SENIOR Undersecretary Jose C. Faustino Jr., officer in charge of the Department of National Defense, right, receives Mary Kay L. Carlson, Ambassador of the US to the Philippines, during her introductory call on August 31, 2022, at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
Meetings and exercises
T his week, Filipino and American elite forces will cap the “Balance Piston,” a monthlong military drill which is being held in the waters off Palawan and not far away from the West Philip pine Sea, which is being disputed
T he drills with the USCG Midgett , which also saw a series of sea-phase demonstrations, involved communication exer cises, maneuvering drills, photo exercises, decoding messages through flag hoisting, flashing
OVER the past weeks, the AFP and the DND have been busy at
pine Coast Guard and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) also held the search and rescue (SAR) exercise, the first for both in years, in the waters off Bataan and not too far away from the Chinese-occupied Scarborough Shoal near Zambales.
Just a week ago, the Philip
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PINKY ROSE FERNANDEZ/ DND, DCOMMS
PBBM’s vow to defend PHL sovereignty gains broader global support
tending discussions and meet ings, joining bilateral and tri lateral military training and in hosting dignitaries and topranking military officials from the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia, with defense and security as the focus.
B arely more than a month af ter Marcos made the declaration before Filipinos, the country has seen a sharp uptick in its defense and security and diplomatic en gagements with partners and al lies, with both the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) at the center and of these activities.
today’s
By Rene Acosta
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS 2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s strong stance on the stillraging territorial issue with China, that he will not preside over a process that will abandon even an inch of the country’s territorial domain, has been clearly well received and understood abroad, especially by like-minded states from the West.
A broader look at business UNDER THE RED DRAGON’S SHADOW
EMBASSY of the Philippines Chargé d'Affaires Robespierre Bolivar (right) delivers a speech as Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister for Defense Kimi Onoda (left) and US Deputy Chief of Mission Raymond Greene listen during an opening session of the Center for Strategic and International Studies on US-Japan-Philippines cooperation in maritime security Tuesday, September 6, 2022, in Tokyo. About 20 maritime security officials and experts from the three countries discussed maritime security cooperation at the two-day session.
T he training focuses on long-range marksmanship, com bat marksmanship, close-quar ters combat, small-unit tactics, unconventional warfare, mari time operations and full mission profile or culmination exercise.
AP/EUGENE HOSHIKO
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.1400 n JAPAN 0.3966 n UK 65.7396 n HK 7.2796 n CHINA 8.2142 n SINGAPORE 40.6806 n AUSTRALIA 38.5581 n EU 57.1343 n KOREA 0.0413 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2037 Source: BSP (September 9, 2022) DREAMSTIME.COMTURNERMICHAEL
by China.Airborne units from the Philippine Army and the US Army Special Operations Com mand Pacific (SOCPAC) under took Balance Piston to enhance their joint interoperability.
UNITED STATES Marine Corps Commandant General David H. Berger (left) meets with Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Rommel Anthony SD Reyes at Camp Aguinaldo. AFP PAO
Even in the farm sector, where the Kremlin has touted its efforts at replacing foreign supplies, de pendence on key inputs could force Russians to reduce their food con sumption as supplies dwindle, ac cording to the report.
The report warns that sanc tions will also force the govern ment to revise a range of the devel opment targets that Putin had set before the war, including those for boosting population growth and life expectancy.Onasectoral basis, the report details the breadth of the hit from
I ndeed, everyone, it seems, has been kept busy these days by the continuing undercurrent of tension in the region’s waters. Apparently, more people believe in the notion that to keep the peace, it’s always best to be ready for war, whether it’s military con flict or simply, realistically, for any mobilization that requires the well-honed expertise and in teroperability of allied nations’ forces to deal with disasters, cli mate change or other crises.
Two of the three scenarios in the report show the contraction acceler ating next year, with the economy returning to the prewar level only at the end of the decade or later. The “inertial” one sees the economy bot toming out next year 8.3 percent be low the 2021 level, while the “stress” scenario puts the low in 2024 at 11.9 percent under last year’s level.
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O n the other hand, the Aus tralian troops will assist the Rangers in sharpening their ur ban operations capabilities.
B erger and Del Toro’s visits stressed the need to keep the South China Sea open to naviga tion and overflight.
sanctions:•
Aviation: 95 percent of passen ger volume is carried on foreignmade planes and the lack of access to imported spare parts could lead the fleet to shrink as they go out of service.•Machine-building: Only 30 per cent of machine tools are Russianmade and local industry doesn’t have the capacity to cover rising demand•Pharmaceuticals: About 80 per cent of domestic production relies on imported raw materials.
• Transport: EU restrictions have tripled costs for road shipments.
• Communications and IT: Restric tions on SIM cards could leave Rus sia short of them by 2025, while its telecommunications sector may fall five years behind world leaders in 2022.
The 2023 phase of Balikatan is projected to include field-training exercises composed of combined and live-fire exercises and military operations on urban terrain.
T he Philippines and Aus tralia have four security agree ments, which include the 2012 Status of Visiting Forces Agree ment and the 2021 Mutual Lo gistics Agreement.
erations of its various war games with the US, and this included the “Salaknib,” which is seen to be bigger next year, and will be conducted in two phases in vari ous sites in Central and Northern Luzon next year.
“ Exercise Kasangga” will have the Army Rangers share their skills and knowledge on jungle op erations with the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment.
‘Critical imports’ THERE are simply no alterna
I n Japan, Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner and the Philip pine Marine Corps signed an up dated security agreement with the Japanese military, which could possibly pave the way for the holding of military exercises between the three forces.
A sked about the Bloomberg report early Tuesday in Vladivo stok, Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov called the forecasts “analytical estimates that we used to calculate what would happen if we don’t resist, don’t do anything,” according to Tass.
By Bloomberg News
On the import side, “the main short-term risk is the suspension of production due to lack of im ported raw materials and compo nents.” Over the longer term, the inability to repair imported equip ment could permanently limit growth, the report said.
O ver the next year or two, the report warns of “reduced production volumes in a range of
exercises, publication exercises, small-boat operations, boarding operations, SAR exercises and medical assistance.
E arlier, the Army’s First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) and the Indonesian Army also held the “Dolphin Exercise” in West Java, Indonesia.
A ll the scenarios see the pres sure of sanctions intensifying, with more countries likely to join them. Europe’s sharp turn away from Russian oil and gas may also hit the Kremlin’s ability to supply its own market, the report said.
after that. But the steps include many of the same measures to stimulate investment that the gov ernment has touted over the last decade, when growth largely stag nated even without sanctions.
Russia privately warns of deep and prolonged economic damage
TVERSKAYA Street and the State Historical Museum in Moscow, Russia, February 28, 2022. BLOOMBERG
Restrictions on access to West ern technology may push Russia a generation or two behind current standards as it’s forced to rely on less advanced alternatives from China and Southeast Asia.
A side from the exercises, the military is also already in the process of finalizing the next it
Agriculture: Fully 99 percent of poultry production and 30 percent of Holstein dairy cattle output de pend on imports. Seeds for staples like sugar beets and potatoes are also mostly brought in from out side the country, as are fish feeds and aminoacids.•
A couple of days ago, the com mandant of the US Marine Corps General David Berger made a cour tesy call at Camp Aguinaldo where in during his meeting with Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Rommel Anthony SD Reyes, both underscored the need for a stronger military interoper ability and the need to anticipate and address security challenges in the region.Theneed for both countries to further strengthen their de fense and military ties and work together in addressing regional challenges was again emphasized during the visit of US Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro to the DND and to the Western Mind anao Command (Westmincom) in late July.
Under the Red Dragon’s shadow
Publicly, officials say the hit from sanctions has been less than feared, with the contraction pos sibly less than 3 percent this year and even less in 2023. Outside economists have also adjusted the outlooks for this year, backing off initial forecasts of a deep recession as the economy has held up better than expected.
export-oriented sectors,” from oil and gas to metals, chemicals and wood products. While some rebound is possible later, “these sectors will cease to be the driv ers of the economy.”
Metals producers are losing $5.7 billion a year from the restric tions, the report said.
Continued from
Oil sector hit AS a result, output will have to be reduced, threatening Kremlin goals for expanding domestic gas supplies, the report said. The lack of technology needed for lique fied natural gas plants is “critical” and may hamper efforts to build new Euones.rope’s plans to stop import ing Russian oil products—about 55
Russia may face a longer and deeper recession as the impact of US and European sanctions spreads, handicapping sectors that the country has relied on for years to power its economy, according to an internal report prepared for the government.
Beyond the restrictions them selves, which cover about a quarter of imports and exports, the re port details how Russia now faces a “blockade” that “has affected practically all forms of transport,” further cutting off the country’s economy. Technological and finan cial curbs add to the pressure. The report estimates as many as 200,000 IT specialists may leave the country by 2025, the first official forecast of the widening brain drain.
If the world economy slips into recession, the report warns, Rus sia could see exports cut further as it becomes the “swing supplier” on global markets, with demand for its products disappearing first. That could trigger a plunge in the ruble and a spike in inflation.
Export drop
THE document calls for a raft of measures to support the economy and further ease the impact of the restrictions in order to get the economy recovering to prewar lev els in 2024 and growing steadily
To the Land Down Under IN Darwin, Australia, the Phil ippine Army and the Australian Defence Force ended the month long Exercise Carabaroo, which was joined by 150 troops from the Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, First Scout Ranger Regi ment and Special Forces Regi ment (Airborne) and their Aus tralian counterparts trained alongside the US Marine Corps.
B oth forces discussed a wide spectrum of military operations and held bilateral exercises on tactical combat casualty and close-quarters battle.
A f ull cutoff of gas to Europe, Russia’s main export market, could cost as much as 400 billion rubles ($6.6 billion) a year in lost tax rev enues, according to the report. It won’t be possible to fully compen sate the lost sales with new export markets even in the medium term.
NewsSunday BusinessMirror www.businessmirror.com.phSunday, September 11, 2022A2
percent of exports went there last year—could trigger sharp cuts in production leaving the domestic market short of fuel, as well.
More than 2,200 Filipino and American troops joined the previ ous iteration of the exercise.
A nother training involving the First Scout Ranger Regiment and the Land Mobile Training Team of the Australian Army, which will last until October, is also being held at Camp Pablo Tecson, San Miguel, Bulacan.
L ikewise, the Army and the US military have surveyed various areas in Luzon that will serve as staging grounds for the 2023 iteration of Balikatan, the biggest war games between the countries and which is also being participated by their allies that included Japan and Australia.
I n between successive mili tary engagements with their partners and allies, the military and even the defense department have seen increased visits by of ficials where the South China Sea, cooperation and reassurance are the focus of discussions.
Watching the South DEL Toro’s presence in the coun try was followed by the unprec edented visit to Mindanao by a delegation from the United States House Armed Services Committee to check on the US security effort in the country.
Similar visits into the coun try were also carried out by Indo nesian and Singaporean military officials, along with calls on the AFP and the DND, by various military and defense attachés of otherThcountries.eDNDalso saw the contin ued and successive courtesy calls by ambassadors from membercountries of the European Union, the US, Israel and Southeast Asia.
Just recently, DND Officer in Charge Jose Faustino Jr. and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Aus tin III also spoke by phone where they affirmed their countries’ commitments to the Mutual De fense Treaty.
tive suppliers for some critical im ports,” it said.
The document, the result of months of work by officials and experts trying to assess the true impact of Russia’s economic iso lation due to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, paints a far more dire picture than of ficials usually do in their upbeat public pronouncements. Bloom berg viewed a copy of the report, drafted for a closed-door meeting of top officials on August 30. Peo ple familiar with the deliberations confirmed its authenticity.
“Melania and I will always cherish our time together with the Queen, and never forget her majesty’s generous friendship, great wisdom, and wonder ful sense of humor,” former president Donald Trump said in a statement.
Ukrainianadded.
Boris Johnson, Truss’s predecessor, called Thursday Britain’s “saddest day.”
From India, Prime Minister Nar endra Modi said in a tweet the Queen “personified dignity and decency in publicSeverallife.” hours before her death, Modi renamed a boulevard in New Delhi built in honor of the Queen’s grandfather George V—Emperor of India at the time, calling it a symbol of colonialism.
W
“This time of mourning will pass but the deep respect and warm regard in which Australians always held Her Majesty will never fade,” Albanese said. “There is comfort to be found in Her Majesty’s own words: “Grief is the price we pay for love.”
“In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons,” Biden said in a written statement. “The seven decades of her history-making reign bore witness to an age of unprecedented human advancement and the forward march of human dignity.”
Elizabeth, 96, Britain’s longestreigning monarch, died at her estate in Balmoral, Scotland on the afternoon of Sept. 8, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace. She had celebrated her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year, marking 70 years of service.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Mar tin paid tribute to the monarch’s role
“In the hearts of every one of us, there is an ache at the passing of our Queen, a deep and personal sense of loss—far more intense, perhaps than we expected,” Johnson said.
A ‘special relationship’
“We’re not trying to engineer a recession,” Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleve land, said Wednesday in an interview with the newswire MNI. “We’re trying to engineer a slowdown or moderation of activity.”Atthesame time, Mester acknowl edged that the Fed’s rate hikes will likely lead to job losses and will be “painful in the near term.”
Other central bank officials have recently echoed Powell’s message.
IN the US, flags were ordered flown at half-staff. The New York Stock Ex change observed a moment of silence.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with the Queen at Windsor Castle last year, said that “with her death, an era comes to an end.”
The Commonwealth SINGAPORE’S Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recalled the Queen’s work with the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of over 50 member states of which many used to be part of the British Empire.
The Fed has projected that unem ployment will rise only to 4.1 percent by the end of 2024 as higher rates bring down inflation. New research released Thursday under the auspic es of the Brookings Institution says that such a scenario requires “quite optimistic” assumptions and finds that unemployment may have rise much higher to bring inflation down.
Another former US president, Barack Obama, noted that she’d worked with 15 prime ministers “and countless foreign heads of state.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacin da Ardern learned of the Queen’s death at about 4:50 a.m. Friday in Wellington when a police officer shone a torch into her room to wake her.
BusinessMirror Sunday, September 11, 2022 The World www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso A3
The Fed’s benchmark rate affects many consumer and business loans, which means that borrowing costs throughout the economy will likely keepOnrising.Thursday, the European Cen tral Bank increased its key rate by three-quarters of a point, the largest in its relatively short history, as Eu rope also struggles with record-high inflation and a stumbling economy.
HE death of Queen Elizabeth II prompted an outpouring of condolences from global lead ers, many noting that her long reign provided constancy to a world beset by wars, a pandemic and other crises.
“I will never forget the honor that I was able to meet her several times and that she received me one last time at the end of my term of office last year,” Merkel
Queen Elizabeth mourned globally as stabilizing force in tumultuous age
Powell also reiterated that the Fed is determined to lower inflation, now near a four-decade high of 8.5 per cent, by raising its short-term rate, which is in a range of 2.25 percent to 2.5Evenpercent.so, he did not comment on what the Fed may do at its next meet ing in two weeks. Economists and Wall Street traders increasingly expect the central bank to raise its key shortterm rate by a hefty three-quarters of a point for a third straight time. That would extend the most rapid series of rate hikes since Volcker’s time.
US President Joe Biden said she “defined an era.”
“There are no words that can even come close to paying tribute to the ex ceptional importance of this Queen, her sense of duty, moral integrity, devo tion and dignity over seven decades for the UK, for Europe and for the world,” Merkel was quoted as saying in a state ment carried in German media.
With assistance from Elizabeth Fourni er, Mark Niquette, Neil Callanan, Matthew Brockett, Phila Siu, Martine Paris, Rosa lind Mathieson, Frank Connelly, Jordan Fabian, Richard Bravo, Brian Platt, Ran jeetha Pakiam, Muneeza Naqvi and Iain Rogers/Bloomberg.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose war-torn nation has benefited from significant British aid in its conflict with Russia, tweeted that his nation extended “sincere condolences to the @RoyalFamily, the entire United Kingdom and the Commonwealth over this irreparable loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
Powell warned two weeks ago at an economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that the Fed’s infla tion-fighting efforts will inevitably “bring some pain to households and businesses.” But, he added, “a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has frequently lashed out at the UK for supporting Ukraine. But the Kremlin’s official Telegram channel said Thurs day that Putin had sent condolences to King Charles, saying his mother “rightfully enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as authority on the world stage.”
Europe mourns
And Fed Vice Chair Lael Brain ard, also in remarks Wednesday, pointed out that there are signs that supply chain snarls are easing, which could boost factory output and moderate prices.
Still, on Thursday, he reiterated that the Fed’s goal is to achieve a “soft landing,” in which it manages to slow the economy enough to defeat high inflation yet not so much as to tip it into“Whatrecession.wehope to achieve,” the Fed chair said, “is a period of growth below trend, which will cause the labor mar ket to get back into better balance, and then that will bring wages back down to levels that are more consistent with 2 percent inflation over time.”
ASHINGTON—The last time the Federal Reserve faced inflation as high as it is now, in the early 1980s, it jacked up interest rates to double-digit levels—and in the process caused a deep recession and sharply higher unemployment.OnThursday, Chair Jerome Pow ell suggested that this time, the Fed won’t have to go nearly as far.
T
In London, newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss announced that the crown had passed to the queen’s eldest son, King Charles III. He will be formally proclaimed king Friday in a ceremony dating back hundreds of years.
Biden last met with Elizabeth in June 2021, when she hosted him at Windsor Castle during his visit to the UK for the Group of Seven Summit in Cornwall.
“ HER Majesty the Queen has embod ied the continuity and the unity of the British Nation for more than 70 years,”
Despite Powell’s assurances, many economists worry that the Fed will have to allow unemployment to rise much more than is currently ex pected to get inflation back to its 2 percent target.
By Christopher Rugaber AP Economics Writer
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet. “I keep the memory of a friend of France, a queen of heart that has marked her country and her centuryOutgoingforever.”Italian Prime Minister Ma rio Draghi said she “guaranteed stability in time of crisis and was able to keep alive the value of tradition in a society in constant and profound evolution.”
Powell: Higher rates unlikely to cause deep US recession
in securing peace in Northern Ireland, saying her “commitment to and support for the Good Friday Agreement, rec onciliation and mutual understanding was critical to advancing positive re lations on these islands and is deeply appreciated by the Irish people.”
In London, some theater shows can celed evening productions, while the city’s famous Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew said it would be closed Friday. A planned strike by postal workers for Friday was called off as the UK heads into a 10-day mourning period. British television networks switched program ming to tributes to the Queen.
“She listened deeply, thought stra tegically, and was responsible for con siderable diplomatic achievements,” Obama said in a statement. “And yet, she wore her lofty titles with a light touch—as willing to act in a comic sketch for the London Olympics as she was to record steadying messages for the people of the UK during the Covid-19 lockdowns.”
“She was one of my favorite people in the world, and I will miss her so,” Trudeau, the 12th Canadian leader to serve during her reign, said during a retreat with his cabinet members in Vancouver.
“Just the night prior I had been reading some of the news about her state of health,” Ardern told a news conference. “So when that torchlight came into my room I knew immediately what it Australiameant.”announced its parliament would be suspended for 15 days. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the “special place in her heart” the Queen reserved for his country as the only ruling sovereign to ever visit the Commonwealth nation—starting with her first trip in 1954, just eight months after her coronation.
Central banks around the world are scrambling to keep up with ris ing prices. The Bank of Canada on Wednesday lifted rates by 0.75 per centage point and earlier this week the Reserve Bank of Australia imple mented a half-point increase.
“We think we can avoid the very high social costs that Paul Volcker and the Fed had to bring into play to get inflation back down,” Powell said in an interview at the Cato Institute, referring to the Fed chair in the early 1980s who sent short-term borrowing rates to roughly 19 percent to throttle punishingly high inflation.
Flags are already flying at half mast as the country embarks on a period of national mourning.
Chinese state media said President Xi Jinping sent a condolence message to King Charles, noting the Queen was the first British monarch to visit China. Xi placed high importance on the ChinaUK relationship and was willing to work with King Charles to develop those ties, state-run CCTV said.
In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that “in a complicated world, her steady grace and resolve brought comfort and strength to us all.”
But over the past decade Lake Baringo has doubled in size, due primarily to heavy rainfall tied to climate change, according to scientists, and its fast-rising waters are increasingly becoming a menace. The expanding lake has swallowed up homes and hotels and brought in crocodiles and hippos that have turned up on people’s doorsteps and in classrooms.
backbone of the fleet as the Navy faces a growing threat from China, whose numerical advantage be comes greater each year.
Mrs. Obama said the tradition matters “not just for those of us who hold these positions, but for everyone participating in and watching our democracy.”
painting looks. McCurdy said he knows he’s done “when it stops irritatingObama’sme.”portrait went on dis play in the Grand Foyer, the tra ditional showcase for paintings of the two most recent presidents. His portrait replaced Bill Clinton’s near the stairway to the residence, the White House tweeted Wednes day night. George W. Bush’s por trait hangs on the wall opposite Obama’s in the foyer.
The White House Historical Association, a nonprofit organi zation founded in 1961 by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and funded through private donations and sales of books and an annual Christmas ornament, helps man age the White House portrait process. Since the 1960s, the as sociation has paid for most of the portraits in the collection.
Keben remembers when the shoreline was a short walk from their home and the hippos and crocodiles stayed deep inside the lake.
Flooding around Lake Baringo has been among the most severe, according to the report, with more than 3,000 households destroyed.
Climate Migration: Kenyan woman loses nearly all to lake
She managed to reach her hand above the water and wiggle her fingers, hoping her husband, now at the shore, would see them.
FORMER President Barack Obama kisses his wife former first lady Michelle Obama after they unveiled their official White House portraits during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, in Washington. AP/ANDREW HARNIK
Obama went on to say his wife was the “best thing about liv ing in the White House,” and he thanked Sprung for “capturing everything I love about Michelle, her grace, her intelligence—and the fact that she’s fine.”
Michelle Obama, when it was her turn, laughingly opened by say ing she had to thank her husband for “such spicy remarks.” To which he retorted, by way of explanation, “I’m not running again.”
By Brian Inganga & Julie Watson The Associated Press
“Rather than tying the suc cess of DDG(X) to developmental technology, we’re using known, mature technologies on a flexible platform that can be upgraded for decades to come, as the technology of tomorrow is matured and dem onstrated,” said Jamie Koehler, a Navy spokesperson.
With only one leg, Winnie said she no longer can farm. Her husband earns a meager living digging pit latrines and working at area farms to support their growing family. She gave birth to her sixth child last month.
Obamas return to the White House, unveil official portraits
Then the lake took away almost everything.
Then something moved.
“I saw her dying, leaving me behind,” he said.
The family was forced to sell their chickens, and goats to cover her medical costs.
A shipyard in Wisconsin started construction last week of the first in a new class of frigates, which are smaller than destroyers. Those ships used an existing design, and there are no new weapon systems. Still, there continues to be con cern about the destroyer’s cost. A high price tag would reduce the number of ships the Navy can af ford to build, said Bryan Clark, defense analyst at the Hudson Institute.“You’ll end up with the surface fleet that, instead of growing, it would be shrinking,” Clark said.
In remarks that never men tioned Trump but made a point as he continues to challenge his 2020 reelection loss, she added: “You see the people, they make their voices heard with their vote. We hold an inauguration to ensure a peaceful transition of powe...and once our time is up, we move on.”
THEY left their community, the final loss.
“We’re here to create an encoun ter between the viewer and the sit ter,” he said. “We’re telling as little about the sitter as possible so that the viewer can project onto them.” He works from a photograph of his subject, selected from about 100 images, and spends at least a year on each portrait. Subjects have no say in how the
But while she was healing, an incessant rain continued to fall. The lake took still more from the Kebens. It flooded their home and farmland.
Scores of former members of Obama’s administration were on hand for the big reveal.
Laban Keben saw, jumped in and grabbed her but the ferocious animal held on. Laban tried again. And again. After his third attempt, his wife and the mother of their children lost consciousness, he said.
He thought of their daughter, barely six months old, and their two otherNotchildren.knowing what else to do, he started screaming for help. Another man ran over with a machete and struck at the crocodile, Laban said, and suddenly, it swam away, leaving Winnie’s limp body behind.
Obama stands expression less against a white background, wearing a black suit and gray tie in the portrait by Robert McCurdy that looks more like a large pho tograph than an oil-on-canvas portrait. The former first lady, her lips pursed, is seated on a sofa in the Red Room in a strapless, light blue dress. She chose artist Sharon Sprung for her portrait.
He thanked McCurdy for his work, joking that the artist, who is known for his paintings of pub lic figures from Nelson Mandela to the Dalai Lama, had ignored his pleas for fewer gray hairs and smaller ears. “He also talked me out of wearing a tan suit, by the way,” Obama quipped, referring to a widely panned appearance as president in the unflattering suit.
Mrs. Obama’s portrait was hung one floor below on the Ground Floor, joining predecessors Bar bara Bush, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, according to the tweet.
Two spokespeople for Trump did not respond to e-mailed re quests for comment on whether artists have begun work on White House portraits for Trump and former first lady Melania Trump. Work, however, is underway on a separate pair of Trump portraits bound for the collection held by the National Portrait Gallery, a Smithsonian museum.
The World BusinessMirrorSunday, September 11, 2022 www.businessmirror.com.phA4
W andPresidentASHINGTON—FormerBarackObamahiswife,Michelle,
At Bath Iron Works, shipbuild ers have worked nearly exclusive ly on Burkes, save for the three Zumwalt-class destroyers, and they have a backlog that’ll carry through the end of the decade.
Then the former first lady turned serious, drawing a con nection between unveiling the portraits and America’s promise for people with backgrounds like her own, a daughter of workingclass parents from the South Side of Chicago.“Forme, this day is not just about what has happened,” she said. “It’s also about what could happen, because a girl like me, she was never supposed to be up there next to Jacqueline Kennedy and Dolley Madison. She was never supposed to live in this house, and she definitely wasn’t supposed to serve as first lady.”
K
Shipfitter Tim Garland, 57, started work in 1988 on the first Arleigh Burke destroyer, making ballistic doors and hatches. Over the years, he’s worked on just about every component of the ship, during freezing winter days and steamy hot summer days.
Doctors cut her leg
The first design contracts were awarded this summer to General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works in Maine and Huntington Ingalls Industries in Mississippi for a large surface warship that would eventually follow production of the ubiquitous Burke destroyers.
president invites his immediate predecessor back to the White House to unveil his portrait, but Donald Trump broke with that custom and did not host Obama. So, Biden scheduled a ceremony for his former boss.
class destroyers, and the USS Ger ald Ford aircraft carrier.
“It was not like this in the past,” Keben said. “People would move when the water moves, but it would go back soon enough.”
75,000 households displaced
“They never attacked people or animals,” Keben said. “Today they attackKeben,everything.”28,isstill haunted by her attack a decade ago. She has not returned to her family’s village—even for a brief visit—and with good reason. The risks of such attacks have only increased: Since she left, more crocodiles and hippos have turned up in Kampi ya Samaki.
Tradition holds that the sitting
The portrait of Obama, Ameri ca’s 44th and first Black president, doesn’t look like any of his prede cessors, nor does Michelle Obama’s look like any of the women who filled the role before her.
By Darlene Superville The Associated Press
While her husband cracked a few jokes about his gray hair, big ears and clothes in his portrait, Mrs. Obama, a descendant of slaves, said the occasion for her was more about the promise of America for people like herself.
AMPI ya SAMAKI, Kenya—Winnie Keben had felt blessed to be raising her children in her husband’s childhood home in the community of Kampi ya Samaki—just over a quarter mile (500 meters) from the shoreline of Lake Baringo.
Obama noted that some of them in the East Room audience had started families in the intervening years and feigned disappointment “that I haven’t heard of anyone naming a kid Barack or Michelle.”
“They have plain white back grounds, nobody gestures, no body—there are no props because we’re not here to tell the story of the person that’s sitting for them,” McCurdy told the White House Historical Association during an interview for its “1600 Sessions” podcast.
Doctors ended up amputating the leg to save her life. Her mom stayed by her bedside until she was discharged from the hospital.
But leaving Kampi ya Samaki, where her husband and children were born, still hurts.
The final loss
Stevens, 52, said the warship provides an opportunity to build something new after a historic production run of the Arleigh Burke class.
“It will be an impressive de stroyer that will absolutely launch us into the next generation of ships,” said Stevens, director of ground assembly at Navy ship builder Bath Iron Works.
B
Production of the new ship is still years away.
returned to the White House Wednesday, unveiling official portraits with a modern vibe in an event that set humor and nostalgia over his presidency against the current harsh political talk about the survival of democracy.
“It was always about doing what was right,” he said.
Biden, who was Obama’s vice president, praised his former boss’ leadership on health care, the economy and immigration and said nothing could have prepared him any better for be ing president than serving with Obama for those eight years.
Navy wants new destroyer with lasers and hypersonic missiles
It’s not rare now to see village children scarred by sharp teeth marks. Others, like Keben, have lost limbs, and an unknown number have died.
BARINGO is one of 10 lakes in Kenya’s Rift Valley that have been expanding over the past decade. The entire Eastern African rift system, which stretches south to Mozambique, and the Western Rift—all the way to Uganda—are also affected. The rainfed waters have submerged villages and islands and brought the fierce Nile crocodiles face-to-face with residents.
For now, shipyards continue to produce Burke-class destroy ers, which earned a spot in the record book for a production run that has outlasted every other battleship, cruiser, destroyer and frigate in US Navy history. By the time the last Burke is built, it could surpass even the Nimitz aircraft carrier, which had a fourdecade production run.
McCurdy, meanwhile, said his “stripped down” style of portrai ture helps create an “encounter” between the person in the paint ing and the person looking at it.
Lake Baringo remains an important source of freshwater for villagers, livestock, fisheries, and wildlife. But scientists fear it could someday merge with a large salt lake not far away, the also-expanding Lake Bogoria, contaminating the freshwater.
“Barack and Michelle, welcome home,” declared President Joe Biden as the gathering cheered.
A 10-year-old boy was recently dragged off by a hippo and has not beenKebenfound.said she doesn’t plan to ever return to Kampi ya Samaki. Though she longs for the community.
The stakes are high when it comes to a replacement for the
HER leg was nothing but bones with hanging flesh, said Laban, who along with local residents carried Winnie past flooded roads to the nearest paved one where vehicles could get her to medical care. But at the hospital in the next town, doctors said they were not equipped to treat such a severe injury.
Two hospitals later, she feared she would not survive.
“Now we are land beggars,” she said.
Congress bought the first paint ing in the collection, of George Washington. Other portraits of early presidents and first ladies often came to the White House as gifts.
“I told my husband to pick up my children and to take them to my mum, as I knew I was not going to make it,” she said.
“No sooner had I bent down to wash my right leg, than I saw a crocodile pop up from the waters,” she said. “I screamed so loudly but unfortunately, I fell into the lake.”
ATH, Maine—The US Navy’s workhorse destroyer went into production more than 30 years ago, when Tom Stevens was a young welder.
The Navy has vowed that it won’t repeat recent shipbuilding debacles when it rushed produc tion and crammed too much new tech into ships, leading to delays and added expense with littoral combat ships, stealthy Zumwalt-
The vast freshwater lake buzzing with birds and aquatic life in the semi-arid volcanic region of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley had long been an oasis. It attracted fishers and international tourists to the community, about a five-hour drive from Nairobi.
By David Sharp The Associated Press
All of that warfighting gear won’t come cheap. The average cost of each new vessel, dubbed DDG(X), is projected to be a third more expensive than Burkes, the latest of which cost of about $2.2 billion apiece, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Now, the Navy is getting ready to turn the page as it looks to a future ship brimming with lasers that can shoot down missiles and attack enemies with hypersonic missiles topping 3,800 mph.
The crocodile dragged her into deeper water as she tried to fight it off. Her husband ran from the fields toward her screams. But she was struggling to stay above the surface.
“That is the place I called home,” she said, her voice still filled with pain. Watson reported from San Diego.
Keben had never imagined leaving.
In her last moments in Kampi ya Samaki, Keben was washing off garden dirt in Lake Baringo’s refreshing waters. It had been a day of working her maize fields with her husband. Evening was falling. Her mind was on getting back to the house to make dinner.
Mrs. Obama said the portraits are a “reminder that there’s a place for everyone in this country.”
A resident from another village, Meisori, learned of their ordeal and offered to take them in, a gesture of kindness for which she is grateful.
“I loved my place very much, as I could do farming with my husband and raise money for food and school fees,” Winnie said.
The rising lake waters have displaced more than 75,000 households, according to a 2021 report on the expanding lakes by Kenya’s Ministry of the Environment and Forestry and the United Nations Development Program.
The Department of Science and Technology-Science Education andtionality,forgency aidtheandeyeteams forPrizestowed thestitute (DOST-SEI) recently beIncovetedYouthInnovation(YIP)Award tothreeschool-their creativesolutionsfordiseasedetection, monitoringconservation of the haribon, orPhilippineEagle, and aerial emerforisolatedareas. Theseprojectsemergedaswinnerstheirtechnology’snovelty,funcpatentability,extensibilitypracticability.
By Lyn B. Resurreccion
HE news media are currently abuzz with the story of garlic farmers in Batanes appealing for buyers for around 12.5 metric tons of their garlic harvest, which faces the risk of going to waste.
T he scientists who were upgraded were: Career Scientist IV—Dr. Imelda Angeles Agdeppa of Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOSTFNRI); and Dr. Maria Corazon A. de Ungria of University of the Philip pines (UP) Diliman Natural Sciences Research Institute;
KNOWN as “Black Diamonds of the North,” the research by DOST-Nicer on Garlic and Other Agricondiments Center in Mariano Marcos State University in Ilocos Norte is developing innovations for garlic, including the black garlic. S4CP PHOTO
A t the same time, in other parts of the country, there is a shortage of this key culinary ingredient, as the coun try is dependent on around 90 percent importation for local requirements. However, all is not gloomy in the Philippine garlic industry.
innovations is aiming to “uplift” the garlic industry in the northern Luzon region by increasing its yield and with the use of sustainable technologies, among others.
Light at the end of the tunnel for PHL garlic?
D r. Evelyn F. Delfin of UPLB In stitute of Plant Breeding (IPB); Dr. Chitho Feliciano of DOST PNRI; Ma ria Luisa D. Guevarra of UPLB IPB; Dr. Leila D. Landicho of UPLB Agri cultural Systems Institute College of Agriculture and Food Sciences; Rosa lyn V. Manaois of DA PhilRice.
T he ceremony was hosted by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).
T he members of the SCC are Aca demician Dr. Rhodora V. Azanza, president of NAST; Dr. Christine D. Villagonzalo, president of the Na tional Research Council of the Philip pines; and Atty. Danilo Concepcion, president of the UP System.
The project was crafted by team members Mondrayneil Sarte, Mar vin Nillas, John Raymond Enolpe and Kristine Mae Tilos, with coach Ivan Jayson Macabenta. Withthewin,the school-teams each received P200,000 cash prize along with the YIP trophy.
These efforts may likewise help save the stronger-tasting Philippine garlic—the favorite of knowledgeable cooks—from being overpowered by lesser-rated imported bulbs.
&T Media Services
I nternet health sources said raw garlic already contains the follow ing health benefits: helps boost the
T he conferment was in recogni tion of the scientists’ many years of hard work, dedication and passion for research in order to advance science and technology in the Philippines.
T he Career Scientist II were—Dr. Nelly S. Aggangan of UP Los Baños (UPLB) National Institute of Molecu lar Biology and Biotechnology; Mar cela M. Navasero of UPLB National Crop Protection Center;
Y
Youth Innovation Prize award
T he project is funded under the Department of Science and Technol ogy-Niche Centers in the Regions for Research and Development (DOSTNicer) Program.
OUNG Filipino innova tors continue to become bear ers of hope for the country amid the global health issue and so cial challenges. This was on full display during the fifth “imake.wemake: cre ate. innovate. collaborate.” Awarding Ceremony on August 26.
D r. Maria Theresa M. Mutia of DA NFRDI; Dr. Marilyn O. Quimado of UPLB College of Forestry and Natu ral Resources; Dr. Lourdes D. Taylo of UPLB IPB; and Dr. Marvin A. Villan ueva of DA Philippine Carabao Center.
THE first YIP winner is Bansud National High School-Regional Sci ence High School for Mimaropa for their project “Sinagtala: Automated Detection Kit for Selected Eye Dis eases Using Ensemble Framework of Deep Learning Neural Networks (CNN x The project focused onANN).” auto matically detecting certain selected eye eyemoteanetworks to(CNN)diseases using convolutionalandartificial(ANN)neuraladdress theneedformedicalscreeningdeviceto prohigh-quality and accessiblecareinterventions,particularly
DA National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI); Dr. Lucile Elna P. de Guzman of UPLB In stitute of Crop Science.
Black garlic, with its marketing potential, can be suited to those who are health conscious and determined to supplement their diets with nutri tious food, the DOST-S4CP said.
S
CIENCE Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. and Civil Service Commission Chairman Karlo B. Nograles led the oath taking of the 17 Scientific Career System’s (SCS) newly conferred and upgraded career scientists at a hotel in Quezon City on September 2.
for diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma andThecataract. teamis composed of Frank lin Razon, Jarell Aldrix Famadico, Josh Vincent Sario and Sophia Mar gaux Dilodilo, with Alexis Albo as theirThecoach. Philippine Science High School (PSHS)-Calabarzon Region Campus also received the YIP award for the project “Deep Neural Network Embedded on a Microcontroller for Detection of the Bird call and songs of the Philippine pliessponseing seas and assistingemergencydifficultyfor their innovation addressing theHighPastorEmergencymateddares, withLance Alilio, and Weinfree Salunanaturalstanding callstrackers by determining andgle helping bantay-gubat andcaptures calls oftrollerNetworkwhereinferyi” project. Eagle Pithecophaga jefTheteam showcaseda systemanEmbeddedDeepNeuralprogrammedtoamicroconwithanexternalmicrophonethePhilippineeabirdundermadebythebirdinitshabitat. TheteamiscomposedofAmiJavellana,Alexander Bañados,coachJohn-Niel Masong. “ProjectKidlat:Inter-IslandAutoUAVforMedicalDeliveryandResponse”ofRamonTevesMemorial-DumagueteScienceSchool likewise securedtheYIPofdeliveringmedicalandaidtoisolated places. ProjectKidlat iscapableofcrossin medicalreanddisaster bycarryingsupneededin remoteareas.
PHL richer in scientists with 17 new, upgraded
T
I t was established within the CSC pursuant to Executive Order 784 on March 17, 1982, and was reinforced by Section 4 of Republic Act 8439, titled “Magna Carta for Scientists, Engineers, Researchers and Other Science and Technology Personnel in Government.”Nomineesforboth admission and promotion as career scientists are evaluated based on their scientific outputs, which in the merit system is divided into Scientific Productiv ity, and Scientific and Professional Standing.Thereare currently 198 research ers with the scientist rank, and 63 active career scientists as of August 2022.The SCS covers a wide range of fields, such as agricultural sciences, natural sciences, engineering and technology, medical sciences, and other related disciplines as may be determined by the Scientific Career Council. Lyn B. Resurreccion
letic performance. It is being used among traditional medicines in many countries.Theoilof raw garlic is even excised and sold in capsules or gels for easy
A r esearch has produced bulbs of Allium sativum , garlic’s scientific name, into black garlic that can be used as flavoring in variety of food, such as in ice cream, or as part of the Japanese-inspired “furikake” condiment.What’smore, the Ilocos Nortebased Mariano Marcos State Univer sity (MMSU)-Garlic and Other AgriCondiments Center that developed these delicious and more healthy food
T he Career Scientist I were—Dr. Riza Abilgos Ramos of DA Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice); Dr. Angel T. Bautista VII of DOST Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI); Dr. Casiano Choresca Jr. of
B lack garlic is processed by fer mentation through heat treatment at high temperatures and humidity for several days, said DOST-Science for Change Program (DOST-S4CP), which is leading the Nicer Program. The process amplifies the nutrient properties of garlic, thus, making it more beneficial to health.
“Through sustainable innovation programs like the Nicer in every re gion, we support the interests of ev ery Filipino like the garlic farmers, traders and local businesses to pro mote national economic progress,” BuendiaThe-Nicersaid. Garlic and Other Agri-Condiments Center aims to uplift the region’s garlic industry by developing an integrated crop management system, enhancing storage processes, improving its usability and profitability through
BusinessMirror A5Sunday, September 11, 2022 Science Sunday www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion
Young Scientist Award
DOST-SEI’s partner, the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF), also con ferred three students with the Young Scientist Award.
B lack garlic make these benefits more “impressive” and further boosts the enumerated health advantages of the“Thebulb.Nicer program is designed to support regional development,” said DOST Assistant Secretary for Inter national Cooperation Leah J. Buendia, also the concurrent OIC of the Under secretary for Research and Develop ment. DOST-S4CP is under the Office of the Undersecretary for R&D.
They were given the “STEM Schol arship for Excellence” for demonstrat ing global competence through their innovations. TheGBF tor, ledcountry. aticsnology,winners to pursuescholarship allows theascience,techengineeringandmathemat(STEM)courseoftheirchoiceany universityorcollegeintheGraceColet,GBF’sexecutive directheannouncementoftheir
The winners were determined based on scores of the Board of Judges composed of Engr. Percival Magpantay from the University of the Philippines Diliman, Engr. Carlos Matti Oppus of the Ateneo de Manila University, and Engr. Edison Roxas from the University of Santo Tomas.
S olidum, Scientific Career Coun cil’s (SCC) co-chairman, expressed his high regards to the 17 men and women of science during the event with the theme, “Empowering and promoting world-class Filipino scientists in the government service.”
Young innovators win in 5th imake.wemake awards
The winners were Alexander A. Ba ñados and Amina M. Javellana of the PSHS-Calabarzon Region Cam pus, and John Raymond P. Enol pe of Ramon Teves Pastor MemorialDumaguete Science High School.
He praised them with their dedica tion and perseverance in their work and the role they play in promoting the country’s welfare.
It should be noted that other Asian countries produce 10 t/ha to 15 t/ha of garlic.ThisMMSU-Garlic Center project may be the answer to the woes of garlic farmers, including those in Batanes in the far north of Luzon, in preventing their produce from going to waste by providing storage facilities.
T he SCS is a system of recruitment, career progression, recognition and reward to scientists in the public ser vice, as a means of developing a pool of highly qualified and productive scientific personnel.
the black-garlic processing, and determining the key strategies in improving the competitiveness of local garlic through value-chain analysis.Through the development of lowcost but sustainable technologies, the garlic farmers and processors are expected to increase their yield (from 3.8 tons per hectare to 5 t/ha), reduce bulb weight loss (from 50 percent to 10 percent) and increase their income (30 percent), DOST-S4CP said.
new“Originally,scholars. we planned to select just two scholars, but after watch ing and listening throughout the final presentations, we decided to add another recipient due to the quality of work they all have done,” ColetNewlybared. appointed Science Secre tary Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr. graced the hybrid event and congratulated all the winners and participants for their creativity and thanked them for striving to create positive im pacts needed to solve the problems of today and of the future.
body’s immune system, reduce high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, prevents cancer, has antibiotic properties, may prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia, and can improve ath
“More than declaring winners for the Youth Innovation Prizes and the GBF Young Scientist Awardees, what matters most to us is to have suc cessfully convened budding makers with great mentors, advisers and of course, people from the government and private sectors, as all of us are stakeholders in the innovation pro cess,” SolidumThe DOSTsaid. secretary also led the announcement of toanthatinshouldstitute’scoursesand urgedBiyoof the 6th imake.wemake competition. the openingDOST-SEIDirectorDr.JosettecongratulatedthewinnersthemtopursueSTEMand availthemselvesoftheinundergraduatescholarships. “This imake.wemake projectgiveyouanideaofhowtobethefieldofinnovation,andwehopescienceandtechnologywillhaveasteriskamongyourlistofcareerspursue,”shesaid.S
consumption as health supplement.
THE new and upgraded career scientists are with (from top, left) NAST Academicians Dr. Fabian M. Dayrit and Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco Jr.; Dr. Carla Dimalanta of UP System; and NAST President Academician Dr. Rhodora V. Azanza, Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr., CSC Chairman Karlo B. Nograles, and (front row, left) NAST Director Luningning Samarita-Domingo. HENRY A. DE LEON, DOST-STII
S olidum also emphasized the need for more scientists in the coun try, and expressed his hopes that by amending the SCC system, the number of scientists conferred will increase.Nograles, SCC chairman, recalled his previous experience as the cochairman of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerg ing Infectious Diseases, and as chair man of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger, which gave him the chance to work with some of the newly conferred scientists.
BLACK GARLIC, OTHER INNOVATIONS BEING DEVELOPED IN REGION I THROUGH DOST-NICER PROGRAM
Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles led the liturgy at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, with Pampanga native, Bishop Roberto Mallari, as the preacher.
Gomas and his wife and two daughters have all learned Hmong in order to better reach out to members of that com munity, and residents are often pleasantly surprised to open their doors to fluent speakers of their language.
“I think it made them listen even closer,” he said. Hmong is the language of a people who are originally from China and are liv ing traditionally in isolated moun tain villages throughout Southeast Asia. Large numbers of them have immigrated to the US. In Acworth, Georgia, Nathan Rivera said he has greatly missed seeing people’s faces and reading their“Youexpressions.seeandappreciate these responses, and it’s much more personal,” he said. “You establish common ground and relation ships that you can never develop over the phone or by writing a letter.”Theson of Cuban refugees who came to the United States in the 1980s, Rivera said door-knocking is an important part of his spiritual identity and “feels Christ-like.”
Pope reiterates ‘zero tolerance’ on priests’ abuses
ASKED about his prayer life, Pope Francis said he prays the Liturgy of the Hours every day, and also prays the rosary and meditates on the Bible.
when it comes to priests who abuse others, in an interview with CNN Portugal broadcast recently.
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“I plan to go. The pope is go ing to go—either Francis or ‘John XXIV’—but the pope is going,” he joked, alluding to the possibility that there might be another pope by the time of the event.
OPE Francis emphatically repeated the commitmentChurch’sto“zerotolerance”
is speaking to us.
The Holy Spirit speaks all lan guages, he said, but knows how to bring harmony out of differences. This harmony, he said, is the eccle sial sense—a sense that is absent from those who have a religious sense, but lack the Holy Spirit.
that next year’s World Youth Day presents a great opportunity “for the youth from different parts of the world to connect.”
He said the Synod on Synodality has its roots in Pope St. Paul VI’s recognition that the Latin Church “had lost the synodal dimension.”
He added: “We must speak with the youth language…They have their culture and a progressive language that goes forward, right? So, you have to listen to them in their way of interpreting things and answer to them in ways that they can understand.”
“I cannot answer to a young per son facing a difficulty with an old theology book… They won’t under stand…you have to answer them in a language that they understand and according to the experiences they are living, right?”
Later, when it featured an image of the crucified Christ, currently known locally as the Christ of Pardon and Charity, it was changed to the Crusade of Penance and Charity.
One man took a break from a Zoom call to accept their book lets and set up an appointment to continue the conversation. At another home, a woman spoke of how many family members died in the last two years—something the Siderises could relate to, both of them having lost parents re cently.Another woman was too busy
Jehovah’s Witnesses resume door-to-door work after 2 yrs
Speaking about World Youth Day, Pope Francis said: “When you go to a meeting with young people, you have to be prepared to listen to another language. Young people have their own
The pope said in the interview
Spokesman Sam Penrod said the church had already been do ing so “for at least a decade” be fore“SocialCovid-19.media has become an effective way of reaching peo ple interested in learning more about the Church in recent years and became invaluable in the early months of the pandemic,” Penrod said via e-mail, adding that missionaries continue to minister in person but do not go door to door.
The Pope’s interview with CNN Portugal was broadcast on September 5 evening, but was recorded on 11 August.
Pope Francis returned to the theme of the harmony produced by the Spirit in response to a ques tion on the ongoing synod.
The organization is not man dating masks or social distancing, leaving those decisions to each individual.Thedenomination has cau tiously been rebooting other ac tivities: In April it reopened con gregations for in-person gath erings, and in June it resumed public ministry, where members set up carts in locations, such as subway stations, and hand out literature.Getting back to door-knock ing, considered not just a core belief but also an effective min istry, is a big step toward “a re turn to normal,” Hendriks said.
Church, the pope said that even one case of abuse in the Church is aIn“monstrosity.”responsetoabuse, the pope said it is necessary to recognize its reality in modern society; to ensure that in other sectors, such as the family, it is not cov ered up; and for the Church to address abuse in the areas it is responsible.TheHolyFather reiterated the Church’s commitment to zero tol erance of abuse, saying “a priest cannot continue to be a priest if he is an abuser. He can’t.”
Courtney Mares/Catholic News Agency
The devotion of Kapampangans to the Virgen de los Remedios began as early as 1952 when the first bishop of San Fernando, Cesar Ma. Guerrero, initiated the Crusade of Charity and Good Will.
“To us, going door to door is an expression of our God’s impartial ity,” he said. “We go to everyone and let them choose whether they want to hear us or not.”
“It’s going to take an additional level of courage,” Hendriks said.
The quip was made after
OME—With the next World Youth Day (WYD) less than a year away, Pope Francis has promised that a pope will attend, but joked that it may be “Pope JohnTheXXIV.”pope told CNN Portugal in a television interview that aired on September 4 that he plans to attend the 2023 World Youth Day, the largest international Catholic youth gathering scheduled to take place in Lisbon next August.
pulse,” he said. “We haven’t had that close feeling with the com munity for more than two years now. It feels like we’ve all become more distant and polarized.”
K
In 2022 that’s even more the case, and evangelizers are being advised to be mindful that lives and attitudes have changed.
They current synod, Pope Francis explained, is intended “to finish the catechesis on synodality.”
Deepa
But for Jehovah’s Witnesses, such as Jonathan Gomas of Mil waukee who started door-knock ing with his parents when he was “big enough to ring a doorbell,” a spiritual life without it seems inconceivable.“Whenyou’re out in the com munity, you have your hand on the
However, other denominations, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have moved away from door-to-door ministry.
CBCP News
Faith Sunday A6 Sunday, September 11, 2022 Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph
“We show respect for each per son’s right to hold a different be lief,” he said. “If they don’t want to hear what we have to say, we politely thank them and move on, recognizing that we cannot judge anyone. We’ll just keep on knock ing.” Bharath/Associated
Importance of dialogue
The Synod, Pope Francis in sisted, is not a parliament, where everyone says what they want.
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THE pope also insisted on the im portance of dialogue, especially in regard to a question about what he would say to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of WYD: Open the window!
The multi-day gathering, estab lished by St. Pope John Paul II in 1985, is typically held on a different continent every three years with the presence of the pope. At some past World Youth Days, attendance has reached into the millions.
Asked about what message he has for the Church of Portugal ahead of World Youth Day, Pope Francis said, “look at the window. Look at the window. And ask your self: ‘Does my life have an open window?’ If it doesn’t, open it as soon as possible. Don’t be with your nose to the wall, of a problem, of whatever it is. Know that we are walking toward the future, that there is a path. Look at the path…. Open the window! Look beyond your nose, beyond! Look, open up, keep the horizon, and widen your heart.” Christopher Wells/Vatican News
A Mexican-born prelate, Gomez is known to have special devotion to Virgen de los Remedios.
“May every Kapampangan, every devotee, always share their gift of faith…and may this faith lead us to detachment, self-denial and charity,” the bishop of San Jose in Nueva Ecija
“Maysaid.we reach out to one another with the sole intention of reaching out to Jesus in each of us. May we be always Mary’s faithful disciple in bringing Christ through her,” he added.
EHOVAH’S Witnesses have restarted their door-to-door ministry after more than two and a half years on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, re viving a religious practice that the faith considers crucial and cherished.Fromcoast to coast, members of the Christian denomination start ed to fan out in cities and towns last week to share literature and converse about God for the first time since March 2020.
Dan Sideris said he had been apprehensive about evangelizing in person in “a changed world,” but the experience erased any traces of doubt.“Itallcame back quite naturally because we don’t have a canned speech,” he said. “We try to engage with people about what’s in their heart, and what we say comes from ourThehearts.”couple were surprised at how many people opened their doors and were receptive.
language. And that comes from their own culture because there is a youth culture. And that also comes from their own creativity.”
However, although only a small percentage occurs in the
at the moment but spoke to Car rie Sideris through the window and said she could come back Sunday.“I’vebeen looking forward to this day,” she said. “When I rang the first doorbell this morning, a total calm came over me. I was back where I needed to be.”
The crusade, according to the archdiocese, was started to fight the rising beliefs of socialism and communism at the time as well as the widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Nonetheless, he said he is doing what he can and asking everybody to do what they can.
Pope jokes: Either he or ‘John XXIV’–his successor–will attend WYD 2023
“It is very important for all of us to have devotion to Virgen de los Remedios and entrust to our Blessed Mother our lives, our vocation and our ministry,” he said.
Instead, in a synod, all seek the harmony that is produced by the HolyHeSpirit.said,“in the Synod there is diversity in what each one says, but it is the Spirit who creates harmony.”
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“Together we can do some thing,” he said, adding that he is accompanying the situation with his pain and with his prayers.”
In the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga, the local church commemorated the historic event on Thursday, with a reenactment of the canonical coronation in Lubao, the birthplace of Christianity in the province.
Press LA marks 66th year of Pampanga patroness’s canonical coronation FILIPINO devotees carry the statue of Virgen de los Remedios during Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, United States, on September 4. ARCHDIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES, USA, FACEBOOK
Jehovah’s Witnesses suspended door-knocking in the early days of the pandemic’s onset in the United States, just as much of the rest of society went into lockdown too.
THE interview with Pope Fran cis also covered a number of other topics, including the im portance of good liturgy, the role of women in the Church, and his daily routine.
APAMPANGANS in the US gathered for Mass on September 4 to commemorate the 66th anniversary of the canonical coronation of Pampanga’s principal patroness, Virgen de los Remedios.
“I want to be very clear about this: Abuse by churchmen and churchwomen—abuse of au thority, abuse of power and sexual abuse—is a monstros ity, because the churchman or churchwoman, whether priest, religious man or woman, or layman or laywoman, is called to serve and to create unity, to make grow, and abuse always destroys,” the pope said.
“Abuse is a tragic reality of all times, but also of our time,” the pope continued, noting that most abuse occurs in the family or in the neighbourhood and is found in sports, clubs and schools.
The meeting in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon is scheduled for August 1 to 6, 2023.
In the Jamaica Plain neighbor hood on the south side of Boston, couple Dan and Carrie Sideris spent a balmy morning walking around knocking on doors and ringing bells.
months of speculation in the me dia that the 85-year-old pope could be close to retirement owing to his health issues, particularly with his knee that requires his taking a wheelchair.PopeFrancis told journalists on his return from Canada in July that he is “open” to the possibility of retiring if he discerns that it is God’sPopewill.Francis did not explain why he guessed his successor could be named Pope John XXIV. He has made this joke several times since he canonized St. Pope John XXIII, the last pope who took the name John, who reigned from 1958 to 1963.
The organization also ended all public meetings at its 13,000 congregations nationwide and canceled 5,600 annual gatherings worldwide—an unprecedented move not taken even during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918, which killed 50 million people worldwide.Witnesses continued their min istry by writing letters and making phone calls, but it wasn’t the same because it lacked a personal touch, said Robert Hendriks, national spokesman for the denomination.
Even in pre-pandemic times, door-knocking ministry came with anxiety because Witnesses never knew how they would be received at any given home.
“In other words,” he said, he prays in different ways. “I place myself before God and sometimes I get distracted, but He doesn’t get distracted, and that consoles me,” he said, adding “everybody has to pray as the Holy Spirit in spiresThethem.”popethen spoke about how one can know that the Holy Spirit
The event that the devotees marked took place on September 8, 1956, after Pope Pius XII decreed the canonical coronation of the image of Virgen de los Remedios and declared her as the patroness of Pampanga.
How does the pope pray?
He noted that both presidents had visited him in Rome before the current war. “I believe that dialogue always leads to progress,” but noted that dialogue is often difficult.Thepope said he was unsure if he would be able to visit Kyiv or Moscow, noting that he was having health issues with his knee once again after his journey to Canada.
IN a recent interview with CNN Portugal broadcast on September 4, Pope Francis says the Church is suffering due to sexual abuse and abuse of authority and power by men and women in the Church. VATICAN NEWS
In his homily, Mallari reminded the devotees any celebration of the historic coronation would be “plain pageantry” without its religious and spiritual character: prayer, penance and charity.
ADAPTED to life within the marine environment, seabirds are highly pe lagic or inhabit the open seas, and are only on land when breeding.
Editor: Lyn Resurreccion
BusinessMirror
What are seabirds
But like the shorebirds and water birds, seabirds, too, are threatened with extinction.
REENLAND’S rapidly melting ice sheet will eventually raise global sea level by at least 10.6 inches (27 centimeters)—more than twice as much as previously fore cast—according to a study published on August 29.
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“I think starving would be a good phrase,” for what’s happening to the ice, Colgan said.
‘Zombie ice’ from Greenland will raise sea level by 10 inches
But in the last few decades there’s less replenishment and more melting, creating imbalance.
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The CSOs were the ABS-CBN Ling kod Kapamilya Foundation Inc.; Jai me V. Ongpin Foundation Inc.; Mount Apo Foundation Inc.; NGOs for Fish eries Reform; PATH Foundation Phil
USAID Philippines Acting Deputy Mission Director Jennifer Crow (front, fifth from left), DENR Undersecretary Marilou Erni (front, sixth from left) and Gerry Roxas Foundation Executive Director Glen de Castro (right) join representatives of 13 grantees of USAID’s Inspire project at a ceremony on August 30.
“Of the 119 birds, 33 are residents to the Philippines, while the rest are migratory,” she said.
GREATER crested terns GREGG YAN PHOTO
much as 30 inches (78 centimeters).
USAID Philippines Acting Deputy Mission Director Jennifer Crow, En vironment Undersecretary Marilou Erni and Gerry Roxas Foundation Executive Director Glen de Castro awarded the grants at a ceremony held on August 30, said the US Embassy in Manila. USAID is an independent agency of the US federal government that is responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.Eleven CSOs each received a grant valued at around P16 million ($300,000) to implement three-year conservation and climate projects that will help communities adopt environmentally friendly practices, engage the public and private sectors, and establish local enterprises that support conservation.
“Wesaid.also hope that these projects will generate local livelihoods and enterprises that uphold the value of the natural and cultural assets of the Philippines and improve the lives of local communities, including indig enous peoples,” she added.
What scientists did for the study was look at the ice in balance. In perfect equilibrium, snowfall in the mountains in Greenland flows down and recharges and thickens the sides of glaciers, balancing out what’s melt ing on the edges.
According to Lim, a biodiversity conservation expert, islands con stitute unique ecosystems, such as beach forests, mangroves, tidal flats and surrounding near-shore marine areas, that serve as shelter, nesting areas, and/or feeding grounds for sea
The unavoidable 10 inches in the study is more than twice as much sea level rise as scientists had previously expected from the melting of Green land’s ice sheet.
“The introduction of invasive predators like dogs, cats and rats remains the greatest threat to our seabirds. Isolated for centuries in inaccessible roosts and rookeries, most seabirds have lost their natural defense mechanisms against wouldbe attackers,” Yan said.
RED-FOOTED booby GREGG YAN PHOTO
“It’s dead ice. It’s just going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet,” Colgan said in an interview. “This ice has been consigned to the ocean, re gardless of what climate [emissions] scenario we take now.”
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SEABIRDS
The study in the journal Nature Climate Change said it could reach as
“Other islands like Bancauan and Cawili once had thousands of them, but as reported by rangers and sci entists, the ‘pets’ that local inhabit ants brought soon turned into ‘pests’ and ate many of the ground-breeding birds,” he said.
Science Writer
“In general, seabirds live longer
By Jonathan L. Mayuga
Seabird sanctuary ACCORDING to Alaba, a total of 119 bird species have been recorded in theOfTRNP. these, she said the great crested tern, sooty tern, brown noddy, black noddy, brown booby, red-footed boo by and masked booby are known to breed on the two islets.
US awards ₧288-M in grants to CSOs for biodiversity, climate solutions
Jensen, an associate expert at Wetlands International, chairman of the Scientific Committee and CoFounder of the WildBird Club of the Philippines, said the seabird popu lation in the Philippines is concen trated in the Sulu Sea, where 63,561 of the total 71,854 can be found. The rest are in the West Philippine Sea (4,6870); Philippine Sea (1,800); Vi sayan/Bohol Sea (1,779); and Celebes Sea“Globally,(27).
Unique migratory bird species
According to Yan, the Tubbataha Reefs remain one of the last refuges for many Philippine seabirds.
Arne Erik Jensen said seabird popu lations around the world, including in the Philippines, have experienced a dramatic decline.
Media Category 2014
“Thebirds.seabirds in Tubbataha [black noddy and boobies] help maintain ecological balance by controlling the overpopulation of fish and mol lusks that serve as their prey. They also move nutrients from the sea to the land and vice-versa to contribute to the richness of the soil and of the sea,” she Accordingsaid. to Lim, morbidities or mortalities could be signs of toxins or pollutants in the surrounding sea areas, which should allow us to address the problems before the im pacts affect human populations and become irreversible.
Seabird species recorded in the Philippines include the albatrosses, storm petrels, petrels, shearwaters, tropicbirds, frigatebirds, jaegers, terns. Phalaropes are shorebirds that overwinter, or spend the winter, in open“Ofwaters.the34 species found in the Philippines, 14 are accidentally oc curring. The remaining 20 species can be divided into nine breeding species, 10 migratory overwintering species, and one transmigrant. Most of them are scarce or rare in the Phil ippines,” he said.
ACCORDING to Alaba, seabirds play a number of important functional roles in marine ecosystems, including the transfer of nutrients from offshore and pelagic areas to islands and reefs, seed dispersal and the distribution of organic matter into the lower parts of the developing soil profile.
6 that TRNP has a total of 16 pelagic seabirds, with one endemic subspe cies, the black noddy, that breeds in TRNP. She refers to it as the “Ya mashita Treasure” of the TRNP.
Jensen said seabirds are currently known or likely to be breeding or roosting on about 120 smaller islets and offshore rocks. These include the Sulu sea, 55; Philippine Sea, 39; Visayan/Bohol Sea, 16 and the West Philippine Sea, nine.
Without replenishment, the doomed ice is melting from climate change and will inevitably raise seas, said study co-author William Colgan, a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.
“Seabirds have been used as good biological indicators of marine eco systems. Since they are considered as one of the top predators, their health and population is reflective of the status of the marine environ ment,” she Underscoringsaid. the need to protect the country’s seabirds, she said these species bring nutrients to offshore islets and coral reefs, which are im portant inputs for the productivity of the marine ecosystems.
Asean Champions of Biodiversity
Declining global population
Tubbataha Reefs Natural park SITUATED in the middle of the Sulu Sea, the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) is approximately 50 ki lometers southeast of Puerto Princ esa City, Palawan, the most western province of the Philippines.
Most recently, she noted that the critically endangered Christmas Is land frigatebird was spotted on the TubbataGreggReefs.Yan, executive director of Best Alternatives Campaign who visited Tubbataha Reefs this year, said seabirds have evolved for life at sea.“Millions of years of evolution have gifted them with such useful traits as waterproof plumage and the ability to drink saltwater. Sadly, the remote areas they inhabit are some of the most vulnerable to climate change effects like storms and rising sea levels,” he said.
“They use isolated or mid-sea islands as nesting sites and/or rest ing and roosting areas as they move across oceans to migrate or to find an abundance of food sources. It is important, therefore, to keep the island biodiversity intact,” she said.
“The Tubbataha Reefs is a Unesco World Heritage Site and Asean Heri tage Park, and it has several other distinctions because of the seabird population. It is a Ramsar Site and an Important Bird Area,” said Retchie Alaba, TRNP Research Officer.
BLACK noddies GREGG YAN PHOTO
near the bird islet DANNY OCAMPO PHOTO
There are also seven known sea bird breeding and roost habitats. These are the sand cays that are found at pelagic reefs and edge of corals; limestone-guano rock islets, offshore rocks; some beach forests; the open sea and the sky above; and bamboo poles and drifting materials like coconut and even Styrofoams.
HIRTEEN civil society or ganizations (CSOs) received P288 million ($5.1 million) in grants from the United States Agency for International Development (US AID) for the promotion of biodiver sity conservation and natural climate solutions in the Philippines.
tion Inc. will develop a dictionary of climate change-related terms in Filipino Sign Language, while Hu manity and Inclusion Philippines will engage people with disabilities in climate change governance and im prove their resilience to the impacts of climate change.
That’s because of something that could be called “zombie ice.” That’s doomed ice that—while still attached to thicker areas of ice—is no longer getting replenished by parent glaciers now receiving less snow.
Seth
In addition, he said there are predatory threats from frigatebirds, turnstones, raptors and sharks.
Study lead author Jason Box, a gla ciologist at the Greenland survey, said it is “more like one foot in the grave.”
Biodiversity Sunday
in just 60 years, sea bird population has been reduced by nearly 70 percent; the terns by 85 percent and frigatebirds by 81 percent,” he said.
It has been declared as a Marine Protected Area on August 11, 1988, through Republic Act 10067. It has a total area of 97,030 hectares core zone, with approximately 10,000 hectares of coral reef area.
“We trust that closer cooperation and collaboration between govern ment and civil society through In spire will increase and expand invest ments for conservation,” he added
“Previously, 150 adults [birds] were recorded in Tubbataha,” she said.Alaba said via email on September
Not your typical waders or shore birds, or waterbirds, that can be found mostly around freshwater bodies, seabirds are species that adapted to life within the marine environment.
breed longer and have fewer off spring than most other birds. Most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen to millions. Some species undertake annual migrations, crossing the equator, or circumnavigating the Earth,” he said.
ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity Ex ecutive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim said seabirds are unique migra tory bird species.
Through its Investing in Sustain ability and Partnerships for Inclusive Growth and Regenerative Ecosystems (Inspire) project, USAID promotes natural resource conservation and ecosystem and community resilience by supporting civil society organi zations in advocating for and par ticipating in good natural resource governance.“TheDENR [Department of En vironment and Natural Resources] values the support given by USAID to all sectors in order to deliver critical biodiversity and sustainable land scapes targets,” Erni said.
AT a webinar organized by protectors of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) on August 19, ornithologist
Foreign and local tourists flock to the Tubbataha Reefs. According to Alaba, a total of 3,475 tourists, all divers, arrived in 2019. She said since the quarantine restriction was lifted slowly, the number of tourists is slowly increasing.
All projects will also support the Philippine government in conserving and restoring areas that need urgent protection across the country, and in developing more effective and in clusive natural resource governance.
One of the study authors said that more than 120 trillion tons (110 trillion metric tons) of ice is already doomed to melt from the warming ice sheet’s inability to replenish its edges. When that ice melts into water, if it were concentrated only over the Unit ed States, it would be 37 feet (11 me ters) deep. Borenstein/AP
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“In short, the seabirds of Tubba taha are an integral part of the en tire island and marine ecosystem of the park, and contribute to a great extent to the variety and richness of its fisheries and to its ecotourism value,” she stressed.
“This year, we had 1,689 [tour ists],” she “Tourismsaid.season in Tubbataha is from March to June when the seas are generally calm. In 2019, we had 210 trips during these months,” she said, adding that the protectors of the TRNP are hopeful that tourism will improve next year.
“These grants showcase USAID’s longstanding commitment to part
Important ecosystem function
Sunday, September 11, 2022
ippines Inc.; Philippine Association for the Intellectual Development Inc.; Philippines Biodiversity Con servation Foundation Inc.; Philippine Eagle Foundation Inc.; Sentro Para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya; Xavier Science Founda tion Inc.; and Zoological Society of London-Philippines.Twoothergrantees were each awarded P56 million ($1 million) to support disability-inclusive climate actions.TheOscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Di saster Risk Management Founda
ner with the Philippine government and local organizations in protect ing natural resources and improving how these resources, and the places where they are found, are governed,” Crow
“After cats were introduced on Ascension Isle in the South Atlantic over a century ago, for example, bird numbers dropped from 20 million to 400,000,” he added.
By contrast, last year’s Intergov ernmental Panel on Climate Change report projected a range of 2 inches to 5 inches (6 to 13 centimeters) for likely sea level rise from Greenland ice melt by the year 2100.
Study authors looked at the ratio of what’s being added to what’s being lost and calculated that 3.3 percent of Greenland’s total ice volume will melt no matter what happens with the world cutting carbon pollution, Colgan said.
Jensen noted that there is an in crease in the number of threats in the Philippines, including oil spills, toxins and oceanic events.
ESIDES being a popular div ing destination because of its rich marine biodiversity, the Tubbataha Reef—a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) World Heri tage Site, Asean Heritage Park and a Ramsar Site—is also an Impor tant Bird Area and is known to host thousands of seabirds.
Seabirds contribute to Tubbataha’s rich ecosystem
The causes of these declines, he said, include the practice of fishing using longline, trawl and gillnet. An other culprit are invasive species and anthropological problems, such as pollution and climate change.
but I suppose, basically, I love horses, and the thoroughbred epitomizes a really good horse to me.”
And to me, that is a gamble from a long way back. I enjoy going racing
Queen Elizabeth II: I enjoy going racing but I suppose, basically, I love horses, and the thoroughbred epitomizes a really good horse to me.
By Steve Douglas The Associated Press
was a classic and comforting sight on the British sporting calendar, Queen Elizabeth II smiling and waving from inside a horse-drawn carriage leading other members of the royal family in a procession along the racetrack at Royal Ascot.
Th is year’s games will become the focus of the most intense scrutiny yet by gamblers.Thisisdue to the rapid rise of so-called microbetting, the ability to place wagers on outcomes as narrowly targeted as whether the next play will be a run or a pass, how many yards will it gain, or whether the drive results in a punt, a touchdown, a turnover or something else.
THE QUEEN: I LOVE HORSES
MANU GINOBILI’S the long, lateral move—step one way to get a defender leaning, then cut the other way into open space—is Manu Ginobili’s signature, something he mastered, something that he brought into the mainstream.
W hen the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams kicked off the National Football League (NFL) season Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills, 31 US states plus Washington DC will offer legal sports betting.Arecord 46.6 million Americans say they plan to bet on the upcoming NFL season, up 3 percent from last year, according to the American Gaming Association.
He’s quick to point out that he won’t be the last name on that list. Parker, Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol will be getting their calls before long.
With legal sports betting in its fifth year in much of the US, things are getting much more intense, with increasing ways to bet and more opportunities to rapidly win—and lose—money.
N obody knows for sure how the move truly originated, and Ginobili insists that he didn’t create it, either. The commonly held belief is that Lithuanian great Sarunas Marciulionis—a Hall of Famer himself, class of 2014—brought it to the NBA.
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HE first clue that, no, Manu Ginobili did not invent the Eurostep should come from the move’s name. Ginobili isn’t from Europe. He’s from South America. And it’s not called the South Ameristep.
A CUSTOMER makes a bet at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. AP
M ichael Stoute, who trained the queen’s horses, said winning races gave her a “special thrill.”
Perhaps it should be. The long, lateral move—step one way to get a defender leaning, then cut the other way into open space—was Ginobili’s signature, something he mastered, something that he brought into the mainstream.Inturn,it brought him to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
AP
“ We’re going to have more markets like betting on the next play, who’s going to carry the ball, how many yards it will gain,” he said. “We’ve found that those are equally as popular as who’s going to win the game or the total amount scored.”
AP
Sports BusinessMirror A8 SundAy, September 11, 2022 Editor:mirror_sports@yahoo.com.phJunLomibao
She was the champion owner in British flat racing on two occasions, in 1954 and ’57.
“I’m proud of being part of that generation that changed the way the game was played, the game was perceived, the international players were recognized,” Ginobili said. “It was fun to be part of that.”
T he queen had approaching 2,000 winners as a racehorse owner, with her jockeys always wearing purple, gold and scarlet—the colors of the storied royal racing silks also used by father and great grandfather, King Edward VII.
and sports for DraftKings, said his company is concentrating more on microbetting offerings this fall.
Miami-based Betr is going beyond that. It launched its microbetting app on September 1 and minces no words about what it soon will offer the gambling public: “Instant gratification.”Inbaseball, its app lets users wager on each pitch: How fast it will be, whether it’s a ball or a strike; or whether it gets put into play.
B ut there isn’t much argument that Ginobili is the one who made it popular. Thing is, he can’t teach it very well, despite being asked countless times to do so over the years.Icouldn’t exactly explain it,” Ginobili said. “Some basics of it, yes, but it was super natural, it was super instinctive.”
It’s not the move that got Ginobili into the Hall, though. It was the winning.
Johnny Avello, director of race
The company’s app is currently in use for free-play only; Betr plans to take real money bets in numerous states as soon as they obtain licenses and regulatory approvals.
finish first by a neck in front of 61,000 racegoers.
“You start playing ball because you love it, because it’s fun, because you’re there with your friends.... And now, when I thought there were not going to be more surprises after my career was done, you get a recognition like this which makes you think, go back a little bit in time, and relieve your story, and it’s incredible.”Ginobili isn’t the first international NBA player to make the Hall. He is, however, the first to be selected by the North American committee, which means he got into the Hall solely on the merits of his NBA career and not what he did playing internationally.
Horse racing was the big sporting fascination of the queen, who died on Thursday at the age of 96. She first rode a horse at the age of 3—and was immediately besotted with them—and would inherit the breeding and racing stock of her father, King George VI, when she acceded to the throne in 1952.
The queen even attended America’s greatest horse race, the Kentucky Derby, in 2007 while visiting the heart of US racing in Kentucky bluegrass country.
Wins-losses can pile up with sped-up sports betting
K eith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, says people placing microbets are at higher risk of developing a gambling disorder.
S he handed the Jules Rimet Trophy to England captain Bobby Moore when the national soccer team won the men’s World Cup by beating West Germany at Wembley Stadium in 1966.
the so-called “classics” in British horse racing except for The Derby, another event she attended for most of her life.
S he became one of the biggest faces of British and global horse racing.The queen was also present at some of the most famous occasions in British sporting history.
The Spurs drafted Ginobili in 1999, when he was playing in Italy, and it took more than three years
She was in the Royal Box on Centre Court at Wimbledon when British player Virginia Wade won the women’s singles title in 1977, the championship’s centenary year.
But in 2002, he showed up. With his “Eurostep.Ididn’tknow what the hell it was,” Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said. “But it didn’t look right.”
IT
A nd she won plenty.
Horse racing was her big love, though, and she was often seen visiting The Royal Stud at her estate at Sandringham, patting her horses tenderly.“Myphilosophy about racing is simple,” she said in a BBC documentary, The Queen’s Racehorses: A Personal View. “I enjoy breeding a horse that is faster than other people’s.
Established sports betting companies including FanDuel and DraftKings started taking real-money microbets in recent years.
TLANTIC CITY, New Jersey—
Turns out, it was legal and lethal. The true measure of whether a move has captured the attention of NBA players comes by seeing if others have copied it and tried to put it into their own repertoires. And that’s been happening for two decades now.
The four-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion with the San Antonio Spurs is one of the headliners for Saturday night’s enshrinement ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts.
O ne of the queen’s most famous wins came at Royal Ascot in 2013 when Estimate became the first horse owned by a reigning monarch to win the prestigious Gold Cup. It was her first win in an elite race since 1989 and she was seen clapping enthusiastically as jockey Ryan Moore powered through to
In baseball, for example, FanDuel, which is the official odds provider for The Associated Press, lets gamblers bet on whether the first pitch of a baseball game will be a ball or a strike, whether it will result in a hit or an out, or some other result. DraftKings takes bets on how many pitches a batter will see in a given at-bat, and has dabbled in pitch speed wagers. But it currently limits its baseball microbets to batter-to-batter predictions.Microbetting is an incredibly fast way to rack up wins—and losses.
AP
The monarch would then spend the day watching the races from the Royal Enclosure, cheering on her horses—win or lose.
W hen Ginobili played, the Spurs won. It’s that simple. They were 762295 when Ginobili appeared during the regular season. That winning percentage of 72.1 percent is just a smidge better than the 71.9 percent posted by Duncan, who went into the Hall in 2020 and, fittingly, will present Ginobili this weekend.
A nd, more recently, she had a cameo in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012, filming a comedy sketch with James Bond actor Daniel Craig where the queen—well, a stunt double, anyway—jumped out of a helicopter and parachuted into the Olympic Stadium. She allowed Danny Boyle, who directed the ceremony, and his crew access to her quarters at Buckingham Palace for a one-day shoot a few months earlier.
It’s the fastest-growing segment of legal sports betting, and while it encourages sportsbooks, it has those who treat compulsive gambling worried that the opportunity to make rapid-fire bets, one after the other over the course of a three-hour game, will create new problems for gamblers or worsen the addiction of those who already have a problem.
Microbetting “is a must-have to be a competitor in this space,” said Matt Prevost, chief revenue officer for BetMGM. Between 40 percent to 65 percent of all bets his company takes on football come after the opening kickoff.
She really loves this game,” he said after Estimate’s victory, “and it’s a great recreation for her.”
Ginobili spent all 16 of his NBA seasons in San Antonio, partnering with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to form a Big Three that was, and surely will remain, one of the best trios the league has ever seen.
Ginobili is one of two players (Bill Bradley being the other) to have won championships in the NBA, the Euroleague and the Olympics. He got four rings with the Spurs, the Euroleague title with Italian club Kinder Bologna in 2001, then led his native Argentina to Olympic gold at Athens in 2004. Ginobili had 29 points in the semifinal win over the US, outplaying everybody else who was on the court that day, Duncan included. The Americans haven’t settled for anything less than gold at any of the four Olympics that have been played since.
Joey Levy, the company’s founder and CEO, called its product “a glimpse into the future of sports betting in the US—an instant gratification focus to betting delivered in a simple, intuitive user experience that anyone can enjoy, even if they have not bet on sports before.”
Her first winner was a horse called Monaveen, at Fontwell in 1949, and she went on to win all of
for him just to come to the NBA. It’s not like San Antonio had made a huge investment: Ginobili was the next-tolast pick in his draft class, 57th out of 58. And most of the players taken in the bottom 15 picks of that draft never played a single game in the NBA.
THEN Princess Elizabeth poses for a photo on her 13th birthday in Windsor Great Park in Windsor, England, on April 21, 1939, and in 2013, Her Majesty’s with the filly Estimate, who won Royal Ascot’s most prestigious contest, the Group 1 Ascot Gold. Jockey Ryan Moore is on the left. AP
It’s something you never expect,” Ginobili said of entering the Hall.
Ginobili and his Eurostep reach Basketball Hall of Fame
Following the announcement of the queen’s death, the British Horseracing Authority said racing in Britain for the rest of Thursday and Friday would be suspended “as we begin to grieve Her Majesty’s passing and remember her extraordinary life and contribution to our sport and our nation.”
BusinessMirror September 11, 2022 How to spend time wisely: wHat young people can learn from retirees
POP trio New Hope Club is composed of Reece Bibby, Blake Richardson, and George Smith. It was formed in 2015, about the same year when Reece’s former band Stereo Kicks broke Accordingup.to George, the band was formed on October 4, 2015 at exactly 6 in the evening.
Being close together and comfortable to each other now, George told a story about that time they were in a cab and talked about their past relationships. That conversation sparked them an inspiration for a new song, and the next day, they came up with a new song in less than an hour.
“Call Me a Quitter” is available in music streaming platforms.
BusinessMirror YOUR MUSIC SEPTEMBER 11, 2022 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com2 T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Aldwin M. Tolosa Jt EdwinNisayP. Sallan Eduardo A. Davad Niggel NonieBernardAnnieLosorataKayePatrickLeonyRickTonyAnabelleFigueroaO.FloresM.Maghirang,Olivares,Garcia,MiguelVillagomez-S.AlejoP.TestaReyes Y2Z & SOUNDSTRIP are published and distributed free every Sunday by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing Inc. as a project of the The Philippine Business Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd Floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025 Advertising Sales: 8893-2019;17-1351,817-2807. Circulation: 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. www.businessmirror.com.ph Publisher : Editor-In-Chief : Concept : Y2Z Editor : SoundStrip Editor : Group Creative Director : Graphic Designers : Contributing Writers : Columnists : Photographers :
to release buoyant music is because they wanted to veer away from most popular music which are often emotional and blue.
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By Patrick V. Miguel
From becoming a band to forming a bond
“During lockdown we just decided to lessen enough negativity already in the world, and we don’t really need to put any more out,” New Hope Club member Reece Bibby said. “If we can spread a little bit of positivity from all corners of the world… that’s amazing for us.”Reece added that their band name “New Hope Club” explains what their music is about—giving hope amid adversities.
He explained, “The band itself is called ‘New Hope Club’ which gives a very strong message and we wanted to be a [band] where our fans come and listen to our music and have a very good time and forget about whatever is going on in the world, because I think we can sometimes get a lot even for ourselves.”
New Hope Club spreads positivity in their songs
ALL ABOUT SILVER LININGS
“We’ve always felt as a band to try not to do what everyone else is doing, I think, especially in pop music,” he said. “It’s like the songs are very similar and we wanted to get out of that cycle.”
“So yeah, we wanna be a positive band that spreads positivity,” he concludes.Musicis therapeutic as well, George Smith added. He said, “A song is also a form of therapy where you can… write your feelings on a piece of paper [and] it’s kind of like you get rid of it.”
Almost seven years have passed now, and George said that throughout, they have all become closer.George said, “We’ve all grown up [and] as we got older, we just got a lot closer as friends, as bandmates and as brothers, I’d say we are brothers now, right? Not legally but we are definitely as close as brothers would be.”“We became a lot closer with each other,” he sums up.
George explained that their recent songs are more personal compared to the earlier releases. He said, “We’ve been a lot more personal in this music. For starters, the main reason why it is more personal is because it is a song that came from us and we may like it for every song basically started with us so that’s one of the main reasons why it is more personal.”Expressing that the song is special to the band members, George added, “It’s exciting that we’re finally showing it to the world and we’re rockin’ it. Any inspiration can come from anywhere. The way it’s timed, the way it is based and we just wanted to write our song for a specific reason so it kinda came out of nowhere.”
That song happens to be their new release, “Call Me a Quitter,” which was released this year.
According to Reese, the decision
NEW Hope Club
“It is a form of therapy for us but I think every single person during the pandemic was going through the same situation whether with their relationships with friends or family and others,” George further explained.However, spreading positivity through music is just one of the reasons why they are consistent in releasing “feel-good” music.
LOT of popular music coming out these days often has melancholic lyrics and heavy set of instruments. And oftentimes, these are celebrated by listeners as they find these songs more relatable. But for New Hope Club, they opted to go for a more optimistic message in their music, and by doing so, they hope to spread positivity among their listeners.
“InwhenteasertoscenepaintedNew,”inNew.man.”NothingFinally,“NothingSwiftaclosestherrecentpostshesang,themiddle
Here’s how Taylor Swift has been owning midnight through the years
Here are the top five song moments Swift burned the midnight oil and some exes along the way.
The pop superstar elaborated on social media with this post: “We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears. We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t – right this minute – about to make some fateful life-altering mistake.”Asifto remind mere mortals that she turns sleepless nights into one’s next great cry, she went on, “This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams. The floors we pace and the demons we face. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching – hoping that maybe, when the clock strikes twelve… we’ll meetSwiftourselves.”closedher teaser by saying, “‘Midnights,’ the stories of 13 sleepless night scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight.”
HO needs a press conference when you have the VMAs to announce a new album? Taylor Swift did just that a week ago when she slipped the scoop of a brand-new album called “Midnights” due for an October 21st release.
WAITING FOR ‘MIDNIGHTS?’
“All To Well.” This masterpiece sits on top of our list. In 2012’s “All Too Well,” Swift sang, “‘Cause there we are again in the middle of the night / We’re dancing ‘round the kitchen in the refrigerator light.” In 2021, Swifties were treated with a visual of this scene in the short film version of the song featuring “Stranger Things” actress Sadie Sink and “Maze Runner’s” Dylan O’Brien. The refrigerator scene even earned funny electric bill shock memes here in the“YouPhilippines.AreInLove” & “Style.” Way back in 2015, midnight was a twosyllable, attention-arresting opener for “Style.” “Midnight / You come and pick me up, no headlights / Long drive / Could end burning flames or paradise. In the same album (“1989”), Swift dropped it yet again to frame her setting in “You Are In Love:” “Small talk, he drives, coffee at midnight / The light reflects the chain on your Dappledsunrise/point.Swift“Happiness.”neck.”In“Happiness,”turnedtoironytodriveher“AcrossourgreatdivideThereisaglorious/
RHYTHM & RHYME by Kaye Villagomez-Losorata
The power poet in Swift lured anticipation with one post that we almost wrote an entire review of the teaser. However, this is not the first time Swift has drawn drama from midnight. In fact, midnight may have gained the right to call the singer-songwriter out and ask for a share of the royalties as she’s used the wee hours quite a lot in her lyrics.
TAYLOR Swift (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File)
W
of the night / It’s like I can feel time moving / How can a person know everything at 18 / But nothing at 22.”
soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | SEPTEMBER 11, 2022 3 BUSINESSMUSIC
“22.” The singersongwriter compelled the moon, yet again, to put on the moves in “22” by writing these lyrics: “It feels like a perfect night / For breakfast at midnight / To fall in love with strangers.” As a bonus, midnight also made a cameo in Swift’s “Better Man:” “Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again / But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better
“I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand-new album comes our October 21st and I will tell you more at midnight,” Swift said during acceptance speech. Here is the teaser on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=fh4ds3XVybc.
with the flickers of light / From the dress I wore at midnight.” Of course, this killer track from “Evermore,” Swift spoke of happiness-in-reverse about processing life post-breakup. Leaving the song’s hook here for reference: “There’ll be happiness after you but there was happiness because of you” and “There’ll be happiness after me but there was happiness because of me.”
How to spend time wisely: What young people can learn from retirees
We know that creativity is good for us, even if you aren’t very good at what you’re doing. Whether it’s painting, singing, crafting or writing a journal, spending time being creative helps release tension and boost energy levels.
We can “buy” time by exchanging money for tasks we do not wish to do. Consuming items can also have time costs, as both shopping and learning to use new items takes time. Thanks to my retirees, I now also know that we can get more out of time when we share it with others.Time is what social scientists would call a “network good.” In other words, how we value time depends on the number of other people we can share our timeAllwith.ofmy retired participants spoke
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A word of caution here though: Spending your mental health day ruminating on your woes, thinking about the things that
Starting new hobbies and interests once retired—out of necessity—can feel like extra work. Pursuing passions is necessary for well-being, but this should be done before retirement, while it is purely for fun.
are stressing you out, or simply doing nothing at all is unlikely to have any benefit to you. Here are a few things you can do to improve
Some of my new retirees’ health recovery efforts included spending extra time with medical providers, and spending money and time on commuting to appointments. Women were doubly disadvantaged here as, unlike men, they continued to face societal pressures to look
RePe AT eDly, my interview participants gently reminded me that giving your time to another person is the biggest act of kindness we can do. This is because once you give your time away, you can never get it back.
For many young people, retirement is a blip on the radar, if not a total unknown. this is particularly true during our cost of living crisis, when investing and contributing more to your pension might fall down the priority list behind paying rent.
Be mindful of this as you give your time, to your friends, employers, acquaintances or to social media companies. Thanks to my participants, I now often ask myself: Does this company or organization love me? Generally, the answer is no, at which point I also know they do not deserve much of my time.
Getthings:creative.
Taking a mental health day can be good for you
The writer of this story, Boróna Bó, serves as an assistant professor in sociology at the University of essex in england. She writes, “To avoid having to spend extra time and money on health recovery in later life, focus on health preservation in earlier life.”
Make your time count by sharing it with others
ACk lInG mental health problems early is important for preventing them from getting worse.
W H I l e nearly all of my retirees spent a considerable amount of time financially planning for retirement, almost as many regretted not planning ahead when it comes to cultivating hobbies and interests. This was particularly pressing for my wealthy retirees, as they faced a drop in their social status and loss of work friends when they retired.
It’s never too late—or too early—to start making the most of your time and living a better life. Here are some important lessons learned from my retirees’ journeys.Don’t chase money, let money chase youOne of the biggest regrets among my less privileged research participants was their inability to get as much education as they wanted when younger.
To avoid having to spend extra time and money on health recovery in later life, focus on health preservation in earlier life. Sometimes you may need to prioritize your own well-being above the needs of your employer. An example is taking time off for your physical or mental Whilehealth.this is a luxury currently not afforded to all, movements like “quiet quitting” are beginning to start a public conversation on this topic.
Worry about how you feel, not how you look
of the need to build strong, healthy relationships while younger, to have friends we can share life with when older. Shared time leads to greater emotional wellbeing and happiness.
Identify your passions early
My retired participants show that it is important to remain grateful for the time we share with each other while on this e a rth. When the daily grind gets you down, remind yourself that time is love. The Conversation
Get physical. It doesn’t matter what kind of exercise you do. Whether you like running, weightlifting or pilates, any exercise is good for managing stress and lifting mood—thanks, in part, to the feel good
Get spiritual. This doesn’t mean go to church necessarily (unless that’s what you want to do), but practices such as mindfulness, meditation and yoga are shown to be exceptionally good for our overall mental well-being. For added benefit, try doing these outdoors if the weather’s nice.
I interviewed over 200 people and surveyed hundreds more to understand how they balance time and money. I focused on people going through major life transitions: recent retirees and new parents, and people preparing for those moments. While we expect retirees to have all the time in the world, I found that in reality, retirees are often pressed for time.
This is why taking a mental health day to care for yourself, de-stress and re-group can be useful. So if you’ve been feeling more tired than usual, are having trouble sleeping (or not getting good quality sleep), experience changes in appetite or even feeling more impatient than normal, it may be a sign that you need to take a day off work to look after your mental health.
Over a quarter of them feel time poor, with not enough hours left in the day for all they need to do. This is regardless of the amount of money they have. Although wealthy retirees generally have more control over their schedules, both rich and poor retirees are impacted by time poverty in older ages.
Time is love
Some left university or college early to support their families, or because they could not afford to continue. But all regretted not getting as much education as they needed to be competitive in the labor force later on.
To make enough money, pick something and follow through: whether university or skilled technical trades, get good at something. Then, the money will follow.
by boróka bó University of Essex
At the same time, when a friend, trusted mentor, teacher or stranger donates their precious time to me, I am aware that my appreciation and kindness can only ever partially repay them.
chemicals that our body naturally releases during exercise.
Taking a day when you feel you need it to actively invest in yourself, recharge your batteries and address any issues that may be troubling you is likely to have long-term benefits for your mental health.
If you keep these practices up in your daily life, it’s likely you’ll see continued mental health benefits. The Conversation
younger than their age.
Get outside. Being in nature has a measurably calming effect on our bodies. It activates our “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) nervous system, which is important for helping to reduce stress levels. you could try activities such as tree bathing, a popular pastime in Japan, which involves walking quietly in forests and woodlands while trying to be present in the moment and breathing deeply. If you don’t live near a woodland, then activities like gardening and walking in the park are really beneficial too.
W H e n youth wanes, you are left with how you feel. In retirement, will you be in pain thanks to spending your life in hard labor or nonstop work? My interviewees made clear that when you prioritize making money over health–whether by necessity or by choice–you pay for this by having to give up your precious time in retirement.