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Sunday, March 28, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 168

P25.00 nationwide | 4 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

FOOD LAB WIRESTOCK | DREAMSTIME.COM

Caraga Region revs up crop and livestock production amid growing pandemic demand

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By Manuel T. Cayon

AVAO CITY—Production of staple grains and other major crops has been intensified in the Caraga Region, even amid Covid -19 restrictions, when urban centers reeled heavily from the scarcity and rising prices of available food supply.

The revitalized agriculture assistance is also significant to the region, long acknowledged as the timber capital of Mindanao, although much of wood-based products are currently concentrated in tree plantations and calls have been renewed to protect the remaining secondarygrowth forests.

In 2016, egg production got a technical boost from the assistance of an Aboitiz-subsidiary firm and a year later, the region’s planners joined a Mindanao study tour on the fisheries industry in coastal Infanta, Quezon, “to generate benchmark information on designing value-chain ventures for the different fisheries sectors across Mindanao.”

In 2017, the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Program granted the processing and marketing proposal of the Bayugan Rubber Producers Cooperative in the towns of La Paz, Espe-

ranza, Talacogon and Prosperidad in Agusan del Sur; and the regional office of the Department of Agriculture sent 53 farmers to undergo the Kapatid Agri Mentor Me Program, a coaching and mentoring facility for agriculture enterprise to sustain and scale up the farming business of farmers.

Since 2008, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said, it has assisted and monitored the operation of 31 barangay food terminals, 11 municipal food terminals, two organic agriculture trading posts, one Agri-Pinoy trading center and four rice processing centers in the region.

“These 49 business hubs have been operated by farmer associations and cooperatives supported by the office,” it said.

The assistance—in the form of direct distribution of seeds, farm inputs and machineries, training and short-course learning—was sustained in the next years, halted

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.6310

abruptly, albeit briefly, by the restriction of movement during the pandemic.

But as soon as the nation learned to devise ways to keep food supply going, farm production resumed immediately.

was actually a deceleration from the previous year (6.03 percent in 1999) and it was because of the slowdown of the performance of the agriculture, fishery and forestry sectors.

Not rivals

AMID the pandemic last year, P42.38 million was granted to 15 accredited rice-based farmers’ cooperatives and associations in Agusan del Norte and Butuan City. This was distributed by DACaraga Regional Director Abel James I. Monteagudo and Director Baldwin G. Jallorina of the DA’s Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech).

The equipment consisted of 13 four-wheel tractors, 11 hand tractors, 18 floating tillers, six rice-combine harvesters, two walkbehind transplanters, three ridingtype transplanters and one precision seeder.

DA-PhilMech said farm mechanization can lower the cost of cultivating palay (unhusked rice) by P1 to P2 per kilo. At present, the cost of producing a kilo of palay in the Philippines is P12 per kilo, while it is P6 in Vietnam and P8 in Thailand.

PhilMech also handed out P150.1 million worth of rice production and postharvest machinery and equipment to 53 accredited rice-based farmers’ cooperatives and associations in Surigao del Sur. Monteagudo said his office

THE two economic sectors—agriculture and forestry—may be occasionally deemed rivals in terms of utilization of available land, but Caraga region appears to blend the two together, enough to propel it to an outstanding performance in terms of regional output.

Government monitors show this northeastern Mindanao region contributing 8.01 percent in 1998, 8.25 percent in 1999 and 8.29 percent in 2000 to the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of Mindanao during these years.

In the same period, the region’s economic growth accelerated faster and outpaced other regions in Mindanao, hitting 5.42 percent in the years 1999 and 2000, second only to Southern Mindanao Region, which posted 6.06-percent growth.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry sector was the leading contributor to the region’s GRDP in 2000, placed at P14.336 billion, higher than its 1999 performance of P13.599 billion.

To further illustrate the important contribution of these two sectors, the regional economic performance in 2000 (5.42 percent)

Machinery and technology support

also built the region’s first monolithic dome in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. This is a cold storage facility to keep the freshness of perishable food such as vegetables and fruits by slowing down the deterioration process and extend its shelf life for several weeks. “This is like a production facility where the harvest is packed and stored in a disaster-resistant structure,” Monteagudo pointed out.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that Agusan del Sur’s 2019 production of 10,459.30 metric tons contributed 70 percent of Caraga’s vegetable production.

Assistance also came in the form of electronic media learning for the DA’s Smart Rice Agriculture.

The DA-Agricultural Training Institute and Philippine Rice Research Institute-Agusan conducted the Unified School-on-the-Air Program on Smart Rice Agriculture (SOA-SRA), from March 9 to 12, to reach a target of 3,000 farmers in municipalities and cities with average yields of less than four tons per hectare in the region.

“Tapping radio as a medium is a strategic and creative solution of the department to the massive information and educational needs of farmers. Radio also amplifies the limited reach of agricultural extension workers and stands as a practical platform during a pandemic such as Covid-19,” Monteagudo said.

Aside from technology, the DA distributed direct financial assistance to hard-up farmers to ensure that they work up their farms during the pandemic.

For example, the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, allotted P58.3 million to assist groups like the Goat Raisers Association of Sitio Sanyata (GRASS) and the Chicken Raisers Association of Burboanon (CRAB), recipients of the 2019 Goat and Chicken Production Projects at Barangay San Roque and Barangay Burbuanan, Bislig City.

As of January 2021, GRASS reported 13 goat stocks (10 does, two bucks, and a kid). The group also sells their goats’ manure to earn additional income. CRAB, on the other hand, has yet to sell its poultry products. They only received their 180 chickens in December 2020. This year, CRAB will receive poultry production materials and drugs and biologics worth P251,050.

The regional DA has also set aside P161 million for different agriculture interventions to rice farmers this year in Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur. Livestock and poultry raisers also received assistance as the DA gave P1.4 million worth of animals in November last year. It said animal stock comprised: 400 heads of free-range chicken for eight farmer Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4456 n UK 66.8336 n HK 6.2599 n CHINA 7.4274 n SINGAPORE 36.0577 n AUSTRALIA 36.8672 n EU 57.2387 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9683

Source: BSP (March 26, 2021)

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, March 28, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Beyond the pandemic: London’s Tube battles to stay on track

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By Jill Lawless | The Associated Press

ONDON—When London came to a stop as a nationwide coronavirus lockdown was imposed a year ago, the Underground kept running as an essential service. But it was a strange and unnerving experience for its workers.

Joseph Cocks, a driver on the subway’s Circle Line that loops around the city center, said he could “count the number of people who got on the train on one hand.”

“To see it on a Monday morning peak, to see hardly anyone about, was shocking and surprising,” he said of the system that opened in 1863 and is known colloquially as the Tube.

Its continued operation was a sign that even in a pandemic, London’s heart was still beating.

In a city where almost half of households don’t own a car, public transit keeps economic and social life moving. Before the nationwide lockdown on March 23, 2020, about 5 million journeys a day were taken on the Tube. Its iconic map, reminiscent of a multicolored circuit board, is both an emblem of the city and an essential tool for residents and visitors alike.

In the early weeks, when most Britons were told to stay at home and fear outpaced facts about the virus, Underground employees kept going to work, but worried about getting sick.

“We didn’t know exactly how bad it was,” Cocks said. “There were worries about how dangerous this job was, and you’d hear stories of people on the Underground catching coronavirus. So we didn’t know

how fast it spread and how safe we were.”

Initial casualty count

COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on Transport for London (TFL), which runs the city’s subway, suburban rail and bus network. At least 89 TFL staff have died from the coronavirus, most of them bus drivers, whose death rate has been three times the national average, according to a study by University College London.

The virus has hit people in public-facing jobs hardest, and the death toll has been higher among ethnic minorities than their white compatriots. The reasons are thought to include jobs, underlying health conditions and economic inequality.

About a third of the TFL workforce belongs to an ethnic minority, in part a legacy of the thousands of people from Britain’s former colonies who came to the UK after World War II to bolster a depleted workforce.

Brian Woodhead, the Underground’s director of customer services, says the network acted quickly to protect staff and passengers. Masks are mandatory, hand sanitizer is plentiful, escalator handrails are blasted with virus-killing ultraviolet light and

A TUBE train arrives at Edgware Road Underground station in London, March 10, 2021. Nicknamed the Tube, the Underground’s staff from cleaners to train drivers take pride in maintaining a system that keeps London’s heart beating. AP/ALASTAIR GRANT

one-way systems reduce logjams in station corridors. On buses, drivers sit in sealed-off cabs.

“As much as anyone can in the circumstances that we now find ourselves in, I think that the Tube is a safe environment,” Woodhead said.

He cites a recent study by Imperial College London, which tested for the virus on surfaces and in the air on the Underground and found

none. That is due in part to people like Ivelina Dimitrova, who supervises 20 cleaners at stations, including the busy King’s Cross. She and her crew—mostly immigrants from Eastern Europe, Africa and south Asia—regularly spray surfaces with hospital-grade disinfectant.

“We had to change our work routine and everything, and [had] to do it fast” when the virus arrived, she said, adding that they felt constant stress about getting infected.

Do what we have to do

NOW, she said, “we have strong morale, because we feel that we have to do what we can do just to keep ourselves safe, our families safe, other people around us safe.”

Passengers who previously took little notice of the cleaning staff now sometimes stop to thank them, she said.

The pandemic has left the world’s oldest subway system facing an uncertain future. The Tube, which relies heavily on ticket revenues, faces a cash crisis. Ridership plunged to just 4 percent of pre-pandemic numbers early in the outbreak and now carries about a fourth of the passengers it did be-

CUSTOMERS ride the the escalators at King’s Cross Underground station, with a coronavirus information advert on a large screen over the escalators in London, March 10, 2021. AP/ALASTAIR GRANT

THE MINDANAO FOOD LAB Continued from A1

associations of RTR, Agusan del Norte; 30 heads of cattle to San Francisco and Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, for 22 farmer-recipients; 20 heads of goat for learning sites through the Agricultural Training Institute; 50 heads of hogs to Small Hog Raisers Association of La Paz, Agusan del Sur, and 250 chickens for five farmer associations at Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur. The DA also distributed 610 heads of chicks to 61 families in Barangay Matho, Cortes, Surigao del Sur, with one bag of feeds, vitamins and vegetable seeds for each recipient.

Peace dividend

A PLEASANT surprise that came with the revitalization of agri-

culture in the erstwhile timber country was the dividend of peace among former combatants.

A DA communication dispatch last year talked about how the Taguibo Coconut and Cacao Growers Association Inc. (TCCGA) “came to be.”

“With the common ground of being engaged in coconut and cacao growing, the association, aside from farmers, is composed of retired soldiers and rebel returnees who have turned to farming to alleviate their way of living,” it said.

The association was organized in 1987 as the Taguibo Small Coconut Farmers Organization with coconut growers as members. The unstable market price of coconut then—even plunging to as low as P2.50 per kilogram for a whole nut—discouraged farmers, further aggravated by the difficulty in accessing loans because of stringent requirements.

The group was activated in 2014 with the inclusion of cacao because of its high demand in the market. This renewed the hope of the farmers and they availed themselves of the said project. It was renamed later.

At present, the TCCGA

now has 120 members and 72 of these are active cacao growers.

They have a total 131.7 hectares of land area clustered in the barangays of Taguibo, Cabcabon, Sumilihon, Antongalon, Camayahan, Anticala and Pianing, all in Butuan City. These are planted with 70,747 cacao trees, of which 70 percent are already productive.

No one left behind

THE agriculture endeavor was also commendable with the inclusion of the beneficiaries in the government’s 4K cash assistance program along with the indigenous peoples’ (IP) communities.

For this special project, the DA had P13.7 million last year and another P14.9 million this year.

“Our IPs have massive spaces and lands for agricultural products, but these are not productive. This is the reason why this initiative is lodged under the DA, of course in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), to safeguard the customs, traditions, values, beliefs and interest of the communities,” explained Edelmira Luminarias, DA-Caraga 4K Program focal person.

2021 direction

THE DA said the bulk of its activi-

ties would center on capabilitybuilding activities, “designed to guide and equip the farmer-partners in their transition from subsistence to entrepreneurial farming is in the works. These include entrepreneurial mind-setting and organizational communication.”

The DA-SAAD Program allotted P58.3 million for its 2021 implementation in the Caraga Region; P33.8 million for food production and livelihood projects and P1.6 million for capability-building in the municipal and regional levels.

It said the program would no longer establish additional groups this year, “but it would continue supporting all 32 associations established in 2019 and 2020.” Expansion of SAAD-funded production areas and increasing breeding stocks (multiplier farms) are among the priorities of the program this year as it gears up for its entrepreneurial phase.

This year, portions of the DA budget would go to the following interventions: production support services, P81 million; extension support, education, training services, P27 million; research and development, P9 million; and agri infrastructure and farm mechanization, P43 million.

Aside from the regular Rice Pro-

fore the outbreak.

During one recent rush hour, a trickle of passengers hustled through the ticket gates at the usually teeming Victoria and King’s Cross stations, past posters reminding travelers to wear face coverings and “Be Kind” to one another.

PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has set the country on a slow path out of lockdown, with hairdressers and shops scheduled to reopen April 12. But people are still advised to work from home if they can and to take the Tube only if needed.

His government has given Transport for London about £4 billion ($5.6 billion) in grants and loans to keep it running, although the money is due to run out on May 18.

Talks on funding have been clouded by acrimony between Johnson’s Conservative government and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a member of the Labour Party.

Woodhead expects ridership to increase, but “whether that’s 18 months or whether it’s 36 months” is hard to predict. And the pandemic may have changed travel patterns for good, with more walk-

ing and cycling and less rush-hour commuting.

In December, an independent report commissioned by TFL and the mayor said a “credible” forecast was that there would be a 20 percent reduction in demand for public transit due to “travel changes and economic weakness” after the pandemic.

“People won’t, I doubt very much, commute five days a week,” Woodhead said.

“Some people will. But there’ll be a lot of people now that do it in a hybrid way. That’s surely going to happen, which on one side will help from a congestion point of view, but the other side won’t help from a revenue point of view.”

Still, Woodhead is confident the Tube will be a key part of London’s recovery.

“It’s just interwoven into the whole infrastructure and the way in which London works,” he said.

Meanwhile, drivers like Cocks will keep doing a job that has become “a bit more secluded, a bit more isolated.”

“It’s nice to know that you’re keeping London moving,” he said.

“You’re doing your bit to keep everything going from A to B.”

gram, DA-Caraga is also currently implementing the Rice Resiliency Project 2 (RRP 2) with a total budget allocation of P229 million for seeds, fertilizers, and logistics support for the current cropping season (September 2020-March 2021).

Vouchers will also be issued to marginal farmers to ease the situation, said Melody Guimary, DACaraga radio program head. As of January 4, she said some P3.1 million worth of vouchers have been distributed to qualified farmers in Caraga Region for the cash and food subsidy for marginal farmers and fishers.

“We have already distributed subsidy vouchers to a total of 639 farmers in Caraga Region out of 911 recipients endorsed to the central office,” she said.

Another batch is expected to receive the vouchers as soon as approval is obtained from the central office.

The voucher indicating a QR code has an amount of P5,000 each divided into P3,000 for cash and P2,000 for food subsidy.

“Each recipient will present their voucher to the private paying outlet, specifically MLhuillier identified by the Development Bank of the Philippines as a program partner. The same voucher will be

presented also for the food subsidy from the supplier identified by the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (Amad) of DA-Caraga,” Guimary explained.

The food subsidy includes rice, dressed chicken and table egg.

She said the program aims to help the corn farmers who are tilling not more than 1-hectare farms, are residents of 4th to 6th class municipalities or cities, and registered in the Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA).

Guimary said respective local government units would submit the list of qualified farmers and the regional office would endorse the same to the central office for review and approval.

The program’s budget has been included in the Bayanihan Act II to help marginal farmers to recover from the crisis brought about by the pandemic and calamities that hit the country.

“Under the program, Caraga Region has an indicative target of 2,395 recipients or an allocation of P11.9 million,” Guimary added.

Aside from marginal corn farmers, other recipients for CFSMFF are coconut farmers, fishers, and sugarcane planters and IPs.

“No one should be left behind,” she said.

Keeping London moving

TheWorld BusinessMirror

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

Paraguay says Chinese vaccine offers tied to dumping Taiwan

By Chris Horton & Ken Parks

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ike many nations, Paraguay faces an uphill battle to procure coronavirus vaccines. But its quest is being complicated by fraught relations between China on one side, and Taiwan and the US on the other.

The Paraguayan government has been approached with offers of Chinese-made vaccines in exchange for breaking ties with Taiwan, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement earlier this week. The ministry said that the offers were made by individuals “whose legitimacy and ties to the government of the People’s Republic of China are not proven.”

Foreign Minister Euclides Acevedo vowed in a radio interview on Monday to not bow to pressure, according to local news site Hoy. “We are not going to accept them telling us, ‘We sell the vaccines, but they break relations with Taiwan,’” Acevedo said.

Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry didn’t immediately respond to phone calls and an e-mail seeking comment.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said Wednesday that she wasn’t aware of the source of the allegations, but said the country was “always honorable and above board” with its offers for vaccine support. “On the specific incident you mentioned, I think it is a typical malicious piece of disinformation,” Hua told a regular news briefing in Beijing.

The episode is the latest example of how geopolitics is infecting the global race for vaccines, with major powers dominating production and hoarding supplies. It also caused street protests against the government’s handling of the health crisis and led to opposition lawmakers unsuccessfully pushing for an impeachment last week.

Paraguay belongs to a shrinking club of 15 countries including Guatemala and Honduras that still recognize Taiwan’s government, officially known as the Republic of China, over Beijing. The 63-year-old relationship dates back to when anti-communist dictators Alfredo Stroessner and Chiang Kei-shek ruled in Asuncion and Taipei. Stroessner’s personal secretary and father of current Paraguayan President, Mario Abdo Benitez, accompanied the strongman on his visit to Taiwan in 1975.

Taiwan has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and aid over the years, but Paraguay’s dogged support of Taipei has sidelined it from public works financing under China’s so-called

Belt and Road initiative. While Chinese factories flood Paraguay with manufactured goods, Paraguay can’t directly sell its beef and soy to China.

China’s Communist Party claims Taiwan as its territory, despite having never ruled it, and has stepped up efforts to poach the island’s diplomatic allies since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s election in 2016.

Tsai, who maintains that Taiwan is already a sovereign nation, and has sought to defend such relationships while pursing greater economic and security ties with the US.

‘Political manipulation’

“Vaccines should not be used as a tool for political manipulation,” Alexander Yui, director general of Taiwan’s Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, told a news briefing on Tuesday. “We strongly oppose attempts by some parties to use the cutting of Taiwan-Paraguay relations as a precondition for receiving the Covid-19 vaccine from China.”

Hua, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, sought to blame Taiwan for the dispute. “We urge certain people in Taiwan to stop making petty moves or create rumors or engage in political manipulation,” she said.

Paraguay has struggled to secure vaccines for its population of more than 7 million. The South American country has received just 63,000 doses since February, although it recently announced that India and Qatar had promised to supply a total of 600,000 shots. The government has reported more than 198,000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 3,800 deaths.

Paraguay’s desperate search for shots has attracted dozens of middlemen including a real-estate company offering to broker vaccine deals. Many of the 35 intermediaries that have approached the health ministry have demanded multimillion-dollar down payments, Health Minister Julio Borba said in a radio interview.

After Panama, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic switched ties to China, the US has sought to prevent further diplomatic gains for Beijing in its own backyard. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed relations with Taipei during a March 14 call with Abdo Benitez, stressing “the importance of continuing to work with democratic regional and global partners, including Taiwan, to overcome this global pandemic, combat corruption, and increase transparency and accountability.”

Bloomberg News

Sunday, March 28, 2021

A3

Myanmar citizens use protester toolkit to sidestep Internet ban

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By Jamie Tarabay

idestepping a crackdown on Internet use since the military seized power almost two months ago, hundreds of thousands of protesters and citizens in Myanmar are finding different ways to communicate online, downloading tools to bypass censorship restrictions and turning to alternative media sources and underground networks, according to new research.

They have moved to a mirror site of Facebook on the dark web, used apps that rely on Bluetooth technology to continue messaging each other and turned to lesser known social-media platforms to stay connected, according to Recorded Future Inc., a closely held cyber-security firm based near Boston, Massachusetts.

Myanmar citizens are following the lead of protesters in Hong Kong, Belarus and elsewhere who have found creative ways around government Internet restrictions. Protesters from some of those countries are now providing guidance and support to Myanmar, and online forums are offering tips on how its citizens can stay connected.

“In the history of Myanmar and all the coups they’ve experienced and all this political upheaval, it looks to be the first time the people really had this type of access to alternative platforms, and have used it to reach out to international organizations and other countries for help,” said Charity Wright, cyber threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future, who has been studying the impact of the crackdown on the Internet for the past

month and a half.

The situation in Myanmar is evolving, as the government seeks to block different types of communication and citizens try new methods. That means what’s working now to evade government restrictions may not work in the coming weeks, said Anissa Wozencraft, a Recorded Future analyst who worked with Wright on the research.

Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the military junta, told reporters in the capital, Naypyidaw, on Monday that the military had “no plan to restore mobile data at this point because some people are using the mobile Internet to instigate destructive acts.”

The search for alternate ways to communicate online followed a February 1 military coup and arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her civilian government. The Internet was temporarily shut down entirely, and now coup leaders are cutting it off from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m., according to Recorded Future and news reports from the country.

The youth-led protest movement is demanding the release of civilian leaders including Suu Kyi, recognition of the 2020 election results that her party won in a landslide and the military’s removal from politics.

“The junta continues its attempts to overturn the results of a democratic election by brutally repressing peaceful protesters and killing individuals who are simply demanding a say in their country’s future,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Monday.

In the first 48 hours following the coup, some 1.4 million people across Myanmar downloaded the messaging app Bridgefy, according to Jorge Rios, the company’s chief executive officer.

Bridgefy allows users to send offline messages to others within a certain range by using a phone’s Bluetooth. It was used by protesters in Hong Kong as well as in Turkey.

By February 13, almost two weeks after the coup, Internet use in Myanmar dropped to 15 percent of its normal traffic, according to Recorded Future.

Coup leaders banned Facebook on February 4, prompting a 7,200-percent increase in the use of virtual private networks, or VPNs, in the country that day, said Wright. Since then, only those with access to VPNs—which encrypt Internet traffic and disguise identities—have been able to use Facebook, said a 26-year-old student, speaking to Bloomberg from Yangon. She requested anonymity for fear of being tracked and detained by the authorities.

Myanmar citizens also switched to the Tor browser, which enables access to the underground Internet or dark web. They scoured forums for information on how to avoid detection, Recorded Future found. When various forums indicated that the military was searching for anyone with Tor installed on their device, its usage dropped, according to the report.

“Normally we don’t talk about VPN, we don’t talk about Tor, but since the coup we’ve been using them,” the student said.

“I think it is partly our generation, also

partly because a lot of Burmese have been to foreign countries to get educated and they were exposed to such technology.”

Myanmar citizens are also getting help from beyond their own borders.

Protest movements in countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong coalesced under the umbrella of the Milk Tea Alliance to show their support and to share documents and tips, including how to set up anonymous web chats, Wright said.

Hacktivist organizations from around the world recommended applications that bypassed censorship restrictions, including Signal, Briar, Tails operating system and the Brave Browser, according to Recorded Future.

Pro - democrac y conversat ions about Myanmar have sprung up on Reddit and other online forums, Wright said. Among the items shared online are tips and techniques about protesting, such as how to deal with tear gas, promote events, administer first aid and stay safe.

Wright and Wozencraft shared images and links in their report, but hid the identities of the protesters they studied to prevent the military from being able to track them down.

The movement in Myanmar “seems like the protesters are consolidated and are one voice reaching out to everyone saying: ‘We need someone to step in on our behalf because we have no control here,’” said Wright. “They were very creative in their ways of skirting around the restrictions in a way, to find the truth.” Bloomberg News

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TheWorld BusinessMirror

Sunday, March 28, 2021

Supply bottlenecks leave ships stranded, businesses stymied

By Joyce M. Rosenberg

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AP Business Writer

EW YORK—A trade bottleneck born of the Covid-19 outbreak has US businesses anxiously awaiting goods from Asia—while off the coast of California, dozens of container ships sit anchored, unable to unload their cargo.

The pandemic has wreaked havoc w ith the supply chain since early 2020, when it forced the closure of factories throughout China. T he seeds of the cur rent problems were sow n last March, when A mer icans stayed home and dramatically changed their buying habits— instead of clothes, they bought electronics, fitness equipment and home improvement products. US companies responded by f looding reopened Asian factories with orders, leading to a chain reaction of congestion and snags at ports and freight hubs across the countr y as the goods began arriving.

Main Street businesses are now forced to wait months instead of

the usual weeks for a delivery from China, and no one knows when the situation will be resolved. Owners do a lot of explaining to customers, order more inventory than usual and lower their expectations for when their shipments will arrive.

Alejandro Bras used to be able to place an order to factories in China and expect to receive his products in 30 days. Now, with problems throughout the supply chain, “we’re adding an additional two months,” he says. And that two months is “iffy”—it can take even longer.

Bras’ company, Womple Studios, sells monthly subscription boxes with educational crafts and activities for children; many of the products are custom-made, so he

In this March 3, photo, container cargo ships are seen docked in the Port of Los Angeles. A trade bottleneck born of the Covid-19 outbreak has US businesses waiting for shipments from Asia—while off the coast of California, dozens of container ships have been anchored, unable to unload their cargo. AP/Damian Dovarganes

can’t easily find substitutes.

Bras has found himself spending more time on logistics rather than product development, and more time apologizing to the Oakland, California, company’s customers who expect a shipment each month. Customers have been understanding—they realize the pandemic has upset shipping and trade worldwide.

The clusters of ships offshore are perhaps the most dramatic symptom of an overwhelmed supply chain. As production surged in Asia, more ships began arriving in the fall at ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and other West Coast cities than the gateways could handle. Ships holding as many as 14,000 containers have sat offshore, some of them for over a week. At times there have been as many as 40 ships waiting; normally, there’s no more than a handful, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, a service that monitors port traffic and operations.

“With this type of backlog, it will take several weeks to work through that. It doesn’t go away.

And new ships are sailing to the US even as we speak,” says Shanton Wilcox, a manufacturing adviser with PA Consulting.

But there are choke points on land as well. It can take 8,000 trucks to haul the cargo away from a ship, says Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

But when all those trucks hit the road, there aren’t enough available when dockworkers are trying to unload the next ships in port. Freight rail traffic has also been affected.

“When you have more cargo, you have a less efficient cargo moving system,” Louttit says. The pandemic itself is also slowing down the flow of goods, sidelining workers in warehouses at the ports, he says.

Put all the problems together, and when a ship gets into port, it takes five to seven days to unload instead of two to three, says Shruti Gupta, an industrial analyst with the consulting firm RSM. “That again has consequences on truckers and rail service, because they have to wait until the port clears,” she says.

Businesses also wait because of the high demand for space on ships, and inside the shipping containers that range from 20 to 45 feet long.

“Normally a shipment can be booked with a couple days’ notice and currently you have to book containers 30 days in advance,” says Peter Mann, CEO of Oransi, a maker of air purifiers and filters

based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

He has to account for shipment times twice as long as normal in his operating plans.

W hen Mann began hav ing trouble getting shipments in the fall, he decided to place larger orders—getting the goods manufactured wasn’t a problem and fewer deliveries meant less waiting time. It has meant investing more money in inventory.

Supply disruptions can be a more serious problem for smaller companies because, unlike larger players, they may not be able to shift production to other count r ies—for e x a mple, Wester n Hemisphere nations whose products can be shipped to East Coast ports. And big companies can better afford to use air freight, which is more expensive than shipping.

Because there’s so much competition for containers, the cost of importing is climbing.

“The price can be as much as five times as usual,” says Craig Wolfe, whose company, CelebriDucks, has had problems getting rubber ducks from China since the start of the pandemic.

One of Wolfe’s shipments sat on the dock for three weeks because there were no railcars available. Another that he expected to be shipped by mid-February still hasn’t left China.

“It would have arrived by now,” says Wolfe, whose company is based in Kelseyville, California.

He’s anxious because most of his products aren’t typical rubber ducks—they’re based on presidents and other celebrities and pop culture trends like the Harry Potter books and movies. Like Mann, he’s placed some largerthan-usual orders to be sure he has enough stock.

Exporters are also feeling the impact of the bottlenecks. When containers are unloaded at the ports, many are being sent empty back to Asia instead of being held and filled with US goods.

Isaiah Industries sells its metal roofs to Japan, “but we’re having huge delays getting containers scheduled to ship to them.

So, we’re sitting here with orders and product to fill those orders but no way to get them shipped,” says Todd Miller, president of the Piqua, Ohio, company.

Miller is also waiting for shipments of raw materials from overseas, inc lud ing sheet ing commonly known as tar paper that is placed under roofing tiles.

His problem is he’s competing with every other importer for space on container ships.

“We can get it produced, but it will take four to six weeks before they can load it on a ship,” he says.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

World’s biggest wealth surge marks rise of billionaire Adani

By P R Sanjai, Rajesh Kumar Singh & Divya Patil

A

fter spending two decades building a business empire centered on coal, Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is now looking beyond the fossil fuel to cement his group’s future. His ambitious plans are getting a boost from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Adani has emerged as India’s infrastructure king, diversifying from mines, ports and power plants into airports, data centers and defense—sectors Modi considers crucial to meeting India’s economic goals. Investors are rewarding the pivot, betting the tycoon’s strategy of dovetailing his interests with the government’s development program will pay off.

The group’s six listed units added a combined $79 billion to their market value in the past year at the height of a pandemic, capping the best 12 months in their history. That’s the most after the nation’s two biggest business empires, Tata group and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd. Blue-chip names including French oil giant Total SE and Warburg Pincus LLC have plowed money into Adani’s companies.

In less than two years, Adani has gained control of seven airports and almost a quarter of India’s air traffic. He has unveiled plans to boost his renewable-energy capacity almost eightfold by 2025, positioning himself to benefit as the government debates ambitious climate targets that would cut net greenhouse-gas emissions by mid-century. Last week, he won a contract to co-develop a port terminal in Sri Lanka, a neighbor India is courting to check China’s influence in the region. Adani Enterprises Ltd. signed a pact last month with EdgeConneX to develop and operate data centers across India.

“Adani is politically savvy and invests in mostly sensible, long-dated infrastructure projects” broadly tied to government priorities, said Tim Buckley, director of energy finance for Australia and South Asia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, or IEEFA. “So long as India sustains strong growth, the group is likely to prosper under his leadership and witness a surge in global investor interest.”

The focus on India’s infrastructure forms “the core of our ‘nation building’ philosophy” and the group has created thousands of jobs and delivered unprecedented value to its shareholders, Adani said at a JPMorgan India Summit in September. A representative for the group declined to comment for this story.

After starting out as a commodities trader in the late 1980s, Adani is now richer than Jack Ma and is India’s second-wealthiest person with a net worth of $56 billion. He added $50 billion to his fortune in the past year, about $5 billion more than Ambani, Asia’s richest man, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Adani’s net worth rose more than any other billionaire’s this year.

Adani shot into the international limelight when he won a coal project in Australia in 2010. Ever since, he’s come under attack from climate activists including Greta Thunberg. A “Stop Adani” campaign by environmentalists disrupted development, with pressure building on lenders to turn off the credit tap. In a 2019 interview with Bloomberg News, Adani said the project’s goals were energy security for India and jobs for locals.

But back home, Adani has been at the center of another controversy that got louder especially after Modi became prime minister in 2014. Opponents of the powerful leader say Adani’s success is largely due to his closeness to Modi—an allegation denied by the tycoon—and his propensity to align his investments with Modi’s policy objectives.

Critics point to reports that the federal government under Modi relaxed airport bidding rules, helping Adani’s group qualify despite having shown no prior experience running an airport. A lease the conglomerate won in the southern state of Kerala faced challenge in court, with a local minister last year calling the winning bid “an act of brazen cronyism.”

The Adani group rejected those claims and said it won through a competitive process.

In a January 21 statement, the government said Adani was the top bidder among 86 registrations, and the process was transparent. The nation’s Supreme Court is still hearing the dispute. The Adani group representative declined to comment.

Old links

Like Modi, Adani hails from the western Indian state of Gujarat. About two decades ago, Adani publicly backed Modi when a crisis threatened to end the rising politician’s career.

Modi was under attack by rivals and businessmen who accused him of failing to prevent bloody sectarian riots in his home state in 2002. Adani created a regional industry lobby and helped kick off a biannual global investment summit in Gujarat in 2003 that boosted Modi’s pro-business credentials.

“The connection between Modi and Adani dates back to 2003,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst who wrote the biography “Narendra Modi: The Man, the Times.” “Adani’s fortunes will certainly take a beating” without Modi in power. Should that happen, he will start forging close ties with the new ruling party, Mukhopadhyay said.

Responding to his opponents, Modi said in a parliament speech last month that the role of private enterprise in the economy is as important as the public sector, and wealth creators are a necessity. The Adani representative declined to comment.

Deft revamp

Buoyant credit markets helped fuel Adani’s expansion. Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. sold a 10-year dollar bond in January at a 3.10 percent coupon, compared with 4.375 percent in June 2019. Adani Green Energy Ltd. signed a $1.35-billion loan facility last week from 12 banks including Standard Chartered Plc and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., one of the biggest renewable loans in Asia.

While Credit Suisse Group AG estimates the group’s gross debt jumped 29 percent to $24 billion in the six months through September from a year earlier, a spinoff and ring fencing of units in 2015 has provided comfort to creditors.

The biggest threat Adani faces is coal. Financial institutions around the world are increasingly under pressure to avoid funding energy projects using the dirtiest fossil fuel.

Adani Enterprises is India’s biggest importer and also a contract miner for 101 million tons annually. His investments of more than $2 billion in Australia are running into challenges and delays, and could pose a risk to any of the units stepping in to fund the development.

“Adani knows that coal is a stranded asset,” IEEFA’s Buckley said.

Cutting imports

Adani’s new ventures face far fewer headwinds. He has plans for defense manufacturing, heeding Modi’s calls to help cut reliance on expensive imports. He is also scaling up production of solar panels and modules, again under Modi’s “Make in India” appeal. The foray into data centers follows the government’s proposed law that requires data to be stored locally.

Adani’s penchant for attracting foreign capital also jibes with the priorities of a Modi administration that doesn’t have a large enough budget to finance its infrastructure priorities.

Warburg invested $110 million in Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone this month, while France’s Total took its total investment in Adani Green to $2.5 billion.

“All told, Adani Group is doing all the right things,” said Chakri Lokapriya, chief investment officer at TCG Asset Management Co. in Mumbai, whose fund recently sold its holdings in Adani units but is looking to buy again. “In coming years, Adani group will own controlling stakes in critical gateways to infrastructure, power generation and information technology.”

Bloomberg News

Science

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

BusinessMirror

Sunday

Sunday, March 28, 2021 A5

DICT, DOST, DTI create committee to steer program for PHL startups

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By Edwin P. Galvez

he Department of Science and Technology (DOST) signed a Joint Administrative Order (JAO) with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on March 22 creating the steering committee to “provide strategic guidance and oversight” in implementing the country’s national program for the startup community.

The JAO provides for the designation of one permanent member—either a department undersecretary or assistant secretary—and two regular members from each of the three lead agencies to constitute the committee primarily tasked to “develop, implement and update” the Philippine Startup Development Program (PSDP).

The DTI will serve as the committee’s first chairman, followed by the DOST and then the DICT, each serving on rotation every two years.

The creation of the steering committee is mandated by the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11337, or the Innovative Startup Act of 2019, which provides “benefits and programs to strengthen, promote and develop the Philippine startup ecosystem.”

Moving forward with innovations While the Covid-19 pandemic hampered the implementation of the plans and activities under the Innovative Startup Act as “efforts shifted and focused on finding immediate solutions to the current situation,” Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said the three departments “carried on, remaining true to their tasks” with their existing programs and mechanisms to support the startups.

For his part, DICT Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said the passage of the law has institutionalized his department’s programs and projects, “making all our efforts more coordinated, effective and efficient” to further foster the growth of startups.

Inspired by the “agility and resilience” of startups during the pandemic

Signing the virtual joint administrative order creating the steering committee for the implementation of the Philippine Startup Development Program are (clockwise, from left) Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña, and Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II. Screenshot by Edwin Galvez and the assistance of “startup enablers from the private sector,” DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said his department will “continue to explore opportunities to promote our startups and enable them to network with potential mentors, funders, and other partners.”

Last year, the country ranked 50th among 131 economies in the world in the overall Global Innovation Index (GII), a marked leap from its 100th ranking in 2014, according to “The Global Innovation Index 2020: Who Will Finance Innovation?” report published by the Cornell University, Insead, and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

De la Peña said that startups will play a major role in “moving further the Philippines’ ranking in the GII in the coming years” as the law provides more support to innovative startups

and startup enablers.

Pushing programs, benefits, and incentives Among the chief responsibilities of the nine-member steering committee as defined in the JAO is to issue “appropriate policies, rules, and guidelines” for the coordinated implementation of the program.

The committee is expected to “harmonize and properly align” programs, benefits and incentives given by government agencies to startups and startup enablers, including investors, incubators, and nongovernment organizations.

While promoting access to and facilitating the “immediate and efficient provision” of startup benefits, incentives, and opportunities, the committee will also assess the impact

Marine scientist Onda is first Filipino to reach Earth’s third deepest spot

By Lyn B. Resurreccion

D

r. Deo Florence L. Onda, a microbial oceanographer of the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines (UP MSI), made history for being the “first Filipino and one of the first humans” to descend to Emden Deep, the third deepest spot on earth, in the Philippine Trench.

The area is part of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), prompting Onda to raise the country’s flag and exclaimed “Atin ito [This is ours]!”

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña, acknowledging “another Filipino making a historic,” said in his Facebook account: “We at the DOST [Department of Science and Technology] are glad to hear this achievement. Mabuhay ang mga siyentipikong Pilipino [Long live the Filipino scientists]!”

He said Onda is a long-term Balik Scientist of the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development.

On its web site, UP MSI said Emden Deep is is 10,540 meters below sea surface.

To illustrate the depth of the area, UP MSI said: The highest mountain in the Philippines is Mount Apo standing at 2,956 meters above sea level. The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest standing at 8,849 meters above sea level.

“A Filipino scientist reached depths greater than Mount Everest’s height.

Truly a proud moment for the Philippines!” the UPMSI said.

The March 22 to 28 expedition was made in collaboration with Caladan Oceanic, a private company that develops undersea technology. Onda was invited by Caladan Oceanic, founded

by Victor Vescovo, who holds the record for the deepest manned descent

DSV Limiting Factor is back on the surface with Dr. Deo Florence Onda (right), who raises the Philippine flag with Victor Vescovo after the successful descent to the Emden Deep in the Philippine Deep.

PhotoS courtesy of DSSV Pressure Drop

into the Marianas Trench in 2019.

On the UPMSI Facebook page, a video from DSSV Pressure Drop showed Onda and Vescovo plunged into the Emden Deep on board deepsea submersible DSV Limiting Factor.

In the video, the BusinessMirror heard Vescovo pointing out that it was the “first crew descent in the bottom of the Philippine Trench, at the Emden Deep, the deepest point in it.”

Onda then exclaimed: “I’m very honored to be part of this trip. Sa mga Filipino, ito po ang Emden Deep. Atin ito [To the Filipinos, this is Emden Deep. This is ours]!” The two raised the Philippine flag.

Another video from DSSV Pressure Drop, titled “Touchdown @10,045 meters!”, showed its staffmembers burst into clapping when the touchdown of the DSV Limiting Factor into the deep was announced.

The video said: “Depth 10,045 meters, life support good, at bottom, at bottom. Congrats!”

Dr. Deo Florence Onda raises the Philippine flag after the successful descent in the Emden Deep, the third deepest spot on Earth, in the Philippine Deep.

UPMSI quoted Onda as saying: “I hope that the Filipino people will be able to share in my experience of the Emden Deep. I want them to appreciate and understand that this unstudied and unknown region is an extension of their marine heritage. I would also like to think that this feat was realized in recognition of the contributions of the Filipino scientists, and that we can all accomplish great things given proper support and recognition.”

The UPMSI said deep sea expeditions like this one “are equivalent to the first early flights into outer space, thus, it would be a major record-setting scientific and historic achievement. To date, most of these records are held by foreign scientists or explorers.”

“The Philippine Trench is a unique feature found within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, and it is only appropriate that a Filipino scientist be one of the first to hold

this record in the Emden Deep,” the UPMSI pointed out.

It added that the DSSV Pressure Drop is the only marine vessel in the world capable of launching the deepsea submersible DSV Limiting Factor that can carry humans and repeatedly dive to the deepest parts in the world’s oceans.

Caladan Oceanic has been setting records for deepest manned descents in the world ’s deepest trenches, the most recent was in the Marianas in 2019 with Vescovo.

The UPMSI pre-event news release said “part of the goal is to wave the Philippine Flag in the Emden Deep during its record-setting [a nonMarine Scientific Research] voyage, highlighting that it is an integral part of our nation’s heritage.”

It added that Onda, as the sole Filipino researcher representing the country, will also be given a unique opportunity to be exposed to stateof-the-art vessels capable of deepsea activities, which can enrich our experiences and knowledge as the Philippines builds its own National Academic Research Fleet, an ongoing national project funded by the Philippine government.

“This endeavor can spark interest and passion for many other young Filipinos who would want to make a career in the sciences and bring more attention to the protection, preservation, and conservation of the Philippine marine environment,” UPMSI said.

De la Peña said through the DOSTBalik Scientist Program, Filipino scientists, technologists and experts are encouraged to return to the country and share their expertise in order to promote scientific, agro-industrial and economic development, including the development of the country’s human capital in science, technology and innovation.

and applicability of these benefits and incentives to the startup community.

The committee will monitor, develop, and expand the programs, benefits and incentives as it issues requirements, process, and granting of applications for these benefits, incentives, and subsidies under the program.

Meeting regularly in every quarter, the committee will also ensure that their respective departments comply with the responsibilities provided under the law and its IRR.

DOST boosts the startups In her presentation at the JAO signing, DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said that “despite challenges posed by travel and trade restrictions” last year, the 15 startups

given initial funding of P64 million from the DOST StartUp Grant Fund generated P83.4 million in revenues.

Guevara said the startups raised their capital or investment to P45 million, served 328 clients and created 142 jobs.

“Funding opportunities for innovative startups for their research and development activities are needed to ensure a resilient and sustainable economy,” Guevara said.

De la Peña said he plans to sign the guidelines for the Grants-in-Aid program for the DOST Startup Grant Fund this March and announce the first batch of grantees in May or June this year.

He added that the DOST will continue to support the startups through its various agencies.

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology’s assists innovators in the agriculture, aquatic and natural resources sector.

The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development supports innovative technologies and services in the health sector.

The Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development backs industry, energy and emerging technologies with the Technology Application and Promotion Institute helping in their requirements for intellectual property protection.

“Through collaborations with the DICT and DTI, we at the DOST believe that startups will spur economic prosperity and introduce technological breakthroughs that can shift and improve our capabilities in fighting the effects of the pandemic and living in a better normal,” Guevara pointed out.

Spreading social good in Cebu through SM scholarship program

‘T

o accomplish great things, you must not only act, dream and plan, but believe in that dream.”

These encouraging words were from SM founder Henry “Tatang” Sy, who in 1993, established the SM college scholarship program—a social good vehicle that intends to carry out his vision of providing quality education to youth in grassroots communities.

The late SM patriarch believed that if you send one child from an economically challenged family to college, that child would have more opportunities to have gainful employment and later on uplift the economic status of his or her family.

Each school year, the social good program attracts over 6,000 applicants, wherein applicants undergo written examination and interview.

If shortlisted, the SM Education team conducts home visits to know the applicants further.

Scholars are given the option to pursue their desired college courses, specializing in computer science, information technology, and engineering courses; accounting and allied business courses; and elementary and secondary education degree programs.

Through the years thousands of youth have been given a shot at a college education nationwide, including Cebu, wherein 150 SM scholars and alumni come from.

Here are some of their stories.

Laborer’s son dreams big for his family

One of the current scholars in Cebu Nathaniel R. Fabular, 20, of Hilongos, Southern Leyte.

Fabular is a sophomore pursuing Bachelor of Science in Accountancy at the University of San Carlos. Being accepted as an SM scholar serves as an inspiration for him in pursuing

his dream for the future.

“When the SM foundation sent an email informing me that I was accepted as a scholar, I was really on cloud nine.

I’m really grateful to Tatang and the SM Family for this opportunity. They shed some light in my path in order to achieve my dream,” Fabular said.

Two years from now, Fabular will be graduating and aims to pass the CPA board examination. He is also considering post-graduate studies in law.

But his priority once he graduates is to get a job to be able to support his younger siblings in finishing their education.

“If I can get a chance, I want to work with the SM Group. I also want to give back to what the SM Foundation has given to me. I will do that by continuing the legacy that Tatang has started, which is extending hands to the community,” Fabular said.

The SM Brand

Former SM scholar Jose Rey Tabuco Buenavista, 34, graduated from the University of Cebu.

Now married with three children, he looked back: “I was able to find a job immediately because I informed the job interviewer that I am a proud SM scholar.”

The interviewer asked what he meant, his proud reply was: “I graduated as a scholar of SM, one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines.”

To which the interviewer said, “Oh, wow very nice! You are very welcome here! Can you start tomorrow?”

Applying the culture of an SM scholar has earned Tabuco the respect of his colleagues. From being a member of a project staff, he moved up to become a supervisor and eventually a manager.

To further his career and learning, he is currently pursuing his MBA at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

Faith A6 Sunday, March 28, 2021

Sunday

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

‘Mary was and is present [near the people] in these days of the pandemic’

Pope: Jesus entrusted Mary to us as a Mother, ‘not as co-redeemer’

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ATICAN—Pope Francis said that Jesus entrusted the Virgin Mary to us as a Mother, “not as co-redeemer.”

Speaking at his general audience on March 24, the pope said that while Christians had always given Mary beautiful titles, it was important to remember that Christ is the only redeemer.

He was addressing a theological debate about whether the Church should issue a dogmatic definition declaring Mary “CoRedemptrix,” in honor of her role in humanity’s salvation.

“Jesus extended Mary’s maternity to the entire Church when He entrusted her to His beloved disciple shortly before dying on the cross,” the pope noted.

“From that moment on, we have all been gathered under her mantle, as depicted in certain medieval frescoes or paintings. Even the first Latin antiphon—sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix: the Madonna who ‘covers,’ like a Mother, to whom Jesus entrusted us, all of us; but as a Mother, not as a goddess, not as co-redeemer: as Mother,” he explained.

The pope continued: “It is true that Christian piety has always given her beautiful titles, as a child gives his or her mamma: how many beautiful things children say about their mamma whom they love so much! How many beautiful things.”

“But we need to be careful: the things the Church, the saints, say about her, beautiful things, about Mary, subtract nothing from Christ’s sole Redemption. He is the

only Redeemer. They are expressions of love like a child for his or her mamma—some are exaggerated. But love, as we know, always makes us exaggerate things, but out of love.”

The pope gave his address, dedicated to prayer in communion with Mary, in the library of the Apostolic Palace due to coronavirus restrictions.

The address was part of his cycle of catechesis on prayer, which he launched in May and resumed in October following nine addresses on healing the world after the pandemic.

Noting that he was speaking on the Vigil of the Solemnity of the Annunciation, which falls on March 25, he said: “Christ is the Mediator, Christ is the bridge that we cross to turn to the Father. He is the only Redeemer: there are no co-redeemers with Christ. He is the only one. He is the Mediator par excellence.”

Chr ist’s “one mediation,” he sa id, shed s l ight on t he role of Ma r y.

“She occupies a privileged place in the lives of Christians, and therefore, in their prayer as well, because she is the Mother of Jesus,” he said.

Referring to a celebrated image of Mary in Bari Cathedral in southern Italy, he emphasized that the Virgin points the way to Jesus.

He said: “Her hands, her eyes, her behavior are a living ‘catechism,’ always indicating the

U.S. never had a pilgrimage tradition, now is the opportunity

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ne feature of the pandemic has been the curtailment of a practice that for millennia has provided an outlet for healing in times of crisis: pilgrimage.

From restrictions on the Hajj for Muslims to the Catholic pilgrimage to Lourdes going virtual, people of faith have been unable to embark on journeys that would in other times provide solace and community.

As a scholar of religion and geography who has written about the role of pilgrimage, I know the US has never had a strong tradition of pilgrimage. But I believe that could change and give Americans new ways to heal in the post-pandemic era.

The progress of pilgrimages

Pilgrims have embarked on journeys in search of healing for at least 10,000 years and in virtually all religious traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

In earlier times, the healing pilgrims sought was often to be cured of disease or some physical ailment. Some still do. Crutches that cover the walls of pilgrimage destinations, such as the Chimayo chapel in New Mexico, attest to those who hobbled to these sites and then, it is said, walked away cured.

Nowadays the healing most pilgrims seek is more psychological and spiritual in nature. Pilgrims often undertake their journeys to grieve and heal after the death of loved ones or after experiencing other traumas in their own lives.

Pilgrimage is common and even increasing in most parts of the world. The Camino de Santiago in Spain has seen an extraordinary increase in the number of pilgrims in the past 30 years, and scores of new pilgrimage routes have recently opened in the UK.

Protestant objection

The US, however, has few destinations and even fewer designated routes for pilgrims to use. The reasons for this are varied, but historically the majority of US citizens and almost all those in power identified as Protestants. Even today, close to half of all Americans identify as Protestant.

Protestantism has had less of a tradition of churchsanctioned pilgrimage than other religions. In fact, Protestantism emerged in the 1500s in no small part as a reaction to the licentious behavior of some pilgrims and priests, the selling of indulgences to enrich the church or various members of the clergy, and the corruption that was associated with many pilgrimages of the time.

Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, said

all pilgrimages should be stopped because they only gave people opportunities to sin. He wrote that there is no biblical basis for the practice.

Most Protestants over the past few centuries followed Luther’s lead and continued to avoid or denounce pilgrimage.

Protestants denied the significance of saints, so they didn’t go on pilgrimages to shrines commemorating them. They focused more on doctrine and have generally been wary of embodied rituals, such as dancing or pilgrimages.

A secondary reason that the US never developed a pilgrimage tradition is that religious pilgrims tend to be attracted to places where key figures in their faith—such as Jesus, Muhammad, the Buddha, or various saints—lived out their lives.

Jerusalem, as well as Mecca in Saudi Arabia, India’s Bodh Gaya and other places associated with the birth of religions or major moments in their development, are all in Asia. As a result, Americans seeking such pilgrimage have felt the need to travel overseas, which limits who can go and how often pilgrimages can be undertaken.

There are some pilgrimage sites in the US Mormons have a number of American destinations— such as the Hill Cumorah in Palmyra, New York, and Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah—because the US is where the religion started and grew.

Catholics have US pilgrimage destinations as well, such as the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill in Wisconsin.

These places are typically associated with miraculous events or dedicated to saints such as the Virgin Mary.

Pathways to healing

Times are changing, however. Evidence suggests that more and more Americans would like to go on a pilgrimage or have more ways to engage in spiritual tourism.

This growing desire to go on a spiritual journey provides a great opportunity to meet the demand by creating domestic pilgrimages not only for personal healing, but also to construct walking pathways that could, I believe, help heal entire communities or even the country.

Imagine a network of local pilgrimages that focuses on the route rather than any singular destination. These paths could interconnect to form regional networks. James Mills, State University

of New York at Oneonta/The Conversation via AP

hinge, she always points out the center: Jesus. Mary is completely directed toward Him to such an extent that we can say she is more disciple than Mother. The directions she gave at the wedding at Cana: ‘He: do whatever he will tell you.’ She always refers to Christ.

She is the first disciple.”

He continued: “ This is the role Mar y f u lf i l led t hroughout her entire earthly life and which she forever retains: to be the humble handmaid of the Lord, nothing more. At a certain point in the Gospels, she almost seems to disappear; but then she reappears in the more crucial moments, such as at Cana, when Her Son, thanks to her caring intervention, performs His first ‘sign,’ and then on Golgotha at the foot of the cross.”

He described how Christians began to pray to Mary, using expressions found in the Gospels, such as “full of grace” and “blessed are you among women.”

The Council of Ephesus in AD 431 approved the title “Mother of God,” which was added to the Hail Mary prayer.

Reflecting on the line “now and at the hour of our death” in the Hail Mary, he said: “Mary is always present at the bedside of her children when they depart this world. If someone is alone and abandoned, she is Mother, she is there, near, as she was next to her Son when everyone else abandoned him.”

The pope explained: “Mary was and is present in these days of the pandemic, near to the people who, unfortunately, have concluded their earthly journey all alone, without the comfort of or the closeness of their loved ones. Mary is always there next to us, with her maternal tenderness.”

Concluding his reflection, he

said: “She listens as Mother. Just like, and more than, every good mother, Mary defends us from danger, she is concerned about us even when we are concentrated on our own things and lose a sense of the way, and when we put not only our health in danger, but also our salvation.”

“Mary is there, praying for us, praying for those who do not pray.

To pray with us. Why? Because she is our Mother.”

In remarks at the end of the audience, the pope expressed sorrow at terrorist attacks in the West African state of Niger that have claimed 137 lives.

“Let us pray for the victims, for their families and for the entire population so that the violence suffered may not cause them to lose trust in the path of democracy, justice and peace,” he said.

He also conveyed his sympathies to people affected by flooding in the Australian state of New South Wales He said: “I am near the people and the families affected once again by this calamity, especially those who saw their houses destroyed. I give encouragement to those who are doing everything possible to search for those who are missing and to bring aid.”

He also noted that World Tuberculosis Day falls on March 24, the day in 1882 when the German physician Robert Koch announced that he had identified the bacterium causing the infectious disease.

The pope said: “May this annual event foster a renewed interest in the treatment of this disease and increased solidarity toward those who suffer from it. Upon them and their families, I invoke the Lord’s consolation.”

Catholic News Agency via CBCP News

Holy Week in the time of Covid-19

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mages of the traditional Holy Week practices in the Philippines— such as the waving of palm fronds on Palm Sunday and the reenactment of the nailing on the cross like this in Barangay Kapitangan in Paombong, Bulacan, on Good Friday—will be missed again this year. Owing to the surge in the number of cases of Covid-19 in the country, big crowds are not allowed, including at churches during Masses. Bernard Testa

Passover: Time to recognize tragedies, offer hope for the future

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ewish families will gather for Passover this year in circumstances that will, like the celebration itself, reflect on dark times while holding out for better to come.

The holiday lasts from the evening of March 27 to the evening of April 4 in 2021. The first two nights of the celebration, March 27 and 28, require a Seder, a ritual meal bringing together the family.

As a scholar of the Bible and ancient Judaism, I believe Passover is a particularly poignant time to recognize the tragedies of the past year and offer hope for the future.

Passover story The Passover is a festival found in the Bible that commemorates the escape of the Israelites, led

by Moses, from Egypt as recounted in the book of Exodus.

Prior to the departure of the enslaved Israelites, God delivered a series of plagues on Egypt, culminating in the killing of the firstborn son in every Egyptian family, including the firstborn of the livestock.

The Israelites, however, place the blood of a lamb on their doorposts to signal that the “destroyer,” an angel responsible for the killing, should skip, or “pass over,” those homes.

This story came to function as a powerful narrative of persecution and liberation for Jewish people.

The command to celebrate and remember the exodus from Egypt and the Passover for future generations is encoded in the Bible itself : according to the book of Exodus, God commands Moses, even prior to their departure from Egypt, that the Israelites and their descendants are to commemorate this event.

The celebration of the Passover includes a script, called the Passover Haggadah. The Haggadah contains ancient rituals, some of which may have been practiced as early as the second century AD, though the full script exists in later, medieval manuscripts.

Story of the four sons Today, many families also create their own versions of the Haggadah, offering celebrations of the Passover that infuse personal and family experiences.

Each member of the family plays certain roles, as found in the biblical story.

This enactment of parts of the Exodus narrative fuses the present moment with the past, encouraging each participant to imagine themselves as part of the first generation to leave Egypt.

Some characters not found explicitly in the biblical text were also added to the Haggadah script. Prominent among them is an addition from the ninth century AD—a story about the four sons or children—the wise, the wicked, the simple and the one who does not know what to ask.

The versions varied, but the characters became a prominent part of the celebration. In many families today, they are called “children” or “daughters,” allowing for the inclusion of all members of the family regardless of gender.

These characters were inspired by a variety of biblical and rabbinic sources in which children ask certain questions about the celebration of the Passover.

In the case of the son who does not know what to ask, the parent directly tells the child about the importance of the exodus without waiting for the question.

The Bible speaks of interactions between parents and children, but does not label the children in a specific manner. The main purpose is telling, examining and passing on the significance of the exodus from a number of different perspectives.

The distinct roles of each child encourage the participants to reflect, in different ways, on the significance of liberation and how to communicate it to future generations.

Almost like a time machine, then, the Haggadah and celebration of Passover incorporates the manner in which history, the present and the future relate to one another.

This unfolding of all dimensions of time allows those who celebrate to remember tragedies and loss in the past while also generating a real sense of hope for the future.

Flexibility and adaptation According to many parts of the Bible, the Passover festival was to occur once a year, and only in Jerusalem where the temple to the Israelite deity existed.

The celebration of Passover evolved into a homebased commemoration with the destruction of the temple by the Romans in AD 70. The biblical Passover mentioned in the book of Exodus also occurred in individual homes.

As such, the Bible provided ways to adapt the celebration in light of changed circumstances.

The Bible describes how the second Passover—a year after the Israelites left Egypt—is celebrated in the wilderness, but seems to presuppose that its future celebration will be in the temple in Jerusalem.

At that time, allowance would be made for those who had to travel long distances, by delaying its observance by 30 days.

This delay anticipated that geographical separation and time may not allow for normal Passover observance, a comfort directly derived from the Bible for those families who were not able to celebrate in 2020 in person.

The possibility now exists in 2021 that grandparents might be able to visit their families again since public health guidelines suggest it’s low-risk for vaccinated people to gather in small groups.

When families gather for Passover, however, many may choose to reflect on the hard times of the past year as part of the Seder. Indeed, the celebration of the Passover has in it other references related to Jewish history, even if they were not always positive.

For example, par t of the celebration of the Passover Haggadah entails the breaking of unleavened bread, a piece of which is known as

the Afikomen, which is then hidden.

Children try to find it for a prize, called a “treasure from Egypt.”

The term Afikomen is itself a Greek word, referring possibly to after-dinner revelry. It is a reminder of another historical moment in which Jewish cultures were heavily surrounded and influenced by the Greeks.

The relationship with the Greeks was a complex one. Some part of the Greek influence was celebrated in early Jewish society.

For example, the translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek, starting in the third century B.C., was considered a divine act.

There were also conflicts between Greek rulers and local Jewish populations, which led to a war in the second century B.C., known as the Maccabean Revolt. Indeed, there were debates in Judaism whether or not one could recite parts of the Bible in Greek in worship services.

Yet the incorporation of the word Afikomen in the Passover Haggadah displays a willingness to borrow a Greek term into an important Jewish celebration.

Next year in Jerusalem Looking to the future is central to the celebration of the Passover Haggadah. Despite the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, the meal concludes with the phrase, also said at the end of another celebration known as Yom Kippur, “Next year in Jerusalem.”

In a meal that blends past and present and nods toward the future, ending the Haggadah with such a proclamation, highlights the reality that despite freedom from Egypt, most Jewish communities over time celebrated the Passover Haggadah away from their ancestral home and in circumstances that were not ideal.

This yearning for a world that is not yet healed and the toggling between past, present and future in the Passover celebration will perhaps hold special significance for many grandparents and their families in 2021. Samuel L. Boyd, University of

Colorado Boulder/The Conversation via AP

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Sunday, March 28, 2021

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‘Forests give protection vs new, deadly diseases’

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

he Philippines is developing an “Urban Forest Bathing Project” similar to the concept of forest bathing in Japan.

This was initiated through the pa r t nersh ip of t he Depa r t ment of Env ironment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) w ith the private sector last month.

The project that will create green spaces in urban areas in the Philippines is part of BMB’s Urban Biodiversity Program.

The program aims to promote the conservation of the country’s rich biodiversity, develop and maintain green spaces within the cities, and to provide important ecosystem services to Filipinos.

Highlighting the launch of the project as favorable for both the environment and the people, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu noted the many benefits of having healthy forests to the mental and emotional well-being of the people living in urban areas.

“The Urban Forest Bathing Project will not only help the environment, as more trees and land spaces will be used for this if deemed successful; it will also help the people nourish their mental and emotional well-being,” Cimatu said in a recent statement.

Importance of forests The importance of protecting and conserving the country’s forests is once again put on the spotlight as the annual International Day of Forests is observed on March 21.

With the theme, “Forest restoration: A path to recovery and wellbeing,” this year’s global celebration, according to the DENR’s Forest Management Bureau (FMB), highlights the valuable benefits of forest restoration in terms of human health, food security, environmental and climatic condition, provision of green jobs, stakeholder engagement and healing.

Marcial B. Amaro, DENR’s assistant secretary for Policy, Planning and Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects, said that based on the latest data from the FMB and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, the Philippines has a total forest cover of 7,014,152 hectares, of which 20.89 percent, or 2,028,000 hectares, is closed forest.

The open forest covers about 66.8 percent of the total or estimated area of 4,683,000, while mangrove forest is about 4.3 percent or 333,000 of the total, Amaro told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on March 23.

In the past five years, he said the DENR-FMB’s focus is protecting existing forest more than expanding the current forest.

He said this can be gleaned from the budget prioritization of Congress, wherein the budget for the Expanded National Greening Program was slashed by an average of P2 billion in the last five years. “ That is approximately [equivalent to] 100,000 hectares of additional forest cover per year,” said

Biak-na-Bato National Park in San Miguel, Bulacan, consists of a cave network and a system of rivers and trails of both historical and ecological importance. It is one of the ecotourism areas nearest to Metro Manila. Gregg Yan A maro, the concurrent director of the DENR-FMB.

Traditional medicines, wellness Traditionally, among the earlier civilization, and in the Philippines as well, the link between forest and human health could not be more pronounced than in rural areas, particularly where the indigenous peoples (IP) inhabit.

“We have medicinal plants. That’s a direct link to health and wellness,” Amaro said.

“For the longest time, our IPs look at the forest not only for food but for medicine. To expand that, wellness, clean water and abundant water supply and clean air, are primary functions of the forests,” he added.

True value of forests T he Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) highlighted the true value of forests as “the backbone of growth a nd pros p e r it y, a nd prote c tors a ga i n st t he i mpac t s of c l i m ate change and the emergence of new

and deadly diseases” ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim said that considered one of the world’s most biologically rich and diverse ecosystems, forests are among the region’s natural capital that sustains the region’s growth, especially now it aims speed up recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Since the start of this health crisis, the Asean Centre for Biodiversity has been stressing the role of biodiversity in regulating climate and diseases. Today, on International Day of Forests, the ACB highlights the central role of these complex ecological systems in our efforts to build a healthy region, which is aptly resonant with the theme of this year’s celebration—Forest restoration: A path to recovery and well-being,” said Lim in a statement on March 21 in time for the International Day of Forests 2021.

Growing recognition Lim said there is now a growing recognition of forests, along with other

types of natural ecosystems, as integral components of a country’s total wealth, which provide life support and basic human needs, such as food, fresh and clean water, medicine, shelter and fuel, especially during the time of the pandemic.

“While we have seen a decline of the Asean forest cover in the past decades, the good news is that the overall rate of forestry loss in Asean slowed from 1.2 percent per year from 2000 to 2010, to 0.26 percent per year from 2011 to 2015, according to the 2020 Asean-EU report ‘Investing in Sustainable Capital in Asean,’” she said.

“While this is important progress, it is also worthy to note the need to continue improving genetic, species, and habitat diversity in our remaining forests,” she added.

“With habitat fragmentation being one of the biggest threats to biodiversity in forest ecosystems, big land mammals like tigers, elephants and rhinoceros are among the species most affected,” she pointed out.

Shrinking Asian forest Meanwhile, R icardo L. Calderon, executive director of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (A foco), in his message during the United Nations Forum on Forests, highlighted the v ital roles forests play in prov iding a variety of serv ices that billions of people depend upon for their livelihood and subsistence.

“Tropical forests of Southeast Asia play important roles in biodiversity conservation, ecosystems services and global carbon balance. However,” he said. “ The region experienced continuous forest loss at a rate of 8 million hectares per year between 2005 and 2015, but significantly registering the highest net gain in

forest area in the 2010-2020 Forest Resources Assessment,” he added.

Reduced capacity According to Calderon, a forestry expert, forests in Asia are at risk of reduced capacity for climate mitigation, limited provision of ecosystem services and biodiversity loss, and reduced economic growth potential without proactive measures to put in place sustainable Management practices.

He said Afoco as a formal regional body, will continue to provide the bridge in order to enhance crosssectoral cooperation and broaden cooperation among member-parties, partner institutions and organizations on the management of forests for the sustainable production of goods ecosystems services, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.

Calderon said Afoco will continue to provide a platform of exchange of expertise and technical cooperation in areas of forest restoration and rehabilitation through the implementation of its landmark programs and regional projects.

Moreover, he said regional body w ill work to strengthen forestr y institutions and enhance forest governance through capacity development programs for the sector’s policy makers, technical practitioners and researchers, in order to help contribute to the sustainable management of forests.

According to Calderon, with the Covid 19 global pandemic that has affected the global economy and billions of people all over the world, it is an opportune time to ensure that forests will be an integral part of the global discussions and decisions for the world to recover from the pandemic, and build back better in achieving sustainable development goals.

USAID launches 2 partnerships for PHL water security

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Project staff performing optimization experiments on the production of rigid foams DOST-PCIEERD photo

DOST, MSU-IIT use green technology for polyols and polyurethane products

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esearchers from the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) convert plant-based raw material and its waste by-products into valuable and renewable polyols and polyurethanes (PU) for commercial production of coatings, insulation, and packing foam materials.

This sophisticated green technology of Dr. Arnold A. Lubguban and his team at MSU-IIT’s BioProducts Research Laboratories (BPRL), in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology—Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), uses renewable feedstock to produce highly functional polyols and PU-based bioproducts, DOST-PCIEERD said in a news release.

They are used for commercial applications such as rigid insulation foams, semi-flexible packaging foam materials, and waterborne anticorrosive coatings.

The par tner industries include Chemrez Technologies Inc. and Nuevochem Specialties, Inc. “One of our innovations provides baseline

data and methods for the commercialization of biomass-based polyols [Phase 1] and polyurethane foam insulation sheets [Phase 2] through an environmentally friendly process that is also characterized by reduced production costs because the raw materials are readily available by-products or waste products,” Lubguban said.

“Our main goal is to fully harness the potentials of science, technology, and innovation and constantly improve what is essential to the lives of those we serve,” Paringit remarked. “We will constantly provide new opportunities and invest in more efficient and environmentally sustainable greener technologies to build a more livable community,” he continued.

This year the project team will focus on the pilot scaling and optimization of their bio-based polyols to about 40 liters for PU insulation, coatings and packing applications.

The “Production of Bio-Based Polyols and Polyurethanes for Industrial Applications,” is a 36-month program with two project components that are aimed at developing bio-based polyols and PUs from renewable resources. S&T Media Service

n celebration of World Water Day, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) launched on March 23 two partnerships to increase access to clean, safe, water and sanitation services in the Philippines.

The first partnership, with CocaCola Foundation Philippines Inc. and the Multi-sectoral Alliance for Development (MUAD)-Negros, will help conserve 12 watersheds and create sustainable livelihoods in Negros Occidental, a USAID news release said.

The second partnership, with the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), will protect water resources in Palawan by improving watershed management.

T h rough t hese pa r t nersh ips, USAID’s Safe Water project will leverage its science-backed studies, analyses and expertise with partners’ human and capital resources to expand watershed protection that will help guarantee sustainable livelihoods.

(From top left) Palawan Gov. Jose Alvarez, USAID Mission Director Lawrence Hardy II, MUAD Negros Executive Director Reynic Alo, Coca-Cola Philippines President Antonio del Rosario, and Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines Inc. President Ma. Cecilia Alcantara during the launch of new partnerships to support water security in the Philippines.

USA ID Phi lippines Mission Director L aw rence Ha rdy II led the signing of the memorandum of understanding w ith Coca- Cola Philippines President A ntonio del Rosario and Palawan Governor and PCSD Chairman Jose A lvarez.

“Watersheds play an important role in supplying clean water to communities. It

is our global commitment in Coca-Cola to replenish and to protect our water resources. That’s why we are one with USAID and MUAD-Negros to protect these sanctuaries and to empower the lives of the people living near the watersheds,” del Rosario said.

“I am confident that our collaboration will empower communities

to become better env ironmental stewards, uplift lives, and safeguard forests and watersheds through our collective efforts and partnerships to bring a water secure future for Filipinos,” Hardy pointed out.

About 12 million Filipinos do not have access to safe drinking water, and 80 percent of the population is not connected to wastewater treatment ser vices.

USAID promotes water security by working with governments, the private sector and non-government organizations to increase access to water and sanitation services for vulnerable and underserved communities.

It also supports improved water resource management to promote clean drinking water, food security, and economic growth.

Since 2013 alone, USAID has invested P1.5 billion ($30 million) to increase access to water supply and sanitation services for underserved communities, the news release said.

Church’s clean water program reaches millions of Filipinos

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he World Health Organization reported that more than 1 billion people lack access to clean water. Lack of clean water could lead to diseases, such as cholera, diarrhea and typhoid.

T h e C hu rc h o f Je s u s C h r i s t o f L a t t e r - d a y S a i nt s (C h u r c h ) b e l ie v e s a l l c om mu n it ie s s hou l d h av e f r e s h d r i n k i n g w at e r f r e e f r o m c o nt a m i n a t i o n , w h i c h i s w h y it h e l p s f u n d c l e a n w at e r i n it i at i v e s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d .

In 2006, clean water projects were conducted in 32 countr ies benefiting over 1.1 million people in over 1,000 communities through its humanitarian arm, the Latterday Saint Charities, the Church ’s news release said.

I n t h e Ph i l i p p i n e s , o v e r 1 3

Girls drink water from the water project of the Latter-day Saint Charities. news-ph.churchofjesuschrist.org

proje c t s for A Si n g le D ro p for Safe Water and the Depar tment of Education have been implemented si nce 20 0 9, blessi ng t he l ives of more t h a n 8 0,0 0 0 of Fi l ipi nos.

Six projects are currently being carried out to reach out to more communities in the near future, the news release added.

Water sources depend on the area and needs of the communities but may include wells, water storage, deliver y systems, or water purification systems.

Com mu n it y members a re i nvolved in the planning and implementation of each project and provide most of the labor for the project.

Community representatives are then trained on the maintenance of the system installed.

Sports BusinessMirror

LGBT groups seeking equality law in Japan before Olympics

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OKYO—Activists submitted a petition with over 106,000 signatures to Japan’s ruling party Thursday, calling for an LGBT equality law to be enacted before the Tokyo Games, saying Japan as host nation should live up to the Olympic charter banning gender and sexual discrimination.

Their action came on the day the Olympic torch relay began in the northern prefecture of Fukushima counting down to the Games that start in July.

LGBTQ and other human-rights activists say the momentum for the law is rising as Japan gets attention over its handling of gender equality, diversity and other human-rights issues.

“Many LGBT people in Japan are still discriminated against.... We need legislation to guarantee human rights and equality of LGBT people,” said Yuri Igarashi, director of the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, one of four main groups that organized the petition. “It is a responsibility for a host nation to legalize the equality act.”

Igarashi said the groups submitted the signatures to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito, as well as opposition lawmakers.

Japan has slowly shown increased support and awareness of sexual diversity but lacks legal protections, while dozens of other countries have allowed same-sex marriages and enacted other laws protecting the rights of sexual minorities.

Pressure to conform still forces many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to hide their sexual identities fearing discrimination at school, work and even from their families. Transgender people must get their reproductive organs removed before their gender can be changed on official documents—a requirement that international medical experts and human-rights groups criticize as inhumane.

But recently, a district court in Sapporo, in northern Japan, ruled that the prohibition of samesex unions violates the constitutional right to equality.

That case has no immediate legal impact but could

promote public support for equal rights.

The ruling party has promised to raise its awareness of LGBT issues and says it is working on legislation “to promote understanding,” but the move is expected to face strong resistance from the conservatives in the party.

Fumino Sugiyama, a transgender activist and former Olympian in fencing, said at the news conference that few Japanese LGBT athletes have come out because of fear of discrimination or disappointing their families, and they worry about hurting their future career and relationship with athletic organizations.

“I believe a change in the athletic community could be a driving force toward a social change,” Sugiyama said. “We call for the equality law so that we can achieve a society where not only LGBTQ people but everyone can live in a safe and secure environment.” AP

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unday, March 28, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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ACTIVISTS gather in front of parliament before they submit a petition in Tokyo. AP

F1 FACING ISSUES ON HUMAN RIGHTS

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ORMULA One champion Lewis Hamilton on Thursday urged the global racing series to not ignore human-rights violations in the countries where it stages races, an issue that is once again a topic ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix (GP).

Bahrain, which has held F1 races since

2004, has been accused of exploiting the series to gloss over, or “sportswash,” its human-rights record—by using a high-profile sporting event to project a favorable image of the country.

The F1 calendar this year also includes races in Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia, who have been accused of using sports in a similar way.

“I don’t think that we should be going

to these countries and ignoring what is happening in those places, arriving, having a great time and then leave,” Hamilton said Thursday, ahead of Sunday’s Bahrain GP. “Human rights, I don’t think, should be a political issue. We all deserve equal rights.”

After last year’s Bahrain GP, the seventime world champion said he hoped to speak directly with Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa on the subject of the Persian Gulf State’s human-rights record.

Asked during Thursday’s news conference if he had managed to speak with the crown prince, Hamilton said: “At the moment I think the steps that I’ve taken really have been in private, and I think that’s the right way to go about it. So I don’t really want to say too much that may jeopardize any progress.”

But, Hamilton added, “I’m definitely committed to helping any way I can.”

Before last year’s Bahrain GP in November, Hamilton received three letters from alleged torture survivors containing harrowing descriptions of the extreme beatings and sexual abuse they endured. “[Those letters] weighed quite heavily on me, it was the first time I’d received letters like that along my travels. So, for the last few months I’ve taken time to try and educate myself,” the 36-year-old British driver said Thursday.

Hamilton took the knee at every race last year to fight against racism, and says he will do so again this season.

“I think what’s really important is that young children are watching what we’re doing, and when they see us take the knee, they will sit and ask their parents or their teachers: ‘What LEWIS HAMILTON says Formula One can’t ignore race hosts’ human-rights issues. AP

NCAA hires law firm to assess gender equity at championships

are they taking the knee for?’” Hamilton said. “It sparks an uncomfortable conversation [and] it means parents have to educate themselves, and the kids are getting educated.”

But Hamilton acknowledged that he had to learn much more about Bahrain.

“Because coming here all these years, I wasn’t aware of all of the human-rights issues,” he said. “I [have] spent time speaking to legal human-rights experts, speaking to human-rights organizations like Amnesty [International]. I’ve seen the UK ambassador here in Bahrain, and I’ve spoken to Bahrain officials.”

One of the letters sent to Hamilton last November was from Mohammed Ramadhan, who is on death row. After supporting Bahrain’s pro-democracy uprising, he was allegedly framed in a murder case and beaten with iron bars to extract his confession.

Ramadhan’s 11-year-old son Ahmed reached out personally to Hamilton, drawing a picture of his F1 Mercedes car and sending it to him last December, along with a personal written plea: “Lewis, Please save my father.”

Mother-of-four Najah Yusuf also wrote to Hamilton, detailing abuses she’d suffered at the hands of officers from Bahrain’s National Security Agency.

The other letter writer, Ali AlHajee, remains imprisoned in Jau Prison—which is located not far from Sakhir’s F1 track—after organizing pro-democracy protests.

“These claims are both misleading and untrue.

The cases cited have absolutely no connection with F1,” the Bahraini government’s National Communication Centre said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “The government of Bahrain has a zero-tolerance policy towards mistreatment of any kind and has put in place internationally recognized human-rights safeguards. Any complaints are fully investigated and action taken where any evidence of mistreatment is found.”

On Wednesday, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) sent new F1 Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali an open letter co-signed by 61 British lawmakers and 24 rights groups. They asked him to ensure F1 establishes an independent inquiry into abuses linked to the race, and to meet with victims and rights groups to secure compensation. AP

NDIANAPOLIS—Under sharp criticism during its marquee March Madness tournaments, the NCAA said Thursday it is hiring a law firm to review potential gender equity issues related to how it conducts its men’s and women’s championship events.

The NCAA has been accused the past two weeks of not providing equal amenities to the teams in the men’s and women’s Division I basketball tournaments.

Among other things, female players, coaches and staff in San Antonio have criticized the NCAA for not initially providing a full weighttraining area to the women’s teams, noting the men’s teams in Indianapolis did not have the same problem.

The NCAA has apologized and President Mark Emmert said Thursday that Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, which has experience in Title IX and gender equity issues, will conduct an “independent equity review” and evaluate the organization’s “practices and policies and provide recommendations on steps we can take to get better.”

“The NCAA will continue to aggressively address material and impactful differences between the Division I men’s and women’s basketball championships,” Emmert said in a statement. “While many of the operational issues identified have been resolved, we must continue to make sure we are doing all we can to support gender equity in sports. As part of this effort, we are evaluating the current and previous resource allocation to each championship, so we have a clear understanding of costs, spend and revenue.”

The latest damage control from the NCAA comes amid mounting scrutiny from outside college sports. Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill have asked for answers from Emmert and NCAA officials about what happened with the two tournments.

The events are each being held in one site for the first time in the modern era. All the men’s games are being held in Indiana, with 68 teams being hosted in Indianapolis. The 64-team women’s field is being hosted in the San Antonio area.

Unlike in past years, when individual hosting sites where responsible for amenities for both men’s and women’s teams, NCAA committees were responsible for most planning and executing most aspects of each event.

“I have made clear that Kaplan Hecker and the staff supporting them will have direct access to the Board of Governors to discuss any issue that may arise during their work while Kaplan Hecker is conducting this review and assessment,” Emmert said in his statement. “While it is still very early in the process, we hope to have these preliminary assessments in late April, with a final report this summer after all of our championships are completed.” AP

PAU GASOL admits he’s not the same player 10 or 20 years ago. AP

Gasol hopes to revive career in Barcelona

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ARCELONA, Spain—Twenty years after leaving Spain to try his luck in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Pau Gasol has returned home as one of the best international players in league history.

Gasol, now 40, is eager to show his career isn’t over despite not having played a game in two years.

“I am not the same Pau as I was 20 or even 10 years ago, but I hope I can contribute. My ambition is intact,” Gasol said Thursday at his presentation as Barcelona’s newest player.

Only the second Spaniard to play in the NBA, Gasol went on to become a six-time

All-Star and won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Barcelona-born Gasol last appeared in the NBA on March 10, 2019, for Milwaukee. He has since been hobbled by a foot injury.

The 7-foot-1 Gasol played for Barcelona from 1998 until he entered the 2001 NBA draft, starting his professional career when he was still a teenager. Back then, he was a lanky scoring threat. He returns a seasoned center who still hopes to do damage with his passing, mid-range shooting skills and leadership.

Gasol has also excelled with Spain’s national team. He led a golden era in the

country with three Olympic medals and a world championship title in 2006.

“I am just as excited to do my part for this great team,” Gasol said about his return with Barcelona. “Hopefully I can help win the Euroleague, the only title I am missing.”

Gasol will first have to get healthy. He said he still doesn’t know when he can return to action.

“Everything went well in practice yesterday,” Gasol said. “We will see how it goes this week to set a date or a game when it will make sense to get back on the court. I hope that it is soon. It is important for me to find my rhythm so I can provide some quality minutes.” AP

PresDU30 HAPPY 76TH BIRTHDAY

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

www.businessmirror.com.ph

INFRASTRUCTURE AMID THE PANDEMIC

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S President Rodrigo Roa Duterte celebrates his 76th birthday just as his administration is beginning to wind down his six-year term, he can take comfort in the fact that despite facing numerous challenges—including an increasingly worsening pandemic that is showing no signs of slowing down—his “Build, Build, Build” flagship infrastructure program remains on track to play a significant role in the country’s economic recovery.

For this year, the government has allotted P158.2 billion for 16 infrastructure f lagship projects (IFPs) designed to accomplish just that— stimulate economic growth.

These 16 infrastructure projects are now part of the government’s updated list of 104 infrastructure projects involving among others, information and communications technology development and irrigation system improvement. These projects will also be overseen by concerned executive departments and agencies including the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Information Communications and Technology (DICT) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Crucial to the success of these projects is the development assistance the country is getting from its foreign allies. Chief among these projects is The NorthSouth Commuter Railway System which will benefit greatly from the official development assistance (ODA) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The North-South Commuter Railway is budgeted at P58.6 billion, P51.5 billion of which will be funded by the JICA with the remaining P7.1 billion from the Philippine government.

The Duterte administration is also allotting P34.6 billion in 2021 for Phase 1 of the Metro Manila Subway which is another ODA project from Japan.

T he countr y’s firstever underground mass transpor t system broke ground in Febr uar y 2019. Stretching across 36 -k ilometers, the rail line w il l r un from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon Cit y to NA I A

Ter mina l 3 in Pasay City, reducing travel time from 1 hour and 10 minutes to just 45 minutes.

Last year, components of the Tunnel Boring Machine for the subway, which is expected to be partially operational by 2022, were already unveiled, signaling the start of the subway’s construction phase.

An ODA from China is funding most of the third largest IFP in the 2021 proposed budget, the Ambal-Simuay River and Rio Grande de Mindanao River Flood Control Project. Total project cost is P16.8 billion, P5.1 billion of which will come from the Philippine government.

To ensure that the administration’s vision of ushering the nation into a Golden Age of Infrastructure is realized, hopefully by the time President Duterte’s term ends in 2022, the DOTr, under the leadership of Secretary Arthur Tugade is working non-stop in transforming the country’s transportation system into one that will provide better mobility and connectivity across all regions.

In this regard, the DOTr has covered a lot of ground, as detailed in its official website.

Flying high

AS air connectivity remains a vital enabler of economic growth and development, the DOTr h a s r e p o r t e d l y completed 121 air por t p r o j e c t s , w it h 1 1 1 st i l l ongoing. T he notable ongoing a ir por t projec t s i nc lude:

1

Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

The “World’s Friendliest Resort Airport,” now known for its world-class architectural design, has been fully operational

B1

5

NAIA Terminal 2 Rehabilitation.

Improvements and rehabilitation work that should improve and levelup ser v ices remain ongoing and as of Januar y, is now 98 percent complete.

Right on track

Bicol International Airport. After 11 years of delay, the “Most Scenic Gateway” is now it expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2021. As of January this year, the project is already 72.2 percent complete and is capable of accommodating two million passengers annually.

IN addition to the highly touted Metro Manila Subway, the DOTr aims to extend the current length of the country’s railway lines, from 77 kilometers, to 1,900 kilometers by 2022 and beyond.

In order to realize this vision, six railway projects, namely: the Metro Manila Subway; Common Station; MRT-7; LRT-1 Cavite Extension; LRT-2 East Extension; and PNR Clark Phase 1 are now under construction. Eight (8) more rail lines are for construction.

These are: the PNR Clark Phase 2; PNR Calamba; PNR Bicol; Subic-Clark; Mindanao Railway; LRT-2 West Extension; MRT-4; and Cebu Monorail.

Moreover, the existing rail line of the MRT-3 is undergoing rehabilitation works.

3

1

4

2

President Duterte celebrates birthday with substantial accomplishments in ‘Build, Build, Build’ program

By Edwin P. Sallan with additional reporting

by Leony Garcia

Sunday, March 28, 2021

since 2017 and has already won numerous international and local awards. To further boost the airport’s operational capacity, a new parallel taxi/ second runway was inaugurated last year.

2

Bulacan International Airport. Seen to complement the operations of the NAIA and Clark International Airport with its own state-of-the-art facilities, the project is expected to commence construction work within the year.

Clark International Airport. Scheduled to operational this June, the airport’s new swanky passenger terminal the airport is expected to boost operational capacity and triple its current passenger volume of 4.2 million to 12.2 million every year. To augment the ongoing works for the new passenger terminal, a new runway for the airport dubbed as “Asia’s Next Premier Gateway” is also being built.

MRT-7. This is 22-km. rail line, that will run from North Avenue Station a l l the way to San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan, is more than ha lf way completed and is scheduled to be operationa l

by December, 2022.

MRT-3 Rehabilitation.

To provide the riding public with a more efficient and effective service, the MRT-3 continues to be revitalized with massive and comprehensive rehabilitation works. With the current rehabilitation nearing completion, the MRT-3 is eyeing more trains to improve efficiency and faster turnaround.

Continued on B2

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INFRASTRUCTURE AMID THE PANDEMIC Continued from B1

3

LRT-1 Cavite Extension.

As of January, the project is more than ha lf way complete and is ex pected to be par tia l ly operationa l by the end of the year. T his project, which w il l lengthen the existing LRT Line 1 from Baclaran to Niog in Bacoor, Cav ite, w il l cut travel time from 1 hour and 10 minutes to only 25 minutes.

LRT-2 East Extension.

Two new additional stations will start operations this coming April to aid commuters from Manila going to as far as Antipolo.

4 5

Common Station. Also known as the Unified Grand Central Station, its ongoing construction is 48.48 percent complete as of this mont h a nd i s e x pec ted to be completed by t he end of t he yea r. T he a mbit iou s 13,70 0 sqm . projec t w i l l con nec t MRT- 3, MRT-7, L RT-1 a nd the Metro Manila Subway.

6

North-South Commuter Railway. Envisioned to connect Central Luzon, Metro

Manila, and CALABARZON, the massive North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project will have three (3) railway projects. These are:

nPNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban - Malolos).

T he 38 -k m . ra i l l i n e w i l l c o n n e c t Tu t u b a n , M a n i l a to Ma lolos, Bu lacan and reduce travel time f rom approx imately 1 hour a nd 30 minutes to just 35 m i n u t e s . A s o f Fe b r u a r y 2021, the project is now 4 2 p e r c e nt c o m p l e t e a n d i s o n t r a c k t o b e p a r t i a l ly operat ional by December 2021.

nPNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos - Clark). As of February 2021, the project, which will also will also feature the country’s first airport rail express, is now 27.79 percent complete and is expected to be partially operational by 2022.

nPNR Calamba (Solis - Calamba). As of July 2020, the project is standing at 20.43 percent, with ROW acquisition and procurement for civ il works pack ages cur rently ongoing.

Once par tia l ly operationa l by 2024, it is ex pected to cut

travel time from three hou rs to on ly one hou r.

fourth quarter of 2022, and fully operable by 2023.

nExpansion Of Routes And Addition Of New Trains.

To improve services, the PNR has expanded its rail line to 29 operationa l stations and added brand new trains to its f leet, such as the Diesel Mu ltiple Units (DMUs) and passenger coaches from Indonesia and Japan. It has also expanded its routes from Malabon City to IRRI, Laguna.

PNR Bicol. As of July 2020, the project is 18.56 percent complete, and the contract for the delivery of new trains have already been signed. Partial operations of the railway line, running from Manila to Legazpi, Albay and Matnog, Sorsogon, with a spur line to Batangas City, Batangas, will commence in 2022.

Beyond the sea

7

8

Mindanao Railway Phase 1 (Tagum-DavaoDigos). The project is reported to start commencing by the first quarter of 2021. Once completed, travel time will be trimmed down from 3.5 hours to just 1.3 hours. It is targeted to be partially operable by the

AMONG the completed port projects of the DOTr and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), many of which were v ir tua l ly inaug urated even amid the pandemic include the Por t of Borac in Coron, Pa lawan; Por t of Caw it in Boac, Mar induque; Por t of Estancia in Iloilo; Por t of Iligan in Iligan Cit y, Lanao Del Nor te; Por t of Jag na in Bohol; Por t of Mansa lay in Or ienta l Mindoro; Por t of Ozamiz in Misamis Occidenta l; Por t of San Fer nando in El Nido, Pa lawan; Por t of Tagbilaran in Bohol; Por t of Ma la lag in Davao Del Sur; Por t of Cur r imao in Ilocos Sur; Por t of Masao in Ag usan del Nor te; and t wo separate projects for Iloilo Commercia l Por t Complex.

Moreover, the DOTr, through its maritime sector, have completed numerous social and tourism port projects including the Port of Quinapondan in Eastern Samar; Port of Villaba in Brgy.

Silad, Villaba, Leyte; Port of Kawayan in Kawayan, Biliran; Port of Hindan in Hindang, Leyte; Port of Carigara in Carigara, Leyte; Port of Polloc in Parang Maguindanao; Port of Albuera in Albuera,

Leyte; and Port of Llorente in Llorente, Eastern Samar, among others.

Road to progress

AMONG the ongoing intermodal landport projects built by the DOTr to ease traffic woes, are the following:

1

Taguig City Integrated Terminal Exchange. This aims to provide seamless interconnectivity for commuters going to Metro Manila from Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and vice versa. Once operational, the facility will be able to accommodate around 4,069 buses and 160,000 passengers daily.

To further complement the two land terminals for a moreimproved traffic flow in and out of the Metro, the North Integrated Terminal Exchange will also be built soon.

2

Future Greenways. With the upcoming railway systems, greenways play a key role for commuters, as these will pave the way for easier access to key rail stations, and will provide safe, secure, and efficient mobility for cyclists.

Thus, the DOTr has started preparing for the establishment of greenways along EDSA and in Makati-Bonifacio Global City.

To improve the country’s busbased transit system, bus rapid transits are also on the way, such

Duterte wishes for Covid-19 to end on his birthday

A

S he turns 76 on March 28, President Rodrigo R. Duterte wishes nothing more than “the end to the pandemic”, Malacañang said on Thursday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte is hoping that life will “go back to normal ” so his administration could focus on reviving the economy back to pre-crisis levels.

“I’m sure the President wishes an end to this pandemic at nais po niyang lahat tayo ay makabalik po sa buhay nating

mga normal. Ibig sabihin babalik tayo dun sa napakataas na ating growth rate taon-taon because ang kaniyang pangako ay mas kumportableng buhay sa lahat (and he wants all of us can go back to our normal life. This means he wants the country to return to high growth rates yearly because his promise is a more comfortable life for all),” Roque said in a virtual press briefing.

Roque said Duterte is also determined to continue efforts to fulfil his campaign promise of providing a comfortable life for all Filipinos.

“Despite Covid I’m sure ang kaniyang birthday wish ay matupad pa rin yung mas kumportableng buhay, yung makabangon ang lahat mula dito sa pandemiyang ito (Despite Covid, I’m sure his birthday wish is for comfortable life for all to come true and that all of us will be able to overcome this pandemic),” he added.

Duterte usually celebrates

as the Quezon Avenue Bus Rapid Transit and the Cebu Integrated and Intermodal Transport System - Bus Rapid Transit.

To provide Davaoeños a more efficient and economically viable mode of public transport, the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project has been launched, and is now approved by the NEDA Board.

3

Edsa Protected Bike Lanes. With an aim to promote the use of active mode of transport, the DOTr, in partnership with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), commenced with the ground works and mobilization of the protected bike lanes. The MMDA is currently looking placing EDSA motorcycle and protected bike lanes side by side.

4

EDSA Busway. Also known as the EDSA Carousel, the bus rapid transit system began operations last July, 2020 and currently has 21 stations and utilizes existing footbridges along EDSA by constructing additional stairways to the center island of EDSA, and also uses some stations of the MRT Line 3 and LRT Line 1 by making use of the train stations’ emergency exit stairways. The MMDA is currently eyeing the EDSA busway for faster transport of Covid-19 vaccines.

his birthdays in his hometown, Davao City except last year when he opted to spend it in Manila City to oversee pandemic response efforts.

He spent his 75th bir thday under isolation in Ma lacañan Pa lace.

Last year, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, his former aide, said Duterte can only have fun when the Covid-19 pandemic ends.

“The President will only celebrate when we have fully conquered the Covid-19 situation. For now, he is focused on what needs to be done — at nandito ako para suportahan palagi si Pangulong Duterte (and I am here to always support President Duterte),” he said.

In a pre-recorded public address aired last March 15, Duterte expressed optimism that Filipinos would be able to overcome the pandemic.

"I will just say to my countrymen that do not despair.

Kaya natin ito Covid na ito.

Maliit na bagay ito sa buhay natin. Marami tayong dinaanan mas ano, mas grabe, mas mahirap, mas magluluha kayo (We can prevail over this Covid.

It is just a small thing in our life.

We have been through worse, more difficult ones that brought you more tears," he said.

Duterte is the oldest Filipino politician to be elected President in Philippine history. His term will end in June next year. (Azer Parrocha/ Philippine News Agency)

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U.S. civics education isn’t boosting youth voting or volunteerism

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YOUR MUSI

GLOWING AND GROWING

Dipha Barus and Jackie Castro find common ground between traditional and contemporary

I

By Stephanie Joy Ching

N what could only be described as a masterstroke of fate, rising Indonesian music star Dipha Barus and American alt-pop singer Jackie Castro release “Flower,” a fascinating electro pop single that combines modern and traditional cultures into a refreshing finish.

Publisher

: T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Editor-In-Chief

: Lourdes M. Fernandez

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: Aldwin M. Tolosa

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: Jt Nisay

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: 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

According to Dipha, he first envisioned the beat and melody of the song prior to his marriage, reminding him how just a few years ago, he was going through a rough spot in his life.

“After this song came out, I began to appreciate all the processes in my life because I had gone through a very tough process two years ago, and I felt really good writing this song,” he said. Afterwards, he produced more demos and melodies, hoping that at least one of them would be able to see the light as a full song.

Eventually, that moment came organically last January 2020 in a Los Angeles studio.

“So me, Jackie and one of the song writers, Lena Leon, collaborated and it just happened organically,” he recalled. “It was a fun collaboration and it was easy to translate my music into the

lyrics. It was magical,” A great lover of his culture, Dipha always found ways of incorporating and sharing the traditional Indonesian sound into his music, resulting in a unique body of work that set him apart from other artists.

“I’ve used traditional Indonesian instruments since my first song in 2014. I always put traditional instruments in all my songs. We create and sample it because it’s beautiful and there’s a lot of it,” he said.

Jackie Castro, meanwhile, found the track Dipha produced to be ‘grateful’ sounding, which led her to reflect on the times she was still maturing both as a person and as a partner. After discussing this with Dipha and fellow song writer Lena Leon, the project came together almost magically. It was writer Lena who came up with the

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DIPHA

JACKIE Castro

idea after the three of them talked about their process of “growing and glowing,” and so the single was born.

“It’s about that season of growing pains when you’re dealing with your insecurities and flaws, and as a result you start taking out your unhappiness on the person closest to you. But because they love you and believe in the person you’re going to become, they’re there for you during that whole season, pushing you to be the best version of yourself and being patient with you during your growth,” shared Jackie.

“I think sometimes when you’re growing there is that struggle. So it’s really cool to think about that and pausing and respecting the process. You are going to have those growing pains and that’s just a part of it and that makes the ending a little more beautiful.

And I think it’s cool that we wrote this right before lockdown, we had no idea this was coming and it was a very hard season just for everyone. People had to face what they wanted to change about themselves from being alone so much, so it’s cool to release this a year later because people were able to breathe and come into a different, maybe better, space,” she added.

“Flower” by Dipha Barus and Jackie Castro is now available in all major streaming platforms.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | MARCH 28, 2021

BUSINESS

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

CLIMATE CHANGE ANXIETY ETCHED IN METAL

C

LIMATE change refers to the long-term change in weather patterns around the world that’s predicted to bring drought, increased heat and rising sea levels in the coming decades. Heightened global attention about the issue started in the early ‘90s with the signing of international pacts to reduce greenhouse gases, a major contributor to global warming.

If the 2020s were a much earlier time, we’d be in for at least an album from an all-star collation of musicians voicing their individual protest in sound and lyrics on the outrageous destruction of Mother Nature. It would be this decade’s counterpart to No Nukes to oppose the hazards of nuclear power or We Are The World to bring to light the famine in Africa.

That was then and the climate change of our time is a much bigger, most serious threat to humanity. For example, Super typhoon Yolanda aka Haiyan that killed 6,300 people and left billions of pesos in damages offered a front-row preview to the adverse effects of climate change.

My petty bourgeois tendency thinks such the severe consequence of climate change would have awakened a sense of urgency to produce an album of music about the global issue on the scale of say, We Are The World. This late day, about a decade away before the predicted first blows of climate change impacts, what we have are singles from the likes of Billie Ellish (“All Good Girls Go To Hell”),

Childish Gambino (Feels Like Summer”) and The 1975 song titled “The 1975” featuring 16-year old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Then early this month, my love for loud rock introduced me to a new album that from start to finish spewed despair and venom on the ill impacts of climate change. It got me searching for more recent metal albums that reeled against climate change.

Here’s how these three releases stack up against the current unease about a coming catastrophe (which can still be prevented if every nation gets its act together starting now!)

ARCHITECTS, For Those That Wish to Exist (2021)

THE ninth album from these Brit metalcore behemoths ventures into environmental concerns and new musical ideas taking their latest release to the top of the UK album charts. Lyrically, they focus on climate change issues while the music shuttles seamlessly from straight-up heavy metal to dream pop and robust synth-driven rockers.

In an interview, the band said the concern for climate change has to happen somehow or it’ll end in catastrophe. It’s a global issue being talked about in all manner by all sorts of people and it just happened the band has taken it up at the 11th hour equating their smart move to Icarus falling closer and closer to the sun until it’s late.

Actually, it’s never too late to act on climate change when the fate of humanity is at stake. Kudos to Architects for upping the ante on the gravest threat to life on Earth (besides nuclear weapons) as we know it.

Killer tracks: ”Do You Dream of Armageddon?”; “Black Lungs”; “An Ordinary Extinction”; ”Discourse Is Dead”

CATTLE DECAPITATION, Death Atlas (2019)

TRUE to their death metal roots, Cattle Decapitation continues to plug their thrashing metal to the disintegration happening around them. On this album, the band looks closer at the cattle industry as a microcosm of climate change impacts. In various technical studies, cattle raising is among the five top 5 contributors to escalating greenhouse gas emissions.

In a press release, band vocalist said, “The core concept of this record is humanity’s insignificance despite what we’ve convinced ourselves.

In the grand scheme of things, our species is merely a fleeting thought.”

He added that the universe will always find its way “to purge” insinuating that the lyrics depict the

destruction of “worthless caretakers of the planet” brought on climate change. It turns “Death Atlas” into a bleak album on man’s dimming prospect to survive an impending apocalypse.

Killer tracks: ‘The Genocide”; “Bring Back The Plague”; “The Great Dying”; Death Atlas; “The Unerasable Past”

GODEATER, All Flesh Is Grass (2019)

THE Scottish technical death metal band produced the album because they believe “we are apparently in a climate crisis.” The 9-track release revolves thematically around the adverse impacts of the meat processing industry on climate change. All five members are vegan so they must have gotten the idea from trusted research studies.

The music is topnotch tech-death metal anchored on guitar wizardry once described as “John McLaughlin on a heavy prog-rock tip.’ The slick riffage nicely rounds off the coarse growls and shrieks. Anyone who’s listened to Willowtip label acts will be thrilled on the aural joyride even if climate change is foremost in the band’s agenda.

Killer tracks: “Anoxia”; “Blood Moon”; “Mental Haze”; “Silent Spring” It makes sense that there was no climate change themed album last year when everyone’s attention was focused on surviving the scourge of the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Listen to the featured albums on most digital music platforms especially bandcamp.)

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US civics education isn’t boosting youth voting or volunteerism

By John A. Tures

A

There is one bright spot, though: States with a civics exam have higher volunteer rates among younger people (22.2 percent on average) than those states that do not (17.5 percent).

LaGrange College

fter the insurrection, the impeachment, the trial and ongoing partisanship in 2021, many Americans are looking to civics education as a source of hope, according to George Washington University’s Center on Education Policy.

Countering QAnon?

Students at the University of Pittsburgh urged their peers to vote in the 2020 presidential election. The Conversation The report states that “nearly all Americans [97 percent] agree that public schools should be teaching civics.”

Civics classes, as defined by the Center for American Progress, teach students about how the US government works, history about how it was designed and information about how to participate, including voting. Thus, it seems reasonable to expect that students who take those courses should be voting more and engaging in community service.

But my research shows that states that require civics courses do not necessarily have better test scores, more youth voting or young people volunteering at higher rates than other states. And there may be a connection to QAnon support as well.

I’m a political science professor who also teaches government, history, geography and economics classes to college students who major in education. I strongly believe that civics education is a good thing.

Unfortunately, though, my research has found that civics education isn’t making the

“States that require civics courses do not necessarily have more youth voting or young people volunteering at higher rates. And there may be a connection to QAnon support as well.” grade. I analyzed data from the latest study by the Center for American Progress, which provides information on which states require a civics test, as well as the voting rates for 18-to-24-year-olds and the volunteer rates for 16-to-24-year-olds.

In states that require students to take a civics course, young voters have slightly lower average voting rates (29.9 percent) than states without such a requirement (31.9 percent).

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., and 39 states—including California—have a civics class requirement. It turns out that these places have lower percentages of youth volunteer rates (22.7 percent on average) than states without such a civics course requirement (23.5 percent). These states include

New Jersey, Kentucky and Nebraska.

Passing a civics exam Nineteen states require passage of a civics exam for graduation, including Kentucky, which does not have a specific course requirement. But that doesn’t seem to make a difference in boosting youth civic engagement or knowledge.

States with the requirement have roughly similar youth voting rates (30 percent) as states that do not require passage of a civics exam (30.6 percent). States demanding a civics exam be passed before receiving a highschool diploma also have average test scores on AP exams related to civics or government (2.80) similar to those states without such a requirement (2.75).

Failure to provide an adequate civics education doesn’t just mean lower numbers of young people voting, volunteering and scoring a little lower on AP test scores. It could also open the door for QAnon, a wide-ranging conspiracy theory that claims former President Donald Trump is helping the late John F. Kennedy Jr. battle a secret cabal of cannibalistic pedophiles.

States with lower levels of youth volunteering, youth voting and youth civics test scores are also more likely to have QAnon sympathizers active in politics, or politicians who oppose criticism of QAnon. To determine this, I looked at states which had a congressional candidate who openly espoused some or all of the QAnon philosophy. I also examined which states had a representative who voted against a congressional resolution denouncing QAnon.

The 24 states with QAnon-supporting politicians had lower average youth voting rates (38.5 percent) than states without them (42.4 percent). They also had lower average youth volunteering rates (21.8 percent) than states without major politicians supporting QAnon (24 percent).

There was no significant difference in AP test scores between the two groups of states.

America’s civics education may not help solve the nation’s current political crises.

But reform efforts touted by the Center for American Progress are under way in several states to help replace memorizing facts and figures with active learning designed to engage students in real-life problems in and out of the classroom. The Conversation

ON THE COVER: Image from pexels.com

What is hate crime? Narrow legal definition makes it hard to charge and convict

A

white man travels to one business and kills several workers. He then kills more people at a similar busi-

ness.

Six of the eight people he killed are Asian women, leading many people to call for him to be charged under the new state hate crime law. Authorities resist, saying they aren’t sure that racial bias motivated the man’s crimes.

That’s the situation unfolding in the Atlanta area in Georgia, right now. But there is often a gap between public opinion and law enforcement when people believe a hate crime has been committed, whether against LGBTQ people, racial minorities or Jewish people.

Hate crimes and hate murders are rising across the US, but long-term polling data suggests that most Americans are horrified by bias-motivated violence. They also support hate crime legislation, an effort to deter such attacks.

Yet officials often resist the quick classification of incidents as a hate crime. Hate crimes have precise qualities, which must be met in order to satisfy legal requirements.

And even when police and prosecutors believe the elements of a hate crime are present, such crimes can be difficult to prove in court.

The first use of the term “hate crime” in federal legislation was the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990. This was not a criminal statute but rather a data-gathering requirement that mandated that the US attorney general collect data on crimes that “evidenced prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.” In some states, bias on gender, age and gender identity are also included.

Hate crime laws have been passed by 47 states and the federal government since the 1980s, when activists first began to press state legislatures to recognize the role of bias in violence against minority groups. Today,

4 BusinessMirror

only Arkansas, South Carolina and Wyoming do not have hate crime laws.

In order to be charged as a hate crime, attacks—whether assault, killings or vandalism—must be directed at individuals because of the prohibited biases. Hate crimes, in other words, punish motive; the prosecutor must convince the judge or jury that the victim was targeted because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or other protected characteristic.

Hate crime legislation, however, has not led to as many charges and convictions as activists may have hoped. Law enforcement struggle to identify hate crime and prosecute the offenders. Even though 47 states have hate crime laws, 86.1 percent of law-enforcement agencies reported to the FBI that not a single hate crime had occurred in their jurisdiction in 2019, according to the latest FBI data collected.

March 28, 2021

“What weights do you give to race, dope, territory? These things are 90 percent gray— there are no black-and-white incidents,” said one 20-year veteran police officer in a 1996 study of hate crime.

Without the right training and organizational structure, officers are unclear about common markers of bias motivation, and tend to assume that they must go to extraordinary lengths to figure out why suspects committed the crime.

Even law-enforcement officers specifically trained in bias crime identification still may not name incidents as hate crime that, to the general public, seem obviously bias-driven.

This may be the result of police bias. Hate crime laws reflect American ideals of fairness, justice and equity. But if crimes motivated by bias aren’t reported, well investigated, charged or brought to trial, it matters little what state law says. The Conversation