status as the world’s secondlargest economy and challenge the overwhelming sway of the US dollar in international trade and finance.
might include a yuan stablecoin.
In the US, President Donald Trump has made cryptofriendly policies
cies whose value is linked to a specific currency such as the US dollar. They can be used as a substitute in situations where currency transactions might be difficult or costly. They are different from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in that their only purpose is to be a means of payment, not an investment meant to be traded to gain value. Dollar stablecoins are typically bought and sold for $1 each. They are based on a reserve equal to their value, but are issued by pri-
vate institutions, not central banks like the US Federal Reserve.
Stablecoins are not Digital Central Bank Currencies, which are digital versions of currencies issued by central banks. They are based on blockchain-based distributed ledgers. They are “stable” in the sense that their value is anchored to the currency they are based on.
Critics of stablecoins say that since they are essentially a proxy for ordinary currencies that can bypass banking systems and safeguards set up to manage traditional financial transactions they may be most useful for illegal purposes.
China inches toward using digital currencies CHINA launched its own digital yuan, the e-CNY issued by its central bank, on a trial basis in 2019, and McDonalds was an early participant in that project. Chinese regulators have banned mining, trading and other dealings in private, decentralized digital currencies like Bitcoin, while encouraging use of the digital yuan.
The nearly universal use of electronic payments has facilitated use of the e-CNY in the Chinese mainland, with some cities using it to pay wages of civil servants. State media reported that as of July
2024, there were 7.3 trillion yuan worth of transactions using the currency in areas where it is being used on a trial basis.
China has also been promoting use of e-CNY in Africa, as it expands business dealings on the continent.
But e-CNY are not stablecoins. Experts say regulations are needed to safely manage use of stablecoins and to ensure they could be used smoothly with bank accounts and payment systems.
Hong Kong’s role in digital currencies
HONG KONG, a former British colony that has its own financial markets, currency and partly autonomous legal system, enacted a stablecoin law that took effect on August 1.
Aimed at attracting wealthy investors who want to use digital currencies and other financial products, it requires that a stablecoin linked to the Hong Kong dollar must be equal to the Hong Kong dollar reserves for that digital currency.
As a global duty-free port and financial hub, Hong Kong has often served as a base for trying out paths toward liberalizing Chinese financial markets. But new regulations specifically governing yuan stablecoin would be needed if such
a digital currency were issued for use in Hong Kong, Liu Xiaochun, deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of New Finance, recently wrote in a report on the Chinese financial website Yicai.com.
China’s limits on cross-border dealings
CHINA’S currency is not freely convertible in world financial markets and its stringent controls on foreign exchange are the biggest hindrance toward making the yuan a global currency, experts say. According to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, as of June, the yuan was the sixth most active currency for global payments by value, with a share of 2.88 percent. Its use peaked in July 2024 at about 4.7 percent. It’s used more often in trade financing, where it accounts for nearly 6 percent of such dealings, according to that report. The lion’s share of yuan transactions take place in Hong Kong. The US dollar’s share as a global payment currency was over 47 percent as of June, followed by the euro, the British pound, the Canadian dollar and the Japanese yen, the report said.
AP Researcher Shihuan Chen contributed from Beijing.
IS THIS THING ON? Hot mic moments that revealed the human side of power
By Laurie Kellman | The Associated Press
BEHOLD the power of the humble hot mic. The magnifier of sound, a descendant of 150-year-old technology, on Monday added to its long history of cutting through the most scripted political spectacles when it captured more than two minutes of US President Donald Trump and eight European leaders chit-chatting around a White House news conference on their talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The standout quote came from Trump himself to French President Emmanuel Macron even before anyone sat down. The American president, reflecting his comments after meeting in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin: “I think he wants to make a deal for me, you understand, as crazy as it sounds.” How politics and diplomacy sound when the principals think no one is listening can reveal much about the character, humor and humanity of our leaders — for better and sometimes for worse. As public figures, they’ve long known what the rest of us are increasingly learning in the age of CCTV, Cold-
play kiss cams and social media: In public, no one can realistically expect privacy.
“Whenever I hear about a hot mic moment, my first reaction is that this is what they really think, that it’s not gone through the external communications filter,” said Bill McGowan, founder and CEO of Clarity Media Group in New York. “That’s why people love it so much: There is nothing more authentic than what people say on a hot mic.”
Always assume the microphone— or camera—is turned on HOT mics, often leavened with video, have bedeviled aspiring and
actual leaders long before social media. During a sound check for his weekly radio address in 1984, US President Ronald Reagan famously joked about attacking the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
“My fellow Americans,” Reagan quipped, not realizing the practice run was being recorded. “I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” The Soviet Union didn’t find it funny and condemned it given the consequential subject at hand.
Putin, too, has fallen prey to the perils of a live mic. In 2006, he was quoted in Russian media joking about Israel’s president, who had been charged with and later was convicted of rape. The Kremlin said Putin was not joking about rape and his meaning had been lost in translation.
Sometimes a hot mic moment involves no words at all. Presidential candidate Al Gore was widely parodied for issuing exasperated and very audible sighs during his debate with George W. Bush in 2000. In others, the words uttered for all to hear are profane.
Bush was caught telling running mate Dick Cheney that a reporter for The New York Times was a “major-league a--hole.”
“This is a big f———- deal,” then-US Vice President Joe Biden famously said, loudly enough to be picked up on a microphone, as President Barack Obama prepared to sign his signature Affordable Care Act in 2010.
Obama was caught on camera in South Korea telling Dmitri Medvedev, then the Russian president, that he’ll have “more flexibility” to resolve sensitive issues—“particularly with missile defense”—after the 2012 presidential election, his last. Republican Mitt Romney, Obama’s rival that year, called the exchange “bowing
to the Kremlin.”
“Sometimes it’s the unguarded moments that are the most revealing of all,” Romney said in a statement, dubbing the incident “hot mic diplomacy.”
Live mics have picked up name-calling and gossip aplenty even in the most mannerly circles.
In 2022, Jacinda Ardern, then New Zealand’s prime minister, known for her skill at debating and calm, measured responses, was caught on a hot mic tossing an aside in which she referred to a rival politician as “such an arrogant pr—-” during Parliament Question Time.
In 2005, Jacques Chirac, then president of France, was recorded airing his distaste for British food during a visit to Russia. Speaking to Putin and Gerhard Schroder, he was heard saying that worse food could only be found in Finland, according to widely reported accounts.
Britain’s King Charles III chose to deal with his hot mic moment with humor. In 2022, shortly after his coronation, Charles lost his patience with a leaky pen while signing a document on a live feed. He can be heard grousing: “Oh, God, I hate this!” and muttering, “I can’t bear this bloody thing…every stinking time.”
It wasn’t the first pen that had troubled him. The British abil-
ity to poke fun at oneself, he said in a speech the next year, is well known: “Just as well, you may say, given some of the vicissitudes I have faced with frustratingly failing fountain pens this past year.”
Trump owns perhaps the ultimate hot mic moment THE American president is famously uncontrolled in public with a penchant for “saying it like it is,” sometimes with profanity. That makes him popular among some supporters.
But even he had trouble putting a lid on comments he made before he was a candidate to “Access Hollywood” in tapes that jeopardized his campaign in the final stretch of the 2016 presidential race. Trump did not appear to know the microphone was recording.
Trump bragged about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women who were not his wife on recordings obtained by The Washington Post and NBC News and aired just two days before his debate with Hillary Clinton. The celebrity businessman boasted “when you’re a star, they let you do it,” in a conversation with Billy Bush, then a host of the television show.
With major supporters balking, Trump issued an apology “if anyone was offended,” and his campaign dismissed the comments as “locker room banter.”
On Monday, though, the chatter on both ends of the East Room press conference gave observers a glimpse of the diplomatic game. Dismissed unceremoniously from the White House in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy now sat at the table with Trump and seven of his European peers: Macron, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Trump complimented Merz’s tan. He said Stubb is a good golfer. He asked if anyone wanted to ask the press questions when the White House pool was admitted to the room—before it galloped inside. The European leaders smiled at the shouting and shuffling.
Stubb asked Trump if he’s “been through this every day?”
Trump replied, “All the time.” Meloni said she doesn’t want to talk to the Italian press. But Trump, she noted, is game.
“He loves it. He loves it, eh?” she said.
FRANCE’S President Emmanuel Macron, left, and President Donald Trump speak during a meeting in the East Room of the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Monday, August 18, 2025, in Washington. AP/ALEX BRANDON
VICE President Joe Biden
big f------ deal,”
Barack Obama after introducing Obama during the health care bill ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 23, 2010. AP/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
BRITAIN’S King Charles III signs an oath to uphold the security of the Church in Scotland during the Accession Council at St. James’s Palace, London, Saturday, September 10, 2022, where he was formally proclaimed monarch. VICTORIA JONES/POOL PHOTO VIA AP
Editor: Angel R. Calso
The World
Sunday, August 24, 2025 A3
Hotter summers and overcrowding threaten Europe’s tourist economies
By Laura Millan, Jinshan Hong, Henrique Almeida, Alberto Brambilla & Tom Fevrier
HE Montesol is Ibiza’s oldest hotel.
TBuilt in 1933, it’s a neoclassical monolith on a leafy boulevard between the port and the old town of the Spanish island’s capital city. For the last three-quarters of a century, the hotel has hosted generations of Hollywood elite and giants of the music business, while outside Ibiza was transformed from a laid-back haven for 1950s beatniks and bohemians into a Fantasia of mega-clubs, neon lights, giant LED screens and thumping electronic music.
When the French luxury hoteliers Experimental Group took over the property in 2021, they undertook a refurbishment that reflects a new and challenging reality for Ibiza’s tourist industry.
Over the past decade, perennial droughts, population growth and a surge in tourism have meant that fresh water has become increasingly scarce on Ibiza, so the Montesol’s new owners took out the bathtubs in the rooms and only installed showers. Average temperatures have increased by 1.26C (2.7F) in the last 70 years, according to Ibiza Preservation, a non-profit research group, so the hotel put in more insulation to keep the interior cool. To reduce their energy use, they set the minimum temperature for air conditioning to 19C, and equipped windows with a system that turns off the aircon when they open.
“I often get pushback from clients because they want rooms at 16 degrees,”
Romée de Goriainoff, one of Experimental Group’s founders said, sitting at the hotel’s street terrace. “People want to be green, but not when it concerns their comfort or their holidays.”
Last year, 3.7 million tourists visited Ibiza, a 23% rise in eight years. Demand for holiday homes, short lets and housing for seasonal workers, along with an influx of wealthy migrants post-pandemic, has pushed up rents. Experimental Group now has to offer employees accommodation as part of their compensation packages.
Tourism has underpinned economic growth and development in the European Mediterranean for decades. Across the region, it employed more than 8 million people in Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy in 2023 and 2024, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, an industry body. The tourist sector makes up nearly 13% of the gross domestic product of Spain and Greece, more than 10% of Italy’s, and 16.5% of Portugal’s. After a dip during the Covid pandemic, numbers have continued to grow. International arrivals to the European Mediterranean are 8% above 2019 levels, according to UN Tourism, a United Nations agency.
That growth is happening despite—or even because of—climate change. The Mediterranean basin is warming 20% faster than the global average, according to the UN. Average temperatures are already 1.4C higher than the pre-industrial era. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent—wildfires, droughts, dangerous storms and heat waves as
summer temperatures rise up to 10C above historical averages several times every year.
This August, heat waves have worsened deadly wildfires across Europe and Turkey, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people from homes and resorts. But while the summers are hotter, they’re also longer, bringing more people to the Med in the so-called “shoulder months” outside of the old peak season.
Together, surging tourist numbers and the impacts of climate change are putting unprecedented stress on the ecosystems, economies and societies that support the industry, calling into question the business models that have sustained it for decades.
This year, heat, drought and strong winds have caused wildfires in Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Spain and France. Heat waves in Spain have caused more than 1,100 excess deaths this year, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. Tourist sites across Europe, including the Acropolis in Athens and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, have been shut due to dangerously high temperatures.
However, tourist numbers continue to grow in Europe, driven partly by the changing shape of the tourism season.
Across Southern Europe, tourist regions have seen an increase in arrivals in the spring and fall, which is more than offsetting a slight flattening of numbers in the traditional summer peak, which industry analysts put down to a combination of rising temperatures and rising costs.
Greece and Spain, already among the world’s most popular destinations, have experienced rapid growth. In 2024, international arrivals in Greece were up
14.7% over 2019 levels, according to UN Tourism. In Spain, they’re up 12.3%.
Hotel room prices are at record levels in both countries, according to real estate analytics company CoStar.
In Barcelona, the shoulder season is becoming so popular that more tourists arrived on cruise ships at its port in October last year than in August 2019, according to the port authority. In several tourist hotspots, including Valencia in Spain and Catania in Italy, vacation rental demand from May to June and in October and November is rising faster than during peak season, compared to 2018 levels, according to data from AirDNA, which tracks the holiday rental market.
Combined, the two trends are increasing the stress on infrastructure. Hotter, drier peak seasons mean more energy demand for air conditioning and more strain on water resources. Longer tourist seasons exacerbate that pressure.
“You can increase shoulder season tourism if you’re then going to invest in the right infrastructure to cope with that volume of tourists,” Xavier Font, professor of sustainability marketing at the University of Surrey in the UK, who advises tourist authorities on sustainable strategies, said. “You cannot do it if you’re now going to treat the shoulder season exactly the same way you treated peak season.”
Along the road between the city of Ibiza and Cala d’en Serra, fluorescent banners with bold black letters advertise “the real Ibiza clubbing experience,” and billboards promise “fierce” partying seven nights a week. It’s an hour’s drive from the Spanish
island’s capital to the spot on the northern coast, once one of the island’s most secluded places, and a refuge for those looking to escape the crowds.
Until a few years ago, Cala d’en Serra was home to a dozen rickety huts housing wooden rowboats. Now, it’s overrun with sunbeds and umbrellas spilling out from a beach bar. “Going further away, to wilder and unspoiled places used to be worth it because you were alone,” Laura San Miguel, an Ibiza local and an environmental activist with Friends of the Earth, said.
“Not anymore.”
As easier-to-reach spots get busier and busier, tourists have gone deeper into the countryside, overwhelming small places like Cala d’en Serra. But the space has physically shrunk too. A 2024 report by a group of scientific institutions in the Balearic Islands found at least 20% of beaches in Ibiza had visible signs of erosion, and that sea levels around the Balearic Islands have already risen 18.5 centimeters since pre-industrial times.
In 2024, strong gusts of winds during a violent storm pulled up trees in Ibiza’s Cala Vedella, while the swell wrecked yachts in the Ses Salines and Es Codolar beaches.
Across the island, erosion from waves on the clay cliffs has become common. This year the popular Es Bol Nou beach was closed by authorities due to the risk of falling rocks.
In places, damage done to the marine environment as a consequence of overcrowding and tourism is hastening the erosion of the coastline. The Balearic Islands are partly protected by large areas of posidonia, a slow-growing sea plant that forms a barrier against storms.
Although posidonia prairies are protected by law, damage by yachts’ anchors, waste dumping from boats and sea temperature rise has caused them to shrink dramatically, according to Ibiza Preservation. Longer tourism seasons make the problem worse, giving the seagrass less time to recover.
“Our coasts and sea are overwhelmed,” Elisa Langley, coordinator of Ibiza Preservation’s sustainability observatory, said. “If we lose what’s underneath the sea we lose our coast. It’s so contradictory that we’re not taking care of our coast as if it was gold, because that is what brings us the money and the wages.”
Adding to the issues of water quality are discharges from Ibiza’s three desalination plants, themselves a key part of the island’s attempts to adapt to scarcity. During the summer months, the plants are working constantly, without their usual scheduled stops for maintenance. This July, the island’s reservoirs and underground water reserves were at less than one-third of their total capacity, according to the regional Balearic government. Without enough rain to replenish the reserves, the island is drying up.
Spending on water infrastructure— including supply, desalination and treatment—has more than tripled in the past decade, with the Balearic Islands’ regional government spending more than €166 million ($192 million) last year across Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The Balearic Islands collect a sustainable tourism tax of up to €6 per person per night, the proceeds of which are earmarked for
See “Europe,” A4
Sunday, August 24, 2025
Water crisis in Bulgaria is a warning for Europe
By Irina Vilcu & Slav Okov
ONCE a week, Georgi Petrov
drives to a wheat field outside
the northern Bulgarian village of Hadzhidimitrovo, removes four heavy stones from the make-shift steel lid of a borehole and peers inside. The 40-year-old builder helped oversee its installation and inspects it regularly to try to ensure the water it draws doesn’t get contaminated. “If something gets in there, we could be doomed,” he said.
While a 1.1-million lev ($655,000) project to replace the village’s supply pipeline was completed last year, the wells that collect surface water are almost empty. The local water utility sunk the borehole as a stopgap for Hadzhidimitrovo’s 500 residents. But rationing means the taps run dry every other day and a one-off delivery of bottled water from the government—38 liters (10 gallons) per person—is barely enough for drinking, especially in summer temperatures now regularly exceeding 35° Celsius (95°F).
Across much of Europe, water scarcity is a growing concern, with more frequent droughts driven by climate change exacerbating problems caused by aging infrastructure. In Bulgaria, the water network—largely built four decades ago by the communist government—is poorly maintained and resources badly managed.
Modernization has been sluggish and underfunded, and organizations including the World Bank say the sector is prone to rampant corruption.
As a national crisis escalates, bathing, flushing toilets and washing clothes and dishes is now difficult from around June to September for as many as half a million people—or 8% of the population—in roughly a third of the country, according
Europe. . .
Continued from A3
initiatives to reduce the industry’s social and environmental impact. However, the tax take has been used to fund projects, including conference facilities and sports centers, aimed at bringing in more offseason tourists. Critics said that doesn’t
to environmental organizations. Authorities were rationing supplies for more than 260,000 people in 283 villages and several towns as of August 17. Sunflower and corn yields — key agricultural exports—may fall to the lowest level in decades amid curbs on irrigation. Farmers say caring for livestock is getting harder.
Without “cardinal change” Bulgaria’s entire water system will collapse, deepening inequality in the European Union’s poorest member state, with rising water and food prices as well as risks to public health, according to Emil Gachev, head of the Waters department at the Climate, Atmosphere and Waters Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Already, these sorts of hardships are emptying communities throughout the country. Many working age people searching for a better life head to the capital, Sofia—a vibrant hub accounting for around 43% of gross domestic product—or Black Sea coastal areas that are flourishing as tourist destinations. Others move abroad, leaving behind a shrinking and aging population, increasing strain on the welfare system and weakening growth potential.
While an unfortunate set of circumstances led Bulgaria to this point, a similar cycle of higher temperatures, drought as well as ground and surface water shortages looms over the rest of Europe, amplifying calls for a common strategy. “It’s time to rethink our attitude toward water and our behavior, to set water as a national priority for all governments,” Gachev said. “Nature will not tolerate our mismanagement.”
The Danube River runs through Bulgaria before emptying into the Black Sea, but the country’s freshwater supply comes largely from surface and underground water along with thousands of reservoirs. They are no longer being replenished by rainfall as a result of drought along with record-breaking
divert tourists from the peak months. “Nothing changes during summer and everything is crowded the rest of the year,” San Miguel said. “The tourist tax should go into solving the problems we already have, before even thinking about bringing more tourists in.”
The growing volume of tourists is increasing economic pressures for locals, who are already struggling with high rents.
heat and humidity that lead to higher evaporation rates. Main reservoirs were around half full in mid-August, according to Environment Ministry data; in northwestern regions some were at just 20%–25% of their capacity. In 2018, nearly 900 dams were flagged as needing repair, with about half classified as urgent. Five years later, only about 130 of them have been fixed.
As water flows through the network, roughly 60% is lost due to leakage, the largest amount in the EU, which Bulgaria joined in 2007. Virtually the entire system—from water delivery to sanitation and wastewater treatment plants—dates to the Cold War. At the time a combination of trade restrictions, tight budgets, and a focus on the rapid expansion of infrastructure meant communist governments favored low-grade steel and iron, and cement mixes that can present health risks. Cracks, corroded metalwork, and clogged drains are now pervasive. And pipes are too small for the needs of today’s population. One in 10 households still relies on an outhouse while some areas, including parts of Sofia, depend on cesspits, many of which discharge straight into nature.
Bureaucracy and politics are making things worse. Water management is shared across local government, municipal and state-owned companies and at least five ministries. The environment ministry, for example, is responsible for dams but has no oversight over the network, which is under the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. There have been seven elections in the last five years, and the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, which has dominated politics for a decade and a half, says that has hindered investment.
But graft also plays a role. While risks exist across sectors, those dominated by former state monopolies, like the ones
that collect and purify water, are most vulnerable to favoritism, with buyers and suppliers connecting in “high corruption procurement contracts,” according to a 2023 World Bank report. Last year, The European Public Prosecutor’s Office in Luxembourg said it had seized assets in an investigation into suspected fraud involving a €2.6 million ($3 million) EU-funded water support network and reservoir project in which public officials colluded with private firms to inflate costs. The investigation is ongoing. And in 2019, the then Minister of Environment and Water Neno Dimov was charged with deliberate mismanagement for allowing private businesses to use water from a dam near the western city of Pernik—despite warnings the level was too low. Communities near reservoirs rarely ever run out of water, but in this case rationing began in mid-winter as a result. Dimov resigned and denied any wrongdoing, blaming dry weather and poor management by the local water facility. His trial is ongoing.
These shortcomings were all highlighted when Bulgaria joined the EU. The bloc has given the country about €2 billion for upgrades, far short of the nearly €18 billion that the environment ministry says is required. Anything else will likely come with much stricter conditions for monitoring and accountability.
As Bulgaria prepares to enter the eurozone next year, the government in late July proposed legislation to address water management. But experts Bloomberg spoke to said that the bill—The Water and Sanitation Act—mainly just legalizes the status of Bulgarian Water and Sewage Holding EAD, a state-owned company with a 1-billion-lev budget and stakes in a majority of the country’s water utilities. It doesn’t include key recommendations by a parliamentary water committee, such as
There are days in August when the number of people on the island doubles the usual population of 161,000, Juan Miguel Costa, Ibiza’s tourism director, said. “I don’t know what the limit is, but over the long term all destinations will have to find out how many people they can absorb.”
Three out of five Spanish cities with the highest rents are in Ibiza, according to data by real estate platform Idealista. In the Balearic islands, people spend on average two-thirds of their salaries on rent. Authorities in Ibiza are struggling to recruit police and healthcare workers, because they often can’t afford accommodation.
“The island’s resources are not infinite,” Costa said. “We need to find a balance between the pressures of tourism and the pressures of local residents.”
The coronavirus pandemic hit the tourist industry hard, with an overall $2.5 trillion loss in tourism revenues globally between 2020 and 2022, according to UN Tourism. In places that had become used to overcrowded streets in summer, it also reminded locals what their cities were like before the era of mass tourism.
The industry has since rebounded beyond prepandemic levels. The sheer number of tourists in some
the creation of a single authority to oversee the entire sector.
The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, which helped draft the act, didn’t respond to emailed questions by Bloomberg. In an interview in late July, Mladen Shishkov, a lawmaker from the ruling party who chairs the water committee, said “radical change’’ was needed.
Marinela Drumeva shutters a tiny livestock feed shop in Hadzhidimitrovo at lunchtime and runs home to fill her water storage tank, prepare dinner and wash laundry before the taps run dry. It’s been the 35-year-old’s routine all her working life, but every year it starts a bit earlier and lasts a bit longer as the water crisis escalates. “It’s all about negligence,” she said.
Throughout the day, a steady stream of farmers pass by to make orders or collect them, and conversations turn around the same topic: water.
Vladimir Stoychev, a 54-year-old farmer from the nearby village of Morava, for example, said he pressed the local supplier to find a solution to the shortages, and was told that residents could create a more reliable network by linking up private wells. Stoychev worries his own well will dry up, leaving him unable to look after his 10 cows. His friend, Pascal Steiner, a 26-year-old German who moved to the region for a cheaper life, said he couldn’t even get the local water company to install a meter on his property. “Essentially no one cares,” he said.
Shishkov, the lawmaker, said mayors were spending too much on beautification projects and “they need to be pushed” towards water infrastructure. Gencho Genchev, mayor of a municipality that includes Hadzhidimitrovo as well as 13 other villages, disagreed. He said that he has invested millions of lev in water infrastructure over the 11 years he’s been in office, and that it’s the government
destinations has created conflict between locals and visitors. Cruises, buses, planes and rental cars are making cities more crowded and polluted. Golf courses and swimming pools compete with other industries and local residents for water, contributing to shortages in drought-stricken areas. The growth of platforms, such as AirBnB, which facilitate private rentals of residential properties, has helped to drive up rents.
Graffiti demanding “Tourists go home” is daubed on walls across Mediterranean cities. In recent months, anti-tourism protests have broken out in Tenerife and Barcelona in Spain, Venice in Italy and in Lisbon in Portugal. In Greece, workers protested against the industry’s long hours and low wages, while people in Athens’ Koukaki district protested increasing rental prices with graffiti reading: “Airbnb everywhere, neighbors nowhere.”
Last year, the Catalan government imposed restrictions on water use during a drought, but hotels and other tourist businesses were largely exempt.
“I understand why the residents complained, because yet again, it proves that residents are second class citizens,” Font, who is from Barcelona, said. “We have
that has been neglectful.
As officials trade blame, the piecemeal fixes and broken promises are deepening distrust in governmental institutions and hardening disillusionment with the political elite that has ruled Bulgaria for years. In contrast, unlike elsewhere in the Balkans, EU flags fly on state and municipal buildings, and support for the bloc is high. Drumeva ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2024. Petrov joined a small nationalist political party. Last summer, they organized protests that involved road closures and threats of civil disobedience and which led, eventually, to the borehole’s completion. But they see no point in protesting again. Instead, they meet up most nights with neighbors in a gazebo in the village center to discuss ways of helping each other. Already, children bring water to the elderly and those who can afford to buy bottled water, leave their government allocations for those who can’t.
Petrov says he’s looking for sponsorship and is willing to upgrade the network himself, even though he said the mayor told him that he could be arrested for breaching state property laws. “We’re going to buy pipes, find an excavator, and replace the pipes on our own,” he said. Few emigrants return, and Petrov is one of them. Last year, after a long stint in the UK, he went back to Hadzhidimitrovo, where he was born, to start up a construction company with his wife. They dreamed of raising their children among trees and rolling hills, and of renovating old houses to help repopulate the village.
Petrov never imagined his family would be relying on mineral water for cooking, doing the laundry and taking care of pets or that they’d be bathing using a bucket of water and a mug.
“It’s disgusting,” he said. “We live like in the 19th century, not in the 21st century.’’ Bloomberg News
to remember that we are developing tourism to first and foremost create a good quality of life for residents, as opposed to a playground for the tourists. I think we have forgotten it.”
Luís de Gouveia Fernandes runs a secluded farm at the gates of the village of Comporta, a laidback coastal retreat in the Alentejo region of Portugal, about a 90-minute drive south of Lisbon. Historically Portugal’s breadbasket, Alentejo is still home to much of the country’s traditional agriculture. Its sandy soil is well-suited for growing stone pine trees, which produce the pine nuts used to make pesto.
“Two or three years ago the trees stopped producing pine nuts,” Gouveia Fernandes, a retired lawyer whose family has been involved in farming for more than three generations, said as he pointed to a couple of dried up trees. “They’re too weak to bear fruit because access to water is much harder these days.” Since 2017, Alentejo has been at the center of a new tourist boom, as visitors seek out an alternative to the overcrowded Algarve. Now private villas, hotels and golf resorts dot the Alentejo coast. The rush of development is contributing to intense competition for water resources between agriculture and tourism in a region that was already one of Europe’s driest. As climate change drives average temperatures higher and makes rainfall less reliable, the challenges of balancing water use are only going to become more acute, calling into question the sustainability of both industries.
“It’s vital for the government, businesses and local communities to work together to ensure development is sustainable,” said Jose Santos, president of the Alentejo Regional Tourism Promotion Agency, a public-private partnership. “It’s a challenge of gigantic magnitudes.”
In the 1950s, Portugal’s Espirito Santo banking dynasty owned most of the land in Comporta, converting old fishing huts into holiday homes and turning endless miles of empty dunes into their private playground. Following the collapse of the Espirito Santo family empire in 2014, several plots were sold to developers. American celebrities and European royalty began flocking to the quaint towns of Comporta and nearby Melides, drawn to the area’s natural beauty and the promise of understated luxury. Now, billboards promoting the sale of multi-million luxury homes have become a common sight along the roads that connect Comporta to the nearby towns. A giant billboard on the side of the road greets visitors with: “Welcome to Paradise.”
Portugal attracted a record 31.6 million tourists in 2024. Construction in Alentejo is surging to keep up with demand: the number of accommodation units in the area is expected to increase fivefold over the next five to 10 years, according to the Alentejo Regional Tourism Promotion Agency. Vanguard Properties, one of Portugal’s biggest developers, is building several residential and hotel projects in Comporta, including two golf courses. Jose Theotonio, chief executive officer of Pestana Hotel Group, Portugal’s biggest hotel operator, said the environmental impact of tourism in the region is still far from reaching breaking point. “You can walk for kilometers and kilometers along the beach without seeing anyone—the density is very low,” he said by phone during his vacation in Troia, a resort just north of Comporta. He says the water problem in the region could be solved with more desalination plants, a solution his company uses in some of its African resorts. With assistance from Rachel Lavin, Sofia Horta e Costa, Yinka Ibukun, Paul Tugwell and Sabrina Nelson Garcinuno/Bloomberg
NAST PHL to govt: Urgent action needed to boost export competitiveness through quality infrastructure
THE top advisory body to the President and the Cabinet on science and technology called on the government to prioritize the strengthening of the country’s National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) system, citing its critical role in boosting Philippine exports and economic growth.
and processes,” NAST PHL said.
It enables domestic markets to function effectively while providing the international recognition needed to access foreign markets, it added.
As a critical element for economic development and social well-being, NQI relies on five key components: metrology (measurement standards), standardization (setting product standards), accreditation (verifying competence), conformity assessment (testing and certification), and market surveillance (monitoring compliance).
NQI legislation to modernize and integrate the country’s quality systems.
resources.
4. Support Businesses—Offer incentives like tax exemptions for companies pursuing quality certifications and provide better information about export requirements.
5. Promote Quality CultureIntegrate quality awareness in education from primary school to university level.
The NAST PHL said studies show that countries with strong quality infrastructure systems experience higher export growth and better consumer protection.
fair prices,” NAST PHL said. The Academy’s recommendations come as the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 identifies NQI strengthening as a strategic priority for trade promotion and economic development.
The Philippines currently ranks 57th globally in quality infrastructure development, trailing behind regional neighbors Vietnam (52nd), Malaysia (33rd), Singapore (29th), Thailand (28th), and Indonesia (27th), according to the 2023 Global Quality Infrastructure Index, the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST PHL) said in a statement released on August 22.
Together, these components help Philippine businesses prove their products meet both local and international requirements.
“NQI is the system comprising public and private organizations, policies, legal frameworks, and practices that ensure the quality, safety, and environmental soundness of goods, services,
C. Montoya
DOST-PCHRD Executive Director Dr.
Renato U. Solidum Jr.,
for the 18th Philippine National Health Research System
BY ROSEMARIE C. SENORA/DOST-STII
PHL needs more experts for its ‘One Health’ approach despite having globally competitive health researchers
THE Philippines’ health researchers are very competitive not just with the Southeast Asian nations but also with other countries around the world, said Executive Director Dr. Jaime C. Montoya of the Philippine Council of Health Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology-(DOST-PCHRD).
Meanwhile, Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. said the country needs more experts specializing on illnesses from animals and how they will affect humans, under the Philippines’ One Health approach, said Claire Bernadette A. Mondares in a DOST news release.
“I have proven this. [At] the University of the Philippines Manila, which is one of our core agencies that conducts research on health, when looked at the citation index that we conducted, the UST [University of Santo Tomas], the PCHRD, surpassed the citation of Harvard University and other leading universities in America,” Montoya said at the recent Talakayang HeaRT Beat press conference, highlighting the competence of Filipino health researchers.
According to Dr. Pio Justin V. Asuncion, chief of the Health Research Division of the Department of Health (DOH), One Health is an integrated approach that requires multisectoral collaboration.
“[It’s] not just a responsibility of only those in the health sector would have accountability on. Meaning, this requires even more focus by other agencies to really put an investment to address any issues and challenges revolving around One Health,” Asuncion said. One Health approach recognizes that human, animal, and environmental health are interconnected and that sustainability requires integrated actions across these sectors.
Solidum cited that it has been a vision of the agency to take the lead among the Asean states in addressing liver problems. However, he said one of the concerns in DOH and PCHRD is the human resource capacity to address liver diseases in the country. To address this, the DOST, through the PCHRD, has partnered with the Fondazione Italiana Fegato and Liver Institute in Italy under the University of Trieste, to advance liver research.
“We are sending PCHRD students to focus on liver diseases, not only on the treatment but more on the preventive side, focused on
nutrition and other diagnostics. We have established a liver network for the Philippines already, but we want to take the lead in Asean so that we can invite other potential customers from other countries to come to the Philippines,” Solidum said.
Meanwhile, Montoya said that the One Health concept is not just for public health, but also for emergency preparedness.
Using the Covid-19 vaccines as example, the DOST-PCHRD said “the Philippines is one of the countries in the world that has the most diverse and has the most species of bats.”
“Because of that, we have been identified by many researches, including WHO [World Health Organization], that we could be the beginning of the next pandemic,” Montoya said, highlighting the importance of conducting studies to understand how viruses can spread from animals and humans.
Montoya said the Philippines is better equipped to address the possibility of another pandemic, with the establishment of the Virology Institute of the Philippines, which is probably the first research institution where experts in animals, plants, and humans will work and research under one roof.
“To our health researchers, we need your energy. To our local and international partners, we need your continued cooperation. To the Regional Health Research and Development Consortia, we need your influence. To the PNHRS [Philippine National Health Research System] implementing agencies, we need your steady guidance and continued support,” Solidum said.
The Talakayang HeaRT Beat press conference served as a platform for the recent 18th PNHRS Week celebrationin Legazpi City, Albay.
Hosted by the Bicol Consortium for Health Research and Development in partnership with the DOST-PCHRD, the 18th PNHRS Week served as a national convergence point for regional research consortia, academic institutions, government agencies, and civil society organizations championing health equity through science and innovation.
Anchored on the theme “One Health for All: Igniting Transdisciplinary Solutions for a Healthier Philippines,” the celebration highlighted the urgent need for collaborative frameworks that break down gaps between disciplines and sectors to deliver holistic, evidence-based responses to public threats.
The top S&T advirory body gave the following key recommendations for government action:
1. Pass priority legislation— NAST PHL urges the 20th Congress to prioritize comprehensive
2. Create a coordinating council—Establish a National Quality Infrastructure Coordinating Council through a Presidential Executive Order to align all quality-related government agencies.
3. Increase budget support— Provide adequate funding to strengthen personnel and facilities of NQI agencies, addressing current shortages of staff and
The correlation between QI development and exports stands at 88 percent, indicating that improving the Philippines’ quality systems could significantly boost trade performance.
“Without a robust quality infrastructure, Philippine exporters cannot prove their products meet international standards, limiting access to premium markets and
The NAST PHL, an attached agency to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), is the premier organization that recognizes achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and nurtures emerging scientific talents and serves as the primary advisory body on national ST&I policy and related matters.
As such, it aimed at providing science-based, innovative, and inclusive solutions across four strategic pillars: human wellbeing, wealth creation, wealth protection, and sustainability. These pillars embody the mantra OneDOST4U: Solutions, Opportunities for All.
2025 AI fest highlights PHL’s future growth prospects
ILOILO City—The country is
poised to ride in the global artificial intelligence (AI) economy as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) held its 2025 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Fest to mark a significant milestone in its drive for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
Held in Iloilo City recently, the AI Fest, led by DOST Regional Office 6, Iloilo Business Club Inc., and DevCon, gathered leaders, innovators, and thinkers who share the same vision where AI serves the Filipino people—not the other way around.
With the theme “Coding a Better Future: Responsible AI for Cities and Communities,” the fest showcased an integrated platform featuring a national AI Hackathon, a technical conference with a research forum, film showing named SineAI, and AI exhibits expo.
The activities provided opportunities for knowledge sharing, innovation, and meaningful collaboration among students, startups, industry experts, academes, and government agencies.
DOST Undersecretary Sancho A. Mabborang highlighted the importance of building strong regional AI ecosystems that balance innovation with inclusivity.
“AI is no longer a future concept, it is transforming how we live, work, and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges,” Mabborang said, pointing out the rapid growth of AI investments worldwide and emphasizing the need for local communities to lead in this digital era.
He also commended DOST 6 for its ongoing efforts to mainstream AI through programs, such as the Smart and Sustainable Communities Program and the Regional Inclusive Innovation Centers.
These initiatives aim to ensure that technological progress uplifts the lives of every Filipino, from urban to rural areas.
DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. shared his vision of AI as a tool to improve lives and protect livelihoods. He presented the National AI Strategy for the Philippines, in which he outlined five strategic pillars: infrastructure, workforce, innovation, ethics, and policy.
He noted that since 2017, DOST has invested P2.3 billion in 113 AI-related R&D projects, including the launch of JuanaKNOW, an AIpowered knowledge system that connects research to real-world applications.
With the quote “Agham na
Ramdam,” Solidum stressed the importance of science and technology that Filipinos can truly feel and experience in their daily lives.
He emphasized that AI development must remain people-centered and inclusive, making sure no one is left behind.
“By 2028, we envision AI driving inclusive innovation, stronger governance, empowered communities, and globally competitive industries for a sustainable, tech-enabled future,” he said.
Presented during the event were the four new AI projects, each demonstrating practical applications designed to address local needs DOST Talino.AI—This project is a user-friendly AI platform designed to help ordinary citizens easily access and navigate the different services offered by the DOST. It serves as a smart guide that makes government
services more reachable and less complicated for everyone.
SmartGrid.AI—Developed through a partnership between Iloilo Science and Technology University and MORE Electric and Power Corp. This AI-powered system aims to make energy distribution more efficient. It helps manage the flow of electricity better, reducing waste and ensuring more stable power supply to homes and businesses.
AI-Ready Asean Training Program—This initiative targets the youth, educators, and parents across Southeast Asia, with a goal to improve AI knowledge and skills. By equipping 5.5 million people with AI literacy, it prepares communities to participate actively and responsibly in the growing AI industry.
AWS AI Innovation Sandbox— A collaboration between DOST and Amazon Web Services, this project provides researchers and developers access to cloud-based infrastructure. It’s a cloud-based platform where innovators can develop, test, and improve AI solutions without worrying about having physical equipment or resources.
Solidum said that as the Philippines moves forward in the global AI revolution, the 2025 AI Fest in Iloilo reminds us that while “knowledge is power,” applied knowledge is more powerful in driving real progress.
“By grounding AI development in Filipino values, we ensure this powerful technology serves our communities and benefits everyone,” he pointed out.
Searca offers full scholarships for future agri leaders
LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), through its Education and Collective Learning Department (ECLD), announced its full Master’s and PhD scholarships for Academic Year 2026-2027 through a virtual information session.
The annual event was designed to guide prospective graduate students from across the Southeast Asian region.
The scholarships are open to nationals of Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, TimorLeste, and Vietnam.
The session provided a comprehensive overview of the program, aligning with Searca’s 12th Five-Year Development Plan. Searca encourages applicants to align their proposed thesis or dissertation topics with the Center’s priority thrusts. These areas of focus are critical to addressing key challenges in the region—including increasing
farmers’ income, improving food security and nutrition, enhancing the climate resilience of agricultural systems, and empowering agricultural stakeholders.
During the session, Searca provided a detailed walkthrough of the full scholarship package, eligibility criteria, and the application process.
A demonstration of ISCHO, Searca’s online application portal, was also conducted to help applicants avoid common submission errors, such as missing requirements or
unanswered fields.
Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, senior program head of ECLD, led a Q&A segment, offering personalized guidance and emphasizing the importance of a competitive advantage in the evaluation process.
The call for scholarship applications for Academic Year 2026-2027 closes on September 30. For more information, interested candidates are encouraged to visit the official Searca scholarships page at https://www.searca.org/ scholarships.
NATIONAL Academy of Science and Technology Philippines logo
DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. (center) leads the recent 2025 Artificial Intelligence Fest in Iloilo City. DOST PHOTO
Jaime
(right), together with DOST Secretary
speaks before the media during the recent Talakayang HeaRT Beat press conference
Week celebration held in Legazpi City Albay.
PHOTO
A6 Sunday, August 24, 2025
Faith Sunday
Kalookan diocese launches legal aid for poor
By CBCP News
THE Diocese of Kalookan has launched a legal aid program to help the poor access the country’s justice system and is urging lawyers and paralegals to join the effort.
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David said many poor individuals remain vulnerable due to a lack of legal representation and urged legal professionals to support the ministry.
“I am appealing especially to our public attorneys,” David said.
Ilocos Sur church declared minor basilica
PAPAL nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown presides over Mass for the formal declaration of the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption in Santa, Ilocos Sur, as a minor basilica on August 15, 2025.
VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur—The Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia celebrated a historic milestone on August 15 with the declaration of the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, as a minor basilica—the second in the province.
The elevation was declared during a Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, presided over by Archbishop Charles John Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines.
The liturgy was concelebrated by Archbishop Marlo Peralta of Nueva Segovia, Bishop David William Antonio of Ilagan and several bishops from Northern Luzon.
They were also joined by over 100 priests and religious, along with thousands of lay faithful and Marian devotees.
In his message, Brown emphasized that the title of minor basilica signifies a closer bond between the local church and the pope, symbolizing communion with the universal Church.
Highlighting the traditional insignia of a basilica, the nuncio referenced the “umbraculum”—a ceremonial umbrella historically used to shade the pope—as a symbol of unity with the Holy See.
He also reflected on the church’s elevated location as a symbol of Mary’s maternal protection.
The archbishop also shared that Pope Leo XIV gifted papal nuncios with rings inscribed with the Latin phrase Sub umbra Petri—“Under the shadow of Peter.”
“You are now under the shade of Peter and the mantle of Mary,” he told the faithful, adding that pilgrims who visit the newly designated basilica may receive a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions.
Peralta said the archdiocese is now home to two minor basilicas. The first, the Minor Basilica of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino and Shrine of Santo Cristo Milagroso in Sinait, received the designation in 2022.
He said the recognition reflects the enduring devotion of the people to Christ and the Blessed Mother, and reminded the faithful that the basilica must not only be a center of prayer and devotion but also a hub of charity
“Christian faith must bear fruit through charity,” he emphasized.
In his homily, Antonio—a former auxiliary bishop of Nueva Segovia—said the elevation is not a reward, but a call to mission.
He urged the faithful to make the basilica a sacred place and a center of prayer and liturgy so that whoever enters will feel the mercy and compassion of Christ.
Built in 1765 atop a hill overlooking the town center, the church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the Philippine government in 1983.
The church is also recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as one of the four Baroque Churches of the Philippines inscribed as a World Heritage Site. Eden Alviar/CBCP News
The “Access to Justice Ministry” was created in response to the increasing number of poor individuals who face criminal charges without proper legal counsel.
Many, according to the diocese, are unaware of their rights, cannot afford bail and lack access to timely legal assistance.
“I know many good lawyers who feel heartbroken when their clients say, ‘Attorney, I’ll just plead guilty. I can’t afford bail or a long trial,’” David said.
“It breaks your heart to hear the poor say, ‘What choice do
we have?’”
In a separate statement, the diocese said the poor often bear the greatest burden within the justice system.
“The Access to Justice Ministry of the Diocese of Kalookan seeks to change this reality by providing timely and compassionate legal aid for the poor,” it said. David said the Church is ready to mobilize volunteer legal professionals to provide free legal aid.
“This way, the powerless can have access to justice against abusive law enforcers,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV notable remarks during his first 100 days
First of two parts
POPE Leo XIV has made numerous memorable remarks during the first 100 days of his pontificate (May 8 to Aug. 16). Below are some of the most notable.
The peace that comes from Christ
1. “It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally” (First greeting after being elected).
2. “In a divided and troubled world, the Holy Spirit teaches us to walk together in unity” (Vigil of Pentecost).
3. “Today more than ever, humanity cries out and calls for peace. This is a cry that requires responsibility and reason, and it must not be drowned out by the din of weapons or the rhetoric that incites conflict” (Angelus on the solemnity of Corpus Christi).
The evangelizing mission
4. “These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised, or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds that afflict our society” (Homily at Mass with cardinals).
5. “Take courage! Without fear! Many times in the Gospel Jesus says: ‘Do not be afraid.’ We need to be courageous in the witness we give, with the world and above all with life: giving life, serving, sometimes with great sacrifices in order to live out this very mission” (Homily in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica).
6. “Evangelization, dear brothers and sisters, is not our attempt to conquer the world but the infinite
grace that radiates from lives transformed by the kingdom of God” (Vigil of Pentecost).
7. “This dimension of our Christian life and mission is close to my heart and is reflected in the words of St. Augustine that I chose for my episcopal service and now for my papal ministry: ‘In Illo uno unum.’ Christ is our savior and in him we are one, a family of God, beyond the rich variety of our languages, cultures, and experiences” (Address to the Pontifical Mission Societies).
God’s merciful love
8. “God loves us, God loves all, and evil will not prevail. We are all in God’s hands. Therefore, without fear, united, holding hands with God and with each other, let us move forward” (First greeting after being elected).
9. “For if we remain in his love, he comes to dwell in us and our life will become a temple of God. His love enlightens us, influences the way we think and act, spreads outwards to others and embraces every situation in our lives” (Regina Caeli, May 25).
10. “God’s joy is not loud, but it truly changes history and brings us closer to one another” (Mass for priestly ordinations).
11. “The risen Jesus shows us his wounds and, although they are a sign of humanity’s rejection, he forgives us and sends us on our way” (Mass for priestly ordinations).
12. “The Father does not love us any less than he loves his only-begotten Son. In other words, with an infinite love. God does not love less, because he loves first, from the very beginning!” (Mass for the Jubilee of Families).
13. “To believe in him and to be his disciples means allowing ourselves to be changed and to take on his same feelings. It means learning to have a heart that is moved, eyes that see and do not look away, hands that help others and soothe their wounds, shoulders that bear the burden of those in need” (Mass at Castel Gandolfo).
14. “Brothers and sisters, today we need this ‘revolution of love’” (Mass at Castel Gandolfo).
15. “God’s love is so great that Jesus does not keep even his mother for himself, giving Mary to us as our mother, in the hour of the cross” (Homily at Castel Gandolfo with the Italian Carabinieri).
16. “If we deny the love that has generated us, if by betraying we become unfaithful to ourselves, then we truly lose the meaning of our coming into the world, and we exclude ourselves from salvation. And yet, precisely there, at the darkest point, the light is not extinguished. On the contrary, it starts to shine. Because if we recognize our limit, if we let ourselves be touched by the pain of Christ, then we can finally be born again” (Catechesis on betrayal).
17. “Faith does not spare us from the possibility of sin, but it always offers us a way out of it: that of mercy” (Catechesis on betrayal).
18. “Jesus is not scandalized by our fragility. He knows well that no friendship is immune from the risk of betrayal. But Jesus continues to trust. He continues to sit at the table with his followers. He does not give up breaking bread, even for those who will betray him. This is the silent power of God: He never abandons the table of love, even when he knows he will be left alone” (Catechesis on betrayal).
The family
19. “One of the most wonderful expressions of the love of God is the love that is poured out by mothers, especially to their children and grandchildren” (Homily in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica).
20. “And you, dear children, show gratitude to your parents: Saying ‘thank you’ each day for the gift of life and for all that comes with it is the first way to honor your father and your mother” (Mass for the Jubilee of Families).
21. “In the family, faith is handed on together with life, generation after
generation. It is shared like food at the family table and like the love in our hearts. In this way, families become privileged places in which to encounter Jesus, who loves us and desires our good, always” (Mass for the Jubilee of Families).
22. “Our affection for our loved ones—for the wife or husband with whom we have spent so much of our lives, for our children, for our grandchildren who brighten our days—does not fade when our strength wanes. Indeed, their own affection often revives our energy and brings us hope and comfort” (Message for the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly).
23. “It is the responsibility of government leaders to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies. This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman” (Audience with the diplomatic corps).
The grace of the Holy Spirit
24. “The Holy Spirit comes to challenge us, to make us confront the possibility that our lives are shriveling up, trapped in the vortex of individualism” (Mass on the solemnity of Pentecost).
25. “The Spirit of God allows us to find a new way of approaching and experiencing life. He puts us in touch with our inmost self, beneath all the masks we wear. He leads us to an encounter with the Lord by teaching us to experience the joy that is his gift” (Mass on the solemnity of Pentecost).
Christ the Eucharist and the Church
26. “All the fruitfulness of the Church and of the Holy See depends on the cross of Christ. Otherwise, it is only appearance, if not worse” (Homily on the Jubilee of the Holy See).
27. “Christ is God’s answer to our human hunger, because his body is the bread of eternal life: Take this and eat of it, all of you!” (Homily on the solemnity of Corpus Christi).
28. “When we partake of Jesus, the living and true bread, we live for him. By offering himself completely, the crucified and risen Lord delivers himself into our hands, and we realize that we were made to partake of God” (Homily on the solemnity of Corpus Christi).
29. “The life of the Church and of the world, indeed, can only be understood in the succession of generations, and embracing an elderly person helps us understand that history is not exhausted in the present, nor is it consummated amid fleeting encounters and fragmentary relationships, but rather opens the way toward the future” (Message for the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly).
30. “Unity in the Church and among the Churches, dear sisters and brothers, is fostered by forgiveness and mutual trust” (Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul). To be concluded
CARDINAL Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan. DIOCESE OF KALOOKAN/FACEBOOK
Editor: Lyn Resurreccion
Biodiversity plan updated for zero species extinction
By Jonathan L. Mayuga
THE Philippines updated it biodiversity action plan to protect 24 percent of the country’s terrestrial and 16 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2040, and respond to the urgent need to combat biodiversity loss, or zero species extinction.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) recently launched the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP) 20242040 during the 32nd annual Philippine Biodiversity Symposium held in Iloilo City from August 12 to 15.
The updated Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Map was likewise unveiled during the event and handed over to the DENR-BMB.
The symposium had the theme “One Future: Biodiversity, Climate, and Health.” Through the DENR Administrative Order 2025-23, signed on June 9, the updated PBSAP is set to be implemented across government levels and sectors.
Five thematic areas
ANCHORED on five thematic areas: Ecosystems conservation; wildlife and species conservation; addressing impacts on biodiversity; business and biodiversity; and means of implementation—the PBSAP outlines 23 national biodiversity targets, including the global “30x30” goal to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030.
The 30x30 goal, adopted as part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the UN Biodiversity Conference in 2022, aims to reverse the destruction of nature and combat the extinction crisis.
The PBSAP charts an ambitious path toward a nature-positive Philippines. By 2040, the plan seeks to protect 24 percent of the country’s terrestrial and 16 percent of coastal and marine areas—covering 7.44 million hectares of the country’s land area and 35.24 million hectares of its seas. This is through the expansion of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) and recognition of Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs), such as Indigenous community conserved areas, local conservation areas, critical habitats, and Ramsar wetlands.
Vital planning tool
The KBA Map is a vital planning tool that identifies the country’s most biologically significant ecosystems—including terrestrial forests, mangroves, freshwater systems, and coastal and marine areas. It will serve as a guide to multiple
approaches for financing, protection and management, engaging all sectors of society to secure functional natural ecosystems that promote climate resilience, water security, and disaster risk reduction.
The PBSAP and the KBA Map are supported through the National Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration and Preventing Species Extinction Prevention (Napersep).
Among the 52,000 species described in the Philippines, around 2,000 species are threatened flora and fauna with extinction—including the Philippine eagle, tamaraw, Philippine pangolin, Philippine cockatoo, Philippine freshwater crocodile, marine turtles, and “dugong” (sea cow).
Zero species extinction THROUGH the Napersep, actions and resources are mobilized across the private sector, communities, and civil society organizations. This supports the PBSAP targets in achieving zero species extinction through conservation efforts for species at risk of extinction.
Developed through a multistakeholder process, the PBSAP builds on the Philippines’ commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity, envisioning that by 2040, the Philippine biodiversity will be valued, enhanced, effectively conserved, and managed through inclusive and transformative actions delivering climateresilient ecosystems and sustained benefits to Filipino communities.
BMB Assistant Director Mariglo Rosaida I. Laririt echoed the call for collective action, highlighting the important role of the Filipino youth.
“We need the passion and drive of the younger generation, especially in harnessing modern technologies for biodiversity conservation. The economic potential of biodiversity-based industries from our genetic and biological resources is vast. Your ideas and commitment can drive the breakthroughs we need,” Laririt said.
Implement with urgency, political will
VON S. HERNANDEZ , vice president of international nongovernment organization Oceana welcomes the updated PBSAP.
Hernandez told the BusinessMirror via email to on August 14 that the updated PBSAP and KBA map should move the
country closer to its 30x30 targets.
“However, we urge the [DENR-BMB] to implement the plan with urgency and strong political will to address the natural and human-induced threats facing these biodiverse resources,” Hernandez said.
Appeal to President Marcos Jr.
T h E international marine protection organization calls on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to hold to account the national and local government institutions, and corporations that are responsible for projects that have posed harm and destruction to affected people and biodiverse marine and fisheries resources, Hernandez said.
“For the past several years, reclamation, seabed quarrying, offshore mining, coal and other fossil-fuel generation projects have caused irreparable damages in Manila Bay, Verde Island Passage, Tañon Strait and other important marine biodiversity areas,” he said.
Along with the plans come existing environmental and fishing regulations that should be enforced to ensure that PBSAP is effectively implemented and the goal to protect the country’s biodiversity areas is realized.
Strong marine protected areas and the implementation of other effective areabased conservation measures can protect biodiversity, secure food, and sustain coastal communities.
The government should make sure of the passage of the National Coastal Greenbelt bill that will establish coastal zones protecting 100-meter band of
mangroves and beach forest as declared a priority measure.
Mangrove protection is one of the OECMs that will save coastal towns from storm surge and strong waves, restore fisheries abundance, and assure the current and future generations of their natural life support system, Hernandez stressed.
A catalyst for accelerated action
THE updating of the PBSAP comes at a pivotal moment, as the country aligns its national targets with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adopted in December 2022, said Theresa Mundita S. Lim, the immediate past executive director of Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), told the BusinessMirror via Messenger.
“With only five years left until 2030, this renewed plan should serve as a catalyst for accelerated, cross-sector action, enabling the Philippines to actively contribute to achieving the GBF targets,” Lim pointed out.
“In this context, the [KBA] maps are invaluable companions to the PBSAP. Given the enormity of the task ahead and the constraints in resources, these biodiversity mapping tools are indispensable,” Lim, a former DENR-BMB Director, said.
“They help set priorities, pace actions, and coordinate efforts with a broad range of partners and stakeholders—ensuring that initiatives are both efficient and effective,” she noted.
Lim further explained: “KBA maps also provide strong justification for proposed actions and resource allocations in specific geographical sites, offering decision-
makers a clear visual understanding of the state of biodiversity in these areas. When layered with data on ecosystem services, climate vulnerabilities, and disease outbreaks, these maps become powerful instruments for informed, science-based policy-making—supporting an integrated approach to some of the most urgent national and global challenges.”
However, both the PBSAP and KBA maps can only be truly impactful if they are widely disseminated and embraced by the whole of society and the whole of government, inspiring broader participation and sustained commitment from all sectors in their implementation, she said.
Nature-positive Philippines
ACB Executive Director Dr. Jerome L. Montemayor, meanwhile, congratulated the DENR-BMB on the launching of the updated PBSAP 2024-2040 and the turnover of the updated KBA Map.
“Home to two-thirds of the world’s biodiversity, the Philippines is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. This immense natural wealth—the high concentration of unique and endangered species, especially endemic ones—calls for a whole-of-society approach that is aligned with national priorities and international and regional commitments,” he said via email on August 14.
According to Montemayor, the updated PBSAP 2024-2040 provides a clear, coordinated, and accountable plan for conserving biodiversity and promoting its sustainable use. It responds to the urgent need to combat biodiversity loss and aligns
with the targets set in the KunmingMontreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Asean biodiversity plan TO strategically contribute to the realization of this global biodiversity framework, the ACB took the lead in developing the region’s biodiversity strategy and action plan, or the Asean Biodiversity Plan. This will help guarantee complementarity with the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans of the member states, as well as synergies between the global biodiversity targets and Asean’s vision and priorities, necessitating collective regional actions.
To cover a wide range of ecosystems, a flagship initiative of the ACB, the Asean Heritage Parks Programme, conducted ecosystem gap analyses of protected and conserved areas across the region. These studies also looked into the potential of expanding protected area coverage by placing unprotected KBAs under several management regimes, and the contribution of other effective areabased conservation measures to achieving the global biodiversity targets on protected conservation areas.
“As a technical and scientific cooperation support center for the implementation of the KunmingMontreal Global Biodiversity Framework, we continue to support and stand by the Philippines and other Asean member states in crafting and implementing inclusive and integrated roadmaps to attain our goal for a shared naturepositive future,” Montemayor said.
This leader bats for rainwater harvesting, picks plastics from shore, and more Italy’s Ventina glacier has melted so much, geologists can only monitor it remotely
By Sigrid Salucop & Cristina Manalad
IT is the season of typhoons, when mothers iron laundry that did not dry well, and farming towns listen closely to the radio while watching the swollen rivers edge closer to the roads. Somewhere in the calm between the occasional whistling of the wind, Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba reads policy briefs and climate reports the way one might trace a map during a storm, with purpose. Food security, climate adaptation, and public health—these are the anchors of a country that is oftentimes adrift in a sea of problems. Barba is far from the chaos of Manila’s political theater, and so he reads policy after policy. He remains grounded in the sodden soil of his district, the second in Ilocos Norte, a land of mango trees bowing under the weight of rain, and livestock owners who look to the sky for clues and cues as to when they should lead their goats to higher ground.
At 66, he wears the years the way he wears his name. He is a cousin of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., but he never uses his name as an armor because he does not mistake noise for leadership.
A few years ago, under a pale sun before the rains returned, he said to a group of supporters: “We built roads where there were none. But more than infrastructure, we built trust.” It was not a slogan; it was a report to his constituents.
His track record at the House of Representatives speaks louder than he ever has.
As chairman of the North Luzon Growth Quadrant, Barba has authored bills that do not promise miracles, but offer shelter from what may come, most of which to lighten the debts of farmers, protect watersheds, preserve arable land, and build climate-resilient communities.
His Rainwater Harvesting Facility Act, born of muddy afternoons and impassable roads, insists on practicality—catch the rain, store it, use it wisely.
It is no surprise that even in the wettest months, a line forms outside his office. Some seek aid. Others arrive with flyers for mangrove plantings or beach cleanups.
Barba, never fond of ribbon-cuttings, always says yes. Each year, he joins the volunteers, bending down with a stick to fish out plastics from the shore without breaking his back or his humility.
In 2023, when fisherfolk at Victoria Beach found their catch dwindling, Barba led a quiet revolution underwater.
Twenty sculptures—gifts from Pinto Art—were lowered into Poblacion Bay where corals can land and grow. It has been a little over two years and the most recent visit showed that corals are now thriving in the area.
The operation was complex. It required coordination with marine biologists, military divers, policy analysts, and bureaucrats. It succeeded because Barba said that it had to succeed as it was upon the shoulders of his generation to protect what is fragile before
it disappears.
In the same year, just before another season of storms, Barba filed the proposed Young Farmers and Fisherfolk’s Challenge Act, a measure as ambitious as it was necessary.
“We must make agriculture a future, not a fallback,” he said in Laoag.
The bill proposed what many thought too idealistic—scholarships, grants, and meaningful training for the children of soil and sea.
Barba began as mayor of San Nicolas in 1992, climbing slowly as board member, vice governor and congressman.
“The Marcos name opens doors,” he once admitted, “but once you’re inside, you must decide what kind of work you will leave behind.”
Now, as the winds howl again over the municipalities of Banna and Nueva Era, and as Currimao’s fisherfolk tie down their boats with frayed ropes and prayers, Barba works and listens to understand and he affords this courtesy even to those who disagree with him.
ROME—Italy’s Ventina glacier, one of the biggest in northern Lombardy, has melted so much due to climate change that geologists can no longer measure it the way they have for the past 130 years.
After this year’s hot summer, geologists discovered that the simple stakes used as benchmarks to measure the glacier’s retraction each year are now buried under rockslides and debris that have made the terrain too unsteady for future in-person visits.
The Lombardy Glaciological Service said that it will now use drone imagery and remote sensing to keep track of the ongoing shrinkage on the glacier, which is located near Sondrio, in the same general area of northeast Lombardy that is hosting some 2026 Winter Olympics events.
Geologists say that the Ventina glacier has already lost 1.7 kilometers (1 mile) in length since the first measuring benchmarks were positioned at the front
of the glacier in 1895. The melting has accelerated in recent years, with the glacier losing 431 meters (471 yards) in the last 10 years, nearly half of that since 2021, the service said. It’s another example of how accelerating global warming is melting and shrinking Europe’s glaciers, causing a host of environmental and other impacts.
“While we could still hope until the 1980s that there would be normal cycles [of retraction] or at least a contained retraction, in the last 40 years something truly striking has occurred,” said Andrea Toffaletti, a member of the Lombardy Glaciological Service.
Italy’s mountain glaciers, which are found throughout the Alps and Dolomites in the north and along the central Apennines, have been receding for years, thanks to inadequate snowfall in the winter and record-setting hot summers. Silvia Stellacci/ Associated Press
THE Philippine eagle (critically endangered), Philippine pangolin (endangered), green sea turtles (endangered) and the dugong (critically endangered) are among the species the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2040 is targeting to protect. FILE PHOTOS FROM GREGG YAN, JOHN KENZO GINES AND WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Kira impresses in Riga, Toni amazes in Belgium
Golden feat: Leviste continues to shine on international stage
By Aldrin Quinto
ANOTHER first for the Philippines courtesy of Marie
Antoinette
“Toni” Leviste. More than three decades since first competing for flag and country, Leviste, at 51, continues to amaze on the international stage.
Aboard Hanoverian gelding Lacoste
126, Leviste topped the FEI Prix St. Georges Class at the Flemalle Concours de Dressage National in Belgium in July, making her mark as the first Filipino to win an Fédération Equestre Internationale-level (FEI) dressage event in Europe.
A two-time Olympian and the first equestrian from Southeast Asia to compete in the World Cup, Leviste once more demonstrated technical brilliance.
A seasoned gelding that has performed in FEI Grands Prix, Lacoste 126—by Locksley II out of Wilma (by Wolkenstein II)— has been competing exclusively under Leviste’s command since last year.
Synergy forged gold WITH rhythm and finesse in every stride at Flémalle Jump’In equestrian grounds, the duo earned the judges’ nod, Toni Leviste deftly guiding Lacoste 126 to a score of 68.603 percent.
Double medalist in the Southeast Asian Games hosted by the Philippines in 2005 and again in Jakarta in 2011, Leviste won in Belgium as home bets Anneleen Wagemans and Laurens Vanderbeeken took the other podium spots.
The victory, decades since Leviste first wore the country’s tricolors in international competition, further cements her status as the Philippines’ top equestrian.
And she is not resting on her laurels.
The score surpassed the Southeast Asian Games qualifying
A8
mark, which sets her up for another stint in the biennial meet, set in December in Thailand.
Cheers from top brass ONE of the longest-serving Filipino athletes and still the only equestrian to make it to the three major events on the FEI calendar—the Olympics, World Equestrian Games (World Championships) and the World Cup Finals—Toni Leviste’s exploits were met with grateful acknowledgment at home.
The two top Philippine sports officials warmly welcomed Leviste upon her return home.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino handed Leviste a plaque of recognition at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
“I am so honored and grateful that after more than 35 years of being an equestrian athlete representing the Philippines, I have been recognized by both the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission for trying my best to bring honor to the country,” Leviste said.
“I know in my heart that I am representing 110 million Filipinos and making them proud,” said Leviste, who was joined by his father, former Batangas Governor Jose Antonio Leviste, in the ceremony.
Ellis transforms baby steps to big strides toward LA28
By Josef Ramos
KIRA ELLIS’S gold medal conquest at the 2025 Europe Triathlon Junior Cup a week ago in the Latvian capital of Riga was one major statement about her mission: Los Angeles 2028.
But only 18 years old, if LA28 won’t come, then Brisbane 2032 would do.
“Olympics is the ultimate goal, but that’s [LA28] still far,” Ellis—who turned 19 only last Wednesday— told BusinessMirror via an online interview. “We’ll try in LA, but if not, we’re hoping to make it in Brisbane.”
Ellis, the youngest of two daughters of her mom, who’s also her triathlon coach, Doray, and British dad Mark Ellis, won with more than enough to spare in one hour, five minutes and seven seconds—Luca Vanderbruggen of Belgium 10 seconds later and Germany’s Sarah Walter further back at 1:05:22.
The race—750 meters swim, 22 kms bike and 5.1 kms run—was staged in cool and overcast conditions with a total of 16 competitors.
It was Ellis’s fourth gold medal in 15 junior competitions, including the aquathlon mixed team relay at the Cambodia 2023 Southeast Asian
Games and the mixed and team relay in the 2024 Asia Junior Cup’s in Kampar, Malaysia.
Powered by her favorite chicken tinola, Ellis said she’s always physically and mentally prepared as she trains regularly at her grandparents’ home in Wetherby, England.
“I will just be ready and prepared for what may come. In every race, I always do my very best and hope to achieve my goals,” Ellis said. “I’m looking for brighter years to come up as I pursue my goals.”
Despite her triumphs, she’s always meek as a lamb and humble with her achievements.
“It’s a step, but it’s still a small step,” she said of her gold medal in Riga. “Good for pushing myself because I want to be good, but the journey heading there [Olympics] is going to be tough.”
To qualify for Olympic triathlon, an athlete must be inside the top 100 athletes in the world and currently, Ellis is No. 607 in the International Triathlon Union list and No. 95 in the continental rankings.
Up next for Ellis are the Asia Triathlon Cup from September 20 to 21 in Gamagori, Japan, and either triathlon or aquathlon in the Thailand’s 33rd SEA Games in December.
Smaller sportswear brands sparkle in US Open’s qualifying tourney
NEW YORK—Tennis apparel sponsorship is a big business—it is also one that, among the top players, is dominated by a small group of industry titans.
Brands like Nike, Adidas and Asics provide the outfits for most of the top 100, with their recognizable logos splashed across the shirts and skirts of Grand Slam favorites.
Leviste first made the Olympics in Sydney 2000 in show jumping and returned to the world’s top multisports event in Beijing in 2008. She also earned a silver medal in show jumping in the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
But if one looks beyond that upper echelon and into the US Open’s qualifying tournament—where lower-ranked players compete for spots in the main draw—there’s a world of local startups and small clothing businesses making their way into the booming tennis business.
For many players in the qualifying tournament, their apparel sponsors are companies local to their home country. These companies often specifically seek out their countrymen.
“It’s key to sponsor and help our Swiss players,” said Laura Tolub, the chief operating officer of Fourteen Company. Fourteen is a small sportswear brand based in Geneva, Switzerland, that sponsors a couple of Swiss players in the qualifying draw. “It doesn’t mean we’re only sponsoring Swiss players, but it’s important to us to…be there for them.”
That country connection is often important on the player’s side, too. Swiss player MarcAndrea Hüsler, ranked 228th, won his second round qualifying match Thursday afternoon in Fourteen apparel.
“It’s a Swiss brand, so I wanted to do something with the Swiss if possible,” he said about his decision to join the brand two years ago. “They were new and they were building up.”
They’ve built into a tight-knit community, according to Tolub.
“[Some players] want to have the feeling they are part of a family, which Fourteen is,” she said. “It’s more of a family than a big brand.”
Arianne Hartono went a similar route. She is sponsored by The Indian Maharadja, a Dutch company known for its hockey clothing and based out of Nieuwkuijk, a small town of about 5,000 people.
“They were a very small startup, like three, four years ago,” Hartono said. “They approached me through social media, they just came at me and said, ‘Hey, we’re a small company, we want to start coming into tennis.’”
She agreed, and their spiral logo was on full display as the Dutch player, ranked 158th, made her way into the third round of the qualifying tournament with a tight victory Thursday afternoon.
Other qualifiers look for the right fit beyond country lines. Argentine Marco Trungelliti, ranked No. 183rd, found one with personal ties.
His match clothes are made by a small upstart in Mexico called Lega, an apparel brand that’s run by “a friend of a friend,” who the Argentine said he has become quite close with through their time working together. His shirts have been getting attention from keen-eyed fans—at the French Open, his top had a large Eiffel Tower design, and now in the US Open’s qualifying rounds, it’s a Statue of Liberty.
“It’s a complete new run,” he said of the New York City shirt, which was designed and manufactured by Lega specifically for his US Open matches.
“I’m not a designer at all, but I had some opinions in there,” he said after winning his second round qualifying match. “But this one was completely on [the Lega designer], and I loved it.” AP
is sponsored by The Indian Maharadja, a Dutch company known for its hockey clothing and based out of
about
fans lined up for autographs during PLDT and Smart store visits.
In Lapu-Lapu City and Cebu City, RHJ on Tour also became a platform to strengthen ties with local government leaders, who embraced the program as a boost to their youth, sports, and community development efforts.
Young participants shared how the experience changed their perspective.
to learn from the best. Whether under the heat of the sun or the glow of indoor lights, the atmosphere was electric. At every stop, the tour became a celebration—not just of sport, but of community-and parents and guardians joined fitness sessions and
“I am very happy that I got to showcase my basketball skills and win the Most Valuable Player award for this basketball clinic,” said 14-year old Jeanena Duane Verkianz Berdon from Lapu-Lapu City. “Thank
ARIANNE HARTONO
Nieuwkuijk, a small town of
5,000 people. WTA PHOTO
KIRA ELLIS’S gold medal is not only a major reason for the country to rejoice but also a perfect gift for herself on her birthday. KIRA ELLIS IG
MARIE ANTONOINETTE “TONI” LEVISTE holds her trophy with Lacoste 126. COURTESY TONI LEVISTE
Kira impresses in Riga, Toni amazes in Belgium
Golden feat: Leviste continues to shine on international stage
By Aldrin Quinto
ANOTHER first for the Philippines courtesy of Marie
Antoinette
“Toni” Leviste. More than three decades since first competing for flag and country, Leviste, at 51, continues to amaze on the international stage.
Aboard Hanoverian gelding Lacoste
126, Leviste topped the FEI Prix St. Georges Class at the Flemalle Concours de Dressage National in Belgium in July, making her mark as the first Filipino to win an Fédération Equestre Internationale-level (FEI) dressage event in Europe.
A two-time Olympian and the first equestrian from Southeast Asia to compete in the World Cup, Leviste once more demonstrated technical brilliance.
A seasoned gelding that has performed in FEI Grands Prix, Lacoste 126—by Locksley II out of Wilma (by Wolkenstein II)— has been competing exclusively under Leviste’s command since last year.
Synergy forged gold WITH rhythm and finesse in every stride at Flémalle Jump’In equestrian grounds, the duo earned the judges’ nod, Toni Leviste deftly guiding Lacoste 126 to a score of 68.603 percent. Double medalist in the Southeast Asian Games hosted by the Philippines in 2005 and again in Jakarta in 2011, Leviste won in Belgium as home bets Anneleen Wagemans and Laurens Vanderbeeken took the other podium spots.
The victory, decades since Leviste first wore the country’s tricolors in international competition, further cements her status as the Philippines’ top equestrian.
And she is not resting on her laurels.
The score surpassed the Southeast Asian Games qualifying
A8
mark, which sets her up for another stint in the biennial meet, set in December in Thailand.
Cheers from top brass
ONE of the longest-serving Filipino athletes and still the only equestrian to make it to the three major events on the FEI calendar—the Olympics, World Equestrian Games (World Championships) and the World Cup Finals—Toni Leviste’s exploits were met with grateful acknowledgment at home.
The two top Philippine sports officials warmly welcomed Leviste upon her return home.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino handed Leviste a plaque of recognition at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
“I am so honored and grateful that after more than 35 years of being an equestrian athlete representing the Philippines, I have been recognized by both the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission for trying my best to bring honor to the country,” Leviste said.
“I know in my heart that I am representing 110 million Filipinos and making them proud,” said Leviste, who was joined by his father, former Batangas Governor Jose Antonio Leviste, in the ceremony.
Ellis transforms baby steps to big strides toward LA28
By Josef Ramos
KIRA ELLIS’S gold medal conquest at the 2025 Europe Triathlon Junior Cup a week ago in the Latvian capital of Riga
was one major statement about her mission: Los Angeles 2028.
But only 18 years old, if LA28 won’t come, then Brisbane 2032 would do.
“Olympics is the ultimate goal, but that’s [LA28] still far,” Ellis—who turned 19 only last Wednesday—told BusinessMirror via an online interview.
“We’ll try in LA, but if not, we’re hoping to make it in Brisbane.”
Ellis, the youngest of two daughters of her mom, who’s also her triathlon coach, Doray, and British dad Mark Ellis, won with more than enough to spare in one hour, five minutes and seven seconds—Luca Vanderbruggen of Belgium 10 seconds later and Germany’s Sarah Walter further back at 1:05:22.
The race—750 meters swim, 22 kms bike and 5.1 kms run—was staged in cool and overcast conditions with a total of 16 competitors.
It was Ellis’s fourth gold medal in 15 junior competitions, including the aquathlon mixed team relay at the Cambodia 2023 Southeast Asian
Games and the mixed and team relay in the 2024 Asia Junior Cup’s in Kampar, Malaysia.
Powered by her favorite chicken tinola, Ellis said she’s always physically and mentally prepared as she trains regularly at her grandparents’ home in Wetherby, England.
“I will just be ready and prepared for what may come. In every race, I always do my very best and hope to achieve my goals,” Ellis said. “I’m looking for brighter years to come up as I pursue my goals.”
Despite her triumphs, she’s always meek as a lamb and humble with her achievements.
“It’s a step, but it’s still a small step,” she said of her gold medal in Riga. “’Good for pushing myself because I want to be good, but the journey heading there [Olympics] is going to be tough.”
To qualify for Olympic triathlon, an athlete must be inside the top 100 athletes in the world and currently, Ellis is No. 607 in the International Triathlon Union list and No. 95 in the continental rankings.
Up next for Ellis are the Asia Triathlon Cup from September 20 to 21 in Gamagori, Japan, and either triathlon or aquathlon in the Thailand’s 33rd SEA Games in December.
Smaller sportswear brands sparkle in US Open’s qualifying tourney
NEW YORK—Tennis apparel sponsorship is a big business—it is also one that, among the top players, is dominated by a small group of industry titans.
Brands like Nike, Adidas and Asics provide the outfits for most of the top 100, with their recognizable logos splashed across the shirts and skirts of Grand Slam favorites.
Leviste first made the Olympics in Sydney 2000 in show jumping and returned to the world’s top multisports event in Beijing in 2008. She also earned a silver medal in show jumping in the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
But if one looks beyond that upper echelon and into the US Open’s qualifying tournament—where lower-ranked players compete for spots in the main draw—there’s a world of local startups and small clothing businesses making their way into the booming tennis business.
For many players in the qualifying tournament, their apparel sponsors are companies local to their home country. These companies often specifically seek out their countrymen.
“It’s key to sponsor and help our Swiss players,” said Laura Tolub, the chief operating officer of Fourteen Company. Fourteen is a small sportswear brand based in Geneva, Switzerland, that sponsors a couple of Swiss players in the qualifying draw. “It doesn’t mean we’re only sponsoring Swiss players, but it’s important to us to … be there for them.”
That country connection is often important on the player’s side, too. Swiss player MarcAndrea Hüsler, ranked 228th, won his second round qualifying match Thursday afternoon in Fourteen apparel.
“It’s a Swiss brand, so I wanted to do something with the Swiss if possible,” he said about his decision to join the brand two years ago. “They were new and they were building up.”
They’ve built into a tight-knit community, according to Tolub.
“[Some players] want to have the feeling they are part of a family, which Fourteen is,” she said. “It’s more of a family than a big brand.”
Arianne Hartono went a similar route. She is sponsored by The Indian Maharadja, a Dutch company known for its hockey clothing and based out of Nieuwkuijk, a small town of about 5,000 people.
“They were a very small startup, like three, four years ago,” Hartono said. “They approached me through social media, they just came at me and said, ‘Hey, we’re a small company, we want to start coming into tennis.’”
She agreed, and their spiral logo was on full display as the Dutch player, ranked 158th, made her way into the third round of the qualifying tournament with a tight victory Thursday afternoon.
Other qualifiers look for the right fit beyond country lines. Argentine Marco Trungelliti, ranked No. 183rd, found one with personal ties.
His match clothes are made by a small upstart in Mexico called Lega, an apparel brand that’s run by “a friend of a friend,” who the Argentine said he has become quite close with through their time working together. His shirts have been getting attention from keen-eyed fans—at the French Open, his top had a large Eiffel Tower design, and now in the US Open’s qualifying rounds, it’s a Statue of Liberty.
“It’s a complete new run,” he said of the New York City shirt, which was designed and manufactured by Lega specifically for his US Open matches.
“I’m not a designer at all, but I had some opinions in there,” he said after winning his second round qualifying match. “But this one was completely on [the Lega designer], and I loved it.” AP
for its
fans lined up for autographs during PLDT and Smart store visits.
In Lapu-Lapu City and Cebu City, RHJ on Tour also became a platform to strengthen ties with local government leaders, who embraced the program as a boost to their youth, sports, and community development efforts.
Young participants shared how the experience changed their perspective.
“I am very happy that I got to showcase my basketball skills and win the Most Valuable Player award for this basketball clinic,” said 14-year old Jeanena Duane Verkianz Berdon from Lapu-Lapu City. “Thank
ARIANNE HARTONO is sponsored by The Indian Maharadja, a Dutch company known
hockey clothing and based out of Nieuwkuijk, a small town of about 5,000 people. WTA PHOTO
KIRA ELLIS’S gold medal is not only a major reason for the country to rejoice but also a perfect gift for herself on her birthday. KIRA ELLIS IG
MARIE ANTONOINETTE “TONI” LEVISTE holds her trophy with Lacoste 126. COURTESY TONI LEVISTE
AUGUST 24, 2025 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com
A SLICE OF ‘GRIEF CAKE’
Three piece, alt-pop girl band NEW LORE release spunky debut album
Story by Ica Hontiveros-Cheng
Photos by Paul Cheng
For someone who used to go to local bar gigs in the Metro back in the 2010’s, which would start late and finish well into the early morning, it was a relief to get an assignment to cover a gig that had a 4:00 PM start time. I was thanking my lucky stars that NEW LORE, A three-piece alt pop girl band’s NEW LORE is launching for their debut ‘grief cake’ and I made it just in time. Being out of the gig-going circle for a while, I was wondering if this was the new norm in gigs and events these days and is it too much to ask for it to be the new practice moving forward? Hey, a millennial auntie can hope right?
As I made my way down the basement of the Astbury in Makati-it was my first time here. I could feel the gen-z energy radiating from the space, shades of blue and green, the chosen thematic colors of the band for the album flashed through LED lights and could
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be seen in merchandise such as cards and stickers. Artists and fans also wore shades of blue and green to be one in the celebration.
Marching to the beat of their drum
With art and poetry as their muse for their music NEW LORE, formerly known as ‘No Lore’ , is made up of Tita Halaman on guitar and vocals, Kim Escalona on bass, and Carole Lantican on drums. Every detail about the band from their album art, merchandise, and clothes are all well thought of, and intentional, and uniquely them, no traditional management would make the choices that they have so boldly done and embraced. Even the clothes that they wore during the album launch were custom art pieces in blue, which further cemented and celebrated the band’s careful and unique way that they presented themselves. They are anything but a dollar a piece, manufactured girl band, but rather colorful gems whose hue, cut and shape is unlike any other.
They reminded me of a mix between our very own Reese Lansangan and The Linda Lindas. Bright, colorful, and unapologetic in marching to the beat of their own drum. Speaking of drums, I got to see NEW LORE perform live and hear their music for the first time and I must say that I was immediately hooked on their catchy and dreamy flavor of electro-pop, elevated by Tita Halaman’s wispy vocals.
And I’m not the only one enjoying their new
album, last August 1 ‘Grief Cake’ was included in Spotify’s New Music Friday in nine countries! If that’s not cause for you to give them a listen over at Spotify then perhaps a nod from beloved OPM band Ben&Ben who left a comment on NEW LORE’s social media will seal the deal for you.
If you follow local shows, you might have already had a new taste of the band without even realizing it. Back when they were still known as ‘No Lore’ their song ‘Paumanhin’ was included in the soundtrack of the mini series ‘Sleep With Me’ starring Lovi Poe and Janine Gutierrez. The song was produced by Ean Aguila of ‘Ang Bandang Shirley’ which is why the escalating beats sound familiar. This is also the band’s first Tagalog song.
Embracing the trauma with cake
I was given a small neon green paper bag during New Lore’s album launch. Inside were stickers, cards, and a zine on the band, which reminded me of the song hits my classmates flipped through during lunch breaks while learning songs on the guitar. Yes, I have once again dated myself. Actually, it was a songhit zine as it included chords to the songs on ‘Grief cake’.
In the zine the band wrote about their debut
album Grief Cake: “-it is a coming-of-age spiral disguised as a pop record with layers of pain, tenderness, and transformation baked into something strangely sweet.” And this is an accurate description of their eight track debut album,
The zine also shares why the album is named the way it is:
“Whenever vocalist Tita Halaman feels deeply sad, she buys herself a whole cake and finishes it alone. This ritual became a metaphor: life is a grief cake - sweet, heavy, a little ridiculous. You eat it even when it hurts. Maybe especially then.”
Which explains where lyrics such as: “Always every anger was once love” from the song ‘WHO HURT U’ comes from. Tita Halaman shared during the launch, that all the titles of the songs from ‘Grief Cake’ are in all caps, because that is what it feels like expressing these songs, as if you are shouting them for the world to hear. Or maybe just loud enough to also act as a release.
Although you would not guess at the anxiety, anger, jealousy, and shame that comes from the songs, as they are disguised in sweet and catchy electro-pop. But hey, we all need to laugh-cry, while dancing amidst the anger and pain every once in a while. And maybe a slice of grief cake to go with it.
SING-ALONG EVENING
Manila went all out and ‘did it’ with EXO’s D.O.
Story and photos by Ginger Franz S. Ocampo
Doh Kyungsoo, more popularly known as D.O. of EXO, made a highly anticipated return to Manila with his “Do It” Tour at the SM Mall of Asia Arena last August 16. This marks his comeback to the Philippines a year after his “BLOOM” fan meeting, but this time, fans were treated to a full-scale concert.
The venue transformed into a sea of white, as EXO-Ls followed the concert dress code. Some fans joked that it felt like attending a baptism or a first communion, but the coordinated attire made it easy to spot fellow fans across the arena.
D.O. opened the night with “Do You Remember?” from his first full album Bliss, immediately setting the nostalgic and intimate tone of the evening. From then on, the crowd’s energy never wavered as he showcased his versatile charm—balancing soulful performances with playful interactions.
My favorite performance of the night was “Mars.” It has always been one of my favorite songs of his, but this time, the stage design and atmosphere made it feel even more magical. “My Dear” was another standout moment, and seeing the English lyrics displayed as he sang allowed me to appreciate the song’s message on a much deeper level.
What I especially loved about this concert was how the translated lyrics were projected on the LED screens. Often, as fans, we either read translations beforehand or get caught up in the excitement of a live performance and overlook the meaning of the words. Having the translations right in front of us while listening made the experience more immersive, allowing me to connect with D.O.’s music in a way that
felt both personal and heartfelt.
D.O. also performed one of his most wellloved hits, “That’s Okay,” a song that almost every K-Pop fan would recognize. With the English lyrics displayed on the screen, the performance carried an added layer of intimacy, offering comfort to fans in the arena like a warm embrace from D.O. himself.
The night’s most energetic moment came with “Popcorn,” a track beloved by fans for its upbeat rhythm and fun fanchants. Even when D.O. playfully instructed the crowd to sing on their own, EXO-Ls couldn’t resist shouting the chants, prompting the singer to feign frustration and laugh with the audience.
Beyond the music, the concert also highlighted D.O.’s natural wit and humor. He expressed surprise at the large number of male fans in attendance, remarking, “This is the first time I have seen so many male fans at my concert,” which drew cheers across the arena.
Closing with “Rose” and “Sing Along,” D.O. left the arena echoing with cheers and voices united in song. The night cemented his bond with Filipino fans, many of whom are already looking forward to his next visit. If this concert is any indication, D.O.’s journey as a soloist is only set to grow stronger and Manila will be waiting for him to fulfil his promise to return.
D.O. in Manila
How to make climatefriendly, sustainable choices when shopping online
By Caleigh Wells The Associated Press
ONE way to be climatefriendly: Shop sustainably. But figuring out which products count as “sustainable” can be hard, especially when buying online.
As ordering with a computer or phone becomes more ubiquitous, the number of online products labeled sustainable is also increasing. Yet there is no single seal of approval across e-commerce platforms that verifies whether something is climate-friendly, partly because there are multiple ways to define sustainability.
Third-party nonprofit organizations study manufacturers and sellers’ practices and offer certifications that are displayed online. Government programs such as the Agriculture Department’s organic certification or Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star efficiency standard are also often listed. Large e-commerce websites may highlight the certifications with special icons, hyperlinks to certification programs or written descriptions.
The mixture can invite homework from buyers. Elwyn Grainger-Jones, who leads a nonprofit that certifies product sustainability, said there also isn’t a single clearinghouse that tracks which third-party certifications are the most credible.
“Therein lies an issue and a challenge,” said Grainger-Jones, CEO of Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. “What we haven’t seen so far is a third-third party step in and be the information portal on what a good certification is.”
And while shopping online might come with more packaging, it doesn’t always come with more emissions. A person shopping online may even emit less than if they went to the store in person, according to a study published in Environmental Science and Technology. But there are a lot of variables, including which e-commerce site they use, the shipping speed they select and how close they live to a brickand-mortar alternative.
“ IF a company is serious about sustainability, it should have its practices assessed and make that information easy for customers to find,” said Clementina Consens of B-Lab, which certifies companies that meet environmental and social standards. PHOTO BY LIZA SUMMER ON PEXELS.COM
There might not be one surefire way to tell sustainable products from unsustainable ones, but certification experts shared tips on what to look for. Many apply to in-person purchases, too, so you can keep them in mind for the supermarket or furniture store.
Know how sustainability is measured
THERE are multiple measures of sustainability, and sometimes positive attributes can be offset by negative ones. Third-party certification is meant to show that an independent group studied these factors. Some focus on one issue, while others look holistically at how different factors fit together.
Manufacturing an item might have low emissions but use lots of water. A company might reduce plastic, but if its products don’t last long, they can still wind up in the landfill. Other sustainability concerns include energy efficiency, how far the item has traveled and how resources were extracted to make it.
Certification labeling also varies. Sometimes it’s printed on the product, sometimes it’s listed on the manufacturer’s website and sometimes the certifying body lists the products that have earned its approval. Large retail websites, in turn, often list certifications in a product description.
Check whether it’s verified by a third party
THIRD-PARTY verification is a core avenue for determining whether a manufacturer’s sustainability claims are le -
gitimate.
“Ideally you want to look for some certifying bodies because they’ve removed some of that up-front labor that as a consumer you otherwise might have to do,” said Clementina Consens of B-Lab, which
gas emissions, water or energy use.
Large e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Walmart and Target have set emissions benchmarks and other climaterelated targets for their suppliers and list their own companywide sustainability goals. Walmart, for example, has released extensive information on its Project Gigaton, including a list of participating suppliers, definitions of its recognition tiers and science-based requirements for suppliers’ goals. Target publishes its climate goals, and has provided updates on where the company has surpassed expectations, and where it has fallen short. It also displays icons and hyperlinks next to products that meet sustainability goals.
Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly program vets products based on a set of verified third-party certifications and posts a green leaf label alongside products that meet the certifications, along with hyperlinks.
“Having those third-party standards is super important for credibility,” said Nneka Leiba, Amazon’s principal sustainability specialist.
Certifications that aren’t quantifiable or are too permissive don’t meet
‘There might not be one surefire way to tell sustainable products from unsustainable ones, but certification experts shared tips on what to look for.’
certifies companies that meet environmental and social standards.
Grainger-Jones said some companies create their own self-certifications that look convincing but don’t mean much. “You can go and buy a self-declared certificate for a couple of thousand dollars,” he said.
Look for quantifiable and transparent climate goals
IF a company is serious about sustainability, it should have its practices assessed and make that information easy for customers to find, Consens said. She said she looks to see whether a company has completed an environmental impact assessment, whether it publicizes its findings or whether there is any tangible data on the company’s greenhouse
Leiba’s bar for inclusion in the program. She said when evaluating a certification, she looks to see whether it’s following International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, or other relevant standards. She said certifications should be backed by scientific rigor and require companies or products meet specific benchmarks.
Leiba said manufacturers’ efforts to become certified can be good for their business. She said products in the Climate Pledge Friendly program experience a 12 percent sales increase in the first year after earning the green leaf badge.
“That cycle is really beneficial to our customer,” she said, “and beneficial to the environment.”
