Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 6586

When ballet goes virtual

Ballet Philippines opens 52nd season online

BECAUSE of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Ballet Philippines’ 51st season was met with the unexpected shift to showcasing and teaching ballet online last year. It was, by all accounts, a successful transition. The ballet company’s digital presence continues this year with the closing of the company’s 51st season and the opening of the 52nd. 

“Around this time last year, we had one goal and that was to survive and keep ballet alive,” Ballet Philippines (BP) President and CEO Kathleen Liechtenstein said at the new season’s online press launch on May 25, held via Zoom. 

At the onset of the lockdown, the BP’s Board of Trustees stepped in and introduced a virtual stage that is called BP OnStream (https://ballet.ph/).

“Since then, we’ve have turned [it] into a whole testament of the Filipino resilience as artists,” Ms. Liechtenstein said.

This digital platform has provided 52 masterclasses given by international ballet professionals with 1,617 masterclass attendees; 365 company classes were conducted with 6,847 company class attendees. The platform also showcased 31 original video productions.

BP has also utilized the digital platform for younger students and teachers with the mini-series called K12 Kalusugan focusing on exercise, and Batang BP with educational and entertainment materials. 

Ms. Liechtenstein officially turned over the 51st Season with the announcement of the last two productions of the season: Dystopian Body and Diyosa which are available to view at the BP website (https://ballet.ph/our-video-creations/). 

Dystopian Body is a performance that is concerned with a place where the body evolved despite an environment where conditions do not provide the most basic needs. Meanwhile, Diyosa is set in a time when Filipino gods, goddesses, and humans lived together in harmony. However, this harmonious relationship is destroyed due to the humans’ greed and selfishness.

EDUCATION IN THE 52ND SEASON
The 52nd season will provide more training for the dancers through company classes and free masterclasses conducted by international ballet professionals. Aside from dance, there will be classes on acting and expression.

“The new season promises to be interesting. We are waiting for new meetings online, master classes, and lectures. We [will] add professional master classes on the skill of the actor on the system of [Konstantin] Stanislavsky, a man who invented the first dramatic theater in Russia. This system is used all over the world. There will be classes on the development of plastic expressiveness, as well as lectures from the Academy of Vaganova,” BP’s Artistic Director, Mikhail Martynyuk said of his plans for the 52nd season.

“I am confident that in the 52nd season we will have many dance projects that will be created online,” he said.

“The pandemic has allowed us to focus on classes. This leads to improvements in the dancer’s technique so that the company will be ready to take on new challenging choreography. We want to give our dancers pieces of choreography that are usually reserved for larger companies,” guest artist and choreographer Joseph Phillips said in a video. “I can see the dancers breaking their limits and doing things that they may not have thought possible.”

In June, the ballet company is launching BP Dance School schoolyear 2021-2022 where dance will continue to be taught online. There will be courses for beginners to advanced levels, and children and adults.

Classes for children include Kinder Dance (for ages four to five) and Pre-ballet (for ages six to eight).   

“In these years, the focus is developing the child’s love for dancing, music, and theater; learning the body awareness and discipline; and gently preparing the body for technique training the future,” said Rhea Bautista, Director of the BP Dance School at the same press launch. 

Classical Ballet classes at Levels 1, 2, and 3 (for ages eight to nine) teach the foundations and rudiments of ballet technique. Pre-professional Levels at Intermediate and Advance are where “students undergo rigorous and nurturing program to master their technique and artistry.”

Meanwhile, Adult Ballet is also offered for men and women (ages 15 and over), which are for those “who want to exercise or fulfill an old dream.”

Despite the lack of physical presence, Ms. Bautista said that teaching ballet online has been effective over the past year.

“While there are limits to teaching dance online, we have discovered that this strange setup where we cannot physically guide students… actually helps us focus on things that truly matter,” Ms. Bautista said, adding that students increased their understanding of their body, and technique.

“But most importantly, as a teacher, online teaching has made us better teachers,” she said. 

For more information about BP OnStream’s 52nd Season, connect to Ballet Philippines online through Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/balletphilippines), Instagram (@balletphilippines), YouTube (balletph) and the website http://www.ballet.ph. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Allianz PNB Life pushes health plan 

A recent study published by Allianz PNB Life said that only 22% of Filipinos can say they are fully prepared for a medical emergency like cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, and dengue.  

“In the Philippines, the protection gap remains at trillions of pesos. A single crisis like cancer could instantly cost a family no less than Php 300,000 and lead to eventual financial ruin, which shouldn’t be the case when flexible and viable coverage plans are widely available,” said Alex Grenz, Allianz PNB Life chief executive officer. “Inadequate coverage remains a common problem that only worsens in the time of COVID-19.” 

Allianz PNB Life offers Allianz Well!, a health plan that covers vaccination and treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and P100 million for in-patient hospitalization, one of the highest limit-plans in the market today. There’s also eAZy Health, an affordable and renewable option that offers life, accident, and disability benefits along with more comprehensive coverage for critical illnesses, including cancer.  For more information, visit allianzpnblife.ph.

Next big move in India yields will be higher

INDIA’S sovereign bond yields are likely to head sideways in coming months before starting to spike higher toward yearend, according to a 25-year bond-market veteran.

Signs of quicker inflation and concern the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will pull back on policy support should eventually put yields on a rising path, said Radhavi Deshpande, chief investment officer at Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co. in Mumbai. Consumer prices will start to rise as the virus wave subsides, and that will also convince policy makers to ease back on stimulus, she said.

“We expect the benchmark 10-year yield to head toward 6.50% as inflation worries and policy normalization concerns begin to resurface along with reducing support from the RBI as we approach the year end,” she said in an interview. Yields may stretch toward the high, last seen in April 2020, by March, she added.

The first steps toward policy normalization at the RBI can be expected in December with policy makers likely to raise the reverse repo rate and start draining liquidity through variable reverse repos of different tenors, Deshpande said. The benchmark yield was at 6% on Monday.

India’s move toward higher bond yields and interest rates will be another milestone in the recovery of global financial markets from the ravages of the coronavirus. Progress toward normalization in the South Asian nation has seen a massive setback in recent months as the nation suffered one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the pandemic.

While there have been signs in recent weeks that the current virus wave is easing, inflation is likely to stay in a range of 4% to 6% over the next nine-to-12 months, said Ms. Deshpande, who was previously head of proprietary trading at Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. Still, demand should start to recover as the number of cases falls and that will help stoke inflationary pressures, she said.

DEBT PURCHASES
Inflation data in recent months have been mixed. The consumer price index fell to 4.3% in April, the second-lowest level in more than a year, driven down by cooling food and beverage prices. In contrast, wholesale-price inflation jumped to the fastest pace in more than a decade in the same month amid climbing commodity prices and a low base from a year earlier.

Concern about potential inflationary pressure has made the RBI unwilling to cut interest rates further. The central bank has instead chosen to pump extra liquidity into the financial system and buy bonds to cap yields. The central bank has said it will purchase 1 trillion rupees ($13.8 billion) of debt this quarter in addition to its existing Operation Twist programs and open-market debt purchases.

The RBI will need to step in with about 4 trillion rupees of bond purchases in total to meet the demand-supply imbalance in government bonds, she said. At some point though, it will have to wind back its emergency pandemic measures, paving the way for yields to rise.

“Once economic growth and hence credit picks up pace we should see a natural shift in demand away from sovereigns,” which will help push yields higher, Ms. Deshpande said. — Bloomberg

Fruitas incurs P16-M loss in ‘trying times’

FRUITAS HOLDINGS, Inc. recorded a P16-million net loss in the first quarter on the back of lower revenues, reversing its P15-million income a year ago, it said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Its total revenues for the period went down by 30% to P261 million from P374 million in the same period in 2020.

“Sales contribution from additional community stores in the first quarter compensated for continued softness in the sales from kiosks in certain parts of the country,” the company said.

The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) during the quarter dropped 73% to P15 million from P54 million previously.

As of March, Fruitas said the operational stores in its network numbered 810 before the reimplementation of stricter quarantine measures during the tailend of the quarter.

The company added that its network also includes community stores, which increased to 52 as of end-May from the 41 logged as of end-March.

“With the recently announced acquisition of certain assets of Balai Pandesal, Fruitas is targeting to have 120 stores in local communities, comprising 100 community stores carrying the Soy & Bean or Babot’s Farm brand and 20 Balai Pandesal bakeshops, by the end of 2021,” the company said.

On May 27, Fruitas announced that it was set to acquire the trademark, recipes, and some equipment and inventory of Balai Pandesal. The company aims to put up 100 Balai Pandesal stores in the near term as part of its plan to accelerate expansion into the bakery sector.

“In these trying times, we believe it is important to continue to invest in our future. As the economy reopens, we want to be well-positioned to take advantage of renewed consumer interest and we believe our efforts to grow and diversify our business will pay off,” Fruitas President and Chief Executive Officer Lester C. Yu said.

On Tuesday, shares of Fruitas at the stock exchange improved 0.69% or one centavo to end at P1.45 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Ronald Ventura painting sold for HK$19M at Christie’s

Ronald Ventura’s acrylic and oil painting Party Animal (2017) — WWW.CHRISTIES.COM

FILIPINO painter Ronald Ventura’s acrylic and oil painting Party Animal (2017) sold for HK$19,450,000 (P120,442,529) at Christie’s 20th and 21st Century Art Evening Sale on May 24. This was far above the work’s pre-sale estimate of between HK$800,000 to HK$1,200,000.

Party Animals, which features images of a clothed elk, two wolves, and a bear, along with two cartoon demons having a celebration outdoors — was exhibited in 2017 at the Tyler Rollins Fine Arts gallery in New York as part of Mr. Ventura’s Wild State of Mind solo exhibition. 

According to the Tyler Rollins Fine Arts Gallery’s description of the exhibition where Party Animal was showcased, Mr. Ventura took inspiration from “contemporary social practices and culture, placing his hybrid creatures in scenes of merrymaking, parading, brawling, or playing sports — contexts that elicit extreme emotions but are very much part of our lived realities today.”

Mr. Ventura has had many accolades in his career. A student of fine arts at the University of Santo Tomas, in 1990, he won first prize at the Shell National Students Art Competition. He was one of the recipients at the 13 Artists Award in 2003, and was an Ateneo Art Award winner in 2005. Mr. Ventura was a participating artist in the Prague Biennale and the Nanjing Biennial in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Mr. Ventura’s first auctioned artwork was his graphite, oil, and acrylic Grayground Painting which sold for $1.1 million at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings Auction in Hong Kong in 2011. The Wonderful Bait oil on canvas piece was sold for HK$7,840,000 at Christie’s Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Sale in Hong Kong in 2014. — MAPS

Staff shortages and inexperience could hinder digital transformation, says survey 

Image via Philips

Healthcare leaders in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region expect that, three years from now, around a quarter (25%) of routine care delivery will take place outside the walls of a hospital or healthcare facility, up from 22% today, according to a report by Royal Philips. 

“APAC’s healthcare systems have all shown resilience in their responses to the pandemic, however, when it comes to confidence about the future, we’re seeing a mixed picture — with Singapore pulling ahead of other countries across Asia,” said Caroline Clarke, market leader and executive vice-president of Philips ASEAN Pacific. “While crisis response will continue to be a priority for many healthcare leaders in the months ahead, it is important that they look to the future too, to ensure that they don’t fall behind in technology upgrades and progress towards healthcare digitization.”  

Now in its sixth year, the Future Health Index 2021 report is based on proprietary research across 14 countries, representing the largest global survey of its kind to analyze the current and future priorities of healthcare leaders. APAC countries surveyed for this report are Australia, China, India, Singapore. 

Prioritization of virtual care is patchy across the region. Healthcare leaders in India are among the most likely of all countries surveyed to currently prioritize a shift to remote/virtual care (75%) — well ahead of the average healthcare leader response across the 14 countries surveyed (42%). However, countries in the rest of region are lagging behind with only around four in ten in Singapore (40%), around one in three in China (32%) and about one in four in Australia (27%) making it a current priority. 

The fall-out of dealing with COVID-19 could be what is distracting APAC’s healthcare leaders from making remote/virtual care a greater focus, with more than half (60%) saying that preparing to respond to crises is their primary priority right now and 58% citing the pandemic as the main external factor that is impeding their ability to plan for the future.   

Findings also indicate that APAC’s healthcare leaders are championing predictive analytics, but staff’s lack of experience with new technologies is impeding planning. 

“The pandemic has confirmed the viability of remote care but dealing with the current crisis could be preventing many of APAC’s healthcare leaders from prioritizing this as much as they otherwise would. Likewise, staff inexperience and skill shortages risk hindering further digitization in the region if not urgently addressed. It is vital that APAC’s healthcare leaders invest in the right training to move beyond purely administrative applications of these game-changing technologies to unlock their full potential in the future,” said Ms. Clarke. 

RBA holds rates at record lows despite improved economic output

REUTERS

AUSTRALIA’S CENTRAL BANK left its cash rate at record lows on Tuesday and reiterated its lower-for-longer policy stance even as data showed the country’s economic output was above its pre-pandemic level and house prices were shooting through the roof.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left its policy settings at 0.1% for a sixth straight meeting, awaiting inflation and wage pressures, in a decision that was widely expected by economists in a Reuters poll.

The local dollar stumbled to $0.7740 from a one-week high of $0.7769 reached earlier in the day as the RBA wrong-footed some market participants who were expecting a hawkish tilt in the central bank’s statement, in line with its New Zealand counterpart.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) last week hinted at the end to a pandemic-era, ultra-loose monetary policy, leading some to believe the RBA would venture on that path too.

Governor Philip Lowe instead justified the need for near-zero rates despite a strong economic recovery by saying “inflation and wage pressures are subdued” and a pick-up in prices is expected to be only “gradual and modest.”

“An important ongoing source of uncertainty is the possibility of significant outbreaks of the virus,” Mr. Lowe added.

Australia’s second-most populous state of Victoria plunged into a lockdown last week after the state reported its first locally transmitted coronavirus cases in nearly three months.

The RBA also repeated it will not raise interest rates until inflation was “sustainably” within its 2-3% target band. Under its central scenario, underlying inflation is seen below the midpoint of that range through mid-2023.

The comments come even as recent economic data has pointed to a surge in activity.

A slew of strong figures earlier in the day prompted analysts to sharply upgrade their forecasts for Australia’s first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth to a rapid 1.6% from 1% before the data was released.

Separate figures showed Australia’s home value index jumped 10.6% in May from a year ago to clock its strongest annual growth rate in almost 11 years.

First-quarter GDP data is due at 0030 GMT on Wednesday.

“Given the speed of the recovery we think there is a good chance that the RBA’s objectives for a rate hike will be achieved before the ‘2024 at the earliest’ that it refers to and so are allowing for a first rate hike in late 2023,” said AMP Chief Economist Shane Oliver.

“But that’s still a long way off. Key to watch will be unemployment heading to 4% and wages growth heading above 3%.”

The unemployment rate is at 5.5% currently while wage growth is crawling at an anaemic 1.5% pace.

Economists said the July board meeting, where the RBA would review its unconventional policy settings, will be crucial.

They expect the RBA will decide not to extend its three-year target of 0.1% beyond the April 2024 government bond. A third round of quantitative easing (QE) is widely expected, however, albeit in a smaller size than the A$100 billion seen in each of the first two rounds.

“We can see merit in some modest tapering given the strength and broadening of the recovery,” RBC economist Su-Lin Ong said, expecting a third QE of A$75-A$100 billion. — Reuters

Premiere Horizon posts 55% profit jump in 2020, incurs loss in Q1

PREMIERE Horizon Alliance Corp. posted a 55% income growth to P110.04 million in 2020 from P71.2 million in the previous year as its revenues grew.

In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the company reported that revenues for the year amounted to P722.54 million, 71% higher than its 2019 topline of P423.66 million.

Premiere Horizon said 2020 was its “turnaround year.”

The business group of Marvin dela Cruz, who also owns the majority of SquidPay Technology, Inc., bought 55% ownership of the company for P925 million. A P300-million cash payment has been settled, while the balance of P625 million will be paid in cash or SquidPay shares.

Premiere Horizon said it also received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for the increase in its authorized capital stock to P1.5 billion, composed of 6 billion common shares priced at 25 centavos each, from P563.56 million with 2.25 billion common shares priced at 25 centavos apiece.

The capital increase allows the company to proceed with its fold-in with SquidPay, which is set to be completed by the third quarter.

“Common shares are now available for the debt-to-equity conversion of the convertible note holders which will consequently retire a minimum of P354 million of liabilities equivalent to more than 21% of the liabilities of the parent company,” Premiere Horizon said in a separate disclosure.

The increase in authorized capital stock will allow a planned stock rights offer for all existing shareholders, it added.

Meanwhile, the company incurred a P12.39 million loss in the January-to-March period this year, 69% lower than the P39.41-million loss in the same period in 2020.

Premiere Horizon said the loss was due to several lockdowns imposed, resulting in the delay of the launch of some of its projects. The company said it expects its performance to improve by the second half of the year.

Its topline for the quarter, however, saw a 69% growth to P102.84 million from P60.95 million.

Premiere Horizon reported that the mining activities of subsidiary Premiere Georesources and Development, Inc. are scheduled to resume in the second quarter, the start of the mining season.

Goshen Land Capital, Inc., the company’s real estate firm based in north Luzon, will also be launching a vertical project in Baguio City.

Meanwhile, its tourism business West Palawan Premiere will open a beachside residential project in Puerto Princesa City.

On Tuesday, shares of Premiere Horizon went down by 1.61% or three centavos to close at P1.83 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Customer complaints surge during pandemic, Globe says

GLOBE Telecom, Inc. has seen a spike in complaints amid the surge in demand for internet services during the coronavirus pandemic, a company official said.

“Definitely, compared to pre-pandemic, there was a surge in complaints because there were heightened expectations from customers,” Globe Vice-President and Head of Broadband Business Darius Jose Delgado said at an online briefing on Tuesday.

“They cannot live without the Internet a single moment, a single second, or a single day. That’s expected, and I think it happened across the industry. But now we are better in managing them because we have reinforced our channels,” he added.

The company has “reinforced” its Globe at Home app to take care of the complaints. “We have also improved our technician resourcing, so we have increased like 80%,” Mr. Delgado noted.

During the pandemic, home internet became the lifeblood of every household, according to Globe.

Globe’s home WiFi prepaid product registered 3.6x growth in total data traffic as of end-March versus the previous year from 58 petabytes to 211 petabytes.

“We heavily distributed and made available our home prepaid WiFi [product] across all of our channels. It’s a do-it-yourself… product, and we made sure we had enough stocks to address the surge in demand,” Mr. Delgado said.

“At only P999, a household belonging to the lower socioeconomic class can now have an internet access,” he added. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Apex Mining income hits P279M on better metal prices

APEX MINING Co. Inc. saw a 133.3% increase in its attributable net income to P278.81 million for the first quarter on the back of better revenues and metal prices.

The listed mining company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that its consolidated revenues for the January-to-March period rose 30.3% to P1.55 billion from P1.19 billion last year.

Gold revenues increased 29.5% to P1.45 billion after the sale of 17,051 ounces of gold during the period.

Silver revenues also climbed 56.7% to P103.02 million, with 85,681 ounces of silver sold for the quarter.   

According to Apex Mining, the milling throughput of its Maco Mine in Davao De Oro for the quarter fell 0.8% to 157,552 tons against 158,834 tons last year.

“While tonnage milled was slightly lower this quarter, a higher recovery rate was achieved at 87.06% from 86.84% a year ago,” the company said in the regulatory filing.

It added that the average ore grade in Maco Mine during the quarter reached 3.14 grams of gold per ton, a 3.3% improvement from the 3.04 grams per ton last year.

The company’s gold sales reached 15,878 ounces, a 14.1% increase, against 13,916 ounces sold in 2020.   

Meanwhile, Apex Mining’s Sangilo mine in Itogon, Benguet posted a milling throughput of 11,898 tons with a gold recovery rate of 90.74%. The mine’s gold sales reached 1,173 ounces during the period.

“Partly cushioning the negative effect in revenue of the lower metal outputs were the stronger metal prices which averaged $1,752 per ounce for gold and $25 per ounce for silver, as compared to $1,585 and $17, respectively, in 2020,” the company said.

Apex Mining’s cost of production during the quarter increased 21.8% to P1.06 billion from P871.68 million last year.

“There are no know trends, events or uncertainties that would have any material impact on liquidity and revenues of the company except for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,” the company said.

On Tuesday, shares of Apex Mining at the stock exchange dropped 1.16% or two centavos to finish at P1.70 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Arts & Culture (06/02/21)

WWW.DISCOVERHONGKONG.COM

Arts in Hong Kong

THE HONG Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has rolled out the Arts in Hong Kong campaign to promote a series of major events, in both physical and digital format, organized by fair organizers and cultural institutions around town. It ensures that audiences can reconnect with art and the vitality of Hong Kong, whether in person or abroad. The HKTB created a dedicated campaign website, (www.discoverhongkong.com/Arts), which is a one-stop platform providing essential information about Arts in Hong Kong and introducing online showcases, art itineraries, an event calendar, artsy offers, interviews with art insiders, and more. In the online showcases, curated virtual experiences, provided by both international fairs and local events, are at the fingertips of viewers regardless of where they are located. It also features an interactive microfilm presented by two local celebrities — multidisciplinary artist Ivana Wong and director Kearen Pang — at some of the city’s attractions, including Tai Kwun, The Mills, and the West Kowloon Cultural District. There is the annual French May (May 1 to June 30), a multicultural feast of more than 100 mostly in-person events spanning art, design, opera, classical, pop concerts, dance, and movies (www.frenchmay.com/en/home/). Meanwhile, the Yim Tin Tsai Arts Festival 2021 is an opportunity to get a glimpse into this unique village with its Roman Catholic and Hakka background. The third edition (which runs until July 16) features 31 art pieces, including 14 new works, available on-site and online (www.yimtintsaiartsfestival.hk/index.php?lang=en). The Hong Kong Arts Festival’s PLUS program is embracing the digital format this year to connect with audiences both on and offstage. Available throughout June is a hybrid line-up of online and in-venue programs, in addition to an interactive online exhibition, and series of online documentaries and cinema screenings (https://www.hk.artsfestival.org/en/programmes/index-plus.html#All).

CCP façade lights up with Philippine flag colors   

THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP) lights up its Main Building façade in honor of the Philippine flag until June 13. The façade lighting is a collaborative effort between Danilo Villanueva and Luis Alcoran, with Gobo makers Mark Macapulay and Shantie De Roca, working with theater crew members Kevin Orag, Richard Galvero, Jomar Lauta, Junelyn Maureal, Allan Jay Fami, Donato Alforja, Lucio Tapiru, Norman Aguirre, and Timothy John Calma. In accordance with R.A. 8491 (Section 26), May 28 to June 12 marks the official celebration of Flag Day, culminating in the celebration of Independence Day. The façade is lit  from 7 to 10 p.m. daily, except Mondays.

Cinemalaya Institute conducts filmmaking workshop

AFTER a year-long hiatus brought by the pandemic, the Cinemalaya Institute, returns this year to pursue its commitment to provide education, training, and accreditation of film practitioners in key aspects of film production. Established in 2015, the Institute has trained new and upcoming Filipino filmmakers to ensure the growth and sustainability of Cinemalaya as the leading independent film festival in Asia. The training arm of the Cinemalaya Foundation, Inc. (CFI), the Institute plans to open selected courses following the limiting protocols imposed by the national government. The online training programs are Scriptwriting for Film by veteran playwright Ricky Lee (June 9 to Aug. 4); Master Workshop on Continuing Narratives for Broadcast and Web-based Platforms by Jose Javier Reyes (Aug. 14 to Oct. 29); Production Management by John Paul Su (July 15 to Aug. 13); and an Assistant Director’s Workshop for Film and Television by Jay Abello (Sept. 1 to 29). Interested individuals may submit their application at cinemalayainstitute@gmail.com. Download the application form/s through these links: http://bit.ly/CinemalayaProdManagement and http://bit.ly/CinemalayaAssistantDirector.

Instituto Cervantes celebrates filmmaker García Berlanga 

TO CELEBRATE the birth centenary of Spanish filmmaker Luis García Berlanga (1921-2010), Instituto Cervantes this June presents the online film series “Berlanga Turns 100.” The films will be shown through the Instituto Cervantes channel on the Vimeo platform (vimeo.com/institutocervantes) and will be freely accessible for 48 hours from their start date and time. The series kicks off June 5, with the screening of the comedy Esa pareja feliz (1951) about a young couple fighting to improve their economic and social status. It will be available anytime for 48 hours on Saturday and Sunday, for free through https://vimeo.com/548754354.  It is in Spanish with English subtitles.

#DamaKoLahiKo campaign kicks off

THIS June 12 marks the 123rd Independence Day of the Philippines. The Dama Ko, Lahi Ko campaign is a private sector-initiated campaign by the Filipino Culture Collective, a group of creative professionals and social entrepreneurs which aims to celebrate Filipino culture through supporting local products. The collective has prepared a website (damakolahiko.com) for free downloads of Dama Ko, Lahi Ko logos, patterns, and graphics. All these are free to use and remix. A sticker set is also available for download on Viber, Telegram, and GIPHY (search “dama ko lahi ko”). Share photos, videos, music, anything that showcases Filipino culture through the five senses. Tag @damakolahiko and #damakolahiko across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok.

Learn about Korean culture

WHILE the pandemic has changed the times and the way students learn and take their classes, the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines has education-themed activities for the month of June. Kicking off KCC’s June events is ChikaHansik: Kimchi Edition, a digital talk and cooking series featuring Korea’s kimchi. It will come out on all Fridays of June at 5 p.m. via KCC’s YouTube channel. In this month’s episode of Along with K-Culture: Meet the K-Stans in the Philippines, there will be a discussion on the growing popularity of the Korean language, on June 10 on KCC’s YouTube Channel. There will be a one-day webinar on K-Drama scriptwriting on June 30 on KCC’s YouTube Channel. KCC will be launching KCC Throwback Photo & Essay Contest as a prelude to KCC’s 10th birthday this July. Prizes including P5,000 cash, a KCC gift bag, and a feature on KCC’s SNS pages await the 10 winners. For more information on these and other programs, follow Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KoreanCulturalCenterPH/ and @kccphil on Instagram and Twitter.

Fr. Tito Caluag releases prayer guide

FATHER Tito Caluag has launched his latest book, Only Your Grace, a personal guide to having a more intimate relationship with the Lord through prayers, reflection, action, and rhythm. The first a planned three-set volume on prayers and reflection exercises, Only Your Grace was inspired by The Spiritual Exercises (SPEX) of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Its 26-week prayer, reflection, and journaling activities aim to guide readers in discovering their own “style of prayer.”  Fr. Caluag’s previous book was the prayer and devotional book Give Thanks and Praise, which received a special citation at the 42nd Catholic Mass Media Awards’ Best Special Feature category. The book can still be purchased via Lazada and Shopee for  P225, while its e-book version can be availed in Amazon, Kobo, Scribd, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Copies of Only Your Grace can be ordered via myprayerchannel@gmail.com,  via Viber (0945-352-8731), and on Shoppee and Lazada starting June 2. The Only Your Grace Kindle e-book version is also now available on Amazon.

Hagonoy Art Group Artists at Robinsons Galleria

NINETEEN Filipino artists from the Hagonoy Art Group gathered together this June for an art exhibition at ARTablado, located at the 3rd floor of Robinsons Galleria. The exhibit entitled Hango features pieces that unites the work of Hagonoy, Bulacan’s culturally diverse contemporary artists. Over 30 art pieces will be sold until June 15. The group is composed of Kevin Atienza, Nilo Badajos, Osie Bautista, Jade Alfonso Cabauatan, Carlos Noriel Colonel, Fil Delacruz, Janos Delacruz, Jojo Dela Cruz, Len-Len, CJ Lopez, Pilo Medina, Roxan Musni, Mario Nolasco, Al Perez, Mar Perez, Gody Reyes, Marc Salamat, Jun Sta. Cruz, and Gliff Victor. For more updates, visit ARTablado on Facebook and @artablado on Instagram.

CCP holds National Rondalla workshop

THE ARTIST Training Division of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is holding the sixth National Rondalla Workshop 2021 on July 27 to 31. This year’s National Rondalla Workshop will be held online for the first time via Zoom. The Workshop is open to rondalla groups nationwide who have been in existence for at least two years and are non-beginners. Rondalla Ensembles who have all the rondalla instruments including the banduria, octavina/laud, guitar, and bass may apply for the workshop. The workshop trainers will be led by Prof. Elaine Juliet Espejo of the Celso Espejo Rondalla and the UP Rondalla, and faculty member of the UP College of Music. The workshop will culminate in an online recorded performance that will be streamed via the CCP Facebook page on Aug. 21. The workshop fee is P2,000 per participant (inclusive of online materials and newly arranged rondalla pieces). Due to limited slots available, a maximum of 16 participant slots (15 students and one conductor) per group can be accommodated. Interested applicants must submit the following: an accomplished application form (http://bit.ly/CCPRondalla2021App); and an audio/video recording of a recent performance of at least two pieces by the group. Applications must be sent via e-mail to artist.training@culturalcenter.gov.ph on or before June 15. Acceptance to the workshop will be based on the merit of the application. Upon notice of acceptance, each rondalla group must pay a reservation fee of P5,000 that will be deducted from the full amount of the registration fee. The full amount must be paid on or before July 16. For more information, contact the CCP Artist Training Division by e-mail at artist.training@culturalcenter.gov.ph.

Advancing COVID-19 vaccine equity

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

The massive effort to develop and manufacture coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines is succeeding. A number of vaccines have been given Emergency Use Approval by the World Health Organization (WHO) and more are undergoing clinical trials.

Following more than 200 clinical trials and nearly 300 partnerships and collaborations among manufacturers worldwide, COVID-19 vaccine production has increased in just a few months from zero to 2.2 billion doses in May. By the end of the year, the estimate is that 11 billion vaccine doses would be produced to protect people from the pandemic.

As of this time, however, COVID-19 vaccines are not equally reaching all priority populations worldwide. With this, collaborations among manufacturers, governments. and non-government organizations must center on addressing this inequity to help protect vulnerable populations including frontliners and the elderly, among others.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), which represents research-based pharmaceutical companies and associations across the globe, is among the stakeholders that are taking steps to urgently advance COVID-19 vaccine equity. The Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) is a member of the IFPMA which recently put forward “Five steps to urgently advance COVID-19 vaccine equity.” Critical among these steps are responsible dose sharing and maximizing production without compromising quality or safety.

First, vaccine manufacturers and biotech companies must commit to immediately work with governments that have significant domestic supplies of COVID-19 vaccine doses to share a meaningful proportion of their doses with low- and lower-middle-income countries. The dose sharing must be both responsible and timely through COVAX or other efficient established mechanisms.

COVAX, a global pooled procurement mechanism for COVID-19 vaccines, is co-led by the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the WHO. The goal of COVAX is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access of the vaccine doses. It commits to providing doses for at least 20% of countries’ populations, manage a portfolio of vaccines, and deliver them as soon as possible.

As of May 27, COVAX has delivered about 70 million doses of vaccines to 126 countries. It is, on the other hand, projecting a shortfall of 190 million doses in June due to the surge of cases in India and its impact on COVAX supply.

In a joint statement by WHO, GAVI, CEPI and UNICEF, proponents are calling for further funding and sharing of doses immediately. They said that at least one billion doses could be shared by wealthy countries in 2021.

“COVAX’s need for doses is greatest right now. Countries with higher coverage rates, which are due to receive doses soon should swap their places in supply queues with COVAX so that doses can be equitably distributed as quickly as possible,” the statement said.

The second urgent action to equity is to continue optimizing production. Vaccine manufacturers must commit to work with governments and individual suppliers of raw materials and components to determine how to quickly and safely facilitate scale up needed for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing.

The third action is to call for the immediate elimination of trade barriers. The IFPMA said that there is a need to eliminate all trade and regulatory barriers to export and to adopt policies that facilitate and expedite the cross-border supply of key raw materials, essential manufacturing materials, vaccines along with the prioritized movement of skilled workforce needed for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing.

Fourth, vaccine manufacturers and biotech companies must support country readiness and help governments deploy available COVID-19 vaccine doses within their shelf life — this, while mitigating the risks to the production and deployment of other vaccines.

Lastly, vaccine manufacturers and biotech companies have to drive further innovation and prioritize the development of new COVID-19 vaccines, including vaccines effective against variants of concern.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has three SARS-CoV-2 variant classifications, namely, variant of interest, variant of concern, and variant of high consequence.

A variant of interest has “specific genetic markers that have been associated with changes to receptor binding, reduced neutralization by antibodies generated against previous infection or vaccination, reduced efficacy of treatments,” and may have increase in transmissibility or disease severity.

A variant of concern, according to the CDC, is one “which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease, significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.”

A variant of high consequence, finally, has “clear evidence that prevention measures or medical countermeasures have significantly reduced effectiveness relative to previously circulating variants.”

PHAP fully supports the five steps to urgently advance COVID-19 vaccine equity. Only through the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to priority populations can we reach worldwide herd immunity and curb the rise of variants as quickly as possible. Indeed, “no one is safe until everyone is safe.”

 

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.   

1...6,5856,5866,587...12,826Page 6,586 of 12,826
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube