Philippine Daily Inquirer

VIETNAMESE MARK LUNAR NEW YEAR WITH ANNUAL FISH RELEASE

- By June Navarro @junavINQ

HANOI—Vietnamese kicked off preparatio­ns for the Lunar New Year festival by releasing ornamental carp into rivers and lakes—an age-old ceremony held one week before the “Tet” holiday officially begins.

The tradition stems from the fable of three “Kitchen Gods” who ride on the back of a carp before noon to meet a Jade Emperor, to whom they report the affairs of each household.

“Releasing the fish makes me feel better about myself,” said Nguyen Hong Nhung, a resident of Hanoi. “It’s like I’ve done a good deed, so I’ll be luckier in the new year.”

Thursday’s event, which takes place across Vietnam, was slightly more muted than previous years, following the detection of a new cluster of COVID-19 cases across several northern provinces.

Thanks to aggressive contact tracing and targeted mass testing, Vietnam has kept its tally to a low 1,948 cases, and 35 deaths.

Despite that, the recent confirmati­on that Vietnam’s latest outbreak was of the more contagious variant of the disease first detected in Britain led some to take extra precaution­s.

“Regardless of whether there’s an outbreak, Vietnamese will still follow the tradition of releasing the fish, but COVID-19 has made people keep a safe distance,” said Tran Van Toi, as he released orange carp from a plastic bag by Hanoi’s West Lake.

In recent years, as awareness about plastic pollution grows, environmen­tal groups have started to organize special drop-off points for the carp, so as to better manage the excess waste caused by stray plastic bags.

On Hanoi’s iconic Long Bien bridge, one group carried signs that read “RELEASE THE FISH, NOT THE PLASTIC BAGS!”

Thich Tinh Giac, a monk, noted the trend: “This year, due to COVID-19, there are fewer people releasing fish here, but there is a major change in attitude towards plastic bags,” Giac said.

“After years of persuasion, now they don’t throw the plastic bags into the water anymore but collect them to be recycled.”

Anthony “Tonyboy’’ Liao’s crowning achievemen­t so far was his involvemen­t in the country’s lone volleyball gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games.

He’ll get another chance to add to that.

The manager of the 1993 women’s squad that topped the regional meet, Liao was named chair of the national team department of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Inc. (PNVFI) on Wednesday.

“It’s a privilege to head the department and I know that the task is challengin­g, but I promise to do my best,’’ said Liao, who is still in the United States and joined the PNVFI’s first board meeting online.

“I will immediatel­y form my team and discuss the criteria for the selection of the players and the coaching staff,’’ added Liao, who will have Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, a former national team member, as his secretary.

The appointmen­t was formalized by PNVFI president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

“He has a vast experience in managing teams and players and is highly-versed on volleyball rules,’’ said Suzara

Also appointed were Richard Palou (deputy secretary general for internatio­nal affairs), Roger Banzuela (deputy secretary general for member relations), Carmela Gamboa (events council) and Jerry Yee (technical and coaches).

Robert Calo (refereeing and rules), Karl Geoffrey Chan II (developmen­t), Donald Caringal (marketing), Rosario Soriano (beach volleyball), Benson Bocboc (volleyball informatio­n system), Dr. Jose Raul Canlas (medical), Rodrigo Roque (finance) and Fr. Victor Calvo (legal and ethics) were likewise named.

Alyssa Valdez will head the athletes commission with members Abigail Marano, Dennise Lazaro and Johnvic de Guzman.

Their appointmen­ts were made during the first board meeting of the new volleyball federation, on the same day that the federation’s officers were inducted on Wednesday by Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino at The Vault in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Liao, who managed the varsity volleyball programs of both Ateneo and La Salle, has been tasked to head the most sensitive position in the newly-formed local governing body for the sport.

Meanwhile, Suzara said he hopes to acquire the services of a foreign coach to help speed up volleyball’s developmen­t here.

“The best national teams in Asia are open to foreign coaches. Now, we have to open our doors to foreign coaches, too,’’ said Suzara, whose primary target is a Brazilian coach.

“I want a Brazilian head coach for the next two years. The transfer of their knowledge to our national team will be very good. We will definitely learn a lot,’’ said Suzara.

And why not? Brazil has captured three gold medals at the Olympic Games, won the world championsh­ips thrice and was crowned champion of the world league nine times.

 ?? —PHOTOS BY REUTERS ?? HONORING GODS AND EMPERORS Releasing carp into rivers and lakes in Vietnam is a centuries-old tradition believed to bring luck.
—PHOTOS BY REUTERS HONORING GODS AND EMPERORS Releasing carp into rivers and lakes in Vietnam is a centuries-old tradition believed to bring luck.
 ??  ?? FESTIVAL FISH A woman prepares to release carps into Hoan Kiem lake on Kitchen God’s Day on Feb. 4.
FESTIVAL FISH A woman prepares to release carps into Hoan Kiem lake on Kitchen God’s Day on Feb. 4.

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