A DIGITAL-FIRST mindset is decentralizing the healthcare industry and delivering care to patients where they are, according to panelists at a conference hosted by Zoom about driving the future of virtual healthcare.
“The sources of consumers’ frustrations include long wait times, high healthcare costs. Against this backdrop, Asian consumers are fully embracing the digital era,” said Ricky Kapur, head of Zoom in the Asia-Pacific, at the May 11 forum. He pointed out that home care and telemedicine packages that emerged in the Philippines because of the pandemic will remain.
Digitalization has already changed the way healthcare is delivered to the point of rendering traditional labor-intensive models insufficient in the face of Asia’s rising healthcare needs, he added.
Increased flexibility and better collaboration among staff are among the advantages of digital healthcare, said Singapore’s Integrated Health Information Systems Assistant Chief Executive Alan Goh. “The trend of us-ing video consultations is here to stay.”
HOSPITAL-AT HOME
Zoom’s initiatives include video and meeting software development kits, which allow companies to build customizable applications using Zoom.
“It’s about making expertise traditionally found only by visiting a center of excellence more available to people,” said Ron Emerson, Zoom’s global healthcare lead. “There’s now a hospital-at-home — providing services at home that would otherwise be carried out in the hospital.” In April, the Philippine Health department reported engaging with more than 100,000 patients a month over video conferencing platforms in the first quarter of 2021, spurred by extended lockdowns instituted because of the pandemic.
With restrictions either loosened or lifted around the globe, the focus now is to reach people where they are, said Mr. Emerson.
Mark Crowe, director of information technology innovations at US-based nonprofit healthcare organization Sentara Healthcare, added: “Before COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], the utilization of digital healthcare was pretty low, but now that we’re in the endemic stages, we’re actually seeing that the percentage utilization and adoption rate will never go back to pre-COVID-19.”
Clinics, hospitals, and health companies should consider their goals, services, and essential features when selecting a telehealth platform, he added.
“Every two weeks we’re upgrading, revising, debugging
Listed telecommunications, media, and technology company Now Corp. saw its attributable net income for the first quarter of the year jump by 237% to P3.88 million from P1.15 million earned in the same period a year earlier.
The improvement in the company’s financial performance can be attributed to its lower cost and expenses for the period, its first-quarter report showed.
The company’s total revenues for the first three months of the year reached P48.91 million, or lower by 4% from the P51.03 million reported in the same period last year.
Its service revenue fell by 16% to P42.97 million from last year’s P50.96 million. “Service revenues mainly pertain to broadband services and income earned from the deployment by the company of professionals to its clients to render IT-related solutions and services,” Now Corp. noted.
Meanwhile, sales of software licenses rose to P5.94 million from P75,552 during the period.
“As impacted by the enhanced community quarantine, the revenues from the IT manpower and resource augmentation continued to drop by 9% from P3.11 million to P2.84 million,” the company noted.
Moreover, cost and expenses for the period reached P42.97 million, a 12% decrease from last year’s cost and expenses of P48.69 million.
“There was a slight increase of cost of sales and services of P0.551 million or 2% from P28.17 million in 2021 to P28.72 million in 2022, whereas, operating expenses decreased by P6.27 million or 31% from same period last year of P20.52 million to P14.25 million this year,” the company said.
It added that the significant decrease was due to the implementation of cost-cutting measures of the company.
Now Corp. shares closed 1.48% higher at P1.37 apiece on Tuesday. — Arjay L. Balinbin
THE GOVERNMENT partially awarded the fresh seven-year Treasury bonds it offered on Tuesday. BW FILE PHOTO
The government partially awarded the fresh Treasury bonds (T-bonds) it offered on Tuesday as investors asked for higher returns due to expectations of a hike at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy meeting on Thursday.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised just P20.10 billion via the fresh seven-year T-bonds it auctioned off on Tuesday, less than the programmed P35 billion, despite total tenders reaching P46.94 billion.
The debt papers were awarded at a coupon rate of 6.5%, 31.1 basis points (bps) higher than the 6.189% quoted for the seven-year tenor at the secondary market before the auction, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Reference Rates published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website. The BTr capped bids at 6.6%.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said in a Viber message to reporters that the partial award was due to expectation that the BSP’s Monetary Board (MB) would start tightening at its meeting on Thursday.
“At the same time, [The US] Fed is similarly expected to follow up with another rate lift in their next meeting,” Ms. De Leon added.
“Another partial award still reflects markets defensiveness ahead of the MB meeting. Most players are now pricing in a rate hike and are wary of the updated forward guidance,” the first trader said.
A second trader said with about two-thirds of the government’s 2022 borrowing program already funded, “there is no compelling reason for the BTr to chase yields.”
Some market players are pricing in a rate hike at the BSP’s meeting this week as faster-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter is seen to put upward pressure on inflation.
A BusinessWorld poll of 17 analysts conducted last week showed they are divided on the BSP’s next move, with nine betting rates will remain unchanged, while eight are expecting a 25-bp hike.
The key policy rate has been at a record low 2% since November 2020, when the BSP cut rates by 25 bps.
Economic growth in the first quarter accelerated by a higher-than-expected 8.3% annually on strong household spending as lockdowns were eased, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported last week.
It was a reversal from the 3.8% decline in the same period last year and faster than the 7.8% gross domestic product (GDP) growth logged in the final three months of 2021.
The first quarter’s GDP growth figure was the highest since the 12.1% recorded in the second quarter last year. The latest print is also within the 7-9% target of the government.
Meanwhile, inflation surged to a 40-month high of 4.9% year on year in April due to rising food and utility prices. It was faster than the 4% recorded the previous month and breached the central bank’s 2-4% target.
Meanwhile, the Fed is expected to continue hiking rates at its June and July meetings to respond to runaway inflation, after raising borrowing costs by half a percentage point earlier in May.
US inflation in April was recorded at 8.3%, cooling down from the 8.5% recorded in March, the largest year-on-year gain since December 1981, Reuters reported last week. This also marks the seventh straight month of increases in excess of 6%.
The BTr wants to raise P200 billion from the domestic market in May, or P60 billion via Treasury bills and P140 billion through T-bonds.
The government borrows from domestic and external sources to help fund a budget deficit capped at 7.7% of GDP this year. — Tobias Jared Tomas with Reuters
THE aftermath of the Philippine national elections on May 9 prompted Adamson University in Manila to suspend classes from May 13 to May 16 in order to give students “the time to address post-election stress and take the time to reflect on their election experience,” according to a post signed by university President Marcelo V. Manimtim.
To manage election-related stress and to cope with frustration or guilt, psychiatrist Dr. Randy S. Dellosa recommended letting off steam with like-minded people.
“Avoid people with toxic behaviors that make you feel worse,” he said in a Viber message. “[You can also] create or join organizations with the same aspirations which your political candidate wanted to pursue.”
Elections are naturally stressful because of three factors, he added: the unpredictability of results, the agony of defeat, and the uncertainty of what happens after the electoral victors assume office.
“The stakes wagered is not money but expectations, hope, and emotions,” he said, noting that voters have a strong connection to their preferred political candidates because of their perception of these candidates being extensions of themselves.
“It may be because they come from the same region, or because the political candidate’s promises match the voter’s needs or hopes,” Dr. Dellosa told BusinessWorld. “On the other hand, many political candidates are expert manipulators who know how to create false rapport with the masses just to get themselves voted.”
Relationships have disintegrated in the heat of the political environment.
“People who have severed ties with friends and family due to differences in political opinions need time to heal from their emotional wounds,” said Dr. Dellosa.
Since healing takes time, he added, individuals can choose to either maintain minimal contact with the other person while keeping the interactions respectful, or avoid them — all the while having the openness of heart for reconciliation when one’s emotions have healed enough.
University Health Services at the University of California, Berkeley, also released a list of ideas for managing election-related stress ahead of the 2020 US national elections. The suggestions include avoiding dwelling on things you can’t control, practicing gratitude for the people you feel grateful for, giving yourself permission to feel the way you do, staying active, and limiting your media consumption. — Patricia B. Mirasol
THEATER actor and director, Miguel Faustmann -- PHOTO COURTESY FROM FACEBOOK.COM/MIGUEL-FAUSTMANN
KNOWN for his Castilian good looks, impeccable comedic timing, and lighthearted ways, theater actor and director Miguel Faustmann passed away yesterday at the age of 68.
“We are deeply saddened we have lost our brother Miguel who passed away peacefully in his sleep on the 16th of May,” his niece Alexandra Faustmann, announced in a Facebook post, noting that information on his memorial service would be announced in the coming days.
“Support Philippine Theater. Support Philippine Film. Remember his work by supporting what he loved,” she wrote.
Born to a Spanish-Filipino family in Manila on Aug. 9, 1954, he was the son of Ramon Faustmann and Eladio Lago. His inclination for the arts manifested itself early as he started writing school plays and performing in them in La Salle Greenhills and later Adamson University where he took up architecture. He finished Fine Arts in the Philippine Women’s University, majoring in Interior Design, a course that served him well as he became a set designer for his home theater company, Repertory Philippines (Rep).
While best known for his work in Rep, he actually started out performing in the Spanish language play, Pegame Luciano, in 1974, a co-production of the Teatro Fil-Hispanico and Manila Theater Guild. The following year he made his Rep debut as a member of the ensemble in the musical Hello Dolly!
His acting career saw him performing a wide range of roles — he played princes and kings, a depraved sheik, the Jewish tailor Tevye, the Argentinian dictator Peron, the Pirate King, and Scrooge, among a multitude of other roles, both comedic and serious and musical, in a career that spanned nearly five decades.
He made his directing debut in 1988 with Rep’s production of Flea in Her Ear.
He was not limited to Repertory Theater, serving as a narrator for Ballet Philippines productions, taking on mildly risque roles with dinner theater company SRO Philippines, and less R-rated fare for groups like 9Works Theatrical.
He also acted in television and movies, notably in Escapo (1995), Ang Probinsyano (2015), Heneral Luna (2015), and Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018).
“We earn better in films and TV, but theater is always my first choice,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 2019, while discussing his role in Father’s Day, which turned out to be his final Repertory Philippine production, just before the COVID-19 pandemic closed the theaters.
Reminiscences poured onto social media as word of his passing spread.
Actress Leisl Batucan-Del Rosario, Artistic Director of Repertory Philippines wrote: “As actor, director, set designer, you were impeccable perfection. And all throughout your stellar life you were virtuosity and generosity and kindness and humility personified…. You were born to tread the boards and oh how mightily and humbly and gloriously you inhabited each character you portrayed.”
Actor Noel Rayos wrote of how Faustmann taught him “how to act” while working together in a production of Romeo and Juliet (Rayos was Romeo, Faustmann Friar Lawrence): “to you [it] was all a matter of ‘thinking of someone you know and saying everything like he would,’ a simple yet profound technique I’ve carried to this day.”
Young actress Micaela Pineda, writing about being directed by him in a comedy, said “You were a kid stuck in a grown-up’s body and would act and demonstrate everyone’s parts to show us what you meant! It drove people crazy but you were funny! And you were fun!”
“What a privilege it was to have been in your orbit, from my very first time on stage to the last play we did together, when I stepped into a role you twice played so masterfully. I shall miss you, dear friend,” wrote actor and director Jamie Wilson.
“No one could nail a character in the first reading, or set up a joke with a deadly punchline like only you could,” wrote actor Jeremy Domingo.
Faustmann received an Aliw Award in 1986 as best actor, and a Gawad Buhat best actor award in 2017. He received six nominations for the Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards for acting, directing, and stage design. — AAH
NEW YORK — A team of Australian researchers have identified a biochemical marker in the blood that could help identify newborn babies at risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a breakthrough they said creates an avenue to future tragedy-preventing interventions. The researchers, in a study published in The Lancet’s eBio Medicine, found that babies who died of SIDS had lower levels of an enzyme called butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) shortly after birth. BChE plays a major role in the brain’s arousal pathway, and low levels would reduce a sleeping infant’s ability to wake up or respond to its environment.
This is the first evidence “that babies who succumb to SIDS are different from birth,” study leader Dr. Carmel Harrington of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Australia told Reuters by e-mail.
“An apparently healthy baby going to sleep and not waking up is every parent’s nightmare,” she said.
The enzyme abnormality is “a measurable, specific vulnerability” to SIDS that had not been previously recognized, researchers said in the published study.
The Sydney Children’s Hospital Network in Australia called the discovery “a world-first breakthrough.” But researchers are “only halfway” to the goal of fully understanding SIDS and being able to prevent it, other experts said on Saturday in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
They warn that preventive practices such as having babies sleep on their backs and keeping cribs bare must continue.
Dr. Richard Goldstein of Children’s Hospital in Boston, lead author of the NEJM editorial, said the new study is very good, but “it should not change that behavior.”
Using dried blood spots taken at birth as part of a newborn screening program, the researchers compared BChE levels in 26 babies who later died of SIDS, 41 infants who died of other causes, and 655 surviving infants.
The fact that levels of the enzyme were on average significantly lower in the infants who died of SIDS suggests the SIDS babies were inherently vulnerable to dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which controls unconscious and involuntary functions in the body, the researchers said.
A failure to wake up when appropriate “has long been considered a key component of an infant’s vulnerability” to SIDS, her team said, adding that further research “needs to be undertaken with urgency” to determine whether routine measurement of BChE could potentially help prevent future SIDS deaths.
Even if BChE is confirmed to play a role, “it’s not going to be the whole solution,” Dr. Goldstein said.
Research has implicated other possible biologic contributors, such as genetics, maternal smoking, and abnormal levels of the nervous system signaling chemical serotonin.
Dr. Harrington, who lost her own child to SIDS 29 years ago, has dedicated her career to researching the condition.
“There is a lot more work to do,” she said. “We expect the next stages of research will take between 3 to 5 years.” — Reuters
THE Bank of Commerce (BankCom) net income soared by 146.4% in the first quarter as its interest earnings improved, it said in a filing with the local bourse on Tuesday.
BankCom’s net income for the first three months of 2022 was at P360.59 million, more than double the P146.30 million it posted in the same period last year.
This translated to a return on average equity (RoE) of 5.76%, up from the 3.49% recorded in the first three months of 2021. Return on average assets also rose to 0.71% from 0.32% a year prior, BankCom’s quarterly report showed.
“This upward trajectory resulted from the continued strong core business activities despite the continuing local and international market volatilities,” the bank said in a press release.
Total revenues stood at P1.7 billion, up by 14.5% as net interest income posted a 6.5% year-on-year increase to P1.47 billion from P1.38 billion.
Meanwhile, non-interest income rose by 92.9% to P271.77 million due to foreign exchange gains and growth in earnings from service charges, fees and commissions.
Foreign exchange gains amounted to P42.59 million, a turnaround from the P3.99-million loss seen in the same period last year. Income from service charges, fees and commissions also rose by 42% to P159.1 million.
The bank’s total operating expenses, excluding provisions, increased by 1.96% to P1.24 billion from the P1.22 billion seen in March 2021 fueled by increases in management and professional fees, amortization of software costs, taxes and licenses as well as insurance.
Cost-to-income ratio was at 0.72%, lower than the 0.80% posted last year.
BankCom’s assets stood at P206.38 billion at end-March, a 3.34% increase from the previous period’s P199.71 billion, mainly from the growth in interbank loans receivables, due from other banks, loans and receivables as well as investments in securities.
Loans and receivables grew by 13.85% to P84.68 billion from last year’s P74.37 billion “as the economy shows recovery,” the bank said.
As of March 31, the nonperforming loans (NPL) of the bank amounted to P3 billion. This was equivalent to a gross NPL ratio of 2.9%, down from the 3.09% seen at end-2021, and a net NPL ratio of 1.46%, up from the 0.88% posted at end-December 2021.
NPL cover was at 77.46% at end-March 2022, down from 83.21% as of December 2021.
The lender’s provisions for losses stood at P772,550, 98.71% lower than last year’s P59.86 million.
Meanwhile, deposit liabilities inched up by 1.11% to P173.62 billion, backed by by the increase in demand and time deposits. Demand and time deposits grew by 5.25% and 33.57%, respectively, to P51.26 billion and P12.16 billion. Savings deposits dropped by 3.4% to P105.17 billion.
BankCom’s loan-to-deposit ratio was at 0.63% as of March, up from 0.55% at end-2021.
The bank’s capital base stood at P26.7 billion in the first quarter, up by 14.2% from the P23.4 billion seen as of December 2021, on the back of proceeds from its initial public offering in March.
Capital adequacy ratio was at 22.1% as of March 2022, higher than the 21.57% recorded at end-2021.
BankCom shares ended trading at P11.72 apiece on Tuesday, down by 8 centavos or 0.68% — Keisha B. Ta-asan
RECOGNIZING and celebrating his contributions to the country, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) pay special tribute to National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose on May 18 at 5 p.m., at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).
The National Artist for Literature passed away on Jan. 6, at the Makati Medical Center where he was confined while waiting to undergo angioplasty. He was 97.
National Artist for Visual Arts Benedicto “Bencab” Cabrera will give tribute to his departed fellow artist, after the floral offering. Ambassador Delia Domingo Albert and Jun Cruz Reyes will then give their eulogies and talk about their encounters with Mr. Sionil Jose.
The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra will perform “Ti Ayat ti Maysa nga Ubing,” one of the late National Artist’s favorite songs. Tenor Tomas Umberto Virtucio, Jr. will sing “Dungdungwen Kanto,” with musical accompaniment by guitarist Ricardo Juanito Balledos.
Pianist Raul M. Sunico will play “The Falling Leaves,” with music by Joseph Kosma and English lyrics by Joseph Mercer.
Tanghalang Pilipino artistic director Fernando “Tata Nanding” Josef will do an excerpt from Balete, a theater play based on Tree, one of F. Sionil Jose’s Rosales Saga novels. The Rosales Saga narrates the stories of the different generations of the Samson family, intertwining their personal lives with the social struggles of the nation. Another novel from the saga, The Pretenders, has been brought to life by Tanghalang Pilipino, the CCP resident theater company.
Known for his novels and literary works espousing national sovereignty and social justice, F. Sionil Jose was one of the most revered and read Filipino writers. His works have been published and translated into various languages. He was the founder of the Philippine chapter of PEN.
The public is invited to join the tribute to National Artist F. Sionil Jose, following health and safety guidelines.
STI Education Systems Holdings, Inc. posted a net income of P241.2 million in the third quarter of its fiscal year, nearly three times more than the P82.6 million recorded a year earlier, it told the stock exchange on Tuesday.
In its disclosure, the owner of one of the country’s largest school networks, said revenues during its end-March third quarter reached P793.8 million, up 35% from P589.9 million year on year.
Operating income jumped 137% to P271.6 million from P114.5 million previously.
For the nine months to March 31, STI Holdings registered a net income of P297.2 million, reversing a net loss of P31.4 million in the same period a year ago.
Gross revenues for the three-quarter period rose 26% to P1.92 billion, while operating income jumped more than four times to P408 million.
The company attributed its turnaround to an 18% rise in overall enrollment to 82,629 students for school year 2021-2022. It said programs regulated by the Commission on Higher Education accounted for a bigger share in the enrollment mix at 68% from 57% in the previous school year.
“STI Holdings has gradually started to implement limited face-to-face classes for schools in areas under Alert Level 1 for identified high-stake tertiary courses and selected subjects beginning February, March, and May,” the listed company said.
High-stake tertiary courses have laboratory components where the expected skills to be gained by students are “better acquired in a face-to-face class setup since actual demonstration and practice of competencies are signifi-cant in the learning process.”
STI Holdings starts its fiscal year on July 1. Its shares closed unchanged at P0.34 apiece at the stock exchange on Tuesday.
BAKUNATION, a vaccine information campaign, aims to gather 750,000 pledges from Filipinos to vaccinate their families against vaccine-preventable diseases by the end of 2022. Launched May 13 by theAsianparent Philippines, a community platform for parents, BakuNation is a scaled-up version of a similar effort called Team BakuNanay, which was launched December 2020 after a community poll found that 45% of Filipinos refuse to vaccinate their children, for fear of side effects.
From a core group of 85, Team BakuNanay grew to 10,000 members within a year. Positive sentiment toward vaccines also increased during that period by 15%, with 70% of Filipinos agreeing to vaccinate their children.
The online campaign has thus far reached more than 1.1 million individuals, with an average engagement rate of 7.34% on social media.
BakuNation builds on these results as everyone — not just mothers — can learn more about diseases and their impact, share their experiences on vaccine use for their kids, ask questions, and give and re-ceive advice from others.
“Today is day one of inviting each and every Filipino to help improve vaccine confidence and build one entire BakuNation,” said Candice L. Venturanza, theAsianparent Philippines head of content.
The World Health Organization (WHO) pointed in 2021 that pre-pandemic global childhood vaccination rates against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, and polio had stalled for several years at around 86%.
It also noted that the Philippines was top four in the list of countries with the greatest increase in children not receiving a first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis combined vaccine (DTP-1). “We cannot allow a legacy of COVID-19 to be the resurgence of measles, polio and other killers,” said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in a July 2021 post by WHO. “We all need to work together to help countries both defeat COVID-19, by ensuring global, equitable access to vaccines, and get routine immunization programs back on track. The future health and wellbeing of millions of children and their communities across the globe depends on it.” — Patricia B. Mirasol
SALCEDO Auctions will host its Gavel&Block art + design auction on May 21, 11 a.m. The auction preview is open until May 20 at the NEX Tower Podium Level, 6786 Ayala Avenue, Makati City from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for inquiries, contact 0917-825-7449 or 0917-107-5581. To view the auction catalog, visit https://salcedoauctions.com/auction/144/art-design.
Discussions on opera and musical theater
THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP) presents Behind Arias and Showstoppers: Conversations with the Pinoy Stars of Opera and Musical Theater, a two-part online show featuring leading Filipino performing artists and theater personalities. Moderated by Floy Quintos, part one of Behind Arias premieres on May 21, 6 p.m. Part two will stream on May 28, 6 p.m. Both episodes will be available for streaming at the official CCP Facebook page and YouTube Channel. “Part 1: Duet for Tenor and Leading Lady” features a conversation between musical theater actress Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and internationally renowned opera singer Arthur Espiritu. Both have had formidable careers and share many lessons about their chosen art. “Part 2: Quartet For Leading Lights” features opera singers Rachelle Gerodias and Camille Lopez-Molina, and musical theater artists Sheila Francisco and Reb Atadero who have all devoted their life to their art. The conversations range from the differences and similarities of the training, the preparation, rehearsal process and performance of musicals and opera.
Rep offers online voice classes
REPERTORY Philippines is offering one-on-one voice classes from June 13 to July 8. Registration is on a first-come-first-serve basis. The workshop is priced at P7,000, for 12 workshop sessions, conducted via Zoom. For registration and inquiries, visit the Rep Facebook page or Instagram page, or contact them through e-mail at sales@repphil.org or call 0966-905-4013.
Mindoro the focus in ARTablado exhibit
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THE GRANDEUR of Mindoro is celebrated through artworks by 10 visual artists in an exhibit titled “Unlimited Grace” at Robinsons Galleria’s ARTablado. Mindoro’s landscapes and seascapes are depicted by 10 Mindoreños: Wilfredo Rufon, Rodel Cruzado, Lulu Lladones, Chressa Yee Rufon, Ralph John Fatallo, Anna Lumpas, Vanessa Tria, Windsor Magnaye, Angelo Provido, and Nilo Evangelista. Aside from these visual artists, weaver Ulway Igoy Gayno is also showcasing the local weaving practice, while watercolorist Popoy Cusi serves as a guest speaker and special exhibitor. “Unlimited Grace” is currently on view at ARTablado, 3/F Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Quezon City.
‘Flores de Maria’ exhibit opens in Ali Mall
Flores De Maria
ARANETA City opens to the public the “Flores De Maria” exhibit in Ali Mall to celebrate the Philippine tradition of honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary every month of May. The two-week exhibit features religious-historical images of Mary and her devotion to the Holy Cross. More than 40 religious images and replicas from different parishes are on display in the exhibit. Notable images displayed are Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia (known as the Patroness in Bicol Region), La Imaculada Concepcion de Malabon, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the official replica of the Diocese of Cubao, and the Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu (known as the patroness of San Mateo, Rizal). The exhibit is open until May 30 at the Gen. MacArthur Entrance of Ali Mall, Araneta City, Cubao, Quezon City.
ArtistSpace presents solo exhibit
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Elmer Dumlao,
Nagmumurang Kamias
Elmer Dumlao,
Nagmumurang Kamias
“KAMUKHAMO: Face the Truth, Truth Is in Your Face” is the 12th solo exhibition of multi-media works by Filipino visual artist Elmer Dumlao who is based in Jordan. “Kamukhamo” is on view until May 28, with an Artist’s Reception on May 21 at 4 p.m., at the ArtistSpace. Prejudice is dangerous and unforgiving, and this is what Mr. Dumlao wants viewers to reflect in his Kamukhamo series: to be more sensible, fair, cautious, and discerning yet critically caring. Concurrently working as an art director and consultant abroad, Mr. Dumlao is a multimedia artist having design projects and art exhibitions in the Middle East, Europe, and the country.
Upcoming exhibit at Ortigas Foundation Library
THE ORTIGAS Foundation Library will hold an exhibit, “People and Places: A Cordillera Legacy,” featuring 100 vintage photographs of the people, culture, and architecture of the Cordilleras, at St. Mary’s School in Sagada. These are never before seen photos that, over 100 years later, revive a most stunning and complex visual history of the Cordilleras. The exhibition starts on May 23, and will last for six weeks.
Sansó exhibits focus on private collections
Fundacion Sanso
THIS year, Fundacion Sansó launches “Sansó: Prized and Personal,” a series of major exhibits that focuses solely on private collections that revolve around the works of Presidential Medal of Merit Awardee Juvenal Sansó’s works. These exhibitions are meant to give viewers insight on aspects of Mr. Sansó’s art and how these resonate with the individuals and families who have made it their personal mission to create a comprehensive Sansó collection. The series of exhibits will run on different dates throughout 2022 and will culminate in the publication of a book of the same title in 2023, published by Fundacion Sansó. The private collection featured in the first “Sansó: Prized and Personal” exhibit is that of Fundacion Sansó chairman Joaquin M. Teotico, who, along with other friends of the artist, founded Fundacion Sansó in 2014 to establish the artist’s artistic legacy and support his advocacies. The next exhibition focuses on a couple who became collectors rather recently. For more information, contact Fundacion Sansó at fundacionsanso@gmail.com. Fundacion Sansó is at 32 V. Cruz, San Juan City. Museum hours 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Submissions to anthology sought
BOOKSHELF PH, a publishing house in the Philippines focused on books and ebooks, is calling for submissions for an anthology is titled, Taking Flight: Successful College Admission Essays from International Students. The anthology will contain essays from Filipino students who successfully pursued undergraduate or graduate school abroad. Each submission should have been used to successfully gain admission into a foreign undergraduate or graduate uni-versity. Bookshelf PH seeks to showcase their works as references to guide aspiring Filipinos when they write their own admission essays. The book will include a foreword from Prof. Francisco L. Roman, adjunct professor at the Asian Institute of Management. The anthology will be managed by Bookshelf PH’s Editorial Team: Mio Borromeo (editor-in-chief), Pancho Dizon (executive editor), and Leanne Tria (managing editor). Writers may send their submis-sions to hello@bookshelf.com.ph until May 30 using the subject line “Taking Flight + Your Name.”
Guided virtual tours at the CCP
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THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP) offers a virtual building and theater tour package which was launched last February during the Pasinaya 2022. The CCP virtual tours also address the changes on how people consume arts in the new normal; and, usher in a new way to bring visitors back to the Center. A project of the CCP Venue Operations Division (Production and Exhibition Department), the interactive 360 and/or 180-degree guided virtual tour takes visitors inside the CCP theaters, spaces, and other facilities, including the newly built Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Black Box Theater). Facilitated via Zoom, visitors can see the interiors of the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater), with its famous stage tapestry Genesis based on an artwork of National Artist H.R. Ocampo. Visitors can also head to the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) and the Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater). Virtual visitors can also take a glimpse behind the stage. The 30-to-45-minute tour utilized high resolution photography, allowing a real on-site experience as if the visitors are walking through every corner of the artistic spaces with us. Over 2,916 photos, with 489 panoramas and eight aerial shots were used to build a digital simulation of the actual physical spaces; creating an immersive virtual environment. The guided tour is interactive allowing tour guests to ask questions and further explore the featured spaces through the assigned tour guide. There are Q&A sessions after every tour. For tour inquiries e-mail ccptours@gmail.com, call 8833-2125 or 8832-1125 loc. 1412/1413. For a sneak peek of the CCP virtual guided tour, visit https://www.facebook.com/culturalcenterofthephilippines/videos/973841733504657.
CCP holds choral workshop
THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP) is now accepting applications for the CCP Hands-on Choral Workshop (HOCW) 2022 which will be held online for the first time. The module includes synchronous sessions which will be on June 7 to 10, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. via Zoom. After this, participants will record and submit performances of songs assigned by the trainers to be showcased during the Virtual Culminating Program, to be streamed on July 30, at 3 p.m. via the CCP Facebook Page. The HOCW is a biennial intensive choral clinic open to amateur choirs and choral conductors to develop their skills in choral singing, conducting, and performance. Workshop trainers are current members and alumni of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, led by choirmaster and artistic director Mark Carpio. This year, the participants will also be provided with training on virtual and online choral music productions. Open to choirs who have been in existence for at least two years, registration is P19,000 for at most 20 choir members and the conductor. Since choir participation is on a first-come-first-served basis, choirs should pay a reservation fee of P1,000, in addition to the registration fee, to be assured of a slot. To apply, visit https://tinyurl.com/CCPHOCW2022-Application-Choir. Individual conductor applicants have an opportunity to observe selected sessions and partici-pate in mentorship sessions under Mr. Carpio. They should be musically literate and should be able to sing. The reservation fee is P2,000. To apply, visithttps://tinyurl.com/CCPHOCW2022-Apply-Individual. Slots are limited. For more information, contact the CCP Artist Training Division via e-mail at artist.training@culturalcenter.gov.ph or call 8-832-1125 loc. 1604/1605.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has launched a program that will allow Filipinos returning from Ukraine to exchange their Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH) to peso to support migrants displaced from the war-stricken country.
The currency exchange facility approved by the Monetary Board will allow returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families to exchange their UAH holdings equivalent to not more than P20,000 per eligible person, based on BSP Circular 1145 Series of 2022 released by the central bank late Monday.
Amounts beyond that will be exchanged for highly meritorious reasons and subject to approval by the central bank.
The foreign exchange (FX) facility will be accessible for OFWs who have returned to the country from Feb. 22 onwards. It will be available for four months after the effectivity of the circular.
OFWs and their family members who want to tap the FX facility are required to present documentary proof of their travel from Ukraine.
The exchange may be done through the BSP’s head office, regional offices and branches, as well as authorized agent banks.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, and the war has no end in sight to date as both parties continue to fight.
In 2021, remittances from Ukraine amounted to $121,000. This is relatively small compared with the $3.745 billion worth of inflows from Europe and the $31.417-billion total from all over the world.
The Philippine government has assisted more than 400 Filipinos for repatriation from Ukraine as of March, based on data from the Department of Foreign Affairs. — Luz Wendy T. Noble
