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Sunday, November 19, 2023 Vol. 19 No. 39

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From foes to friends

Once bitter enemies in World War II, PHL, Japan see relations reach new heights amid shifting geopolitical realities

JAPAN Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Shohei Ishii (center left) and Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan shake hands in front of the BRP Teresa Magbanua at the Philippine Coast Guard headquarters on November 4, 2023, in Manila. EZRA ACAYAN/POOL PHOTO VIA AP

W

By Rex Anthony Naval

time surveillance capabilities of the Philippine Navy.

The first two TC-90s were donated by the Japan Maritime SelfDefense Force on March 27, 2017, while the remaining three were handed over on March 26, 2018.

These aircraft have a range of more than 1,000 nautical miles, and a cruising speed of 226 knots and are capable of carrying eight passengers along with the pilot.

HILE bitter and bloody battles were fought between Philippine and Japanese troops in the Second World War, animosity between the two countries has long been replaced by friendship. Japan has proven to be one of the Philippines’ most committed allies as Manila modernizes its security forces to keep its vast maritime territories free from encroachment.

‘Reciprocal access agreement’

JAPAN’S Prime Minister Fumio Kishida boards the BRP Teresa Magbanua at the Philippine Coast Guard headquarters on November 4, 2023 in Manila.

EZRA ACAYAN/POOL PHOTO VIA AP

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Malacañang in Manila on November 3, 2023. AP/AARON FAVILA, POOL

This commitment was underscored by the signing of four documents during the official visit to Manila by Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on November 3 to 4.

One of these documents involved a ¥600-million grant from the Official Security Assistance (OSA), providing funding to the Philippine Navy (PN) to acquire a coastal radar system and enhance its “maritime domain awareness” (MDA) capability.

The signing was done in Malaca-

ñang and witnessed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Kishida.

Improved MDA capabilities are needed to ensure that Philippine sea lanes, which serve Japan, are adequately monitored by the country’s military for safety and security reasons.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said this Japanese grant would do much to beef up the PN’s capabilities

in protecting its vast waters.

“The coastal radar systems, funded through the OSA program, are a vital addition to the AFP’s maritime defense capabilities and will bolster our ability to monitor and protect our extensive coastline, ensuring the safety and security of our seas,” Brawner pointed out in a November 3 statement.

And through this support, the AFP chief said Japan showed its commitment towards regional peace and stability.

“We remain resolute in our determination to protect our maritime interests, and with the assistance of our allies, we continue to strive for peace and security in our region,” Brawner said.

Japan and Asia-Pacific allies

MEANWHILE, the coastal radar grants show Japan is committed to

beefing up the defensive capabilities of its allies in the Asia-Pacific Region, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said on November 4.

“Moreover, the commitment of Japan to provide coastal surveillance radars and support through the Official Security Assistance program is a testament to their dedication to strengthening the security and deterrence capabilities of partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region,” Año noted.

The Philippines, he added, is very honored to be the first beneficiary of Japan’s OSA program which is aligned with ongoing efforts to improve the Philippines’ MDA capability, maintain regional stability, and protect the rules-based international order.

Año also noted that the ongoing trilateral cooperation between Japan, the Philippines and the United

States is pivotal in safeguarding the freedom of the seas in the West Philippine Sea and promoting international law.

“Japan’s support in the form of equipment, technology cooperation and patrol vessels will further enhance our maritime law enforcement capabilities,” he noted.

Generous equipment donor

THE OSA grant for the coastal radar is not the first time Japan helped the PN in terms of improving its capabilities as its government has previously donated five Beechcraft King Air TC-90 patrol aircraft to the country from 2017 to 2018.

The TC-90 was offered by Japan shortly after the Agreement Concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology was finalized on February 29, 2016.

It was done to beef up the mari-

THE Philippines and Japan on November 3 announced that they have agreed to start negotiations for the so-called reciprocal access agreement (RAA).

The RAA is meant to merely facilitate and remove “lengthy procedures” should AFP personnel visit Japan or the Japan Self-Defense Forces visit the Philippines for possible training and exercises or humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

As a follow-through to their announcement of an RAA, Philippine and Japanese foreign ministers met at the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday and agreed to fast-track the negotiations for an accord similar to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) both have with the Americans.

Año, in an earlier separate statement, said the RAA will boost Philippine and Japan military cooperation and contribute to regional security.

He added this will facilitate the procedures and set guidelines when Philippine forces visit Japan for training and joint exercises, and vice versa.

“We look forward to the negotiations and implementation of these agreements and initiatives, which will undoubtedly strengthen our partnership and contribute to a more secure and stable Indo-Pacific,” Año pointed out.

As this developed, Philippine and Japanese foreign ministers have Continued on A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.8640 n JAPAN 0.3707 n UK 69.3272 n HK 7.1610 n CHINA 7.7128 n SINGAPORE 41.4698 n AUSTRALIA 36.1440 n EU 60.6348 n KOREA 0.0432 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.9066 Source: BSP (November 17, 2023)

NewsSunday A2 Sunday, November 19, 2023

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FROM FOES TO FRIENDS Continued from A1

agreed to fast track the RAA which is described as a Visiting Forces Agreement-like accord which both nations have with the US. Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko agreed to “steadily promote bilateral cooperation” on security issues, including the “commencement of negotiation of the Reciprocal Access Agreement,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The bilateral meeting came two weeks after Kishida’s official visit to Manila where he and Marcos agreed to start negotiations for the RAA. The RAA provides the legal basis for the countries to send soldiers to each other’s territory for drills and other operations.

Manalo said they want the negotiations for RAA to commence “as soon as possible.”

The Philippines and Japan both hosted US military bases and have similar status of VFA with the US. Under the 1999 VFA between the Philippines and the US and the status of forces agreement between Japan and the US, the US government has jurisdiction over US soldiers deployed in the host country, including investigation and prosecution of crimes committed while “in the performance” of their duty.

The host government will only take over the criminal jurisdiction over American soldiers when the offense committed was done outside their official duties.

JAPAN’S Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center, arrives at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on Saturday, November 4, 2023. The leaders of Japan and the Philippines agreed to start negotiations for a key defense pact that would allow their troops to enter each other’s territory for joint military exercises. AP/AARON FAVILA, POOL

JAPAN Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Shohei Ishii, center right, shakes hands with Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, prior to a meeting at the Philippine Coast Guard headquarters Saturday, November 4, 2023 in Manila. EZRA ACAYAN/POOL PHOTO VIA AP

Meanwhile, the RAA between Japan and Australia allows the receiving state to have criminal jurisdiction over the visiting forces for offenses committed within the receiving state and “punishable by the law of the receiving state.”

5 more ships for PCG

AS this developed, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on November 5 announced that five more ships would be funded by the Japanese government for use by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

During his address at the joint special session of the Senate and House of Representatives on November 3, Kishida said 12 ships were already provided to the Philippines.

“The last pillar of the New [free and open Indo-Pacific] FOIP Plan is extending efforts for security and safe use of the sea to the air. Japan has hitherto provided 12 ships to the Coast Guard to play a part in improving the Philippines’ maritime security capability,” he added.

PCG maritime assets under Japan’s financing include 10 44-meter multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) and two 97-meter MRRVs. On top of the 12 ships already delivered, five additional units of

97-meter MRRVs are intended to be financed by Japan, bringing the total to 17 ships.

PCG commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said the agency was able to do a lot of maritime activities, thanks to the help of its Japanese counterpart.

He made this comment after the courtesy call of his counterpart, Japan Coast Guard (JCG) chief Admiral Shohei Ishii, at the PCG headquarters in Port Area, Manila, on November 4.

“Many of our accomplishments were possible because of the government of Japan’s strong support and generosity to the Philippines,” Gavan said.

During their meeting, Gavan and Ishii discussed the current regional maritime security situation and reaffirmed the PCG-JCG partnership in capability development and personnel exchange.

“Japan has provided us with numerous human resource development programs to include the Maritime Safety and Security Policy Program which honed our senior officers... and the acquisition of our capital assets which have truly been instrumental in our successful maritime activities,” the PCG chief added.

Gavan also said that the visit of the JCG chief reinforces the enduring ties that bind the two organizations and their countries.

“Rest assured that the PCG, your brother in service, will always be with you in promotion of common interests, overcoming our challenges, and in passing on the peaceful and beautiful seas to the next generation,” the PCG chief emphasized.

After the meeting, Gavan gave Ishii and the JCG delegation a tour onboard BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701).

BRP Teresa Magbanua is one of the PCG’s biggest vessels to date, designed after JCG’s Kunigami-class vessels.

Since its commissioning into the Coast Guard service in May 2022, the BRP Teresa Magbanua has been active in conducting maritime security and maritime safety operations in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones.

It also safeguards Filipino fishermen and upholds the country’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. Moreover, the 97-meter MRRV performs search and rescue missions, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster response efforts.

TheWorld

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

Sunday, November 19, 2023

A3

Their families wiped out, grieving Palestinians in Gaza Strip ask why

By Samya Kullab & Najib Jobain

The Associated Press

K

H AN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip— T he night a blast str uck his fa m i ly ’s home i n t he Ga z a St r ip, A h med a l-Naouq wa s more t ha n 2,0 0 0 m i les away but he st i l l jolted awa ke, consu med w it h i ne x pl ic able pa n ic.

He reached for his cellphone to find that a friend had written—and then deleted—a message. Al-Naouq called him from London. The words that spilled from the other end of the line landed like world-shattering blows: Airstrike. Everyone killed.

Four nights later, Ammar al-Butta was startled from sleep in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis when the wall of his bedroom collapsed over him. A missile had pierced his top-floor apartment and exploded one floor below.

He lurched over the rubble, shining the light of his cellphone into the wreckage, calling out to his 16 relatives.

“Anyone there?” he cried. There was only silence.

Entire generations of Palestinian families in the besieged Gaza Strip— from great-grandparents to infants only weeks old—have been killed in airstrikes in the Israel-Hamas war, in which the Israeli army says it aims to root out the militant group from the densely populated coastal territory.

Attacks are occurring at a scale never seen in years of Israel-Hamas conflict, hitting residential areas, schools, hospita ls, mosques and churches, even striking areas in southern Gaza where Israeli forces ordered civilians to flee.

Israel says the goal of the war is to destroy Hamas following the militant group’s deadly October 7 rampage in southern Israel that killed at least 1,200 people, and it maintains that the attacks target militant operatives and infrastructure.

It blames the high death toll—more than 11,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry—on Hamas, saying the group endangers civilians by operating among the population and in tunnels underneath civilian areas. Israel says the death toll includes Hamas fighters.

But the scope of the destruction and loss of life in Gaza, with entire families wiped out in a single strike, has raised troubling questions about Israeli military tactics.

Generations lost IT would take many hours of horror and mayhem before the truth would settle like the ash from the October 20 explosion that leveled al-Naouq’s family’s home: 21 relatives killed.

They included his 75-year old father, two brothers, three sisters and their 13 children.

“I can’t believe this actually happened,” al-Naouq, a graduate student in London, told The Associated Press.

“Because if I calculate what it means, I will be destroyed.”

His father, Nasri, had recently told him that his sister Aya’s home was destroyed in northern Gaza and she was staying with them in the central city of Deir al-Balah, south of the area Israel had ordered Palestinians to leave.

A home can be rebuilt, al-Naouq recalled replying, all that matters is that she and the children are alive.

But just hours later, they were all dead: Wala’a, the most accomplished of the al-Naouq children with a degree in engineering, and her four children; Alaa and her five children; Aya, known for her wry sense of humor, and her three children; older brother Muhammed; and younger brother Mahmoud, who was preparing to travel to Australia for graduate studies when the war broke out.

Nine of the 21 are still under the rubble; dire fuel shortages prevented civil defense crews from digging them out.

THIS April 21, 2023 photo provided by Ahmed al-Naouq shows his niece Tala al-Naouq, brother Mohammed al-Naouq, Alaa al-Naouq, his father Nasri al-Naouq, Mahmoud al-Naouq and Dima al-Naouq in Deir Al Balah, Gaza. Entire generations of Palestinian families in the besieged Gaza Strip have been killed in airstrikes in the ongoing Hamas-Israel war. The unprecedented violence has raised troubling questions about Israeli tactics. Ahmed al-Naouq says none of his 21 family members, including 13 children, killed in an Israeli strike on his family’s home belonged to Hamas. COURTESY OF AHMED AL-NAOUQ VIA AP Identifying the dead was another traumatizing endeavor; many bodies were unrecognizable, most were in pieces.

Al-Naouq’s sister, Doaa, who was not in the house at the time of the strike, told him she couldn’t bear the smell of the rotting flesh of their loved ones under the rubble. Someone showed her body parts retrieved from the site and told her it was one of their sisters.

There were two survivors: Shimaa, al-Naouq’s sister-in-law, and Omar, his 3-year-old nephew. His 11-year old niece, Malaka, was taken to al-Aqsa hospital with severe burns but died after doctors gave her ICU bed to another patient with a better chance of survival, his sister Doaa said.

Doctors have to make extraordinarily difficult triage decisions, and severely wounded patients are being left to die because of shortages of beds, medical supplies and fuel, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, in Nasser Hospital, Gaza’s second-largest.

“We leave most as we don’t have ventilators or beds,” he said of patients in need of intensive care with complicated blast wounds. “We’ve reached full collapse.”

Competing claims ISRAEL doesn’t say how it chooses targets in densely populated Gaza.

But Israeli officials say many strikes

The odyssey of asylum-seekers and the failure of EU regulations

By Paolo Santalucia The Associated Press

S

ALERNO, Italy—Less than 24 hours after setting foot on the pier of a southern Italian port, 60 people who’d survived a perilous boat journey from Libya were served with expulsion orders.

Some came from Bangladesh, others from Syria and Egypt. They’d been at sea for 10 hours in two dangerously overcrowded boats, carrying 258 people in all, when they were picked up by a rescue ship operated by the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the Libyan coast, on October 6.

Once on dry ground in Salerno, just south of Naples, they were taken to a migrant processing center and asked to sign papers.

Now they gathered in front of the train station, tired and bewildered.

“Did you know what you were signing?” asked a volunteer from the Catholic charity Caritas. “No, no,” they replied in unison.

“Did somebody ask you if you want to apply for international protection?” the volunteer asked. Again they replied, “No.”

Lack of information

THE situation is common for newly arrived migrants and asylum-seekers on European shores. Badly advised by relatives and friends, misled by insufficient official information or poor translation services, many make hasty and often irreversible decisions. They can end up in legal limbo for years, cut off from any government aid.

So far this year, more than 236,000 people have entered European Union borders irregularly, according to International Organization for Migration figures, up 60 percent from the same time last year. The vast majority arrived in Italy by boat.

Despite decades of efforts to reform it, Europe’s asylum system remains messy and ineffective. Attitudes toward migrants and refugees are hardening throughout the continent, in a difficult balance between protecting borders and respecting human rights.

“He did not apply for asylum,” officials wrote in Italian, English and Arabic on Mohammed’s crumpled expulsion sheet.

The 23-year-old Syrian man, who asked for his full identity not to be revealed, clutched the paper as he sat on a bench in a shelter run by volunteers, in Salerno, his eyes red with lack of sleep.

Northern Europe as last destination

PEOPLE arriving from Syria are almost always given asylum, but Mohammed decided not to apply.

Italy doesn’t want him; he doesn’t want to be in Italy. He has siblings in Germany, so that’s where he plans to go.

“I want to stay in Germany,” said Mohammed. “If I was to apply for asylum in Italy, they would send me back here if I am caught in Germany.”

The Italian authorities gave the rescue ship he was on permission to dock in Salerno, three days’ sailing away from the open waters of the Mediterranean. Italy has failed to stop the rescue ships from picking up migrants but it forces them to use up fuel and sailing days to reach distant ports.

Those who disembarked in Salerno on October 9 included migrants from Syria, Egypt, Bangladesh, South Sudan, Ghana and Ivory Coast. They were taken to a processing center where they were photographed and fingerprinted.

No translators at border controls

NEITHER Bengali nor Arabic translators were present when they were questioned by border officials, The Associated Press confirmed in official documents and with local authorities.

Migrants often lack information about their rights, in part due to the absence of interpreters during the identification process.

According to a study by the International Rescue Committee, an NGO, only 17 percent of the migrants arriving in Italy receive adequate information about their rights.

When they heard the newly arrived

migrants were to be expelled, lawyers and volunteers working for Caritas rushed to Salerno train station in the early hours of the morning to provide food, water and basic legal advice.

“We informed them about their right to appeal the expulsion order,” explained Antonio Bonifacio, one of the volunteers at Caritas, “but only Bangladeshi (migrants) and some Egyptians filed the appeal with our lawyers, while all the Syrians left by train as soon as possible to try to reach their destinations in Northern Europe, as they were afraid of being tracked down and getting stuck in Italy.”

Among the Syrians planning to head north was a 33-year-old woman from Damascus.

This was her third attempt to reach Europe by sea after her brother, a student who opposed the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in prison.

The AP had no means of verifying her account, which included a second attempt at sea involving a wooden boat with around 350 passengers that began to sink shortly after departing from Tobruk, in northeastern Libya.

She said she swam to the beach. After a brief moment of safety, “I was kept in a Libyan detention center for a week without access to a shower, with my clothing drenched in salt and vomit,” she said.

“Now I just want to reach my brother in Germany.”

Failure of the European asylum and migration system

UNDER European rules, known as the Dublin Regulation, migrants are supposed to apply for asylum in the first EU member state they enter. If they travel to another EU country and get picked up by the authorities, they’re supposed to be sent back to their country of arrival or first registration.

This places a huge burden on the countries that have received the most arrivals by sea, such as Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain.

Continued on A4

on homes are based on intelligence assessments that wanted Hamas operatives are inside. Though it gives few details, Israel says every airstrike is reviewed by legal experts to ensure they comply with international law.

Many Gaza families deny any Hamas targets were operating from their homes.

The Health Ministry in Hamasrun Gaza does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says a majority of Palestinians killed have been minors and women, about 4,500 and 2,200 respectively. At least 304 families have lost at least 10 relatives; about 31 families have lost over 30, according to a November 6 health ministry report. That number is likely higher now as intense Israeli bombardment has continued.

Among the families with the highest number of casualties, many have been children.

The al-Astal family lost 89 relatives,

18 of them children under the age of 10, including three babies not yet a year old, according to an October 26 ministry report. The Hassouna family had 74 killed, including 22 children ranging in age from 1 to 10 years old, it said. The Najjars lost 65 relatives: Nine were under 10 years old and 13 were under 4.

Ammar al-Butta says his relatives were all civilians with no links to Hamas.

The Saqallah family, his cousins known for their sweet shops in Gaza City, had taken shelter with al-Butta’s family in their four-story house in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, heeding Israeli evacuation orders.

The family arrived with trays of confections for their hosts. Joking with his cousins in the family’s living room was a rare moment of respite in the fog of war and displacement, the 29-year-old teacher said.

One cousin, Ahmed Saqallah, 42, spoke of rebuilding his family’s bombdamaged home and looked forward to fixing the plumbing and painting.

“Simple, sweet dreams,” al-Butta said.

Ten days later all 16 Saqallahs, from 69-year old Nadia to baby Asaad, not yet a year old, were killed in the October 24 pre-dawn attack.

Unanswered questions A QUESTION left by al-Naouq in his family’s WhatsApp group the night the blast leveled their home—“Tell me, how are you guys?”—remains unanswered.

The distance has made the devastating news all the more surreal. Observing London’s peaceful nights, where sounds of mirth resonate from restaurants and bars, al-Naouq imagines the airstrikes lighting Gaza’s skies, the screams of panicked residents. His family, lying lifeless under the rubble.

He has no idea where his relatives’ bodies are buried. There was no space in the hospital morgue to keep them.

They could be in a mass grave, but alNaouq has no way of knowing.

Al-Butta said the Saqallah family was buried in his family grave in Khan Younis. The entire neighborhood mourned when they were interred.

“Our eyes are dry,” he said. “There are no tears left.”

In the chaos of the war, taking account of the dead is a rushed, heartrending process.

It begins w ith relatives scribbling the names of the dead and missing. T hey dig into the rubble w ith their hands, calling out for su r v ivors. Hospit a ls l ater issue death certificates.

Grieving relatives, who maintain no one in their households had links to Hamas, ask: Why them?

“Why would they kill children and an old man?” asked al-Naouq. “What is the military justification for bombing my house? They were all civilians.”

“I wish, one day, I can meet the one who pulled the trigger. I want to ask him: Why did you do it?”

Kullab reported from Baghdad.

Sunday, November 19, 2023

A4

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Sen. Manchin says Donald Trump would destroy US democracy if he wins 2nd term as president

By Leah Willingham The Associated Press

C

HARLESTON, W.Va.—West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, d ays removed f rom a nnouncing he won’t seek reelection, said Wednesday that if the nation’s voters give former President Donald Trump another term in the White House, “he will destroy democracy in America.”

Manchin, whose home state voters over whelmingly bac ked Trump in the last two presidential elections, made the comment on a press call with West Virginia-based reporters amid speculation that Manchin himself might be weighing a third-party run for president.

The moderate West Virginia Democrat said Wednesday that he would never want to be a “spoiler” who contributed to getting any other candidate elected. But he said he would do what he had to in order to save the country.

“If they said, ‘You’re the only person to do it,’ I’ll do whatever I can to save this nation,” he said.

Manchin had harsh words for how the two-party system is currently functioning.

“These parties have taken over to

where they weaponized us against each other,” he said. “And that’s wrong.”

B ut M a n c h i n r e s e r v e d h i s harshest comments for Trump, who won every one of West Virginia’s 55 counties in both 2016 and 2020, making it one of the former president’s most loyal states. Manchin said it would be “dangerous” to give Trump another term.

“You can’t have this visceral hatred spewing out of every time you give a speech, denigrating Americans,” he said. “And the only good American is the one that likes you and supports you; the only fair election is the one you win; the only laws pertain to everybody but you.”

Manchin also critiqued Democratic President Joe Biden on Wednesday, saying he has been pushed too far to the left during his term in office.

After Manchin announced his decision last week not to seek another term, Trump took to social media to take credit for nudging him out of the race by endorsing the current West Virginia governor’s bid for Manchin’s Senate seat next year.

“Because I Endorsed Big Jim Justice of West Virginia for the US Senate, and he has taken a commanding

lead, Democrat Joe Manchin has decided not to seek re-election. Looking good for Big Jim!” the former president said on his Truth Social Internet site.

Manchin’s condemnation of Trump came less than a week after the senator, who was a state lawmaker, secretary of state and governor of once-deep-blue West Virginia before being elected to the Senate in 2010, announced he would not pursue another term because of frustration with the political divide in US politics.

Manchin would have had a difficult path to reelection as the only remaining Democratic statewide officeholder in West Virginia, likely running against either GOP US Rep. Alex Mooney or Gov. Jim Justice, both loyal Trump supporters.

Since his decision not to run for reelection next week, political pundits have speculated that Manchin might be eyeing a potential presidential run as a candidate with No Labels. Manchin has long been friendly with No Labels, which has already begun holding private conversations with potential presidential nominees, Manchin among them.

A group pushing for Manchin to partner with retiring Utah Sen.

Mitt Romney to seek a third-party presidential bid independently filed paperwork to form a formal draft committee with the Federal Election Commission on the same day Manchin announced he wouldn’t vie to return to the Senate.

Manchin said he has yet to make any decision about his next steps, but repeated his vow to travel the country to gauge interest in a centrist political movement.

“I’ve done everything I can to try to change the political dysfunction and political divisions that we have in Washington, and I’ve come to the conclusion, it can’t be done here in Washington,” he said.

Manchin’s remarks came a day after a congressional hearing devolved into an angry confrontation between a Republican senator and a witness in which Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma challenged Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to a fight.

Manchin said he was “ashamed” of the testy exchange as a member of Congress and cited it as the latest example of the rise of extremism in the US political system. He said Trump has contributed to and taken advantage of that.

“The normal procedures in the political arena today, from Donald Trump’s point of view, is attack, attack, attack, insinuate, and then basically invigorate hatred, spew, call you names, wants to get a reaction, wants a fight,” he said. “It’s not who we are. We didn’t become this country like that.”

Manchin said when Trump was elected in 2016, he tried to work with him, but that the president’s approach to politics goes against “every grain I understood of what we’re supposed to do in public service.”

“You can’t say, ‘I’m going to take the most powerful office in the world and use it for vengeful purposes,’” he said.

Manchin has played a key role in the closely divided Senate, helping to pass the bipartisan infrastructure law and crafting the inflation reduction act, which lowered prescription drug prices, provided health care subsidies and invested heavily in clean energy projects, as well as embracing support for carbon sequestration and storage and other projects to support the fossil fuel industry.

He said it had been one of the most productive congresses in US history because Democrats and

Republicans were forced to work together.

“There were people upset thinking I had this power. I said, ‘I don’t have any more power than any of the other senators,’” he said. “I can’t figure out why you all won’t use it to do something good for our country and our states we represent.”

Manchin is the last in a line of powerful West Virginia Democrats who advocated for coal interests in Washington, something that has become untenable as the progressive party has embraced clean energy and the transition away from fossil fuels.

He said when he first came to the Senate, he was asked, “What happened to the West Virginia Democrat?”

“I said, ‘They want to know what happened to the Washington Democrat,’’’ Manchin said. “The West Virginia Democrats still worked hard, they mined the coal, made the steel, built the guns and ships, they gave everything they have, shed more blood, lost more lives for the cause of freedom than most any state, but all of a sudden, we’re not good enough, green enough, clean enough or smart enough. And they got sick and tired of it.”

Sunak fights to save Rwanda plan to fend off Tory rebels The odyssey of asylum-seekers

By Alex Wickham, Kitty Donaldson, Ellen Milligan & Alex Morales

R

ISHI SUNAK is battling to resuscitate his plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, a frantic bid to stave off a right-wing rebellion that poses a serious threat to his control over the governing UK Conservative Party.

During a tense session of Parliament and at a hastily arranged press conference on Wednesday, Sunak said he is not giving up on his Rwanda plan even after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled it illegal on the grounds that asylum seekers risked being re-deported and face persecution in their home countries.

Sunak instead promised a new treaty with Rwanda that would satisfy the court by guaranteeing asylum seekers’ safety, as well as legislation to declare the east African nation a “safe” country—a move he said would prevent court challenges. But in words clearly aimed at the restless right of his party, the premier also pledged to “revisit” the UK’s international relationships if they meant deportation flights could not go ahead.

The defiant approach underscores the level of political danger Sunak is facing. The court’s decision to block the cornerstone of his pledge to “stop the boats”—one of five he’s asked voters to judge him by ahead of a general election expected next year—came after he fired his Home Secretary Suella Braverman, a standard-bearer for his party’s right wing, on Monday.

That set off a clash with Tory lawmakers, some of whom are plotting to remove him as leader.

The problem for Sunak as he tries to quell the anger is that it’s unclear whether a new treaty with Rwanda will satisfy the courts, even if new legislation gives it parliamentary backing. The Supreme Court listed serious deficiencies in the Rwandan asylum system and found that the government’s policy would be in breach of the UK’s international agreements.

Some right-wing Tories welcomed Sunak’s announcement, de-

scribing it as bolder than expected and predicting it would buy him time. Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis told Times Radio that legislation is “entirely the right thing to do,” though he also warned “the devil will be in the detail.”

But others said it changed nothing and left Sunak’s immigration policy in tatters. An ally of Braverman said a new treaty with Rwanda would still end up in a legal quagmire, meaning months more delay.

They also predicted that Sunak would not risk taking the step many Tories are demanding, to take the UK out of the European Convention of Human Rights or the UN Refugee convention.

That was viewed was underscored by Sunak himself at the press conference when he said he saw the proposed treaty as bringing his Rwanda plan in line with the convention, just moments after he had issued his pledge not to let any foreign courts get in his way.

His decision to recall former premier David Cameron, seen as on the center-right, has not helped him persuade critics.

On Thursday, Braverman’s replacement as home secretary, James Cleverly, said the government’s preference is to stay in the ECHR and that he doesn’t think leaving it would be necessary for Rwanda flights to happen. “We don’t think we are going to need to. We don’t think that is a point that will come up,” he told Sky News during the government’s morning broadcast round.

It’s language that points to Sunak trying to show the Tory right he’s willing to meet their demands—and to get credit for that—even as ministers try to ensure the issue never comes to a head.

But Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger, two MPs in the self-described New Conservatives group, said Sunak’s proposed new law does not go far enough and called on him to fully dis-apply the UK’s international commitments. “We have no time left” for anything else, they said in a statement.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss their private views, some of Sunak’s own officials told Bloomberg they did not believe

his new approach would succeed.

Downing Street had been hoping for a more nuanced Supreme Court verdict to make it easier to resolve, according to interviews with six people familiar with the internal deliberations over the case.

Given t he r u l i ng wa s more damning than hoped, any attempt to deport people under a treaty would still be open to legal challenge, they said. A former home office official put the odds of a pre-election Rwanda f light at less than 10 percent.

The countdown to a general election explains much of the pressure Sunak is under, and why the demands from Tory MPs are so strident. Trailing the opposition Labour Party by about 20 points in opinion polls, the Tories see tackling immigration as a classic wedge issue. A recent YouGov poll showed 48 percent of voters support the Rwanda plan, compared with 35 percent who don’t.

“We should just put the planes in the air now and force them to go to Rwanda,” Lee Anderson, who Sunak appointed deputy party chairman as a way of mollifying the Tory party’s populist fringe, told Bloomberg.

“The government should ignore the law and send them back now. These people are intruders and should be sent back.”

One Tory Member of Parliament told Bloomberg privately they would be submitting a letter of no confidence in Sunak’s leadership to Graham Brady, who chairs the party’s backbench committee which oversees leadership elections. A small group of Tory MPs met this week, deciding to submit no confidence letters in Sunak, and attempt to coordinate further letters from colleagues, people familiar with the meeting said.

Andrea Jenkyns, who has already submitted a letter of no confidence in Sunak, told GB News around six colleagues are preparing to join her. Under party rules, 53 Tory MPs must send a letter to Brady to prompt a confidence vote in Sunak.

The immediate source of their anger is the thousands of immigrants who have crossed the channel from France in recent years. Home

Office and Border Force data show 26,699 people arrived in small boats in the first ten months of the year, down a third on last year but still the second-highest figure ever.

Yet for some Tory MPs, the argument goes beyond immigration into a broader question of sovereignty, and is intertwined with the old arguments over Brexit. Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke told Sky News that if Sunak refused to bypass the ECHR and the 1951 Refugee Convention, it would be a “confidence issue in his judgment as prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party.”

That connection helps to explain why on a day that the UK’s Supreme Court ruled against the government, Sunak spent so much time in Parliament and during the press conference talking about “foreign courts.”

Yet it risks dragging Sunak into uncomfortable political territory. If he does acquiesce to the right’s demands, he would antagonize more moderate MPs because the ECHR is woven into the UK’s 1998 Human Rights Act as well as the peace deal for Northern Ireland known as the Good Friday Agreement.

The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, also warned Sunak that legislating around a Supreme Court ruling in order to declare Rwanda safe would “raise profound and important questions” about the role of courts and Parliament. Former Supreme Court judge Jonathan Sumption told BBC Radio 4 Sunak’s plan is “constitutionally really quite extraordinary.”

It’s the type of language reminiscent of the Conservative government’s legal wrangling as it struggled to deliver on the 2016 Brexit vote.

As ex-premier Theresa May and her ministers found out in those years, giving in to the right risks creating even more demands. But in firing Braverman this week, Sunak indicated to the party there are limits to how far he will go, and that’s why his punchy language won’t necessarily keep his critics quiet for long. With assistance from Emily Ashton, Joe Mayes and Eamon Akil Farhat/Bloomberg

and the failure of EU regulations Continued from A3

However, in December 2022, Italy unilaterally suspended transfers of migrants and asylum-seekers back to its territory. This means that if Mohammed goes to Germany and gets caught, he can’t be sent back to Italy. Instead, he would have to start a new asylum application in Germany.

Italian government’s tougher measures

PREMIER Georgia Meloni, Italy’s first far-right leader since World War II, has acknowledged that migration has been the biggest challenge of her first year in government. In April, her government passed a new fast-track migration procedure, meant to resolve the majority of cases within 28 days.

Those who apply for asylum are held in detention centers until their case can be processed. Those who don’t apply, or whose visa application is rejected at the first stage, are served with expulsion orders and given seven days to leave the country. The backlog of asylum applications currently stands at 82,000.

In theory, anyone found on Italian soil after the expiry date of his or her order risks up to 18 months in a migrant detention center before being expelled. In practice, the detention centers are full, and Italy has no repatriation agreements with many of the countries the migrants come from, leaving those expelled in a loop of lack of documents and repeated detentions.

Migrants detention centers are full

GABINDO, a 35-year-old Bangladeshi man, was on the same boat as Mohammed.

It was the second time he’d been caught by the Italian authorities without a visa.

On the first page of his depor tation order, it said, “Detention centers for repatriation are full.”

Gabindo, who asked for his full name not to be published for fear of further worsening his legal status in Italy, was allowed to go free. The system was seemingly relying on his goodwill to self-repatriate.

Italy’s new fast-track process is causing concern that applicants are being triaged based on their nationality, according to a list of countries that Italian authorities deem safe, such as Morocco, Ivory Coast, or Nigeria, whose nationals would on average see their asylum requests denied.

Concerns on fast-tract asylum procedure

WHILE the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, agreed in a recent statement that “stronger and faster procedures at the borders” are necessary, it also stressed that people should be given the opportunity to flag an individual situation of insecurity despite their country of origin.

Maurizio Veglio, a lawyer with the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration, called the new fast-track procedures “an attack on the right to receive asylum.” He said that “compressing the time for the evaluation will surely affect the quality of the screening.”

Testimonies of asylum-seekers

DESPITE the discouraging messages from the Italian government, some migrants decide to stay. Alei Wuch Alei, a 21-year-old from South Sudan, spent five years on the move after leaving his home province of Warrap.

He arrived in Salerno on the MSF rescue boat and has applied for asylum.

“I crossed the desert from Sudan to Libya and I tried three times to cross the sea,” he said. “Once I spent three days adrift and I was beaten several times in a Libyan detention center. Now I dream to continue studying and to become a doctor.”

Outsourcing will remain a key pillar of EU migration policy, with the bloc building partnerships with African and Mideast countries to help stop people from leaving.

Those countries deemed safe that do not take back their citizens could find it more difficult to secure European visas.

Albania recently agreed to temporarily shelter thousands of migrants while Italy reviews their requests seeking asylum in Italy, up to 36,000 a year. The deal has caused some concerns from UNHCR on the guarantee of human rights and refugees’ protection standards.

But for all the chaos and confusion, for some of those reaching Europe there’s a happy ending. Jahdh al-Ali, a 58-year-old Syrian refugee from Daraa, was also on the MSF rescue ship. She applied for asylum in Italy but her preferred destination was France.

“I’d like to go and live with my daughter,” al-Ali said in Salerno. “She lives in France: she has a baby there and I wish I could stay there next to my daughter and do something for French people.”

When the AP caught up with her again a few weeks later, she was with her daughter, reunited after years apart.

World Features

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

Sunday, November 19, 2023

A5

Russia’s revenue figures suggest Western oil sanctions not working

By Bloomberg News

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HE sanctions of the West on Russian oil exports are failing to deprive the Kremlin of revenue to fund its war in Ukraine, meaning the measures are not succeeding in one of their principal objectives.

Whether in dollars or rubles, net or gross, Russian Finance Ministry data show that the money f looding into government coffers has been grinding higher for months now.

The figures beg the question as to whether Group of Seven nations, especially the US and Europe, will need to take more aggressive action if they really want to deprive Moscow of petrodollars.

Their key tool for curbing that funding was a price cap that prevented western firms from helping in the transport of Russian oil if it cost more than $60 a barrel. But one study this week showed that almost every seaborne cargo breached the threshold last month.

Gross revenues from three main tax sources of petrodollars nearly doubled between April and October, coming to more than $13 billion last month, Bloomberg calculations based on the

Finance Ministry’s data show. The October earnings exceeded those for any single month in 2021, before the invasion of Ukraine caused unprecedented volatility to the nation’s exports.

Even after deducting sizable subsidy payments to the country’s oil refining industry, which jumped to $2 billion - $3 billion in August and September, a surge is clear. In October, the Russian refiners didn’t receive any subsidies for domestic fuel supplies, which contributed to a substantial jump in Russia’s net oil earnings for the month.

A spokesperson for the US Treasury Department said that while the first phase of the price cap focused on reducing the amount of revenue Russia gains from its oil sales, the second phase of the measure will focus on increasing the costs Russia has to pay to keep its fleet of tankers running.

To do that, the department has begun to sanction shipping companies and vessels it says have transported oil sold above the cap and started to look for ways to increase the costs to Russia for using its shadow fleet.

Initial blow IN December last year, the European

How billionaire Lakshmi Mittal’s younger brother got $500 million bailout in Nigeria

By William Clowes

B

ILLIONAIRE Lakshmi Mittal’s younger brother is effectively getting a helping hand—and a possible way out of financial distress—from Nigerian taxpayers, after the country’s government agreed to pay his company almost $500 million to settle a contract dispute over a deal that a previous administration said was tarnished by fraud.

Pramod Mittal, whose career in the steel industry has been less glittering than his better-known sibling—the tycoon behind the €20 billion ($21.2 billion) ArcelorMittal SA conglomerate—has a string of abandoned factories and a trail of unpaid debts to his name. Five years ago, his Isle of Man-registered Global Steel Holdings Ltd., or GSH, was put into liquidation over $167 million owed to Moorgate Industries Ltd., a company spun off from one of the world’s biggest steel traders.

As a UK court weighed Moorgate’s request to declare Pramod personally bankrupt three years ago, the London-based Indian national held out the prospect of a payout from the Nigerian state to clear his debt. The judge was unconvinced at the time, but the settlement subsequently reached with Nigeria last year now looks like the 67-year-old’s best route out of insolvency. Still, while payments from the Nigerian government have reached GSH’s liquidators, as of October 4, Moorgate had yet to see any of those funds despite having asked for them, court documents show.

With Pramod’s bankruptcy winding its way through English courtrooms, a new Nigerian president has taken office, and last month his steel minister said one of the administration’s top priorities is to finally fire up the furnaces of the massive plant at the heart of the younger Mittal’s $496 million compensation. The government has justified the agreement with a former unit of Pramod’s GSH, which was announced in September 2022, saying it frees the state to pursue its ambitions for the sprawling 24,000-hectare (92 square mile) site.

The settlement—representing about 1.5 percent of Nigeria’s foreign reserves—is just the latest twist in the saga of the vast Soviet-built factory complex begun 44 years ago. The project has sucked up more than $7 billion in public investment and has yet to produce any metal. The story of the Ajaokuta steel mill on the banks of the Niger River 190 kilometers south of the capital, Abuja, is often cited as emblematic of the corruption, poor governance and incompetence that bedevils the West African nation. The country’s most notorious white elephant still sparks passionate debate over whether it should be written off or revived.

“Ajaokuta has been a black hole that has gobbled up billions of dollars, enriching

multiple generations of politicians and foreign enablers,” says Matthew Page, a former Nigeria expert for US intelligence agencies and now an associate fellow at London-based Chatham House. “This last failed reboot—and the giant price tag that came with it—is a preview of the next failed re-concessioning attempt. At this point, Ajaokuta’s dilapidated machinery is capable of doing only one thing: making public funds disappear.”

Neither Pramod’s representatives nor the spokespeople for the newly elected President Bola Tinubu and Steel Minister Shuaibu Audu responded to requests for comment. Abubakar Malami, Nigeria’s attorney general from 2015 to earlier this year, on whose watch the settlement was reached, said last year that the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari “rescued the steel industry from interminable and complex disputes as well as saving the taxpayer from humongous damages.”

Pramod’s involvement

PRAMOD entered into the Ajaokuta picture in 2004, when then President Olusegun Obasanjo awarded GSH a series of contracts, including an arrangement first to manage and later to buy the steel mill.

Shor tly after GSH took over the plant, Solgas Energy Ltd., a small US company, sued it in Texas. Solgas claimed that GSH discussed becoming Solgas’ subcontractor on Ajaokuta before breaching a confidentiality accord and bribing Nigerian officials, including one of Obasanjo’s sons, to “steal the concession.” While the case was thrown out on jurisdictional grounds, in December 2008 a separate arbitration tribunal ordered Nigeria to pay Solgas $15.2 million in damages for the wrongful termination of the contract—while noting the US firm hadn’t provided evidence to support the corruption allegations.

By then, Umaru Yar’Adua had taken over as Nigeria’s president, and he canceled GSH’s contracts after a panel that his steel development minister set up said the concessions were rife with irregularities.

GSH’s claim it had invested $200 million was “a ruse,” the inspectors said. Rather, the company had used its Nigerian assets to borrow more than $192 million from local banks—funds they “strongly” suspected had been dispatched abroad, they said.

Th e p a n e l ’s f u l l re p o r t — n e ve r made public but seen by Bloomberg— said rescuing Ajaokuta was beyond the “financial, technical and experiential capabilities” of GSH, which instead had been “systematically cannibalizing, vandalizing and moving valuable equipment” out of the factory. GSH and its Nigerian unit initiated arbitration proceedings against the government and later entered mediation,

Union all but halted seaborne purchases of Russian oil and simultaneously joined others in the G-7 in imposing a price cap on the country’s exports.

While the initial blow led to a $25-billion deficit in the Russian budget at the start of the year, the effects have faded dramatically.

To counteract the west’s restrictions, Russia pivoted away from western shipping and services. It has done so by using a vast shadow fleet of tankers that have unclear ownership and insurance status.

Privately, European Union officials acknowledge that the price cap isn’t working well. Back in September, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted the approach was losing its sting.

Ruble revenue FOR the Russian government, what matters is revenue and expenditure in ruble terms.

That dictates how easily the country can fund its budgetary expenses, including massive military spending because of the war with Ukraine, and swelling social obligations before presidential elections in March.

And there, the news is no better for the west.

which produced last year’s settlement.

Pramod had signed t wo earlier agreements with the Nigerian government—in 2014 and 2016—that would have seen his firm retain the right to manage an idled state-owned iron ore mining company but receive no payout.

“I threatened them with criminal proceedings for tax evasion, in addition to other criminal infractions that they had clearly committed,” Mohammed Adoke, a former attorney general who had reached the first of these accords, wrote in his memoir titled “Burden of Service.” “To amicably resolve the issue, I insisted that Global Steel should relinquish (Ajaokuta) for free without any form of compensation.”

Adoke’s successor, Malami, who was the attorney general when the half-a-billiondollar settlement was struck, modified the terms of the deal to take back the mining firm and award a payment. Malami didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Moorgate’s case

E V E N before finalizing the Ajaokuta windfall, Pramod had suggested using the money to pay down the Moorgate debt. In June 2020, as Moorgate sought his bankruptcy, he told Judge Catherine Burton that GSH’s liquidators had failed to account for the “very real prospects of a payment” from Nigeria. He said his Abujaregistered subsidiary would settle the obligation to Moorgate “out of whatever money it receives from the mediation,” according to the decision issued by Burton, who—unpersuaded—ruled in favor of the creditor.

Pramod also tried another way to skirt bankruptcy—using an individual voluntary arrangement, or IVA. He proposed repaying less than £5 million out of £2.5 billion ($3.1 billion)—or 0.2 percent of what a handful of companies and individuals said they were owed by the businessman.

Moorgate countered that “friendly creditors” who approved this meager offer were either associated with Pramod or relying on loan agreements that were “not true or contemporaneous documents.” A UK judge revoked the IVA last November, expressing “serious doubts” about the authenticity of the paperwork. In the IVA, Pramod said he was worth £117,000, claiming he didn’t control GSH. The family’s London mansion is held through an offshore company whose directors were senior managers at GSH. Contrary to Pramod’s argument, the court determined he controlled the British Virgin Islands-registered company that owned GSH through his influence over a family trust, with an Isle of Man judge similarly describing him as that firm’s “driving force.”

Pramod made other apparent attempts to distance himself from the group and its subsidiaries. Since April 2021, GSH’s Nigerian unit—the settlement’s beneficiar y—has been owned by a

The three main levies are an oil output tax, an export duty on crude and fuels, and a profit-based tax that partly replaced a production tax for some fields. Revenue from those rose to 1.2 trillion rubles in October, the highest since April 2022. It also exceeded any single month in 2021.

The increase in Russia’s revenues comes as the price of the nation’s barrels has been growing both in absolute terms and relative to the international Brent benchmark. A sharp depreciation of the ruble in the recent months also helped boost revenues from oil sales denominated in foreign currencies.

The G-7’s price cap prohibited western firms from providing shipping, insurance and other services for Russian oil sold above $60 a barrel. In early 2022, the discount of the nation’s crude to Brent widened to a historic high of more than $34 per barrel, according to data from Russia’s Finance Ministry.

AS customers—particularly in China and India—became accustomed to using the shadow fleet, the discounts between Russia’s flagship grade Urals

and international prices narrowed.

It is now closer to $10 a barrel, with Russia expecting the gap to narrow further by about $5.

As part of its pivot toward trying to boost Russia’s costs, the US Treasury recently sanctioned five tankers for breaching the price cap. It has also written to ship-management companies asking them for information regarding about 100 tankers that moved Russian oil. It’s not clear if the measures will do anything to dim the shadow-fleet trade in oil.

The European Union is also trying to make it harder for tankers that are beneficially owned by Europeans to be sold into the shadow fleet. That could ensnare parts of the Greek fleet, even if large numbers of vessels have already switched over.

Almost 30 percent of Russian oil shipments had some sort of involvement of a G-7 entity in October, according to data compiled the KSE Institute, which is part of a Ukrainian organization that’s pushing for stiffer sanctions on Moscow.

According to a detailed analysis of exports, almost all Russian seaborne cargoes were bought above the cap in October, the institute said.

Mauritian entity named Luminous Star Ltd., classified as defunct for a decade and with a director who was formerly a GSH employee. While Pramod ceased to be a director of the Nigerian firm in late 2020, his son sits on the board.

In January, Nigeria’s then Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the government had paid $446 million to GSH’s local unit in multiple installments under the settlement.

The law firm hired by the Nigerian subsidiary

for the mediation made six transfers from these funds to GSH’s account, totaling £219 million ($272 million) between October 2022 and February 2023, according to reports filed by the company’s liquidators.

The law firm, King & Spalding LLP, declined to comment on the rest of the money.

In December and again in March, Moorgate asked to be paid out of funds recovered by GSH’s liquidators, according to a court decision issued last month

Diminishing discount

T he re a re st i l l pres s u res on Russia too.

In a move to cut the budget expenditure and keep more petrodollars, the Russian government tried to halve its subsidy payments to refineries but faced pushback from the industry.

Full-size payouts have been reinstated from October and the refiners will start receiving them from November, which will continue to put pressure on Russia’s net oil revenues, affecting the Kremlin’s financial flexibility.

The US and its allies also argue that their sanctions have had a broader impact on Russia.

The Kremlin spent billions of dollars on its fleet, insurance and the overall “alternative ecosystem to sell oil without G-7 involvement,” according to a US Treasury statement last month. “The costs associated with this avoidance keep stacking up,” the Treasury’s Eric Van Nostrand said.

So far, the G-7 has no plans to change the cap, with the European Union considering stricter monitoring of the existing threshold as the alliance is working on the 12th package of sanctions against Russia. With

assistance from Alberto Nardelli, Julian Lee and Daniel Flatley/Bloomberg

in the Isle of Man. The liquidators, who estimate that only £40 million is available for creditors once GSH’s potential tax liability and additional costs are taken into consideration, are yet to comply with the request, the judge said on October 4, ruling that Moorgate is entitled to receive part-satisfaction of the debt. Moorgate and GSH’s liquidators declined to comment.

With assistance from Misha Savic, Slav Okov and Swansy Afonso/Bloomberg

Journey

»life on the go

A6

Sunday, November 19, 2023

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

AHG introduces Niyama Wellness program

T

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

he Anya Hospitality Group (AHG), a member of the Roxas family-controlled Roxaco Land Corp., is promoting a spa and wellness management consultancy service to property developers, hotel and resorts owners and the spa stand alone business Called Niyama Wellness, it is the first local spa consultancy company in the Philippines that offers management services to spa and wellness owners. Right now, the local consultants in the country are working on an individual basis. This makes Niyama a cut above the rest as it can offer a more comprehensive plan for the interested parties.

Niyama is a Sanskrit word meaning purity, relaxation and cleanliness, and one of the branches of yoga. Moreover, Rooted in ancient Yoga spirituality, the “Niyama” is described in its website as fundamental pillars of an interior discipline that builds upon an individual’s contentment, confidence and happiness.

Carol Laguna, corporate wellness director of Niyama, told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview that the AHG affiliate does not want to focus only on the massage sessions and workouts offered by the gyms and wellness centers but offer a more comprehensive health roadmap on the total health of the individual. "Our goal is to optimize the guest’s wellbeing and provide ho-

listic care for them,” said Laguna.

“It involves not only spa treatments but also intravenous therapy, polonics, bioscan, colonic test, holistic treatment of osmotherapy and wellness retreats as well,” Laguna said.

Target markets

She stressed Niyama will not compete with the existing spa establishments in hotels and resorts, but instead will provide them consultancy services to enhance their branding and competencies.

“Instead, we want to promote our concept to the establishments Niyama will target the property developers, resort owners, resort developers, wellness enthusiasts and the corporate sector as well.

For property developers, Niyama can help the developers to develop a health and wellness program for residents.

For the corporate sector, Laguna says Niyama can help business organizations form a wellness program for their management and staff.

Laguna says Niyama will collaborate with teachers for wellness retreats which includes taichi,

yoga and pilates. She added they partnered with a nutritionist to develop a plant-based diet for guests who want to have a vegetarian diet.

Niyama also brought in highlyacclaimed Chef Chele Gonzales as a partner to deliver a unique and distinctive dining destination in Samira, Tagaytay.

Laguna says the Niyama approach towards wellness is based

on a holistic framework where it combines the distinctive experiences of wellness and Filipino warmth that comforts the body, mind and spirit.

Laguna says Niyama offers flexible and adaptive offerings from holistic spa treatments, inner journey retreats and movement classes, conscientious dining to personal fitness.

Right now, Niyama is discussing with potential clients in Metro Manila, Subic, Siargao, Makati and Cagayan province. “We’re eyeing 4 to 6 clients for 2024,” Laguna says.

The Niyama Wellness Center established its roots in Anya Resort Tagaytay. By introducing the Niyama concept, AHG is determined to expand their well known wellness

to the other parts of the country.

Laguna says it is bullish with the potential partnerships in building the Niyama brand.

“We want to reach out to more Filipinos so they can experience first hand Niyama’s excellent service anchored on a holistic approach that showcases the Filipino brand of warmth and wellness towards a balanced lifestyle.”

Team Lhuillier tops 8th Tour de Cebu vintage car rally D’CHEF MADY CAFÉ

A culinary journey for your body, spirit, and soul

T

he father and son duo of Michael and Michael James Lhuillier displayed once again their roadmanship to romp away with the 2023 Grand Champion and other major awards in the recent Tour De Cebu Historic Sports Car Rally.

Now on its eighth staging, the TDC is organized by the Performance and Classics Enthusiasts of Cebu (PACE) and the Manila Sports Car Club (MSCC) to promote drive tourism in the archipelago’s central provinces.

The Lhuilliers, who belong to the PACE club, won the 225-km Stage 1 from Tubigon to BE Grand Resort in Panglao, and the 227-km Panglao to Catigbian Stage 2, both in Bohol province, to build a comfortable lead.

T he y a l so ba g ge d t he PAC E Chairman Class and the Best Period Dressed Team plum which paired well with their 1968 Mercedes Benz 280SL. Michael Lhuillier is the president and CEO of the M Lhuillier Financial Services, and one of the founders of the motoring event.

Another PACE club father and son tandem of Lui and Anton Alvarez, and their 1973 Datsun 240Z won the longest leg, the 237-km Stage 3 from Catigbian to Panglao, which traversed the eastern interior roads.

MSCC ’s Bai Bur ila and Jelou Cabuga snatched the141-km Stage 4 loop drive from Panglao and back on board their 1959 MGA deluxe Le Mans to win 3rd Place Overall honors.

The son-and-father pair of Raju and Oscar Medalla, also of MSCC, won 2nd Place Overall despite gas pedal challenges and emerged as the Roberto Aboitiz Class champion for cars up to 1966 model, with their 1965 Porsche 912 for the second time.

The only all-ladies team of Andrea Aldeguer and Alyeska Yunam

L

oyal customers describe their experience at D’CHEF MADY CAFÉ as warm, nurturing, and uplifting. More than just a place to dine or enjoy a cup of coffee, D’CHEF MADY CAFÉ is your sanctuary to de-stress, breathe, and find inspiration.

Tubigon municipal councilor Gail Jao flags off the Tour de Cebu in Bohol

Tour de Cebu top overall winners

won the Clubman Class Champion trophy, while Tonet R amos and JB Mapa from Bacolod copped the Sportsman Class, and MSCC’s Joekid Rivera and Anthony Ty champed the Tribute Class.

Special awards went to Neri Pio (Esprit de Corps) and Edwin Torres (Gentleman Racer).

Me a nwh i le, solo d r ive r a nd first-time participant Rod Garcia surmounted the road challenges to win the Survivor Award, while the Aldeguer family headed by Jay Aldeguer and daughters Andrea and Arianna earned the Family Team Award.

The Rally also included five noncompeting cars in the Special Touring Group led by world-class designer

Kenneth Cobonpue and his 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS, one of the pioneers of the Tour De Cebu.

Sponsored by Petron Blaze and Petron Turbo Diesel, the TDC was flagged off at NUSTAR Resort, made a loop drive around the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), boarded the Fast Cat ferry to Tubigon, Bohol, and made a 1,000-km drive around the island province.

In photo at the awarding ceremonies are Bai Burila (Third overall), Michael James Lhuillier and Michael Lhuillier (Grand Champion, Pace Chairman Class Champion, Stage 1 & 2 winner, Best Period Dressed team), and Raju and Oscar Medalla (Second overall, Roberto Aboitiz Class Champion).

While it may appear like a typical diner or coffee shop, the cafe is also a library of inspirations. Their food and beverages are prepared with finesse, offering innovative flavors that can transport you from childhood memories to the present. The warmth and comfort of their products, the smiles from their staff, and the inspiring ambiance will truly uplift your spirit and soul.

The cafe is open daily from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm, serving a variety of Asian and Continental inspired dishes. Choose from their wide assortment of freshly brewed hot, cold, or chilled coffees, as well as expertly mixed non-alcoholic drinks made with fresh fruits and other healthy ingredients for a balanced and refreshing experience. Indulge in hot-from-the-oven cakes

and pastries for a lingering sweet memory. Additionally, they offer inspirational books and magazines for light reading, enhancing your overall experience.

D’CHEF MADY CAFÉ is owned and operated by Chef Mady, the resident chef who deftly oversees their menu. Chef Mady graduated with honors from the Center for Asian Culinary Studies, earning special citations for her culinary and pastry knowledge and skills.

The cafe looks forward to serving you and providing a memorable culinary experience for your body, spirit, and soul.

Visit D’CHEF MADY CAFÉ at Enoc Gasoline Station Cpd., Lazatin Blvd., Bo. San Juan, San Fernando City, Pampanga. For more information or for reservations, you can reach them at 0919-0697723. Don’t forget to visit and like their Facebook page, D’CHEF MADY CAFÉ.

Science Sunday BusinessMirror

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

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (middle-right) examines the the DOST’s Handa Pilipinas DRRM exhibits in Tacloban City with Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. (middle-left). DOST-8 PHOTO

RXBOX is a telemedicine device developed by the University of the Philippines. DOST-8 PHOTO

Sunday, November 19, 2023

A7

PACK of Hope (Ready-To-Eat Foods) are in easy-to-open and lightweight retort pouches developed by the DOST-ITDI. DOST-8 PHOTO

PBBM: Adopt, commercialize Handa Pilipinas techs for DRRM

By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto

‘I

WISH we had these 10 years ago,” said Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez as he was peering through the over 60 technologies that could have saved them from Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan).

The technologies for disaster risk prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery were exhibited at the Handa Pilipinas Visayas leg on November 8 that was held in Tacloban City, where the super typhoon particularly caused severe destruction.

Handa Pilipinas showcases Innovations in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM). It is an annual event conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

It coincides with the 10thyear commemoration of the super typhoon, to which President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., in his keynote message underscored “the importance of disaster risk reduction and management in the Philippines.”

Although the country didn’t have the technologies 10 years ago, the president said they are

here now and recognized the role of the DOST in developing them which would be of great help to the local government units (LGUs).

“So, I implore everyone to maximize the use of these technologies [and] to fast-track the widespread adoption and commercialization,” Marcos urged.

Science Secretary Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr. highlighted that through science, technology and innovation, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and the Filipino bayanihan spirit, Filipinos will be “victors over disasters and not victims.”

Technologies in DRRM

THE following are the technologies that were featured in the Handa Pilipinas Visayas leg.

Integrated Wireless Alarm System (IWAS)

REGIONAL Director of DOST VIII Engr. Ernesto Granada shared with the BusinessMirror that one of the technologies developed and applied in the region was the “Integrated Wireless Alarm System [IWAS]” by Samar State University (SSU).

IWAS, meaning “go out” in

Waray dialect, is an early detection of an upcoming disaster that gives a warning or an alarm signal. It provides real-time water monitoring, such as the water level variation and current f low which are considered prime sources of f loods.

Users can easily access the water monitoring data by simply connecting their mobile phones through Bluetooth.

Project Leader Engr. Nikko Floretes said the project is currently deployed in Antiao River in Catbalogan City and they are planning to propose to DOST for the data to be transmitted through WiFi.

GeoPindot

IN t imes of emergenc y suc h as fire, medical, or accident, “GeoPindot” is a mobile phone application that enables citizens to seek emergency assistance and report an emergency situation.

Digital Transformation Officer Basti Colocar demonstrated the “Report” feature of the app and reported a fire accident. Within a few seconds, a response unit from an LGU called to confirm.

The app is developed by startup OBXS IT Solutions and supported by the DOST-University of the Philippines Mindanao.

RxBox

THE “RxBox,” meanwhile, is a telemedicine device designed to provide life-saving health services in isolated and disadvantaged communities developed by the University of the Philippines.

It contains a sphygmomanometer, pulse oximeter, thermometer, cardiotocogram (CTG, with a maternal tocometer and fetal heart monitor), and electrocardiogram (ECG) in a single portable machine.

It a lso integ rates eHea lt h t e c h no l o g i e s t o s t r e n g t h e n health delivery systems and as an adjunct to an electronic medical records system to support primary-care physicians in remote rural municipalities.

Hemostats

ANOTHER life-saving invention is the award-winning “Hemostats” for bleeding control.

Hemostats are used to reduce or stop the bleeding of traumatic wounds during emergency cases

or in incisions made during surgical procedures. It can also be used for first-aid management to stop or reduce bleeding.

The hemostats formed into granules are made of carboxymethyl cellulose derived from plants that are sterilized by radiation to safely modify natural and water-soluble polymers.

Once the granules are put into the open wound, they create a gelblood clot that stops the bleeding.

It does not damage the wound site or inflict a burning sensation and can be easily removed.

Pack of Hope (Ready-To-Eat relief foods)

DURING disaster response and recovery, the “Pack of Hope [ReadyTo-Eat relief foods]” developed

by DOST-Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOSTITDI), can be distributed to affected communities by land or sea surface, aerial drop up to 20 feet drop height and even submerged in water.

The Pack of Hope products are packed in easy-to-open and lightweight retort pouches. Its varieties include Chicken Arroz Caldo, Cassava in Syrup, Boiled Sweet Potato,

Smoked Fish Rice Meal, Potato Carrot Soup, Chicken Corn Soup, and Ginisang Munggo.

Emergency Food Reserve

DOST-ITDI also innovated the “Emergency Food Reserve (EFR),” such as the high-energy food base Sagip Nutrif lour made from precooked cassava, sweet potato, mongo, and moringa The flour can be an ingredient in bread, cookies, cakes, pastries, dishes, pudding, porridge, soup and others, and be used for community livelihood, food security, and nutrition feeding.

Other technologies

OTHER notable technolog ies in the exhibit are the Triaging Trailer Tent, Collapsible Toilet Bowl, Unsinkable Porta Boat and Water Ambulance, Emergency Disinfection System, and more.

Granad a sa id t he e x hibits and technology forums offered an “enabling space” to transfer awareness knowledge and technical know-how of the diverse set of innovative solutions for LGUs and private institutions which they can adapt and utilize in their respective communities.

PHILGamma, PHL’s multipurpose irradiation facility, now fully-automated for commercial use

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DOST-PCAARRD Director Marita A. Carlos (first row, left) and DOST-PCAARRD Executive Director Dr. Reynaldo V. Ebora (front row, center) join the winners of the 2023 Ulat Sipag Awards. They are (front row) Dr. Ruby Cristobal, Hermelina Tenorio and Bella Carriaso. (Back row, from left) Daniel Castro, Dhel Nazario, Katrine Tanching (for Rico Hizon) and Crisanto R. de Leon (for Lyn B. Resurreccion).

LYN B. RESURRECCION, Science editor of the BusinessMirror at the newspaper’s office in Makati City.

DOST-PCAARRD ACD PHOTO

TRIXZY LEIGH BONOTAN/BUSINESSMIRROR

BusinessMirror editor, 7 journalists recognized in 2023 Ulat Sipag Awards

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HE Ulat Sipag Awards once again recognized members of the media who have promoted science, and agriculture, aquatic and natural resources (AANR) through the print, broadcast and online platforms.

Established by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology, this year’s event coincided with DOSTPCAARRD’s 51st founding anniversary celebration held in Los Baños, Laguna, on November 10.

Eight journalists and broadcasters were among this year’s awardees.

Ulat Sipag Awards aim to recognize the efforts of media professionals, who showcased the highest standard of journalism and helped in the promotion of DOST-PCAARRD’s research and development initiatives, particularly its Industry Strategic S&T Programs.

National Print Category

LYN RESURRECCION, Science editor of the B usiness M irror , took home the top award for the 2023 Ulat Sipag National Print Category.

Through her well-crafted and popularized reports, Resurreccion was able to deliver timely and significant information to readers about DOST-PCAARRD’s various initiatives.

Manila Times journalist Bella Cariaso won the second prize.

Also on the list of Ulat Sipag National Broadcast winners were Hermelina Tenorio (second place) with her show Syensya na Tekno Pa on Radyo Agila DZEC 1062, and Rico Hizon (third place) of CNN Philippines’ The Final Word.

Regional Print Category

Regional Broadcast Category

MEANWHILE, Davao journalist, Henrylito Tacio, bagged this year’s top award for the regional print category.

With his work on Edge Davao, Tacio has consistently exhibited a remarkable talent for communicating scientific concepts into engaging and accessible narratives for Davaoeños.

C AT E R I N G to local news audience, broadcaster Daniel Castro won the 2023 Ulat Sipag Regional Broadcast Category through his program Diskarte ni Daniel Castro on DZJV 1458 Radyo Calabarzon.

This was the second time Castro was given the award broadcasting and discussing timely stories of the AANR sector.

National Broadcast Category

Online Category

F O R the National Broadcast Category, veteran broadcaster Dr. Ruby Cristobal took the spot as she was able to effectively translate scientific discussions in the sector to a form easily understood by the public.

As co-anchor of DZRH’s Radyo Henyo, Cristobal has been demonstrating her extensive experience in broadcasting t h ro u g h h e r we l l - re s e a rc h e d a n d conversational approach to interviews.

THIS year saw a major addition in the awarding categories with the inaugural Ulat Sipag Online Category Award.

Winning the major prize for the category was Dhel Nazario of Manila Bulletin.

Through his insightful reports, Nazario was able to transform scientific information into accessible and captivating narratives that resonate with audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Karl Vincent S. Mendez/S&T Media Services

HE much-awaited and much-needed boon that will boost the income of its industry partners, the upgrading to a fully-automated commercial irradiator of the Multipurpose Gamma Irradiation Facility (MIF) is now finally completed, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) announced.

Renamed as “PHILGamma,” the facility was inaugurated in a brief ceremony on November 6. And just in time as the Philippines’ economy is hard pressed to bounce back, the upgraded facility is set to meet the increased demand for radiation processing to match the clients’ production and increase their income.

Established in 1989 and the first and only facility of its kind in the country, the MIF has been regularly used for radiation processing of tons of spices, herbal products, cosmetic raw materials, medical devices and other raw materials for various clients from the commercial and industrial sectors, the DOSTPNRI said.

PHILGAMMA, the Multipurpose Gamma Irradiation Facility of DOST-PNRI, is now fullyautomated and ready to process bigger volumes of products for various sectors. DOST-PNRI PHOTO

Goods not radioactive

COBALT 60 is a radioactive material that continuously emits gamma radiation which, in turn, is being used worldwide to decontaminate and sterilize various products, extending their shelf-life, and generally improving the quality of consumer goods both for local consumption and for export.

The goods which went through irradiation do not become radioactive. This is because gamma rays used in radiation processing have low energy levels, the DOST-PNRI explained.

Much like x-rays on humans, low-dose radiation can penetrate through the packaging, allowing it to kill the microbes without degrading the products.

Full automation allows the facility to increase the volume of products that can be processed. The facility will also have a continuous mode of operation for less shutdown time, which will maximize the use of the radioactive material, the nuclear agency added.

The upgrades will also make the MIF more flexible in irradiating samples requiring low, medium, and high radiation doses, allowing clients to bring in even more types of products.

(FROM left) DOST-PNRI Director Carlo Arcilla, IAEA Director Dr. Jane GerardoAbaya and IAEA Deputy Director General Hua Liu cut the ribbon during the opening of PHILGamma multipurpose irradiation facility. DOST-PNRI PHOTO

But just as important as increasing productivity, the full automation upgrade will also provide a safer environment for the facility operators.

For income generation; advance R&D

WITH a budget of P60 million, the upgrading of the irradiation facility is made possible through a technical cooperation project under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with cost sharing from the Philippine government.

Besides being an income-generating facility of the government, the MIF is also used for the development of advanced research and development applications.

Its contributions to national development were acknowledged through the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award to the PNRI Irradiation Services Team in 2019 by no less than

President Rodrigo Duterte.

The inauguration of PHILGamma was attended by leading officials from the IAEA— Deputy Director General Hua Liu and Dr. Jane Gerardo-Abaya, director of the Division for Asia and the Pacific under the IAEA Department of Technical Cooperation.

They were joined during the event by Rep. Mark Cojuangco, chairman of the House Special Committee on Nuclear Energy, PNRI Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla, and members of the PNRI Senior Staff.

“It’s an honor to raise a toast to you all for this great achievement, and the primary reason for this great achievement is the resilience and perseverance of the Filipino people,” said Director Abaya, as she applauds the PNRI for finally carrying through the upgrading despite the technical and financial challenges, particularly those brought about by the Covic-19 pandemic.

Faith

Sunday

A8 Sunday, November 19, 2023

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

Vatican calls for ‘coordinated strategy’ as more Filipinos join Masonic lodges T

HE Vatican’s doctrinal body has urged the Philippine bishops to adopt a ‘coordinated strategy’ against the growing number of Filipino Catholics joining Masonic lodges.

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, reiterated that Catholics are still prohibited from joining Masonic lodges, as their principles have always been regarded as irreconcilable with the Church’s doctrines.

“It should be remembered that active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is forbidden because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry,” Fernández said in a note.

The Argentine cardinal said that membership in masonry among

Catholics is “very significant” in the nation, including those who believe there is nothing wrong with joining Masonic associations.

Approved by Pope Francis, the dicastery’s note, dated November 13 and made public November 15, was a response to a request from Bishop Julito Cortes of Dumaguete regarding the “ best pastoral approach” to the issue.

T he bishop had repeatedly voiced concern about the rising number of faithful enrolled in masonic groups in his diocese.

Cor tes par ticu larly sought suggestions on how to respond to “this reality” from a pastoral point of view and its “doctrinal implications.”

Catholics have been prohibited from joining the Masons since Pope Clement XII’s decree

THE office building that houses the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. ROY LAGARDE

“In Eminenti” in 1738.

The 1917 Code of Canon Law declared that anyone who joins a Masonic lodge incurs excommunication. In 1983, the Vatican

reaffirmed that being enrolled in a Masonic association is a serious sin, and those individuals may not approach Holy Communion.

The dicastery encouraged the

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) “to put in place a coordinated strategy” based on doctrinal and pastoral approaches” to address the issue appropriately.

It also advised the bishops to “conduct catechesis accessible to the people and in all parishes regarding the reasons for the irreconcilability between the Catholic faith and Freemasonry.”

The CBCP this year has released at least two statements on the issue: A clarification on the CBCP’s position on Freemasonry and a note on Canon 1374 of the CIC issued in February 2023; and a statement on Dealing with individual Catholicsmembers of Masonry, released in September 2023.

T he S e pte mb e r 1 2, 2023,

statement authored by Fr. Jose R. Rojas, D.D, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Doctrine of the Faith, partly said that since the Papal Bull, “In eminenti apostolatus specula,”

by Clement XII in 1738, up until the Declaration on Masonic Associations by Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1983, “the position of the Holy See on Masonry has always been consistent.”

It said: “Masonic principles and r itua ls are incompatible and irreconcilable with Catholic doctrines. That being the case, Catholics were prohibited from membership in Masonic organizations and other secret societies. The same prohibition (either explicitly or implicitly) was enforced by succeeding Popes.”

Roy Lagarde/CBCP News

Book on 500 yrs of PHL Christianity bags Columbus international award

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THE Church of Jesus Christ’s Elder Yoon Hwan Choi, Second Counselor, Philippine Area Presidency, and his wife, Sister Bon Kyung Koo, choose items on a Light the World the Giving Machines during the launching at Level 4, near Cinema 1, at Ayala Mall Trinoma in Quezon City on November 9. BERNARD TESTA

A PERSON tries the Light the World Giving Machine during the launching at Ayala Mall Trinoma in Quezon City on November 9. BERNARD TESTA

Light the World Giving Machines launched to bring Christmas joy

‘I

F Jesus gave, why not us too?” Thus, said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints as it encouraged and welcomed everyone to celebrate the birth and life of Jesus Christ through gift-giving during the kick-off of its 2023 Light the World Giving Machines on November 9.

Held at Ayala Malls Trinoma in Quezon City, the event was led by The Church of Jesus Christ’s Elder

Yoon Hwan Choi, Second Counselor, Philippine Area Presidency, and his wife, Sister Bon Kyung Koo. It was in partnership with Hero Foundation, Mabuhay Deseret Foundation, Caritas Manila and Ayala Malls Trinoma.

Celebrities, including former beauty queen Shamcey SupsupLee, joined in the unveiling ceremony.

The “giving-focused” vending

machines offer a fun yet spiritual aspect to the shopping and giftgiving season in the Philippines.

Unlike regular vending machines, the Giving Machines allow the public to participate in instant and affordable acts of service for fellow Filipinos in need.

Every item one donates goes to someone in need in the charity group of his or her choice. It has donation cards from which the

gift-giver may choose.

A mong the donation cards are nutrition program meal kit, student load allowance, student travel allowance, student books and supplies, wash kit for families, bedding materials, food pack and shelter repair kit.

Giving Machines were also later launched in Cebu. They will be available until January 1, 2024.

HE coffee table book titled “500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines” was garnered the “To Be a Patriot Award” by the Knights of Columbus (KofC) International Award.

The award recognized the Philippinesbased Ang Bagong Bayani Assembly ACN 3655 for its publication, presented by Vice Supreme Master SK Anthony Nazario to former Faithful Navigator SK Matias V. Defensor Jr. on Thursday.

Publishing the book was “to present the historical perspective and at the same time capture the rich contribution of Christianity and other European influences to our cultural development,” Defensor said.

“Christianity made our history very colorful, diverse and fascinating, that fueled the team to embark on a project that revisits the historical and spiritual milestone of our human development,” he added.

The book was published in 2022, and was submitted by authorities of the Ferdinand Magellan Province as the official entry to the annual international competition of KofC. “It is our desire that our dear readers will take pleasure in reading the book and learn about our history, culture and the unification of our beloved nation, through Christianity,” Defensor said.

Defensor was the head of the KofC Fourth Degree Assembly of Catholic men worldwide in 2021 Meanwhile, Nazario received the top patriotism award during the recent KofC Supreme Convention in Orlando, Florida.

“Team spirit is important in achieving success and you have shown us what we can achieve when we work together in the spirit of charity, unity and patriotism,” Nazario told Defensor. Patrick V. Miguel

Help priests to be holy, lay people urged

Bernard Testa

China’s state-backed Catholic church head makes historic HK trip

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ONG KONG—The head of the Catholic church in China began a trip to Hong Kong on Tuesday at the invitation of the city’s pope-appointed Roman Catholic cardinal, marking the first official visit by a Beijing bishop in history.

Joseph Li, who was installed by China’s state-controlled Catholic church as an archbishop, visited the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in the morning, public broadcaster RTHK said.

Li’s five-day tour came after the city’s newly installed Cardinal Stephen Chow invited him to visit Hong Kong during a landmark trip to Beijing in April—the first visit to the Chinese capital by the city’s bishop in nearly three decades.

Experts said the invitation was a symbolic gesture that could strengthen the fragile relationship between China and the Vatican.

Earlier this month, Chow said his job is to foster better communication between the two sides, and underscored the importance of human connections when asked about the significance of Li’s visit.

The Hong Kong diocese said Li

CHINESE Bishop Joseph Li Shan holds up a holy Bible as he leads the Christmas Eve mass at the Xishiku Catholic Church in Beijing, China, on December 24, 2018. AP/NG HAN GUAN

would meet with Chow and “different diocesan offices to promote exchanges and interactions between the two dioceses.”

It said this is the first time a Beijing bishop has officially visited Hong Kong, without disclosing further details about Li’s trip.

Li took part in an evening prayer service at a chapel on Monday and exchanged gifts with Chow, according to Sunday Examiner, a publication operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong.

It added Li would visit educational organizations and the Holy Spirit Seminary.

Beijing and the Vatican severed diplomatic ties in 1951, follow-

ing the Communist Party’s rise to power and the expulsion of foreign priests.

Since the break in ties, Catholics in China have been divided between those who belong to an official, state-sanctioned church and those in an underground church loyal to the pope.

The Vatican recognizes members of both as Catholics but claims the exclusive right to choose bishops.

The installation of Li in 2007, however, was well-regarded by the Vatican and church officials at that time said it was done with its approval.

The Vatican and China signed

an accord in 2018 over the thorny issue of bishop nominations, but Beijing has violated it. Most recently Pope Francis was forced to accept the unilateral appointment of a new bishop of Shanghai.

Francis in September insisted that the Vatican’s relations with China were going well but said work must still be done to show Beijing that the Catholic church isn’t beholden to a foreign power.

During his trip to Mongolia that month, the pope also sent a special greeting to China’s “noble” people, giving them a special shout-out at the end of a Mass.

The 2018 agreement has been harshly criticized by Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, who was detained in May last year on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law that jailed or silenced many activists.

He was released on bail and has yet to be formally charged, but he and five others were fined in a separate case last November for failing to register a now-defunct fund set up to help arrested protesters. Kanis Leung/Associated Press

THE three-day National Retreat for Priests end with priests renewing their ordination vows and receive a blessing at the IEC Convention Center in Cebu City on November 9. ROY LAGARDE

I

T’S true that priests are responsible for all souls in their parish. But they need help too, especially in fulfilling their call to be holy, a renowned international retreat speaker said.

Sr. Briege McKenna, who is known around the world for her ministry of healing, said that priesthood can be a daunting vocation so priests need support from both their congregation and each other.

“We all need to be aware that we have to help priests live that holiness,” McKenna said.

“And to love them, to pray for them, and to encourage them.”

McKeena was the speaker at the recent National Retreat for Priests in Cebu City. She was accompanied by Fr. Escriva de Romani, a missionary priest from the Archdiocese of Madrid.

The Irish nun acknowledged the shame and frustration felt by priests who are dejected by challenges confronting them and their ministry.

According to her, their discouragement often arises from recognizing their own sinfulness and unworthiness, threatening to

overwhelm them.

“You know there’s a tendency nowadays to criticize priests… to say they are boring, that they are the worst,” she said.

The nun pointed out that vocations are God’s gifts to the Church when the faithful do their part.

“Priests don’t grow on trees. So it’s your [laity’s] responsibility as well,” McKeena said.

“The greatest gift you can give to a priest is to really appreciate and to pray for them.”

More than 2,600 priests, along with approximately 30 bishops from across the country, participated in the retreat organized by the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Clergy and the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu emphasized that the laity are just “as essential to the mission of the church as the clergy.”

“And as we journey together, you can help us in many ways,” Palma said. “So I think we should help each other become holy.”

“I hope and pray that your friendship with us also leads you to holiness,” he Palma said.

Roy Lagarde

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, November 19, 2023 A9

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Saving Philippine eagle through forest restoration

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

A

N innovative forest restoration initiative that aims to help save the critically endangered Philippine eagle and their habitats was launched recently.

Named Forest Restoration and Regenerative Agroforestry for Indigenous Well-being and Nature (ForestRegAIN) Project, the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) led the launching on October 27.

PEF is collaborating with various institutional partners, including government and nongovernment organizations, such as the Davao City Agriculture Office, Alcon Farm, Canada-based Mennonite Economic Development Association, Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority and the international NGO Reduce, Reuse, Grow (RRG).

Massive habitat loss MUCH of the country’s tropical forest has been lost over the last century. Of its estimated 90 percent forest cover, only around 20 percent of its ancient forest remains.

The continued degradation of the environment and destruction of its forest and coastal habitats is pushing the country’s unique flora and fauna to the brink of extinction.

One such unique species is the forest-dependent Philippine eagle, a pre-historic animal that is revered for its sheer size—the largest bird of prey in the world—and its ability to fly high up in the sky, earning for it the tag “the noble flyer.”

Cultural erosion BESIDES causing massive species extinction, thereby weakening the community’s defense against natural calamities and the depletion of the primary source of food and water communities, deforestation contributed to the erosion of Indigenous culture as the physical foundation

agroforestry crops.

He added that through Project R eG A I N, c lea r a nd t ra nspa rent data keeping w ill be in order as each seedlings w ill be tag ged for record-keeping.

“At this point, in a technologydriven era, we can take images of trees and we can utilize them for monitoring the progress of the trees,” Jones said, adding that transparency is very important to help the communities, particularly the IPs, through the project’s many benefits, including cultural restoration.

of their identity, and knowledge systems and practices were also lost, the PEF said.

ForestRegAIN is hoping to address some of these challenges and be able to contribute to achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals, combatting biodiversity extinction, and mitigating and adapting climate change impacts.

“Apart from the ecological and climate regulation benefits of forest restoration as a nature-based solution, it can also solve issues of poverty and cultural erosions in the uplands,” the UN says.

Engaging local communities

3-million trees THE project aims to initially plant 3-million native and fruit-bearing trees in 1,200 hectares of degraded forest, including grassland and brushland—all in Indigenous people’s (IP) territories that are near nine Philippine Eagle nesting sites.

Specifically, the project will focus on Mount Apo, Mount Sinaka and Mount Pantaron Key Biodiversity Areas in Mindanao.

T hese a re w it h i n t he a ncest ra l dom a i ns of si x IP g roups, n a me ly t h e B a g o b o Ta g a b a w a , B a g o b o K l at a , Obu Ma nuv u, Ma nobo Tinon a non, Higaonon a nd Ma nobo Tig wa h a non.

“We believe that the only way to save the eagles is to restore new forest habitats. Project RegAIN is not your usual ‘propaganda reforestation,’ where seedlings are left to die out because no investment is made in maintenance and care—such as weeding, brushing, staking, mulching—and post-planting,” Jayson Ibanez, director for Research and Conservation at PEF, explained to the BusinessMirror via Messenger. “ The project will do the right thing and care for each seedling, especially during the first year of life when it is most vulnerable,” Ibanez added.

POTENTIAL Forest-ReGAIN project restoration sites within the Manobo Tigwahanon ancestral domain in Bukidnon. Through reforestation using native and fruit-bearing trees, proponents of the project hope to restore lost tropical rainforests near Philippine eagle nesting sites.

PHOTO FROM JAYSON IBANEZ, PEF

Seedlings production THE project was launched in Barangay Malagos, Davao City, the home of the Philippine Eagle Center (PEC), which is also facing deforestation problems.

Part of PEC has already been converted into a tree nursery, where some 1-million tree seedlings will be nurtured until they are ready for replanting in project sites.

The nursery contains a clonal propagation and vegetative material reproduction greenhouse, a seed propagation area and a seedling (wildlings, and sexual and asexually produced seedlings) hardening area.

One-third of the trees will be raised at the new Monkayo Pag-asa Carbon Forest in Monkayo, Davao de Oro. The rest of the seedlings will be raised in nine smaller, satellite nurseries hosted by communities living close to the eagle nest site and forestrestoration sites.

A social entrepreneur based in California, USA, RRG has been brokering corporate funding for forest restoration in selected sites in the US, Africa,

South America and Asia.

For its part, the PEF will invite local partners and corporations to the project in order to match RRG’s support with an equal number of fruit trees and agroforestry crops that will be planted between trees at the restoration site. This was confirmed by RRG. The initiative covers the agroforestry component of Project RegAIN.

Sustainable financing IN ForestRegAIN, Cory Jones, the restoration manager of RRG, said financing the project is made possible

by Canva, a graphic design company, through its One Print, One Tree program, or for every print order, it promises to plant one tree.

“We plant native trees around the world on behalf of Canva. And it is growing,” RRG said.

ForestRegAIN, also called Project ReGAIN, he said, is a far larger initiative in the Philippines.

According to Jones, RRG w ill only provide funds for native trees for Project ReGAIN, while PEF will match it with fruit-bearing and other

Neuroscientist: Climate change altering animal brains, behavior

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U M A N-DR I V EN c l i m ate change is increasingly shaping the Earth’s living environments. Rising temperatures, rapid shifts in rainfall and seasonality and ocean acidification are presenting altered environments to many animal species.

How do animals adjust to these new, often extreme, conditions?

Animal nervous systems play a central role in both enabling and limiting how they respond to changing climates.

Two of my main research interests as a biologist and neuroscientist involve understanding how animals accommodate temperature extremes and identifying the forces that shape the structure and function of animal nervous systems, especially brains.

The intersection of these interests led me to explore the effects of climate on nervous systems and how animals will likely respond to rapidly shifting environments.

All major functions of the nerv ou s s y s t e m — s e n s e d e t e c t ion , menta l processing and behav ior direction—are critical. They allow animals to navigate their environments in ways that enable their survival and reproduction.

Climate change will likely affect these functions, often for the worse.

Shifting sensory environments CHANGING temperatures shift the energy balance of ecosystems—from plants that produce energy from sunlight to the animals that consume plants and other animals—subsequently altering the sensory worlds that animals experience.

It is likely that climate change will challenge all of their senses, from sight and taste to smell and touch.

Animals, like mammals, perceive

A CHIMPANZEE brain in a jar at the Science Museum London. GAETAN LEE/WIKIMEDIA CC BY 2.0 temperature in part with special receptor proteins in their nervous systems that respond to heat and cold, discriminating between moderate and extreme temperatures.

These receptor proteins help animals seek appropriate habitats and may play a critical role in how animals respond to changing temperatures.

Climate change disrupts the environmental cues animals rely on to solve problems like selecting a habitat, finding food and choosing mates.

Some animals—such as mosquitoes that transmit parasites and pathogens—rely on temperature gradients to orient themselves to their environment.

Temperature shifts are altering where and when mosquitoes search for hosts, leading to changes in disease transmission.

How climate change affects the chemical signals animals use to communicate with each other or harm competitors can be especially complex because chemical compounds are highly sensitive to temperature.

Formerly reliable sources of information like seasonal changes in daylight can lose its utility as they

become uncoupled.

This could cause a breakdown in the link between day length and plant flowering and fruiting, and interruptions to animal behavior like hibernation and migration when day length no longer predicts resource availability.

new ones, including food plants and prey animals, competitors and predators, and pathogens.

Behavioral shifts driven by climate change will restructure ecosystems worldwide, with complex and unpredictable outcomes.

Changing brains and cognition

Plasticity and evolution

RISING temperatures may disrupt how animal brains develop and function, with potentially negative effects on their ability to effectively adapt to their new environments.

Researchers have documented how temperature extremes can alter individual neurons at the genetic and structural levels, as well as how the brain is organized as a whole.

In marine environments, researchers have found that climate-induced changes of water chemistry like ocean acidification can affect animals’ general cognitive performance and sensory abilities, such as odor tracking in reef fish and sharks.

ANIMAL brains are remarkably flexible, developed to match individual environmental experience. They’re even substantially capable of changing in adulthood.

But studies comparing species have seen strong environmental effects on brain evolution. Animal nervous systems evolve to match the sensory environments of each species’ activity space.

These patterns suggest that new climate regimes will eventually shape nervous systems by forcing them to evolve.

When genetics have strong effects on brain development, nervous systems that are finely adapted to the local environment may lose their adaptive edge with climate change.

This may pave the way for new adaptive solutions.

As the range and significance of sensory stimuli and seasonal cues shift, natural selection will favor those with new sensory or cognitive abilities.

Some parts of the nervous system are constrained by genetic adaptations while others are more plastic and responsive to environmental conditions.

A greater understanding of how animal nervous systems adapt to rapidly changing environments will help predict how all species will be affected by climate change. Sean O’Donnell, Drexel

Behavior disruptions ANIMALS may respond to climate adversit y by sh if t ing locat ions, from changing the microhabitats they use to altering theirgeographic ranges.

Activity can also shift to different periods of the dayor tonew seasons. These behavioral responses can have major implications for the environmental stimuli animals will be exposed to.

For example, fish in warming seas have shifted to cooler, deeper waters that have dramatically different light intensity and color range than their visual systems are used to. Furthermore, because not all species will shift their behaviors in the same way, species that do move to a new habitat, time of day or season will confront

University/The Conversation

ACCORDING to the PEF, the project is designed to engage with local communities, specifically with 180 Indigenous families who would soon be participating in environmental conservation activities.

The forest restoration project is eyeing the vast forest of Mindanao, where more than half of close to 400 pairs of monkey-eating eagles can be found.

Rosarito Anog of Bagobo Klata, the “pongguo” or leader of the tribe, told the BusinessMirror via Zoom on November 7 that reforestation should be sustained to ensure that the planted seedlings will be nurtured until they grow into fully grown trees.

He said forest restoration will help conserve and protect the Philippine eagle and other animals, and the richness of the biodiversity of their ancestral lands.

Speaking in Filipino, he expressed his gratitude to PEF for its efforts to conserve and protect the forest, and for listening to what IP communities had to say in their every endeavor.

He aired his grievances against the government for failing to act on the issues and concerns the IPs have raised about the destruction of the forest.

“They [government leaders] don’t listen...and do not doing anything to help [us],” said Anog, referring

to government agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

Protection mechanisms FORESTREGAIN is banking on four schemes to ensure the protection of the forest restoration sites.

These include the integration of commercial fruit trees between native trees via interval planting. It said this will ensure both sustainable farming and conservation, because it will encourage upland dwellers, who are also farmers, to protect the trees and the fruit trees that will be planted.

Another mechanism is to have the site declared by IPs or site owners as “Sacred Food, Herbal and Ecological Spaces” in order to ensure its protection by IPs, who will defend it from outsiders.

One more scheme is to come up with a “Conservation Agreement” with each landowner’s family or clan.

It will stipulate that the restoration sites shall not be converted to any land use for at least the next 50 years.

Another measure is to declare any of the restoration sites as Protected Area by way of national or local legislation.

With any of these protection mechanisms, the PEF is confident that the tree mortalities will be no more than 20 percent per year, and that for every tree that died, prompt replacement will follow.

“Part of this project is a database, where each tree will be electronically tagged, measured and monitored so donors can track the growth and progress of each tree,” Ibanez said.

He said that once this component of ForestRegAIN works, there will be no more alibi not to invest in monitoring and maintenance of their reforestation project.

“If we are successful, this will be a game changer in reforestation methods,” he said.

Dog survives 10 weeks beside owner who died of hypothermia in mountain

A

TINY Jack Russell terrier survived in the Colorado mountains for more than 10 weeks after her owner died of hypothermia, despite losing half her body weight, a rescuer said.

R ichard Moore of Pagos a Spr i ngs, Colorado, a nd h i s 12-pound dog Finney had set out to climb Blackhead Peak east of the town on August 19, but never returned home, the Archuleta County Sheriff ’s Office said.

A days-long search of the treacherous and steep western side of the mountain between where Moore’s car was parked and the peak was unsuccessful, said Delinda VanneBrightyn with Taos Search and Rescue, whose search dog joined the effort.

From the starting point, the hike to Blackhead Peak gains 2,150 feet (650 meters) in elevation.

When a hunter came upon the 71-year-old’s body in the San Juan Mountains on October 30, Finney was still there with him, despite being down to just 6 pounds, VanneBrightyn said on November 14.

A recovery crew was f lown in the next day. Finney was taken to a veterinarian for a checkup and treatment and is now with Moore’s family, the sheriff ’s office said.

Finney’s “magnificent story of survival” is a testament to her dedication and loyalty to Moore, said VanneBrightyn, who has trained dogs for two decades.

“Jack Russells are pretty fierce,

A JACK RUSSELL terrier at play.

WIKIPEDIA CC BY 2.0

I have to say, they’re tough little dogs,” she said.

The hunter found Moore’s body about 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) east of the peak, further away from his car, VanneBrightyn said.

Moore, who wa s a n e x per ienced hiker, died of hypothermia, A rchuleta County Coroner Brad Hunt said. Hypothermia can cause people to become disoriented and confused.

But tiny Finney somehow surv ived, l i kely by hunt ing sma l l animals, such as mice, while also managing to avoid predators like mountain lions, coyotes and bears, VanneBrightyn said.

“If that dog could talk it would be an amazing story,” she said. “We probably could not even believe the story the dog would tell.”

“We are very glad...that Finney was returned to the family because they have lost their loved one, but they still have this wonderful, loyal dog,” VanneBrightyn said.

Amy Beth Hanson/Associated Press

Sports BusinessMirror

A10 | S

unday, November 19, 2023 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

THE US’s Ryan Murphy prepares for the men’s 200-meter backstroke final as Abbey Weitzeil competes in a women’s 50-meter freestyle heat at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July 2023. AP

What difference does a swimsuit make? A lot. A lot.

F While today’s swimsuits don’t have the power to totally change the sport, they remain an important element in who touches the wall first.

L

ONDON—One year after Qatar hosted the men’s World Cup, the gas-rich emirate and soccer governing body FIFA were urged Thursday by human rights group Amnesty International to do more for migrant workers who were essential to prepare the tournament and still face labor abuses.

Qatar’s treatment of hundreds of thousands of imported workers, mostly in searing heat, plus the slow pace of labor law reforms and enforcement drew intense scrutiny and criticism for more than a decade before games started on November 20 last year.

Progress has stalled since the month-long soccer tournament ended, Amnesty said Thursday.

“Qatar and FIFA must act urgently to ensure victims’ right to remedy and compensation are not denied or delayed any further,” Amnesty said in a statement.

FIFA and the United Nationsbacked International Labor Organization acknowledge that challenges remain and more needs to be done enacting Qatari law reforms.

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press

IFTEEN years ago, Michael Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics wearing a high-tech swimsuit with a catchy name, the Speedo LZR Racer.

The super suit era lasted just one more year, thwarted by a ludicrous assault on the record books. But it still matters what a swimmer is wearing.

“It makes a huge difference,” said Abbey Weitzeil, a four-time Olympic medalist who is sponsored by Speedo.

“Especially for the females. We have more coverage than the males. We want to take advantage of that.”

With the Paris Olympics about eight months away, Speedo released its newest suits this week with updated versions of the Fastskin LZR Intent and LZR Valor.

These sort of announcements no longer carry the fanfare that accompanied Phelps’s unveiling of the LZR Racer ahead of Beijing or the rubberized suits that dominated the 2009 world championships.

But after 43 world records were set in Rome, the international governing body finally took some commonsense steps to eliminate the oversized influence that swimsuits—some of them providing full body coverage— were having on times.

Polyurethane suits that greatly enhanced buoyancy were banned.

Today, suits must be made from textile materials and can only stretch from the waist to the top of the knees for men, from the shoulders to the knees for women.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a significant bit of wiggle room in the development of today’s swimsuits, all with an eye toward shaving off precious time.

“It really comes down to the margins of the race,” said Ryan Murphy, who has won four Olympics medals in the backstroke, including two golds.

“Let’s say you’re talking about a 1 percent difference. Take the 100 back.

That’s a 51-second race for me. A 1 percent difference is a half-second.”

Which can be the difference between winning gold and not even claiming a spot on the medal podium.

Speedo’s new suits were developed through a partnership with Lamoral, a company better known for developing protective coatings that are used to extend the life of satellites in outer space.

According to Speedo, this collaboration produced a suit with less absorption and more water repellence than previous efforts— and rekindled memories of the LZR Racer, which was developed with assistance from NASA. Murphy said he tried out a couple of prototype suits before the final model came out. British swimmers based closer to Speedo’s Aqualab facility went through more extensive testing.

“Every swimmer has different things they’re looking for, different tests they’re putting the suit through,” Murphy said. “It’s always a long process. A lot of the suit development was happening during Covid times.”

Murphy has chosen to use the Valor suit, which is slightly thinner than the Intent and gives him the sort of comfort and flexibility he is looking for in an event that relies heavily on his legs.

“The Valor has a little bit more breathability,” the 28-year-old Floridian said. “At the end of the race, I want to be able to feel my legs.”

Fury, Usyk unify four major belts in Saudi Arabia on February 17

L

ONDON—The fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to unify all of the major heavyweight boxing titles will take place in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on February 17, promoters announced Thursday.

The last fight to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion was in 1999, when Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield to win three major titles—the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) belts.

Lewis had to relinquish his WBA title the following year in a dispute over his next title defense.

This time, it’s for four belts.

Fury (34-0-1) of England is the WBC champion and Usyk (21-0) of Ukraine holds the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, having previously been the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in 2018 and 2019.

Fury and Usyk were expected to meet on December 23 but the fight was delayed after Fury’s disappointing performance in a split-

Serena to be inducted in Women’s Hall of Fame

S Weitzeil, on the other hand, chose the Intent because she prefers that her body feel more compressed in the water.

“I love the tighter one,” said Weitzeil, a 26-year-old California native. “It’s super flexible, but it molds to your body while also holding your posture. When I dive in, I can feel it holding my posture pretty well.

I wouldn’t choose any other suit over it. I feel super-comfortable in it. I trust it in my races.”

Murphy and Weitzeil are both too young to have competed during the super suit era, but they are intrigued by what it must have been like.

“I’ve never worn one, but I would love to throw one on and see what it’s like,” Weitzeil said. “It’s crazy that people are breaking those world records now. For a while, it looked like the super suit records were never going down.”

Five world records that were set at that infamous world championships in Rome remain on the books 14 years later, all on the men’s side.

ERENA WILLIAMS and Ruby Bridges will be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame next year, the hall announced Thursday, adding the tennis great and civil rights icon to a previously announced list of women to be honored during Women’s History Month in March.

“The 2024 inductee class has broken barriers, challenged the status quo, and left an impact on history,” the Hall of Fame said in its announcement.

Eight other honorees were announced in the spring. Williams and Bridges became available after the date and location of the ceremony were changed, a spokesman said.

Williams, 42, is a 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion who holds the record for the longest player ranked No. 1. She retired from tennis last year and earlier this month became the first athlete to win the Fashion Icon award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Bridges, 69, was a 6-year-old first-grader when she became one of the first Black students at racially segregated schools in New Orleans in 1960. In 1963, painter Norman Rockwell recreated the scene in the painting, “The Problem We All Live With.” The Ruby Bridges Foundation she established 24 years ago promotes tolerance and change through education.

A year after World Cup, Qatar and FIFA urged by rights group to do more for migrant workers Labor rights are still an issue almost 13 years after FIFA leaders stunningly picked Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, beating the United States’ bid in a final round of voting.

Qatar spent an estimated $200 billion on massive construction projects ahead of hosting soccer’s biggest event, including stadiums, roads, metro lines and hotels. Most of the same stadiums will stage the 24-team Asian Cup kicking off in January.

FIFA, under a different leadership, is now embarked on a similar journey toward Saudi Arabia hosting the World Cup in 2034.

“The abuses related to the 2022 World Cup should serve to remind sporting bodies that human rights must always be at the heart of decisions when awarding events,” said Amnesty’s head of economic social

decision victory over MMA star Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia last month.

“I am destined to cement my legacy as the No. 1 fighter in this era and to do that, I’ve got to beat this little man,” said Fury, who has previously referred to Usyk as a “middleweight.”

“That’s it. Simple as. He’s a tricky man, a good boxer, slick, all of that, but I’ve seen many people like him before.

When they fight the big men, they struggle and he’s going to struggle on February 17. He will lose, for sure.”

Usyk is coming off a defense against Daniel Dubois in Poland.

The Ukrainian has beaten British opponents in all of his last four fights, including when he won his heavyweight titles from Anthony Joshua in 2021 and defended them in a rematch in Saudi Arabia the following year.

“I have no goal,” Usyk said.

“Only the way. And my way is ‘The Undisputed.’ That is why this was the only fight for me. When that bell rings, I will bring the fire.” AP

WORKERS walk to the Lusail Stadium, one of the 2022 World Cup stadiums, in Lusail, Qatar, in December 2019. AP

Neither Williams nor Bridges could immediately be reached for comment.

Others in the class include Peggy McIntosh, 88, an activist known for her explorations of privilege; Kimberlé Crenshaw, 63, who helped develop the academic concept of critical race theory, the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions, and Judith Plaskow, 76, regarded as the first Jewish feminist theologian for calling out an absence of female perspectives in Jewish history.

Also to be inducted are Loretta Ross, 69, founder of the National Center for Human Rights Education in Atlanta, and Allucquére Rosanne “Sandy” Stone, a transgender woman born in 1936 and considered a founder of the academic discipline of transgender studies.

Three women will be inducted posthumously: Dr. Patricia Bath (1942-2019), an early pioneer of laser cataract surgery and the first Black woman physician to receive a medical patent; Dr. Anna Wessels Williams (1863-1954), who isolated a strain of diphtheria that helped in its treatment; and Elouise Pepion Cobell, known as “Yellow Bird Woman” (1945-2011), who started the first bank established by a tribe on a reservation in Browning, Montana.

For the first time, the induction ceremony will be broadcast nationally in prime time from New York City, according to the Hall of Fame. The previous 30 ceremonies have taken place at venues around Seneca Falls, the upstate New York site of the first Women’s Rights Convention, where the National Women’s Hall of Fame is located.

“The 2024 class of inductees are scientists, activists, performers, and athletes who are the changemakers of today and inspiration for the women of tomorrow,” Jennifer Gabriel, the Hall of Fame’s chief executive, said in a statement.

“Their dedication, drive, and talent got them here, and we’re thrilled to honor them on the national stage.”

The public nominates women to be considered for the Hall of Fame. The nominations are then reviewed by an expert selection committee.

SERENA WILLIAMS is a 23-time Grand Slam champion who holds the record for the longest player ranked No. 1. AP

justice, Steve Cockburn, urging FIFA to “learn from its mistakes.”

Ongoing issues in Qatar, Amnesty claimed, include limiting workers’ freedom to change jobs, theft of wages and freezing the minimum wage at its 2021 level despite a global cost-of-living crisis since.

“Qatar’s continued failure to properly enforce or strengthen its pre-World Cup labor reforms puts any potential legacy for workers in serious peril,” Amnesty said.

The Qatari government said Thursday its commitment to safeguarding work rights “was always intended to continue long after the tournament ended.”

“Qatar now leads the region on workers’ rights and labor reforms, setting an example for other countries on how a system can be successfully overhauled,” the

government media office said in a statement.

A key point for activists and some FIFA member federations has been compensating the families of workers in Qatar who were injured or died.

Weeks before the World Cup started, FIFA’s top lawyer had said it was open to helping create a compensation fund.

FIFA seemed to lose leverage with Qatar as the tournament approached and games began, and a more severe stance was taken in dealings with teams, World Cup sponsor AB InBev, the brewer of Budweiser, and fans.

Norway’s soccer federation pressed FIFA on funding compensation this year after the soccer body›s cash reserves doubled to almost $4 billion after taking its marquee event to Qatar. AP

BusinessMirror

November 19, 2023

How to talk to older people in your life about scams

2

BusinessMirror NOVEMBER 19, 2023

THE GRAND FINALE

YOUR MUSI

Ely Buendia, Rico Blanco to headline ‘The Last Rakrakan Festival’

RICO BLANCO

By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto

O

RIGINAL Pilipino Music (OPM) icons Ely Buendia and Rico Blanco are set to headline ‘The

Publisher Editor-In-Chief Concept Y2Z Editor SoundStrip Editor Group Creative Director Graphic Designers

: T. Anthony C. Cabangon : Lourdes M. Fernandez : Aldwin M. Tolosa : Jt Nisay : Edwin P. Sallan : Eduardo A. Davad : Niggel Figueroa Anabelle O. Flores

Contributing Writers

: Tony M. Maghirang Rick Olivares Patrick Miguel Jill Tan Radovan Reine Juvierre Alberto John Eiron R. Francisco Pocholo Concepcion Francine Y. Medina

Photographers

: Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes

Y2Z & SOUNDSTRIP are published and distributed free every Sunday by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing Inc. as a project of the

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Last Rakrakan Festival’ this November 25 and 26 at the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque City.

Rico, the former frontman of Rivermaya, will headline day 1 of the festival with bands December Avenue, Sugarcane, Munimuni, Orange and Lemons, Join the Club, SUD, Razorback, Autotelic, and artists such as Kiyo, Syd Hartha, Barbie Almalbis, and more.

Eraserheads’ former lead vocalist Ely will be the lead performer for day 2 together with Juan Karlos, Adie, Zild, Dilaw, Unique, Blaster, This Band, Sandwich, Mayonnaise, Valley of Chrome, Typecast, Chicosci, and more.

Celebrating the culture of OPM with three stages—Center, Mosh, and Peace—and over 150 best artists in the nation, the two-day festival aims to offer a unique and immersive experience by highlighting a variety of music genres and talents.

“The Rakrakan Festival is not all about rock music but definitely [about] OPM music itself,” stated Mary Lei Bautista, business development manager of the festival during the press conference on November 13.

The additional mini-stages, such as Busking, Manila Wrestling Federation and Sunugan Rap Battles, Muziklaban Audition Stages, and Cosplay Stage, will showcase the local hip-hop scene, and alternative and Japanese rock and not just the hard rock scene, said Bautista.

“We’re doing a festival and not just a concert,” stressed Benjie Estanislao, the director of the festival which will also bring together an all-Pinoy

ELY BUENDIA

THE Last Rakrakan Film Festival’s press conference featured the presence of key figures, including Rakrakan Festival’s Legal Counsel and Hey Moonshine’s Bassist, Atty. Carlo Ybañez, The Chongkeys’ Creative Director and Vocalist, Benjie Estanislao, Rakrakan Festival’s Business Development and Marketing representative, Mary Lei Bautista, and Rakrakan Festival’s Marketing Associate, Tess Ecuadro. The festival will take place at SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque City, on November 25-26, 2023. PHOTO BY JOHN EIRON R. FRANCISCO/BM

food and merchandise bazaar, a B2B car show, a skate clinic, a street art competition, perya games, and more.

Explaining the festival’s theme of “Peace, Love, and Music,” Estanislao said it is an “expression” of the Filipino culture that they also want to highlight as the festival’s advocacy.

When asked by SoundStrip what will be different in this year’s installment since this will be the last, Estanislao revealed there will be new additions that weren’t part of the previous installments before.

“It’s really packed,” he said. There will be a car show, perya games, fireworks display, he added.

But what’s unique in this event is that festival goers will not just watch the performers on the shows, they can become one too.

Budding artists can perform on the Busking stage and let their music be heard and discovered, said Estanislao.

Rappers can battle it out not just on the stage but inside a wrestling ring after the matches from the Manila Wrestling Federation, added Bautista.

Lastly, Estanislao said that the much-awaited comeback of the Red Horse Pambansang Muziklaban will have its own stage at the Rakrakan Festival.

Up-and-coming bands attending the event who have dreams of performing in the Rakrakan Festival can now perform as well through the Pambansang Muziklaban Audition stage.

“Just go to the booth of Red Horse, sign up and you can perform on the day itself,” he instructed since it will be on a first-come-first-serve basis and exciting prizes await.

As the Rakrakan Festival comes to its closing chapter, Estanislao hyped: “Kung ano ’yung ibibigay ngayon ng Rakrakan Fest is a big bang.”

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | NOVEMBER 19, 2023

3

BUSINESS

ALL OPM INDIE POP AND ROCK SINGLES

THE BLOOMFIELDS - “Byaheng Mahiwaga”

BILL AND THE JUDITHS - “Laruan”

GALAXY LODGE - “Dirty Couch”

On their maiden outing via Lilystars label, The Bloomfields shed their mop-top stylings for generous helpings of psychedelia. In a statement, the band said, “Our latest song is about those trippy rides [where you gather] friends to celebrate and experience […] psychedelic adventures”, hastening to add that it was—in fact— “inspired by an actual psychedelic experience.”

This, the band added, is the sound of them “[letting] go of [their] inhibitions” and creating “what [they] feel sounds great and awesome” without setting their sights on hits and views. The new track is also the first offering from forthcoming record that will mark the band’s twentieth anniversary in the business.

The new song “Laruan” from rising OPM band Bill and the Judiths tells its story in music the recalls of the sunshiny good-time pop-rock of the Go-Go’s with a twist. In an exclusive interview, the band said, “Our song is about playing with love. It has a catchy tune and easy-to-understand lyrics. It talks about the thrill of flirting and teasing, but it also acknowledges that playing with love can be dangerous and could lead to heartbreak. Overall, it’s a fun and relatable song that anyone who has ever played with love can enjoy.” “ Laruan” is incredibly inspiring to us.” the band stressed.” It speaks to the idea that love can be both serious and playful. It is a perfect expression of all the joys and sorrows of love and it inspires us to take love seriously and to treat it with the respect it deserves.” Band guitarist Erwin Dela Cruz is behind the lyrics and the music.

This new single from Galaxy Lodge, echoes the sound of languor giving way to artistry. With singer-tunesmith Emer Lacandazo’s entire family being infected during the Covid pandemic, Emer and his wife had to be relegated to the living room-- the couch, actually. Thus began the journey of “Dirty Couch,” where the titular object—Emer’ family’s “quarantine couch”— was transformed from a portent of illness into an musical totem.

On the music front, “Dirty Couch” is a shoegaze-sadcore number reminiscent of acts like Red House Painters and Galaxie 500. The cadence is unfaltering, the atmosphere commanding, and the singing evocative despite its rote calm. An EP is in the works.

TURNPIKE - “FATAL CLEANSING”

JAMES REID - “Jacuzzi”

KRNA - “DREAM AGAIN”

Cebu’s hardcore punk band Turnpike’s aural assault that’s “Fatal Cleansing” follows the band’s earlier release titled “Angels Weep.” Thematically, “Fatal Cleansing” lines up the apocalyptic narrative of “Angels Weep” from the opposite perspective. “The earth, wretched by sin and suffering, is stormed by the brute forces of God,” describes primary songwriter Bryle Tomilap.

“The end times foretell the lore of spiritual cleansing and the triumph of good against evil, but it will not be peaceful.”

The music continues to thrash into darker and heavier territory, a conscious evolution of the band’s music since their debut EP “You Vs. Everyone You Love”, released earlier this year. The arrangements scream heavy metal, with memorable guitar riffs pitched against growling vocals, but at barely over two minutes long, the track maintains a brutal paint-melting pace.

Filipino actor-singer James Reid and renowned Korean rapper B.I drop their highly anticipated music video for their latest track “Jacuzzi” which celebrates the sumptuous fusion of music, indulgence, and the allure of a good time. Shot in collaboration with official hotel partner Okada Manila, the “Jacuzzi” music video encapsulates the essence of a highend party, showcasing a star-studded gathering of beautiful people for an unforgettable experience.

The song “Jacuzzi” itself is a feel-good pop track that unites Asian countries through music, fusing house and pop elements, dynamic synths, and upbeat electronic beats. The music video, on the other hand, perfectly complements the song’s enthusiasm and carefree spirit. Notable celebrities on the music video include Maris Racal, AC Bonifacio, Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee, DJ Flict, Massiah, and A-Team.

The highly anticipated new track, “Dream Again,” from Cagayan de Oro dream pop band, KRNA, is described as an “anthem of yearning, while at the same time, “a denial and fear of rejection existing simultaneously.”

Songwriter and vocalist KC Salazar explains that the ambivalence of strong feelings forces one to leave them to “exist in dreams and be left unnoticed in the real world.” Lyrics like “I’ll be waiting here, in nobody’s land waiting for a sign” accentuate these emotions all too well.

“Dream Again” is the first single off the band’s upcoming album Kireina for release in early 2024. The track is also included in Shoegaze Pilipinas and The Grey Market Records’ recent vinyl release titled “Anggawan.”

Listen to the music on the artist’s social media page and on most digital music platforms.

How to talk to older people in your life about scams

By Adriana Morga The Associated Press

eryone regardless of age.

“It’s about staying vigilant together as a family unit and not to challenge that older adult but just to explain that [scams] are becoming more sophisticated,” Waterman said.

N

EW YORK—This summer, Daniel Goldstein’s 86-year-old mom got an email that looked like it was from her bank. She was alarmed because she hadn’t spent the money it mentioned, so she called a help number on the email.

The person on the other end of the line asked for her bank account information and made her believe she would get her money back. Instead, she lost $600 to a scammer.

Last year, consumers of all ages were scammed out of $8.8 billion. Older adults lost the most money compared to other age groups, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

While everyone wants to protect their parents and grandparents from scammers, sometimes these conversations can be complicated to navigate.

“We encourage people to think in multigenerational approaches. Everyone is getting scammed, it’s just a different way that scammers go after you,” said Genevieve Waterman from the National Council on Aging.

From having a lot of empathy to knowing how to report a scam, experts shared their recommendations for talking about scams:

Know which scams commonly target older people Two of the most common are the “grandparent” scam and romance scams, said Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention at AARP. The grandparent scam is when someone gets a phone call from a person impersonating a grandchild and asking for money to get them out of trouble. The first step to avoid this is to call other family members before taking any action, the

Be empathetic if they fall for a scam

“Older adults have been thrown into the virtual world during Covid without any digital literacy training or navigation in general,” Genevieve Waterman from the National Council on Aging said. Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com FTC recommends.

When it comes to romance scams, the FTC reported that people lost $1.3 billion in 2022. Scammers usually contact people through social media and then move the conversation to other messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Google Chat.

“A lot of older adults are now going into the online dating world, they’re making a lot of online conversations, having a lot of dates, but that leads them to scammers who are then convincing them to give them money and send it overseas,” Waterman said.

What starts as a simple conversation turns into a sudden romantic connection.

But then the person asks for money because something happened in their lives and they need help. According to the FTC, common lies by scammers include “I or someone close to me is sick, hurt, or in jail” and “I can teach you how to invest.”

Other common scams are investment scams, tech support scams, and impersonation scams. You can read more about these on the FTC’s website.

Have constant conversations about scams One of the best ways to raise awareness about scams is to talk to each other about them. To keep your older family members safe, Waterman recommends that families talk about scams more often in their dayto-day lives.

“I love the idea of sitting around the table and talking about [scams] and making it more common,” Waterman said.

Goldstein said his mom knows how to use technology fairly well and they’ve had many conversations about email scams.

However, she had never encountered the type of scam she was targeted by over the summer. Because she felt a sense of urgency, she didn’t contact her son before calling the scammer. Goldstein believes that could have prevented her from losing money.

It’s a common practice for scammers to make victims feel like they need to act right away, which makes them more vulnerable to falling for a story that might not seem plausible if they weren’t under pressure. If you’re having a conversation about scams with your family members, it’s important to highlight the rushing aspect of scam practices.

Inform, don’t impose When you are navigating complicated conversations, it’s better to take an informative approach rather than an authoritative tone. Because your parents or grandparents have a lot of expertise in other life topics, if you approach a conversation by imposing your ideas, it might not have the best effect.

When Stokes has conversations with her mom about scams, she approaches the conversation by saying that she heard about a new type of scam and asks questions such as “What do you think about this?” instead of using language like “Hey mom, there’s this scam, don’t fall for it.”

Waterman also recommends that you have conversations as a family, including younger members of your family, and make sure you make it clear that scams target ev-

If your family member has already lost money to a scam, Stokes recommends that you approach the conversation with a lot of empathy. “We tend to blame the victim,” Stokes said. “When you are faced with another adult in your life who has experienced a scam loss, understand that it’s a crime.”

Stokes encourages people to think about scammers as organized groups with many resources, rather than a random person calling from their mom’s basement. Stokes says that people should think of these crimes at the same level as others and therefore have empathy for the victims.

Discuss a plan in case they encounter a scammer A few days after the scam took place, Goldstein’s mom told him about it.

“She was really unhappy and I’m like ‘Mom, why didn’t you call me?’” said Goldstein, who felt frustrated by the situation.

Part of Goldstein’s frustration came from the fact that he had a system with his mom where she would call him if she ever felt like something was wrong. However, he also felt bad for his mom because she was embarrassed that she was a victim.

While being online is now part of most people’s lives, older adults have a harder time adapting to some aspects of the internet, which can make them more vulnerable, Waterman said.

“Older adults have been thrown into the virtual world during Covid without any digital literacy training or navigation in general,” Waterman said.

If you or a family member is a victim of a scam, it’s good practice to report it. n The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism. n Cover photo by Danie Franco on Unsplash

Taiwan may have figured out a way to beat phone scammers

T

aiwan’s crackdown on phone scams has led to a 70 percent drop in incoming international calls, representing a rare victory against unsolicited callers and highlighting the scale of the problem in the island.

The total number of inbound international calls fell to 15 million in October, compared with 50.8 million in May, according to data released by the National Communications Commission.

Taiwan’s victory came after authorities

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ordered phone carriers to block overseas calls disguised as local numbers. As part of the campaign, receivers must also listen to a scam alert before picking up any international calls.

Taiwan’s campaign against nuisance

November 19, 2023

calls also includes having online retailers start using codes when referring to people’s phone numbers and the creation of a dedicated “111” number from which the government would aim to text residents all official communications. Bloomberg