BusinessMirror November 28, 2021

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS

EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR (2017, 2018, 2019)

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

DATA CHAMPION

n

Sunday, November 28, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 51

P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

Controversial Malampaya deal undergoes ‘fine-toothed’ scrutiny before sale

A

By Lenie Lectura

PNOC is the partner of SPEX. The review is independent from ours.

Our perspective is from the regulators’ side,” added the DOE official.

LL eyes are now on the Department of Energy (DOE) that would either approve or disapprove the sale of the entire stake of Malampaya gas operator Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) to a subsidiary of Davaobased businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corporation (UC).

The DOE is expected to come out with a decision, a crucial one at that, since transaction will affect the future of the gas field’s operation and the continuous supply of energy in the country.

DOE Assistant Secretary Gerardo Erguiza Jr. said an ongoing review on the controversial deal— worth as much as $460 million—is being conducted by various units of the DOE. The review is expected to end soon, he said.

These units will then submit their report to the bureau heads, which, in turn, will make their respective recommendations and submit these to the agency’s senior officials before these are turned over to DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi for final approval.

Under ‘meticulous’ study

ERGUIZA said a “substantial portion of the review” has been done.

“It’s undergoing the process now.

All groups involved are moving and are doing their best, studying it very meticulously.”

There is no target date as to when the DOE would be ready to release its decision.

“For us, we want to complete it as soon as possible,” said Erguiza.

Shell Petroleum N.V. sold last May its 100-percent shareholding in SPEX, owner of a 45-percent operating interest in Service Con-

tract (SC) 38, the contract that covers the Malampaya gas field, to Malampaya Energy XP Pte. Ltd. The deal is still subject to DOE’s review and approval in accordance with Presidential Decree 87, or the Oil Exploration and Development Act of 1972. “The agreement in this deal states that the DOE review is a precondition, unlike in the Chevron-Udenna, which did not provide a similar precondition,” he explained.

Once this deal succeeds, the group of Uy will have 90-percent ownership in the Malampaya gas field as Udenna unit UC38 Llc. already acquired Chevron’s 45-percent stake in Malampaya.

It is not only the DOE’s green light that needs to be secured by the seller and the buyer. Philippine National Oil CompanyExploration Corp. (PNOC-EC), a member of the Malampaya consortium that holds 10-percent interest in the gas project, also needs to express its consent.

The joint operating agreement signed by the members of the Malampaya consortium governs the transfer of participating interest in SC 38, thus the sale of any or all participating interest should be consented to by the consortium.

“Our approval is useless if it’s not approved by PNOC. It has to be a parallel approval because

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.4600

Stringent controls

PNOC-EC posted on its website that the sale of the shares of SPEX in the Malampaya has not reached its final stage. “The statements of our detractors saying that this is a done deal is entirely false and at the same time, it belittles the efforts of our board of directors and officers who have put numerous options on the table, making sure that there is sufficient evaluation to make certain the best choice emerges, not just for the company, but most importantly, for the energy security of this country and the Filipino people.”

Both agencies claimed to have put in place stringent control measures so they can come up with a sound business decision.

Precious resource THE Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project, located 50 km offshore Northwest Palawan.

GATCHALIAN: “I think it’s really quite premature and unethical for Malampaya Energy to negotiate with the government. It’s too presumptuous in fact.”

PHOTO COURTESY SHELL

CUSI: “As they say, damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” ROY DOMINGO

THE Malampaya gas project has become the country’s most significant oil and gas upstream development, supplying 19.16 percent of the country’s supply of electricity for 2020, and providing a crucial source of income for the government with a total net national government share amounting to P261,681,610,752.59 since it began commercial operations in 2002 until 2019.

However, gas is fast depleting and, worse, SC 38 will expire in 2024. The asset will only be able to service 6 percent of Luzon by 2024 unless immediate actions are taken to arrest its quick decline and prevent its eventual depletion by 2027.

UC, according to its president Raymundo Martin Escalona, will focus on an urgently needed rejuvenation program to stem the decline of Malampaya after a seven-year hiatus in exploration activities.

Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4374 n UK 67.2329 n HK 6.4722 n CHINA 7.9013 n SINGAPORE 36.8968 n AUSTRALIA 36.2807 n EU 56.5758 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4531

Source: BSP (November 26, 2021)

ANUPONG NANTHA | DREAMSTIME.COM

TO SELL OR NOT TO SELL

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A broader look at today’s business

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, November 28, 2021

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Killer asteroids abound. Nasa is ready to do something about it

By Justin Bachman

T

Daunting challenge

Bloomberg News

HE Russia incident was a warning.

On a winter morning in 2013, a meteor the size of a four-story building screamed across the country, exploding near the city of Chelyabinsk and injuring more than 1,600 people amid widespread property damage.

The chunk of rock and iron, which was 60 feet across, served as a violent reminder that Earth, bombarded daily with tons of space-going debris, periodically intersects with large planet killers— and a significant portion of those remain undocumented.

After years of study and discussion, Nasa has launched its first effort to spare Earth the kind of calamity that extinguished the dinosaurs, crashing a space probe into an asteroid to alter its speed and course. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) lifted off November 23 local time aboard a SpaceX rocket from California and will cruise for 10 months to a binary asteroid system.

Adequate time to react

THE idea is that if humans have adequate time to react—decades of notice being preferable—enough energy can be transferred into a speeding rock to alter its trajectory and make it miss Earth, avoiding catastrophe up to and including an extinction-level event. (Though a

popular subject in science fiction, it’s worth noting that Nasa’s current toolkit of asteroid-nudging techniques does not include Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis or nuclear weapons.)

Given the critical nature of the work, it’s “not a stretch to suggest that DART may be one of the most consequential missions ever undertaken by Nasa,” Casey Dreier, an analyst with The Planetary Society, wrote in a November memo to members.

“This test is to demonstrate that this technology is mature enough so that it would be ready if an actual asteroid impact threat were detected,” Lindley Johnson, Nasa’s planetary defense officer, said at a November 4 news conference.

In September of next year— if all goes as planned—the DART craft will target Dimorphos, the smaller, 530-foot rocky body gravitationally tied to the larger Didymos, which is almost 2,600 feet across. The two rocks travel about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) apart, and Dimorphos orbits its larger sibling ev-

A TRAIL after a meteorite exploded in the sky over Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation, February 15, 2013. TATIANA NIKITINA | DREAMSTIME.COM

ery 11 hours and 55 minutes, “just like clockwork,” Johnson said.

Traveling at about 15,000 mph, the craft, which weighs 1,344 pounds and is 59 feet across, is to collide head-on with Dimorphos to both slow the rock by a fraction of a second and to adjust its orbital period around the larger asteroid by several minutes.

“It’s all about measuring the momentum transfer: How much momentum do we put into the asteroid by hitting it with the spacecraft?” said Andy Cheng, lead investigator for the mission at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, which built and manages the spacecraft.

Didymos was discovered 25 years ago and has been well analyzed (insofar as asteroids and comets go). Its course isn’t predicted to meet Earth in the future, but

its relatively close trajectory gives scientists a good test platform to observe with telescopes from about 6.8 million miles away.

The ‘weapons’

DART will use laser targeting and other high-resolution technologies to autonomously choose its impact point. As it races toward the rock, the craft’s camera will send images back to Earth. A small cube-satellite released from the main craft before impact will also record images from a safe distance. One big unknown: The smaller body’s surface composition and topography, which are too small to ascertain from Earth.

For more than 15 years, Nasa has been under Congressional or-

ders to catalog near-Earth objects (NEOs) larger than 140 meters (460 feet), the size at which an asteroid strike would cause enormous devastation. “While no known asteroid larger than 140 meters in size has a significant chance to hit Earth for the next 100 years, less than half of the estimated 25,000 NEOs that are 140 meters and larger in size have been found to date,” according to Nasa’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

The 2013 Chelyabinsk incident caused Washington to take notice, with funding for planetary defense rising by more than 4,000 percent to $200 million annually over the past decade, thanks to ample support from both the Obama and Trump administrations, Dreier said.

THE challenges for spotting these potential planet killers are daunting, however. Earth-based telescopes are limited in range, objects approaching from the direction of the sun can’t be seen, many asteroids reflect almost zero light, and all travel ludicrously fast—43,000 mph or 12 miles per second, on average.

Moreover, not all are local. In 2017, astronomers spied the first large visitor from outside the solar system, a 400-meter, cigar-shaped oddity called Oumuamua that looped around the sun at a blistering 196,000 mph on its way back out into interstellar space.

Nasa plans additional testing of its trajectory-altering techniques once it has data from DART’s destruction at Dimorphos, assuming the mission is successful.

A “gravity tractor” is another idea under active consideration, the concept being to attach a spacecraft to an asteroid to enlarge its mass and slowly change its orbit.

Still, observation is critical to preventing a repeat of the fate that befell the dinosaurs. Nasa and other scientists are laboring under last year’s loss of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which played a key role in radar assessments of near-Earth objects, helping researchers to determine their size and orbits. Says Johnson, the earth’s defender at Nasa: “The key to planetary defense is finding them well before they are an impact threat.”

TO SELL OR NOT TO SELL Continued from A1

These do not only include increasing recovery from the Malampaya production area but also proven economic volumes in other prospects within the SC 38 area.

“At the core of the program is a planned drilling campaign within the SC 38 license area to add energy reserves and extend the life of the asset,” said Escalona.

The intention is good but the process by which the deals were handled by the DOE is being questioned.

Pulling a fast one?

SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian sounded the alarm over the possibility of the government entering into a midnight deal to extend SC 38. He noted the speed in the current negotiations when Malampaya Energy entered the picture while SPEX was never given assurance by the DOE since 2016 if they would be extended or not.

DOE officials earlier told the Senate Committee on Energy chaired by Gatchalian that serious negotiations started in the middle of this year along with the creation of a negotiating team.

Also, Gatchalian shared concerns raised by some senators over sealing the sale of SPEX’s stake in the gas field project, especially with Malampaya Energy already negotiating with the government. One of the conditions being discussed in the negotiations is the possible 7030 royalty sharing in favor of the government.

Under SC 38, 70 percent of the gross proceeds from the sale of natural gas would go to the contractor to recover the investment cost. The remaining 30 percent is shared by the government and the consortium on a 60-40 basis, respectively.

“I think it’s really quite premature and unethical for Malampaya Energy to negotiate with the government. It’s too presumptuous in fact. We already laid down that DC 2007 should be applied to the transfer,” Gatchalian said, referring to Department Circular 200704-003, which sets the guidelines and procedures for the transfer of rights and obligations in petroleum service contracts as underpinned by Presidential Decree 87

‘I

f government does not take full control and management of SC 38, the Filipino people [would be] deprived of about P42 billion [in] net profits from Malampaya.

Further, full government control will greatly enhance the country’s energy security.’ – Association of Filipinos for the Advancement of Geoscience or the Philippine Oil and Gas Law. Gatchalian has also questioned the DOE on the “insufficient foundation for legal basis” in the Chevron-Udenna deal in Malampaya, adding that the deal is “defective and invalid.”

Senator Nancy Binay also questioned the DOE’s approval of the transfer of Chevron’s shares to UC Malampaya, which was later renamed UC 38, when the company only submitted unaudited and incomplete documents.

In the midst of controversy, graft charges were filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against Cusi, Uy and officials of Chevron Philippines and SPEX. Also, more groups are urging government to rescind the Chevron-UC 38 deal and to scrap the SPEX-Malampaya Energy deal. They also want PNOCEC to take over SC 38.

“If government does not take full control and management of SC 38, the Filipino people [would be] deprived of about P42 billion [in] net profits from Malampaya. Further, full government control will greatly enhance the country’s energy security,” said the Association of Filipinos for the Advancement of Geoscience (AFAG).

Possible rebidding

CAN the deals be undone? If not, what is the best option left?

“That’s what we’re studying.

We’re studying…very carefully if this can be undone but definitely there’s a basis to, if possible, undo the transaction to protect the Filipino people,” Gatchalian said.

If it can’t be undone, the next best thing to do is to rebid SC 38.

Gatchalian said government must bid out the gas facility’s operations once the contract expires, regardless if there will be a new operator prior

to the expiration of the contract.

“Once the contract comes to an end then everything will revert to government. The Filipino people will enjoy all the revenues and profit coming out of Malampaya. On the other side of that, government will be operating the gas field.

“This is a decision that government needs to make and analyze because government by itself has a lot of constraints in terms of operation. But the basic principle here is if ever government decides to get an operator, it has to bid it out.

That’s the only way for us to get the best price, get the best operator and get the best option,” said the lawmaker.

But UC said no one could repeal these deals. “Let us be clear that there is no law requiring approval of transfer of shares of companies that have interest in Malampaya,” UC spokesman Atty. Raymond Zorrilla said in a news statement.

“Therefore, no party has the legal ability to rescind the Chevron and Shell transactions.”

He defended these deals, saying the transfers of Chevron and Shell shares underwent strict bidding processes and due diligence by both multinational oil and gas players. Zorrilla also said the share sales were above board and legal and had to pass thorough scrutiny

by Philippine regulators, international lenders, and the said private multinationals involved.

Will the DOE approve or disapprove the SPEX-Malampaya Energy deal? Will it extend SC 38 knowing that all eyes are on the agency’s next move?

Cusi’s reply: “As they say, damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” The energy chief said this as he let out a long and deep sigh during the committee hearings.

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

The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, November 28, 2021

A3

Lawmakers fear China could win from US spat with Marshall Islands

People watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London on August 23, which is taking place for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. As countries across Europe reimpose lockdowns in response to surging Covid-19 cases and deaths, the UK—long one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries—carries on with a policy of keeping everything as normal as possible. AP/Alberto Pezzali

As Europe virus infections surge, UK plows on with its new normal

L

ONDON—The bars are shut in Vienna, and the Christmas market is empty in Munich, as several European nations tighten up or even lock down to combat a spike in coronavirus infections.

Meanwhile in London, couples sip mulled wine at a seasonal market near the River Thames, full-capacity audiences fill the seats at the nearby National Theatre, and friends huddle over pints in pubs throughout the city.

Not for the first time in the pandemic, Britain is out of step with many of its neighbors. But this time, it’s happy to be different.

The UK has endured three nationwide lockdowns and recorded nearly 145,000 deaths from the coronavirus, the highest toll in Europe after Russia. Now, it is watching as hospitals struggle with surging cases in countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, bringing lockdowns and restrictions. But while Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that a “ blizzard from the east” could still ruin Britain’s Christmas, many scientists say the wind is now blowing the other way.

“We are not behind Europe in this wave. They are behind us,” said Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia.

The surge that is now hitting mainland Europe, driven by the highly transmissible Delta strain of the virus, walloped Britain in the summer, just as the government removed all remaining legal restrictions on the economy and daily life.

Because Britain got Delta in the summer, when respiratory viruses are transmitted less readily, “it wasn’t so explosive as we would expect it to be in the winter, and as we’re now seeing in in some European countries,” Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease modelling at the University of Edinburgh, said.

“I think the UK got its Delta wave at a fortuitous time, whereas Austria, for example, it’s the exact opposite,” he said. Austria, where average daily deaths have almost doubled in the past two weeks, has gone into lockdown, and authorities there plan to mandate vaccinations beginning February 1.

The World Health Organization said this week that Europe is the only region of the world where coronavirus cases are rising, and the continent could see another 700,000 deaths by the spring unless urgent measures are taken soon.

But Britain stands somewhat apart.

Many scientists predicted the country would see a spike in cases after July 19—dubbed “Freedom Day” by the media—when almost all restrictions were lifted. It didn’t happen.

Infection rates that were then among the highest in Europe, drifted up and down but never soared again as feared, though they remain stubbornly high. Britain is recording more than 40,000 new cases a day, a level last seen during the past winter’s surge. But a relatively high vaccination rate—particularly among the elderly—means hospitalizations and deaths are far lower than in previous waves. Still, 130 people a day died in the past week after testing positive for Covid-19.

Britain’s hospitals have not been overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases, though they are extremely busy as the health system struggles to clear a huge backlog built up during the pandemic. Johnson’s Conservative government has so far not had to trigger its “Plan B,” which would reintroduce mask mandates and work-from-home orders to ease pressure on the health system.

But if life in Britain these days can feel unusually normal—even festive, as many embrace the holiday season with renewed enthusiasm—it is a new, more constrained normal.

Visitors from countries where restrictions are still in place are sometimes taken aback by Britain’s voluntary, variable approach to mask use and social distancing. But Ivo Vlaev, a behavioral scientist at the University of Warwick who has studied data from across Europe, says people in the UK have largely stuck to protective measures—including limiting their contacts with others—even when they were no longer required by law. Movement data suggests Britons still travel and mix less than before the pandemic.

“It seems to be the case that in UK people are more compliant in general across all health-protective behaviors” than in some other European nations, Vaev said.

Partly, he says, the reason is “fear—we actually are quite afraid to go out and do the usual stuff ” after Britain’s harsh pandemic experience.

While some European countries are turning to compulsion to get more people vaccinated, the UK is sticking with persuasion. Britain does not widely require proof of vaccination to attend events or workplaces, and the government has ruled out mandating vaccines for everyone, though health and social care workers have been ordered to get shots.

Britain hasn’t seen as much resistance to the vaccine as many other countries, and about 88 percent of people aged 12 and up have had at least one dose. But only about 68 percent of the whole population is fully vaccinated, a lower figure than in some other European nations, partly because the UK was slower than many of its neighbors to offer shots to children aged 12 to 15, and has not yet approved vaccines for younger kids.

The government’s focus is on giving booster doses to those most vulnerable to serious illness, offering a third shot to everyone 40 and up six months after their second.

“Get your booster as soon as you can,” the prime minister said this week. “Because it is by vaccinating our country that we have been able to get your staff back to their place of work, to open our theaters, our restaurants and get back for longer now than any comparator country, to something like normal life.”

Some public health specialists and opposition politicians say the government is relying too much on vaccination to keep the virus at bay. They want the return of mandatory masks, social distancing and other measures.

But some epidemiologists are cautiously optimistic that enough is being done to keep a lid on the virus over the winter. Perhaps ironically, Hunter says Britain’s heavy coronavirus toll puts it in a stronger position than those countries where the virus is now surging.

“They’ve got populations that are not as well immunized, whether that is from vaccine or infection, as we have,” he said. “We still have a lot more immunity from natural infection than most European countries, and we’re rolling out the booster. That is why we will have less of a troublesome winter than most.” AP

W

ELLINGTON, New Zealand—For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally. Its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has made it a key strategic outpost for the US military.

But that loyalty is being tested amid a dispute with Washington over the terms of its “Compact of Free Association” agreement, which expires soon. The US is refusing to engage the Marshallese on claims for environmental and health damage caused by dozens of nuclear tests it carried out in the 1940s and 1950s, including a huge ther monuclear blast on Bikini Atoll.

The dispute has some US lawmakers worried that China might be willing to step into the breach, adding to a bruising competition for geopolitical dominance between the two superpowers.

Since World War II, the US has treated the Marshall Islands, along with Micronesia and Palau, much like territories. On the Marshall Islands, the US has developed military, intelligence and aerospace facilities in a region where China is particularly active.

In turn, US money and jobs have benefited the Marshall Islands’ economy. And many Marshallese have taken advantage of their ability to live and work in the US, moving in the thousands to Arkansas, Hawaii and Oklahoma.

But this month, 10 Democratic and Republican members of the House of Representatives wrote to President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, about the US compact talks with the Marshalls, Micronesia and Palau.

“It is distressing that these negotiations do not appear to be a priority—there have been no formal meetings since this Administration began—even as our international focus continues shifting to the IndoPacific,” they wrote.

The lawmakers said the delays were putting the US in a weaker position, and “China is all too ready to step in and provide the desperately needed infrastructure and climate resiliency investment that is sought by these long-time partners.”

China’s Foreign Ministry said the US should face up to its responsibility to restore the environmental damage it caused with its nuclear tests. It said China was willing to engage with the Marshall Islands and other Pacific island nations on the basis of mutual respect and cooperation under the “One China Principle,” in which Taiwan is viewed as part of China.

“We welcome efforts to boost economic relations and improve the quality of life between the sides,” the ministry said in a statement.

China has steadily poached allies from Taiwan in the Pacific, including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands in 2019. Just this week, angry protesters in the Solomons set fire to buildings and looted stores in unrest that some have linked to the China switch.

James Matayoshi, the mayor of Rongelap Atoll on the Marshall Islands, said he and hundreds of others have remained displaced from their atoll since the nuclear tests and want to see it revitalized. He said officials have been talking with potential investors from Asia, after a previous proposal by a Chinese-Marshallese businessman fell through.

“It would be a business transaction.

We don’t advocate for war or any superpower influence,” Matayoshi said.

“But we want to be able to live in our backyard, and enjoy life here.”

Like many others on the Marshall Islands, Matayoshi believes a US settlement of $150 million agreed to in the 1980s fell well

shor t of addressing the nuc lear legacy. He said his late mother was pregnant at the time of one massive nuclear blast and got exposed to radiation that was the equivalent of 25,000 X-rays before giv ing birth to a stillborn baby.

But the US position has remained static for more than 20 years, the last time the compact came up for renegotiation. The US maintains that nuclear compensation was dealt with in a “full and final settlement” and cannot be reopened.

Marshallese Senator David Paul— who is on the islands’ negotiating committee and also represents Kwajalein Atoll, which is home to a major US military base—said continuing high cancer rates and the displacement of people remain huge issues.

“Everyone knows the negotiations

at that time were not fair or equitable,” Paul said. “When you look at the total cost of property damage and the ongoing health issues to date, it’s a drop in the bucket. It’s an insult.”

Various estimates put the true cost of the damage at about $3 billion, including for repairs to a massive nuclear waste facility known as the Cactus Dome, which environmentalists say is leaking toxic waste into the ocean.

A report to Congress last year from the US Department of Energy said the dome contains over 100,000 cubic yards (76,000 cubic meters) of radioactively contaminated soil and debris but the structure wasn’t in any immediate danger of failing. The report concluded that any contaminated groundwater flowing beneath the structure was not measurably impacting the environment.

As it did in earlier compact negotiations, the US has stonewalled discussions on the nuclear legacy, something that American officials acknowledge.

“We know that’s important, but there is a full and final settlement, and both sides agreed to it,” said a senior US official who wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity. “So, that issue is just not subject to being reopened. But, we’re still quite willing to work with the (Marshallese) on the broader issues

that are important to us and that’s what we hope to do.”

The US State Department said the Indo-Pacific is central to US foreign policy.

“We are prioritizing achieving success in the negotiations related to the Compacts with the Freely Associated States as a regional foreign policy objective,” the department said.

The frustrations of the Marshallese were apparent in a letter sent last month by Foreign Minister Casten Nemra to Rep. Katie Porter, a California Democrat who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee’s oversight and investigations panel.

“The State and Interior Department officials involved have been unwilling to discuss an agenda for the talks and tried to confine the discussion to their own limited proposals,” Nemra wrote. “The nuclear issue clearly was one reason. All issues raised by the Marshall Islands were met with assertions that they did not have authority to discuss the matters without any indication that they would seek it.”

Sen. Paul said the American approach needs to change.

“I believe the US has the legal and moral obligation to make sure they clean up this debris,” Paul said. “We want to make sure we get a better deal this time around. As they say, the third time is a charm.” AP

A4

Sunday, November 28, 2021

The World BusinessMirror

UN peacekeepers face greater threats from complex conflicts

By Edith M. Lederer

U

The Associated Press

NITED NATIONS—The more than 87,000 personnel in UN peacekeeping missions are confronting greater threats today because conflicts have become more complex and are driven by an increasing number of factors ranging from ethnic tensions and the impact of organized crime to illegal exploitation of resources and terrorism, the UN peacekeeping chief said Friday.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix said in an interview with The Associated Press that even compared to two or three years ago, “most of our peacekeeping missions have a political and security environment that has deteriorated.”

In addition and “equally important,” he said, is that the conflicts are “multi-layered” and very often local and national, but also regional and global. He pointed to Africa’s impoverished Sahel region, which is seeing increasing terrorist activity, as an example.

What is causing this change in how UN peacekeepers have to operate are a number of factors starting with increased political divisions among the UN’s 193 member nations, he said.

The drivers of conflict are increasing, Lacroix said, and there are also what he called “conflict enhancers,” including digital technologies, the impact of fake news and misinformation on conflicts,

and “armed groups using increasingly sophisticated means to undermine our actions.”

The UN currently has 12 farflung peacekeeping operations— six in Africa, four in the Middle East, one in Europe and one in Asia—with the more than 66,000 militar y personnel from 121 countries joined by over 7,000 international police and 14,000 civilians.

Lacroix said peacekeepers continue to make “a huge difference” in countries where they oversee cease-fires like Cyprus and south Lebanon in terms of preventing conflict, and “they also make a huge difference in terms of protection of civilians, even though we would like to be able to do more.”

But the undersecretary-general for peace operations said the drivers of conflict “are massively impacting the conflicts in which we’re involved.”

“They pose increasingly important threats to countries in which

our missions are deployed, and frankly to the region where we are operating,” he said.

“Are we equipped enough as a multilateral system to address these threats?” Lacroix asked rhetorically. “I’m not sure. I think there’s probably more that should be done in those areas.”

He called an upcoming ministerial meeting on UN peacekeeping in Seoul, South Korea on Dec. 7-8 an important opportunity to improve the performance and impact of peacekeepers and “the effectiveness of our tools,” and to mobilize international support for these efforts.

Lacroix said “a significant number” of ministers and senior officials from all UN member states are expected in Seoul, stressing that high-level participation is “critically important” as an expression of support for UN peacekeeping, which is funded by a separate UN budget amounting to $6.38 billion for the year ending June 30, 2022, as well as voluntary contributions.

He said the peacekeeping department has circulated a list to UN member nations of what it needs to improve the protection of peacekeepers against ambushes, improv ised ex plosive devices and attacks, and to protect their camps. The list also includes improved medical support and equipment to make peacekeepers more nimble, mobile and reactive, especially more helicopters, he said.

Lacroix said there are two other very important areas: improving the missions’ ability to collect and process information to better prevent threats instead of having to react to them, and increasing the number of women in peacekeeping operations “because we know

for a fact that more women in peacekeeping means more effective peacekeeping.”

He said it will be “tremendously important” to have governments support the department’s “strateg y for the digital transformation of peacekeeping because we strongly believe that if we make the best possible use of these new technologies, then it can be a game changer for peacekeeping.”

To do that, he said, the UN has to improve what he called “the digital literacy of peacekeeping and our peacekeepers,” which means more training.

If the peacekeeping department and peacekeepers are better at using digital technology, the men and women in the field can be better protected, Lacroix said.

“We can probably better communicate and also counter misinformation,” and the UN can better collect and process information “in a way that can enable effective action,” he said.

But Lacroix said if peacekeeping is to succeed—“which is to create the conditions where peacekeeping missions can leave”—it is “critically important” that governments support political efforts to achieve this goal.

He said there must also be recognition that more and more peacekeeping operations are part of broader efforts and partnerships that can build different capacities, including security, or help provide humanitarian assistance in places like Congo, South Sudan or Mali.

“We have to make sure that we are playing a role where you can make the best possible difference, and other partners have to have that same approach, and we need to be complementary to each other,” Lacroix said.

After resignation of Sweden’s first female prime minister, what’s next?

S

wedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who was in her new job for less than 8 hours, is on track to be appointed again on Monday.

The 54-year-old former finance minister’s first stint as leader came to an abrupt end because the Green Party quit the center-left coalition after its budget bill was defeated in parliament.

For outsiders, it was a shock to see Sweden’s first female leader resign on her first day. In truth, it’s another reflection of how hard it has become to govern the biggest Nordic nation as well as a comedy of errors by politicians who failed to grasp the constitutional implications of their actions.

Here is a guide to what to expect next:

So is that it for Andersson?

No. She’ll likely be re-appointed next week. The resignation was a necessary formality after the Greens pulled out. The parliamentary speaker nominated her again on Thursday after consulting with leaders of the eight parties in parliament.

The Greens and two other parties have indicated they will abstain, but not oppose her. That means it is likely that she will be re-appointed, in a vote scheduled for Monday, although not exactly with much support.

What a mess. How did we get here?

When Andersson’s predecessor as party leader of the Social Democrats, Stefan Lof ven, unexpectedly announced in August that he would resign, his finance minister of seven years was widely seen as the apparent heir.

However, for her to secure the top seat she needed to navigate a fractured and evolving political landscape, upended by the rise of the nationalist Sweden Democrats.

Lof ven had built his minor it y co a l it ion w it h t he Green Party on an agreement with two center-right parties as well as tacit support from the for mer communists of the Left Party. By the time A ndersson was elected the situation had changed: One of the center-right parties broke loose from the accord, and the leftists took a more assertive stance, demanding concessions from Andersson to accept her candidacy.

On the eve of her election, a last-minute deal secured her the support she needed to be appointed. However, crucially, the outcome of a budget vote scheduled for the same day was less apparent, and when the center-right party most closely aligned with the government said it wouldn’t help get it passed, it was clear that a competing opposition bill wou ld deter mine spending plans for 2022.

Hang on. So did she have to resign at all?

While Andersson said she could still govern based on the opposition’s budget amendments, the prospect of defeat was harder for the Greens to swallow, and when it was clear the government bill would lose, they immediately hinted they might not want to continue in government.

This took Sweden into uncharted territory, and during

the day word got out via constitutional experts that a Green Party defection would trigger Andersson’s resignation and a new vote. Just before 5 p.m., Green Party leaders announced their withdrawal and that forced Andersson’s hand.

At the same time, the latest debacle could have been easily avoided, according to the parliament’s speaker, Andreas Norlen. Had he known that the Greens might quit the government if it lost the budget vote, he would have scheduled the PM vote for a later date, he said at a press conference where he called Wednesday’s events “deeply regrettable.”

major source of angst among voters and has complicated the picture in a country that has taken pride in its progressive values and multicultural society.

The nationalists were init ia l ly shunned universa l ly because of their roots in the neo-Nazi movement and recur r ing incidents of par t y representatives ex pressing racist views. However, as their support has grown, some parties are adamant they want to keep the Sweden Democrats out of government at all costs.

Others have opened the door and want to engage with the new reality.

Who is running the country now?

There is an election in less than 10 months? Will that fix things?

Power has reverted to the caretaker cabinet led by Lofven, until a new one is in place. Andersson admitted the process looked “messy” but said it was necessary because she didn’t want to lead a government “whose legitimacy might be questioned.” She now stands to lead a one-party cabinet.

Why are Sweden’s politics more turbulent now?

The emergence of the nationalist Sweden Democrats over the last decade has sapped support from the mainstream political parties and made it increasingly difficult to form stable coalitions.

T he cou nt r y ’s p ol it ic a l landscape has long been a twohorse race between a relatively unified center-right and a bloc of left-leaning parties led by the Social Democrats, but immigration has emerged as a

Polls suggest that neither the Social Democrat-led constellation nor the conservativenationalist camp have a clear lead at this point.

Surveys also show that policies on crime, migration and integration remain among the top priorities for Swedish voters, and in the election, scheduled for September 11, 2022, the rising political instability may help the nationalists get a shot at power. Over the past year, traditional right-wing politicians have accepted that they may need to cut a deal to give the anti-immigrant force a say in government.

The Social Democrats, meanwhile, hope that Magdalena Andersson’s high approval ratings will withstand her disastrous start and that she can lead the party to another election win.

Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Americans load up on firewood as home-heating costs skyrocket

A

By Maxwell Adler/ Bloomberg

mid the inflation surge that’s rippled through the US economy and touched thousands upon thousands of products, one of the more obscure items on the list is firewood.

It’s a fuel from earlier times, so niche an industry that no one appears to even try to track pricing on a national level.

Talk to firewood vendors in state after state, though, and they’ll all tell you the same thing: Sales are booming on the eve of winter, and prices are soaring.

At Firewood by Jerry in New River, Arizona, a cord of seasoned firewood—roughly 700 pieces or so—goes for $200 today. That’s up 33 percent from a year ago. At Zia Firewood in Albuquerque, the price is up 11 percent since the summer to $250. And at Standing Rock Farms in Stone Ridge, a bucolic, little town in the Hudson Valley that’s become popular with the Manhattan set, the best hardwoods now fetch $475 a cord, up 19 percent from last year.

“It’s crazy,” says Randy Hornbeck, the owner of Standing Rock Farms. His sales this year are already 27 percent higher than his total for all of last season. “Everybody wants firewood.”

Some of this is a work-from-home thing. White-collar workers cooped up in their suburban homes or country escapes are re-discovering the joys of an evening by the fire.

This is the typical Hornbeck client. But there’s a grimmer economic force driving the surge in demand, too: Soaring prices for heating oil, natural gas and propane—key parts of the broader inflation surge—are pushing many Americans to try heating their homes at least partially with firewood.

At Central Arkansas Fireplaces in Conway, a suburb of Little Rock, the flood of orders for woodstoves has been so overwhelming that units purchased today won’t be delivered in time for this heating season. “You can’t get a stove until at least April,” says Lakin Frederick, an employee at the store.

The spike in home-heating costs is a common theme Frederick hears from new buyers. Firewood, she says, has become scarce in the area, too. “There are not enough people who are cutting and supplying wood right now.”

Just over 1 percent households will use firewood or wood pellets as their primary heating source in the US this winter, the US Energy Information Administration estimates. That may not seem like a lot, but it equates to some 1.7 million households. What’s more, another 8 percent of the population will use wood as a secondary heating source, according to the EIA. Given how much cord prices are now spiking, the switch to wood isn’t always a clear-cut money saver for homeowners. It depends on a lot of factors: the quality of the wood, the length of time it was seasoned, the efficiency of the stove and its location in the home, among other things. (These factors also help determine the amount of pollution that’s generated by the fire.)

One sure money loser is burning wood in a conventional fireplace. Those fires may be pretty to look at, but they’re a woefully inefficient source of heat.

“Using wood in a fireplace makes no sense from an energy perspective,” says Tom Butcher, research engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island.

Over the course of American history, there have been any number of booms in the firewood business. One of the earliest episodes came during the British siege of Boston at the outset of the Revolutionary War. That winter, the price of a cord—a centuries-old benchmark measuring 128 cubic feet—soared to $20, the historian David McCullough documented in his book “1776.” That’s the equivalent of some $635 in today’s dollars, according to calculations by the website in2013dollars.com. In more recent times, just about every major spike in energy prices in the past half century has triggered a rush into wood-burning among some segments of the population. These fevers invariably fade as soon as the energy crisis does.

This one almost certainly will, too. But not before the surge in home-heating costs inflicts more financial pain on working-class families already struggling in the pandemic.

The Biden administration’s sudden calls for greater oil production across the globe—a shocking move considering its push to fight climate change—underscores how badly the jump in energy prices is hurting Americans at the pump and at home.

“Everyone is extremely concerned about how they are going to pay for the cost of home heating,” says Brian Pieck, the owner of House of Warmth Stove and Fireplace Shop in New Milford, a town in rural western Connecticut.

That angst, he says, has translated into an almost 50 percent jump in orders for the woodstoves he sells at prices of $2,800 and up. “Our manufacturer is working feverishly around the clock.”

Across the state line, Hornbeck ’s wealthier clientele in the Hudson Valley typically isn’t bothered by such financial considerations.

Still, they keep buying wood at a relentless clip.

Hornbeck ’s already sold 3,300 cords of oak, ash, hickory and other hardwoods this season and, at this pace, anticipates running out of seasoned logs by February. Some customers, he says, have even started locking in several years’ worth of orders to get ahead of the rush.

His advice to those in search of wood next season: Order it by Easter. Or, alternatively, buy an axe and split your own. Bloomberg News

Science Sunday

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

BusinessMirror

Sunday, November 28, 2021

A5

Natl Scientist Javier: PHL has to address challenges to become a maritime nation T

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

he Philippines has huge natural marine resources. However, it has to address several challenges to become a prosperous, archipelagic maritime nation, according to National Scientist and Academician Dr. Emil Q. Javier.

“To become a truly maritime nation, first we have to assert vigorously our sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea, defend our rights and show the flag. To do this, we have to invest and build a credible Navy and a decent Coast Guard, and build worldclass marine research vessels,” said Javier in his message at the turnover of “Pagtanaw 2050: The Philippine Foresight on Science, Technology and Innovation” to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

The online event was part of the activities in the past week’s National Science and Technology Week.

Academician Rhodora Azanza, National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines president, turned over the Pagtanaw 2050 to Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña.

First inter-disciplinal and transdisciplinal project

“Pagtanaw 2050 is a foresight that

will stand the test of time,” de la Peña said. “ This will serve as a guiding principle that will enable the science community to assist in shaping the Philippines as a progressive archipelagic nation.”

It is the first inter-disciplinal and trans-disciplinal project on the country’s science, technology and innovation foresight and strategic plans that the DOST funded with P7.4 million.

The Pagtanaw 2050 is a 360 page compendium that listed 207 technologies. It was a product of the collective wisdom of the Academy of Filipino scientists and the science community to enhance the people’s unity, inspire the people, and heightened their resolve to achieve progress by 2050.

It aims to push the country to become a prosperous archipelagic maritime nation in 30 years, among others, Javier pointed out.

Another is to accelerate the gathering of a critical mass of STI Human Resources.

Also as important is to create a separate Philippine Council for Maritime and Other Aquatic Resources Research and Development.

Natl development roadmap

Pagtanaw 2050 is a national development roadmap, a strategic plan, that traces the trajectories of the

enablers and drivers to shape the country’s science and technology for the next three decades, Javier said.

It aims to serve as source of vital inputs, policy advice and influence toward attaining a preferred and united future considering our natural endowments and national aspirations.

It involved 335 various representative stakeholders from 53 government and higher education institutions, and 12 non-government organizations coming from all over the country.

Among the key operational areas identified are the following: the blue economy, governance, business and trade, digital technology/ICT, science education and talent retention, food security and nutrition, health systems, energy, water, environmental change, shelter, transportation, and other infrastructure, and space exploration.

‘Innovation of systems, not just technologies’

For his part, Academician William G. Padolina said: “It is an innovation of systems, not just technologies [will operationalize the STI strategic plan].”

Padolina explained that innovation has to be understood in the context wherein it is composed of systems and not merely technologies.

He said there’s a need to change

the systems and to innovate in governance. Businesses have to innovate their processes and manage their risk, and that everyone will have to do their part.

International tribunal’s decision

Javier explained the need to upgrade the country’s marine education.

“To assert the strength of the 2 million Filipino seafarers in the global marine fleet and place more engineers and ship captains, we have to upgrade our marine education. One marine school in Zambales managed by the Philippine Navy is not enough,” added Javier, who also served as the 17th president of the University of the Philippines between 1993 and 1999.

In July 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, chastised China for its behavior in the South China Sea, including the building of artificial islands. It was declared that its widespread claim to sovereignty over the sea had no legal basis.

The landmark case was brought by the Philippines to protest Chinese transgressions into maritime areas which are considered by the Philippine as its territories.

Moreover, the tribunal discarded China’s argument that it enjoys historic rights over the majority of the South China Sea.

Javier said the government should also invest in developing more ports and harbors to strengthen the country’s nautical highway since the Philippines is an archipelagic country.

He pointed out that it is logical to pursue the development of such facilities to connect the country’s 7,640 islands.

“The country must also harness the potential of its shipbuilding capabilities. Cebu and Subic are great locations for shipbuilding. He said the country can explore potential joint ventures with countries, such as Japan, to boost the country’s shipbuilding capabilities.

Creation of fisheries, marine resources department

Javier said this is the right time to consider the establishment of an independent Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources to further develop the country’s marine resources.

“Mar ine resources are a lways underfunded and crowded by livestock in the bureaucracy of the Department of Agriculture,” Javier pointed out.

He recalled that 20 years ago concerned individuals, led by the former UP College of Law dean Merlin Magallona, retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio and some UP professors, proposed the creation of an autonomous

university dedicated to the marine development of the country.

The proposed university will coordinate with the colleges of law, engineering and architecture, marine science, geology, oil and gas exploration as well as with the college of fisheries.

“These are the things we have to address to harness our maritime potential to become a maritime nation,” Javior stressed.

Better future through foresight planning

Secr etary Karl Kendrick Chua of Socio-Economic Planning and director-general of Neda, acknowledged during the event the importance of foresight in the country’s development.

He said: “To attain our 2040 vision of eradicating extreme poverty and becoming a high-income country, we need to continuously innovate and make our systems resilient against future crisis. This event is crucial as it demonstrates our resolve to chart a better future through foresight planning,” He added that several nations like Malaysia, South Korea and Japan have already adopted foresight into their STI planning and institutionalized this concept into their policymaking process.

Faith A6

Sunday, November 28, 2021

Sunday

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

Advincula to voters: Look at bets’ track record, platform

W

ith the election season beginning to heat up, a top Catholic official urged the electorate to study the track record and platform of candidates.

One thing to do, according to him, is to form “circles of discernment” among lay people to guide them in their choice of political candidates.

He said it is important for voters to deeply discern as a community on the characteristics and track record of each candidate.

“It is our call for the people to create their ‘circles of discernment’ so that we can hear and follow the w ill of God,” Adv incula said.

The cardinal also encouraged voters to consider the position of candidates regarding respect for human dignity, common good, social justice and societal charity.

“We hope that these will be the prevailing considerations of the people in choosing our next leaders,” he said.

Archbishop: Vote buying is ‘mark of the devil’ Cardinal Jose Advincula, Archbishop of Manila. MARICAR SANTOS/RCAM-AOC photo Card ina l Jose Adv incu la, the archbishop of Manila, said that voters must look at the integrity before choosing candidates to support in the May 2022 elections.

“We pray that there will be a deep assessment of the programs and platforms of every candidate, as well as their track records,” Advincula said in Radio Veritas.

Meanwhile, a Catholic archbishop advised the electorate to vehemently refuse vote buying, which he branded as a “mark of the devil.”

Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan urged the voters to help end vote-buying by not selling their votes.

“Vote buying is a mark of the devil.

It puts a price on the person of the voter,” Villegas said.

“It is even worse when the vote buyer puts a price on their votes and tempts the poor,” he said.

The former head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines noted how politicians are baiting the poor during elections.

“During elections, the poor are like fishes looking for food. But instead of feeding them, the politicians put out bait as vote buyers,” Villegas said. “They fed the poor, but they also hooked them.”

The archbishop also lamented how vote buying destroys the heart of democracy and the people who make up the nation.

“When a fish is made boneless, it cannot grow anymore. It flails. Democracy flails if we don’t destroy vote buying,” he said.

Villegas made the statement as he lamented vote buying has already started in the guise of giving ayuda (assistance).

“This is not early assistance. This is early corruption. They are working hard to bait poor people. It has begun,” he said. CBCP News

New PHL envoy to the Holy See meets Pope Francis

V

ATICAN—Pope Francis met the new Philippine ambassador to the Holy See, Ms. Myla Grace Ragenia Macahilig, who presented her credential letters at the Vatican on November 20.

The Vatican News tweeted the photos of the pope’s meeting with Macahilig as she “officially” began her new diplomatic role.

The 55-year-old replaced Ambassador Grace Relucio-Princesa, who served the post from September 2018 until her retirement in January 2021.

Macahilig is a former Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary in its financial management services.

While she previously served in the Philippine embassies in New Zealand and in the United Kingdom,

Myla Grace Ragenia Catalbas Macahilig, new Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See, presents her credential letters to Pope Francis at the library of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican on November 20. VATICAN MEDIA Macahilig’s assignment to the Vatican was her first posting as ambassador with concurrent jurisdiction

over the Sovereign Order of Malta.

The Philippines and the Vatican signed an agreement establishing

formal relations on April 8, 1951.

The treaty raised the Holy See’s Apostolic Delegation to the Philippines to the status of Apostolic Nunciature. Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi became the first Apostolic Nuncio, having been appointed the following day, April 9, 1951.

The first Philippine ambassador was Manuel Moran, who presented his credentials to Pope Pius XII on June 4, 1951.

During the past 70 years, there have been four papal visits to the Philippines: in 1970 by Pope Paul VI; in 1981 and 1995 by Pope John Paul II; and by Pope Francis in 2015.

The 70th anniversary takes place as the Church celebrates 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines.

CBCP News

The world can learn from Buddhism’s loving-kindness concept

A

s t he w or l d d e a l s w it h the trauma caused by Covid-19, the World Kindness Day, observed on November 13 annually, was a good opportunity to reflect on the healing potential of both large and small acts of kindness.

Indeed, it was the kind acts of essential workers that helped save many lives.

As a scholar of Buddhist studies, I have researched the ways in which Buddhist monks talk about kindness and compassion toward all beings.

The Dalai Lama has famously been quoted as saying: “My true religion is kindness.”

A lthough there is more to Buddhism than just kindness, its teachings and exemplar y figures, I believe, have much to offer to a world experiencing intense suffering.

Loving-kindness teachings Some of the earliest Buddhist teachings developed in India—which are recorded in the Pali canon, the collection of scriptures in the Pali language— emphasized the idea of “metta,” or loving-kindness.

One teaching from this collection of scriptures is the “Karaniya Metta Sutta,” where the Buddha exhorts the good and wise to spread loving-kindness by making these wishes toward all beings: In gladness and in safety,

May all beings be at ease.

Whatever living beings there may be; Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none, The great or the mighty, medium, short or small, The seen and the unseen, Those living near and far away, Those born and to-be-born— May all beings be at ease!

In order to put these words into practice, several Buddhist teachers from North America teach meditation practices meant to develop one’s own metta.

During meditation sessions, practitioners can visualize people and chant wishes of loving-kindness using variations of phrases based on the Karaniya Metta Sutta.

A commonly used version is from a well-known Buddhist meditation teacher, Sharon Salzberg.

May all beings everywhere be safe and well.

May all beings everywhere be happy and content.

May all beings everywhere be healthy and strong.

May all beings everywhere be peaceful and at ease.

Practitioners spread this kindness toward themselves, people close to them, people they do not know—even distant people or enemies—and finally all beings throughout the world.

After visualizing this attitude of loving-kindness, practitioners find it is easier to radiate kindness toward others in real life.

I n a d d it io n t o me t t a , B u d dhists also practice compassion (karuna), sympathetic joy (mudita) and equanimity (upekkha) for a peaceful state of mind.

Cultivating compassion Later forms of Buddhism in East Asia and Tibet developed the idea of compassion further through the figure of the bodhisattva.

The bodhisattva is a practitioner who has vowed to work selflessly for the enlightenment of other beings.

The development of this state of mind is known as “bodhicitta.”

Bodhicitta provides the motivation and commitment to this difficult path of putting others before oneself.

One practice for cultivating bodhicitta is exchanging self for others. In this practice, those on the bodhisattva path would regard the suffering of others as if it were their own and would offer help to others as if helping oneself.

As the Indian Buddhist monk Santideva writes in his classic eighthcentury work on the path of the bodhisattva, “The Bodhicaryavatara,” one should meditate with this sentiment in mind: “all equally experience suffering and happiness. I should look after them as I do myself.”

Many bodhisattvas and their meanings

The Buddhist figure most focused on kindness is the bodhisattva of compassion, known originally as Avalokiteshvara, who became popular in India by the 6th century A.D. A popular way to depict Avalokiteshvara is with 11 heads and 1,000 arms, which he uses to benefit all sentient beings.

Tibetan Buddhists believe that all Dalai Lamas are manifestations of this bodhisattva.

This bodhisattva is known by various names across Asia. In Nepal, the bodhisattva is known as Karunamaya, and in Tibet as Lokesvara and Chenrezig.

In C hina, t he bod hisatt va is a fem a le f ig u re c a l led Gu a ny i n and portrayed as a woman w ith long, f low ing hair in white robes, who holds a vase tilted dow nward so she can drop the dews of compassion upon all beings.

Throughout East and Southeast Asia this is a popular figure. People make offerings to seek help, especially in regards to success in business and starting a family.

With practices that urge people to practice compassion toward others and with figures who can be asked to bestow it, Buddhism offers unique and diverse ways to think about and express kindness. Brooke Sched-

neck, Rhodes College The Conversation (CC)

Palestinian workers prepare a Christmas tree in Manger Square, adjacent to the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on November 16. The Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born, is wrapping up a three-year restoration project just in time for the normally busy Christmas season. AP/Nasser Nasser

Christmas in Bethlehem: Gilded treasures, but tourists are few

B

ETHLEHEM, West Bank—Ahead of Christmas, a towering wooden screen—once blackened with soot from millions of worshippers‘ candles—is being restored to its gilded glory in the Church of the Nativity, built at the site where many believe Jesus was born.

But few visitors are expected to see it during the upcoming Christmas holiday season.

Biblical Bethlehem has struggled since the start of the coronavirus pandemic almost two years ago. Christmas is normally peak season for tourism in Jesus‘ traditional birthplace, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In pre-pandemic times, thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world celebrated in the Church of the Nativity and the adjacent Manger Square.

Israel reopened its borders to vaccinated tourists earlier this month, but relatively few are expected to travel to Bethlehem this holiday season, and not nearly as many as in the record-breaking year preceding the pandemic.

Most tourists visiting Bethlehem fly into Israel as the West Bank does not have an airport.

Many of Bethlehem’s hotels have shut and shopkeepers have struggled to keep afloat.

Aladdin Subuh, a shopkeeper whose store sits just off Manger Square, said he only opens his doors to air out the shop.

“It’s almost Christmas and there’s nobody. Imagine that,” he said, surveying the few passersby in the hopes of spotting a foreigner in search of a souvenir. “For two years, no business. It’s like dying slowly.”

Though the pandemic has blighted the Holy Land’s once thriving tourism industry for Israelis and Palestinians alike, for tourism-dependent Bethlehem, the impact has been especially severe.

Israel, the primary gateway for foreign tourists, had banned most foreign visitors for the past year and half before this month‘s reopening.

Just over 30,000 tourists entered Israel in the first half of November, compared to 421,000 in November 2019, according to Israel’s Interior Ministry.

The Palestinian self-rule government, which administers autonomous enclaves in the West Bank, has only provided limited support, in the form of tax exemptions and training programs, to hoteliers, tour operators and tour guides, said Majed Ishaq, director of marketing at the Palestinian Tourism Ministry.

He said the ministry was launching a campaign to encourage Palestinian citizens of Israel to visit Bethlehem and other West Bank cities over the holiday season.

He added that he hopes the number of foreign tourists would be 10 percent to 20 percent of pre-pandemic figures.

Others are not so optimistic.

“I don’t think tourism will come back very soon,” said Fadi Kattan, a Palestinian chef and hotelier in Bethlehem’s Old City.

The pandemic forced him to close his Hosh Syrian guesthouse in March 2020, and over the months he had to let his staff go.

He said it was neither financially nor practically feasible to reopen ahead of Christmas, particularly in light of a new wave of coronavirus infections sweeping across Europe.

He said it will take years to recover from the pandemic’s “compounded impact over two years” on Bethlehem’s economy—from hotels and restaurants on down to the farmers, grocers and dry cleaners who depended on their businesses.

“To reopen in security we need to see that there’s a long-term prospect,” he said.

On a recent day at the Church of the Nativity, the crown jewel of Bethlehem, a solitary group of Italian tourists entered the 6th-century basilica that in years before Covid-19 would have a line stretching out the door.

Municipal workers were starting to string up Christmas lights behind them in Manger Square.

The church has undergone a multimillion dollar facelift since 2013 that was organized by a Palestinian presidential committee. It has restored gold-tiled mosaics and marble floors to their former glory and made major structural repairs to the Unesco heritage site, one of the oldest churches in Christendom.

Additional work remains to be done, said Mazen Karam, director of the Bethlehem Development Foundation, the group spearheading some of the restorations at the church.

The undertaking has already cost $17 million, but Karam said an additional $2 million are needed to refurbish the church’s flagstones and install firefighting and micro-climate systems.

A separate project by the Greek Orthodox Church to refurbish the once soot-encrusted iconostasis—a late 18th-century wooden screen separating the sanctuary from the building‘s nave—was delayed by the coronavirus outbreak, but is now nearing completion ahead of Christmas, after three years of painstaking work.

“It‘s a big challenge,” said Saki Pappadopoulos, a woodcarver with Artis, a Greek restoration company leading the project.

But Fr. Issa Thaljieh, a Greek Orthodox priest at the Church of the Nativity, remains optimistic ahead of the holiday season.

“Thank God, a little bit day by day we can see more groups coming to Bethlehem—not staying in Bethlehem, only maybe for a visit—but it is a good sign,” he said, standing on the church‘s recently refinished marble bema, or raised platform. “Bethlehem without tourists, without people coming to Bethlehem, is nothing.” AP

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Sunday, November 28, 2021

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

A7

Pasonanca Natural Park

Zamboanga City’s important life support system

A

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

She said the more than 140 Zamboanga City Water District blue guards are now down to just 45.

“Ever since, the PaNP is being protected by the blue guards. But now, we have to find a way to strengthen our forest protection program,” she said in Filipino, adding that they are hoping that in the 2022, “we can have an additional budget for forest protection.”

While the core zone, a strictly “notake zone,” is well protected, within buffer zones, however, timber poaching, wildlife hunting, small-scale mining and farming posed serious threats to the biodiversity of the national park.

t the heart of Zamboanga City’s vast forest is the Pasonanca Natural Park (PaNP), a 17,000-hectare protected area that provides an important life-support system not only to the unique flora and fauna that can be found within it, but also to the people of its surrounding communities.

It was only recently that researchers confirmed it has the presence of a nesting Philippine eagle, making it home to the Philippine national bird and the world’s largest bird of prey.

With this recent discovery, the Zamboanga City passed City Ordinance 551, an ordinance declaring the Philippine Eagle and the Zamboanga bulbul as flagship species of the city.

Rich biodiversity; only water source The PaNP was considered the third highest in the Philippines in terms of level of biological diversity.

Its natural resources are a natural magnet for learners in the field of biology. It is being visited by researchers, students and other entities for educational purposes and agencies for their environmental activities According to the Biodiversit y Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-BMB), the PaNP is the only source of potable water for Zamboanga City.

Almost 1 million people living in Zamboanga City rely on the clean drinking water they source from the park.

The Tumaga River also provides industrial and irrigation water for the area around the city.

There are six streams, one river and 20 perennial springs within the protected area which serve as the main source of domestic water for the city.

Watershed forest reserve The PaNP, a legislated protected area

by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (Enipas) Act of 2018, was first proclaimed as a watershed forest reservation pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 1999 on December 17, 1989, giving it the name “Pasonanca Watershed Forest Reserve.”

It was later proclaimed as a protected area under the Nipas Act of 1992, and was named as the Pasonanca Natural Park as mandated by Presidential Proclamation 132 on July 5, 1999.

The PaNP straddles seven barangays including Bunguiao, Tolosa, Salaan, Lumayang, Pasonanca, Dulian and Baluno.

in the area is farming and only a small fraction are engaged as wage and salary workers, mostly as maintenance workers and glue guards of the Zamboanga City Water District that protects the PaNP.

Natural park

Dipterocarp forest

A natural park is defined as a relatively large area not materially altered by a human activity where extractiveresource uses are not allowed, and it is maintained to protect outstanding natural and scenic areas of national or international significance for scientific, educational, and recreational use, which best describes the PaNP. The PaNP’s Strict Protection Zone, or “No-Take Zone,” covers a total area of 12,000 hectares of primary-growth dipterocarp forest, while the remaining 5,000 buffer zone area is characterized by secondary-growth dipterocarp forest.

According to the DENR Zamboanga Peninsula Office, Zamboangueño and Visayan tribes occupy and cultivate the buffer zone areas and multiple-use zone of the park. Around 90 percent of the total households have been occupying these areas since the 1950s.

The major occupation of the residents

The DENR-BMB added that the PaNP has the largest block of old-growth lowland dipterocarp forest remaining in Region 9.

The old growth and secondary forest covers about 60 percent of the area, while the rest is agricultural land, coconut plantations and built-up areas.

The DENR Zamboanga Peninsula, for its part, reported in the PaNP’s latest profile that there are about 70 species of trees belonging to the Dipterocarpaceae and Palmae families thriving within the park dominated with white and red lauan.

The other important tree species thriving in the national park are the Mindanao narek, mangasinoro, tanguile, apitong, yakal, almon and dao.

Science camp helps kids make career decisions

I

n response to the new education and career landscape brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute recently held a special online edition of its Climate Science Youth Camp to help high schoolers plot their future, a DOST-SEI news release said.

Held annually since 2009, except for a brief respite in 2020 due to the pandemic, the DOST-SEI Climate Science Youth Camp brings together scientists and researchers to give students and teachers a close-up glimpse at nature and how to take care of it.

Heritage park

This year’s virtual camp was focused on the phenomenon of harmful algal blooms (HABs), or the proliferation—sometimes due to pollution or climate change—of microscopic water plants that are toxic to many animals, including people.

In addition to its usual emphasis on climate science, the camp also focused on helping school children make sense of the post-pandemic landscape with the theme, “Finding a Career Path Through Research.”

Marine biologist and camp leader Dr. Aletta Yñiguez underscored the need for inclusivity and diversity in

Rivers with pristine water are common in the Pasonanca Natural Park. DENR Zamboanga Peninsula photo

Threatened species PaNP, both an Important Bird Area and Key Biodiversity Area, is home

science research.

“We weaved a story between what we are doing for the HAB program and the routes we took toward science and our contributions in the program,” Yñiguez explained.

“We have diverse roles but our paths toward what we’re doing now don’t necessarily follow the expected—from computer scientist to geologist to marine informatics, or biology and computer science or community work,” she added.

She noted: “We wanted to show that you can and should be creative and innovative in approaching science and potential careers in research.”

DOST-SEI Director Josette T. Biyo urged participants to pursue careers in science regardless of their backgrounds.

“We hope that this camp has helped students get a better idea of the careers that are open to them. Anyone from any walk of life can help protect the environment, and anybody with a healthy amount of curiosity can learn to become a scientist,” Biyo underscored.

The 2021 Climate Science Youth Camp was attended by over three dozen students and teachers, from the National Capital Region as well as from as far away as Region III and Region IV-A in Luzon.

The DOST-SEI plans to expand the youth camp offerings to include even more regions and participants, with meteorology and geology as key topics for 2022. S&T Media Services

to the most threatened premium species of trees.

A total of 11 of the 96 most threatened and premium species in the Philippines are found in the national park.

Of its estimated 15,000 flora, 50 percent are endemic, and about 70 percent to 80 percent are flowering plants. Most of these are threatened outside the PaNP. Meanwhile, the DENR-BMB said among the threatened wildlife in the PaNP are the Philippine hawk eagle and the red-headed flameback.

In 2018, Birdlife International reported that many of the threatened and restricted-range species in the Mindanao and Eastern Visayas Endemic Bird Area have been recorded in or near to Pasonanca Watershed.

It included the threatened Mindanao bleeding-heart, Philippine dwarf kingfisher, Philippine leafbird, little slaty flycatcher, and Zamboanga bulbul, which is confined to western Mindanao and Basilan.

The Enteng’s monitor lizard, one of the two newly discovered Philippine endemic species of Asian monitor lizard, is also recorded in

the park.

Tourism potential The DENR-BMB said the PaNP is a potential tourist magnet in Zamboanga City. Among the tourism activities it offers are trekking, river/swimming, bird watching, nature sightseeing, filming/photo shooting and camping.

It has a total of 30 outposts and seven Biodiversity Monitoring Stations (BMS) around the Core Zone.

The BMS serve as lodges or sleeping quarters of park visitors. Each station has a potable water source and five have electricity.

However, PaNP Protected Area Superintendent Domeliza Campaner told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on November 23 that the park remains closed to visitors because of the quarantine restrictions being implemented by the local government.

Protecting the PaNP According to Campaner, there is a very minimal threat within the area’s core zone due to the presence of Zamboanga City Water District guards, but the pandemic is a big challenge.

The PaNP is a candidate for the distinct title of an Asean Heritage Park (AHP), which represents the “cream of the crop” of protected areas in Southeast Asia.

According to Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), the DENR-BMB is pushing for the PaNP to become the country’s 10th AHP, because of its pristine old-growth forests and ecosystem function as a source of the water supply of the whole Zamboanga City and nearby municipalities.

Moreover, approximately three years ago, a pair of Philippine eagle has been sighted in the protected area.

“This is the first time that Philippine eagles were sighted in the area, considering that it is very close to the city,” ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim told the BusinessMirror via Messenger on November 24.

What makes PaNP unique is that “it is a primary watershed [high ecological value area], and also a habitat for a globally important species, endemic only to one country.”

“These [among some of] the criteria in the recognition of [protected areas] as AHPs,” she said.

According to Lim, once the PaNP earned the title as an AHP, various support will be coming not only from the DENR, but the Asean as well, further boosting its protection and conservation.

“AHP is a brand that can help promote protected areas or national parks recognized as such…as nature tourism sites and to mobilize resources for strengthening management. ACB, for example, prioritizes support to AHPs for its programs and projects,” she explained.

Metro Pacific taps SAP to attain sustainability

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

D

igital technology will have an important role to play in helping enterprises uphold their sustainability goals, according to leading infrastructure investment company Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC).

Chaye Cabal-Revilla, MPIC’s Chief Finance, Risk and Sustainability Officer, told a recent news conference via Zoom that the company decided to tap German software giant SAP to help it achieve the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), with UN SDG 9, which seeks to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation as its anchor.

Cabal-Revilla said this initiative is part of the group’s sustainability philosophy of integrating business and environmental stewardship in its investment strategies.

“MPIC has always been committed to elevating its sustainability initiatives across the group,” she said.

“We have put sustainability at the heart of MPIC, and it is evident in how we design, build, and operate our business with minimal social and ecological disruption,” she added.

In this aspect, MPIC and SAP share the same vision to create a more sustainable future for all.

“We believe that RISE with SAP will help us improve our operations and augment our sustainability initiatives,” Cabal-Revilla said.

For his part, SAP Philippines Managing Director Edler Panlilio said companies need metrics to measure their performance.

“It is critical for organizations to be able to accurately capture, monitor, and then optimize the sustainability drivers in key business processes enabled by a strong digital core. Businesses need to focus on being purpose driven and impact more than just the top and bottom line but also the green line,” Panlilio said.

To achieve its goals, Panlilio said SAP aims to embed sustainability into its core business processes to deliver visibility and velocity that are required to inform and drive better business decisions through embedded, validated, real-time data in a holistic, integrated manner.

He added that SAP also walks the talk by being an enabler and an exemplar of its own sustainability practices with a clear “Chasing Zero’’ vision.

“We hope to work collectively with businesses and executives to prioritize environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities that support the interests of the broader group of stakeholders,” he said.

Panlilio further said that organizations are compelled to create a greener

and cleaner future complemented by greater equality than the current environment.

He pointed out that technology solutions will do the heavy lifting capturing, managing, analyzing, and using sustainability data more efficiently for better sustainability stewardship.

“With SAP Sustainability Control Tower solution, companies are able to gain a greater degree of granularity in reporting, a higher level of transparency around ESG performance, and can identify levers and options for driving corrective and enhanced action that take financial, social and environmental valuation into account,” Panlilio said.

He said SAP has most recently introduced its Product Footprint Management solution that lets companies calculate carbon footprints for their products and across the value chain.

According to the International Data Corp., organizations are enhancing their operations through digital transformation initiatives.

In its “Covid-19 Impact on IT Spending” survey held from October 15 to 30, 2020, the think tank said respondents rate their top organizational goals for this year, with 55 percent wanting to digitally enhance their products and services and 38 percent of respondents wanting to accelerate the pace of digital transformation or innovation.

Sports

Regulator for English football gets backing from UK government

BusinessMirror

A8 | S

unday, November 28, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

THE review is commissioned by the government in April following the ill-fated attempt by six leading Premier League clubs to launch a European Super League. AP

‘BRIBE-RIO’ OLYMPICS S

ÃO PAULO—Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the head of the Brazilian Olympic Committee for more than two decades, was sentenced to 30 years and 11 months in jail for allegedly buying votes for Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympics.

The ruling by Judge Marcelo Bretas became public Thursday.

Nuzman, who also headed the Rio 2016 organizing committee, was found guilty of corruption, criminal organization, money laundering and tax evasion. The 79-year-old executive won’t be jailed until all his appeals are heard.

He and his lawyer did not comment on the decision.

Bretas also sentenced to jail former Rio Governor Sergio Cabral, businessman Arthur Soares and Leonardo Gryner, who was the Rio 2016 committee director-general of operations. Investigators say all three and Nuzman coordinated to bribe the former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, Lamine Diack, and his son Papa Diack for votes.

Cabral, who has been in jail since 2016 and faces a series of other convictions and investigations, told Bretas two years ago he had paid about $2 million in exchange for up to six votes in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting that awarded Rio the Olympic and

Paralympic Games. He said the money had come from a debt owed to him by Soares.

Cabral, who governed Rio state between 2003 and 2010, added that another $500,000 was paid later to Diack’s son with the aim of securing three more votes of IOC members.

Bretas’s ruling labels Nuzman as “one of the main [responsibles] for the promotion and the organization of the criminal scheme, given his position in the Brazilian Olympic Committee and before international authorities.” The judge also said the sports executive “headed and coordinated action of the other agents, clearly as a leader” to illegally garnish support at the IOC. The judge said he will send the results of the investigation to authorities in Senegal and France, where Papa Diack and Lamine Diack live, respectively.

Rio’s bid beat Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid to host the 2016 Games.

The investigation in Brazil began in 2017 after French newspaper Le Monde found members of the IOC had been bribed three days before the 2009 session in Copenhagen where Rio was picked to host the Games.

WADA REFORMS OUT, BUT ATHLETES WANT MORE THE World Anti-Doping Agency approved a series of reforms designed to give athletes a bigger

World Athletics: ‘Disturbing’ level of abuse on social media

N

EARLY three out of every 20 track and field athletes whose social-media feeds were monitored in a study at the Tokyo Olympics were subject to abusive posts, and women were targeted in more than 85 percent of those posts, according to results released Thursday by the sport’s global regulator.

World Athletics released observations culled from more than 240,000 Twitter posts related to 161 athletes who competed in Tokyo earlier this year. Of those, 132 were found to be abusive and 65 percent of those were “gravely abusive,” according to standards set in the study.

Twenty-three of the 161 athletes whose accounts were monitored were targets of the abuse, and 16 of those 23 were women.

“This research is disturbing in so many ways but what strikes me the most is that the abuse is targeted at individuals who are celebrating and sharing their performances and talent as a way to inspire and motivate people,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said in a news release.

The study found that 63 percent of identified abuse was directed at

just two athletes, who were black and female, and the two most common categories of abuse were of a sexist (29 percent) and/or racist (26 percent) nature.

US athletes were targeted in 89 percent of the racist abuse, even though they represented only 23 percent of the athletes studied.

“Increasing evidence indicates that this is driven by a huge rise in prejudice against race, gender and social status,” Max Siegel, the CEO of USA Track and Field, said in the release. “Simply put, this type of behavior is disgusting and utterly unacceptable.”

The study follows the launch of the World Athletics Safeguarding Policy, which the federation described as the implementing of “a process of protecting vulnerable persons, children and adults, from harassment, abuse and exploitation [and] creating a safe and welcoming environment, where everyone is respected and valued.”

In the news release laying out the results of the social-media study, World Athletics said the data provides it a basis “to work more closely with social-media platforms to tackle this issue.” AP

voice in decision-making, though the changes were roundly criticized by activist groups that said they didn’t go far enough.

At its board meeting Thursday, Wada announced it was adding two seats to its executive committee, one of which will go to an athlete representative.

It approved creation of an independent ethics board and reformed the athletes council to give a wider group of athletes a say in appointing its 20 members.

Wada also approved a pilot athlete ombudsman program, which is supposed to provide independent advice for athletes in dealing with doping issues.

A number of athlete groups put out statements deriding the changes as little more than cosmetic. One major complaint is that the key decision-making bodies are still populated with members of the IOC, which accounts for half of Wada’s funding. World governments supply the other half.

“Wada should neither be controlled nor governed by anyone who has a stake in the economics of sport competition if they are to be considered legitimate,” said a statement drafted on behalf of four separate athletes groups, including Global Athlete.

Wada’s independence has come under scrutiny over the past

BRAZIL Olympic Committee President Carlos Arthur Nuzman (left) and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach visit Maracana Stadium ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Games in January 2014. AP decade, during which a doping scandal in Russia roiled the antidoping movement and led critics to wonder if the global regulator was going too easy on Russia at the behest of the IOC. Another group, World Players, put out a detailed spreadsheet that compared Wada’s reforms to what the group has been proposing. Among the criticisms is that many of the athletes in decision-making positions arrive there because of their relationship with the IOC and other entities in the sports movement.

“These athletes have legal duties and obligations to the sport movement which may not be in the best interest of athletes,” the analysis said.

Wada said there are more changes to come. President Witold Bańka said the actions completed Thursday “will have a far-reaching and meaningful impact on how the agency is governed, with more independent voices around the table and increased representation for athletes and national anti-doping organizations.” AP

Argentina celebrates Maradona’s death anniversary

B

UENOS AIRES, Argentina— Argentina marked the one-year anniversary of the death of soccer legend Diego Maradona on Thursday with ceremonies, tributes, graffiti murals and emotional messages on social media.

Maradona died of a heart attack at the age of 60 after having brain surgery two weeks earlier. Seven health professionals who tended to the star are facing criminal charges after a medical report said Maradona did not receive adequate treatment.

“The world has been more horrible for a year because you are not here,” Maradona’s eldest daughter Dalma wrote on Instagram.

Maradona’s youngest son, 8-year-old Diego Fernando, visited his father’s grave in the Jardín de Bella Vista private cemetery.

“I came so Dieguito said hi to his father,” his mother Verónica Ojeda told journalists.

One of Maradona’s brothers, Raul Alfredo, also visited the grave of the World Cup winner, who played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell’s Old Boys.

Maradona’s four sisters attended a religious mass.

Argentina’s national team also

marked the occasion on social media with the message: “It has been one year since you became immortal. We will never forget you.”

The country’s soccer association said the next round of the domestic championship will take place after players jointly form a number 10 on the pitch before each match.

Fans also gathered for tributes at

sites dedicated to the Argentine great.

South America, meanwhile, has followed Europe by scrapping the away-goals rule for its club competitions, including the prestigious Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana.

South American soccer body CONMEBOL announced the decision on Thursday. UEFA made a similar ruling in June. AP

A MURAL depicts the late soccer star Diego Maradona (left) and Lionel Messi with a message that reads in Spanish, “He has left us, but he is not gone because Diego is eternal,” outside the “Estrella de Fiorito” club, Maradona’s first club, in the Fiorito neighborhood of Buenos Aires. AP

L

ONDON—The creation of an independent regulator for English football was given initial backing by the government on Thursday in a move intended to safeguard the future of clubs by providing financial oversight and assessing the suitability of potential owners.

The announcement by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries followed the publication of a review of football governance chaired by a former sports minister, Tracey Crouch, who concluded the game could no longer be left to run itself.

The review was commissioned by the government in April following the ill-fated attempt by six leading Premier League clubs to launch a European Super League. The review recommended granting the “golden share” of veto powers to supporters’ groups on key issues such as clubs attempting to enter breakaway competitions, moving stadium or changing club colors.

The review panel also examined the fallout from the collapse of Bury, which was expelled from the Football League after 125 years in 2019 after troubled ownership and financial turmoil.

“We are at a turning point for football in this country,” Dorries said. “The review is a detailed and worthy piece of work that will require a substantive response and plan of action from across government.

“But the primary recommendation of the review is clear, and one the government chooses to endorse in principle today: that football requires a strong, independent regulator to secure the future of our national game. The government will now work at pace to determine the most effective way to deliver an independent regulator, and any powers that might be needed.”

An independent regulator would ensure clubs are run sustainably and for the benefit of their communities through a licensing system, based on the vision of Crouch’s review. The regulator would have responsibility for administering strengthened owners’ and directors’ tests.

“The review demonstrates that there are fundamental issues with our national sport, and that this merits radical reform,” Dorries said. “Fans across the country want and deserve that reform.”

England’s most successful manager for more than half a century, Gareth Southgate, meanwhile, has agreed to stay in the job until 2024.

The 51-year-old Southgate isn’t ready for a return to club coaching just yet, especially when there’s a chance to improve on reaching the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of this year’s European Championship.

“When you’ve done work culturally and where they can challenge [for titles], you want to bring that to fruition,” Southgate said Monday.

“We’ve only won one World Cup but we have to believe that’s possible, it’s an aim we have as a team.

“To step away when we think the next few years could have been exciting, that could be difficult to live with.

If this contract is the last, I will only be 53 at the end of it and I hope there’ll be a lot of my life at the end of it.”

Now the focus is on the 2022 World Cup after qualifying last week.

“There was never a consideration I wouldn’t go to Qatar,” Southgate said. “I wanted to be sure I was wholly committed beyond that. Tournaments take a lot out of you and the way it ended for us [losing on penalties to Italy at Euro 2020] took a lot of emotion and energy, and we were so quickly back in World Cup qualifying and I wanted to allow myself that consideration.

“I didn’t want it to be a case of me agreeing something with my mind somewhere else in 18 months.

I’ve signed to the [2024] Euros and if the team carry on playing at the level we know they can, that’s when we take the next decision. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t rushing into a decision that further down the line I might regret.” AP

BusinessMirror

November 28, 2021

Got pandemic anxiety?

You might relate more to Covid memes than non-anxious people

2

BusinessMirror NOVEMBER 28, 2021 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

YOUR MUSI

FEELING ALL THE FEELINGS Anson Seabra cracks eggs with his music

I

By Stephanie Joy Ching

NSPIRED by the phrase “holding on for life” singer-songwriter Anson Seabra recently released his latest EP, “Feeling for My Life.”

Containing 9 tracks, the whole project is a roller coaster of emotions described as “a record about finding myself, about putting into words and music the things that needed to be said for me and for no one else.”

Publisher

: T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Editor-In-Chief

: Lourdes M. Fernandez

Concept

: Aldwin M. Tolosa

Y2Z Editor

: Jt Nisay

SoundStrip Editor

: Edwin P. Sallan

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

Columnists

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

Photographers

: Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes

Y2Z & SOUNDSTRIP are published and distributed free every Sunday by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing Inc. as a project of the

The Philippine Business Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd Floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725.

Fax line: 813-7025 Advertising Sales: 893-2019;

817-1351,817-2807.

Circulation: 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. www.businessmirror.com.ph

ANSON Seabra

“I am a very sensitive person, I have a lot of feelings. I believe that if I don’t feel my feelings, things will be very wrong, so this EP is a summation of tracks of the various feelings I’ve had of varying depths,” he said.

For Anson, the present is “a hard time to be a human being” and he hopes that the EP will “give listeners a sense of what it’s like to live in the world as a highly sensitive person, of the highs and lows of being a young adult today.

I hope that within every song my fans can find solace and a sense of peace in knowing they are not alone in their struggles.”

With this theme in mind, “Feeling for My Life” introduces two singles that chronicle two very different, yet relatable life experiences. “Walked Through Hell” is a somber piano piece that speaks of heartbreak and “getting crushed” while “Keep Your Head Up Princess” is an uplifting tune about bringing child-like magic back into adult life. “‘Walked Through Hell’ is a song about feeling that you would walk through hell for someone only to have them walk away from you basically. And I think everyone can relate to needing someone to be there for them and not being there when they need it,” he said of the former. As for “Keep Your Head Up, Princess”, Anson states: “I just wanted to write a song that was uplifting. I always wanted to tell stories with my songs. There’s such a magic to being a kid, it’s so carefree. All you care about is having fun, so I wrote this song about this little girl who had so much magic in her eyes, and then she slowly lost touch with it and it’s very hard to revitalize that magic that I think is still in all of us,” These two songs not only capture the feelings of disappointment and lost hope, they were also able to masterfully demonstrate Anson’s belief in the power of a song.

“The power of a song to singularly crack you like an egg is so potent like nothing else,” he recalls, “So for me, I have just been ripped open my favorite songs and I know my music can have that same effect. It’s very therapeutic to listen and to make,” he concluded.

Anson Seabra’s “Feeling for My Life” is now available in major streaming platforms.

IC

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | NOVEMBER 28, 2021

BUSINESS

SoundSampler

by Tony M. Maghirang

Ageing Idols Flexing, Future Stars A-Blazing

PARASOULS Drifters, Dream Makers

R

ARELY is a Pinoy band able to find and unveil nuances in the tried-and-tested allures of poprock. Rarer still is getting it done handsomely without gravitating towards generic pop-punk.

On their latest EP, four-man Parasouls uncover shades of folk-rock and power pop to galvanize their distinct take on Pinoy pop-rock. Key to the leap in imaginative musicianship is Dani Dimaano who wrote most of the words and music on the 6-track album. Unlike a lot of disillusioned millennials with a guitar and a mic, Ms, Dimaano does not whine nor whimper.

Dani rather articulates the selfconscious disappointments of her generation amplified today by the struggles with Covid-19 restrictions yet in the end, she turns them into triumphs in the firm belief that all things will pass. Of course, her angstdipped musings transcend expectations with the able help of her bandmates. These drifters are finally making their dreams come true.

MEDYO MAYBE The Sinking Ship Of Uncertainty

N

OW comes unexpected new music from the Ilocos Region. Medyo Maybe describes himself as a boy armed with a stolen microphone and an

acoustic guitar who decides to make music. He further describes the EP to tell the “untold love story between titanic and the iceberg.”

Pretty weird right there along with track titles like “Dead Sea” and the titular “The Sinking Ship of Uncertainty.” But for all that, the album rolls out a short yet strange psychedelic trip in under 15 minutes. The liner notes go on to state: “As the lonely robot made his journey to the oceans/ He sees a sunken ship/Is this what they call love? he mumbled to himself.” Add passages of musique concrete plus the pleasurable sound of reverb and this album is quite possibly one of a kind in today’s increasingly predictable scene.

JAMIN REYES Kundiman at the End of the World; or the Techno​-F ​ ascist Colonial End

L

.A.-based guitarist Jamin Marciano Maximo Alcoba Reyes is behind this work featuring interpretations of 20th century Filpino classic tunes arranged by Maestro Pedro Concepcion and transcribed

by Maestro Jose Valdez. Jamin recorded the tracks in 4 channel stereo through his grandfather’s Akai 280D-SS reel to reel tape machine. The idea is to capture the sweetness and romanticism of kundiman set against the backdrop of violent times of intense people’s struggle for liberation. In short, it’s late night guitar for any age even as the politically astute should feel the anguish and pain shining through such immortals as “Dahil sa ‘Yo”, “Walang Kamatayan” and “Dapit-Hapon.”

ROBERT PLANT AND ALISON KRAUSS Raise the Roof

A

DECADE after their initial collaboration on the certified masterpiece titled “Raising Sand,” ‘70s hard rock icon Robert Plant and country rock poster girl Alison Krauss got together for a new round of reinventing blues, country and bluegrass classics.

Producer T-Bone Burnett is also back on the board to draw out the best performances from the winning pair of artists.

With avant guitarists Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot on sidemen duties, Mr. Plant and Ms. Krauss truly raise the roof bringing fresh flashy energy to the original blues of “Can’t Let Go” and added rock and roll bedlam to “Gone, Gone, Gone.” Then there’s the haunting balladry of “Going Where the Lonely Go” which contrasts wildly with the tepid country croon behind “It Don’t Bother Me.” Ten years later, the PlantKrauss combine remains a magical proposition.

DURAN DURAN Future Past

G

IORGIO Moroder, Mark Ronson and Blur’s Graham Coxon share co-production and co-writing credits on ‘80s New Romantic idols Duran Duran’s new release. As expected, the ageing foursome,

led figuratively and vocally by the redoubtable Simon LeBon, expands on their past successes to deliver a new album that’s as eclectic as their native musical chops will allow. So “Anniversary” harks back to “Hungry Like A Wolf,” “Invisible” references the early days of electro-rock while “Hammerhead” sees them carousing with hiphop chanteuse Ivorian Doll. Still, they all come second to the mesmeric splendor of “All of You,” a sprawling number with sections of ecstatic highs and unruffled lows.

MASTODON Hushed and Grim

P

art of the triumvirate (including the mighty Baroness) that placed US Southern sludge on the heavy metal map in the 2010s, Mastodon continue to reanimate the brute strength of their namesake from the age of fossils. On their latest release, a double album, the band once more flexes with the massive scale, scope and magnificence of their 2004 effort titled Leviathan. Meaning, the source of Mastodon’s primal heaviness appears inexhaustible as can be gleaned from the 1-2 opening punch of “Gobblers of Dregs” and “Savage Lands” then on to heartbreakers like “Peace and Tranquility” and “Had It All.” Certain songs even conjure grunge champions Alice in Chains mixing it up with Soundgarden in metal hell. Call it career progression but Mastodon’s new piece de resistance is really an evolution in sound.

3

Got pandemic anxiety? You might relate more to Covid memes than non-anxious people

By Umair Akram Sheffield Hallam University

P

ublic health measures to combat Covid, such as lockdowns, quarantines and social distancing, have made many people anxious.

In many countries, studies found that rates of anxiety and depression rose following the onset of the pandemic. Coping with anxiety can be a challenge even in the calmest of times, so it’s no surprise that the pandemic affected the mental health of so many people (see related story).

One antidote to newfound anxiety may be found in the many Covid memes that have proliferated on the Internet during the pandemic. Positive humor has been found to be an effective coping mechanism for anxiety, and this may also be applicable to pandemic-related anxiety.

Humor helps people reassess negative situations and see them in a more positive light. The Internet provides an endless supply of memes, funny videos and images to make us laugh about any topic. Many online groups and forums have emerged dedicated to sharing and discussing Covid memes.

As a psychologist, my research seeks to better understand the nature of mental health difficulties. Like many, I also enjoy laughing at Internet memes on social media and sharing them with friends and family. My colleagues and I in the research

Some of the top all-time entries on the subreddit titled “coronavirus memes,” which were posted at the beginning of the pandemic. group MEMELab are interested in the connection between humor and mental health and how memes can play a role in helping people struggling with depression and anxiety.

In our latest research we wanted to know how people experiencing clinically significant levels of anxiety perceive Covid memes differently to their non-anxious counterparts.

This study followed our earlier work, where we found that people experiencing clinically significant levels of depression showed a preference for Internet memes about depression, compared with nondepressed controls. The participants with depression found the memes more relatable and funnier compared with those in the non-depressed group.

We wanted to know whether these results would apply to people who were struggling with anxiety during the pandemic, and encountering memes about the pandemic itself.

First, we gathered 45 of the most popular memes related to the pandemic from a page on the online forum Reddit titled “coronavirus memes”. These memes referenced aspects of the pandemic such as social distancing, mask-wearing, lockdown, Covid symptoms and remote working.

We then asked 160 people, 80 of whom had clinically significant anxiety, to rate the memes on aspects like relatability, humor and offensiveness. We also asked about the likelihood they would share the memes with another person.

Covid memes and anxiety We found that people with severe anxiety rated the memes as funnier, more relatable and more shareable when compared with a non-anxious control group. This suggests that anxious people may use humor to make light of an uncertain and worrying situation, in this case, the pandemic.

The greater likelihood of anxious people relating to and sharing Covid memes sug-

gests that these memes might be a helpful tool to express feelings about the pandemic, which may otherwise be difficult to verbalize.

In another recent study, members of the public completed a questionnaire where they observed three memes that were either related or unrelated to Covid.

The researchers found that people who viewed the Covid-captioned memes reported lower levels of Covid-related stress compared with those who looked at memes unrelated to the pandemic. This suggests that viewing memes related to the pandemic may help people cope with the negative psychological effect of the pandemic.

Taken together, the outcomes of these studies show that viewing and sharing memes may change how people view the negative aspects of the pandemic, which may help them cope with their anxiety. The Conversation ON THE COVER: Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash

Feelings of ‘uncertainty’ and ‘isolation’ cause pandemic-related anxiety among youth

By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez

T

he stress, fear and grief brought by the coronavirus pandemic continue to weigh heavily on young people, creating far-ranging consequences on both their physical and mental well-being.

A discussion on mental health, titled “Stop Covid Deaths: Covid-19 and Mental Health of Youth,” hosted by the University of the Philippines Manila-National Telehealth Center and led by child psychiatry expert Dr. Cornelio Banaag Jr., points to feelings of “uncertainty” and “isolation” as key factors that contribute to the rise of mental health problems among adolescents.

“It’s normal that they feel these emotions given the substantial changes to their routines,” Banaag said. “The lack of daily structure, the feeling of aloneness can be challenging even to well-adjusted individuals.”

Add to this the change in young people’s experiences of loss, grief and bereavement.

“When we lose a friend or family to Covid-19, we can’t even exercise the normal grieving process, another risk factor for

depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder. There is so much complicated grief going around.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 10 to 20 percent of children and adolescents suffer from various forms of mental disorders, with most happening among young adults starting at age 14. The risk of suicide is highest in ages 15 to 24 years old.

“None of us realized we would deal with this difficult time. There is an invisible enemy that can only be seen in terms of morbidity and mortality numbers,” said Banaag.

or trying to harm oneself or others, sudden overwhelming fear for no reason and severe, out-of-control behavior.

Changes in eating habits such as increased hunger or lack of appetite, difficulty perceiving reality and concentrating, frequent disobedience or aggression, crying for help on social media and multiple physical ailments without obvious causes are also some of the common symptoms of mental health conditions.

“Early intervention can help reduce the severity of an illness. It may even be possible to delay or prevent deeper mental health problems and suicide,” said Banaag.

Notice the warning signs

First steps to get help

Drawing the line between expected behavior and signs of a mental problem is not an easy task, said Banaag.

“When does normal sadness become a depression? When does nervousness become an anxiety disorder and anger becomes manic range?”

Each illness has its own symptoms, but common signs of mental health problems include feeling sad or withdrawn, planning

4 BusinessMirror

The first step to dealing with a mental health problem, according to Banaag, is recognizing its very existence.

He said that mental health screening a person suspected of having depression provides an accurate diagnosis, effective treatment and appropriate follow-up.

“There are certain measures that are designed not just for psychiatrists and psychologists, but also primary care workers

November 28, 2021

to use on patients with depression, such as PHQ-9,” Banaag said.

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic instrument for common mental disorders. The PHQ-9 is the depression module, which scores each of the 9 DSM-IV criteria as “0” (not at all) to “3” (nearly every day).

It is worth noting, however, that PHQ-9 is not a screening tool for depression, but it is used to monitor the severity of depression and response to treatment.

Learning to cope

In managing stress and anxiety in the time of the pandemic, Banaag said that mental wellness begins with being kind to one’s body and mind.

“Find ways to move, sleep well and feed your body well,” he said. “It is normal to feel sad, to feel stressed, to feel anxious during times of crises. Do you realize that our mind produces at least 80,000 thoughts in any single day? We have no power to control those thoughts, but we have the power to react to those thoughts.”