SunStar
Photo courtesy of the Philippine Eagle Foundation
Photo courtesy of the Philippine Eagle Foundation
+ March 09, 2021 FROM a year riddled with challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the aptly-named Philippine eagle Pangarap, proudly adopted by Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower), remains a symbol of hope that our country can rise again.
It is AboitizPower s goal to promote sustainability for its communities, and that includes the care and concern for the flora and fauna native to our local lands. The Philippine eagle is perhaps the biggest representation of the struggles that our wildlife continues to face, but struggles that can also be overcome with the right amount of action taken to drive meaningful change.
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In the island forests of the western Pacific, there’s an otherworldly animal known as the Philippine tarsier.
With bat ears, suction cup–like fingers, and giant golden eyes, the creatures would be easy to mistake for extras on a sci-fi movie set. But in fact, tarsiers are primates and distant relatives of humans.
“They really look like little aliens jumping from tree to tree,” says Gab Mejia, a National Geographic Explorer and photographer based in the Philippines.
The Philippines’ 7,600-plus islands are the cradle for a mind-boggling number of diverse species. According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 5 percent of the world’s plant species live in the Philippines. And nearly half of the creatures found on these islands exist nowhere else.
John Tria
For this week’s column, I would like to focus on some online trends worth noting. It is important that we see trends, as they allow us to explore new business models that can help us navigate the new normal economy, which is increasingly digital, allowing even rural businesses to expand their horizons.
The news of the new 88,000 new online business registrations among the higher number of new businesses last year represents a shift in the way many businesses are done.(https://mb.com.ph/2021/01/20/dti-business-registration-jumps-41-in-pandemic-year-2020/).
Search your social media timeline and you will find many of these online businesses. Some are shifts from traditional business models. As I have written before a good number are delivery-only restaurants, “homepreneur” businesses baking items, and online services using various delivery platforms, including a few that were locally developed. Let us continue to support local businesses. These trends deserve
1. Vatican City
A new decree from Pope Francis allows women to be altar servers, distributors of Communion, and readers at liturgies â roles many women were already carrying out around the world but are now protected by the Code of Canon Law. Previously, a conservative bishop could bar women from serving in these roles. âThis codifies that women are equal to men in these roles and is big because in some cultures women are still considered unclean and cannot be near the sacred,â said Phyllis Zagano, a religion professor at Hofstra University in New York. Andrew Medichini/AP/File
Pope Francis, who recently codified rules expanding womenâs roles in the Roman Catholic Church, speaks during the Angelus noon prayer from his window at the Vatican on Dec. 8, 2020.