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Torres has high hopes on Team PHL’s chances at ASEAN Para Games

AHEAD of the Delegation Registration Meeting (DRM) for the 12th ASEAN Para Games on May 28, Philippine Sports Commission’s (PSC) Walter Torres, the Team Philippines Chef de Mission (CDM) , expressed high hopes on the medal chances of national para-athletes set to compete in the Cambodia-hosted event in June.

A 259 Philippine Para team delegation — comprised of 174 strong and talented para-athletes — will participate in the 12th APG slated from June 3 to 9 in Phnom Penh.

Mr. Torres is optimistic that the national para team can surpass the country’s showing at the 11th ASEAN Para Games 2022 in Surakarta, Indonesia with 28 gold, 30 silver, and 46 bronze medals for fifth place in the 11-nation tournament. Mr. Torres was also the CDM on that edition.

“We would like to do better than last time. Our team will definitely give their best because everybody wants to win,” said Mr.  Torres.

The Philippine contingent will compete in 13 sports: athletics (23), badminton (9), boccia, chess (22), cerebral palsy football (10), goalball (12), judo (4), powerlifting (11), sitting volleyball (14) swimming (12), table tennis (21), wheelchair basketball (23), and esports (5) as demonstration sport.

“Pray for the success of our athletes in their pursuit of excellence. Excellence doesn’t just mean the number of medals won, it can also mean the development of one’s personality, character and leadership so that he or she becomes a positive influence on others,” Mr. Torres said.

The PSC, in coordination with the Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC), is scheduled to host the send-off party for the para-athletes on May 21 at the Multi-Purpose Arena (MPA) in Pasig City.

Short-handed Bucks even series with Miami Heat, 1-1

BROOK Lopez and Jrue Holiday combined for 49 points, Bobby Portis stepped in for injured Giannis Antetokounmpo and contributed a double-double and the Milwaukee Bucks rebounded from an opening loss to thump the visiting Miami Heat 138-122 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Wednesday.

Four other Bucks scored at least 16 points to allow Milwaukee to break even in its two opening home games before the best-of-seven moves to Miami for Games 3 and 4 beginning Saturday.

Both teams played without a star player injured in the Heat’s 130-117 triumph in Game 1. But while Mr. Antetokounmpo was a late scratch for Game 2 with a sore lower back, Miami’s Tyler Herro has been ruled out for the series with a broken right hand.

Mr. Lopez led all scorers with 25 points, while Mr. Holiday finished with 24 as part of a double-double with a game-high 11 assists. Jimmy Butler had 25 points to pace the Heat, and Bam Adebayo added 18 points.

GRIZZLIES 103, LAKERS 93
Xavier Tillman recorded a career-high 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Memphis overcame the absence of injured Ja Morant to produce a victory over visiting Los Angeles.

The result evened the best-of-seven, first-round Western Conference playoff series at one win apiece. Game 3 will be played Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots and Desmond Bane added 17 points for the second-seeded Grizzlies. LeBron James had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Rui Hachimura added 20 points off the bench for the seventh-seeded Lakers.

NUGGETS 122, T-WOLVES 113
Jamal Murray scored 40 points, Nikola Jokic had 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and host Denver beat Minnesota to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series. Game 3 will be Friday in Minneapolis.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 16 points and Aaron Gordon had 12 points and 10 rebounds for top-seeded Denver. Anthony Edwards had a franchise-playoff-record 41 points for the No. 8-seeded Timberwolves, hitting 14 of 23 shots — including 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Rudy Gobert scored 19 points and Mike Conley added 14.

Minnesota scored 40 points in the third quarter to lead 89-87 entering the fourth. Denver went on an 8-0 run to open the final quarter, grabbing a 95-89 lead before Minnesota moved in front 99-98. But the Nuggets scored the next six points and never trailed again. — Reuters

Leslie Gaite rules Amit Cup

OTHER than to gain more experience and meet new friends, Leslie Gaite had no other expectations when she joined the 6-legged Amit Cup, the country’s first all-women billiards tournament.

A criminology student at the Philippine College of Criminology, Ms. Gaite ended up with more as she ruled the event with a close 9-8 victory over Carmille Lumawag from Bacolod City in the recently held finals held at the Marboys Billiards Cafe in BF Parañaque.

Both Mmess. Gaite and Lumawag though breezed through in the semifinals as they posted similar 7-2 victories over their respective opponents, Cheeya Navarro and Phoy Andal en route to the finals.

Three-time world champion and multi-titled Rubilen Amit, who initiated the series as part of her advocacy to discover new female players and grow billiards in the distaff side, spending efforts and personal money, was happy about the turn out, “in our final leg, there were 58 entrees, some of them repeaters as they wanted to qualify but most of them were new faces in the spirt,”

The top 16 players who earned the most points after the fifth legs qualified to the one day finals of the series sponsored by Scarab with PSC Commissioner Bong Coo also providing assistance to Ms. Amit in this grassroots program.

Next on tap for Ms. Amit is the second season of the series set to start in June.

Inter see off Benfica to set up Milan showdown

MILAN — Inter drew 3-3 with Benfica on Wednesday to win their Champions League quarter-final 5-3 on aggregate and will face city rivals AC Milan for the right to be the first Italian team to reach the final for six years.

It will be Inter’s first semi-final appearance since they won the European Cup for the third time in 2010, the last Italian Champions League triumph with Juventus losing the 2015 and 2017 finals.

“It will be a special derby,” Inter striker Lautaro Martinez, who ended his 10-game scoring drought by scoring his team’s second goal against Benfica, told Amazon Prime Video.

“We all know what this game means, to play a Milan derby in the Champions League semi-finals.

“Happiness is the word, I’m so proud to represent this crest and this great club which is back to where it belongs.”

Inter were resolute against Benfica and were never in danger of losing their grip on the tie, scoring in each one of their only three shots on target in the entire game.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg in Portugal, Inter were happy to sit back and wait for a counter-attack against a desperate Benfica side.

Inter took the lead after 13 minutes when defender Nicolas Otamendi failed to control a loose ball near his own area.

Nicolo Barella, who also scored Inter’s opener in the first leg, was quick to react and after a nice one-two combination with Lautaro he unleashed a thunderous left-foot strike into the top corner of the net.

Benfica equalized in the 38th minute when midfielder Fredik Aursnes leapt high to head a cross from Rafa Silva powerfully into the roof of the net.

Inter opened up a two-goal lead after the break as Martinez and substitute Joaquin Correa scored with close-range strikes and they were in control, holding Benfica to zero shots on target until the 86th minute.

The Portuguese side refused to lie down, however, and defender Antonio Silva with a close-range header and substitute Petar Musa scored late goals for Benfica to salvage a draw.

The Milan teams have met twice in the Champions League knockout stages, the 2002-03 semis and 2004-05 quarter-finals with AC Milan, seven-times European champions, winning both ties.

They will clash at the San Siro in the first leg on May 10 and on May 16 in the second leg. The winners will face Real Madrid or Manchester City, who meet in the semi-finals for the second consecutive season. — Reuters

Man City ease into Champions League semis with 1-1 draw at Bayern

MUNICH, Germany — Manchester City cruised into the Champions League semi-finals after a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich on Wednesday secured a 4-1 aggregate win that moved them a step closer to an elusive first title in the competition.

City forward Erling Haaland, who had missed a first-half penalty, made amends in the 57th minute, drilling in his 48th goal in all competitions this season to kill off the tie before Bayern levelled with a Joshua Kimmich penalty in the 83rd.

It was City’s 15th consecutive game without defeat across all competitions and Pep Guardiola’s team, losing finalists in 2021, will next face holders Real Madrid in the last four.

It was also the 10th time Guardiola had reached the semi-finals as a coach, a new record.

“I am so happy to be three in a row semi-finals (with City),” Guardiola said. “I could not expect (Bayern) differently, you saw how good they are.”

“In this competition it is the details. In these two games in the right moments we were there,” said Guardiola, who coached Bayern from 2013-16.

“In the second half we adjusted some things and since minute one in the second half we felt were much, much more in control.”

Bayern always had a mountain to climb after losing 3-0 in the first leg, but got off to a strong start.

Kingsley Coman was a constant source of danger on the wing, keeping City defenders busy, and the hosts’ biggest chance came in the 17th minute when Leroy Sane latched on to a Jamal Musiala pass but dragged his shot wide with only keeper Ederson to beat.

The Bavarians, knocked out of the German Cup two weeks ago following coach Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, caught a break a minute later when defender Dayot Upamecano was initially sent off after receiving a straight red card for a last-man foul on Haaland.

A VAR review, however, confirmed the striker was offside and the Bayern defender’s dismissal was overturned.

Upamecano, who had been heavily criticised for his mistake that led to City’s second goal in the first leg, was less fortunate a little later when he was penalised for a handball.

Haaland sent his penalty high over the bar, a rare miss for the Norwegian striker this season, but he did much better after the restart.

After combining well with Kevin De Bruyne, Haaland shook off the embattled Upamecano, before beating keeper Yann Sommer, setting a new record having taken just 27 matches to reach 35 goals in Europe’s premier club competition.

City’s goal was the first Bayern conceded at home in the entire competition this season and the hosts, who have only the Bundesliga title left to play for, got an equaliser when Kimmich converted a spot kick.

“It is really annoying that we didn’t take the lead with all the chances that we had,” Kimmich said. I would have liked to see how this match had gone if we had made it 1-0 in the first half.”

Their frustrating evening was completed when Tuchel was sent off after a second booking in the 86th minute. — Reuters

Streaky shooting

It should have been “No Ja, no problem” for the Lakers. Considering how they were able to claim Game One of their first round series against the Grizzlies at the FedExForum, conventional wisdom had them prevailing in yesterday’s match as well following news that Morant, the hosts’  leading scorer and acknowledged leader, would not be able to suit up due to injury. Momentum was theirs; they carved victory on the road pulling away, stretching their winning run to four games.

Unfortunately, the Lakers could not have started the match worse. After four minutes and change, they found themselves in a hole they would not be able to climb out of until the final buzzer. By the time the first quarter ended, the deficit they faced was already in double digits. And, for all their supposed firepower, they needed to expend not inconsiderable energy simply to try to stay abreast of the Grizzlies. That they ultimately failed in their bid speaks volumes of their streaky shooting.

Make no mistake. The Lakers tried. Their defense remained stout, holding the Grizzlies, who normed 116.9 points per outing in the regular season, to 103 when the battle smoke cleared. Their problem was their inability to make leather and nylon meet with any modicum of consistency. They shot only 26.9% from three-point range and 41.2% overall, hardly numbers that lend well to success. And it wasn’t as if they made up for their salty touch with extra effort; they had fewer rebounds and assists, and committed more turnovers.

Which is to say the Lakers didn’t help their cause any. They had a grand opportunity to stamp their class and set up a series finish at home. Instead, they saw supposed anchor Anthony Davis play poorly. Meanwhile, surefire Hall of Famer LeBron James wound up with an atrocious minus-17 line in the 39 minutes he was on the court, negating the 28 and 12 he posted. Clearly, they need help — not unlike the way the Grizzlies collectively overcome supposed handicaps. And the help wasn’t enough. Rui Hachimura once again delivered with 20, but Austin Reaves had a pedestrian 12 to add to De’Angelo Russell’s measly five.

The glass-half-full perspective has the Lakers fulfilling their objective of one on the road. The flipside is that they need to prove they can take care of business at the Crypto.com Arena. In this regard, fans are only right to wonder: Which version will show up? The answer figures to determine their fate.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

The future of gaming: Exploring the revolutionary play-to-earn model

FLORIAN OLIVO-UNSPLASH

It has been interesting to see how the world of cryptocurrencies continues to expand, new opportunities are emerging that are changing the way we think about digital assets. NFT art used to be groundbreaking but is now relatively old news. A lot of people are wondering what else could the world of crypto hold? I certainly don’t have the answers, but I can talk to you about new trends that I come across and walk you through my own ideas about them.

One area that has recently caught my attention is the intersection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gaming, and play-to-earn models. This market is transforming the traditional gaming industry and providing new economic opportunities for people around the world. It not only takes the culture of gaming, which intersects heavily with tech and crypto culture, but also adds a new cryptocurrency aspect to it. But what does this mean? What does a play-to-earn model look like in action?

So, have you ever played a game that gave you rewards or coins for completing tasks or challenges? That’s the basic idea behind play-to-earn games.

Play-to-earn (P2E) is a cool feature in some video games that lets you earn real cryptocurrency tokens by playing the game well. You can earn tokens for completing tasks, winning battles, or leveling up in the game. The rewards can be different types of cryptocurrency, like MANA or ETH, or special in-game items like skins, cards, or characters that are unique and can’t be found anywhere else.

The more time you spend playing the game, the higher your chances of winning these rewards. For example, in Decentraland, you can even rent out your virtual land to earn money when other players use it. And in games like Axie Infinity, you can earn points that are worth real money by winning battles and using the game’s special currencies. By the way, the Philippines was Axie’s number one player market during the pandemic.

Aside from the P2E games, there are also NFT games. These are mostly connected to the metaverse, which is like a virtual world where you can play games, hang out with friends, and go to events. NFTs are important in this world because they allow players to own and control parts of the environment.

This means you can make your own things and even make money from them. It’s like having your own little piece of the metaverse. Right now, gaming is the main way people are using the metaverse, and games like The Sandbox and Decentraland are really popular. In these games, you can buy and own things like land and avatars, and you can even trade them with other players. The cool thing is that you can make money from these things too, whether it’s through in-game incentives or renting out your virtual property. It’s a really exciting new world that’s just getting started, and I can’t wait to see how it evolves in the future.

As we continue to explore the world of cryptocurrencies, we are discovering new ways that technology can change the way we think about the digital world. While there are certainly risks involved, such as the potential for cryptocurrencies to be volatile and impact the enjoyment of the game, the overall potential of NFT gaming and play-to-earn models is significant. These models have the potential to create a new economy that is more accessible and more exciting.

The stories of people using games to earn a living are inspiring, and we believe that this trend will continue to grow and evolve in the coming years. It’s exciting to see how this market is developing and how it will impact the broader world.

As more businesses and investors recognize the potential of this market, we expect to see more innovation and growth in the NFT gaming space. This could potentially lead to more job opportunities for gamers and other individuals who are interested in the world of cryptocurrencies.

I also anticipate that there will be more research and development in this area, leading to more sophisticated gaming experiences and further economic opportunities. The possibilities are endless, and it’s exciting to see where this new technology will take us.

In the end, only time will tell what the future holds for NFT gaming and play-to-earn models. But one thing is certain — this is a fascinating area of the digital world that is worth exploring and learning more about. So why not dive in and see what you can discover?

 

Dr. Donald Lim is the founding president of the Blockchain Association of the Philippines and the lead convenor of the Philippine Blockchain Week. He is also the Asian anchor of FintechTV.

Scars and deeper wounds in the labor market

PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

On Aug. 6, 2020, at the height of the pandemic, we reacted in this space to the article of Richard Baldwin of Geneva’s Graduate Institute which was published by the Chicago Booth Review. Baldwin called for a reduction in “economic scar tissues” and sustained spending in order to flatten the epidemiologic curve.

We found Baldwin’s exhortation a little premature because reducing economic scar tissues means we have already healed from the pandemic, something that came only after a year or so, growth-wise. Even then, pre-pandemic output level was restored only in 2022. The health shock that hit us did not dissipate quickly and with the mortalities, our workforce was dented quite severely.

At about the same time, the International Labor Organization (ILO) published its own take on the initial impact of COVID-19 on the Philippines’ labor market based on labor force survey data from April 2020. Its fearless forecast then was that “one quarter of total employment in the Philippines is likely to be disrupted by the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and labor market.”

This was expected to happen through reduced earnings and working hours, or complete job loss.

Adding to the layers of pandemic risks, technological transformations could expose some 7.2 million workers to a possible double-tiered risk of job disruption. Yes, digitalization is the future, and its adoption was expected to help us survive the pandemic, but its joint impact with the pandemic on the labor market could render as much as two-thirds of the 10.9 million Filipinos at risk of losing their jobs or reducing their pay. Destructive digitalization is the ugly side of technological transformation.

To us, the most important focus of the ILO report was its commentary on youth labor market dynamics. Youth unemployment was cited by the ILO as having spiked from 12.9% before the pandemic to 31.6% in April 2020. The ILO was correct in its observation that “many young people in the Philippines face multiple labor market risks” including severe disruptions in their education and training activities, employment and incomes, as well as worsening job search constraints.

These are the prospective economic scars on the Philippine youth, that, after being challenged in their learning and training activities during the pandemic, they would be disadvantaged when they start looking for jobs.

The ILO also noted that the Government, through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), decided to promote a “flexible learning arrangement” in universities and colleges and use learning management systems for assessing alternative learning tools. This was also the basic tack followed in the elementary and secondary schools which were all dependent on the students’ access to laptops, tablets, and smart phones to enable remote learning.

We recall that the World Bank recently issued a similar assessment but of course with the benefit of the actual labor market statistics before and after, if we might use this term, the pandemic crisis. It recognized that young Filipinos were the biggest victims of the labor market shock and therefore to secure economic sustainability, better jobs should be generated for them.

Speaking through its country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines Ndiamé Diop at the launch of the Philippine Jobs Report, the World Bank observed that youth employment rate remained low last year even as the labor market appeared to have recovered to pre-pandemic levels. It raised concern about the long-term scarring it has seen in previous crises. For the multilateral institution, the Filipino “COVID generation” actually suffered triple shocks: a learning crisis due to the extended school closure, higher poverty incidence, and difficult labor market conditions.

Which is why the news on page 2 of another broadsheet two Wednesdays ago (“Job hunt tough for grads of ‘pandemic generation,’” Inquirer, April 12), could only be disconcerting. The recent situational report released by the Commission on Human Rights indicates that new graduates find it harder to find jobs as many of them lack “soft skills” — or those related to empathy, creativity, and communication — and other practical job skills that could have been best imparted and sharpened during face-to-face classes.

This is an affirmation of the economic consequences of the prolonged lockdown of both business and schools.

Unlike the reports of the ILO and the World Bank, the Commission’s report is based on actual focus group discussions with officials of the national government, prospective employers, schoolteachers, administrators and principals, and the young people themselves.

Disadvantaged by several inadequacies, our young graduates experienced “culture shock” because their expectations were different from what they absorbed during their remote learning. Employers found them lacking in “soft skills.” Employers affirmed that “hard skills” are important, but “soft skills” are equally important.

Another cause of job-hunting difficulty is fierce competition, according to the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP). Laid-off workers are prioritized over the new graduates for obvious reasons. Experience is preferred. Those who graduated from face-to-face learning environments are also preferred because they are presumed to have the social skills in navigating the workplace.

The Commission also observed that official public policies in education and training “are focused on providing basic education and skills training and not on developing effective communication, teamwork and critical thinking.” Some graduates are also lacking in what the Commission called “job readiness.” Internships were done on a remote basis. There was a disconnect between book learning via remote and the actual workplace requiring actual practical skills.

An excellent example is the experience of some agriculture students who were supposed to assist in pig farrowing. With the pandemic, they had to make do with watching how the teacher guided the hog in giving birth. This must have serious consequences when medical students are involved.

Mismatches in teachers’ experiences and skill sets were also noted by the Commission. Some biology classes had to be dropped in one school because the teacher in charge majored in English. Career guidance was sorely lacking in many schools resulting in some students graduating from courses with very little market demand.

Was there some convergence among the policy prescriptions offered by the ILO, World Bank, and the Commission?

The ILO’s proposals covered the pursuit of economic stimulus to sustain job opportunities; supporting some key enterprises, jobs, and incomes; protecting workers in the workplace; and conduct of social dialogues to achieve ownership of these policy recommendations.

The World Bank urged the Philippine government to target support to young Filipinos because they are crucial in achieving higher growth path. Good labor market regulations on wages and unemployment insurance are favored, while international migration should remain an option to domestic employment while new areas on green finance and digital jobs should be stressed in the curriculum. Skills training, wage subsidies, and job search assistance are indispensable.

For the Commission, establishing partnerships with industries and human resource executives to provide direct links to job opportunities is very important. A good assessment of the faculty is also critical in ensuring quality education and training. A review of the curriculum against industry demand is also found to be useful.

Perhaps a better way to secure a more permanent solution to finding good jobs in the market is to make sure our young students are not only taught the basic skills, but also soft skills including how to be creative and how to think critically. Basic skills are just that, basic, and unless poor families are supported in more ways than just through cash assistance, the Philippines’ young people will continue to dwell in the cellar against their counterparts.

The latest 2018 finding of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) illustrates that Filipino 15-year-old students “scored lower in reading, mathematics and science than those in most of the countries and economies that participated in PISA 2018.” PISA also reported that 80% of Filipino students failed to reach a minimum level of proficiency in reading!

PISA traced this unfavorable result mainly to inadequate public support. Expenditure per student in the Philippines is one of the lowest among the participating countries. This is a challenge to both the education and budget departments. This is a challenge to Congress to trim the fat and invest in the future of this country.

PISA also believed that our school system is far from being inclusive; there is so much bullying reported. Many Filipino students believe that their intelligence may no longer improve. This mindset is associated with a high fear of failure. In PISA, those with the lowest scores like the Filipino students are those with fatalistic attitude, those with high fear of failure. This is a challenge to the new leadership to drill down to the bottom of our educational system.

The job-hunting problem is only a symptom, an economic scar of a deeper wound.

 

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former deputy governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was alternate executive director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

Wishful thinking

FABIO COMPARELLI-UNSPLASH

Now that the world is shedding the shackles of the pandemic lockdown, people are suddenly free to do “revenge travel.” Many families are making up for lost time, having reunions, and going to exotic places like Iceland to see the aurora borealis and the Krypton-like icicle mountains and frozen waterfalls, or Africa for wildlife safaris, or the Sahara Desert expeditions, or the Dead Sea after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, or the Sakura cherry blossoms in Japan. Others visit our own country’s best powder white beaches to watch the glorious sunsets or meditate in the cool misty mountains amidst the pine tree forests.

A few introspective individuals stayed home to reflect, pray, create, write, paint, compose, dance, and dream.

British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) once said, “Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.”

Our personal memory plays tricks sometimes. We tend to remember what we want and forget the rest. Or we enhance our recollection of an event or a place. The memories get whirled and spun around the mind’s eye.

Taking a journey after a long time is always exciting. It is a new exhilarating adventure. The anticipation and anxiety increase as the day approaches. The thrilling feeling is the same — a slow boat ride on the sea or a midnight flight to a distant continent or a bullet train to a quaint village on a mountainside.

It is fun to travel — despite the hassles of jet lag and bouts of seasickness, and stringent airport security measures. The itinerant traveler learns to grin and bear it. One must endure the painstaking luggage search, countess body scans and some indecent gropes, temperature scans, walking sans shoes through X-ray machines. However, the safety of the majority cannot be compromised.

One shrugs off the wearisome conveniences — cancelled and missed flights due to assorted terrorist threats and extreme weather disturbances. Take it with a grain of salt, as seasoned travelers say. The rewards are worth the snags.

It is safe to travel with masks, but one can shed part of the psychological protective armor. There is a sudden sense of freedom, a feeling of restored privacy.

Travel is not only an escape. It is an inner voyage of self-discovery, an expansion of one’s outer horizon and perspective.

The best part of being away is the novelty. After isolation, one can see new places, interesting people, and learn new things. Returning to old familiar places — after a few years or decades — allows us to rediscover and appreciate things with a new vision. The lens of wisdom and maturity. The bonus is having private time to nurture one’s inner self.

The worst part of traveling is being wrenched from one’s comfort zone — one’s own bed and bathroom, and the taste and smell of home-cooked meals. It is tiresome to have restaurant meals and microwaved airline food trays. Keeping tight schedules, sprinting to catch a train or a bus or a plane or a ferry.

Being away for long periods of time, one lives out of a suitcase and learns how to adapt to the changing seasons, the environment.

When one starts to miss so many things, blame it on homesickness and travel fatigue.

The outward trip always seems longer. It takes almost forever to reach a destination. The opposite effect happens on the return flight or sea voyage. The trip seems to be over as soon as one boards the plane or ship. It’s a psychological thing, one surmises.

Back home, in the familiar turbulent or stressful environment, the urge to escape creeps in… too soon. The cycle begins anew.

The American writer Paul Theroux remarked, “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.”

One yearns for pleasurable things and feels guilty about having them. The paradox is the more happiness we derive from something, the worse we feel. The inverse is true of righteous pain. For example, the worse we feel while eating a romaine salad without the zestful dressing, the better we feel about eating it. Either way, we feel awful.

It is the agony of the ecstasy and the ecstasy of the agony.

Researchers in the field of psychology say that everyone has a personal mechanism for survival — to cope with feelings of anxiety. One turns to comfort food or an outdoor activity that produces endorphins for good feelings. Travel is one of the best activities. It enriches the spirit and mind, and it is a rejuvenating tonic for the body, the heart.

However, one must suppress a twinge of guilt when a luxurious activity — such as dinner at a star rated restaurant — is considered by some people as self-indulgent or frivolous. (They are probably miserable kill joys.) And to that, we exclaim, “To each, his own!” Whatever works is a valid reason.

Touché!

On a personal note, April marks this column’s 30th anniversary. Time flies.

My first article was about St. Mary’s House, a haven for young girls (the innocent victims of incest and abuse). Child protection remains the main advocacy of this column.

 

Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.

mavrufino@gmail.com

A new lawyer’s oath, and not necessarily for the better

PHILIPPINE STAR/RUSSELL PALMA

Recently, the Supreme Court announced that 3,992 law graduates passed the 2022 Bar Exams, for a passing rate of 43.47%. The new lawyers are expected to take their oaths on May 2. And like all others in the profession before them, they will be required to take the Lawyer’s Oath.

An oath says what it says.

Previously, the Lawyer’s Oath read: “I do solemnly swear that I will maintain allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines, I will support the Constitution and obey the laws as well as the legal orders of the duly constituted authorities therein; I will do no falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in court; I will not wittingly or willingly promote or sue any groundless, false or unlawful suit, or give aid nor consent to the same; I will delay no man for money or malice, and will conduct myself as a lawyer according to the best of my knowledge and discretion, with all good fidelity as well to the courts as to my clients; and I impose upon myself these voluntary obligations without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God.”

Did anyone notice the one word not included in that oath?

For context, here is the oath of lawyers in Singapore: “I do swear that I will well and truly serve the Republic of Singapore in the office of and I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of Singapore without fear or favor, affection or ill-will. So help me God.”

The French (Paris) lawyer’s oath: “As a lawyer, I swear to exercise my functions with dignity, conscience, independence, integrity and humanity.”

The US attorney’s oath is here: “I do solemnly swear that as an attorney and as a counselor of this court I will conduct myself uprightly and according to law, and that I will support the Constitution of the United States.” (For the attorney’s oath of the 50 US States, you can find that here: https://bit.ly/Oaths_of_Admission.)

The missing word is “justice.”

Lawyers, as “officers of the court,” do not swear to do justice. In fact, the elements of a lawyer’s oath usually are three: To support the constitution, to faithfully discharge the duties of a lawyer, and to act with integrity. That’s it.

A MATTER OF JUSTICE
It does not mean that lawyers ignore justice. Filipino lawyers, as citizens of the Philippines, must adhere to the Constitution. In fact, the oath actually dictates that lawyers “support the Constitution.”

The point of not including “justice” in the oath is because lawyers (taking into consideration the generality of the ruling in Cayetano vs. Monsod) take it in their personality as “officers of the court.” As such, their main duty is to the client, to advocate for their client’s lawful interests.

Put another way, all lawyers, as Filipino citizens, are bound to the provisions, values, and principles contained in the Constitution. As citizens, they are therefore mandated to act with “justice” to everyone. The Lawyer’s Oath, however, is specific to their function as officers of the court, which is primarily to advocate for the interests of their client.

Instead, the duty to dispense justice lies with the judge. And even then, technically, the judge does not dispense justice but rather (as provided in their own oath) to decide cases: “I, _______ of _______, having been appointed _______, do hereby solemnly swear that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge to the best of my ability, the duties and obligations incumbent upon my position; support and defend the Constitution of the Philippines; bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will obey the laws and legal orders promulgated by the duly-constituted authorities of the Republic of the Philippines; and that I impose this obligation upon myself voluntarily, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God.”

The dispensing of justice (as opposed to merely deciding a case) is a complicated issue, leading to the very heart, essence, and philosophy of our Constitution, as well as the values and principles of our society. Thus, to avoid subjectivity and undue bias, to prevent individual lawyers and judges from imposing their own political views, legal philosophy, and (worse) ideologies on others, lawyers and judges are strictly enjoined to act within the parameters of the Constitution and the boundaries of legislation and measures of the elected branches of government — the legislature and executive, respectively.

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
That is the prudent logic of the Lawyer’s Oath, the same one taken previously by thousands of lawyers during the many decades of our Republic’s life. Unfortunately, good things sometimes can’t be just left alone.

The new Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability was recently launched and, with it, the new Lawyer’s Oath:

“I do solemnly swear that I accept the honor, privilege, duty, and responsibility of practicing law in the Philippines as an officer of the Court in the interest of our people.

I declare fealty to the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines.

In doing so, I shall work towards promoting ‘the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace.’

I shall conscientiously and courageously work for justice, as well as safeguard the rights and meaningful freedoms of all persons, identities and communities. I shall ensure greater and equitable access to justice. I shall do no falsehood nor shall I pervert the law to unjustly favor or prejudice anyone. I shall discharge these duties and responsibilities to the best of my ability, with integrity, and utmost civility. I impose all these upon myself without mental reservation nor purpose of evasion.

So help me, God.”

The new oath expands its coverage to not only the lawyer’s function as officer of the court to that of “practicing law in the Philippines,” which (according to the aforementioned Cayetano vs. Monsod) could cover anything from the mere giving of legal advice to teaching law in the classroom. But if that were the case, then why have an oath at all for such a vastly varied set of occupations? Everyone is essentially duty bound anyway to the same demand: act according to the values and principles laid out in the Constitution. The point of having a separate oath for lawyers was to hone in on the one function reserved for them alone: to act as officers of the court.

Language and precision-wise, the first paragraph could have done with less reference to the Thesaurus: “honor, privilege, duty, and responsibility.” Each second word is essentially repeating the first. The third paragraph, on the other hand, redundantly makes a point already declared in the second.

The Oath then goes on to mention “justice.” Not once, not twice, but thrice. But what kind of justice? Value justice? Aristotelian? Utilitarian? Libertarian? Woke? Are we referring to the Catholic (original) social justice or woke social justice? Lawyers (as officers of the court) and judges (even Supreme Court justices) should not be allowed to decide for themselves what justice definition or framework they wish to employ or exclude within the confines of a court case.

And yet, even assuming the propriety of the Oath expanding to the presumably Cayetano-esque view of the practice of law itself, there is, emphatically in fact, a concept of justice embedded within the text of our Constitution and as fleshed out by legislation and measures undertaken by the legislative and executive branches, respectively (for an extended discussion on this, I recommend my own book Natural Law and the Limits of Judicial Power, published by Central Books).

OF IDENTITIES AND COMMUNITIES
And yet the new Oath goes on: a lawyer swears to “safeguard the rights and meaningful freedoms of all persons, identities and communities.” What is “meaningful freedom?” Is there such a thing as a meaningless freedom? As a legal term, it does not exist. It may be a concept found in social studies or philosophy but that’s the point: lawyers (as officers of the court) are not supposed to impose their political, social, or philosophical beliefs on others. They are merely supposed to uphold the law. Outside the courtroom and in the general practice of law, then lawyers — like any Filipino citizen — are bound to comply and uphold the provisions, values, and principles found within the text, history, and context of the Constitution.

As officers of the court, lawyers are to uphold the law without distinction, free from unlawful discrimination. Hence, equality. But now, under the new oath, they are supposed to “safeguard the rights and meaningful freedoms of all persons, identities and communities.” What could “identity” and “community” possibly mean?

Who determines what is a recognizable community or who belongs to it? Definitely not the courts. And is it right to read the foregoing in that there are “rights and meaningful freedoms” available not merely for all persons but also that specific only for “identities and communities”? But if that were so, then in the case of the latter, that actually either constitutes, a.) a redundancy, or, b.) a privilege.

Would “rights and meaningful freedoms” refer to Christians? Being Catholic, heterosexual, and having a traditional family is an identity, as well as community. Clearly the rights and meaningful freedoms of that identity must be safeguarded. Same with businessmen and capitalist entrepreneurs.

Our Constitution precisely makes the point that we have one unifying identity: the Filipino People; and one community: the Republic of the Philippines. Every citizen is subject to the same application of the law. The new Oath lends itself vulnerable to an interpretation of the possibility of groups within a group, of a balkanization of rights. The prospect of a tribalism that could only lead to division and resentment amongst our people.

Finally, the Philippines is a democratic republic. This means that we protect the rights of minorities, even if they may constitute merely 5% of the population. But that logically, sensibly, and rationally means all the more that we respect and uphold the rights and freedoms of the 95% majority. To do otherwise would be sheer extremism.

A COUNTRY IS NOT A LAB EXPERIMENT
This is why, by sheer dint of long constitutional, political, and practical experience we have made the emphasis of our law the diffusion of and hence separation of powers, the equal application of laws, and the studied and open discussion of legislation exclusively within a legislative body prudently divided into two chambers to encourage pondering and restraint.

It’s very easy, in fact tempting indeed, to tinker and experiment with measures allowing for expressions of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Anyone with a Facebook page can do that. What is inevitably difficult is to deal with the foreseeable and unforeseeable consequences of those measures.

That is why good governance is better left in the hands of serious people, working within the constraints of experience and reason, and tempered by the humility of knowing that the reality of human existence is so complex that changes needed to be done deliberately and with caution.

Lawyers have a very important and substantial role in nation building. But only if they can readily identify the specific role they have to play. It isn’t helped if they have to swear to an oath that is as ambiguous as it is difficult to understand.

 

Jemy Gatdula is a senior fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.

https://www.facebook.com/jigatdula/

Twitter  @jemygatdula

Pursuing a strong and secure Indo-Pacific region

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between our country and the United States, signed in 2014, allows US military personnel to train with local troops as well as build and operate facilities inside military bases. It is a complement to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries.

EDCA also allows the US to pre-position supplies and equipment in the Philippines. It is intended to promote interoperability, capacity building towards modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), strengthening of the AFP for external defense, maritime security, maritime domain awareness, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

There are five original EDCA sites: Cesar Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Nueva Ecija, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, and the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.

Earlier this month, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. announced that there would be four additional EDCA locations: the Camilo Osias Naval Base in Sta Ana, Cagayan; Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo, Cagayan; Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; and Balabac Island in Palawan.

The President has stated that the move would strengthen the defense of our country and the defense of our republic. He said that aside from strengthening the country’s defense posture, the additional EDCA sites would defend the country’s eastern coast – the government, he said, must also protect the waters off the country’s eastern seaboard, particularly the Benham Rise.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III said the new sites would help our two countries work together even more closely to meet the challenges we share.

For our part, various officials have articulated their support for this move. Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. recently stated that the four additional EDCA sites would greatly boost the Philippines’ defensive capabilities and allow the country to protect its national interests, as well as contribute to collective defense in the region. The AFP’s “strengthened presence” in the new locations, he said, especially along the country’’s eastern and western seaboards, would enable Filipino troops to respond quickly to distress calls.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the EDCA would jumpstart the construction of facilities and the upgrading of existing infrastructure that would directly contribute to communities and to the enhancement of the capabilities of the AFP. The Philippine Ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez, sees the additional EDCA sites as a major boost to the country’s push to enhance defense capabilities.

At least four senators – Francis Tolentino, Francis Escudero, Christopher Lawrence Go, and Jinggoy Estrada – have also voiced their strong support.

SUPPORT

We at Stratbase support the expansion of EDCA sites as a necessary and strategic prerogative that responds to the sustained aggression of Beijing now threatening the stability of the Indo-Pacific region.

Recent aggressive maneuvers by Beijing have made such an act critical. The diplomatic protests that we have filed have been simply brushed aside and were met with more deception, if not blatant lies. Meanwhile, China’s gray zone operations continue, bringing to the edge an already tense and risky geopolitical scenario.

We believe that beyond the fortification of our defense capabilities, the designation of the new EDCA sites, showing closer cooperation between the Philippines and the US, sends a message to other like-minded countries that they too could explore with us avenues of cooperation, particularly in terms of ensuring maritime security. Japan and Australia are among these like-minded states.

A survey conducted by Pulse Asia, commissioned by Stratbase, showed that eight out of 10 of Filipinos (80%) believe that the Marcos administration must strengthen our military capability to effectively address the issues in the West Philippine Sea, conduct joint maritime patrols and military exercises with allied countries, and fully implement the Visiting Forces Agreement and the EDCA.

This same survey showed that it is still the US that enjoys the trust of most Filipinos – 84% – as we defend our sovereignty. It is followed by Japan and Australia with 52% and 25%, respectively.

On numerous occasions, President Marcos, Jr. has repeatedly said that the foreign policy of his administration would be driven by national interest alone. This is a welcome, reassuring change from the stance taken by his immediate predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who unabashedly pivoted toward China in the guise of an “independent foreign policy” and promises of investments that did not really materialize. What we got instead were more incursions that violated our territorial rights, daily harassment of our fishermen, and depleted marine resources in our Exclusive Economic Zone.

Our national interest also dictates that the Philippines participate more fully and meaningfully in efforts to establish and maintain the international rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. Without a doubt, the identification of these new EDCA sites is a step in that direction. We are, after all, a country that upholds international law and the rights of individual states. In doing so, we are also not backing down from asserting our own rights and bringing any violations and transgressions to the attention of the greater international community.

We have sought to respond to Beijing in so many ways. We have resorted to different actions including filing diplomatic protests, bringing violations and gray zone operations to the attention of the public, even seeking redress – and winning our case – before the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Our previous leader tried a policy of appeasement that China has exploited to strengthen their military foothold in the South China Sea.

We hope the designation of additional EDCA sites sends a clear, unequivocal, unmistakable message to Beijing that the Philippines will stand up to its sovereign rights and will protect national interests – and has the commitment its US ally. These developments will hopefully not escalate tensions but inspire renewed dialogue and work towards peaceful solutions in the context of a rules based international order that will ensure the sustaining benefits of a free and secure global maritime commons in the Indo-Pacific.

Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the president of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

With AI drones and data, Tunisia’s start-ups battle water crisis

TRUSTPAIR.COM

SMINJA, Tunisia – From soil sensors to AI-powered drones, entrepreneurs in Tunisia are equipping farmers with tech tools and data to help the vital agriculture sector weather the country’s worsening water crisis.

The North African nation is enduring its fourth consecutive year of drought – as intensifying climate change affects rainfall in the region – threatening the agriculture industry that is critical for its food security and struggling economy.

With Tunisia’s dams drying up and poor crop harvests forecast, the government has started rationing public water supplies, hiked water prices for homes and businesses, and banned the use of potable water in agriculture until the end of September.

Tunisian start–ups are trying to alleviate the problem by providing farmers with tools and technologies to improve their agricultural methods and manage their crops with less water.

“We are experiencing a disaster as we are really running out of water resources,” said Yasser Bououd, co-founder of Ezzayra, a company that makes agricultural technology systems featuring smart irrigation devices, soil sensors and weather stations.

“We have to produce more with less resources, and technology is the only solution,” he added.

Founded in 2016, Ezzayra has 73 customers in Tunisia – with farms ranging from five hectares to 4,300 hectares in size – as well as a handful of clients overseas, according to Bououd.

Ezzayra’s system – which costs about $1,500 for smallholder farmers and more for bigger farms – optimizes fertilizing, irrigating and cultivating, and includes a mobile app that provides data about crops and the weather.

One of its customers, Mahmoud Bouassida – a 47-year-old smallholder farmer in the northeastern town of Nabeul – said he had increased his crop yields by 30% and reduced water consumption by 20% since he started using the system in 2020.

“I can manage the whole farm through a mobile app,” said the farmer, who grows citrus with three others on a 20-hectare piece of land. “Everything here can be done in one click; irrigating, fertilizing and even detecting any water pipe leaks,” he added.

Entrepreneurs say tech can not only help water-scarce farmers deal with drought but modernize and make their work more profitable in the long-term. But some analysts warn that such innovations should not distract from tackling the root cause of the problem.

“Technology will offer solutions but it will never be sufficient without other reforms,” said Adel Ben Youssef, an economics professor at the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis in France and a former climate finance negotiator for Tunisia.

Ben Youssef said the Tunisian government should upgrade the country’s dilapidated water networks to avoid leaks and wastage, and make better use of waste water and rainwater to meet demand.

 

DEPLETED DAMS

Many of Tunisia’s 37 dams are depleted or empty due to years of drought, with total capacity having dropped to about 1 billion cubic meters – or 30% of the maximum – senior agriculture ministry official Hamadi Habib said last month.

This has acutely affected the agriculture sector, which accounts for about 80% of the country’s water consumption, according to statistics from the ministry.

For example, the senior farmers union has warned that the grain harvest will be “disastrous” – with the crop expected to decline by two-thirds this year to about 200,000-250,000 tons.

“The grain farmers will be in real distress this year because of the water shortages,” said Hajer Chabbah, vice-president of Tunisia Coop, an agricultural cooperative.

In a region where olive oil is produced outside of Sfax – Tunisia’s second city – Robocare, another start-up, uses AI-powered drones equipped with spectral cameras to identify water wastage, and detect diseases in plants and trees.

“Reducing water wastage during irrigation seems urgent today, as farmers struggle with water shortages and climate change,” said Robocare’s co-founder Imen Hbiri. The start-up currently has three Tunisian clients and one in Morocco.

 

HELPING THE WIDER POPULATION

Tech start–ups in Tunisia are not only thinking up solutions for water-scarce farmers but also looking to help the wider population as people feel the effects of the growing crisis.

State water distribution company SONEDE last month started cutting off water supplies to citizens from 9 p.m. until 4 a.m. – a further blow to a public already struggling with food and fuel shortages and accelerating inflation, which is above 10%.

Tunisians per capita have access to 420 cubic meters of water a year, below the official “water poverty” level, according to the agriculture ministry.

This makes Tunisia a “very water scarce country”, United Nations Water has said.

To address the shortages, Kumulus Water, a “water tech” startup, has built a machine it says can produce up to 30 liters of drinking water a day using solar energy and the humidity in the air.

When air enters the device, it passes through a filter that removes pollutants and cools it to create condensation. The resulting water is then filtered to remove impurities and ensure it is safe to drink, said Kumulus co-founder Iheb Triki.

Triki said Kumulus has clients ranging from companies using the machines in their offices to a luxury hotel and a school.

Tunisia’s agriculture ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the country’s water shortages.

But Habib, the senior official, warned last month in a statement that if proper action was not taken there “will no drinking water this August in many Tunisian cities, including the capital Tunis”.

The World Bank has predicted Tunisia will face longer and more frequent and challenging droughts in the future as temperatures rise and rainfall levels decrease.

For entrepreneurs like Robocare’s Hbiri, tech is one way to fight back.

“We have to move faster with effective solutions to withstand an inevitable crisis,” she said. – Reuters

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