00:00A warm evening to everyone, Patrick DeSos here and you're watching PTV News Now.
00:09We're keeping you informed with the nation's biggest developments tonight and topping our stories this hour.
00:15President Ferdinand R. Marcus Jr. stressed that peace and cooperation between the national government and BARM are the bedrock of the region's steady progress,
00:25saying the Bangsamoro has come a long way through unity and dialogue.
00:30He said the creation of BARM and the Bangsamoro Transition Authority laid the groundwork for self-governance,
00:37proving that when all stakeholders are on the same page, development follows.
00:42The chief executive highlighted that strengthened institutions and allied national and regional programs are bearing fruit,
00:50showing the fruits of peace after years of sacrifice.
00:53While acknowledging their still work ahead, he urged leaders to strike while the iron is hot,
01:00by safeguarding peace, promoting accountable leadership, and maximizing national support.
01:06The president expressed optimism that by choosing unity over division,
01:11the Bangsamoro people will continue to reap lasting progress for generations to come.
01:16House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, Chairperson Sia Alonto Adyong,
01:25found a bill seeking to amend the Bangsamoro organic law by moving the first regular BARM parliamentary elections to September 28, 2026.
01:34Through House Bill No. 7236, the proposal aims to close legal gaps caused by Supreme Court rulings,
01:42including the exclusion of Zulu from BARM and the nullification of earlier redistricting laws.
01:49Adyong said the move is intended to put all ducks.
01:52The proposed timeline would give Comelec ample reading room to organize prisons,
01:57finalize district representation, and deliver a peaceful and credible election.
02:03As the saying goes, it is better to measure twice and cut once to ensure the historic polls go off without a hitch.
02:14Without any legal problems or challenges, this will push through.
02:21Sa atin naman dito sa House of Representatives, we're just waiting for the redistricting bill
02:25because that would be our basis and also for the Comelec as their basis to determine and identify the district representation
02:34so that they can start also accepting certificate of nomination and acceptance.
02:40Those individuals or those candidates who are willing to run and participate in the first regular BARM parliamentary elections.
02:46There is no let up in the quest to help people regain their mobility or revive their inherent abilities and load
02:56during birth and growing up.
02:59Case in point, people who lost their ability for speech,
03:02whose dilemma California researchers are working hard to revive by transforming vocal cord muscle movements into audible speech.
03:10VOA's Virginia Dulao has more in this VOA log-on report.
03:17Engineers at the University of California, Los Angeles are developing this device to capture electric signals
03:25produced by the muscle vibration of the vocal cords.
03:29Researcher Z-1 Che is using artificial intelligence to transform those signals into speech.
03:36That electric signal will be feed into the actuation, or the loudspeaker part, and then the loudspeaker part will give out the sound
03:44so that the whole process from sensing to processing and then to actuation realizes the ultimate goal that we're trying to do,
03:53like help you speak with it.
03:54Panical membrane converting vocal cord muscle vibrations into electrical signals is soft and stretchable,
04:01so it can be worn comfortably.
04:03They mixed magnetic nanoparticles with soft polymers and shaped it using traditional Japanese paper-cutting technology,
04:13says researcher Jing Shu.
04:15We made the MC layer with kirikami pattern, which makes it even soft.
04:20Researchers are training artificial intelligence to recognize vocal cord muscle vibrations of different people.
04:28Jun Chen leads the project at UCLA's Samuel Ely School of Engineering.
04:34Your muscle vibration could be two different, right?
04:36So we have to train the device before it's really used.
04:40We will analyze those electrosting first and then to build up a personal life, this kind of a vocabulary database.
04:49Designed to help people with various speech disorders and pathologies,
04:53as Chen says he plans to test the device in his own lectures,
04:57which can run as long as three hours and sometimes strain his voice.
05:03Jenny Adulow, VOA News, Los Angeles.
05:07Join us tomorrow evening for another round of stories here and abroad, breaking at the hour.
05:13And always remember to stay connected by catching the news right here.
05:17This is Patrick Dezos, wishing you all a warm and restful evening and thank you for watching PTV News Now.
