Businessmirror december 17, 2017

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BOHOL EYED AS PIÑOL TAKES INITIAL STEPS TO END PHL’S OVERDEPENDENCE ON IMPORTED MILK

OLGA KHOROSHUNOVA | DREAMSTIME

DAIRY CAPITAL T

22M liters

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) is eyeing Bohol to be the country’s dairy capital, as the government seeks to kick-start its program that aims to improve milk production in the provinces.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said they are considering the Bohol island as the center of the DA’s dairy-development program because the department owns a 3,000-hectare lot—called the Ubay stock farm—in the area, which has served as a natural confinement for imported cattle.

“Added to that is the fact that Bohol is a net importer of meat, thus, the possibility of animals being shipped out of Bohol is almost zero,” Piñol said in a recent Face-

Bohol’s projected annual milk production from the 5,000 head of Girolando dairy cattle to be imported from Brazil

book post.

Piñol said he would meet Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto and Ubay, Bohol, Mayor Costan Reyes on December 19 to present the DA’s dairy-development program.

look into the prospects of establishing a fresh milk-packaging plant in the Ubay stock farm,” Piñol said.

“The idea is to ensure that the milk produced by the estimated 5,000 head of Girolando dairy cattle would be transferred directly from the milking parlors to the fresh milk-packaging plants,” he added.

Benefits

Dairy plan

“SHOULD Bohol officials and the people accept the project, the province stands to benefit greatly, since, along with the establishment of the dairy farm in Ubay, we will ask big milk companies like Nestlé to

THE agriculture chief said the 5,000 head of Girolando dairy cattle, which the DA will import from Brazil, are expected to produce 22 million liters of milk annually.

Continued on A2

GIROLANDO cattle JABOTICABA FOTOS | DREAMSTIME

Changing the narrative of PHL-China ties

T

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

Jose Santiago Santa Romana, Philippine ambassador to China, emphasized that the Duterte administration has changed the narrative as far as the relations between Beijing and Manila are concerned.

Before June 2016, under former President Benigno S. Aquino III, Santa Romana said the prevailing narrative was both adversarial and

confrontational. But not today.

“Right now, we are pursuing a nonconfrontational and nonadversarial approach based largely on an independent foreign policy.

I think this is one of the reasons in the breakthrough in PhilippineChina relations,” Santa Romana said in his keynote speech during the 30th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Association of

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.3980

RULETKKA | DREAMSTIME

HE relationship between the Philippines and the Asian Dragon, China, has taken a much different turn under the administration of President Duterte, in contrast to the diplomatic path his Palace predecessor had followed.

Chinese Studies (PACS) at the Ortigas Center in Pasig City.

Santa Romana revealed that the Chinese media once had this perception that the Philippines wasn’t acting independently on its foreign-policy initiatives and interest, but moving according to the intent of another world superpower.

The belief of the Chinese media, he said, was that the Philippine foreign policy was anchored on containment of Chinese influence, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pursuing an independent foreign policy is not a new road map for the Philippines. The move to form an independent foreign policy gained ground under the initiative of progressive Filipinos, led by the great nationalist Claro M. Recto in the 1950s.

“Recto’s nationalist, anti-imperialist campaign was launched during a most difficult period in Philippine history, a time when Cold War Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4490 n UK 67.6946 n HK .4550 n CHINA 7.6251 n SINGAPORE 37.4651 n AUSTRALIA 38.6553 n EU 59.4192 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4395

Source: BSP (15 December 2017 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

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Changing the narrative of PHL-China ties Continued from A1

psychosis gripped the country, or at least its ruling elements,” Prof. Renato Constantino explained in his essay “Unity for Survival.”

The China pivot

WHEN Duterte started to hurl invectives against former US President Barack Obama one after the other, Beijing was convinced that the Philippines under the present administration has taken a new perspective on China, and is not acting now based on the dictates of another power—obviously referring to Washington.

“The new perception was that the Philippines is no longer a part of a coalition against China, but [one that is] willing to be friendly with China,” Santa Romana, a former student leader from the De La Salle University during the turbulent First Quarter Storm in the late 1960s to the early 1970s, said.

He added the ties between the two countries were enhanced when Duterte visited China for the first time in October 2016. He again visited Beijing in May to attend the Belt and Road Initiative Summit.

The two-day BRI event highlighted Chinese Premiere Xi Jinping’s major foreign-policy project that aims to revive the ancient Silk Road trading route through the building of infrastructure across Asia, Europe and Africa. Skeptics believe this is Beijing’s bid to boost its clout, both in trade and geopolitics. China, for its part, has been insisting that its objectives under the Silk Road initiative are for the benefit of the world.

By pivoting to China, Manila was given some goodwill, such as the recovery of the fishing access to

A CHINESE Coast Guard trawler and a speedboat follow a Philippine boat as it leaves the Scarborough Shoals area, a reef claimed by both nations and occupied by China, on June 18, 2016. SERGEY PONOMAREV/THE NEW YORK TIMES

the Scarborough Shoal. Furthermore, the Philippines was given access to several official development assistance funding for several local infrastructure projects.

Santa Romana said every administration has its own version of realpolitik, that every administration will take a different approach to issues, such as the territorial dispute with China. During the Aquino administration, the

government opted for the legal and confrontational approach.

In 2016 the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands, ruled that the Philippines has the exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea (in the South China Sea), and that China’s “nine-dash line” is invalid.

However, China did not accept the ruling, and insisted it is still

serious in solving the territorial problems with its neighbors.

‘Right approach’

SANTA ROMANA said the approach in settling territorial disputes should be multidisciplinary.

But this does not mean the country has to give up on international law, “but rather combine it with other approaches.”

“You have to combine law and diplomacy. The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy-Tufts University knows the importance of merging these two disciplines in settling disputes,” Santa Romana added.

As far as the Chinese are concerned, the bilateral approach is the best way to settle disputes.

Through this, the border issues between China and Vietnam and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) were resolved.

“Successful negotiations with China were based on bilateral approach with dialogues,” Santa Romana said.

The collapse of the USSR, he noted, was a big factor in Vietnam’s shift in its China policy. It took China two decades of negotiation to finally resolve issues and demarcate the lines of their borders.

Santa Romana recalled that there was a standstill before, as Chairman Mao Ze Dong and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev took a hardline stance against each other. The winds of change came when Mao

died and Mikhail Gorbachev took over the leadership in Moscow.

“Right now, it is through the bilateral approach that they will discuss the disputes,” he said. “Our experiences so far have shown discussions are better rather than an adversarial approach.”

Santa Romana added the key component is not to put the dispute on top of the negotiating table and not see it as an obstacle in pushing for a stable relationship.

The government right now has managed to ease up the tension. Nevertheless, Santa Romana admitted, this process is not a oneshot deal. “It will take one more administration to solve the underlying issues.”

Bohol eyed as dairy capital Continued from A1

“The project is expected to provide employment for the local people and additional sources of income for the local farmers who would be engaged in the planting of forage and in the fattening of the male offsprings of the dairy cattle,” Piñol said.

“When the dairy cattle population in the Ubay stock farm has increased, a municipality-based dairy-farming program will be introduced to the different towns of the province to be owned and operated by Bohol farmers and women, thus, turning the whole island into the dairy capital of the country,” Piñol added.

Brazilian breed

THE World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has green lighted Manila’s importation of Girolando heifers from Brasilia, provided that it would follow the guidelines from the international agency, according to Piñol.

“It must be explained that while the Girolando cattle from Brazil will go through OIE-supervised quarantine procedures, the animals are coming from a country which still vaccinates against the foot-and-mouth disease [FMD],” he said.

“As Dr. Jose Osvaldo Barcos, OIE director for the Americas, emphasized, there is no 100-percent guarantee that the animals which tested negative for FMD prior to the shipment would really be free from the disease,” he added.

Piñol said he would conduct a public consultation with the people and farmers of Ubay and Bohol to explain clearly the risks of the importation program.

FMD factor

“THE province will also have to agree that there should be no shipment of live animals from Bohol to other parts of the country for at least six months after the arrival of the Girolando dairy cattle,” he said.

Piñol earlier assured that the DA will see to it that live cattle to be imported from Brazil would be free from the highly contagious FMD, which usually affects cattle, pigs and sheep.

Hog raisers belonging to the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines (ProPork) warned against lifting the ban on meat imports from Brazil, which has been accorded the FMD-free, but with vaccination status by the OIE. They argued that importing meat products from Brazil may “endanger” the local hog sector and the country’s “FMD-free without vaccination” status.

ProPork President Erwin G. Chen told the BusinessMirror earlier that, during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the government imported 2,000 head of Murad buffaloes from Brazil. More than 100 heads were found to be infected with FMD.

Experts from Argentina

PIÑOL disclosed that a pool of Argentinian experts would also aid the Philippines in determining which Girolando heifers to be imported.

“We will also have the assistance of Argentinian experts. They will help us select the breeding cattle to be brought into the country and they will also check if they are FMD-free,” he said.

The DA is also targeting to

source fertilized cattle embryos from Argentina in its bid to boost the Philippine dairy sector. The government had crafted a five-year dairy and livestock development road map to prop up Philippine dairy production.

The importation of Girolando cattle from Brazil is part of the DA’s plan to ramp up local milk production to meet at least 10 percent of the annual domestic requirement by 2022, and reduce the country’s reliance on imports.

The DA is allotting at least P1 billion for the live cattle-importation program.

“Our target is to bring in 500,000 heifers by the end of the term of the President. As to whether we will have the money to procure the cattle, the answer will largely depend on the performance of the first batch of heifers,” Piñol said.

“If the performance [of the program] is excellent, then we will be able to convince our economic managers that this program is worth the government’s investment,” he added.

Based on the latest database of the OIE, the Philippines is among the 66 recognized FMD-free countries where vaccination is not practiced.

The OIE officially recognized the Philippines as a country free from FMD without vaccination in May 2015. The OIE also recognized the country as free of Peste des Petits Ruminants, a highly contagious disease affecting small ruminants, that same year.

The OIE database also shows that the state of Santa Catarina is the only area in Brazil that is recognized as FMD-free without vaccination since 2007.

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Sunday, December 17, 2017

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Bitcoin points way to ‘massive change’ for commodity trading B

lockchain is upending the world’s financial markets with the rise of Bitcoin, and now the digital-ledger system is poised to do the same next year for raw materials like food and energy.

Companies, including BP Plc., ABN Amro Group NV and Mercuria Energy Group Ltd., said last month they will adapt blockchain to streamline physical energy transactions. In October four banks joined a venture started by UBS Group AG and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) to use the technology in a platform for the global goods trade. Natixis SA and Trafigura Group Ltd. announced in March they will employ the system to finance buying and selling oil.

“We’re talking about this massive change in the way that business is being done,” said Eric Ervin, the chief executive officer of Reality Shares Inc., a San Diego fund manager that created an index to track returns of companies adopting the technology. “Everything happens automatically, without a bunch of paperwork, processing and transferring.”

Blockchain is an online ledger

that records transactions using encryption to ensure security while allowing a network of users to verify them. The most-prominent use was in Bitcoin, which became a global sensation in 2017. Over the past year, as investors became more comfortable with how Bitcoins and ledger systems work, the price of the cryptocurrency has surged more than 2,000 percent and touched a record this month of $17,578.45.

While the Bitcoin market relies on blockchain to transmit and store the value of each token, the transparent tracking technology has “much greater potential” across businesses that increasingly need to store and exchange massive amounts of data, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said in a September 12 report.

Farmers already see the possibilities. The government of Ukraine said in October it will use blockchain technology to manage

its registry of crop land because the current systems is vulnerable to fraud that leads to ownership disputes. In sub-Saharan Africa, a fertilizer company and an exchange owner are using the technology to develop an agricultural commodity platform.

The technology is a big selling point for the global food industry to identify counterfeit ingredients and to trace the source of contamination during product recalls. Michigan State University estimated fraud costs the global food industry as much as $40 billion a year. In August IBM said it’s working with a group of companies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Nestle SA, Tyson Foods Inc., Unilever NV and McCormick & Co., to identify ways they can incorporate blockchain.

In most food-supply chains, “it might take weeks to figure out where it went from source to destination,” and in some cases, the source may not be known, Arvind Krishna, IBM director of research, said at a December 5 technology conference in Park City, Utah. “On a blockchain, it takes just seconds.”

More are joining in. JD.com Inc., China’s second-largest ecommerce platform, Wal-Mart, IBM and Tsinghua Universit y said on T hursday they’ l l work t o g e t he r t o c re at e a b l o c kc h a i n- ba sed s y stem for col lecting data about the or ig in,

Hunt for Asia’s next big currency trade lands on ringgit and yuan

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alaysia’s ringgit and China’s yuan are emerging as Asia’s mostpromising currencies for fund managers as they look for the best place to put their money in the new year.

A rebound in exports, widening currentaccount surpluses for some nations and an ongoing global chase for yields are fueling optimism that regional currencies will extend their rally into 2018. A gauge of Asian currencies is up 5.5 percent this year, set for its best performance since 1998. South Korea’s won is leading spot gains, while the ringgit tops in terms of total returns.

“We expect the Asian economies to do well as the global recovery broadens out,” said Wilfred Wee, a Singapore-based fund manager at Investec Asset Management Ltd., which oversees $132 billion globally.

“We can expect Asian currency strength to sustain into 2018.”

But there are risks, too. While the Federal Reserve this week maintained its projections for three interest-rate increases in 2018, a more hawkish tilt could spoil the party for Asian exchange rates. A surprise jump in global inflation or a war on the Korean Peninsula are other spoilers, say investors, who also favor Indonesia’s rupiah and the Indian rupee, while being less optimistic about Thailand’s baht and the won.

Malaysian ringgit

This year has marked a turnaround for the ringgit, which has rebounded from a 19-year low on the back of surging oil prices and bets the central bank will tighten policy. With prospects for better exports and economic growth, the currency has delivered a total return of more than 13 percent.

Amundi Asset Management likes the ringgit due to Malaysia’s improved fundamentals, says Hakan Aksoy, senior portfolio manager for EM local currencies in London For Investec, the ringgit is attractive as it is undervalued and under-owned, and the central bank has turned hawkish due to robust growth, Wee said.

Union Investment Privatfonds GmbH is more comfortable with the ringgit now than

earlier because of higher crude prices, said Christian Wildmann, a Frankfurt-based senior portfolio manager

Chinese yuan

The offshore yuan is set to halt three years of losses as exports rise and manufacturing activity firms up. The PBOC’s move on Thursday to boost market interest rates showcased authorities’ determination to continue with a deleveraging campaign that’s propelled bond yields. That bodes well for the yuan in 2018, as higher rates are seen luring investors.

China’s offshore yuan is attractive due to nation’s prospects of inclusion in global bond indexes and rising yields, according to Investec. Amundi likes to be long the onshore yuan against Thailand’s baht due to positive carry differential.

Indian rupee

Having risen more than 5 percent, the rupee is on course for its first annual advance since 2010, as Indian stocks and bonds have attracted global funds on the promise of economic reforms and political stability.

Eaton Vance Corp. is long the rupee due to India’s high real rates, according to Eric Stein, codirector of global fixed income in Boston. Amundi is positive on the currency because of its higher carry. Union Investment remains “very comfortable” with the rupee from a multiyear perspective although it’s monitoring the slight weakening in India’s growth and fiscal position, as well as the negative impact of higher oil prices on the current-account deficit. Investec is of the view that the rupee may struggle to outperform given that it’s a consensus favorite.

Indonesian rupiah

Once part of Morgan Stanley’s “Fragile Five,” the rupiah has rallied due to a combination of high yields and an improving economic outlook. Buoyant agriculture prices are expected to add to tailwinds for the commodity-exporting nation, as optimism around President Joko Widodo’s reforms burnishes the rupiah’s appeal. Bloomberg News

safety and authenticity of food.

The growing use of blockchain means “the opportunity to transform what is fundamentally the underlying infrastructure to every transaction that happens with consumers and business-to-business,” Brigid McDermott, IBM vice president of blockchain, said in a telephone interview.

Consumer confidence

De Beers is investing in a blockchain platform that traces the origin of diamonds in a bid to boost confidence in an industry that has been marred by the sale of gems from war zones.

“Now more than ever, consumers expect to know more about their luxury goods, the route they have traveled, their authenticity, and whether they have been a force for good in the world,” Bruce Cleaver, chief executive officer of De Beers, said in a blog post on the company’s web site.

Blockchain also is becoming a key tool for shipping companies.

AP Moller-Maersk A/S in March disclosed a ledger system with IBM that will help manage and track the paper trail of tens of millions of shipping containers. About $16 trillion of physical raw materials are transported around the planet each year, and better tracking offers the promise of big reductions in record-keeping costs. Current spending on documentation alone

accounts for 7 percent of global trade, according to the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation.

Potential risks

Still, widespread adoption of blockchain systems may take a while because the transition to new systems will be disruptive and requires some investment. There’s also concern about the potential risk of putting all that data online.

In Ju ly CoinDash, a blockchain technolog y start-up, said its web site was hacked and $7 mil lion was stolen from investors tr ying to participate in the company’s initia l coin of fering. In November Tether Ltd. disclosed on its web site that a “ma licious” attacker sw iped $31 mi l l ion in tokens and sent t hem to a n u n aut hor i z ed B it coi n a d d re s s .

“So many t hings cou ld go wrong,” said Peter Thomas, a senior vice president in Chicago for Zaner Group Llc., a commodity trader. “Before I have faith in it, we’re going to have to see it work for a while.”

Some aren’t waitingw

Blockc h ain “ br i ng s some muc h-needed i nnovat ion” i n an industry where the current process has been “paper and labor intensive,” Arnaud Stevens, Natixis’s New York-based head of global energy and commodities,

said when the new system was announced in March.

European utility companies Enel SpA and RWE AG joined a project to test blockchain-based trades in wholesale power and natural gas markets. TenneT Holding BV is looking at the technology to manage power grids that are preparing to accommodate the growing volume of renewable energy. Vemanti Group Inc. said on December 12 it will invest in a Singapore-based company developing a blockchain-based platform energy trading.

Venezuela’s proposal

There was even a proposal this month by the president of Venezuela, where the domestic currency is in freefall because of economic sanctions and a long recession, of creating digital petrocurrencies backed by the country’s reserves of oil, gas, gold and diamonds.

This week a group announced plans to use blockchain to create OilCoin, a US-government regulated digital currency that would be backed by crude.

Consumers could also benefit from wider adoption of the technology. In Thailand power producer BCPG Pcl. said last month it plans to use the blockchain to allow customers who produce energy through solar rooftops to engage in Internet-based energy trading. Bloomberg News

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The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Lyn Ressureccion | www.businessmirror.com.ph

China’s campaign to eliminate smog unleashes collateral damage on farms

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Shanghai, China. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Shanghai seen replacing Paris as global growth center by 2035

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hanghai will replace Paris in the top 5 of global city economies by 2035 in a sign the balance of the world’s economy is shifting east, according to an Oxford Economics study.

T he top 780 c it ies in t he world, which already produce a l most 6 0 percent of g loba l activity, will add almost halfa-billion more people and $32 trillion in output over roughly the next couple of decades, Mark Britton, an economist at Oxford Economics, writes in a research note published this week.

T he e ye - poppi ng head l i ne figures mask significant disparities between cities studied, Britton wrote. Among the big winners: emerging Asia, with three other Chinese cities entering into the top 10: Beijing, Guangzhou and Tianjin.

“The world’s urban center will continue to shift eastward, particularly as growth in a number of cities in the West is likely to be constrained by aging, and in

some cases, declining, population,” Britton wrote.

The changing power balance is shown by the forecast that the combined output of Asian cities will overtake that of urban centers in Europe and North America in about a decade, according to Britton. A decade ago, the cities in the West claimed twice the aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) of those in Asia.

Non-Chinese Asian cities will also post impressive growth, with places like Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur adding $4.7 trillion in GDP through 2035. But China’s urban star power will increase by about $14 trillion over that period, and 15 of its cities will join the top-100 rankings, on top of 18 already on the list. The estimates are based on constant 2015 prices and exchange rates.

Two cities in Latin America— Santiago and Rio de Janeiro— w ill drop out of the top-100 rankings, and while the Middle East looks to be making gradual improvement, cities there could get a boost if development plans like Saudi Arabia’s are implemented. There will be rapid urbanization in African nations, but it will take time for that to translate into big economic gains, Britton estimates.

That challenge for policy-makers–leveraging their populations

to spur the economy–could make or break some of these cities, Britton warned.

“Rapid population growth in emerging cities requires considerable management to ensure the infrastructure can accommodate the additional people,” he wrote.

“This includes the provision of adequate housing, support services and transport networks, while also developing and maintaining the city as an attractive place to live and work.”

Bloomberg News

Rapid population growth in emerging cities requires considerable management to ensure the infrastructure can accommodate the additional people. This includes the provision of adequate housing, support services and transport networks, while also developing and maintaining the city as an attractive place to live and work.”—Britton

Detroit breaks ground on tallest building, symbol of ‘resurgence’

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ETROIT—An 800 -foottall centerpiece is coming to Detroit’s resurgent downtown as the city continues to build momentum about three years after exiting the largest municipal bankruptcy in United States history.

The 58-story building dominating the local skyline will rise on the site of the iconic J.L. Hudson department store, whose 1983 closing epitomized Detroit’s economic downfall.

“When we lost Hudson’s, it symbolized how far Detroit had fallen,” Bedrock Detroit real-estate founder Dan Gilbert said on Thursday during a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new building. “When it was imploded in 1998 it was a very sad day for a lot of people.”

But the bad times for downtown appear to be largely over. Bedrock Detroit’s $900-million, two-building project will include a 58-story residential tower and a 12-floor building for retail and conference space. Up to 450 residential units can be built in the tower.

It is one of four projects representing a $2.1-billion investment

in downtown by the Detroit-based commercial real-estate firm. Altogether, the projects are expected to create up to 24,000 jobs in a city that desperately needs them and generate $673 million in new tax revenue.

Mayor Mike Duggan’s office has spearheaded redevelopment programs targeting a number of city neighborhoods, but Detroit’s growth is most evident in greater downtown, where office space now is limited and available apartments are tough to come by.

A ribbon-cutting was held in August for an $860-million sports complex just north of downtown.

The 20,000-seat Little Caesars Arena is the new home of the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons. It will anchor a 50-block neighborhood of offices, apartments, restaurants and shops. A 6.6-mile-long light-rail system was launched earlier this year along Woodward Avenue, downtown’s main business thoroughfare.

Software maker Microsoft announced in February that it plans to move its Michigan Microsoft Technology Center next year from

the suburbs to downtown. In 2016 Ally Financial opened new offices downtown that the financialservices company said eventually would be occupied by more than 1,500 employees and contractors.

“Bedrock building on the Hudson’s site will be an important addition to the community and the vitality and prosperity of downtown,” said John Mogk, a Wayne State University law professor whose work has included policy on economic development issues.

“It will act as an important centerpiece for continuing the overall downtown development...but much more has to be done for the entire city to feel a resurgence.”

However, much work remains for a city where many residents are still poor.

Detroit’s unemployment rate was about 8 percent in April, yet far below the more than 18-percent unemployment rate during the city’s 2013 bankruptcy filing.

The city’s 2016 poverty rate was just over 35 percent—the highest among the nation’s 20 largest cities and more than double the national poverty of 14 percent. A

family of four is considered living in poverty if its annual earnings are less than $24,563.

Downtown construction projects, such as the work at the Hudson’s site, can help change that, some say.

“What a shame that anybody should be unemployed in Detroit when we have a need for skilled trades,” Gilbert said. “We like to say Detroit is located at the intersection of muscle and brains. We need brains to sort this all out... somebody still has to build stuff.

We still need muscle.”

While Bedrock’s new building would be Detroit’s tallest, rising above the 727-foot Renaissance Center along the city’s riverfront, it still would be far shorter than some other US towers.

One World Trade Center in New York measures 1,776 feet. Chicago’s Willis Tower hits 1,451 feet, while the Empire State Building in New York climbs to 1,250 feet.

Although the 25-story Hudson’s building was once the nation’s tallest department store, it measured only about 400 feet. It was far more famous for what was inside. AP

armers are the latest victims of China’s desire for cleaner air. Officials have forced natural gas-powered fertilizer plants to shut in areas like Sichuan and Yunnan to conserve the fuel for home-heating in the north, where demand is outpacing supply. That’s boosting prices of nitrogen-rich urea, which is spread on fields to boost soil productivity, after output was already cut by pollution restrictions on coal-fired facilities.

The fertilizer cutbacks are yet another unintended consequence of China’s efforts to achieve blue skies by boosting natural-gas consumption and limiting coal burning. The price of urea in Shandong province rose to the highest level in four years, and Chinese exports will likely drop to 4.3 million metric tons this year from 8.9 million in 2016, said Tang Feifei, an analyst with Zhongyu Information Technology Co. “As China further tightens gas supplies to industrial users, we expect the utilization rates for gas-based urea and methanol producers to slip further,” China International Capital Corp. analyst Xuan Li said in a December 13 research note. “Urea prices should rise higher amid shrinking supplies and low inventories.”

Urea production in the fourth quarter of the year may fall by 3 million tons compared with last year, Zhongyu Information’s Tang said. China produced 62 million tons last year, of which 28 percent was from gas-based urea plants.

Rising domestic prices will add to planting costs for Chinese corn farmers next year, Tang said. Production may remain affected until the heating season is over in April next year.

Plant shutdowns

Shutdowns include Yuntianhua’s unit in Yunnan province in southwest China, which halted

synthetic ammonia and urea production from December 11 after gas suppliers halted deliveries to corporate users in the region to meet residential demand, according to an exchange filing.

PetroChina Co. stopped supply ing gas to urea and chemical ma kers in Sichuan prov ince to rea l locate the f uel to residentia l users in nor ther n China, Morgan Stanley ana lyst A ndy Meng said in a December 8 research note. BA SF SE said on December 12 that it shut a petrochemical plant in Chongqing due to a gas shor tage.

Global urea production increased in 2016 in spite of a 5-percent drop in China, according to the International Fertilizer Association. Worldwide supply is expected to increase again in 2017, amid capacity increases in Africa and North America. China was the largest exporter of the fertilizer in 2014, according to Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. Urea production curbs in China are just one impact of natural-gas shortages resulting from a 19-percent jump in demand after the government ordered homes and businesses to switch to the cleaner burning fuel from coal.

Stop cooking

In the city of Wuhan, the local gas company is said to have stopped supplying gas to entertainment venues and asked people to stop cooking with the fuel during peak times of the day. In another town, gas-powered taxis and buses had to line up overnight after supplies were curbed.

“Gas-based urea plants account for about 30 percent of China’s total capacity, so lower output from gas-based urea plants is likely to introduce positive sentiment to urea prices, especially when the urea demand picks up in early-2018,” Morgan Stanley’s Meng said. Bloomberg News

Drone easily pierced NY ‘no-fly’ zone, exposing risk

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r e c r e at i o n a l drone operator whose device smashed into a US Army helicopter in September flew undetected into a no-fly zone over New York set up to protect President Donald J. Trump and the United Nations.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Thursday said the drone flew in air space closed because of the visit by Trump, highlighting gaps in safety and security protections involving the devices that are the size of a medium pizza box. Moreover, the pilot was in Brooklyn, but the drone was 2.5 miles away, offshore of Staten Island, violating a rule that operators must keep drones in their sight.

“This incident reveals a soft underbelly of drone safety: we’re putting very sophisticated drones in the hands of unsophisticated operators, with no training, certificates, or knowledge requirements,” said Kenneth Quinn, former chief counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who now works at the law firm Baker McKenzie.

The incident highlighted the need for drones to be treated more like traditional aircraft, such as requiring them to send an identifying radio beacon so they can be tracked, Quinn said. The current situation is “a recipe for disaster,” he said.

The crash occurred on September 21 as light was fading in the evening. The Black Hawk helicopter suffered damage to one of its rotor blades, but was able to land safely. The collision was the first confirmed midair impact in the US between a manned aircraft and one of the millions of drones sold in recent years. Reports of safety incidents involving drones have climbed steadily, and averaged more than 200 a month last summer, according to federal data.

The helicopter was one of two flying in the area as part of the security efforts for the United Nations General Assembly, which was meeting that week. Trump had spoken to the UN two days earlier and security restrictions for his visit were still in effect.

The NTSB report comes as the FAA is

wrestling with multiple drone-safety issues.

They include whether to allow routine flights over people, which drones should be required to send radio beacons with their identity and location, and how to build a low-level air-traffic system for the small consumer flying devices.

Th e re c re at i o n a l o p e r ato r to l d investigators he didn’t know that federal authorities had temporarily banned all drone flights in New York.

A notification system included with the device, made by SZ DJI Technology Co., didn’t advise him of those flight restrictions, the NTSB said.

While the accident occurred at an altitude of 274 feet, the drone operator had earlier flown to a height of 547 feet, above the FAA’s 400-foot flight limit, the NTSB said.

When it reached that height the device was 1.8 miles away from the operator, where it would have been difficult to see any other aircraft, according to the report.

“Even though the sUAS pilot indicated that he knew there were frequently helicopters in the area, he still elected to fly his sUAS beyond visual line of sight, demonstrating his lack of understanding of the potential hazard of collision,” the report said.

The leading US group for model aircraft operators called on the FAA to act against the drone operator.

“Careless and reckless operators should be held accountable,” Chad Budreau, spokesman for the Academy of Model Aeronautics, said in a statement. “The rogue drone operator involved in this incident violated Part 107 of the Federal Aviation Regulations and a temporary flight restriction, among other irresponsible behavior.”

The FAA regulates drones and has fined operators in the past.

“We will take appropriate action upon the completion of our investigation,” the FAA said in a statement. “The FAA provides education and resources for operators to safely and responsibly operate their drones.”

Bloomberg News

A5

| Sunday, December 17, 2017 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Sports BusinessMirror

PYEONGCHANG AGONIZES

The Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium is still under construction as of late last month. AP

OVER POST-GAME COSTS

As officials prepare for the Games in and around the small mountain town of Pyeongchang, there are lingering worries over the huge financial burden facing one of the nation’s poorest regions. Local officials hope that the Games will provide a badly needed economic boost by marking the area as a world-class tourist destination.

By Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press

G

ANGNEUNG, South Korea—South Korean officials have ruled out turning a state-of-the-art Olympic skating arena into a giant seafood freezer. Other than that, not much is certain about the country’s post-Winter Games plans for a host of expensive venues.

As officials prepare for the Games in and around the small mountain town of Pyeongchang, there are lingering worries over the huge financial burden facing one of the nation’s poorest regions. Local officials hope that the Games will provide a badly needed economic boost by marking the area as a world-class tourist destination.

But, past experience shows that hosts who justified their Olympics with expectations of financial windfalls were often left deeply disappointed when the fanfare ended.

This isn’t lost on Gangwon province, which governs Pyeongchang and nearby Gangneung, a seaside city that will host Olympic skating and hockey events. Officials there are trying hard to persuade the national government to pay to maintain new stadiums that will have little use once the athletes leave. Seoul, however, is so far balking at the idea.

The Olympics, which begins on February 9, will cost South Korea about 14 trillion won ($12.9 billion), much more than the 8 trillion to 9 trillion won ($7 billion to $8 billion) the country projected as the overall cost when Pyeongchang won the bid in 2011.

Worries over costs have cast a shadow over the Games among residents long frustrated with what

they say were decades of neglect in a region that doesn’t have much going on other than domestic tourism and fisheries.

“What good will a nicely managed global event really do for residents when we are struggling so much to make ends meet?” said Lee Do-sung, a Gangneung restaurant owner. “What will the Games even leave? Maybe only debt.”

TEARING THINGS DOWN

THE atmosphere was starkly different three decades ago when grand preparations for the 1988 Seoul Summer Games essentially shaped the capital into the modern metropolis it is today.

A massive sports complex and huge public parks emerged alongside the city’s Han River.

Next came new highways, bridges and subway lines. Forests of high-rise buildings rose above the bulldozed ruins of old commercial districts and slums.

The legacy of the country’s second Olympics will be less clear. In a country that cares much less now about the recognition that large sporting events bring, it will potentially be remembered more for things dismantled than built.

Pyeongchang’s picturesque Olympic Stadium—a pentagonal 35,000-seat arena that sits in a county of 40,000 people—will only be used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics and Paralympics before workers tear it down.

A scenic downhill course in nearby Jeongseon will also be demolished after the Games to restore the area to its natural state. Fierce criticism by environmentalists over the venue being built on a pristine forest sacred to locals caused construction delays that nearly forced pre-Olympic test events to be postponed.

Gangwon officials want the national government to share costs for rebuilding the forest, which could be as much as 102 billion won ($95 million).

NO FISH

DESPITE more than a decade of planning, Gangwon remains unsure what to do with the Olympic facilities it will keep.

Winter sports facilities are often harder to maintain than summer ones because of the higher costs for maintaining ice and snow and the usually smaller number of people they attract. That’s especially true in South Korea, which doesn’t have a strong winter-sports culture.

Not all ideas are welcome.

Gangwon officials say they never seriously considered a proposal to convert the 8,000-seat Gangneung Oval, the Olympic speed-skating venue, into a refrigerated warehouse for seafood. Officials were unwilling to have frozen fish as part of their Olympic legacy.

Gangwon officials also dismissed a themepark developer’s suggestion to make the stadium a gambling venue, where people place bets on skating races, citing the country’s strict laws and largely negative view of gambling.

A plan to have the 10,000-capacity Gangneung Hockey Center host a corporate league hockey team fell apart.

Even worse off are Pyeongchang’s bobsleigh track, ski jump hill and the biathlon and crosscountry skiing venues, which were built for sports South Koreans are largely uninterested in.

After its final inspection visit in August, the International Olympic Committee warned Pyeongchang’s organizers that they risked creating

white elephants from Olympic venues, though it didn’t offer specific suggestions for what to do differently.

Cautionary tales come from Athens, which was left with a slew of abandoned stadiums after the 2004 Summer Games that some say contributed to Greece’s financial meltdown and Nagano, the Japanese town that never got the tourism bump it expected after spending an estimated $10.5 billion for the 1998 Winter Games.

Some Olympic venues have proved to be too costly to maintain. The $100-million luge and bobsled track built in Turin for the 2006 Games was later dismantled because of high operating costs.

Pyeongchang will be only the second Olympic host to dismantle its ceremonial Olympic Stadium immediately after the Games—the 1992 Winter Olympics host Albertville did so as well.

‘MONEY-DRINKING HIPPOS’

GANGWON has demanded that the national government in Seoul pay for maintaining at least four Olympic facilities after the Games— the speed-skating arena, hockey center, bobsleigh track and ski jump hill. This would save the province about 6 billion won ($5.5 million) a year, according to Park Cheol-sin, a Gangwon official.

But the national government says doing so would be unfair to other South Korean cities that struggled financially after hosting large sports events. Incheon, the indebted 2014 Asian Games host, has a slew of unused stadiums now mocked as “money-drinking hippos.” It would also be a hard sell to taxpayers outside of Gangwon, said Lee Jae-soon, an official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Unlike the 1988 Olympics and the 2002 World Cup, which were brought to South Korea after bids driven by the national government, the provincial government led the bid for the Pyeongchang Games and it did so without any commitment from Seoul over footing the bill.

Under current plans, Gangwon will be managing at least six Olympic facilities after the Games.

These facilities will create a 9.2-billion won ($8.5-million) deficit for the province every year, a sizable burden for a quickly aging region that had the lowest income level among South Korean provinces in 2013, according to the Korea Industrial Strategy Institute, which was commissioned by Gangwon to analyze costs.

Hong Jin-won, a Gangneung resident and activist who has been monitoring Olympic preparations for years, said the real deficit could be even bigger. The institute’s calculation is based on assumptions that each facility would generate at least moderate levels of income, which Hong says is no sure thing.

He said that could mean welfare spending gets slashed to help make up the lack of money.

South Korea, a rapidly aging country with a worsening job market and widening rich-poor gap, has by far the highest elderly poverty rate among rich nations, according to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development figures.

If Seoul doesn’t pay for the Olympic facilities, and Gangwon can’t turn them into cultural or leisure facilities, it might make more sense for Gangwon to just tear them down.

Park said the national government must step up because the “Olympics are a national event, not a Gangwon event.”

MARLINS TURN INTO ‘PAWNSHOP?’

D

EREK JETER owns five World Series rings, which may be the reason agent Scott Boras had jewelry on his mind when discussing the Miami Marlins’s new ownership.

Boras said Jeter and his group are turning the Marlins into a pawnshop.

It was yet another jab at the Marlins’s direction under new CEO Jeter, who continued the team’s payroll purge on Wednesday by trading outfielder Marcell Ozuna to the Saint Louis Cardinals.

Speaking at baseball’s winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras said Jeter inherited a team with a strong foundation of young players that needed only more pitching to become a title contender. Boras said the group that bought the team should have been more carefully vetted to prevent the dismantling, which included trading major league home-run king Giancarlo Stanton to the New York Yankees.

“You would hope that...MLB [Major League Baseball] would screen the ownership so that we have an ownership that comes in and provides additions,” Boras said. Instead, “they come in and they redirect, so you’re not a jewelry store that’s

It is yet another jab at the Marlins’s direction under new CEO Derek Jeter, who continues the team’s payroll purge on Wednesday by trading outfielder Marcell Ozuna to the Saint Louis Cardinals. AP coveting your diamonds, you now become the pawn shop that is trying to pay the rent of the building, rather than focusing on the diamonds and growth that you covet.”

In contrast to Boras, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said he’s excited about the direction of the franchise, which hasn’t had a winning season since 2009. Mattingly defended his new boss, and predicted Jeter will improve as a baseball executive,

just as he improved at shortstop.

“Derek may be the first to admit, ‘Hey, I would do some things maybe a little differently,’” Mattingly said. “I don’t know that. But I look back to Derek’s first year in pro ball. He makes 58 errors—50-something errors—at shortstop, and we know what happened after that.”

Jeter actually committed 56 errors at Single-A Greensboro in 1993, his second pro season. He went on to become a 14-time All-Star.

Mattingly anticipates that Jeter will approach his new job the same way he approached his last one.

“He has got a lot on his plate, a lot going on, a lot happening very fast,” said Mattingly, who played with Jeter on the Yankees and later coached him.

“But I fully expect any adjustments that he has to make, or that he thinks he has to make, we’re just going to move forward. We’re not going to look back. We’re going to keep our eye on the prize and where we’re going, and we’ll make the adjustments as an organization.”

Detractors say Jeter’s group overpaid for the Marlins and is underfinanced. Boras said that’s the

reason the group is cutting payroll.

Jeter also has drawn criticism for skipping this week’s winter meetings. Instead, he attended a Miami Dolphins game on Monday night.

“With his stature as a player, people ask questions about his decision-making,” Boras added.

“I’m not clear that it is his decision-making. ... You see an owner at an NFL game, something tells me that he’s hired someone else to manage the construct of the team.”

Jeter, however, has said he’ll be hands-on with both baseball and business operations. And Mattingly, who is going into his third year as the Marlins’s manager, said Jeter’s plan for Miami will work.

“To know actually what our direction is, and to know that we’re going to sustain that and we’re going to build this organization from the bottom to the top, and it’s going to be consistent and we’re going to stay with it, it’s an exciting time for me,” he said. “We needed a reset. What we were trying to accomplish and the way we were doing it, trying to win, it just wasn’t working.” AP

GOODYEAR blows up new home for an airship—an inflatable hangar. AP

NEW HOME FOR GOODYEAR C ARSON, California—Morning commuters on a Southern California highway were greeted on Wednesday by a huge structure that wasn’t there the night before.

In a matter of hours overnight, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. raised a giant inflatable hangar that will be the permanent home of one of the company’s new airships, which replaced its original blimps.

The building standing nine stories and stretching the length of a football field went up along Interstate 405 south of Los Angeles in suburban Carson.

It will house Wingfoot Two, which began flying over college football games in Los Angeles

in October. The company says its new airships are easier to maneuver than the original ones.

Goodyear said the hangar, manufactured by United Kingdom-based Lindstrand Technologies and constructed with ultralight high-tech material, is the largest structure of its type in North America. Twenty fans inflated the hangar’s air cells and will maintain pressure.

Wingfoot Two, which is technically a dirigible rather than a blimp, is scheduled to leave its temporary home at Long Beach Airport and arrive in Carson on Friday.

Goodyear has operated the base in Carson since 1968 and plans to mark its 50th anniversary next year. AP

Faith A6 Sunday, December 17, 2017

Sunday

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

‘Simbang Gabi’ in PHL

By Corazon Damo-Santiago

A

n old European folklore narrates that Jesus was born at the stroke of midnight on December 25. To the rooster was assigned the honorable task of announcing Jesus’ birth. So, the rooster flies to the roof of the stable to proclaim “in a human voice—Christ is born.”

So people honor his birth at Simbang Gabi (Midnight Mass).

Historical beginnings

Filipino Catholic faithfuls in prayer. CBCPNews

The context of Pope Francis’s remarks on the ‘Lord’s Prayer’

V

ATICAN—Pope Francis’s recent remarks on the “wrong” translation of the “Lord’s Prayer” in a TV show hosted by the Italian Bishops’ Conference’s TV2000 network has become part of a wider debate that has taken place in Italy for over two decades.

The pope said that the words “non ci indurre in tentazione”—“Do not lead us into temptation,” in the English version—are not correct, because, he said, God does not actively lead us into temptation.

The pope also praised a new translation operated by the French Bishops’s conference.

The new French translation is “et ne nous laisse pas entrer in tentationI”—“let us not enter into temptation.” It replaces the previous translation “ne nous soumets pas à la tentation”—“do not submit us to temptation.”

It is worth noting that Saint Thomas Aquinas considered the question of whether God leads men “into temptation” in a commentary he wrote on the “Our Father.” The saint, and Doctor of the Church, concluded that “God is said to lead a person into evil by permitting him to the extent that, because of his many sins, He withdraws His grace from man, and as a result of this withdrawal man does fall into sin.”

The pope’s intent seems to be to emphasize that God’s active will does not “tempt” men, that, instead, the permissive will of God allows people to be tempted because of their sinfulness.

This is the emphasis of the French translation. The theological context is complex, but certainly the pope has not intended

to deny the theological and scriptural sense in which God allows, or permits, temptation.

However, the pope was talking in Italian, on an Italian television show, and his remarks dealt with the Italian translation of the Lord’s Prayer. It would be a mistake to assign his remarks significance beyond the Italian context, in which they would be well understood.

And, in fact, a new Italian translation of that very sentence of the Lord’s Prayer has already been done.

The new translation of the Bible issued by the Italian Bishops Conference says “do not abandon us to the temptation,” and the rephrasing of that sentence was the fruit of a long process, aimed at being more faithful to the Latin text of the prayer—the so-called editio typical—and, at the same time, more fit to the current language.

Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence and a wellknown scripture scholar, who has also served as undersecretary and secretary of the Italian Bishops Conference, recounted to the Italian newspaper Avvenire how the process for a new translation took place.

“The work,” he said, “dates back to 1988, when the decision was made to review the old 1971 translation of the Bible.”

At that time, a working group of 15 scr ipture scholars was established, coordinated by a bishop—the first was Bishop Giuseppe Costanzo, then Bishop Wilhelm Egger and, finally, Bishop Franco Festorazzi.

This working group collected the opinions of 60 more experts on scripture. The group was overseen by the Bishops Commission for the Liturgy, and the Italian Bishops’ Conference Permanent Council, a group composed of the presidents of regional bishops conference and the presidents of the commissions established within the Bishops’ Conference itself.

Card ina l Betor i sa id t hat, “within the Permanent Council, a restricted committee for the translation was established.” It was composed of Cardinals Giacomo Biffi and Carlo Maria Martini, and of Archbishops Benigno Luigi Papa, Giovanni Saldarini and Andrea Magrassi.

“This committee,” Cardinal Betori said, “also received and considered the proposal for the new translation of the Our Father.”

The formula “do not abandon us to temptation” was adopted because it met the approval of both Cardinal Martini and Biffi, who “were not, as is known, from the same schools of thought,” Cardinal Betori explained.

Cardinal Betori said the formula was chosen because it had a wider meaning, as “do not abandon us to temptation” can both mean “do not abandon us, so that we will not fall into temptation” and “do not abandon…when we are already facing temptation,” Cardinal Betori explained.

The new translation was approved by the Italian bishops in 2000. In 2001 the Congregation for Divine Worship issued Liturgiam Authenticam, a set of new provisions for the translation of liturgical texts.

After Liturgiam Authenticam, the whole work of translation was

reviewed by a group of experts, led by Bishops Adriano Caprioli, Luciano Monari and Mansueto Bianchi. Cardinal Betori was part of this group.

The revision, which suggested many amendments, was forwarded to the bishops. However, these amendments “did not change the proposal for the new translation of the Lord’s Prayer.”

The new translation of the Bible was finally approved during the 2002 General Assembly of the Italian Bishops Conference, with 202 out of 203 bishops voting favorably. The text of the Lord’s Prayer was approved separately, to be certain there were no doubts from bishops.

The Holy See gave its recognitio in 2007, and the Italian Bishops Conference Bible was finally published in 2008 with the new translation.

The new translation of the Lord’s Prayer was “transferred” to the Missal. However, the new translation, in order to be part of liturgical use, must be approved by the Holy See. But the text has not been approved because there are other issues of concern in the Missal’s translation.

This is the reason the formula for the Lord ’s Prayer in Italian is still “non ci indurre in tentazione”—“ do not lead us into temptation.”

Ultimately, speaking about the translation of the Lord’s Prayer, Francis did not say anything really new. Italian theologians and scripture scholars have already provided their solution for the translation.

However, there is another story to be told. There is a question regarding what will happen to translations that once needed a “recognitio” from the Holy See, which is now simply called to “confirm” the new translation.

Will this lead to a general change in translations in languages other than Italian? CNA/CBCPNews

The historical beginning of Simbang Gabi could be traced to the midnight vigil among the early Christians in Bethlehem. After the vigil on the night of Christmas, a torchlight procession followed until dawn in the church of the Resurrection.

The ceremony, called Misa de los Pastores (Shepherds’ Mass), was first chronicled by Aetheria Egeria, or Etheroiua, in a letter, titled “Peregrinatio Itinerarium Ad Loca Santa [Pilgrimage to Holy Land by Aetheria],” to a group of Christian acquaintances, possibly women, in 381-384.

A lthough Galician Valerius identified Aetheria as a nun, others contend that she was an educated and wealthy woman who could afford the luxury of a three-year journey to many biblical places she described so well in her writings.

Considered as an important record of Christian rites in early times, “fragmentary forms of the manuscripts” was copied in Codex Aretinus written at Monte Cassino in the 11th century. Italian scholar Gian Francisco Gamurrini discovered the manuscripts in the monastic library in Arrezzo.

Church records revealed that Pope Sixtus III (432-440) instituted the Midnight Mass in an oratory in Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the largest Marian church in Rome, built in 221 by Pope Callixtus and completed by Pope Julius I. In 1587 Fray San Diego de Soria, head monk of San Agustine Acolman, petitioned Pope Sixtus V to allow them to celebrate Midnight Masses outdoors to accommodate more people.

Misa de Aguinaldo

On March 31, 1521, an Easter Sunday, Magellan planted a cross in Limasawa, Leyte, and claimed the Philippines for the King of Spain. The pope obligated Spain to Christianize the Filipinos. Spanish priests came to teach the Filipinos the Christian doctrine.

To impress on Filipino Christian converts on the significance of Christmas Day, the dawn Mass was introduced. Since Christmas is the birthday of Jesus, and the Mass is likened to a gift, it was called Misa de Aguinaldo (Gift Mass). But since the dawn Mass at 4 a.m. was still dark, Simbang Gabi (Midnight Mass) was considered a logical description of the ritual.

The Filipinos, who are early risers and rooster lovers, welcomed the religious rite, as it augured well with their waking habits. Thus, through the years, Simbang Gabi

Pope on Guadalupe feast: Church is mestizo, native, black

V

ATICAN CITY—Pope Francis urged Latin Americ an and Caribbean Catholics to celebrate and defend their diversity, saying on Tuesday that the face of the Catholic Church is indigenous, mestizo and black.

Francis celebrated a special Mass to celebrate the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the dark-skinned virgin who appeared to an Indian peasant in the 1500s and is particularly important to Latin American Catholics, the Argentine pope included.

In his homily, Francis said indigenous peoples, women, peasants, migrants and the unemployed often aren’t treated with the dignity they deserve. He urged

the region’s faithful to not only cultivate their diverse cultures but “valiantly defend them” against homogenization.

“Our fertility compels us to defend our people against an ideological colonization that cancels out the richest of them, be they indigenous, Afro-American, mestizo, peasant or suburban,” he said, speaking in his native Spanish.

“We want to learn to be a church with a mestizo, indigenous, Afro-American face,” Francis added. “A face that is poor, unemployed, of children, old and young, so that no one feels sterile or shameful or worthless.”

The first pope from the Americas has continued a tradition started by Pope

Benedict XVI to celebrate a special Mass for the Guadalupe feast day, recognizing that Latin America has accounted for about 40 percent of the world’s Catholics and that Mexico (and Brazil) remain the countries with the most Catholics.

The most memorable Guadalupe Mass was Francis’s 2014 edition, which featured the “Misa Criolla” folk Mass with hymns composed by Argentina’s Ariel Ramirez.

Last Tuesday’s Mass was a more traditional affair, although Francis—who usually doesn’t sing—mouthed the words to the final “La Guadalupana” hymn.

According to tradition, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared before the Indian peasant Juan Diego in 1531 at Tepeyac,

a hillside near Mexico City, where Aztecs worshipped a mother-goddess, and her image was miraculously imprinted on his cloak.

The image helped priests inculcate Catholicism among indigenous Mexicans during Spanish colonial rule, and the church later made Guadalupe patron of all the Americas. Juan Diego was canonized as the hemisphere’s first Indian saint in 2002 during the papacy of Saint John Paul II. The basilica dedicated to the virgin in Mexico City draws millions of pilgrims each year and is the most-visited Marian shrine in the world. Francis prayed before the image of the virgin during his 2016 visit to Mexico. AP

People gather outside Quiapo Church in Manila after the Midnight Mass. BusinessMirror

has become an important Christmas celebration among Roman Catholics and faithfuls from the Philippine Independent Church.

T he continuous r inging of church bells served as a beacon call to people. And parents would complement the pealing bells and say: “Let’s now go to mass, the rooster has crowed.” Sometimes a marching band signals the waking time.

Simbang Gabi starts on December 16 and ends on the midnight of December 24.

Akin to novenas to saints, the faithful are enjoined to make petitions to the Child Jesus.

The Filipinos through the decades have enthusiastically adopted Simbang Gabi. In urban places, anticipated Masses are now held at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. besides the regular dawn masses.

The last Mass is held at 11 p.m. on the eve of December 24. After which, the family dines together.

Young members of the family hold the right hand of elders and they press the back of the hand on their forehead as a sign of the love and respect, and say “Mano po.” The elders respond with “God bless you.”

Christmas Day is a joyful celebration in the country. Lantern and Nativity Scene contests are held. Fireworks displays abound as well. Church choirs and children’s groups go around neighborhoods to sing Christmas carols. Kris Kringle or exchanging of gifts is a favorite among young people.

Two native Filipino delicacies sold in churchyards during the Christmas season are bibingka and puto bumbong. Bibingka is rice cake made of rice flour cooked between flaming charcoals, and topped with grated coconut and eggs. Puto bumbong is grounded, sticky rice cooked inside bamboo tubes with coconut shavings and brown sugar sprinkled on top.

Both Filipino delicacies are eaten with salabat (ginger tea) or thick, hot, chocolate drinks.

Longest Christmas

Christmas is celebrated the longest in the Philippines. As soon as the “ber” months start, or as early as September, some radio stations already air Christmas carols, signalling the 100-day countdown before Christmas.

Department stores also start decorating display windows with Christmas motifs during the ber months and flea markets make brisk sales, since people start stocking Christmas presents.

Filipinos are music lovers and love to sing: “Misa de Gallo sa tuwing Pasko Nagdarasal ang bawa’t tao Nagpapasalamat sa pagsilang, Ng Diyos na hari ng mundo.”

(Shepherds Mass every Christmas Every person prays and Give thanks to God on his birth As King of the world.”)

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 of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Sunday, December 17, 2017 A7

AirAsia and World Vision Partner

In ‘See The World’ Project

AirAsia and World Vision executives, with World Vision ambassadors, during the launch of the “See The World” campaign. From left are AirAsia Regional COO Pete Chareonwongsak, AirAsia Philippines’ Chief Pilot for Operations Capt.

Darren Adrian Acorda, World Vision Philippines’s National Director Rommel Fuerte; World Vision Ambassadors Gelli Victor, Quest and Christian Bautista and World Vision Philippines’ Media and Communications Manager Gjeff Lamigo.

F

Story & photos by Gretchen Filart

lying is often a personal pleasure. This Christmas, AirAsia and World Vision, in partnership with the AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme, extend the happiness to impoverished communities as it launches the “See The World” initiative.

An awareness building and fund-raising project, See The World celebrates the joy of giving by extending assistance to Filipino children in indigent places across the Philippines. From December 1 to 31, P5 will be automatically deducted from every Z2 flight booked via AirAsia (select destinations originating from and arriving in the Philippines) and donated to

World Vision’s child-sponsorship program. All Z2 flights are included in the program, regardless of the travel date.

World Vision is a global development and advocacy organization that helps transform communities by extending relief through child sponsorship. Monthly donations or “pledge” from sponsors—as low as P750—are pooled together to

World Vision Ambassador Christian Bautista and Mandaluyong Children’s Choir perform for AirAsia and World Vision’s See the World launch.

provide children and their communities living basics, including food, clean water and access to health care and education.

According to a 2016 Philippine Statistics Authority, 1 in every 10 Filipinos, aged 6 to 24 years old is out-of-school youth. Additionally, more than 30 million Filipinos do not have access to clean water and sanitation facilities, which leads to a daily mortality of 55. Targeting a million-peso funding, See The World will ensure that more underprivileged children can enjoy lasting reforms in such problem areas, allowing them to grow into adults who will positively contribute to their respective communities.

The project will also showcase inspiring stories about Filipino children whose lives have improved and who have served as an inspiration for similar children to aspire for a better life. The stories are featured in an online Web series on the AirAsia Philippines Facebook page that runs from November 2 onward.

At the campaign launch in Hotel H20 on November 25, AirAsia Regional COO Pete Chareonwongsak

World Vision Philippines’s Media and Communications Manager Gjeff Lamigo and a sponsored child from World Vision’s child-sponsorship program

said, “The collaboration between AirAsia and World Vision represents another step forward in our commitment to the philosophy that no corporation can live apart from the community it serves. As a truly Filipino airline, we will always extend a helping hand to the communities we serve. AirAsia is honored to partner with World Vision as we both share the same commitment and passion in helping communities, especially children see

Christmas Tree and Santaville Lighting ceremony brighten ups Crimson Hotel festivities

Representatives of Social Services Department of Muntinlupa with Crimson Hotel;’s General Manager Gerhard Doll and Jaisa Candelaria for the Share Love Share Christmas 360º

T

he traditional Christmas Tree and Village Lighting ceremony was held recently at Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila, to celebrate the holiday season. Hotel friends, corporate partners, local community, the media and representatives from the partner organizations for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program gathered together to witness this meaningful event.

The gallery was decorated full of green and red ornaments, colorful Santa houses with this year’s theme Santaville, gingerbread house, miniature Christmas Village, life-size upcycled decors made

by Jevie Pagpaguitan and the giant Christmas tree. Crimson Hotel’s Santaville will be filled with activities for kids throughout the month of December.

The annual ceremony was opened by Crimson Hotel General

San Beda College Alabang Symphony Orchestra and HISVOCES BEDA Chorale performed Christmas carols during the event

Manager Gerhard Doll’s inspiring welcome remarks. Then the Tree Lighting was preluded by a narration of a moving Christmas story with the musical accompaniment of San Beda College Alabang Symphony Orchestra and Hisvoces Beda Chorale. The lighting of the entire Christmas display was led

by Doll, Mario Dumawal of ABSCBN, celebrity mom Say Alonzo and son Asher and San Beda College Alabang’s Dom Clement Roque, OSB. This year, as part of Crimson Hotel’s “Share Love Share Christmas 360º” CSR campaign, the Tree of Hope was launched. Christmas cards are for sale for only P150 that will benefit the children of Social Services Department of Muntinlupa and the youth of Bahay Pag-asa of Muntinlupa. Hotel guests can send them a message of hope and encouraging cheers to

Tree lighting ceremony

GM Gerhard Doll, Say Alonzo with son Asher

uplift their Christmas spirit.

“Share Love Share Christmas 360º is our yearlong corporate social responsibility program with the kids in these institutions, going now on its third year. Over the course of 2017, we focused on

promoting hope and important life values for them with various activities through personal engagements and meaningful interactions. Crimson Hotel will continue with them in their journey in 2018, but this time, we will focus on providing them access and opportunities to education,” Doll stated.

Apart from the Tree of Hope, a portion of the sales proceeds from Crimson Hotel’s holiday room packages and dining programs also aim to support those children. Crimson Hotel will continue toward its third year of sharing Christmas all year round to the children of Social Services Department of Muntinlupa and Bahay Pag-asa of Muntinlupa. Both of them are the beneficiaries in a series of sustaining and holistic development programs dubbed Share Love Share Christmas 360º.

the wonders of the world through sponsorship programs in education.”

According to World Vision Philippines National Director Rommel Fuerte, the project will allow as many children as possible to enjoy a gift that lasts beyond the Christmas season. “As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of World Vision here in the Philippines, we are very thankful to have this milestone partnership

with AirAsia Philippines. With this significant initiative, we can ensure that every peso that will be donated to World Vision will help a lot of underprivileged Filipino children attain their dreams,” he said.

AirAsia and World Vision executives were joined by balladeer Christian Bautista, singer Quest and radio DJ Gelli Victor, all World Vision ambassadors. Bautista commented, “Working with World Vision in the Philippines is really a joy for me. And with the wonderful See the World collaboration of AirAsia and World Vision, each one can have that chance to touch each others’ hearts and celebrate Christmas in a different way.”

Travelers booking Z2 flights will also earn BIG Points via through AirAsia’s Freedom Flyer Programme, the AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme. BIG Loyalty members can redeem round-trip flights for as low 1,000 BIG points.

To find out more about the See The World initiative, you may call AirAsia’s promo hot line at (02) 742-2742. Please follow the program updates through social-media hashtags #AirAsiaWorldVision

Dazzling harborside performances brighten up Hong Kong Christmas

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wo spectacular light shows over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour—the new version of the internationally acclaimed nightly multimedia light show A Symphony of Light and the winter version of the Hong Kong Pulse Light Show—unveiled on December 1. The two world-class shows, best viewed from the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, will brighten up Hong Kong’s Christmas with dynamic lighting effects and the illusion of an icy atmosphere at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

The new version of A Symphony of Lights features dynamic rays of light sent out in rhythm from 40 buildings and locations on both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The new show incorporates a variety of exciting lighting effects, such as colored searchlights, lasers and all-new beam lights sent out like a special fan-shaped lighting effect from the roof of the Central Government Offices and the Revenue Tower. Ten LED panels on a number of harborside buildings are for the first time joining the multimedia show, displaying images and messages to encourage audience participation.

The show is complemented by music from Asia’s leading classical orchestra, the Hong Kong

Philharmonic Orchestra, providing visitors with a thrilling and unforgettable sound-and-light experience. The 10-minute show begins at 8pm every evening from December 1. By downloading the A Symphony of Lights mobile app, visitors can listen to the music simultaneously and share their photos on social-media platforms.

Immediately after A Symphony of Lights every evening, the winter version of Hong Kong Pulse Light Show begins at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Spectators on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront can view it from the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza. The 3D projection show begins with a snowstorm, which covers the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in snow and ice and blows away the numbers on the Clock Tower, stopping time just before Christmas arrives.

An ingenious dragon then sets out to find the missing numbers, which are scattered across Hong Kong landmarks. The dragon eventually finds them and restarts time to save Christmas.

During the show, the piazza is decorated with snowing effect along with glowing LED balls and a giant crystal ball. The eight-minute performance runs from December 1 to 28 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The new version of A Symphony of Lights features dynamic rays of light sent out in rhythm from 40 buildings and locations on both sides of Victoria Harbour.

Science

BusinessMirror

A8 Sunday, December 17, 2017

Sunday

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

Arctic permafrost thawing at a faster pace

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EW ORLEANS—Permafrost in the Arctic is thawing at a faster clip, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

Water is also warming and sea ice is melting at the fastest pace in 1,500 years at the top of the world.

The annual report released on Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed slightly less warming in many measurements than a record hot 2016. But scientists remain concerned because the far northern region is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe and has reached a level of warming that’s unprecedented in modern times. “[The year] 2017 continued to show us we are on this deepening trend, where the Arctic is a very different place than it was even a decade ago,” said Jeremy Mathis, head of NOAA’s Arctic research program and co-author of the 93-page report.

Findings were discussed at the American Geophysical Union meeting in New Orleans.

“What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic; it affects the rest of the planet,” NOAA Acting Chief Timothy Gallaudet said.

“The Arctic has huge influence on the world at large.”

Per m a f rost i s t he per m anently frozen layer below the Earth’s surface in frigid areas.

Records show the frozen ground that many buildings, roads and pipelines are built on reached record warm temperatures last yea r nea r ing a nd somet imes

exceeding the thawing point.

That could make them vulnerable when the ground melts and shifts, the report said. Unlike other readings, permafrost data tend to lag a year.

Preliminary reports from the United States and Canada in 2017 showed permafrost temperatures are “again the warmest for all sites” measured in North America, said study coauthor Vladimir Romanovsky, a professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

Arctic sea ice usually shrinks in September and this year it was only the eighth lowest on record for the melting season. But scientists said they were most concerned about what happens in the winter—especially March—when sea ice is supposed to be building to its highest levels.

Arctic winter sea ice maximum levels in 2017 were the smallest they’ve ever been for the season when ice normally grows. It was the third straight year of record low winter sea-ice recovery. Records go back to 1979.

About 79 percent of the Arctic sea ice is thin and only a year old. In 1985 45 percent of the sea ice in the Arctic was thick, older ice, NOAA Arctic scientist Emily Osborne said. New research looking into the Arctic’s past using ice cores, fossils, corals and shells as stand-ins for temperature mea-

In this August 16, 2005, file photo, an iceberg melts in Kulusuk, Greenland, near the arctic circle. A new report finds permafrost in the Arctic is thawing faster than ever before. AP/John McConnico

surements show that Arctic ocean temperatures are rising and sea-ice levels are falling at rates not seen in the 1,500 years. And those dramatic changes coincide with the large increase in carbon-dioxide levels in the air from the burning of oil, gas and coal, the report said.

This isn’t just a concern for the few people who live north

of the Arctic Circle. Changes in the Arctic can alter fish supply.

And more ice-free Arctic summers can lead to countries competing to exploit new areas for resources. Research also shows changes in Arctic sea ice and temperature can alter the jet stream, which is a major factor in US weather. This is probably

partly responsible for the current unusual weather in the US that brought destructive wildfires to California and a sharp cold snap to the South and East, accord ing to NOA A scientist James Overland and private meteorologist expert Judah Cohen.

“The Arctic has traditionally been the refrigerator to the planet,

but the door of the refrigerator has been left open,” Mathis said.

Outside scientists praised the report card.

“Overall, the new data fit with the long-term trends, showing the clear evidence of warming causing major changes,” in the Arctic, Pennsylvania State University ice scientist Richard Alley said. AP

Producers turn to packaging sweet plant to increase food health choices

By Manuel T. Cayon Mindanao Bureau Chief

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roducers have turned to packaging a formerly ignored sweet plant into an alternative to sugar and other sweeteners, with a Bulacan grower of the Stevia plant as the first to venture into the business.

A grower in Bulacan, Glorius I ndu st r i a l a nd De ve lopment Corp., has presented its packaged sweetener, Sweet and Fit Stevia, as an exhibitor at the recent 13th National Biotechnology Week at a mall in Quezon City.

The company has engaged into plantation type farming in Bocaue, Bulacan, to ensure steady production as it waits for their product’s acceptance by Filipino households as another healthy option as sweetener.

It has also sought assistance from the Department of Science and Technology for the required technolog y and machiner y in processing the product.

At its booth at the exhibit was also a concoction of coffee, where Stevia was being labelled as one of three ingredients purported to “ boost body weight loss.”

The Stevia plant sweetener extract was among some of the common edible plant and other food items that were being packaged into their several by-products for household food ingredients or additives.

Me d i c a l b u l l e t i n s p o s t e d online by various science and medical organizations said the sweetener was actually the active compounds of stevia, the steviol glycosides, or chiefly the stevioside, and rebaudioside.

The active ingredients have 150 or 200 times the sweetness of sugar, “are heat-stable, pH-stable and not fermentable,” according to a crowdsourcing web site.

The name of the plant was credited to Spanish botanist and physician Petrus Jacobus

Stevus, a professor of botany at t he Spa i n’s Un iversit y of Valencia, although histor y of the plant use as sweetener was traced to as early as 1,500 years ago in South America.

In the coffee concoction by the same Bulacan company, which it named Maxitrim Coffee, it said Stevia is mixed also with malunggay, with antioxidant property and an L - Car nit ine t hat are known to burn body fats.

Maura de Leon, the company’s

owner and tagged as “queen of Ph i l ip pi ne Ste v i a ,” s a id t he Stev ia-sweetened coffee “can b o o s t w e i g ht l o s s , i nc re a s e blood f low, reduce fatig ue and increase muscle mass.”

The extraction of a sweetener from the Stevia plant was also made in 2015 by students in General Santos City in South Cotabato. They presented the extraction in the Enactus National Competition 2015 at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

A Bulacan-based exhibitor’s booth displays packed powdered sweetener from Stevia plant. Manuel T. Cayon

T he ex periment won the nod of judges that sent the student scientists to t he inter nationa l bu si ness compet it ion i n Jo ha nnesbu rg , Sout h A f r ica, in October t hat sa me yea r to t he globa l sc ience fa ir, ca l led Enact us World Cup. The feat by students of Enactus-Holy Trinity College Chapter bested 15 ot her sc hool s during the national business competition in Pasay City, and which also got the attention of General Santos City Mayor Ronnel R ivera, who ordered its Youth Affairs and Development Office “to look after the needs of the team.”

He said the city government would also give “financial incentives to boost their morale. We have to do this so that we encourage more students to excel more in different fields.”

The city information office in General Santos City said Enactus “is a global community of students, academics and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a more sustainable world”.

The school’s project involved “the development of Stevia plant as an organic substitute to commercial sugars.” It was developed

by Theo Nationales, James Perpetua, Lester Salazar, Hannah Untal, Carmel Calipo and Kevin Dave Pitogo, the General Santos City information office said.

“There are chemicals mixed in the sugars that we buy in the market, and we all know that they can be harmful. That was the reason we searched for alternatives, and that started everything,” Pitogo said in the statement.

Pitogo added that “it is not solely for competition purposes why we developed Stevia to be a sugar alternative. It can be a great help to our agricultural sector if ever it [Stevia] will become in-demand.”

DOST visitor: Pisay-scholar champ in intl Breakthrough Challenge

Hillary Diane Andales, the grand-prize winner in the third Breakthrough Junior Challenge, pays a courtesy call on Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña. The Grade 12 student of the Philippine Science High School-Eastern Visayas Campus in Palo, Leyte, bagged the award on December 3 at the National Aeronautics and Apace Administration Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. She received a $250,000 (P12,670,000) college scholarship, as well as a $50,000 (P2,530,000) prize for her science teacher, and a $100,000 (P5,069,000) new science laboratory from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for her school. She won for her entry that explained the concept of relativity and the equivalence of reference frame. A finalist for two consecutive years, Andales this time bested more than 10,000 students from 178 countries. Henry A. de Leon/DOST-STII

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Editor: Tet Andolong

Sunday, December 17, 2017

A passion for perfection

A9

Casa Ibarra’s facade

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By Jacqueline Salador-Marvida

T all started in April 2001 as a small restaurant in Manila, the name “Ibarras” was inspired by their venues’ Art Deco Facade, woodpaneled floors and intimate garden in patio reminiscent of the old city.

In the Noli Me Tangere novel, Juan Crisostomo Ibarra showed the character of grace and confidence, respectful and well-educated. That was the idea behind the business—a memorable celebrations through event and catering services that reflect the Ibarra’s persona.

The first-ever venue was built along Padre Faura Street, the Ibarra’s Garden, which became an industry forerunner for banquets and all occasions. Due to the increasing demand of debut and wedding industry, they expanded their operations in 2004 and established a new branch in Quezon City, the Plaza Ibarra. Then come 2010 and 2011, the Bella Ibarra in Quezon Avenue and Villa Ibarra in Tagaytay were introduced to the public, respectively.

Now, 2017 Casa Ibarra brings modern Filipino sensibility of making memories on another level. The launching of Casa Ibarra at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay exemplifies the Filipino tradition and perfection. The venue’s interior design is unique through the use of different elements like wood, capiz, raffia fabric and Mindanao’s traditional T’nalak weave. These native materials can be found throughout the building’s design, accents of its Filipino identity.

On the second floor is Sala de Amor, which boasts of six huge capiz chandeliers made of approximately 20,000 capiz shells.

Lighted onyx pillars hold up this grand ballroom that can accommodate a total of 350 guests.

A grand stairway adds elegance to the whole place as the steps light up dramatically when a celebrant or a couple walks on them. The celebrant is also offered a well-appointed private room on the upper floors to prepare for the grand entrance. It took them more than one year and a half to finish Sala de Amor, which was built by 200 workers.

Casa Ibarra also features the Alegria and Hermosa Function Rooms. Each room can accommodate as much as 140 guests, or can be combined for a larger party on the ground floor. Like a sizeable four-story Filipino house from the Spanish period, Casa Ibarra’s architecture stands out almost immediately in its rather business-looking location.

The façade has porte-cochere, where guests can be dropped off.

Its balcony can host more intimate gatherings and can be setup for a wedding ceremony with as much as 80 guests.

Upon entering the building, homage to Monet, a Filipino French artist Olivia d’ Aboville’s

Painting by Filipino-French artist Olivia d’ Aboville

specifically commissioned artwork for Casa Ibarra greet visitors with its ethereal beauty. Eleven parking slots are allotted for the couple and families. Besides a sophisticated setting, Casa Ibarra offers event packages where clients see and experience true value for their money.

Wedding packages, for example can go for as low as P133,000, which is inclusive of venue, food and beverage, as well as sound system, venue styling and other amenities.

“It really depends on the client’s food preference, the size of their event and the inclusions that they want. We offer reasonable packages because we believe that every client should be able to get the maximum value from their money,” said Grizelle Lim, Casa Ibarra operations manager.

Casa Ibarra has a wide selection of Western, Mediterranean, Oriental, Spanish and Filipino menus. Among the best sellers are Ibarra’s braised beef shank, seafood paella and Ibarra’s Hickory pork spare ribs supported by welltrained banquet staff that ensures the Casa Ibarra’s standards of service. Weddings, debut, baptism, birthdays, corporate events,

The grand stairway

Each chandelier is made up of more than 20,000 capiz shells inside Sala de Amor.

product launches, office parties, anniversaries, Christmas parties, golden weddings and more are all events that fall under Ibarra’s wide belt of experience.

Casa Ibarra and other branches are open to more memorable events—committed to giving excellent service, hassle free, sophisticated and yet affordable by

providing a wide array of packages that will suit everyone’s needs.

For more information, visit http://www.ibarraspartyvenues. com.ph.

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A10 Sunday, December 17, 2017

Editor: Tet Andolong

Tagaytay’s not-so-secret garden

Secret Garden Gazebo

Antique Burmese Buddhist scripture and chest

Sea-WATER swimming pool

The domed all-weather lower Garden

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By Bernard L. Supetran

HEN the Koreanovela Secret Garden became a big hit in the Philippines a few years back, the TV series could have been referring to the pockets of green in the scenic ridge of Tagaytay.

Overlooking the picturesque Taal Volcano and with cool, crisp mountain air the whole year round, it is an ideal place for secret gardens in the hidden nooks to flourish and be a hideaway in the mountains. But with word of mouth and the internet spreading the good news of a new-found refuge, no garden can remain a secret for so long despite its being concealed in the roads less traveled.

One such garden, which has recently shed its veil of secrecy, is

The Veranda, an intimate and cozy rendezvous tucked in the secluded nooks in Silang, Cavite. Situated inside the four-hectare Bella Rosa Farm, this hidden getaway has been limited to private functions and events, but is opening itself to quality guests who want an upland retreat away from Tagaytay’s madding commercial belt.

For the few years it has been operating, it has managed to stay below the tourist radar, but foodies would remember this as the site of

Kalamunda, a by-appointment dining place of Chef Carlo Miguel in the early-2000s.

Jazzed up to serve as the sprawling farm of Flowers by Rosabella, it has reinvented itself as among the secret gardens in the ridge, which abound in lush greenery, fresh air, golden sunlight and dreamy garden scapes.

Owner-florist Rosabella Ongpin said the once-bare property has evolved into what it is because of fortuitous life events that gave birth to the establishment and made her a reluctant hotelier.

It boasts of a flower farm teeming with chrysanthemum, anthurium, gerbera and hydrangea, which find their way in luxury hotels and event venues under the Rosabella brand.

A herbal garden of basil, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, mint, oregano, sage and dill serves as the source of ingredients for its dishes. With its wide-range of herbs, Caroa’s Café restaurant looks forward to offering the farm-to-table experience to visitors for a healthy back-to-the-basics dining.

She said that, while widely

Bella Rosa flower farm

known for garden weddings and private functions, the homey facility is also ideal for wellness and yoga retreats, as well as corporate events sans the cosmopolitan distractions for a more relaxing and productive gathering.

Punctuated by three wellmanicured garden venues, plant plots and greeneries all over, The Veranda is reminiscent of the Bibli-

cal Garden of Eden, making it even more suited for religious activities and moments of reflection.

A community church, which will be completed this Christmas, will be a welcome development for those seeking a solemn church wedding and garden reception in the highlands, or those who simply want a quantum of solace.

The place is slowly earning

raves in the food and beverage department as it gradually builds its fusion-inspired menu to spice up all-time Filipino favorites a fresh twist. Its trademark entrée is the porchetta, a sumptuous pork-belly roll with tender, juicy meat and crackling, crispy skin.

Other signature dishes include sisig triangulo, gambas pasta, baked fish fillet thermidore, the satay-style chicken inasal skewers, and the ubiquitous Tagaytay bulalo.

Guests can bask in the opulence and comfort of the spacious rooms ornately decorated with Oriental curio items and antiques meticulously curated by the owner herself.

The Veranda also has a swimming pool that utilizes salt-water technology for a refreshing dip that doesn’t leave one reeking with the smell of chlorine.

While it is opening to a bigger market, the farm resort will only accept prebooked visitors in order to maintain the quality of its guests and preserve its aura of exclusivity.

And, despite being a not-sosecret garden, this getaway will remain a suburban refuge away from the madding crowd.

AirAsia unveils world’s first Freedom Flyer Programme A IRAsia, the world’s best lowcost airline, today unveiled the world’s first Freedom Flyer Programme aimed at making it easier, faster and better for loyal guests to earn AirAsia BIG Points.

The overhauled loyalty programme, powered by AirAsia BIG Loyalty, is based on a unique membership-status system determined by how often guests fly—the more guests fly with AirAsia, the faster they will earn BIG Points, regardless of how much they spend on fares.

The four-status system starts with Red status for guests who

fly 13 or fewer one-way shorthaul flights in the preceding 12 months, through to Gold and Platinum, and all the way up to Black for those who fly 50 or more times with AirAsia.

For every RM10 spent, Red Members can earn up to 20 BIG Points, Gold up to 40, Platinum up to 70 and Black up to 120.

Long-haul and Fly-Thru flights count as two one-way short-haul flights for status calculation purposes, making it doubly rewarding to travel with AirAsia X. The Freedom Flyer Programme

was launched by AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, AirAsia X Group CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and AirAsia BIG Loyalty CEO Dato’ Eddy Leong earlier today at AirAsia’s RedQ in Sepang, Malaysia.

Also present were AirAsia Malaysia CEO Aireen Omar, AirAsia X Malaysia CEO Benyamin Ismail, AirAsia Philippines CEO Captain Dexter Comendador, AirAsia India CEO Amar Abrol, AirAsia President of China Kathleen Tan and AirAsia Group Chief Commercial Officer Siegtraund Teh.

AirAsia Cofounder and AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said, “I am pleased to introduce the world’s first Freedom Flyer Programme. AirAsia is about freedom. When my partner Datuk Kamarudin and I started AirAsia, we dreamed of democratising air travel so flying would no longer be a luxury only a few could enjoy. We wanted to give everyone the freedom to fly. This new and improved loyalty programme is the latest in our continuing quest to give our guests the freedom to live the rewarding

life they’ve always dreamed of.”

AirAsia Cofounder and AirAsia X Group CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun said, “This is our way of saying thank you to our loyal guests for flying with us. By making AirAsia X the airline of choice for long-haul travel, our guests can achieve top status in the Freedom Flyer Programme twice as fast and enjoy abundant rewards and privileges while exploring our network, which stretches from Japan to Australia and the Middle East, all the way to Hawaii.”

AirAsia BIG Loyalty CEO Datuk’

Eddy Leong said, “Our Freedom Flyer Programme is the first of its kind in the world that is designed specifically for everyone. No matter who you are and what you do, our Freedom Flyer Programme is our way of saying thank you for making AirAsia great. This is for you.”

To learn more about the Freedom Flyer Programme or to register, visit the upgraded AirAsia BIG Loyalty web site at airasiabig. com or download the AirAsia BIG Loyalty mobile app, where existing members can also check their new membership status.

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Sunday, December 17, 2017 A11

PhilJets takes delivery of its second Cessna Citation XLS+

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HILJETS is once again proving its efficiency and desire to satisfy its clients with continuous improved service.

On the sideline of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, the delivery of a brand-new Cessna Citation XLS+ that will be operated by PhilJets is the third business jet that joins the fast-growing business-aviation firm’s fleet within a year. This is the company’s second Citation XLS+, an eight-seat midsize private jet, which becomes the ninth aircraft under PhilJets fleet.

The year 2017 has been active for the boutique business-aviation company with an impressive growth. Geoffroy Cahen, director of sales and marketing, explained,

“We have taken delivery of our first business jet, a Cessna Citation XLS+ in late-December 2016, and afterward a Bombardier Challenger 350 joined our fleet in February 2017. Finally, this new addition is expected to be fully operational before end of the year.”

This new business jet, for chartering in the near future, possesses special features to make trips the most enjoyable possible. The Citation XLS+ combines transcontinental range, first-class cabin comfort and remarkable performance efficiency in a beautiful midsize jet.

“We are pleased that PhilJets

has chosen to add an additional Citation XLS+ to its charter fleet,” said Jessica Pruss, regional vice president of Sales, Asia Pacific of Textron Aviation, the manufacturer of Cessna aircrafts. “The XLS+ has become the most-delivered jet in the Philippines due to its exceptional comfort and amenities, while providing the range and speed needed to fulfill both domestic and regional flights—all at the lowest total operating costs. Customers also recognize that Textron Aviation makes it convenient for customers to transition into larger platforms, such as the Citation Latitude midsize jet or the upcoming super midsize Citation Longitude.”

Thierry Tea, chairman and CEO of PhilJets said,“We measure the work our teams have accomplished since we started and especially our operations team during the last year. It has been challenging to evolve from only helicopter to a fully grown business-jet

operator. We thank Cessna with Textron Aviation, which has supported PhilJets, and we look forward to further strengthening our relationship in order to provide better customer experience to our clients.”

Julien G a i l l o c h e t , Business Development executive, said, “We are proud to welcome a new private business jet to our fleet. This proves once again the trust that our clients are placing in us, as well as our commitment to satisfy their

requirements and expectations.

This is a new milestone reached.

Our team is enthusiastic, as we now can count three business jets and six helicopters in our fleet as we expect more growth for the following years to come.”

Peri-Peri celebrates 12 years Shangri-La Hotel in Harbin introduces ‘Absolute Ice’ S

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OMEGROWN with an international flair, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar is set to soar even higher in 2018 as it expands its distinct dining exPERIence.

Renowned for its Charcoal Grilled Chicken, BBQ Back Ribs, and eight characterfilled sauces, the restaurant has been steadily carving out its space among hearts of foodies in and out of the Metro since opening its first branch back in 2005.

Inspired by the flavourful kick of the African bird’s eye chili, Peri-Peri has cooked great-tasting dishes with influences from South America while proudly wearing its Filipino heart on its sleeve.

Peri-Peri is the brainchild of local innovator Bryan Tiu. With his burning passion for food, the visionary has brought the many flavors of Asia and the world here in the Philippines through the IFoods Group Inc. “Our incredible growth in the last 12 years shows just how much our brand is loved. We laid a strong foundations this 2017 by improving many facets of the restaurant.

And as we welcome 2018, Peri-Peri is set to conquer greater heights and many more discerning palates,” Tiu said.

According to Tiu, Peri-Peri’s plans for 2018 and beyond included a “three-pronged approach” to the restaurant’s development.

Recently, Peri-Peri has launched a series of online ads alongside TV and Cinema Ads featuring its official endorser, Enchong Dee. As a true testament of his love for the brand, the actor is also a Peri-Peri Happy Franchisee of UP Town Center, SM Megamall and Ayala Marquee Mall in Pampanga.

In its search for more and bolder flavors, the restaurant also added more than forty new dishes to its already exciting menu. Taking inspiration from the explosive flavours found in South America, Peri-Peri made sure that each dish is tweaked to capture the local taste.

Enchong Dee at Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar

From the glorious Grilled Bacon-wrapped Meatballs to the sinfully delicious Chorizo con Quezo Fondido and the highly addictive Salted Egg Potato Chips, there are many must-trys to sink your teeth into.

For 12 years now, Peri-Peri is mainly known for their flavorful chicken, tender ribs and memorable sauces. The newest additions though will surely make your dining experience only more indulgent and unforgettable.

To further bolster its market presence, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar intends to open up more stores in the coming months. More stores are set to open soon at Ayala Feliz, Marikina; SM Marikina; Okada Manila; Robinsons Manila; Brittany Square, Fairview; Robinsons Magnolia; Banaue, Quezon City; and Resorts World Manila, among others.

Currently, the restaurant has 17 branches in and outside the Metro. Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar have branches in Nuvali Solenad 3; Alabang Town Center; McKinley Venice Piazza; Uptown Mall BGC; Greenbelt 3; Eastwood Mall; Capitol Commons; Megamall B; Promenade Greenhills; Evia Lifestyle Center, Las Piñas; Gateway Araneta Center; UP Town Center; Trinoma Mall; Ayala Marquee Mall; SM City Bacolod; Meerea High Street Mandaue, Cebu; and the soon to relocate branch in Myanmar.

Through a combination of mouth-watering food accented by a playful ambiance; Peri-Peri has built a food empire that is as distinct as it is exciting.

For Franchising inquiries and updates, follow Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken on facebook.com/peripericharcoalchicken and instagram.com/pericharcoalph.

ET to become a popular meeting place among guests is Songbei Shangri-La, Harbin’s 12-seater Ice Lounge. Constructed from 63 cubic metres of ice blocks, the Ice Lounge is a specially designed and intimate area measuring approximately 16 square meter (sq m). It will be equipped with all-ice furniture, including an ice bar counter, ice coffee table and ice sofa, and installed with electricity to add to the experience. Hot beverages and alcoholic drinks will be served from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Guests can also delve into the ice world at the hotels’ Ice Palace restaurant. Created from nearly 1,000 cubic metres of ice blocks— sourced from the nearby Songhua River— with white frosting-covered rooftops and colourful lights, guests can dine on hot pot in indoor temperatures of -10° Celsius (14° Fahrenheit). Shangri-La Hotel, Harbin’s Ice Palace, covers 310 sq m and seats 148 diners, while the Ice Palace at Songbei Shangri-La, Harbin, is slightly smaller at 210 sq m and accommodates 102 guests. Both Ice Palace restaurants will open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 9:30 p.m. for dinner.

The “Absolute Ice” offer, available between December 24 and February 28, 2018, starts from RMB 3,199 for two consecutive nights and includes daily breakfast buffet for two persons, RMB 400 dining credit per stay (including the Ice Palace), shuttle-bus service between Harbin’s scenic sites and the two Shangri-La hotels, as well as a winter-care kit containing gloves, a cap, heating pads and more.

For guests keen to explore Harbin’s silvery winter landscape, the location of Shangri-La Hotel, Harbin, and Songbei ShangriLa, Harbin, on the south and north banks,

respectively, along the Songhua River, makes getting around the city easy. The Ice and Snow World and International Snow Sculpture Expo on the north bank of the river, and Central Street, Saint Sophia Cathedral and the Harbin Memorial Monument on the south bank of the river, are within a 10-minute car ride from the hotels.

Transforming the city into a winter wonderland is the 800,000-sq-m Ice and Snow World, which is one of the world’s largest and Instagrammable fairylands. It features a wide range of snow- and ice-related activities and amusements, as well as an all-ice cartoon world with towering ice architecture, delicate ice sculptures, various games on ice and a dazzling ice show.

Other popular Harbin winter sites include the International Ice Sculpture Expo to view majestic snow sculptures, and the Siberian Tiger Park to see the rare and mighty “big cat.”

When the day is at its darkest, guests can

return to Shangri-La Hotel, Harbin, for either Cantonese food at Shang Palace or an international buffet at Coffee Garden. Alternatively, diners may choose Songbei Shangri-La, Harbin for local food and Beijing Duck at Shang Kitchen or De Drunk’n Pig bar for a nightcap.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, one of the world’s premier hotelmanagement companies, currently operates over 100 hotels in 22 countries and 73 destinations under the Shangri-La, Kerry, Hotel Jen and Traders brands. Prominently positioned in Asia, the group has established its brand hallmark of “hospitality from the heart” over four decades in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, North America and the Indian Ocean.

The group has a substantial development pipeline with upcoming projects in Australia, mainland China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. For more information, please visit www.shangri-la.com.

Journey BusinessMirror

»life on the go

A12

Sunday, December 17, 2017

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

When business is leisure: Business Highlights of Travel 2017

THE TOURISM ADVOCATE

W

Part One

HEN you are in business, the idea of traveling for leisure is almost unheard of. We spoke to some of these trailblazers in business and lifestyle as to how they’ve managed to combine business with leisure.

What is fulfillment anyway with the alignment of your business and life goals?

Justo Antonio Ortiz, Financial Inclusion and Technology advocate, chairman and CEO, Unionbank

“Definitely my most memorable trip was the one week at the FinTech Festival in Singapore. I met many people who were leading the change to use technology for human progress by empowering the many. I also got exposed to the limitless capacity of human imagination that gave me so much hope and wonder about the future. Finally, I caught a glimpse of how even social, political, commercial organization could transform and, thereby, impact human interaction and behavior giving rise to the possibility of a viable collaborative commons with a larger footprint, maybe even beyond national boundaries.”

John Aguilar, president of Streetpark Productions, producer of Philippine Realty TV and The Final Pitch

“Every few years, my wife and partner Monica and I get to produce stories on real estate and construction exhibits abroad for our TV show Philippine Realty TV on ANC. No producers, cameramen and audiomen. Just the two of us producing stories on our “workation.” This year it was the 13th International Property Show in Dubai. After interviewing and learning from some of the biggest real-estate players in the world, we headed to the majestic sand dunes of Dubai on 4X4’s for a little R&R. We are lucky because our business allows us to work, play, and love. Here’s to the most beautiful camerawoman/audiowoman in the universe.”

James Michael Lafferty, CEO British American Tobacco Philippines, coach of Filipino athletes and Women’s Rights Advocate

“The trip in 2017 that stands out most was a recent trip to Cape Town, South Africa. It was a learning trip to see how business is conducted in this very challenging market, how business issues are addressed, and to interface with other global leaders. It’s absolutely crucial as a leader I remain a student, as well as a teacher; and, I keep an external focus and learn what people are doing around the world. Too often as we rise within an organization we say too fre-

John Aguilar

Justo Antonio Ortiz

Diane Bangit—Buddahim

Paco Magsaysay (leftmost in photo)

James Michael Lafferty

Ron Pena (left)

quently ‘I know that’ and we don’t get out but sit in the office or the never-ending meetings. Reality is never found behind a desk or on a laptop...it’s out where the consumer is spending their time. Even CEOs have to continually learn and see new things.”

Diane Bangit—Buddahim P&G Global IT Development and operations manager

IN July after Albet’s business trip in New York City to visit the IPG Mediabrands Headquarters, we decided to drive from New York to Boston to Cape Ann to Newport Rhode Island for a week. We were literally going with the flow (very far from the usual super organized us), changing plans every now and then and doing almost on-the-spot bookings depending on where we will be at night.

“Movie was the theme of our New York days, we ate at restaurants featured in movies like Serendipity 3, The Odeon & Boathouse.

Boston, on the other hand, was Albet’s must-visit place as he wanted to feel and breathe the air at Harvard [his dream school]. Cape Ann was a sweet surprise for us with such picturesque and breathtaking coastline. Definitely not the least in this trip was our visit to Newport, which gave us a glimpse of the life of the rich and famous owners of extravagant mansions.”

Ron Pena, globally awarded, Philippine’s First Royal Phibrows artist

“My most memorable trip this year was going to Belgrade, Serbia for PhiBrows Masterclass 2017—one of the biggest, if not the biggest convention for Beauty, Permanent Makeup and Microblading in the world.”

Many new skills and techniques in the art of natural beauty were presented there. I realize in the beauty industry, looking youthful is tied directly to looking and feeling healthy. A sound outlook in life and keeping one’s health, no matter what age bracket you are in, one can look her or his best.

These new technologies, which we will soon introduce in the Philippines are mere support for you to jump-start your journey to feeling-being healthy and youthful. Exciting times are ahead.”

Paco Magsaysay, founder of Carmen’s Best Ice Cream, Agricultural Dairy Farm advocate.

“My most memorable trip this

year was in New Zealand, when I attended the country’s premier dairy event, dubbed South Island Dairy Event 2017, which was held in Canterbury. It was a one-week conference organized by farmers and open to farmerentrepreneurs who would like to keep abreast with global dairy

trends and grow their business.

I was the only foreign delegate among all the hundreds who attended, and I learned a lot from the workshops and from my fellow delegates during my stay there. I figure if I were to learn about dairy farming, I might as well get it from New Zealand,

whose dairy industry is basically part of their heritage. Their experience over the years, the evolving farming technologies, and how they address the challenges affecting the dairy sector both on the local level and on a global scale have given me the proper perspective and

direction on how best to run our dairy farm business. Learning from industry experts and sharing best practices among the SIDE delegates have added to my growth as a person and as an entrepreneur. so I would consider it a really memorable and enriching trip.”