BusinessMirror November 21, 2021

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A broader look at today’s business

BUCKING THE BAJO

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Sunday, November 21, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 44

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 12 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

‘BLOCKADE’ A GROUNDED fishing boat paints the hard times that have befallen fishermen after the Bajo de Masinloc blockade. HENRY EMPEÑO

Going from bountiful harvest to barren, Masinloc fisherfolk try to overcome livelihood loss from the Scarborough standoff with some backing from the LGU.

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By Henry Empeño

GOOGLE EARTH

ASINLOC, Zambales—Sitio Matalvis is a coastal community that is densely packed with fishermen and their families who flourished or failed according to the bounty of the sea.

Even when a fire broke out here in February 2012 and wiped out the homes of more than 200 families, the hardy fisherfolk bounced back soon after—rebuilding their lives in houses built on stilts along the muddy shoreline.

But the Matalvis fishermen were not ready for what was to come barely two months after the fire. This was when the Phil-

ippines figured in a tense diplomatic standoff with China over Scarborough Shoal, a resourcerich lagoon 240 nautical miles west of Zambales.

For the locals, Scarborough was Bajo de Masinloc, their traditional fishing ground—a lucrative source of high-value reef fishes, as well as refuge during harsh weather. But when Chinese militia boats

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.3030

DEEP-SEA fishermen fix fishing nets at the Matalvis fishing community. HENRY EMPEÑO

erected a barrier at the entrance of the shoal by July of 2012 and took effective control of the lagoon, the people of Matalvis became direct casualties of the territorial conflict: the bonanza from the sea virtually dried out.

Best times past

FISHING has traditionally been a major occupation of residents in

Masinloc, a municipality in Zambales, which lays claim to the disputed Scarborough Shoal. According to the town’s agriculture office, about 4,000 of the town’s roughly 48,000 residents are involved in the fishing industry.

Accordingly, from 500 to 800 fishing boats are registered in the municipality each year, the fluctuation in numbers depending on

whether the owners consider fishing as an occupation worth their while, or not. Matalvis, which is predominantly a Visayan community, is the center of the town’s fishing business.

The virtual occupation by the Chinese of Bajo de Masinloc, therefore, came as a nightmare to the fishermen of Matalvis who never had it so good with bumper fish

harvests at the shoal.

Roberto Cayuda, a 54-year-old crew of a deep-sea fishing boat, recalled that business was so good at the time that there were about 24 deep-sea fishing vessels in Matalvis that ventured out into the Scarborough area.

This was primarily the reason Cayuda, a native of Davao, settled Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4404 n UK 67.8688 n HK 6.4585 n CHINA 7.8782 n SINGAPORE 37.0857 n AUSTRALIA 36.6156 n EU 57.2096 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4109

Source: BSP (November 19, 2021)

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, November 21, 2021

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BUCKING THE BAJO ‘BLOCKADE’ Continued from A1

here some 30 years ago, or why Rico Heroyla, a 42-year-old Cebuano, has made Matalvis his home in the last 24 years.

“There were about 200 of us from Masinloc who used to fish near Scarborough, but there were also those from [the Zambales towns of] Santa Cruz, Palauig and Subic, as well as from Pangasinan,” Heroyla recalled.

“Before, you could find as many as 50 local boats fishing in Scarborough at any one time,” he added. The deep-sea fishers usually fished for tuna, round scad (galunggong) and other open-sea species and the catch was shared among the boat owners, boat captains and crew, and the kapitalista who fund the fishing trips.

As an ordinary boat crew, Heroyla said he was earning from P30,000 to P50,000 a month from four-day fishing trips—enough money to go around for his growing family with three children.

Cayuda added that most of the deep-sea fishers here then “could even afford to buy some luxury items like household appliances.”

Most of the fishers said that before the standoff, one week’s work at sea would earn them enough money to last a month—or until they go on the next fishing trip.

Bajo blockade

BECAUSE access to Bajo de Masinloc lagoon meant bigger catch and bigger income among local fishermen, some locals tried to venture into the shoal after the Chinese

takeover. But most of them returned with sad stories to tell.

Cayuda said that in 2016, he and fellow crewmen were shooed away by a Chinese naval ship. “They said, ‘Filipino fishermen move out,’” Cayuda remembered. “The ship had big guns—so we left.”

Heroyla, meanwhile, said they encountered Chinese boats while fishing at their own payao (a fishaggregating device) near the Scarborough Shoal. “One day we were awakened by blasts from a ship horn, and when we looked, we saw cannons pointed our way.”

Heroyla said they were ordered to go back 10 miles away. “There were usually five ships guarding the shoal—three whites [Chinese Coast Guard vessels] and two grays [naval ships]. The guns scared us, and we did not go back there,” Heroyla said.

Another Matalvis fisherman said their boat was almost sunk at Bajo de Masinloc about four years ago. “The lead boats that the Chinese first encountered were bombarded with water cannon. We managed to leave the area fast, but some of the boats in our group were sunk,” he said.

“After one year, we tried to go back, but at the mouth of the lagoon there was already a Chinese Coast Guard ship blocking the entrance,” he added.

Renaldo Roma, 35, another Davao native who now lives in Matalvis, said they tried fishing at the Bajo in 2017 and were also told by the Chinese to leave. “We were about to cast our nets then, when they told us to go away. We left the area and nothing untoward hap-

A FISHERMAN relaxes by his boat after bringing his catch to the public market in Masinloc, Zambales. HENRY EMPEÑO

pened. But we did not go back to Scarborough since then.”

Bleak prospects

THE Bajo the Masinloc blockade, which locals consider their best

fishing ground, had taken its toll on local deep-sea fishers.

Roma, for one, said he earned only P30,000 last year compared to an average of from P40,000 to P50,000 a year. In 2019, a lucky year, he said, his income reached P130,000—his biggest annual proceeds so far.

Roma said the catch has been poor recently, especially when fishing was confined to municipal waters during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Sometimes we go out for three days and two nights and we catch only around 17 kilos. That’s a big loss.”

He added that there were times when they were able to sell their catch at only P110 per kilo. “Our starting investment is P500, which is for diesel fuel, ice and bait. I split the net with the boat owner, so I’m left with around P100 for the day’s work.

And it’s not even every day that we get to catch fish,” Roma said.

Roberto Amabad, 52, who also works in a deep-sea fishing vessel from Matalvis, said they still fish in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal when the weather is good, but stay a good 14 miles from the lagoon and its Chinese guards.

Amabad said nothing compared with fishing inside the lagoon. “Nowadays, we sometimes catch a lot of fish, other times just a little. But when we could still access Scarborough, that’s when we caught so much fish! If there’s a strong Northerly, we would anchor inside the lagoon and we could catch up to 100 tons. Now, we average around 20 tons, sometimes less.”

Other local fishers said that the Bajo de Masinloc blockade was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which initially restricted their movement and also brought down demand and fish prices.

Some also reported dwindling fish catch that they attributed to overfishing, deteriorating condition of municipal waters, and changing weather patterns that made their work environment unpredictable and even risky.

Bucking the odds

WITH all the odds stacked against them, some Matalvis fishermen have been trying out other jobs to make extra money to supplement their income from fishing.

Rolando Fuentes, 37, drives a tricycle on spare time, while Roma, who has three children to send to school, gets additional income clearing fields or harvesting crops.

But most cannot leave what they loved most: being at sea and catching fish. “I’ve tried working in a shipyard as a scaffold worker,

FIBERGLASS boats produced by the Masinloc LGU line the front yard of the town’s fish landing and marketing facility. HENRY EMPEÑO

but I didn’t like it. So, I went back to fishing,” said Florencio Ecal, who fishes with a local outfit along the Zambales coast.

“We fish at the Silangin area [in San Antonio, Zambales] about one-half hour away, with two or three fishermen on a boat. We go out at least three times a week, but for one-day trips only and usually catch the small fish varieties—dilis, tamban, terong,” Ecal said.

“During lucky days, we can catch around 40 banyera of fish and at the going price of P500 per banyera, we earn around P20,000. But on unlucky days, we go home with a small catch that is not enough to pay for the P500 we spend for gasoline and batteries,” he added.

Meanwhile, those who remained true to their calling of venturing far out into open waters decidedly keep their distance from their beloved Bajo de Masinloc.

Abamad, Cadayuna and Roma, who still join deep-sea fishing crews, said they still venture out some 15 miles away from the shoal, but have now tried fishing inside Zambales waters.

Boats and boneless bangus

AS fishing is considered one of the major occupations in the community and the de facto takeover by the Chinese of Bajo de Masinloc remains the biggest cause of income loss to local fishermen, the local government unit of Masinloc has initiated what was described by local officials as an integrated approach for the development of the local fishing industry, with the goal of making the lives of local fisherfolk better.

Mayor Arsenia Lim, in her recent State of the Municipality Address, said the municipality has provided 12 units of 20-footer fiberglass fishing boat and two units of “mother boat” to local fishermen. Meanwhile, the local government also improved the town’s fishport and built a new fish land-

ing center and warehouse.

“Through the municipal livelihood development program, we have also granted the Masinloc Fisherfolk Cooperative (Mafisco) with a P17-million loan,” Lim said.

Jerry Escape, who is Municipal Agriculture Technologist in charge of fisheries, said the 20-footer fiberglass boats would enable local fishers to venture farther out into the sea, and thus prevent them from depleting fish stocks in Masinloc Bay.

He added that the P17-million soft loan at 1 percent interest was used by Mafisco to procure two commercial-size fishing boats and light boats. Personnel at the Municipal Cooperative Development Office (MCDO) confirmed that the fishermen’s cooperative had so far paid back P4 million of the P17 million loaned out by the local government unit (LGU).

Municipal Agriculture Officer Ferdinand Echon also said the Masinloc municipal government under Mayor Lim had organized a fisherfolk cooperative for a food processing project to produce bottled sardines under the brand name “Masinloc Bay Sardines.”

It is also building cooperatives among fishpond and fish cage owners and workers to train them on smoked fish processing and production of boneless bangus, he added.

The LGU initiatives, perhaps not coincidentally, matched the needs of the fishermen who lost much income from the Chinese stranglehold of Bajo de Masinloc. In recent interviews with this writer, the Matalvis fisherfolk said they wanted to receive from the government alternative livelihood projects that they can manage; their own boats, so that they can fish more and earn better; skills training on other means of livelihood; and emergency financial assistance in times when fishing was not tenable.

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

The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, November 21, 2021

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China’s $6 trillion hidden debt gets stress-tested in downturn

This photo provided by Nancy Sack shows Carter Lange, Kim Gustavson, Jason Lange, Matthew Gustavson and Travis Gustavson. Nancy Sack’s grandson, Travis Gustavson, died at age 21 in Mankato after overdosing on what he thought was heroin but was actually laced with fentanyl. Katie Tettam /Nancy Sack via AP

US drug overdose deaths topped 100,000 in one year, officials say

By Mike Stobbe

AP Medical Writer

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EW YORK—An estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year, a never-before-seen milestone that health officials say is tied to the Covid-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply.

Overdose deaths have been rising for more than two decades, accelerated in the past two years and, according to new data posted Wednesday, jumped nearly 30 percent in the latest year.

President Joe Biden called it “a tragic milestone” in a statement, as administration officials pressed Congress to devote billions of dollars more to address the problem.

“This is unacceptable and it requires an unprecedented response,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of National Drug Control Policy.

Experts believe the top drivers of overdose deaths are the growing prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the illicit drug supply and the Covid-19 pandemic, which left many drug users socially isolated and unable to get treatment or other support.

The number is “devastating,” said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University expert on drug abuse issues. “It’s a magnitude of overdose death that we haven’t seen in this country.”

Drug overdoses now surpass deaths from car crashes, guns and even flu and pneumonia. The total is close to that for diabetes, the nation’s No. 7 cause of death.

Drawing from the latest available death certificate data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 100,300 Americans died of drug overdoses from May 2020 to April 2021. It’s not an official count. It can take many months for death investigations involving drug fatalities to become final, so the agency made the estimate based on 98,000 reports it has received so far.

The CDC previously reported there were about 93,000 overdose deaths in 2020, the highest number recorded in a calendar year. Robert Anderson, the CDC’s chief of mortality statistics, said the 2021 tally is likely to surpass 100,000.

“2021 is going to be terrible,” agreed Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a drug policy expert at the University of California, San Francisco.

The new data shows many of the deaths involve illicit fentanyl, a highly lethal opioid that five years ago surpassed heroin as the type of drug involved in the most overdose deaths. Dealers have mixed fentanyl with other drugs— one reason that deaths from methamphetamines and cocaine also are rising.

Drug cartels in Mexico are using chemicals from China to mass-produce and distribute fentanyl and meth across America, said Anne Milgram, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

This year, the DEA has seized 12,000 pounds of fentanyl, a record amount, Milgram said. But public health experts and even police officials say that law enforcement measures will not stop the epidemic, and more needs to be done to dampen demand and prevent deaths.

The CDC has not yet calculated racial and ethnic breakdowns of the overdose victims.

It found the estimated death toll rose in all but four states—Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey and South Dakota—compared with the same period a year earlier. The states with largest increases were Vermont (70 percent), West Virginia (62 percent) and Kentucky (55 percent).

Minnesota saw an increase of about 39 percent, with estimated overdose deaths rising to 1,188 in May 2020 through April 2021 from 858 in the previous 12-month period.

The area around the city of Mankato has seen its count of overdose deaths rise from two in 2019, to six last year to 16 so far this year, said police Lt. Jeff Wersal, who leads a regional drug task force.

“I honestly don’t see it getting better, not soon,” he said.

Among the year’s victims was Travis Gustavson, who died in February at the age of 21 in Mankato. His blood was found to show signs of fentanyl, heroin, marijuana and the sedative Xanax, Wersal said.

Gustavson was close to his mother, two brothers and the rest of his family, said his grandmother, Nancy Sack.

He was known for his easy smile, she said. “He could be crying when he was a little guy, but if someone smiled at him, he immediately stopped crying and smiled back,” she recalled.

Gustavson first tried drugs as kid and had been to drug treatment as a teenager, Sack said. He struggled with anxiety and depression, but mainly used marijuana and different kinds of pills, she said.

The morning of the day he died, Travis had a tooth pulled, but he wasn’t prescribed strong painkillers because of his drug history, Sack said. He told his mother he would just stay home and ride out the pain with ibuprofen. He was expecting a visit from his girlfriend that night to watch a movie, she said.

But Gustavson contacted Max Leo Miller, also 21, who provided him a bag containing heroin and fentanyl, according to police.

Some details of what happened are in dispute, but all accounts suggest Gustavson was new to heroin and fentanyl.

Police say Gustavson and Miller exchanged messages on social media. At one point, Gustavson sent a photo of a line of a white substance on a brown table and asked if he was taking the right amount and then wrote “Or bigger?”

According to a police report, Miller responded: “Smaller bro” and “Be careful plz!”

C

hina’s property market crunch is making it difficult for local governments to cut an estimated $6 trillion of hidden debt even as Beijing shows more determination in cracking down on the problem.

Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province are planning trials to eliminate the off-balance sheet borrowing that local authorities use to raise funds for spending. Although there were no details, it’s likely the pilot programs could eventually be rolled out to more of the 31 other regions in the country.

T he central government is getting more serious about tackling financial risks associated with the debt, which it labeled a “national security” issue earlier this year. Authorities must balance the push to fix the problem with efforts to keep record bond defaults and a slowing economy from getting out of hand.

A downturn in the property market won’t make it an easy task. Land sales, which account for about 40 percent of local governments’ revenue, have tumbled since August, putting pressure on public finances. Moody’s Investors Service warns of a potential decline in land sales income and local governments possibly taking on more, not less, debt in order to fund infrastructure.

Here’s a look at what government-linked economists say are the challenges faced in trying to eliminate the debt.

What is hidden debt?

L o c al go ve r n me nt s, u nde r pressure to shore up growth in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2008, went on a borrowing binge to fund infrastructure projects as part of China’s 4 trillion yuan ($626 billion) stimulus package.

Before a new budget law was introduced in 2015, regional authorities weren’t allowed to borrow directly. Instead, they were encouraged by Beijing to use state-

owned companies now known as local government financing vehicles, or LGFVs, to raise money through bank loans, and later, bond issuance.

The debt doesn’t appear on the balance sheets of local governments, yet carries an implicit guarantee of repayment with public money. Most of the debt is owned by local banks, so the surge over the years has led to moral hazard and risks to the financial system.

In a way, the hidden debt is emblematic of China’s old growth model, one that’s heavily dependent on investment and debt-fueled urbanization.

How big is the problem?

Much of the problem lies precisely in the fact that there’s no way to ascertain exactly how much debt local governments have accumulated.

The International Monetary F u n d e s t i m at e s L G F V d e b t amounted to 39 trillion yuan ($6 trillion) in 2020. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. puts it at 53 trillion yuan. Using a narrower definition, the state-run National Institution for Finance & Development estimates 15 trillion yuan.

T he proble m i s b e com i ng t hor n ie r w it h t he pro p e r t y slump. On the one hand, LGFV bond s h ave become popu l a r among investors seeking shelter in state-backed assets, following a sell-off in private developers’ bonds. On the other hand, many LGFVs count land as their main assets and declining land sales could hurt their ability to repay debt.

It’s also likely Beijing could lean on state firms to help ease property market stress, which may make it even harder to cut down on hidden debt. Local state-owned com-

panies and LGFVs could be called in to help, through for example, buying more land or bailing out firms if needed.

M a ny re g ion s — es p e c i a l ly those in the western hinterland— have been slow in addressing the problem, and could delay efforts if the central government doesn’t roll out the trial programs, said Mao Jie, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, who advises the Ministry of Finance.

“It’s a systemic challenge” to resolve hidden debt, he said. “Both local governments and the market need to make enormous changes in the way they operate.”

How can provinces tackle it?

Several options are available, according to the experts.

Repaying debt with fiscal revenue: Some cities in Guangdong province have repaid LGFV debt with public income, and this remains one of the manufacturing hub’s options during its trial, according to Wen Laicheng, a professor at Central University of Finance and Economics. Guangdong could probably eliminate its hidden debt within two years, Mao said.

Repaying debt by selling LGFV or government assets or equities: This could help local governments make more efficient use of assets, even though they will have less resources, said Cui Zhijuan, a professor at Beijing National Accounting Institute, which is under the Ministry of Finance.

Repaying debt with project returns and LGFVs’ profit: This could only be viable in a few places such as Shanghai, because most LGFVs’ projects are public welfare and have limited returns, Wen said.

Transforming LGFVs into real market entities: This would turn hidden debt into corporate debt, as LGFVs take on more profit-driven business, such as utility and construction instead of public welfare projects.

Replacing hidden debt with refinancing bonds: A total of 688 billion yuan worth of such bonds have been sold as of the end of October with the purpose of repaying existing debt, according to GF

Securities Co. Ltd. The issuance though would be restricted by the governments’ debt cap and may take place in Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu province mainly, according to China Industrial Securities Co. Ltd. Restructuring or bankruptcy of LGFVs: While none of the LGFVs have defaulted so far, provinces inc lud ing Jiangsu and Yunnan have said they will restructure or liquidate LGFVs that have lost repayment capabilities. Bankruptcies may be a necessary cost to pay in order to reform some LGFVs, while at the same time China needs to guard against any “malicious evasion” of debt repayment by local authorities, Cui said.

What’s been happening so far?

China has tried to bring hidden debt under control over the past decade. Here are a few examples of success in different regions: Shanxi province merged about three-dozen highway builders into one entity, which signed new loan arrangements with banks and reduced interest payments.

Shanghai SMI Holding Co. Ltd. is one of t he ea rl iest e x a mples of s u c c e s s f u l L GF V re for m , a c cord i n g t o M ao.

Liaozhong district in the northeastern city of Shenyang repaid 15 million yuan of debt with assets in 2019.

Duolun county in Inner Mongolia repaid 600 million yuan of hidden debt with properties they owned.

Authorities set up a municipal bond market in 2015 to move financing away from the more opaque LGFV debt.

Going forward, the trials are likely to expand next year to more cities in less developed regions, such as the western provinces, according to Zhang Yiqun, a member of the Society of Public Finance of China. Despite the challenges, the country will likely cut all hidden debt by 2035, and regions with better finances may be able to achieve that by 2025, he said.

“About half of the debt will be repaid, and the other will be transformed into on-balance-sheet debt,” Zhang said. Bloomberg News

Companies bid $192 million in 1st Gulf oil sale under Biden

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EW OR LE A NS —Energy companies including Shell, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil offered a combined $192 million for drilling rights on federal oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, as the first government lease auction under President Joe Biden laid bare the hurdles he faces to reach climate goals dependent on deep cuts in fossil fuel emissions.

The Interior Department auction came after attorneys general from Republican states led by Louisiana successfully challenged a suspension on sales that Biden imposed when he took office.

Companies bid on 308 tracts tota ling nearly 2,700 square miles (6,950 square kilometers). It marked the largest acreage and second-highest bid total since Gulfwide bidding resumed in 2017.

Driving the heightened interest are a rebound in oil prices and uncertainty about the future of the leasing program, industry analysts said. Biden campaigned on pledges to end drilling on federally owned

lands and waters, which includes the Gulf.

“Prices are higher now than they’ve been since 2018,” said Rene Santos with S&P Global Platts.

“The other thing is this fear that the Biden administration is here for another three years. They’re certainly not going to accelerate the number of lease sales and they could potentially have fewer sales.”

It will take years to develop the leases before companies start pumping crude. That means they could keep producing long past 2030, when scientists say the world needs to be well on the way to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Yet even as Biden has tried to cajole other world leaders into strengthening efforts against global warming, including at this month’s UN climate talks in Scotland, he’s had difficulty gaining ground on climate issues at home.

The administration has proposed another round of oil and gas sales early next year in Wyoming,

Colorado, Montana and other states. Interior Department officials proceeded despite concluding that burning the fuels could lead to billions of dollars in potential future climate damages.

Emissions from burning and extracting fossil fuels from public lands and waters account for about a quarter of US carbon dioxide emissions, according to the US Geological Survey.

“The thing that is really bedeviling people right now is this conflict between the short term and long term when it comes to energy policy,” said Jim Krane, an energy studies fellow at Rice University in Houston. “We still need this energy system that is basically causing climate change, even as we’re fighting climate change.”

Wednesday’s livestreamed auction invited energy companies to bid on drilling leases across 136,000 square miles (352,000 square kilometers)—about twice the area of Florida. Federal officials estimated prior to the sale that it could lead to the produc-

tion of up to 1.1 billion barrels of oil and 4.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Shell Offshore Inc., the largest leaseholder in the Gulf, said the 20 tracts on which it successfully bid $17.9 million could offer development opportunities near existing platforms or new areas.

“The need absolutely continues for continued competitive leases in the US Gulf of Mexico,” said Shell spokesperson Cindy Babski.

Chevron USA was the top bidder, offering almost $49 million for 34 tracts. BP Exploration and Production had $30 million in high bids on 46 tracts, and Anadarko US Offshore had almost $40 million in high bids—including the day’s highest bid, $10 million—on 30 tracts.

ExxonMobil bid nearly $15 million in two areas off the Texas shoreline in the northwest Gulf.

Those 94 tracts are in shallow water—less than 656 feet (200 meters) deep—where oil has mostly played out and there are few active leases. AP

Journey

»life on the go

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BusinessMirror

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Editor: Tet Andolong

Hail to the Chieftain T

Story & photos by Bernard L. Supetran

here is a lingering joke that the Lapu-Lapu, the Cebuano chieftain who first defied foreign incursion in the archipelago, is also the killer of the first recorded tourist—Ferdinand Magellan. With the yearlong national observance of the quincentennial of the epic Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation of the world, public spotlight has been focused on the historic Battle of Mactan.

Despite the scant information about the legendary warrior, suffice it to say that his exploits live in the charming city named after him— Lapu-Lapu City. Formerly known as Opon, this bustling urban center is monikered as the “Historic Resort City” because of the eclectic blend of history and tourism.

According to the City’s First Lady and Tourism Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (TCHAC) Cindi King Chan, Lapu-Lapu aims to be a global hub of heritage, culture, tourism and investment with the unprecedented growth it has been experiencing.

Often overshadowed by the more popular Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu is the aerial gateway to the province and where fun begins and concludes, with its world-class Mactan Cebu International Airport.

Just across the airport, you will immediately get the resort feel at the Waterfront Airport Hotel & Casino which gives you a glimpse of the Visayan hospitality with its artsy grand lobby and warm welcome of its personnel.

The 25-year-old, four-star establishment has been recognized

by Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards as among the Bucket List Worthy Places in the Philippines.

In recent pre-pandemic years, it also racked awards such as Asia’s Best Airport Hotel, and the country’s Best Business Hotel, Best City Hotel and Best Airport Hotel.

With comfy rooms, suites, poolside villas, Uno Restaurant, and the adjoining food outlets at the casino, guests need not travel far for the resort experience with delectable local and international dishes to boot. As the Alert Level gets downgraded, the hotel hopes to offer again its popular buffet and reopen its Ambassador’s Lounge which caters to guests in the executive floors.

For the outdoor resort experience, you can bask in the sand, sea, sun and water sports in the numerous posh resorts in the villages of Maribago, Marigondon and Punta Engano. Scuba diving is a must-do in these areas which boast of over a dozen of the most diverse and exciting sites in the central archipelago sought-after by international and domestic divers.

The plunge into the underwater world need not cost an arm and a leg if you seek diligently on dive operators who can give you a memorable dive at friendly rates.

Feel Deep Dive Resort is a quaint five-room bungalow which gives you a homey ambiance and kickass diving expedition at the Talima Fish Sanctuary, Marigondon Cave, Tambuli Wall, Kontiki house reef, and a couple of marine sanctuaries scattered around the Hilutungan Channel.

These sites are known for jawdropping coral walls and gardens, schools of assorted fish species, caves, a plane wreck, and a profusion

Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino

Marina Seaview

Talima Beach Villas in Olango Island.

of aquatic animals. And if it’s your lucky day, occasional whale sharks will cross your path.

Feel Deep managing partner Jimbo Sarte said more than a recreation, diving is also an environmental commitment as divers clean the seabed from trash every time they dive. This is on top of the annual massive International Coastal Cleanup Day held every September.

With its rich biodiversity, Mactan has been included in the yearlong Dive 7 Festival of the Department of Tourism Central Visayas Region to help restart the diving industry

Feel Deep House Reef Feel Deep Dive Center

stalled by the pandemic.

Olango, a small island 15 minutes away from Mactan, is an under-theradar destination in Cebu. While it lacks luxurious resorts, its unspoiled natural wonders are unparalleled luxuries you can enjoy unto yourself. The island is known for its Ramsar-recognized wetlands where migratory birds from the northern hemisphere flock to it during the winter months.

Olango also takes pride in its marine sanctuary which takes you to a 1-kilometer wooden boardwalk to a gazebo for light food, beverages and the clam-like “saang” foraged by

Kenny Rogers Roasters opens its first drive-thru restaurant in Antipolo City

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reat news for all the foodies in the Metro East and its neighboring cities! You can safely and conveniently order awesome and deliciously healthy meals from Kenny Rogers Roasters (www.kennyrogersroasters.com. ph), as it opens its first drive-thru restaurant at L. Sumulong Memorial Circle in Antipolo City.

“Kenny Rogers Roasters has always been committed to offer deliciously healthy meals to its customers in a safe and convenient manner, especially with the still ongoing pandemic. The firstever drive-thru in Antipolo City is one of the ways in ensuring we are providing all means possible for customers to get their Kenny Rogers favorites worry-free, safe, and convenient” said Lorent Adrias, Kenny Rogers Roasters’ marketing director. With drive-thru, guests can satisfy their deliciously healthy cravings in the comfort of their cars.

In addition, store was built with two container vans giving its unique finishes and modern touches. It is made from 40-foot and 20-foot container

vans for its two f loors. Its architecture and design maximize semi-open spaces so guests and patrons can feel Antipolo’s fresh breeze while enjoying the branch’s cozy interiors and refreshing exteriors.

For those who want to satisfy their pizza fix, a Corner Pizza kiosk is also available in the branch. Dine-in is available in the store’s second floor for guests who want to enjoy Antipolo ambiance while indulging to their Kenny Rogers Roasters favorites.

Also, Kenny Rogers Roasters brings luxury to the table with the new Truffle Roast. Unwrap a luxurious holiday celebration with Kenny Rogers Roasters’ new Truffle Roast! Indulge your palate with the extravagant and rich flavor of truffle in a roast, best paired with buttermilk sauce. An aroma and delicious taste that evoke sophistication makes each Truffle Roast the perfect meal this season.

The perfect centerpiece for your Holiday celebrations, Kenny’s Truffle Roast is infused with the distinct flavor and aroma of this prized delicacy. Soaked in

a flavorful marinade of truffle and buttermilk extracts, Kenny’s Truffle Roast is then roasted to perfection. Drops of truffle oil are added on the chicken just before serving to further enhance the rich truffle aroma of the roast. A gold foil wrapping encloses each Truffle Roast to keep the truffle scent and aroma, for an even more extravagant dining experience. Each Truffle Toast is served with the new and delicious buttermilk sauce for an even more savory taste.

Enjoy the flavor of this newest offering with friends and family. The Truffle Roast Group Meal is perfect for a group of four as it comes with 1 whole roast, four side dishes, four cups of rice, muffins, and a 1.5L Coke for P1,105.

For a truly indulgent meal, the Truffle Roast Solo B Plate comes with a quarter chicken, the new buttermilk sauce on the side, 2 side dishes, rice and muffin for P315.

Still want more? Here’s some good news for you! The Kenny Rogers Roasters’ signature mashed potatoes has been leveled up with the new Spinach Mashed Potato. Truly, the perfect side dish to the luscious flavor of Kenny’s Truffle Roast!

Kenny’s Truffle Roast is also available as an upgrade in other Kenny Rogers menu offerings.

You can now experience a luscious meal in all Kenny Rogers Roasters stores nationwide, available for dine-in, takeout, and delivery. Order these combos and get it delivered to your doorstep through web site: www.kennyrogersdelivery.com.ph, hotline: 8-555-9000, or via Grab Food and FoodPanda.

fisherfolk, and feeding and swimming with the fishes.

It is best to navigate the island on rented bicycles you can see the bucolic way of life on a slow pace.

And if you wish to spend the night, Sagastrand Resort and Talima Beach Villas are among the simple but notable places to chill out and watch the world go by.

Come chow time, Marina Seaview is the place to be or to be seen with family, friends and special guests.

Situated at the banks of the Mactan Channel just outside the airport, it more than qualifies as a hotel restaurant with its elegant furnishings,

ornate interiors, function rooms and mouth-watering specialty seafood and signature dishes.

It also has an al fresco area for people conscious of air flow and those who want a riverine ambiance.

Its bar offers the best spirits in town, music lounge and dining area which has a kaleidoscopic sunset panorama of the two Mactan-Mandaue bridges, mesmerizing harbor lights and passing ships.

With Lapu-Lapu’s rich history and exciting experiences across five centuries, we can definitely hail the chieftain and the city which immortalizes his memory.

Seda Hotels wins as ‘Philippines Leading Hotel Group’ in the World Travel Awards and ‘Employer of Choice’ in HRD Awards Asia 2021

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ctober 2021....Seda Hotels won as “Philippines’ Leading Hotel Group” for the eighth consecutive year in the World Travel Awards Asia, in addition to Seda Residences Makati bagging an independent trophy for “Philippines’ Leading Serviced Apartments.”

Seda Hotels was also honored with two awards from HRD Awards Asia—“Employer of Choice” and “Best Health and Wellness Program.”

The World Travel Awards is considered “The Oscars of the travel and tourism industry,” celebrating excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.

Running for just two years, HRD Awards Asia has been recognized as one of the region’s leading independent awards for the HR profession.

The “Employer of Choice” award recognizes the best organization to work for in Asia. Nominees are judged on leadership, engagement, communication and employee benefits. In its winning entry, Seda Hotels emphasized its determination to fulfill its obligations to all its stakeholders during the pandemic while remaining steadfast to its company values. The “Best in Health and Well-Being” Program award recog-

nized Seda Hotels’ excellence and innovation in workplace health and well-being programs and initiatives.

Seda Hotels is owned and operated by AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp. Its President and CEO, Javier Hernandez, says, “We dedicate these prestigious awards to all our employees who have kept our hotels operating seamlessly even under very challenging circumstances. The entire team remained focused and united throughout the pandemic, allowing the properties to rise to the challenge and emerge stronger and victorious despite the situation.”

Seda has 11 city hotels, resorts and serviced residences in 10 destinations throughout the Philippines. Its first hotel opened in late-2012 in BGC, Taguig and since then, its properties have received various recognitions for product and service excellence from various award-giving bodies, including online booking sites and restaurant guides, and pioneered innovations that resulted in elevating the customer experience. Seda hotels are located in Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Iloilo, Nuvali, Laguna, Makati, Quezon City, El Nido, Palawan and BGC, Taguig.

Science

BusinessMirror

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

World’s largest science film fest kicks off at 2021 NSTW

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different film festival will be witnessed this coming week. It is a festival of films about science that will be screened for free at this year’s National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) from November 22 to 28.

The Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute, together with the Goethe-Institut Philippines, will be presenting the 12th annual Science Film Festival.

Since 2005, the Science Film Festival has been celebrating science communication in Southeast Asia that is now the largest event of its kind in the world.

This year’s festivities include 35 science edutainment films. It will include topics ranging from cloud computing and biology to climatology and epidemiology, tied together by the theme, “Better Health Through Better Understanding.”

The festival looks back on the challenges and milestones the world has faced in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, that aimas to empower the viewers to take better care of themselves and the environment.

“Health and mental well-being are vital in the aftermath of the pandemic, with many Filipino youths

concerned about their and their family’s wellbeing,” said DOST-SEI Director Josette T. Biyo.

“We hope to reach out to them and empower them through this Festival, even while fulfilling our mandate to deliver quality STEM education to the people,” she added.

The Science Film Festival also offers supplemental hands-on activities, including experiments, projects and learning games to supplement the films, making for an enjoyable and multidisciplinal learning experience.

All 35 science edutainment films will be available for free online until December 3.

With his year’s theme, "Agham at Teknolohiya: Tugon sa Hamon ng Panahon,’’ the DOST pivoted amid the Covid-19 pandemic and found more ways than one to deliver its services to promote science, technology, and innovation.

True to its mandate, the DOST continues to serve by bringing science, technology, and innovation to our doorsteps with the virtual staging of the 2021 NSTW. For more details about the Science Film Festival and the available films, please visit goethe.de/ScienceFilmFestPh. S&T Media Services

Ethyl alcohol processing plant launched in Nueva Viscaya

Dr. Lori Shyane A. Busa

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AYOM B ONG , Nu e v a V i z c ay a— A nove l processi ng facility for development of ethyl alcohol—made from corn rice and other cops—in this province was launched recently, courtesy of the Department of Science and Technology Region 02 (DOST R02) and the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Science and Technology Center.

The project was pioneered by the Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU), led by Dr. Lori Shyane A. Busa. The facility is based inside the NVSU campus.

DOST R02 has provided P1-million to fund phase two of the project.

The facility will produce ethyl a lcohol f rom ag r ic u lt u ra l c rops like corn, rice and others. It is envisioned to initially provide the ethyl alcohol supply needs of hospitals and related institutions in

Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang the Region 2 provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Quir ino, Nueva Vizcaya and Batanes.

DOST R02 and NVSU also aim to encourage scientists and chemists in the region to participate in the alcohol production initiative.

DOST Undersecretar y for Research and Development, Dr. Rowena Guevara noted that the project could serve as a “ benchmark for scientists, researchers, and chemical engineers in higher education institutes and state universities and colleges for learning industrial-type processes and operations.”

Key DOST officials led by Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang, Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Carlos Padilla and NVSU Officer-in-charge Ruth Rana-Padilla and others attended the project’s formal launch. Hanz Mallillin/S&T PEN

PNRI team on carrageenan plant growth promoter wins Lingkod Bayan award

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he members of the Carrageenan Plant Growth Promoter (PGP) team of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute were among the regional winners in the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award as part of the Civil Service Commission 2020 Search for Outstanding Government Workers, the PNRI announced on its Facebook account.

The team includes PNRI Career Scientists Dr. Lucille Abad and Fernando Aurigue, and PNRI researchers Patrick Jay Cabalar and Francis Cyril Valdez.

A l so i n t he te a m w a s D r. Gi l

Magsino, the director of the National Crop Protection Center of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños.

The team is also among the semifinalists for the national level of the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award.

The radiation-processed Carrageenan PGP has been proven to increase rice yields by an average of 20 percent compared to that from average farmer practices.

It is also making the crops more resistant to blight and infestation caused by tungro virus, ultimately helping to increase the harvests in farmlands across the country.

Sunday

Sunday, November 21, 2021

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Studies: How farming, ecotourism can recover under the new normal?

Dr. Vachel Gay V. Paller

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arming and ecotourism—how will they fare under the new normal?

The recent Sixth National R&D Conference (NRDC) discussed online the issues on food risk and safety, and the impacts of the pandemic on 10 ecotourism sites.

With the theme, "Pananaliksik at Pagpapaunlad: Daan Tungo sa Pagbangon [Road to Recovery through R&D]," NRDC’s featured programs and technologies are in support of the government’s whole-of-nation approach to recovery from the pandemic. The conference was led by the Office of the Undersecretary for R&D of the Department of Science and Technology.

The two research projects that were presented during the first day of the NRDC were led by members of the National Research Council of the Philippines, the NRCP said in its news release.

Dr. Vachel Gay V. Paller, a member of NRCP's Division of Biological Sciences, presented the results of her research program on FRESH FARMS Project (Food Risk and Safety Analysis in Agricultural Farms toward Improvement of Control Strategies for Food Safety).

FRESH FARMS provide sciencebased evidence on the need to address issues concerning farming practices that pose threats to the health of farmers and consumers.

According to the study, to prevent possible adverse consequences to public health, it is highly recommended

Dr. Belinda F. Espiritu that proactive steps and measures are implemented as the food supply web has become more extensive in the past recent years.

The study aimed at addressing issues on food contamination, particularly on pathogens and heavy metal contamination of fresh produce. It intended to extend its impact on farm management strategies and marketability of fresh produce improvements, and food safety and public health promotions.

When asked about her plans for the research results to be adopted by many Filipinos, Paller said that good farming practices is very important because it contributes to parasite and microbial transmission.

She added that capacity building in the agricultural sector is also essential.

Paller noted that a laboratory is being built in the University of the Philippines Los Baños to help facilitate and contribute to trace back food contamination to prevent possible outbreak, “[W]e hope we can have systematic traceability,” she added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Belinda F. Espiritu, a member of Division of Social Sciences of NRCP, presented the results on her research on "Impacts, Lessons Learned, and Ways to go in 10 Ecotourism Sites in the Philippines [Ecotourism in the Time of Covid-19 Pandemic]."

Espiritu noted the high contribution of the tourism industry to the

country’s GDP with continuous surge in four straight years from 2016 to 2019, according to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

But Covid-19 severely disrupted the global economy with international travel bans affecting over 90 percent of the world population and widespread restrictions in public gatherings and community mobility, with tourism largely ceased since March last year.

Espiritu’s study sought to find out the impact and lessons learned from the pandemic and ways to go in these 10 ecotourism sites.

They are, from Luzon: Costales Nature Farms, Masungi Geoserve, Pawikan Conservation Center, Donsol Whale Shark Tourism, and Ilagan Sanctuary.

From Visayas: Taklong Island National Marine Reserve and Danao Adventure Park.

From Mindanao: Philippine Eagle Center, Enchanted River, and Lake Sebu.

According to Espiritu, Covid-19 led the cessation of ecotourism operations for some months, resulting in a tremendous loss of income and livelihood, not just for the ecotourism management and staff but also for the tourism-related enterprises.

Another finding was that it showed the resilience in the people's resorting to urban and rural agriculture, planting of ornamental plants for sale, development of entrepreneurship, being creative in making saleable items, and

learning other livelihood skills.

The research also found out that the pandemic provided "rest" for the environment and bioecology, which flourished without human disturbance.

However, there is a constant need for vigilance against the threat of illegal logging and encroachment in protected areas.

Meanwhile, tourism officers realized the lack of a contingency plan in unexpected crises like Covid-19, specifically in having alternative livelihood for the staff and other stakeholders.

There is also a need to be more environment-friendly because people go back to natural resources for their needs in times of global crisis.

Based on the research results, Espiritu recommended that the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) livelihood project and funds should be able to reach the farthest ecotourism sites in the country and lend assistance to tourism-related establishments in coordination with Regional DOT offices.

In addition, rebooting tourism would mean restarting it with focus on sustainability.

Espiritu said that there should be periodic rest of ecotourism sites.

At the same time, she recommended that to regain tourist confidence in traveling, local government units should encourage local tourism and travel bubbles between cities, provinces or countries with managed Covid-19 cases, The NRCP said.

DOST head receives Gawad Hen. Gregorio H. del Pilar plum

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cience Secretar y Fortunato T. de la Peña was recognized in his hometow n in Bulacan w ith a high distinction bestow ing on him the “Gawad Hen. Gregorio H. del Pilar 2021.”

De la Peña received the recognition from the municipality of Bulakan in Bulacan prov ince for his exceptional contribution in cience and technolog y.

The recognition, written in Filipino, further said that his achievements made him a popular son of Bulakan because of the expertise that he exhibited not only in the province but in the whole country as well.

In his response, the head of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said the recognition is an honor that will push him more in his pursuit and dedication to serve the country.

The awarding ceremony was held at the Plaza del Pilar in Bulakan on November 14, which coincides with the Catorce de Noviembre Festival that celebrated the 146th birth anniversary of del Pilar.

Bulakan Mayor Vergel C. Meneses signed the plaque of recognition.

Gracing the occasion were Bulacan officials, including del Pilar’s grandson who is the current Bulakan Vice Mayor Jill Navarro, Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando, former governor Wilhelmino Alvarado, First District Board Members Bernardo Ople Jr. and Romina D. Fermin, among others.

Del Pilar was know n as the “Boy General ” being the youngest general in the Philippine Revolutionar y A rmy during the PhilippineA merican War. He was known for the successful assault on the Spanish barracks in the municipality of Paombong, Bulacan, and at his last stand at the Battle of Tirad Pass during the Philippine-American War.

Management and Industrial Engineers of the Philippines. He also headed the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation, and NEC Foundation.

Engineering professor

Bulakan Mayor Vergel C. Meneses presents to Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña the plaque of recognition conferring on him the “Gawad Hen. Gregorio H. del Pilar 2021“ on November 14. Enrico Belga photo

More than 30 years at DOST

De la Peña has been the secretary of the DOST since 2016.

Prior to this, the industrial engineer and professor was the undersecretary for Science and Technology Services from 2001 to 2014.

He has been with the department about 37 years, since 1982, except for his brief retirement from 2014 to early 2016.

He was head of its Planning Service from 1982 to 1984 and was appointed as the director of Technology Application and Promotion Institute from 1989 to 1991.

He was credited in leading the creation and implementation of several government programs, such as the Technology Business Incubation program and the Manufacturing Productivity Extension program which have been supporting small enterprises since 1991.

In 2001, de la Peña assumed the post of Undersecretary for Scientific and Technological Services of the DOST, and became the longest

serving president of the National Research Council of the Philippines from 2002 to 2007.

During his 13 years as DOST undersecretary, he implemented several key information technolog y and e-commerce programs, such as the e-Government Program and the Philippine e-Library Project for which he received the highest civil service award in 2005.

De la Peña served in the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering as executive director in 2008.

He also organized the National Innovation Network, popularly known as Filipinnovation, and served as its co-chairman in 2008. In 2011, he was elected chairman of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development.

He likewise has also served as the president of the Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology; as president of the Philippine Institute for Chemical Engineers; and the Association of

A Career Executive Service Officer Rank I, the highest level in the career service of the Civil Service Commission of the Philippines, de la Peña began work in the DOST at about the same time he was a part-time professor at University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, where he served in various positions.

He joined the faculty of the UP College of Engineering in 1978 as research assistant, and rose up the ranks.

He chaired its Depar tment of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research unti l 1988 when he became a f u l l-time Industr ia l Eng ineer ing professor.

He was appointed as director of UP’s Institute for Small Scale Industries in 1992, and as vice president for planning and development of the entire University of the Philippines System by 1993. He served in those capacities until 2001 and 1999 respectively.

UP recognized him for his distinguished career with an Outstanding Achievement Award in 1999.

De la Peña was a tr ustee of UP E n g i ne e r i n g R e s e a rc h a nd D e velopment Found at ion and a lso s e r v e d a s pre s id e nt of t he U P A lumni Eng ineers.

He world earlier at a pr ivate company as operations engineer with ESSO Philippines.

De la Peña is married to Mariquit Banzon, with whom he has five children—Margarita, a medical doctor; Emil, a veterinary doctor; Fortunato Jr., an assistant professor of industrial design; Miguel, an artist and entrepreneur; and Federico, an engineering geologist. Lyn B. Resurreccion

Faith Sunday, November 21, 2021

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Sunday

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

PHL families to be consecrated to St. Joseph on Dec. 8 T

he Catholic Church in the Philippines w ill entr ust families to St. Joseph on December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that consecrating the families to St. Joseph “is an act of entrustment to his fatherly care, protection, and guidance.”

“The goal of this consecration is to imitate St. Joseph’s virtue, example and closeness with Christ,” the CBCP said in a circular issued on November 8.

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, who by that time will be the CBCP president, will lead the praying of the rosary and the act of consecration at the San Roque Cathedral in Caloocan City.

All bishops of the country are

expected to join the event online with the clergy, religious and families from their homes.

In a circular issued on November 8, the episcopal conference also suggested that a Eucharistic celebration be done after the national consecration.

T he celebration w ill be livestreamed through the Facebook pages of CBCP News, Radio Veritas, TV Maria and other Catholic socialmedia platforms.

Diocesan or parish consecration could also be made especially for those that could not follow the national consecration.

The day will also be the closing of the “Year of St. Joseph,” which began on December 8, 2020, in honor of the saint’s proclamation as patron of the Universal Church.

On May 1 this year, the feast of

An image of St. Joseph at the Vatican Museum. VATICAN NEWS via CBCP News

St. Joseph the Worker, the bishops also consecrated the nation under the patronage of Jesus’ foster father.

‘Men of St. Joseph’ movement to be launched At the same time, a movement of

Catholic men formed to spread the devotion St. Joseph will be launched in all parishes across the country next month.

The CBCP gave its blessing to launch on December 8 the Men of St. Joseph-Philippines (MOSJ-P),

Many scientists are atheists–but are not anti-religious

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istrust of atheists is strong in the United States.

The General Social Survey consistently demonstrates that as a group, Americans dislike atheists more than any other religious group.

According to various studies, nearly half of the country would disapprove of their child marrying an atheist, some 40 percent of the public does not believe atheists share their view of American society, and only 60 percent of Americans would be willing to vote for an atheist in a presidential election.

There is one field, however, where atheism is often assumed: science.

People often view scientists as “Godless.”

Some of these views may be a result of people hearing more from vocal atheist scientists, such as evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, neuroscientist Sam Harris and others who are at the vanguard of a movement known as “new atheism.”

New atheists are not simply scientists who are convinced there is no God or gods. They couple their irreligion with an aggressive critique of religious belief as a threat to societal well-being.

These scientists espouse a frequently derisive rhetoric on religion and the religious public.

Dawkins, for example, has argued that religion is a form of “mental illness” and one of the world’s “great evils” comparable to smallpox.

But such strident attitudes may not be representative of scientists in general.

A recent research study we conducted reveals that most atheist scientists in the US and UK are not anti-religious.

The real story of atheism in science Drawing on quantitative surveys with 1,293 scientists who identified

Socrates (in bust image) was accused

by Meletus, in Plato’s Apology, of not believing in the gods. Wikimedia Commons

as atheists, 81 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted from 2013 through 2016, and context material collected since then, we found that scientists’ views of religion are much more diverse than the image conveyed by new atheists.

Each of the scientists in our study selected the statement “I do not believe in God” when asked about their views of God—and selected this choice over options including agnosticism, the view that the existence of God or the divine is unknowable.

As sociologists, we view religion as multidimensional—consisting of beliefs, practices, traditions and identities—and seek to understand such dimensions in the lives of atheist scientists and their views of religion.

One of our main findings is that most atheist scientists do not want to be aligned with rhetoric that condemns religious people. Although we did not specifically ask about Dawkins in interviews, scientists often brought him up.

As one biologist that we interviewed in the UK said of him: “Well, he has gone on a crusade, basically… I think that [religion] is an easy target, and I think that he’s rather insensitive and hectoring.”

Even atheist scientists who harbored occasional negative views of religion expressed concerns that such rhetoric is bad for science.

Not only are many atheist scientists not hostile to religion, but some think religion can also be “beneficial” to society.

In the words of one of our respondents, “you can see the benefits of going to church.”

Many, for example, discussed the sense of community one finds in churches. Others emphasized religious attendance as a force of good, encouraging people to act more charitably.

Indeed in the US, 29 percent of atheist scientists also say they are culturally religious. That is, despite their lack of belief in God, they routinely interact with religious individuals or organizations, such as having a religious spouse, sending their children to a religious school, or attending services themselves.

As one atheist biologist told us: “I enjoy going to church for the suspension of disbelief, for the theatrical experience, for reading, for the liturgy, for the magnificent stories and the mythic quality of those stories, which is intensely spiritual. That’s a real experience.”

Atheist scientists and the religious We also found that atheist scientists and persons of faith have more in common than most people may think, such as the experience of awe and wonder.

Whereas many religious individuals experience spirituality through

their faith, some atheist scientists speak of their work with similar notions of awe and wonder.

These scientists talk about “intangible realities that imbue wonder, motivate their work and are beyond observation”—realities that they call spirituality.

As sociologists Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis and Douglas Hartmann explain, when asked about atheists on surveys, Americans are most likely imagining a theoretical person who rejects the idea of God, rather than thinking about an actual atheist they may have encountered.

Indeed, in an ideologically segregated society such as the US, religious and nonreligious individuals may not interact in ways that would actually inform their perspectives of one another.

As a result, religious and nonreligious individuals’ views of one another are heavily reliant on stereotypes of each group.

Consequently, when people think about atheist scientists, it is all too easy to imagine the picture painted based on those presented in the public sphere, such as Dawkins and others, in the absence of one who inhabits their community.

What is more, it is difficult to know an atheist when you see one, especially if they are sitting down the pew from you in church, as our research indicates they might.

In an era where our lives literally depend on trust in the scientific community, telling the truth about who atheist scientists are through research on them, rather than allowing them to be represented by the loudest atheist scientist voices, is consequential.

Elaine Howard Ecklund, Rice University, and David R. Johnson, Georgia State University/The Conversation (CC)

Sikhs arrive in Pakistan for annual religious fests

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housands of Sikh pilgrims have arrived in Pakistan for an annual commemoration of the birth of their religion’s founder, officials said on Wednesday.

Two main border crossings from India— at Wagah and Kartarpur—were reopened for the festivities, after being closed due to coronavirus restrictions for two years.

The week-long celebrations mark 552 years since the birth of Guru Nanak, who settled in today’s Pakistan. His shrine is also in Pakistan, and visible from across the border in India.

Sikhs are a tiny minority in Muslimmajority Pakistan, although many of their religious sites remain there.

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations, having fought several wars since independence. AP

Indian Sikh pilgrims wave to journalists while entering Pakistan through the Wagah border crossing point, near Lahore, Pakistan, on November 17. AP/K.M. Chaudary

an association of men “committed to Jesus and consecrated to St. Joseph.”

The institution of the lay association is the Philippine Church’s response to Pope Francis’ apostolic letter “Patris Corde,” encouraging the faithful to ref lect upon the role of Jesus’ foster father “in caring and loving our Savior with the Father’s heart.”

Among its objectives include the promotion of the devotion to St. Joseph, the imitation of his virtues, and to provide opportunities, which foster growth in human character, holiness and Christian fatherhood in the family and in the community, following the qualities of St. Joseph.

The movement also seeks to sanctif y work and promote the dignity of labor in society and

to ser ve the needs of the Church and society through corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

The priests of the Oblates of St. Joseph will serve as the propagator and spiritual guide of the new association.

The Ad-hoc Committee on the Year of St. Joseph said the movement is open to all Catholic men “who are willing to learn and commit themselves to practice the virtues of St. Joseph.”

“Any man of at least 18 years of age, a Catholic who is willing to learn and commit himself to practice the virtues of St. Joseph, may become a member of the association,” it said.

The launching will also coincide with the National Consecration of Families to St. Joseph and the closing of the Year of St. Joseph. CBCP News

Filipinos to benefit from expanded education program of BYU-Hawaii

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ilipinos are being extended the Lord’s promised blessings of education through the newly announced expanded educational options,” said Joenee C. Briones, International Area manager of Brigham Young University (BYU)-Pathway Worldwide.

Briones’s statement came in response to the BYU-Hawaii Pathway Track program, the recent partnership program of BYU-Hawaii (BYUH) and BYU-Pathway Worldwide which aims to expand educational opportunities for people in the Philippines, Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, BYUH and BYU-Pathway announced on November 8 that effective immediately, students who have completed either BYU-Pathway’s foundational PathwayConnect curriculum and/ or a certificate or associate degree will receive priority consideration for admission to BYU-Hawaii, the Church said in its web site.

Briones explained that with the unique offering of a balanced academic and spiritual learning, “our students can expect to earn quality education while becoming disciple leaders of Jesus Christ.”

He added: “The Lord is building spiritual and temporal self-reliance among the Filipino people. This is what is in store for them, and it could not have come at a more opportune time.”

To streamline information for the new program, BYUH has launched the BYU-Hawaii Pathway Track Program Landing Page to help interested applicants learn more.

For specific concerns and quest ions, BY UH has a lso created the BYU-Hawaii Pathway Track Program Web Form, where students can submit their queries.

For Andrea Panerio from Iligan 2nd Ward (congregation), the track program became an answer to her prayers.

She shared: “Since 2015, it has always been my dream to earn a psychology degree at BYU-Hawaii.

With this announcement, I am a step closer to realizing the fulfillment of that dream!”

Recently, BYU-Pathway also announced the Heber J. Grant scholarship, which offers students enrolled in the foundational PathwayConnect program a 10-percent, 25-percent or 50-percent tuition discount based upon a student’s need.

Jun-jun Lopez, a BYU-Pathway graduate, expressed appreciation for the Church’s efforts to help provide greater educational opportunities for everyone.

He s a id , “ T h i s i s g re at ne w s es p e c i a l ly for t hose who desi re to get a go o d e duc at ion at a n a f ford a ble pr ice.”

A Filipino BYU graduate takes a photo with the Philippine flag in the background.

Churchofjesuschrist.org

Speaking of the BYU-Hawaii Pathway Track Program, Elder Joves, a young church service missionary, shared, “I loved the educational approach used in the Pathway program-it was a balance of secular and spiritual learning. After graduating from Pathway, however, my plans to pursue my education in BYU-Idaho back then were put to a pause because they didn’t offer the degree I wanted. But thanks to this partnership between BYUH and Pathway, I can finally move forward with my goals and earn the degree I want!”

BYU-Pathway is projecting a 30-percent increase in enrollment with its new scholarship offerings and partnership with BYUH. With the new developments in the program, Joenee added, “It will be exciting to see the outcome in enrollment with the BYUH partnership this coming 2022 January semester, especially with all the media outreach. “

BYU-Pathway Worldwide The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emphasizes the importance of continued secular and spiritual education. The Church Educational System (CES) is the umbrella for all education programs of the Church.

BYU-Pathway Worldwide is responsible for all online certificate and degree programs offered by the CES. It provides access to spiritually based degrees at an affordable price.

Its mission is to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their homes, the Church, and their communities.

As of 2020, BYU-Pathway Worldwide has served more than 50,000 students in 152 countries. Certificates and degrees are offered in partnership with BYU-Idaho and, beginning in 2021, Ensign College.

BYU-Pathway Worldwide was officially approved by the Church Board of Education to open in the Philippines in 2016 and launched in the 2016 September semester, the Church’s web site said.

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

A7

Amid the pandemic

Are ecotourism sites ready to accept visitors?

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

E

nvironment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu recently highlighted local ecotourism sites, particularly in the country’s protected areas, which can be an alternative to the “dolomite beach” on Roxas Boulevard, Manila, for rest and relaxation.

Taking the cue from this policy pronouncement, the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) will hold an online workshop to identify the protected areas that are now ready to accept visitors.

Due to the spread of the Covid-19 disease and subsequent imposition of community quarantines across the country, all 240 protected areas in various parts of the country were ordered closed since March 2020.

With this latest policy pronouncement from the country’s chief steward of the environment and natural resources, the question the begged to be answered is: Are our protected areas ready to resume operations amid the pandemic?

Alternative ecotourism sites

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) chief said there are many ecotourism sites in nearby provinces waiting to be explored, encouraging those living outside Metro Manila to visit them instead of the dolomite beach.

A portion of the Manila Bay coastal area was covered with crushed dolomite from Cebu in 2020, thus, the monicker “dolomite beach,” allegedly for beach nourishment. The DENR said it is part of an integrated coastal zone management of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation project.

Cimatu said there are equally captivating ecotourism sites in protected areas that were established under the National Integrated Protected Areas System through Republic Act (RA) 7586, as amended by RA 11038, or the Expanded NIPAS Act of 2018.

However, he reiterated that like

the dolomite beach, these areas are covered by existing quarantine rules and that “health protocols must be observed while visiting these sites to ensure the safety of the visitors while enjoying the tours.”

Health protocols

“Those visiting PAs should expect to undergo the screening process and adhere to existing Covid-19 safety guidelines,” Cimatu said in an online news conference on November 11.

He said the rules and regulations issued by the concerned local government units for the safety of the tourists are also implemented in ecotourism sites within the PAs. Nevertheless, with the relaxing of community quarantine status in many areas, Cimatu said prospective travelers have “a vast array of places to choose from” for their pleasure and enjoyment.

Ecotourism, video contest

In September and October 2021, the DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), United Nations Development Fund-Biodiversity Finance Initiative (Biofin) and the Department of Tourism held a three-part webinar series dubbed “Ecotourism in Protected Areas: Towards Green Recovery.”

The webinar discussed the impacts of the global pandemic on ecotourism, lessons on post-pandemic ecotourism recovery strategies, and how to encourage the participants to be responsible travelers.

Newly designated DENR-BMB Director Datu Tungko Saikol also invited the public to join the “Virtual Travels to Protected Areas,” a video contest for travelers of legal age and residing in the Philippines, as a way of promoting the country’s local ecotourism sites.

The contest aims to generate content featuring the country’s PAs. The deadline for submission of entries is on November 30.

“After two years of being confined in the comfort of our homes and

Zobel de Ayala: We must work together against climate change

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

A

prominent Philippine business leader recently pointed out that working in unison is the key to fight the challenges of climate change.

“We must work together and handin-hand. We cannot do it alone,” Ayala Corp. Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said in the roundtable on “Advancing Sustainability from Concept to Scale” organized by the Milken Institute on November 16.

The Harvard-educated Zobel de Ayala said there is a big need for concentration on the Ayala group to reach its net-zero journey target by 2050.

On October 20, Ayala President and Chief Executive Officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala announced that the country’s oldest business house is committed to net-zero greenhouse gases by 2050.

Ayala said the net zero target will contain three phases: Scope 1, direct emissions from owned or controlled sources; Scope 2, indirect emissions from the generation of purchased power; and Scope 3, all other indirect emissions in the value chain.

In the forum, the Ayala Corp. chairman said the company is working with global climate solutions provider South Pole, which will help the conglomerate craft a roadmap and quantify their measures.

“It would be difficult to bring us from point A to point B,” he said.

He admitted that phasing out the thermal units will take a considerable time. Moreover, he said transforming mechanisms, such as financing, will have to be set in place to assist companies toward a green shift.

Ayala’s 360º Sustainability Frame-

work embod ies t he cong lomer ate’s sustainability philosophy as a business group.

The framework was developed by studying the corporation’s impacts on the environment, society, and economy amid global, national, and local sustainability challenges.

Zobel de Ayala also expressed confidence in the growth of renewables as it will be scalable in a given time.

“Battery technology as a holder will continue to increase in sophistication and capacity,” he said.

Moreover, Zobel de Ayala said there has to be more discussion on the transitioning to renewables to prepare the people and the country.

Besides financial mechanisms, biodiversity and cooperation, he said the recently concluded 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, pointed out the importance of partnership.

Zobel de Ayala said the global issues and other pain points tackled in COP26 were addressed by corporations.

In the Philippines, he said Covid-19 forced the private sector to work together with the government.

He added that the sophistication acquired by capitalism was a big factor to help the government in tackling challenges of the pandemic.

The forum’s moderator was Su Shan Tan, managing director and group head of Institutional Banking od DBS. The other speakers were Maurizio Brusadelli, executive vice president and president of Asia, Middle East and Africa of Mondelēz International; Gianfranco Casati, CEO of Growth Markets, Accenture; and Pier Luigi Sigismondi, president, Food and Beverages Group of Dole Sunshine Co.

The long beach of Oyon Bay in Masinloc, Zambales, is awaiting the go signal of the local government unit to start accepting visitors. DENR Central Luzon photo localities, we can take this opportunity to explore nearby protected areas and capture their beauty and values through videos,” Saikol said in a news statement.

natural parks and protected areas could also be the key in mitigating the impacts of disease outbreaks, and more importantly, even preventing them,” she said.

Lim said that the Covid-19 pandemic reminded us that many of these wildlife species could be natural virus reservoirs. “ W hen their habitats are encroached on or destroyed, these reservoir species are driven toward human settlements, increasing the risk of virus transmission to domestic animals and, eventually, to humans,” she explained.

“Conservation efforts at the ecosystem level are our best solutions to preventing future disease outbreaks as they can decrease habitat loss and keep the wildlife species and their inherent viruses in the safety of their natural habitats,” Lim added.

Taking the cue from Cimatu’s call for the public to visit ecotourism sites, Saikol said the DENR-BMB is planning to organize an “Online Assessment Workshop on the Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic to Ecotourism Development Program in PAs” from November 23 to 25.

To be participated in by key staff from DENR regional offices and protected area superintendents of selected protected areas, the online webinar aims to come up with an updated list of the status of all PAs in the country.

The DENR-BMB director wants to know which PAs are already open or still closed, including a more detailed information about the impacts of the pandemic to ecotourism in PAs.

Biodiversity (ACB) came up with a report titled, “Protected Areas and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Impacts, Responses and Recovery,” that highlighted the protected areas, the communities living around these areas, and how the pandemic affected their socioeconomic conditions.

There are currently 2,652 PAs in Southeast Asia, covering an accumulated total of more than 800,000 square kilometres in the region. Of these, 49 are designated as Asean Heritage Parks (AHPs).

ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim, in her recent talk, highlighted the result of the Aseanwide survey on selected AHPs, which are considered as the cream of the crop of PAs in Southeast Asia.

Lim said that establishing and effectively managing protected areas is regarded as the most effective tool in ensuring the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.

The results of the survey for 27 PA managers across Southeast Asia indicate that a number of PAs observed a decrease in illegal activities during the period.

There was a drop in poaching (seven PAs), illegal logging (four PAs) and illegal harvesting and collection of wildlife and forest products (10 PAs).

Meanwhile, 12 PAs reported that the lockdowns and restriction of movements had no impact on illegal activities in their area.

However, due to the community quarantines or lockdowns, enforcement were also affected.

Of those surveyed, 51.9 percent said the enforcement of field personnel tasked to patrol the PAs was restricted by the lockdown, while or 48.1 percent said the lockdown had no effect.

Key to mitigating diseases

Ecotourism and income loss

Last year, the Asean Centre for

“Mor e than their breathta k ing views and the valuable ecosystem services that they provide, these

On tourism, 20 PAs, or 76.9 percent, were closed to all tourists and visitors during the lockdown.

Nationwide assessment

Impact of protected areas in Southeast Asia

Impacts of lockdowns

T hree respondents, or 11.5 percent, said portions of the protected areas were closed to tourists and visitors, resulting in income loss to affected PAs. A total of 17 PA managers, or 62 percent, said their areas incurred income losses due to the closure of protected areas.

Thailand’s Hat Chao Mai National Park, for instance, was estimated to have lost 900,000 Baht ($29,000) in tourism revenues as of March 25, 2020.

Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, meanwhile, reported an estimated loss of P27,000 ($539) as of April 30, 2020, while Malaysia’s Gunung Mulu National Park said about 400,000 MYR ($93,590) was the estimated value of foregone earnings due the Covid-19 pandemic.

ACB support to PAs According to the ACB report, the main concern observed is the loss of income in the areas where tourism is a source of revenue of the AHPs and PAs, as well as of the communities in the area.

“Most parks need to look into preparation in order to put in place new measures, such as physical distancing, limiting the number of visitors and disinfecting once they open for tourism,” the ACB noted.

In reopening PAs to visitors, the ACB pointed out that park management also needs support for the possibility of future outbreaks—not just on the aspect of health and safety of staff and visitors, but also on alternative livelihoods for communities that are dependent on tourism for income.

“The lack of human disturbance in the PAs has increased wildlife encounters and to some extent, reduced illegal activities. The AMS, with support from the ACB, may want to look into these needs to support the AHPs and PAs in the immediate future,” the report added.

Asean groups highlight solutions to reduce plastic waste in rivers, coasts ‘A

rou nd 11 m i l l ion tons of plastic enter our oceans yearly. This is equivalent to an entire garbage truck’s worth of plastic every minute,” said World Wide Fund for Nature Global Plastics Policy Coordinator Huy Ho during a webinar on “Replicable models on marine plastic pollution monitoring” early this month.

“The economic damage of plastic to Earth’s marine ecosystems is estimated at $13 billion, severely affecting 1,500 species,” Ho added.

Organized by the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia Resource Facility under the Asean-Norwegian Cooperation Project on Local Capacity Building for Reducing Plastic Pollution in the Asean Region (Aseano), the event highlighted regional efforts to stem the flow of plastic waste into the oceans, a Pemsea news release said.

“One of the main challenges for Asian countries is the prevalence of t ing i [sac het] c u lt u re, where people prefer to buy small, disposable goodie sachets instead of buying in bulk,” explained Dr. Edw in Lineses of De La Salle University Dasmariñas, Philippines.

A 2004 study by Prahalad explained how sachets enabled the global poor to procure goods that well-off people consume, albeit in smaller amounts.

This practice has spurred millions of tons of single use plastics that are choking Asia’s rivers and coasts. The global Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem.

An intermediate egret and smaller Chinese egrets pick through a multihued garbage along the shores of Manila Bay, still among the most polluted bodies of water on Earth. Gregg Yan photo “In 2020, the Philippines alone was using an estimated 49 million disposable face masks daily,” Lineses added.

The Aseano project aims to develop and promote sound and sustainable measures to reduce the impacts of plastic pollution and their implications on socioeconomic development and the environment.

The project focuses on the city or municipal level, with Cavite’s Imus River and Indonesia’s Citarum River as project sites.

One of Cavite’s six major river systems, the Imus River, originates in the highlands of Tagaytay and wends through the cities of Dasmariñas, Imus and Bacoor before emptying its contents into Manila Bay. “Cavite alone generates well over

a thousand tons of solid waste daily,” said Anabelle Cayabyab, Cavite Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer.

“What we need is to change the attitude of people in both generating and managing their solid waste because they think the government will always clean up after them. There is no magic solution. We need everyone’s cooperation,” Cayabyab pointed out.

The webinar’s experts highlighted the dangers of marine pollution, particularly buoys and nets from the fishing and aquaculture industries.

“Ghost nets abandoned by fishing fleets kill marine life, which is why fishing vessels should register their nets upon purchase,” recommended Oceans Asia Operations Director Gary

Stokes. “We need more accountability from the fishing industry.”

Norwegian Institute for Water Research’s (Niva) Dr. Marianne Olsen highlighted the need to harmonize and standardize sampling, monitoring and reporting systems to get a clearer view of how much plastic flows into our oceans.

Funded by the Norwegian Development Program to Combat Marine Litter and Microplastics, Aseano is led

by Niva and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies Indonesia in close collaboration with the Pemsea Resource Facility and Asean Secretariat under the purview of the Asean Working Group on Coastal and Marine Environment.

The results of the project will be synthesized into a local government training manual, toolkit and best practices handbook of policy, monitoring tools, and technologies for plastics management that can be used as a reference by local government units in Southeast Asia.

The webinar is a run-up to the upcoming East Asian Seas Congress on December 1 and 2.

“We must step up the monitoring of riverine and marine plastic litter to make informed and effective decisions,” said Ekkaphab Phanthavong, deputy secretary-general of Asean Socio-Cultural Community.

“This event promotes solutions for healthier rivers and coasts in the Asean, which is vital because millions of people depend on them for their lives and livelihoods,” he pointed out.

LEWIS HAMILTON has spoken out on human rights issues before and played a role in the release of a political prisoner earlier this year. AP

F

ORMULA One is “duty bound” to raise awareness of human-rights issues as the series closes its season in the Middle East, seventime world champion Lewis Hamilton said Thursday.

F1 concludes its season with its inaugural races in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, followed by the season finale in Abu Dhabi, where the series has raced since 2009. F1 has raced in Bahrain since 2004 and now has four stops in the Middle East on its calendar.

Hamilton has spoken out on human-rights issues before and played a role in the release of a political prisoner earlier this year.

“There are issues in these places that we’re going to, as there are around the world, but of course [the Middle East] seems to be deemed as the worst in this part of the world,” Hamilton said ahead of Sunday’s race, the first in a 10-year deal between F1 and Qatar.

“I do think as these sports go to these places, they’re duty bound to raise awareness for these issues and [that] these places need scrutiny, need the media to speak.”

Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been accused of “sportswashing” their human-rights records by using high-profile sporting events to project a favorable image of the countries.

Qatar hosts the World Cup next year.

“Equal rights is a serious issue,” Hamilton said. “They are trying to make steps. It can’t change overnight. I heard there are things like a new reform with the ‘kafala’ system that was [still] in place a couple of years ago.

“There’s a long way to go. I just feel that if we are coming to these places, we need to be raising the profile of the situation. I think we can still bring a spotlight to it and create that scrutiny and that pressure that could hopefully create change.”

Governments in the region did not immediately respond to The Associated Press regarding Hamilton’s comments.

Hamilton last year received personally addressed letters from three alleged Bahraini

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 | S

unday, November 21, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

HAMILTON RALLIES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

torture survivors as well as a hand-drawn photo of his Mercedes car from the young son of a Bahraini man on death row. The drawing was shown exclusively to AP. Hamilton said at last year’s race in Bahrain that human rights was “a massive problem” in some of the countries F1 visits and “as a sport we need to do more.”

Najah Yusuf, one of the three prisoners who wrote to Hamilton, in September was reunited with her 18-year-old son Kameel Juma after he was released from prison in Bahrain. He had been imprisoned and allegedly tortured since December 2019 in what Amnesty International deemed a “reprisal against his mother.”

His mother had spent over two years in prison for criticizing the Bahrain F1 race on social media.

The AP had asked Hamilton about Yusuf and other torture victims who wrote to him last season and AP’s reporting played a role in Yusuf’s son’s release, according to Sayed Ahmed AlWadaei from the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy.

The institute noted that concerns about human rights remain a priority. In an e-mail to the AP on Thursday, the institute raised the plight of Abdulajlil AlSingace, the former head of mechanical engineering at the University of Bahrain who has entered a 134th day of hunger strike in protest of “prison authorities’ confiscation of his apolitical handwritten manuscript on Bahraini dialects.”

Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas on Thursday were the only two drivers out of the 20 on the F1 grid to directly address human-rights issues in the region.

“I agree that there is plenty of work to do to raise awareness of situations around the world. I am definitely supporting that,” Bottas said. “I think we are trying to show as a sport that we are really equal and that it is possible.”

Attention has been given to humanrights issues beyond F1, and on Thursday the Danish Football Association

told BBC Sport that Denmark will put “extra pressure” on Fifa over human-rights concerns ahead of the Qatar World Cup. Denmark’s sponsors will withdraw their logos from training uniforms, BBC Sport reported, to make space for messages critical of Qatar. Commercial partners will also not travel to the World Cup. Soccer fans from German giant Bayern Munich urged the club to cut ties with Qatar’s national airline. Amnesty International also released a report in August accusing Qatari officials of doing little to investigate thousands of young migrant workers’ deaths in the country over the past decade, which includes preparations for the World Cup. Human-rights activists denounced Fifa President Gianni Infantino’s appearance in a promotional video for the Saudi Arabian government in which he said the kingdom has made important changes. Premier League soccer club Newcastle has also faced heavy scrutiny recently for its Saudi ownership.

Hamilton acknowledged Thursday

justice, including racism and support for the LGBTQ community.

“I’ve been to a lot of these countries and been ignorant, been [unaware] of some of the problems,” he said. “It’s down to whether you decide to educate yourself and hold the sport more accountable. It takes time to go out and learn more about a region that’s foreign to us. We’re not from these areas, it’s incredibly complex on the ground in these places, with religion. So many complexities that it’s difficult to even understand them all.

“One person can only make a certain amount of difference, but collectively we can have a bigger impact,” Hamilton added. “Do I wish that more sportsmen and women spoke out on these issues? Yes.”

he’s not always been educated on the issues. A Briton and the only Black driver on the F1 grid, he has taken very public stances on issues of social

Biden: US may not send top dignitaries to Beijing Olympics

W

ASHINGTON—President Joe Biden said Thursday that the United States was weighing a diplomatic boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing over China’s humanrights abuses, a move that would keep American dignitaries, but not athletes, from the games.

Speaking to reporters as he hosted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Oval Office, Biden said backing a boycott of the Olympics in February is “something we’re considering.”

The US and other nations traditionally send high-level delegations to each Olympics.

First lady Jill Biden led the American contingent to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo this year and second gentleman Doug Emhoff led a delegation to the Paralympic Games.

International advocacy groups and some members of Congress have called for a symbolic US boycott of the games in Beijing over China’s treatment of Uyghurs and its crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong. The participation of American athletes would be unaffected by the boycott.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there was no timeline for a decision by the president on whether to go through with a possible boycott.

The White House has said the Olympics did not come up on Monday when Biden met virtually with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The high demand for artificial snow at the Beijing Winter Olympics will have a minimal effect on the local water supply, the organizers said on Thursday.

Water needed for snow making at the Yanqing zone where sliding and alpine skiing will be staged in February will account for just 1.6 percent of water used in the area, spokesman Zhao Weidong said at a news briefing.

“The man-made snow will not affect the local water usage,” Zhao said.

The water for the Yanqing zone will come from the Foyukou and Baihebao Reservoirs.

Beijing is notoriously cold and dry during the winter and environmentalists have expressed concerns about the effect of snow making on surrounding areas.

Other outdoor events will be held in the

VISITORS take photos of a statue of figure skaters with the Olympic rings at a park near the headquarters of the Beijing Organizing Committee as President Joe Biden says that the US is weighing a diplomatic boycott of the Games. AP

neighboring province of Hebei where natural snow is usually more plentiful.

Zhao also said a third athlete had been quarantined for testing positive for Covid-19 after two athletes were quarantined during ongoing luge test events. All three have been transferred to a quarantine hotel “according to requirement,” Zhao said.

None have shown symptoms and are allowed to continue training while living and dining separately. Authorities have not released their names or nationalities but said the two who earlier tested positive arrived on a charter flight while the most recent case was in close contact with them.

Around 1,500 competitors and staff have come into the country since the test events began in early October.

China has among the strictest Covid prevention policies in the world. Entry to the country is highly restricted, and virtually everyone who does must quarantine in a hotel for at least two weeks, even if they are vaccinated and test negative.

The quarantine requirement is being waived for the test events and the Games, but participants must live and compete in isolation from the rest of the population in China.

The Games are being held from February

4-20 amid uncertainty over the direction of the pandemic and protests over China’s human- rights record.

Olympic gold medalist Oxana Slivenko of Russia, meanwhile, was one of 13 European weightlifters facing new charges over doping in the run-up to the London Games in 2012, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said Thursday.

The cases date from the European championships in April 2012, four months before the Olympics, and follow the ITA re-testing old samples using modern methods. Of the 13 weightlifters from eight countries, 11 won medals at the event in Turkey. They are all provisionally suspended until their cases are resolved.

Eight of the weightlifters have already served bans for breaking doping rules at some stage in their careers. Most are retired.

They include Slivenko, who was the gold medalist at the 2008 Olympics and won gold with ease at the 2012 European championships. She withdrew shortly before the London Olympics citing an injury.

Slivenko already served a dopingrelated ban from 2018 through 2020. The International Weightlifting Federation said in March that she’s also accused in

a separate doping matter related to data from the shuttered Moscow drug-testing laboratory.

Any weightlifters found to have doped at the 2012 European championships could also be disqualified from that year’s Olympics, but it wouldn’t affect the medals. The only two London Olympic medalists among the 13 weightlifters charged by the ITA, Moldova’s Cristina Iovu and Romania’s Razvan Martin, have already been stripped of those medals for other doping offenses.

The ITA has been trying to clear up weightlifting’s murky history of steroid use after an investigation last year found ex-IWF president Tamas Ajan presided over a system in which doping cases had been covered up and over $10 million was unaccounted for. AP

Kardashian West helps fly Afghan women soccer players to England

KIM KARDASHIAN WEST plays a key role in bringing the Afghan players to the UK. AP

L

ONDON—Members of Afghanistan’s women’s youth development soccer team arrived in Britain before the weekend after being flown from Pakistan with the help of a New York rabbi, a UK soccer club and Kim Kardashian West.

A plane chartered by the reality star and carrying more than 30 teenage players and their families, about 130 people in all, landed at Stansted Airport near London. The Afghans will spend 10 days in coronavirus quarantine before starting new lives in Britain.

English Premier League club Leeds United has offered to support the players.

Britain and other countries evacuated thousands of Afghans in a rushed airlift as Kabul fell to Taliban militants in August.

Many more people have since left overland for neighboring countries in hopes of traveling on to the West.

Women playing sports was seen as a political act of defiance against the Taliban, and hundreds of female athletes have left Afghanistan since the group returned to power and began curbing women’s education and freedoms.

Khalida Popal, a former captain of Afghanistan’s national women’s team who has spearheaded evacuation efforts for female athletes, said she felt “so happy and so relieved” that the girls and women were out of danger.

“Many of those families left their houses when the Taliban took over. Their houses were burnt down,” Popal told The Associated Press. “Some of their family members were killed or taken by Taliban. So the danger and the stress was very high, and that’s why it was very important to move fast to get them outside Afghanistan.”

Australia evacuated the members of Afghanistan’s national women’s soccer team, and the youth girls’ team was resettled in Portugal.

Members of the development team, many of whom come from poor families in the country’s provinces, managed to reach Pakistan and eventually to secure UK visas. But they were left in limbo for weeks with no flight out of the country as the time limit on their Pakistani visas ticked down.

The team got help from the Tzedek Association, a nonprofit US group that previously helped the last known member of Kabul’s Jewish community leave Afghanistan.

The group’s founder, Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, has worked with reality TV star Kardashian West on criminal justice reform in the US. He reached out to her to help pay for a chartered plane to the UK. “Maybe an hour later, after the Zoom call, I got a text message that Kim wants to fund the entire flight,” Margaretten said.

Kardashian West’s spokeswoman confirmed that the star and her brand SKIMs had chartered the flight.

Sports leaders appointed by the Taliban, meanwhile, have promised Olympic officials that Afghanistan will continue to allow its athletes and teams to compete internationally.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the pledge Thursday after its delegation met in Qatar with leaders of the Afghan General Directorate of Physical Education & Sports. The Qatari capital city of Doha has been a political base for the Taliban, which retook control of Afghanistan in August.

“During the meeting, the Afghan representatives stated that they were strongly committed to following and observing the Olympic Charter,” the IOC said in a statement.

Hundreds of athletes and sports officials, including many women who feared being barred from competing and from reprisals, have left Afghanistan since August.

They were helped by international athlete representatives and sports bodies including the IOC and Fifa.

Thursday’s outcome could mean Afghan athletes will compete at the Beijing Olympics in February. AP

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November 21, 2021

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YOUR MUSI

MAKING SENSE OF FATHERHOOD James Arthur explores his paternal instincts

F

By Stephanie Joy Ching

ROM being in the X factor to carving out his own career, British singer-songwriter James Arthur explores fatherhood and mental health in his fourth studio album, It Will All Make Sense In The End.

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Infused with a more rock sound but still keeping his honest lyrical style, James hopes that this album “changes” and moves fans. Moreover, with the pandemic forcing him to write the album entirely in his home in Surrey, he was able to wholly focus on the music and tap into his emotions on a deeper level.

“I definitely think this album is a journey from start to finish.

There is definitely a rock sound to

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JAMES Arthur (Photo by AP)

it. From day one there was a sound that I wanted to go for. Even early on it sounded like a real album, a proper body of work. This is the first time I’ve made an album all in one place and you can hear this in the music. There’s something really comfortable about working in your own home – I was able to be more vulnerable than ever,” The result is a very autobiographical album that has “a bit of everything.” It also

infuses more guitar instrumentals courtesy of Matt Rad, who’s worked with Taking Back Sunday.

Through this collaboration, Arthur was able to not only craft an album that not only served as an ode to the classic rock that inspired him, but also served to bring out an even more personal taste in the sound.

“Something extra comes out of me when there’s more guitar sounds,” he commented.

Looking at the album’s repertoire, there is no other song that encapsulated that rawness as well as the single “Emily.” A gut-wrenching ballad written as a letter to his future daughter, James describes the song as “one of the hardest to write” in a sense that it “forced him to think about being a father.”

Written by James with George Tizzard, Rick Parkhouse and James ‘Yami’ Bell and produced by Red Triangle, James also consider “Emily” as an emotional ode to the next generation, a tender intimate mea culpa to the daughter he might one day have.

James says: “That arose from conversations about having kids.

Would I even be a good dad? What if they read about all the shit I’ve been through? It doesn’t matter because ultimately I’m the guy who’s going to be there for you all your life.”

“Having a child was quite a real thing when I wrote this song, and it forced me to think about it. That arose from conversations about having kids. Would I even be a good dad? What if they read about all the shit I’ve been through? It’s been exciting and scary at the same time. I made a lot of mistakes in my public life so I even thought; ‘what if my daughter disapproves of that?’” he said. “Once I decided on the concept, I realized that I don’t want to miss the right thing to say, I don’t want to miss what this is,” James Arthur’s It Will All Make Sense in the End is now available for streaming on all major streaming platforms.

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soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | NOVEMBER 21, 2021

BUSINESS

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

A ROUND-UP OF RECENT SINGLES

PSVLM “U”

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N upcoming R&B artist based in Iloilo, Psvlm does most of his works from songwriting to production and mixing by himself, placing no bounds in incorporating different elements in his preferred music style. His latest song “U” talks about desire for a girl while trying to make a name as a rising music personality. Our main man Psvlm also gushes about of the subject’s qualities, validating her insecurities and glorifying her strong traits.

KIYO “Harana Sa Sarili

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ROLIFIC rapper Kiyo finds value in celebrating the simple joys of living in his new single “Harana Sa Sarili.” Waxing poetic about self-worth, the Filipino hiphop artist expresses gratitude for surviving life’s harshest challenges.

“Minsan nakakalimutan natin magpasalamat sa sarili natin, nakakalimutan natin yung mga maliliit na bagay na dapat natin ikatuwa the Navotas City-born artist said in a statement. “Masaya lang ako na nandito pa ako. Kaya nasulat ko yung kanta na yan."

Exploring smooth, lo-fi sounds with colorful production, Kiyo rises above the clutter with endearingly laid-back energy and sunny disposition while spinning verses that are uniquely in touch with the inner self.

VVS COLLECTIVE “Probinsyana”

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N their lilting anthem “Probinsyana,” promising hip-hop quartet VVS Collective delivers a romantic serenade for every ‘country’ lass who took their breath away. The rap crew pays tribute to the women of the countryside whose distinct looks, effortless grace, and captivating intelligence redefine conventional standards of beauty.

“Probinsyana is a feel-good track which many Filipinos can relate to,” the group describes their latest single. “It’s about searching and pursuing that dream girl who lives in the suburbs or the province. It expounds on the qualities of a province girl who’s simple yet has everything you’re looking for in a girl.”

What makes the song extra special is the attempt to take a stand against urbanite snobbery and Manila-centrism in a song that celebrates women of all kinds, regardless of their geographical and social background. If the sparkly, pop-infused single is any indication, VVS Collective proves that they are primed for mainstream crossover.

SHANE G “Loved”

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HE latest in a lineage of budding Filipino singer-songwriters,

Shane G recently caught the attention of K-Pop stars. Her inspirational selfcare ballad “Loved” was featured on VLIVE, a series of streaming sessions curated and hosted by Bang Chan of Korean boyband Stray Kids.

The Korean pop star praised the message behind the song on the 131st episode of his streaming sessions. The online show focuses on championing new music and fresh discoveries from all over the world.

After finding out about the clip, Shane G expressed her excitement through a social media post: “This one’s really SURREAL!!! Am I dreaming??? I will treasure this forever as a STAY, and as an artist.

“I actually started releasing my original songs last year, and to be nominated for this year’s Awit Awards is such a huge blessing,” the young artist adds. “It’s really an overwhelming experience to the point that I still cannot believe it until now.”

Shane G has recently released the independently produced “Kapag Puwede Na,” which finds her interpreting a finely crafted romantic song that she wrote two years ago.

THE VOWELS THEY ORBIT “Una”

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T’S always true that the first cut turns out to be the deepest. Indie pop-rock outfit the vowels they orbit knows this by heart, and on their comeback single “Una,” they wax poetic about ‘the person that used to be your everything’ that sounds more of an emotional cleansing than a retread of the good old days.

“No matter what you do, there is nothing that can replace your first,” said the acclaimed group. “Whether it’s your first love or your first day of school ever, there’s something special about the first time. It’s a relatable topic that Nikka, the songwriter and vocalist, felt the need to write about.”

Taking on a more mature musical direction, “Una” is unapologetically brash and confrontational. “The guitars stand out the most in the track, which is a first for us,” vocalist and guitarist Nikka Melchor points out. “There’s minimal acoustic guitar, yet the two electric guitars playing harmoniously create a nostalgic feeling which we aimed for.

“Una” is also accompanied by a music video which highlights distractions as a coping mechanism for the sudden longing of your ‘una’

ACE BANZUELO “Alive”

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CE Banzuelo has come a long way from being a fresh-faced phenom who can write and produce emotional pop tunes in his bedroom.

Today, the alt-pop wunderkind is shifting gears with the music video release of his latest single titled “Alive”.

Confidently grooving to the retro-modern vibe of the track, Ace sheds his reclusive persona for a contemporary pop star character who knows how to charm the dance floor effortlessly. “The brand-new song is a disco pop dance track that builds up to the reminiscence of the classic Manila Sound groove and bilingualism,” Ace shares. “The production is a mix of modern and retro textures, funky guitar fills, synthesizers, horns—and yes, disco elements.

The music video helmed by budding director and 3D artist Reika uncovers a fascination with bright, velvety colors and attention-grabbing visual designs.

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The world’s top job finder wants to get rid of resumes

By Gearoid Reidy & Yasutaka Tamura

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Bloomberg

he company behind the world’s biggest employment portal says it has a solution to the labor shortage gripping the US: getting rid of the traditional resume.

Despite the acute need for workers, “the hiring process is still resumes, sending resumes, checking resumes,” said Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba, chief executive officer of Japan’s Recruit Holdings Co., which runs Indeed.com and Glassdoor. “This is a great opportunity for us to move forward from old-school, incumbent resume-profile culture to asking: what can you do?”

The US is set to enter the tightest job market since the 1950s according to one estimate, and employers are struggling to fill both white- and blue-collar positions as job seekers re-evaluate their priorities post-pandemic. That demand for hiring saw revenue more than double at Recruit’s hiring technology division in the quarter

Japanese staffing and Internet firm Recruit, the country’s fifth-biggest company, was well positioned for the work-from-home shift and transition to a post-Covid future, according to Hisayuki Idekoba, Recruit Holdings Co. president and chief executive officer. Bloomberg ended September, earnings figures released this week show. Shares are up more than 80 percent in 2021, a surge that has made it Japan’s fourth-largest enterprise by market value.

Modern hiring processes need to adapt for the times, Idekoba said, with many small- and medium-sized businesses still seeking to fill jobs the way they did a decade

ago. He raises the example of one restaurant which hasn’t updated its job description for an entire decade.

“You are requiring a college degree, why?” he asked. “Forget about it!”

Instead, Recruit suggests posing questions and assessment tests to job seekers to see if they know how to navigate the specific tasks the job will require. It also stores

the answers, so unsuccessful job seekers can use them elsewhere.

For truck drivers, who are “needed desperately” in the US, Recruit has started offering a chat-based hiring process, according to Idekoba, because drivers spend most of their days on the road and tend not to have laptops.

In addition, “there are a huge amount of people who can’t write resumes” or don’t have the skills to fill one, he said, as well as the issue of the tens of millions of Americans with criminal records. Recruit is expanding its training options to help people write better resumes for jobs that need them, and aims to use technology to identify skills that an applicant might have that could be transferable to another area.

Recruit bought Indeed, then a start-up, for a reported $1 billion almost a decade ago. Idekoba ran the unit before being promoted to CEO of Recruit in April this year.

In addition to recruiting and staffing, it runs sites to find properties used cars, book hotels and restaurants in Japan, where it is looking to expand its software as a service offerings.

Idekoba says Indeed.com now helps double the number of people find jobs as it did before the pandemic. “20 hires per every minute,” he said, “but still we couldn’t fix” the labor shortage.

Online platform helps advertising freelancers find work

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he challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic have significantly affected the creative industry. Large corporations have become conservative with advertising and promotional activities, physical events have been disallowed, and so on.

This means less work for scores of professional storytellers, who have turned to freelancing to earn income.

An example is Elise Siao, an art director, who was let go by her employer in 2020 and has had a hard time finding work or getting freelancing projects thereafter.

Fortunately, The Indierectory was able to help her get some gigs.

The online platform provides ad independents and freelancers with the chance to showcase their work and be directly accessible to hiring agencies and companies.

The Indierectory can be accessed and used for free by both freelancers and companies looking to hire creative advertising talents.

“I just uploaded my CV and portfolio and waited for projects, which did not take long,” said Siao, who uploaded her CV upon the suggestion of former officemates. “To

Copywriter Dia Directo-Pulido shares her experiences while using The Indierectory, including how the site was able to help her get clients and further hone her craft in copywriting. date, it has already given me three projects.

It is also very helpful for recruiters who are in need of urgent help or hire.”

Besides providing a database site for advertising professionals and freelancers, The Indierectory holds physical and virtual seminars, where interested parties can sign up and attend for free.

Lara Non, a freelance copywriter, tried her luck in one of the gatherings, and to great success.

“I love the seminars that they come up with for the community and how it’s always towards improving oneself and learning more about the industry,” Non said. “It

4 BusinessMirror

Lara Non, likewise a copywriter, discovered The Indierectory when GIGIL held a creative talk at her school and has since then been active in updating her credentials on the site. has created a safe space for freelancers to interact and immerse with different freelancers in the creative field.”

“That event gave me the push I needed to compile my portfolio and to learn how to market myself,” added Dia Directo-Pulido, a former copywriter at ABS-CBN. The Indierectory makes it easy to search for jobs based on specific roles and positions in agencies. Titles include Account Managers, Art Directors, Copywriters, Film Directors, Illustrators, Motion Graphics Designers, Music & Radio Producers, Photographers, Production Designers, Strategists &

November 21, 2021

Planners, Video Editors, Web Developers, and other advertising occupations.

Each applicant just needs to provide their name, job position, e-mail address, mobile number, plus a link to their work portfolio.

The brains behind The Indierectory is leading local independent ideas agency, GIGIL. The group recently garnered several distinctions, both locally and internationally, including being named by Ad Age as the “International Agency of the Year for 2021.”

“We in GIGIL came up with The Indierectory because we wanted to help everyone from the advertising and creative industry who unfortunately lost their jobs due to the pandemic,” said Jake Yrastorza, managing partner at GIGIL. “It was our own small way to help and provide our industry brothers and sisters a platform where they will be able to showcase their work and likewise be able to get work, at the same time.”

For more information on The Indierectory, visit https://www.indierectorymanila. com/about.