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Cebu province starts requiring negative coronavirus test result for travelers at all entry points 

A NEGATIVE test result for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will be required from all travelers entering Cebu’s air and sea ports starting Aug. 18 to curb the spike in cases in the province.   

The result could either be from an RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival or a rapid antigen test within 48 hours, based on Executive Order No. 40 signed by Governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia on Monday.   

For drivers and crew of delivery vans and trucks, the validity of a rapid antigen test is allowed up to 72 hours.   

“If in transit, and the validity of the RT-PCR or rapid antigen test result lapses, concerned persons shall be required to take an antigen test upon their arrival in Cebu at the expense of the holder of said test result,” the order states.   

The provincial government, which has on several occasions, been in conflict with the national government over its more relaxed pandemic-related policies in consideration of economic recovery, said the test result requirement is intended to address the increasing number of COVID-19 cases attributed to the more transmissible Delta variant.  

As of Aug. 16, the Department of Health data show the province had 5,161 active cases out of the 26,448 recorded since the start of the pandemic last year. Of the total, 20,062 have recovered while 1,225 died.   

The COVID-19 case count in Cebu province does include data from the independent cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue. Active cases in these cities were at 4,099 for Cebu, 1,731 in Lapu-Lapu, and 1,759 in Mandaue.   

The entire Central Visayas Region, which also covers the provinces of Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor, had 14,948 active cases as of Aug. 16 — MSJ

DENR unit to pilot database that can fast-track land titling in Laguna 

THE ENVIRONMENT Department’s Land Management Bureau (LMB) will soon launch an online database that aims to expedite land titling procedures and address related conflicts, with the town of Bay in Laguna as pilot area.  

In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the platform will contain tax declaration records from the local government unit (LGU) of Bay, and scanned land records and geospatial information system (GIS) data from DENR’s regional office.  

The database will be updated in real-time and will help establish a coordinated approach in land titling, the department said.  

“The data linkage will improve the land titling processes of the DENR by using the information from the tax declaration information in screening and validating the rightful owner of land property. Applicants no longer need to submit hard copies of their tax declarations to the DENR,” it added.  

DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu described the data-sharing project between their regional office and the Bay municipal government as “the first in the country.”  

“With this new data-sharing development, land titling processes administered by the DENR and the Bay LGU will significantly improve, especially in the harmonization of geospatial information and the validation of property owners,” he said. — Angelica Y. Yang 

Understanding the four industrial revolutions

(Last of the Series)

I have toned down the enthusiasm about the coming of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4) because the Philippines still has to complete the first three stages of the industrial revolution, especially so that we can attain in the next decade or so not only sustainable growth, but, more importantly, inclusive growth where no one is left behind. There is so much we can still derive from the ages of mechanization (1760-1820), electrification (1871-1914) and digitalization (the late 20th century) that it may be counterproductive to devote too much attention and resources to such technologies as cyber-physical systems, internet of things (IoT), on-demand availability of computer system resources, and cognitive computing. It may not make economic sense to rush the introduction of robots into manufacturing and services when we still have more than 10 million of our workers either unemployed or underemployed. In fact, I just read an advertisement for the Apple car, which is electric and autonomous, that will be ready for the market in 2022. Guess how much it will cost? Only $75,000! No need to rush IR4. As they say in Cebuano, “hinay-hinay pero kanunay,” slowly but surely.

It would be useful, however, to know just exactly what a full-blown Industrial Revolution 4.0 entails so we can picture our country, say, 20 or more years from now (still very much in the lifetime of the millennials and centennials), when we will be a first world country. The clearest vision of IR4 was first presented by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, in an article he wrote on Jan. 14, 2016 entitled “The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond.” In this article, he gave three reasons why IR4 represents not merely a prolongation of IR3 (the use of electronics and information technology to automate production), but rather the arrival of a fourth and distinct one: velocity, scope, and systems impact. There is no historical precedent to the speed of the breakthroughs we are witnessing today. Compared to the three previous revolutions, the fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. At least in the upper-middle income and high-income countries, it is disrupting almost every industry. The breadth and depth of these vertiginous changes are transforming entire systems of production, management, and governance.

In countries like the US, Japan, Germany, and China, artificial intelligence (AI) is already ubiquitous, powering self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants and software that translate or invest. Impressive progress has been made in AI in the last decade or so, driven by exponential increases in computing power and by the availability of vast amounts of data, from software used to discover new drugs (as we have witnessed during the ongoing pandemic) to algorithms that can be used to predict our cultural interests. Digital fabrication technologies, meanwhile, are interacting with the biological world on a daily basis. Highly trained professionals such as engineers, designers, and architects are able to combine computational design, additive manufacturing, materials engineering, and synthetic biology to pioneer a symbiosis between microorganisms, our bodies, the products we consume, and even the buildings we inhabit. IR4 integrates processes vertically, across the entire organization, including processes in product development, manufacturing, structuring, and service. Horizontally, it includes internal operations from suppliers to customers as well as all key value chain partners. It is also able to integrate new methods of data collection and analysis, such as through the expansion of existing products or creation of new digitized products, thus helping companies to generate data on product use in order to refine products. It makes possible business models which can track customer satisfaction as a perpetual, multi-stage process that requires modification in real time to adapt to the changing needs of consumers.

Like the first three industrial revolutions, IR4 has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for populations around the world. Predictably, those who have benefited most from it have been consumers who are able to afford and access the digital world. This became very obvious during the pandemic when, as instruction in schools went online, the vast majority of pupils in the public schools have been left behind because of lack of internet connections and of digital devices needed in remote learning. Some 40% of our population who belong to the middle- and high-income classes have been enabled by IR4 to have access to new products and services that increase the efficiency and pleasure of their personal lives. They can now remotely order a cab, book a flight, buy a product, make a payment, listen to music, watch a film, or play a game. The question is how long will it take for the remaining 60% of the population to also reap the benefits of IR4.

Dr. Schwab refers to economists Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee who fear that IR4 could yield greater inequality, particularly in its potential to disrupt labor markets. As automation substitutes for labor across the entire economy, the net displacement of workers by machines might exacerbate the gap between returns to capital and returns to labor. A more optimistic view, however, it that it is also be possible that the displacement of workers by technology will, in aggregate, result in a net increase in safe and rewarding jobs. It is difficult to foresee which scenario will actually emerge. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that in the future, talent, more than capital, will represent the critical factor of production. This will give rise to a job market increasingly segregated into “low-skill/low-pay” and “high-skill/high-pay” segments, which in turn may lead to social tensions. For this reason, inequality represents the greatest social concern associated with the IR4. Those who benefit most from innovation tend to be the providers of intellectual and physical capital — the innovators, entrepreneurs, knowledge workers, shareholders, and investors — which explains the rising gap in wealth between those dependent on capital versus labor. This means that the demand for highly skilled workers will increase while the demand for workers with less education and lower skills will decrease. The result is a job market with a strong demand at the high and low ends, but a hollowing out of the middle.

Such prospects for the future (say, 10 to 20 years from now) make it very important that we address the education crisis that is upon us now. The quality of education that is being received by those who will be in the workforce 10 to 20 years from now is one of the lowest in the world as numerous international tests have discovered. Our present-day primary and secondary school pupils receive very low ratings in international tests in reading comprehension, science, and math. We may have a window of some 10 years during which our economy will still be at a stage of growth in which the demand of workers will be mainly at the low end (construction, labor-intensive farming, hospitality, retail services, OFWs). We must be ready for the day when our middle-income households may account for 80% to 90% of the entire population. If these future workers and consumers are receiving very low-quality education today, they will not be ready for the predominantly high-skilled jobs that will be needed in the future. We will then be left behind once again when we enter fully the stage of Industrial Revolution 4.0. We must make sure that the Administration that will be elected in May 2022 will give the highest priority to addressing our educations crisis. There is no time to lose.

 

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a Visiting Professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

A people centered approach to digital readiness

JOHN SCHNOBRICH-VUNSPLASH

We oftentimes hear the term “digital readiness” brought up and bounced around when talking about the direction the country wants to take in terms of developing its digital landscape. We hear about innovations like 5G connectivity, cloud computing, even artificial intelligence. However, all of these beg the question: Are we digitally ready? What does digital readiness truly entail?

As Bill Luz, Chief Resilience Officer of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, put it during a recent webinar organized by the Liveable Cities Challenge, “even as it disrupts life, the pandemic has accelerated digital adoption among Filipinos. Out of necessity, more people and organizations have shifted to digital transactions — telehealth, e-payments, e-commerce, and other digital-enabled activities. As we move towards recovery, this digital transition is expected to continue and become a permanent fixture in our daily lives.”

So far, the Philippines has already taken major steps in improving the country’s digital readiness to prepare it for this digital transition. For instance, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) had launched initiatives like the National Broadband Plan and the Free WiFi-For-All Program to provide internet access even to the farthest communities in the country.

To further bolster such services and activities, The DICT initiated the long awaited Joint Memorandum Circular with the Anti-Red Tape Authority, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, the Bureau of Fire Protection, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Civil Aviation Authority, the National Telecommunications Commission, the Department of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration which streamlined the extremely bureaucratic permitting processes for the accelerated construction of digital infrastructure. The local telecommunications companies, in turn, responded enthusiastically by ramping up their telecom tower and fiber connectivity roll-out.

All these telecommunications industry investments were not in vain as significant improvement in our country’s internet speeds were reported by Ookla. Average download speeds in the Philippines for fixed broadband internet is now at 66.55 megabits per second (Mbps), much higher than the 59.73 Mbps recorded the month prior.

These developments were supported by the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2020 Report which placed the Philippines at 10th highest for telecommunications investment which was led by private telcos.

That said, despite this aggressive digital infrastructure expansion, the same report showed that the Philippines’ digital competitiveness ranking dropped to 57th out of 64 economies from its rank of 55th in 2019. The study showed that under the knowledge pillar, the Philippines plummeted to 62nd after ranking 51st last year.

According to IMD Senior Economist José Caballero, the slip in the Philippines’ ranking reflects a weakening of the talent, training, and education sub-factors under the knowledge pillar. This shows that to be digitally ready, we need to invest not just in infrastructure and technology but also in the skills and knowledge of our people.

The amazing advancements in technology may have dazzled us to focus so much on the technological aspect of digital transformation that we may have overlooked the pre-requisite of upskilling and knowledge-building of our workforce.

Digital literacy, which means having the enabling skills to learn, work, communicate, and process information with digital technologies, must be integrated in the basic education system. For this to happen, schools must be re-tooled, teachers’ skills upgraded and given access to the best content to effectively deliver quality education to learners. This is the foundation to creating a digitally skilled workforce that can harness frontier technologies such as robotics, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. A digital competitive edge that will boost economic recovery.

The education sector was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with protracted lockdowns forcing the sudden shift to non-face-to-face modes to continue classes. Many schools that could not cope with the disruption have stopped operations. Other educational institutions that had the resources were able to shift to online classes but the adjustment for the faculty and students is understandably challenging.

To move forward, there must be on-the-ground collaboration of schools, the national and local government, and the private sector to bring the education ecosystem up to speed in connectivity, ICT equipment, and digital skills for e-education. Digitalization of school’s systems will actually result in more efficient operations and savings that can be rechanneled for more scholarships and improvement of facilities.

The government needs to harness the expertise and experience of the private sector to develop the country’s digital competitiveness in an ever-evolving digital global economic environment.

As I had stated in the forum, technologies, tools, and infrastructure can be bought. However, what cannot be bought are the talent and the skills needed by the next generation so that they may be able to efficiently wield the power of technology.

What we need is a people-centric approach that will harness the benefits of digital technology as power tools to prosper in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Digital readiness is about empowering people and adopting a developmental governance mindset.

To leverage the opportunities of digital technologies for public health and the economy, there has to be openness to constant innovation of processes and policies to promote an environment that has moved past passé governance models and stagnant regulations.

A new culture of leadership, learning, working, and living with technology, inspired by the prospect of limitless possibilities for inclusive growth and sustainable prosperity is an exciting vision that we must all aim to achieve.

 

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

Letter to the Editor (08/17/21)

A united front

WE WISH to set the record straight regarding some comments made by Mr. Oscar Lagman, Jr. in his column (“Presidential wannabe Ping Lacson’s proposal is ill-conceived,” August 16, 2021).

[https://www.bworldonline.com/presidential-wannabe-ping-lacsons-proposal-is-ill-conceived/]

First, Sen. Lacson’s proposed formula for unity stemmed from the hopes of some prospective non-administration candidates, including Vice-President Robredo, for a united front in the 2022 polls. The meeting where he made his proposal known to Ms. Robredo was at the invitation of the Vice-President’s camp.

While Sen. Lacson never said his unity proposal is free of complications, much less perfect, it is nevertheless sincere and selfless, offering a way to turn talk into action.

Mr. Lagman, given his decades of observing politics, is certainly aware of this: compared to talking all day about unity, starting the process of implementing — as Sen. Lacson tried to do with his proposal — is a much harder, if not thankless, task. It is thus hard to comprehend why the Vice-President would decline it outright if she were sincere in achieving unity.

Nevertheless, Sen. Lacson has made it clear that he respects Ms. Robredo’s decision. In the meantime, he and Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III continue to offer themselves as a pro-Filipino alternative to provide Filipinos with the leaders we need.

We hope this clarifies matters. Thank you very much.

Respectfully yours,
Joel Locsin
Media Relations Officer
Office of Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson

Forget massive seawalls, coastal wetlands offer the best storm protection money can buy

WIRESTOCK-FREEPIK

Coastal communities around the world are facing increasing threats from tropical cyclones. Climate change is causing rising sea levels and bigger, more frequent storms.

Many coastal communities are pondering what to do. Should they build massive seawalls in a bid to protect existing infrastructure? Do they give up on their current coastal locations and retreat inland? Or is there another way?

In the US, the US Army Corps of Engineers has proposed building a 20-foot-high giant seawall to protect Miami, the third most populous metropolis on the US east coast. The $6-billion proposal is tentative and at least five years off, but sure to be among many proposals in the coming years to protect coastal communities from storms.

But seawalls are expensive to build, require constant maintenance and provide limited protection.

Consider China, which already has a huge number of seawalls built for storm protection. A 2019 study analyzed the impact of 127 storms on China between 1989 and 2016.

Coastal wetlands were far more cost effective in preventing storm damages. They also provided many other ecosystem services that seawalls do not.

Coastal wetlands reduce the damaging effects of tropical cyclones on coastal communities by absorbing storm energy in ways that neither solid land nor open water can.

The mechanisms involved include decreasing the area of open water (fetch) for wind to form waves, increasing drag on water motion and hence the amplitude of a storm surge, reducing direct wind effects on the water surface, and directly absorbing wave energy.

Wetland vegetation contributes by decreasing surges and waves and maintaining shallow water depths that have the same effect. Wetlands also reduce flood damage by absorbing flood waters caused by rain and moderating their effects on built-up areas.

In 2008, colleagues and I estimated that coastal wetlands in the US provided storm protection services worth $23 billion a year.

Our new study estimates the global value of coastal wetlands to storm protection services is $450 billion a year (calculated at 2015 value) with 4,600 lives saved annually.

To make this calculation, we used the records of more than 1,000 tropical cyclones since 1902 that caused property damage and/or human casualties in 71 countries. Our study took advantage of improved storm tracking, better global land-use mapping and damage-assessment databases, along with improved computational capabilities to model the relationships between coastal wetlands and avoided damage and deaths from tropical cyclones.

The 40 million hectares of coastal wetlands in storm-prone areas provided an average of $11,000 per hectare a year in avoided storm damage.

The degree to which coastal wetlands provide storm protection varies between countries (and within countries). Key factors are storm probability, amount of built infrastructure in storm-prone areas, if wetlands are in storm-prone areas, and coastal conditions.

The top five countries in terms of annual avoided damage (all in 2015 US dollar values) are the United States ($200 billion), China ($157 billion), the Philippines ($47 billion), Japan ($24 billion), and Mexico ($15 billion).

In terms of lives saved annually, the top five are: China (1,309), the Philippines (976); the United States (469), India (414), and Bangladesh (360).

Coastal wetlands also provide other valuable ecosystem services. They provide nursery habitat for many commercially important marine species, recreational opportunities, carbon sequestration, management of sediment and nutrient run-off, and many other valuable services.

In 2014, my colleagues and I estimated the value of other ecosystem services provided by wetlands (over and above storm protection) at about $135,000 a hectare a year.

But land-use changes, including the loss of coastal wetlands, has been eroding both services. Since 1900 the world has lost up to 70% of its wetlands (Davidson, 2014).

Preserving and restoring coastal wetlands is a very cost-effective strategy for society, and can significantly increase well-being for humans and the rest of nature.

With the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones and other extreme weather events projected to further increase, the value of coastal wetlands will increase in the future. This justifies investing much more in their conservation and restoration.

 

Robert Costanza is a Professor and VC’s Chair, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University.

Evacuations resume as Biden defends Afghanistan pullout

A MAN pulls a girl to get inside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16. — REUTERS

MILITARY FLIGHTS evacuating diplomats and civilians from Afghanistan restarted early on Tuesday after the runway at Kabul airport was cleared of thousands of people desperate to flee after the Taliban seized the capital.

The number of civilians at the airport had thinned out, a Western security official at the facility told Reuters, a day after chaotic scenes in which US police fired gunshots to disperse crowds and people clung to a US military transport plane as it taxied for take-off.

“Many people who were here yesterday have gone home,” the official said. Reuters witnesses, however, could still hear occasional shots coming from the direction of the airport, while streets elsewhere in Kabul appeared calm.

US forces took charge of the airport, the only remaining exit point from Afghanistan as the Taliban held control of all ground routes following their dramatic advances across the country during the past week, which climaxed on Sunday when the insurgents streamed triumphantly into Kabul, capturing the capital without a fight.

Flights were suspended for much of Monday, when at least five people were reportedly killed, although it was unclear whether they had been shot or crushed in a stampede. A US official told Reuters two gunmen who had appeared to have fired into the crowd were killed by US troops.

Against the scenes of panic and confusion in Kabul, US President Joseph R. Biden defended his country’s decision to withdraw US forces after 20 years of war — the nation’s longest — that he described as costing more than $1 trillion.

But the video on Monday of hundreds of desperate Afghans trying to clamber onto a US military plane as it was about to take-off could haunt the United States, just as a photograph in 1975 of people scrambling to get on a helicopter on the roof of the US embassy in Saigon became emblematic of the humiliating withdrawal from Vietnam.

The speed at which Afghan cities fell, in days rather than the months predicted by US intelligence, and fear of a Taliban crackdown on freedom of speech and human rights, especially women’s rights, have sparked criticism.

Mr. Biden insisted he had to decide between asking US forces to fight endlessly in what he called Afghanistan’s civil war or follow through on an agreement to depart negotiated by Republican former President Donald Trump.

“I stand squarely behind my decision,” Mr. Biden said. “After 20 years I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces. That’s why we’re still there.”

Facing a barrage of criticism, from even his own diplomats, he blamed the Taliban’s takeover on Afghan political leaders who fled the country and the Afghan army’s unwillingness to fight.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the hasty pullout of US troops had a “serious negative impact, “China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported, adding that Mr. Wang pledged to work with Washington to promote stability.

Mr. Blinken also spoke on Monday with counterparts in Pakistan, Russia, Britain, the European Union, Turkey and NATO about ensuring regional stability, the State Department said.

NEW REGIME
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the Islamist militants entered Kabul, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed.

The capitulation of the government forces, trained for years and equipped by the United States and others, was a major factor behind the Taliban’s victory.

The U.N. Security Council called for talks to create a new government in Afghanistan after Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned of “chilling” curbs on human rights and violations against women and girls.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai said she was “deeply concerned” about the situation, and called for world leaders to take urgent action. She urged Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to open his country to refugees.

Former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said he was headed to Doha to meet with a Taliban delegation on Tuesday, accompanied by former President Hamid Karzai and the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Al Jazeera TV reported.

Envoys from the United States, China and other nations had been meeting with Afghan government negotiators and Taliban representatives in Qatar for peace talks in the days leading up to the Taliban’s capture of Kabul.

Many Afghans fear the Taliban will return to past harsh practices. During their 1996-2001 rule, women could not work and punishments such as public stoning, whipping and hanging were administered.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Dunya News that the group would improve the security of Kabul and “respect the rights of women and minorities as per Afghan norms and Islamic values.”

Mr. Shaheen added the new regime would ensure representation of all ethnicities and that the Taliban were keen to work with the international community to reconstruct the country. Mr. Shaheen said on Twitter that the group’s fighters were under strict orders not to harm anyone.

“Life, property and honor of no one shall be harmed but must be protected by the mujahideen,” he said. — Reuters

US plans COVID-19 booster shots in September

REUTERS

THE BIDEN administration plans to begin administering coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) booster shots to Americans as early as mid or late September, pending authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters late on Monday.

Health officials in US President Joseph R. Biden’s administration gathered round the view that most people should get a booster shot eight months after they completed their initial vaccination, the source said.

According to the New York Times, which earlier reported the development, officials are planning to announce the administration’s decision as early as this week, with the first boosters likely to go to nursing home residents and health care workers, followed by other older people.

Last week, US regulators authorized a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer, Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE and Moderna, Inc. for people with compromised immune systems who are likely to have weaker protection from the two-dose regimens.

The administration’s goal is to let those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines know that they will need additional protection against the Delta variant of the coronavirus, NYT said.

The newspaper added that officials also expect recipients of the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, which was authorized as a one-dose regimen, will also require an additional dose. — Reuters

Singapore may test business travel from some nations next month

A VIEW of the city skyline in Singapore, Dec. 31, 2020 — REUTERS

SINGAPORE plans to set up pilot programs next month to allow vaccinated business travelers from some countries to enter on carefully controlled itineraries as it takes steps to reopen its borders.

Singapore is in talks with Germany, Australia, Canada and South Korea to be the first batch of countries for such arrangements, though it is also looking at the possibility of leisure travel, trade minister Gan Kim Yong told Bloomberg News in an interview Tuesday. He said factors like infections, vaccination rates and the ability to control outbreaks will be considered in these discussions.

“In the pilot, we are likely to focus more on business travel, but beyond business travel, we are also looking at the possibility of leisure travel, particularly to those safer countries, those with a lower infection rate,” he said. “We will need to pilot-run some of this with an organized itinerary, probably with organized tour groups, to be able to find ways to bubble-wrap them for the journey and with specific designated places that they can visit.”

Singapore, with a vaccination rate that is among the world’s best according to Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker, is aiming to reopen to the world and emerge from the pandemic relatively unscathed by high hospitalizations and death tolls. At the current 76% full inoculation, the country is on track to be ahead of its schedule to reach 80% by early September, a milestone where officials have pledged to ease more measures, particularly on border reopening.

Still, such relaxation will be done in a careful manner and local rules on gathering sizes could still be intact for a while as more people enter the country, Mr. Gan said. “The two are interlinked,” Mr. Gan said. “If we continue to keep our borders closed and just among ourselves, I think we will be quite ready to open up domestically, but because we are going to open up the border, which is a major effort, and potentially a higher-risk measure, therefore we will need to ensure that domestically within the community we continue to have reasonable basic safe management measures in place.”

EASING OF LOCAL MEASURES
Singapore earlier this month approved some easing of virus-related restrictions for vaccinated persons, including dining at restaurants in groups of five for those fully inoculated. The government is also set to announce a loosening of work-from-home rules this week.

Mr. Gan said further easing of these rules in the community will hinge on authorities managing the reopening of borders well, without any “explosion” of infections. This refers to how transmissible the virus is, rather than the absolute number of cases, he said. Already, the country is loosening controls to allow vaccinated foreign workers to enter the country, as well as plans to bring in much-needed laborers in the construction sector.

“We may be the first country who has a high vaccination rate, and yet taking a step-by-step approach to reopening,” Mr. Gan said. “We are seeing whether this approach in fact is a better approach to allow a safe opening, yet at the same time allow more activities to happen.” He added such an approach may ultimately prevent a reversion to lockdown measures, which have frustrated businesses and residents.

Singapore’s easing of restrictions comes at a turbulent time for a region battling the Delta variant. For instance, Hong Kong will now no longer recognize anti-body test results as a basis to cut quarantine period for arrivals. Also a raft of disappointing Chinese economic data Monday — on top of another port closure there last week following a positive virus test — added to signs that Asian trade powerhouses could be losing one of their economic lifelines.

Singapore last week upgraded its 2021 GDP forecast to 6%-7%, predicated on a stable global recovery and further easing of border and domestic restrictions through year-end. Mr. Gan said he is confident Singapore would achieve these projections. — Bloomberg

Filipino Paralympians raring to compete at Tokyo Games

THE six Filipino Paralympians set to compete at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo are all raring to showcase what they are capable of, Team Philippines Chef de Mission Francis Carlos B. Diaz said. — PHILIPPINE SPORTS COMMISSION

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

AFTER the able-bodied Olympians, it is now the para-athletes’ turn to represent the country on the international stage.

Six Filipino Paralympians are set to compete at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5, and all are raring to showcase what they are capable of, Team Philippines Chef de Mission Francis Carlos B. Diaz said.

“All of them are committed to maximizing the opportunity given to them. This is an important event for the athletes. Each one of them knows the significance of their participation in the Paralympics much like our able-bodied Olympians,” said Mr. Diaz in a Zoom interview with BusinessWorld.

Team Philippines is bannered by two athletes for para-athletics (Jerrold Mangliwan/wheelchair racing and Jeanette Aceveda/discus throw), two for para-swimming (Ernie Gawilan and Gary Bejino), and one each for para-taekwondo (Allain Ganapin) and powerlifting (Achelle Guion).

Mr. Diaz, also the dean of the College of Human Kinetics at the University of the Philippines, said all the para-athletes are doing well in their respective training “bubbles” and keeping themselves safe and healthy before they leave for Tokyo on Aug. 22.

He also gave credit to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for having their back since the start, providing what they needed as the athletes vied for spots in this year’s Paralympics.

“PSC has been magnificent in supporting the athletes. It has been providing provisions for their bubble training and making it possible for our athletes to compete in qualifying events,” Mr. Diaz said.

Recently, the PSC gave an additional P100,000 allowance for the para-athletes competing in Tokyo, hiking the total to P150,000 each.

Filipino para-athletes also stand to receive cash incentives if they win a medal, something Mr. Diaz said only serves as added motivation for them.

“Apart from representing the country there, the possibility of being able to change their lives if they win a medal is something at the back of their mind. Of course, they know it is output-based. They have to win first. But at least, it is there for them,” the sports official said.

Under Republic Act 10699, or the incentives act, a Paralympic gold medalist will receive P5 million from the government while a silver medalist will get P2.5 million. The bronze medalist will be rewarded with P1 million.

The Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) Sports Foundation, meanwhile, has pledged to give the same amount as incentives.

Mr. Diaz said that while the athletes are ready to compete, they recognize that it would not be easy since they are going up against fellow world-class para-athletes. But they remain determined to do well “for the country, their families and God.”

“I am a believer that they can win.”

The athletes and coaches are part of a 20-man contingent for Team Philippines, which also includes Mr. Diaz and other officials like Philippine Paralympic Committee President Michael I. Barredo and PSC Commissioner Arnold G. Agustin.

Mr. Mangliwan is designated to carry the country’s colors in the opening ceremony while Mr. Gawilan will have the same responsibility in the closing.

Dream over for Afghan athletes trapped in Kabul

LONDON — Zakia Khudadadi would have been the first woman to represent Afghanistan at a Paralympic Games when they start in Tokyo this month, but her dream has been shattered amid the country’s turmoil.

The Afghanistan Paralympic Committee’s London-based Chef de Mission Arian Sadiqi told Reuters on Monday that the country’s two athletes would not be able to attend the Games that will commence on Aug. 24.

“Unfortunately, due to the current upheaval going on in Afghanistan, the team could not leave Kabul in time,” he said.

US forces have taken over air traffic control at Kabul airport, where five died on Monday in chaotic scenes with reports of firing in the air and a stampede.

Taliban insurgents have overrun major cities and now control most of Afghanistan. The hardline Islamist movement was ousted in 2001, but has made sweeping military gains in recent months as foreign forces, led by the United States, withdrew.

Sadiqi said he had been due to fly to Japan on Monday while the team — Khudadadi and track athlete Hossain Rasouli — had been scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on Aug. 17. Taekwondo athlete Khudadadi was profiled on the Paralympic website www.paralympic.org last week talking about her hopes for the Games.

“I was thrilled after I received the news that I have got a wild card to compete at the Games,” said the 23-year-old from Herat.

“This is the first time that a female athlete will be representing Afghanistan at the Games and I’m so happy,” she had said then.

Sadiqi said the athletes had been trying to secure flights, but prices soared as the Taliban took over a string of cities.

Then it became impossible.

“They were really excited prior to the situation. They were training wherever they could, in the parks and back gardens,” he said.

Afghan athletes first competed at the 1996 Paralympic Games but have never won a medal.

Rohullah Nikpai became Afghanistan’s first Olympic medalist in any sport when he won bronze in taekwondo at the 2008 Beijing Games, repeating the feat at London 2012.

Sadiqi said the future for Afghan athletes looked bleak, if the past was anything to go by.

“There was a lot of progress, both in the Olympics and the Paralympics,” he said of recent decades. “At the national level, there was a lot of participants, a lot of athletes… but we can only predict from what happened in the past.”

“Previously during the Taliban era, people couldn’t compete, couldn’t participate, especially female athletes.

“For me, it’s heartbreaking,” he said. “This would have been the first female Afghan taekwondo player to take part. This was history in the making. She was excited to take part. She was very passionate to compete.”

“Zakia would have been a great role model for the rest of the females in the country.” — Reuters

Tearful Naomi Osaka briefly leaves press conference

NAOMI Osaka briefly left a press conference in Cincinnati on Monday after she appeared to get upset with a line of questioning about her relationship with the media, leading her agent to describe a reporter as a “bully.” — NAOMI OSAKA FB PAGE

NAOMI Osaka briefly left a press conference in Cincinnati on Monday after she appeared to get upset with a line of questioning about her relationship with the media, leading her agent to describe a reporter as a “bully.”

Osaka withdrew from the French Open earlier this year after being punished for refusing to do media conferences, saying her mental health was adversely impacted by certain lines of questioning.

On Monday, a reporter from a Cincinnati newspaper asked the 23-year-old: “You’re not crazy about dealing with us, especially in this format. Yet you have a lot of outside interests that are served by having a media platform. How do you balance the two?”

Osaka twice asked the reporter to clarify his question and turned down an offer from the moderator to “move on to the next question” before giving a full reply.

“Ever since I was younger, I have had a lot of media interest on me, and I think it’s because of my background as well,” said Osaka, who is of Japanese-Haitian heritage but grew up mainly in the United States.

“I can’t really help that there are some things that I tweet or some things that I say that kind of create a lot of news articles or things like that… but I would also say I’m not really sure how to balance the two. Like, I’m figuring it out at the same time as you are, I would say.”

When another reporter began to ask about her preparations for the summer hard-court season and her pledge to donate her prize money from this week’s Western & Southern Open to Haitian earthquake relief efforts, Osaka appeared to wipe away tears.

The moderator called for a pause to the proceedings and Osaka left the room for a few minutes but returned to complete the news conference.

Osaka’s French Open withdrawal not only led to her revealing that she has struggled to cope with depression for a number of years, but it also prompted her to pull out from Roland Garros and Wimbledon for the sake of her mental well-being.

After losing early at the Tokyo Games, where she was given the honor of lighting the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony, she said she struggled to cope with the huge pressure and expectation placed on her.

Osaka’s agent, Stuart Duguid, condemned the reporter’s line of questioning on Monday in a statement provided to Reuters.

“The bully at the Cincinnati Enquirer is the epitome of why player/media relations are so fraught right now,” said Duguid. “Everyone on that Zoom will agree that his tone was all wrong and his sole purpose was to intimidate. Really appalling behavior.

“And this insinuation that Naomi owes her off-court success to the media is a myth — don’t be so self-indulgent.”

The reporter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Osaka has used her platform to call attention to mental health issues and she said at the news conference she felt supported by her fellow athletes.

“The biggest eye-opener was going to the Olympics and having other athletes come up to me and say they were really glad that I did what I did,” she added.

“I’m proud of what I did and I think that it was something that needed to be done.” — Reuters

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