user user – Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

A shift to modern food preservation technology

On a general note, food preservation is vital to human health all because it stops food from different forms of spoilage. It keeps people safe from harmful bacteria, and cuts down on waste. It also allows us to enjoy seasonal fruits and vegetables all year long. It helps to move food safely to far places, and saves money for homes and businesses.

In specific terms,food preservation slows down or stops tiny germs, molds, and enzymes from rotting the food. It destroys bad bacteria so people do not get sick from eating old food.

With regards to reducing waste it lowers the amount of food thrown away at home or on farms. As for improving shelf -life it guarantees

year-round supply and makes seasonal food ready to eat during any month of the year. Processing allows food to travel long distances without going bad.

Considered from the economic perspectives, it saves money by lowering costs for families and helps food stores to avoid losing goods. But the methods of food preservation has changed over time and it is necessary to know where we are coming from with the traditional methods. And where we are heading to with modern technology.

Over time, traditional food processing methods in Nigeria relies on indigenous, low-cost techniques passed down across generations. These manual methods focus on turning raw crops like cassava, yam, and grains into safe, storable, and edible foods through fermentation, sun-drying, and hand-pounding.

Fermentation involves soaking grains or grating tubers (like converting cassava to garri, fufu, or lafun) to remove toxins, improve taste, and extend shelf life. While pounding and grilling focus on using wooden mortars and pestles to dehull grains or grind corn, melon seeds (egusi), and yam into fine flours sun-drying is a different ball game. It is the spreading of vegetables, grains, and meat in the open air to remove moisture and prevent spoilage.

On its part, smoking and roasting involve using open wood fires or hot sand stirring pots to cook, dry, and preserve fish, meat, and peanuts.

Most of these tasks rely heavily on manual physical effort, particularly by women in rural areas. But the production capacities are small compared to industrial manufacturing.

Viewed from the hygiene and loss risks, open-air drying and traditional handling can expose food to dust, dirt, and microbial contamination. That was then but this is now. Indeed, several things have changed.

Precisely, latest food preservation technologies focus on non-thermal methods that keep food fresh without losing nutrients or flavor. The key breakthroughs include High-Pressure Processing (HPP), edible plant-based coatings like those from Apeel Sciences, cold plasma, and smart modified atmosphere packaging.

On its part, Non-Thermal Processing High-Pressure Processing (HPP): uses extreme water pressure up to 120,000 psi to crush bacteria in juices, meats, and seafood without heat.

Next comes Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF). This sends short high-voltage shocks through liquid foods like milk and juices to tear apart cell walls of bad microbes. As for Cold Plasma, it applies ionized gas to zap pathogens right on the surface of food without changing its texture or requiring synthetic chemicals.

According to experts in the field of processing advanced Protective Coatings and Materials Edible Plant Skins are invisible, plant-derived lipid layers which act as a second skin on fresh fruits and vegetables to lock in moisture and block oxygen.

As for Silk-Protein Films, they are extracted silk proteins which coat delicate items like berries to slow down breathing rates and decay.

Ethylene Absorbers are special sachets and pallet covers that trap ripening gases in transit to extend the shelf – life of produce without extra ice.

Storage Active Packaging involves the use of films and stickers embedded with oxygen scavengers or moisture absorbers which actively tune the micro-climate inside food packages.

Not left out of modern food processing techniques is the use of Precision Humidity Rooms. They are advanced cold-chain rooms which maintain temperatures near 0°C with near 100% controlled humidity to keep fruits fresh for months without freezing them.

Beyond the knowledge of these new techniques is their application so as to increase the safety, and availability of sundry food items, more so in this testy period of insecurity that has placed Nigeria 115th out of 123 countriesvon the Global Hunger Index, ( GHI ). So serious the situation is that the country holds a dismal score of 32.8, which places the country in the ‘serious’ hunger level category.

Both the government and the private sector need to improve the people’s access to the modern technology on food processing and subsidize the costs. That would enhance food security and safety.

Fifty years on, raid on Entebbe abides

Things were not supposed to pan out the way they eventually did. On a July 2, 1976, Friday afternoon bathed in sunshine, a Mossad agent flying in a light aircraft busily clicked away with his camera. The puddle jumper he was travelling in was hovering above Entebbe Airport. And with good reason. In slightly under 24 hours, assault teams would depart the now defunct Lod Air Force Base near Tel Aviv, Israel, single-minded in their determination to rescue hostages numbering 106. The hostages-83 of whom were Israeli-had been held captive at Entebbe’s Old Terminal Building after Wilfried Böse and his accomplices hijacked Air France Flight 139 on June 27, 1976.

The grainy image the Mossad agent captured was brought to the attention of soldiers of the elite Sayeret Matkal (‘the Unit’). Under the commandership of Lt Col Yonatan ‘Yoni’ Netanyahu, the unit’s commandos had for days been honing their skills ahead of the assault force on Entebbe. The vital information-taken together with the granular details Michael Cojot, the French hostage released on July 1, 1976, provided Israeli intelligence about the Old Terminal Building-was supposed to be catalytic.

It was meant to ease the load of a work of considerable difficulty and danger. And, to a great extent, it did. As Saul David’s recollection of the clandestine mission with great novelist detail in a 2015 book-Operation Thunderbolt: Flight 139 and the Raid on Entebbe-shows, the maps, diagrams and notes meticulously put together before the rapid surprise attack came in handy.

The operation put a premium on speed and, moments before the four Hercules planes touched down at Entebbe, the assault force’s commander was at pains to reiterate the same. It was 2030hrs GMT and Hercules One was in Kenyan airspace en route to Entebbe when Netanyahu went over the contingencies.

He said: ‘If there is a cordon of Uganda troops round the terminal, the Mercedes keeps going whatever happens and the Land Rover teams mop up. If the lights are out in and around the terminal, the Land Rovers swing their headlights to illuminate the hall through its plate-glass windows and the assault groups use the light-projectors on their guns.’

Meticulously planned

The black Mercedes on the most pregnant of four Hercules planes flown by Joshua Shani was intended to trick Ugandan soldiers on the tarmac into thinking a senior officer was on the move. Not alone, but, typically, with soldiers squeezed into two Land Rovers in tow. The motorcade would move at a steady pace-40 miles per hour with full headlights-down the original runway towards the Old Terminal. The Old Terminal Building’s doorways are where the unit’s break-in teams would gain forced entry. The prized asset was the former departure lounge, a large hall where the hostages were being held. It was sandwiched by two small halls, one of which-to the left-was customs.

‘If the terminal doors are locked, each team has the charges to blow them open. If one team is knocked out, the reserves fill in. If any force fails to carry out its objectives, radio me for immediate reinforcement. Remember. We are going to be the best soldiers at that airport tonight, and there’s nobody there who can beat us. And above all-speed, speed,’ Netanyahu dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s one last time on Hercules One.

Per David, a British military historian, Netanyahu clad in a heavy web harness ‘had had custom-made: eight drab brown magazine and grenade pouches sewn on to a wide foam-rubber backing for comfort; field dressing, knife, rope; and silenced Beretta 22 pistol tucked into his combat blouse’.

After a statue of Netanyahu holding an assault rifle was unveiled in Entebbe last Saturday, the tribute plunged Ugandans into debates about the unit’s weapons of choice for the audacious hostage rescue mission. David’s body of work provides clarity.

‘Most of the unit’s soldiers were armed with Kalashnikov AK-47s,’ David writes, adding, ‘though a few had Galil ARMs, an Israeli-made assault rifle modelled on the AK-47 but with a folding stock and firing a smaller 5.56 round. All the paratroopers on board were issued with Galils.’

On the ground

Netanyahu and Giora Zussman, who alongside four others were shoehorned into the black Mercedes, fired the first shots of the operation. This was after the faint glow of the Old Terminal made it terribly difficult to judge the reactions of one of two Ugandan sentries.

Netanyahu ordered that an adjustment be made to the plan and the sentry be taken out. It, however, took more than just a couple of bullets from the pistols of Netanyahu and Zussman mounted with silencers to liquidate the sentry. Unsilenced firing from the Kalashnikov AK-47s of the unit’s commandos on the Land Rovers took away the element of surprise. Return fire from Ugandan soldiers meant that, writes David, the unit’s motorcade ‘stopped short of the control tower and at least fifty yards from the edge of the Old Terminal, rather than the five they had planned for.’

David further discloses what, stripped of the element of surprise, Netanyahu had to confront per Muki Betser who had also been in the black Mercedes.

The military historian writes: ‘From the darkness to his right came a burst of fire. Flicking his AK-47 to automatic, he fired back as he ran, his bullets hitting his assailant and causing him to fall. On reaching the corner of the Old Terminal he paused ‘while the rattle and crack of rifle and sub-machine gun fire shook the air, kicking up bits of asphalt at our feet’. Behind him [Netanyahu] the rest of the assault teams were ‘bunched up, instead of heading to the assigned entrances’. It was a ‘complete contradiction of the battle plan’, caused no doubt by the loss of surprise and the threat of incoming fire.’

It would get worse. For Netanyahu.

‘Yoni Netanyahu was almost opposite the first entrance [of the big hall], and not far from the point where he planned to set up his command post, when he stopped and turned to his left. He may have wondered why Muki Betser’s squad had run past the blocked entrance; or he might have been checking on the progress of Yiftach Reicher and Giora Zussman, the leaders of the other assault teams. But by pausing in open ground, when most of his men were hugging the front of the building, he was vulnerable to Ugandan snipers,’ David reveals.

Man down!

A sniper struck Netanyahu in the chest and lower right arm. They would prove to be fatal blows. Dr David Hassin, the medical officer on the unit, sprung to Netanyahu’s rescue after the wounded soldier had been ‘dragged behind the relative cover of a low wall’. David further discloses that ‘Hassin could tell by the paleness of his face and other indicators that Netanyahu had already suffered significant blood loss. There was little blood on Yoni’s clothing and he feared haemorrhaging was internal.’

Adding: ‘At first, having cut off Netanyahu’s ammunition belt and shirt with a knife, the doctor could only find an exit wound close to the spine on his lower back. But on closer examination he located a small slit below the collarbone on the right side of Netanyahu’s chest. That confirmed that the bullet, fired from above, had passed obliquely down through Netanyahu’s torso, tearing organs and most likely arteries as it went. He put dressings on the wounds, but knew that Netanyahu was unlikely to survive.’

Indeed, Netanyahu would go on to be part of the raid’s body count that also counted three hostages, seven hijackers and scores of Ugandan soldiers. David describes in breathless detail how one of the hostages-the French-Israeli Jean-Jacques Mimouni ‘who all week had kept the hostages’ spirits up with his stories, jokes and constant drinks service’-was tragically claimed by friendly fire during the operation. He also recounts how Betser radioed Netanyahu at 2107hrs after accomplishing the mission. Unbeknownst to Betser, Netanyahu was barely alive.

‘[Betser] found [Netanyahu] lying on his back on the tarmac, his shirt torn open, with David Hassin ‘kneeling by his side… trying to treat him’. The scene reminded him of another doctor’s desperate attempt to save the life of an officer shot during the failed operation to destroy the PLO camp at Karameh in 1968. He had failed, and Betser suspected that Hasson would too,’ David writes.

Kenya’s key role

Betser took over command. After 51 minutes of the operation ‘the Hercules-with its cargo of 101 hostages, including two dead and a number of wounded-accelerated past the New Terminal and rose slowly into the air above Lake Victoria.’ The next destination was Nairobi, Kenya, where the Hercules refuelled.

In his 2015 book, David reveals the critical, if secret, role that Kenya played in the operation-allowing the Hercules to be refuelled with the demand that the 11 MiG fighters of the Ugandan Air Force be destroyed. Tel Aviv made good on that promise, with newly declassified documents that were released by the Israel State Archives ahead of last month’s 50th anniversary of the raid attesting to the diplomatic balancing acts behind the rescue mission.

‘To facilitate the operation, our aircraft have to refuel on their way home from Entebbe, at a Kenyan airfield. I trust you will instruct the appropriate people to enable us to [do] so during this night, since the operation is now underway and our aircraft are already in the air,’ Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin informed President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya in a July 3, 1976, letter.

‘I [would] like to assure you that we shall stand by Kenya with all possible resources in case [you] will face any outside threats as a result of recent events,’ Rabin added.

South African-born Bruce McKenzie helped broker the secret deal that secured Israel planes the green light to refuel at Nairobi. The deal was sealed at the abode of Charles Njonjo, the Attorney General of Kenya at the time. After the raid on Entebbe, Israeli hostage Dora Bloch, who was in New Mulago Hospital when the operation took centre-stage, was killed at the behest of Amin on July 4, 1976. McKenzie would also go down, [in]arguably, as another revenge killing statistic when he died nearly two years later on May 24, 1978.

‘On a spring morning in 1978, Bruce McKenzie boarded a small twin-engined Piper Aztec light plane at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport for the short flight to Entebbe. Accompanied by two businessmen, Keith Savage and Gavin Whitelaw, he was due to meet President Idi Amin at State House to discuss an arms deal and the ongoing poor relations between Kenya and Uganda,’ David writes.

‘After landing at Entebbe on May 24, McKenzie, Savage and Whitelaw were driven to nearby State House where they had ‘friendly’ talks with Amin. Back at the airport, however, they were told the plane could not take off until one of Amin’s cars had arrived with a gift for McKenzie. [After a long delay] McKenzie was handed Amin’s present: a mounted lion’s head. He carried it on board the Piper Aztec which took off at 4.19pm with a pilot and three passengers. [The plane] was due to land at 6.15pm but the time came and went. The plane had crashed into the Ngong hills with no survivors. The most likely explanation is that Amin’s gift, the lion’s head, contained a time bomb,’ David adds.

An abiding influence

Amidst all this, the enduring presence of Netanyahu-now immortalised in a monument-tenaciously hugs the contours of the collective consciousness of Uganda. While unveiling Netanyahu’s statue, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces of Uganda, described the part that the Amin administration played in the hijack as “a painful chapter in our history’.

The hijack of the Paris-bound plane came with demands of $5m and the freeing of 53 militants jailed in Israel, France, Germany, Switzerland and Kenya in return for the hostages. Two of the hijackers were from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Another two were from Germany’s Baader-Meinhof gang. The four were joined by three more colleagues.

During the daring rescue operation, Böse-a former sociology student who helped from the Revolutionary Cells in his native Germany-was the first of the seven hijackers to be put out. That was at 2104hrs when his ‘head twitched as a bullet hit it.’

Brigitte Kuhlmann, another German, and Fayez Abdul-Rahim al-Jaber, a Palestinian operative of the PFLP, were almost immediately liquidated by Amnon Peled as they looked to open fire on fellow Israeli commando Amir Ofer. By 2107hrs the paratroopers were in control of the Old Terminal Building.

‘Ordering the soldiers in the room to collect the terrorists’ weapons and treat any wounded hostages-the most serious of whom was Holocaust survivor Pasco Cohen who had been shot in the pelvis as he tried to shield his children from the hail of bullets that killed the Peruvian-Betser went outside to check on Netanyahu,’ David writes.

Like Yoni Netanyahu, Pasco Cohen would die from his wounds. He had been on the hijacked plane with his wife Hannah and their two children Tzipi, eight, and Kobi, six. In June this year Tzipi made an emotional return to the old airport terminal for the first time since the 1976 episode.

‘My father was shot dead. My brother was missing at the time. In the confusion of the exchange of fire, I never knew whether he was killed by Ugandan soldiers or during the rescue operation,’ Tzipi said during a media briefing at Entebbe in June.

‘The moment I walked in, the memories came back as if it was yesterday. I could still picture everything clearly,’ Benny Davidson, who was 13 during the dramatic hostage crisis, said at the same media briefing.

Fifty years on, recollections of one of the most daring hostage rescue operations in modern history still contrive to touch an open wound. They look set to continue doing so.

UI introduces open, distance, eLearning programme

The University of Ibadan (UI) has offered qualified candidates an alternative pathway to earn its degree without the barrier of limited on-campus space, through the institution’s special admission window, ‘Open, Distance, and eLearning (ODeL) programme’.

The institution said the initiative was designed to give hope to candidates who participated in the Post-UTME screening, but could not secure admission through the conventional face-to-face mode due to quota limitations and physical space constraints on campus.

A statement by the Director of UI Distance Learning Centre (DLC), Prof. Olufade Onifade, said the special application window for the 2025/2026 academic session would close on August 15, 2026, with commencement of the special cohort classes on August 17, 2026.

According to the University, candidates who sat for the UI Post-UTME examination can now switch to the ODeL mode of study at no cost.

Onifade said, ‘The UI-ODeL programme provides flexible, virtual classes with mobile learning, interactive course materials, and physical revision sessions. Courses are taught by the same faculty lecturers who handle conventional programmes, and learners graduate with the same prestigious University of Ibadan degree’.

Onifade pointed out that the UI-ODeL programme offers first-degree courses across multiple disciplines; available programmes include: B.Sc. Computer Science, B.Sc. Statistics, B.Sc. Psychology, B.Sc. Economics, B.Sc. Political Science, B.Sc. Sociology, B.A. English, B.A. Communication and Language Arts, B.Ed. Educational Management, and B.Sw. Social Work, to mention a few.

‘Candidates who took the 2026 UI PUTME qualify for the free change-of-mode offer. Such candidates are required to visit the official change-of-mode application portal to switch their mode of study from the conventional on-campus option to the ODeL programme.

‘Other interested candidates who are qualified may submit a fresh application for the special cohort. With the August 15 deadline fast approaching, the university encourages qualified candidates to act immediately, as slots are expected to fill up quickly’.

LIST: Eight Namitooma senior staff interdicted after Minister Balam’s visit

Eight senior staff of Namitooma District have been interdicted following a visit by the Local Government Minister, Mr Balam Barugahara, over numerous allegations of corruption and incompetence in the area.

On Saturday, August 8th, Namitooma District Chief Administrative Officer, Mr Masereka Amis Asuman, submitted a list of the affected staff to the Permanent Staff of the Ministry of Local Government, notifying them of the decision.

The affected staff include: Dr Sadic Byamugisha, the District Health Officer; Barungi Peace Gloria, the District Education Officer; Eng Godfrey Tumusiime, the Civil Engineer (Water); and Godwin Kagumir, the Senior Environment Officer.

Others are; Vincent Rugamba, the Senior Assistant Secretary, Godfrey Mugumya, a driver, Dr Patrick Oloya, a Medical Officer and John Baptist Tumwebaze, the Senior Engineer/ Ag. District Engineer.

”As a result of various complaints, I was directed to interdict the following staff with immediate effect to pave way for investigations by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and other relevant Government Agencies.” The letter signed by the CAO read in part.

The decision followed a meeting held by Minister Balam and stakeholders at Namitooma District Council Hall on strengthening accountability, enhancing transparency, improving service delivery and fostering the fight against corruption.

The staff, according to the letter, have been interdicted for six months in line with Section (F-s) of the Uganda Public Service Standing Orders 2021.

Key provisions under interdiction

Under interdiction, a staff member is put under temporary suspension, and this formally halts an officer from exercising their office duties or reporting to the workplace pending the conclusion of investigations.

During suspension period, the interdicted officer is entitled to receive one-half (50%) of their basic monthly salary during the suspension period.

Interdiction also prohibits the affected officer from leaving the country or the designated jurisdiction without explicit prior permission from a competent authority.

Likewise, under interdiction, the staff is restricted from visiting their work premises or office bounds unless formally summoned or authorised by the accounting officer.

The Local Government Minister, together with his assistant, Ms Justine Nameere, are conducting high-profile anti-corruption inspection tours across various Ugandan districts to crack down on the misuse of public funds, ghost workers, and poor service delivery.

These impromptu visits have led to arrests of district officials, closure of substandard facilities, and orders for major investigations.

Inspected areas

In Ankole region (Mbarara and Isingiro), the Minister investigated mismanaged city resources, controversial infrastructure, and ordered the interdiction of the Isingiro Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) over missing road funds.

In Bugisu region (Mbale and Bulambuli), he uncovered ghost staff at Busiu Health Centre IV and exposed a poorly constructed public toilet costing Shs73 million that lacked an actual pit latrine beneath it, whereas in Namisindwa District, he ordered a temporary closure and investigation of Namisindwa Secondary School due to severe sanitation issues and severe toilet shortages for over 550 students.

In Buhweju District, the Minister demanded formal investigations by anti-corruption security agencies into top officials over the alleged mismanagement of Shs5 billion allocated for road maintenance.

How growing up in the barracks shaped Clifford’s leadership and parenting

Clifford Kinyua, son of an Air Force flight instructor, was some of those things, but also not. For starters, he is a more present father. ‘My father was absent a lot on national duty,’ he says. When he came home, he was a stranger as we had all grown up.’

Kinyua, now the Group CEO of Saracen Media Group, litters his thoughts with pregnant pauses that deliver fully formed philosophical sentences, with militaristic drill. He still lives by order-certain habits die hard that way. ‘But if my daughter wants something’ he says, ‘I’ll drop everything to do it for her.’

When people say, ‘Tell me about yourself,’ what do you say? I consider myself philosophical, grounded and generous. I try to be kind. Family grounds me. I am a father, husband and friend. Lately, I keep telling people that I feel like a philosopher. The more problems you have, the more you philosophise.

Have you led the life you thought you would? That’s a double-edged sword. You have a plan, and then circumstances shift you. I studied law and ended up in technology and advertising. I grew up in a military barracks, and that environment shaped me. My dad was a flight instructor in the Air Force, ending up as one of the first Kenyans to set up the Defence Staff College. I took his love for teaching, and that has manifested in my leadership roles, pouring into people.

What was it like growing up in the military? What a lot of people don’t see is the good things. Everything is subsidised, so it doesn’t prepare you for life after [chuckles]. Two, life is so organised there. It feels like home. The hedges are straight, not a single paper on the road. I like order and cleanliness. Some friends of mine who joined the military died in plane crashes. I remember in 1992, Kaloleni, one of my dad’s friends came, parked his car, and told us he was going on holiday with his family. Our neighbour at the back decided not to fly and let their cousins fly off. The plane took off, and Kaloleni is everyone’s story [in April of 1992, a Buffalo transport aircraft crashed in Gorofani flats of Kaloleni Estate, Nairobi, killing at least 50 people].

Growing up in such an environment makes one quite disciplined-which part of the military did you discard? I’m not sure, to be honest. But I’ve come to realise that regardless of what people say, your environment really shapes you. I am not militant in personality, but I like order. My dad had cancer and was admitted in the military hospital. Every day I visited, I felt at home because of how organised it was.

How do you remain spontaneous now? I am pretty set in my habits and systems, so my daughter and partner bring out my spontaneous nature. When my daughter wants something, I drop everything to do it for her.

How did fatherhood change you? My daughter is a Covid baby. I remember I had just landed and had to be in the hospital for three days, because if I left, I wouldn’t be allowed back in. And then coming home, we had no help for six months. I had all the books about parenting, in my true nature [chuckles]. But I don’t think you can ever be prepared for the first time you hold your child. Covid taught me life is unpredictable. You have to adapt. It taught me resilience, the beauty of family and being responsible for somebody. Now, six years later, she talks to me the way she wants. Nothing like fatherhood to teach you patience [chuckles].

How are you different from the father you grew up under? Fathering teaches you to have grace for your parents. You can never be a perfect parent. You do the best with what you have and can. I extend a lot of grace to myself for the same reasons. My father was in the military, so he was absent most of the time on national duty, and when he came home, he was a stranger in our house. I am more present for my daughter and intentional in knowing I won’t always be there. I try to equip her with skills so she can be independent and make better choices.

What did you believe about fatherhood that changed once you became one? Once you’re in there, you realise that over and above the books you’re reading, nothing prepares you for how life moves. Life is not as linear as you think it is going to be. With fatherhood, sometimes you have to make decisions as you go, and you have to be spontaneous and agile. You may have a preconception of what will be, but then you get surprised a lot, not by what you have to do but who you have to be.

Which book has most improved your life? My mum used to tell me people can take away everything around you, but they will never take away anything in your head. I discovered early that if you read just a little bit more than most people, you’ll really get ahead in life. I like Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I have Atomic Habits by James Clear on habits and systems, where ‘you don’t fail to the level of your goals; you fail to the level of your system’. I am currently reading The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz.

What’s a life lesson or a deep quote that you have picked from one of the books? Marcus Aurelius, in one of his books, says, ‘You Will Die.’ So do right by people, and do what you can. But remember you must also live. That speaks to the duality of life, the yin and yang.

What will people mourn about you when you are gone? Actually, my partner is holding a death café soon. Long story. But we talk about death a lot. I hope my epitaph will say, and I do carry along with me a note with a poem by Bessie Anderson Stanley that says, ‘He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task.’

What has death taught you about success? My dad passed on last year from cancer. One of his biggest contributions to the military was signing the Veterans Act. My dad championed military personnel to access military services after they retired. When he got cancer, he was admitted to Armed Forces Memorial Hospital, and I imagine, because of the work he did, how poetic it was that he was benefiting from his act of selflessness. I know that in death many things don’t matter, but you can leave the world a better place than you found it.

Your father seems to have left quite the shoes to fill? Yes, he was an intellectual. He taught in Uganda and would tell me tales of intellectual sparring with the military caucus and presidents. Nothing ever prepares you when your parents are all gone, regardless of the relationship you had with them. You never realise just how much you hold them as an anchor, and when that disappears, it’s very interesting how you have to recalibrate.

What’s the one question you’d ask him if he were here today? What would he have done differently, especially on fatherhood? He told us he was proud of us and who we had become. But I would actually want to know what he thought about what kind of father he was.

Why is that important to you? Well, just so that I can understand whether he really saw us. When it comes to military personnel, the country comes first, so I’d like to open his brain and get that part. Does he think he could have done some things differently? Did he see us?

What’s on your bucket list? I don’t have one. I have a running journal where I put my thoughts down. I am an avid reader of Florence Scovel Shinn, and I don’t really set goals but put systems in play. I have travelled around the world, and would love to go to a match at Old Trafford. I live every year as it comes and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. Travel used to be a big point, but I have since quenched that thirst.

Do you have a secret talent? Maybe it is a trauma response or just how I grew up, but I have this ability to see or calculate in my head two or three steps ahead. Maybe it is a systems thing too. I can see the domino effects of many things in advance. Perhaps it’s why I am good at strategy and spotting trends.

What’s your most used emoji? The thumbs up ??. It’s a work thing, although I stopped glorifying work. I prefer the dignity of work. What is assigned to you as your responsibility, you must do. But when you start in corporate, you begin to glorify the busyness of work, where work should be fulfilling. It shouldn’t be the altar, and neither should we be worshipping it. I am not a workaholic, but I work hard. You can easily work yourself to death.

What habit are you trying to break? One of them is around sleep. I tend to go to bed late, and that’s because I can get lost in my world and wormholes. But also carrying the weight of responsibility and accountability, especially from a work perspective, where you feel you must carry the emotional weight of the decisions you make. Working with my therapist has eased that burden off me, just to help my nervous system.

What has therapy made you unlearn, especially as a man? That we men don’t talk much and we don’t have many support systems. It can be hard to share the weight of being a man and things one is going through. Therapy allows me to get out of my head and have a big screen on what I am actually thinking. You don’t need to be psychotic to go for therapy. Your mind is wired to protect you, and it is important once in a while to look for a professional sounding board. It is like an oil change for a car, and therapy has taught me that things are not always as serious as you think they are and there is always a way out.

Have you found yourself in therapy? It has helped me put a mirror in front of myself. Attending therapy is one thing; doing the work is another. You have to actively participate in the actual intrinsic work.

What does your perfect weekend look like? Spending time with family. I have a robust community of friends and people we work with in terms of marriage. Sometimes my daughter will be out with her grandparents. My partner is a producer of many things, and you will find me in many of her events.

What’s your weekend soundtrack? ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor.

Give us some practical life wisdom. Life is not linear. One of my favourite quotes is when you reach your island of knowledge, do not forget your shore of ignorance. You can never know it all. And you can never be an island by yourself. I’m very intentional about how I am building community support. I think that lacks a lot, especially due to capitalism, which brings out a lot of individualism, which is not how we are naturally wired.

What has success not fixed? That depends on how you define success. For me, it begins with understanding that my success has never been about economic outcomes. One of the greatest graces I extend to myself is the ongoing work of shaping my character – clarifying what I stand for and staying true to it. In my view, success is the natural outcome of who you are, not what you own. That runs counter to the way many people define success in purely material terms. True success, for me, has been the continuous process of confronting my flaws and growing through them. That inner work is what ultimately shapes everything else – reputation, opportunity, and even financial reward.

NNPC records improvement in crude oil production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) continues to record steady growth in national crude oil and gas production, reinforcing the company’s transformation into a fully commercial, globally competitive energy company.

Against this backdrop of demonstrable progress, the company has noted recent media commentary, credited to the Oil and Gas Professionals Forum (OGPF), questioning the performance of the company’s leadership under Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bayo Ojulari, in connection with the recently concluded oil licensing round conducted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Reacting via a statement, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer NNPC Limited), Andy Odeh said, while the NNPC Limited welcomes scrutiny of its operations and performance, consistent with the transparency and accountability the company holds itself to, it is important to set the record straight on the specific claims raised.

On the Licensing Round Under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, the conduct of oil licensing rounds and the allocation of oil blocks fall squarely within the statutory mandate of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

‘NNPC Limited, since its incorporation, has operated strictly as a commercial entity and holds no regulatory or allocative authority,’ Odeh said.

He revealed that its licensing round has culminated in improved crude oil production.

On crude oil production, the state-owned oil giant said: ‘Available data reflects a clear and sustained improvement in crude oil output under the current leadership.’

According to the statement, as of April 2025, average crude oil production stood at 1.60 million barrels per day (mbpd) inclusive of condensate.

He stressed that output rose through the second half of 2025 and stabilized at 1.67 mbpd inclusive of condensate by April 2026.

This is an increase of approximately 80 thousand barrels per day, which represents 6% growth.

He stated further that these figures are documented in NNPC Limited’s Monthly Performance Report, which is available to the public.

On Gas Production, he disclosed that the company’s gas production has recorded similar growth. As of April 2025, gas production averaged 7,354 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd).

‘By April 2026, this had risen to 7,729 mmscfd, which represents a 5% growth, an indicator of expanding gas output in support of Nigeria’s domestic energy security and export commitments. Again, these figures are documented in the publicly available NNPC Limited’s Monthly Performance Report,’ NNPC stated further.

Odeh revealed that the NNPC Limited remains committed to operating with transparency and will continue to engage openly on matters concerning the Company’s performance and operations.

Adding that the Company also reserves the right to take necessary steps to protect its reputation and that of its leadership against publication of false or unsubstantiated claims.

‘We encourage industry commentators, analysts, and professional associations to verify information through the appropriate regulatory and corporate channels before publication. This will help ensure that public commentary is factual, balanced, and contributes constructively to informed discourse on the Nigerian energy sector,’ the statement concluded.

Why Christopher Nolan turned Circe into a vindictive witch

I’ve taught ‘The Odyssey’ to college students for over a decade, including in a course on witches in Western culture. I suspect my students would immediately notice that the Circe in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of ‘The Odyssey’ is a departure from the one who appears in Homer’s ancient poem.

Homer’s Circe is an immortal goddess, desirable and beguiling. In classics scholar Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of ‘The Odyssey,’ she is described as ‘the lovely Circe with her braided hair.’ She lives in a ‘beautiful tall house of polished stone’ and ‘shining doors,’ along with dozens of nymphs, fellow goddesses who serve her and her guests. When Odysseus arrives in Book 10, Circe and her household treat him with the highest standard of hospitality, giving him a bath, fresh clothes, and wine to drink from golden cups.

Then there’s Nolan’s Circe, played by Samantha Morton: She is less ancient goddess than fairy-tale witch, with a dirt-smudged face and an unkempt ponytail. Her hut is dark and dilapidated. She is alone. Inside, where a cauldron bubbles and a caged raven croaks, she offers Odysseus and his men a goopy stew, which they greedily devour. Then something strange happens. They begin to gag. Circe puts her hands to their faces, working their flesh like clay. Noses lengthen into snouts. Bellies swell and tails sprout. The men become pigs.

Some critics found the film’s Circe reductive for being portrayed as ‘a simple witch,’ while others found her ‘almost poetic’ for being ‘earthily human.’ Morton, in an interview with The Times of London, spoke about Circe as ‘a survivor,’ evoking women who speak out against abuse.

So, which is it? How faithful is the film’s Circe to the original poem? And what inspired Nolan – and Morton – to portray her this way?

Circe in Homer’s epic

In Homer’s poem, Circe plays a major role.

After taking Odysseus to her ‘dazzling bed,’ she becomes Odysseus’ lover, hosting him and his men for an entire year. When Odysseus decides it is time to move on, she helps him prepare. She gives the crew instructions to reach the Underworld in Book 11 and to conjure the seer Tiresias, who prophesies how Odysseus will return home.

After this feat, Odysseus and his men return to Circe’s island in Book 12. It is Circe who reveals the famous choices Odysseus must make on the remainder of his journey: whether or not to hear the Sirens’ song, and whether to sail nearer to the whirlpool Charybdis or the six-headed monster Scylla. Circe reiterates Tiresias’ warning to avoid the sun god’s sacred cattle – to ‘remember home’ so that Odysseus can ‘at last arrive in Ithaca.’

In the film, Circe appears only briefly. She doesn’t play hostess for a day, let alone a year. And though she tells Odysseus how to reach the Underworld, it is Tiresias – played by an unrecognizable James Remar – who foretells Odysseus’ coming challenges, and Odysseus embarks without returning to Circe’s island.

In Nolan’s adaptation, Circe is simply another obstacle for Odysseus to overcome on his journey. She is more villain than lover, healer or seer. So it’s understandable that some viewers might come away from the film seeing her as ‘just a witch.’

Circe the feminist

But this version of Circe – angry, vindictive and, yes, witchy – didn’t appear out of thin air.

The film’s Circe defends her actions, telling Odysseus: ‘I didn’t turn your men into anything – this is who they are! They have raped and pillaged across the world, you think that’s against their nature?’

It’s a fair point. Odysseus’ men have set fire to Troy, blinded the Cyclops and raided the island of the Laestrygonians, repeatedly choosing their own interests over the virtue of xenia, or hospitality, that the film stresses is central to Greek culture.

In her condemnation of Odysseus’ men, I see the tradition of feminist retellings of ‘The Odyssey,’ where Circe serves as a symbol of resistance to the patriarchal values represented – even if ambivalently – in Homer’s poem.

Scottish poet Carol Ann Duffy’s 1999 collection ‘The World’s Wife’ contains her poem ‘Circe.’ Much like Margaret Atwood’s 2005 novel ‘The Penelopiad,’ which reimagines ‘The Odyssey’ from Penelope’s perspective, ‘Circe’ views the events of Book 10 from Circe’s point of view.

Circe, the poem’s speaker, instructs the nymphs in a recipe for cooking pork. Her references to ingredients – parts of the butchered pig – assume double meanings as readers recall that these pigs were once men:

‘Lay two pig’s cheeks, with the tongue, / in a dish, and strew it well over with salt / and cloves. Remember the skills of the tongue – to lick, to lap, to loosen, lubricate, to lie / in the soft pouch of the face …’

In the comic, familiar vein of this poem, this Circe is jaded. She has loved and lost. She has encountered betrayal and, she suggests, abuse. Addressing a feminine audience that presumably shares her experience, she remembers a time when she was ‘younger’ and ‘hoping for men.’ Now, she turns the traditionally feminine work of cooking into a refuge – and a weapon. Circe shows her nymphs precisely what men are good for.

‘Season with mace,’ she says, referring at once to a spice and to a self-defense weapon. The poem is funny, but it also makes the reader think differently about the witch.

In Nolan’s ‘Odyssey,’ when Circe returns Odysseus’ men to their human form, she whispers, ‘Back into your disguises.’ The line could be dismissed as the babbling of a crazy old crone. But viewed alongside Duffy’s poem, it could also be taken seriously as a moral judgment: these men are guided by their grossest, most insatiable appetites. This Circe is unhinged because of what she knows. She is a witch, yes. But she also speaks the truth.

Madeline Miller, in her bestselling 2018 novel ‘Circe,’ also reclaims the witch as a figure of empowerment. Her Circe initially welcomes ships to her island. In a chilling scene, a sailor asks, ‘Mistress? When will your husband be home? We would toast such fine hospitality.’ When Circe replies, ‘If you would thank your host, thank me. This house is mine alone,’ the men assault her.

Claiming her treasures for themselves, they fall asleep drunk on her wine. Circe regains consciousness, turns the men into pigs, and resolves to do the same with future visitors. When Miller’s Circe tells Odysseus, ‘You must understand that your men would have robbed me blind,’ readers, like the hero, recognize her magic as her means to assert ownership of her body, to manifest her will in a hostile world.

A witch for a reason

The Circe of Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’ indicts Odysseus and his men: their version of masculinity, their violence and their entitlement. Odysseus arrives at the same conclusion – that he, too, is a pig, and not a man; that he has stolen too much from others’ tables, violated the sanctity of their homes and desecrated their gods.

This depiction of Circe is integral to Nolan’s apocalyptic narrative.

As many, including Emily Wilson, have pointed out, Nolan goes to great lengths to portray the Trojan War as a moral failure of the Greeks. Characters in the film hint at the looming collapse of Bronze Age Greek civilization, the scattering of its people and the disappearance of writing, linking the Greeks’ campaign of conquest and plunder to the eventual destruction of the world they inhabit. What comes next ultimately vindicates Circe’s condemnation of the sailors.

This Circe may not look much like the lovely goddess of the poem, and her role may be limited to the metamorphosis of men into pigs. But she makes a point that resonates with past feminist appropriations of this compelling character in a visceral way that moviegoers won’t forget.

UK initiative promotes homeopathy-research collaboration

As healthcare systems increasingly embrace personalised, preventive and multidisciplinary approaches to patient care, a new United Kingdom-based initiative is seeking to strengthen collaboration between homeopathic practitioners, biomedical professionals and researchers through dialogue, education and evidence-informed practice.

Known as Bio-HomeoStasis Connect, the initiative has been launched through a partnership between Faith Homoeopathy and BioWellness Care. Its founders say the platform is designed to encourage interdisciplinary engagement, facilitate knowledge exchange and promote research that explores the role of integrative healthcare within contemporary medical practice.

The launch comes amid continued global discussion about homeopathy’s place in healthcare. While millions of patients worldwide continue to seek homeopathic treatment for a range of health conditions, the discipline remains the subject of ongoing scientific debate regarding its clinical effectiveness and the quality of evidence supporting its use.

Rather than framing these differing perspectives as opposing positions, Bio-HomeoStasis Connect aims to create opportunities for constructive engagement between practitioners, researchers and communities. According to the organisers, the initiative will encourage transparent communication and support the collection of practice-based clinical observations that could contribute to future scientific investigation.

Faith Homoeopathy, based in Maidenhead, has provided personalised homeopathic consultations to patients in the United Kingdom and internationally under the leadership of Geeta Khubchandani. The clinic focuses on holistic patient care tailored to individual needs.

Its partner, BioWellness Care, brings a complementary focus on research, education and interdisciplinary collaboration. Together, the organisations intend to establish a platform where healthcare professionals can exchange expertise, discuss patient-centred care and participate in structured research initiatives designed to strengthen evidence-informed healthcare.

Supporters of the initiative argue that meaningful progress in healthcare is often driven by collaboration across disciplines. They believe that carefully documented patient experiences, systematic clinical observations and collaborative research can generate new avenues for scientific inquiry while encouraging continuous evaluation of healthcare practices.

The programme also plans to develop practitioner forums, educational events and community engagement activities aimed at improving communication between healthcare professionals from different backgrounds and fostering a culture of shared learning.

Medical experts broadly agree that all healthcare interventions should be assessed through rigorous scientific research, with patient safety and clinical effectiveness remaining paramount. The founders of Bio-HomeoStasis Connect say their long-term objective is to contribute to that process by promoting transparency, documentation, interdisciplinary collaboration and responsible research.

Whether the initiative ultimately serves as a model for broader integrative healthcare remains to be seen. Nevertheless, it reflects a growing international interest in building partnerships across professional boundaries and encouraging informed dialogue between practitioners, researchers and the communities they serve.

As healthcare continues to evolve, initiatives that promote collaboration, scientific inquiry and patient-centred engagement are expected to play an increasingly important role in shaping discussions about how complementary and conventional healthcare approaches can be studied, evaluated and, where supported by robust evidence, integrated into clinical practice.

Azerbaijan banks expand lending while keeping $2.7 billion liquidity cushion

In the intricate geometry of modern finance, the true measure of a banking system’s strength lies in the quiet depth of the reserves it retains, as well as in the volume of capital it deploys. Like a vast, well-engineered reservoir holding pristine waters above a thriving valley, unencumbered liquidity serves as both an invisible shield against sudden economic storms and a boundless source of power for future cultivation. The latest operational insights from the Central Bank of Azerbaijan reveal a financial architecture that operates from a position of profound structural security. Beyond the impressive 12.5 per cent annual expansion that brought total real-sector credit allocations to 34.600 billion manats as of July 1, the deeper story resides in the extraordinary fortitude of the banking sector’s balance sheets. Behind the active movement of commercial lending lies a massive, uncommitted capital cushion that is a testament to a system that balances aggressive economic participation with meticulous institutional prudence and regulatory discipline.

According to official statements delivered by Central Bank Governor Taleh Kazimov during the monetary policy assessments, the banking sector maintains an excess liquidity pool of 6 billion manats prior to accounting for mandatory reserves. Once all stringent regulatory requirements, risk-weighted asset buffers, liquidity coverage ratios, and mandatory reserve mandates are fully satisfied, commercial banks retain an extraordinary 4.6 billion manats in completely free, unencumbered funds. This substantial figure represents an exceptionally high level of capital flexibility and financial freedom within the domestic banking landscape. Far from stretching their core resources to sustain the recent 3.8 billion manat growth in overall credit qoyuluslari, Azerbaijani financial institutions have expanded their balance sheets while preserving a deep reservoir of unallocated capital. This careful equilibrium demonstrates that the recent wave of financing across transport, construction, and commercial enterprise is anchored in genuine, organic solvency rather than overextended leverage or precarious short-term debt structures.

Especially in an era observed with global macroeconomic volatility, shifting interest rate environments, and complex geopolitical realignments, the presence of a 4.6 billion manat liquidity cushion provides an invaluable structural buffer for the entire national economy. This capital surge acts as an institutional shock absorber, ensuring that domestic credit markets remain entirely insulated from external liquidity squeezes, international market fluctuations, or unexpected financial turbulence. Commercial banks possess the strategic luxury and operational flexibility of allocating these free resources toward either further capital fortification, technological modernization, or direct real-sector lending, depending on shifting market demand and rigorous risk assessments. For private enterprise, industrial developers, and corporate borrowers, this deep liquidity provides an enduring guarantee of market stability and credit availability. It confirms that the financial system possesses the unyielding capacity to absorb potential economic shocks without contracting credit lines or disrupting ongoing multi-year project pipelines.

Crucially, this 4.6 billion manat capital reservoir delivers a profound long-term stimulus for real gross domestic product expansion and non-oil sector diversification. Free liquidity within the banking sector is never idle capital; it represents ready, actionable financial firepower waiting to underwrite the next phase of national industrial development. As large-scale infrastructure projects, regional trade initiatives, and non-oil commercial ventures demand sustained long-term funding, commercial lenders stand fully equipped to meet that credit demand without exhausting their operational margins or raising systemic risk profiles. This abundance of free funds effectively eliminates liquidity bottlenecks, ensuring that viable business initiatives, entrepreneurial endeavours, and capital-intensive development projects will not face financing shortages in an expanding economy. By maintaining such a robust capital cushion alongside active credit growth, the Azerbaijani banking sector successfully bridges present economic expansion with long-term financial resilience, guaranteeing that the vital engines of national progress remain fully funded, stable, and resilient for years to come.

Australia ruling could impact PHL gig workers

EVERY weekday for nearly two years, Joanna Pascua worked from her home in the Philippines at ‘times that matched business hours in Australia.’ She logged into a company ‘pbx phone unit which made it appear when she used her phone that she was in Australia,’ and signed her emails with a signature block that ‘identified her as a paralegal for MyCRA Lawyers.’ She also chased the same daily Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) any employee would: to ‘Complete a minimum of 20 productive tasks per day… OR 4 hours per day billable.’

On paper, though, Pascua wasn’t an employee at all. The contract she signed in July 2022 was headed ‘Independent Contractor’s Agreement,’ and the company noted that the agreement used the term ‘independent contractor’ 52 times against just five mentions of the word ’employee’. To her employer, MyCRA Lawyers-which is owned by the Doessel Group Pty Ltd-she was an independent contractor providing services.

That distinction mattered enormously in March 2024, when Doessel Group’s founder summarily terminated her over a Skype call and a follow-up email, asserting that she had breached her contract by ‘unlawfully copying company information and client information to her personal drive’.

Pascua denied the allegation and filed an application for an unfair dismissal remedy with the Fair Work Commission (FWC). Doessel Group fought to have the case thrown out, raising a ‘jurisdictional objection on the basis that Pascua was an independent contractor under a contract for services and not an employee’.

The FWC disagreed. Deputy President Tony Slevin, guided by recent High Court precedents, found that the contract’s label was not determinative; instead, the assessment must evaluate ‘the legal rights and obligations established by the contract’.

He ruled that ‘the nature of the work required under the contract was subordinate to the business of MyCRA Lawyers such that it can be seen to have been performed as an employee of that business rather than as part of an independent enterprise’.

Her pay was a major indicator of this dynamic.

She was paid ‘AUD$18 (Php 680) per hour Salary all inclusive as a Full Time Employee,’ which Slevin noted was ‘less than the minimum rates payable under the relevant award’.

The casual rate for her level of work was $30.95 (Php 1,170) per hour. As the commission noted, ‘Remuneration for persons engaged in their own business, as contractors, is usually in excess, and often well in excess, of wages paid to employees who may perform the same work’.

Doessel Group appealed, arguing she was a Philippine national who had never worked in Australia.

In February 2025, the FWC Full Bench dismissed the appeal, declaring that ‘the fact that Pascua in fact performed work in the Philippines is irrelevant to the character of the relationship created by the Independent Contractor’s Agreement’.

Regarding jurisdiction, the Full Bench explored whether Pascua was ‘engaged outside Australia’ under the law.

The tribunal pointed out that ‘a contract is formed upon receipt by the offeror of communication of its acceptance by the offeree.’

‘Where a contract is formed by means of email communications, the position that appears to have been adopted is that the contract is made where the electronic communication is received,’ the FWC said in its ruling.

For an Australian company, this means the contract is legally ‘formed in Australia’ and brings the offshore worker under Australian protection. (Note: The tribunal stopped short of a final jurisdictional ruling purely on this point because the exact evidence of how Pascua returned her contract was incomplete, but the legal pathway was clearly established.)

The FWC ultimately ruled Pascua’s dismissal was ‘harsh, unjust, and unreasonable,’ and awarded her ‘A$10,800 (P408,200) in compensation for unfair dismissal’ (equivalent to 15 weeks of pay), along with back-payments to Australian minimum wage standards.

Pascua’s case is now the reference point for a question far bigger than one law firm, serving as ‘the most consequential Australian employment law decision affecting offshore staffing arrangements in recent memory’.

Based on industry data, ‘more than 300 Australian organizations directly employ or contract approximately 44,000 Filipino professionals who work from the Philippines’.

The stakes for these arrangements have recently risen dramatically.

Under Australia’s new wage theft laws effective January 2025, ‘intentional underpayment can result in fines or imprisonment,’ turning a misclassification issue into a ‘criminal compliance problem’ where company directors can face personal liability.

Additionally, new ‘Payday Super’ rules taking effect on July 1, 2026, require that a 12 percent superannuation contribution ‘must be paid simultaneously with wages,’ increasing the financial risk of these arrangements being scrutinized.

With these overlapping reforms, the ‘compliance cost of misclassification has moved from administrative to criminal’.

Taken together, employment advisers say the reforms make misclassifying a Filipino remote worker as a contractor a far costlier gamble than it used to be.

Many expect, and some are already seeing, a shift away from direct hiring altogether, with Australian firms routing their Philippine hires through employer-of-record providers or traditional business process outsourcing agencies instead.

Those intermediaries formally employ the worker in the Philippines, handle local statutory obligations such as SSS and PhilHealth contributions, and absorb the compliance risk that direct engagement now carries.

For Pascua, the case closed with a payout and public vindication of the years she spent proving her work was never really freelance at all.

For the Philippine outsourcing industry, it left something bigger: fewer direct-hire arrangements, perhaps, but a stronger case for the tens of thousands of Filipinos still doing this work to insist they be treated – and paid – like the employees they actually are.

Legal ‘loophole’ for Filipino remote workers

Philippine labor laws have a ‘loophole’ that limits protection for Filipinos directly hired by foreign companies with no physical presence in the country, according to National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) Commissioner Herman Nicdao.

‘This is sort of a loophole in our laws because it’s very difficult now to protect our workers from direct hiring,’ Nicdao said.

The issue has become more pressing with the rise of freelancers, virtual assistants and other Filipinos working remotely for overseas companies that have no branch or office in the Philippines.

This leaves labor authorities facing an immediate jurisdictional hurdle, particularly in determining how legal processes may be served on an employer located entirely abroad.

‘The first question is, how do we get jurisdiction over that company?’ Nicdao said.

The commission is studying whether service through email could be used as an alternative means of acquiring jurisdiction over foreign employers.

However, securing jurisdiction would only address part of the problem since a favorable ruling may still be difficult to enforce against a company with no property or presence in the country.

‘The next question is that, assuming that we acquired jurisdiction over the employer and the employee won in the case, how are we going to enforce the decision?’ Nicdao said.

To address the enforcement gap, he proposed requiring foreign companies that directly hire Filipino remote workers to maintain a bond or bank account in the Philippines that could be garnished in cases of illegal dismissal or other labor violations.