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Hollywood hat trick: Artisan shaped the look of Oppenheimer

LOS ANGELES —  To create the look of renowned physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer for the big screen, his trademark hat had to be just right.

Two hatmakers had failed to replicate the scientist’s unique style when Mark Mejia, owner of Baron Hats, headed to a Hollywood studio lot to try his version on Cillian Murphy, the actor who would play the lead role in Oppenheimer.

Director Christopher Nolan joined the fitting and gave his approval, plus made a tweak of his own.

“He just cranked the brim down a little bit and gave it a little bit of attitude,” Mr. Mejia said.

The hat helped define the silhouette of Oppenheimer, the formidable scientist who led the 1940s race to build the first atomic bomb, in the movie that is the frontrunner to win best picture at Sunday’s Academy Awards.

Mr. Mejia has three decades of experience making hats by hand for A-list movie stars from Clint Eastwood to Leonardo DiCaprio and musicians from Bob Dylan to Beyoncé.

His workshop sits on the third floor of a century-old building in downtown Los Angeles. On the first floor is B. Black & Sons, a family-owned woolen house that has supplied fabric for costumes since Gone with the Wind.

A hand-operated elevator shuttles visitors up to the Baron Hats showroom and workshop. Doors open into what looks like a museum of memorable Hollywood moments. Among dozens of hats on display is a cowboy hat from Eastwood’s Cry Macho. Across the room is a straw boater donned by Johnny Depp as gangster John Dillinger in Public Enemies. A reproduction of Jim Carrey’s yellow, feather-adorned fedora from The Mask sits on a green-faced bust.

“It’s a long list,” Mr. Mejia says when asked to name the projects he has worked on, which include thousands of hats over the years.

He mentions the Russell Crowe drama 3:10 to Yuma, TV series Justified, and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, plus work for bands such as AC/DC and Cheap Trick.

On the wall, a framed Rolling Stone magazine cover features folk singer Mr. Dylan wearing a silver hat made by Mr. Mejia, with a handwritten note of thanks from the singer. A photo shows Beyoncé sporting a black hat with a giant brim for her Formation tour. Mr. Mejia also is working on current projects with Beyoncé.

Rows of shelves feature reproductions of famous movie hats, such as the fedoras sported by Dick Tracy and Indiana Jones, that Baron sells to the public. Baron uses the original wood blocks used on the productions to recreate the shapes.

FROM SKETCHES TO THE SCREEN
A California native, Mr. Mejia started learning his craft after working as a science technician for the Los Angeles school district. He felt he had little job security and searched for another career, joining a friend who was a hatmaker in New York.

In 1993, Mr. Mejia apprenticed with Baron Hats founder Eddie Baron, who had started working for movie stars including John Wayne in 1969 and become Hollywood’s go-to hatter. Mr. Baron sold the business to Mr. Mejia in 1995.

To create a hat for a film, Mr. Mejia typically works from sketches supplied by costume designers and must figure out how to bring their ideas into three dimensions.

He often works with beaver or rabbit felt. Once a rough shape has been created, the felt is heated and steamed so that Mr. Mejia can stretch and shape it into the precise form.

“To really capture the silhouette of the costume, and the movie itself, it takes a lot of manipulating of the felt to really create the exact, iconic style that you want,” he said.

The Oppenheimer hat was an unusual shape. Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick describes it as a porkpie crown combined with something between a fedora and a cowboy brim.

Ms. Mirojnick, who is nominated for best costume design at Sunday’s Oscars, studied black-and-white images and had to guess the hat’s color, deciding on a taupey gray. Designs were sent to hatmakers in Italy and New York, but neither could nail it.

Much closer to Hollywood, she found Mejia, who she said “hit it out of the park immediately.”

Getting it right was important, Ms. Mirojnick said, because the real-life Oppenheimer had intentionally crafted his look.

The hat, she said, was “part of the image that Oppenheimer created as he stepped into his power and opened up Los Alamos,” the New Mexico lab where the bomb was created. “He wore it all the time.”

Mr. Murphy wears one hat in the movie, reflecting the fact that Oppenheimer kept the same look throughout his life. At Mr. Nolan’s direction, most other characters in the film do not wear hats.

Mr. Mejia said he never sought a career working with celebrities, but he enjoys seeing his hats on film.

“There’s a lot of gratification and satisfaction,” he said, “when you actually build something with your hands from scratch and see it on the big screen.” — Reuters

Leveraging social media to promote financial literacy 

By Andrea C. Abestano, Researcher

SCROLLING THROUGH social media means more than merely about likes and shares today. It has become an instrument for financial literacy for many Filipinos.

As of January, almost 73.6% of Filipinos had access to the internet, of which 73.4% were connected through one or more social media platforms spending four hours a day on average. This was the highest daily consumption across all Asian countries included in Meltwater’s Global Digital Report.

Interweaving digital influence and consumer behavior, social media has become a key player in spreading information in the country.

In an era where digital connectivity has become a dominant aspect of Filipino lives, banks and financial institutions have also begun to acknowledge its importance and utilize it.

All banks in the country have built a dedicated social media page across various platforms in which consumers can connect with the banks.

The 2024 Global Digital Overview showed that 34.2% of internet users utilize the web for information on finance and savings, inching up from 33.7% in 2022. For the country, almost 42.3% of the population turn to social media for finding content and information.

Similarly, based on the 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey (FIS), 32% of Filipinos rely on these platforms for financial-related information.

“Statistics show that social media has been a source of financial information and has influenced financial decision-making,” the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in an e-mail interview.

“Social media has transformed financial literacy for the youth by offering easily comprehensible content on topics like financial planning, credit, and investing, often with humor,” said the BSP.

Inclusivity in the younger generations saw an uptick in 2021 as more than a fourth of individuals aged 15-19 had formal bank accounts, almost four times higher from 7% in 2019, according to the central bank’s latest Financial Inclusion Dashboard.

Similarly, almost half of the older adults owned a formal account, an improvement from 32% in 2019.

The ease of accessing information, captivating content, and the convenience of customer support were the key factors on social media that contributed significantly to the improvement of literacy.

Johann C. Uy, a member of Facebook (FB) groups focused on investment talks, said that social media helped him be a part of the “banked” population.

“When I opened my first savings account, what I did was look up suggestions on social media groups and communities and read up on [comment] threads to determine which bank is crypto-lenient and would fit my needs,” he said in phone interview.

Ease of information allowed them to compare products, services, and financial approaches across social media pages and posts.

“In finding which car loans would be perfect for my new car, I had to compare across the pages of different banks and the experiences of content creators until I had decided on which one to go with,” said Beverly A. Arevalo, a member of finance-related FB groups, in a phone interview.

On top of the accessibility, how the topic was discussed also helped the consumers digest and remember the information.

“The new audience is the millennials, the aggressive ones, if they see [finance-related] information, they see it as boring or not interested in it. People are more engaged if they see the information in entertainment or as funny content and something they would spend time browsing,” said Joel Khristopher S. Cabugos, cofounder of KasKasan Buddies, an FB group focused on credit card hacks promos and other financial topics.

“Relatability is a big factor as to why people watch videos and content on social media about finances. Particularly in content creators, you see their struggles and relate to it then you see their success and try to replicate their money handling,” said Randy A. Arevalo, consumer of TikTok clips on financial topics.

Based on the January 2024 Meltwater data, 43.9% of Filipinos follow influencers and other experts on social media.

Kimberly C. Soriano, manager at a financial institution and consumer of money-handling topics on Facebook, said that “social media offers simpler and more engaging content which makes learning finances fun and easier to remember.”

Similarly, content creators and social media influencers saw that today’s generation is more likely to learn the information by making it more interactive and less technical.

“I can see that a shift has occurred in recent years as creators made financial information more available and less intimidating for Filipinos,” said Prexel Parnacio, owner of the Millionaire in Progress (MIP) academy coaching program and TikTok finance influencer.

For KasKasan Buddies’ Mr. Cabugos, content creators promote financially literate Filipinos by giving them a space to discuss topics that they may be afraid to ask their bank about such as credit card usage.

“Our goal [as creators] is to make the information as simple and engaging as possible so we can slowly onboard the majority of Filipinos in proper finance handling,” Mr. Cabugos said.

Banks have also noticed today’s reliance on social media for customer service interactions.

The central bank sees these platforms as an avenue for BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) to interact with customers, address concerns, and foster brand building.

The availability of chatbots and case resolution services via the banks’ social media platforms helps consumers deal with their finances better than the old-school customer service calls and bank visits.

“For simple issues and concerns, I would prefer online services like chatbots and chats with customer service,” said Ms. Arevalo. “If the banks had services for more complex document processing requests, I would prefer to do it online as well instead of having to schedule to go onsite. It is a time hassle.”

APPROACH
Amidst this digital landscape, it is no surprise that banks and institutions have leveraged platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Google to engage with consumers through them.

Banks employ various approaches including organic ad reach and internet campaigns to inform users about product offerings and services.

“The algorithm of social media works like this: if a post on a specific product or topic caught your interest and you interacted with it, expect to see the same product or topic appearing on your feed in the future,” Mr. Cabugos of KasKasan Buddies said.

Audience engagement with bank products on social media, ranging from credit cards to high-interest savings accounts, shows the importance of targeted marketing strategies.

Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) President and Chief Executive Officer Michael O. de Jesus said in an e-mail that “through [this] strategic analysis of audience interactions and feedback, the bank gains insights into the preferences and priorities of its online community, enabling more targeted and effective outreach efforts.”

Although external link advertisements remain a common tool in banks’ marketing, data by Meltwater showed a 19.6% decline in external link traffic shares attributable to organic social media in the past 12 months.

On the other hand, the Philippines leads as the top consumer of vlogging content creators with a significant 55.6% of daily vlog consumption, 60.4% of which uses online video as a source of learning.

Keeping up with this trend, both Maybank Philippines, Inc. and DBP had altered their marketing approach to meet the current consumption habits.

“Our content [has adapted to] using informative short videos or stories to drive the messaging. However, we do still maintain presence in traditional media, and throw in events into the mix,” Maybank said in an e-mail.

BSP, on the other hand, launched campaigns that aim to make “friendlier” contents such as #BSPExplained, which releases definitions of terms of technical concepts in the local language, and PisoLit which releases creative and funny cartoons focused on saving, personal finance, and fraud prevention.

In handling customers via social media, BSP, Maybank, and DBP utilized chatbots and dedicated teams online.

While Maybank leverages both automated responses and real-time responses, DBP utilizes automated responses focused on frequently asked questions.

The BSP also launched a dedicated chatbot by the name BSP Online Buddy or BOB in FB Messenger to make it more accessible to financial consumers.

Banks have also tapped into collaboration with content creators for social media marketing and awareness campaigns.

Both TikTok coach Ms. Parnacio and KasKasan Buddies’ Mr. Cabugos have had numerous collaborations with banks.

“I have had partnerships mostly with banks and other institutions to create awareness campaigns on how to avoid being a victim of these fraudsters as well as what to do if you become a victim,” Ms. Parnacio said.

Similarly, Mr. Cabugos cited his experience in working with banks for credit card campaigns.

“Once, we partnered with RCBC in credit card applications, and the process got delayed due to the massive volume of applicants,” he said.

“If it was not for the collaboration, we would not have been able to coordinate the experience of the users to the banks and the banks would not have been able to respond via announcement to the users.”

“Collaborations allow the users to have their voice heard by the institutions,” Mr. Cabugos said.

RISKS AND DANGERS
Despite the opportunities available in using social media as a platform of financial literacy, challenges such as fake news and fraud remain.

For content creators, a common issue experienced is the rise of fake accounts that copy them and swindle their followers.

“I am not sure how they do it, but they copy my account from contents to pictures to texts then they contact my followers asking for money,” Ms. Parnacio said.

“This was detrimental for both the followers and the creators who might lose their credibility because of such events,” she added.

Mr. Uy, an employee who follows creators focused on trading and finances online, said that he experienced the same situation but was able to evade it by taking time to discern and research the page.

“I noticed that the like count is unusually lower than the original page and when the creator started subtly asking for my money, I knew something was up. However, if I had not become vigilant, I might have been scammed,” he said in a phone call interview.

Additionally, there is also data permanence, a problem felt by both banks and users. Once an information, comment, or post has been released on social media, copies of it may remain even if the information — be it good or bad — has been removed or deleted.

“What goes on social media, stays on social media,” said Maybank.

Alongside creators and users, banks also advocate for vigilance and due diligence in researching the person you follow and the content you digest online.

LEVELING UP
Looking ahead, social media is bound to stay as part of the marketing mix for banks and an influencer on consumer decisions.

For the consumers, speed in conflict resolution as well as a wider range of customer service transactions are factors that the banks can still improve on their social media utilization.

More engaging and gamified contents were recommendations by the social media personalities.

“More collaborations with creators and banks would help users be more at ease with grasping concepts. However, financial institutions should be careful of who they partner with,” said TikTok coach Ms. Parnacio.

KasKasan Buddies’ Mr. Cabugos, on the other hand, said that gamified contents would help gather the personalized feedback of the users on the banks.

“Generate more gamified financial literacy content that people can participate and get involved in. The more involved the person is, the higher the chance of the content being shared across their peers,” he said.

“Banks will have to recognize social media overlaps. People have multiple accounts that they log into [and to keep up with this] banks and content [should] not live on one channel only, it travels across,” said Maybank.

BSP expects wider utilization of these platforms in the future as “it can provide access to previously untapped segments for financial education and integration.”

As social media evolves and more people rely on it for financial insight, the responsibility to remain critical in the spread of information relies on every member of the financial sector — banks, financial institutions, content creators, and users. 

Meralco declares failed bid for 260-MW power supply

MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) may have to resort to the spot market for power source after failing to secure bids for the 260-megawatt (MW) peak requirement in preparation for the increase in demand during the dry months.

The power distributor did not receive any expression of interest for the second round of competitive bidding upon the deadline on March 8, according to a document from Meralco’s website. 

“The bidding is considered to have failed since ‘[n]o captive market supplier purchased the bidding documents after the deadline set in the published [Final Invitation to Bid/Terms of Reference],’” the company said.

Lawrence S. Fernandez, chairman of Meralco’s bids and awards committee for power supply agreements, said on Friday that the company may have to purchase power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, which serves as the trading floor for electricity.

“If there will be no [bidders for] 260 [MW] today, then we will have to resort to use more of the other contracts. If they are already at their limit, they will have to get from the spot market,” Mr. Fernandez said in mixed English and Filipino.

Citing the rules of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), he said that the company may also engage in negotiated procurement after two failed bids.

“We know that historically, prices in the [spot] market rise during summer months because more [consumers] need electricity,” said Joe R. Zaldarriaga, Meralco’s spokesperson and vice-president for corporate communications.

“So, if we will not cover our requirements through an interim power supply agreement, we may have a problem because we will be exposed to the [spot] market,” he added.

Last month, Meralco announced that two bidders had withdrawn their expressions of interest, resulting in a failed bidding process, prompting the company to initiate a second round.

The two interested bidders, 1590 Energy Corp. (1590 EC) and San Roque Hydropower, Inc. of San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP), did not proceed with submitting bids by the deadline on Feb. 26.

A document from Meralco showed that 1590 EC decided to withdraw due to the “excessive and unreasonable bid security required.”

The power distributor said that the computation or requirement for bid security in the bidding process only followed a provision of the ERC’s guidelines on competitive selection process.

It prescribed the amount of the bid security to be “equivalent to [the] three-month contract cost of the proposed power supply agreement using the bid price offered by the bidder.”

Meanwhile, Meralco and Limay Power, Inc., another subsidiary of SMGP, said they would file a joint application with the ERC to seek the approval of their 400-MW power supply agreement.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Cultivating financial wellness among Filipinos

BDO Foundation partnered with Huawei Philippines to co-fund the development of financial literacy videos, which will form part of an ongoing financial education program for the Philippine National Police. The partners also agreed to finance the production of a second batch of curriculum-based videos on early numeracy, which will be used in the teaching of Mathematics and Science to Grade One pupils. Through the aforementioned projects, the partners aim to enhance the economic well-being of police personnel, help improve basic education and continue contributing to the government’s efforts to empower Filipino educators and learners. The memorandum of agreement was signed by (from left) BDO Foundation Trustee Evelyn Salagubang, Trustee Lucy Co Dy and President Mario Deriquito, as well as Huawei Philippines Public Affairs and Communications Department Director Hu Weihua and Public Affairs Manager Liang Jiahao.

Proper financial planning is like opening a door to many opportunities in life, including an improved quality of life, better cash flow management, building wealth, and achieving financial security and independence. However, financing might appear intimidating, especially with the need for more financial literacy. As such, individuals and businesses should have the knowledge and skills to thrive in the market.

Knowledge of financing leads to better financial decisions. A survey by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), titled Financial Inclusion Survey (FIS), revealed low levels of financial literacy among younger Filipinos (15 to 29 years old) and underserved sectors.

Specifically, only 2% of Filipinos are financially literate, with only 27% owning a bank account. At the same time, the survey showed that most respondents have basic skills in math, and less than half lack the need to gain knowledge on topics like inflation and compounding interest.

Notably, the survey also showed that workers with the least access to financial services are farmers (73%) with no bank accounts, followed by workers for private households (48%) and self-employed individuals (45%).

These numbers indicate that achieving financial health among many Filipinos is still a work in progress. Nevertheless, access to financial services has been improving in the past years. This includes a surge of account ownership and account penetration increasing by 56% in 2021, resulting in over 22 million Filipinos opening an account during that time, showing that financial inclusion is taking place in the country.

BDO Foundation President Mario Deriquito

For BDO Foundation President Mario A. Deriquito, the key to addressing sector gaps is financial education.

“As early childhood development sets the foundation of every person, introducing financial literacy in formative years is important,” he said.

“Because of this situation, the appropriate intervention should be to incorporate financial literacy concepts on all levels of the educational system — K to 12, technical-vocational education, and higher education,” Mr. Deriquito added.

To further promote financial wellness, BDO’s corporate social responsibility arm, BDO Foundation, empowers individuals through financial education programs.

Among these initiatives are partnerships focusing on incorporating financial education into primary education. Through partnerships with the Department of Education (DepEd), the Financial Education Policy was established, where financial literacy concepts are added to curriculum and training programs.

In the implementation of such policy, the BSP and BDO Foundation developed learning materials that cover lesson plans for general subjects, as Mr. Deriquito said. Also, the foundation, Huawei Philippines and Knowledge Channel Foundation developed videos for early numeracy, which contain financial literacy concepts.

The construction of the tech-voc training facility for the Don Bosco TVET Center in Balamban, Cebu was funded by BDO Foundation and contributions from BDO employees.

For technical-vocational students, financial stewardship is integrated into the curriculum and other e-learning programs that support TESDA and Don Bosco TVET Network.

Meanwhile, financial education is added to curriculums and internship programs in higher education, in partnership with the National University and Asia-Pacific College.

BDO Foundation also brings financial education to the underserved sectors, including farmers and fisherfolks.

For its contributions to the development and ongoing implementation of a financial education program for Filipino fishers, BDO Foundation received recognition from Asiamoney, Enterprise Asia, League of Corporate Foundations, and Retail Banking & Finance.

Due to the lack of knowledge in financing, there remains a gap in the sector, hindering farmers and fisherfolks from expanding their businesses and escaping poverty. Thus, in partnership with the BSP, Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) and the Department of Agriculture, the foundation developed a training program called “Kita Mo Na!” that trains farmers and livestock raisers on proper financial management.

Further promoting financial literacy and inclusivity beyond Philippine borders, the BDO Foundation developed financial education programs for migrant workers and their families. This includes Pinansyal na Talino at Kaalaman (PiTaKa), an initiative to empower migrant workers by helping them manage their finances, increase their savings, and reach financial stability and independence. Other programs include financial education in the Department of Migrant Worker’s Pre-Migration Orientation Seminar (PMOS) and the National Reintegration Program.

“[This program] entails long-term planning — including financial planning — by OFWs and their families,” Mr. Deriquito said.

BDO Foundation also aims to serve other sectors by embracing financial education and developing financial education projects alongside different government agencies.

“Out of our 10 government partner agencies, eight have already embraced financial education as a program they will regularly offer to their constituencies through the issuance of enabling policies defining the place of financial education in their respective institutions,” Mr. Deriquito shared.

“This means they will continue to implement the financial education programs even when the support from the foundation has ended. As of the end of 2023, BDO Foundation’s financial education programs have reached close to seven million beneficiaries,” he added.

With BDO Foundation’s initiatives and unwavering commitment, critical developments in the financial sector will continue, and the Philippines is one step forward to a resilient and financially inclusive future.

 

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Demystifying good sound

PHOTO BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

Audiofrog leaps into local premium car audio market

SOUND IS SOMETHING very subjective. What to you might hear and feel like scratching your fingernails on a chalkboard may be another man’s nirvana. Right?

Well, yes and no, according to Audiofrog President Andy Wehmeyer. While the perception of sound is relative, he insisted, “There’s a baseline that needs to be correct.” And that, he continued in an exclusive interview with “Velocity,” should be the case whether you’re in a concert, your bedroom, or stuck in traffic behind the wheel. And that’s what the brand is about.

Audiofrog is a Los Angeles, California-headquartered premium audio marque that’s a brainchild of Singaporean Marcus Yeo (who sits as director) and Mr. Wehmeyer, an American who “discovered his passion in audio engineering when he built his first set of home audio speakers in his grandfather’s garage in 1982.” Between the two are more than seven decades of experience in the car audio industry — from product development, installation, to sales.

Established in 2011, Audiofrog’s product line is now available in the Philippines through Waido Marketing and Distribution, Inc. “It’s a high-fi audio brand with a professional line, car audio, and even studio setup lines,” shared Audiofrog Car Audio Philippines Brand Manager Kat Tiu, who wants to emphasize that while the brand is premium — delivering “much clearer and friendlier sound you would want to hear,” its products remain very flexible.

The Audiofrog mantra is simple as it is ambitious: “to provide the best in-class performance across all its product lines, focused largely on delivering superior sound engineering and modern in-house designs.” In a release, the company added that it “puts importance in offering innovative solutions for installation and tuning implementations. This creates a holistic environment for both R&D and business development.”

Even as Audiofrog promises an elevated listening experience through its line, Mr. Wehmeyer said that it’s not the only thing they consider important. “We make great products, but sometimes making great products isn’t enough. I think that compared to (other brands) in this price class, our products sound better, and in some cases are much easier to install,” he maintained.

There’s obvious value in making the experience easy to understand, as not everyone who seeks sound excellence has the interest or inclination to do a deep dive on the technicalities. Having said that, Mr. Wehmeyer is someone capable — and patient — to explain salient points and principles, if you ask him.

“We answer questions not just from professional techs but also for enthusiastic do-it-yourselfers. Audio is sometimes presented as being very mysterious, and I don’t believe in this at all. Of course, I have lots of respect for exclusive brands, but we’ve chosen a path that’s not exclusive,” the executive underscored. He said that Audiofrog has committed to helping people use their products well. It’s not uncommon to see Mr. Wehmeyer spending “a lot of time” on Facebook, answering tech questions, he admitted.

The work he puts in is about demystifying the science and art of audio — ultimately helping people be successful in the quest for excellence. “Audio is not easy; it’s a technical discipline,” he averred. “Too often, at really high prices, anytime you find a great product or great service, it’s a result of somebody knowing what they were doing. This is not magic.”

And while marketing is important, so is sifting through the marketing fluff. “There’s a lot of (things going on) especially with high-end audio, which is presented as mystical,” Mr. Wehmeyer instisted. “Materials work or don’t work; there’s nothing esoteric about them. Mostly, what makes great audio systems great are the people who make the products knowing how to make the products; people who install the products knowing how to install the products; and whoever’s optimizing the whole system knows what to do.”

Audiofrog’s sales network spans the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In Asia, its official corporate office is currently based in Singapore. For more information on Audiofrog’s products, check out the Facebook page (Audiofrog Car Audio Philippines).

“Our products aren’t cheap, but we’ve really set out to make great sound in your car as accessible as we can to anybody who has a passion for great music they drives or, here in Manila, while they sit in traffic,” concluded Andy Wehmeyer.

That sounds about right.

MPIC’s Bulacan vegetable greenhouse set to open by Q4

THE agribusiness unit of Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) said it is eyeing to open its vegetable greenhouse facility in San Rafael town in Bulacan by the fourth quarter.

“Construction is still underway. We are still hell-bent in making it open, live for commercial operation, by fourth quarter this year,” Metro Pacific Agro Ventures, Inc. (MPAV) President and Chief Executive Officer Jovy I. Hernandez said on the sidelines of a media briefing in Pasig City last week.

Aside from the Bulacan facility, Mr. Hernandez said that MPAV is looking to establish at least 10 additional smaller greenhouses across the country.

“We might have to build 10 sites, at the very least, over a five year period,” he said.

“We’re looking at possibly establishing more sites, albeit a little bit smaller. It is a different model. It has a smaller footprint, one to 1.5 hectares, and would only serve a particular radius so that logistics cost will be cheaper,” he added.

Mr. Hernandez said the Bulacan greenhouse facility, called Metro Pacific Fresh Farms, could possibly address the vegetable demand of the Greater Manila Area, Bulacan, and Tarlac.

The company has earmarked P800 million to P1 billion for the greenhouse project, which is expected to produce about 1,600 metric tons of vegetables annually.

“It was intended to be seven hectares worth of greenhouses. That does not include the road network. The total property is about 22 hectares. We have the capability to double it to 40 hectares,” Mr. Hernandez said.

MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of First Pacific, the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

EdCom II Year One Report: Misreading the Philippine education situation

BW FILE PHOTO

The EdCom II Year One Report entitled “MISEDUCATION: The Failed System of Philippine Education” misreads the Philippine education situation. We do not have a crisis in Philippine education. We have a crisis in Philippine public education. Philippine private education is doing fine.

Per the studies of Drs. Vicente Paqueo and Aniceto Orbeta, Filipino private school students performed above par in the PISA 2018 Survey compared to other countries of the same economic level. It is Filipino public school students who have performed abysmally. The Education Sector Team of the Ateneo Economics Department reports that in PISA 2022, the gap in performance between private and public school students widened.

The serious problems cited in the EdCom Report as well as in other reports on education belong exclusively to the public education sector.

Let’s take the case of textbooks.

For the public schools, since 2012, only 27 textbooks have been procured for Grade 1 to Grade 10, despite substantial budget allocations. The budget utilization data of the Department of Education (DepEd) show that from 2018 to 2022 alone, a total of P12.6 billion has been allocated to textbooks and other instructional materials, but only P4.5 billion (35.3%) has been obligated and P952 million (7.5%) has been disbursed. Clearly this is a problem in public education, not private education.

The root cause of this problem is best illustrated by Henry Ford who said that Ford car buyers could choose any color they want so long as it is black. This Ford mindset is behind the decision of the DepEd to have a uniform curriculum and uniform textbooks for the 28 million students in our primary schools. To compound the problem, instead of choosing from the innumerable textbooks produced in the Philippines and abroad, which are easily obtained in bookstores as is done in the private schools, the DepEd decided to write its own textbooks and have these textbooks printed by selected printers. This explains why only 7.5% of the textbook budget has been disbursed.

A similar problem was faced by the Department of Agriculture (DA). Mandated to provide free agricultural inputs such as fertilizers to farmers, the DA decided, as in the case of Henry Ford, to purchase fertilizers of their choice (fortunately not produce it themselves) and unload the fertilizers on the hapless farmers who had no choice in the matter. The end result has been inferior fertilizer or even “ghost” fertilizers. The DA finally came to its senses. Under a scheme devised by the Universal Storefront Services Corp. (USSC) headed by Eckie Gonzales, farmers are now given vouchers to buy fertilizers of their choice from accredited dealers. Suppliers are then paid one day after receipt of the vouchers. Similarly, school principals can be issued book vouchers to be used to purchase books in accredited book outlets.

Expecting the DepEd to discover and adopt a similar program is a fool’s errand. Far better to devolve our elementary and high schools to the pamantasans (colleges run by local governments units) who have no problem providing textbooks to their students.

Let’s take the case of classroom maintenance and shortages.

Surprisingly, the EdCom Report does not touch on the issue. However, Vice-President and education department secretary Sara Duterte in her Basic Education Report 2023, reported that the DepEd has an inventory of 327,851 school buildings in the country. Out of these school buildings, only 104,536 or 32% are in good condition. Due to various reasons, 21,727 or 7% are set to be condemned (for being unsafe for both teachers and students), 89,252 or 27% require major repairs, and 100,072 or 31% need minor repairs.

In addition to poor maintenance of the existing public school buildings, DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco V. Densing III reported that the department has a shortage of 159,000 classrooms. He asked Congress for a yearly budget of P100 billion for eight years or P800 billion to solve this crisis.

In sharp contrast, private school buildings are well-maintained. Ironically, this is because the DepEd, as the regulator of private schools, demands so. Moreover, they have a surplus of classrooms.

Through school vouchers, students in the overcrowded public classrooms can be moved to better-maintained private schools with excess capacity. Under the school voucher system, the cost of educating these students will be half that in the public schools, with better learning outcomes. Most importantly the government saves P800 billion.

This is an instance when the crisis in public education is solved with the assistance of private education.

Lastly, let’s take the case of poor teacher performance.

In 2023, the starting salary of public school teachers is P27,000 per month, while for private school teachers the starting salary ranges from P14,000 to P23,000 per month. Public school teachers must pass the Licensure Exam for Teachers (LET) while private schools require only a bachelor’s degree.

And yet, despite being better paid and better qualified, public school teachers are performing worse than their private school counterparts based on the performance of their students in the PISA surveys. Why? Let us count the ways.

1.) They are asked to handle a class size way over the optimum 40 students in a class;

2.) They conduct their classes in dilapidated, crowded classrooms;

3.) They teach students only 35% of whom have textbooks and have a similar shortage of teaching materials;

4.) They must follow a rigid curriculum and teach from uniform textbooks, with very little flexibility;

5.) They must comply with a DepEd policy of automatic passing for all students, removing any incentive for the student to learn and for the teacher to teach;

6.) They are required to personally teach 30 hours per week while their private school counterparts teach only 12-18 hours per week.

7.) They are expected to use the remaining 10 hours per week to handle the 50 non-teaching and administrative tasks assigned to them by their bureaucratic overlords, ranging from complying with condescending department orders to feeding the insatiable demand for reports which are never used;

8.) They are valued the least in the DepEd organization. Of the 12 ranks in the DepEd, they rank at the lowest two (Ranks 12 and 11) while their principal is the third lowest (Rank 10). The nine higher ranks are all administrative positions.

9.) Their career prospects are bleak. Per DepEd policy, only 10% of teachers can be master teachers (advance from Rank 12 to Rank 11). A little over 5% can hope to become school principals (advancing from Rank 11 to Rank 10) as there are only 45,000 principal positions against 800,000 teachers.

10.) If they wish higher pay and rank, they must stop teaching and apply to be administrators. Then their career prospects improve to 25% (there are 200,000 administrators against 800,000 teachers) and they can aspire to advance from Ranks 10 to 2 (Undersecretary).

In summary, the reason they cannot perform effectively is that they work in a toxic environment. The chances of de-toxifying this environment ranges from nil to zero. Far better to remove the teachers and their students from this toxic environment and transfer them to the school boards of the local government units. The widespread satisfaction of residents with services rendered by the employees of local government units is proof that they work in a supportive environment.

In closing, we repeat, we do not have a Philippine education crisis. We have a Philippine public education crisis. The key to solving this crisis is to ask why we do not have a Philippine private education crisis.

 

Dr. Victor S. Limlingan is a retired professor of AIM and a fellow of the Foundation for Economic Freedom. He is presently chairman of Cristina Research Foundation, a public policy adviser and Regina Capital Development Corp., a member of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Upper mid-income status to boost insurance growth

SCOTT GRAHAM-UNSPLASH

THE PHILIPPINE industry could hit its full growth potential once the country achieves upper middle-income status, an industry player said.

“We already reached $3,000 per capita in the 2010’s, when the insurance industry saw rapid growth,” SunLife Grepa Financial, Inc. Director Rizalina G. Mantaring reporters on Friday. “SunLife grew 42% in new business premiums a year during that period, including bancassurance. It really needs a certain level of prosperity because there’s not enough disposable income.”

“People don’t tend to think of insurance because of low financial literacy. They look for their immediate needs first. Then if there are leftovers, maybe they’ll think of insurance,” she added.

The Marcos administration aims for the Philippines to achieve upper middle-income status by 2025, or a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $4,466 to $13,845.

The World Bank classifies the Philippines as a lower middle-income country with a GNI per capita of $3,950.

The Philippines has been classified as a lower middle-income country since 1987, which is the earliest available data from the World Bank.

The industry’s penetration rate could reach 5-6% of gross domestic product once the country reaches upper middle-income status or meets the GDP per capita requirement, similar to other economies in the region, Ms. Mantaring said.

“Once you reach that, it will definitely grow because if you look at advanced economies, their penetration is at 10% with respect to their GDP,” she said. “Even our ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors are higher at 4-5%. We used to be much higher than them.”

As of the third quarter last year, insurance penetration or premium volume as a share of GDP — the contribution of the insurance sector to the national economy — was at 1.68%, down from 1.81% a year ago

Ms. Mantaring noted that the insurance industry is still growing, and the economy is growing faster.

She added that insurers need to continue pushing their digital transformation and financial literacy campaigns so they can boost insurance penetration.

“We were coming from a really low base [in the early 2010’s] before insurers began these financial literacy campaigns and introduced business solutions. The growth was rapid,” she said. – Aaron Michael C. Sy

Avon Ladies: where are they now?

(They’re called representatives now, by the way)

DURING the launch of direct selling cosmetics company Avon’s new line of Hydramatic Shine Lipsticks, we asked Marion Limlengco, Avon’s Head of Communications for Asia Pacific if there were still any Avon Ladies around. At the sidelines of the Rockwell event a day before International Women’s Day (March 8) she told BusinessWorld, “We have hundreds of thousands of Avon representatives all over the country.” And where are they now? Well, aside from selling cosmetics, they’re building communities and sending people to school (we’ll get to that later).

While Avon was founded by a man, David McConnell in 1886, it was Persis Foster Eames Albee who became the first “Avon Lady” who sold, at first, Mr. McConnell’s line of perfumes from what was then called the California Perfume Company (the company changed its name to Avon in 1928). Ms. Albee also helped shape the company’s direct selling approach, training other women to sell perfume and cosmetics just like her. Through that model, Avon made it possible for women to earn a living during a time when women weren’t even allowed to open a bank account in the US.

Avon sold its first lipstick in 1919 and never stopped. The new Hydramatic Shine Lipstick follows last year’s line of Hydramatic Matte Lipsticks. Collectively, they have about 20 shades, from mauve to bright scarlet. The lipsticks are made with SPF 20 sun protection and with an inner core containing hyaluronic acid and glycerin, promising more moisturized lips. We had a swipe, and given ample time to dry (say 20 minutes without your lips touching anything), they stay on the lips for as long as four hours.

Back to the ladies: Ms. Limlengco told us about how Avon Ladies (sorry, representatives, but we do have to give credit where credit is due) are still continuing to change their own lives and the lives of others through selling makeup, skincare, and intimate apparel. “We support them with earnings, learning opportunities, growth opportunities, and, of course, we provide them with the right products that they can offer to their customers,” she said. While she couldn’t disclose the exact number of Avon representatives in the country, she could tell us some of their stories.

At a town hall meeting at their office, one such representative said how much her life had changed after joining Avon, because prior to that, her husband had not allowed her to earn her own money. Another said her husband hadn’t allowed her to go out, and so she received her customers at home.

“It’s not actually a campaign, it’s how we do it: Beauty Your Way. No nine to five, anytime, anywhere… even when I’m at home, I can provide food for my kids, send kids to school — we have a lot of success stories of these successful women,” she said. “(They) have Avon, this is (their) earning opportunity.”

While we may think that Avon Ladies coming to call have gone by the wayside, Ms. Limlengco said that that isn’t the case: they’ve simply gone somewhere else. For example, while Avon representatives used to use brochures and catalogues to do their work, they now rely on apps for procuring products, selling them, and even recruiting other women. Some have gone the online route by selling on Live platforms on social media. “The world has changed, so Avon should also be evolving,” said Ms. Limlengco.

Still, there are holdouts: “There’s still a huge part of our Avon rep base who are still doing traditional selling,” she said. “They really go house-to-house.

“They will say, whenever we do surveys, (that) there’s human connection,” she said.

It also helps that the face-to-face meetings help Avon representatives give immediate assessments and beauty advice: “What we always tell our representatives is that you are empowered to give your personalized beauty advice.”

An article from the International Money Fund (IMF) by Ana Revenga and Sudhir Shetty titled “Empowering Women Is Smart Economics” says “Closing the gap in well-being between males and females is as much a part of development as is reducing income poverty. Greater gender equality also enhances economic efficiency and improves other development outcomes.” Furthermore, it says that, citing data from the World Bank, “Greater control over household resources by women, either through their own earnings or cash transfers, can enhance countries’ growth prospects by changing spending in ways that benefit children. Evidence from countries as varied as Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom shows that when women control more household income — either through their own earnings or through cash transfers — children benefit as a result of more spending on food and education.”

“When they build businesses out of Avon, one day you realize that they have their own schools,” said Ms. Limlengco. Other sales leaders have gone on to fund scholarships. “They build an Avon business, and then from that, they also fund charities,” she said, pointing out that some sales leaders have earned millions. “These kinds of stories really keep us going.

“At the very core, we always say that when you buy from Avon, every sale of that product will support women,” she said. “When you put on that lipstick, you know that you’re doing something else. You’re supporting women.”

Ten pesos will be donated to Avon’s partner organizations that help rescue and rehabilitate survivors of abuse for every Hydramatic Shine Lipstick sold.

The products are available through www.avonshop.ph, through a local Avon representative, Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop. — Joseph L. Garcia

Start ’em young: Bolstering financial literacy for the next generation

JCOMP-FREEPIK

By Abigail Marie P. Yraola, Deputy Research Head

IN THE LATTER PART of 2023, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Lordan G. Suan proposed House Bill (HB) No. 9162 or the Financial Literacy Education Bill to incorporate financial literacy into the senior high school education curriculum.

In the bill’s explanatory note, he said that the proposed measure aims to equip students with knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for managing personal finances, making informed financial decisions, and contributing to the economic development of the nation.

If enacted, students will learn the basics of personal finance, including budgeting, saving, investing, credit and debit, insurance, taxes, and how to apply them in real-life situations.

The HB mandates the Department of Education (DepEd), in consultation with the Department of Finance (DoF) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), to develop a financial literacy curriculum.

“This bill recognizes the role of the youth in nation-building and its role in molding citizens with values that will enable them to become assets of the country,” the Education department said in a Viber interview.

“The DepEd will also provide educational materials for teaching financial literacy and conduct training programs for teachers who will deliver this instruction,” it added.

The central bank reiterated this commitment, with public and private institutions to integrate financial literacy lessons into the basic education system.

Robert Dan J. Roces, chief economist at Security Bank Corp., said that this is a welcome development for financial literacy.

“The ability to budget, save, manage debt responsibly, and avoid predatory products sets them up for lifelong success, fostering economic participation and contributing to national stability,” he said.

For BDO Network Bank, it is indeed crucial to build financial literacy in one’s formative years.

The Sy-owned rural bank said that this is critical to help families rise above and overcome economic challenges and achieve their aspirations.

Being financially responsible is a lifelong pursuit that must start early, the bank said.

“We have improved but are still lagging behind our neighbors in the region in assessing financial literacy of young Filipinos,” the bank said.

Multisectoral effort has been invested in educating overseas workers and their families. Additionally, the central bank, banks, and other financial technology companies have increased awareness and education among the banked population particularly in digital banking.

HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES
The Education department said that the bill’s passage aligns with its curriculum reform and its Financial Literacy Policy in DepEd Order No. 22 s. 2021, which makes the initiative strategic and prompt as financial literacy is already integrated into the K-to-12 curriculums, not just in senior high school.

Through this policy, learners should be taught the essential concepts of financial literacy to help them handle their finances. As early as it could be, they should be introduced to the difference between wants and needs, the value of money, and how it is used.

These are stepping stones for individuals with essential financial skills which will be a solid foundation for becoming responsible financial decision makers.

The Education department also cautioned of the challenges it could bring when the House bill is enacted into law. Financial concepts, it said, must be taught effectively and consistently.

“The Department considers capacity building among its teaching force as one of its challenges and the development of instructional resources is seen to be a major challenge,” it said.

Despite its potential benefits, the House bill’s effective implementation may face common hurdles such as challenges in its initial deployment, interagency collaboration, and monitoring and impact evaluation.

“Addressing these challenges will require collaboration between DepEd, the academe, teachers, and other stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of these initiatives,” the central bank said in an e-mail.

Careful planning is needed to implement and resource the curriculum effectively, ensure teacher competency, and counter external misinformation, Mr. Roces said.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS
The central bank said that the emergence of social media influencers discussing financial management and providing advice is a positive development.

However, it should be considered that there are disparities in the use of technology based on socioeconomic backgrounds, highlighting unequal digital learning opportunities.

Therefore, it is crucial to recognize that technology alone can have negative consequences if not carefully considered. It is essential to use social media as a platform to communicate information that is genuinely beneficial for everyone.

“Content creators are embracing the responsibility of promoting financial literacy and recognizing the escalating need for such knowledge in present-day society,” BSP said.

According to studies, social media is not only used for communication but also for looking for and sharing financial knowledge, BSP further explained.

The trend is further amplified by the emergence of social media influencers, who are driven by the competitive landscape. To engage more “netizens,” they need to generate various catchy but relevant content for their respective platforms.

So, the credibility may already be questionable for one.

Amid the proliferation of financial advice online, it is essential to critically assess content creators’ ability and trustworthiness before relying on their advice, the BSP warned.

For Mr. Roces, social media provides convenience, diverse content, and interactive learning, limitations exist but warned that misinformation may come along with it.

It is crucial for consumers to critically assess information and use social media as a starting point and not as a definitive source.

Marga Sayo, a financial consultant, said social media is one of the most effective mediums to deliver information to the public but one of its risks is the accuracy of the information being delivered.

She pointed out that fact-checking and media literacy is also something that a lot of Filipinos lack.

“With the number of investments and scams becoming more public knowledge, Filipinos are looking to experts to help them understand the difference, and social media is the most accessible way to reach people who can discuss topics like this.”

BANKS USING SOCIAL MEDIA
Mr. Roces said that banks can be the prime financial mentors in using social media. This could be done by using it to develop high-quality, targeted financial educational content, partnering with credible and somehow, reputable financial influencers, and promoting responsible financial behavior.

“Measuring success through user engagement and more importantly real-world outcomes allows for continuous improvement and evolution,” he said.

For Ms. Sayo, financial institutions must always keep up with what their customers need, including understanding the types of social media content that work best on different platforms.

Knowing what content to make and how to deliver it to its target audience is key to achieving efficiency, she explained.

For the central bank, social media platforms are powerful tools for banks to effectively communicate and educate consumers about personal financial management.

Banks can capitalize on social media to promote financial literacy by providing informative and engaging content. They can create educational content, such as videos, infographics, and articles to simplify complex financial concepts and offer practical tips for handling personal finances.

The BSP suggested other efforts such as banks should engage with their customers through social media by organizing live Q&A sessions, webinars, and virtual workshops on financial literacy.

This interactive approach will allow consumers to ask questions, seek personalized guidance, and gain a better understanding of their financial situations.

“The level of progressiveness in these efforts will depend on the bank’s commitment and adaptability to emerging social media trends,” BSP said.

With these efforts, banks can promote financial empowerment and contribute to a financially literate society.

FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
Learners can reach financial independence at an early age by learning about earning, saving, spending, budgeting, donating, investing, and protecting funds. In turn, this would also make them careful of their purchases and create plans accompanied by suitable financial actions.

Ms. Sayo said she listens to clients’ needs and offers multiple options rather than just advice.

She said that managing finances is a personal and independent decision, and the only way to ensure compliance is if the individual comes up with the solution on their own.

“Learning the value of money and how to manage your expenses should be taught as early as when a child is given money to spend,” Ms. Sayo said.

“The concerning issue with children not understanding the importance of money is that it can make them disconnected from reality, which in turn can lead to a sudden shock when they eventually must face financial responsibilities in the future,” she added.

For the central bank, recognizing the significance of being well-informed about managing finances, savings, and related areas is key to nurturing our financial well-being.

“Recognizing the value of financial literacy and its impact on financial health motivates individuals to engage in continuous education through diverse channels [which will help them] strive toward achieving their financial objectives,” BSP said.

Benilde program balances culinary arts, business

Benilde Culinary Arts Management students in the kitchen

To provide a wider range of business opportunities to aspiring culinarians and restaurateurs, the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management (SHRIM) opens the Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts Management (BS-CAM).

Ideal for learners who aspire to be knowledgeable from the cuisine to the entrepreneurial aspects, the undergrad program equips them not only with the fundamentals and techniques of food preparation but also sharpens their management and critical thinking skills to become industry leaders and changemakers.

Graduates are trained for key roles such as Food and Beverage (F&B) Manager and Restaurant Manager and may establish their respective businesses and brands as restaurateurs and caterers.

They may likewise pursue careers as Chef de Partie, Executive Chef, Pastry Chef, Sous Chef, and Research and Development Chef, as well as skilled Butcher who specialize in Delicatessen and Chocolatier who advocate for Filipino Bean-to-Bar Production.

They may also serve as Personal Chef and Food Consultant as well as delve into allied fields as Food Photographer and Social Media Manager with focus on the food industry.

For a more holistic approach, Benilde SHRIM consults with the School of Management and Information Technology (SMIT) to develop business courses specially curated for BS-CAM.

These offerings provide students with entrepreneurial proficiencies as well as a comprehensive understanding of the diverse management systems to be able to efficiently direct service providers and institutional units, and address organizational challenges by proposing strategies, maximizing opportunities, and implementing rational decisions.

Guided by the principles, they are honed to create new business models based on demands and supported by data and trends to be able to fill in market gaps.

They are encouraged to research, plan, and conceptualize creative ideas to innovate for product development and process improvement with the use of evidence-based practices and the latest technological advancement.

BS-CAM arms them with nutrition-based and specialized culinary skills as well as familiarization and mastery of science-based techniques to prepare high-quality dishes as well as expertly identify, fabricate, and utilize various culinary products to effectively run operations and productions, and gain global competitive advantage.

Learners are likewise motivated to advocate and globalize regional Filipino food heritage through the use of traditional cooking methods and ingredients.

With an awareness of various international cuisines with a focus on historical and cultural identities, they are also expected to exhibit adeptness in communication skills, protocols, and traditions to deal with a diverse environment.

BS-CAM is currently accepting applicants for the first term of Academic Year 2024 to 2025. It is likewise the first program under Benilde SHRIM to accommodate hard-of-hearing candidates.

It will run for 10 trimesters with 146 academic and 10 non-academic units.

Benilde SHRIM is a Center for Excellence in Hotel and Restaurant Management by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd). It is the first and only hotel school in the Philippines to be awarded a Level IV Accreditation by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU) and is likewise a Certified Guest Service Property (CGSP) granted by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute or AHLEI.

For more information, visit benilde.edu.ph/undergraduate-culinary-arts/.

Picking up the balintong cause

PFTCP/Katala Foundation Project Director Dr. Sabine Schoppe with Mazda Philippines President and CEO Steven Tan — PHOTO FROM MAZDA PHILIPPINES

Mazda PHL helps those helping our country’s pangolins

THERE ARE MANY ironies in this world; let me point out one of them.

Not many people are familiar with the pangolin — most especially the Philippine Pangolin — and yet, the pangolins of the world are identified as the most trafficked wild animal on earth. How can they be pushed to the brink of extinction when people don’t even recognize them? Well maybe that is the problem in the first place.

Let’s start solving the problem now. It begins with your attention and awareness.

The Philippine Pangolin is endemic to the Palawan region, naturally inhabiting four islands, which include Palawan, Busuanga, Culion, and Calauit. They are nocturnal animals which primarily feed on ants, termites, and other insects. And they locate prey via a strong sense of smell, then use their forefeet to rip insect nests open for them to feed on. Simply put, they are scaly anteaters, and it turns out that we have our own unique species of them.

As a matter of fact, they have only been recognized as a unique species beginning in 1998. This is the Manis culionensis — distinct from the Sunda Pangolins, which are scattered around Southeast Asia. Locally, the pangolin is called the balintong, which translates to somersault, because of the way it rolls itself into a scaly ball as a defense mechanism, when threatened.

Are these animals captured to become exotic pets? Absolutely not; it is worse than that. They’ve been aggressively hunted to near extinction for their meat, scales, and other body parts which are commonly used as ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine.

The reality is that the medicinal value of pangolin parts remains unfounded. Their scales are simply made of keratin — which essentially means that these parts are just like hairs that are cemented together. Yet, after stronger efforts were made by the international community to bust the illegal wildlife trade rings in Indonesia and Malaysia, the Philippines consequently saw an alarming spike in the poaching activities that specifically target the Palawan Pangolin. To our dismay, Filipinos themselves would trap and sell Palawan pangolins — often smuggling them into China.

As kind of the remaining beacon of hope for this wildlife tragedy, there are conservationists out there who have been dedicating much of their lives to saving the Palawan Pangolin. Among the leaders in relentlessly championing the survival of this animal is the Katala Foundation — a nonprofit, nonstock, nongovernmental organization led by its steadfast and Filipino-speaking German founder, Dr. Sabine Schoppe.

The Katala Foundation is particularly active in protecting and conserving several threatened, endemic species in the country, especially those found in Palawan — which is sort of like our country’s last frontier of nature. Through research, community engagement, and on-the-ground conservation efforts, the Katala Foundation endeavors to secure a future where Palawan Pangolins can recover in their numbers and coexist with the local human communities.

Enter Mazda Philippines and its special pickup: the Mazda BT-50 4×4 Pangolin Edition. Its namesake is certainly no coincidence. It was Mazda Philippines President and CEO Steven Tan’s idea to name their proud pickup as such because he surmised that when people bought the product, the Pangolin name would somehow tickle its owner’s curiosity. And that awareness alone — knowing what a Pangolin is, that we actually have them here in the country, and that they are in deep trouble — is already a large step in the right direction.

But Mazda Philippines didn’t stop there. Under Steven Tan’s leadership, the company initially committed to lend out a Mazda BT-50 4×4 Pangolin Edition pickup truck to the Katala Foundation for at least a year, in order to support their scientific ventures into the forests of Palawan, to set up camera traps and other things to further their study of the critically endangered species.

Following that run, which already started a few years back, Mazda Philippines then completely donated two Pangolin Edition pickup trucks (a few years apart from each other, and the most recent one being the Mazda BT-50 Pangolin Edition II) to the Katala Foundation.

The Mazda BT-50 4×4 Pangolin Edition II is the Japanese brand’s boldest interpretation of its pickup truck yet. It is powered by a 3.0-liter turbodiesel engine that can generate 190ps of power alongside a delightful 450Nm of torque (starting at 1,600rpm) — an extremely useful feature for braving the challenging, muddy rainforests of Palawan. It also utilizes an electronic rear differential lock, (it is crucial for a real off-roader to have rear differential locking ability) — an important feature when running some serious off-road missions.

What an awesome partnership for a truly wonderful cause! If you would like to learn more about the Katala Foundation and extend your help (because they really need all the help they can get!), you may explore your options by visiting the website www.philippinecockatoo.org.

Please, please, let’s help save our gentle balintongs!

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