SWEET SUGAR VS TINY, DEADLY FOE
Sugarcane sector still surviving in struggle vs soft-scale swarm, or RSSI infestation
By Ada Pelonia
SOMETHING as small as a grain of rice is sapping the strength of the sugarcane sector and the subsistence of thousands of farmers serving as sinews sticking together a centuries-long industry.
It was detected first in Pampanga; now it’s in Negros Occidental. Dubbed the country’s sugar bowl, the province accounts for over 60 percent of sugar output. Negros Occidental boasts rolling hectares of sugarcane fields stretched in a patchwork of verdant leaves with towering stalks that rise toward the sun.
But around May, some planters who went to bed with fields blooming lush, emerald-green, awoke to a few of their cane stalks’ leaves spitting bright yellow streaks.
Unprecedented in Negros Occidental, a minuscule pest characterized by red parallel lines on its dorsal surface has taken up residence on cane leaves, the backbone of sugar production.
‘Rapid spread’
PLANTER David Andrew Sanson said his plantation in Victorias City was among the initial areas hit by the red-striped soft-scale insects (RSSI). Sanson, who also serves as a member of the board of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), told the BusinessMirror he noticed the yellowing leaves sometime in May.
He said he immediately called the SRA. An investigation confirmed some of his sugarcane
leaves have been infected with the insect, scientifically named as Pulvinaria tenuivalvata.
“I’ve only seen this in Pampanga two years ago. So, we were caught off guard when it landed here in Negros. The spread is very fast,” Sanson said.
Based on SRA data, the RSSI has affected, as of July 9, some 1,574 Negros Occidental farmers and around 2,876 hectares. The latter area is significantly larger than the 87 hectares recorded on May 22 when the agency first declared an infestation.
However, SRA officials have raised a concern that areas affected by the pest might be “higher,” claiming possible underreporting from some planters who began to remedy their respective farms without disclosing the infestation to the agency.
The spread of RSSI comes at a time when the combination of efforts from planters and the government has catapulted the country’s raw sugar output in the current crop year to a four-year high.
Figures from the SRA showed that the country’s sugar output reached 2.072 million metric tons (MMT) as of June 29, despite earlier concerns that the aftermath of El Niño from 2024 would trickle
into the production of the sweetener this year.
Historical data from the SRA showed that the latest raw sugar output is the highest since the 2.14 MMT recorded in crop year 20202021. The insect—first detected in Egypt in 1992—has been reported to cause significant damage to sugarcane, which could slash the sugar content of infested canes by up to 50 percent, based on studies.
Effect on sugarcane
MICHELLE S. GUERRERO, researcher at the National Crop Protection Center (NCPC) of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB), explained that the RSSI feeds on the sugarcane’s phloem sap, which impairs the plant’s nutrition process.
“After feeding, it will cause yellowing and drying. They will start on the lower end of sugarcane leaves, and once depleted, they’ll move upwards. That’s their habit,” Guerrero told the BusinessMirror
She said that the pest also excretes honeydew, which attracts other insects, and spurs the growth of sooty mold, evident through a black appearance that coats the leaves.
“When the leaves of the sugarcane are covered with sooty mold, it will hinder the photosynthetic ability of the sugarcane,” Guerrero explained.
While devoid of wings, the eggs from an adult female RSSI would hatch into crawlers, which
have “high chances of dispersal,” the NCPC researcher noted.
“Since these are extremely small [about 1.5 millimeters to 3 mm], they can spread if you didn’t know that what you planted has crawlers in them [...] when the plants are close together, it can transfer from one leaf to another,” she said.
Guerrero, together with other researchers from the NCPC and the SRA, pioneered a study on the characterization of RSSI in 2023 when it emerged as a sugarcane pest in Luzon a year prior.
The pest was initially detected in Bacolor, Pampanga, with its emergence being a “novel occurrence” in the Philippines, according to the researchers.
“Current observations show that there is no resistant sugarcane variety against the pest yet,” they said.
Citing earlier studies, the researchers mentioned the “decrease in weight of stalks of infested plants, while glucose and sucrose content were reduced drastically.” They noted, however, that the infestation has not been thoroughly studied in the Philippines.
‘Alarming’ pest INDUSTRY groups have also sounded the alarm over the spread of RSSI.
United Sugar Producers Federation (Unifed) President Manuel R. Lamata said the infestation sweeping across Negros Occidental poses a threat that could potentially “kill” the industry.
“Once you get hit by RSSI, your canes will not mature. It will not produce sugar because the leaves are being eaten [as] the nutrients of sugarcane come from the leaves and the roots,” Lamata told the BusinessMirror
“I’m very alarmed because this will kill the industry. It’s no joke because this is one disease that, if unchecked and uncured, would kill [sugarcane].”
Lamata explained that farmers would have to replant if the canes droop and shrivel as an aftermath of RSSI infestation, as sugarcane is considered a one-year crop.
“[If the pest] kills the plant now, you have to plant again and harvest the next year. Imagine if we don’t have sugar for one year, we would just be importing,” Lamata said.
He then called on planters to monitor their respective fields for the potential presence of the pest since this could affect other farms if infestation remains unchecked.
National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) President Enrique D. Rojas also urged his fellow planters to remain vigilant amid the “alarming” spread of RSSI. Rojas also seeks government measures to curb the infestation.
“In terms of its rapid spread and the fact that there is no scientifically proven pesticide against it yet, the RSSI infestation is alarming,” Rojas told the BusinessMirror
“We will feel more comfortable if SRA can come up with a proven treatment that can effectively halt the spread of the infestation,” he added.
Interventions
THE SRA has rolled out several interventions as part of efforts to prevent the pest from gaining a foothold regionwide and limit the devastation that RSSI could pose to the sugarcane industry.
For one, the agency has sought an emergency use permit from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority
A ROAD slices through sugar country in Negros Occidental, with Mount Kanlaon standing watch in the distance—witness to a mounting threat in the island’s fields. Dubbed the Philippines’ sugar bowl, Negros produces over 60% of the country’s sugar. But now, a pest no bigger than a grain of rice is spreading fast, yellowing stalks and darkening the outlook of a centuries-old industry. STEPHEN GREEN PRICE DREAMSTIME.COM
BARELY visible to the naked eye, red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) crawlers—the wingless, newly hatched larval stage— spread stealthily across a sugarcane leaf in Negros Occidental. PHOTO COURTESY OF DA-SRA
ADULT red-striped soft-scale insects on a sugarcane leaf. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL CROP PROTECTION CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, LOS BAÑOS
China’s economic growth surges amid weak domestic demand, raising deflation concerns
By Bloomberg News
CHINA’S humming factories threw a lifeline to an economy struggling with weak demand in the second quarter. That’s also given policymakers space to fight deflation — if they choose to do more than just hitting their growth target.
Gross domestic product beat expectations to grow 5.2% between April and June, bringing the official 5% expansion goal for the year within reach. But while strong exports made up for sluggish consumption at home, they also masked a worsening decline in prices that threatens to drag the world’s second-largest economy into a prolonged slowdown.
Nominal GDP, which accounts for price changes, grew only 3.9%, the least outside the pandemic since the quarterly data began in 1993. The GDP deflator, a measure of economy-wide prices, extended the longest streak of decline on record.
This persistent deflation fuels a dangerous cycle: As consumers withhold purchases in anticipation of further price drops, business profits and wages will suffer, further dampening the appetite to spend.
“I worry that policymakers will be complacent because of the good GDP numbers,” said Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “They shouldn’t ignore that deflation is the most urgent problem now.”
A delay in further stimulus would risk exacerbating sluggish consumer confidence, which remains weighed down by a worsening property market. Continued reliance on exports, which made up almost a third of growth in the first half of the year, also leaves the economy vulnerable to external shocks.
While the outcome of tariff talks with the US remains unclear, exports are already expected to slow in the coming months as the effect of front-loading fades, with economists forecasting growth to
slow sharply to 2% for the year. A drop in overseas shipments would not just hurt growth but also worsen the oversupply at home and put even more pressure on prices.
Rory Green, an economist at TS Lombard, said the economic recovery remains fragile despite what he called “reasonable” headline numbers, citing factors including weak nominal GDP growth, rising protests and slowing investment expansion.
“The upshot is a gradual deceleration over the coming months before policy kicks in again to reaccelerate activity,” he wrote in a Tuesday note.
Window of opportunity WITH expansion in the first six months now standing at 5.3%, banks including Nomura Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have revised up their forecasts for the economy. The improved outlook offers President Xi Jinping a rare opportunity to tackle sticky deflation before real growth starts to falter.
The Chinese leader signaled his intent to do so earlier this month, when he and other top officials offered their bluntest assessment yet of the cutthroat competition that’s been dragging down prices and profits across industries. Reining in overcapacity may also ease China’s tensions with trading partners, who have increasingly complained of a
flood of Chinese products drowning out local competition.
“Curbing excessive competition could have a negative impact on the economy in the short term, so it needs to be pushed forward when the economy is relatively stable,” said Ding Shuang, chief economist for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered.
But such a pivot won’t be easy. As Chinese consumers remain reluctant to spend, tackling deflation means cutting supply and production capacity — effectively allowing less efficient or unprofitable companies to fail.
To curb price wars, authorities will likely prevent local governments from supporting companies trapped in chronic losses, encourage mergers and tighten competi-
tion rules, Ding said. A key challenge lies in the nature of industries suffering from price wars. Many are emerging sectors where significant production capacity was built only in recent years, said Jacqueline Rong, chief China economist at BNP Paribas. That makes it difficult to identify outdated capacity for shutdown, unlike a 2015 supply-side reform targeting traditional heavy industries.
“Unless we see significant progress in production or capacity cuts across industries, the problem of low prices is bound to persist in the second half of the year,” Rong said.
Other than industrial capacity, economists believe authorities will focus on supporting the ailing property sector in the coming months. Home prices fell at a faster
pace in June, in a yearslong slump that erodes homeowner wealth and makes them less inclined to spend.
In a sign of policy in the works, Xi this week called for the acceleration of a “new model” for property development, advocating a more measured approach to urban planning and upgrades. While falling short of some investors’ expectations for more aggressive measures, it’s not uncommon for China’s top leaders to set a general policy direction and task lower-level officials with working out specifics.
Goldman Sachs economists including Lisheng Wang expect modest easing steps including further cuts to mortgage rates and greater policy support for urban village renovation and some urban infrastructure, they wrote in a Tuesday note.
Demand stimulus DESPITE signals of policy actions on the supply side, some economists are worried that a lack of direct stimulus for domestic demand will ultimately hobble China’s efforts to ease deflation. The People’s Bank of China appears comfortable keeping its current policy stance without further easing moves in the near term. Deputy Governor Zou Lan said in a Monday briefing the central bank will monitor the impact of measures already implemented while repeating its vow to maintain a moderately loose monetary policy.
Sweet sugar vs tiny, deadly foe
Continued from A1 (FPA) over five pesticides identified by the NCPC that could curb the infestation: Buprofezin, Dinotefuran, Phenthoate, Pymetrozine and Thiamethoxam.
However, Randolph N. Candano, a member of the NCPC Quick Response Team, noted that applying the pesticide requires a second trial in a different location, since these chemicals “are not yet registered for sugarcane.”
With this, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona ordered the agency’s research arm in Negros to conduct a second study in a bid to fast-track the application of pesticide permits from the FPA.
In the meantime, the Department of Agriculture (DA) released P10 million for pesticide procurement to support pest containment efforts.
“We cannot afford to have an infestation, as some farmers are already starting to plant their canes for the next crop year,” Azcona was quoted as saying in a statement.
“We made a good showing this year despite the challenges brought about by the long drought, and I hope we can maintain the momentum and even exceed our targets for next year if we will all help one another in containing this infestation,” he added.
Natural predators MEANWHILE , Azcona noted that the SRA’s research arm is also look-
ing into natural predators that can attack RSSI. He is hoping the sugarcane soft scale can be eliminated by natural means and not through the use of pesticides that, he said, would only increase the production cost of farmers.
For one, the SRA has identified a fungus called Metarhizium anisopliae found locally in Capiz, Panay. According to the SRA, labcontrolled testing showed the fungi—first identified and named by zoologist E. Metschnikoff as Entomophthora anisopliae in 1879— could eliminate RSSI.
The agency is in the process of conducting a field test for the fungi. If found effective on a large scale, Azcona said the SRA would teach planters how to multiply the fungi as a long-term solution.
Guerrero also noted that the RSSI has an endoparasitoid in the form of a wasp, naturally present in the fields that could potentially curb the spread of the sugarcane soft scale.
Specifically, the study stated that: “the endoparasitoid was found to parasitize teneral or young adult soft-scale individuals but was not observed on fully mature ones.”
“However, it is worth noting that nymphs, particularly the crawlers, were not parasitized by the endoparasitoid,” the researchers added.
The Amateur Entomologists' Society (AES) described an endoparasitoid as a parasite that lives
inside another species and eventually kills it. Some solitary wasps, an example of endoparasitoids, are frequently used as biological control agents, it added.
Production woes
DESPITE the unprecedented entry of RSSI in Negros Occidental, the SRA expressed confidence that the industry could stop the infestation through concerted efforts from the government, planters and stakeholders.
“I am confident we can arrest this with the help and cooperation of everyone,” Azcona said. “But, if we don’t, this is hitting the sugar industry at its heart because Negros is also the major source of sugar for the country.”
SRA data showed that some 237 hectares are already recovering from RSSI infestation as of July 9, noting that farmers have applied insecticides following the de-trashing and burning of infested leaves.
The agency defines “recovering” as: appearing to have a decrease in pest population; noting improvement of crops’ visual signs from their initial condition; and, showing positive results five days after insecticide spraying.
The SRA said Azcona had also ordered the agency’s research station in Negros to study the effects of RSSI on recovered canes, particularly its impact on sugar content, as soon as they mature.
Sanson said his plantation is already in the process of recovery, with sugarcane stalks now sprouting emerald-green leaves. However, he noted that worries over RSSI’s potential impact on the industry remain.
“It was a good thing that the harvest season was over when we were affected by RSSI. [But] we still don’t know the extent of its effect on our production,” Sanson said. He added they are still concerned that production in the next crop year “might decrease because the sugarcane stalks won’t grow if the leaves are infected.
“It will definitely affect our production if we can’t cure or eliminate the pest,” Sanson begrudgingly admitted.
Editor: Angel R. Calso
Cellphone Internet shutdowns sweep Russia, further limiting already-stifled net freedom
By Dasha Litvinova The Associated Press
TALLINN, Estonia—A snappy tune by a blogger that mockingly laments his poor Internet connection in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don has gotten over a half-million views on Instagram in two weeks.
“How to say you’re from Rostov without saying a word? Show one bar of cellphone service,” Pavel Osipyan raps while walking around the city, smartphone in hand. “We have Internet until 12 o’clock, and recently there’s been no connection at all. No need to be angry, just get used to it already.”
The complaints by Osipyan—unable to pay electronically for groceries, or having to use paper maps while driving—aren’t isolated to Rostov-on-Don, which borders Ukraine and, as home to Russia’s Southern Military District, is targeted frequently by drones.
In the last two months, cellphone Internet shutdowns, which officials say are needed to foil Ukrainian drones, have hit dozens of Russian regions—from those near the fighting to parts of Siberia and even the Far East. Some Wi-Fi outages also have been reported.
Russians contacted by The Associated Press talked about card payments not going through, taxi and ride-sharing apps not working properly, ATMs that sometimes fail.
Experts point to the unprecedented nature of the measures and warn of far-reaching consequences in a country where the Kremlin already has significantly curtailed online freedom.
Such shutdowns in the name of security legitimize them to the public and open the door for authorities abusing the restrictions, said Anastasiya Zhyrmont, policy manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Access Now digital rights group.
A signal to regional authorities EXPERTS say the trend began in May, when Russia celebrated the 80th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi Germany in World War II and foreign dignitaries flocked to Moscow for a big military parade.
The capital suffered severe disruptions of cellphone connectivity to the Internet for days, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed those were deliberate restrictions due to regular Ukrainian drone attacks. Asked how long they’d last, he replied, “This will be done as needed.”
Russia has restricted smartphone connectivity before, with isolated instances during protests, as well as in regions bordering Ukraine.
Shutdowns in the capital, however, sent a signal to authorities across the vast country that it’s a useful tool, said lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan, founder of Russian Internet freedom group Roskomsvoboda.
Ukraine’s “Operation Spiderweb” in early June, in which drones launched from containers on trucks attacked airfields deep inside Russia, made officials all the more eager to take action, Darbinyan said.
“They got really scared that drones now may appear, like a jack-in-the-box, in any Russian regions,” he told AP.
By mid-July, deliberate shutdowns spread to most of the country, according to Na Svyazi—Russian for “staying connected”— an activist group tracking Internet availability.
On Tuesday, the group reported cellphone internet shutdowns in 73 of over 80 regions. In 41 of them, there were reports of broadband network outages as well, while restrictions on broadband Internet occurred in six regions, while cellphone connections were fine.
Some regional officials confirmed that cellphone internet was restricted for security reasons. Nizhny Novgorod Gov. Gleb Nikitin said this month the measure will stay in place in the region east of Moscow for “as long as the threat remains.”
Asked Thursday whether such mass shutdowns were justified, Peskov said “everything that has to do with ensuring the safety of citizens, everything is justified and everything is a priority.”
Unpredictable disruptions
RUSSIANS from affected regions say the outages can last for hours or days; patterns also are hard to discern, with service working
in one part of a city but vanishing elsewhere.
In Voronezh, near Ukraine and frequently targeted by drones, one resident said she felt like she was in “a cave” in early July with no cellphone Internet or Wi-Fi in her home. The woman, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, said she was only able to get online at work the next day.
Cellphone Internet in the southwestern city of Samara “goes out at the most unpredictable moments,” said Natalia, who also spoke on condition that her last name be withheld for safety reasons. Her home Wi-Fi recently also has slowed to a near halt around 11 p.m., staying that way for a few hours, she said.
Connectivity has improved recently in the Siberian city of Omsk, said Viktor Shkurenko, who owns retail stores and other businesses there. But cellphone Internet service was out in his office for an entire week. A few of his smaller stores that rely on cellphone networks suffered disruptions, but nothing critical, he said.
“I don’t feel any super strong discomfort,” said Grigori Khromov of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia’s fifth-largest city where regular and widespread shutdowns were reported.
“I have an office job and work either at home or in the office and have either wire Internet or Wi-Fi.”
In rural areas, small towns and villages, where cellphone Internet often is the only
way to get online, the situation was harder to gauge.
Pharmacies in such areas have struggled, Russian media reported and the Independent Pharmacies Association confirmed to AP.
Viktoria Presnyakova, head of the association, said in a statement that prescriptions must be logged in special software, but that becomes impossible without an internet connection for weeks.
A social media user in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine complained on Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov’s social media page that without cellphone Internet and a working alarm system, village residents have to bang on a rail to warn neighbors of an attack. The authorities promised to look into improving connectivity in the area. Authorities elsewhere also announced steps to minimize disruptions by opening Wi-Fi spots. They also are reportedly planning to establish an agency to coordinate the shutdowns, according to Izvestia, a Kremlinbacked newspaper that cited unidentified government sources. Peskov said he was unaware of the plan.
Russia’s efforts at Internet control
RUSSIAN and Ukrainian drones use cellphone Internet networks to operate, so shutdowns are one of the ways authorities try to counter the attacks, said Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russia analyst at the Washington-based
Institute for the Study of War. But it’s also part of the Kremlin’s long-term effort to rein in the internet. Authorities have actively censored online content in the last decade, blocking thousands of websites of independent media, opposition groups and human rights organizations.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of
authorities. The
by
owner Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia. State Internet watchdogs routinely block virtual private
services that
circumvent the restrictions, and there are plans to introduce a national messenger app, expected to replace foreign ones. Along with the shutdowns, these are part of a larger campaign “to establish control over the Internet, which is something the Kremlin had failed to do 20 years prior on the same level that China did,” said the ISW’s Stepanenko. Access Now’s Zhyrmont says it’s “very disturbing” that Russians have gotten used to living with growing Internet restrictions, including shutdowns.
“This shouldn’t be modern reality,” she said.
Hong Kong’s smaller developers become $22-billion risk for banks
By Venus Feng & Apple Ka Ying Li
WHILE New World
Development Co.’s mounting debt has captured market attention and shaken one of Asia’s wealthiest families, Hong Kong’s smaller property firms have lenders on even higher alert.
Banks are tightening the screws on mid-sized developers that have at least HK$173 billion ($22 billion) in debt. They are demanding stricter refinancing terms, asking for credit enhancements such as collateral or guarantees, and increasingly, halting new lending altogether, according to people familiar.
Local developer Lai Sun Development Co. is facing extra bank scrutiny as it seeks to refinance an October loan, said people familiar, who requested not to be named because the matter is private. Wang On Properties Ltd. was forced to offer credit enhancements to banks because of cash flow concerns, other people added. The shift underscores growing caution in a sector long regarded as a cornerstone of Hong Kong’s economy. Smaller and mid-sized developers are being squeezed by a mix of high interest rates and plunging asset values, the result of Hong Kong’s deepest property downturn in decades.
As these firms slash spending and rush to offload assets, the fallout is beginning to reverberate beyond their balance sheets. The pressure threatens to erode bank margins, weigh on the local job sector, and send ripples through overseas markets where Hong Kong developers have long been active players. What was once a reliable engine of growth is now a source of growing financial fragility.
The lenders are taking extra steps to minimize fallout that’s already mounting. Just in the past days, several Hong Kong lenders were called out by Moody’s Corp. for risks in their lending to commercial real estate in the city. The credit assessor downgraded Dah Sing Bank Ltd.’s rating and also emphasized asset quality challenges posed by loans to the sector at Bank of East Asia Ltd., whose
outlook it held at ‘negative.’
In another sign of growing stress, about HK$46 billion ($5.9 billion) in short-term debt of 11 publicly-traded smaller developers in the Asia financial hub is at “risky” levels in the next 12 months, according to a Jefferies Financial Group Inc. report in February.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and banks are handling developers’ financing needs on a case-by-case basis, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in an interview with local media on Monday.
When Wang On Properties sought to refinance a loan earlier this year, it was told to go the extra mile by agreeing to repay with residual proceeds from several joint venture projects in Hong Kong, including its developments in Ap Lei Chau, according to people familiar with the matter.
Wang On received a HK$1.02 billion facility in March, downsizing from HK$1.45 billion, the people said. The company didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, lenders are taking longer to assess Lai Sun’s asset quality, wary of its financial health and property revaluation, other people said. The company didn’t comment.
Hong Kong’s listed second-tier developers, including Lai Sun, Far East Consortium International Ltd. and CSI Properties Ltd. have racked up at least HK$173 billion in debt, according to the Jefferies report. That accounts for about 12% of the HK$1.4 trillion loans for property development and investment in Hong Kong by the end of March, according to data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
“Smaller banks typically have a weaker client base and are likely to be more exposed to second-tier
developers and non-prime properties,” said Phyllis Liu, director at S&P Global Ratings, who estimated such lenders have about 5% more property loan exposure compared with the three largest lenders in Hong Kong. “They will face more volatility in their asset quality.”
High debt ratio
WHILE New World’s net debt to shareholders’ equity ratio stood at 95.5% as of December, Kowloon Development Co. reached 104% and Road King Infrastructure Ltd. surpassed 172%, perpetual bonds included, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
Road King warned of default risk if investors don’t accept its proposals to buy some bonds back at discounts. It stopped paying coupons for all of its perpetual notes from November, a sign of worsening liquidity.
Some banks have stopped renewing financing terms with a number of small to mid-sized real estate firms altogether, pushing the city’s rich property families to turn to private credit lenders.
“For more vulnerable borrowers, banks would closely monitor them under a ‘watch-list’,” said Matt Choi, director of financial institutions at Fitch Hong Kong Ltd. They would take “appropriate measures” to reduce exposure and secure additional collateral to minimize potential credit losses, Choi said.
That’s affecting companies beyond listed ones. Parkview, known for its namesake luxury residential development in Hong Kong, obtained a HK$300 million bridge loan from investment firm PAG last month, after banks were reluctant to extend funds, according to people familiar with the matter.
Tai Hung Fai Enterprises Co., the property business run by billionaire Edwin Leong, also tapped a security agent firm ran by Dignari Capital Partners‘s Grace Tan for a HK$300 million loan in March, putting up its head office units as collateral, according to filings.
The companies didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Asset fire sale
DURING the property boom era, Hong Kong’s mid-sized real estate families took on debt more aggressively to fund expansion. But that left them more vulnerable to a downturn than deep-pocketed conglomerates like Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. and Swire Properties Ltd.
The financial hub’s residential values are still hovering around an eight-year low. The city’s skyscrapers are struggling to find tenants,
with grade-A office vacancy rates at a record high of 17.5% in the first quarter and rents expected to drop as much as 10% this year, according to CBRE Group Inc.
Companies are rushing to conduct fire sales. Far East Consortium, which owns residences and offices from Singapore to Australia and the UK, is offering new apartment units for its Pavilia Forest project at below break-even price.
It’s experiencing “one loss at a time” when selling each unit, Chairman David Chiu said in November. The company pledged to cut debt by HK$6 billion in the next 18 months, he added.
More disposals will hit the market. CSI Properties said in February it planned to offload HK$9 billion of assets in four years. A month later, Lai Sun Development announced plans to sell HK$8 billion in two years.
Global pressure
WHILE the sales are unlikely to shake global markets, they will add pressure in places with oversupply. Overseas assets often are non-core for smaller Hong Kong developers, hence a first resource of cash. Emperor International Holdings Ltd. is planning to sell a building in London’s Soho district. Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd. sold an office at £162 million ($217 million) at breakeven in December to repay loans. It’s also looking for a buyer for the flagship Zara store on London’s Oxford Street.
“For some asset classes, like office towers in Canary Wharf in the UK, where there’s a lack of market depth, some of those transactions might require a steeper discount,” said Jefferies’s Wong.
The more immediate impact is being felt among Hong Kong’s home owners and the construction industry, which accounted for almost a 10th of the workforce.
By the end of March, the city recorded the highest number of households in negative equity since 2003, meaning their properties were worth less than the loans they took out. Private sector expenditure also contracted by 9.3% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, reflecting cautionary sentiment, according to consultancy Rider Levett Bucknall.
“The deterioration in Hong Kong smaller developers’ financial health can fuel a domino effect on the economy,” said Natixis senior economist Gary Ng. He added that risks include a repricing in collateral, and a collapse in construction activities that would pinch income for the local workforce in a worstcase scenario. With assistance from Kari Lindberg /Bloomberg
Trump slams his own supporters as ‘weaklings’ for falling for what he calls the Epstein ‘hoax’
By Jill Colvin The Associated Press
NEW
YORK—President Donald Trump is lashing out at his own supporters, accusing them of being duped by Democrats, as he tries to clamp down on criticism over his administration’s handling of much-hyped records in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which Trump now calls a “Hoax.”
“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this “bull——,” hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote Wednesday on his Truth Social site, using an expletive in his post. “They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.”
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” he went on. There is no evidence former Democratic officials tampered with the documents or played any role in promoting conspiracies about the files, which members of Trump’s administration stoked for years.
The rhetoric marks a dramatic escalation for the Republican president, who has broken with some of his most loyal backers on issues in the past, but never with such fervor. Though Trump cannot legally run for another term, he will need strong support from a united party to pass his remaining legislative agenda in a narrowly-divided Congress and an energized base to turn out in next year’s midterm elections.
Dangled documents
THE schism centers on the administration’s handling of documents related to Epstein, who was found dead in his New York jail cell in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. Last week, the Justice Department and the FBI acknowledged in a memo that Epstein did not maintain a “client list” to whom underage girls were trafficked. They also said no more files related to the investigation would be made public, despite past promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists.
“It’s a new administration and everything is going to come out to the public,” she had said.
The reversal sparked fury among Trump’s most loyal defenders, who have turned on Bondi, in particular. But Trump has repeatedly said he maintains confidence in his attorney general and has instead chided those who continue to press the issue.
“I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is,” he said Tuesday, after unsuccessfully urging his “’boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals’” to stop wasting “Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”
In an Oval Office appearance Wednesday after the Truth post, Trump said he had “lost a lot of faith in certain people” as he tried to turn the page on the story.
“It’s all been a big hoax,” he told reporters. “It’s perpetrated by the Democrats, and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net.”
He complained that Bondi has been “waylaid” over her handling of the case and has given out all “credible information” about the wealthy financier. “If she finds any more credible information, she’ll give that, too,” Trump said. “What more can she do than that?”
He continued to complain in a pre-taped interview with John Solomon that aired Wednesday evening on Real America’s Voice that the issue was distracting from his accomplishments.
“All my supporters want to talk about is the Jeffrey Epstein hoax. It’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s a disgrace. ... I’m going to remember.”
While Trump has tried to blame Democrats for making Epstein an issue, he and many figures in his administration, including FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, spent years stoking dark and disproved conspiracy theories like those surrounding Epstein, including embracing QAnon-tinged propaganda that casts Trump as a savior sent to demolish the “deep state.”
Anger still brewing TRUMP’S comments have not been enough to quell those who are still demanding answers. Some of the podcasters and pro-Trump influencers who helped rally support for Trump in the 2024 campaign said Wednesday they were disappointed or puzzled by his comments.
Far-right conspiracy theorist and podcaster Alex Jones called Trump’s handling of the Epstein situation “the biggest train wreck I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s not in character for you to be acting like this,” he said in a video Tuesday. “I support you, but we built the movement you rode in on. You’re not the movement. You just surfed in on it.”
Benny Johnson, a conservative podcaster, said on his show that he is a fan of Trump’s movement but is trying to “give tough love and speak on behalf of the base.”
“Maybe it hasn’t been framed correctly for the president,” Johnson said. “I don’t know.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in an interview on Benny Johnson’s show Tuesday, had called for the Justice Department to “put everything out there and let the people decide.”
His first-term national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn implored Trump in a lengthy message to correct course.
“All we want at this stage is for a modicum of trust to be reestablished between our federal government and the people it is designed to serve. That’s all (PERIOD!),” he wrote. “With my strongest recommendation, please gather your team and figure out a way to move past this.”
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on his podcast attempted some damage control on Trump’s behalf.
“Don’t take too seriously this whole Truth Social here,” Kirk told his audience. “I know some people are getting fired up about this. I don’t believe he was trying to insult anybody personally.” Still, he expressed frustration about the administration’s handling of the issue.
“We are now Wednesday going into Thursday. People are very, very confused, and some people are very disappointed and mad,” Kirk said. “We made so much progress with Gen Z, and this is a big vulnerability. Online, on TikTok, this story is not landing well. Let’s fix this, and we can.”
Other Trump allies have stuck by his side, suggesting he does not need the influencers who have capitalized on Epstein conspiracy theories to make money and earn viewers.
The Associated Press writer Ali Swenson, Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Palm-sized AI device could change how PHL prepares for floods
Story & photo by John Eiron R. Francisco
WITH nearly three-fourths of the country’s 116.8 million population exposed to natural hazards, the Philippines faces routine disruption from typhoons, storm surges, and heavy rains. These events—including Tropical Storm Crising that is pouring rain as of this writing—not only threaten lives but also halt business operations and weaken investor confidence in vulnerable areas.
As floods become more frequent and unpredictable, a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technology is offering local governments a tool for faster warnings, and quicker recovery.
Singapore-based tech company
TackEVO introduced FloodFinder—an AI-powered flood detection system designed to help communities act faster before, during, and after flooding—at the first International Conference and Exposition on Innovations “What’s Next: A PHILIPPiNEXT” in a hotel in Parañaque City on July 14. The event was organized by the Department of Science and Technology-Technology Application and Promotion Institute with the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror , TackEVO Chief
Executive Officer Justin Zhang described FloodFinder as the world’s first palm-sized, solarpowered flood monitoring device that operates without relying on external electricity or internet connectivity.
The device, he explained, uses integrated sensors to detect rising water levels and transmits the data to the cloud, where it is processed into real-time, locationspecific alerts that can inform residents and local authorities immediately.
“If there is flood, people hear that flooding is happening, nobody goes [to the flooded area] for the next one to two days. But today, it’s all flash floods. It happens in hours and it disappears in hours,” Zhang said.
“People wait until they see something on TikTok before
reacting,” he added. “This device gives communities a reliable, proactive system to respond earlier.”
Zhang explained that in some cases, a community could experience flooding in the morning and be ready to resume business by the afternoon. This quick turnaround, he said, delivers tangible economic value by minimizing downtime and helping communities return to normal operations sooner.
Unlike traditional flood monitoring systems that can cost millions of pesos and require complex infrastructure, Zhang said FloodFinder can be deployed for just a fraction of the cost.
“It’s about one-tenth the price of conventional systems,” he said.
“If you could only afford one sensor before, now you can install 10
Bangsamoro soil scientists decode region’s agri DNA
By Manuel T. Cayon
DAVAO CITY—From the age-old praying rituals to beg rain from the skies, Bangsamoro soil and agricultural scientists have started decoding soil and agricultural deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to pinpoint and suggest scientific approaches to farming and crop production.
The Bangsamoro Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (Mafar) disclosed the leaps in scientific learning among Bangsamoro scientists, citing their recent feat in decoding the region’s agricultural DNA “to potentially rewrite the Bangsamoro region’s food future cropping and production.”
The Mafar said this breakthrough occurred during the workshop on Soil Fertility Treatment Localization and Location-Specific Cropping Patterns and Calendar held in Cagayan de Oro City on June 24 and 25.
The Mafar said Fatima Haron and other Mafar researchers were able to discover the finer molecular makeup of the region’s soils and common crop products, saying that this will transition
the Bangsamoro’s farmlands ravaged by trauma from decades of conflict and monocropping.
The workshop discussed mastered digital soil mapping using artificial intelligence to pinpoint micronutrient gaps, crop calendar algorithms to predict optimal planting windows amid climate shifts, and an acidity combat kit for the region’s unique geology.
Haron said the workshop processes served as a healing ritual and an “intensive soilrescue workshop” as both Bangsamoro and national agricultural technicians from the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) of the Department of Agriculture developed “hyper-local solutions for a region where 68 percent of farmland suffers severe acidity (pH <5.3), erratic weather that disrupts traditional planting calendars, and average corn yields that trail national standards by 40 percent.”
Dr. Gina Nilo, BSWM director, also emphasized that Bangsamoro volcanic soils need surgical interventions, such as embedding a cuttingedge technology in local hands.
Mafar Director Tong Abas said the agency will launch the new Bangsamoro Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Soil Health App in October to help farmers scan soil samples to receive instant pH readings, cropspecific fertilizer recipes, and climate-resilient variety recommendations.
“Before, we prayed for rain. Now, we engineer resilience. Our grandparents farmed by folklore. We farm by data,” Abas said.
“This isn’t just about higher yields; it is food sovereignty for Bangsamoro. When our soil thrives, our people flourish,” he added.
He said the workshop will have its ripple effects on new technologies, such as custom cropping calendars, as the Mafar will start rolling the various technology discussed in the workshop beginning with their application to 12 BARMM towns this planting season.
The Mafar will also deploy mobile laboratories to remote fields, and draft the Bangsamoro region’s first-ever Soil Health Act with BSWM.
The Mafar will also launch next year the BARMM Soil Atlas, the pioneering interactive digital platform map guiding farmers to optimal crops for their exact location across the region.
or even a hundred.”
Local governments can gradually expand coverage based on the landscape and risk profile of each barangay or town, he said. While there’s no standard number of units per area, Zhang said some town councils typically install 10 to 20 sensors to cover key points.
“The beauty of this system is that it’s scalable and accessible, even to low-budget municipalities,” Zhang said. “We’re ready to sit down with communities, understand their landscape, and tailor a cost-effective solution that fits.”
Globally, the urgency for such innovations is growing. In 2024 alone, water-related disasters (including floods, droughts, and cyclones) claimed over 8,700
lives and displaced around 40 million people, according to the Global Water Monitor. The economic toll reached more than $550 billion.
In the Philippines, major typhoons like “Ondoy” (2009), “Yolanda” (2013), and “Ulysses” (2020) left lasting scars—killing thousands, damaging infrastructure, and disrupting livelihoods.
Typhoon Kristine (Trami) in 2024, caused over P11 billion in damages and affected food supply chains and road access across provinces.
Zhang emphasized that vulnerability to climate-related disasters is no longer determined solely by a city’s altitude. While the Philippines remains especially at risk due to its geography, other countries— including Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, and even cities like Las Vegas—are adopting
new technologies in response to increasingly severe weather patterns.
What matters now, he explained, is how urban infrastructure can handle the rising volume and intensity of sudden rainfall— an area where many cities remain unprepared for the unpredictable effects of climate change.
“Only with all this information, it can make our community and the city smarter because data is what drives the new smarter cities and the AIs,” he said. “We are helping to provide the critical data to power your smarter AI cities.”
Asked about the Philippine Science department’s response to the innovation, Zhang noted that the concept remains new to officials, but they quickly recognized its potential.
Zhang said this level of interest highlights the device’s relevance to the local community.
DOST awards outstanding Filipino innovators
OUTSTANDING Filipino innovators and researchers received awards during the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technol-ogy Research and Development of the Department of Science and Tech-nology, through the (DOST-PCIEERD)’s 15th anniversary celebration in June.
The Kabalikat Award, which began in 2013, is DOST PCIEERD's re-ward to partners and collaborators from many disciplines, such as private organizations, government agencies, media companies, and even aca-demic and research institutes, for aiding the agency with several projects.
This year, DOST PCIEERD gave the Outstanding Technology Com-mercialized Innovation Award, the Public Impact Research Intervention Innovation Award, the Innovation Champion Award, and the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Leadership Award.
Outstanding CommercializedTechnologyInnovation Award
n The Universal Structural health Evaluation and Recording System (USHER) has about 127 units of its structural health monitoring system that have been installed in private and government buildings, and bridges in the country.
n Vigormin Organo Mineral’s (ViOM) over 69 metric tons products have been utilized to remove organic pollutants, absorb heavy metals like mercury, and other suspended solids.
n The Charging in Minutes (CharM), an electronic vehicle charging solution that delivers a full charge in under 60 minutes, has already de-ployed units in University of the Philippines Diliman Campus, Tuguegarao City, Quezon City, Pasay City, Dapitan City, Uptown Mall
Taguig, Pasig City, and Cavite.
n The Versatile Instrumentation System for Science Education and Research (VISSER) project can function as a timer, ruler, weighing scale, digital thermometer, barometer, camera, audio recorder, DC voltmeter, and others. It has been used by students in some science laboratories in every school and college.
Public Impact Research Intervention Innovation Award
n The Geospatial Information Management and Analysis Project for Hazards and Risk Assessment in the Philippines (GeoriskPH) helps en-hance the effectiveness of hazard and risk assessments by utilizing the Central American method. Through the project, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has developed analysis tools such as Geo-AnalyticsPH, the HazardHunterPH web application, and the HazardHunterPH mobile application.
n The GeoSAFER Automated Local Evaluation in Real-Time Opera-tions (ALeRTO), on the other hand, is an early warning system to help flood-prone communities in Mindanao mitigate disaster risks. With its ad-vanced warning features, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Man-agement Council has integrated ALeRTO into its Operation Plan Listo (alert in Filipino) as a localized weather disturbance protocol.
n Through the Multiplatform and Cross-sensor Water Quality Moni-toring (MCWQM) project, the University of the Philippines has been able to monitor and obtain more detailed data from Laguna Lake, one of the largest lakes in Southeast Asia. Using the data, the researchers can craft both long-term and short-term plans
for efficient water resource management.
Innovation Champion Award
SEN . Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino was awarded for his pivotal role in authoring and sponsoring the Innovative Startup Act (ISA).
ISA cleared the path for the DOST-PCIEERD’s entrepreneurial eco-system development programs, including Women-Helping-Women: Inno-vating Social Enterprises, Startup Grant Fund, Technology Business Incu-bator, and Regional Startup Enablers for Ecosystem Development. The Act allows DOST-PCIEERD to sponsor 67 businesses, which together collected P82 million in financing and brought in P260 million in income in 2024.
STI Leadership Award
DOST-PCIEERD gave the highest honor to Dr. Amelia Guevarra, Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevara, Dr. Carlos Primo David, Dr. Reynaldo Ebora, Dr. Carol Yorobe, and Engr. Raul Sabularse. They were awarded for the previous 15 years that they have been the council's executive directors, deputy directors, and officers-in-charge.
Acknowledgement
“The innovative solutions and projects awarded today deserve commendable acknowledgment. It is my hope that your achievements will inspire a multitude of innovators and researchers in their future endeav-ors,” said DOST Secretary Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr. For his part, DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Pa-ringit said: “As we reach another milestone of supporting innovations, we wanted to give back the honor to the excellent Filipinos through the Kabalikat Awards, whose projects and innovations have benefited our industry and economy by providing solutions to challenges we’re facing to-day.”
THE FloodFinder, a palm sized artificial intelligence-powered flood detection system, introduced by Singapore-based TackEVO company during the “What’s Next: A PHILIPPiNEXT” the first International Conference and Exposition on Innovations held in Parañaque City on July 14. The event was organized by the Department of Science and Technology-Technology Application and Promotion Institute with the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology.
KWA SIONG TUAY (left) senior manager for Regional Partnership and Ecosystem Management-Industrial and Infraspek, and Consumer, Computing and Communication at Infineon; and Justin Zhang, CEO of TackEVO.
A6 Sunday, July 20, 2025
By Evan Stewart & Diane Beckman
CATHOLIC priests across the US discuss immigration with their congregations more than leaders in many other faith traditions, according to a new research published in the journal Sociological Focus.
Catholic priests also said they discussed immigration more than nearly all other political issues, including hunger in their communities, capital punishment, health care and the environment. Abortion was the only one priests discussed slightly more often.
Our study, which uses data from the 2022 National Survey of Religious Leaders, found that 71 percent of Catholic priests surveyed said they spoke about any political issue with their congregations. Among them, just over half talked about immigration.
In white conservative Protestant congregations, Black Protestant congregations and non-Christian congregations, only about a quarter of leaders who discussed
Faith Sunday
Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph
US Catholic clergy speaking out on immigration–more than other political issues except abortion
political issues said they talked about immigration.
Leaders of white liberal Protestant congregations, however, talked about the topic almost as much as Catholic leaders did.
Why it matters
THE United States has a long history of religious leaders addressing political matters, on both the left and the right— and today is no different.
With immigration raids on the rise across the country and an unprecedented level of funding approved for deportations, Catholic bishops in the US are speaking out.
Many of them have called for compassion and care for migrants and the need to uphold human dignity and due process, regardless of someone’s immigration status—in line with Catholic social teaching.
As sociologists who study politics and religion, we wanted to know what is happening on the ground in congregations.
Given the church’s teachings about caring for the vulnerable, we expected that Catholic clergy might be particularly likely to speak out.
Our Lady of
THE Catholic faithful worldwide celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16. In the Philippines, the Minor Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Quezon City led the celebration of Carmelite religious, seculars and devotees with the theme “Mother of Carmel: Light of Hope, Companion in Faith and Service.” Catholic churches all over the country also held Masses.
“The Sacred Scriptures speak of the beauty of Mount Carmel in Galilee where the prophet Elijah defended the faith of Israel in the living God. There, at the beginning of the 13th century under the title of ‘St. Mary of Mount Carmel,’the Order of Carmelites had its formal beginning,” the Facebook account of the minor basilica said. Cubao Diocese Bishop Elias L. Ayuban Jr., CMF, led the concelebrated Mass at the minor basilica at 6:15 p.m.
However, the percentage of people affiliated with a religious congregation is decreasing, and those who do attend are increasingly politically conservative.
Rank and file Catholics are very divided on their support for immigrants, according to a 2024 national survey by
for Applied Research in the Apostolate.
of hope, companion in faith and service
Church prepares first jubilee for Catholic influencers
VATICAN—For the first time in its history, the Catholic Church will celebrate a Jubilee event within a Holy Year specifically dedicated to digital missionaries and Catholic influencers, formally recognizing the digital environment as a true field of mission.
The gathering will take place in Rome on July 28 and 29, coinciding with the opening days of the Youth Jubilee. Many young people who evangelize through social media will be actively involved in both celebrations. This unprecedented initiative, organized by the Dicastery for Communication, will bring together nearly one thousand digital missionaries from around the world, with strong representation from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain.
These evangelizers proclaim the joy of the Gospel through social media, video platforms, blogs, and apps, offering a creative, accessible, and engaged Christian witness within the digital continent.
For those unable to travel to the Eternal City, parallel virtual events will be offered through registration at the official website www.digitalismissio.org, allowing many others to participate from their local contexts of mission.
While in-person registration has closed, participants are still welcome to join online. The two main formative sessions of the Jubilee will also be livestreamed via the YouTube channel La Iglesia Te Escucha (“The Church Listens to You”).
This initiative emerged in response to Pope Francis’ call during the Synod
on Synodality (2021-2024), which emphasized the importance of bringing the Good News into the digital world and ensuring no one is excluded from the synodal journey. It stands as a clear expression of a missionary Church, one that reaches out to the existential peripheries of contemporary society.
Spirituality, formation, celebration
THE Jubilee program will unfold in three key phases. The spiritual component centers on the pilgrimage through the Holy Door—a hallmark of every Holy Year and a sign of interior renewal and openness to grace.
This will be followed by a formative phase, featuring keynote presentations, workshops, and testimonies at the Auditorium Conciliazione. These sessions
In this context, we were curious about whether clergy would discuss a political issue such as immigration with their congregations or say they avoid it altogether.
What still isn’t known
THE survey we used is from 2022, before some of today’s immigration enforcement policies took effect. That said, these findings demonstrate that immigration was on the radar for Catholic leaders before the recent changes under the current administration.
Because we focused on survey data, we got a good picture of trends among Catholic leaders nationwide.
However, we could look only at whether religious leaders reported discussing immigration; we could not know exactly what they said, or how. There is much more to learn about what kinds of political messages come from the pulpit today and what messages tend to stick with congregants.
We did find that Catholic leaders of
congregations where the majority of worshipers are Hispanic were much more likely to talk about immigration, compared with leaders of non-Catholic Hispanic congregations and Catholic leaders of mostly white congregations. Because Hispanic communities in the US are facing the brunt of the immigration crackdown, this finding shows that Catholic leaders have been addressing the needs of their communities.
What’s next
CATHOLIC parishioners may be exposed to different opinions about immigration from religious and political leaders. Diane, one of the authors, is furthering this research by conducting interviews with Catholics in Greater Boston. By asking church members to talk through their attitudes toward immigrants, we can learn more about how people make sense of complicated ethical questions.
‘CBCP Avenue’ takes root in Bohol as part of climate, faith initiative
IN the quiet, rolling hills of Sikatuna, a small town in the heart of Bohol, a forest is beginning to rise—not just of trees, but of faith.
It’s called “CBCP Avenue,” a new tree-lined path within a larger environmental initiative, where each Narra tree now bears the name of a Catholic bishop in the Philippines.
In June, clergy from the Diocese of Tagbilaran planted trees as a tribute to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which recently held its retreat and plenary assembly in the province for the first time.
The Diocese of Tagbilaran hosted the bishops’ retreat from July 1 to 3, while the Diocese of Talibon hosted the plenary assembly from July 5 to 7.
The broader environmental and cultural movement is called SikatuNarra—a name combining Sikatuna, the town where it began, and Narra, the national tree of the Philippines.
Besides the holding of Masses, the churches also held the imposition of the brown scapular on the faithful as a sign of devotion to the Virgin Mary.
According to the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, the brown scapular is “an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession.”
It does not impart grace as sacraments do, but it disposes the person wearing it to the love of the Lord and to repentance if it is received with devotion, the Catholic News Agency said.
Among the Carmelite secular communities, the St. Edith Stein Community Makati City assisted in distributing the blessed brown scapular to churchgoers at the Landmark Mall Chapel in Makati City. Lyn Resurreccion
aim to provide pastoral tools for digital mission and foster spaces for shared reflection.
The final phase will be a celebratory moment: a festival in Piazza Risorgimento highlighting art, music, and creativity as dynamic languages of evangelization and communion in the digital sphere. Both venues are within walking distance of St. Peter’s Square.
Compassionate evangelization in the digital space
THIS Jubilee answers Pope Francis’ invitation to be “Good Samaritans” in the digital world.
The Holy Father has urged the faithful to inhabit online spaces with compassion, humanity, and closeness, not merely through functional or technical presence, but through a pastoral approach of hope.
The initiative aims to transform underutilized land into a thriving tree sanctuary, honoring both environmental sustainability and Filipino heritage.
With its golden-yellow blooms and durable hardwood, the Narra has long symbolized resilience and strength—
qualities organizers say reflect both the Filipino spirit and the Church’s mission. But the movement is about more than tree planting, said Bishop Alberto “Abet” Uy of Tagbilaran.
“It’s a commitment of our clergy to care for our common home,” Uy said.
“Rooted in faith and driven by hope, this shared mission reminds us that nurturing creation is also nurturing the soul,” he added. Uy also described the project as a way to honor the late Pope Francis, whose teachings and environmental encyclical have inspired the Church to take action on climate and ecological justice.
The Tagbilaran diocese expressed its gratitude to the local government of Sikatuna led by Mayor Justiniana Ellorimo for their vision and support in helping bring the initiative to life.
In this Jubilee Year of Hope, CBCP Avenue is envisioned as a quiet, sacred space that will serve as a lasting reminder of the bishops’ gathering in Bohol and a town that dared to intertwine climate action with the deepest roots of faith.
“Every Nara tree planted is a living prayer for cleaner air, cooler temperatures, and restored biodiversity. Every sapling is a step closer to healing our planet,”the diocese said. CBCP News
He has repeatedly emphasized the need for a communication that listens, amplifies the voices of the voiceless, and disarms words marked by division or hostility—a theme also echoed by Pope Leo XIV in his first meeting with media professionals.
The Jubilee also builds upon the first global gathering of digital evangelizers, held during World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023. That event gave rise to an international network of missionaries, which is now being strengthened and projected toward the future through this Jubilee initiative.
In the coming days, the Jubilee’s official website will release a dedicated spiritual guide to help participants prepare internally for the event. Promotional materials and graphic resources are already available for download to inspire and support the missionary dimension of
participants, whether in Rome or in the digital peripheries.
A hymn that unites voices and cultures ONE of the highlights of the Jubilee’s preparation has been the release of its official hymn, Todos (“Everyone”). The song is a collaborative project uniting Catholic artists from around the globe. The title Todos echoes Pope Francis’ powerful affirmation during World Youth Day in Lisbon on August 3, 2023: “In the Church, there is room for everyone, everyone, everyone!” The hymn captures the inclusive, synodal, and missionary spirit that animates this Jubilee.
Sebastián Sansón Ferrari/Vatican News
the Center
PROTESTERS hold signs near a flag-draped coffin representing the death of democracy, during a rally near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of the “Good Trouble Lives On” national day of action on July 17. AP/REBECCA BLACKWELL
Mount Carmel: Light
THE image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at the minor basilica.
DISTRIBUTION of blessed brown scapulars at the minor basilica.
DISTRIBUTION of blessed brown scapulars by secular Carmelites of St. Edith Stein Community Makati City at the chapel in Landmark Mall in Makati. MICHELLE DIAZ PHOTO
Editor: Lyn Resurreccion
Snakes are not your typical aquarium pet
By Jonathan L. Mayuga
PHOTOS of a Southern Phil -
ippine cobra (Naja samaren -
sis), a venomous snake native to the Visayas and Mindanao faunal region, that was caught in General Trias, Cavite, were featured recently on the Reptile and Amphibian Database-Philippines Facebook account.
The yellowish-colored cobra was caught on June 18 and was immediately turned over to the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office-Cavite the following day.
The cobra must have been brought to Cavite, more than 600 kilometers to 1,300 kilometers away from its habitat in Visayas and Mindanao, respectively, was able to escape, or worse, was released into the wild by its owner, most probably a hobbyist who got tired of keeping the snake at home, said environmentalist Emerson Sy.
Spitting cobra
ALSO known as Peter’s cobra and Samar cobra, the Southern Philippine cobra is unique for its ability to spit venom, instantly blinding the target, by accurately hitting it in the eyes, according to the Clinical Toxinology Resources.
An adult of this venomous snake is about a meter long. It is described as having a medium length and heavy bodied with long cervical ribs capable of expansion to form a hood when threatened. It can grow up to 1.3 meters in length.
Its color varies from black, yellow to green.
Natural habitat
IN its natural habitat in the Visayas and Mindanao faunal region, it prefers low-lying plains and forested regions, including agricultural fields. It is active during daytime on land, although it is fond of water, and is seldom found far from water.
It preys mainly on small mammals, frogs, and smaller snakes.
While the Southern Philippine cobra is known to be found in the Visayas and Mindanao islands, the Philippine Cobra is found in Luzon.
Ex-situ captive breeding?
ACCORDING to Sy, a conservation advocate, some people breed smuggled wildlife, including cobras.
While breeding should be considered a good thing, conservation ex situ—or outside the natural habitat—besides being illegal is not helping conserve the species.
“Truth is, when you say conservation, they [animals] should be in their natural habitat for them to perform their natural role. Once you put a wild animal in a cage, they can no longer perform their role in the ecosystem,” Sy told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on July 11.
The absence of an ecologically important species like cobras means their important function in that ecosystem will also be missed, including maintaining the ecological balance.
While ex-situ captive breeding may work for specific species, Sy said there’s a negative effect as far as its genetic purity is concerned, citing the case of the Philippine cockatoo, a native of Palawan.
He said ex-situ captive breeding may work, but the quality of the genes of that species is
eventually reduced, thus, affecting reproduction.
Targeted species
LIKE their cousins from Luzon, the Southern Philippine cobra is a targeted species.
Illegal wildlife trade, particularly in the pet market, targets the venomous snake that is sold as aquarium pet.
Some traders urge local communities to catch the prized reptiles for hobbyists who consider them as trophies.
Philippine cobras are being sold both to locals and foreign buyers, who rely on wildlife smugglers.
In the plains of Luzon, the steep decline of the cobra population results in the infestation of rats that destroy rice and corn farms.
A deadly pet
ACCORDING to Sy, cobras or all snakes for that matter, do not belong in a cage.
“They are deadly animals. One bite can kill a person in minutes,” he explained in Filipino.
He said there were reports of “pet lovers” having been fatally bitten by their pet snake.
“Even those who try to capture them are in danger of being bitten by snakes,” he said, citing the case of an 18-year-old man from Solsona, Ilocos Norte, who ended up being killed by a snake bite in
Fujifilm chooses PHL for its recycling center site
By Rizal Raoul Reyes
THE Philippines is going to play a major role in the circular economy in Southeast Asia, according to Fujifilm Business Innovation Philippines Corp.
“As Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. Executive Adviser Mutsuki Tomono mentioned, location-wise in the entire Asia Pacific, the Philippines is located at the center of the map. So it’s quite easy to import used machines and export them back to each country,” Hideaki Kato, president of Fujifilm Business Innovation Philippines Corp. told the BusinessMirror in an interview on the sidelines of the company’s recent announcement of the establishment of the company’s Circular Manufacturing Center (CMC) in Laguna.
“The strategic location of the Philippines is a major reason why we chose the Philippines for our remanufacturing site. Imagine, it will only take five hours to fly from Manila to Tokyo and only four hours going to Singapore. The Philippines is also a center in the Asean region and another important reason is the skilled and very competitive workforce here in the Philippines,” Kato added. He said Fijifilm has started training Filipinos by sending them to Japan.
Kato said the company is impressed with the Filipinos as being fast learners. Fujifilm is happy with the abundant supply of skilled manpower in the country.
Kato also commended Director General Tereso Panga of Phillippine Economic Zone Authority for the valuable assistance to the company, especially for the CMC project.
“He really wants to support us to follow other companies. So that is a strong motivation for us to establish a recycling center here. So the location of the Philippines is very strategic toward Japan,” Kato said, adding that the printers that will be recycled in the country will have two lifespans.
After the recycling has been reached, Kato said Fujifilm will contact their accredited recycling companies.
“They’re of course certified by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Those machines in each country must follow their country’s waste control.That’s why we don’t want to bring any garbage to the Philippines,” he said.
Japan has the biggest recycling with 20,000 printers annually. Other countries that have CMCs are China and the Netherlands.
For a start, Kato said the
February 2023.
Even experts in capturing the deadly snakes are nor spared.
In Sorsogon, a man called “King Cobra” because of his ability to capture cobras, was killed by one of his “victims.”
“There are many reports about people being killed by snakes,” he said.
Beyond ecological consequences
INTERNATIONAL biodiversity expert Theresa Mundita S. Lim, a licensed veterinarian, shared her thoughts about keeping snakes as pets.
“Many of our venomous snakes, such as the Naja samarensis [Samar cobra], display bright, eyecatching colors that serve as natural warning signals of how venomous or toxic they are,” she told the BusinessMirror via Messenger on July 16.
“Unfortunately, their rarity and beauty also make them attractive targets for animal collectors. Beyond the ecological consequences—since these snakes help control pests and disease by preying on weak or sick animals—their removal from the wild poses serious risks,” explained Lim, the former executive director of Asean Centre for Biodiversity, and director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment
Philippines plans to recycle 5,000 printers per year.
Fujifilm is currently producing products like interchangeable lenses for digital cameras and Instax analog camera. It is located at the CarmelRay Industrial Park in Laguna.
“We are collecting all the used printers from each country under the Asian Pacific Corp.,” Tomono said.
In essence, the circular economy offers the Philippines a pathway to decouple economic growth from resource depletion and environmental degradation, leading to a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future.
It transforms waste from a problem into a valuable resource, fostering innovation and creating new economic opportunities.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the circular economy refers to a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated.
Products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting.
It also tackles climate change and other global challenges, like biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution, by decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources.
and Natural Resources.
She added that keeping venomous snakes in captivity can endanger the lives of collectors and handlers.
A threat to communities LIM said escaped wildlife kept as pets are always a threat to the community, with snakes being not an exception.
“If they escape, they may threaten the safety of the wider community. The snakes themselves are also at risk, as they are often killed once perceived as a danger due to mishandling or escape,” she said.
“Furthermore, if we deplete their populations, we lose valuable opportunities to harness their venom for producing antivenin and developing other pharmaceutical products,” she pointed out.
“For all these reasons, I strongly discourage the collection of venomous snakes as a hobby. If they must be handled—for instance, for scientific research—it should only be done by trained and licensed snake handlers,” she added.
Pythons and Philippine vipers as pets?
ENVIRONMENTALIST Gregg
Yan, founder of Best Alternatives, said the Philippine cobra and the Southern Philippine Cobra are not the only reptiles targeted by the pet trade.
The constrictor snake—the feared python, or locally known as sawa—is not spared in the pet trade.
They are cute and tiny while young, but become the feared monster that they are as they grow.
The Philippine pit vipers are also being traded illegally as pet. But snakes seem to be everywhere nowadays.
In Bulacan, Yan shared that his backyard is visited by reptiles— python, and lately, a water monitor lizard, or bayawak.
“Good thing my dogs are there to defend our home,” he told the BusinessMirror through Messenger on July 17.
Sharing his views on the pet trade, Yan said: “As long as there are rare animals, there will be people who covet them. In Ancient Rome, people kept not just cats and dogs but exotic wildlife like lions, ferrets, snakes, and even fish. Snakes—venomous or not—are no exception.”
Keep it legally, responsibly
“BEST Alternatives’ take on this is if a snake is not endangered, not legally protected, and has the proper papers from authorities, then keeping one is alright, provided you keep it responsibly. Never harm your snake nor allow it to harm others. Never release it in the wild where it can multiply and make a meal out of native species,” he said.
According to Yan, ecosystems the world over have been adversely affected by intentional and accidental introduction of pet snakes.
“Southeast Asian reticulated pythons [Malayopython reticulatus] are taking over the Florida everglades. In Guam, it’s the brown tree snake [Boiga irregularis] that snack on native birds. Properly bred and issued with legal papers, herps like frogs and snakes can buoy the livelihoods of many people while keeping hobbyists happy, especially since 2025 is the Year of the Snake.” he said.
Iloilo groups launch community climate response hub, science-led urban heat report
ILOILO CITY—Iloilo citizen groups called for broader people participation in climate action as they launched the first “Community Climate Response Hub” (CCRH) and a citizen science-led urban heat report.
The CCRH was launched in a forum in Iloilo City on July 15 by a broad multisectoral coalition of youth groups, civil society organizations, and people’s organizations,. It aims to mobilize community-led climate change adaptation and disaster risk preparedness and response to help build climate-resilient communities.
It is envisioned as a network of groups that will act as a community-driven center for people-led climate resilience and response initiatives. It aims to serve as a platform and space for local action and collaboration to prepare for and respond to climate impacts.
The core group behind CCRH include Greenpeace Philippines, Greenpeace Iloilo Volunteers Local Group, Green Eco-Warriors, Green Forum Panay Guimaras, Homeless People’s Federation Philippines Inc., Alerto Ako E-Yusay Memorial School, CurrentShift, and Navallasca Farmers Rise Against Hunger and Malnutrition Inc.
According to the groups, the hubs will function as citizen-led platform for delivering support to affected communities.
They will also facilitating the participatory identification and codesigning of initiatives toward community climate resilience, including supporting Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), and
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) projects.
Over time, the hubs are intended to evolve into strategic platforms for aggregating community-based data and articulating policy recommendations, thereby informing and influencing CCA/ DRRM planning and governance at local and national levels.
At their core, the hubs are also designed as platforms for urgent calls for the government to pursue climate action and climate justice.
The launch of the hub also saw the release of the report “Turning down the heat: Citizen science and the urgency of climate action in the Philippines.”
Undertaken by Greenpeace Iloilo Volunteers Local Group and Ulirat Collective, and supported by Greenpeace Philippines, the report is a study on urban heat using citizen science research and community narratives to understand the phenomenon from the perspective of citizens.
In presenting the research, the report makes a case for the importance of people participation as an essential component in climate action at both the local and national government levels.
The groups contend that at both local and national levels, people participation must be a key strategy as the Philippines face the worsening impacts of the climate crisis.
They said that local citizenry should not just be seen as affected populations, but as
partners in climate resilience building and response efforts.
Amid the worsening impacts of the climate crisis, disaster risk management and resilience building plans would benefit greatly from including grassroots groups in their strategies, through fostering these partnerships and enabling conditions that promote their growth, they said.
“May we create a shared space where communities have the power to push for climate justice, climate preparedness, and climate response—led by communities and backed by the government and other stakeholders,” said Lady Kyla Balibagoso, Greenpeace Philippines-Iloilo Volunteers
For her part, Cathy Manalo, Ulirat Collective said: “Science is too important to be left to scientists alone. Today, as extreme weather patterns impact our society, who knows their own places the most? Residents should be actively involved in learning about the environment and pushing for liveable communities. Our study reinforced the importance of resident-led methods when assessing the impacts of climate change.”
The twin launching speakers were Dr. Ma. Laurence Jamero, Senior Scientist for Resilience, Manila Observatory Center; Donna Magno, Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer; and Dr. Ronald Law, chief emergency preparedness lead, Health and Climate Change Unit, Department of Health.
A TEMPLE pit viper in Palawan
A MOCK viper in Leyte PHOTOS BY GREGG YAN
MP eyes boxing immortality at 46
Manny Pacquiao: I still have that passion to fight and train. My heart is always there for boxing. I do not feel lazy at 46.
How climate change could force FIFA to rethink the WC calendar
GENEVA—Soccer had a fierce reckoning with heat at the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States—a sweltering preview of what players and fans may face when the US co-hosts the World Cup with Mexico and Canada next summer.
With temperatures rising worldwide, scientists warn that staging the World Cup and other soccer tournaments in the Northern Hemisphere summer is getting increasingly dangerous for both players and spectators.
Some suggest that FIFA may have to consider adjusting the soccer calendar to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses.
“The deeper we go in the decade, the greater the risk without considering more dramatic measures, such as playing in the winter months and/or cooler latitudes,” said Professor Piers Forster, director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures in Leeds, England.
“I’m getting increasingly worried that we are only one heatwave away from a sporting tragedy and I would like to see governing bodies lean into the climate and health science,” he said.
Tournament soccer in June and July is a tradition going back to the first World Cup in 1930.
Since then, the three-month period of June, July and August globally has warmed by 1.05 degrees Celsius (1.89 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Meanwhile, European summer temperatures have increased by 1.81 degrees C—rate of warming has accelerated since the 1990’s.
Climate scientists say that’s a factor that needs to be considered when playing high-intensity outdoor sports like soccer.
“If you want to play football for 10 hours a day, they’ll have to be the hours of the early morning and late evening,” climatologist Friederike Otto from Imperial College, London, told The Associated Press in an email, “if you don’t want to have players and fans die from heatstroke or get severely ill with heat exhaustion.”
FIFA adapts
EXTREME heat and thunderstorms made an impact on FIFA›s newly expanded tournament for club teams. The Club World Cup was held in 11 American cities from June 14 to July 13. FIFA adapted by tweaking its extreme heat protocol to include extra breaks in play, more field-side water, and cooling the team benches with air fans and more shade.
Still, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández said the heat made him dizzy and urged FIFA to avoid afternoon kickoffs at the World Cup next year. The global soccer players union, FIFPRO, has warned that six of the 16 World Cup cities next year are at “extremely high risk” for heat stress.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the heat concerns on Saturday, saying the handful of World Cup stadiums that are covered would be used for day-time games next year. AP
LBy Josef Ramos
AS VEGAS—History beckons Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao as he goes after a milestone in not only in his career, but all of pro boxing history on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) at the MGM Grand—venue of many of his exploits as a much younger, quicker and lethal fighter.
“I never get tired of fighting, never get tired of boxing. So this week, on Sunday in the Philippines, I will do my best for my country and for my fellow Filipinos to bring home the belt,” the 46-year-old only eight-division world champion said.
Pacquiao’s opponent—reigning World Boxing Council welterweight champion Mario Barrios is 16 years younger, four inches taller at six feet and has a five-inch reach advantage against the “People’s Champ.”
But Pacquiao, who’s coming off a four-year retirement, is unfazed.
“I still have that passion to fight and train. My heart is always there for boxing. I do not feel lazy at 46,” Pacquiao said. “The fire in my eyes, and my heart in boxing are still there. I am really excited to fight Mario Barrios.”
Pacquiao owns the distinction of being the oldest welterweight champion at 40 years and 215 days when he defeated American Keith Thurman via split decision last July 20, 2019, also at MGM Grand.
And after six years, Pacquiao can now try again to extend his record after a failed attempt last August 2021 when he lost the World Boxing Association welterweight king, Cuban Yordenis Ugas, via unanimous decision at the T-Mobile Arena also here in Las Vegas.
Many doubt if Pacquiao (62-8-2 win-lossdraw record with 39 knockouts) could survive Barrios at his age, but he’s ready to prove all Thomases that they’re wrong, believing that he can still be a world champion.
MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons said that Pacquiao has been very explosive, fast, wiser and stronger than when he opened training camp at Freddie Roach’s Wildcard Gym
in Los Angeles in May.
“All are good. Pacquiao’s condition is very amazing and he’s ready to go against Barrios,” Gibbons said. “We’re all just praying that he gets his rhythm going come Saturday night.”
Gibbons added Pacquiao belongs to the the elite group of athletes, including Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant, noting that as a Hall of Famer, he’s on the same stature as the world’s sports legends.
“It is the moment that they live for, and this is what they work for. He will be ready,” Gibbons said. “I really think on Saturday night that if he can get his timing right then he got his power and speed then we can see an explosive evening.”
For Barrios, who wasn’t born yet when Pacquiao turned pro in 1994, he must deliver a powerful performance to defy a legend and keep his crown through his advantage in height, age and reach.
“It’s an honor to fight a legend like Pacquiao. It is very admirable that he is doing it at his age. I have a lot of respect. But he is fighting me for my title,” said Barrios, her baby daughter Luna Sofia in is arms.
Meanwhile, the undercards have Tim Tszyu facing 6-foot-4 Sebastian Fundora for the WBC super welterweight belt, Isaac Cruz meeting Angel Fierro in a non-title super lightweight clash, and Brandon Figueroa clashing against Joet Gonzalez in a featherweight bout. Filipino warriors Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo, a former world champion, battles Jorge Meta Cuellar in a non-title super featherweight bout, while Eumir Felix Marcial squares off with American Bernard Joseph in a middleweight eightrounder.
In Liberia, baseball’s played with no bats and definitely no men
MONROVIA, Liberia—It was a perfect pitch. The ball sped straight across home plate, where it was met with an equally powerful kick. Perryline Jimmie sprinted toward first base after her kick as her teammates erupted in cheers on the sidelines.
Jimmie, 23, is a professional player of kickball, a close cousin of baseball that is beloved by women in Liberia and played all over the country from schoolyards to public squares and dirt fields.
Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has become the nation’s second-most popular sport after soccer.
Kickball in Liberia has the rules of baseball but there are no bats, and players kick a soccer ball instead of the larger, lightweight ball used for the game in other places.
There also are no men.
“In Liberia, [kickball] is our tradition,” said Jimmie, who noted many girls start playing kickball from an early age. “This is why you see women playing kickball in Liberia.”
How kickball came to Liberia
IN 1964, Peace Corps volunteer Cherry Jackson noticed that, unlike boys, the students at the all-girls school where she taught in Monrovia, the capital, didn’t play any sports, according to Emmanuel Whea, president of Liberia’s National Kickball League.
Jackson, an American, tried to teach the girls baseball but quickly realized they were much better at hitting the ball with their feet. That was the start of what became a custom for girls in the country of about 5.6 million people.
“When you’re a girl growing up in Liberia, you will play kickball,” Whea said.
Kickball is played in other parts of the world, including in the United States, where it is a common elementary school game for girls and boys. But only in Liberia is there a women-only professional league.
A league for women and peace
THE National Kickball League was
created in 1994 to bring people together as Liberia was reeling from a civil war The league was set up “to bring the ladies together and use them [as part of] the reconciliation process of Liberia,” Whea said. “We had just left the civil war, and everybody had just scattered....So kickball was one of those sports used to bring Liberians together so they could have the time to hear the peace messages.”
Whea has big plans for the league, including expanding it to men and introducing the game to other African countries. However, his mission has been complicated by a lack of resources, especially in a region where women’s sports often are underfunded.
Saydah A. Yarbah, a 29-year-old mother of two, admits it is hard to make ends meet on her athlete’s salary despite
men from the coaches to the referees and league officials. The league encourages women but they really don’t want to be coaches, Whea said.
“Their husbands might have a problem with them working full time [and] for some, their relationship will not allow it,” he said
Yarbah plans to change that narrative by becoming a coach when she retires, allowing her to share her passion for the sport with others, including her two sons, she said.
“They are not going to play kickball for now,” she said. “But probably in the future, they are going to introduce kickball to men.” For the moment, kickball remains a women’s game. Men sometimes come during their practice, Yarbah said, but they do not stand a chance. “They don’t know the techniques of the game,” she said. “So we always win.” AP
MANNY PACQUIAO eyes another milestone in his career when he goes after Mario Barrios’s belt. AP
PHOTO BY JHAY OTAMIAS
Are new romance bookstores, online groups giving the genre some overdue respect? Fans think so
JULY 20, 2025 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com
VOLUME ONE
How James Vickery sings his heart with one good ear
Story by Bless Aubrey Ogerio
THERE’S something poetic about wanting to chase music when you can't even hear it in full.
For James Vickery, the odds seemed stacked from the start. Being born with a hearing impairment and with no musical influence in close reach, the path to becoming a singer was far from obvious. Yet, life, as it often does, had other plans.
“I fell into [music] really accidentally,” James told Soundstrip. “I grew up with this hearing impairment, which left me completely deaf in my left ear. Then I had to have vocal coach lessons, and they discovered that I could sing.”
From that unexpected discovery bloomed a career. Today, James is one of the United Kingdom’s rising R&B talents, with over 200 million career streams, a growing audience of nearly 300,000 followers across platforms, and a global fan base that includes the Philippines—his seventh top streaming country.
Soon, the UK-based performer will release his
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most personal project yet: a self-titled album simply called James. Still, despite the growing numbers, he doesn’t see himself as extraordinary.
“James Vickery is very ordinary, like in his day-to-day life,” he shared. “But the music is not ordinary… I think it's like an extension of myself.”
And yet, his story is far from ordinary.
Nothing ordinary
JAMES described his condition plainly—he shouldn’t even be here.
“It was so, so severe… they had to get my eardrum removed,” he said. And he doesn’t pretend it hasn’t affected him. “Mixing records is super tough,” he admitted. “I can't really notice the discrepancies. I have to focus, like, so much.”
With just 50 percent of his hearing, he said, producing music is not just a task, but an effort of intent and attention.
However, what he lacks in clarity, he makes up for in feel. “It did allow me to really focus on things like rhythm. Like, rhythmically, it’s super important. The high-end stuff, not so much. My ‘ear,’ as it’s known in the industry, is not so good,” the R&B crooner said.
Still, the love for music was always there, constantly playing around the house, even if no one in his family was particularly musical. He began his grind at 18, but success only began to take shape around 25.
Through all this, he kept two versions of himself: James the person, and James the artist. “I've been doing it for a hot minute. It's been a long journey, but we're still here, we're still thriving, so it's all good.”
First album SO why a self-titled album now?
“I don't feel like you can confidently, at the age of 23, write a self-titled album. You’re still
figuring out who you are,” James said. “But look, I'm older now. I've lived a little. I know who I am and who I want to be.”
For James, he and his team wrote over 200 songs—only a handful made the final cut. “I didn’t want to include anything that didn’t reflect who I am, whether that be emotionally, my fun side, or anything else,” he said, noting how each chosen track represents a part of him, captured in lyrics and sound.
Further, the new-gen soul act said that listeners will meet an open book in James—especially in one song he’s purposefully left unnamed. “You're gonna hear a really vulnerable side of me. I haven’t let ego slide in. There’s no hiding behind a ‘cool’ R&B persona,” he explained.
This willingness to peel back the layers began with his earlier track “Save You,” a gospel ballad that gave audiences a glimpse of his emotional honesty.
And when it came time to close the album, he chose a final track that he hopes will linger.
“The last track in particular is special,” he said. “We purposefully put it last. I want people to walk away thinking, ‘Damn, okay.’ And this is just introducing James as well.”
Chasing legacy
ON the kind of space he hopes to occupy in the music industry, James is clear.
“I think the reason why I wasn’t content just
sticking to one genre or being safe is because I’m ambitious,” he said. “I want to do and achieve things that seem far-fetched.”
He doesn’t believe in ceilings anymore. And if he had it his way, his music would outlive him.
“I'd love the songs to outlive me,” he said. “Even this last song I keep hinting at… that could be the one. I hope it is. And moving forward, I want to keep making music that feels like that.”
James Vickery
TRANSCENDING GENERATIONS
Kiss The Bride blurs genres with winning new album
Since its inception in 2009, Kiss the Bride has consistently been doing live performances and recordings notwithstanding the pandemic that pushed the ‘pause’ button on live gigs.
The brainchild of keyboardist/composer Tony Razon, acclaimed fusion guitarist Joey Puyat, and band manager Cecile Rodgers, Kiss the Bride (KTB) has probably the best survival rate of any Filipino jazz fusion group.
Despite a revolving chair of musical personnel over the past years, Kiss The Bride’s current lineup includes Cecile Rodgers (synth), Otep Concepcion (drums/percs), Julius Lopez (bass), Stephen Lachica (bass), Fernando Mendoza (drums), Mel Torre and Arla Concepcion (vocals).
Kiss The Band refuses to be typecast in the ‘smooth jazz ‘mold, Defying jazz tradition, the band fuses their deft improvisational skills over a backdrop of blues, funk, Brazilian, Mediterranean and even pop/RnB influences. It not only frees the group from confining genre limitations but also keep their kind of jazz shuttling between its past traditions and the exciting new possibilities for the music.
Their latest Vinyl LP release simply titled “KTB’ is just such a genre-blurring labor of love, It features an eclectic mix of their rearranged originals, doubles as a timely homage to their former bandmate, friend, and percussionist, Uly Avante, who passed away in May 2017.
A consummate session musician whose discography reads like a who’s who of the local recording industry, Uly had already honed his chops in various fusion outfits before he eventually became an indispensable ensemble player for top-caliber jazz performers such as Boy Katindig, Bong Peñera, and Tots Tolentino, among others.
Despite his jazz roots, Uly was equally adept playing pop gigs, earning his rep as a first-call session man for some of the country’s biggest pop icons. He even held his fort as resident percussionist of ABS-CBN’s Sunday noontime show, “ASAP,” for many years.
Joey elaborates, “Our latest album is special as we pay tribute to Uly and his unique talent and expertise in percussion playing. Normally, in a tribute album, you do the song and then you get new players to play it.
“What we did was we got pre-recorded tracks of Uly, We rearranged the songs and put new solos in them. And we updated Uly’s songs so that they sound more contemporary. That’s what you’ll gonna hear on the new album. Like, Uly’s on the album; it’s like listening to a virtual Uly.
Keyboardist Tony Razon did all the music and arrangements. Tony is a prolific composer, influenced by constant travelling as a perk of his job with Philippine Airlines. The different experiences in his trips to different countries inspired his music.
Tony says about the album: “Whenever we play, we always hear (Uly) on the percussions, even when he’s not (physically present) there. As for the new album, it’s really a treat for the younger generation and I think it’s probably going to achieve that soon enough.”
Joey and Tony’s prolific music-making is just a fine companion to the varied themes around which the new KTB album revolves around, including climate change and serial killers. He proceeds to share the story behind each of the tracks on the new album
“If Only She Could Stay” - About falling in love with a woman you meet in a recurring dream, only to have her vanish when you wake up.
“Mickey And The Technorats” - How today’s technology has turned the young into gadget freaks and how this has all added to the struggle of coping with the rat race of a life we are living in.
“White Crosses” – Inspired while looking at a field of crosses and honoring the memory of loved ones who have gone before us.
“Freddy Come Knockin’ - Unlike most romantic tunes, this one deals with another intense emotion, fear, inspired by the Freddy Krueger character in the iconic horror movie “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
“The Awakening” - To make people aware of the need to take care of our environment ergo our world.
“Adios Carnaval” – Conjures the fun and revelry in a carnival setting, except that parts of the song evoke a melancholy feeling to imply that all things (good and bad) will eventually come to pass.
“Devil Darlings” - Imagines walking into a bar and being met by a bevy of the most beautiful and naughty women, the question being -- should you make a run for the exit or give in to temptation?
The KTB album is a winner that appears headed to be among the top ten best albums of the year.
Kiss The Bride (Photos from their Facebook page)
Fans think new romance bookstores and online groups are giving the genre some overdue respect
By Tracee M. Herbaugh The Associated Press
CAMBRIDGE,
Mass.—Romance novels have always spiced up quiet nights. Now, a genre that has sometimes been dismissed as a guilty pleasure is bringing readers and writers together through social media, book clubs and a growing number of romance-specific bookstores.
At a recent launch party for Nora Dahlia’s enemies-to-friends romance Pick-Up at Lovestruck Books, a romance-dedicated store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a crowd of women sipped cocktails from the bar-café as they browsed the shelves.
After Dahlia’s reading, patrons stuck around to mingle, swap contact info and trade author recommendations.
It was a particularly social event for a book talk. But the communal atmosphere is typical of events for romance fans. Dahlia likened romance readers to “Comic-Con folks,” referring to the deep-rooted passion that defines comic-book fandom.
“They’re educated on the genre in a real way,” Dahlia said. “Many of them started reading romance—Danielle Steel, V.C. Andrews, Jude Deveraux—as teenagers.”
At The Ripped Bodice bookstore in Brooklyn, New York, manager Katherine Zofrea said romance fans who have connected online frequently come into the store to meet in person. Along with author events, the store hosts three different book
clubs and a romance comedy night.
“We’ve had a couple proposals here, we’ve had a wedding here which was really fun,” Zofrea said.
She said customers range “from teenagers who are starting to really get into the romance genres to older folks who have been romance readers for their entire lives and remember way back when they were reading the Harlequins and romance wasn’t as widely accepted.
“Now they’re loving seeing how widely accepted romance has become.”
A boom in romance bookstores
BOOKSTORES like Lovestruck and The Ripped Bodice (which has a flagship store in Los Angeles) have begun popping up all over the U.S., from Wichita, Kansas, to Wilmington, North Carolina, to Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Of the 157 romance-dedicated bookstores in the American Booksellers Association, more than half opened within the last two years, said Allison Hill, CEO of the trade group for independent sellers.
“Romance books have been one of the fastest growing book sales categories in recent years, driven by a number of factors including the need for escape reading and BookTok,” Hill said.
And the genre has evolved. “The romance genre is more diverse in every way including character identity and plot,” she said.
Lovestruck’s owner, Rachel Kanter, called the boom “incredible—and honestly, overdue. Romance has always been one of the most commercially successful genres, but for a long time it didn’t get the respect or space it deserved in the literary world.”
Romance-specific bookstores, she says, “are places where readers can feel joy, comfort, and connection—and where love is taken seriously as a literary theme.”
A lifeline during COVID AS with many hobbies, romance fandom solidified and expanded after the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic had pushed so many people toward reading for escape and comfort, and romance became a lifeline for a lot of folks,” said Kanter.
“At the same time, there was a wider cultural shift happening—people were rethinking what mattered, craving joy and softness, and looking to support indie
(mostly) women reading and sharing these books across generations.
“It is pleasurable to reimagine courtship or the romantic bond,” said Jayashree Kamble, professor of English at LaGuardia Community College and president of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance. “There is limited risk involved.”
“Incredible–and honestly, overdue.” Rachel Kanter, owner of romancededicated bookstore Lovestruck Books, on the emergence of romance novels
businesses that reflected their values. Romance, with all its hope and heart, met that moment beautifully,” she said.
Reimagining the romantic bond
ROMANCE has countless subgenres— hockey romance, Western romance, LGBTQ romance, even romance set on prison planets. But a common theme is their “inherently hopeful storylines,” says Elizabeth Michaelson Monaghan, a 52-year-old freelance writer and editor in New York who said she’s read “hundreds” of romance novels.
“Romance must have a happily-everafter—or at least a happily-for-now. Romance writers and readers are very clear on this,” she said.
Romantic fiction that doesn’t end that way? That’s just a love story.
Traits of the romance genre also include strong character descriptions, attraction, conflict, and a satisfying resolution and emotional growth. Expect plenty of steam—some authors deploy it explicitly, others are more tame.
There’s a long-standing culture of
Kamble has been a voracious romance reader since her teenage years in India, where she devoured Harlequin romances. Romance novels, she said, are “a lovely reminder that individualism and companionship can go together. These are basic bonds.”
Community: online and in real life
PODCASTS, too, have become a source for discovering what’s trending. Andrea Martucci, creator and host of the romance-focused “Shelf Love” podcast, said romance bookstores have become places of connection akin, in some ways, to churches—for the romantically devoted.
“I can go to a bookstore and not just find people who love books,” she said, “but find people who love the very same books I love.”
As Annabel Monaghan, author of several love stories including Nora Goes Off Script, puts it, “People who read romance want to feel good. And when you gather a bunch of people who want to feel good, it’s magic.”
n Cover photo by takahiro taguchi on Unsplash
LOVESTRUCK Books owner Rachel Kanter poses in her bookstore in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 15, 2024. PHOTOS FROM AP READER Iliana Garcia browses romance titles at The Ripped Brodice bookstore in Culver City, California on July 3, 2025.