anna patricia valerio

In too deep

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:41:00 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

A GLIMPSE at the headlines that BusinessWorld ran in its first year not only gives a peek into the tumultuous history of the country’s pervasive debt burden, but also draws Filipinos to an issue that continues to haunt the new Aquino administration.

The borrowing binge that the Marcos regime indulged in during its two-decade rule snowballed the Philippines into a deep payment pit that it has been trying to get out of for more than two decades now.

The 1970s, which was marked by extensive loans from the international capital market, also heralded the country’s first debt crisis: tied to a spiraling balance of payments in 1968, the downturn caused record-breaking inflation and currency devaluation, with the peso being slashed in half.

From 1973, the country’s debt rose at an average of 27% per year. By 1982, annual debt payments had ballooned to $3.5 billion, an amount greater than the Philippines’ total liabilities in 1970.

Saddled with a $24.2 billion foreign currency debt, the state requested a 90-day moratorium on its obligations. The event was seen as the climax of its balance of payments dilemma: while the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) granted lower interests for government loans, the latter’s debt service charges continued to escalate to alarming levels.

Aggravated by the global economic downturn and the political upheaval that followed popular opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr.’s assassination, the period’s troubles culminated in Mr. Marcos’ departure for Hawaii in March 1986.

In a 2007 report, African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) executive director Charles Mutasa shed light on just how rapid foreign debt had risen in the Martial law era: from below $1 billion in 1966 — the year former President Ferdinand Marcos assumed the top post in the country — it had reached a whopping $28 billion by the time he fled the Malacañang Palace 20 years later.

The hurdle of meeting service payments confronted the new government when Corazon Aquino was propelled to the presidential seat in 1986. Recorded at $3 billion, it drained both the country’s foreign exchange earnings and investible surplus. It also led the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to push for another postponement, this time for two years, to let the country catch its breath and for Congress to introduce measures that would put a cap on annual debt service payments.

But both the Aquino administration and the Central Bank resisted these tactics, insisting that a more cooperative stance would be more beneficial for the country in the long run.

But then Finance Secretary Jaime Ongpin proposed at a senator briefing in 1987 that the debt servicing level, which was set at 22% to 29% at the time, be lowered to a more comfortable level of below 20%. The existing rate meant that the country would surrender 29 US cents out of every dollar it earned from exports and remittances to debt interest payments, at the expense of spending for development efforts.

Former Senate banks, financial institutions, and currency committee chairman Alberto Romulo was more ambitious, suggesting that the desired rate be pulled down to 10% of export receipts — a proposal that culminated in a bill, filed by former senator Ernesto Maceda, calling for a three-year suspension in foreign debt settlement.

Many analysts had been critical of the senators’ bold move. They argued that the Planters Products, Inc. (PPI) case, which demanded that the Philippine government guarantee the payment of the company’s $57 million debt to Barclays Bank of Britain, was not entirely a private issue: Foreign creditors, some bank officials surmised, felt that PPI’s financial capacity was impaired due to the Marcos regime, which controlled the company and meddled with its management by forcing it to sell at controlled prices.

Meanwhile, supranational groups warned that the bill would pit the Philippines against multilateral institutions like the World Bank, which could impair the country’s capacity to borrow in the future. Former Central Bank governor Jose Fernandez, Jr., for his part, argued that the prior deal made in July of the same year would suffice: $931 million saved in interest payments from 1987 up to 1992 and 17 years to pay with seven and a half years of grace period.

This in addition to a January agreement under the Paris Club — an informal organization of official creditors — that allowed the country to postpone for 10 years principal payments of $870 million worth of loans due in 1988. Mr. Ongpin himself was wary about adopting the selective repudiation policy, which he feared could compromise the economic recovery scheme that at the time was already showing signs of success.

The debt management program loan approved by the World Bank in 1990, the first that the organization had financed, assisted in restoring the country’s creditworthiness by reducing external debt burden and opening businesses up to international financial markets — until the 1990s when ensuing capital inflow had a destabilizing impact on the economy.

While the first Aquino government only borrowed an average of $591 million a year — less than half of the Marcos regime’s annual loans — the country’s debt had grown to $30 billion in 1991. By the time former President Joseph Estrada took the presidential seat in 1998, the country was borrowing some $2.2 billion a year.

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration was another story. According to AFRODAD, the foreign debt service burden from 2001 to 2005 has been the heaviest in Philippine history — whether measured in absolute terms, in per capita, or in its ratio to gross domestic product (GDP) — and has been recorded as the most severe drain on the country’s national resources, economic performance, and development.

Indeed, history appears to be repeating itself, as the current government led by President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III now shares the same headaches that his mother faced after the country came out of the Marcos regime.

Ernesto Pernia, a professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics, points out the striking similarities between the two administrations: “Cory’s government inherited a huge debt burden that needed to be serviced in terms of interest and principal payments, which in turn entailed more borrowings, further increasing the debt burden,” he says. “Noynoy’s debt problem is practically a repeat of Cory’s, a carryover of Gloria’s irresponsible debt buildup.”

***

July 6, 2011
S4/p. 3-4, 6-7

(Revisited BusinessWorld’s 1987 headlines for the 24th anniversary issue.)

Haven’t updated this in a while.

Tue, 17 May 2011 22:50:26 +0800

Haven’t updated this in a while.

A Generous Legacy

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:14:41 +0800

LONG BEFORE the term corporate social responsibility was even coined, Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI) was already at the helm of various programs that go beyond the realm of business.

Originally established as the Filipinas Foundation, Inc. (FFI) by Ayala managing partner Col. Joseph McMicking and his wife Mercedes Zobel in 1961, AFI was founded shortly after the Science Act of 1958 was passed under the administration of then President Carlos Garcia to support scientific research in the Philippines.

“It was really just the institutionalization of the family philanthropy,” said AFI President Victoria Garchitorena. “It was almost a no-brainer for them then, but at the time very few companies undertook CSR.”

In 1990, FFI was transformed into AFI, the current socio-cultural development arm of the Ayala conglomerate. The renamed institution marked both the thrust to cater to the needs of Philippine society and the continuation of the family’s legacy. More an integral aspect of Ayala’s operations than an incidental aside to its core businesses, AFI is not a mere “adjunct or an appendage [of the Ayala group of companies],” Ms. Garchitorena noted. “They just don’t write us a check.”

The establishment of the Filipinas Heritage Library (FHL) was one of the milestones that marked AFI’s commitment to furthering local education. The emphasis on going to the library for academic research has dampened the interest of students in reading for its own sake, a problem that FHL’s MyLibrary project has sought to address by launching community libraries that bring back the excitement that comes with books. AFI recently teamed up with Black Eyed Peas member Apl.de.Ap for the eponymous Apl.de.Ap Music Library and Studio in Pampanga.

The Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access for Students (GILAS) program, meanwhile, has been considered the largest and most successful private sector-led project in education. Cited as one of the best practices in the 2010 progress report on the Millennium Development Goals released by the National Economic and Development Authority, GILAS is a consortium of the top players from the IT and socio-civic sectors formed in January 2005 that aims to connect all public schools to the Internet. “We want to prepare the youth for the work force,” said Ms. Garchitorena, adding that knowledge of the use of computers has become a basic requirement for employment.

A strong need to preserve and take pride in Filipino culture, meanwhile, has been the driving force behind the Ayala Museum, which currently houses the Gold of Ancestors exhibit and some 60 handcrafted dioramas that depict the country’s history. Environmental protection has also been part of AFI’s goals through its Solid Waste Management program and the regularly held Recyclables Fair. In addition, AFI encourages entrepreneurial exploits through the Ayala Social Enterprise Accelerator Program and its Technology Business Incubators.

The influx of remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has also inspired the foundation to engage in diaspora philanthropy. Starting from an idea that was at first dismissed by skeptics who didn’t think OFWs would be interested in helping out their fellow Filipinos back home, the Philippine Development Foundation, formerly known as Ayala Foundation US, has since proven this misgiving wrong by garnering over $10 million worth of donations from OFWs over the years. “I’ve never met a Filipino in the US who said that they didn’t want to help their fellow Filipinos,” shared Ms. Garchitorena. “They just needed to know how to help [and] who to trust.”

AFI’s combined commitments to education, environment, entrepreneurship, history, arts and culture, and community development are admittedly a daunting task. Aware that the foundation seems to be doing everything at once, Ms. Garchitorena even jokingly muses, “[Maybe the biggest challenge is] figuring out what to do first.” [QQ] But it’s more a self-effacing remark from the president of an organization that seems to know very well the path it has been charting over the years. “We really make sure that when we undertake a program, there’s a way to make it sustainable. You have to make the community the stakeholders.”

The commitment to bridge the gap between the corporate arena and the world at large is summed up by a statement that seems to justify businesses’ need for more responsible engagements with the community: [QQ] “It’s really a symbiotic relationship,” concluded Ms. Garchitorena.—A.P.G. Valerio

***

BusinessWorld
March 11, 2011
S4/1-2
SPECIAL FEATURE: Socially Responsible Corporations
A Generous Legacy
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

A Corporate Calling

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:14:34 +0800

CORPORATE SOCIAL responsibility (CSR) may be an often-touted term that continues to generate much buzz in the corporate world, but its meaning has not been lost on the well-meaning nature of Filipinos.

The latest MasterCard Survey on Ethical Spending, which was conducted between September 13 to November 11 of last year and involved 10,502 consumers, revealed the Philippines as the most charitable nation among the 24 countries surveyed in Asia and Africa. Filipino respondents were the most generous at 68%, followed by Hong Kong at 66%, Malaysia at 63%, and Indonesia at 62%.

The results may come as a surprise especially to those familiar with the country’s place in the larger economic sphere. Known for the limited purchasing power that drives its people to seek greener pastures abroad, the Philippines is not as economically advanced compared to its more developed neighbors, but it shows a greater inclination to patronize businesses that are keen on doing their part to contribute to the community.

“It is encouraging to see that shopping with a conscience has taken root,” said Georgette Tan of MasterCard Worldwide in a statement. “Our latest research shows that Asia-Pacific shoppers are not just focused on good buys, they are just as focused on doing good.”

Indeed, local companies have long engaged in various projects that aim to alleviate the ailments that plague Philippine society. The need for a more conscious - and conscientious - business community has even prompted legislators to push for a law that mandates small and big companies alike to integrate CSR programs into all aspects of their operations. House Bill 6414, or the Corporate Social Responsibility Act of 2009, would require businesses to “come up with their own CSR programs and use [them] as an effective tool in improving their public relations with concerned stakeholders.”

But imposing such a law on local businesses may only serve to distance the arena of CSR from the corporate community itself. Will Marre, co- founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center, laments how many firms worldwide still have a flimsy understanding of what makes a socially responsible business and think of giving back to society as a charitable endeavor instead of a company-wide effort.

The concept of sustainability has also been thrown around by many businesses that they have failed to recognize that the success of their CSR programs relies on one thing alone: strategy. Many companies, in an effort to display their apparent commitment to a cause, engage in singular community efforts rather than get involved in sustained long-term initiatives. While these are usually propelled by good intentions, the lack of a main thread that ties these various activities together seems to imply that these are merely haphazard schemes with no discernible impact on the world at large.

The recent credit crunch alone is already enough reason for companies to engage in ethical business practices. Spurred by US banks’ rampant lowering of interest rates and the subsequent influx of funds from investors, the global downturn was more a result of unethical conduct than poor financial knowledge.

But while the drive to go beyond doing business in the cutthroat corporate world may be a timely issue, it’s not exactly a concern that has only become recently relevant. Mahatma Gandhi, shortly before he succumbed to death, had written on a piece of paper seven acts of passive violence - “sins that will destroy us,” he said - and had given it to his grandson, would-be peace activist Arun Gandhi.

The seven sins - among them wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principle - can be seen as a rather prophetic warning about the issues that mar today’s society, if only for the fourth sin alone: commerce without morality.

Victoria Garchitorena, president of Ayala Foundation, Inc., puts it quite simply: “A company cannot be an island of prosperity in a sea of poverty; it cannot ignore the community around it,” she said. “CSR must be an integral part of the way a company runs its business.”—A.P.G. Valerio

***

BusinessWorld
March 11, 2011
S4/1
SPECIAL FEATURE: Socially Responsible Corporations
A Corporate Calling
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

Milk over matter

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:14:24 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

THE IDEA for a goat farm came to Art Almeda while he was drafting a study on cattle feedlot fattening in 2004. A requirement for his Business Management course in San Beda Alabang, the project grew into a real venture after his father, Rene Almeda, who imported feedlot cattle from Australia in the 1990s, offered his own farm for Mr. Almeda to use as his business model.

The 16-hectare Alaminos Goat Farm (AGF) which has both Mt. Makiling and Mt. Banahaw for its backdrop, instantly appealed to Mr. Almeda. “When I saw it I just fell in love with it,” he says. “It was so close to nature typical of the beautiful countryside of tropical Philippines.”

Teeming with napier grass, ipil-ipil, and centrosema, the property also proved to be a good location for goat-raising: Aside from its abundant forage grass and existing feedlot facilities, the farm came with a feedmill and dedicated workers from his father’s former feedlot business.

The older Mr. Almeda assisted his son in raising capital for the enterprise, but also plunged his own hands into the startup. “I didn’t have any prior experience in farming although I’ve always enjoyed taking care of animals from the time I was a kid,” says the younger Mr. Almeda. “[But] I was lucky because my father had experience raising cattle in the past. It is beneficial because when you talk about animal husbandry, there are basic principles that apply to all kinds of animals whether it’s a goat, a cow, or a pig.”

These lessons proved useful when he, along with his father and brother, opened AGF and started breeding 100 native goats using the Boer bucks they imported from Australia in 2006. “Boers are meat-type goats,” says Mr. Almeda. “In terms of physical appearance, they are better-looking and bigger than the native goats.”

They spent the first two years investing in purebred genetic materials and nurturing their stock. One of the early hurdles they faced was the long gestation period of Boer goats, which ranges from 149 to 155 days. Raising the farm animal in the country’s tropical climate also proved to be a challenge. “Being shipped from a temperate country to the Philippines was quite stressful for them,” says Mr. Almeda.

In 2007, AGF shipped 100 Saanen dairy goats from Australia to jumpstart its dairy operations. Recent studies it conducted along with the National Dairy Authority (NDA) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) have shown that even in the tropics, Saanen dairy goats can be milked for 305 days so long as they have good nutrition and are cared for using proper animal husbandry practices. “I learned the virtue of patience in breeding,” says Mr. Almeda.

In 2008, the firm began supplying Alaminos Milk Star Fresh Goat’s Milk to supermarkets in Metro Manila. “Lactose-intolerant individuals prefer goat’s milk,” says Mr. Almeda. [QQ] AGF milks its goats daily and keeps tabs on the farm’s performance, but for Mr. Almeda, the secret to goat-raising lies largely in one factor: proper nutrition. “The first thing we tell interested goat-raisers is to plant different grasses and legumes before even purchasing a goat,” he says. “If they’re are well fed, they reproduce more efficiently and grow faster.”

The one year-old Alaminos Salad Garden has proven to be a cost- efficient way to sustain their goats: the garden took care of much of the forage requirement of AGF’s Boer breeders and was also able to feed all their dairy goats last year. “With indigofera as the main tree legumes, we have seen a big improvement in the performance of the dairy goats in our farm,” says Mr. Almeda.

Today, AGF has roughly 900 goats, making it one of the biggest producers of purebred goats in the country. “This year and the years ahead, we want to successfully produce our island-born Mitra Line and Alaminos Mitra Saanen cross in commercial numbers,” he says. “We believe this will make a big impact in helping develop goat dairying in the Philippines.”

For details and inquiries, e-mail Art Almeda at alaminos_goatfarm@yahoo.com.

***

BusinessWorld
March 1, 2011
S2/9
SPECIAL FEATURE: EntrepreNews
Milk over matter
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

Cross-country cooking

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:14:13 +0800

THIS CORPORATE CHEF started out by shelling green peas in his parents’ house in Colombia. Already a formidable force in the kitchen, the young David Pardo de Ayala would do culinary chores for his mother. A picture of him taken when he was younger than 10 years old - the one with him donning a chef’s uniform and hat - could have given reality cooking show contestants today a run for their money.

Interestingly, Mr. Pardo de Ayala isn’t a fan of this ongoing craze. “[Those shows] are for entertainment,” he says. He turns serious as he goes on to say how he despises the thought that cooking well has come to be synonymous with celebrity status. “If a chef becomes famous or well-paid, it should be after burning his hands.”

Indeed, his emphasis on hard work is a far cry from the glitz and glamor that now embellish the culinary world. More a reflection of the sanctity of cooking than a sign of self-important snobbery, his reverence for the craft has led him to take great care in his food.

Even his go-to homesick dish reveals a surprising preference for something simple but carefully prepared: “I will enjoy anything I haven’t cooked myself,” he says. “Chefs like anything as long as it’s nicely cooked; it’s all about caring enough to do it the right way [and] giving it a little more attention.” He himself has come a long way from slicing and dicing in the family kitchen. “Chefs go, I believe, through phases,” he says, adding that he now uses fewer ingredients and more vegetables in his dishes. “That doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but it marks your cuisine a little bit.”

At 20 years old, Mr. Pardo de Ayala became the youngest winner of Colombia’s national culinary contest, Nestle’s “Toca de Oro.” This big break led him to represent his country in the Latin American Culinary Symposium a year later, while his stints as chef de partie in five-star hotels and as executive chef of independent operations beefed up his resume for a place at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. In time, the young Mr. Pardo de Ayala found work at Lespinasse, Le Bernardin, and Bouley, the eponymous restaurant of David Bouley, whom he considers as one of his mentors. “It was the point of my career where I was most impressionable,” he says. “I thought my chefs walked on water.”

In 1997, Mr. Pardo de Ayala crossed over waters himself to settle in the Philippines. Opening the Soleil Restaurant in Makati and working as the chef of Aqua Restaurant at the Enterprise Center as well as the Soleil Cafe Moderne in Greenbelt 2, the Colombia native clearly didn’t have trouble adjusting to the local cuisine and culture. These days, Mr. Pardo de Ayala keeps himself busy as the corporate chef of Discovery Suites, Discovery Country Suites Tagaytay, and Discovery Shores Boracay.—Anna Patricia G. Valerio

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BusinessWorld
February 28, 2011
S4/3
SPECIAL FEATURE: Hotel Executive Chefs
Cross-country cooking
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

Pride of Plate

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:14:03 +0800

THE MARCH of expatriate chefs into local kitchens seems to signify a new stage for the local dining scene, but what they have to offer wouldn’t likely jolt the local palate.

Just a tour of the Spanish-era town of Binondo can give a glimpse of how immigrants, particularly the Hokkien Chinese from the Fujian province in southeastern China, have introduced ingredients that are now ingrained in local food. “I would call Filipino cooking one of the true and original fusion cuisines of the world, with its mix of Spanish, Chinese, and Malay influences,” says David Pardo de Ayala, corporate chef of the Discovery chain of hotels and resorts.

It is a sentiment that has been expressed by the late food scholar Doreen Fernandez, who in the book The Food of the Philippines: Authentic Recipes from the Pearl of the Orient, wrote: “[Filipino cuisine is] indigenous food from land and sea, field, and forest…[and] dishes and culinary procedures from China, Spain, Mexico, and the United States, and more recently from further abroad.”

There is still much room in the local belly, but it is a hole that may take time to fill, even as more dining options set up shop locally. “Every year there are better and better restaurants in Manila, but unfortunately, for the industry to be truly sustainable at a world-class level, it requires that clients have a certain level of disposable income that we just haven’t attained yet,” says Mr. Pardo de Ayala. “[Foodie havens like New York] have a restaurant scene that mirrors the purchasing power and level of sophistication of the bulk of its customers. We are moving on that direction, but we aren’t there yet.”

Yet Manila also has its virtues: one of them the ability to combine a variety of cuisines and serve them in a single plate - one that sometimes is even shared by a number of people.

“I would call [the Filipino taste] very savory and fresh in flavor, [as well as] very friendly and gregarious in spirit,” says Mr. Pardo de Ayala. “What makes [these cuisines] Philippine?” Ms. Fernandez wrote. “The history and society that introduced and adapted them; the people who turned them to their tastes and accepted them into their homes and restaurants; and especially the harmonizing culture that combined them into contemporary Filipino fare.” — A.P.G. Valerio

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BusinessWorld
February 28, 2011
S4/3
SPECIAL FEATURE: Hotel Executive Chefs
Pride of Plate
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

A Call to Service

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:14:00 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

THERE IS an almost saintly vibe to Ateneo de Manila president Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J. when one sees him walk along the corridors of the university. But unlike saints held on high and unreachable pedestals, Fr. Nebres is always approachable, as shown by the eagerness and ease with which students ask to take pictures with him in almost every school event. Affectionately called Fr. Ben, the longest-serving university president marks in 2011 both his 71st birthday and his last year as Ateneo’s leader.

His calling to priesthood came early at 11 years old. Inspired by the Belgian nuns of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary — a congregation that his sister Josefina would also join — he entered the Vigan seminary in high school to fulfill his vocation. “It was conveyed to us that [the religious life] was a life worth living, something that you’d aspire for,” he recalls. “It shaped very much our view of the world.”

But growing up in a setting that encouraged a religious profession also posed problems when the time had come for him to face his own faith. The change of the dogmatic constitution of the Catholic Church, marked by the seismic shift from the Pastor Aeternus of Vatican I to Lumen Gentium of Vatican II during the ’60s, caused some turmoil within the young would-be priest.

“[It was] not so much doubts about my vocation, but doubts about faith — whether my beliefs as a Catholic Christian were really my own beliefs and not just [something I got] from my parents or teachers,” shares Fr. Nebres. “That was quite a struggle for a while, but the important part was that, in the end, [I realized that] it was really my own beliefs, my own faith.”

To say that Fr. Nebres has fared well since this stage of uncertainty would be quite an understatement. He was the dean of the Ateneo’s School of Arts and Sciences from 1973 to 1980, rector of the Loyola House of Studies from 1980 to 1982, then became the provincial superior of the Jesuits in the Philippines for six years. He then led Xavier University - Ateneo Cagayan for three years before finally taking his post as Ateneo de Manila president in 1993.

Perhaps the most difficult decision he has had to make came during his first year as head of the Loyola campus. His proposal to transform the School of Arts and Sciences into four different schools, which would require various curriculum changes, was met with considerable controversy. “It was tough because many people felt that we were already doing well,” recalls Fr. Nebres. “Some people even told me, ‘You’re destroying the Ateneo. It’s no longer the school we know.’”

The turbulent transition of the single-school Ateneo to the four-school university that it is today took, quite appropriately, four painstaking years, but it was a change that ultimately braced Ateneans for the more complex environment they would enter once they had stepped out of the school gates. “It was really a process of restructuring and reshaping the Ateneo,” says Fr. Nebres. “It enabled the university to effectively engage a very much changed world — the world of our time.”

An early conversation that Fr. Nebres had with the Ateneo physical plant head at the time was already telling of the paramount part he would play in the university’s growth: Shortly after Fr. Nebres had assumed office, the latter expressed that, judging from his previous experience of working with the then newly elected president, he and his team would have to work faster under the Jesuit’s leadership. “At the time I had no plans yet, so I was surprised that he said that,” admits Fr. Nebres with a laugh. “Well, looking back now, [his prediction] came true — more than what he and I expected.”

But the many physical changes of the university itself — funded by contributions for the establishment of the John Gokongwei School of Management building, the Matteo Ricci Study Hall, the Manny V. Pangilinan Center for Student Leadership, and most recently, the new Rizal Library, to name a few — are but part of Fr. Nebres’ legacy to the Ateneo.

True to the Jesuit calling that it imbibes in its students, the university has recently instilled in Ateneans a renewed thrust to become men and women for others — a noticeable change that Fr. Nebres is most proud of, and a legacy that he hopes to leave behind to the whole Ateneo population. “We often think that the main way to impart values is to teach these in class. But the real transformation I have seen in so many Ateneans is in their actual engagement with others,” he notes.

There is something humbling about how, even with a lifetime’s worth of accomplishments behind him, Fr. Nebres easily defers the spotlight to a crop of much younger achievers. “They have been able to build things that I never would have been able to think about,” he says, citing the likes of Reese Fernandez of Rags2Riches, Mark Ruiz and Bam Aquino of Hapinoy, and Melissa Yeung of Got Heart Foundation as just some of the Ateneans who, despite their young age, have already made an impact on society.

“There used to be a separation: there were Ateneans who would go into business and Ateneans who would go into social development,” he says. “But now we have Ateneans who have a very strong business background and at the same time are able to make a difference. I’m very grateful to this generation.”

His 71st birthday also marks the official launch of the Blueplate for Better Learning program, a project of the Ateneo Professional Schools in partnership with the Ateneo Center for Educational Development that aims to feed 4,000 school children. Fr. Nebres cites a figure from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology to paint a painful portrait of the reality behind the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and highlight the need for this ambitious project: Twenty-six percent of Filipino preschoolers, according to a national survey in 2008, are malnourished and underweight, making them unable to concentrate in class.

“We are not aware enough that so many children in the country go to school hungry,” he says. “To actually see it is quite different, but how do you address that?”

It’s a question that, despite his formal stepping down from the top post this year, suggests that his work is still far from over.

***

BusinessWorld
March 15, 2011
S4/1,4
SPECIAL FEATURE: Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J.
A Call to Service
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

Beating aerophobia

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:13:46 +0800

THE FOOTAGE of two planes crashing into the World Trade Center Twin Towers a decade ago is easily one of the most tragic images of the last decade — more so for aerophobics, whose intense and irrational fear of flying could only be justified by the 9/11 fiasco.

While everyone is believed to experience off-ground anxiety to a certain degree, those who suffer from aerophobia are so afraid of air travel that they would go to great lengths — going by ship or road, or foregoing a trip — to avoid it. In extreme cases, aerophobics even vomit, palpitate, or get panic attacks at the mere thought of boarding a plane.

In the self-help book Wings of Discovery, author and pilot Stacey Chance, who created a free online fear of flying help course in 2001, claims that one out of every six adults has aerophobia. The condition, for some, was brought about by a traumatic travel-related experience. Even seemingly trivial disturbances such as flight delays and customs clearance procedures contribute to an overall unpleasant memory that could turn a typical person into a skittish neurotic at the airport. “[For everyone,] there is a pairing of a certain situation with an emotional experience of fear and anxiety, but this eventually gets ‘un-paired,’” says Jojo Cruz, a consultant psychiatrist at St. Luke’s Medical Center.”[For those with aerophobia,] this pairing is not extinguished.”

Aerophobia can also be influenced by the fear of heights, cramped spaces, turbulence, bad weather, long and sustained above-water flights, and the general lack of control one feels when they’re technically floating on air. The phobia may also very well be related to, if not altogether mistaken for, the increasingly common fear of hijacking, especially in light of recent world events.

But perhaps the media is also to blame for casting an unfavorable light on air travel which, several studies assure, is still the safest mode of transport. News stories about plane crashes easily get sensationalized through television, more so than the typical motorcycle or car accident. “When people get news or hear from someone else that it is such a terrible experience, that sticks with them,” says Dr. Cruz.

There’s also a general misapprehension of aviation science: The reluctance of many aerophobics seems to stem from the mistaken notion that an aircraft is propped up by its engines alone. And engine failure would thus cause it to immediately plummet to the ground and kill all of its passengers on board — a far cry from how a plane, which glides along the air, really works.

Behavioral treatments like exposure therapy can go a long way in alleviating aerophobia, while plane flight simulators, which aim to educate aerophobics, can ease their air travel-related anxieties. But like any other ordeal, the first step in dealing with condition is to recognize it for what it is: an irrational, and often, an uneducated fear of flying.—Anna Patricia G. Valerio

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BusinessWorld
February 28, 2011
S4/2
SPECIAL FEATURE: Island Carriers
Beating aerophobia
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

Woman on the verge

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:05:50 +0800

Text by Anna Patricia Valerio

The slew of covers on magazine racks may claim otherwise, but there seems to be something premature about calling Solenn Heussaff today’s “it” girl. Her popularity hasn’t reached household name status yet (mentioning her name may even elicit a “Solenn who?” from the truly clueless), while her name lacks the easy-recall factor that even her fans –- perhaps out of excitement –- occasionally misspell it. Blessed with beauty, brains, body, and breeding, Solenn is ridiculously easy to hate, and yet she doesn’t have a throng of haters hurling invectives at her -– even when she had allegedly caught the attention of Glee star Mark Salling.

And yet it is precisely for these reasons that countless men and women have been touting her –- exalting her, even –- as a modern-day goddess. And it’s an acclaim that’s not quite undeserved. Having gone a long way from starring as the nerd-turned-hot girl who literally let her hair down in a Pop Cola commercial, the 25-year-old French-Filipina beauty has been adding slash after slash on her resume with enviable ease: print and commercial model, make-up artist, fashion designer, painter, Channel [V] VJ, Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown finalist, actress, and now, singer. “I have always believed in doing as much as you can do as long as you do those things well,” she says.

Break into song

Solenn’s foray into singing started innocently enough. Performing in front of a stuffed toy audience and vocalizing in the shower don’t quite paint a picture of a future singing sensation, but that’s something that Solenn, at the time and perhaps even today, couldn’t care less about.

Every Sunday, from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, her dad would play music in their garden and keep young Solenn within earshot of jazz tunes. But it’s not all jazz, either. “I always discover new genres with him, even if some I dislike,” she says.

She believes in her singing chops just enough to laughingly recall how, even as a kid, she would always be asked to sing in front of her parents’ friends at their parties. “[My parents are] very honest people,” she says. “If I didn’t know how to sing I’m sure they would have never asked me to perform for their friends [to] save me from embarrassment.”

The executives at MCA Music seemed to have the same parental faith in Solenn’s shot at singing. Shortly after her stint at Survivor Philippines, the renowned record label approached her to offer a three-year, three-album contract. “I was shocked and excited,” she says. “They are a huge company and many of my favorite artists are labeled with them, so I just couldn’t believe it.”

It’s a sentiment that, to some, may reek of false modesty, if not sound like a standard showbiz answer, but Solenn has a way of keeping things –- at the risk of turning to an often used but seldom meant phrase –- refreshingly real. Maybe too real, even, as she goes on about how fond she is of singing in French -– “if I forget the lyrics and make up new ones, no one will notice,” she quips – and how much she loves the songs of no less than the First Lady of France herself, Carla Bruni, and French singer Patricia Kaas. “Patricia Kaas is more on the low tunes and [her songs] are very jazzy, which suit my voice well,” she says.

But Solenn’s music taste isn’t all that predictable. Those familiar with her jazz leanings would probably be surprised to learn that she has Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” on her iPod, or that she listens to all-girl heavy metal band Kittie, let alone guess that she has a favorite song by them. (It’s “Paperdoll.”)

And who could ever expect that she’s a fan of the raspy croon of Kitchie Nadal and the sultry singing of Sinosikat? frontwoman Kat Agarrado -– “those girls’ voices are to die for,” she gushes –- or that despite not being fluent in Filipino -– at least, not yet, as she plans to be by the end of this year –- she has found a “forever favorite” OPM song in the unlikely but time-honored “Anak” by Freddie Aguilar?

Not that many. But while her varied song choices may come as a surprise, her favorite artist comes as an expected answer because of her jazz roots: Norah Jones. “I find her songs and lyrics soothing and timeless,” she says. “I could listen to her CDs over and over again and not get tired of it.”

But it was a Michael Jackson song that really propelled Solenn to the singing spotlight. Clutching the microphone with sweaty hands at her Party Pilipinas debut in December last year, she sang a soulful rendition of “Billie Jean” to the delight –- and most likely, surprise –- of the huge crowd. “I was very nervous as it was my first appearance, and [knowing that I was on] national TV didn’t add to me being comfortable,” she says. Singing one of the King of Pop’s most loved songs didn’t ease the all-too-known anxiety of performing on stage, either. “I was scared of people’s reactions to the way I changed [the song] to suit me,” she says.

Solenn, whose public performances include being a guest vocalist at the Jewelmer Jazz Festival in 2009 and, more recently, singing at the launch of Hayden Kho’s perfume line, is still no stranger to stage fright. “I’m still always nervous and not 100% sure of myself yet. My voice still shakes and [I still] have the fear of forgetting the lyrics,” she says.

But her apprehension surely doesn’t show. Open to singing a variety of genres -– “I’d love to do some slow songs and a few dance beats but still with a jazzy feel,” she says, and yes, even French and Filipino songs –- the serial multi-slasher seems ready to take on one more field under her svelte belt.

And she’s serious about it. “It’s all just a learning process,” she says. “I know I still have a lot to improve on, especially in this country where almost everyone can sing and belt out high notes.” Little does she know, of course, that she probably doesn’t even have to wail the highest notes to fill up a stadium.

***

HerWord.com
February 11, 2011
Section: Workbook
Woman on the verge
Anna Patricia Valerio

Business and behavior

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:05:31 +0800

WITH THE TERM “business ethics” itself considered an oxymoron, it is no wonder that even educators have not been able to agree on its role inside the classroom. The goal of business, after all, is and has always been to make a profit. But while money is still the machine that propels entrepreneurs, it just might be proper conduct that will give them a human face.

Transactions themselves are anchored on trust, without which dealings in the business community are reduced to a mere sham. “Can you imagine if most of the discussions that you have with colleagues would be viewed with skepticism, notarized, or put under oath?” says Alberto Buenviaje, dean of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business (AGSB). “The lack of ethics in one’s business transactions will always create problems.”

The debate on whether to create an ethics course appears to be more of a Western concern, as local business schools have long offered it as part of their curriculum. But Mr. Buenviaje stresses that it’s not simply a matter of having it as a token subject in one’s coursework, as doing so would only reinforce the idea that the realm of ethics is separate from the arena of business decision-making. “It’s not enough that you teach a business ethics course,” he says. “If it stops there, then ethics will be viewed as a by-the-way type of teaching.” Integrating moral values in each subject, even in topics like accounting and statistics, is a must if it is to be stamped on the consciousness — and conscience — of every business student.

The task of teaching business ethics is a particularly urgent one in the wake of the recent global downturn — a catastrophe that goes down in history as a textbook case of misconduct in the finance field. “[The banks] lowered their credit and investment standards and sacrificed the long-term viability of their institutions for short-term gains,” says Mr. Buenviaje. “It was all about greed, and that’s largely an ethical issue.”

Indeed, the credit crunch has pushed a group of students from Harvard Business School’s Class of 2009 to draft “The MBA Oath,” a code of ethics which MBA graduates and students voluntarily take to “recognize that [their] behavior must set an example of integrity, eliciting trust and esteem from those [they] serve and [to] remain accountable to [their] peers and to society.” The oath currently has 4,000 signatories, among them alumni and current students of business schools worldwide such as the IE Business School, London Business School, and MIT Sloan School of Management. — A.P.G. Valerio

***

BusinessWorld
February 11 - 12, 2011
S5/1
SPECIAL FEATURE: Premier Postgraduate Schools
Business and behavior
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

Fro-yo frenzy

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:39:00 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

When Sherika Tanmantiong’s New York-based sister told her about the Red Mango frozen yogurt craze that has hit the Big Apple, she knew there was something in it for her and her friend, Kelvin Gaisano. “At that time we were looking for a business to franchise,” she says.

The venture was a right fit for their résumé. Ms. Tanmantiong, niece of Jollibee founder Tony Tan Caktiong and daughter of Ernesto Tanmantiong, president of the Jollibee brand, is familiar with the workings of the local food industry, while Mr. Gaisano has had previous stints with retail player Gaisano group, owner of the shopping mall chain of the same name.

But it wasn’t their prominent family names that clinched the deal when, after several e-mail exchanges with Red Mango’s founders, Ms. Tanmantiong and Mr. Gaisano went to Korea in 2008 to discuss their plans for Red Mango’s entry to local malls. The owners, unaware that the pair had a network of big businesses back home, were more impressed with their young age than anything else. “I remember them telling me, ‘I imagined you to be so much older,’” says Mr. Gaisano.

More an asset than a drawback, their youth also pushes them out of their comfort zone. “When you’re young you feel like you can take on anything,” says Ms. Tanmantiong. Being surrounded by people who have long been in the business has likewise kept them within earshot of indispensable knowledge. “I guess that’s another advantage of youth,” adds Mr. Gaisano. “You have mentors [and] people who are willing to teach you.”

But they also wanted to go against the grain. “They say in marketing that you shouldn’t think like you’re the target market,” says Ms. Tanmantiong. “But we understand our market because we are our market,” adds Mr. Gaisano.

While it took several months for the first Red Mango Philippines store to open in TriNoma in 2009, the long wait was more a result of careful preparation than a lack of readiness. “We weren’t able to find the right location right away,” says Ms. Tanmantiong. Searching for the right person to manage the business was also no easy feat.“We wanted to find someone with experience,” she adds. “And character,” Mr. Gaisano chimes in.

The two-year old venture now has branches in Eastwood Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Greenbelt 3, and SM Megamall. While the duo’s location choices depend largely on the availability of space in shopping malls, the decision to hold back on a franchising operation stems from a desire to nurture the brand at its own pace. “Some locations are just not in line with our direction for Red Mango,” says Mr. Gaisano.

Unlike the take-out fro-yo stalls mushrooming around the metro, Red Mango sees itself more as a hangout joint than a spot for a quick yogurt fix. Lined with comfortable chairs and tables that are more suitable for a study session than a snack stopover, Red Mango shops give off a cool cafe vibe that lures people to stay around longer than they would in other fro-yo outlets.

Seasonal food crazes, such as the once-ubiquitous taro shakes, are as forgettable as they come, but both Ms. Tanmantiong and Mr. Gaisano are confident that fro-yo will be tickling taste buds for a long time. “I don’t think frozen yogurt is a fad,” says Ms. Tanmantiong. “People don’t think ice cream is a fad, so why frozen yogurt? It will always be an alternative to ice cream.”

And they’re not the only ones who believe in the business: Red Mango received the Most Promising Retailer award at the 12th Ayala Malls Merchant Awards held in July last year. But a bigger milestone could be the positive reception that the shop continues to garner among fro-yo lovers.“[We like] that many people talk about it and are happy about it,” says Mr. Gaisano.

This month, Red Mango is adding a new flavor to its menu just in time for Valentine’s Day: blueberry. More than these additions, however, perhaps it is the desire to keep customers cozy that will make the frozen yogurt madness —or at least, Red Mango—a mainstay after the fro-yo fever has cooled down.

***
BusinessWorld
February 1, 2011
S2/9
SPECIAL FEATURE: EntrepreNews
Fro-yo frenzy
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

Midlife Madness

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:31:00 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

The popular midlife memoir Eat, Pray, Love may have had distraught, single women going on soul-searching trips to distant lands, but for adults who already have their own family, the search for one’s self can be an even lonelier sojourn.

“A midlife crisis is a highly personal event that involves subjective distress,” said Dr. Imelda Batar, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at The Medical City and past president of the Philippine Psychiatric Association.

Triggered by a combination of biological, psychological, and sociological stimuli, it is a phase that hits men and women in their 40s and 50s — precisely the stage when they are expected to have long gotten their act together.

But it is also around this age that adults reassess their lives and begin to take a closer look at what they have accomplished — or haven’t accomplished — so far. Failures, often more perceived than real, start to rise to the surface upon closer examination. “We know that during different points in our life, our needs change, and sometimes our values change,” said Dr. Batar. “During one’s 40s and 50s, one may look back on the past based on their current mindset — which is not the same mindset they had in their 20s or 30s.”

Grown-ups settled with their own brood experience midlife crises differently from those living on their own. Unlike married men and women, parents may project this tension onto the household, where their children may also be struggling with their own adolescent or quarter-life dilemmas. “It becomes worse when there is no stabilizing factor in the house,” said Dr. Batar. “Of course we can say that it is the midlifer — who is supposedly more mature — who should adjust.”

But expecting elders to set aside their issues for the sake of their kids is easier said than done. While the support provided by the close-knit Filipino clan structure may help to alleviate feelings of insecurity, there is also a downside to such intimacy. Anthropologists, said Dr. Batar, have their own take on the locals’ sense of self. “Filipinos are a very social people. There’s an outer circle — composed of family and friends — that is part of that sense of being complete for us,” she said. “We don’t feel complete when our relationships with other people are not okay.”

It is a theme tackled extensively by Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Michael Tan in a series of articles published in December last year. In these, he tells of how visiting the sick in the country speaks volumes of the bayanihan spirit that is ingrained in Filipino culture. Never one to leave relatives on their own inside a hospital, a Filipino would shun the thought of trusting their loved ones to the medical staff alone.

But it is this unfamiliarity with isolation that could very well be the attitude that restrains Filipino adults from taking a breather from constant companionship and probing into the very root of their unease on their own — a must in dealing with a midlife crisis. “People, at some point, also need to step back and think about their lives,” said Dr. Batar, adding that this becomes an increasingly difficult task when one is surrounded by a community that not only frowns on solitude, but also considers it a signal for concern.

There’s also a widespread assumption that midlife crisis is more a myth — if not a West-centric phenomenon — than a legitimate medical condition. In “Midlife Crisis in Chinese Men and Women,” a study published in The Journal of Psychology in 1996, a survey of 1,500 Hong Kong Chinese showed that their dissatisfaction with their careers and personal achievements failed to reach crisis levels. Values such as the importance of family and interpersonal harmony — the same norms found in the Filipino setting — were cited as possible deterrents to midlife distress. ”It doesn’t happen to everyone, but it can happen to anyone,” warned Dr. Batar.

While no figures have been published on its prevalence in the country, midlife crisis is noticeably more common among the middle class. But it also tends to inspire ridicule of its victims, with family and friends dismissing their suffering as the rants of a whiny, self-absorbed adult. Made to feel ashamed about experiencing such angst in their prime, these men and women are often told that they have no valid reason to even entertain these emotions. “For people undergoing it, that’s the worst you can tell them,” said Dr. Batar.

Children whose elders are wading through these unchartered waters could lend a hand in pulling them out of their rut. The mere assurance of having been able to raise good kids may be more than enough to revive their parents’ self-esteem. “Self-affirmation is important, of course,” said Dr. Batar. “But we’re also social beings, so affirmation from other people, especially from our family, can give us a big boost.”

Parents who nurse their own wounds first before minding their households may appear selfish, but adults who have ironed out their personal issues can be more effective in responding to their children’s needs. Dr. Batar illustrates the importance of taking care of oneself first before attending to others: Before take-off, airplane passengers are instructed that should an emergency arise, they are to wear their oxygen masks first before helping their children put on theirs. The protocol has a rationale behind it that midlifers may find useful. “It’s the same thing,” said Dr. Batar. “How can you take care of your child when you yourself are suffocating in your life?”

***

BusinessWorld
January 27, 2011
S2/9-10
SPECIAL FEATURE: HealthGuide
Midlife Madness
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

More PWD-friendly areas needed

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:59:31 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

THE UBIQUITOUS RAMPS at office building entrances may point to a metropolis that’s becoming friendlier to persons with disabilities (PWDs), but a closer look at present provisions reveal the country’s continuing incapacity to properly accommodate this marginalized segment.

An audit conducted during the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation in July last year, for instance, showed that only two government buildings — the Philippine Port Authority and the TESDA Training Center Building — received a passing grade on PWD accessibility.

While not limited to facilities alone — the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stresses that accessibility also applies “to transportation [and] to information and communications including information and communications technologies and systems” — these oversights continue to hamper the ability of PWDs to integrate themselves normally into society.

Many structures already have the required ramp for PWDs, but this doesn’t always meet the specifications outlined by law, said retired Navy Captain Oscar Taleon, president and CEO of the Alyansa ng mga Kapansanang Pinoy (AKAP-Pinoy), Inc. With a required one foot to 12 feet vertical to horizontal ratio, a correctly built ramp not only smoothens building entry for PWDs, but also for pregnant women and senior citizens.

The same deficiencies are found in local comfort rooms. The majority of public restrooms lack grab bars, a low toilet bowl, and a door that swings outward — the minimum requirements for a bathroom unit for the disabled. And many of those who do have PWD-friendly cubicles appear to have put them up more for show than for function. Sometimes used as a storage area for bathroom supplies, it becomes just another unit that PWDs can’t occupy. “Another problem here is that most of the cubicles for PWDs are usually locked, so you still have to talk to the manager to be able to use them,” said Mr. Taleon.

The list goes on outside the building: Parking spaces reserved for those with disabilities are routinely taken up by those who don’t really have the need for them. It doesn’t help that there’s still the misinformed notion that PWDs are limited to just the wheelchair users. “Many people, especially the security guards, still think that way,” said Mr. Taleon.

Proper attitudes toward the disabled are outlined in the country’s Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities, or Republic Act No. 7277, which details the different rules and regulations to promote the quality of life of this oft-neglected group. But having such measures on paper has failed to correct the general bias against PWDs and their needs. “We already have the laws [to make this country PWD-friendly], but we lack the implementation,” said Mr. Taleon.

Bien Mateo, SM Committee on Disability Affairs chairman, agrees. “Political will in upholding the rights of PWDS is very much needed from the government,” he said. “[But the] private sector can make a big contribution.” His department, for instance, has instructed its janitors and security guards to assist PWDs when they are within the premises of SM shopping malls. The challenge, he said, lies in helping out those whose disabilities aren’t as conspicuous — autism, hearing impairments, ADHD, and epilepsy.

Creating standard procedures in the area is a task that the state has yet to take up: dole-outs, albeit handed with good intentions, hardly dignify the status of the sector. “The government should also consult PWDs when it comes to policy-making,” said Mr. Taleon. “We know more about our concerns than any other people.”

***

BusinessWorld
January 26, 2011
S4/2
SPECIAL FEATURE: Pioneers of Local Construction
More PWD-friendly areas needed
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

Hut Pursuit

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:59:00 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

The bahay kubo project proposed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the aftermath of typhoon Ondoy in 2009 came across as a hare-brained scheme to relocate the victims of the disastrous flood that swept away homes sturdier than the lowly nipa hut.

But while the thought of transplanting houses on stilts to the dense urban jungle may elicit more scoffs than support, particularly from those present at the National Disaster Coordinating Council meeting at the time, the idea is not without its merits: if anything, the bahay kubo is a living testament to local ingenuity in sustainable design.

Itself epitomizing the Filipino spirit of bayanihan, the bahay kubo was built not on fancy technology, but on the need to adapt to the country’s tropical climate. “I call it architecture without architects,” says Angelo Mañosa of architecture firm Mañosa & Co., who won the grand prize for architecture at the 2010 Metrobank Art and Design Excellence Competition. Son of National Artist Bobby Mañosa, the famed architect who built himself a mansion that paid a nostalgic nod to the country’s national shelter, the younger Mr. Mañosa also advocates the use of Filipino architectural elements in contemporary homes.

The style of bahay kubo, he says, varies according to its location across the country. While the basic features remain the same for every hut — elevated posts, wide roof overhangs, and oversized windows — the nuances among houses make the bahay kubo characteristically a region’s own. “Each of the many tribes in the country had their unique architecture,” says Mr. Mañosa.

But the tradition is just as much about function as it is about form. Cogon, one of the materials used in building the native abode, is a lightweight material that releases heat very quickly, letting the whole house cool down faster on a hot day. The elevated, and often bamboo, floor of the bahay kubo allows it to stay cool and improves ventilation by letting air seep in through its slats and go upward for a stack effect. Large awning windows propped up by a pole allow for ample illumination during the day while shielding the interiors from direct sunlight. Even the 30-degree tilt of the roof has a purpose, as it prevents rain from entering the house and is especially resilient to strong typhoons. And having been made largely from locally sourced materials, the bahay kubo could easily be repaired or rebuilt after an earthquake or flood using simple tools. “It’s one of the most sustainable houses built by Filipinos,” says Mr. Mañosa.

Famously idealized in Fernando Amorsolo’s rural-themed paintings, the native hut had over the centuries seen its popularity wane among the country’s elites, whose preference for the Spanish-inspired bahay na bato and much later, for concrete mansions have until recently, kept the bahay kubo beyond the radar of mainstream design circles, preserving it largely in its prehispanic form.

What the country has been building en masse are structures suited for colder climates. Homeowners who end up occupying such houses find themselves compensating for the lack of natural ventilation by cranking up the air-conditioner and leaving it turned on for the whole day. “[Architects need to] design with the climate in mind,” stresses Mr. Mañosa.

But it may also be the Filipino’s fixation with international design trends that is turning local attention to eco-friendly schemes. “The West is now on a major green revolution,” says Mr. Mañosa, who is also one of the founding members of the Philippine Green Building Council. “That’s why we’re also getting into it.”

A good place to start is the classroom, where the country’s future architects are sharpening their pencils. “Many of the [practicing architects now] are just [instituting green measures] because that’s what clients look for,” says Mr. Mañosa. An environment-conscious mind-set in young would-be architects, he says, takes a deeper commitment than building Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-compliant structures.

A bigger battle may be making Filipinos proud of their architectural heritage. Mr. Mañosa contrasts the cultural gulf between local social segments in the country with this example: a president of a multinational corporation in Tokyo and a farmer in the rice paddies of Okinawa are, despite their obvious differences, still quite similar at the end of the day. “Both of them, [albeit] so different in class, enjoy the same shoji rice [paper] partitions and tatami flooring [in their homes],” he says. “There’s nothing in their culture that says it’s not accepted; they’re not ashamed of it.”

***

BusinessWorld
January 26, 2011
S4/1-2
SPECIAL FEATURE: Pioneers of Local Construction
Hut pursuit
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

Size Matters

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:54:00 +0800

IT WAS THE BEST of times, it was the worst of times: It took several novels for Charles Dickens to weigh the pros and cons of the Victorian era, but locals need only to glance at the lowly pan de sal to get a feel of the country’s economic climate.

Tracing its beginnings to the 16th century, the pan de sal may carry a Spanish name, but it could have well been born inside the Filipino oven. Known as a social equalizer of sorts, the local bun remains the go-to staple for instant breakfast or midday merienda in both humble homes and ritzy residences in the country.

A study conducted by the Philippine Association of Flour Millers, Inc. roughly a decade ago revealed that, at the time, 85% of Filipinos would rather have bread than rice for breakfast. And the 10,000 bakeries in the industry then devoted at least half of their oven capacity every day to making pan de sal.

But Felice Prudente-Sta. Maria, a culinary heritage advocate and author of Breads, Beguiled and Blessed, wrote that the pan de sal has more than a dietary significance. A reflection of the depth of the country’s pockets, the humble bread’s size can also function as a barometer to progress: a hefty lump can denote vigor and a well-fed citizenry, while a half-airy nugget can point to skyrocketing inflation and a hungrier population.

A noticeably puny pan de sal became quite the norm on local bread trays when, in 2009, the financial crisis wreaked havoc on the world’s wealth.

Sparing not even the biggest bakeries, the global downturn put quite a dent on the country’s food producers: the Philippine Federation of Bakers, Inc. had predicted that around 10,000 to 12,000 bakery operators nationwide would be affected by the markedly lower bread consumption at the time — an industry issue that was addressed at the 5th International Exhibition on Bakery, Confectionery and Food Service Equipment and Supplies in the same year.

This week, news of the rising price of bread hit the airwaves. With the cost of raw ingredients, among them flour and sugar, on a steady climb, industry insiders predict that the pan de sal will be sold at an even higher price in the coming months.

But for all its connections to the country’s economic belly, it is the pan de sal’s place in Filipinos’ hearts that will guarantee its survival. Perhaps it was renowned food critic Doreen Gamboa-Fernandez who said it best in Palayok: Philippine Food Through Time, On Site, In the Pot: more than a mirror of social welfare, the pan de sal is essentially a representation of the everyday Filipino — reliable and resilient even in times of crisis, economic or otherwise.

In the short story “The Bread of Salt,” National Artist N.V.M. Gonzalez wrote about how a young boy, reeling from the shame of getting caught doing something embarrassing at a party, decides to drop by the neighborhood bakery to buy himself some pan de sal: the ever dependable comfort food, for the best or worst of times. — Anna Patricia G. Valerio

***

BusinessWorld
S4/4
January 21, 2011
SPECIAL FEATURE: Baked to Goodness Breads
Size Matters
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

How to: Pedal for Profit

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:47:00 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

IT WAS A VENTURE that seemed destined for failure.

A biking business in a city where road kings roll on four wheels and cycling lanes are an alien concept might not have looked good on paper, but like any novel endeavor, its fate ultimately rested on good timing.

When Krie Lopez, the woman behind the environment-friendly line of disinfectants called Messy Bessy Organic Household Cleaners, needed to find an equally eco-friendly way to deliver her products to clients in 2008, her sister Candy Reyes, a member of outdoor sports group UP Mountaineers, suggested that she use two-wheel transport — an idea that grew into Pedala, the country’s first bike messenger service.

“Biking was suddenly becoming more popular as gas prices were rising, and people were becoming more and more conscious and concerned about the environment,” said Ms. Reyes. “Pedala gave them a way to directly contribute to the fight for cleaner air, while providing them an efficient service — fast, same-day delivery without the fumes, unaffected by traffic and gas price hikes.”

A portmanteau of the words “pedal” and “padala” (the Filipino term for “parcel”), the name was suggested by one of the founder’s friends, actor Gabe Mercado. “I thought it was a very cool name — very Filipino,” she said. “People responded well to it.”

The lack of a precedent in the country required Ms. Reyes to look to other countries for business models to follow. For one, she had a rather difficult time setting a pricing standard for her start-up’s services. “Volumes are also very unpredictable, so having the right number of active riders in proportion to daily deliveries is part of our daily challenge,” added Ms. Reyes.

The carriers uses their own bikes, so the initial capital was invested in waybills, bike jerseys, an easy-recall mobile number, and insurance for both the items and the riders. Seeing much potential in Pedala, fellow UP Mountaineer member Bernice Varona joined the business as a partner in June last year. “Because of our connections, we were able to meet bikers and find people who would want to be part of Pedala,” she said, adding that the firm has become a source of temporary employment for athletes who want to train for competitions.

It is the vast network they have built that has helped the pair to keep track not just of the items they deliver, but also the carriers they deploy. “It happened before that a biker was caught not using his bike to deliver, and we immediately fired him for that,” said Ms. Varona.

The duo has since been trying to iron out the kinks in Pedala’s daily operations. Routes are assigned to messengers according to their location, while requests are sent to them through text message. “Aside from having insurance for the packages, we also train the bikers before they start on how to care for the packages,” said Ms. Varona. “Clients usually indicate if their packages need special handling, and we also turn down jobs with items that we know will be prone to damage during the delivery.”

One must simply know their way around Metro Manila’s cities to qualify as a Pedala bike messenger. “To ensure their trustworthiness, we require an NBI clearance — among other [documents] — before we interview them, and we do trial deliveries first before they become part of the team,” said Ms. Varona.

If there is a major road block that the start-up has had to confront, it’s the judgment that’s passed on what’s often regarded as a poor man’s transport. Many establishments, for example, deem the two-wheeled ride an eyesore and forbid bikers to park within their premises. Messengers entering residential subdivisions aren’t that much better off, either, as security guards tend to get suspicious seeing them on a humble bicycle instead of a more official-looking delivery van.

It is these minor bumps that the pair hopes to work on as they pedal their way toward a more bike-friendly Manila. Currently busy with developing a city-wide campaign, both Ms. Reyes and Ms. Varona, with help from other cycling organizations, are looking to place more bike racks in establishments as well as allot more parking spaces for the two-wheeler in the metro. Ms. Reyes has pointed out that a single car slot alone can accommodate 10 to 12 bikes.

“There is so much to learn from other bike-friendly cities,” said Ms. Reyes. “Using bikes as transportation benefits not only the people cycling themselves by making them healthy [and] more physically fit, but also the city by making its air cleaner, and the traffic less congested.”

While the bike lanes that line the streets of Amsterdam, Berlin, and Copenhagen for their resident pedal-pushers may still be far off for Manila’s clogged roads, baby steps toward a more bike-friendly culture are already being taken in the capital. “Somehow, little by little, we are already making progress,” said Ms. Varona.

For details and inquiries, contact Pedala at 0920-698-7777 or e-mail pedalabikemessengers@gmail.com.

***

BusinessWorld
January 4, 2011
S2/10
SPECIAL FEATURE: EntrepreNews
How to: Pedal for Profit
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

The brain burglar

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 20:06:03 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

EVEN AFTER having survived life’s biggest perils, one’s health can still be sabotaged by a debilitating disease that will leave them with the memory of a goldfish in their twilight years—just when all that’s left to do is reminisce about the good times.

Unlike the forgetfulness that comes naturally with aging, Alzheimer’s disease entails the irreversible degeneration of the brain so pronounced that it interferes with a person’s basic mental functions.

 Common among those who live a sedentary lifestyle well into their adult years, the illness is a form of dementia that is believed to be caused by the buildup of amyloid plaque in the brain—a lesion that marks the death of neurons, which are responsible for processing and transmitting information to other brain cells.  

Dr. Socorro Martinez, president of the Alzheimer’s Disease Association of the Philippines, stresses that the neurodegenerative disorder impairs more than just one’s memory. “[It also affects] judgment, behavior, executive functioning, the ability to plan, the ability to determine the consequences of one’s action, and visio-spatial orientation,” she says.  

The Alzheimer’s Association of America recently revised its list of 10 telltale signs of the disease to accommodate more than memory lapses in its set of symptoms: memory changes that disrupt daily life; challenges in solving problems; difficulty in completing tasks; confusion with time or place, visual images and spatial relationships; problems with words while speaking or writing; misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps; poor judgment; withdrawal from work or social activities; and sudden changes in mood.  

But identifying the condition is itself a problem, as there is currently no definitive method for measuring the extent of its damage on a patient. Indeed, conclusive diagnosis can only be done after one has died: recent research has shown that only a brain tissue autopsy can accurately detect and study the lesions that Alzheimer’s has left on one’s brain.

  More importantly, such hindrances stand in the way of efforts to formulate an effective cure. “There are, however, symptomatic treatments that serve to delay or stabilize the disease,” says Dr. Martinez, pointing out that even the slightest improvements in cognition can have a big impact on how a patient carries out his day-to-day life.

  Activities as simple as exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy diet can be just as helpful in slowing the pace of Alzheimer’s. “Exercise improves blood circulation to the brain, while dairies, nuts, and deeply colored fruits and vegetables have high antioxidant properties,” says Dr. Martinez, who is also a psychiatrist at the St. Luke’s Medical Center. Antioxidants prevent the production of free radicals, which can lead to further brain cell damage.

  But these measures cannot completely halt the progression of Alzheimer’s—a reality that families and caretakers will have to confront as the disease slowly lashes its wrath on its victims as the years pass.

Medical research on the subject is also limited compared to the information database available to other crippling illnesses. The nature of Alzheimer’s disease has made it extremely difficult to pinpoint its root causes, let alone its single remedy, with many discouraged doctors declaring the search for the ever elusive cure an impossible task.

  The looming burden of Alzheimer’s on public healthcare is just as dismal. A forecasting paper released by Johns Hopkins University states that one in 85 people will be hit by the illness by 2050—quadruple the current prevalence rate. The cost of caring for patients, coupled with the lack of both facilities for proper treatment and Alzheimer’s specialists, also paints a bleak future for its victims.  

But all is not lost for the memory-robbing disorder. “Understanding the pathology [behind Alzheimer’s] is slowly coming to the forefront,” says Dr. Martinez, adding that more groundwork is being done to fully comprehend the scope and nature of the disease.  

The impact of Alzheimer’s on Filipinos is one that particularly deserves attention. Known for their family-centric nature, Filipinos are perhaps the least likely to entrust their elders to homes for the aged—shelters that are regarded more as a gesture of abandonment rather than care in the country.  

The Philippines has a very young population—only a little over four million Filipinos, or 4.1% of the country’s 99,900,177 people, are over the age of 65—but the risk of developing Alzheimer’s is bound to rise as the bulk of the population ages. While only a small percentage of locals were afflicted with the dreaded disease in 2005—175,000 patients or a prevalence rate of around 11.5%—“around 14 million Filipinos will be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 2040,” says Dr. Martinez.  

The recently passed Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 details the benefits and privileges that the country’s five million senior citizens—defined as Philippine residents aged 60 and older—will gain from the new law, one of them being mandatory PhilHealth coverage. For some doctors, however, much is still lacking in the provision of local care to aging adults. “There is a need for more enabling laws for senior citizens in the country,” says Dr. Martinez.

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BusinessWorld
December 30, 2010
S2/10
SPECIAL FEATURE: HealthGuide
The brain burglar
Anna Patricia G. Valerio

taste: christmas cuisine

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:15:00 +0800

Straddling both the luxury of fine dining and the casual atmosphere of a hotel snugly housed in hilly Tagaytay, Restaurant Verbena at the Discovery Country Suites prides itself in its contemporary country cuisine—a term that may at first seem an oxymoron, but as diners soon find out, is actually a style unique to the restaurant. From December 1 to 30 this year, the twice-listed restaurant in the prestigious Miele Guide gives everyone this kind of dining experience by offering a sumptuous lunch and dinner treat for the holidays.

Known for instilling that much coveted sense of place—one that many restaurateurs can only strive for—into his dishes, Discovery Group corporate chef David Pardo de Ayala whips up for Christmas a six-course meal that also brings in its own sense of season. But rather than turning to uninspired staples of Christmas food fare, the Colombian-born chef spins new twists to familiar favorites.

The six-course Christmas menu starts with a croquette that, on the outside, has a crunchy layer, but holds a rich and creamy texture of Chilean sea bass on the inside. A colorful salsa mixture of mango, ginger, and lime decorates the plate and imparts a holiday vibe to an otherwise season-neutral appetizer.

A bowl of pumpkin soup follows the croquette. At first glance, the soup garnished with a hint of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg seems to be a nostalgic nod to natilla, the powdered cinnamon-garnished dish that is especially popular during Christmastime in Chef Pardo de Ayala’s native Colombia. But one sip of the creamy butter- and brown sugar-roasted soup takes one right back to the scenic view of Taal Volcano, with the mixture’s light curry cream giving a contemporary Asian take on the classic cold-weather recipe.

The humble tomato then takes center stage in one’s palate as it gives the distinctive taste needed to bring out the full flavor of the next course: baby lobster tail. Highlighted by extra virgin oil and infused with a tinge of garlic, basil, and chili, the tomato becomes the secret ingredient to a succulent side serving of macaroni pomodoro.

Pineapple and rosemary, two key ingredients of the Tagaytay harvest, come together for an entremet. One is invited to savor a unique sensory experience by alternately tasting the cool pineapple sherbet and sniffing the fresh rosemary sprig—an unexpected touch that, to the casual diner, may reek of gastronomic gimmickry, but actually makes perfect culinary sense, as it quite literally gives even the most experienced diner some food for thought: “Chefs believe that what grows together goes together,” said Chef Pardo de Ayala.

There’s no need to ponder that for long, as the main course is soon served. Braised short ribs becomes an interesting foil to slices of pan-seared US Angus bistro steak, a study in contrast in cooking, flavors, and textures in one plate. With a serving of potato gratin, red cabbages, chestnuts, and a baby carrot on the side, the dish also gets a festive boost of color.

Dessert is gingerbread ice cream served with a slice of flaky-crusted gianduja tart and topped with a mix of chocolate and Nutella—the popular hazelnut spread that Chef Pardo de Ayala calls “the peanut butter of Italy.” The unlikely combination of gingerbread and hazelnut perfectly complements the refreshing ginger-infused drink given at the end of the meal.

Starting at Php1,200 per person, the six-course menu is reasonably priced perhaps because of its locally sourced ingredients, making this Christmas meal true to the sense of place that Restaurant Verbena is proud of—whatever the season.

Discovery Country Suites is located at 300 Calamba Road, San Jose, Tagaytay. For inquiries, call (63 46) 413-2540 or (0915) 517-2150, or visit www.discoverycountrysuites.com. PATRICIA VALERIO ❖

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BusinessWorld High Life
December 2010 - January 2011
p. 8
Senses
taste: christmas cuisine
Patricia Valerio

Christmas credit woes

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:01:50 +0800

BY ANNA PATRICIA G. VALERIO, Special Features Writer

MERRYMAKERS WHO overindulge this season will have more than drastic weight gain to worry about: the credit card bills that will come knocking on their mailboxes once the yuletide celebration ends. There are, however, numerous ways to stay off the banks’ naughty list.

Efren Cruz, author of Pwede Na! The Complete Pinoy Guide to Personal Finance and chairman and CEO of Personal Finance Advisers Philippines Corp. (PFA), warns that a shopper must not march to the mall unarmed. “Before you buy gifts this Christmas, do a ‘Santa Claus’ - make a list and check it twice,” he said. “If you don’t have a list of gifts to buy, you will end up buying every bright and colorfully packaged item [in the mall].”

Browsing for gifts and holiday wares early — say, as soon as the ‘-ber’ months arrive, or even as early as January, when yuletide decor goes on sale — can also rake in significant savings for the penny pinching shopper.

Those who are wrapping up presents just now can still benefit from numerous holiday promos that retailers use to lure customers in. But it pays to window shop and compare price tags first before snapping up an item. “As a rule of thumb, the cheapest would be those that are priced on cash basis only,” said Mr. Cruz.

Fundamentally, the best way to combat credit card debt is to leave the shiny plastic at home and bring just the designated amount — in cash — for one’s yuletide purchases. “Money placed in wallets, even if they be in the form of credit cards, is destined to be spent,” said Mr. Cruz. “If you need to spend this Christmas, spend only your own money. This means that you will have to save before you spend: no savings, no spending.”

Those who do decide to charge their purchases to their credit account must make sure that they can settle their post-Christmas bill in one fell swoop. “The cardinal rule is to pay credit card bills in full,” said Mr. Cruz. This will stop the interest from further accruing, while letting one start the new year with a clean slate. “Just try to save more after Christmas so that the outstanding balance can be paid as soon as possible,” added Mr. Cruz.

But all is not lost for the holiday spendthrift: cardholders who are having a hard time paying off their obligations can turn to debt settlement services for assistance. One popular method is to transfer one’s debts to another creditor, making it easier for them to manage payables with different companies and due dates. “Ideally, debt consolidation should be done before any past dues occur,” said Mr. Cruz. Balance transfer services, for example, are a form of debt consolidation.

The same technique can also be used towards debt elimination — a payment scheme that is geared towards reducing one’s debt to a minimal amount until it is fully wiped out. “At the PFA, we recommend both [methods],” said Mr. Cruz.

But even the best settlement systems won’t help if debt is compounded by delay. “People who have debt problems should recognize early on that they have such a problem so that the doors to debt solutions will still be easy to open,” said Mr. Cruz. “Talk to your creditors; they will be more than willing to lend an ear and provide the solution that best suits both of you.”

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BusinessWorld
December 15, 2010
S4/2
SPECIAL FEATURE: Holiday Shopping Guide
Christmas credit woes
Anna Patricia G. Valerio