BusinessMirror October 27, 2019

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WHEN CHILDREN TURN BABY MAKERS

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POPCOM SAYS SURGE IN TEEN PREGNANCY SHOULD PROMPT PRESIDENT DUTERTE TO DECLARE NATIONAL EMERGENCY

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By Cai U. Ordinario

HE Commission on Population and Development (CPD or Popcom) is optimistic that pending bills in Congress that seek to allow sexually active adolescents to gain access to contraceptives without parental consent will be passed next year.

In a phone interview with the BusinessMirror on Thursday, Popcom Undersecretary Juan Antonio A. Perez III said the bill hopes to address the surge in teenage pregnancies in the country.

Perez said the country has the second highest adolescent birth rate in the Asean at 57 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 years old, together with Cambodia. Lao PDR has the highest at 75.6.

“Only those adolescents with

children [who] are pregnant or had a miscarriage [will be allowed].

That means they are already sexually active, they have a family, so that is what’s on the bill of Senator Risa Hontiveros that those adolescents in that situation may access family planning services directly because they are already parents or mothers themselves.

But adolescents who are just sexually active, or not pregnant, they still have to get consent from their

parents,” Perez said.

Sexual education

ONE of the bills filed is Senate Bill 161, or the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy bill, which provides “health facilities, goods and services should be known and easily accessible (economically, physically and socially) to all adolescents, without discrimination.

Confidentiality must be guaranteed and maintained at all times.”

While this may have some good intentions, some economists prefer that education of adolescents be emphasized in order to prevent the rise in teen pregnancies.

Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow Michael Ralph M. Abrigo told the BusinessMirror that there are studies that show education can help delay sexual initiation.

Continued on A2

Blood guacamole: In Mexico, avocados bring income, cartels

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By Mark Stevenson | The Associated Press

AN JUAN PARANGARICUTIRO, Mexico—Small-scale avocado growers armed with AR-15 rifles take turns manning a vigilante checkpoint to guard against thieves and drug cartel extortionists in this Michoacan state, the heartland of world production of the fruit locals call “green gold.”

The region’s avocado boom, fueled by soaring US consumption, has raised parts of western Mexico out of poverty in just 10 years.

But the scent of money has drawn gangs and hyper-violent cartels that have hung bodies from bridges and cowed police forces, and the rising violence is threatening the newfound prosperity.

A recent US warning that it could withdraw orchard inspectors sent a shiver through the $2.4

billion-a-year export industry.

Worth fighting for

SOME growers are taking up arms.

At the checkpoint in San Juan Parangaricutiro, the vigilantes are calm but attentive. They say their crop is worth fighting for.

“If it wasn’t for avocados, I would have to leave to find work, maybe go to the United States or somewhere else,” said one of guards, Pedro de la Guante, whose

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 51.0610

IN this October 1, 2019, photo, a farmhand harvests avocados at an orchard, near Ziracuaretiro, Michoacan state, Mexico. Avocado pickers earn an attractive wage for the region but the work is seasonal and so physically demanding that few can continue working beyond the age of 45. AP

small avocado orchard earns him far more than he would get from any other legal—or illegal—crop.

Luis, another guard who asked that his last name not be used out of fear of reprisals, lists the problems that came to the town with the avocado boom: extortion, kidnappings, cartels and avocado theft. “That is why we are here: We don’t want any of that.”

While Mexican avocado growers have for years lived in fear of assaults and shakedowns, the situation went international in midAugust when a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) team of inspectors was “directly threatened” in Ziracuaretiro, a town just west of Uruapan in Michoacan. While the agency didn’t specify what happened, local authorities say a gang robbed the truck the inspectors were traveling in at gunpoint.

“For future situations that result in a security breach, or demonstrate an imminent physical threat to the well-being of APHIS personContinued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4701 n UK 65.6338 n HK 6.5150 n CHINA 7.2227 n SINGAPORE 37.4540 n AUSTRALIA 34.8083 n EU 56.7032 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6148

Source: BSP (October 25, 2019 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, October 27, 2019

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Blood guacamole: In Mexico, avocados bring income, cartels Continued from A1

nel, we will immediately suspend program activities,” the USDA wrote in a letter, referring to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Such a move could block shipments and devastate the industry that supplies US consumers hungry for guacamole and avocado toast. It was only in 1997 that the US lifted a ban on Mexican avocados that had been in place since 1914 to prevent a range of weevils, scabs and pests from entering US orchards.

The cartel factor

THE Michoacan-based Avocado Growers and Packers Association published the warning letter from the USDA—an unusual move that some in Uruapan interpreted as a gesture aimed at making criminals aware they risk killing off the state’s biggest money-making industry if US inspectors stop approving exports.

Neither the avocado association nor the USDA responded to requests for comment.

The police chief in a town in western Mexico’s avocado belt describes what life is like living with the Viagras cartel. The chief asked that his name not be used. The Viagras are so thoroughly present that he doesn’t venture into nearby Uruapan without a phalanx of armed bodyguards. The Michoacan-based cartel derives its unusual name from their founders’ habit of combing so much gel into their

hair that it stands up on end.

“They’ve done everything— extortions, protection payments.

They’ve flown drones over us,” said the chief. “They come in and want to set up [drug] laboratories in the orchards.”

But the Viagras are now also the hunted. The vicious Jalisco New Generation cartel is trying to move into Michoacan on several fronts. In August, the cartel hung nine bodies from an overpass in Uruapan, and left 10 more corpses hacked up or dumped by the road. On the overpass they hung a banner saying: “Be a Patriot, Kill a Viagra.”

Farther south, in the hotter, lime-growing region of Michoacan, Jalisco cartel gunmen ambushed and killed 13 state police officers in mid-October. The attack so terrified police that when they went to collect the dead officers’ burned vehicles, they worked so hastily they left behind a crushed, charred, bullet-perforated skull.

Cartels, police and vigilantes alike are spooked by the Jalisco cartel onslaught.

In the cattle-ranching town of Tepalcatepec, which lies on the border with Jalisco state, heavily armed vigilantes—apparently in the employ of a local gang—mount a 24-hour guard in a sniper post atop a hill guarding against incursions by the Jalisco cartel. One vigilante with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder, who refused to give his name, came down from the hilltop to scare away a news photographer. “Clear out of here!

Don’t you know you have a .50-cal-

iber [rifle] aimed at your head?”

Blood and progress

AS in much of Michoacan, the violence is largely hidden by a wave of apparent prosperity brought by fruit: miles of chain-link fencing enclose seemingly endless groves of avocado trees with limbs hanging heavy with the harvest. New packing plants seemingly go up overnight.

But Hipolito Mora, who founded the state’s civilian armed self-defense movement in 2013, said appearances are deceptive.

The new fruit packing plants had already been robbed at gunpoint three times in one week by thieves who apparently knew exactly when they would have cash on hand to pay farmers.

“If the business owners were to close their plants, the region’s economy would come crashing down,” said Mora, who is also a lime grower.

Mexico supplies about 43 percent of world avocado exports, almost all from Michoacan. The USDA has a near-permanent delegation of inspectors posted in Mexico.

A few weeks after the incident with the USDA inspectors, an avocado orchard manager and a worker were kidnapped at gunpoint in Ziracuaretiro, allegedly by municipal police. Seven officers are under investigation in the case, and the Ziracuaretiro police department was essentially disbanded.

Today, heavily armed state police patrol Ziracuaretiro and Mayor

IN this October 3, 2019, photo, police stand guard on the outskirts of Tepalcatepec, Michoacan state, Mexico. The region's avocado boom, fueled by soaring US consumption, has drawn parts of western Mexico out of poverty in just 10 years. The scent of money also brought extortion, kidnappings, cartels and avocado theft. AP/MARCO UGARTE

José Rodríguez Baca is worried. He has seven town policemen in jail, illegal loggers felling pine trees in his township and a potential economic crisis on his hands.

“This has everyone worried,” Rodriguez Baca said of the US warning and violence in his town.

“If they close the door on us in the United States, everything would come crashing down.”

His township shows the shortcomings of state and federal anticrime strategies, in which police, the army and National Guard often come into troubled towns, make a show of force for a few weeks and then leave. State police had been assigned to patrol Ziracuaretiro earlier this year, before the US inspectors were assaulted, but were withdrawn in July to attend another hotspot.

Caught in the middle

AVOCADO growers are feeling scared, alone and caught in the middle.

Carlos Martínez is a thirdgeneration avocado grower whose 2.5-hectare grove in Ziracuaretiro can produce as much as 50 tons

of avocados in a good year, worth about $100,000.

“It is a question of crime and that affects us as third parties, and our customers,” Martínez said.

“We just wake up each morning hoping it doesn’t happen to us.”

Martínez hasn’t had any shipments of avocados stolen yet—a common complaint in Michoacan— but he said thieves often steal avocados from the orchards. He, like most growers, had to put up chain-link fences and hire a guard. But it is the fear of kidnapping or the phone call demanding protection payments that worry him most.

“I don’t answer phone calls from numbers I don’t know,” Martínez said.

In San Juan Parangaricutiro, De la Guante is an example of how avocados have lifted many in Michoacán out of poverty.

He was an itinerant farmworker before he planted avocados on a hectare of sandy land 11 years ago. That relatively small plot now yields as much as 10 tons of avocados. This year he was lucky to sell in August, when prices were high,

at 40 pesos ($2) a kilogram. That means De la Guante earned at least $15,000 this year.

Adriana Villicaña, a professor at Univa Catholic University in Uruapan, said the avocado boom has lifted thousands out of poverty.

“There are a lot of women working at packing plants, and a majority of them describe themselves as single mothers or single,” Villicaña said.

However, the rising tide hasn’t lifted all boats. The region’s 15,000 or so avocado pickers earn an attractive wage for the region, but the job is seasonal and the physical demands of climbing trees with long poles to get the avocados mean few can work beyond age 45.

Villicaña, who also sits on the Uruapan citizen’s safety advisory board, says the region’s crime problem will be worse if the avocado industry collapses.

“If there were no avocados, where are they going to work?”

Villicaña asked. “The most likely things is that they would hire themselves out to work for the criminals.”

When children turn baby makers Continued from A1

“Education [should act] as a precondition of access. These adolescents must understand what they are getting themselves into,” Abrigo said.

PMS ‘control’

UNIVERSITY of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) School of Economics Dean Cid Terosa agreed, and said allowing adolescents to freely access contraceptives could even increase the number of teenagers engaging in premarital sex (PMS).

Perez, in a recent presentation, said the highest levels of PMS are in the National Capital Region (NCR), or Metro Manila, at 40.9 percent and Central Luzon at 39.1 percent.

The lowest was in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at 7.7 percent.

He added that 78 percent of first PMS of adolescents was unprotected. The incidence is higher for females at 83.8 percent while it was at 73.4 percent for males.

As a result, 8.6 percent of women aged 15 to19 have begun child bearing in 2017. The highest rates were in Davao Region at 17.9 percent; Northern Mindanao, 14.7 percent; and Soccsksargen, 14.5 percent.

“Access to contraceptives without parental consent passes on the responsibility of making decisions on delicate matters to young people who may not have

“A

ccess to contraceptives without parental consent passes on the responsibility of making decisions on delicate matters to young people who may not have the wisdom, knowledge and experience to make good and reasoned choices.”—Terosa

the wisdom, knowledge and experience to make good and reasoned choices,” Terosa said.

Collective effort

IN order to address the problem, Terosa and Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (ACERD) Director Alvin P. Ang told the BusinessMirror that communities matter.

Terosa said families, schools, neighborhoods and civil society need to work together, especially now with strong influences on social media and the Internet.

Ang said it’s difficult for the government to focus on teenage pregnancy at this time. However, he said, families and the religions should work together to help adolescents make the right choices.

“We also call on Congress to enable a law allowing the expanded access to modern family planning services for pregnant adolescents and those who already have chil-

dren, as well as for those who already had a miscarriage, without requiring them for written parental consent,” Popcom said in a news statement.

“This, we see, will address the risk of repeat teen pregnancy. We also need to identify and take action on key opportunities as well as missed opportunities of the government and other stakeholders in the engagement of adolescents as mandated by the RPRH [Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health] law,” it added.

The Popcom also said it commits to advocate for President Duterte to issue an Executive Order that acknowledges teen pregnancy as a national emergency.

They are also calling on the Human Development Poverty Reduction Cluster to develop a National Program of Action and Investment Plan for the Prevention of Teen Pregnancy.

www.businessmirror.com.ph · Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

News BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Davao City health office nears 100% coverage in anti-polio vaccine drive

By Manuel T. Cayon

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Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—The City Health Office (CHO) disclosed over the weekend it was nearing 100 percent coverage of the anti-polio vaccination, and health personnel are making a final sweep of areas with low vaccination coverage with two more days to the homestretch of the first phase of the vaccination drive.

A lthough the city was confident it could attain the target of full coverage, it ex pressed dismay w ith some parents who it said continued to resist hav ing their children immunized of the poliomyelitis, which emerged this year as an epidemic, follow ing the detection of at least

two cases in Lanao del Sur and Bulacan. Water samples taken from Manila and Davao sewerage waters showed the presence of the v irus.

As of October 23, the CHO said its anti-polio immunization already hit 95 percent of its target since it started on October 14. The

immunization drive will continue until today, Sunday.

CHO teams have completed administering the oral polio vaccine, or OPV, in most rural and far-f lung areas, said technical division chief, Dr. Julinda Acosta.

Paquibato Distr ict, for instance, has already sur passed the 100 -percent immunization rate for all children five years and below.

Acosta said the CHO would focus on the districts that have a low rate of coverage such as Buhangin, part of the expanded business district, which registered only 79.5 percent of immunized kids.

“We still have a few days… so our staff are currently doing sweeping right now to ensure that all children will be covered and also to convince parents, and to check on the situation of those children who were immunized,” she said.

She also bared of some parents who are still refusing to have their children immunized, brought about by the deaths caused in administering of the anti-dengue vaccination.

“They have misunderstood the essence of the immunization. This is not only for the less fortunate.

They need to participate because there is a poliovirus found at the Davao River,” she said.

Acosta said the CHO would continue to educate parents and convince them that the OPV is safe and necessary.

Meanwhi le, the cit y gover nment opened it s si x t h Bot i k a ng Bay a n i n t he c it y ’s nor t her n Paqu ibato D i st r ic t, where m a ny t r iba l com mu n it ies re side. It wa s opened recent ly in Barangay Paquibato Proper.

The village drugstore outlets was being established with partnership with the Department of Health.

T he c it y gover n ment sa id gover nment-r u n Bot i k a ng Bayan “prov ides residents an accessible out let for needed medicines especially those living in remote v illages of Paquibato District, which comprises 13 barangays and home to most Ata tribes.”

“This [Botika ng Bayan] is just

a first step. The next step will be establishing functional health centers here in Paquibato,” said Vice Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, who, the city information office said, led Wednesday’s launching of the center.

The younger Duterte has urged residents to make use of the pharmacy and also committed support to the needs of the barangay.

He said the city government is eyeing to build more health centers in the district to complement the Botika ng Bayan.

The establishment of Botika ng Bayan was part of the city government’s commitment to providing accessible health facilities in underserved areas. It also ensures free access to safe and effective medicines for all.

The five Botika ng Bayan already operating are located at the Lingap Center-Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the City Health Office, and the city health centers in Calinan, Toril, and Bunawan District.

Dr. Josephine Villafuerte, the chief of the CHO, said the resi-

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dents would no longer travel far to buy medicine every time a common illness catches them.

“The Botika ng Barangay program aims to provide free medicines for common diseases to the residents,” she said.

To avail of free medicines, Villafuerte said patients only need to bring a valid doctor’s prescription.

“Whether or not the prescription came from us [CHO] or a private health center, they can present their prescription to the Botika ng Bayan,” she added.

The essential medicines available include antibiotics, vitamins for children, drugs for cough and fever, and maintenance drugs for hypertension and diabetes.

Barangay Capta in Mel Jo seph P. Escobidal said patients previously have to go to Panabo City in Davao del Norte just to get medicines.

Escobidal said the BNB’s opening makes life in Paquibato better with health services and medicines made accessible for the marginalized, underserved and vulnerable population.

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The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 27, 2019

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

The trickiest aspect of US-China ties is in the realm of technology W

After withdrawal, Trump shifts focus to Syria oil fields

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echnology—from 5G networks to artificial intelligence—is increasingly the most contentious aspect of China’s relationship with America.

Both Washington and Beijing see leadership in these fields as being crucial not just for their economies but for their security. That’s a challenging gulf to bridge.

Take Huawei for example. The US has lobbied countries to not use its 5G equipment and limited its access to critical American technology. Washington argues these steps are needed because if Huawei dominates communications networks, the biggest winners are Chinese spies.

What Beijing sees, however, is America drumming up fears without evidence and using security as an excuse to limit China’s rise.

As conf licted as those two views may be, they are, perhaps, not intractable. There are some technology issues the US and China can agree on. Intellectual property is one example.

As Chinese companies become more innovative, Beijing has as much incentive to protect IP as America has to demand it. This week showed that’s starting to happen, with American and European business groups expressing cautious optimism about a new

Chinese investment law, partly because it offers better protection of intellectual property.

If US pressure helps to bringing forward policies that also benefit China, then both sides win. And maybe with enough wins, you get a bridge.

Hong Kong

C arrie Lam’s days as Hong Kong’s chief executive may be numbered. It was reported this week that Beijing is thinking about potentially replacing her by as soon as February. Of course that raises the question of how much her departure would help the situation. It would have little effect on the fundamental issues that have fed unrest, problems such as income inequality and questions around how much sway Beijing should have over the city. What’s more, it seems unlikely that her replacement would have dramatically different positions on those issues, given they’d have to be chosen by the same stakeholders who selected Lam. But then there is also the argument that by just having someone who is not her in office

it could open the door for a reset in tensions.

Corporate risk

Talking about the situation in Hong Kong has been plenty risky for public figures, be they sports stars or CEOs. Walt Disney’s Bob Iger seemed to walk that line fairly well this week, especially when compared with some of the rancor aimed at Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James for his comments on the subject. It’s a tricky balance. Publicly supporting an executive’s right to expression, as the National Basketball Association has, might win a company support in the US but exacerbate hurt feelings in China. And as the Chinese market becomes more important for the likes of Disney, Apple and General Motors, the less room there will be for error. Of course Chinese brands are one cohort that could benefit if growing political tensions prompts more calls for consumers to buy local brands.

Elon Musk

The first Tesla cars produced at the company’s factory in Shanghai are set to begin rolling off the production line late this year. That will cap what has been a relatively fast and smooth process, highlighting not just how great a focus Elon Musk has placed on gaining a foothold in China, but of how eager China has been to have him. Beijing’s warm welcome has included exempting Tesla’s vehicles from a 10-perecent purchase tax and allowing the

company to own 100 percent of its local venture. In turn, the factory in Shanghai will generate jobs at Tesla and its suppliers, and it will also communicate in a very public way that China remains open for business.

Pork supplies

China’s hog apocalypse may be making a turn for the better. The country’s larger scale pig farms are now beginning to rebuild their herds and might see a recovery in their number of sows by as early as next year, according to government researchers. A pickup in pork production would be welcome relief for local consumers, who’ve seen the price of China’s staple meat double. The international impact could be significant as well. China’s shortage has already fueled a surge in US exports and pushed up prices from Auckland to Vancouver. But with a possible recovery in herd sizes still off on the horizon, supplies remain constrained and prices high.

What We’re Reading: And finally, a few other things that caught our eye: n Why China central bank’s digital currency should worry Tencent. n A tycoon gives his 24-year-old son a $3.8-billion gift. n What chipmakers tell us about unwinding global supply chains. n How stock quants are betting they can make profit in China. n It’s easier to do business in China than France, apparently.

Bloomberg News

Flying taxis of the future look like toys come to life

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lying taxis, once the purview of science-fiction films such as The Fifth Element, might soon be a staple of urban transport, as better batteries and innovative designs make it cheaper, cleaner, and quieter to travel short distances by air. Citigroup thinks sales of air taxis could reach $5 billion a year by the end of the next decade.

Two companies came to Singapore this week to share their vision during the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress.

UK-based Skyports Ltd. built a model flying taxi station, while Ger many’s Volocopter GmbH gave a demonstration flight of its electric vehicle.

Engineers from the two companies walked reporters through how it might work. A traveler opens an app and chooses among a handful of stations in a given city—f lying between the posh Marina Bay Sands hotel and the luxury resort island of Sentosa was one option this week. The traveler picks the departure time and gets a confirmation showing who the pilot will be.

When travelers show up at the station, a biometric scanner uses facial recognition software to confirm the booking and weighs them to make sure the vehicle will remain balanced in the air. Passengers then slip in to be whisked across the sky to their destination.

When they land, workers will slip a new battery into the back of the taxi to ready it for the next passage.

Of course, that’s still off in the future, and the present offers challenges. The companies are trying to win over regulator support and public acceptance, which is where this week’s demonstration comes into play.

The station, called the Voloport, was sleek and futuristic. Video screens showed how much time

A prototype of Volocopter air taxi in flight during test flight over Marina Bay on October 22, 2019, in Singapore. Ore Huiying/Getty Images

you’d save in flying taxis versus the wheeled kind. (A four-minute ride to Sentosa, compared with 21 minutes on the ground.) An engineer explained that when the stations are operational, helipads could be hydraulically raised and lowered between the roof and ground floor of the station to make boarding and taking off more seamless. The station will be open for public viewing on Friday, according to Skyports.

The Volocopter itself looks like a toy come to life. Instead of one giant rotor in the middle, it has more than a dozen smaller ones arrayed above its cab. The demonstration models were relatively small; there was room for just two people to sit very snugly, side-by-side.

One of the supposed benefits of electric aircraft such as the Volocopter over petroleum-powered

helicopters is the noise—or lack of it. Electric motors are thought to be less likely of a nuisance to people living near stations, but it was hard to tell exactly how quiet the aircraft was; the demonstration flight never got closer than a few hundred meters to a throng of media members. From that distance, it sounded like a slightly larger-than-normal bumblebee.

While airborne rides might not be for everyone, Volocopter Chief Executive Officer Florian Reuter says the company plans to use software and the relative freedom of air routes to be able to design slower, gentler rides for passengers who need it. “There could be a grandma mode and a rocket-man mode,” he quips.

Cost will be a further issue. Skyports Managing Director Duncan

Walker says initial routes might cater to curious tourists and wealthy business travelers, but the companies hope to bring down costs enough to make it a mass-market product. Citi estimates the eventual cost of a ride at about $3.75 per mile—cheaper than a limousine but still double the cost of ground-based ride-hailing.

Citi expects designers to keep tweaking the technolog y and working with regulators so they can start to offer regular air taxi services from 2025. This could come even sooner: Uber Technologies Inc. is targeting launches in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Melbourne as early as 2023. In a report last month, Citi said up to 20,000 electric passenger aircraft could be sold annually by 2030.

Bloomberg News

ASHINGTON—As Russian and Turkish leaders divvy up security roles in northeast Syria following an abrupt US troop withdrawal, President Donald J. Trump is focused on oil fields elsewhere in the war-torn country.

Trump spurred a fresh wave of criticism Thursday with a tweet noting that he had spoken with Syrian Kurdish military chief Mazloum Abdi and observing that perhaps “it is time for Kurds to start heading to the Oil Region,” an apparent reference to oil fields in Deir el-Zour province of Syria.

That’s an area that US military commanders see as critical to holding off an Islamic State resurgence in the region.

But even as Trump heralded his push to pull nearly all US troops out of what he derided as the “blood-stained sands” of Syria, he’s repeatedly referred to the country’s oil fields as prized land that he’s intent on protecting.

“We’ve secured the oil, and, therefore, a small number of US troops will remain in the area where they have the oil,” Trump said Wednesday while discussing the pullout of all but 200 to 300 US troops in Syria. “And we’re going to be protecting it, and we’ll be deciding what we’re going to do with it in the future.”

White House officials did not respond to requests for greater c l a r it y about Tr u mp’s t weet suggesting Kurds head to the oil region.

The Pentagon released a news statement on Thursday, saying it is committed to sending additional military forces to eastern Syria to “reinforce” control of the oil fields and prevent them from “falling back to into the hands of ISIS or other destabilizing actors.”

No details were provided on how many or what kind of forces would be sent, or whether decisions on those details have been made.

Tr u mp’s dec ision to w it hdraw the bulk of roughly 1,000 A mer ic a n t roops f rom Sy r i a drew bipartisan condemnation.

The decision came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Trump earlier this month that he intended to carry out an operation to clear the TurkeySyria border of Kurdish fighters who fought side-by-side with US troops in beating back IS fighters in northeast Syria.

The president’s comments this week raised fresh concerns that he has an incomplete understanding, or is indifferent to, the fragile dynamics of the region, his critics say.

“The President of the United States of America appears to be calling for a mass migration of Kurds to the desert where they can resettle atop a tiny oil field,” Brett McGurk, Trump’s former special

envoy to the global coalition to defeat IS, wrote on Twitter.

But the idea of keeping troops in eastern Syria to guard the oil fields resonated with Trump and presented military commanders with a way to keep at least a residual force inside the country.

In addition to a presence near the oil fields in eastern Syria, some US forces will remain in southern Syria.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the main goal of the American troop presence is to make sure the Islamic State is contained and unable to gain control of the oil fields and the revenue they generate. The administration also sees some benefit to Kurds being in control of the oil, according to a senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the administration’s deliberations on the Syria withdrawal.

“The Oil Fields discussed in my speech on Turkey/Kurds yesterday were held by ISIS until the United States took them over with the help of the Kurds,” Trump said in another tweet Thursday. “We will NEVER let a reconstituted ISIS have those fields!”

Eastern Syria is the center for what remains of Syria’s oil industry, which although in shambles, remains one of the main sources of revenues for the Kurdish-led administration there.

The Kurdish forces seized control of small oil fields in northeastern Hassakeh province after the government pulled out of most of the Kurdish-majority regions in 2012 to fight rebels elsewhere.

After expelling Islamic State militants from southeastern Syria in 2018, the Kurds seized control of the more profitable oil fields in Deir el-Zour province.

A quiet arrangement has existed between the Kurds and the Syrian government, whereby Damascus buys the surplus through middlemen in a profitable smuggling operation that has continued despite political differences. The Kurdish-led administration sells crude oil to private refiners, who use primitive homemade refineries to process fuel and diesel and sell it back to the administration.

The oil was expected to be a bargaining chip for the Kurds to negotiate a deal with the Syrian government, which unsuccessfully tried to reach the oil fields to retake them from IS. With Trump saying he plans to keep forces to secure the oil, it seems the oil will continue to be used for leverage— with Moscow and Damascus.

Before the war, Syria produced around 350,000 barrels per day, exporting more than half of it.

Most of that oil came from eastern Syria. Foreign companies, including Total, Shell, and Conoco, all left Syria after the war began more than eight years ago. AP

Malaysia bans China Belt & Road comic book for pushing communism

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alaysia has banned a local comic book about China’s Belt and Road project, citing threats to public peace and security. The book, featuring Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and President Xi Jinping shaking hands on the cover, “promotes communism and socialism,” Malaysia’s Home Ministry said in a news statement. It attempts to evoke sympathy toward communists and could sow doubt and confusion among readers, it added.

Anyone caught flouting the ban could face up to three years in prison or a 20,000 ringgit ($4,776) fine, or both. A five-member team from the ministry seized 13 copies from a comic museum in Penang state on Thursday, Bernama reported. Police have recorded a statement from the comic book’s author.

The Prime Minister’s Office last Friday acknowledged the book Belt & Road Initiative

for Win-Winism had gone viral on social media, and disavowed any links to it. The Education Ministry has similarly denied approving the book’s circulation in schools.

The issue underscores the tightrope that Mahathir’s administration must walk in appeasing China to get investments, while not appearing to sell out to their constituents.

China is Malaysia’s largest trading partner, and the Southeast Asian country earlier this month announced it was forming a special investment channel with China to boost trade.

“I believe that China will wield a great influence over the whole world in the future but for the moment, it is not for us to promote Chinese ideas and Chinese ideologies, but to find out how we can benefit from that,” Mahathir said in a forum earlier this week.

Bloomberg News

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

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time: ‘Luke 18:9-14’

Against self-righteousness Msgr. Josefino S. Ramirez SUNDAY GOSPEL IN OUR LIFE

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hat a contrast! The Pharisee thought himself to be good, just because he was observing some external stipulations of God’s law.

The publican, on the other hand, was “on the side of the oppressors,” but was deeply aware of his personal shortcomings and miseries.

Jesus Christ made the moral lesson of this parable explicit: the publican “went down to this house justified rather than the other” (Luke 18:14).

We can imagine this publican with a serene look on his face, at peace with God and himself in the innermost crannies of his soul, aware of his personal limitations, yet, supremely confident of the goodness and mercy of God. The Pharisee, on the other hand, must have remained with his stern and self-righteous expression, with the continuing disdain for his fellowmen, yet deep in his heart, suspecting that something must be awfully wrong inside.

The parable of the Pharisee and the publican cannot be an excuse for us to hurl accusations of “pharisaism” to everybody who tries to give due importance to external performances.

Jesus Christ in no way condemned the fact that the Pharisee indeed avoided the most evident sins (robbery, dishonesty, adultery) and performed some requirements of religion (fasting paying, tithes).

But surely that Pharisee forgot weightier matters—the disposition of his heart, charity for all,

humility. He felt self-righteous just because he fulfilled the external, but he didn’t examine his intentions.

The great merit of the publican was that he recognized his sinfulness and the need for God’s mercy.

The truth of the matter is that, all of us are in need of God’s mercy.

Considering our human condition, we all have to admit that we have motives for sorrow and condition.

Have we not all, somehow, offended God? Have we been really up to par with what is objectively expected of us? Can we really be completely satisfied with ourselves and our accomplishments?

The saints of the Church (and all of us are called to be saints) were aware of their poor human condition, and they all relied on the mercy of God. Perhaps externally, their contemporaries considered them to be virtuous and outstanding. Yet, in their heart of hearts, they knew what they really were, and they applied for God’s mercy.

Should we be surprised then that a person who is really striving to love God with all his heart, should see the need to repeat to God very often, “Lord, I am sorry; forgive me; have mercy on me.”

Should we be surprised that the saints have always appreciated the great value of the sacrament of penance, and that they had frequent recourse to it?

The Church has always extolled the value of frequent confession.

It is an effective recourse against a pharisaical spirit.

Sunday

Sunday, October 27, 2019 A5

Wanted: Prison chaplains

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he country’s military ordinariate is seeking more pastors for inmates at prisons around the country.

Jails in the country currently hold some 182,000 inmates. Yet, most of the facilities do not maintain a position for chaplains.

Military Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio said the Church could not undermine the importance of chaplains to minister the inmates.

He said the military ordinariate only has eight priest chaplains for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

“There are only a few of us,” Florencio said. “We don’t have many all over the Philippines.”

The Military Ordinariate of the Philippines is responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics in the military, police, coast guard units and prison service.

The bishop said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is already looking into the matter after he presented his concern during the last plenary meeting.

He said the idea is to involve diocesan priests to work hand in hand with the BJMP chaplains.

“ W hat I’m tr y ing to work out is for the bishops to nod for the pr iest in the diocese to act as an au xiliar y chaplain,” Florencio said.

He said the new chaplains would be recognized by the BJMP and the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines as their partners in prison ministry.

Florencio said he wants the bishops themselves to appoint somebody since they know their priests who can be at the service of the prison ministry.

Exorcist priest is right-hand man in prison ministry

An exorcist priest is taking the helm as right-hand man at the Catholic Church’s prison ministry.

Fr. Nezelle Lirio, 44, will assume the post as executive secretary of the bishops’ Commission on Prison Pastoral Care on December 1.

He will succeed 70-year-old Rodolfo Diamante, who retired after serving the post for the past 27

Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines delivers the homily during a Mass in Manila for the start of Prison Awareness Week on October 21. CBCPNews

years and has been in the prison ministry for 42 years.

Lirio’s appointment was announced during a Mass to mark the Prison Awareness Week at the CBCP chapel in Intramuros, Manila, on October 21.

As executive secretary, he will assist Bishop Joel Baylon of Legazpi, who has been heading the prison ministry since 2017.

A priest for the Diocese of Cabanatuan, Lirio has been in the prison ministry for 18 years.

“And it’s ver y timely that he’s an exorcist w ith the ev ils that the pr ison ministr y is facing,” Diamante said.

Of the 182,000 inmates in the

country, about 76 percent of them are detention prisoners who are staying in the city, municipal and provincial jails.

Diamante said the remaining 23 percent are convicted prisoners housed in the seven national penitentiaries.

As far as the prison ministry is concerned, the Church has about 86 units of volunteers from different dioceses, with about 20 to 100 volunteers serving in each jail.

While there are about eight chaplains serving the BJMP, he added, and there are five for the Bureau of Corrections.

Roy Lagarde/CBCPNews

Vatican denies risk of default over structural deficit

Thieves steal Amazon fertility statues as synod nears end

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ATICAN CITY—Pope Francis’s controversial meeting on the A m a z on took a c r i m i n a l twist last week after thieves stole ind igenous fer ti l it y statues from a Vatican-area church and tossed them into the Tiber R iver.

Video of the predawn theft from the Santa Maria in Traspontina church was shared and celebrated on conservative social media. The Vatican’s communications czar, Paolo Ruffini, termed it a “stunt” that violated the idea of dialogue.

Even before the three-week Amazon synod opened on October 6, conservative and traditionalist Catholics had blasted its agenda as a heretical celebration of paganism, given its deference to indigenous cultures and spirituality.

Their criticism reached a fever pitch at the synod opening, when Francis presided over a prayer service in the Vatican gardens featuring the statues of naked pregnant women that were presented to the pope.

Conser vat ives sa id t he “Pachamama” statutes were pagan idols; the Vatican said they were symbols of life and fertility.

T he stat ues were t hen placed in a side chapel of the Traspontina church, which is located just steps from Saint Peter’s Square and has been the headquarters of the indigenous celebrations organized alongside the synod.

There was no official claim of res pon sibi l it y for t he thefts, but a conservative US author, Taylor Marshall, issued a statement and tweeted the video of it.

“I announce to you with great joy: the Pachamama idols that polluted the Church of Saint Maria Traspontina have been cast away into the Tiber River as an act of obedience to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in reparation to His Sacred Heart wounded by sin,” Marshall tweeted.

Francis called the meeting of Amazonian bishops to propose ways to better care for the Amazon and minister to its indigenous peoples, who face poverty, exploitation and the destruction of their homes by unregulated logging and mining.

One of the most debated proposals under study by the bishops is whether married men could be ordained priests, and whether women could be ordained deacons, to cope with a priest shortage that is so dire some isolated communities can go months without having Mass.

T hose proposa ls have sparked outrage among conservatives, who see the synod as an effort by progressives to change centuries of Catholic tradition of a celibate priesthood. They fear Francis is using the synod as a smoke screen and that any f lexibility on celibacy could spread beyond the Amazon to places like Germany, where there are also calls for married priests.

The synod ends this weekend with bishops voting on a final document listing proposals for Francis to consider. History’s first Latin American pope can then decide whether to make some of those proposals his own in a future document. AP

Pope Francis presides over a Mass for the World Missionary Day, in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on October 20. AP/Andrew Medichini

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ATICAN CITY—A top Vatican administrator is denying the Holy See risks default over its structural deficit, saying claims in a new book about possible financial ruin are overblown.

Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, president of the office that manages the Vatican’s real estate and other assets, told the Avvenire newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference last week that all that is needed is a “spending review” to bring down costs.

Galantino was responding to claims in a new book, Universal Judgment by Italian author Gianluigi Nuzzi, that has added to speculation about the Vatican’s finances and the state of Pope Francis’s promised reforms.

The Vatican hasn’t published a budget since 2015, and has been without an in-house auditor or economy minister for more than two years, fueling conspiracies about its financial health.

Those conspiracies have only grown following a new financial scandal that erupted this month, after Vatican police raided the secretariat of state and the financial intelligence unit in search of documentation about a problematic €150-million London real-estate investment.

The search warrant, excerpts of which were published by L’Espresso magazine, alleges fraud, money laundering and abuse of office connected to the London venture and efforts by the Vatican to renegotiate the terms and identify money managers who were fleecing the Holy See in the deal.

The scandal has laid bare both the vast amount of money the Holy See has at its disposal for investment—including donations from the faithful for charity—and the seeming incompetence of the Vatican monsignors responsible for managing it.

Citing the warrant, L’Espresso reported the secretariat of state was managing off-balance sheet

assets of some €650 million “der ived mostly from donations received by the Holy Father for works of charity and supporting the Roman Curia,” or the Vatican bureaucracy.

L’Espresso said the Vatican in 2012 considered investing some $200 million of that money in an Angolan offshore oil rig, based on a proposal by Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the Vatican’s then-chief of staff and one time ambassador to Angola.

His proposal was ultimately rejected as unsafe. Instead, the money was invested in converting a one time Harrod’s warehouse in Chelsea into luxury apartments.

But even that deal went sour, after Becciu’s replacement in 2018, realized the Vatican was being fleeced by the Italian financiers it had trusted, and sought to buy them out.

The scandal is the latest to draw attention to the opaque finances of the central government of the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church, which is funded not by taxes but

from donations and revenues from the Vatican Museums, real estate and other money-making ventures in the city state.

Galantino, head of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See administrative office, confirmed the Vatican owned 2,400 apartments and 600 commercial spaces in Rome and nearby, 60 percent of which are rented to Holy See employees at a reduced rent as part of their benefits.

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who heads the Vatican’s economy council, has acknowledged Francis has told him to bring down costs but has insisted the shortfall can be resolved over the next year or two. He did not dispute news reports estimating the deficit at about €70 million.

“We have to go forward otherwise I cannot see how to sign a budget with a structural deficit,” Marx told reporters this month. “But that is a way we can go in several years. That is not a catastrophe.” AP

Science

BusinessMirror

A6 Sunday, October 27, 2019

Sunday

For food security and climate-change resiliency

Lowly camote to save the day

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

amote (sweet potato) chips, anyone? How about camote cue, or the simple boiled camote?

A woman farmer in Southern Palawan shows a newly uprooted cassava.

Women in indigenous people communities in the province are planting root crops like ube (purple yam) and cassava to help fight poverty and protect the biodiversity-rich Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape.

Did you know there is more to the lowly sweet potato than your favorite merienda (snack) food?

Among other high-value crops, camote, and other root and tuber crops are now being considered for development by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to prop up food production, and boost the country’s food security and resilience to climatechange effects like strong typhoons, flash floods, landslides or even longseason of drought.

In his keynote message delivered

by Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero during the opening of the two-day “Regional Congress: Root and Tuber Crops for Food Security and Climate Change Resilience in Asia” held at a hotel in Quezon City recently, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar highlighted the importance of the root and tuber crops in boosting the country’s food security and climate-change resilience.

The event served as a venue for root and tuber crops industry stakeholders to share industry developments and approaches, and discuss strategies and initiatives to further prop up production capacities, and expand markets, in Asia.

It was organized by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), and the International Potato Center (CIP) with funding support from International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD).

Major challenges

Dar said the DA is currently faced with four major challenges—the African swine fever, fall army worm, and the falling prices of palay and copra.

These are the reasons why Dar said since he assumed the top post as the country’s food czar, the DA “hit the ground running” on how the agency is expected to deliver services for the Filipino people.

He added: “Innovation, technology and entrepreneurship is key to competitiveness. It means expertize on pest and disease management, postharvest, plant physiology and horticulture.

New thinking for Agriculture

Dar said the conference came at an auspicious time, as the current DA leadership is pursuing a systematic and long-term strategy in attracting private investments, developing markets and promoting exports of raw and processed agricultural products, under what he calls our “New Thinking for Agriculture.”

“At the core of this New Thinking is Inclusive Market-Oriented Development [IMOD] as a strategy to modernize the country’s agriculture sector, boost its resiliency against climatic stresses, create employment and income opportunities, and uplift the living conditions of millions of smallholder farmers,” he said.

He said as DA chief, the goal is to have a food secure Philippines with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk.

With regards to the country’s root and tuber crops industry, he said, “we recognize the huge contribution of the industry in our agricultural economy.”

According to Dar, the country’s production of top 2 tubers—cassava and sweet potato—totaled 3.25 million metric tons (MMT) valued at P2.7 billion at current prices.

“Cassava and sweet potatoes are grown in 312,000 hectares nationwide,” he said.

Liberalized world trading order

He sa id t he g loba l i z at ion of m a r kets c reated a slew of t remendous c h a l lenges a nd oppor t u n it ies for Ph i l ip pi ne a g r ic u lt u re, i n ge ner a l , a nd t he ro ot a nd t u b e r c rops i ndu st r y, i n pa r t ic u l a r.

“The challenge comes from the need to ensure the quality of our products at competitive prices and produce them in economies of scale. But heightened competition also offers us the opportunity to strengthen the national agricultural support system to prosper in the context of our international trade agreements,” he said.

He cited as an example the Asean economic integration and its accompanying free-trade agreement which started in 2015, and gave rise to a large consumer base of 635 million people and combined trade amounting to nearly $3 trillion.

For the longest time, we have been lagging behind our Asean peers in terms of land productivity, crop diversification and exports, he said.

Of the Big 5 of Asean—Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines—the latter is the only country with a negative trade balance because it imports more food and agribased products than it exports.

Fighting chance for Filipino farmers

DA, he said, recognizes its duty to provide our small farmers, fishers and small-scale entrepreneurs the fighting chance in the global arena.

Through the Bureau of Plant Industry and the High-Value Crops Development Program, which coordinate all efforts for this subsector, the DA is working to ensure the availability of high-quality seeds and planting materials to support the agency’s expansion program for priority root and tuber crops, especially in indigenous peoples (IPs) communities.

Dar said the DA will also establish post-harvest facilities and encourage value addition, bring Filipino root and tuber crops farmers and entrepreneurs timely market information, and facilitate all the linkages they require to make the industry profitable, productive and globally competitive.

“We will continuously improve national regulator y ser vices, including our certification systems,

and our pest-risk analysis and foodsafety services; and develop and promote better production technologies throughout the archipelago, including the conduct of Farmers Field School and Package of Technology (POT) and Training of Trainors (TOT) sessions,” he explained.

Nutrient-rich food crop

Root and tuber crops, or RTCs, have been gaining recognition as nutrientrich food crops, versatile raw materials for micro and small enterprises, and agri-industry, such as food, feeds, starch, bioethanol, and instrumental to enhance resilience to climate change, DOST-PCAARRD and CIP said.

RTCs grow in a wide range of environments, require lower input than grains and have exhibited evidence of addressing vulnerability and risks related to increasingly recurrent extreme weather events, particularly in Asia and Pacific region.

The experts believe the cultivation of RTCs amid challenges—including the low productivity of smallholder farmers, pests, diseases, limited utilization and consumption, slow adoption of improved production and processing technologies, and lack of compliance to industry standards offer—farmers in Asia and the Pacific an opportunity to not just put food on the table, such as during emergency situations like natural calamities, but a better economic opportunity through exports.

They said that one just have to plant the right variety, and a unique and interesting value addition that will sell the by-product.

Raise awareness

Diego Naziri, of the CIP, or Research Center of Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), said the two-day event aims to raise awareness on a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, government agencies, policy-makers, nongovernment organizations and private sectors, about the importance of root and tuber crops for the livelihood of the people, and as a resilient crop to face the challenge of climate change.

“One of the main outputs we expect from this Congress is to have stronger collaboration and reciprocal knowledge about what we do on roots and tuber crops in terms of research initiatives, and establish collaborative undertakings in research and innovations in root and tuber crops and put the result of the research in the hands of the farmers and the private sector,” said Naziri, also a project coordinator at FoodSTART. Of the 100 participants in the event, most are from Asia, including a huge delegation from the Philippines, and representatives from India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Tonga, Myanmar and Korea. There are also key representatives from Kenya, Colombia and the United Kingdom.

Disaster food

According to Naziri, root and tuber crops, particularly sweet potato, are very resilient.

He said during the aftermath of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan), where farms were destroyed, root and tuber crops, particularly sweet potato, survived the devastation.

“We have ver y good examples where root and tuber crops became instrumental in recovery from shocks,” he said, citing the case of Yolanda wherein the sweet potato was among the few survivors among food crops.

All around the world, root and tuber crops remain the last crop standing after the devastating effect of climate change-induced weather events, he said.

“This is important because farmers have access to food in times of food shortage. Another big advantage of this crop is they are short cycled,” he added.

Sweet potato takes only 90 to 100 days to reach maturity, he explained.

During the post-Yolanda rehabilitation in the affected areas, he

said sweet potato planting materials were distributed to help farmers quickly recover.

Another so-called disaster crop, he said, is the cassava, known locally as kamoteng kahoy or balinghoy.

Even when cassava is destroyed, the fact that the root crop remains underground makes it safe.

It is highly perishable after harvest, lasting only two to three days after har vest, he said. However, despite its stem and leaves being destroyed, as long as the roots and the crop is in the ground, they can be kept there for a month and still be good for human consumption, he explained.

Feeding the world

Root and tuber crops help feed the world, says Naziri.

“In terms of production, the roots and tuber crops produce more than 500 million tons of food globally and they are the key staples for about 300 million people around the world,” he said.

Over around 1 billion consumers benefited from the works of CGIAR and CIP to improve the productivity of root and tuber crops, he said.

CGIAR and CIP conducts research in partnership with national-partners, primarily to develop new varieties of root and tuber crops.

CGIAR and CIP have the largest gene bank of potatoes and sweet potatoes in the world and distribute these varieties to farmers around the world.

CIP has offices in 40 countries, inc lud ing Latin A mer ica, A f r ica and Asia.

Crop of indigenous communities

Jerry Jing Pacturan, country program officer for Asia and the Pacific Region of IFAD, said root and tuber crops, particularly camote, is the crop of many indigenous communities.

They are the crops of many poor communities, such as in the upland areas of IPs in Southeast Asia.

Besides being very resilient that they survive during typhoons, they are good sources of food and nutrition than most food.

On top of these, root crops are cheap, with camote costing around P50 to P90 per kilogram only, depending on the variety or quality.

While it is a favorite snack for many Filipinos, however, camote is not considered a staple food, unlike rice, or white corn in some parts of Visayas and Mindanao.

Potential dollar earner

According to Pacturan, some special varieties of potato and sweet potato, are now being exported. Ube, a variety of sweet potato grown in the Philippines, he said, is in-demand for flavoring, such as in ice cream.

The root and tuber crops, he said, remains cheap but this is just a question of quality.

“In fact, some root and tuber crops have the potential for export. Vietnam is exporting potato,” he said.

The Philippines, according to Pacturan, has the potential in carving its own niche in the global food market given the opportunity in producing good variety of root and tuber crops, or through value-adding, producing by-products from these special root and tuber crops.

“It is also a matter of financing,” he said.

IFAD is helping farmers in Benguet through the DA, in producing quality root crops.

In the project, dubbed Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management Program 2, funded by IFAD, the DA committed to provide the government counterpart of around P70 million. The project has been running for over 15 years now.

Another IFAD-funded project is the Fisheries, Coastal Resources and Livelihood Project, which involves coastal resource management and enterprise development.

Whether you are thinking of a merienda, or some food in times of disasters, the lowly camote might just save the day.

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

Private firm to test D.O.S.T.-FPRDI’s plywood glue

The MOA signing, led by IM Wood President Maria Cristina Huang (fourth from left) and DOST-FPRDI Director Romulo T. Aggangan (third from left). DOST-FPRDI

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p ly w o o d g l u e t h a t w a s n e w l y formulated by the Forest Products Research and Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-FPRDI) will soon be tested in making full-sized plywood.

This, after the institute and a private company signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) early this month that prompts the trial run of producing full-sized panels (4 feet by 8 ft.) using FPRDIdeveloped glue mixtures with spent tea leaves (STL) and tobacco dust as additives.

“We are partnering with the Mindanao-based Impasug-ong Integrated Wood Processing and Plywood Manufacturing Inc. [IM Wood] for the pilot testing of our adhesive,” shared Project Leader Engr. Juanito P. Jimenez Jr. He added, “We will test if the plywood produced will pass national and global standards for shear strength, formaldehyde emission and termite resistance. Formaldehyde is a chemical compound found to cause certain types of cancer in humans.”

According to Jimenez, the trial run will determine the effectiveness of the glue mixtures when used in a full-sized panel. It will also help establish how much a plywood company can save once the adhesive is used.

Studies by Jimenez, Dr. Erlinda L. Mari and

Rebecca B. Lapuz in 2014 and 2018 have proven that STL and tobacco stalks are affordable and environment-friendly extenders and fillers to plywood adhesive, replacing the commonly used wheat and rice hull flour.

“Fillers are used to cover up holes and cracks on the veneer surface, improving its strength and durability. Extenders, on the other hand, are substances mixed with the glue to reduce the amount of primary binder used,” Jimenez explained.

According to the study, STL—an industrial waste product—has the ability to trap excess formaldehyde gases from plywood, thus resulting in safer panels. The tea-flavored drinks industry across the country generates around 18,000 kilograms of STL every day.

Tobacco stalks, meanwhile, can repel termites and also lessen formaldehyde emission. The National Tobacco Administration estimates that the country’s tobacco waste is around 45 million kilograms every year.

“We are positive that our research will create productive uses for these two waste products,” Jimenez said.

The pilot testing, which started this October, will run for a year, with production and validation tests conducted in the IM Wood factory. Apple

Jean C. Martin-de Leon/S&T Media Service

Eel fishery sustainability assessed in North Luzon

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el is a commodity in demand, especially in Japanese restaurants where they serve kabayaki, a grilled dish of unagi, or Japanese eel.

In the Philippines, eel is referred to as igat or palos, and is also an important food fish for many indigenous people of the northern part of the country.

Freshwater eels are abundant in Northern Luzon, Eastern Luzon, Central Philippines and in Mindanao.

Anguillid eels migrate between marine and freshwater environments, and exhibit a multistage life cycle. They spawn in the open ocean and afterwards drift with the oceanic currents toward their chosen habitat.

The leaf-like lar vae, leptocephalus, metamorphose into glass eels and further develop into elvers (juveniles). As they settle in their chosen habitat, they develop into yellow eels and silver eels.

To ensure the sustainability of eels in the river systems of the country, a project being

implemented by the Cagayan State University Aparri Campus studies the seasonality of eels in Northeastern Luzon.

Titled, “Species composition and seasonality of eels in the river systems of Northeastern Luzon,” the project studied the eels’ multistage life cycle and where they successfully built their populations.

Policy-makers, local government units and glass eel gatherers will be able to benefit from the project as they will have a baseline information related to eel fishery in the country.

Moreover, since the projec t will be monitoring the different natural populations of freshwater eels in Northeastern Luzon, it will ensure the sustainability, conservation and management of glass eel fishery.

The project is funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology. Ernesto

del Rosario Jr./CSU-Aparri Campus

US FDA officials wants stronger warning on breast implant risks

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ASHINGTON—US health officials want women getting breast implants to receive stronger warnings and more details about the possible risks and complications.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said this past week that manufacturers should add a warning highlighted by a box—the most serious type—to the information given to women considering implants.

The agency is also recommending patients complete a checklist to make sure they understand all the possible side effects of the implants, such as scarring, pain, rupture and even a rare form of cancer.

“We have heard from many women that they are not fully informed of the risks when considering breast implants,” the agency said in a statement detailing the recommendations.

The agenc y also wants companies to explain that breast implants often require repeat surgeries and they should not be considered lifelong devices. About 1 in 5 women who get implants for cosmetic reasons need to have them removed within eight to 10 years, according to the FDA. The agency will take public comment on

the proposed guidelines before adopting them.

The new proposal is the FDA’s latest attempt to manage safety issues with the devices primarily used for breast augmentation, the most frequently performed cosmetic surgical procedure in the US. Roughly 400,000 patients get implants each year, 100,000 of them after cancer surgery.

As outlined, manufacturers would not be required to adopt the boxed warning and checklist, noted Madris Tomes, a former FDA staffer.

“The FDA needs to enforce the use of this and not just hope it’s used,” said Tomes, who now runs a company that analyzes device injuries and malfunctions. “Women deserve to know what is being implanted and need to know not to take these risks lightly.”

In recent years, the FDA and regulators elsewhere have grappled with a link between a rare cancer and a type of textured implant.

In July, the FDA called on manufacturer Allergan to pull its Biocell implant after it was tied to heightened risk of a form of lymphoma. The company issued a worldwide recall for the implants, which had already been restricted or removed from numerous countries. AP

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Sunday, October 27, 2019

A7

Revelry and celebrations around Ontario

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Story & photos by Excel V. Dyquiangco

ike many other countries, Canada hosts a dazzling array of shows and festivals, especially during the summer time. Toronto in Ontario, in particular, is proud to showcase a variety of rich and cultural festivities that celebrate diversity, and enhance the bonds in the community.

From the contemporary taste of food via the rib festival to an overflowing sparkle of theme parks and fiestas, there is no doubt that indeed this is one of the best places to be.

I am privileged to have attended at least three of these well-known festivals in Ontario and frankly, all of them have its charms that tug the heart. These are celebrations that I definitely want to join over and over again.

Eating ribs

One of the first festivals that I was able to attend was the Scar-

Scarborough Ribs Festival is a weekend-long event at Thomson Memorial Park.

The Canadian National Exhibition is the country’s largest annual fair.

There are also crafts, games and carnival rides at the Scarborough Ribs Festival.

borough Rib Festival, recognized as the premier summer event in the east end of Toronto. Located in the heart of Scarborough in the beautiful and spacious Thomson Memorial Park, at the corner of Brimley Road and Lawrence Avenue, the festival not only offers great and yummy food for the whole family—especially with the mouth-watering ribs as the main course—but also a weekend event that bridges community relations while providing many other diversions.

The main attraction is the 10 award-winning professional Rib

teams from across Canada and the United States, plus 23 other food vendors offering delicious alternatives to ribs, including vegetarian items. There are also booths offering arts and crafts, and other wares. For the children and the young-at-heart, the festival also has 15 carnival rides, such as the all-time favorites; the carousel and the roller coaster.

Other highlights include free entertainment and a concert by local bands like the Colleen and the Bleeding Hearts, the Jazz Group and Rockin Mojos. There’s even an Open Mic Karaoke session for kids and adults.

Celebrating Filipino food and music

After the rib festival, I also got to attend one of the mostprized festivals in the Filipino community. A Taste of Manila is the only Filipino food festival in the Greater Toronto Area. Now on its fifth year, the festival that happens along Bathurst Street corner Wilson Avenue serves as an attraction to experience what the Philippines has to offer not only in terms of food, but as well as entertainment, fashion, music, dances, culture and even the distinct hospitality of the

Toronto’s A Taste of Manila is a haven for Filipino delicacies.

Filipinos. However, the festival’s main draw remains to be the opportunity to feast on sumptuous delicacies such as lumpia, lechon, pancit and halo halo.

This year, Filipino personalities who came to grace the event were Iñigo Pascual, Billy Joe Crawford, Jugs and Teddy of It’s Showtime noontime show.

Attending fiestas, games, and rejoicing the end of summer

A visit to Canada would not be complete without a tour of the Canadian National Exhibition, also called the CNE, or the EX, which runs from August 16 to September 2 every year. This festival signifies the end of summer and the beginning of the academic school year.

Located at the Exhibition Place, a 78-hectare site located along Toronto’s waterfront on the shores of Lake Ontario and just west of downtown Toronto, and with approximately 1.5 million visitors each year, the CNE is Canada’s largest annual fair and the sixthlargest in North America. Initially developed as a way for farmers to promote largely their agriculture and technology wares in Canada, the CNE has grown to reflect other shows and attractions, such as a myriad of shopping areas, exhibits, live entertainment, agricultural displays, sports events, casino and a large carnival with rides, games and food.

Perhaps one of the most extraordinary highlights of this festival is the Legend of the Silk Road, a

magical maze of luminous lantern installations that has as its theme legends and myths associated with the ancient Silk Road, a network of trade routes formally established during the Han Dynasty of China.

The International Pavilion showcases products from around the world while the Arts, Crafts and Hobbies Building houses crafts, collectibles and unusual items. The Evercare Centre complex holds the international pavilion, a garden show, the SuperDogs performances, and a sand-sculpting competition, plus an exhibit space used for agricultural or industrial displays and a live stage.

The Food Building, on the other hand, houses a large number of vendors from many different cultures—Indian, Jamaican, Spanish, Mexican, Greek, among others.

Meanwhile, the Better Living Centre exhibits champions from the agricultural produce competition, along with a butter-sculpting competition.

Some exhibits, such as the cat show are also held only for a few days.

With all of these festivals, one thing is clear, though. Canada indeed celebrates unity and diversity that forge people of different colors to come together and get to know each other’s unique culture and traditions. And I feel so blessed to have been a part of these gatherings.

Celebrate Oktoberfest with special economy and business class fares from Emirates

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et into the jovial spirit of Oktoberfest as Emirates gives you more reasons to fly with your family and friends.

Fly Emirates to popular destinations and enjoy special fares as low as $616 in Economy Class and $1,646 in Business Class when you book a flight via the Emirates web site, preferred booking agent, or Emirates local office from October 16 to 29, 2019. Travel period is until August 31, 2020. Blackout periods, and other terms and conditions apply.

Fly to Munich where it all started and see why Oktoberfest is one of the most beloved folk festivals, not only in Germany, but all over the world! Immerse yourself in Parisian culture at the iconic Moulin Rouge, or learn about Roman history and architecture, and then celebrate until dawn in one of the many bars and clubs in Rome.

If celebrating Oktoberfest with family is more your style, spen quality time with the whole family with a visit to Dubai to experience its numerous familyfriendly attractions. Dubai Parks and Resorts is home to three world-class theme parks and one water park—Motiongate Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai, Lego-

Go to Oktoberfest via Emirates

land Dubai and Legoland Water Park—this labyrinth of fun is sure to appeal to the young and young-at-heart. To sweeten the deal, travelers can purchase twoday entry passes to Dubai Parks and Resorts for AED495 (approximately SGD187) and AED435 (approximately SGD164) for adults and children, respectively. As a pass perk, each ticket holder will also be entitled to a wristband loaded with AED250 (approximately SGD94) worth of credits that can be used at restaurants and food carts across the parks.

Whatever your heart desires,

you’ll never run out of options for your next getaway with Emirates’ wide network of global destinations, spanning more than 150 destinations in 85 countries and territories. You can access all these destinations via Emirates global hub in Dubai, from where you can experience the iconic Emirates A380.

Going on a journey with Emirates is always a memorable experience, whether you’re flying First, Business or Economy Class.

In First and Business Class, travel in utmost comfort aboard the Emirates A380 in your seats that

can turn into full-flat beds and pamper yourself with the complimentary Bulgari amenity kits.

First and Business Class passengers can also socialize with other passengers at the iconic Onboard Lounge.

Take a sip of some of the world’s best wines even before reaching your destination. Emirates offers a fine selection of wines and spirits from the best producers in the world in all its flights. Savor each serving on its own or pair it with a sumptuous dish or snack, inspired by regional cuisines all over the world.

Across all cabins, you’ll stay enter tained throughout the f light with Emirates’ awardwinning inflight entertainment, where you can choose from over 4,500 channels showing the latest TV and on-demand content in multiple languages, including the most recent blockbuster hit movies. If you need to stay connected, Emirates offers complimentary Wi-fi access with 20MB of data to every passenger or is unlimited for Emirates Skywards members.

Emirates operates 18 weekly flights from Manila to Dubai, connecting Filipino travelers to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Americas.

DFP Mactan showcases the region’s best local products

Local products top the list of Duty Free Cebu’s best sellers

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uty Free Philippines, the country’s sole operator of the duty- and tax-free merchandising system, announced that Cebu province’s best local products have become the No. 1 category, in terms of sales at the DFP store inside Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

DFP Chief Operating Officer (COO) Vicente Pelagio A. Angala said that, based on the sales performance from January to August 2019, local products have become the best seller, marking 25.97-percent share to the total sales of the International Departure of MCIA Terminal 2. The consistent best sellers, liquor and skin-care products, ranked second and third, respectively.

According to Angala, DFP features the region’s best local products in response to the growing number of foreign tourists visiting Cebu.

“DFP Mactan is the new shopping haven for Cebu’s famous local pasalubong where tourists can bring home a piece of the Philippines to their home country as souvenirs,” said Angala. “It is the perfect venue to showcase the region’s ingenuity, creativity and artistry.”

DFP Mactan was inaugurated on August 2018 and has an area of about 1,200 square meters, both in the predeparture and arrival areas.

Moreover, the store is offering “shop-nowpickup-later” scheme for international travelers who has a confirmed departure ticket and returning to the Philippines within 30 calendar days. The Travelite Program allows travelers to purchase items before their departure time, and to claim the items upon their return to the country. Aside from that, there’s also a 7-percent discount on selected items.

Aside from export-quality Filipino products, the said store boasts of an expanded range of merchandise, which includes perfumes, cosmetics, confectionery, cigarettes and liquors. The store has two sections namely the “Philippine Gifts and Souvenirs” section which carries highquality destination products and locally made souvenirs, while the section called “A Taste of the Philippines” features the region’s local food and delicacies.

Duty Free Philippines, an attached agency of the Department of Tourism, is mandated to satisfy the duty-free shopping needs of international travelers. It is a vital component of the DOT as it contributes to the efforts in the development of the country’s tourism infrastructure, programs and projects.

A8 Sunday, October 27, 2019

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OLFING legend Tiger Woods is targeting next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, describing it as a “big goal” as he looks to add another chapter to his decorated career.

Golf returned to the Olympics at Rio 2016 after a 112-year hiatus, but injury ruled Woods out.

The top 15 players in both the men’s and women’s rankings qualify automatically for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from one country.

Outside of that, players will be eligible based on world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.

Woods is currently ninth in the world but is the sixth highest-ranked American.

“Making the Olympic team is a big goal,” the 15time major winner said. “I don’t see myself having too many opportunities other than next year.

“Four years from now, at the next Olympic Games, I’ll be 48 years old,” Woods said. “To be one of the top Americans at that age is going to be tough.”

He added: “I went to my first Olympic Games when it was in Los Angeles [1984]. So now to have the opportunity to be a part of the Olympics, because golf in my lifetime wasn’t a part of the Olympics, is an important aspect for us and the growth of the game.”

“The game has become so global, and so reaching that, I think the Olympic Games is a

M

OSCOW—Conor McGregor will return to mixed martial arts in January with a UFC fight in Las Vegas.

The Irish fighter said Thursday he will return “fully focused” on January 18 at the T-Mobile Arena.

“That is my comeback fight. It is 12 weeks this Saturday. I am in prime physical condition. I have agreed the date with the company,” McGregor said, adding that he knows his opponent’s name but won’t reveal it. “If I was to give you people the name, which I would love to do, I know the UFC would flip it because they are a crafty company.”

The 31-year-old McGregor hasn’t fought since losing by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in

Sports BusinessMirror

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

TIGER WANTS TO PLAY IN TOKYO 2020 GAMES great extension of that and I’d like to be a part of it,” he added.

In terms of majors, Woods is the second-most successful male golfer of all time, with only fellow American Jack Nicklaus ahead of him on 18.

The 43-year-old, who underwent four back surgeries between 2014 and 2017, won the Masters in April, to end an 11-year wait for his 15th major.

Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, has confirmed he will represent Ireland at Tokyo 2020.

Speculation had been rife in recent months about whether McIlory would opt to compete for Ireland or Britain at the Olympics, with the golf tournament scheduled between July 30 to August 8.

The Belfast native had hinted at representing Ireland ahead of the Professional Golfers’

Association Championship but confirmed his intentions in an interview with the Golf Channel.

“It was difficult up until the point when it wasn’t, if that makes sense?” McIlroy said. “I think I made it more difficult for myself than I needed to.

“My feelings toward it were—’What will other people think?’—and once I got that out of my head, and I really tried to do what was right for me, it was easy,” he said. “Even though the Olympics has given me that choice, it really wasn’t a choice.”

“Because all I’ve done all the way through my life is play for Ireland, and why would that change? All I’ve done through my whole life is play for Ireland and why would that change just because the tournament has changed? “That was my decision,” he added.

McIlroy is expected to be joined in the Irish

team by Shane Lowry.

The question mark over McIlroy’s Ireland or Britain choice had arisen ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The four-time major winner’s announcement that he hopes to qualify to represent Ireland in Japan’s capital came just two years after he said he resented the Olympics and felt no connection to either the British or the Irish flag.

McIlroy declared he would play for Ireland at Rio 2016, where Justin Rose claimed the men’s gold medal for Great Britain, before citing concerns over the Zika virus as a reason for pulling out. Insidethegames

MCGREGOR BACK IN ACTION IN JANUARY October 2018. He was banned for six months and fined $50,000 for his part in a post-fight brawl.

McGregor said he is targeting two more fights, including a rematch with Nurmagomedov in Moscow. He also aimed a string of insults at the Russian fighter.

After the January 18 fight, McGregor said he would then like to fight the winner of the November 3 bout between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, followed by either Nurmagomedov or Tony Ferguson.

“I’m going to go through the entire roster like a chain

saw through butter,” he said.

McGregor’s return comes as he faces more legal issues. He is facing an assault charge in Ireland over an incident in which he appeared to punch a man in a bar. AP

TIGER WOODS says making the Olympic team is a big goal, while Rory McIlroy confirms he will represent Ireland at Tokyo 2020. AP Conor McGregor says he will return “fully focused” on January 18 at the T-Mobile Arena. AP

House passes bill criminalizing doping conspiracies

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he House has passed a bill that would criminalize international doping conspiracies, the likes of which tainted the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

The bill, passed Tuesday on a voice vote, was named after Grigory Rodchenkov, the Moscow anti-doping lab director who helped authorities uncover Russia’s methods in a massive cheating scheme.

If passed by the Senate, where it has wide support, the law would call for fines of up to $1 million and prison sentences of up to 10 years for those who participate in schemes designed to influence international sports competitions through doping.

The bill has support of major American sports leagues, the US Olympic and Paralympic

Committee and the US Anti-Doping Agency, which would gain access to information from cases prosecuted under the law.

Rodchenkov said with the bill’s passage, “the fight against doping rises to a new level of efficacy.”

Matt Every, meanwhile, was suspended for 12 weeks Friday for what the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour said was a violation of its conduct policy on drugs of abuse. Every said it was legal prescription for cannabis to treat mental health.

“To be clear, I tested positive for cannabis, a drug I do not abuse and a drug that I have a legal prescription for in the state of Florida,” Every said in a statement.

Every will be eligible to return January 7 and will miss only three tournaments for which

Tokyo cycling course damaged by landslides caused by Hagibis

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ART of the course due to be used for the Olympic cycling road race course next year has been damaged by landslides caused by Typhoon Hagibis, Japanese officials have revealed.

The Sagamihara Municipal Government announced that it had been hit by landslides along National Highway 413 in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The landslides were triggered by the devastating rain caused by Typhoon Hagibis

A PORTION of the road cycling course is damaged.

earlier this month.

City officials warned that it could take several months to repair the damage.

“We’ll have a consultation with the [Tokyo] Organizing Committee for the 2020 Games,” a Sagamihara official told Japanese news agency JiJi Press.

Large landslides struck at eight points along the highway in Midori Ward after the 19th named storm of the year dumped over 70 centimeters of rain in the area.

he would have been eligible—the Bermuda Championship, the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico and the RSM Classic at Sea Island.

Every said he knew cannabis was on the tour’s list of banned substances and accepts the penalties. But he offered no apologies for the violation.

Every, a two-time winner at Bay Hill, did not disclose the nature of the mental-health condition.

He says cannabis, which is legal in Florida only for medicinal purposes, was prescribed by his doctor who has managed his health for 30 years.

He said it was determined that he is neither an acceptable candidate to use prescription “Z’’ class drugs nor benzodiazepines, drugs he said could be highly addictive and harmful to the body and mind. AP The Olympic road race is to be held on July 25 for men and on the following day for women.

About 30 kilometers of the Olympic road race course is due to run through Sagamihara.

The course is set to start at a park in western Tokyo and finishes in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture, after going through Kanagawa and Yamanashi prefectures.

The men’s 234-km road race is due to climb the lower slopes of Mount Fuji. The women’s 137km race controversially does not include Japan’s highest mountain.

“The Olympic and Paralympic cycling courses will be quite challenging, traversing rugged up-anddown terrain near Mount Fuji,”Tokyo 2020 Chief Executive Toshirō Mutō said. “The spectacle of the world’s top athletes battling it out on these courses is bound to excite audiences.” Insidethegames

Know before you go Whether for a personal trip or a beauty contest, don’t leave without checking your travel documents

Know before you go

Whether for a personal trip or a beauty contest, don’t leave without checking your travel documents

By Jt Nisay

S

Y2Z Editor

everal studies suggest that the impulse (itch?) of millennials to seek new experiences make them more inclined to travel as compared to previous generations.

AARP’s “2019 Travel Trends” reported that the average millennial (ages 21 to 37) has lined up roughly five trips throughout this year, three of which are international. That’s more foreign travel than Gen X (ages 38 to 53), and more overall trips than Baby Boomers (ages 54 to 72). “[Millennials] have an openness to new experiences and a willingness to rattle the status quo,” Amadeus Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications for Asia Pacific Karun Budhraja said in a statement, as part of its 2018 report, titled “Journey of Me Insights: What Asia Pacific Millennial Travelers Want.”

That said, the biggest local travel story of the past week has served an importance notice with regards to the welldocumented inclination of millennials to travel: If a beauty queen like Samantha Lo—who was on her way to Venezuela in good faith to represent the country in a global pageant—was hounded by travel issues surrounding her passport, then it can happen to anyone.

Here, we present a few important reminders on how to maximize your travel experience by eliminating the avertable hassle.

RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH The amount of diligence exerted on scouring for the best airfares and accommodation prices should be extended to researching about the basics of one’s destination.

“Know before you go,” advised Maria Theresa Lazaro, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) executive director of Office of Consular Affairs.

She said study everything from basic survival words/phrases down to the needed vaccination in the area. This, of course, after making sure that the travel documents are taken care of.

ph/faqs/travel-req.

Aside from a passport with at least six months validity, Philippine citizens with tourist-purpose visas need to prepare a unexpired visa, as needed, and a return ticket. More important information are on view on the web site, such as the specific documents for sponsored travel and OFW travel requirements.

CHECK YOUR PAPERS

WORK THE PAPERWORK

Start by reviewing if your DFA-issued passport is valid for at least six months prior to the trip, according to Lazaro. Firsttime passport applicants or those up for renewal can check the documentary requirements at www.consular.dfa.gov.ph.

“Applying for passport is now very easy,” she said. “Applicants can book an online appointment and pay at any payment centers accredited by the DFA.” The Bureau of Immigration has listed the other required travel documents on its web site at www.immigration.gov.

According to the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc., the parents of Samantha Lo admitted that they have secured their daughter’s passport through a “fixer.”

Lazaro warns people that third-party processors could adversely impact applications, especially when the documentary requirements submitted are spurious. The applicants can be denied issuance of passports or be blacklisted from application.

Despite the repercussions, Lazaro acknowledged that some people still choose to deal with fixers for several reasons. Fore-

most of which, she said, is that people think that securing a passport is still a tedious process that requires a long waiting time.

Lazaro clarified that given the streamlined passport application process, applicants should see no need in approaching fixers.

“It is best that they lodge/file their own application,” she said. “This also ensures that the travel document they are getting is a genuine one.”

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS If one does goes for the DIY option, be meticulous in processing the documents.

Such is the advice of Edwin Villanueva, general manager of Light Miles Travel. He said the biggest problems in travel arrangements often root from one, tiny detail. It can be anywhere from visa protocols and passport validity to mistyped names or wrong dates.

“Make sure nothing is left unattended,” he said.

Gen Z travelers choose spontaneity, sustainability over luxury

I

f given an extra $100 to spend on vacation, Generation Z travelers say they would spend that money on an experience, versus a nicer hotel or more leg room on a flight.

They believe Wi-Fi should be free, “sustainability” is critical, and the “perfect photo” is a vacation priority. These were among the findings, summarized below, of the Priceline Generation Travel Index, an independent study of American travelers spanning four generations: Generation Z, millennials, Generation X and Baby Boomers.

The Priceline Generation Travel Index reveals that the cost of travel is the most important consideration for Americans of any age. That priority also grows over time. Three quarters (75 percent) of millennials said cost is their top priority when planning a vacation, a figure that rises to 80 percent among Generation X, and up to 86 percent of Baby Boomers.

More than two-thirds (67 percent) of Gen Z travelers do believe that price is paramount, but in fact they are the least costsensitive generation on the whole, and also the likeliest to characterize them-

2 BusinessMirror

selves as “big spenders” on vacation.

If given an extra $100 to spend on a trip, one in four respondents said they would spend it on “unique experiences,” the most cited option, rather than airfare or lodging. Only 7 percent of Americans would spend that $100 upgrading their hotel, and only 5 percent would spend it on airfare. Nearly one in five (18 percent) of all respondents indicated they would spend it on food.

“The youngest travelers in particular want to spend their money on the experience of a vacation, rather than on a flight October 27, 2019

or hotel, which is Priceline’s purpose,” said Ben Harrell, chief marketing officer of Priceline.

For all Americans, sustainability was cited as the most important factor when choosing an airline or hotel. It was chosen first by 52 percent of respondents in the study. The middle generations—millennials (57 percent) and Generation X (55 percent) were the two likeliest to consider sustainability the top consideration, though that opinion was shared by nearly half of Gen Z (48 percent) and Baby Boomers (46 percent). Bloomberg Business

BusinessMirror

YOUR MUSIC OUR BUSINESS SCREENSHOT OF ACEL’S PITIK BULAG MUSIC VIDEO COURTESY OF DNA MUSIC

RETURN ENGAGEMENT

ACEL IS MAKING HIT RECORDS AGAIN, WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?

By Darwin Fernandez Interview by Edwin P. Sallan

W

E were all there when Moonstar88 touched the hearts of die-hard romantics and summarized every emotion of every Filipino in-love with their monster hit, “Torete.”

Although changes have hit us all, the sought after pop-rock band included, the original lead singer's heartfelt vocals continue to be the theme song of millions of love-addicted music fans. But what about that vocalist; What was her name again? And where has she been since she left the band?

Acel Bisa became a wife (now Acel van Ommen), a mother of three, the founder of a charity foundation, and even an author but just when everyone thought she was about to fade into the background, the former

Moonstar88 vocalist returns to reclaim the limelight in her single “Pitik Bulag,” a song that is likely to rekindle the romantic in all of us.

Inspired by the popular children’s game where a person

covers her eyes and guesses the number of fingers the other player is holding up, “Pitik Bulag” is a metaphor for how people in love expect their partners to know what the other needs even without asking.

“Most of the time tension happens when we expect the other person to see the way we see things, but people are different, and that produces hurts, false accusations, and assumptions.

Each one has a different lens and different perspective and for a relationship to work, we find a common ground and be committed in loving the person,” Acel added. “Love accepts differences but at the same time love also changes.”

Reminiscent of her previous love songs in Moonstar88 that also characterized Silver Lining, her 2008 debut solo album, “Pitik Bulag” feels more like a traditional OPM pop song that as arranged by seasoned musician Jack Rufo

PHOTO COURTESY OF ACEL

is punctuated by jangly guitars, feet-stomping backbeat and of course, Acel’s trademark wistful vocals.

Acel’s self-imposed hiatus from music provided her ample time to Continued on page 6

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Sound BusinessMirror

OCTOBER 27 , 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUS

IN HIGH SPIRITS

Ex-Razorback frontman Josemari Cuervo on making craft gin

I

By Darwin Fernandez

ndeed, the best stories aren’t told while chowing on salad, but rather over a tall glass of cold beer. The bitter taste of alcohol shared with good company is the perfect recipe for the wildest conversations.

It was in this manner that the brew of Crows Craft Brewing & Distilling Co. (http://crowscraft. com) was inspired, as shared by

its founder and former Razorback vocalist Josemari Cuervo.

Cuervo who last performed with Razorback in a reunion gig back

Josemari Cuervo (From Left) with Razorback circa 1994

in 2009 beside legacy members combining vocals with Isabel Lozano and Kevin Roy. His days of music was a choice and a journey he wanted to embark on for the love of it, but taking up a business was more of a destiny for Cuervo as his family has been in the real estate business since the late 1960s.

How he got into the brewing business was a story he told with exciting enthusiasm one could see through his tinted glasses.

“It’s a hobby,” he laughed, “[In] 2010-11, I tried craft beer and thought it was different from the brand I grew up with. When I had an opportunity to go to a friend’s bar, they had craft beer.”

“It’s fun and it’s a passion so I told myself, I’m still doing my real estate but this is something I love to do. I love to drink [so this] is enjoyable.”

During one of his business trips, Cuervo came across something that would signal the start of his brewing days.

“While shopping, I saw a kit that says ‘make your own beer’ so I took one home, brewed it in my kitchen, made 10 bottles and shared it with friends and they loved it. From then on, I decided I want to make my own craft beer,” he declared.

Crows, taken from the English translation of Cuervo whose family is rooted in South America.

Cuervo, however, was raised in the Philippines where music was a big influence in his lifestyle.

Much like music, identity was a huge factor in making the brand of Crows, Cuervo wished to emphasize. One big struggle was importing ingredients that the country didn’t have. Beer was specific but alcohol was a big market to which Cuervo viewed as an advantage to introduce the Filipino taste.

“How can you make a beer Filipino? “ he wondered “We don’t

have barley, hops are not homegrown so we have to import it. Gin, however, was something we could make Pinoy throught its botanicals so that’s what excited me.”

For Cuervo this new field of craft brewing was a painstaking journey which included a lot of trial and error attempts, experimentation with friends, lessons from a guy named Arne, and a lot of bad brews.

Crows eventually found the right formula and was rewarded for its meticulous discovery.

“When we launched the first Philippine craft gin at the end of 2016, a lot of people came and it was a hit,” he exclaimed.

Among Cuevo’s radical inventions was a brew close to home: the Eau de Vie (French for Water of Life), which he says is a clear, colorless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and distillation. Crows Eau De Vie De Mangue is a Mango Brandy using the sweetest available Philippine mango.

Cuervo shared how important and marketable being Filipino is. He pointed out that if we can ‘Philippinize’ gin then that means we can make products of global quality. In his travels, he would see bar shelves that include the “best spirits in the Philippines.” He gets excited everytime he sees Crows Gin beside the big names in the brewing industry.

“It only goes to show it’s not about how big you are,” Cuervo said, “You can be an entrepreneur just working from a house. If you come up with a good idea, then develop it well and get good feedback after people tried it, then you have something special.”

Josemari Cuervo today with his Crows craft gin.

d trip

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | OCTOBER 27 , 2019

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SIC OUR BUSINESS

MUSIKERO’S ‘O, KAY SARAP UMAWIT’

A JOURNEY IN MUSICAL FELLOWSHIP

A

FTER almost two decades, Musikero (Vince M. Ragay) finally released his second album, Musikero (O, Kay Sarap Umawit). His first album (Manariwa) was released in Baguio and San Fernando, La Union back in the early 2000’s.

The album chronicles the composer’s journey as a musician and creative worker — what the cover song refers to as “iba’t-ibang kaalaman at samu’t-saring karanasan” – hoping those experiences and ideas would fit every listener’s desired musical interest or taste. The songs include recordings in a ladies’ restroom at the defunct Risen Lord Academy (where the composer taught for a while) in Baguio back in 2000, with Zoella Starr Cabuco-Streigl (Vice-President of Christian Legacy College and daughter of the school President, Mrs. Vangie Cabuco) doing the lilting vocals of “Sayaw, Maria, O, Sayaw.”

Simple yet heartfelt, the song retains the raw and unadorned arrangement done by two struggling artists expressing life’s conundrums in the song’s theme, delivered in flamenco-style with a solo guitar accompaniment.

Another recording done in an old

cassette recorder is “In Your Eyes,” again with a solo guitar behind a love ditty with a jazz-rock groove. It was meant as an experimentation and as a rehash of the pop songs of the late ‘70’s before contemporary R&B finally took over the scene.

It took Musikero almost 10 years, after having settled in Baguio in 1991, to finally meet a professional sound-engineer in the person of Rey Jacildone of San Fernando, La Union.

But with the close fellowship that ensued from the professional connection, Manariwa was born, along with many other single musical and school audio-project productions.

Among the songs Ragay and Jacildone worked on together include “O, Kay Sarap Umawit” where Rey does the percussions. Composed under a full moon in Baguio, Ragay said the reggae tune sings praises and love and praise for our Creator “Dahil Babae Ka” was recorded

by a young lady from San Fernando whose name Ragay and Jacildone no longer remember.

Unabashedly, it pays tribute to Jose Rizal’s Maria-Clara image of the proverbial Dalagang Pilipina, hence the flute reprise of that song’s first line in the coda. “Minamayamaya” is a laid-back, acoustic blues, selfdirected protest-song against the human penchant to procrastinate.

“Walang Halaga” was recorded in Quezon City and is an environmental protest-ballad which was submitted to a songwriting contest sponsored by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts and gained the second prize.

“Kamalayan” was an entry to a radio network’s search for a theme song and is an anthemic paean that exalts the valor and sacrifices of our heroes in search of our national identity. Among the musicians who worked on this challenging tune are Tim Warden who owned the studio, Jun Tamayo who played lead guitar and Jet Prian who provided the stirring back-up vocals.

The jazzy piece “Sing to Me” echoes jazzy piece, echoes Musikero’s infatuation with the idyllic qualities of San Fernando’s farm lands and seascapes, a place he had once dreamt of living for the rest of his Continued on page 6

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OCTOBER 27 , 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

Sound trip BusinessMirror

YOUR MUSIC OUR BUSINESS

SoundSampler | by Tony M. Maghirang

Let’s get it on with Wuds, Joan Shelley, Parlor, Parlor and Sam Fender Nevertheless, Wuds gives in to classic rock fixation in “Gitara” and “Punta,” whose final quarter is an affirmation of guitar hero agility. The sound and fury of “Alay” only signify that these Hare Krishna punks remain as restlessly creative as ever.

now/What I told you once before/I’m gonna get my way.”

In the end, she ends up alone left behind by a parade of incompetent lovers.

Etched in quietly undulating acoustic guitars, hushed drums and occasional violin and cello orchestrations, “Like The River Loves The Sea” acquires the intimacy of a shared confessional. It has the hallmarks of a prodigious singer-songwriter finding her unique voice in a fading scene.

WUDS Alay This latest release from the indefatigable trio of Bobby Balingit, Alfred Guevarra and Aji Adriano is one of the most anticipated Pinoy rock albums of the year. Actually, every new album from the band is eagerly awaited, especially by those weaned on ‘80s Pinoi underground music.

There’s something exotic about Wuds’ take on punk and religious belief, in this case Buddhism, that puts them on a slightly different space from the likes of their contemporaries Urban Bandits or Betrayed. Then there’s “At Nakalimutan Ang Diyos” that will forever be enshrined in the bold hearts and minds of ageing punks and generations of punkelitos to come.

Wuds can be an explosive threesome live. The title of their album, “Alay,” however, tones down the intense subtext of earlier recordings like “Arms Talk” or “Gera.” It’s in the imaginative lyrics where the trio arouses anxiety. “Araw Araw Na Lang (Pasaway)” is Hanopol’s “Laki Sa Layaw, Jeproks” for millennials. The persistent divide between rich and poor gets an update in “Looban” while “Tunay Na Idol” cuts to pieces today’s unearthly devotion with idolatry and fakery.

Much of the music on the album leans towards alternative or college rock at its ‘90s peak.

Return...

SAM FENDER Hypersonic Missiles JOAN SHELLEY Like The River Loves The Sea From the white flowers by the grassy lakeside on the cover and themes of love given but seldom reciprocated, American folksinger Joan Shelley paints a search for inner peace in softly strummed melodies. Sample a batch of songs and the lilt in Ms. Shelley’s voice reflects the influence of Judy Collins plus a dash of “Both Sides Now”era Joni Mitchell.

Dig deeper into Shelley’s lyricism and you get the broader picture of escape from the city for the serene countryside. “Any Day Now” reveals a need to get out of the urban jungle with, “Here in the fire of the city/ Worldly desires ripened fruit on the vine rot in the heat unused.” Throughout the album, a lot of references to rain, river, and the elements can only infer to a refreshing sojourn to a rural place, away from the city’s rot and heat.

Trouble with lovers complicates the character’s double life as urbanite and rural denizen. In “The Sway,” a tale of inconsequential almost throwaway love, she sings, “You got the key to my door/Though honey we were made for only one romance/and then we fade.” She inverts such trivial encounter by showing her dominant side in “Tell Me Something” with: “But I’m telling you

The play on words on the band’s name and their debut EP’s title is a sucker punch for Web surfers with nothing better to do on a Saturday night. “Goes Without Saying” opens the album and despite the track’s scratchy, under-produced feel, the melodic oomph of The Strokes easily comes to mind. “Doomer on the Dancefloor” isn’t danceable by any stretch but it displays a band form-shifting from metalcore to prog-rock in three minutes. Some sort of pop-rocking ebullience permeates “Ain’t It Faint” that’s subverted by the followup, “Marygold,” which ends in the shambolic eruptions of ‘70s psychedelia.

Here’s a band that has the chops and ambition to go places beyond the garage. A seasoned producer can rein in their multi-dimensional aspirations towards a consistent, coherent auspicious debut.

Musikero’s...

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pursue her personal advocacies which included Right Start, the non-government organization (NGO) that provides a creative caring space for disadvantaged children ages 4 to 14. Right Start offers trainings in art, music, folk dance and even culture through Baybayin.

In 2015, Acel also published her inspiring biographical book, Who Would Have Thought? Finding Identity, Love, and Purpose in Unexpected Moments which also included eight downloadable original songs.

Although she has not released any new recording since then, Acel did not stop writing songs and continued to perform whenever given the opportunity.

“But because I wasn’t signed with any music label [back then] I didn’t

PARLOR PARLOR Broken Beams of a Laser Dream

have that big platform to market my new music,” she recalled.

“I think the people forgot about me. My name Acel doesn’t ring a bell [anymore], I suppose. They know my voice and the hit songs I sang before but not my name.”

Re-discovered by Jonathan Manalo of Star Music, she now records under the company’s DNA Label as simply Acel. Following her hit version of Rico Blanco’s “Your Universe” from the 2019 film, Between Maybes, she intends to release more original material after “Pitik Bulag.”

“I have a lot more songs that are more than enough for an album or EP should I be allowed to record them. But as of now, my contract with DNA Label of Star Music is to release singles and definitely I will release more,” she vowed.

from page 5

life. Although dedicated to the city, it expresses a person’s longing to offer praise and thanksgiving to Nature’s Designer and Protector.

Along with the vocals for “Kamalayan,” sound engineer Dodjie Fernandez recorded and provided digital percussions to the art-song, “Musikero.”

This album includes two versions of the song, that of the composer and also as interpereted

by Hannah Manaloto, who sang this at her first concert at Music Museum, in 2016.

Finally, “Senior C Blues” is Musikero’s tribute to ock ‘n’ roll legends Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley, who formed his musical foundation as a child when he was only 5. The songs of Berry and Presley also inspired his father Emilio Ragay’s rug-cutting exhibitions at home.

The song was also directly inspired by Musikero’s senior-

Comparisons with the great Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen have hounded the budding career of UK indie sensation Sam Fender. To be fair, the rock press crowns generally in derisive terms a Springsteen wannabe every year.

In Sam Fender’s case, the first single off his debut album titled Hypersonic Missiles is practically a hodgepodge of Springsteen’s E Street Band phase essentials such as searing sax breaks, the catch in Fender’s voice, and the drama behind the words to song.

Don’t mock him yet because by the second track, the new wave flag waving “The Borders”, Sam Fenders trots out his inner Billy Idol. In the moving ballad “Dead Boys,” a salute to the working class and a middle finger to the rich and famous, he does a whispery falsetto that’s never been heard in Springsteen’s rock and roll days. “You’re Not The Only One” comes at you as if The Strokes imagined their own revision of “Dancing In The Dark.”

As a first album, Hypersonic Missiles is, first and foremost, a fun listen. It won’t rank among the classic debuts of all time but it definitely has its moments and is occasionally arresting. You’ll enjoy its peculiar distractions until the next Springsteen comes along.

citizen barkadas in QC (Butch Dua, Rey David and the late Rene Buencamino) whose ballroomdancing, Beatles-jamming and coffee-at-the-mall sessions introduced him into the inevitable onset of old age. The song parodies Musikero’s pre-senior projections based on his friends’ escapades.

Gerry Taylo, prolific singercomposer-musician, did the 60’s-style, lead-guitar licks, while Gani Santiago did acoustic percussion along with the digital layout by Dodjie Fernandez. Musikero did all the vocals.

All told, Musikero urges listeners to experience the joys and travails that he and his fellow musicians went through in creating O, Kay Sarap Umawit which he describes as a humble offering of peace, joy, fellowship, hope and love.

For more information, email Vincent M. Ragay at manariwa@ gmail.com or manariwa@yahoo. com

Filipino talent recognized at Paralym Art World Cup 2019

By Jt Nisay

A

Y2Z Editor

young, Filipino artist was among the finalists at the Paralym Art World Cup 2019, an international competition for disability arts, held at the Azabu Regional City Office in Tokyo, Japan, on October 16.

The 27-year-old painter Vico Cham, who has an autism spectrum disorder, made it into the top 5 of the competition. He was also awarded with the Sponsor’s Award by the Persol Holdings Co., becoming the first Filipino to win honors in the global contest.

The theme for this year’s competition

was “Dance.” For his entry, Cham depicted Kadal Tahaw, or a tribal dance performed by the T’boli tribe in Lake Sebu in South Cotabato.

The dance mimics the hopping and flying of a Tahaw bird, and is performed by the T’boli to celebrate good harvest. T’boli women performs the Kadal Tahaw while wearing makeup, accessories, and an intricately woven T’boli dress called t’nalak.

The details and festivities of the routine were intricately rendered by Cham, with three T’boli women holding their arms up and swaying their hips on sunlit green pastures. Cham’s top-5-placing entry was among the 12 artworks from the Philippines that were shortlisted out of 774 submitted from 40 countries around the world.

The Paralym Art World Cup is a series of annual art events that will culminate with the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2020. The competition seeks to empower differentlyabled individuals around the world and provide a platform to showcase their artistic talent.

The top 5 winners of the Paralym Art World Cup 2019, including Filipino artist Vico Cham (fifth from right) with his entry Kadal Tahaw.

Are ‘EU’ ready for a journey to excellence?

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eyond countless picturesque spots and the diverse cultures of its memberstates, the European Union is widely recognized as a center of excellence when it comes to higher education.

The EU has long established its educational preeminence with superior academic courses, mobility and scholarship opportunities, and cutting-edge technology. Its academic and cultural environment is proven to be conducive to higher learning, research, and a well-rounded educational experience.

One such example is Kent Tangcalagan, who earned summa cum laude honors for his Master’s degree in Comparative Local Development. Kent credits the EU’s innovative facilities and cutting-edge technologies in providing him the perfect tools to excel in his chosen program.

“The expertise made available during our classes came from professors who were in different fields [i.e., academia, corporate, third sector], different sciences [i.e., economics, sociology, natural sciences, etc.], different genders, cultures, and countries of origin,” he said. “That diversity provided us different perspectives

that challenged our way of thinking, our ideologies, and our concept structures that have been based from how we were brought up and educated in our own countries.”

Another proud EU summa cum laude alumna is Katy Macaso, who earned her Master’s degree in Food Science, Technology and Business. She said studying (in Europe) was an eye-opening, especially the practical courses and site visits which lets one engage with high-tech instruments and machineries not currently available or just off-limits in the Philippines.

“Overall, it was just enriching,” she added.

For dance guru and entrepreneur Georcelle Dapat-Sy, studying in the EU provided her with new perspectives with regard to her passion and craft. She said that three years ago, she realized that she could not run her dance company for the next 12 years based on gut feelings.

“I needed a new formula,” Dapat-Sy said. “I learned more about myself as a leader when I went to THNK School of Creative Leadership in Amsterdam. You can unlearn things, become a blank canvas again, be a sponge and absorb new

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knowledge. EU’s diversity unlocked innovation within me.”

EU’s high standard of excellence in higher education also enabled Danie Laurel to be a multi-hyphenate woman. Aside from being a news anchor, a business journalist, and a business events host, she’s also a finance professor, thanks to her MBA and PhD degrees—all earned in the Europe.

Because of what Laurel has achieved, she is very passionate in telling Filipino students—especially women—to pursue higher education abroad. “Studying in the EU has made me who I am today: a strong, independent, confident, and highly educated woman who above all things believes in the power of learning in changing peoples’ lives and in education as the cornerstone of our country’s future.”

Last, Ella Laxa-Pangilinan said her EU education led to a profound realization about what she wants to do in her budding career.

“You get to learn a new way of living and thinking,” said Laxa-Pangilinan, who took an Interior Design course in Florence, Italy.

October 27, 2019

“Art and culture is everywhere, and so you’re constantly surrounded by different sources of inspiration to the point it actually made me appreciate my culture so much more. It also gives one the chance to bring home these learnings to be able to add a different value to society.”

Start your own journey PurSue excellence in higher education and come to this year’s European Higher Education Fair on October 28 at the Lyceum of the Philippines University in General Trias, Cavite.

The highly anticipated showcase event gathers some of the EU’s top-notch universities and higher education institutions and connects them directly with Filipino students. The event will also feature country presentations and discussions about scholarship and mobility opportunities.

The EHEF 2019 is organized by the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, together with EU member-states’ Embassies and Cultural Groups, and in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education.

Vanquish these 5 financial fears

By Sean Pyles

F

NerdWallet

ear can consume you. The anxiety of the unknown can drive you to pull the blanket over your head, whether you’re worried about a rustling sound outside your bedroom window or that you won’t have enough retirement savings.

Financial fears—not wanting to check your credit, confront your debt or even discuss your student loans—can feel especially shameful. But facing those fears can empower you to take action.

1

STUDENT LOAN STRESS

Student loans topped the list of most-feared financial topics among US adults, according to a 2019 survey of 1,006 consumers by TD Ameritrade. Student loan debt, at 36 percent, outranked even living paycheck to paycheck (26 percent) and credit-card debt (20 percent).

How to conquer it: Understand your loans in detail—that’s key to knowing whether you’re on the best repayment plan.

Know each loan’s term, balance, interest rate and whether it’s a federal or private loan.

For unaffordable federal loans, look into income-driven repayment plans. For private loans, you may be able to refinance for a lower monthly payment (but it may cost more overall).

In this June 15, 2017, file photo, people walk inside the Oculus, the new transit station at the World Trade Center in New York. Financial fears, not wanting to check your credit, confront your debt or even discuss your student loans, can feel especially shameful. But facing those fears can empower you to take action. AP

2

RECESSION ANXIETY

Indicators like slowing global economic growth hint that a recession might be coming, raising fears of job loss and asset depletion.

How to conquer it: Shore up your savings and diversify your skills. Build up at least $500 in savings to cover an emergency, advises Boston-based financial coach Kimberly Zimmerman Rand. After that, work toward having a few months’ worth of expenses saved in case of job loss. Make saving easier with direct deposits from your paycheck or automatic transfers from checking to savings.

“On the professional side, since we’re not in a recession right now, see how you can improve your job skills, your network, your resume, so if the unfortunate does happen, you’ve already laid the foundation to transition to a new position,” Zimmerman Rand says.

3

CREDIT-CARD DEBT CONCERNS

Paying off credit-card debt can

feel like a never-ending task, but there are ways to get it done.

“I’ve had clients who come to us for debt counseling that have the fear that they’re the worst situation we’ve ever seen financially, and that’s never the case,” says Maura Attardi, director of financial wellness at Money Management International, a nonprofit credit counseling agency.

This fear can be a self-fulfilling prophecy: You’re afraid to check your overall debt because of how high it might be, but while you’re not looking, you keep accruing interest.

How to conquer it: List each account, interest rate and balance. Then choose a payoff strategy. One popular option is the debt snowball, where you pay off your smallest debts first then roll those payments toward your bigger debts.

4

CREDIT CRISIS

Ever been afraid to undergo a credit check or apply for credit because you thought your credit profile wasn’t up to snuff? You’re not alone: 46 percent of 1,503 US adults surveyed by the financial

service company Finicity found themselves in just that situation.

How to conquer it: Check your own credit score at your favorite personal finance web site or bank web site, and access your credit reports for free via AnnualCreditReport.com. Looking at your score and reports will help you understand your options for improving your credit.

“Go through your credit report with a fine-tooth comb and contest any untrue information,” Zimmerman Rand says.

“For bringing up your score, start on positive financial behaviors, like making on-time payments,” she says. If you use credit cards, keeping the percentage of your credit limit you use below 30 percent on all cards will help, too.

5

BROKE RETIREMENT BLUES

“Among my clients, there’s a kind of feeling of hopelessness when it comes to the idea of retiring,” Zimmerman Rand says. But starting early is most important, not waiting until you can put away a lot.

How to conquer it: If you have a workplace retirement plan that offers an employer match, contribute enough to get it.

An individual retirement account is a good alternative if you don’t have a workplace plan. Set yourself up for success by automating contributions and bumping up how much you’re saving every time you get a raise.

Avoid withdrawing money from your retirement account to get the maximum benefit from compound interest, where you earn interest on your interest.

“The magic of compound interest is truly magic—and it works,” Zimmerman Rand says. “After you’ve been saving for years, your investment begins to double a lot faster. For millennials, now is the time to start investing.” AP

Surprising tricks for your credit cards

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redit cards are daily payment tools for many Americans, but yours probably also has unintended tactical uses you never thought of, such as slicing open birthday card envelopes your grandparents send.

Of course, credit cards offer convenience, and some also feature perks such as an interest-free period or rewards, the points or miles earned on spending. And if you pay your bill diligently—in full and on time each month—credit cards help build your credit rating.

But that’s the usual stuff. Many creditcard accounts—and the cards themselves— can be used in strategic and sometimes surprising ways to improve your life.

LOCK IT DOWN. Most major card issuers have implemented “card lock” or “freeze.”

It lets you turn your card off or on using the issuer’s web site or app. You use locks to head off fraud when you misplace a card, for example. But you can turn the spigot off and on for other reasons, like curbing impulse spending or cutting off authorized users.

And you might as well lock cards you rarely

use in case the numbers are compromised.

Note that some uses of this feature don’t work well with American Express—its card freezes expire in a week.

USE “AUTOPAY” AND “EVERYDAY.” If you have multiple credit cards, designate one as an autopay card and use it for recurring payments. Carry a different card that’s “in the wild,” for everyday spending, whether in person or online. At some point, that card will likely incur fraud—and after reporting it, you’ll get a replacement, but with this tactic, you won’t have to visit multiple sites to change your autopay details.

REQUEST A DOWNGRADE. If you have a seldom-used credit card with an annual fee, you might hesitate to close the account, which could lower the average age of your credit and affect how much total credit you’re using, both of which are factors in credit scores. Issuers with many card options may let you switch to a no-fee card and maintain your credit line and credit history. That way, you ditch the annual fee without harming your credit.

PLAY THE GIFT-CARD SHUFFLE.

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Credit-card rewards for specific types of spending are typically based on where you make the purchase, not what you buy. So if your credit card gives you outsize rewards for supermarket shopping, for example, you can buy gift cards for restaurants, retailers or home-improvement stores while you’re in the grocery aisles. Exceptions may apply— for example, the supermarket may not allow you to buy gift cards with a credit card.

OPTIMIZE THE GRACE PERIOD. If you always pay your credit-card balance in full but have a big purchase that will take weeks to pay off, consider timing it just right to maximize your grace period. Make the purchase after your statement period closes.

Then, you have about a month before the next statement closes, plus the grace period, which by law is at least 21 days. All told, that could be more than seven weeks of an interest-free loan. Note: The grace period doesn’t apply to cash advances.

GO WITH TWO. Issuers would love you to use only their rewards card for all transactions. But one of the best tactics is to use two cards: one that gives you high rewards October 27, 2019

for certain categories of spending—such as 3 percent to 5 percent back at gas stations or restaurants—and another card that gives you good rewards on everything else, with “good” being 1.5 percent or 2 percent back. That way you reap substantially more rewards with the hassle of managing only two cards.

CALL AND YOU MAY RECEIVE. The card issuer’s phone number is printed on the back of your card, but it’s not only for reporting potential fraud or asking billing questions. Make a mistake and get hit with a fee?

Call and ask—nicely—for it to be waived.

Use the same number to ask for lower interest rates or higher credit limits.

IN A PINCH, IT’S A TOOL. Credit cards, especially metal ones, can slice a lime, open a package or scrape frost off a windshield. They are a light-duty pry bar when fingernails won’t cut it and a better-than-nothing screwdriver. If you damage the card, the issuer probably won’t object to replacing it. And expired plastic cards can be cut and repurposed in a number of creative ways, from collar stays to guitar picks.

NerdWallet via AP

Sunday, october 27, 2019

national Artist for Literature and International PEN vice president F. Sionil Jose . bernard testa

cover story

Fighting for freedom: PEN amid protests cinema

the workshop

only you can tell The cleaners: The toast of qcinema int’l filM festival 2019

fiction

fight like a girl

BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 27, 2019 3

cover story

Fighting for freedom: PEN amid protests T

By Alma Anonas-Carpio

he past four weeks have seen protests erupt around the world: In South America, in Asia, and the Middle East. When the 85th PEN International Congress opened at he Culture Center in Manila, Hong Kong was in upheaval with protests that have yet to abate—and PEN Hong Kong’s president, Tammy Ho-Lai Ming issued that PEN Centre’s statement of censure against the shooting of a protester with live bullets at the Free the Word poetry reading mounted by the International PEN. A week of violent street protests erupted in Barcelona, Spain in the wake of the Spanish Supreme Court ruling sentencing nine leaders of the Catalan separatist movement to prison terms for their role in the unilateral push to split from Spain in 2017.

In Beirut, Lebanon, people have taken to the streets seeking to oust corrupt politicians and government officials. The demonstrators have also called on the Lebanese armed forces to side with them, arrest politicians accused of corruption, and, even, steward a transitional period.

The protestors have even adopted the clownish greasepaint of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, from the movie, for their own, painting their faces with it as part of their protests. The antigovernment protests in Lebanon are massive, with reports of well over a million people pouring into its streets last weekend. The protests were sparked by outrage over taxes slapped on messaging apps like Whatsapp, and the people of Lebanon are demanding the ouster of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Uighurs, a minority Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated

with the general region of Central and East Asia, live in the Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China.

But news reports of late have shown that this Muslim minority is being oppressed, sent to reeducation camps, and that their culture, language and religious practices are being suppressed.

In Chile, eight people died in widespread unrest. Chilean President Sebastián Piñera canceled the subway fee hike that initially sparked the protests, but the demonstrations continued to grow and Piñera declared a state of emergency in Santiago and five other cities, imposing a curfew and sending the military into the streets in response to civil unrest for the first time since dictator Augusto Pinochet’s nearly 20-year regime.

In London, up to a million people gathered outside the Palace of Westminster to reject Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal in one of the largest public demonstrations in British history.

All over the world, freedom of expression is under attack, and

its advocates—artists, writers and journalists—are threatened, harassed, jailed, disappeared and marginalized. This is the context in which the 85th PEN International Congress unfolded in Manila, which hosted it for the first time in the 57 years that the Philippine PEN has existed.

One of the most enduring advocacies of the International PEN is the defense of freedom of speech and of expression.

Congress in Manila

THE theme of the 85th PEN International Congress theme was Speaking in Tongues: Literary Freedom and Indigenous Languages. It took place in conjunction with the United Nations’ declaration of 2019 as the

International Year of the Indigenous Languages. The Manila Congress focused on indigenous writing, linguistic diversity, and multiculturalism.

PEN International and PEN Centres promote linguistic diversity and linguistic rights, and have done so for decades. Its Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee (TLRC) was founded in 1978 and, in 1996, it supported the signing of UNESCO’S Declaration of Linguistic Rights. The TLRC drafted the Girona Manifesto for Linguistic Rights in 2011, which was also ratified at the PEN International Congress.

October is National Indigenous Peoples Month in the Philippines under Proclamation No. 1906, 2009. The proclamation

recognizes the importance of cultural diversity in the country and advocates for the conservation and promotion of its artistic and cultural products.

The Philippine PEN has always been vigorous in its promotion of regional and minority writing, and has extended whatever modest support it could give to writers from the regions and of the minority cultures.

This 85th PEN International Congress, the first one to be convened in the Philippines since the founding of the Philippine PEN by National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose in 1957—is seen by the Philippine PEN as an excellent opportunity to promote more awareness of indigenous traditions and to affirm their significant contributions to the heritage of a nation, and that of the world.

This PEN International Congress was mounted with the following aims: n To promote literature and its expression in various languages and forms, including those of the indigenous people and cultural minorities; n To defend free speech, and promote expression and measures that address current concerns in societal environments, including peace, women’s rights, and linguistic diversity; and n To serve as a meeting-place for writers and readers from all over the world to exchange ideas and creative endeavors, and to increase understand ing and inter nationa l cooperation.

Fighting for freedom of expression

“The right to freedom of expression remains under attack in Europe and Central Asia.

Four journalists and a writer were killed in the year since we last met in Pune; at least three as a direct consequence of their Continued on page 4

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4 Sunday, October 27, 2019

Fighting for freedom: PEN amid protests Continued from page 3 work,” the PEN International report PEN presented at the Manila congress reads. “ The number of deaths is the highest recorded in the region in recent years, a stark reminder of the growing hostility, threats and violence faced by journalists and writers.”

The International PEN said “Turkey is once again the world’s worst jailer of journalists—at least 135 journalists remain behind bars” it said, citing a report by the International Press Institute. “This year, we continued to witness the complete erosion of the rule of law in the country, with scores of arbitrary arrests, detentions and unfair trials, including that of 16 civil society figures and arts practitioners in the so-called Gezi Park case. Six former Cumhuriyet members of staff, and journalists were sent back to prison in April, after their unfair sentences were upheld on appeal. Writer and co-chair of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party Selahattin Demitras remains imprisoned, despite the European Court of Human Rights ruling in November for his immediate release.”

According to the discussions on the table at the congress, “several PEN representatives repeatedly traveled to [Turkey] to observe court hearings. Over 650 writers, journalists, publishers, artists and activists—the great majority PEN members across 25 Centres—signed a global appeal calling for the immediate and unconditional release of news editor, reporter and poet Nedim Turfent; they subsequently translated extracts of his poetry into 18 languages. In a moving letter written in March, Nedim Turfent thanked International PEN members for sending him postcards, letters and books, which he says have filled his cell ‘with resistance, resolve and hope.’“ “The PEN is also continuing its call for justice for investigative journalist and anti-corruption campaigner Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated with a car bomb in Malta on Oct. 16, 2017,” the International PEN said in its report to its members.

The PEN also said that, in Spain “the authorities continued to stifle artistic freedom by using the so-

called 2014 ‘Gag Law’ to prosecute summary offenses or misdemeanors, such as graffitti, song lyrics and poems, as crimes of terrorism or arms trafficking. We campaigned on behalf of writers and Catalan civil society leaders Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, who are facing up to 17 years in prison for their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

The International PEN also noted that “Russia remained another country of focus for the PEN. In October, PEN International, PEN Moscow and St. Petersburg PEN issued a joint report entitled Russia’s strident stifling of free speech 2012-2018--available in both English and Russian--which sets our concerns about the situation of freedom of expression since President Vladimir Putin was reelected in May 2012.”

The PEN continued to campaign for the release of Ukranian writer and filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, “who spent 145 days on hunger strike last year and was awarded the prestigious European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Friends at PEN Ukraine oversaw the translation of his short stories into German and Polish—with an English version announced for October this year—thereby providing us with new campaigning opportunities to highlight his literary credentials and his plight to wider audiences.”

In July, the International PEN “shared our indignation as a court in northern Kyrgyzstan upheld the life sentence of journalist and human rights activist Azimjon Askarov, who has been wrongfully imprisoned for the past nine years.

Askarov remains an important PEN case, as we featured his plight in the PEN’s 80th International Congress in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in 2014 and it raised it directly with both the President and General Prosecutor at the time. We will continue to campaign for his release until he is free.”

In Africa, the PEN’s UNDEFfunded project on repealing criminal defamation and insult laws ended in July 2018 and has resulted in the revisions made in 2018 to the Penal Code of Rwanda that decriminalized defamation, “though other troubling provisions remain”; Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio promised to repeal criminal libel and sedition laws in December 2018; and Liberia passed

poet and TV personality Lourd De Veyra at the Free the Word. Photos by Joel Pablo Salud

poet marne Kilates a law decriminalizing defamation in February 2019.

“Despite some of the progress” in Africa, the International PEN reported, “ journalists and writers are still being charged and prosecuted under these laws. One such example is Paul Chouta, a journalist in Cameroon, who is currently on trial for defamation.”

Other legal barriers remain in place in Africa, “for example, the use of laws circumscribing the use of social media.” They cited the case of academic and women’s rights activist Stella Nyanzi in Uganda “who was prosecuted under Uganda’s 2011 Computer Misuse Act for writing rude messages about President Museveni on Facebook. She was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison in August 2019. PEN has been campaigning on her case over the last year.” Another Ugandan, singer Moses Nsubuga, was also charged under the same legislation in 2018 for allegedly calling the president a ‘pair of buttocks.’

Some other new restrictive laws have also been introduced in Africa, the International PEN reported: “In September 2018, Rwanda adopted a new Penal Code which includes plenty of extremely restrictive provisions: writings or cartoons that ‘humiliate’ lawmakers, cabinet members,

hong kong PEN president Tammy Ho-Lai Ming. or security officers will see their authors facing up to two years in prison; anyone who defames the President could face between five and seven years behind bars; editing images or statements ‘in bad faith’ could lead to a prison sentence of up to one year.”

In Africa, “Journalists and human rights defenders continued to be harassed, threatened, abducted and jailed throughout 2018,” according to the International PEN, “sometimes they are killed.”

“A handful of the writers and activists who were persecuted in Africa in the last year include the January 2019 murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale, a young investigative journalist in Ghana—the police have implied that he was killed due to his work but investigations are ongoing,” the International PEN reported. “In Tanzania, the authorities detained and interrogated a Committee to Protect Journalists Africa program coordinator, Angela Quintal, and its sub-Saharan Africa representative Muthoki Mumo, in November 2018. Their passports, phones, and computers were confiscated and they were released after 24 hours.

Their arrests took place in a context of a serious crackdown on freedom of expression, with the arrest and harassment of journalists, bans on newspapers, and a legal framework that impinges on the right to free-

dom of expression.”

“At times, journalists found themselves targeted en masse, particularly during periods of heightened social and political tension, such as the general elections and protest in Zimbabwe and the anti-government demonstrations triggered by food price hikes in Sudan,” the International PEN also reported.

“Internet shutdowns, especially around election time or during protests, restricted the free expression of writers, journalists and ordinary citizens of many countries in 2018,” the International PEN reported, “including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Chad, Sierra Leone, Sudan and others. In the first half of 2019 this pattern has continued, with shutdowns again in Zimbabwe and Sudan as well as Gabon, for example.”

According to the International PEN, Eritrea is “one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to be a journalist or writer. Despite a 2018 peace deal between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the consequent opening og the border between the two countries, and the lifting of UN sanctions against Eritrea, hope that this might lead to further reform in the country has not materialised.

The situation for writers and journalists remains dire. There are currently 16 journalists held in circumstances amounting to enforced disappearance, without charge or trial.”

PHL experience & martial law

National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose, now one of the vice presidents of the International PEN, sat down with Tony & Nick to speak of the International PEN and Martial Law shortly before the 85th International PEN Congress in Manila concluded.

Jose had initially run the Philippine PEN of his Solidaridad bookshop on Padre Faura St. in the City of Manila. He and the Philippine PEN members still run it from there.

Writers of gravitas, like Norman Mailer and Günter Grass, visited the Martial Law-era Philippines to connect with the PEN Center here and with its members in acts of solidarity. Grass, Jose Continued on page 6

BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 27, 2019 5

the workshop

Only you can tell A

By Joel Pablo Salud

ny writer can become quite used to the specter of success if and when it pours from above.

But not all writers are blessed with holiday presents early in their career. Many suffer rejection after rejection, to the point where rewriting begins to sound like a crash course on how to revive a dead cow. Mouth to mouth can work for humans, but never for anything destined for the grill.

I’ve heard the commonplace encouragement shared by many seasoned pens to would-be writers: “Just keep on writing and somehow you’ll get there.” But where is there?

Writing a poem or a short, fictional story, to say nothing of the novel or an epic poem, is nothing like any tourist attraction I’ve ever been to. Ask any writer: much of the ride consists of groping in the dark, missing road signs, making the wrong turn, and worse, popping a tire.

Navigating your way through a fictional landscape, like your attempts at the Great Filipino Novel, may be daring but foolish without a map. It’s a treacherous journey and very few survive it.

Ot hers tea se t he wou ldbe poet by saying that they shouldn’t be ‘tone deaf ’. But then again I ask, what’s the melody like? Is there a rhythm which they must follow, a pitch they must reach? What exactly is that tone he’s referring to?

Poetr y requires t he most exacting lang uage, I was once told . I f it ’s e x ac t i ng , t hen w h at i s n e e d e d e x a c t l y ? I mean, bet ween D ylan T homas and Charles Bu kowsk i, or Osip Mandelstam and A l len Ginsberg , t he latter t wo pro v ide some compel ling arg uments for verse t hat sound more li ke live high-w ire acts than poems.

And there are those who are kindhearted enough to simply say that it’s all about ‘finding your voice,’ the same voice which

you may have misplaced somewhere between your vintage collection of Playboy magazines and the first edition of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital.

So, how can a newbie writer know if he’s doing it right?

I find it helpful not to listen to writing advise, or at least those that scarcely make any sense.

Cheer the newbies on, why not, but never too excited as to think that all’s well that ends well.

W hile I agree with Christopher Hitchens that anyone who can talk can write, still, the kind of writing that matters—fiction, poetry, essays— demands more than the commonplace tongue exercises one does before pillow talk.

I was cash-strapped and out of a job when I started writing short fictional stories for submission to magazines. I’ve been writing stories way before that, but only for private consumption, meaning mine. Thanks to an uncle who said, “What good would these stories serve if no one reads them?”

I lost no time cranking up my old five-pound laptop—the silver-blue Hewlett-Packard— soon after he left. I just sat there for the next three hours staring at a blank Microsoft Word page.

I was at a loss at what to do.

How does one define a story worth reading, or better yet, how should it sound? All this time I’ve written for myself and myself alone, hardly realizing that if I ever finally write for an audience, then who would that audience be? What stories would they like?

Halfway through a pack of Marlboros, an idea struck me.

Why not imagine a specific reader? A kind of fictional character largely based on several people I knew? I guess it wouldn’t hurt if I create, out of the mud of desperation, one I believe would love my stories.

I sat down and closed my eyes and began to imagine who this person might be. First, I want the individual to be a woman— young, probably in her mid- or late-t wenties, chocked w ith shoulder-long jet-black hair, morena, somewhere 100 to 110 pounds, 5’5,” wearing purple eyeglasses, sweetly petite, and walks around with a book tucked in her right arm.

She’s neither the outspoken type nor the partygoer, just your average post-pubescent semi-introvert girl with a ravenous taste for stories, and loves to be by her lonesome when catching up on her reading. One last thing: she has to have a name.

Cerise.

After having seen with my mind’s eye my one and only reader, surprisingly, a story began to take shape in my mind. I want it to be downright tragic, a tear-jerker, but not too mushy as to suggest a typical ‘romance’ piece in the tone of Nora Roberts.

I’d rather do a love story, but something out of the ordinary.

Perhaps even use magical realism or fabulist storytelling to convey what I had in mind.

I sat down and began punching on the keys. Three days with only a few hours of sleep. It was then that the first of ten short stories was born—The Distance of Rhymes. It was the tale of a professor of literature who fell madly in love with his student.

And since such relationships were destined for the fall, he bridged the distance between them using poems.

I spent several months writing until I completed all of 10 short stories which now comprise my first book of short fiction, The Distance of Rhymes and Other Tragedies, published by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House in 2013.

The stories didn’t begin and end with ‘love.’ Others bordered on horror, crime, with a sprinkling of magical realism, a bit of fantasy, the other a psychological thriller, one epistolary, all shaped using fabulist storytelling.

After the book’s launching, I began to notice something peculiar. About 99 percent of those who bought the book and showed

their appreciation were young women. One caught herself crying while reading inside the MRT to the surprise of onlookers. One reader said that she had to read one story per week all because she couldn’t bear the sadness found on each page.

The editor of the lifestyle page of a nationally-circulated broadsheet sent me a message and said, “Every word, every story—perfect.”

The most welcome review came unexpectedly from National Artist F. Sionil Jose who, in his column in the Philippine STAR, said of the book, “My favorite in this collection is ‘Insurrecto’. Every Filipino should read it because it is history made alive only because Joel is brilliant; he is also committed to the truth.”

Most writers would probably find the book less likely to stir their literary fancy. It’s longwinded and a bit verbose, with a generous sprinkling of adjectives which I felt back then were needed to paint a clearer picture of the scenes.

But then, I did not write it for them but for my imaginary reader, Cerise.

I guess what made the stories somehow unique is the way I wrote them: as conversations between me and my imaginary reader. Since then, I’ve considered Cerise my good and faithful friend, if not my most exacting page-turner. Suffice it for this writing that I found my voice after I found my reader.

Other than this, I believe reading, too, helps in discovering one’s ‘voice’. The sundry mixture of style one reads somehow resembles the search of Thomas Edison for that one filament where light can stay on for years.

This is why reading is so important to anyone who’d think of going into writing as a profession. It generates skill and regenerates lost fuel for writing.

Reading is rest and recreation all rolled into one huge ball of the sun’s rays—to warm the writer’s heart which, without it, could grow increasingly cold in isolation.

It is the writer’s companion when nothing and no one seems

to make sense. Books likewise bolster humanity’s higher sympathies, and draw us closer to those who otherwise may have felt estranged by the writer’s daily exile into the writing corner. Simply said, reading offers the writer a peek into other people’s lives, other worlds and places.

Above all, imagining your reader early in your career can prove helpful because now you don’t need to grope in the dark or lose your way. A story’s destination is its reader—not a critic’s assessment of your work, not another writer’s critical deconstruction of what took you seemingly a lifetime to create, not even the panelists for writing workshops or judges of literary award-giving bodies.

Ultimately, it is your reader who hears your ‘voice’ and commits to heart your stories. James Joyce wasn’t anything but a writer shunned by the literary clique in Dublin of his day. So was Sylvia Plath during her stay in England.

Her works were mercilessly trampled on by London newspapers (because she was American?).

Where are those literary critics and cliques now?

To get you started, I leave you with one advise: speak to your reader. Tell them a story only you can tell.

Joel Pablo Salud is the editorin-chief of the Philippines Graphic magazine, the sister publication of the BusinessMirror. He is the author of fiction and nonfiction books and is a member of the Philippine Center of the International PEN, Akademyang Filipino and the Manila Critics Circle. He travels around the country annually to conduct lectures on Journalism Ethics to journalists on campus. “The Workshop” is a monthly column by the author which deals with writing.

Fighting for freedom: PEN amid protests Continued from page 4

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said, “was very appreciative of the writers who opposed dictators.”

In those fraught times, the PEN Center in the Philippines was a haven for the country’s writers.

“There is this old saying misery loves company,” Jose said in his wry, sardonic way. “We were bonded together under those times— especially since there were writers who were with Marcos during those times. One thing that Martial Law did was to create a very clear dividing line. These writers are those who are for freedom, and these writers are those who were for Marcos. That much was apparent.”

The PEN center in the Philippines contributes to the global effort of the International PEN “by supporting PEN International. By seeing to it that we also publicize the writers in prison.” This year’s congress in Manila focused on applying pressure to the Saudi Arabia government for justice for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year in Istanbul, Turkey.”

“Dur ing the Martial Law years, we felt so helpless, so desperate, that nobody knew about us, nobody comforted us—and PEN did that,” Jose said. “If only for that purpose, PEN is already justified as a guardian of the freedom of writers. All these conferences, they’re not as important in the sense that you discuss these matters, but because writers get together and they are bonded together. That is the importance, even here. We are bound together. We form a sense of community and, beyond that, I hope that we will also have a sense of nation.”

As a vice president of the International PEN, “you are recognized,” Jose pointed out.

“Your name is important when you sign petitions. Maybe these are trifling matters, but, when presented to these dictators, they will see there is worldwide knowledge of what they’re doing and that affects them. He knows that he may have all that great power at home, but, elsewhere, he is despised. The fact that he knows that will affect him. In some instances, these writers are released with the help of international pressure.”

“Remember that Marcos censored media,” Jose said. “Many newspapers, my own journal, were closed. Many books scheduled for publication were banned and some writers were imprisoned.” One of those banned books was Jose’s novel My Brother, My Executioner. During those years, Jose made a trip to Europe, one which required that then German

Ambassador Klaus Zeller head to the international airport to ensure that Jose was not stopped before he boarded his f light.

“We became very good friends and, at one time, during a PEN meeting, he came with a case of German wine to show support for us.” “There was also a breakin in the bookshop,” Jose added.

“They forced open the shop’s back door, but did not take anything.

They didn’t take the money in the cash register. They didn’t take my watch, or a camera that was there.

What they did was bash my fountain pen. They broke it. That was a warning: Huwag ka na magsulat (stop writing).”

Other writers suffered worse under Ferdinand Marcos’ martial rule, Jose said: “The PEN was considered an opponent of Marcos and several PEN officials, including the president, Mario Vargas Llosa, came here to plead for the release of the imprisoned writers—including Max Soliven, Bien Lumbera, and Pete Lacaba. There were several writers who were in jail, and this is where Kit Tatad was of great help, because he saw to it that these writers from abroad could go to Malacanang and see the President. He was the one who brought them there.”

Tatad, then a journalist who’d become the Marcos regime’s Minister of Public Information and, later, a senator, was “one of the first members” of the PEN Center in the Philippines.

“We must always be vigilant so that those things that happened in the past will not happen again,” Jose said. To him, the writer is the “keeper of memory.” “Rulers always want to have power, more power, even absolute power, if they can,” Jose spoke firmly, his eyes unblinking as he said this.

“Unless you have institutions composed of courageous, vigilant and righteous people and, I hope, writers—these are the torchbearers of freedom. They are the ones who keep alive democracy itself. Not so much because they are writers, but because they write the truth—and that is very important—and if there is anything that dictators hate, it is the truth.”

To his mind, President Rodrigo Duterte is not yet a dictator, “but we have to be vigilant. You must take that for granted: That all rulers want absolute power. They may not voice it, but in their minds, there is no exception to that. If you must rule, you must have real power.”

In a world where freedom is hard to win and even harder to hold, the writer, journalist, artist and free soul is a vital lamp-bearer during dark and confusing times.

BusinessMirror

illustration by job jonald c. ruzgal

Sunday, October 27, 2019 7

fiction

Fight Like a Girl T

By Kenneth Kwok

he arm poking out of the giant bushes about fifty metres ahead of her reminded Su of the television cartoons she had watched in kindergarten and primary school, all talking ducks, dancing bears and enchanted forests. She half-expected the clump of vegetation to grow a pair of legs, and run out of the park into the night. She certainly did not think the arm would grab hold of the small woman walking alongside the hedge, and yank her into the shrubbery.

“Did you see that?” Su asked, tugging urgently on the sleeve of her boyfriend’s t-shirt, the horrific implications only now dawning upon her. One clean jerk, and the woman had been swallowed whole.

“I’m not sure what I saw,”

Timothy replied, their bodies untangling. The young couple liked to sit in the park near her HDB housing estate whenever he walked her home after latenight studying in their junior college library. They preferred the more secluded sections, of

course, away from the glare of streetlamps, the distracting drone of traffic. Their favourite bench was tucked away in an alcove, barely visible from the walkway even during the day, but especially at night.

She waited for him to say more, but he just sat there, biting his lip, his face unsettled.

They had been dating for a year, but had been friends since secondary school—and this was not the Timothy she knew. He was the captain of the college hockey team, used to taking charge and barking orders at the other players.

“Well,” she finally said, hands shaking in frustration, “let’s go check!’

“No,” he said, startled into attention. “We call the police, and let them handle this.”

“Are you crazy? We just sit here doing nothing?”

“We’re calling the police, that’s doing something,” he replied, bending over to rifle through his gym bag for his phone.

“You call the police. I’m not going to let anything happen to this poor woman dragged into the bushes.”

“What if something happens to you?” he fired back, spinning round angrily. He was a beast on the hockey pitch, but this was the first time he had ever raised his voice at her.

“Then, you go!”

“No,” he said, voice low and commanding—and looking everywhere, she noticed, except in her direction.

“We wait for the police, it’s the logical thing to do,” he continued, and returned to his gym bag as if the light grey carrier held the secrets to all the world’s problems.

She shoved him aside, and picked up his hockey stick lying at their feet.

“We’ve even got this!” she hissed. Not that she had ever used a hockey stick before, but, come on, how hard could it be to hit someone over the head with a blunt instrument?

And anyway, such assholes were cowards. He’d probably make a run for it, boxers still around his ankles.

She felt his hand, a firm g r ip, on he r e l b o w, but she pulled away from him, vaguely aware, as she did so, that he did not resist or follow after her. She marched over, hands tight around the hockey stick, eyes locked on the dense thicket ahead.

She was back on the netball court, primed for action. As she drew closer to the hedge, she could see the branches and leaves quivering, as if the shrubbery were terrified of her approach. She was trying to stifle a giggle at the thought when a muffled whimper reminded her of the severity of the situation, reminded her that this wasn’t something that only happened to Other People.

What if I had been the one dragged in there?

Continued on page 9

BusinessMirror Continued from page 7

She paused mid-step, realising now that she was standing in the middle of the pathway, completely alone. Just a few metres away from her, was a man, a stranger who was potentially bigger, stronger.

And not just any man, but one who was specifically intent on hurting women. She was just a girl. No one would blame her, she knew, if she put the hockey stick down, and walked away. They would understand.

And yet, it was precisely the thought that they would understand that infuriated her, this nebulous “they” that had no shape or form, unlike the man in the bushes, large, hairy, and sweaty, lying on top of a woman who was struggling beneath his crushing weight. The thought that it would be expected of her to step back, to let Timothy take control—that was what burnt hot in her belly now. No, she would not be a f ra id . S he forced t he i ma ge of t he m a n f rom he r m i nd , r a i s e d t he ho c k e y st ic k h igh, her whole body

c h a r ge d w it h ad re n a l i ne.

“Oi!” The perpetrator sprung to his feet, dry leaves and small branches filling the air in a spray of confetti.

Disoriented, Su could only make out the indistinct silhouette of a man rushing past her, nearly knocking her over. She plunged into the vegetation, desperately hopeful. Inside, the woman, sweeping debris off her body, struggling to her feet.

Su moved in closer, but the woman steadied herself, and held her hand up.

“No, go. Stop him.”

Su bolted after the assailant. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Timothy by the bench with his phone to his ear. Good. She pursued

the man round the playground, then behind the fitness station, gaining on him with every step. Each time he ran under a street lamp, she got another glimpse of his ample belly, his stubby legs. As they passed the foot reflexology path, she could hear him gasping for air, and knew that this was the time to strike. She braked, swung the hockey stick in a smooth arc, and thumped him hard across the back of his knees.

The man tumbled clownishly to the pavement, his feet entangled around the stick.

She picked the pole up, and jammed the weapon into his throat, the curved edge against his adam’s apple.

“Asshole,” she muttered, as she took in huge lungfuls of air, her chest expanding and contracting with great, steady force.

A f lu r r y of fo ot s t e p s b e h i nd he r.

“A re you ok ay? ” asked Timothy, his hand rising to the small of her back as if to steady her, though she was standing ramrod stiff.

She nodded, eyes sti l l fixed on the middle-aged man writhing at her feet.

For the first time, she felt

the urge to take someone’s life, to lift the hockey stick in the air, and rain blows down upon this man till he was a bloody, pulpy mess.

“Su?” Timothy’s hand on her elbow again, but, this time, she allowed him to calm her down.

“The woman okay?”

“You got to him in time,” he replied, prying the hockey stick from her, slowly, gently.

Only then did she allow her knees to buck le, and her body to collapse to the ground as if her muscles had become silly putty. Her heart unclenched, and then, large globs of tears streaming

Sunday, October 27, 2019 9 down her cheeks, although she did not know exactly why she was crying. More footsteps. A man in blue on her left, and another on her right. She turned back, and could make out a woman in the distance being helped by a police officer to a bench. It was the same bench Su and Timothy had been sitting on just a few minutes ago, when all they had to worry about were their A level examinations, which universities to apply to, and how to tell her strict Muslim parents that she had a boyfriend, especially one who was Chinese.

She looked up to see Timothy beaming down at her with pride.

“You were incredible,” he said. “Absolutely incredible.”

She still did not understand what all the fuss was about.

“Congratulations on your great act of bravery!” announced Mr Bandara from the rostrum.

Su enjoyed t he at tention, of course. W hen else was she going to receive a letter of commendation from the principal in front of the whole college, with the local media present to take photographs? The career g uid ance counsel lor had even noted that this wou ld look fa nt a st ic on

her sc hol a rsh ip appl ic ations: “remember to keep all the newspaper cuttings, and dow nload the socia l media posts.” But, surely, she w a s no braver t h a n anyone else in the assembly hall. Most people just didn’t get the opportunity to demonstrate this courage in their ever yday lives.

Even as she walked up the stage to receive, f irst, a handshake from her principal, and then her third hug that morning from a tear y Ms Ling, the woman she had saved, she kept thinking: ever y single one of us

here would have done the exact same thing in that situation.

Well, maybe not everyone. Most of the students, especially her classmates and the girls in her netball team, were whooping and cheering for her, but she noticed a small group towards the back, distracted, forming a ring around a student. The boys of the hockey team were ribbing Timothy, alternating between striking heroic Wonder Woman poses, and pretending to hide behind imaginary cover, limp-wristed hands raised to the face in mock terror. He acted as if he didn’t care, that he was in on the joke, but she could tell from his uneasy smile that he was more bothered by their teasing than he let on.

Once she got off the stage, she searched for him in the swarm of students. He’s very good at hiding, you know, joked one of Timothy’s teammates to more laughter from the rest of the boys.

Idiots.

She pushed her way past them, and reached the corridor to see Timothy storming off. He probably needed some time alone, but she could not let him go without at least saying something to him first.

“I’m sorry.”

He did not hear her. Or if he did, he pretended not

to. Either way, he rounded a corner, and disappeared.

She was furious with herself that an apology was the first thing that had come so nat u ra l ly to her. She was just as mad with him.

She knew that something in their relationship had f u nd a me nt a l ly c h a nge d , and it was only a matter of time before he would break up with her.

Would it always be this way, she wondered.

“Excuse me!” Ms Ling’s

excited four-year-old son was barrelling towards her, his parents and younger sister trailing in his wake.

“Daniel! Leave her a lone! ” scolded Ms Ling , one ha nd reac h ing out to t r y a nd g rab t he l it t le boy by the edge of his blue Iron Ma n t- sh i r t, Tony St a rk bl a st i ng l ava-red energ y bolts from his gauntlets as he f lew over a cit y sk yline.

“No, it ’s ok ay,” Su replied, grateful for the diversion. She caught Daniel before he ran into her, and lifted him off the ground in a single smooth motion. “ He i n si st s on t a k i ng a picture, do you mind? ” asked Ms Ling, holding her phone up, e mba r r a s s e d .

“He wants to print it out, and stick it on his wall.”

“Yeah, next to Iron Man!” shouted Daniel, pumping his little fists in the air.

Da n ie l ’s s i s te r, C h a r ma ine, was h id ing beh ind her fat her’s legs, probably t wo or t hree yea rs old, in a br ight pin k Disney pr incess t-sh ir t, too you ng to u nderst a nd e x act ly what a l l the commotion was about.

“Why don’t you both join in?” Su asked, looking at the boy’s mother, and then, hopefully, at his sister. To her delight, the girl emerged from behind her father, and took tentative steps towards her.

Su put the boy down, and proudly crossed her arms diagonally in front of her

chest to form the “W” symbol of the Amazon warrior, encouraging Charmaine to do the same. A tap on her shoulder from Ms Ling: she turned to see Daniel striking the same pose.

“Can you W hatsApp me the photo?” she asked, eyes shining, with a wide grin, as the boy’s father stepped back to frame the shot on his phone. “I want to put this on my wall too.”

BusinessMirror

12 Sunday, October 27, 2019

campus scene

Thomasians join the filmmaking fray

T

By Seymour B. Sanchez

he University of Santo Tomas is starting to get noticed in terms of filmmaking with three of the school’s recent student works being officially selected and winning in different film festivals in Metro Manila.

T he s ho r t f i l m s “ He i s t School” from Last Minute Films and “Gáring” from 1PM Films, and the documentary “Beyond the Mats: The UST Salinggawi Journey” from the Tiger Media Network, have been selected to the first Cinestudyante Film Festival recently held at Santolan Town Plaza.

Motley Crew

Last year, “Heist School” bagged Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Trailer and Best Sound at the annual Sine Reel competition organized by the UST Communication Art Students’ Association, featuring short films created by senior members of the organization. It was also officially selected to the One La Salle Film Festival, De La Salle University’s Indie Un-Film Festival and the first Maginhawa Film Festival.

The short film, which tells the story of a ragtag group of students trying to steal their teacher’s answer key to their examination from the faculty room, as they try to save their grades and friendship, joined the ranks of winning student films when it recently got the Audience Choice award at Cinemalaya.

Director Julius Renomeron Jr., a recent UST AB Communication Arts graduate, worked with his classmates Johmar Damiles, Klaire Ellise Dulay, John Paolo Barrameda, Alvin Jamora, Keanu Managuas, Ezren Caneda, Pauline Carlos and Zhino Koe to realize his vision. He was an irregular student in class “but luckily most of the members of our team were also my orgmates in TomasinoWeb in UST.” Dulay recalled that their team

was formed last year for a film production class. “We’re a group of nine members who were part of different groups in our class but our interest to produce quality content brought us together.”

Jemuel Ced r ic k Sat umba a nd Br y a n B ac a l so st a r a s friends Joedel and Omar, respectively. Providing them support in the comedy film is Ella Mae Libre as Reymarie, Son De Vera as Jerique, Teri Lacayanga as their teacher Ms. Suzy, Brylle Parzuelo as Jacob, and Kevin

Ramos as Edward.

“We wanted a film that reflects the society’s pressure on adolescents. Our film depicts the situations that shape the youth and how their harsh experiences in school contribute to their life decisions,” Renomeron shared. “It was also a critique of the educational system in the country and how students’ moral uprightness is shaped early by their environment especially in school,” he added.

“I was a fan of heist films ever since I was a kid and I was always fascinated by the idea of having a small-time heist in a small town or a public school in the Philippines. We’ve had other film ideas for our film production class, but Heist School stood out for us. Throughout the development of the script we molded the story from our experiences and struggles in college of passing the exams with my co-writers Johmar Damiles and John Paolo Barrameda,” Renomeron recounted.

The director also shared that the members of his production team have been friends who have created short films long before their film production class in UST. W hen the opportunity came to create a short film with a modest amount of budget, the team took advantage of it and made the most out of it.

“Our production team were a passionate bunch and we enjoyed the whole process. I guess that’s the advantage of creating with individuals who share the same passions as you,” Renomeron explained.

Mother’s Love

Meanwhile, “Gáring,” directed by Dan Pablo, won Second Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actress for Chin Jongko and Best Trailer in this year’s Sine Reel. After its victories at Sine Reel, it officially made it as a finalist to DLSU IUF last July, before it eventually got selected at Cinestudyante.

The short film tells the story of a mother who loves her child so great that she loses her judgment to do what is right. It shows the struggles of being powerless while holding on to something as trivial as faith.

Apart from directing, Pablo also took charge of lighting and editing the film. He got ample support from production manager Katarina Mendoza, screenwriter Georgie Cerbolles, associate producer Ynna Dizon, assistant director and casting director Charlaine Mutia, fellow A.D. Emery Principe, production designer Shaira Calleja, casting director and location manager Alex Garcia and art director Barbara San Diego.

Pablo revealed what enticed him to shoot the film. “Our initial story came from our assistant director Charlaine Mutia.

She spent a lot of time and effort to complete that story and our team decided to go with it.

I was excited with the story as

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Sunday, October 27, 2019 13 hard work from their trainings everyday, we want others to see Salinggawi as students, as humans who have lives and stories to share,” she said.

Hernandez explained their decision to continue the documentary despite the loss. “We talked about the new treatment of this documentary and I came up with an idea why not highlight their passion to serve for the university, their resiliency even though they were crowned as the cheering squad with the most number of championships in CDC , and merely tel ling the people that they are not only cheerleaders. Salinggawi trained them beyond the mats to become better individuals and future leaders.”

Search for More Thomasian Filmmakers

it had supernatural elements.”

“However, due to budget and running time constraints, we eventually altered the original story. We were lucky enough to have people who were willing to help us in having a story we can all agree with. Of course,

we were excited to see how it turned out. But at the same time, we were nervous because we had no idea how the audience would react after seeing the film,” he explained.

Winningest Cheering Squad “ B e y o nd t he M at s ” i s a

documentary directed, photographed and edited by Dan Angelo Eligado, which is focused on t he inspir ing stor y a nd journey of the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe. Eligado teamed up w ith executive producer Gwen S eg a r r a , super v i si ng producers Pauline Linsangan and Jomari Hernandez, writer Oscar David Poblete, co-editor Ma. Lynette Pamintuan, and production assistants Mivel Ambas, Charlene Jaranilla and Clarissa Sulit.

“Our production team is composed of student media volunteers from Tiger Media Network. Most of the members of this production are from my sports unit team since our department spearheaded this project and some were outsourced from the operations division,” Hernandez disclosed.

TMN is tasked to produce not just entertaining, but also educational and meaningful content for the Thomasians.

Faye Martel, the team’s adviser who is also their TV Production and T heater A rts professor, tasked them to form a team and produce a documentary series focused on Salinggawi, in time for the UA AP Cheerdance 2018 competition.

“So technically, it wasn’t a class requirement or a commissioned work. It was all volunteerism. We were moved by the idea that we can share the untold and never before seen

people, hardships, and experiences behind the glitz and glamour of a Salinggawi team member,” Linsangan recalled.

Hernandez agreed with his fellow supervising producer.

“Salinggawi has a rich history and so many things have happened and changed in the past 50 years. They went in and out the podium, showcased one-ofa-kind routines and produced outstanding individuals.”

Linsangan disclosed that it was hard and tiring for the team to produce the documentary.

However, she realized that they “were more than inspired and willing to push through with the project. It feels surreal being with them from the preparation up until the competition day. We were so touched by their stories and experiences that we thought that the Thomasian crowd, as well as the audiences from other universities, should know their labor and hard work.”

“Even though Sa ling gaw i didn’t make it to the podium finish last year, we decided to push through with the project because their stories have to be heard. An ending doesn’t always have to be perfect or happy. But a very touching ending for a film or a story is when someone was moved from your story, someone or somebody was inspired by your story. And we want exactly that feeling to happen to our audience. As much as we, the production team, saw all their

Apart from Sine Reel, UST also holds two other student film festivals in the campus, with the hope of discovering fresh, new talents in the field of filmmaking among Thomasians.

The annual Sine Abierto, for merly Sine Tomasino, is a student short film festival founded in 2015 and organized by the Thomasian Film Society.

It started as an event restricted to Thomasians, but after a year, a category was opened to nonThomasians. Sine Abierto aims to strengthen the participation and involvement of students in filmmaking and to promote it to the UST community.

On the other hand, Sining Sine is a film competition of the UST College of Fine Arts and Design as a partial requirement of students enrolled in an elective. “Sine Abierto is a film competition that is open to all senior high school and college students around the country.

Sine Reel is exclusive to Communication Arts students of UST taking up a film course during that semester. Meanwhile, Sining Sine is exclusive to Advertising Arts students of UST taking up film elective,” former TFS head Angelica Bautista clarified.

T F S P re s id e nt K at h l e e n Doblado, who succeeded Bautista, is proud of the achievements of Renomeron and Damiles, two former members of their organization. “I hope it will also encourage Thomasian students and fresh graduates to submit entries in bigger festivals.”

BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 27, 2019 15

cinema

The Cleaners: the toast of QCinema

Int’l Film Festival 2019

By Carla Mortel Images courtesy of QCinema

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crowd drawer and indie film Cleaners bagged the Asian Next Wave’s Best film and Best Screenplay awards in the recently concluded QCinema International Film Festival that ran from October 13 to 22. The coming of age film anthology was directed by Glenn Barit, who depicted the stories of a bunch of high school cleaners onscreen by editing and piecing together 3000 photocopied black and white images. The eight main characters of class 2007 were hand colored by highlighters to make them distinct while animated in the black and white film.

Chinese director Seng Qui of Suburban Birds garnered the NETPAC July Prize and Filipino director Rae Red captured the Best Director award for her work on Babae at Baril. The same film won the Gender Sensitivity Award, while its lead actress, Janine Gutierrez, received the Best Actress title. Por Silatsa of the Laotian film, The Long Walk, was judged Best Actor.

The Best Editing award went to Lee Chatametikool for the Thai and German film Nakorn-Sawan.

The Asian Next Wave competition involves emerging filmmakers from the Southeast Asian region and on its first year, up-and-coming Filipino directors were pitted against five indie filmmakers from other countries.

Jean Cheryl Tagayamon’s short film Judy Free won Best Short Film in the QCShorts competition, while Bontoc-based filmmaker Carla Pulido

Ocampo won the Special Jury Prize for Tokwifi.

Excuse Me Miss Miss Miss by Sonny Calvento was awarded the Audience choice Award for shorts.

Judy Free is about a young girl’s reality that she had to confront when her OFW father suddenly returns home with a 2D animated doodle figure. Tokwifi is a visual interpretation of a folklore wherein a Bontoc Igorot man interacts with a 1950s mestiza he found from a TV that fell from the heavens. The Excuse Me Miss Miss Miss short film tells of a saleslady who discovers the ultimate key to regularization amidst the call to end “endo” job culture.

Renowned screenwriter Ricky Lee headed the international set of jury for the Asian Next Wave competition with members Richard Bolisay, Toshiyuki Hasegawa, Phan Dang Di, and Claire Marty.

For the QCShorts competition the jury was composed of Sari Dalena, Jun Sabayton, and Benjamin Tolention.

Aside from the competitions, another highlight of this year’s QCinema was the recognition given to one of the living pillars of the film industry and his contribution. For the first time in seven years, the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Vic Del Rosario, also known as “Boss Vic” of Viva Films.

This year’s festival screened a total of 73 titles presented in 10 categories. Twelve of these have received generous grants, which are three full-feature films, six short films, and three documentaries. The screening venues were at Gateway Cineplex 10, Robinsons Movieworld Galleria Ortigas, Ayala Malls Cinema Trinoma,

Cinema Centenario, Cinema 76 Anonas, and Cine Adarna.

The festival partners are Quezon City Film Development Commission, The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, The Film Development Council of The Philippines, Sine Sandaan, Australian Embassy, Embassy of France, Japan Foundation, Embassy of the Republic Of Singapore, Viva Communications, ABS-CBN Sagip Pelikula, CMB Film Services, Outpost, Novotel Manila Araneta City, Cinema Bravo, ClickTheCity, GMA 7, Phar Philippines, Film Geek Guy, Film Police, Pelikula Mania, PEP. ph, MagandaBa, MagandaBa Movie, When in Manila, Unreel, Geoffreview, Explore Philippines, B usiness M irror, and Jura Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Carla Mortel-Baricaua Contributing Editor

BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 27, 2019 17

art scene

As Ephemeral As Clouds: Notes on Jesusito ‘Chito’ Borja’s Wanderland exhibit at NOVA Gallery

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By Richard R. Gappi

ne may easily conclude that Jesusito “Chito” Borja’s pieces are inspired by or even imitation of the works of British artist Peter Root known Artist Wire Rommel Tuazon described Chito as an artist who often creates several practically and seemingly identical works that undergo transformations, where a disconcerting aesthetic merges with the touchingly beautiful, yet at the same time, painfully attractive. “He incorporates time as well as space by investigating ambiguity and reconstructing the momentary as a fictional and experiential universe that only emerges bit by bit.,” Wire noted.

Chito’s third solo exhibit titled “Wanderland ” echoes this “painfully attractive” aesthetics. His assemblages that bear witness to his great craftsmanship.

T he Enc yc loped ia Br itannica summarizes World War II, also called Second World War, as the conf lict that involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–45. The principal belligerents were the A xis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—and the A llies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in many respects a cont inu at ion, a f ter a n uneasy 20-year hiatus, of t he d i s putes lef t u n set tled by World War I. The 40,000,000 –50,000,000 deaths incurred in World War II make it the bloodiest conf lict, as well as the largest war, in history.

I r o n i c a l l y, C h it o, r e vealed that the concept of

his “Wanderland ” exhibit was inspired by the lyrics: “Clouds are stalking islands in the sun” from Baby I Love Your Way song of singer and anti-war advocate Bob Marley.

“Wanderland ” is Chito’s sincere query on why human beings choose the path of war and repeat this f law in our time. It was tapped by his interest in humanities, philosophy and nature of man. In searching for answer, he poetically waxes t h at l ive s lost on bu i ld magnificent replicas of giant things and urban landscape on a minute scale, for his ability to constructed of carefully stacked staples.

Chito, however, admits that he has used staple wires as par t of his creative process before “googling” and finding out that his works are similiar to Root’s, who uses stacks of staple wires broken into various sizes to create miniature and aerial shots of military-industrial

complex in Europe and the cities that serve as battlegrounds during World War II. The subject and the creative process, thus, involve ted iou s a nd pa i nst a k i ng effort, revealing intricate a at ro c iou s w a r s a re a s ephemeral as clouds, violently senseless, and wihout direction but doom.

In presenting these battlegrounds as images, Chito invites the public/audience to share their insight on why hostilities occur in the annals of human civilization.

We can a lso look at the Mar xist theor y which includes the belief that war w il l only disappear once a proletar ian world revolu-

t ion has occur red whic h over throws f ree markets and class systems. Imper ia list wars like World War I and World War II were the resu lt of capita list countr ies for ming inter nationa l capita list monopolies, shar ing the world among themselves and the ter r itorial division of the whole world. But this is another subject of long educational and ar t discussion.

About the Artist: Jesusito “Chito” Borja, 29, makes sculptures, paintings, and mixed media artworks. His works are often a b ou t cont a c t w it h a rc hite ct ure and basic living elements, u s ing re fe re nce s a n d i de a s in -

te g ra te d into t he p ro ce s s a n d t he com p o s it ion of t he work s .

He is a painter and musician, a member of the Neo-Angono Artists Collective as well Angono St. Clement Symphonic Band and Orchestra of the Filipino Youth. Born in December 1989, Chito studied until Grade 4 in Hinabangan in Western Samar and San Vicente Elementar y School in Angono Rizal, Regional Lead School for the Arts in Angono and University of Rizal System-Angono College of Fine Arts.

He has held three solo shows and more than 20 group shows in various galleries in Angono, Manila and Quezon Cit y. In 2016, he won 2nd prize in the Shell National Art CompetitionSculpture Categor y.

BusinessMirror

18 Sunday, October 27, 2019

cultural calendar

Brillante Mendoza and Judy Ann Santos collaborate for the first time for Mindanao

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or the first time, internationallyacclaimed director Brillante Mendoza and celebrated actress Judy Ann Santos worked together for the film Mindanao which had its world premiere at the 24th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in Busan, South Korea last October 5, 2019 under Icons, a newly established section in BIFF which introduces the latest films made by iconic filmmakers from around the world.

Min d a n a o fol l o w s t he stor y of Saima (Judy Ann Santos), a mother caring for her cancer-stricken child A isa ( Yu n a Ta ngog ) a nd her husband Malang (A llen Dizon), a combat medic deployed in a civil conf lict against rebel forces.

To support Filipino filmmakers and Philippine cinema in entering the global arena, FDCP continued to lead the participation of the Philippine Delegation in BIFF this year after it led the Philippines as Country of Focus in 2018.

Furthermore, Mindanao was praised for stirring the audience’s emotions. Actress Santos, which had her first red carpet experience in an international film festival at BIFF, was also commended for

her acting performance. In a Screen Daily film review, it said, “This is not a film which leaves any emotional button unpushed. And indeed, the film features a third act of such levels of crass contrivance that it rather undermines the emotional impact of loss of life. Throughout all this, Santos retains grace and dignity with a performance which is a class apart from the rest of the picture.”

Mindanao is also set to screen under the World Focus Powered by Aniplex Inc. section at the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) happening from October 28 to November 5, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.

The 24th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 3 to 12, 2019.

BGC Art Mart–Linking Artists with the BGC Community

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ith the holiday season fast-approaching, it’s time once again to start Christmas shopping! Find artworks, paintings, sculptures, and handmade crafts to gift family and friends as the BGC Art Mart returns for three weekends in November and December at the Alveo Central Plaza at the BGC Arts Center, BGC, Taguig.

From personalized gift ideas to unexpected finds, this event is a great source for affordable, one-of-a-kind items. It’s also the perfect opportunity to meet a community of passionate artists and to

hear the stories behind their artworks.

BGC Art Mart is held every 3rd weekend of the month. For the months of November and December, art enthusiasts will be treated to three consecutive weekends of the community art bazaar.

Come by from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the following schedules: n November 29-30 (Fri-Sat) n December 6-7 (Fri-Sat) n December 13-14 (Fri-Sat) BGC Art Mart is a project of Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. (BAFI) geared towards

supporting local artists by giving a venue to reach a wider market for their products and services. Artworks available for sale may include an assortment of paintings, prints, handmade jewelry, bags, accessories, stickers, pottery, edible art and mixed media by talented local artists.

If you are an artist interested in selling your art or want to learn more about BGC Ar t Mar t, please email ar tmar t@ar tsatbgc.org or visit the BGC Arts Center web site at https:// www.bgcartscenter.org/.

Admission to BGC Art Mart is free.

BusinessMirror

Sunday, October 27, 2019 19

dance review

Tales of Mindanao: A beautiful tapestry of dance

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By Lila Victoria F. Mortel Photos by Gabrell Guazon

here’s no better way to say it: Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG), the resident dance theatre company of the Mindanao State UniversityIligan Institute of Technology, is a worldclassically Filipino. In that fiberglass stage and soaring lights of the SM Skydome, Tales from Mindanao came alive.

A stunt depicting Maria Cristina falls according to the legend

With five stories ranging from legends to comedies and cultural dances, IPAG showcased detailed costumes, colorful narration, and talented dancing. Founded in 1978 in Mindanao State University, they’ve since amazed all around the world, including North America, France, Korea and many more. The company’s dancing, accompanied by beautifully tailored costumes creates, necessarily, one thing: a service.

It is a service to every Filipino to represent Mindanaoan art and Philippine theater as a whole, despite the struggle of keeping it alive. The level of brilliance poured onto the stage was palpable as all eyes were on them. After a minute or two of stunned silence bathed in culture, the sudden

Dancers pose to depict the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air.

A dancer as Maria Cristina translating her sorrows through dance.

A perfromer gives light to the context of the dance to be performed on stage

realization of identity comes into the hearts of the audience.

The dancing was not short of anything but beautiful. One memorable stunt on stage was from the legend of Maria Cristina falls. A dancer, clad in simple, masterful baro’t saya, ran towards a mountain of her companions jumping towards them. Like clockwork, she fell

towards back-first, suddenly carried upwards to the cloudy lights with flowing hair hanging ajar. Slowly she descends as music swells; as if she was a waterfall. The masterful representation of that climax was just one of many brilliant choreography of Nolly Ceballos.

The kinesthetics was brilliant and was accompanied by

intricate costumes jumping with details and designs. With traditional cuts and patterns from Mindanaoan indigenous cultures, it wasn’t restrictive to dancers as the fabrics were light and allowed movements with ease. Female costumes popped more than men costumes; placed side-by-side, men’s were simpler. The patterns and designs from Mindanaoan indigenous people were respected enough to be done well and treated well.

A small critique will be that throughout the performance, the lighting was more detrimental than helpful to tell a story.

At times, the lights may come off as harsh and even clinical, clashing with the bright dresses and washing out the dancers’ forms. It is a possibility that it might not even be the dance

company’s fault that it looked like this, rather the venue.

Nonetheless, Tales of Mindanao did not fail to amaze, but it was not just a spectacle to behold. The performance educates its audience with colorful beckonings of heroism, femininity and comedy. It is a physical literature that spoke stories, even to the illiterate, providing a welcomed contrast to the stereotypical media representation of Mindanao.

Choreographer Nolly Ceballos reminds us that Mindanao is not just a war zone, as the media portrays. It is a place that has everyday life with everyday people and everyday stories. It is a colorful region far from the capital but is as attached into the beautiful tapestry that we call a culture.

Performances of Tales of Mindanao’s kind and its derivation are as important socially as it is culturally for representation matters. As an archipelago, the Philippines have a diverse culture with hundreds of stories, languages and customs. But, with that diversity did not come to a unity where no part of it is forgotten.

That’s why cultural content and our religious consumerism of it should happen. We, as Filipinos, owe that to our fellow Filipinos and hear their stories of not just war but love.

Lila Victoria Mortel Contributor