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SBMA project officer Engr. Tony Rafanan inspects the newly installed solar power system atop SBMA Building 255 after the solar array was connected to the power distribution main last week.
A GREEN FUTURE SBMA upgrades to solar power for Subic and eyes hefty savings
S
By Henry Empeño
ranging from P60,000 to P120,000 a month, depending on the generated power of the system, he said. He explained that in the case of Building 229, which was installed with a solar power array of 153 square meters, the rated savings in power consumption was 12 percent. On the other hand, Building 255, which has a bigger solar array of 298 square meters, would generate savings of about 39 percent. “The higher the generated power would be, the bigger the savings,” Rafanan added.
UBIC BAY FREEPORT—The darkblue array of solar panels may look incongruous atop the two squat buildings here that, in the by-gone age of Cold War, were also designated as bomb shelters. But the Space-Age look from the rooftop photovoltaic assemblies on the administration offices of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) provides not just a faddish upgrade, but a necessary one.
Investment returns
TECHNICIANS from Kennedy Energy and Development Corp. install solar panels for the grid-tied solar power system atop Building 229, which houses SBMA administrative offices.
shaping up,” Eisma enthusiastically said on Monday. “You either shift to renewables, or become inefficient and less competitive.” “With these solar power sources, we expect not only to save on electricity billings, but also to sell some of the excess power that we can export back to the grid,” Eisma said. “That, you may say, is futureproofing an important aspect of SBMA operations,” she added. TECHNICIANS connect the solar power system to power distribution panels at Building 255.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic agency is now adding renewable energy to its power mix with high hopes of generating substantial savings and keeping itself competitive for future business. For starters, the SBMA has just equipped two of its main offices—Buildings 229 and 255—with a grid-tied solar power system that would save from 12 to 39 percent of their current electric consumption cost. Last week, the project contrac-
Pilot project tor, Kennedy Energy and Development Corp., had finished tapping the array of rooftop photovoltaic panels to existing power distribution mains in preparation for full systems switch-on, Eisma said. Then, after 229 and 255, the SBMA will have six other buildings and facilities, including the Remy Field sports complex, up for similar solar system upgrades. “SBMA is going green—which is not only good for the environment, but is even economically inevitable because that’s the way things are
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.0910
THE grid-tied solar power system that SBMA is adopting makes use of free energy from the sun to supply power. The energy is harnessed with the use of solar panels, or photovoltaic modules that are mounted in a framework for installation. The photovoltaic cells in the solar panels generate direct current electricity that is then supplied to electrical equipment, or stored in batteries. The SBMA finally hopped onto the green bandwagon after a 10-kilowatt pilot project at the SBMA Regulatory Building ran
successfully after installation in August 2018. This was a full year before a bill calling for the installation of solar power systems in state-owned buildings was filed. As the BusinessMirror reported on August 12, 2019, then Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto had noted that government agencies and local government units “consume at least P24 billion worth of electricity a year” and that such power consumption was “growing by P1 billion annually.” According to records from the SBMA Telecommunications Department, which is the agency’s lead unit in the solar power project, SBMA’s pilot grid-tied solar power system generated 5,140 kilowatthours (kWh) during its first five months following installation in August 2018. The following years yielded equally satisfactory results: a total of 13,381 kWh in 2019 and a total of 13,940 kWh in 2020. The savings generated by the 10-kW system, meanwhile, reached
P44,615 in the five months of 2018; P116,147 in 2019; and P130,871 last year, SBMA records showed.
Cost efficiency
WITH the convincing results from the pilot project, Eisma said they expect similar or better outcomes for the upgrades at Buildings 229 and 255, which compose the first phase of the SBMA solar power program. “Our computations place savings in the vicinity of P807,476 each year for Building 255, with close to 39-percent reduction of electric consumption, while savings for Building 229 would be around P415,970 per year at close to 12-percent reduction of electricity use,” Eisma said. According to Engr. Tony Rafanan of the SBMA Telecommunications Department, the installation of solar power systems in SBMA facilities would cost an average of P6 million per building, and in the case of Remy Field may reach P19 million. However, each building installed with the solar power system will be able to generate savings
ASIDE from generating savings on electricity consumption, there is also the potential of earning some revenue from the grid-tied solar power system. Rafanan explained that even as the grid-tied solar power system drastically reduces electricity bills, it could sell excess energy back to the grid via net metering. This would be true especially on weekends when most SBMA offices are closed and not much power is consumed. He also pointed out that the system will also automatically prioritize the use of solar source, thus keeping the use of the grid at minimum level. While the solar power system would entail significant costs for installation, Rafanan said that returns on investment come within just a few years, thereby making conversion to solar power attractive even more. In the case of Buildings 229 and 255, Rafanan said that with a total project cost of P6,854,000, which is the bidder’s price for the two buildings, and with the cost of energy demand at P465,286 per month, each solar-powered building can deliver annual savings of P1.22 million. “At this rate, we can already expect a return of investment or ROI in just 5.6 years, which is very favorable considering that the solar panels have a life expectancy of 25 years,” he also said.
n JAPAN 0.4379 n UK 68.3085 n HK 6.1970 n CHINA 7.5331 n SINGAPORE 36.3307 n AUSTRALIA 37.2272 n EU 58.6566 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8246
Source: BSP (May 28, 2021)
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A2 Sunday, May 30, 2021
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Women are getting more jobs than ever in changing Saudi Arabia I
By Vivian Nereim | Bloomberg News
T looks like a woman’s world on the 29th floor of Tamkeen Tower, where a call center for Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics overlooks the beige sprawl of Riyadh. Past frosted glass doors, the few men to one side of the room are vastly outnumbered by female colleagues sitting at desks spread across the office.
The scene is the opposite of what most workplaces in the conservative Islamic kingdom looked like a few years ago, reflecting the growing influx of women into the job market. “Look where we were and where we are now,” says Reem Almuhanna, 31, who oversees the call center’s 74 employees as they gather data on households and businesses. Keeping women at home is a luxury the world’s largest exporter of crude can no longer afford. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 35, is overhauling the economy to prepare for a post-oil future and striving to create jobs amid sputtering economic growth. With the cost of living on the rise
as the government cuts gasoline and electricity subsidies and introduces new fees and taxes, including a 15-percent value-added tax, Saudi households increasingly depend on women working. As a result, social and economic changes are ripping through the country—upending traditions, changing women’s lives all across the class spectrum, and stirring resentment among some conservative Saudis. The state, facing pressure from foreign governments and human-rights groups over its clampdowns on dissent, recognizes that the narrative of female empowerment may help burnish its reputation abroad. But the changes are not illusory.
Shifting
GENDER segregation—once strictly enforced by religious police—is gradually dissolving, not just among the metropolitan elites, but even in conservative provinces such as Qassim. Men and women who aren’t related can mingle openly at restaurants now. Many offices are mixed, as are music festivals and business and professional conferences. Although decision-making remains largely in the hands of men, female participation in the workforce increased from 19 percent in 2016 to 33 percent last year, according to the statistics authority’s Labor Force Survey. “The government’s strong commitment to Saudi female empowerment has been the main driver,” the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said in a statement to Bloomberg News in March. Increased female participation in the labor force was the only goal set out in Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 framework to be met a decade early, with Saudi women taking jobs as waitresses, cashiers, and police officers. In the process, the dress code for women has loosened; jeans and uncovered hair are now tolerated alongside traditional floor-length black abayas. The shift began under King
Abdullah, who died in 2015, but it’s quickened dramatically under Prince Mohammed, now the de facto ruler. In the past five years, the government has curtailed the power of the religious police, ended the ban on women driving, and eased rules that kept women beholden to male guardians. “There is this recognition that we cannot keep going—it’s economically not sustainable—without utilizing 50 percent of the population,” says Salma AlRashid, chief advocacy officer at Alnahda, an independent nonprofit focused on women’s empowerment. The changes have come at a cost. As social liberties have expanded, political freedoms have retreated for men and women alike, leaving little room for the citizenry to debate policies that are transforming one of the world’s most socially restrictive countries. Prince Mohammed’s crackdown on domestic critics has ensnared female activists, writers, and academics alongside male ones. Campaigners such as Loujain al-Hathloul and Aziza al-Yousef, who spent years advocating for changes such as allowing women to drive, were arrested in 2018 and accused of undermining state security. (Al-Hathloul, sentenced to a nearly six-year prison term that was partly suspended, was freed in February, and al-Yousef was released in 2019, though both are banned from travel abroad. Human-rights groups say they were tortured, which the government denies.) Other dissenters have fallen silent out of fear. As Saudi society evolves, some men worry that women are taking their jobs and subverting their traditional role as the head of the household, responsible for their families financially and otherwise. “I’m against the fact that women are prioritized in getting jobs while men are left behind,” says Yazeed, a 25-year-old Saudi dentist, asking that his last name be withheld so he can speak openly in a country where the government limits free speech. “I believe women’s employment is a necessity only when she can’t find someone to provide for her.”
Bigger role
PRINCE Mohammed has said it’s time for women to take a bigger role. He rarely gives interviews, but he told Bloomberg in 2016: “Women are half of this society, and we want it to be a productive half.” More than two-thirds of unemployed Saudi women hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with just a third of male job seekers. Getting the kingdom’s educated women into the workforce is seen as essential to the success of the Vision 2030 plan. The logic of female empowerment is straightforward, says Rasha Alturki, Alnahda’s chief executive officer. The government has invested for generations in educating Saudi women, she says. “There has to be a return on your investment. Otherwise what’s the point?” Few people have lived the
changes in Saudi Arabia as viscerally as Ahlam Eisa, a 32-year-old mother of four who works in a women’s clothing shop in Riyadh and drives for Uber Technologies Inc. and other ride-sharing companies to make extra cash, all while studying for her highschool diploma. Born in the south, Eisa got married and moved to the capital when she was 19, living the kind of closed-off life typical for many Saudi women. Her divorce three years ago jolted her into an alternative universe where women worked and unmarried couples ate together in cafés. “I didn’t know what the world outside was,” she says. “I was in a bubble.” Today, Eisa drives around Riyadh in a silver Hyundai Accent, her short hair styled beneath a gray hooded robe. The car, which a local charity helped her buy, has transformed her life, she says. Now her focus is to finish school and then train as a nurse. One of her daughters wants to be a flight attendant; the other, a makeup artist. “I realized that with or without a man, I’m making my life beautiful,” Eisa says. “Everything in this era is available for women.” Nawal Alunaizi is similarly elated at her newfound choices. The 42-year-old mother of five says she endured a bad marriage for two decades, afraid to lose custody of her children under a patriarchal system where only men were considered legal guardians. Reforms that made it easier for women to file for divorce and get custody of their children emboldened her to leave the relationship four years ago. “I’m living a new life,” says Alunaizi, who works in human resources at a real-estate company. “At first when I’d come and say to my daughters, ‘Be strong, face life,’ I’d be embarrassed. Now I say it, and I look them in the eye.”
‘Uneven revolution’
THE changes that have come to the Saudi workforce have been uneven (and completely bypassed some foreign women in the kingdom, including 1 million female domestic workers who have limited rights and are largely at the mercy of their employers). Many traditionally male-dominated i ndustries—such as manufacturing and construction— remain so. There are roughly 18 Saudi men in the mining sector for every Saudi woman. That ratio narrows to about 1 to 1 in fields like health care, social work, arts and entertainment, and the hospitality industry. When the pandemic struck, the General Authority for Statistics, where Almuhanna works, switched from all-male enumerators knocking on doors to mostly women surveyors working the phones, who ended up reaching more women directly by not having to go through male heads of households. Among other things, the data they gathered suggested more women were already working outside the home than previously thought.
Job creation is Prince Mohammed’s most pressing domestic challenge. The double blow of last year’s decline in oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic underscored the importance of diversifying the economy. In the fourth quarter of 2020 the unemployment rate was 12.6 percent for Saudis overall and almost double that for women. With more women entering the workforce and a youth bulge changing the shape of the labor market, it’s been hard for the economy to keep up. This is particularly true now that economic growth is sputtering. Gross domestic product shrank by 4.1 percent last year; this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, it’s expected to grow by 2.9 percent, which is relatively weak compared to the oil boom years. Many of the jobs opening up for women are lower-paid and include roles once filled by workers from Asia and other Arab countries. For a decade, Saudi Arabia has sought to tackle high unemployment among its citizens by encouraging companies to hire them over foreigners, who remit much of their earnings to family members in their home countries. These efforts have intensified under the crown prince. The government has imposed levies on employers that hire foreigners, fees that expatriates pay to allow their dependents to reside in Saudi Arabia, and minimum quotas for Saudi hires in certain sectors, such as retail. “Yes, finding a job for us women is easy, but finding a good job is difficult,” says Sahar, 23, a saleswoman in a clothing store. Her salary of 3,500 riyals ($933) per month goes toward supporting her family following the death of her father. To go to work she had to drop out of college, and she isn’t sure she’ll be able to go back. “I don’t think I’ll ever advance in my career,” says Sahar, who asked that her last name be withheld so she could speak freely. Alnahda’s research has found gender gaps not just in workforce participation but also in career development and compensation, with Saudi women earning 57 riyals for every 100 riyals earned by Saudi men—even after adjusting for differences in education and experience. The gap is starkest at the top. There are few women on company boards and none in the Saudi cabinet. Prince Mohammed’s closest advisers are all men. But as mixed as the picture is for Saudi women in the workplace, it’s a world away from what it was. When Noha Kattan became one of the first women to work at what’s now the Ministry of Sports in 2016, there wasn’t even a women’s bathroom in the building. Now she’s a deputy minister for national partnerships and development at the Ministry of Culture, where 49 percent of the 667 employees are female. Behind the culture ministry’s stone-and-glass façade, women wearing colorful abayas sit at openfloor-plan desks alongside men—a far cry from the sealed-off women’s sections, often dark, cramped, and hidden away, that still exist in some government institutions. What’s more, women no longer worry they’ll be reported to the religious police and punished for taking a five-minute coffee break with male colleagues. Speaking with a reporter in her spacious, glass-walled office, Kattan considers the changes she’s lived through. To go from having no bathroom fewer than five years ago to “having this conversation now,” Kattan says, is “mind-blowing.”
www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso
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Sunday, May 30, 2021
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World faces longer supply shortage as China’s factories are squeezed
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ric Li’s factory making glass lampshades for companies including Home Depot Inc. is being stretched to its limits with sales doubling their pre-pandemic level.
But like many Chinese manufacturers, he doesn’t plan to expand operations—a reticence that could slow the pace of China’s economic growth this year and prolong a shortage of goods being felt around the world as demand picks up. Surging prices of raw materials means “margins are compressed,” explains Li, owner of Huizhou Baizhan Glass Co. Ltd., in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, which makes about $30 million in annual revenue. With the global economic recovery still uneven, “the future is very unclear, so there is not much push to expand capacity,” he adds. The combination of higher input prices, uncertainty about export prospects and a weak recovery in domestic consumer demand meant Chinese manufacturing investment from January to April was 0.4 percent below the same period in 2019, according to official statistics (comparing to 2019 strips out the distortion of last year’s pandemic data). Due to the vast size of China’s manufacturing sector, that poses a risk both to the nation’s growth—
which is currently predicted to reach 8.5 percent in 2021, according to a Bloomberg tally of economists’ estimates—and to a global economy that’s grappling with supply shortages and rising prices.
Falling profits
Weaker-than-expected investment could have a “sizable” impact on GDP growth this year, said Citigroup Inc.’s China economist, Li-gang Liu. Lower investment may dent imports of capital goods and equipment from developed economies like Japan and Germany, “which in turn could drag their economic recovery and rebound as well,” he added. AnHui HERO Electronic Sci & Tec Co. Ltd. is one of those companies feeling the squeeze. Based in the eastern province of Anhui, the company manufactures capacitors used to make electronic circuits, with sales mainly in the domestic market. Jing Yuan, the founder, says orders are up as much as 30 percent year-on-year, but profits are down 50 percent due to increasing materials costs that are not easily passed onto clients.
The company is under “huge cash pressure” as it needs to pay half a month in advance of delivery in order to secure copper and other metals, which they previously paid for months after receiving, he said. “The commodity issue has to be addressed by the government,” he added. “Chinese industry is absorbing significant cost pressures from rising commodity prices—damping the inflationary impact for the rest of the world. Will it last? Our analysis of gross margins suggests it could for a while longer: downstream industries—where the cost crunch is most severe—still have a small cushion,” said Bloomberg China economist David Qu. Input shortages mean some manufacturers aren’t able to make use of their existing facilities, so expansion would be of little use. Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc. suspended production at one of its factories last month, due to a shortage of microchips. Modern Casting Ltd., which makes iron and steel products in Guangdong, issued a note to clients this month saying it would not be able to meet its current orders due to high raw material costs. A member of staff who answered the phone at the company’s office confirmed the note, but declined to give further details.
Growth transition
On top of the higher input costs, Chinese companies face a bumpy transition toward domestic con-
sumer spending to sustain their post-pandemic recovery. Exports, China’s strong-suit last year, may begin to slow as vaccine roll-outs cause consumers in wealthy countries to shift spending back to services. Meanwhile, the growth rate of Chinese consumer spending has yet to fully recover. Investment sentiment among Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises is below levels seen even in 2018-2019 when uncertainties from the US-China trade war were a brake on expansion plans, according to a regular survey of more than 500 Chinese companies by Standard Chartered Plc. “Demand is still mainly underpinned by exports, so domestic companies are aware that this is not sustainable,” said Standard Chartered’s China economist, Lan Shen. While some export-oriented sectors have been pushed to their limits, large amounts of slack remain for manufacturers targeting Chinese consumers due to subdued domestic demand. Retail sales growth was 4.3 percent in April on a two-year average basis, which strips out base effects from the pandemic, less than half pre-pandemic growth rates. Overall capacity use at China’s manufacturers fell to 77.6 percent in the first quarter from 78.4 percent in the previous three months, with the automotive sector hit hardest by overcapacity following three years of declining sales volumes.
Even for electric vehicles whose sales are surging, most companies have already built their capacity and will now focus on incremental upgrades. “The majority of the investment has been done,” said Jochen Siebert of JSC Automotive Consulting. China ordered state-owned companies to expand last year, with their investment growth of 5.3 percent in 2020 from the prior year easily outstripping the 1-percent increase in private investment. But for a sustainable pick-up in investment, the market, not the state, needs to feel confident. Carsten Holz, an expert on Chinese investment statistics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, estimates that privately owned companies have accounted for 87 percent of manufacturing investment in 2015, the most recent year of available data. They are more sensitive to input costs. “There is a pandemic plus insecurity about future trade given a new US administration, neither of which is conducive to investment that relies on long-term growth prospects,” Holz said.
Mixed policies
Transport bottlenecks are also a challenge for export-oriented manufacturers. Gordon Gao, who exports gardening products from China, said that he has had to reject 80 percent of orders this year due to port delays. In one case, an order placed before
mid-February could only be shipped three months later when a client finally secured a container. Beijing has tried to improve conditions for private companies by ordering a crackdown on speculation to curb commodity prices and easing access to bank loans. Yet the government continues to gradually withdraw fiscal and monetary stimulus measures introduced amid the pandemic last year. It set a relatively unambitious target of “above 6 percent” growth for this year, and the Communist Party’s Politburo signaled last month it would prioritize reforms to control house prices and debt growth. “The policy stance has definitely shifted away from supporting growth and back toward de-risking the financial sector,” said Adam Wolfe, an economist at Londonbased Absolute Strategy Research. “The risks for economic growth seem tilted to the downside, especially for capital-intensive, construction-linked sectors.” For manufacturers such as Li, a longer period of domestic growth and control over input prices will be needed before capacity expansion is on the cards. While his company of 200 workers took on new permanent staff before the pandemic, for now he’d rather pass the risks of investment on to others. “I wouldn’t do that now, I would rather hire some temporary workers and outsource the rest,” he said. Bloomberg News
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Sunday, May 30, 2021
Social spending, business tax hike drive $6-T Biden budget By Andrew Taylor
W
ASHINGTON—President Joe Biden’s $6-trillion budget proposal for next year would run a $1.8-trillion federal government deficit despite a raft of new tax increases on corporations and highincome people designed to pay for his ambitious spending plans. drive up interest rates as many fiscal hawks have feared, however, and anti-deficit sentiment among Democrats has mostly vanished. “Now is the time to build [upon] the foundation that we’ve laid to make bold investments in our families and our communities and our nation,” Biden said Thursday in an appearance in Cleveland to tout his economic plans. “We know from history that these kinds of investments raise both the floor and the ceiling over the economy for everybody.” The unusual timing of the budget rollout—the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day weekend— indicates that the White House isn’t eager to trumpet the bad deficit news. Typically, lawmakers host an immediate round of hearings on the budget, but those will have to wait until Congress returns from a weeklong recess. Under Biden’s plan, the debt held by the public would exceed the size of the economy and soon eclipse record levels of debt relative to gross domestic product that have stood since World War II. That’s despite more than $3 trillion in proposed tax increases over the decade, including an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent, increased capital gains rates on top earners, and returning the top personal income tax bracket to 39.6 percent. Like all presidential budgets, Biden’s plan is simply a proposal. It’s up to Congress to implement it through tax and spending legislation and annual agency budget
Gates divorce forces $50-billion foundation to weigh changes By Sophie Alexander
W
The Associated Press
Biden had already announced his major budget initiatives, but during a rollout on Friday he will release them as a single proposal to incorporate them into the government’s existing budget framework, including Social Security and Medicare. That provides a fuller view of the administration’s fiscal posture. Democratic aides disclosed key elements of the Biden plan, speaking on condition of anonymity because the document is not yet public. The whopping deficit projections reflect a government whose steadily accumulating pile of debt has topped $28 trillion after well more than $5 trillion in Covid-19 relief. The government’s structural deficit remains unchecked, and Biden uses tax hikes on businesses and the wealthy to power huge new social programs like universal prekindergarten and large subsidies for childcare. The budget incorporates the administration’s eight-year, $2.3-trillion infrastructure proposal and its $1.8-trillion American Families Plan and adds details on his $1.5-trillion request for annual operating appropriations for the Pentagon and domestic agencies. It is sure to give Republicans fresh ammunition for their criticisms of the new Democratic administration as bent on a “tax and spend” agenda with resulting deficits that would damage the economy and impose a crushing debt burden on younger Americans. Huge deficits have yet to
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President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Cuyahoga Community College Metropolitan Campus on May 27, 2021, in Cleveland. AP/Evan Vucci
bills. With Democrats in control of Capitol Hill, albeit barely, the president has the ability to implement many of his tax and spending plans, though his hopes for awarding greater budget increases to domestic agencies than promised for the Pentagon are sure to hit a roadblock with Republicans. Some Democrats, however, are already balking at Biden’s full menu of tax increases. The Biden plan comes as the White House is seeking an agreement with Senate Republicans over infrastructure spending. There are growing expectations that he may have to go it alone and pass his plans by relying on support from his narrow Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. The flood of new spending includes $200 billion over 10 years to provide free preschool to all 3and 4-year-olds and $109 billion to offer two years of free community college to all Americans. Also, $225 billion would subsidize childcare to allow many to pay a maximum of 7 percent of their income for all children under age 5. And another $225 billion over the next decade would create a national family and medical leave program, while $200 billion would make recently enacted subsidy increases under the Obama health care law permanent. It also calls for a major boost to Title I, a federal funding program for schools with large concentra-
tions of low-income students. The proposal would provide $36.5 billion for the program, an increase of $20 billion over current levels. The new funding would be used to increase teacher pay, expand access to preschool, decrease inequities in education and increase access to rigorous coursework, according to a congressional aide briefed on the budget who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the official release. Such increases would drive federal spending to about 25 percent of the GDP, while the tax increases would mean revenues approaching 20 percent of the size of the economy once implemented. Last year’s $3.1-trillion budget deficit under President Donald Trump was more than double the previous record, as the coronavirus pandemic shrank revenues and sent spending soaring. Speaking from Air Force One, White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that Biden inherited deficits already swelled by Covid-19 relief and promised that the administration’s initiatives “will put us on better financial footing over time.” And the Biden team says public sentiment is on its side, citing recent opinion polls that show the public largely approves of ideas like boosting spending for roads and bridges and better broadband, as well as its plans to raise taxes on corporations and upper bracket earners. AP
hen Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates announced their surprise split after 27 years of marriage, they said there would be no changes to their $50 billion foundation. Now, about three weeks later, after revelations that Melinda considered divorce years earlier partly because of Bill’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, and amid reports of his dubious behavior at Microsoft Corp., there are signs change is coming to one of the world’s most powerful philanthropic organizations. Mark Suzman, the Gates Foundation’s chief executive officer, has told employees that he’s in talks to strengthen “the long-term sustainability and stability of the foundation.” “I’m actively discussing with Bill and Melinda steps they and Warren might take,” Suzman said in a statement Thursday, referring to billionaire Warren Buffett, the third member of the foundation’s board. Suzman said no decisions have been made, but added that Bill and Melinda have “reaffirmed their commitment to the foundation and continue to work together on behalf of our mission.” It’s the latest twist in what appears to be an increasingly acrimonious split. Since the divorce announcement posted to Twitter, there have been reports that Bill had an extramarital affair and pursued other office romances with employees at Microsoft. The New York Times on Wednesday reported that Gates received complaints about the behavior of Michael Larson, who runs Cascade Investment, which has for decades overseen the Gateses’ fortune. The media onslaught has sullied Gates’s geeky techno philanthropist persona, and thrown into question whether the pair can work alongside each other without disrupting the operation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that they are considering bringing in outside directors, citing people it didn’t identify.
Three members
There are currently just three trustees: Gates, French Gates and Buffett, who has added more than $27 billion of his own money to the foundation over the past 15 years. Any changes to the structure of the foundation could have a big impact on its focus. Adding more people to the board could “democratize the ultimate decision-making process,” at the foundation, said Maribel Morey, a historian of philanthropy and executive director at the Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. The three-person board is unusually small for a foundation of its size. The Ford Foundation, which is roughly a fifth the size of the Gates Foundation, has 15 members on its board. The Rockefeller Foundation, at a 10th of the size, has no fewer than 12 at any time. Expanding the board would be a good thing, said Morey, and they could use it to increase diversity. “In this moment it’s a mutually beneficial decision because, at one level the Gates Foundation is under much more scrutiny,” Morey said. “At another level it makes much more sense to include other people in the room when you’re a divorced couple with only one other person on the board.” The fate of the foundation is just one aspect of the divorce. Gates, 65, a Microsoft co-founder, is the fourth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $143.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Gates’s biggest asset is Cascade, the holding company he created with the proceeds of Microsoft stock sales and dividends that’s run by Larson. Through Cascade, Gates has interests in real estate, energy and hospitality as well as stakes in dozens of public companies, including Canadian National Railway and Deere & Co. The Gateses are also among the largest private landowners in the US. In recent weeks, there have been several transfers of shares worth billions of dollars from Cascade to French Gates, but it’s a tiny fraction of the approximately $50 billion in public equities reported by the firm. Bloomberg News
Banks flex muscle with $23-billion gain as US Congress scolds CEOs By Hannah Levitt, Robert Schmidt & Jesse Hamilton
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all Street CEOs spent two days being grilled by lawmakers. Their companies gained more than $23 billion in market value. The heads of the six biggest US banks absorbed Democrats’ jabs over their firms’ treatment of consumers, climate change and for not doing enough to promote racial justice. Republicans chimed in, too, bashing lenders for shunning politically unpopular businesses in the US, while financing Chinese companies. As the hits kept coming, bank stocks kept rising—indicating the executives mostly accomplished what they set out to do ahead of this week’s congressional hearings: Avoid embarrassing moments or clashes that could cast lasting shadows over their industry. While the breadth of questions served as a reminder of the expansive reach of megabanks, the absence of fireworks underscored how well the firms fared during the economic turmoil that the pandemic unleashed. It was a far cry from what happened after the 2008 financial crisis when Wall Street was the villain and Washington aggressively tightened its leash. “The goal for the CEOs with these hearings was to get through without
anything that would result in more onerous regulation, and without anything that would cause them problems with shareholders,” said Ian Katz, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners in Washington. “They largely succeeded.”
Pleased lobbyists
The proceedings started Wednesday with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s David Solomon, Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman, Bank of America Corp.’s Brian Moynihan, Citigroup Inc.’s Jane Fraser and Wells Fargo & Co.’s Charlie Scharf appearing before the Senate Banking Committee. Round 2 came Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee. Some bank lobbyists privately said they were pleased, commenting that there were no public relations missteps. Diversity and racial inclusion were recurring themes for Democrats, who asked whether banks should be independently audited to determine whether their actions adversely impact minority communities. “It is something we’re looking at again,” Fraser said of Citigroup, which defeated a shareholder proposal calling for such a review at its recent annual meeting. Dimon, however, dismissed the
audits as “ bureaucracy and B.S.,” while adding that the bank is “completely devoted ” to aiding people of color.
Work force return
The JPMorgan CEO was the most outspoken of the executives. He also drew attention when he theorized that some Americans don’t immediately want to return to the work force in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Republicans spent a lot of their time telling the CEOs that banks should stay out of politics and warning that corporate “activism” in areas like climate change would harm their businesses. “I’m very concerned about the pressure that you all are receiving as CEOs,” said Representative Bill Huizenga, a Michigan Republican. “All of your firms have pledged fidelity to this whole notion of bowing to the wokeness that’s going on.” Lawmakers of both parties at times sought the executives’ advice on a range of tricky policy issues, including the need for oversight of cryptocurrencies and the appropriate government response to the rise of blank-check companies and the bubble in so-called meme stocks like GameStop Corp.
Crypto caution
Dimon and Solomon said that they personally remained dubious about cr y pto-investing and ca l led it a
“ buyer beware” product. And they said Washington should be working on setting rules for the largely unregulated digital tokens. Still, Dimon and Solomon noted that their firms were thinking about how to make coins available in a safe way to clients, especially as demand for them has surged. “This goes back to how you have to run a business,” the JPMorgan chief said, noting that his personal views were largely irrelevant. “I don’t smoke marijuana but if you make it nationally legal, I’m not going to stop our people from banking it.” Asked about whether additional disclosure may be needed for special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, Solomon said that would be a good idea. The Goldman CEO also weighed in on the collapse of Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management, saying that while there are a number of institutional investors who buy “total return swaps,” what made Hwang an outlier was his extremely concentrated positions. Solomon said he supported regulators considering a “more modern disclosure structure” for the derivatives, which Hwang used to shield his massive stakes. “Some focus there is probably a good thing,” Solomon said.
Bloomberg News
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A5
Covid long-haulers baffle doctors with symptoms going on and on
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By Robert Langreth
asha Clark tested positive for Covid-19 on April 8, 2020. The Connecticut woman, now 41, was relieved that her symptoms at the time—diarrhea, sore throat and body aches—didn’t seem particularly severe. She never got a fever and wasn’t hospitalized. So she figured that if the virus didn’t kill her, within weeks she’d go back to her job and caring for her two children.
She significantly miscalculated. More than a year later, she’s a textbook example of a Covid long-hauler. Clark suffers from an array of disabling symptoms including blowtorch-like nerve pain and loss of sensation in her arms and legs, spine inf lammation that makes it difficult to sit up straight, brain fog, dizziness and a soaring heart rate when she stands. She takes steroids and nine other prescription medicines, including twice-monthly infusions of immune therapy at a Yale University clinic to treat the neurological complications. When her front-desk job at a physical rehabilitation center couldn’t accommodate her disability, Clark had to take a lowerpaying medical billing position. Her life outside of work is a never-ending odyssey of medical appointments, scans and lab tests. “I never in a million years thought that a year later my life would be reduced to what it has been,” says Clark, who lives with her husband and two school-aged girls in Milford. “Not knowing if I will ever recover is scary.” The scope of the mysterious lingering symptoms triggered by Covid-19 is emerging more clearly, based on cases like Clark’s. But more than a year into the pandemic, what’s causing the symptoms and how best to treat them is anything but clear. Making research especially difficult is that there is such a wide range of health issues involved—from brain fog to cardiovascular problems to rare cases of psychosis—and there’s no agreed-upon metric for who qualifies as a long-haul patient. “There is no consensus on how to define, diagnose or measure this syndrome,” Steven Deeks, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, told the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s health panel on April 28. “Everyone is using different definitions and the state of the art is a mess.” While estimates vary widely, the data suggests that Covid may leave a legacy of consequences after the pandemic is over. A British government survey found that almost 14 percent of people with Covid reported symptoms lasting at least 12 weeks. In another study from the University of Washington, one-third of those diagnosed with mild Covid cases still had symptoms about six months later. Further, non-hospitalized Covid-19 patients treated by the US Department of Veterans Affairs had a 59 percent increased risk of
dying in the six months after contracting the disease compared to those who didn’t get it, and suffered from conditions such as blood clots, diabetes, stroke and nervous system problems, according to findings published in April in the journal Nature. “We don’t understand what is happening with their biology,” says Serena Spudich, a Yale University neurologist treating postCovid patients. “It is really, really unknown at this point.” While the patients’ symptoms are clear, brain MRI scans and other tests are often unrevealing, making it tough to determine the cause of the symptoms, she said. To get a better grip on the problem, the National Institutes of Health is spending $1.15 billion to research long-term Covid and will focus on assembling a giant cohort of tens of thousands of post-Covid patients, who will share data from mobile apps and wearable devices. It has already received 273 research proposals and will announce funding in weeks, NIH Director Francis Collins told Congress. Answers can’t come too soon for Eddie Palacios, a 50-year-old commercial real estate broker in Naperville, Illinois. A month after getting a mild case of Covid last September he began forgetting words. One day, he couldn’t remember where he was after climbing onto the roof to clean the gutters; his son had to help him down. “There is definitely memory loss, and headaches that won’t go away,” says Palacios, who is in cognitive rehab at Northwestern Medicine and takes the prescription stimulant modafinil, used to treat narcolepsy, to boost his alertness. Still, he must take extensive notes during conversations with c l ient s, somet h i ng he ne ver used to do. He says he’s fortunate that he can do his job from home. “If I were a 9-to-5 guy, I’d be unemployed,” he says.
Autoimmune reaction
What makes people long-haulers? There are at least three possibilities. One leading theory is that the battle with the virus sets off an autoimmune reaction that persists long after the actual virus. This may be what has happened to Clark. The theory is that “the immune system is cranked up” during the initial illness but once the virus is gone, it doesn’t come back down, says Avindra Nath, a researcher at the
Tasha Clark’s medications for long Covid symptoms, in Milford, Connecticut, US, on May 3, 2021. Tasha is a 41-year-old mother who has had post Covid symptoms for over a year dealing with 40-50 doctor appointments for tests and procedures. She is currently taking 8 medications for neuropathy brain fog and Covid-related autoimmune conditions, including monthly intravenous immunoglobulin infusions in the hospital. Bloomberg photo
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Another possibility is that fighting Covid-19 leaves behind a detritus of viral particles that sets up a generalized cycle of inflammation long after the pathogen itself has departed. This may help explain why some people continue to test positive long after their infections appear to have cleared. A third theory is that the virus may find hiding places in human tissues, allowing it to emerge weeks or months later when immunity weakens. Other viruses such as HIV and herpes simplex are known to hide out inside the body for years. If there is such a viral reservoir “it’s probably very difficult to get at, it could be very deep in some tissues,” said Akiko Iwasaki, a Yale University immunologist. The hidden reservoir concept, while unproven, is consistent with the fact that some long-haulers initially have milder symptoms, and could also explain anecdotal reports that vaccines provide relief for long-haul patients. While researchers hunt for answers, major medical centers such as Northwestern Medicine in Illinois and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York have opened clinics to manage patients’ myriad symptoms, providing help to those lucky enough to get it. Yale’s neurocovid clinic was set up this past October and has treated about 100 patients, including Clark. Clark’s husband, Richard Zayas, a 47-year-old carpenter, came down with Covid in early April 2020. A few days later, she developed a horrible taste in her mouth, unlikely anything she had ever experienced before. The first neurological symptoms came a week into her illness, when she burnt her arm taking something out of the oven because she didn’t notice the hot pan touching her. A few weeks later, just as her sore throat and cough were subsiding, she began losing sensation in her legs. Coming home from a drive, her legs gave out and she had to pull herself up the steps to her house by her arms. Though she suspected it was a complication of Covid, doctors at the local emergency room said a lot of things could be causing the symptoms and sent her home without extensive tests, she says.
Burning pain
A skin biopsy later found signs of nerve damage, and doctors put
her on gabapentin for the pain. But her symptoms worsened, and by July she was diagnosed with peripheral polyneuropathy. Over the summer, she fell multiple times going up and down the stairs in her
house, or walking in the yard. This winter, burning pain in her feet was so bad that several times she went outside and stood barefoot in the snow or on bare concrete to numb the pain. “My skin feels like someone is holding a blowtorch to it,” she says. Since getting sick, Clark says she has had more than 50 doctor visits, and numerous procedures including two lumbar punctures, MRI scans of the pelvis, cognitive tests and multiple sleep studies. In addition to neuropathy, she’s been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune-related arthritis of the spine, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which produced rapid heartbeat and a light-headed feeling upon standing. Doctors “think my immune system went in overdrive when I got the virus and since never shut off,” she said. “It has basically been attacking my body ever since.” When other treatments didn’t fully improve her symptoms, Yale
doctors early this year put Clark on infusions of intravenous immune globulin, a costly antibody infusion. Lindsay McAlpine, a neurology resident at Yale’s neurocovid clinic, says they only give immunoglobulin to post-Covid patients whose symptoms have a clear autoimmune link. After being away from her front-desk job for eight months, Clark went back remotely in December but said she had to quit when her bosses insisted she return to the office. She found a medical billing job that can be done from her armchair. But it pays $1.47 an hour less, meaning she has to work overtime to keep up. She is so exhausted after work she can’t do much at home. The scariest part for Clark is not knowing how long the symptoms will last. When she contracted Covid more than 13 months ago, “I thought maybe two or three weeks tops and I would be back to my old self,” she says. “I have been sick every day since.” Bloomberg News
Faith A6 Sunday, May 30, 2021
Sunday
Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph
Pope launches 7-year Laudato si’ action plan
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ATICAN—Pope Francis launched the Vatican’s seven-year Laudato si’ action plan to implement environmental sustainability in different sectors of the Church, including the religious orders, Catholic schools and hospitals.
“We need a new ecological approach that can transform our way of dwelling in the world, our styles of life, our relationship with the resources of the Earth and, in general, our way of looking at humanity and of living life,” Pope Francis said in a video message on May 24.
The pope marked the end of the year celebrating the fifth anniversary of his environmental encyclical Laudato si’ with the message announcing the initiative. He said that the year would be followed immediately by a sevenyear plan known as the Laudato si’
Action Platform, which will focus on seven sectors: families, parishes, schools, hospitals, businesses, organizations and religious orders. The pope explained that the action plan also has seven goals: the response to the cry of the earth, the response to the cry of the poor, ecological economics, adoption of simple lifestyles, ecological education, ecological spirituality and community involvement. “Our selfishness, our indifference and our irresponsible ways are threatening the future of our children,” Pope Francis said. “I therefore renew my appeal: let us take care of our mother Earth… let us overcome the temptation of selfishness that makes us predators of resources, let us cultivate respect for the gifts of the Earth
and creation, let us inaugurate a lifestyle and a society that is finally eco-sustainable.” “We have the opportunity to prepare a better tomorrow for all. From God’s hands we have received a garden, we cannot leave a desert to our children,” he added. Cardinal Peter Turkson, the prefect for the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, said at a news conference on May 24 that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many of the Vatican’s planned events, conferences, and celebrations for the Laudato Si’ year, but expressed gratitude to the parishes and associations that organized local events. In particular, the cardinal commended Catholics in Bangladesh for planting 700,000 trees over
the course of the past year. Fr. Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam, who leads the Ecology and Creation section of the Vatican dicastery, stressed that the Laudato Si’ Action Platform can only be accomplished in partnership with “the synodal path that Pope Francis is proposing to the entire Church.” “Integral ecology demands that we journey together on this mission,” he said. Kureethadam explained that the first year of the initiative will be dedicated to “drawing up concrete action plans” following by “five years of concrete action” with the final year dedicated to “praise and thank God.” In addition to the Vatican dicastery, Eco-Jesuit, the Pan-Amazonian Church Network (REPAM),
the Global Catholic Climate Movement, the Union of Religious Superiors in Rome, and other Catholic groups are involved with the organization of the seven years of programming. “On a journey that will last for seven years, we will let ourselves be guided by the seven aims of Laudato si’, which will show us the direction while we pursue the vision of integral ecology,” Pope Francis said. “There is hope. We can all collaborate, each one with his own culture and experience, each one with her own initiatives and capacities, so that our mother Earth may be restored to her original beauty and creation may once again shine according to God’s plan.” Courtney Mares/Catholic News Agency via CBCP News
Manila clergy to lead fasting, ‘penitential walk’ to end pandemic
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anila’s Catholic clergy will lead a fasting and “penitential walk” to implore God’s mercy amid the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The “ day of prayer and fasting” will be held on June 1, the beginning of the month of the Sacred Heart. “I invite you all to join in a day during which we implore God’s mercy on us,” Bishop Broderick Pabillo, the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator, said in a pastoral instruction. But because of the health protocols, the bishop invited the faithful to join the activity in their homes and even in their places of work. “Let the priests, the spiritual
Archdiocese of Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillio Photo from CBCP News
leaders of your parishes, schools, and ministries, do this on behalf of the people while you join us online,” he said.
The activity will start at 8:30 a.m. in Quiapo Church, where priests will gather for a communal penitential service “during
which they can confess their sins to one another.” “We, priests, also admit our failures during this year of the pandemic,” Pabillo said. “We may not have been courageous enough in encouraging the flock, not creative enough in serving those in need, not prayerful enough for the sake of our people. We are sorry,” he added. T he bishop sa id t hey w i l l a lso e x press t h is sor row w it h a penitent i a l wa l k f rom Qu i apo C hu rc h to t he nea rby St a. Cr u z C hu rc h. “We will together celebrate the Eucharist, praying for you, our people, for the needs of the countr y and the world in this time of pandemic,” he said. CBCP News
CBCP releases prayer for Natl Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on June 12
T Fr. Eliseo Mercado, peace advocate, dies F
r. Eliseo “Jun” Mercado, a longtime Mindanao peace advocate, died Sunday due to heart attack. The Philippine Province of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) said the 72-year-old passed away at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center at 3:25 p.m. Fr. Mercado had been hospitalized with complications from Cov id-19 since May 8. A day before his death, the congregation said the priest’s test result yielded negative for the virus. He was also transferred to the hospital’s intensive care unit to complete his recovery. “Things seemed to go well,” they said, when “suddenly his heart stopped due to heart attack.” “Please pray for t he repose of h is sou l,” sa id t he OMI, de scr ibing Mercado as “one of ou r g i a nts.”
Fr. Eliseo “Jun” Mercado, OMI
“His presence and contribution to the Philippine Province and to the worldwide community of the Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate will be sorely missed,” it added. Fr. Mercado was president of Not re Da me Universit y in
Cot abato C it y f rom 1992 to 20 02. He a lso ser ved as d irector for OMI ’s Just ice, Peace a nd Integ r it y of Creat ion in Rome f rom 20 03 to 20 06. A k now n e x per t on t he role of Isl a m in Sout heast A sia a nd the Phi lippines, the pr iest was
e x t e n s i ve l y i nvol ve d i n t he peace process in Mind a nao. Fr. Merc ado a l so ac t ive ly worked with the Mindanao Task Force on Poverty Alleviation, the Social Reform Agenda Council for Central Mindanao and the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor for Central Mindanao from 1995 to 1998. In 2006, the priest was a member of the si x-person delegation of the Union of Super iors Genera l that v isited South Sudan to for mulate the Church response to t he urgent pastora l needs following the signing of t he Comprehensive Peace A g reement in 2005. In 2007, he spent time as consultant to the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Regional Conference on peace-building, healing and reconstruction. CBCP News
he C at hol ic B i s ho p s ’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday released the prayer for the upcoming National Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mar y. Shortened and directed to the countr y’s present context, the prayer was adopted from the “official act of consecration” written by St. John Paul II himself for the Feast of the Annunciation in 1985. According to the CBCP, the prayer was meant to be offered by the pope himself and all the bishops of the Church. During that time, Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila and Cardinal R icardo Vidal took official part of the solemn act of offering in the Vatican. March 25 of that year was also the day that Vidal and 27 others were elevated to the College of Cardinals. T he bishops, du r ing t heir
108th plenar y assembly in Januar y 2014, approved that the consecration to the Immaculate Heart Mar y be renewed ever y year on her feast day in ever y diocese until the Jubilee Year of 2021. This year, the feast day will be on June 12. T he nat iona l consecrat ion will be led by Archbishop Romulo Valles, CBCP President, and will be livestreamed from the Davao Cathedral at 9:45 a.m. The Mass in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mar y w ill then follow at 10 a.m. in the different cathedrals and parish churches led by the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Valenzuela City. The PDF file of the consecration prayer and the poster from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima may be downloaded from https://drive.google.com/ dr ive/folders/1fzzrE4Y 3fAUPK 4f IicsZ22d7nZMlJ7VC. CBCP News
Brazilian boy who painted pictures of saints to help pay for his medical treatment dies
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ÃO PAULO, Brazil—Daniel Neves, a 13-year-old boy who painted pictures of the saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary to help to pay for his medical treatment, died May 18 after being hospitalized for almost two weeks with Covid-19. At eight months old Daniel was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, liver fibrosis, and spleen problems, and spent most of his life in the hospital. When he was five, his kidneys stopped functioning and he had to undergo hemodialysis every week. It was during that time that he learned to paint, and the sale of his paintings helped pay for his treatment. The young boy mainly painted pictures of Catholic saints. On a waiting list to receive a kidney transplant, Daniel also created a
picture of Our Lady of the Kidneys, so the Virgin would protect him during the operation and guide the doctors to perform the procedure successfully. Daniel was born in Guanambi, Brazil, and lived with his mother, Cleide Neves, in an apartment in Salvador. Every three months he was taken to São Paulo for the necessary treatments. An Instagram post announced the little boy died May 18 after being hospitalized for Covid-19 for 13 days. “He fought bravely to the end. Thank you all for your care and support for him during all these years. You were part of his life, of his love for drawing…May God bless you all,” the post said. The boy’s mother said that Daniel made her life more “special, sweet, fun and mischievous”
and that the boy captivated people with his talent. “Now you will make Heaven more colorful! We will miss you every day! Rest in peace,” she added. The mother said the process of Daniel leaving this world was a special time and that God was merciful in allowing this time to say goodbye, even if it was painful. “You will always be remembered and loved!” she concluded. The Brazilian crowdfunding network voaa_vaquinhadorazoes, which ran a campaign to pay for Daniel’s medical expenses, said “we can’t even express in words how sad and shaken we are,” adding that the amount raised by the campaign helped a lot with the boy’s treatment and pledged “to continue to help the family in this difficult time.” Catholic News Agency via CBCP News
Daniel Neves, who died May 18, 2021. Photo from @danielxneves, Instagram
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A7
IN celebration of the 60 years of The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines, the Philippines Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unveils the First Vision statue in a solemn and sacred ceremony with friends from the government, media, humanitarian partners, and leaders of other faiths. This historic event is part of a year-long celebration of 60 years of The Church of Jesus Christ in the Philippines.
LEADERS of Uniharmony Partners Manila from different faith-based organizations joined in the unveiling of the First Vision Statue.
60 Years of leading through Faith and Service
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By Stephanie Joy Ching
HEN the first missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints arrived in Philippines shores in 1898, they did not know if the country would accept the restored gospel that they preached. However, just a few decades later in 1961, the Church firmly established itself in the country, quickly expanding and becoming an integral part in nation building. Through their efforts and collaboration with the local government via their humanitarian arm, many emergency responses, sanitation programs, and medical aid were able to reach even the most vulnerable members of the population, providing a comforting presence in their lives. Last May 20, 2021 marked the 60th anniversary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Philippines, which also coincided with the 500th anniversary of Catholicism in the country. Because of COVID restrictions, this celebration was held online via the Church’s official Facebook and Youtube page. As part of the celebration, the Church and its members were given a marble statue depicting the First Vision, in which Joseph Smith at age fourteen received a vision from God in the spring of 1820. For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the First Vision is, as Elder Taniela Wakolo, the president of the Philippine Area of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, stated, “an event of preeminent importance.” For
them, it marked the “opening of the final chapter of mankind before the second coming of Jesus Christ” and “ushered in the restoration of the gospel.” “Joseph Smith’s humble prayer led to the restoration of gospel truths, priesthood authority and restoring ordinances. His first vision blesses each of our personal lives, the lives of families, and our whole human family, because through it we come to know and come to believe in our savior Jesus Christ. Through the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith, the testimonies of all the prophets and Apostles declared throughout the history of mankind, and the divine manifestations have been confirmed. The savior spoke to Joseph Smith for the purpose of blessing all of God’s children with mercy and love, even during times of uncertainty and insecurities,” he said. Also in attendance at the event was Elder Steven Bangerter,First Counselor for the Church, and guests from the government and other faith communities such as Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, Chairman Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso of the National Commission of the Culture and Arts, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista, Rev. Fr. Carlos Reyes, Minister
THE First Vision Statue is along White Plains Avenue, Greenmeadows, Quezon City.
for ecumenical and interfaith affairs of the Archdiocese of Manila., and Senator Bong Go. Undersecretary Robert Borje, Chief of Presidential Protocol and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs of the Office of the President, BGEN Raul S. Cino CHS, Chief of Chaplain Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and BGEN Rodylyn “Cherrisse” Manzano, Chairman of the Naval Reserve Command Multisectoral Linkaging Committee of the Philippine Navy and Philippine Marines were also present in the festivities. Each of them offered their congratulations to the Church, albeit
(Left to Right): BGEN Raul S. Cino CHS, Chief of Chaplain Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Sister Anita Wakolo and Elder Taniela Wakolo of the Philippines Area Presidency; Rev. Fr. Carlos Reyes, Minister for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs, Archdiocese of Manila; Undersecretary Robert Borje, Chief of Presidential Protocol and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs of the Office of the President; Elder Steven Bangerter of the Philippines Area Presidency and Sister Susann Bangerter; BGEN Rodylyn “Cherrisse” Manzano, Chairman of the Naval Reserve Command Multisectoral Linkaging Committee of the Philippine Navy and Philippine Marines
via an online video call. Moreover, they also affirmed the importance of faith and service during challenging times, highlighting how the Church served as a beacon of hope during its sixty years of existence, most notably during the pandemic. “Six decades of steadfastness in your mission to spread the light and give service to the poor are testaments of God’s presence in our lives,” said Mayor Belmonte. “We immensely appreciate your missionary work that strengthens our nation, among them are the support for the vaccination jabs, your donations of
THE First Vision was a transcendent vision that occurred in the spring of 1820, in which Joseph Smith saw and conversed with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. The First Vision is of pre-eminent importance and marked the opening of the final chapter in the history of mankind before the second coming of Christ.
PPES, masks and hygiene kits as well as signature programs that provide relief and comfort to millions of FIlipinos over the years,” she added. “Delivering the much needed supplies has become a challenge in the pandemic, but because of givers like you, the burden has become lighter for us. Indeed, by working together we can hurdle all obstacles,” said Secretary Bautista. In addition to offering their congratulations and gratitude, the speakers also highlighted the importance of the First Vision statue, stating that it is a symbol of what
humanity can achieve when they listen and actively seek for the Word of God. As Chairman Lizaso said during his speech: “This sculpture represents the deep spirituality and values of our brothers and sisters in the church since their very first mission in the Philippines. This celebration of faith serves as a reminder to all our brothers and sisters around the country of the opportunities for service to millions of others that lie in the simplest application of spiritual wisdom, devoted ministry and warm good will towards all people,”
The Philippines Area Presidency together with friends from the government, media, humanitarian partners, and leaders of other faiths joined in the unveiling of the First Vision Statue.
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A8 Sunday, May 30, 2020
Why do we get shots in the arm? It’s about the muscle
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illions have rolled up their sleeves for the Covid-19 vaccine, but why haven’t they rolled up their pants instead? Why do we get most shots in our arms? As an associate professor of nursing with a background in public health, and as a mother of two curious kids, I field this question fairly often. So, here’s the science behind why we get most vaccines in our arms. It’s worth noting that most, but not all, vaccines are given in the muscle known as an intramuscular injection. Some vaccines, like the rotavirus vaccine, are given orally. Others are given just beneath the skin, or subcutaneously think of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. However, many others are given in the muscle. But why is the muscle so important, and does location matter? And why the arm muscle, called the deltoid, in the top of the shoulder?
Muscles have immune cells
Muscles make an excellent vaccine administration site because muscle tissue contains important immune cells. These immune cells recognize the antigen, a tiny piece of a virus or bacteria introduced by the vaccine that stimulates an immune response. In the case of the Covid-19 vaccine, it is not introducing an antigen but rather administering the blueprint for producing antigens. The immune cells in the muscle tissue pick up these antigens and present them to the lymph nodes. Injecting the vaccine into muscle tissue keeps the vaccine localized, allowing immune cells to sound the alarm to other immune cells and get to work. Once a vaccine is recognized by the immune cells in the muscle, these cells car r y the antigen to lymph vessels, which transport the antigen-carrying immune cells into the lymph nodes. Lymph nodes, key components of our immune system, contain more immune cells that recognize the antigens in vaccines and start the immune process of creating antibodies. C lu sters of ly mph nodes a re loc ated in areas close to vaccine administration sites.
For instance, many vaccines are injected in the deltoid because it is close to lymph nodes located just under the armpit. When vaccines are given in the thigh, the lymph vessels don’t have far to travel to reach the cluster of lymph nodes in the groin.
Muscles keep the action localized
Muscle tissue also tends to keep vaccine reactions localized. Injecting a vaccine into the deltoid muscle may result in local inflammation or soreness at the injection site. If certain vaccines are injected into fat tissue, the chance of irritation and inflammation reaction increases because fat tissue has poor blood supply, leading to poor absorption of some vaccine components. Vaccines that include the use of adjuvants or components that enhance the immune response to the antigen must be given in a muscle to avoid widespread irritation and inflammation. Adjuvants act in a variety of ways to stimulate a stronger immune response. Yet another deciding factor in vaccine administration location is the size of the muscle. Adults and children ages three and older tend to receive vaccines in their upper arm in the deltoid. You n ge r c h i ld re n re ce ive t he i r vaccines mid-thigh because their arm muscles are smaller and less developed. Another consideration during vaccine administration is convenience and patient acceptability. Can you imagine taking down your pants at a mass vaccination clinic? Rolling up your sleeve is way easier and more preferred. Infectious disease outbreaks, as in flu season or amid epidemics like Covid-19, require our public health system to vaccinate as many people as possible in a short time. For these reasons, a shot in the arm is preferred simply because the upper arm is easily accessible. A l l t h i ng s con side re d , whe n it comes to t he f lu shot a nd t he Cov id-19 vacc i ne, for most adu lts a nd k id s, t he a r m is t he prefer red v a c c i n a t i o n r o u t e . Libby Richards,
Purdue University/The Conversation (CC)
Searca tapped to craft Asean guidelines on use of digital tech in food, agri sector
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he Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) has been tapped by the Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA) to develop the Asean Guidelines for the Utilization of Digital Technologies for Asean Food and Agricultural Sector, its news release said. Searca is expected to complete the guidelines in June 2021. The development of the guidelines is part of the project “Enhancing Food Supply Chain Resilience and Food Security in Asean with Utilization of Digital Technologies” of ERIA with the Asean Secretariat. Searca Director Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio said the “digital technologies and innovations are evident to support the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in transforming to a more resilient and sustainable agriculture and food system, [but] the varying capacities among the Asean Member States (AMS) create a divide in the digital ecosystem.” “The guidelines on digital technology use will provide policy recommendations to the AMS for more informed decisionmaking, as they are also expected to shape the digital transformation of agriculture in the region,” Gregorio said. “More specifically, the guidelines will outline conditions and actions needed for the inclusive and sustainable use of digital technologies for agriculture and food system improvements, including interventions to facilitate digital technology uptake in the agriculture and food sector,” explained Dr. Pedcris M. Orencio, Searca Program Head for Research and Thought Leadership. Orencio said that “the Asean guidelines are intended to facilitate digital inclusion on the use of innovative technologies that would help farming families in the AMS to deal with agriculture and food production challenges sustainably.” “These development interventions
are also indispensable in assessing the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic that currently affect the Asean food and agriculture sector,” he added. Searca has been holding knowledge sharing workshops with AMS to look further into its experiences and discuss their inputs and gather suggestions for the development of a set of guidelines to equip the Asean region with recommendations and implementation considerations for making informed decisions that will shape the digital transformation of agriculture in the region. The latest virtual workshop in the series was co-organized by Searca, ERIA and the Asean Secretariat, which featured experts who shared their experiences on the digitalization in the Asean agri-food sector and their various initiatives on smart agriculture. Dr. Paul S. Teng of Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and a Searca Senior Fellow discussed the challenges of agricultural digitalization in AMS, including the uncertainty in business viability and scalability, limited freedom for farmers to operate with data across multiple data service providers due to prohibitive costs, and the gap in digital agriculture services among AMS. Meanwhile, Dr. Masao Matsumoto of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan highlighted his country's strategies to promote smart agriculture, including demonstrations and dissemination, support services to farmers, enabling environment, extension services, and overseas promotions. Dr. Nerlita M. Manalili, Searca technical consultant, presented the conclusions of the survey on adopting digital technologies and the draft guidelines. The Asean sectoral working groups represented in the workshop were agriculture and research, crops, fisheries and livestock.
Sunday
Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph
DOST-assisted startup offers AI tool to cut electricity costs
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ilipino business owners can save money by reducing their electricity bills with the use of a locally developed smart energy analytics platform, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced recently. The DOST-assisted energy tech startup Exora Technologies’ electronics board is an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered system that assesses a client’s profile and behavior using historical and real-time data. Called Exora Source, the platform can find the best retail electricity suppliers (RES) for customers with a monthly electricity bill of P2.5 million or higher, saving up to 30 percent in their electricity bills. The electronic device called a procurement gives the consumers remote access to at least 79 percent of the available retail power in the market. This allows them to see which RES have high ratings in the system and is most suitable to their energy needs. Exora also offers a cloud-based energy-monitoring and reporting
tool called Analytics so that facility engineers can keep track of power consumption online. Both systems, Exora Source and Analytics, are capable of remote energy monitoring and procurement. Exora will serve as the dedicated procurement arm to provide positive customer experience using Intellex. The biggest mall chain in the Bicol region, LCC adopted the technolog y and acquired three retail electricity contracts that save it almost P6 million annually. Exora Technologies is supported by the Technolog y Innovation for Com merc i a l i z at ion ( Tec h n icom) program of Department of Science and Technolog y's Technolog y Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI) and monitored by the
Link board for Exora procurement platform
DOST-PCIEERD
Philippine Council for Industr y, Energ y and Emerging Technolog y Research and Development (DOSTPCIEERD). The startup is housed at the Creativity and Innovation Hub of Ateneo de Manila University,
“We believe in the huge potential of this technology to minimize energy waste and maximize savings on electric bills, so we invested in it,” PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit said.
Five research projects receive PHL-UK grant for sustainable mineral exploration
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chieving sustainability in the minerals industry and charting a greener community, researchers from UK and Philippines recently bagged research grants to facilitate and develop innovative solutions that can promote responsible mining and maximize value-adding from minerals. Of the 18 proposals received online, five research projects stood out during the selection process conducted by the Department of Science and Technology's Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOSTPCIEERD) and UK Research & Innovation - Natural Environment Research Council (UKRI-NERC). They are the following:
1. SusNi, or Developing a Sustainable pathway for the Philippine Nickel sector Spearheaded by Paul Lusty of British Geological Survey-UK and Prof. Romell Seronay from Caraga State UniversityPhilippines, the project aims to assess the impacts of mining, explore novel techniques for mineral exploration, metal extraction and recovery, and environmental monitoring, all considered within the socio-economic context of the Caraga Region, using an approach based on Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA).
2. PROMT, or Philippines Remediation of Mine Tailings This project, initiated by Prof. Gawen Jenkin from the University of Leicester-UK and Prof. Carlo Arcilla of the Philippine Nuclear Research InstitutePhilippines will build an innovative research program to test sustainable tailings management, remediation and rehabilitation. It aims to produce tailings with less water consumption and greater stability and show how they can be monitored and adaptively managed in real time. Also, it will enable the processing of modern and legacy tailings to recover more metals, while decontaminating them, encouraging rehabilitation and long-term stabilization and reuse of the associated ecosystem services.
3. The Philippine Mining at the National to Catchment Scale: from Legacy Impacts to Sustainable Futures Headed by Dr. Richard Williams from the University of Glasgow-UK
Various researchers and industry key stakeholders with NERC International Associate Director Dr. Sarah Webb and PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit during the UK-Philippines Minerals and Mining Scoping Meeting in March 2020 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. DOST-PCIEERD photo and Dr. Decibel Faustino-Eslava from the University of the PhilippinesLos Baños, Philippines, the project aims to develop a proposal to realize a combined geomorphological and biogeochemical based management approach to remediate waste and protect the environment, at national- to catchment-scales. This will enable catchment management practitioners to remediate legacy metal mining impacts and protect ecosystems as well as humans from the potentially negative effects of metal mine contaminants arising from current and future mining activities.
4. Sages, or Systems Approach for Greener, Eco-efficient and Sustainable mineral resource management Led by Dr Pablo Rafael Brito Parada of Imperial College London-UK and Dr. Arnel Beltran of the De La Salle University-Philippines, the project brings together the multi-disciplinary expertise of industry leaders, scientists, technology experts, community leaders and policy makers to develop a research programme for greener, eco-efficient, and sustainable mineral resource management in the Philippines. Sages will develop a circular economy mining framework using a systems approach to address three mine waste categories: tailings and silts, mine drainage, and polluted soils. Transforming legacy mines into future mines and mine wastes into secondar y resources can simultaneously reduce waste generation,
provide additional economic benefits to stakeholders, empower host communities and improve rehabilitation programmes. This project will supply the paradigm shift necessary to stimulate growth of the resource extraction sector in the Philippines.
5. A framework for the sustainable development of marine mineral resources in the Philippines Headed by Dr. Ian Selby from the University of Plymouth-UK and Engr. Teodorico Sandoval of Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Philippines, the project will promote socio-economic development and personal and community welfare through constructive sharing of experience, expertise and innovation in managing offshore mineral resources. This includes mineral exploration, resource assessment and management, governance, policymaking, regulation and planning, use of innovative technologies from exploration to monitoring, and researching environmental impact assessments, environmental risks, mitigation and monitoring performance. The project will research, share and develop knowledge, experience, technologies and best practices from exploration, resource management, regulation, environmental impact assessments, permitting, and extraction across all marine mineral resource activities. These research projects will enable the development of detailed and fully co-designed research proposals to generate an entire system view of
sustainable mineral resources in the Philippines. In this PH-UK call for proposals, the selected projects will receive a partnership and project development (PPD) grant of up to £50K (at 80%FEC from NERC) and 1.6M Philippine Peso (~£26K from DOST-PCIEERD) that may be used to support some preliminary research activity where it is necessary for developing the detailed research questions for the strategic large grant project proposal. PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit is confident that this collaboration between the Philippines and UK will lead to the increase of productivity and reduction of eco footprints in the country's mining industry. “The Council is grateful for this partnership with UKRI-NERC and for joining us in strengthening the mining sector in the Philippines through research and development. As a leader and preferred partner in enabling research and development, DOST-PCIEERD will remain steadfast in finding ways to promote innovation in the mining sector, find new ways of rehabilitating mined areas, develop solutions that support a green future, capacitate and empower researchers on minerals and mining, as well as boost competitiveness and productivity of university laboratories and facilities to conduct research,” Paringit said, “We are pleased to be partnering with DOST-PCIEERD to enable UK and Philippine researchers to develop truly collaborative research projects which we hope will lead to sustainable pathways to mineral production in the Philippines. Funding will support the development of a strategic large grant proposal to address essential research needs following the initial partnership building phase,” added Sarah Webb, Associate Director for International of UKRI-NERC. The call for strategic Large Grants opened this month until July 2021. Joint NERC/DOST-PCIEERD funds will be used to award up to two strategic Large Grant projects in this call which will run for a maximum duration of 36 months. The total funds available from DOST-PCIEERD are up to 15 million PHP (~£236K) per Large Grant and NERC will contribute up to £1.2M (80%FEC) per Large Grant project (£1.5M at 100% FEC and FCC). (30)
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‘Car-centric’ view, little investment in people-oriented transport blamed for PHL’s continuing mobility woes
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By Lorenz S. Marasigan
ven if the government completes its ambitious flagship infrastructure program on time, Move as One Coalition still believes that the Philippines will continue to have a transport supply shortfall over the next decade.
The coalition conservatively estimates that the overall transport shortage in the Greater Capital Region will stand at 2.8 million daily trips by 2030. This scenario is still expected even if the government completes its P2-trillion pipeline of infrastructure projects on time. The problem, according to Katreena Chang, a Move as One Coalition researcher, lies on the skewed budget allocation. She explained that the government has taken a more carcentric approach rather than implement ing people - cent r ic policies and projects, citing data on road construction, expansion, and maintenance. This, she said, means that the government is more inclined to spend on the development of roads for private vehicles instead of public transport. Citing a report from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), Chang said “70 percent of road users in the Greater Capital Region rely on public transport, but they only get 20 percent of the
road space.” Likewise, she said the P2-trillion program is “rail-heavy” as 98 percent of it was allocated for the development of railway systems. Transport economist Robert Siy Jr. agreed, saying that the Philippines “can’t place all our eggs in the rail basket.” “We feel rail investment is very much needed and urgently needed but it can’t be out of balance. We cannot entirely focus on rail and ignore the demand for road based transport and active transport, he said. Only a measly 2 percent was allotted for road-based transport, which will generate the projected 2.77 million daily passenger trip shortfall by 2030. Currently, the shortfall is estimated at 2.86 million passengers trips per day. “The shortage is reflected in inadequate public transport service and poor commuting experience. The pandemic has made this much worse. We see this in the transport prices for road based passenger transport, which has shot up by
A cyclist uses the green-painted lane along Edsa in Quezon City on April 19, 2021. Move as One Coalition said the government needs to shift its focus from private motor vehicle dependency to greater use of walking, cycling, and road-based public transport. PNA by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler
nearly 20 percent as of end 2020. This impacted the bottom 30 percent of households, “she said. Zy-za Nadine Suzara, another researcher for Move as One Coalition, noted that the government must consider a review and reallocation of the budget in order to promote public and active transport modes. “We have invested near zero for road based transport over the past decade, she said. Budget reallocation is key. There are available revenues at the national and local levels to fill this gap in transportation investment over the past decade. Suzara said between 1997 and 2018, the national government collected almost P2.1 trillion in
revenues from national road-based transport, and as of the end of 2019, P510 billion was available for local government units, around half of which is estimated to be unused and unappropriated. This, she said, can be invested in road-based transportation, as well as active transport infrastructure such as bike lanes. “ The government needs to shift its focus from private motor vehicle dependency to greater use of walking, cycling, and road-based publ ic transpor t. Transport agencies should shift to people- and nature-centered success measures, she said. Siy said the government has to consider how it designs road infrastructure, advising it to veer
away from the focus on private vehicle use. “We need to change our mobility priority. We need to change our budget priority. Where cars have been a priority on our roads, we need to now place pedestrians, bicycles, and public transport as our priority, he said. Move as One Coalition is proposing that the government should allocate a P150.48-billion budget for 2022 to address the “large gaps in active transport and road-based public transport initiatives.” Bulk of the proposed budget, or P75.84 billion should go to ser vice contracts, P50.41 billion should be spent on roadbased public transport infrastructure, and the balance of
P14.23 billion should be spent on active transport. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) welcomed the findings of the research, with Transportation Assistant Secretary Mark Pastor saying that the department will study and take into account the recommendations of the group in policy-making. He also noted that the agency is now implementing projects that promote both public and active transportation. For instance, he said the Edsa Busway, a free bus rapid transit system on Edsa, is now getting an upgrade through the construction concourses that will provide commuters, especially the elderly, persons with disabilities (PWD), and pregnant women with transport hubs to safely board and get off vehicles. Pastor added that the DOTr has also provided cyclists with dedicated bicycle lanes in partnership with other government agencies and the private sector. The DOTr is set to complete 535 kilometers of bike lanes in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao in June. He noted t hat t he agenc y h a s a l ready requested add itional budget for 2022 for the expansion of bike lanes and its service-contracting program to accommodate more routes. “Rest assured that the research papers and the corresponding budget recommendations shall be carefully evaluated by the Department. Partnerships with the LGUs will also be considered for a more efficient implementation of programs and projects,’ Pastor said.
Disasters, conflicts displaced 4.56 million Filipinos in 2020 Covid-19 negatively impacted
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By Cai U. Ordinario
he Philippines recorded the second highest number of displacements in 2020 at 4.56 million people, according to IDMC’s 2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID). Second only to China, the Philippines last year recorded 4.45 million Filipinos that were displaced because of disasters and another 111,000 were displaced due to conflict. The GRID noted that China, Philippines and Vietnam were the countries most affected by disasters last year, recording some of the highest figures globally with 5.1 million, 4.4 million and 1.3 million new displacements, respectively. “Most disaster displacements were the result of tropical storms and floods in East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia. China, the Philippines and Bangladesh each recorded more than 4 million new displacements, many of them pre-emptive evacuations,” the GRID said. “Volcanic activity also forced people to flee their homes in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vanuatu. The eruption of Mount Taal in the Philippines triggered 506,000 displacements in January,” the report also said. Based on the data, Typhoons Ulysses in November and Rolly in October, were the primary cause of disaster-related displacements last year. A total of 1.56 million Filipinos were displaced by Typhoon Ulysses while 1.25 million were displaced because of Typhoon Rolly. The data also showed that by the end of 2020, a total of 298,000 Filipinos were internally displaced. This is composed of 153,000 internally displaced Filipinos due
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, houses are submerged in flooded areas in Cagayan Valley, northern Philippines, on November 14, 2020. Typhoon Ulysses caused extensive flooding that sent residents fleeing to their roofs and killing dozens of people. Philippine Coast Guard via AP
to conflict and 145,000 Filipinos displaced due to disasters. “In the Philippines, lack of financial resources and limited social networks prevented people from moving out of hazard-prone regions, keeping them in a situation of high exposure and vulnerability to displacement risk,” the report said. “Here displacement manifests as constrained mobility. Rather than being forced to move, they are unable to move freely again once displaced,” it added. Meanwhile, the IDMC said the total number of people living in inter na l displacement reached a record 55 million by the end of 2020. During a year marked by intense storms and persistent conflict, 40.5 million new displacements were triggered across the world by disasters and violence, the highest annual figure recorded in a decade. IDMC said the number of people living in internal displacement worldwide has been rising steadily for more than a decade. It reached a record high as of December 31,
2020, when there were more than twice as many internally displaced people (IDPs) than refugees. Some 48 million people have fled conflict and violence, and seven million from disasters, but given the incomplete data, the latter is likely to be a significant underestimate. “It is particularly concerning that these high figures were recorded against the backdrop o f t h e C o v i d -1 9 p a n d e m i c , when movement restr ict ions obstructed data collection and fewer people sought out emergency shelters for fear of infection,” IDMC Director Alexandra Bilak said in a statement. Escalating violence and the expansion of extremist groups in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Burkina Faso fueled some of the world’s fastest growing displacement crises, according to IDMC’s annual global report. Long-running conflicts, such as those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria and Afghanistan, also continued to force large numbers of people to flee. F u r t h e r, w e a t h e r - r e l a t e d
events, primarily storms and f lood s, were responsible for 98 percent of all disaster displacement. Intense cyclone seasons in the Americas, South Asia and East Asia and the Pacific, and extended rainy seasons across the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, uprooted millions of people. Cyclone Amphan alone triggered around 5 million displacements across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Myanmar. The Atlantic hurricane season was the most active on record with 30 named storms, including hurricanes Iota and Eta that affected 12 Central American and Caribbean countries. “Today’s displacement crises arise from many interconnected factors, including climate and environmental change, protracted conflicts and political instability. In a world made more fragile by the Covid-19 pandemic, sustained political will and investment in locally owned solutions will be more important than ever,” said Bilak. GRID 2021 focuses on climate change. Rising temperatures are increasing the intensity and frequency of weather-related hazards, but climate change is not the only factor that drives displacement risk. There have been significant advances in the development of national and regional policies, and global attention on the issue is growing. Countries are beginning to invest in proactive measures, such as planned relocation and community-led initiatives to reduce displacement risk. Filling the data gaps will be critical to support these efforts and to make the case for more flexible and predictable funding.
women entrepreneurs in PHL
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he pandemic has reduced women’s success in e-commerce in the Philippines, according to a report released by the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The report noted that after the pandemic, the gross merchandise value (GMV) of women-owned businesses in the Philippines declined to 79 percent of men-owned firms from 106 percent pre-pandemic. IFC said reversing this trend will be key to ensuring that women can compete in the digital economy after Covid-19. It noted that women in the region could help e-commerce grow by another $280 billion in Southeast Asia between 2025 and 2030. “E-commerce in Southeast Asia is thriving. Since 2015, the market has tripled in size, and it is expected to triple again. In this research, IFC shows that this growth could be even higher if we invest in women entrepreneurs on e-commerce platforms,” IFC Vice President for Asia and Pacific Alfonso Garcia Mora said in a statement. The report, IFC said, used data from e-commerce company Lazada and is considered as the first largescale, sex-disaggregated mapping of e-commerce vendors in the region. IFC said the growth by over $280 billion between 2025-2030 can only be achieved by increasing the number of women selling on online platforms and by providing them with better training and financial support. In the study, Filipina sellers on Lazada’s platform owned two thirds of businesses. During the pandemic, more women-owned businesses in the Philippines started selling on the Lazada marketplace. This increased the share of womenowned businesses to 66 percent on the platform during the pandemic from only 60 percent. However, the GMV of women’s businesses declined compared to the men during the pandemic. “The decrease in average women’s GMV relative to men’s in both Indonesia and Philippines is consistent with an increasing body of evidence showing how Covid-19 has disproportionately
and negatively impacted women entrepreneurs,” IFC said. “Given the relatively high share of women-owned microenterprises active in Lazada Philippines, it is clear that supporting WO businesses to regain parity or surpass men’s GMV is crucial for the growth of e-commerce in the Philippines,” it added. In order to help more women take part in e-commerce in the region, IFC said there is a need to expand financial services to them through agent banking, mobile banking, e-money, and fintech services. This is crucial in countries like the Philippines where women were more reliant on personal savings for startup finance whereas women in countries like Indonesia receive a start-up loan from a bank or financial institution or a loan from family or friends. However, IFC noted that women entrepreneurs on Lazada in the Philippines have obtained insurance coverage more often than men. “These higher-than-average findings for WO businesses may indicate that the women selling on e-commerce platforms are more financially sophisticated than the market as a whole,” IFC said. “E-commerce penetration is still quite low in the Philippines and as a result, there is more than enough room for healthy competition. In fact, it’s the growth of the industry that is going to help the platforms operating within it to grow. It is similar to the popular saying ‘A rising tide will lift all boats,’” said Ray Alimurung, CEO of Lazada Philippines. The report was undertaken as part of Digital2Equal, an IFC-led initiative carried out in partnership with the European Commission, which brings together 17 leading technology companies (including Airbnb, Didi Chuxing, Facebook, Google, Grab, Lazada, LinkedIn and Uber) to make time-bound commitments to addressing gender gaps on their platforms. IFC said the research was conducted with the global consulting firm, Kantar Public. Additional funding was provided by the Umbrella Fund for Gender Equality. Cai U. Ordinario
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‘Our season’: Eritrean troops kill, rape, loot in Tigray By Rodney Muhumuza
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The Associated Press
EKELE, Ethiopia—Women who make it to the clinic for sex abuse survivors in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray usually struggle to describe their injuries. But when they can’t take a seat and quietly touch their bottoms, the nurses know it’s an unspeakable kind of suffering.
So it was one afternoon with a dazed, barely conscious 40-year-old woman wrapped in bloodied towels, who had been repeatedly gang-raped anally and vaginally over a week by 15 Eritrean soldiers. Bleeding profusely from her rectum, she collapsed in the street in her village of Azerber, and a group of priests put her on a bus to Mekele. The woman recently broke down in tears as she recounted her ordeal in January at the hands of Eritrean troops, who have taken over parts of the war-torn region in neighboring Ethiopia. The Eritreans often sodomize their victims, according to the nursing staff, a practice that is deeply taboo in the Orthodox Christian religion of Tigray. “They talked to each other. Some of them: ‘We kill her.’ Some of them: ‘No, no. Rape is enough for her,’” the woman recalled in Mekele, Tigray’s capital. She said one of the soldiers told her: “This season is our season, not your season. This is the time for us.” Despite claims by both Ethiopia and Eritrea that they were leaving, Eritrean soldiers are in fact more firmly entrenched than ever in Tigray, where they are brutally gang-raping women, killing civilians, looting hospitals and blocking food and medical aid, The Associated Press has found. A reporter was stopped at five checkpoints manned by sometimes hostile Eritrean soldiers dressed in their beige camouflage uniforms, most armed, as gun shots rang out nearby. And the AP saw dozens of Eritrean troops lining the roads and milling around in at least two villages. Multiple witnesses, survivors of rape, officials and aid workers said Eritrean soldiers have been spotted far from the border, deep in eastern and even southern Tigray, sometimes clad in faded Ethiopian army fatigues. Rather than leaving, witnesses say, the Eritrean soldiers now
control key roads and access to some communities and have even turned away Ethiopian authorities at times. Their terrified victims identify the Eritreans by the tribal incisions on their cheeks or their accents when speaking Tigrinya, the language of the Tigrayan people. Almost all Tigrayans interviewed by the AP insisted there can be no peace unless the Eritreans leave. They see the Eritreans’ menace everywhere: the sacked homes, the murdered sons, the violated daughters, even the dried turds deposited in everything from cooking utensils to the f loor of an x-ray room in one vandalized hospital. Yet the Eritreans show no signs of withdrawing, residents said. And after first tacitly allowing them in to fight a mutual enemy in the former leaders of Tigray, the Ethiopian government now appears incapable of enforcing discipline. Two sources with ties to the government told the AP that Eritrea is in charge in parts of Tigray, and there is fear that it is dealing directly with ethnic Amhara militias and bypassing federal authorities altogether. “They are still here,” said Abebe Gebrehiwot, a Tigrayan who serves as the federally appointed deputy CEO of Tigray, sounding frustrated in his office. The continuing presence of Eritrean soldiers “ has brought more crisis to the region,” he warned. “The government is negotiating…. I am not happy.” The violence has already sent families f leeing to places like the camp for the internally displaced in Mekele that Smret Kalayu shares with thousands of others, mostly women and children. The 25-yearold, who once owned a coffee stall in the town of Dengelat, ref lected on her escape in April while Eritrean
A 40-year-old woman who was held captive and repeatedly raped by 15 Eritrean soldiers over a period of a week in a remote village near the Eritrea border, speaks during an interview at a hospital in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, on Friday, May 14, 2021. “They talked to each other. Some of them: ‘We kill her.’ Some of them: ‘No, no. Rape is enough for her,’” she recalls. She said one of the soldiers told her: “This season is our season, not your season. This is the time for us.” AP/Ben Curtis forces searched houses and “watched each other” raping women of all ages. They also peed in cooking materials, she said. “ I f t he re a re s t i l l E r it re a n s there, I don’t have a plan to go back home,” she said, her voice catching w ith rage. “ W hat can I say? They are worse than beasts. I can’t say they are human beings.” Ethiopia and Eritrea were deadly enemies for decades, with Tigray’s then-powerful rulers, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, taking leading roles in a divisive border conf lict. That started to change in 2018, after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office and made peace with Eritrea, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Abiy also marginalized the Tigrayan leaders, who fought back by questioning his authority. In early November the Ethiopian government accused Tigrayan troops of attacking federal ones. Tigrayan leaders later fired rockets into the Eritrean capital of Asmara, including some that appeared to target the airport there. Abiy sent federal troops to Tigray to arrest its defiant leaders, and a war broke out that has dragged on for six months and displaced more than 2 million of the region’s 6 million people. United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has referred to “ethnic cleansing” in western Tigray, a term for forcing a population from a region through violence, often including killings and rapes. All sides have been accused of human-rights abuses. But most of the atrocities are blamed on Ethiopian government forces, the Amhara militias allied with them and, notably, the shadowy fighters from Eritrea. An Eritrean artillery bombardment
lasting about 13 hours killed 150 people in Tirhas Fishaye’s village in the Zalambessa area in mid-November, she said. After that, she added, the Eritrean army moved in and started killing people in the streets. “We hid in a cave for two months with 200 other people,” she said. “Then the Eritrean army found us and murdered 18 people.” Tirhas, who is now displaced in Mekele, said the soldiers searched for young people, whom they shot as they ran away. Another Tigrayan, Haileselassie Gebremariam, 75, was shot in front of a church in early January in his village in the Gulomakeda district. He said he counted the bodies of 38 people massacred by Eritrean troops inside the Medhane-Alem church during a religious festival. Several of his relatives were killed. “ W hen the Er itreans ar r ived, they shot everyone they found,” said Haileselassie, still nursing his ugly wound at Mekele’s Ayder Hospital. “They burnt our crops and took everything else.” The Eritreans are acting out of a deep-rooted animosity against Tigrayan leaders after the border war, even though the people share a similar culture, according to Berhane Kidanemariam, an Ethiopian diplomat and Tigrayan who resigned his post earlier this year in protest. Eritrea’s longtime president, Isaias Afwerki, seeks a buffer zone along the border to foil any attempts by Tigray’s now-fugitive leaders to make a comeback, especially by resupplying their arsenal through Sudan, Berhane said. “The mastermind of the situation in Ethiopia is Isaias,” Berhane said by phone from Washington, where until March he served as the deputy chief
of Ethiopia’s mission. “Basically, Abiy is the poorer one in this. The head is Isaias…. The war, at the moment, is life or death for Isaias.” For months, both Ethiopia and Eritrea denied the presence of Eritrean soldiers in Tigray. But evidence of Eritrea’s involvement grew, with the AP reporting the first detailed witness accounts in January, sparking a US call for their withdrawal. Abiy acknowledged in March that Eritrean troops were “causing damages to our people.” In early April Ethiopia’s foreign ministry reported that Eritrean troops had “started to evacuate.” But the US has said it still sees no sig n of that happening , and has demanded a verifiable exit of Eritrean soldiers from Tigray. The US this week announced sanctions, including visa restrictions, against Eritrean or Ethiopian officials blocking a resolution in Tigray, which the Ethiopian government called “misguided ” and “regrettable.” The government has repeatedly warned of outside attempts to meddle in the country’s internal affairs. Much of Tigray is still cut off from access, with no communications, leaving the displaced to describe what is happening. Tedros Abadi, a 38-year-old shopkeeper from Samre now in Mekele, said Eritrean troops arrived in his village as recently as April. After being ambushed by Tigrayan guerrillas, they gunned down priests walking home after service on a Sunday afternoon and burned about 20 houses, he said. “ Not h i ng i s lef t t here,” sa id Tedros, who does not know where his family is. “I left home because they were targeting all civilians, not only priests.” He said dead bodies lay in the village for days afterward, eaten by vultures, because those who remained were too afraid to bury them. He added that Eritrean soldiers told Tigrayan elders that this was revenge for the border war. Yonas Hailu, a 37-year-old tour guide in Mekele, is glad his father, a retired army lieutenant, died of natural causes before the Eritreans invaded. He sees no signs of the war ending. “They will never give up fighting,” he said. “The Ethiopian troops— they would never stay here for three days without the Eritreans.” Representatives of the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments did not respond to requests for comment. The Eritreans seem bent on doing as much damage as they can, inserting sand into water pumps to disable them and even ferreting away such
apparently useless items as old mattresses, witnesses said. “You can literally see nothing left in the houses,” said one humanitarian worker with access to some remote areas of Tigray. She recalled seeing Eritrean soldiers smiling for selfies by a lorry with looted items near the town of Samre. S he re queste d a nony m it y to protect her organization from retaliation. The Eritrean soldiers also have destroyed hospitals and sometimes set up camp in them. At the Hawzen Primary Hospital, walls were smeared with the blood of the chickens the Eritreans had slaughtered in the corridors. Soiled patient files were strewn on the ground, and the intensive care nursery for babies was trashed, with missing incubators and toppled little beds. They have also looted and burned sacks of grain and killed livestock, witnesses told the AP. Gebremeskel Hagos, a mournfullooking man in a Mekele camp for the displaced, recalled how Eritrean and Ethiopian troops sang as they entered the ancestral home of a former Tigrayan leader in a village near Adigrat in January. The soldiers fired rounds into the air and sent young and old scampering for safety. They killed people and livestock, and one referred to revenge for the border war. “I don’t have hope,” said Gebremeskel, a 52-year-old farmer who is separated from five of his seven children. “They want to destroy us. I don’t think they will leave us.” For all the damage the Eritreans have done, the gang rapes are among the worst. The Mekele clinic for rape survivors is full to overflowing with women, sometimes raped by Ethiopian soldiers but often by Eritreans, according to Mulu Mesfin, the head nurse. Some women were held in camps by the Eritreans and gang-raped by dozens of soldiers for weeks, she said. Her clinic has looked after about 400 survivors since November. Between 100 and 150 were sodomized, she said. She described survivors of anal rape who can’t sit down for the pain and are so ashamed that they simply lack words. “ T hey say, somet hing , some thing,” recounted Mulu, a slender, wiry woman whose voice fell when she talked of the sodomy. “The victims are psychologically disturbed.” This story was funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Other AP journalists in Mekele also contributed to this report.
Horror, heroism mark deadly shooting at California rail yard By Terence Chea & Janie Har
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The Associated Press
AN JOSE, California— Taptejdeep Singh died trying to save others from a gunman. Kirk Bertolet saw some of his coworkers take their last breaths. And friends, family and survivors were left to mourn after nine men died this week when a disgruntled coworker hauling a duffle bag full of guns and ammunition opened fire at a Northern California rail yard complex, apparently choosing his targets and sparing others. Samuel Cassidy, 57, turned the gun on himself Wednesday morning as sheriff ’s deputies rushed in at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose. Investigators were still trying to determine Friday what might have set off Cassidy, who for years apparently held a grudge against the workplace he detested. T he v ic t i ms were A le x Wa rd Fritch, 49; Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; and Lars Kepler Lane, 63.
T he minutes-long attac k was marked by both horror and heroism. Singh, the father of a 3-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter, was on an early shift as a light rail operator when the shooting began. He called another transit employee to warn him, saying he needed to get out or hide. “From what I’ve heard, he spent the last moments of his life making sure that others—in the building and elsewhere—would be able to stay safe,” coworker Sukhvir Singh, who is not related to Taptejdeep Singh, said in a statement. Singh’s brother, Bagga Singh, said he was told that his brother “put a lady in a control room to hide,” the San Jose Mercury News reported. “He saved her and rushed down the stairway.” Singh’s brother-in-law, P.J. Bath, said he was told Singh was killed after encountering the gunman in a stairwell. “He just happened to be in the way, I guess,” Bath told the paper. Kirk Bertolet, 64, was just starting his shift when shots rang out, along with screams. As he and his coworkers threw a table in front of their door, Bertolet called the control center. Then there was silence.
Cautiously, Bertolet left the barricaded office, hoping he could offer first aid. He couldn’t. Bertolet, a signal maintenance worker who worked in a separate unit from Cassidy, said he is convinced Cassidy targeted his victims because he didn’t hurt some people he encountered. “He was pissed off at certain people. He was angry, and he took his vengeance out on very specific people. He shot people. He let others live,” he said. “It was very personal.” Glenn Hendricks, chair of the VTA’s board of directors, said he had no information about any tensions between Cassidy and the coworkers he shot. Cassidy fired a total of 39 bullets. Camera footage showed him calmly walking from one building to another with his duff le bag to complete the slaughter, authorities said. “It appears to us at this point that he said to one of the people there: ‘I’m not going to shoot you,’” Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said. “And then he shot other people. So I imagine there was some kind of thought on who he wanted to shoot.” Cassidy’s ex-wife said he had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago. Cecilia Nelms told
Filipino Paul Dela Cruz Megia, 42, was one of the shooting victims. The others were Alex Ward Fritch, 49;; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; and Lars Kepler Lane, 63. The Associated Press that he used to come home from work resentful and angry over what he perceived as unfair assignments. The shooter spoke of hating his workplace when customs officers detained him after a 2016 trip to the
Philippines, a Biden administration official told The Associated Press. A Department of Homeland Security memo said Cassidy also had notes on how he hated the Valley Transportation Authority, according to the official. The official saw the memo and detailed its contents to the AP but was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation. The Wall Street Journal first reported the memo. It doesn’t say why he was stopped by customs officers. It said he had books about “terrorism and fear and manifestos” but when he was asked whether he had issues with people at work, he said no. The memo notes that Cassidy had a “minor criminal history,” citing a 1983 arrest in San Jose and charges of “misdemeanor obstruction/resisting a peace officer.” Neighbors, acquaintances and an ex-girlfriend described him as a loner, unfriendly, and prone at times to fits of anger. Documents show he had worked at the transit authority since at least 2012. Bertolet said Cassidy worked regularly with the victims but he always seemed to be an outsider and perhaps couldn’t take the rough humor of colleagues. “He was never in the group. He
was never accepted by anybody there. He was always that guy that was never partaking in anything that the people were doing,” Bertolet said. “I k now some of t hose g uys, they’ll keep joking with you and they’ll keep hammering you about stuff. And if you’re thin-skinned and you can’t take it...I see that is the main cause of what’s going on,” Bertolet said. Sheriff ’s officials said the three 9 mm handguns Cassidy brought to the rail yard appear to be legal. Authorities do not yet know how he obtained them. He also had 32 high-capacit y magazines, some with 12 rounds. In California, it is illegal to buy magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. However, if Cassidy obtained them before January 1, 2000, he would have been allowed to have them unless he was otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms. The sheriff said authorities found explosives at the gunman’s home, where investigators believe he had set a timer or slow-burn device so that a fire would occur at the same time as the shooting. Flames were reported minutes after the first 911 calls came in from the rail facility. AP
Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror
Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014
Sunday, May 30, 2021 A11
Editor: Lyn Resurreccion
WWF-PHL, partners support innovators vs plastic pollution
By Rizal Raoul Reyes
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he World Wide Fund for Nature ( W W F) Phi lip pines recently formed a partnership with The Incubation Network (TIN), xchange, and make sense to continue supporting the development of impact entrepreneurs who create innovative solutions for a vision of no plastics in nature by 2030. The WWF and TIN pointed out that plastic pollution needs to be addressed because it threatens communities, marine life and the Earth’s ecosystems. A recent W W F Philippines repor t est im ated t h at about 2.15 million tonnes of plastics are generated annually in the countr y. To address this, WWF is implementing the No Plastics in Nature initiative where it works with cities, policymakers and businesses in eliminating unnecessary plastics, shifting to sustainable inputs, and doubling global reuse, recovery, and recycling. Part of this initiative is the Plastic Smart Cities, a global movement of cities and tourist destinations that works on eliminating plastic pollution through innovation. WWF and TIN partnered in 2019 to launch a key piece of the Plastic Smart Cities strategy: tapping impact entrepreneurship to address plastic waste. Impact enterprises are emerging as a sustainable solution to complex development challenges. When combined with other forms of support and capital in a blended finance model, WWF said the adoption of marketbased models makes it possible to crowd-in investments, build an ecosystem, achieve sustainability, and scale solutions. In the Philippines, the plastic waste sector is a frontier sector.
The partnership provided a boost to impact entrepreneurial innovations and sustainable solutions through hackathons, a sprint and Makesense’s incubation program, Makesense academy, held in 2020. “ T he Incubation Net work is proud to partner with WWF, xchange, and make sense to tackle plastic pollution in the Philippines with building communities that nurture, grow and support holistic innovative solutions as one of our focus areas,” said Simon Baldwin, Director of The Incubation Network. Baldwin said they are “excited to see the strong community ecosystem that is being built through this program.” Over five months, from April to August this year, the entrepreneurs will learn from experts in innovation and systems thinking, marketing, accounting, strategic planning, the circular economy, gender lens investing, and pilot designing, among others. They will go through a rigorous process, including classes, learning-by-doing workshops, interactions with mentors and ecos ystem leaders, a nd peer learning activities in a safe space that w ill allow them to gain knowledge and skills, reflect, and build relationships with other stakeholders to help them establish their businesses and prepare them for investment readiness. WWF Executive Director Katherine Custodio said environmental conversation has been propelled by innovation and the people’s desire to care for people. “We are happy to partner with xchange, The Incubation Network and make sense, who are key experts in the field of innovation, as we are optimistic and excited to tap the potential of social entrepreneurship in addressing plastic pollution in the Philippines.”
BAN Toxics founder joins Minamata Convention secretariat
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he founder and former executive director of BAN Toxics, R ichard Gutierrez, has joined the secretariat of Minamata Convention as its program management officer. He was appointed on April 17. The Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty designed to address the adverse effects of mercury on human health and the environment, was entered into force on August 16, 2017, and ratified by the Philippines on July 8, 2020. Gutierrez, a public interest lawyer, established BAN Toxics in 2006 to respond to urgent waste issues in the Philippines. He led the organization in campaigning against toxic chemicals and waste, and environmental justice. Allied with other environmental organizations, BAN Toxics has raised public awareness on the increasing illegal e-waste and imported hazardous waste. Reynaldo San Juan Jr., who
took over as BAN Toxics executive director, vows to continue the organization’s mandate to protect human health and the environment from toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes. He plans to continue its work on the eradication of mercury use and mercury-laden products in the country, the ratification of the Basel Ban amendment to stop the importation of hazardous wastes, the formalization of artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector for the safety of workers, communities and the environment and the integration into the business sector the protection of women and children’s rights. San Juan has committed to continue the advocacies and programs of BAN Toxics, including the Toxics Free Schools Program and Compassionate Gold. He will also pursue collaborations with universities and research institutions to develop studies on toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes.
International Day for Biological Diversity 2021
Urban biodiversity keeps cities green, sustainable and livable
The Arroceros Forest Park in Manila (left) and the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City are home to a variety of plants and animals.Alma E. Nacua and DENR-BMB
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By Jonathan L. Mayuga
he rapidly increasing population and urbanization of our cities are pushing green spaces whether these are public parks or gardens where people can commune with natureto the brink. In defending the environment, Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso’s first act as Manila’s chief executive was to save what is considered the “last lung” of the capital city, the Arroceros Forest Park on Antonio Villegas Street in Ermita. Among Manila’s remaining green spaces, the 2.2-hectare riverside park is home to over 3,000 trees belonging to 61 different species, 8,000 ornamental plants and various birds, bees, and butterflies that keep the now “permanent forest park ” alive. Highlighting the country’s celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity 2021 on May 22, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) held its virtual event a day before the global celebration of urban biodiversity, particularly its many benefits and linkage to the cities and urbanization. DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) organized the event.
Protecting our rich biodiversity
In his message at the event, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu underscored the need to protect the country’s rich biodiversity, citing its important functions in air purification, food and water security, livelihood source, nature recreation and risk reduction from emerging infectious diseases. Guided by the theme, “We are part of the Solution,” following last year’s “Our solutions are in nature,” Cimatu said that biodiversity will be the foundation on which the Philippines can build back after the pandemic. For his part, Undersecretar y for Special Concerns Edilberto D. Leonardo appealed for public help and support to protect and conser ve the countr y’s rich biodiversity. Leonardo, the concurrent officer in charge of the DENR-BMB, cited the illegal wildlife trade as one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss.
He added that under his watch, the DENR-BMB will focus on strengthening the protection of the country’s Protected Areas and National Parks that serve as important ecosystems and home to the country’s endemic and endangered plant and animal species, he told the BusinessMirror on May 20.
Urban biodiversity program
Part of the bureau’s urban biodiversity program is “Trees in the City,” which is being implemented through its partnership with national government agencies and local government units. More trees, he said, are needed in cities because these help in carbon sequestration and provide home to diverse wildlife species, including birds and bats identified by scientists as keystone species that need to be saved for other species to survive. Urban biodiversity is defined as the variety and richness of living organisms, including genetic variation and habitat diversity, found in and on the edge of human settlements, according to DENRBMB’s Argean Guiaya, a licensed environmental planner and green building professional, in an online lecture on May 21. She cited Thomas Elmqvist’s definition of urban biodiversity: At the landscape and habitat level, urban biodiversity includes remnants of natural landscapes like leftovers of primeval forests, trad itiona l ag r icu ltura l landscapes like meadows, areas of arable land, urban-industrial landscapes like city centers, residential areas, industrial parks, railway areas, formal parks and gardens, brown fields.
Economic opportunities, ecosystem services
Guiaya pointed out the enormous economic opportunities as among the many benefits in protecting and conserving the country’s rich biodiversity. “The Philippines has about 70
to 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity resources, [which] presents potential for biodiversity-friendly businesses that can support economic development,” she said. While the Philippines is rich in biological diversity, it is also one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots due to the rapid rate of biodiversity loss, according to Guiaya. T he f ive m ajor d r ivers of biodiversity loss include invasive alien species, habitat loss, climate change, pollution and overexploitation. This also leads to a loss of important ecosystem services they provide such as food, medicine, energy, water filtration, climate regulation, disease control, nutrient and water cycling and cultural services.
Growing cities, high impacts
“Globally, urban areas are expected to double between 2000 and 2030, drawing heavily on natural resources and with expected high impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services,” Guiaya explained. She said that based on the Asean 2017-2018 report, an estimated additional 90 million people moving to cities in the Asean by 2030 will increase urban dwellers from around 36 percent in 2015 to 45 percent by 2030. “[A growing] city requires more land and resources to support its growth, and this leads to the change of land use, causing more environmental problems, especially when the land use development is not properly planned,” Guiaya said. She cited three major trends in urbanization: first, the increase in urban area is faster than the increase in population; second, urbanization rates are highest in poorly capacitated urban governance arrangements; and third, urban expansion will heavily draw on resources, putting at risk ecosystem goods and ser vices.
Biodiversity and urbanization
“Urbanization is a major driver of environmental change and is closely linked to the future of biodiversity,” Guiaya said. She stressed that urban growth and the densification of many cities in the world challenge the existence of ecosystems of conservation concern in and around urban regions, and the survival of species within cities. Some urban environments, however, host a high richness
of plants and animals including endangered species so rich biodiversity can still exist in cities despite the challenges of rapid urbanization. “Within cities are areas that harbor or affect critical ecosystems, such as wetlands, or may even provide links to centers of endemism,” she said. Most cities, she noted, are built on sites of high ecological diversity and productivity. Urban ecosystem services and biodiversity can help contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and increasing the biodiversity of urban food systems can enhance food nutrition and security. “Cities offer unique opportunities for learning and education about resilient and sustainable future,” she said.
Developing biodiversityfriendly cities
Guiaya pointed out that developing biodiversity-friendly cities is cross-linked to sustainable urban development and wellbeing, and that building sustainable cities that address critical needs while conserving nature is an important approach for achieving sustainability. “[W hen] we concept u a l i ze biod iversit y conser vations strategies, we need to incor porate the people’s perspective and values because if the people have a better understanding of the state of biodiversity and their role in conser vation, t here’s a higher chance t hat management inter vention for conser vation of urban biodiversity will succeed,” she said. A biodiversity-friendly urban development needs to use biodiversity and ecosystem services in the overall adaptation and mitigation strategies, promote the maintenance of natural areas, mainstream biodiversity into development sector and plans, develop green and blue spaces, apply and promote green infrastructure and enhance habitat and restore urban ecosystems, according to Guiaya. All these require behavioral change in people because “the government cannot do it alone in making our cities livable.” “No how good the biodiversity conservation programs and policies are, if the people’s understanding of the importance of biodiversity isn’t there, then all will be for naught,” she said.
Sports BusinessMirror
Zidane quits, again, as Real Madrid coach after winless season
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ADRID—Zinedine Zidane is stepping down as Real Madrid coach,
again. The club said Thursday the Frenchman is leaving his job, a few days after a season in which Madrid failed to win a title for the first time in more than a decade. “[Zidane] decided to bring an end to his current spell,” the club said in a statement. “We must now respect his decision and express our gratitude for his professionalism, dedication and passion over the years and what he means to Real Madrid.” Zidane had a contract through June 2022. “Zidane is one of Real Madrid’s great icons and his legacy extends beyond what he has achieved as a coach and player at our club,” Madrid said. “He is aware that he has a place in the hearts of the Real Madrid fans and that he will always have a home at Real Madrid.” Zidane left the club for the first time after leading Madrid to one of its most successful runs from 2016-2018, with three consecutive Champions League titles. In his two years and five months in charge, Madrid won a total of nine trophies, including two Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, one Spanish league and one Spanish Super Cup. He only won the league title once and a Spanish Super Cup in his second stint. He quit the first time less than a week after leading the team to its third straight Champions League title, saying it was time for a change and that he didn’t see it clearly that the club would keep winning with him in charge. Zidane had been dismissing talks about his future recently, saying that he would discuss it with the club. He said he believed that Madrid could do well without him as coach. Madrid President Florentino Pérez had said sometime ago he was pleased with Zidane and hoped he would stay with the club. Among the possible candidates being talked about to replace Zidane were Massimiliano Allegri, Antonio Conte, Xabi Alonso, and former Madrid great Raúl González, who has been
ZINEDINE ZIDANE decides to bring an end to his current spell. AP
coaching Madrid’s “B” team— just like Zidane was before taking over the main squad for the first time in 2016. Zidane, who was yet to speak publicly after Thursday’s announcement, left as the secondmost successful coach at Madrid, trailing the 14 titles won by Miguel Muñoz in his 14 seasons at the club in the 1960s and 70s. Zidane was at the club’s helm for 263 matches, with 174 victories, 53 draws and 36 loses. Zidane’s second stint as coach began in March 2019, less than a year after he left for the first time. The team was in crisis after a disastrous season that included losses to rival Barcelona and elimination to Ajax in the round of 16 of the Champions League. But his second run ended with Madrid enduring its least successful season since 2009-2010, which was the last time it didn’t win a title. Madrid fought for the Spanish league title until the final round but finished two points behind city rival Atlético Madrid, failing to defend its title and lift back-toback league trophies for the first time since 2007-2008. In the Champions League, Zidane led the team to the semifinals, eventually eliminated by Chelsea. In the Copa del Rey, Madrid lost to third-division club Alcoyano in the round of 32. AP
Belarus stripped of European track cycling championships
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AUSANNE, Switzerland— Belarus was stripped of hosting next month’s European track cycling championships on Thursday amid an international furor after a passenger jet was diverted to Minsk so a dissident journalist could be arrested. The European Cycling Union cited the “current international situation” for canceling the event in Minsk scheduled from June 23 to 27. Organizers are looking for a replacement venue. European Union leaders called the airplane incident a state-sponsored hijacking. Belarus has been in turmoil since authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory last August in a disputed presidential election. The EU advised membercountries’ airlines this week to avoid Belarus airspace and barred the former Soviet republic’s planes from their airports and airspace. A Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was told by flight controllers, citing a bomb threat, to land in Minsk on Sunday. A passenger, 26-year-old activist Raman Pratasevich, was taken from the plane.
Cycling officials said they are “working on finding an alternative solution” to stage the track championships. Krasulin said he was arrested and brutally beaten all over his body by police in Belarus for attending a rally in August 2020 that challenged the results of an election keeping authoritarian Lukashenko in power. Krasulin said security forces threatened to sodomize him with a truncheon for joining the protest. After he complained to authorities about the police actions, they opened a criminal case against him—rather than the security forces—and he decided to flee to neighboring Lithuania. Until this week, he and other Lukashenko opponents had thought they were safe from the sweeping government crackdown by moving to nearby European Union countries. “I was a hostage of Lukashenko’s regime, but now the entire European Union is in the same situation,” said Krasulin, a 32-year-old ethnographer and musician. “Torture, brutal repressions and a hunt for journalists have spilled out of Belarusian borders and become a problem for all of Europe.” AP
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| Sunday, May 30, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao
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LEFTY GETTING FOCUS BACK
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ORT WORTH, Texas— Phil Mickelson allowed himself to get distracted for a couple of days after his victory at the PGA Championship, taking some time to relish the historic achievement of becoming the oldest player to win a major. “Because when I’m doing it, I’m not fully aware because I’m so in the moment,” Mickelson said Wednesday. Now Lefty is trying to get his focus back on playing. Only four days after raising the Wanamaker Trophy, after not winning on the PGA Tour in more than two years, the 50-year-old Mickelson is set to tee off Thursday in the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. “That’s going to be the biggest challenge for me because I kind of went from keeping my mind off of all the distractions and the noise during the week of the PGA to really letting it come in the last two days, enjoy it,” he said. “And really it hit me in the last two days what just happened.” Still, the two-time Colonial champion (2000 and 2008) said it never crossed his mind to skip the trip to Hogan’s Alley. This is his last scheduled tournament before his hometown US Open next month at Torrey Pines, which he is now in without any need of a special exemption. “I feel like now that I’m playing well, gosh, I want to play,” he said. Mickelson is grouped the first two rounds with defending champion Daniel Berger and local favorite Jordan Spieth, whose six top 10s in his eight Colonials include a victory in 2016 and two runner-up finishes.
“Obviously, Phil is going to be riding a huge wave of confidence,” Berger said. “I expect the crowds to be huge and obviously with Jordan being a Texas boy and being a local favorite here, it’s just going to be a great experience. I love those pairings. I love to have the crowds out there. It’s going to be a completely contrasting environment than to last year when we didn’t have the fans.” The Charles Schwab Challenge was played in June last year without any spectators on the course, and marked the PGA Tour’s return to competition after a 12-week hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Berger won on the first playoff hole when he saved par from behind the 17th green and Collin Morikawa missed a three-foot par putt. While there will be some limits, fans will be on the course for the 75th anniversary of the Colonial, which has been held since 1946 and is the longestrunning PGA Tour event at the same venue. Morikawa said the playoff hole is his only bad memory among a lot of good ones in his only Colonial appearance, and that he learned from the experience. Only two months later, he won the delayed PGA Championship at age 23. He finished tied for eighth at this year’s PGA while someone much older won. “I thought about Phil’s win, and it’s not like I’ve seen Phil’s entire career. He won his first event 30 years ago. I’m 24 now. I still consider him as a competitor,” Morikawa said. “He’s trying every day to get better. It’s cool to see someone at 50 like that come out
NAOMI OSAKA says she won’t do news conferences at the French Open. AP
OSAKA: I WON’T SAY A THING
PHIL MICKELSON tries to focus on Colonial after his historic PGA Championship victory. AP
and win because it just gives me hope. It gives me just that passion because I love this game and want to play as long as I can.” After flying home to California following his victory Sunday at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, Mickelson was up most of the night with wife Amy and got to see highlights of his victory. He spent time at home Monday and Tuesday before flying to Texas, where he played a nine-hole proam Wednesday morning. Mickelson said it was now time to get off social media, get back on the practice range and “start to get my mind quiet again and get rid of the distractions and get back in the present.” Spieth actually had a longer winless drought on the PGA Tour than Mickelson before winning the Valero Texas Open last month. Spieth had gone nearly four years since tapping in a final putt at the 2017 British Open for his third major and 11th victory overall in his first five years as a pro. The week after the Texas Open, Spieth tied for third at the Masters. He then took a month off before a ninth-place finish at the Byron Nelson, and then was 30th in the PGA Championship, the major that now splits the two Dallas-Fort Worth area tournaments. “I actually really like this part of the season for major prep and for the ability to play well in these hometown events. It’s a stretch that I very much enjoy,” he said. “I’ve had pretty good success with this part of the schedule, and just looking to try and build on that this year.” AP
ARIS—Tennis star Naomi Osaka says she is not going to speak to the media during the upcoming French Open. The world’s highest-earning female athlete wrote in a Twitter post Wednesday that she hopes the “considerable amount that I get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity.” The French Open is scheduled to begin Sunday in Paris. Osaka heads into the clay-court tournament ranked No. 2 in the world. The 23-year-old Osaka, who was born in Japan and now is based in the United States, has won four Grand Slam titles. That includes last year’s US Open and the Australian Open this February. “I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes mental health and this very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” wrote Osaka, who was selected as the AP Female Athlete of the Year in 2020. “We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me,” she said. Osaka added: “I’ve watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room and I know you have as well. I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they’re down and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it.” She later posted a video clip of Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch’s famous “I’m just here so I don’t get fined” appearance at a Super Bowl media day. Tennis players are required to attend post-match news conferences at major tournaments if members of the media ask them to. Meanwhile, like many a 20-year-old American in Paris for the first time, tennis pro Jenson Brooksby is excited about where he is and eager to see where he’s headed. Brooksby, who’s from Sacramento, California, has been tearing up the lower-level Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour—19-2 record, youngest US player to accumulate three titles in one season on that circuit in 15 years, ranking rose from 315th in February to 163rd on Monday—and now he’s looking for more. Not just this week, but in the years to come. Asked where he sees himself a decade from now, Brooksby did not hesitate a bit. “I mean, by then, I want to be No. 1 in the world. I believe I can do it. It’s a long road. It takes a lot of, obviously, a lot of hard work, a lot of discipline getting better. But I believe I’m very motivated enough to do that,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press conducted via Zoom. “And by then, even five, 10 years, or before—I mean, I don’t want put limits on it, my goals—I definitely want to be the best player in the world.” This is what competitiveness and confidence sound like. It’s also evidence that having had a taste, albeit a brief one, of the uppermost echelon of a sport can do for someone who is trying to make it big one day. Qualifying for the French Open began Monday; play in the main draw starts next Sunday. Players whose rankings weren’t high enough to get direct entry into the Grand Slam bracket can earn their way in through the three rounds of qualifying—essentially a tournament before the tournament. Every so often, someone who does work his or her way into the main event uses that momentum as a springboard for serious success. At the 2020 French Open, for example, 20-year-old American Sebastian Korda went from qualifying to the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal; 23-year-old Argentine Nadia Podoroska took that route all the way to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Iga Swiatek. At this year’s Australian Open, 27-year-old Russian Aslan Karatsev qualified and got to the semifinals before losing to—yes, that’s right—eventual champion Novak Djokovic. AP
BusinessMirror
What’s the average age of a start-up founder? Study says it’s 34
May 30, 2021
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BusinessMirror MAY 30, 2021 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com
YOUR MUSI
HOPEFUL IMAGINING
Twenty One Pilots find inspiration, fear and magic in new album
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By Stephanie Joy Ching
UELED by the need to create something that was the antithesis of the current situation, Grammyaward winning duo Twenty One Pilots recently released their new album, Scaled And Icy.
Publisher
: T. Anthony C. Cabangon
Editor-In-Chief
: Lourdes M. Fernandez
Concept
: Aldwin M. Tolosa
Y2Z Editor
: Jt Nisay
SoundStrip Editor
: Edwin P. Sallan
Group Creative Director : Eduardo A. Davad Graphic Designers Contributing Writers
Columnists
: Niggel Figueroa Anabelle O. Flores : Tony M. Maghirang, Rick Olivares, Darwin Fernandez, Leony Garcia, Stephanie Joy Ching Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez : Kaye VillagomezLosorata Annie S. Alejo
Photographers
: Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes
Y2Z & SOUNDSTRIP are published and distributed free every Sunday by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing Inc. as a project of the
The Philippine Business Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd Floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025 Advertising Sales: 893-2019; 817-1351,817-2807. Circulation: 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. www.businessmirror.com.ph
According to frontman Tyler Joseph, the record represented creativity and imagination in order to compensate for being unable to tour while on lockdown. “We made sure that even if we felt confined by one space, we wanted to make sure that we did not feel confined musically. So we might have overcompensated cause we wanted to push those walls out. So we wrote something more colorful and imaginative,” Joseph told SoundStrip and other media during a recent virtual press conference. For them, it did not feel ‘right’ to write an album that reflected the darker aspects of the year, so they leaned into a more ‘imaginative and hopeful’ angle as a way of combating these rough times and getting through them. In fact, Tyler mentioned that Scaled and Icy was actually short for ‘Scaled back and Isolated’. Add to that the duo’s love for fantastical stories, the concept of the album comes together in the form of a dragon, who is featured on the cover art. “When I thought of those words, I tried to put a spin on them that was something the opposite of. So when I thought of Scaled and Icy, I immediately thought of this dragon. He really brings home the reason why we named the record Scaled and Icy and when you listen to the four records you could see that,” The aforementioned dragon, lovingly referred to as Trash
the dragon, was a source of “inspiration, fear and magic” for the duo, representing the freedom and limitless creative power they wanted the album to embody. Following the success of albums Blurry Face and Trench, the band stated that though they feel pressure to live up to their success, they focus on making sure they like each song they put out and focus on growing their musicality and their narrative. “It’s interesting for us to try and grow musically and to try to outdo ourselves,” said drummer Josh Dun. “I think I wrote Trench in
TWENTY One Pilots
reaction to Blurry Face. Josh and I needed to prove something, I guess to reexplain who we were because the story of Blurry Face became a lot different than what we envisioned. So Trench was kind of a course correction, a compensation for how large Blurry Face got. Now looking back on it, Scaled and Icy is a reaction to Trench, almost like we keep going back and forth. So I think each record builds on each other,” said Tyler. In addition to growing musically, the duo also incorporated new elements and meaning into the making of the album. For Tyler, this was done by incorporating his daughter’s coos in the background of the lead single, “Shy Away.” “The way I view music changed in a sense that I like to look for opportunities to add meaning to the songs. So the simple fact that she makes a noise in the background and it’s a part of the song, in that sense it made the song much more important to me,” he said. Scaled and Icy, the new album by Twenty One Pilots is released by Warner Music Philippines and is now available in major streaming platforms.
IC
soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | MAY 30, 2021
BUSINESS
3
RHYTHM & RHYME by Kaye Villagomez-Losorata
BUTTERING UP
BTS’ Billboard turn boosts ‘Butter’ in a big way, here’s why monster hit even if it’s from BTS and they can’t do anything wrong at this point even if they try. BTS simply looked like they were having fun at an Awards show that they also dominated (no surprise there as well).
Songs in the keys of Alicia
BTS (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
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OT that the song needs more push but BTS chose to launch full choreography for Butter during the Billboard Music Awards (BBMA) performance which Filipino fans were able to stream last Monday. The world’s biggest pop group launched the single—their second in full English after last year’s Dynamite—and then exploded with its live debut during the 2021 BBMA. Filipino fans streamed the whole show live via Smart’s gigafest.smart. This is huge for music fans everywhere in these pandemic times because it restores hope for live entertainment. We’ve spoken to some Filipino fans of BTS and they couldn’t choose which video to watch between the official music video and the live performance (both on YouTube). You can’t have too much of BTS anyway, they said. “I tend to watch both, one after the other,” one ARMY said. As of this writing, Butter’s music video
has 215M views while the BBMA performance reached 22M. Since the Billboard Butter is only the second video of the song, no one else had time to do a full dance cover, BTS shows exactly how it’s supposed to be done opening with Dynamite on the background during the first 18 seconds of the Butter performance, a nod to a previous Billboard milestone outing back in 2020. This year’s BBMA stint also highlighted the vocals of BTS members the moment they opened the stanzas of Butter. If it’s the first time you’re hearing the single, it slides to its purpose quickly. Here’s a spark of a song to shift your mood meter over to the happy side. While the group is known
to pull in the quotes and feels from most of their songs and the message they convey, the song functions as pure pop. Here is BTS getting into a buttery break of guilty-pleasure pop— something they’ve earned and deserved. It’s pure coincidence that it is today’s
ALICIA Keys (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)
Speaking of sparks at the BBMA, Alicia Keys celebrated the 20th anniversary of Songs In A Minor with a moving medley of Piano And I, A Woman’s Worth, How Come You Don’t Call Me, and Fallin’. The segment, fronted by an introduction by Michelle Obama, reminds the world of the kind of poignant edge Alicia Keys gifted the world when she started way back two decades ago. Going back a few more decades, another medley that served a generous amount of nostalgia took place when Duran Duran confused kids today on how things are done with Notorious, Invisible, and Hungry Like The Wolf. Nothing like old songs getting upgraded treatments in awards shows set up as full production music videos in each segment. At least live entertainment is back and we can return to viewing them anytime we want.
What’s the average age of a start-up founder? Study says it’s 34 By Sarah McBride
T
Bloomberg
he notion of the teenage and twenty-something technology entrepreneur looms large. In reality, the most successful companies are more commonly founded by people in their 30s or older.
Among start-ups valued at $1 billion or more created over the last 15 years, the median age of the founders when starting their businesses was 34, according to research in a new book called Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups. The finding offers new evidence that leaders with some experience bring advantages, said Ali Tamaseb, the author and a partner at the venture capital firm DCVC. “There are, indeed, many successful billion-dollar start-up founders in their early 20s,” Tamaseb wrote in the book, “but most of them aren’t.” His takeaway: Age doesn’t matter. The profile of a prosperous tech founder in many people’s minds is distorted by some big outliers. Steve Jobs was 21 when
he cofounded Apple. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were 19 when they dropped out of Harvard University to start their companies. Often overlooked is that Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, the two richest men in tech, were in their 30s when they created their most successful businesses. A widely cited study three years ago in the American Economic Review: Insights chipped away at the popular perception that Silicon Valley’s greatest entrepreneurs are all fresh college dropouts. Researchers found the average age of a successful start-up founder was 45. The paper’s authors defined success based largely on growth rather than valuation and compiled a list of the 1,700 fastest-growing US companies.
Yet, the myth around youth has persisted. So Tamaseb took a narrower view of success that reflects the business world’s obsession with unicorn start-ups and examined several factors, including age. His pool is limited to about 200 companies. While that group of founders skews a decade younger than the average from the earlier study, it shows the top entrepreneurs often draw on experience formed earlier in their careers. For example, Zoom Video Communications Inc. founder Eric Yuan started the business at 41 after leaving a senior position at Cisco Systems Inc. WhatsApp cofounder Jan Koum came up with his messaging app at 32 after spending a decade as an engineer at Yahoo.
“There are, indeed, many successful billion-dollar start-up founders in their early 20s, but most of them aren’t,” author Ali Tamaseb wrote in Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups. His takeaway: Age doesn’t matter. “Super talented people are going to do great things even when they’re young,” said lead author Pierre Azoulay, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. “That doesn’t mean they’re not going to even better things when they’re older.” He pointed out that Apple’s arguably biggest success, its iPhone, didn’t come until Jobs was 52.
Founders of health and biotech unicorns are older on average than those of other types of start-ups, Tamaseb said. The oldest of the bunch is Philip Greenberg, who was 68 when he started Juno Therapeutics, later bought by Celgene Corp. for $9 billion. ON THE COVER: Photo by Kevin Woblick on Unsplash
Reimagining learning experiences with immersive education solutions
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icrosoft introduced new technological tools and updates designed to help educators create a holistic learning environment by supporting five key areas: student centricity, skills focus, social learning, safety, security and scalability. In partnership with YouGov, Microsoft found that 71-percent of K-12 educators felt technology has helped them improve their instruction and expanded their teaching capacity. With the rise of digital classrooms and hybrid learning environments, Microsoft recognizes the importance of helping teachers find new ways to engage students remotely. New tools and solutions launched include Reading Progress, which is designed to enhance students reading skills remotely, as well as features like Group Assignments and third-party app integrations in Microsoft Teams that will empower educators and support students in their classroom experience. Other updates include the availability of Minecraft: Education Edition outside the classroom and the launch of Reflect, a Microsoft Teams app that provides
teachers with capabilities that support their students’ well-being virtually. “We are grateful for the resilience and commitment educators have displayed in evolving their teaching styles over the past year, and we aim to keep supporting them to deliver quality education for their students during these challenging times,” said Larry Nelson, regional general manager, Education, Microsoft Asia. Reading Progress helps educators save time by creating reading fluency assignments, visualize reading progress with a holistic view of data and insights, and engage students in independent practice. Available prior to the
4 BusinessMirror
next school year, Reading Progress is free for all students and teachers using Microsoft Teams for Education, and is compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Meanwhile, the enhanced version of Microsoft Teams and other tools to help educators unlock digital experiences that complement and enrich in-person learning will also be available ahead of the next school year. To ensure students’ safety in digital and physical spaces, Microsoft is launching Supervised Chat in Teams. Available later this month, this feature allows designated educators to initiate chats with students, while preventing students from starting new chats unless an appropriate educator is present to ensure students engage in safe discussions. According to Nelson, innovation will continue to transform learning experiences and stands to help prepare students for their futures. “We are honored to partner with educators and schools across Asia in our mission to help every student on the planet achieve more,” he said.
May 30, 2021
Squarespace founder nabs $2.1-billion fortune with listing
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nthony Casalena founded webhosting company Squarespace Inc. from his dorm room at the University of Mary- Squarespace founder Anthony Casalena land. Eighteen years later, the business has made Casalena, 39, a billionaire twice over. His stake in the company, which helps businesses and individuals build and manage web sites, is valued at $2.1 billion after the New York-based firm went public recently in a direct listing. The stock fell in the first day of trading, closing at $43.65 a share in New York, down 9.1 percent from the $48 opening price and giving the company a market value of about $5.9 billion. It raised funds in March at an enterprise value of $10 billion. Squarespace received a boost from the pandemic as small businesses rushed to build a presence online to reach homebound customers. Its revenue jumped to $621 million last year, up 28 percent from 2019, filings show. “These are trends we’ve been seeing in the market for years and years and years, and the pandemic has just helped accelerate people’s attention as they’ve been forced to adapt to being online, transacting with their customers in multiple ways,” Casalena said in an interview Wednesday with Bloomberg Television.
‘Beyond anything’ Casalena became fascinated with the Internet at a young age. Growing up in rural Maryland, the Web offered a portal to the broader world “beyond anything I could ever imagine,” he said in a letter included in the company’s prospectus. He started tinkering with the idea for the business after frustrating experiences trying to build a web site while studying computer science in college. For the company’s first three years, Casalena was the sole engineer, designer and support rep. Even with the leap in revenue, Squarespace’s 2020 net income fell 47 percent from the year before to $30.6 million, which the company attributed to increased marketing costs. Casalena, who is chief executive officer, will maintain 68-percent voting control due to a dual-class share structure that has him owning more than three-quarters of the Class B stock, which carry 10 times the voting rights of the Class A shares. The company’s other largest shareholders are venture capital firms Accel, General Atlantic and Index Ventures. Bloomberg
sunday, May 30, 2021
cover story
The Hand that Weaves Inspiration for Yakans Yakan children Elvert Bañares for Likha-an Documentaries
Apuh Ambalang working on an inalaman with a rainbow-colored warp
YAKAN tennun ranges from basic to complex designs.
The future of a tradition, Yakan children often play at the weaving center.
THE dazzling inalaman is considered by many as Apuh Ambalang’s most impressive work.
AN antique subdued saputangan made by Bariya Auhum (foreground) and a distinct 18eye red saputangan by Ambalang Ausalin.
BusinessMirror
Sunday, May 30, 2021 3
The Hand that Weaves Inspiration for Yakans
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By Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero
ometime in March, at 1 o’clock in the morning, my friend Sharine and I suddenly found ourselves talking about Philippine textiles, a topic that we never touched on before. I shared with her that I have works of Magdalena Gamayo and the late Lang Dulay, and that I still had no idea what to do with them after several years in my possession. As we went on, the discussion only became more intense and alluring. Never did we imagine that the few exchanges we had would create an insatiable obsession that we clearly still hold today: a fascination towards handwoven Filipino weaves. A few days later, my friend introduced me to the works of yet another master weaver, Ambalang Ausalin. Apuh Ambalang, as she is affectionately called in Basilan, is a Yakan master weaver of the highest order. She was born to a family of esteemed weavers and was taught by no less than her mother, Bariya Auhum. Some would say that the only person who could truly rival Ambalang’s precision, design sophistication, and quality was no other than Bariya herself. The works of Ambalang were already renowned across Mindanao in the 80s, attracting the interest of countless prominent locals. Soon after, she found patrons in the likes of former Senator Loren Legarda, actor Robin Padilla, and even Vice President Leni Robredo, to name a few. In 2016, she was a recipient of the Philippine National Living Treasure Award, or the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan, in recognition to her mastery in tennun
weaving and in her role in keeping the tradition alive. She is known to be generous, welcoming, and familyoriented. One of her children commented, “While inah is nice and patient to us, she is so much more to her apos.” So, it did not surprise me anymore to learn that most of her grandchildren, as well as a few kids of neighbors, prefer staying in her abode. During the day, these kids are her youngest apprentices, eager to get a slice of their grandma’s talents. Most of them can now weave the basic bunga, forming table runners. In the evening, the kids provide Ambalang not just the company that an old woman needs, but also the inspiration that will again fuel her the following day. She selflessly shares what she knows not only with her family, but with others in her
AMBALANG (standing) poses with daughter Vilma, to whom she has passed on her knowledge on tennun.
community too; thus, securing the survival of tennun in the next generation of Yakans. In doing so, she has assisted many by giving them access to a sustainable, culturally meaningful source of income—something that the people in her province are grateful for. At 78, Ambalang is still a weaving virtuoso, creating masterpieces that are hard to compete with. Her calloused thumb is but a witness to –as well as a record of– her dedication and her countless years in practice. When asked what her most beautiful work is, her family agrees that it is the colorful inalaman (body cover) bearing a hundred patterns which took her nearly two months to finish. It is then followed by her just as elaborate multi-eyed saputangan (headscarves), of which the finest takes almost the same amount of time to produce. Contented now in life, the
master weaver sees herself in her only daughter who is among a handful of weavers who can execute simple bunga and pinalantupan (overpants), as well as the more complicated saputangan, inalaman and inalu’an (fabric). Soon enough, the protégé’s level of craftmanship will be near, if not equal to, her mother’s. The passing down of knowledge from mother to daughter which Ambalang also had with her mother, therefore, continues. Prior to receiving the attention she now has, however, Ambalang also went through a difficult phase in life. Raising her five children alone after the early demise of her husband was never easy. She even went abroad in the hopes of finding greener pastures, only to return to her hometown after being away for a little over a year. She painfully recalled that she could not bear being so far from her family, from home, from what
is familiar. At a time when there were extremely limited livelihood opportunities for women in Basilan, she found refuge around her threads and ever-dependable loom she inherited. When most women of her generation were abandoning tennun due to the lack of encouragement as well as the inability to profit from it, she held unto it with pride and optimism that one day the importance of the tradition would be understood again not only by Filipinos but by the whole of humanity. Such commitment surely paid off. Another challenge, however, persists as the Philippine textile industry is being infiltrated by knockoff “handwoven indigenous fabrics” mass-produced in China. And tennun might become a target of counterfeiting too. While tenacity is asked from the weavers amidst this problem, alertness and the ability to discern which are authentic and which are not are expected from the buyers in return. Overall, despite Apuh Ambalang’s social stature, she remains humble and deep-rooted. She lives a modest life while unpretentiously playing her gigantic role in preserving our rich culture. Basilan might be unfamiliar to most, and it might also stir images of conflicts and fear. Nevertheless, people like Ambalang offer us the essential light we all need at the end of the tunnel. Ambalang and I may not speak the same language, but her works never fail to eloquently speak her mind and heart. I can only be proud in having known her and in becoming a custodian to some of her masterworks. For select works of A mba l a ng Au sa l i n a nd ot her Phi lippine master weavers, v isit Or ientalweaves.ph on Facebook and Instag ram. Photos used with permission of Elbert Bañares/Likha-an Documentaries
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Two Artists, two Mother and Child artworks By Aya Bongato
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Images courtesy of White Walls Gallery
epictions of maternal love remain to be common among local artists in the scene. It seems for Filipinos who grew up in traditional households it is inherent and natural for one to have a connection with the women who birthed them. Just as artists paint their works from the ground up, the same can be said to women behind everyone’s beginnings. In a recent showcase at White Walls Gallery, young artists Renee Avila and Kiko Urquiola, relayed their experiences as children raised by loving mothers in a select few of their works.
Puno’t Dulo I, Oil in Canvas, by Kiko Urquiola
Amor Mortis, Oil in Canvas, Renee Avila
Renee Avila, a young painter who is known for composing romantic images of classical figures, incorporates Bartolini’s sculpture, Carità educatrice (Charity the Educator), in her work Amor Mortis (Mother’s Love), where a female figure is seen cradling a child lovingly amidst a cove of flowers. Personally, she interprets the sculpture as a personification of Charity, as it is a woman’s role to be her child’s first teacher and primary source of love and care. The artist emphasizes the importance of honoring the bond between a mother and child through presenting a sentimental picture on canvas. As someone who was raised by a single mother herself, she grew up thankful of her guardian’s support, stating that though it is difficult to fully grasp the
hardships of motherhood unless experiencing it firsthand, her art has become a means for her to express her gratitude. Kiko Urquiola, on the other hand, paints a comparatively more contemporary and realistic image of motherhood. His oil painting titled Puno’t Dulo IV shows a child anchored on his mother’s feet. The act of stepping atop one’s mother’s feet is inspired by his own experience feeling the comfort of his mother helping him walk as a young boy. He surmises that the women in his household, his mother and grandmother, have been integral in his journey as an artist, and that everyone is somehow made into what they are now because of their mother’s guidance. Though different in artistic styles and providence, both art-
ists agree that motherly themes are commonplace in the portfolio of artists in the community. The concept of using maternal figures as a subject in the Filipino arts parallels the culture of women traditionally been expected to raise their children at home. Such duties have made it possible for everyday people to have a strong connection with their guardians, from childhood well into their adulthood. Though in time, most may choose to leave home and diverge paths from their caregivers, the bond between mother and child is analogous towards the attitude of an artist with his art: just as an artist paints his picture with a piece of him or her in it, a mother leaves an impression with her child enough for them to go about their lives.
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Girl with Clip Caring Zangenberg acrylic on paper 11.50 x 11.50
Sunday, May 30, 2021 7
Nude in the Meadow Caring Zangenberg acrylic on paper 11.50 x 11.50
Little Girl 2013 Print on A4 poster
Three Indays share a creative journey Continued from page 8 Auntie Caring, art was a tool to heal the mourning soul,” reveals Cadapan. From 1987 to 1988, Barbara Reyes Aquino lived with her Auntie Inday’s family and there Bambi, as she as fondly called, witnessed her aunt’s life as an artist. Impressed by her aunt’s passion, she began to dabble in painting as her hobby while she worked as a young professional. Her creative activity kept her occupied and proved to be her stress reliever from the demands of work. She completed her course on Forestry at the Mindanao State University in 1999, and was employed at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Women of Caring Caring Zangenberg acrylic on paper 22 in x 38in
(DENR) CENRO-Nasipit, Agusan del Norte as a Forester Level II. Her unplanned debut as a professional artist came when Bambi was commissioned by the Caraga Regional Office, Ambago, Butuan City to produce artworks that were given away as token gifts to dignitaries in a major event.
Art is what’s in your heart Ever since Bambie got hold of a paint brush and canvas, her favorite subjects have always been her close encounters with rural folks and of nature. Through her art, she wanted her audience to appreciate nature and value the common folk. Her life was cut short due to Parkinson’s disease on July 29, 2018. Her artworks were her
legacy, a long lasting testament of her strength as a person despite her circumstances. For Inday and Bambie, art was their outlet that served as a temporary release from their mortality. For Caring, the art helped her deal with her loss and consoled her homesickness. Caring painted mostly scenes from her walks in public parks, her interactions with Filipinas married to German men just like her, her visits to the museums and Flo Marts, also known as flea markets. She wanted to share her talent to uplift her family lineage and leave something inspiring to the next generation. As for Inday, she expressed her
Artist & her Model1997 Inday Cadapan 30x44 in Water color on paper
political views using oil paints on canvas. For practical reasons, she painted with more positive themes and switched to other mediums such as ceramic art and sculpture in wood and metal. “At the start, no one really believed in their talents, but they all thrived to enjoy what they can do with their art. They were all brave enough to express themselves, to be criticized and laughed at, but nobody took away the joy they’ve all experienced through painting. We came from a very encouraging clan. As they fought the negativities in life, they pursued their hearts’ desire and developed the talent that God had given them. They
Blue Mansion 1999 Inday Cadapan 22x30 in Water color on paper
found purpose and did not waste away the time given to the two of them who were dying,” shares Cadapan. As the family’s curator, Cadapan assumed the task of showcasing the work of these three women artists. ” We came from the lineage of the story teller Severino Reyes, and these women boldly narrated their stories, saying ‘It’s okay if you don’t know how to paint but wanting to, just paint from the heart!’ By honoring these women, our family leads to encourage aspiring self-taught artists, and push possible art collectors to break the barrier of appreciating the unschooled, naive (naife) art.
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8 Sunday, May 30, 2021
Three Indays share a creative journey By Carla Mortel Baricaua
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Images courtesy of Magel Cadapan
S descendants of writer and storyteller Severino Reyes of the Lola Basyang fame, three women artists chartered their own paths as they pursued their artistic passion with no apologies. Following their art’s desires, their creation now sends a strong message to women artists: be true, be brave, be an artist. These women artists followed the lead of their Lola Inda, otherwise known as Angelina Reyes-Ilagan. As the family’s matriarch, she survived World War II as a widow, single-handedly raised and nurtured six children, and taught them “to do creative expressions in order to survive.” From Consuelo, Pampanga, Lola Inda moved the family to Bayawan, Negros Oriental, where her brother Condoy at that time was the Cabeza de Barangay (little mayor). With sheer diligence and due to her craftsmanship, she eventually became the town’s custorera, or sewer of petticoats. She died of leukemia in 1970. She was the mother of artists, the late Elsie “Inday” Reyes-Cadapan and Caridad “Caring” Reyes-Zangenberg, and grandmother to the late Barbara Reyes Aquino. Their art works were in a reunited a three-woman show just before the lockdown last year with Magel Cadapan as curator. “The Mga Inday Ni Inda (The beloved of Lola Inda) exhibit was in honor of the women in my family: my mother Inday, my auntie Caring and my cousin Bambie, our Lola Inda, and
in memoriam of our departed loved ones. As I pondered over their artform, I remembered the early mornings when she crawled into my bed to talk about her family of origin on wee hours. That led me to research on the family’s history, the creative juices, and focused on three women artists in my family, who were empowered to bloom in their own fields, and felt that God has guided me to fulfill a dream I envisioned long time ago,” shares Cadapan.
An artist inspires another artist As granddaughter, Cadapan recalls that “it was my Lola Inda who influenced my mother. Inday was a sickly child and by looking at the paintings (magazine cut outs of artworks by European artists) made her enjoy being sick. That inspired my mom to hit the canvas when she got sick in 1987.” Given months to live, her creative streak sustained Inday to live for the next 13 years as an artist. (For full story, please see Inday Cadapan Continues to Touch Lives, BusinessMirror, August 25, 2019.) In Bayawan, Negros, Caridad “Caring” Reyes-Zangenberg
Girl with Cat Caring Zangenberg acrylic on marine plywood 24in x 18in
glowed up the local crowned beauties as the town’s official beautician. Seeking the next challenge, Caring closed her beauty parlor and worked as an art dealer in Inday’s antique shop in Manila. Later on, she opened her own store, Caring’s Pieces Antique Shop,
in Mabini Art Center in the mid 70s. There she met Horst Zangenberg, a fine gentleman, mathematician, and art lover, and whom she married later. They settled in Weyarn, near Munich, Germany. “My mom Inday visited her, she tried to motivate Auntie Caring to
paint with her, but to no avail. She only got serious about painting right after she lost her sister. She was already 60 years old then and so redirected her grief by painting nonstop in memory of Inday. For Continued on page 7