Businessmirror august 06, 2017

media partner of the year

United nations

2015 environmental Media Award leadership award 2008

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A broader look at today’s business n

Sunday, August 7, 2017 Vol. 12 No. 297

2016 ejap journalism awards

business news source of the year

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages | 7 days a week

GOVT ADMITS TALENT LACK DRAGGING EFFORTS TO FORTIFY PHL CYBERSPACE

Search on for cybersecurity warriors

By Lorenz S. Marasigan & Inna Cabel

W

HILE cybersecurity in the country is still in its infancy, the Philippines has already faced a number of online threats—four of which are considered advanced and persistent—over the last few years.

And because the government is hell-bent on addressing issues relating to online threats and attacks, it is moving to beef up the talent pool of Filipino cybersecurity experts who are currently only few in numbers.

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Enabling Technologies Allan S. Cabanlong said his group will be outsourcing

cybersecurity services from private firms in line with the agency’s five-year National Cybersecurity Plan (NCSP).

He added the department is looking at tapping local and foreign managed service providers (MSPs) who can provide the needed technology and technical know-how necessary to achieve its goal of fortifying the country’s cybersecurity defenses.

The Philippines lacks the ICT talent, the main emphasis of the cybersecurity plan by the DICT. It’s really hard to implement such program that can help the whole nation without the right expertise.”—IDC

Continued on A2

‘HuGot’ it right: Is your brand an effective storyteller?

By Roger Pe

I

n the olden days, just after sunset, we would usually wait for our “Lola Basyang” on the porch. We would gather around our grandmother and listen to her stories with bated breath. Some of them made us gasp with disbelief.

Some made us cringe because they were spine chilling. Some made us roll with laughter on the floor.

Some made us cry we even had to share handkerchiefs to wipe off our tears.

Our Lola’s storytelling sessions were much awaited. None of us missed them, even if some of us had fever. She was like a magnet because we would all gravitate to her when she was around.

It was probably because of the way she told each story, far more different than my aunt did. Her stories were peppered with picturesque words, laced with varying tones of excitement, drama and

suspense. They made our imagination ran wild, and we all felt them in our bones.

I would say that we didn’t just sat there on the porch. Lola, the storyteller, transported us into another realm. We were woven into the tales she unraveled. Sequence by sequence, plot by plot, and like a river gently flowing into the sea, we lost ourselves and moved with them. We became the characters ourselves, not just lambently listening.

Movies become blockbusters because of the way they tell their stories. Books turn into bestsellers because of the way they make us engaged, connected and delighted. Speakers didn’t drive us to sleep because they had that thing that made us glued to our seats and listen. They knew how to pull the emotional trigger that can capture an audience.

Can brands also become great storytellers like my Lola?

PESO exchange rates n US 50.3650 n japan 0.4578

Good stories can transport customers to new worlds. Audiences can be so absorbed in a story that they can be brought to a place they have never been to. Read a really great book. Lose yourself in its pages. A good story has the power to take you anywhere. They can activate your narrative engines and turn you into a footloose.

Well-known US market researc h company Gi l l iam and Flaherty mentions the bottom line: “When it comes to building sales relationships with new clients, storytelling is invaluable

for three key purposes: delivering information, persuading customers and creating a personal connection. Buyers are looking for ‘cues’ and ‘signals’ that the seller is ‘trustworthy’. Stories are a credible form of communication capable of delivering such cues.”

“Stor ytelling can squash the skeptic in your customer. Sel ling t hrough stor y tel l ing becomes easier. W hen told a stor y, listeners engage in a specia l for m of processing that resu lt in fewer counterarg uments, it a lso adds.”

But to be able to tell a good story, everything must begin with a great consumer market research, a task that some of today’s businesses rarely undertake, Philippine market research expert Germaine Reyes, cofounder and managing director of Synergy Market Research and Strategic Consultancy, said.

“Good storytelling is the ability to move consumers into action in a seamless manner. The brand generates trust with the consumer through the story it tells, which, in turn, inspires him/her to take action. The story the brand provides mirrors or should mirror the realities of a consumer to enable engagement. Depending on how moving the storytelling was done, consumers get inspired to take action without them knowing that the story actually helped them do that,” Reyes added.

We inter viewed Reyes about stor ytelling and how it impacts brand marketing:

Why is Storytelling important to the brand selling?

A s Seth Godin, a marketing g ur u and w r iter said, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you sel l, but the stor ies you tel l.” T hese days, brands can’t just “push ” infor mation to consumer by “tel ling them” about their brand, what their brand benefits are. Given the dig ita l age, consumers gained access to infor mation on their ow n and can therefore validate whether the brand is tel ling them the tr uth or not. Brands a re now comp e l le d to show aut h e nt i c it y f o r c o n s u m e r s to tr ust them. It is said that through stor ies, the stor y tel ler can actua l ly generate tr ust w ith his/ her audience. T hus, through effective (and seamless) stor y tel ling, consumers become more tr usting , more open to the brand messag ing.

Continued on A2

n UK 66.1846 n HK 6.4432 n CHINA 7.4976 n singapore 37.0740 n australia 40.0301 n EU 59.7933 n SAUDI arabia 13.4310

Source: BSP (August 4, 2017 )

A2

Sunday, August 6, 2017

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

GOVT ADMITS TALENT LACK DRAGGING EFFORTS TO FORTIFY PHL CYBERSPACE

Search on for cybersecurity warriors Continued from A1

MSPs manage an institution’s i n for m at ion-tec h nolog y ( I T ) operations, including the software, physical infrastructure and data security.

“Cybersecurity is a new field for our government. We have many experts on IT, but they’re from the private sector. Our strategy is for them to train our people inside so that these corporations will be able transfer their knowledge,” Cabanlong told the BusinessMirror.

Urgent need

Cabanlong said the government recognizes that protecting the Philippine cyberspace is an urgent task, which will be addressed through the NCSP. It is set to mainly safeguard critical information structures, and government networks, such as public and military, small and medium enterprises, large corporations, and every Filipino on the Internet.

The flurry of cyber attacks in the country became prominent in 2012, when hacker group Anonymous Philippines defaced 20 government web sites.

Last March the same group also defaced the Commission on Elections’s (Comelec) web site,

demanding the government to strengthen the security of the vote counting machines.

After the hack, another hacker group made the Comelec’s database available online, posting mirror links, which put 55 million Filipino voters at risk.

Infor mat ion lea ked inc luded passport numbers and addresses, which can be used for crimes like identity theft.

M o r e p r e s s i n g , h o w e v e r, are four “advanced persistent threats” that Russian multinational cybersecurity and antivirus provider Kaspersky found in the Philippines from September 2016 to July 2017.

The same company ranked the Philippines eighth on its list of countries with the most mobile malware attacks with a score of 34.97 percent.

“The Philippines, as a developing economy, quickly gets access to connectivity,” Kaspersky Director Vitaly Kamluk said. “I see that in the near future the number of mobile attacks in the Philippines might increase.”

Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Eliseo M. Rio noted that these are some of the issues that the NCSP will address, as it calls for the institutionalization of the adoption and implementation

of information-security governance and risk-management approaches. It will also establish the National Computer Emergency Response Team (NCERT), which aims to build capability for quick response and recovery for cyber attacks. “ To hit the ground running, we’re goi ng to out sou rce at first. We’ ll hire a name that is internationally recognized as a cybersecurity firm,” R io told the BusinessMirror.

The outsourcing move was approved by President Duterte last month.

“We were able to get the support of the President to have this rolling, so the program will start as early as possible,” he said.

Open to proposals

The alar ming number of cyber attacks, such as WannaCr y and Pet ya ransomware, a lso contr ibuted to the DICT ’s decision to look for tr usted ser v ice prov iders for t he NCSP. According to Rio, the department is open for proposals from MSPs that can cater to their needs.

It is also looking at tapping the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme for this program.

As of now, the department is coming up with feasibility studies for the project, assuring that

the program will be set in motion within the year.

“For MSPs, they’ll be giving us their services. These include training of people, putting up tools, monitoring cybersecurity breaches,” Rio explained.

The move is geared toward both public and private sectors, in which the DICT aims to build confidence in the government’s cybersecurity capacity.

Sad truth

According to e x per ts, t he country lacks largely in human resources, or experts in the field of information technology.

“The Philippines lacks the ICT talent, the main emphasis of the cybersecurity plan by the DICT. It’s really hard to implement such program that can help the whole nation without the right expertise,” International Data Corp.

(IDC) analyst Aljon Rejano told the BusinessMirror.

The outsourcing program will also involve technology transfer, which emphasizes on training and employment of homegrown IT experts since the DICT is lacking in manpower.

“At the moment, we lack people, experts in the field. This move will help us manage the services, as well as transfer knowledge, so that by 2019, the government’s personnel

will outnumber the MSPs,” Cabanlong explained.

According to the department, the government’s participation will eventually increase as the NCSP is implemented.

Changing cyber culture

Another major component of strengthening cyber defense is the general public.

For experts, changing the general public’s mind-set on cybersecurity must be the first step in combatting it.

“There are many areas where the government can improve its efforts, but the most long-term efforts must be in educating the public about cybersecurity. We are only as strong as our weakest link, and if poor cybersecurity hygiene, such as clicking on unknown links, use of USB pen drives with unknown provenance, or use of pirated and malware infected software, remains to be a norm, the Philippines will remain vulnerable,” tech expert Pierre Tito M. Galla told the BusinessMirror.

The government also plans to open up cybersecurity courses in 2019.

Holy A ngel University and AMA University are poised to open a bachelor’s and master’s degree on cybersecurity in two years’ time to help companies

and the government counter cyber threats and attacks.

“The curriculum was contributed by the department. It was from the George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies, where I graduated,” Cabanlong said.

The curriculum is now with the Commission on Higher Education.

“Eventually we will be integrating cybersecurity in the curriculum. Universities will be offering the bachelor of science and master’s with reference to the curriculum we shared to them,” Cabanlong said.

Accepting realities

Galla said he is looking forward to the culmination of NCSP, especially with the outsourcing plan in motion.

“There is nothing wrong with outsourcing, provided it is done correctly. The proof of the pudding will be on the degree of security demonstrated, on whether or not attacks are defeated, and the DICT will be responsible for their decision,” Galla said.

However, Rejano doubts the feasibility of the move, especially since there might be financial constraints.

“We lack the budget. For the IDC, we think that the NCSP needs to be implemented under PPP,” Rejano said.

‘Hugot’ it right: Is your brand an effective storyteller?

Continued from A1

Is there a formula in telling a good story?

Like your typical story, there are basic elements that have to be present. This will be further explained in our event, called “HuGOT it Right: Consumer Insighting for Innovative Brand Storytelling”.

But what I particularly want to point out is that there is an element in a story that creates the connection with consumers. And, there is a need to have a f low of the narrative that will effectively deliver the message, something that’s riveting in the story. The resolution needs to be satisfying, and the flow needs to make this understandable in order to create a lasting effect on consumers. These are what marketing practitioners need to harness and innately develop.

Let me make an analogy instead of naming certain people.

Filmmakers and the theater arts have mastered the art of storytelling. Great public speakers have mastered this art, as well. This is the reason why, in movies, we just find ourselves, “pulled into” the story— we cry with the protagonist or get angry with the antagonist.

We get scared in a horror f i lm and t hese images l inger in our minds even after watching the movie. We get moved or inspired into action by public speakers who are great stor ytellers. Something magical happens between the stor yteller and the audience.

A stor y told ver y well can affect one long after watching the movie or play or listening to a speech.

Name some best practices being used by marketers in storytelling?

Marketers that stay close with their consumers—ie., those who listen to their customers to understand their plight, aspirations, dreams and hopes, what they wonder about are those that will get ahead in

their storytelling. Reason is that they are the ones with real or authentic material to start on their storytelling journey. The storytelling skill would be their next hurdle.

Next I realized is that design thinking is a great approach in uncovering innovative storytelling avenues for marketers to take advantage of. This is not yet best practice, as we believe we’re the first to introduce this linkage between design thinking and brand storytelling.

I have attended some talks and a bootcamp and I strongly believe that the possibilities for brand storytelling avenues are limitless through this approac h. W h at a l so e xc ite d me is that design thinking is “human-centered”, ie., the creative process is anchored on real consumer insights.

Is storytelling on digital platform any different from traditional marketing?

Storytelling should be platform-agnostic. There should be a creative solution on the length of your story. At the end of the day, the narrative should be compelling enough, regardless of where it is placed.

Key is to choose the optimum platform—ie., where your consumers are listening or watching to target them at the right time and moment.

What types of storytelling are usually most successful in connecting with consumers?

T here is no par ticu lar theme or plot that is better than the other, but we will p ro v id e s ome id e a s w h ic h are effective in our seminar workshop this August 30 and 31. Nonetheless, for as long as the basic stor y elements are present, tied together by a well-thought-out f low that is consistent with the brand personality, these are good elements to start with. Design thinking will facilitate this journey of arriving at innovative storytelling that connects with consumers.

What are some of the things you should avoid in brand storytelling?

Perhaps, what I’ll say are more precautions than really avoidance.

Brand storytelling that are just entertaining or have unique executions per se may get consumers’ attention and become viral. This may be good if the objective is to create awareness and consideration.

A few good laughs may help develop positive feelings towards the brand, but should not steer t heir foc us away from the pur pose of the stor ytelling. Let’s not do a “penpineapple-pen” campaign type if our objectives are different from what it can realistically attain. If the stor ytelling is not aligned with your brand personality, this may create d isconnect w it h consumers and may confuse them in the long run.

A i m i n g for s tor y te l l i n g that will become viral, per se, shouldn’t consume marketers.

This is stressful! Instead, let’s learn from how Pixar or Disney does it. They create stories that are blockbuster hits!

What are the things that you should prioritize telling?

“Facts tel l. Stor ies sel l.”

Te l l aut hent ic stor ies, not just facts. And authenticity st a r t s w it h a nd shou ld be grounded in consumer truths.

Ma rketers shou ld do t hei r homework and get to know their consumers, mirror this in the story they will create, marry this with their brand personality and develop that seamless storytelling, just like how Pixar and Disney do it.

Otherwise, the story that they will tell may end up contrived and disengaging.

Join HuGOT it Right. Consumer Insighting for Innovative Brand Storytelling. on August 30 and 31, at The Metropolitan Club, Makati City. For inquiries, call +632-818-5890 (look for Jeanky) or e-mail seminars@ synergy.ph

news@businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

The World BusinessMirror

Trump praises stock market he once said was a bubble

W

ASHINGTON—As America’s stock markets have reached record highs, they have had few louder cheerleaders than President Donald J. Trump.

“Highest Stock Market EVER,” he said on Twitter on Monday.

Before the stock exchanges’ opening bell on Tuesday, Trump pointed out in a tweet that the Dow Jones industrial index’s recent surge started just after he was elected. (He also lamented, incorrectly, that the press was downplaying that fact: “Mainstream media seldom mentions!”)

And on Thursday Trump made clear that he thinks he deserves credit for the latest record high, tweeting, “Business is looking better than ever with business enthusiasm at record levels. Stock Market at an all-time high. That doesn’t just happen!”

The Dow Jones average closed at another record high on Thursday.

But it was not long ago that Trump, as a presidential candidate bent on casting the economy as a disaster, said the stock market was a bubble that should make investors wary.

‘They’ll get wiped out’

In the early days of his candidacy, Trump assailed the economic recovery as a mirage and mused about a potential conspiracy that was being plotted between Janet L. Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairman, and President Barack Obama. The theory was that she was keeping interest rates low so that the president would not leave office as another recession began.

“They worked all their lives to save and now what happens is they’re being forced into an inflated stock market and at some point they’ll get wiped out,” Trump told The Hill in October 2015 regarding US workers.

‘You heard it here first’

Before the Iowa caucuses, Trump decided to dispense some financial advice. The recent dip in stocks was a harbinger of worse things to come, he warned, and he hoped that the coming crash did not happen after Obama left office.

“Remember the word bubble? You heard it here first. I don’t want to sound rude, but I hope if it explodes, it’s going to be now, rather than two months into another administration,” Trump said in December 2015.

‘A financial bubble’

Although he was feeling confident about locking up the Republican nomination in April 2016, Trump was feeling increasingly bearish about stocks. He told The Washington Post that they were overvalued and that the strong data that showed a

H

In this July 13 file photo, farmer John Weinand surveys a wheat field near Beulah, North Dakota that should be twice as tall as it is. Drought in western North Dakota this summer is laying waste to crops, some of which won’t even be worth harvesting. The drought plaguing eastern Montana and much of North and South Dakota came on quickly and is intensifying, leading ranchers to sell their cattle and farmers to harvest early whatever crops that have grown so far this summer. AP

braska-Lincoln’s National Drought Mitigation Center and a coauthor of the drought monitor.

The effect has been devastating on farmers and ranchers. Farmers are harvesting beans, peas and lentils two or three weeks earlier than normal, with a yield of about half of what they see in a normal year, said Lola Raska of the Montana Grain Growers Association. Wheat crop yields are even worse, coming in at about a third of normal, she added.

“A lot of wheat prices are still very low,” Raska said. “That, in addition to low yields, is going to have a ripple ef-

fect throughout the entire economy.”

Jay Bodner of the Montana Stockgrowers Association said the extreme drought means ranchers are running out of pasture and water. They are reducing their herds by selling older cows and weaning and shipping young calves early.

It could take years for ranchers to build their herds back up, meaning extended economic losses, Bodner said.

“These high temperatures in July deteriorated things really quickly,” he said. “We typically don’t see those severe conditions.”

A3

China millionaires in jeans spur wealth manager push overseas

healthy economy were essentially phony. “I think we’re sitting on an economic bubble. A financial bubble,” Trump said.

‘The artificial stock market’

By September, he was arguing that the Federal Reserve was propping up a “false economy” that is actually weak. “The only thing that is strong is the artificial stock market,” Trump told Reuters.

‘A big, fat, ugly bubble’

Trump saved his most brutal assessment of the stock market, and the economy, for his first presidential debate with Hillary Clinton. In response to her criticism of his economic proposals, he said that the recovery was the worst since the Great Depression and that it would come crashing down the moment that interest rates rise.

“The only thing that looks good is the stock market, but if you raise interest rates even a little bit, that’s going to come crashing down,” Trump said. “We are in a big, fat, ugly bubble.” The New York Times Service

Drought spreads, intensifies across US Northern Plains

ELENA, Montona—The drought plaguing eastern Montana and much of North and South Dakota came on quickly and is intensifying, leading ranchers to sell their cattle and farmers to harvest early whatever crops that have grown so far this summer.

Just three months ago, no areas of moderate drought were recorded in the Northern Plains region by the US Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. But July’s soaring temperatures and lack of rain quickly parched the soil and dried up waterways, creating what climatologists call a “flash drought”.

Now, 62 percent of North Dakota, more than half of South Dakota and 40 percent of Montana are in severe, extreme or exceptional drought, according to the drought monitor’s weekly report released on Thursday.

There are also pockets of drought in the Southern Plain states of Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas.

In Montana 12 percent of the state’s land is experiencing “exceptional drought”, meaning widespread crop and pasture losses and watershortage emergencies, mainly in the northeastern part of the state.

“We would expect to see conditions that bad once or twice in 100 years,” said Deborah Bathke, a climatologist at the University of Ne-

Sunday, January 6, 2017

The region saw more than 20 days in July with temperatures exceeded 90 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Rainfall for the month ranged from trace amounts in eastern Montana’s Miles City to 1.68 inches (4.27 centimeters) in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Half of Montana’s 1.5 million head of cattle are in drought areas, according to the US Department of Agriculture. US government officials have opened more federal land to grazing and water is being trucked in, but those are temporary fixes, Bodner said.

The drought also made the land more vulnerable to wildfires. Montana’s largest fire devastated more than 420 square miles of farm and ranchland in eastern Montana, compounding the problems for growers in the region.

The outlook is grim with the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center’s predicting the drought will last into the fall, with higher-than-normal temperatures and low precipitation expected.

That could force farmers to delay fall planting and ranchers to make more cattle reductions.

“If these conditions persist well into the fall, it will have ramifications of some more magnitude,” Bodner said. AP

C

hinese millionaires’ money overseas is backing a local wealth manager’s global expansion even as the government steps up controls on capital outflows.

US-listed Noah Holdings Ltd. is planning to set up branches in Vancouver and in Australia this year or early next year and looking into one in Singapore, said group president Kenny Lam in an interview in Shanghai. Even as China clamps down on large overseas corporate acquisitions, Noah Holdings believes that the revenue earned by mediumsized Chinese companies with business operations outside the nation will support a substantial part of its overseas growth.

“When I joined Noah three years ago, I thought clients in second- and third-tier cities had no demand for overseas investment,” said Lam, who had worked for 15 years at McKinsey & Co. before Noah. “Then my team brought me to a client meeting in one of those cities, where I met many low-profile entrepreneurs who wore T-shirts and jeans and couldn’t speak English. When they told me they had hundreds of millions of dollars overseas because of their businesses outside China, I was really surprised.”

China’s economic slowdown and property curbs have prompted rich investors to look abroad in a bid to diversify their investments. Concern about a crackdown on overseas investment has risen amid reports that Chinese regulators are stepping up scrutiny of top dealmakers, such as HNA Group Co., Fosun International Ltd. and Dalian Wanda Group Co., and asking banks to report their exposures to the companies.

“China is not telling entrepreneurs don’t do anything outside,” Lam said. “Instead, it’s delivering a message that there are a lot of big mergers and acquisitions and we should take a look and see whether they make sense.”

Noah, which focuses on high-networth investors in China’s secondand third-tier cities such as Tangshan and Jiangyin, said the overseas assets it manages for customers may grow as much as 30 percent annually in the next three to four years. The firm, which manages around $3.5 billion to $4 billion of assets abroad,

started its first overseas branch in Hong Kong in 2012 and set up the US unit in 2016.

“A lot of customers have come to us, saying we have families in Vancouver and Australia and can you serve them?” Lam said.

Lam said the firm will choose between Melbourne and Sydney for the office in Australia. For overseas investment, Noah takes money that has already been earned outside China, not money from within the country.

Chinese companies’ revenue earned abroad from global business may help boost inflows into Noah’s overseas funds, according to Lam. “You have a lot of medium-sized companies that are getting more attractions from global demand,” said Lam. “That’s an area of growth.”

Noah’s shares jumped 1.9 percent on Thursday, the sharpest increase in more than a week. That compares with a 0.2-percent decline in the S&P 500 Index.

An investment related to China Huishan Diary Holdings Co., whose shares suddenly plunged 85 percent on one single trading day in March, had dragged Noah into the spotlight earlier this year. One of Noah’s fund products invested about 500 million yuan ($74 million) in client funds in account receivables related to Huishan, which missed payment around the end of March and is going through restructuring, according to Lam. “We will never bail out any product,” Lam said. “We are always transparent with clients, telling them what risks they are taking and what products they are buying. But we can’t guarantee them the return.”

About 56 percent of high-networth investors surveyed had investments outside China, compared with 19 percent in 2011, according to a report released in June by China Merchants Bank Co. and Bain & Co. Wealthy individuals have more than doubled their overseas investments as a proportion of their total portfolios from less than 10 percent in 2008, the report shows.

“Chinese globally are becoming a lot more active in investment,” Lam said. “They were usually recognized as investors of real estate, but they now want to do more.” Bloomberg News

Money-laundering case adds to Aussie banking scandals A ustralians looking for another reason to bash banks can now add more than 50,000 alleged breaches of money laundering and terrorism financing laws by the nation’s biggest lender.

The country’s financial crime agency on Thursday sued Commonwealth Bank of Australia, alleging the lender failed to report either on time or at all suspicious transactions through its network of automated cash deposit machines totaling more than A$624 million, or $497 million.

The bank said it will file a statement of defense in court.

The case intensifies the reputational crisis engulfing Australia’s banking industry. After a string of scandals, from giving poor advice to wealth-management customers to allegations the nation’s three other biggest banks manipulated a benchmark swap rate, the government has capitalized on public anger and imposed a A$6.2 billion tax on the lenders to help plug a budget deficit. The opposition Labor party

has also pledged a wide-ranging inquiry into the financial industry if it wins power at the next election.

“This takes away a lot of consumer trust,” said Andrew Hughes, a lecturer in branding and marketing at Australian National University in Canberra. “It hurts consumer confidence in the entire system. It’s building a picture of a sector that needs more regulation, not less.”

Commonwealth Bank shares fell as much as 2.4 percent in early Sydney trading on Friday, on track for the biggest decline in almost three months. The stock has fallen 0.5 percent this year.

The bank faces a maximum penalty of A$18 million per breach. Gaming company Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. in March agreed to pay A$45 million to settle 108 breaches of the legislation, the biggest civil corporate penalty in Australia.

Anonymous deposits

The civil case against Commonwealth Bank relates to its automated

cash deposit machines, which allowed anonymous deposits to recipients’ accounts, the financial crime agency, Austrac, said in documents lodged with the Federal Court. The cash deposit machines were used by drug rings to move the proceeds of crime, the agency said.

The automated machines were introduced in May 2012, and the amount of cash flowing through them grew exponentially, reaching A$1 billion per month by the middle of last year, the court documents say.

Austrac alleges the lender contravened money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws more than 53,700 times, and didn’t monitor its customers to mitigate the risk even after being made aware by lawenforcement agencies of suspected money laundering.

The bank’s “conduct in this matter has exposed the Australian community to serious and ongoing financial crime,” Austrac said in the court filing. “Delays in this case have resulted in lost intelligence and

evidence, including CCTV footage, further money laundering and lost proceeds of crime.”

Bank’s defense

Commonwealth Bank said it was committed to working with Austrac and other law-enforcement agencies to fight money laundering and counterterrorism financing.

“We would never deliberately undertake action that enables any form of crime,” the lender said in a statement on its web site. “To that end, we scan billions of dollars of transactions daily, and report 4 million transactions a year to Austrac.”

Austrac declined to comment on whether it’s investigating other lenders for similar alleged breaches.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said in a statement it had “cooperated with Austrac’s review of ATMs and intelligent deposit machines” which found it complied with “all relevant anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws.” Westpac Banking

Corp. said it “constructively engages with Austrac and takes its obligations around these issues very seriously,” while National Australia Bank Ltd. said it takes its role in “protecting our customers from money laundering and terrorist financing extremely seriously.”

Different magnitude

ANZ Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank all reject allegations by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission that they manipulated the local equivalent of Libor. Those civil proceedings begin in October.

The money-laundering case “is of a different order of magnitude to the other scandals besetting the industry,” said Thomas Clarke, a corporate governance specialist at the University of Technology, Sydney. The allegations are “profoundly serious” and the so-called Royal Commission demanded by the Labor party “is required to examine the ongoing systemic weaknesses of the banks.”

The latest case against Commonwealth Bank represents a further setback for the industry, which has spent the past year trying to improve its public image by stressing support for new codes of conduct and remuneration policies.

Anna Bligh, CEO of the Australian Bankers’ Association, recently estimated the industry has been subject to more than 20 reviews since the global financial crisis and that a further 17 inquiries, reviews or investigations have started in the past year.

The banks are four of the five biggest companies on the nation’s sharemarket and the case against Commonwealth Bank has raised concern among investors.

“Compliance with regulatory frameworks should be a given,’’ said Judith Fox, CEO of the Australian Shareholders’ Association.

Shareholders can rightly expect banks to respond to concerns raised by a regulator “in a timely fashion”. Bloomberg News

A4

Sunday, August 6, 2017

The World BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

The high stakes cat and mouse game of deportation with federal authorities

N

EW YORK—There’s a new game afoot. The federal government’s current emphasis on deporting unauthorized immigrants—even those facing low-level charges—has, in effect, turned courthouses in New York state into arenas where practitioners of criminal law face off against enforcers of immigration law.

In New York City, judges, defense lawyers and clients have been on high alert for months, watching to see if immigration enforcement officers, many in plain clothes, are in a courthouse. If a pair of people look suspicious, lawyers from the Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services and the Legal Aid Society send an internal email alert.

Defendants duck into bathrooms or race to another floor.

When officers for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, are thought to be in a courthouse, a sympathetic judge might reschedule a defendant’s appearance, or, in a seemingly perverse move, set bail that could send a defendant to Rikers Island—keeping the person out of ICE’s hands because the jail complex does not turn over unauthorized immigrants to the agency.

“I don’t want to be playing the cat and mouse game with federal authorities,” Eric Gonzalez, the acting Brooklyn district attorney, said in an interview.

State policy prohibits ICE officers from making arrests inside courtrooms.

They must do their work in a hallway or outside a building. But on Thursday, Gonzalez and Eric T. Schneiderman, the state attorney general, held a news conference to say that even that was too much and that ICE should treat courthouses as sensitive locations— like hospitals, houses of worship and schools—where it does not make arrests. They said immigration authorities were interfering with the criminal justice system, making witness and defendants afraid to appear in court.

“I am asking ICE to reconsider their policy and treat the courthouse with respect,” Gonzalez said in the interview.

ICE has said it goes to courthouses because it is safer than trying to detain someone at home or on the street. Sarah Rodriguez, the agency’s spokeswoman, said that despite the demand by the New York officials, “ICE plans to continue arresting individuals in courthouse environments as necessary, based on operational circumstances.”

Rodriguez said that those picked up

by ICE “often have significant criminal histories.”

ICE officers have made 53 arrests in or around courts in New York state since January, compared to 11 arrests in 2016 and 14 in 2015, according to the Immigration Defense Project, an advocacy group. Thirty-five of the arrests were made in or around city courthouses, including one on Thursday in Brooklyn.

The state Office of Court Administration said there were 52 instances of ICE officials identifying themselves to court officers; they made 30 arrests, 25 of which occurred in the city. The office did not keep statistics in previous years.

The number of ICE arrests in the five boroughs is higher than other areas in the state because jails in most counties are allowed to hand over prisoners to ICE. While there are no numbers that suggest either defendants or witnesses are staying away from court, and thus impeding trials, Gonzalez said his office’s ability to prosecute cases was nonetheless affected: “Witnesses are not willing to come forward and cooperate.”

Gonzalez added that ICE’s arrests had undermined the trust people have in the justice system.

The Immigrant Defense Project said that, based on reports from lawyers, some of those recently arrested were charged with offenses like driving without a license or disorderly conduct and that one young man facing “minor charges” in juvenile court in Suffolk County had been seized.

Under the Obama administration, unauthorized immigrants with those types of arrests or convictions were not a priority for deportation, but President Donald Trump has made clear that all people in the country illegally are targets.

Jessica M. Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors more controls on immigration, said in an email that the issue was not that ICE is interfering with the criminal justice system, but that New York’s sanctuary policies “are interfering with ICE’s ability to carry out its legitimate and important mission. They are the ones forcing ICE to resort to courtroom arrests.” The New York Times Service

Man called Cyberattack Hero faces charges he created malware

Marcus Hutchins Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

T

he self-taught computer-security researcher credited with stopping a devastating cyberattack in May was arrested on charges that he created malware used to hack banking systems in Canada and Europe, the US said.

Marcus Hutchins, who has blogged under the pseudonym MalwareTech, was arrested Wednesday in Las Vegas, the Justice Department said on Thursday in a news statement that announced he was indicted in July on several charges of computer misconduct relating to the creation and distribution of the Kronos banking trojan.

Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), said the San Francisco-based legal advocacy group

is trying to reach out to Hutchins.

“The EFF is deeply concerned about the arrest of Marcus Hutchins, a security researcher known for shutting down the WannaCry ransomware,” said Jeanne Carstensen, a spokeswoman for the group. “We are looking into the matter, and are reaching out to Hutchins.”

In May, a large-scale ransomware attack dubbed WannaCry spread malicious software to about 300,000 computers in 150 countries, where access to data was blocked unless a ransom was paid with bitcoins. The UK’s National Health Service, FedEx Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Renault were among entities impacted. The fallout for European companies affected in global cyberattacks has proven costly. Bloomberg News

Sports BusinessMirror

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

H

AYWARD, California—Stephen Curry pumped his right fist, raised his arms in the air with club in hand and gave a firm shoulder bump to caddie Jonnie West, his golf partner on road trips with the Golden State Warriors.

After three bogeys in five holes of his professional golf debut, a birdie was worthy of celebration.

There was the animated, confident Steph that National Basketball Association (NBA) fans know so well, the two-time league Most Valuable Player finally feeling it and making the tough shots on the challenging course at TPC Stonebrae, while competing in a tournament one step below the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour.

With a bogey on the last hole, he had a respectable fourover 74.

“It was an amazing experience, I’ve been looking forward to this since I found out and to finally hit my first shot in tournament play was a really, really nervous moment but it was everything I hoped for,” Curry said. “If you told me I was going to shoot 74 going into the first round I’d take that all day, every day. I’m pretty happy with it.”

Curry drew 300-plus fans to the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic, where Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice has played a few times in the past.

The star point guard of the champion Warriors high-fived fans between holes on the picturesque course providing panoramic views overlooking San Francisco Bay, and he chatted with the other two in his threesome, Sam Ryder and defending champion Stephan Jaeger.

Both will be on the PGA Tour next season.

Curry, who munched on a breakfast sandwich at the green of his first hole, missed badly on his opening tee shot. The drive landed off a hill and bounced perfectly into the cup holder of a golf cart.

Not quite as spot-on as those signature pregame tunnel shots at Oracle Arena or the jawdropping, buzzer-beating three-pointers from way, way back.

“That’s probably a first on the tour. There was a golf cart just left of my target on hole No. 1 and it went right in the cup holder,” Curry

said. “Not an ideal way to start with calling a rules official over after your first tee shot. I kind of settled in after that.”

On the 15th fairway, Curry leaned on West, a member of Golden State’s front office and son of Hall of Famer Jerry West.

Jonnie West also is a member at this course.

Then Curry finished the par-5 15th by sinking a 5-foot, downhill birdie putt. He made par on No. 16 then survived a tee shot to the bunker and a near stumble climbing out of the sand on the par-4 18th and made about an 8-footer to save par.

That prompted a triumphant club tap to his shoe and Curry then held up the ball sporting a big grin.

“It was awesome,”West said. “He handled the nerves of this being his first time in this type of atmosphere pretty well.”

Curry began his round on the back nine and when his name was announced on the tee, “I could barely feel my hands, I had to try to take a deep breath,” he said.

He made the turn in two over.

The top 65 and ties from the 156-player field will make the cut.

Curry, playing on a sponsor exemption and one of three amateurs in the field, was outside the top 140 and five shots below the cut line as the first round was headed for a conclusion.

“I want to play better tomorrow. Now that I kind of got the jitters out hopefully that will happen and hit a couple more good shots and make a couple more putts,” he said.

With so many cameras clicking, cheers and whistles moments after he struck the ball and hundreds of supporters in No. 30 shirts and Warriors gear, this was no doubt a “Strength In Numbers” kind of day.

There would be no balls lost, either. Wherever his shots landed, a big crowd quickly gathered to get an up-close glimpse of one of basketball’s best. One of the biggest bargains in the NBA before, Curry was rewarded last month with a $201-million, five-year contract.

Playing his other sporting passion, Curry got plenty of help along the 7,024-yard, par-70 course. Those with homes along the course gathered in groups on decks to catch a hole.

On this day, it was Jaeger making a key assist down the stretch. Waiting at the tee box on their final hole, he took a basketball belonging to 14-yearold Erik Oswald from Southern California for Curry to sign and delivered it back to the giddy teen dressed in a chef’s hat who had followed his hoops hero all day. AP

Sunday, August 6, 2017

A5

AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE FOR Stephen Curry, after three bogeys in five holes in his professional golf debut, a birdie is worthy of a celebration. AP

neymar signs

world record deal P

ARIS—Six years after taking over perennial underachiever Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the French club’s wealthy owners finally got what they wanted by hiring Neymar—a player they believe will bring them Champions League glory.

The Brazil star became the most expensive player in soccer history after completing his blockbuster transfer from Barcelona for €222 million ($262 million) on Thursday. By paying the release clause in his contract, PSG shattered the world transfer record to sign arguably one of the top three best attacking players in the game, alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The previous transfer record had been set a year ago when Manchester United paid €105 million (then $116 million) to bring Paul Pogba back from Juventus.

Ironically, the 25-year-old Neymar signed a five-year contract with the French league side just five months after playing a decisive role as Barcelona produced a comeback that made Champions League history at PSG’s expense.

Having lost their first leg match 4-0 in France, Barcelona was trailing 5-3 on aggregate in the 88th minute in Spain, only for Neymar to score twice in the final minutes before Sergi Roberto’s winner in added time sealed a humiliating exit from the Round of 16 for PSG. Next season, it will be different.

“Paris Saint-Germain’s ambition attracted me to the club, along with the passion and

T

the energy this brings,” Neymar said in comments released

by PSG. “I played four seasons in Europe and I feel ready to take the challenge. From today, I will do everything I can to help my new teammates, to open up new horizons for my club and to bring happiness to its millions of supporters around the world.”

PSG would certainly welcome the kind of success that Neymar enjoyed in Spain.

In his four seasons there, Neymar scored 105 goals as Barcelona won the Champions League, Club World Cup, two Spanish league titles and Copa del Rey three times.

Now he will look to emerge from the shadow of fivetime world player of the year Messi at Barcelona, becoming the biggest star in the French league in a team without the track record of success to match his former club.

While Barcelona has lifted the European Cup five times and won the International Football Federation Club World Cup three times, PSG is yet to win either prestigious competition.

Since Qatar Sports Investments took over the club in June 2011, PSG has spent several hundred million dollars on top-class players—including the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marco Verratti and Edinson Cavani—in its effort to build a team capable of winning Europe’s top club competition.

But the big names were not enough to bring success on the continental stage, and PSG has yet to make it through the quarterfinals of the Champions League under its Qatari owners.

Maybe that’s about to change.

“I am extremely happy to join Paris Saint-Germain,” Neymar

said. “Since I arrived in Europe, the club has always been one of the most competitive and most ambitious. And the biggest challenge, what most motivated me to join my new teammates, is to help the club to conquer the titles that their fans want.”

It’s a mission that is clearly shared by the club’s top management.

“Neymar Jr. is today one of the very best players in world football. His winning mentality, strength of character and sense of leadership have made him into a great player,” PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi said. “He will bring a very positive energy to this club.

“In six years, we have built a very ambitious project that has already taken us to the highest level of national and European football. Today, with the arrival of Neymar Jr., I am convinced that we will come even closer, with the support of our faithful fans, to realizing our greatest dreams.”

PSG’s announcement put an end to a saga that started about two weeks ago with rumors of his possible transfer, though the club had already tried to lure him to the City of Light last summer.

Neymar is expected in Paris on Friday and will hold a news conference early in the afternoon, PSG said. He might make his debut on Saturday, when PSG starts its new league campaign against promoted Amiens at the Parc des Princes.

Not surprisingly, his transfer has not gone down well in Spain.

In a statement, Barcelona said “the club will pass on to UEFA the details of the above operation so that they can determine the

disciplinary responsibilities that may arise from this case.”

The comment followed a claim by Spanish league president Javier Tebas on Wednesday that Neymar’s move would break Financial Fair Play rules introduced by UEFA, European soccer’s ruling body.

Barcelona did all it could to stop Neymar from leaving, and had vowed to complain to UEFA if his seemingly untouchable release clause was triggered.

The payment of the release clause was the second attempt Neymar’s representatives had made on Thursday to break his bond with Barcelona. Earlier in the day, his lawyer Juan de Dios Crespo had tried to deposit the enormous sum at the Spanish league’s offices in Madrid, but he was turned away.

Tebas had told Spanish sports daily AS that he wouldn’t let the league act as an intermediary to an operation that he, like Barcelona, believed violated UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules.

He had called PSG a “state-supported club.”The club’s Qatari owners are closely linked to the energy-rich ruling family. AP

»

Ironically, the 25-year-old Neymar signed a five-year contract with the French league side just five months after playing a decisive role as Barcelona produced a comeback that made Champions League history at PSG’s expense.

IronKids gets going in Cebu

HE future triathlon stars took center stage ahead of the sport’s elite as they slugged it out for top honors in various age-group divisions in the Alaska IronKids Triathlon firing on Saturday at the Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa in Cebu City.

More than 360 youngsters aged six to 14, led by the Borlain kids, are seeing action in the event divided into four divisions and held as a run-up to the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Championship today.

Tara and Francheska Borlain, who have dominated their respective age divisions in past Alaska IronKids race series, banner the field in the event held to inspire the youth to lead active, positive and healthy lifestyles while helping them develop the values of discipline, hard work and determination.

Focus was on Tara and Wacky Baniqued, the perennial winner in the boys’ side, who are out to cap their dominant reign with another pair of victories in the 13-14 category of the junior version of the Ironman, which also features swimming, biking and running events.

Other events on tap in the event sponsored by

Alaska were the 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12 and 13-14 categories with 24 teams, composed of 72 participants, vying in relay competitions.

Triathlon reigning champion Tim Reed and recent Regent 5150 titlist Dimity-Lee Duke supported the participants in the Alaska IronKids, along with the other elite pros who clash in the centerpiece event produced and organized by Sunrise Events Inc. and backed by title sponsor Cobra Energy Drink, presentor Tourism Promotions Board Philippines and Summit Natural Drinking Water, the official hydration partner.

Reed is seeking a record third straight Ironman crown but fellow Aussie Tim Van Berkel, Mauricio Mendez of Mexico, Brent McMahon of Canada, Kiwi Cameron Brown and another Aussie ace Sam Betten, winner of the recent Regent 5150 in Subic, are raring to foil his bid along with Braden Currie, Eddie Rawles and Callum Millward of New Zealand, David Mainwaring, Alexander Polizzi and Luke Bell of Australia, Americans Brad Williams and Iain Alexandridis, Czech Jakub Langhammer, Johan Stofberg of South Africa, Italian Jonathan Ciavatella and Eric Watson of Bahrain.

Alaska Milk President and CEO Wilfred Uytengsu, pro triahtletes and IronKids participants join the pupils of Mactan Elementary School in the Alaska Run Out at the Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa in Cebu and Gatas for Breakfast program, which aims to encourage Filipino children to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle starting with a nutritious breakfast of milk.

Duke, on the other hand, faces an uphill battle against Jacqueline Thisleton, Alise Selsmark, Kirra Seidel, Monica Juhart and Kerry Mulholland, Hungarian Anna Eberhardt, New Zealand’s Amelia

Watkinson and local bet Kim Kilgroe for the women’s crown in the event supported by Asics, Gatorade, Prudential Guarantee, Philippine Airlines, Globe, Oakley, TYR and Active Network.

Science

BusinessMirror

A6 Sunday, August 6, 2017

Sunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Failing nuke power is good for coal, bad for Earth

S

cana Corp. announced on Monday it will stop construction on a nuclear-power plant in South Carolina—one of two in development in the US. Project costs ballooned in recent years, and the decision should eventually save electricity customers $7 billion.

But the stoppage and others like it may cost everyone more in the long run. The move has implications that last hundreds of years—the residence time of heattrapping carbon dioxide (CO 2) in the atmosphere—as electricity generated from fossil fuels begin to replace aging or expensive nuclear reactors.

Nuclear power has long provoked ardent policy fights, historically centered on the perceived safety or danger of splitting atoms to keep consumers’ refrigerators running. Since America’s most famous close-call—the 1979 partial reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island—debates have only grown in complexity.

Today, it’s not local or environmental opposition but economics that’s crippling industry growth and undercutting the fiscal viability of existing plants.

At the same time, the Spanish government says it’s closing the country’s oldest nuclear-power station because of lack of support among political parties and companies involved to keep it open.

Energy Minister Alvaro Nadal said on Tuesday the license for the Santa Maria de Garona plant in northern Spain would not be renewed as there was too much uncer ta int y sur round ing t he plant’s viability.

$9B

The amount that will be saved by the US annually by restricting the emissions of 1 million tons of sulfur dioxide, 650,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and particulates each year with the use of nuclear power

Production at the 46-year-old Garona was halted in 2012 when its operator, Nuclenor, objected to a new tax. Its board recently failed to reach agreement on keeping the plant open.

Environmentalists have long claimed that the plant is outdated, although Spain’s Nuclear Security Council this year said it could continue operating.

Spain has seven other nuclear reactors that produce some 20 percent of the country’s electricity.

A natural gas installation coming online in 2022 might cost $14 a megawatt-hour (MWh) in apples-to-apples capital costs,

A worker checks inside the control room of the nuclear-power plant Santa Maria de Garona in Spain in October 2009. The Spanish government said on August 1 that it is closing the country’s oldest nuclear-power station because of lack of support among political parties and companies involved to keep it open and the uncertainty surrounding the plant’s viability. AP/I. Lopez

according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2017 Annual Energy Outlook.

Nuclear plants would need more than $70 per MWh. (The latest EIA outlook doesn’t project coal costs because under Obama-era regulations, none were expected to be built.) Low natural-gas prices are undercutting even the relatively cheap costs of operating many online US nuclear plants, making some of them too expensive to run.

Among those existing reactors, the Three Mile Island is the latest victim of the US shale gas boom, and to some extent, reduced demand and increased renewables. It is now expected to close in 2019.

Four states that have shuttered nuclear facilities in recent years have turned to gas and coal to make up the difference.

More gas and coal, of course, means more emitted CO 2 . And that’s exactly what scientists say, we need to reduce in order to slow climate change, or, at the very least, avoid global environmental catastrophe.

But renewable energies, like solar and wind, aren’t enough to replace fossil fuels, at least not yet.

This is where nuclear comes in. It may be very difficult to meet international carbon-cutting goals without widespread addition of nuclear plants.

T he Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project is an international research effort into how leading polluters’ may need to transform their energy systems to cut carbon below levels identified as safe by scientists.

The US analysis, which was conducted by the consultancy Energy and Environmental Economics Inc. and two national laboratories, found that electricity demand might double by 2050—while the amount of CO2 emitted per dollar of GDP would need to fall to between 3 percent and 10 percent of current levels.

The report lays out three main scenarios that would achieve such dramatic reductions: A renewables scenario which calls for about 30 times 2015 capacity; the coal

Brown-rice quality, shelf life improved with new technology

T

he consumption of brown rice is becoming popular these days because of its health benefits. However, the ordinary brown rice has a shelf life of one to two months only. But with the newly introduced superheated steam treatment system (SSTS), it can last for nine months without spoilage and rancid flavor.

The new technology was discussed by Dr. Dominic S. Guevarra during the National Science and Technology Week Technology Forum held recently at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City.

Guevarra, senior science research specialist of the Metals Industry Research and Development Center of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-MIRDC), led the project, “Design and development of superheated steam treatment system for stabilized brown rice”, with funding from the DOST’s Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD).

He explained the advantages of eating brown rice and the need to improve its quality and shelf life through SSTS. Brown rice is unpolished rice with the bran retained and only the hull removed during milling.

The SSTS involves the use of specialized machine and the application of superheated steam to deactivate the enzyme and reduce

Dr. Dominic S. Guevarra, senior science research specialist of Metals Industry Research and Development Center of the Department of Science and Technology, discusses the superheated-steam treatment system for brown rice. Agricultural Resources Management Research Division/PCAARRD

or delay enzyme activity, which starts after the bran layer of the brown rice has been exposed. MIRDC designed and developed two types of machine: the Batch-type and the Continuous-type SSTS. Guevarra said the project has already obtained the optimum parameters, such as temperature, treatment time and capacity at which both machines performed best. The physico-chemical properties of the treated rice have already been tested and results

were satisfactory. MIRDC, in coordination with Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), implemented the project, which was completed last year.

During the forum, FNRI’s Dr. Rosemarie Garcia explained that brown rice has been existing a long time ago when rice milling machines have not yet been widely used in the country. Nowadays, many prefer brown rice because of its health benefits in terms of boosting the body’s immune

system, reducing diabetes, controlling body weight and others.

Garcia is the study leader of the project’s component on “Chemical, physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory evaluation of stabilized brown rice produced using superheated steam assembly,” also funded

by DOST-PCAARRD. More than 100 participants composed of students, researchers and employees of non-governmental and government organizations attended the Techno Forum.

This activity was coordinated by PCAARRD’s Socio-Economics Research Division and Agricultural Resources Management Research Division.

MIRDC and FNRI will continue the project’s field testing and promotion. The project team is providing capability-building assistance to interested fabricators, rice millers and farmers’ cooperatives.

Patent application for the technology has already been filed at the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.

The development of the SSTS machines and processes is expected to increase the production and consumption of brown rice in the Philippines and make it affordable and readily available to all types of consumers, children and adults, rich and poor.

S&T Media Service

Training highlights intellectual-property management integration with R&D

A

three-day training on intellectualproperty (IP) management provided researchers techniques on how IP can be integrated with the research and development (R&D) process.

The recent training equipped 17 researchers with the rudiments of IP management, such as invention spotting, prior ar t search, documentation and interpretation in relation to technologies derived from R&D projects.

Held through the initiative of the Department of Science and TechnologyPhilippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic

and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD), the training was conducted at the DOST-PCAARRD Innovation and Technology Center, which serves as the one-stop hub for inventors and technology users in agriculture, aquatic and natural-resources sectors.

Brianne Nicole A. Sanchez and Wilfredo O. Calaguan from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines served as the resource speakers and course facilitators for the modules on Patent Search, Documentation and claims Interpretation.

The participants navigated through

patent databases using the patentclassification system, keywords and various patent-search tools and strategies.

Caezar Angelito E. Arceo from the DOSTTechnology Application and Promotion Institute, led the lecture-discussion on invention spotting, a crucial concern with respect to prior art. Dr. Edwin C. Villar, PCAARRDacting deputy executive director for Research and Development, for his part, assured the participants of the council’s continual support in capacitating its institutional partners through degree and nondegree trainings. Villar also said that

besides IP-management related trainings, PCAARRD would also roll out commoditybased innovation and technology trainings for higher-education institutions and other PCAARRD institutional partners.

In relation to the importance of the IP training, Villar also cited PCAARRD’s significant role in the crafting of the Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2010, a manifestation of how the council sees itself as a bastion for technology transfer and commercialization for the agriculture, aquatic and natural-resources sector.

S&T Media Service

scenario would require roughly doubling current coal-generated power (provided it has carboncapture and storage technology that doesn’t exist); and the “highnuclear” scenario.

This third option calls for a quadrupling of 2015 US nuclear-power production. And with Scana nixing 2.2 gigawatts of construction, Three Mile Island’s announced closure, and the generally weak state of the industry, the US is not showing much capacity to even hold the line.

“Without an aggressive buildout of nuclear power, climate goals are still attainable, but at much greater expense,” according to Jeffrey Sachs, the economist and director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, who coleads the Deep Decarbonization effort.

“The rest of the options are still feasible, but less attractive,” he said. “We’d make a big mistake if we decide right now we don’t need it.”

Asked how to overcome the

u n f avor a ble e conom ic s t h at killed the South Carolina project and is shuttering active plants, Sachs suggested a rethinking of the entire nuclear research, development, and deployment pipeline. Newer technologies— some being pursued in other countr ies—may d ramat ica l ly reduce costs, if they prove safe.

A magic wand solving the cost problems would still leave the problem of waste, and give policymakers a choice between nuclear waste—deadly but concentrated poison that lasts thousands of years—and fossil-fuel waste— invisible, diffuse carbon pollution that in sufficient amounts w ill transform the Earth for thousands of years.

Some climate skeptics may cite this as a Hobson’s choice, but experts warn that it’s not that simple, especially when considering the economic component.

While nuclear waste is nasty stuff, so are the conventional pollutants of fossil-fuel burning. The Brattle Group has previously found that, “Nuclear power avoids air emissions of over 1 million tons of sulfur dioxide and 650,000 tons of nitrogen oxides each year, as well as significant particulate emissions.”

Restricting these toxins saves America more than $9 billion a year. Brattle Group provides consulting services and expert testimony in economics, finance and regulation to corporations, law firms and public agencies.

Emissions cuts made today are worth more than the same cuts made down the road, authors of a Brattle Group report wrote last December.

“Since CO2 emissions persist for many years in the atmosphere,” they said, “near-term emission reductions are more helpful for climate protection than later ones.”

Bloomberg News and AP

Number of bees recovers as mystery malady wanes

T

he number of US honeybees, a critical component in the agriculture industry, rose in 2017 from a year earlier, and deaths of the insects attributed to a mysterious malady that’s affected hives in North America and Europe declined, according a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) honeybee health survey released on Tuesday.

The number of commercial US honeybee colonies rose 3 percent to 2.89 million as of April 1 compared with a year earlier, the Agriculture Department reported.

The number of hives lost to Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomenon of disappearing bees that has raised concerns among farmers and scientists for a decade, was 84,430 in this year’s first quarter, down 27 percent from a year earlier. Year-over-year losses declined by the same percentage from April to June, the most recent data in the survey.

Still, more than two-fifths of beekeepers said mites were harming their hives, and with pesticides and other factors still stressing bees, the overall increase is largely the result of constant replenishment of losses, the study showed.

ERRATUM

Some parts of the article “Innovation Council: For better service”, which was printed on Science page on July 2, should read: “PCIEERD gets an alternative name.

“The Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, Emerging Technology Research and Development [PCIEERD] celebrated its seventh anniversary on June 29. Like all milestones where the accomplishments and future plans are laid out, the council is adopting an alternative name in order to highlight its pursuit for innovation.

Thus, PCIEERD will be known also as Innovation Council.

“The first reason it [PCIEERD] adopted

“You create new hives by breaking up your stronger hives, which just makes them weaker,” said Tim May, a beekeeper in Harvard, Illinois and the vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation based in Atlanta. “We check for mites, we keep our bees well-fed, we communicate with farmers so they don’t spray pesticides when our hives are vulnerable. I don’t know what else we can do.”

Environmental groups have expressed alarm over the 90-percent decline during the past two decades in the population of pollinators, from wild bees to Monarch butterflies. Some point to a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids as a possible cause, a link rejected by Bayer AG and other manufacturers.

In the USDA study, beekeepers who owned at least five colonies, or hives, reported the most losses from the varroa mite, a parasite that lives only in beehives and survives by sucking insect blood.

The scourge, present in the US since 1987, was reported in 42 percent of commercial hives between April and June this year, according to the USDA. That’s down from 53 percent in the same period one year earlier.

Bloomberg News

Innovation Council [as an alternative name] was that the former name was quite long.

The former name did not have a strong recall. At the same time, it embodies not only research and development [R&D] but also advocates the pursuit of innovation on many fronts. It also helps in reducing the layers of procedures in the bureaucracy when we are doing our projects,” said Dr. Carlos Primo C. David, executive director of PCIEERD, on the sidelines of its anniversary held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.”

We apologize to our readers for this inadvertent error.

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Unicorn dreams come true

Sunday, August 6, 2017

A7

Quezon City gears up as medical tourism hub

in Malolos’s Dreamy ‘Unicorn’ Café Story & photos Gretchen Filart Dublin

‘W

ould you like to wear a unicorn onesie?” we were asked as we sat down on a candy-colored bunk. Kids in tow, we immediately turned awe-inspired at the flurry of pastel tables, cushions, ponies and other decorative items. It was Sunday and at 11 a.m., Dreamy “Unicorn” Café, a queer new eatery in a small alley in Malolos, Bulacan, was full house all the way up topmost floor.

Mayor Herbert M. Bautista led in the signing of a “Vision 2020 Commitment”, detailing steps and action plans to make the Quezon City a medical-tourism destination.

Q

Dreamy Café has three floors, with the first floor having a bunk-style arrangement

Belle Kasilag, founder and owner of Dreamy Café, says being businessminded runs in the family

Dreamy Café’s pastel interiors were conceptulized and built by owner Belle Kasilag from scratch

Guests at Dreamy Café can wear unicorn onesies while eating Dreamy “Unicorn” Café is popular for its pastel interiors and whimsical menu

Dreamy “Unicorn” Café was built in 2016, but months after it opened, word has already spread across several cities in Luzon.

Despite its obscure location and limited 44-seater capacity, hundreds of customers from as far as Ilocos pour in every day until closing time. Belle Kasilag, the café’s 23-year-old founder, shared that even after the addition of a third floor, customers will still be found patiently waiting outside to dine—a fact that we witnessed on that dreary Sunday. The downpour was heavy, causing rainwater to pool in the alley, but that didn’t discourage families to wait outside for their turn.

It’s not hard to see why. Dining in this quaint outfit is pretty much summed up by its tagline, “W here unicorn dreams come t r ue.” A s t he f i rst u n icor nthemed restaurant in the Philippines, Dreamy Café affords customers well-curated rice meals and Western snacks for as low as P79, while enjoying the whimsical experience of eating with and as unicorns. Both adults and children are offered unicorn costumes to wear upon entering, which they can don during their stay in the appointed areas.

“That’s the difference between us and other unicorm-inspired restaurants. We have unicorn onesies that customers can use for free, so that while eating, they can wear one. In other cafes, customers can only wear the suit for pictures, then they have to take it off afterward. Here, people can enjoy the experience of being a unicorn

while eating, because not everyone can afford onesies,” shared Kasilag.

The onesies are sourced off shore and sold for P1,500 in Kasilag’s online clothing shop, a business that served as the precursor to Dreamy Café. “My very first business actually involved selling cosplay items online and during animé conventions. I started going into online business to support my cosplay needs but, with Dreamy, I wanted to have a business that is and offers good food, so I can retire early. Then, last year, unicorns became trendy and since I like cute items and unicorns, I got this started,” she added.

Pooling her personal savings, Kasilag began conceptualizing a seiza-style café next to their home, where guests are seated on floor mats alongside unicorn plushies.

The interiors reflect her personality, with pastel floors, walls, tables and paper décors that Kasilag made herself. “I’m very hands-on.

Everything you see here, I conceptualized and built from scratch. It’s really a one-man show,” she said.

This whimsy extends to the menu as well, which Kasilag said are inspired by cool recipes she finds online. Guests are treated to rainbow-colored toasts and waffles, colored nachos, and filling shakes and frappes called “Fancy Pony Creations”. Here, you will find cheese sauce-drizzled Cheezy Bacon Fries mixed with purple nachos, and sandwiches like Bacon and Egg with rainbow-hued bread captured in swirls.

Kids, however, love the Premium Milkshakes (P129) and Fancy

Bacon N’ Egg with Nachos

Bestsellers in Dreamy Café include Premium Milkshakes and Fancy Pony Creations

Pony Creations (P179) that are generously peppered with muffins and mallows. We had the popcorntopped Fluttershine Caramel and Ferrero Creation, both contained in jars that were more than sufficient for three kids.

Although much of the guests are hip millennials and families with small children, it’s not surprising to see seniors dining at the café according to its owner. “We once had a very old couple celebrating their anniversary. The man wanted to surprise his wife, who is fond of unicorns. It was a happy day for both,” Kasilag recalled.

Boost for local tourism

As the seat of the Philippines’ first republic, Malolos is best known for its heritage structures, such as the Barasoain Church and the 200-yearold Tanjoso White House. But over the years, the first-class city has gained a reputation for culinary tourism, with pastry shops and modern restaurants such as Dreamy Cafe burgeoning along the highway.

Cheezy Bacon Fries and Twister Fries

In a land where fertile plains replace t he sight of tropica l beac hes, t he r ise of not able eats helps bring in tourists that generate business for the local tourism industry. In the case of Dreamy Café, as many as 300 guests come per day from neighboring territories like Manila and Pampanga—reason why a second branch in Pampanga is already underway. Kasilag observed that some guests pay their cafe a visit before heading their way to other nearby attractions in the city. There is definitely a huge promise there in terms of tourism. With unique cafes like this in Bulacan, the province might soon find itself brimming with novelty-crazy tourists. And that’s not a bad thing at all.

Dreamy “Unicorn” Cafe is in 1200 ARBE Compound MacArthur Highway, Malolos, Bulacan.

Call 0917-5035432 for inquiries or visit the cafe’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/dreamycafeph to learn more.

By Marane A. Plaza

uezon City has always been known as the “City of Stars”, as it is home to the countr y’s largest TV and film networks and production outfits for decades. But with the recent first Quezon City Tourism Stakeholders’ Summit, the city government has been clear with its goals of adding “Wellness Capital of Asia” as a distinctive badge to its name.

Mayor Herbert M. Bautista has led the signing of “Vision 2020 Commitment,” pledging to gather inputs from stakeholders and create an effective plan that will “raise the profile of Quezon City in the world medical-tourism stage”.

“On a global scale, I have learned that medical tourism is one of the so-called sunrise industries. A report forecasts the world medical-tourism market to be at $143 billion by 2020. Growth is phenomenal, and the Philippines is poised to benefit because of our hospitality, skilled doctors and ready facilities. Quezon City wants to be part of it,” Mayor Herbert stated at the forum.

“Medical tourism is not only about hospitals or clinics. It is about the people.

I believe Filipinos are the best in terms of providing that personal and effective health care. Medical Tourism is also about providing the best experience for the patient and his or her family. Medical Tourism serves as a catalyst to bring in more tourists to Quezon City,” he added.

First to experience these medical tourism landmarks in Quezon City were the members of the media, as the city government prepared an educational and relaxing wellness tour that truly highlighted the best health and wellness spots in the city.

Wellness is also about looking and feeling good about oneself, and Svelt’i is just the perfect stop for all those vanity, health and beauty needs. The top-shelf state-of-the art technologies for slimming, skin care and anti-ageing needs are catered to provide noninvasive body and skin rejuvenation.

The professional and friendly medical staff noted that they provide wellness sessions based on honest consultancy that truly rely on what your body and face really need, and not just to sell the services. Dr. Lalaine Salazar noted that their team conducts thorough assessment before suggesting any procedure that will help you lose weight, reverse aging and maintain radiant skin. Svelt’i offers a selection of “proven technical approaches, versatile equipment and specific treatment protocols” for its clientele to see visible beauty and weight-loss results that cannot be achieved through regular exercise and beauty regimens alone.

If you’re shopping for body-shaping and cellulite-smoothing treatments, the center’s i-Curve is the session you should book.

Winner of “Best Slimming Treatment” in Les Victoire de la Beaute in France back in 2010 and 2011, i-Curve is a revolutionary system that uses low-level lasers to smoothen cellulite, reduce fats and highlight body shapes. The treatment’s photobiomodulation stimulates the body’s natural process for releasing stored content in the adipose cells.

Svelt-I Wellness and Beauty Center is at fifth Floor of South Insula Condominium in Timog Avenue.

For a soulful, relaxing treat for your senses, a body massage at the high-end The Spa at SM North is the perfect relief to cap off your day.

The Spa pioneered the spa industry in the Philippines back in 1996. Decades later and The Spa still holds its reputation of giving classy, exquisite body massage sthat truly rejuvenate your senses and gives you that calming, soothing vibe. Its Swedish Massage has always been a crowd favorite for its invigorating technique using elbows and forearms to work on your deeper tissues, which then result in a profound relief from muscle tightness. The Lymphatic Detox is also a must-try to cleanse from within, with the excellent detoxification that eliminates metabolic waste, excess fluids and toxins in your body.

Now, if you are looking for a more serious health care, Saint Luke’s Medical Center is

undoubtedly the best medical facility in the city. The well-acclaimed hospital that is Saint Luke’s on E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue is set to conquer higher grounds with its new and world-class facilities. Gearing up toward international medical tourism, Saint Luke’s has recently introduced its Concierge Building, wherein foreign patients will be welcomed with top-notch, hotel-like services for their needed medical assistance. They are further supported in terms of taking care of administrative work and papers that come with being a foreigner in the country.

Tristan Ramos, assistant vice president for Institutional accounts, noted that Saint Luke’s is truly ready to become an international medical-tourism spot with its continuous effor ts toward global advancements. Saint Luke’s has always been considered as one of the Philippines’s best hospitals with its advanced technology and top-of-the-line doctors, but its Obesity and Management Center should also be noticed.

You can have the latest medical approach, proven techniques to effectively manage weight, as well as lifestyle counselling for your exercise and nutrition plans.

For any of your health problems, Saint Luke’s boasts of its top-of-the line and advanced technology to diagnose your condition in a lot faster and easier ways. All equipment are all advanced and state-ofthe-art in terms of addressing your every health issue.

If you’re in for an experience that will feed and nourish your mind with knowledge and pleasure, the Quezon City Experience (QCX) Museum is surely the best place where you can unwind a little and get informed. This social-history museum offers 16 literary interactive galleries where visitors can learn more about the history and culture of sprawling Quezon City. Each gallery boasts of high-technology holograms and tablets, as well as world-class installations.

The museum allows you to know Quezon City more, from its humble beginnings to overcoming setbacks, as well as its amazing achievements through the years.

QCX Museum is located inside the Quezon Memorial Circle on Elliptical Road.

After giving your mind a wonderful treat at QCX Museum, you can enjoy feel-good, tasty, organic food at Hillside Café & Juice Bar. Hillside Cafe & Juice Bar offers a wide array of mouth-watering organic dishes and fresh juices and smoothies that can surely give that self-pampering feeling in an instant. The humble, homey vibe of the dining place makes you want to truly enjoy a good time with your loved ones over healthy, delicious food. Its avocado toast is a must-try, as well as its healthy pasta offerings. The “Wellness Shots” such as Fat Flush Shot and Gout Blaster fresh juice drinks are perfect options when you want to start your body detoxification. Pair them with the Superfood Salad with greens, beers, quinoa, carrots, moringa flakes and flax, plus Beet It cold pressed juice and you’re truly in for sumptuous and healthy treats that you know are good for your body and health.

Just beside Hillside Café is the equally charming Cedarhills Garden Center. If you want to get acquainted with your inner gardener and organic farmer, this place should be your green-thumb haven. The large selection of beautiful cacti, green plants and mint greens are just perfect for that boost of positive energy. Cedarhills promotes natural and organic farming— complete with all gardening tools and manuals that you’d need when you start your own organic farm and garden. This place is really a delightful stop for plant-lovers and organic-farming enthusiasts.

Hillside Café and Cedarhills Garden are located at 57 Mother Ignacia Avenue in Diliman. With just some of these wellness landmarks in Quezon City out of many more, the city’s aim to become “Wellness Capital of Asia” is indeed just within reach. Ahead of its Asian neighbours, the city government is continuously working toward its goal of attaining medical advancement, wellness and beauty technologies that are perfectly matched with the Filipinos’ naturally warm and friendly assistance.

Faith A8 Sunday, August 6, 2017

Sunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Nuncio praises Filipinos’ faith amid disasters as he bid farewell

T

he outgoing Papal Nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto said the Filipinos’ deep faith and resilience in the wake of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) had a huge impact on him.

Speaking at a send-off gathering for him at Pius XII Center in Manila on July 31, the archbishop said that with the inspirations he learned in the country, “I could say that I received much more than I gave.”

“I will bring with me wonderful memories of the Filipino people who, in spite of their many hardships and trials, remain resilient supported by resolute faith in God,” Pinto added.

“They do not ask God to provide only for their material needs but rather to abandon themselves to Him as their Father. They believe that God is greater than all their needs,” he added.

A r r a nged b y t he C at hol ic B i s ho p s ’ C o n f e r e n c e o f t h e Ph i l ippi nes (C BC P), t he si m ple gat her i ng d re w doz en s of pre l ates, i nc lud i ng C a rd i n a l Lu i s A nton io Tag le of M a n i l a , a nd h i s predecessor, ret i red C a rd i n a l Gaudenc io R os a les.

For t he bi shops, t he nu n c io w i l l a l so be remembered for h i s role at t he he ig ht of Yoland a when he went to L ey te a nd i m me rse d h i m se l f w it h t he su f fer i ng of t he people.

It was dur ing his watc h t hat big gest c a l a m it ies befe l l on t he Phi l ippines— ear t hqua kes a nd t y phoon s a nd e ven m a nm ade d i s a sters.

In t hose t imes, LingayenDagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, CBCP president, said Archbishop Pinto was “a pastor, a father, a brother and friends to the Filipinos.”

“We saw that very clearly at the height of Yolanda. He showed us the face of the Lord which is mercy and compassion,” Villegas said.

He added it was a lso du ring Pinto’s ter m t hat Fi l ipinos were “ blessed ” w it h t he v isit of Pope Fra nc is.

“Pope Francis, like Archbishop Pinto, has shown us the face of Jesus, God of compassion, God of mercy,” Villegas said.

With the “wisdom of a pastor

6

The number of years Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto stayed in the Philippines and a prudence of a Church diplomat,” he also guided the bishops, the clergy and the lay Filipinos during the 51st International Eucharistic Congress that was held

in Cebu in 2016 and the fourth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy held in Manila and nearby dioceses in January.

After six years in the Philippines, the 65-year-old Italian prelate is leaving next week for his new post in Eastern Europe.

On July 1 Pope Francis appointed Pinto to serve the same position in Croatia, a country with around 4.2 million population and where Catholicism is the dominant religion.

It will be his seventh assignment as papal ambassador ever since he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1984.

For his part, Tagle thanked the nuncio for his “trust and confidence” on the Filipino church leaders. “And wherever you are, k now t hat you have a home here in the Philippines and you will always have a home in our hearts,” Tagle said.

Bishop: Pray the rosary

Meanwhile, amid violence and terrorism, a Catholic bishop called on families to pray together for peace in Mindanao and throughout the country.

Dipolog Bishop Severo Caermare’s urged Catholics families to pray the rosar y, seeking the intercession of the Blessed Mother in restoring peace and

ending attacks on the family.

“It is my fervent prayer that our Golden Jubilee will lead us to [the] revival of the rosary in Christian families for this is an effective aid in countering the devastating effects of the crisis in the family,” the prelate said.

The prelate made the call in his homily at a Mass to celebrate the diocese’s Golden Jubilee at the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral on July 31. “ M ay we be com for ted b y t he te nde nc ie s of a mot he r a nd her mot herly protec t ion t h at wou ld lead u s to v a lue prayer a nd t he u rgent c a l l to conversion ,” he s a id .

He added it is “providential” that the diocese’s 50th anniversary coincided with the centenary of the Fatima apparitions in which Mary introduced herself as the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

The prelate said the celebration is also an opportunity for the “greater appreciation of the Eucharist” and for church people to minister to the poor, and lead in the campaign to protect the environment.

“With the spirit of communion it is also our mission to reach out, especially those who are in the peripheries, the unchurched and the youth,” he added. Roy Lagarde and Maria

Katreena Saguid/CBCPNews

Outgoing Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto receives a token from the Filipino bishops during a recent send-off gathering in Manila. ROY LAGARDE

Marian pilgrims to visit oldest, heritage churches in Pangasinan

M

arian devotees, joining the pilgrimage of Green Faith Travels in Pangasinan on October 21, will visit and pray at four of the country’s oldest existing stone churches, including the Co-Cathedral of the Epiphany of the Lord in Lingayen founded 430 years ago, or 14 years after San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila, was built.

The Augustinians also founded the CoCathedral, first named The Three Kings (Los Tres Reyes) Parish but popularly known as Lingayen Church, in the capital town, before they turned over the church to the Dominicans. Founded in 1587, the CoCathedral and Saint Dominic de Guzman Parish Church in San Carlos are the oldest churches in the province.

On this sixth Marian Pilgrimage of Faith and Heritage, Marian devotees will also seek the intercession of the Blessed Mother for their petitions and needs at the most popular pilgrim sites in the country, the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag (1605) and Our Lady of the Purification Parish Church in Binmaley (1627).

They will also pray at the old Dagupan Cathedral (1614), known during the Spanish colonial period as the Church of Dagupan and now called Santuario de

San Juan Evangelista since its complete restoration and consecration in 2001, and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, completed in 1974 and now the present seat of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.

Papal blessings, plenary indulgence

The Shrine Parish of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag was elevated to a Minor Basilica in 2014 by Pope Francis, two years after it became an affiliate of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Dagupan City was also granted the “Special Bond of Spiritual Affinity” in 2011 by the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

The Catholic faithful who visit and pray at these churches will gain such spiritual benefits as obtaining papal blessings and plenary indulgence or the remission before God of temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven.

To gain plenary indulgence, one must be in a state of grace and has gone to confession, received Holy Communion and prayed for the intentions of the pope. It can be applied to oneself or to the souls of the deceased as an act of charity, but not to other living persons.

Oldest, heritage churches

The present Lingayen church was built in 1710 and became the seat of the Diocese of Lingayen in May 1928. Made of adobe, the church’s exceptional architectural plan made it one of the best edifices not only in the province but also in Northern Luzon, until it was heavily damaged during the World War II. Its dome was designed by the famous architect-priest, Fr. Miguel Aparicio, while its imposing “Oriental Pagoda-like bell tower” was influenced by the town’s Chinese heritage.

Its title as “Co-Cathedral” was mandated by the Holy See after the seat of the diocese was transferred to Dagupan and the name of the See was changed to Lingayen-Dagupan in February 1954. Its “twin cathedral” of Saint John the Evangelist is now the seat of the archdiocese.

The bell of Our Lady of Purification Parish Church in Binmaley—cast in 1804 and weighing 4,130 pounds—is one of the three biggest bells in the country. Now fully restored, the church was also destroyed during the war but its walls and tower were only partly damaged.

The Santuario de San Juan Evangelista, the restored old Dagupan Cathedral, is now a special “sanctuary,” promoting the devotion

to Saint John the Evangelist and a shrine for the daily adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Dr. Jose Rizal’s former girlfriend, Leonor Rivera, wed an English railroad engineer named Henry Kipping in the old cathedral in 1890. It was heavily damaged during the massive magnitude 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Luzon a hundred years later. Reconstruction and refurbishments were made through the efforts of its then Archbishop Oscar Cruz.

Year of the Parish

“During the Year of the Parish, we join the church in transforming the parish as a communion of communities, as we create our own community of pilgrims through spiritual journeys while renewing our devotion to the Holy Rosary and imploring the help and guidance of our Blessed Mother,” Green Faith Travels’ facilitator Edwin Galvez said.

Green Faith Travels is on its sixth year as a noncommercial Catholic apostolate organizing pilgrimages and spiritual travels.

Interested parties may call 09266152596, e-mail greenfaithtravels@gmail. com and greenfaithtravels@yahoo.com or visit www.facebook.com/greenfaithtravels for details.

Icon of the Transfiguration by Theophanes the Greek, 15th century Wikimedia Commons

Feast of the Transfiguration

By Corazon Damo-Santiago

T

he word metamorphosis comes from the Greek word metemorphothe, which means a striking alteration in appearance, character or circumstance.

August 6, the 218th day in the Gregorian Calendar, has been designated as a day when the Transfiguration of Jesus is celebrated— the unique miracle that happens to Jesus himself a revelation of who Jesus is.

“Not of nature but of glory,” a connecting “bridge between heaven and earth.”

August 6, 1945, is also an important date in world history. It is the day when the US dropped the first atomic bomb. American Boeing B-29 bomber, named Enola Gray, dropped an atomic bomb at the center of Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m.

The bomb detonated 1,800 feet above the ground, destroyed the city, killed about 105,000 people instantly, and an estimated 100,000 who died of radiation effects later.

And “everything flattened” as far as the eyes could see.

As Jesus’ divinity shone through his humanity on the first Transfiguration Sunday, the nuclear powers’ capability to efface life on earth was proven in Hiroshima.

On that day, Jesuit priest Fr. Hubert Schiffer, 30, had just sat for breakfast after saying Mass at Our Lady of Assumption, near the congregation’s living quarters.

The priest, who lived until 63, heard a terrific explosion.

“After one bursting thunderstroke, an invisible force lifted me from the chair hurled me through the air, shook me, battered me, whirled me round and round like a leaf in the gust of autumn,” he said.

Except for minor injuries due to broken windows, Fr. Shiffer and three other Jesuit priests did not suffer any ill effects of the radiation. As the disciples were awestricken and overwhelmed with Jesus’ Transfiguration, the world, too, was speechless in grief to witness the fruits of civilization in ashes and human figures silenced forever or in untold sufferings.

Jesus in a changed form

August 6 is the Feast of the Transfiguration, an important celebration among Roman Catholics, and members of the Eastern Orthodox and Anglicans.

After Jesus told his disciples that he will suffer greatly in Jerusalem and be killed and on the third day raise from the dead (Matthew 16:21), he went to Mount Tabor in Galilee with Peter, James and John (Matthew 17:1).

A bright cloud cast a shadow on them and they heard a voice: “This is my Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5).

Jesus’ face shone like the sun and his garments white as light that overwhelmed his disciples. The message is exactly the message from the heavens during Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan: “This is my Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

Perfection of life

The fathers of the Church stress that the Transfiguration of Jesus is a revelation of who Jesus is. An incident that complements his baptism, it proves that the faithful, after death, will also return to life.

Like Moses and Elijah, who were long dead but were seen by the disciples talking with Jesus, the faithful will live in the presence of God. Jesus, indeed, is the connecting link between man and the divine, temporal life and eternal life.

As Saint Irenaeus emphasize, the “glory of God is a live human being and a truly human life in the vision of God.” Our “God is not a God of the dead but of the living,” (Matthew 22:32), a condition of discipleship according to Jesus

Presence of God

“No way any human could survive nor anything...left standing at 1 kilometer,” from the Hiroshima blast, said Dr. Stephen Rinehart, the international expert in the field of atomic blast of the US Department of Defense.

But not only one but four Jesuit priests; Frs. Schiffer, Hugo Lasalle, Wilhelm Kleinsorge and Hubert Cieslik survived with no detrimental effects on their health.

Through the years the four survivors underwent about 200 detailed examinations from doctors and scientists. Finally, Dr. Rinehart said: “[There is] no physical laws to explain why they were untouched in the Hiroshima air blast.”

That they were thoroughly unaffected by the hellish searing gamma rays of the bomb elicited religious perspective comments, from others to replace normal laws of nature. Schiffer, the superior of the religious community, expressed the reason succinctly: “We were living the message of Fatima,” The sur vivors did not see Jesus transfigured with blinding lights, but they saw more—the awesome manifestation of God’s power.

Hymn for the Transfiguration and Hiroshima bombing day by Aelred Seton Shanley: The glory that is ours this day Is shed by neither moon nor sun; The dazzling splendor we behold Shines forth from Christ, God’s cherished One….

Yet, millions massacred this day Reduce to ash all human pride; The burning sun we dropped demands We ponder why it is Christ died.

Hiroshima’s bright blinding cloud Must ever haunt us with its glare: We chose that day to be as gods; We shadowed all the earth with fear.

Earth now is clouded by a light Unknown to Peter, James and John: Could Tabor, pointing to the Cross Conceive the suffering of that bomb?

O Christ have pity on our race Which parodies your healing light; Come Abba, Breath and Word enfleshed Transfigure and restore our sight.

Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

RegionsSunday

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

Sunday, August 6, 2017 A9

Didipio Mine keeps waterways clean and host community green

TWO boys enjoy the crystal-clear cascades of the Addalam Dam in San Leonardo, Aglipay, Quirino, a catch basin of the Didipio River upstream. On a corporate level, OceanaGold partnered with International River Foundation to promote sustainable management of catch basins and waterways downstream.

Story and photos by Leonardo Perante II

‘F

Correspondent

OR a world-class mining project like Didipio Mine, we use green-production technology on our processing operation, so we do not use harmful chemicals that could create health hazards, as we vow to keep waterways clean and host community green,” OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. (OGPI) Senior Vice President for Communications and External Affairs Chito Gozar On a corporate level, the firm tied up with the International River Foundation (IRF), which works in partnerships around the world to promote sustainable restoration and management of river basins and waterways.

“Through encouraging local community participation with waterways restoration and management, IRF is taking a leading role in the Philippines to help minimize the impact of natural disasters on local waterways,” OGPI Country Director Bradley Norman said.

The IRF is an Australianbased public-benefit organization that works to fund and promote the sustainable restoration and management of river basins with the end view of achieving improved health, ecological, economic and social outcomes for people and the environment.

It is with this token of action that the WE BUILD (Water and Environment—Building Unity for Inclusive Living and Development) Project came into the picture. It generally aims to further strengthen the cocapacity of government, non government, industries, communities and disadvantaged sectors on water resources and river

protection, conservation and recovery using an Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) approach.

The goal is to foster collective stewardship of environmental and water resources to achieve sustainable returns of river health and river-basin management focusing on the Addalam River Basin and its tributary, the Didipio River.

The project has four components, like capacity building, science and water quality, livelihood linkages and intercountry and international engagements.

The project aims to achieve the establishment of Addalam IRBM organization, leadership education on water quality and river management; setting best practices in riparian-zone enhancement and learning exchange on river-recovery best practices.

OGPI has contributed AU$ 300,000, or P8.82million, to the project to date that has allowed the conversion of WE BUILD Project Structure into Addalam River Basin Management Committee as a permanent organizational structure under the Cagayan River Basin Council and the preparation of the draft on Addalam River Ba-

BORDERED with green foliage and a clean lagoon is another tributary to Addalam River downstream. This pristine waterfall is found few kilometers from the Didipio Mine.

sin Strategic Management Plan.

The Australian mining firm, through WE BUILD project, likewise, initiated formation of River Conservation Clubs at the Quirino State University and Nueva Vizcaya State University and Implementation of the Leadership Education on River Science and Water Quality in three local high schools in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.

Two technical working group workshops were conducted in July for the preparation of the Addalam River Basin Strategic Management Plan. Another workshop has been scheduled in early September to identify the priority projects and those to be included in the 2018 investment plan of the respective participating stakeholders.

To implement and manage the company’s reforestations and greening programs, OceanaGold Sustainable Agroforestry Inc. (OGSAI) manages and operates a central nursery at Barangay Tucod in Cabarroguis, Quirino, for the production of various agroforest-tree seedlings.

OGSAI is an affiliate company of OGPI with the primary purpose of managing the forestry projects of OGPI and establishing enterprise development through agro-forestry in partnership with local farmers.

It has established (213) hectares of reforestation projects in Nueva Vizcaya, in partnership with (93) small landholders, local environ-

AN agro-forester manning the 4.5-hectare OceanaGold Sustainable Agroforestry Inc. nursery at Barangay Tuccod, Cabarroguis, Quirino checks the growth performance of turmeric rhizomes at a demonstration farm in the area. Aside from massive production of forest trees, the nursery also propagates organically cultured vegetables, like turmeric, called luyang dilaw locally.

ments offices and local governments units (LGUs). It has entered 116 lease and profit-sharing agreements with small landholders for the establishment and maintenance of a 200-hectare commercial tree plantation in Quirino.

Likewise, it has established (3.5) hectares of demonstration farms for various varieties of rubber tree and coffee to determine the site suitability of preferred agro forestry crops. It also donated seedlings of various tree species to LGUs, schools and government agencies in support to the establishment of more than (1,200) hectares of plantation.

OGSAI also entered into a tripartite agreement for the establishment of an Agricultural Social Enterprise with the Dibibi Tree Farmers, Grameen Australia and the Philippines.

It has launched a naturally organic-demonstration farm to serve as training ground for community partners and other local farmers. It, likewise, established a central nursery with the capacity of producing (500,000) seedlings a year for company and stakeholders. It has developed a macrosomaticpropagation facility that pro-

A LADY farm worker attends to plots of organically intercropped vegetables at the OceanaGold Sustainable Agroforestry demonstration farm in Tuccod, Cabarroguis, Quirino.

duces planting materials from endemically threatened foresttree species, which seeds are difficult to propagate.

So far, OGSAI has raised around (1,075,000) seedlings of various forest and fruit-bearing trees from 2014 to June 2017, using various propagation technologies. It has organized a community association for the operation of the central nursery The Dibibi Upland Tree Farmers and Producers Cooperative which was organized as partners focused on agribusiness, particularly on organic-vegetable farming

have gained access to the Social Development Management Program livelihood fund. OGSAI has assisted them in the preparation of the project proposal on organicfertilizer production, which will be funded by a P120,000 livelihood grant from the Didipio Mine SDMP funds.

“We want to push sustainable environmental compliance with our advance rehabilitation programs and keep OceanaGold institutionalized as a ‘Green’ environment-friendly mining company,” OGSAI Chairman Jose Leviste Jr said.

A10 Sunday, August 6, 2017

RegionsSunday BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • www.businessmirror.com.ph

Call Center City to rise in Cebu

THE proposed Cebu City-Cordova bridge in Cebu City’s South Road Properties.

I

By Charles R. Pepito | Correspondent Photo courtesy of Cebu City Mayor’s office

N his recent State of the City Address, Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña reiterated his dream of setting up what he calls Call Center City at the 60-hectare portion of the city’s South Road Properties (SRP).

CEBU City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña meets with the National Cash Register, a Fortune 500 company and one of the biggest single-company BPO employers in Cebu, regarding his plan of establishing the SRP Call Center City.

A SCALE model of the proposed Call Center City

With his sight set at providing the means for the city’s children to go to college, Osmeña wants the business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the only place where there are more qualified applicants than people interested in applying. Even though BPOs account for over 100,000 jobs in Cebu City, Osmeña said the call centers here are short of at least 50,000 agents.

“Many of those qualified refuse to join call centers. Even those that do join do not stay employed in the industry. Many quit. Call centers suffer a 4-percent resignation rate every month,” he said.

The reasons Osmeña cited include lack of career growth to inability to study or socialize outside of work to transportation and security concerns.

To address these, he said the government is packaging a program where a call-center agent can finish college while still working. “Later, they can even choose to pursue a master’s degree without resigning. The agent will work, study and live, all in the same building complex so commuting

is unnecessary, which will also improve traffic,” Osmeña added.

Movie theaters, restaurants and bars will be right outside, open during the agents’ free time.

Class schedules will be adjusted to work schedules so sleep and free time are uninterrupted.

“In the end, an agent will be able to have both a college and a master’s degree debt-free,” he said, adding that this will benefit the entire city.

At the current number of 100,000 employees, BPOs account for P7 billion infused into Cebu City’s economy every month. With an extra 50,000 jobs, this number increases to over P10 billion per month.

“This money doesn’t just enter a call-center agent’s pockets. This is money that goes to the barbecue vendor, the taxi driver, the labandera and the sari-sari store owner, who provide service and goods to the agent. Thus, the agent, through his income, supports the livelihood of other people. This is money that goes to all of Cebu, especially toward our working-class sector,” the mayor said.

Cebu City officials

He added this program will improve the economy in an even greater way.

“With this program, it is my dream to produce thousands of college and master’s degree graduates every year so that Cebu City will have the most educated population in the Philippines,” he said.

With that, Osmeña added it would be very easy for him to speak to foreign investors.

“Imagine that you are a business executive from an international company looking to expand. Imagine me telling you, ‘Not only does Cebu have the most educated population in the country; the majority of your work force will have years of direct experience in dealing with western clients in a service-oriented environment’,” he said.

Os meña has been soliciting ideas from everyone in the BPO industry and has been presenting to them his concept of a callcenter city.

“If you are a college graduate, how would you like to pursue a

OSMEÑA shows investors the map of the SRP where the proposed Call Center City will be located.

master’s degree—without resigning from your job? If you haven't finished college yet, would you like to?” Osmeña asked the BPO employers in a meeting.

He emphasized this can come true with the operation of Cebu’s Call Center City.

The concept: If the work schedule starts at 9 p.m., classes start earlier and end 30 minutes to 60 minutes before the work shift.

The classroom will be in the same building complex as the workplace.

“Imagine: The seamless transition from studying to working means uninterrupted sleep and rest on the other half of your day,” he said. The city also plans to incorporate a dormitory in the same complex.

“Imagine this: You work, study and sleep in the same building. Imagine saving time going to work and school and home because there’s no commuting.

Imagine living in a safe environment where you don’t worry walking in a dark street. Imagine not having to look for a taxi in the

dark or when it rains. Imagine not having to worry about traffic because there will be none,” Osmeña told the BPO employers.

Osmeña said one must have to consider having to spend 30 percent to 40 percent of one’s salary to pay for board and schooling.

The idea of coming out with this program is to help agents finish college and/or earn a master’s degree completely debt-free while still earning to pay for their basic needs.

“That’s why we will be doing a formal survey. We need to consult you and see if there are enough of you who want to do this. If you are willing to sacrifice two years of your life, you can get your college or master’s degree. This opens up your future,” he said.

Osmeña added they will carefully analyze and streamline the lifestyle offered as they are reinventing the government’s role to help.

He assured the city will do its share to help and, if there are enough BPO workers interested, the city will lend land for free as the government’s contribution to

make it financially feasible for the stakeholders: investors, schools, BPOs and the Cebuano workers, whom the whole BPO city will be designed for at the city’s SRP, which is three times bigger than the IT Park.

“Stores, gyms, bars, restaurants, moviehouses will open at 3 a.m. or whenever your free time is. It will be designed to your time zone. The commercial activity must be responsive to your limited budget—no high-end living here, but it will be clean, decent and drug-free,” Osmeña said.

He asked for six months to do the study and another six months to get preliminary commitments from investors and call centers.

Osmeña added said he had already spoken to Convergys, Xerox, Teleperformance, E-Performax, Accenture and Qualfon.

Most of them are onboard, and all are reportedly excited about having the opportunity to expand in the city. More than one university is also interested in handling the educational aspect of the plan.

RegionsSunday Quo vadis, Quezon?

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

Sunday, August 6 , 2017 A11

Story and photos by John A. Bello

W

Correspondent

HERE to for this province known for its coconut trees?

Quezon province is called “Cocolandia”, with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) confirming the province is the top coconut producer in Calabarzon—composed of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon—and in the whole country.

The PSA said Quezon produced 1,210,224.58 metric tons (MT) of coconut in 2015. Batangas ranked a far second in volume of coconut production, with only 68,371.8 MT; and Davao del Sur ranked second among coconut-producing provinces in the country, with 872,895.86 MT. The country produced a total 14,735,188.98 MT of coconut, ranked second among the top 5 coconut-producing countries in the world. Calabarzon produced a total of 1,379,297.8 MT in the same year. Around 78 percent of the total coconut production in Calabarzon came from Quezon province.

Out of a total land area of 867,477 hectares, Quezon has a total agricultural area of 450,186 hectares and its biggest portion is planted with coconut, the direct source of livelihood of coconut farmers in the province. But it is not only coconut that Quezon tops in crop production in the whole Calabarzon region, but also in palay and corn.

The province produced a total of 146,988 MT of palay and 44,622 MT of corn in 2015. Calabarzon produced 392,907 MT of palay and 64,823 MT of corn; while the whole country produced 18,149,837.78 MT of palay and 7,518,755.72 MT of corn for the same year.

Quezon also appears on top in the region in terms of root crops, like sweet potato, gabi, peanut and ube; and fruit crops, like banana, calamansi, lanzones, and papaya.

In fish production, the province is also a faraway winner with 142,914.49 MT of fish catch, with Batangas a far second with 99,533.19 MT. The whole Calabarzon region came up with 408,141,53 MT and the whole country produced a total of 4,858,097.1 MT, all in 2015.

Agriculture drives the economy in Quezon, with coconut as its main crop, and its manufacturing industry is driven by agricultural commodities and their by-products.

Though Quezon province is considered to have the biggest land area in Calabarzon—with two cities Lucena and Tayabas, and 39 municipalities—it has a population of 2,122,830, considered the smallest among the provinces in Calabarzon accounting for only 14.73 percent of the region’s population.

A bit of history

HISTORICAL accounts have it that around 1571 or 1572, a Spanish commander and soldier, named Juan Salcedo, visited and explored the central portion of Tayabas in his march across Laguna de Paracale upon the order of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the Spanish explorer who established Spain’s dominion over the Philippines that lasted until the Spanish-American War of 1898. Legazpi served as the first governor of the Philippines.

In 1591 Tayabas was created into a province under the name of Kalilayan and its capital was the ancient town of Tayabas, now a barangay in the municipality of Unisan.

Around the middle of the 18th century, the provincial capital was moved to what is now Tayabas City.

Civil government was established

in Tayabas on March 12, 1901, with Lucena as its capital and Cornelius Gardiner, its first governor.

On September 7, 1946, President Manuel A. Roxas, by virtue of Republic Act 14 renamed the province to Quezon in honor of the late President Manuel L. Quezon, the most illustrious son of Baler, formerly part of Quezon. The present seat of provincial government is Lucena City, the province’s capital.

Young David

AT the helm of the provincial government of Quezon since July 2010 is a young and modern David at 40, nicknamed “Jayjay”, surnamed Suarez, who continues to shine in the province’s politics. No wonder, as the Urban Dictionary said, Suarez means “extremely dedicated to anything they do”.

Suarez, first elected in 2001 as municipal councilor of his hometown in Unisan and ex-officio board member when he was elected president of the municipal councilors league, was elected in 2014 as the province’s youngest vice governor and, eventually, governor in 2010.

He believes his intervention development programs and projects are sufficient to uplift and benefit the whole province and improve the lives of his constituents.

So far, he has garnered two landmark awards for his province both in 2014: Galing Pook Award for his Health Coupon system pioneered in 2011. The program, dubbed Lingap Kalusugan sa Barangay, provides P50,000 health coupons to 1,242 barangays in the province and prioritizes indigent Quezonians for their medical needs.

Another is Galing Pook Award for the synchronized provincewide project to protect the natural resources of the province and address global warming by planting 2.7 million mangroves in a single day in 194 coastal barangays in 34 towns of the province.

ELA

ON July 13, 2016, Suarez has issued Executive Order 23 appointing the Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA) team and the ELA Technical Working Group-Secretariat to prepare, plan and monitor the ELA formulation to ensure the proper implementation of the three-year programs, projects and legislative measures that will produce positive impacts to the province.

ELA 2017-2019 is a collaboration between the executive department and the Sangguniang Panglalawigan, which sets the three-year road map for the province. The ELA team is headed by the governor with all the provincial department heads of the executive department, the vice govenor, the secretary to the Sangguniang Panglalawigan and two non-governmental representatives from the Provincial Development Council (PDC) as members.

The ELA, according to the PDC resolution, “sets the local government’s strategic directions for the next three years and provides an explicit expression of the present administration’s goals, objectives, strategic priorities and programs that are consistent with the LGU’s vision and mission.”

The Sangguniang Panglalawigan, headed by its presiding officer Vice Gov. Samuel Nantes, issued on November 21, 2016, a resolution approving the ELA for 2017-2019.

Among the major projects lined up in the ELA for the next three years are the following: Lingap

THE Quezon provincial capitol compound in Lucena City during a Niyogyugan Festival celebrated yearly in August

Kalusugan para sa Barangay, which has an allocation of P75 million yearly; Quezon’s First 1,000 Days of Life (Q1K) program, allocated with P20 million in 2017, P25 million in 2018 and P30 million in 2019.

To promote agriculture development, the ELA has allocated P51.2 million for agricultural and fisheries productivity enhancement program; P8 million for herbal research and development program; and P7 million for cooperative development program. To promote and enhance the cultural heritage of the province, loan proceeds from Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) will fund the following big-ticket projects: establishment of Quezon Complex, including Niyogyugan Village, allocated with P150 million; construction of Quezon Cultural and Arts Center at provincial capitol compound, P50 million; and restoration of the provincial capitol building, P170 million.

To promote competitive and business-friendly governance, the ELA has allocated P120 million for the construction of Infanta Convention Center; and P130 million for Gumaca Convention Center Phase III.

P2-B loan from LandBank

SUAREZ makes no bones about the provincial government’s P2-billion loan from LandBank During the provincial convention of the Barangay Nutrition Scholars on July 27 at the Quezon Convention Center, the governor announced the LandBank loan would fund the various priority projects of his administration.

Just three days earlier, on July 24, the Sangguniang Panglalawigan, led by Nantes, approved to ratify the P2-billion loan agreement between the provincial government and LandBank to fund various development projects of the province.

The proposed complete programs and projects and their estimated cost to be funded from the P2-billion loan include the following: Construction of three-story dormitory building at Quezon Science High School, P35 million; construction of Quezon Medical Center (QMC) West Annex (Administration) Building, P180 million; various projects, such as purchase of hospital equipment and improvement of hospital and facilities, P100 million; restoration of the Provincial Capitol building, P170 million; construction of additional school buildings and facilities at Southern Luzon State Univrsity-Catanauan, P100 million; construction of Convention Center at Infanta town, P120 million; establishment of Quezon Complex, including Niyogyugan Village, P150 million; construction of roads and various projects, P230 million; a plastic-processing

for a packaged intervention program which aims to insure woman and child’s safety and health for the first 1,000 days starting from conception of the mother up to the age of 2 of the child.

Incidence of malnutrition

officers. The PRDP aims at least a 5-percent increase in annual realfarm income of the project’s household beneficiaries; a 30-percent increase in income of the enterprise development beneficiaries; a 7-percent increase in value of annual marketed output; and a 20-percent increase in number of farmers and fisheries with improved access to agricultural services.

Gajo said the PRDP has allocated P70 million to PCIP with a P12-million counterpart funding from the provincial government.

CLOSELY tied with the reason for the launching of the Q1K program is the effort of the provincial government to reduce the incidence of malnutrition, especially for preschoolchildren in the province. Records show that in 2014 the top 5 municipalities in the province with preschool malnourished children are Patnanungan, with 25.15 underweight and severe underweight preschool kids; Jomalig, with 22.4; Catanauan, with 20.8; Burdeos, with 19.6; and San Andres, with 18.6.

Suarez seeks to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition and produce healthy Quezonians as he commended the 1,400-strong Barangay Nutrition Scholars during their third provincial convention at the Quezon Convention Center on July 27 for the continuous reduction of malnutrition in the province from 12.9 in 2011-2012; 11.34 in 2013; 11.14 in 2014; 10.75 in 2015; and 9.32 this year.

Q1K

Quezon Science High School

QUEZON Gov. David C. Suarez puts salt fertilizer to a coconut tree in Barangay Masin, Tayabas, Quezon.

plant, P5 million; and Pagbilao Mangrove Experimental Forest (Phase 2), P35 million.

The provincial government, with a present annual budget of P2.8 billion, has an outstanding loan balance with LandBank of P449 million.

Asked during the SP joint committee hearing about the capacity of the province to pay the gargantuan loan, provincial treasurer Marilou Rosario Uy said the province has a maximum borrowing capacity of up to P3,271,328,000, and the monthly loan amortization with interest rate at 4.5 percent of up to 10 years is within the paying capacity of the provincial government.

Major infrastructure projects

QUEZON is to partner with the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Projects (PRDP) in providing key infrastructure, facilities, technology and information designed to raise income, productivity and competitiveness in the countryside.

Under the PRDP the provincial government has undertaken the initial phase of farm-to-market roads in Padre Burgos, Agdangan, Pitogo, Sariaya, Unisan, Calauag, San Andres, Quezon, Infanta, Real, Catanauan and Atimonan, and continues the ongoing ones in Mulanay, Guinayangan, Lucban, Lucena City, Candelaria and San Narciso, while those under procurement process are in Buenavista, Macalelon, San Antonio and Polillo.

In June Suarez approved the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) for 2018-2020, which will be supported by the PRDP. It covers various existing commodities for expanded production and development in various areas in the province, such as abaca, coffee, mango, pineapple, cacao, banana and lowland vegetables, such as ampalaya, okra, squash and string beans.

Provincial agriculturist Roberto Gajo presented on May 2 the PCIP during the PDC full council meeting led by Suarez and attended by various municipal mayors and municipal council development

CLOSEST to the heart of Suarez is the Q1K program, a community health and nutrition program focused on mother and child, which is now being implemented in the entire province.

The program aims to promote and uphold the quality of life of each pregnant Quezonian. It starts from conception then continues until the child reaches 2 years old.

“The Q1K is a life-changing program and best sound investment for the future so I am now implementing this for the whole province to give a fair chance to the next generation of Quezonians,” he said.

Conceptualized in 2014 and launched on July 8, 2015 with 12 pilot municipalities pledging commitment to the program, it has enrolled some 1,000 young, poor and pregnant women for first batch beneficiaries that have gone through three components of the program: food and nutrition, health care and sanitation and social care, which included regular prenatal checkups for the mother and vaccination of the baby up to 2 years, said Dr. Grace Santiago, Q1K executive director, adding that Q1K coordinators from every municipality undertake orientation and training and various agencies are tapped to insure the program proceeds smoothly.

The governor’s wife, Party-list Rep. Anna Villaraza-Suarez of Alona, who is spearheading the program, has touted it as the first in the entire country to be launched

ANOTHER pet project of the provincial government is in the field of education, especially the establishment of the Quezon Science High School (QSHS), which stands out with a total of 335 bright and science-oriented students from Grade 7 to Grade 11 enjoying free tuition, free board and lodging, free foods (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks morning and afternoon), free school uniform and free regular medical and dental checkups.

The QSHS had its opening in June 2011 with 80 freshmen highschool students as the first batch attending classes in a three-story school building located in Barangay Isabang, Lucena City.

Looking ahead

THE provincial government envisions Quezon to be the food capital of Calabarzon and Metro Manila in 2020 and Suarez described his last term as ‘the next three, best three’ up to 2019 and he is passing it to the next top man in Quezon to sustain what he has built.

The young governor feels optimistic about the future prospects for his province as it gears up for redistricting plan. He anticipates a bigger and grander celebration of the coming Niyogyugan Festival, which is originally conceptualized by the governor’s mother, former Third District Rep. Aleta Suarez, to promote and energize the coconut industry in the province. The festival starts on the second week of August up to August 20.

A12 Sunday, August 6, 2017

RegionsSunday BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • www.businessmirror.com.ph

Leyte EconoMICS: Transforming war zones into vibrant economies Story and photos by Elmer V. Recuerdo

V

Correspondent

ILLA Conzoilo, an upland village 7 kilometers from the poblacion of Jaro, is a budding farm-tourism destination in Leyte that has attracted both foreign and local visitors since it opened in May last year.

In its first six months of business as a tourist site, it attracted over 500 visitors, earning for the community P26,000 in entrance fees; over P100,000 in sales of their local products; steady income to residents trained by the Department of Tourism who act as tour guides; and a heavy amount of promotion from visitors who are awed by what they learned from this farming community.

Leyte Gov. Leopoldo Dominico L. Petilla said the village has been designated as a learning site and school for practical and organic agriculture by the Agriculture Training Institute.

Villa Conzoilo, the farthest village of Jaro at the foot of Mount Amandaweng, was once a hotbed of insurgency like all

its neighboring communities.

When martial law was imposed in 1972 up until the mid-2000s, the village experienced countless evacuations as residents feared being caught in a crossfire in the battle between the New People’s Army (NPA) and government soldiers.

“The residents here never had stability. We cannot plant because just before we harvest, our crops get destroyed again by the conflict. Our children cannot go to school and there was hardly a teacher who agreed to teach at the primary school,” resident Alex Aborita said.

In the early part of 2000 government soldiers set up a military camp in the barangay, slowly driving away rebels from the area. In 2009 the youthful

barangay captain Aborita, together with 18 residents, organized Villaconzoilo Community Association with a start-up capital of P1,800 from the members’ contribution of P100 each.

Capitalizing on its vast idle and fertile lands, the association asked the provincial government in 2011 to bring Leyte Techno Demo and Training Farm high-value vegetable production to them.

With the support of a seed company, the farmers underwent a 14-week training on land preparation and field layout, organic farming, latest farming technologies and post-harvest handling and marketing.

One farmer who planted cucumber now delivers twice or thrice a week to markets in Jaro and nearby towns earning him P1,000 per delivery. He is also earning much from other crops, like tomatoes and sweet pepper. But his biggest income came from his P600 investment for watermelon seeds, which gave him a net income of P110,000, enabling him to buy a vehicle to market their products and a bigger house for his family.

The association transformed the once cogonal war zone of rebellion into thriving gardens planted with high-value crops, such as lettuce, broccoli, carrots, cauliflowers, rambutan, radish, asparagus, grapes and strawberries, which are sold in groceries

and hotels in the region.

It now has over P20 million in assets, including a 20-hectare farmland the association is cultivating and P4-million cash in the bank. It also has an existing contract with the Energy Development Corp., through their Binhi Program and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, through their National Greening Program for reforestation, forest-trees seedling production all geared to conserve and protect their forests.

War zones no more

THE experience of Villa Conzoilo is now being replicated in at least 130 communities in different towns of Leyte—most of these communities were stronghold of insurgents for over three decades—under the Leyte EconoMICS Program of the provincial government.

Leyte EconoMICS is a poverty-reduction agenda focusing on “total human and economic development starting in poor barangays with the More Income in Countryside [MIC] compact farming for high-value vegetable and fruit crops,” Petilla said.

“The primary goal is to reduce poverty from 23.6 percent in 2015 to 15 percent or even lower by 2022,” the governor told the BusinessMirror.

Petilla said Leyte EconoMICS is the implementation of the Marshall Plan of the province

drawn after the devastation of Supertyphoon Yolanda.

Farmer-beneficiaries were grouped into associations that underwent a 16-week seasonlong training on high-value vegetable production as the initial step. This was followed by various interventions in livestock, fisheries, nonagri-skills training to empower them to become active members of the community.

The program adopts a holistic and community-based approach to alleviate poverty, making these poor farmer-beneficiaries productive and skilled in agriculture mainstreamed with social services, disaster-risk reduction, environment and solidwaste management and infrastructure-support facilities.

Petilla added the communities were chosen through a study of poverty incidence after Yolanda. Coincidentally, the identified areas for implementation happened to be the hotbed of insurgency in the last few decades.

“It happened that where insurgency was present, the poverty incident was also high,” Petilla said. “Insurgency solving now becomes a collateral in the fight against poverty.”

The governor added that while there is no new povertyincidence data yet, there are already visible indicators of the program’s success in combating poverty.

“Many families can now afford to have concrete houses or materials of sturdy quality,” he said. “Around 65 percent of houses in Villa Conzoilo are now made of heavy or semi-heavy materials, compared to around 15 percent of houses in areas where we are just starting.”

He said there are also more young people now who go to college in communities, where the program was implemented, than in villages that just started the implementation.

Ka Leroy, a former farmer leader turned communist rebel in 1990s, is one member of an association in the town of Burauen, also a former hot spot of insurgency. But since a road to his village was constructed during the last decade, he went back to full-time farming.

“We were drawn to rebellion because of poverty. We felt the government abandoned us and there was no more available alternative left to us, but to take up arms,” he said to explain why he joined the NPA. “But now we already have many options. We can now plant in peace, harvest and sell them in town without much trouble.”

“Those were our war zones where we fought the government,” Ka Leroy pointed to a forested hill. “I dreamed to see that vast area turned into farms. Yes, they are gardens now where we plant lettuce and cabbages.”