BusinessMirror November 14, 2021

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A broader look at today’s business n

Sunday, November 14, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 37

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 12 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

MINDANAO’S FARMS BOOST FOOD SECURITY

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By Manuel T. Cayon

The move to boost farm productivity came to full realization after the pandemic clearly showed the basic essence of agricultural self-sufficiency.

While other economic anchors faltered amid the abrupt halt to economic activities starting March 2020, the agriculture sector, notwithstanding disruptions like lockdowns and checkpoints, even posted a modest positive growth.

The old practices in agriculture, though, were seen as the pull factor that kept the sector from attaining its fullest potential at a time it was needed most.

Because of this, the two directions on innovation and digitalization have been outlined in a draft 10-point economic recovery agenda of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), which Emmanuel F. Piñol used to head, before he decided to run for a Senate seat in the May 2022 elections.

Piñol, also a former secretary of agriculture, has pitched for a sound local food production and better food-chain facility system among the important things to build upon. It is among the takeaways from the economic onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I believe that we have to look at the lessons learned from Covid-19 and embrace these as guiding policies as we move forward.

We have to build a local food production industry that would keep us safe from any disruption in the supply chain. We have to produce our own food to the maximum, and I believe we can,” Piñol said in a recent interview on the pre-election campaign trail.

MinDA may be on track with Piñol’s observations.

JOHN MAYNARD, of the Investment Promotions Division of MinDA, said “a pressing concern

for the agriculture sector is measurement and accuracy of agriculture data.”

Digitalization, for one, he said, may address precise compliance in standardization of farm inputs such as fertilizers. “Precision equates to efficiency, and eventually productivity. Process innovation and technology as well are practical means by which we can innovate agricultural sciencebased farm practices. So primarily data precision innovations are fundamental to cost efficiency in deployment of farm resources.”

Maynard said the stakeholders and private-sector companies are seen as innovation-drivers in this endeavor.

He pointed to their research data as showing these innovation drivers “lean more toward supporting innovation enablers in their firms, collaborating with their clients and suppliers”.

“It is of usual business sense that these firms approach costs in innovation as investments and strategy to sustainability, whole of stakeholders,” he added.

“We are seeing a stronger and more synergistic collaboration between farmer/industry, academe and government actors to build an ecosystem of innovation. Research studies are made more purposive and practical to address real-life agriculture problems. MinDA helps ensure this by filling in gaps and pain points among agriculture stakeholders at the macro level, avoiding duplication of roles among these problems and taking on catalyzing roles to funnel resources to the right priorities,” he said.

Ernesto Tomas, head of Knowledge Management Division of MinDA, who also leads MinDA’s ICT and innovation projects, cited Piñol’s advocacy on the use

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.1880

ALEXEY KORNYLYEV | DREAMSTIME.COM

NNOVATIVE solutions, backed with equitable digitalization, would be harnessed to “retrofit” agricultural production in Mindanao as part of an overall Covid-19 recovery program, according to a work plan being refined by the government’s socioeconomic planning unit for the entire island.

Data accuracy

EKKASIT919 | DREAMSTIME.COM

MinDA sees innovation, digitalization as main factors boosting farm production

tions which can be used by farmers and fisherfolk.”

“Access to digital technology can offer farmers the links to suppliers and information, access support services such as training, finance and legal services, reach markets and customers and enable monitoring of goods and build strategic industry partnerships,” Tomas added.

PIÑOL: “We have to build a local food production industry that would keep us safe from any disruption in the supply chain.

We have to produce our own food to the maximum, and I believe we can.”

of solar-powered irrigation system in agricultural production as well as the use of ramp pumps and “fertigation” in upland rice farming as approaches to improve productivity and efficiency.

“Innovation is seen as a means to provide solutions in addressing the pain points of the agriculture sector using available technologies,” Tomas said. He said digitalization and innovation make use of data and data analysis to monitor and evaluate crops appropriate for soil types as well as make use of data in tracking production supply and match them with market demands.

He said digital technologies and platforms are efficient systems to do this. The first step, he said, “is to identify the issue or the problem in the sector and then match this with the appropriate technology that will address the industry pain points and using these technologies to create products and solu-

Digital world eases pain of lockdowns

MINDA executive director Janet Lopoz talked about the development of technology and advances in science to be “more responsive to the needs of Mindanao’s food sector and help it better withstand the effects of lockdowns and disruptions in the supply chain.”

“We saw how mobility restrictions and lockdowns have driven companies to shift their businesses and services online. The use of digital technology and e-commerce has become the new business norm,” Lopoz said in her talk during the Annual Scientific Conference of the National Research Council of the Philippines Mindanao Regional Cluster on October 27, 2021.

She said food and non-alcoholic beverages, along with ICT and logistics, were the only subsectors that posted positive growth, no matter how slow. “This tells us a lot about the new sectors that we need to be paying more attention to, those that have kept our economy afloat despite the lockdowns and mobility restrictions,” Lopoz said.

The 10-point economic agenda identifies the need for better Internet connectivity and virtual transaction literacy among Mindanao’s

agriculture and food stakeholders, she said. The use of digital payments has skyrocketed in many parts of the region, she noted.

Innovations in logistics were also instrumental in establishing alternative food supply networks, Lopoz pointed out. Logistics companies such as Ninja Van began innovating their delivery process to expand across new services that would navigate through the constraints of the current operating conditions.

She said the data it gathered were among the findings of its several rapid impact assessment studies with different international development partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

These studies were the “rapid assessments of the impact of Covid-19 on food supply chains in the Philippines” and the “Covid-19 Mindanao and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Rapid Social Economic Impact Assessment Study” with UNDP and Social Enterprises Research and Development (SERDEF).

Results of the studies were among the bases for identifying the immediate to long-term agenda for economic recovery, which includes fast-tracking of vaccination rollout, ensuring sufficient supply of locally produced goods, green financing, micro small and medium enterprises development, and strengthening BIMP-EAGA cooperation for market access, MinDA said.

Another program that MinDA mounted was the Mindanao Peace and Development (MinPAD) RISE program “to support

the establishment of various agri-fisheries facilities in several areas of the island region, including production and logistics mechanisms aimed at assisting Mindanao’s economic recovery amid the Covid-19 pandemic”.

The MinPAD RISE program was launched on November 4 with the European Union through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit German Cooperation and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“It is important that as stakeholders and partners in Mindanao’s development, we are informed on all the various efforts that we are all putting together to contribute towards making our Mindanao a more integrated, more inclusive, resilient, sustainable and peaceful Mindanao,” Lopoz said.

The program utilizes €55 million (P3.29 billion) for a five-year economic development targeting the whole of Mindanao, including the Bangsamoro region. “The project identified and the design for the program pertains to addressing inequality and vulnerability of several segments of society by reducing poverty, boosting productivity and immediately revving up the economy for economic recovery,” Lopoz said.

“We hope that we can better think about how we can complement our initiative. And let’s see how best we can put together our efforts, complement and strengthen our partnerships,” Lopoz stressed.

Ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines Luc Veron said, “This project comes at difficult times with the pandemic and its negative impact on the economy and the well-being of the communities.”

n JAPAN 0.4400 n UK 67.1265 n HK 6.4413 n CHINA 7.8542 n SINGAPORE 37.0637 n AUSTRALIA 36.6071 n EU 57.4753 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.3820

Source: BSP (November 12, 2021)

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A2 Sunday, November 14, 2021

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Taiwanese families say Covid-19 deaths didn’t have to happen

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By Huizhong Wu | The Associated Press

AIPEI, Taiwan—It is at lunchtime that Nancy Chen misses her father the most. For 30 years, she ate every day with her parents at their apartment.

Her father, despite being partially impaired by a stroke, would buy her a box lunch with cod. If she were 15 minutes late, he would worry and ask if she was working too hard.

For the first year and a half of the coronavirus pandemic, it seemed that Taiwan would remain largely unscathed by the devastation playing out elsewhere.

Aside from near-universal mask wearing, people went about their lives as normal. But Taiwan was caught off guard when the virus came.

The health system couldn’t handle the number of Covid tests needed and doctors lacked the right medications. The death toll rose quickly from just 12 to more than 800. Chen’s father, who died in June, was one of the victims.

Apology and compensation

“WE never thought it would explode in Taiwan like this,” Chen’s husband, Jason Ding, said in an interview at their home in New Taipei City.

They are among 12 bereaved families that are seeking an apology and 60 million new Taiwan dollars ($2 million) in compensa-

tion from the government, saying it was underprepared—despite it being a year and a half into the pandemic—leading to unnecessary deaths and suffering.

Lawyers for the families submitted their case Thursday to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Executive Yuan, Taiwan’s Cabinet. One of the lawyers, Chen Hsueh-hua, said the families want a public reckoning because they believe their government failed them.

The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, which is under the Health Ministry, did not immediately respond to questions.

Taiwan’s experience shows how quickly the virus can destabilize health-care systems even when the caseload is relatively low. To date, the island of 24 million people has had 16,465 cases and 848 deaths.

Yet, the loss for each family cuts as deeply as anywhere else.

Relatives of victims elsewhere are also seeking answers. A raft of

ADAMS CHI, a member of a group of Taiwanese who lost loved ones to Covid and are seeking compensation from the government, looks at photos of his parents during an interview on September 23, 2021, in Taipei, Taiwan. The island is hailed globally as a pandemic success story. But for Chi and other families who lost loved ones, they are angry that their government did not prepare enough and they don’t believe it’s a success. AP

lawsuits have been filed in France over shortages of masks and test kits early in the outbreak. The British government has agreed to hold a public inquiry into its handling of the pandemic, partly in response to threats of legal action.

The Taiwanese case is backed

by Yaung Chih-liang, a former health minister from Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Nationalists, who have repeatedly attacked the government’s handling of the pandemic.

At the height of the outbreak, Chen couldn’t get an ambulance for her mother, who tested positive on May 23 and had been feverish. They waited four days for an ambulance.

“It was always busy, you couldn’t even connect,” said Chen, whose parents’ neighborhood was one of the hardest-hit areas. “It was really terrifying, it was constantly busy.”

Her father, who had been hospitalized after a second stroke

a day before her mother started showing symptoms, tested negative for the coronavirus twice.

About a week later, his third test was positive.

Not prepared?

CHEN asked if the hospital had any Covid-19 drugs. The hospital said no, aside from remdesivir, but the doctor worried it would interact with the stroke medication. The hospital didn’t have any antibody drugs, which are used to prevent mild cases from becoming severe, though it may have been too late for her father by then.

“They really didn’t prepare at all. If you look abroad, these things had already happened,” Ding said.

Taiwan did not have any Covid-19 antibody drugs when the outbreak exploded in May, doctors and families said. Only on June 11 did the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control announce

they had purchased 1,000 doses of antibody treatments. Chen’s father died three days later.

Taiwan had a limited stock of remdesivir, an anti-viral drug from Gilead, which has demonstrated mixed results.

“There wasn’t enough, you could only get it if you applied for it from the central government,” said Su Yi-Fong, a pulmonary doctor at a Taipei hospital near one of the hotspots in the outbreak.

Further, it wasn’t covered by the island’s national health insurance scheme, making it affordable only for a small percent of the population.

Su said they only had treatments such as steroids. “If they needed oxygen, we would give them oxygen, and if they really weren’t OK, then we would have to intubate them,” he said. “That’s all we could do.”

Chen’s mother was given tocilizumab, an arthritis drug, which a doctor had suggested as a last resort.

The families in the lawsuit wonder if their relatives would have lived if they had been given the antibody drugs early on, before they had deteriorated.

Chien-Chang Lee, a clinical professor of emergency medicine at National Taiwan University, believes that antibody treatments would not have made a huge difference in the number of deaths given a culture of being cautious in prescribing medications.

Inexperienced

DUE to Taiwan’s previous success, many doctors did not have any experience in treating Covid-19 patients and may not have known when to best use the medicine, he added.

As hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed with patients, many people could not carry out their family members’ last wishes.

Adams Chi, one of the members of the group seeking compensation, viewed his mother’s final moments through a cellphone screen, outside the room where she was isolated.

After her death, he found he had no choice but to cremate her body. His mother had wanted to be buried next to his father, not cremated, because she was afraid of fire. But the morgue would not store her body while burial arrangements were made, because it did not want to keep Covid-19 victims with the other bodies.

Before dawn on a Tuesday in June, as workers waited to cremate his mother, he shouted to warn of the incoming flames.

“Before the fire comes, you have to tell your loved one, ‘The fire is coming, go!

Run!’ And then they won’t be hurt,” Chi said. “Then, the soul won’t be affected.”

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Meralco commits continued support to country’s key infra projects and COVID-19 efforts

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S the country’s largest power distribution utility, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has been at the forefront of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond its commitment to deliver reliable, stable and safe electricity service to its customers, Meralco has also been actively supporting the government’s efforts in driving the economy towards post-pandemic recovery.

The company is working with various government agencies and local government units in implementing infrastructure projects and energizing vital facilities that will cater to the immediate and long-term needs of Filipinos.

Infra projects key to economic development

MERALCO takes part in the government’s Build, Build, Build programs, with its essential role in ensuring that network facilities are in place for the timely construction and completion of major infrastructure projects such as the EDSA Common Station, LRT-1 Cavite Extension project, MRT-7, NLEX-SLEX Connector Road, and Skyway Stage 2 project.

To support the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and BF Corporation, Meralco conducted retirement of six poles, and installation and relocation of 22 distribution poles for the EDSA Common Station which will interconnect Metro Manila’s major railway projects, particularly the LRT-1, MRT-3, and MRT-7.

The company also retired one pole, installed 6 sub-transmission poles, and relocated 2 115-kV lines along Roxas Boulevard near Redemptorist Road in Baclaran, Paranaque City for the ongoing construction of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension.

Once finished, the LRT-1 Cavite Extension project will add 11.7 kilometers of railway segment and effectively cut travel time between Baclaran and Bacoor, Cavite to only 25 minutes instead of the two hours at present.

At the request of the DOTr and San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Meralco retired 8 distribution poles and installed and relocated

20 more for the timely completion of the MRT-7, a 23-kilometer railway project spanning 14 stations from North Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

Meralco likewise completed relocation works for the NLEXSLEX Connector Road, particularly clearing and relocation of poles and electric facilities along Antipolo Street from Dimasalang Street to Dapitan Street in Sampaloc, Manila.

The NLEX-SLEX Connector Road is an eight-kilometer elevated expressway project of NLEX Corp. that will connect C3 Road in Caloocan and the Skyway Stage 3, crossing through Espana Boulevard and Sta. Mesa, Manila.

Lastly, Meralco showed its full support for the Skyway Stage-2, with the retirement of five poles, installation and relocation of 11 subtransmission poles, and the rerouting of 647-meter 115-kV line.

Once completed, these infrastructure projects are expected to improve the lives of Filipino commuters and buoy economic development not only in Metro Manila but also in its neighboring provinces. In addition, infrastructure improvements will help reduce the cost of doing business, attract more investment, and enhance productivity around the country.

Relocation of poles and re-routing of electric facilities were done to give way to the on-going construction of the Skyway Stage 2 Extension Project in Alabang, Muntinlupa.

are free from threats of outages.

To date, the company already powered more than 140 facilities, among which include the Mega Field Hospital at the Rizal Park; the Tondo Health Center which was used as a vaccination center; We Heal As One Treatment Center in Pasay City; the Pharmaserv Vaccine Storage Facility; the COVID-19 Vaccination Facility in Marikina; the RT-PCR Testing Center in Makati City; the COVID-19 Treatment Facility in Malabon City; and the Solaire-PAGCOR Mega Quarantine Facility in Paranaque City.

Meralco continues to work hand-in-hand with the government to identify more priority COVID-19 facilities in need of energization, as the country moves towards postpandemic recovery.

Energization of Covid-19 facilities sparks hopes of recovery

A stable, adequate and accessible power supply plays a very significant role in the continuing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meralco has been relentless in its efforts to energize vital COVID-19 facilities such as vaccination centers, treatment centers, and vaccine storage facilities, and ensuring that these key facilities

Interim relocation of poles and electric facilities were done to give way to the on-going construction of the Common Station located in between Trinoma and SM North along EDSA in Quezon City. The timely relocation of its affected facilities paved the way to the speedy completion of the government’s BBB

The recently energized AMC Gym in Barangay San Roque currently serves as a vaccination center for Pateros residents. To date, more than 140-vital facilities have been energized by Meralco in its continuing support to the fight against COVID-19.

Earlier this year, Meralco also energized a COVID19 vaccine storage facility located in New Marikina Subdivision, Sta. Elena, Marikina City. This is one of the many COVID-19 facilities given the highest priority in providing safe, adequate, and reliable supply of electricity.

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The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, November 14, 2021

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

Soaring prices: Heavy burden for consumers as holidays near

By Christopher Rugaber

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AP Economics Writer

ASHINGTON—A worsening surge of inflation for such bedrock necessities as food, rent, autos and heating oil is setting Americans up for a financially difficult Thanksgiving and holiday shopping season.

Prices for US consumers jumped 6.2% in October compared with a year earlier, leaving families facing their highest inflation rate since 1990, the Labor Department said Wednesday. From September to October, prices jumped 0.9%.

Inflation is eroding the strong gains in wages and salaries that have flowed to America’s workers in recent months, creating a political threat to the Biden administration and congressional Democrats and intensifying pressure on the Federal Reserve as it considers how fast to withdraw its efforts to boost the economy.

Fueling the spike in prices has been robust consumer demand, which has run into persistent supply shortages from Covid-related factory shutdowns in China, Vietnam and other overseas manufacturers. America’s employers, facing worker shortages, have also been handing out sizable pay raises, and many of them have raised prices to offset those higher labor costs.

The accelerating price increases have fallen disproportionately on lower-earning households, which spend a significant portion of their incomes on food, rent, and gas. Food banks are struggling to assist the needy, with beef, egg and peanut butter prices jumping.

Millions of households that are planning year-end travel, Thanksgiving dinners and holiday giftgiving will be forced to pay much more this year.

The jump in inflation is hardly

confined to the US. Prices have been accelerating in Europe and elsewhere, too, with annual inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro currency exceeding 4% in October, the most in 13 years, and energy prices spiking 23%. In Brazil, inflation soared more than 10% in the 12 months through October, according to data released this week. Higher prices for electricity, cooking gas, meat and other staples have plunged many Brazilians further into financial instability.

Americans are now spending 15% more on goods than before the pandemic. Ports, trucking companies and railroads can’t keep up, and the resulting bottlenecks are swelling prices. Surging inflation has broadened beyond pandemicdisrupted industries into the many services that Americans spend money on, notably for restaurant meals, rental apartments and medical services, which jumped 0.5% in October.

At the same time, the economy is managing to sustain its recovery from the pandemic recession, and consumers, on average, have plenty of money to spend. That is in contrast to the “stagflation” of the 1970s, when households endured the double hardship of high unemployment and high inflation.

Many Americans are also receiving healthy pay raises, especially workers at restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues, where hourly wages are up more than 10% from a year ago. And

A young customer looks at a Halloween mask at a Party City store on Oct. 6, 2021, in Miami. Prices for US consumers jumped 6.2% in October compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, gas and housing left Americans grappling with the highest inflation rate since 1990. The year-over-year increase in the consumer price index exceeded the 5.4% rise in September, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, Nov, 10, 2021. AP Photo/Marta Lavandier

families, on average, have built up substantial savings from stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits.

“We’re still looking at an economy in a strong position,” said Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo. “The consumer is still going out and spending, which is why we are seeing the price gains we’re seeing.”

Used car prices have rocketed more than 25% from a year ago.

With automakers sharply slowing production because of parts shortages, prices for new cars have also risen for seven straight months.

Furniture is more expensive. Grocery prices have climbed 5.4% in the past year, with the price of beef roasts leaping 25%. Bacon is up 20% from a year ago.

The Biden administration has attributed higher meat prices to consolidation in the meat-packing industry, with lack of competition enabling big processors like Tyson’s to raise prices. Meat-packing companies have countered that Covid-related shutdowns of plants,

and the difficulty in finding workers to staff the factories when they reopened, are the culprit.

Republicans in Congress have blamed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion financial aid package, approved in March, for intensifying inflation. The additional stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment aid, they argue, drove demand beyond what the economy could produce.

On Wednesday, Biden visited the port of Baltimore to highlight parts of the recently passed infrastructure package that will upgrade capacity at ports and, the administration says, help unclog bottlenecks and ultimately reduce inflation.

“Inf lation hurts Americans’ pocketbooks, and reversing this trend is a top priority for me,” Biden said.

Energy costs soared 4.8% just from September to October, with gasoline, natural gas and heating oil surging for the same reason that many other commodities have grown more expensive: Demand

has risen as Americans drive and fly more, but supplies haven’t kept up. A gallon of gas, on average, was $3.42 nationwide Tuesday, according to AAA, up from just $2.11 a year ago. The Energy Information Administration has forecast that Americans will spend 30% more this winter on natural gas and 43% more on heating oil.

Job gains and pay raises have been much larger during the pandemic recovery than they were after the Great Recession roughly a decade ago. But in contrast to the years that followed that downturn, when inflation was low, rising prices are diminishing Americans’ confidence in the economy, surveys have found.

Economists still expect inflation to slow once supply bottlenecks are cleared and Americans shift more of their consumption back to pre-pandemic norms. Consumers should then spend more on travel, entertainment and other services and less on goods such as cars, furniture, and appliances.

This would reduce pressure on sup-

ply chains.

But no one knows how long that might take. Higher inflation has persisted much longer than most economists had expected.

“The inflation overshoot will likely get worse before it gets better,” said Goldman Sachs economists in a research note Sunday.

For months, Fed Chair Jerome Powell had described inflation as “transitory,” a short-term phenomenon linked to labor and supply shortages resulting from the speed with which the economy rebounded from the pandemic recession. But last week, Powell acknowledged that higher prices could last well into next summer.

The Fed chair also announced that the central bank will start reducing the monthly bond purchases it began last year as an emergency measure to boost the economy. In September, Fed officials also forecast that they would raise the Fed’s benchmark interest rate from its record-low level near zero by the end of 2022—much earlier than they had predicted a few months ago. Sharply higher inf lation might accelerate that timetable; investors expect at least two Fed rate hikes next year.

Many large companies are passing on the cost of higher pay to their customers, and in some cases, consumers are paying up rather than cutting back.

Fast food prices soared 7.1% in October from a year earlier, the government said Wednesday.

That was the largest such increase on record, reflecting higher costs for beef and other foods as well as rapidly rising labor costs.

McDonald’s boosted hourly pay 10% to 15% over the past year and is paying more for food and paper.

The company said last month that it raised prices 6% in the JulySeptember quarter from a year earlier. Yet company sales leapt 14% as virus restrictions eased.

AP writers Josh Boak in Baltimore, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit, David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and Diane Jeantet in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, contributed to this report.

Climate change will exacerbate inequality; so could the solution

By Jana Randow & Reade Pickert

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ne of the most popular strateg ies for f ig ht i ng c l i m ate change could come at the cost of even greater inequality in the world economy.

The policy, known as carbon pricing, would impose a charge on businesses and consumers with the hope of curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

Whether and how to adopt such a levy was a topic of keen debate at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

A concern is that such an approach would risk disproportionately hurting the world’s poorest households that are already suffering the most from global warming. That’s because they tend to spend a larger share of their income on gas, heat and other emissions-generating activities.

“They will be harder hit by carbon pricing,” said Baoping Shang, a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund and author of a recent paper on the distributional impacts of carbon

pricing. “First, in many countries, it’s going to worsen inequality and that’s when government support is most important.”

Ecuador, Nigeria and Iran have already seen violent protests over the years against higher prices at the pump—even without such a levy—offering a foretaste of the kind of uproar that could be in store should politicians choose to introduce one.

In France, the world’s largest collector of carbon-tax revenue, the government was forced to scrap plans in 2018 to boost a surcharge on fuel following a months-long revolt.

Such public outbursts highlight the need to better understand distributional consequences of carbon pricing, and find strategies to ensure rising inequality won’t be the price for protecting the planet.

Letting climate change run its course would have dire consequences. The world is on track to warm by 2.7 degrees Celsius (36.9 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, according to

the latest United Nations estimates, far above the preferred 1.5-degree limit set by the Paris Agreement.

Carbon taxes or cap-and-trade programs are generally imposed at the federal level, but state and regional authorities can also set the rules, as is the case in the US. Governments tend to use tax revenue to offset the burden they place on consumers, businesses and the broader economy, while proceeds from emissions trading schemes are often targeted toward green investments, according to research by the OECD. The levies alone aren’t seen as sufficient to achieve climate goals. Only 10 of the 60 active carbon markets and taxes have high enough prices to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, according to BloombergNEF analysis.

Pushing into poverty

Climate change in and of itself exacerbates inequality and could push an additional 68 million to 135 million people into poverty by 2030, accord-

ing to the World Bank. And without support, carbon pricing could burden the poor even more since they often can’t afford energ y-efficient housing, exposing them to greater heating costs.

In the US, energy prices are already up 30% from a year ago, the most since 2005. Lower-income families also tend to live in areas with insufficient public transportation, making them more reliant on their own cars.

That was the case in Sweden, one of the first countries to introduce a carbon price in 1991 and now has the world ’s highest. A study into the impact on different income groups between 1999 and 2012 showed an increasing burden on lower-income people that highly correlated with the countr y’s recent rise in income inequality.

It’s these kind of concerns that fueled France’s yellow-vest protests that started in 2018, according to a paper published in August. Activists were deeply concerned about cli-

mate change and supported curbing it, they just considered the government’s choice of policy unjust.

Many countries are attempting to offset some of the impact of climate policies on people’s wallets and firms’ balance sheets through ta x cuts or credits, refunds or support for green investments. Canada and Switzerland are among countries already returning part of the money raised on behalf of the environment to their citizens, and others like Germany and Austria are considering similar initiatives.

Some US states are using the funds for improving homes’ energ y efficiency, while others provide direct support to low-income customers to help them pay their electricity bills.

“W hat we need to talk about is a policy bundle,” said Gokce A kinOlcum, a senior economist at the Environmental Defense Fund in Boston. “ There is no single policy that we should expect to carr y the full weight.” Bloomberg News

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Sunday

Sunday, November 14, 2021

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DOST-ITDI opens 1st PHL Metrology in Chemistry Lab

De la Peña: ‘We are ready to compete’

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he country’s food and water industry sectors may no longer have to import expensive reference materials (RMs) abroad for use in laboratories that test their products so they will be able to pass international trade standards.

RMs are already available in the Philippines. The first Metrology in Chemistry (MiC) Laboratory in the country that produces RMs was inaugurated on November 9.

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said the establishment of MiC Lab “is a testament to that unyielding, unwavering, indomitable Filipino spirit, which is proudly, loudly proclaiming to the world—we are ready” to compete with other countries.

Est abl ished by t he Industrial Technology Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOSTITDI), the 1900 m2, four-story MiC Laboratory is on Saliksik Street in the Science Complex in Bicutan, Taguig City.

DOST-ITDI created the MiC Laborator y to help local testing laboratories comply with traceable chemical measurements by producing R Ms and conducting accuracy-based Proficiency Testing schemes.

RMs support the results of measurement laboratories by ensuring that commodities can pass stringent international trade standards on food quality and control.

International standards; lower costs

With the highly characterized, authenticated control materials, such as RMs, that are vital in food testing finally available

through the MiC Lab, it will help local products pass international trade standards, thus, reduce the recall of export products, which is too costly and damaging for the country’s economy.

The MiC Laboratory will also help to cut the costs of local food and water industries from purchasing RMs abroad.

Currently, most Philippine food manufacturers rely on RMs imported from overseas, such as from the US, UK, Japan, China and Thailand.

Besides, the RMs are expensive, costing from P15,000 to P30,000 per one material per food product. At the same time, they are updated continually so the prices rise with it.

State-of-the-art facility

DOST-ITDI Director Dr. Annabelle V. Briones, admitted that “it took us quite a while, a decade actually, to establish our chemical testing services and house it in one of the most economically vital and heavily invested infrastructures in metrology.”

Dr. Benilda S. Ebarvia, the former project leader of the MiC Team, conceptualized the establishment of the laboratory, with the guidance of the past and current DOST-ITDI directors, Dr. Patricia Azanza and Dr. Annabelle Vuelban Briones, respectively.

Ebarva explained that chemical testing and production of

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña speaks at the inauguration of the first Metrology in Chemistry Laboratory in the Philippines on November 9. Attending the event are Trade and Investment Secretary Ramon Lopez, DOST Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara (partly hidden) and other DOST executives. Enrico Belga

RMs, or referencing, is timeconsuming because it requires skills that need to be learned and honed through the years.

“RM development has to be matched with appropriate, state of the art—that means very expensive—equipment, and staff who will be using the equipment and devices have to be trained to use, maintain, and troubleshoot the same,” she explained.

I nc ident a l ly, E ba r v i a w a s awarded the 2019 Developing Economies National Metrology Institute Award in rites at Le Montage in Sydney, Australia, on December 4, 2019. Ebarvia was the first DEN winner for the Philippines. She bested others from 16 countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

RMs for trace presence now locally available

DOST-ITDI has already developed RMs on trace presence of toxic metals in drinking water— such as manganese, nickel, cobalt and iron—benzoic acid in banana catsup, sulfite as a preservative in dried mango, and histamine (a chemical indication of food spoilage) in dried salinas fish.

The science agency hopes to complete this year the development of 15 RMs on trace presence of pesticides in fresh mango, and other fruits and vegetables; the presence of veterinary drug residues, such as salbutamol in pork meat; and 3-Amino-5-morpholino ethyl-2-oxazolidone, or AMOZ in fish, among others.

DOST-ITDI’s early works are the RMs on the presence of trace heav y metals in water—such as lead, cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, zinc, cobalt, and magnesium. An RM on calcium, a reactive metal in water, was developed.

These metals are toxic and are noted for their potential toxicity in the environment.

De la Peña: ‘We are ready’

De la Peña expressed delight that the DOST is finally opening the MiC Laboratory to the public, exactly four years after its groundbreaking ceremony in 2018.

“Just like a child presented with a new toy on Christmas, I am incredibly excited about this new ser v ice facility,” he said in his message at the opening ceremonies which he attended in person.

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña (second from left), Trade and Investment Secretary Ramon Lopez (third from left) and DOST Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara listen to an expert in the newly inaugurated Metrology in Chemistry Laboratory. Enrico Belga

“ T he MiC L aborator y is a testament not only to our Department’s efforts to boost and facilitate fair trade between the Philippines and other countries: it is a testament to that unyielding, unwavering, indomitable Filipino spirit, which is proudly, loudly proclaiming to the world—we are ready,” he pointed out.

He recalled that it was in 2012 when forward-looking researchers conceptualized the MiC project.

He disclosed that the RMs are distributed “free of charge nationwide” to different public and private chemical testing laboratories for measurement and quality control schemes and proficiency testing programs.

“We can never overemphasize the importance of accurate and reliable chemical measurements, especially today as we collectively recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.

“We want to assure our public that your good health and safety remain paramount in our minds.”

Product recalls pose significant economic burdens, he said.

W hen these recalls are traced, such as in canned tuna fish, a public health scare can lead to epidemiological tracking of

deter m ina nts of t he d isease conditions.

However, this is not only scary, he said, it is also time-consuming, expensive and damaging to the canned tuna manufacturer.

“When the scare happens overseas to a Philippine product, it does not only mean ‘refused entry.’ It can also put the country’s name in the barred list of exporters of unsafe products,” he explained.

By establishing the MiC Laboratory, he said the Philippine products can be as good as any of its European, American, British, Chinese, or Thai counterparts, he pointed out.

Lopez: We see signs of recovery

Trade and Investment Secretary Ramon Lopez, the event’s special guest, said many good things are happening in the country, as the pandemic is in the decline.

Among the economic indicators, he said exports—which is the big concern in safety and quality—are recovering.

“We see signs of [economic] recovery, we’ll work hard and go to the new normal,” he said.

“We have recovered compared to pre-pandemic.” With reports from

AMGuevarra/S&T Media Service

DOST eyes more investments in human capital and increase in R&D budget

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he Philippines' top science officials raised the need for an increase in the investment in the country’s human capital and increase the annual budget for research and development (R&D) to help the country counter bigger challenges in the future.

In a video presentation at the recent sixth National Research and Development Conference (NRDC), Science Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara presented various developmental programs that the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has implemented in the last eight years.

T he v irtual conference dubbed “Pananaliksik at Pagpapaunlad: Daan Tungo sa Pagbangon (Road to Recovery through R&D)” showcases programs and technologies in support of the government’s whole-of-nation approach to recovery from the pandemic that are also in-line with the Harmonized National Research and Development Agenda (HNRDA) priority areas.

The HNRDA aims to provide innovative solutions to the pressing challenges of the country. It focuses on the development areas of Basic Research, Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources, Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology; Disaster Risk Reduction at Climate Change Adaptation; and Health.

Guevara underscored the need to invest in the human capital.

"We believe that we have to invest in our experts and innovators to achieve victory through

science and technology," she said in Filipino Currently, DOST supports capacitating and strengthening the scientific community workforce by implementing various programs, such as scholarship grants for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate studies in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

"In the last five years, we have approximately 500 MS and PhD graduates every year. More than 10,000 received MS/ PhD scholarships while 4,000 scholars have already finished their studie," she elaborated.

She also mentioned the 16 Philippine Science High School (PSHS) campuses around the country that cater to high- school students in different STEM tracks. The PSHS was established in 1963 and since then has been offering scholarships on secondary education, focusing on science to prepare students for a career in science. Its first campus was in Diliman, Quezon City.

Besides this, the DOST maintains the Balik-Scientists program, which in 2018 was signed into law, the Balik Scientists Act. The DOST’s answer to the prevailing “brain drain,” the Balik Scientists Act sets in place the benefits given to returning Filipino scientists who share their knowledge and expertise to increase the local pool of scientists.

Since 1975, 577 returning scientists had 733 engagements and about 166 engagements and assistance to their host institutions,

DOST Undersecretary for R&D Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara

mostly state universities and colleges, across the country.

Although the pandemic has slowed down a bit the momentum of the Balik Scientists from performing its duties, DOST, however has arranged limited, remote engagements through v irtual platforms.

Additionally, Guevara, a product of the University of the Philippines Diliman, mentioned the approval of the Science and Technology Fellows program, which will integrate experts in several DOST institutions to be part of the development, conceptualization, policy development, and monitoring and evaluation of the department's various programs.

“We see the S&T Fellows as the long-term solution to address the challenges in ensuring that we have enough number of qualified workforce and make our MS and

DOST photo

PhD graduates in science and engineering stay in the country. We also hope to institutionalize this program," she explained.

According to Guevara, this model was adopted by the United States and Thailand where experts and research fellows are hired to work in various R&D institutions.

Increased R&D budget makes sense

To make our dream of a robust innovation ecosystem in the country a reality, investment in research and development (R&D) must also be given priority, Guevara pointed out.

She expressed her hope to get additional budget allocations for its R&D programs to complement the R&D initiatives of the DOST and create strategic mechanisms that will ensure the increase in the number and capabilities of

local experts and researchers in developing solutions to bigger challenges ahead.

It was also mentioned that for almost 30 years, the country had only allocated 0.14 to 0.18 percent from its GDP for R&D programs as compared to Unesco’s requirement of 2 percent R&D spending.

In recent years, the Philippines performed well when it improved the standing in the 2020 Global Innovation Index (GII) as it rose from rank 100 in 2014 to 50 in 2020 despite the meager budget allocated for R&D. The GII is an insightful data published by the World Intellectual Property Organization to help countries evaluate the innovation performance each year and help stakeholders map out plans for economic improvements and developments. It ranks the innovation ecosystem performance based on 80 key development indicators as its metrics.

She said that the country, in fact, is considered an “innovation achiever” as evidenced by the rise of the country in the innovation index report.

“We have proven that we can be at par and ahead with other countries in the field of innovation even with meager budget for science and technology," she declared.

Likewise, in the latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Technology and Innovation Report 2021, the country is considered an “innovation overachiever” as it was able to surpass the rank 57 under India.

The Technology and innovation

Report measures the country’s readiness to frontier technologies such as artificial technology, 3D printing, and Internet of Things, among others.

Moreover, Guevara pointed out the need to increase the country’s R&D enablers and support especially in f u nd ing resea rc h i n a nt i c i p at i o n o f d i f f i c u lt c ha l lenges a head.

“Right now, we are hoping that it will be the policy to allocate 2 percent of the General Appropriations Act for R&D," she noted.

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña shared Guevara's concerns.

“As mentioned earlier, the Filipino researcher is considered an efficient innovator—that is, we deliver more innovation output compared to what is expected given our innovation input,” de la Peña said.

He a l so added t h at t hese strengths could not be maximized.

“Our potential will not be realized with a modest investment in R&D—averaging less than 0.20 percent of our GDP, still far below the Unesco recommendation for a developing country,” the Science chief lamented.

De la Peña expressed hope that the country can soon commit to invest more in research and development.

He commended the researchers for their efforts, thriving amid the challenges in performing their duties. He, likewise, encouraged them to work hand-in-hand towards a better and safer future through R&D. Joy M. Lazcano/S&T Media Services

Faith A6

Sunday, November 14, 2021

Sunday

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

Dalai Lama: China’s leaders ‘don’t understand’ diversity

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OKYO—Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says China’s leaders “don’t understand the variety of different cultures” and that the ruling Communist Party’s penchant for tight social control can be harmful.

The 86-year-old Buddhist monk on Wednesday also said he wished to remain home in India, where he has lived since 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, rather than get involved in the “complicated politics” between China, run by the officially atheist Communist Party, and strongly Buddhist Taiwan.

Speaking at an online news con-

ference hosted by the Tokyo Foreign Cor respondents C lub, t he Da l a i Lama said there were no particular plans to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and declined to comment on Xi’s plans to remain in office for a third five-year term.

“Chinese communist leaders, they do not understand the variety of different cultures,” he said. “In reality,

In this image taken from live stream video, the Dalai Lama speaks from Dharamsala, India, at an online news conference hosted

by Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on November 10.

Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan via AP

too much control will harm people.”

China exercises rigid control over all religions and in recent years has stepped up a campaign of cultural assimilation targeting Tibetans, Turkic Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups.

The Dalai Lama said he did not

want to become involved in “ local and political difficulties,” but was dedicated to making contributions to “ brothers and sisters” in both Taiwan and mainland China. “ This sit u at ion is qu ite compl icated,” he said.

“Sometimes I really feel this simple Buddhist monk [does] not want to [become involved] in complicated politics,” he said, chuckling.

T he Da lai Lama retired from politics in 2011 but remains a major force for the preservation of Tibetan traditions.

China castigates him as an advocate for Tibetan independence and has not had direct contacts with his representatives in more than a decade.

The Dalai Lama says he merely advocates for Tibet’s substantial autonomy and protection for its native Buddhist culture. AP

La Sperduta bell is leading a ‘lost’ person’s way ‘home’

By Stephanie Tumampos

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U NICH, Ger m a ny—For months, I have been wondering what and where my next journey will be after graduating last July from the European Union’s Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree in universities in Austria and France.

A lot of thoughts came in my mind, which, at times, turned to worries.

Will I be able to get a position in the academe? Will I get a job? Or is this the end?

The anxiety was not serving me well.

I was lost. I was beating myself with negative thoughts, and I hated myself for it. I thought that after receiving my master’s degree opportunities would come my way immediately. But that wasn’t the case.

With the pandemic and a competitive atmosphere among applicants in both the industry and academe in Europe, there wasn’t any glimmer of hope for me.

Eventually, after weeks of worrying and a series of phone calls, pouring out my worries to my Cebu-based sister Marrise, while I was in Europe, I decided to take a short trip to clear my mind.

Together with my Indonesian Muslim friend, Rochamukti Rizcanofana, we decided to discover the beautiful country of Italy. Of course, what is a trip to Italy without a visit to Rome?

Since we were stopping by Rome, we included a visit to the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four papal major basilicas and the largest Catholic Marian churches in Rome.

Besides, the situation in the basilica is favorable to me, or to us Filipinos: the priest, a member of the sacristy, is a Filipino and also a Visayan like me.

Fr. Gregory M. Adolfo has been in the church’s service for years. I was introduced to him before by a fellow Boholano, Lhoy Balbin, who has been working in Rome.

That was during my first trip to Italy in 2019 during the Holy Week.

Father Adolfo at that time gave me a short tour inside the church. But since it was a Holy Week, most of the church’s areas were closed in observance of the holy days.

This time, during my visit with Rochamukti, we did not expect a huge treat from the heavens—or an exclusive tour at the church’s bell tower.

But the bell tower was opened for us, thanks to Father Adolfo.

While climbing the historic spiral steps that was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the famous Baroque style creator and sculptor, Father Greg, as Adolfo is fondly called, shared its story.

The tallest campanille in Rome, Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore’s bell tower stands tall as a symbol of hope for the lost.

La Sperduta (left), one of the five bells of the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore’s bell tower, with the writer and Fr. Gregory M. Adolfo. Photo by Rochamukti Rizcanofana “According to stories, back in the medieval times, when trees reigned around Rome, a woman was lost and couldn’t find her way out. But when the bells of the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore started ringing, she followed the sound,” Father Greg said.

He continued: “She found her way to the church and took refuge there that night.”

This is the reason why the bell tower’s five bells is being rang at 9 o’clock every evening, to guide the lost in finding their way “home,” according to the priest.

During the early times the church held traditional blessing and naming of the bells. One of the bells that rang for the lost woman was called “La Sperduta.”

Father Greg explained the meaning of the bell’s name: “Translated from Italian to English, [La Sperduta] means ‘lost’ or ‘the lost one,’ and is by far, as per the many people who have heard, it is the most beautiful sounding bells in Rome.”

Digging through the Internet, I found that the Romanesque bell tower was built in the 1300s during the reign of Pope Gregory XI, coincidentally the namesake of Father Greg.

As the bell tower rises 75 meters high, its five bells’s ringing, including that of the La Sperduta, could be heard to the farthest corner of Rome every 9 p.m., summoning the faithful to prayer.

W hen I tried to connect all the infor mat ion I lea r ned about L a Sperduta, I realized that maybe I was also a “ lost” woman.

When I felt lost, God was ringing the bells—maybe asking me to visit Him in His holy place. I remembered that I promised in 2018 to return a couple of years later, but the pandemic got in the way.

I guess He was reminding me that I needed to make up for that promise.

Maybe this is why I thought of visiting Italy and putting Rome in the itinerary despite being there before.

I knew, I am privileged enough to travel around despite the pandemic, and I took the opportunity.

There’s this Korean song I listened to repeatedly during my whole trip in Italy. Titled, “Magic Shop,” by the popular South Korean group BTS. It meant that there is a place you enter in your heart where all your wishes come true.

The lyrics of the song as translated in English says: “On days where I hate myself for being me, On days where I want to disappear forever, Let’s make a door, it’s in your heart Open the door and this place will await, Magic Shop.

While drinking a glass of hot tea And looking up at the Milky Way You’ll be alright, oh, this here is the Magic Shop.”

Other people could have different interpretations on the meaning of the song. But at that moment, I realized that my “magic shop” was God’s home—offering me comfort just as

how I would feel whenever I drink my hot tea, and just look up to the sky, which has endless possibilities.

God called me again to His home, the only magic shop I knew that makes my sincerest desires come true. It reminded me that I just have to surrender my worries to Him, and that I just needed to trust Him. I knew His timing is always right.

Why did I say so?

A few days before our visit to the Holy City of Rome, I unexpectedly received an e-mail for an interview invitation. It was for a doctoral degree position in one of the leading technical universities worldwide. Of course, I took the chance to be interviewed.

Right after the interview that took an hour, I told myself not to expect too much as I might only get frustrated.

Yet, I still hoped for the best.

The next day, the unexpected news came: I was offered the position.

Stephanie Tumampos is a doctoral researcher at the Technical University of Munich, where her research on “Modelling, Prediction and Anomaly Detection of Earth Surface Dynamics,” is in collaboration with the Imperial College London. She graduated in July from Erasmus Mundus’s Joint Master’s Degree in Copernicus Master in Digital Earth in University of Salzburg (Austria), and on GeoData Science in University of South Brittany (France). She was a BusinessMirror photojournalist and science reporter before she embarked on her scholarship in Europe.

Bishop Pabillo warns against ‘pro-poor’ bets

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Catholic bishop warned against candidates in next year’s elections whose campa ig n prom ises a re opposite to their past performance in office.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Taytay, Palawan, said the people should be vigilant against candidates who portray themselves as “pro-poor” to lure voters ahead of the polls.

“Don’t believe that they will help the poor when they get elected when they aren’t able to help the poor now,” Pabillo said.

The prelate made the call in his pastoral instruction for this year’s World Day of the Poor, which falls on November 14.

Similarly, he cautioned voters against candidates that are party to ongoing abuses being committed

against poor Filipinos. “ They cannot do anything for the poor if we continue to have a government that takes advantage of the poor, especially in times of a pandemic,” Pabillo said.

“People are already facing difficulties, yet the government can still afford to use the loans for their corrupt practices,” he added.

On the other hand, the bishop said the poor must go for candidates that have long shown their concern for the poor, even before the election season.

“L et u s c hoose c a nd id ates t h at a re a l ready doi ng somet h i ng to i mprove t he l ives of t he poor,” accord i ng to h i m.

“In selecting our bets, let us look at who are really going to the fringes of society,” he also said. CBCP News

Davao archbishop urges families to display Advent wreath in homes

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Catholic archbishop encouraged families to have an Advent wreath in their homes.

In a circular, Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao urged parishes to keep and promote the tradition in celebration of the days of advent.

“I call on our parish priests, in particular, to do this promotion to our families, that is, to put up Advent wreaths and do the accompanying prayer rituals,” through the four weeks of Advent, Valles said.

The Advent wreath is a symbol of the season, with a candle lit on each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.

The tradition is well observed in parish churches and chapels.

The Advent wreath is made of an evergreen wreath with four candles. Sometimes it has a fifth, white candle in the center, called Christ candle, which is lit at Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The custom originated in family settings but has also become widespread in public worship.

“Now let us also promote this beautiful tradition to be obser ved in our homes with each family,” Valles said.

The archbishop also asked parish lay and youth leaders to help encourage the families to help start the tradition in the home.

“As we wait with joy and prepare for the celebration of Christmas, let us keep this beautiful tradition of displaying the Advent wreath in our homes to remind us of the eternity of God and of our eternal life in Christ,” he said.

An Advent wreath with three purple candles and one rose candle Wikimedia Commons Valles said in his Circular 43, dated November 6, that he asked the Archdiocese of Davao’s Gagmay’ng K ristohanong K atilingban (Basic Ecclesial Communities), our archdiocesan and parish Family and Life Apostolate and Davao Archdiocesan Youth Coordinating Apostolate to help encourage the families to start this tradition in the home.

The church leader noted that the Archdiocesan Social Action Center-Sagop Kinabuhi Program 2 for prohibited drug users and pushers surrenderees are producing Advent Wreaths at affordable cost. He said patronizing the products will help those being helped by SKP2.

The Archdiocesan Liturgical Center, Valles said, is ready with the liturgical guide for the customary prayer ritual of lighting the Advent wreath. CBCP News

Pope: Walking according to the Spirit makes us free

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peaking to pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican for Wednesday’s General Audience, Pope Francis noted that St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians shows his role as a great evangeliser, theologian, and pastor.

The pope pointed out how he helps us discover “the shocking newness contained in the revelation of Jesus Christ,” contemplating the mystery of Christ and sharing it with “creative intelligence” with those to whom he preached.

At the same time, he ably guided and encouraged a lost and confused community at the time with great pastoral sensitivity, the pope observed, showing how the strength of the Spirit had “truly entered his heart” and how his meeting with the Risen Christ transformed his entire life.

Defending the freedom of Christ

The pope emphasized the passion Saint Paul showed in defending the freedom that Chr ist brought—a passion that “still moves us today.”

With great conv iction, Paul responded to the call he received to preach the Gospel, the Pope went on to say.

Saint Paul pointed out to the Ga l at i a n s t h at t he y, to o, we re called to the freedom that liberates them from ever y form of slaver y

by making them heirs of the ancient promise and children of God through Christ.

Summing up what Paul teaches, the pope said, “The fulfillment of the true Law is found in this life of the Spirit given to us by Jesus. And this life of the Spirit can only be lived in freedom: Christian freedom.”

Walking according to the Spirit

Summing up this catechetical journey on the Letter to the Galatians, the pope said the apostle’s teaching generates enthusiasm, being drawn to follow the way of freedom and “to walk according to the Spirit,” which always makes us free.

At the same time, he noted, we become more aware of our weaknesses as we see how challenging it is to be “docile to the Spirit, to surrender to His beneficial action.”

But we cannot let discouragement set in, the pope said, recalling the gospel episode of the disciples in the boat at the moment of the storm, when the apostles woke Christ up to save them.

In these very difficult moments of life, we need to “wake up Christ who is within us,” adding, “We must rouse Christ in our hearts and only then will we be able to contemplate things w ith His eyes for He sees beyond the storm.”

Thaddeus Jones/Vatican News

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, November 14, 2021

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

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Can the ‘pawikan’ survive climate change this time?

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Ocean acidification

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

n November 1, the Philippine National Police Maritime Group helped in successfully rescuing and releasing back into the wild a nesting green marine turtle that was trapped under a small seaport in Barangay Taganak in the Turtle Islands in Tawi-Tawi, a known green marine turtle nesting ground.

Incidents like this are bound to happen as marine turtles, locally known as pawikan, struggle to survive the impacts of destructive development activities and human encroachment of their wildlife habitats, which are being aggravated by severe climate change.

As world leaders contend on the issue of limiting to 1.5 degrees Celcius the increase in global temperature at the conclusion of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) meeting in Glasgow, the severe effects of climate change is already being strongly felt in coastal communities.

Marine turtle country

The Philippines is known to host to five out of the seven known species of marine turtles, whose ecosystem functions are crucial in maintaining a balanced marine ecosystem.

The green and live ridley turtles are the most common nesters in the country, followed by the hawksbill turtles.

The leatherback turtles are also known to nest in the Philippines, while there is still no record of the loggerhead species nesting in the country.

Being host to thousands of nesting marine turtles, particu-

larly in the Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary in Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines is in a unique position to save this endangered species from extinction.

Scientists believe they have evolved as they learned to adapt and survive for millions of years despite global climate events.

With the Philippines being a country most vulnerable to climate change, can these mysterious creatures of the sea survive this time around?

Sea level rise

“Definitely, climate change has a huge effect on mar ine turtle population. Because of climate change, sea level rises, thereby, destroying their nesting grounds,” said veterinarian Aracelli Salinas, the leading authority on marine turtle conservation at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) told the BusinessMirror on November 10.

“Once the marine turtles are able to find a new nesting ground, the effect of temperature increase affects the development of the eggs,” Salinas added.

She sa id sea-level r ise a nd s t or m s u r ge s t h at t h re at e n

A green marine turtle photographed by ocean conservation-advocate Danny Ocampo near Apo Island.

commu nit ies due to e x t reme weat her events at t r ibuted to c l imate c ha nge compel commu nit ies to implement measures like the building of sea wa l ls t hat ag g ravate t he problem.

This can be observed in many parts of the country with the development in coastal areas and the establishment of more beach resorts to accommodate tourists.

Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim added that sea-level rise can have an adverse effect on the survival of marine turtles even after hatching.

She explained that marine turtles lay their eggs in dry sand, which they can easily dig into, and where the hatchlings can also easily dig out of, to emerge.

“Sea-level rise will affect this, because the beaches, where the females will need to lay their eggs, will become submerged. So say, even if there are still a few males to fertilize the females’ eggs, there will eventually be no suitable place above the shoreline for female turtles to deposit their eggs,” Lim said.

‘Warmer temperature yields more female turtles’

The warming of global temperature also has an uncanny way of

affecting marine turtles.

Unlike most sea creatures, temperature affects the development of marine turtles while inside the egg.

Lim, inter v iewed by BusinessMirror on November 1 via Messenger, said there were studies on the marine turtle e g g s i n Tu r t le I s l a nd s t h at proved that the sex of the marine turtles is determined by temperature.

Lim started her career as a veterinarian working under the Pawikan Conservation Project in Tawi-Tawi. She said even before climate change was seriously considered a threat to biodiversity, the scientists, as well as the DENR-BMB’s own study, were already alarming marine turtle conservation workers. “ Wa r mer temperat u res [around 31 degrees C] of the sand would yield more female hatchlings, and cooler temperatures [around 27º C], more males. From this data, we can already gather that with rising temperatures, the sex ratio in marine turtles will be affected,” Lim said.

According to Lim, eventually, there could be lesser males than females, and the breeding capacity will be reduced due to warmer temperatures.

Another adverse effect of climate change, ocean acidification will affect the food chain as planktons and shellfish that serve as part of the diet of marine turtles will be depleted.

“All these climate-related impacts will affect migration patterns and the survival of our marine turtles,” Lim said.

Arnel A. Yaptinchay of the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines (MWWP) said it took marine turtles million years to adapt and survive dramatic climatic changes. This time, however, the catastrophic effect of climate change may be too severe that marine turtles will not be able to adapt and survive.

He said that in the marine turtles’ feeding area, depending on the species, corals may die, and cause the plankton, and even the fish and other marine life, to vanish.

“Each and every aspect and life phase will be affected negatively.

While climate change will have a positive effect on some species, it might not be the same for marine turtles,” he explained.

“As food becomes unavailable in one area, they will naturally go to an area where there is abundant food for them to survive,” said Yaptinchay, whose organization rescues and saves marine wildlife.

Cyclonic activities

Elson Aca of Balena.Org, who conducted a vulnerability assessment of marine turtles’ nesting sites in the Philippines, said the intensity of typhoons can also adversely affect the population of marine turtles.

“Today, typhoons are so intense that it can affect coastal areas.

Typhoons can wash ashore nesting areas and destroy other ecosystems like seagrass and corals,” said Aca, who conducted the study as part of his dissertation for his Master of Science in Environmen-

Govt officials, May 2022 candidates urged: Fight for climate change

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

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urrent government officials, as well as the candidates in the May 2022 national elections, should fight climate change to enable the Philippines to achieve a sustainable and healthy future, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines.

WWF Philippines pointed out that the government should not waste the opportunity to avert an impending catastrophe for all Filipinos.

It also urged the government to tackle the real problems the people and the country are facing regarding the environment because providing a safe and healthy environment is one of the basic tenets of human rights. “ We are calling on the current government, as well as candidates running for office, to champion every Filipino’s human right to a safe and healthy environment, and our basic right to exist and survive in this country,” the WWF Philippines said in a statement that was released during the Conference of the Parties (COP) 26 Summit held in Glasgow Scotland from October 26 to November 12.

“They need to present a clear vision to navigate with exceptional leadership so we all could be together in mitigating the effects of and coping with the climate crisis that affects all of us,” the WWF Philippines added.

The huge gathering is vital for countries to come in unison to discuss how climate change will be tackled and to agree on global and national targets.

According to the University of Edinburgh, COPs assist governments to craft their own climate change targets, and hopefully influence the different sectors, localities and organizations to change the climate change targets.

The climate COPs have met annually since 1995. In 2015, the 21st Session of the COP (COP 21) was historic for having the first international climate agreement, dubbed the Paris Agreement.

WWF Philippines said COP26 is quite significant because it is one of the COPs before 2030—the point where if the world does not halve the global emissions to keep the warming within 1.5 degrees Celsuis, the damage becomes irreversible.

“Urgency is key on mitigation efforts, climate finance, adaptation, and loss and damage. The Philippines is both a megadiverse country in terms of biodiversity and third in the world in the Climate Risk Index. Our voice uniquely counts in COP26,” WWF Philippines said.

WWF also urged the government to pursue the following measures as part of COP26: Synchronize all sectors on the goal: A commitment to mobilize and unite, from cities, government agencies, companies, academia, civil society, and investors, among others, to further step up action in

line with the Paris Agreement objectives to advance the climate agenda, including in greening of Covid-19 pandemic recovery finance.

Make national emission reduction targets to be all “unconditional”: Build on the momentum for enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions, the National Adaptation Plans, and Long-Term Strategies, responding to the findings of the latest UNFCCC NDCs Synthesis report. W hile we appreciate the commitments made by the Philippine government, we know that we can do much better knowing what we need, as only 2.71 percent of the 75 percent emission reduction target remains unconditional, while the remaining 72.29 percent is conditional.

1. Recognize and operationalize a consistent and robust integration of the value of nature in our social, economic, and political lives: These include but are not limited to legislation, policies, strategic plans, budgets, measures, and tools that include “nature” as an integral part of the framing of “cost and benefit” for our people and country.

W WF-Philippines said nothing has changed in the messaging since this was already articulated 50 years ago.

“The message did not go away because the realities that triggered it now loom over us as existential threats,” it said. “ COP26 is one of our final chances to Change the Ending for people and planet,” WWF-Philippines said.

Short animation “CITSALP” by De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde film student Jean A. Evangelista wins the Porto Cesareo Film Festival Marine Protected Area Award.

Short PHL animation on plastics wins in Italy, vies at Animahenasyon

A

short animation on the adverse effects of plastic to the environment that was written and directed by a De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde film student is competing at “Animahenasyon 15: The 2021 Philippine Animation Festival” from November 12 to 14.

This after the animated film, “CITSALP,” by Jean A. Evangelista won the Porto Cesareo Film Festival Marine Protected Area Award, or “the best audiovisual work dedicated to the sea” in Italy, a news release said.

“CITSALP” is about the negative effects of plastics in the world and the responsible consumption and production of plastics.

It is a collaboration among Evangelista and animators Ria Caluya, Shane Sitchon, Adrienne Jade, Aljean Respecia Uyan, Jlo Casa, and Ria Morales, editor Ayen Alvarez, sound designers John Patrick

Perez and Dan Verzosa, production manager Arkin Tracy Tendilla, assistant directors Verzosa and Lawrence Soriano, and musical scorer Hannah Felix.

Evangelista, who received a cash prize of €700 from Porto Cesareo, was “very thankful” to the organizers and to her team for the award, which she acknowledged to have been “the heart and soul of the film.”

“I never thought that this film would push through because I didn’t have any illustrators and animators before. In addition, I was highly depressed when this film was in production,” Evangelista disclosed.

Porto Cesareo Film Festival artistic director Anna Seviroli said the selection committee viewed and evaluated “about 3,000 works from all over the world, including shorts, mini shorts, documentaries from Italy, Mexico, India, Philippines,

tal Management.

“The thing is, they [marine turtles] were able to adapt to changes before. But with the rate of change in climate, how can marine turtles adapt now?” he asked.

The anthropogenic or environmental threats, due to climate change, Aca said, is aggravating the situation, further affecting the population of marine turtles.

Saving marine turtles

Lim said although climate change can affect marine turtle populations, addressing the direct manmade threats to them and to their habitats and feeding areas can also contribute to climate mitigation and as adaptation measures.

“So far the most obvious causes of mortalities are still pollution and marine plastics. These are the direct threats,” she said.

She pointed out that more studies would have to be undertaken on the migration patterns of marine turtles and, in the long term, to observe for changes to help address the problem.

For her part, Salinas said the DENR-BMB is already working with marine turtle hatchery managers in various parts of the country to manage the ratio of male and female marine turtles produced in controlled areas.

Trained managers of marine turtle hatcheries monitor the temperature of nests, both inside and outside, and put shades in some of the nests in the hatchery, she said.

Moreover, Salinas said the DENR-BMB has come up with guidelines on the declaration of marine turtle nesting grounds through BMB Technical Bulletin 2020-05 issued on November 20, 2020, by then-DENR-BMB Director Ricardo L. Calderon.

Declaring an area as a marine turtle nesting ground and establishing hatcheries in partnership with local government units, she said, is crucial to saving the marine turtles from extinction.

Spain, United Kingdom, Egypt, United States, Iran, and Spain.”

The first edition of the film festival was held as part of the Environmentalist Coordination pro Porto Cesareo’s “A-Mare I Giovani” project and co-financed by the Action and Cohesion Plan-Notice “Youth for the social ed. 2018” of the Department of Youth Policies-Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Municipality of Porto Cesareo.

Evangelista said the Porto Cesareo award “simply inspires me to do more films about the environment, to help save mother nature.”

“And I want to let other young filmmakers to be inspired to never stop dreaming. Even if there are hardships in life, you should never stop making films that touches people’s lives and hearts through filmmaking,” the student filmmaker added.

“CITSALP” was also selected to vie in different international animation and film festivals in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Greece, Indonesia, Poland, Romania and the US, besides from Italy and the Philippines.

Animahenasyon 15, organized by the Animation Council of the Philippines Inc., aims to cultivate and showcase Filipino talent in animation.

The festival is comprised of animated films in competition or Anikompetisyon and a three-day conference.

“CITSALP” and 19 other finalists of Anikompetisyon were shown online at the Animahenasyon Facebook page on November 12. The Top 5 winners each received a trophy, certificate and P20,000 in cash prize, while the finalists each received a certificate.

Sports

Hamilton sees steep challenge vs Verstappen in Brazil GP

BusinessMirror

S

ÃO PAULO—Lewis Hamilton is running out of time in his quest to win a fifth straight Formula One title, and the Brazilian Grand Prix offers the British driver little hope of catching leader Max Verstappen.

The seven-time champion from Mercedes trails his Red Bull rival by 19 points heading into Sunday’s race, the fourth-to-last event of the season.

“I would imagine it’s as steep as it can be,” Hamilton said Thursday about the challenge of catching the Dutchman at Interlagos.

Verstappen won in Brazil two years ago, while last year’s race was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Dutchman also won last weekend in Mexico and Red Bull is only one point behind Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.

“Their pace was phenomenal in the last race. They have had a strong car all year. They have had the strongest car actually, you can tell,” Hamilton said.

“Last time here [in Brazil] they were incredibly strong. We are anticipating again that they will be very hard to beat this weekend.”

The traditionally unpredictable weather at the Sao Paulo track could have an effect on the race, though local weather forecasts say the rain is not expected to last into the weekend. Both Hamilton and Verstappen are good in wet conditions, but results can be unpredictable.

Hamilton also said he has had difficulties with his car because of recent changes.

“This year we have had our wings clipped. It has definitely been harder from an operational sense to maximize the car,” Hamilton said. “We will just try to focus on getting the car in the right window, and that is not easy.

It is not an easy car to set up.

“It is really difficult to explain and to go into in terms of details, but it is just harder to optimize.”

The Brazilian GP will be the third event this season with a qualifying sprint race on Saturday.

T

unday, November 14, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

UNITED AGAINST FIFA’S PROPOSAL

MERCEDES driver Lewis Hamilton rides his scooter after coming in second in the qualifying run of the Mexico Grand Prix. AP

Friday’s training session will have the traditional qualifying format to set positions for the sprint race, which will determine Sunday’s grid.

The two previous sprint races were held in Silverstone and Monza.

The three days of action at Interlagos will bring 170,000 fans to the track. The state of Sao Paulo only removed restrictions on full capacity at sporting events at the beginning of November.

Brazil has reported more than 610,000 deaths from the coronavirus, but the rate has sharply reduced around the country. AP

New anti-doping, medication rules for horse racing unveiled HE nascent Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Thursday released a draft of proposed anti-doping and medication control rules designed to bring uniformity to a sport that has operated for years under patchwork regulations in 38 racing states.

Since July, HISA has been working with the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to develop rules that are now open to public comment, including from those in the racing industry.

On December 6, the proposed rules go to the Federal Trade Commission for further public comment and FTC approval. If approved by the FTC and HISA, the rules would take effect July 1.

The biggest changes involve applying the rules uniformly across every racing state and altering the way violations are dealt with.

“There would no longer be a myriad of different scenarios playing out that calls into question the whole system and its effectiveness,” USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in a video interview.

Under the rules, the antibleeding medication Lasix would be prohibited on race day in all 2-year-old and stakes races, as well as other races. Last week, all 14 races at the Breeders’ Cup world championships were run without Lasix for the first time.

Primary substances, including anabolic steroids and erythropoietin (EPO) that can increase red blood cells and boost aerobic capacity, would be prohibited at all times.

Such secondary substances as anti-inflammatories and supplements would be banned on race day. Up to 48 hours before a race, horses could be given only water, hay and oats. Beginning at midnight on race day, there could

A8 | S

be no detection of any prohibited substance.

Under the rules, a positive test, use or possession of a primary substance would be punishable by a suspension of up to two years or up to four years if there were aggravating circumstances or a second violation within 10 years.

A lifetime ban could be handed down for a third or more violation within 10 years.

A positive test, use or possession of a secondary substance could result in punishment of a suspension of up to 30 days and a fine. That could be extended up to two years if there were aggravating circumstances or a fourth or more violation of this type within five years.

FORMER Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger plays during a recent charity match at the Leo Lagrange Stadium in Poissy just outside Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron also plays in the match to raise money for the Hospitals’ Foundation. AP

L

ONDON—Premier League clubs united in their opposition to plans for biennial World Cups when they discussed the Fifa overhaul of the international calendar at a meeting before the weekend.

The 20 teams also all opposed a Fifa proposal to reduce the five windows for international men’s matches to just two in a year.

“The Premier League is committed to preventing any radical changes to the post2024 Fifa international match calendar that would adversely affect player welfare and threaten the competitiveness, calendar, structures and traditions of domestic football,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said in a statement after declining to be interviewed.

UEFA has already expressed “This is one of the key steps in firming up a successful future for horse racing in the US,” said Tessa Muir, director of USADA’s equine program.

Like human athletes, horses could be tested anywhere and at any time without advance notice until they

COMPETITORS leave the starting gate during the Breeders’ Cup Distaff race. AP

FSE, which is formally recognized by UEFA as “one of its key stakeholders,” has said the extra games were a power grab by wealthy clubs.

In their statement Thursday, the leagues and fans said UEFA and Fifa allowing international competitions to expand too much “will distort the competitive balance of leagues and the health of domestic football.”

The decision-making UEFA executive committee has two seats for club delegates—currently Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi and Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge—and just one for the leagues, who send Javier Tebas of Spain. Fans are not represented.

TWO Europe-wide fan groups that work with UEFA have teamed with national leagues aiming to lobby

more effectively against projects they believe threaten domestic soccer.

Their cooperation deal announced Thursday follows turmoil caused by the club-led Super League project and a fresh Fifa vs. Europe dispute over the global soccer body pushing to stage the World Cup every two years instead of four.

The fan representatives— Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and Supporter Direct Europe—and the 31-nation European Leagues group are arguing for “appropriate involvement” in decision-making and how soccer is run.

“Fans and leagues share common principles and we now want to put them into action in specific projects and activities,” SD Europe chief executive Antonia Hagemann said in a joint statement by the three organizations.

European Leagues managing director Jacco Swart said the move was a “natural step to converge and work together to protect domestic football.”

Though leagues and fans have helped UEFA in opposing the Super League and biennial World Cup proposal, they disagree with some Champions League changes set to take effect in 2024.

Those include UEFA giving two wild-card entries to clubs based on a 10-year record of results in European competitions.

“The parties acknowledge the importance of competitive domestic competitions in full capacity stadiums with home and away fans, with sporting merit as the primary driver for success,” the joint statement said.

Fans and leagues also want UEFA to abolish using a league table of clubs’ historical records to allocate 30 percent of Champions League prize money—worth €600 million ($688 million) this season. It guarantees top-ranked Real Madrid €36.4 million ($41.8 million) while No. 32-ranked Sheriff gets only €1.14 million ($1.3 million) from it. Sheriff beat Madrid 2-1 in September.

UEFA also agreed in April to add four clubs to the Champions League in 2024 and give them 10 guaranteed games instead of six, despite FSE opposition to the extra cost in money and time for fans.

permanently retire from racing.

Not informing HISA of a horse’s whereabouts could result in a sanction of up to one year. Still under development is technology that would track a horse’s whereabouts, especially when it is given an extended break from racing.

“It is an inconvenience and a burden on people, and we understand that,” Tygart said, adding that at the same time, “The burden isn’t anywhere close to what our human athletes have to go through.”

Evasion, tampering,

administration of a primary substance, trafficking, complicity and retaliation could draw a sanction of up to two years. Failure to cooperate and administration of a secondary substance would be punished by a suspension of up to 30 days and a fine.

Horses can be punished, too. Any race-day violations would result in their automatic disqualification.

Owners, trainers and veterinarians would be educated about the rules through a combination of online and inperson training. Trainers would be required to register with HISA. The HISA Act became law last January and established the authority to enforce the legislation.

Opponents have filed lawsuits in Kentucky and Texas seeking to prevent the act from being implemented.

“We’re not blind to the fact that there have been a few that never wanted the legislation to pass and fought it tooth and nail.

It’s been a waste of precious time and resources, unfortunately,” Tygart said.

“You would hope that we could eventually prove to them that this is the right thing. We’re not going to let those tied to the status quo or fearful of change stop this industry from progressing. The viability of the industry long-term is at stake.” AP

its concerns about the changes to world football being championed by Fifa President Gianni Infantino and Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager who is now chief of global football development at Fifa.

“We are open to reforms and new ideas, but they must enhance the complementary balance between domestic and international football in order to improve the game at all levels,” Masters said.

“This process should also involve meaningful agreements with the leagues that provide the foundations for the game. We will continue to work with supporter groups, players, domestic and international stakeholders to find solutions that are in the best interests of football’s long-term future.”

Infantino has said Fifa organizing a men’s or women’s World Cup every year—rather than retaining quadrennial cycles—is important to attract young fans, give more countries the chance to qualify and provide more competitive games more often.

The next World Cup, in Qatar, will significantly disrupt competitions like the Premier League since it is being played across November and December rather than in the usual June-July slot due to the Gulf nation’s fierce summer heat.

The Premier League confirmed Thursday that next season will begin slightly earlier on the weekend of August 6 and 7, 2022 and the final round before the World Cup will be November 12 and 13.

The tournament begins November 21 and the final is December 18, with the Premier League resuming on December 26 for the traditional Boxing Day fixtures and ending on May 28, 2023.

EURO LEAGUES, FANS LOBBY FOR DOMESTIC SOCCER

KENYA GOVERNMENT DISBANDS SOCCER FEDERATION

THE Kenyan soccer federation was disbanded by the government on Thursday just hours before the national team was due to play in a World Cup qualifier.

The move was announced by sports minister Amina Mohamed, who said a preliminary investigation into the soccer federation by her department had shown it was unable to properly account for money given to it by the government.

Mohamed said police and anticorruption authorities in Kenya should now carry out further investigations and decide if there should be criminal prosecutions.

The decision to remove all elected officials at the federation and replace them with a caretaker committee will not affect Kenya’s international matches, the sports ministry said.

But that may still happen if world body Fifa becomes involved.

Fifa does not allow governments to interfere in the running of national federations and Kenya risks being banned from international soccer.

Kenya was due to play Uganda in a World Cup qualifier later Thursday, although Kenya has already been eliminated and cannot qualify for next year’s tournament in Qatar.

Kenya also failed to qualify for the upcoming African Cup of Nations in Cameroon in January and February. AP

BusinessMirror

feeling helpless?

November 14, 2021

7 ways to get proactive about climate change

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BusinessMirror NOVEMBER 14, 2021 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

WHO IS ‘KUYA NOY’?

Israeli docu reveals the personal saga of Asin’s founding member

By Yugel Losorata

B

ARELY a month ago, super band Coldplay released their 12-song studio album “Music of the Spheres” containing a tune featuring Selena Gomez called “Let Somebody Go.” It won’t be surprising if the bulk of the more than 30 million streams that the song has already enjoyed are by Filipino listeners, with many of them informed of the fact the track melodically referenced the 1979 hit “Himig Ng Pag-ibig” by ace folk-rock band Asin.

MIKE ‘Noy’ Pillora, Jr. (Photo from his Facebook page)

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: T. Anthony C. Cabangon

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: Aldwin M. Tolosa

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

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: 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

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Oh yes, it’s the same Pinoy group behind the “Balita” chorus heard in Black Eyed Peas’ “Apl Song” — a cut from a 2003-album called “Elephunk” and which formally introduced Apl de Ap or Allan Pineda to mainstream music fans.

Having mentioned these two international gems with sprinkles of Asin, it’s difficult to ignore the universal power of the group’s music even if current generation Filipinos won’t even bother to mention the names of its members in the same reverence as when they’re ask of who comprised the classic lineups of the Juan Dela Cruz Band or Eraserheads.

It’s a pretty stroke of serendipity that around the same time Chris Martin and Selena Gomez let their voices be heard caressing the melody lines many Filipinos are familiar with, a documentary about one of Asin’s members is released in time for the 16th Israeli Film Festival. For those who are wondering why that festival, let’s first mention the name of the person in question.

It’s Mike Pillora, Jr., more known to fans by his sobriquet Nonoy or Noy. He is certainly not the household name Lolita Carbon, or the other guy, Cesar “Saro” Banares, who was fatally shot in a karaoke bar. Perhaps the documentary called “Kuya Noy,” directed by Daniel Binstead, will change Noy’s status from being an unsung hero of the local music scene to someone deserving of more mention in music circles.

“There are three things you can’t hide — the sun, the moon, and the

truth,” Noy pointed in a show spiel, “And the truth is, all of us are just a dot.”

That’s the depth of Noy’s line of thinking which is a clear reflection of Asin’s good taste for meaningful messaging in their lyrics and musical atmosphere. So much so that when they were singing about the conflicts in southern Philippines, people in the NCR were taking their songs as protest hymns against urban perils and tyranny. Well, young, outspoken history revisionists may have to be reminded that while they think the Martial Law years were a golden age of some sort, many people who were actually around then had to hold on to the music of a trio of folk singers for wisdom and emotional strength. Later the band took in a fourth member: Fred “Pendong” Aban, Jr. While it must be a sad note to point that Noy had become one of OPM’s forgotten men in part because of his non-visibility in the local music scene, it’s a more poignant realization that the documentary revealed what truly became of him after his group’s salad days. Debatably, the image that would have to be presented, which is not the filmmaker’s fault, is one of poignancy: “It follows Pillora’s life in the slums of Tel-Aviv where he has a daughter who is about to begin her military service.”

Should this be among the rare instances when we hear of a Filipino celebrity moving out of the Philippines and ending up in slums, being shown giving massage to a Caucasian client?

That he is a founding member

ASIN'S debut album in 1978 (Pillora in far right) of the legendary Asin, the other being Saro, makes his story all the more piercing to the heart.

But take it from Noy himself who noted that “everything that happens is meant to be.”

Somehow a good turnaround always awaits a man who did so much for Filipino folk artists to earn respect.

“Noy was very interesting,” said Binstead in their initial meeting, “The first thing that caught my eye was his persona.”

A couple of journalism students found Noy in a bar and they informed Binstead of his existence.

The Israeli embassy in the Philippines knew of the significance of the “Kuya Noy” documentary that it set up a virtual press conference for Filipino journalists and the OPM pioneer.

While Noy lamented over Asin’s routine of breaking up and getting back, and working like a business entity which in his words is “very much against what we are saying in our songs,” he did express his great feeling for the experience. He said, “I’m proud to be part of Asin.

If Saro wasn’t murdered, the group would have been together.

Someone has to take the initiative to reunite us surviving members.”

Somebody just might. Pillora’s compelling saga as brought about by the recent screening of “Kuya Noy” should also lead to renewed interest not only in Asin’s music but also to the prospect of that long-awaited reunion.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | NOVEMBER 14, 2021

BUSINESS

3

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

IN THE NEWS New artists, latest releases

SB19 “Bazinga”

the importance of social media literacy. He wants the listeners to be vigilant in the online world and avoid sharing misleading news that could cause unwarranted trouble on the public. The track is made more remarkable by the fact that Paul Pablo himself is behind its lyrics, concept and vocals working with Xerxes Bakker and Jhay Ehidio of The Sound House.

F

ILIPINO pop supergroup SB19 has officially dropped the music video for “Bazinga,” the third single off their critically acclaimed EP, Pagsibol. Set in an underground combat zone, the music video shows the multiawarded quintet defeating their enemies in an arcade combat game. In true SB19 fashion, it also doubles as an up-in-arms statement against the unwarranted criticisms hurled at the P-Pop group since the beginning of their music journey.

The song itself is written as a response to the hostility that is rapidly proliferating on the Internet, and a wakeup call for the band to focus their energy instead on meaningful expressions of art and music. In a statement, the chart-topping boyband shared, “One way to lighten the load is by writing a song that proves that we won’t back down to the negative comments and we’ll persevere,”

DIONELA’ “Sugal”

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ISING star Dionela rides the soul train with his new single “Sugal,” a soothing R&B track that equates loving someone to risking with your heart in a gamble. He said, “The song is about being courageous in falling in love again after so many heartbreaks from your past toxic relationships.” It’s a risky proposition where there’s no assurance of the final outcome even if it’s all part of growing up.

With his velvety vocals floating freely into the background, Dionela delivers a captivating performance that fleshes out both his persona and aesthetic. Over slick, bedroom beats and somber instrumentation, he sings as if coming from a place of innocence and earnestness— never holding back, but ready to accept whatever consequences that might come his way.

PAUL PABLO “Gulo”

I

N a 21st century world where fake news and online gossip can easily spread, singer Paul Pablo “Gulo” stresses

SYD HARTHA “Kung Nag-aatubili”

I

N this stripped-down single, Filipino singer-songwriter Syd Hartha returns to her roots.

According to the 19-year-old artist, “Kung Nag-aatubili” reflects her complicated attitude towards romantic relationships and intimacy.

Marked by warm, laid-back guitar arrangements and soothing vocals, “Kung Nag-aatubili” starts restrained but assured of its exquisiteness, and builds into a musical wanderlust towards the end.

“I wrote this song a long time ago when I realized that I was starting to like someone, and I was already starting to let that person in my world, little by little,” Syd says..

“Looking at it in the present, I figured that these feelings are a by-product of inner wounds, and my inability to move forward. This also serves as an important lesson to me, that when I decide to commit to love someone, I should love them for who they are now, and accept them for what they’ve been through.”

NOBITA “Di Na Mag-iisa”

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HE five-piece hitmakers have indeed come a long way from their humble beginnings as semifinalists of the prestigious battle of the bands, Muziklaban. Their new single “Di Na Mag-iisa.”

Blends sparse, soulful instrumentation with words of romantic earnestness. The track stays loyal to the classic formula that made earlier releases “Ikaw Lang” and “Unang Sayaw” remarkable hits, while embracing the sensibilities of a kundiman—a genre of traditional Filipino love songs that express intense longing and devotion.

According to vocalist Jaeson Felismino, “Di Na Mag-iisa” was inspired by the wedding vows that

he has witnessed through the years. “The song is about the kind of affection that you’ve never known, a connection that is stronger than anything else in this world. That said, it sums up that very rare fondness of being one with that kindred soul, and finally confirming to the rest of the world that you are not alone anymore.”

PARASOULS Drifters, Dream Makers EP

P

OWER pop trio Parasouls transport listeners back in time with the release of their debut EP, Drifters, Dream Makers under Lilystars Records. The EP contains six meticulously crafted songs that showcase the band’s deft melodic touch and tight songwriting.

The Filipino indie band’s latest recording documents the easygoing days of being young and carefree, while waxing nostalgic of the people, places, and events that shaped their consciousness through the years.

Written and produced by the band themselves, Drifters, Dream Makers articulates the selfconscious journey of youthful love and awakening.

In a statement, guitarist and vocalist Dani Dimaano articulated, “We wanted to make something that is filled with energy that will hopefully let you escape the real world, and experience euphoria at least the time being,” “If I were to describe it, it sounds like a dream. We all worked on this together, with the help of our friend Migzz Rival of Four Corners Musicians Lair.”

Most of the featured tracks above are out now on all digital music platforms worldwide.

feeling helpless?

7 ways to get proactive about climate change searching for new leads—and continually seeking the best pathways forward.

By Thomas S. Bateman University of Virginia

H

5

umans do not capitalize nearly enough on our most significant evolutionary advantage: a unique ability to take forward-looking actions that influence the future for the better.

Exhibit A: Climate change is here, and things are changing quickly for the worse.

However, even as dangerous and costly weather events grow more frequent and severe, we still don’t do what we need to do.

Ideally, everyone would ratchet up their efforts to protect the climate as smartly as possible. But how can each person help in the most valuable ways? As a professor of organizational behavior, I study leadership and proactive problem solving. Research in these fields offers some helpful advice.

People avoid doing much about climate change for many reasons: 1) They worry about time and cost; 2) they believe it’s difficult to change; 3) they have faulty assumptions, like feeling unable to help or that other people or new technologies will save the planet; 4) they have psychological biases, like caring more about the present than the future; and 5) they’re uncertain about the best ways to participate.

Laying a foundation for higher-impact action begins with changing common mindsets. Most essential, and a tough task, is to behave far more proactively than most people have up until now.

Based on psychological and organizational behavior research, here are some starting points:

1

View yourself as someone who cares about the planet and the future.

Your self-identity is how you view and describe yourself, and this generates corresponding behaviors. How you self-identify can help you think about your future, choose your preferred actions and provide a motivating standard or model to strive for. Take “caring” a step further by viewing yourself as a proactive person who thinks ahead and helps to make the future better than it would be without your contributions.

2

Assess—honestly—your efforts to reduce the harmful effects of climate change.

In the same way people tend to overestimate their driving, athletic and leadership skills, they also tend to believe they are more environmentally friendly than most other people.

This misleading bias can breed complacency and hinder action.

If people assess themselves accurately compared to what they could and should be

doing, most will see great untapped potential to make a difference. Consider applying time management strategies found in business management that can free you from countless unpleasant and unproductive tasks and allow you to devote attention and time to impactful activities that take most advantage of your skills.

3

Assume responsibility for engaging more usefully in solving the problems of climate change.

Feeling responsible motivates action. A key question is how you define responsibility. Remember this from George Bernard Shaw: “We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.”

What the future holds really is up to us.

4

Resolve to actively navigate the changing future.

Today’s leading psychologists strongly advise more mental prospecting– actively envisioning likely and possible futures, exploring for opportunities like old-time gold prospectors and salespeople

Learn more about humanity’s biggest challenges.

Climate change affects everything, so it shouldn’t be hard to find an arena that’s personally interesting. Learn enough from accurate sources to discuss with others, consider how your skill sets can help and figure out where you can contribute best.

Here are a few places to start: Project Drawdown offers big-picture solutions for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. NOAA provides advice for what individuals can do and where to learn more. The BBC had a good list of 10 simple ways to take action on climate change a few years ago. Climate scientist Michael Mann’s new book discusses what individuals can do politically and collectively for the highest impact.

6

Help solve problems and seek constructive opportunities.

A common refrain in MBA and executive development programs is to turn problems into opportunities, and climate change offers many opportunities, from cleaner energy sources to better construction techniques and food production.

7

Address the root causes and embrace “multisolving.”

In solving business problems, it’s important to not simply treat the most visible symptoms but to identify and address root causes. “Multisolving” identifies solutions that address a root cause of multiple problems.

The best climate solutions will reduce harm and spread all kinds of benefits. Stabilizing the climate will require help from every direction. It isn’t just an “all hands on deck” moment—the planet needs all heads and hands being proactive. The Conversation

COP26: Poets, climate resistance light up Glasgow with call for urgent action

W

ith high visibility in Glasgow, Scotland, light projections and street hubs today feature verse and pleas by poets and activists from Indonesia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Tanzania, and the Philippines.

“We take great pride in helping foment a global poetry rebellion instigated by poets and leaders from climate vulnerable countries, working with leaders of the Climate Vulnerable Forum in collaboration with artist Jenny Holzer, whose work to illuminate UK landmarks continues to draw attention to the climate crisis,” said Padmapani Perez, lead strategist of the Agam Agenda, which is

behind the global When Is Now campaign.

Holzer’s public art, HURT EARTH, is on public display to coincide with COP26. The artwork is a collection of haunting, inspiring, and expert testimony in collaboration with the Agam Agenda, Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), and many more.

Alongside testimonies from Sir David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg, Mohamed Nasheed, and 40 other climate leaders and activists, contributors of the Agam Agenda whose writings are featured in the light projections are: Gawani Domogo Gaongen, Philippines (translated from the original

4 BusinessMirror

Kankanaey into English by the author); Islam Juma Kapera, Tanzania (translated from the original Swahili by Kelly Askew in consultation with Abdilatif Abdalla); Shirley Campbell Barr, Costa Rica (translated from the original Spanish into English by Alexandra Walter); Darmawati Majid, Indonesia (translated from the original Bahasa Indonesia into English by the author and Nabiha Shahab). Also part of the Agam Agenda are Yuvan Aves, India; Margarito Cuéllar, Mexico (translated from the original Spanish into English by Alexandra Walter); Marjorie Evasco, Philippines and Luisa Igloria, USA and Philippines.

November 14, 2021

Launched at the Tate Modern in London, a public arts museum that has been a decommissioned coal firing station for several decades, Holzer’s light projections bathed the building’s iconic chimney to address the climate crisis. The artwork travels to Scotland to light Edinburgh Castle, the SEC Armadillo in the official Blue Zone of COP26 in Glasgow, followed by the Met Tower in Glasgow, succeeded by a series of pop-up locations in Edinburgh. It is co-curated and produced by Artwise Curators and Shore Art Advisory, in collaboration with Art For Your World, a movement by WWF to engage the art world in the fight against climate change.