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Severe penalties, fines face 186 Boracay businesses not connected to sewer lines
An almost-empty beachfront lies on the country’s most famous beach resort island of Boracay, a day before the government implements its temporary closure on Wednesday. President Duterte had described the waters off Boracay as a “cesspool” before ordering the closure. AP/Aaron Favila
A
By Jonathan L. Mayuga
total of 186 business establishments with no proper connection to sewer lines on Boracay Island face severe penalty and fine for violation of Republic Act (RA) 9275, or the Clean Water Act of 2004. Resort-to-resort inspections conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Boracay revealed the massive violation of environmental laws. These establishments were found to have undertaken construction and operated without the benefit of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC). They were also found to have violated the Clean Water Act and RA 8749, or the Clean Air Act. The world-famous Boracay, an island in Malay, Aklan, was ordered closed to tourism activities for six months starting on April
26 to fast-track the rehabilitation effort and allow its degraded environment to recuperate, according to Task Force Boracay (TFB). The list (See A2), a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, includes big and small tourism establishments such as hotels, resorts, restaurants and resto-bars. A total of 163 of the business establishments on the list were tagged as “not connected without discharge permit,” a double violation. Connection to proper sewer lines is mandated under the law and discharge permits are issued
Workers who lost their jobs and businesses after the closure of Boracay walk around a street to clean and collect garbage to earn P323 ($6) a day as part of the government’s assistance program at the country’s most famous beach resort on Friday. AP/Aaron Favila
PESO exchange rates n US 52.2310
A man walks beside a drainage pipe that discharges its untreated sewage into the waters along the beachfront of Boracay, as the government implements its temporary closure on Thursday. AP/Aaron Favila
by the DENR through its Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) upon the assessment of the wastewater to be discharged in a particular area and its potential impact to the environment. Of the 186, 23 violators were tagged “not connected with expired discharge permit.” The remaining five are not connected but with valid discharge permits. Under the Clean Water Act, acts prohibited include discharging or depositing any water pollutant to the water body, or such which will impede natural flow in water body; discharging, injecting or allowing to enter into the soil, anything that would pollute groundwater; operating facilities that discharge regulated water pollutants without the valid required permits; disposal of potentially infectious medical waste into sea by vessels; unauthorized trans-
port or dumping into waters of sewage sludge or solid waste; and transport, dumping or discharge of prohibited chemicals, substances or pollutants listed under the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act. Discharging of regulated water pollutants without valid discharge permits is also a violation of the Clean Water Act. The Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) determines the fine to be imposed against the violators. A violator may be fined an amount ranging from P10,000 to P200,000 for every day of violation for discharging untreated wastewater into any water body, according to the implementing rules and regulation of RA 9275. The severity of the fine is relative to the gravity of the offense. On the other hand, failure to undertaken cleanup operations will-
fully shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than two years, and not more than four years. This includes a fine ranging from P50,000 to P100,000 per day of violation. “Failure or refusal to clean up, which results in serious injury or loss of life or lead to irreversible water contamination of surface, ground, coastal and marine water, shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than six years and one day and not more than 12 years and a fine of P500,000 for each day the contamination or omission continues,” the law’s implementing rules and regulation further stated. In cases of gross violation, a fine of not less than P500,000 but not more than P3,000,000 will be imposed for each day of violation. Criminal charges may also be filed. DENR Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones, the designated spokesman of Environment Secretary Roy A. Ci-
matu, earlier said there will be no sacred cows in the Boracay campaign. Leones added the members of Task Force Boracay, which is composed of the DENR, the departments of the Interior and Local Government and of Tourism, are determined to accomplish President Duterte’s mandate to address the various environmental problems besetting Boracay. On April 25, a day before the start of Boracay’s closure to tourists, Cimatu, who also heads Task Force Boracay, warned defiant owners of shutting down their business establishment for illegally connecting their sewer lines to the island’s rainwater drainage system that goes directly to the sea. Cimatu was dismayed that many establishments fail to institute corrective measures by connecting to the sewer lines of water concessionaires Boracay Island Water Co. and Boracay Tubi Systems Inc., as early as February. In a statement, Cimatu said Boracay establishments that are discharging their untreated wastewater directly to the sea or illegally connecting to the drainage system contribute greatly to the water pollution that triggered the government to close down the worldfamous resort island. “This has become a systemic problem. You are capitalizing on the beauty of the beach, but you are polluting it,” he said. The DENR has prepared several lists of violators for various violations. The BusinessMirror earlier obtained a list of 679 commercial, mixed commercial-residential and residential establishments that violated the 12-meter road-easement rule. There is also a separate list for violations of other environmental laws, and a list of those that illegally encroached on forestlands, wetlands and beach areas.
n japan 0.4779 n UK 72.6951 n HK 6.6575 n CHINA 8.2494 n singapore 39.3394 n australia 39.4605 n EU 63.2256 n SAUDI arabia 13.9283
Source: BSP (April 27, 2018 )
News
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A2 Saturday, April 28, 2018
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LIST OF ESTABLISHMENTS NOT CONNECTED TO SEWER LINE
LIST OF ESTABLISHMENTS NOT CONNECTED TO SEWER LINE
No. NAME OF ESTABLISHMENT
ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE PROPONENT
No. NAME OF ESTABLISHMENT
ACTIONS TAKEN BY EMB
ACTIONS TAKEN BY EMB
1 Euroland Development Corp.
Issued with NOV
Sewerline connected
101 E & S Meat Shop
for further evaluation
2 Lava Stone Spa
Issued with NOV
Sewerline connected
102 Van-Van Store, Eatery and Restaurant
for further evaluation
3 Paper House
Issued with NOV
Sewerline connected
103 Puka Grande Residence and Resort (now Puka grande Restaurant)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
4 Diamond Water Sport/Far East Scuba Institute, Inc.
Issued with NOV
Sewerline connected
104 Padico Hills
for further evaluation
5 Banana Bay Resort
Issued with NOV
Sewerline connected
105 Lady Apartelle
for further evaluation
6 Bamboo Bungalows
Issued with NOV
Sewerline connected
106 Bagnate’s Mini Apartelle
for further evaluation
7 Isla Del Mar Beach Hotel
Issued with NOV
Sewerline connected
107 Hangin Kite Resort
for further evaluation
8 White Beach de Boracay Annex (Main)
Issued with NOV
Sewerline connected
108 Jeepney Hostel and Kite Resort
for further evaluation
9 Shore Time Hotel - Annex
Issued with NOV
Sewerline connected
109 Timog Kite Boarding and Cafe
for further evaluation
10 Bugnay Lodging House
Issued with NOV
with DP application
110 The Lazy Dog Bed and Breakfast Barefeet, Co.
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
11 Oasis Resort and Spa Boracay
Issued with NOV
with DP application
111 Nu Ohana East Bay Apartment (Formerly: Nu Ohana Boracay Garden Resort)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
12 Boracay Green Gas, Inc.
Issued with NOV
with DP application
112 Sun Woo Sung Resort Inc.,
for further evaluation
13 Noe’s Place/Noeme’s Place
Issued with NOV
with DP application
113 Seabird Resort
for further evaluation
14 Jerome’s Resort/ Jerome’s Bungalow
Issued with NOV
with DP application
114 Alliana’s Wellness And Spa
for further evaluation
15 Filiness Resort (Boracay Myong Ji)
Issued with NOV
with DP application
115 Private Resthouse
for further evaluation
16 Island Staff Restaurant
Issued with NOV
with DP application
116 White Beach de Boracay Annex (Lodging House)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
17 Sandgarden Boracay Resort
Issued with NOV
with DP application
117 McDonald’s Main Road
for further evaluation
18 BMI Bldg/ Bancon Marketing Inc
Issued with NOV
with DP application
118 Bella’s Bar and Restaurant (4th Floor of Genko Souvenir Shop)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
19 MY Hostel
Issued with NOV
with DP application
119 Boracay Backpackers, Inc.
for further evaluation
20 Boracay Island Integrated Academy, Inc.
Issued with NOV
with DP application
120 Boradise Beach House
for further evaluation
21 Dong Ding Lodge/Colita Delos Santos
Issued with NOV
with DP application
121 Sandbar Beach Club Boracay
for further evaluation
22 Rose Unisex Salon
Issued with NOV
with DP application
122 Casita Island Beach House
for further evaluation for further evaluation
23 Oceanway Residences I (Boracay New Coast)
Issued with NOV
with DP application
123 Viking Divers Center / Polaris Spa
24 Bihai Garden Hotel
Issued with NOV
with DP application
124 Delos Santos Compound
for further evaluation
25 SO Pure Multi-Business Center (Multi-Purpose Building)
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
125 La Aviedo Villas Resort
for further evaluation
26 Boracay Island Global Academy
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
126 Boradise Beach House
for further evaluation
27 Sababi Exotic Foods
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
127 Wash and Wear / Wazzann Wear
for further evaluation
28 Green Point Residences
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
128 Casa Fiesta Resort
for further evaluation
29 Sundown Resort
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
129 Hawaiian Bar-b-que
for further evaluation
30 Arnis Solano Boarding House
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
130 Angel’s Boradise Resort
for further evaluation
31 Boarding House of Guerrero
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
131 Boarding House Boracay
for further evaluation
32 Waszann Wear Laundry
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
132 Secret Garden Boracay
for further evaluation
33 Flora East Resort and Spa
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
133 Cool Stay Inn
for further evaluation for further evaluation
34 Rubi’s Place (Apartment)
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
134 Denton Bandiola Boarding House
35 Anahaw Residences
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
135 Adora Martin Boarding House
for further evaluation
36 Dante’s Hideaway Resort
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
136 Balai Isla
for further evaluation
37 MJ Carwash
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
137 Bans Beach Resort
for further evaluation
38 Kaiyana Boracay Beach Resort
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
138 Bersaba Trading (Construction Materials Supply)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
39 Baling Hai Beach Resort
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
139 YCL Hotel Boracay & Charlie’s Bar & Restaurant
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
40 The Orient Beach Boracay
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
140 Hot Mama Place
for further evaluation
41 Three (3) Storey Building
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
141 Hiltop Resort
for further evaluation
42 Hotel Mari/ Travel Desk Ticketing Agency
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
142 Treehouse Beach Resort/Alyssa
for further evaluation
43 Pri-ben Boracay Inn
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
143 Samyak Restobar, Inc.
for further evaluation
44 Budz Ihaw Ihaw Pasabaw
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
144 Lavita (Gift Shop /Staff House) (Formerly: Midam Restaurant)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
45 Island of Desire Bar and Restaurant
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
145 Panorama Sunrise Resort
for further evaluation
46 Virgin Place 1
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
146 Luxe View Hotel
for further evaluation
47 Tsukiji - Kameda Restaurant, Inc.
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
147 3-Strorey Bldg. Project/Aissaton Beach Resort
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
48 Dolly Smith’s Boarding House
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
148 Lapu-Lapu Seafood Restaurant
for further evaluation
49 Rogie Asacaño Boarding House
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
149 Shorebreak Boracay Resort
for further evaluation for further evaluation
50 Victoria 1 and 2 Apartment
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
150 Casa Santa Fe
51 Visayas Laundry Care and Solutions, Inc.
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
151 CJS Boracay Tourist Inn
for further evaluation
52 Grand Boracay Resort (Formerly Noras Cottages)
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
152 The Sun Villas Resort and Spa Beachfront Restauraant and Resort
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
53 Madid’s Inn Beach Resort
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
153 Lim’s Spa
for further evaluation
54 Red Pirates Beach Bar
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
154 Boracay Terminal Lounge (Restaurant / Coffee Shop)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
55 Jayjay’s Club
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
155 Mecasa Hotel Boracay
for further evaluation
56 Bahay Kubong Sosyal
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
156 Gill And Park Island Company (East)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
57 Naeko De Boracay
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
157 Carson’s Place
for further evaluation
58 Blue Lagoon Spa
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
158 Isla De Boracay
for further evaluation
ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE PROPONENT
59 Tonglen Beach Resort
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
159 El Dominador
for further evaluation
60 Twin Star Apartment (4-Storey Residential/Commercial Building)
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
160 Sacapaño Boarding House
Issued with NOV
not a boarding house
61 Trinity Spa, Inc.
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
161 Villa Oceana
Issued with NOV
not a boarding house
62 Kubo Resto Bar and Grill
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
162 Calveston Staffhouse
Issued with NOV
not operational
63 Bogart Lapaz Batchoy
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
163 James Molina Staffhouse (For Haven Resort)
Issued with NOV
closed
64 Boracay Summer Palace
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
164 Alta Vista De Boracay
Issued with NOV
Application filed
65 Dhanelyn Ganit Boracay House & Residential
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
165 Hotel Soffia Boracay Project
Issued with NOV
Application filed
66 Boarding House/Residential
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
166 Zoe Mei Resort, Inc.
Issued with NOV
Application filed
67 Teodoro Dlisay Boarding House
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
167 Discovery Shores Boracay
Issued with NOV
Application filed
68 Villa Mendoza De Boracay
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
168 Karuna Boracay Suites
Issued with NOV
Application filed
69 Salazar Building
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
169 Under The Stars Luxury Apartment Boracay
Issued with NOV
Application filed
70 Australian Sunset Apartment
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
170 Boracay Windsurfing Stations & Cottages, Boracay Waterworld, Inc.
Issued with NOV
Application filed
71 Jin Da Hong Entertainment Center, Corp.
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
171 Monaco Suites De Boracay (Formerly Tanawin Luxury Apartments)
Issued with NOV
Application filed
72 Boracay Balcony Inn
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
172 Paradise Garden Resort/Hotel
Issued with NOV
Application filed
73 Three (3) Storey With Roofdeck Hotel
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
173 Shangrila Resort and Spa Boracay
Issued with NOV
Application filed
74 Boracay Tubi Systems, Inc.
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
174 Shangrila Boracay Staff Quarters, Boracay Shangrila Hotel and Resorts, Inc.
Issued with NOV
Application filed
75 Gasoline station (Boracay Petron Station)
for further evaluation
175 Cohiba Villas
Issued with NOV
Application filed
76 TOPS Business Center (Commercial)
for further evaluation
176 Tirta Spa
without NOV issued
Application filed
77 Delmabel Building
for further evaluation
177 Scandi Medical Clinic Boracay
without NOV issued
Application filed
78 Laundry Best Laba Boracay
for further evaluation
178 PTA - Jetty Port
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
79 Lingganay Beach Resort
for further evaluation
179 Crown Regency Prince
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
80 I Spa
for further evaluation
180 Boracay Eco Village Resort and Convention Center
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
81 YCM Ocean Realty, Inc.
for further evaluation
181 Boracay West Cove Resort, So. Din-Iwid, Brgy. Balabag, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
82 Song-ha Boracay Village Resort & Hotel (formerly Calveston Boracay Resort)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
182 Microtel Inn & Suites
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
83 Ocean Heights Residences
for further evaluation
183 Boracay Grand Vista Resort and Spa
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
84 Residential and Unit Selling Project
for further evaluation
184 Luana Lifestyle & Leisure Hotel, Inc (Formerly B & B Beach Resort)
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
85 Boracay Petron Gasoline station
for further evaluation
185 E&F Kawayan (Three-Storey Commercial / Residential Building)
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
86 Lotus Bistro
for further evaluation
186 Boracay Beach Houses
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
87 Tin-Tin’s Cottages/ Casa Camilla Cottages
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
187 Seven Seas Hotel and Residence Boracay
Issued with NOV
No actions taken
88 Shambala Terraces
for further evaluation
188 La Vita Restaurant formerly Midam Restaurant
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
89 One Hagdan Villas
for further evaluation
189 Summit Hotel and Resort (Formerly Sol Marina)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
90 Argonauta Boracay (Two-Storey Residential House)
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
190 Paradise Bay Beach & Watersports
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
91 Casamso Resort
for further evaluation
191 Eurotel Boracay
without NOV issued
valid DP
92 Samsop Corp./ Frendz Resort Boracay Bar & Restaurant
for further evaluation prior to issuance of NOV
192 Boracay Haven Resort
without NOV issued
valid DP
93 Galaxy Resort
for further evaluation
193 Turtle Inn Resort
without NOV issued
valid DP
94 Gerry’s Restaurant & Bar
for further evaluation
194 Island Jewel Inn formerly Estrella Waltere Cottages
without NOV issued
valid DP
95 Club Ten Beach Resort
for further evaluation
195 Boracay Haven Suites
without NOV issued
valid DP
96 Violet Spa
for further evaluation
97 Signa Modena
for further evaluation
98 Arcelino Laureta Boarding House
for further evaluation
99 Dante Pagsuguiron’s Boarding House
for further evaluation
100 Amigo Restaurant
for further evaluation
Source: DENR
www.businessmirror.com.ph
The World BusinessMirror
Iconic pen used by US military, made by blind people turns 50
G
REENSBORO, North Carolina—Clifford Alexander scoops a handful of black ballpoint pens, drops them into a small box and shakes it with a blackjack dealer’s nonchalance. He slides in the next handful to make an exact dozen, and sends the box down the assembly line. Alexander, who is blind, performs the quick act again, box after box. Anyone who’s served in the military, worked for the federal government or addressed a package at the post office is familiar with the handiwork. But they might not have realized that all the ubiquitous Skilcraft Us Government pens were made by the visually impaired. The pens turn 50 this month. The pen’s history traces back to April 20, 1968, when it was introduced to government buyers, said the National Industries for the Blind. The nonprofit organization was tapped to supply pens after another manufacturer made 13 million defective ballpoints in 1967. The pens have stringent requirements—16 pages worth. The pens must be able to write a continuous line 1.6 kilometers long and keep the ink flowing despite extreme temperatures— from 40 degrees below zero to 160 degrees (4°C to 71°C). For f ive decades, t he task of ma k ing t hose pens has been ent r usted to bl ind workers.
“It may take us longer to learn it, but once we learn those jobs we do those jobs very well,” said Alexander, who supervises about 30 Greensboro pen workers. “And we turn out a top quality garment or writing instrument.” The pen is well-known among military and government families after finding its way into purses and backpacks for years. It’s also been used by the military as improvised devices to plug holes in pipes on boats or perform emergency medical procedures. The pens are sold to the federal government through a program started in 1938 to create jobs for people with disabilities. In 2016 the AbilityOne program sold $3.3 billion in goods and services, with more than half coming from military orders. Alexander said his 47 years at the North Carolina plant has helped him to buy a home and educate his children. The plant employs about 140 visually impaired people to make products ranging from Army combat jackets to clipboards. In the pen’s heyday, the government bought about 70 million per year. Now the Greensboro plant and a second in Milwaukee combine to produce about 8 million of the flagship retractable ballpoints annually, with parts supplied by a third site in Missouri. All three employ visually impaired workers.
Lynn Larsen, who’s worked at Greensboro Industries of the Blind for 40 years, said the job helped her support her family after her father died. More recently, it was a source of pride when her nephew deployed to Afghanistan with the Army. “He would tell the other soldiers that his aunt Lynn made that pen, and they thought it was real cool,” she said. The Greensboro workers earn well above minimum wage and can reach around $24 per hour, said Richard Oliver, the site’s director of community outreach and government relations. The benefits go beyond the pay, said Oliver, who is legally blind himself: “We didn’t get the opportunity to serve in the military...so this is our way to serve.” “It gives our people a really big sense of pride,” he said. Steven Gray, a retired Nav y l ieute n a nt com m a nder, s a id he read a number of accident repor ts about the pens being used aboard ships for emergenc y tracheotomies dur ing a stint at the Naval Safety Center in Nor folk. “It was an achievement to actually have your pen run out before you lost it,” said Gray, who also served at sea on five vessels. “ That was something everybody noticed, ‘Hey I actually burned through a Skilcraft pen this morning.’” AP
Saturday, April 28, 2018
A3
Facebook: There may be more Cambridge Analytica-sized leaks F
ACEBOOK Inc. is on the hunt for other Cambridge Analytica-sized data leaks, and the company warned on Thursday that users and investors might not like what it finds. A few years ago 270,000 people used a personality quiz app on the social network and shared information on their Facebook friends. That added up to as many as 87 million people. The data was later passed to Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, without users’ consent. After public uproar, Facebook announced it would audit all popular apps from when its data rules were looser. Facebook said it expects to discover and announce more “instances of misuse of user data or other undesirable activity by third parties,” according to a filing on Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The media may uncover foul play before Facebook does, the company also said. Either way, “the discovery of the foregoing may negatively affect user trust and engagement, harm our reputation and brands, and adversely
affect our business and financial results,” the social-media giant said in the filing. This could also expose Facebook to more regulatory risk, fines and penalties, beyond the scrutiny that’s already led Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to testify to Congress, it warned in the filing covering results from the first quarter of 2018. All public companies list potential risks in regulatory filings, often repeating the same ones from
quarter to quarter. Facebook updated its risk section as the company audits how outside developers use its social network and cuts off some access to data. The ongoing process is testing Facebook’s developer relationships. The filing came a day after Facebook announced its earnings, passing expectations for sales and user growth, and showing that its advertising machine is so far unscathed. The shares soared. Bloomberg News
The discovery of the foregoing [instances of misuse of user data or other undesirable activity by third parties] may negatively affect user trust and engagement, harm our reputation and brands, and adversely affect our business and financial results.” —Facebook Inc.
A4
Saturday, April 28, 2018
The World BusinessMirror
After declaring Korean ‘Era of Peace,’ Kim urges more talks S
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Nintendo hands Switch over to Famicom-generation prex
K
IM Jong Un called for more meetings with his South Korean counterpart after becoming the first North Korean leader to cross the border to hold talks over his nuclear weapons program.
Kim made the offer to South Korean President Moon Jae-in as the pair met on Friday on their militarized boundar y for the first summit between the rival governments in 11 years. Both men basked in symbolism of the moment. Kim declared “a new history” and an “era of peace,” while Moon said the “weight on our shoulders is heavy.” The pair were expected to announce agreements later Friday on plans for formally resolving their 68-year conflict and defusing the dispute over Kim’s growing nuclear arsenal—although there’s broad skepticism that they could avoid the collapse of similar deals in the past. Kim joked that Moon would no longer be woken up by early-morning weapons tests. Earlier, Moon greeted a smiling K im—dressed in a black Mao suit—at Panmunjom v illage before the North Korean leader stepped across a concrete sl ab m a rk i ng t he border. In what appeared to be a spontaneous gesture, Moon accepted K im’s invitation to step together onto the northern side of the div iding line before returning to the south.
The meeting—the third between leaders of the nations since the Korean War and the first since 2007—will go a long way in determining whether Kim can eventually strike a deal with US President Donald J. Trump. The event marked Kim’s first live, unfiltered appearance on world television: South Koreans gathered rapt around screens to watch Moon lead him past a military honor guard while a band played “Arirang,” an unofficial Korean anthem. “I felt a f lood of emotion as I walked the 200 meters here,” Kim told Moon as talks began. “I came here with a mind-set that we will fire a f lare at the starting point of a new history for peace and prosperity. Let’s get everything off our minds out here and get good results.” Moon’s spokesman said Kim accepted an invitation to make an unprecedented visit to South Korea’s presidential palace, the site of a failed attack by North Korean commandos 50 years ago. Moon commended Kim for his “brave decision” in agreeing to Friday’s meeting. “Eyes and ears from all over the world are focused on Pan-
munjom,” Moon said. “I feel the weight on our shoulders is heavy.” T he stakes couldn’t be higher. K im’s regime is on the cusp of developing a missile capable of str ik ing any US cit y w ith one of his estimated 60 nuclear bombs. Tr ump has tightened e conom ic s a nc t ion s a g a i n s t K im’s reg ime and war ned of militar y action if he continues to threaten the US “We are hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. That’s a big change f rom l ast year, when Tr ump derided Kim as “Little Rocket Man” and threatened to “totally destroy” the country. Reports ahead of the summit said the leaders may sign a peace declaration to replace the 1953 armistice that has left the two countries still technically at war, as well as a phased withdrawal of troops and weapons from both sides of the demilitarized zone. T hey could also signal a mechanism for future ta l ks on nuc lear inspections and sanctions relief, two areas that have prompted prev ious negotiations to unravel. Last week, Kim promised to extend his freeze on missile and atomic tests, as well as dismantle a nuclear test site believed to have been badly damaged by recent explosions. Still, few expect Kim to completely give up his nuclear weapons, which are so central to the regime’s identity that North Korea’s status as a “nuclear state” is enshrined in its constitution.
“This summit is solely focused on denuclearization and policies to achieve lasting peace,” Im Jong-seok, Moon’s chief of staff and head of summit preparations, told reporters on Thursday. “It’s difficult to predict” what any agreement would look like, he said. K i m a nd Mo on w i l l h av e plenty of photo opportunities throughout the day: Walking together, signing a guestbook and planting a tree. The leaders plan to sign agreements before a banquet tonight. “ It w a s mo s t not e w or t hy t hat K im pu l led Moon across the border into the north,” said Duyeon K im, a v isiting senior research fel low at t he Korean Pe n i n s u l a Fut u re For u m i n Seoul. “ This shows that he’s determined to show his inf luence on t he peninsu la and w i l l be on t he of fensive even t hough he is in t he sout h.”
Nuclear weapons
A N Y progress on dismantling K im’s weapons program would likely be slow and fraught, and involve v isits by international inspectors. Prior efforts involving K im’s late father when he was leader collapsed in acrimony, w ith North Korea blaming the US for failure to adhere to the agreements. “It’s off to a good start, but there must be a concrete commitment by K im on denuclearization,” said Youngshik Bong, a researcher at Yonsei University’s Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul. “Other w ise it w ill end up as a fancy show.” Bloomberg News
Barbie, Hot Wheels shore up Mattel’s first-quarter sales
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EW YORK—Mattel Inc. re por ted bet ter -t h a nex pected f irst-quar ter sales on Thursday as demand for Hot Wheels and Barbies helped soften the blow of the closing of the iconic Toys ‘R’ Us chain. Like other toy companies, Mattel has been grappling with children’s shift away from traditional toys toward mobile devices. And shoppers are increasingly buying online at Amazon. com. But Mattel took an extra beating after the global rights to produce dolls based on the Disney Princess characters, including those in “Beauty and the Beast” and “Frozen,” moved to Hasbro in 2016. The pressures are mounting after Toys ‘R’ Us announced in March that it was liquidating
the 700 plus stores it has left in the US. The toy chain had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last fall, but after a disastrous holiday shopping season, it was forced into liquidation. Mattel reported a net loss of $311.3 million, or 90 cents per share, in the first quarter. That compares with a loss of $113.2 million, or 33 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the loss was 60 cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected an adjusted loss of 39 cents per share on average. Worldw ide re ve nue fe l l 4 percent to $708.4 million, from $735.6 million in the year-ago period. The company said that excluding the impact of the Toys R Us liquidation, its sales were
positive. A nalysts had been ex pecting $688 million in the latest quarter. Worldwide sales for the Barbie brand rose 24 percent, while Hot Wheels brand’s sales were up 15 percent for the quarter. In comparison, worldwide sales for the Fisher-Price and Thomas & Friends brands fell 8 percent. Global sales for the American Girl brand dropped 21 percent. Mattel executives said during a conference call with analysts on Thursday that the company is discussing with retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Target, ways to increase sales. Earlier this month, Mattel announced its CEO Margo Georgiadis, a former Google executive, was stepping down after being on the job for
just 14 months. The board named Ynon Kreiz, a Mattel director and a former studio executive, as her replacement. “While Toys ‘R’ Us will present a near term challenge, our transformation plan remains our focus, as we work to deliver improved profitability and return Mattel to its leadership position as a high-performing toy company,” Kreiz said in a statement accompany ing the company’s results. Shares in Mattel, which is based in El Segundo, California, were up about 4 percent in after-hours trading following the release of the earnings report. Last year, Hasbro surpassed Mattel in annual sales as the world’s largest toy maker for the first time since 1993. AP
H U N TA RO F urukawa grew up playing the Family Computer, eventually realizing every teenager’s dream of joining the company that made the genre-defining console. Now, as the next president of Nintendo Co., he has the chance to build a new franchise atop a hit product, the Switch. It’s a big generational shift. At 46, Furukawa is 22 years younger than outgoing President Tatsumi Kimishima, a former banker who oversaw the new hybrid console’s debut last year. The Nintendo Switch, which can be used as a portable gaming machine or docked to a TV, is the Kyotobased company’s biggest bet in years. The company exceeded its own goals by selling 15.1 million units in the period, and forecasts 20 million shipments in the current year to March 2019. Nintendo shares rose 2 percent in early trade on Thursday. Furukawa joined Nintendo in 1994, worked in global marketing and served on the board of partly owned Pokemon Co. He takes over as the strong results and outlook underscore Nintendo’s confidence that it has worked out the Switch’s first-year production kinks. The next step is attracting buyers from beyond the console’s core base. While the company had a strong lineup of games last year to drive hardware sales, it only has one new big-name title—“Super Smash Bros”.—scheduled for release this year. “The key thing here is that management is getting younger,” said Satoshi Kurihara, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute. “They will have to execute the Switch’s growth plan, so in that sense this is a new start.” This isn’t the first time that a younger generation took over at Nintendo. Satoru Iwata, who introduced the blockbuster Wii, became president in 2002 when he was 42 and ran the company until his death three years ago. Along with Furukawa’s appointment, three younger executives will also replace retiring senior managers. Among the new appointees is Yoshiaki Koizumi, a key architect of the Switch, and Takashi Tezuka, who was tasked with modernizing “Super Mario”. At a news conference in Osaka, Furukawa promised to bring out Nintendo’s full potential. He grew up playing with the Family Computer, or Famicom, which was sold in Japan during the 1980s. The device, which popularized the gaming console for the masses, was sold as the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US and other places. “We will develop the company to its fullest,” he said. “I will balance Nintendo’s traditions: originality and flexibility.” A graduate of Waseda University, Furukawa worked for about 10
years in Germany, according to the Nikkei newspaper. While he spent much of his tenure at the company’s accounting office, rising to head Nintendo’s corporate planning division in 2015, Furukawa has also contributed to software development and was involved in the making of the Switch. He’ll be formally appointed in June. “Furukawa comes across as thoughtful, very knowledgeable and quite well informed,” said Atul Goyal, an analyst at Jefferies Group, who has met him several times in person. “He is fluent in English. He may be the perfect person to fill the communication gap that exists between Nintendo and investors.” Last year’s numerous blockbuster hits include games such as “Zelda”, “Super Mario”, “Mario Kart” and “Splatoon 2”. That raises the stakes for products like Nintendo Labo, cardboard accessories that the company sees as key to broadening the Switch’s appeal beyond initial adopters. “No other console in recent history offered such an array of blockbusters in the first 12 months after launch,” Serkan Toto, founder of Tokyo-based games consultancy Kantan Games Inc. “But the Switch absolutely needs more mega hit games in 2018.” Nintendo also released earnings results on Thursday. For the fiscal year through next March, Nintendo forecast profit of ¥225 billion ($2.1 billion). While that would be the most in eight years, it was below analysts’ average est i m ate for ¥ 30 8.6 bi l l ion. Nintendo typically posts conservative guidance, and this is no exception. Some other key figures disclosed by Nintendo include an operating profit of ¥21.1 billion in the latest quarter, compared with analysts’ average projection for ¥20.2 billion. Nintendo forecast 20 million Switch shipments for the year, up f rom 15.1 mi l l ion in t he prior period. Switch software titles totaled 63.5 million in the latest year, exceeding the company’s forecast for 53 million. Nintendo expects to sell 100 million in the coming year. As of the end of March, Switch owners had on average bought 3.9 titles per console, a figure Nintendo estimates will rise to 4.5 in a year. Annual revenue from smartphone games rose 62 percent to ¥39.3 billion. Income primarily attributed to “Pokemon Go” fell to ¥10.3 billion from ¥20.3 billion a year ago. Asked about his approach to management at a company that spawned “Super Mario Bros.”, “Zelda” and other iconic games, Furukawa indicated that he’s ready to challenge the status quo to take Nintendo forward. Bloomberg News
Oil trades near $68 as Korea Summit, Iran deal draw focus
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IL traded near $68 as investors weighed the possibility of the US pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and as traders monitored a historic meeting between the two leaders of North and South Korea. Futures in New York lost 0.3 percent, on course for a 0.6-percent drop this week. French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week predicted President Donald J. Trump will exit the Iran agreement, while US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday a decision on a withdrawal hasn’t been made. In Korea Kim Jong Un on Friday became the first North Korean leader to enter the south as talks begin over his nuclear weapons program. Oil this month touched the highest level in more than three years as speculation swirled over the potential breakup of the nuclear accord that Iran signed with world powers in 2015. The deal had lifted sanctions on the Islamic Republic, enabling it to boost oil production by about 1 million barrels a day. Investors are also watching global inventories as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
continues trimming output while American production soars. “ The market will keep a close eye on Iranian sanction-related news and investors will stay cautious until we reach some sor t of conclusion on it,” Will Yun, a commodities analyst at Hyundai Futures Corp., said by phone from Seoul. “Prices are likely to rise h i g h e r i f a p e a ce a g re e m e nt i s re a c h e d between the two Koreas, but that should be a shor t-lived move since the market has already priced in a lot of it.” West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery traded at $67.96 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 23 cents, at 12:01 p.m. of Friday in Singapore. The contract is down 44 cents this week. Total volume traded was about 57 percent below the 100-day average. Brent crude for June delivery dropped 25 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $74.49 a barrel on the Londonbased ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices are up 0.6 percent for the week. The global benchmark crude traded at a $6.54 premium to June WTI, near the widest premium this year.
US-Iran situation
FUTURES for September deliver y rose 0.1 percent to 442 yuan per barrel on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange by the midday break on Friday. The contract is on course for a 1.2-percent gain this week. There’s been no decision made on “any withdrawal” from the Iranian nuclear deal and discussions are still ongoing among the US government officials, Mattis said during a testimony on Capitol Hill on Thursday. That comes after French President Macron said in Washington that the US President will get rid of the deal on his own for “domestic reasons.”
Physical market
THE nervousness around a potential breakdown in the deal is also spilling over into the physical oil market. Traders are unwilling to sign contracts for Iranian crude and refined products that would be valid after May 12, the deadline for Trump to decide whether to reimpose sanctions, according to recent interviews with six companies that buy and sell oil in the Middle East. Bloomberg News
Sports BusinessMirror
Editor: Jun Lomibao | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph
Sangalang conquers North Pole
CARGO MOVERS IN FINALS Nevermind if F2 Logistics setter Kim
Fajardo looks awkward in this play against Foton’s towering spiker Jaja Santiago as the Cargo Movers crushes the Foton gals, 25-19, 25-18, 25-21, to book a return ticket to the finals of the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix on Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
At 20, Braves’ Acuña becomes youngest player in majors
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ILIPINOS have another source of national pride as FWD Life Philippines representative Louie Sangalang conquered the FWD North Pole Marathon, the world’s coolest marathon. A multisport athlete, Sangalang became the first Filipino cancer survivor to conquer the FWD North Pole Marathon. Sangalang was given a homecoming party by Pan-Asian insurer FWD Life Insurance after successfully completing the marathon held on April 16. His triumph was an amazing testament to the resilience of the Filipino spirit, having finished the race in 11 hours and four minutes, amid severe weather conditions. A total of 62 participants from 23 countries took part in the marathon, which marked the second year of FWD’s title sponsorship and the first region-wide participation of 11 FWDsponsored runners, dubbed FWD Team Asia. The entire trip to the North Pole was approximately two weeks long as participants needed to acclimatize and train before the race. FWD Team Asia raised over $32,000 as they completed the race for the organizations they support, including Special Olympics, the largest sports organization for people with intellectual disability. The marathon participants ran on a 42-kilometer path in a terrain with temperature ranging from negative 30 to negative 33 degrees centigrade. Adding to the challenge of the race was the icy path, which was in parts soft and powdery and sometimes solid and slippery. “Around 75 percent to 80 percent of the course was in snowy, uneven terrain which made it difficult to find firm footing. As a result, we had to walk on some parts of the race course,” Sangalang said. “We had great weather with clear skies and minimal wind. However, the extreme cold made the race very challenging.” Sangalang also said that the hardest part of the race was managing the cold and running at nighttime with the midnight sun. However, despite the highly challenging path and the freezing weather, not once did Sangalang ever think of giving up. He faced the challenges before him, embraced them as he was determined to live his life to the fullest. FWD Life Philippines President and CEO Peter Grimes congratulated Sangalang for completing the run. “We are very proud of Louie. His healthy lifestyle and background as a multisport athlete made him the perfect choice to represent FWD Life Philippines in the North Pole Marathon,” Grimes said. “The FWD North Pole marathon was a great and equally unique platform to celebrate living, which is what FWD is all about,” said Roche Vandenberghe, FWD Life Philippines head of marketing.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
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INCINNATI—No break-in period needed for 20-year-old Ronald Acuña Jr. Promoted by the Atlanta Braves from Triple-A, the youngest player in the majors was put into the starting lineup on Wednesday night, batting sixth and playing left field against Cincinnati. “I’m not worried about too much,” Acuña said through a translator. “I’m just going to give it my best effort and leave it all out on the field. I’m trying to approach it like a minor league game at the major league level.” Acuña wore No. 13, just like fellow Venezuelans Dave Concepcion and Ozzie Guillen. Atlanta Manager Brian Snitker said there was no RONALD ACUNA JR. is showing he is a talented young man. AP
doubt Acuña would start in his debut. “I didn’t even think about that,” Snitker said. “We’ve never done that with any of our young players. If they come up, they need to play.” Acuña rose from Class A to Triple-A in 2017, hitting a combined .325 with 21 home runs, 82 RBIs and 44 stolen bases. Then he was selected Most Valuable Player of the Arizona Fall League. He began this season as MLB.com’s No. 2 overall prospect behind Angels two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani. Acuña got Braves fans enthused this spring, batting .432 with four homers, four stolen bases and a 1.247 OPS in 16 exhibition games. “He’s a talented young man,” Snitker said. “He just needs to let the talent flow and enjoy playing here.” Acuña said the best piece of advice he ever received was from Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano. “In this game, you always have to stay positive and never lose faith,” Acuña repeated. That came in handy when Acuña got off to a slow start in the minors this year. He was hitting .232 with one home run and two RBIs in 69 at-bats with Triple-A Gwinnett. Gwinnett Manager Damon Berryhill told Acuña about the promotion about 11 p.m. in Rochester, Acuña said. “He called me to his hotel room and said I was getting the call to go to the big leagues,” Acuña said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment, but when I got the call, I was in shock. I didn’t know what to think.” Outfielder Peter Bourjos was designated for assignment to make room for Acuña on the roster. By pushing back Acuña’s call-up a few weeks past opening day, the Braves delayed Acuña’s free-agent eligibility until after the 2024 season. Acuña said he believes the extra time was a benefit. AP
ROCKETS EYE BIGGER GOAL H
OUSTON—The Houston Rockets spent almost no time celebrating their first-round playoff series win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. For the top-seeded Rockets, it simply moved them a little closer toward their goal of bringing the franchise its first title in more than two decades. “This was a pretty good step for us, a step in the right direction, but we’ve got a long way to go,” James Harden said. “We [don’t] have this team just to win one playoff series.” From the moment Chris Paul joined the Rockets in a blockbuster trade from the Los Angeles Clippers last summer, the Rockets have talked incessantly about their desire and belief that the pairing of the two star point guards could propel this already-good team into contender status. A 65-win regular season led by Harden’s Most Valuable Player-caliber play and Paul’s work in a top supporting role gave the Rockets the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) best record for the first time in franchise history and added to the belief that this could be the year they win it all. Despite not playing their best at times, the Rockets easily handled the eighth-seeded Wolves, turning in three blowout wins in the 4-1 series triumph, capped by Wednesday’s night 122-104 victory. “We’ll continue to get better, work on some things, figure out who we play and take it from there,” Harden said. They move on to the Western Conference semifinals for the second straight season and look to return to the conference finals for the first time since losing to the Golden State Warriors in 2015.
But first they’ll get a few days to rest as they await the winner of the series between the Thunder and Jazz. Utah leads 3-2 after Oklahoma City overcame a 25-point secondhalf deficit to avoid elimination on Wednesday night. Coach Mike D’Antoni said it’s difficult to do too much preparation before they know who they’ll face. “We’ll watch it. Get some popcorn and enjoy the NBA like everybody else does then we’ll break it down,” he said. “We’ll have plenty of time to prepare and get in there and do what we do.” While the Rockets have their eyes on winning their first title since taking back-to-back trophies in 19941995, the next round will be a benchmark of sorts for Paul, considering his disappointing playoff history. The nine-time All-Star has faced criticism after making nine previous playoff trips without advancing past the second round. The worst of those flops came in 2015 against Houston, when Paul and the Clippers had a 3-1 lead in the conference semifinals. They got blown out in Game Five and squandered a 19-point second-half lead in Los Angeles in Game Six before falling in Game Seven at Houston. AP
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CLASSIC DUEL IN THE MAKING N
INE seasons ago, a Rachel Anne Daquisled Far Eastern University (FEU) and a Manilla Santos-powered De La Salle clashed in an epic three-game Finals with the Lady Spikers prevailing in Game Three with a fantastic 25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21 win to claim the Season 71 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball championship before a 6,500-capacity at the thenSan Juan Arena—now called the bigger and more modern FilOil Flying V Centre. Classic was that showdown that Santos and Daquis played gargantuan roles and emerged as two of the best players the country has ever seen in the sport. Now, their jerseys hung mightily in the rafters of their respective school gyms. De La Salle went on to five more championships in the past eight seasons. FEU? The Lady Tamaraws failed to make it to the Finals in all those years. Fast forward to the present day. Today, the Lady Tamaraws and Lady Spikers meet again for Season 80 glory in Game One of their best-ofthree championship series fires at the glittery Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. The Finals rematch that took nine years in the making is set at 4 p.m. after the men’s championship showdown opener between three-time defending champion Ateneo de Manila and National University—which are facing each other in the finals for the fifth consecutive year—at 12 noon. The Lady Spikers are eyeing their third “three-peat” and 11th overall title, while the Lady Tamaraws are looking to stop De La Salle’s dynasty and end their 10-year title drought to snatch their league best 30th championship. “We’re ready for this. It’s time to bring back the championship trophy to Morayta, the trophy that FEU lent to other schools,” said the first year Lady Tamaraws Head Coach George Pascua, who squares off with a soon-to-belegend De La Salle Head Coach Ramil de Jesus. Interestingly, Pascua and de Jesus were teammates on the FEU men’s champion team in Season 54. De Jesus, who was a graduating player when he
teamed up with a rookie Pascua in the 1990s, said that this is a different level of championship duel compared to the squad he steered to its first UAAP title nine seasons ago. “Season 71 has a big difference to Season 80 in terms of level. Every year, volleyball evolves and now we’re in a high level of competition,” said de Jesus, De La Salle’s coach for 20 seasons. FEU broke what has become a predictable Ateneo-De La Salle finale for so long and that worries de Jesus—he sees how eager his pal, Pascua, and the Lady Tamaraws in winning this one. “FEU improved a lot as you saw in both the first and second round of eliminations. We fought in five sets. They really want to prove something this year,” de Jesus said. “George is a persevering man. He did great in coaching FEU so we have to be ready because I know they will not back down.” FEU’s graduating star Bernadeth Pons is also expected to go all out and frustrate the similar bid of La Salle’s outgoing troika of Majoy Baron, Kianna Dy and Dawn Macandili. “Expect me to keep on giving my all. I’m going to go all out because this is my last chance,” said Pons, a strong Most Valuable Player contender this year. “We have one more goal and that is to become champions. No mercy!” “My personal motivation is not to ruin Coach Ramil’s record so as much as possible, I don’t want to spoil De La Salle volleyball history on my final playing year,” reigning MVP Majoy Baron said. Lance
Agcaoili
HOUSTON’S James Harden drives to the basket over Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns. AP
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BusinessMi
Saturday, April 28, 2018 | Editor: Jun Lomibao
Lance can only watch Giro from roadside
WHILE most athletes-turned-coaches remain in their discipline, Sarah Hammer has moved across to para-cycling.
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From Elite track cyclist to para-cycling coach
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HEN Sarah Hammer announced her retirement from competition last September, she had eight International Cycling Union (UCI) World Championship titles, four Olympic silver medals and a world record to her name. After years at the top of Elite track cycling, it was not surprising that she chose to stop high-level competition. Nor was it a source of astonishment to learn she intended to work as a coach. But while most athletes-turned-coaches remain in their discipline, Hammer has moved across to paracycling. Late February, she was named associate director, high performance for US Paralympics Cycling. One month later Hammer was at the Rio Olympic velodrome—the stage of two of her Olympic silver medals—coaching the 17-strong US team competing at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. “Cycling is something I have done my whole adult life and I knew that walking away from it was not going to be easy,” Hammer said. “I raced the 2017 UCI World Championships in Hong Kong to avoid the post-Olympic blues, but I knew it [retirement] was coming after Rio.” Hammer had already shown signs of leadership back in 2009 and 2010, during the 18 months she made the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland, her training base. “I was 26-27 years old and one of the oldest living at the WCC [World Cycling Center]. I took on a mentorship role without even realizing.” Her leadership qualities were also praised by USA Cycling when she announced her retirement last year, and it was not long before she was working with the US Paralympics cycling team, as a contract coach before her permanent appointment. Para-cycling was not entirely new to the 3-km pursuit world record holder, who has lived in Colorado since 2013. It is in Colorado that US Paralympics Cycling runs its
resident program, at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Centre (CSOTC). “I trained side by side with many of the paracyclists going into Rio and I realized I would like to work in some sort of capacity with para-cycling. They were some of my last training partners, and I can tell you that they train at the same intensity and have the same will to win.” At the end of March, Hammer was back at the Velodromo Municipal do Rio where she had won Olympic double silver less than two years earlier. But this time she had a stopwatch around her neck and was taking splits, yelling out instructions, pep talking, congratulating… and stressing out just a little. “Our first athlete up was Jamie Whitmore and I really wonder what my heartrate was as she got onto her bike. I think I was more nervous than when I was an athlete. “Having said that, I think it helps that I have come into coaching fresh from competition. I remember what it’s like. One of my strengths has always been the mental aspect, knowing how to manage yourself, especially on the track.” She added: When it comes to being tough, para-cyclists score pretty well, but as their coach says: “There’s a difference between being tough and being able to get all the pieces together. I am also using my experience to look at their training and see what’s working. “Our athletes are sponges when it comes to information. They soak it up. Even the most experienced want to be better.” At the opening round of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Ostende, Belgium, from May 3 to 6, Hammer will again be with her athletes: this time roadside rather than trackside. Goals have been set for the whole team, and that includes medals. “But at the end of the day all eyes are on Tokyo 2020,” the high-performance coach said. UCI News
RGANIZERS of the Giro d’Italia have told Cyclingnews that Lance Armstrong will not be an accredited guest or podcaster at the Grand Partenza in Israel due to his lifetime ban for doping, but took a neutral stance to the disgraced Texan’s past and his plans to be in Israel for the opening stages of the race. Armstrong confirmed he will travel to Israel and then the Tour of California later in May after agreeing to pay $5 million to the United States government and $1.65 million to Landis to end the “whistle-blower” lawsuit. The US government alleged that Armstrong defrauded the United States Postal Service by “actively concealing the team’s violations of the agreements’ anti-doping provisions,” under its sponsorship contract. According to the agreement, the settlement “is neither an admission of liability by Armstrong nor a concession by the United States or Relator that their respective claims are not well founded.” Armstrong had been preparing to spend much of May in a Washington, D.C. courtroom, with 50 witnesses expected to provide
BOB JUNGELS becomes the first rider from Luxembourg to win “La Doyenne” since former Tour de France champion Andy Schleck did it in 2009. AP
ARMSTRONG SUIT WITH U
Jungels wins Liege-Bastogne-Liege
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NS, Belgium—Luxembourg champion Bob Jungels posted the biggest win of his career with a solo victory in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race, cycling’s oldest classic, as his Quick Step team continued to dominate the season. Just days after his teammate Julian Alaphilippe of France won the Fleche Wallonne, Jungels secured a 27th win for Quick Step this season in Ans. Jungels became the first rider from Luxembourg to win “La Doyenne” since former Tour de France champion Andy Schleck did it in 2009. Jungels countered a move from Philippe Gilbert in the Cote de la Roche aux Faucons and dropped his main rivals
when he pushed the pace again after the summit with some 20 kilometers left. Michael Woods of Canada was runner-up 37 seconds back and Romain Bardet of France completed the podium. Alaphilippe and Jungels, two of cycling’s most promising riders, warmly hugged each other after the race ended. “This is incredible, it’s difficult to believe it,” the 25-year-old Jungels said. “I’m very proud of my team, we had an incredible spring.” On a sunny day in the Ardennes, a group of early breakaway riders escaped from the pack after just 5 kilometers and had a maximum lead of more than six
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A TRUE FESTIVAL IN HIROSHIMA
MX Freestyle crowned its first International Cycling Union (UCI) World Cup leaders of the year in the Japanese city of Hiroshima recently. The first round of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park and Flatland World Cup saw spectacular performances throughout the two days of competition. In the first-ever UCI World Cup event for BMX Freestyle Flatland, the host nation lived up to its reputation in the discipline with an all-Japanese podium in the women’s competition (Katagiri Misari, Eriko Ono and Eri Funatsu). In the men’s Flatland, three Japanese athletes qualified for the eight-rider final, but it was France that dominated the podium. Victory went to Matthias Dandois and third place to Alex Jumelin. Spain’s Jorge Gomez separated the two French athletes, claiming second place. After narrowly qualifying for the finals of the BMX Freestyle Park, Australia’s Brandon Loupos scored an exceptional 92.10
THE first round of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park and Flatland World Cup saw spectacular performances throughout the two days of competition.
detailed information about his doping before and after he was diagnosed with cancer. However, the settlement means he will now dedicate more time to his podcast. He also plans to record episodes from the Tour of California. “The chance to go to a place like Israel to cover an iconic event like the Tour of Italy is insane,” Armstrong said. Giro d’Italia organizer RCS Sport moved quickly to explain that Armstrong will not be an accredited official guest or have any ties to the race if he travels to Israel for the Grand Partenza and the opening stages in Israel between May 4 and 6. “Lance Armstrong has not been invited by the organizers of the Giro d’Italia. Because he is banned by the UCI means he cannot have an official role at a UCI-sanctioned event and cannot be accredited by the organization,” an RCS statement provided to Cyclingnews read. “Anyone can watch a race from the roadside outside of the official areas. The direction of the Giro d’Italia has no comment about Armstrong’s past or present in cycling.” Armstrong was stopped from recording a podcast as part of an official partnership with the Colorado Classic race last year due to risks that it would violate his life ban for doping. He defied pressure to stay away from races by recording from a local winery. Armstrong’s official presence in Colorado forced race organizers to scrutinize the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) code concerning a banned athlete’s ineligibility, especially the rule concerning the participation “in any capacity in a Competition or activity.” The UCI anti-doping rules state that the term “activity” also includes administrative activities, such as serving as an official, director, officer, employee, or volunteer of the organization. Those same rules stop him attending the Giro d’Italia and the Tour of California in an official capacity. He was invited to the Tour of Flanders Business Academy’s event at this year’s Tour of Flanders by organizer Wouter Vandenhaut but this presence sparked the ire of UCI President David Lappartient. Armstrong eventually pulled out of the visit citing family reasons. Armstrong rode the 2009 Giro d’Italia after making a comeback to racing. However, his 12th-place overall was wiped from official results as part of his lifetime ban issued by Usada and confirmed by the UCI. Cyclingnews.com
LANCE ARMSTRONG says he’s happy to have “made peace with the Postal Service.”
minutes. Jerome Baugnies of Belgium was the last from the group to be reined in, about 25 kilometers from the finish of the 258.5-kilometer race. Jungels took advantage of the poor coordination of his rivals in the chasing group—which included four-time winner Alejandro Valverde of Spain—while 2013 winner Dan Martin’s hopes of victory ended with a puncture in the final 10 kilometers.
points on the first run of the final to claim victory in front of Kenneth Tencio (Costa Rica), who scored 88.80 points. Venezuela’s Daniel Dhers came back from a heavy crash the day before to take the final spot on the podium. At 16, American Hannah Roberts continues her domination of women’s BMX Freestyle Park, winning the first round in Hiroshima. First in Saturday’s qualifying, the reigning UCI World Champion and last year’s UCI World Cup winner went on to claim victory in Sunday’s final in front of fellow American Angie Marino and Germany’s Lara Lessmann. The second round of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park and Flatland World Cup will take place in Montpellier (France) from May 9 to 13.
UCI News
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By Jim Vertuno The Associated Press
USTIN, Texas—Lance Armstrong reached a $5-million settlement with the federal government in a whistle-blower lawsuit that could have sought $100 million in damages from the cyclist who was stripped of his record seven Tour de France victories after admitting he used performanceenhancing drugs throughout much of his career. The deal came as the two sides prepared for a trial that was scheduled to start on May 7 in Washington. Armstrong’s former US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis filed the original lawsuit in 2010 and is eligible for up to 25 percent of the settlement along with attorney fees paid by Armstrong. Seeking millions it spent sponsoring Armstrong’s powerhouse teams, the government joined the lawsuit against Armstrong in 2013 after his televised confession to Oprah Winfrey to using steroids and other performanceenhancing drugs and methods. Armstrong had already
retired, but the confession shattered the legacy of one of the most popular sports figures in the world. In a statement to The Associated Press, Armstrong said he’s happy to have “made peace with the Postal Service.” “While I believe that their lawsuit against me was meritless and unfair, and while I am spending a lot of money to resolve it, I have since 2013 tried to take full responsibility for my mistakes and inappropriate conduct, and make amends wherever possible,” he said. “I rode my heart out for the Postal cycling team, and was always especially proud to wear the red, white and blue eagle on my chest when competing in the Tour de France. Those memories are very real and mean a lot to me.” The settlement clears the 46-year-old Armstrong of the most damaging legal issues still facing the cyclist since his downfall. He had already taken huge hits financially, losing all his major sponsors and being forced to pay more than $20 million in damages and settlements in a series of lawsuits. The government’s lawsuit would have been the biggest by far.
irror CYCLING
mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | Saturday, April 28, 2018 A7
BIKE MARCH
Cyclists ride on the Chain Bridge across River Danube with the Royal Palace in the background during a march called “I Bike Budapest” in Budapest, Hungary, recently. AP
Kroon confesses to doping after Dutch media exposure
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ORMER rider Karsten Kroon has confessed to doping during his career after it emerged he first planned to confess last spring via Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, only to change his mind and stay silent. Thijs Zonneveld, the ghost writer of Thomas Dekker‘s autobiography, revealed details of several conversations and e-mails with Kroon over the last 12 months as he considered working on a new video project with Algemeen Dagblad. The discussion included plans to make a doping confession. However, when Kroon opted not to work on the project, he subsequently decided not to disclose his past, continuing to work with Eurosport as an expert commentator. Kroon eventually confessed after Algemeen Dagblad and Zonneveld revealed the full back story. “The story is right, I also used doping for a short period during my career, I’m sorry and I take full responsibility for it,” Kroon told the Dutch ANP news agency, without going into full detail of his doping. “I want to avoid appearing to make a confession to make myself look good. I told Thijs Zonneveld that I wouldn’t write a book with him to make money.” Kroon was a professional between 1998 and 2014, riding for Rabobank, CSC, BMC, Saxo Bank and Tinkoff. He won a stage in the 2002 Tour de France and was second in the 2009 Amstel Gold Race. A 10-year statue of limitations means Kroon could still be investigated and
possibly banned for doping. “I was a professional cyclist in a very difficult time and I have a lot of respect for my colleagues who resisted the temptation to use doping,” he said in his confession. “Fortunately, the sport has changed enormously since then. I became a professional cyclist just after the Festina affair. We’ve since see the introduction of the EPO test, the whereabouts system and the blood passport.” Kroon promised to talk more about his doping, if needed, at the end of the season, claiming he did not want to burden the current generation of cyclists with his past. Zonneveld titled his story “A Special confession,” acknowledging the difficulties he and Algemeen Dagblad had faced after Kroon confessed to doping to them in private but then refused to make a public confession. “Is he and his past relevant? Does his use of doping have to be in the newspaper? I think so,” Zonneveld wrote. “As a journalist, I am responsible for writing down what I see, what I hear and what I know. The starting point is always the same: I don’t protect anyone, I don’t sweep anything under the carpet. I try to work as transparently and independently as possible. That is why I write about the background and the journalistic considerations of whether or not to publish. “I don’t know what Kroon will do now that his doping use comes out. That’s up to him. But I do know that I cannot and should not be silent.” Cyclingnews.com
CYCLING FOR PEACE T
G SETTLES $100-M U.S. GOVERNMENT “No one is above the law,” said Chad Readler, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates that those who cheat the government will be held accountable.” Landis attorney Paul Scott said the settlement, while far less than the potential damages, still holds Armstrong accountable for cheating. “It’s not enough to go on Oprah and say sorry,” Scott said. “Our objective was to hold him responsible financially in a very real way and this deal accomplishes that objective.” Armstrong is still believed to be worth millions based on a vast investment portfolio and homes in Austin, Texas, and Aspen, Colorado. He also owns a pair of bicycle shops in Austin and WeDu, an endurance events company. He also hosts a regular podcast in which he interviews other sports figures and celebrities and has provided running commentary on the Tour de France. Armstrong had built a worldwide following during his career winning races and fighting cancer. His personal story of recovering from testicular cancer that had spread to his brain, while forcefully denying persistent rumors of doping, had built his Lance Armstrong Foundation cancer charity into a $500-million global brand and turned him into a celebrity. The foundation, which removed him from its board and renamed itself Livestrong, has seen donations and revenue plummet since Armstrong’s confession. Armstrong’s team was already under the Postal Service sponsorship when he won his first Tour de France in 1999.
The media frenzy that followed pushed the agency to sign the team for another five years. Armstrong and his teams dominated cycling’s marquee event, winning every year from 1999 to 2005. Armstrong’s cheating was finally uncovered in 2012, when the US Anti-Doping Agency, armed with sworn testimony from Landis and other former teammates, moved to strip Armstrong of his titles. One of Armstrong’s fiercest critics was frustrated by the settlement. Betsy Andreu, whose husband Frankie was a former Armstrong teammate, was the first to testify under oath about his performance-enhancing drug use in a 2005 civil lawsuit. “It’s utterly shocking that the government settled for so little,” Andreu said. Andreu and her husband were close with Armstrong when the men were teammates before Andreu retired in 2000. Armstrong later strenuously denied Betsy’s claims of drug use and tried to publicly discredit her, which succeeded for years. She wanted the case to go to trial. “I would have liked to have been questioned under oath. That’s my goal. And whether or not the jury would have convicted him would have been a different story, but it would have been nice to have my say under oath. He tried to destroy me,” Andreu said. Landis, himself a former doping cheat who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title, sued Armstrong under the federal False Claims Act, alleging Armstrong and his team committed fraud against the government when they cheated while riding under the Postal Service banner.
ARMSTRONG’S CYCLING CAREER A
TIMELINE of Lance Armstrong’s cycling career and controversy:
1991: Armstrong is the US amateur national champion at the age of 20. 1992: Turns pro and finishes last in his debut race in San Sebastian, Spain. 1993: Wins world championship. Enters his first Tour de France, where he wins a stage but drops out and doesn’t finish. 1995: Wins another Tour de France stage and finishes the race for the first time, in 36th place.
1996: Diagnosed with testicular cancer that has spread to his lymph nodes, lungs, brain and abdomen. Treatment includes chemotherapy, brain surgery and removal of a testicle. 1997: Establishes the Lance Armstrong Foundation (later renamed Livestrong) to benefit cancer patients and research. 1999: Wins first of seven consecutive Tour de France titles at age 27 and is almost immediately forced to defend against questions about doping, which he strongly denies. He tests positive for a corticosteroid but is allowed to show a back-dated prescription to avoid
According to court records, the contract paid the team, which was operated by Tailwind Sports Corp., about $32 million from 2000 to 2004. Armstrong got nearly $13.5 million. Under the lawsuit, the government could have pursued “treble” damages, which could have reached the $100 million range. As the person who filed the original lawsuit, Landis will receive $1.1 million, Scott said. Armstrong will also pay $1.65 million to cover Landis’s legal fees. Armstrong had claimed he didn’t owe the Postal Service anything because the agency made far more off the sponsorship than it paid; Armstrong’s lawyers introduced internal studies for the agency that calculated benefits in media exposure topping $100 million. The government countered that Armstrong had been “unjustly enriched” through the sponsorship and that the negative fallout from the doping scandal tainted the agency’s reputation. Armstrong had been the target of a federal criminal grand jury, but that case was closed without charges in February 2012. Armstrong had previously tried to settle the Landis whistle-blower lawsuit, but those talks broke down before the government announced its intention to join the case. “I am glad to resolve this case and move forward with my life,” Armstrong said. “I’m looking forward to devoting myself to the many great things in my life—my five kids, my wife, my podcast, several exciting writing and film projects, my work as a cancer survivor, and my passion for sports and competition. There is a lot to look forward to.” sanctions. The victory, coupled with his recovery from cancer, propels him toward international stardom. 2000: Wins second Tour de France and a bronze medal at the Sydney Olympic Games. 2002: Wins fourth consecutive Tour de France. A two-year investigation into whether the US Postal Service team used performance-enhancing drugs in 2000 ends without finding any evidence. 2004: Wins record-setting sixth Tour de France. 2005: Wins seventh Tour de France and retires from cycling at age 33. French newspaper L’Equipe reports blood samples retested from 1999 race show EPO use that year. Armstrong denies the allegations. 2009: Comes out of retirement and finishes third in the Tour de France. 2010: Former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis, who
HERE is no doubt that sport plays a positive role in society, be it promoting health and well-being, uniting people with a shared passion, or encouraging tolerance, inclusion and fairness. One important role that sport can play is in the promotion of peace; helping bridge divides and bring together people and countries alike. In 2013 the United Nations, with the support of the International Olympic Committee, acknowledged that sport has a key role in advancing social progress within the global sustainable development process. April 6 was declared International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP). Now on its fifth year, IDSDP will see events and activities take place across the globe and on social media to promote the contribution sport makes to peace and development. The #WhiteCard for peace has become a potent symbol of April 6. Standing in contrast to the red card associated with punishment in sport—the white card symbolizes inclusion, equality and peace. Until April 10, everyone is encouraged to take a selfie waving a white card for peace, and post it to social media under the #WhiteCard hashtag. Sportspeople, champions for peace and celebrities are also getting involved in the campaign, with the hope that the 2018 edition of the #WhiteCard and IDSDP reaches more people than ever to promote the positive values that underpin all sports. The 2018 edition of the IDSDP was officially launched in March in Colombia—a country that endured
years of conflict and is now reinforcing peace and reconciliation—with dignitaries holding up the White Card for peace through sport. Colombia is a country where cycling has acted as a positive force for good. In February this year, the first edition of the six-stage Colombia Oro y Paz saw people, united by cycling, lining the roadsides to cheer on the professionals. The Tour de Côte d’Ivoire-Tour de la Réconciliation also serves as a poignant symbol of the power of sport in promoting peace. This year the International Cycling Union (UCI) 2.2 race will take place in September, bringing together riders from across the region and beyond. While the Tour de Côte d’Ivoire can chart its origins to 1953, it was suspended in 1998 as the country faced crisis and conflict. As the West African country sought to promote reconciliation and development, the race was relaunched in 2012 as the Tour de la Réconciliation, aiming to unite people through the power of sport. Ultimately, the unique nature of cycling places athletes and amateurs alike in the role as ambassadors for peace as they ride across lands and through communities. Our sport not only shines the spotlight on athletes and landscapes, but also on the cultures and people that host cycling events. Cycling, like all sports, will continue to contribute to building bridges and breaking down barriers to peace and development. UCI News
Cycling, like all sports, will continue to contribute to building bridges and breaking down barriers to peace and development.
was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping, alleges Armstrong and the US Postal team engaged in years of sophisticated performance-enhancing drug use. Landis files federal whistle-blower lawsuit. 2011: Armstrong again retires from cycling at age 39. 2012: A federal criminal investigation into doping includes interviews of witnesses close to Armstrong but closes without charges. The US Anti-Doping Agency then charges Armstrong with cheating. Armstrong denies doping, but chooses not to fight the charges, prompting Usada to issue a lifetime ban on competition. Usada later releases a detailed report of doping allegations, including devastating sworn statements from several of Armstrong’s former teammates. Armstrong is pushed off the board of the Livestrong foundation and major sponsors Nike, Anheuser-Busch and Oakley cut ties with
him. The International Cycling Union strips Armstrong of his Tour de France victories and bans him for life. 2013: Armstrong admits years of performanceenhancing drug use to Oprah Winfrey in a televised interview. The federal government joins the Landis lawsuit and says it intends to seek damages up to $100 million for breach of contract for cheating while racing under the US Postal Service sponsorship. 2015: Armstrong is forced to pay $10 million in a fraud dispute with a promotions company that first sought to prove doping allegations in 2005. It is one of several legal cases that will cost Armstrong more than $20 million. 2018: Armstrong settles the whistle-blower lawsuit for $5 million less than a month before a schedule May 7 trial. Landis eligible for up to 25 percent of the settlement. AP
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A8 Saturday, April 28, 2018 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos
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2 older citizens graduate under UMak’s scholarship program
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By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco | Correspondent
WO senior citizens, both women, recently earned a Certificate in Barangay Governance after completing, as city scholars, one year of the ladderized executive program offered by the College of Governance and Public Policy at the University of Makati (UMak).
Makati Mayor Abby Binay expressed her admiration for Remedios Malabag Sta. Ana, an 84-year-old resident of Barangay South Cembo;
and Teresa Pablo Jacinto, 65, of Barangay Pinagkaisahan. They were among 2,680 graduates who participated in the 45th Commencement
Exercises of the city-run university on April 21 at the Philippine International Convention Center. “I am so impressed that these two women, in spite of their age, promptly took up our offer for scholarship to the elderly for various courses at UMak, which started only last year. I salute them for inspiring the youth of Makati to make the most out of the free quality education being provided by the city government,” Binay said. In 2017 the City Council passed ordinances granting free tuition and incentives to senior citizens who pursue and finish senior high school, college or postgraduate studies at the city’s public schools, including UMak. “NanayRemy”(Sta.Ana)and“Nanay Tery” (Jacinto) are both working in BarangayPinagkaisahanasahealthworker and as a utility worker, respectively. They both decided to enroll at UMak
when they learned of the scholarship offer of the city government. The sprightly octogenarian thanked the city government for the opportunity for higher learning, and expressed her willingness to continue being a public servant of Makati. “I was born in Makati. Today, I serve the city. I am very willing to continue serving the people of Makati,” Nanay Remy said in Filipino. She has worked at Pinagkaisahan Barangay Health Center since 1996. Her classmate and colleague, Nanay Tery, a high-school graduate, also said she did not hesitate to grab the chance to be a UMak scholar and study for free, even at her age. “I am extremely thankful the city of Makati allowed us to study for free, even at our age. If there is another chance for us to continue going to school, I will enroll and go to school
again,” Nanay Tery said. After obtaining her certificate from UMak, Nanay Tery now aspires to become part of the Lupon Tagapamayapa (Pacification Committee) of her barangay. She said her final paper dealt with the duties and responsibilities of the Lupon, and hoped she would be given the chance to serve as a Lupon member. “My final paper at UMak dealt with the duties and responsibilities of the Lupon. If given the chance, I would like to serve as a Lupon,” Nanay Tery said. Born in Makati on September 1, 1934, Nanay Remy was married to a jeepney driver. She is now a widow with five children and 15 grandchildren. In her younger days, she worked in a number of law offices after she finished a two-year secretarial course. Nanay Tery has been working at
Pinagkaisahan Barangay Hall since 2008. A single parent to five children, she had engaged in selling ready-towear clothes and products, and tried networking and real-estate sales in her younger years. To date, she has 21 grandchildren. Thisyear’shonorgraduatesofUMak consisted of 11 summa cum laude, 111 magna cum laude and 146 cum laude under its baccalaureate programs; 18 with honors and two with high honors fromnon-baccalaureateprograms;and six awards of distinction for masters and doctorate degree programs. Based on records of the UMak Registrar, the university’s College of Business and Finance Sciences had the most number of graduates this year, with a total of 576 graduates. It is followed by the College of Computer Science, with 391 graduates, and College of Education, with 273.
After years of neglect, Taiwan recognizes indigenous tribes By Recto Mercene
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HORTLY after her election in 2016, Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen took the unprecedented step of apologizing to their tribal inhabitants for the government’s 400 years of neglect and discrimination against them. “To all indigenous peoples of Taiwan: On behalf of the government, I express to you our deepest apology for the four centuries of pain and mistreatment you have endured. I apologize to you on behalf of the government,” she told the 16 representatives of the Taiwan Indigenous People (TIP) in a ceremony. Tsai recalled that, four centuries ago, Taiwan was already populated by groups of peoples who had their own language,culture,customsanddomain. “But then, without their consent, another group of people overran the island, took everything from the first inhabitants who became displaced, foreign, nonmainstream and marginalized.” A few years before her apology, the People’s Republic of China (PROC), Taiwan’s official name, removed from their constitution the word shanbao (mountain people), a derogatory term and replaced it with “indigenous people.” She continued: “The success of one ethnic people can be built on the suffering of another. Unless we deny that we are a country of justice, we must face up to history. We must tell the truth. And then, most important, the government must genuinely reflect on this past. This is why I stand here today.” This correction not only did away with a discriminatory term, but also highlighted the status of indigenous peoples as Taiwan’s “original owners.” Today, although Taiwan is crisscrossed with multilayered skyways, dotted with skyscrapers, strewn with farmlands and factories, and sewn together by a high-speed rail system, the government has made it a point to showcase their 16 distinct tribes as an integral part of Taiwanese society. They put up the Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Cultural Park, located at the foothills of Sandimen Township, Pingtung Country, south of the island. This is to give local and foreign tourists the chance to know the tribes more intimately. There is a tourist-service district where the administrative building is located, an octagonal exhibition house, examples of several native houses, a 300-foot-long sturdy-built hanging bridge spanning the Ailiao River, a performance theater, a restaurant, a coffee shop and a handicraft shop located in a 62-hectare area. The visitors get to meet the na-
tives for the first time, garbed in colorful costumes, singing and dancing songs of welcome. Then they crown the guests with garlands of flowers and ferns before they are led to more ceremonies inside the village. At the theater, more dances and rituals by each individual tribe are performed. In one number, a warrior gives out a long hoot that echoes through the valleys. In return, another tribal member answers with a whoop from across the hills. These are sounds alien to urban dwellers. All these take place under an ultra-modern stadium built for the purpose. History books said European sailors passing Taiwan called the island Ilha Formosa (“beautiful island”). There are 550,000 ethnic Taiwanese comprising 2 percent of the 24- million inhabitants of the PROC. This BusinessMirror reporter was invited by the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mofa), along with 13 journalists comprising 11 nationalities, for a six-day tour of Taiwan. Five days were spent, mostly learning and getting to know firsthand how the TIP lived their lives, how they are being taken care of and how well they get integrated into the fabric of Taiwanese society. Various organizations were also set up to promote their way of life or make it even better to preserve their customs and tradition for posterity. A list of the recognized 16 ethnic groups of Taiwan are: Yami, Atayal, Bunun, Hla’alua, Kanakanavu, Kavalan, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Tao, Thao, Tsou, Truku, Sakizaya and Sediq. The Yami name was coined by a Japanese anthropologist during their occupation of the island. The Yami settled on what is now Orchid Island. Without their knowledge, the government stored nuclear waste on Orchid Island, and the members suffered the negative consequences, to which Tsai also apologized, on behalf of her government. Coincidentally, the northernmost island of the Philippines, at the tip of the Batanes group of islands, is called Y’Ami. This island is closer to Taiwan than to Aparri. The male of the Yami tribe of Orchid Island wears a thong or loincloth (bahag), sometimes paired with an open vest, which is very similar to the loincloth worn by the male Igorots of the Mountain Province. The female Yami wear a colorful blouse or jacket covering on her chest and a square-cloth skirt, tightened by a belt. This is similar to those worn by Igorot women. Since gold and silver are not available on Orchid Island, the minerals and forging techniques were believed introduced from Batan Islands. Taiwan said the Yami people also refer
to themselves as tao, which means human. Tao is also the Filipino word for human or people. “According to the migration legend of Yami people, their ancestors used to live on Batan Islands in the Philippines. They moved to Lanyu, later Orchid Island, hundreds of years ago. Gradually, two different local cultures in Lanyu and Batan were developed. People of Lanyu and Batan used to exchange fishing techniques and cultures, but these exchanges slowly ceased in the 17th and 18th centuries. In recent years, historical accounts say the 16 Indigenous Tribes of Taiwan has started to make cultural exchanges and visits with the Batan Islands in the Philippines.” The BusinessMirror asked a Minister of Foreign Affairs Press Officer, Mr. Kuo Shih-chun, why there so much publicity is given to the TIP. “They are one part of Taiwanese culture that we value, it also reflects on society’s respect of diversity, based on history. We think it’s very important to preserve the TIP culture, and we believe this is a good way to introduce Taiwan to the rest of the world,” Kuo said. “As everybody knows, Taiwan is a very mature democracy, this is something we value the most, people here would not sacrifice the value of democracy and the whole society is full of tolerance and respect, and that’s the area we are proud of.” This is the official version of a highly independent people, proud of their long history and rich heritage. Upon closer scrutiny, however, there emerged a narrative that Taiwan was originally populated by peoples from the South Pacific, their origin is IndoAustronesian and, therefore, could not be logically part of mainland China. Mainland Chinese have Mongolian and Han blood flowing in their veins. This is important to emphasize at the moment, especially because China has always maintained that Taiwan is a “renegade” province of the mainland, and sooner or later had to be “regained” by force if necessary. “How can they regain Taiwan when we were never under China, not even for a day,” fumes an official of the Taiwan Economic Cooperation Office. Lately, there is the growing threat of the Chinese trying to take Taiwan, by force if necessary, under President Xi Jin Ping. The only thing that prevents them from mounting a full-scale invasion, according to military analysts, is the presence of the United States military and their iron-clad guarantee that they would defend Taiwan as an ally if invaded. There is also regular joint military exercises by both countries.
STILL WORKING Despite his elderly age, a farmer in Santiago City still manages to solar-dry corn grains on an idle road in the city by himself. Many farmers like him refuse to surrender their farming jobs to keep earning and remain physically fit. LEONARDO PERANTE II
Afghan wrestler carried the wounded until he himself was killed
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ABUL, Afghanistan—He was a retired, medal-winning wrestler, often the first to arrive after a suicide bombing to help evacuate the wounded on the shoulders of his muscular frame. Last Sunday those shoulders were needed again when a suicide bomber killed at least 60 people and wounded more than 120, including children, outside a Kabul voter-registration office. But the wrestler, Wakil Hussain Allahdad, could not help. He was among the dead. Allahdad’s death punctuated the cycle of loss in Afghanistan, so relentless that survivors of one attack often end up victims of the next. In the age of social media, a Facebook post offering condolences for one bombing can often turn out to be the poster’s last public words. “Pity to the mother and father who are waiting for the return of their children back home,” Allahdad, the father of two boys and two girls, posted after an attack last June. “I hope these miseries will end, because this nation doesn’t have the capacity for more bloody tragedies like this.” When the bomber struck, Allahdad, 33, had been visiting a shop he had set up across from the office, where three apprentices would photocopy documents for a small fee. Two of the apprentices also were killed, and the third was battling for his life Monday at a hospital. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing, in which most victims were members of Afghanistan’s Shiite Muslim minority. The Islamic State, the Sunni Muslim extremist group, has said it is responsible for almost all attacks against Afghan Shiites in recent years. But many Afghan and US officials say there is often an overlap between the facilitating networks used in ur-
ban attacks claimed by the Islamic State in recent years and those used by the extreme elements of the Taliban, particularly the Haqqani network, which had a long history of deadly urban attacks even before the rise of the Islamic State. In the small foothold the Islamic State maintains in eastern Afghanistan, it carries out particularly barbaric acts of violence. In the Chaparhar district of Nangarhar province, officials said three brothers were beheaded by the group late Sunday. Their father, a medical doctor, was killed by the Islamic State in 2017. As mass-casualty attacks have increased in Kabul, the country’s capital, Kabul province has become the deadliest one for civilians, surpassing Taliban-dominated southern areas where local residents have long borne the brunt of the war, now in its 17th year. In 2017 almost 500 civilians were killed in attacks in the city and 1,350 were wounded, according to the United Nations. While the violence has turned life in Kabul into a game of chance, more recently the odds have been worse for Shiites like Allahdad. His home is on a busy road in a western Kabul neighborhood. Almost every street pole is adorned with a photograph of an attack victim. “He was just a poor man’s son trying to earn bread for his children,” said his elderly father, Hussain Ali Allahdad, wiping his tears with a white kerchief. As visitors arrived on Monday morning to pay their respects, someone would recite another verse of the Quran before hands were raised in prayer. The father would lean back against the wall and close his eyes. Many visitors apologized for having shown up so late, busy with other
funerals and burials. One had a cousin killed in the bombing, another had a brother-in-law, a third had a neighbor. The visitors tried to console the father by emphasizing that in the eyes of the Shiite community, his son was a martyr who had sacrificed his life for a noble cause. “Not everyone gets the rank of martyr,” said one visitor who walked with a limp. “Yes, he was lucky to become a martyr,” said another. “That he has left us burning here—that’s a separate issue.” In western Kabul where many Shiites live, Allahdad had quite a presence—not only for his reputation as a wrestler, but also as the defender of an increasingly vulnerable community. Some Shiite youths have started carrying weapons at religious gatherings, no longer trusting officials to protect them. They looked to Allahdad as a mobilizer and a leader. “He was my student for 20 years— he started wrestling when he was 13,” said Sher Jan Ahmadi, deputy head of the country’s wrestling federation. Allahdad had amassed many accolades in his wrestling career, the medals hanging at his home and office. He won domestic tournaments as a teenager, and in his youth he dominated his weight class of 214 pounds. In one of the last international tournaments he took part in, in Pakistan, he won a silver medal. When he retired from competing after having torn a leg muscle four years ago, he could not break with the sport entirely. He started coaching a local wrestling club, with about 150 students arriving for daily training at 6 a.m. On his Facebook page, he shared a Russian meme: a babushka rushing to a wrestling mat to smack an opponent who was pinning her son down. New York Times News Service
Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com
JANINA MANIPOL rides the Ecooter while Issa Pressman looks on.
BusinessMirror
CHELSEA ROBATO and Christian Busby on the Ecooter
Charging isn’t a problem with this electric scooter PRIMETIME
DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com
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EHICLES transport us from place to place. Cars bring us to school and work. Jeepneys and buses are convenient and affordable modes of transportation. We also rely on cabs and transportation network vehicle service (TNVS) such as Grab. Trucks, on the other hand, transport perishable and nonperishable goods from ports and/or farms to their intended destinations. It will not be an exaggeration to say that we can’t live without motorized vehicles. Unfortunately, the huge number of these vehicles running on the streets is what’s causing this heavy traffic that has been our burden for the past many years. Motorcycles and scooters are smaller alternatives to cars. They are also more fuel-efficient than cars and emit less of the greenhouse-gas carbon dioxide. So what’s more environment-friendly than a scooter? An electric scooter. For reference, an electric scooter is a plug-in vehicle that’s different from an electric motorcycle because it has a step-through frame and a platform for the rider’s feet. Ecooter is an electric scooter manufactured by Da Yang Motors in China. Da Yang Motors, established in 1992, manufactures motorcycles and scooters that can be found in 80 countries worldwide. “Ecooter is backed by 25 years of technical
experience from its maker. It is a joint venture with China’s top IT group and top parts suppliers globally,” said Virgie Lim, managing director of Sobeler Corp., which brought Ecooter to the Philippines. Ecooter was officially launched in China more than a year ago. The brand already has dealerships in Spain, France and Vietnam, and it is now in the Philippines. The all-electric scooter Ecooter is powered by a 2500W electric motor. It’s capable of running up to 80 kilometers. In terms of speed, it can run up to 75 km/ ph. The Ecooter is powered by a lithium-ion battery that can be fully charged in six hours. “Power and/or recharging is the top consumer concern when it comes to electric motorcycles and/or scooters,” said Dustin Chen, Ecooter general manager. Sobeler’s business model for Ecooter in the Philippines will have Battery Rental Changing Stations available all over Metro Manila. This will be made possible through partnerships with convenience stores such as 7-Eleven and FamilyMart, plus Sobeler’s own dealers. Ecooter users can go to convenience stores or dealers to swap their empty batteries for fully charged ones for a minimal fee. This relieves them of the burden of charging the battery for six hours. This service is limited to Metro Manila for now. The Ecooter is priced at P80,000 upwards with the price depending on the color. The dealers will provide customers with a battery upon purchase. Those who don’t want to take part in the battery-swapping program can avail of a charging kit (which includes a battery and charging adapter), which is priced at P30,000. Ecooter comes in black, gray, white, red and yellow. The electric scooters have a oneyear warranty. The batteries each carry a twoyear warranty. “We don’t encourage Ecooter to buy their own
batteries for convenience because it is easier for them to swap their battery for a new one,” Lim said. If you want to try the Ecooter, there will be a public event today at Bonifacio High Street’s East Block starting at 10 am. For more information, follow @ecooter_ philippines on Instagram. ■
Cambridge Analytica fights back on data scandal LONDON—Cambridge Analytica unleashed its counterattack against claims that it misused data from millions of Facebook accounts, saying on Tuesday it is the victim of misunderstandings and inaccurate reporting that portrays the company as the evil villain in a James Bond movie. Clarence Mitchell, a high-profile publicist recently hired to represent the company, held Cambridge Analytica’s first news conference since allegations surfaced that the Facebook data helped Donald J. Trump win the 2016 presidential election. Christopher Wylie, a former employee of Cambridge Analytica’s parent, also claims that the company has links to the successful campaign to take Britain out of the European Union (EU). “The company has been portrayed in some quarters as almost some Bond villain,” Mitchell said. “Cambridge Analytica is no Bond villain.” Cambridge Analytica didn’t use any of the Facebook data in the work it did for Trump’s campaign and it never did any work on the Brexit campaign, Mitchell said. Furthermore, he said, the data was collected by another company that was contractually obligated to follow data protection rules and the information was deleted as soon as Facebook raised concerns. Mitchell insists the company has not broken any laws, but acknowledged
it had commissioned an independent investigation that’s being conducted. He insisted that the company had been victimized by “wild speculation based on misinformation, misunderstanding, or in some cases, frankly, an overtly political position.” The comments come weeks after the scandal engulfed both the consultancy and Facebook, which has been embroiled in scandal since revelations that Cambridge Analytica misused personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook accounts. Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the United States congressional committees and at one point the company lost some $50 billion in value for its shareholders. Details on the scandal continued to trickle out. On Tuesday, a Cambridge University academic said the suspended CEO of Cambridge Analytica lied to British lawmakers investigating fake news. Academic Aleksandr Kogan’s company, Global Science Research, developed a Facebook app that vacuumed up data from people who signed up to use the app, as well as information from their Facebook friends, even if those friends hadn’t agreed to share their data. Cambridge Analytica allegedly used the data to profile US voters and target them with ads during the 2016 election to help elect Trump. It denies the charge.
Kogan appeared before the House of Commons’ media committee on Tuesday and was asked whether Cambridge Analytica’s suspended CEO, Alexander Nix, told the truth when he testified that none of the company’s data came from Global Science Research. “That’s a fabrication,” Kogan told committee Chairman Damian Collins. Nix could not immediately be reached for comment. Kogan also cast doubt on many of Wylie’s allegations, which have triggered a global debate about Internet-privacy protections. Wylie repeated his claims in a series of media interviews, as well as an appearance before the committee. Wylie worked for SCL Group Ltd. in 2013 and 2014. “Mr. Wylie has invented many things,” Kogan said, calling him “duplicitous.” No matter what, though, Kogan insisted in his testimony that the data would not be that useful to election consultants. The idea was seized upon by Mitchell, who also denied that the company had worked on the effort to have Britain leave the EU. Mitchell said that the idea that political consultancies can use data alone to sway votes is “frankly insulting to the electorates. Data science in modern campaigning helps those campaigns, but it is still and always will be the candidates who win the races.” AP
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New lineup of Nokia phones launched in the Philippines HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has confirmed the availability of the Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 1, New Nokia 6 and Nokia 8110 4G for the Philippines. First introduced at the Mobile World Congress in February, these new Nokia phones will go on sale in mid-April and May. Delivering on the promise of durability and reliability you expect from a Nokia phone, each new phone sets benchmarks in design with beautiful craftmanship, without compromising on technology. Shannon Mead, Philippines country manager of HMD Global, said: “HMD Global is committed to continue the story of Nokia mobile through the qualities that we first loved, such as durability and innovation, designed to suit every need and style. With the new generation of Nokia Android smartphones and our classic but highly upgraded feature phone, we are proud to continue the Nokia mobile story by giving the best mobile experiences across all price points. “The Nokia 1, with a familiar but refreshing design, delivers all your 4G smartphone essentials with the latest Android Oreo [Go edition]. The Nokia 7 Plus is our flagship hero without the flagship price tag. This means ultimate design and craftsmanship is in the palm of your hand.” Designed to help you create stunning content, the Nokia 7 Plus has the screen, power, design and features that make it a true hero of the brand’s smartphone range. Combining innovative optical hardware and imaging algorithms, the Nokia 7 Plus captures moments in photos that are true to life. With its impressive 16MP front-facing camera with ZEISS optics, the Nokia 7 Plus adapts to low-light conditions by increasing light sensitivity to guarantee pictureperfect moments. Enhanced Dual-Sight harnesses the front and back cameras simultaneously to capture the ultimate #Bothie and keep it safe with unlimited photo and video uploads to Google Photos. To enable you to capture and enjoy more content for longer, the Nokia 7 Plus is backed by the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Mobile Platform. With a large 3800mAh battery, you won’t have to worry about battery life, even when you are broadcasting your #Bothie videos live on Facebook or YouTube. The phone’s gently curved back and slim edges give you a big-screen experience in a comfortable, neat package. The vivid 6-inch, 18:9 Full HD+ display makes the Nokia 7 Plus perfect for browsing, socialmedia consumption, gaming and entertainment with more content, in the same width as a traditional 5.5inch display device. The Nokia 7 Plus will be available in Black/Copper and White/Copper from April 27 and will retail for P21,990. A presale opens is ongoing through Abenson. com, argomall, MemoXpress and Lazada. You can even avail of zero-percent interest over nine months via Home Credit when you apply online through argomall.com. With a commitment to a pure, secure and up-todate Android OS, each smartphone will stay fresh over time with monthly security updates guaranteed and with no unnecessary user interface changes or hidden processes eating up battery life or slowing the device down, so you can enjoy your new phone for longer. By shipping with Android Oreo out of the box, you’ll be able to enjoy the latest Android features of the Nokia 7 plus, including Picture-in-Picture for multitasking, Android Instant Apps to discover and run apps with minimal friction, 60 fantastic new emojis and battery-maximizing features like limiting background app use.
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As doors close in the US, China’s Huawei shi�ts to Europe
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BY DAKE KANG The Associated Press
HENZHEN, China—As trade disputes simmer, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, the No. 3 global smartphone brand, is shifting its growth efforts toward Europe and Asia in the face of mounting obstacles in the US market. Shenzhen-based Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecoms equipment, has long coveted access to the United States but recently laid off key American employees at its Washington, D.C., office. The US has regularly stymied Huawei’s efforts to enter America, citing national security concerns. Huawei has failed to find a US carrier to partner with for its smartphones, and the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved a draft order that could damage Huawei’s existing business in network gear. The order cited Huawei and its Chinese rival ZTE by name. That came after Huawei canceled a planned January announcement that a major United States carrier would sell its smartphones for the first time. The company gave no details but news reports said that partner was AT&T Inc. and scrapped the deal under government pressure. Huawei’s struggles in the United States are in contrast to its booming business in developing countries and growing presence in Europe, where it has been working on next-generation, or “5G,” wireless standards. The company’s profits rose 28.1 percent in 2017, boosted by strong enterprise and consumer sales and booming business overseas. The recent setbacks have left Huawei’s future in the US uncertain. Huawei recently let go of several American employees in their Washington, D.C., office, including William Plummer, who spearheaded efforts to convince the US to allow Huawei in for nearly a decade. Though Huawei declined to comment on the layoffs, the news was first reported by the New York Times and independently confirmed by the Associated Press. “There is no change to our business strategy in the US,” Huawei Spokesman Joe Kelly said. “Any changes to staffing size or structure are simply a reflection of standard business optimization.” Kelly said fears that Huawei’s network equipment could be used to collect sensitive information reflected “baseless suspicion.” Experts say the concerns could be valid, but suspect they’re mainly a pretext for limiting competition and allowing US suppliers to charge higher prices.
“What we’ve seen so far suggests that there’s not a lot of concrete evidence that Huawei poses a national security threat,” said Josephine Wolff, Professor of Cybersecurity Policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. “It leads a lot of people to believe that this is more about trying to protect the US tech sector.” American companies have long chafed under Chinese regulations that require them to operate through local partners and share technology with potential competitors in exchange for market access. Foreign companies are increasingly alarmed by initiatives such as Beijing’s long-range industry development plan, dubbed “Made in China 2025.” It calls for creating global leaders in electric cars, robots and other fields. “That sense that China is cultivating national champions, and cultivating companies within its own borders at the expense of other companies, has a lot of US companies concerned about how much their intellectual property rights will be safeguarded there,” Wolff said.
Huawei and ZTE’s burgeoning 5G research is seen as a particular threat, as its expanded transmitting capabilities are seen as crucial for a host of emerging technologies based on artificial intelligence—including self-driving vehicles, robots and other machines that transmit vast amounts of data in real time. ZTE faces devastating threats to its business after the US Commerce Department blocked the company from importing American components for seven years, accusing the smartphone maker of misleading US regulators after it settled charges of violating sanctions against North Korea and Iran. But unlike ZTE, efforts to impede Huawei in the US likely won’t stop its rapid expansion elsewhere. Last month Huawei President of Consumer Handsets Kevin Ho said the company is pivoting to Europe and developing Asian markets. He called them priorities “No. 1” and “No. 2.” Huawei chose to unveil its latest flagship phone last month at the Grand Palais in Paris, while in
Finland, the company employs more than 300 engineers developing cameras, audio algorithms and 5G technology. Many used to work at Finnish rival Nokia. Apart from expanding its clout on UN bodies that coordinate cellular technology standards, early on Huawei joined forces with European companies to develop 5G standards. In February it completed the world’s first 5G test call in partnership with Londonbased Vodafone. Still, while Chinese trade relations with Europe remain calm, Washington has been warning officials in Canada and Australia about Huawei, raising questions about the company’s long-term global prospects. “Huawei is perceived differently in Europe but that’s definitely a risk for the company,” said Thomas Husson, principal analyst at technology research firm Forrester. “Let’s not forget Europeans can still try to push in favor of European-based solutions from Nokia or Ericsson.” ■
IDC Philippines sees growth of smartphone and PC usage in 2018 BY RIZAL RAOUL REYES THE International Data Corp. (IDC) recently reported that the habits of Filipino gadget users are fast-changing, which resulted in reshaping the local market Based on IDC’s latest Asia/Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker and Asia/Pacific Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, smartphone shipments declined 7 percent to approximately 15 million units in 2017, while tablet shipments posted a 30-percent year-over-year (YoY) drop to 1 million units. On the other hand, personal computer (PC) shipments in 2017 amounted to around 2 million units, showing flat growth of 1 percent YoY. In his presentation, Jennsen Ooi, IDC Asia-Pacific senior market and client devices analyst, said smartphone shipments recorded its first decline since its introduction into the local market, as there were less first-time buyers and the aggressive competition posed by top brands, such as Samsung, Oppo and Vivo, resulted in some vendors being ousted from the market. He also mentioned that tablets sales continued to drop as users found them not too practical, following the introduction of smartphones with bigger screens in the market. In its report, IDC said Cherry Mobile emerged as the market leader with a 23-percent market share followed by Korean brand Samsung (17 percent) and Chinese brand Oppo (12 percent). Vivo and Asus were the two brands that made it to the top five with an 8-percent and 5-percent market share, respectively. Ooi said the key to Cherry Mobile’s dominance in the local market was their pervasive presence in provinces. “Cherry Mobile’s affordable smartphone models below the P5,000 level was a sure hit among Filipinos in the provinces,” he said. “The marketing people of Cherry Mobile know the
situation on the ground. They can develop market presence whenever the situation calls for it. For instance, if a town is celebrating its fiesta, Cherry Mobile is going to be present,” added Jubert Daniel Alberto, head of operations, IDC Philippines. Ooi added demand for fourth-generation smartphones (4G) also grew with a 54-percent share. Being a pricesensitive market, he pointed out that ultra low-end smartphones dominated the market with 59-percent share, while low-end and midrange smartphones made up 35-percent market share. He noted that Chinese brands, such as Oppo and Vivo,
were major factors behind the growth of the low-end and midrange segments in 2017. “Heavy marketing campaigns and lucrative sales promoter incentives enabled these brands to strengthen their mindshare in the local market, increase their shipments and grow their respective market shares. The assault of these brands affected the sales of some of the players, resulting in them reducing their supplies, which ultimately impacted overall smartphone shipments,” Ooi said. He also noted that the Philippine smartphone market indicated that end-users are shifting to handsets with higher specs and better features. From a screen-size perspective,
phablets (5.5” to 7”) recorded significant growth in the recent years, accounting to about a quarter of smartphone shipments in 2017. “As mobile content continues to grow, smartphones have become the primary device for basic productivity and everyday media consumption, and this fuels the need for larger screens and higher specs,” Ooi said. On the other hand, slate tablets (7” to 11”) have also experienced decline in sales because they cannot offer the same practicality that phablets provide. Sean Paul Agapito, associate market analyst at IDC, said traditional PCs continued to grow due to increased educationrelated purchases and the growing traction of eSports in the country, among others. “The small-medium enterprise sector is going to be the next frontier of PCs,” he said. Over the past five years, he said the Philippine market has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3 percent, while its Asean neighbors have been dropping at CAGRs of around -3 percent to -12 percent. He attributed the trend to slow technology adoption, but in the past few years, the mobility trend and large millennial Filipino population are also boosting traditional PC adoption to even higher levels. “Despite smartphones having drawn away a portion of consumer demand in the recent years, desktop and notebook PCs remain viable personal computing devices, especially for heavy workloads and higher-level entertainment,” Agapito explained. Nevertheless, the average selling price of smartphones in 2017 grew to $134, a 13-percent YoY increase. Ultra lowend smartphones (less than $100) still hold the lion’s share of the market, accounting for 59 percent of all smartphones in 2017 compared with 67 percent in 2016. Meanwhile the combined share of low-end ($100 to $200) and midrange ($200 to $400) smartphones grew to 35 percent from 28 percent in 2016.
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A�ter Facebook scrutiny, is Google next? BY RYAN NAKASHIMA AND MATT O’BRIEN The Associated Press
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ENLO PARK, California—Facebook has taken the lion’s share of scrutiny from United States Congress and the media about data-handling practices that allow savvy marketers and political agents to target specific audiences, but it’s far from alone. YouTube, Google and Twitter also have giant platforms awash in more videos, posts and pages than any set of human eyes could ever check. Their methods of serving ads against this sea of content may come under the microscope next. Advertising and privacy experts say a backlash is inevitable against a “Wild West” Internet that has escaped scrutiny before. There continues to be a steady barrage of new examples where unsuspecting advertisers had their brands associated with extremist content on major platforms. In the latest discovery, CNN reported that it found more than 300 retail brands, government agencies and technology companies had their ads run on YouTube channels that promoted white nationalists, Nazis, conspiracy theories and North Korean propaganda. Child advocates have also raised alarms about the ease with which smartphone-equipped children are exposed to inappropriate videos and deceptive advertising. “I absolutely think that Google is next and long overdue,” said Josh Golin, director of the Bostonbased Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google-owned YouTube’s advertising and data-collection practices earlier this month. YouTube has repeatedly outlined the ways it attempts to flag and delete hateful, violent, sexually explicit or harmful videos, but its screening efforts have often missed the mark. It also allows advertisers to avoid running ads on sensitive content—like news or politics—that don’t violate YouTube guidelines but don’t fit with a company’s brand. Those methods appear to have failed. “YouTube has once again failed to correctly filter channels out of our marketing buys,” said a statement last Friday from 20th Century Fox Film, which learned that its ads were running on videos posted by a self-described Nazi. YouTube has since deleted the offending channel, but the Hollywood firm says it has unanswered questions about how it happened in the first place. “All of our filters were in place in order to ensure that this did not happen,” Fox said, adding it has asked for a refund of any money shared with the “abhorrent channel.” YouTube said last Friday that it has made
“significant changes to how we approach monetization” with “stricter policies, better controls and greater transparency” and said it allows advertisers to exclude certain channels from ads. It also removes ads when it’s notified of problems running beside content that doesn’t comply with its policies. “We are committed to working with our advertisers and getting this right.” So far, just one major advertiser—Baltimore-based retailer Under Armour—had said it had withdrawn its advertising in the wake of the CNN report, though the lull lasted only a few days last week when it was first notified of the problem. After its shoe commercial turned up on a channel known for espousing white nationalist beliefs, Under Armour worked with YouTube to expand its filters to exclude certain topics and keywords. On the other hand, Procter & Gamble (P&G), which had kept its ads off of YouTube since March 2017, said it had come back to the platform but drastically pared back the channels it would advertise on to under 10,000. It has worked on its own, with third parties,
and with YouTube to create its restrictive list. That’s just a fraction of the some 3 million YouTube channels in the US that accept ads, and is even more stringent than YouTube’s “Google Preferred” lineup that focuses on the top most popular 5 percent of videos. The CNN report was “an illustration of exactly why we needed to go above and beyond just what YouTube’s plans were and why we needed to take more control of where our ads were showing up,” P&G Spokesman Tressie Rose said. The big problem, experts say, is that advertisers lured by the reach and targeting capability of online platforms can mistakenly expect the same standards for decency on network TV will apply online. In the same way, broadcast TV rules that require transparency about political ad buyers are absent on the Web. “There have always been regulations regarding appropriate conduct in content,” says Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., a New York customer-research firm. Regulating content on the Internet is one area “that has gotten away from everyone.”
Sony Mobile launches new XZ2; showcases latest in Xperia line AS the demand for innovative smartphones rises, and technology continues to advance at a faster pace, Sony Mobile Communications (Sony Mobile) meets these challenges with the introduction of the Xperia XZ2—the hero flagship that features the advance Motion Eye camera, the world’s first smartphone capable of 1080p Full HD 960fps Super Slow Motion and 4K HDR video recording. Launched officially in Manila on April 24, the Xperia XZ2 is the latest addition to the Xperia flagship family. “We continue our promise to offer a range of flagship devices that perfectly suit the lifestyle demands of our customer requirements, as the market advances very fast. Zooming in on the entertainment seekers, the new XZ2 carries our new breakthrough technologies, such as Dynamic Vibration System, 4K HDR movie recording and now with a larger screen design to offer a more immersive viewing experience,” Sony Philippines Managing Director Nobuyoshi Otake said. As vlogging becomes the trend in sharing and connecting people’s passions and experiences, Sony introduces for the first time ever on a smartphone 4K HDR
recording, enabling a share or upload feature to a compatible HDT TV or on YouTube to view the content back in lifelike realism. The new design comes with the new extended 5.7” 18:9 HDR Full HD+ display, which is the best ratio of format, size and design footprint to offer a perfect entertainment experience. You can also now feel the action in the palm of your hands as Sony offers a brand-new Dynamic Vibration System, bringing your movie, video and game experience into a whole new level. And you can share this unique experience with your friends with the powerful stereo speakers that the High-Resolution Audio and LDAC offer. Image quality has also been improved, as it comes with a 19-MP Motion Eye camera and the 1080P 960fps super slow-motion camera feature that makes it possible to turn regular moments into more dramatic captures. In nano SIM and dual SIM variants, the Sony Xperia XZ2 is now officially available in the Philippines in two colors: Liquid Silver and Liquid Black, shipping with Android 8.0 Oreo. It’s currently on preorder until May 6 in all Sony Centers and Xperia Shops, and preorders will
receive a gift set worth P5,479. In line with the launch, Sony Mobile also showcased their Xperia line with the XA2 Ultra and Xperia Ear Duo. Launched in Manila earlier this month, the Xperia XA2 Ultra retails at P22,990. It’s been designed for selfies with new features, such as the 16MP with Optical Image Stabilization and 8MP 120 degree super wide-angle dual front cameras, both with front flash. It’s now available in dual SIM in three contemporary colors: Black, Blue and Gold. Meanwhile, the consumer electronics giant again levels up with Xperia Ear Duo’s Dual Listening technology that lets you listen to music and, at the same time, hear environmental sound or conversations, with its ultra-low power consuming “CXD5602” chip and a sophisticated multisensor platform. The “Daily Assist” feature will recognize time, location and activities that prompt a reminder on your plans throughout the day. It is perfectly designed to avoid eye glasses or accessories, as it sits under the ear securely. The Xperia Ear Duo will be available in May at the Sony Center in SM Megamall.
Also absent from the Internet are many of the rules that govern children’s programming on television sets. TV networks, for instance, are allowed to air commercial breaks but cannot use kids’ characters to advertise products. Such “host-selling” runs rampant on Internet services like YouTube. Action to remove ads from inappropriate content is mostly reactive because of lack of upfront control of what gets uploaded, and it generally takes the mass threat of boycott to get advertisers to demand changes, according to BrandSimple consultant Allen Adamson. “The social-media backlash is what you’re worried about,” he said. At the same time, politicians are having trouble keeping up with the changing landscape, evident by how ill-informed many senators and congresspeople appeared during questioning of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month. “We’re in the early stages of trying to figure out what kind of regulation makes sense here,” said Larry Chiagouris, professor of marketing at Pace University in New York. “It’s going to take quite some time to sort that out.” ■
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SONY Xperia XZ2 and Sony Xperia Ear Duo
Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com
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Saturday, April 28, 2018 A12
Twilight: The psychology of color THE TECHNIVORE ED UY
whereiseduy@gmail.com
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EFORE you decide to turn the page and skip this piece, let me assure you that this isn’t going to be about werewolves and vampires. No Edward. No Bella. Twilight—not the book, but the dazzling new color of the Huawei P20 Pro.
A STUDY OF COLOR HAVE you ever noticed how brands are instantly recognizable by a single color, or how products of a similar category would use a similar color scheme? According to Karen Haller, a United Kingdombased business color and branding expert, the color a company uses to brand itself conveys how trustworthy they are to consumers, the quality of their products and much more. Red, for example, is the color of power and passion. Haller says it can also be linked to excitement, energy, and physical courage. A lot of brands use red when they want to be seen as powerful, passionate companies. Think Coca Cola, YouTube, NetFlix or even Huawei. Green, on the other hand, may be the color of money and envy, but it also signifies the environment, Mother Earth and universal love. Green is attractive to youth and to those who enjoy life—maybe that’s why we see a lot of people frequenting that coffee shop with the famous mermaid logo. Starbucks, Spotify, Xbox and Whole Foods all use green. Blue represents “trust, integrity and communication,” Haller says. Blue speaks to the mind, so consumers associate it with logic and communication. It’s also serene, like the ocean, and calming to look at. Facebook and the other socialmedia companies—Twitter, LinkedIn and even Skype—use it as their primary brand color. The lighter shade in the Twitter logo also expresses the fun side of social media, when you’re not using it to bash someone, of course. Brands that use yellow express a personality of happiness, optimism and friendliness. It is also the most visible color in daylight, says Haller, making it difficult to overlook brands that use the color like McDonalds or Ikea. When you see the Nickelodeon logo, you immediately know it’s for kids, because orange is powerfully bright and is seen as fun, playful and enjoying social interaction, just like blogging platform Blogger. Pink is usually associated with something sweet— or sexy. Pink stands for femininity, as well as love, nurturing and caring. No wonder a lot of women’s products and even organizations have a pink color scheme. A lighter pink is sweet, like Barbie or Hello Kitty, whereas a brighter pink holds sex appeal, like Victoria’s Secret. Quality, luxury and decadence are all associated with purple, and for some reason, a lot of older women seem to drawn to the color, as well. Just look at your moms. Maybe because they are still drawn to Cadbury but couldn’t eat more than one chocolate bar? Or because they grew up with Pop singer Prince and love his song “Purple Rain”? Then there’s black. Probably the safest color choice in clothes and one we also equate with luxury, glamour, sophistication, sleekness and exclusivity. Black is a color you take seriously, Haller says. So maybe that’s why black has become the default color of smartphones? Haller notes color choice reflects a person’s aspirations. Black or white is typically associated with technology and innovation, and therefore customers choose what they consider to be the most refined. Grey and white also evoke ambition and are perceived as symbolic of success. In the automobile industry, white, black, grey and silver continue to be the top-selling colors, proving that consumers still opt for more
classic colors, particularly because of a possible resale in the future. Just like cars, smartphones are now also considered as an investment and something you’ll be seen using everyday, even more often than your car, so the majority still opt for safer options, or something they wouldn’t easily grow tired of. Thankfully, smartphone makers are slowly adding more options and releasing bolder color choices—and nothing could be more daring than the Huawei P20 Pro’s Twilight. Grabbing as much attention as the P20 Pro’s triple-camera setup, the Twilight variant immediately made headlines the moment the flurry of leaks were released. Available exclusively to the Huawei P20 Pro, the shimmering finish has been the talk of the town ever since the color was announced. Featuring a gradient that smoothly transitions from purple to blue, then to teal—in the same order the laws of physics sort colors on the visible light spectrum—underneath a premium glass back, the Twilight variant of P20 Pro was sold out in its home court, China, almost immediately once it was made available, which is a good indication of its popularity among consumers.
LET THERE BE TWILIGHT TWILIGHT is defined as the soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the refraction and scattering of the sun’s rays from the atmosphere. Just like the previous P10’s greenery green, the exclusive new P20 Pro color is also inspired by nature. For Twilight, Huawei took inspiration from the enchanting aurora borealis, or better known as the northern lights. Throughout history, nature has inspired countless great painters to create great masterpieces. In China court painters through dynasties transposed their impressions of the natural landscape onto paper using ink, water and a brush. Towering mountains, rolling hills and narrow rivers were painted onto scrolls of paper with lively brushstrokes, dots and ink wash. This ancient art form, known today as guohua, is considered one of the most respected of all in classical Chinese art. In the West, greats like Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh were also no stranger to nature. Monet developed his own way to capture the beauty of nature, using his observations of changing lights to encapsulate the beauty he beheld, while van Gogh featured objects of nature prominently in many of his works. Like these famous artists, Joon Suh Kim, Chief Design Officer at Huawei, and his team were inspired by nature, and the
gorgeous gradient color is their brainchild. According to Joon, “Huawei’s designers are not just designers, but dreamers, as well. As designers, we get inspirations everywhere; as dreamers, we’re obliged to come up with ideas that the consumers themselves don’t yet know they love, such as the Twilight color.” The dreamy color scheme was specifically developed to capture the magnificence and mysteriousness of the aurora. Careful decisions were made to ensure that, when the gradient effect is shrunk to the size of a handheld device, the intensity of the natural phenomenal would retain its full glory. To execute this unique effect, Huawei went through countless prototypes in order to get it just right. In the end, Huawei settled on using an optical nonconductive vacuum metalizing coating for the effect—and the results are some of the most natural expressions of the aurora seen on a smartphone back. If Twilight is a bit too exciting, no problem, the Huawei P20 Pro also comes in three other colors. Midnight blue is on offer, for those looking for something a bit more royal and calming. It has a nice deep blue that doesn’t shout loudly but still stands out. There’s also Pink Gold, because Rose Gold has been so overdone. Like the Twilight, it’s also a gradient finish starting off with a champagne gold color and transitions to a bright pink. A nice color option for the ladies who want a rare dual-colored phone And then there’s black, which in the P20 Pro isn’t your usual dark alternative. Because the body is made of glass, it is quite reflective and seems to almost absorb the color of the room around you. So it’s safe black, but not dull black, and would look good in just about any setting.
HIGHEST-RATED SMARTPHONE CAMERA THE Huawei P series has been known for its outstanding photography experience, especially with its partnership with Leica. And the P20 and P20 Pro further establishes that as it broke DxOMark records, scoring 109, the highest ever achieved by a smartphone. The P20 Pro is equipped with the world’s first triple Leica cameras and combines the excellent hardware with Huawei Master AI to deliver its signature highcamera performance in any scenario. The P20 Pro has a main 40MP RGB (f/1.8) + 20MP monochrome (f/1.6) + 8MP telephoto (f/2.4) with Huawei AI’s 4D predictive focus 5x Hybrid Zoom, 4K and 960 fps video recording, and is capable of taking super slomo videos The P20 and P20 Pro, including the Twilight
variant, will be available in the Philippines starting on April 28, via Huawei Experience stores and partner retailers nationwide. Those who preordered will get a free Canon Selphy CP1300 printer. Huawei is also a having a one-day, trade-in promo today where you can trade in your old smartphones and get up to P36,900 off. The promotion is open to all customers purchasing from selected Huawei Stores. Participating stores include Huawei concept store SM Mall of Asia, SM City North Edsa, SM City Davao, SM City Cebu, SM City Dasmarinas and the Huawei kiosk in SM City Pampanga. A third-party agent will check the phone for trade-in and will be evaluated based on its condition. The appraised values of the surrendered phones will be deducted from the price of the device directly. And customers can trade in more than one phone for valuation for one new device. Phones acceptable for trade in: Apple iPhone 5s and up; Huawei Nova 2i, P9 and up, Mate 8 and up; Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro and J7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 and up, Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and up, and Samsung Galaxy S6 and up. The Huawei P20 is priced at P34,990 while the Huawei P20 Pro, P44,990. We will have a comparison and review of the P20 and P20 Pro soon.
SHOPEE IS THE EXCLUSIVE E-COMMERCE PARTNER OF HONOR SHOPEE officially launched the Honor store in the Philippines, allowing around 11 million Shopee users in the Philippines to purchase the Honor 9 Lite, the brand’s first quad-camera smartphone, at P7,990 exclusively on Shopee on May 5, as part of the 5.5 Shopee Super Sale. Users can look forward to the exclusive Honor flash sale on Shopee on May 5, in line with the biggest online mid-year sale. The flash sale will feature the exciting premiere of the Honor 9 Lite and Honor 7X at unbeatable prices. The first 500 users who preregister their interest from April 25 to May 4 stand to receive a P250 voucher, which can be used to buy other products on Shopee. The Honor 9 Lite is a sleek and stylish device, and its quad cameras are perfect to record your lively moments. Featuring an exquisitely designed 2.5D glass and 5.65-inch edge-to-edge Full View HD Display, the Honor 9 Lite is a fashion statement. The Honor 7X (P10,990) is equipped with the powerful octa-core Kirin 659 and graphics-processing unit, coupled with Full View display. The Honor 7X is the perfect competitively priced gaming monster. Currently ongoing until May 5 is the 5.5 Shopee Super Sale campaign, the biggest mid-year online sale in the Philippines. It features massive promotions, including 55 peso deals, daily in-app vouchers and surprises, as well as discounts up to 90-percent off across a wide range of categories. Go to shopee. ph/m/55shopeesupersale and check out the latest deals. ■
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THE Huawei P20 Pro