WOLBACHIA AS A WEAPON AGAINST DENGUE

WOLBACHIA AS A WEAPON AGAINST DENGUE Dear Mr. President: It is commonly said that to win a war, we must first know our enemy. I think that that saying is very much applicable in our war against dengue, and please allow me to explain what I mean by that. To be clear, our enemy is not dengue itself, but the infected Aedes mosquitos that are the carriers of the dengue virus. Not all mosquitos are carriers, and not all Aedes mosquitos are carriers, only those that belong to the Flavivirus genus are the carriers. It goes without saying Sir, that to win the war against the dengue virus, we must defeat not the disease itself, but the carriers of the virus, namely the Aedes mosquitos. Going back to the subject of knowing our enemy, we must know that mosquitos in general are arthropods belonging to the class Insecta. Since we know already who or what our enemies are, the next thing that we need to know is what weapons we need to fight them, so to speak. According to Microsoft Copilot, “Wolbachia is gram-negative bacteria that infects a wide range of arthropods and some nematodes”. In other words, Sir, Wolbachia is a bacterium that could be used as a weapon to fight against the Aedes mosquito, simply it is an arthropod that is vulnerable to it. what can Wolbachia do to the Aedes mosquito? First, it can live inside the cells of the host mosquito, and the bacteria can be passed from one generation of the host to the next, through the eggs. Secondly, it can do damage to the reproductive cycle of the host, such as asexual reproduction, feminization and male killing. Thirdly, it can function as a biocontrol agent that weakens the ability of mosquitos to transmit viruses such as dengue and zika. Copilot also says that the use of Wolbachia in the Philippines is “still in the research and evaluation stage”, possibly within a unit of the DOH. Copilot adds that “public sentiments towards this technology is generally positive, but more studies and public engagement are needed to ensure its safety and effectiveness. I can understand why the DOH is very careful in releasing this bacterium for general use, because if mistakes are made, we might cause some biohazard accidents that could go beyond the control of the government. In the meantime, Mr. President, the government should also carefully weigh the pros and cons, because we could be losing the war already as we speak. As of September, this year, the government reported about 208,000 cases of dengue, representing an increase of about 68% increase over the same period last year. While waiting for a final approval Sir, perhaps you could consider instructing the DOH to conduct a small pilot test in a controlled environment? Perhaps the DOH could do it in a remote isolated island? IKE SENERES/11-06-2024

LET’S TEST USING MOSQUITRIX VERSUS MALARIA

LET’S TEST USING MOSQUITRIX VERSUS MALARIA Dear Mr. President: To my surprise, the carrier of the malaria disease, the female Anopheles mosquito, is alive and well and living in Palawan. The disease is caused by Plasmodium parasites that are spread through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitos. Once the parasites enter the bloodstream, they travel to the liver, where they mature and multiply before infecting the red blood cells. Well, to be exact, the Anopheles mosquito could be also living in other places of the Philippines, but Palawan is where 6,188 cases of malaria were reported, out of the 6, 248 cases reported nationwide. Unfortunately, there are no vaccines yet that are available for use against malaria in the Philippines. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the Mosquitrix vaccine for Malaria prevention in children living in malaria-stricken regions in the world, but up to now, these vaccines are used only in pilot programs in Africa. As of now, Mosquitrix is not being used in the Philippines yet, and there is no available information whether anyone, from the government or the private sector has applied for approval from the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It seems logical to speculate that the most likely applicant will be the local company of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), since it was GSK that developed the vaccine in collaboration with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), with partial funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. According to Microsoft Copilot, “the vaccine requires at least three doses in infants by age 2, with a fourth dose extending protection for another 1-2 years. It has been shown to reduce hospital admissions from severe malaria by around 30% and toddler deaths by 15%”. Copilot also says that “symptoms of malaria can include fever, chills, headache, nausea and muscle pain. In severe cases, it can lead to complications like anemia, cerebral malaria and organ failure”. Are these not enough reasons for us to plan and already start pilot-testing Mosquitrix, preferably in Palawan? Mr. President, we all have reason to believe that our country is prone to diseases that are carried by mosquitos. Two of the best-known diseases are malaria and dengue, but there could be more. It is still fresh in our memory that we were totally caught unaware by the Covid 19 pandemic. As a matter of fact, we had no choice but to use a vaccine that was not fully tested, because we had to do it as a matter of survival. Fortunately, Sir, in this case of malaria, there is a vaccine that has already been tested with good results, and there is really nothing that stops us now from also start testing it ourselves. How and where do we start Sir? Perhaps with the local offices of both GSK and Microsoft, because for sure they will be able to connect us with their headquarters. Both the DFA and the DTI could also request our embassy in Washington, DC because Microsoft is based in the US. Our embassy in London could talk to GSK, being based there in the UK. Other than that, perhaps the DOH could coordinate with the local or regional offices of the WHO, to start the ball rolling. IKE SENERES/11-05-2024

BANNING SINGLE USE PLASTICS

BANNING SINGLE USE PLASTICS Dear Mr. President: The good news is, our Congress has passed almost all the necessary laws banning single use plastics in the Philippines. The bad news is, the DENR appears to be having difficulty in implementing these laws. I wonder what the problem is? Could it be a lack of funding? Or a lack of manpower? Or a lack of interest? Or could it be that the DENR has too much to do, such that paying attention to single use plastics is way belong among their priorities? Or could it be that they are facing opposition from strong industry lobbies? The National Solid Waste Commission (NSWC) was created under Republic Act 9003, also known as the Ecological Solid Waste Act of 2000 (ESWA). The NWSC was created for the purpose of implementing the ESWA law. In 2020, the NSWC issued Resolution No. 1363, banning “unnecessary single-use plastics”. The ban covers National Government Agencies (NGAs), Local Government Units (LGUs) and all other government offices and instrumentalities. Unfortunately, compliance to the resolution appears to be very slow, even after four years. This appears to be a real problem Sir, because if the government could not implement environmental laws within its own ranks, how would it be able to implement these laws nationwide? In addition to ESWA, the Extended Producer Responsibility Act (EPRA) was also passed in 2022, to further strengthen our waste management laws by making producers responsible for the entire lifecycle of their plastic packaging, including post-consumer waste. According to Microsoft Copilot, the combination of ESWA and EPRA was “meant to broaden the government’s efforts to promote sustainable consumption and production practices in the country”. Sad to say Mr. President, after about twenty years, the solid waste management system in our country has not improved. According to the ESWA, the de facto Chairman of the NSWC is the DENR Secretary. According to the EPRA, the actual implementation of the said law is assigned to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), an agency that is also under the DENR Secretary. These functions include overseeing the compliance of “covered enterprises” with the EPR requirements, also including the recovery, treatment, recycling and disposal of plastic packaging waste. That said, it is very clear that the DENR is solely responsible for banning the use of single-use plastic in the Philippines, and no one else. While the term “unnecessary single-use plastics” might have been vague, the term “covered enterprises” is clear as day. The term “unnecessary” is very subjective and arguable, and the determination of what is “necessary” and what is not might even be a temptation for corruption. However, the term “covered enterprises” clearly covers all companies that are producing all forms of one-way plastics, supposedly without exception. And so, if that is so, why is it Mr. President, that so many of these plastic packaging wastes are not recovered, treated, recycled and disposed? Additionally, Mr. President, the ESWA also mandates all barangays or clusters of barangays to establish Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs). The purpose of these facilities is to intercept recyclables such as glass bottles, aluminum cans, plastic packaging and paper stocks, so that these will not end up in the dumpsites or landfills and would instead be sold to junkshops. Sir, if only the DENR could be encouraged to actively implement both ESWA and EPRA more vigorously, then perhaps we could manage our solid waste problem better. IKE SENERES/11-04-2024

MACROECONOMICS OF ABACA PRODUCTION

MACROECONOMICS OF ABACA PRODUCTION Dear Mr. President: I have a question and since I could not get a clear answer in online sources, perhaps you could help me get the right answer? Does the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) use local or imported abaca materials for the Philippine banknotes? All the while, I thought that BSP has been using local abaca materials all along, but the artificial intelligence application Microsoft Copilot says that it uses imported abaca. Copilot also says that the BSP uses 80% cotton and 20% abaca to produce the banknotes, but the cotton materials are also imported, just like the abaca materials. That to me, is very sad news Mr. President, because I was really hoping somehow that the time will come, sooner or later, that cotton could be grown in the Ilocos Region, to replace the tobacco crop, because of the latter’s dwindling markets. I understand that studies have shown that cotton can be a viable crop to grow in Ilocos Sur, it is not practical to grow it, because other crops like garlic and watermelon could have higher returns on investments, due to their higher prices. Much as I could not contradict that data, I still believe that cotton could be a viable additional crop to grow in the Ilocos Region, if only a local market could be developed for it. Perhaps that market could be developed by the BSP, if only they would buy local cotton. As of now, there are no government reports yet about how much damage the recent typhoons have done to the Bicol Region, especially to Catanduanes, specifically to their abaca industry. What is now a no-brainer Mr. President, is that in order for Catanduanes to recover, the abaca industry must be rebuilt, and that means the government must now work double time to help that industry develop and market its abaca derived products. About six years ago, the DOST announced that “The time may not be long before the country develops the capability of producing banknotes as Department of Science and Technology (DOST) researchers have crafted a technology that can produce currency bank paper (CBP) from local indigenous materials”. Since that time however, nothing has been heard from neither DOST nor BSP. If only the technology announced by the DOST could be used by the BSP, it would become more economically viable for the government to invest in abaca, and all related products that are derived from it. Not only that, but there are also new developments that could bring new life to the abaca industry, and that includes a new fiber yarning machine invented by the National Abaca Research Center (NARC) at the Visayas State University (VSU). The machine could produce higher quality yarn at a faster rate. Hopefully, very soon, a newer and better version of “Manila Hemp” will emerge, one that is still organic and biodegradable, but stronger because it will be blended with a bioplastic film that will be using a nanocellulose material extracted from abaca fiber. This new material developed by the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) of the DOST will not only replace conventional rope, but it will also replace traditional petroleum-based plastics and reduce plastic waste. Hopefully, this innovation will improve the macroeconomics of growing abaca. IKE SENERES/11-03-2024

DEVELOMENT PROGRAMS FOR INDIGENOUS TRIBES

DEVELOMENT PROGRAMS FOR INDIGENOUS TRIBES Dear Mr. President: I think that it was a very good decision on your part to transfer the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) from the DSWD to the Office of the President (OP). Because of that Sir, I think the transfer has now made it possible to introduce as many development projects for the benefit if tribal communities, as much as possible. With due respect, please allow me to mention some of these projects. To begin with, I would like to highlight the fact that most of these tribal communities have very large agricultural lands to develop, and they have plenty of manpower that they could tap from among their members. However, as much as they have large lands and have plenty of people, they are also very much lacking in technology, training, financing, processing and marketing assistance. Among the possibilities of what could be done, I am particularly partial to the potential of tree planting, and beyond that, perhaps going into reforestation, meaning the revival of denuded forests. And if possible, Mr. President, they could also go into afforestation, meaning the planting of new forests where there was none before. The decision to plant which species Sir. Will depend on the soil and water tests but suffice it to say that all should be native tree species, meaning not the invasive species. The data also shows Mr. President, that livestock could also grow under the trees, either in cages or through the free-range approach. The same goes, Sir, for poultry species such as chickens, ducks, quails and turkeys. And in places where there is an abundant supply of water, the tribal communities could also go into aquaculture, either in the natural lakes, ponds and rivers, or in manmade fish tanks such as the Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) technology, a closed and land-based way of farming fish. Going back to the choice of tree species, priority should be given to those that are fast growing and have a ready market waiting. Although bamboos and bananas are technically not trees, they could be given priority because both are fast growing, and both have huge markets. Although some tree species might be fast growing enough to give medium term incomes to the tribes, it would be advisable for them to also plant some fast-growing cash crops. Regarding planting trees Mr. President, we should also help our Indigenous Tribal Peoples (ITPs) so that aside from the sale of wood, fruits and related products, they could also earn money from carbon credits and from the debt-for-nature swap program, together with the newly emerging debt-for-climate swap program. According to Microsoft Copilot, “these agreements allow countries to reduce their debt burden in exchange for commitments to protect the environment”. As far as I can recall Mr. President, there are several National Government Agencies (NGAs) that have yet to come forward to help not only the NCIP, but also all the ITPs all over the country, regardless of whether they already have Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs) or not. Among these agencies are the National Development Company (NDC), the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp), the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI), the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). IKE SENERES/11-02-2024

A NEW HOPE FOR INDIGENOUS TRIBAL PEOPLES

A NEW HOPE FOR INDIGENOUS TRIBAL PEOPLES Dear Mr. President: I do not know whose idea it was to transfer the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) from the DSWD to the Office of the President (OP), but I think that it was a very good decision on your part. Firstly, placing the NCIP under the DSWD implies that it is a “charity case”, which obviously it is not. Secondly, the NCIP did not have the “bureaucratic clout” when it was simply “attached” to a line department, unlike now that it is directly “under” the OP. As I see it, the NCIP should really transform into a “development” agency, from what it was before, when it was generally regarded as a “welfare” agency. I am sure Sir, that you have already been briefed about the problems besetting the NCIP but allow me to bring out some of these two you. I am sorry if I could not present to you any actual proof of these problems that I will bring to you, but I am sure that you could validate these through your own sources. The first problem Sir is that many of the Indigenous Tribal Peoples (ITPs) still have not acquired their Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs), after all those years since the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) law was passed in 1997. As far as I know, the problem could be the lack of money, or the lack of lawyers. However, that is not even supposed to happen, because the NCIP is supposed to have the money and the personnel for that purpose. The second problem Sir is that some LGUs are not recognizing the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMRs) who are supposed to represent the local tribes in the local municipal councils, city councils and provincial boards. As it is supposed to be, the tribes are supposed to select their own IPMRs, but in many cases, the local mayors and governors would insist on making their own choices, thus defeating the purpose of democratic representation. The third problem Sir is that many of the tribal communities are so far away from the urban areas, such that they are often deprived of access to basic services such as health and education. It would be good if the government could bring these services closer to where they are, but that is not always the case. There is also supposed to be an Indigenous People’s Education (IPED) program that aims to provide culturally responsive education to the ITPs, but the implementation seems to be behind its targets. The fourth problem Sir is the lack of support not only from the NCIP itself, but also from other National Government Agencies (NGAs), for purposes of supporting the livelihoods of these ITPs. Among others, this support should come in the form of training, financing and marketing. Since many of these ITPs have large tracks of lands, they could prospectively go into large- scale plantations, or even large-scale poultry and livestock production. Now that the NCIP is directly under your office, I believe that it would be very easy for you to mobilize all the NGAs that are needed to provide support to all the tribal communities, regardless of whether they already have CADTS or not. These NGAs could include DOJ for legal support in applying for the CADTs, DOST to identify the technologies that they need, DA to provide them with the training, supplies and equipment, DOF for financing and DTI for marketing. IKE SENERES/11-01-24

INCENTIVES FOR AFFORESTATION

INCENTIVES FOR AFFORESTATION Dear Mr. President: In the aftermath of the typhoons and landslides that happened in our country, we have been reminded again, as we have been reminded before, that we must plant trees, not just a few seedlings here and there, but millions of it, as much as we could. It has become clear that trees could not only prevent water from trickling very fast to the lowlands, but they also prevent landslides. What has already become clear to most of us Filipinos is that one of the major causes of floods is the loss of forest cover, meaning that our mountains have become denuded, because the trees that used to thrive there were totally cut and were not replanted. Replanting or reforestation is one side of the equation Mr. President, because there is another side to the equation, which is afforestation. According to Microsoft Copilot, “afforestation is the process of planting trees in an area that has not previously forested, to create a new forest. This is different from reforestation, which involves replanting trees in areas where forests have been depleted”. Copilot adds that just like reforestation, “afforestation could help deter climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide, preventing soil erosion, and enhancing biodiversity”. Realistically speaking Mr. President, is afforestation too much to ask from a people who were not able to do reforestation, as simple as it is? Is it too much to ask from the DENR, the government that is apparently failing to implement the National Greening Program (NGP)? I believe Sir, that my answer to these two questions is yes. I say that because I believe that these two questions are political in nature and are not technical in nature. My answer is yes, because I believe that with the right political will, it could be done, but with the right political leadership of course. Realistically speaking Sir, I think that it is difficult to tell which areas in our country were previously forested, and which areas were not. Some areas that were previously forested could be 100% devoid of trees now, such that there is no longer a hint at all that a forest used to thrive there. Perhaps in the lowlands, the planting of new trees could no longer stop the floods and the landslides, but at least, new trees could still absorb carbon dioxide, and even feed fresh water to the aquafers. Mr. President, since the implementation of the NGP is apparently still ongoing, perhaps you could investigate it to be able to what its progress is. I suggest however Sir, that NGP should have clear targets about how many square kilometers should be planted, and which mountains should be planted. I also suggest Sir, that the progress of the planting and the new growth should be monitored both by drones and by satellite images, for comparison purposes. May I also request Sir, that the DENR be instructed to plant only native species? For that matter, I think that it would be wise to cut down and remove the invasive tree species, while the native tree species are being planted. In addition to that Sir, may I also request that you also include the planting of mangrove forests in the NGP? I know for a fact that some LGUs and NGOs are planting mangrove propagules in some places, but no one seems to be planning to grow new mangrove forests, except perhaps Yolanda survivor Gary Dabansol who planted 10,000 mangrove trees all by himself in his village in Matalom, Leyte, knowing that it could provide additional protection against storm surges. IKE SENERES/10-31-2024