Public trust in science boosted by pandemic, survey finds

July 14, 2021 | 12:03 am

PUBLIC TRUST in science reached its highest level — 91% — in four years, according to the 2021 global State of Science Index commissioned by multinational conglomerate 3M. In light of the pandemic, the same percentage said that scientists are critical to humanity’s future well-being.

In the Asia Pacific, 87% believe that investments in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) will improve the economy. Other regional findings include:

60% believe science is very important in their daily lives, above the 56% global average.
82% said the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more environmentally conscious, five points more than the global average.
91% also believe that science should help drive policy decision-making, six points more than the global average.

ADVOCATING FOR STEM
Worldwide, scientists and medical professionals are inspiring a new generation to pursue a science-based career. This is true for 70% of Gen Zs, 68% of millennials, and 59% of Generation Xers, according to the study.

Corporations play a key role in championing science, said Kevin J. McGuigan, vice-president and managing director 3M’s South East Asia region, in a press statement. “One such way is through providing quality STEM education opportunities for the community,” he said.

3M Philippines, for example, partnered with local education program provider Mano Amiga to launch STEM Warriors, a virtual camp that aims to encourage girls aged 11–17 to take an interest in the field.

(Women are underrepresented in the STEM sector, per a February 2020 World Economic Forum article. Gender stereotypes, male-dominated cultures, and math anxiety contribute to this gap.)

Meanwhile, the 3M Inspire Challenge provides students from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines with a platform to develop ideas in innovation, sustainability, and technology.

Other multinational companies with STEM-related initiatives include IBM, which offers free upskilling programs such as P-TECH, Open P-TECH, and SkillsBuild; and Microsoft, which has free STEM lessons and activities for teachers available on the company website. Local pharmaceutical company Unilab, meanwhile, supports STEM education through its foundation’s STEM+ PH, a program that implements teacher development programs and learner engagement initiatives.

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies said in February that there is a shortage of students going into STEM fields. The government think tank estimates the following supply-demand gaps in the local workforce by 2025: 13,964 workers in the life sciences, 569,903 in engineering, 9,689 in the physical sciences, and 13,285 in math and statistics. — Patricia B. Mirasol

The 2021 State of Science Index survey was conducted among a representative sample of 1,000 general population adults, 18 years and older, across the following 17 countries: US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, China, India, UAE, and Australia. At the 95% confidence level, the margin of error is +/- 0.75 percentage points at the 17-country level and +/- 3.1 percentage points for each individual country. To compare results year over year, a 10-country tracking average was used which has a margin of error of +/- 0.98 percentage points.

PLDT-Smart: Arbitrary fees hinder ICT growth

July 14, 2021 | 12:03 am

Smart Communications, Inc., the wireless arm of PLDT Inc., said “reasonable” regulatory fees will facilitate telecommunications companies’ network rollouts in remote areas, noting that “arbitrary” regulatory fees in some local government units (LGUs) remain a major problem.

“To be able to provide equitable and faster access to our services in priority rollout areas, there must be affordable and reasonable regulatory and radio spectrum fees,” Smart Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs Roy D. Ibay said in a statement on Tuesday.

He also pointed out that the “arbitrary regulatory fees” imposed by some LGUs, including tower fees, inspection fees and audit fees, continue to be “major roadblocks for ICT growth.”

“Last year alone, Smart spent P2.4 billion on fees, which could have been spent on actual physical facilities to improve telecom services,” Mr. Ibay noted.

Smart said that a “uniform spectrum users fee based on a per kHz (kilohertz) per population will encourage the rollout, instead of the prevailing wireless broadband formula that discourages and punishes deployment of more wireless facilities in using a per station, per kilohertz computation.”

Mr. Ibay also said the proposed Open Access in Data Transmission Act, filed as House Bill No. 8910 and Senate Bills No. 45 and 911, should “ensure universal internet or data coverage.”

“It must avoid the trap of not setting out the objective in the law and ensure that data facilities or the much-needed fiber finds its way in the unserved and underserved areas,” he added.

The passage of the Open Access Act is expected to lower the barriers and cost to enter the data transmission market. Exporters and foreign business groups support the proposed measure.

PLDT, Smart, and Globe have acknowledged the current administration’s efforts to speed up approvals of permits for telecommunications towers.

PLDT and Smart said they had secured around 22,000 fixed and wireless permits as of June this year.

“However, the equally important rationalization of permits and fees for fiber optic rollouts have yet to be issued,” they also said.

For its part, Globe said it was “able to secure 1,180 permits as of end-May this year despite the continuing pandemic.”

Citing data from Ookla, the company behind Speedtest, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said on Tuesday that the country’s speed rankings for both fixed broadband and mobile internet continued to improve in June.

“Ookla figures for June 2021 indicate that the country’s average download speeds for fixed broadband is now 66.55 megabits per second (Mbps), a 6.82 increase from the 59.73 Mbps speed recorded in May 2021,” the DICT said.

“For mobile internet, the June 2021 speed reached 32.84 Mbps, which shows an increase of 0.86 from the recorded 31.98 Mbps in May,” it added.

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

BPI merger with thrift unit exempted from competition watchdog’s review

July 14, 2021 | 12:02 am

THE PHILIPPINE Competition Commission (PCC) said the planned merger of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and BPI Family Savings Bank (BFSB) can be exempted from its review as it qualifies as an internal restructuring.

In its response to the banks’ request for confirmation of non-coverage from compulsory notification, the PCC said the transaction qualifies as an internal restructuring and is exempt from the requirement, BPI said in a filing on Tuesday.

Companies that engage in mergers and acquisitions are required to notify the PCC for review if these transactions have impact on competition in their respective sectors.

However, BPI said the PCC may still review the merger if necessary.

“PCC also indicated that the acknowledgment is based solely on the facts and circumstances disclosed and shall not prevent the PCC from commencing a motu proprio review of the transaction should the facts turn out to be different than what was represented before the Mergers and Acquisitions Office or PCC,” the lender said.

PCC’s response regarding the merger comes a week after the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. gave its conditional consent for the transaction, saying their approval will be dependent on the view of the Monetary Board.

The Ayala-led lenders still need to secure approval from other regulators, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to push through with the merger.

BPI, which will be the surviving entity after the merger, announced its plan to absorb BFSB in January. The plan was approved by a quorum or at least two-thirds of BPI’s stockholders in April.

The listed lender said they expect the SEC to approve its Amended Articles of Incorporation for the merger by October. The merger will be effective upon the SEC’s issuance of the Certificate of Merger or by Jan. 1, 2022.

Central bank data showed BPI’s total assets stood at P1.947 trillion as of end-2020, making it the country’s fourth-biggest lender in terms of assets.

Meanwhile, BFSB’s total assets totaled P286.299 billion at end-2020.

BPI’s net income decreased by 21.64% to P5 billion in the first quarter from P6.381 billion a year earlier. This was pulled down by declining revenues amid a lower net interest income.

The listed lender’s shares closed at P85.25 apiece on Tuesday, down by P2.05 or 2.35% from its previous finish. — L.W.T. Noble

No more ‘Gangnam Style’: South Korea’s COVID rules demand slower workout music in gyms

July 14, 2021 | 12:02 am

SEOUL — Plenty of gym-goers rely on a good tune to get themselves through that workout, but in South Korea their musical options have just reduced significantly under new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rules.

To the standard restrictions such as social distancing and travel curbs, South Korea has added a requirement that gyms do not play music with higher than 120 beats per minute (bpm) during group exercises such as aerobics and spinning.

Health officials say the measure was intended to prevent breathing too fast or splashing sweat to other people while avoiding having to close such businesses entirely, as they have during previous waves.

The rule has invited ridicule from some opposition lawmakers, who called it “nonsense,” and gym owners see the rules as barely effective or unrealistic to maintain.

For Kang Hyun-ku, an owner of a gym in northern Seoul, lining up fast, funky K-pop songs on his playlist was his morning routine.

“Playing bright tracks is to cheer up our members and the overall mood, but my biggest question is whether playing classical music or BTS songs has proven to have any impact on spreading the virus,” Mr. Kang told Reuters.

“Many people use their own earphones and wearable devices these days, and how do you control their playlists?”

The government imposed its highest level of distancing rules in Seoul and neighboring regions starting Monday, as the country battles its worst-ever COVID-19 outbreak.

The rules also limit treadmill speeds to a maximum 6 kms per hour, ban the use of showers at gyms, and restrict table tennis matches to two people per table, among other measures.

“So you don’t get COVID-19 if you walk slower than 6 km per hour,” said Kim Yong-tae, a member of the main opposition People Power Party. “And who on earth checks the bpm of the songs when you work out? I don’t understand what COVID-19 has to do with my choice of music.”

When asked about the actual effectiveness of the workout music speed guidelines, a health official said authorities came to the decision after taking into consideration a broad range of opinions.

President Moon Jae-in on Monday said he felt heavy-hearted when thinking of small and medium-sized business owners and others burdened by the rules.

“I can’t help but feel very sorry to once again ask the citizens for a bit more patience,” he said at a special COVID-19 response meeting.

Whang Myung-sug, a 62-year-old member of Kang’s gym, said the government had applied a double standard in restricting gyms.

“The regulations are just bureaucratic, as if those who devised them had never worked out at a gym,” she said.

Don’t worry: the 120 bpm rule means you can still listen to “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, or K-pop sensation BTS’ latest hits such as “Dynamite” and “Butter” But if your favorite workout song is Psy’s “Gangnam Style” — the South Korean hit that went viral the world over — you’re out of luck. — Reuters

Companies begin employee vaccination drives this July

July 14, 2021 | 12:02 am

smc_pampanga_vaccine2 — Photo via San Miguel Corporation

BUSINESS PROCESS outsourcing firm Everise is purchasing more than 6,000 vaccine doses for its employees in the Philippines, who number more than 3,000. “Our vaccination program will start as soon as the vaccines are delivered,” said Chief People Officer Sheena Ponnappan, who declined to specify which brands recommended by the Philippine government were procured by Everise.

The company’s Experience Center in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, will serve as the vaccination site. It aims to vaccinate at least 200 staff members a day.

San Miguel Corporation (SMC), for its part, is spending close to a billion pesos for a program to vaccinate all its 70,000 employees. Under the conglomerate’s “Ligtas Lahat” task force in coordination of government agencies, 7,260 of its essential workers from across the National Capital Region (NCR), Davao, Laguna, and Pampanga have received their first COVID vaccine doses. Of these, 2,540 from outside NCR were vaccinated from July 2 to 8.

SMC employees based in Bulacan and Cavite are scheduled to get their jabs this week.

In June, SMC transformed its 5,013 square meter sports complex in Pasig City into a vaccination site for its NCR-based employees. The SMC Sports Complex and Mandaluyong City’s La Salle Green Hills are the main sites for the company’s vaccination program, and can accommodate 800 and 1,000 employees per day, respectively. The target is to operate 16 sites nationwide once the vaccines arrive.

The company has also been hiring and deploying medical professionals to various vaccination sites to boost the inoculation programs of local government units (LGUs).

“Basically, what we’ve been doing is we mobilize our workers, assemble them together, and use our own resources, so that they can be vaccinated through our LGUs. This way, we can support the LGU’s vaccination targets, get more people back to work safely, and at the same time divert thousands away from vaccination sites to reduce crowding,” SMC President Ramon S. Ang said in a press statement.

Other companies that have kick-started their employee vaccination drives last week are property developers Cebu Landmasters, Inc. and Megaworld Corp., management and investment company First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH), as well as the MVP Group of Companies.

Cebu Landmasters, Inc. said it got over 10,000 Moderna jabs and partnered with AC Health and Velez Medical to administer them. FPH similarly tapped AC Health, as well as Reliance United, as third-party vaccine administration providers to handle the vaccination in its headquarters and in its subsidiaries’ offices and sites.

FPH, which invests in the energy sector through its subsidiaries, started inoculating its employees in July 6 at the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City. It earlier procured the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines through multi-party agreements with the vaccine manufacturers in partnership with the Philippine government.

Others that have started inoculating their workforce are Megaworld Corp., which completed the vaccination of 95% (or 2,300 out of a total of 2,430) of its office-based employees, and the MVP Group of Companies, which initiated its inoculation drive on July 7.

Led by the MVP Group Vaccine Task Force, the first tranche of company-procured Moderna doses were administered to the conglomerate’s first batch of employees at Meralco Compound in Pasig City. Other vaccination facilities that will be activated this week are PLDT Sta. Ana in the City of Manila, Smart Tower in Makati City, Maynilad Balara in Quezon City, and NLEX Sta Rita in Bulacan.

The National Government kicked off the mass vaccination of economic frontliners under the A4 priority group at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City in June 7. Among those vaccinated were delivery service riders, media personalities, food service crew, and teaching professionals.

More than 3.44 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide as of July 12, equal to 45 doses for every 100 people, according to Our World in Data. According to its vaccination tracker, 8.81% of the Philippine population has received at least one vaccine dose. — P. B. Mirasol

TransCo studies remitting full income to gov’t

July 14, 2021 | 12:02 am

THE National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) said it is looking at remitting all of its net earnings last year to support the government’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response programs, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement, citing a letter from the state-run entity’s top official.

“TransCo supports the DoF in its revenue generation efforts for the government’s programs to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in fact, it is exploring the possibility of remitting 100 percent from the 2020 net earnings,” TransCo President and Chief Executive Officer Melvin A. Matibag told Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III in the letter.

The DoF official earlier directed TransCo to scale up its 2020 dividend remittances to 75%.

TransCo needs to first secure clearance from its board for an additional budget of P817.11 million this year to cover the increase in the dividend remittance before complying with the DoF’s order, the entity said.

“Once the board approval is secured, TransCo will request for the approval of the additional budget from the Department of Budget and Management to support the dividend remittance to the National Government (NG),” Mr. Matibag was quoted as saying in the letter.

Under the Dividends Law or Republic Act No. 7656, all government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) are required to declare and remit a minimum of 50% of their annual net earnings in the form of cash, stock or property dividends to the NG.

In the first half of this year, GOCCs remitted a total of P31.38 billion, with TransCo topping the list with a P8.32-billion contribution, according to DoF estimates.

Other top contributors include the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. at P7.1 billion; Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. at P4 billion; and Philippine Ports Authority at P3.76 billion.

Last year, TransCo registered P1.63 billion in dividend remittances or 50% of its net earnings.

The government has collected an average of P57 billion in remittances from the GOCCs annually. The Finance department described the amount as “more than double the average annual collection of the past administration.” — Angelica Y. Yang

Property-related transactions worth P321B reported by banks as suspicious

July 14, 2021 | 12:01 am

BANKS REPORTED suspicious property-related transactions worth P321.4 billion from 2019 to 2020, based on an assessment by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), reflecting the sector’s tendency to be a recipient of illicit funds.

The “dirty money” watchdog said covered persons submitted 5,416 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) from 2019 to 2020 on accounts involving real estate players.

Among these reports, 76% showed suspicious indicators. Meanwhile, 24% were reported on the basis of their involvement in predicate crimes covered by the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism (AML/CTF) laws.

The property sector could become a vehicle for parking illicit funds in the economy as these can be disguised as safe investments, the AMLC said in its assessment.

It said criminals can take advantage of how properties can serve as safe houses and can also be income generating as these can be rented out.

“Real estate is as attractive to criminals as it is to any investor since its prices are generally stable and are likely to appreciate over time,” the AMLC’s study said.

The biggest chunk or P274.619 billion in transactions reported based on suspicious indicators were because they had no underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose, or economic justification. This was followed by transactions where the amounts involved were not commensurate to the financial capacities of clients (P2.5 billion), and other identical property deals exhibiting the same suspicious trends (P1.277 billion).

Meanwhile, for STRs filed due to their involvement in predicate crimes, transactions related to fraud or swindling (P42.074 billion) were the highest in terms of value, followed by scams and other violations of the Securities and Regulation Code (P640.4 million) and drug trafficking (P158.62 million). There were also STRs related to plunder (P34.59 million) and graft and corruption (P5.01 million).

On the other hand, three STRs filed in the period covering transactions worth P86.3 million were found to be possibly related to terrorism financing. There were no cases that were linked to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and proliferation financing.

“While the understanding of targeted financial sanction on terrorism financing and proliferation financing of the real estate sector is arguably in its developing stage, this does not mean that threats do not exist,” the AMLC said.

Based on its assessment, the AMLC said the overall threat in the property industry is medium, which means there is “moderate volume of criminal activities and associated factors.”

This vulnerability assessment took into account the size of the sector; its client base profile; level of cash activity; use of agents and intermediaries and level of anonymity and non-face-to-face transactions; difficulty in tracing records; existence of dirty money schemes; and cross border international transactions.

Following the recommendation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Republic Act 11521 passed in January included real estate developers and brokers as covered persons of the country’s anti-money laundering laws. This, as the FATF said that properties made up 30% of criminal assets confiscated globally between 2011 and 2013.

Around 3,288 brokers and developers have registered as covered persons with the AMLC as of May. The AMLC said they are faced with hundreds of pending registrations due to their limited manpower.

The AMLC this month released new guidelines which further tightened rules on monitoring real estate transactions. It provided a list of red flags that brokers and developers should monitor in their dealings with clients.

The Philippines is currently in the FATF’s gray list of jurisdictions that are under increased monitoring to prove their progress in implementing stricter AML and CTF laws.

The country will submit its first progress report to the FATF in September. Government officials expect the country will be able to exit the gray list by January 2023. — L.W.T. Noble

Vaccination for economic frontliners

July 14, 2021 | 12:01 am

vaccine-health-worker — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

The National Government, local government units (LGUs), and private sector are joining forces to ensure that all 35.5 million individuals belonging to the A4 priority group or economic frontliners receive their first dose of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine by September 2021.

This month, AstraZeneca will deliver 1,170,000 doses purchased by local companies while the government expects the delivery of 4.5 million Sinovac doses, 1 million Moderna doses, and another 1 million doses of Sputnik V of Gamaleya. Starting August 2021, the government expects 15 to 25 million doses from various vaccine manufacturers to arrive monthly.

These doses include both the government- and private sector-procured doses as well as those coming from the COVAX facility, according to chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr.

PHAPCares Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), recently co-organized a forum to highlight the importance of vaccination to individual health and the country’s economy.

“It is our hope that more people will be vaccinated because vaccination is one of the ways by which we could protect ourselves and restart our economy,” said Yee Kok Cheong, PHAPCares Foundation president.

A day before the official June 7 launch of vaccination for frontliners, the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country was 16,818. By June 20, more than half a million (534,982) doses had been administered, which translates to 38,213 jabs per day for the two-week period.

“The substantial increase in vaccine doses administered per day is an indication that more Filipino workers are now willing to be inoculated in order to help our country’s economic recovery,” Mr. Galvez noted.

One of the key strategies that the NTF asked from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) was the simplification and expansion of the A4 priority group to include all workers in the government, private, and informal sectors, including those employed in private households.

“We believe that it is both logical and practical to inoculate all individuals who go out of their homes to work. Our economic frontliners are our modern-day heroes who play a key role during this pandemic. They risk their lives daily so that they can continue to provide essential services to their countrymen. They are the people who drive our economy, regardless of the industry they belong to. All of them are vulnerable to COVID-19, and they all need to be inoculated,” Mr. Galvez said.

With the government and the private sector pooling resources in the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and decentralizing the implementation of vaccine administration, the government expressed confidence in achieving the goal of administering the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to all 35.5 million economic frontliners in the country by September.

“All private sector-procured vaccine doses will be turned over to the companies and organizations that purchased these. We are giving them the flexibility to administer the vaccines not just for their employees but for their dependents as well,” Mr. Galvez said.

The more people get vaccinated, the greater chance of protecting our communities from the emergence of variants. As PHAPCares Foundation Executive Director Dr. Rosarita Siasoco concluded during the forum, vaccination also helps reduce COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths, eases the burden on our health systems, and “allows individuals, families, communities and businesses to get back to normal.”

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

PTFC posts nearly P23-million income

July 14, 2021 | 12:01 am

PTFC Redevelopment Corp. recorded a P22.74-million net income for its March-to-May period, the company disclosed to the exchange on Tuesday.

The figure is 8.13% higher than its P21.03-million income from the same period last year. The company’s fiscal year ends in August.

Meanwhile, its third-quarter topline inched up to P48.63 million from P48.29 million year on year.

For the nine-month period ending on May 31, the company’s net income declined by 17.95% to P57.85 million from P70.50 million “due to lower occupancy rate and share in equity in net loss of associates.”

PTFC is engaged in warehousing and office rental services, and according to its website, it also offers self-storage facilities.

The decline in occupancy rate also affected the company’s revenues for the period, which went down by 3.46% to P145.40 million from P150.62 million.

Shares of PTFC were last traded on the stock exchange on July 7 at P43.10 apiece. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Arts & Culture (07/14/21)

July 14, 2021 | 12:01 am

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Art Inspires series at the Met

THE METROPOLITAN Museum of Manila presents the second series of Art Inspires titled “Heritage, Identity, and Nationhood” on July 17 (10-11 a.m.) via Zoom. It will feature a series of interviews with artists, curators, scholars, and writers, with a focus on the artistic process and experience in reference to an artist’s work or body of works featured in ongoing exhibitions at the museum. The second installment begins with an online screening of the experimental collaborative video Mother Load by Josephine Turalba and Angel Velasco Shaw, followed by a conversation with the artists and Mercedes Tolentino, the curator of the exhibition, “In Full View: The Metropolitan Museum of Manila Collection.” To register, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkfuCpqTspHdKPsTMAcFMAlaYqQC7x09Xw. For more information, visit https://metmuseum.ph/.

‘Dispersion’ at Art for Space Gallery

ARTISTS Ian Inoy and Pat Frades are showing their works in the exhibit “Dispersion” at the Art for Space Gallery. Having their own voices and own art processes, the artists created artworks that explore their own expressions of individuality and identity. Mr. Inoy merges found objects and junk as his unique way of expressing his identity in his abstract and heavily textured works. Ms. Frades uses clay as her medium. Her style elaborates a combination of colorful mushrooms and coral-like elements. The Art for Space Gallery is at the ground floor of the Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa City. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/artforspaceph/.

Several exhibits at West Gallery

WEST gallery has several exhibitions currently on view until July 31. One of these is Anton Mallari’s “Sibol,” his new collection of oil portraits that imagine a springing forth of change or new tidings. Mr. Mallari’s traditional portrait style shows a different, almost nostalgic side in this series, with his feminine subjects and botanical motifs awash with bolder floral patterns in different states of bloom and opacity. “Sibol” retains the artist’s noir theme, while also adding softer colors and bolder gold linework, as if to signify a change of air or seasons. Rocelie V. Delfin’s “Kapaligiran” is composed of a series of nine pen and ink images of houses made during quarantine which reflect the isolation she experienced throughout those weeks. Six larger drawings depict idyllic forests occupied by tropical houses remote from one another. Also on view are Lynyrd Paras’ exhibit “Love is Greater than Fear of Death,” and Johanna Helmuth’s “Hereafter.” The gallery is at 48 West Ave., Quezon City. Visits by appointment only, on Mondays to Saturday. To make an appointment, contact the gallery at 3411-0336.

Nat’l dance qualifiers highlight SEA hip-hop

SOUTHEAST Asian hip-hop culture is spotlighted in the national qualifiers of Redefining Elements: A Hip-Hop Pageant, a competition that aims to reformulate the approach to the popular genre in terms of talent, knowledge, technique and engagement in the society. A collaborative platform built by the academic and hip-hop communities, the friendly showdown investigates the diverse effects of the discipline on the youth, both locally and in neighboring Southeast Asian countries. Hosted by Benilde Experimental Dance and the Dance Program of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts, the champion will represent the country in the international competition. Redefining Elements: A Hip-Hop Pageant will go live via Zoom and Facebook on July 24, 5 to 7 p.m. Audience may secure their tickets for P100, which allows them to vote for their favorite dancers and help them win a special prize. Register at https://tinyurl.com/bk3h7bu5. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/pg/BenildeExDance.

2-year archaeological project in Northern Cebu

AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL survey and excavation have started in San Remigio and other parts of Northern Cebu as part of the efforts to preserve the Cebuano heritage. The two-year Northern Cebu Archeological Project, a joint initiative of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) and Aboitiz Foundation, in collaboration with the University of San Carlos in Cebu aims to establish a protocol and methodology for systematic archaeological studies in Cebu. Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. granted the NMP a P2-million donation in support of its archeological heritage preservation initiatives. Through the project, a template for continuing studies and resources to archive and preserve data of archaeological sites and landscapes will be developed. The primary objective is to develop a geospatial database to record all archeological sites and resources in Cebu through the use of state-of-the-art archeological methods and applications. It also aims to produce a comprehensive catalogue of archeological findings in Cebu especially those belonging to the Metal Age. This catalogue shall be a useful reference for further studies, for the development of a comprehensive preservation program, and for crafting sustainable information dissemination program through local and international publications. The two-year project is scheduled in four phases. Towards the last phase of the project, collected cultural resources will be shown publicly through an exhibition that will piece the stories of those sites in the forthcoming National Museum Central Visayas Regional Museum in Cebu.

Mo_Space holds 2 exhibits

MO_SPACE is opening two exhibits on July 17, which will run until Aug. 15. To be shown at the Main Gallery is Elaine Roberto-Navas’ “Something Of Everything In Everything,” and at Gallery 2, Katrina Bello’s exhibit “Drawing The Farthest Land.” For “Something Of Everything In Everything,” Ms. Roberto-Navas’ start from traces of photographs to paintings on canvas, each image a paean of philosophical musing that reveals the interconnectedness of things. In her latest exhibition, Katrina Bello uses soft graphite gestures on paper, tracing a journey in nature, as well as a trail through a migrant life, with works either gargantuan in scale, vast like a redwood forest or a wide-open sea, or a microcosm that fits in the palm. The two exhibits will be open for public viewing at MO_Space from July 17 to Aug. 15. The gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For inquiries, contact the gallery by telephone at 8403-6620, by mobile at 0917-572-7970.

Spanish LGBTQIA+ short film series

THROUGHOUT July, the Instituto Cervantes Vimeo channel has been hosting a short-film series Te estoy amando locamente (Falling in love with you madly), featuring eight LGBTQIA+ stories by various Spanish filmmakers. Su (2019), a complex story about love and life, directed by Laia Foguet will be streamed on July 14 and 15 (link to the movie: https://vimeo.com/557679177). Meanwhile, the award-winning short film Víctor XX (Ian de la Rosa, 2015), will stream on July 17 and 18. The movie will be accessible through https://vimeo.com/557683845.

Philippines slips 7 spots in global ranking of fintech ecosystems

July 14, 2021 | 12:00 am

Auto Sales

July 14, 2021 | 12:00 am

VEHICLE SALES in June jumped 45% compared with the same month last year as the auto industry continues to grapple with the impact of the pandemic. Read the full story.