Businessmirror november 18, 2017

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President Duterte (center) poses with Asean leaders and their regional counterparts, including US President Donald Trump (center left), for a family photo before the Special Gala Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Asean in Manila on Sunday. AP/Aaron Favila, pool

U.S. SECRET SERVICE IMPRESSED BY PHL’S HANDLING OF SECURITY IN ASEAN HOSTING

‘Resounding’ security success skypixel | Dreamstime

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By Rene Acosta

ave for the rallies that the police managed to confine in only three areas in Manila, the recently concluded Asean Summit and Related Meetings were successfully staged without glitches, prompting officials to declare it as a “security success”. No less than Department of the Interior and Local Government Officer in Charge Catalino Cuy called it a “resounding success”, noting how the Filipinos have bonded and worked together just to ensure the security of the delegates, thus, boosting the country’s security image abroad. “What made our handling of all the Asean-related activities successful was the whole-of-nation approach,” said Cuy, also chairman of the Asean Committee on Security, Peace and Order, and Emergency Preparedness and Response. “The key was everyone was doing his or her part, with the local government units manifesting their cooperation and assistance in providing all the necessary logistical requirements and augmenting the resources of the national government during the preliminary

Asean meetings and the actual summit,” he added. Even the United States and Malaysia, whose leaders have attended Southeast Asia’s most important gathering, have noticed the excellent planning and execution of the elaborately planned security for the delegates and the events. “Our American counterparts in security, they are very thankful for the support and assistance given to them in securing their leaders,” Cuy said, referring to the US Secret Service that guarded President Donald Trump. “And then earlier, when I sent off the Malaysian Prime Minister back to Kuala Lumpur, he was very thankful for a very nice and smooth and secured meeting, particularly in terms of security,” he added. Continued on A2

Demonstrators carry posters of world leaders during a protest of the 31st Asean Summit and Related Summits on Tuesday in Manila. AP/Aaron Favila

BPO industry sustains ‘sunshine industry’ luster he evolving global outsourcing landscape—now trending toward the experience-first model—gives an adaptable and talentladen destination like the Philippines the opportunity to sustain the growth of its business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry. Citing the white paper titled “Philippines at the Helm of Delivering Customer Experience of the Future,” Everest Group Global Sourcing Partner H Karthik said the country has a “unique opportunity” to adapt, innovate and influence the change.

With this—and even in the shift from an arbitrage-first to an experience-first model—the BPO’s “sunshine industry” title is never in danger. “This will propel the Philippines to be at the helm of shaping future customer experience,”

PESO exchange rates n US 50.9130

Karthik noted in a conference organized recently by the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP).

“The contact center industry in the Philippines is rapidly evolving to meet the requirements of customer experience delivery, and will continue to have a strong leading value proposition.”—Karthik

Fulfilling future needs

Texelart | Dreamstime

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By Roderick L. Abad | Contributor

HEEDING the call of the times, contact centers in the country have already started meeting the changing requirements amid a shift in operational focus to customer experience. This is by way of upgrading their capabilities, the global consulting and research firm in the research pointed out. Per the study on the current conditions of Philippine-based contact centers, up to a third of the agents in best-in-class centers have already been trained to acquire multichannel expertise. It was found out that robotic process automation (RPA) solutions are being implemented at present.

n japan 0.4504 n UK 67.1695 n HK 6.5194 n CHINA 7.6811 n singapore 37.5465 n australia 38.6328 n EU 59.9297 n SAUDI arabia 13.5765

See “BPO,” A2

Source: BSP (17 November 2017 )

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A2 Saturday, November 18, 2017

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‘Resounding’ security success Continued from a1

Planning and prayers

THE mammoth security and its execution was a product of a yearlong planning, with even its slightest detail reviewed and rehearsed, according to National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Oscar Albayalde. It was, indeed, as the government did not only secure the heads of states of Southeast Asia, but even guarded the leaders of the world’s most powerful countries, such as the US, China, Canada, Australia and other states. At least 33,000 policemen, including augmentation forces from different police regional offices in the country, were deployed to provide and maintain security and safety for the delegates, their routes, venue and billet during the summit. The policemen formed part of the 60,000-strong government contingent that included forces from the military and civilian agencies that were mobilized for the security of the summit and its related meetings. While Albayalde, also commander of the Task Force NCRPO, said that the 12 months of security planning and preparations targeted for a “zero incident”, anything can still happen, thus, he prodded his men to ask for divine intervention. He said the security has been planned at the “extreme and limits” of a “security conscious” human. “In almost a year of security preparations for the 31st Asean Summit, I believe we have prepared everything. However, one thing that we must not forget to include in our preparedness and readiness is prayer and divine intervention,” Albayalde said. The NCRPO commander stressed the significance of the power of prayer and God’s grace in order to achieve success in every endeavor. He also emphasized in his guidance to all deployed policemen for

BPO… Continued from a1

For instance, rule-based chatbots are now used for simple business processes and customer queries. Industry-wide, there is a growing focus and investment on analytics for customer experience delivery. Still, the level of adoption of analytics for operational excellence remains higher. As regards the global trends, locally based call centers are just starting to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and assisted automation solutions. What’s more, the study bared that companies are actively redesigning their recruitment and training strategies to focus more on multichannel capabilities and technical skills.

Competent local talents

U.S. PreSident donald trump prepares to leave for the airport on tuesday in Manila. trump was in the country to attend the Asean summit. AP/AAron FAvilA

the Asean Summit the importance of teamwork, cooperation, sacrifice, alertness, vigilance and initiative and maximum tolerance. After turning to his men and to the “Chief Security Above”, Albayalde turned to the Filipinos for support in ensuring the security success of the region’s important meetings. The police director asked the public “to support and cooperate” on the undertaking. He also encouraged everyone to report immediately any suspicious object, activity, or person so appropriate actions would be taken immediately by the police.

Rallies, protests

AS factored in by the police, rallies and protests were held by members

of militant groups. As part of the earlier planning also, these forms of public demonstrations were held at bay by the police at the Liwasang Bonifacio, at the corner of Padre Faura and at the foot of Mendiola, all in Manila. A scuffle marked one of the rallies, wherein dozens of policemen and rallyists were injured or hurt, but officials said it did not dampen the spirit of the Asean or even affected its meetings. For the first time, the police also used a sonic weapon in the form of a long-range acoustic device (LRAD) in dealing with the rallyists and dispersing them, fishing out condemnations from groups. A scientist group Agham said

the police had used either LRAD 100X or 1950XL model, both of which could elicit up to 149 decibels (dB), way above the 85 decibels that a human ear can tolerate before it is damaged. Giovanni Tapang, Agham chairman, said targets that are about 50 meters away from the LRAD 1000 “can still be exposed to more than 110 dB, and that exposure at this intensity may still cause permanent hearing damage if it lasts for more than a few seconds.” Tapang said the use of the sonic weapon was “a manifestation of the increasing fascism of the Duterte administration.” PNP Chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa, however, defended

the use of the LRAD against the rallyists, welcoming even their threats to file charges against the police. He said he could not just allow the policemen to be attacked.

Still a success

DESPITE the “encounters” in the streets, Cuy said both the security and the summit itself were a success. “All in all, we saw the whole nation working as one, shedding off our own personal convenience and comfort, not just to show the world that we are a united people who are ready to overcome any challenge that comes our way, and that ours is a beautiful country that is primed to host and cater to the world’s most important events,” he said.

WHILE technology innovation is pivotal in upholding customer experience, high-skilled agents will keep on bringing the required services to clients on the back end. “The contact-center industry in the Philippines is rapidly evolving to meet the requirements of customerexperience delivery, and will continue to have a strong leading value proposition,” Karthik said. Customer experience, he said, will remain heavily dependent on high-quality talent with high empathy skills. “And the Philippines is the leading provider of such talent,” Karthik said. He attributed this to the young population in the country—23 years of age on the average. “It forms the perfect bedrock for serving the millennial customers,” Karthik said. Industry figures show that the Philippine contact-center industry now employs more than 800,000 professionals.

Strengthening

BUT even if the Philippine contactcenter industry constantly grows, embraces next-generation solutions and adapts and institutes skills-upgrade of its agents, it has to strengthen further its capabilities. Karthik said a sustained effort is needed to keep the country’s leading position in the voice sector. This, he emphasized, is the way to shape the future of callcenter services, not just locally, but globally as well. The Everest Group global sourcing partner cited that companies must invest significantly in building technology and talent for automation, AI and analytics. “At the same time, they also need to develop agent skills for delivering superior omnichannel experiences,” he added.

Sustaining leadership

AMID the looming slowdown in BPO industry’s growth, the Philippines is expected to continue its leading position globally, especially in the voice sector. This is how bullish CCAP Chairman Benedict Hernandez is on the industry’s ability to remain as a leader when it comes to delivering superior customer experience. “Our primary industry agenda is to keep that leading edge position globally,” he said. Proof of the positive industry outlook, he cited, was this year’s Contact Islands Conference that gathered top players and thinkers worldwide to discuss how the local BPO community, particularly the contact-center sector, will “continue to invest in both technology and in our people, who already stand out globally in services, to take customer experience to a whole new level.” The Philippines continues to be among the top nations where contact-center services are outsourced. In fact last year, the local BPO industry generated $13 billion in export revenues. Although it enjoyed a 17-percent hike in the past six years, it’s still poised to keep a steady annual growth rate of about 8 percent or 9 percent and hit $20 billion by 2022. Under the BPO industry’s 2022 road map, this sector is seen to generate revenues of $38.9 billion by end-2022, from a six-year revenue of $25 billion until 2016.

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Angara asked to reconsider housing provisions in TRAIN

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f passed into law, the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) now under review by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara will remove the value-added tax (VAT) exemptions for socialized, economic and low-cost housing units costing between P450,000 and P3.2 million per unit. In a news briefing, Rodolfo Javellana Jr. of the Union of Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) expressed fear that this “spells bad news for the 15 million overseas Filipino workers [OFWs] trying to earn a decent living away from their families and the rest of our kababayan planning to buy their own homes.” Javellana said with the current prices for socialized, economic and low-cost housing, even workers with a take-home pay of P30,000 a month can barely afford a decently sized house and lot. “If the Senate will agree to increase housing prices to anywhere from P50,000 to 360,000 per unit by imposing VAT, our OFWs and homeless citizens can say good-bye to their dreams of owning a piece of property for their families,” he said, underscoring that buyers will take the full brunt of the tax burden, as VAT is an after-sales tax.

Javellana said the burden will also extend beyond 12 percent, as housing loans for these amounts can only be afforded through longterm loans by the homebuyers. The UFCC has filed an appeal to Angara to heed their call and delete the controversial TRAIN provision on housing for the sake of the homeless, which the government estimates to be at least 5.7 million families or more. “It is sad to realize how apathetic the government is to the plight of housing over the years, and then aggravating the situation by removing the VAT exemption provided by law,” Javellana added. “If the government can afford not to tax other sectors of society and business, then there should be more reason to spare housing, being a more basic human need.” He said this is not to say that all provisions of the TRAIN is bad, although “our tax collectors could do a better job running after tax evaders and the government running after corrupt tax collectors first than even thinking of raising taxes.” Housing the poor is a constitutional mandate, but the government has done little to comply with this, allocating a measly P15.36 billion for the housing sector for 2017 despite a housing crisis. It instead relies on private developers to build houses for the poor in exchange for tax benefits.

Regulations are key to unlock optimal benefits of digital economy–PIDS

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igital economy is beneficial, but it must be regulated. According to Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) President Gilberto Llanto, the digital economy is “arguably changing the landscapes of job, product, and service markets.” “Digitization, big data, advanced analytics and disruptive technologies interacting in a variety of ways are creating new waves of innovation, productivity, and growth in a manner that has not been seen before,” he said at the launch of the Regional Inclusive Growth Project Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS), a joint project of PIDS and CUTS International. The event was held at the PIDS Office in Quezon City. Citing significant benefits of digital economy, Llanto said governments are using digital infrastructure to improve the delivery of public services such as health and education, among others, making these more inclusive. “The business sector, such as financial-technology firms, are also taking advantage of digital tools and systems in competing with traditional brick-and-mortar

private lending institutions to provide financial products and services to those who have been financially excluded, especially those in the rural areas,” he added. Llanto also emphasized that the shift to online trade and services has resulted to quick response to varying consumer preferences in terms of product or service availability, quality and affordability. “For instance, the retail sector has successfully used digital technologies to create effective database management systems, client-server platforms, enterprise planning software, computer i zed ma nagement tools for inventory, and product and services delivery. These all contribute to improve the efficiency of businesses and their ability to cope with the growing demands of consumers,” Llanto explained. According to him, online shops, such as Lazada, and ride-hailing services in the Philippines have also responded well to consumer demands by using disruptive tec h nolog ies, wh ic h con nec t buyers/consumers and sellers/ providers efficiently in the goods and services markets.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

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Protectors of Tañon Strait vow renewed drive vs illegal fishing

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

s the three-month-long closed fishing season in the Visayan Sea for sardines, herring and mackerel began on November 15, protectors of the Tañon Strait vowed to intensify the campaign against illegal commercial fishing activities within the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape (TSPS).

The closed fishing season in the Visayan Sea covers commercial fishing and will not affect the livelihood of small fishermen, Nathaniel Lucero, officer in charge of the Provincial Fisheries Office of Negros Oriental told reporters at a recent news conference. Various stakeholders that include the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine National Police, Philippine Navy (PN), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), local government units (LGUs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) held the news conference on Wednesday to announce the fishing ban and highlight a ceremonial sendoff of three patrol boats that will be deployed in the Visayan Sea and the Tañon Strait. Oceana Philippines and Rare Philippines are stepping up efforts to help improve policy environment and “capacitate” communities within the Tañon Strait. Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, vice president of Oceana Philippines, commended the efforts of the Protected Area Office and the Region 7 Office of the DENR, together with key enforcement agencies for their unwavering effort to protect and conserve the strait.

‘Serious business’

“FISHERIES enforcement is a serious business, especially since our next generations depend so much how well we protect our fisheries today,” Ramos said. She said the positive outcomes

of almost three years of Oceana’s collaboration with partner-government agencies and NGOs are “encouraging.” With the recent designation of a special prosecutor for the Tañon Strait, Ramos is hopeful that violations will be dealt with properly.

Keeping tab

OCEANA is also pushing for the installation of the vessel-monitoring system and vessel-monitoring measures for large-scale and small-scale to medium-scale commercial fishing vessels, respectively, as mandated by the Amended Fisheries Code. “This would help enforcers effectively track the movement and behavior of commercial fishing vessels within the protected area,” she added. Negros Oriental Vice Gov. Mark

Macias, concurrently the acting governor, expressed support behind the move to declare closed fishing season from November to February, the period of spawning of the three known commercially viable fish species that thrive in the Visayan Sea. “Commercial fishing operators will be affected by the ban, but it doesn’t mean they have nowhere else to go. They would only have to go farther away out to fish. Small fishermen, on the other hand, will continue to enjoy fishing in the Visayan Sea and Tañon Strait,” he said. He assured stakeholders of Tañon Strait of his support, especially in providing logistical backup in patrolling the vast ocean territory between the islands of Cebu and Negros.

Off-limits

MACIAS said he believes in the wisdom of declaring a closed fishing season, noting that previous experiences show that after the closed fishing season, fish stock in the Visayan Sea has dramatically increased. “Even kids can fish near shores easily because there are plenty of fish to catch,” he noted. During the three-month period covered, commercial fishing activities in the Visayan Sea, the second-largest fishing ground in the country, will be off-limits to commercial fishing vessels. The closed fishing season will end on February 15. This will give fish

“Commercial fishing operators will be affected by the ban, but it doesn’t mean they have nowhere else to go. They would only have to go farther away out to fish. Small fishermen, on the other hand, will continue to enjoy fishing in the Visayan Sea and Tañon Strait.” —Macias

stocks the opportunity to breed and replenish the fishing ground for the next fishing season. “They can always fish elsewhere during the closed fishing season,” Lucero added, as he lamented that commercial overfishing has severely caused the depletion of fish stocks in many areas in the country, including the Visayan Sea. The closed fishing season is annually implemented to allow sardines, herring and mackerel to reproduce and replenish fishing grounds in the region. Owing to the proximity of the Visayan Sea to the Tañon Strait, fishing vessels have been known to encroach on the northern part of the TSPS to catch fish, in violation of the Amended Fisheries Code and the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act, Prospero “Am” Lendio, the protected area superintendent of the TSPS said.

Send-off

ON Wednesday protectors of Tañon Strait witnessed the sendoff of patrol boats to augment monitoring and law-enforcement activities in the southern portion of the Tañon Strait. The patrol vessels will be deployed in the area to intensify the campaign against illegal-fishing activities in the Visayan Sea, including the Tañon Strait. They are from the Navy, PCG and the BFAR. “We are guarding both the northern and southern entrances to the Tañon Strait to demonstrate that commercial fishing is not welcome here,” Lendio said. Other stakeholders have sent more vessels to prevent commercial fishing activities in the Visayan Sea and their possible encroachment in the Tañon Strait, including bantay-dagat volunteers from organizations of small fishermen from various towns within the TSPS. While the Tañon Strait is offlimits to commercial fishing activities, small fishermen continue to enjoy the bountiful fish catch, Lendio said. “A lot of them are thankful for the effort in Tañon Strait. Their daily catch has increased and there’s plenty for everybody,” he added.

Rights group: Militants, troops violated law in Marawi siege A mnest y Inter nationa l (AI) on Friday said it has documented violations of humanitarian law, some amounting to war crimes, during the f ive -mont h conf l ict bet ween Philippine government troops and Islamic State-allied militants who laid siege to the southern city of Marawi. The human-rights group said the militants committed unlawful killings, hostage-taking, pillage and mistreatment of prisoners. They allegedly used child soldiers and murdered civilians, which is a war crime, with some of their targets said to have been singled out because they were Christian. Government forces allegedly tortured and mistreated detainees and looted, AI said in its new report. The siege of Marawi raged f rom May 23 u nt i l t he gover nment dec lared it over on October 23. More than 1,100 combatants and civilians were killed, including more than 900 Filipino and foreign militants, and about half-a-million people were displaced by the prolonged

and widespread fighting. T he militar y’s bombing of militant-held areas of the city wiped out entire neighborhoods and killed civilians, highlighting the need for an investigation into compliance with humanitarian law, AI’s report said. Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla, the Armed Forces spokesman, said the military is committed to respecting humanitarian law and human rights, and the government will answer the allegations after it gets a copy of the report. He added the military chief of staff has told troops he will not tolerate misdeeds. Padilla said the military had many challenges in the main battle area during the Marawi conflict and rescued 1,780 civilians. A primordial consideration in the use of force was the safety of civilians, he added. AI said Philippine authorities seem to be responding to concerns about looting by security forces, with investigations and charges under way. They must also provide compensation, it added. United States A mbassador

Sung Kim said last month there were no credible reports or allegations that the Armed Forces engaged in any abuse or rights violations against the people of Marawi. “It’s quite positive that the Philippine military behaved in a responsible manner in a very difficult situation,” he added. For its report, Amnesty International said it interviewed 48 survivors and witnesses, and many described how the militants regularly targeted and killed civilians. Multiple witnesses described 10 incidents in which militants killed at least 25 civilians by shooting them or slitting their throats. Most were targeted because they were Christians, and some were killed as they attempted to flee, it said. Militants took numerous civilian hostages, a majority of them Christians who were physically abused, made to do forced labor, used as sex slaves or human shields, and forced to make bombs and fight the military, the report added. The report cited instances in

which members of the Philippine military treated civilians who escaped militant-controlled areas with suspicion, detaining them and subjecting them to torture or ill treatment. Eight victims of alleged abuse by members of the military were interviewed for the report, including seven Christian construction workers who had been trapped in Marawi because they feared being captured or killed by militants if they tried to escape. The report quoted one of the workers as saying that after he and his companions crossed a bridge to f lee a militant-controlled area, Philippine Marines detained and beat them up, insisting they were militants. He said he was punched and kicked, beaten with a rifle, and their hands and feet were tied with electrical wire. AI urged the government to investigate and ensure reparations for victims. It also called for quick rebuilding efforts, the safe return of residents, the restoration of habeas corpus and consideration of lifting martial law still in force in the south. AP

In this October 19 file photo, a mosque with its dome blasted out with holes is seen at the battlescarred Marawi City in southern Philippines, two days after President Duterte declared the liberation of the city. AP

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Thailand could be joining Asean’s economic boom

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n economic boom that’s reverberated across Southeast Asia has finally crossed over to Thailand. The economy, which has lagged its neighbors this decade, is projected to have grown at the fastest pace in more than four years last quarter even as the baht surged.

There’s reason to be optimistic as exports post double-digit percentage gains and the end of a yearlong mourning period for King Bhumibol Adulyadej bolsters the outlook for consumption. “We’re becoming more and more optimistic as the recovery in exports is more enduring than we expected,” said Eugenia Victorino, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore. “There’s still a lot of challenges, particularly the inabil-

ity of the government to ‘crowd in’ private investment. That would really re-energize the economy.” GDP probably grew 3.8 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, according to the median estimate of nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg. That would be the quickest pace since the first quarter of 2013, according to the data. The government will release official figures on November 20. Southeast Asian economies are enjoying a growth resurgence with

expansion in Vietnam and the Philippines quickening. Malaysia’s economy grew at the fastest pace in more than three years in the third quarter, data showed on Friday.

Exports

Thailand’s exports are coping with the strength of the baht, posting gains of more than 10 percent in each of the five mont h s t h rou g h Se ptember. T he baht has advanced more than 8 percent in 2017, among

3.8%

Thailand’s forecast GDP growth in the third quarter, according to the median estimate of nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg

the best performers in Asia. “ T he b ro a d - b a s e d r i s e i n e x por ts ha s cont inued de spite a strong baht,” said Tim L eel a hapha n, Ba ngkok-based economist at Standard Chartered Bank. “ T he baht has been dr iven by hea lthy macroecono m i c f u nd a me nt a l s r at he r t h a n por t fol io i n f low s, a nd these shou ld continue to suppor t the cur renc y for the rest of this year and in 2018.” The government approved this month tax breaks for year-end shopping and has embarked on a 1.5-trillion-baht ($45-billion) plan to build infrastructure and advanced industry along the eastern seaboard. The Bank of Thailand has held its key interest rate near a record low since 2015. T h a i l a nd— u nder m i l it a r y rule since 2014—is on course for elections next year, injecting uncertainty into the outlook. While some analysts expect a growth boost, others are concerned political divisions could once again flare up. Bloomberg News

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TRUMP, VETERAN OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT ACCUSATIONS, SCOLDS senator FRANKEN

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resident Donald J. Trump lashed out at Sen. Al Franken, Democrat-Minnesota, in two suggestive Twitter posts late Thursday after the senator was accused by a Los Angeles radio newscaster of kissing and groping her more than a decade ago. Leeann Tweeden, the newscaster, made the allegations earlier Thursday about Franken’s behavior while both of them were performing on a 2006 USO tour. She released a picture showing Franken, a former writer for Saturday Night Live, appearing to grab her breasts while she was sleeping. The photograph prompted Trump to tweet that “the Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words.”The president then suggested that Franken might have gone on to take more liberties with the sleeping woman. “Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?” Trump wrote. The president’s decision to tweet about Franken’s case immediately drew comparisons to his own behavior as revealed by an Access Hollywood tape. Released by The Washington Post in early October 2016, just weeks before the presidential election, it revealed Trump talking in vulgar terms about women. Trump later apologized for his language on the tape, saying that “these words don’t reflect who I am.” But since then, he has described his comments as “locker-room talk.” Before the election, several women told The New York Times that Trump had assaulted them, touching them inappropriately. Several others told the newspaper that Trump behaved improperly around them. In his tweets on Thursday night, the president went on to accuse Franken of hypocrisy, saying that “just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women,” adding, “Lesley Stahl tape?” The mention of Stahl, a veteran journalist for CBS News, was an apparent reference to a 1995 interview in which Franken, then with Saturday Night Live, spoke about a possible skit in which Stahl would be drugged and raped. “‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.’ Or, ‘That’s why you never see

Lesley until February.’ Or, ‘When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her,’” Franken said in the article in New York magazine. Trump’s comments about Franken, a frequent critic of the president’s, came even as Trump remained largely silent about accusations of sexual assault against Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Senate in an Alabama special election scheduled to take place next month. In recent days, several women have accused Moore of having assaulted them or pursued them romantically when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. Trump issued a statement several days ago saying that if the charges against Moore are true, he should withdraw from the Senate campaign. But Trump has not spoken publicly to condemn Moore’s actions, nor pulled his endorsement of the Republican candidate, even as other Republicans in Washington have said they believe the female accusers and have called on Moore to drop out of the race. “The president believes that these allegations are very troubling and should be taken seriously, and he thinks that the people of Alabama should make the decision on who their next senator should be,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said earlier Thursday. It was unclear what had prompted Trump to tweet about Franken. But he frequently watches Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News, and on Thursday night, Hannity was highly critical of Franken and mentioned the senator’s joke about Stahl. Backlash on Twitter was swift. Gretchen Carlson, a former anchor at Fox News, retweeted Trump’s message questioning where Franken’s hands were and said, “What about yours?” The late-night tweets came on a day that Republicans in the House of Representatives passed one of the president’s major priorities—an overhaul that drastically cuts corporate tax rates. Trump called the House vote a “big win” before turning his attention—and those of his millions of Twitter followers—to Franken. New York Times News Service

Block pornography or be blocked, Indonesia warns Google, Twitter

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SONG TAO (left), the head of China’s ruling Communist Party’s International Liaison Department, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Friday. Chinese state media said Song would travel to Pyongyang on Friday to report on the party’s national congress held last month. Song would be the first ministeriallevel Chinese official to visit North Korea since October 2015. AP

Senior Chinese envoy heads to North Korea amid chill in ties

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hina dispatched its highest-level envoy to North Korea in two years on Friday in a bid to improve chilly relations after President Donald J. Trump last week urged Beijing to pressure Pyongyang to cease its nuclear-weapons program. Song Tao will report on the outcomes of China’s ruling Communist Party congress held last month and visit counterparts in his role as President Xi Jinping’s special envoy, according to Chinese state media. China has given no other details about his itinerary or said whether he’ll meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. T he v i sit cou ld be a “st a r t i ng poi nt to e x plore ne w C h i n a - N o r t h K o r e a r e l a t i o n s ,” s a id L i m Eu l C hu l , a Nor t h K orea e x per t at Sout h K orea’s Ky u ng n a m Un iversit y. Xi wants to take the initiative on the North Korean nuclear issue to head off further pressure from Washington, Lim added. “For Xi, the resolution of the North Korean issue is directly related to relations with the United States. He would continuously get pressed by the US and be placed on the defensive unless he settles the

North Korean problem,” he said. Song heads the Communist Party’s International Department and holds the rank of minister. China’s relations with North Korea have deteriorated under Kim, who has ignored Beijing’s calls to end nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests and return to disarmament talks. Expectations for Song’s visit are mixed. In announcing it, China made no mention of Trump’s visit to Beijing or the North’s weapons programs. Song is not directly connected to China’s efforts to convince Pyongyang to return to denuclearization talks, seemingly reducing the chances for a breakthrough in that highly contentious area. The visit comes as Joseph Yun, the US envoy to North Korea, met on Friday with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon on the resort island of Jeju in South Korea to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula. “China, of course, has a big role to play on Northeast Asia security issues,” Yun was quoted by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency as saying, adding that he hoped China “regards the denuclearization as a

critical goal. We do hope that special envoy will forward that goal.” North Korea staged its sixth nuclear test on September 3, detonating what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb, and last launched a ballistic missile on September 15, firing it over the Japanese island of Hokkaido into the Pacific Ocean. Song is expected to relay China’s hopes for the North to stop conducting nuclear and missile tests in return for incentives and to assess whether the North has any intention of returning to disarmament talks, said Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute. North Korea, for its part, would “find it difficult to reject China’s envoy dispatch because it faces a very serious international isolation…and wants to know what position China has and if there are any ways to ease international sanctions,” Cheong said. Song’s visit to Pyongyang also comes as China and South Korea are repairing their relations that soured over China’s objection to Seoul ’s deployment of a US anti-missile system. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to visit China next

month for talks with Xi. Song will be the first ministerial-level Chinese official to visit North Korea since October 2015, when Politburo Standing Committee member Liu Yunshan met with Kim. Liu delivered a letter to Kim from Xi expressing hopes for a strong relationship, although the respite in frosty ties proved short-lived. Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin visited Pyongyang in October last year. The two ruling parties have long-standing ties that often supersede formal diplomacy, even while Beijing has long been frustrated with Pyongyang’s provocations and unwillingness to reform its economy. China is also North Korea’s largest trading partner and chief source of food and fuel aid, although it says its influence with Kim’s regime is often exaggerated by the US and others. While it is enforcing harsh new United Nations sanctions targeting the North’s sources of foreign currency, Beijing has called for steps to renew dialogue. Beijing is opposed to measures that could bring down Kim’s regime and lead to a refugee crisis along its border.

ndonesia has threatened to bar the world’s biggest social-media providers from operating in the country unless they comply with stringent demands to filter pornography and other content deemed obscene. Twitter Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and a host of companies have been put on notice by Indonesian Communications Minister Rudiantara, who warned that “all platforms” now face serious consequences if they don’t adhere to government requests to block content. “The worst case is I will not allow them to be in Indonesia,” Rudiantara, who uses one name, said in an interview on Thursday. “We are focusing on content. If you violate content, then you are violating rules and laws in Indonesia.” A country of 260 million people, Indonesia is a prolific user of social media. But the nation with the world’s largest Muslim population has also become increasingly concerned about its use to spread material related to terrorism and racial violence, as well as pornography and child abuse. Twitter, Google and Facebook are all also blocked in China. Indonesia last week threatened to block the use of Facebook Inc.’s messaging service WhatsApp unless it removed obscene content available as GIF images. WhatsApp was allowed to continue operating after agreements to filter images and videos were reached with third-party services that provide GIFs.

Summoning executives

S amuel A brijani, direc tor general for application and informatics at the Communications Ministry, said executives from G oogle and Twitter would be summoned for meetings with government officials to discuss what action they would take to monitor content. He gave no details on timing. Representatives for Google and Twitter in Asia didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The minister, who’s previously served on

the boards of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia and PT Indosat, said he wanted to work with content providers to help improve the literacy of Indonesians. “They must at this stage help us to filter content that violates the rules and regulations of the country,” he said.

Facebook users

He said Google has shown “the most good will” and had been receptive to requests to help monitor social media. Facebook, which counts almost 90 million Indonesians among its users, has also previously agreed to work with the government. Amid the crackdown on social-media platforms, President Joko Widodo has also ordered the development of the nation’s digital economy as a priority. The digital economy may be worth $130 billion by 2020, Rudiantara said. Indonesia has recruited Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. founder Jack Ma as an adviser to help it reach its digital goal, particularly around the development of payment systems and logistics. “I want to sell Indonesia. I want to make Indonesia more competitive across the international landscape, so I need people like Jack Ma,” Rudiantara said. He wants the billionaire businessman to be “a guru for the development of human capital, not only to support Indonesia but to support the region.” Some of the companies caught up in the crackdown have also previously fallen afoul of the Indonesian government over tax compliance. Tax authorities have been in a long-running dispute with Google and have also set their sights on Apple Inc., as well as Twitter, Yahoo! Inc. and Facebook. Rudiantara on Thursday said he plans to issue a ministerial decree by the end of the year that will toughen rules for foreign companies operating in the communications sector. The measure, he said, would address three key issues, including ensuring companies pay tax, adhere to their legal obligations and provide customer service. Bloomberg News

Sports BusinessMirror

Editor: Jun Lomibao | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Saturday, November 18, 2017

A5

GIALON, 2 OTHERS SHARE LEAD T

ZANIEBOY GIALON falters in the third round and finds himself sharing the lead. ROY DOMINGO

HAILAND’S Pasavee Lertvilai shot a gutsy 73 in exacting condition, while Justin Quiban rallied with three straight birdies from No. 14 to save a 74 as they caught a faltering Zanieboy Gialon at the helm in the rain-hit third round of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Wack Wack Championship at the East course on Friday. With the wind finally blowing and adding to the challenge at the tight, challenging layout, pars and bogeys proved to be the norm although Lertvilai, Quiban and Gialon came through with late birdies to force a three-way tie at one-under 215, guaranteeing a wild, wooly finish in the $100,000 championship put up by ICTSI. Tony Lascuña, five behind Gialon after 36 holes, made it a four-way battle for the top $17,500 purse in the event, organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc., as he pooled a 216 after a 73. The

many-time Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit winner grabbed a piece of the lead at two-under overall despite an even-par card through 17 holes, but bogeyed the par-4 18th for the second straight day. “I’m still at it anyway. No lead is safe here at WW East and it’s going to be anybody’s race tomorrow [today],” Lascuña said. American Nicolas Paez fired one of the day’s three best scores of 71 to force another three-way tie for fifth at 218, just three shots off the pace, with James Ryan Lam and obscured Rolando Marabe Jr. turning in a 72 and a 73, respectively. Marcus Both blew a two-under card after 11 holes as he bogeyed four of the last seven holes. But the Aussie ace’s 54-hole aggregate of 219 put him just four strokes adrift, a deficit not too big to overcome on a course as tough as the fabled WW layout. Michael Bibat, 11 shots off

Gialon at the start of the round, nearly squandered a four-under card after five holes, including three straight from No. 3, with two bogeys and a double-bogey but hit two birdies against one more bogey to log the other 71 for a 220 in a tie with Jobim Carlos, who also hobbled with a 75.

ARCHERS EYE FINALS BERTH D

E LA SALLE University embarks on the second-tothe-last step to defend its crown when it faces Adamson University in a Final Four showdown in Season 80 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball action today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Green Archers do not only hold a twiceto-beat advantage for being the No. 2 seed in the semifinals, but they are also oozing with confidence from their 79-76 conquest of the erstwhile unbeaten Ateneo Blue Eagles when they take on the Soaring Falcons at 4 p.m. The other semifinal—No. 1 seed Ateneo against No. 4 Far Eastern University—is set at 4 p.m. tomorrow also at the Big Dome. De La Salle absorbed two losses in the eliminations—to Ateneo and University of the Philippines—but have since flashed championship form entering the playoffs.

“I can say that there were lots of distractions in the first round. But we were able to overcome them, and we were able to focus,” De La Salle Head Coach Aldin Ayo said. “It’s just being focused and being commmitted to the objective, which is to win the championship.” Ayo said his team is slowly reaching championship form with back-to-back Most Valuable Player Ben Mbala playing true to form and getting adequate support from Ricci Rivero, Kib Montalbo, Aljun Melecio, Abu Tratter and the rest of the Archers. “I think we’re in a very good spot because we’re peaking in the right time. And the players have been very, very responsible in terms of their commitment to our goal,” Ayo said. But Ayo stressed that they cannot be complacent against the Soaring Falcons. “It will be a dogfight,” he said. “For sure, they’re going to p repare against us and it will be difficult for us.”

Ayo will be facing Franz Pumaren, who coached De La Salle to five UAAP championships, including four straight from 1998. Pumaren and the Falcons gave the Green Archers a scare in the second round before yielding, 74-80. “Basically, as what I told my players, we’re not just here to win games, not just to make it to the Final Four. Of course, we are aiming for the best finish possible,” Pumaren said. It will be Adamson University’s second straight the Final Four appearance. Last season, then No. 1 De La Salle eliminated the No. 4 Soaring Falcons, 69-64. Lance Agcaoili

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DE LA SALLE Coach Aldin Ayo says his wards are peaking at the right time.

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RTHUR PANTINO knocked down winners in varying forms and came away with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 victory over Japanese Ryota Ishii to roll into the boys’ singles semifinals of the Philippine Investment Management Consultants (Phinma)Philippine Sports Commission Juniors Tennis Championships Week I at the Manila Polo Club in Forbes Park yesterday. But while the second-seeded Pantino notched his second straight-set win and stayed in the title hunt in the Group 4 International Tennis Federation (ITF) 18-under event, compatriots Jose Antonio Tria and Michael Eala succumbed to strong foreign opposition in the quarterfinals. Tria, who earlier beat Taiwanese Kung Chun Jui, 6-1, 6-2, dropped a 6-2, 6-4 setback to third-ranked Taiyo Yamanaka; while Eala, who toppled Japanese Kei Manaka, 6-3, 6-2, in the second round, also yielded a 6-2, 6-4 loss to No. 4 Muhammad Arazza of Indonesia. Melanie Dizon also failed to sustain her charge in the girls’ side of the event—sponsored by Phinma and Technifiber and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association—as she bowed to

F

OTON seeks a bounce-back win as the Tornadoes are expected to vent their ire on Sta. Lucia Realty in the Chooks to go Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix, which visits De La Salle Lipa Sentrum today in Lipa City. After suffering its first lost to rival Petron, 21-25, 22-25, 25-12, 20-25, that halted their four-game streak on Tuesday, the Tornadoes seek payback in their 4 p.m. game against the Lady Realtors, who are brimming with confidence after finally getting their first win to end a three-game skid. F2 Logistics aims for a firmer hold of the top spot when it eyes its fifth straight win against the winless Victoria Sports-University of Santo Tomas (UST), which is trying to avoid a fourth straight loss at 7 p.m. The Tornadoes of Head Coach Moro Branislav are back on the drawing board after that loss to the Blaze Spikers, who were led by import Lindsay Stalzer’s 23 points. Stalzer powered Foton to two Grand Prix titles before transferring to Petron. Serbian Sara Klisura scored 29 points to singlehandedly carry Foton in that lost, prompting Branislav to motivate the rest of the team to make their contributions. Katarina Vukamanovic of Serbia and Dragana Perunicnic of Montenegro, as well as the local support bannered by 6-foot-5 superstar Jaja Santiago, Maika Ortiz, Jen Reyes and EJ Laure are expected to step up for Foton. Sta. Lucia has become a dangerous side after snapping a 0-3 start with a morale-boosting victory over Victoria Sports-UST, 25-19, 2521, 25-19, on Tuesday. Lance Agcaoili

Salas Cup golf set at Camp Aguinaldo

Pantino reaches Phinma tennis semis

Tornadoes take on Lady Realtors

NCAA CHAMPS ANEW Serbian Sara Klisura scores 29 points in Foton’s loss to Petron.

Three-up halfway through the event, Gialon went on attack mode after birdieing the first two holes and threatening to pull away, only to fumble and stumble with two doublebogeys and four bogeys at the back, needing to birdie the last from 5 feet to card a 77. “I should’ve played it safe. I thought I could sustain my hot start but I lost my rhythm and hit some bad shots,” rued Gialon, adding that he needs to toughen up mentally tomorrow (today) to get a crack at the top $17,500 purse in the fourth leg of the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Asia, sponsored by ICTSI. Like the rest of the surviving 56-player field, Quiban struggled in demanding condition, free-falling from second with three bogeys and a double-bogey in a birdie-less stint after 13 holes. But he put his act together in time, stringing three straight birdies from No. 14 to get back into the thick of things with 74.

second seed Lisa Mays of Australia, 6-2, 6-4, and missed the semifinals. That leaves the Philippine Tennis Academy stalwart Pantino as the last Filipino hope with the Cebuano ace, a member of the national junior Davis Cup squad, facing Yamanaka for a berth in the finals of the first of two ITF-sanctioned tournaments supported by Technifiber ball as official ball, official hotel Jinjiang Inn, Makati and the PSC. Top seed Shunsuke Mitsui of Japan overpowered Malaysian Shamirul Shahril Adam Das, 6-0, 6-2, to set up a final four duel with Arazza in the upper half of the 32-player draw. Meanwhile, Week 2 will be played from November 21 to 26 with the two-day qualifiers slated tomorrow and on Monday, also at the MPC, according to tournament director Chris Cuarto with Malaysian Razmee Rawi as the tournament referee. Also making it in the girls’ semis are American Nicole Hammond, who repulsed China’s Fangran Tian, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2; Hong Kong’s Wing Ka Lin, who turned back Aesha Patel of the US, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3; and Elizabeth Stevens, who upended Japanese Saki Oyama, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

The San Beda Red Lions celebrate their 21st National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball crown after sweeping the Lyceum of the Philippines University, 92-82, in Game Two of the best-of-five championship series last Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The title was the 10th in 12 championship appearances for San Beda. NONOY LACZA

ORMER President Fidel V. Ramos and the Forum for Family Planning and Development Inc. (The FORUM) will host the 10th Rafael M. Salas Golf Cup on November 23 at the Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club. With the theme “Nurturing Mother Earth, Women and Girls,” this year’s edition will draw at least 100 golfers. The tournament is open to all amateur golfers for an entry fee of P5,000 that includes a donation to the noble cause, green fee, special edition Salas golf giveaways, door prize, buffet lunch during and raffle. Participants are also entitled to win the hole-in-one prize at stake—a Ducati Scrambler Sixty2. Registration opens at 6 a.m. Sequential tee-off is from 6 to 9 a.m. The ceremonial tee-off at 7:30 a.m. will be led by President Ramos. Named in his honor, Salas is remembered as a patriot par excellence who dedicated himself to serving his people in various government posts, notably Executive Secretary of the late President Ferdinand Marcos. In the international community, he served as the first executive director of the United Nations Population Fund with the rank of undersecretary-general and is known as “Mr. Population.” The event’s major sponsors include DKT Philippines, San Miguel Corp., Pagcor, Filinvest Development Corp., Marubeni Philippines, Group Management Development Inc., Team Energy, Lopez Group, Northstar Transport Facilities Inc., Asia United Bank, Alpha One (Benedicto Steel Corp.), PCSO, SGV, San Roque Power Corp., SSS, Land Bank, DBP, Meralco, Pilipinas Shell, Trans Asia, Quickminds, Philippine Resources Savings Bank, Stradcom, Grand Videoke and the BusinessMirror, among others. For ticket reservation or sponsorship, call Golf Marketing Central at 697-0520, 0917-8400119 or e-mail golfcentral.ph@gmail.com.

MCEWAN RIDES BGC’S STREETS IN CYCLE PH

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HREE-TIME Tour de France green jersey winner Robbie McEwen joins Piolo Pascual and a slew of Star Magic artists as they banner the cast in the Sun Life Cycle PH, which gets going today at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. A total of 1,200 bikers and enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels are participating in the inaugural staging of the event serving as the first of the two-part SunPiology, an annual fun run fund-raiser founded by Pascual. The event fires off at 5:30 a.m. on 9th Avenue corner 30th Avenue, featuring seven categories, including the highly popular Bid2Bike where participants will pedal side by side with their chosen celebrities—including McEwen, Pascual and triathlon campaigners Gerald Anderson, Jake Cuenca and Matteo Guidicelli. Other sporting celebrities joining the weekend of fun, wellness activity and family bonding are Gretchen Ho, Iñigo Pascual, Marco Gallo, Kisses Delavin, Ysabel Ortega, Ivan Carapiet and Alex Diaz. Other events on tap are the Tricycle Ride (100-meter distance for 2- to 3-year-olds), Kids’ Ride (500-meter for 4- to 5-year-olds), Family Ride (30-minute ride for 6- to 15-year-olds with adult companion), Solo Ride (30-minute ride for 6- to 15-year-olds), Short Distance Ride (20-kilometer for 10 and above), and Long Distance Ride (40-km for 10 and above). The premier 40-km race will start at BGC to Kalayaan Flyover toward Roxas Boulevard then back again to BGC, going through the course in two loops. The Sun Life Resolution Run, featuring five categories—the 500-meter dash for kids, 500-meter walk for adults, 3K, 5K and 10K—will be held on January 20, 2018, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

A6 Saturday, November 18, 2017 | Editor: Mike Besa

The Masters is Up The fifth hole on the Manila Southwoods Masters course

to the challenge

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Story & photo by Mike Besa

t is no secret that Southwoods Golf and Country Club’s Masters course is among the very best in the country. Last year BusinessMirror Golf named it the golf course of the year based on the golf-course ranking criteria, which takes into account only the quality of the golf course and nothing else. It was a worthy winner. Although not overly long, it is enough golf course for golfers of all ability levels. It’s probably a bit too much for a neophyte, but it is a fair but stern test for everyone else. The great Jack Nicklaus thoughtfully laid out the holes so that not two holes in a row play into the prevailing wind the same way. Every club in your bag will be needed on the links of the Masters course. The par 5s present good scoring opportunities when played well. Your long irons will be tested on the longer par 4s and long par 3s. Precision off the tee trumps length here. Your ball striking will be tested

coming into the greens, which sit at angles to the fairway. A precise strike to the correct quadrant of the green is needed to just keep your golf ball on the green. The greens are normally immaculate but are being brought back to the original specifications with a different turf grass more suited to our climate. You don’t sit still when you maintain a golf course to these standards. The golf course is beautiful. A former sugarcane field, Nicklaus took advantage of the creeks and streams that crisscrossed the property and built on them, creating lakes and marshland habitat for the endemic and migratory birds that call Southwoods their home. The results are impressive. Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club is an Audobon avian sanctuary; the 175th golf course in the world to receive this distinction. Its most visible residents are the hundreds of egrets that make the trees on the right side of the 16th fairway their home. Happy hour here is quite a sight. Imagine sipping your favorite libation to the sight of hundreds of egrets flying it to roost for the night.

There are 52 other avian species that call the Carmona golf property their home. Southwoods’s protected habitat assures its feathered residents that they will always have a home in and on the fairways of the club. All of this makes it a superb piece of land for a golf course. There are so many memorable holes on the Masters course. Each is unique and offers its own set of challenges. There are some brutally tough holes. Two has blossomed into the toughest hole on the golf course. At 438 yards from the gold tees, it isn’t overly long. The bunker on the right guards the ideal landing area off the tee. Hit it and you’ll have a short iron to the green. Tee shots further to the left will leave you a long iron or hybrid into the green. Clubbing for the approach shot is a challenge as the hole plays into the prevailing wind. This is a classic golf hole. Six used to be the handicap one but has now been demoted to the second most difficult hole on the front side. Like two, it isn’t particularly long at 419 yards from the tips. It is the precision that is asked from you off the tee that makes it so

WRAPPING UP THE ASIAN SWING T

he PGA Tour’s annual Asian odyssey served up a marvelous treat for golf fans across Malaysia, South Korea and China during a spectacular month in October, delivering edgeof-your-seat action for the most avid golf fans and those new to the game, as well. Three great tournaments delivered three worthy champions, each provided inspiring tales that will resonate along the region’s fairways in the years to come. Golf is a sport that rewards hard work, relentless preparation, extreme attention to detail and a never-give-up spirit. Those attributes were identified in each of the champions of the three October events. The CIMB Classic, celebrating its eighth edition at TPC Kuala Lumpur, was hailed as a battle of the young guns with two-time defending champion and newly crowned FedExCup winner, Justin Thomas, 24, headlining the $7-million Malaysian showpiece alongside Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, 25. Both the young stars are the epitome of today’s generation of golfers who is now dominating the sport in what is becoming quite an exciting post-Tiger era. Thomas and Matsuyama are lean, mean and fearless, and arrived in Malaysia as hot favorites following a combined 11 tournament victories over the preceding 12 months. Much was expected from the dynamic duo,

both ranked in the world’s top 5, but by the end of a thrilling week, it was a 41-year-old veteran who was laughing all the way to the bank following an emphatic, if not fulfilling, victory. Pat Perez is a self-confessed, happy-go-lucky golfer who opposes fitness or diet regimes and believes in enjoying life to the fullest. He wears cool high-top golf shoes and keeps his hair long and flowy, which is reminiscent of 1980s rock stars. “I’m not going to change anything,” said Perez after running away with a four-shot triumph in Malaysia. “I’m still not going to work out. I’ll still have a bad diet and I’m going to enjoy myself. I don’t get ahead of myself, I don’t look in the past, I’m just kind of doing it. I think I’m the last guy that expected to win this week, to be honest with you. I did not think I was going to win.” Just over 18 months ago the colorful American, who grew up in the same era as Tiger Woods, was sidelined following a shoulder injury. When he began his comeback, the gremlins in his mind planted seeds of doubt but he received a boost through a sponsor’s invitation to feature in the 2016 CIMB Classic. A tied 33rd seemed irrelevant then, but Perez went on to post a top 10 in his next start before going on to lift the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico for his second career PGA Tour title. That victory sparked Perez to a career-best 15th position in the final FedExCup standings during

the 2016-2017 season and victory at the CIMB Classic in October was validation that redemption does belong to those like Perez who keep up the fight when the chips are down. As Perez earned the plaudits in Malaysia, Thomas headed to the CJ CUP very much low on gas for his final tournament of 2017. An opening 63 was the rejuvation that he needed in Jeju island, known as the Hawaii of Korea, but buffeting winds over the next three rounds in the nation’s first official PGA Tour tournament ensured a dogfight. Running purely on adrenaline, the 2017 FedExCup champion and PGA Tour player of the year, Thomas clawed his way into a playoff with Australian Marc Leishman with a closing birdie in regulation and then made a stress-free birdie on the second playoff hole to land his career seventh PGA Tour victory. “It’s an unbelievable honor to win the inaugural CJ CUP. It’s a great way to cap off the year. I’m really excited to do nothing

difficult. The ideal line is over the bunkers on the right, challenging the wind, the water hazard and the bunkers just beyond it. Tee shots to the left side of the fairway mean challenging the deep greenside bunkers to the left of the green. The green is deep and relatively flat. The green has a bit of break in it but it’s so subtle that it’s difficult to divine. A great par 4. Nine is the hole that most amateurs dread. Everything is laid out in front of you; avoid the bunkers on the left and out-of-bounds on the right. The green is shallow on the right and deeper on the left. A good drive will leave you a mid to short iron into the green. Ten is one of our favorites; a massive 446-yard par 4 that plays dead into the prevailing wind. Interestingly, there isn’t a single bunker on this hole. Not that it needs it. A stream bisects the fairway and guards the ideal line into the green—the closer you are to it, the better your angle into the green. Most will play to miss the green on the left as an errant shot to the right means a watery grave for your golf ball. Ten is one of the strongest holes on the golf course.

for a while,” Thomas said. The likable Thomas picked a trophy which features the names of every player in the field in Korean language. As the tournament champion, his name was painted in gold. “The trophy is really cool. It’s very unique. I’m glad my name is in gold so I know where it is,” he smiled. The Asian swing concluded in Shanghai with world No. 1 Dustin Johnson bidding to become the first man to hold three World Golf Championships titles in the same calendar year. Following three exquisite rounds of 68, 63 and 68, the long-hitting American opened up a commanding sixshot lead heading into the last round at the WGC-HSBC Champions.

ROSE

Fifteen is a gorgeous par 5. At 545 yards from the back tees, it is reachable in two by longer hitters. The only issue is over 200 yards of water to avoid on the left side. The three-tiered green offers a generous target but misses to the right will be penalized by bunkers and deep rough. Eighteen is a tremendous finishing hole. It has provided its share of drama over the years with dozens of fantastic finishes to its credit. It’s a hole that can make or break one’s tournament; eagles and doubles are possible here. Shorter hitters are best advised to play up the left side of the fairway. This avoids the water hazard on the right and gives you the ideal line into the green. In true Nicklaus tradition, the green is set up to receive a fade. Having one in your arsenal gives you a distinct advantage. Watching the Asian Tour pros battle it in the last five editions of the Resorts World Manila Masters has given me new respect for the Masters course. It’s a course that challenges each golfer equally. Long hitters always have an advantage, but it is the golfer who approaches the course with

a well-conceived strategy and who executes it the best that always prevails here. It is a course that rewards thoughtfully controlled aggression and flawless execution. The list of champions these last five years bears this out. None demonstrated the game required better than Mardan Mamat in 2013. He carved the Masters course up like a surgeon and led the tournament from start to finish. Mamat isn’t a long hitter. There are many that can hit the ball 50 yards or more past him, but no one has a better golf mind than Mamat. His game was his mind’s equal in 2013 and that is how he brought home the championship. What puts Southwoods Golf and Country Club’s Masters course over the top is the condition of the golf course. In spite of the renovation, it remains one of the best conditioned golf courses in the country. The greens are superb and will only get better as soon as the work being done is completed. The golf course has been at or near the top of the country’s golf-course rankings for the last 25 years and, at the rate the club is progressing, it should remain there for the next 25.

However, the powerful Johnson was uncharacteristically blown off course on a blustery Sunday, with a disappointing 77 ruining his hopes of making history. England’s Justin Rose seized advantage of Johnson’s mishap, firing a glorious 67 that included five birdies on his back nine to triumph by two shots from Brooks Koepka, Henrik Stenson and Johnson. It matched the third-best comeback victory in PGA Tour history as Rose had started the final round eight shots off the lead. 
“The beginning of the day, I was playing for second,” conceded Rose, the Olympic Games

gold-medal winner in 2016. “It’s the kind of day you certainly don’t expect. It’s the kind of day you hope for, dream for but a lot of things need to go your way in order for a day like today to happen coming from eight shots behind, especially going against a player like DJ. Whenever you beat the top players in the world, that gives a tournament victory so much more meaning, and obviously with a leaderboard like we had today with Dustin, Brooks, Stenson, I take a lot of pride in winning this tournament.”

THOMAS

PEREZ

www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, November 18, 2017 A7

Arnond Vongvanij played steady golf all week but fell just short.

Justin Quiban was the surprise of the 2017 Resorts World Manila Masters.

Davao-based Micah Shin is as close to we’ll get to a homegrown champ at the Resorts World Manila Masters.

Miguel Tabuena’s championship aspirations will have to wait. PHOTOS BY MIKE BESA

The Resorts World Manila Masters

A retrospective

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adly, the fifth staging of the Resorts World Manila Masters is also the last. You see, the fiveyear agreement between Resorts World Manila and the Asian Tour to fund the tournament as the title sponsor has come to an end. But what a glorious tournament it was! In the five years of the Resorts World Manila Masters, the country has been treated to some marvelous golf. The tournament has been notoriously difficult to handicap. It has been nigh on impossible to predict a winner. In three out of five years, the tournament has gone to a playoff to determine a winner. In 2012 Lian Wen Chong of China defeated Prom Meesawat to win the first Resorts World Manila Masters. Playoffs were the norm in 2016 and in this final edition, with S.S.P. Chowrasia and Micah Lauren Shin, respectively, emerging victorious. Only once in its five-year history has one man dominated the event. That happened in 2013, when Mardan Mamat again resurrected his flagging career on Philippine soil with a masterful dissection of Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club’s Masters course. Then in the only other edition not to go into a playoff, we were treated to a near miss when Jbe Kruger’s eagle chip to tie Natiphong Srithong just grazed the cup to give the win to the first year professional. We have been treated to marvelous golf at the Resorts World Manila Masters. Beyond the golf, the Resorts World Manila Masters has always shown a strong humanitarian side to the golf. In 2012 Supertyphoon Yolanda devastated most of the Central Philippines. The Asian Tour, Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club and the players themselves were quick to respond with donations to the Red Cross. The winner then, Liang Wen Chong of China, donated half of his winnings to the victims of the typhoon. This year saw the same charitable spirit again come to the fore. Earlier this year, Resorts World Manila was devastated by a lone gunman that set fire to tables on the gaming floor that saw a number of Resorts World Manila employees and patrons lose their lives to smoke inhalation. The parties involved were quick to respond and gave sizable donations to the survivors of the disaster. The Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club has proven to be the ideal venue for the Resorts World Manila Masters. The Masters course, designed by the great Jack Nicklaus, has proven to be a great test for the best golfers in the world. It has hosted the Eisenhower Cup—the world cup of amateur golf and numerous professional tournaments, including the Philippine Open. It is a course characterized by a multitude of stream crossings and lakes. Water is in play on 15 of the 18 holes. It’s not overly long but the Masters requires thoughtful accuracy to put up a good score. The greens have always been good, and the club is working to make them even better. This is a beautiful layout and it looks spectacular on high-definition television. The drone shots are particularly compelling. You couldn’t have picked a better venue to define the image of Philippine Golf in a broadcast going out to 123 countries. It would be a shame to let an event like this that puts the Philippines in such a positive light just fade away. Particularly after the Resorts World Manila Masters has established itself as one of the playing professionals’ favorite tournament destinations in the region. Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club Chairman Bob Sobrepeña and the Asian Tour are not going to let that happen. They’ve been hard at work looking for the money to put the tournament back on the Tour’s schedule. They’ve made progress. Although we’re not at liberty to discuss the sponsors that will be supporting next year’s event, there are those that have confirmed. A title sponsor is all that’s needed now. Perhaps, one of our mega-conglomerates will step up? Why not? The tournament is a great advertisement for the country as a destination for golf. If its recent history is any indication, the golf will be every bit as good. So, let’s not lose hope. Much is being done behind the scenes to keep this wonderful event alive. Thanks are in order for Resorts World Manila for funding the richest and most exciting golf tournament in Philippine history. Without their vision and commitment it never would have come to pass. To Resorts World Manila CEO Stephen Riley and Vice President for Gaming and Marketing Jeff Evora, you have our deepest gratitude, gentlemen. You have done Philippine golf a great service and we thank you. Mike Besa

OurTime

A8 Saturday, November 18, 2017 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

US pacemaker recycling to benefit poor heart patients in Philippines

THOUSANDS of secondhand pacemakers are stored at the World Medical Relief Inc., recently designated as the very first pacemaker-recycling center in the world.

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By Ashley Manabat | Correspondent

NGELES CITY—Representatives from this highly urbanized city were in Michigan, USA, on November 6 to attend the 64th anniversary of World Medical Relief Inc. (WMRI).

The event was highlighted by the launch of a medical program that calls for the recycling of pacemakers and their eventual distribution to patients in developing countries, including the Philippines. City Councilors Edu Pamintuan, who represented his father Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan; and Joseph Ponce were on hand not only to attend the WMRI anniversary, but to start a process by the WMRI to make this city a “Cardiac Center” in the region. The two councilors were joined by WMRI volunteer Noel G. Tulabut, Clark Development Corp. communications manager. The WMRI medical program, dubbed “My Heart, Your Heart,”

is “a joint initiative by medical experts, health institutions and patrons of charity that could help save thousands of heart patients all over the globe,” the WMRI said in a statement on November 8. T he project wa s for m a l ly launched during the 64th anniversary and gala dinner of the WMRI at its US headquarters in Michigan. The event was attended by leading cardiovascular experts, WMRI “Ambassadors of Health” from various countries, benefactors, sponsors, officials and volunteers of the charitable organization. Dr. Kim Eagle, prime mover of the program and director of Cardio Vascular Center of the University of Michigan, said the WMRI has been

GEORGE V. Samson (center), president and CEO of World Medical Relief Inc. (WMRI), shows the newly recycled pacemakers to Angeles City Councilors Joseph Ponce (left) and Edgardo Pamintuan Jr. They are the very first local officials from the Philippines to visit the pacemaker center at the WMRI in Michigan, USA.

chosen to serve as a pacemaker center. “We are working with WMRI to create what we believe to be the first pacemaker recycling center in the entire world,” he said. Eagle is considered a “master cardiologist” by his peers in the United States. Eagle described the WMRI as “an outstanding globa l char it y organization.” He said more than a million heart patients all over the world die each year for lack of pacemakers. A pacemaker is a small device placed in the chest or abdomen to help control abnormal heart rhythms. This device uses electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate. The National Cardiovascular Data Registry estimates that, from 2010 to 2012, some 63,500 devices were explanted or removed from deceased patients annually in the US alone. He said the program has received 25,000 units of pacemakers as of the present. WMRI President and CEO George

V. Samson, a Capampangan from Mabalacat City, said the program would enable the organization to achieve the mission of “helping God’s sick poor” as envisioned by its founder Irene Auberlin in 1953. “Imagine what we can do to help needy people who don’t have money to get these devices. Brand-new pacemakers cost anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000,” he said. “We are glad to be a part of this program where sick people, who don’t have access to these life-saving units, could be helped.” Eagle said pacemaker recycling is safe, and the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the process to compare new and used pacemakers. “It works, and it’s safe. We developed a system to test devices. We make sure it would react to the conditions the human body may go through,” Samson said. He added they have published papers on how to properly remove, analyze, sterilize and repackage pacemakers.

Southern Cotabato launches 120-day supplemental feeding in remote villages

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ENERAL SANTOS CITY— The provincial government of South Cotabato has launched a 120-day supplemental feeding program for children in communities with high prevalence of malnutrition. Ma. Ana Uy, acting head of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, said the special feeding program formally started this week in two sitios in Barangay Poblacion of Lake Sebu. She said the initiative will eventually be rolled out in 28 other sitios and puroks in eight municipalities in the province. These are located in the municipalities of Banga, Lake Sebu, Norala, Polomolok, Santo Niño, Suralah, Tantangan and Tupi. “The community-beneficiaries are mostly far-flung areas that were assessed to have high incidence of malnurition,” she said. Uy added the program will mainly cater to around 1,600 preschool children, but noted they will also serve elderly or senior citizens and breastfeeding mothers. The official said they have tied up anew with the Hapag-Asa Integrated Nutrition Program for the implementation of the four-month supplemental feeding. Hapag-asa, a partner of the local

HIGH-GRADE RICE Jo Cabusan, 60, smiles as he shows off the high-grade rice grains he harvested in his field in La Union. MAU VICTA government in the implementation of the Good Nutrition Program, will provide for the food packs served to the beneficiaries, she said. She s pec i f ic a l ly c ited t he “manna packs,” packed-meal formulas developed by food scientists and nutritionists to supplement the nutritional needs and reduce problems on malnutrition among children. The official said manna packs are “excellent sources of protein,

carbohydrates and other important nutrients culturally acceptable worldwide.” Under the program, Uy said they will initially provide the recipients with food packs for the first 60 days. “We have installed a monitoring system to ensure the goods would not be wasted,” she said. In cooperation with the Barangay Affairs Unit (BAU), a special unit under the governor’s office,

she said the beneficiaries would be monitored by assigned community organizers. Jerry Gamo, BAU chief, said the system also aims to ensure the targeted impact of the program would eventually be achieved. “Our office is focused on the properly delivery of these services. This is to ensure that government presence is felt by our residents even at the farthest part of our province,” he said. PNA

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86 Bulakenyo centenarians get cash incentives, plagues

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ITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan— The provincial government of Bulacan awarded 86 Bulakenyo centenarians with certificates of appreciation and cash incentives in recognition of their valuable contributions to the province. The awarding of the certificates of appreciation and cash incentives amounting to P10,000 each for the 30 newly identified centenarians and P3,000 each for the previously recognized centenarians was held on Wednesday last week during the “Pagkilala at Pagpapahalaga sa mga Sentenaryong Bulakenyo at Pagdiriwang ng Linggong Katandaang Pilipino” at The Pavilion Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center in this city . Gemma Gabuya, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Luzon, served as the guest of honor. Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado said the provincial government reserved that special day for the centenarians to impart to them that they are valuable members of the community. Alvarado told the centenarians they serve as the “lights and pillars of the home,” inspiration to others and a great source of valuable lessons due to their colorful experiences. The governor also encouraged

the Office of the Senior Citizen’s Affairs to think and create more worthy projects that could help senior citizens and even their office more. Prior to this, 45 Bulakenyo centenarians received a P100,000 cash gift each from the national government and additional cash incentives and certificates of appreciation from the provincial government in May, when P10,000 was given to each newly identified centenarian, while P3,000 was given to previously recognized ones. Gabriela Ileto, a centenarian from Barangay PulongTamo, San Ildefonso, expressed her heartfelt gratitude for the additional blessings she received, including a new wheelchair, diapers, blanket, alcohol and food like oatmeal and biscuits. Meanwhile, the new set of officers of “Kaagapay ng mga may Kapansanan sa Bulacan para sa mga Bulakenyo,” an organization of persons with disability in the province headed by their president, Ariel Manalad, took their oath of office. Provincial Social Welfare and Development officer Rowena Tiongson said the giving of recognition to the centenarians is on its fourth year and is being conducted yearly in accordance with Republic Act 10868 or the “Centenarians Act of 2016.” PNA

With adult children as partners, older people take an entrepreneurial leap

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FTER Bert Weber retired from his three-decade teaching career, he occupied himself with consulting contracts, but kept hunting for more satisfying, full-time work. His son Christian was running a small environmental nonprofit; he, too, was unfulfilled. Christian had dreamed of owning a craft brewery, and father and son enjoyed home brewing together. On a long drive one weekend five years ago, they decided to take the plunge and go into the beer business. “I liked the concept,” Bert said. “I loved the idea of my son for a business partner.” So, despite having no experience running a brewery, they created a plan and secured a small-business loan. In 2014 they opened Common Roots Brewing Co. in South Glens Falls, New York. Now, the brewery has 20 employees and is growing steadily, set to sell 5,000 barrels of beer this year. Setting up a multigenerational enterprise can be a smart way for retired baby boomers and their grown children to combine resources and abilities. The adult children bring hustle, and they’re comfortable with the latest technologies. Parents often offer capital and work experience. That said, the financial risks associated with entrepreneurship are daunting, especially for those in their retirement years. The time to recover from a failed enterprise is short, and the consequences of financial losses may be considerably greater for an older person. On top of that, navigating the transition from parent and child to business partners isn’t always easy. And starting a new business is always stressful. Looking back over the past three years, Christian sounds relieved. “We aren’t living as much handto-mouth,” he said. Bert added, “I’m sleeping better now.” Small-business researchers don’t offer much in the way of data on how many new multigenerational startups there are like the Webers.’ Still, there are a few statistics: 25.4 percent of new businesses formed in 2016 were started by people ages 55 to 64, according to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, up from 14.8 percent in 1996. Largely because of two major societal shifts, it’s quite likely that

rising numbers of retirement-age parents and their adult children will at least consider making the leap into entrepreneurship together. First, the combination of longer lives and inadequate retirement savings is pushing more older Americans to earn an income well past their early 60s. The search for meaning and money typically involves encore careers, bridge jobs, part-time employment and entrepreneurship. “From what I see, the boomer generation gets to the retirement years, and they’re choosing a different version of retirement than the World War II generation,” said Dennis Ceru, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Multigenerational entrepreneurship is “one such option,” he said. The second factor is evidence many boomer parents and their adult children get along well enough to at least entertain the prospect of starting a business. “Most boomers have a much more friend-based, adult-to-adult relationship with their children than boomers did with their parents,” said Steve King, partner at Emergent Research, a consulting firm in Lafayette, California, that concentrates on the small-business economy. “It’s a big social shift.” For the first time since the 1960s, living with parents is the most common household arrangement for the 18- to 34-year-old age group, reports Pew Research Center. In 2014 more than 32 percent of young adults lived with their parents, up from 20 percent in 1960. Much of that reflects tough economic circumstances and delayed marriage, experts say, but the trend seems broad enough that it may also involve lifestyle choices and good relationships. Comparing intergenerational survey data from the 2000s with data from the 1980s, the authors of the academic study “The Baby Boomers Intergenerational Relationships” note that, in 1988, fewer than half of parents surveyed offered advice to their grown child in the past month, compared with 89 percent in 2008. In addition, 31 percent provided practical assistance in 1988, compared with 69 percent two decades later. New York Times News Service

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The Millennials BusinessMirror

Saturday, November 18, 2017

A9

COUPLES NEED A CASH PLAN, PRU LIFE GAB BARES

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Does planning together strengthen relationships?

Story & photo by Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

LANNING together on financial matters is beneficial because it enables dynamic discussion regarding the future of those composing a relationship.

This was emphasized by businessman Rene Ledesma Jr. during an insightful discussion about relationships organized by Pru Life UK at the Bonifacio Global City on November 10. Other panelists in the discussion were “relationship expert” Margaret Holmes celebrity talk show host and LGBT rights advocate Eugenio “Boy” Abunda. “It is common sense for families to talk about money matters to make all things clear and transparent,” Ledesma pointed out. For his part, Abunda said having a little sense of paranoia is acceptable, because this will give a couple a way to manage their resources in a prudent and judicious manner. In his talk, Abunda admitted that life was tough for him in his younger years because he came from a poor family. Although he is not guided and consumed by his past, Abunda said it is also important to revisit the past to serve as a guide in life. “I am lucky that I have a partner who knows financial literacy,” Abunda said. “For young couples, it makes sense to develop a little paranoia.” Ledesma urged the audience to follow tips of financial planner and expert Rose Fres Fausto regarding family income. “It is important to develop a regu-

lar cash flow or a business where you will receive regular income.” Based on his situation, Ledesma said he has to have a cash flow because hosting jobs are not on a regular basis. Thus, Mercato Centrale, his business, was born. Holmes pointed out that people in a relationship should be ready in case their partner goes away physically and spiritually. She said emotional and financial readiness would help a partner to withstand the blows of these sad events. Furthermore, she emphasized that money should not be the be-all and end-all of relationships. “I think the legacy of the parents is more important,” Holmes said. This is the second edition of the Pru Life UK Relationship Index (PRI). In the current study, the Philippines was once again ranked second in terms of personal relationship satisfaction among the nine markets surveyed in Asia, with a PRI score of 79 over 100, on a par with last year’s results. This means that relationships in the Philippines fulfill 79 percent of people’s needs and expectations, leaving only a 21-percent relationship gap. The study covered respondents belonging to the 25 to 35 age bracket. Eight other countries were involved

TV talk-show host Boy Abunda (from left), businessman Rene Ledesma Jr. and “relationship expert” Margaret Holmes listen to an unidentified woman during a forum organized by Pru Life UK at the Bonifacio Global City on November 10.

in the study—Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China, with Cambodia having the highest PRI score. “We are delighted to release the second edition of the PRI findings for the Philippines. Helping our clients understand their relationships better is very important for us,” Pru Life UK Chief Marketing Officer Allan Tumbaga said in his opening remarks. “Research shows that better relationships directly translate to a greater sense of wellbeing and significant improvement in health and longevity. We are happy that the latest PRI once again shows Philippines to be in the upper tier of relationship satisfaction.”

What do Filipinos want from their partners?

Last year the study revealed that Filipinos expressed their love for each other more than anyone else in Asia. It was the same result this year indicating Filipinos are the most expressive in the region in

communicating with their partners. Out of the nine markets surveyed, they are the most likely to tell their partners they love them (86 percent) and to laugh together on a frequent basis (90 percent). According to the study, couples who are more transparent with their partners tend to fare better on the PRI index compared to couples who withhold information from each other. People in relationships who tell their partner everything have a relationship score of 80/100, while those who claim they do not tell their partner everything score lower, at 68/100. However, despite the high level of relationship fulfillment, the report said Filipinos still wouldn’t say their partners are perfect. If they could improve one thing about their partners, 38 percent say they want them to be more responsible partner, 34 percent say they would like them to be more attentive and 33 percent would prefer them to be more communicative.

The 2017 PRI findings show that most Filipino couples expect their personal finances to improve (89 percent) by 2022, when they plan their finances together, comparatively higher than for couples who plan separately (64 percent and 74 percent, respectively). Even if they do not make financial plans together, the 2017 PRI shows that couples who are more transparent with each other about their finances do better on the relationship index. Filipino couples who make financial plans together have a partner relationship score of 81/100, 18 points higher than those who plan separately (63/100). Sixtythree percent of couples also agree that working with a financial agent will improve their relationship. When planning their financial goals, 59 percent of the people in the Philippines would like to start a new business. Other financial goals include having enough money to travel with the family (49 percent), supporting the children’s education (45 percent) and saving enough for future retirement (42 percent). On these findings, Tumbaga said, “The facts speak for themselves; couples who plan their finances together show much higher relationship scores with their partners than those who plan separately.”

Are Filipinos concerned about financial security?

Filipinos worry about whether they will have enough money for retirement and medical expenses (75 percent), the highest proportion across all markets surveyed. The majority of people expect to count on their own personal savings

(87 percent) or continue working to support themselves (36 percent) in their old age. Only 32 percent expect their children to provide them with financial support. Worrying about financial security also extends to concern for their loved ones. Almost half of the people in the Philippines (47 percent) have concerns about their family’s financial situation should anything ever happen to them. What will relationships and family life look like in 2050? Most people in the Philippines believe their relationships will show big improvements in the near future. Seventy-two percent say their love life will get better within five years—the highest proportion among the nine countries surveyed. When asked to make predictions on the state of relationships by 2050, the PRI gathered that: n Eighty percent of Filipinos believe that separation will be socially acceptable; n Seventy-seven percent predict that over half of the couples living together will not be married; n Seventy-four percent expect that over half of the children will be born to unmarried parents; n Seventy percent believe that children will have a better future than they do now; and n Sixty-five percent believe that same sex marriage will be legal in the Philippines. “With the data presented in the 2017 PRI, Pru Life UK hopes to encourage more Filipinos to start real conversations that lead to relationships and a better understanding of financial planning,” Tumbaga said.”

The Wing, a chic women’s social club, is going wide

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EW YORK—From the doorstep of 52 Mercer Street in SoHo on a recent Thursday night, a line of women mostly in their 20s and 30s, exuding anticipation, snaked halfway around the next block. A man asked what they were waiting for as he walked by. No one seemed to notice him and no one answered. What business was it of his anyway? Upstairs from iPadded list checkers, on the fifth floor, was the 10,000-square-foot second location of the Wing, a women-only club and coworking space in New York City that a year into its founding is poised to take across the country its particular brand of Instagrammable feminism: mindful of history, striving for diversity and sponsored by Chanel. The club now has more than 1,500 members, many of whom are paying $3,000 annually for access to the Wing’s locations, which by March will include Brooklyn and Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco are likely next. Next week, like Goop before it, the Wing will offer the first edition of a print magazine, No Man’s Land, which will be sold at Barnes & Noble and newsstands. “It is more than a members’ pamphlet,” said Deidre Dyer, the magazine’s executive editor. “We wanted it to be meaty and substantial.”

awash in millennial pink, with softly lit desks for working, a beauty room for primping, a snack bar with coffees and organic granola, plenty of art, a lactation room and a large library of colororganized books written by and about women. “The look of it is out of my dreams,” Gevinson said. “It’s crazy that that place exists in real life. I joined right away.” Over the course of 18 months, the club raised more than $10 million from investors, most recently from a group led by Tony Florence, a general partner at the venture capital firm NEA. He also backs Goop, the luxury shopping site Moda Operandi and Casper, the mattress company. As a man, he has been allowed to visit the Wing only when members are not present. “My ability to understand the market opportunity and the need for this kind of business extends beyond man or woman,” Florence said of his involvement. “It’s a very attractive financial model.” What remains to be seen is what kind of business the bigger Wing might be: a locus of a mediacentric feminist movement, like Ms. in the 1970s, or a mass-scaled temple of “exclusivity,” like Soho House, if Soho House wrapped itself in a marketing banner of she-power.

Glamorous founders

In the pink

AS shared professional and social spaces increasingly supplant the traditional office, female-dedicated organizations have thrived. Though there is not (yet?) a SheWork, there is Shecosystem in Toronto and Hera Hub, which has three locations in the San Diego area, as well as one each in Washington, D.C., Phoenix and Uppsala, Sweden. In Saint Louis there is Rise Collaborative Workspace. But the Wing has stood out because of its glamorous founders, Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan, both 30, who have cultivated a circle of social-media celebrities that includes the writer, editor and actress Tavi Gevinson, Jessica Williams (formerly of The Daily Show) and the transgender actress and Gucci model Hari Nef, who appears on the cover of No Man’s Land. (The profile of Nef was edited by a New York Times Magazine staff editor who is also a Wing member.) “We have a lot of members who are transgender, who are trans women,” Gelman said; they include Chelsea Manning.

Initially reluctant

GEVINSON, also featured in No Man’s Land, was initially reluctant to join the Wing. “I work from home, and that’s how I can almost justify my rent,” she said. Then she went to visit the first club, which opened in the Flatiron district in October 2016:

GELMAN, a former political press representative who worked on the 2013 campaign of the New York City comptroller Scott Stringer, helped inspire the character Marnie on the television show Girls, created by Lena Dunham. Native Manhattanites who met in adolescence through Gelman’s mother, who was Dunham’s therapist, they became close friends at Oberlin College and were avidly covered by the press as their stars rose together in young adulthood. Gelman appeared on Girls several times as Audrey, Marnie’s nemesis. Her romance with the fashion photographer Terry Richardson was well documented. Vanity Fair put her on its best-dressed list. Vogue covered her wedding to Ilan Zechory, a founder of Genius, the music web site (Dunham was a bridesmaid). Gelman got the idea for her current venture after getting a job at the political consulting firm SKDKnickerbocker, which has offices in SoHo and Washington. Commuting frequently from her home in Brooklyn, Gelman longed for a place where she could change her clothes, take a shower or chill between meetings. She thought it might be called Refresh.

Bad name

BUT “Refresh is such a bad name,” she said last

week, sitting at a round marble table in a pink conference room with Kassan; their partnership began at the suggestion of Kassans husband. “It sounds like a vaginal douche product.” “I think it might be,” said Kassan, who previously worked in boutique fitness, as the director of business development for ClassPass and for the studio company SLT. Experienced in operations and community management, she is the “back of the house” partner to Gelman’s frontwoman. Earlier investors included Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler, who founded SoulCycle, and Susan Lyne, the managing partner of BBG Ventures, formerly of Gilt Groupe and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. “We like Audrey and we liked Audrey’s conviction that women wanted to be with other women, in a safe place that was also beautiful,” Lyne said. “Audrey said, ‘I’ve changed in a Starbucks bathroom one too many times.’” By the spring of 2016, they found a 3,500-square-foot space on the 12th floor of a building on East 20th Street to rent, and hired an all-female team—Alda Ly, an architect, and Chiara de Rege and Hilary Koyfman, interior designers—to realize their vision. Koyfman described the look of the Wing to Domino magazine as “kind of like Mad Men—without the men.” The Wing also began to work on branding with a women-only design team from Pentagram. Gelman took charge of social-media marketing. (“We’re a coven, not a sorority” is how she describes the Wing on Instagram.) For its founding membership of 200 women, Gelman and Kassan tapped their networks: media professionals, entrepreneurs and artists, sometimes bartering membership, which then cost $2,100 a year, for services. There was an immediate waiting list. When the club opened, the Wingers, like many women around the country, were anticipating a historic election of the first female president of the United States. When that didn’t happen, the founders said, the space took on new urgency. “We had the expectation that we would have the first women president and it would be the golden age of feminism and women get to have rooms like these as a result of that momentum,” Gelman said. “Very quickly overnight it went to feeling a little protective.” Kassan and Gelman said they began hearing from their members that along with previously planned offerings like lessons in flower arrangement, breakfasts themed to signs of the zodiac and panels on news topics, they were interested in programming and events that focused on

The second location of The Wing, a year-old women-only club and coworking space, in New York’s Soho neighborhood on November 3. The club now has more than 1,500 members, many of whom are paying $3,000 annually for access to the Wing’s Manhattan locations; Brooklyn, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco are likely next. The New York Times

women’s rights and politics. And so the founders scheduled events like “Workshop on Anxiety & Depression in a Post-Trump World,” “A Night of Interfaith Sisterhood for Jews and Muslims” and “A Conversation With Senator Kirsten Gillibrand,” all of which were well attended. They organized buses to take members to and from the Women’s March in Washington, where the pink hats fortuitously coordinated with the de Rege-Koyfman color scheme.

Person to ask

A few months after the Wing opened, Girls included a plotline featuring a women-only club in New York. In Dunham’s telling, the club was called Wemun (Women Entrepreneurs Meet Up Now) and one of the women running a meeting there said, “Whether it’s how to rock a romper at a work event or who you should be voting for, a Wemun woman is the person to ask.” This episode was sent to critics and writers before it aired. After The Cut published an article, “Did Lena Dunham Shade the Wing on Girls?” Dunham told the reporter that any resemblance to the Wing or Gelman was accidental and she trimmed the scene. To two entrepreneurs trying to make a business out of supporting women’s careers, though, the joke seemed to have landed with a thud. Gelman stopped following Dunham on Instagram for months, until this week. (“Friends fight, friends

make up, life is long,” Gelman said.) They took less personally a plotline this season on Younger, in which the main characters badly want membership to The Nest, a women-only club. “It’s like a Sex and the City of today,” Kassan said of Younger, “and it’s like we were a pretend thing on Sex and the City, which is awesome.”

The plumber

Mandi Nyambi, 24, sat on a couch by herself. Nyambi, who works for a digital platform, is one of those who will pay $3,000 per year for access to all the clubs. “If I tried to get a coworking space elsewhere, it would cost about the same and I would miss out on the value proposition of the wealth of having this network of other women,” she said. She is hoping that after the parties finish, the Wing truly will be a place for work and serious connection. “I’m a little overwhelmed,” she said. Margit Detweiler, a 50-year-old new member was standing back, beholding the crowd. She joined the Wing, she said, because she lives in Brooklyn and needs “a pit stop” in Manhattan. “How often are you in a space like this with all women?” said Detweiler, the founder of the TueNight, an online magazine and live events company for women over 40. “The energy is palpable.” (The Wing’s founders say they are trying to increase non-millennial membership.)

A long week

GELMAN and Kassan were milling about the party and greeting new members. Gelman was carrying a Red Bull and iPhone. Kassan was carrying in utero her first child, due in January. It had been a long week of 18-hour-on-theirfeet work days leading up to the opening. They didn’t even have time to go home to get ready for the party; they had primped, naturally, in the Wing’s beauty room filled with Chanel products. Brands are now paying the club for marketing access to members. Earlier this fall, each member received a big bottle of Chanel perfume in the mail. Hulu sponsored a Handmaid’s Tale event at the Flatiron club, for which Margaret Atwood, the book’s author, made a special video. Thanks in part to such enticements, some members hardly ever leave. Scarlett Curtis, 22, is the Gen-Z columnist for The Sunday Times of London who is a student at New York University. She learned about the Wing after following Gelman on Instagram. Her parents paid for the first six months, and she says she pays the dues herself now. Curtis is so frequently at the Wing that when she complains to her father that she doesn’t have a boyfriend, he says, “Stop hanging out at the Wing all the time.” He’s just jealous that he can’t visit the space, Curtis said, remembering with amusement the day a male plumber visited and an employee charged with community-building “told every member there was a man coming into the space.”

BusinessMirror

A10 Saturday, November 18, 2017

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Is ridesharing the answer to the worsening traffic situation? Lenovo, Intel deliver simpler and safer online authentication experiences EIGHTY-ONE percent of data breaches last year involved weak, default or stolen passwords, and phishing attacks have grown 65 percent year-on-year. Protecting online privacy, identity and all types of data is more important than ever—requiring more robust security practices. Lenovo and Intel announced recently the first PC-ready built-in authentication measures to support users’ online browsing, working and shopping. Using Intel Online Connect on seventh- and eighthgeneration Intel Core processors, Lenovo’s latest PCs, including the Yoga 920, ThinkPad X1 Tablet (second generation), ThinkPad X1 Carbon (fifth generation) and IdeaPad 720S, integrate Fido-certified authenticators directly into the core of the PCs, bringing simpler and safer online authentication when logging into popular web sites like PayPal, Google, Dropbox and Facebook. Instead of depending on passwords as the sole credential for logging into web sites, users now have a safer way to log in with the touch of a finger on the integrated fingerprint reader through Universal Authentication Framework (UAF), or the click of a realtime, onscreen button through Universal 2nd Factor (U2F). With these integrated Fido authenticators, web sites use security keys that are protected and rooted deeply in the PC’s hardware, ultimately increasing user protection and reducing fraud. ■ UAF FINGERPRINT AUTHENTICATION: With the touch of a finger on the encrypted fingerprint reader embedded on the PC, users can easily authenticate to their PayPal account. ■ U2F WITH BUILT-IN SECOND-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION: An additional security factor is incorporated into the authentication process after users log in to a web site using their standard user ID and password access. Instead of using a separate security key or SMS code, second-factor authentication is built into the PC to identify the user and directly prompts the user to click a button to log into web sites like Google, Facebook, Dropbox and many more. Intel Online Connect and Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX) are built into seventh- and eighth-Generation Intel Core processors, offering user authentication-information protection with the implementation of the integrated fingerprint reader to incorporate measures designed for a secure user experience. “Going online has become an indispensable part of our daily lives in the always-on digital world. People need hassle-free, built-in security that helps to protect them when logging into web sites for banking, shopping and social media,” said Johnson Jia, senior vice president of Lenovo’s PCs and Smart Devices Product Group. “Partnering with Intel to deliver Fido-certified solutions, we’re addressing onlinesecurity issues head-on by providing a simpler, safer online authentication experience and reducing our dependency on passwords alone.”

PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

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OW many times have you missed appointments, dates, events and other important matters because of traffic? “Leave early” is the advice we’re often told. The truth, however, is that most of us living in Metro Manila now dread appointments that would require us to cross the huge parking lot known as Edsa. For a lunch event in Makati, I have to leave Quezon City at 9 am. Because I am not a morning person, it takes me at least three hours to have coffee, shower, do my makeup and get dressed. That means I would have to be awake at 6 am to catch such an event. We don’t need to leave early because we’ve been leaving unusually early for years. According to ridesharing company Uber, the average Metro Manila resident spends 402 hours stuck in traffic every year. In Manila the survey found that 4 out of 5 car owners have missed or have been very late to important events. Doctor’s appointments topped the list of most commonly missed events, followed by job interviews and weddings. Consider these facts: On average, car owners spend 66 minutes stuck in gridlock and another 24 minutes looking for a parking slot. Across Asia, people are stuck in traffic jams for an average of 52 minutes every day, almost equal to the amount of time it takes to finish an episode of Stranger Things. These insights were uncovered in a survey commissioned by Uber among 9,000 people across 10 of Asia’s biggest cities, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Jakarta, Surabaya and Manila. Boston Consulting Group, which was commissioned by Uber to assess the benefits that greater adoption of ridesharing may bring to Asian cities, said in its Unlocking Cities report that “growth in population and wealth have let to an explosion in transport demand in Asia—an increase of four times since 1980.” The survey found that people in Manila spend the third-longest average time being stuck in traffic everyday at 66 minutes. Just as we guessed, this puts Manila as the third worst in Asia, next to Bangkok with 72 minutes and Jakarta with 68 minutes. Following Manila are Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur, where people spend an average of 58 minutes and 53 minutes, respectively, in traffic congestion daily. The study also measured the average time spent everyday looking for parking across major Asian cities. Manila ranked fourth worst in this category in a tie with Bangkok. Consider this scary statistic: With so many cars, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh could come to a standstill in five years. In Manila there are over 2.3 million cars, Uber Manila General Manager Laurence Cua said. Only 65 percent of those cars are needed. “It’s not about the cars but how we use the cars. People want to buy cars and drive their own cars individually. However, these cars are occupied only

UBER Manila General Manager Laurence Cua

by one person. So we need to make sure ridesharing is more reliable and more affordable,” Cua said. “If the situation in Asia’s cities continues like this, they risk coming to a complete standstill in only a few years. Ridesharing can be an important complement to public transport and private cars when reducing congestion, as well as freeing up city space today used for parking spots. By putting more people into fewer cars, we can unlock our cities and their full potential. But it requires that we all work together,” said Brooks Entwistle, Uber chief business officer for Asia Pacific. The Boston Consulting Group study estimated that between 40 percent and 70 percent of private vehicles on the road today could be removed if ridesharing

becomes a viable substitute for private-vehicle ownership. In Manila this means approximately 4 million cars can be taken off the road. Uber is highlighting the absurdity of the traffic situation in its latest video, titled “Boxes.” Using cardboard boxes to represent cars, “Boxes” shows the reality of modern-day traffic jams and ends with images of a city being overrun by boxes. Shot on the streets of Bangkok with around 200 extras, the film’s soundtrack is “Bare Necessities” from the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book. Check out the film at goo.gl/mJbg95. For more information on the study, visit www. unlockingcities.com. ■

Asia Pacific Predator League 2018 Philippine leg to begin today PREDATOR Gaming has announced the Asia Pacific Predator League 2018 (www.predator-league.com), its brand-new Dota:2 league and the most-anticipated eSports competition. The Philippines joins the action together with seven other countries as it begins its first Regional Qualifier in Bukidnon today, November 18. The emerging victor of the Philippine Qualifier will be heading to Indonesia to compete for the $150,000 prize pool. The most anticipated eSports competition, Asia Pacific Predator League 2018 is set to hold elimination rounds in seven countries in Asia Pacific, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia, where the final round will be held. “We started our Predator gaming line around two and a half years ago, and within those two years,

we have successfully reached first place in several countries. This is definitely a good starting point for us, and today we are proud to present the mostanticipated eSports tournament in Asia Pacific that could take you to the next-level gaming experience with Predator,” said Andrew Hou, president of Predator Gaming Pan Asia-Pacific region. “Predator League is a milestone for Predator Gaming, and is a testament to our relentless pursuit of innovation and technological excellence, and our commitment to delivering best-in-class experiences to gamers without compromise,” he added. The first elimination round of the Predator League will be conducted in each country, and will last for approximately three months (until January 2018). The Philippine leg consists of four Regional Qualifiers, each with a prize pool of P30,000, and the National

Finals, with a prize pool of P100,000. The Regional Qualifiers will be held in various areas of the country, namely, Mindanao (Bukidnon), the Visayas (Bacolod), North Luzon (La Union) and National Capital Region (Marikina). The winners of these qualifiers will move on to compete at the National Finals, the victor of which will then represent the Philippines in the Predator League final round, competing against the national winners of the other Asia-Pacific countries for the total prize pool of $150,000. “The Philippines has such a robust local gaming community and we continue to see tremendous growth. Still, we feel that there’s so much potential just waiting to be tapped. With Predator League 2018, we hope to be able to harness this potential and unlock even more opportunities for amateur Filipino

gamers starting with Asia, and eventually also all over the world,” said Dio Vasquez, director for product management of Predator Gaming Philippines. In the Philippines the Predator League 2018 eliminations are done with TheNet.Com (TNC), the gaming company’s regular e-Sports partner. Predator League 2018 is also supported by the Philippine DotA pride, TNC Pro Team-Dota 2. “TNC and Predator have always been allies in promoting e-Sports in the Philippines, and TNC has always enjoyed Predator’s support from the conception of High Grounds Café, TNC’s e-Sports café, to the TNC Dota 2 competitions. We have big plans for the e-Sports scene in the country, and we are confident in that, together with Predator, we will take gaming to greater heights,” said Eric Redulfin, general manager of TNC.

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How to make sure your e-mails give the right impression INTEGRATED Development Studies Institute (IDSI) President George Siy with speakers Huawei Technologies Head of Public Affairs and Communication Wellington Liu (fourth from left), Asian Institute of Management Associate Director John Paolo Rivera (fifth from left), Cloudfone Founder and CEO Eric Yu (sixth from left) and other guests during the recent Philippine Association for Chinese Studies and the IDSI forum on Philippines-China Economic Forum: Toward Philippine Inclusive Growth

Partnership with China benefits Cloudfone L BY RIZAL RAOUL REYES

OCAL mobile-phone company Cellprime credited the efficient supply chain and manufacturing efficiency of Chinese suppliers for their growth in the Philippine mobile-phone market. Eric Yu, the founder and CEO of Cloudfone, said they were able to provide affordable devices to Filipinos because Cellprime was able to develop a strong partnership with Chinese manufacturers. When they initially entered the local market, Cellprime was selling Cloudfone for P7,000. By partnering with Chinese suppliers, Yu said Cellprime is currently selling smartphones as low P1,000. “Our success can be attributed to our close relationship with China. We stayed the course that allowed us to reach a higher level, and developing higher quality but affordable products,” Yu said in a recent forum on Philippines-China Economic Forum: Toward Philippine Inclusive Growth, held recently in Makati City. “By getting the right partners, we were able to democratize the access to mobile phones by providing affordable prices,” Yu added. The event was organized by the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies and the Integrated Development Studies Institute (IDSI). Cellprime encountered rough sailing during the early years of doing business with Chinese companies because they have a different mind-set, and were not used to dealing with foreign partners. “Aside from the language barrier, Chinese companies were also concerned about how they can get their return on investment and profitability, among others,” he said. “As we matured and grew the business, we were able to work with competent suppliers,” Yu added.

After fixing the problems with Chinese suppliers, Yu tackled content development. He approached the National Basketball Association (NBA) for possible partnership. He said it was a challenge to deal with the NBA for content development. “The NBA was used to operating in a developed market like the United States,” he said. “The main issue was bridging the gap transferring the content from the television screen to the mobilephone screen,” Yu added. Right now, Yu said Cloudfone’s major goal is to reach out to younger markets. To attract these markets, Cloudfone will continue to pursue innovation, adoption of evolving design approaches and technologies, and rapid product introductions. “Our biggest growth remains the replacement market, as a lot of Filipinos replace their old mobile phones in a short span of time,” he said. The International Data Corp. (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile-Phone Tracker predicts 2017 will be a good year for local phone manufacturers as demand for newer gadgets will continue to grow. “Consumers continue to show demand for smartphones, and OEM [oiriginal equipment manufacturers] flagship hype seems as strong as ever,” the report said. “Worldwide smartphone shipments grew 4.3 percent in 1Q17, which was slightly higher than IDC’s previous forecast of 3.6-percent growth.” Inline with this growth, Cloudfone was the only local smartphone provider in the country to post a sales growth of 11 percent according to the first half of 2017 study results conducted by GFK in the Philippines,” Yu explained. Yu said they had to work hard to achieve the growth. He said Cloudfone will continue to pursue innovation to remain competitive in the local market. In the same forum, Wellington Liu, Huawei Technologies head of public affairs and communication, said the Shenzhen, Guangdong-

Insurance, investment go online THE youth of today—“millennials” as they’re called—are known for making the most out of the present, enjoying life while also keeping a keen eye on future goals: whether that’s to travel the world, start a business, or pursue a lifelong passion, like the arts. Now, one can live the life they choose with no fear with the help of MyAmbition, a life insurance and investment plan you can buy online, that was designed with young professionals. AXA (www.axa.com.ph) knows that this market prefers transacting online and are always on the go. Think online shopping for life insurance. What’s more, it lets consumers grow their money by investing in a fund that suits their risk appetite—the amount of risk the consumer is willing to accept to pursue their goal, which in this case is growing their money through investing. The risk appetite—or “hunger for risk”—may be conservative, moderate or aggressive (or low,

medium or high). Whatever the consumer’s risk appetite is, there’s an investment fund that suitable. One can invest in AXA MyAmbition for as little as P50,000 to a maximum of P125,000. And because it doubles as a life insurance, loved ones will receive bigger gains in the future in case something unexpected happens. One also has the option to let their money stay with AXA so it can grow further. MyAmbition is available via an easy online application process. Everything that consumers need to know about their insurance plan is on the web site. Payments are equally easy as they are made via AXA’s secure payment partner, Peso Pay—the leading online payment gateway in the country. One can check the performance of their investment by simply downloading the MYAXA app and registering their policy. One can avail himself or herself of up to 10 MyAmbition policies, and pay the premium via a credit or debit card.

based company will give a strong focus on research and development jobs to explore future developments. “Huawei is also considering harnessing artificial intelligence for the future,” Liu said. To make the company develop a strong recall always in the minds of Filipino consumers, Liu said Huawei will always observe the local market on a frequent basis. Although there is a perception that Chinese-made goods are low quality, Liu added it is interesting to know that iPhones and Samsungs are also made in China. As far as Huawei is concerned, it is considered a Chinese technology dragon present in 170 countries worldwide. Moreover, he said Huawei Philippines wants to invest more in the Philippines, but it has been a big challenge for the local subsidiary because the country produces insufficient engineering graduates. “According to the Commission on Higher Education, only about 18 percent of Filipino graduates finish a degree in STEM majors [science, technology, engineering, mathematics]. And most of your best engineers work abroad,” Liu added. In 2016 China graduated 4.7 million engineers while the United States had 568,000. In his remarks, IDSI President George Siy said the digital Silk Road offers tremendous opportunities to developing countries like the Philippines. Filipinos stand to benefit from China’s ambitious 21st century Silk Road. To be part of the Silk Road means to be part of a highway of trade. It’s like when the national highway crosses your property, the value skyrockets overnight just by being part of the highway. “With creativity and a bit of entrepreneurship, you and your family can gain more, for instance, if you open a sari-sari store, a guest house, or canteen,” Siy said. ■

BY SHANI HARMON Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. EVERY e-mail you send affects your professional reputation. Don’t make these all-too-common mistakes: ■ Writing e-mails too long for anyone to digest. Given that the adult attention span is a mere eight seconds, it’s important to make every moment count. Get to the point. ■ Including too many people. Remember that each message you send contributes to everyone’s inbox, including your own, especially when a recipient decides to “reply all.” ■ Dashing off incomplete thoughts. Do you end up with a high volume of clarifying questions in response to your messages? If so, that’s a clue that your e-mails need more composition and more context. ■ Burying the main point. Make sure your readers know what your request is and why they should care about responding. If you want your readers to digest your message and, perhaps, even take action on it, make it easy for them to do so. The next time you start to write an e-mail, follow a few rules: ■ Use an intuitive subject line that clearly states the purpose of the message. Bonus points if you include headers in the body of the e-mail, such as “ACTION” or “INFORM,” that help readers understand the expected response. ■ Provide a clearly stated request right at the beginning of your e-mail in case your audience fails to read beyond the first few lines. At least you’ll increase the chances that people will understand the essence of your message. ■ Bold the names of anyone who’s been assigned a task or asked a question in the body of the e-mail to increase the likelihood that your message will get people’s attention. ■ Take the time to be nice. It will help your audience to truly hear what you have to say. ■ Shani Harmon is the chief delivery o��icer and cofounder of Stop Meeting Like This. NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

IBM SAYS IT’S REACHED MILESTONE IN QUANTUM COMPUTING IBM has announced a milestone in its race against Google and other big tech firms to build a powerful quantum computer. Dario Gil, who leads IBM’s quantum computing and artificial-intelligence research division, said on Friday that the company’s scientists have successfully built and measured a processor prototype with 50 quantum bits, known as qubits. Gil says it’s the first time any company has built a quantum computer at this scale. Quantum computing, a technology that’s still in its early phases, uses the quirks of quantum physics to perform calculations at far higher speeds than current computers. Seth Lloyd, an MIT mechanical-engineering professor not involved in IBM’s research, says it’s likely that IBM still has glitches to work out but the 50-qubit announcement is a sign of significant progress. AP

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

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Fourplay: The one reason the Huawei Nova 2i will leave you feeling unsatisfied The Huawei Nova 2i might be pushing its four cameras as its main selling point, but it has so much more to offer for its price tag THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

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HE Huawei Nova 2i is a phone of many names. It’s been called the Maimang 6 in other countries, or the Honor 9i, or even the Huawei Mate 10 Lite. Since it launched last month, it has added even more labels to its name— midrange wonder, king of midrange smartphones, best-value selfie smartphone, new standard of midrange phones, etc. All for good reason, as it’s not every day that you get a flagship-looking device that’s packed with four cameras, a full-view display, high-end specs—at a price that probably left other brands both #shookt and #triggered. I’ve been using the Huawei Nova 2i for the past few weeks, and I must say it didn’t make me miss my iPhone 7Plus that much. COMPACT METAL BODY, FULL-HD FULL-VIEW DISPLAY FOR some reason, I keep thinking about Ellen Adarna as I’m describing the Nova 2i’s compact, yet, big display. Should I be picturing Kim Domingo instead? Go figure. The Nova 2i is a sexy-looking smartphone and it’s the first smartphone from Huawei that sports an almost bezel-less display. The 18:9 screen aspect ratio is becoming the norm this year, and the Nova 2i follows that convention. But unlike other smartphone manufacturers who are implementing similar displays just for the sake of joining the trend, the Nova 2i has a full-HD plus fullview resolution display of 2160 x 1080 (2.5D IPS panel). It also has an 83-percent screen-to-body ratio, so even though the display size is 5.93 inch, holding the device in your hand still feels comfortable. The midrange market used to be composed of smartphones made up of plastic bodies, obviously to keep the costs down. In the case of the Nova 2i, however, Huawei opted for an all-metal body with a matte finish similar to the P10 Plus to give it a more premium look and feel. Just be sure to use the plastic case that comes with it, as the phone can be a fingerprint magnet (and a bit slippery). On the right side, you’ll find the power button and volume rocker, while on the left is the hybrid SIM slot tray which supports dual nano SIMs. The second tray also functions as a microSD-card slot. Only the first SIM tray supports 4G LTE, while the second one only supports 2G. Up top is the noise-canceling mic, while the 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB port and loudspeakers are

at the bottom along with the primary microphone. At the back are the two rear cameras stacked on top of each other and a single LED flash that sits above them. Like most Huawei devices, the fingerprint sensor is also at the back, which I think is still the best location for it. FOUR CAMERAS AND SO MUCH MORE THE Nova 2i gets the distinction as Huawei’s first smartphone to sport a quad-camera setup—that’s two rear cameras and two front-facing cameras. Now let me ask you, how many flagship phones can you name that has four cameras? And to think, it’s also the only mid-ranger to have that many cameras. While more doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best, the Nova 2i has a pretty impressive camera setup that will more than satisfy the selfie shutterbug in you. For the rear main dual camera, it uses a 16-megapixel (MP) + 2-MP sensor, while the front pair uses a 13 MP + 2 MP. The secondary 2-MP sensor on both sides acts as depth-sensing sensors to give your photos that artsy blur or bokeh effect. I’ve been using dual-camera phones since the Honor 6Plus a couple of years ago, and I must admit that bokeh can make your photos look instantly better. With the Nova 2i, the bokeh effect is further improved, making it a lot smoother than previous devices. You can still adjust the focus after taking the photo of course, but it makes portrait mode more natural, and not look like digital cutouts. For those who love selfies, the dual front camera also supports bokeh mode, and even has a smart ambient flash. That sensor, the company says, is smart enough to tell the distance between your arm and the selfie stick’s length, so depending on the distance, the flash will automatically adjust the brightness intensity. I haven’t noticed it much though, as I try to avoid looking at the flash when taking those dark room/party selfies. The Nova 2i nearly has all the modes found on the higher-end Huawei P and Mate series, except for the Leica monochrome and color filters. Swipe left and be sure to experiment with wide aperture (bokeh), portrait, HDR, night shot and light painting (use a tripod). There’s even a pro-photo and pro-video modes. The front camera also has a new “effect mode” that gives you several cute effects that can turn you into a cat, a rabbit, dog, (bride!), etc.—the reasons for which can only be explained by people below 18 years old. I do love beauty mode (level 8 max), though, as it instantly removes 20 to 30 years off my age (which I use sparingly of course). The Huawei Nova 2i performs quite well in general photography, especially when there’s good lighting. But as you might expect from a midrange handset, there’s a bit of decline in quality in low light or indoor shots. Now if you are going to ask me about how it compares to other Huawei’s phones, like the P9 and P10, or the upcoming Mate 10/Mate 10 Pro, they are called flagships for a reason, but compared to similarly priced smartphones, the Nova 2i can

definitely stand its ground. The Nova 2i is powered by a Kirin 659 octa-core processor with a top speed of 2.36GHz, and paired with a Mali T830 GPU, similar to the ones used in the Huawei G5 2017. This makes it a very good overall performer for most of your work and social-related tasks. The phone is snappy and responsive, and gaming is smooth even for some of those graphically intensive ones, such as Asphalt8 and NBA2k17 (on medium settings). The Nova 2i has a built-in 3,340mAh Li-Ion battery, and based on my daily usage, mostly for mobile Internet and social media, it can last me the entire day with a bit of spare juice for “wazing” my way home. Sadly, Huawei opted to use the old microUSB port instead of the faster USB Type-C, so it doesn’t support fast charging. Charging time as such is quite long—about two to two-and-a-half hours. Like I mentioned above, Huawei might be pushing for the Nova 2i’s four cameras, but the more you use it, the more you’ll be able to discover and appreciate its other features. The full-view screen is big, beautiful and sharp, which makes it perfect for watching videos, browsing the Internet and for other work apps. Performance is above average, and calls, text and mobile signals are very reliable and pretty much what you’d expect from a Huawei smartphone. Overall, the Nova 2i is a well-balanced, welldesigned and well-thought-out smartphone that deserves all the praise it has been getting. It’s elevated the standard for midrange smartphones without raising the price tag. Besides the unavailability of the Aurora Blue color (as of this writing), there is really very little to complain about (again considering its price point)— the only thing that will probably leave you unsatisfied is that nagging feeling if you’re still undecided about getting yourself a Nova 2i right now. ‘PRIVILEGED’ AND ‘PREFERRED’ A FEW weeks ago, I was invited to a media launch for the Ayala Rewards Circle (ARC) app, so to get an idea of what the app was all about, I downloaded it and tried to create an account using my mobile number and e-mail—just like with any other app. After a few tries, it kept displaying the error message “Information does not match our records. Please try again.” So I sent an e-mail to the customer service, and in just a few minutes I got a reply asking for a few other info. It was then that I realized, this isn’t just some “reward” card, and you don’t get to apply for membership to the Ayala Rewards Circle: You get qualified—and invited. Unlike most loyalty/rewards cards, which award you for your purchases at their establishments, the ARC goes beyond the point system offering services to their list of “preferred” and “privileged” clientèle. “ARC is a multi-industry appreciation program for the Ayala group’s most-valued customers,” Maria

Angelica B. Rapadas, president and general manager of ARC, told us over launch. “We want to redefine what a customer loyalty program looks like. We go beyond discounts and promos, which our members also enjoy, and offer always-on mobile assistance, world-class concierge services and access to exclusive global events.” “At Ayala, our customers are our lifeblood, and we want our most-valued clients to enjoy amazing rewards not just with one business but throughout the entire Ayala group. This means that if you’re a preferred BPI client, you will also be a preferred client across the Ayala group of companies and its handpicked partners.” In line with this commitment of providing its customers the most premium experience, is their unique 24-hour ARC Concierge. The concierge is customer support taken to the next level, and can offer a wide range of services—from getting a simple phone listing and making restaurant reservations, to more complicated requests, such as preparing a special birthday party, booking a dinner cruise or making travel arrangements. “The concierge can arrange a member’s travel, hotel and dining reservations, as well as bookings to iconic events, such as the Singapore Grand Prix, the PGA Master’s Tournament, Wimbledon and London Fashion Week,” Rapadas added. Since it was fully implemented in 2014, the ARC currently has 100,000 members with an average age of 47. Most of them are entrepreneurs or upper management, added Patricia Y. Manhit, COO of ARC. Manhit says they are looking to increase membership to 200,000 in the next two to three years. Other perks of ARC members include priority handling at BPI and in select Globe stores, special deals and discounts with Ayala-owned Isuzu, Volkswagen and Honda dealerships, Ayala property promos and special rates at Ayala Hotels and Resorts, privileges from local and international retail, dining and leisure partners and invites to exclusive events. All of which you can check using the ARC app. So how do you get invited to this very exclusive circle? Requirement for membership eligibility include any of the following: a single P1.25-million purchase at AC Automotive dealerships; an accumulated purchase of P2 million made in the last five years; a purchase worth at least P3 million from Ayala Land brands (Premier, Alveo and Avida) in the last seven years; a private or preferred BPI client account; and a Globe Platinum subscription. “A membership lasts five years, after which, the company will reassess if a member is still eligible,” Rapadas said. Think you are qualified for the ARC? Head over to www.ayalarewardscircle.com or www.facebook.com/ ayalarewardscircle for more information.

/ TECH THOUGHTS: “While technology is important, it’s what

we do with it that truly matters.”—MUHAMMAD YUNUS