BusinessMirror October 18, 2020

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BECOMING

30 AT 12 The world recently marked the International Day of the Girl Child, but the reality is, millions of them are still victims of abuse— often disadvantaged from birth by tradition, archaic and often cruel laws or community rules, and leaders who don’t care enough or realize how much inaction on their plight spells loss not only to the individual but a nation deprived of their gifts.

A

By Cai U. Ordinario

When she turned 12, some relatives told her father, who had suddenly lost his job on the eve of enrollment, “It’s more important to keep your six boys studying since they’ll be working. Your girl is 12 now [and] in a few years she will get married and her husband will feed her. She’ll be of no economic value to you.”

The statement came as a complete shock to one of Alicia’s uncles. He immediately intervened and put a stop to the nonsense.

Another aunt also stepped in and endeavored to help Alicia find scholarships to keep her in school.

“So from age 12, I had to fend for myself academically.”

But that was over five decades ago. At home, Alicia eventually became the primary breadwinner of the family as she built her career.

In the workplace, she is considered one of the most respected leaders in her field of choice.

She has worked to help many young men and women find their way in the world while supporting her family. All these would not have been possible if she hadn’t been saved by her “guardian angels.”

But not all girls are as lucky as Alicia.

Many of them end up married off to older men or become mothers even before they reach their teen years. They became victims of the deafening silence that surrounds the issue of child brides and teen mothers.

Teen brides and mothers

BEFORE celebrating their 15th birthday, a total of 59 children got married in 2017, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). An overwhelming majority of these children, 51, were girls. PSA added that around 32,353 teenage girls between 15 and 19 years old got married in the same year.

While none of these teen brides were married in the Roman Catholic Church, 31 of them were married according to Muslim tradition and 17 were married through a tribal ceremony. The data showed two were married through other religious ceremonies and one was married through civil rites.

Among the 15- to 19-yearolds, some 13,199 were married

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.6200

NINA VACLAVOVA | DREAMSTIME.COM

S the eldest daughter, somehow, Alicia (not her real name) knew she would continue studying along with her brothers. But it almost did not happen for her.

through civil rites; 11,715 were married in the Roman Catholic Church; and some 5,860 of them were married in other religions.

Less than a thousand of them were married according to Muslim tradition and through tribal ceremonies.

In a recent statement, the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) said child marriage exposes children, particularly girls, to many and sometimes lifelong and irreversible negative health and development impacts.

“According to the PSA, marriage and family matters is the top reason for girls dropping out of school, while pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications among young mothers account for 22 percent of all maternal deaths in the country. Early pregnancy also has negative consequences for

the health and survival of the child of the young mother,” PLCPD said.

Apart from child brides, teen pregnancy is also among the most pressing issues of today.

Based on the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 9 percent of women age 15 to 19 are pregnant with their first child or are already mothers, a decline from 10 percent incidence in 2013.

The Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) said teenage pregnancy has been on the rise in the Philippines in the past few years and pregnancy among children aged 10 to 14 years old more than doubled in just over 10 years.

Popcom cited data from the PSA, which showed there was an increasing trend in the number of births from mothers aged 10 to 14 years old. About 2,250 live births

from very young adolescent mothers were reported in 2018.

Statutory rape

POPCOM Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez III said, in a recent webinar hosted by the Zonta Club of Metro Ortigas to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, that one of the worrying trends is that births among these teen mothers were sired by older fathers.

“Births among minor mothers are generally sired by older fathers [20 and above] at 64 percent, with only 36 percent fathers age 10 to 19 who were reported or who have ac-

knowledged the births,” Perez said.

Of the 62,341 births from mothers aged 10 to 17, some 26,971 were sired by fathers aged 20 to 29 years old. This includes the birth of a child born of a 10-year-old and 11-year-old mother.

Based on the data shared by Perez, another 11-year-old gave birth to a child sired by a 52-yearold; a 14-year-old mother gave birth to a child sired by a 61-yearold; two 15-year-olds gave birth to children sired by a 62- and 76-yearold; and two 16-year-olds gave birth to children sired by a 73-yearold and by an over 80-year-old.

Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4614 n UK 62.7636 n HK 6.2735 n CHINA 7.2297 n SINGAPORE 35.7552 n AUSTRALIA 34.4862 n EU 56.9437 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9622

Source: BSP (October 16, 2020)

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, October 18, 2020

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BECOMING 30 AT 12

The PSA data also showed that of the 62,341 births, some 16,694 were sired by fathers who are between 15 and 19 years old, while another 16,371 births did not state the age of the father.

“Many of them are probably cases of abuse. Most likely,” Perez earlier told the BusinessMirror.

“Once you see someone 10, 11, 12 years old giving birth, there’s abuse there. That’s statutory rape. So we should be doing more. Even the hospitals should be reporting. It should be a signal. People are just not conscious about it.”

With teenagers becoming pregnant early, Popcom said the discounted lifetime wage earnings foregone by a cohort of teenage women 18 to 19 years resulting from early childbearing is estimated on the average at P33 billion.

Perez explained the age-earnings (wage rate) profile is higher among those who completed high school compared to those who did not. Early childbearing reduces age-earnings (wage rate) profile through its effect on high-school completion.

The situation becomes even more dire with the Covid-19 pandemic. Perez said the lockdowns may have increased the number of teenagers who became pregnant.

Assuming a 9.5-month quarantine period, according to the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), teen pregnancies among 15- to 19-year-olds could increase by 21.4 percent or an addition of 18,000 pregnancies this year.

Perez said the data showed that the expected 84,000 in a year without lockdowns would increase to 102,000 pregnant teens this year.

NUMBER OF LIVE BIRTHS BY AGE OF ADOLESCENT MOTHERS AND CORRESPONDING AGE GROUPS/ AGE OF FATHERS: PHILIPPINES, 2018

NUMBER OF BIRTHS FROM MOTHERS AGED 10-14 YEARS OLD, 2008-2018, PHILIPPINES

Continued from A1

2,500 2,250

1,986

2,000

1,877 1,613

Change through legislation

IN order to bring about change, several nongovernmental organizations are rallying behind the bill filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros which will prohibit child marriage in the Philippines. The bill was recently approved by the Senate on second reading.

The proposed bill seeks to provide equal protection for all girls in the country by explicitly prohibiting child marriage and criminalizing its facilitation and solemnization.

PLCPD said the bill defines child marriage as an act of child abuse punishable under Republic Act 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination.

“Affirming that marriage shall be entered into only with free and full consent of intending spouses, the bill declares that betrothal and child marriages shall have no legal effect. Aside from these, the bill enjoins national government agencies and local government units to launch programs that will help prevent the practice of child marriage,” it added.

The bill, PLCPD said, will address the prevalence of child marriage in the Philippines, where one

1,903

1,958

1,629

1,500 1,324 1,116

1,381

1,113

1,000

AGE OF FATHER

Age of Mother

Total Births

10-14

15-19

20-29

30-39

40-49 50-59 60-69

70+

Not Stated

10

2

-

-

1 (22)

-

-

-

-

-

1

11

7

-

-

1 (27)

-

-

1 (52) -

-

5

12

48

-

8

14

-

-

-

-

-

26

13

293

3

56

53

11

-

1

-

-

169

14

1,900

9

542

523

46

7

2

1 (61)

-

770

15

7,334

15

2,142

2,619

190

17

6

1 (62)

1 (76)

2,343

16

18,008

11

5,218

7,217

523

63

12

6

2 (73 & 80+)

4,956

17

34,749

10

8,728

16,543 1,185

137

37

7

1 (70)

8,101

Total

62,341

48

16,694 26,971

224

59

15

4

16,371

1,955

Source: Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Philippine Statistics Authority

500

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Source: Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Philippine Statistics Authority

in six Filipino girls gets married before reaching the age of 18.

Despite laws setting the minimum age for marriage at 18 years old, PLCPD said child marriage happens in the country due to the Code of Muslim Personal Laws.

It said that these laws allow parents to marry off their children at puberty; cultural tradition among communities, and poverty and lack of education, among others, are also factors. However, co-

habitation among children is also often practiced as a result of early pregnancy.

Apart from this, there are several bills filed at the Senate which seek to raise the age of consent from the current 12 years old. In some Senate bills, the proposal is to raise the age of consent to 15, 16 and 18 years old.

In a recent budget hearing of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), of which

Popcom is one of seven attached agencies, Undersecretary Juan Antonio A. Perez III said raising the age of consent can help “scare off” older individuals from exploiting teenagers.

Perez added Popcom is recommending that the Senate also look into including all minors who are giving birth, many of whom are part of the vulnerable population, to be given social protection.

He said when teenage girls become pregnant, they drop out from school. If their family receives a conditional cash transfer (CCT), this government assistance will stop with their pregnancy.

The Popcom Executive Director said these children should then be given assistance not only during their pregnancy but until they reach the age of 25 to help them support themselves and their child.

The girl child’s fate

ALICIA considers herself lucky for having an outspoken uncle and a resourceful aunt who fought for her rights to be educated. Their help opened the doors to so many opportunities.

With all the struggles she went through, juggling housework as the eldest daughter while keeping a scholarship since age 12, Alicia looks back with a sigh, and says, without any bitterness, “I guess I became 30 when I turned 12.”

But her thoughts go out to all the millions out there whose screams are being drowned by the silence that keeps them from maximizing their potential as girls, as women.

“I was lucky to have ‘guardian angels’. But millions of girl-children don’t. [There is] unimaginable lost opportunity, both for them and their country,” Alicia said.

Millions of middle-class Southeast Asians are falling into poverty

By Siegfrid Alegado, Grace Sihombing & Anisah Shukry

A

from a teaching post at a tutorial center in March, she has been relying on her husband’s modest pay from his job in a retirement home and a little government aid.

“We only eat what is necessary to keep us full,” she said. Her situation lies in stark contrast to a middle-class upbringing. Farah’s life now resembles that of her father’s tough childhood, which the patriarch overcame and landed a cushy government post that afforded her a private college education.

Farah and her husband almost became homeless after their lease expired during lockdown. They had to borrow money from relatives for their apartment’s deposit fee.

Bloomberg News

S the coronavirus pandemic derails economies worldwide, many of the newly poor will come from Southeast Asia, dealing a huge setback to a region that had been prospering from a surging middle class.

The job losses are pausing the outsized boom Southeast Asia has experienced in recent years, with economies possibly taking years to fully recover.

In the Philippines, which has the most virus cases in Southeast Asia, a survey released October 6 by the World Bank and local agencies showed almost half of shuttered businesses were unsure when they could reopen. The extended effects of the nation’s lockdown have been devastating to people like Manila resident Jenn Piñon, 35, who spent years working on a fine arts degree she hoped would make her financially secure.

Instead, she has lost contracts she had won as a graphics designer, leading her to turn to selling eggs and hummus online. She’s also been living in her churchmate’s unused condominium unit to keep living expenses low.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” Piñon said of the work she has lost.

“I have to thank God that he gave me enough savings for now. Let’s just hope it lasts.”

Hard hit

WHILE incomes have plunged worldwide, the pandemic’s effects are especially severe in emerging parts of Southeast Asia, where a wave of job losses and weak social safety nets mean millions are at risk of losing their rung on the so-

cial mobility ladder.

The region is likely to come in second behind the Indian subcontinent in charting the number of new poor in Asia this year, said Ramesh Subramaniam, Southeast Asia’s director general at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila.

A lack of consumer demand, impending bankruptcies and socialdistancing measures continue to impinge on the job market, according to Priyanka Kishore, an economist at Oxford Economics Ltd. “In all, this points to a long, drawn-out recovery,” she said. “We estimate Southeast Asia’s GDP to be 2 percent below the pre-Covid baseline even in 2022.”

Bain & Co. last year forecast that Southeast Asia would add at least 50 million consumers to the ranks of its middle class by 2022.

The prospect of $300 billion in disposable income attracted the likes of Toyota Motors Corp. and Ikea to expand here.

Now, disappearing incomes are stalling growth, as consumption represents about 60 percent of the GDP of the region’s major economies other than Singapore, says the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

As many as 347.4 million people in Asia-Pacific could fall below the $5.5 a day poverty line be-

‘Not good as it should be’

JENN PIÑON: “I didn’t expect it at all. I have to thank God that he gave me enough savings for now. Let’s just hope it lasts.” VEEJAY VILLAFRANCA/BLOOMBERG

cause of the pandemic, according to the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research. That’s about two-thirds of its worst-case global estimate, and underscores the World Bank’s forecast of the first net increase in worldwide poverty in more than two decades.

The toll has been tough on people like Adi Muhammad Fachrezi in Indonesia. Fachrezi became the first in his family to go to college in 2014. Showing tourists around Java’s towering volcanoes and white sand beaches earned him about 20 million rupiah ($1,357) a month and covered tuition and board.

But that income has dried up as the virus has kept tourists away and he’s had to put his studies on hold. “I’m kind of ruined financially now,” said Fachrezi, 24.

Free fall

THE magnitude of the economic free fall in Southeast Asia’s five biggest economies was severe in the second quarter. Indonesia shrank 5.3 percent year-on-year, Malaysia 17.1 percent, Philippines 16.5 percent, Singapore 13.3 percent and Thailand 12.2 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Vietnam, which was among the few trade-war winners, will see its three-decade economic ascent grind to a near halt this year. Contractions could persist through early next year, HSBC Holdings Plc. says, amid withering manufacturing and a tourism drought.

What’s next?

HAVING weathered political upheavals, financial crises and natural disasters, Southeast Asia is no

stranger to setbacks. Yet, unlike previous events that pushed millions in the region into joblessness and poverty, such as the Asian financial crisis and 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, there aren’t other labor or export markets to run to this time.

That’s signaling a prolonged financial squeeze for Southeast Asians. ADB’s Subramaniam estimates improvements in income and poverty numbers lag an economic rebound by two to three years. The International Labour Organization estimates that time at work equal to at least 48 million full-time jobs disappeared in the region in the second quarter.

For months, Farah, 28, who asked to be identified only by her first name, has been futilely looking for a job in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Furloughed

SOUTHEAST Asia’s top five economies have each spent billions of dollars in income support to cushion the pandemic’s blow. Despite the efforts, social protections such as unemployment benefits across the region, excluding Singapore, remain “often not as good as they should be,” said Christian Viegelahn, an economist at the International Labour Organization.

The region’s governments on average spend only 2.7 percent of GDP for such programs, far below the 10.8-percent global ratio, he said. Informal workers, which represent 76 percent of Southeast Asia’s total employment, often fall through the cracks, he said.

Back in Java, Fachrezi is trying to look forward. He wants to rebuild his tour-guide business, finish his communications course and still be the first in his family to earn a college degree.

“My best hope is that my business can operate again at the end of the year to coincide with the holiday season,” Fachrezi said. That hope is a tenuous one—virus cases in Indonesia have continued climbing in one of the region’s biggest outbreaks.

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

The World

Homemade vaccine appeared to work, but questions remain

J

osiah Zayner’s plan was simple: replicate a Covid-19 vaccine that had worked in monkeys, test it on himself and then live stream the experiment online over a period of months. Now, that improbable bid is over.

Around the world, dozens of Covid-19 vaccines are in human clinical trials involving tens of thousands of people. While vaccines typically take years to develop, US scientists are racing to produce one in months through Operation Warp Speed. But Zayner, a one-time Nasa researcher who left the scientific establishment in favor of engaging in do-it-yourself experiments, bet that by working outside regulatory structures, he could test a vaccine even more quickly and certainly more cheaply by giving it to himself.

Instead, Zayner discovered, testing a vaccine is far more complicated than he had imagined. Even though his experiment yielded a promising result, Zayner found too many unanswered questions to say that it worked.

For one, it wasn’t clear whether antibodies he found in his own body in extremely tiny measures before the experiment began made a difference.

Zayner has long-believed that biohackers like him have the potential to make science move faster. In June, he told Bloomberg News that Covid-19 presented “the perfect opportunity” to show just what biohackers can do. Now, his message is decidedly different: “Human beings—their biology is so complex,” he said in a recent interview. “The results are going to be messy.

The experiments are going to be messy. So you test 30,000 people so that the messiness kind of averages out.” As the US rushes to bring a vaccine to market far faster than has ever been done, Zayner said he has discovered why the long, slow process of clinical trials shouldn’t be rushed. A promising early stage result is just that: promising. It’s a message that’s resonating nationwide in the US as the timeline for a development of a safe and effective vaccine has become a touchpoint in the presidential election, with President Donald Trump saying we could see an outcome before the November 3 vote, Democrats worrying that he is putting a thumb on the scale, and scientists saying it will probably arrive close to the end of the year, even in January.

Zayner is infamous for attention-grabbing experiments in which he uses himself as a guinea pig.

He self-injected the gene-editing tool Crispr while

giving a talk at a San Francisco biotech conference, and performed his own fecal matter transplant. Such stunts have made him an informal figurehead for a growing movement of do-it-yourself scientists emboldened by advancements in technology that have made such feats as engineering biology increasingly simple.

Zayner believes such cutting-edge science should be accessible to anyone, and that democratizing science could help curb exorbitant drug prices and speed science along. Initially, Zayner assumed that the experiment he named Project McAfee, after the antiviral software, would be relatively straightforward.

The vaccine selected had triggered protective immunity against the virus in rhesus macaque monkeys in a paper published in May. Zayner was able to order the same spike protein sequence from the DNA-synthesis company the researchers had used. The plan: He and two fellow biohackers—Daria Dantseva in Ukraine and David Ishee in Mississippi—would themselves test the concoction they ordered online.

They would then live stream the entire process online over several months, with the first showing to occur in June. But early on in the experiment, complications arose. Before starting, Zayner took a test at Lab Corp Inc. that told him he didn’t already have antibodies to the virus. But when he performed a similar test on himself shortly afterward, he found that he did have some antibodies, just not enough to produce a positive result on Lab Corp’s test. While those antibodies didn’t appear to be the neutralizing type, he wondered whether the result came because the vaccine was picking up signals from antibodies to a different virus—or how this faint antibody signal might affect things.

“I’m very suspicious of my own data,” he said.

He’s not alone. Hank Greely, a bioethicist at Stanford University, said Zayner’s experiment pointed out an underappreciated reality of vaccine development.

“Actually making the vaccine isn’t that hard,” he said.

“It’s testing it and knowing that it’s safe—and knowing that it’s effective.” Greely said that while Zayner’s DIY experiment probably presented more risks than potential benefits, there is value in demonstrating to people that vaccine development isn’t “magic.” For his part, Zayner said his turn at vaccine testing has tempered his appetite for DIY human experimentation. Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 18, 2020

A3

China tech stocks seen as better bet than under-attack peers in US

C

hinese Internet stocks will keep outperforming their US counterparts in the months ahead as regulatory challenges to America’s technology giants mount in Washington and Brussels, according to some investors.

Their reasoning includes expectations that weakening the US megacaps will help bolster the relative attractiveness of Chinese technology companies, which are continuing to invest in areas of growth. Meantime, the growing uncertainty over prospects for the US sector could send buyers to their cheaper Chinese peers which are still being championed by the government in Beijing.

“The structural trend for China tech remains intact,” said Edward Lim, chief investment officer at Covenant Capital Pte. in Singapore. The sector trades on lower valuations and with higher growth prospects than the US and it faces lesser regulatory risk from its own authorities, he added.

The MSCI China Information

Technology Index has risen 45 percent this year, versus a 32-percent gain in the Nasdaq Composite. It trades on 27 times 12-month forward earnings, compared to 32 times for its US counterpart.

Different strokes

The prospect of the Republicans losing the Senate in next month’s US election has focused attention on a report from the antitrust panel of the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee last week, which recommended curbing the powers of US technology giants including Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. European Union regulators are also reportedly eyeing the sector for tougher regulation.

The adversarial stance in the

US and Europe contrasts markedly with the approach of Chinese authorities, who meet this month to draft their economic and social policies for the next five years. The Communist Party plenum is expected to roll out a fresh plan to nurture the domestic technology sector, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

The plenum is likely to focus on migrating demand from goods to services and emphasize selfsufficiency in imports including electronics, which should bolster the case for owning stocks in the technology sector, according to Tai Hui, chief market strategist for Asia-Pacific at JPMorgan Asset Management. “That’s been a theme we’ve been advocating for some time and it would be nice for the 14th Five-Year Plan to reiterate,” he said.

The US is in a “ blood sport race” with China over technology and the economy, and companies like Alibaba Group Holding are likely to continue investing billions of dollars in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and 5G networks, said Robert Gillam, chief executive officer at McKinley Capital. “Is China going to dismantle their national champions?”

China attack

To be sure, there has been no shortage of attacks on Chinese tech companies by the Trump administration leading up to the election. Huawei Technologies Co., Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Ant Group Co. have all been caught in the crosshairs of the US government in recent months.

And for McKinley’s Gillam, the success and continued investments of China’s tech stars make it unlikely that Congress will seek to rein in America’s tech titans.

But from the antitrust standpoint, Chinese technology stocks have less risk compared with their US peers, which is positive for their performance in the months ahead, said Jian Shi Cortesi, a fund manager at GAM Investment Management in Zurich.

BNP Paribas Asset Management’s senior investment strategist Daniel Morris agrees, and suggested that the Democrats pose a bigger threat to the technology sector than the Republicans, in a recent interview.

“More regulation, generally you’d assume, would benefit Chinese technology companies,” he said. “You’re weakening the US behemoths, and that should provide an opportunity.” Bloomberg News

Journey

»life on the go

A4

BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Editor: Tet Andolong

Beach is Life Gumasa Beach in Glan, Sarangani

W

By Bernard L. Supetran

ith the easing of the quarantine classification in most parts of the country and the partial restart of the tourism industry, lockdown-weary Filipinos are looking to the most sought-after refuge—the beach. Months after summer slipped through our fingers, travel bugs aren’t giving up yet in the prospect of basking in an authentic beach escapade for our mental health.

Luckily for us, stunning beaches are dime a dozen across the archipelago which health authorities regard as safe spots away from virus-prone areas. Here are some top beach escapes worth checking out:

Batangas. The closest swimmable beach to the metropolis, it recently hogged the limelight when the government gave the green light for the resumption of scuba diving under certain health protocols.

In no time, beach-deprived travelers have been driving to Mabini town, more popularly known as Anilao, to plunge underwater or simply get their dose of the proverbial “vitamin sea” which is essential for our well-being.

A peninsular town in Balayan Bay, it is among the world’s top diving havens because of its location within the Coral Triangle, the most diverse concentration of the planet’s marine life. With 48 dive sites, it is habitat to soft corals, reef and pelagic fishes, rare critters, and variety of nudibranchs which are a visual delight.

If you’re not a diver, you can opt for snorkeling, kayaking, stand-up paddle, island hopping, and glassbottom boat cruising. If you’re a swimmer, upgrade your skills to freediving or mermaid swimming, so you can appreciate better the amazing coral and aquatic life.

Another aquasport you can lay your hands on is windsurfing, which began in this waterworld and has bred world champions.

The towns of San Juan, Nasugbu, Calatagan, Lobo, Balayan, and Batangas City, are other coastal

Kayaking in Anilao.

colonies where you can frolic in the sun, sea and sand, and everything in between.

Cebu. Recently named by the prestigious Conde’ Naste magazine as among Asia’s best islands, the province is worth revisiting, particularly its equally impressive under-the-radar destinations.

Nalusuan Island Resort and Marine Sanctuary off the mainland is an unheralded haven for scuba diving and a myriad of motorized watersports such as jet skis, banana boats, and parasailing. Situated just a few minutes away from the famed Olango migratory bird sanctuary, it takes pride in its rich marine life which is perhaps the best in Mactan Island.

About half an hour north of Cebu City is Papa Kit’s Marina and Fishing Lagoon, a sprawling recreational resort in Silot Bay in Liloan. More than a typical beach haunt, it is a fishing, adventure, nature and seafood dining destination for families and groups.

Keeping guests occupied are the 800-meter zipline, jungle obstacle, wall climbing, horseback riding, biking, sky bike, inflatable water park, seawater swimming pool, and an assortment of boats. Surrounded by mangroves, you can paddle out into the bay and swim in the sea.

Sarangani. T h is sout her n province is a “pound-for-pound” champion for its plethora of tourist attractions, much like its most famous son Manny Pacquiao.

Its most popular portion is

Tuka Marine Sanctuary in Kiamba, Sarangani

Inflatable Island at Papa Kit’s Fishing Lagoon

Nalusuan Island Resort and Marine Sanctuary

Gumasa Beach in Glan which is known for its long stretch of powdery white sand and crystalline water and site of the annual Sarangani Bay (SarBay) Festival, the country’s biggest beach extravaganza, which draws more than 100,000 party-goers.

Listed in the Australia-based Flight Network as among Asia’s Top 50 Beaches, it is also a gourmet getaway with the mouth-watery native cuisine served at the intimate boutique resorts.

On its western shores, scuba divers will be amazed by the marine biodiversity in Tinoto, Maasim, the top dive spot in the Soccsksargen region as declared by the Department of Tourism.

Within its municipal waters is Maasim Reef which abounds in juvenile white-tipped sharks, huge fan corals and gigantic bat fishes, and marine flora. Dolphins, sea turtles, whale sharks, Mameng, sea cows, and a profusion of aquatic animals can be sighted.

Further to the west, beach bums can laze at Tuka Beach, a marine park in Kiamba town which is dotted by a series of secluded coves with powdery pocket beaches and coral gardens ideal for snorkeling and freediving.

Declared by the government as a protected seascape and a key marine biodiversity area, Sarangani Bay covers a 230-km coastline, 2,293 hectares of corals, 60 important live hard coral genera, 411 reef species, and 11 seagrass species.

With a low Covid-19 incidence, the province will soon be reopening the once sleepy shores to make people feel that life is a beach, or better yet, beach is life.

Science

BusinessMirror

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

Sunday

Sunday, October 18, 2020 A5

Students in need of STEM resources?

DOST-STII library is open online 24/7

S

By Edwin P. Galvez

tudents are currently learning at home through the blended online and modular platforms as part of the protocol to avoid big crowds in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.

For farmers, ‘plantitas:’ HormoGroe, chemical-free plant growth stimulant

G

ood news for Filipino farmers and “plantitas” and “plantitos”! A new, chemical-free plant product that stimulates root growth will soon be available in the market.

The plant stimulant yielded a positive result after being tested in coffee, cassava, banana, vegetables and some ornamental plants—such as gumamela and bougainvillea.

Scientifically proven and tested, HormoGroe, an innovative root growth enhancer, can speed up seed germination, induce rooting, enhance shoot growth and flowering in plantation crops, high value ornamentals, fruit trees and vegetables.

Researchers from the Universit y of the Philippines Los B años (UPLB) established MakilingTek, a spin-off company that caters to the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of HormoGroe.

This was made possible through the Funding Assistance for Spin-Off and Translation of Research for Advancing Commercialization Program of the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industr y, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).

HormoGroe is made up of naturally occurring microorganisms that are nano-encapsulated to increase its utilization rate and reduce impact of environmental risks.

Project leader Dr. Lilia M. Fernando said this nano-formulated plant growth regulator is costeffective and environment-friendly.

“Unlike other products available in the market, HormoGroe is not synthetic. It is naturally produced by bacteria and is nano-formulated,” she said.

Meanwhile, PCIEERD Executive Direc tor Dr. Enrico C. Paringit expressed optimism that HormoGroe can increase production of good quality crops.

“As leader and par tner of innovation, DOST-PCIEERD remains committed in delivering excellence to Filipino people through technologies that foster vibrant production, food safety while ensuring care for the environment,” Paringit said.

“Making HormoGroe available and accessible to Filipino growers will enable them to contribute to food production in a sustainable manner.,” he noted.

The team revealed that HormoGroe will become commercially available by 2021 and it will be initially introduced and sold to farmer cooperatives and plantations as well as to retail stores through distribution channels.

The project team currently needs potential investors and partners for product distribution and testing to other crops.

For inquiries, please contact project leader Dr. Lilia M. Fernando at lmfernando@up.edu.ph or call +6349.536.1620. S&T Media Service

Searca launches ‘innovEIGhts’ model for open ties in agriculture

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n E m e rg i n g I n n o v at i o n f o r G ro w t h (EIG) Program powered by the “Searca innovEIGhts” model of open collaboration for academe-industry-government partnerships was launched on October 14.

At the vir tual launch held vir tually via Facebook and Zoom, Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio of Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) said: “The current situation has given us more oppor tunity to highlight the impor tance of agriculture. Moreover, technology and innovation, especially digitalization in agriculture, is more than ever crucial in the time of Covid-19.”

He noted the challenging task of ushering the farmers from obsolete ways of farming, limited to a production perspective, toward an agribusiness mindset in an innovative agriculture ecology called Agriculture 4.0.

It is a concept of the future of agriculture focusing on the use of big data, Internet of Things, precision farming, and disruptive agriculture for increased business efficiency.

Gregorio pointed out that this requires working together with partners and organizations who share this goal.

“That is why under Searca’s recently launched 11th Five-Year Plan with an overarching theme of Accelerating Transformation Through Agricultural Innovation [Attain], we commit to introduce innovations and platforms that will benefit stakeholders in agriculture,” Gregorio said.

Its 11th Five -Year Plan pushes Searca to achieve m u l t i - d i m e n s i o n a l a n d m u l t i stakeholder transformational changes through agricultural innovations.

The Emerging Innovations for Growth Program was established to develop pioneering innovation and technology incubation programs, platforms, policies, protocols, and partnerships.

“Sarca’s innovEIGhts model will support, facilitate, and implement co-created and copiloted agribusiness incubation, information and technology transfer projects, and impact- and action-driven extension and technical assistance engagement for Southeast Asia,” said Searca Emerging Innovation for Growth Program Head Dr. Rico C. Ancog.

He said the innovEIGhts components consist of “Index” for gap analysis and best practices benchmark, “Serves” to provide farmer advisory support for innovation, “iDeates” to come up with practical and technical solutions, “Blocks” for rapid prototyping of inclusive technology, “A4Life” to build an agribusiness incubation

network, and “Space” to be the platform for open innovative collaboration.

“We’re now calling for open collaboration, which is the kind of culture that Searca would like to operationalize. We are, therefore, here to partner with institutions from the academe, industry, and government,“ Ancog said.

“We are reaching out to donors and cofunders. We are ready to co-pilot innovative projects with co-implementers. We are here to join hands with co-enablers towards realizing Agriculture 4.0,” he added.

He pointed out that “what we hope to achieve are outcomes or solutions that can be described as transformational innovation.”

Such solutions may include technology adaptation, prototypes, and agripreneurship start-ups toward making a positive impact on all the players in the agricultural value chain, from the producers to consumers, and in the “lives of farming families not just in the Philippines but across Southeast Asia.”

A n a M a rg a r i t a “ G i n g g a y ” H o n t i ve ro s M a l v a r, s e n i o r a d v i s e r f o r G o N e g o s y o AgriPreneurship, and Paco Magsaysay, CEO of Carmen’s Best Ice Cream, keynoted the Searca innovEIGhts launch event. They shared their agripreneurship journey and lessons learned along the way.

Agripreneur and media star Nico Bolzico, founder and president of LM10 Corp. and Siempre Direct Corporations, which help agribusinesses from investing in projects to providing innovative technologies in agriculture, also supported the launching.

“Thank you so much for pushing for innovative agriculture. I think it is something our country really needs. I think the Philippines has a lot of potential,” Bolzico said in a pre-recorded video.

H e a d d e d t h a t i t ’s j u s t a m a t t e r o f communicating and showing people how much can be done in agriculture in the Philippines and also how important agriculture is in the Philippines.

“If you think about it, everything comes from the land. And agriculture is probably the only sector that is present everywhere and is the primary sector that we need to have developed,” Bolzico said.

He reiterated the value of collaboration, which is at the heart of Searca innovEIGhts, saying “there’s a lot of talent in the Philippines; there’s a lot of very brilliant people and it’s just a matter of getting them together, having a common objective and pushing for it.”

With the schools closed, so as their libraries. Thus, the students have limited access to information besides their school books and the Internet.

However, students should not worry about their sources of reliable information for their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

The Science and Technology Information Institute (STII) Library of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is ready to serve its clients 24/7 through its array of digitized and online STEM resources and services.

“We reply to information requests and provide other online library services to public and private-school students, teachers and researchers who need access to science and technology resources,” said Lynderlitte M. Maglaque, supervising science research specialist of the DOST-STII during the weekly online program “DOST Report” aired on DOSTv. The DOST-STII Librar y responds to online material requests eight working hours after receiving the request.

Maglaque, head librarian of the DOST-STII Library that houses books, journals, theses and dissertations, and multimedia resources related to science and technology, said that these resources have been made available online, particularly the STEM materials for the learning and teaching needs of both students and teachers.

T he resources also include the complete digitized collection of the 114-year-old Philippine Journal of Science (PJS) and DOST publications, such as the quarterly magazine S&T Post, the monthly newsletter for students and professionals DOST Digest, and the monthly Balitang RapiDOST through DOST web sites and mobile applications.

“All DOST-STII published titles are available for free and full-

text download at stii.dost.gov.ph, Maglaque said.

The country’s first S&T digital library called the DOST-Starbooks, or the Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosks that cater to schools in remote areas, is now accessible via www.starbooks.ph, while its mobile app and a Quiz app can be downloaded for free at Google Play Store.

Mobile apps are also available for DOSTv, the online weather and S&T channel of the agency, and for the web sites www.science.ph on the latest S&T news and the DOST's www.dost.gov.ph on the agency’s projects and programs.

“While the library plans to digitize all its collections, we need to set limitations to some titles, especially those materials published by different institutions, to comply with the Copyright Law and Intellectual Property Rights,” Maglaque said.

Increasing online accessibility, services

The Covid-19 pandemic has hastened the strengthening of online and digital platforms and capabilities of physically shut academic and public libraries like the DOSTSTII Library, making their collections more accessible to support remote or blended learning and teaching and research.

Data furnished by the DOSTSTII Library may support the efforts toward this direction as the majority of its 1.83 million clients in 2019 were online users (99.82 percent), while walk-in clients were only 3,303, mostly high school students (66 percent) and college students (29 percent).

The library’s online users accessed S&T information from the STII web site www.science. ph (68.99 percent), while the rest used the SciNet Integrated Library Management System Online Public Access Catalog (SILMS OPAC).

Interactive sessions like this at the DOST-STII Library (taken before the Covid-19 quarantine) can be applied at home as students can now have access to the library’s online version of Starbooks, which contains thousands of digitized science and technology resources in various formats, and other its online sources that students can use for blended learning. DOST-STII Library

SciNet,, or the Science and Technology Information Network of the Philippines is a network of all libraries and information centers under the DOST. T h e D O S T- S T I I L i b r a r y, manned by four licensed librarians and two staff members, attends to an annual average of 136 online requests through e-mail or Facebook message.

In 2019, they responded to requests from students (reference books), teachers ( lesson contents and syllabi) and researchers (related studies), took take care of 764 library tour participants among their student visitors, and answered several phone inquiries.

Online library requests, literacy program

“As the demand increases for online library requests and literacy program, we are making sure to accommodate all these requests by proper scheduling,” Maglaque said.

At present, all the requests the library received from students and teachers from both private and public schools were STEM-related.

For its Online Library Literacy Program, the DOST-STII Library conducts a 90-minute session on its free services and resources, including how to navigate the Starbooks Online.

Schools at all levels with 20 to 90 participants may send their requests to the STII director at library@stii.dost.gov.ph and expect a response after 8 hours. They may also fill out the request form by clicking https://bit.ly/3n3cwhT. “We would like to share information about using only reliable S&T sources, including tutorials on how to use them, and further

strengthen our advocacy against “fake news,” Maglaque said.

Part of their tutorial is how researchers may use SciNet Online Public Access Catalog to browse the library’s collections.

Researchers may visit https:// scinet.dost.gov.ph, click OPAC, type the research keyword in the search bar or select the title located under STII, get the details of the materials and email the request to library@stii.dost.gov.ph.

To support the S&T information needs of the clients of public libraries, the DOST-STII and the National Library of the Philippines have organized a webinar on “Free e-Resources for Online Learning” for public librarians on October 23 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

Starbooks now online

DOST has rolled out the online version of Starbooks, which contains thousands of digitized S&T resources in various formats, including text and audio-video files, that can be used for the blended format of teaching and learning.

“During the STII anniversary last February 14, we signed a contract with the Department of Education so public schools can use the contents of Starbooks,” Maglaque said.

To explore the contents of Starbooks Online, students and teachers may visit www.starbooks.ph and log in their account or sign up for a new account.

Among its contents are videos on how to start a livelihood and science for safer communities; K-12 materials; nuclear technology collection; past issues of the PJS; interactive math and science educational videos; S&T news; and food and nutrition materials, among other files.

Concert to showcase bamboo musical instruments

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The Karatong Festival Street Performers are among the concert’s featured artists in the virtual concert.

ttention ethnic music enthusiasts.

The rich diversity of the country’s bamboo musical instruments will be put on full display in a Virtual Concert happening on November 24.

Sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology’s Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI), the event will showcase a wide range of bamboo musical instruments which will be played by six groups of performing artists from all over the Philippines.

These include indigenous peoples’ representatives from the Cordillera; the Dipolog Community Rondalla; the “Huni Ukulele” group; the Pangkat Kawayan Orchestra; a concert organist for the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ; and the Karatong Festival Street Performers.

According to DOST-FPRDI’s Aralyn L. Quintos, “We are

doing this virtual concert as part of the Institute’s Bamboo Musical Instruments Program.”

“Our project’s main goal is to provide the country’s bamboo musical instrument makers with science-based solutions for their problems about their products’ sound quality, playability, tuning and durability.

“We are now on our second year and working to develop processing techniques that will make bamboo more durable without damaging the musical instruments’ sound quality.

“We also plan to standardize the processing of selected instruments; come up with sample designs; study raw material sources and existing markets; and set-up a bamboo musical instruments’ processing facility.”

The program is assisted by experts from the University of the Philippines-Center for Ethnomusicology and the Philippine Normal University,

funded by the DOST Grantsin-Aid, and is being monitored by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technologies Research and Development (DOSTPCIEERD).

Quintos added, “Through the concert, we hope to raise public awareness for the country’s diverse array of ethnic instruments. By doing so, we not only help build pride for our heritage, we also help create markets for quality bamboo products.”

Among many others, the musical instruments which will be featured in the concert include the bungkaka, which creates a buzzing sound, the guitar-like kollitong, the nose flute tongali, the koratong bamboo tubes, percussion instruments, such as tambi, patatag, marimba and tongatong, as well as banduria, ukulele, and an organ all made of bamboo.

Rizalina K. Araral/S&T Media Service

Faith A6 Sunday, October 18, 2020

Sunday

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

Catholics told: Don’t keep cremation ashes at home

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s All Souls’ Day comes near, a Catholic bishop has reminded the faithful that ashes of cremated loved ones cannot be kept at home.

In a pastoral instruction issued recently, Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila said that ashes of the dead should be kept in a sacred place, such as columbaria and cemeteries.

“I would like to remind everyone that it is not allowed for us to keep the urns containing the ashes in our homes permanently,” Pabillo said.

He warned of “great danger of desecration in the future,”

especially when there is no one around to look after and care for the ashes.

“So the ashes should be laid to rest in columbaria in the cemeteries or in churches,” he said.

The bishop made the statement as he acknowledged the increasing number of dead being cremated due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2016, the Vatican affirmed that Catholics may be cremated but should not have their ashes

Saudi Arabia presides over G-20 interfaith forum

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UBAI, United Arab Emirates—Saudi Arabia is presiding over a virtual global interfaith forum, with participation from Muslim clerics, Jewish rabbis, Christian priests and others religious figures.

The kingdom is hosting the online event as part of its presidency this year of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations.

Saudi Arabia has embarked more assertively in recent years on an outreach to Jewish and Christian groups.

Some of those efforts have coincided with a broader alignment of interests and emerging ties between the Gulf Arab states and Israel, which share a common foe in Iran.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also overseen efforts to supplant a religiously conservative Saudi identity with one rooted in hypernationalism, following decades of adherence to a hard-line interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism, which has flourished in the kingdom.

Faisal bin Muaammar, who heads the Saudi-funded International Dialogue Center organizing the five-day forum, told The Associated Press the purpose of the event is to enhance relationships

among different faiths.

“We are talking about a relationship between religions, between Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus. The dialogue has no political agenda at all, or a political direction in terms of political conversations or negotiations,” he said.

Still, he said interfaith forums like this can help build bridges between people and countries.

“If it is used for the right reasons, the input of religious leaders or religious parties is excellent for any peace process in the world,” he said.

The event had been envisioned to be held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, a rare gathering of diverse religious figures in the conservative Islamic nation. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the forum is being held virtually like other high-profile G-20 events hosted by Saudi Arabia.

Speakers at Tuesday’s opening session included the Saudi religious affairs minister, the secretary general of the Saudi-based Muslim World League, the grand mufti of Egypt, archbishop of ConstantinopleNew Rome and ecumenical patriarch, the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, and UN representatives. AP

A Catholic priest blesses the urns containing cremated remains at the Manila Cathedral on October 11, 2020. MANILA CATHEDRAL

scattered or kept in urns at home.

“Undas online” accepting prayer requests

Meanwhile, the Undas web site

is back online to accept prayer requests as cemeteries across the country will be closed on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day. The media office of the Catholic

Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) revived the web site so that Filipinos can request prayers for their departed loved ones.

Now on its ninth year, the platform was originally intended for Filipino seafarers and those in other countries who had no way of celebrating Undas.

The web site initially highlighted an online facility to request for Masses for their beloved dead.

Later, it added more features that approximated a virtual experience in observing Undas.

This year when cemeteries will be closed nationwide from October 29 to November 4 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the web site has some new features.

“There will be live online Masses that will be streamed from

different places,” said Msgr Pedro Quitorio, CBCP Media Office director.

“One can even light a candle online while praying for their dear departed,” he said.

The web site also offers audio and video reflection and catechesis on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day. In Manila, Bishop Pabillo encouraged the faithful to observe Undas by going to church to hear Mass.

He said that more Masses will be added by parish churches in the archdioceses to accommodate churchgoers and still observe physical distancing.

“On November 1 and 2, all are encouraged to go to Church and offer Mass for our beloved dead.

The Holy Eucharist is the best prayer that we can offer,” Pabillo said. CBCP News

First Swiss-Filipino joins Vatican guards

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or the first time, the Vatican has sworn in a Swiss with Filipino parentage as member of the Swiss Guard, the elite corps of soldiers who protect the pope.

Vincent Lüthi was among the 38 new recruits who took oath of allegiance to Pope Francis in the Vatican on October 4.

T h e 2 2- y e a r - o l d g r e w u p in Cug y, Switzerland, and the only child of a Swiss father and a Filipino mother from Santa Fe town on Bantayan Island in Cebu province.

The ceremony for new Swiss Guards was due to take place in May, but it was moved to October due to the coronavirus restrictions.

The event was held behind closed doors, in accordance with current protection regulations.

Pope Francis met with the guards and their parents before the ceremony and thanked them for choosing to dedicate “a period of their youth in the service of the Successor of Peter.”

In the audience, the pope told the new recruits that “the time you will spend here is a unique moment in your life.”

“May you live it in a spirit of fraternity, helping one another to lead a meaningful and joyfully Christian life,” the pope said.

The pontiff also emphasized the crucial role of the family in the transmission of faith.

“The presence of your family members expresses the devotion of Swiss Catholics to the Holy

Swiss Guard Vincent Lüthi stands at attention as Pope Francis leads his general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican. Vatican Media

Lt. Vincent Lüthi takes an oath during the swearing-in ceremony for 38 new recruits to the Swiss Guard at the Vatican on October 4. Screenshot/Vatican News

See, as well as the moral education and good example by which parents have passed on to their children the Christian faith and the sense of generous service to their neighbor,” he said.

Responsible to protect the pope, Vatican

Established in 1506, the duty of the world’s smallest but oldest standing arm is responsible to protect the Vatican, Apostolic

Palace and the pope. They serve as personal escorts to the pontiff and as watchmen for Vatican City and the pontifical villa of Castel Gandolfo.

Members of the Swiss Guard must be Swiss, Catholic and topnotch soldiers. They are also famous for their antique blue, red and yellow striped uniforms.

The guards, who are independent of the Swiss armed forces, are employed by the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the pope, to whom they swear fealty in a ceremony at Belvedere Court.

As is common with any elite military corps, competition is intense for inclusion in the Swiss Guards.

New recruits must be unmarried Roman Catholic males with Swiss citizenship, between 19 and 30 years of age, and at least 5 feet 8 inches (1.74 meters) tall; they must have a professional diploma or high-school degree and must complete basic training with the Swiss military.

Historically, new recruits also had to prove they were free of physical deformities, and commanding officers were traditionally of noble lineage.

The guards normally wear blue doublets and blue berets, but on ceremonial occasions they don the colorful Renaissance-era uniforms for which they are famous. They are among the oldest uniforms in continuous use, though Michelangelo, contrary to legend, probably did not design them.

Why ‘namaste’ has become the perfect pandemic greeting H ands over the heart in prayer pose. A little bow of the head. A gesture of respect. An acknowledgment of our shared humanity. And no touching.

As people the world over are choosing to ditch the handshakes and hugs for fear of contracting the coronavirus, namaste is becoming the perfect pandemic greeting.

As a scholar whose research focuses on the ethics of communication and as a yoga teacher, I’m interested in how people use rituals and rhetoric to affirm their interconnectedness with one another— and with the world.

Namaste is one such ritual.

I bow to you

Originally a Sanskrit word, namaste is composed of two parts— “namas” means “bend to,” “bow to” or “honor to,” and “te” means “to you.” So namaste means “I bow to you.” This meaning is often reinforced by a small bow of the head.

In Hindi and a number of other languages derived from Sanskrit, namaste is basically a respectful way of saying hello and also goodbye.

Today, namaste has been adopted into the English language, along with other words from non-English sources. Many words, when borrowed, keep their spelling but acquire new meanings.

This is the case with namaste—it has shifted from meaning “I bow to you” to “I bow to the divine in you.”

For m a ny A me r ic a n yo g a teachers, beginning most likely with Ram Dass in the 1960s and 1970s, namaste means something like “the divine light in me bows to the divine light within you.” This is the definition of namaste I first learned and have often repeated to my students.

In the words of the popular A merican yoga teacher Shiva Rea, namaste is “the consummate Indian greeting,” a “sacred hello,” that means “I bow to the divin-

ity within you from the divinity within me.”

Deepak Chopra repeats a similar definition on his podcast “The Daily Breath with Deepak Chopra:” namaste means “the spirit in me honors the spirit in you” and “the divine in me honors the divine in you.”

Namaste has a sacred connotation. When you bow to another, you are honoring something sacred in them. When you bow to another, you are acknowledging that they are worthy of respect and dignity.

I bow to the divine light in you

However, there are critics who say that global yogis have taken namaste out of its context. Some claim that the greeting has been infused with a religious meaning that doesn’t exist in Indian culture.

I see things differently. Many common salutations have religious roots, including adios, or “a Dios,” to God, and goodbye—a contraction of “God be with you.”

Most Indian religions agree that there is something divine in all individuals, whether it’s a soul, called the “atman” or “purusha” in Hinduism, or the capacity for awakening in Buddhism.

As I argue in my forthcoming book, The Ethics of Oneness: Emerson, Whitman, and the Bhagavad Gita, this idea of bowing to the divine in others also resonates with a deep spiritual inclination in American culture.

Beginning in the 1830s and 1840s, the influential philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, in dialogue with a number of other thinkers, invented a form of spiritual practice that encouraged Americans to actively address the divine soul in others every time they spoke.

Of particular note is that Emerson often used the metaphor of light to imagine this inner divinity, likely because of his great admiration for the Quakers, whose Chris-

tian denomination holds that God lives inside of us all in the form of an “inner light.”

The definition of namaste as “the divine light in me bows to the divine light in you” is very much in the spirit of both Indian religions and 19th-century traditions of American spirituality.

Namaste as an ethical commitment

In today’s global yoga culture, namaste is typically said at the end of class. As I understand, for yogis, saying namaste is a moment of contemplating the virtues associated with yoga—including peacefulness, compassion, and gratitude and how to bring those into one’s daily life.

I a sked Swa m i Tat t wa m ayananda, the head of the Vedanta Society of Northern California in San Francisco and one of the world ’s leading authorities on Hindu ritual and scripture, how he felt about Americans like me

saying namaste.

He responded: “It is perfectly appropriate for everyone, including Westerners like yourself to say namaste at the end of your yoga classes.”

He also reiterated that namaste means “I bow down to you”—in the sense that I bow down to the divine presence in you.

One need not be a Hindu, or a Buddhist, or a yoga teacher to say namaste. Namaste can be as religious or secular as the speaker desires.

What matters most, I believe, is the intention behind the word namaste. When you bow to another, the question to consider is this: Do you truly recognize them as a fellow human being worthy of dignity, bonded in shared suffering and a shared capacity for transcendence?

This recognition of our interconnectedness is what namaste is all about—and exactly what we need during the pandemic. Jeremy David

Engels/The Conversation (Creative Commons)

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Sunday, October 18, 2020

A7

High hopes for rare PHL dove

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

flora and fauna, and home to a large number of endemic species.

With a total area of 54,574 hectares of lush lowland forest, and owing to its location in the Sierra Madre, Angat Watershed is an important wildlife habitat, supporting at least 43 species of endemic and native birds, including birds with restricted range, such as the Luzon bleeding-heart pigeon, according to the DENR-BMB.

I

t took a few minutes for the first one to walk slowly to an opening of the wooden crate. When the instinct kicked in, the rest of the troop followed, frantically walking outside, flapping their wings and blending with the environment. In a matter of minutes, they were all gone.

L oc a l ly c a l led pu ñ a l ad a , t he rare, ground-dwelling doves called Luzon bleeding-heart pigeons are finally “ home,” w ild and free in their natural habitat.

The release of the nine Luzon bleeding-heart pigeons on September 15 in the Angat Watershed Reservation in Norzagaray, Bulacan, was considered a “momentous event.”

It was the first time the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) released the birds in their natural habitat.

The pigeons were bred in captivity as part of a Wildlife Loan Agreement (WLA) between the Philippines and Singapore that dates back to 2012.

The birds were turned-over by Singapore authorities to the Philippines and were flown back home last month amid the travel restrictions and cancelled flights because of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Release protocols The birds have undergone assessment and were declared to be fit for release by the DENR’s veterinarians almost a month since they arrived in the country.

Anson Tagtag, chief of the Wildlife Conservation Section, who led the DENR Release Team said they first sought clearance from the National Power Corp. (NPC), which manages the Angat Watershed Reserve.

The team inspected the site of the release along the Tarictic Trail. As part of the protocol, it allowed the birds to settle in and familiarize with their new environment while inside two wooden crates.

“The crate doors were then slowly opened and the birds were allowed to walk out slowly on their own,” Tagtag told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on October 13.

The birds, he said, were observed to

Conservation and Protection Act, for critically endangered species.

In the case of the Luzon bleeding-heart pigeon, which was classified as near threatened and v ulnerable, the aim was to prevent the species’ further population decline through captive breeding outside its natural habitat.

Part of the deal is to ensure that the species being loaned under the program will not die.

Philippines, Singapore partnership

Leg bands are attached to the “Lucky 9” Luzon bleeding-heart pigeons from Singapore for identification purposes as they are released by the DENR-BMB in the Angat Watershed in Norzagaray, Bulacan. DENR-BMB

A Luzon bleeding-heart is distinguished from other “bleeding heart” pigeon species for having a more pronounced reddish-hue on its breast that extends to its belly. DENR-BMB be all agile and alert upon the release.

“After the release, they immediately dispersed, going their separate ways,” Tagtag said.

The team went back at the release site on September 16 and 17 as part of the post-release monitoring activity and observed that the birds have started to learn how to camouflage and hide at the sight of the team.

“This was a good sign that they are learning to adapt, increasing their chances of survival,” said Tagtag, who expressed hope that the birds will soon join the natural breeding population of the rare doves in the area.

Born in Singapore DENR Assistant Secretary Ricardo Calderon told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on October 12 the birds are progenies of the two orig i n a l pa i rs of Lu zon bleed i nghe a r t s t he Ph i l ip pi ne s s e nt to Si ngapore i n 2012.

The project was under a captivebreed ing prog ra m of t he DENR through its Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) in partnership with Singapore Zoo and Avilon Zoo in Rizal province.

“Actually, there were 10 of them, but one of the birds died because of an injury. Perhaps a result of the infighting between the birds during transport,” said Calderon, also the

concurrent BMB chief.

In the last eight years, the WLA for the Luzon bleeding-heart has produced a total of 60 progenies.

The DENR is hoping to see them brought back to the Philippines in the near future.

Illicit pet trade Tar g e t ed f o r t h e i l l i c i t p e t trade, the Luzon bleeding-hear t is c u r rent ly l isted a s “ Nea r T h reatened ” by t he Inter n at ion a l Un ion for Conser vat ion of Nat u re.

It is on the “Vulnerable” list of the DENR owing to its decreasing population.

Another major cause of its population decline is the massive destruction of lowland forest—known to be the natural habitat of the Luzon bleeding-heart.

The shy and secretive grounddwelling doves are quiet and rarely leave the ground, that’s why the name, making them easy target by those involved in illicit pet trade.

They feed on small fruits like wild berries and insects, like most birds, thus, playing the role of nature’s farmers in the wild.

Unique features Endemic to Lu zon Isl a nd, t he ground-dwelling doves are uniquely identifiable by its more pronounced

“blood” feature on its breast.

There are five known bleedinghearts in the Philippines—the Mindoro, Negros, Sulu, Mindanao and Luzon—which are distinguished for their reddish hue that extends down the belly, depicting a bleeding heart.

Monomorphic, or both sexes of the birds look the same, except that the males are slightly bigger, the Luzon-endemic dove produces only two eggs per clutch, or a pair of chicks per season.

Angat Watershed: Ideal release site Calderon, a forestry expert, said the Angat Watershed was chosen as the site for the release of the birds owing to its “strategic location.”

“It is near the city, while it serves as a geographical pathway to the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, making it an ideal area for wildlife release,” he explained.

Other wildlife species are also being released in the watershed after rehabilitation at the BMB Wildlife Rescue Center.

While the Angat Watershed is managed by NPC mainly to support power generation, contributing 200 MW to the Luzon grid, water for domestic use of Metro Manila and water for irrigation of farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga, the watershed reservation is rich in both

Due diligence

The partnership between the Philippines and Singapore for the Luzon bleeding-heart is part of a WLA in order to establish an ex situ, or off site, population.

T his conser vation strateg y, the DENR-BMB chief said, would ensure that the species w ill not be w iped out or rendered extinct by zoonotic diseases.

This is the same reason behind the WLA entered into between the Philippines and Singapore last year for the iconic Philippine eagle, Calderon said.

Calderon said entering into a WLA is done with due diligence.

“It is a mortal sin when a species we loan for conservation perishes,” he said partly in Filipino.

He recalled that there were attempts to “ borrow” a tarsier by a private institution for a captivebreeding program in Russia, which he rejected outr ight, say ing the tarsiers will not survive in such an extremely cool climate.

“Tarsiers can’t live in a cold environment. We need to exercise due diligence,” he said.

Mutually beneficial

Public support

The successful implementation of the agreement is mutually beneficial to both the Philippines and its partner, Singapore, in the case of the Luzon bleeding-heart.

“The advantage of a WLA is that we are able to document the breeding and maturation of a species at no cost to the government. Our partner shares to us what they have learned in the documentation under the captivebreeding program,” he said.

He explained that since the Philippines has no specific program for some of the threatened species, such as the Luzon-bleeding heart, it is only practical to enter into a partnership with private institutions.

For the DENR’s country-partner and private institutions, such as the Singapore Zoo and Rizal province’s Avilon Zoo, they will be able to showcase the rare birds for the public’s appreciation, and also get to learn from the experience, Calderon said.

To ensure the success of the government’s wildlife conservation program, Calderon called on the public to help protect the birds by simply leaving them alone in the forest.

“Ultimately, we can only say our WLA for the Luzon bleeding-heart pigeon is successful when they finally find a mate and start to lay eggs and reproduce,” he said.

“As responsible citizens eager to take those steps crucial to the birds’ survival, we appeal to everyone, especially with the communities residing near the birds’ release area, to help conserve and protect the birds and other wildlife,” he added.

One way of helping conserve the country’s threatened wildlife is by protecting and restoring the country’s ecosystems by planting endemic tree species so that the wildlife that depends on the forest may thrive.

“Seeing these birds existing unhampered in the wild evokes a renewed confidence that humans and wildlife can coexist harmoniously,” he said.

Conservation measure A WLA is allowed under Republic Act 9147, or the Wildlife Resources

PHL kids learn about migratory birds, endemic duck in a new children’s book

L

e a r n i n g about nature may be challenging under Covid-19 stay-athome restrictions, but the Society for the Conser vation of Philippine Wetlands (SCPW), in partnership with the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), found fun ways to do it while cultivating the children’s sense of adventure.

Through a combination of technology and old-school story-telling style, gradeschoolers were introduced to some of the migratory birds, their connection to human and environmental health, and the reason for their conservation, during the celebration of the World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) on October 10.

The SCPW and the ACB launched a children’s book on migratory birds titled, Si Papan at ang mga Dayong Ibon , during the webinar “Click it, Sketch It: An Adventure with Migratory Birds.”

The book narrates the adventures of “Papan,” a Philippine duck in the Candaba marshlands, and the migratory birds “Takyad,” a black-winged stilt, and “Kalay,” a Far Eastern curlew.

Takyad flew from Alaska, where the changing climate caused their late winter migration to the south.

Meanwhile, Kalay and its flock faced a number of difficulties during their migration from Siberia to Australia, including being hunted by humans and facing pollution in their feeding areas and the declining number and quality of staging sites.

In the stor y, the migrator y birds and the endemic duck lamented their dwindling population despite the important roles they play in maintaining ecological balance.

“The sur vival of migrator y birds is intricately connected with ours,” said ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim, underlining to the WMBD theme, “Birds Connect Our World.”

“Tangible benefits can be derived from their protection, such as ensuring genetic diversit y and gene flow and preventing spillovers of zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19 by keeping viruses within their natural hosts, to name a few.”

Drivers of biodiversity loss—such as human encroachment, land-use conversion, and hunting and poaching— continue to persist, contributing to the decline in numbers of these ecologically valuable birds, she said.

Global data sources show that in the Asean region, 70 migratory species from a total of 510 have been listed as critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable and near threatened.

The Asean region, being one of the important flyway sites along the East AsianAustralasian Flyway, is rich with wetlands, home to 60 percent of tropical peatlands and 42 percent of mangrove forests in the world.

All these ecosystems serve as habitats for local birds, and migration sites for migratory species. Conser ving these ecosystems is, therefore, connected to keeping these birds safe and their population thriving.

According to the ACB, the Asean memberstates remain hopeful and continue to look for creative and efficient ways to achieve the region’s biodiversity conservation targets.

The number of Ramsar sites—or wetlands of international importance, has grown with 25 new designated sites over the past decade.

Children enjoy getting to know about migratory birds and why they should be conserved.

Dess Camitan, Aaron Lecciones, Bebot Sabangan Jr., Jose Carlo Quintos

At present, the region has a total of 56 Ramsar sites, covering an estimated area of 2.6 million hectares.

“These favorable circumstances offer an optimistic glimpse of the conservation of migrator y birds and the protection of ecosystems,” Lim said.

Other effor ts are being done in the region, including facilitating cooperation and research through the Asean Fly way Network; protected areas and ecosystems conser vation through the Asean Heritage Parks (AHPs) Programme; and mainstreaming of biodiversity across diverse sectors and segments of society, including youth.

Lim emphasized the impor tance of the youth’s par ticipation in biodiversit y conservation. One of the Centre’s programme, called the Asean Youth Biodiversity Program (AYBP), builds capacity and relationships for young leaders in biodiversity conservation through experiential learning.

Under the AYBP, the ACB will likewise serve as an adviser to this year’s Flyway Youth Forum, the first-ever international youth event on migratory waterbirds and wetland conservation in the East Asian Australasian Flyway.

“With this book , we hope to ignite the children’s appreciation for birds and

biodiversity,” Lim said. “It is never too early to start developing the love for nature. It is from this appreciation that we can foster a deeper understanding of its value and vital connection to our lives.”

Based on a story developed by the SCPW Executive Director Amy Lecciones, Darry Shel Estorba and Dana Rose Salonoy collaborated on writing and illustrating the storybook on migratory birds.

“The SCPW hopes to continue collaborating with ACB in communicating the importance of wetlands and biodiversity through various media and catering to various audiences,” Lecciones said. “This children’s stor ybook

is par t of our effor ts to come up with communication materials that will appeal to our young audience and have an even broader reach if it will be translated into other Asean languages.”

The virtual launch of the publication featured a storytelling session among the young audiences from all over the country including a group from the New Faith Children’s Home Foundation, performances from the children, and a coloring activity.

A video on migratory birds produced by the East-Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership and localised by SCPW was also shown during the event.

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 Sunday, October 18, 2020

IGA SWIATEK is the first Polish player to win the title at Roland Garros, and since then “life changed completely.” AP

SWIATEK: GO MENTAL The 19-year-old Iga Swiatek said she drew a lot of support and strength from her work with her sports psychologist, who was with her during the two weeks of the Paris tournament.

Australian Open chief wants quarantine relaxed for players

M

ELBOURNE, Australia—Australian Open Chief Executive Craig Tiley wants international tennis players arriving for the first Grand Slam tournament of 2021 to be exempt from the 14-day strict hotel quarantines that are mandatory now for inbound travelers.

Tiley on Thursday said he remains “absolutely” confident the Australian Open will go ahead as planned at Melbourne Park from

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

January 18 to 31, along with lead-up events including the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Cup and tournaments in Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart.

He said he is counting on Australia’s state and federal governments to relax border restrictions and grant special approval for players to go into a bio-secure training bubble, similar to what the US Open and French Open

did recently, to prepare for the tournament but remain isolated from the public.

“If a player has to...be stuck in a hotel for two weeks just before their season, that won’t happen,” Tiley told the Australian Associated Press. “You can’t ask players to quarantine for two weeks and then step out and be ready to play a Grand Slam.”

Roger Federer and Serena Williams, both of

whom will turn 40 in 2021, have already committed to playing in Australia but Tiley said players simply won’t show up if they’re not allowed to prepare properly.

“We completely accept that everyone coming from overseas has got to have two weeks in quarantine,” Tiley said, but “what we are negotiating, or what we’re trying to have an agreement on, is that we set up a quarantine environment where they can train and go between the hotel and the courts in those two weeks.”

At the US Open and French Open, players weren’t required to quarantine but instead had to operate in a bio-secure bubble and undergo regular Covid-19 tests before being allowed to compete. Players wore masks between matches at Roland Garros, where Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in the men’s final last weekend.

Tiley said preparations for the Australian Open are “getting to crunch time now.”

“We need commitments from the governments and the health officers,” he said. “We need to kind of know in the next two weeks, maybe a month, that this is what can happen: borders are going to open and then we can have a multi-city event.

“If we cannot have a multi-city event, we’ve got to reconsider everything.”

Melbourne has been one of Australia’s hardest-hit cities during the Covid-19 pandemic. A second wave of the coronavirus forced a overnight curfews and a six-week lockdown for its 5 million residents. Still, organizers are planning to have spectators at the Australian Open—up to 50 percent of capacity— with social distancing regulations in place. AP

W

ARSAW, Poland—Having a sports psychologist helped Polish teenager Iga Swiatek win the French Open, and she thinks it can help others, too.

The 19-year-old Swiatek said Wednesday she drew a lot of support and strength from her work with sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz, who was with her during the two weeks of the Paris tournament.

“She understands me and she is a sports psychologist, so both on court and off court she is doing, with me, a great job,” Swiatek told The Associated Press.

“The mental side of tennis is really important,” Swiatek said in English.

It played an important role in her victory.

Upon returning after the coronavirus stoppage, she put pressure on herself to win.

“I realized that it doesn’t have a good impact on my tennis and I’m not able to play as good tennis on match [day] as on practice [days], so we tried to change that and we did a great job and I’m really happy that the result of that job is [a] Grand Slam,” Swiatek said.

Swiatek became the first Polish tennis player to win the title at Roland Garros on Saturday, and since then “life changed completely.”

“I have to get used to this series of new things for me, and I think I’m going to need [a] few more weeks to reflect on it, on (the) whole tournament,” she said.

The success has whetted her appetite for

Covid-19 threatens to push Bundesliga fans out of matches

D

MCILROY

Road to Masters long way from Augusta National

N

ORTH LAS VEGAS, Nevada—This is no ordinary road to the Masters.

Instead of the tropical warmth of Florida in the spring, it starts in the hot desert air of Nevada in October.

Instead of a series of Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour events some 500 miles south of Augusta National with an occasional detour into Texas, this road starts 2,000 to the west, heads out to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and then back over to Houston.

What hasn’t changed is the top players are back in action with Georgia on their minds.

It starts Thursday with the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek, typically held in South Korea and now part of an Asia swing that moved this year to the western US because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Four of the top 5 players in the world are at Shadow Creek, with top-ranked Dustin Johnson pulling out after his positive

more titles.

“My dream, my long-term goal is to win every Grand Slam and also a medal in Olympic Games, so this is going to be very tough for me,” Swiatek told the AP. The past two weeks “showed that anything is possible” and that “I can actually achieve that and I’m going to do everything to do that.”

At the French Open, Swiatek also reached the semifinals in the women’s doubles tournament.

As a fan of men’s singles champion Rafael Nadal, and speaking at a news conference about possibly playing in mixed doubles tournaments, she said she hoped the Spaniard would “see the potential of this relation.”

Their paths already crossed in Paris this year.

“On the first day of the tournament I was warming up playing football with a Slovenian friend and Rafa’s bodyguard told us to stop, but seeing this he [Nadal] just waved his hand to show we should continue playing and I appreciate that very much,” Swiatek told the news conference.

“I just love Rafa’s style of game and I appreciate his dedication and the way he behaves as a sportsman, and I just really respect him,” Swiatek later told the AP. At the French Open, Swiatek lost only 28 games in seven matches and became the first woman to win the title in Paris without dropping a set since Justine Henin in 2007. She is also the first teenager to win the women’s title at Roland Garros since Iva Majoli in 1997. AP

test for the coronavirus.

It’s different, just like the entire year in just about every sport.

Rory McIlroy thinks Shadow Creek might be even better than what Florida offers because of the bentgrass greens that are fast with big slopes.

“It’s not a bad place to prepare for Augusta,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “Climate’s going to be a bit different, but it’s not bad preparation.

Obviously, it’s on the other side of the country.

But when you think about the courses that we play leading up to Augusta, they’re all Bermuda for the most part. It’s Florida. It’s a different test and a different setup.

“I think here this week and Sherwood next week, I think that’s going to be a lot of guys’ last event before Augusta.”

Most of them are happy to have the opportunity. The CJ Cup (South Korea) and the Zozo Championship (Japan) likely would

ÜSSELDORF, Germany—The Bundesliga is moving closer to another run of what Germans call “ghost games” as the coronavirus threatens to reverse the tentative return of fans to the stadiums.

Germany’s league led the way in resuming amid the coronavirus pandemic, and later its politicians crafted a flexible, local model to allow at least some fans back at up to 20 percent capacity. This weekend, though, it appears almost certain that more Bundesliga games will be played without supporters than with them.

Six of the nine home teams this round have stadiums in areas with infection rates above the level set down in the politicians’ agreement which governs German sports this season. Going above 35 new cases per 100,000 people over seven days generally means a club can’t have fans.

Infections are rising across Germany and hit a new one-day record Thursday according to the Robert Koch Institute, the country’s public health body. Berlin has been hit harder than most other major cities, but Hertha Berlin is still planning to have 5,000 fans when it hosts Stuttgart on Saturday under a special deal with the city authorities.

However, Hertha will have stadium announcements warning fans not to sing during the game. City authorities are concerned that could be a risk factor, even given the large number of empty seats in the 74,000-capacity Olympiastadion.

The virus threatens to keep Arminia Bielefeld fans out of one of their club’s biggest games of recent years—the first visit by Bayern Munich since 2009. It’s a financial blow for a smaller club which in a normal season would jump at the opportunity of having the European champions in town.

Bayern is well used to playing in empty stadiums. The only game its fans have seen live this season was the Super Cup win over Sevilla in Hungary last month.

Borussia Mönchengladbach’s home city was just within the limit Thursday to have fans, but the club said a “ghost game” is more than likely. Given the general trajectory of rising case numbers, the game “is threatening to have to be held in front of empty stands,” the club said. More worryingly for Gladbach fans is the prospect of not being able to attend the Champions League game against Real Madrid on Tuesday. AP not have attracted top players unwilling to travel that far during a pandemic, especially with the Masters having been pushed back to November. Both tournaments have limited fields with no cuts and big money.

The Zozo Championship next week is at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. That will be followed by the Bermuda Championship and Houston Open ahead of the Masters from November 12 to 15.

“I think a lot of guys are really happy that they’ve got these two events to play and see where their game is,” McIlroy said. “These are obviously big events in their own right, but looking ahead for a few week’s time.”

Shadow Creek adds to the prestige as the elite club in Las Vegas, a Tom Fazio-design with a list of members that range from former US presidents to Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter to actors Sylvester Stallone and Matt Damon. AP

Millennial saint?

Italian teenage computer whiz beatified by Catholic Church

2

BusinessMirror OCTOBER 18, 2020 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

LIGHT AMID THE DARKNESS Tyler Shaw on hoping for a better tomorrow

E

By Stephanie Joy Ching

VEN though summer plans and parties were cancelled this year due to the pandemic, let Canadian artist Tyler Shaw bring some summer fun back into your quarantine. The Vancouver native, who shot to fame with his 2012 hit “Kiss Goodnight”, recently released “Remember”, the first track of his upcoming 2021 album.

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Tyler, who initially wanted to become a professional soccer player while in college, had always found positivity through music.

“I have been writing music since I was thirteen, it was always a part of me and an escape from reality. Now that everything’s shifted, it’s funny because playing soccer is now my outlet, it’s a complete 180,” he said.

After deciding on his path, Tyler made his music debut with “Kiss Goodnight” and “By My Side”, captivating listeners with his affectionate vocals and feel good lyrics. With “Remember”, his characteristically upbeat writing style combined with his infectious dance melody seem like a breath of fresh air amidst the dire events of 2020.

“The timing and messaging of the song completely made sense to release now, especially now with the pandemic,” he said. A summer dance tune that highlights an inspiring optimistic tone, “Remember” reminds us to cling to the hope of a better tomorrow.

TYLER Shaw

“The basic concept of the song is to capture and to remember when you feel good in order to get through the eventual bad things in life. When you remember the good times while in a bad situation it will help you get out of that bad situation or make it easier,” he added.

Continuing his message of positivity and hope, Tyler is also spearheading ArtistsCAN, a collaborative project with fellow Canadian pop stars that raises COVID-19 relief funds for the country. Among these are the likes of Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, Sarah McLachlan and Avril Lavigne. One of their latest initiatives was to raise money for the Canadian Red Cross, for which they performed the late, great

Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” on the TV special, Stronger Together: Tous Ensemble. The performance garnered over 10 million streams, providing not only financial relief, but a message of hope as well.

“It all came together in early April, when I was feeling that I wasn’t contributing to society much. So I was on the phone with my manager, and we started talking about Bill Withers, who wrote the song, and we were like, ‘Tthis song is so perfect for what the world needs to hear right now,’” he shared, “So I thought; ‘why don’t I cover it?’” and that snowballed into, ‘How about we get as many artists as we can get and get a charity involved and really give back to the community?’”

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | OCTOBER 18, 2020

3

BUSINESS

RHYTHM & RHYME

by Kaye Villagomez-Losorata

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

PhilPop relies on technology to hurdle challenges caused by pandemic

NOEL Cabangon

F

RYAN Cayabyab

or this year’s PhilPop Festival, the new normal posted quite a lot of challenges. The people behind this yearly songwriting contest had to depend on the things that connect the industry more than the external, pandemic-related factors that cause division.

According to Festival Chair and National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, PhilPop was on track as things have been planned and set to motion as early as 2019. “We’ve planned for this when COVID-19 was nowhere in sight. When the pandemic hit us, we had to make a huge pivot in terms of the execution of most ideas, many of which were originally envisioned to happen in the usual, traditional in-person platform,” Cayabyab said in a statement released by Smart Communications, the festival’s mobile services partner.

“We did encounter challenges in executing some tasks. In terms of producing the songs for example, it was quite a different process owing to the restrictions in travel, mobility etc. But I’m happy to say that PhilPop managed to find ways. Thanks to the ingenuity of the team and their passion to make things happen, I am confident of how the top 15 songs will turn out,” he added.

PhilPop Festival Co-Chair Noel Cabangon also felt the shift.

“The PhilPop Festival this year is basically faced with a challenge

of not celebrating the event face to face or with physical presence and interaction between the audience and the performers.

Due to the pandemic everything has to be migrated to digital.

It may have its advantage in terms of costs of production but to make it more appealing and creative on digital is a tough challenge. PhilPop is still in the process of overcoming these hurdles,” he said.

Music breaking borders

CONSISTENT with this year’s theme—#MusicBreakingBorders —PhilPop shattered ceilings to search the entire country for fresh OPM blood. Technology powered the transition.

Migration to everything digital was the only choice.

Cayabyab said, “Technology made things possible for us. Amid the pandemic, it served as a bridge for us to continue engaging with one another. It gave us a platform where we could continue to do things that we previously thought aren’t possible virtually. It also help provide a new dimension and flavors to our songs as we discover

TRINA Belamide

more reasons of how great it is as a tool in music production.”

Like most events, PhilPop made the necessary fine-tuning.

“Technology is the ultimate answer to the major hurdle of this festival. Connecting people in order to keep the festival preparation running was made possible by the aid of technology,” explained Cabangon.

“Even the finals of this festival, technology is the answer in providing an alternative platform to a live program. Every coordination was done through technology. And the several platforms that were provided to launch the festival and introduce the finalists and their songs to the public were made possible through the digital technology.

No pandemic can stop the festival from happening,” he shared.

The festival official found overwhelming inspiration to move mountains from the entries. At the end of the day, it will be a disservice to Filipino music lovers if these songs fail to get the spotlight they deserve.

“What I can say as the real challenge is going through the thousands of songs and discovering the best among the best. The entries are wonderful.

It was difficult to eliminate songs, especially whenever we reach the last 1-2 stages of the adjudication. Salute to our lead adjudicators—Trina Belamide and Jungee Marcelo—and to our partners from Warner and the regions for patiently and

JUNGEE Marcelo

successfully screening the songs,” said Cayabyab.

“It’s amazing how much talent our songwriters have and I am glad we are able to encourage many of them including those in the regions to join. This year’s finalists are a great mix of songs and I am sure many—whether they are here or across our borders—will enjoy listening to the top 15 songs.”

Last September 23, PhilPop announced this year’s top 15: Abegail Esteban and TJ Paeldon’s “Agsardeng,” Lolito Go’s “Balikan,” and Angelic Mateo’s “Paos” representing North Luzon; Kulas Basilonia’s “Para Kay Catriona,” Chochay Magno’s “Lunod,” and Princess Roselle C. Germina’s “Bitaw” from South Luzon; Kian Dionisio’s “Huling Sayaw,” Aikee’s “Bestiny” and “Mapa” from Metro Manila; Jerika Teodorico’s “Ayaw Na Lang,” Noah Alejandre and Reanne Borela’s “Suyo,” and Michael Catarina’s “Hinungdan” from Visayas; John Cadeliña’s “Akong Bililhon,” Christian Chiu’s “Kasadya,” and Sherwin Fugoso’s “Pahuway” representing Mindanao.

Follow PhilPop on social media for online events leading up to the finals happening on December 2.

The author is a former entertainment reporter and editor before shifting to corporate PR. Follow @ kayevillagomez on Instagram and Twitter for more updates.

Millennial saint? Italian teenage computer whiz beatified by Catholic Church

By Gregorio Borgia & Colleen Barry The Associated Press

A

SSISI, Italy—A 15-year-old Italian computer whiz who died of leukemia in 2006 moved a step closer to possible sainthood last week with his beatification in the town of Assisi, where he is buried.

Carlo Acutis is the youngest contemporary person to be beatified, a path taken by two Portuguese shepherd children living in the early 1900s who were proclaimed Catholic saints in 2017.

At the beatification ceremony in the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, a portrait of Acutis was slowly unveiled, revealing a smiling teen in a red polo shirt, his curly dark hair illuminated by a halo of light.

Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the papal legate for the Assisi basilicas, kissed each of the boy’s mask-wearing parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, after reading the proclamation decreed by Pope Francis.

Already touted as the “patron saint of the Internet,” Acutis created a web site to catalog miracles and took care of web sites for some local Catholic organizations. While still in elementary school, Acutis taught himself to code using a university computer science textbook, and then learned how to edit videos and create animation.

“Carlo used the Internet in service of the Gospel, to reach as many people as possible,” the cardinal said during his homily, adding that the teen saw the web “as a place to use with responsibility,

Cardinal Agostino Vallini, left, holds a relic of 15-year-old Carlo Acutis, an Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia, during his beatification ceremony celebrated in the St. Francis Basilica, in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, October 10, 2020. AP without becoming enslaved.”

Acutis was born in London on May 3, 1991, to Italian parents and moved to Milan as a child. Already as a small child, he showed a strong religious devotion that surprised his non-practicing parents. His mother told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that from age 3 he would ask to visit churches they passed in Milan, and by age 7 had asked to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, winning an exception to the customary age requirement.

“There was in him a natural predisposition for the sacred,” his mother said.

His curiosity prompted her to study theology in order to answer his questions, renewing her own faith.

“Carlo saved me. I was an illiterate of faith. I came back thanks to Father Ilio Carrai, the Padre Pio of Bologna, otherwise I would have felt discredited in my parental authority. It is a path that continues. I hope to at least wind up in purgatory,” she told the Milan daily.

Acutis died of acute leukemia on October 12, 2006.

He was put on the road to sainthood after Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to Acutis: The healing of a 7-year-old

Brazilian boy from a rare pancreatic disorder after coming into contact with an Acutis relic, a piece of one of his t-shirts.

“I was sure he was already a saint while alive. He healed a woman from cancer, praying to the Madonna of Pompeii,” his mother told Corriere.

Another verified miracle is necessary for sainthood, although Pope Francis has waived that on rare occasions.

Acutis was buried in Assisi at his own requests, having become an admirer of St. Francis of Assisi for his dedication to the poor. The Umbrian town was one of his favorite travel destinations. His body, clad in a tracksuit and sneakers, has been on display for veneration in a sanctuary in the town, and his heart will be displayed in a reliquary in the St. Francis Basilica.

Acutis told his mother that he would give her many signs of his presence after death.

“Before he left us, I told him: If in heaven you find our four-legged friends, look for Billy, my childhood dog that he never knew,” the mother said. One day she got a call from an aunt who was unaware of the mother-son pact, saying “I saw Carlo in a dream tonight. He was holding Billy in his arms.”

Teen assumes Finland’s PM post for a day in ‘Girls Takeover’

A

16-year-old girl ceremoniously assumed the post of Finnish prime minister for one day for the “Girls Takeover” program—part of the UN International Day of the Girl to raise more awareness of gender equality.

Aava Murto from the small village of Vaaksy in southern Finland stepped into the shoes of Prime Minister Sanna Marin recently to highlight the impact of technology on gender equality, this year’s theme for the annual event, the Finnish government said.

“Girls’ access to technology is a significant, global equality issue that needs to be taken seriously,” said Murto, who during her day met with Cabinet members and lawmakers, among others.

Murto and Marin, one of the world’s youngest government leaders at 34 and the Nordic nation’s third female prime minister, discussed what tech-savvy Finland with 5.5 million residents could do to improve girls’ opportunities to use and develop technology on a global basis.

Harassment that girls face online remains a major issue worldwide, the stand-in prime minister and the real one stressed in a joint statement.

“Gender equality ambitions will fall short as long as girls are pushed aside from using and developing technology. Girls, too, have a digital future, and that is why girls should have a voice in technology,” Murto said.

“Girls Takeover” also occurred at some Finnish companies, including in the technology sec-

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tor, ahead of the UN Girls Day on Sunday. To mark the day, the Finnish government published Murto’s speech on its YouTube channel.

Finland regularly scores near the top when it comes to women’s rights. Marin leads Finland’s center-left coalition government, which is made up of five parties whose leaders are all female.

It also became the first territory in Europe in 1906—Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917—and one of the first countries in the world where all women had legal rights to vote and run for office.

Last year, girls took over the jobs of 1,800 leaders in more than 60 countries worldwide, the government said. AP October 18, 2020

Discovering fresh experiences in the new normal

W

hile embracing the new normal, people at home in the Philippines and throughout the world began trying new things. Suddenly, friends became bakers. Some turned into barbers and beauticians. Others, gardeners.

And let’s not forget the Tik-Tokers!

From new discoveries that help people become better versions of themselves, Heineken celebrates all the new experiences and creative skills people have gained while living under lockdown. The worldclass, premium quality beer brand, beloved for its refreshingly balanced taste, invites Gen Zers and Millennials to take on a new approach to life. Check out how some social media influencers have made the most of their time in community quarantine through Heineken’s#freshExperience campaign.

Staying committed to fitness Brazilian model and actor Daniel Matsunaga decided to try a new workout routine by using the keg as workout weights.

Camille Co did the same. “No gym? No weights? No problem,” she said.

Pursuing passions Dominic Roque misses the racetrack, but he has channeled his energy into his newfound love for photography, and launched his own company, Domo Caps. Meanwhile, Kerwin King has recently found time to reconnect with two of his old passions: collecting comic books and vinyl records.

Appreciating the simple things in life During this quarantine, Mike Miguel got to channel his “inner plantito” again. He had gotten so caught up with the city life ever since he moved to Manila that he had forgotten how therapeutic it was to be one with nature. Sometimes one just needs to take a step back from busy city life, and do things at a slower pace to gain the fresh perspective needed to have a fresh experience.

Spotting opportunities to enhance relationships Deegee Razon decided to help his mom in her business with the current boom in ornamental agriculture. He helped the business grow, and, more important, became closer to his mom. Sometimes it’s all about finding a way to connect to loved ones in a way we least expect.

Focus on self-improvement Vladimir Grand says he is not the type of person who’s fond of reading books. But over the last few months, with extra time on his hands, Grand made an effort to read more.

Not only did he improve his English vocabulary and pronunciation, he also became more patient, persevering and organized.

Remember that regardless of the situation, it’s possible to keep enjoying new fresh experiences every day. Share the new side of you on IG today by using the hashtags #HeinekenPH and #FreshExperience, and tag @heineken_ph.