Businessmirror April 27, 2019

BusinessMirror BORACAY REDUX

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Saturday, April 27, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 199

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Businessmen, workers, tourists look back on the game-changing semester when the globally acclaimed island resort was closed to the world

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo | Special to the BusinessMirror

A

Workers in the resorts, numbering about 30,000, went home to their own provinces or started looking for jobs abroad.

The actual losses from per­ sonal and business incomes have yet to be fully quantified, although a recent study by the Philippine Institute for Development Stud­ ies (PIDS) estimated economic loss between some P21 billion and P83 billion, while the loss in compensa­ tion, possibly ranging from P7 bil­ lion to about P28 billion.

The closure has led to a 53-per­ cent fall in tourist arrivals on the island last year to 930,363 from 2 million in 2017, as per data from

Photos by Bernard Testa

YEAR ago on April 26, Boracay Island was closed off to tourists, as the Duterte administration put it under a state of calamity, due to the environmental damage it sustained in several areas.

For six months, the island was like a ghost town, with very few residents remaining, trying to eke any sort of livelihood. Those who

could afford to stay helped out by keeping their establishments open to provide food for the residents and keep their staff employed.

the Department of Tourism (DOT).

The island was reopened last October 26, as the first phase of the government’s rehabilitation pro­ gram was completed. As of April 8, 2019, the DOT has accredited 339 establishments with a total of 12,083 rooms.

Improvements made

IN a news conference on Thurs­ day, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, who chairs the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF), asserted that there have been defi­ nite improvements on the island since its closure one year ago. “A Continued on A2

Govt forces shift to ‘subtle’ security mode to fight IS-affiliated groups, secure May polls

P

By Rene Acosta

OLICE and the military forces have tightened security and beefed up their intelligence efforts anew, especially in Mindanao, in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, and following President Duterte’s warning to foreigners to forgo travel plans to Zamboanga, citing risks posed by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits.

The measures were adopted by security forces as they digested the hard lessons of the bombings in the South Asian country, where

359 lives have been lost so far, and 500 people were wounded in an at­ tack largely blamed by Sri Lankan officials on the failure of intelli­

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.2460

PHILIPPINE National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde (center) talks to reporters at Camp Crame on April 15, 2019. AP/AARON FAVILA

gence. Philippine security officials were also taking into consideration Duterte’s concern for the security of foreigners in Mindanao.

“We have made security ad­ justments, and number one, we have intensified our intelligence gathering and monitoring. This is an automatic response in cases like that,” Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Oscar Alba­ yalde said in reaction to the attack.

Albayalde said that they do not want to take chances, given that Jolo had also been attacked early this year by an Indonesian couple who turned up to be suicide bomb­ ers in an incident claimed by the Islamic State (IS).

The coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka, officials said, were car­ ried out by suspects who were welleducated and with middle-class backgrounds.

Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4681 n UK 67.4026 n HK 6.6612 n CHINA 7.7461 n SINGAPORE 38.3400 n AUSTRALIA 36.6401 n EU 58.1707 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9330

Source: BSP (April 26, 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Saturday, April 27, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BORACAY REDUX Continued from a1

year ago, when a tourist arrived at the Cagban jetty port, it would take him one hour to get to his hotel.

Now it is just 30 minutes. The road is now clear and it is faster to move through. It is no longer congested and even tourists can now walk along the road [because we made the sidewalks].”

He added that coliform lev­ els have significantly dropped in the waters around the island. “The highest coliform level for the past months was just 40 most probable number (MPN) per 100 milliliter, and there were months that it was only one-digit level.”

He noted that one year ago, pho­ tos would show algae formation on the main white beach. “It was very green…[despite the summer season], there is no algae up to now.”

In many speaking engagements here and travel fairs abroad, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat has held up Boracay Island as a model for sustainable tourism. “This is the Boracay we fell in love with 30 years ago,” she has said.

Cleaner beach and waters

AND for most parts, perhaps the island’s rehabilitation was indeed helpful in preventing it from becoming an even larger environmental disaster that generations after us would no longer be able to enjoy.

“The rehabilitation led by DENR [Department of Environ­ ment and Natural Resources] was great,” averred Peter Tay, owner of the multiawarded Boracay Adven­ tures Travels and Tours. “A cleaner Boracay and the road widening with sidewalk gave tourists a walk­ ing space. The water condition, ac­ cording to reports, especially in Bu­ labog, tremendously improved.”

Nonetheless, he still feels the six-month total closure of the is­ land was unnecessary. “It could have been done in phases, like what is going on now. After six months of closure, it was opened last October 26; they [government agencies] are still working in phases. The sudden closure changed many lives; some are no longer around, while some are still trying to recover from their losses of income from the closure.”

In his case, Tay said, he esti­ mated losses from the closure of his business for six months at about P1 million per month. “I tried teach­ ing in Bohol and setting up another office in Manila, but nothing com­ pares to being in Boracay since I called it home, and have friends around. We are blessed! Things are moving well for our company with good reviews and always striving to provide good services, so we are slowly recovering from our losses.

As of now, bookings are coming in since many are looking forward to see the ‘New Boracay.’”

Maintain the changes

RESORT owner Edd Fuentes re­ called he was initially bothered by the closure of the island, and the subsequent challenges in reopen­ ing his three properties. He used to tell his friends that he wanted to

sell his resorts. “It just seemed that every day, there were new require­ ments asked of us when we were go­ ing around and processing our ap­ plications for government permits and accreditations,” he said.

He also observed that there are still resorts, which are violating the 25+5 easement ordinance for the main beachfront, and some have been operating without permits.

“They have guests! Whereas we had to go through the eye of the needle just to reopen our properties,” he stressed.

While he will still sell his prop­ erties on the island, Fuentes said, he will probably just retain one and put a few rooms and a restaurant.

He underscored he wasn’t selling because of the closure experience, but rather to rid himself of the stress of running many properties.

Also, he noted that government au­ thorities are gradually addressing many of his concerns. “They have been going house to house and checking permits of all the estab­ lishments, which is a good thing.”

Fuentes said, “If the govern­ ment can retain the changes it has put in place, then the closure would have been worth it.” He noted that business has been “very good” since his properties reopened last year.

“During the closure, we were able to think about our operations and simplify them. So we were able to streamline our work force. Now we have better profitability because our sales have increased, while our overhead has been reduced. We are happy that business has been booming.”

FRIDAY’S Love Boracay activities included paraw painting and sailing. “It was wonderful to see such an amazing turnout from all the paraw operators, and their sailing teams were so proud of their sails,” says island resident Trudy Allen. PHOTO COURTESY RUDY ALLEN

Opening a can of worms

TOURISM Congress of the Philip­ pines President Jose C. Clemente III said the closure and rehabilita­ tion of Boracay has had positive and negative impacts. “We have to admit that the beach looks great and it looks ‘refreshed’ compared to before. Ordinances to preserve the island’s sustainability have been implemented, and people are now more conscious about the environ­ ment. In that sense, the rehabilita­ tion helped Boracay.”

But he noted, “the rehabili­ tation also opened a whole new can of worms as far as who was at fault for the island’s degradation and has created an atmosphere of finger-pointing and division among some of the stakeholders.”

On Wednesday, the Ombudsman dismissed Malay, Aklan Mayor Ci­ ceron Cawaling from office, taking him to task for the environmental degradation of Boracay, which falls under his municipality.

However, island residents and tourism industry observers noted that the environmental degrada­ tion of Boracay did not start just during Cawaling’s term of office, and involved other local govern­ ment officials, as well as officials of the DENR. The DENR has yet to make public who among its employees and officials have been charged similarly with neglect of their duties to protect Boracay’s environment.

Clemente also said reports reaching him from island stake­

PETER TAY, president of Boracay Adventures Travel and Tours

EDD FUENTES, owner of Sun Villa Resorts Group

JOSE CLEMENTE III, president of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines

holders indicate “the work on the roads and other infrastructure has been slow; so that also needs to be addressed. So, whether the closure was worth it or not will be a discus­ sion that will be debated on for a long time.”

times, but they are not required to apply for a tax identification num­ ber. It’s not fair because they don’t pay taxes, and especially to those who actually secure a work permit.”

Tay pointed out that “com­ missioners” offering tours on the beach continue to abound. The BI­ ATF earlier had vowed to remove these “commissioners” so tourists will book their tours through ac­ credited tour operators only.

Clemente has always asserted that the closure and rehabilitation of Boracay could have been carried out better, in consultation with tourism stakeholders and others that would be hugely impacted by the action, i.e., the workers. “A com­ prehensive master plan on how the rehabilitation would proceed could have made things better…. There was a sense of haphazardness as far as how the rehabilitation was to be carried out.”

He underscored that the gov­ ernment should have been more focused on the plight of the work­ ers who would be displaced by the closure. The promised financial aid had been sparse, or was not re­ ceived at all, despite claims by the

government to the contrary.

“At the end of the day, we are all after the balance of what is good for the island, the gov­ ernment, and the stakehold­ ers. While some of that balance may have been reached, there is still much work that needs to be done,” Clemente said.

Proliferation of ‘illegal’ alien workers

TAY, for his part, called for more regulation in the establishment of businesses on the island. “Any­ body and everybody can just come to the island to set up a business.

Chinese and Koreans will partner with Filipinos to set up businesses like resorts, hotels, restaurants, travel operators, spa, and tour operations. All these should also be regulated and not allowed to mushroom.”

While complaints have been raised against illegal Chinese work­ ers in Chinese-owned restaurants, he noted that there were also quite a number of Korean workers in Korean restaurants. “The problem is, [authorities] issue them Special Work Permits, instead of a Work­ ing Permit. A Special Work Per­ mit allows them to work only two

Completing the work

GOVERNMENT authorities have said they are looking to complete that work. At Thursday’s news conference on the island, DENR’s Cimatu said the construction of the circumferential road will con­ tinue. The BIATF also is pinning its hopes that Bulabog beach, on the east coast of Boracay, will fi­ nally become a “swimmable area” after drainage work is completed by the end of the year. At present, Bulabog beach is still categorized a water sports area.

“We are also making the Cag­ ban port an all-year-round port,” he said. During the monsoon sea­ son, pump boats usually transfer to the Tambisaan jetty port to pro­ tect transportation and visitors from the weather.

Cimatu said the restoration of the island’s biodiversity will con­ tinue starting with seeding Puka Beach with more puka shells and investigating why the number of flying foxes and bats has de­ creased on the island. The DENR also plans to “restore the three rock formations used as platforms

by West Cove Boracay to their nat­ ural form.”

To celebrate the second phase reopening of Boracay, pockets of festivities will be held dubbed “Love Boracay,” replacing the Lab­ oracay parties that used to be held on the main beachfront leading up to May 1, Labor Day.

DOT Undersecretary for Tour­ ism Regulation Coordination and Resource Generation Arturo P. Boncato Jr. told reporters on Thursday, “The difference is, ‘La­ boracay’ was a concerted effort to bring everybody to the beach. As you know, in the past, this brought about 100,000 tourists to white beach. In ‘Love Boracay,’ the ac­ tivities will be held on individual properties, small properties; there are no huge events along the white beach. ‘Love Boracay’ will be mean­ ingful, but there will be no gather­ ing of large crowds.”

Love Boracay began on Fri­ day with Ati-Atihan dancers and drummers performing along Sta­ tion 2, followed by paraw regatta and sail painting, with forums on environmental management and sustainable tourism scheduled in the next few days. There is also a scheduled beach cleanup on Sun­ day, a variety show for law enforc­ ers, a film festival featuring videos taken by drones, and a Boracay Food Fest from April 26 to May 1 at the Laketown Main Road.

Govt forces shift to ‘subtle’ security mode to fight IS-affiliated groups, secure May polls Continued from a1

Danger of slipping into the country

ALBAYALDE said that because the IS has been defeated in Syria, there is this danger that some of its fighters, particularly Asians, could enter the country, especially considering that the group has declared Marawi City before as its “province” in Southeast Asia.

“This is what we are saying: that there are possibilities that the terrorists there who are mem­ bers of the ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] can go to places anywhere in the world to seek

refuge and we are not excused on that,” he said.

“This is what we are looking after; that these people might en­ ter our country and that is why we have to intensify our effort, our intelligence monitoring, especially when something like that hap­ pens,” he added.

Albayalde said their security effort is doubled by the elaborate plan that was already put in place for the midterm elections wherein thousands of policemen and sol­ diers have also been deployed around the country.

The mobilization of security forces goes with the ongoing oper­

ations of checkpoints, law-enforce­ ment operations, implementation of the gun ban and the continuing operations by the military against members of terrorist and other lawless groups in Mindanao.

Avoiding alarm

ALBAYALDE said their security operations are being executed in a “subtle” way in order that it will not create fear and panic among the Filipinos, but added the public should still see slight changes over the way security is implemented in places of convergence, including airports and seaports.

“We do not want them [the

public] to think that there are threats, we do not want to cre­ ate undue apprehension. But then again, we have to intensify our ef­ fort, our intelligence monitoring,” he said.

As to the call of President Duterte for foreigners to avoid Zamboanga due to threats from the ASG and the IS, Albayalde said it is normal for the President to is­ sue such word of caution, a position shared by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

“The President’s statement cautioning foreigners from trav­ elling to Zamboanga is his way of looking out for the safety of tour­

ists visiting the Philippines,” Lo­ renzana said.

“While we assure the public that government security forces are always on the alert to prevent and respond to incidents, it is bet­ ter for everyone to take personal measures to ensure their security.

We also encourage the public to work closely with the authorities to make our communities safer for everyone,” he added.

Hunting BIFF and ASG

THE military’s Eastern and West­ ern Mindanao Commands said they are working to ensure that Mindanao will be safe not only

for foreigners but for the whole country as they conduct opera­ tions without letup against terror groups, especially the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the ASG. Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, who is at the helm of the govern­ ment’s campaign against the BIFF in Central Mindanao, said they are doing their best to end the BIFF’s depredations in the region.

“The entire community is hop­ ing that this menace of society will come to an end and that peace and development will push unham­ pered,” he said.

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Editor: Angel R. Calso

US, Japan start next round of accelerated trade talks

U

NITED STATES and Japanese negotiators had a second round of trade talks in Washington on Thursday as they aim to secure a speedy deal focused on agriculture and vehicles.

Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, while Finance Minister Taro Aso had a separate discussion with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and talked about currencies. On Friday, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to meet President Donald Trump in Washington.

The US is pushing to reduce its trade deficit with Japan and gain better access to the Asian nation’s agriculture market. For its part, Japan is looking for a concrete promise that it won’t be hit by possible US tariffs on autos imports, similar to duties imposed by the Trump administration last year on steel and aluminum on national security grounds.

Motegi said last week, during the first round of negotiations, that the sides are aiming for an “early” agreement.

On Thursday, however, Motegi said the talks mostly confirmed the content of the negotiations agreed to the previous week, with no substantial progress on autos or

agriculture. “More detailed negotiations will come in the future,” he said.

Following Thursday’s talks with Mnuchin, Aso also pushed back against US efforts to link the yen with bilateral talks aimed at striking a trade deal.

“We can’t agree to any talk of linking currency and trade policy,” he said.

A Finance Ministry official who briefed reporters after Aso said he believes that talks concerning currency will be secondary to the trade talks between Motegi and Lighthizer.

US farmers are also agitating for a quick resolution. Almost 90 agricultural organizations said in a letter to Lighthizer this week that US agricultural products are losing ground after Japan cut tariffs for a second time on products from the European Union and some Asia-Pacific nations.

After Trump pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership soon after his inauguration, the 11 other members including Japan went ahead without the US to forge a successor deal called the CPTPP. US farmers say they’ve been left at a disadvantage by that pact, and another that Abe struck in 2018 with the European Union.

Bloomberg News

South Korea’s surprisingly bad economy deepens Moon’s woes

S

OUTH KOREA’S Moon Jae-in has staked his presidency on tackling two big challenges: North Korea and the economy. Both are proving stubborn foes.

The country’s gross domestic product contracted 0.3 percent in the first quarter— the biggest decline in a decade—the Bank of Korea said on Thursday. The blow came just two days before the president was expected to mark the first anniversary of his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un—with an event snubbed by the North Koreans.

“Not only the data today but also latest data showed that the economy is performing worse than expected. It won’t get any easier,” said Park Sangin, a professor at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Administration.

“It is a very burdensome situation for the Moon Jae-in administration.”

Moon’s policy double-whammy comes as he prepares to enter the third year of his single five-year term. The setbacks threaten to accelerate his shift to lameduck status ahead of legislative elections next year—a fate that has befallen every democratically elected leader of Asia’s fourth-largest economy and made it more difficult to advance their agendas.

‘Jobs president’

T H E economic struc tural problems, including a slowdown in nearby China a n d we a ke n i n g g l o b a l d e m a n d f o r semiconductors, were going to present any South Korean leader with problems.

So, besides pledging to make himself the “jobs president,” he threw himself into convincing Kim and US President Donald J. Trump to stop threatening each other with war and come to the negotiating table.

The peace push helped for a time offset series of economic setbacks, pushing Moon’s approval rating to 83 percent in the wake of his historic April 27, 2018, meeting with Kim on their militarized border. But his support has slipped as talks between the US and North Korea faltered.

On Friday, his approval rating slipped to 44 percent from 48 percent a week earlier, according to Gallup Korea. Disapproval rating rose to 47 percent from 42 percent, outpacing the approval rating for the first time in four weeks.

More than a third of those who were unhappy with Moon’s performance cited the lack of ability to resolve the issues related to the economy and people’s livelihood, while 16 percent cited his

“excessive” focus on improving relations with North Korea, according to the weekly survey.

Trump’s decision to walk away from his February 28 meeting with Kim without a deal left Moon exposed to new criticism.

The conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party has grown more emboldened as its own support rate inches up, opposing Moon’s appointments in parliament and mounting a protest against his North Korea policies last week that organizers say drew 20,000 people.

‘Officious mediator’

MEANWHILE, Kim has turned up his criticism of Moon, calling on him to stop acting like an “officious mediator” as North Korean state-media escalates complaints over USSouth Korean military exchanges. The North Koreans won’t be attending a series of artistic performances being held on Saturday to celebrate the first anniversary of Moon and Kim’s agreement to achieve a “comprehensive and epochal improvement” in ties between the former foes.

There have been some bright spots for Moon, including his government’s muchlauded handling of a wild fire earlier this month that killed only person despite consuming 1,760 hectares (4,340 acres) of occupied land. Such successes have helped make Moon’s support more resilient than his predecessors.

But South Korea’s economy will continue to vex the president. The contraction comes even as Moon’s administration ramps up fiscal support, with an extra budget announced this week that came on top of a record budget already in place for 2019.

Exports, which account for about half of South Korea’s GDP, are on course for a fifthstraight monthly decline amid weak demand from China, the nation’s biggest market. And public displeasure has mounted over Moon’s support for sharp minimum-wage hikes, which have been blamed for helping hold the jobless rate at its highest level in about nine years.

Some suppor ters of Moon’s Nor th Korean policies are urging the president to prioritize economic reforms.

“It ’s good to continue to play a facilitator’s role, but now he really has to accomplish something,” said Park Won-suk, a former lawmaker at the progressive Justice Party. “For the citizens, accomplishment is about the economy, the issues related to their livelihood.

The presidential office and the president should focus on those issues.”

Bloomberg News

Saturday, April 27, 2019

A3

China’s Xi defends Belt and Road, promises ‘zero tolerance’ of graft

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HINESE President Xi Jinping pledged to clean up his signature Belt and Road infrastructure program amid criticism the policy is indebting poorer nations and making them dependent on Beijing.

“We need to maintain that all cooperation is conducted under the sun and work together to combat corruption with zero tolerance,” Xi said in an address to the annual Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on Friday.

He vowed that China will negotiate and sign high-standard free-trade agreements with more countries, strengthen cooperation in customs, taxation, auditing and supervision, and establish a cooperation mechanism for jointly building the Belt and Road tax-collection and management system.

“We need to pursue high-standard cooperation,” he said. “We will adopt widely accepted rules and standards, and encourage participating companies to follow general international rules and standards in product development, operations procurement, tendering and bidding.”

Some 5,000 attendees from across the globe were in the audience for Xi’s address. Chinese offi-

cials have already pledged this week to improve funding arrangements for projects along the Belt and Road network, in response to increasing wariness that the initiative saddles developing countries with loans they can’t repay.

Xi unveiled the plan to rebuild ancient trading routes across Eurasia in 2013, calling it the “project of the century.” China’s government has since poured billions into investments from Africa to the South Pacific. The president champions it as a means to spur development, goodwill and economic integration.

At least seven countries that have agreed to Belt and Road projects have suspended, scaled back or terminated them, or experienced backlash for their involvement in the program. Earlier this month, China struck a deal with Malaysia to resume the East Coast Rail Link project for 44 billion ringgit ($10.7 billion)—down from 65.5 billion ringgit—after deciding to terminate it in January as the Southeast

XI BLOOMBERG

Asian country struggles to narrow its budget deficit.

More control

TO address some of the concerns, Beijing is taking a range of steps to exert more control over the program, officials and participants said. They include a more muted publicity drive, clearer rules for state-owned enterprises, restricted use of the Belt and Road brand, and building overseas auditing and anticorruption mechanisms, according to officials and participants who have spoken to Bloomberg.

The People’s Bank of China will “ build an open, market-oriented financing and investment system,” Governor Yi Gang said in brief remarks on Thursday.

The government also released its analysis framework for debt sustainability.

Even before the forum officially kicked off, Xi pledged new development with the Philippines in a Thursday meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte, including China’s commitment to build an industrial park north of Manila and provide resources for Duterte’s initiatives to spread wealth to his country’s farflung regions, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

In March, a senior official from China’s top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, said China wants to combine its manufacturing and construction know-how with the advanced technology of Western firms on the global trade-and-infrastructure program, pledging greater cooperation with American and European companies on Belt and Road ventures. Bloomberg News

Sri Lanka says Easter attack leader died in hotel bombing

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OLOMBO, Sri Lanka—The suspected leader of the militant group Sri Lankan authorities said carried out a series of Easter Sunday bombings died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel, one of six hotels and churches targeted in the attacks that killed at least 250 people, officials said on Friday.

Police said on an official Twitter account that Mohamed Zahran, the leader of local militant group National Towheed Jamaat known for his vitriolic extremist speeches on social media, had been killed in one of the nine suicide bombings.

Police also said they had arrested the group’s second-incommand.

They said investigators had determined that the assailants’ military training was provided by someone they called “Army Mohideen,” and that weapons training had taken place overseas and at some locations in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province.

Police also said that the attackers had worked out at a local gym and by playing soccer using their authentic national identity cards.

They added that the vehicles used in the attack were purchased from a car dealership in Kadawatha, a suburb of Colombo, the capital.

They said that the operator of a copper factory who was arrested in connection with the bombings had helped Mohideen make improvised explosive devices and purchase empty cartridges sold by the Sri Lankan military as scrap copper.

Australia’s prime minister said earlier on Friday that it had been confirmed that the Sri Lanka attackers were supported by the Islamic State group, which has claimed responsibility for the massacre, distributing video of Zahran and others pledging allegiance to the withered caliphate.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena told reporters in

MUSLIM men gather outside a mosque in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Friday. Sri Lanka’s president has appealed to the island nation not to view its minority Muslim community as terrorists in the wake of Easter Sunday attacks that officials say were carried out by a local Muslim extremist group. AP/GEMUNU AMARASINGHE

Colombo that some 140 people in the island nation had been identified as having links to the Islamic State group, and that the Sri Lankan government has “the capability “to completely control ISIS activities” in the country.

“We will completely control this and create a free and peaceful environment for people to live,” he said.

Sirisena blamed Sri Lanka’s defense secretary, who resigned on Thursday, and police chief, who he said would soon step down, for a failure to share weeks of information from international intelligence agencies about the plot ahead of time.

Across Colombo on Friday, there was a visible increase of security as authorities warned of another attack and pursued suspects that could have access to explosives.

Armed soldiers stood guard outside Saint Anthony’s Shrine, one of the three churches attacked, and nearby shops were closed.

Gration Fernando crossed himself when he looked at the church after walking out of his shop there.

Fernando says he, like other Sri Lankans, was worried about further attacks.

There is “no security, no safety to go to church,” he said, adding

that “now children are scared to go to church” as well.

Authorities told Muslims to pray at home rather than attend communal Friday prayers that are the most important of the week.

In an interview on Thursday with The Associated Press, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he feared some of the suspects “may go out for a suicide attack.”

Afterward, in an unusually specific warning, the US Embassy in Sri Lanka said places of worship could be hit by extremists this weekend. The UK’s foreign ministry advised its citizens not to travel to the island nation off the tip of India.

Late on Thursday, Sri Lanka’s health ministry drastically revised down its estimated death toll from the coordinated attacks. A statement said “approximately” 253 people had died, nearly one-third lower than the police’s estimated death toll of 359.

The discrepancy was not immediately explained, but it fit a pattern of claims and counterclaims

by Sri Lankan officials that have muddled the investigation.

In a predominantly Muslim area of Colombo’s Maligawatta neighborhood, vegetable sellers laid their produce on the sidewalks

near the mosques as women in long black chador shopped.

Leaders at the neighborhood mosques said they planned still to hold Friday noon prayers. They said both the police and volunteers would be guarding the neighborhood to protect the faithful.

Imtiyas Ahamed, one prayer leader, said he planned to preach about how extremists like the Islamic State group were not faithful Muslims.

“In Islam, it is not said to kill yourself and kill others,” Ahamed said.

As he spoke, men one at a time came into the mosque to pray. They sat on their knees and bowed toward Mecca, the sweat from their brows falling on the mosque’s purple-and-gray carpet.

Abdullah Mohammed, 48, another Muslim from the neighborhood, stood outside.

“Everyone is nervous,” Mohammed said. “Not just the Muslims.

Buddhists, Christians, Hindus— everybody’s nervous.”

Ahamed also urged people not to think all of Sri Lanka’s Muslims were like the people who carried out Sunday’s attacks.

“After the New Zealand attack, we don’t think every white Australian is an extremist,” he said. AP

ExportUnlimited

A4 Saturday, April 27, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

8 Ripples Plus enrollees join 69th Manila FAME

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IGHT companies under the Regional Interactive Platform for Philippine Exporters (Ripples) Plus Program are exhibiting their products at the 69th Manila FAME from April 25 to 27, 2019, at the World Trade Center (WTC) Metro Manila in Pasay City.

The Ripples Plus Pavilion measures 72 square meters of curated space with defined company display areas.

The program is jointly implemented by the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) with the DTI-Regional Operations Group (ROG) together with other Trade Promotions Group

(TPG) Agencies/Bureaus composed of the Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion (BDTP), Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem), Design Center of the Philippines (DCP) and the Philippine

Trade Training Center (PTTC).

It intends to expand the supply base of internationally competitive Philippine export products and services and to provide intensified, purposive and practical assistance geared toward the internationalization of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and expand the global export market opportunities for large corporations.

The Ripples Plus Program aims to support SMEs and has worked on increasing the number of internationally competitive local products and services exporters with EMB at the helm. There are two modes of interventions to ensure the companies are competent and exportready under the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP). These are: Mode 1) Global Export Advance Resource (One-on-One Consultations, Focus Group Discussions, Technical Working Group, E-com-

merce, Client Servicing, Mutual Recognition Agreements, Trade Facilitation, Policy Advocacy and Product Development); and Mode 2) Strategic Marketing and Promotions (Inbound and Outbound Business Matching Missions, Branding and Mainstreaming).

Joining this April Edition are: Beyond Borders, C & C (Chlio & Co.), Gifts and Graces Fair Trade Foundation Inc., Hubog Craft Philippines Co. Ltd., Kayvaluganan Handicraft Makers Association, Pumiceunlimited Ventures, RC Woodworks, and Silya Home Furnishings. The exhibitors are based in Metro Manila, Regions 2, 3 and 4A. These are manufacturers of housewares and furnishings.

Manila FAME is the country’s premier design and lifestyle event organized by the DTI through the Citem. It is the second-longest running trade show in Asia-Pacific and

is the only trade event in the country approved by Union des Foires Internationales (UFI), or the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, a Paris-based association of trade fair organizers.

It promotes the Philippines as a reliable sourcing destination for high-quality and design-oriented home, fashion, holiday, architectural and interior products. It supports local small- and medium-scale enterprises and artisan communities by working with local designers to create new product collections and providing a professionally managed platform to present export products to the global market.

As part of the show, Citem also conducted product-development activities through its “Design for Export Program” (DEP) for all Ripples Plus exhibitors. EMB and Citem aim to put the exhibitors-enrollee’s experience at the heart of new in-

novations through DEP of Citem, purposely for exhibitors to adjust to new market trends and requirements and expand market access.

Citem’s efforts to increase the global competitiveness of the country’s gifts, décor and houseware sector are in line with the government’s latest target—to grow the sector by 20 percent in the next five years.

The Board of Investments identified more than 2,400 handicraft enterprises in the Philippines. The majority of those are MSMEs located in the NCR, Cordillera Region, Region 5 and Region 12.

“We are going to highlight the best of Manila FAME products featured over the years through the Design Commune special setting. As part of our product-development program, these products will be reimagined to reflect contemporary design concepts,” said Pauline Suaco-Juan, executive director of the Citem.

DTI organizes bigger PHL participation to CIIE US: PHL’s top export market

By RD Velasco

Trade-Industry Development Specialist Market Innovation Division, DTI-EMB

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HE Department of Trade of Industry (DTI) is again leading the Philippine participation to the China International Import Expo (CIIE) to be held in Shanghai, China, from November 5 to 10, 2019.

Following a successful participation in the maiden edition of CIIE held last year, the Philippines plans to expand its participation to 100 companies.

The 50 Filipino companies that participated during last year’s CIIE recorded $37.5 million worth of booked and negotiated sales.

Philippine products will be showcased in two

halls—at the Food and Agricultural Products Hall, which features fruits, vegetables, seafood, beverages, dairy products, snack foods, condiments, sweets and agricultural products; and at the Quality Life Hall, which features personal care, accessories, toys, gifts, fashion, furniture, household supplies, sports and entertainment goods, maternal and infant products, pet foods and supplies.

The CIIE is a brainchild of Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was launched last year to indicate China’s firm support to trade liberalization and to actively open the China market to the world. CIIE is a one-of-a-kind trade show in China, which only features foreign exhibitors with no China companies participating. It has three main components—Country Pavilion,

Enterprise and Business Zone and the Hongqiao International Trade Forum.

It is a promising trading platform to promote Filipino products and services to the vast Chinese market and the rest of the world.

China was the Philippines’s top trading partner in 2018, with trade valued at $30.09 billion. However, the trade deficit was huge at around $12.7 billion. CIIE is an avenue to increase Philippine exports and mitigate this trade imbalance.

For inquiries and booth reservation, please contact the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions through Rowena Mendoza at e-mail address rmendoza@ citem.com.ph or through telephone at the (02) 831 22 01 local 257.

DTI-EMB, BPCCI further explore Bangladesh market

STAFF and officials of the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Management Bureau (DTI-EMB), discuss with the Bangladesh-Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BPCCI) a foreign-proposed business mission to Bangladesh. Joining the discussion are (from left): DTI Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC) Trade-Investment Development Specialist (TIDS) April Micah Esteron; DTI-EMB TIDS Golda KristyTabid-Grospe; DTI-EMB Division Chief Rafaelita C. Castro; Philippine Ambassador to Bangladesh Vicente Vivencio T. Bandillo; BPCCI President Akber Hakim; and BPCCI Vice President Shams Mahmud.

I

N an effort to strengthen the economic ties between the Philippines and Bangladesh, Philippine Ambassador to Bangladesh Vicente Vivencio T. Bandillo and key officials of the Bangladesh-Philippines

Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BPCCI), President Akber Hakim and Vice President Shams Mahmud, paid a courtesy visit to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on April 5, 2019.

Part of the visit was a meeting with the DTI Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), together with the DTI-Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC), to discuss the conduct of an Outbound Business Matching Mission (OBMM) to Dhaka in September 2019. The mission is primarily aimed at exploring Bangladesh further as a market for Philippine exports.

Products from the Philippines currently have limited exposure in Bangladesh, yet they carry great potential in addressing the lack of variety in the said South Asian market, especially when it comes to processed foods, cosmetics and other personal-care items. Food products, particularly canned meat and fish, are mostly imported from Europe or Thailand, while most cosmetic brands available are from the West.

According to the United Nations, Bangladesh will be the thirdfastest growing economy in the world in terms of achieving high gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 given its strong fixed investment, vigorous private consumption and accommodative monetary policy.

It has over 160 million people, making it one of the most populous countries in the world.

For more details on the proposed OBMM to Dhaka, interested exporters may contact the DTI-Export Marketing Bureau Market Innovation Division at (02) 465 3300 local 217.

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N 2018, the US wa s t he big gest e xport market (out of 211 Philippine m a rket s), fourth-large st i mp or t supplier (out of 198 suppl iers) a nd the thirdlargest major t rad i ng partner of the Philippines (out of 221 trading partners).

Philippine exports to the US increased by 9.13 percent from $9.66 billion in 2017 to $10.54 billion in 2018 due mainly to the increase in exports of semiconductor devices manufactured from materials on consignment basis; other parts of airplanes or helicopters; photosensitive semiconductor devices; transistors, other than photosensitive transistors; and static converters.

Total bilateral trade was valued at $18.36 billion. One of the factors that contributed to the growth of Philippine exports is the trade preference program or the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) granted by the US to the Philippines.

Under the US GSP program, tariffs are eliminated on about 5,000 tariff lines if beneficiary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by US Congress. GSP criteria include, among others, respecting arbitral awards in favor of US citizens or corporations, combating child labor, respecting internationally recognized worker rights, providing adequate and

By GinaY Trade-Industry Development Specialist, DTI-EMB

EXPORT READY! effective intellectual-property protection, and providing the US with equitable and reasonable market access.

In 2018, US GSP imports from the Philippines stood at $1.73 billion, an increase of 15.57 percent from $1.49 billion in 2017.

Recently, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced that India and Turkey will be removed from the US GSP. In 2018, India exported goods worth $6.31 billion under the GSP. The majority of India’s exports to the US consisted of intermediate goods; organic chemicals, auto parts, furniture, leather goods, textiles and apparel, electrical parts, stone, sand and cement, plastic materials, rubber, wood, glass materials, gem and jewelry.

Turkey exported $1.92 billion worth of goods under the US GSP Program in 2018. The leading GSP import categories were vehicles and vehicle parts, jewelry and precious metals, and stone articles.

Philippine exporters of similar products may find their products are now more price competitive to US buyers and importers.

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

Sports

BusinessMirror

Saturday, April 27, 2019

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BEERMEN NEED CALM BEFORE FINALS STORM

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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AN Miguel Beer made sure they wouldn’t be denied of the opportunity to extend their reign as all-Filipino champions of the Philippine Basketball Association.

The Beermen made sure they’re well on their way to snatching fifth-straight Philippine Cup crown by beating the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 105-94, in Game Five of their semifinal series at the Cuneta Astrodome on Thursday night.

“We are so grateful that we are back in the Finals,” San Miguel Head Coach Leo Austria said, obviously relieved that the scare put up by his counterpart Louie Alas and the Fuel Masters finally came to a halt.

“Credit to Phoenix in this series because they pushed us to our limits. We loved it because in the quarterfinals we were up against TNT and now Phoenix, hopefully we could learn from the two series and bring it to the Finals,” Austria added.

The powerhouse squad, which finished the eliminations in fifth place, almost blew away a 25-point lead before imposing its dreaded championship breed in the waning moments.

San Miguel Beer conceded only one game in the best-of-seven series—and only by two points,

compared to the team’s average winning margin of 14 points in the four matches they won.

That’s how dominant San Miguel was in the series and Phoenix, a first-timer in the semifinals since joining the league in 2016, couldn’t solve the riddle of stopping not only the five-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, but the rest of the Beermen.

Chris Ross hit five triples to topscore San Miguel Beer with 24 points. He also had six steals and five assists. Alex Cabagnot was also on fire with 22 points built on five treys.

Fajardo and Arwind Santos added 17 and 10 points, respectively, and a combined for 27 rebounds.

Terrence Romeo, who was acquired from TNT, chipped in 10 points and is on his way to his first Finals stint.

San Miguel Beer led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter until Phoenix, behind Matthew Wright and LA Revilla, unleashed a decisive run to cut the deficit to just four with 2:30 remaining in the game.

Romeo, however, sparked a 7-0 breakaway he highlighted by a jumper with 1:10 left to put the game out of reach and put the series to its conclusion.

“Before the game all we needed was a good start, and it happened,” Austria said. “But we relaxed a bit and felt the pressure. They managed to come back.”

“But as long as we get the victory, it’s okay,” he stressed.

San Miguel Beer will face either Magnolia and Rain or Shine in the Finals. The Hotshots, down 0-2 in the series, turned the tables around and are now ahead, 3-2, entering Game Six of their series set on Friday night.

Austria won’t say which team he prefers to face in the finals and stressed they are ready for the raceto-four championship series—no matter who their opponents would be.

“They are both very competitive. Hopefully we can sustain our momentum going to the Finals,” he said.

For now, Austria will grant his players request for a much-needed rest before thinking of the Finals.

“We were tired after the two series [including the quarterfinals]. The players need some rest,” he said.

SAN Miguel Beer’s Chris Ross improvises in midair against Phoenix’s Jaypee Mendoza.

PETRON BACK IN FINALS

Cignal import Ana Artemeva eludes Kath Bell and Mika Reyes of Petron at the net, but reigning champion Blaze Spikers score a 23-25, 2517, 25-16, 25-21 victory in Game Two of their semifinal duel on Thursday night to advance to the finals of the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Kings, NBA begin own inquiry on sex-assault case vs Walton

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HE Sacramento Kings and the National Basketball Association (NBA) began a joint investigation on Thursday into allegations that Coach Luke Walton sexually assaulted a woman.

The Kings and the league said they will be looking into the accusations from a lawsuit filed this week in Los Angeles by former sportscaster Kelli Tennant.

Walton’s attorney, Mark Baute, has called the allegations “baseless” and says the coach will prove that in court.

The 31-year-old Tennant contends Walton attacked her when he was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, which was from 2014 to 2016.

Tennant said she confided in people at the time but never filed charges because she was scared. Her lawyer, Garo Mardirossian, said because years had passed, he believed it would

be difficult now to file a police report and put together a criminal case.

Tennant said Walton continued to harass her after he became coach of the Lakers and she was working as a broadcaster in Los Angeles for Spectrum SportsNet and SportsNet LA. She now does a wellness podcast.

Tennant said she considered the 39-yearold Walton, the son of Hall of Famer Bill Walton, to be a longtime friend and mentor. The coach had written the foreword to a 2014 book she had written, and she went to give him a copy while he was at a Santa Monica hotel during a Warriors road trip to Los Angeles.

Tennant said Walton met her in the lobby and invited her to his room. After discussing the book, Tennant said Walton suddenly grabbed her, pinned her to the bed and forcibly kissed her. Tennant said that when she asked him to

get off, “he laughed at me.”

Tennant said Walton relented and she started to leave the room when he grabbed her again and kissed her ears and neck. She said he finally stopped, laughed and said “good to see you” before she left.

The Kings investigatory team will be led by Sue Ann Van Dermyden and Jennifer Doughty.

Van Dermyden is founding partner of the Sacramento law firm Van Dermyden Maddux and an expert on employment law. Doughty is a veteran investigator and senior associate attorney at Van Dermyden Maddux.

The NBA’s investigatory team will be led by Elizabeth Maringer, the senior vice president and assistant general counsel of Integrity and Investigations. Previously, Maringer served 12 years as an assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. AP

NADAL IN BARCELONA QUARTERS

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ARCELONA, Spain—Rafael Nadal looked closer to his clay-court best again as he beat David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-3, on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open.

The 11-time Barcelona champion saved four of five break points and broke four times in what could have been his last meeting with Ferrer, who is retiring after the Madrid Open next month. It was a sign of improvement for Nadal, who lost in the semifinals in Monte Carlo

RAFAEL NADAL consoles fellow Spaniard David Ferrer at the Barcelona Open. AP

last week and then needed three sets to get past Leonard Mayer in his opening match in Barcelona.

“This match was important for me,” Nadal said. “Yesterday I had a tough match. I took a step forward and was able to play with more energy.”

The top-seeded Nadal will next face 51st-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, who upset fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. The 20-year-old Tsitsipas, No. 8 in the world, lost last year’s final in Barcelona to Nadal.

Nadal was up 5-3 in the first set before play was stopped for a rain delay. He continued to dictate the match when play resumed, serving out the set and breaking Ferrer’s next service game.

Ferrer saved three match points before finally sending a forehand into the net to give Nadal the win.

The 37-year-old Ferrer was making his last appearance at the Barcelona Open and could not hold back the tears when he received an ovation from the audience. He placed his pink headband on the court as a mark that he had played his last match here.

“I am happy to be able to finish this tournament on the center court, playing against Nadal. I gave it my all,” Ferrer said.

Also, third-seeded Dominic Thiem broke Jaume Munar five times to earn a 7-5, 6-1 victory. Fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori, who won the tournament in 2014 and 2015, brushed off Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-1, 6-3. AP

DLSU fans semis hopes

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E La Salle played with a sense of urgency and turned back National University (NU), 3-1, to bolster its Final Four hopes in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 men’s football tournament on Thursday at the Far Eastern University (FEU)-Diliman pitch.

Jed Diamante nailed a 50th-minute penalty and substitute Rafael Montelibano produced a fine second-half stoppage time goal as the Green Archers climbed to third place with 22 points.

It was a morale-boosting result for De La Salle heading into next week’s final elimination match day showdown with early semifinalist FEU. In the morning match which also has big Final Four implications, University of Santo Tomas (UST) stunned Ateneo, 2-1, to level with defending champion University of the Philippines in fourth spot with 20 points.

The defeat derailed the Blue Eagles’ Final Four march as the Katipunan-based side remained with 23 points in second place—one off the leading Tamaraws.

Joobin Park opened scoring for the Bulldogs at the 25th minute before Mikio Umilin’s 40th minute strike allowed the Green Archers to equalize.

AJ Pasion delivered the winning moment for the Growling Tigers with a 78th-minute volley to gain the needed full points and keep their Final Four hopes alive.

Glen Ramos put UST ahead in the 42nd minute before Julian Roxas scored the equalizer in the Ateneo in the 73rd minute.

Adamson University and University of the East battled to a 1-1 draw in a no-bearing match.

A6

‘Longest two kilometers of my life’

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ATARZYNA NIEWIADOMA (Canyon-SRAM) was in happy tears after the finish of the Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition.

Niewiadoma attacked on the Cauberg to go solo with 2 kilometers to go and just held off Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) at the finish line to take her second victory in a Women’s WorldTour one-day race.

Even after the podium ceremony, the Pole was still in a state close to disbelief.

“I am still buzzing, feeling overwhelmed with emotions,” she said. “Once I am back in the hotel and have dinner with my team, I will realize what happened today. It was a beautiful Easter Sunday, I am happy. That is why we all do it and push our limits—to finally cross the finish line with our hands up in the air.”

The 24-year-old had the victory in sight on the finishing straight, but Van Vleuten was coming up strong from behind.

The time trial world champion edged closer and closer to Niewiadoma on the final kilometer, but the Pole never turned around to gauge the distance and kept her focus on the goal.

“I was not thinking about her, only about the finish line,” Niewiadoma said. “I was like, ‘I have to get there first’. I was not thinking about what was happening behind my back. I heard my sports director screaming, ‘Look to the front’, so I kept on pushing.

It really felt like the longest 2 kilometers of my life.”

Niewiadoma had achieved good results this spring season with a third place in Strade Bianche and top 10s in the Trofeo Binda and Tour of Flanders. She explained how her victory was down to having confidence in herself, and this included racing aggressively. In earlier years, Niewiadoma was often attacking as soon as the road ramped up; recently, she was somewhat more reactive.

But this tactic did not work for her.

“I have been told over the past few months that I should be saving myself and waiting for the final,” she said. “But then I just burn myself within. I need to feel that I am racing in order to be able to really put all my energy in the last attack.

If I feel that I am in the race and in charge of every single situation, then I am more confident.

“I wanted to attack the second-to-last time up the Cauberg, I did not want to wait for the final. I wanted to go on the offensive, ride like I used to ride in the past. I just wanted to win, and I knew I was coming here to win. I felt strong, and once your head is ready for that, you can achieve amazing things.”

Niewiadoma finished by thanking the people around her, including boyfriend and fellow cycling pro Taylor Phinney, for helping her achieve just that. Cyclingnews

Merckx pays tribute to legendary, formidable partner on track Sercu

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BusinessMi

Saturday, April 27, 2019 | Editor: Jun Lomibao

DDY MERCKX has paid tribute to his old six-day partner, Patrick Sercu, who died recently, describing him as “a fantastic guy and a good man.”

EDDY MERCKX and Patrick Sercu form a legendary partnership on the track, winning 15 six-day events together.

Merckx and Sercu formed a legendary partnership on the track, winning 15 six-day events together.

Sercu’s death was announced by his son, Christophe, on Friday, who explained that his father’s health “had been unstable for several years and had deteriorated sharply in recent weeks.” Sercu died at the age of 74.

“He was a friend I had known since I was 16 or 17. This is a big loss for me,” Merckx told Belgian broadcaster Sporza.

“Our partnership goes back a long way—from the 1960’s on the Brussels velodrome. We were rivals at first, then we became teammates. Together, we won 15 six-day races, including the Gent Six in 1965. They are wonderful memories.”

“He was a fantastic guy, a good man. He was honest, did not beat around the bush, and always looked for compromise. I appreciated that in him, and that is why I rode with him for so long.”

Sercu racked up no fewer than 1,206 victories during his career, most of which came on the track. He won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 1964, and bagged two world titles, as well as 11 victories in the Gent Six. Merckx, widely considered the greatest cyclist of all time, insisted Sercu was the superior rider on the track, but also pointed out the fact he had won 168 races on the road, including 13 stages of the Giro d’Italia, and six at the Tour de France.

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EAM Ineos will face a backlash at the Tour de Yorkshire, with anti-fracking groups set to demonstrate in a bid to spread awareness of the petrochemical company’s controversial activities.

The Tour de Yorkshire will be the first competitive outing for the new-look team on British shores, but Ineos’s takeover of Team Sky has been heavily criticized by environmental groups, concerned with Ineos’s track record and involvement in fracking.

Steve Mason from Frack Free United, a network of groups that are opposed to fracking, told Cyclingnews that 15,000 masks depicting the face of Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe, complete with devil’s horns, had been produced and that groups would attend both starts and finishes of the fourday race that kicks off in Doncaster next Thursday.

“To be honest, our plans are to use the race as a vehicle to raise awareness, particularly about Team Ineos,” Mason told Cyclingnews.

“We have groups across Yorkshire ready to distribute leaflets and materials, and we want to raise awareness of what Ineos are and what impact they’re going to have in Yorkshire if they’re allowed to start fracking across the land.”

Ineos was announced as the new owner of the British WorldTour team in March, after Sky confirmed its own exit from the sport in December of last year.

Although the announcement of Ineos’s takeover secured the future of Dave Brailsford and his team, the news was criticized by several parties. Environmental advocacy group Oil Change International decried Ineos’ sponsorship of a cycling team as “greenwashing at its best.”

Brailsford and the team were also criticized for jumping into bed with one of Europe’s biggest producers of plastic materials less than a year after promoting the Ocean Rescue campaign, which called for an end to single-use plastics.

“We want to let people know just who Ineos are,” Mason continued. “It’s not about cycling. They’ve also bought the America’s Cup and The Daily Mile in schools in which kids run or walk a mile a day. It’s supposed to get kids fit in urban areas, but then they have air pollution from fossil fuels. The irony is staggering.

“Ineos are almost rubbing our noses in it. We love the Tour de Yorkshire. It has really highlighted what a fantastic and rural area it is. We’re trying to protect it

TEAM INE The Tour de Yorkshire will be the first competitive outing for the new-look team on British shores, but Ineos’s takeover of Team Sky has been heavily criticized by environmental groups, concerned with Ineos’s track record and involvement in fracking. from fracking companies. The race is not the target. The target is to raise awareness of what Ineos are. We don’t condone any action against the race itself. We want to protect the race. Ineos are not welcome in Yorkshire. It’s that simple.”

Exact numbers on expected protestors are hard to predict, but Mason is confident that all 15,000 masks will be distributed after the initial order of 10,000 was bumped up due to public demand.

“It’s little old ladies, it’s lawyers, it’s people who are seriously concerned about fossil-fuel companies coming to the area and exploiting and ruining the places where they live,” Mason said.

“This is no better than what the tobacco companies were doing in the 1980s. Is Jim Ratcliffe just making himself feel better for the damage that he’s causing? Using sport to greenwash the image of fossil fuels, I think it’s disgraceful.”

Froome, meanwhile, chased down attacks from Vincenzo Nibali (BahrainMerida) and chaperoned his young teammates on Stage 3 of the Tour of the Alps, showing that he is gradually finding his form after a difficult start to the 2019 season.

The four-time Tour de France winner and Team Sky leader could have demanded Pavel Sivakov and Tao Geoghegan Hart ride for him, but after losing time on Stage 2, Froome went deep and worked hard in a vital domestique role, doing a huge effort on the final climb of the 106-km stage to ensure that Sivakov stayed in the race

“Patrick had the speed and I had the endurance. We were a good pair.

But he was definitely a better rider than me on the track,” Merckx said.

“He could do much more than just ride on the boards. He won the green jersey at the Tour de France [in 1974]. He broke through in a period where there were many great champions in Belgium. With that, his career on the road might be somewhat underexposed.”

Tributes have flooded in from the cycling community since news of Sercu’s death.

Iljo Keisse, a decorated six-day rider who competes on the road for Deceuninck-QuickStep, said: “The news hit my face like a blow. I knew Patrick very well. Ever since childhood, actually. He was my manager for a while, and then my race leader in numerous six-day races.

“I certainly looked up to him as a little rider. Take a look at his palmarès. That is immense. He won a pack of six days, a few Belgian and world titles, in addition to an Olympic title.

Phenomenal. It hurts to hear that he is no longer here. I undoubtedly owe part of my career to him.”

Cyclingnews

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ATHIEU VAN DER POEL’S last-gasp victory at Amstel Gold Race on Sunday was not entirely without precedent. In 1990, his father Adrie triumphed in the Dutch Classic in remarkably similar circumstances.

On that occasion, Luc Roosen and Jan Goessens carried a seemingly unassailable lead into the finale in Meerssen but were overhauled at the last by Adrie van der Poel.

That triumph proved to be the final Classic victory of the 31-year-old’s career, to sit alongside earlier wins at the Tour of Flanders (1986) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1988).

On Sunday, his son Mathieu—still only 24—claimed Amstel victory by swooping past Julian Alaphilippe and Jakob Fulgsang in a breathless finale in Valkenburg.

“But the big difference was that I only had to make up for eight seconds on the front runners, whereas Mathieu had to make up 40 to 50 seconds,” Adrie van der Poel said.

Mathieu van der Poel has had his first taste of the Classics this season, but the Dutch champion was listed as the favourite for Amstel Gold Race despite his relative inexperience on the road. His wins at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Brabantse Pijl in recent weeks, not to mention striking displays en route to fourth at Gent-Wevelgem and the

DESPITE losing time, Vicenzo Nibali is upbeat about his and his team’s performance.

Next generation steals show from Nibali, Froome in Alps

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ICENZO NIBALI (Bahrain-Merida) and Chris Froome (Team Sky) were billed as the big-name rivals for this year’s Tour de Alps, but they’ve so far been outshone by Team Sky’s next generation—Pavel Sivakov and Tao Geoghegan Hart—who won the opening two stages after some aggressive racing.

Nibali is seeking a confirmation of his form as the Giro d’Italia approaches, while Froome is looking for his best form after an illness-hit spring, but their reputations have counted for little so far at the Tour of the Alps.

Nibali tried an attack in the stage but was joined

by Sivakov and Geoghegan Hart before Astana chased them down. On the next day, Nibali got his BahrainMerida team to set the pace for much of the 15-km,

2000-meter-high Passo di Monte Giovo, but then Sivakov got away in an attack in the valley and was never seen again on the short, steep climb to the finish. The 22-year-old Russian won the stage and opened a 39-second lead on Nibali, Rafal Majka (BoraHansgrohe) and the other overall contenders.

Froome finished 1:34 back. He was in the select group of 20 or so riders that reached the summit of the Passo di Monte Giovo, but then he eased up on the fast and often wet descent, preferring not to take any major risks.

Nibali went deep to try to limit his time loss, but any chance of overall victory seems to have slipped his grasp.

“I was there and wanted to give it a go, but there were lots of attacks in the valley after the long climb,

and it was impossible to go with all of them,” Nibali explained. “I decided to mark Pello Bilbao [Astana] and Tao Geoghegan Hart, but then the others got away. We worked with Majka to try to get back on, but it was impossible.”

Despite losing time, Nibali was upbeat about his and his team’s performance.

“We worked hard on the long climb, and we’ll be paid back for it sooner or later. It was good training for the Giro d’Italia. We were outnumbered in the final, but that’s because we did a lot of work,” Nibali pointed out.

“I felt good, and my legs were good, and so that’s why I pushed hard on the climb to the finish to take time on the other riders. I can’t be happy with the result, but I’m happy with my performance.” Cyclingnews

irror CYCLING

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | Saturday, April 27, 2019

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NEOS FACES BACKLASH

ALTHOUGH the announcement of Ineos’s takeover secures the future of Dave Brailsford and his team led by Chris Froome, the news is criticized by several parties.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON P Tour of Flanders, meant that he entered the race a marked man.

As is his wont, Van der Poel went on the offensive from distance, attacking on the Gulperberg with 43km to go. He was quickly hauled in, however, and when Alaphilippe and Fuglsang powered clear on the Eyserbosweg shortly afterwards, it looked as though Van der Poel had made a tactical error.

Alaphilippe and Fuglsang had a lead of 50 seconds on the main chasing group on the Cauberg in the finale, and still seemed to hold a healthy margin over the top of the final haul up the Bemelerberg. In the closing kilometers, however, Van der Poel took up the reins of pursuit in earnest, and as the leaders eyed one another out in front, the chasers closed to within touching distance in the final kilometer.

“After his attack on the Gulpenerberg, Mathieu missed the move with the leading group.

But afterwards he fought himself into an ideal situation”, Adrie van der Poel said. “If you still have power in the final, there is still a chance to win, because there was a headwind on the Bemelerberg and in front, they will normally have some doubts before the sprint.

“If you are 10 seconds behind at the red flamme rouge and you know that you have wind at your back during the sprint, then you have to take the risk of starting the sprint from distance.

And Mathieu did that.”

With Corendon-Circus not invited to Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Amstel Gold Race brings the curtain down on Mathieu van der Poel’s remarkable Classics campaign. Despite overtures from WorldTour squads, Mathieu van der Poel will continue to mix road, cyclo-cross and mountain biking for the time being, with an eye to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“He still surprises me, even though I know his abilities and his way of training,” Adrie van der Poel said.

“He’s won Amstel 29 years later, practically in the same way. When I won there were also two men in front. But he is stronger than me.”

Cyclingnews

MATHIEU VAN DER POEL’S Amstel Gold Race win mirrors his father’s 1990 triumph.

ETER SAGAN (Bora-Hansgrohe) pulled out of the Liege-BastogneLiege, bringing an early end to a disappointing Classics campaign that has seen him fail to reach a podium.

Sagan abandoned both the Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne. A team spokesman told Cyclingnews that Sagan made the decision at the team hotel after the race, in concert with the BoraHansgrohe and his own staff.

Sagan will now have a few more days to relax and recover at home before flying to the US on May 4 to prepare for the upcoming Tour of Californa.

In a statement sent to media, Sagan laid out his reasons for skipping Liège.

“A hard Flèche Wallonne is over,” Sagan’s statement begins. “I was there to work for the squad and contribute to the effort to achieve the best result possible.

Together with the team, we decided that the best for me now would be to take a few days off in order to better prepare myself for the next races, starting with the Amgen Tour of California on May 12.”

Sagan extended his spring season into the Ardennes Classics with the intention of making his debut at Liège-BastogneLiège on Sunday. Flèche Wallonne, with its brutally steep climb up the Mur de Huy, was not originally on the cards, however. With a lot of wind predicted, the team decided to bring in the Slovakian to use his crosswinds expertise to guide the team’s two leaders through.

It was just his second appearance at Flèche Wallonne after finishing 12th on his debut in 2013. With Movistar pushing a hard pace at the front of the peloton on the penultimate lap of the finishing circuit, Sagan was distanced on the Cote de Cherave.

“It was really fast, really dangerous, we tried our best and I tried to help my teammates. In the end, we did well, fifth and seventh place, OK,” Sagan told Cyclingnews after coming to the finish in the team car before heading back to the team hotel.

leader’s cyclamen jersey and Geoghegan Hart could save himself for the sprint.

Only Fausto Masnada (Androni Giocattoli) stopped Team Sky from taking a thirdstage victory, but Froome was happy to have his mojo back and congratulated and quickly debriefed with Sivakov and Geoghegan Hart before leaving them to take the spotlight.

“Both Pavel and Tao have done a great job this week already, picking up a couple of stage wins, and Pavel is obviously in a good place to defend the jersey.

I think they’ve both shown a lot of maturity and I think a lot of promise for the future,” Froome explained beyond the finish line in Baselga di Pine.

“I’m trying to help out where I can and at least put them in the best place to try to win this race.

I’m going to turn myself inside out to help him.”

Sivakov, 22, is surprised to be the race leader at the Tour of the Alps, and Stage 2 was his first win as professional. He is happy to be able to count on Froome’s support.

“It’s crazy when you think about it. I’m really happy to have him here during the race. He’s been in this kind of situation so many times, so if needed, I can ask him, and he gives me their advice on how to do it,” Sivakov explained.

“We thought it would be a much more tricky stage but team did an amazing job and controlled all day. Even when Nibali and Majka attacked, Chris and Tao did a great job.”

Froome was keen to enjoy a more gradual buildup to the 2019 Tour de France after the stress of his salbutamol case and targeting the Giro d’Italia and Tour de

France in 2018. He will not defend his Giro d’Italia victory, focusing on winning a fifth Tour de France in July.

Froome trained in Africa and then at altitude before his season debut at the Colombia 2.1 race in early February, but a crash took him out of overall contention. He surprisingly decided to skip the UAE Tour, saying he needed to “recover fully from Colombia,” only revealing on the eve of the Tour of the Alps that he had not been well.

He rode the Volta a Catalunya in late March and recently spent time at altitude on Mount Teide before heading to the Tour of the Alps. He is expected to headline the presentation of new sponsor Ineos before riding the Tour de Yorkshire next week.

“I’m not feeling bad. Yesterday I was just caught out on the descent, but my legs don’t feel to bad,” Froome said of his time loss on the fast descent of the Passo Monte Giovo.

“I think the form’s where it needs to be at this moment in the buildup to the Tour. I’m happy with the feelings.”

Team Sky will officially become Team Ineos on May 1, marking the end of a decade of sponsorship for the British WorldTour team. Froome has been part of the team since its debut in 2010 and is expected to stay loyal to team manager Dave Brailsford for the rest of his career.

His current contract ends after the 2020 season, when he will be 35.

Froome would love to end the Team Sky era with a last victory at the Tour of the Alps.

“It’d be incredible if we could win this as the last race for us in Team Sky colors. It’d be really special if we could win this race,” he said. Cyclingnews

SAGAN ENDS CLASSICS BID EARLY

PETER SAGAN has a few more days to relax and recover at home before flying to the US on May 4 to prepare for the Tour of Californa.

“For sure, I already did a lot before this race, and the day was really hard. I don’t think that this kind of final is for me. If I was in my best shape then maybe I could be fifth or 10th, I don’t know.”

The spring has been hit-and-miss for Sagan, though his best performances have come at the bigger races, such as fourth at Milan-San Remo and fifth at Paris-Roubaix.

On his Classics campaign so far, Sagan was pragmatic.

“I think I did a good period when I was always in the front,” Sagan told reporters in Ans. “I didn’t win, but that’s sport, sometimes good, sometimes bad.”

Sagan will be hoping to find the good days again in California, where he has racked up 16 stage wins since his first participation in 2010 with Liquigas-Doimo.

The rider dubbed “King of California” by race organizers won the overall at the Tour of California in 2015, and he’ll be the

headliner again this year, up against the likes of Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin), Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Nacer Bouhani (Cofidis) and Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates).

After California, Sagan is scheduled for the Hammer Stavanger at the end of May and the Tour de Suisse in June before making a run at another Tour de France green jersey in July.

Cyclingnews

OurTime

A8 Saturday, April 27, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

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DOH distributes assistive devices to Calabarzon seniors

T

HE Department of Health in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) distributed more assistive devices to senior citizens of the region during the two-day “Senior Citizen’s Health Summit” held at Ciudad Christhia 9 Waves Resort in Barangay Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal, on April 11 and 12.

“Assistive devices are very important to our senior citizens. We need to give these directly to those who need them. This is a reason why we have a health summit for

them to provide for their health needs,” Regional Director Eduardo Janairo stated in his message during the summit.

“It is also important to live a

SENIOR citizens queue for medical checkup, including urinalysis, blood screening, body mass index (BMI) screening, eye checkup and provision of maintenance medicines for hypertension and diabetes during the second Senior Citizen’s Health Summit held at Ciudad Christhia 9 Waves Resort in Barangay Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal, on April 11 and 12, 2019.

healthy lifestyle, exercise and [do] activities that promote health,

physical and mental strength to avoid all kinds of sickness. We need

to make it a habit to drink plenty of water and eat fresh fruits and vegetables,” Janairo said.

A total of 160 assistive devices were given to associations, federations, societies and groups of senior citizens in various cities and municipalities of the region, including 40 wheelchairs, 40 canes, 40 walkers and 40 crutches to be used by members who have difficulty in walking and standing to help them become mobile.

The 110 senior citizens who attended the health summit were given medical checkup, including urinalysis, blood screening, body mass index (BMI) screening, eye checkup and maintenance medicines for those with hypertension and diabetes. They were also given

America’s elderly are twice as likely to work now than in 1985

‘Millenniors’ use social media to perform Lenten rites

T

J

UST as single-income families began to vanish in the last century, many of America’s elderly are now forgoing retirement for the same reason: They don’t have enough money.

Rickety social safety nets, inadequate retirement savings plans and sky-high health-care costs are all conspiring to make the concept of leaving the workforce something to be more feared than desired.

For the first time in 57 years, the participation rate in the labor force of retirement-age workers has cracked the 20-percent mark, according to a new report from money manager United Income. As of February, the ranks of people age 65 or older who are working or seeking paid work doubled from a low of 10 percent back in early 1985. The biggest spike in employment has gone to college-educated older workers; the share of all employees age 65 or older with at least an undergraduate degree is now 53 percent, up from 25 percent in 1985.

This rise of college-educated older workers has pushed the demographic’s inflation-adjusted income up to an average of $78,000, 63 percent higher than the $48,000 older folks brought home in 1985. By comparison, American workers below the age of 65 saw their average income rise by only 38 percent over the same period, to an average of $55,000.

United Income’s calculations draw on recently released data from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

There’s a mismatch between older workers who need the income the most and those who are able to work and working, said Elizabeth Kelly, senior vice president of operations for United Income and a former special assistant to the president at the White House National Economic Council during the Obama administration.

“These are the more educated, wealthier individuals in better health who are continuing to work, but it’s probably their lesseducated, working-class counterparts who need to work the most,” Kelly said.

The BLS expects the big wave of aging baby boomers to represent the strongest growth in the laborforce participation rate through at least 2024.

“By 2024, baby boomers will have reached ages 60 to 78,” a BLS report noted. “And some of them are expected to continue working even after they qualify for Social Security benefits.” Bloomberg News

lectures on mental health and aging, healthy lifestyle and updates on their PhilHealth benefits.

Janairo said more plans and programs for senior citizens were to be implemented this year, including the establishment of a senior-citizen house in every municipality, where they can proceed for their regular checkup, take their medicines and enjoy recreational activities. “We will also introduce traditional and alternative health care for senior citizens to enhance their wellbeing and to prevent and to cure their illness.”

A water zumba was also conducted for the participants of the second Senior Citizen’s Health Summit during the second day of the activity.

GRANDMA’S BLOOMS Extremely delighted by the beauty of sunflowers at our ancestral farm in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, my 91-year-old grandmother Jovita Perante shows how flowering ornamentals provide natural ambience to an organic garden that would always make her happy. SUZANNE JUNE G. PERANTE

HE Internet and social media are changing the way today’s seniors commemorate holidays, including the recent Lenten season. While some went online to document their Holy Week activities, others went offline as a form of fasting.

In keeping with tradition, Buena Umali and other seniors of Magdalena, Laguna, held a pabasa, or the continuous chanting of the Passion of Christ, every year on the Friday before Palm Sunday. They also went on a Visita Iglesia, or visits to different churches where they pray the Stations of the Cross.

Having recently completed training on the use of smartphones and mobile data, Umali and her group now also share their activities via Facebook and Messenger.

For instance, they have uploaded on Facebook a video of their Visita Iglesia in Antipolo and Taytay in Rizal.

“I’m glad that I now know how to use social media. I am able to share all of this with my friends and family, using my smartphone,” Umali said.

Also through Facebook, Lita Rubina was able to see how other communities commemorate Holy Week. She said it showed how strong Filipinos’ faith is and this serves to encourage participation in the Lenten rituals.

“Commemorating Holy Week means remembering how Christ suffered and died for our sins,” she said. “Facebook is just another medium to show our devotion.”

The two women were graduates of the Smart Millenniors program, initiated by PLDT ’s wireless subsidiary to teach senior citizens about technology, with the help of youth volunteers.

Fellow graduate Amparo Catina of Marikina City saw it differently. As Holy Week is a period of reflection, a meaningful way to commemorate it was by taking time off social media.

Yes, there is a third act

F

. SCOTT FITZGERALD is credited with this famous line: “There are no second acts in American lives,” which has come to mean something like “You have only one shot at success.” He was, of course, using the three-act structure of a drama play as an analogy.

But I beg to disagree. The personal dramas of our lives need not end with the first or second act.

This is why I sometimes turn down invitations to attend gatherings of friends, peers and colleagues who have reached the golden age. I find myself wasting my cherished time, listening to people who are stuck in the past. Most of the time, they talk about themselves, their past achievements, their clout and power. I find myself asking, “Is it easier to look back into the past and harp on yesterday’s accomplishments than it is to think of tomorrow’s possibilities?”

One type that I especially try to avoid are old farts who cannot stop talking about their self-declared accomplishments in the distant past.

They repeat their stories like a broken record, completely forgetting you heard them all before. At first hearing, one is awed, but it soon wears off and, at fifth hearing, it becomes irritating.

There is another type who incessantly talks about missed opportunities and might-have-beens. Worse,

there are those who talk negatively about everything and about everyone.

How about this well-known personality who keeps promoting on his radio-station events, harping on about a tiresome old college rivalry year after year. He is stuck in the 1960s.

For these people, there seems to be no second acts in life. They’d rather give more attention to what they were rather than what they could become in the remaining years of their given lifetime. Do they perhaps see nothing but a dead end, and they feel more comfortable staying continuously focused on where they had been rather than where they are going? Do they feel they have run out of time anyway, and it’s useless shifting the gear to forward?

Well, I have good news! There can be a second act, third act and even a fourth act! Just stop pining over or rewinding the past; look at what you have left. There is still plenty of time to make an impact on the immediate world around you or to reinvent yourself or turn toward a new direction and find new pathways to regenerate your life.

From time and again, I revisit Gail Sheehy’s book Passages because I find it useful in mapping my life’s milestones. In that book, she marked the demarcations and descriptions of adulthood, beginning at 21 and end-

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH ing at 65. She conducted hundreds of interviews and small group discussions with people who talked about the changes in their lives at every stage of life.

But 20 years after she wrote that book, she came out with a sequel entitled New Passages. The reason she was compelled to write the second book is because she discovered that life stages have changed duration, and her maps and demarcations of life’s stages have become out of date. For one thing, people are now taking much longer to die. Men and women can expect a dramatically lengthened life span.

For example, it is most likely that a 60-year-old woman today can expect to see her 90th birthday. Reflecting this reality, Gail Sheehy has mapped out a completely new frontier: a second adulthood in later life.

In her recalculated stages of life, 45 is not old. It is the infancy of another life. Instead of declining, some men and women are embracing a second adulthood, which covers the ages 45 to 85 years old. It’s a new passage, a chance to do something else, a bonus time that can be used to progress into a life of deeper

meaning, renewed playfulness and creativity—beyond both male and female menopause. As she describes it, it’s “a new life to live, one in which we could concentrate on becoming better, stronger, deeper, wiser, funnier, freer, sexier and more attentive to living the privileged moments.”

This is what seems to be happening to my tokayo and friend, Nick J. Lizaso. Nick is already into his 80s, and yet he is actively performing the task of president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, going to various cities with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, being invited to cultural events in Tokyo, Moscow, New York to give a talk. He is into his second wind, so to speak, and he’s loving it!

My artist friend Del used to be an art director in an ad agency. After retiring, he picked up painting again with gusto, and is now making a decent living selling his works.

In a conceptualization class I taught some time ago, one of the most enthusiastic attendees was a retired public-school teacher. She was into a short course on web-site development and was planning to take up digital

animation afterwards. When I told her I admired her pluck and spirit, she just smiled and said: “For me, life is an acronym. It means ‘learning is forever.’”

So, maybe you can take a second look at that avocation or hobby which you had set aside because of your busy corporate life.

Now is the time to take it up again and turn it into something you can live on. Just think. You can volunteer as a mentor of delinquent juveniles, or become a fulltime advocate of senior citizen’s rights, or serve as a lay minister in your local parish church, learn the craft of photography or the science of hydrophonics, or you can invest in a new enterprise.

Whatever. Just find your passion or your true calling and do it.

Experience that satisfying feeling that you get when you finally are able to shed the shell of the past and to master a new set of skills or do what you have always wanted to do. Every day becomes an awakening. This way, you will never grow old. You just keep growing.

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Remember that meme we used to frame and hang in our offices? This time, feel it and really mean it. Just like a play or movie, the second or third act of your life can even be much more interesting. Instead of a whimper, end your life with a bang!

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

BusinessMirror

Saturday, April 27, 2019 A9

A third of consumers Facebook says more Instagram passwords exposed than thought would sell their private data to someone they don’t know SAN FRANCISCO—Millions more Instagram users were affected by a password security lapse than parent company Facebook acknowledged nearly four weeks ago.

The social-media giant said in late March that it had inadvertently stored passwords in plain text,

making it possible for its thousands of employees to search them. It said the passwords were stored on internal company servers, where no outsiders could access them.

Facebook said in a blog post on Thursday that it now estimates that “millions” of Instagram users

were affected by the lapse, instead of the “tens of thousands” it had originally reported. It had also said in March that the issue affected “hundreds of millions” of Facebook Lite users and millions of Facebook users. Facebook Lite is designed for people with older phones or slow Internet connections. AP

Likes for likes?

Instagram said to test new likes system soon PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

F

OR so many people, Instagram is everything.

In 2017, the #StatusOfMind survey, published by the United Kingdom’s Royal Society for Public Health, included input from 1,479 young people (ages 14 to 24) from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The period covered was February through May of 2017.

The poll asked respondents to score the most popular social- media apps on 14 concerns including

anxiety, depression, loneliness, bullying and body image. Out of a list that included Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the respondents rated Instagram the worst. Is that surprising? Not really.

The survey said Instagram was associated with anxiety, depression, bullying and FOMO. Not surprisingly, the respondents gave video-sharing platform YouTube a net positive score.

Anyway, back to Instagram: people have made a living out of being “Instagrammers.” These days, you need a blog or a YouTube channel to get freebies and invites to exclusive events. You just need an account with 10,000 followers and you’re set.

Instagrammers can charge from P5,000 to attend an event and post about it on the photo-sharing site.

Some can charge up to P200,000. It really is all about follows and likes.

But these follows and likes can be purchased and while I have nothing against those who do it, I empathize with those who do it fair and square, and aren’t as successful as others.

But a recent development can potentially change that. Instagram may soon hide like counts on posts to reduce the sense of competition among users.

Jane Manchun Wong discovered this in the code of Instagram’s Android app.

“We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shared a post will see the total number of likes it gets,” a screenshot of the code revealed. If plans push through, the total like count will be removed and there will be a link to “View Likes.” Clicking this link will let the user see the total number of likes a post has and the users who have liked it. Other users will not see that information but they can see when other users they follow like particular posts, just like before.

In this day of curated feeds and even more curated following lists, this development could bring back the good old days when posts were more organic.

Instagram has yet to confirm whether this is true but in my opinion, it seems like a healthy move. ■

Mobility, investment potential influence online homebuyers—OLX

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor DIGITAL marketplace provider OLX Philippines revealed the changing habits of Filipino homebuyers today in the way they seek information about properties and how they intend to use them.

With the advent of mobile technology, the online marketplace provider found out that more and more of its users utilize their smartphones or tablets to gather pertinent details on estates listed in OLX and Property24. The former is an online buy-andsell channel, wherein everyone can list anything, including housing units. The latter specializes in property listings exclusive only for professional sellers, such as brokers, agents and developers.

Kristina Bautista, head of real estate for OLX Philippines and Property24, bared that actual data of both platforms as of January 2019 show that over 70 percent of people who want to inquire about property, whether buying or renting it, are actually happening on such mobile devices.

She cited that on the average, both portals process around 300,000 to 500,000 inquiries every month.

Sixty percent of those who use OLX ask for

available rental properties, while 80 percent of those who go to Property24 inquire about estates for sale, she noted.

“So there’s a different profile of people who are looking for properties on our platforms,” Bautista told BusinessMirror after their media briefing during the “ULI Philippines Conference 2019: The Futu/Re Summit,” held recently at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

The majority of potential real-estate buyers in Metro Manila are looking for condominiums, while those outside of the metropolis are searching for house-and-lot or a townhouse. “It’s really dependent on the supply and the location,” she said of other factors that affect the preferences of homeseekers.

Given the increased access of users to mobile devices, Bautista said they now educate their clients— developers, brokers and agents—on the need to be able to respond to customers’ inquiries through mobile and messaging apps.

This is beyond the fact that 90 percent to 95 percent of Filipino users today turn to mobile messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, Viber and WhatsApp even more than SMS, or short messaging service, she noted.

“What’s changing is also even the mode of communication of possible buyers,” the top executive said. As a platform provider, she bared that they help their clients realize that while their usual traditional way of selling or how they want to nurture the lead remains the same, the speed of transactions and how they want to be reached are changing.

“That’s what we’re also trying to facilitate, better communication, and it’s all happening definitely on mobile,” she said.

People logging in to OLX and Property24 are not just looking for places to acquire, but also aim to turn them as additional sources of income.

Based on their periodical survey done in the first month of this year, which involved over 10,000 from their user base, Bautista said over 30 percent of people searching on the platforms they own and operate actually want to buy properties for investment purposes. This could be attributed to their improved financial status and increased financial literacy that they see the income potential of buying a real estate.

“Consumer habits are changing. They’re coming to us because we have the traffic. These are everyday end-users who are now looking at different ways of investing, living or buying,” Bautista stressed.

RECKLESS data sharing online for short-term gains is leaving consumers exposed to more than they bargained for, according to new research from Kaspersky Lab (www.kaspersky.com/blog/privacyreport-2019). Despite outrage and worry around high-profile data sharing scandals, including when Facebook gave Netflix and Spotify the ability to delete users’ private messages, over half of Internet users (56 percent) feel that complete privacy in the modern digital world is impossible. Many are instead choosing to sell-out when it comes to securing the integrity of their data and persona online—but with potentially big costs and consequences.

Despite the very real consequences associated with personal data being misused or falling into the wrong hands, one in five (18 percent) people would happily sacrifice their privacy and share data if they got something for free. More than a third (39 percent) would even accept money in exchange for giving a complete stranger full access to their private data.

With Internet users more likely to share their private data if there is something in it for them, taking this short-term approach can lead to long-term damage.

Recent cases, such as tweets posted by James Gunn, or Kevin Hart, show how the data you willingly share online could come back to bite you in ways you could never imagine—damaging reputations and careers. For the “person on the street,” it is also becoming more common for employers and potential employers to scour social-media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, to check that staff and candidates are reputable and workers not bringing the company into disrepute.

Whether we openly share it or not, if our information falls into the wrong hands online, it can have a huge impact in the real world. Kaspersky Lab’s research found that over a quarter (26 percent) of people have had their private data accessed by someone without their consent—rising to almost a third (31 percent) among 16- to 24-year-olds. The consequences of this were wide and varied with more than a third (36 percent) feeling stressed as a result.

One in five (21 percent) have experienced monetary loss; while a quarter (25 percent) were disturbed by spam and adverts.

These consequences come despite many of us taking steps to keep information secret, or to stop others accessing personal and confidential data.

With cyber criminals coming out as the people we are most afraid of seeing or accessing our private data, followed by the Internet in general and the government, 62 percent of people password-protect their devices to keep information private. A third (35 percent) regularly check and change privacy settings on the devices, services and apps they use (rising to 42 percent among 16- to 24-year-olds and just over a quarter [28 percent] of the over 55s); a quarter (25 percent) cover their webcams to keep data private; and one in five (21 percent) men encrypt data compared to just one in 10 (11 percent) women.

“You don’t have to look far to see how data can be misused or used against consumers in a variety of scenarios, for a variety of reasons. Good digital hygiene and awareness about the importance of online privacy and how to safeguard yourself could stop you and your data from becoming compromised,” said Marina Titova, head of consumer product marketing at Kaspersky Lab. “Data privacy is and should be achievable by everyone. Secrets can stay safe and data loss should not be an expectation but an exception to transacting online. A combined solution of security products and practical steps can minimize the threats and keep your data safe online.”

To help keep your online world private and stop you from falling victim to data misuse, here are a few simple steps to follow: ■ Think twice before you post on social-media channels. Could there be wider consequences of making your views or information public? Could content be used against you or to your detriment now or in the future?

■ Don’t share passwords to your online accounts with family or friends. It might seem like a good idea or a convenient way of sharing accounts with loved ones, but it also adds to the likelihood of passwords being uncovered by fraudsters. Keep them to yourself and safeguard your private information to protect you should relationships turn sour.

■ Take your online privacy seriously and don’t share or permit access to your information with third parties unless absolutely necessary, to minimize exposure of it falling into the wrong hands.

A10 Saturday, April 27, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Apple, Qualcomm settle bitter dispute over iPhone technology /

A SIGN advertises 5G at the Qualcomm booth at CES International in Las Vegas. Apple and mobile chipmaker Qualcomm have settled a bitter financial dispute centered on some of the technology that enables iPhones to connect to the Internet. AP

S

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press

AN FRANCISCO—Apple and mobile chipmaker Qualcomm have settled a bitter financial dispute centered on some of the technology that enables iPhones to connect to the Internet.

The surprise truce announced on Tuesday came just as the former allies turned antagonists were facing off in a federal court trial that was supposed to unfold over the next month in San Diego. The resolution abruptly ended that trial, which also involved Apple’s key iPhone suppliers.

The deal requires Apple to pay Qualcomm an undisclosed amount. It also includes a six-year licensing agreement that likely involves recurring payments to the mobile chipmaker.

Investors reacted as if it were a resounding victory for Qualcomm. The San Diego company’s stock soared 23 percent to close on Tuesday at $70.45. Apple shares edged up 2 cents to $199.25.

Neither Apple nor Qualcomm would comment beyond a brief statement announcing they had resolved their differences. Details about how much Apple and its iPhone suppliers will be paying Qualcomm could emerge in court documents or when the companies announce their latest financial results. Apple is due to report its quarterly results on April 30 while Qualcomm is scheduled to release its numbers on May 1.

Apple had been seeking at least $1 billion for money that Qualcomm was supposed to rebate as part of an earlier licensing agreement. Apple had begun to have misgivings about that deal as it added more features to its increasingly popular lineup of iPhones.

Qualcomm was seeking $7 billion for unpaid royalties it contended it was owed for its patented technology in the iPhone. Apple’s iPhone suppliers, including Foxconn and Pegatron, wanted another $27 billion from Qualcomm.

The dispute was clearly beginning to hurt all parties involved, motivating them to settle, said technology industry analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy.

“Both Apple and Qualcomm got deeper into this than they wanted to,” Moorhead said.

Qualcomm also held another bargaining chip: It makes the modem chips needed for future smartphones to work with the next generation of high-speed wireless networks known as “5G.” Two of Apple’s biggest rivals, Samsung and Huawei, are

SAM, the first-ever in-mall customer service robot

SM Supermalls COO Steven Tan

SMART INNOVATION FOR ENHANCED MALLING EXPERIENCE

already getting ready to introduce 5G models. The iPhone would have been at a disadvantage if it didn’t have a pipeline to Qualcomm’s chips.

Falling behind the competition isn’t something Apple can afford with its iPhone sales already falling.

“Ultimately, Apple realized this was more about two kids fighting in the sandbox and they have bigger issues ahead with 5G and iPhone softness versus battling Qualcomm in court,” Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives wrote in Tuesday research note.

Apple had already lost an earlier battle with Qualcomm last month when a federal court jury in

San Diego decided the iPhone maker owed Qualcomm $31 million for infringing on three of its patents.

Qualcomm still faces other potential fallout from its demands to be paid royalties in addition to the fees it charges for its mobile chips. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused the company of using its royalty system to stifle competition in the mobile chip market in another case in which Apple played a central role.

A trial about the FTC’s lawsuit wrapped up in a San Jose, California, court in January, but the judge still hasn’t issued a ruling. ■

AS part of a series of innovations designed to improve customer malling experience, SM Supermalls (www. smsupermalls.com) raises the bar in customer service with the introduction of SAM, the country’s first-ever in-mall smart robot, launched recently at SM Megamall.

“Throughout the years, innovation has always been at the core of SM’s growth in delivering better malling experiences.

This year, one of our key strategies is to leverage on the latest and most advanced technologies,” said Steven Tan, SM Supermalls COO. Created in partnership with the Cal-Comp Technology (Philippines), a leading provider of electronic and original design manufacturing services, SAM is an artificialintelligence (AI) humanoid robot especially programmed to deliver a smoother, more personalized and efficient interaction with customers. SAM is designed to help with directions and provide mall information about the latest deals, promos and events. Equipped with an advanced face-recognition technology, it can also make personalized greetings to customers once they enter the mall.

Customers can also chat with SAM through the SM Supermalls Facebook page. It serves as a 24/7 online concierge that can provide information like branch locations, mall schedules and promos, to name a few.

SAM was recently launched at SM Megamall and can be found at the Mega Atrium, Mega Fashion Hall or Bank Drive. It will also be deployed in other SM malls soon.

Fitbit launches 3 new products to get broader market reach

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES LEADING global wearables brand Fitbit recently rolled out three new products in the Philippines aimed to not only tap the fitness community but also reach out to the couch potatoes, as well.

“By putting Fitbit on their wrists, it encourages people to workout and control their lives,” said Louis Lye, the brand’s regional director for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, in a press briefing held at the Bonifacio Global City.

The new products introduced were the Fitbit Versa Lite Edition, Fitbit Inspire HR and the Fitbit Inspire.

With the three new products, Lye said consumers now have more options in selecting the best device that suits their taste, capability and lifestyle. Moreover, he said the Fitbit platform offers users engaging software features, access to user’s holistic data, and connection to one of the largest global health and fitness social networks which helps to drive positive behavior change.

Meanwhile, Lye said Fitbit will also soon launch a major redesign to the Fitbit app to allow users to further personalize their dashboard, better understand their data, discover new content and more easily connect with others on

Fitbit’s social community.

“Users will get a clearer picture on how they are performing in their activities toward their fitness journey. For Fitbit, it is not a one-size-fits-all thing because we want to get a broader reach,” he explained.

Fitbit Lite Versa edition functions as a everyday smartwatch carrying a majority of the core fitness and smart features Versa is known for, including automatic activity, PurePulse 24/7 heart rate and Sleep Stages tracking, 15+ goal-based exercise modes, connected GPS, smartphone notifications, apps, four day-plus battery life, and relative SpO2 sensor, which has the potential to estimate changes in blood oxygen levels and help track new health indicators about health, such as sleep apnea. It features a simple onebutton, lightweight, swim-proof design in bold new color choices for the young-at-heart. Priced at P10,390, the Versa Lite edition is Fitbit’s most affordable smartwatch, yet it can also enable users to have an attractive, versatile, and easy-to-use device with core features, actionable insights and personal guidance to motivate them to improve their health.

With a price of P6,290, Fitbit Inspire HR is the brand’s most affordable and stylish 24/7 heart rate tracking device. It carries an all-day automatic activity, exercise and Sleep Stages tracking, with more than 15 goal-based exercise modes, connected global positioning system (GPS), and Relax guided breathing in a stylish slim design.

To ensure a huge market base is covered, it launched the Fitbit Inspire, a lower-cost, easy-to-

use tracker. Available at P4,590, Fitbit Inspire has the essential health and fitness features to help consumers stay motivated, including automatic activity, exercise and sleep tracking, goal celebrations, Reminders to Move, and timer and stopwatch apps to help users stay on track.

Both products have a new modern, comfortable and swim-proof design with a touchscreen display, smartphone notifications, and up to five days of battery life for day-to-night wear.

Lye said Fitbit will be focusing on strengthening its strong partnership with Digital Walker and Globe Telecom, and increase store penetration to have a strong presence in the country. He added Fitbit is also planning to explore partnerships with insurance companies to help find solutions for people to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

“Fitbit wants to provide something for everybody not only specifically for the Philippine market but for the world to benefit,” Lye noted.

International Data Corp. reported the wearables category will continue to evolve and grow, with global shipments of wearable devices forecasted to reach 189 million units by 2022, up from 125 million units in 2018. While growth is being driven by smartwatches, trackers are expected to remain an important part of the category overall. Fitbit believes this rapid growth provides a large opportunity to bring new consumers to the category by offering both smartwatch and tracker form factors that feel more accessible and are affordably priced.

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Real(me) talk THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

W

HEN I first heard that Oppo was going to have its own sub-brand, called Realme, I knew it was going to be an even more exciting time for smartphones. The entry to the midrange market, once dominated by local companies, was going get fierce competition not only from the two returning brands— Xiaomi and Honor (Huawei’s own sub-brand)—but from Realme, as well.

Realme was officially established on May 4, 2018, (National Youth Day of China) with Sky Li, who was formerly the vice president of Oppo, leading the new company. Realme focuses on user needs and presents products with both strong performance and trendy design in the broad context of e-commerce.

On November 29, 2018, Realme formally announced its arrival in the Philippines. It was a day before the celebration of Bonifacio Day, a tribute to one of the most revered heroes in Philippine history. Inspired by that same fiery spirit, the brazen young newcomer fearlessly took on bigger and more established brands as it fought for a different kind of freedom—the freedom to let Pinoys experience a smartphone with powerful performance and stylish design at a more liberating price point.

It had already found success in the Indian market achieving strong milestones such as 4 million smartphone sales in just three months, and breaking numerous online sales records. Establishing an office in the Philippines was part of its efforts to strengthen its Southeast Asian foothold with the promise of delivering powerful mobile performance and contemporary style that are attainable by all Filipinos.

WEAPON S

SUB-BRANDS have become a new weapon in China’s smartphone wars, and each of the top brands—Huawei (Honor), Xiaomi (Redmi), Oppo (Realme) and Vivo (iQoo)— has their own sub-brand as a way to reach out and expand their original target.

This has become a popular tactic for Chinese smartphone makers to lure new demographics without undermining and muddling their existing brand reputation.

But unlike Redmi and Honor that release several smartphones at different price points, Realme opted to focus on one smartphone at a time, instead offering consumers different RAM and storage options instead.

And it worked.

The Realme C1 quickly sold-out in record time and set several records for the company. I even convinced a lot of my relatives and friends to get the Realme C1 last Christmas as a gift to themselves or for their loved ones.

FROM NEWCOMER TO MAJOR PLAYER

IN just a few months Realme now has around 1,000 stores and 23 service centers nationwide this month. Going beyond Metro Manila, Realme has also established its presence in key regional cities nationwide. With the market now fully aware of the brand, the brand has released its next game-changing device: Realme 3.

If the C1 disrupted the market, the Realme 3 is now trying to set a new standard for smartphones and let more users #DiscoverRealValue. Armed with a cache of improvements in both hardware and software, the question is: Can the Realme 3 match, if not surpass, the phenomenal success of the C1?

REAL OR OVERHYPED?

EVEN before its launch, the Realme 3 has been getting an insane amount of hype from tech web sites, with some even comparing it to flagships at least three times its price range, and while it did generate a lot of interest, for me it was a bit too overkill.

So when I got my review unit, I was both excited and skeptical to prove if all the good stuff was indeed real.

Let’s begin with the design and build. The Realme 3 uses polycarbonate plastic as its material of choice and while it won’t win any design awards to distinguish it from all the other Android phones out there, it does look pretty good with its gradient unibody.

The Realme 3 comes in two color variants, Dynamic Black and Radiant Blue. I usually prefer the louder color, but for this one, I actually like the Dynamic Black better because it makes the device look more elegant and premium.

Exploring the phone, up front is the large 6.2-inch screen with a dewdrop notch that houses the 13MP selfie camera and call speaker. I also have to commend Realme for using Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the screen for added protection.

The power button sits all alone on the right while the triple card slot is on the left along with the volume rocker. Up top is the noise-canceling microphone and at the bottom of the

phone is the speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, and the micro USB port. Remember this is a sub P10,000 device, so you really can’t complain if it doesn’t have USB Type-C. On the back, and you’ll find the vertical dual camera setup composed of a 13MP and 2MP lenses. Again nothing to rave about, but I do have to point out that the yellow outline on the main camera makes it look cool, and while the megapixel count isn’t impressive, the camera results are definitely surprising, but we will get into that later.

Overall, the phone feels good in the hands, but like all other phones with this kind of glossy finish it is very prone to fingerprint smudges, so I suggest you use the free jelly case that comes in the box—or order one of those cool cutout Realme cases when it becomes available.

Moving on to the features, the Realme 3’s 6.2 inch HD+ display has a resolution of 1520 x 720 which equates to a pixel density of 271. It is bright, clear and perfectly fine for watching movies and playing games. You can further tweak the color temperature of the display in the settings, and for those who use their phones for long periods of time, it has a Night Shield feature that reduces blue light from the screen which minimize eye strain.

The audio is just okay and what you’d expect from its single firing speaker. Be cautious as to where you place your fingers though as it can be easily muffled when you’re holding the device in landscape mode. To enjoy a better audio experience though, its better to get those Realme earphones or use a 3rd-party speaker if you really want to listen to loud music.

The Realme 3 runs on the newest ColorOS 6.0 based on Android 9 Pie, and will look very familiar to Oppo users. It has an app drawer which you can access by simply swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Swipe from leftmost on the home screen to access the Smart Assistant which is a convenient way to view date, temperature, calendar, quick functions, step tracker and search tab. There is, likewise, a small shortcuts tab which you can further customize, although I don’t have much use for it.

Keeping things running smoothly on the Realme 3 is the MediaTek Helio P60 processor. Its one of the most reliable processors used by a lot of devices that have twice the Realme 3’s price tag. It’s not the latest and greatest but then again, it makes the phone one of the speediest among its price-range peers. Everything is a breeze—from launching new apps, switching among your most-used social-media apps like Facebook and Instagram, taking pictures, etc.

Realme 3 also boasts of its great gaming capabilities and it can handle even the most demanding ones such as Mobile Legends, NBA 2K19 and Asphalt with good quality and fluid frame rates. For PUBG fans, stick to the medium settings to play without noticeable lags and frame drops. Open the Game Space app to provide the best possible performance when playing games. It also gives you quick access to the screenshot and screen recording features while in-game, and it lets you see if you have existing notifications without the pop-ups.

Fingerprint scanners have become a security standard among smartphones, and the Realme 3 has one on the back that works incredibly fast. Or you can opt for face unlock which also works quite snappily, thanks to its 13-megapixel front-facing camera. For even faster unlock, enable “Raise to Wake” so that every time you pick up your Realme 3, the device lights up and detects your face, even before you could think about reaching for the fingerprint scanner.

Now for the most important and perhaps game-changing feature of the Realme 3—the cameras.

With everyone now taking photos of just about everything, the camera can be a deal-breaker for most people. And I’m glad to say that while comparing the Realme 3 to flagships is a bit of an overkill, it does pretty much knockout most of the

competition in its category.

It’s got a 13MP f/1.8 + 2MP f/2.4 dual rear camera, and a 13MP f/2.0 front camera. The three main camera modes include portrait mode (which has a fixed blurriness level), photo and video. Tap on the three lines to access even more modes like panorama, expert, time-lapse, and slow-mo and NightScape, which is Realme’s version of night mode. On top of the camera screen from the right, you’ll see settings, filters and perhaps the most important addition to the Realme 3: Chroma Boost, which boosts the photo’s saturation to make your subjects even look more vibrant.

Like I mentioned earlier, the Realme 3 might not have the most megapixels, but its camera, I must say, does remarkably well. Image quality is surprising and something you won’t expect from a phone of its price.

Finally, there’s NightScape (a.k.a. Night Mode) which is perhaps the most enticing camera mode of the Realme 3 as it used to be an exclusive feature on flagship models until

recently. NightScape is great for shooting photos in low light and it’s actually legit.

But is it really as good as some reviewers say?

My answer again is it depends. As they say: With great photos come great setup responsibilities. You can’t just click away and hope for the best. The pictures come out mostly OK—mostly, I say, because it will depend on how shaky your hands are (so best to have a tripod ready). There is still noise but still, not that bad for a first try.

At a starting price of P7,990 (P6,990 is an online exclusive), very few other smartphones can match what the Realme 3 can do, and that makes it another easy recommendation that will easily feed the hunger of your inner Technivore. ■

Globe gives passes to this year’s biggest superhero blockbuster EXCITEMENT continues to build up for this year’s talk-of-the-town movie set to break blockbuster records. Marvel Studios’s Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) biggest assembly of superheroes yet, is now in Philippine theaters.

If you are a full-fledged superfan who wants to get dibs on Hollywood’s most anticipated franchise conclusion, Globe At Home and Globe Postpaid have got you covered.

With exciting promos from Globe At Home and Globe Postpaid, you get to win GMovies passes to see Marvel Studios’s Avengers: Endgame, now in cinemas.

■ Get two movie passes via GMovies with a Globe At Home plan or upgrade your existing plan to a higher plan until May 15, via the Globe Online Shop. Successful applications will receive an email containing the GMovies code within three working days from installation.

■ Get two GMovies passes with the ThePLAN 1499 and above at select Globe Stores until April 30. Plus, all successful applications of ThePLAN PLUS 999 and up from April 16 to 30 will get a P350 discount voucher for the Avengers Funko POP collection at any Filbar’s store in greater Manila area.

Relive the MCU with DisneyLife, and get fast, unlimited Internet of up to 100mbps with Globe At Home Postpaid. Enjoy world-class entertainment with six months access from Globe to top streaming apps such as DisneyLife, FOX+, HOOQ, Amazon Prime Video and iflix. You can also satisfy your Internet streaming cravings at home with fast, reloadable and affordable Home Prepaid WiFi with a one-time payment of P1999. Load up with various promos, with as low as HomeSURF199 (2GB for seven days). To

know more about Globe At Home and its products and services, visit www.globe.com.ph/broadband.

Always on-the-go? Get ready for Avengers: Endgame by streaming the previous Marvel movies anytime, anywhere on DisneyLife—an all-in-one app where you can enjoy your favorite TV shows, movies and music from Marvel, Disney, Pixar and Star Wars.

If you’re a Postpaid subscriber, just text DLIFE149 to 8080 to enjoy a DisneyLife subscription for only P149 per month.

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

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Huawei breaks new imaging ground with the P30 Series T

BY GERARD S. RAMOS Lifestyle and Entertainment Editor

HE past couple of years have seen Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics manufacturer Huawei dogged by accusations from the US government as a security threat, ostensibly on account that its increasingly ubiquitous products could be leveraged by the Chinese government to spy on companies and governments worldwide. Hardening its position, the US government then barred all its agencies from deploying Huawei products. Moreover, recent news reports have the CIA buttressing US allegations with claims of “the People’s Liberation Army, China’s National Security Commission and a third branch of the government’s investment network” pouring investments into Huawei (bit.ly/2IF�Mz6).

The still-unsubstantiated allegations have no doubt caused Huawei a considerable amount of grief, with the company seeing what could have been a game-changing partnership with US carrier AT&T unravel, and its 5G ambitions in Europe, New Zealand and Australia thwarted.

Not surprisingly, Huawei announced in early March that “it has filed a complaint in a US federal court that challenges the constitutionality of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Through this action, Huawei seeks a declaratory judgment that the restrictions targeting Huawei are unconstitutional, and a permanent injunction against these restrictions.”

Still, to borrow a line from that famous Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical, don’t cry for Huawei: Even in the face of these allegations, the company has continued to see its exceptional mobile phones find favor everywhere: “Fresh from an $8.8 billion profit last year,...Chinese tech giant Huawei is touting yet more growth. The firm said today that revenue in the first quarter of 2019 grew 39 percent year-on-year to reach $26.78 billion, or 179.7 billion CNY.” Robust sales of its phone have pushed Huawei to surpass Apple as the No. 2 brand globally.

That standing is unlikely to change and, given recent reports of Samsung’s softening mobile phone sales, even improve with the release of Huawei’s new flagship series, the P30, which it launched to massive fanfare at Paris Convention Centre in France in late March. While last year we were invited by Huawei to attend the Paris launch of its predecessor, the hugely successful P20 Series, this time out the company’s local representatives sent out a loaner of the P30 Pro—the Breathing Crystal variant—for us to play around with and talk up.

“The Huawei P30 Series builds on the [brand’s] P Series DNA in design and photography, and is the

company’s most advanced series of smartphone cameras,” so goes the official press material, and the new flagship series does see Huawei pushing its collaboration with legendary German imaging specialist Leica in ways heretofore unseen in mobile phones and wildly succeeding at it, particularly in the Pro variant which, of course, has all the bells, whistles and imaging muscles the others in the series don’t.

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer BG, said, “The Huawei P30 Series is a fundamental breakthrough after decades of digital camera technology development; it will rewrite the rules and reshape everyone’s perception of mobile photography.

Innovations such as the Huawei SuperSpectrum Sensor and SuperZoom Lens allow us to push the envelope of both photography and videography—a frontier long overdue for disruption. The P30 Series will set the pace for the next generation of smartphones by empowering people to capture the true beauty of the world around them through a device that fits in the palm of their hands.”

Offhand, with its curved OLED screen measuring 6.47 inches, you would think the Huawei P30 Pro is well into phablet (phone-tablet hybrid) territory and thus unwieldy beyond two-handed use by sizeable mitts. But not only have the bezels bookending the screen at the top and the bottom been whittled down to almost nothingness, but the fingerprint sensor (wicked fast) has also been incorporated in the screen that the phone doesn’t seem that much bigger than the its immediate predecessor, the P20 Pro. It has, in fact, about the same dimensions as Huawei’s other flagship, the magnificent Mate 20 Pro, whose screen is just a smidgen smaller (6.39 inches), although it has a higher-resolution display with the colors more vibrant and the pixels more packed (1440 x 3120 pixels and ~538 ppi density for the Mate 20 Pro, versus the P30 Pro’s 1080 x 2340 pixels and ~398 ppi density).

Pretty much, the Huawei P30 Pro, which has an excellent build, holds up very well against the super-charged Mate 20 Pro, as both pack the same powerful octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 980 CPU, Mali-G76 MP10 GPU and 8GB of RAM, providing such lag-free performance that it is almost breathtaking. Of course, there is much more to that insanely fast performance beyond powerful hardware: the P30 Pro, like the Mate 20 Pro, ships with Android 9.0 (Pie), the newest version of Google’s market-leading OS which boasts of under-the-hood changes and tweaks that have resulted in heightened usability, even more efficient memory management and just plain raw speed.

Where the Huawei P30 Pro differentiates itself from the Mate 20 Pro and all other flagships is in its imaging muscles, which are mightily impressive.

While the Mate 20 Pro is certainly no slouch in photography, the P30 Pro takes mobile photography to a whole new level of game.

According to the product information provided

by Huawei with regards to the quad-camera P30 Pro: “Achieving a record-high overall DxOMark score of 112, the Huawei P30 Pro is equipped with a new Leica Quad Camera System, including a 40MP main camera with the Huawei SuperSpectrum Sensor, a 20MP ultra-wide angle camera, an 8MP telephoto camera, the Huawei ToF Camera, and a 32MP front camera that takes selfies to a new level.

“The 1/1.7-inch Huawei SuperSpectrum Sensor looks at light in a fundamentally new way. The RYYB Huawei SuperSpectrum Sensor deviates from the traditional RGGB Bayer filter by replacing green pixels with yellow pixels, yielding a high maximum ISO rating of 409,600 on the Huawei P30 Pro and 204,800 on the Huawei P30. This fundamental shift in sensor technology, combined with Huawei AIS, OIS and the Huawei P30 Pro’s f/1.6 wide aperture, delivers extraordinary photography and videography experiences across a wide range of scenarios and lighting conditions— including extreme low light—producing images with enhanced detail, color and clarity.

“Through a new periscope design, the SuperZoom Lens supports high fidelity magnification of 5 times optical zoom, 10 times hybrid zoom and 50 times digital zoom. A prism element in the telephoto camera bends light at a 90-degree angle to maximize focal length while minimizing camera height, without disrupting device design.

“Unique to the Huawei P30 Pro is the ToF Camera that captures depth-of-field information to deliver accurate image segmentation. Precise distance measurement allows for the simulation of multiple levels of bokeh. The Super Portrait feature captures even the smallest details, such as individual strands of hair. It combines depth information and proprietary algorithms to produce outstanding images with defocused backgrounds and highlights the subject of the image in any scenario.”

To put all that in less geeky terms, the Huawei P30 Pro packs an awesome camera system which pretty much puts into obsolescence point-and-shooters and even garden variety DSLRs. The phone’s imaging muscles are that impressive. It greatly improves on its predecessor’s noteworthy 3x lossless optical zoom with a 5x optical zoom, plus an excellent 10x lossless hybrid zoom that leverages the built-in AI smarts of the Kirin 980 chipset, all in all yielding images worthy of seeing print even for a tarpaulin banner without you ever having the fiddle with settings under the Pro mode. (While the phone does provide a 50x digital zoom, we would advise that you instead get as close as possible to whatever it is your snapping.

Unless of course you are aiming for an impressionist painting effect.) Similarly noteworthy is the phone’s Night mode, which now allows you to capture images under low light conditions without the results being

shrouded in shadows.

The Huawei P30 Pro is packed with a plethora of truly impressive hardware and software that a full review might approach the length of novella. Special mention must be made, however, over the fact that despite its slim profile, Huawei has managed to shoehorn a massive 4200 mAh battery that provides a couple of days of power with regular use, with a little left over at the end of Day 2. And when you do need a recharge, 30 minutes plugged in with its 40W SuperCharged wired charging are all you need to get replenished to about a 70-percent charge.

More information on the Huawei P30 Pro is available at bit.ly/2W4E2h5.

It should surprise no one that the country’s two biggest wireless communications providers have put out offerings featuring the most impressive smartphone in the market.

The Huawei P30 Pro is being offered by Smart at P2,399 per month (with a one-time cash out of P9,010 for the device); the Huawei P30 at P1,799 per month (with a one-time cash out of P5,690); and the Huawei P30 Lite at P1,199 per month (with a onetime cash out of P2,010).

Meanwhile, the Huawei P30 under Globe Postpaid is touted by the telecom as “the perfect pair that empowers you to be a brave creator” (www.globe. com.ph/postpaid/huawei-p30). The P30 can be had for only P2,199 (ThePLAN 1799 + P400/month cashout) or P30 Pro for only P2,799 (ThePLAN 1799 + P1,000/ month cashout). Sweetening the deal is a larger-thanlife data allocation of up to 16GB. ■

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THE Huawei P30 Pro packs an awesome quad-camera system which pretty much puts into obsolescence pointand-shooters and even garden variety DSLRs.

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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.

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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