Stories

Read, sleep, repeat: Former students look back on memories of UP Library in Diliman

June 20, 2022

RHIA GRANA

As the UP Library marks it’s 100th year as an institution, and as the Diliman Main Library completes its renovation work, alums wax nostalgic

Gonzalez Hall was named in honor of former UPD President Bienvenido Ma. Gonzalez, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Diliman campus. Photo from @updlibrary on Instagram

Urban planner, landscape architect, and University of the Philippines alumni Paulo Alcazaren refers to it as “the coolest place to be in the university.” And when he says cool, he means it literally. “The high ceilings and wide overhangs kept the interior temperature lower than the rest of the campus, so it was a great place to sleep…er, study,” he says.

As a BS Architecture student, Alcazaren’s favorite area was the periodicals section. “It’s where I get to read the latest design magazines from US and Europe,” he says. “It was also where I discovered Analog, the SF magazine (science fiction), where I read short stories by Isaac Asimov (“2001”) and Philip Dick (“Bladerunner”).”

As a student, Dr. Gerard Lico says he was often mesmerized by the library, the “monumentality and scale of [the structure’s] colonnade, arcade, and grand steps.” Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO via @updlibrary on Instagram

Conservation architect and historian Dr. Gerard Lico completed all his degrees—from bachelor to PhD—in UP. And his major research projects were conducted—guess where?—in the Main Library. “Close nga kami ng mga librarian,” he shares. “Many of my archival research finds were serendipitously found at the basement of the UP Main Library, where the Filipiniana and microfilm sections were located. I remember the smell of old books intermingling with the acetic scent of the microfilm.”

As a student, Lico was often mesmerized by the library, the “monumentality and scale of [the structure’s] colonnade, arcade, and grand steps.” It was in this area where he loved to sit and contemplate.
UP Diliman Main Library

During finals of Law proper, Senator Kiko Pangilinan says he’d stay at the library from morning to night.

The early years

The UP Diliman Main Library has been an integral part of the UP community’s life for over 70 years but its history goes farther back. The UP Library itself was founded a hundred years ago. It was first established inside the University of the Philippines in Manila in 1922. Even then it was already a big structure with a vast collection of books, says current University Librarian Elvira Lapuz. “It was the best library in Asia before the war,” she tells ANCX. Its very first librarian was a lady named Mary Polk (1922-1924) who was from Indiana, USA. Polk was followed by a Gabriel A. Bernardo (1924-1957).

A copy of National Artist Juan Nakpil’s original design for the UP Library published in the 1949 UP Philippinesian. Photo from @updlibrary on Instagram

But World War II happened and it completely ravaged the campus, library included. “Walang naiwan halos sa collection,” says Lapuz. When the P135 million war reparations were approved by the US Congress, part of the funding was used to build a new UP campus in Diliman, and one of the first few buildings constructed was the Gonzalez Hall.

Pedro Siochi and Company started the library’s construction in 1949.

Juan Nakpil, then future National Artist, worked on the design. Nakpil is famous for the Manila Jockey Club, Quiapo Church, and the UP campus’ Quezon Hall, more popularly known as the UP Administration Building. Pedro Siochi and Company started the library’s construction in 1949. It was finished in 1950 and named Gonzalez Hall in 1963, in honor of former UPD President Bienvenido Ma. Gonzalez, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Diliman campus.
UP Diliman Main Library

Construction of the library was finished in 1950.

Memories

More than just a repository for thousands of volumes of books, periodicals, thesis and dissertations, art and multimedia files, the UP Library was a favorite study area and hangout for generations of UP students. Many of their memories are anchored to the Gonzalez Hall.

“I was always on the first floor,” recalls Senator Kiko Pangilinan, another UP Diliman alumni. “During finals of law proper, I’d be there morning to night. Malamig, tahimik and ideal for power naps. Hehe.”

PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna, who took up Mass Communication in UP, says Gonzalez Hall provided a serene atmosphere for studying. Since there was no internet yet at that time, “securing the right book as reference was a coveted victory. The library was a go-to place for research so having a good relationship with the librarian paid off,” she says. “The smell or scent of paper permeated the library. The silence which enhanced concentration. The sight of fellow students studying hard. All these are entrenched in my memory bank.”

“The main library meant rest for me,” says Allen Espino, who finished her BA English Major in Creative Writing in UP.

Lifestyle writer Devi De Veyra, who took up BS Clothing Technology in UP, loved visiting the library, though not necessarily for research. “I just wanted to soak in the ambience,” she says. “I go there to walk back in time, a feeling that you can’t replicate with new buildings.”

Allen Espino finished her BA English Major in Creative Writing in UP. Since she used to commute from faraway Las Piñas to the Diliman campus every day, it meant getting up by 3:30AM to make it to her 7AM class. Naturally, she’d be sleepy for most of the day so she would head over to the library during her free time, choose one of those single tables on the far end, read, and doze off. “The main library meant rest for me,” she says.

As for writer Nana Caragay, who completed her Broadcast Communication degree in the Diliman campus, the library was a favorite spot for group meetings, whenever there was a class presentation to prepare for. “The Arts and Sciences lobby/Palma Hall could sometimes get too crowded and chaotic,” she recalls. The Main Library was a good alternative because “it’s an unmissable landmark.”

The renovation of Gonzalez Hall started in 2019.

Renovation

The library has three floors and a basement. It occupies a total floor area of 12,803 sqm (including the lobby and stairs). As it marks its centennial anniversary this year, it finds itself in the thick of renovation work that began in 2019. The years have taken its toll on the integrity of the structure. The spaces needed to be adaptive with the changing needs of the studentry. Thus, in 2015, the University Library started preparing proposals for renovating, retrofitting, and refurbishing the Gonzalez Hall.

“Luma na talaga. It was in dire need of renovation,” says Lapuz. “Back in 2015, we were already thinking of having discussion rooms, learning commons, areas for collaborative learning and studying, pero wala na kaming lugar para doon.”

“We’re looking at a 21st century library complete with all the services of a modern functional library,” says University Librarian Elvira Lapuz.

It was in 2018 when the actual presentation of plans was made. The pandemic delayed the schedules but the university librarian is happy to share the renovations will be completed within this year. As of their last meeting with the construction firm, the renovation is almost 80% done. “We’re looking at a 21st century library complete with all the services of a modern functional library,” Lapuz says, looking forward to the time when Gonzalez Hall can fully serve the UP studentry and faculty once more.

Renovation photo taken in October 2021.

Even during the pandemic, Lapuz says the university library has managed to remain visible and relevant to the academic lives of students. “We may have been closed physically during the pandemic but our engagement via our online platforms continues,” she says. “We continue to serve our faculty, students, and the staff of the university by being present through various means including social media (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok).”

Meanwhile, to mark the UP Library’s centennial, the UP System has launched a fundraising program called “UPgrade” to help restore the Main Library’s narra hardwood chairs and tables. For a minimum donation of P10,000, the name(s) of the donor will be engraved on a brass plaque and placed on the restored narra hardwood chairs and tables. Donors will have access to the room-use books and references through a special library card and receive discounted rates for special events reservations.

To mark the UP Library’s centennial, the UP System has launched a fundraising program called “UPgrade” to help restore the Main Library’s narra hardwood chairs and tables.

With more advanced facilities, the UP Main Library could be expected to provide seamless and unhindered access to information. “As gateways to knowledge and learning, I believe that libraries shall continue to play a fundamental and crucial role in the academic life of students. We shall remain to be the neutral and safe space conducive to learning,” says Lapuz. “We shall continue to help shape new ideas, support different perspectives, and continue to be at the center of the creative and innovative academic community that is UP.”

Photos courtesy of Ms. Evira Lapuz

Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/06/17/22/past-up-students-look-back-on-memories-of-main-library

Art hop: Images of boyhood memories at Shangri-la, cloud paintings at Leon, floral still lives in Cebu

June 15, 2022
Julien Tan and his art.

Reflections from his boyhood in the sleepy town of Roxas City, Capiz inspired painter and Guerilla Advertising founder Julien Tan’s latest exhibit titled “Beyond Beliefs.” His work explores childhood memories, personal events, and cultural relationships through painting, drawing, and cryptic text. Tan’s approach is unintentional, like following the randomness of children at play. There are glimpses of childlike strokes, recreating fragments of memories from bygone years.

Farmer Scattering Seed by Julien Tan

“Freedom to express thoughts is key to my process. I want to create art that is spontaneous and effortless, innocent and free. I want people to see art that unfastens and unlearns the rigidity of adultness, and one that harkens back to the wonders of childhood… how a child sees the world,” says Tan.

Bedtime Stories by Julien Tan

Tan earned a BFA in Visual Communication from the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts and a Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship from Asian Institute of Management. He has over 30 years of experience in the advertising field and his paintings have been exhibited in noted galleries in Manila.

[Catch “Beyond Beliefs” on its last three days. Show ends June 15, 2022 at the 4th level of East Wing Shangri-la Plaza.]

Maligayang Pasko by Javier Galvan

Returning Director of the Instituto Cervantes Javier Galvan is holding his first solo exhibition and it’s called Otras Realidades (Other Realities). Consisting of photographs and paintings, it revolves around the theme of other worlds and realms that are “more sensed than perceived.” According to art writer Cid Reyes, “Galvan’s photographs are pure illusion of another reality, otherworldly, immaterial, sometimes ethereal and lyrical.” Meanwhile, his cloud paintings were influenced by Betsy Westendorp who donated to the Instituto a large painting of clouds during Galvan’s first tenure at the Spanish cultural agency. According to Reyes, the Westendorp work was “painted as a lament and a memorial piece for her eldest daughter Isabel, who died in Madrid while Westendorp was in Manila.”

Waiting for it to Happen (Volcan) by Javier Galvan

[Otras Realidades is ongoing until June 20 at Leon Gallery International, G/F Corinthian Plaza, 121 Paseo de Roxas Street, Makati City.]

The Segregation by Jonathan Abellana

Blooms abound in “Allegories of Silence: The Enthralling Language of Flowers”, an exhibition curated by Jay Nathan Jore which opened Saturday, June 11. The exhibition explores the genre of still life painting and its development within the history of academism in Philippine art. Taking inspiration from two still life paintings by Cebuano master realist Martino Abellana, the exhibition also hopes to examine the place of still life in the development of “Bisaya Realism.” More than a simplistic depiction of everyday objects, or mere painting exercise to hone masterful techniques, Cebuano still life compositions are said to reveal the interrelation of spaces personal and social. Featured artists are Jonathan Abellana, Miko Acaso, Mark Acaso, Ariel Caratao, Ramon de adios, Luther Galicano, JM Llanos, Renulo Pautan, and Ma. Rowena Vios.

At the Corner by Luther Galicano II

[The show runs until July 3 at Florentino’s Art Gallery in Cebu (KM 33 Transcentral Highway, Brgy. Gaas, Balamban). Gallery is open only Fridays, Sundays and holidays, from 10:30AM to 8PM.]

Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/art/06/13/22/art-hop-what-to-see-at-shangri-la-leon-florentinos

Dolly de Leon and acting as activism

June 9, 2022

Written by Jason Tan Liwag

De Leon in “Historya ni Ha” (left) and “Folklore” (right). Photos courtesy of HAZEL ORENCIO and HBO ASIA/YOUTUBE

After her star-making turn in Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” Dolly de Leon has quickly become an international obsession. Film critics such as Neil Young, Guy Lodge, Jason Gorber, and David Ehrlich have been singing their praises, with Variety’s Clayton Davis even placing her in the early Oscars conversation alongside Michelle Yeoh. Now that the Palme d’Or-winning social satire is set to be distributed by NEON — the company responsible for the successful campaigns of films like “Parasite,” and “The Worst Person in the World” — the odds that de Leon will be at the Oscars does not seem so far off.

Despite receiving the loudest round of applause after the premiere, de Leon still finds trouble believing in her success. “To be honest, I have not broken out in the Philippines,” she says in an interview with Manori Ravindran of Variety, explaining that, up until recently, “bit roles” have constituted her body of work in TV and film.

 

 

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It’s easy to draw connections between her and her character Abigail — a toilet manager at a luxurious yacht who, after a series of (un)fortunate events, suddenly finds herself in a position of power. Knowledgeable of the power dynamics and the stereotypical depictions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and domestic helpers, de Leon applauded Östlund’s choice to reverse hierarchies. “I thought it was a really fantastic idea,” says de Leon at the press conference in Cannes. “To bring us up in a place where we normally don’t feel like we’re in because we come from underprivileged families and we’re a developing country.”

To an international audience unfamiliar with de Leon’s work, both are underdogs that seem to rise out of nowhere. While this level of acclaim for a Filipino actor may seem surprising, those who know de Leon and her body of work will agree that it is long overdue, if not tepid compared to the scale of her talents.

 


 
De Leon began her acting career through the BA Theater Arts program at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where she was mentored by the late Tony Mabesa. Dulaang UP and Dulaang UP Laboratoryo became a playground for experimentation and was her oasis for the decades to come. She’d hone her talents and deliver critically acclaimed performances in stage productions such as Leila Shahid in “Bilanggo ng Pag-Ibig,” Gregoria de Jesus in “Oryang: Las Viajeras,” and multiple roles in José Estrella’s “Sepharad.”

While considered a newcomer in the international scene, Filipino audiences have encountered de Leon in one way or another, her face recognizable even if one cannot always connect her with a name. De Leon would work the next decade as an actor in a variety of daytime and primetime telenovelas such as “Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan” and “Pintada.” In 2014, she received critical acclaim for her performance as flamboyant eldest sister-turned-loan shark Linda in Virgin Labfest’s “Ang Naghihingalo” and the widowed Mrs. Lunga in Tanghalang Ateneo’s “Middle Finger” — with Cora Llamas describing the latter as one that “transcend(s) stereotypes to become something intuitively genuine and real.”

But the scale of critical success de Leon had in theater was not as easily replicated in the screen arts, with her only recently landing the lead role in Erik Matti’s “7 Days of Hell” — an episode in the second season of the HBO anthology series “Folklore.” With nearly four decades in acting, Dolly de Leon has been the face of many nameless Filipinas — from her first screen credit as a dormmate in “Shake Rattle & Roll III” to a doctor in “Diary ng Panget” to Rizalista leader in “Babae sa Septic Tank 3.”

Despite this, de Leon’s involvement in Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness” is unsurprising, largely because her best work always weaves in politics: from starring in Rody Vera and Loy Arcenas’ Martial Law reimagining of Anton Chekhov’s “The Three Sisters;” to playing May in Dennis Marasigan’s film adaptation of “Anatomiya ng Korupsyon;” to producing a series of plays surrounding martial law called “Never Again: Voices of Martial Law” following the burial of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in 2016; to performing a heart-wrenching reading of Leila de Lima’s poem “Sa Bilangguan,” which narrates the senator’s experience of being a political prisoner.



Even if her work does not deal directly with these historical atrocities, her roles have always been involved in narratives that question existing power structures: from her work as the sex worker Dahlia in Lav Diaz’s “Historya ni Ha,” as the mother Ella in Dodo Dayao’s “Midnight in a Perfect World,” and in her FAMAS-winning turn as Elsa in Raymund Ribay Gutierrez’s “Verdict.” Even her more humorous roles such as ‘Daks Chaser’ — a middle-aged woman struggling to get back into the dating scene — in Antoinette Jadaone’s “The Kangks Show” still play a part in questioning gendered expectations of women, and the role of beauty and youth as currency in society.

The magic of de Leon’s artistry is rooted in this understanding of the politics that influence how stories and the characters within them are shaped. Drawing from stories of friends and loved ones who are OFWs, she also later narrated in an interview with CNN Philippines how she used the foreignness of the filming experience to inform her characterization. She is an actress who understands that stories are borrowed and to do them justice means to live them out truthfully onstage and onscreen.
 

 

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“Never look at what you do as something small,” she says, days after being photographed on the red carpet, Palme d’Or in hand. “Everything that we do is big. All of the things we do eventually lead up to an end goal we are all looking for.” Such empathetic, complex, and even humorous work is a culmination of decades of observing, a commitment to telling stories from the fringes, and can only come from an artist whose art is rooted in activism.



Source: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/entertainment/Film/2022/6/7/dolly-de-leon-acting-as-activism.html

A dramatic assembly of humans and nature

May 4, 2022

by Manila Standard

The Cultural Center of the Philippines presents KAINGIN: An Earth Month Art Installation by Jinggoy Buensuceso. Curated by Junyee as a continuation of Angud (2007), the installation was launched on April 30 at the CCP Front Lawn and 4th Floor Atrium.

Visual artist Jinggoy Buensuceso transforms the CCP Front Lawn into a burnt forest with over a thousand contemporary bululs made of molded fibreglass infused with burnt debris, soil, and dust, collected from areas in the Philippines that encounter the most serious environmental struggles. These new sculptures, and their state at every phase of the exhibit, represent the forests that are synonymous to humanity, as their fates are intertwined. If forests die, we die.

Jinggoy Buensuceso’s art installation features bululs made of molded fibreglass infused with burnt debris, soil, and dust

KAINGIN is a dramatic assembly of humans and nature, a wake-up call to make a stand for our land, challenge the current ways, and push for solutions that will sustain humanity without collateral damage.

Jinggoy Buensuceso (b. 1982, Samal, Bataan) is a visual artist and sculptor working at the new frontier of art and design to create a synesthetic creative language that fuses the natural and artificial worlds. Buensuceso’s art is informed by a deep knowledge of materials and processes, both ancient and modern.

The artist feels his way through the connective tissues between humanity and nature, envisioning lines that create the contours of the physical and metaphysical. Each installation and sculpture is influenced by these linear movements.

The dichotomy of existence, with its eternal and opposing forces of chaos and order, nurtures his iconoclastic convictions of the divine pairings that feature in his work. True to his anarchic style, he has embraced the color black as an ambiguous muse: black is everything and nothing; it is sensuous and solemn; it is the color of the void that births manifold universes.

Buensuceso is a graduate of Visual Communications from the College of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Source: https://manilastandard.net/lifestyle/arts-life/314225652/a-dramatic-assembly-of-humans-and-nature.html

Cone snails: From lethal killers to medical marvels

April 28, 2022

Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office

Ms. Iris Bea Ramiro, UP Chemistry alumna, and researcher at the University of Copenhagen, is out in the waters of Cebu in search of the cone snails that are at the center of her research. Photo courtesy of Ms. Ramiro.

Who could imagine that something as small as cone snails, popular among shell collectors and tropical-themed jewelry makers for their intricately colored shells, is the key to a substantial medical breakthrough waiting to be unlocked?

Perhaps it is fitting that a young Filipino scientist, Iris Bea Ramiro, is next in line to reveal the biomedical potentials in these venomous sea snails commonly found in Philippine reefs and waters. Ramiro, a UP College of Science alumna, a researcher at the UP Marine Science Institute (MSI), and now a Ph.D. student and researcher at the University of Copenhagen Department of Biomedical Sciences in Denmark, is following in the footsteps of other internationally renowned Filipino scientists and UP alumni.

Read the full paper here.

A cone snail sitting in an aquarium. Photo courtesy of Ms. Ramiro.


From toxin to medicine

Conus rolani, one of the two species of Asprella cone snails Ms. Ramiro studied. Photo courtesy of Ms. Ramiro.

Over the past decades, scientists have reported that the toxins produced by cone snails (family Conidae) contain a unique component called conotoxins, which generate new kinds of painkillers and drugs to treat disease. But scientists have barely scratched the surface when it comes to exploring the biomedical potentials of the planet’s marine life, and the research continues.

Ramiro and her team conducted their study off the coast of Sogod, Cebu Province. They observed a deep water species of fish-hunting cone snails of the Asprella clade using a hunting method known as “ambush-and-assess.” This method involves the snail stinging its prey with its venom and waiting between one to three hours for its target to become sluggish and unable to counterattack, after which the snail moves in to finish the job. The method differed from the more widespread “taser-and-tether” technique, where cone snails use toxins to electrocute their prey rapidly; and the “net-hunting” strategy, where cone snails release venom into the water to knock the target insensible. The hours-long wait between the first strike to having a meal in the “ambush-and-assess” method struck Ramiro as unusual, leading her to investigate further by focusing on two species of Asprella cone snails, the Conus rolani and Conus neocostatus.

“No one in our lab was working on it at that time,” she said in the press release published by the University of Utah press. “I was just looking to identify any small peptide (chain of amino acids) from the venom of C. rolani that had unusual or interesting activity in mice.”

She discovered that the toxins Asprella cone snails use contain a peptide called Consomatin Ro1, which closely resembles the neuropeptide hormone somatostatin. Humans naturally produce somatostatin, which inhibits growth hormone secretion and cell production. It may be a possible treatment for cancer, diabetes, pain and inflammation, and endocrine disorders. Consomatin Ro1 resembles a drug analog or copy of somatostatin called octreotide, currently available under the brand name Sandostatin.

Ramiro at work. Photo courtesy of Ms. Ramiro.

The critical difference is that Consomatin Ro1 is slow acting. Unlike human-produced somatostatin, which has only a half-life of one to three minutes, and octreotide, which has a half-life of 90 minutes after intravenous infusion, Consomatin Ro1 has a much longer half-life of more than 158 hours or more than six and a half days. ( During a test involving Consomatin Ro1 in a plasma stability assay, somatostatin’s half-life was five and a half hours.) The peptide from Asprella cone snails can stick around much longer than somatostatin. On top of that, Consomatin Ro1 also functions the same way as somatostatin does. The human body has five somatostatin receptor subtypes that this peptide binds to activate its powers of hormone and cell growth inhibition. So far, Consomatin Ro1 appears to bind strongly to somatostatin receptor subtypes 1and 4, making it an effective compound.

“It has the potential to become a lead for pain treatment because two of those human receptors that the Consomatin targets are involved in pain. So that’s what we pursued and found it works,” Ramiro told Inverse Science writer Elana Spivack.

Sea snail-based neuropharmacology

Ramiro’s research builds upon the ever-growing field of neuropharmacology revolving around predatory sea snails, which scientists have described as “medical marvels”.

The key figures in this field include: University of Utah Distinguished Professor Dr. Baldomero M. Olivera, who earned his BS Chemistry degree from UP and was given an honorary Doctor of Science degree by his alma mater in 2008 in recognition of his accomplishments in marine drug research; and, Dr. Gisela P. Concepcion, UP MSI Professor Emeritus and former UP Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Concepcion, who led the UP MSI Marine Natural Products (MNP) Laboratory until her retirement, continued the research collaboration with Dr. Olivera, which started with her mentor, National Scientist, and UP MSI Professor Emeritus Lourdes J. Cruz, in the 1970s.

Dr. Concepcion served as Ramiro’s MS thesis adviser. Later, while researching Asprella cone snails, Ramiro went to the University of Utah to consult with Dr. Olivera.

UP Professor Emerita Gisela Padilla Concepcion and Ms. Ramiro during the dinner celebrating Ms. Ramiro’s graduation in 2017 after completing her MS degree. Photo courtesy of Ms. Ramiro.

“For many years now, I have been building the Conoidean research capability of the UP MSI MNPLab by collaborating with Dr. Olivera,” Dr. Concepcion said in an interview with the UP MPRO. “Our research assistants and graduate students have been trained in his lab at the University of Utah, and we have succeeded in establishing critical technologies such as snail taxonomy, venom extraction, biochemical isolation, purification, characterization of peptides, peptide sequence determination, chemical synthesis and folding, and animal-, cell- and receptor-based neuroactivity testing. All of these are required to undertake snail venom research.”

The DOST’s Philippine Council for Health Research and Development has long since recognized the value of this research field for the country. It supports the UP MSI’s PharmaSeas Program, followed by the Marine Drug Discovery and Development Program. This support has enabled UP MSI scientists and researchers to publish their discoveries in international journals. Dr. Concepcion names at least four examples of UP MSI studies conducted by graduate students and research assistants she mentored on the peptides produced by various species of sea snails with potential application as painkillers.

As for Ramiro’s discovery of the compound in Asprella cone snails’ venom and its potential, Dr. Concepcion said they have already applied for an Invention Disclosure Incentive (IDI) from the Technology Transfer and Business Development Office of both UP Diliman and the UP System. Although the evaluation process takes time, both Ramiro and Dr. Concepcion noted the possibility of UP partnering with a private company to produce and market the drug.

“We can chemically synthesize sufficient peptide quantities for proof-of-concept studies in an animal pain model,” Dr. Concepcion said.

Press on and persevere

Ramiro grew up in Bohol, where anglers know how to find and catch the venomous cone snails. In an interview with the UP MPRO, she said she received encouragement and support while UP MSI’s MNP Lab was acquiring the equipment to do biochemical characterization of the peptides in the venom, which made for a bit of a slow start.

Ramiro and her fellow UP MSI lab teammates during the same graduation dinner in 2017. Photo courtesy of Ms. Ramiro.


“I think UP has come a long way with new equipment and expertise helping fast-track some of our research,” she said. “I also had excellent lab mates, and we had good teamwork in the field and the lab. We supported each other with the different tasks.”

She also experienced good teamwork as a researcher at the University of Copenhagen. “We are fortunate to receive support and guidance from different research groups as we (my current lab) started experiments in this area.”

Nevertheless, the drudgework of scientific research is the same whether it is done in UP or elsewhere. “Sometimes experiments do not work. One tries the next week again,” Ramiro said philosophically. What keeps her going despite the failed experiments? “Thinking of the ‘why,’ the project’s goal, then aiming for it. Persevering through failures and having fun while doing it.”

Ramiro credits UP for equipping its students with the knowledge and fostering an environment where students are “encouraged to explore and learn from others, not just within the university but even collaborators outside UP. I think UP is well connected with other universities in the Philippines and abroad,” Ramiro noted.

The adventures of a young Pinoy scientist in Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo courtesy of Ms. Ramiro.

And as for the young Filipino researchers and graduate students, Ramiro encourages them to press on and persevere. “Experiments may not work the first time—or the nth time—but one has to try again. Learn as much as you can from others. I learned a lot from discussions with professors, lab mates and colleagues, and our collaborators.”

Then she added: “And as I learned from my recent class, have fun!”

Fascinated by the secret biomedical powers of cone snails and other Philippine marine animals? Learn more in these three educational videos by TVUP:

Dr. Ronie Calugay of the UP Baguio Biology Department on “Conotoxins”

Dr. Gisela Concepcion on “Marine Organisms from the Philippines”

Dr. Lourdes Cruz, “From Killer Snails to Biodiversity”

Feature story by Franco Gargantiel and Celeste Llaneta, UP Media and Public Relations Office

Source: https://up.edu.ph/cone-snails-from-lethal-killers-to-medical-marvels/

Bukidnon millennial left corporate job to make gourmet chocolates for a living

April 5, 2022

By: Vic Thor A. Palarca

When Medily S. Villamayor decided to take a break from corporate life, little did she know that she would be sticking around in her hometown Malaybalay for a while.

Because part of her daily grind involves assisting her father, retired colonel turned farmer Edgardo M. Villamayor, with processing their farm’s produce like mangosteen and turmeric into consumable powders, the thought of processing cacao beans and turning them into sweet treats crossed her mind.

The chocolate maker shows off her creation. Med Villamayor is on a constant lookout to maintain the quality of her chocolate bars.

The experience in processing mangosteen prompted Med to self-study chocolate making by watching how-to guides on YouTube. She also did research work through the internet, after realizing that there is a growing interest and market demand in sourced cocoa and organic chocolates using single-origin cacao as the main ingredient.

In her one month respite at EMV Diversified Farm, the family’s certified Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA), the UP-Mindanao B.S. Applied Math graduate started making chocolates in 2018.

The early bars of chocolate were far from perfect, but it marked a start in her calling and career as a chocolatier. “Most of us got the idea how tableya is processed, I was quite challenged on how to come up with chocolates. It’s pretty much the same process, from the drying of the cacao seeds to grinding, but how is chocolate made?” Med says.

In a scheduled interview, Med shares her thoughts below regarding her sweet source of income.

For that velvety smooth chocolate experience, Med refines her cocoa paste with a melanger.

What inspired you to venture in making chocolates?

“Ganahan ko ug chocolates. Wala man siguro tao nga walay hilig sa chocolate. Specially kadtong sa gamay pa ta. Ingon pa nila, 9 out of 10 ganahan ug chocolates, but one of them is probably not telling the truth. (I like chocolates. I think no one dislikes chocolate, especially when we were younger. As they say, 9 out of 10 likes chocolates, but one of them is probably not telling the truth.)

What did you find the most challenging about starting your own business?

The challenge was getting the right equipment since when I started, I was using the generic galingan (grinder) and then I saw on YouTube this thing called melanger, which gives off very fine and creamy cocoa paste. A chocolate melanger is a cylindrical device used to grind cacao beans and nibs to make cocoa paste (also known as chocolate liquor). This is an ideal kitchen tool for chocolatiers who want to make their chocolates super fine and extra smooth.

So I started making chocolates, but it was coarse from the get-go. It tasted “chocolatey” already but the look and mouthfeel is just like tableya with sweeteners on it. I personally wanted to have that chocolate experience the way we enjoy a store-bought chocolate bar.

I found out later on, that there is a difference in terms of consistency when availing the grinders in the local market from that of a melanger. I experimented on the percentage of sugar, cocoa concentration, the taste, and until such time that I got the right mixture and blend per bar.

At the moment, as the manager of EMV-Processed Food Products, I am the sole in-charge of making our chocolates. I have a helper who does the washing of the utensils and kitchen tools.

To date, EMV Processed Food Products have three chocolate variants: the 70% Dark Chocolate with no milk content, their bestseller 45% Milk Chocolate and the 55% Dark Milk Chocolate which comes in sleek and sophisticated packaging. The 14 grams is sold at 45 pesos each, while the 50 grams are sold at 100 pesos each.

What goes into each bar of your popular gourmet chocolates?

In a nutshell, my process of making my chocolate bars start with the same process of producing tableya, but I just make it finer with higher standards. Then I add milk and sugar to make my bars creamier.

When making chocolates, I refine everything with a melanger. Then I add sugar, milk, and cocoa butter. Then it goes through the process of tempering and into the mold. I use a polycarbonate mold, but an ice cube tray or a thin sheet of silicon tray will do also.

What makes chocolate really good and fine to eat is through tempering with the use of a spatula and a scraper. Tempering is also known as slab or table method. A chocolate does not melt easily when it goes through the process of tempering. I noticed that the outcome is good when I temper my chocolates, and most of the bars I sent to trade exhibits are the ones easily sold out.

For now, I have three variants: 70% Dark Chocolates (percentage refers to the cacao content, no milk) 45% Milk Chocolate (the bestseller) and 55% Dark Milk Chocolate. They have a one year shelf life if processed right. The 14 grams are sold at 45 pesos each, while the 50 grams are sold at 100 pesos each.

Before going for its standard shaped chocolate bar, Med also tried different molds to study the marketability of each product form.

What are the challenges and your marketing strategy to reach out to your customers?

On its initial outing, the marketing of the chocolate bars were done through word-of-mouth. Most of my mom’s officemates (Bukidnon State University college dean Mercidita S. Villamayor) in the academe or school visitors drop by at the farm and we let them have a free taste or offer snack during meetings and event giveaways. Other times, balikbayan friends and OFW colleagues would order my chocolate bars as pasalubongs. I still make bad bars due to the wrong temperature and timing, but I’m getting the hang of it. As the cliché goes, practice makes perfect.

Another challenge is to brace myself from questions of potential customers like ‘’nganong mahal imung chocolates?” (why are your chocolates expensive?) It’s a challenge to alter their mindset that what they pay for are premium chocolates worth their money. Good thing, the market demand for organic is growing since consumers are gradually getting aware of the health-risk of consuming alternatives compared to the real thing.

Can you share more about the real and fake chocolates you mentioned earlier?

I have learned from experts that there is real chocolate and fake chocolate. The real chocolates come from the cacao plant, from the ground cacao beans added with sugar and milk plus cocoa butter. You can tell by its aroma, texture, the snap, and the chocolateness that simply spreads into your mouth. The fake chocolate is composed of coconut oil and cocoa powder.

There is also a debate about white chocolates. Real white chocolate consists of cocoa butter plus sugar, plus milk. The cocoa powder was removed, and only cocoa butter was used. There is still a cocoa component though. You can call it chocolate when there is a cacao component.

In five years time, what can your customers expect from EMV Processed Food Products?

More food items and products. There is a plan to develop cacao wines, since I have already tried making banana wines on our farm. I saved the juice and within 6 to 12 hours it must be transferred to the fermentation bottles so that you can make them into wines. Unfortunately, for now, the harvested cacao pods in the farm aren’t enough to generate cacao juice to make wine. We can always buy or outsource wet beans though.

What advice do you give to those who want to turn their passion into business?

Do what you love doing. Give it a try first. Try farming. Try business. If it works for you, go for it. Go for that thing that sparks your interest. In my case, I did not intend to engage in business since I was eyeing to secure a corporate job. I started as Operations Research Analyst, then eventually, I did a lateral transfer to Systems Architect in a life insurance company. Then I resigned and figured out what to do next, something worthwhile my time and effort and something I enjoy doing.

Also, try to gather more information and skills. I was lucky and thankful for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for their training on chocolate making. I enjoyed and learned so much since it was demonstrated through a hands-on process.

Aside from your own creations, what are your favorite chocolate products?

My chocolate of choice is either Meiji, Auro, or Theo and Filo. I lean towards the less sweet stuff, with the milk not overpowering the chocolate. Dark chocolates and sometimes milk chocolates, but not so sweet.

For more on chocolate making and cacao processing, watch ATI NorMin’s AgriStoryahay sa ATI Webinar Series – Episode 26 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM3aUd8UuEs

Screenshots from ATI NorMin’s AgriStoryahay sa ATI Webinar Series – Episode 26

Source: https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/01/bukidnon-millennial-left-corporate-job-to-make-gourmet-chocolates-for-a-living/

Martial Law Babies: Raffy Aquino, activism as optimism

March 22, 2022

By: Boying Pimentel – @inquirerdotnet

(8th in a series of profiles of Martial Law Babies as we prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the martial law declaration in September. Ferdinand Marcos tried and failed to mold this generation into his version of the Hitler Youth. They fought his dictatorship instead.)

Raffy Aquino’s most vivid memory of the day Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in September 1972 was of his lola standing at their front door waiting for him when he came home.

Lawyer and former student leader Raffy Aquino. CONTRIBUTED

In Ilocano, she told him to come inside — and be quiet. “Somber yung mood. The mood was somber.”

For those of us who were children when martial law was declared what happened to TV broadcasts was one most of us remember clearly. For suddenly, there was nothing on TV. We have different ways of remembering what we saw. Kiko Pangilinan described the static as ants. Raffy compared it to snow,

Another memory stands out for most of us: the silence and the fear.

Raffy’s father had been a staunch critic of Marcos whom he considered a fraud for claiming to be a World War II hero. “My father never bought into that.” His father also was confident that Marcos would never dare declare martial law.

When that did happen, “biglang tumahimik sa dinner table. It was suddenly quiet at the dinner table,” Raffy recalled. “Let’s feel our way through this,” his father said.

His father would regain his bearings eventually and resume his critical attitude toward what is now a dictatorship “although in softer tones.”

In a way, Raffy was lucky compared with most of us Martial Law Babies. Yes, the songs praising his vision of a New Society he found moving and “catchy.” But influenced by a father who saw through the lies of the regime, he knew that he and most of us were being fed lies — Marcos propaganda.

And as a young man, he would join the fight against the lies — and the silence.

***************

Like other Martial Law Babies, he saw how Filipinos fought back — with noise. The April 1978 noise barrage is still remembered as a triumphant act of defiance that showed most of us that the dictatorship was not invincible.

“Kasama kami sa banging of pots and pans, At the appointed time, nag-erupt ang buong Kamias. We joined the banging of pots and pans. Kamias erupted,” Raffy recalled, referring to where he and his family lived in Metro Manila where the protest happened.

“It was deafening and inspiring at the same time,” he said. “Truly, it was a crack in the wall of silence.”

He would become even more deeply involved in the fight to break that wall of silence and fear as a student at UP Diliman.

And there was one time when creating noise and speaking out got him in trouble. Raffy was at the big 1982 student demonstration at Liwasang Bonifacio, which was violently dispersed.

“We hid under the steps of the post office and we saw the aftermath of the dispersal. Maraming nasaktan. Many were hurt.”

He decided to leave his hiding place to confront the police general about the need to help the students who were hurt. Raffy was arrested and spent a few days in jail at the Manila Western Police District headquarters

By then, he had heard and was impressed by the work of human rights lawyers who were playing an increasingly important role in defending those who were fighting the dictatorship. Many of them belonged to the Free Legal Assistance Group led by revered opposition leader Pepe Diokno, who immediately sent FLAG lawyers to help out Raffy and other arrested students.

Eventually, FLAG and human rights law would become part of Raffy’s life, as a student and later as a lawyer. He went on to become one of the leaders of the UP Student Law Government. He spearheaded what is still remembered as the elected body’s most memorable role in the final confrontation with the Marcos dictatorship.

When the February 1986 uprising began, the UP Law Student Group proclaimed itself as the UP Law Liberation Forces and headed straight to where the action was on EDSA right outside at Camp Crame.

“We arrived before the multitude and were able to position ourselves right in front of the Camp Crame gate,” he recalled in a Facebook post in 2016. They paid two cigarette vendors to climb the camp gate and hang the “U.P. College of Law” banner.

Raffy spent years looking for “photographic evidence” of the act of rebellion. “Finally, today, thirty years later, I found it! UP LAW!!!” he said in 2016.

The 1986 uprising was a defining moment for our generation. There were many of us who hoped Cory Aquino would usher in a new era in our history focused on strong democratic governance and human rights.

That didn’t happen. And that failure led to the rise of a Duterte and to the possible return of another Marcos. There were many squandered opportunities to expand and strengthen democratic institutions.

At UP in the 1980s, we had hoped that the progressive movement would build on the political culture that inspired generations of activists to join the fight against dictatorship. It was a culture rooted in the belief that politically organized and engaged communities that historically have been shut out of the political system — workers, farmers, students, fisherfolk — can ensure a dynamic democracy not dominated and distorted by elite politics.

That’s now how things turned out.

One of the most stunning developments in recent years is how major left organizations actually embraced Duterte when he ran for president and even after he took power — even when his government began its murderous campaign.

It is puzzling and disappointing, he said, that the left “had to go to bed with Duterte.” And so is the possibility of a Marcos comeback.

“Nakakalungkot isipin na yong efforts mo belonging to that generation has all been for naught. It’s sad to think that all your efforts have been all for naught.” His biggest fear is “that we degenerate into a failed state under Marcos (Jr.) that will totally negate the movement toward modernization and stronger institutions.” There is also a more personal fear, “that our daughter would no longer find any compelling reason to stay in the country. Nalulungkot ako doon sa totoo lang. I am truly saddened by that.”

The Leni Robredo campaign offers hope, he said. Last weekend, Raffy and his family joined the massive and impressive Pasig mobilization for the Robredo campaign.

“Fighting for the future with some very nice people by your side. Does not get any better than this,” he posted on Facebook.

Earlier, he said, “We welcome miracles, and celebrate them. The point, however, is not to rely on them. Paghusayin ang hanay.”

The statement underlined the kind of politics we understood to be the key to a really strong democratic society: organized, empowered communities who define their own futures aided by leaders who rise and move forward with them.

“Patuloy pa rin ako. I push on,” he said, as he recalled the quote from the Italian revolutionary Antonio Gramsci, whom many of us admired. “Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of will.”

“My mind is pessimistic, but my will is optimistic,” Gramsci said. “Whatever the situation, I imagine the worst that could happen in order to summon up all my reserves and will power to overcome every obstacle.”

That reminded me of another leader, the Czech dissident, writer and statesman Vaclav Havel, who led the resistance to Soviet repression and spent years in prison before spearheading the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989.

“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well,” he said, “but the certainty that something is worth doing no matter how it turns out.”

Source: https://usa.inquirer.net/96580/martial-law-babies-raffy-aquino-activism-as-optimism

Sciences not masculine fields – PH Space Agency official

By CNN Philippines Staff



Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) – Opportunities to work in the sciences should not be limited to men, and must be more open to women.

That’s the stand of Dr. Gay Jane Perez, one of those who made a career in space science – a relatively unfamiliar career path among Filipino women.

Perez is currently the Deputy Director General of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA). She played a key role in developing the first Philippine microsatellites Diwata-1 and Diwata-2, and other space technologies that enhanced the country’s data on environmental applications and climate studies.

“Unfortunately, girls are raised to believe that math, engineering, and physics are masculine fields. This is not true. This actually is a stereotype, which undermines the performance of women in these fields because they believe they can’t excel on it,” Perez told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word on Friday.

Perez graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2003 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Physics. She also received her Master of Science in 2005 and Doctor of Philosophy in Physics in 2009 from the same university.

Perez shared that her love for space science was solidified when she took her post-doctoral studies at the famed NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

“I saw how I could further enhance what I learned as a student, but this time analyzing huge amount of earth observation satellite data. At the same time, when I was there, I gained better appreciation on the value of space signs and technology and exploration,” she said.

“More than looking at the stars or sending astronauts in orbit, there are very practical applications of space that improve our lives here on earth,” she added.

The PhilSA official pointed out there is a lack of enough female role models in their field – citing the global average that only one out of five workers in the space science sector are women.

“Generally, there is a lack of awareness in career opportunities in space science and engineering,” said Perez.

Perez said she hopes their social media campaigns in PhilSA will entice more women to start a career in space science.

“To the young girls out there, don’t hesitate. Pursue your dreams and passions. Go out, explore, and embrace opportunities. If there’s a chance, pursue advanced degrees,” she added.

Source: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2022/3/18/Sciences-not-masculine-fields.html?fbclid=lwAR2

Filipina is operations lead of world’s first AI-powered astronaut ‘companion’

March 15, 2022

by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz

(In celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s Month, Manila Bulletin is publishing stories featuring women who have made outstanding contributions to the country or to their communities.)

More and more Filipino women are building stellar and fulfilling careers here and abroad, even in male-dominated fields.
Their notable achievements and contributions have not only made their countrymen proud, but also served as a source of inspiration for women empowerment across the globe.

Among these inspiring Filipina achievers is Gwendolyne Pascua, currently the ground controller and operations lead at one of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) user service and operations centers located at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland, the Biotechnology Space Support Center (BIOTESC).

Biotechnology Space Support Center
(BIOTESC) ground controller and operations lead Dr. Gwendolyne Pascua with Cimon (Crew Interactive Mobile Companion), the world’s first AI-powered companion in space. (Photo from Dr. Gwendolyne Pascua’s presentation during the PAGASA’s Women and Girls in Astronomy Forum on March 8, 2022)

“Basically our mission is to have a successful and smooth experiment execution by astronauts. We support the experiments primarily in the International Space Station (ISS),” Pascua shared during the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Women and Girls in Astronomy forum on March 8.
“BIOTESC team is a small team but very diverse because it’s a mix of a lot of expertise. So we’re a mix of biochemists, biologists, mechanical engineers, physicists, computer scientists, or IT specialists,” she added.

BIOTESC, according to Pascua, was also one of those involved in the development of Cimon–an acronym for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion.

Pascua, who was the project operations lead, explained that Cimon is a robot with artificial intelligence that serves as an astronaut’s assistant or companion on the space station. “It can speak and fly,” she related.

Cimon was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and developed and built by Airbus in Friedrichshafen and Bremen on behalf of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

It uses artificial intelligence based on IBM’s Watson technology, while the scientific aspects of the project are handled by the Medical Center of the University of Munich.

“It’s basically used as an assistant. It should be able to relieve some daily tasks from astronauts as well, and for sure with this, also with the social interaction in a long duration, for example, it can be a companion. It has a monitoring scenario so it has several sensors in it where it could monitor the environment. In the remote scenario, we can control it from the ground. And, of course, to take care of the privacy of the astronauts, it also has this offline scenario where everything is cut and it’s just a floating ball,” Pascua said.

Cimon first took off towards the ISS in 2018.

“The mission of Cimon continued. Another astronaut used it in February 2020. We actually commissioned the second model because we have to bring the first model back home — to Earth. We have to re-commission the other one and this is the second flight model that we have in orbit until now,” Pascua said.
“In the future, hopefully, we will bring Cimon somewhere else in space. Maybe to the moon or for long-duration mission, as it’s designed for,” she said.

Giving back

The Kalinga-born achiever reflected on her journey leading to her work at BIOTESC.

“No path in this world is straightforward but everyone’s path is unique. Wherever we may go or wherever path this leads us, it may not be easy or smooth but along the way, we try to overcome these difficulties. We know that the foundation that we had from our family, we could surpass these difficulties by having the strength in our character. We can build or strengthen our characters and that’s the most important part of it right?” said Pascua who is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman.

“The education, the learnings that we had, [we have] to keep them with us to find the balance, the right balance, to have that correct balance, that’s very important. To have a balance within your physical, mental, spiritual, emotional self. Also, of course, if you keep the faith and always pray, that could guide you along the way. Cliche as it may sound but it does from my experience,” she added.

Pascua shared that she had several interests while she was still a student at UP.

“I was doing a lot of extracurricular activities and had several organizations where we support a lot of outreach programs. I just want to say na hindi puro academics ang pinagtuunan ko ng pansin pero (that I didn’t focus solely on academics but) those activities, those learnings built my character. I was able to engage with a lot of people from different walks of life. I think that’s very important as well,” she said.

Before working at BIOTESC, Pascua also took further studies in Europe.

“Be excellent in what you do. Be passionate about what you’re doing. Then those things that you do make them like stepping stones to something bigger. When I was studying I was also interested to learn languages. That was also an edge, I would say because then it prepared me as well to be immersed in other cultures,” Pascua said.

She also pointed out that working in a field that is dominated by males is “sometimes good because you can interact with them.”

“If they are open to your perspectives…they listen to your perspectives, then it’s very good. Maybe there are of course some instances when you have opposing views but the good thing about it of course in this field everybody is professional,” Pascua said.

Moreover, Pascua is looking forward to giving back to the community by conducting more educational outreach activities.

“At this stage, I want to give back in any way I can to do more educational outreach because I actually support a lot of educational outreach programs. Our group has a lot of outreach programs. We share what we do to even little children. We design experiments for them. We also use our platform or what we’re doing here. We involve the students. For the future, I would like to do also some projects that would involve environment stewardship,” Pascua said.

Source: https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/12/filipina-is-operations-lead-of-worlds-first-ai-powered-astronaut-companion/

Maoi Arroyo: The Impact of ‘I’

March 14, 2022

PEOPLE – Joanne Rae M. Ramirez

The Outstanding Young Men 2011 awardee Maoi Arroyo, founder of the ‘Ignite Impact Fund,” which aims for tangible social impact, not just financial returns.

From the start, she was unique. Christened “Maria Antonia Odelia” by her late parents Joker and Odelia Arroyo, she says she couldn’t have been nicknamed “MAO,” especially because her lawyer-father was jailed during martial law. So Joker Arroyo added an “I” to his eldest daughter’s initials and her nickname “MAOI” was born. Since then, she has always made sure that the ‘I’ in her name would be significant. I-catching.

For one, she has resolved to make a difference by using all that she is to make an impact on the lives of the less privileged — not just with good intentions but with measurable data.

After graduating from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, with a major in Biology, Maoi decided to combine “my love of science and innovation with my love of business” and facilitated investments of some $3.5 million into the country for organic fertilizers.

A “serial” entrepreneur (one who goes into one business after another), she says of herself, “I only do one thing — I enable people to change their world. I do this through the businesses I’ve founded and invested in, through the students I’ve taught and mentored, the organizations which I volunteer at, and through my public speaking.”

Thus, from empowering Batangas farmers to produce enough pasteurized eggs to supply at least five major Metro Manila hotels and other restaurant chains, to upcycling old leather jackets bought at ukay-ukay stalls into fashionable leather bags and accessories, Maoi has transformed lives and livelihoods without running for public office. She has also helped the Franciscans of the Our Lady of the Abandoned church in Sta. Ana by establishing a columbarium beside the church, where each niche helps provide income for the church and its causes.

“From my dad, I got my love of my country and then, from my mother’s side (the Gregorios of Greg shoes), I saw the power of creating jobs to make lives better,” says Maoi, who says her father inculcated the love of reading so much in her she only had a TV set installed in her bedroom when she was 26 years old! Before that, she would watch TV with him, because he loved watching Charlie’s Angels since he had a crush on Cheryl Ladd.

Maoi has founded the “Ignite Impact Fund” and is making waves as she ushers in “impact investing” in the Philippines, which she describes as “a new asset class where the investments create not just financial returns, but are also more focused on tangible, measurable social impact.”

“We primarily invest in the Philippines to help and our goal really is to create jobs and eradicate extreme poverty for people living under $1 to $2 a day, under P50 to P100 a day. This would be our farmers, our coastal communities, by investing and modernizing agriculture, modernizing mariculture, helping people get bank accounts, helping people get faster Internet. So that’s what we do,” says Maoi, who was named in 2011 as one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines.

“We invest in companies, and our job is not to loan money — our job is to really invest because when you lend to somebody all you care about is getting to be paid your interest and getting your money back. When you invest in equity, when you have shares, you only succeed if they succeed. So we believe in partnering with farmers, with the poor, with companies that want to help create jobs and help farmers.”

Track record

What is her biggest asset when approaching investors?

“In the fund, I think what really helps is that I have a track record of doing it myself, so risking of my own money,” she replies.

“I started in my twenties,” continues Maoi, who is 44 now. “My father thought I was insane. With my little money 15 years ago, by the time I was 35 I had created 3,500 jobs in the poorest parts of our country. That’s almost like 100 jobs for every year that I had been alive. So, I got one award after another but I’ve always felt that’s not for me personally but for the work that the team and I did.” Aside from being a TOYM awardee, she became a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She now sits on the Global Future Council of the WEF, which means she helps determine the agenda for responsible investing.

“Much as I care for the world, I want my own country to finally tip over to middle-income country. I think that I’m so frustrated that we taught agriculture to the Thai and the Vietnamese, and Thailand is at only three percent or almost zero percent extreme poverty. Vietnam is at six percent, I think, while we’re second to the last at 13 percent,” she rues.

“I really want us to stop being the ‘sick man of Asia.’ I started thinking, ‘I went to Philippine Science, I went to UP. I’ve been a scholar of the Filipino people since I was 13. So not only I do owe it to the Filipino people, it’s also a great honor.’ If I don’t do it, who will?” she asserts.

‘Marry yourself first’

Since it is Women’s Month, and I interviewed her on the eve of International Women’s Day, I asked Maoi what she wants to impart to the Filipina.

“Urban Filipinas have to realize two things: No. 1, you can have it all, you just can’t have it all at the same time. Because life is a delicate balance, it’s a dynamic balance. I like the concept of balance but not work-life balance because that implies that there’s no life in your work and that there is no work in your life. If you want to raise children, you want a good marriage — that takes work. You should never leave your leadership, your competence and your patience at your front door. And you also bring your passion and your passion for your life to work and that’s what always makes Filipinas successful — when you actually bring life to work and you respect the work of your life.”

“No. 2, you cannot pour from an empty cup. My advice to young urban women always is you marry yourself first. In sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, you love yourself first. How can you love somebody else, how can you love anything else? You cannot love a country (if you don’t love yourself first).

“For rural women, those who don’t live in the city, minding the sari-sari store or taking care of the kids, I think the biggest thing I want to impart to them is, ‘Kaya natin ito.’ Poverty isn’t just about lack of money, it’s lack of hope, it’s lack of the belief that we can change anything about our lives.”

Though “I” was added to the name she is most known for, Maoi doesn’t stand alone.

“And that’s my goal — to invest in other women and to invest in the Filipino and to prove that it works. Because we’re already world-class. The whole world depends on our expertise, I don’t know why we don’t want to invest in ourselves.”

With Maoi Arroyo, “I” has always meant “We.”

(You may e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.)

Source: https://www.philstar.com/other-sections/newsmakers/2022/03/11/2166359/maoi-arroyo-impact-i