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A foreshadowing of 2021?

It’s almost a quiz where the Palace spokesperson drew his observation that the Philippines’ response to the pandemic was “excellent.” His term of reference was the experience of more advanced economies with staggering coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) incidence and mortality. Some quarters took exception by saying that this observation does not sit well with our longest quarantine, longest school closure, the deepest decline in output growth, and being the last ASEAN country to receive the vaccines.

We could not open up the economy as recommended by our planning authorities precisely because the pandemic curve remains on the uptrend and our vaccination schedule was delayed.

The Palace must have missed the President’s decision to predicate the lifting of quarantine restrictions on our ability to roll out the vaccines to as many frontliners and vulnerable sectors of society as possible.

A detraction from the President’s concern, this statement is literally making a mountain out of a molehill.

The decision of the President was vindicated by subsequent events when we saw the incidence of new cases peaking at July 2020 levels of more than 3,000 a day. There is an upsurge abetted by what some would call pandemic fatigue. It is becoming more challenging to continue donning our face masks and face shields and spraying everything with alcohol. New variants have also been detected in the Philippines. Some local government units (LGUs) were thus forced to impose lockdowns and curfews to prevent further spread of the virus. Even some bridges in Metro Manila were not spared from closure.

Unless we see the pandemic curve trending down with the rollout of the vaccines and the sustained observance of the usual health protocols by Filipinos, it would be aspirational to forecast robust economic growth for this year and the next.

Of course, we share the hope of the Market Call by First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and Capital Markets Research of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) for our country’s economic recovery. But we may have to be cautious in forecasting, one, an acceleration of growth in the first quarter even as it remains negative; and, two, a recovery in the second quarter. Some of their assumptions may just be too sanguine.

The initial signs, and there are just a few of them, are beginning to show. We would not want to make conclusions on a limited basis, but what we can read on the wall is the direction of these few observations.

First signs are the production indices for January 2021 from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Volume of production dropped by 16.7% against December 2020’s decline of 12%. Value-wise, the decline was even deeper at 21.1% from December 2020’s -15.4%. This is the 11th month of weak manufacturing activities.

Manufacture of wood, bamboo, cane, rattan, and other related products led the volume retreat in the industry. Machinery and equipment as well as tobacco manufacturing also declined by more than 40%.

With very little incentive for the economy to produce and consume, and sluggish patronage of retail shops and eating places, net sales index in volume terms was down from -2.8% in December 2020 to -9.1% in January 2021. Value-wise, the decrease was double at 13.9% from -6.5%. Those manufactures which declined in production also registered big drops in sales, both in volume and value.

With nearly deflationary factors at work, the producer price index retreated by 5.3% from December 2020’s -3.8%. Should it continue for most of 2021, this price trend cannot inspire more production and sales.

Second signs may be found in the labor market. Unemployment rate was steady at 8.7% as it was in October 2020. This means about four million Filipinos remained without jobs at the opening of the year. Moreover, the underemployment rate climbed from the previous quarter’s 14.4% to 16%. This translates into 6.6 million Filipinos or 16% of the total employed persons. This could be explained by the fact that in January 2021, the average weekly hours of work actually decreased from 40.8 hours in October 2020 to 39.3 hours.

Less hiring means business activities remain lethargic. Again, unless the economic scars of the pandemic are reversed by positive public sentiment that our public health management is prepared to further ease the quarantine, such lethargy might spill over to the rest of 2021.

We need to be more than hopeful because of the recent upsurge. The Philippine National Police (PNP) recently issued a statement prohibiting the public display of affection and that includes “holding hands, kissing and embracing each other in public.” First, social distancing; and now, public display of affection. This must be serious; the PNP must know something we don’t know.

The third set of signs are the various aspects of the consumer price situation. January and February inflation rates stood at 4.2% and 4.7%, respectively or a two-month average of 4.5%, already breaching the official target of 2% to 4%. This is reflective of weak production of food.

Pork and other substitutes are getting pricier because of the African Swine Fever (ASF) and the impact of recent weather challenges. The price of chicken might also increase with the impending total ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds from the UK following the outbreak of avian virus. In the Philippine Senate, a state of emergency is being proposed to be declared by the President because of the worsening impact of the ASF.

So far nearly half a million hogs have been culled. Such a declaration is necessary to mandate a realignment of more public funds to the Department of Agriculture. The 60-day price freeze on pork did not seem to work because pork prices continued to climb. But it would take months before any budget realignment could mitigate local production and help stabilize prices.

What is sad here is that our experience with rice tariffication seems to be replayed. Local producers and industry associations have expressed their reservation about the reduction in tariffs of pork imports and the expansion of the minimum access volume. While the concern of our own producers should be addressed squarely, they should ultimately be prepared to compete globally. Whatever tariff duties are realized from the proposed measures should be used exclusively for funding research on the best technology to help our hog producers improve their productivity and make hogs more disease-resistant.

The cost of production and transport is likely to rise shortly. Global oil prices continue to exceed $60-70 per barrel and for this reason, output is likely to be affected, too. Global economic recovery is supposed to boost our exports but at the same time, that could also increase the demand for oil and other fuels. In addition, the recent missile and drone attacks on Saudi Aramco oil facilities and subsequent cutbacks are expected to keep oil prices elevated in the near future. That is output negative.

Policy support is therefore indispensable.

Consumption, investment, and net exports are driven by the public’s perception of risk. Unless we succeed in getting a critical mass of vaccination, self-quarantine and economic scarring will remain the driver of weak business activities.

The Government will therefore be the only game in town. It is first best for fiscal policy to be more significantly expansionary with huge frontloading for obvious reasons. Summer months are the best time to build infrastructure. Public transport is indispensable for people to do business. It is also first best for the monetary authorities to continue conserving their ammunition and enhance their monitoring. Credit and business activities cannot be pushed during this pandemic with no end in sight except for delayed vaccination. Without doubt, the pandemic virtually extinguished domestic demand but with risk aversion, easy monetary policy can only reduce the depth of the recession despite the injection of P2 trillion and negative real policy interest rate. Choosing to be pro-cyclical, the banks succeeded in recycling the huge liquidity infusion back to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). With tighter credit standards, loans to their distressed clients declined.

Deciding which of the many important indicators to examine is a big challenge. Making statements about the future without citing the risks is impossible. No one wants to end up with Paul Samuelson’s reference in Newsweek 55 years ago: “Wall Street indices predicted nine out of the last five recessions.”

 

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former Deputy Governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

Rethinking basic education

Educators and psychologists should not be the only ones worried about the consequences on education and everyone’s mental health of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contagion. Historians, political scientists, economists and other social scientists, political, social and development activists, and everyone else aware of how much the state of Philippine society affects their own lives should also be concerned.

Among other issues, whether things in this country will ever be better, with poverty at least reduced and the poorest provided some measure of relief by competent and honest leaders, depends so much on the capacity of its citizens for the informed political and social engagement that education can encourage. On the children of today will fall that responsibility only a few years from now. Their failure to discharge that duty — either through indifference, malice, or ignorance — will mean that the changes so urgently needed by this country and its people will have the same chance of surviving, or of even just being proposed, as an ice cube in Hades.

Months after the Department of Education (DepEd) implemented its remote learning program, the surge in both anticipated and unexpected problems has led even some of its analysts to agree with many teachers and parents that the education of elementary school pupils and secondary level students during the current public health emergency has not been up to par. The DepEd boast that 99% of students passed only suggests that flawed as the standards of the educational system are, they were even relaxed over the past months.

The problems of connectivity in a country with the slowest and most unreliable internet connection in Southeast Asia, compounded by the floods wrought by the 2020 typhoons, are among the factors responsible. The limited mentoring capacity of some parents who, out of poverty and  the need to contribute to their family’s finances by working at an early age, stopped schooling at the lower grades is another. Some teachers’ limited capacity to cope with the technological intricacies of online teaching and their demanding of their students more and more requirements than neither they nor their parents can meet; plus, difficulties in many pupils’ and even parents’ correctly understanding the printed modules and answering the questions they raise also strongly suggest that the past months have not been as beneficial to students as face-to-face classes.

Allegations that it has approved the use of badly written, factually- and grammatically-challenged, and even revisionist, blatantly ignorant textbooks that depict the Marcos dictatorship as a golden age, and hired less than competent teachers are among the criticisms that for years have been leveled at the DepEd. Because even the times of education “normalcy” have not been exemplars of excellence, the shortcomings of remote learning mean that far from arresting it, online teaching is contributing to the continuing decline of Philippine basic education in terms of its limited success in achieving the already minimalist goal of developing numeracy and literacy among the millions of future citizens and fair hopes of the Fatherland. These issues are further complicated by the legions of breadwinners losing their jobs as the economy contracts, and their resulting inability to adequately provide the food and other needs of their children. The country could be going through a period comparable to that of the late martial law era when the average Filipino protein intake was lower than that of Bangladeshis, with all that it implies in terms of brain development.

Together with the disinformation that the Marcos dictatorship spread through government media and the regulated press, and the failure of the educational system to provide the mass of Filipinos with the knowledge they need to understand the country of their birth, the low protein intake of many Filipinos during the Marcos kleptocracy was at least partly responsible for the election of incompetents and crooks in the late 1990s and onwards as the children of the martial law era came of age and became voters. The runaway corruption in government and the rebirth of despotic rule are among its ongoing consequences.

The less well-informed members of that generation are still contributing their fact-deficient opinions to discussions in the public sphere of such urgent issues as human rights violations, the culture of impunity, the extrajudicial killings attendant to the “war on drugs,” the restoration of the death penalty, and Constitutional amendments as the backdoor to extending the terms of office of incumbent officials. As if that were not bad enough, there is now the distinct possibility that elements of another equally information-challenged generation will eventually take their place in this country as adult citizens and voters who will add their own brand of cluelessness to the already rampant certitude among the misinformed and miseducated that they know better than anyone else what is best for this country and who can best lead it. They would eventually join the very same benighted Filipinos whom an international research study found in 2017 are the third least informed people on planet Earth about public issues, but who are nevertheless among the most confident about the validity of their opinions.

One of most distressing results of this anomaly is the country’s continuing penury, the decline of living standards, and the perennial threat of tyrannical rule that has once again interrupted the country’s never ending, problem-plagued, snail’s pace journey towards the democratization of its political, economic and social structures.

As disturbing as these possibilities are, the Duterte regime, through the DepEd, is preparing for the pilot testing of face-to-face classes in some 1,000 public schools with only the justification being that the country’s students have to “catch up,” presumably with the usual expectations of “reading, writing and arithmetic.” But it isn’t just its young catching up that the country needs. It is for them to surpass the conventional standards of achievement that recent Philippine history has shown are not enough to contribute to the urgent need to pull these isles and their people out of their decades-old misery.

Yes, there are such other considerations as the impact of isolation at home on the mental health of the country’s children, and their need for human-to-human, peer-to-peer contact as part of the socialization process that should drive the return to classroom teaching and learning. Surely, however, equal attention must be paid to the imperative of providing the young with the knowledge and the reasoning skills that will enable them, once they’re adults, to intelligently participate in the conduct of the affairs of this nation. This requires an emphasis on the teaching of history, the Constitution and human rights, as well as on discharging, with some sense and love of country and people, such civic responsibilities as electing the officials that will represent them.

The assumption that education at the basic level should go far beyond the conventional essentials should inform the country’s return to face-to-face classes. Because not everyone can go on to college — where it is presumed that imparting a commitment to civic responsibility and respect for the Bill of Rights are part of the curricula (but often are not) — developing among the young the capacity to make informed decisions as citizens charged with deciding the future of this country should be among the fundamentals of basic education.

The respite the pandemic threat has imposed on Philippine education should be an opportunity to rethink its goals and to devise the means of getting there. Going back to the classroom should not mean a return to business as usual. 

 

Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).

www.luisteodoro.com

Personalities and shades

ONLYYOUQJ-FREEPIK

A crystal prism, when held to the light of the sun, reveals the magnificent color spectrum. A kaleidoscope is a delightful instrument that allows one to peek through a hole of a tube with geometric facets and changing patterns. Turn it and the mesmerizing designs vary.

Nature’s palette has the wondrous colors of the rainbow. Landscapes have shades of primary colors — red, blue, yellow with green as the combination of blue and yellow. Blue and red make violet. Red and yellow become orange. Blue and green turn into turquoise and aquamarine. Indigo is deep blue violet. Black and white make gray.

White is the presence of all colors. Black is the absence of color.

Individuals respond to certain colors. One’s preference reveals the psychological make-up.

Scientific research shows that there are classifications: Power colors, Stimulant colors, and Restraint colors.

To illustrate, here are Power colors:

Yellow has various shades: marigold, orange, deep reddish yellows that have “advancing” qualities of red. The deep yellows and orange yellows have the golden qualities of yellow. Together, their high stimulus and radiance are perfect expressions of energy and erotic activities. They are latent powerhouses of energy. These virile colors are good reflections of the vigorous and adventurous aspects of life.

These colors are related to the desire to be over involved in the whirl of human activities. Even in children’s paintings, an overemphasis on yellow indicate erotic fantasies. Those who dislike these colors may be fearful of their own sensuality.

Reds are powerful. Vermilions flame red, blood red are charged with “latent aggression” or resourcefulness. They seem to have the energy content like a charged battery. They can reflect emotional passion and drama. They can also celebrate achievement. In another way, red can threaten domination and conquest.

Red is the color of potency, according to the Luscher chart. Charles Henry used the word “Dynamogenous.” He influenced the French Pointillism painter Seurat.

Green is powerful as well. Midsummer grass, vegetation greens with high saturation and full intensity — the rich amplitude and the exuberance, the breadth and generosity of Nature. They are signs of confidence in self-expression. A biologic set of colors symbolizes fertility and continuity, fruitfulness, productivity and creativity — and what is considered generative. Sensuous not necessarily sensual, they are the sign of cornucopia, the bon vivant, the gourmet and connoisseur.

Blues are powerful: Ultramarine Lapis Lazuli, Royal blue.

Reddish blues, ultramarine and royal blue have often signified a dedication to an idealistic cause. Such colors have also been used in the context of the militant spiritual or those who have been given authority by divine right. These blue shades signify devotion and dedication to an energetic ideal. An analysis would show that blues recede from the surface. The reds appear to advance. The result seems to be a natural “retiring” quality (blue) that paradoxically (because of the red in the mixture) advances or projects toward the viewer.

As symbols, these are considered militant through the presence of red. One feels that here are colors especially suitable to stand for those aspiring ideals one needs to fight for.

Stimulant Colors are strident hues at full intensity.

Yellows: Spectrum yellow, primrose yellow and canary yellow. This group reflects impulsiveness and spontaneity. They give the impression of flair and effervescence, the skill of the virtuoso. These yellows are the signs of initiative and characterize the entrepreneur especially when used with dash and aplomb.

Carl Gustav Jung wrote that these colors have the archetypal yellowness of the sun — the symbols of wisdom and enlightenment.

Reds: shades of Magenta and high-intensity bluish reds are quite revealing. Magenta is a peak stimulus red. A sign of ostentation. It is a symbol of seduction, coquetry, panache, or ritualistic display. It can also mean the subtle powers of discrimination and /or aesthetic abilities. For children, it expresses a magical state of enchantment and wish fulfillment. Luscher sees peak stimulus red in a different light. (For clinical reasons.) Red orange is a peak stimulus red, an erotic symbol that relates to the maelstrom of human interaction.

Greens: Lime green, uranium green, and yellow green. These are colors with “bite.” They express wit. Being colors of visceral color of extratensive excitement, they can carry a sense of striving. To illustrate, these are the colors equivalent to “butterflies in the tummy,” the sensations one had when one is in crisis. A “sucking” color, green is sharp, critical, and acerbic. They are often described as unrelaxing, busy colors — the sign of the workaholic.

They express bitterness and jealousy.

Blues that stimulate are Cyan, sky blue, light blues of intensity. These blues reflect the desire for freedom and liberation one might experience under the Mediterranean sky. They are the buoyant and light-hearted expression of an open-minded person, a free spirit. They are breezy, genial. A reflection of the blithe and the debonair. In children’s work, they can be a sign of aspiration and sublimation as well as wanting to be free.

The colors we like or wear reveal our inner selves, our moods, feelings or desires. Colors are relevant in our work environment and home. How we use and combine them would be the key to inspiring, calming or stimulating people around us. They enrich and influence our lives in ways we never realized before. They lift our spirits and recharge our energy level whenever we are sad, tired, listless, depressed.

Some people are shades of primary colors — bold, strong, provocative or assertive. Others are pastel hues that are serene, soothing, quiet, reflective. Is your personality a combination of several shades? 

 

Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.

mavrufino@gmail.com

When equality is discrimination

Last February the US House of Representatives passed the Equality Bill. If it gets through the Senate, it will simply be one of the most devastating laws ever passed by any country in history.

Ostensibly, the Bill seeks to “prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and for other purposes.” Yet, behind that seemingly harmless preamble is disguised a ruthless push to ban every thought or speech, including the right to religious beliefs, that opposes the leftist liberal dogma of gender fluidity and sexual orientation.

For the Equality Bill seeks to redefine sex as unanchored from biology, and that anywhere outside one’s home — regardless if it’s a school or church — would be a “safe space” for liberal ideology.

Thus, “any Catholic Youth Organization sporting event is a place of recreation and exercise. Every Christmas nativity scene is a public display. Every pregnancy counseling center is a service or program. Every diocesan-sponsored women’s shelter and food bank is, well, a shelter and foodbank. If a church, mosque, synagogue — or any affiliated school, recreation center, or food pantry — provides any of these programs or services, it will be compelled to allow biological men, for example, to use the women’s restroom. Sports teams would be compelled to allow boys to use the girls’ locker room. Shelters for abused and battered women would be forced to admit males. And of course, girls would be forced to compete against boys in sporting events. The bill expressly denies any religion-based objection.” (Kenneth Craycraft, “The Equality Act’s Assault on Religious Liberty,” February 2021).

But the Philippines has not been exempt from that absurdity. In fact, we pioneered it with the enactment of Republic Act 11313 (the “Safe Spaces Act”).

Section 3.d thereof defines “gender” as “a set of socially ascribed characteristics, norms, roles, attitudes, values and expectations identifying the social behavior of men and women, and the relations between them.” Sec. 3.f further compounds this: “gender identity” refers to the personal sense of identity as characterized, among others, by manner of clothing, inclinations, and behavior in relation to masculine or feminine conventions. A person may have a male or female identity with physiological characteristics of the opposite sex, in which case this person is considered transgender.” This departs from long standing Philippine historical, legislative, and even judicial understanding of gender being intrinsically connected to one’s sex.

And effectively renders the “male” and “female” categorization as utterly meaningless. What our Congress did was to elevate and recognize something subjective, created purely in the mind of any random individual, contrary to centuries of Philippine social, cultural, religious, and official norms, and then imposed criminal liability on the basis of that subjectivity.

The Safe Spaces Act potentially threatens every employer, teacher, or any person in authority that does not subscribe to the idea of gender fluidity and transgenderism with fines or imprisonment. No exemption is made for religious beliefs, academic freedom, and even the military or police.

The current draft of the Anti-Discrimination Act (which reportedly passed third reading) removed — quite gratifyingly and correctly — references to “gender identity and sexual orientation.” Unfortunately, its definition of “gender” perpetuates the detached from biology definition in the Safe Spaces Act.

And quite disturbingly, there is still the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity bill (ironically pending with the House Committee on Women). Tellingly, one of its fundamental premises is a lie: that SOGI “rights” are provided for and obligated under international law. In truth no international law recognizes SOGI “rights.”

What international law does is recognize the rights of every human individual, which is what’s also embodied in our Constitution. To argue that international human rights laws are “sui generis,” for which everything uttered under its name should be granted, is nonsensical.

To paraphrase Cardinal John Henry Newman: we have human rights because we have responsibilities. Our rights exist as the flipside to our duties as human beings. Without that anchor, then everything, from cash dole-outs to Netflix access, can be labeled a human right.

The tragic disrespect many governments now have for rights can be blamed squarely on this. Ironically but foreseeably, liberal progressive activism simply made human rights utterly incoherent and of diminished value.

And discriminatory as well. With most of that discrimination against biological females.

For all of the Equality Bill’s 31 pages supposedly battling discrimination and despite mentioning “lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, and queers,” not once do the words “female” or “mother” appear. “Women” is mentioned but under that Bill gender is “fluid” anyway.

The Safe Spaces Act does mention “female” but only in the context of “gender identity.” The Anti-Discrimination Bill also makes no mention of “female” and, quite tellingly, leaves out mention of academic freedom. A university professor speaking out against “gender science” is left with little protection.

All for what?

Our legislators are essentially sacrificing decades of women’s fight for equality at the altar of the LGBT lobby.

 

Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.

https://www.facebook.com/jigatdula/

Twitter @jemygatdula

UN Security Council condemns Myanmar violence

REUTERS

THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) Security Council on Wednesday condemned violence against Myanmar protesters and called on the army to show restraint, but failed to denounce the military takeover as a coup or threaten further action due to opposition from China and Russia.

More than 60 protesters have been killed and some 2,000 people have been detained by security forces since the Feb. 1 coup against elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group said.

On Wednesday, security forces firing teargas and rubber bullets trapped hundreds of anti-junta protesters late into the night in two districts of Yangon.

Some protesters who managed to evade blockades set up by police in surrounding streets told of scores of arrests and said that some of those who got caught were beaten.

In a bid to increase pressure on the military as it continues its crackdown, the US Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two children of military leader Min Aung Hlaing and six companies they control.

“The indiscriminate violence by Burma’s security forces against peaceful protesters is unacceptable,” said Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Andrea Gacki.

Campaign group Justice for Myanmar said in January that Min Aung Hlaing, who has been commander in chief since 2011, had “abused his power to benefit his family, who have profited from their access to state resources and the military’s total impunity.”

The UK is also exploring fresh sanctions, foreign minister Dominic Raab said in a tweet.

In New York, the United Nations Security Council said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the violence against peaceful protesters, including against women, youth and children.

“The council calls for the military to exercise utmost restraint and emphasizes that it is following the situation closely.”

But language that would have condemned the coup and threatened possible further action was removed from the British-drafted text, due to opposition by China, Russia, India and Vietnam.

A junta spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. The military has brushed off condemnation of its actions, as it has in past periods of army rule when outbreaks of protest were forcibly repressed.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped the Security Council statement would push the military to realize it “is absolutely essential” that all prisoners are released and that the results of a November election are respected.

The army has justified the coup by saying that the election, won by Ms. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), was marred by fraud — an assertion rejected by the electoral commission. The junta has promised a new election, but has not said when.

Mr. Guterres acknowledged that Myanmar was not a “perfect democracy” before the coup.

“It was still heavily under military control in many aspects, which makes this coup even more difficult to understand, especially the accusations of electoral fraud by those that were largely in control of the country,” he said.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
State television MRTV announced arrest warrants against some of the best-known youth protest leaders and showed a picture of 29 wanted protesters. The protesters have been calling for international protection and action against the junta.

On Wednesday, police stormed a compound in Yangon housing railway staff and surrounded hundreds of protesters in North Okkalapa district, in another part of the city. More than 100 people were arrested at the two sites, witnesses said.

Many of the railway staff are part of a civil disobedience movement that has crippled government business and included strikes at banks, factories and shops.

Police and the army did not respond to requests for comment.

One youth said in a message to Reuters that other protesters had been beaten and slapped. He escaped by hiding in a large washing machine, he said.

“Tomorrow I will keep protesting. I will not stop. The goal is very clear that we want democracy. We want our elected government back,” he said, not wanting his name published.

In the central towns of Mingyan and Monywa, people defied night curfew orders to hold candlelight vigils.

One protester told Reuters from the southern coastal town of Myeik that he had been brought to Myeik Air Base and beaten with belts, chains, bamboo sticks and batons.

“The soldiers said, ‘This is the hell room, why don’t you guys have a taste?’” he said, declining to give his name for fear of reprisals. Reuters was unable to contact police in the town or the air base for comment.

Some police have refused orders to fire on unarmed protesters and have fled to neighboring India, according to an interview with one officer and classified Indian police documents.

An Israeli-Canadian lobbyist hired by Myanmar’s junta will be paid $2 million to “assist in explaining the real situation” of the coup to the United States and other countries, documents filed with the US government show.

Ari Ben-Menashe told Reuters on Saturday his task was to convince Washington that Myanmar’s generals wanted to move closer to the West and away from China. He said they wanted to resettle Rohingya Muslims who fled a 2017 assault for which the UN has accused the military of overseeing a genocide. — Reuters

$1.9-T COVID-19 bill wins final approval in House

WASHINGTON — The US House of Representatives gave final approval on Wednesday to one of the largest economic stimulus measures in American history, a sweeping $1.9-trillion COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) relief bill that gives President Joseph R. Biden his first major victory in office.

The measure provides $400 billion for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, an expansion of the child tax credit and increased funding for vaccine distribution. Forecasters expect it to supercharge the US economic recovery.

“Help is here,” Mr. Biden wrote in a tweet after the vote. The White House said he plans to sign the bill on Friday.

Approval by a 220-211 vote in the Democratic-controled chamber came with zero Republican support after weeks of partisan debate and wrangling in Congress. Democrats described the legislation as a critical response to a pandemic that has killed more than 528,000 people and thrown millions out of work.

“This is a historic day. It is the beginning of the end of the great COVID depression,” Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that passage of the legislation was a pivotal day for the US economy and would speed its recovery.

But Republicans said the measure was too costly and was packed with wasteful progressive priorities. They said the worst phase of the largest public health crisis in a century has largely passed and the economy is headed toward a rebound.

“It’s the wrong plan at the wrong time for so many wrong reasons,” Republican Representative Jason Smith said.

Nevertheless, before final passage, Democrats predicted that Republicans would tout the benefits of the bill to constituents, despite their lock-step opposition in the House and Senate.

Indeed, Republican Senator Roger Wicker wrote on Twitter: “This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic by helping to adapt their operations and keep their employees on the payroll.”

Democrats were eager to get the final bill to Mr. Biden’s desk for his signature before current enhanced federal unemployment benefits expire on Sunday.

POPULAR SUPPORT
Although many Republicans supported coronavirus relief under former President Donald Trump’s administration, no Republican lawmaker voted for the bill in the House or Senate.

But the bill is popular with the public. A Reuters/Ipsos national opinion poll, conducted Mar. 8-9, showed that 70% of Americans support the plan, including majorities of Democrats and Republicans. Among Republicans, five out of 10 say they support the plan, while nine out of 10 Democrats supported it.

The legislation could have high stakes for both parties. If it succeeds in giving the economy a major boost, the plan could improve Democrats’ political fortunes as they attempt to hold their slim majorities in Congress in the 2022 midterm elections.

The version passed by the Senate in a marathon weekend session removed a $15-per-hour federal minimum wage increase by 2025; tightened the eligibility for $1,400 direct payments, capping them at those earning below $80,000, cut the unemployment insurance payment to $300 per week from the House’s $400 and targeted some of the state and local government aid to smaller communities.

States that voted for Mr. Trump in the November election are due to get a larger amount of education and child-care aid per resident than those that backed Mr. Biden, according to estimates from two congressional committees.

Residents of Republican-leaning states, which tend to have lower household incomes, also are likely to get larger stimulus checks and tax breaks as well, according to an independent research group.

The massive spending push is seen as a major driver, coupled with a quickening pace of COVID-19 vaccinations and a slowing infection rate, in a brightening outlook for the economy.

Morgan Stanley this week pegged 2021 economic output growth at 8.1%. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday predicted US growth would top 6% this year, up from an estimate of around 3% three months ago. — Reuters

Ten years on, Japan mourns victims of earthquake and Fukushima disaster

IWAKI, Fukushima prefecture — With a moment of silence, prayers and anti-nuclear protests, Japan on Thursday mourned about 20,000 victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan 10 years ago, destroying towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima.

Huge waves triggered by the 9.0-magnitude quake — one of the strongest on record — crashed into the northeastern coast, crippling the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant and forcing more than 160,000 residents to flee as radiation spewed into the air.

The world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl and the tremor have left survivors struggling to overcome the grief of losing families and towns to the waves in a few frightening hours on the afternoon of Mar. 11, 2011.

About 50 kilometers (31 miles) south from the plant, in the gritty coastal city of Iwaki, which has since become a hub for laborers working on nuclear decommissioning, restaurant owner Atsushi Niizuma prayed to his mother killed by the waves.

“I want to tell my mother that my children, who were all close to her, are doing well. I came here to thank her that our family is living safely,” said Mr. Niizuma, 47.

Before setting off for work, he quietly paid his respects at a stone monument at a seaside shrine with carvings of his mother’s name, Mitsuko, and 65 others who died in the disaster.

On the day of the earthquake, Ms. Mitsuko was looking after his children. The children rushed into a car but Ms. Mitsuko was swept away by the waves as she returned to the house to grab her belongings. It took a month to recover her body, Mr. Niizuma said.

The Akiba shrine has become a symbol of resilience for the survivors, as it was barely damaged by the tsunami while houses nearby were swept away or burned down.

About two dozen residents gathered with Mr. Niizuma to decorate it with paper cranes, flowers and yellow handkerchiefs with messages of hope sent by students from across the country.

“It was sleeting 10 years ago, and it was cold. The coldness always brought me back to the memory of what happened on the day,” said Hiroko Ishikawa, 62.

“But with my back soaking up the sun today, we are feeling more relaxed. It’s as if the sun is telling us that ‘It’s okay, why don’t you go talk with everyone who came back to visit their hometown?’”

REMEMBERING THE DEAD
Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga were slated to honor the dead at a commemorative anniversary ceremony in Tokyo while several other events were planned across northeastern Japan, which was most badly hit by the tremor.

The government has spent about $300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars.

Some 40,000 people are still displaced by the disaster.

Japan is again debating the role of nuclear power in its energy mix as the resource-poor country aims to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 to fight global warming. But an NHK public TV survey showed 85% of the public worries about nuclear accidents.

The mass demonstrations against nuclear power seen in the wake of 3/11 have faded, but distrust lingers. Some antinuclear activists are planning demonstrations in front of the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power, for Thursday night.

Only nine of Japan’s 33 remaining commercial reactors have been approved for restarts under post-Fukushima safety standards and only four are operating, compared with 54 before the disaster.

Nuclear power supplied just 6% of Japan’s energy needs in the first half of 2020 compared with 23.1% for renewable sources — far behind Germany’s 46.3% — and nearly 70% for fossil fuels. — Reuters

UK COVID-19 variant has significantly higher death rate, study finds

LONDON — A highly infectious variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that has spread around the world since it was first discovered in Britain late last year is between 30% and 100% more deadly than previous dominant variants, researchers said on Wednesday.

In a study that compared death rates among people in Britain infected with the new SARS-CoV-2 variant — known as B.1.1.7 — against those infected with other variants of the COVID-19-causing virus, scientists said the new variant’s mortality rate was “significantly higher.”

The B.1.1.7 variant was first detected in Britain in Sept. 2020, and has since also been found in more than 100 other countries.

It has 23 mutations in its genetic code — a relatively high number — and some of them have made it far more easily spread. Scientists say it is about 40%-70% more transmissible than previous dominant variants that were circulating.

In the UK study, published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday, infection with the new variant led to 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 COVID-19 patients, compared with 141 among the same number of patients infected with other variants.

“Coupled with its ability to spread rapidly, this makes B.1.1.7 a threat that should be taken seriously,” said Robert Challen, a researcher at Exeter University who co-led the research.

Independent experts said this study’s findings add to previous preliminary evidence linking infection with the B.1.1.7 virus variant with an increased risk of dying from COVID-19.

Initial findings from the study were presented to the UK government earlier this year, along with other research, by experts on its New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, or NERVTAG, panel.

Lawrence Young, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at Warwick University, said the precise mechanisms behind the higher death rate of the B.1.1.7 variant were still not clear, but “could be related to higher levels of virus replication as well as increased transmissibility.”

He warned that the UK variant was likely fueling a recent surge in infections across Europe. — Reuters

Roblox creator’s wealth soars to $4.6B as shares rise

ROBLOX CORP.’s users can create virtual worlds to fend off zombies or scuba dive for hidden treasure, with makers of the most popular games earning enough to become millionaires.

Roblox co-founder David Baszucki — known on the site as “builderman” — has made the most from the online gaming platform. His stake in the company is now worth about $4.6 billion after the company’s shares soared more than 50% in their first day of trading.

“We love the direct listing for Roblox, because we’re all going to come together and that first trade is going to be at the same price for everyone,” Mr. Baszucki said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Roblox’s user numbers have boomed during the pandemic, but the San Mateo, California-based company now faces an uncertain outlook as the children and teenagers who flocked to it while stuck at home return to school. That’s pushing Mr. Baszucki, Roblox’s chief executive officer, to transform the company into a social meeting place for kids and adults alike.

“Our vision of the future is really connecting the world on the Roblox platform, and allowing you to connect with people,” Mr. Baszucki, 58, said at the annual Roblox Developers Conference in July.

A Stanford University graduate with a degree in electrical engineering, Mr. Baszucki founded Roblox in 2004 with Erik Cassel after the pair developed educational software for teaching physics. Mr. Cassel died in 2013.

Mr. Baszucki participated in shares sales to third parties before Roblox’s listing that were potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Last year, he registered the Baszucki Family Office in California, which is managed by a trust that holds about half of his 12% stake in Roblox.

Mr. Baszucki will receive an additional 11.5 million shares of Roblox if the company meets certain long-term price targets, according to a filing. He won’t take any other cash or equity compensation for as long as seven years after the listing, and plans on using any net proceeds for philanthropy, a spokesperson for the firm said.

Roblox hosts millions of games that are built by users who then get a share of any related revenue. The company planned an initial public offering last year, but delayed it until 2021 and then switched to a direct listing, which typically doesn’t result in any new capital being raised.

The New York Stock Exchange set a share price of $45 for Roblox’s direct listing, which gave the company a market value of about $30 billion. The stock jumped 54% to close at $69.50 in New York.

In addition to Mr. Baszucki’s brother, Greg, other pre-listing investors include Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management, which first invested in Roblox in June 2018, when it was valued at about $2.4 billion.

Roblox has said it expects growth rates of more than 60% for the quarter ending Mar. 31, but the ensuing months may look markedly different as the world starts to emerge from the virus crisis.

“We headed into 2020 with strong organic growth, which was further bolstered by social-distancing restrictions,” Chief Financial Officer Michael Guthrie said in a recent statement. “As those restrictions ease, we expect the rates of growth in 2021 will be well below the rates in 2020.” — Bloomberg

Three teams make trade moves ahead of league rookie draft

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THREE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams made trade moves ahead of the league rookie draft this weekend.

In an announcement on Thursday, the league said the NLEX Road Warriors, Blackwater Bossing and TNT Tropang GIGA figured in a three-way trade involving rookie picks and young veteran players.

The player swaps, which were approved by the PBA trade committee, have NLEX trading its number four pick in the first round of the rookie draft on March 14 to Blackwater in exchange for guard Roi Sumang, forward Don Trollano, center Maurice Shaw and the Bossing’s 2022 second-round draft pick.

Blackwater then sent the number four pick it got from the Road Warriors to TNT for guard Simon Enciso, power forward David Semerad and the Tropang GIGA’s 2023 first-round draft pick and 2024 second-round pick.

NLEX, which still has the number three pick for Sunday’s draft, got a collection of serviceable players from the deal which it hopes to tap to provide stability to the team in the coming PBA season.

Mr. Sumang was one of the bright lights for an otherwise rough campaign for Blackwater in the PBA “bubble” last year, averaging 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.1 steals. He further shores up the already-loaded guard rotation of NLEX which includes Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Alas, Jericho Cruz, and Mike Ayonayon.

Mr. Trollano, meanwhile, reunites with coach Yeng Guiao, who he played for in Rain or Shine. He was consistent for the Bossing last season, averaging 14.2 points and 8.5 rebounds. The same stability is something the Road Warriors are angling to get from him now that he is in their fold.

Big man Shaw did not get to play much in his rookie season with Blackwater last year because of injury, but NLEX will look to use his height and heft to fortify its frontcourt.

Blackwater, for its part, received veteran players who helped TNT in its solid run in the tournament bubble in 2020.

Mr. Enciso averaged 9.6 points and 2.8 assists for the Tropang GIGA, who reached the finals of the Philippine Cup, while Mr. Semerad was a steady defensive and physical presence.

TNT, meanwhile, is back in the first round of the draft after finding itself sans a pick because of prior deals it had.

At number four, the Tropang GIGA is in prime position to get a quality prospect in the draft.

Reports have it that the team is keenly eyeing Fil-foreign guard Mikey Williams and San Beda University standout Calvin Oftana for the pick.

The PBA rookie draft will be held virtually on Sunday at 4 p.m. It will be aired live on TV5 and One Sports with livestream over ESPN5.com.

Draft order has Terrafirma picking first, followed by Northport, NLEX, TNT, Rain or Shine, and Alaska.

The rest of the opening round has Phoenix Super LPG, Terrafirma, Meralco, Magnolia, NorthPort and Barangay Ginebra selecting.

Revamped The Nationals begins new season March 20

A REVAMPED The Nationals begins its new season next week, promising exciting action and new offering for the local esports community.

Now in their third year, organizers of the Philippines’ first franchise-based esports league have moved to expand their tournament reach, including amateurs and students this time around apart from showcasing the country’s best professional esports athletes.

The Nationals hopes that by doing so it will open more opportunities for aspiring professional esports players.

In Season 3 of the league, which begins on March 20, it will be having two new tournament divisions for every conference for aspiring amateur esports players, namely, The Challenger Series and the Academy Series.

The Nationals Challenger Series will have two standalone weekend tournaments open to everyone in the country, regardless of age and gender. It will be done fully online so as to accommodate more hopefuls.

Student-gamers, meanwhile, are targeted for The Nationals Academy Series, another standalone weekend tournament where only teams and/or players currently enrolled in school can join.

The league said it will not be charging anything for sign-ups on these tournaments.

Also on tap in Season 3 is The Nationals Draft Series, where the top teams and players in the Challenger Series and the Academy Series will be featured.

While it is a tournament by itself, it serves more like a combine for the players to exhibit their skills and talent. It will be an opportunity for them to impress scouts, which may lead to a steady career in esports.

A draft will happen not long after the tournament. Only players 15 years old and above from the draft series are eligible. Each franchise will be required to pick at least one player, with the drafting order being determined by their finish from the previous conference.

Once a player is drafted and signed, they will become full-fledged team members of the franchise teams. With the league’s changes in the minimum number of games per player, any drafted player is guaranteed to see action in the upcoming Pro League.

“As we head over to our third season, we took a look at what we can improve for our players and our fans. We wanted to create a better player ecosystem, which is why we are changing our format into having an inclusive and full path to pro series. With whatever game we have, we are providing a clear opportunity to be a pro player,” said The Nationals Commissioner Ren Vitug of the changes they incorporated.

FOUR CONFERENCES
Meanwhile, The Nationals said that for its third season, the target for the three conferences are Tekken 7, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and DotA 2.

A fourth conference is also set to happen later this year, which can be a repeat of the year’s most successful conference or will feature a new game.

The Nationals Season 3 kicks off with the Tekken 7 Challenger Series on March 20. Registration for the tournament is now ongoing. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

San Juan happy to reach another MPBL national finals

WHILE they were given virtually a free pass to the national finals of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), defending champions San Juan-Go for Gold Knights are still happy and proud to be back in the Big Dance regardless of how they were able to achieve it.

The Knights booked a spot in the MPBL Lakan Season national finals after defeating greatly undermanned Makati-Super Crunch, 131-54, in their North Division finals rubber match on Wednesday at the Subic Bay Gymnasium.

Makati only paraded five players in the win-or-go home match after disputes between management and players prevented the squad to have a full complement for the MPBL “bubble.”

That gave the Knights a huge advantage in the contest which they used to the hilt.

The team opened the game with a 15-0 run and never looked back from there.

“I just told the players not to be complacent despite the advantage that we had. And they responded well. They did not relax. They put in the effort needed to show that we deserve to win and be in the national finals,” said San Juan coach Randy Alcantara in Filipino after the game.

San Juan veteran John Wilson top-scored for his team with 22 markers followed by Jhonard Clarito with 20 points on top of 13 boards.

Philippine Basketball Association player Mike Ayonayon, who is honoring his commitment with San Juan, the team he played for before being drafted in the PBA, tallied his first triple-double in the league with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

San Juan is now awaiting the winner of the Davao Occidental-Basilan knockout match in the Southern Division finals. The contest, originally set for Wednesday as well, was postponed over health and safety protocols after a Basilan player tested positive for the coronavirus.

The match is slated to be played on March 17 if the Basilan team tests negative in its next swab test.

The MPBL Lakan Season National Finals will be a best-of-five affair.

The MPBL was cleared to resume its stalled Lakan Season last week through new protocols set by the government. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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