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Nonbanks’ domestic claims climb at end-June

BW FILE PHOTO

DOMESTIC CLAIMS of nonbank financial firms grew by 16.7% year on year as of June, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Thursday.

Based on the BSP’s Other Financial Corporations Survey (OFCS), domestic claims of nonbanks climbed to P10.746 trillion as of June from P9.212 trillion a year ago.

Quarter on quarter, claims inched up by 0.1% from P10.733 trillion at end-March.

“The quarter-on-quarter increase in the sector’s claims was mainly driven by its larger investment in equity shares issued by other nonfinancial corporations, higher holdings of government securities, and a rise in loans extended to households,” the BSP said in a statement.

“However, the growth in the sector’s domestic claims was slightly tempered by the decline in its holdings of bank-issued debt securities.”

The OFCS is an analytical survey that covers data on non-money market investment funds, other financial intermediaries, financial auxiliaries, captive financial institutions and money lenders, insurance corporations, and pension funds.

Bulk of nonbanks’ domestic claims during the quarter were claims on other sectors, followed by claims on depository corporations and the central government, BSP data showed.

Broken down, claims on other sectors grew by 9.5% to P4.934 trillion as of June from P4.507 trillion a year ago. This was also up by 1.9% from the P4.865 trillion seen at end-March.

Other sectors include the state and local government, public nonfinancial corporations, and the private sector.

Meanwhile, claims on depository corporations jumped by 28.9% year on year to P3.004 trillion from P2.331 trillion the previous year but declined by 3.3% from P3.107 trillion in the first quarter.

OFCs’ net claims on the central government also rose by 18.2% annually to P2.808 trillion at end-June from P2.375 trillion in 2024. Quarter on quarter, it edged up by 1.7% from P2.761 trillion.

On the other hand, nonbanks’ liabilities climbed by 18% year on year to P11.431 trillion from P9.689 trillion as of June by 0.6% from the P11.369 trillion recorded as of March.

The BSP said this was “primarily due to the increase in its issued shares of stocks and higher insurance technical reserves.”

OFCs’ net foreign assets surged by 43.5% to P685.376 billion as of June from P477.603 billion last year. It was also 7.9% higher than P635.265 billion in the prior quarter.

This came amid an increase in claims on nonresidents, which stood at P838.466 billion, rising by 32.1% from P634.499 billion a year prior.

Meanwhile, liabilities to nonresidents went down by 2.4% to P153.091 billion from P156.896 billion a year ago. — Katherine K. Chan

Philippine Merchandise Trade Performance (September 2025)

THE PHILIPPINES’ trade deficit in goods narrowed in September, as exports posted double-digit growth, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday.  Read the full story.

Philippine Merchandise Trade Performance (September 2025)

NPC: Probe finds no sufficient basis to conclude data breach within GCash platform

BW FILE PHOTO

THE NATIONAL Privacy Commission (NPC) said it has found no data breach in the system of G-Xchange, Inc., the operator of electronic wallet platform GCash, following its investigation into reports of user data being sold online.

In a statement on Thursday, the NPC said it found “no sufficient basis to conclude that a personal data breach occurred involving GCash.”

“Independent validation by the NPC’s Complaints and Investigation Division (NPC-CID) confirmed that the dataset circulating online was inconsistent with GCash’s verified data structures. Several of the listed accounts were found to be invalid or inactive, and no indicators of unauthorized access, infiltration, or data exfiltration were detected within GCash’s monitored environments,” the NPC said.

The NPC launched the probe earlier this week after reports circulated that GCash user data were being sold on the dark web. GCash has since denied the allegations, saying there has been “no breach, leak, or compromise” in its systems.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), through its Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), said its monitoring showed that the alleged data leak “did not originate from the company’s systems.”

The NPC said it will continue monitoring reports of threats to personal data and coordinate with relevant entities to ensure compliance with the Data Privacy Act (DPA) of 2012.

“The NPC also warns individuals and groups engaging in the unauthorized access, sale, or distribution of personal data that such acts constitute clear violations of the DPA and are punishable under the law,” it said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Robin Hood returns to screens with new gen ‘origin story’ series

Robin Hood (2025)
Robin Hood (2025)

LONDON — New TV series Robin Hood explores the legendary outlaw’s origins with a personal take and previously unseen historical authenticity, the show’s creators say.

The latest reimagining tells the tale of how Robin Hood came to be the medieval English folk hero who robbed the rich to feed the poor. Known simply as “Rob,” it sees the Saxon forester’s son and skilled archer transform into a rebel after experiencing devastating losses and injustices.

Australian newcomer Jack Patten follows in the footsteps of several Hollywood stars to portray the hero of Sherwood Forest. But while Mr. Patten found his first lead role somewhat daunting, the 28-year-old did not feel weighed down by previous interpretations — he had not seen any of them.

“It’s a weird thing, because I feel like a lot of people have heard of Robin Hood. I was one of those people. I’d heard of Robin Hood, but I’d never seen it,” Mr. Patten said at the show’s London premiere on Tuesday.

“Every generation deserves a Robin Hood, and the fact that we get to be this gen’s Robin Hood is pretty awesome,” he said.

The 10-episode first season is set in 12th century post-Norman invasion England and also centers on Rob’s love story with Marian (Lauren McQueen), the daughter of a Norman lord, who has taken over the ancestral home of Rob’s ousted Saxon family.

The series is brought to the screen by co-creators John Glenn and Jonathan English, who set out to offer a modern and more intimate depiction of the events and the time period.

“It was the idea of doing an origin story, which we’ve never really seen before, how Robin becomes an outlaw, what happens to him, what happens to his parents,” said Mr. English.

“It’s about the Norman conquest of England. It’s about class. We’ve never really seen a Robin Hood story that’s really about class, but it is. Robin, from the rich giving to the poor is in itself about class. So I think it’s very topical, very relevant today,” he said.

The show’s ensemble cast also features actors Sean Bean as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Connie Nielsen in the role of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Robin Hood starts streaming on MGM+ on Nov. 2. — Reuters

Forget gold. Aluminum is the real metal of the moment

STOCK PHOTO | Image from Freepik

By Javier Blas

IT LACKS the effervescence of copper and the geopolitical allure of rare earths — yet aluminum is the metal of the moment. Key to modern life and everywhere in the global economy, it’s entering a make-or-break phase: Either the world is sleepwalking into a supply crisis or further into the hands of China. Or, more worryingly, both.

The background is unsettling: Aluminum is trading at a three-year high, near $2,900 per metric ton. Although still far from the record, the current price is historically elevated, in the 5% top end of the 1990 to 2025 price range. Look at annual averages, and this year is heading to the fourth-highest ever.

With political leaders’ attention firmly on copper and the likes of germanium and rare earths, aluminum hardly attracts headlines. Still, it’s truly crucial for the global economy. Planes and iPhones, window frames and soda cans, electric cars and appliances all depend on it. One can hardly imagine any further electrification without the greyish metal. With an annual consumption value of nearly $300 billion, it’s the largest of all non-ferrous metals. Only steel, a ferrous metal, is more widely used.

Compared to other commodities, aluminum compounds such as bauxite are copious in the Earth’s crust. But producing the metal in its pure form used to be such so complex and expensive process that until a century ago it was considered a precious metal. Napoleon reserved aluminum cutlery for his most important guests. When the Washington Monument was completed in 1884 in the US capital, it was capped with a 100-ounce aluminum pyramid; at that time, the metal was more expensive than silver. Only two years later, a new refining system was invented, and aluminum became commonplace.

Still, there’s a catch. Producing aluminum is a massively energy intensive process, so much that the metal is often known as “solid electricity.” To produce a ton of aluminum, smelters require the same amount of electricity that five German homes would consume in a year.

Enter China. Thanks to its coal-fired power stations, the Asian giant has the cheap electricity needed to produce enormous amounts of aluminum. Thus, for the last 25 years, Beijing has single handedly supplied the world’s incremental demand for the metal, which now runs just above 100 million tons. Last year, China produced just over 43 million tons of primary aluminum, up from 6 million two and a half decades ago. But its expansion is ending. A few years ago, the Communist Party capped its domestic smelter production at 45 million tons, and in 2025 local output is bouncing against the ceiling for the first time. By next year, it will hit it. What comes next is key.

The setting has all the elements for a squeeze. First, demand remains robust, rising every year by about 2-3 million tons. Second, production — notably in Europe — is struggling due to expensive electricity. Despite high aluminum prices, smelters are shutting down in many countries as long-term cheap electricity contracts end. Third, global inventories are historically low. And fourth, with copper prices at an all-time high, there’s a clear incentive to substitute the red metal with aluminum wherever possible.

Unless incremental supply comes from somewhere or an economic crisis cuts consumption, something will have to give. The market is bitterly divided. The bulls see aluminum sleepwalking into structural shortage, with prices climbing toward a record high of $4,000 in a couple of years; the bears anticipate that Chinese companies would manage to produce more, and aluminum would ultimately trade lower.

The key is Indonesia, where top Chinese companies are now erecting the smelters they can’t build at home due to the cap. With plentiful coal, cheap labor, copious aluminum feedstock, and little regard for climate policies, Indonesia is now a construction site for the likes of Tsingshan Holding Group Co., China Hongqiao Group Ltd., and Shandong Nanshan Aluminum Co. It echoes a similar Chinese move in the nickel market a decade ago and that transformed Indonesia into a top producer.

If all the new smelters come into production, Indonesian output may rise fivefold by 2030, transforming the country into the world’s fourth-largest producer, behind only China, India, and Russia, and keeping the global market well supplied. On top, Chinese companies are also building aluminum smelters in Angola, using hydropower as their electricity source. But past performance in nickel does not guarantee future results in aluminum.

For one, the cost of building an aluminum smelter in Indonesia appears to be higher than in China, slowing down the expansion. And the Chinese companies aren’t bringing into Indonesia a technological advance that would change the metallurgy of aluminum in the same way they did for nickel. Indonesia clearly would become an important supplier — but it’s far from certain that alone it can replace the role that China has played since 2000 balancing the market.

For the bulls, the bigger risk is that Beijing caves and lifts the cap — or creates enough loopholes. For example, China could exclude smelters running on green electricity, including those using hydropower, from the ceiling. Or it can allow existing plants to run harder, pushing up electricity flows without physically expanding the production lines.
The world faces a binary outcome: Either higher aluminum prices, spilling over the global economy, or a higher reliance on Chinese companies. Perhaps there’s a third outcome — and one that I think is most likely: We get higher aluminum prices but perhaps not as exuberant as the bulls are betting on, while Chinese output, via Indonesia, also increases, but not as much as the bears hope.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Ilocos, W. Visayas wage boards approve pay hikes

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter

REGIONAL WAGE BOARDS in Ilocos and the Western Visayas approved minimum wage increases, Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said on Thursday.

The National Wages and Productivity Commission approved pay hikes for Region I (Ilocos) and Region VI (Western Visayas) on Wednesday. Both will take effect in November, Mr. Laguesma said via Viber.

In the Ilocos Region, non-agricultural workers employed in firms with at least 10 employees will get a P37 increase, bringing their minimum daily wage to P505.

Non-agricultural workers with firms of less than 10 employees and agricultural workers will receive a P45 hike, bringing their minimum daily pay to P480.

Meanwhile, Western Visayas workers in non-agricultural, industrial, and commercial employment with firms of more than 10 workers will receive a P37 increase, raising their daily minimum wage to P550.

For establishments with fewer than 10 employees, the daily minimum wage will rise by P45 to P530 from P485.

For agricultural jobs, a P40 adjustment will bring the daily minimum wage to P520.

The new wage rates for Region VI take effect on Nov. 19, 2025.

According to Mr. Laguesma, at least four more regions will release new wage orders to adjust minimum daily pay.

These regional boards are due to conduct public hearings next month, with the corresponding wage orders expected by December, he added.

These regions are the Cordillera Administrative Region, Mimaropa, the Eastern Visayas and the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Minimum wages adjustments for workers in Region IV-A (Calabarzon) also took effect on Thursday under Wage Order No. IV-A22.

The regional board earlier approved a P25 to P100 daily minimum wage increase.

The daily minimum pay was raised to P600 for non-agricultural workers, P525 for agriculture, and P508 for retail and service establishments with 10 or fewer employees.

Headline inflation rose to a six-month high of 1.7% in September from 1.5% in August, driven mainly by higher fuel and vegetable prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported earlier this month.

Inflation remained within the 2-4% target range set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas target range. The latest reading remained below the year-earlier level of 1.9%.

Core inflation — which strips out volatile food and fuel prices — eased to 2.6% in September from 2.7% in August, though it remained higher than the 2.4% year-earlier level.

In the first nine months of 2025, core inflation averaged 2.4%, down from the 3.1% booked a year earlier.

The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) said the wage hike in the Western Visayas was helpful but insufficient to meet workers’ basic needs.

FFW Women Network President Ma. Victoria G. Bellosillo said disparities in regional wages create uneven relief.

FFW continues to support a national living wage and a P200 across-the-board wage hike.

“An increase in wages is a help, but not yet justice. The true goal is a salary sufficient for decent living,” she said in a statement.

The Philippines adjusts wages through regional boards, but labor groups support a legislated wage hike that would standardize pay across the country and ensure a living wage.

Labor leaders argue that regional wage-setting often leaves workers in poorer provinces behind, while the cost of basic goods continues to rise nationwide.

Mastercard rolls out payment threat intelligence solution in APAC

MASTERCARD has launched an intelligence solution in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region to detect fraud and other cyberthreats targeting card transactions.

Mastercard Threat Intelligence combines the company’s global fraud insights with cyberthreat intelligence from Recorded Future, which it acquired less than a year ago. It allows financial institutions across APAC to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber-enabled fraud.

“Payment fraud is no longer just a payment system issue — it’s a cybersecurity challenge that directly impacts an organization’s bottom line. Mastercard Threat Intelligence bridges communication gaps, enabling fraud and security teams to work together seamlessly to stop fraud before it happens,” Matthew Driver, executive vice-president of Services, Asia Pacific at Mastercard, said in a statement.

Financial institutions will get real-time alerts of fraudulent test transactions which will be proactively declined, helping protect cardholders.

Card issuers and acquirers also get access to quantitative data to assess skimmer impacts and prevent card-related malware, and targeted insights to assess merchant risk and enable faster incident response.

They will also receive weekly reports on emerging threats and vulnerabilities across the global payments landscape, as well as case studies and fraud trend analysis.

Mastercard said conducted market testing of the solution over six months, with the data provided able to help them identify and take down malicious domains tied to payment card data theft that affected nearly 9,500 e-commerce sites and were linked to an estimated $120 million in fraud losses.

“Asia Pacific is seeing a surge in cyber-enabled fraud, and the need for integrated intelligence has never been more urgent,” said Aditi Sawhney, senior vice-president of Security Solutions, Asia Pacific at Mastercard. “We’re helping our customers move from fragmented responses to unified, intelligence-led defense strategies that strengthen resilience across the payments ecosystem.” — AMCS

National Government outstanding debt

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT’S (NG) outstanding debt slid to P17.46 trillion at the end of September, but remained above the full-year projection, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed. Read the full story.

National Government outstanding debt

Grab Philippines eyes more local investments, says IPO not a priority

GRAB.COM

By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter

GRAB PHILIPPINES is exploring additional investments in the country to expand its operations, although a local initial public offering (IPO) is not currently on the table, according to its top executive.

“Right now, we are a New York stock listed company. I think it is an internal discussion on whether we can IPO in a specific country. We will have to check,” Grab Philippines Country Managing Director Ronald Roda told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of its Asenso Center livelihood hub on Thursday.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda encouraged technology firms, including Grab Philippines, to consider going public to help deepen and energize the local capital market.

“We need action in the capital market. I encourage Grab Philippines to do an IPO, maybe it is possible for you to become a unicorn here in the Philippines and drive growth in the industry,” Mr. Aguda said.

Mr. Roda said any plan to list locally would depend on multiple considerations and is not among the company’s immediate priorities.

“Typically, you do an IPO to raise funds or increase your profile. Grab Philippines is local, but we are part of a bigger company — Grab. Ultimately, our performance is viewed from a global standpoint,” he said.

The ICT chief said the government has implemented policies that make the Philippine market attractive for technology listings.

“I understand the context is to bring confidence to the public. But I think the other side of it is we are serious investors. There are other ways in which we can contribute to the Philippines. And we’re not going anywhere,” Mr. Roda said.

Mr. Aguda, however, said developing the country’s capital market requires active participation from the private sector, especially technology startups.

“It is high time that we move to a situation wherein if there is a startup or new tech company they can IPO. I’m a big advocate of that because if a country’s capital market is mature, the economic development is much faster,” he said.

For Globalinks Securities and Stocks, Inc. Head of Sales Trading Toby Allan C. Arce, the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) call for Grab to go public reflects the administration’s intent to strengthen the domestic capital market by attracting digital economy players to list locally.

“A Grab Philippines IPO would be highly significant at this stage of the market’s evolution — it would not only inject fresh momentum into the Philippine Stock Exchange but also symbolize the growing maturity of the country’s digital and tech-driven sectors,” he said.

He added that a local listing could allow Grab Philippines to raise domestic capital while reinforcing its long-term commitment to the ride-hailing, logistics, and digital payments ecosystem.

ASENSO CENTER
Grab Philippines, together with its motorcycle taxi unit Move It and the DICT, on Thursday inaugurated the Asenso Center — the first livelihood hub of its kind in Grab’s Southeast Asian network.

The center serves as a one-stop facility for onboarding, training, skills assessment, and upskilling of Grab’s driver-partners.

“Grab is one of the Philippines’ most mature platform-work ecosystems, and that gives us a precise, ground-level understanding of what Filipino platform workers and micro-entrepreneurs truly need to thrive. The Asenso Center turns that insight into action. It opens dignified, digitally powered livelihoods, equips our partners with practical AI co-pilots, and helps families convert opportunity into income at scale,” Mr. Roda said.

Grab said the center is part of its ambition to generate 500,000 livelihood opportunities in the Philippines.

The company is also set to roll out its group rides feature by December, allowing multiple passengers to share a trip under a single booking — similar to the group order function on GrabFood.

“I think one of the things we are pushing this Christmas is our new version of group rides,” Mr. Roda said. “We have not fully advertised this but we are now at a point where we think it’s finally ready for the market with good experience.”

Drake appeals defamation loss against UMG over Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

RAPPER Drake arrives on the red carpet for the film The Carter Effect at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), in Toronto, Canada, Sept. 9, 2017. — REUTERS

NEW YORK — The superstar rapper Drake is appealing the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us,” according to a court filing on Wednesday.

Drake will ask the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to overturn the Oct. 9 dismissal by US District Judge Jeannette Vargas.

UMG releases Drake’s and Lamar’s music. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Drake’s appeal, but has said it was pleased with the dismissal.

Drake, whose given name is Aubrey Drake Graham, sued UMG in January over its promotion of “Not Like Us,” saying the song deceives listeners into believing the false accusation that he is a pedophile.

The lawsuit follows a decade-long feud in which Drake and Lamar released diss tracks said to target each other. Lamar is not a defendant.

In dismissing the case, Ms. Vargas said Lamar’s lyrics were not defamatory because they amounted to opinion.

“Although the accusation that Plaintiff is a pedophile is certainly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable facts,” Ms. Vargas wrote.

The appeals process could last at least several months.

“Not Like Us” won Grammy Awards in February for record and song of the year, and spent three weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100. Lamar performed it at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. — Reuters

Zombies, jiangshi, draugrs, revenants — monster lore is filled with metaphors for public health

A SCENE from the 2010 film The Walking Dead.

Imagine a city street at dusk, silent save for the rising sound of a collective guttural moan. Suddenly, a horde of ragged, bloodied creatures appear, their feet shuffling along the pavement, their hollow eyes locked on fleeing figures ahead.

A classic movie monster, the zombie surged in popularity in the 21st century during a time of global anxiety — the Great Recession, the specter of climate change, the lingering trauma of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The zombie apocalypse became a way for people to explore the terrifying concept of societal collapse, a step removed from real threats such as nuclear war or global financial disaster.

As a public health epidemiologist and an amateur zombie historian, I couldn’t help but notice the striking parallels between what epidemiologists do to stop infectious disease outbreaks and what horror movie heroes do to stop zombies. The key questions posed in any zombie narrative — how did this start, how many are infected, how to contain it — are the identical questions that epidemiologists ask during a real infectious disease outbreak or pandemic.

In 2011, in fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a zombie apocalypse preparedness guide that explained how readying oneself for a zombie apocalypse can prepare people for any large-scale disaster. The zombie is more than just a monster; it is a powerful, public health teaching tool.

ZOMBIES IN ANCIENT HISTORY
The idea of the reanimated dead has been part of human history for millennia, showing up across cultures and long before modern germ theory or epidemiology existed. These creatures were often a way for societies to understand and explain the natural world and disease transmission in the absence of scientific knowledge.

The oldest written reference to creatures similar to modern zombies is found in The Epic of Gilgamesh, which was etched on stone tablets sometime between 2000 and 1100 BCE, Enraged after Gilgamesh rejects her marriage proposal, the goddess Ishtar tells him, “I shall bring up the dead to consume the living, I shall the make the dead outnumber the living.” This ancient terror — the dead overwhelming the living — has a direct parallel to the concept of an out-of-control epidemic in which the sick quickly overwhelm the healthy. Hollywood has readily adopted this concept in many zombie movies.

The origins of the flesh-eating corpse on screen date back to George Romero’s 1968 classic The Night of the Living Dead. You won’t hear the word “zombie” in Romero’s film, however — in the script, he called the creatures “flesh eaters.” Similarly, in Danny Boyle’s 2002 film 28 Days Later, the terrifying creatures were called the “infected.” Both these terms, “flesh eaters” and “infected,” directly echo public health concerns — specifically, the spread of disease via a bacteria or virus and the need for quarantine to contain the afflicted.

The roots of the word zombie are from the Haitian variety, thought to stretch back to West Africa and to words such as “nzambi,” which means “creator” in African Kongo, or “ndzumbi,” which means “corpse” in the Mitsogo language of Gabon. However, it was in Haitian Vodou, a religion that draws from the West African spiritual traditions among people who were enslaved on Haiti’s plantations, that the concept took its most terrifying form.

According to Vodou, when a person experiences an unnatural, early death, priests can capture and co-opt their soul. Slave owners capitalized on this belief to prevent suicide among the enslaved. To become a zombie — dead yet still a slave — was the ultimate nightmare. This cultural concept speaks not just to disease but to societal trauma and the public health crisis of forced labor.

ZOMBIE-LIKE CREATURES AROUND THE WORLD
Across the globe, other reanimated corpses crop up in local folklore, often reflecting fears of improper burial, violent death, or moral wickedness. Many tales about these eerie creatures don’t just convey how to avoid becoming one of them, but also detail how to stop or prevent them from taking over. This focus on prevention and control is at the heart of public health.

During the expansion of China’s Qing dynasty, which took place between 1644 and 1911, a creature known as the jiangshi, or “hopping zombie,” emerged amid widespread unrest and integration of non-Chinese minorities. The jiangshi were corpses suffering from rigor mortis and decomposition, reanimated when a soul couldn’t leave after a violent death. Instead of staggering, these mythological creatures would hop, and their method of attack was to steal a person’s lifeforce, or qi.

Fear of a lonely, restless afterlife led families who lost a loved one far from home to hire a Taoist priest to retrieve the body for proper burial with ancestors.

In Scandinavia, the draugr — meaning “again walker” or “ghost” — was a creature bent on revenge. According to lore, draugrs typically emerged from mean-spirited people or improperly buried corpses. Like zombies, they could turn regular people into draugrs by infecting them. They would attack their victims by devouring flesh, drinking blood, or driving victims insane. Draugrs’ contagious nature is a model for disease transmission. What’s more, their seasonal activity — they most often appear at night in winter months — is similar to seasonal trends in infectious disease transmission.

In medieval times, meanwhile, legend had it that creatures called revenants — corpses that came out of their graves — stalked northern and western Europe. According to 12th century English historian William of Newburgh, these creatures emerged from the lingering life force of people who had committed evil deeds during their lives or who experienced a sudden death. Clerics fueled people’s fears of becoming a revenant by claiming these creatures were created by Satan. The recommended but gruesome prevention method for this fate was to capture and dismember these creatures and to burn the body parts, especially the head.

Archaeological evidence from a medieval village in England suggests that communities heeded this advice. Archaeologists excavated the village’s burial grounds, and among human remains from the 11th to 13th centuries they found broken and burned bones with knife marks. They show how a community may have taken extreme measures to control a perceived contagion or threat to public safety, mirroring a modern-day quarantine or eradication protocols.

Perhaps the most striking similarity between these historical monsters and Hollywood zombies is that so many of them are created by an infectious agent of some kind. After an outbreak occurs, control is difficult to regain, underscoring the necessity of a rapid public health response.

THE CONVERSATION VIA REUTERS CONNECT

 

Tom Duszynski is a clinical assistant professor of Epidemiology at Indiana University.

Are office uniforms outdated?

Our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is very much concerned about the image of our organization that he’s thinking of requiring all employees to wear a prescribed uniform every day. He set an annual budget for all 500 workers. What do you think? — May Flower.

Office uniforms were once a symbol of professionalism and corporate unity. That was the time when an “office” meant a fixed place with typewriters, filing cabinets, and rigid hierarchies. Today, work happens anywhere: at home, in cafés, or in co-working spaces where everyone can be productive.

In knowledge-based jobs, creativity, not physical appearance, is the main driver of performance. That’s why I don’t agree with a perfect attendance award for employees. But, that’s another story.

Further, uniforms do not allow for individual taste, even if you let them choose the uniform style through a committee, which may not succeed in capturing the majority’s fashion taste.

In today’s workplace, it’s difficult to champion diversity while asking everyone to look like photocopies of each other.

And let’s face it. At times, the “uniform budget” often ends up quite profitable for someone’s cousin’s garment business or the service provider recommended by the employees’ union.

Given those, let me qualify my advice by saying — it depends on your industry, which plays an important role in determining whether to have a company uniform or not.

Just the same, it doesn’t have to apply to all workers, but to the chosen few frontliners like bank tellers or hotel front desks. This is where visual branding builds trust. Another example is when people work in highly ranked cultures like those in government service, the military, and airlines where uniformity is part of an overall brand.

Also, uniforms are important for health, security, and safety in settings like hospitals, laboratories, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing.

CLOTHING ALLOWANCE
In recent years, I’ve seen company uniforms being replaced with a cash clothing allowance that reflects management’s recognition of their employees’ maturity and sense of self-expression. It also extends a practical benefit to people who dislike wearing uniforms, which can be uncomfortable, poorly fitted, and require costly dry cleaning.

Giving cash can actually reduce the administrative hassle, except when your organization requires the liquidation of such allowances for tax purposes. Also, there’s no need for a time-consuming bidding process, managing suppliers, tailor fittings, and in some cases, stockpiling for the eventual destruction of resigned employees’ old uniforms for security reasons.

So yes, office uniforms can be eliminated and replaced with a well-thought-out cash allowance, provided employees understand that freedom comes with accountability. After all, it’s easier to inspire loyalty with respect than with matching outfits.

With an allowance, employees can choose clothes that are comfortable and cost-efficient. And more importantly, clothes they actually like wearing. The result? Happier employees who look good and feel respected. When people feel trusted to make small decisions — like how to dress — they tend to reciprocate with better performance at work.

For organizations that value hierarchy or tradition, some companies are adjusting to give clear guidelines on design matters as in the case where the prescribed wear is smart casual polo shirts, jackets, or coordinated color schemes that are professional but not suffocating.

This policy respects both professionalism and practicality. It acknowledges that some days require formal polish, while others simply require focus. It also saves employees from the dreadful moment of realizing that the uniform shirt didn’t dry over the weekend.

THE RIGHT DRESS CODE
Today, many workers feel like corporate uniforms are symbols of distrust. After all, leadership isn’t about dictating fabric choices — it’s about fostering an environment of accountability, trust, and respect.

A well-dressed employee isn’t necessarily a productive one, just as a uniformed worker isn’t automatically loyal. The right dress code fosters a shared sense of purpose, values, and performance standards that everyone commits to “wearing” daily.

If employees feel engaged and valued, they’ll dress the part naturally. If they don’t, no amount of embroidery on their polo shirt or jacket can hide the disengagement in their eyes.

Therefore, replacing office uniforms with a cash allowance is not just a perk — it’s a quiet signal of trust. It says, “We believe you’re professional enough to represent the company with the right judgment, not just matching fabric.”

It’s also an investment in morale. Employees who feel respected are less likely to leave — and more likely to go the extra mile. It’s hard to go above and beyond when you can’t even breathe properly in your uniform.

In conclusion, perhaps it’s time to retire the era of identical outfits and embrace individuality with responsibility. The future of professionalism isn’t sewn in thread — it’s woven in trust.

In the end, a truly modern workplace doesn’t need everyone to look alike. It needs everyone to work alike — with enough competence and style to keep HR from issuing a memo to repeat offenders.

Your next challenge, therefore, is to convince your CEO to accept all this.

 

Have a free consultation of your workplace issues with Rey Elbo. E-mail elbonomics@gmail.com or DM him on Facebook, LinkedIn, or X. Anonymity is guaranteed.

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