BusinessMirror
n
Sunday, August 23, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 313
A broader look at today’s business
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 12 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
SHARED RISK:
BRAVADOBEN | DREAMSTIME.COM
CATTLE, HUMANS CAN GIVE EACH OTHER ‘TB’
K
By John Eiron R. Francisco
ORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato—The Philippines’s fight against tuberculosis should not stop with humans, a veterinarian said, urging the government to establish the country’s first national bovine tuberculosis eradication program to prevent the disease from spreading between cattle and people. “Cattle TB is not just an animal disease. It is a One Health issue affecting food safety, livestock productivity, and public health,” Dr. Philip John S. Sajol, a veterinarian and researcher at Central Mindanao University said. According to Sajol, existing policies and regulations, primarily implemented by the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal
Industry (DA-BAI) in coordination with the Department of Health, classify bovine TB as a locally important animal disease but do not provide clear measures for controlling it, particularly at the local-government level. During the 3-Minute Pitch to Policymakers competition at the 19th Philippine National Health Continued on A2
DR. Philip John S. Sajol, a veterinarian and researcher at Central Mindanao University, won first place in the 3-Minute Pitch to Policymakers competition held Wednesday in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, for his proposal to establish a national bovine tuberculosis eradication program. JOHN EIRON R. FRANCISCO
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.8660 n JAPAN 0.3913 n UK 84.2120 n HK 7.8909 n CHINA 9.1923 n SINGAPORE 48.6751 n AUSTRALIA 44.0610 n EU 72.2409 n KOREA 0.0446 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.4774 Source: BSP (August 20, 2026)
News BusinessMirror
A2 Sunday, August 23, 2026
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Trump risks China blowback with plan to choke Iran’s economy By Eric Martin & Magdalena Del Valle
W
Bloomberg
“You are either with us, or against us,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC Thursday. “This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.” That stark language was meant to underscore Washington’s desire to punish countries that still do business with the Islamic Republic, with Bessent saying he would unveil a plan at a Monday press conference. But it also reflects a worrying lack of US options to wind down the unpopular conflict, while referencing an infamous phrase that presaged two decades of US forever wars in the Middle East that President Donald Trump and his defense chief Pete Hegseth have repeatedly pledged they would avoid. China will provide the biggest test of Washington’s determination to follow through. Beijing is the main buyer of Iranian oil and the Trump administration has so far shown little appetite for challenging its economic links with Iran, particularly with President Xi Jinping visiting the US next month and the world’s two largest economies navigating a ten-
uous trade truce. Iran has already been subjected to decades of tough sanctions and the US is enforcing a naval blockade of its ports after months of airstrikes failed to force Tehran to sign a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and give up its nuclear material. It’s unclear what meaningful economic actions Washington has left, other than targeting China or playing a ramped-up sanctions whack-a-mole against smaller entities doing business with Iran in other countries. Meanwhile, the damage to economies around the world is mounting as the war drags on. “The US doesn’t have the bandwidth to enforce an airtight sanctions regime on a country like Iran, which has expertise in circumventing sanctions,” said Ali Vaez, a deputy program director at the International Crisis Group. “The president doesn’t have the patience that is required for such a policy to bear results, which will be measured in months, not weeks.” Trump on Wednesday warned that “ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses,
AHMAD EFENDI | DREAMSTIME.COM
HEN Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to ramp up pressure on Iran by targeting its economic partners, he echoed former President George W. Bush’s warning to US allies after the Sept. 11 attacks.
airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences.” The president highlighted “Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW.” That oil focus puts a bullseye on Beijing, which buys 90% of Iranian petroleum exports. Washington has already sanctioned some of China’s independent refineries since the start of the war in February, but has stopped short of targeting major Chinese banks that finance the trade. “Is the White House willing to prioritize this new economic warfare campaign above its China relationship? And if it chooses to, there are serious ramifications,” said Chris Kennedy, an economic statecraft analyst at Bloomberg Economics. Kennedy said the new threats are also an “admission that
the US is running out of options.” Any decision to hit China would risk worsening tensions just weeks before Trump hosts Xi for the Chinese leader’s first visit to Washington in a decade. It also raises the threat of Chinese countermeasures that could inflict pain on the US economy ahead of November midterm elections that will hinge on pocketbook issues. Beijing has already demonstrated a willingness to push back against Trump, most notably by announcing export restrictions on rare earths that forced the White House into a climbdown from their tariff fight. “There’s no way that you can punish the Iranian economy more than it’s been punished over 40 years unless you have some kind of international coalition, which we don’t have,” Josh Lipsky, vice president of international economics at the Atlantic Council, told Bloomberg TV. “It’s unclear to me how we’re going to choke off Iran more than we have financially without triggering immense blowback from China on the eve of President Xi’s
visit to Washington.” China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed Trump’s threats to unleash “economic warfare” on Iran’s trading partners, saying it wouldn’t work to resolve the tensions in the region. “Nothing the Trump administration can offer is sufficient to ask Xi to kowtow to Trump in such a public and consequential way,” said Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors and a sanctions expert. “This is asking Beijing to willingly allow the United States to dictate who they can and cannot conduct business with, and that is a precedent that they have no intention of establishing.” Trump’s focus on stopping oil sales, Tehran’s top source of revenue, has had an impact. “Under these conditions, our oil exports have virtually stopped,” Iranian central bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati told state TV this week. While China is the most obvious target, other nations are also on the frontline if the US moves to further isolate Iran’s economy. The United Arab Emirates has been Iran’s largest trade partner
overall and a top provider of foreign goods and hard currency to the country. The UAE this week though said it’s cutting all economic ties with the Islamic Republic, claiming Tehran had fired ballistic missiles at its territory. Turkey, a NATO ally of the US, is the biggest buyer of Iranian exports after China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. India, a US strategic partner that Trump is seeking to negotiate a trade deal with, is also a major source of imports for Iran, particularly food and medicine. Exchange houses in the UAE and Iraq also help Iran repatriate funds once it makes oil sales, converting payments—often received in Chinese yuan—into currencies Tehran can use. But targeting those firms may not be enough to force Iran to concede. Even without pushback from other countries, there are doubts a stepped-up US economic pressure campaign can succeed at all. Analysts have also cautioned it’s unclear whether the US can fully sever Iran’s trading ties—including overland routes—with neighboring states, which have endured for generations due to their geographic proximity and deep historic links. Much will depend on the details of the US policy and the level of enforcement, said Claire O’Neill McCleskey, a former Treasury official and co-founder of sanctions advisory firm Clarity Compliance Consulting. “At this point, broad public threats alone are unlikely to change behavior,” she said. “It will take actual action against a foreign bank or company for third countries to understand exactly what the Trump administration is willing to target.”
Shared risk: Cattle, humans can give each other ‘TB’ Continued from A1
Research System (PNHRS) Week on Wednesday, Sajol proposed a national bovine or cattle tuberculosis eradication program to be led by the DA-BAI in coordination with the DOH, DOST and other research agencies. The program would align with the DOST’s Harmonized National Research and Development Agenda (HNRDA) and the National Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA). He also called for stronger surveillance in slaughterhouses through rapid and reliable diagnostic tools, standardized post-mortem examinations and mandatory disease reporting. Sajol further recommended stronger occupational health measures and proper personal protective equipment for slaughterhouse workers and other high-risk groups, as well as closer coordination among veterinarians, physicians, researchers, local governments and farming communities to improve disease monitoring, reporting and public awareness. The proposed measures are based partly on Sajol’s study of 275 slaughtered cattle in Bukidnon, one of the country’s major cattleproducing provinces. Of the animals examined, 126, or nearly half, tested positive for bovine TB. The study also found abnormal lesions or damaged areas in the lungs and other tissues that were consistent with TB during the post-mortem examinations. These were found in cattle of different ages, sexes and physical conditions, suggesting that some cases may be going unnoticed. “While these findings come from only one province, they actually signify a pressing concern. If we are not actively detecting bovine TB, we may be underestimating its impact both on animal and human health,” he emphasized. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country had 2.52 million cattle as of March 31, 2026, down 1.5 percent from the 2.56 million recorded during the same period
in 2025. Smallholder farms accounted for 86.4 percent of the country’s cattle inventory, while semi-commercial and commercial farms accounted for 10.9 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, with Northern Mindanao and Calabarzon among the leading cattle-producing regions. “If, for example, we are not testing for this disease, imagine in these high cattle-producing provinces, the disease may spread. And then again, this is zoonotic. It may transmit to humans, which then will lead to human TB cases,” he said. “So in the national context, this may actually help us bridge the gap and to hopefully eradicate also even human tuberculosis nationwide,” he added. According to Sajol, human TB is commonly caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and spreads through the air, while bovine TB is caused by Mycobacterium bovis. The latter can spread among cattle through close contact with infected animals or exposure to contaminated feed and water. Humans can also contract M. bovis by inhaling the bacteria or consuming contaminated animal products, especially raw or undercooked meat and unpasteurized milk. Proper cooking and pasteurization, however, can kill the bacteria. Although the two kinds of bacteria belong to the same complex and can cause similar disease and tissue damage, cattle may not show obvious symptoms of bovine TB. Sajol explained that cattle typically have a lifespan of only two to three years before slaughter, so the disease may not have enough time to progress to its clinical stage. This differs from humans, who generally live much longer, giving TB more time to develop and show symptoms. “Typically, medications for human tuberculosis are also applied to cattle tuberculosis. However, from an economic standpoint, what I’m saying is it’s actually better to cull the cattle than to treat because, again, it’s costly,” he said. Studies have estimated that
bovine TB accounted for about 30 percent of human TB cases in some settings, with the burden concentrated in developing countries where cattle disease is more common and access to pasteurized milk is limited. In the United States, however, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that Mycobacterium bovis, the bacterium that causes bovine TB, accounts for less than 2 percent of human TB cases. The lower incidence has been associated with long-standing cattle disease-control programs and widespread milk pasteurization. “The purpose of the research is not to extend fear among farmers, consumers and slaughterhouse workers. It’s actually to keep them well informed of the status of bovine tuberculosis,” he told BusinessMirror during a press conference. He noted that the country currently lacks a comprehensive database on bovine TB, making it difficult to determine the extent of the disease. At the community level, he said greater awareness could help farmers manage their cattle more effectively while protecting their livelihoods. “Having your cattle killed because of this disease would create devastating economic losses to their families,” Sajol said. Sajol’s proposed bovine TB policy won first place in the PNHRS 3-Minute Pitch to Policymakers competition, which featured nine finalists. Dr. Angelica Faye O. Reguindin of Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital in Central Luzon placed second for her proposal, “A Small Dose Today Can Prevent Days in the Hospital Tomorrow: Making Rotavirus Vaccine Accessible for Every Filipino Child.” Zwiesel Gaile L. Cantuba of Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center in the Cordillera Administrative Region placed third for “Project IYAMAN: Institutionalizing an Evidence-Informed, Multitiered Suicide Prevention System in Baguio City.”
The World
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Sunday, August 23, 2026
A3
Why Taiwan and the South China Sea matter to the US and the world By E. Eduardo Castillo
B
The Associated Press
EIJING—When US Sen. Darline Graham struggled to answer in a debate whether the US has a national security interest in Taiwan and the South China Sea, she drew criticism for saying national security was “not my thing.”
Taiwan and the South China Sea have long been major issues in US foreign policy, and tensions involving China have kept both in the news in recent months. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and asserts sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea, bringing it into confrontation with US allies and partners in the region. What happens in Taiwan and the South China Sea could have an impact not only on the region but around the world, given
their importance to global trade. The South China Sea, a large body of water bordered by several nations, including China, the Philippines and Vietnam, is one of the world’s key maritime trade routes. Taiwan produces the majority of the world’s advanced semiconductors. “The two are very much connected,” said Hunter S. Marston, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute in Australia. “If China were to blockade or seek
SOLDIERS participate in the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Yilan, northeastern Taiwan, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. AP/CHIANG YING-YING, POOL
to forcibly retake Taiwan from the mainland, the South China Sea could quickly see spillover effects.”
Here’s a look at why Taiwan and the South China Sea are important and how the two are connected strategically:
Taiwan, a key issue in US-China relations GRAHAM is seeking a full Senate term after being
appointed to the seat of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, who was known for his foreign policy involvement and made several foreign trips, including to Taiwan. Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy that China claims as its own territory, and Beijing has not renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. After China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, it became a thorny international issue. China sends military aircraft, coast guard ships and other vessels around Taiwan on a near-daily basis and periodically conducts large-scale military exercises. Taiwan also regularly holds military drills, including its annual Han Kuang exercises. The US does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but maintains extensive unofficial relations and is required under US law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Under that framework, the See “Taiwan,” A4
A4
Sunday, August 23, 2026
The World
www.businessmirror.com.ph
China moves to wrap up saga of troubled property giant Evergrande after founder gets life sentence
H
ONG KONG—Chinese authorities are moving to finish cleaning up the mess left by the collapse of the Evergrande real estate empire, years after its default with some $300 billion in liabilities.
A court in southern China’s Guangzhou said Friday it had accepted a bankruptcy liquidation case against Evergrande’s mainland Chinese property development unit, which according to industry data accounted for much of the group’s overall debt. That came a day after a court in the city of Shenzhen sentenced China Evergrande›s 67-year-old founder Hui Kan Yan to life in prison for financial crimes. On the same day, dozens of others tied to the group, including Hui›s sons, also were sentenced to prison terms of up to 18 years. China takes steps to wrap up the Evergrande saga The latest developments suggest that the Chinese government “may already have a road map” for wrapping up the Evergrande saga, said Foreky Wong, a founding partner at Fortune Ark Restructuring and a restructuring specialist. “They will need to do these (steps) sooner or later,” he said. However, he added, “Evergrande is such a big company. Its bankruptcy proceedings will last for a while.” What remains unclear is how long it will take to get the real estate market, once a main locomotive of China’s economic boom and accounted for approximately a quarter of China’s economy as recent as a few years
Taiwan. . . Continued from A3
US has long been Taiwan’s main informal backer and arms supplier, a relationship that has been a persistent source of tensions with Beijing. During US President Donald Trump’s latest visit to Beijing in May, Chinese President Xi Jinping made clear that Taiwan remains the most important issue in the bilateral relationship. Xi warned that mishandling US ties with the island could lead to confrontation between the two countries. Trump did not publicly address Taiwan during the trip. But on his way back to the United States, he said arms sales to Taiwan were a “very good negotiating chip” with China, comments that stirred anxieties on the island.
ago, back on track. Evergrande collapsed after Chinese regulators cracked down on excessive borrowing in the real estate industry in 2020. That brought on a wave of failures of other developers and a prolonged downturn in the housing market. Home prices have fallen roughly 20% or more since 2021 and so far there have been scant signs of a solid recovery. Supply still outstrips demand in many smaller cities, while a wider economic slowdown is weighing on people›s spending power. Creditors may not get much of their money back Once deemed “too big to fail,” Evergrande became the world’s most indebted developer. It’s taking years to wind up those debts. In 2024, after failing to reach an agreement with its creditors, a Hong Kong court eventually ordered the liquidation of Evergrande group, its holding company which was listed in Hong Kong and incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Nearly five years after the company›s first default on its debts, industry experts say the liquidation progress will likely be a lengthy one. Hong Kong and mainland China operate under different legal systems and most of Evergrande’s assets are in mainland China, the location of most of its operations. So, Hong “If China were able to take control of Taiwan, or if the United States clarified that it would not come to Taiwan’s defense in the event of a conflict, China would be able to project its military power (particularly submarine capabilities) far into the South China Sea and beyond the first island chain into the Pacific,” said Marston, from the Lowy Institute. A conflict over Taiwan would have direct consequences for Southeast Asia. Marston said that nearly 1 million citizens of the countries in Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN, would need to be evacuated. A conflict could also bring US and Chinese military forces through the South China Sea and put pressure on regional governments to navigate between the two powers.
More than 2,300 Mexicans sent to Guatemala, Honduras as Trump ramps up third-country deportations By Sonia Pérez D., María Verza & Marlon González The Associated Press
G
IN this handout photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin, founder of property developer Evergrande stands trial at the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. SHENZHEN INTERMEDIATE PEOPLE'S COURT/XINHUA VIA AP
Kong court-appointed liquidators have a limited capacity to claw back its assets and help creditors recover what they are owed. “There are lots of interesting legal questions thrown up by this PRC (the People’s Republic of China) ruling that will take some time to play out,” said Jonathan Leitch, a partner specialized in restructuring at the law firm Hogan Lovells Cadwalader. That includes whether there will be other claims against Hui’s assets competing with claims that the Hong Kong liquidators are pursuing, Leitch said. Liquidators and courts are going after Hui’s fortune In announcing the lifetime prison sentence for Hui, who is also known as Xu Jiayin and was at one time said to be China’s richest man, the Shenzhen court ordered that his personal assets be confiscated. Hong Kong-based liquidators from the restructuring firm Alvarez and Marsal have sought to locate and recover the assets of Evergrande, Hui and others tied to the company. A Hong Kong
Tensions persist in the South China Sea
BUT China asserts sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansive maritime claims. In July, on the 10th anniversary of the ruling, the US, the United Kingdom and 12 other countries reiterated that China’s expansive claims have no legal basis. Beijing responded by insisting it would neither accept nor recognize the arbitration decision. Confrontations in the disputed waters have become more frequent in recent years, particularly involving Chinese, Philippine and Vietnamese forces and fishing fleets. Chinese coast guard ships and other vessels have used powerful water cannons, military-grade lasers and dangerous blocking maneuvers against Philippine forces and fishermen from other claimant countries. Such confrontations have led to collisions at sea and high-risk encounters in the air. China has also carried out military drills this month near Scarborough Shoal, a disputed area claimed by both China and the Philippines. In April, the United States and the Philippines kicked off the annual Balikatan military exercises. The drills included mock battle scenarios and live-fire exercises in Philippine provinces facing the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
judge earlier prohibited Hui from disposing of his worldwide assets of some $7.7 billion. The liquidators also have been seeking $8.4 billion from accounting firm PwC over its role in auditing Evergrande›s financial statements before its collapse. Investigations by authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China found Evergrande had overstated its revenues by roughly $80 billion over 2019 and 2020 by manipulating financial data. In 2024, mainland authorities fined PwC, one of the world’s largest accounting firms, around $62 million over its Evergrande audits. Hong Kong authorities said in April that PwC was paying a separate $166 million in fines and compensation. Evergrande’s creditors will likely recover a fraction of what’s owed. Wong of Fortune Ark Restructuring expects what while the amounts might be large, they will likely figure in the single digit percentages of Evergrande’s liabilities. AP The Center for Strategic and International Studies has said that because the South China Sea is one of the world’s most important maritime commercial corridors, “ a conflict could cause major disruptions to the flow of trade.” The sea is connected to surrounding waters through several strategic chokepoints, including the Malacca Strait, which links it to the Indian Ocean, and the Taiwan Strait, which connects it to the East China Sea. What would be the main US interests in the region? For Marston, from the Lowy Institute, said “the primary objective is preventing China from gaining regional hegemony and dominating the Pacific.” “The security of Taiwan and its allies such as the Philippines, as well as defense of the first island chain, are integral to this overarching goal,” he said. But the US military’s ability to maintain its presence in the western Pacific has been tested by demands elsewhere. The USS George Washington aircraft carrier has left the Pacific to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, where the Lincoln’s deployment was extended to support US. operations against Iran. The move will temporarily leave the western Pacific without a US aircraft carrier at a time of rising tensions with China, and as the Trump administration retreats from the Asia-Pacific region to focus on the Western Hemisphere.
UATEMALA CITY—The United States has deported nearly 2,300 Mexicans to Guatemala this year and sent at least dozens more to Honduras, according to official data, a shift from the beginning of US President Donald Trump’s second term when such transfers were minimal. Until now, Mexicans deported from the United States were sent almost exclusively back to their country by air and land. Only a handful arrived in other countries. Some civil organizations believe this change reported in recent days is a way to increase pressure on Mexico, whose government has protested the deaths of 17 Mexicans in immigration custody or during enforcement operations. This also comes as Trump has expanded agreements with allied Latin American countries to conduct joint operations in the region against criminal groups and has increased its security demands to Mexico.
Sent to Central America by plane and Mexico by bus
GUATEMALAN President Bernardo Arévalo confirmed Wednesday night that, so far this year, 2,284 Mexicans deported from the US have arrived in the country as part of a “transit stopover” before being taken to Mexico as part of an “arrangement” with the Mexican government, and without these individuals being under any refugee or asylum status. “They are arriving on planes carrying Guatemalan returnees, and what we have done is bring them in transit so that, in coordination with Mexican immigration authorities, we can return them to Mexican territory within 24 hours of their arrival in the country,” he explained at a press conference. The costs of these operations are covered by the Mexican government or, in some cases, by U.S. funding, he added. Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) confirmed to The Associated Press in a brief message that Mexicans have been deported by the Trump administration to Guatemala and Honduras, primarily since April, and are then transported by bus to southern Mexico. “The reason is that the United States wants to prevent them from crossing back into its territory,” the institution said. The INM did not provide figures or further details. Asked about why the Mexicans were sent to Central America and not their own country, and for more details, the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, said in an emailed statement that the administration “is utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised.” “The Mexican government has expressed its opposition to this practice to US authorities and has reiterated that every Mexican citizen has the right to enter the country,” the Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. It added that Mexico is coordinating with the countries involved to ensure the safe return of Mexican citizens.
Third-country deportations raise concerns for Mexican migrants
HISTORICALLY, Mexico has always been willing to receive its deported citizens. Since Trump’s first term, it has also accepted deportees from third countries, although the details of immigration agreements with Washington have usually been opaque. In 2025, Mexico received some 12,000 deported foreigners, mostly Cubans and Venezuelans, according to figures provided by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. The government has not updated these figures since December although the practice has continued. Authorities in Honduras also did not respond to requests for comment, but according to official documents from the country accessed by The Associated Press, 82 Mexicans deported from the United States arrived in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula on two flights on August 13 and 15. An additional 35 arrived on Thursday. Another 165 Mexicans were deported to Honduras between May and midJuly, according to the website Third Country Deportation Watch, run by the NGOs Human Rights First and Refugees International, which track US deportation flights to third countries. The website does not clarify the source of its nationality figures, but both organizations have expressed concern because these transfers could endanger migrants who possibly sought asylum in the US or have few resources in an unknown country. The deportation tactic “seems to be to put pressure on the Mexican government,” said Savitri Arvey of Human Rights First. “They really don’t want any Mexicans crossing the border.” Some of those deported arrived in Honduras on US military flights, she added.
A recent change in the deportation pattern
AT the beginning of his second term, with immigration control as one of his priorities, Trump reached agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama to act as “bridge” or destination countries for migrants from third countries expelled from US territory. These agreements gradually expanded to more countries, including some African ones, most recently Liberia. Until recently, only a handful of Mexicans had been expelled from the U.S. to countries other than Mexico. Arévalo said on Wednesday that Guatemala received 15 Mexicans in 2025. As of February 2026, Honduras had officially reported the arrival of six. Costa Rica has received 11 Mexicans since Trump’s return to the White House, and according to local immigration authorities, they remain in the country. Presumably, these individuals may have requested not to be returned to Mexico out of fear. Immigration lawyers believe that the Trump administration is using deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers to return to Mexico when the government cannot send them there because it would violate court orders from immigration judges that recognize the dangers. Organizations and politicians both inside and outside the US have also questioned the use of force by US immigration authorities.
www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion
Sunday, August 23, 2026 A5
1st Science Discovery Center in Visayas opens AI firms look to ocean as place for data centers
T
GUESTS at the opening of the Science Discovery Center at Anjo World Theme Park in Minglanilla, Cebu, get a first look at the interactive exhibits and activities, including the Vertical Lightning Ball.
C
Story & photos by Carmel Pedroza
EBU CITY—Learning science is taking a step beyond textbooks and classrooms with the opening of the Science Discovery Center at Anjo World Theme Park, billed as the first facility of its kind in the Visayas and Mindanao that combines interactive science exhibits with the experience of a theme park. The facility in Minglanilla, Cebu, developed in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), aims to make science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) more engaging and accessible to young learners by allowing them to see, touch and experience scientific concepts firsthand. Anjo World Theme Park President Chester Lim said the center was built on the belief that learning and enjoyment can go hand in hand. “Science goes beyond books and classrooms,” Lim said, noting that the facility is designed to spark curiosity, encourage experimentation, and inspire children to think differently. During the opening of the center on August 14, he said the goal is for students to leave the center not only with memories, but with questions and the confidence to explore and
discover new things. “Today, we are not just opening an attraction; we are opening a door to curiosity, imagination, discovery, and possibility,” Lim said. DOST Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa Bien de Guzman said the center is particularly relevant to the education system because its exhibits are deliberately connected to classroom learning, including concepts under the Matatag curriculum. She pointed out that the facility should not be viewed merely as another entertainment destination but as a learning space where children can discover concepts while enjoying. “Sometimes they really need to encounter something that will make them say, ‘This is very good. How did this happen? I would like to learn more about this,’” de Guzman said partly in Filipino.
OFFICIALS from the Department of Science and Technology and Anjo World Theme Park pose for a group photo with the DOST mascot following the opening of the Science Discovery Center. She encouraged parents and teachers to nurture such curiosity, saying a child’s growing questions are signs that their mind is expanding. De Gu z m a n a l so encou ra ged students to consider careers in engineering, science, and research, particularly those that could lead to technologies addressing problems faced by Filipinos. She also promoted DOST’s Starbooks digital library, which provides STEM and other educational resources. DOST Region-7 Director Donato Abando described the opening as an exciting development for Central Visayas, particularly in efforts to raise a generation more inclined toward science, technology, and innovation. He said the center provides an opportunity for students to experience science rather than simply read about it, consistent with DOST’s “Agham na Ramdam” advocacy. The facility includes interactive exhibits designed to make scientific concepts more tangible, including displays focused on disaster risk reduction and management. Abando said the exhibits are especially important for Cebu, which is vulnerable to natural hazards. Among the concepts that students can explore are earthquakes and other natural phenomena. Thus, an earthquake simulator is among the planned experiences, allowing learners to better understand what happens during disasters. Abando said making disaster-related concepts easier to understand can help children remember lessons
and become more prepared when actual emergencies occur. “If a disaster is our enemy, we need to keep them closer. We need to understand them better,” he said. He said the partnership with Anjo World is also significant because it represents a new model for DOST’s Science Central Project, with a private-sector partner providing a venue where science education can be integrated with recreation. According to Abando, the partnership took about a year of meetings, coordination and discussions before it was launched. It had a soft launching on July 13 during the 2026 Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Week. For Anjo World, the Science Discovery Center expands the theme park’s role from a weekend family destination into a venue where visitors can learn, experiment and explore. The center is expected to welcome thousands of students. It is already receiving confirmed group bookings. Lim urged students visiting the facility to remain curious, ask questions, experiment, fail and try again. “Ask ‘what if,’ because every discovery begets a question,” he said. For DOST and Anjo World, the ultimate goal is to make science less intimidating and more relatable to children—and potentially inspire the next generation of Filipino scientists, engineers, researchers, inventors and technology innovators. “Don’t forget to ask ‘why,’ and ‘what.’ Don’t be shy to ask questions,” de Guzman reminded the students.
‘STI interventions help Zambo surmount challenges’ By Manuel T. Cayon
D
AVAO CITY—Programs dedicated to food security, sustainable energy and resilience are the challenges of government and business in the Zamboanga Peninsula, one of the economically struggling regions in the country. These were highlighted during the Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week (RSTW) in the Zamboanga Peninsula as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said it supported ongoing initiatives in these three sectors. The region’s RSTW was held in Dipolog City early this month. “The Zamboanga Peninsula has already shown us what is possible when government, academe, industry, and local communities unite around science, technology, and innovation [STI] to ease local concerns through collaborative action,” said Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. Solidum disclosed that interventions for efficient and sustainable agricultural production with greater value are “already underway” for the region’s farmers and fisherfolk. The DOST has rolled out assistance on minimizing post-harvest losses and improving productivity in both rice processing and aquaculture to lessen the challenges brought by soaring prices and insufficient agricultural investment.
SECRETARY Renato U. Solidum Jr. (second from left, front) leads the ribbon cutting of the Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week exhibit in Dipolog City recently. He is joined by Undersecretary Sancho A. Mabborang (left), Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa B. de Guzman, Dipolog City Mayor Roberto Y. Uy, Dapitan City Mayor Evelyn T. Uy, Zamboanga del Norte Gov. Darel Dexter T. Uy, Provincial S&T Director Nuhman M. Aljani, and DOST Region IX Director Rosemarie S. Salazar. PHOTO CREDIT TO DOST
“Farmers are yielding more, fisherfolk are increasing their returns, entrepreneurs are expanding into high-value goods, and consumers are accessing safer food,” he said. The Science Chief cited Food and Agriculture Organization report noting that almost five in every 10 Filipinos face moderate to severe food insecurity, the highest rate in Southeast Asia. He said sustainable energy source should work hand-in-hand in the Zamboanga Peninsula to “leverage” the region’s industrial base in wholesale and retail,
including motor vehicle maintenance. The DOST has said the region has strong talent and industrial capacity enough to drive e-mobility through electric vehicles (EVs). Dipolog City has a converted tricycle (c-trike), while Dapitan City will receive more besides the six e-trikes and two CharM EV charging stations turned over in 2025. Moreover, the peninsula is set to advance e -mobilit y innovation and technical skills through the C-Trike Kit Developer and Training Center, which, Solidum noted, is being discussed with
the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). “We are preparing for its establishment to strengthen science and technology services, as well as the deployment of e-tranvia in Dipolog and e-trike in Dapitan, creating opportunities for cleaner and more sustainable mobility,” said DOST Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang. Solidum also emphasized that natural hazards disasters were the common challenge of the Philippines, the Zamboanga Peninsula included, yet he said the region has demonstrated critical leadership in preparedness. Across the region, he said 44 local government units have adopted the DOSTdeveloped disaster risk technologies and 43 local resolutions have institutionalized science-backed risk reduction. “True resilience is not built after a disaster strikes; it is established long before. Every investment made in science today prevents catastrophic loss tomorrow,” Solidum said, citing Zamboanga Peninsula as the first region in the Philippines to complete all the modules of the Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (REDAS) platform. REDAS is a DOST-developed software that performs hazard monitoring, database development, simulation, and impact assessment on various natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, severe winds, tsunamis, and lahars.
HE artificial intelligence (AI) boom is driving unprecedented demand for data centers, raising concerns about their growing energy consumption, water use and carbon footprint. These challenges are making companies look beyond traditional landbased data centers. Some developers are now exploring the ocean as a new location for AI infrastructure in the hopes that underwater data centers could improve energy use and cooling efficiency while using less fresh water and land area than onshore buildings. My research focuses on the societal, organizational and environmental implications of emerging technologies, particularly AI and the digital infrastructure—including data centers—that supports its development and deployment. I see underwater data centers as a promising new approach for supporting the growth of AI. But moving servers into the ocean does not make other underlying environmental challenges, such as energy consumption and carbon emissions disappear. And it creates new concerns about harm to the marine environment, as well as questions about how these data centers can be regulated—and how companies can maintain and expand them if needed. Whether underwater data centers can become sustainable alternatives to traditional data centers depends on solving these economic, technical and environmental problems.
The rise of ocean-based AI infrastructure
IN 2015, Microsoft launched a research project to explore the feasibility, benefits and challenges of underwater data centers. Part of that effort included setting up a waterproof data center on the seafloor near Scotland’s Orkney Islands in 2018. It contained 864 servers and was connected to shore by an underwater cable. After two years, Microsoft reported that the servers in the underwater data center failed at about one-eighth the rate of servers in comparable land-based data centers. The company is still studying the possible reasons but hypothesizes that in a sealed underwater environment the equipment is less exposed to oxygen, humidity and temperature fluctuations—as well as less jostling from people working to replace broken components. However, Microsoft ended the project in 2024 and chose not to build more underwater data centers. The company didn’t say why, but others’ analyses suggest the reasons could include regulatory concerns, including the need for environmental permits, as well as a desire for faster upgrades and replacements for the computer equipment inside. Instead, the company has focused on land-based data centers, which can be larger and easier to expand, and also easier to access to repair or replace equipment.
China has world’s 1st underwater data center
OTHERS have moved ahead, though. China built what may be the world’s first wind-powered underwater data center in Shanghai. The facility launched in June 2025 and began full commercial operations in May 2026. The $226 million project uses seawater as a coolant rather than have to refrigerate fresh water, reducing the electricity required to cool the computers. It uses at least 30 percent less electricity than traditional data centers, and offshore wind turbines reduce reliance on fossil fuels and cut the data center’s carbon emissions. In 2025, Ulsan, South Korea, began planning an underwater data center that could house more than 100,000 servers and use 30 percent less power than land-based centers by using seawater for cooling. In Maine, DeepGreen Western Passage has proposed a submersible AI data center in the Bay of Fundy, powered by tidal turbines designed to harness the area’s strong tidal currents. Land-based data centers could also take advantage of seawater cooling. In Portugal, the SIN01 AI data center in Sines uses seawater from the Atlantic to cool its servers before returning it to the ocean.
Japan testing, Singapore has data centers on floating platforms
JAPAN is testing a different approach: Data centers housed in containers on floating platforms at sea can use seawater for cooling, have unobstructed conditions for solar panels and wind turbines, and reduce demand for land. In 2025, a data center in shipping containers opened on a floating platform near Yokohama. Its power comes from solar panels installed on the same floating platform, with batteries providing energy storage. The test will continue through March 2027. Singapore is also moving toward commercial-scale floating data centers. In 2026, infrastructure company Keppel began building a four-story floating data center, scheduled to open in 2028. The project will use seawater for cooling, reducing reliance on treated water and improving cooling efficiency. And the fact that it floats means it won’t take up any of Singapore’s limited land availability.
The promise of ocean-based data centers
THESE various approaches offer ways to reduce demand for grid-supplied electricity for powering data centers’ computers and cooling equipment, as well as using less fresh water. The distance from people’s homes could also be an advantage for data centers in or on the ocean. A Gallup poll in March 2026 found that 70 percent of Americans oppose building AI data centers in their communities. However, more than half of the world’s population lives within 120 miles of a coast. Underwater could be another way to keep data centers physically close to users for speedy service. Maintenance, though, is a major challenge. If a computer fails underwater, it cannot be repaired or replaced on site. The entire sealed data center module may need to be brought to the surface, even if just one computer needs work.
Can the ocean sustain AI?
THE main environmental concern about ocean-based data centers involves the seawater used for cooling. Discharging warm or hot water can potentially affect oxygen levels, pH and marine life in the surrounding waters. That heat is already apparent at the few seaborne data centers now operating. HiCloud, the engineering contractor for China’s Hainan underwater data center, has reported a temperature increase of less than 1 degree Celsius in the seawater near the facility. SIN01 in Sines, Portugal, also returns seawater about 1 C warmer. Many marine species depend on stable water temperatures for breeding, feeding and migration, raising concerns that heat released by multiple underwater data centers could create localized thermal pollution and alter marine ecosystems. And the ocean is already under pressure. Unesco, the United Nations agency for international cooperation, including in conservation, estimates that about 60 percent of marine ecosystems are already degraded or used unsustainably. The ocean is already warming along with the atmosphere, without additional waste heat from data centers. That additional heat is already threatening coral reef and mangrove ecosystems, seagrasses and other aspects of the marine food web. As that warming continues, ocean waters will be less useful for cooling electronic equipment in some regions. Underwater data centers could help AI grow while easing some of the pressure on land, energy and water. But the real test is whether the ocean can become AI’s next computing frontier without becoming its next environmental problem. Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina-Greensboro/The Conversation (CC) via AP
A6 Sunday, August 23, 2026
Faith
Sunday Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph
Tagle: Families, not phones, must guide children
C
ARDINAL Luis Antonio Tagle on Wednesday urged parents and grandparents to nurture their children with compassion, saying families must strengthen human connection in the wake of a deadly school shooting in southern Philippines.
CARDINAL Luis Antonio Tagle delivers his homily during Mass at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice in Diliman, Quezon City, on August 19. SCREEN GRAB/DIOCESE OF CUBAO
Speaking during Mass at the Parish Church of the Holy Sacrifice at the University of the Philippines Diliman, he asked what could drive
a child to commit such violence and called on families to reflect on how values are formed at home. “For grandparents and parents,
please show children a heart that is humane,” Tagle said in his homily to mark the feast of St. John Eudes.
His appeal came a day after a highschool student at Ateneo de Zamboanga University shot and killed a
fellow student before killing himself, authorities said. It was the second fatal school shooting in the Philippines in about two months, following a June attack in Tacloban City that also killed students. Tagle warned that families can be physically together but emotionally distant when attention is fixed on phones instead of each other. “But if at your dinner table, all of you—husband and wife and children—are looking at your cellphones instead of at one another, then nothing,” he said. He also cautioned against letting video games and artificial intelligence (AI) shape children’s thinking and behavior, saying
technology cannot replace human guidance. “AI has no heart, games have no heart. Only human beings have hearts,” he added. Tagle did not directly blame technology for the Zamboanga shooting but used the tragedy to raise broader questions about how children are raised. The pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization called on families to examine what “heart” guides their words and actions, and urged Catholics to stay close to the heart of Jesus so Christ’s love reaches the poor and struggling. “Before we speak, before we act, let us ask: What kind of heart is urging me to do this?” he said. CBCP News
Devotion to St. Ezekiel Moreno for cancer patients deepens Global prayer for peace
A
CATHOLIC congregation is deepening devotion to St. Ezekiel Moreno as a source of hope for cancer patients, as the disease continues to affect an increasing number of Filipinos. Fr. Bernard Amparado, prior provincial of the Augustinian Recollects’ Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno, said the congregation wants the devotion to go beyond private prayer. “We are actively ensuring that this devotion serves as an instrument of hope and healing for cancer patients,” Amparado told Radyo Veritas, adding that pastoral care, anointing and veneration of the saint’s relics should be part of the practice. About 150,000 new cancer cases are reported annually in the Philippines, with breast and cervical cancers among the most common. The Augustinian Recollects have promoted t he devot ion t hrough nationw ide pi lg r images of the saint’s relics and feast celebrations.
Archbishop Charles Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, marked the 120th anniversary of the saint’s death on August 19, saying suffering can deepen faith rather than weaken it. “Those sufferings didn’t sepa-
rate him from Jesus. They actually made him realize that Jesus was close to him,” Brown said in his homily at the St. Ezekiel Moreno Novitiate House in Antipolo City. Brown offered the Mass, held on the saint’s feast day, for the sick,
ARCHBISHOP Charles Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, celebrates Mass at the St. Ezekiel Moreno Novitiate House in Antipolo City on August 19, marking the saint’s feast day and the 120th anniversary of his death. NORMAN DEQUIA
especially cancer patients. St. Ezekiel’s own battle with cancer became central to his spiritual legacy. Born in Spain, he arrived in the Philippines in 1870 and was ordained in Manila the following year. He served as a missionary in Manila, Palawan and Mindoro for 15 years before continuing his ministry in Colombia and later becoming a bishop in Spain. He died August 19, 1906, at age 58, having continued his work despite his illness. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1992, and the Church recognizes him as the patron saint of cancer patients. More Philippine parishes are now honoring St. Ezekiel as patron, venerating his relics and supporting pastoral care for the sick. In 2024, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines elevated his feast from an optional to an obligatory memorial nationwide. Norman Dequia/CBCP News
Europe’s tallest statue of Virgin Mary inaugurated in Polish village
K
ONOTOPIE, Poland—An enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be Europe’s tallest was inaugurated on August 15 in a small Polish village, in the presence of legendary anticommunist leader Lech Walesa. Hundreds of people took part in the consecration of the monument, which towers 55.6 meters (182 feet) over Konotopie in central Poland, the home of fewer than 150 people. While helicopters scattered miniature red roses over the crowd, priests in white robes celebrated Mass and the popular Mazowsze folk ensemble sang and danced to traditional Polish music. The Polish statue is taller—if less dramatically located—than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which measures some 38 meters (125 feet) including its pedestal. Its height includes a PEOPLE gather near an enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be Europe’s tallest during the inauguration in the village Konotopie, Poland, on August 15. AP/CLAUDIA CIOBANU
crown-shaped 15-meter (49-foot) pedestal. It also surpasses another recent largescale religious monument in Poland, the Christ the King statue in the western town of Swiebodzin, which was unveiled in 2010 and—complete with the mound it stands on—rises some 52 meters (170 feet) above the ground. There is a taller statue of the Virgin Mary in the Philippines, which measures some 98 meters (322 feet). But the new one in Poland is believed to be the largest of its kind in Europe.
An anti-communist legend celebrates Catholic Poland
WALESA, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership of the Polish anti-communist resistance as the head of the Solidarity trade union, and was later Polish president, had a front row seat during the inauguration
ceremony. “This is the end of my path,” the 82-yearold Walesa told the AP, suggesting that the causes he has long championed, including democracy and Catholic faith, are now completed. “I started with the Virgin Mary and I end with the Virgin Mary.” During his Solidarity days, Walesa famously wore a Black Madonna pin and has often credited his faith in God with giving him the strength to fight against communism. The vast majority of Poles identify as Catholic, and the Catholic church played a powerful role in public life after the fall of communism in 1989, benefiting from the prestige it earned through its support for the anti-communist opposition. The country is the homeland of St. John Paul II, who reigned as pope from 1978
until his death in 2005. A huge statue of him—but much smaller than the one of Mary—was unveiled over a decade ago in the city of Czestochowa. The influence of religion in public life has gradually declined in recent years, particularly among younger people and in urban areas. However, the Catholic church remains influential, especially in rural communities and among older generations. “I cannot help but notice the weakening of the institution of the church, a withdrawal of specific social categories from Catholicism, and this hurts me,” Bishop Wiesław Mering, a Polish Roman Catholic prelate who attended the ceremony, told the AP. “The history of Christianity has ups and downs but this place is a reminder that Mary won’t give up on Poland,” the bishop said.
Local millionaires financed massive statue to give thanks to God
THE statue was commissioned by local millionaires Roman and Grażyna Karkosik. The couple live in a small palace a few kilometers from Konotopie. Roman Karkosik, an entrepreneur whose ventures included plastic-bottle manufacturing in the 1990s, amassed a fortune through investments on the Warsaw Stock Exchange to became one of Poland’s wealthiest individuals. The couple have said the monument is an expression of their gratitude to God. “The statue will be for all people,” Grażyna Karkosik told AP. “Each of us coming to see it will think more deeply about their own lives, not only about God.” Local authorities hope the monument will become both a major pilgrimage site and a tourist destination. The statue features a viewing platform built inside its pedestal. Claudia Ciobanu and Rafal Niedzielski/Associated Press
unites PHL media across faith
M
EDIA professionals and communicators from different faiths came together in prayer during the Global Prayer Assembly for Peace (GPAP) on August 13, highlighting the media’s important role in promoting truth, understanding, human rights, and peace amid conflicts and social divisions. The weekly interfaith gathering, which brings together people from different faiths and sectors to pray for peace, was led this week by members of the media community. “As members of the media, we have a crucial role in times of conflict and crisis. Often, journalists and media workers are among the first to witness and report what is happening on the ground—wars, violence, displacement, discrimination, and other situations that affect communities,” said Aida Gonzales, program host of DZME Radyo TV and Compass Media, said in her message of support. She said the media’s responsibility extends beyond reporting conflict, noting that “media can also become a bridge for peace through responsible storytelling.”
Media prays for truth and peace
THE interfaith prayers were led by Tu Alfonso, Chairman of Bangsamoro Multimedia Network Inc., representing the Muslim community; Martin Racza of the University of the Philippines Manila and the Knights of Columbus, representing the Roman Catholic community; and Pastor Manny Tabingo, program host of “Beyond Sundays” at BIG 101.5 FM, representing the Christian and Protestant community. Alfonso prayed for the protection of media workers, and for “their work to help promote understanding, peace, reconciliation and unity among our communities.” He also prayed for communities affected by the typhoon, and those involved in relief and rescue efforts. “Oh Allah, bring peace where there is conflict, truth where there is confusion, justice where there is injustice and compassion where there is suffering.” Racza prayed that media workers “may be protected as they report on events in areas with or without conflict, and that they will always put truth over lies and propagate the seeds of peace instead of fanning the flames of war.” The prayers ncluded an appeal for the health, well-being, and safe release of 95-year-old Chairman Lee Man-hee, who is currently detained in South Korea while awaiting trial. “We pray for the good health, well-being, and the safe release of Chairman Lee Man-hee, a man of peace, and that he be accorded due process, and with the utmost respect for his rights, not just as a human, but as someone who nurtures peace in this world,” Racza said. The prayer echoed concerns raised during an international press conference held on August 7 at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club in South Korea, where human rights and religious freedom experts called for greater attention to due process, proportionality, and humanitarian considerations in cases involving religious minorities and elderly religious leaders. The Seoul conference, organized by Human Rights Without Frontiers with the participation of CAP Liberté de Conscience, Forum for Religious Freedom Europe, the Center for Studies on New Religions, and Bitter Winter, raised concerns over Lee’s continued detention and emphasized the importance of the protection of freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression. The GPAP provides a weekly platform for people from different faiths and sectors to come together in prayer and solidarity. GPAP is held every Thursday at 8 p.m.; it is open to individuals from all faiths and communities who wish to pray and work together for peace.
Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror
Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014
Sunday, August 23, 2026 A7
Editor: Lyn Resurreccion
A dying ecosystem beneath a sea of trash: Is waste-to-energy system the solution?
P
By Jonathan L. Mayuga
collection and storage of coastal plastic and foil, which were cleaned and packed into pillows or stuffed toys to be sold to mindful consumers. “We can’t just shut down‘sari-sari,’or sundry stores, that provide exactly what a Filipino family can afford,” Yan said. As sari-sari stores are a lifeline for millions of Filipinos, Best Alternatives champions a shift to indigenous, biodegradable packaging. He cited the single-use sachets made of locally-grown seaweed like Kappaphycus. “Compared to plastic and foil packets, seaweed sachets fully decompose in just two months, leaving no chemical residues in landfills,” he said. Yan pointed out the need for “having a mentality of ‘less is more’ to reduce our growing ecological footprint as a species. No to 40 luxury cars if all you need is one car and maybe a bicycle to buy groceries.”
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called Metro Manila’s worsening garbage problem as “critical” after inspecting a staggering “sea of trash” choking waterways in Parañaque City. While rejecting calls for stiffer penalties for litterbugs, he advocated for structural reforms, including a waste-to-energy (WtE) solution to the perennial solid waste problem. Sea of garbage blanketing waterways is not new. Heavy rain sweep away garbage. At the receiving end are the clogged rivers and polluted lakes and coastal waters.
Waste management problem
INTERNATIONAL biodiversity expert Theresa Mundita S. Lim, executive director at the Environmental Studies Institute of Miriam College, told the B usiness M irror that the recent heavy downpours and flooding have once again “exposed the serious problem of improper waste management” in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. While climate change, inadequate flood-control infrastructure, and extensive deforestation “are undoubtedly among the major factors contributing to increasingly severe flooding,” Lim said via Messenger on August 18, “there is one factor that ordinary citizens and communities can directly influence—the waste that we generate and allow to clog our waterways.” “Water bodies are important ecosystems that host a wide-range of marine and aquatic life that are threatened by pollution,”said Lim, a former director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity.
Major world crisis
“THE United Nations has identified pollution as one of the three major planetary crises confronting the world today, alongside climate change and biodiversity loss. Plastic pollution, in particular, has consequences that extend far beyond flooding,” she explained. Lim added it is during periods of intense rainfall and inundation that plastic pollution impacts become most visible and immediately felt. “These moments, therefore, provide an important opportunity to strengthen public awareness and encourage behavioral change,” she pointed out. According to Lim, public attention should not end once the floodwaters recede. “We need to sustain awareness by drawing attention to other impacts of improperly managed waste—impacts that may be less visible but are equally serious and often cumulative,” she explained. She added: “Some impacts are direct—
such as exposing people to disease-causing microorganisms, including fecal coliforms and other pathogens, increasing the risk of waterborne and sanitation-related illnesses.”
Microplastics dilemma; threat to biodiversity
ACCORDING to Lim, while other impacts are less visible and may unfold over a much longer period, they are something to be concerned about. She reiterated earlier reports that “microplastics and associated contaminants can be ingested by small aquatic organisms and transferred through the food web, eventually reaching fish and seafood consumed by people, with potential effects on organ function and chronic diseases.” Garbage—plastics or not—affects biodiversity in many ways, she said. “Garbage smothers coral reefs, covers up and seeps into mangrove and ocean substrates, affecting fishery spawning grounds—not just reducing fishery production, but also affecting the health of marine organisms, organisms that are both for food security or for livelihoods, such as tourism [whales, dolphins, whale sharks] and for other industries [seaweeds],”she reaffirmed. According to Lim, when plastic trash breaks into microplastics that are ingested or absorbed by microbes, they eventually accumulate in larger organisms, including humans who feed on seafood. “And just like in humans, these plastics can accumulate and cause diseases, and for dolphins and marine turtles that mistake plastics for jellyfish for food, it can clog their digestive systems,” she said. According to Lim, organic trash or waste with organic materials can carry or encourage growth of harmful viruses and bacteria that could lead to diseases in various marine species. “This may deplete species populations and even lead to species extinctions. Some species adapt or transform [genetic modification],” she explained.
‘Everything must go somewhere’
“ONE of the environmental principles that Miriam College imparts to its students is ‘Everything must go somewhere.’ Waste does not simply disappear after we throw it away. It must be properly managed—whether through appropriate disposal, decomposition, reuse, or recycling,” Lim said. Otherwise, it ultimately returns to us in another form: as clogged waterways and flooding, as breeding grounds for pests and disease,
Weak enforcement
A RIVER boom in Cavite traps garbage floating on the surface. River booms are made of wire mesh to trap garbage that floats just under the water surface. Cleanup teams collect the garbage regularly. GREGG YAN, PEMSEA
or as pollution that enters our ecosystems and food chains. Lim pointed out the need to instil environmental responsibility among young people who will become tomorrow’s consumers, business leaders, policymakers, and decision-makers. “At the same time, awareness must be matched by systems that make proper waste management practical and achievable for households and communities,” she said. Highlighting the importance of leadership in addressing the garbage problem, Lim said: “Government and institutional leaders must demonstrate that individual responsibility is matched by serious action on the larger structural causes of flooding and environmental degradation—including reforestation, sound land-use planning, effective wastemanagement systems, and the proper use of public funds for well-designed and properly implemented infrastructure.” When leaders visibly uphold the same standards of accountability that they ask of citizens, “they strengthen their credibility and moral authority to rally communities toward collective action,” she pointed out.
RA 9003: Still a major thrust
MICHAEL DRAKE MATIAS, director of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (DENREMB) said the implementation of Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000) remains a major thrust of the government, along with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022. He said the DENR remains steadfast in rallying support of local government units (LGUs), from the provincial government to the barangay level, to implement proper waste segregation and practice the so-called 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) to effectively reduce the volume of waste generated daily.
“We need to be more strict in monitoring the compliance of LGUs in implementing the 3Rs,” he said, noting that LGUs are mandated to collect and dispose of garbage under the law. He admitted that the shortage of Materials Recovery Facility (MRFs) is a challenge, because among the over 42,000 barangays, only nearly half, or around 21,000, have MRFs to properly segregate wastes. Moreover, he said the DENR-EMB is looking at intensifying the practice of composting to reduce the volume of waste. “More than half of our garbage are biodegradable wastes so we are looking at composting through our regional offices,” Matias said.
Where did we go wrong?
THE DENR-EMB has been implementing the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act for more than 25 years, yet every time there is heavy rain, flooding exposes the failure of the law in addressing the solid waste management problem. Government shortcomings in grassroots monitoring and enforcement of the corresponding penalties were pointed out by Eli Ildefonso, former executive director of National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) Secretariat. “It is provided in the law but not fully implemented. Waste management is a shared responsibility of the governed and the government,” Ildefonso told the BusinessMirror via Messenger on August 17.
Discipline and political will
ACCORDING to Ildefonso, there is failure in terms of exercising discipline and political will. “Technical and other engineering solutions should include thermal, or nonburn waste-toenergy [WtE] and efficient segregation with
recycling facilities. The [EPR law] is already in place, but the same law must be strictly enforced, or else it will remain on paper,”he said. When he was the head of the NSWMC Secretariat, Ildefonso started the nationwide deployment of Environmental Police with Solid Waste Education and Enforcement Team, and the Environmental Monitoring Officers Team. However, the program stopped when he retired years ago. “There’s a need to revitalize the [programs] if we are to prevent illegal disposal [of trash] in public places and waterways. There should be actual apprehension and the violators should be penalized. The names of violators should be published in the media even if they have paid the fine as a preventive measure,” he pointed out partly in Filipino.
Major plastic waste contributor
ENVIRONMENTALIST Gregg Yan told the BusinessMirror that although the Philippines is a relatively small country, its plastic contribution is anything but small. “We’re just the 73rd largest nation on Earth, but we’re the world’s top source of marine plastic pollution” from single-use plastics, he said through Messenger on August 18. According to Yan, the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (Pemsea) once ran a project to minimize the outflow of riverine garbage.
Plastic waste solution
“AMONG the standout solutions were floating river booms that trapped garbage, plus incentives for both corporations and consumers to switch to biodegradable plastic or reusable containers to reduce single-use plastic use,” he said. Yan added that Pure Oceans incentivized the
ACCORDING to nonprofit EcoWaste Coalition, RA 9003 is not a total failure as a policy. But it was weak in enforcement and the apparent failure to stop waste at the source have diminished its impact. Aileen Lucero, national coordinator of EcoWaste, told the BusinessMirror via e-mail on August 18 that the law had glaring enforcement gaps that impeded the its potential in preventing and reducing both the volume and toxicity of solid waste. They include the inadequate programs to manage biodegradable or organic waste; long overdue release by the NSWMC of the list of non-environmentally acceptable products and packaging for over two decades, and the failure to set up and operate MRF in every barangay or cluster barangays.
False solution
LUCERO insisted that Marcos’ WtE push is not the solution to garbage crisis. “While the worsening garbage problem makes WtE seem like a quick fix, the EcoWaste Coalition firmly rejects adopting incineration technologies, as these compete with sustainable approaches to preventing and reducing waste and pollution and lock local government units into decades-long contracts that require high waste production to remain financially viable,” she said. Lucero said that WtE would only lead to more problems—including severe public health hazards and environmental destruction. “Burning garbage destroys precious resources, releases dangerous persistent organic pollutants, such as dioxins and furans, and poses severe public health risks,” she said. Moreover, Lucero said WtE undermines national laws and climate commitments. Adopting WtE incineration directly contradicts foundational environmental legislation, particularly the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. Since WTE facilities rely on a continuous, high-volume stream of waste, specifically plastic waste, to fuel it, they discourage waste reduction and undermine the emission-reduction goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Dipolog livestock farm solves foul odor, high power cost with methane production By Manuel T. Cayon
D
AVAO CITY—A poultry farm in Dipolog City has fixed the common headache of farm owners: foul odor, swarm of flies, angry neighbors and, not the least, high cost of electricity. The Rockefeller Farm, a seven-hectare poultry and swine farm in Dipolog City, is now turning its accumulated waste into power through its established biogas digester facility, said the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), which aided the farm to acquire the machine that turns chicken and pig waste into energy. The owner of the farm, Lester Uy Ong, said his farm collects the mounds of waste from the more than 100,000 chickens and pigs in the farm, and dump them into a pit three storys deep, where he said
“microorganisms eat them up and convert into energy.” “Select microorganisms break down the manure into simple molecules enough for other microbes to feast on, digesting them and eventually burp out gases, such as methane, which is converted into electricity through their biogas generator,” Ong added. This was possible with the biogas digester facility that reduce the foul odor and swarming flies, and to have a sufficient power source, said Lester’s wife, Heidi, and the farm’s co-owner. The owners said the Rockefeller has one biogas generator capable of 300 kilovoltamperes, which can power the whole farm for 15 hours, comparable to lighting up an entire rural barangay. The DOST aided them to upgrade the farm through one of its flagship initiatives,
DEPARTMENT of Science and Technology officials and Rockefeller Farm owners visit the farm in Dipolog City on one of the project visits during the Regional Science and Technology Week held in the city early this month. From the left are DOST-Zamboanga del Norte Director Nuhman M. Aljani, Rockefeller Farm co-owner Heidi Ong, DOST Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang, Rockefeller Farm owner Lester Uy Ong, and DOST Zamboanga Peninsula Director Rosemarie S. Salazar. PHOTO CREDIT TO DOST-ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA
the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program, providing P5 million to acquire the biogas digester facility. Ong told the DOST that the farm used to spend P900,000 on electricity a month to power two buildings of chicken and pig housing, sorting facilities, and other maintenance costs. The funding support helped improve the production at Rockefeller Farm, enabling it to supply poultry products and meat to local restaurants in Dipolog City, partnering with distributors for major consumer brands, and reaching markets in nearby provinces in the Zamboanga Peninsula and even Dumaguete City and Cebu, the DOST said. The biogas digester facility also produces high-quality fertilizers, for their Rockefeller Farm or distributed to their workers for their crops.
“Moreover, the farm observes circular and sustainable practices, including treating wastewater for reuse in farming maintenance, especially in animal waste disposal—aligned with the standards of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,” the DOST said. The DOST said the Rockefeller Farm has expressed willingness to also help other communities “leverage biogas, targeting the high potential of installing biogas digester facilities and electric generators at landfills.” Ong said he wanted to share it and make the landfill modern, saying the it produces more biogas of as much energy capacity to light up five to 10 barangays. “If this is executed, this would be a big help to the communities near landfills,” he pointed out.
Sports BusinessMirror
A8 Sunday, August 23, 2026
mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | Editor: Jun Lomibao
Pogacar targets Spanish Vuelta to complete Grand Tour hat trick
M
TADEJ POGACAR: Spain is a country I love to visit and race in and I think the time is right to go back. AP
ADRID—Tadej Pogacar is aiming to complete a Grand Tour hat trick when the Spanish Vuelta begins this weekend in Monaco. Pogacar won a record-equaling fifth Tour de France title in July, adding to his 2024 Giro d›Italia triumph and leaving the Vuelta as the only Grand Tour race he is yet to conquer. It was at the Vuelta in 2019 that Pogacar made his Grand Tour debut as a 20-year-old, winning three stages and finishing third for what remains his worst overall result in the threeweek events. The Slovenian hasn’t competed in the Vuelta since then, but was included by UAE Team Emirates-XRG in this year’s lineup. He will try to become the ninth
male rider to complete the hat trick. “It was my first ever Grand Tour back in 2019 and an amazing experience,” the 27-year-old Pogacar said after the team’s lineup was announced. “Spain is a country I love to visit and race in and I think the time is right to go back.”
Thriving Pogacar
IT has been a great year for Pogacar, with him winning stage races at the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de Romandie and also earned victories in one-day classics. With his third straight Tour de France victory, Pogacar joined Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain, and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault as the
only riders to win five Tour titles. Jonas Vingegaard, long considered Pogacar’s top rival, crashed out of the Tour on the 15th stage and fractured his collarbone and will not compete at the Vuelta. Vingegaard won this year’s Giro d’Italia to complete his own career sweep of the three Grand Tours as well as a Paris-Nice stage race in a successful first half of the season. The 81st Vuelta starts Saturday with a very technical individual time trial in Monaco, which is where Pogacar lives. The short first stage of 9.4 kilometers will include a slew of sharp turns through the streets of the principality, which is set to become the first
PLAYOFF TIME & SCOTTIE’S BACK
A
FTER the last of the majors, there isn’t much to look forward to the rest of the year in golf. On Ryder Cup years, there’s that every other September. Now there is the President’s Cup which pits the best of Americans against the rest of the world (except Europe). I remember in the 1990s, after the majors, there’s just the Dunhill Cup to look forward to in October. This was before the President’s Cup was established. Apart from that, there really is just a sprinkling of tournaments from August to December. Besides the Tour Championship, I really can’t think of an important tournament after the majors. Come January, the season begins again in the Hawaii swing. Then on the former European Tour, there would be tournaments in the Middle East, which was then in its infancy when it came to professional golf tournaments. The FedEx Cup playoffs was established in 2007 as a seasonlong points race with the playoffs toward the end, culminating
F
IVE talents earned Sponsor’s Invitations to the Maybank Championship 2026 through the ASEAN Qualifier which concluded this week at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) in Malaysia. Two days of intense tournament golf ended with a dramatic three-way tie at the top as Thai amateurs Sarisa Pojanalai and Achiraya Sriwong, and their professional compatriot Pimnipa Panthong finished with a four-under-par 140. Pojanalai produced a stellar showing in Round 2 of the Maybank Championship 2026 ASEAN Qualifier, carding a tournamentlow score of six-under-par 66 that included eight birdies. Sriwong, who also qualified for the Maybank Championship last year, continued her fine form on the West Course, shooting a four-under-par 68 in the second round. Panthong, meanwhile, closed her
circuit. Consistent performances, the right timing of good finishes, and a win at the right time can result in lower ranked players snatching the top prize.
Scottie’s Back in the Tour Championship. This created something to look forward to after the majors, with elevated events and huge bonuses for the champions. From a marketing point of view, this season ender was much needed. Remember, August to November is peak golf season in the northern hemisphere. It’s a shame if while golfers are enjoying the cooler weather after summer and before winter, nothing much is worth watching on TV. The Fedex Cup has an illustrious list of former champions. From Tiger to Vijay, Furyk to Horschel, McIlroy to Scheffler, and last year, a debut win for Tommy Fleetwood. While the list includes many former world No.1s, it also includes the likes of Bill Haas and Brandt Snedeker, who like Fleetwood, weren’t exactly dominating the pro
AT last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, it was Scottie Scheffler who emerged victorious after lapping the field with an 8-stroke victory over his closest pursuer, Si Woo Kim. Normally, this wouldn’t be big news. But Scheffler has been having trouble putting four good rounds together this year. The usually dominant world No. 1 has been having close calls all year. He would typically be a little too far back entering the final rounds and even with a good finish, would come up short of a win. I wouldn’t call it a slump, as he has still been consistent, racking up top 5s and top 10s along the way. But he is not like the old Scottie who demolishes fields and expects a win every few weeks, along with a major or two. While Scheffler has had two wins this season (The American Express at the beginning
5 Asean talents get job done in KL campaign with a three-under-par 69 and Marisa Tojai, another Thai amateur, secured the fourth qualifying spot with a two-under-par 142 total. There were huge cheers for Malaysia’s Liyana Durisic who took
the fifth and final qualifying spot with a total of one-under-par 143. This will be Durisic’s third start in the Maybank Championship—she was part of the Maybank Champions Academy in 2014, an intensive junior
location to host the start of all three Grand Tours following the 1966 Giro d’Italia and the 2009 Tour de France. The Vuelta then makes its way through France and Andorra to Spain. It will conclude on Sept. 13 at the fortress of Alhambra in Granada following nearly 3,300 kilometers (1.900 miles) of racing. Riders will face a tough Vuelta, with six full mountain stages and four midmountain stages. There will also be five hilly stages, including one uphill finale. Two-time trials are scheduled, along with two rest days. The second stage will also start in Monaco but will head toward Provence passing through cities such as Nice. It
will be the longest of the stages at 214.3 kilometers. In a change to recent years, the finale will go from the Spanish capital of Madrid to the southern city of Granada. Last year’s Vuelta was marred by protests because of the participation of an Israeli team, with the final stage being cut short by organizers. Welsh rider Josh Tarling, meanwhile, will take part in the Vuelta, just over a week after his brother Finlay Tarling was killed in the Volta a Portugal. Netcompany Ineos named its team for the race on Thursday, including the 22-year-old time trial specialist Josh, who returns to the Vuelta after making his debut in 2024 and a month after completing his first Tour de France. “We all fully support Josh in his decision to take part in the race,” team race director Geraint Thomas said. AP
US Open singles champs to earn whopping $5.5M
N
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER’S not like the old Scottie who demolishes fields and expects a win every few weeks, along with a major or two. AP
of the year and last week at St. Jude), it is quite unusual for him to go this long winless. He hasn’t had a terrible season money-wise. He’s actually on top with over $20 million in earnings. But that is from two wins, five seconds and 11 top 10 showings. Consistent, yes. Dominant, hardly. Frustrating is a more apt word to describe Scheff’s season. I am sure the win last week has brought back some confidence, A solid showing at this weekend’s BMW and the Tour Championship next should mean a high likelihood that Scottie gets the FedEx Cup this year. It’s hard to beat consistency, especially in the playoffs. Would a win erase a rather mediocre season for the world No. 1? Probably not. At his level, only majors and wins count. Coming in near
the top week after week is seen as a failure to convert rather than consistent good play.
development program that helped kick start her journey to elite golf. The Maybank Championship ASEAN Qualifier is a cornerstone of Maybank’s commitment to strengthening regional capability, championing inclusivity and deepening ASEAN integration through sport. As Maybank advances its ROAR30 ambitions, the group continues to invest in creating meaningful opportunities for the next generation, elevating regional competitiveness in golf beyond the Maybank Championship itself. The 2026 edition of the Maybank Championship ASEAN Qualifier drew a record field of 78 players from five nations in Southeast Asia—up from 69 in 2025 and 35 in the inaugural 2024 edition. THE five qualifiers are (from left) Marisa Tojai, Achiraya Sriwong, Sarisa Pojanalai, Pimnipa Panthong and Liyana Durisic. MAYBANK PHOTO
EW YORK—The US Open singles champions will earn $5.5 million, the highest winnings in Grand Slam tennis history. Overall compensation for the final major of the year is rising to a record $108 million, a 20 percent increase from last year and a 44 percent jump since 2024. The financial details were announced last week by the US Tennis Association (USTA) with play set to begin next week. Players will earn $140,000, largest in tennis history, just for making it into the 128-player singles main draw and a quarterfinalist earns $780,000, a semifinalist $1.45 million and the runner-up $2.8 million. The champions’ check is up from the $5 million that Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz won last year, when the total player compensation was $90 million. The winning teams in men’s, women’s and mixed doubles will split $1 million, with the runnerup team to earn $500,000 and the wheelchair singles champions will earn $104,000. The USTA also announced it would establish a player support program, with an initial commitment of $2 million to be split equally between men’s and women’s players, which will be used to provide benefits and complement existing pension funds. USTA CEO Craig Tiley called the financial commitment to players at all levels a “significant first step in a multiyear investment in athletes as the US Open continues to be the best economic opportunity for players and the most valuable platform in tennis for players, fans and partners.” The program will be designed with guidance from the Grand Slam Player Council, whose creation was announced Thursday in response to players seeking greater input and revenue from the four major tournaments. The Grand Slam tournaments, meanwhile, created a player council, giving players greater input into matters involving the biggest events in the sport. The Grand Slam Player Advisory Council was announced Thursday by the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open and will begin following the final major of the year, which begins next week in New York. AP
WORLD No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will defend his women’s singles title at Flushing Meadows. AP
BusinessMirror
The ‘Creator Economy’ has a new middle class How TikTok creators earn midlevel salary with small audiences, brand deals
August 23, 2026
2
BusinessMirror AUGUST 23, 2026 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com
ON FINDING HIS WAY
YOUR MUSI
OPM, apparently, is ICEBOX’s homing device
F
Story by Bless Aubrey Ogerio
OR Singapore-raised Filipino singer-songwriter and producer Leo, professionally known as ICEBOX, writing in Filipino became more than a musical decision. It became a way of looking back. Growing up overseas and separated from parts of his family in the Philippines, he said he did not immediately recognize how much he had pushed those experiences aside. It was only when he began writing music in Filipino that memories he had long kept at a distance started finding their way back to him. “It's like Kung Fu Panda 2. Po already knows Kung Fu but he still hadn't found inner peace. And he still hadn't accepted his family story,” ICEBOX told SoundStrip in an interview. “So I can kind of relate in that sense. Growing up, it was very difficult in a divorced family and being separated from everyone in
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 : Chow Jarlego Niggel Figueroa Contributing Writers
: Tony M. Maghirang Rick Olivares Jingo Zapata Reine Juvierre S. Alberto John Eiron R. Francisco Patrick Villanueva Ana Zoe V. Davad
Justine Xyrah Garcia
Ginger Franz S. Ocampo Trixzy Leigh Bonotan Bless Aubrey Ogerio Photographers
: Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes
Y2Z & SOUNDSTRIP are published and distributed free every Sunday by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing Inc. as a project of the
The Philippine Business Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd Floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025 Advertising Sales: 893-2019; 817-1351,817-2807. Circulation: 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. www.businessmirror.com.ph
Singapore. And having a drift in the family just felt very wrong. And it was something that I wanted to change.” At 21, ICEBOX is now in a different chapter of his career. It is one that he describes as difficult but hopeful, with new opportunities opening as he gains a wider audience in the country. Tune about push-and-pull? HIS latest single, “SAAKIN,” released through indie label PARKA, brings that personal reckoning into a song about a different kind of unfinished business: what happens after a relationship ends, but the feelings do not quite follow. The track sits in the space between being left behind and still waiting for an explanation. Rather than focusing on the breakup itself, it dwells on the lingering questions, memories and longing that remain after one person has already moved on. ICEBOX wrote the song nearly three years ago with his longtime friend Julia, originally as a school project. At the time, neither had necessarily lived through the experience they were writing about. That changed years later. “When me and Julia, my friend who co-wrote this song with me, were making the track, it was for a school project,” he said. “It was really just for a school project and it was the first OPM song I was writing in Tagalog. It was a very fresh experience then. A lot of fear and uncertainty that I didn't believe in myself yet.” The song went through numerous demos before ICEBOX returned to it with PARKA producers Dominic and Timothy. “You give your whole heart, body, mind and soul to the person and the relationship but they let the fire die,” he said. “But only after the fire is dead and you've given up, then they come back. It hurts more because you realize that if you can do it now, why couldn't you do it before?”
The life-changing music
BEFORE “SAAKIN,” there was “ikaw ikaw ikaw”—a song with artist Eliza Maturan that ICEBOX credits with changing the trajectory of his career. The track has surpassed 30 million streams on Spotify alone as of August 10, giving the Singapore-based artist a foothold in a market
ICEBOX
he had previously struggled to enter. “Ikaw Ikaw Ikaw unlocked so many doors,” he said. “I think the biggest thing that it changed was how convenient and effective it made going back to the Philippines to create an audience.” He said the song gave him a starting point that did not exist before—a base from which he could collaborate, perform and be recognized by audiences and industry players. “After that song, there's this base where I can start no matter what, like a collab, on a track, or to be recognized in all of the gigs,” he said. But the significance of his OPM work goes beyond career access. ICEBOX said writing in Filipino allowed him to process experiences he had not fully confronted while growing up in Singapore. “Because OPM has this... It's like the flavor is very intense. The lyricism is more intense. Because it's Tagalog. So your language... Especially because my family is home here. It
hit even harder.”
Something new in September
“SAAKIN” is also an early glimpse into ICEBOX's upcoming second studio album, a 12-track project scheduled for release in September. Developed over roughly a year and a half, the album will continue his exploration of personal experiences, relationships and the more difficult parts of life that people often struggle to articulate. Those stories, he added, are not limited to his own experiences. They include what he has witnessed among friends, what he imagined his parents and family went through, and the ways those experiences shaped his understanding of life. “All of these songs, they're not just like audio files. What are they? Stories. Experiences that were drawn from real life,” ICEBOX said. “My experiences. All of my experiences. It's an accumulation of what I perceived to be the process of letting go,” he added.
IC
AUGUST 23, 2026 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com
3
JAZZ LEGEND RETURNS
BUSINESS
Bong Peñera and the Batucada reunite
B
Story by Joseph Araneta Gamboa
efore Filipino jazz found its many modern expressions, Jose Elias “Bong” Peñera was already charting an unorthodox musical course in the 1970s. He and his Batucada band combined jazz harmonies with bossa nova’s restrained rhythms and samba’s percussive drive. Blending those Brazilian genres with traditional jazz, Peñera’s artistry as a pianist, guitarist, and vocalist reflected influences ranging from Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Sergio Mendes, and Eumir Deodato to Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. But not contented in reproducing the music that he admired, Peñera adapted its vocabulary to his own work – incorporating Filipino sensibilities into his compositions and arrangements that generated a cult-like following at the Calesa Bar of the now-defunct Hyatt Regency Manila. He discovered and highlighted exceptional jazz vocalists such as Jacqui Magno, Pat Castillo, and Vernie Varga, who performed with various editions of Batucada. Peñera’s first two albums documented that evolution. Released in 1976, A Samba Song introduced his so-called “BosSamba” sound to a broader Filipino audience. Batucada Sa Calesa followed in 1977, showing his range as composer, arranger, and bandleader. These vinyl records also captured a period when local musicians were experimenting with new combinations of jazz fusion, Latin funk, and electric instruments. They became an important foundation of Pinoy Jazz that eventually emerged as a recognizable strand of the Manila Sound.
songwriting competition in 1989, with musical icons Quincy Jones and Julio Iglesias in the board of judges. The attraction of greener pastures and a wider world served as the impetus for Peñera’s decision to remain in Chicago over the next three and a half decades. It provided him a sustained professional musical career as a jazz musician who played at numerous downtown hotels and suburban venues. From 1996 to 2006, he was the lead pianist at Nordstrom Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois – an unusually long engagement that meant career stability while keeping him in front of audiences regularly. In 2010, he was inducted into the Chicago Filipino American Hall of Fame in recognition of his contribution to Filipino music as a jazz institution. Throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, Peñera continued composing and releasing new tracks or previously unreleased recordings on online platforms like Apple Music, SoundCloud, and Amazon Music. These include an instrumental version of “Longing” featuring Sonny Nicolas and Pete Canson that was originally used in the 1978 film Sinta, as well as his classical/jazz collaboration with Canadian multi-instrumentalist Michel Domingue dubbed Ivory Song.
OVERSEAS FORAYS FROM HONG KONG TO CHICAGO
HOMECOMING CONCERTS: BACK IN MANILA FOR GOOD
In 1980, Peñera left Batucada and moved to Hong Kong, where he worked as a solo pianist at the Royal Garden Hotel until 1984. This marked his shift from Manila’s club circuit to the global jazz scene, which gave him room to develop as an interpreter-composer. When he briefly returned in 1985 for a stint at the Hotel InterContinental Makati, audiences quickly brought him back to the Brazilian-influenced repertoire that made him popular. By the late 1980s, Peñera had transferred to the United States and settled into Chicago’s jazz community. There he formed an international ensemble composed of Filipino, Brazilian, Costa Rican, and Czech-American musicians in 1988. The group earned a regular full-hour program on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio’s Jazz Forum show hosted by Larry Smith, thus giving him exposure beyond the Fil-Am Diaspora. Peñera’s composition titled Samba Chicago – performed with Filipina jazz singer Diane Velasco – placed second in the Latin category of the Billboard-TDK
Chicago became Peñera’s second home, but Manila remains the source of his musical identity. Songs from his five albums are still being played on radio airwaves and interpreted by other musicians, while enjoying renewed attention among younger Filipino jazz listeners – including international programming devoted to the roots of Pinoy Jazz. As the legacy works of Peñera were being rediscovered by multiple generations, the pull of Manila and Batucada became stronger. His return to the Philippines in 2026 is therefore a long-overdue homecoming, and this month he staged two reunion concerts with two former Batucada bandmates: bassist Paul Candelaria, who flew in from Hong Kong where he has been established in the local jazz scene; and drummer Cesar “Bachu” Yumping, one of the core rhythmic figures in Peñera’s formative Batucada years. The first was a strictly by-invitation only performance last August 8. Venue was an intimate events place in Quezon City called The Lounge at 15th, owned by businessman and
BATUCADA SA SUCAT Yanni Dee jams with Cesar Yumping, Bong Peñera, and Paul Candelaria. Photo: Edwin P. Sallan/BM
BATUCADA SA CUBAO Bong Peñera reunites with Cesar Yumping and Paul Candelaria. Photo: Joseph Araneta Gamboa musician Tonino Habana – whose own band Vista Groove served as the opening act. Batucada’s historic reunion gig was a night of memories and magic for the audience of jazz aficionados. Peñera opened the show with a keyboard intro to his masterpiece, “A Samba Song.” Then he segued to the rhythmic Tagalog lyrics beginning with “Kung gusto kong kumanta.” He was joined on stage by contemporary jazz singer Yanni Dee, who ably filled the shoes of past Batucada vocalists. Cover versions of favorite Brazilian tunes, mostly by Antonio Carlos Jobim (an obvious influence) followed: “One Note Samba,” “Wave” (later a big hit for Tadao Hayashi here in the Philippines), “Girl From Ipanema,” “Like A Lover,” “Waters Of March,” and “Mas Que Nada.” The emotional peak of the evening was the soaring, crowd-pleasing rendition of “Batucada Sa Calesa.” Next stop: Parañaque City’s premier live music venue, 19 East Bar & Grill, whose owner Wowie Posadas revealed that Peñera is “back for good.” This major reunion concert of the Batucada last August 16 packed the house and overflowed into the al fresco area. For the first time in 40 years, Pinoy jazzophiles were treated to an amazing live performance of their homegrown superstar, whom they have spent decades celebrating and keeping the spirit of Filipino bossa nova alive. Yumping, Candelaria, and Dee once again collaborated with Peñera in treating the packed crowd to an unforgettable night of Batucada hits. They added songs such as “Samba for Luisa,” “So Nice (Summer Samba),” “Beat Contemplation,” and
FRONT ACT Vista Groove (L-R) Mel Orosa, Ronald Lanuza, Bong Salazar, Patrick Reidenbach, Jonathan Barrientos, Tonino Habana. Photo: Joseph Araneta Gamboa
Bong Peñera. Photo: Joseph Araneta Gamboa “Two Themed Samba” to the standard repertoire they delivered earlier at the Quezon City lounge. Candelaria was given a vocal spotlight with a lounge rendition of “Someone to Light up My Life (Si Todos Fossem Iguais a Voce)” while Peñera paid tribute to former singer Pat Castillo by also including “Love Notes” in his set list. According to some concert attendees, it was as if they were transported back to the Calesa Bar of yesteryears. These back-to-back concerts have sparked massive excitement among Pinoy Jazz lovers, who are actively clamoring for a repeat performance. While no concrete follow-up dates have been officially finalized for the rest of 2026, 19 East management hinted that future gigs may roll out soon since Peñera is now permanently based in Manila. And if word on the grapevine is true, we will be seeing the Batucada as the main act at the reopening of Strumm’s Makati in October. Welcome back, Mr. BosSamba!
The ‘Creator Economy’ has a new middle class How TikTok creators earn midlevel salary with small audiences, brand deals By Melos Ambaye
F
Bloomberg
OR years, quitting your job to become a social media influencer belonged in the same category as moving to Hollywood or trying to make the NFL. It’s technically possible but probably best attempted by other people. Now, for a growing number of young workers, it feels like a more plausible career pivot. The rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels and Amazon storefronts has created a new kind of white-collar exit strategy—one in which workers ditch office jobs not necessarily to become celebrities, but to piece together an income online through brand deals, affiliate links and highly personal videos documenting everyday life. In many cases, the followers necessary to sustain a living are smaller (and more attainable) than people might assume. A small but loyal audience can now generate enough income to rival a midlevel salary. Welcome to the middle-class creator economy.
‘Eye-opening moment’
LAST year, 25-year-old Abi Platock balanced a corporate marketing job in New York while posting online in her spare time. She built her audience by posting one or two videos a day, offering career advice, beauty tips and daily vlogs. “I signed my first brand deal in the fourfigure range, and for me that was just such a big eye-opening moment,” Platock says of her partnership with deodorant brand Secret. She had only 8,000 followers on TikTok at the time. “You can totally make it work without having hundreds of thousands of followers.” Platock, who now has roughly 25,000 followers across platforms, has signed about $25,000 in brand deals so far this year and expects her annual creator income to reach around $50,000 by yearend. Her experience reflects a broader shift in advertising. Brands are increasingly moving money toward so-called microinfluencers—smaller online personalities who have less than 100,000 followers. “They are hiring a bunch of microcreators at scale instead of hiring a handful of macrocreators for what could potentially be the same cost,” says Ali Grant, co-chief executive officer of the Digital Department, a creator management company.
“AS influencing has become more lucrative, it’s also sparked debate over how much work the job requires.” PHOTO BY RDNE STOCK PROJECT ON PEXELS.COM And they perform where it matters most: engagement. An engagement rate of 3 percent is considered strong, and some microinfluencers exceed 10 percent, Grant says of the closely watched metric that tracks how often followers interact with content through likes, comments, shares and saves. Microinfluencers average a 3.2 percent engagement rate, almost triple the 1.1 percent rate for macroinfluencers (more than 1 million followers), according to growth marketing agency ATTN. And though macroinfluencers generate roughly six times more revenue, their associated costs can reach about 18 times higher, according to an American Marketing Association study. A TikTok partnership with a creator who has around 50,000 followers can run a brand more than $3,500 for a single post, Grant says; with 10 times the followers, that fee might just triple, to around $10,000. The influencer marketing economy ballooned to a projected $33 billion in 2025 up from $1.7 billion in 2015. The segment gained momentum after the Covid-19 pandemic, as dissatisfaction with traditional work pushed many to reconsider conventional career paths, says Brooke Duffy, a professor of communications at Cornell University. “They realized the trade-offs in terms of the investments of time, energy and human capital were not necessarily worth sacrificing so much of one’s personal self for,” she says. Success online can bring greater freedom—and even higher pay than many traditional office jobs, which have a median US salary of $69,000, according to Glassdoor. But the middle-class hustle still requires constant effort to maintain. The career has no promise of lifetime longevity. And unlike traditional workers, creators have no predictable paycheck or job protections, making career stability elusive.
4 BusinessMirror
Doing the math ROUGHLY 57 percent of 3,000 surveyed full-time creators earn below a living wage from content creation, according to a report last year from Influencer Marketing Hub. Income from social media can fluctuate wildly from month to month, driven by shifts in algorithms, sponsorship cycles and platform trends. “You could have a month where you make zero dollars, or you could have a month where you make $10,000,” Platock says. That volatility is one reason Grant, whose marketing agency represents more than 300 influencers, typically only signs creators earning at least $200,000 a year, a threshold she views as evidence of an established business. Even with the support of a talent manager, Platock also has reservations about going all-in on social media. As income from TikTok and Instagram began approaching her monthly salary, she decided to leave her full-time role behind; but she supplements her influencing income with a part-time job in marketing and by teaching Pilates.
Influence as labor
AS influencing has become more lucrative, it’s also sparked debate over how much work the job requires. In 2022 a video resurfaced of beauty influencer Mikayla Nogueira—who now has 17.4 million TikTok followers—complaining about the demands of her work. “Try being an influencer for a day because the people that say it’s easy are so far out of their minds,” she said in the nowdeleted post. The backlash was immediate, with thousands of viewers accusing Nogueira of being out of touch. “There’s a stigma against complaining,” Cornell’s Duffy says, “because influencers purportedly have these dream jobs.” Gallup Poll data released last year found employee engagement in the US had fallen to its lowest level in a decade,
AUGUST 23, 2026
with more workers describing themselves as “struggling” rather than “thriving.” Among the hardest-hit groups were Generation Z and workers in finance and technology. Broader workplace challenges, including rapid organizational change, hybrid and remote work transitions, and rising employee expectations are considered drivers of the overall trend. For many workers, influencing can seem like a better deal; flexible schedules and independence wrapped in a veneer of creativity and fun. Almost 60 percent of Gen Zers say they’d become an influencer if given the opportunity, according to a 2023 survey from Morning Consult. Of course, much of creator labor is invisible. Behind a single post can be hours spent planning scripts, editing videos and communicating with brands—work audiences rarely see. And the same economic ripples can make treading water in content creation just as difficult as in a traditional job. Creators are dependent not only on audiences and advertisers but also on the platforms themselves. TikTok going dark in the US last year for about 12 hours over a potential federal ban on the app’s Chinese parent was a potent reminder of the system’s fragility. Beyond the headlines, companies already abruptly alter algorithms, monetization systems and visibility rules. “The platforms themselves ebb and flow” in their ability to attract and retain users, Duffy says. The uncertainty is enough for Floridabased influencer Anna Fenstermacher to keep her traditional job. With around 33,000 TikTok followers, the 30-year-old says she made roughly$140,000 from content creation last year, posting home decor and fashion content, while working a fulltime job in hospitality. The latter guarantees her a steady paycheck, healthcare and retirement benefits. She spends about 30 hours a week outside of her day job planning, creating and editing content. The bulk of her creator earnings comes from affiliate links, including her Amazon storefront, where she shares recommendations for clothing, makeup and household items. When viewers click her unique link and make a purchase, she earns a commission. Last year she made more than $90,000 through the Amazon Influencer Program alone, in addition to around $30,000 from brand deals, she says. Starbucks, Charlotte Tilbury and other well-known brands have tapped Fenstermacher for campaigns. Such partnerships pay well, she says, but they often require creators to perfect every detail before the posts go live. “I think people think it’s just snapping a couple of photos or like recording a quick video,” Fenstermacher adds. “For some of these brands, you’ll do reshoots two, three, four times until you get it right.” n Cover photo by Apostolos Vamvouras on Unsplash