knowledge of their rights.

Rosales said the first lessons on personal safety for schoolchildren were piloted in 1996 but this

mandate came over 10 years later.

“We hope to see these mandated lessons delivered to and understood by students so that they will know the protection measures by heart,” she said. “These policies are of no use if schoolchildren and the adults who are expected to protect and care for them are not educated about the provisions.”

The Personal Safety Lessons indicate concepts such as “touching rules” that teach students that it is never right for someone to touch their private body parts except for health reasons; how to get away and how to get help.

There is also “positive assertiveness” that shows ways to communicate that you don’t want something, such as “please go away” or “I don’t want that” or “I will tell my father,” as it is important for children to know that they’re entitled to their own choice of words but it must be done in an effective way.

CPTCSA executive director Rosales enjoined everyone, individuals and institutions alike, to help Making Safe Schools Happen be the instrument for an improved implementation of child-rights policies and laws.

“We are putting together Making Safe Schools Happen but with the help of anyone and everyone who wants to help us as we continue working with children, students and child protection communities.”

n JAPAN 0.4280 n UK 69.0472 n HK 6.6930 n CHINA 8.2237 n SINGAPORE 38.5824 n AUSTRALIA 39.3254 n EU 57.6056 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9600

This report was made possible in collaboration with CPTCSA

Source: BSP (March 25, 2022)

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, March 27, 2022

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Countries brace for hit to tourism from Russia-Ukraine war

By Suzan Fraser & Ayse Wieting

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The Associated Press

ELEK, Turkey—After losing two years to the Covid-19 pandemic, shopkeepers in the heart of the Turkish Riviera had hoped for a strong tourism season this year to help keep their businesses afloat. But Russia’s war in Ukraine is fast dampening their spirits.

“We’re trying to earn our bread through tourism, but it looks like the war has finished off this [tourism] season, too,” Devrim Akcay said outside his clothing shop in the resort town of Belek, along the Mediterranean coast’s Antalya province.

Nowhere is the threat of just one ripple effect of the war—lost tourism—felt more strongly than in Antalya, a region dotted with shimmering beaches and archeological sites where visitors from Russia and Ukraine, along with Germany, make up the top contributors to tourism revenue.

Bracing for loss

COUNTRIES from Turkey to Thailand, Egypt and Cuba are bracing for the loss of Russian and Ukrainian visitors just as their travel sectors were looking to rebound from the pandemic.

With many tourist-dependent economies also struggling with surging inflation and other woes, hotel workers, guides and others who serve visitors from the two warring nations expect more pain.

The turquoise waters and white sand beaches of the Cuban resort of Varadero, which until recently received a significant number of tourists—mainly Russians—are now almost empty.

Russians accounted for almost a third of Cuba’s visitors last year—more than 146,000—and some saw them as the way to get some oxygen to an industry ailing from the pandemic and tighter sanctions imposed by former US President Donald Trump.

“Now, we also have to get by without the Russian tourism,” said José Luis Perelló Cabrera, a Cuban economist and tourism expert.

The Association of Tour Operators of Russia estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 Russian tourists were on the island when the war in Ukraine broke out.

‘Strong blow’

SEVERAL flights left from Varadero in early March to bring them home.

“Losing that market is a strong blow to Cuba,” said Natasha Strelkova, Russian-Cuban tour operator

A CLOTHES shop keeper waits for clients in a deserted tourist shopping area in Belek, Antalya, Turkey on Saturday, March 12, 2022. After losing two years to the Covid-19 pandemic, shopkeepers in the heart of the Turkish Riviera had hoped for a strong tourism season this year to help keep their businesses afloat. But Russia’s war in Ukraine is fast dampening their spirits. AP/ RIZA OZEL

and guide on the island.

Across the Atlantic, Russians and Ukrainians can represent up to 35 percent of Egypt’s tourists annually, said Hisham el-Demiry, former head of the government-run Tourism Development Authority.

SPICE shop owner Nurullah Ekinciler works in his shop in a tourist shopping area in Belek, Antalya, Turkey, Saturday, March 12, 2022. AP/RIZA OZEL

He worries the economic crisis brought on by the war could mean fewer guests overall.

“It’s a huge impact, a domino effect.... The war has changed people’s priorities, and tourism, which is a very sensitive industry, will be the first victim,” he said.

Rania Ali, a reception manager at a four-star hotel in Hurghada, said they “were over 75 percent occupied early before the war, now we are just 35 percent.”

Russians were just among the top 10 groups of visitors to Thailand until late last year, when the country began to reopen to international tourists.

Russia restarted charter flights relatively early and in winter, when Thailand’s balmy temperatures make it a highly desirable destination, helping its people become the top visitors among the modest numbers that Thailand started welcoming back.

The November-to-March season when Russians usually visit is drawing to an end, and the plunge in the ruble’s value makes travel to Thailand and anywhere else far more costly now, said Chattan Kunjira Na Ayudhya, deputy governor for International Marketing for the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

“This probably will lead Russian tourists to shift to destinations that offer them all-inclusive packages with better prices,” he said.

In Turkey, officials had hoped

that with pandemic restrictions easing, tourism could replicate or exceed the numbers from 2019, when some 52 million visitors— including about 7 million Russians and 1.6 million Ukrainians— brought $34 billion in revenue.

The overall number of visitors dropped to 15 million in 2020 but recovered to around 29 million last year.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had strategized that opening up the economy and delivering big growth this year could help him get reelected next year, experts say. It’s a tall order for a country with a currency crisis and inflation exceeding 54 percent, making it difficult for consumers to purchase even basic goods.

“For that to happen, Turkey needs to have its robust tourism and trade ties with Russia unhindered,” said Soner Cagaptay, a Turkey analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Tourism, agri export loss

THE expectation before the war was “maybe 10, 15 million Russians would be visiting Turkey this summer that will be spending $10 billion, a shot in the arm for Turkey’s ailing economy,” Cagaptay said.

Now, business groups say they’re seeing erosion in trade both ways, including a fall in demand for Turkish produce because Russian buyers are struggling to make payments. That’s despite Turkey

not joining in sanctions against Moscow.

Agricultural grower and exporter Nevzat Akcan worries he may not be able to ship the red bell peppers he grows in greenhouses in the district of Aksu solely for Russian and Ukrainian markets.

“May God protect us if we join the sanctions against Russia. This would be a disaster for Turkish agriculture. We would be ruined and finished,” Akcan said. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

Nato member Turkey, which has cultivated close ties with both Russia and Ukraine, is trying to balance those relations and has positioned itself as a neutral party trying to mediate. Turkey has criticized Russia’s military actions in Ukraine as “unacceptable” but also said it would not give up on either side.

The Antalya region is haunted by the memory of 2016, when Russia inflicted a serious blow to Turkey’s economy by barring the import of some agricultural produce and stopping charter flights there after the Turkish military shot down a Russian fighter plane in 2015.

Agriculture has already started to suffer from the effects of the war, said Davut Cetin, head of the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“The Ukrainian market has been shut down. No fresh fruit or vegetable is leaving for Ukraine now,” Cetin said.

The World

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

Unchecked power of senior bankers in China exposed on prime-time TV

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ribery. Kickbacks. Cover-ups. For one week in January, Chinese state television devoted its prime-time slot to a series that detailed high-profile financial crimes by some of country’s most senior bankers.

There was the former head of China’s largest policy bank, who accepted bribes to approve a $4.8 billion credit line to a conglomerate that failed shortly after. Another state-owned bank executive used carefully structured shadow firms to receive 10 million yuan in kickbacks for approving real-estate loans of more than 4 billion yuan to a single developer.

The multipart broadcast was framed as a celebration of Beijing’s long-running anti-corruption campaign, part of President Xi Jinping’s overall attempts to stabilize the economy ahead of a meeting that’s expected to award him a third term in office. But it also revealed how senior bankers have been allowed to operate with few checks and even less accountability, and connected their actions with massive credit defaults and other market instability.

The recent investigation into 25 entities marks the first systematic review of the financial sector since 2015, and last month, when it concluded, the nation’s top disciplinary watchdog sharply criticized financial institutions and regulators for prominent corruption and insufficient risk monitoring – problems it said were “common”.

More than 20 finance industry officials have been punished or probed since the investigation began; over the past few years, lax governance has contributed to estimated losses of hundreds of billions of yuan.

Without intervention, China’s financial sector could become “a runaway elephant in a china shop,” said Shen Meng, a director at Beijing-based boutique investment bank Chanson & Co. “Deep down, people still lack this awareness that essentially, corporate governance serves to cut the risk of decision making, by checking and balancing all parties.”

Listed firms are required to implement modern corporate governance structures, but China’s standards are often lower than those in developed markets. In the US, for example, independent directors make up about 80% of the board, on average. Most Chinese companies only meet the minimum requirement of one-third independent directors, a “lack of oversight that ultimately allows for poor operational and financial controls,” said Rob Du Boff, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst specializes in ESG. The collapse of China Huarong Asset Management Co. is one of the best-known cases where traditional governance mechanisms failed. Former chairman Lai X iaomin was also the head of the internal party committee and the company’s legal representative. The company’s party discipline chief reported to him. “It was difficult for him to super vise me, to be honest,” Lai said in 2020.

Without any meaningful oversight, Lai drove Huarong to aggressive expansion. Eventually, the firm posted a record loss that led to a $6.6 billion state-orchestrated bailout, and Lai was executed for bribery and other crimes.

But there have also been smaller examples. Hu Huaibang, the former chairman of China Development Bank, took some 85.5 million yuan in bribes over a decade through 2019. In exchange, he facilitated loans that included $4.8 billion to the now failed conglomerate CEFC China Energy Co., even though China had called for the policy bank to cut its exposure to such commercial projects.

His motivation was basic: “As a senior executive in the finance sector, you get to make contact with people with relatively high classes and they own private jets and everything,” he said in the state-sponsored docuseries. “That’s when I felt the unfairness and became weak-minded and slipped into the abyss.”

Senior leaders at Chinese financial institutions, especially stateowned ones, hold official government titles and earn governmentlimited salaries. The chairmen of China’s largest state-owned banks each earn about $120,000 a year – less than 1% of what their US counterparts made in 2020.

The former governor of China Citic Bank Corp., Sun Deshun, often neglected the bank’s internal credit approval board and intervened directly to facilitate loans for developers in exchange for bribes. Investigators found he used more than a dozen shadow firms, managed by his two surrogates, for bribes disguised as financial products and equity investments.

In early 2020, the banking regulator levied a 22 million yuan fine on Citic Bank for 19 violations, of which 13 were linked to the property sector. Later that year, Sun was expelled from the Communist Party, arrested for alleged bribery among other violations, and prosecuted.

But regulators were also susceptible. A former deputy chairman of China’s banking regulator, Cai Esheng, used his personal influence to facilitate loans and projects in exchange for cash, banquets, travel and other gifts.

In the case of Baoshang Bank Co., at least five officials including the former head of the Inner Mongolian banking watchdog took hundreds of millions of yuan in bribes to make way for its “wild expansion and illegal operations” that eventually led to its collapse and China’s first bank seizure in more than 20 years.

These kinds of investigations are common across sectors in China, where the government intends them to both deter bad behavior and reassure investors, said Oliver Rui, a professor of finance at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.

“It takes some time to fully develop governance mechanisms,” he said. “The current systems in the US were also built gradually. I like to say—in Chinese terms—let the bullet fly for a while.”

Meanwhile, officials have introduced measures designed to prevent future corruption. Last year, authorities issued guidelines targeting bribers and have pledged to step up internal controls to keep regulators in line. The government has also strengthened Communist Party control over management decisions at stateowned banks. The central bank and the banking and securities regulators have vowed to correct their wrongdoings and to enhance financial regulation.

The prime-time series and the high-profile media coverage of the latest anti-corruption efforts may also offer a wake-up call. “A lot of people working at the institutions don’t even truly understand corporate governance, let alone retail investors,” Chanson & Co.’s Shen said. Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

Sunday, March 27, 2022

A3

Usurping US dollar’s dominance an impossible task–fund giants

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ethroning the dollar is easier said than done. That’s the conclusion of investors after Washington’s freeze of Russia’s dollar holdings created fresh impetus among central bankers to rethink the security of access to foreign-exchange reserves.

The move fueled speculation that countries such as China could redouble efforts to unshackle itself from greenback-denominated financial systems and look for alternatives.

While Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG have flagged threats to the dollar’s supremacy, finding a valid replacement is going to be extremely challenging, according to funds from Brandywine Global Investment Management to JPMorgan Asset Management. The size and strength of the world’s largest economy is unparalleled, Treasuries are still one of the safest ways to store money and the dollar remains a pre-eminent beneficiary of haven flows.

There are simply “no other options at this stage in the game” for currency alternatives to the greenback, said Mark Mobius, a four-decade markets veteran and founder of Mobius Capital Partners. “The dollar is still strong and will probably get stronger if tensions continue to escalate.”

History backs up his view.

Despite warnings of the dollar’s demise after the 2008 financial crisis, the currency soared when the Federal Reserve adopted an even more globalized role in helping to rescue the world’s financial system. Nearly 90 percent of trades across the $6.6 trillion-a-day foreign-exchange market still involve the greenback, Bank for International Settlements data show.

The US currency also makes up around 60 percent of central bank foreign-exchange reserves in spite of efforts to steadily reduce dollar holdings, according to International Monetary Fund data. Its closest rival, the euro,

makes up about 20 percent of stockpiles.

“You can buy yen, euro or Aussie to diversify but I don’t think they can truly replace the dollar as a reserve,” said Kerry Craig, strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in Melbourne. “The US remains a dominant power on the global economic stage.”

While the Central Bank of Russia had made inroads in reducing its dollar holdings in favor of alternatives such as gold, recent events show that its efforts may have been in vain, according to Agnes Belaisch, chief European strategist at Baring Investment Services Ltd. in London.

“Holding non-dollar reserves means reliance on counterparties to exchange them against a means of payment,” said Belaisch, whose firm oversees $391 billion. “One cannot pay with gold bullion, like one cannot pay at scale with bitcoins. At the start and the end of the chain are dollars.”

Yuan challenge

That’s not stopping attempts to create challengers to the dollar, with China’s efforts to internationalize the yuan gaining greater attention.

At a Senate Banking Committee hearing this month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the war in Ukraine may accelerate Beijing’s efforts to develop alternatives to dollar-dominated international payments infrastructure. Goldman Sachs sees the yuan overtak-

“We’re not at that point where the dollar can be challenged.” Bloomberg photo

ing the yen and pound to become the world’s third-largest reserve currency by 2030, and Morgan Stanley sees the Chinese currency accounting for up to 10 percent of global forex assets in the coming decade.

The US decision to weaponize the greenback is accelerating the shift to alternatives such as the yuan, said Benjamin Jones, director of macro research at Invesco Ltd., which oversees $1.5 trillion.

While the Chinese currency may not overtake the dollar, it could become “the other reserve asset that will work side by side through time,” he said.

Others are unconvinced. Allowing a currency to trade freely is essential for global status and Beijing’s influence over the yuan is seen as an obstacle. China’s emerging-market status is also proving to be a hindrance, as the world’s second-largest economy trails the West in developed financial infrastructure.

The yuan’s share of payments over the Swift global system stands at just 3 percent, compared with 40 percent for the dollar and 37 percent for the euro.

Even news that Saudi Arabia was considering pricing some sales of oil to China in yuan has failed to impress investors.

“China has the economic power to match the old hegemonic power of the US, however it has yet to build the infrastructure to become a financial powerhouse,” said Anders Faergemann, senior portfolio manager for global fixed income at PineBridge Investments. “The renminbi still feels like an afterthought in financial markets” for

now, he said.

That’s a sentiment shared by Steven Barrow at Standard Bank in London.

“The problem in China’s case is that the very capital controls that help insulate the currency and the financial system from the vagaries of Fed policy and dollar volatility, are the same ones that prevent the renminbi from becoming a serious rival to the dollar,” said Barrow, who is head of currency strategy.

The y uan’s share of global foreign-exchange reserves is currently at about 2.7 percent, trailing the yen and sterling.

Alternative bets

Other dollar alternatives also have drawbacks.

The euro is the most widely held currency in reserves after the greenback, but its reputation remains scarred from its near-death experience during the eurozone crisis. Gold, the global reserve asset for much of the 20th century, is impractical to move swiftly in a world where money changes hands at the speed of light.

Cryptocurrencies, free of fiat shackles, are too new and volatile to claim global status.

This leaves investors with no truly viable alternative to the dollar, said Jack McIntyre, a portfolio manager at Philadelphia-based Brandywine.

“Can I think of any country that matches the US’s economy, military might and its deep markets right now? No, I can’t,” he said.

“We’re not at that point where the dollar can be challenged.”

Bloomberg News

Japan power crisis a decade in making and won’t go away

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apan’s worst power crisis in over a decade is a culmination of events starting from the Fukushima disaster, and is an issue that the nation won’t be able to quickly shake.

The world’s third-largest economy has been running on a thinner supply of electricity since the triple meltdown at Fukushima in March 2011 shut its massive fleet of nuclear reactors. Market reforms over the next 10 years that aimed to boost security of supply and make the grid cleaner led to utilities retiring inefficient and dirty power plants, crimping resources further.

That set the background for the current scenario. A strong earthquake last week stretched the power grid, and the situation was made worse on Tuesday by a surprise blast of frigid weather across Tokyo. Solar output dropped and there wasn’t enough gas or coal-fired power plants to make up the difference. The region’s top utility narrowly avoid a blackout in one of the world’s most advanced cities after asking households and businesses to drastically cut consumption.

The current crisis would have been “much less severe - perhaps almost a nonevent - with more of Japan’s nuclear plants online,” said Dan Shulman, the founder of Japan-based consultancy Shulman

Advisory, which advises clients on the nation’s electricity market. The impact of the war in Ukraine on fossil fuel prices and an increased dependence on less-reliable renewables could result in more instability on Japan’s grid, he said.

What’s happening in Japan is playing out across other power grids from Texas to Taiwan. The energy transition and natural disasters are throwing new challenges at utilities, stretching grids and triggering blackouts that threaten economies, especially resource-poor and isolated ones like Japan.

With Japan’s grid so stretched, a future earthquake, extreme weather event or fuel supply disruption could trigger another power shortage even as this crisis subsides.

Japan’s issues can be traced to the magnitude 9 earthquake in March 2011, the biggest ever recorded in the country.

A massive tsunami overwhelmed the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear facility, shut off power to cooling systems and led to meltdowns of three reactor cores.

In the immediate aftermath, Japan closed all its 54 reactors that supplied about 30 percent of its electricity needs. Only 10 have restarted under post-Fukushima safety rules due to strong public opposition and

a cumbersome regulatory process. Nuclear power now supplies less than 10 percent of Japan’s electricity. It’s been replaced by a mix of natural gas, coal and solar facilities.

“The voting public has been against nuclear generation post Fukushima so it is a tough problem for government to solve,” said Antony Stace, a Sydney-based energy trader who closely monitors the Japanese market.

The government was well aware of the dilemma, and sped up liberalization of the power market, with the effort culminating in the 2016 reform to break up monopolies held by regional utilities like Tokyo Electric Power Co. The idea was that more companies would enter the power retail market, increase competition, boost security of supply and ultimately lower electricity rates for consumers.

Unforeseen impact

But there was an unforeseen consequence: In order to gain the upper hand against new competitors, regional utilities were quick to retire backup power plants that were expensive and inefficient as a way to cut costs and provide customers with more attractive power rates. That further tightened available supply, and removed a key piece of emergency infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the biggest competitors to Japan’s regional utilities weren’t so interested in investing in new generation capacity. They were focused on selling retail electricity that they procured either from the spot market or through a purchase agreement with an existing power plant.

Japan had only 142 gigawatts worth of available power capacity before last week’s earthquake, according to data from its electricity exchange. That is 23 percent lower than in 2016, a few weeks before the market liberalization. Oil-fired power capacity—the most expensive of the fossil fuels—dropped by 73 percent over the same period.

Meanwhile, Japan introduced a feedin tariff program in 2012 that boosted installations of solar panels. While wildly successful, it also crowded the nation’s grid with intermittent power output, making it difficult—and sometimes not very cost effective—to replace retiring thermal power plants.

So when last week’s earthquake hit and knocked offline 12 power plants, Japan had little spare capacity to call upon. The sudden cold blast boosted demand but reduced solar output, forcing the nation’s top utility to ask businesses and households to lower consumption. Bloomberg News

A4

The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Xi Jinping’s Ukraine diplomatic outreach leaves Zelenskyy out

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hinese President Xi Jinping has held a flurry of talks with state leaders, including Vladimir Putin, since Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. But there’s one big omission from his diplomatic outreach: Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Xi has spoken with at least eight world leaders in the month since the invasion, stressing Beijing’s preference for dialogue over war and sanctions. The leader of the world’s second-largest economy has encouraged Russia to move toward negotiations, offered to work with France and Germany to promote talks and told President Joe Biden that China “stands for peace.”

When asked Wednesday why Xi hadn’t spoken with Zelenskyy, Foreig n Ministr y spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular news briefing that China had “smooth communications” on the Ukraine issue. “China supports all parties to uphold the concept of indivisibility of security,” Wang said.

Zelenskyy aide Andriy Yermak on Tuesday called for an exchange with Xi sometime “very soon.”

Xi might be reluctant to speak with Putin’s wartime rival so soon after declaring a “no limits” partnership with the Russian leader on Feb. 4. That draws a contrast between Xi and at least 17 other state leaders—including from all of the Group of Seven nations— who have spoken with the Ukrainian president and, in many cases, sanctioned Russia. Zelenskyy has addressed at least 10 national legislatures over the past month, most recently the Japanese Diet on Wednesday.

While China’s top US envoy has claimed Beijing’s tight ties to Russia and Ukraine were an “asset” in peace talks, the silence between Xi and Zelenskyy raises questions over China’s commitment to mediation. Other potential arbiters of talks, such as Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Germany’s Olaf Scholz and Israel’s Naftali Bennett, have spoken to presidents on both sides of the war.

“China can only advise Russia to try to end the conflict in a dignified manner to avoid the last thing Beijing wants: the collapse of Putin’s regime and the emergence of a pro-Western government,” said Chen Shih-Min, an associate professor specializing in international security at National Taiwan University.

Xi and Putin held a call within days of the Feb. 24 invasion, during which the Chinese leader didn’t condemn Moscow’s military aggression. “The Chinese side supports the Russian side in solving the issue through negotiation,” Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Si nce t hen, wh i le B eiji ng has maintained it respects the Ukraine’s right to sovereignty, it’s voted against a United Nations court order for Moscow to immediately suspend its military operations, refused to join a USled sanctions campaign to isolate

Putin’s regime and framed Washington as the “culprit” of the conflict for encouraging the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

In that environment, Xi has left the hard talk to his diplomats. His ambassador to Ukraine last week reassured local officials that China was a “friendly country” that would “never attack Ukraine.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Ukrainian counterpart on March 1 that Beijing was “highly concerned” by the war, in what remains the most senior diplomatic exchange between the two countries.

Wang Yi has separately said that China would carry out mediation “when needed” and outlined a sixpoint plan to provide humanitarian relief. Yet, a Foreign Ministry pledge last week of $1.6 million in aid, including food, baby formula, sleeping bags, quilts and dampproof mats, was poorly received in Ukraine.

“Russia is bombing us,” Ukrainian Deput y Pr ime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Friday of the announcement. “This is absolutely frivolous—undignified and unworthy of a great nation.”

In the same week, Biden approved

an $800 million aid package to Ukraine, adding to the $200 million of military assistance already on the ground.

In an address to the Israeli Knesset on Sunday, Zelenskyy criticized lawmakers for refusing to send arms or welcome refugees, comparing his citizens’ plight to that of the Jews in Nazi Germany. “Can you explain why we’re still waiting,” he said. “What is it? Indifference? Political calculation? Mediation without choosing sides?”

Days earlier, he criticized Germany in a video address to its parliament for putting profits over people, referencing the nation’s gas inflows from Russia. “Give Germany the leadership role that you in Germany deserve,” he said.

Zelenskyy’s confrontational tone might be one reason for Xi to put off direct engagement.

“Beijing is keeping that instrument in reserves,” Wen-Ti Sung, lecturer in Australian National University’s Taiwan studies program, said of a possible Xi-Zelenskyy call. “When the international community applies enough pressure, China may then deploy that option, to turn down the heat.”

Bloomberg News

‘Gargantuan task’: Why India’s renewable push will be hard

By Anupam Nath & Aniruddha Ghosal The Associated Press

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AGAON, India—Plans to build a sprawling solar park on land cultivated for generations by indigenous farmers in India’s Himalayan foothills erupted in violent clashes with police last year after their crops were bulldozed for the development.

Most men from the farming village of a few hundred in Assam state were out looking for work on December 29. One of the few people who remained was Champa Timungpi, who says she was beaten by police and kicked in the stomach when she tried to protest.

Pregnant at the time, the 25-year-old was rushed to a hospital for her injuries. “I came back home at night, and I miscarried,” said Tumungpi, who lodged a complaint with police.

The lush green village in Nagaon district—still largely unconnected to the grid and home to families who earn less than $2 a day—is now framed by blue solar panels, barbed wire and armed guards.

The solar developer Azure Power, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, said in an e-mail that the company legally bought 91 acres (38 hectares) in the village from “recorded landowners” and it’s “incorrect and erroneous” to say the land was forcibly taken.

The company’s position is strongly disputed by Timungpi and others in the Mikir Bamuni village who say their rights as tenants and established farmers were ignored. Local officials and police didn’t respond to requests for comment.

However it plays out in a district court, the dispute not only speaks to India’s often-tangled land ownership rules rooted in its colonial era. It also illustrates the complexity

China-Europe rail lines become supply chain’s latest problem

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Xi Jinping Bloomberg photo

and immensity of the challenges facing the country of nearly 1.4 billion people in meeting its renewable power goals for the next decade.

Over the next 20 years, India’s demand for electricity will grow more than anywhere else in the world. Unlike most countries, India still has to develop and lift millions like Timungpi from poverty, and it will need to build a power system the size of the European Union’s.

How India meets its energy and economic needs will have an outsized impact on the world’s climate goals.

The country is a major contributor of greenhouse gases from the burning of coal and other fossil fuels.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at last year’s United Nation climate talks that India would increase its capacity of non-fossil fuels electricity to 500 gigawatts by 2030—from the 104 gigawatts at the start of this year.

To meet its goals, India must add four times the amount of power the average nuclear plant produces—every month until 2030.

These short-term energy targets won’t do much to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius (34.7 Fahrenheit)—the level beyond which scientists warn of catastrophic climate impacts, scientists at last year’s United Nations climate conference had warned.

But for India, it’ll still be a “gargantuan task,” requiring investments between $20 billion and $26.8 billion, while only $10 billion is available, a parliamentary committee said last month.

Some obstacles to renewables— such as the need to build electricity storage for when the sun isn’t shining or wind isn’t blowing—are global challenges. Others are more specific to India—such as the question of

who owns land in poor communities that bear least responsibility for the climate crisis and the need to realign power systems that have relied on coal for centuries.

While there’s no clear roadmap yet for India’s renewable energy push, experts cite a federal report last year that said an optimal mix would be getting more than half the country’s power from the sun and wind by 2030.

But big solar and wind facilities are sparking conflicts with local communities. This is partly because land ownership is fuzzy at many project sites. For example, some communities have used land for centuries to farm or graze cattle without legal rights over it.

As governments and companies focused on transitioning away from fossil fuels, such conflicts were “collaterals” that had to be managed, Kanchi Kohli, an environmental researcher at the Indian think tank Centre for Policy Research.

Mandatory environmental impact assessments were waived for solar and wind projects to make them more viable. But environmental issues still have arisen.

For instance, India’s Supreme Court in April 2021 ordered that transmission lines for solar energy be put underground after environmentalists reported the lines were killing critically endangered great Indian bustards. Nine months later, the federal government said burying the lines to safeguard the birds would be too costly and would impede green energy development.

The court is hearing the matter again.

India could reduce its dependence on large solar parks by building solar panels on roofs in cities.

The country’s initial rooftop goals were small, but in 2015 it set a target of 40 gigawatts of rooftop solar, enough

to power 28 million homes. Customers were allowed to send electricity back to the grid—and the sector grew.

In December 2020, the federal government changed rules restricting large industries and businesses from sending electricity back to the grid. These commercial groups are among the highest paying customers for India’s perennially cash-strapped power distribution companies, which lost over $5 billion in 2020.

With industries sending electricity back to the grid in the evening when demand and power tariffs are highest, distribution companies were losing their best customers said Vibhuti Garg, an energy economist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

“They were losing money,” Garg said.

The installation cost makes rooftop solar too expensive for most homeowners. That was the case for Siddhant Keshav, 30, a New Delhi entrepreneur, who wanted to put solar panels on his home. “It just didn’t make sense,” he said.

Homes comprised less than 17% of India’s rooftop solar in June 2021, according to a report by Bridge to India, a renewable energy consulting firm.

And India has only managed to achieve 4% of its 2022 rooftop solar target.

Wind could become another important element in India’s clean energy portfolio. But the most “attractive, juicy, windy sites” have small turbines using old technology, said Gagan Sidhu, the director of energy finance at think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water.

Ghosal reported from New Delhi.

AP journalist Chonchui Ngashangva in New Delhi contributed to this report.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

By Ann Koh & Kyunghee Park

ore than a million containers set to ride 6,000-plus miles of railway linking Western Europe to Eastern China via Russia are now having to find new routes by sea, adding to costs and threatening to worsen the global supply chain chaos.

With Moscow’s war raging in Ukraine, exporters and logistics firms transporting auto parts, cars, laptops and smartphones are now looking to avoid land routes passing through Russia or the combat zone. Security risks and payment hurdles stemming from sanctions are mounting, as is wariness that customers in Europe could boycott products that used Russian rail.

Kuehne + Nagel International AG, one of Europe’s largest freight forwarders, is already rejecting rail cargo from China to Europe, according to Marcus Balzereit, a senior vice president for Asia Pacific at the Switzerland-based company. Some companies are switching to sea, said Glenn Koepke, a general manager at FourKites Inc., a Chicago-based information provider for the logistics industry.

The conflict is adding to congestion at some of the biggest ports, putting further pressure on global supply chains that are still reeling from pandemic-induced manpower shortages.

Balzereit said a combination of sea-air solutions could help some automakers and high-tech electronics manufacturers prevent production disruptions despite a surge in costs.

“At times like these, it’s more important for companies to get their goods delivered even if the cost of transport is higher,” said Um Kyung-a, a transportation analyst at Shinyoung Securities Co. in Seoul. “It’s more important for them to keep their production going.”

Starting March, the export volume on trains heading to Europe from the port of Dalian has been “greatly reduced,” the official Securities Times run by the People’s Daily reported this week. The shipments saw an average growth of more than 70% in the first two months of the year. Representatives for China Railway didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The rail links between China and Europe have been forged over the past decade as part of President Xi Jinping’s new Silk Road project, which later morphed into the “Belt and Road” initiative. It is an ambitious mix of foreign policy and economic strategy to extend the country’s influence across continents.

Last year, trains moved about 1.46 million containers carrying goods valued at about $75 billion between China and Europe on the routes, or about 4% of total trade between the two sides, according to estimates by Bain & Co. The rail networks stretching from China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and beyond connect Chinese commercial centers such as Yiwu in Zhejiang province, Xi’an in Shaanxi, Zhengzhou in Henan, Chengdu in Sichuan and Wuhan in Hubei to European cities including Moscow, Minsk, Hamburg, Milan, Warsaw, Munich and Madrid. Apart from consumer electronics and autos, wood-based products and petrochemicals also hitch a ride.

It takes about two weeks to send Asian goods to Europe via rail compared with a month by ship, according to logistics firms. Ships are still the cheapest method. The cost of transporting a container by rail is roughly twice that of sea freight and a quarter of sending goods by air, according to logistics provider DSV. Last year, when online vendors rushed to meet a boom in demand for laptops and mobile phones during the pandemic, rail offered a crucial lifeline because some ports in China were locked down, said Helen Liu, a partner at Bain & Co. in Shanghai. This year, consumer electronics are likely to be impacted the most if rail isn’t used, she said.

Some companies that use the rail network—from Dell Technologies Inc. to IKEA and Toyota Motor Corp.—have already paused their operations or sales in Russia. Still, the war in Ukraine hasn’t stopped the rail traffic, with some trains as much as 500 meters long continuing to carry containers between Xi’an and Kaliningrad, a Russian city sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.

Those who want to shun these routes are looking at alternatives, said Balzereit.

“We see that sea freight remains the backbone, able to move large volumes at a fairly reasonable price,” he said. “Air freight is another option even though the route might not be as direct as the past and you need to go through some route changes which might mean longer time and higher cost. Or a combination of sea and air—we have been doing this for many years.”

Any increase in traffic at ports couldn’t come at a worse time. A flare-up of coronavirus infections in China has prompted authorities to tighten controls, along with mass testing of workers and drivers. For instance, a long line of trucks was waiting to enter Shenzhen’s Yantian container port earlier this month, with shipping major Hapag-Lloyd AG estimating delays to at least 13 vessels.

Some shipping lines are also refusing cargo to Russia and diverting vessels into already overwhelmed European ports, said Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, an online logistics platform. Additional volume shifting from rail could slow port operations further, he said.

“Getting vessel capacity and getting shipping on time to destination has already been a challenge in the past six months,” said FourKites’ Koepke. “This is just one more thing that’s being added to an already fragile network.” Bloomberg News

Science Sunday BusinessMirror

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

Sunday, March 27, 2022

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After FDA’s low-risk ruling, its first in animal for food use

Genome-edited cattle soon to hit US market

By Clement Dionglay

Special to the BusinessMirror

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n early March, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared short-haired genome-edited cattle known as “PRLRSLICK” for meat production and human consumption after a scientific review determined that the product is low-risk and does not raise any safety concerns.

The FDA has made a low-risk determination for the marketing of products, including food, from two genome-edited beef cattle and their offspring after determining that the intentional genomic alteration (IGA) in the cattle is safe.

The PRLR-SLICK cattle were developed by Acceligen Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Recombinetics Inc., a St. Paul, Minnesota-based bio-engineering company.

The decision is the FDA’s first lowrisk determination for marketing of products from an IGA in an animal for food use. The FDA has made similar decisions for other IGAs in animals for nonfood uses in goats, chicken, salmon and pigs.

What are IGAs? IGAs are changes made in the DNA of animals using molecular technologies, including genome editing.

The IGA in PRLR-SLICK cattle resulted in short, slick-hair coat.

Scientific studies have shown that cattle with this extremely short, slickhair coat are better able to withstand hot weather.

Cattle that are not stressed by heat and comfortable in their environment are less likely to experience temperature-related stress, resulting in improved body weight and more efficient food production.

The trait is also meant to improve animal welfare in warmer climates.

The IGA is a heritable change that was introduced using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) genome editing technology in two “founder” beef calves.

The IGA conferring the slick-hair coat trait can be passed on to offspring with the same slick-hair coat.

It should be pointed out that PRLRSLICK cattle have the same characteristics with conventionally bred cattle with naturally occurring slick mutations. Visual observations and animal health records also show that PRLRSLICK cattle appear healthy.

Are IGAs safe?

The FDA did not find any human food safety concerns with the IGA in PRLRSLICK cattle.

Food products from PRLR-SLICK

they are not currently in the market.

Recombinetics plans to market products from PRLR-SLICK cattle with select customers soon, but the FDA anticipates that meat products could be available to general consumers in as early as two years.

Genome-edited cattle follows salmon and pigs

Cow Photo from Pixabay cattle are as safe as food products derived from conventionally raised cattle with the slick hair coat that are commonly consumed by the public.

The IGA contained in PRLR-SLICK cattle and the cattle’s associated products, including offspring, semen, embryos and food products derived from them pose low risk to people, animals, the food supply, and the environment.

Thus, the FDA does not expect the developer to submit an application for approval prior to marketing the product.

Steven M. Solomon, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine said, “Today’s decision underscores our commitment to using a risk and sciencebased, data-driven process that focuses on safety to the animals containing intentional genomic alterations and safety to the people who eat the food produced by these animals.”

Are PRLR-SLICK cattle available in supermarkets now?

While genome-edited PRLR-SLICK cattle have an equivalent trait to cattle with naturally occurring short hair coat,

Genome-edited PRLR-SLICK cattle is the third genetically altered animal for human consumption in the US after AquaBounty’s AquAdvantage salmon and Revivicor Inc.’s GalSafe pigs.

AquAdvantage salmon is genetically engineered (GE) to grow twice the size of non-GE salmon for the same growing period.

It contains a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon which is activated by another gene from ocean pout.

The FDA has determined that AquAdvantage salmon is as safe to eat as food from non-GE Atlantic salmon, and its nutritional profile is comparable to that of non-GE farm-raised Atlantic salmon.

According to AquaBounty, it started marketing and selling AquAdvantage salmon in the US after receiving purchase orders for their first harvest at the end of May 2021 from their Indiana farm.

The GE salmon is now marketed in

Canada and the US and has received approval for commercialization in Brazil.

GalSafe pigs are engineered so they do not produce alpha-gal sugars. Products from GalSafe pigs can be eaten by people with Alpha-gal syndrome, a type of food allergy to red meat and other products made from mammals.

People with Alpha-gal syndrome can have mild to severe allergic reactions when they consume alpha-gal sugar.

However, GalSafe meat is not yet available in the market.

More biotech animals in the future The FDA’s decision on genome-edited PRLR-SLICK cattle will soon pave the way for other biotech animals to reach consumers.

In FDA’s news release on the PRLRSLICK cattle, Solomon said that they expect the decision “will encourage other developers to bring animal biotechnology products forward for the FDA’s risk determination in this rapidly developing field, paving the way for animals containing low-risk IGAs to more efficiently reach the marketplace.”

Clement Dionglay is with the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications Southeast Asia Center’s Global Knowledge on Crop Biotechnology.

Study bares big postharvest losses of PHL’s mango, onion, tomato

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S&T innovations showcased in Dubai biz matching event

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nnovations from Filipino technology start-ups, businesses and Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) were showcased in a business forum and matching event held in Dubai early this month with investors from the Middle East in order to help boost businesses in the country’s science and technology (S&T) sector.

“As the Philippines is brimming with brilliant and talented scientists and researchers, it is just necessary for us to proudly introduce their innovations and link them up with international partners,” said Dr. Leah Buendia, Assistant Secretary for International Cooperation of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

“Noting the great opportunity of science, technology, and innovation in the Middle East, we are glad to pursue synergies with them. The Department sees this event to leverage our assisted enterprises and create more impactful collaborations.” Buendia said in a DOST news release.

The DOST featured 10 technologies that were focused on five strategic areas of cooperation—such as artificial intelligence (AI), smart energy management, water management, smart city development and textiles.

They included the following innovative technologies: n A credit scoring model that directly interacts with farmers and localized data provided by the community/farmers to determine the weights of different attributes in farmer’s repayment. n An enhanced forecasting model for complex water supply systems of the East Service Area of Metro Manila. nA cloud-based data analytics platform for smart energy management and electricity cost reduction. n A fast charging system that can fully charge electric tricycles in 30 minutes. n A wastewater treatment and odorreducing formulation composed of naturally occurring organo-minerals that stimulate growth of indigenous aerobic microorganisms in wastewater and boost the degradation of organic pollutants. n An advanced pressure management system that optimizes pump operation

for a significant reduction in non-revenue water (water loss) and power consumption. n A total knee replacement system that is designed for a wide range of sizes. n A 24/7 economical and hassle-free system that allows building managers to objectively monitor the structural integrity of buildings and bridges n Eco-friendly yarns and colorants derived from plant materials and produced using an industry-scalable technology of DOST-PTRI. n A patented DOST-PTRI technology for the production of natural textile fiberblended yarns using natural fibers like abaca, banana pseudostem and pineapple leaf.

These innovations were developed through the technical and financial assistance from DOST-Philippine Council for Industr y, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) and DOST-Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI).

“PCIEERD, as the country’s leading government agency in spurring change through S&T, deems this event as a good platform to help DOST-supported researchers expand their horizons, collaborate with the international community, and spread the ingenuity of Filipinos,” said DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico Paringit.

A f t e r t h e p i t c h i n g a c t i v i t y, t h e presenters participated in a businessto-business matching with investors from the Middle East.

“We thank our friends from DTI and PTIC-Dubai for inviting and supporting DOST towards conducting this initiative.

This event exemplifies our advocacy that technologies shared and used for the common good are catalysts of long-run growth,” said DOST-TAPI Director Atty.

Marion Ivy Decena.

The event was conducted on the sidelines of the Philippines’ participation to the 2020 World Expo hosted by Dubai, a global platform that champions innovation, technology, art, creativity, heritage, and culture to showcase human brilliance and excellence. S&T Media Services

ignificant postharvest losses of mango, onion and tomato were bared in a recent study funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Dubbed, “Analysis of Fruit and Vegetable Value Chains in the Philippines,” the study conducted by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) revealed the postharvest losses along the value chains of the three commodities.

The results of the study were presented at a recent virtual national policy forum jointly organized by Searca and SyCip Gorres Velayo and Company (SGV and Co.), said a Searca news release.

Agriculture Undersecretary Evelyn Laviña for High Value Crops and Rural Credit, told the forum that onion, tomato and mango are staples in the Filipino cuisine and should be given significant attention and funding to improve postharvest handling efficiency.

Dr. Marlo Rankin, agricultural value chain and market expert, and Dr. Flordeliza Lantican, agricultural value chain and market specialist, presented the study results, which focused on the postharvest losses quantified along the value chain of the three commodities.

Mango

The study revealed that mango produced in Iloilo and traded in Manila showed the highest postharvest losses at 33.89 percent.

The Pangasinan-Manila route ranked second at 30.85 percent, and the Guimaras-Negros Occidental route ranked third at 19.02 percent.

It was noted that a Guimaras mango corporation that observes good agricultural practices posted the lowest postharvest losses at 11 percent in shipping fruits to Manila.

It was explained that postharvest losses in terms of volume and value indicate a significant reduction in marketable supply and income of key actors in the mango supply chain.

Pangasinan registered the highest volume at 31,581 tons and value at P1.595 million of postharvest losses in mango traded in Manila because it has higher mango production than other provinces.

Iloilo, with the same destination, came second with volume and value of postharvest losses at 8,682 tons and P434 million, respectively.

Onion

Meanwhile, the total postharvest loss of freshly harvested onions from the

farm in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija, to the final market in Divisoria, Manila, was 45.06 percent.

The estimated volume of postharvest losses for red onion reached 48,891 tons and a value close to P1.96 billion.

For the cold-stored onion chain with the same route postharvest losses totaled 63.90 percent, with estimated volume and value lost at 69,333 tons and nearly P4.01 billion, respectively.

Tomato

At the same time, freshly harvested tomato produced in Nueva Ecija and traded in Manila incurred postharvest loss of 10.94 percent. The volume of losses reached 1,930 tons, valued at P47 million.

On the freshly harvested tomato from the farm in Bukidnon, Northern Mindanao, and shipped to Manila, the total postharvest loss was much higher at 24.14 percent due to longer travel duration.

The estimated volume of losses were 41,125 tons and valued close to P180 million.

Recommendations

Key recommendations in reducing postharvest losses for the three commodities include investing in cold storage and packing facilities, pro-

viding delivery vehicles to facilitate transport of goods, developing online trading or digital marketing in partnership with the private sector, increasing access to credit and insurance, and strengthening extension ser vices at the grassroots level.

Dr. Takeshi Ueda, principal natural resources and agriculture specialist at ADB Southeast Asia Department, said the study is relevant to the directions of both the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture and ADB in agricultural diversification, industrialization, modernization, and commercialization.

In his message delivered by Searca Deputy Director Joselito G. Florendo, Searca Director Glenn B. Gregorio pointed out that the pandemic enabled people to realize the significance of whole value chain process because food supply is not limited only to production.

Gregorio also explained that onion, tomato, mango and other high-value crops should be upscaled, and the need to invest in them to ensure that the Philippines will have “a future-proof agriculture sector.”

He noted that Searca values research projects focused on agricultural development as they contribute to its thrust of accelerating transformation through agricultural innovation.

New R&D projects to aid PH in the new normal

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ith the continuing decline of Covid-19 cases and the activities nearing their return to normal, 238 new innovations with P1.7-billion funding were launched for the Science and Innovation Budding Opportunities for Leverage (Sibol) 2022 projects.

The Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) launched the new innovations with at least 100 of them to be showcased this year.

Kicking off the first of 10 webinars, the Sibol projects recently focused on the latest innovations in the field of nanotechnology, governance, education and human security. They include the following: AeroComp: Enhanced Lightweight Fiber-reinforced Composites Structures for Defense Applications by Eduardo Magdaluyo of the University of the Philippines Diliman-Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering.

The project seeks to find a costeffective alternative to ballistic protective materials used by the armed

forces through the use of fiber-reinforced polymer.

Development of Platfor m for Short Range, Heavy Payload, MultiMission Unmanned Aircraft System

by Engr. Arnaldo Gutierrez of Holy Angel University.

The proposal aims to develop an unmanned aircraft system specializing in the transport of essential goods and supplies for emergency situations and in far flung areas.

Development and Institutionalization of DOST Foresight Framework and Protocol by Mia Barbara Aranas of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the DOST. The project aims to institutionalize a foresight framework protocol that would monitor and strategize incoming trends in science and emerging technologies.

Establishment of AI Research Center for Community Development (AIRCoDE) by Joseph Onate of the Camarines Sur Polytechnic College.

AIRCoDE seeks to establish an artificial intelligence research laboratory where AI enthusiasts, faculty and students can study and research about

deep learning, computer vision, etc.

Establishment of Mindanao Natural (MinNa) Language Processing Research and Development Laboratory by Kristine Mae Adlaon of the University of the Immaculate Conception.

The proposed research facility aims to be the library of endangered languages in the Minaoan region. The project is centered on the production of ethnographies of indigenous peoples of the Philippines, whose languages are slowly dying out for fear of discrimination.

Project AutoLABS: RFID-based Automated Equipment Borrowing and Management System with Mobile App Reservation for School Laboratories

by Davie Jone Niverca of Adamson University.

Project AutoLABS is an automated logistics management system designed for the school setting.

Establishment of Internet of things (IoT) Research Laboratory and Training Center by Engr. Mariciel MarcialTeogangco of the University of the Perpetual Help System Dalta.

The proposed research laboratory focuses on the Internet of Things which can provide the environment needed

to simulate the implementation of IoT. Proposed Installation of automated guideway transit (AGT) in Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU) Main Campus (As Laboratory facility of the Proposed Railway Engineering Program and Existing Engineering Programs) by Nelson Andres of BPSU. The proposal aims to run and operate the DOST-donated AGT coaches inside the BPSU campus. The project will also serve as a laboratory for the proposed railway engineering program of the university.

“Let’s start the year by hitting the ground running and planting the seeds of innovation. We hope that through the Sibol launches, we can inspire researchers to hope for a brighter Philippines,” said DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit.

Sibol is the annual showcase of Filipino ingenuity and creativity in science and technology as they present their innovations thru a series of webinars hosted by DOST-PCIEERD. In 2021, 11 Sibol webinars were held, showcasing 149 research projects

by Philippine scientists and researchers, and attended by 2,686 participants via Zoom. S&T Media Services

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Sunday, March 27, 2022

Faith

Sunday

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

Indulgences for 500 Years of Christianity in PHL extended

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ope Francis has extended the possibility of obtaining a plenary indulgence for the faithful in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.

The decision comes in response to the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected activities for many people, and particularly to the request of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

In a March 7 letter to the Vatican, the CBCP said that the Jubilee Year “has been marked with difficulties” posed by the health crisis.

It explained the planned “ecclesial and spiritual activities” in the dioceses were not fully carried out due to the lockdowns and quarantines imposed by the government.

By means of the decree, the pope extended the opportunities for pilgrims visiting any of the more

than 500 “Jubilee Churches” to gain indulgences until December 31, 2022.

The decree dated March 17 was issued by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

With the now “more relaxed” health protocols in the country, CBCP President Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said this allowed churches to increase the capacity in Masses and other religious gatherings.

“It also gives us a greater possibility to push with our spiritual and ecclesiastical celebrations relative to the celebrations of the Jubilee Year,” David said.

Originally, the indulgence was limited from the start of the year-

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Prayer

Pope Francis celebrates Mass at St. Peter’s Baslica for the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines on March 14, 2021. VATICAN MEDIA

long celebration on April 4, 2021— Easter Sunday—to April 22, 2022.

In order to avail oneself of the indulgence, the pilgrims are required to meet the usual conditions of going to confession, receiving the Eucharist, and praying for the intentions of the pope.

They are also asked to pray “for the fidelity of the Filipino people to their Christian calling, for the

increase of priestly and religious vocations and for the defense of the family, concluding with the Lord’s Prayer, the profession of faith, and an invocation to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

The bishops also decided during their plenary assembly last January to close the Jubilee Year on Divine Mercy Sunday on April 24. CBCP News

Japan’s 1st PHL Catholic bishop takes helm of Sendai diocese

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ilipi no B i s ho p E d g a r Gacutan assumed his role as the new shepherd of a northern Japan diocese in a solemn ceremony held on March 19.

A member of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM), he was ordained a bishop and installed as the head of the Sendai diocese before a masked and physically distanced crowd.

In his message, he started by expressing his heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit off the coast of Fukushima on March 16.

T h e 57- y e a r - o l d a l s o e x pressed hope that the war in Ukraine “would end soon.”

He then asked the faithful gathered in the Mototera Koji Church for prayers for his new journey.

“I have always been at home in Japan and may the church in Sendai become home to everyone,” Gacutan said.

The more than two-hour cer-

Bishop Edgar Gacutan blesses the faithful after his episcopal ordination and installation as the new bishop of Sendai diocese at the Mototera Koji Catholic Church on March 19. DIOCESE OF SENDAI

emony included papal nuncio Archbishop Leo Baccardi, Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, and 15 other bishops.

Pope Francis on December 8, 2021, elevated Gacutan to the College of Bishops, becoming the first Filipino prelate in Japan.

T h e nu n c i o s a i d “no o n e

should wonder” that a Filipino missionary has become a bishop in Japan.

“The Catholic Church is a missionary Church. It means open to the world, embracing everyone, giving and receiving, where no one is a stranger,” Baccardi said. “ T he presence of so many

foreign workers in your diocese must see you present among them, take care of them who are far from their countr y and their families,” he added.

Sendai is a diocese that Gacutan had known for a long time.

For three years, he was assigned in the area to help the victims of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that claimed nearly 20,000 lives and also caused nuclear plant meltdowns in Fukushima prefecture.

Recalling the tragedy, he said that many people have been changed, even those who were not directly affected by the disaster.

Born in Cagayan province’s Enrile town, Gacutan has been a missionary in Japan since he was ordained priest in 1994.

At the time of episcopal appointment, he was a parish priest of Matsubara Catholic Church in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward.

T he Sendai d iocese covers Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. CBCP News

‘Titus Brandsma’s canonization source of ‘consolation’ amid ‘fake news’ crisis’

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oon-to-be saint Titus Brandsma may be a source of “consolation» amid “our present struggles against the venom of deceit, lies, fake news, and historical revisionism,” his fellow Carmelite priests in the Philippines said.

The Order of Carmelites (O.Carm.) in the Philippines said the canonization of Brandsma, who is revered as a “martyr of press freedom,” is an inspiration not only for the Church but particularly for Filipino Carmelites.

Fr. Rico Ponce, Prior Provincial of the Philippine Province, said the country is currently “embroiled in a battle against the vicious enemies of truth” and those who use media and communication technology “for their own selfish ends.”

“It is a great consolation for us to have someone from a not-so-distant generation

Blessed Titus Brandsma, O.Carm.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

praying and interceding for us in our current struggles, and who knows how it is to be persecuted for defending his beliefs in the light of his faith,” Ponce said.

“We have much to learn— and to imitate—from Titus Brandsma, who defended truth and press freedom until his

Pope’s consecration prayer for Ukraine, Russia on March 25

dying breath,” he added.

Born in 1881, Blessed Brandsma was a theologian and journalist, who will be canonized on May 15 at the Vatican along with nine other candidates for sainthood.

The Dutch priest was executed at the Dachau concentration camp on July

26, 1942, for his staunch refusal to publish Nazi propaganda in Catholic newspapers. He was beatified

by St. John Paul II in 1985.

For many years, the Carmelites in the Philippines have been working to honor the memory of their holy patron through various initiatives, such as the Titus Brandsma Media Center, which extends learning resources for media education and pastoral care for media professionals.

The religious congregation has also established the Titus Brandsma Media Awards, which honors outstanding media practitioners whose work reflect the values of truth, freedom and genuine service to the poor and marginalized.

The Filipino Carmelites are also known for their active involvement in various initiatives and movements for Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation. CBCP News

elow is the full text of the prayer of Pope Francis during the consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25.

O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations.

We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons.

We stopped being our neighbour’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war, and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves.

Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life.

He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort.

Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (John 2:3).

Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.

Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.

Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.

Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.

Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.

Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.

Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.

Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.

Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace.

May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land.

May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (John 19:26.) In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27).

Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ.

The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world.

The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days.

Our Lady of the “Fiat,” on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope,” water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion.

You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

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Protecting forests, conserving water

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

AMTC and ensuring the sustainability of the endeavor beyond 2022.

“Now, we are targeting to plant 10 million more trees until 2030,” he said.

As for the 5-hectare government property where the Tree Nursery and Eco Learning Center now sits, Velasco said there is a plan to develop the area.

“We have bigger plans for the Center. This is just the first phase. Moving on, the next phase is to build a Watershed Academy Building and a Water Trail to make the small space a multi-purpose area that is open to the public, open to students and researchers where they can embrace not only planting trees but the reality of climate change, and also to love Mother Earth more,” he said.

“MTFI will be knocking on the doors of institutional partners, and we are confident that they will support the Million Trees Foundation,” he ended.

stablished through a United Nations General Assembly resolution on November 28, 2012, the 21st of March of each year has been declared as the International Day of Forests. Meanwhile, highlighting the importance of freshwater, the annual World Water Day is observed on March 22.

It is, hence, no surprise that both occasions are observed in March, when as the peak of the dry season in the Philippines, the water supply is an issue.

It also highlights the interconnectivity of forest and water which is essential to human survival.

Rich natural resources The Philippines is blessed with vast forest cover and water resources. Of the 30 million hectares total land area, 15 million ha are classified as forestland.

Ironically, however, only around 7 million ha are covered with forest.

Likewise, the Philippines has abundant water resources. But water accessibility—or where and when they are needed remains a challenge.

Threatened resources Massive deforestation and degradation particularly in some of the country’s critical watersheds are strongly being felt in terms of water scarcity.

Aggravated by the impacts of climate change, water levels in natural or even man-made reservoirs go down faster than normal, especially during the dry season.

As demand for water grows, the country’s groundwater resources are not spared. The demand for water inevitably grows along with population and rapid urbanization.

National Greening Program

Recognizing the need to rehabilitate the country’s open, degraded and denuded forests to combat climate change, help reduce hunger and poverty, and consolidate all reforestation or greening efforts of the government, the private sector, academe and other institutions, then-President Benigno

C. Aquino III signed Executive Order 26, series of 2011 to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million ha of lands of the public domain from 2011 to 2016.

On November 12, 2015, or a year before the National Greening Program (NGP) expired, Aquino signed Executive Order 193 to rehabilitate all the remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands estimated at 7.1 million hectares from 2016 to 2028.

Under the Duterte administration, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the lead implementing agency of the program, experienced huge budget cuts, compelling the agency to tap private-sector support to the massive tree-planting activities.

As of December 2020, around P49 billion has already been allotted for the program to cover the remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands nationwide.

Last year, the budget for the NGP was P3.158 billion. It was slashed down to P2.265 billion for this year.

Saving critical watersheds Climate change and deforestation have an adverse effect on the country’s watershed, particularly on the water quality of raw water at Angat Dam, said Roman Corpuz, manager at Watershed Management Division of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), in a pre-recorded video shown during the inauguration and opening of the Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center in Quezon City on March 18,.

Corpuz cited an incident in November 2020, at the height of Typhoon Ulysses (international name Vamco), when water

Business sustainability

Angat Dam Photo courtesy of MTFI turbidity severely affected the operation of private water concessions.

The impact of water turbidity on water reservoirs, he said is severe that the operation of water treatment facilities resulted in slow and low production of clean and safe water during that time.

This pushed the MWSS to be committed to saving critical watersheds, according to new MWSS Chief Leonor “Bobby” Cleofas during the same event.

Cleofas noted the fact that the agency’s Annual Million Tree Challenge (AMTC) aims to address the problem besetting not only the seven critical watersheds—namely Angat, La Mesa, Ipo, Kaliwa, Laguna Lake, Umiray and Upper Marikina—and now even Laguna de Bay, but also other degraded forests that need rehabilitation.

“The MWSS mandate is for us to be able to supply a sustainable water supply to the whole MWSS service area and provide sewerage and sanitation services.

But equally important is the protection of the watershed; making sure that we have a healthy watershed for us to have sustainable water,” she told the BusinessMirror.

Public-private partnership In the Philippines, stories of public-private partnerships highlight the effort to protect and conserve forest and water.

Such is the case of water privatization—when the government and the private sector partnered to deliver safe drinking water to Metro Manila way back in 1997.

Then under the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos, the Philippines, through the MWSS privatized water services by engaging the services of Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Corp.

In 2017, Reynaldo Velasco, former chairman and administrator of the MWSS, launched the AMTC, a reforestation program to plant a million trees every year for five years in seven critical watersheds.

He then issued the challenge to the MWSS water concessionaires and set the ambitious reforestation target.

Proponents of the AMTC were able to surpass the target by 200,000 trees, planting a total of 5.2 million trees by February 28 this year.

In the pre-recorded video, Velasco attributed the record-low water level

at Angat in 2017 to the environmental degradation in the Angat watershed.

“When I took over sometime in 2017, I realized that there was already a lot of tree-cutting in the watershed. It is affecting the water level in Angat. We encountered one of the lowest in terms of the level of Angat to about 156 meters [above sea level]. The critical level is actually 180 meters,” he said.

Sustaining partnership for the environment To sustain the gains of AMTC, the proponents of the project decided to establish the Million Trees Foundation Inc. (MTFI), the institution behind the establishment of the Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center.

“We have gone far ahead. We now have an office made of two retrieve container vans with roof deck, a gift shop and the Yakal Coffee Shop,” Velasco shared.

“Most of the wood that we used to make the chairs, the benches, and tables, were all salvaged from the stockyard of the MWSS,” he said.

Velasco underscored the valuable help and support of the private sector in achieving the ambitious target of the

Epson SEA, WWF partner for the region’s sustainability

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

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pson Southeast Asia announced recently its partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as part of the Japan-based company’s commitment to co-create sustainable solutions and empower communities.

In an online news briefing on March 18, Siew Jin Kiat, regional managing director of Epson Southeast Asia, told journalists from the region that the new partnership seeks to scale marine conservation impact and climate solutions across Southeast Asia by working with youths, citizen scientists, as well as businesses and local communities.

“Sustainability has been and will continue to be a core focus for Epson as part of our renewed Epson 25 Corporate Vision,” Jin Kiat said.

“Beyond our ongoing efforts to deliver sustainable technology and solutions to our customers and partners, we are extremely proud to be extending this focus on sustainability to the places we operate in by co-creating a myriad of eco-innovative solutions with WWF and local communities to truly make an impact on a greener tomorrow,” he added.

Jien Kiat said Epson is supporting WWF in order to scale coral restoration efforts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, as well as mangrove restoration in the Philippines to sustain the Coral Triangle, that is acknowledged as the Earth’s epicenter of marine biodiversity.

Moreover, he said saving the Coral Triangle is important because it hosts 76

percent of the world’s coral species and the most mangrove-rich areas on the planet and over 6,000 species of fish.

As a key part of Southeast Asia, and extending south toward the Pacific, Jien Kiat pointed out that marine and coastal resources from the Coral Triangle directly sustain the food and livelihoods of over 130 million people, with billions more tracing their food sources to this region. “ Ye t , d e c a d e s o f o v e r f i s h i n g , unsustainable tourism and urbanization, and the climate crisis threaten to destroy the critical marine and coastal habitats in and around the Coral Triangle,” he said.

He said working with the local stakeholders and institutions is important to ensure these restoration efforts’, aim to support and restore the critically important marine ecosystem health that people all depend on, while, at the same time, building capacity among local communities as key stakeholders in the long-term maintenance and management of their coastal resources.

For the Philippines, the company said it is a “globally significant biogeographic unit of the Coral Triangle.” It said mangrove conservation is of utmost importance for the protection of marine ecosystem services and vulnerable coastal communities.

It is estimated that nearly 80 percent of global fish catches depend on mangrove sites. Moreover, mangrove ecosystems protect coastal communities from wave action and storms, helping to prevent loss of life, property damage and soil erosion.

Jie Kien said increasingly intense

natural disasters, coastal reclamation and overexploitation of resources has led to a deterioration in mangrove sites and consequent rapid decline in fish stocks.

He said more than half of the Philippines original mangrove cover has been lost within the last century. The result has indicated a significant impact on the human wellbeing and livelihoods of coastal communities in the area.

In this regard, the company will support WWF to work with local communities to restore several mangrove sites in southern Palawan.

Epson said local capacity building efforts will focus on mangrove restoration and protection, including seed planting, monitoring and assessment, coastal resource management planning, and more.

To ensure the longevity of restoration efforts by coastal communities, Epson will support WWF to establish a Community Learning and Innovation Hub focused on mangrove restoration. This is part of a network that empowers communities to sustain capacity building, share best practices, and exchange practitioner knowledge.

“Lasting conservation impact is achieved through collaboration with sincere partners,” said WWF-Singapore CEO R. Raghunathan.

“We look forward to working closely with Epson that is committed to real climate action and to drive meaningful efforts to ensure that conservation of our environment is in tandem with economic empowerment and humans living in harmony with nature,” Raghunathan said.

City of San Juan government center

Wikipedia CC-SA4.0

Greenpeace, San Juan City sign pacts for liveability, climate-responsiveness Greenpeace and the local government of San Juan City recently signed three memoranda of agreement (MOA) on World Water Day to promote sustainable solutions with the goal to promote better and sustainable cities.

The MOA signing between Greenpeace and San Juan, through Mayor Francis Zamora, coincided with the celebration of World Water Day on March 22 to highlight the importance of sustainable cities to ensure people’s access to clean and safe water, as well as other ecosystem services provided

by a healthy environment, Greenpeace said in a news release. ”As a city adversely affected by climate change, San Juan City is committed to saving our environment, not just preserving it but actually restoring it to its pristine glory, “ Zamora said during the MoA signing event.

“We are happy to partner with Greenpeace in pushing for a greener Philippines and a greener San Juan,” he said.

Zamora added that signing the MOAs will also assure the San Juaneños that their government is committed to making

Jeric Sevilla, communications head at Manila Water, the private water contractor of the MWSS in the East Zone of Metro Manila and a supporter of the MTFI, said in the video that it is vital for the company to protect the environment that sustains its business, especially against the backdrop of the worsening impact of climate change.

“Climate change is very important in terms of the impact we are feeling right now. Droughts are very common; rainfall patterns are some sort of distorted and our watersheds, which sustain the raw water supply, are very important for us to protect,” he said.

“There is only one way in which we are going to be able to reforest the watershed area and that is to plant more trees to ensure that there will be watersheds in the future,” he said.

For he r p a r t , A ne t t e H . D e Ocampo, senior assistant vice president and head of Corporate Affairs and Communication at Maynilad, said nowadays, especially during summer, we ex per ience extreme heat which cause the dam level to go dow n faster than normal.

“Definitely, AMTC can help address the concern of climate change because tree-planting is the most effective way if not the only way to address deforestation. Also, AMTC is also able to reach out to the various stakeholders through its programs to the public and private sector,” she said in the video. these happen as subsequent environmental projects will also be launched for a cleaner, safer and healthier community, which further validate that San Juan now is truly a Makabagong San Juan.

“Local government units have a big role to play in the country’s green and just recovery,” said Greenpeace Campaigner Rhea Jane Mallari.

“As cities become more unlievable due to the increasing vulnerability and compounding impacts of climate crisis and pandemic, prioritizing people’s well-being in city developments and programs need to come first,” Mallari said. “We are happy to work with San Juan City in this initial step towards the realization of a just, livable and climate-responsive cities.”

The partnership with San Juan City is part of Greenpeace’s Liveable Cities campaign involves three key projects: Community-based alternative delivery systems that will help address plastic pollution at root by integrating refill and reuse systems in community stores.

Installation of air pollution monitors within the city to keep track of air quality, particularly from fossil-fuel based transport The Climate and Pandemic Response Portal which aims to spur citizen action towards climate resilient cities.

“The pandemic and the climate crises are showing us that the wellbeing of people and the planet are closely interlinked,” said Mallari.

“Instead of going back to normal, cities can aim for a better normal through policies and programs that do not just promote climate action, but will enable them to be resilient to disasters, and responsive to the well-being of citizens.”

Sports BusinessMirror

Players push Paris Olympics to find new basketball venue

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ARIS—After criticism from French national team players about a basketball venue planned for the 2024 Paris Olympics, organizers and the sport’s governing body agreed to find a new one.

National Basketball Association (NBA) players Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert, who helped France win a silver medal at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, were unhappy about the choice of Hall 6 at the Parc des Expositions for preliminary round games in men’s and women’s basketball.

Fournier said the ceiling was too low and Gobert joked he was “not going to play in a room where I hit my head when I shoot.”

Gobert, a center with the Utah Jazz, also said this week that the venue, which was itself a change in 2020, showed “a little lack of respect.”

The venue has now been rejected “following the most recent sporting and technical assessments” by Paris organizers and basketball body Fiba.

The organizing committee said in a statement that it and Fiba “have agreed that this venue will no longer host basketball competitions due to its specificities.”

The search for a replacement hall will likely take several months and “will meet Olympic requirements whilst respecting Paris 2024’s guiding principles on environmental and budgetary responsibility,” organizers said.

Olympic medal games in basketball will be played at the 15,000-capacity Bercy Arena, which hosted an NBA game two years ago between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Charlotte Hornets.

In Miami, Basketball Hall of

Famer Ray Allen got scolded by a federal judge and ordered to donate $1,000 to charity for failing to show up at a trial after being selected as a juror.

US District Judge Marcia Cooke told Allen, 46, during Wednesday’s hearing that he had disrespected the court by skipping out on jury service.

Her order says “no man or woman is above performing that civic duty.”

Allen had been selected to serve last week as a juror in a fatal carjacking trial, but did not appear even after Cooke delayed the trial a day so that he could attend the jersey retirement ceremony of former Boston Celtics teammate Kevin Garnett, according to the Miami Herald.

Allen said little during the hearing. His attorney, William McCue, apologized to Cooke and said Allen’s absence “was a complete misunderstanding.” Allen said he would make his donation to diabetes research. AP

RUDY GOBERT of the Utah Jazz is one of the players who complained about the venue. AP

I

Yilmaz’s spot kick sailed over the crossbar, though, meaning the Portuguese were able to avoid another late implosion like in November when they let in a 90th-minute goal against Serbia to drop into the playoffs.

Portugal went on to score again in stoppage time, through substitute Matheus Nunes. Otávio and Diogo Jota had scored the first-half goals for the hosts, who will start as big favorites against North Macedonia.

Ronaldo is hoping to reach a 10th straight major tournament.

BALE BRILLIANCE

CRISTIANO RONALDO’S former teammate at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale, could also be at the World Cup after inspiring Wales to a 2-1 win over Austria and leaving his country one victory away from a first appearance at the tournament since 1958.

Bale scored both of Wales’ goals at Cardiff City Stadium, a sensational free kick into the top corner in the 25th and a powerful shot on the turn in the 51st.

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OLOGNE, Germany—On the day Russian troops surged into Ukraine a month ago, the players of women’s soccer club FC Kryvbas were heading to the airport on their way to a training camp and games in Turkey.

They had to abort the trip as Russian missile strikes hit their home city of Krivyi Rih. The players are now living and training in Germany with support from Cologne, a soccer club with teams in the men’s and women’s Bundesliga competitions.

The players and staff of Kryvbas have managed to stay together, but focusing on training is far from easy.

“I am very glad we arrived here with all our team, that we managed to keep the team. But honestly speaking I cannot say that football is a priority for me now,” Kryvbas midfielder Liubov Mozga said Wednesday at training. “Peace on our land is a priority for me now.”

Kryvbas had booked a training camp with two friendly games in the Turkish resort city of Belek starting February 24, and the players were

His record goal tally for Wales moved to 38 and he continues to deliver inspirational performances for his country, at a time when his club career has stagnated in his ninth season at Madrid.

Wales will host either Scotland or Ukraine in the playoff final in June. Their semifinal match was postponed until that month as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

FOOTBALL NEVER STOPS looking forward to meeting up with teammates who had been away on duty with the Ukrainian national team.

Kryvbas Coach Alina Stetenco’s thoughts were on modernizing fitness training and recovery, and signing new Ukrainian and foreign players to fill out a young squad in the process of a rebuild, she said on social media the day before.

The players were already on the bus when rocket strikes hit the city.

They took refuge in a hotel and ended up staying there for two weeks. The players eventually made their way to Germany with the help of Artur Podkopayev, a former player for the Kryvbas men’s youth teams who was living in the country and asked Cologne for help.

Now the players are staying in a hotel in Cologne which has been converted to house refugees, and they’re able to use their host club’s modern training facilities. Kryvbas was third in the Ukrainian league when the war began and competitions were suspended. It’s not clear when they could resume.

Kryvbas captain Anna Ivanova said she can’t adapt to life in Germany while her family remains in danger at home.

“Being here in a secure place, while your family is under shelling is very difficult,” Ivanova said. “We are worried for our families. They are in touch, they are hiding in bomb shelters. Unfortunately there are missiles flying, the sirens turn on, so their nights are not quiet. Same way, our nights aren’t quiet as well.”

The British government, meanwhile, will allow Chelsea to sell some tickets again after easing the terms of its sanctioning license, ensuring the Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid is not played at an empty Stamford Bridge while denying the west London club the ability to gain financially.

The reigning European and world champions had been banned from selling tickets after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned for his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing invasion on Ukraine.

The oligarch’s assets were frozen

IBRAHIMOVIC’S DREAM ALIVE

ROBIN QUIASON kept alive Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s hopes of playing in another World Cup for Sweden.

With the suspended Ibrahimovic watching on, Quaison came off the bench and scored in the 110th minute as Sweden beat the Czech Republic 1-0 after extra time to advance to the final in the other qualifying bracket.

Sweden will travel to play Poland on Tuesday for a spot in the tournament in Qatar.

Poland received a bye to the playoff final after its scheduled opponent, Russia, was thrown out of qualifying following the war in Ukraine. AP

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin (right) and International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel attend a gala match that features Russian hockey legends as part of the final stage of the X All-Russian Night Hockey League festival in the Bolshoi Ice Palace in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, in May 2021. AP

but the government has now allowed 30 million pounds ($40 million) to be released from Chelsea’s parent company, Fordstam, to provide cash for the club to meet it costs. It equates to about a month’s wages.

Chelsea has been granted a license to continue operating as a club but with strict limitations on its commercial ventures and ability to generate revenue.

The updated license allows the sale of tickets to all home for the visit of Madrid for the Champions League first leg. Chelsea cannot sell new tickets for home Premier League games to its fans—only existing season ticket holders can attend—but away fans can now buy tickets. Chelsea supporters will be able to purchase tickets for away games.

The Premier League said it would collect all ticket proceeds that, in agreement with Chelsea, “will be donated to charity to benefit victims of the war in Ukraine.”

The same agreement will see Chelsea fans now able to attend the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley Stadium against Crystal Palace next month.

The government moves also allows tickets to be sold for games involving the Chelsea women’s team again.

“I would like to thank fans for their patience while we have engaged with the football authorities to make this possible,” British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said. “Since Roman Abramovich was added to the UK’s sanctions list for his links to Vladimir Putin we have worked extensively to ensure the club can continue to play football while ensuring the sanctions regime continues to be enforced.”

Abramovich is in the process of selling Chelsea after 19 years as owner, having been disqualified by the Premier League from running the club and being a director. The government has to provide a license to allow the sale to go through. AP

IIHF calls for ethics probe of Russian federation

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MISSED PENALTY

FROM a commanding position at 2-0, Portugal nearly saw its lead disappear after conceding a goal to Burak Yilmaz in the 65th and then a penalty with five minutes remaining at the Estádio do Dragão.

unday, March 27, 2022 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

PLAYERS of the Ukrainian Football Club Kryvbas train at the Bundesliga club 1.FC Cologne in Cologne, Germany. AP

Italy misses 2nd straight World Cup in rapid fall from grace TALY has gone from winning the European Championship to failing to qualify for the World Cup in just eight months.

In a rapid and stunning fall from grace, the Azzurri were upset by North Macedonia in a 1-0 loss that headlined a night of drama in the European qualifying playoffs during the week.

Italy will miss out on back-to-back World Cups for the first time in the national team’s storied history, having also failed to get to the tournament in 2018.

It was only in July that Roberto Mancini and his players were celebrating winning Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium, supposedly completing Italian soccer’s redemption story.

On Thursday, there were tears of a different kind, and a general feeling of disbelief inside the Stadio Renzo Barbera in Palermo.

“Just as last July was the best thing I experienced at a professional level, this is the greatest disappointment,” Mancini said. “Soccer is like that, sometimes incredible things happen.”

The winner for North Macedonia, which hasn’t played at the World Cup since gaining independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, came in the second minute of stoppage time from Aleksandar Trajkovski’s low shot into the corner from outside the area.

It sparked wild scenes of jubilation among the North Macedonian players, who also beat Germany away almost a year ago to the day.

Standing in their way in Tuesday’s playoff final will be another of Europe’s leading soccer nations, Portugal, which beat Turkey 3-1 to keep alive Cristiano Ronaldo’s hopes of appearing in what is likely to be his final World Cup.

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ITALY’S Domenico Berardi misses a scoring chance during his team’s World Cup qualifying playoff match with North Macedonia at the Renzo Barbera Stadium in Palermo, Italy, on Thursday. AP

HE International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) council has asked an independent ethics board to investigate the Russian Hockey Federation and former IIHF president Rene Fasel over issues related to the war in Ukraine.

The IIHF on Thursday cited Russia’s instructions to the country’s elite hockey league, the KHL, to support the war and both Fasel’s involvement with the country and his comments about the invasion as reasons to open investigations. The board could refer the Russian federation, Fasel or both to the IIHF’s disciplinary committee if the situation warrants.

Fasel, who served as IIHF

president from 1994-2021, has since taken a job as an adviser to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), which is regarded as the world’s best hockey league behind the National Hockey League.

The 72-year-old Switzerland native was critical of the IIHF’s decision last month to ban Russia and Belarus from upcoming competitions because of the invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with Russian state media, he called it a “sad moment in IIHF history,” adding the Soviet Union played Canada and the US during the Cold War and saying, “Even in such a tense situation as today, sport must carry the message of peace and united people.”

The IIHF said its ethics code requires current and former presidents to “conduct themselves in accordance with the principles of dignity, integrity, loyalty and responsibility in all relations of a competitive, economic, social [including social media] and moral nature.”

Fasel has been publicly friendly with Vladimir Putin and been involved with hockey games the Russian President played in. Former IIHF communications director Szymon Szemberg has publicly referred to “Fasel’s shady connections to Putin.”

Reached by text message, Fasel told The Associated Press he had no comment. AP

BusinessMirror

March 27, 2022

Why some women are traveling to South Korea to find boyfriends

2

BusinessMirror MARCH 27, 2022 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

POSITIVE BURST OF ENERGY Tai Verdes on his more ‘relatable’ brand of music

P

By Stephanie Joy Ching

RIOR to the pandemic, music was just a hobby for 25-year old Tai Verdes (born Tyler Colon), who was working in Los Angeles as “an essential worker” in a phone store. Then all of a sudden, his song, “Stuck in the Middle” with its playful and engaging tempo became a big hit on TikTok.

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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Now armed with a #3 Billboard Heatseekers album and #5 Spotify debut album with the studio album “TV,” Tai Verdes is now ready to take on the world.

Known for his very relatable and personal writing style, Tai confessed that all he wanted to do was “make something” while “writing about what I know.”

“It was just making something, I don’t really think about results, but the best thing about it is that people are relating to it,” he said.

“I only write about what I know because that’s how you can get real deep, and you can talk about matters because it matters to you. I probably have the most selfish art around,” he added.

Tai’s song “A-O-K” followed a similar path, having amassed more than 200 million streams, 1.3 million TikTok creations, and earning him #1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artist Chart. The song hit #12 at Top 40 Pop Radio, and #34 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tai has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The TODAY Show, as well as Lollapalooza 2021 to a crowd of 35,000 people, which was his first-ever live set.

At a time when most big name artists found it “insensitive” to post music due to a turbulent social climate, Tai felt that a more positive burst of energy was more than necessary.

“Every big artist stopped doing music, ‘cause I think this was when the pandemic and black lives matter was happening, but for some people, this was still a small business and we have to keep things going, I never even thought to stop,” he confessed.

Off of his debut album, Tai delivers more of that relatable EDM slash hip-hop style with his

new single, “Last Day on Earth.”

With its smooth and laid back composition and almost jazz like influences, the song details Tai’s life philosophy of “safety is an illusion.”

“Everything that you do, you don’t know if you’re going to have the next day, so might as well go do that thing you’ve been thinking about, or if you really

TAI Verdes

like something, go do that and it might work out and it will be really, really fun,” However, Tai is also aware that “people gotta eat”, the song functions as a promise that “things take time,” like his plans for his music career. Prior to hitting it big, he had tried his hand at acting and modeling as well.

“I just didn’t want to do a 9 to 5 job,” he joked, “that’s how badly I wanted to try everything else but what really lit the fire under me was music.”

Though he is just getting started, Tai confessed he has many, many plans for his budding music career.

“I’m gonna be a problem. I love everything that’s happening. But this is not a one song thing, this is a 10-album thing,” he shares.

Tai Verdes’ new single, “Last Day on Earth” as well as the rest of his music are available on major streaming platforms.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | MARCH 27, 2022

BUSINESS

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

Piano ballads, rootsy folk music, brown post-punk and Tears for Fears

KWENTO NI ENTENG At Nakalimutan Ang Mga Diyos

T

HERE isn’t a dull moment over the course of this fine EP even if the music that washes over you is hushed and almost solemn and haunting.

Its rootsy folk instrumentation happens to establish the right mood for anyone to understand what happens when man loses touch with his gods here on Earth. There’s also no titanic struggle to vividly animate that sense of loss but that shouldn’t stop you from grasping the weight of the stories being told on the album. Here’s a haunting line: “Ngayon ikaw ay nagtataka/Sa lakas ng ulan, tuyo ang lupa/Maididilig mo ba ang iyong luha/Maitatanim mo ba ang tingga?” Violating mother nature has never been so aptly bewailed.

EZ MIL Act 1

O

PENING track “Easy Going Millions” with its tinkling lounge piano initially makes this out as tender delicate record from a brown John Legend. Then

next cut “Superly Real” rocks, “Come Through” puts R&B spin to first-rate rap, “Laboy” pumps up the volume, “idk” crackles with IDM bedlam, and “Panalo” is a winner, baby!

Ez Mil still manages to be prouder than you with words that go: “Mga kababayan!

Tayo ay Pilipino, Kahit anong kulay ng balat, Isasapuso/ Mapa-Tagalog, Bisaya, o Ilokano, Walang tatalo sa bagsik ng ating dugo/Isigaw ng malakas ang ating panalo!”

This guy should be bigger in these parts than the next American idol.

THE WEATHER STATION How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars

F

ROM such a mouthful of an album title, Canadian singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman aka The Weather Station taps into terse words to convey a rush of emotions, in the case of her latest album, evocative intimations about personal relationships, selfcare and the state of the world around us. It’s a remarkably tender, delicate record that draws empathy in the hushed ambience of piano ballads.

And she also sings about the pandemic, some terrible news and strange feelings as she turns her introspection inwards so she’s as far away from a cookie cutter lounge lizard. Try a little sonic balm for the ragged soul with

“Marsh,” “To Talk About” and “Endless Time.”

is no throwback to some wild wooly days of 40 years’ vintage.

Instead, the band applies soaring chords and driving rhythms to anthemic ends to create beautiful noise you never knew existed hereabouts. It’s a short trip at five songs yet the music will resonate with you for days on end.

THE MYSTERINES Reeling

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ARAGE rock will never lose its luster in this corner and Liverpool’s The Mysterines is the latest entry in a rather short list of new bands from garageland.

It’s still a young year though and there’s no lack in talent in the new combo from UK. They even extend the life expectancy out of the ‘60s rock subgenre giving its ageing frame a hair metal polish in “Life’s A Bitch (But I Like It So Much),’ true rock and roll swagger in “In My Head” and raw emotions in the grungy ballad “Still Call You Home.” Nevertheless, “Reeling” is no classic; just fun to be around for a spin or two.

CREPUSCULAR DAWN In Filmic Stasis

N

OT to be mistaken for a Goth outfit, Pinoy band Crepuscular Dawn reminds of guitar-driven post-punk outfits like UK’s The Chameleons plus a little bit of The Cure and The Smiths. But theirs

TEARS FOR FEARS The Tipping Point

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EMORY has a way of stealing the thunder from the latest body of work of celebrated musicians from another era. With Tears for Fears, their early hits will be spinning around your head as you sample their newest songs.

The easy conjecture is the duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith are simply playing the music of the times, which is unfair because if one invests some time on “Tipping Point,” its tracks really tip towards some very interesting directions. For one, the overall mood is sad but wizened that’s thwarted a bit by the brave rock of “My Demons,” new wave energy of “Break The Man” and the atmospheric swirl of the titular track. They’re not out to rule the world but rather dispensing hard-won lessons when they were still at the top of their game.

All albums reviewed above can be listened to and even purchased on most digital music platforms.

3

Why some women are traveling to South Korea to find boyfriends

By Min Joo Lee

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Wellesley College

or my entire life I’ve obsessively watched South Korean television dramas, or K-dramas.

The term refers to the disparate genres of television dramas produced in South Korea, including mystery, crime and romcom. Regardless of genre, most K-dramas seek to elicit a visceral response in viewers—laughter, tears, anger, indignation.

The series usually feature charming, wellgroomed actors who are in touch with their emotions.

When I was in elementary school in the US, I regularly went with my parents to a Korean grocery store an hour away from my home to borrow VHS tapes of K-dramas.

Eventually, streaming services ended the need for VHS rentals, and I could watch my favorite K-dramas, such as The Innocent Man, on platforms such as Rakuten Viki and Dramafever.

I turned my passion for South Korean television into a career by earning a doctorate in gender studies at University of California, Los Angeles, where I researched the racial, gender and sexual politics surrounding the global popularity of K-dramas.

For my dissertation, I interviewed women from different parts of the world who were inspired by K-dramas to travel to South Korea to experience the culture firsthand. To meet them, I stayed at guesthouses around Seoul near K-drama filming locations and popular tourist destinations.

More broadly, I wanted to learn about what drew them to South Korea. But I soon realized that a significant number of tourists were less interested in the sights and sounds—and more interested in the men.

The rise of the K-drama Some of the first K-dramas to attract a following outside of South Korea were Jewel in the Palace, Guardian: Lonely and Great God and My Love from the Star, which aired at the start of the 21st century. People around the world watched them on legal streaming web sites offering subtitles, as well as on illegal, fan-operated streaming sites where volunteers wrote subtitles.

In recent years, K-dramas have gone mainstream. Today, streaming platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ not only offer up a bevy of K-dramas for their subscribers, they’ve also produced K-dramas of their own, such as Squid Game and The King’s Affection. The worldwide popularity of K-dramas occurred alongside the popularity of other South Korean cultural products, including Kpop, cosmetics and food. This phenomenon is

A visiting Lecturer in Women’s & Gender Studies at Wellesley College, Min Joo Lee, the author of this story, realized that a significant number of tourists inspired by K-dramas to travel to South Korea were less interested in the sights and sounds—and more interested in the men. known as “Hallyu,” or the “Korean Wave.”

‘Hallyu tourism’—with a twist Galvanized by their interest in South Korean popular culture, more and more tourists are traveling to the country.

South Korean locals call these visitors “Hallyu tourists.” Many of them dine at restaurants and street food vendors so they can try out the food that they see in K-dramas, visit K-drama filming locales or attend a live K-pop performance. However, a significant subset—the group I came to be most interested in—travel to South Korea for love. Drawn to the characters they

nity to date these men was a way to fulfill a fantasy. One German tourist told me that when she meets a Korean man, she feels as if she’s “living in [her] own Korean television drama.”

Our chats often took place over a meal.

Occasionally, I would interview them as we walked to and from clubs and bars—or even in the clubs and bars as the women attempted to meet guys. Some of these women were fluent in Korean, while others were able to communicate by mixing Korean and English. Many of them claimed to have learned Korean by consuming hours of Korean popular culture.

“Drawn to the characters they see on their TVs, ‘Hallyu tourists’ wonder if real-life South Korean men resemble the K-drama male characters, both in their looks and behaviors.” see on their TVs, they start to wonder if real-life South Korean men resemble the K-drama male characters, both in their looks and behaviors.

They come from all around the world— North America, Western Europe, Russia— but tend to have a similar profile: heterosexual women in their early to mid- 20s.

In 2017 and 2018, I stayed in the guesthouses and hostels that Hallyu tourists frequented when they visited South Korea. The tourists who were interested in Korean men soon stood out. Unlike the other tourists who would wake up early so they could explore the city, these tourists would sleep in or watch K-dramas during the day, and then dress up and put on makeup before hitting the clubs and bars at night. They had one primary goal: to meet a Korean man.

To some of these tourists, the opportu-

4 BusinessMirror

In pursuit of ‘soft’ masculinity “Romantic,” “gentle,” “handsome,” “knights in shining armor” are just some of the terms that the tourists used to describe their idealized Korean man. It was a stark contrast to the men back in their home countries, whom they tended to describe as emotionally stunted and hypermasculine.

“I feel so safe around Korean men,” one Swedish woman told me. “Men back home are so [sexually] aggressive. They grope me and try to have sex all the time.

I do not like that.”

A certain type of man does tend to appear in romantic K-dramas. They’re usually depicted as well-groomed, romantic and gentle—a type of masculinity that’s sometimes called “soft” masculinity. As Korean studies scholar

March 27, 2022

Joanna Elfving-Hwang explains: “…Men in popular dramas and romantic comedies are portrayed as attentive, sensitive and ready to express their feelings if needs be. They are well-groomed and fashionably dressed, accessorized with the latest man-bag, and excessively concerned with their looks.”

Some of the tourists did, in fact, find their ideal partners, marrying and settling in South Korea. Their photos and stories circulated among some of the other tourists, giving them hope that they, too, might find and marry a Korean man. However, these success stories were the exception, not the norm.

Most of the tourists I interviewed and stayed in touch with left the country somewhat disappointed. Some did manage to have a short fling with a man; but in most cases, these relationships—exceedingly difficult to maintain at a long distance— fizzled out.

A Spanish woman I interviewed broke up with her Korean boyfriend shortly after returning to Spain. “You have given me nothing but pain,” she wrote in an Instagram post. Other tourists left South Korea utterly dejected: The men they met weren’t anything like the K-drama actors they’d seen on TV. Interestingly, regardless of whether they left the country only partially satisfied or demoralized, many of the women I interviewed were steadfast about their desire to one day fall in love with a Korean man. They believed that they were simply unlucky this time around—that there still existed the possibility of meeting the perfect man during a future visit to South Korea.

The power of media to move In 2020, after South Korean film director Bong Joon Ho won a Golden Globe for his film Parasite, he said, “Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

To me, these K-drama fans-turnedtourists—and their longing for Korean men—signify the power of media from other cultures to move viewers not only emotionally, but also physically. Scholars have documented how some Japanese people take trips to the United Kingdom after watching British period dramas; other researchers have studied how anime has spurred American tourism to Japan.

With entertainment from other cultures increasingly accessible through streaming platforms, I expect this kind of media-inspired tourism to become still more common. Films and TV series set in other countries can pique a viewer’s curiosity about distant cultures, new sounds and exotic foods. But as my research shows, they can also fuel fantasies about love and romance that don’t always have a happy ending. The Conversation

sunday, March 27, 2022

Cover story

Sacred Art and Rust to the Rescue “Mother of Our Creator” Jood Clarino

BusinessMirror

2 Sunday, March 27, 2022

Sacred Art and Rust

“Cause of Our Joy” Jood Clarino

“Domingo Joyful” Lora Ledesma

By Carla Mortel Baricaua Images courtesy of San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation Inc.

W

hile Philippine contemporary art is largely secular, sacred art still exists and Catholicism remains one of its many influences. Reredos artist group, however, bids for sacred art to take a more prominent standing in the local art scene.

“Themes on faith have somewhat become taboo for most contemporary artists and we wanted to change this. We believe that the tradition of sacred art can be, and is a source of inspiration for contemporary artists and art-making. In the way Couturier and Congar’s Renouveau Catholique did during the onset of modernism,” says Michael Muñoz, who heads the Reredos artists that share a common interest in faith-inspired art.

“The way a reredos is set up behind the altar as a vehicle for worship, we want our artworks

to be expressive of this faith,” adds Muñoz. Reredos is actually the ornamental wood, stone screen, or partition wall that sits behind an altar.

Starting in 2015, Reredos, a loose group of artists, conducted lectures and discussions on sacred art as well as initiated exhibits involving pioneering members of nine artists. “We are of diverse artistic styles. We are either into painting, sculpture, mixed-media, graffiti, street art, illustration, pursuing our own artistic interests, but at times we are brought together

by our Catholicity. It was due to our common interest in faithinspired art that we got to know each other,” shares Muñoz.

Reredos member Pia Soriano says the group celebrates art “that is not necessarily religious in nature but incorporates, is influenced by, or promotes a sense of the Divine in a Catholic sense.”

Their group also seeks to beautify churches and places of worship. “It is a pity that our country is predominantly Catholic, but there is a dearth of beautiful churches, thus, the leaning towards devotional art,” she shares, Given the opportunity to pursue their goals, Reredos returns to their second rust to art exhibit hosted by the San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation Inc. since 2018. Participated by 22 local artists, Para Sa Ina: Rust to Art Exhibit is a fully digital fundraiser in support of the teams who continue to work on the restoration of the historic basilica.

“San Sebastian Basilica is part of our heritage as a people.

Personally, it’s a symbol of our nationhood and faith for the past centuries,” says Muñoz.

Curated by Asst. Prof. Mary

“Domingo Luminous” Lora Ledesma Ann Venturina-Bulanadi, Ph.D. of the University of Sto. Tomas, the online selling exhibition features 35 unique paintings, sculptures, and mixed media pieces with rust collected from the all-metal San Sebastian Basilica.

To incorporate rust into her five artworks, Soriano combined chunks of rust in the resin mixed with pigments and gold leaf. She also grounded some rust and used it “like a pigment where I mixed it with a binding medium.” As a result, the rust combined with the gold leaf created a beautiful contrast between decay and non-decay. “It’s fascinating to think both elements react to external stimuli differently, but now that they are in resin, they are forever preserved. In a way, it hearkens to the image of time and the absence of it, or both temporal and eternal realities.”

No matter how tedious the process is, Aljoe “Jood” Clarino took his time to ground the rust particles to a powder-like texture and added gold powder. The resulting mixture was bound together with gesso paste that served as the foundation on the canvas surface. Then the images came from stencil cuts

which then are spray-painted over the surface.

According to Clarino, the rusts represent our finite state while the gold powder represents the Church where the Blessed Sacrament, the presence of Jesus, is kept. “These are bound together to form our foundation as Christians. I have a deep devotion to our Blessed Mother.

Everything she owns, I will support. I hope and pray the Church can still serve its parishioners and help the poor for years.”

Artist Lora Ledesma Domingo used the collected rust to be the main subject of her artworks “by letting it sit in the center like an island the middle of the ocean” and for her, that stands out like a prayer.

Reredos guest artist Juan Alcazaren is known for his penchant to keep the patina of rust on his steel welded sculptures. “For my piece for this exhibit, I encased rust flakes from San Sebastian in small resin half-spheres and attached them to cut-up sections of salvaged steel water pipes forming a heart-shaped rosary for our heavenly Mother. I treated each rust flake here as relic-like.”

Munoz says, “San Sebastian Basilica is part of our heritage

BusinessMirror

Sunday, March 27, 2022 3

to the Rescue

“Nuestra Señora de la Salud” Pia Soriano

“Reliquia II” Michael Muñoz as a people. Personally, I see it as symbolic of our nationhood and faith for the past centuries.” He felt the need to preserve the rust and shards since they are part of a holy place. So, for his art piece, he mixed the rust dust with beeswax to cast the flowers, then the rusted metal shards were coated with wax.

Eight Reredos artists, including Vincent Balandra, Paolo Icasas, and Robert Besana, joined the digital exhibit with the likes of well-respected artists such as Ding Royales, Lawrence Samson Castillo, Joe Datuin, Arlene de

“Restored Spirit 2” Robert Besana

“Our Lady of Mount Carmel” Danny Santiago

“Pagibig at Biyaya” Lawton Ladao

“Heal Us Heal Our Land” Arlene Añonuevo

Castro Añonuevo, Julius Legaspi, Naning Estrella, Marius Black, Byaheng Lawton (Lawton Ladao), Derrick Macutay, Pol A. Mesina Jr., Al Perez, Danny Santiago, Bianca Tan, and Jun Vicaldo. The Para sa Ina exhibit pieces are still available for purchase until April 2022.

For more information about Para Sa Ina: Rust to Art Exhibit, please contact the foundation at officialstore@savesansebastian. org or visit the official Facebook (www.facebook.com/savessbasilica) or Instagram (www.instagram. com/savessbasilica).

“Homage to Our Lady of Mount Carmel” Joe Datuin

“He loves me, He loves me, He loves me” Juan Alcazaren

Alarm Clock, Elbert Caballero

Baptismal Gown, Elbert Caballero

Bicycle, Elbert Caballero

Kettle, Elbert Caballero

Snoopy, Elbert Caballero

Toy, Elbert Caballero

BusinessMirror

On the Dot

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By Jay Bautista Images courtesy of Eskinita Art Gallery

or visual artist Elbert Caballero, painting has been a lifetime vocation—often tedious obsession and exacting discipline—to practice on a daily basis. It is art that allows him to freely draw realistic figures he so adores; it is also a science that permits him to create a technical illusion of colored optics to be viewed from afar.

Using his distinct visual style of marrying realism and pointillism, for his second solo exhibition, Ode to Ordinary Objects, Caballero dwells deeper down into his aged memory. As a result of the on-going twoyear pandemic, Caballero purposely reflected—while being stuck at home—in appreciating the common things that made the biggest impact in his life as a son, father, and husband to his family—as they strive to survive in dignity in this ongoing quagmire.

For Caballero, it was his abiding faith that saved him after all these years, most especially in this ongoing coronavirus threat.

Two related pieces honor this inherent value to his religious fervor. The smallest object is done on the biggest canvas in the selection. The Crucifix has seen better days being a sacred relic bought by Caballero’s mother for a nearby chapel of St. Joseph where she was a Mother Butler coordinator. When the chapel was part of a demolition job, together with the basketball court beside it, she saved the crucifix and gave it to Caballero for safekeeping.

It’s an obvious reminder for Caballero of his mother’s

unconditional love and his abiding faithfulness to God’s purpose. The painting Holy Family is also a related image as it signals Caballero of whom and how to emulate as a family.

Kettle may be small, yet it has the most meaningful symbolism—as it was a wedding gift to Caballero and his wife who have been married for 15 years to this date. It is also the first thing Caballero finds in the morning—every so often holds—as he needs it for his coffee to stay awake and to stay warm all throughout the day.

For Caballero, his wife and their three children mean the most in his life.

Four artworks pay homage to them: Teddy, Snoopy, Bicycle, and Toy. His three children usually spend their time with these things. It is their laughter that brings happiness to Caballero as they often play together after their online classes Caballero has an only daughter, his youngest child.

Two artworks pay homage to his love for her. Baptismal Gown reminds Caballero of his answered prayer when he requested God for a daughter after having two sons. It also immortalizes his responsibility as a father to nurture his daughter well.

Sunday, March 27, 2022 5

The Boot was his surprise gift to her daughter on her seventh birthday. It was what she was craving for. Caballero cannot forget the happiness in her eyes upon receiving it.

Dependent on the most basic things to function comfortably within the day, Caballero now recognizes the Alarm Clock. As a busy man, he cannot put order to his daily itinerary if he will not wake up on time.

Making the Dot Caballero usually primes his white canvases with bland gray paint. He needs the neutrality for his bespoke illustrations with eventual dots to have an expanse-like playing field. He then draws the desired image in black ink which usually evokes from distant memory.

As a portrait artist of 14 years, Caballero is versed with realism ranging from expressions of people to a romantic interlude of landscapes. Lately, he favors familiar objects and extends their familiarity

Teddy, Elbert Caballero

bigger-than-life. The next phase is his favorite activity. Using a fishnet he then hovers it over the drawn canvas. This will guide him on the spacing of his colored painted dots.

As experimentation, he has used countless nets from dresses and other sources but the comfort and exactitude of fishnets were to his liking.

Caballero’s strength is found in his being a colorist.

Using the color of the desired object he then uses a printing technique similar to CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and key or black). He then spreads his hues creating an optical illusion solidifying from a distance. Caballero knows how colors behave and he uses dots to coordinate them.

Every painting is an original creation.

Lately, Caballero appreciates every day through these objects he is alternately featuring on canvas. It has given him a new lease for living— looking forward to a new morning and being grateful

by night-time. A reason to hope for.

These objects represent the values he was nurtured as he has been a professional artist for almost two decades now. These days just to survive is a blessing enough, what more to create art. At a time when the world was losing people at an instance, Caballero appreciates what he has. Magnifying them in his paintings—the very things he almost took for granted turned into bonafide masterpieces hanging on the art gallery walls.

We can learn a lesson or two from viewing Ode to Ordinary Objects and honoring the constant commonness that remained in our impermanent lives.

Sometimes it could even be simpler like a smile, a hug, or one’s mere presence of a loved one. Caballero has remained effective in his paintings, as he continues to gift the present by living his life to the fullest— while highly expressing his aesthetics. That is what makes him most human.

MADE LAUNCHES SEARCH ANEW FOR VISUAL ARTISTS AND MASTERWORKS

M

Carla Mortel Baricaua Ed Davad Job Jonald C. Ruzgal Dennis Cruz Guevarra Charmine Rose Arquibel Queenie Ostulano

Editor Creative Director Senior Graphic Designer Advertising Sales Manager Account Manager Account Manager

For general advertising information, please contact: Dennis Guevarra at 09776806561 dennis.cruzguevarra@yahoo.com Charmine Rose Arquibel at 09953198050 charquibel.philippinesgraphic@gmail.com Queenie Ostulano at 09919720695 queenie.philippinesgraphic@gmail.com

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@TonyAndNick

etrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI) launched the 38th edition of its excellence recognition program for the visual arts – the Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE).

Anchored on the theme “Emerge: Step into Your Boundless Future,” MADE invites Filipino artists to step out of the shadows, and channel their ingenuity into imagining and exploring infinite possibilities. The annual art tilt beckons local painters and sculptors to create art that mirrors the human experience and showcases unconfined potential.

The 38th year of MADE follows the successful resumption of the Painting and Sculpture Recognition Program after a year of pause prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, the program saw the sustained zeal of artists despite a period of limited mobility and

confined environment. MADE received the highest number of entries in the last 10 years with a record-breaking 701 entries. It is a testament that artistic relevance and brilliance cannot be extinguished. This signaled a comeback: that MADE continues to exalt homegrown artistic talents, and cultivate a seedbed for imagination.

The 2022 MADE Painting Recognition Program is open to all Filipino citizens who are 18 to 35 years old (18 years old as of March 31, 2022 and still 35 years old as of September 22, 2022). The entry must be an original artwork, wholly

conceptualized and executed by the entrant.

The 2022 MADE Sculpture Recognition Program, on the other hand, is open to all Filipino citizens who are 18 to 50 years old and have not won in past MADE Sculpture Competitions. Artists who have and have not held solo exhibits are both eligible to join the MADE Sculpture Recognition Program.

Deadline of submission of entries is on March 31, 2022.

Interested entrants shall accomplish the e-entry form over at www.madeartdepot.ph and submit the requirements to hello@madeartdepot. ph. For the required artwork and sculpture specifications, detailed submission procedures, dates to remember, and other important information, please view or download the 2022 MADE Painting and Sculpture Competition Guidelines via www.madeartdepot.ph or visit the MADE Facebook page @ metrobankartanddesign.

BusinessMirror

Sunday, March 27, 2022 9

Patchworking Women–Schooling the Retaso

A

By Korinna Pia A. Saavedra

s a child not old enough for school, retaso was one of the first words made familiar to me in my formative years. We lived a couple of floors above a modista/kosturera whose business brought in generous custom-made orders so that there was enough scrap cloth or pinagtabasan around to play with.

My grandmother on my father’s side had, at one time, taken apart polyester nylon blends from good pickings since they were springy, and made pillow stuffing of them. My brother and I used to jump on little piles of these for fun as we imagined them to be islands, and she of course let us have at it. When I was tired of this, I spent hours helping Lola B take these threads apart and push them into cases in exchange of hours of storytelling.

When I was more receptive, she would say that retaso is useful in the hands of a capable homemaker; they make for lovely patchwork, mantlepieces, pillowcases, quilts or, if the scraps could not inspire imagination, then rags or basahan keep the house clean at least.

Born before the Silent Generation, her philosophy had always been to live in a resilient manner. Retaso patchwork was her testimony against whatever the world threw in her path.

Retaso was reintroduced to me by street vendors that sold us the roughly sewn rags at one EDSA intersection when an early morning drizzle made its way into the school bus, soiling school uniforms lola lovingly pressed the night before.

Later, via Quiapo and Divisoria, they were scraps manually woven into tight colorful doormats which, the sellers said, were of discarded scraps from commercial manufacturers. The looms were artisanal wooden frames with nails hammered into them. Lengthy scraps of cloth are stretched and then woven and worked over these by workers living on below-minimum wage rates per day. Currently, pothold-

ers created in the same manner sell wholesale in the rounded-off figure of P15 apiece.

Thirty years and others later, the backyard technology landed as an upcycling idea to address fast fashion waste in the US, as featured in Vogue. The wastes being T-shirts discarded mostly by consumers, cut crosswise into round strips, and then stretched over and woven using wooden looms that furniture and textile designers Franny Capone and Elise McMahon are currently selling at USD200 apiece.

As expected, the irony hit hard enough to earn the flak that it has.

Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate adoption by culturally acknowledged privileged classes of specific customs, practices, or traditions, even color, in a manner that does not acknowledge the culture from where said customs, practices, or traditions come from.

Filipino American designer Jan Vincent Gonzalez was vocal in his IG about the Vogue piece, saying that it was not just cultural appropriation. He stated rightly that Filipinos are inherently sustainable, “(but) when a white person does the same thing, you applaud them and perpetuate this white savior narrative while demonizing other countries who are, in the end, having to answer for our country’s waste.”

Payatas weavers have cried out against the misappropriation and the social inequality alongside the lack of government support.

Indeed, that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Their voices have risen to ask for equal opportunity so that they might live with dignity.

Retaso work often falls onto

ASIDE from recognition, Filipino women producers of hand-woven doormats and potholders seek equal opportunities to better jobs and livelihood. the laps of women of working age to provide for their family’s needs, from the food they eat to hygiene and infant diapers. They support their men by seeking every form of employment or industry that would keep the children fed. They are lucky if their tables are weighed down by the nourishment they need to stay agile, only to repeat the process the next day and the days after that.

The patchworking industry of today’s standards would see women losing part of their identity and souls to the grind of the economy and cultural appropriation.

Unfortunately, no update to

the specific acknowledgment of this has seen print yet, beyond a simplified apology attributed to a lack of understanding.

Fashion, enablement, and opportunity alongside sociopolitical realities are much to address after all.

Indeed, we need to see retaso work as a task equal to birthing or men working factory machinery, deserving of equal international acclaim and attention.

In fact, in the light of our privilege, we also need to act on understanding the socioeconomic importance of learning about how the dignity of work crosses over

into discussions about fashion, enablement, and opportunity.

In a nutshell, unless lived and appropriately celebrated to be proof of resilience, there can be no common ground between misappropriated culture and what it does socially represent even to this date: patchwork identity.

Schooling the retaso should start where women acknowledge the effort of others. It deserves its rightful place in the true scheme of things that celebrate women, their tenacity, and the acknowledgment they deserve from the rest of their sex and the world they help build.

Winford hits the ground running for 5th Anniversary celebrations I

n 2020, Winford Manila Resort & Casino (WMRC) began the year on a stellar note, with record earnings from December 2019 that went on to be surpassed in January 2020. The luxury hotel in San Lazaro, Manila, was on a roll and more than ready for what was shaping up to be an amazing year for the world-class entertainment destination.

Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out just a few weeks into March. Together with other players in the tourism and hospitality industry, WMRC quickly complied with a government order mandating all businesses to temporarily cease operations amid growing concern over the safety of the nation’s 100 million-strong population.

During the closure, WMRC’s goal was to fulfill its obligation for love of the country and do its part to curb the dire situation. More than that, the company ensured that its employees— who make up the heart and soul of Winford—were well taken care of. WMRC also spent this downtime making the necessary upgrades throughout its property in adherence to all safety guidelines set by local health authorities.

“No doubt that the

past two years have been challenging for Winford Manila and the tourism industry,” said Jeffrey Evora, WMRC President & Chief Operating Officer, during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting last November.

“We found ourselves in uncharted waters due to the sheer magnitude of the pandemic. But through dedication, perseverance, and adaptability, we succeeded in weathering arguably the worst economic crisis in centuries.”

In July 2021, WMRC’s efforts to make safety enhancements were recognized when it received the highly-coveted Safety Seal Certification—an exclusive distinction bestowed upon accommodation establishments that implement and enforce safety protocols set by the InterAgency Task Force (IATF) to combat the spread of

Covid-19.

Finally, in November, WMRC received the green light from authorities to accept leisure and business bookings anew, with luxury facilities like the 600-seater ballroom also allowed to recommence operations

for banquet events such as weddings and conferences.

“Our goal in 2022 and beyond is to regain the momentum we enjoyed in early 2020, now that things are slowly returning to normal. We are ready to welcome guests back to Winford Manila with their safety a top priority not only to ensure they have peace of mind, but so they will feel like they are in a place that is as safe as their own home.”

Since February, WMRC has already delivered on this promise by rewarding members and guests for their continued patronage with a live concert series topbilled by big names such as Truefaith and Imago. The OPM bands performed at Hippodrome Bar & Lounge, WMRC’s newly-refurbished entertainment hub now with safety dividers in every table.

Bannered under a

campaign dubbed ‘Panalo ka sa San Lazaro’, WMRC’s key message is that its amenities and offerings are at par with those of 5-star hotels minus the prohibitive rates, providing guests with a ‘winwin’ or ‘panalo’ customer experience in San Lazaro.

The campaign slogan also pays homage to San Lazaro Hippodrome, home of the Manila Jockey Club, the first horse racing club in Southeast Asia built-in 1912.

In celebration of its 5th Anniversary this April, WMRC recently activated ‘SINGKO SWERTE’, a onemonth-long extravaganza wherein members and guests are invited to sign up for a chance to win one or more of 15 brand new motorcycles, plus a variety of big-ticket prizes from any of 15 ongoing raffle draws until April 30, 2022.

As of this writing, other confirmed exclusive deals include a one-night stay in WMRC’s spacious Deluxe Room with a breakfast buffet for two for as low as PHP3,600 nett. And for a scenic dining experience with a panoramic view of the city, there’s the eat-all-you-can pastry buffet for only PHP450 nett per person at WMRC’s alfresco poolside dining outlet Zabana Bar on the hotel’s 11th floor.

BusinessMirror

Sunday, March 27, 2022 11

Pinoy filmmaker wins special prize in New York

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By Seymour Barros Sanchez

ward-winning Filipino filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Richard Soriano Legaspi won the Special Honor Mention at the 6th edition of the 21 Islands International Short Film Festival (21 Islands ISFF) in New York City.

Scenes from “Job Order” that garnered Special Honor Mention at the 6th 21 Islands International Short Film Festival

Richard Soriano Legaspi

Legaspi added another feather to his cap when his experimental short film “Job Order” was announced the winner of the special prize during the festival’s awarding ceremony last February 23.

The film reflects on the daily journey of migrant workers in Taiwan as it shows the geography and culture of the island through a fast-moving narrative and as a reflection of their limited time.

The 21 Islands ISFF features animation, experimental, and live-action films “from island nations, island states, island cities, and island territories around the world.”

This year, it also screened selected films from Australia, Canary Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Madagascar, Madeira Island, Malta, Manhattan, Montreal, Puerto Rico, Sardinia, Sicily,

Singapore, Taiwan, Tenerife, United Kingdom, and Vancouver Island.

“We showcase short films that depict stories that express cultura l, philosophica l, and aesthetic perspectives shared by artists living and producing their work in islands and their respective audiences,” 21 Islands ISFF curator, filmmaker, and media producer Melisa Ramos explained.

“Job Order” was selected “from thousands of multilingual submissions originating in hundreds of qualifying locations worldw ide.” T he experimental film was previously shown at the 17th Athens Digital Arts Festival in Greece last October.

Completing the circle of winners are “Hedy” directed by Andy B. Clarke (Ireland), Best Film; “Martin’s Vantage Point” by Chedey Reyes (Canary Islands), Best Script; “Before the Beauty is Gone” by Mackai Sharp (Vancouver Island), Best Editing; “The Hole” by Fang Hsin Kai (Taiwan), Best Animation; “Hello” by Oldren Romero (Cuba), Best Cinematography; “Nostos Algos” by Juan Diego De Leon (Dominican Republ ic), Best Direction; “Pacing the Pool” by Radheya Jegatheva (Australia), Best Documentary; and “Cacos”

by João Brás (Madeira Island), Audience Award.

The festival, which shines a spotlight on island life in

its richness and diversity, was presented by Pregones/Puerto R ican Traveling T heater, “a multigenerational performing ensemble, mu ltidisciplinar y a r ts presenter, a nd ow ner/ steward of bilingual arts facilities” in The Bronx and in Manhattan, NYC. “A diverse cross-section of the community served by Pregones/PRTT participates in the festival selection process. Artists, activists, scholars, audience members, and neighbors of diverse age and cultural heritage evaluate over 1,500 multilingual film submissions from more than 200 islands worldwide,” the organizers revealed.

The finalists then competed for both Festival Jury and Audience Choice awards.

Legaspi is a three-time Gawad Alternatibo awardee of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, winner in the screenplay category of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, and a recipient of the UNESCO-Aschberg Laureate, eventually becoming a resident artist of the Università delle Idee, Cittadellartez-Fondazione Pistoletto, and winner of the ILLY Can Prize Design-Art for Social Change in Italy.

His other films have competed and won in different film festivals in the Philippines and around the world.