BusinessMirror September 13, 2020

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AERIAL view of the City of Butuan, the regional administrative center of the Caraga Administrative Region in Mindanao. TEODORICO DECIERDO | DREAMSTIME.COM

MINDANAO RAMPS UP FOOD PRODUCTION CAPABILITY AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC

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By Manuel T. Cayon

as the region’s rice-producing province, Agusan del Sur was allocated P125.8 million, or 60 percent, of the P207-million Rice Resiliency Project budget of the region.

This move is seen to increase local rice production through the use of high-quality seeds and fertilizer given to an estimated 30,000 rice farmers covering 32,277 hectares.

The regional DA office also allocated P7.4 million under its Expanded SURE Aid Fund as cash assistance to 296 farmers and fishermen whose incomes were badly affected by the enhanced community quarantine since the early phase of the lockdown.

The farmers and fishermen came from the municipalities of Las Nieves, Nasipit, Buenavista and Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte, and Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur. The financial assistance was released by Baug Carp Beneficiaries Multipurpose Cooperative and the Bayugan Achievers Multipurpose Cooperative as partner conduits.

AVAO CITY—Agriculture production areas in Mindanao have been prepped up to provide a continuous supply of basic food items to quarantined cities and capital towns of Mindanao and beyond, while local governments have asked the national task force on Covid-19 to relax strict quarantine protocols in agricultural areas.

Mindanao regions such as the Caraga Region in the northeast and Soccsksargen Region in central south are given various forms of support, including seeds, farm inputs and financial assistance.

Beneficiaries are mostly hard-up farmers and their families.

Livestock and crops such as vegetables and corn, which are considered secondary products of the province, have also been given ample support in terms of research, marketing and a wider area for planting.

The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), the government’s socioeconomic planning unit for this southern Philippine island, has pushed this program as one of the key initiatives for recovery in Mindanao in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The regions

IN the first quarter of the year, all economic activities, including the wide areas of agriculture, were at a standstill due to the quarantine restrictions imposed by the various local government units (LGUs).

As food became scarce due to dwindling supplies, authorities eventually allowed the unrestricted passage of trucks and vehicles carrying vegetables, crops and meat from the production areas.

The restriction on the movement of produce from farm to market was also lifted.

In Agusan del Sur in the Caraga Region, the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Office provided rice seeds and fertilizer subsidies to farmers in time for the wet cropping season. Considered

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.5790

Sustained food production

CORNFIELDS on a hilltop in Bukidnon in the Northern Mindanao region. HUGO MAES | DREAMSTIME.COM

OFFICER-IN-CHARGE Assistant Regional Director for Operations Rebecca Atega said the government wanted to ensure sustained food production despite the challenges and restrictions of the pandemic.

The rice hybridization program started two years ago in 2018, when hybrid seeds used by the farmers increased production by 17.11 percent in 2019, indicating the adaptability of hybrid seeds in the farms. The barangays

of Lemon, Basag and Ampayon in Butuan City were chosen as the technology demonstration sites, covering 100 hectares.

The demonstration farm program would be supported by the SL Agritech Corp., SeedWorks, Bioseed, Ramgo, Bayer, Pioneer, Syngenta, Advanta and LongPing, alongside the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) and Phil-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology (PhilSCAT).

“As the country transitions to the so-called new normal, the Department of Agriculture-Caraga continues to come up with different interventions and advocacies to promote a sustainable and secure food production through the Plant Plant Plant program,” said Director Abel James I. Monteagudo.

Other interventions include the distribution of various vegetable seedlings and seeds given to nonfarmers who want to have their own vegetable gardens. Just in the first week since the program was introduced, no less than 200 individuals have availed themselves of this assistance.

In addition to vegetables, the DA-Caraga promoted backyard corn production and launched the Project Maisan sa Nataran, or ProMais, as the latest addition to the integrated and diversified home food production program.

Corn has its health benefits, such as controlling diabetes, preventing heart ailment, and lowering of hypertension. Through the project, individuals who have available Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4577 n UK 62.2200 n HK 6.2682 n CHINA 7.1086 n SINGAPORE 35.4669 n AUSTRALIA 35.2392 n EU 57.4398 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9523

Source: BSP (September 11, 2020)

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, September 13, 2020

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SOUTHERN FOOD BOWL Self-reliance

area of at least 100 square meters and were willing to plant corn were given one-fourth kilo corn seeds.

To further encourage people to patronize corn, free tasting of ricecorn blend—or cooked rice mixed with corn—was also conducted. To complement this food production initiative, the Organic Agriculture (OA) program also handed out organic concoctions that the people could use and apply on their vegetables to ensure these would be safe for them and their families to consume.

The World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Program also saw the construction of the warehouse, seedling production building and seedbed for rubber tree growers. This infrastructure support amounting to P8.4 million further re-energized the farming sector in the Caraga Region.

The collaboration between the regional DA, Department of Public Works and Highways and the various LGUs in Caraga made possible the completion of 121 farm roads costing P1.9 billion. From 2015 to 2019, a total of 185.6 kilometers of farm roads was constructed in the region.

Other initiatives included the turnover of 50 head of cattle to backyard raisers in Agusan del Norte, vegetable production by the Soccsksargen Police Regional Office, turnover of P3.7 million worth of farm inputs and tools to the farmers of Makilala and Tulunan towns in North Cotabato, and turnover of 100 bags of conventional hybrid corn seeds, 2,664 packs of pinakbet seeds, 276 kilos of mungbean seeds, 200 bags of inorganic fertilizers, 70 rolls of laminated sacks, 76 rolls of highdensity polyethylene pipes and 150 units of water plastic drums at Sitio Flortam, Barangay Batasan, Makilala.

MINDA Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has encouraged LGUs in Mindanao to be self-reliant, “as the country grapples with the effects of Covid-19.”

Piñol believes “that in order to restart the economy and bolster socioeconomic development in the island-region, every local government unit should rely on their own concerted efforts and abilities in this time of recovery since the national government, on the other hand, has been devoting its resources to the ongoing fight against the pandemic.”

“LGUs cannot expect a lot from the national government. The national government has no funds now. In fact, the funds of agencies have been sequestered [for Covid response]. So, there’s not much money to talk about right now,” Piñol said in a mix of English and Filipino, noting that majority of government funds were realigned to combat the pandemic.

He said MinDA must refocus its programs to help the economy regain its momentum once again and yield concrete results “that will be felt on the ground despite the presence of financial difficulties and limitations.”

Addressing his management team, he said: “Our objective is to really restart the economy of Mindanao. Here’s what we should consider in prioritizing our programs: what program will have immediate effect that can quickly benefit our people and restart the economy,” he said.

While efforts for economic restoration remain under way, he said it is also the right time for LGUs “to unleash their individual coping mechanisms and maximize resources under the new normal.”

“So, whatever we do in Mindanao right now will be guided by the philosophy of self-reliance. We will have to encourage LGUs to re-

IN this September 5, 2015, file photo, fishermen line up to have their catch of tuna weighed at a fish port in General Santos City, nicknamed the Tuna Capital of the Philippines. The city is the regional center for commerce and industry of the Soccsksargen region. JAMESBOX | DREAMSTIME.COM

ally invest,” Piñol added.

In his recent visits to Impasugong, Talakag, Sumilao and Lantapan (Imtasula) in Bukidnon, he urged the mayors to look for ways to prop up their local economies.

“You buy equipment. Don’t be scared to borrow. Buy the needed equipment because you have to build your own roads right now.”

Among the Covid-19 response programs that MinDA is actively taking on are the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa BP2 program, Sustainable Agriculture Project for Imtasula areas and MinDA Tienda.

It has also started to validate the different fish center sites to

double Mindanao’s current aquaculture and fisheries production of two million metric tons annually by year 2025.

“With a coastline length of 36,289 kilometers, the fifth-longest in the world, and surrounded by seas and ocean, it is unthinkable that the Philippines still imports fish from countries whose fishermen could be fishing in our waters,” he said.

Piñol also asked local chief executives to urge lawmakers to review the rice importation law, Republic Act 11203, saying that farm-gate prices of palay had dropped from P22 a kilo two years ago to just P11

MINDA.GOV.PH

Continued from A1

“WITH a coastline of 36,289 kilometers, the fifth-longest in the world, and surrounded by seas and ocean, it is unthinkable that the Philippines still imports fish from countries whose fishermen could be fishing in our waters.”—Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol

per kilo in many areas of the region during harvest season.

He reported also that the municipality of Kalawit in Zamboanga del Norte has earmarked a 200-hectare plantation area for the first 200 families coming home from Metro Manila under the BP2 program.

MinDA already turned over on August 18 a P500,000 support fund for the survey of the proposed BP2 site.

The province will give each family a house and the whole community of returning families will work as one in undertaking agricultural production.

“In contrast, the Kauswagan Model has a compact area of 6.3 hectares where the beneficiaries will undertake organic chicken and vegetable production,” he said.

This week, Piñol suggested that grains storage complexes with modern dryers and silos be established in at least four cornproducing regions of Mindanao to ensure food security on the island and propel the economy adversely affected by the pandemic.

“This problem is not new. As a farm boy who grew up among rice and corn farmers, I saw the frustration and disappointment in my late father and other farmers’ faces when their earnings after four months fell way below what they had expected. This trapped them in an endless cycle of poverty where they borrowed money to plant and paid back with what they harvested, oftentimes leaving them in deep debt,” Piñol stressed.

He likewise discussed the measures which are the salient features of the Mindanao Corn Development Program that MinDA is crafting, and which will be submitted as a priority project for inclusion in the Mindanao Peace and Development Program, or Rise Mindanao.

La Niña may disrupt global food supply, send prices higher

By Ainslie Chandler

T

bia’s National Federation of Coffee Growers.

While that may benefit areas that traditionally get less rain, the darker days caused by excess clouds reduce the luminosity necessary for flowering to occur, eroding overall yield potential.

Higher humidity can also trigger outbreaks of coffee-leaf rust, which happened between 2010 to 2012, curbing output. However, about 80 percent of the plants in the second-largest arabica producer are now resistant to rust, compared with a very low percentage during the last La Niña, he said.

Still, Indonesia’s coffee production may decline, as the rain causes coffee cherries to fall or rot, especially if rain occurs more than 10 days straight, said Moelyono Soesilo, head of specialty coffee and processing at the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Industries.

Bloomberg News

HE La Niña weather system could roil global food production, sending prices higher, as potential droughts and floods bring upheaval to a suite of key agricultural commodities from Southeast Asia to South America.

The highly anticipated phenomenon has officially formed, the US Climate Prediction Center said Thursday, after the last significant La Niña event occurred in 2011.

During that period, upheaval in commodity production led to steep increase in world food prices, with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture World Food Price Index surging to a record in February 2011, up 37 percent from the end of 2009.

La Niña typically affects a broad range of farm commodities, as it brings above-average winterspring rainfall in Australia, particularly across eastern, central and northern regions, as well as in Southeast Asia, with the potential for flooding.

It can also dry out the southern US through winter, bringing cooler temperatures and storms across the north. In South America, croplands in Argentina can become more arid, with drought possible across parts of Brazil.

“The weather phenomenon disrupts production of a broad range of agricultural produce, such as soybeans, corn, rapeseed, sugar, coffee and rubber,” said Bloomberg Intelligence’s Alvin Tai.

Wheat

THE 2010-11 La Niña brought Australia’s wettest two-year pe-

riod on record, according to the country’s Bureau of Meteorology, and with it a strong 2011 and 2012 winter wheat crop. This season, the crop could climb 78 percent year-on-year to 27 million tons, the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA FAS) said in July.

“A wet spring will support pasture development and grain fill for the winter crop,” Rabobank said in its September agribusiness report. “However, if wet conditions continue into harvest, it can reduce crop quality.”

A late-season La Niña is unlikely to have any impact on the current winter crop in Australia, forecaster Abares said in its June outlook. The country’s harvest of grains including wheat and barley is due to start within weeks.

La Niña may also exacerbate a bout of dryness in Argentina, jeopardizing what was supposed to be a record wheat crop in one of the world’s top exporters.

Soybeans

SOY growers in the US might escape damage, with harvests typically complete by November. Brazilian soy may be more at risk “if drought and high temperatures weaken conditions for planting, which stretches from mid-August to mid-December,” said Tai.

Sugar A WORKER loads oranges onto a truck at a farm in the town of Matlapa, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. MAURICIO PALOS/BLOOMBERG

The US, Brazil and Argentina account for about 80 percent of soybean production and smaller harvests can raise prices, according to Tai. In the 2011 and 2012 season, Brazil’s soy production declined 12 percent.

Palm

ADDITIONAL rains in Southeast Asia could boost palm oil production, while the industry could also benefit from lower output of rival soy oil, Tai said.

There has already been more rain in Southeast Asia, particularly in Sabah and Kalimantan, since June, said Ling Ah Hong, director of plantation consultant Ganling Sdn. La Niña’s impact on the palm crop would depend on how strong it is, Ling said.

“A weak to moderate La Niña is usually beneficial to palm production in the following year,” he said.

“However, the heavy rains, if any, may cause immediate short-term disruption to harvesting and crop quality.”

Palm oil production usually declines in December and January, after rising in August and September, said Derom Bangun, chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Board. More rain in those typically drier months could be positive for monthly output, providing conditions aren’t extreme, he said.

Coffee

LA Niña and El Niño events can lead to steep differences in coffee prices. During the last big La Niña, arabica prices surged as

much as 127 percent between 2010 and 2012, while robusta gained as much as 105 percent.

Arabica is mostly grown in Brazil, which can be hit with drought during La Niña, while the premium narrows during El Niño years, as robusta crops in Vietnam and Indonesia are hit by drought, said Tai.

The coffee output from Brazil, Colombia and Indonesia fell 5 percent to 10 percent during the same period, while Vietnam’s output climbed as more areas were planted with beans, Tai said.

La Niña tends to bring adverse above-average rains to many parts of Colombia, and its effect may start to show up from October to December, said Roberto Velez, chief executive officer of Colom-

SUGAR output from Australia, Brazil and Thailand could be affected, Tai said. Drought could cut production in Brazil, with yields down 12 percent during the last big La Niña.

In Australia, it’s heavy rain in the country’s north that could create harvest delays.

The crush is almost halfway done in Australia’s growing regions and “La Niña years can bring an unwanted wet end to the domestic crushing season,” said Charles Clack, a Rabobank commodities analyst, in the September report.

Cotton

FOR cotton, drier-than-normal conditions in southern and western Brazil and northern Argentina could have a negative impact on crops there, while more rain could benefit Australian fiber, according to Donald Keeney, senior meteorologist with Maxar in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

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

The World BusinessMirror

Once a handset superpower, Nokia still has potent weapons

A

good decade after Nokia Oyj’s mobile-phone business suffered a fatal blow at the hands of the iPhone, the Finnish company is still feeding off a lucrative asset that it salvaged from the wreckage.

Nokia retained a catalog of thousands of wireless communications patents that is steadily growing, thanks to a thriving research operation. Now an attempt to change how those patents are monetized has led Nokia into court with Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars.

A ruling a few weeks ago in Germany sided with Nokia, and more verdicts are pending later in September.

Modern automobiles are so brimming with electronic gadgetry that the industry has casually likened its products to smartphones on wheels. Wireless technology allows occupants to make calls, stream music or dial up emergency services in case of an accident. Traditionally, automakers require that their components makers, be it Continental AG or Robert Bosch AG, handle any royalty issues, and indemnify them for any patent demands that may come later.

In a bid to streamline the process, wireless-technology companies from Qualcomm Inc. to Sharp Corp. and Nokia joined forces in the Avanci Llc. patent pool, which promises to collect royalties from the car industry by offering a fixed price per vehicle, currently running at $15 a car for a 4G-standard license.

“There has to be a solution and we feel we are the solution,” said Kasim Alfalahi, the founder and CEO of Avanci. “It’s a fair price for the value of the technology in the car.”

Nein danke

Trouble is that Daimler disagrees and has no desire to sign up. Instead, the company wants to maintain the practice of suppliers negotiating the licenses, ideally at a fraction of the umbrella-deal cost.

Nokia is trying to enforce its approach via a high-stakes court battle, with hearings in Munich, Dusseldorf and Mannheim. It’s here that the Finns struck legal gold: the company won an injunction that could stop Daimler from selling cars in Germany, which would be a suicidal situation for the inventor of the automobile on its home turf.

One consolation for Daimler is that enforcing a car-sale ban would require Nokia to post collateral of 7 billion euros ($8.3 billion) in a separate proceeding, a risky proposition for the Finnish company given the huge outlay.

But then on September 10, Sharp won an injunction in a Munich court that also threatens a ban on Daimler vehicles, albeit at a much lower collateral of just 5.5 million euros, putting additional pressure on the carmaker.

Daimler says it wants fair and non-discriminatory access to patents on standardized technology, calling the practice essential to support development and services. Nokia, on the other hand, says it made “fair and reasonable offers to Daimler” and its peers, who have instead chosen to use the company’s inventions “without authorization and compensation.”

Fridges, meters

While Daimler is appealing the ruling, it sent major shock waves through the industry and beyond (Nokia surged about 3 percent after the verdict). At stake isn’t just the licensing model for patents used in cars, but in pretty much every product that promises wireless connectivity, be it a fridge, a combine harvester or a medical device. For Nokia and its peers, the automobile industry is only the tip of the licensing iceberg, and they’re going global.

“Today it’s the auto industry and tomorrow it’s home appliances,” says Atif Bhatti, a patent litigator at Linklaters in Frankfurt, who isn’t involved in the case. “At some point every industry will depend on connectivity and must tackle these issues.”

For Nokia, it’s a battle worth fighting to protect a critical flank, long after the company lost its relevance as a maker of handsets to end consumers. Nokia’s sales from patents and brand licensing reached 1.5 billion euros last year, a big enough business to qualify as one of its four main strategic pillars.

Nokia claims to have most of the major smartphone vendors under license, alongside products as disparate as smart meters, cars and payment terminals.

Supplier suit

The German suits are just one part of a battle being waged by the companies united under the Avanci umbrella. Sharp joined Nokia and filed its own cases against Daimler. On the other side, suppliers including navigation specialist TomTom and Bosch are supporting Daimler in the litigation.

Continental has gone one step further, fielding a suit against Avanci in the US and urging the European Commission to step in and stop what it considers unfair competition. Like Daimler, Continental is invoking a rule stating that technology needed by everyone must be shared under fair terms.

A royalty of $15 as demanded by Avanci would wipe out all profit for the components makers, and that doesn’t include patent owners who aren’t part of the Avanci platform but also want to get paid, the company contends.

Milestone ruling

It’s not all bad news for Daimler and the suppliers in its corner. At a hearing in Dusseldorf earlier this month, the judges indicated they want the EU’s top court to weigh in on the dispute. The judges in Luxembourg should say whether Nokia can pick and choose whom they want to license to in the supply chain—an important legal milestone for Daimler.

But recent rulings in California and London, as well as Nokia’s Mannheim win have benefited owners of patents for standard-essential technology, said Jorge Contreras, a University of Utah law professor who specializes in the intersection of patent and antitrust law. Ultimately, it could give them an edge when trying to negotiate licenses.

“At the end of the day it is all about money,” Contreras said.

“There aren’t any other issues beyond the money, really.”

Bloomberg News

Sunday, September 13, 2020

A3

Dollar dominance gives US upper hand in sanctions war with China

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hina’s latest threat to bar companies with ties to US officials who visit Taiwan points to a weakness for Beijing in its sanctions battle with Washington: It can control its own borders, but the greenback rules the world.

In recent months, the Trump administration has levied sanctions against more than a dozen Chinese officials and restricted access to scores of the country’s companies. The penalties have caused credit card headaches for Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper, forced the former British colony’s police credit union to relocate an estimated $1.4 billion of assets to Chinese banks.

Meanwhile, the “firm countermeasures” that Beijing has threatened against US officials including Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas have yet to be felt across the Pacific. None of the dozen American individuals sanctioned since July have received notice of what the penalties would entail, other than the assumption that they wouldn’t be welcomed in China.

“I wear it as a badge of honor, but Beijing’s actions don’t have any impact on me,” said Rubio, a frequent China critic who has been named in sanctions announcements twice this summer.

While China has calibrated its response to minimize the risk of further escalation by President Donald Trump, it’s also limited by the US dollar’s dominance in international finance. The greenback accounted for almost 40 percent of all SWIFT transactions in July, compared with less than 2 percent for the renminbi, as the Communist Party resists calls to ease currency controls. That makes it more difficult for multinational banks—including China’s state-run lenders—to avoid compliance with US sanctions.

The US’s dollar advantage could

become even more important if the Trump administration sanctions financial institutions in Hong Kong as authorized by congressional legislation in July, or takes direct action against Chinese banks. Beijing’s strongest weapon remains blocking access to its vast market: Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the party’s Global Times newspaper, said Wednesday such a move was being considered for companies with ties to US officials who visit Taiwan. “ C h i n a d o e s n’t h a v e t o o many tools to implement the sanctions because the US payment system is so prolific and per vasive,” said Edwin Lai, a Hong Kong University of Science and Technolog y economics professor who specializes in renminbi internationalization.

“China is disadvantaged in the sanctions game because its payment system is underdeveloped and yuan internationalization is decades away.”

The US’s financial sanctions also carry fewer risks of backfiring than China’s usual tactic of cutting off market access. The Chinese economy is still reliant on foreign investment and Beijing is wary of moves that could scare off multinationals and scuttle its phase-one trade deal with Trump. Chinese diplomats have in recent weeks expressed a desire to de-escalate tensions ahead of the US presidential election on November 3.

Both sides have so far steered clear of sanctioning top officials, w ith Trump ruling out measures against potential targets including Vice Premier Han Zheng , people fa m i l i a r w it h the matter said in July. W hile the US has penalized Lam and

US dollar banknotes are arranged for a photograph in Hong Kong, China, on April 15, 2019. Paul Yeung/Bloomberg

Politburo member Chen Quanguo over alleged human-rights violations, China has targeted lower -level of f ic i a l s suc h a s Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback and six members of Congress.

Cruz spokeswoman Maria Jeffrey said the exchange showed that the US has a much stronger sanctions framework, including having a procedure for notifying people that they’ve been targeted. “I guess he can’t go there anymore,” Jeffrey said. “When we ban someone from visas, there’s a human whose job it is to send them a letter saying, ‘Don’t bother coming’.”

The latest US decision to sanction 24 Chinese companies over their alleged roles building military facilities in the disputed South China Sea signals further expansion of the strategy. Major lenders with operations in the US, including the Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp., and China Merchants Bank Co., have taken tentative steps to comply with US sanctions.

Yuan overhaul

Further escalation could involve seizures of US-based assets, Yu Yongding, a senior fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told a forum organized by the Beijing News newspaper on August 12. “This possibility can’t be ruled out,” Yu said, citing penalties imposed on the Bank of Kunlun in 2012 over Iran ties.

The US also has the nuclear option of cutting China off from the

US dollar system, said Ding Shuang, chief economist for greater China and north Asia at Standard Chartered Plc, which would leave China unable to conduct any transactions in dollars. This option was unlikely to materialize given the financial damage it would cause to US companies based in China and Hong Kong, Shuang said.

“The danger of this occurring is one of the key reasons that China may accelerate the renminbi internationalization,” Shuang said.

“US-China tensions targeting the financial industry has been the catalyst in re-accelerating the momentum for renminbi internalization.”

China has other tools to deploy, if ties deteriorate badly enough to justify broader economic damage, including unloading Treasuries or blocking exports of rare earths and other key manufacturing components. Beijing could also roll back cooperation on sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

For China to gain global financial leverage, it needs to open its capital account to encourage greater use of the yuan, said Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The cost would be giving investors some ability to influence China’s exchange rates.

“Until Beijing changes the underlying calculus, China will not be able to incorporate financial restrictions into its coercive diplomacy toolkit,” Kennedy said.

Bloomberg News

How hotels are helping their neighbors fight the pandemic

W

hen Casa Palopó, an intimate, 15-room retreat on the slopes of Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan, began assessing how best to go about reopening for tourists, it sought to secure the approval of one group in particular: its 5,000, mostly Kaqchikel Maya neighbors.

According to owner Claudia Bosch, her return to prep the property for reopening was not initially well-received.

“Some took photos of the helicopter arriving and departing, creating bulletins accusing us of mass tourism,” Bosch says. Locals worried that reopening would mean the introduction of the virus to Santa Catarina Palopó, a remote town where, to this day, not a single Covid-19 infection has been reported.

Who can blame them? Destinations such as the Bahamas experienced a spike in infections just two weeks, after reopening to foreign visitors.

Casa Palopó has been receiving locals since August 1, when domestic travel was again permitted in Guatemala, while it’s been announced that international visitors, including Americans, can come back on September 18, when the airport in Guatemala City is back in operation.

As in the Bahamas, tourism is a major economic driver for Guatemala’s highlands.

And as the local standard-bearer for luxury, Casa Palopó plays no small role in the area’s fiscal well-being. Its staff of 24 comprises almost entirely locals from Santa Catarina Palopó or neighboring San Antonio Palopó, and the ripple effects of their competitive wages benefit many more individuals. Meanwhile, tourism interest

in the hotel’s Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó project, an artistic endeavor to paint the town’s facades in colorful indigenous imagery, has led to the founding of nearly a dozen local businesses.

Bosch, a Guatemala native who comes from a family of business owners, sees reopening as a critical lifeline for both the hotel and the area at large. “Residents were and are still skeptical and fearful,” she says in early September. But she’s listening closely. “We are slowly easing those concerns, and realize this is going to be a very long process.”

Community vouchers

Conversations with Santa Catarina’s mayor and its indigenous leader led Bosch to create the Community First program, which will transform 10 percent of the nightly rate from all bookings, starting September 18, into vouchers that can be spent at select restaurants and artisan shops located in town, a half-mile downhill from the property.

But the program’s initial rollout will focus on a handful of on-site pop-up shops at which guests can spend their vouchers without leaving the confines of the resort.

Among them will be the traditional weaving collective Centro Cultural, which produces colorful woven goods, including embroidered pouches, scarfs, and huipiles, the colorful blouses worn by Mayan women. Once locals feel more comfortable with having visitors on the streets, at their tables, and in their shops; Casa Palopó will introduce other partners

such as Café TUK, a coffee shop that sells bags of Guatemalan coffee beans. Unused vouchers will be donated to Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó.

Bosch and her team have also set their sights on improving public health advocacy in town, having donated fabric for the production of facemasks and installing antibacterial gel stations in high-traffic areas such as the main square and the dock. Eventually, they plan to add hand-washing stations, too.

Casa Palopó is not alone in realizing that post-pandemic business relies as much on the well-being of its neighbors as on its public health protocols. For hotels in denser areas, though, that can mean many things, such as maintaining the unique spirit of the neighborhoods they’re in by helping local businesses stay alive.

Baltimore’s Hotel Revival, a Joie de Vivre Hotel, for instance, loaned various on-property culinary spaces to a group of food vendors displaced by the pandemic. Its 750-square-foot kitchen was used by the likes of Sporty Dog, a food hall mainstay beloved for its creatively composed gourmet hot dogs.

The eatery was able to use the hotel kitchen and execute takeout and delivery services from its ground-floor cafe. Revival activated this offer from March to May. It has since handed the baton to its sister hotel, the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, which will temporarily loan a kitchen to Urban Oyster, the city’s first Black-owned oyster bar, which closed in July because of the pandemic.

At Andaz West Hollywood, General Manager Nate Hardesty and Sales Director Matthew Ojinaga have loaned the outdoor terrace to Barcode, their still-closed favorite barbershop.

The 533-square-foot space houses up to five barber chairs, which Barcode owner Jorge Lara says have been booked out for weeks, spurring him to hire more barbers.

Ojinga says the hotel “gets some brand awareness” out of the arrangement, but he’s more concerned about simply keeping Barcode going. “Once you find the right barber, you stick with them, no matter what.”

Other hotels are more focused on healthminded community initiatives.

In the Caribbean, Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort transformed its unused ocean-facing lounge, the Reef Club, into a tracking call center at which 30 newly hired locals make upward of 2,500 daily health checks on the island’s 3,000 or so weekly visitors. The health department couldn’t handle this volume on its own, explains General Manager Mark Nooren; given how strongly the tourism sector is pushing for expanded tourist arrivals, the private sector stepped in to shoulder responsibilities. According to Nooren, the center is staffed by “paid volunteers” from various industries, including some from his hotel, which not only provides the space but also caters daily meals.

“Our economy has collapsed,” Nooren explains. “If this call center helps the island go back to a higher level of visitors, that will benefit all of us.” Bloomberg News

A4

Sunday, September 13, 2020

The World BusinessMirror

Think 2020’s disasters are wild?

Experts see worse in the future

By Seth Borenstein

A

AP Science Writer

record amount of California is burning, spurred by a nearly 20-year mega-drought. To the north, parts of Oregon that don’t usually catch fire are in flames.

Meanwhile, the Atlantic’s 16th and 17th named tropical storms are swirling, a record number for this time of year. Powerful Typhoon Haishen lashed Japan and the Korean Peninsula last week.

Last month it hit 130 degrees in Death Valley, the hottest Earth has been in nearly a century.

Phoenix keeps setting tripledigit heat records, while Colorado went through a weather whiplash of 90-degree heat to snow this week. Siberia, famous for its icy climate, hit 100 degrees earlier this year, accompanied by wildfires. Before that, Australia and the Amazon were in flames.

Amid all that, Iowa’s derecho— bizarre straight-line winds that got as powerful as a major hurricane, causing billions of dollars in damages—barely went noticed.

Freak natural disasters—most with what scientists say likely have a climate change connection—seem to be everywhere in the crazy year 2020. But experts say we’ll probably look back and say those were the good old days, when disasters weren’t so wild.

“It’s going to get A LOT worse,” Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said on Wednesday. “I say that with emphasis because it does challenge the imagination. And that’s the scary thing to know as a climate scientist in 2020.”

Colorado University environmental sciences chief Waleed Abdalati, Nasa’s former chief scien-

tist, said the trajectory of worsening disasters and climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas is clear, and basic physics.

“I strongly believe we’re going to look back in 10 years, certainly 20 and definitely 50 and say, ‘Wow, 2020 was a crazy year, but I miss it,’” Abdalati said.

That’s because what’s happening now is just the type of crazy climate scientists anticipated 10 or 20 years ago.

“It seems like this is what we always were talking about a decade ago,” said North Carolina State climatologist Kathie Dello.

Even so, Cobb said the sheer magnitude of what’s happening now was hard to fathom back then.

Just as the future of climate disasters is hard to fathom now.

“A year like 2020 could have been the subject of a marvelous science fiction film in 2000,” Cobb said. “Now we have to watch and digest real-time disaster after disaster after disaster, on top of a pandemic. The outlook could not be any more grim. It’s just a horrifying prospect.”

“The 2030s are going to be noticeably worse than the 2020s,” she said.

University of Michigan environment dean Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist, said that in 30 years because of the climate change already baked into the atmosphere “we’re pretty much guaranteed that we’ll have double

In this August 27, file photo, buildings and homes are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura near Lake Charles, La. Climate-connected disasters seem everywhere in the crazy year 2020. But scientists on September 9 say it’ll get worse. AP/David J. Phillip

what we have now.”

Expect stronger winds, more drought, more heavy downpours and floods, Abdalati said.

“The kind of things we’re seeing are no surprise to the [scientific] community that understands the rules and the laws of physics,” Abdalati said.

“A lot of people want to blame it on 2020, but 2020 didn’t do this,” Dello said. “We know the behavior that caused climate change.”

Consider the world ’s environment like an engine: “We have injected more energ y into the system because we have trapped more heat into the atmosphere,” said World Meteorological Organization Secretar y- Genera l Petteri Taalas.

That means more energy for tropical storms, as well as changes to rainfall patterns that bring drought to some places and heavy rainfall to others, Taalas said.

In California, where more than 2.3 million acres have burned, the fires are spurred by climate change drying plants and trees that then go up in flames, said University of Colorado fire scientist Jennifer Balch. California is in the midst of a nearly

20-year mega-drought, the first of its kind in the United States since Europeans arrived, Overpeck said.

Scientists also make direct connections between heat waves and climate change.

Some disasters at the moment can’t be directly linked to manmade warming, such as the derecho, Overpeck said. But looking at the big picture over time shows the problem, and it’s one that comes down to the basic physics of trapped heat energy.

“I am not an alarmist. I don’t want to scare people,” Abdalati said. “It’s a problem with tremendous consequences and it’s too important not to get right.”

And so even though the climate will likely get worse, Overpeck is also optimistic about what future generations will think when they look back at the wild and dangerous weather of 2020.

“I think we’ ll look back and we’ ll see a whole bunch of increasingly crazy years,” Overpeck said. “And that this year, in 2020, I hope we look back and say it got crazy enough that it motivated us to act on climate change in the United States.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Vaccine by Nov. 3? Halted study explains it’s unlikely

By Lauran Neergaard

W

AP Medical Writer

ASHINGTON—The suspension of a huge Covid-19 vaccine study over an illness in a single participant shows there will be “no compromises” on safety in the race to develop the shot, the chief of the National Institutes of Health told Congress on Wednesday.

AstraZeneca has put on hold studies of its vaccine candidate in the US and other countries while it investigates whether a British volunteer’s illness is a side effect or a coincidence.

“This ought to be reassuring,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said before a Senate committee.

“When we say we are going to focus first on safety and make no compromises, here is Exhibit A of how that is happening in practice.”

Scientists have been scrambling to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus since the outbreak began, and the US has launched the world’s largest studies—final-stage testing of three leading candidates, with three more trials set to come soon that will each recruit 30,000 test subjects.

Public health experts are worried that President Donald Trump will pressure the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine before it is proven to be safe and effective, a concern senator after senator echoed on Wednesday.

“When it comes to a Covid-19 vaccine, we can’t allow President Trump to repeat his alarming pattern of putting politics ahead of science and public health,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee’s ranking Democrat.

The US has invested billions of dollars in efforts to quickly develop multiple vaccines against Covid-19.

But public fears that a vaccine is unsafe or ineffective could be disastrous, derailing the effort to vaccinate millions of Americans.

Collins said the public needs to understand the process behind telling when any vaccine candidate is ready for widespread use—one that by design is keeping both manufacturers and politicians in the dark until the evidence gels.

About 150 Covid-19 infections in a study of 30,000 people should be enough to tell if that candidate really is working—and an independent group of experts, not the FDA, gets to do the counting.

Who monitors the studies?

Every vaccine trial is overseen by a “data and safety monitoring board,” or DSMB. These boards include scientists and statisticians who are experts in their fields but have no ties to either the government or the vaccine makers.

The top priority: watching for safety concerns, like the one that sparked a DSMB in Britain to pause AstraZeneca’s vaccinations and alert its US counterpart.

But this is the group that also will decide when each vaccine is ready to be evaluated by regulators.

In each 30,000-person study, about half the participants are given the real vaccine and half get dummy shots, and neither they nor their doctors know which is which. Only the DSMB has the power to unlock the code of who got which shot and peek at how the volunteers are faring before a study is finished.

The FDA can’t even begin to consider approving a vaccine until the DSMB says the data is good enough for that debate, Collins stressed. Once that happens, the FDA has pledged to bring each candidate before a public vaccine advisory committee.

Doing the math

The FDA already has told manufacturers it won’t consider any vaccine that’s less than 50 percent effective.

Say one vaccine trial records that 150 volunteers have gotten sick. The DSMB finds that 100 had received dummy shots and 50 had received the real vaccine. The expert group might decide that’s a promising enough vaccine to stop the study early so that the FDA can debate its merits, even before getting final outcomes from all 30,000 volunteers, said Dr. Larry Corey of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, who is overseeing the US government’s vaccine studies.

On the other hand, if equal numbers from the vaccine and placebo groups got infected, the DSMB might declare a vaccine futile, he told The Associated Press. These panels also can calculate infections even before that 150 threshold is met, at set time points in each study.

“If your vaccine is at least 50 percent effective, you’re going to know it because you’re going to see a big skewing” of infections, NIH’s Collins told the Senate’s health, education, labor and pensions committee. “You count those events and you know whether it worked or not.”

Answers unlikely before the us election

Getting the right math before November, as Trump has promised, is “incredibly unlikely,” Corey said.

Collins expressed “cautious optimism” that one of the vaccines being tested will pan out by the end of the year but warned: “Certainly to try to predict whether it happens on a particular week before or after a particular date in early November is well beyond anything that any scientist right now could tell you.”

And even if a study has a spate of infections large enough to prove the effectiveness question, the DSMB also must be comfortable that there’s enough evidence of safety before opening the books to the FDA. Generally, the FDA is requiring safety data from at least 3,000 people, Surgeon General Jerome Adams told the Senate panel.

This process isn’t new—Phase 3 studies of vaccines and therapies are always done this way, though rarely in so bright a spotlight.

Suspending a study not that rare

It’s not uncommon for pauses in research to investigate whether an unexpected health complaint is really related to a vaccine or not, Collins told senators worried about what the AstraZeneca suspension means for the nation’s year-end goal.

“The reason we’re investing not in one but six different vaccines is because of the expectation that they won’t all work,” Collins said.

AstraZeneca gave no details on the illness, but Collins said it involved a “spinal cord problem.” Earlierstage studies hadn’t revealed any serious side effects, but that’s a key reason for doing ever-larger phases of research—to widen the search for any reactions.

Final testing of two other vaccines is continuing, one created by the NIH and manufactured by Moderna Inc., the other made by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Those two vaccines work differently than AstraZeneca’s, which was developed by Oxford University, and the studies already have recruited about two-thirds of the needed volunteers.

Several vaccine candidates made by Chinese companies are in late stages of testing in various countries, but with smaller numbers of volunteers.

Most health authorities are skeptical about a claim of vaccine success by Russia, which has test results from just a few dozen people. AP

Scarcity of raw material still squeezes N95 mask makers

By Martha Mendoza, Juliet Linderman, Thomas Peipert & Irena Hwang

F

The Associated Press

RESNO, California—White House officials say US hospitals have all the medical supplies needed to battle the deadly virus, but frontline workers, hospital officials and even the Food and Drug Administration say that’s not the case.

Shortfalls of medical N95 respirators—commonly referred to as N95 masks—and other gear started in March, when the pandemic hit New York. Pressure on the medical supply chain continues today, and in “many ways things have only gotten worse,” the American Medical Association president, Dr. Susan Bailey, said in a recent statement.

“N95s are still in a shortage,” said Mike Schiller, the American Hospital Association’s senior director for supply chains. “ It ’s cer t a i n ly not a ny where near pre- Covid levels.”

Behind the bottleneck is a scarcity of the crucial component inside the masks: meltblown textile.

T he A ssoc i ated P ress h a s found the White House failed early in the pandemic to heed stark warnings of looming short-

ages and took months to sign contracts with companies that make the meltblown material.

Even today, manufacturers say the Trump administration hasn’t made the necessary long-term investments they need to meet the soaring demand.

Meanwhile, the administration allowed meltblown exports to slip out of the countr y as health-care workers switched to reusing masks—a practice considered d angerous before the pandemic began.

Manufacturers say they risk sig nificant losses if they invest m i l l ion s i n m ac h i ner y, raw materials, new employees and factor y space to churn out a product projected to have a shor t-l ived demand, w it hout assurances that the government will continue to buy their meltblown textile after the need for N95s recedes post-pandemic.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that we’re going to guarantee purchases in 2021 or whatever date you pick,” said Rear Adm. John Polowczyk, who heads the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force.

He denies there are shortages.

N95 manufacturers say t he y ’re desig ned for si ng le use, to be throw n out after each pat ient. But due to shor t ages,

t he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instr ucted hea lt h- care prov iders to reuse t hem. Because of t h is sh if t in usage, it ’s ha rd to acc u rately est imate t he sever it y of t he shor tages of med ica l-g rade mask s a nd gow ns.

W hite House trade adviser Peter Navarro disputes reports of shortages. In an August interview, he said his office responds daily to news stories of ill-equipped medical providers, sending supplies as needed.

“We have what we need to get to people what they need,” he said.

But today, hospital administrators say they can’t get as many masks as they want, and the FDA included N95s on its most recent medical supply shortage list.

Mike Clark, a division president at Hollingsworth and Vose of East Walpole, Massachusetts, said his company has tripled produc t ion of me ltblow n by ramping up and exiting other markets. But he and other makers h ave reser v at ion s about investing significant sums of their own money.

After the H1N1 epidemic in 2009, Hollingsworth and Vose purchased a new meltblown machine, but the demand for N95s plummeted when the virus dissipated, Clark said.

The company received a government contract for $1.9 million to produce an additional 27.5 million N95 masks, but it doesn’t include long-term purchase guarantees.

“It’s half the problem solved,” Clark said.

Dan Reese, president of Prestige Ameritech, the largest domestic maker of medical N95 masks, said he emptied his own savings during the H1N1 flu outbreak to boost his output, only to end up near-bankrupt and laying off workers when demand dried up.

He currently buys meltblown fabric from wherever he can get it, and estimates it would cost $15 million and take a year to start producing his own. A machine alone costs $5 million.

“I don’t have the cash,” he said.

“If we continue to ramp up our production like we plan, we’re going to run out of meltblown.”

Between mid-April and early May, four N95 manufacturers— O&M Halyard, Honeywell, 3M and Holingsworth and Vose—received a total of $134.5 million to increase production. The federal government also approved smaller contracts this summer with NPS Corp. and Lydall to bolster meltblown production.

But the Trump administration has not specifically restricted

exports of meltblown material, a power it can use under the Defense Production Act. And US manufacturers have continued exporting this textile overseas.

They’ve sent more than 40 shipping containers of meltblown material and related supplies offshore, with about 40 percent of it going to Pakistan, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from Panjiva, the supply-chain research unit at S&P Global Market Intelligence. That compares with only six shipping containers during the same period in 2019.

Pre-pandemic, 24 US companies were making meltblown, with 79 machine lines in operation, according to Brad Kalil of the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry. But only a fraction of that was going into medical respirators, Kalil said.

By the end of 2021, he said, t he re w i l l b e 28 ne w l i nes.

The Trump administration has helped pay for seven of those l ines, sa id K a l i l. But most ly they’re being built through private investment, which may not pay off.

“If every single country and region decides they’re going to make their own to be self-sufficient, we’ll have way too much meltblown probably within the end of next year,” Kalil said.

Still, some US companies are rolling the dice.

As Seattle became a major coronavirus hot spot this spring, t he c lot hing and spor tswear company Outdoor Research also switched gears. It had the money, two US factories and highly skilled employees, so it set out to make masks, said Jason Duncan, a company vice president.

T he company ma kes c lot h masks for the general public and pursued making medicalgrade masks, investing millions to convert an entire floor of its downtown headquarters into an FDA-approved facility.

O ut d o or R e s e a rc h u s e d it s d e e p t ie s i n t he i ndu s t r y t o secure meltblow n mater ia l a nd , t h i s su m mer, t he Nat iona l I n s t it ut e for O c c up at ion a l S a fe t y a nd He a lt h ap pro v e d it s N 9 5 m a s k s .

W here is it getting its m e l t b l o w n? “ T h at ’s a c lose ly g u a rded secret,” Du nca n sa id.

EDITOR’S NOTE—This story is part of an ongoing investigation by The Associated Press, the PBS series “FRONTLINE” and the Global Reporting Centre that examines the deadly consequences of the fragmented worldwide medical supply chain.

Science

BusinessMirror

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

Using a microscope, PNRI researchers analyze blood samples for the presence of dicentric chromosomes (right) which are telltale signs of radiation exposure.

Researchers analyze chromosomes for radiation safety nuke emergencies

T

o ensure the safety of occupationally exposed workers, as well as potential victims in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency, researchers from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) continue to study blood samples for any signs of radiation exposure beyond the allowable regulatory limits.

Monitoring radiation exposure becomes even more important considering the increasing variety of nuclear and radiation-related technologies in factories and firms.

In the Philippines, most workers who are regularly exposed to radiation are from the industrial and medical sectors.

In addition to the local users of radioactive materials, a growing number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) trained in non-destructive testing also use radiation in aircraft maintenance and other industries—and safety requirements for their continued employment abroad includes an assessment of their radiation exposure.

To help our “bagong bayani” monitor their radiation doses, PNRI researchers use cytogenetic biodosimetry to analyze the chromosomes in their white blood cells to see if there are any aberrations that would serve as signs of radiation damage.

Most chromosomes look like the letter “X”, consisting of two arms connected by one centromere.

But dicentric chromosomes instead have two centromeres which means that they are affected by ionizing radiation. From there, the researchers can approximate if a worker has exceeded his or her dose levels which is proportional to how high the number of dicentric chromosomes are.

As the regulator y body for nuclear and radioactive materials and facilities, PNRI also adopts the international standards for radiation protection,

including the limits of radiation exposure for workers as well as the general public. This is measured in Sieverts, which is the SI unit for the dose of ionizing radiation absorbed by the human body.

According to the Code of PNRI Regulations, radiation workers are only allowed up to 50 millisieverts per year, or an average of 20 millisieverts per year of radiation spread out over five years. In contrast, the general public is only allowed to be exposed up to 1 millisievert per year.

While many of our medical and industrial professionals wear dosimeters to monitor their exposure, analyzing chromosomes provide a more direct assessment of the effects of radiation in a person’s body.

Dicentric chromosome assay is the “gold standard” in biological dosimetry because it is specific to ionizing radiation, sensitive and cheap.

Cytogenetics can also be used in emergency preparedness and response, as researchers can assess the absorbed radiation doses of people who are involved in nuclear or radiological incidents.

After the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident, PNRI has since worked hard to improve their capabilities for cytogenetics. Researchers recently published their output on the established dicentric chromosome response curve of white blood cells against different doses of gamma radiation accomplished by sampling a small population of healthy donors and counting their dicentrics after experimental radiation exposure. This dose response curve is used to extrapolate the absorbed dose of people suspected to have been exposed to radiation.

Apart from monitoring radiation exposure, PNRI also collaborates with the Department of Radiotherapy of Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center to study the application of cytogenetics in determining the radiosensitivity of cancer patients aimed to improve the radiotherapy outcomes of cancer patients.

Sunday

Sunday, September 13, 2020 A5

DOST partners anew with Elsevier, world’s largest scientific publisher

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n a bid to expand the reach of its Grants In-Aid (GIA) Program for research and development (R&D), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) renewed its partnership with Elsevier, the world’s largest scientific publisher of peer-reviewed journals and articles.

The DOST revitalized its subscription to the scientific publishing giant’s online journals, citation index database, and capacity building of researchers on authorship to scientific journals, through the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).

This initiative is in line with DOST’s campaign “R&D—Making Change Happen” as it allows access of researchers to more than 3,000 journals and 25 million research articles across 26 subject areas and citation index database with over 5, 000 publishers and about 76 million articles, DOST Undersecretary for R&D Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said.

“It is our hope that by providing access to these scientific journals, we enrich the knowledge base of our researchers and see the current trends in R&D around the world. We believe that this subscription will entice more researches in the Philippines,” Guevara said.

DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director

Dr. Enrico C. Paringit underscored the importance of comprehensive scientific literature in the innovation ecosystem.

“Greater access to high-quality scientific literature will enable our scientists to gain higher confidence as they undergo the different stages of research and development—from the preparation of proposals, formulation of the reliable methodology, all the way to publication of scholarly articles. Ascribing to peer-reviewed sources therefore not only advances the field of study but also contribute to the country’s scientific productivity,” Paringit explained.

Topping the list of DOST’s most searched subject areas are agricultural and biological sciences, engineering, materials, health, environment, social sciences, biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology.

This access is open to all personnel of the 35 DOST attached agencies, project leaders of DOST and its Councils’ funded researches, including higher education institutions (HEIs) in the regions that

previously did not have access to these scientific journals/articles.

For this year, 10 universities from 10 regions that actively used the CY2018 subscription to Elsevier and with the highest number of DOST Grants In-Aid supported projects, were given IP-based subscriptions, as an incentive.

To date, about 200 universities, including a few secondary schools a nd reg ion a l gover nment agencies nationwide, benefitted in this partnership.

The access to the journals/articles and citation index database was also a big help to DOST in identifying priority research areas, exploring possible research initiatives, and in the evaluation of proposals submitted for DOST/ Council GIA funding.

Elsevier reported that since the start of their partnership with DOST in 2018, the Philippines posted an average increase of 10.4 percent year-on-year published articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

From 2017-2020 the Philippines’ research output also reached an average of 4,358 articles per year which in the year 2019 posted the highest research output in a single year at 5,614 research publications produced.

More so, the quality of these articles is 15 percent above the global average with reference to its CiteScore metric, which is about an average of four citations per publication. It was further reported that 42 percent of these articles were conducted in collaboration with international research institutions.

In this year’s call for proposals from April to June, DOST received a total of 795 proposals for its four Councils (90 for NRCP, 193 for PCHRD, 526 for PCIEERD and 141 for PCAARRD); among these are 66 proposals for Science for Change Program (28 CRADLEs, 38 NICERs).

The total budget for all these proposals is P11.1 billion, with P7.2 billiion in 2021.

In 2016, only 85 institutions were funded by DOST. In this call for proposals, there were 181 institutions that submitted proposals. This is 110 percent increase in number of institutions that are doing R&D in the country.

Recently, the Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking was announced where the Philippines ranked 50th among 131 economies. This is a big leap from the 73rd ranking in 2017, a year before the partnership was inked.

The number and quality of research outputs contribute and stir a country’s innovations. The GII is a measure of a country’s performance in fostering innovation. This ranking is based on a number of indicators, such as R&D investments, international patent and trademark applications, including the more recent indicators, such as mobile-phone application creation and high-tech exports.

Guevara expressed hope that all HEIs in the country would have access to electronic scientific journal resource. It is her hope that the Commission on Higher Education will consider investing on this resource to level the R&D playing field for HEIs in the country.

Faith A6 Sunday, September 13, 2020

Sunday

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

Bishop to faithful: Offer masses for the dead if visiting cemeteries is not possible on Nov 1

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he clergy urged the faithful to offer Masses for their departed loved ones in case they are not able to visit their tombs on All Saints’ and All Souls Days.

“Yes, the priests are always available for Masses for the dead,” Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo said in a message on Wednesday.

Pabillo, meanwhile, hopes that the decision of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso to temporarily close cemeteries in the city will prevent crowding in the areas and avoid the spread of the deadly new coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

“I hope the mayor is successful in preventing people from congregating in the cemeteries,” Pabillo added.

F r. Je r o m e S e c i l l a n o, C B C P spokesman, agreed that the measure is necessary amid the pandemic.

“It’s the call of the times. We need to really be careful. People can offer Masses for the departed instead of trooping to cemeteries,” the priest of the Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro Parish in Sampaloc, Manila, said in a television interview.

Manila initiative

On Tuesday, Domagoso announced that all public and private memorial parks, cemeteries and columbaries in the City of Manila w ill be closed from October 31 to November 3.

The Executive Order 38, which he signed, states that this is part of efforts to sustain the city government’s initiatives in the fight against the coronavirus amid the general community quarantine (GCQ ) in the city.

“In order to sustain the city’s efforts in containing the spread of Covid-19 there is

a compelling need to avoid the influx of people in memorial parks, cemeteries and columbaries immediately before, during, and immediately after All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day,” it read.

Domagoso said Manila North Cemetery, with about 15,837 graves, receives around 1.5 million visitors each year, while the Manila South Cemetery, with 39,228 graves, receives about 800,000 visitors during Undas.

Under the order, only “internment and cremation services for non-Covid-19 cases shall be allowed subject to the strict observance of minimum public health standards and social distancing.”

Domagoso asked for public understanding as he said the country is still in the middle of a pandemic.

Domagoso said he knows that many will be affected by the order as the yearly celebration of Undas is a family tradition observed by Filipinos.

“I am announcing this to give you enough time of about two months to visit the grave of your departed loved ones in different private and public cemeteries in the city,” Domagoso said in Filipino.

He said in case of public health protocols prescribed by the national government change before Undas, he would rescind his order.

“We are still under GCQ. This means that there is time to go and visit your departed loved ones and not squeeze in or fall in line in the middle of a crowd to be able to visit them in private and public cemeteries or in the

A girl leaps over graves inside the Cainta Catholic Cemetery during her sunset play. Bernard Testa columbaries,” Domagoso said.

He added that this is for everyone’s safety.

Domagoso directed the Manila Police District, the local governme nt ’s c e me t e r ie s , t he M a n i l a Health Department, the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Department of

Public Services to ensure its proper implementation.

Other LGUs followed

O ther l o c a l g o v e r n m e nt u n it s have fol lowed su it as pa r t of health and safety measures a g a i n s t C o v i d -19.

Metro Manila mayors agreed with

Pope: Science and faith can protect environment

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ATICAN—Pope Francis said on Thursday that science and faith together can help humanity to overcome ecological crises.

Addressing a delegation of French ecological experts, the pope said that the Catholic Church was committed to defending the planet from exploitation.

“It ha s n o re a dy- m a d e s o l u t i o n s to propose and does not ignore the difficulties of the technical, economic and political issues at stake, nor all the efforts that this commitment entails,” the pope said in a speech that was handed out to the delegation.

“But it wants to act concretely where this is possible and, above all, wants to form consciences in order to promote a deep and lasting ecological conversion, which alone can meet the important challenges we face.”

The pope told the delegation, which was led by Archbishop Éric de MoulinsB eaufor t, president of the French bishops’ conference, that the Christian commitment to the environment was rooted in the Bible.

He wrote: “With regard to this ecological conversion, I would like to share with you the way in which the convictions of faith offer Christians great motivations for the protection of nature, as well as of the most vulnerable brothers and sisters, because I am certain that science and faith, which propose different approaches to reality, can develop an intense and fruitful dialogue.”

“The Bible teaches us that the world was not born of chaos or chance, but of a decision of God, who called it, and always calls it,

into existence, out of love. The universe is beautiful and good, and contemplating it allows us to glimpse the infinite beauty and goodness of its Author.”

“Each creature, even the most ephemeral, is the object of the tenderness of the Father, who gives it a place in the world. The Christian can only respect the work that the Father has entrusted to him, like a garden to cultivate, to be protected, to grow according to its potential.”

The pope added: “There will be no new relationship with nature without a new human being, and it is by healing the human heart that one can hope to heal the world from its social and environmental unrest.”

Those present at the audience included the Academy Award-winning actor Juliette Binoche.

In a September 2 inter view with the French newspaper Le Figaro , Binoche said that, although she was not a Catholic, she was visiting the Vatican “in a spirit of openness.”

“I see this as a moment of sharing. I read the encyclical Laudato si’ [Praise Be to You!] on ecology and it was a breath of fresh air for me,” she said.

According to Le Figaro , other members of the delegation included Audrey Pulvar, deputy mayor of Paris; Valérie Cabanes, a lawyer who helped to found the movement End Ecocide on Earth; Maxime de Rostolan, an ecological entrepreneur and founder of the organizations Fermes d’avenir, Blue Bees and Communitrees; Fr. Gaël Giraud, an economist and Jesuit priest; Pablo Servigne, co-author

of the book Comment tout peut s’effondrer (How Everything Can Collapse) ; and Raphaël Cornu-Thénard, an architect and lay Catholic.

The pope ended his written address by encouraging the visitors to redouble their efforts to protect the environment.

He said: “While the conditions of the planet can appear catastrophic and certain s i t u a t i o n s e v e n s e e m i r re v e r s i b l e , w e Christians do not lose hope because we have our eyes turned to Jesus Christ. He is God, the Creator Himself, who came to visit His creation and to dwell among us, to heal us, to restore the harmony that we have lost, harmony among brothers and harmony with nature.”

Quoting Laudato si’, he concluded: “He does not abandon us, He does not leave us alone, for He has united Himself definitively to our Earth, and His love constantly impels us to find new ways forward.”

In off-the-cuff remarks to the French delegation, released later on September 3 by the Holy See press office, the pope spoke of his own “ecological conversion.”

He said: “In 2007 there was the Conference of the Latin American Bishops in Brazil, in Aparecida.

I was in the group of editors of the final document, and proposals on the Amazon arrived. I said: ‘But these Brazilians, why do they bother with this Amazon! What does the Amazon have to do with evangelization?’This was me in 2007. Then, in 2015 Laudato si’ came out. I had a path of conversion, of understanding the ecological problem. I didn’t understand anything before!”

Discussing the genesis of Laudato si’, he

recalled a conversation with the then-French Environment Minister Ségolène Royale, who urged him to release the document before a 2015 conference that would negotiate the Paris Agreement on combating climate change.

He said that he contacted those who were drafting the encyclical.

“I called the team that was doing it—so that you know that I didn’t write this myself, it was a team of scientists, a team of theologians and all together we made this reflection—I called this team and I said: ‘This must come out before the meeting in Paris’—‘But why?’—‘To put pressure.’”

He continued: “When I began to think about this enc yclical, I called the s c i e n t i s t s — a n i c e g ro u p — a n d I t o l d them: ‘Tell me the things that are clear and that are proven and not hypotheses, the realities.’ And they brought these things that you read there today.”

He added: “Then, I called a group of philosophers and theologians [and told them]: ‘I would like to reflect on this. You work and dialogue with me.’ And they did the first job, then I intervened.”

“And, in the end, I did the final editing.

This is the origin. But I want to underline this: from not understanding anything, to Aparecida, in 2007, to the encyclical. Of this I like to give testimony. We must work so that everyone has this path of ecological conversion.

Catholic News Agency via CBCP News

Manila churches to open for confessions soon

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he Archdiocese of Manila is opening its churches for the faithful who would like to avail of the sacrament of confession.

In a pastoral instruction released this past week, Manila Apostolic Administrator Broderick Pabillo said it is about time to let the public to make a confession as there are safety precautions in place in churches.

“Because of the continuing threat of the [coronavirus disease 2019], there are still people who are hesitant to come to church, much more to

come to confession. But we should not allow fear to dictate on our actions,” he said.

“We always have to take necessary precautions, but there are important matters of our life that we have to attend to even with the presence of Covid-19, and confession is one of them,” Pabillo said.

He said parishes have been directed to provide time and identify areas where the confessions can be conducted that are both safe for the priest and the parishioner.

“So I invite all the faithful to come to avail of the great mercy of God that is poured on us by the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The parish are instructed to set aside time for confession and to make provisions for places for confessions that are hygienically safe for both the priest and the penitent,” Pabillo added.

The public is asked to make an appointment at the office of the parish for confession, he said.

“Each one may also make an appointment in the parish office for confession and the

the proposal of closing cemeteries in their respective areas during All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day to avert the spread of Covid-19, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said.

Genera l Manager Jojo Garcia said majority of 17 mayors of the National Capital Region are willing

p r i e s t s w i l l re a d i l y a cco m m o d ate yo u .

Confession cannot be done online. It has to be done personally. So I invite all to take time to receive this sacrament in the coming weeks,” the Catholic prelate explained.

In the past several months, church activities particularly the holding public Masses were only allowed online.

Religious gatherings in churches are now allowed at 10 percent seating capacity under the general community quarantine. PNA

to temporarily close the cemeteries.

He said he w ill have a meeting w ith the mayors on Sunday to set the policies for the closure.

He said the Inter-Agency Task Force will release its guidelines for nationwide observance of the days of the dead.

Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, National Task Force Covid-19 spokesman, said that due to the Filipino tradition of trooping to cemeteries for Undas, the whole country “most likely” will close them temporarily for health and safety reasons.

In other parts of Luzon, Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. of Angeles City in Pampanga ordered the closure of all public and private cemeteries in the city from October 30 to November 2 to avoid mass gatherings during the observance of Undas, or All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day. In Executive Order 19, Series of 2020, which he signed on Tuesday, Lazatin said preventing mass gatherings and the simposition of safe physical distancing are among the measures to mitigate the spread of Cov id-19.

“While the city government respects the Filipino tradition of remembering our departed loved ones, the mass gatherings of people on these dates pose dangers to spread the disease due to lack of social distancing,” the order said.

Instead, the mayor urged Angeleños to consider alternative dates to visit the cemetery and honor their departed ones.

He also appealed to his constituents to just pray and light candles instead for their departed loved ones in their respective homes.

In the Visayas, in Cebu City, all cemeteries were ordered closed on the same dates.

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella was reported to have urged the public to visit the graves until October 29 or after November 3. PNA

Ashoura in Karbala, Iraq, surpasses hajj in Mecca as largest Muslim pilgrimage

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very year, Shiite Muslims mark the death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussain with a mourning period that lasts a total of 50 days.

Ashoura, the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the day Hussain died.

For millions of Shiites, this mourning period culminates in a pilgrimage to Karbala in Iraq.

This pilgrimage has, in recent years, become the l argest gathering of people in the world for a religious reason. This year Ashoura was observed on August 30 and the pilgrimage, 40 days later, will end on October 9.

My research focuses on Shiite shrines and Muharram mourning practices. The city of Karbala, which I visited twice in 2013, is located 60 miles southwest of Baghdad and 45 miles north of Najaf, the other important Shiite shrine city in Iraq.

The pilgrimage and the city of Karbala have been through many changes over a more than 1,000-yearold history. This year, the pilgrimage and the holy city are faced with a new challenge: Covid-19.

The historic battle at Karbala

Karbala is the place where Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussain, was killed during what is known as the Battle of Karbala in A.D. 680. According to Shiites, Hussain and his men were martyred in this battle on the day of Ashoura.

Following the death of Prophet Muhammad in A.D. 632, there was a dispute over who would be his rightful heir.

Sunnis, who make up the majority of Muslims, believe that Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s friend and fatherin-law, rightly succeeded Muhammad in A.D. 632.

Shiites believe that Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, should have been Muhammad’s successor.

After years of civil war, as well as wars of expansion, the Arab Umayyad dynasty established its rule over the region, from the Middle East to North Africa from A.D. 661 to 750. But there were those who decried Umayyad rule.

Hussain had been invited by the inhabitants of Kufa, which was a garrison town near Najaf, to come and lead them in a revolt against the Umayyad caliph in Damascus.

Umayyad forces first put down the unrest in Kufa and then met and killed Hussain and his men on the desert plains of Karbala.

For Shiite Muslims, Hussain was their third imam, a worldly and spiritual leader whose direct relationship to Muhammad gave him special status and authority.

After Hussain’s death, a tomb was soon built which attracted devotees and benefactors. Najaf is where Hussain’s father, Ali, lies buried.

The pilgrimage throughout history

Over the years, Hussain’s shrine was destroyed, rebuilt, remodeled and expanded.

Muharram mourning rituals, whether in Karbala or elsewhere, have been used for political ends.

Sometimes, Muharram practices were sponsored by rulers who sought to gain popular support.

At other times, the rituals turned into antigovernment protests. Fearing civil unrest, some rulers prohibited or limited pilgrimage to Karbala.

For example, Mutawakkil, a caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled over a vast Islamic empire from the eighth to the 13th century, feared that the rituals inflamed antiregime fervor.

He destroyed the tomb in A.D. 850 and banned the pilgrimage to Karbala.

Karbala and Najaf grew in importance in the 16th century with the founding of a Shiite state in Persia, today’s Iran, under Shah Ismail I. From then on, the Iraqi shrine cities attracted increasing numbers of pilgrims.

Many pilgrims brought bodies of deceased relatives because of a belief that being buried close to Ali or Hussain ensures that when the deceased stands in front of God on Judgment Day, Ali or Hussain will appeal to God’s mercy to allow the person’s soul to enter heaven.

This has led to “Wadi al-Salam,” Arabic for “Valley of Peace,” in Najaf becoming one of the world’s largest cemeteries, holding up to 5 million corpses.

The transport and burial of corpses provided employment for a wide strata of the population in Najaf and Karbala. Higher fees were charged from those wanting to be closer to Ali or Hussain in the burial site.

Blaming the corpse traffic as one of the reasons for several outbreaks of cholera in 19th-century Persia and Ottoman Iraq, the Ottoman government, which ruled over Iraq from the 16th to the beginning of the 20th century, sought to restrict and control the number of corpses that were brought in.

Yet even under these restrictions, around 20,000 dead bodies were brought to Najaf each year at the start of the 20th century. Today, roughly 100,000 are brought for burial in Najaf annually.

From decline to rebirth

Under the authoritarian Iraqi Baath regime, from the early 1970s to 2003, Shiite pilgrimage was closely monitored and limited.

Like many previous rulers, Saddam Hussain feared that the rituals would be used in order to incite rebellion against his regime, that the pilgrimage would turn into a protest.

But once Saddam was overthrown by US-led forces in 2003, the pilgrimage flourished again.

In 2004, more than 2 million pilgrims walked to Karbala, and the most common route was from Najaf to Karbala.

Since then, the pilgrimage to Karbala has even eclipsed the hajj, which annually draws between 2 and 3 million.

In 2014, 17 million people reportedly completed the walk to Karbala. By 2016, the number of pilgrims increased to 22 million. Edith Szanto/The Conversation

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Sunday, September 13, 2020

‘Falcata can be harvested even when they’re young’

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Fighting environmental crime the DENR way

Falcata abounds in tree farms in Caraga Region, Northern Mindanao.

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n initial study by the Depar tment of Science and Technology-Forest Products R esearch and D evelopment Institute (DOST-FPRDI) may have the potential to change the face of tree farming in the Philippines.

Dr. Marina A. Alipon and her team have found that at three years old, falcata trees that are grown from known quality seeds may already be harvested, as their wood is already comparable to that of five- and seven-year-old trees. Right now, farmers usually wait seven to 10 years before cutting down their falcata.

Commonly grown in tree plantations across the country, falcata is the dominant species in Caraga Region in Northern Mindanao. Of about 733, 500 cubic meters of plantation logs produced in 2017, 67 percent were from Caraga, 91 percent of which were falcata.

The DOST-FPRDI researchers found that falcata wood at ages three, five and seven years did not differ from each other. They all belong to the low strength group—which means they may be used for construction purposes where strength and hardness are not required, such as veneer and plywood.

“Our trials show that it may soon be possible

to have a much shorter rotation time for growing falcata,” Alipon said.

“So instead of harvesting only once in 10 years, for example, farmers can now harvest their trees three times, which, of course, means more income for them. The key is seed quality, because only superior seeds can produce falcate that grow faster than usual,” she added.

The next step for the research team, she said, is to compare the size of logs produced by younger trees with older ones.

Industrial tree plantations were established in the Philippines beginning in the 1980s as substitute sources of raw materials for the wood industry.They became even more popular after 2011 when the government imposed a logging ban on all natural growth forests.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources estimates that the wood industry needs 6 million cubic meters of raw materials annually, a far cry from the 1 million cubic meters produced, three-fourths of which comes from tree farms.

The DOST-FPRDI project was funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development-Grants-in-Aid.

Rizalina K. Araral/S&T Media Service

Aboitiz Cleanergy Park, a birdwatching refuge

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

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ESPITE its small area to host an increasing number of flora and fauna, the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park in Davao City has so far recorded nearly 100 bird species—10 to 15 of which are endemic to the Philippines—making it an excellent site to see such creatures, according to a local birdwatching expert.

Davao-based birdwatcher Pete Simpson attributed this to its vast array of habitat types, complemented by the park’s safe and secure environment.

“It’s good for birdwatching because there is a range of habitats within a small area—the sea, the beach, mangroves, other trees and recently, a small grassland area,” Simpson said.

“Aach habitat has different birds specialized to live in these habitats. So, to be approaching nearly 100 bird species in such a small area and to be surrounded by an urban environment is excellent,” he added.

Approximately, about 20 bird species at the park are migratory, and a number can be found in other parts of the Philippines and throughout Southeast Asia.

Some of them are vagrant, rare birds that are only seen once at the site.

Simpson bared that he has already spotted a total of 98 bird species at the park since 2016.

The striking one that he saw was the endemic imperial pigeon—a large of its kind usually found in forested areas in Mindanao.

“In terms of urban birdwatching sites, Cleanergy [Park] is, by far, the best in Davao City, and I would say it’s one of the best urban birdwatching sites in the whole Philippines,” he said.

Less than an hour ride, or 20 kilometers from the Therma South Inc. baseload power plant, the park is an eight-hec tare ecological preser ve nestled in Punta Dumalag that is home to the critically- endangered hawksbill t u r t l e, e n d e m i c a n d m i g rato r y b i rd s a n d marine species.

“The existence of nearly 100 bird species at the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park is a remarkable achievement that reflects the Aboitiz Group’s strong commitment to sustainability and the preservation of an environmentally vital site in Davao and Mindanao,” said Sabin M. Aboitiz, president and chief executive officer of Aboitiz Group.

“We will continue to work hard to ensure that the succeeding generations will also be able to appreciate the natural environment of the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park,” she added.

Conducive for birds

SIMPSON considers the park as one of the top five birdwatching sites in Davao del Sur, a remarkable feat considering its relatively urban location.

According to him, there are only 90 birding

AN Asian Emerald Dove with its young are just some of the 95 bird species and counting that have been spotted at the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park in Davao City.

Aboitiz Cleanergy Park

sites in the countr y that have reached the milestone of 100 birds recorded.

“Aboitiz Cleanergy Park will join that group soon. To be approaching 100 species in a site only a few hectares is excellent. To have that, and to be surrounded by an urban environment, is great,” he explained.

Th e b i rd w a t c h e r re c a l l e d t h a t t h i s w a s a f a r c r y f ro m w h e n h e f i r s t s e t f o o t i n t h e Pu n t a D u m a l a g a re a w h e n i t w a s s t i l l u n d e ve l o p e d.

“Looking at it now, it tells me that the site is better for birds than when I visited them seven years ago, when I saw almost no birds,” he reminisced.

T h e A b o i t i z G r o u p’s c o m m i t m e n t t o sustainability and mindful operation of the urban-based biodiversity conservation hub has contributed to the flourishing of various plant and animal species in the area.

“The level of protection which Cleanergy [Park] has got is absolutely right and must be continued forever. But the way things are at the moment in the Philippines, it [park] needs to be there. It must be kept private and accessrestricted,” he said.

“I would be happy if more people in the Philippines would know more about the amazing birds at Cleanergy Park,” added Simpson, a member of the Wild Bird Club of the PhilippinesDavao who has studied environmental biology and has been a birdwatcher since he was 11 years old.

La s t ye a r, t h e p a r k we l co m e d 1 0 , 7 3 5 visitors and has so far released 4,811 pawikan hatchlings.

S i n c e 2 0 1 4 , i t h a s b e e n h o m e to 4 0 discovered pawikan nests. Early this year, two pawikans have been rescued and are currently under observation due to health conditions.

The park was recently improved, with the installation of a new playground made of used log poles.

Illegal structures and fences/enclosures erected by a fraternity inside the upper Marikina Watershed and Masungi Wildlife Sanctuary in KM 45 Marcos Highway, Pinugay, Baras, Rizal, were demolished on July 30. The team was led by Executive Director Nilo Tamoria (left) of the DENR’s Environmental Protection and Enforcement Task Force and Undesecretary Jim O. Sampulna (center). EPETF

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An operation against illegal trading of wood lumber/flitches products in Barangay Pangil, Amadeo, Cavite, was held by a team led by National Bureau of Investigation, Environmental Crime Division with the assistance of Forest Rangers from PENR Office in Trece Martires City and EPETF Intelligence Group on May 18. EPETF

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

sad news was reported last month about the killing of a tamaraw and the drying of its meat for food in Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park (MIBNP).

Environment Assistant Secretary Ricardo Calderon described the incident as “unfortunate.”

The Philippine tamaraw, also known as the Mindoro dwarf buffalo, remains critically endangered. Only around 600 of them are left in the wild, mostly in the hinterlands of Mount Iglit and Mount Baco.

The incident occurred at a time when the economic impact of the new coronavirus disease is taking its toll on poor communities around the MIBNP. With no source of income, nearby communities are forced to go to the forest to hunt animals, cut trees and harvest wood for fuel, adding more pressure on the environment.

This dire situation mirrors what may in fact be happening in other Protected Areas in various parts of the country.

Task force dependent

In a telephone interview on August 30, Calderon said this highlights the need to enhance the law enforcement capacity of the DENR once and for all.

“What we really need is to enhance our law enforcement capacities to fight environmental crimes,” said Calderon, concurrent Director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The DENR depends largely on the mandate of special task forces to enforce environmental laws.

The DENR is tasked to implement various laws and fight environmental crimes, yet unlike some government agencies, it has no law enforcement unit of its own at its disposal, Nilo Tamoria, executive director of the DENR’s Environmental Protection and Enforcement Task Force (EPETF), said.

Even the Environmental Management Bureau, a line agency of the DENR, which is mandated to enforce laws against pollution, such as the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, have greatly depended on other law enforcement agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation or the Philippine National Police. The same goes with the other

DENR bureaus.

T he Mines and Geosciences Bureau implements the Mining Act of 1995. T he BMB implements laws like the Wild life Act, C ave Act, a nd Nat iona l Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act and its amendator y law, Ex panded-Nipas Act. The Forest Management Bureau implements the Forest Code.

Not enough

“Every time a new administration ta kes over, a specia l task force is created. This is not enough,” Tamoria told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on September 8.

He said the threats faced by DENR employees out in the field are real.

There are incidents that DENR employees get killed by environmental criminals who are often armed and dangerous.

He said the DENR needs a permanent bureau dedicated to enforcing environmental laws a nd reg u l at ion s to become more ef fective in protecting the env i ron ment.

Protection, enforcement bureau

During a webinar on August 28 organized by the DENR that discussed the proposed bill creating the Environmental Protection and Enforcement Bureau (EPEB), Tamoria said the measure will ensure the sustainability of the f ight aga i nst env i ron ment a l crimes and strengthen its enforcement mandate. “ That’s why the DENR secretary has been pushing for the creation of a separate law enforcement bureau w ithin the DENR,” he said.

During the webinar organized by the EPETF and the United States Agency for International Development through its Protect Wildlife Project, key provisions of House Bill 6973 filed by Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda was presented by Tamoria. The proposed measure has been referred to the Committees on Government Reorganization and on Natural Resources.

T he bi l l a i m s to c apac it ate DEN R en forcers t h rou g h t he

establishment of an Enforcement Academy, where they can learn skills and techniques normally taught to ma instream l aw enforcement agents.

Once in operation, Tamoria said the proposed EPEB will “level up the DENR as the country’s lead agency for environmental law enforcement as it wages war against environmental crimes.”

Putting focus

When sought for reaction, Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim said a separate enforcement bureau for the environment and natural resources will hopefully help in putting focus and providing consistent attention on the implementation of environmental laws, rules and regulations.

“Those who will be tasked to manage the new agency must be familiar with all the ENR [Environment and Batural resources] laws, including those related to biodiversity, as well as the treaties that relate to transboundary violations,” said Lim, a former director of the DENR-BMB said.

Once established, environmental law enforcers, she said, also need to be adept at handling evidence, such as under the Wildlife Act. “These will involve live specimens and endangered meat and other by-products which may have special requirements, to preserve the integrity of the evidence,” Lim said.

Currently, ACB conducts capacity building programs on the use of various tools for park managers and rangers on wildlife enforcement in Asean Heritage Parks.

Competence, political will

Sought for com ment , Fer nando Hicap, national chairman of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), said the proposed bureau for environmental enforcement is nothing but an added layer of bureaucracy, redundancy and if not a milking cow. “ T he existing Env ironmenta l Management Bureau [EMB] that was mandated to enforce a w ide range of env ironmenta l laws, can’t even f unction as it is, “Hicap said v ia Messenger on September 8.

DENR’s fa i lu re to enforce several environmental laws and uphold the protection of the environment “is not because of the absence of a specific bureau, but a matter of competence and political will from the leadership of the department,” he added.

Environmental policy regime

For his part, Leon Dulce, national coordinator of the environmental group Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment said a change in environmental policy regime is needed.

“If we do not change the environmental policy regime that favors big mining, logging and other destr uctive projects, a new layer of bureaucracy will just implement the same old failed regulations,” Dulce told the BusinessMirror in an interview on September 8.

He said there is a need to study first the fundamental failures of environmental governance in the Philippines instead of enacting the proposed measure.

“We have protected areas and Bantay Gubat [Forest Guards] and Bantay Dagat [Sea Patrol] work forces that are grossly underfunded and under capacitated. We have conf licting land-use claims,” he said.

T he cou nt r y ’s n at u ra l re source management is focused on e x por ting wea lt h instead of planning its utilization for people’s needs he added.

D u lce sa id env i ron ment a l defenders are also treated as enemies of the state instead of partners for achieving environmental justice and protection in service to the Filipino public. “ There must be a priority on enacting thoroughgoing reforms focused on policy and practices.

T he proposed env ironmenta l enforcement bureau must be studied within this framework of analysis,” he added.

Prioritize environment protection, conservation

Dulce said there’s a need to prioritize environmental protection and biodiversity conservation by allocating more funds.

With more funds, more protection can be achieved.

“The number of employed forest rangers must be tripled and their salaries, benefits, equipment and capacities bolstered.

Sea patrols must likew ise be increased in number and capacities,” he said.

The main problem is lack of funding and capacity for our existing env ironmenta l work force, he said.

“Our Bantay Gubat and Bantay Dagat are already performing admirably despite the lack of state subsidy so the logical thing to do is to improve support for them. We should work on these fundamentals first before we talk about a new layer of bureaucracy,” Dulce pointed out.

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 Sunday, September 13, 2020

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

BACH: VACCINE NO ‘SILVER BULLET’ I

NTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach warned that testing and a Covid-19 vaccine is not a “silver bullet” for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo next year.

Bach issued the stark warning during a virtual media conference which followed an IOC Executive Board meeting on Friday. He claimed he was unable to answer questions on the finer details of the organization of Tokyo 2020 as the “situation is changing almost day by day.”

“The task force has to prepare for different scenarios, not knowing which one will be the environment next year,” Bach said. “That will not be easy, but of course, social distancing is under consideration.

We are also following very closely the development of rapid testing and vaccinations, because these could also have an effect and facilitate preparations.”

“But, it’s just too early to give a concrete answer to what will be the final scenario and the final approach,” he said. “The only thing we can say is, it will be about offering a safe environment for all participants.”

Bach sounded optimistic about the availability of a vaccine or rapid testing in time for next year, but did not see either as a silver bullet.

“According to our information and the contact we have with experts, the World Health Organization and pharmaceutical companies, we will see a great progress with regards to rapid testing, which can greatly influence the planning,” Bach said. “We have also been informed of encouraging news concerning the development of vaccines.”

“All of this will play a role and they will not be the silver bullet, but they can greatly facilitate the organization of the Games and hopefully events in the lead up to the Games,” he added.

A coronavirus countermeasures task force, formed of officials from the Japanese government, Tokyo metropolitan government and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, are assessing possible scenarios and measures that could allow the Olympics to run as expected from July 23 to August 8, 2021.

The Paralympics will follow from August 24 to September 5.

Border controls, Covid-19 countermeasures

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A WOMAN IN MEN’S FOOTBALL CLUB

TSUGI, Japan—Women’s World Cup winner Yuki Nagasato is joining Japanese men’s club Hayabusa Eleven on loan from the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL. The men’s team plays in an amateur regional league that is several levels below the country’s top pro soccer league, the J-League.

Nagasato, who won the Women’s World Cup with Japan in 2011, joined Chicago in 2017 after playing in several other leagues.

The Red Stars said in a statement that

Nagasato’s loan will end prior to the 2021 NWSL preseason.

“I want to get the message out to the girls who are playing soccer with the boys that women can join the men’s team and challenge themselves,” Nagasato said.

Nagasato said she is looking forward to playing for a team in her hometown of Atsugi, which is located near Yokohama just

BACH

KOIKE

at venues, plans for dealing with infected people, pre-Games training camps, rules for public transport, and the necessity of an isolation period upon entry into Japan are all being discussed.

Bach suggested the isolation aspect could be a reality, urging athletes to “show solidarity.”

“I said from the very beginning, this crisis

will require sacrifices and compromises from all of us,” he said. “If you need a quarantine to ensure a safe environment for all of the participants of the Games, then you need to quarantine.”

southwest of Tokyo.

“Honestly speaking, I don’t know how well I will be able to play on the men’s team, but I will do my best to make the most of my experience,” she said. “My performance and conditioning are getting better as I get more experienced. This is good timing for me and I’m really looking forward to this challenge.”

Nagasato said she was influenced by

Olympics by insisting the Games must be held in 2021 “by all means,” despite the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Koike became the latest official to back the Games taking place next summer.

Tokyo 2020 was pushed back one year because of international travel restrictions and health concerns affecting preparations and qualification for the Games.

Koike’s remarks were

GOVERNOR KOIKE: BY ALL MEANS TOKYO Governor Yuriko Koike reaffirmed her commitment to hosting the Tokyo 2020

American player Megan Rapinoe.

“It was very inspiring to hear the social message about gender inequality and other messages that Rapinoe was trying to deliver during the [2019] World Cup,” Nagasato said. “So I have been

WOMEN’S World Cup winner Yuki Nagasato joins men’s club in Japan.

reported by Kyodo News and come after International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates said the Games would go ahead in 2021 “with or without Covid-19.”

Japan’s Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto also said Tokyo 2020 should be held next year “at any cost,” citing the preparations of athletes as her motivation.

“Athletes are going through much hardship due to the one-year delay given that their physical condition and motivation were targeted at this summer,” Koike said. “We have to go forward with the Games next summer by all means.”

Koike implemented a coronavirus countermeasure task force as part of her plans to ensure the Olympics can take place. This group will assess possible scenarios and measures that could allow the Games to run as expected.

Insidethegames

thinking about how I can do the same.”

It was her older brother Genki, a former J-League player who plays for Hayabusa, who helped his sister join the team.

“For over a decade she’s been telling me that her ultimate dream is to play in a men’s team,” Genki Nagasato said. “So, as an older brother, I wanted to help my sister achieve her dream.” AP

3-time Olympic beach volley champ apologizes after anti-mask message T HREE-TIME beach volleyball Olympic champion Kerri Walsh Jennings apologized after boasting on social media about not wearing a mask when shopping.

One of the sport’s greatest players in history, Walsh Jennings posted on Instagram showing herself not wearing a mask while shopping, and called the move “a little exercise in being brave.”

The American lives in the country most affected by coronavirus.

Her stance on not wearing a face covering—which is mandatory in many nations in indoor public places such as supermarkets and cinemas—came after she read a post on social media which she said “woke me up.”

Jennings said she wanted to stand up for her rights and freedoms without putting others in danger.

Health experts in the United States recommend that face coverings should be worn in public.

To date, there have been more than 6.46 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US—two million more than the second and third most affected nations—India and Brazil. At least 193,000 people have died in the US due to the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention insist that face coverings are meant to protect other people in case that person is infected.

The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), meanwhile, canceled four events and postponed a flagship age-group tournament as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the sport’s calendar.

The Under-19 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Roi Et in Thailand were due to take place from November 10 to 15, but have been pushed back to March 24 to 28 next year.

The age limit will be unchanged, with athletes having to born on or after January 1, 2002.

Four Beach Volleyball World Tour events have been canceled because of the health crisis, with the biggest being a four-star competition in Yangzhou in China, which was previously postponed.

Insidethegames

Kerri Walsh Jennings posted on Instagram showing herself not wearing a mask while shopping.

No more protest badges on EPL jerseys

L

ONDON—English Premier League (EPL) jerseys will no longer feature a Black Lives Matter (BLM) badge, which has been replaced by the competition’s own No Room For Racism campaign branding.

The change was announced after a league call with club captains on Thursday, two days before the start of the season.

The BLM logo was placed on shirts following global protests in support of the movement sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota in May. “Players rightly have a strong voice on this matter, which we saw last season,” league Chief Executive Richard Masters said. “We have continued to talk and listen to players on this issue and will support them, as well as continuing to emphasize the Premier League’s position against racism.

“Discrimination in any form, anywhere, is wholly unacceptable and No Room For Racism makes our zero-tolerance stance clear. We will not stand still on this important issue and we will continue to work with our clubs, players and partners

to address all prejudiced behavior.”

The league said it would continue backing players taking a knee before kickoff.

Newcastle, meanwhile, accused the Premier League’s leadership of acting inappropriately in rejecting a takeover bid involving a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and said it would be considering “all relevant options available.”

The English club’s statement comes more than a month after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced it was withdrawing and criticized the “unforeseeably prolonged process.”

The league blocked the takeover after concerns were raised about piracy of game broadcasts by a rogue operation in Saudi Arabia and human-rights abuses in the kingdom.

Masters said last month that the consortium was asked for more details about which entity would have control of the club so an assessment could be made about any possible disqualifying criteria. Masters said an offer of an independent arbitral tribunal was

rejected by the bidders.

The British-based Reuben brothers and financier Amanda Staveley were also part of the PIF bid, planning to each buy the remaining 10-percent stakes. AP

A REFEREE wears a patch “Black Lives Matter” during an English Premier League match. AP

U.S. college admissions

Asian students defer and cancel

2

BusinessMirror SEPTEMBER 13, 2020 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

MELODIC THERAPY

Clinton Kane on figuring out his music

M

USIC is a universal language. It transcends language barriers and speaks to the heart of things everyone experiences. However, for Filipino-Norwegian singer songwriter Clinton Kane, music means so much more than that.

Clinton Kane (Photo by DanielPrakopcyk)

Publisher

: T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Editor-In-Chief

: Lourdes M. Fernandez

Concept

: Aldwin M. Tolosa

Y2Z Editor

: Jt Nisay

SoundStrip Editor

: Edwin P. Sallan

Group Creative Director : Eduardo A. Davad Graphic Designers Contributing Writers

Columnists

: Niggel Figueroa Anabelle O. Flores : Tony M. Maghirang, Rick Olivares, Darwin Fernandez, Leony Garcia, Stephanie Joy Ching Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez : Kaye VillagomezLosorata Annie S. Alejo

Photographers

By Stephanie Joy Ching

After a particularly rough childhood, Clinton developed a heightened sense of independence and privacy at a young age. He taught himself how to sing and play the guitar through Sunday worship.

Though he may look very open, he had expressed that he’s a very private individual.

“I’m just friendly but I’m actually a really private person,” he shared, “i don’t like to talk about my life,” At age 20, Clinton made the life changing decision to drop out of medical school and ran off to Athens with only $500 to his name.

He took on several odd jobs, from bartending to telemarketing just to get by. He quickly adopted a nomadic lifestyle, hopping from one country to another by himself. Tired of the ever changing landscape before him, he wanted something constant in his life, which eventually became music.

“Moving around has its ups and

downs, but I ended up figuring it out,” he said, “I feel like if I hadn’t moved out, the way I did, and visited all those countries, I wouldn’t be here. I got to see the world more, I met different people, experience different cultures, see how different people think. Traveling definitely made who I am today,” Now armed with an avenue to express himself, Clinton found his voice. After a falling out with a friend, he experienced one of his first anxiety attacks.

Overwhelmed with emotions, he had unknowingly picked up his guitar and wrote his first song.

“Music allowed me to put myself out there,” he surmised, “And when I see that people are loving the music and vibing to it, then I become more inclined to be like, “Maybe I should open up about myself more, build healthier relationships, It’s definitely therapeutic.”

Like many young artists of his

: Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes

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Clinton Kane's Zoom roundtable interview with SoundStrip and other media

Clinton Kane's 'Hopeless' single

generation, Clinton first unleashed his work on YouTube, where people became immediately drawn to his raw, honest songs about his experiences. Eventually, he was picked up by Columbia Records and released his first EP, this is what it feels like.

Curiously, most of Clinton’s songs including his latest releases, “hopeless” and “forget about us” do not start with a capital letter. While he has yet to express the significance of his all-lowercase repertoire, it’s obvious that the stylization is part of his self-expresion.

Although Clinton Kane maintains that most of his work is for his own self-care, he expressed that he also hopes that his audience will find hope in his work as well. It looks like he has, from the looks of it and even at this early stage of his career. At Spotify alone, he now has over 4 million monthly listeners.

“I think when you stop thinking about what other people think of you, when you stop thinking about other artists’ careers, and when you just focus on yourself, then I think you will be on your way,” he concluded.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | SEPTEMBER 13, 2020

3

BUSINESS

BLAZING THE TRAIL

Hip-hop pacesetters J.I.D and Bohan Phoenix launch Vans Musicians Wanted 2020

W

By Edwin P. Sallan

ITH two of the most exciting hip-hop artists as guest judges, the Vans Musicians Wanted competition is back to provide undiscovered musicians a golden opportunity for their original music to be heard by a global audience.

J.I.D

A renowned sports brand also known for advocating creative expression on a global scale, Vans recently announced the worldwide expansion of its celebrated music platform originally launched in the Asia Pacific region in 2015. What makes this year’s edition of Vans MusiciansWanted particularly special is that Vans launches the competition with Atlanta-based rapper, J.I.D and Chinese-born and American-raised artist, Bohan Phoenix.

These trailblazing artists that were recently part of Vans’ final chapter of its This Is Off The Wall brand campaign are known for fusing cultural identity with their raw talents. In sharing their compelling journey, Vans is hoping that the inspiring stories of both J.I.D and Bohan Phoenix within the hip-hop context will resonate with aspiring next-gen musicians ready to take centerstage and elevate their artistry from the

and dual cultural identity, Bohan began to make music that blended two languages and cultures together to create something uniquely personal, pushing hip-hop in places very few have ever reached.

The stories of J.I.D and Bohan Phoenix are just two of the many stories Vans has chosen to highlight in its This Is Off The Wall campaign to celebrate creative expression through the pursuit of artists making their own inroads towards hip-hop—a genre that has become a distinct language of choice for young voices who continue to work to forge their own path by any means necessary.

J.I.D and Bohan Phoenix will

limited confines of their bedrooms.

Based in East Atlanta, where he was born and raised, Destin Choice Route a.k.a. J.I.D originally wanted to be a professional athlete but has instead went on to become one of the defining voices of the current wave of hip-hop artists. With his impressive wordplay and a musical sensibility that puts a premium on craft over hype, J.I.D has carved a very impressive niche for himself.

On Spotify alone, he currently has over 4.8 million monthly listeners.

Learning English through popular movies and television shows was also the same manner in which Bohan Phoenix was introduced to hip-hop. Born in Hubei, China but now based in Massachusetts, Bohan’s exposure to music led him on a path of self-discovery and personal exploration that prompted him to craft his own sound.

By embracing his upbringing Bohan Phoenix

join European-based alternative rock singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya and Vans Ambassador and Grammy award winning artist Anderson .Paak as special guest judges for Vans Musicians Wanted.

With more than 7,000 artists that have entered the program since its inception, Vans is proud to expand the program globally to welcome artists from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and Europe for a chance to share their original music with the world. This year’s competition has evolved into a seamless digital experience. The Top 5 artists from the Asia Pacific region will perform at the Vans Musicians Wanted Virtual Concert this December. They will also receive free album distribution through Spinnup, Universal Music Group’s distribution service for independent artists.

One grand prize winner will be selected to receive Vans product, Fender Gear, Vans Spotify and Apple Music playlisting, music video produced by Universal Music Group and one year of free and unlimited global music distribution from Spinnup (APAC exclusive), and the opportunity to share the stage with Anderson .Paak as the opening act in 2021.

Artists can now submit their original music at Vans.com/ MusiciansWanted.

Anderson .Paak (AP Photo)

U.S. college admissions Asian students defer and cancel

By Janet Paskin

I

Bloomberg

n a typical year, more than 1 million students come from all over the world to study at US colleges and universities. They’ve never had more reasons to reconsider.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought health concerns, travel restrictions and shifting immigration rules; online classes and social distancing promise a diluted college experience at a full-strength price. Students from Asia, who make up three quarters of foreign nationals on US campuses, have yet another concern. Anti-Asian bias and hate crimes are at an all-time high.

Foreign students contributed an estimated $41 billion to the economy in the 2018-19 academic year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

The intangible benefits to the US are harder to measure but no less real: By one count, more than 60 world leaders attended US schools. Still, America’s near-monopoly on elite higher education is weakening. After 12 years of steady growth, the number of international students in the US plateaued in 2019, Institute of International Education data show. Other countries including the UK, Canada and Australia are eager to attract students from overseas.

Bloomberg talked to young adults from Asian countries who changed their minds about attending school in the US this fall, even before Covid-19 clusters started breaking out on campuses from Cambridge to Chapel Hill. Most said they still plan to study abroad eventually—when the outbreak subsides, when the economy improves, when campuses reopen. But the pandemic also made them aware that their

“I’m doing what I need this year so I can do a better job starting school in 2021,” says 19-year-old Clarine Lee, who deferred her freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Bloomberg plans could change, and change again.

Eddy Lin, 23, Taipei Deferred Master of Laws program at University of Pennsylvania Our organization promotes young people’s participation in public policy, and most of our ambitions are law-related (Lin is founder of the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy). I wanted to study in the US because Taiwan uses lots of legal concepts from the US, including our concept of human rights and our rules on freedom of speech and media. One of the things our NGO advocates for is lowering Taiwan’s voting age from 20 to 18, which in the US was achieved through constitutional amendment. So I aimed to build up a solid base for research.

But I decided to postpone the plan in May. Pennsylvania is close to New York, and Covid-19 cases were surging. Given how expensive health care is in the US and the dangerous virus situation, my family and I grew concerned. My friends returned from the US and told me the situation there was very serious. Taiwan has successfully contained the virus, so it’s safer and better to stay at home.

Also, it’s not cheap to study in the US There’s no point if courses are held online with limited learning experience and classroom resources. I’ve already paid a deposit of $2,750. The school said in April that can be fully refunded, but I’m not sure whether the policy will change with the Covid situation. The school also said if most classes have to be online next spring, students can continue to postpone their enrollment. So I’ll just wait and see. —As told to Cindy Wang and Raymond Wu Clarine Lee, 19, Seoul Deferred freshman year at Carnegie Mellon. Major: Art I recently graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon boarding school (in Massachusetts) and came back to Seoul due to the pandemic. We had our graduation online. I’d never been to a proper graduation so I didn’t really know what I was expecting. But it was good to see all my faculty at the chapel, reading out our names and giving advice. Definitely disappointed I didn’t have a proper goodbye with my friends or anyone I met there.

I’m a more in-person, hands-on learner.

I’ve never taken art online, but I think a lot of the inspiration and community lives in

the studio when we’re making art with each other, and being in that environment and seeing each other and sharing our struggles. I’ve heard most online art classes give you a deadline for each art piece, then you talk together and then critique. I just felt that that was taking away the core of the experience that I wanted.

And in the back of my and my parents’ minds, there was concern that if I were in Pittsburgh, could I take care of myself and stay healthy? I initially wanted take a gap semester but I couldn’t do that. I paid the tuition, which will be applied next year.

I’ve never been to Pennsylvania. I’ve heard Pittsburgh is a great city. I’m so looking forward to it. I’m doing what I need this year so I can do a better job starting school in 2021. —As told to Peter Pae Max Huang, 24, Taipei Deferred Master’s degree in human resources at Purdue University I want to work in human resources in the US and the Krannert School of Management is the top human resource program in the country. Given the strong career center and academics, I was so excited to start the journey and hoped to equip myself with the tools to land a job in the US after graduating.

It’s all fallen down since Covid-19 spread in the US. Taiwan has good control of the virus, so it’s not difficult to decide to stay. Nobody wants to risk getting infected, or graduating into a weak labor market. It’s hard for local students to get a job offer in the US these days, let alone us foreign students, especially with the changing policies from the Trump administration.

Hopefully the US economy will get better next year and they’ll relax any restrictions on foreign students. The US is so strong partly because they import foreign talent, students like us. They get the best people from all over the world. For now, I’m looking for a human resources job here.— As told to Cindy Wang and Raymond Wu ON THE COVER: Max Huang. Bloomberg

Filipino youth bears brunt of PHL’s unemployment pains

E

mployment prospects for Filipino youth remain bleak as pandemic-hit companies freeze hiring and choose experienced workers for fewer jobs.

Youth unemployment rate was 22.4 percent in July, when new graduates would typically enter the work force, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. That’s more than double the overall 10-percent jobless ratio and compares with 14.7 percent a year ago. It was at 31.6 percent in April.

There were 1.7 million Filipinos age 15 to 24 years old without work in July, up 55 percent from a year ago. About 149,000 Filipino youth joined the labor force in that period.

The capital region, which accounts for more than

a third of the economy, registered the worst youth jobless rate at 32.1 percent. Manila and surrounds, the nation’s virus epicenter, have been subject to among the world’s strictest lockdowns that shut most businesses and required anyone below 21 years old to stay at home.

“This is a hallmark of extreme economic downturns where premium is put on more seasoned workers in the meantime,” said Robert Dan Roces, chief economist at Security Bank Corp.

According to Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., “a bright spot could be a possible increase in foreign companies outsourcing work to the Philippines to cut costs.” Bloomberg

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September 13, 2020