Daniel Quizon, 17, wins chess national championship crown

December 15, 2021 | 12:03 am

By Joey Villar

DANIEL Quizon realized his dream of becoming a national champion after he virtually crowned himself winner of the 2021 Philippine National Chess Championship at the Solea Hotel and Resort in Mactan, Cebu on Tuesday.

Mr. Quizon, 17, needed to just draw with fellow International Master Jem Garcia in 31 moves of a King’s Indian Attack in the 10^th and penultimate round to make his dream come true.

The World Cup veteran was playing International Master (IM) Ronald Dableo in the final round at press time but with eight points and a two-point lead over the latter, Grandmaster (GM) Darwin Laylo and IM Ricky de Guzman, the former had already secured his place in the country’s elite group of national champions.

And thanks to his feat, Mr. Quizon will take home P80,000 a place in next year’s Hanoi Southeast Asian Games and the 2023 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Bangkok and Chonburi, Thailand.

It was an impressive performance for Mr. Quizon, who opened the 12-player tournament by winning his first six games including triumphs over the event’s only two GMs — Mr. Laylo and Joey Antonio — and was never really threatened much from there.

Next step for Mr. Quizon is the Grandmaster title.

“Pangarap ko po ang maging GM (I dream of becoming a GM),” said Mr. Quizon.

Mr. Laylo drew with top seed IM Paulo Bersamina in 25 moves of a Petroff Defense while Mr. De Guzman fought Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna to a 66-move draw of a London System.

IM John Marvin Miciano posted the only win of the round over Mr. Dableo in 39 moves of a Reti Opening to jump to a share of No. 5 with Mr. Garcia with 5.5 points each.

In the other results, IM Joel Pimentel drew with IM Michael Concio, Jr. in 30 moves of a Petroff and GM Joey Antonio settling for a 30-move standoff with Allan Pason of a Caro-kann Defense.

The event was being supported by Barkadahan Para sa Bansa partylist, Philippine Sports Commission, CCLEX, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), Alin Cargo, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, POC President Bambol Tolentino, Chess Movement, Inc., chair Dr. Ariel Potot, RiChess Masters, and Atty. Roel Canobas.

Online game aims to raise awareness, funds to eliminate TB

December 15, 2021 | 12:03 am

By Patricia B. Mirasol

A free-to-play web-based game that casts tuberculosis (TB) bacteria as villains was launched by the Department of Health (DoH) to raise awareness about the infectious disease.

Launched in November, Tap for a TB-free PH is part of DoH’s efforts to eliminate TB in the Philippines by 2035. The game was created in partnership with North Carolina-based nonprofit FHI 360, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Philippine Tuberculosis Society, Inc. (PTSI).

“During the pandemic, the USAID’s TBIHSS [TB Innovations and Health Systems Strengthening Project] and the DoH were thinking of how to virtually educate students and their parents during the height of the lockdowns. Hence… a game that’s simple to play,” said Franz Jared S. Enriquez, TBIHSS communications and marketing specialist, in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

The tap-based game has five levels, ranging from removing characters from an area with airborne TB bacteria to intercepting characters who are about to sneeze to prevent them from spreading the disease.

Players who pledge for a #TBFreePH gain extra time to play. They can also donate any amount through a GCash QR (quick response) code to help PTSI provide free chest X-rays.

Tap for a TB-free PH aims to generate one million pledges from online users as it raises awareness and funds for the TB elimination program in the Philippines. Thus far, it has garnered eight.

“The design and development of marketing and communication materials are ongoing to promote and generate more app users by [this month] onwards,” Mr. Enriquez said, adding that the game will be integrated in the DoH website.

The Philippines is ranked fourth among the 30 high TB burden countries, according to an overview of a 2021 roadmap by the World Health Organization (WHO). Over 4 million people have TB but whose cases have not been notified to authorities, up from 2.9 million in 2019. WHO said the Philippines (12%) and 12 other countries account for 93% of the total global drop in notifications.

The 2016 National TB Prevalence Survey found that only 19% of those with TB symptoms sought treatment. This, despite the curability of the disease and the availability of free treatment in public health facilities nationwide.

The disease is caused by a bacterium that typically attacks the lungs, and is spread through the air when an individual with the active TB disease coughs, sneezes, speaks, laughs, or sings.

Hollywood largely silent on Golden Globe nominations amid controversy

December 15, 2021 | 12:03 am

LOS ANGELES — Movie dramas The Power of the Dog and Belfast led nominations on Monday for the annual Golden Globes in a year clouded by controversy and a scaled-down ceremony.

Belfast, set in 1970s Northern Ireland, and director Jane Campion’s Western The Power of the Dog got seven nods each. They were followed by global-warming satire Don’t Look Up; King Richard, about the father of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams; director Steven Spielberg’s new version of the classic musical West Side Story and coming-of-age tale Licorice Pizza with four each.

Netflix movies received a leading 17 nominations.

The winners of the Golden Globes will be announced on Jan. 9, but the ceremony’s format is unclear after broadcaster NBC earlier this year dropped plans to televise the glitzy awards dinner in Beverly Hills following criticism of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the group that votes on them.

Monday’s nominations were met mostly with silence from movie studios and actors who normally flood social media and reporters with thanks and reactions.

Jessica Chastain, one of the few actors who responded publicly, said she was thankful her work in The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Scenes from a Marriage was recognized.

“Congrats to all of the nominees for this year’s #GoldenGlobes,” Ms. Chastain wrote on Twitter.

It is unclear whether any of the nominees will attend the 2022 ceremony, which had been one of Hollywood’s biggest awards shows in the run-up to the Oscars.

Rapper and actor Snoop Dogg was the only celebrity on hand on Monday to announce the nominations.

Critics objected to the Foreign Press Association having no Black members, and raised longstanding ethical questions over whether close relationships with Hollywood studios influenced the choice of nominees and winners. Tom Cruise in May returned the three Golden Globe statuettes that he has won. The HFPA has since added 21 new members, six of whom are Black; banned gifts and favors; and implemented diversity and sexual harassment training. The group now has 105 members total.

Despite these moves, major film and TV studios have tried to distance themselves from the Globes.

Belfast, The Power of the Dog, deaf community movie Coda, sci-fi epic Dune, and King Richard all received nods for best movie drama.

A musical take on the classic Cyrano and an adaptation of the Off-Broadway hit Tick, Tick… Boom will compete with Don’t Look Up, Licorice Pizza, and West Side Story for best musical or comedy.

Lady Gaga (House of Gucci), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos), Will Smith (King Richard), Kristen Stewart (Spencer), and Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth) were among the actors nominated for best drama movie performances.

In television, drama Succession, about a squabbling family media conglomerate, received a leading five nominations. Its star Brian Cox, nominated for his role as patriarch Logan Roy, told The Hollywood Reporter he believed the HFPA had changed for the better over the past 20 years and had added “a lot of amazing female journalists.”

“If you’re honored, you’ve got to respond by saying ‘thank you,’” he said.

The HFPA said it had made this year’s choices by watching films in movie theaters, at screenings and via streaming in what it called “a fair and equitable voting process.”

“While the Golden Globes will not be televised in Jan. 2022, we will continue our 78-year tradition,” it said in a letter released ahead of the nominations. “The last eight months have been difficult, but we are proud of the changes we have achieved so far.” — Reuters

Gov’t rejects all bids for 7-year T-bonds as rates remained high

December 15, 2021 | 12:03 am

THE GOVERNMENT on Tuesday rejected all bids for its offer of reissued seven-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) as investors asked for high rates despite easing inflation.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) did not accept any tenders for the reissued securities, which have a remaining life of six years and eight months.

It rejected all offers even as tenders reached P52.267 billion, more than twice the P20 billion on offer. However, this was lower than the P57.215 billion in bids fetched the last time the bond series was sold on Oct. 26.

Had it fully awarded its offer, the reissued seven-year bonds’ average yield would have declined by 7.3 basis points to 4.395% from the 4.468% fetched the last time the series was offered.

This would also have been lower than the 4.5425% quoted for seven-year bonds at the secondary market before the auction, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates posted on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the government rejected all bids for the reissued bonds as there is room for rates to decline as inflation has eased, with the central bank also saying it would keep borrowing costs steady to support the economy.

“Market has not sufficiently…priced in that inflation will be back within the target as supply disruptions are addressed,” Ms. De Leon told reporters in a Viber message after the auction.

Inflation eased for the third straight month in November to hit its lowest level in four months but remained above the government’s forecast for the year.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed headline inflation was at 4.2% in November, the lowest since July’s 4%. Last month’s result was also down from 4.6% in October, but still higher compared with the 3.3% print in November 2020.

However, the latest reading was higher than the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 3.3%-4.1% forecast for November. This was the fourth straight month inflation exceeded the BSP’s 2-4% target for the year.

Year to date, inflation averaged 4.5%, also exceeding the BSP’s forecast of 4.3% for 2021.

The BSP is expected to keep benchmark rates unchanged at its meeting on Thursday. It has not adjusted its policy settings since November 2020.

Meanwhile, a bond trader in a Viber message said the rejection was a surprise as the bids fell within the expected range.

Tuesday’s T-bond auction was the last one for the year.

The BTr wanted to raise P70 billion from the domestic market this month: P30 billion from Treasury bills (T-bills) and P40 billion via T-bonds.

It made full awards of the T-bills it offered in the three auctions part of its December program, raising P30 billion as planned. However, it rejected all bids for its two offerings of T-bonds this month.

The government plans to borrow P3 trillion from local and external sources this year to help fund a budget deficit that is expected to hit 9.3% of economic output. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Two Filipinos included in list of philanthropists

December 15, 2021 | 12:03 am

SM INVESTMENTS Corp.’s (SMIC) Teresita T. Sy-Coson and Knowledge Channel Foundation Founder Elvira “Rina” M. Lopez-Bautista were included in Forbes Asia’s 2021 “Heroes of Philanthropy.”

On Tuesday, Forbes Asia released its 15^th annual unranked list of philanthropists in the Asia-Pacific “who are donating significant amounts from their personal fortunes, as well as giving their time and personal attention to their selected causes.”

The business magazine said the list included those with causes from pandemic relief to climate change and education. Forbes said: “those highlighted on the list have a vision to support solutions that look to make the world a better place.”

SMIC’s Ms. Sy-Coson is leading the group’s philanthropy unit SM Foundation as vice chairman. Her brother Hans T. Sy of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. made it to the same list in 2019 for his work at Child Haus, a temporary home for kids with cancer.

Forbes Asia noted that the SM Foundation has so far donated over P1.5 billion ($30 million) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), equipment for hospitals, as well as personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

Ms. Sy-Coson’s parents, Henry T. Sy, Sr. and Felicidad Tan-Sy, founded the SM Foundation in 1983. The country’s richest family also established in 2008 the Henry Sy Foundation, which helps build school facilities for major educational institutions.

The Sy siblings, who inherited the business empire of the late SM founder who passed away in 2019, ranked first in Forbes’ 2021 Philippines Rich List published in September, with a combined net worth of $16.6 billion.

Meanwhile, the magazine noted that the SM Group procured 560,000 doses for the group’s over 120,000 employees as soon as COVID-19 vaccines became available this year.

The group also gave away 150,000 vaccine doses to the government and marginalized communities.

SM Supermalls also hosted vaccination sites in its 71 malls across the country in partnership with local government units.

Forbes Asia also noted that the SM Foundation supported the treatment of 1.2 million underprivileged patients in the past 30 years.

This is on top of its scholarship programs that bridged over 8,000 students to get a college education and attend technical-vocational institutions and for helping build over a hundred schools in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Ms. Lopez-Baustista is the daughter of Filipino media tycoon Oscar M. Lopez. She founded and is currently the president of educational technology nonprofit Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI).

The channel produces content that is “designed to meet the educational standards set by the Philippine Department of Education for K-12 students and teachers in the country.”

In March, KCFI launched its “Stay at Home, Learn at Home” campaign, which was funded by the Lopez Group of companies. Forbes Asia noted that it has so far produced 1,500 educational videos for students amid the COVID-19 lockdowns.

KCFI currently has over 150,000 Facebook followers and over 200,000 YouTube subscribers.

Meanwhile, in September, the channel started working with theAsianparent Philippines app with 500,000 users to further increase KCFI’s exposure to Philippine households.

KCFI now has a reach of over 10 million Filipino households. It also said over 7,000 principals, teachers, and parents alike have attended its webinars and online training programs through Facebook. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Comelec denies voting privileges for SEAG’s Team Philippines

December 15, 2021 | 12:02 am

THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has received the reply of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on its request to allow the 2022 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) bound athletes, coaches, and delegates to vote under the Local Absentee Voting provision for the 2022 National Elections.

The Comelec has politely turned down the proposal citing the Omnibus Election Code, Executive Order No. 157, Republic Acts 7166 and 10380 and Comelec Resolution No. 10725, which states that only four personnel from four groups may avail of local absentee voting. Government officials and employees, members of the Philippine National Police, members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who are assigned in places where they are not registered voters may be covered by this privilege. Members of the media who are covering or reporting the conduct of the elections may likewise be covered.

The Comelec letter informed that since the athletes, coaches and delegates are not part of the aforementioned groups who will be performing election duties they cannot act upon the PSC’s request.

While this is sad news for all concerned, the PSC Board respects the Comelec’s advice. Only national athletes who are also military personnel or fall under any of the other categories mentioned above may register for Local Absentee Voting.

As blended education becomes the norm, PHL should strengthen distance learning modalities — DepEd, UNICEF

December 15, 2021 | 12:02 am

online-class-students — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

Learning loss is at an all-time high due to the lockdowns in the pandemic forcing unfamiliar, inaccessible ways of learning onto students, especially in the Philippines. To mitigate this, distance learning modalities must be improved, according to officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“We have to acknowledge that distance learning modalities are not perfect,” said UNICEF Philippines’ chief of education Isy Faingold, at a Dec. 9 roundtable on learning continuity amid the pandemic. “International development organizations must continue working together and supporting DepEd to continue strengthening distance learning modalities for the present and for the future.”

The Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP), which DepEd first implemented in 2020, has been subject to improvements the past few months.

Roger B. Masapol, director of the department’s planning services, shared that they streamlined the K-12 curriculum, reduced the competencies to almost 50%, and adopted different learning modalities based on the choices of parents. The choices include modular (printed or digitized), online learning, radio and television-based instruction, or a combination of these (blended learning).

During enrollment last year, DepEd conducted a survey among parents, which revealed that 87% chose the printed modular learning modality for their children. It reflects most Filipinos’ lack of access to other modalities, explained Mr. Masapol.

“The uncertainties will be the new environment, and the new ways of delivering education must be responsive to these realities,” he added. “We will never go back to pre-pandemic situation, to purely face-to-face. It must now be largely blended.”

UNICEF’s Mr. Faingold assured that collaboration has played a huge part in the development of blended learning in the country, from the provision of resources for children with hearing and visual impairment to the distribution of laptops and tablets to rural schools in various regions.

RIGHT TO EQUITABLE ACCESS
A recent global study conducted by the World Bank, UNICEF, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) revealed that learning loss due to the pandemic is higher than expected, with this generation of students risking a loss of $17 trillion in lifetime earnings in present value.

The European Union’s Ambassador to the Philippines, Luc Véron, said during the roundtable: “It is important for all sectors, from the government to NGOs [nongovernment organizations], international organizations, businesses, academe, and local communities to join hands to take care of the well-being of the children.”

Even parents must not be excluded from this spirit of collaboration to improve access to education, according to Wilfredo O. Rodriguez, the president of the National Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) Philippines.

“We need education, training, and orientation for parents to better assist students,” he explained. “In the PTA what we are doing [is] we are involved in the delivering of modules. We are also always in constant communication with teachers in the frontline.”

More urgently, Filipino parents are calling for the immediate reopening of face-to-face classes, he added. UNICEF’s Mr. Faingold agreed with this, pointing out collaborations with DepEd on producing heat maps to guide strategy for resuming in-person classes.

On helping more disadvantaged students, he suggested identifying the level of learning loss in order to put in place the best evidence-based remedial programs.

“Extending instructional time to more hours of classes, extending the school calendar, developing self-guided programs, or small group tutoring — all of these can have special targets for more disadvantaged students,” he said. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Elon Musk named Time’s 2021 ‘Person of the Year’

December 15, 2021 | 12:02 am

TESLA Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2021, a year that saw his electric car company become the most valuable carmaker in the world and his rocket company soar to the edge of space with an all-civilian crew.

Mr. Musk is also the founder and CEO of SpaceX, and leads brain-chip startup Neuralink, and infrastructure firm The Boring Company. Tesla’s market value soared to more than $1 trillion this year, making it more valuable than Ford Motor and General Motors combined.

Tesla produces hundreds of thousands of cars every year and has managed to avert supply chain issues better than many of its rivals, while pushing many young consumers to switch to electric cars and legacy automakers to shift focus to EV vehicles.

“For creating solutions to an existential crisis, for embodying the possibilities and the perils of the age of tech titans, for driving society’s most daring and disruptive transformations, Elon Musk is TIME’s 2021 Person of the Year,” the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Edward Felsenthal, said.

“Even Elon Musk’s spacefaring adventures are a direct line from the very first Person of the Year, Charles Lindbergh, whom the editors selected in 1927 to commemorate his historic first solo transatlantic airplane flight over the Atlantic.”

From hosting Saturday Night Live to dropping tweets on cryptocurrencies and meme stocks that have triggered massive movements in their value, Mr. Musk has dominated the headlines and amassed over 66 million followers on Twitter.

Some of his tweets have also attracted regulatory scrutiny in the past.

According to the magazine, “The Person of the Year” signifies somebody “who affected the news or our lives the most, for better, or worse.”

Time magazine named the teenage pop singer Olivia Rodrigo as its “Entertainer of the Year,” American gymnast Simone Biles “Athlete of the Year,” and vaccine scientists were named “Heroes of the Year.”

Last year, US President-elect Joseph R. Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris were jointly given the “Person of the Year” title. Time began this tradition in 1927. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos have also received the title in the past. — Reuters

BSP says P1,000 bill featuring heroes will not be demonetized

December 15, 2021 | 12:02 am

THE CENTRAL BANK said the current P1,000 bill featuring World War II heroes will not be demonetized and will continue to be circulated along with polymer banknotes with a new design to be launched next year.

“Heroes will remain heroes whether they are in the notes or not. The P1,000 paper banknote featuring Jose Abad Santos, Vicente Lim, Josefa Llanes Escoda will remain in circulation alongside with the new 1,000-piso polymer banknotes,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said at a briefing on Monday.

“Under my watch, there will be no demonetization of any denomination. The BSP will continue to print the existing P1,000 paper banknotes feature the three heroes even as we circulate the 1,000-piso polymer banknotes,” he added.

Mr. Diokno on Saturday unveiled the design for the polymer P1,000 bills that will be in limited circulation by mid-2022.

The polymer bills feature the Philippine eagle as the design of its front side, a departure from the current banknotes which have the three heroes.

“It depicts strength and freedom of Filipinos as well as independence and clear vision of the BSP to help achieve a better and more inclusive economy,” Mr. Diokno said.

The BSP’s new design for the P1,000 bill was met with criticism from different organizations and even lawmakers as they said removing heroes from banknotes could contribute to the historical revisionism already happening in the country.

The current P20, P50, P100, P200 and P500 bills in circulation feature former presidents Manuel L. Quezon; Sergio V. Osmeña, Sr.; Manuel A. Roxas; Diosdado P. Macapagal; and Corazon C. Cojuangco together with his husband Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., who was assassinated during the administration of the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

However, Mr. Diokno said featuring flora and fauna in banknotes will also promote the country’s culture.

“Like the heroes’ theme, the flora and fauna theme will also demonstrate our pride and distinction as a people and a nation. It will remind us of our nation’s commitment to ensure a sustainable future for everyone,” he said.

The BSP chief earlier said central banks around the world improve the designs of their banknotes every 10 years on average.

The current series of Philippine banknotes first went into circulation more than 10 years ago.

Mr. Diokno said they will assess from the trial circulation of the polymer bills whether they will use the material and design for wider distribution, considering the lifespan of the banknotes in local conditions.

The BSP partnered with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) for the pilot testing of the polymer bills. These notes will be delivered by RBA’s subsidiary by April next year.

Some countries that have used polymer for their banknotes include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Mexico, and Fiji.

PROBE SOUGHT
Lawmakers from the progressive Makabayan bloc are seeking an investigation at the House of Representatives into the removal of World War II heroes in the new design of P1,000 banknote.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate, Eufemia C. Cullamat, and Ferdinand R. Gaite filed House Resolution 2412 urging the Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries to look into the matter.

“Banknotes represent not just a country’s tourist attractions but what a nation holds dear and serves as a constant reminder to its people. Eliminating our heroes from them is a way of erasing them from the Philippine psyche,” the resolution said.

The Makabayan lawmakers said the design change would be “a divisive revisionist makeover.”

They added that the removal of the war heroes from the new design could “undermine their historical contributions in the defense of the (country’s) freedoms and the fight against foreign aggression.” — Luz Wendy T. Noble and R.L.C. Ku

GBP unites with Iloilo local gov’t on P15-million park development

December 15, 2021 | 12:02 am

GLOBAL BUSINESS Power Corp. (GBP) announced on Tuesday that it has inked a partnership with the local government of Iloilo City for a P15-million joint development project.

GBP, through its subsidiaries, Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) and Panay Power Corp. (PPC), will develop La Paz Plaza in the center of the city starting January and is targeted for completion by June.

Located within GBP’s two adopted barangays in Divinagracia and Lopez Jaena Norte, the improvement of the park is intended to promote the La Paz Plaza as a cultural and tourism spot, the company said in a statement.

“We sincerely hope that through this development project, we can be of assistance in elevating the La Paz Plaza as a modern recreation area for culture and sports, wherein residents and tourists could enjoy, unwind and nurture creativity,” GBP President Jaime T. Azurin said in a statement.

The project is seen to turn the plaza lagoon into a “Blue Koi Lagoon” and build a “Green Butterfly Garden” with the goal of promoting the public space as a cultural and tourism spot.

The generation giant also donated seedlings of Dungon, a kind of timber tree, to boost the mangrove species within the La Paz area and to help restore several waterway and rivers traversing the city.

GBP has four power plants in Iloilo City: two coal plants with a total of 314 megawatts (MW) in capacity and two fuel oil plants with a 92-MW capacity. It has a total capacity of 1,091 MW with 13 power plants across the Visayas and Mindanao.

GBP is owned by Meralco PowerGen Corp. of the Meralco Group. Manila Electric Co.’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — M.C. Lucenio

Team Philippines will have a heavyweight boxer in the near future — ABAP president

December 15, 2021 | 12:01 am

IF plans don’t miscarry, the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) will have a heavyweight boxer competing for country and flag in the near future.

ABAP president Ed Picson did not divulge the name of the said boxer, but hinted this one has a potential and is interested to take up the sport instead of the more popular basketball and volleyball.

“There is this heavyweight, 18 years old, 210 pounds, six-foot-one boxer somewhere in the Visayas and very interested in joining us, pero medyo hilaw pa (but he is still quite raw),” said Mr. Picson during Tuesday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.

“We’re negotiating with him and his parents,” he added.

If this pug agrees to join the national pool, he will be the biggest since light heavyweight John Marvin made the squad.

“Ever since I came into ABAP, I haven’t seen a heavyweight and this will be the first time we will have a legit local heavyweight,” Mr. Picson said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Picson announced they would field in a team composed of six male and six female boxers to the Asian Under-22 Championships slated Jan. 20-30 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

“We have already informed all our boxers and coaches that we have a Christmas break from Dec. 18 to Jan. 8. But then the invitation came out so we had to sadly inform them,” he said. — Joey Villar

The biopharmaceutical industry’s response to Omicron

December 15, 2021 | 12:01 am

While the new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, Omicron, has not been detected in the Philippines, health experts say that its entry into the country is just a matter of time.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stressed that there is no need to panic but all countries must prepare for its likely spread. The international health agency reported that Omicron is now in 63 countries, as of this writing, once again putting pressure on health systems. Given the current available data, it is likely that it will outpace the Delta variant where community transmission occurs.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also said that Omicron will likely spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The CDC emphasized that current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant. Breakthrough infections, or an infection of a fully vaccinated person, are likely to occur.

As a science-driven industry, the biopharmaceutical industry over the past two years has demonstrated its commitment to respond rapidly to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The industry is bringing the same expertise, experience and resolve to counter the Omicron variant.

Crucial to this action is the swift sharing of the Omicron variant by South African and Botswana scientists through the GISAID. The immediate sharing of harmful pathogens and variants will allow the industry to develop effective vaccines, treatments and diagnostics.

With extensive knowledge on earlier variants, the industry is once again scanning authorized and unapproved vaccines and treatments to determine if they could provide protection against Omicron. Vaccine developers have also been quick to announce that they will specifically target this latest variant.

In a statement, Pfizer said that preliminary laboratory studies demonstrate that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine neutralize the Omicron variant while two doses show significantly reduced neutralization titers. Pfizer and BioNTech also announced that they have started to develop an Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine; the first batches can be produced within 100 days pending regulatory approval, the companies said.

Johnson & Johnson also announced that it is pursuing an Omicron-specific variant vaccine. “In parallel, we have begun work to design and develop a new vaccine against Omicron and will rapidly progress it into clinical studies if needed,” Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.

Moderna said that it is working rapidly to test the ability of the current vaccine dose to neutralize the Omicron variant. Moderna will also advance an Omicron-specific booster candidate. “This candidate is part of the Company’s strategy to advance variant-specific candidates for a subset of variants of significant concern,” said Moderna.

AstraZeneca, meanwhile, announced that its long-acting antibody combination for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 neutralizes all previous variants, and that it is working to establish its efficacy against the new Omicron variant. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization for tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab for pre-exposure prophylaxis in adults and adolescents with moderate to severe immune compromise.

Also, GlaxoSmithKline said that sotrovimab, an investigational monoclonal antibody, retains in vitro activity against the full known Omicron spike protein. “These pre-clinical data demonstrate the potential for our monoclonal antibody to be effective against the latest variant, Omicron, plus all other variants of concern defined to date by the WHO,” said GSK.

Earlier, the US FDA granted EUA for molnupiravir for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19. “With the continued spread of the virus and the emergence of variants, additional treatments for COVID-19 are urgently needed,” MSD said in a statement.

Roche, on the other hand, has said that it has developed additional testing options to differentiate mutations in the Omicron variant. The variant kits allow differentiation between unique mutations present within the Omicron variant compared to other SARS-CoV-2 variants. “It’s critical to identify Omicron quickly and accurately, which will help inform ongoing research — including the further development of therapeutics and vaccines — and potentially stop or slow down the advance of this new variant,” said Roche.

Abbott, meanwhile, announced that it has conducted an assessment of the Omicron variant and is confident that its rapid and PCR tests can detect the virus. “The process for evaluating variants and stress testing our tests doesn’t stop with the current variants. We are actively collecting real-world samples and using viral cultures to verify that our tests continually detect circulating strains,” said Abbott.

Even as the country is now categorized as having low risk when it comes to COVID-19 transmissions, efforts must continue to prepare for the Omicron variant. The country is just getting back from the Delta variant surge, and the public health system and our frontliners need time to recover.

Teodoro B. Padilla is the executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), which represents the biopharmaceutical medicines and vaccines industry in the country. Its members are at the forefront of research and development efforts for COVID-19 and other diseases that affect Filipinos.

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