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Asean rediscovers unity
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his time a year ago, Southeast Asian nations risked descending into squabbling over how to handle China’s assertiveness in their region. Now, as leaders of the 10-member Asean meet in Manila, the picture looks different. Asean’s famous unity has largely been restored, as more countries have either warmed to China or at least indicated a greater acceptance of its clout. That means discussion of the disputed South China Sea—China claims cross over with some Southeast Asian states—will probably be on the back burner. Instead, talks
will focus on trade and investment, and the long-running Asean economic integration process. A recent spike in global tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program may also be discussed. “Increasingly, the smaller Asean nations, such as Cambodia and Laos, are moving into China’s orbit, as well as Malaysia and the Philippines to some extent,” said David Skilling, founding director
of Landfall Strategy Group, a Singapore-based advisory company. “Countries are being peeled off with a mixture of sticks and carrots.” In 2016, when an international court ruled in favor of the Philippines against China’s reclamation in the South China Sea, in a case brought by then-President Benigno S. Aquino III, several Asean meetings were marked by unusual signs of public discord among members on how the bloc should respond. Still, President Donald Trump’s move to roll back some of Barack Obama’s US engagement in the region has created an opening for China to talk up its role supporting growth and investment. Beijing has recently improved ties with the Philippines via current President Duterte as well as with Malaysia, Continued on A2
Men who make TV commercials, movies and vice versa
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By Roger Pe
an you tell a story in 30 or 45 seconds? What about in lesser time, 15 seconds, for example? In the advertising world, a 60-seconder is already an extended version, and it is different from a documentary or audiovideo presentation.
Television ads have become an art form, showing the latest technology, special effects and using many different kinds of emotions—all in a matter of seconds, to connect to the consumer target. The driver behind the steering wheel during the production stage of the approved concept is the director. He is responsible for bringing the creative team’s vision to life, in close partnership with the advertiser and advertising agency. They usually start young or evolve from their advertising profession (creative director, artdirector or producer). Some begin apprenticing as production assis-
tants or at the bottom of the food chain—utilitymen or assistant to the assistant of the cameraman. Some have burnt the midnight candle inside studios where they literally would not see the light of day, doing editing jobs, MTVs or inexpensive videos. Some were just driven to make it. Others had innate talent and just naturally gravitated to it until Lady Luck smiled at them and they hit big time. Behind the cutthroat competition is a common denominator: they are all storytellers, men or women who were not considered stars (movie stars were “stars”), but shadows operating in the background,
PESO exchange rates n US 49.6990
New generation of Filipino Tv commercial directors: (from left) Jessel Monteverde, Mike Talampas, Paul Soriano, Yeyey Yatco, Nick Santiago and Torts Villacorta
doing what big brands hired them to deliver an assignment on a prescribed timetable.
A little backgrounder
During the 1970s, Young and Rubicam and Doyle Dane and Bernbach, two of many hyperactive ad agencies on New York’s Madison Avenue, were known as training grounds for directing
and had a number of art directors and producers who eventually became famous. Among them were Bob Giraldi, Stan Dragoti, Bert Steinhauser, Sid Myers and Dick Lowe. Joe Sedelmaier, a former art director for Y&R Chicago, revolutionized the use of comedy in tv ads, as shown in his memorable “Fast Talker” series for FedEx. He was also
among the first directors to cast real people instead of actors. Then European ad agencies invaded the US, and British adman Ridley Scott created Chanel’s “Share the Fantasy” campaign for DDB and eventually directed one of the most talked-about commercials of all time, Apple’s “1984” (No. 12 on Advertising Age’s top 100 ad campaigns of the 20th century). “It epitomized the British look, with his highly stylized images,” according to Advertising Age. In the 1980s big-name movie directors realized that making commercials was not only lucrative but also allowed them to hone their craft by telling a story in 30 seconds. Feature-film directors such as Penny Marshall, Robert Altman, John Schlesinger, John Frankenheimer, Spike Lee, Tony Bill, John Badham, Martin Scorsese and David Lynch began making themselves available for commercials. A number of successful British commercial directors then turned to making feature films. Adrian Lyne directed Flashdance (1983) and Fatal Attraction (1987). Ridley Scott’s movies included Blade Runner (1982), Thelma & Louise (1991) and Gladiator (2000).
Tony Scott made Top Gun (1986) and Crimson Tide (1995), among others. Hugh Hudson directed Chariots of Fire in 1981. All of them crossed over between films and commercials, contributing to the development of a new breed: the crossover director.
Film production in the Philippines
Even before the war, the country’s filmmaking industry was considered one of the most prolific and vibrant in Asia, and the country had many talented directors. Today, the number keeps rising and new generation of megmen, better trained and studied abroad, contribute to the growth of the industry. Some of them, too, have brought honors to the country and continue to blaze new trails. National Artists Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal, apart from their landmark films that lovers of great Filipino films know, also crossed over, making tv commercials for McCann-Erickson Philippines. Under his wing, Brocka trained a few Filipino talents, among them Jeric Soriano, son of the late matinee idol Nestor de Villa. Continued on A2
n japan 0.4474 n UK 63.8384 n HK 6.3881 n CHINA 7.2104 n singapore 35.6112 n australia 37.1450 n EU 54.2117 n SAUDI arabia 13.25340
Source: BSP (27 April 2017 )
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A2 Saturday, April 29, 2017
Asean rediscovers unity Continued from a1
while dialing back its rhetoric on the South China Sea. That has seen interest wane within Asean in taking a stronger stance against China, and puts US influence in the bloc at risk of fading. “Asean must be seen as a source of cohesion, solidarity, support, unity, friendship, strength and. of course, greater prosperity,” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Friday in a speech to a business forum on the sidelines of the Asean summit. He added efforts within Asean to bring down trade tariffs to zero or almost zero from an average of 4 percent in 2015 must be pursued. As Asean restores public unity “that strengthens the future” for the bloc, according to former Foreign Secretary Delia D. Albert. “We
now have to see how China will be able to deliver” on its economic engagement, said Albert, now a senior adviser to professional services firm SGV & Co., a unit of Ernst & Young. A draft communiqué shies away from criticizing China for its actions in the South China Sea, according to local media. The draft does not mention the court ruling, though it stresses the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region.
Chinese investment
After a visit to Beijing last October where he announced a “formal separation” from the US, Duterte left with $24 billion in Chinese investment pledges. Days later Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived in Beijing calling himself a “true friend” of China, and came away with a defense deal. Increased
backing for road, rail and energy infrastructure in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam have helped China extend its Asean reach. While this week’s summit will avoid contentious issues, it does highlight the tricky spot that Singapore, a supporter of the US in the region, finds itself in. Singapore received a warning from Beijing last year after Chinese authorities seized nine Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles en route from Taiwan where they had been involved in a training exercise. The shipment prompted a formal protest from Beijing. China has also publicly chastised Singapore for a perceived alignment with the US against its actions in the South China Sea, with the American Navy using the island-state as a launch point for patrols of the strategic Malacca
Strait. Singapore is not a claimant in the South China Sea.
‘Loose grouping’
“Increasingly, it doesn’t make sense to talk of Asean as a strategic bloc,” Skilling said. “Asean is increasingly more a loose grouping of colocated countries,” creating a problem for nations like Singapore, which might wish to use Asean as a strategic counterweight, because “it is the bilateral relationship with China that matters.” Singapore’s foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the country’s relationships with China and Asean. While Trump has promised to preserve the US military presence in the western Pacific, his actions on trade have caused disquiet among some Asean members. Trump withdrew the US from a
12-nation Pacific trade pact, and put countries including Thailand and Indonesia on a trade watch list. That indicates a change in the sentiment on display in February last year when Obama became the first president to host the Asean leaders in the US. “The uncertainty of US policy only undermines the US in the region and Trump’s transactional approach to diplomacy is not going to jive well with Asean,” said Blake Berger, a research associate at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
Trump question
While Trump is scheduled to attend an Asean summit in Manila in November, Berger said, unless the US leader moderates his approach, “it’s only going to push the Southeast Asian countries toward China.”
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With the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forecasting growth of 4.9 percent across Asean this year, from 4.8 percent last year, and average yearly growth of 5.1 percent through to 2021, former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert said Asean leaders still see the benefits of economic integration. Albert said the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a proposed trade deal between Asean and neighbors including China, India and Australia, had a good chance of succeeding. “If you look at the growing trade and investments coming back and forth among the Asean countries and China, it has become a major player and a partner for Asean countries, so that strengthens the future for Asean,” he said. Bloomberg News
Men who make TV commercials, movies and vice versa Continued from a1
Soriano was part of Brocka’s behind-the-scenes team in making Angela Markado, Kapit sa Patalim, Bayan Ko and PX, all internationally acclaimed films (the last two were shown in Cannes and Manila International Film festivals, respectively). Soriano would also shine on his own, directing memorable tv commercials. Some of them were for Palmolive (“I Can Feel It” with Alice Dixson, Sarsi (“AngatSa Iba”), Magnolia Cheezee (“UmiSpread Ang Sarap”) and did around 490 more, a conservative estimate over a 25-year career. Fast forward, his son Paul would also venture into filmmaking and tv commercial directing. To date, the younger Soriano has done almost 60 tv commercials, even surpassing what his father had accomplished by winning Best Director and Best Screenplay awards in the Film Academy Awards of the Philippines (FAP) in 2012. During a one-on-one interview, Soriano emphasized his mantra in doing a material. “The story has to be told well, because, for me, the story is king and has to be executed correctly.” Soriano is a stickler for discipline, a great communicator with a creative mind-set for a good script and dramatic images. “I marry a narrative with a visual style that evokes drama. I want people to be affected and watch what I create.” “A great movie for me is when it moves and challenges me, even my opinion,” Soriano said. “A great film is something you’d want to watch over and over again. It has great writing, appropriate editing, and created by the director from a different perspective. A great tv ad for me is when it resonates with me, drives me to crave for it, allowing me to make a purchase,” he said. Lino Brocka inspired Soriano for his focus on delivering a movie with great storytelling. He respects Lav Diaz, director of 2016 Venice Film Festival Best Picture Ang Babaing Humayo, among a new generation of Filipino filmmakers. Having been his mentor, he is immensely grateful for the maverick director whom he also calls a “brother”. Diaz’s “don’t-takelife-seriously” philosophy in life has also made an impact on Soriano. He is someone who is like a kid on the set but man enough to deliver the goods. At the FAP, Soriano won a Best Screenplay award for Thelma and made the win more emphatic by bagging the most coveted— the Best Director prize for the same film. “It is my dream to be a director, and winning would inspire me more in my craft,” he said on accepting his trophy. The best is yet to come for Philippine cinema, Soriano said. He romanticizes watching a great film, whether local or foreign made, in a theater. “There’s nothing quite like
the experience, with you eating popcorn, together with the rest of 400 people or so watching. Cinema is the king of projection. I don’t want theater to die,” he said. On the creative process, Soriano wishes for more professional people on the set. “Art is defining a culture, and art is still discipline. I bring that to my shoot. People should respect the creation of the film and not underestimate preproduction preparation. It is a disservice to the art if you are not committed to it,” he said. His parting words for new directors: “Know the language of the film.” New generation of Filipino filmmakers We also interviewed a new generation of Filipino tv commercial directors to give you valuable insights and learning experience from Jessel Monteverde (Shake, Rattle and Roll and award-winning Indie films); Nick Santiago (former copywriter and studied at State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick); Yeyey Yatco (multiawarded and former multinational ad agency art director); and Torts Villacorta (graduate of communication arts with strong emphasis on film, technical expertise on food cinematography and mastery of the narrative). Here are their thoughts: What is a good tv commercial to you? Jessel Monteverde: A good TV commercial provides a clear message for the promotion of product/service/brand. It reaches the maximum number of a specific target audience and rises above the clutter of ads. A great TV commercial offers the viewer some other value over and above just the promotion of the product/ service/brand. Nick Santiago: Before, a good TVC was one that people remember and talk about. Now it has to be one people can share. Yeyey Yatco: Aside from having excellent and well-planned production values, a good TV commercial is one that touches its target market one way or another. It should be able to elicit some kind of connection that would prompt the viewer to say, “ako ’yun ah!” With this, the product the ad is selling would create a strong bond with its consumer. Torts Villacorta: A good commercial should communicate well with its intended audience and sell a product. What is your creative philosophy when making an ad? Monteverde: Art and commerce must coexist. We are not strictly creating works of art here. The TV ad has a very specific purpose, and one must be mindful of that purpose. Santiago: My personal creative philosophy in making an ad is to make it not seem like an ad. Yatco: To be able to clearly send the ad’s message across. A director should be able to do this with the smallest or biggest of budgets.
How do you keep yourself updated with global trends in filmmaking? Monteverde: I keep an eye out on movies, videos and technology online. Santiago: I keep myself updated by constantly watching, reading and listening to content. Creativity is derived from a new combination of past experiences. Yatco: Right now, being connected makes it easy to research and see what is new and trending in terms of filmmaking. Subscribing to industry publications online or print is a big help also. I also watch a lot of films, TV shows and even other TVCs to keep me updated. Another important aspect of my being updated is reaching out to different kinds of people—students of various levels, workers, executives, etc. This just gives me different perspectives on how these types of people view different things. Villacorta: Aside from the usual online search engines and online video repositories, I try to watch as many film director interviews, new behind-the-scenes documentaries, and production technology advancements as I can. Describe yourself when making a production. Who are you on the set? Monteverde: I am the captain of the ship. If I take too long in the bathroom, the ship won’t move. I am a collaborator. I take input from all sides. One person can’t possibly have all the best ideas. Santiago: On the set, I try to be an inspirational leader. I try to get everyone to perform to the best of their ability so we can have the best output. Yatco: I try to be everybody’s friend on the set. I like my set to be as light as possible. I am everybody’s friend, but that doesn’t mean that anybody can fool around. If you are on my set, I expect you to do your job efficiently. As much as possible, all concerns have been addressed during the preproduction stage of the project at hand. Villacorta: I consider myself a perfectionist. I’m extremely obsessive during the shoot, which I think is an actual understatement. You can ask my team. They know me best. Everything should run as smooth as possible but without being inflexible. It’s collaboration, after all. Would you accept a project that would compromise your image/status or you’d take it as a challenge? Monteverde: No. Reputation, once tarnished, is a very difficult thing to restore. Santiago: Of course, I would take it and try to make it the best it could possibly be. Yatco: I take all projects as a challenge. There is no small project. To me all projects should be treated with utmost respect, which means 100-percent attention from the staff and me. Villacorta: I consider each project as a challenge.
Advertisers or ad agencies at some point would clash because of creative interpretation or ego. What do you do to avoid conflicts and maintain good relations with them? Monteverde: I try to think of solutions that maintain creativity while at the same time meeting the advertising objectives. Santiago: By remembering that in the end, it’s just an ad. No one is going to die over it. You win some, you lose some. Yatco: My thinking is that once a project is handed to a director, client and agency should have agreed on every point of the storyboard/ TV commercial. But, yes, this doesn’t always happen. When it doesn’t, the director should be able to point out where the conflict arises and try to show and explain to both client and agency how the concerns could be addressed. It is also important to know when a director should come in. The director should be able to discern if the concern is strategic or creative in nature. It is also important to know the proper channels or protocols on how to discuss concerns. Oh, and this should be discussed, as much as possible, during the feasibility and preproduction meetings. That is why I believe that the preproduction agreement document is my friend. Everybody can just refer to it during the principal photography. How did you get into the field of production? Monteverde: After deciding not to go to medical school, I spent a summer watching Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith films. I then realized that there is a career in directing. Santiago: I entered production after first starting out in advertising as a creative and realizing that TV commercials were my favorite part of my job. Yatco: I was an art director with McCann Erickson under the Coke group. We were involved in a lot of TV productions and I was fortunate to have worked with different directors. The production process fascinated me. I was awed with how everything comes together. During my stint as an art director, I got close with Matthew Rosen, a British director based here in Manila under Unitel Productions. He saw my interest in filmmaking and he offered me a job as his assistant/ apprentice. I accepted it and, eventually, got to work with the different directors of Unitel at that time, like Jun Reyes, Dindo Angeles, Sockie Fernandez and, of course, Matthew Rosen. Villacorta: I think my turning point was when Mon and Abby of JimenezBasic encouraged me to make the jump from producing to directing. Henry Frejas was also instrumental in that decision. Who influenced you much and gave you a break in directing? Monteverde: My influences
come from many famous filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, AngLee, Wong Kar Wai, etc. My big breaks into a directing career came from my cousin Dondon Monteverde, Ross Misa and Mari Buencamino. Santiago: I was influenced by my older brother, Luigi, himself a director. AF Benaza gave me my break by taking a chance on a know-it-all kid. Yatco: Tony Gloria, who gave me a chance to be able to work with the best directors up close and personal. Luigi Tabuena, who kept on insisting that I try out directing when I was still with McCann. He eventually hired me to join the director pool of Production Village. Ross Misa and Mari Buencamino, who, from the start, were always behind me in my career as a director. What is your dream project? Monteverde: Anything that I personally would like to watch and would be entertaining to others. Santiago: My dream project is an adidas commercial starring Daft Punk and Girls Generation. Yatco: In terms of filmmaking in general? I’d love to do a prequel, remake or sequel to the Mike de Leon classic, Batch 81. Villacorta: A narrative that’s purely storytelling. Does one limit his creativity because of budget? Monteverde: Yes. Budget allows you to broaden the scope of creativity. However, this doesn’t mean that a low-budget project can’t be creative. Santiago: Lack of budget makes one become more creative. Yatco: During Just Add Water’s talk in Abracadabra, Jem Lim made us realize this: In terms of a production, she looks at three things and makes client and agency this reality: Great. Fast. Cheap. You can’t have all three in one project. You can only have two. My take is that one should realize or know how much his budget is and work from there. A classic example is a Vulcaseal commercial shot in the 1980s. It was just a shot of dripping water to a pail inside a house while it was raining hard outside. The dripping stops and tag line comes in, “Tapal Vulcaseal!” One setup and one shot was all it took. This ad brought home lots of awards. What is your favorite Filipino or foreign tv commercial that you wish you did? Monteverde: Too many to list, mostly foreign commercials. Santiago: Adidas’s “Hello Tomorrow” by Spike Jonze. Yatco: I am a romantic at heart. Locally, I would have wanted to do any of the recent digital ads of Jollibee. I wish to be able to do something like that. There was a student spec ad for Johnnie Walker that came out a few years ago. I would also love to do something like this. Even Filipinize it! If you have a power to change
something in the way we do things, what would it be? Monteverde: We need to figure out this paradigm shift from TV to online advertising. Somehow because of the low cost of online advertising, it has been equated with lower-cost-to-produce materials. This needs to be seriously discussed because people are dying from being overworked trying to fit projects into small budgets. Santiago: I would make sure that others would think of others first before they acted. Yatco: That is for everyone to be paid fairly and on time. We are directors and we have the privilege of being paid well and on time. My heart bleeds for the staff and crew who have to wait to be paid for a long time. Things you want to see happening in the Filipino production industry today. Monteverde: We need more formal education in filmmaking. We don’t have dedicated degrees in directing, producing, screenwriting, etc. Many learn in a trial-by-fire manner. Many rise through internships and OJT training. Those are fine but would be even better if supported by formal education. Santiago: I would like to see projects take more risks, rather than walk the beaten, proven path. I want the Philippines to do creative that’s not just fresh for this country, but fresh to the world. Yatco: Professionalize everything. It would help a lot if production houses can educate the staff and crew with the basics of production. This way everyone would feel dignified and respected with his/her job. Brag a little, things you have done in the last three years, that you are most proud of, school or career specialization you attended, etc. Monteverde: I have discovered the power of networking. You can be the greatest filmmaker in the world, but if no one knows who you are, you won’t get much work. I learned of this power after being invited as a speaker for a couple of forums on filmmaking. I met like-minded individuals who are open to mutualistic relationships and career building. Santiago: I had my first son. Yatco: I am proud to say that I can give back already. I do this by giving talks on filmmaking to high-school and college students. Ateneo de Manila University, my alma mater, for senior high-school students as a career talk and the College of Communications and CoSA as a career path. University of the Philippines, my other alma mater, wherein I have given talks and have held workshops on filmmaking in the College of Mass Communication and the College of Business Administration. Miriam College, where I have given similar talks and workshops mentioned above during their MassCom week for several years already. I also have done two short films for a foundation that advocates reading. I am always here ready to help.
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Economists optimistic on BOP recovery
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By Bianca Cuaresma
he country’s balance of payments (BOP) position— or the country’s summary of transactions with the rest of the world—has been dwindling down the deficit territory in the first quarter of the year, but economists are not worried as they forecast a recovery on the country’s external position in the latter part of the year. Earlier this month the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the country’s transactions with the rest of the world continued to bleed dollars at the end of the year’s first quarter, posting nearly a billion dollars in deficit at the end of March. Data from the Central Bank released on Wednesday showed the country’s BOP hit a total deficit of $994 million in the first three months of 2017. This commenced as March’s dollar deficit alone hit $550 million, higher than the previous month’s $436 million and reversing the previous year’s $854 million in surplus. The quarter’s $994-million
$994M
The country’s total balance of payment deficit in the first three months of the year, BSP data show
deficit is worse than the end-year deficit in 2016 of $420 million and the $210-million deficit in the first quarter of 2016.
‘Mild’
For 2017, the government forecasts the BoP to hit $ 1 billion in surplus at the end of the year. This,
DOST-PCIEERD and CoMP R&D PARTNERSHIP The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) and the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CoMP) recently signed a memorandum of agreement in Makati City to engage in joint research and development projects that would develop a responsible mining industry that will efficiently harness the country’s estimated $1.4 trillion in mineral reserves. In photo are (seated, from left) DOST-PCIEERD Deputy Executive Engr. Raul C. Sabularse, DOSTPCIEERD Executive Director and Stratbase ADR Institute trustee C.P. David, CoMP President Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez, CoMP EVP Nelia Halcon; (standing, from left) Maria Elena A. Talingdan and Engr. Niñaliza H. Escorial of DOST-PCIEERD, Philippine Business and Environmental Stewardship Secretary-General and Stratbase ADRI fellow Lysander Castillo, Atlas Mining President Adrian Ramos and CTP Construction President/CEO Clarence Pimentel of the CoMP board of directors.
however, is still subject for deliberation and revision from the country’s economic managers—results of which will be announced in the first half of the year. Last year’s BOP position was also a disappointment from the $500 -mi l lion sur plus projection of the government at the end of 2016. This projection was already lowered from the earlier estimated $2-billion surplus for the year. ING Bank Manila economist Joey Cuyegkeng said he sees 2017 to be another year of deficit for the country’s BoP, but the deficit is likely to be “mild”. Cuyegkeng said this is as exports are expected to continue its recovery, with an average growth of 6 percent to 7 percent, while import growth slows to 8 percent to 10 percent from around 16 percent in 2016. “Two years of strong growth, especially for capital equipment, would likely see some moderation. The strong domestic demanddr iven grow th wou ld remain dominant and keep the trade account in deficit. The combination of export rebound and more moderate import growth would likely moderate the deterioration of the trade deficit to below $40 billion,” Cuygekeng told the BusinessMirror in response to a query. “OFW [overseas Filipino workers] remittances and outsourcing revenues would likely post a cumulative growth of 7 percent to
8 percent, from 2016 estimated growth of 8 percent. These should bring the current account to a mild surplus—near balance—equivalent to 0.2 percent of GDP [gross domestic product],” he added. Latest data on remittances showed slower growth remittances in February this year, hitting a 3.4-percent growth, from the 8.6-percent growth in the previous month and the 8.4 percent in the previous year. Total remittances for the month hit $2.2 billion. Remittances—one of the pillars of the country’s BoP, as well as local domestic consumption— have been a point of concern among experts as of late, due largely to the emerging protectionist policies across the world, especially in immigration rules in the United States.
Counterweight
But BSP Deputy Governor for the Monetary Stability Sector Diwa C. Guinigundo said potential losses in demand of Filipino skilled workers will be compensated by demand for jobs elsewhere in the world. “W hat we got from the trip of the President in the Middle East is the continuing demand for OFWs there. If ever there’s going to be some negative consequence of more inward-looking policies in the US, the prospects in the Middle East could provide some counter weight and that
will provide additional resiliency to OFW remittances, which is one of the pillars of the current account,” Guinigundo said in a recent interview. Another local analyst said the BoP position will likely recover through push in the country’s financial account. “Funding for projects are seen to come in for big-ticket items of the government, while portfolio flows may return as the Philippine economy continues to offer a decent investment destination given the solid growth numbers,” the economist said.
Twin deficit
With the decline in the BoP’s position as seen largely its current account—the core component of the BoP—heightened concerns on a potential twin deficit have risen in recent months. A twin deficit occurs in an e conomy w it h b ot h a f i sc a l deficit and a current-account deficit, usually indicative of the economy’s health. “A worst-case scenario entai ls a sustained cur rent-account deficit at a high level or increasing amount coupled with a rising fiscal deficit chronically above 4 percent would raise concerns and even see a creditrating downgrade initially an outlook downgrade. Absence of corrective measures would result to an outright downgrade. A high twin deficit for a few
years and absence of corrective measures is not our base case,” Cuyegkeng added. “Our base case is a near balance current account, while the fiscal deficit is contained at 3 percent of GDP on average. This combination would unlikely warrant concerns, especially since the current-account stress is due to expansion of absorptive capacity of the economy,” he added. A nother local analyst said although the swing into twin deficit would seem alarming for some, the fact that the deficits are on the back of a stark increase in investments (capital importation that helps bloat the trade deficit) and the pace of national government expenditure on infrastructure will bode well for the economy. “Ratings agencies have noted that although the deficits would tend to be credit-negative, as long as these dips into the red are manageable and for the purpose of expansion and increased efficiency, the overall effect would be credit-rating neutral. If investors can see through the deficits as a temporary dip to finance projects that boost potential, investor sentiment may actually improve,” the analyst said. “On the flip side, if the deficits get out of hand and spiral to less desirable levels, higher yields and a weaker peso may be the red flags that can trigger a review of our credit rating,” the analyst added.
Aviareps positioning Capitol Hotel Tokyu as hotel of choice for Filipinos in Japan
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ith Japan’s increasing popularity as a tourism destination among Filipinos, Aviareps Philippines is making a push for The Capitol Hotel Tokyu to become a preferred accommodation during their stay in the country. Aviareps Philippines Director Jean Lugan said the hotel, a prime property they are handling in Japan, is an ideal place to stay for Filipinos because of its location. “It is in the heart of Tokyo’s metropolis and next to the Japanese Prime Minister’s Official Residence. It is an ideal place for Filipinos traveling on business or leisure. We are making a renewed push in several key international markets and the Philippines is very high on Aviareps radar,” Lugan said. Last year the Japan National Tourism Organization noted a 30-percent increase in arrivals from the Philippines as compared to 2015 with close to 350,000 Filipinos visiting their country. Since Japan relaxed visa requirements for Filipinos in 2014, there has been an annual steady increase in Filipino tourists to Japan. The Capitol Hotel Tokyu Assistant General Manager Munenori Yamazaki noted that Filipinos traveling to Japan are looking for the quintessential Japanese experience that evokes and pays homage to Japan’s unique culture and past, while providing for the needs of modern urban lifestyles. “The Capitol Hotel Tokyu provides this, along with exceptional hospitality and service that is Japanese at heart, but expressed within an international flair. As such, we are proactively reaching out to Filipino travel professionals to partner with us to promote these unique experiences to their clientele,” Yamazaki said. He added, “Many of our guests from the Philippines are currently traveling for leisure. However, we would like to reach out to more Filipino business travelers, who we believe would appreciate our refined hospitality, aesthetic and sensibility.” Lugan said The Capital Hotel Tokyu is currently looking at the Philippines as a niche and developing market, which it expects to grow at a fast pace over the next two years. “The Capital Hotel Tokyu is projecting the Philippines to be one of its most important markets, not just in the Asian region but globally,” Lugan said. The Capital Hotel Tokyu has 251 rooms, including 13 suites that are designed in a sophisticated contemporary Japanese style with each featuring traditional interior elements of shoji (paper screens) and expansive 6-meter windows. For the ultimate in solitude, four exclusive suites on the fifth floor overlook tranquil landscaped gardens and the historic Hie shrine. In addition, the hotel offers exclusive butler service tailored to each guest’s demands. Aviareps, which started its Philippine operations last year, is the world’s leading airline and tourismmanagement company. It handles over 90 airlines and more than 90 tourism clients.
Sports BusinessMirror
Editor: Jun Lomibao | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph
Saturday, April 29, 2017
LEBRON SHOWS NO SIGN OF AGING
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MEMBERS of a Saudi female soccer team practice at a secret location in Riyadh in 2012. AP
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NDEPENDENCE, Ohio—Except for his backpedaling hairline, LeBron James shows no visible signs of age. At 32, still in his prime, and still at the top of his game, he’s defying time. “Benjamin Button,” Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue called him, referring to the fictional character who ages backward. LeBenjamin? Following a regular season in which he averaged more minutes per game (37.8) than any player, James logged 43.7 per game during Cleveland’s tougher-than-it-looked sweep over the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. And as James and the defending champions await either Toronto or Milwaukee in the second round, James is taking advantage of the down time. Not that he might need it. Lue spent much of the season defending his use of James, who in all honesty is really the one in control of when he sits or doesn’t. At this point, Lue has given up worrying about resting the superstar. “I don’t understand why people make a big deal out of his minutes,” Lue said on Wednesday. “He had a week off before the series started. We won four straight games and then he had a week off again. So next he might play 48 minutes.... Bron today just said he feels worse when he doesn’t play.” James wasn’t available for interviews as the team gathered for the first time in two days at Cleveland Clinic Courts, and it’s likely that he won’t speak to the media until the Cavs have a second-round opponent. But as has been the case for months, James’s playing time was one of the prime topics presented to Lue, who believes that the four-time Most Valuable Player’s heavy workload during the regular season is what enables him to play at such high levels in the postseason. Consider that James averaged 32.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and nine assists, shot 54 percent from the field, went nine of 20 on three-pointers and led the Cavaliers to the biggest second-half comeback in league history during the series against Indiana, and it’s easy to see why Lue wants to move past the minutes chatter. “With him playing the minutes he played during the course of the regular season, it has helped him in the playoffs,” Lue said. “Now he is able to play those 42, 43 minutes. Because he’s used to it. His body can take it, so, I’m not worried about what outside people say.” Unlike the regular season, when brutal travel schedules, back-to-backs and stretches of three games in four nights can wear players down, the postseason allows for recovery. Lue also thinks too many teams are allowing outside pressures to influence how they use players. “Teams are suffering,” he said, “because they listen to what the media is saying about guys playing minutes” and “some teams should play some guys more minutes, and it would’ve been different [playoff] series.” James has ramped up his minutes nearly every postseason. Now in his 12th playoffs, he averaged 39.1 minutes last year and has only twice averaged less than 40 per game. Lue trusts that the threetime champion knows how far to push himself without reaching his breaking point. “He knows his body better than anyone,” Lue said. “He said he feels great and he feels worse when he doesn’t play, so we’ll see how that works out.” As for the rest of the Cavaliers, Wednesday included some competition in the team’s weight room on an aerobic conditioning machine while the team’s in-house DJ from Quicken Loans Arena spun music. After the vigorous workouts, yoga mats were dragged onto the court and the facility’s lights were dimmed for some stretching and decompression. Namaste, NBA-style. The Cavs had a similar, one-week break between the first and second rounds last season. Kyrie Irving said it’s imperative to make the most of it. “The mental preparation and physical preparation starts now and hasn’t stopped,” he said. “Took a brief day off or two and now just get back to work and get ready for whichever team we’re getting ready for. The work never stops.” AP
Cebu’s Suson bags 2 crowns in Leyte
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By Aya Batrawy The Associated Press
UBAI, United Arab Emirates—A proposal to establish sports education colleges for Saudi women failed to win enough votes in the kingdom’s top advisory body, a council member who drafted the plan said on Wednesday. The proposal needed 76 out of 150 votes in the Shura Council, but fell three votes short. It called for the establishment of colleges that would train Saudi women in how to teach fitness and well-being. Lina Almaeena, who is one of three council members that submitted the proposal, said 57 members voted against the measure, with the rest abstaining. Some of the kingdom’s ultraconservatives shun the concept of women’s exercise as “immodest” and say it blurs gender lines. “Obviously there are people who have different schools of thoughts. I don’t know what the rationale exactly is,” Almaeena told the Associated Press a day after LEBRON JAMES’S heavy workload during the regular season is what enables him to play at such high levels in the postseason. AP
the proposal failed to pass. She has long been an advocate for women’s access to sports and founded Jeddah United in 2006, the first sports club in Saudi Arabia to include women. Physical education is still not on the curriculum for Saudi girls in public schools, though some private schools offer physical-education classes and sports to female students. There are also plans to license dozens of female-only gyms. The kingdom discourages unrelated men and women from mixing and women cannot openly exercise in public. Despite lingering attitudes against women’s participation in sports, the kingdom sent women to participate in the Olympic Games twice, doubling its female contingency to four in the 2016 Rio games. Almaeena said she expected the proposal to have greater backing by Shura Council members because it supports the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan, which is a blueprint for a wide-reaching government overhaul to develop the society and the economy. It was introduced under King Salman by his son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Vision 2030 specifically calls for encouraging the participation of all citizens in sports and
athletic activities. It says currently 13 percent of the Saudi population exercises once a week. The government aims to bump that up to 40 percent and raise life expectancy from 74 years to 80 years. Almaeena said that in order to improve women’s health and participation in sports, there have to be women who can teach young girls about fitness and well-being. Saudi women who want to study sports medicine or physical education at the university level have to study abroad. The country’s General Sports Authority offers certificates in some courses. Though the college proposal failed to garner enough votes in the Shura Council, Almaeena said strides have been made in recent years. Women were first appointed to the Shura Council in 2013 by the late King Abdullah as part of a wider effort to gradually improve women’s rights. The Shura Council does not have authority to pass legislation, but its proposals can become law with the backing of the Cabinet and the monarch. Almaeena said the Ministry of Education can still choose to adopt the proposal. “I’m very optimistic because there is a new vision...but of course I would have wished it would have passed,” she said.
Rockets owner Alexander fined $100,000
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EW YORK—Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander has been fined $100,000 by the National Basketball Association (NBA) for confronting a referee during live game action. Byron Spruell, the NBA’s president of league operations, announced Alexander’s fine on Wednesday. The incident occurred on Tuesday in the final minute
of the first quarter during the Rockets’ 105-99 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Alexander got up out of his courtside seat and walked toward Bill Kennedy. Alexander then says something to Kennedy before turning around and heading back to his seat. The Rockets eliminated the Thunder in five games and will face either the San Antonio Spurs or Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals. AP
EBU City’s Marc Nicole Suson continued his winning ways in the recent Baybay City leg of the Cebuana Lhuillier Age Group Tennis Championship Series with Leyte’s pride Anica Giorgia Cari sharing the limelight. Suson who beat Stephen Zion Guia in the 16-under final, 6-1, 6-0, and annexed the 18-under crown at the expense of the same opponent also with the same score, emerged as the one of the most successful players in the tournament backed by Dunlop. Cari disposed of another local bet, Mariniel Gorgonio, 7-5, 6-0 in the 16-under championship and 6-1, 6-0 in the 18-under final to also win two crowns. “Suson is playing consistently at a high level and it will be sooner than later that he makes his mark at the national level,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, president and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier. Zamboanga del Norte’s Aaron Jacque Geromo won the boys’ 14-under title after defeating Ozamiz City’s Ashton Benne Villanueva, 6-3, 7-5, while Leyte’s Sal Andrie Eugenio topped the 12-under class after downing Maasin’s Ruzzel bert Manlimos, 6-2, 6-1. Baybay City’s Manuel Jocson blanked Ormoc City’s Benedicto Lambonao, 6-0, 6-0, to capture the 10-under crown. Selena Monique Olo of Sogod, Leyte, defeated Aliyah Bandalan, 7-6, 9-7, 6-3, to capture the 14-under tiara and another Baybay City player, Aeesha Bandalan, copped the 12-under title at the expense of Sogod’s Neous Elna Beronio, 7-5, 1-6, 10-8. Aeesha and Aliyah Bandalan teamed up to win the girls’ 16-under doubles crown, beating Beronio and Olo, 8-7, and Cari partnered with Ma. Melrose Duran in defeating Giorgonio and Katrina Lufranco, 8-5, in the 15-under championship. Johwee Sam Bernales and Paulo Loreto edged Jules Cari and Joshua Ramon Torres, 8-6, to rule the boys’ 18-under doubles final and JM Basala and Franco Nero Nunez posted an 8-6 win over Villanueva and Geromo for the 14-under title.
Snow cuts short race’s first stage
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HAMPERY, Switzerland—Falling snow and cold temperatures have brought the Tour de Romandie down from a mountain start and shortened. Organizers say the decision was taken to “protect the peleton from unnecessary risks.” Thursday’s stage will now start from Aigle rather than the Champery ski station where Wednesday’s stage finished in rain and light fog. Organizers say the rest of the route will stay the same, making a 136.5-kilometer (85-mile) stage instead of 161 kilometers. Fabio Felline of Italy leads the six-day race, which finishes on Sunday. Two-time Romandie champion Chris Froome of Britain is 29 seconds behind, in 39th place, in a key preparation to defend his Tour de France title. AP
SPOUSES GOLF CHAMP Businessman Robert
Reyes wins low net honors at the Metro Manila Mayors’ Spouses Foundation Inc. (MMMSFI) tournament held recently at the Tagaytay Midlands Golf and Country Club in Tagaytay City. Awarding the trophy and cash prize are MMMSFI President Janet Olivarez (third from right), treasurer Edna Calixto and Vice President Melissa Sison Oreta; event organizer Dan Salvador; Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez (right); and Parañaque Rep. Eric Olivarez (left). Allan Alegre rules the low gross category, while businessman Miguel Perlas wins the Texas Eagle golf cart during the raffle draw.
Olympian brings advocacy to UN
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ENEVA—The UN refugee agency has chosen as a goodwill ambassador a Syrian teenage girl who helped save a boat carrying fellow refugees and later became an Olympic swimmer. Yusra Mardini was appointed as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador on Thursday, joining other notables like actress Cate Blanchett and author Khaled Hosseini in the unpaid advocacy role. UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said Mardini “represents the hopes, the fears and the incredible potential of the more than 10 million young refugees around the globe.” Mardini and her sister Sarah jumped overboard and swam for hours alongside their overloaded boat to reach Greece from Turkey in 2015. She swam on the first Refugee Olympic team in Rio last year and has discussed refugees’ challenges with leaders like Pope Francis and President Barack Obama. AP
Asian soccer body charges Evergrande
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UALA LUMPUR—Two-time Asian Champions League winner Guangzhou Evergrande has been charged by the sport’s continental governing body after supporters unfurled an offensive banner aimed at a Hong Kong opponent this week. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) says it opened disciplinary cases against the Chinese club—Asia’s champion in 2013 and 2015—Kawasaki Frontale of Japan and Nejmeh of Lebanon for discrimination incidents this month.
Guangzhou Evergrande held up an anti-British, anti-Hong Kong independence banner during a 6-0 win over Eastern on Tuesday. Hong Kong was a British colony returned to Chinese rule 20 years ago. Kawasaki Frontale was charged for “a similar offence of discrimination” during a Champions League game against Suwon Samsung Bluewings in South Korea. Nejmeh was charged following incidents at an AFC Cup home game against Al Wehdat of Jordan. AP
A6 Saturday, April 29, 2017 | Editor: Mike Besa
The 16th at Calatagan Golf Club is a picture-perfect par 3
Calatagan Golf Club S
Story & photos by Mike Besa
ummer in the Philippines is the time to go on vacation. As a young adult, going to the beach in the Matabunkay/Nasugbu stretch in Batangas was a favorite destination for us. It was relatively close to the city and the black-sanded beaches presented a chance to kick back and enjoy the company of friends and family. Today, several decades hence, I still make the long drive to this part of the Batangas coast on a regular basis but it is no longer the beach that beckons. Instead, it is the sleepy town of Calatagan and the magnificent golf course that was built there. Calatagan Golf Club was built by Don Enrique Zobel and Robert Trent Jones Jr. about the same time as the Alabang Country Club. Calatagan is blessed with hilly topography and an abundance of trees; indeed, the course seems to have been carved out of a forest. The magnificent clubhouse sits on top of a hill, adjacent to the vast Zobel ranch, Hacienda Biga-a, with the course cascading down and around the hill and back up again. This topography allowed Jones to design some truly dramatic tee shots; many (myself included) feel this is his best work in the country to date. Don Enrique enhanced Jones’s handiwork by planting a variety of flowering trees and shrubs throughout the property; African tulips, kalachuchi, bougainvillea and golden shower dot the property. The drive up to the clubhouse is generally unpaved and lined with gnarled kalachuchi trees and adds to the provincial feel of the property. Not quite the drive up Magnolia Lane at Augusta National, but it is not without its charm. The clubhouse is expansive with a large Veranda that makes the most of the stunning landscape. I’ve been coming here for golf for almost two decades and there’s just something about this place that transforms me and makes all stress just melt away. It feels like home. Since the golf course was built in the 1980s, Calatagan isn’t your all-weather course with imported turf grass. The fairways are carabao grass, while the greens are covered with zoysia matrella, both of which are species endemic to the Philippines. Not entirely a bad thing, especially since it’s usually in excellent condition. Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s famed East Course is planted with these grasses and we all know how well that course plays. At Calatagan the fairways are generally firm and the greens fast. I daresay that most will
The beautiful clubhouse at Calatagan Golf Club
The lake fronting the 8th and 11th holes at Calatagan Golf Club
be surprised at just how fast the greens roll, particularly in the summer. The topography and other limitations that the property imposed on Jones Jr. conspire to make this the most unique of his golf courses in the Philippines. Save for the tree in the middle of the fourth fairway, you won’t find any of his usual themes here. Although Calatagan does favor a fade, you be asked to draw the golf ball to find the choicest positions from which to attack certain greens. Variety is something Calatagan Golf Course has in spades. This is a hilly golf course—one that provides endless variety
of shot both off the tee and into the green. None of the holes look or play the same way. The greens are small thus putting a premium on ball-striking. The bunkers are generally firm but play consistently, making recovery from them straightforward. Measuring just 6,799-yards from the tips and a friendlier 6,374-yards from the members’ tees, Calatagan is a shotmaker’s course; a balanced mix that will entertain, challenge and, yes, punish you it you stray from its tree lined fairways. The root buttresses of the some of the larger varieties result in very penal lies; consider your options carefully when you find yourself among them.
The most interesting holes at Calatagan are the par 4s. They are a mix of very short and moderately long holes but because of the trees, elevation changes and firm, fast fairways, they play much harder than the length of the hole lets on. Good shots are rewarded, bad ones severely punished. Just the way it should be. Favorites? It’s so tough to choose between them. Three, four, seven and nine on the front and the last seven holes on the back are the holes that seem to best characterize this golf course. They work so well together in sequence; making different demands of you from the tee. These are beautiful driving holes and will demand every bit
of your skill to play properly. The holes flow so well one after the other as you traverse the course. You’ll see it all here; elevated tee shots, elevated greens and everything in between. A high draw off the tee is a definite advantage on some of the shorter holes as you’ll get a chance to cut corners. Most will need to play away from the doglegs to get a good line into the green. You might find yourself stymied if you find the wrong side of the fairway. Calatagan’s one flaw is that it’s located a good 120-kilometers south of the Metro. Most won’t drive all that way just for golf but this means that those that do will be blessed
with having the fairway mostly to yourself. Sure, you’ll see a few other golfers at the clubhouse but once on the course, you’ll have it all to yourself. It is the intangibles that define Calatagan. The ambience is something that you can’t buy or build. It’s something that developed over time. It takes you back to the grand era of the course’s birth and shows you what golf was in that golden age. Calatagan Golf Club connects with you on a gut-level in a way that you never fully understand. It draws you in with its beauty and seduces you with the golf. It is something that must be experienced to be fully appreciated.
www.pinoygolfer.com
Stilts Calatagan
Cortijo del Charro
Cortijo del Charro is an ever-so-charming B&B owned and operated by Ricky Yabut. Its name means “house of the horseman,” appropriate since Ricky is a retired professional polo player-turned-artist. The four-room structure sits on top of a hill overlooking the Batangas and Manila Bays with Mindoro in the distance beyond. The house, his former residence, is completely of Yabut’s design and, by his account, evolved over the years as his needs did. The result is fabulous. His choice of color and motif, the variety and placement of the décor, the painted, floors and accents that adorn the walls, posts and railings are sublime. The house is a feast for the eyes. The accommodations are simple but elegant. You could spend all day in the king-sized beds but that would be a waste of your time here. Food is home-cooked Filipino fare but is so good and lovingly prepared. Since there are only four rooms, you can organize a couple of flights or bring your significant others and Cortijo del Charro becomes your home away from home in Calatagan. Rates are P5,000 (including breakfast for two) for the smaller rooms and P7,000 for the master’s bedroom. You can find Cortijo del Charro on Facebook or you can call Jen at 0935-4419240.
Stilts Calatagan
Set on 24 hectares of rolling hills and white-sand beaches, Stilts
offers a range of options for even the largest of groups. Stilts’s comfortable accommodations that come in a range of sizes and layouts designed for different groups. Indulge in a massage, take the ATVs for a spin with friends, go fishing with that special someone, play a friendly round of volleyball, or just relax. Their most interesting of the accommodations are the floating cottages, which sit on stilts over the water. The experience here is serene, as the sound of the tide is the soundtrack of your stay. These come in three sizes and will handle from three to 20 people. There are other accommodations each with its own charm; the beach cottages and the treehouses being the most intriguing. Stilts is roughly 12 kilometers from the golf club or roughly 20 minutes in normal traffic conditions. Room rates start at around P6,000 for two people, including breakfast and go up from there depending on how many are in your party. For more information, their web site is www. stiltscalataganbeachresort.net/.
Cortijo del Charro
Coral Beach Club
Located in the resort town of Matabunkay Beach just outside of the Calatagan town limits, Coral Beach Club has been around for a while now but continues to offer good accommodations at attractive prices. Coral Beach Club features a well-stocked bar that offers Continental and Asian cuisine in large portions at great values to weary travelers. Their 24 air-conditioned rooms have recently been totally refurbished and all come with in-suite bathrooms, Wi-fi access, cable television and electronic safes. Coral Beach Club offers a range of activities for their guests, including golf at Calatagan, as well as aquatic pursuits, such as snorkeling, scuba diving and fishing, and other water sports. Most of their patrons are quite happy to laze the day away by the water nursing their libation of choice. For more information, their website is www.coralbeach.ph/.
Nizam to address Philippine Golf Course Management Conference
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ohd Nizam Othman, Asia’s most decorated golf course superintendent, will headline a high-profile list of world-class speakers at next week’s Philippine Golf Course Management Conference. Organized by the Federation of Golf Clubs Philippines in cooperation with the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, the twoday event (May 4 and 5) in Dasmariñas City, is presented by the Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF). More than 125 golf course superintendents, course maintenance managers, golf directors and club managers are expected to be present at The Orchard Golf and Country Club, a golf facility member of the AGIF. Eric Lynge, the AGIF CEO, said: “Once more the AGIF is delighted to return to The Orchard Golf and Country Club for what has historically proved a highly successful event. “Our thanks and appreciation go to President Conrad Benitez and his team at The Orchard. Without their generous support and the backing of our sponsors, it would not be possible to stage events such as these.
“Last year the Orchard gathering attracted a record attendance. The AGIF is hopeful the number of people joining for this year’s conference will surpass the 2016 turnout.” In keeping with previous years, Lynge said a full day of seminars is scheduled for the opening day. The following day will feature field demonstrations and an equipment exhibition. Underscoring the AGIF’s aim to support the entire industry, the field day is open to members and nonmembers of the Federation. Over the two days there will be a total of 12 presentations. One of the most eagerly anticipated will be by Nizam, the superintendent at TPC Kuala Lumpur who has acquired the highest qualification as a Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS), making his mark as the first Malaysian to receive the professional certification. The certificate awarded by Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) came less than a year after he attained his Class-A qualification with the same association. The CGCS qualification is the most widely recognized in the golf industry and the highest level of recognition that can be achieved by a greenkeeper. At The Orchard, Nizam will address attendees on Golf Course
Preparation for Major Tournaments. There is no one more appropriate to tackle this subject since TPC Kuala Lumpur’s East Course hosts the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia event, while the West Course stages the US PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic. The club also accommodates an average of 50,000 member rounds annually. Also making presentations will be Bruce Williams, International marketing manager for Grigg Bros; Quality Golf Executive Director Tony Taylor; Dr. Micah Woods, chief scientist at the Asian Turfgrass Centre; and Sam Thomas, Golf Development manager, Golf Environment Organisation. n Other speakers include Bob Horan (managing director, Sports Turf Solutions); Antonio Ocampo (general manager, Valley Golf); Roger Goettsch (superintendent, Shanqin Bay Golf Club); Mike Singaran (superintendent, Pradera Golf); James Prusa (Golf Course management head at Korea’s Sky 72); Dr. Robert Wimmer (chairman, Independent Research Association GrAT-Centre for Appropriate Technology) and Dr. Noel Sedigo (chairman, Forestry and Environmental Science, Cavite State University).
NIZAM
Transview Philippines launches something epic
With a name like Epic, it had better be good
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allaway launched the new Great Big Bertha Epic drivers in our market on April 19 of this year at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong; fashionably late to the party, just after its rivals products have already hit the market. No matter. After all, the Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic and Epic Star drivers have a competitive advantage their opponents do not—Jailbreak Technology. Tour drivers typically emphasize the performance that better players want most—speed, low spin and control— at the expense of forgiveness. Great Big Bertha Epic series of drivers combine tour performance and forgiveness to make it a breakthrough in driver engineering. Epic is based on Callaway’s innovative new Jailbreak Technology, which fundamentally changes how the head and clubface behave at impact to deliver more speed and distance. At impact, a metalwood’s face flexes and the crown bulges upward while the sole bulges downward. The Jailbreak bars behind the clubface form a firm connection between the crown and sole to inhibit the flexing. That puts more of the load of impact on the clubface. Physicists call this “energy lensing”. In Epic it promotes greater ball speed for increased distance. Both Epic clubheads are made from one-piece castings to minimize energy loss at impact and create the highest ball speeds within conforming CT limits. Both heads have three-way carbon (tri-axial) material on the crown and sole
Saturday, April 29, 2017 A7
The Golf Geek The Orchard’s twin victories at the 70th PAL Interclub indicators of a very healthy golf club
Coral Beach Club
Where to stay in Calatagan G iven Calatagan Golf Club’s distance from the metropolis and the potential delays along the way, it makes sense to spend at least two days in Calatagan to fully enjoy the golf course. After all, you might not be back for a while. Best to savor as course time as you can while you’re there and for that you’ll need a place to stay.
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to allow more free weight placement on the heads. This triaxial carbon is lighter and thinner than forged composite and adds just 9.7 grams of weight to the clubhead. The Epic Subzero has front and back adjustable weights to create low or high spin control and an adjustable hosel. Epic Star has perimeter weighting for CG bias control but a non-adjustable hosel. Epic Subzero is a low spin driver and Epic Star a speed driver. Somewhat lost in the limelight was Odyssey’s new O-Works line of putters with the revolutionary new insert featuring Microhinge Technology. The Microhinge insert consists of two pieces—a 304 stainless Hinge Plate backed by a soft thermoplastic elastomer inner layer. The Hinge Plate is populated with “microhinges” designed to gently flex and rebound at impact to impart forward spin. This helps start the ball rolling immediately, smoothly and accurately. The two components are comolded to ensure they fit perfectly together in an elaborate 23-step process. Odyssey’s O-Works putters are available in the company’s most popular head shapes to appeal to the most number of golfers possible. Odyssey O-Works putters also employ Odyssey’s Versa-T alignment technology, making it extremely easy to determine precisely where the face is aimed. Look for Callaway Epic drivers and the Odyssey O-works line of putters and the rest of the Callaway family of products in a proshop near you. Mike Besa
A
t the 70th edition of the PAL Interclub golf tournament, the big news was about the return to prominence of the new Luisita team in the seniors and the absolute dominance of Manila Southwoods in the men’s championship divisions. While the performance of both Luisita and Manila Southwoods was certainly notable, I feel the bigger news was most certainly overlooked. Lost in the exploits of the championship division were the twin wins of The Orchard Golf and Country in both the men and senior versions of the Founders Division. The Founders Division is generally regarded as the true club championship division since the teams here are composed only of true members of the clubs they represent. It is and has been the practice of the bigger clubs to assemble teams to represent them in the largest and most prestigious of the interclub tournaments. Since they don’t come any bigger than the PAL Interclub, both Luisita and Southwoods recruited heavily to boost their already-potent rosters with the best talent available. Both Orchard teams took different paths to their wins. The Orchard seniors were dominant in their performance; leading from the start, their winning margin was a healthy 20-points over the runners-up from Marapara. They were never threatened. The story was quite different for the Orchard regulars. They had built up a substantial lead in the first two days of the competition that they were feeling confident that they would reprise their win last year. But they fell prey to a torrid finish by upstarts Forest Hills. Orchard struggled with 117 points in the final round. Rodel Mangulabnan and Niko Santiano scored 31 and 30 points, respectively, to lead Orchard, which was outscored by Forest Hills by 15 points at the Palos Rancho Verdes. Aaron Dimabuyu (29) and Raymund Sangil (27) rounded out The Orchard’s scorers. Forest Hills got a big lift from former national player Jude Eustaquio to close out with 132 points. Eustaquio eagled the par 5, No. 8 and had four birdies against three bogeys and a pickup. The other Forest Hills scorers were Iñigo Raymundo, 33, Ronnie Littaua, 33, and Peter Young, 29. But in the end, the rally fell short. Orchard had built up enough of a cushion the first three days to win by just three points. The results in the Founders Division of the 70th PAL Interclub point to a mature, healthy playing population in Dasmariñas, Cavite. This is readily apparent from the size of the Orchard’s Intraclub Competition. There are 13 teams of 25 golfers taking part, making it the biggest tournament of its kind in local golf. If you need further proof, one need look no further than the quality of golf at the Orchard’s monthly medals, all of which are filled to capacity. You need to play your best to just place, never mind win. The handicaps are legitimate, too. In my limited experience, the scores are great but fall within the tolerances of the guidelines put forth by the United States Golf Association and Royal & Ancient. Look for this healthy population to keep growing, too. The club has a very aggressive junior program that gives junior golfers access to the courses for just a thousand pesos a month. This initiative will pay off for the club in the very near future. A healthy playing population isn’t without its problems. Getting an early tee time in the morning on a weekend can be quite a task during peak season, but if you don’t mind teeing off later in the day, it is a nonissue. Other than that, the club has no downside. The Orchard is the best example of a club that has made the right moves. It has a professional management team that manages the club’s operations. They’ve prioritized the growth and satisfaction of their members and are always looking to improve. The results of their work are paying off and the shares are finally moving into very positive territory. They’re still trading significantly below par value and remain a very good value. But if you do make the investment, don’t do it to make money. That would be missing the point entirely. This is a club of enthusiasts. The members here love their golf and judging by the results from the PAL Interclub, they’re pretty good at it. So, if you do join, do it for the love of the game. Mike Besa
CitiesSaturday
A10 Saturday, April 29, 2017 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos
BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph
UMBRELLAS in different colors cover the skyline in front of the Cauayan City Hall to welcome visitors during the celebration of Gawagaway-yan Festival 2017.
Cauayan City adopts sustainable development goals Story and photos by Leonardo Perante II
B
Correspondent
EFORE 300 B.C. Indo-Malay expeditions of the founding forefathers of Cauayan arrived in the valley. The town site was first located in Calanusian, along the Cagayan River.
CAUAYAN City Mayor Bernard Dy (left) joins Miss Earth 2016 Katherine Espin of Ecuador, Isabela Vice Gov. Tonypet Albano and young Nonie enjoy their first ride on a hot-air balloon to commemorate the city’s a 16th anniversary celebration.
It was baptized Cauayan after kawayan, a Gaddang term for bamboo, an indigenous tall grass growing along riverbanks. This gave birth to yearly celebration of Gawagaway-yan Festival. The municipality of Cauayan was converted into a component city by virtue of Republic Act 9017 signed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. A plebiscite on March 30, 2001, overwhelmingly ratified Cauayan as a component city of Isabela. “With the vision to be digitally connected, Cauayan City is the first in the Philippines to have free public Wi-fi and installed LED screens, which are innovative tools for promotion
and information dissemination. We will soon be the ‘First Fiber City in the Philippines’ in order to efficiently implement digital solutions to the social needs of the people,” incumbent Cauayan City Mayor Bernard Faustino M. Dy said. Last year the United Nations officially launched the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a universal plan of action including new areas, such as climate change, economic equality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice. “Countries all over the world are encouraged to adopt this set of goals as part of their respective development agenda,
aimed to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all, that is precisely the reason Cauayan City took the lead and actively initiated the implementation of these goals in the local level,” Dy said. The new SDG seeks to eradicate poverty in all its forms and to increase access to basic human needs and services. “We extended free access to medical, dental and oral care, maternal, child and environmental health, core shelters, feeding programs, livelihood, educational and financial assistance,” Dy said. The city government is committed to strengthen economic opportunities, especially for the underprivileged, until no household will ever struggle for the most basic needs, thus, eradicate poverty in the community. “It is our goal to ensure access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round. One of the new innovations implemented by the city government is the establishment of a Food Bank, which is the first hunger-relief operations in the city,” Dy said. Increasing life expectancy and reducing child or maternal mortality are the targets of the goals on Good health and Well-being. The Cauayan City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, particularly Rescue 922, has been a consistent effective arm in medical aid, emergency and disaster operations. “We will continue to equip our Rural Health Units with more advanced facilities and supply of free medicines, strengthen our campaigns in family planning and youth involvement regarding health issues to promote a healthy citizenry in the city,” Dy added. Schools in Cauayan City are K to 12-ready with advanced academic and technical curriculum. The distribution of school bags and supplies in all of the villages, plus the construction of additional day-care centers, were made accessible to the locals. The new City Library was able to cater more than 10,000 readers, alongside with the operation of the Mobile Library. To achieve women empowerment, the city government l au nc hed t he 18 - d ay awa re ness ca mpa ig n to end violation against women. The Green Ladies Organization has been the implementing arm of the city government in programs pro-
WHILE business booms, Cauayan City maintains a clean and green environment.
moting the active participation of women, helping them to engage in income-generating projects and livelihood programs. The city government, likewise, collaborated with the Junior Chamber International in the Tubig Impact Project, which provided water systems in villages located in the forest region. Toilet bowls were also distributed. The city conducted campaigns to promote a healthy lifestyle. To ensure access to affordable and sustainable energy, solar street lights were erected along the city highway. In line with the Smarter City Project with the Isabela State University and the Department of Science and Technology, the city government, likewise, partnered with Ropali Trading for the conceptualization of e-tricycles with solar roof. The advocacy to adopt the use of modern-day technology helps conserve energy and protect the environment. Job fairs and employment programs providing livelihood projects, such as dressmaking, handicraft-making and food processing, were designed as incomegenerating projects. Seminars and workshops were conducted to officially institutionalized the city’s Go Negosyo Center and enhance competitiveness of the micro, small and medium enterprises. The bamboo industry of Cauayan City has been enhanced tremendously. From bamboo planting and bamboo propagation, the city is ready to pursue the pro-
As ceremonial launching of the e-tricycle in the city at the opening ceremonies of Gawagaway-yan Festival 2017, Cauayan City Mayor Bernard Dy test drives one with young Nonie as his passenger for free.
duction of barbecue sticks, chopsticks, toothpicks, and other materials made out of bamboo for souvenirs and for export. The city extended support to senior citizens, including monthly birthday celebrations, advocacy activities to promote the rights and welfare of the elderly, ID booklet for grocery and medical assistance, PhilHealth grant and social pension program. The indigenous peoples and the agricultural sector were involved in the policy-making processes of the city government. Core shelters were provided to homeless families to help them improve their living conditions. Expected increased Internet connectivity makes Cauayan City the first Digital/Fiber City. The advocacy on organic agriculture and fishery development programs, including distribution of corn and rice seeds, vegetable seeds, as well as cash assistance,
were extended to farmers to help them for the continuous production of the basic agricultural crops. The initiatives to reduce the impact of climate change in the city include tree-planting activities and participation in Earth Hour. Fi sher y- de ve lopment pro grams, which include fingerlings dispersal, distribution and installation of fishing gears and fishing cages, we initiated. “We consider deforestation as one of the major causes of climate change, that’s basically why we continuously uphold the strict implementation of the total log ban,” Dy said. In line with the advocacy of the current administration against illegal drugs, the city conducts random drug testing of city officials, officers and members of the Philippine National Police, campaigns on drug prevention to fully create a drugfree city of Cauayan.
CitiesSaturday
www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Efleda P. Campos
BusinessMirror
Saturday, April 29, 2017 A11
Tayabas City seeks to find identity
in time of modernity, progress
THE Casa de Comunidad de Tayabas that hosts the mayor’s office, the city museum and public library, and serves as venue for the city’s cultural and historical events.
T
Story and photos by John A. Bello Correspondent
AYABAS CITY, Quezon— Barely six years had passed since Tayabas became a city and almost 300 years as a township during the Spanish occupation of the country. It is only now under the administration of Mayor Ernida Reynoso that this city is catching up to find its own footing in modernity and progress. “Right now, our priority is on education with the construction of the Southern Luzon State University [SLSU] in a 50-hectare lot in Barangay Ibabang Palale, dubbed ‘SLSU in the 21st century’, and the establishment of a government center in a 10-hectare lot in Barangay Baguio to house all our local offices, including that of the national agencies,” the mayor, 73, said in her office inside the Casa de Comunidad de Tayabas, declared a national historical landmark by the National Historical Institute. That day, she was interviewed while she was in the midst of administering marriage to three young couples and oath of office to two newly appointed young employees of the city’s engineering office. Even on a Saturday, the Casa de Comunidad—where Quezon hero Apolinario de la Cruz, more popularly known as Hernando Puli, was tried and sentenced to death in 1841—bustles with people with various concerns to speak with Reynoso, who arrived at 9 a.m. to start her regular chores. A wedding godmother to a young couple on that busy day was former First District Board Member Alona Obispo who bussed the mayor, apparently forgetting their electoral rivalry during last year’s mayoralty election here. The mayor, a first-termer after serving as town and then city councilor for several terms, said she is done with politics after the elections. She is focused on her job, especially since the town’s people expect their public officials to deliver the goods. “On May 9 we will be having our groundbreaking for the construction of the first building of our SLSU, a P10-million, 24-room affair as my attempt to establish an enduring legacy in the field of education for the succeeding generations of Tayabas,” Reynoso told the BusinessMirror. On April 17, a memorandum of agreement was signed on the SLSU project by Reynoso and President
Milo Placino of the SLSU main campus in Lucban. The signing was witnessed by members of the Sangguniang Panglungsod led by Vice Mayor Nick Abesamis. “Malaking bagay po na magkakaroon ng SLSU ang Tayabas dahil maraming napasok sa SLSU-Lucban ay mula sa Tayabas. Mahihimok na magpatuloy ng pag-aaral hanggang kolehiyo lalo pa at abot-kamay na nila ang pampublikong paaralan na mag-aakay sa kanila sa katuparan ng kanilang pangarap,” said Sigrid Fadrigalan, a teacher of Grades 10 and 11 at Luis Palad National High School. This city does not boast of any notable college or university yet. It has several public and private elementary and high schools, like Luis Palad National High School in the city poblacion, Quezon Science High School in Barangay Isabang; Tayabas East Central and West Elementary Schools; and private schools like Saint John Bosco Academy, San Roque Paroquial School and Our Lady of Victory Integrated School. “Sa ngayon, upang makapagpatuloy ang mga mag-aaral ay nadayo pa sa mga kalapit bayan, maging sa Maynila, upang makapagkolehiyo,” Fadrigalan said. But even if it is not an academic center for higher education in Quezon province, Tayabas has produced distinguished personalities, such as Hermana Fausta Labrador, founder of Sacred Heart College in Lucena City; the late award-winning movie actress Paraluman; Victor Emmanuel Carmelo “Vim” Nadera Jr., a 2003 10 Outstanding Young Men awardee for Literature; the late playwriter Orlando Nadres; and Heidi Mendoza, a commissioner at the Commission on Audit and appointed undersecretary-general for the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight and dubbed “truth teller” for exposing civilian and military corruptions in the government.
Route to cityhood status
BEFORE Tayabas became a city in
THE Minor Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel, one of four centuries-old Catholic stone churches of Tayabas City.
2011, it has been a town founded in the 18th century during the Spanish occupation of the Philippines. It was the capital town of Tayabas province from 1749 to 1901, before it split into the two provinces of Aurora and Quezon. Quezon province was created on September 7, 1946, by the late President Manuel Luis Quezon with its current 39 municipalities and two cities of Lucena and Tayabas. Occupying a total land area of 230.95 square kilometres with 66 barangays, Tayabas has 99,779 people, according to the 2015 population census. The long route to cityhood started when the late Quezon Gov. Rafael Nantes, then Quezon First District representative, filed in the 11th Congress House Bill 12878, entitled “An Act Converting the Municipality of Tayabas, Quezon into a Component City to be Known as the City of Tayabas” and was referred to the Committee on Local Government by the House of Representatives on February 5, 2001. While the bill was pending before both Houses of Congress, Senate Bill 2157, which called for the amendment of Section 450 of Republic Act (RA) 7160 (The Local Government Code of 1991) by increasing the annual income requirement for conversion of a municipality into a city from P20 million to P100 million, was passed and became law on February 24, 2001 as RA 9009. The House of Representatives of the 12th Congress adopted Joint Resolution 29, which exempted from the P100-million income requirement 24 municipalities, including Tayabas, whose cityhood were not approved in the previous 11th Congress. During the 13th Congress (2004-2007), the House of Representatives took up and readopted Joint Resolution 29 as Joint Resolution 1 and forwarded it to the Senate. However, the Senate failed again to approve it. Sixteen municipalities, including Tayabas, filed individual cityhood bills through their respective sponsor-congressmen. The bills each contained a common provision exempting it from the P100-million income requirement of RA 9009. On December 22, 2006, the House of Representatives approved the cityhood bills and the Senate approved the same in February 2007. These lapsed into law from March to July 2007, after then-President Gloria MacapagalArroyo failed to sign them. On March 18, 2007, by virtue of RA 9398, the municipality of Tayabas was converted into a component city of Quezon Province. It held a plebiscite on July 14, 2007. Even with a low turnout, the majority of voters favored the conversion of Tayabas to cityhood. However, on November 18, 2008, Tayabas and 15 other cities lost their cityhood status after the Supreme Court granted a peti-
tion filed by the League of Cities of the Philippines and declared unconstitutional the cityhood law, RA 9398, which allowed the towns to acquire their city status, saying they did not pass the requirements for cityhood. Tayabas and the 15 other cities affected by the SC decision filed a motion for reconsideration on December 10, 2008, and more than a year later, on December 22, 2009, the SC reversed its earlier ruling. On August 27, 2010, the 16 cities again lost their city status after the SC voted to reinstate the 2008 decision declaring as ‘unconstitutional’ the RAs that converted the 16 municipalities into cities. On February 15, 2011, the SC made another turnaround and upheld for the third time the cityhood of the 16 towns. Finally, on April 12, 2011, the SC, in an en banc ruling, affirmed the cityhood of the 16 towns and on June 28, 2011, it issued an entry of judgement on the cityhood case of the 16 towns, including Tayabas. It was a long route to cityhood, said Manolo Labitigan, acting as executive assistant to the mayor, but it was worth it. He said the administration of the mayor is focused on five areas of development: Education, Agriculture, Resources, Tourism and Housing, or EARTH or inversely HEART, reflecting the mayor’s way of going about her job—always doing it with her heart—in attending to her various constituents. “The mayor is now preoccupied with relocating 1,607 poor families now living in various danger zones of the city. The city government has already bought 10 hectares in Barangay Ayaas for 600 families to 700 families. “A loan for socialized-housing program is eyed for those who will be paying through amortization for 25 years,” said Labitigan, who personally assists the mayor in her official chores and is expected to be detailed for the housing program of the city government after the one-year ban of political candidates before they are allowed to take up government positions. Labitigan ran an unsuccessful bid for the city council during last year’s elections. All but two members of the city council were won by political allies of the mayor, which included her own daughter Maria Lourdes, nicknamed “Lovely”, who chairs the SP Committee on Tourism, Health, Youth and Sports Development.
Historical assets
LABITIGAN takes pride in the city’s historical assets, such as Casa Comunidad de Tayabas— constructed in 1776 and served as guesthouse for visiting dignitaries during the Spanish colonial period. It has a prison facility and got burned down around 18821883, but was reconstructed into a public school during the American period. The historical building
was destroyed again in the war bombing in 1945. In 2000 it was reconstructed by the National Historical Institute (NHI), which now houses the local museum and the city library, and hosts many cultural and historical activities spearheaded by the mayor. Labitigan also cited the city’s centuries-old stone churches, namely, the Minor Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel, the largest Catholic church in the entire province; Nuestra Señora de Angustia built in 1838; the Sanctuario de las Almas built in 1855, a former cemetery and now a place for devotees of San Diego de Alcala; and Camposanto de los Indios, a cemetery built in 1887. The city also boasts of centuries-old stone arched bridges, such as the 446-foot Malagonlong Bridge in barangays Mateuna and Lakawan, considered a National Historical Treasure by the NHI. It was built in 1840-1850 and the longest bridge during the Spanish colonial era with approximately 100,000 adobe blocks used. Malagonlong Bridge and 11 other historical bridges are being threatened by the road-and bridge-widening projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). They are Puente de Prinsesa in Barangay Ibas, Puente de Bae in Barangay Dapdap, Puente Despededas and Puente de Ese in Barangay Camaysa, Puente de Alitao in Barangay San Isidro Zone III, Puente de Lakawan in Barangay Lakawan, Puente de Mate in Barangay Mate, Puente de Isabel II in Barangay Malao-A, Puente de Urbiztondo in Barangay Malao-A, Puente de Don Francisco de Asis and Puente de Gibanga in Barangay Calumpang, all in Tayabas City. Oplan Sagip Tulay, a task force group of the city government, has protested the desecration being done on the historical bridges, saying the construction workers are replacing clay bricks with box culvert and replacing the historical structural design of the bridges. Members of the Sangguniang Panglalawigan Aileen Buan and Claro Talaga Jr. have taken up the cudgels for the preservation of the Spanish-era bridges of Tayabas and the SP has set a committee hearing to summon the DPWH, the city mayor’s office and other concerned parties to resolve the issue. Even as the city struggles to preserve its glorious past, it is also groping for its own place under the present-day scheme of things. Tayabas City is home to various business establishments that cater to foreign and domestic visitors and tourists that can well compete with its counterpart in other cities of the neigboring provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal that make up the Calabarzon region, the ZON being Quezon.
Reynoso said the new City Government Center will house the new city hall building, and various national government agencies, such as the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection, the National Food Authority and other government agencies. The mayor said they have landbanked 4 hectares and, if the 10-hectare lot is completed, they will build the new city government complex. Labitigan said the city government will be converting the present public market area into a commercial district area to be leased to private traders and investors, while a 3-hectare new city public market building will be constructed in Barangay Wakas. So far, the city does not have a mall and fast-food chains, except one Jollibee branch in Barangay Calumpang and a Max’s Restaurant in Barangay Isabang. Both have a steady stream of customers. Its Nawawalang Paraiso Resort and Hotel, Kamayan sa Palaisdaan, Mi Casa en Tayabas, Buddy’s Resto, Mainit Hot Spring, Villa Cecilia Resort and Hotel, El Pescado Bar and Café and Graceland Estates and Country Club—a sprawling leisure estate and resort in Barangay Camaysa—draw local and foreign tourists. Small diner-friendly eateries dot the main streets of the city. Visitors and travelers visit the Tindahan ng mga Kakanin (native delicacy store) in Kalye Budin, a portion of Emilio Jacinto Street just a few blocks away from the city public market, where freshly baked budin, nilupak (pound cassava or balinghoy cake), tikoy (localized Chinese sticky rice cake), lambanog (coconut vodka), uraro (arrowroot cookies) and other delicacies can be bought and brought home as pasalubong.
City of festivals
TAYABAS hosts Mayohan sa Tayabas, which starts on the first week of May and lasts for 15 days. It features valued traditions, including the Komedya, Mukha competition of young unmarried females, contest of pregnant women, palakihan at paligatan ng suman; Pugahan, where a search for the Reyna Elena is conducted while singing is done by participants. There is also the Turumba Festival during Holy Week, when Tayabenses dance as a thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary in the main thoroughfares of the city; Taytsinoy Festival from February 2 to 5 as part of Chinese New Year; Aguyod Festival, where local residents hone their talents and skill in dances and performing arts on stage; commemoration of Hermano Pule every November 4; the holding of Araw ng Tayabas on August 13, which commemorates heroism of local Tayabenses and renewal of commitment to service through unity and social bonds.
OurTime
A12 Saturday, April 29, 2017 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos
BusinessMirror
news@businessmirror.com.ph
DOJ asks DBM to release benefits for retired PAO lawyers
J
USTICE Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II on Monday asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release P139 million in benefits for retired Public Attorneys Office (PAO) lawyers as ordered by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Quezon City.
In his four-page letter address to Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Aguirre said the Department of Justice (DOJ) agrees with
the findings of the lower court that “a judicial declaration on the presence of ambiguity, which necessitates an interpretation, should
have been sought by way of an action for declaratory relief.” “This department takes the occasion of this definitive ruling of the RTC regarding the benefits of PAO retirees pursuant to the PAO law to reiterate its previous manifestation that it favors the release of the retirement benefits of the petitioners equal to those of their counterparts, that is, pursuant to the PAO law in relation to the NPS [National Prosecution Service] Law,” Aguirre said. Section 5 of Republic Act (RA) 9406 provides the rank, salary grades, salaries, allowances and other emoluments of the public attorneys shall be the same as those
of their counterparts in the NPS, but Section 16 of RA 10071 provides otherwise. The DOJ chief recommended to Diokno the DBM complies with the RTC ruling, as well. “In the absence of the same, DBM-GSIS Circular 2013-1 and Budget Circular 2013-1, which recognize the rights of PAO retirees to gratuities same as those of their NPS counterparts, stand,” Aguirre said. Aguirre said of the 40 PAO retirees who would benefit from the P139-million retirement package, five have already died—Valentin Daoas of Cordillera, Manuel Ramos of Region 2, Rody Alonzo of
Davao City and Diosdado Savellano and Juan Suco of the National Capital Region. The RTC in Quezon City, in its ruling nullified the DBM Legal Services’ Opinion 14 issued in November 2015, which stated that lawyers from the PAO are not entitled to the same retirement package as that of the prosecutors and judges. But PAO insisted in their case that under Section 5 of the PAO Law, a PAO lawyer shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, salaries, allowances and retirement privileges as those of a public prosecutor. The court agreed with PAO, say-
ing they are entitled to the same retirement privileges as those of their counterparts in the NPS under the PAO law (R A 9406) and that reference shall be made on the retirement benefits of the prosecutors in the NPS governed by the Napross Law (RA 11071). The court said the PAO retirees “should comfortably enjoy their retirement in the relative security of a regular monthly pension and should not be denied benefit and left without means of sustenance.” The court said it is only fitting that a public servant who served for a great number of years be rewarded. Christopher Lloyd T. Caliwan/PNA
Six years later, Fukushima has some of its younger children back
N
ARAHA, Japan—The children returned to Naraha this spring. For more than four years, residents were barred from this hamlet in Fukushima after an earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown at a nuclear power plant north of town. When the government lifted the evacuation order in 2015, those who returned were mostly the elderly, who figured coming home was worth the residual radiation risk. But this month, six years after the disaster, 105 students turned up at Naraha Elementary and Junior High School for the beginning of the Japanese school year. Ev e r y mor n i n g , c a fe t e r i a workers measure the radiation in f resh ing red ients used in lunches. In some grades, as few as six students take their lessons in classrooms built to accommodate as many as 30. There are not enough junior- high students to field a baseball team on the new field next to the school. Yet, the return of the schoolchildren, the youngest of whom were born the year of the disaster, has been a powerful sign of renewal in this town, which is in the original 12-mile exclusion zone around the Fukushima plant. Reopening the school “is very, very meaningful”, said Sachiko Araki, the principal of the junior high school. “A town without a school is not really a town.” The new $18-million, two-story building has shiny blond wood floors, spacious classrooms, two science labs, a library filled with new books and a large basketball gymnasium. A balcony at the back of the building overlooks the sea.
Many emotions fueled the decisions of the families who returned to Naraha. It was always a small town, with just over 8,000 people before the disaster. So far, only one in five former residents has come home. A bank, post office and medical clinic are now open, but a supermarket is still being built. Because neighborhoods have stood empty for so long, wild boars sometimes roam the streets. With thousands of bags of contaminated soil piled high in fields around town and radiation meters posted in parking lots, the memory of the nuclear disaster is never distant. At the Naraha school, which was being constructed when the disaster hit, workers destroyed a foundation that had just been laid and started over, removing mounds of dirt in an effort to decontaminate the site. Today, radiation is regularly monitored on the school grounds, as well as along routes to the building. The central government, based on recommendations from the International Commission on Radiological Protection, set a maximum exposure of 0.23 microsieverts an hour, a level at which there is no concrete scientific evidence of increased cancer risk. (Microsieverts measure the health effects of low levels of radiation.) Still, some teachers say they are extra careful. Aya Kitahara, a fifth-grade teacher, said she and her colleagues had decided it was not safe to allow children to collect acorns or pine cones in the neighborhood for art projects, for fear that they would pick up small doses of radiation.
Nearby, a nursery school and day-care center, was built mostly with money from the nuclearplant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., in 2007 and reopened this month. Keiko Hayakawa, the principal, said she was surprised the city had pushed to bring back children before all bags of contaminated soil had been cleared from town. “We had to start and keep moving to open this facility as soon as possible,” Hayakawa said on a morning when 3- and 4-year-olds romped in a large playground, climbing a jungle gym, riding scooters and digging in a sandbox. “Otherwise, there was a fear that people might never come back.” Calculations of radiation exposure are imprecise at best. They may not detect contaminated soil from rain runoff that can collect in gutters or other low-lying crevices. Risk of illness depends on many variables, including age, activities and underlying health conditions. “I don’t want to accuse anyone of being consciously disingenuous,” said Kyle Cleveland, associate professor of sociology at Temple University in Tokyo, who has written about the psychological effects of the Fukushima disaster. But government officials “have every incentive to downplay the level of risk and to put a positive spin on it”. Reviving the towns of Fukushima is also a priority for the central government. With the 2020 Olympics to be held in Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to deliver on his promise that the Fukushima cleanup effort is “under control.” New York Times News Service
BABY CADDY A grandmother carries her grandson on her back in a traditional way using a blanket while walking around the Central Business District of Baguio. MAU VICTA
Who’s stealing from your dad right now?
‘Y
OU know in your heart of hearts that when the account balance hits zero, the girlfriend is gone,” Wendy Johnson says. Johnson has been investigating suspicions of financial abuse of the elderly for six of her nine years on U.S. Bancorp Investment's complaints-and-investigations team. Most of the referrals she gets come from the bank’s financial advisers who suspect exploitation by someone a client knows and trusts—a son, daughter, attorney, grandchild, caretaker. Increasingly, she’s seeing cases of outright fraud. One common scenario, she says, is widows or widowers falling prey to romantic scams. Loneliness leaves many seniors vulnerable, and “human sexuality is very much a factor,” says Johnson,
50, who has a law degree. One client is in his early 70s and continues to give money to a 23-year-old girlfriend. He knows he is depleting his emergency funds, she says, but “I can’t make him stop. From my vantage point, it’s exploitation. From his viewpoint, it’s love.” Scammers target the elderly because they represent an attractive pool of wealth and may not know a lot about how the Internet can be used to rip them off. Some are suffering from cognitive decline. The people Johnson typically used to see being scammed were 80-year-old women living alone without close family. Now, “the Internet really allows everybody to be victimized,” she says. “More and more with online, I’m getting men, as well.” Some 17 percent of seniors say they’ve
been the victim of financial exploitation, according to studies cited in a report last year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The annual tally for money lost in elder financial abuse was $2.9 billion, a 2011 MetLife study estimated, based on public data. Experts suspect that the vast majority of abuse is not reported and that the true tally is far higher. The number of elder abuse cases referred to US Bank’s complaints-and-investigations team more than doubled from 2014 to 2015, after the bank launched an education program for employees. It rose an additional 20 percent last year. In 2015 the tally of assets considered “at risk” among suspected victims of fraud at the bank was more than $75.4 million. Last year it was $34.6 million. Bloomberg News
Aging, ill and ordered back to Afghanistan
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CHECKMATE Elders play chess to pass the time at the Igorot Park in Baguio City. MAU VICTA
ARMENA Waziri’s dementia is so severe that when she recently ate an orange she forgot to swallow and nearly choked to death. She has suffered multiple strokes, has high blood pressure and wears a diaper. Now, in a case that has captured headlines across Denmark, Danish authorities have called for Waziri, a 70-year-old Afghan woman, to be deported to Afghanistan, where, her children say, she is sure to die. Her daughter Marzia, her main caregiver, has lived in Aarhus, Denmark’s secondlargest city, for 25 years and owns a small grocery business. Marzia’s two children are Danish citizens. “I live in constant fear that I am going to come home and find that the door has been knocked down and that my mother is gone,” said Marzia Waziri, who spoke fluent Danish and was close to tears. “She wouldn’t last a day in Afghanistan. She has no one there.” Danish authorities counter that the decision to deport Zarmena Waziri is of her own making: She broke the law. Since November
2012, her various applications to remain in the country have been rejected three times, and she has disregarded every order to leave. Human-rights advocates say humanitarian imperatives should trump legal considerations. The case is under review. Under the UN refugee agency’s policy, “countries may not forcibly return refugees to a territory where they face danger,” but, in practice, the granting of asylum is largely at a country’s discretion, according to legal experts. Cases like Zarmena Waziri’s invariably cause a clash between humanitarian concerns and the letter of the law. Zoran Stevanovic, spokesman for Northern Europe for the refugee agency, said it would strongly advise against returning to Afghanistan a person who had failed to receive asylum but was older and ill because, aside from the growing violence there, Afghanistan lacked appropriate facilities to care for her. “Without a social network who can support her in Afghanistan, she is at risk of serious harm,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Before Waziri became ill, her family said, she was a pioneering women’s rights activist and teacher who was among the first women in Afghanistan to publicly remove her veil, shake a man’s hand and run for parliament, in the late 1960s. Countries across Europe have been tightening immigration rules as antiimmigrant sentiments simmer on both sides of the Atlantic. A tough stance on refugees has become such a vote-getter in Denmark that the integration minister, Inger Stojberg, recently celebrated the government’s 50th anti-immigration regulation with a cake. Such hardening attitudes are not limited to Denmark. In Germany, which accepted more than 1 million refugees and migrants in 2015 and faces elections in September, three mass expulsions of Afghan men have occurred since the fall. Hungary, evoking echoes of World War II, recently unveiled plans to detain asylum seekers in small enclosed villages surrounded by razor wire. New York Times News Service
The Millennials Seeking utter space? Young businessman shows how BusinessMirror
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By Rizal Raoul Reyes
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able to get the same type of security measures and cleanliness of our facility. We are able to provide another option for clients. Moreover, Safehouse Storage does not compromise the quality and security of the facility. We also offer storage services that complement our other services. We offer moving and packing services that would ensure the protection of your belongings.
@brownindio
PACE is becoming the last frontier. For some people, cutting clutter takes a thousand steps.
B u s i ne s s m a n C a r lo C oro nel says he can help tr im that dow n v ia Safehouse Storage, a vent u re of rea l- est ate de ve lo p e r CC MC D e ve lo pme nt Cor p. Founded in early 2010, Safehouse Storage is the first of its k ind to offer comprehensive self-storage solutions in the Philippines. The company operates two warehouses in Taguig and Quezon City that each has a wide range of units in various sizes. We also provide services that complete our clients’ storage experience, from transporting and packing goods, in-house auctions, insurance and file inventory, Coronel said. T he B usi n e s sM i r ror s at down with him to know why he’s upbeat with helping people attack “the hoard” of things they need to have space for.
Why do you think storage has become a booming business?
Space is becoming a problem right now, most especially for people living in condominiums. People who have a hard time letting go of their sentimental items have a new way of keeping them. Online retailers have a better way of storing their inventories. Bazaaristas have a new place for storing their bazaar paraphernalia. For companies, it is a more cost efficient way of storing their documents and office equipment.
What is the most difficult thing about the business?
I think, the most difficult thing about this business is the low barriers to entry and handling different types of clients.
What is the most difficult moment in the storage industry?
The most fulfilling thing about our business is hearing from our clients that they experienced a hassle-free storage experience from inquiry to move-in
When can you say that the business has taken off?
I would say that the business took off when we were advertising aggressively our services. We were marketing to condounit owners and start up companies. We were also targeting big companies since these were the tenants that would store long term. It also gave us a good reputation and made our portfolio of clients better resulting to other potential clients trusting us.
Are you a serial entrepreneur?
I wou ld like to believe so. I have so many ideas that I want to star t. However, I ma ke sure that all of my ideas have a similar goa l or is in the same field as my other businesses, just l i k e i n t he cowork i ng bu s iness that I am a cofounder in (Acceler8). It attacks the same problem, which prov ides space for star t-up companies and indiv idua ls to work. My intention is to help startups have a cost efficient way to store their items with Safehouse and also have a flexible workspace with Accelr8.
Do you think there is a big difference between a millennial and a nonmillennial entrepreneur?
Yes. I believe that there is a big difference between a millennial and nonmillennial entrepreneur. For me, millennials have that “change the world ” mentality. They use technology in trying to improve their businesses. There are some that even use technology as their core business. There are times that millennials always want the shortcut. They don’t realize that everything in life is a marathon and not a sprint. That’s why it’s good to try to combine both. It’s beneficial for someone to combine technology and doing business in a traditional way.
What are your long-term goals for Safehouse Storage?
My long-long term goal with Safehouse Storage is to become the first in mind when it comes to storage and making the lives of the Filipino people convenient in their moving and storage needs.
What motivates you to become an entrepreneur?
W hat motivates me is that feeling of satisfaction from our clients. That moment when they refer us to other people telling them how convenient our ser vice is.
What were the challenges in the storage business?
One of the big challenges that we encountered would be educat-
Who are your inspirations?
Coronel CCMC Development Corp.
ing Filipinos on how this service works. People were not familiar with this type of service. We were a little bit lucky that we had clients that used this type of service abroad. They were our early adapters and helped us in
our word of mouth marketing. It’s also a big help right now that new player have entered the industry. Rather than competing with one another, we are able to bring awareness regarding this service resulting to easier mar-
keting and reach.
What does Safehouse Storage offer to clients?
We are more affordable than the other players in the industry. Despite the affordability, you are
My inspirations would be my parents who are my role models in doing business and living my life. Also, I find inspirations in the books that I read. I love reading about the success stories of famous business figures like Steve Jobs, Howard Schulz, Richard Branson and the like.
Uncorking bouquets for millennials in Valle de Guadalupe wine country
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EAR yourself away from the picture-postcard Pacific views on Route 1, south of the border between California and Mexico, and you see Valle de Guadalupe undulating to the east, its Mars-like boulders and vast stretches of rose-goldcolored dirt belying the fact that there is some pretty great wine being grown here. Valle is not a new wine region— some vineyards date from the 1920s—but this Mexican wine country is calling to millennials, with modern, design-y wineries and grit that can’t be found in Napa or Sonoma. It’s also cheaper than those areas and less likely to be trodden by tour bus crowds— more “Choose Your Own Adventure” than Club Med. The valley is also relatively easy to reach, and services have cropped up to let visitors imbibe while someone else takes the wheel. Club Tengo Hambre and Turista Libre offer guided food and wine tours; Uber Valle allows Uber users to hail a wine country chauffeur for a day.
SUVs line the parking lot of Lomita, a funky winer y with murals by the Mexico City artist Jorge Tellaeche and offbeat knickknacks like an orange chandelier. With his trucker hat, the proprietor Fernando Pérez Castro, 39, fits right in with his trendy, tattooed clientele. The property started as a retirement home for his parents; he opened the winery in 2009, in love with a woman (now his wife) who lived nearby and wanting a reason to linger. “Ten years ago, there weren’t any roads,” he said. “I thought, ‘How do I make a place where I will hang out, where I will feel good, where people will think the way I think?’ What happened was a lot of people my age came here. It wasn’t like I did focus groups.”
‘Blank Space’
LIGHTS in the barrel room glow neon red; the restaurant out back serves fish tacos in the shade. There is a white wine whose name translates to a Taylor Swift song (Espacio en Blanco, or “Blank Space”).
One of the most endearing things about this wine country is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. “This is the junk that didn’t work out,” joked Phil Gregory, an owner of Vena Cava, as he poured flutes of cantaloupe-hued sparkling wine. Next to him, a group of women on a yoga retreat threw back their glasses. “What used to happen in this part of the world was that no one had anything to do and now everyone has appointments every hour,” Gregory said. A native of Manchester, England, who owned a recording studio in Los Angeles, he and his wife, Eileen, first came to Valle de Guadalupe to try the restaurant Laja. Four weeks later, they bought a hillside property that is now home to a winery, bed-andbreakfast and Corazón de Tierra, whose tasting menu of farm-totable Mexican fare clocks in at under $50 per person. Tables book up fast.
Like magic
NOT all of the area’s culinary de-
lights demand reservations. Next to Lomita, La Cocina de Doña Esthela serves hangover-curing heaps of diner food, like machaca con huevo (eggs scrambled with beef, onions and green peppers), chilaquilés and lamb tacos. Most entrees are under P100 (about $5), and the cinnamon-infused coffee, served steaming in ceramic mugs, tastes like magic. Food trucks are a thing here. The one parked at Adobe Guadalupe, a hacienda-style winery that rears horses as well as grapes, actually takes reservations because the ceviche, duck tortes and marinated mushrooms trounce the reputation of things cooked on four wheels. The eating experience is also upgraded: Instead of a curb to perch on, there are a dozen tables on the picturesque patio surrounding the truck. Scrappiness pervades the valley. “It used to have a very stinky, particular smell; the wine was very bad,” said Hans Backhoff, founder of Monte Xanic, a large, polished winery that opened in 1988. “That was part of the chal-
Encuentro Guadalupe, a collection of modernist cube-shape hotel suites built amid boulders, in the Valle de Guadalupe wine region of Mexico, on April 5. This Mexican wine country is calling to millennials, with modern, design-y wineries and grit that can’t be found in Napa or Sonoma. Sandy Huffaker/The New York Times
lenge.” Now, each year brings more visitors than the last, many of whom used to associate Mexico only with beaches and umbrella drinks. “It’s been a continuous fight against ignorance,” Backhoff said.
Night life
NIGHT life in the valley consists of gazing at the riot of stars in the sky, made visible because of the lack of streetlights and skyscrapers. Encuentro Guadalupe, a col-
lection of modernist cube-shape hotel suites built into boulders, offers dozens of viewing perches, some with telescopes. Although its accommodations are costly—around $500 per night depending on room size—the hotel, like the rest of the region, knows how to appeal to popculture-savvy travelers. Shortly after Encuentro opened in 2012, a celebrity and her entourage booked the property for a birthday party. New York Times News Service
BusinessMirror
A14 Saturday, April 29, 2017
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Vivo’s V5 Lite: Light to the pocket, literally and figuratively By Rizal Raoul Reyes
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DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial-imaging technology, on Monday introduced Ronin 2, the three-axis camera stabilizer redesigned to give filmmakers the freedom to capture any scene they can imagine. Based on DJI’s transformative gimbal technology, Ronin 2 has more power and torque to carry larger cameras, is more versatile to be used in every situation and has more intelligent features to allow for unprecedented camera moves that help realize every creative vision. NONIE REYES
Nexus partners with Singaporean firm for local Hybrid Cloud market By Rizal Raoul Reyes
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@brownindio
OCAL enterprise solutions provider and informationtechnology (IT) reseller Nexus Technologies Inc. (Nexus) announced in April the formation of partnership with Singaporean ITG firm InfoFabrica (IFF) to provide hybrid cloud services across the enterprise, commercial and small and medium enterprise (SME) sectors in the Philippines.
“There is a huge opportunity for Philippine companies, big or small, to take advantage of what cloud services have to offer,” Nexus-InfoFabrica Country Sales Manager John Defiesta said on April 21. “Our direction is to guide companies through the entire process of shifting their
business processes to the cloud— whether from an on-premise environment to the cloud, or to manage a mix of both on-premise and cloud environments.” Defiesta said the partnership will promote and sell cloud solutions from cloud service providers (CSPs), such as Amazon Web
Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM Softlayer and Google, to local companies gearing towards providing cloud services. “The joint venture merges Nexus’s coverage of the local IT market and InfoFabrica’s solutions portfolio as one of the early adopters of the hybrid cloud platform in the region,” Defiesta said. According to Gartner Inc., worldwide public cloud services are expected to grow by 18 percent this year to a total of $246.8 billion, up from $209.2 billion in 2016. T he highest growth will come from cloud system infrastructure services, which is projected to grow by 36.8 percent to reach $34.6 billion this year. cloud application services, or software as a service (SaaS), is expected to grow by 20.1 percent to reach $46.3 billion. On the other hand, a new forecast from the International Data Corp. (IDC) said total spending on IT infrastructure products (server, enterprise storage and Ethernet switches) for deployment in cloud environments will increase 15.3 percent year-overyear in 2017 to $41.7 billion.
Public-cloud data centers will account for the majority of this spending, 60.5 percent, while offpremises private cloud environments will represent 14.9 percent of spending, IDC said early-April. On-premises private clouds will account for 62.3 percent of spending on private cloud IT infrastructure and will grow 13.1 percent year-over-year this year. Aside from CSP product offerings, Defiesta said NexusInfoFabrica w ill also prov ide services, such as migration, from on-premise to the cloud environment and vice versa, data center replication, infrastructure consulting and cloud architecture and design. Potential clients can also conduct proof-of-concept testing free of charge at a laborator y in Singapore. Secur it y concerns associated with conducting business on the cloud will be addressed by the two companies in response to several trepidations on cloud security operations, such as maintaining compliance, identity and access management, dealing with advanced threats, insufficient visibility and consistent controls.
Trump tweets don’t help: First Twitter revenue drop since I.P.O. includes both user-generated content and live-streaming deals. Sports events are especially lucrative.
By Barbara Ortutay AP Technology Writer
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EW YORK—You’d think Twitter would be able to milk its status as President Donald J. Trump’s megaphone. But the company still faces stagnant user growth, has never made a profit and even reported a quarterly revenue decline on Wednesday, a first since going public. Trump’s frequent tweets ricochet well beyond his 28 million Twitter followers. Anything he tweets can serve as fodder for social media, TV news shows and, often, late-night comedy. Analysts say Twitter’s user engagement— how often people respond, retweet or “like”, for instance—likely benefited from “political discourse” in the first quarter. The problem: The people already on Twitter may well be using it more, but America’s first true “Twitter President” hasn’t inspired others to sign up for Twitter en masse. This could well be because they don’t have to. Thanks to Twitter’s public nature, anyone can read Trump’s posts (or any other posts as long as they are shared publicly, they don’t need an account to do so). That said, Twitter’s quarterly results surpassed Wall Street’s modest expectations and, combined with an increase in both overall users daily usage, boosted the company’s beleaguered stock price.
By the numbers
TWITTER said on Wednesday it had an average of 328 million monthly users during the first quarter, a 3-percent increase, from 319 million during the previous quarter. By contrast, Facebook has 1.89 billion and Facebook-owned Instagram has 600 million monthly users as
The competition
In this October 27, 2016, file photo, the Twitter logo appears on a phone post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Twitter’s frequent presence in the news, as the preferred megaphone for President Donald Trump, has not translated into profit or meaningful user growth for the company. AP
of December 2016, the latest available. More users, of course, mean more advertising revenue for the companies, since businesses try to reach as many eyeballs as possible. Twitter has never turned a profit, and for the first time since going public in 2013, it reported a decline in revenue from the previous year. Its revenue was $548.3 million, down 8 percent. Net loss was $61.6 million, or 9 cents per share, compared with a loss of $79.7 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding stock compensation expenses and other one-time items, the company earned 11 cents per share in the latest quarter, down from 15 cents a year earlier. Twitter beat Wall Street expectations for adjusted income of 2 cents on revenue of $517.3 million, according to FactSet. Twitter’s shares jumped $1.46, or 10 percent, to $16.13 in midday trading. The stock is still down 1 percent year-to-date, compared with a nearly 7-percent increase
for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
Join the conversation
WITH its slogan “it’s what’s happening,” Twitter has been trying to corner the market for real-time information, to be a place where people can go to find out what’s going on in the world and talk about it with friends and strangers. And it’s not just politics, but also sports events, like the March Madness college basketball tournament or World Cup soccer, not to mention the stuff seemingly made for Twitter, such as the outrage over the dragging of a paying United passenger off a full flight to make room for crew. Video was shared widely on Twitter, as were jokes and anger toward the airline. As with Facebook, Twitter also has been pushing live video—whether on its main service or through its Periscope app—to keep users interested and engaged. This
THAT’S why the recent loss of an NFL deal to Amazon was an especially hard blow to Twitter. Twitter streamed 10 Thursday Night Football games last year and had counted on them to lure in users and keep existing ones entertained. In its quarterly letter to investors in February, the company called the games “the major highlight of the fourth quarter” when it comes to live sports. Amazon appears to have simply outbid Twitter. The Associated Press and other news outlets reported that Amazon’s one-year deal for the 2017 season is worth close to $50 million, about five times what Twitter paid for the right to stream the games last year. Stifel analyst Scott Devitt said that, while the NFL deal likely contributed about 1 percent of Twitter’s 2016 revenue, it “seemed to be an important pillar of Twitter’s Live strategy”. And in the wake of such setbacks, competition is growing. Besides Facebook and Instagram, Twitter is also vying for advertising revenue from Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat. Snap recently had completed its initial public offering and will report earnings in May. One closely watched metric that did improve for Twitter—its daily active usage increased by 14 percent from a year ago. That’s compares with an 11-percent increase in the previous quarter and a 7 percent the quarter before that. Twitter didn’t report the actual usage, just the percentage growth. Still, it’s a further sign that those already on Twitter are using it more.
@brownindio
HE use of smartphones for selfies has prompted mobi le-phone manufacturers to cash in on the demand by introducing severa l models. With Filipinos going crazy over selfies, the country has become these manufacturers’ playground. One of these is Vivo Mobile Communications Co. Ltd., which has made a name in the local market after its entry in March last year. A nd Vivo Phi lippines Vice President Hazel Bascon has expressed optimism in the country’s retail space. “ We a im to be t here in t he top 5 lead ing bra nd s in t he countr y,” she said a recent interview with the BusinessMirror. As part of its strategy, Vivo wants to cover all bases in the market. First, it launched the Vivo V5 Plus for the high-end market. Later, the company introduced the Vivo V5 Lite for the selfie market comprised by a lot of millennials. Bascon claims the V5 Lite as is the most advanced smartphone in its price range, available for P9,990 ($199.80 at P50 to US$1). “Ideal for students, young entrepreneurs and young professionals, the Vivo V5 Lite is one of the best smartphone deals in the market today,” she said. The model has 3 gigabytes of random access memory and 32GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 256GB. The phone features a 16 megapixel (MP) front camera with a 5.5inch LCD screen. According to Bascon, other smartphones only have a 5-MP front camera.
Affordability
THE V5 Lite allows the average Filipino user to engage in high-quality selfies at an affordable price. The front camera with f/2.0 aperture is complemented by the company’s patented “selfie softlight” technology: a user would enjoy taking selfies. Furthermore, the 13-MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture and LED flash makes a good backup for the device. Powered by a 64 -bit Octacore processor, the V5 Lite runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow supported by a Funtouch 3.0 operating system. Its storage
gave me elbow room to gather data and video. Its 3,000 m A h battery ensures a longer staying power within the day. Price for price, the phone’s dimensions are okay,’ 153.8 x 75.5 x 7.6 mm and weight of 155 grams. The V5 Lite is also equipped with dual-sim functionality and 4G/LTE support.
Beyond selfies
THE V5 Lite is also a good tool for learning. Through YouTube, I was able to listen to all the songs in the latest Broadway hit Hamilton in a very clear and crisp audio. Being a history buff, I was also able to review his world history, such as the important events in World War II, such as the Battle of Britain, Battle of Midway, Battle of Berlin and the sinking of German battleship Bismarck, among others. A s fa r as loca l content is concer ned, loca l institutions need to step up to prov ide interesting, fresh and relevant content to entice mil lennia ls and the Generation Z to study Philippine histor y via YouTube.
Downside
UNFORTUNATELY, the V5 Lite doesn’t come with a fingerprint sensor. And, as the word Lite implies, this device is a softer, slightly toned down version of the V5: less R AM, no dedicated Hi-FI chip and a slightly less powerful front camera. Nonetheless, it’s difficult to point out the ungainly elements of the V5 Lite, especially with Vivo’s design. For me, I got a sturdy and premium looking device with a 2.5D glass front and a metal back with the familiar lines and branding. In a price-sensitive market, like the Philippines, Prof. Jan Carlo Punongbayan of the University of the Philippines School of Economics said pricing plays an important in the commercial success of a product. As far as the V5 Lite is concerned, it meets the price and other factors that can entice a buyer to get the V5 Lite. “Pr ice is definitely import a nt , but a l so ot her fac tors come into play, such as quality, durability, the availability of substitutes and brand loyalty,” Punongbayan sa id. “ W hen it comes to gadgets brand loyalty is quite important.
Technology disrupting PR, advertising sectors
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T the 47th Annual Global Summit of Public Relations Organization International (PROI) Worldwide, more than 60 of the world’s leading public-relations (PR) agency owners arrived at a consensus that there is a new normal in the way messages are sent and received, dramatically changing how our views of the world are formed. This time however, the revolution “is televised”, or at least shared in social media. “Yes, the digital revolution has redefined how we form our opinions of the world in a fundamental way,” PROI Worldwide Chairman Richard Tsang was quoted in a statement as saying. “And these new patterns of communication lead us to life-changing decisions; from what sort of car or house we buy, to whom we elect as our leaders.” According to Tsang, PR and advertising professiona ls are asking nowadays if it’s “owned, earned, or paid media” that would carry communication. “ I s it conte nt m a rk e t i n g ,
n at i v e adver t i si ng or i n f luencer relations? ” Tsang asked “ W hat do we do about socia l media trol ls and fa ke news? ” In a world where people are inundated with thousands of messages on a daily basis, finding a path in the forest underbrush is essential for success, according to Tsang. And brands, more often than not, suffer through topics as puzzling as millenials and social media and as daunting as big data and analytics, he added. This explosion of options has gotten businessmen and politicians in a bind, and made the consultants that provide clear advice on the way forward, all the more necessary. “Consultants thrive in this environment of confusion, where there is a clear need for people who can point the way forward,” Senate SHJ Chairman Neil Green was quoted in the statement as saying. “We provide options that minimize risks, and corporations, personalities, and the government place a lot of value in these options when there are great opportunities ahead.” Rizal Raoul Reyes
BusinessMirror
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ePLDT exec urges new tech security strategy S ECURITY software alone cannot guarantee the safeguard of data from the threats to the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructures, an ePLDT chief information security officer said. “Companies that focus on data security technology alone, unfortunately, do not understand cyber security,” Angel Redoble said. “A single attack can affect every department of a company.” Redoble explained that cyber security should be approached holistica l ly by integ rating it across all departments. “A company should focus first on placing a strict protocol or process and should hire the right
people who are skilled to combat different kinds of threat.” A firm could achieve business resilience in the integration of cyber security in the entire company with the appropriate technology, he explained. According to Ernst & Young’s Globa l Infor m at ion Sec u r it y Survey, 64 percent of 1,735 companies, including Philippinebased firms, admitted to having no or informal threat intel-
ligence programs. No less than 42 percent admitted to having no communications strategy or plan in the event of an attack. “A security process or program provides the framework in keeping a company at a desired level of security by assessing the risks, deciding on how to mitigate them, and planning on how to keep programs and practices up to date.” Most companies get their data compromised since they try to secure it by simply installing security software without the essential aid of proactive and inclusive measures, he added. “The hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities that are recorded daily, plus the evolving hacking methods, show that like a process, cyber security is a neverending undertaking and should be evolved to mitigate and manage new threats.” K nowledge a nd sk i l ls in infor mat ion sec u r it y a re impor-
t a nt, he noted. A k nowledge a ble a nd sk i l le d work force could “ identif y and, therefore, understand how to handle” data t h reats, i nc lud i ng m a l ic iou s software or hackers attempting to pillage data. Some firms “do not employ cyber security because of financial constraints,” Redoble pointed out. The measure of potential losses, however, could be bigger than the amount of money a company would invest in cyber security. “Fortunately, due to the current trends and developments in cyber security, businesses can now achieve the process, technology and skills to uphold security through inexpensive means,” Redoble said. “By administering an assessment of their current capabilities, a company can already set certain protocols, while the lack of skills can be addressed by teaching the staff on how to recognize an attack.” Oliver Samson
India blocks social media in wake of abuse videos
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R INAGA R , Ind ia—Ind ia has ordered Internet service providers in Indiancontrol led K ashmir to bloc k Facebook, Twitter and 20 other social-media sites and online applications for one month, after several videos and photos depicting alleged abuses of Kashmiris by Indian security forces sparked outrage and fueled protests. The government said the restrictions ordered on Wednesday were made “in the interest of maintenance of public order”. But Pranesh Prakash, policy director for the Indian advocacy group the Center for Internet and Society, called it a “blow to freedom of speech” and “legally unprecedented in India”. “It not only violates the Indian constitution, but also violates international law,” he said. The government has often halted Internet service in the region in the past in an attempt to prevent anti-India demonstrations from being organized. But this is the first time authorities have shut down social media following the circulation of videos of alleged abuse by Indian soldiers. Several recent clips, captured in the days surrounding a violence-plagued local election on April 9, have proven to be especially powerful and have helped to intensify anti-India protests. One v ideo shows a stonethrowing teenage boy being shot by a soldier from a few yards away. Another shows soldiers making a group of young men, held inside an armored vehicle, shout profanities against Pakistan while a soldier kicks and slaps them with a stick. The video pans to a young boy’s bleeding face as he cries. Yet, another clip shows three soldiers holding a teenage boy down with their boots and beating him on his back.
Most outrage
THE video that drew the most out rage wa s of you ng sh awl weaver Farooq Ahmed Dar tied to the hood of an army jeep as it patrolled villages on voting day. A soldier can be heard saying in Hindi over a loudspeaker, “Stone throwers will meet a similar fate,” as residents look on aghast. “When they were driving me around, they were saying, ‘We will shoot [you],’ and were throwing stones at my head,” Dar told The Associated Press. “I was told not
Kashmiri students browse the Internet on their mobile phones as they sit inside a restaurant in Srinagar, India, on April 26. On Wednesday authorities ordered Internet service providers to block 16 social-media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, and popular online chat applications for one month “in the interest of maintenance of public order”. AP
to talk. In one of the villages, an elderly man begged for my release but they didn’t listen to him.” The police have since registered a criminal case against unnamed Indian soldiers in that case, for the first time citing a video as evidence. In addition, an army “internal inquiry has been initiated into the jeep video”, according to Spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia. But India’s top law officer, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, lauded soldiers for managing to defuse a “nasty situation” by containing the protests and saving the polls. “Why so much noise?” he asked about the complaints. “Military operations cannot be subject of such discussions on social media,” Rohtagi told the Hindustan Times newspaper.
Viral videos
STUDENTS across Kashmir have been rallying this month at antiIndia demonstrations, facing off against heavily armed riot police and paramilitary soldiers. “Most students like me use social media, and some among us use stones to protest against India. Our brothers [militants] use guns for the same purpose,” said Aslam, a 22-year-old science major at the University of Kashmir who gave only his first name out of fear for the police reprisals. Viral videos showing police of f icers beat i ng c iv i l i a ns or soldiers forcing children to do push-ups in public have “not only outraged the residents here, but also strengthened their belief that the remedy lies in relentlessly seeking justice to end these foul practices,” said Khurram Parvez of the Jammu-Kash-
mir Coalition of Civil Society. The rights group has conducted decades of research and estimates that at least 200,000 people have been tortured during Kashmir’s decades-long separatist conflict fueled by anti-India sentiment among a mostly Muslim population and a deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops. Kashmir’s troubles began in 1947, with the first days of Indian and Pakistani independence, as the two countries both claimed the region in its entirety. They have since fought two of three wars over their rival claims, each administering a part of the territory divided by a heavily militarized line of control.
Most tech-savvy
ON the Indian side, most public protest was peaceful until 1989, when armed rebels rose up demanding the region’s independence or merger with Pakistan. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in that uprising and the ensuing military crackdown. Among the angriest now are Kashmiris under 35, who have grown up in a politically radicalized society amid the brutal armed conflict and high unemployment. They are also among the most tech-savvy and engaged in social media, and make up twothirds of the territory’s population of nearly 13 million. Anti-India rebels have also adopted social media. One charismatic rebel commander, Burhan Wani, became a household name thanks to his rousing Facebook posts. His killing last year by Indian forces spa rked demonstrat ions a nd street clashes across Kashmir. Meanwhile, pro-India activ-
ists appear to have countered with their own videos, including two recently circulated showing militants forcing people to chant anti-India slogans at gunpoint. Authorities have charged three men with attacking an Indian paramilitary soldier after they were allegedly seen in a video heckling the man. The Indian chapter of Amnesty International has condemned videos from both sides for inciting anger and violence, and urged an investigation. Indian police and paramilitary officials accuse agitators of using social media to instigate violence. “There is misuse of social media by the people who are inimical to the peace,” said the region’s police director general, S.P. Vaid.
Fragile masculinity
K ASHMIRIS accuse India of doing too little to combat abuses. Militar y courts-martia l have conv icted 16 4 sold iers since 1990, punishing them with jail or dismissal from military service, according to an army officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media. He said 96 percent of the more than 1,000 complaints received since 1990 were found to be false and fabricated. The state government itself cannot pursue abuse cases involving soldiers without permission from New Delhi, which has never been granted despite state requests to prosecute more than 50 cases in the last two decades of alleged murder, rape and other abuse. In the past, Indian authorities have dismissed videos and photos showing alleged abuse as propaganda stunts aimed at destabilizing the India-based administration. Some in Kashmir believe they were actually leaked by military authorities themselves to intimidate locals. One observer, New York-based Kashmiri scholar Mohamad Junaid, posited that the “distribution of these videos is also about a fragile masculinity reasserting itself ” over a population that has once again begun to aggressively challenge Indian rule. He and other experts warned that India’s heavy-handed rule and inability to placate local protesters were pushing the region toward a dangerous impasse. AP
Hooq CEO Peter Bithos pose after a news briefing on April 19 in Makati City. Rizal Raoul Reyes
Hooq sees TVOD market as ‘strong growth driver’
H
OOQ I nc. a n nou nced on April 19 its plan to broaden its subscriber base by tapping the transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) market. Hooq CEO Peter Bithos said in a news briefing the TVOD segment has a potential to be a strong growth driver because millions of Filipinos have no access to TVOD. As a result, they do not have access to the best and quality films from Hollywood. “I think we have millions of customers in the Philippines and we plan to expand it,” Bithos told reporters. “I think it would be a good number to shoot for would be any largest paid provider, including paid TV. That would be a good near term target I’d like to have.” According to Bithos, Hooq, a start-up joint venture between Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Sony Pictures Television Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., is on its “way to do that in a couple of years, including the pay TV providers”. “We have never been more elated and will continue to push boundaries to evolve and stay committed to delivering the best entertainment to our customers with new services, such as TVOD, that bring movies to your homes
quicker than ever before.” The TVOD allows movies to hit the service within three months of their theatrical release, Bithos said. Customers subscribing to the current Subscription VOD (SVOD) service will be able to watch one movie from the TVOD library each month as part of their SVOD subscription at no additional cost. Jane Cruz-Walker, Hooq Philippines country manager, said the company has benefited a lot from the partnership with Globe Telecom as this has enabled millions of Filipino viewers to watch the several quality movies. “In the Philippines we made sure to put together the best Filipino content for our subscribers with a combination of the top local studios and independent filmmakers,” Cruz-Walker said. She said the company also formed new partnerships with content prov iders to se l l to Asian viewers with a balance of Asian films and dramas alongside Holly wood movies. In the Philippines, Cruz-Walker said, the VOD provider has inked exclusive deals with Regal Entertainment and Viva Communications for digital rights to their new movies within three months of theatrical release. Rizal Raoul Reyes
I.T. sector players proposes new measures vs I.P. crimes
I
NFORMATION-technology sector players announced on April 20 new efforts to prevent piracy, illegal camcording and other violations of intellectual-property Rights (IPR). “IPR education and awareness are vital in ensuring that Filipinos are conscious of the importance of IPR and the various measures and laws in place to protect the system,” Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director General Josephine R. Santiago said. “A high level of IPR appreciation brings about respect and recognition for the works of gifted and creative individuals who make our life easier and better through the fruits of their creative genius.” Most important, she added, people should be aware of the adverse economic implications of IPR violations to the country and the potential dangers to human life and health. Santiago also emphasized that an effective intellectual-property system is vital to the development of domestic and creative activities, in facilitating transfer of technologies, encouraging the inflow of foreign investments and in ensuring market access to Filipino products and services. “We, at IPOPHL, would like to invite all Filipinos to join us in our advocacy of defending the rights of creators, innovators and inventors and in fighting infringement, piracy and other forms of IPR violations.”
But while the Philippines continues to experience a fast-growing digital landscape and high mobile engagement among users, with digital trade and e-commerce on the rise, online piracy continues to threaten the entire ecosystem, Santiago said. Criminals and organized cartels have also sought to capitalize on digital-related crime, she added. “People accessing content on pirate websites face a dual risk—potential identity theft from malware [malicious software] and Trojans and, secondly, exposure to highly sexualized content.” A 2017 State of Malware Report by Malwarebytes said the Philippines is now a global “bot haven”, accounting over 50 percent of botnet detection in Asia, and a home to an extremely large source of Trojan malware. Private technology players have urged the national government to improve data security. According to Solar Entertainment Corp. President Wilson Tieng, criminals, operating individually or in groups, bait visitors by the prospect of gaining access to creative content. “When baited, they use spywares and bots to access and/or control their victims’ devices remotely and steal their data, which may be used for identity theft and other malicious scams,” Tieng said during a news briefing for the Philippines’s celebration of the World IP Day. Oliver Samson
BusinessMirror
A16 Saturday, April 29, 2017
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Growing Internet café lures Chinese company
This April 19 photo shows (from left) Rapoo Overseas Managing Director Oliver Shi, Rapoo Philippines Retail Sales Manager Lem Estiva, Rapoo Regional Sales Director Johnson Zhang, Rapoo Philippines Country Manager Aileen Chua and Rapoo R&D Director Kyle Guo during the launch of gaming peripheral products by Shenzhen Rapoo Technology Co. Ltd. The Chinese firm launched its products under its subbrand Vpro. ALYSA SALEN
C
This April 25 photo shows Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Monchito Ibrahim talking to UBM SES Marketing and Communications Director Susan Tan at a hotel in Makati City before the start of a news briefing on CommunicAsia 2017. The latter is an exhibition on information and communications technology in Singapore that will be attended by 10 Philippines companies. NONIE REYES
PHL I.T. firms to peek into AR/VR at expo T
EN companies focused on information technology will take a peek at the augmented reality-virtual reality (AR/VR) technology at an expo in Singapore. Infor mation and Communications Technolog y Undersecret a r y Monc h ito B. I bra h i m said the local companies have a great potentia l to pursue pa r tnersh ips in other countries es-
pecially on upcoming technologies, like AR / VR. Doing so would prepare them and the market if such technolog ies become ubiqu itous, Ibrahim said.
The ten companies include Advanced Word Systems, A ll iance, Ex ist, Fame, Redcore Solutions, Sutherland, ePldt, Thinkbit, Taxumo and Xurpass. A research by Citi Global Perspective revealed the A R / VR market is projected to grow to $16 trillion by 2035. UBM SES Director for Marketing Communication Sharon Tan said in a news briefing on April 25 in Makati City this year’s conference called CommunicAsia is significant because of the continuous growth of disruptive
technologies, such as AR/VR. The International Data Corp. (IDC) has said in February it forecasts worldwide revenues for the AR/VR market to reach $13.9 billion this year, or an increase of 130.5 percent over the $6.1 billion spent in 2016. IDC sa id it e x pects A R / V R spending to accelerate over the ne x t severa l yea rs, ac h iev ing a comp ou nd a n nu a l g ro w t h rate of 198.0 percent over t he 2015 to 2020 forecast per iod a nd tot a l ing $143. 3 bi l l ion in 2020. Rizal Raoul Reyes
G.E. says digital transformation next frontier for PHL business
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HE rapid convergence of operational technology and information technology is ushering an age of digital industrial transformation, leading to new answers to the challenges of efficiency and profitability, General Electric (GE)-Co. said. “In the Philippines, majority of our sectors and industries are still brickand-mortar, and this presents different challenges compared to younger, more digitally focused companies,” GE Philippines CEO Jocot de Dios said during a forum on April 25. According to the World Economic Forum, the Philippines ranks 76th out of 143 countries in terms of readiness for Information Communications Technologies (ICT)—trailing behind Malaysia (32), Thailand (67) and ahead of India (89) and Indonesia (79). “The country’s ICT infrastructure still has plenty of room to improve in terms of readiness, policies, people and economic impact,” said de Dios. “Similar challenges are consistent for local companies on a smaller scale.” As an example, de Dios cited scheduled maintenance routines for power plants as a source of unnecessary downtime, which is critical to provide the country a stable supply of power. Armed with state-of-the-art digital infrastructure, these facilities can monitor equipment more efficiently, and foresee other potential problems even before they arise—ultimately preventing unscheduled downtime. For the next years the challenge for Philippine companies is adapting to a market that will be disrupted by the introduction of new technologies. “Digital transformation is the what, but the how is the more difficult question to answer,” de Dios added. For heavy industries, digital transformation entails extending automation to the cloud—enabling machines to make more accurate decisions to optimize performance. De Dios described it as a “universal cruise control” for operations. Based on estimates from GE, a mere 1-percent improvement in efficiency through machine-to-machine communications could save up to $276 billion in just 15 years across five industries: rail, health care, power and oil and gas. “In this day and age, every company needs to be—in some way— a software company,” said Alvin Ng, GE Digital general manager in the Asean region. According to Ng, software solutions like what GE has can help firms accomplish such a goal. The software analyzes data from machines to identify early-warning signals of damage, prompting repair and maintenance before they break down.
HINESE computer-peripherals firm Shenzhen Rapoo Technology Co. Ltd. (Rapoo) is penetrating the growing local Internet Café (iCafé) sector to secure a dominant position in the market. The iCafé business is a growing industry here, according to Rapoo Philippines Retail Sales Manager Lem Estiva. “A lot of well-known i Cafes, like The Net. Com (TNC) and WarGods, have started expanding and actually franchising,” Estiva told the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the company’s gaming peripherals launching in early April. “So it’s [really] a growing business.” He said the growth prompted the firm to introduce its gaming peripherals in Manila. He added the series of gaming peripherals they brought into the local market are categorically divided for two types of markets: retail and iCafés. “We have entry-level [gaming peripherals] targetting basically the iCafés for that,” Estiva said. “Meanwhile, the midrange and high-end [level]—that would be for personal use—target the retail market.”
A little late
ESTIVA disclosed they tried to reach out to some of the big local iCafés, including TNC Inc. and Mineski Corp. for possible partnerships. However, Estiva said they were a little bit too late. “We’ve been communicating with them, I guess for the last several months,” he said. Estiva added there was discussion before at the possibility of Rapoo being an original equipment manufacturer for TNC. “We provide them the products and have them rebrand it,” Estiva said. “Apparently, we came in a little too late.” Estiva, however, said they are “very hopeful” they can “eventually find other partners”. The Rapoo executive said they are also planning to form their own local eSports team before the year ends. “That’s one of our plans this year. I have quite a number of [team] names in my head,” Estiva said. “But I’m keeping them a secret.” Since 2014 Rapoo has been signing with teams and athletes, mostly from China, in various eSports titles, including “League of Legends” and “Dota 2”. Estiva said some of the iCafé operators already have First-Person Shooter and Dota 2 teams. “Usually they discuss with sponsors during the last quarter of the year about partnerships,” he said. “And we just came in the second quarter of this year.” Estiva said he expects the sponsorship by Rapoo starts next year.
Peripherals
Rapoo, which has market capitalization of $1.1 billion, began selling in the Philippines a series of wireless mice and keyboards in 2013. Last month the company has brought into the country its gaming peripheral series under a subbrand called “VPRO”. It is selling two gaming headphone models, which costs P1,515 and P2,945 each. Rapoo has four models of mice to cater to Filipino gamers with prices ranging from P1,245 to P2,190. Three of the four models are for entry-level users that are designed for ambidextrous gamers. For its gaming keyboard series, Rapoo VPRO brought nine different models in the Philippine market with prices ranging at a low of P1,265 and P6,730.
Different league
ACCORDING to Estiva, the company has an edge against competitors because of its pricing structure. “There are competitors, but we are on a different league. Some of them would be very expensive and for a new brand in the local market, we must have something different to offer on the table,” he said. Estiva said Rapoo is “very comparable in terms of design and durability with a very popular [brand].” “But it’s [competitor’s product] expensive,”
he said. “So we come up with something similar but with an affordable price.” Estiva said Rappoo offers customers a direct product replacement if the products bought were deemed defective within its one-year warranty period. Estiva said Rapoo has its own dedicated research and development (R&D) team to ensure their products are of high quality—a way to defy the common Filipino notion that China-made products are substandard ones. “That’s why we have an R&D team to check all the products, because we know the reputation [here] of made in China products,” he said. “And because we are competing with other brands who have been in the business for years, we are not going to grow, or worse, we are going to die if we don’t actually provide very good products to the public.” Estiva said Rapoo aims to have its brand to be known as “something that would live for a long life”.
Top three
AT present Rapoo has two authorized distributors of its products in the Philippines: Techtron Systems Corp. and Philteq Enterprise Inc., according to Estiva. He said a third distributor is currently out of the question, as it could affect the retail price of Rapoo products in the market. “Probably the two distributors are enough. Because in the case of Techtron, they handle pretty much the bigger types of resellers and then Philteq would handle the growing ones or those in the mobile business,” he said. “So, I think we have pretty much a good balance with those two distributors. Having three would probably create a price war with the resellers,” he added. Rapoo Regional Sales Director Johnson Zhang said Rapoo is top three in the Philippine market, traling behind Taiwan-based firm A4Tech Co. Ltd. and Swiss company Logitech International SA. “We are trying our best to get more market share in the market,” Zhang told the BusinessMirror. Rapoo Philippines Country Manager Aileen Chua said the company’s revenue from the local market grew by 30 percent in 2016 from 2015. However, Chua did not disclose the company’s top line in the previous fiscal year.
Plans
EVEN with a 30-percent growth, Chua said she sees Rapoo could still perform better in the country, as much of their sales operations are focused in Luzon, particularly in Metro Manila. “We feel that we have penetrated Metro Manila well. However for provincial [operations], we are kind of poor in that aspect, because we don’t have the dedicated manpower assigned in those areas of the Visayas and Mindanao,” she said. “Hopefully, this year we could put up some people there who can help us promote the brand.” Zhang said the Philippines stands out compared to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region where Rapoo distributes its products. “The Philippines is performing quite good compared to most of the countries [where Rapoo is]. It performed very well,” Zhang said. “I think it’s because we have a very strong local team, and because of our quality products and cost-effective performance.” Estiva added the Philippines is better than other countries where Rapoo distributes its products in terms of sales target, revenue and market visibility. Zhang said Rapoo is currently developing its first wireless mechanical keyboard to be at par with other competitors. He said the company plans to launch it by the end of the year. “A lot of other brands are developing wireless gaming [peripherals], so we are also developing the same.” Estiva added the firm also plans to introduce in the country its product line for unmanned aerial vehicles or commonly known as a “drone”. According to him, the company has already introduced its drone called “Xiro” in the world market.