BusinessMirror September 12, 2021

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Sunday, September 12, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 333

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A raging ‘revolution’ amid the pandemic

The Philippines gears up for Industry 4.0, spurring investments and retooling the labor force, as the pandemic hastens the march to digitalization.

T

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Lopez said during the launch.

While the PSF program will enhance the skills of the workforce, the DTI said this will also help employers in crafting a progressive human resource management and talent development plans amid emerging market demands.

“Through the PSF initiative, we would be able to provide a chance for everyone to participate in goodquality, meaningful work. Our aspiration is to continue to build on the PSF to ensure it remains agile, adapts to broader disruptions and changing trends in the jobs and skills landscape, and use it to unlock a reskilling revolution in the country,” Aldaba said.

HE Fourth Industrial Revolution is here—and the Philippines is gearing up.

Characterized by the use of advanced technology, which blurs the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds, the so-called Industry 4.0 has amplified its presence amid the widespread shift to digital while coping with the health and economic ravages wrought by Covid-19.

To prepare for this, spurring investments related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and retooling of the labor force are a must. Doing these is seen to help the country to not only adapt but also thrive amid the revolution.

With disruptions in business models and creation of new sectors, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has stressed the importance of developing an industrial policy. Setting the roadmap can provide a clear path for the local industries as they participate in the global value chain amid technology-led changes in the business landscape, it explained.

“Our strategic mission right from the start was clear and simple but is no means an easy task: we need to propel more and better jobs, create investments, and achieve a shared prosperity for all,” DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a recent event.

Emergence of i3S

IN relation to this, the trade official said they have been implementing the Inclusive Innovation Industrial Strategy (i3S), which is centered on innovation and science and technology.

“This new industrial policy aims at growing innovative and globally competitive manufacturing, agriculture and services, while strengthening their linkages into domestic and global value chains,” he said. “In doing so, innovation is crucial in addressing the challenges not only from globalization but also from automation, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and other new technologies.”

Embracing Industry 4.0 with AI

LOPEZ: “Our strategic mission right from the start was clear and simple but is no means an easy task: we need to propel more and better jobs, create investments, and achieve a shared prosperity for all.”

Lopez stressed that the government should craft policies that can help the industries take advantage of market opportunities, which can result in inclusive growth and job creation.

Attracting investments

INVESTMENTS in advanced technology are encouraged to allow more business activities.

The trade department, in fact, made it clear that related investors will be incentivized through the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act. “Under CREATE, incentives are being provided to activities and projects that would introduce product and process innovation as well as digital transformation,” Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita M. Aldaba told the BusinessMirror.

In addition, the tax reform law “provides incentives to innovative companies offering new products and services that embed these new technologies,” she added. These include smart products, smart cities, predictive agriculture, resilient technology, educational technology and financial technology.

The perks are based on the investment priority plan under CREATE, which enumerates sectors eligible for incentives.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.0500

Lopez identified earlier the following as critical industries: 1) electrical and electronics; chemical and pharmaceuticals; 2) machinery and transport; 3) agriculture and agribusiness; 4) information technology-business process management; 5) research and development; 6) and artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and digital technologies.

Some of the perks include availment of income-tax holidays of four to seven years, depending on the level of technology and location of the project. This will then be followed by 10 years of enhanced deductions or 5-percent special corporate income tax for exportoriented firms.

‘Reskilling’ labor force

RIZALINA MANTARING, Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) national issues committee chairperson, urged the companies to equip their employees with the much-needed skills.

“To be able to compete requires us to develop skills in these technologies and understand the underlying science. Companies will have to invest in reskilling their workforce, but also remember that obsolescence is accelerating and what you know today will probably be obsolete in three to five years,” she told the BusinessMirror.

The firms, she said, should develop programs for continuous

learning that can develop skills such as complex problem solving, critical thinking and creativity.

In June, the DTI launched the Philippine Skills Framework (PSF) initiative. It is an interagency effort aimed at developing the needed skills and competencies of the human capital and workforce in Industry 4.0.

“This is essential so that our industries can increase and sustain their competitiveness under the Fourth Industrial Revolution and move us closer to our goal of becoming an industrialized nation.

Through this goal, we aim to have our people achieve better employment opportunities that will provide them with a higher income,”

“WE are embracing the new technologies emerging from Industry 4.0,” Lopez told the BusinessMirror, citing efforts to boost AI as one way of doing it.

The emerging technologies such as AI have become a “musthave” for the companies and not just “nice to have,” the DTI chief explained.

In May, the DTI launched the AI roadmap, which aims to increase adoption and utilization of AI in various sectors in the country to advance industrial development.

These include agriculture, automotive sector, smart manufacture, health-care services and businessprocess outsourcing.

The national AI strategy aims to boost the regional and global competitiveness of the local industry with the use of AI to drive innovation. In addition, it targets to identify key areas in research and development and technology application for investment.

Lopez said the roadmap would recommend ways to enable collaboration among the government, industry and academe to foster national development.

The roadmap also intends to set up the private sector-led National Center for AI Research (N-CAIR), which will serve as the shared hub for research and development in AI. The consultancy services to be offered by N-CAIR, Lopez said, will be beneficial for the government agencies, industries and other research centers in the country.

n JAPAN 0.4562 n UK 69.2742 n HK 6.4354 n CHINA 7.7525 n SINGAPORE 37.2756 n AUSTRALIA 36.8768 n EU 59.1891 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.3456

Source: BSP (September 10, 2021)

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Economic oddity: Record job openings and many unemployed

By Paul Wiseman The Associated Press

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ASHINGTON— The disconnect is jarring: Across the United States, employers who are desperate to fill jobs have posted a record-high number of job openings.

They’re raising pay, too, and dangling bonuses to people who accept job offers or recruit their friends.

And yet millions more Americans are unemployed compared with the number who were jobless just before the viral pandemic flattened the economy a year and a half ago.

The puzzling mismatch is a reflection of an unsettled economy—one that all but shut down at the height of the pandemic, then bounced back with unexpected speed and strength thanks to the rollout of vaccines and vast infusions of government spending.

And now the economic outlook has been clouded yet again by a resurgence of Covid-19 cases linked to the highly contagious Delta variant.

MARRIOTT human resources recruiter Mariela Cuevas (left) talks to Lisbet Oliveros during a job fair at Hard Rock Stadium, Friday, September 3, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Florida. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 310,000, a pandemic low and a sign that the surge in Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta variant has yet to lead to widespread layoffs. AP/MARTA LAVANDIER

“E

mployers really want to staff up right now, especially those sectors that were hit hard by the pandemic. But a fair number of unemployed or job seekers don’t feel that same sense of urgency.’’

—Nick Bunker, research chief at the Indeed Hiring Lab

On Wednesday, the Labor Department reported that employers posted 10.9 million job openings in July—the most on records dating to 2000. For jobseekers, the abundance of vacancies is a welcome occurrence.

Unprecedented demand

YET the magnitude of unfilled job openings poses a potential problem for the economy, especially if it persists over the long run: Companies that are short of employees can’t capitalize on a surge in consumer demand, thereby hampering economic growth.

The unprecedented demand for workers is happening even while 8.4 million Americans are unemployed, up from 5.7 million in February 2020. And the economy is still 5.3 million jobs short of the number it had before the pandemic paralyzed the United States.

“Employers really want to staff up right now, especially those sectors that were hit hard by the pandemic,” said Nick Bunker, research chief at the Indeed Hiring Lab. “But a fair number of unemployed or job seekers don’t feel that same sense of urgency.’’

Some would-be jobseekers remain fearful of the coronavirus, especially given the spread of the Delta variant. Some have struggled to find or afford child care at a time when the status of schools is in flux. Others are rethinking their lives and careers after being locked in at home and spending more time with their families.

Whatever the reason, many “don’t feel the need or desire to just jump into a job right now,’’ Bunker said.

The neediest employers are jacking up pay to try to attract workers.

Over the past year, average hourly wages, even after being adjusted for inflation, have jumped 5.8 percent for restaurant and bar workers and 6.1 percent for hotel workers.

“It may also be time to pay more attention to the genuinely lousy nature of many of the jobs that are available,’’ Joshua Shapiro, chief US economist at the Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. consultancy, wrote in a research note,

RUNX CEO Ankur Dahiya (center) takes part in a video meeting with employees at a rented office in San Francisco, August 27, 2021. Technology companies like RunX that led the charge into remote work early as the pandemic unfurled are confronting a new challenge as it winds down: how, when and even whether they should bring their long-isolated employees back to offices that have been designed for teamwork. AP/ERIC RISBERG

adding: “Let’s face it, even $20 per hour with few if any benefits isn’t a princely sum.’’

Shapiro suggested that some employers will need to consider offering more flexible work hours, better parental leave policies and enhanced health-care benefits.

In the meantime, workers are leaving their employers in historic numbers, apparently confident enough in their job prospects to try something new. In its report Wednesday, the Labor Department said that 3.98 million people quit their jobs in July, just shy of the record 3.99 million who did so in April.

‘Too generous’

MANY businesses have blamed generous federal unemployment benefits—including a $300-a-week supplement to state aid—for allowing the jobless to take their time returning to work. In response, about half the states withdrew from the federal program. But in a report last month, economists Peter McCrory and Daniel Silver of J.P. Morgan found “zero correlation,” at least so far, between job growth and state decisions to drop the federal unemployment aid.

In any case, the federal benefits ended nationwide on Monday,

just as more and more schools are reopening. Bunker said he is hopeful that the job market will return to its pre-pandemic state sometime next year.

The Delta factor

THEN again, the Delta variant, and the uptick in Covid-19 cases it’s caused, risks slowing the recovery.

On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers added just 235,000 jobs in August—only about a third of the number that economists had expected and down dramatically from around 1 million jobs that were added in June and July each.

With the Delta variant having discouraged some people from venturing out in August, restaurants and bars cut 42,000 jobs, the first such monthly drop this year.

Hotels added just 7,000, the fewest since January.

“Rising virus fear amid a renewed surge in Covid infections will likely delay the return of some individuals to the workforce,” said Lydia Boussour, lead US economist at Oxford Economics. “While we expect the labor market will continue to make some progress in coming months, it will likely take some time for these severe labor imbalances to get resolved.’’

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

The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, September 12, 2021

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Analysis: Biden’s war on virus becomes war on unvaccinated

By Zeke Miller

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The Associated Press

ASHINGTON—They’re a source of frustration. A risk to their fellow citizens.

A threat to the nation’s economic recovery.

President Joe Biden is trying to concentrate the anger of the nation’s inoculated majority against the stubborn 25 percent of eligible Americans who remain unvaccinated against Covid-19.

Nearly 8 months after declaring “war” on the coronavirus as he took office, Biden on Friday announced far-reaching new federal requirements that could force millions to get shots. In doing so, he embraced those who haven’t rolled up their sleeves as a new foe amid a devastating surge in cases that is straining the nation’s health system and constricting its economy.

“We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin,” Biden said from the State Dining Room. “And your refusal has cost all of us.”

The unvaccinated minority, he added, “can cause a lot of damage, and they are.”

The speech marked the starkest public airing of Biden’s own frustrations over the direction of the Covid-19 pandemic and a striking departure from his familiar talk of national healing. In essence, he scolded a minority of the country for holding back the majority. And he had especia lly harsh words for publ ic of f icia ls who have stoked or e x ploited vacc i ne fea rs for pol it ic a l ga i n.

“A distinct minority of Americans, supported by a distinct minority of elected officials, are keeping us from turning the corner,” Biden said. “These pandemic politics are making people sick, causing unvaccinated people to die.”

Biden’s forceful posture reflected a calculus that far more Americans will support his action than will be drawn to the visceral anger that some on the right directed at his announcement—evidenced, in his view, by the fact that a supermajority of the country has already been vaccinated.

It was also driven by self-interest, as Biden tries to defend his own job performance on the issue most important to voters.

The resurgence of the virus has sent his poll numbers to the lowest point yet of his presidency. An AP-NORC poll conducted in August found that 54 percent of Americans approved of Biden’s stewardship of the pandemic, down from 66 percent the month before, driven by a drop in support among Republicans and political independents.

The drop in approval has coincided with a summer backslide in the fight against the virus. Biden blamed the spiking cases for August’s slower-than-expected job growth and warned the nation could

President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room at the White House on September 9, in Washington. Biden is announcing sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase Covid-19 vaccinations and curb the surging Delta variant. AP/Andrew Harnik

continue to face economic penalty if it doesn’t get the virus under control.

It was just two months ago that Biden prematurely declared the nation’s “independence” from the pandemic. Now, despite more than 75 percent of Americans having at least one dose of vaccine, the US is seeing about 300 percent more new Covid-19 infections a day, about two-and-a-half times more hospitalizations, and nearly twice the number of deaths compared to the same time last year.

“We’re in the tough stretch, and it could last for a while,” Biden warned.

Still, he predicted, with most A mericans vaccinated, the human toll won’t exceed last winter’s carnage.

Speaking directly to the fears of Americans who have received a dose, Biden said, “For the vast majority of you who’ve gotten vaccinated, I understand your anger at those who haven’t gotten vaccinated. I understand the anxiety about getting a

breakthrough case.” He pledged that his administration was moving forward swiftly to secure booster doses of the mRNA vaccines as soon as this month to provide more durable protection against the more transmissible Delta variant.

In announcing that the Transportation Security Administration will double fines on travelers who refuse to wear masks on planes, Biden was unforgiving, “If you break the rules, be prepared to pay.”

White House officials maintain Biden isn’t trying to stoke anger in a vacuum but said he hopes that reflecting the irritation of the nation’s majority—combined with new vaccine requirements—will serve as a productive step toward putting the virus back in check. Defeating the virus, they argue, now requires defeating the reluctance of the 80 million people who have yet to get a shot.

It’s a head-spinning change in tone from a White House that spent

much of the year steadfastly avoiding any appearance of criticism of those who were waiting to be vaccinated.

Federal, state and local governments invested billions on education, advertising and outreach about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. They gave away cash, cars, tuition, sports tickets and beer.

Even as some Republicans criticized Biden’s handling of the vaccination rollout, the White House for months held its tongue.

But as more Americans rolled up their sleeves, officials said, Biden grew more comfortable first taking on those his administration blames for spreading misinformation about the shots and now imposing the vaccination requirements his administration had previously avoided.

Even as his posture has stiffened, Biden has thus far held off on even more coercive requirements, such as requiring shots for domestic air travel.

Still, the reaction from Biden’s opponents was swift.

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted: “The vaccine itself is life-saving, but this unconstitutional move is terrifying. This is still America, and we still believe in freedom from tyrants.”

Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, called it an “unconstitutional, un-American federal decree.” South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster responded without nuance: “Rest assured, we will fight them to the gates of hell to protect the liberty and livelihood of every South Carolinian.”

The White House is gearing up for legal challenges and believes that even if some of the mandates are tossed out, millions of Americans will get a shot because of the new requirements—saving lives and

preventing the spread of the virus.

Biden has found unusual allies in the business community, which is eager for a return to normalcy after 18 months of pandemic disruption.

They may not like Biden’s proposed tax increases, but they appear to have bought into his argument that the nation can ill afford to allow the unvaccinated to “undo” progress on strengthening the economy.

“Business Roundtable welcomes the Biden administration’s continued vigilance in the fight against Covid,” said Joshua Bolten, the group’s president and CEO. “We look forward to working with the administration to ensure any vaccine requirements are structured in a way that does not negatively impact the operations of manufacturers that have been leading through the pandemic to keep Americans safe,” said National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons.

Despite the vehement reaction of Biden’s opponents, the president can take comfort in certain data points.

An Axios/Ipsos poll conducted July 30-August 2 found that 58 percent of Americans, including 79 percent of those who are vaccinated, said they blame the unvaccinated for rising Covid-19 cases and the spread of new variants in the US. The poll allowed multiple responses, but the share saying the unvaccinated were to blame was higher than those blaming other causes, including people from other countries traveling to the US (32 percent) and Donald Trump (28 percent).

White House aides point to an even clearer metric—the more than 208 million Americans who have already gotten a shot.

Emily Swanson, Associated Press director of polling in Washington, contributed to this report.

Virus claims Black morticians, leaving holes in communities

By Adam Geller

AP National Writer

M

U L L I NS , S .C .—W he n the last mourners departed and funeral director Shawn Troy was left among the headstones, he wept alone.

For five decades, the closing words at countless funerals in this town of 4,400 had been delivered by his father, William Penn Troy Sr. Now the elder Troy was gone, one of many Black morticians claimed by a pandemic that has taken an outsized toll on African Americans, after months of burying its victims.

And as Shawn Troy stepped forward to speak in place of a man well known beyond his trade—for his work in county politics and advocacy of its Black citizens—the emptiness felt overwhelming. Not just his family, but also his community, had lost an anchor.

“I walked over to his grave and I could hear him talking to me,” Shawn Troy said, his own voice breaking as he recalled kneeling beside the plot last September, on a low rise near two palmetto trees.

“And he said, ‘You got it. You can do it. This is what you were built for.’

He passed the baton on to me, so I’ve got to get running.”

He is hardly alone. Since the start of the pandemic, about 130 Black morticians have died from Covid-19, according to the association that represents them.

Deaths of funeral workers are not closely tracked. But the National Funeral Directors Association, which represents the broader industry, said it has not seen a corresponding rise in Covid deaths among its members.

The deaths of Black morticians are particularly notable because of the prominent role they have long played in many communities. Often admired for their success in business, a number have been elected to political office, served as local power brokers, and helped fund civil

rights efforts.

At the same time, the “homegoing” services they arrange have frequently served as communal touchstones, events as much about life as death, that draw mourners together with pageantry, preaching and song.

Black funerals are “more celebration, and that’s no disrespect to my colleagues across the country. We’re more, I should say, intimate,” said Hari P. Close, president of the National Funeral Directors & Morticians Association and the operator of a Baltimore funeral home. The association represents Black morticians.

When the pandemic hit, the very closeness and celebration that distinguish Black funerals put morticians at risk, Close said.

Their deaths have left some successors struggling to fill their role.

“It has really had an impact... particularly in African American funeral homes,” he said.

The deaths have come despite concerted efforts by morticians to protect themselves from the virus and limits imposed on the size and scope of burial gatherings to keep it from spreading.

“This year was unlike any other year I’ve ever lived through in the funeral service,” said Edith Churchman, the fourth-generation owner of a mortuary in Newark, N.J. that serves a largely Black clientele.

Dealing with an onslaught of Covid deaths, at first with limited personal protective equipment, and later with shortages of caskets and prepared burial plots, put pressure on funeral directors that far exceeded the demands at the peak of the AIDS epidemic, she said.

“We were getting bombarded with Covid bodies,” said Dr. Mary Gaffney, who stepped in to run her brother, Jeremiah’s, funeral home in Inwood, New York after he died of the virus last May. At least 95,000 Black Americans have died of Covid, according to an

AP analysis of data from the National Center for Health Statistics, perishing at the highest rate of any racial group in the US. Adjusting the figures to account for age differences shows that Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans are two to three times more likely to die of the virus than white people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Of course...you feared for your ow n safet y,” Churc hman sa id.

“You’re kind of dangling on that precipice, saying what if?”

In Mississippi, Luzern “Sonny” Dillon and employees at his two funeral homes worked for months to fulfill Covid safety protocols, restricting gatherings. But Dillon, a widely known former councilman, continued his routine of spending time in the community, engaging people in conversation.

“People would be like, ‘You know, Mr. Sonny,’ and they’d just begin to talk and share things with him. It was just like a given,” his wife, Georgia Dillon, said.

In one of those conversations, early this year, a restaurant manager confided to Dillon that he’d lost three family members to Covid in a matter of weeks. The mortician extended his condolences, reassuring the man that, contrary to what some people said, the pandemic was very real. Those words proved prescient.

A few weeks later, a funeral home employee tested positive, followed soon after by both of the Dillons.

“Just in case I don’t make it out of here, this is what I want you all to do,” Sonny Dillon told his wife from a hospital bed in March. He died weeks later at 72.

Georgia Dillon, a nurse, had long helped keep financial ledgers for the business. But her husband was the unquestioned consoler-in-chief and she and other family members scrambled to keep the funeral homes, in McComb and Tylertown, running in his absence.

But there was little filling the

role that Sonny Dillon occupied beyond the mortuary. In his 20s, he had been one of the first Black candidates elected to local political office. Later, he worked with the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. to rename a boulevard for the slain civil rights leader. He pushed to get more Black citizens to vote.

Dillon’s civic role fit a pattern common in many African American communities, where morticians have long been prominent, said Suzanne E. Smith, a professor at George Mason University who authored a book about the Black funeral business.

The best known include the Ford family of Memphis, Tennessee, funeral home operators who sent a father and son to Congress. In Detroit, funeral director Charles Diggs Sr. was a state legislator before his son won a seat in Washington and helped found the Congressional Black Caucus.

In cities throughout the South, funeral directors often supplied the limousines for visiting civil rights leaders when they came to rally supporters.

“There’s all this stuff going on in [Black] funeral homes that is not about burying the dead, but servicing the living,” Smith said.

By late this summer, Georgia Dillon was preparing to turn over the business to her daughter and son-inlaw. Working together with employees at the funeral homes, the family is determined to maintain the business as Sonny Dillon would have run it.

“We talk and we cry and we try to build each other up. We tell each other we’ve got to keep his legacy going,” she said.

In New York, Gaffney is trying to do much the same, but after years away from the funeral business.

During the first months of the pandemic, Gaffney said she warned her brother, who had some chronic health issues, to isolate himself and let employees at the funeral home care for the bodies of the dead. But that was not his character.

The funeral home, started by the Gaffneys’ parents in the early 1970s, had long served mostly African American families in the city neighborhoods and suburban towns near John F. Kennedy International Airport.

But after the gregarious Jeremiah took over from his father, a staid retired Army officer, he worked to broaden the clientele, speaking French to some families and hiring staff who spoke Spanish and African languages to others.

“In the mortuary business you’ve got to really be in the community,” Mary Gaffney said. “That was his thing. He was grass roots. He never met a stranger.”

While Jeremiah Gaffney ran the family business, Mary Gaffney studied medicine, setting up a practice in Charlotte, North Carolina. After her brother fell ill over the Easter weekend of 2020 and then was diagnosed with Covid, she tried to ensure his care. But his death weeks later, at 65, confronted Mary Gaffney with responsibilities well beyond her expertise.

With deaths soaring, she rented a refrigerated trailer to handle the overload. In the New York City neighborhood a few blocks from the funeral home, Covid has killed more than 500 people, double the citywide average.

“I don’t think it slowed. I think I just sped up,” said Gaffney, who hired a second funeral director, supplementing one already working in New York, to help her coordinate operations from Charlotte. Every other week, Gaffney drove between the cities to take on the responsibilities her brother had left behind.

But she declined offers to sell, feeling that would betray the legacy of her parents and the grandparents who funded its founding.

And she has embraced the role her brother once filled as the face of the business, taking calls from grieving families at all hours. Just getting through a year without her brother to tell her what to do feels

like crossing a finish line, she said.

“We’re going to see what the future holds,” said Gaffney, who hopes younger family members might eventually seek a place in the business. “Needless to say, it’s been an emotional journey.”

South Carolina’s Troy has faced somewhat different challenges, taking over the mortuary business founded by his father in 1973 after years of working alongside him.

“The thing about me and my dad was, we woke up together, we came to work together and then went home and ate together and talked late at night,” he said.

The Troys had agreed that Shawn would take over the business during the next few years. But he had expected to do so with his father’s counsel. The void left by the senior Troy’s death extends well beyond the chapel.

Over the years, the elder Troy, known as Penn, had served as a county commissioner, local school board member and church treasurer. But those were just his official duties.

“If my mother didn’t have enough to feed us, he’d help us out. When you’re talking about Mr. Penn, he was the community,” said Jessica Godbolt, a former neighbor whose family gathered recently for the funeral of her uncle.

Pe n n Tr o y u s e d j o k e s a n d small talk to win people over and get t hings done, sa id Cy nt hia Leggette, a school board member and longtime friend.

When officials voted to close a school because of declining enrollment, Troy pushed to turn it into a science and technology academy that quickly drew more students, she said. Noting that a citizens committee lobbying for school improvements was overwhelmingly white, Troy made calls that brought Black parents into the fold.

The Associated Press reporters Allen G. Breed and Angeliki Kastanis contributed to this story.

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‘Paradise’: Australian states free of Covid resist opening

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By Tristan Lavalette & Rod Mcguirk The Associated Press

ERTH, Australia—It can seem like Australia’s west coast has almost entirely avoided Covid-19.

A mask-free nightlife is thriving and huge crowds are turning out for sporting events, including 53,000 rugby fans that crammed into a Perth stadium to watch New Zealand’s All Blacks defeat Australia’s Wallabies on a recent sunny Sunday.

“We are in paradise,” said one of those fans, Andrea Williams, who is all for the region continuing to defy the federal government and maintain strict border restrictions that keep it separated from the pandemic raging in large parts of the rest of Australia.

While the cities of Sydney and Melbourne in the east have been in strict lockdown with a surge of virus cases, the Western Australia state capital of Perth has largely remained open for business—behind its shut borders.

But the relish with which many are enjoying themselves in the west might be tinged with a sense that their Covid-free lifestyle could be coming to an end.

States that remain virtually Covidfree, including Western Australia and Queensland, face growing pressure to open their borders, with the national government arguing that internal border restrictions are a drag on the national economy.

Industry groups complain that border closures create critical shortages of labor and supplies, impede trade, inflate construction costs and constrain business opportunities.

Damage to companies’ bottom lines also translates to less tax revenue for the federal government.

Yet because Australia has one of the lowest vaccination rates of any wealthy countr y, reopening could mean soaring Covid-19 cases in the west and unwelcome restrictions.

At the Perth stadium, bottles of sanitizer were among the few reminders of the Delta variant that is overtaking parts of eastern Australia and much of the world.

Williams said she’s for the border closures even if that means she can’t be together with her daughters in Sydney and Auckland, New Zealand.

“We want this to be over with, of course, but I don’t think we should be opening up any time soon,” she said.

The federal government is impatient to end policies such as tough international border restrictions that have largely kept Covid-19 at bay since March 2020. But its vaccination goal for opening borders—80 percent of those 16 and older—remains elusive with 40 percent fully vaccinated.

A nd si nce t h at goa l w a s set in July, infections have shot up, c l ou d i n g a ny d e b at e a b out re opening.

In mid-June an unvaccinated limousine driver tested positive for delta after he was infected while transporting a US cargo aircrew from Sydney’s airport. In the months since, more than 30,000 infections have been recorded in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia’s two most populous states, home to half the nation’s population. Daily infections have gone from a handful to more than 1,500 and rising.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has said that his state will likely be months behind the rest of the country in opening its borders.

“Why are they on this mission to bring Covid into Western Australia, to infect our public?” McGowan asked, referring to the federal government.

“By knowingly letting the virus in, it would mean we’d have hundreds of people die, have to wind back our local freedoms, introduce restrictions and shut down large parts of our economy,” he added.

The federal government has responded with frustration, saying it is carrying much of the financial burden of supporting businesses in sectors such as tourism that are in danger of failing without interstate travelers.

“Every other country around the world is learning to live with Covid, and it seems that in Queensland and Wester n Austra lia there’s a denial of the reality that we need to do that,” Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.

Teams lineup ahead of the Rugby Championship game between the All Blacks and the Wallabies in Perth, Australia, on September 5, 2021. While the cities of Sydney and Melbourne in the east have been in strict lockdown, the Western Australia state capital Perth has largely remained open for business behind its closed border. Masks are rarely seen and bars and nightclubs are open. But states that remain virtually Covid-free, including Western Australia, are now under mounting pressure to share the nation’s pandemic pain by opening their borders in the interests of opening the national economy. AP/Gary Day Many of those out west say they have been doing just fine with things the way they are.

Sergio Guazzelli, a west coast coffee shop owner, has only endured three state-ordered lockdowns, for a total 12 days. By comparison, Melbourne has had more than 220 days of lockdown.

Guazzelli said his business in the port city of Fremantle on Perth’s fringe is “flat out” as locals relish their freedom.

“People are heading out more because of what’s happening in Sydney and Melbourne. They want to enjoy life because we don’t know what’s ahead,” Guazzelli said.

While there’s some frustration in Western Australia over hassles from the border restrictions such as not being able to see family elsewhere, the premier’s pandemic response has earned him record approval ratings and a celebrity status within his state that is extraordinary in Australian politics.

Some supporters have even gotten tattoos of the image of McGowan. His appeal is particularly strong with the young, many of whom are enjoying a thriving bar and nightclub scene.

“You have to feel sorry for young people in other parts of the world who have missed out on the nightlife, so I feel lucky to have been able to live my life,” said Sean McDonald, a 23-year-old college student.

A lack of concern about the virus in Western Australia is reflected in

the lowest vaccination rate in the country, at 36.3 percent, followed by Queensland at 36.4 percent. The national vaccination rate is 40.4 percent.

Western Australia and Queensland blame their late rollouts on the federal government’s failure to provide more vaccines earlier.

T he federa l gover n ment h a s warned that while the country’s High Court last year rejected a billionaire’s challenge to the legality of Western Australia’s border restrictions, the state might not be so lucky against a second challenge now that vaccines are available.

But the federal government hasn’t mentioned the option of passing a law that overrules Western Australia’s and other states’ border controls.

Constitutiona l law yer George Williams suspects the government doesn’t want to take that step because it faces re-election by May and needs votes in Western Australia.

Perth doctor Omar Khorshid, national president of the Australian Medical Association, said keeping the state border closed is popular among many of his patients. But they should understand it’s not possible to keep Delta out, he said.

“It is coming to Western Australia like it is to the rest of this country, and it’s critical that we get ourselves ready,” he said.

McGuirk reported from Canberra, Australia.

Solar could power 40% of US electricity by 2035

By Matthew Daly The Associated Press

W

ASHINGTON—Solar energy has the potential to supply up to 40 percent of the nation’s electricity within 15 years—a 10-fold increase over current solar output, but one that would require massive changes in US policy and billions of dollars in federal investment to modernize the nation’s electric grid, a new federal report says.

The report by the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy says the United States would need to quadruple its annual solar capacity—and continue to increase it year by year—as it shifts to a renewable-dominant grid in order to address the existential threat posed by climate change.

The report released on Wednesday is not intended as a policy statement or administration goal, officials said.

Instead, it is “designed to guide and inspire the next decade of solar innovation by helping us answer questions like: How fast does solar need to increase capacity and to what level?’’ said Becca Jones-Albertus, director of the Energy Department’s solar energy

technologies office.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement that the study “illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the US by 2035 and employ as many as 1.5 million people in the process.”

The report comes after President Joe Biden declared climate change has become “everybody’s crisis “ during a visit to neighborhoods flooded by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Biden warned Tuesday that it’s time for America to get serious about the “code red” danger posed by climate change or face increasing loss of life and property.

“We can’t turn it back very much, but we can prevent it from getting worse,” Biden said before touring a New Jersey neighborhood ravaged by severe flooding caused by Ida. “We don’t have any more time.”

The natural disaster has given Biden an opening to push Congress to approve his plan to spend $1 trillion to fortify infrastructure nationwide, including electrical grids, water and sewer systems, to better defend against extreme weather. The legislation has cleared the Senate and awaits a House vote.

The US installed a record 15 gigawatts of solar generating capacity in 2020, and solar now represents just over 3 percent of the current electricity supply, the Energy Department said.

The “Solar Futures Study,” prepared by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, shows that, by 2035, the country would need to quadruple its yearly solar capacity additions and provide 1,000 gigawatts of power to a renewable-dominant grid.

By 2050, solar energy could provide 1,600 gigawatts on a zero-carbon grid—producing more electricity than consumed in all residential and commercial buildings in the country today, the report said. Decarbonizing the entire energy system could result in as much as 3,000 gigawatts of solar by 2050 due to increased electrification in the transportation, buildings, and industrial sectors, the report said.

The report assumes that clean-energy policies currently being debated in Congress will drive a 95-percent reduction from 2005 levels in the grid’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2035, and a 100-percent reduction by 2050.

But even without aggressive action from Congress—an outcome that is far from certain in an evenly divided House

and Senate—installed solar capacity could still see a seven-fold increase by 2050, relative to 2005, the report said.

“Even without a concerted policy effort, market forces and technology advances will drive significant deployment of solar and other clean energy technologies as well as substantial decarbonization,’’ the report said, citing falling costs for solar panels and other factors.

To ac h ie ve 4 0 p e rce nt sol a r power by 2035, the US must install an average of 30 gigawatts of solar capacity per year between now and 2025—double its current rate—and 60 gigawatts per year from 2025 to 2030, the report said.

Those goals far exceed what even the solar industry has been pushing for as the Biden administration and Congress debate climate and clean-energy legislation. The Solar Energy Industries Association has urged a framework for solar to achieve 20 percent of US electricity generation by 2030.

Abigail Ross Hopper, the group’s president and CEO, said the DOE study “makes it clear that we will not achieve the levels of decarbonization that we need without significant policy advances.’’

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Do we need humans for that job?

Automation booms after Covid

By Matt O’brien & Paul Wiseman AP Business Writers

A

sk for a roast beef sandwich at an Arby’s drive-thru east of Los Angeles and you may be talking to Tori—an artificially intelligent voice assistant that will take your order and send it to the line cooks.

“It doesn’t call sick,” says Amir Siddiqi, whose family installed the AI voice at its Arby’s franchise this year in Ontario, California. “It doesn’t get corona. And the reliability of it is great.”

The pandemic didn’t just threaten Americans’ health when it slammed the US in 2020—it may also have posed a long-term threat to many of their jobs. Faced with worker shortages and higher labor costs, companies are starting to automate service sector jobs that economists once considered safe, assuming that machines couldn’t easily provide the human contact they believed customers would demand.

Past experience suggests that such automation waves eventually create more jobs than they destroy, but that they also disproportionately wipe out less skilled jobs that many low-income workers depend on. Resulting growing pains for the US economy could be severe.

If not for the pandemic, Siddiqi probably wouldn’t have bothered investing in new technology that could alienate existing employees and some customers. But it’s gone smoothly, he says: “Basically, there’s less people needed but those folks are now working in the kitchen and other areas.”

Ideally, automation can redeploy workers into better and more interesting work, so long as they can get the appropriate technical training, says Johannes Moenius, an economist at the University of Redlands. But although that’s happening now, it’s not moving quickly enough, he says.

Worse, an entire class of service jobs created when manufacturing began to deploy more automation may now be at risk. “The robots escaped the manufacturing sector and went into the much larger service sector,” he says. “I regarded contact jobs as safe. I was completely taken by surprise.”

Improvements in robot technology allow machines to do many tasks that previously required people—tossing pizza dough, transporting hospital linens, inspecting gauges, and sorting goods. The pandemic accelerated their adoption. Robots, after all, can’t get sick or spread disease. Nor do they request time off to handle unexpected childcare emergencies.

Economists at the International Monetary Fund found that past pandemics had encouraged firms to invest in machines in ways that could boost productivity—but also kill low-skill jobs. “Our results suggest that the concerns about the rise of the robots amid the Covid-19 pandemic seem justified,’’ they wrote in a January paper.

The consequences could fall most heavily on the less-educated women who disproportionately occupy the low- and mid-wage jobs most exposed to automation— and to viral infections. Those jobs include salesclerks, administrative assistants, cashiers and aides in hospitals and those who take care of the sick and elderly.

Employers seem eager to bring on the machines. A survey last year by the nonprofit World Economic Forum found that 43 percent of companies planned to reduce their work force as a result of new technology. Since the second quarter of 2020, business investment in equipment has grown 26 percent, more than twice as fast as the overall economy.

The fastest growth is expected in the roving machines that clean the floors of supermarkets, hospitals and warehouses, according to the International Federation of Robotics, a trade group. The same group also expects an uptick in sales of robots that provide shoppers with information or deliver room service orders in hotels.

Restaurants have been among the most visible robot adopters. In late August, for instance, the salad chain Sweetgreen announced it was buying kitchen robotics startup Spyce, which makes a machine that cooks up vegetables and grains and spouts them into bowls.

It’s not just robots, either—software and AI-powered services are on the rise as well. Starbucks has been automating the behind-the-scenes work of keeping track of a store’s inventory. More stores have moved to self-checkout.

Scott Lawton, CEO of the Arlington, Virginia-based restaurant chain Bartaco, was having trouble last fall getting servers to return to his restaurants when they reopened during the pandemic.

So he decided to do without them. With the help of a software firm, his company developed an online ordering and payment system customers could use over their phones. Diners now simply scan a barcode at the center of each table to access a menu and order their food without waiting for a server. Workers bring food and drinks to their tables. And when they’re done eating, customers pay over their phones and leave.

The innovation has shaved the number of staff, but workers aren’t necessarily worse off. Each Bartaco location—there are 21—now has up to eight assistant managers, roughly double the pre-pandemic total. Many are former servers, and they roam among the tables to make sure everyone has what they need. They are paid annual salaries starting at $55,000 rather than hourly wages.

Tips are now shared among all the other employees, including dishwashers, who now typically earn $20 an hour or more, far higher than their pre-pandemic pay. “We don’t have the labor shortages that you’re reading about on the news,” Lawton says.

The uptick in automation has not stalled a stunning rebound in the US jobs market—at least so far.

The US economy lost a staggering 22.4 million jobs in March and April 2020, when the pandemic gale hit the US. Hiring has since bounced back briskly: Employers have brought back 17 million jobs since April 2020. In June, they posted a record 10.1 million job openings and are complaining that they can’t find enough workers.

Behind the hiring boom is a surge in spending by consumers, many of whom got through the crisis in unexpectedly good shape financially—thanks to both federal relief checks and, in many cases, savings accumulated by working from home and skipping the daily commute.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, expects employers are likely to be scrambling for workers for a long time.

For one thing, many Americans are taking their time returning to work—some because they’re still worried about Covid-19 health risks and childcare problems, others because of generous federal unemployment benefits, which expired nationwide on September 6.

In addition, large numbers of Baby Boom workers are retiring. “The labor market is going to be very, very tight for the foreseeable future,” Zandi says.

For now, the short-term benefits of the economic snapback are overwhelming any job losses from automation, whose effects tend to show up gradually over a period of years. That may not last. Last year, researchers at the University of Zurich and University of British Columbia found that the so-called jobless recoveries of the past 35 years, in which economic output rebounded from recessions faster than employment, could be explained by the loss of jobs vulnerable to automation.

Despite strong hiring since the middle of last year, the US economy is still 5.3 million jobs short of what it had in February 2020. And Lydia Boussour, lead US economist at Oxford Economics, calculated last month that 40 percent of the missing jobs are vulnerable to automation, especially those in food preparation, retail sales and manufacturing.

Some economists worry that automation pushes workers into lower-paid positions. Daron Acemoglu, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Pascual Restrepo of Boston University estimated in June that up to 70 percent of the stagnation in US wages between 1980 and 2016 could be explained by machines replacing humans doing routine tasks.

“Many of the jobs that get automated were at the middle of the skill distribution,” Acemoglu says. “They don’t exist anymore, and the workers that used to perform them are now doing lower-skill jobs.”

AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this story.

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Big 21 in 2021

DOST allots ₧4.8B for 21 high-impact projects

By Edwin P. Galvez

T

@edwin4science

HE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will spend P4.811 billion for 21 science, technology and innovation (STI) initiatives this year in its continuing efforts to “bring science to the people.”

Dubbed the “Big 21 in 2021,” the “responsive and high-impact science and technolog y (S&T) programs” were presented by Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña online on September 7.

The 21 projects are grouped into six categories, namely, 1) new stateof-the-art facilities; 2) research and development (R&D) programs, products and niche centers; 3) initiatives to address Covid-19; 4) productivity and empowerment achievers; 5) enhancing human resource development and management; and 6) governance milestones.

The biggest allocation of P1.244 billion will fund the “early warning systems for the enhanced weather and flood forecasting” program of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-Pagasa).

The modernization program for Pagasa this year includes the “operation of three latest Doppler radars, the opening of four flood forecasting and monitoring centers, and the use of high-frequency radars in the coastal areas,” according to de la Peña.

“We continue this tradition of sharing information on our projects,” de la Peña said, explaining that the department came up with the choices based on the “different suggestions from our agencies and regional offices.”

“If in 2020 DOST focused on the immediate needs of Filipinos to detect and protect each one of us against Covid-19, today we have channeled our efforts to retool the country, given the escalating health concerns, businesses’ new attitude toward digitization and the demands of running the country in a contactless environment,” DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said in her message during the program.

Meanwhile, DOST Undersecretary for Scientific and Technical Services Dr. Renato U. Solidum, Jr. said, “Amid the chaos brought by the global pandemic and other natural disasters, like the rage of Taal Volcano, the storms and the flooding, the importance of STI has been more evident in the way we confront these challenges,” Solidum said.

State-of-the-art facilities

THE improved forecasting and early warning systems by Pagasa is one of the seven “new state-of-the-art facilities” presented during the program, with the other six projects geared primarily to support industries.

“The DOST system, as a family of agencies, is an S&T enterprise, so we realized from the beginning of our term in 2016 that we need facilities to carry out our vision better and achieve the goals of inclusive and sustainable development and competitiveness,” de la Peña said.

DOST said that through the Early Warning Systems and Observation Stations, Pagasa will obtain “accurate and efficient weather data and information” to help the national and local governments have “efficient disaster risk reduction and management programs, and effective responses to keep vulnerable communities safer during severe weather conditions.”

On the other hand, the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC) will oversee the operations of Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMCen) and Ad-

vanced Mechatronics, Robotics and Industrial Automation Laboratory (Amerial).

MIRDC will also establish Metals and Engineering Innovation Centers (MEICs) in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Regions I, II, III and X. Launched in June, AMCen has started training the next generation of manufacturing engineers as it currently collaborates with seven partners in the technology sector, three in the industry and 11 in the academe and other government institutions through DOST’s regional offices.

With P296.5 million in funding, AMCen will enhance the additive manufacturing capabilities of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and the academe with its R&D on innovative 3D printing technologies, processes and materials.

Amerial, with a budget of P40.9 million, will help increase industrial productivity by providing technical capacity building and developments in automation to support the shift to automation of local manufacturers.

State universities and colleges hosting MEICs, through its funding of P50.7 million, will have upgraded capabilities in implementing R&D and prototyping to serve the industries in their regions.

The Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) will implement the programs of the Simulation Packaging Testing Laboratory (SPTL) and Green Packaging Laboratory (GPL) and establish the Biosafety Level 2+ laboratory for the Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines (VIP) through its Environment and Biotechnology Division.

With a funding of P85.3 million, the SPTL will help reduce food loss and spoilage of horticultural products in the supply chain by resolving the problem of damage during delivery of goods, while the GPL will conduct collaborative R&D on green and sustainable packaging.

T he Biosafet y Level 2+ laborator y, w it h a budget of P5 mi l lion, w ill safely and securely implement the countr y’s vaccine development initiatives and infectious diseases research prog ram by ad her ing to inter nationa l biosafet y and biosecur it y stand ards.

The facility, with a budget of P12.5 million, is the Innovative Tissue Culture Laboratory (iLAB) for ornamental plants in Guiguinto, Bulacan. The Municipal Agriculture Office of Guiguinto will implement iLAB to help farmers propagate ornamental plants with highly desirable features, among other benefits. The laboratory will be fully operational

by December this year.

Research and development

First of two health and nutrition programs under the “R&D programs, products and niche research centers” is the Nutritional Genomics Program of the Nutritional Biochemistry Section of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI).

With a P20.7 million budget, it will “contribute to the growing knowledge and capability on nutritional genomics that will lead to omics-based methods to predict disease susceptibility, early detection of nutritional deficiency and excess and accurate identification of nutrition-related diseases and the impact of dietary signals in the genome.”

To g e t h e r w i t h 2 8 i n s t i t u tions, t he Phi lippine Counci l for Health Research and Development

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña Photos from screenshot of webinar by Henry de Leon/DOST-STII

DOST Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara

DOST Undersecretary Renato Solidum

(DOST-PCHR D) is implementing the Tuklas Lunas Program to discover and develop “safe, effective, accessible health products derived f rom Phi lippine biod iversit y.”

With P222.5 million in funding in 2020, the program is supporting 62 projects from 23 institutions.

The Saribuhay Series covers R&D programs on natural resources, the first of which is the DOST Biodiversity S&T Program under the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD).

With P2 million funding, the S&T specialized documentary series on television and online platforms will serve as a communication tool to educate Filipinos on the importance of environmental protection and conservation.

Its other prog ram is the Ter rest r i a l Biod iversit y S&T Prog ra m, a n at ionw ide resou rce a ssessment of f lora a nd fau n a u nder t a ken by the Cebu Technolog ica l Universit y a nd Ce nt r a l M i nd a n ao Un ive r sit y w it h a combi ned f u nd i ng of P39. 8 6 m i l l ion.

The Marine Biodiversity R&D Program, composed of seven projects with a total funding of P126 million, is being undertaken by the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, UP-Marine Science Institute, UP Los Baños, UP-National Institute of Geological Science; UP Mindanao, UP Visayas, Davao del Norte State College, Western Philippines University, De La Salle University (DLSU), Samar State University and University of San Carlos.

With P64.1 million total funding, the implementors of the Indigenous Plants and Native A nimals Biodiversity S&T Program are UP Los Baños (plants); Mar induque State University (native animals); Bureau of Animal Industry-National Sw ine and Poultr y R&D Center; Isabela State University; Benguet St ate Un iversit y ; K a l i nga St ate Un iversit y ; a nd E a ster n Sa m a r State University.

On S&T Products-Disaster Preparedness, the SAM PH Atlas, or the Spectral Acceleration Maps of the Philippines, initiated by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismolog y (DOST-Phivolcs) provides “science-based probabilistic information tool for structural engineers and building designers as an informed basis in developing structural design for essential, critical, and high-risk structures that are designed to withstand an intensity

VIII earthquake or stronger. Its project cost is P1.13 million.

Ten programs were recently approved under the Niche Centers in the Region (Nicer) for R&D with a total funding of P718.6 million.

“The Nicer for R&D, a sub-program of Science for Change Program, is aimed at promoting inclusive growth that will benefit the research community and industry by increasing the number of developed and transferred technologies,” Guevara said.

The first five are the 1) R&D Center for Advanced Batteries of the Technological Institute of the Philippines and UP Diliman; 2) Center for Environmental Technologies and Compliance of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Manila, Adamson University and UP Diliman; 3) Coastal Engineering Research Center of Mariano Marcos State University, UP and Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University; 4) Smart Water Infrastructure and Management R&D Center of Isabela State University, Cagayan State University and Quirino State University; and 5) Center for Lakes Sustainable Development of Laguna State Polytechnic University and UP Diliman.

The rest include the 6) Center for Sustainable Polymers R&D of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology; 7) Center for Vector Diseases of Public Health of DLSU Laguna Campus and UP Diliman; 8) Integrated Protein Research and Development: A Biotechnology Facility for Health of Ateneo de Manila University; (9) Biomaterials for Diagnostics and Therapeutics R&D Center of Angeles University; and 10) NeuRoTech by DLSU-Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Health Technologies, Neurorobotics Technology Program of DLSU Manila.

Addressing Covid-19

The top three major Covid-19 initiatives are studies being undertaken by various agencies of DOST and their institutional partners.

The study on the Clinical Charac ter istics and Transmission Patterns of Covid-19 Confirmed Cases and their Contacts in the Philippines of DOST-PCHRD with a f und ing of P9.74 mi l l ion w i l l “provide help to the Department of Health [DOH] on their guidelines for case isolation, contact tracing and disease control prevention by understanding the transmission of Covid-19 and prevent further spread of the disease.”

Three Clinical trials on Lagundi,

Tawa-tawa and Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) as treatment or adjunctive therapy against Covid-19 are being undertaken.

The implementors are the Institute of Herbal Medicine, National Institutes of Health, UP Manila (Lagundi) with P5.45 million funding; UP Visayas (Tawa-tawa) with P5.6 million budget; and UP Manila and DOST-FNRI for VCO with funding of P4.82 million.

The study on Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and Determination of Viral Neutralization Characteristics of Antibodies Detected Communities in the Philippines of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine has P32.88 million funding.

The results of the study will help determine the pre- or post-Covid-19 vaccination serostatus (the presence or absence of detectable antibodies against a specific antigen, as measured by a blood test) of individuals in the community that would potentially impact disease prevention and control operations, as well as vaccine response monitoring.

With a budget of P1.7 million, the DOST Regional Office VI is implementing the Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage System (S-Pass) to “efficiently manage local travelers in the country during the prevailing travel restrictions in various provinces and cities.”

T he Breat h Sim: T he DOS T Breathing Simulator of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute and Electronics Industries Association of the Philippines Inc. has allowed experts from DOST and DOH to test various ventilators, respirators, and other respiratory devices to ensure quality and performance when distributed to hospitals and health care facilities during pandemic. The ongoing program received P2.7 million in additional funding.

Productivity and empowerment

Two major programs related to livelihood and community empowerment are being implemented by DOST’s regional offices.

The Making MSMEs IndustryReady program, w ith a funding of P987.84 million, allows “MSME beneficiaries acquire appropriate technologies, capability building, technical trainings, consultancy, technical advisory services, product development, calibration, testing, information system, and technology that will enable them to transform into “Smart SMEs.” This is being implemented through the Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program (Setup) 4.0, which is aligned with Industry 4.0 technologies like Internet of things, big

data analytics, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and robotics, among others.

On the other hand, the Empowering 21 Communities: Adoption of ST4K* Strategy in Response to the Call of the Times is part of DOST’s Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) program, which brings “dramatic changes to people’s lives and their livelihood.”

Human resources

The DOST Office of the Undersecretary for Research and Development is implementing the S&T Fellows Program for R&D with a total funding of P800.45 million The program enhances the “capabilities of research and development and scientific and technical services in all research and development institutes and councils of the DOST by implementing initiatives to streng t hen hu m a n resou rces capabi lities, aimed at increasing the number of S&T ex per ts and innovators in the countr y.”

Fo r t h e G e t t i n g F i l i p i n o s Ready for Emerging Technologies through Online Learning Courses being implemented by the DOST-Caraga with a budget of P3.5 million, its “beneficiaries learn and earn certificates for free from online courses of prestigious schools and organizations.”

Governance milestones

Under this category are the STI Foresight: Development of a 30year Strategic Plan of the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines with a budget of P7.13 million; and the Science for the People (SFTP) Book Series 2021, with funding of P28.4 million, is being implemented by CAN Property Holdings LTD. Corp. and various agencies and councils of DOST. The STI Foresight compendium is a “valuable resource for policymakers, industry leaders, legislators, local government units, and public/ private institutions and companies needing an STI framework and 30year strategic plan by integrating transformative thinking, planning and monitoring, and inclusive implementation toward an STI supported and encultured Philippines.”

On the other hand, the SFTP Book Series is helping “ improve science consciousness, promote awareness on the impact, potential of STI in the everyday lives of Filipinos through the creation of printed content; spark interest, be a conduit in inspiring Filipinos to embrace science, technology and innovation; and serve as a source of information on the projects under the DOST.”

Faith A6

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Sunday

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Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican leaders call climate crisis a ‘devastating injustice’

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ATICAN—Pope Francis, Archbishop Justin Welby, and Patriarch Bartholomew I released an unprecedented joint message recently, calling the climate crisis a “devastating injustice.”

The three Christian leaders said that there would be “cata st roph ic con sequences” for future generations unless the world took responsibilit y for environmental damage. “ The current climate crisis speaks volumes about who we are and how we view and treat God ’s creation. We stand before a h a rsh ju st ice: biod iversit y loss, env ironmental degradation, and climate change are the inevitable consequences of our actions, since we have greedily consumed more of the Earth ’s

resources than the planet can endure,” their statement, issued on September 7, said.

“But we also face a profound injustice: the people bearing the most catastrophic consequences of these abuses are the poorest on the planet and have been the least responsible for causing them.”

“We ser ve a God of justice, who delights in creation and creates ever y person in God ’s image, but also hears the cr y of people who are poor. Accordingly, there is an innate call within us to respond with anguish

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople (left), Pope Francis (second from left) and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby (right) of Canterbury, England, attend an ecumenical prayer service with other Christian leaders at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, in this September 20, 2016, photo. SCREENSHOT/CTV

when we see such devastating injustice,” they said.

The pope, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Archbishop of Canterbur y signed the joint text on September 1. The message brought

together the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion, respectively the world ’s largest, second-largest, and thirdlargest Christian communions.

“As leaders of our Churches, we

Dumaguete bishop, priests hold ‘walk’ for life and environment

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UMAGUETE CITY—Despite the rain and the gloomy weather, the clergy of the Diocese of Dumaguete held recently a penitential walk for the protection of life and the environment.

Bishop Julito Cortes led the penitents in praying for the victims of extrajudicial killings and the Covid-19 pandemic.

They also offered the penitential walk from the Redemptorist Church to the Dumaguete Cathedral for the scrapping of the controversial 174-hectare reclamation project in the city.

It was supposedly for the clergy and the religious but several laypeople joined the solemn activity along the way.

Following health protocols, the penitents made a symbolic stop, lining themselves along the iconic

Priests hold a “Penitential Walk” in Dumaguete City on September 6. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CARLOS HISOLER

Dumaguete Boulevard where they recited “A Prayer for Our Earth,” taken from Pope Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si’.

Cortes entrusted their petition against the P24-billion reclamation project through the intercession of the Our Lady of the

Miraculous Medal, as the Church commemorates her nativity on September 8.

The bishop said the Church has just entered the “Season of Creation” where Pope Francis reminded the world how people had become “remiss” with God and

each other. “[We have become] remiss in our relationship with each other because of different forms of selfishness and corruption.

Remiss in our relationship with the Earth because of our greed,” Cortes said.

The prelate also reiterated the Church’s appeal to dialogue with Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Remollo.

In March of this year, Cortes said they forwarded to Remollo’s office and the city council a document detailing why they should stop reclaiming its shoreline.

“What I hoped was he [Remollo] would acknowledge it and invite us to explain himself. Since then, there have been none,” he said.

“In professional communication, when you send something, you respond.” Ryan Sorote/CBCP News

Pope: Find time for silence with the Gospel every day

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ATIC AN—Pope Francis said that silent prayer with the Gospel is the “secret to spiritual health.”

“Do we remember to listen to the Lord? We are Christians, but sometimes with the thousands of words we hear every day, we do not find a few seconds to let a few words of the Gospel resound in us,” the pope said in his recent Angelus address.

“Jesus is the Word: if we do not stop to listen to Him, He passes on. … But if we dedicate time to the Gospel, we will find the secret to our spiritual health.”

Speaking from the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the pope told the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square that spending time in silence with the Gospel is like “medicine” for one’s spiritual life.

“Every day a little silence and listening, fewer useless words, and more of the Word of God,” Pope Francis recommended.

He said that it is a good thing to turn to the Lord with prayer requests, but above all, it is important to listen to the Lord.

“Jesus asks this of us. In the Gospel when they ask Him what is the first commandment, he

People crowd St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, as Pope Francis recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio, on September 5. AP/Andrew Medichini

answers: ‘Hear, O Israel.’ Then he adds…‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…and your neighbor as yourself ‘(Mark 12:2831). But first of all, he says, ‘Hear, O Israel,’” the pope explained.

Pope Francis said that today many people have “an interior deafness” that Jesus can touch and heal. This “deafness of heart” can lead to a deadening of awareness of the needs of those around us, he said.

“Taken up with haste, by so many things to say and do, we

cannot find time to stop and listen to those who speak to us. We run the risk of becoming impervious to everything and not making room for those who need to be heard. I am thinking about children, young people, the elderly, the many who have less need for words and preaching, and more to be heard,” Francis said.

“Let us ask ourselves: how is my capacity to listen? Am I touched by people’s lives, do I know how to spend time with those close to me?”

The pope said that this especially applies to priests, who need to be attentive to listening to the people in their parishes.

He said it also applies to family life, where there can be a temptation to speak without really listening.

At the end of his Angelus address, the pope prayed for the people of Afghanistan and for hurricane victims in the United States.

Pope Francis also applauded Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity for their “heroic service” on the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta.

The pope expressed hope that his attendance at the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest and his visit to Slovakia will be days “marked by adoration and prayer in the heart of Europe.”

“Jesus, I wish to be open to Your Word … Jesus, heal my heart from being closed, heal my heart from haste, heal my heart from impatience,” the pope prayed.

“May the Virgin Mary, open to listening to the Word which became flesh in her, help us every day to listen to her Son in the Gospel and our brothers and sisters with a docile heart, with a patient heart, and with an attentive heart.”

Courtney Mares/Catholic News Agency

call on everyone, whatever their belief or worldview, to endeavor to listen to the cry of the Earth and of people who are poor, examining their behavior and pledging meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the Earth which God has given us,” the three men wrote.

T he joint statement highlighted the UN Climate Change C o n f e r e n c e (C OP 26) t a k i n g place in Glasgow, Scotland, from November 1 to 12.

“As world leaders prepare to meet in November at Glasgow to deliberate on the future of our planet, we pray for them and consider what the choices [sic] we must all make,” it said.

Pope Francis noted in an interview aired on September 1 that he hoped to travel to Scotland to take part in the conference.

“It all depends on how I feel at the time. But in fact, my speech is already being prepared, and the plan is to be there,” he said.

In their joint message, the pope,

the patriarch and the archbishop said: “In our common Christian tradition, the Scriptures and the saints provide illuminating perspectives for comprehending both the realities of the present and the promise of something larger than what we see in the moment.”

“The concept of stewardship— of individual and collective responsibility for our God-given endowment—presents a vital starting point for social, economic, and environmental sustainability.”

They concluded: “All of us— whoever and wherever we are— can play a part in changing our collective response to the unprecedented threat of climate change and environmental degradation.

Caring for God ’s creation is a spiritual commission requiring a response of commitment.”

“This is a critical moment. Our children’s future and the future of our common home depend on it.” Courtney Mares/Catholic News Agency via CBCP News

Muslim women feel they are empowered in wearing hijab

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ome Americans believe that the Islamic faith is oppressive for women. In the West, particularly in France, the hijab, or headscarf, that many Muslim women wear has become a symbol of this perceived oppression.

Sociologist Caitlin Killian explains that Jewish, Christian and Hindu women have covered their heads since pre-Islamic days.

For some Muslim women today, wearing a hijab can be a religious act—a way of demonstrating their submission to God. The Quran instructs both men and women to observe modesty in their dress and behavior.

However, Muslim women’s clothing isn’t entirely about adherence to faith. It has been used in the past—and present—as an assertion of identity.

Under colonial rule, Muslim women were encouraged to be more like European women and remove the veil. As demands for independence from colonial rule grew, the veil, Killian says, became a “symbol of national identity and opposition to the West.”

Today, some Muslim women in America may wear the hijab as a way of asserting their pride in the face of Islamophobia.

World Hijab Day, celebrated on February 1, starting in 2013, came about through the efforts of Nazma Khan, an immigrant to the United States from Bangladesh, who had been shamed over wearing a headscarf.

She decided to start a day when both Muslim and non-Muslim women could experience wearing the head garment.

Even so, in much of the Western world, the headscarf continues to be seen as representative of Muslim women’s oppression.

In Sw itzerland, voters ap proved legislation in March 2021 to ban face coverings, while France is pushing for a more restrictive policy on hijabs.

In a judgment on March 14, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union, which interprets EU law, allowed private companies in France to bar employees from wearing “religious, political and philosophical signs” in the interest of “neutrality.”

Sociologist Z. Fareen Parvez says the anti-headscarf legislation was

a “turning point” in the lives of Muslim women looking for acceptance and integration in French society.

The headscarf is not just a religious symbol for many of the women; it is a way of being.

But this focus on Muslim women’s clothing takes attention away from other issues and how Muslim feminist movements are trying to bring about change.

In Indonesia, for example, female Muslim religious scholars, or ulamas, are helping change how Islam is understood and practiced.

As sociologist Rachel Rinaldo says, the past three decades in Indonesia have seen the emergence of a new generation of female religious leaders who are interpreting the Quran in a way that is empowering for women.

The word of female ulamas is more accepted, compared to women’s rights activists, explains Rinaldo, as they are trained Islamic scholars.

A 2017 conference of female Muslim religious scholars held in Indonesia, with participants from Kenya, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, issued fatwas—nonbinding relig ious ed icts—against child marriage, sexual abuse and environmental destruction.

The point is that, like other faiths, Islam is a multifaceted religion, and Muslim women are choosing how they want to be heard and seen.

This article was reviewed for accuracy by Jessica Marglin, Associate Professor of Religion at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Fact: Female ulamas in Indonesia go back to the 17th century.

Queen Tajul Alam Safiatuddin Syah ruled over the Islamic kingdom of Aceh (now Indonesia’s northernmost province) for 35 years and commissioned several important books of Islamic commentaries and theology.

At a time when female rulers any where in the world were unusual, she was the primar y upholder of religious authority in what was then a prosperous and peaceful kingdom, said Rinaldo, professor of Sociolog y at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Kalpana Jain/The Conversation (CC)

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, September 12, 2021

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

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Researchers complete first-ever detailed map of global coral

The thick forest-covered Mt. Singit in Janiuay, Iloilo.

Photo by Ramon Ramirez from DENR web site

ACB joins Asian initiative on ecosystem restoration

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sia’s forests have immense ecological, social and economic significance, spanning 549 million hectares, or 14 percent, of the total global coverage. The area provides vital ecosystem services and protection against climate impacts for 4.5 billion people living in the region.

These ecosystems contribute to the spiritual, cultural and physical well-being of the people in Asia and the Pacific.

With the mounting pressures on biodiversity in recent years, conserving vital habitats and ecosystems have become an urgent priority.

Executive Director Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) said that the economic benefits arising from the sustainable use of biological resources are vital in Asean’s overall stability.

“Disruptions in these vital ecological processes can, therefore, result in substantial, even grave, impacts, affecting the security, health, and well-being of people and communities,” Lim said.

The ACB joined the “International Sy mposium on Ecosystem Restoration for Green and Peace Asia,” an online event held on August 18 that aims to develop a network among forest-related institutions in Asian region, policymakers and international organizations.

The symposium was organised by the Korean Society of Forest Science and the Institutes of Green Bio Science and Technology in Seoul National University.

It highlighted the successful cases and lessons from projects or programs on ecosystem restoration across Asia, including regional organisations, such as the ACB, and the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), which shared and discussed their respective greening strategies.

These reforestation initiatives contribute to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global call to rehabilitate and restore the world’s vulnerable ecosystems.

Asean Green Initiative Among the Asean’s response to the global call for ecosystem restoration is the Asean Green Initiative (AGI), which was launched last August 6.

Led by the ACB and the Asean Secretariat, the AGI aims to recognize the best ecosystem restoration activities in the region that focus on a holistic and participatory approach in regenerating and conserving ecosystems

and vital habitats for wildlife.

The initiative encourages planting of at least 10 million native tree species across the 10 Asean member states (AMS) in a span of 10 years— or 10.10.10—in harmony with the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.

“The 10.10.10 target is but a start to a collective greening movement in the region, and even beyond,” Lim said.

She pointed out that “the meaningful collaboration and cooperation among development and dialogue partners” is essential in scaling up regeneration and restoration efforts.

Branching out across Asia Following the symposium, the ACB and AFoCO met to discuss common areas of collaboration.

The capacity development for forestry and biodiversity conservation, mapping of degraded ecosystems and promotion of the AGI were among steps identified during the meeting.

The formation of a working group composed of representatives from the two regional organizations is in the pipeline to better flesh out the concept and plans for future partnership.

The ACB has likewise had initial talks for possible partnership with the Republic of Korea, particularly in coastal and marine conservation.

Lim said Korea’s green growth policies may be synchronised with the ACB’s efforts to mainstream biodiversity into various sectors, including business, industries and finance.

During the symposium, she underscored that nature-positive perspectives and processes in the economic and finance sectors would relieve the pressure of expansion and land use conversion that greatly impacts vast areas of forests and other vital ecosystems.

Restoring ecosystems is a massive global endeavour that would take a whole-of-society approach. Thus, cultivating these partnerships and forging sturdy cooperation within and beyond the Asean is vital in building back better and greener.

Besides ACB and AFoCO, other regional organisations, such as the Center for International Forestry Research and Mekong Institute, attended the international symposium, along with resource persons from Cambodia, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, Mongolia, Vietnam and Uzbekistan who likewise shared their respective greening strategies.

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ONOLULU—Researchers have completed a comprehensive online map of the world’s coral reefs by using more than 2 million satellite images from across the globe.

The Allen Coral Atlas, named after late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, will act as a reference for reef conservation, marine planning and coral science as researchers try to save these fragile ecosystems that are being lost to climate change.

The group announced the completion of the atlas on Wednesday and said it is the first global, high-resolution map of its kind.

It gives users the ability to see detailed information about local reefs, including different types of submarine structure like sand, rocks, seagrass and, of course, coral.

The maps, which include areas up to 50 feet (15 meters) deep, are being used to inform policy decisions about marine protected areas, spatial planning for infrastructure, such as docks and seawalls and upcoming coral restoration projects.

“Our biggest contribution in this achievement is that we have a uniform mapping of the entire coral reef biome,” said Greg Asner, managing director of the Atlas and director of Arizona State University’s Center for

Global Discovery and Conservation.

Asner said they relied on a network of hundreds of field contributors who gave them local information about reefs so that they could program their satellites and software to focus on the right areas.

“And that lets us bring the playing field up to a level where decisions can be made at a bigger scale because so far decisions have been super localized,” Asner said. “If you don’t know what you’ve got more uniformly, how would the UN ever play a real role?

How would a government that has an archipelago with 500 islands make a uniform decision?”

The atlas also includes a coral bleaching monitor to check for corals that are stressed due to global warming and other factors.

Asner said about three quarters of the world ’s reefs had not prev iously been mapped in this kind of in-depth way, and many not at all.

The project began in 2017 when Allen’s company, Vulcan Inc., was working with Ruth Gates, a Hawaii researcher whose idea of creating “ super

A shark swims on a reef in Ailinginae Atoll in the Marshall Islands in this August 2018 photo provided by the Allen Coral Atlas. Greg Asner/Allen Coral Atlas via AP coral ” for reef restoration was funded by the philanthropic foundation.

Gates and Vulcan brought in Asner because of his work with the Global Airborne Observatory that had been mapping reefs in Hawaii at the time.

A llen, who said he wanted to help save the world ’s coral reefs, liked the idea of using technolog y to v isualize data, so Gates connected the group w ith a satellite company called Planet, and A llen funded the project for about $9 million.

The University of Queensland in Australia used artificial intelligence technology and local reference data to generate the layers on the atlas. Anyone can view the maps for free online.

Both Allen and Gates passed away in 2018, leaving Asner and others to carry on their work.

“Ruth would be so pleased, wouldn’t she?” Asner said. “She would just be tickled that this is really happening.”

He said about a third of the calls he is getting are from researchers who hope to use the maps to “be sure that their planning and their reef restoration work is going to have its max efficacy.”

W hen Gates found out she was sick, she selected friend and colleague Helen Fox from the National Geographic Society to help communicate w ith conser vation groups about how to use the tool.

“It really was a global effort,” said Fox, who is now the conservation science director for Coral Reef Alliance.

“There were huge efforts in terms of outreach and helping people be aware of the tool and the potential scientific and conservation value.” AP

E-waste recycling facility to be put up in Malabon City

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ore than 50 million tons of electronic waste (e-waste) are generated each year and less than 20 percent is recycled, the UN Environment Programme said in 2019.

About 80 percent of e-waste either end up in landfills or being recycled, much of it by hand, in developing countries, exposing workers to hazardous and carcinogenic substances, such as mercury, lead and cadmium.

E-waste covers all electrical and electronic equipment and its components, now considered as one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the Philippines, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB).

To help address concerns over informal e-waste processing and its associated risks to the people and environment, Globe joined a multi-stakeholder partnership that will put up the country’s second community e-waste Treatment, Storage and Disposal (TSD) facility in Barangay Dampalit, Malabon City.

The facility is expected to be inaugurated by this November.

The local e-waste pickers, led by Samahan ng Magbabaklas, will be trained on proper handling and dismantling of e-waste to discourage unconventional and harmful means of recycling.

The TSD project aims to process at least 10,000 cathode-ray tube (CRT) or glass video displays from TV and computer monitors collected from nearby barangays, such as Longos, Malabon, and Capulong, Tondo.

Yoly Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP for Corporate Communications, explained the importance of community partnerships for this advocacy.

“We aim to help address the growing concern on e-waste and ensure that local communities will not be adversely affected. This new facility will help the informal e-waste recyclers by protecting them from environmental and health hazards,” she said.

Globe is providing fund support to construct the TSD facility. The company will also provide bins for additional e-waste drop-off points and facilitate the safe transport of non-CRT e-waste items to the DENR-accredited recycling

facilities, co-develop communications and creative materials.

It will also introduce affordable financial and health services, such as GCash, G-Insure and KonsultaMD to identified informal e-waste pickers in Barangay Dampalit.

Globe’s involvement in the TSD project is part of the company’s EWaste Zero Program, which actively promotes the safe and responsible disposal of e-waste since 2014.

To date, Globe has collected more than 1.4 million kilograms of old and nonworking electronic devices from its corporate offices and key facilities, customers, and partners.

The TSD facility will be established by the DENR-EMB, through its project, “Implementation of PCB Management Programs for Electric Cooperatives and Safe e-waste Management.”

It has funding from the Global Environment Facility and is jointly implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido), the Integrated Recycling Industries Philippines, Ecowaste Coalition, Globe and Barangay Dampalit.

“Protection of the environment cannot be done by the DENR alone. We need partners such as private entities, international organizations, and even other government entities,” said DENR Undersecretary Atty. Jonas Leones during the ceremonial signing of the agreement in June.

The Unido serves as the primary project proponent, ensuring end-toend program implementation. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization, and environmental sustainability.

Customers who would like to support the program and help divert ewaste to proper recycling facilities may drop their e-waste in participating Globe stores nationwide or request free door-to-door hauling of e-waste.

Interested parties may visit Globe’s Sustainability website https://www. globe.com.ph/about-us/sustainability/environment.html for complete information. Organizations wanting to partner with Globe may e-mail bridgecom@globe.com.ph.

PHL climate activists join intl call for equitable, inclusive climate summit

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ilipino environmental activists joined the call of civil society groups around the world for an inclusive climate summit amid the worsening Covid-19 pandemic.

The activists joined over 1,500 civil society groups from 130 countries and members of Climate Action Network (CAN) in the call for a postponement of the substantive negotiations of the Conference of Parties 26 (COP26) of the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference allegedly due to the COP26 presidency and the UK government’s failure to ensure a safe, equitable and inclusive summit, a Greenpeace news release said.

COP26 will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, in November. It is under the presidency of the UK. Expressing concern that COP26 must be a platform where highly vulnerable communities and sectors are heard, Kyle Aboy, Filipino youth climate activist, supports the call to postpone COP26.

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] report released this year clearly demonstrates that climate change is a threat that needs transnational collaboration among countries. The Philippines, belonging to countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, must have

inclusive representation, but the Covid-19 restrictions pose a great challenge in achieving this,” Aboy said.

Greenpeace Philippines Climate Justice Campaigner Virginia Benosa-Llorin said, “The climate summit needs to be inclusive. Voices from the most vulnerable countries need not only be heard; they must be prioritized.”

“Unfortunately, even while climate justice remains inadequately addressed in these talks, the crisis brought on by the pandemic has added another layer of injustice to their plight,” Benosa-Llorin added.

She said that people from poorer

nations have always had a harder time representing their communities in the climate talks. Now, she added, with Covid-19 restrictions and quarantines, and inequitable access to vaccines, this has become even more difficult. The Philippines, for example, is in the UK’s Covid-19 red list, and additional measures mean prohibitive financial costs.

CAN’s statement outlines how the COP presidency has failed to provide safe and equitable access to COP26.

The UK government is yet to provide Covid-19 vaccines to participants that have applied for them, and has failed to provide clarity around support for

logistics and quarantine costs for delegates coming from a country on the UK government’s red list.

Speaking from Amsterdam, Juan Pablo Osornio, senior political lead of Greenpeace International, said, “The COP presidency has failed to guarantee the safe and equitable participation of COP-26 delegates, especially people coming from countries that are disproportionately affected by Covid-19 and the climate crisis.”

He said COP26 needs to be fair and accessible to deliver global climate justice. “Expecting already disadvantaged people to attend without access to vaccines, healthcare and fi-

nancial support to overcome the risks of participation is not only unfair but prohibitive.”

Greenpeace maintains that regardless of whether the COP goes ahead, ambitious action on climate is urgently needed. The longer governments delay to honor their Paris climate commitments, the harder it will be to achieve the 1.5°C target.

It added that every tenth of a degree of global heating is critical to human survival on this planet. The group is also calling for equitable access to vaccines globally, so that people can protect themselves from Covid-19 regardless of their social status or location.

Sports BusinessMirror

By Pat Graham The Associated Press

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N a clear day, the New York skyline is visible from the top of Army’s Michie Stadium at West Point.

So after the second plane hit the World Trade Center, former Black Knights Coach Todd Berry ran to the top. Some of his staff members, too.

To watch in horror. In fear. In disbelief.

The awful impact of the 2001 terrorist attacks can be gauged in countless ways. Some measure it in what was lost that day and in the days that followed. Others look to America’s resolve and response.

For Berry and others in charge of the hundreds of young athletes at the nation’s three service academies that day, the memories that have stuck are tinged with sadness, anger and, above all, immense pride in watching their players realize that their mission to protect their country had suddenly been put front and center. And they were ready for it.

“There was a little bit of a comfort level in knowing,” Berry said, “that’s the group that’s going to respond to this crisis.”

There will be football games played around the country on Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the attacks, and those games include Air Force at Navy and Army hosting Western Kentucky.

There will be powerful tributes and memorials to remember those lost at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a field in rural Pennsylvania, along with first responders who rushed to help.

The truth is, what happened that day is never far from anyone’s mind at the academies.

The significance didn’t really fully hit senior linebacker Demonte Meeks until he arrived at Air Force. Only through time has he understood the magnitude.

“Once you realize the amount of pain that went into this event and the amount of people that are still going through it, that’s when you start to realize it,” Meeks said.

“For me, it really hit home when everyone started graduating and commissioning and it’s like, ‘Dang, these people have a job and actually have a role to fill.’ That’s where I’m sitting at right now.”

For Berry, this will always remain rooted in his heart: That

midnight vigil at Army after the attacks—cadets heard but not seen in the dark until a spotlight shined on them. There were bagpipes and the drum corps playing “Amazing Grace,” with an American flag punctuating the moment.

“At the end of the vigil,” Berry recalled, halting as he fought back tears, “the Corps of Cadets just broke out into the alma mater spontaneously. It just was such a moving moment because you recognized for that group that their whole life just changed at that moment.”

Navy senior linebacker John Kelly III was born and raised on Staten Island, New York. His father was—and remains—a firefighter for Engine 201 in Brooklyn. His dad was at a golf outing as part of a fundraiser for firefighters in need on the day of the attacks.

“Once everything happened, he came right home, kissed me and my mom and my other brother Patrick goodbye,” Kelly said. “Took his stuff, went in, and my mom had to say her prayers.”

Kelly’s father headed to ground zero to help. He survived that day, but four members of his firehouse didn’t.

“What saved him I can say was the fact that he was at this golf outing,” Kelly said. “There’s so many stories like that: ‘What if I was on duty?’ He’ll say that himself.”

Kelly, who was 20 months old at the time, grew up with constant reminders of 9/11. Jake Siller was Kelly’s best friend growing up, and his father Stephen was a firefighter who died that day. So was the father of Kelly’s girlfriend.

The tragedy played a big role in leading Kelly to Navy, one of the untold numbers of service academy enlistees who—as Army Coach Jeff Monken puts it—“will run toward trouble and when they know others are in danger they’ll be there to serve.”

“I would say that is my why, for coming and serving, period, besides the football aspect and coming here and playing,” said Kelly, whose father will attend Saturday’s game.

“It took on a whole new meaning of what happened and who was affected, and all the people I knew, families, my best friend...who lost their fathers and husbands.”

Navy punter Kellen Grave de Peralta was born on July 25, 2001.

His mother, Tiffany, who worked at the Pentagon as a human resources officer, happened to be on maternity

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unday, September 12, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

RECALLING 9/11: ‘LIFE JUST CHANGED’

THE American flag flies with Navy midshipmen in the background during the national anthem at the 102nd Army Navy NCAA college football game in Philadelphia in December 2001. AP

leave with him and not in the building on September 11. His father, Ricardo, is a former Navy SEAL who was in Virginia training with an FBI SWAT team that day.

“Once he received word of the attacks, they immediately raced back to D.C., and he actually ended up passing the Pentagon that was on fire at the time,” Grave de Peralta said. “Two weeks later, he was assigned to the 9/11 investigation and spent the next two-plus years helping put four al-Qaida

terrorists, who were part of the 9/11 plot, in Guantanamo Bay.” The attacks played a role in former quarterback Tim Jefferson Jr.’s decision to join the Air Force.

In seventh grade, he was picked up by his mom soon after a camping trip in Georgia when she burst into tears. That wasn’t like her. He was stunned. When they got home, she told him to go outside and play basketball.

Only later did he realize why. They had relatives in New York City and

Messi top South American international scorer

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UENOS AIRES—Argentine star Lionel Messi became the top international goal scorer in South American history on Thursday, overtaking Brazil’s Pelé.

The 34-year-old netted all the goals at Argentina’s 3-0 win against Bolivia in World Cup qualifying, and now has 79 for the national team.

Messi scored his goals in 153 caps for Argentina, while Pelé netted his 77 in 92 official matches for Brazil.

Both goals at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, in front of about 20,000 fans, were pieces of art by the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.

The first came in the 14th minute, with Messi moving the ball between a Bolivian defender’s legs and shooting from outside the box to the right of goalkeeper Carlos Lampe.

The second came in the 64th minute after he and striker Lautaro Martinez dazzled the Bolivian defense with a quick exchange of four passes. Messi still had time to dribble past one defender before scoring.

Messi completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute from close range after getting a rebound from Lampe.

Messi didn’t speak about the record after the match, but celebrated by lifting the Copa America trophy in front of home fans, who were allowed to attend after a 20-month pause caused by

the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I waited a lot of time for this, I sought this, I dreamed about this,” he said. “It is a single

moment because of the way it happened, after so much wait.”

“There was no better way to celebrate than being here,” he added. “My mom, my brothers are here in the tribunes... They suffered a lot and today they are here celebrating. I am very happy.”

Messi had a troubled relationship with the national team, with a series of hurtful defeats in World Cups and Copa Americas, until he led the team to the continental title against Brazil in July. It was his first major title with Argentina, a team that was in a 28-year title drought.

Three-time World Cup winner Pelé is currently in hospital due to surgery for a tumor on his colon. AP LIONEL MESSI nets all the goals at Argentina’s 3-0 win against Bolivia in World Cup qualifying, and now has 79 for the national team. AP

she was frantically trying to reach them. They were safe.

The moment crystalized one thing: He wanted to defend this country for his mom. For his family.

For everyone.

The versatile QB who etched his name into Air Force’s record books over his playing career (2008-11) became a fighter pilot—call sign “Blitz.” He’s been deployed to Afghanistan. He now trains the next generation of fighter pilots at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.

Jefferson’s been back to Falcon Stadium—above it, even, in his plane as part of a flyover for an Air Force/Navy game in 2018. It’s never lost on him the role the academies play, which was why he signed up.

“I get to be in the military,” Jefferson said. “And I get to help defend the country against future

attacks such as the ones that we had on September 11.”

Berry coached Army from 200003 and now serves as the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. His youngest daughter was born right after Army beat Navy in the season finale that December. She’s about to turn 20.

“She obviously knows about it but didn’t feel those emotional experiences,” Berry said. “I think it’s important for her generation and for her as an individual to understand what happened and why, what some of the outcomes were from that, and to get my perspective on it at least and not just a textbook.

“While I recognize the time has passed, like many events that are very emotional days, they say you don’t remember days, you remember moments,” he added. “I remember it like it was yesterday.”

SARINA WIEGMAN is introduced as the new England women head coach at Wembley Stadium. AP

New England coach against biennial Women’s World Cup

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ONDON—Setting out her vision as England manager, Sarina Wiegman was sure of one thing—the Women’s World Cup should remain every four years.

There’s no need for Fifa to push through plans to double the frequency of its flagship tournament, according to Wiegman.

“The Euros are great, the World Cup is great, the Olympics are great so that is three tournaments,” she said, pitch side at Wembley Stadium on Thursday. “I think if you have a World Cup every two years that is too much for the players at the moment so I wouldn’t be cheering for it right now.

“It is too many tournaments, for Europe it is good [at the moment], the development in Europe for women’s football is ahead of most other continents. So for Europe it is not necessary.”

Wiegman is taking charge of England after a five-year stint in charge of her native Netherlands that saw her win the Women’s European Championship in 2017 and reach the 2019 World Cup

final. Jill Ellis, who led the US to victory in that final, is now heading a Fifa technical advisory group that will explore the merits of biennial World Cups. The prospect of more regular World Cups has already been talked up by Fifa President Gianni Infantino despite resistance from European football’s governing body UEFA. “It is about visibility,” Wiegman said, “but I also think we need to take care of the well-being of the players and sometimes they need a rest.”

It’s taken a year since Wiegman’s appointment was announced for her to start with England. Her last game as Netherlands coach was at the Tokyo Olympics in July, a quarterfinal loss to the US on penalties.

The pandemic disruption to the calendar means the Women’s European Championship, which England is hosting, now starts in July 2022. Then there’s the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, followed by the

Paris Olympics in 2024 and the Euros in 2025.

“Of course because of Covid we have five tournaments in a row, which is enough,” Wiegman said.

“At big tournaments you want the best players on the pitch.

“If you look now at the competitions in England there are so many games, Champions League, international players and you play for your club team—you play so many games because you are one of the best, you are a game changer so when can you have a rest, we should take care of the welfare of the players.”

Fifa’s plans could ultimately see men’s and women’s tournaments played every year around June and July. That would prevent women’s football having odd-numbered years largely clear currently for its tournaments in a period of growth and trying to attract new audiences.

“You don’t want two tournaments [men and women’s] at the same time,” she said, “because people are going to have to choose.” AP

BusinessMirror

September 12, 2021

What young kids say worked–and didn’t work–for them during virtual learning

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BusinessMirror SEPTEMBER 12, 2021 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

FIREWORKS OF SELF-DISCOVERY Leah Halili on what Fourth of July means to her

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By Stephanie Joy Ching

OW that her indie folk band The Ransom Collective is taking an extended hiatus, Leah Halili has been embarking on her own journey of self-discovery as a solo artist with her debut single, “Fourth of July.”

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As a performer, live shows had always been Leah’s life. As the band’s bassist and occasional vocalist, she performed for big and small audiences all over the country and even outside the Philippines. Prior to the pandemic and on her own as a solo performer, Leah, who is currently based in California, had also always looked forward to playing at parties after a long work week as a teacher. As Covid-19 forced many people to stay safe at home, Leah took the opportunity to spend her idle time (and she had a lot of those) writing more music inside her room.

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LEAH Halili

“Doing live shows for me was a weekly thing I looked forward to,” she recalled during an interview with SoundStrip for the Breaktime Musings segment of The Broader Look podcast, “So the pandemic changed the way I creatively express myself because from doing live shows naging online shows or trying to write in my room, trying to write my own music. But it actually made me more inspired to write music and to find different ways to show my music online,” For Leah, writing songs has become a way for her to balance herself.

“It’s a balancing act. Everyday I go to school, I wake up at like five.

And my work as a teacher is very tiring but at the end of the day I just want to sing and write music kasi it’s my way of expressing myself.

I guess my life just feels more balanced if I do music,” she said.

Having been with the band since their college years, Leah stated that The Ransom Collective as a whole wanted to take a break and “do their own thing.” For Leah, the experience has been “exciting and scary” yet at the same time she is proud of what her bandmates have achieved.

“Right now, I’m very proud of my bandmates who are doing their own thing kasi they’re all writing their own songs and solo music. I’m so proud as a band member to see that,” From a creative standpoint, Leah describes her work as a solo artist as “more personal”, which was how “Fourth of July” came about. A bright and minimalist guitar driven ballad, “Fourth of July” is a song about an instant connection in a long distance relationship. According to her, the song came about during her latest re-watch of the Reese Witherspoon comedy film, Legally Blonde that caused her to have the line “you look like the Fourth of July” stuck in her head.

“I kept on saying that line and I was thinking; ‘what if the Fourth of July was a feeling?’ because what happens on the Fourth of July here in the States is that there’s a lot of fireworks and everyone is excited.

And you fall in love when there’s fireworks, so I wanted to write about that feeling and call it ‘Fourth of July’ and release it on the Fourth of July also,” she said.

Other than writing about a feeling, Leah also shared that she wanted to write about ‘finding hope in seeing the person you love again.’

“When you meet someone there’s like a spark and there’s an instant connection, and that’s how the song was made. It was like explosions tapos kilig or like meeting someone for the first time and being like; ‘wow this person’s gonna be someone in my life’,” “Fourth of July” is now available on all major streaming platforms.

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soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com |SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

BUSINESS

WHEN ROUTINE BITES HARD German disco artist David Bay puts his own stamp on a Joy Division classic

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By Edwin P. Sallan

ASED in Hamburg, Germany, David Bay is an indie disco artist who recently released a remarkable cover of the Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”

Bay, who considers the acclaimed English band as one of his favorites, was first exposed to the post-punk classic when he was only 4 and through his dad, who he describes as a “super music enthusiast.”

“Joy Division became my favorite band especially after I saw Anton Corbjin’s ‘Control,’ which was a film about lead singer Ian Curtis,” he shared during a recent interview with SoundStrip.

Doing his own version of “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” however, was not something David has planned all along, even when he started pursuing a career in music at the age of 13 and became a member of band that “played gigs all around Europe and toured the US.” “Covering ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was an accident. The night before I went to the studio, I saw the movie Donnie Darko where it was prominently featured. So I thought it was funny that I do my own version but it turned out so well, I just kept going and turning it into disco gave it a whole new perspective,” David pointed out.

In covering the song, David is very much aware of the tragic circumstances behind it as well as of the man who wrote and sang it. Evoking the mental state of Ian Curtis and the turbulent relationship he had with his wife, David’s personal appreciation of the song runs on a much deeper level.

“First, it sounds happy and uplifting but when you listen closely to the lyrics, it’s not happy at all.

The lyrics are super depressing but what I could relate to the most is the part that “when routine bites hard and ambitions are low...” When one

is stuck in a relationship and the different expectations of two people don’t match, that is something I have experienced and could very much relate to,” he noted.

David’s own take on the song is something that he describes as “depressive, melancholic disco.”

“While the original is much faster, my version is a lot slower since I’m a DJ and I do disco. I tried to make it more funky, added dreamy chords and a less steady, acid synth line but I also used the same harmonies,” he further added.

With no less than former Joy Division members Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook giving their stamp of approval, it’s no surprise that David’s analog meets digital and retro meets modern approach towards “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is reminiscent of the synth heavy stylings of New Order, Sumner’s band that succeeded Joy Division after Curtis’ untimely demise.

Since its release early this month, David’s compelling recording has gained steam and continues to garner critical acclaim.

Assuring us that “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is no fluke, David assures us that we will hear more of him in the coming months. While he laments that the ongoing pandemic has hampered his mobility and limited his desire to party and meet new people, it did help him become more productive in the studio.

“When the lockdown was imposed here in Hamburg, I couldn’t go out after 9 in the evening and I missed not being able to meet new people. It’s good that I have a studio where I can listen and work on my music. if I don’t have music to

work on, I would have gone crazy,” he mused.

“So far, I’ve done a few remixes that are coming out, I’m super ready to do more and really hoping I could do a full length album.

When this is all over, I’d love to travel again, go to Paris, London and even Manila, meet talented people and collaborate with them,” he cocluded.

Released by Zissou Records, David Bay’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is now available in major streaming platforms.

DAVID Bay

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What young kids say worked–and didn’t work–for them during virtual learning

By Mari Altshuler Editor’s note: Tomorrow’s opening of classes still doesn’t mean a physical return to school for Filipino students. According to Unicef, the Philippines remains among only five countries in the world that have not resumed in-person classes since the Covid-19 pandemic was declared last year.

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n August 30, 2021, my kid joined millions of children in walking through school doors as he began first grade.

Slower access to help, but less pressure Torrin, who loves Minecraft and Legos, was experiencing second grade virtually when I first talked to him. He shared that he missed being at school because he could get help from his teacher right away.

“At home, you have to e-mail the teacher and wait to see if she can help,” he said. Several students expressed a similar desire to talk with teachers more easily.

Still, in some ways Torrin preferred being at home. He was more relaxed and less anxious about “bad grades.” He explained that though he still had to do stressful, timed tests, his iPad app was more forgiving than the paper tests at school. If he didn’t finish on time, he could try again. In school, he had to turn

By Pao Vergara Second of three parts n this series, Y2Z checks in with three medical interns—one each from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to get a glimpse on the effects of halted face-to-face and experiential learning amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

I

Mika Sareno, 25, Cebu City

Northwestern University

As a Ph.D. student in learning sciences and a math education researcher who believes that young children are perceptive, reflective and brilliant, I embarked on a project to collect children’s stories of schooling during the pandemic.

Throughout 2020, I talked to 30 children, ages 5-8, across gender, race and ethnicity, enrolled in public and private, urban and suburban schools throughout the Chicago area, about their recent school experiences. The focus of our conversations was on their math learning specifically, but the takeaways are much broader.

Children’s stories of what they missed about being physically in school, and what they didn’t, painted a complex picture of joy and frustration, relief and stress. In sharing some of these stories below, I have used pseudonyms to protect the children’s identities.

Stories from the front: New generation of doctors-in-training face unique challenges

“Whether learning in a classroom or kitchen, when I asked children to reflect on their schooling, they emphasized the importance of relationships, flexibility and freedom.” in tests without second chances.

Despite repeated research documenting the anxiety produced by timed tests, they remain common in elementary school math classrooms. For Torrin, virtual learning offered just a bit of a respite.

Less rushed, but missing friends Kira, a third grader, also said she felt more relaxed at home. While answering my questions, she showed me her personal journal, proudly noting that her springtime entries were much longer than those from earlier in the school year. At home, Kira felt less rushed, so she did a better job on her schoolwork.

Also, she wasn’t worried about being graded for the wrong things.

“Now, they won’t judge you on your handwriting,” she told me.

But, like many of the children I spoke with, Kira missed her friends. “I like learning at school because my friends helped me with my work when I needed help.” Research supports Kira’s sentiment that collaboration with peers is important for learning.

Freedom to move around Like other students, Suriyah, a first grader, desired physical freedom.

“I like that now, usually, I can move around. But in the classroom, we either stay in our seats or go to certain places that my teacher tells me to go,” she said.

Many children similarly told me how

4 BusinessMirror

much they liked that at home they could get up and move. But others expressed the opposite. At school, their teachers arranged their classrooms with flexible seating, which offered the children choices for how to sit and where to work, and they missed that freedom because at home they felt confined to a single spot at a computer screen.

Going forward Young children vary in their desires, preferences and experiences. When I asked young children about their experiences in school during this pandemic, they didn’t engage in fear-mongering about academic loss or fixate on the virtual versus in-person binary. They recognized that there are benefits and drawbacks to different learning settings and structures.

Whether learning in a classroom or kitchen, when I asked children to reflect on their schooling, they emphasized the importance of relationships, flexibility and freedom. They wanted the opportunity to interact with their peers and teachers, to learn in spaces that are joyful and encouraging, to be able to mess up and try again, and to be able to move.

These are things that many researchers, educators and families agree are critical for meaningful learning and development. I believe this is an opportunity to learn from their nuanced understandings of what works and what doesn’t, and to recognize that different children need different conditions to thrive. The Conversation SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

How would you compare your clinical experiences before and during the pandemic?

During junior clerkship, rotating in major clinical departments—Internal Medicine, Surgery, OB-GYN and Pediatrics—I got to assist a surgery for the first time, as well as perform live obstetric examinations.

When the pandemic began, to avoid crowding the hospital, we rotated by batches and only handled non-Covid patients. At the outpatient department, we were required to wear PPE and perform our duties for 15 minutes max, as patients there were not actually swab-tested.

We did telemedicine during our 2-month preventive-and-community medicine rotation.

Face-to-face rotations weren’t deemed safe. We partnered with the Department of Health in the nationwide Covid-19 Hotline.

You might think that patients who called only complained of Covid symptoms. But there were complaints of heart disease, general anxiety, diabetes and hypertension. Here, I honed my skills in taking patient history and management and prescriptions.

Aside from the hotline, we also had a more individualized telehealth service, where we were able to find out more about the social determinants which led to our patients’ conditions. This allowed us to look for means to support their medical expenses and correct any misconceptions.

A major shift in education has been a move to online learning. How do you think “clinex” can be done given the realities of an evolving virus?

I know that skills gained through clinical experience is an integral part of being a good clinician, but we were told not to be discouraged, because telemedicine is also crucial. If ever medical students would still not be allowed to physically rotate, integrating telemedicine in the curriculum would be a great option, because you still get to deal with actual patients, interview them, and manage them.

Still, at home we studied videos of procedures like endotracheal intubation, tracheostomy, delivering a newborn etc. These only helped us know the “steps” and concepts, and I personally believe these surgical skills really need to be honed in an actual hospital setting.

Given the situation, how do you see the future of the medical establishment, from those in med school to those practicing in hospitals?

I see a lot of schools really trying to adapt so that medical education goes largely undisrupted, so I’m hopeful that quality education can still be delivered online. However, looking at the situation now, unless there is proper contact tracing and testing, efficient and speedy vaccination processes, and proper compensation of our health-care workers, Covid-19 cases would continue to overwhelm and cripple our health-care system, and perhaps discourage the next generation to work in the field of health care.