Businessmirror April 13, 2019

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‘LEAVE OR DIE’ Military vows to keep out extremists from PHL shores after IS defeat in Syria

IN this October 19, 2017, file photo, Philippine Navy commandos aboard a gunboat patrol Lake Lanao as smoke rises where pro-Islamic group militants are making a final stand amid a massive military offensive of Marawi City in southern Philippines. AP/BULLIT MARQUEZ

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By Rene Acosta

HE capture by US-backed forces of the last stronghold of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria last month that spelled the terrorist group’s defeat has put on alert countries where the IS has put up so-called caliphate provinces, including the Philippines, and to be exact, Lanao del Sur, or even the whole of Mindanao.

The alert was borne by the belief that these countries, whose citizens have enlisted as IS fighters, or are hosting jihadist groups allied with the IS, should brace for the influx of returning fighters following the collapse of their group’s adventure in Syria. The notion was bolstered by reports from counterterrorism groups, including Israel’s Meir Amit Intelligence and Information Center, that even before IS’s defeat, it has already ordered its various provinces to step up their attacks while strengthening their information communication apparatus in order to recruit fight-

ers and members.

IS done in Lanao

WHILE the warning could not be taken lightly, Col. Romeo Brawner, commander of the Army’s 103rd Brigade headquartered right in the heart of Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, said the IS and its mixture of local fighters are already finished in the province. The IS and its fighters mostly made up of members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Maute Group attacked Marawi in 2017, and stretched the war to a fivemonth costly operation by the military that left in ruins the entire

city, once one of Mindanao’s most progressive Islamic cities. The government declared at the end of the campaign that it would take years before the IS, or even any home-grown terrorist group, can mount a siege in the scale of the Marawi attack again, given the death of its leaders and fighters and the continuing decline of its influence. Military officials even confidently declared that the siege would be the last in the country’s battle against terrorism, jihadism and Islamic radicalization. “No more, they are done here,” said Brawner as he not only echoed

the line of the military leadership, but cited the progress of their operations against the IS and its followers, now tagged by the military as Dawla Islamiyah.

Death of leaders, surrender

BRAWNER said the IS, even if it attempts to recruit, may find it overwhelmingly difficult to recover in Lanao del Sur. In fact, he said, IS is already on its way to oblivion, given the successive deaths of its leaders and the consistent surrender of its followers and sympathizers as a result of the continuing operations by Brawner’s Army brigade. Continued on A2

Ex-general warns of unrest after Indonesia vote as crowds surge

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By Karlis Salna & Arys Aditya

The enthusiasm on the campaign trail has Prabowo convinced that polls showing him losing for a second time to Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, must be wrong. Touting what he calls a “tsunami” of discontent, Prabowo has openly challenged supporters at rallies to reject the election result if the president wins a second five-year term. “We will not accept an election that is stolen,” he said aboard his private plane between stops on the campaign. “If the powers that be want to cheat massively they will be going against the will of the people.”

Bloomberg News

TANDING up through the sunroof of a van, Prabowo Subianto leans down to shake hands and accept cash—sometimes bags of it—from tens of thousands of cheering supporters clogging up roads and sitting on rooftops. All of them are trying to get a glimpse of the man they want to be Indonesia’s next president. Donning a cowboy hat, the former Suharto-era general saluted the crowd as his car slowly snaked its way to a campaign stop in the capital of South Sumatra, a key battleground in the April 17 election. A similar scene broke out

the next day in Solo, the hometown of President Joko Widodo, where a mix of young and old faces banged on his car and shouted his name with an air of fanaticism that has come to mark his campaign, now in its final days.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 51.8500

Conflicting polling

SUPPORTERS gather around Prabowo during a rally in Palembang. DIMAS ARDIAN/BLOOMBERG

OVER two days of interviews, Prabowo spoke about his ties with Islamic extremists, plans to review Chinese investments and his own relationship with Indonesia’s “one percent.” At times he was philosophical, quoting the Greek historian and general Thucydides, and at Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4644 n UK 67.7057 n HK 6.6114 n CHINA 7.7169 n SINGAPORE 38.2403 n AUSTRALIA 36.9328 n EU 58.3572 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.8255

Source: BSP (April 12, 2019 )

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A2 Saturday, April 13, 2019

‘LEAVE OR DIE’

IN this June 9, 2017, file photo, debris fly in the air as Philippine Air Force fighter jets bomb suspected locations of Muslim militants in Marawi City. AP/AARON FAVILA

www.businessmirror.com.ph Continued from a1

The military commander declared that Owaydah Marohombsar alias Abu Dar, the remaining leader of the Maute Group and the IS, whose group was the focus of the operations in Lanao, is already dead as confirmed by the result of a DNA examination. “He’s dead. It was confirmed by the DNA results released this week,” Brawner told the BusinessMirror in a phone interview. Brawner and his men killed Abu Dar and four of his fighters during a military operation on March 14 this year in Tubaran, Lanao del Sur, but until then, official confirmation could not be made until DNA tests are made. Abu Dar cropped up as the leader of the IS when Isnilon Hapilon, commander of the ASG and the acknowledged leader of the IS in Southeast Asia, was killed during the Marawi siege. Abu Dar, who fought alongside the fallen regional IS leader during the Marawi attack, escaped during the initial months of the war and has been the object of focused military operations since then. The death of Abu Dar followed the successive killings of his key leaders by soldiers who scoured the jungle and operated nonstop in various areas of Lanao del Sur just to get them. “The death of Abu Dar lends to the end of the IS here,” Brawner said, adding that up to his death, the terrorist leader only had no more than 25 fighters. “He was a preacher,” he added, underscoring the capability of Abu Dar to recruit members if he would still be alive. Other than killing the leaders

of the IS and operating continuously against the group, the military has secured the surrender of at least 160 IS followers and sympathizers since Brawner assumed his post as 103rd Brigade commander. Brawner, a Special Forces by training, said they would hunt IS members to the last man, while guarding against any effort of the group to recruit.

Operations in other terrorist areas

SINCE the IS and its influence are declining in Lanao, the military understood that other areas and even groups, including those still aligned with the international terrorist group, could take on the void left by the IS in Marawi City or even Lanao. This is the reason operations have been stepped up in Sulu and Basilan and in Central Mindanao, and focused on the ASG and the Bangsa­ moro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and its faction aligned with the IS. The military earlier said that the BIFF and its faction that pledged its allegiance to the IS have forged a tactical alliance in Maguindanao in their effort to stave off the continuing government operation that has already killed its key leaders. In Sulu, soldiers were also operating against the ASG in the province, with the focus of the operations trained against ASG Commander Hatib Hadjan Sawadjaan, tagged as the leader of the Jolo cathedral suicide bombing in January this year that killed 23 people and wounded 95 others. The IS owned up to the bombing, with a US report saying Sawadjaan is acting as the leader of the IS in country.

Ex-general warns of unrest after Indonesia vote as crowds surge Continued from a1

other times he became visibly irritated, if not angry. While mainstream polls have Jokowi, 57, leading by a significant though narrowing margin, Prabowo, 67, has painted a vastly different picture of the electorate in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. His campaign has said internal

numbers indicate he has a 24-point lead on Jokowi, and it’s already preparing a court challenge if the result doesn’t go its way. Prabowo’s claims are setting the stage for a disputed election result that could lead to discord following the result. His camp has demonstrated it can mobilize tens of thousands of supporters, which could potentially hinder Jokowi’s

ability to utilize any political capital generated by his re-election. While it’s highly likely Jokowi will win next week, Brexit and Donald Trump’s election win have shown upsets do happen, according to Hugo Brennan, principal political analyst with Verisk Maplecroft. Every election since Indonesia introduced direct voting for president in 2004 has resulted in legal

challenges, he added. It “would be surprising if Prabowo didn’t cry foul and petition the Constitutional Court,” Brennan said. “The prospect of protesters taking to the streets to oppose the result can’t be entirely ruled out given the recent history of mass demonstrations in the capital.”

‘Dividing’ a nation

JOKOWI’S campaign said he was on pace to defeat Prabowo by 20 percentage points, and called on him to send witnesses to polling booths if he’s concerned about cheating. Arya Sinulingga, a spokesman for Jokowi, said. Prabowo was simply angry because he was set to lose again. “Prabowo is already dividing our own nation by tricking some people into talking that there is fraud,” Sinulingga said. “This is not true at all.” Prabowo has a long history with Jokowi, who started his political career as mayor of Solo. The former general helped bring Jokowi to Jakarta, where he successfully ran for governor. He used that victory as a springboard to the presidency in 2014, when he defeated Prabowo. Energized by an undercurrent of support that has resurrected a campaign that only weeks ago appeared like a lost cause, Prabowo made it a point to hold a big rally in Solo. “It’s not Jokowi town,” he said. “It’s Indonesia.” In the interviews, Prabowo refused to name Jokowi specifically, saying only “many Indonesian leaders do not have a sense of justice, and no sense of honesty.”

‘Corrupt elite’

PRABOWO painted a picture of Indonesia as a land where “the corrupt elite” have failed to manage the economy. He cast himself as a Robin Hood-like figure, and listed the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa as a source of inspiration. He described himself as a social democrat, and above all a defender of the ideology called Pancasila that Indonesia’s founders implemented to unite the diverse archipelago. Remaking his image is a complicated task for Prabowo. He has enormous wealth while, at the same time, preaches a level playing field and equal opportunity for everyone.

PRABOWO during a campaign in Solo. : DIMAS ARDIAN/BLOOMBERG

“I’m the first to admit that I am part of the one percent—I’m part of the elite,” he said, acknowledging the contradiction. “Everybody knows that, but I have a sense of responsibility,” he said, vowing to clamp down on the “daylight robbery” and corruption that he says has wrecked the economy. Growth is set for 5.3 percent this year, well short of the 7 percent Jokowi had promised. “It’s the same old story,” Prabowo said of the promises that Indonesia will one day be a great country. “It’s always somewhere, somewhere over the rainbow.” Both Jokowi and Prabowo have built campaign platforms around the economy. Jokowi has vowed to create 100 million jobs over the next five years, while Prabowo has promised tax cuts and to revive Indonesia’s manufacturing industry. Prabowo also said he would seek to make Indonesia respected on the international stage, and doubled down on a promise to defend the national interest when it comes to China-backed investments such as a highspeed rail line. “If there are projects that we consider not in Indonesia’s interests, we will review all these projects,” Prabowo said. “We respect China, we respect their proper place in the world and we will be very open with them.”

Sore spots

WHEN the conversation turns to religion in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, Prabowo gets particularly agitated. His critics say he helped stoke protests from hardline Islamic groups during

Jakarta’s 2017 gubernatorial race that led to the defeat of a Chinese Christian ally of Jokowi who was later jailed for insulting the Koran. Prabowo rejects outright allegations he has benefited from a rise in religious conservatism, and at one point banged a plate on the table in his private jet. “The narrative is Islamists, extremism, Prabowo using religion,” he said. “My identity is very clear. My mother was a Christian, all my family are Christian. My bodyguards and security: a lot of them are Christian.” “I’ve had Christians and Hindus die under my command,” he said. He insists he believes in “an Indonesia that is multi-racial and multi-religious,” noting that Jokowi had appointed a top Muslim cleric as a nominee for vice president. Over two days, the former special forces commander was at times angry and exasperated when questions touched on what appeared to be sore spots. “I get hurt and a bit irritated,” he said. But he was overwhelmingly good-natured, joking and laughing, and “deeply touched” by the response from his supporters. Prabowo is now banking on a groundswell of support to carry him to victory. His nephew Aryo Djojohadikusumo, who is serving as the campaign’s logistics director, said five years ago they could mobilize only a third of the crowds they see now. “It’s a wave,” he said. Asked in the interview if he would keep promises to crack down on corruption if he takes power, Prabowo becomes irritated again. “Ask the people,” he said. “I’m somebody who keeps his word.”

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Rate cut on table in May–BSP Gov

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HE Philippines’s Central Bank is on course to cut its key interest rate as inflation cools, and policy easing will be on the table as soon as the May 9 meeting, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said. “It’s not a matter of whether we cut, it is when,” Diokno told Bloomberg Television’s Kathleen Hays in Washington, where officials are gathered for the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. “We are considering it. I’m sure that will be in the agenda in the next policy meeting.” Inf lation slowed for a fifth consecutive month to 3.3 percent in March, easing into the central bank’s 2-percent to 4-percent target. BSP left the benchmark rate unchanged at 4.75 percent, at its last three meetings as it waits for

inflation to be firmly entrenched in the target range. The peso fell as much as 0.5 percent against the dollar in early trading on Friday after Diokno’s comments, halting a two-day rally. It pared some of those declines to trade at 51.940 as of 10:54 a.m. in Manila. The Central Bank is considering easing monetary policy either through a rate cut or a reduction in the reserve requirement ratio for banks, which at 18 percent remains among the highest in the region. “It’s a question of timing, which will be first, the rates cut or the cut in the reserve ratio,” Diokno said.

as a government minister. When asked if he’s confident that the peso won’t come under attack when the Philippines starts easing monetary policy, Diokno said, “we’re not scared of any attack because number one, our currency is based on a floating exchange rate, so it will be determined by supply and demand of currency.” Diokno cited hefty foreignexchange reserves and robust dollar inf lows from overseas Filipinos, tourism receipts and outsourcing revenue as helping to support the currency.

Behind the curve DIOKNO

Room for easing

“NOW that inflation has normalized, I think there’s a room for some easing or relaxation,” the Governor said. “But we have to look at other threats,” he said, citing rising oil prices and the impact of the El Niño dry weather on food costs.

Diokno echoed some of the cautious tone of Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo, a four-decade veteran of the central bank, who said last week policy-makers will ease when inflation nears the midpoint of its target band. The 71-year-old Governor, a

former economics professor and budget secretary, was appointed in March to complete the unfinished term of Nestor A. Espenilla Jr., who died of cancer. Diokno is perceived as progrowth and tolerant of a weaker currency, based on his previous comments

BSP was criticized by some analysts last year for being slow in raising interest rates, even though inflation had accelerated to a five-year high. Diokno said in the interview that policy easing will happen at the right time. “As you know, monetary policy works with a lag, nine-month lag. If you cut rates now, it doesn’t make a difference the following day,” he said. “We will try to make it timely.” Bloomberg News

ExportUnlimited

A4 Saturday, April 13, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

DTI chief: PHL seeks more investments from China

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URING the China-Philippines Summit on March 29, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the Philippines is seeking to maximize its good relations with China by pushing for trade balance and more investments. The summit was attended by Chinese business leaders seeking investment opportunities in the Philippines. “The Philippines and China have a special relationship that began when President Duterte visited China in 2016 right after his assumption into office. Today’s summit will help us deepen our trade and investment relationship,” Lopez said. Philippine exports to China grew by 8.5 percent to $8.7 billion in 2018, from $8.02 billion

in 2017, making China the Philippines’s fourth largest export market. However, Lopez wants to promote more exports not only of agricultural products, but also higher-value products like luxury furniture, automotive parts and electronics. In line with this, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is already preparing for the up-

PHILIPPINE Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez addresses delegates to the China-Philippines Summit held on March 29 in Manila.

coming second China International Import Expo in November 2019. For the first CIIE, the Philippines featured 36 exhibitors

that sold $124 million in goods during the five-day fair. This year, DTI is targeting a bigger presence with 100 exhibitors.

PHL, Czech Republic strengthen bilateral economic relations

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HE Philippines and Czech Republic agreed to pursue deeper economic ties as they convened the inaugural meeting of the Philippines-Czech Republic Joint Economic Commission (JEC) on March 28 and 29, 2019, in Prague. Consistent with the thrust of Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez to engage new trade and investment partners, the Philippine delegation led by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Dr. Ceferino S. Rodolfo Jr. met with Czech counterparts led by Ing. Vladimír Bärtl, deputy minister of Industry and Trade. The JEC serves as a platform to discuss initiatives to improve bilateral trade,

investment and economic cooperation. The inaugural JEC meeting sets the tone for future cooperation in areas, such as manufacturing, investments and banking, agriculture and food, energy, transportation, health, tourism, environmental technologies and disasterrisk reduction management. The JEC allows the Philippines to capitalize on the Czech Republic’s expertise in environmental technologies in water treatment and management, modern agricultural equipment and technologies, and building efficient transportation systems. It also aims to strengthen industry links for manufacturing and promote

investments in specific sectors like aerospace, electronics (i.e., Integrated Circuit design) and automotive. The official Philippine delegation was accompanied by a 12-member business delegation that considers the Czech Republic as an alternative market for products (e.g., sauces, seafood, fish products, coconut products, pet foods, processed food and beverages, garments) and source of investments and partnerships (e.g., construction, electronics, water rehabilitation). The business delegation led by Rodolfo visited the auto electronics manufacturing facility of Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI), a leading Philippine electronics company recognized as one of the top electronics manufacturing services providers globally. The delegation also visited Aero Vodochody aerospace facilit y to identify potential collaborations between the Philippine and Czech aerospace sectors. Closer collaboration in these areas will be made easier through the signing of the Memorandum of Intent between the Board of Investments and CzechInvest that aims to promote and facilitate investments. “The convening of the JEC is a strategic means to engage individual EU member-states. The JEC allows us to identify and harness complementation between two of the fastest- growing economies in each other’s regions. We are both gateways to Asia and Europe, and we can also serve as viable markets for each other’s products. In the same way that the Czech Republic is one of the Philippines’s strongest supporters in the EU, we invite them to see the Philippines as their friend in the Asean,” Rodolfo said during the JEC meeting. The convening of the JEC is in line with the Philippines’s strategy of engaging non-traditional partners in Europe. In 2018, the Czech Republic was the Philippines’s 33rd top trading partner (out of 221), 23rd export market (out of 211), and 42nd import supplier (out of 198), with total trade amounting to $361 million.

“There is great demand for Philippine products. We just have to increase production of agricultural and manufactured goods for us to

meet this demand,” Lopez said. With around $962.61 million in approved investments in 2018, China is the country’s top source of foreign investments, according to the Board of Investments (BOI). The country leapt to the top from being 14th in 2016 ($31.99 million) and ninth in 2017 ($46.3 million). Lopez said this is an indication of the Chinese government’s trust and confidence in the Philippines, which is seeking investments in manufacturing, e-commerce, infrastructure and tourism from that nation. Also at the summit were Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar, Tourism Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon Jr., Public-Private Partnership Center Executive Director Ferdinand A. Pecson, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority Acting Corporate Secretary Joy Alameda and Chinese Commercial Counsellor Jin Yuan.

Exploring Kazakhstan K A Z A K HSTA N, a land locked country at the heart of Central Asia and strategically connected with Europe and Asia, is a market largely untapped by the Philippines. As an export partner, Kazakhstan ranks 112th out of 211 export partners of the Philippines. Trade is valued at $1.57 million. That country ranks 12th in oil reserves and 20th in gas reserves in the world, with their top exports crude petroleum ($19.9 billion in 2017) and petroleum gas ($2.4 billion in 2017). Despite gaining independence only after the Cold War, Kazakhstan transitioned its economy from lower middle-income to upper middle-income status in less than two decades. Its GDP is 60 percent of Central Asia’s, making it the most economically developed country in that region and greater than the combined GDP of the remaining Central Asian economies. Similar to the Philippines, Kazakhstan finds itself in the influence of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Because of the country’s abundance in oil and natural-gas reserves, China sees Kazakhstan as a critical component of the BRI land bridge through Eurasia. China and Kazakhstan recently agreed to upgrade their common border area in Khorgos and is poised to rival Germany’s Duisburg by becoming the biggest dry port in the world. This will prove to be economical for China, Kazakhstan and their neighboring countries, cutting travel time of cargoes to about 15 days from the previous four weeks to six weeks. Kazakhstan encounters a domestic fruit-production shortage of roughly half a million tons a year. According to the Kazakhstan State Statistics Commission, 628,000 tons of fruit produce were imported by the country in 2015. Grapes, apples, dried fruits and nut mixes, citrus and bananas were the top 5 products imported by Kazakhstan in that period. Demand for fruits is expected to rise by 5 percent year-on-year.

By John Benedict Santos Trade-Industry Development Specialist, DTI-EMB

export ready! Similarly, Kazakhstan imported 520,000 tons of vegetables, with the top 5 products being onions and garlic; carrots, turnips and beets; potatoes; cabbages; and tomatoes. Kazakhstan largely imports its produce from neighboring countries Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Most of Kazakhstan’s processed fruits and vegetables such as juices, vegetable sauce, canned goods, or frozen fruit and vegetables are imported. The Kazakhs are huge consumers of processed fruits and vegetables, and they depend on overseas companies to supply the remaining demand of their citizens. The country produces around 19,000 tons of processed fruits and vegetables yearly, while imports reach around 229,000 tons a year. The trend is expected to grow at an annual rate of 2 percent and is expected to hit 252,000 tons. Some of the food fairs in Kazakhstan are WorldFood Kazakhstan, the region’s leading international forum for engaging with the country’s food and beverages sector; ColdChain Kazakhstan, a Cold Chain Services Exhibition; and InterFood Astana, an international exhibition of food, drinks, packaging and equipment in the food industry. Exporters interested in the Kazakhstan and Central Asian Market may contact the DTI-EMB Market Innovation Division at (+632) 465.3300 local 218.

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

Sports

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Saturday, April 13, 2019

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THAI YUBOL TRIUMPHS T

HAILAND’S Arpichaya Yubol pounced on Yuka Saso’s backside meltdown and rallied from three down with nine holes left then checked her own collapse at the finish with a closing birdie to nip the Filipino-Japanese amateur by one with a 71 for the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Manila Golf Ladies Classic crown at the Manila Golf Club (MGC) on Friday. Yubol cashed in on Saso’s four-birdie stumble in a five-hole stretch from No. 12 to grab the lead then recovered from a bogey on the 17th with a clutch putt from 10 feet to clinch the crown as Saso cracked under pressure and fell short of her playoff bid from eight feet on the 18th for a 72. It was a stirring triumph for Yubol, who tied Saso with a 68 after 36 holes but never got discouraged even after the reigning Asian Games gold medalist threatened to blow up the field with a solid threeunder card after 10 holes to lead by three. Taiwanese amateur Tzu-Yi Chang—the surprise second-round leader—reeled back with back-toback bogeys from No. 2, but wheeled back into contention after Saso floundered, only to fade with bogeys in the last two holes for a 75. “I’m very happy but it’s quite surprising [to win]. I really didn’t expect to win [since] this is my first time here and I’m not familiar with the course,” said Yubol, who pooled a four-under 209 total in the 54-hole championship co-sanctioned by the Ladies Professional Golf Association of Taiwan and Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) and pocketed the top $17,500 prize out of the total pot of $100,000 put up by ICTSI. It was a disappointing finish for Saso, who appeared headed to duplicating her romp in

retaining the Philippine Ladies Amateur Open crown also at MGC last February with a flawless card after 10 holes. But the 17-year-old ace, who also came into the event brimming with confidence following a joint third runner-up effort in last week’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur in Georgia, lost her touch and rhythm, bogeying Nos. 12, 13, 15 and 16 then missing her birdie bids in the last two holes to settle for second at 210. “I was playing well at the front, but bad breaks derailed my game at the back. But that’s golf,” said Saso, who threatened to pull away with birdies on Nos. 4, 7 and 10 inside five feet. Yubol’s victory also underscored Thailand’s domination of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. She joined compatriots Yupaporn Kawinpakorn (Pradera Verde) and Thanutra Boonraksasat (Southwoods) in the winners’ circle with six legs left in the seventh season of the LPGT. The Thais also won six of 11 tournaments last season. Hsuan Chen, also of Taiwan, matched par 71 and tied Chang at third at 212, but claimed the runner-up prize worth $11,500 with Singapore’s Koh Sock-Hwee ending up fifth at 213 after a 68 and received $7,000. “I played bad and couldn’t find a way to fix it. It’s quite unfortunate that it happed in the final round,” rued Chang, who dislodged Saso from the top with a second round 65. Thai Pimpadsorn Sangkagaro limped with a 73 and dropped to sixth at 214 while 2017 LPGT Order of Merit champion Pauline del Rosario carded a second straight 72 and tied for seventh at 215 with Thai Chommapat Pongthanarak (72) and Japanese Mina Nakayama (75).

ATENEO VS. DE LA SALLE

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TENEO is all geared up to avenge its lone loss when it tackles arch nemesis and defending champion De La Salle in the University

ARPICHAYA YUBOL underscores the Thais’ domination of the tour. ROY DOMINGO

LAKERS GET OPPORTUNITY TO OPEN NEW CHAPTER E

L SEGUNDO, California—The Los Angeles Lakers already had plenty of problems to fix during the summer after their sixth straight losing season. Replacing the person in charge of fixing those problems is suddenly at the top of the list. Magic Johnson’s shocking resignation as the 16-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champions’ president of basketball operations on Tuesday night compounded the turmoil that always seems to envelop the Lakers, who remain among the most talked-about sports franchises in the world even though they haven’t made the playoffs since 2013. Owner Jeanie Buss unveiled no immediate plan on Wednesday for the basketball leadership of the Lakers—perhaps understandably, since she had no idea she needed a plan 18 hours earlier. Buss, General Manager Rob Pelinka and Coach Luke Walton all skipped the Lakers’ customary exit interviews on the morning after their season ended, instead leaving it to their players to characterize yet another bizarre year in Lakerland. “I still have confidence that this organization is heading in the right direction, because they have all the pieces to do so,” center Tyson Chandler said. “It is just about who is going to be driving the ship, I guess.” Yet, Buss must have realized by now that Magic’s abrupt departure creates an opportunity. With her sentimental favorite gone and no clear successor in sight, Buss has a chance to sever the staid, tradition-bound mentality lingering around the Lakers from her father’s ownership tenure. Last summer, the Lakers added LeBron James. This summer, they could add a new way of thinking. Whether Buss wants that opportunity is the biggest question she faces. Shortly after Johnson’s surprise announcement, Buss huddled with advisers including Pelinka. Kobe Bryant’s former agent joined the Lakers’ front office with Johnson in 2017 when Buss installed two executives with no prior experience in their jobs, but great emotional appeal to Buss herself. That’s the same type of sentimental thinking that convinced Buss to keep her brother, Jim, and GM Mitch Kupchak in charge several years into the Lakers’ decline—a grace period that Jeanie Buss says she now regrets. But with Magic gone from a job that required too much of his time and not enough of his personal strengths, Buss has the chance to reimagine her entire front office. She could hire a hungry executive to bring cutting-edge ideas into the Lakers’ insular culture. Innovative ex-Cleveland GM David Griffin is an obvious choice, but there are many others who wouldn’t be bound by the unrealistic expectations

DE La Salle star setter Michelle Cobb warns her teammates that Ateneo will do everything to equalize their series this season.

Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Lady Spikers gave the Lady Eagles a rough start in the season after handing the Katipunan-based squad a four-set, 25-14, 25-17, 16-25, 25-19 beating in February.

But the loss awakened the Lady Eagles, who strung 10 wins to lead the standings ahead of the Lady Spikers (8-3). It’s now up to the Lady Eagles to push for a draw or suffer from a season sweep to their longtime rivals. Game time is 4 p.m. In the first game, already eliminated teams University of the East (2-9) and Adamson University (1-10) hope to collect victories and avoid a more shameful exit when they clash at 2 p.m. Serving as a primer for the big-time showdown, the Lady Eagles ousted the National University Lady Bulldogs via a 25-14, 24-26, 25-17, 25-19 win last Sunday. The victory also gifted Ateneo a seat in the Final Four as the squad looked serious in claiming the throne this season. Head Coach Oliver Almadro believed that in order for them to snatch the top prize, they must hurdle the challenge of the three-time defending champions. “We all know that La Salle is a top team and the defending champion. We will just do things that matter. We know good teams will push us forward,” Almadro said. De La Salle blanked Adamson University, 25-15, 25-18, 25-16, in its previous match to inch closer to the Final Four. Despite the blowout win, star setter Michelle Cobb warned her teammates that Ateneo will do everything to equalize their own season series. “They are the [most hungry] to win the championship,” Cobb said. “We handed them their lone lose this season and we know they will be ready for us.”

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Raikkonen: 40 and still racing in F1

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MAGIC JOHNSON walks toward members of the Los Angeles Lakers’ band as he leaves the building before the Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers game recently. AP

and dewy-eyed attachments created by the Lakers’ many trophies. Many Lakers fans would love the return of The Logo himself: Jerry West, the lifelong Laker who has managed to stay at the forefront of NBA thinking into his 80s. West left the Lakers’ front office in a pay dispute in 2002, and he seems content in his current advisory role with the crosstown Clippers, who are in the midst of a remarkable franchise reboot—but it’s widely believed that West’s contract with the Clippers is up this summer. Or if she wants to stay loyal to the purple and gold, Buss could have it both ways by increasing the role of two well-regarded, up-and-coming basketball minds already in the building. Director of player personnel Ryan West and assistant GM Jesse Buss are already Lakers royalty: West is Jerry West’s son, while Jesse Buss is her youngest brother. Buss’s ex-fiancée, longtime Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, also is likely a phone call away— but even putting aside Jackson’s cataclysmic tenure as an executive in New York, that might be too much organizational drama for even the Lakers to withstand. Buss’s easiest path would be a promotion for Pelinka, the scripture-quoting GM who favors

tight suits and long-winded, folksy stories. But Johnson gave a lukewarm endorsement of Pelinka on his way out the door, and Pelinka has ruffled feathers around the league with his communication style in his first team job. With the 34-year-old James getting no younger, speed is a priority in the Lakers’ rebuild. The front office isn’t the Lakers’ only area requiring urgent attention this summer. Johnson said he was preparing to fire Walton on Wednesday until he decided he couldn’t do it to Walton, another one of Buss’s favorite people. Walton’s future is still uncertain, with only one more guaranteed season on his contract and a career coaching record 50 games below .500. Buss had already given permission to Magic to make the change, and a new front office could want a new coach—unless it arrives with Buss’s instructions to give him another chance. The Lakers made one structural change on Wednesday when they decided to part ways with athletic trainer Marco Nunez, who had been in the top job since 2016. Los Angeles was decimated again this season by injuries to nearly every key player, including the longest injury absence of James’s 16-year career.

Finally, Buss must decide whether her vision of the Lakers’ future requires the addition of at least one more superstar free agent. Magic’s primary goal was the acquisition of another star to play alongside LeBron, and his midseason pursuit of Anthony Davis caused upheaval in the Lakers’ locker room. AP

HANGHAI—What’s Kimi Raikkonen’s secret to Formula One (F1) longevity? He started in F1 in 2001, won the season championship in 2007 and has driven for the sport’s biggest names in Ferrari and McLaren. His name is spread all around the F1 record books. He’ll be 40 before this season ends, and he’s still at it. This season he’s with Alfa Romeo, which is the old Sauber team renamed—the same Sauber he started with almost two decades ago. “I don’t have any special thing that I try to motivate myself,” he said on Thursday, looking ahead to Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. “It’s become more of a hobby for me, maybe more than anything else. And probably that’s why it’s fun again.” Ferrari dropped him after last season, going instead with 21-year-old Charles Leclerc of Monaco. Raikkonen has scored points in the first two races, finishing eighth in Australia and seventh in Bahrain. That’s about as good as possible behind F1’s three dominant teams—Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: I always try to do the best that I can. AP

“I always try to do the best that I can,” he said. “Some days it goes a bit better than others. But that’s how it goes. [Motivation] has never really been an issue.” Raikkonen said he “didn’t really have any goals” going into this season, and he said he’ll know it’s time to retire when his performance is “not what I expect from myself.” F1 is billing the Chinese Grand Prix as its 1,000th race. This distinction requires some creative math. Officials list the first race as the British Grand Prix on May 13, 1950, at Silverstone, the former World War II airfield in south England. The winner was Guiseppe Farina, driving for Alfa Romeo. One counting problem is the inclusion of the Indianapolis 500 on the F1 calendar between 1950 and 1960, though few F1 drivers ever competed there—and Indy ran by its own set of rules. Raikkonen has been around so long that Mexican driver Sergio Perez, 29, joked that he recalled getting interested in the sport by watching “Kimi back then at a very young age.” Raikkonen has won 21 times in F1 and might have won more had he not been away two seasons driving rally cars. The 1,000 mark prompted Haas driver Romain Grosjean to speculate about what car racing might look like 50 years from now—perhaps another 1,000 races down the road. “I’ve got no idea what the cars are going to be like in 40 or 50 years,” he said. “The only think I’ll say: I hope there is still going to be a driver driving the car because that’s where the emotions go. If it’s just robots, it’s not going to be much fun.” AP

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SAGAN: I’M NOT LIKE I WAS 3 YEARS AGO A

FTER finishing outside the top 10 at the Tour of Flanders, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) conceded he was some way below the level he was three years ago, when he won De Ronde in the rainbow jersey. The three-time world champion has faced doubts about his condition throughout the spring Classics, having fallen ill while training in the Sierra Nevada ahead of Tirreno-Adriatico last month. With his performances over the past couple of weeks not lending clear-cut answers, Sagan insisted that condition wasn’t so important going into Flanders. Yet, after finishing 11th, in the select group of 16 behind solo winner Alberto Bettiol (EF Education First), he conceded his illness had held him back physically. “It’s strange that all the television cameras are here, and not with the winner,” Sagan joked after stepping off the team bus to a crowd of media and fans. “I don’t think so,” he replied when asked if he was the same Peter Sagan as in recent years. “Yesterday I said in the press conference that you never know how the race will go. Today was just an example of that. It was very hard, and for sure I am not like I was three years ago. “I’m not 100 percent like before, like three years ago, but every year is different and I have to just take it.” Sagan rode a quiet race, which ignited on the Muur van Geraardsbergen with 100 kilometers to go but which fluctuated thereafter

THE three-time world champion Peter Sagan has faced doubts about his condition throughout the spring Classics.

without really settling into a set pattern. There were 20 riders left in contention when Bettiol attacked on the Oude Kwaremont with 18 kilometers to go, and Sagan was visibly panting on the final climb of the Paterberg. He managed an acceleration on the run-in, but was unable to launch a sprint to contest the podium positions. “The race style was a lot different from past years,” he explained. “The race was open with 150 km to go, and it was very hard race. I think Bettiol took all his chances, and he surprised everyone with how strong he was.

Also [Mathieu] Van der Poel and Greg [Van Avermaet] were very strong today, but in the end nobody made a big difference—only Bettiol. “It was pretty hard. Every year is different. I’m not disappointed—it’s just a race. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it goes badly. In the end, I was there. I made a little mistake at the end with the sprint, but that’s how it is.” Sagan has, from the steps of the same bus in the same parking position in the main square in Oudenaarde, bemoaned a lack of

collaboration in the past couple of years, with QuickStep’s Philippe Gilbert and Niki Terpstra winning solo in 2017 and 2018, respectively. This time, there were no remonstrations, as he explained that the size of the group simply did not lend itself to a constructive chase. “Everyone was in the front, the team leaders, and everyone just, you know, wanted to attack and go away, but it was hard because it was a headwind. Then everyone stays put on the wheel. There were a lot of riders, and when someone attacked, there were still a lot of riders to close the gap,” Sagan said. “To really make the difference, you need to go in a break with three or four riders, as then you can collaborate to catch the first one, but with a big group like this, it’s almost impossible.” Sagan did not seem too downcast, and spent plenty of time answering questions and signing autographs. He still has time to salvage something from his spring campaign, with Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège coming up across the next three Sundays. “Well, nothing bad happened, and I’m looking forward,” Sagan said, drawing the positives from the day. “The next Classics are coming and I’m very confident I can get better, because I lost a lot when I got sick. I think it’s coming, but we will see. “I just want relax after the race, and then we’re going to think about Roubaix in two or three days.” Cyclingnews

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ECEUNINCK-QUICKSTEP team manager Patrick Lefevere has called on the International Cycling Union (UCI) and race organizers to treat teams better, suggesting that the sport’s global body and the Tour de France organizer “have the same goal: hold us by the balls.” However Lefevere hit back by warning: “We have the actors, we pay them, and without the actors, there’s no movie.” Lefevere spoke to Cyclingnews as the next three-year phase of the men’s WorldTour nears, but the frustration amongst leading teams continues to grow. The much heralded WorldTour reforms pushed through by UCI President David Lappartient have resulted in no significant change to professional cycling’s business model, with the team still hugely dependent on sponsorship, while race organizers retain all of the television rights income. On Tuesday the UCI revealed that 23 teams have confirmed their interest in applying for WorldTour status for 2020-2022, with Arkea-Samsic, Vital Concept, Cofidis, Direct Energie and Israel Cycling Academy joining the current 18 WorldTour teams in the list of names intending to compete in the sport’s highest division. Cyclingnews discovered that the UCI changed the rules to the men’s WorldTour to avoid the risk of a possible legal challenge, saving all the current WorldTour teams and allowing up to 20 teams to be part of the sport’s most prestigious division between 2020 and 2022. The UCI has also recently published new rules on on-board technology equipment, such as telemetry, GPS units and video cameras, saying that authorization is now required from the UCI or the race organizer.

‘There’s a need to analyze Peter’

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ORA-HANSGROHE is concerned about Peter Sagan’s sub-par performances so far this spring, with sports director Patxi Vila saying after the Tour of Flanders that they need to “analyze why that’s happening.” Sagan, a winner of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the past, has had a disappointing spring campaign so far, with fourth place at Milan-San Remo, 17th at E3 Binck Bank, 32nd at Gent-Wevelgem and 11th at the Tour of Flanders. His results have been mitigated by the fact a stomach virus put him out of action for five days in the buildup to Tirreno-Adriatco last month. However, Vila’s comments suggested that the explanation did not start and end with that illness. “We are chasing those results and that good feeling. For the moment, it’s not coming,” Vila told reporters in Oudenaarde at the finish of Tour of Flanders. “I think he’s not finding the feelings he had in the past, and we need to analyse why that’s happening. In the end, it wasn’t a bad race—he was in the front group. We need to just analyse what’s not going perfect and try to change it.” Asked whether the illness was still holding Sagan back, Vila would only say: “That’s not helping, for sure. That’s probably affecting him more than we thought at first. It’s not an excuse, but it didn’t help.”

‘A.S.O HOLD TEAM THE B BELGIAN team manager Patrick Lefevere wants a better deal but admits teams are scared of protesting.

This was seen by some as a possible attack on the teams and especially the Velon business group of teams and their strategy of monetizing on-board video images and ride data. Cyclingnews understands the UCI later explained to teams that the new rules concerning on-board technology equipment were focused on helping fight against technological fraud. The UCI has allowed Velon to place their data devices on bikes in recent WorldTour races. “It’s my bike, it’s my data. If it’s up to me, they’ll take it from us over my dead body. We own the data,” Lefevere made clear to Cyclingnews. Despite the success of his team in recent years, Lefevere struggled to find a sponsor for 2019. He eventually struck a deal with Belgian PVC windows and doors manufacturer Deceuninck but had to let Tour of Flanders winner Niki Terpstra and sprinter Fernando Gaviria go as he tried to balance his books. Other teams now have far bigger budgets, with Deceuninck-QuickStep running on little over the

Vila also dismissed speculation that Sagan was deliberately short of form with his Liège-Bastogne-Liège debut in mind. The final monument of the spring features a new, flatter finish in the centre of Liège this year, which is expected to bring a wider range of riders into contention and which has attracted the three-time world champion. Liège takes place on April 27, prior to which Sagan will race Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race on the two preceding Sundays. “Milan-San Remo, Flanders and Roubaix were three big goals, so I’d be lying if I said we’d moved everything back. That’s not true,” said Vila. “We wanted him to be 100 percent from last week, from Milan-San Remo to the end of the Classics.” If there was some cause for optimism, it came from the suggestion that Sagan is showing signs of moving in the right direction. “I saw a good Peter, better at the end of the race than the middle part. It’s coming back, but he’s still not at the top top shape,” said Vila. “We are here to win, and if we don’t, it’s disappointing. We’ve been working for almost six months for this. It’s disappointing, but it’s sport, and we need to move forward.”

Organizers priorit in neutralizing m

Cyclingnews

D CHRIS FROOME adds the Tour of the Alps to his pre-Tour de France program.

Austrian-Italian race Froome’s final ride in Team Sky uniform C HRIS FROOME will ride the Tour of the Alps set from April 22 to 26 as he works to find his best form in the countdown to the Tour de France. The organizers of the Tour of the Alps confirmed the presence of Froome and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) in this year’s race at a presentation in Kufstein, Austria, where the race will begin on Easter Monday. The Austrian-Italian stage race will almost certainly be Froome’s final race in Team Sky colors before the British WorldTour squad become Team Ineos on May 1 and races for the first time in their new black and burgundy colours at the Tour de Yorkshire (May 2 to 5). Froome rode the Tour of the Alps in 2018 as he prepared to target the Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double, finishing fourth behind winner Thibaut Pinot. This year Froome will race against Nibali and Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe), with five WorldTour teams and a host of strong Professional Continental and Continental teams on the start list. The five days of racing cover 711 km between Kufstein and Bolzano, including ten categorized climbs and 13,600 meters of climbing. Froome first hinted he would ride the Tour of the Alps while riding the Volta a Catalunya. The 33-year-old is targeting a record-equalling fifth Tour de France victory but has endured a troubled start to the season. He skipped the UAE Tour after he went deep in training and then crashed at the Colombia 2.1 race. He also crashed at the Volta a Catalunya. Froome is expected to show off Team Ineos’ new colors at a special presentation before the Tour de Yorkshire. He will then ride the British stage race to further bolster his total of racing days before heading to altitude for a key block of training. As per tradition, the Criterium di Dauphine is expected to be Froome’s

last major race before the Tour de France. Froome is expected to share team leadership with 2018 winner Geraint Thomas, with the racing likely to reveal who will go on to be the team’s protected leader. Team Sky have often prepared for the Giro d’Italia by riding the Tour of Alps and its predecessor the Giro del Trentino. Bradley Wiggins, Froome, Richie Porte, and Geraint Thomas have all ridden in the past, with Porte winning in 2015 and Thomas in 2017. Egan Bernal is expected to lead Team Sky at the Giro d’Italia but will not take part in the Tour of the Alps after recently winning Paris-Nice and finishing third at the Volta a Catalunya. Bernal is not expected to race again until the Giro d’Italia starts in Bologna on May 11. Cyclingnews CORYN RIVERA crashes on an early cobbled sector at the Tour of Flanders.

WARS Door Vlaanderen was thrown into temporary chaos as both the men’s race and the women’s race were neutralized, with the men stopping twice just beyond the halfway mark in order to allow ambulances through to treat victims of crashes in the women’s race. The eight-rider breakaway in the men’s race was ordered to stop with 76 kilometers remaining, and the peloton was waved to a halt as they caught up. After almost 10 minutes, they got going again, but organizers had failed to allow the original breakaway riders to set off first and reestablish their 2:15 advantage, and so the race was stopped again. It became more farcical when, after the second restart, it emerged that Lukas Postlberger (BoraHansgrohe) hadn’t gotten the memo, and the Austrian was forced to take a tow from a television motorbike to regain up his rightful place in the break. The holdup occurred because both the men’s and women’s races used a same 15-kilometer section of the course, including the Kluisberg and Knokteberg climbs. While the men’s race started out on the fastest-predicted time schedule, the women’s race was well behind its slowest—having been held up by a string of early crashes—and the two were in the same area at the same time. In the women’s race, a big crash after just 200 meters caused the race to be neutralized and restarted, and then two separate crashes after around 50

RIVERA AVOIDS SEVERE INJURY

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O., U.C.I. DING MS BY BALLS’ average WorldTour budget of €20 million. “A lot of things changed in the WorldTour and the organizers are always crying about not having any money but when I look around, they’re still there but when I look around a race paddock, 50 percent of the teams have disappeared, so we are the victims of the changes, because we don’t find enough money,” Lefevere said. “Every time there’s a new UCI president, its like in normal life, they promise a lot of things before they’re elected, then when they’re elected, they do a few things but they never think about the ‘actors’ on stage: the riders. “But we have the actors, we pay them and without the actors, there’s no movie.” The leading WorldTour and Professional Continental teams have become more united in recent years as part of the Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionels

(AIGCP) teams association but riders and teams rarely have the courage to go on strike to defend their interests. “It’s because we’re weak, we’re always looking for money, so we’re never really united,” Lefevere suggested. “It’ll never happen like in the NBA [National Basketball Association] or some other US sport where there’s a long strike. Nobody dares to do that because someone would call you sponsor behind your back. I’m sure my sponsors would tell them to ‘call Patrick’ but a lot of the others don’t have the guts to behave like that.” Ready to talk to Lappartient Despite his straight talking, Lefevere insists he is ready to sit down and talk with UCI President David Lappartient. “I’ve heard that Lappartient has been asking to have individual meeting with several teams. I’m ready to invite him to my headquarters and listen

GALEDO TOPS TOUR 2019 M

PHILIPPINE Seven Corp. President and CEO Jose Victor Paterno is elated with the success of the 7-Eleven Tour 2019.

to him. I’d definitely give him my opinion and talk straight but I’ll stay in Velon, too. I think I’ve got the right to give my opinion if he likes it or not,” Lefevere said. Like a number of his fellow team managers, Lefevere is concerned that Lappartient and the UCI could be too close to Tour de France organizer ASO, and so perhaps favor the sport’s biggest and most powerful race organizer. ASO helped develop the sport massively in the last 30 years thanks to the success of the Tour de France but refuse to share their revenue and profits with other stakeholders in the sport. “They’re not close until they feel that Velon is getting too strong, then they become very close. Because both of them have the same goal: hold us by the balls,” Lefevere said. “ASO don’t want to divide the cake, they want to eat it all.”

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ICHIE PORTE (Trek Segafredo) has endured a difficult start to his European season, with illness a consistent theme since his return from Australia. The 34-year-old has been forced to modify his campaign as a result but with the Tour of California and the Tour de France on the horizon the Trek Segafredo leader is determined to put the

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ORYN RIVERA’S Tour of Flanders came to an abrupt end after she crashed on an early cobbled sector. The 2017 winner avoided any broken bones but was left with a painful elbow that eventually forced her to step off the bike. Walking through the center of Oudenaarde, watching the women’s race on her phone as it reached its crescendo, Rivera had her right arm in a sling. She told Cyclingnews that it was just a precaution and that she hoped they would be able to get to the source of the pain soon so that she would be ready for the Ardennes Classics in two weeks’ time. “I went to the hospital here [In

BELGIUM’S Wout Van Aert (second left) of the Jumbo-Visma team speaks on the podium during the team presentations for the Tour of Flanders in Antwerp, Belgium, recently. AP

two crashes happened in the women’s race. Priority always go to safety, and so we needed to bring those ambulances in to make sure those women were able to be taken to hospital and be dealt with accordingly.” Although this may have simply been a

Oudenaarde] and nothing is broken, but something is definitely not right. We’ll just keep looking into it and try to get it back to 100 percent,” she told Cyclingnews. “Hopefully it’s not [too serious] and we can give it some time. I have a couple of weeks before the Ardennes. It’s a good period to recover.” The incident happened on the opening stretch of cobbles, Lange Munte, less than 10 kilometers into the race. A slowing in the bunch ended in Rivera going down before an unwelcome pile-on ensued. Though she initially felt fine and continued the race, a sharp pain in her elbow told her that something wasn’t right and she stepped off.

case of circumstance and bad timing, this isn’t the first time this season that the men’s and women’s fields have nearly collided at a race. Earlier this year, officials at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad—also run by Flanders Classics—were forced to neutralize the

“It was a stupid crash, but I guess you’ve never seen a smart crash. They’re all kinda dumb,” she said. “There was a weird slowdown in the bunch and we were together in the back, me and the team, and I just ran into the riders in front. I crossed wheels and I tried to put a foot down and my arm out to catch myself, but it was just too slippery on the cobbles and then everybody piled onto me and I was at the bottom of a pile-up. “I felt fine after that and then I went to reach for a bottle and I felt a sharp pain in my elbow. I don’t know if it had something to do with the crash or something else. It’s something that we still need to figure out.”

ORE than 3,000 professional and recreational cyclists joined one of the largest bike events this year—the 7-Eleven Tour 2019—which saw elite and weekend cyclists bike from Clark Global City passing through Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) then to Subic and back. 7-Eleven Tour 2019 drew cyclists of all ages, from as young as 16 to as old as 75. Participants raced on either the 48 kilometer or 106 km course. Each course posed different challenges depending on the skill level of the participant, and though the route was quite difficult at times, participants of the 7-Eleven Tour 2019 enjoyed the scenic views in Central Luzon as they passed through via the SCTEx. The 48 km category’s turn-around point was in Floridablanca in Pampanga while the 106 km category’s turn-around point was in Tipo in Zambales. Mark John Galedo was named the overall winner. He finished with a time of two hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds, taking home a

Porte: We’ll see if these guys hold their form for the Giro and Tour

itize safety men’s race

kilometers required two ambulances on the scene. As a result, the ambulances needed access to the stricken riders via the same roads the men’s races was about to use on the approach to the Kluisberg. At the finish in Waregem, former pro Scott Sunderland, who took up the role of general race director for Flanders Classics this year, explained what happened and how organizers handled the situation. “At the start of the women’s race we had quite a large crash after 200 meters, so the organizers decided to restart the women’s race, so that created a bit of a delay. It got away OK, it was fine, then coming in the run-in to Kluisbergen there were two more crashes, close to one another, both needing ambulances to assist. In the second crash, the girl needed to be taken away by the ambulance,” Sunderland said. “Always in the race, anyone who’s injured or when ambulances are coming into the race they always have priority over the race. That meant we needed to try and slow the men’s race down, initially, then to neutralize it briefly for a few minutes, so we could clear any difficulties and so the ambulances could get away to the hospitals. What looked a bit chaotic ended up being quite quickly taken under control. It didn’t affect at all the outcome of the women’s race or the men’s race. “There was only a short period where the races cross, and it happened to be at this period where those

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last few months behind him. Porte began his season in customary fashion at the Tour Down Under. A stage win and second overall were followed by fifth in the Herald Sun Tour but he left his native Australia with a cold and struggled to make an impression at the UAE Tour and Tour of Catalunya after skipping Pars-Nice. Another bug followed at the end of March but after a brief training block in Girona, Spain, he is back on the schedule. “The team changed my program, which was nice but then things didn’t really go to plan at Catalunya. It’s still early days but I went into the race with good form but then on stage 3 I just had nothing. I don’t really know why I’ve kept getting sick. I don’t know what it’s down to but a lot of guys have been down with injuries and illnesses. I just need some consistency and to get healthy. Hopefully, I’m on my way to that now,” Porte told Cyclingnews from his home in Monaco. “The plan, to be totally honest, is just about getting healthy now. I was at a disadvantage going into Catalunya because I was going up against guys who had some hard racing in their legs after Paris-Nice and Tirreno.” While Porte has been struggling, a number of his potential stage race and Grand Tour rivals have been flying since the start of the season. Primoz Roglic was unstoppable at the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico, while Catalunya saw Miguel Angel Lopez hold off challenges from Adam Yates and Egan Bernal. Porte puts their strong form down to the

P20,000 cash prize. Michael Jan Farre and Rench Michael Bondoc clinched second and third spots, both clocking in at 2:29:53. “We are heartened by the outcome of Tour 2019,” Philippine Seven Corp. President and CEO Jose Victor Paterno said. “This is a testament to the vibrant cycling community here in the Philippines, one we have proudly supported over the years. We believe that events such as the 7-Eleven Tour 2019 contribute greatly to the training of professional cyclists and the discovery of young and up and coming athletes that can hopefully bring greater pride to our country. Aside from this, the event is the perfect opportunity for recreational cyclists to have an enjoyable ride while taking in the sights of Central Luzon.” 7-Eleven Tour made a comeback after a seven-year hiatus from its successful debut Tour 700: Bayani ng Barangay. The 7-Eleven Tour was made possible in partnership with Nlex, SCTEx and Clark Global City.

fact that their winters were undisturbed, and that they appear to be showing up at early season races with close to their best condition. “It just seems like this year the level is just incredible,” Porte added. “I think that’s because we had a good winter and guys didn’t really lose that much, but so many of the peloton have also been at altitude already. Everyone is super lean and you notice that in races when you get there. The speeds were so fast, with those young guys, the Yates brothers, Bernal and the others. they’re absolutely flying, and so are their teams.” Despite the early setbacks, Porte is confident that he can find his form in the coming months. He was signed by Trek-Segafredo to win weeklong stage races in the buildup to July and with the Tour of California, and either the Criterium du Dauphine or Tour de Suisse on his program, that still remains the goal ahead of the Tour de France. Porte believes that his slow start to the year could become a benefit later in the season, as he questioned—from his own experience—as to whether some of his rivals could hold their current condition for such a long period of time. “On one side I’ll have to take the beating that I took there on the chin. It was a hard week of racing, it always is at Catalunya,” he said. “It’s one of the hardest weeklong races there is, but at the same time, these guys are going to have to try and hold onto that all the way to the Giro or the Tour. That’s not an easy thing to do and I think that I’ve made that mistake before. To be flying at Tour Down Under, win a Paris-Nice or Catalunya and then it’s hard to keep that going. That’s my hope.” Cyclingnews

women’s race when breakaway rider Nicole Hanselman (Bigla) nearly caught the back end of a slow-moving men’s peloton. In the wake of that incident organizers faced criticism at having chosen to stop the women’s race and not the men’s. Cyclingnews

After winning the Tour of Flanders during a breakthrough first season with Team Sunweb, the last two editions of the race have not gone as she’d hoped. Rivera is trying to keep a positive mindset and chalk the whole thing up to a learning experience on how to deal with setbacks. “I think I learned a lot, last year was a big learning year for me, having to deal with adversity,” Rivera told Cyclingnews. “I think that my first year was a dream come true here. Now, I’m learning a lot about how to deal with things like this. I know it’s normal and there are just ups and downs in life, and I just keep moving forward. I’ll recover from this and move onto the next one.” Cyclingnews

RICHIE PORTE is forced to modify his campaign with the Tour of California and the Tour de France on the horizon.

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A8 Saturday, April 13, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

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Doubling seniors’ social pension tops senator’s agenda

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NCREASING the social pension of indigent senior citizens will be a top priority of Sen. Sonny Angara if he is reelected to the Senate for another six-year term. Angara, one of the authors of Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, said the social pension provided for under the law must be doubled from the current P500 to P1,000 per month, and its coverage should be expanded to include those without any form of pension. “By doubling the social pension for the poor elderly, we wish to accomplish three important goals: Add another layer of safeguard to ensure they are taken care of, close the pension coverage gap, and further recognize the efforts and contribution of our senior citizens,” said the lawmaker from Aurora who is running under the platform “Alagang Angara.” Angara coauthored the Expanded Senior Citizens Act when he was still a member of the House of Representatives representing the lone district of Aurora province. The law provided additional privilege and benefits to senior citizens, such as social pension and exemption from the coverage of the 12-percent value-added tax or VAT. The lawmaker is also one of the authors of RA 10645, which gave mandatory PhilHealth coverage to all senior citizens. Angara inherited his advocacy for the elderly from his father, the late Senate President Edgardo Angara, who was responsible for the Senior Citizens Act of 1992, also known as the Angara Law. The senator has been pushing a bill seeking to double the amount of social pension senior citizens are receiving under RA 9994 and widen the coverage of beneficiaries to include those without any form of pension. The measure also proposes the amount and coverage of the social

pension program be reviewed every two years after its enactment into law, in order to include also those receiving “below basic” pension or those receiving pension amounting to P3,400 and below from the Social Security System (SSS) and P5,000 and below from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). “This will provide social protection to close to 6 million vulnerable senior citizens,” Angara said. One of the major problems confronting senior citizens is the lack of financial security, since most of them have no means to earn and largely depend on their meager savings or their children for sustenance. Based on the 2018 estimates of the Commission on Population and Development, there are 8.7 million Filipinos over 60 years old, representing 8.2 percent of the country’s total population of 107 million. The United Nations Population Fund projected in 2012 that by 2050, the population of senior citizens in the Philippines will grow by 15 percent to 23.63 million. Data from the Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE)—an umbrella organization of 450 groups caring for senior citizens that recently endorsed Angara’s reelection bid—showed only 33 percent or 2.9 million of the elderly population are covered by contributory pension, such as the SSS, GSIS, and other pension systems. Of the 5.8 million senior citizens with no contributory pension, only 3.4 million are currently covered by the Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. This leaves 2.4 million elders with no pension at all.

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FREE SERVICE To facilitate the sale of her fresh pineapples, Teresita Santos, 60, a fruit vendor at the Santiago City Public Market in Isabela, peels them off free of charge to customers. Many see the gesture as a customer-friendly approach. CEASAR M. PERANTE

PSA office moves back to Quezon City

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HE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has transferred its Civil Registration Service (CRS) Central Outlet in Manila back to its new building in Quezon City. In an advisory posted on its web site on April 5, the PSA said its CRS Central Outlet has moved from Solicarel Building in Santa Mesa to the new CRS Building located within the PSA Complex along East Avenue. “All applications for the issuance of the civil registry document will be at the new CRS building that commenced on April 1, 2019. Effective April 4, 2019, the Central Outlet will open at 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” PSA

Zambo City Rebooted lives: Easter thoughts seniors get 2 free movies per month I “We must die to one life, before we can enter another.” — Anatole France

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AMBOANGA CITY—Senior citizens of this city can now watch two movies of their choice for free every month. This, after the local government led by Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar launched on Thursday a program implementing an ordinance that grants bona fide members of the Federation of Senior Citizens of Zamboanga City the privilege. Authored by Councilor Cesar Jimenez Jr., the privilege can be availed of at any cinema of the KCC Mall de Zamboanga. Climaco-Salazar said the program is part of the local government’s social services that provide additional benefits to elderly people as a way of thanking them for their contribution to the development of the city. The mayor said that when the proposal was presented to her, she requested the members of the City Council to visit Makati City and find out how the program can be implemented. Makati is the first city in the country to give free movies to its senior citizens. She said the city government and KCC Mall de Zamboanga have forged a partnership for the implementation of the program, adding that similar arrangements will be made with other malls in this city. PNA

ENCOUNTERED the term “reinvent” initially when it was the mantra du jour of business experts and motivational speakers, urging dinosaur companies to embrace change or become extinct. Soon, it was adopted by self-help book writers as the new buzzword for people who have reached a deadend in their lives. In the digital era, they call it “rebooting,” used when you want to kick-start new life into a nonfunctioning computer. “Reinvent” or reboot”—whatever—is the word that came to my mind recently. It is a term I now associate with the message of the Christian season of Lent, which traditionally involves observance of Christ’s Passion as described in the Gospels and which culminates in Christ’s Resurrection or Easter Sunday. Two years ago, I was contracted to write a two-part TV special for the Holy Week. The Good Friday episode consisted of on-cam interviews with individuals who experienced some sort of mini-spiritual resurrections after going through a deep personal crisis or what Saint John of the Cross aptly described as “the dark night of the soul.” The first interviewee, a known movie personality, frankly admitted there was a time in his life when he led a gay lifestyle. In fact, he claimed to have had a boyfriend

P10-M senior citizens’ office in Cotabato breaks ground

or two. He was then having a successful career as a movie writer and director. That meant he had money. And in many instances, he spent it on liaisons with “boys” who ran away with his wallet. Soon, his fragrant lifestyle led him to incur debts, which kept mounting. His debt trouble became so deep (“baon na baon sa utang”), he avoided going home to evade the creditors. Like a hunted criminal, he went to various places which were open all night where he could stay to sleep. But this hide-andseek game he was playing wore him down. He spiralled into a deep depression that caused him to question his innermost beliefs. Feeling desperate and facing a crisis of faith, he challenged God directly to make Himself real to him. Then, according to his account, he felt a sense of grace enveloping him. It was at that point when he decided that he would stop being a “gay” and become what God has intended him to be: a man. His conclusion: “Wala palang ginawang bakla ang Diyos.” Looking at his life at this point, he says he now feels a sense of peace within himself. The next interviewees were exconvict women, who met in a correctional institute where they were serving their time. L. was imprisoned for the crime of funds malversation as an accountant in a government organization. Sentenced to 18 years in prison, she questioned God about her fate. But according to her, God assured

Deputy National Statistician Daniel Ariaso Sr. said. The facility is where applications for copies of the Certificate of Live Birth, Certificate of Marriage, Certificate of Death, Certificate of No Marriage (Cenomar), or the Advisory on Marriage and other related documents affected by annotation such as correction under RA 9048 (Clerical Error Law), supplemental report, annulment of marriage, acknowledgment, legitimation and the issuance of the amended birth certificate after adoption are processed. The public must pay the application fees for the following documents: Certificate of Live

Birth (COLB): P155; Certificate of Marriage (COM): P155; Certificate of Death (COD): P155; and Certificate of No Marriage (Cenomar): P210. The release of documents can be processed within an hour except for the Cenomar document that takes about two to three days Applicants are advised to bring identification card (ID) and its photocopy for reference. If the applicant is not the document owner, a letter authority and ID of the document owner and the requester will be required. Special lane is available for senior citizens, persons with disability and pregnant women in the outlet. PNA

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH her: “Babes, trust me.” Her faith strengthened. She rebounded from this humiliating ordeal and used it as an opportunity to evangelize and apostolate among her fellow prisoners inside the Correctional Institute for Women, not minding the scorn heaped upon her by other prisoners. After only five years, she was paroled. Today, outside the prison, she has not ceased from her prison ministry, faithfully visiting and rendering spiritual service to women prisoners. She says that she has realized that everything is God’s design, and she no longer questions God’s wisdom, letting Him use her as an instrument of His Divine designs. E., the other woman-convict, used to be a top salesperson in her company engaged in telecommunications. But her pride in her selling skills led her to go into illegal recruitment to earn more money. A complaint from one of her customers led to her arrest and conviction. Forced to confront her own self, she decided to change and found spiritual solace by ministering to her fellow prisoners, physically and spiritually. In the midst of deprivation as a prisoner, she became happy and contented. Now on parole, she goes from prison to prison,

ministering to those who are “hungry for God’s word.” These two women ex-convicts could have wallowed in self-pity. Instead of restricting and constraining them, the prison freed them from a yoke or burden. The feeling of being unshackled is exactly what Martin experienced after being held down by a heavy yoke. A gifted fixer of cars in his youth, he was also a heavy user of drugs for 20 years. Through the efforts of his siblings, Martin was rehabilitated, and during his days at the center, while praying the rosary to while the time away and ward off boredom, he suddenly experienced his “Damascus” moment. This opened his eyes to his life’s true calling: to establish his own rehabilitation center using his past experience as a drug addict. Overcoming challenge after challenge, going through one financial crisis after another, he persevered and eventually was able to find solid footing and, today, his rehab center is an internationally certified and thriving facility for drug dependents. Martin was lost and was found and he now seeks others who have been lost, too. Whereas in

OTABATO CITY—The city government and a party-list representative launched on Thursday the construction of a P10million building that elders can call their own. Once completed, the building will cater to all programs and activities of the city’s senior citizens’ population. Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi said the project was made possible with funding assistance from Senior Citizen Party-list Rep. Francisco Datul. The structure would be erected along Datu Udtog Matalam Street, just beside the new city hall. Sayadi said the project will primarily house the Senior Citizens’ Office, which is currently inside the city hall building. She said the structure will be the venue for many skills training, livelihood activities and others that will be undertaken by the city’s elderly constituents. “As a city that promotes productivity among all its citizens, regardless of age and status, our senior citizens are entitled to programs of the government that will help them remain useful to the society,” the mayor said during the groundbreaking ceremony. The elders would be taught simple tasks like bag- and rug-making out of recyclable materials, which can be sold to help them gain income, among other activities. Guiani-Sayadi said the city government is willing to assist in the activities of the senior citizens once the building is completed. “At least our senior citizens can now have a place of their own where they can conduct all their activities,” she said, adding the city social welfare office may use the structure during pension payout for senior citizens. Sayadi noted the city government is not only currently implementing programs that are beneficial to its elderly constituents, but also religiously carries out programs of the national government for senior citizens. PNA

his past life Martin was into car troubleshooting, now he fixes troubled people. Every day somewhere, people are experiencing personal resurrections. They could be friends of yours or mine, old folks like me, neighbors, social-media acquaintances, workmates and even leaders of companies or communities. They know they did bad things and now feel trapped in their own hells. They’ve reached rock bottom and find themselves in a chasm or abyss of transition. They are “offenders” who have made amends or are in the process of reinventing themselves, on a tortuous path toward regeneration. It is worth noting that each of the four featured individuals I mentioned have found ways of “giving forward,” a generosity of service that energizes and enlarges them. Old burdens became lighter. They harness the God-given skills, temperaments and perspectives they had acquired in the past chapters of their lives. They are now truly living, serving the walking wounded, the abandoned, the lost and giving their all for others. In other words, they are fully alive for others! Watching them and listening intently to their personal stories which poured out of their innermost selves, I couldn’t help feeling the stirrings of a buried and neglected part of me. They have given the celebration of Easter Sunday a rebooted new life for me.

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

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Saturday, April 13, 2019 A9

Digital nomadism getting stronger BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES

Live online TV, once a bargain, is getting more expensive

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BY TALI ARBEL The Associated Press

EW YORK—If you signed up to stream live TV in hopes of saving money over traditional cable, you may be in for a rude surprise. Live online-TV providers like YouTube TV, DirecTV Now and Hulu with Live TV lured users with digital “skinny bundles” that were cheaper than cable. Now, many are raising prices. The latest is Google’s YouTube TV, which is increasing its monthly fee to $50. It launched at $35 and has raised prices as it added more channels. The first of this crop of TV services was Dish Networks’ Sling TV in 2015. Its most attractive feature was price, since it offered a handful of popular, live TV channels for $20 a month. A string of other companies announced similar services in the years that followed, many priced from $30-$40 a month. YouTube TV, Hulu Live, AT&T’s DirecTV Now and others were far cheaper than a traditional cable bundle, which costs about $100.

Cable executives derided the online TV packages as unrealistically cheap, but they have grown in popularity as cord-cutting picked up. They have racked up more than 7 million users, according to MoffettNathanson Research, helping offset the declines in traditional TV customers for entertainment companies like Disney, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Viacom. But that bump may be petering out. DirecTV Now lost customers for the first time in the fourth quarter after AT&T canned big discounts. MoffettNathanson noted that growth slowed for the online-TV providers overall. Price increases starting last year—just like you get with your cable package—may be to blame. This year has brought another round of price hikes, often as the bundles fatten up and more closely resemble traditional TV packages. That could turn still more people off, particularly as subscriber fatigue sets in with a slew of new streaming services coming from Disney, AT&T, Comcast and others. But the problem for the TV services is that programming costs go up every year, so they’re passing those on.

“At the end of the day, they have no choice but to keep raising prices,” said MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett. If that means a steep drop-off in demand from users, the entertainment companies could eventually feel the bite. AT&T, intent on profitability, announced a $10 price increase for DirecTV Now in March; it’s now $50 a month for the cheapest tier, even after it dropped some popular networks that it didn’t own. (Some of them, including MTV, BET and Comedy Central, returned a few weeks later after AT&T resolved a dispute with Viacom.) It also raised prices in 2018. Hulu raised the price for its live-TV service in February, by $5, to $45. Sony’s PlayStation Vue raised prices by $5 last year. “Pretty much all of them have come to market from day one saying we’re cheap, cheap, cheap,” said Frost & Sullivan analyst Dan Rayburn. “It’s no longer that much cheaper than cable.” Dish has been more of a holdout. Last year, it raised the price of Sling’s cheapest package by $5 to $25, leaving its fatter bundle alone at $40. It’s also currently offering a big promotion. ■

TNC Predator is the team to beat /

TNC Predator is composed of Armel Paul “Armel” Tabios, Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte, Nico “eyyou” Barcelon, Timothy “Tims” Randrup and Carlo “Kuku” Palad.

PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

I’M not an expert at eSports but in my opinion, Dota 2 is probably the most popular game in the Philippines right now. One reason, I think, is because it is accessible unlike other eSports. Thus, it is not a surprise that Filipinos do so well at Dota 2. TNC Predator recently scored back-to-back victories to affirm their supremacy and secure for the team a place in Philippine Dota 2 history. TNC Predator was the champion in the Dota 2 Grand Finals at the World Electronic Sports Game (WESG) 2018, held last March 10 in Chongqing, China. They won the top cash prize of $500,000 (over P26 million). Before that, TNC Predator beat nine of the best teams from the Asia Pacific region at the Dota 2 category of the Predator League 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand, where they won the $75,000 cash prize. The all-Filipino pro eSports team is currently composed of Armel Paul “Armel” Tabios, Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte, Nico “eyyou” Barcelon, Timothy “Tims” Randrup and Carlo “Kuku” Palad. All the pro-gamers

of TNC Pro Team continue to be recognized all over the world since its inception in 2015. The team started collecting international victories when they became the first Philippine team to qualify for The International 2016. One of the highlights of the tournament was the team’s unexpected 2-0 win against European favorite, OG. They ended up placing seveth and eighth, marking the highest placement a Filipino team has achieved at The International. In 2017 TNC Predator won the Dota 2 championship title from China’s VGJ.Thunder at the China Top 2017 Tournament. That same year, they won the WESG 2016 Grand Finals. They added to the team’s success when they brought home the first championship title, defeating Danish roster

Cloud9 in the Dota 2 finals—with their win at WESG 2018, TNC Pro Team has become a two-time WESG World Champion. Predator, a constant partner in success of the TNC Pro Team’s Dota 2 roster since 2016, has always provided the best laptops, desktops and accessories to help the team play their best game at all times. This year, Predator has also extended its support to TNC’s Counter-Strke: Global Offensive and League of Legends rosters. The brand celebrated the teams’ recent achievements by hosting an exclusive victory party for the Philippine Dota 2 champs with their fans at Oasis Manila. Also present were the team’s family members, loved ones and close friends.

THE advent of digital technology has resulted in numerous transformations in the workplace. Moreover, it has made possible for people who want to have a greater degree of independence, and develop their identity. Mitch Carson, director of the recently concluded Freedom Summit, told the media in a press briefing that the digital space gives freedom to an individual to pursue their passions and interests in their own space. “Freedom is what mastery in the digital space is about—and it is accelerating from being a trend to becoming a lifestyle. It’s been called a variety of names: digital nomadism, online entrepreneurship, digital marketing, among others,” Carson pointed out. He added that digital space basically brings freedom to one’s lifestyle. Expounding, he said this literally means doing the work that an individual enjoys, promoting their skills as their own brand, determining their income level and work hours, and traveling to as many countries as they like. “All through the power of technology especially the Internet,” he said. Carson said the trend has been growing by leaps and bounds all over the world. For individuals who believe that they don’t possess the social skills, Carson said digital technology has leveled the playing field by allowing introverts to hone their skills through webinar. “Thanks to the webinar, people who are shy or introvert can now interact with fellow digital nomads,” he said. “The science of selling becomes more convenient through webinar. This allows other interested viewers to view it as content on demand,” he added. Carson built his first startup in college and selling it for more than seven figures by the age of 28. His second startup, in partnership with Planet Recycling Inc, was sold in 1993 to Houston, Texas-based Waste Management for an undisclosed sum. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a webinar is “an occasion when a group of people go on the Internet at the same time to study and discuss something.” For her part, Michelle Abraham of Vancouver, Canada, pointed out that podcasting is a great enabler to promote an individual in the digital space toward better market visibility. “Podcasting helps people put up their shows,” she said. “To achieve higher revenues, Filipinos must put additional content to podcasting trends to beef up their exposure. In 2012 Abraham founded a podcasting group and is currently advising businesses on how to develop their podcasting capabilities. Her expertise in podcasting has resulted in creating and selling three successful companies. Wikipedia defines a podcast, or generically known as netcast, “as an episodic series of digital audio or video files which a user can download in order to listen to. Moreover, podcasting includes preparation and distribution of audio files using RSS to the computers of subscribed users. In her article published in Forbes Magazine (bit. ly/2G5CNYp), Elaine Pofeldt said digital nomads are growing and now are being accepted in society, becoming an aspiration for some who want to try the new form of lifestyle anchored on the Internet. Aside from Carson and Abraham, other participants in the recently concluded summit were Myke Celis, Andrew Heng, Joan Kaylor, Dan McPherson, Croix Sather and Sua Truong. Some of the topics covered in the summit include: ■ 10 Ways to Make Income Online as a Digital Nomad ■ How to Get Started as a Digital Nomad ■ How to Get Sponsored Sightseeing, Food, Accommodation and Transport as a Digital Nomad Travel Blogger ■ How to Create a Life That Lets You Live Anywhere and Travel the World ■ How to Get Rich in Your Niche ■ How You Can Get Outside Your Comfort Zone and Succeed

A10 Saturday, April 13, 2019

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BSA partners with PHL govt to push use of legal so�tware assets S

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor

EEING the rampant use of unlicensed software in the Philippines, BSA has teamed up with the national government to help solve this ongoing concern by launching a campaign called “Legalize & Protect.” The initiative aims to promote to tens of thousands of business leaders the legal, productivity and security benefits of using licensed software. The drive came on the heels of a recent public notice issued by the Philippines’s Optical Media Board (OMB) encouraging individuals and business entities to stop using unlicensed software. According to the global software industry advocate, thousands of companies in the country continue to use illegal software assets, posing serious business and security risks. These challenges are also experienced worldwide, with global chief information officers finding unlicensed software as increasingly risky and expensive. Currently, organizations face a one-in-three chance of encountering malware when they obtain or install an unlicensed software package or buy a computer with unlicensed software on it. On the average, each malware attack can cost a company $2.4 million. It can take up to 50 days to resolve. Since the infection leads to company downtime or lost business data, it can also seriously affect the company’s brand and reputation. The price for dealing with malware that is associated with unlicensed software is growing, too. It can now cost a company over $10,000 per infected computer and cost firms worldwide nearly $359 billion annually. “Today is all about legalizing software use and protecting companies from the dangers of unlicensed software,” said Tarun Sawney, senior director of BSA. “Our goal is to help business leaders understand the imperative to legalize and recognize that investing in licensed software is good for their security, good for corporate reputation, good for corporate productivity, and good for their bottom line.” Per IDC report, businesses that move to legalized software assets gain an average increase of up to 11 percent in profits. Believing that this will help propel national competitiveness, government leaders urge the private sector to convert to legal assets. For its part, the OMB acknowledges the significance of addressing the growing issue on unlicensed software use

IT was a magical weekend to remember at Wanderland Festival 2019.

among businesses. It also vows to continue its sustained and concerted crackdown to ensure compliance. “We recognize that companies using legal software perform better, protect data better and bring more benefits to our country,” said Atty. Anselmo Adriano, chairman and CEO of OMB. “Good and profitable corporations must legalize their software assets to protect the interests of their clients, their data, and ultimately the health of their business,” he added. The local kick off of the Legalize & Protect campaign coincided with those in other member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), such as Thailand and Indonesia.

Earlier, BSA launched a similar crusade in cooperation with the Vietnamese government with positive results. Target companies are in a wide range of industries including, but not limited to, manufacturing, information technology, finance, professional services, construction, health care, consumer goods, engineering, architecture and design. “The Asean region is among the most dynamic economic areas of the world, and both domestic and multinational companies are growing and benefiting from the many opportunities in Southeast Asia,” said Sawney. “But for companies in the Asean region to truly meet their ambitious goals, they must use safe, secure, licensed software. Unlicensed software is a liability that is no longer

THE Globe booth had everything Wanderers needed—from water refills and device charging to exclusive merch and even a fortune teller.

acceptable anywhere,” he noted. BSA has long collaborated with governments in various countries to educate business leaders about the negative consequences of using unlicensed software. While this cooperation has brought positive results with annual reductions in the rate at which companies use unlicensed software, the problem continues to persist at unreasonable rates. Because of this, BSA will launch public education efforts in the months ahead to ensure business leaders are aware of the risks of using unlicensed software. This will include marketing, communications, socialmedia content and, in some cases, direct appeals to businesses to legalize their software assets. ■

CAPTIVATING projections and magical performances were in store for Wanderers at the #GlobeWanderland Magic House.

Globe gives Wanderers a magical weekend at Wanderland Festival 2019 FOR its seventh year, Globe and Karpos Multimedia upped the ante as Wanderland—the country’s most-awaited annual music and arts festival—hosted not only one but two days full of euphoria and awe-inspiring artistry. Dubbed as Wanderland Magic 2019, the musical extravaganza offered a phenomenal lineup of 14 international acts and eight homegrown music artists who performed their hits in front of hundreds of elated Wanderers. Globe went all out in providing the best festival experience for concertgoers. At the Globe Magic Fun House, Wanderers got to grab exclusive #GlobeWanderland merch, enjoy great pizza and ice cream, quench their thirst, power up their devices, and even know their future with a fortune teller. The company also provided festival-goers with a locker station, a VIP area, several trash stations, and even a paintable gigantic #GlobeWanderland logo as one of its Wanderer Projects. The #GlobeWanderland magic didn’t stop there. A special booth shaped like a magician’s hat, the Magic House featured stunning projections and magical performances for Wanderers. Day 1 saw Wanderbattle 2019 champions, Intertwined,

set the mood for the festivities with their upbeat and discopop music. The fun continued with enlivening performances from young singer-songwriters Reese Lansangan, Charlie Lim and Unique. Wanderers then danced into the night with international acts joan, Gabrielle Aplin, SG Lewis, Honne, JMSN and the headlining Two Door Cinema Club. The magical experience bubbled over into Day 2 with Wanderbattle runners-up Nathan & Mercury, followed by the soulful music of local acts Dayaw and Clara Benin. Korean indie group Adoy, American musician Mac Ayres, and legendary Filipino band Sandwich carried on and catered to the diaspora of music tastes of Wanderers until the warm Sunday’s dusk. Western musical acts Clairo, PREP, Alina Baraz, Masego and The Kooks took both the Wanderland and Globe stages to end Day 2 and ultimately capped off another magical experience for Wanderers. We asked Wanderers about their most memorable moments from #GlobeWanderland 2019 and here were their heartfelt answers: “Being able to attend the festival with my close friends, enjoy their great company, and listen to our favorite artists

together. My favorite set was from Honne! We were all in awe with their performance.” —MARINELA BONGALON, 24, SOCIAL-MEDIA MANAGER

could try or have a picture with. You’ll never get bored at Wanderland.” —JIELENE LIBUNAO, 24, MERCHANDISING OFFICER

“My most memorable Wonderland moment was getting to watch Masego live. I wasn’t familiar with his music at all but walked away a fan because of his entertaining performance. He did a lot of improvisations and interactions with the audience. I was so surprised at how people my age or even younger were cheering on a guy doing a saxophone solo. It was awesome seeing how music can bring people together.” —NIÑA GUNO, 27, COLUMNIST

“Apart from having two great days of unforgettable entertainment, it was remarkable how Wanderland and its partners promoted environmental responsibility throughout the event. From having a reusable water bottle campaign to implementing responsible waste disposal, the people behind Wanderland surely succeeded in encouraging Wanderers to do their part for the environment.” —DERICK FLORES, 23, SEO SPECIALIST

“What made Wanderland unforgettable was the sharing of artistry and passion through music among friends. It was a wonderful gathering of people who all expressed love, energy and creativity.” —PREZIELLA TSANG, 25, LEGAL ASSISTANT

The leader of the digital lifestyle among Filipinos, Globe continues to bolster their commitment to highlight worldclass Filipino musical ingenuity and bring them together with the most-requested acts in the international music scene. Wanderers, young and the young-at-heart alike, can sure expect to make more memories at Wanderland 2020. Stay updated on Wanderland 2020 by visiting bit. ly/2tg50FS.

“On top of the awesome performances, there were the art installations, art market, and interactive booths people

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Saturday, April 13, 2019 A11

Researchers find more cases of Facebook app data exposure SAN FRANCISCO—Security researchers have uncovered more instances of Facebook user data being publicly exposed on the Internet, further underscoring its struggles as it deals with a slew of privacy and other problems. The researchers from the firm UpGuard said in a blog post on Wednesday that the data, which included user names and passwords, came from two different Facebook apps that stored their data publicly on Amazon’s cloud services. Facebook said the databases

have been taken down. But the episode illustrates Facebook’s issues with controlling its users’ data, especially once it is in the hands of third-party developers. The databases were from a Mexico-based media company called Cultura Colectiva, which included more than 540 million records—like user comments and likes—and from an app called At the Pool. The researchers said passwords stored for At the Pool were “presumably” for the app and not

for Facebook. Still, storing them publicly could put people at risk if they used the same passwords across different accounts. While the At the Pool data collection was not as large as that for Cultura Colectiva, UpGuard said it included plain text passwords for 22,000 users. The app itself shut down in 2014, and UpGuard said it is not known how long the user details were exposed. The discovery comes a little over a year after Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the

data mining firm affiliated with Donald J. Trump got personal data on millions of Facebook users. “As Facebook faces scrutiny over its data stewardship practices, they have made efforts to reduce third-party access. But as these exposures show, the data genie cannot be put back in the bottle,” UpGuard wrote in its blog post. “Data about Facebook users has been spread far beyond the bounds of what Facebook can control today.” AP

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D-LINK COVR-2202 SHINES IN HWM+HARDWAREZONE.COM TECH AWARDS 2019

D-LINK International Pte. Ltd. (www.dlink-intl.com), a leading global provider of networking products, bagged the Editor’s Choice award at the 10th HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2019. The company’s D-Link Covr-2202 was named Best Mesh Networking System at the tech industry’s annual premier event held in Singapore, where the best brands and revolutionary tech products and services are recognized. “This is a testament to our competency as a global leader in network connectivity and advanced security. Receiving such recognition from our media partners motivates us and our distributors to continue providing high-performance and feature-rich solutions to our end-users. Our customers can expect that we will remain steadfast in our commitment to build networks for people with our products that are certified innovative, reliable and superb,” shared D-Link International President Jacky Chang. Available in the Philippines online through Shopee and Lazada, and at selected authorized D-Link resellers, D-Link’s Covr-2202, which supports a true mesh networking topology and a triband Wi-Fi system, topped the Best Mesh Networking System category with its great performance, ease of use and decent features. The D-Link Covr-2202 performed well in all of HWM’s tests, both as a single unit and in a mesh network. Its speeds were higher and more consistent across all tested ranges compared with its rivals. Its ease of setup was also highlighted as the units pair seamlessly right out of the box. Despite the lack of a few features available in some of its rivals, the Covr-2202 has all of the basics such as guest networking and parental controls, making it the must-have mesh networking system in the market today. Equipped with high-power amplifiers, the D-Link Covr2202 can cover up to 6,000 square feet with ultra-highspeed Wi-Fi. It permanently eliminates Wi-Fi dead zones in the home with its six powerful antennas and MU-MIMO technology. D-Link Covr-2202’s smart backhaul feature also automatically optimizes the signal between the Covr points to make the whole home network perform better overall. With its ultra-high speed AC2200 Tri-Band Wi-Fi and 11ac Wave 2 with MU-MIMO, users can get more power for faster downloads, lag-free 4K streaming and truly seamless networking, a system that is perfect for bandwidth-hungry homes.

PEOPLE stand in front of the Google tent during preparations for CES International in Las Vegas. Google employees have had more success than other tech workers at demanding change at the company. AP

Real or artificial? Tech titans declare AI ethics concerns BY MATT O’BRIEN & RACHEL LERMAN The Associated Press

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HE biggest tech companies want you to know that they’re taking special care to ensure that their use of artificial intelligence to sift through mountains of data, analyze faces or build virtual assistants doesn’t spill over to the dark side. But their efforts to assuage concerns that their machines may be used for nefarious ends have not been universally embraced. Some skeptics see it as mere window dressing by corporations more interested in profit than what’s in society’s best interests. “Ethical AI” has become a new corporate buzz phrase, slapped on internal review committees, fancy job titles, research projects and philanthropic initiatives. The moves are meant to address concerns over racial and gender bias emerging in facial recognition and other AI systems, as well as address

anxieties about job losses to the technology and its use by law enforcement and the military. But how much substance lies behind the increasingly public ethics campaigns? And who gets to decide which technological pursuits do no harm? Google was hit with both questions when it formed a new board of outside advisers in late March to help guide how it uses AI in products. But instead of winning over potential critics, it sparked internal rancor. A little more than a week later, Google bowed to pressure from the backlash and dissolved the council. The outside board fell apart in stages. One of the board’s eight inaugural members quit within days and another quickly became the target of protests from Google employees who said her conservative views don’t align with the company’s professed values. As thousands of employees called for the removal of Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James, Google disbanded the board last week.

“It’s become clear that in the current environment, [the council] can’t function as we wanted,” the company said in a statement. That environment is one of increasing concern that the corporate AI ethics campaigns lack teeth. “I think [Google’s decision] reflects a broader public understanding that ethics involves more than just creating an ethics board without an institutional framework to provide for accountability,” AI researcher Ben Wagner said. Google’s original initiative fell into a tech industry trend that Wagner calls “ethics-washing,” which he describes as a superficial effort that’s mostly a show for the public or lawmakers. “It’s basically an attempt to pretend like you’re doing ethical things and using ethics as a tool to reach an end, like avoiding regulation,” said Wagner, an assistant professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. “It’s a new form of selfregulation without calling it that by name.” ■

UnionBank, Lombard Odier put emphasis on digital technology in their wealth management offering BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES THE Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) and Lombard Odier will deploy cutting-edge technologies in their latest service focused on the ultra-high net worth families (UHNWFs) and individuals (UHNWIs) in the Philippines. Arlene Joan Tanjuaquio-Agustin, head of the UnionBank private banking, said its newest product will be a Web-based digital platform with functionalities serving both the bank and the client. In a recent press briefing held at Bonifacio Global City, Tanjuaquio-Agustin said UnionBank will also provide information using analytics to enable clients get real-time and comprehensive reports on their portfolios. “We will provide on-demand, real-time reports. It will also give market and economic updates for the clients,” she said. “Moreover, we will also publish the news whether good or bad for the information of our

clients,” she added. She said the relationship managers will use a dashboard when they visit the clients for updates on their portfolio. Tanjuaquio-Agustin said the bank will use an enterprise-grade infrastructure to ensure connectivity. Under their strategic partnership, UnionBank and Lombard Odier (Singapore), part of global wealth and asset manager Lombard Odier Group, UnionBank’s new private banking arm will combine its expertise with Lombard Odier’s more than 220 years of private banking experience to offer global wealth and asset management services tailored to the unique needs of UHNWFs and UHNWIs. “UnionBank’s strategic alliance with Lombard Odier gives the bank’s private banking group the edge in terms of access to global assets, innovative solutions and expertise in wealth management. Both banks complement each other in more aspects

than one: a shared vision for innovation, sustainability and drive for excellence,” said Edwin Bautista, president of UnionBank. Bautista pointed out that UnionBank will leverage on its position as the country’s leading digital bank to offer private banking that is centered on innovation, using the current emerging technologies to streamline the customer experience while making the bank more agile in providing wealth and asset management services. Vincent Mangenat, chief executive officer of Lombard Asia, said the company preferred to work with a local partner in offering their wealth management services. “It is best to offer our services with a local partner to ensure there is close coordination,” he said. Annika Falkengren, managing director of the Lombard Odier Group, said the launching of UnionBank’s private banking arm will enable Lombard Odier help clients navigate the challenges they will experience in their wealth management programs.

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

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Yahoo! to pay $117.5M in latest settlement of massive breach BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press

Sounds of summer THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

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POILER warning: If you haven’t seen the movie Us, you might want to skip the next couple of paragraphs. But just the same I apologize for spoiling one minor plot point: the movie features a smart speaker. If you’ve seen the movie you probably remember “Ophelia.” She’s the Alexa-like voice assistant that plays a key role in one of the film’s most brutal and sadistically funny scenes. Ophelia is great at playing music, but when it comes to interpreting other commands—she’s not something you’d call reliable. When one of the character gets attacked, she frantically tells Ophelia to call the police, unfortunately Ophelia misheard the order and played N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police,” instead. Not exactly the music you’d want to hear before dying. Oops sorry, another spoiler. In reality, however, I don’t think you could really command these smart speakers to call an emergency number—yet. But it works amazing when you ask it to find a good pasta recipe. Who would have thought speakers would become the next “smart” thing? Growing up, my speakers had one function and that was to play music from either the radio, cd or MP3 in the loudest possible way. Then came Bluetooth, and wireless audio systems became a thing. Now, you could actually talk to them and ask them stuff and they’d give you a proper answer most of the time—sometimes even better than your best friend. The smart speaker is a product of decades of experimentation with voice recognition, and there seems to be no stopping this ever growing industry as more people become so connected to the Internet and their music subscriptions. More than just play music, these devices can also manage some of the mundane duties of domestic life, turn on the lights, lock your doors, etc., depending on how “smart” your other appliances/devices are. Some of these smart speakers now even have their own screens which even further their functionality. At a recent event, JBL and Harman Kardon again showcased its audio supremacy focusing on connected technologies with its new series of speakers and headphones some of which have Google Assistant. Of all the products on display, my favorite had to be the JBL Link View which some reviews described as the bestsounding “Smart Display” money can buy. The JBL Link View is the addition to your home you never thought you’re missing. It is a Google Assistant voiceactivated speaker with an 8-inch high definition touch screen display and boasts of JBL’s trademark legendary sound.

The Link View’s integrated display allows you to get things done easily with the built-in Google Assistant, and you can ask questions and tell it to do things (except call the police). Just start with “Hey Google” to find new videos of your favorite YouTube creators, receiving step-by-step instructions for cooking pasta, or if you have smart lights it can dim them in time for movie night. More than just delivering music, the JBL Link View can also be used for video calls using its 5-megapixel front camera. If you’re concerned about your privacy, JBL includes a physical cover that hides the lens for when you’re not using it. For those looking for smart headphones, there’s the JBL Live 650BTNC. It also has Google Assistant function which you can access simply by tapping the right earcup. Amplifying more the signature JBL sound, the JBL Live 650BTNC, has noise-cancelling capabilities to let users enjoy music without distractions. Other features include up to 30 hours of battery life, and a speed charging capability which equates a 15-minute charge to two hours of playtime. Sound settings of the JBL Live 650BTNC can be tweaked using the My JBL Headphones App. The JBL Tune 500 on the other hand, is a wired headphone that comes with Google Assistant accessible through the JBL Tune 500’s one-button remote and microphone. It, likewise, has a wireless version called the JBL Tune 500BT. The JBL Tune 500BT can last up to 16 hours of continuous music playback and comes with a multipoint connection feature to allow seamless switching between multiple music sources like smartphones and laptops. Since summer is all about the beach and parties, JBL launched several other speaker systems, which although does not have Google Assistant, is perfect for those outdoor gatherings. A proof of the saying that big things come in small packages, the JBL Charge 4 packs two functions into one portable Bluetooth speaker. Other than playing your favorite tunes wherever you go, the JBL Charge 4 can also be used to fuel up your devices simultaneously while producing tunes, as it comes with 7,500mAh battery which is bigger than its predecessor. To replenish its battery, the JBL Charge 4 has a USB Type-C port. The JBL Charge 4 comes with a rugged, waterproof design and has 20 hours of playback time. With JBL Connect+ technology, you can wirelessly link more than 100 JBL Connect+ enabled speakers to amplify the party. Made to bring loud, energizing sound everywhere you go, the JBL Party Box 300 is a powerful party speaker with light effects. It comes with a 10,000mAh battery for 18 hours of nonstop music, and can be charged using the 12V DC ports of your car. The JBL Party Box 300 can also be used as power bank to fuel up smartphones and other devices. You can connect two speakers simultaneously, and has a microphone and guitar inputs. Its PureBass sound mode can derive music using Bluetooth and USB playback. Lastly an addition to the JBL Jr. headphones under the JBL Kids line, there’s the JBL Jr. Pop speaker. It comes in a rugged, waterproof design in pop, a built-in multicolor light mode, and trendy colors which kids can decorate using JBL stickers. The brand also revealed its latest lineup of headphones and earphones in partnership with

UnderArmour. This year, JBL Philippines brings in four new models, including the JBL Under Armour Sports Flex, JBL Under Armour Sports React, JBL Under Armour Sports Pivot and the JBL Under Armour Sports Wireless Train, we’ll try to feature more of these devices in the coming weeks.

‘BLEISURE’ TRAVEL

FOR millennials, wanting to see and experience more of life through travel has been an endless battle cry. No wonder, the younger generation is now being labeled as the wanderlust generation; an entire generation hooked on adventure. Apart from the very obvious reason which is to create and share Instagram-worthy content, people also travel to connect to others and the world in an authentic way by immersing themselves in the local scene. Unlike the previous generations which were mostly content with the tourist routes, people now want to discover and ‘travel like a local.’ This has fueled the desire of people to be more intrepid when it comes to trying out new things, such as traveling solo; a fast-growing trend among young people of today. And as communities around the world show signs of being progressive, everyone wants to move farther away, especially millennials, who have the technological tools and skills to make travel the most accessible and comfortable than ever before. This is the same mantra that resonates with Pacsafe, an industry leader in anti-theft technology. The more you travel, the more you need a traveling companion that will keep your belongings secure. Pacsafe’s best-selling line Venturesafe G3 is now better than ever. This well-rounded bag adapts well to varied lifestyle and active pursuits. Its innovation-focused anti-theft technology will keep you organized and protected throughout your travels. It’s the bag made for the adventurous spirit. Work and play go hand-in-hand, especially for young travel junkies who still need to keep their day jobs. For this small but significantly growing market, working remotely—as long as there’s Wi-Fi—is considered the new normal. This is quite common for those in the creative and tech field, but is largely seen and felt across the industry, to transition into a lifestyle trend called “bleisure”; combining leisure and business. Way before bleisure became a thing, it’s common knowledge for people to really make the most out of their vacation trips by injecting a few work time. Pacsafe Venturesafe is a backpack that allows you to bring your work essentials such as your laptop or tablet to keep you mobile but productive, with bigger space for some clothes, a few snacks, a water bottle and more. Highlighting its smart features such as attachment point for bicycle light, system for hydration pack, external attachment points for small items, an RFID safe blocking system and PopNLock Security clip for optimum security against intrusion, its name is a promise that each of your (ad) venture will be safe. Pacsafe stores are in Glorietta 5, SM City North Edsa, SM Mall of Asia, SM City Bacolod, SM Lanang Premier, SM City Seaside Cebu, Ayala Centrio, Robinsons Place Ermita, Lucky Chinatown or you could check out www.urbanize.com.ph for more information. ■

SAN FRANCISCO—Nearly 200 million people who had sensitive information snatched from their Yahoo! accounts will receive two years of free creditmonitoring services and other potential restitution in a legal settlement valued at $117.5 million. The deal revises an earlier agreement struck last October, only to be rejected by US District Court Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California. The value of that settlement had been pegged at $50 million, but Koh questioned the calculations. A more detailed breakdown used in the revised settlement drove up the estimated cost. The money will be paid by Yahoo!’s current owner, Verizon, and Altaba, a holdover from Yahoo!’s past that still owns a stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group worth billions of dollars. If approved, the settlement will become part of the financial fallout from digital burglaries that stole personal information from about 3 billion Yahoo! accounts in 2013 and 2014—believed to be the biggest data breach ever. And now the $117.5 million settlement could become largest amount ever doled out for a data breach, a recurring problem in an increasingly digitally driven world. It eclipses a $115 million settlement that Koh approved last year to cover 79 million people who had personal information stolen in a 2015 breach at health insurer Anthem Inc. Yahoo! didn’t begin to disclose the extent of its security breakdown until 2016 amid an FBI investigation that eventually linked some of the hacking to Russia. The revelations brought a mortifying end to the reign of Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer, eventually prompting the company to reduce its selling price to Verizon by $350 million. Verizon has since written off much of the nearly $4.5 billion price for the Yahoo! acquisition in sign of the eroding value of that business. Lawyers representing the Yahoo! accountholders estimate about 194 million people in US and Israel will be eligible to make claims, according to court documents. Those people collectively may have had about 896 million of the Yahoo! accounts hit in the break-ins. The biggest piece of the revised Yahoo! settlement disclosed in documents filed on Tuesday consists of the free credit-monitoring services that will be offered to everyone covered by the deal to protect them from identity theft and other potential problems. The service from AllClear usually costs $14.95 per month, or $359 for two years. People who already have a credit-monitoring service will be eligible for cash payments instead. Yahoo! accountholders who paid anywhere for $20 to $50 annually for premium email accounts will be eligible for refunds of up to 25 percent. People who had to spend time protecting their identities or dealing with other issues caused by the breach can seek to be paid at a rate of $25 per hour for up to 15 hours. The settlement will also pay up to $32.5 million in fees and other expenses to the lawyers representing Yahoo! accountholders, down from the $37.5 million sought in the earlier agreement—another sticking point for Koh. As part of the deal, Verizon also has pledged to continue to expand upon the security that it has already added since taking over Yahoo!. The Verizon division that includes Yahoo! expects to spend an average of about $81 million annually on security from 2018 to 2022, up from average of about $15 million annually from 2013 to 2016 when Yahoo! was still independent, according to court documents. “We believe that the settlement demonstrates our strong commitment to security,” Verizon said in a statement. John Yanchunis, a lawyer representing Yahoo! accountholders, declined to comment. A hearing on the revised settlement is scheduled for June 27.

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If you have any information / objection to the above mentioned application/s, please communicate with the Regional Director thru Employment Promotion and Workers Welfare (EPWW) Division with Telephone No. 400-6011.

ATTY. ANA C. DIONE, CPA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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In the ad material of Notice of filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on March 16, 2019, the position of Mr. Efri Lionggono under RED PIXEL SOLUTIONS GLOBAL INC. should have been read as Brand Identity Designer (Chinese Speaking) and not as published. In the application published on April 6, 2019, the applicant of FIRST GREAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES INC. should have been read as Mr. Huang, Shisen and not as published. In the application published on February 19, 2019, the Company name and Address of Mr. Gähwiler, Peter Emil should have been read as PANALPINA CHINA LTD. D.B.A PANALPINA GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES (GBS) PHILS. located at 6/F Five E-Com Bldg., Pacific Drive, Brgy. 076, Pasay , Metro Manila and not as published. If you have any information/objection to the above mentioned application/s, please communicate with the Regional Director thru Employment Promotion and Workers Welfare (EPWW) Division with Telephone No. 400 6011.

ATTY. ANA C. DIONE, CPA REGIONAL DIRECTOR