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HALF A CENTURY OF CONFLICT After 50 years and tens of thousands of lives lost, still no end in sight for longestrunning insurgency war
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By Rene Acosta
ALF a century after it was formed to wage a protracted guerrilla war against the government, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) continues to assert that the movement is still making great strides to achieve its goals, a claim which defense and military officials strongly dispute.
Both parties have made their own assertions as the CPP marks its golden anniversary in three days, and days after its guerrillas captured two soldiers and 12 militiamen in Agusan del Sur. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana believes the abduction could be used by the rebels as leverage for the resumption of the peace talks that President Duterte permanently scuttled last month.
The CPP’s struggle, direction
CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison, who has been in exile since 1986 in the Netherlands, asserts that the CPP has systematically strengthened itself “ideologically, politically and organizationally,” and it is now more entrenched among communities across the country. When it was founded under the theoretical guidance of Marx-
ism-Leninism-Maoism on December 26, 1968, the CPP only had 80 members, mainly from Manila, Central and Southern Luzon. “Now it has more than 70,000 members nationwide in all regions and provinces of the country and it is deeply rooted among the workers, peasants, indigenous peoples, youth, women and other sectors of Philippine society,” Sison told the BusinessMirror. “The CPP has organized and led local organs of political power in thousands of barangays, who constituted the people’s democratic government of workers and peasants [PDG] in order to oppose the reactionary government of big compradors, landlords and corrupt bureaucrats based in the urban areas,” he added. The PDG is in charge of various functions, including public edu-
COMMUNIST Party of the Philippines leader Jose Maria Sison (right on screen) is seen from his base in the Netherlands via a video conference as he talks to members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines in Manila on July 5, 2018. AP/AARON FAVILA
MEMBERS of the communist New People’s Army have their faces painted to hide their identity during the celebration of the 42nd anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines on December 26, 2010, at Mount Diwata in southern Philippines. AP/PAT ROQUE
cation, land reform, production, mass campaigns, health and sanitation, arbitration and justice, selfdefense, cultural work and others. The rise of the PDG, Sison said, was borne by the growth in strength and advance of CPP’s military arm, the New People’s Army (NPA), whose strength, according to Lorenzana, is ebbing. Lorenzana said the gains that Sison is claiming are merely based on propaganda and, as it is, skirt the factual condition on the ground—with what is actually happening within the revolutionary movement around the country. Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal said the CPP’s clout has been on a steady decline, something that Sison refused to admit. During its Second Congress held on October 24 up to November 7, 2016, which the underground movement said was attended by leading cadres representing the 70,000 members of the CPP, the congress elected a new central
committee and political bureau with a five-year term. The new central leadership represented the CPP’s “most advanced cadres and integrates young, middle-aged and senior cadres to ensure the smooth transition of leadership to the next generation.” It was during this meeting, and even with the CPP’s Central Committee plenum in December, also in 2016, where the rebels hatched the three-year plan to oust President Duterte should he refuse to go into a coalition government with the Left, according to Lorenzana. He said the plot was reinforced during the plenum of the NPA’s military commission in January 2017. The alleged plot was among the reasons the military recommended the termination of talks with the CPP’s political arm, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Lorenzana said the meetings were held while the government and the rebels were observing a unilateral cease-fire, which the
NPA, he said, had also used to recruit members.
The umbrella organization
THE CPP carried out and adopted the policy of having a united front by organizing the NDFP in order to reach Filipinos, and which it founded on April 24, 1973. It considered the umbrella organization as its most “solid realization.” Sison said the NDFP currently counts 18 formations or groups, which included the CPP, NPA, the Christians for National Liberation, the revolutionary organizations of the people of the Cordillera, Aetas, Moros, Lumad and other national minorities, and the underground mass organizations of workers, peasants, youth, women, teachers, cultural workers, lawyers, health professionals, scientists and technologists, and from other sectors. Sison did not identify these groups, but said the mass organizations and movements of people serve as the foundation of the CPP, NPA and the NDFP.
“They have patriotic and progressive members and followers who run into millions. They uphold the rights and interests of all the oppressed and exploited people in various classes and sectors. They continuously learn the conditions, needs and demands of the people and they struggle for national and social liberation against foreign domination and the local exploiting classes,” he said. The military maintains that members of the central committee of the CPP form the backbone of the NDFP and what is only left of the umbrella organization is the NDFP itself, the CPP and the NPA. According to Lorenzana, at least 16 “high-value targets” from the central committee have been neutralized.
The armed wing
ON March 29, 1969, the CPP founded its armed wing, the NPA, in the Second District of Tarlac with only 60 fighters, who shared Continued on A2
An island nation starts an experiment: Vaccines delivered by drone
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By Donald G. McNeil Jr. | New York Times News Service
N the village of Cook’s Bay, on the remote side of the remote island of Erromango, in the remote South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, 1-monthold Joy Nowai was given hepatitis and tuberculosis shots delivered by a flying drone Monday. It may not have been the first vial of vaccine ever delivered that way, but it was the first in Vanuatu, which is the only country in the world to make its childhood vaccine program officially dronedependent. “I am so happy the drone brought the stick medicine to
Cook’s Bay as I don’t have to walk several hours to Port Narvin for her vaccines,” Joy’s mother, Julie Nowai, told a Unicef representative. “It is only 15 minutes walk from my home.”
Rough terrain
EVEN paradise can be tough on
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 53.1730
WOMEN on Tanna, one of 83 islands that make up Vanuatu, dressed for a traditional dance in November 2005. JEFFREY GETTLEMAN/THE NEW YORK TIMES
vaccinators. Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 volcanic islands. Many villages are reachable only by “banana boats,” single-engine skiffs that 12-foot waves sometimes roll over or smash into cliffs. Other villages are at the end of mountain footpaths that become bogs when it rains, which it does a lot. Also, many vaccines need refrigeration, and most villages have no electricity. For those reasons, about 20 percent of Vanuatu’s 35,000 children under age 5 do not get all their shots, according to the UN Children’s Fund. So the country, with support from Unicef, the Australian government and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, began its drone program Monday. It will initially serve three islands but may be expanded to many more.
Low flight path
IN the future, that expansion may run into some unusual turbulence—Vanuatu is one of the few places where “cargo cults” are still active, and the drones match their central religious dogma: that believers will receive valuable goods delivered by airplane. That will have to be handled carefully, a Unicef representative said. Unlike military drones— which fly high and sometimes fire missiles—commercial drones must venture in low, dodge trees, land gently and even return with payloads, such as blood samples. As drones have improved, their potential uses in global health have rapidly increased, and many countries and charitable groups are considering them. Continued on A2
n JAPAN 0.4781 n UK 67.3596 n HK 6.7908 n CHINA 7.7247 n SINGAPORE 38.7954 n AUSTRALIA 37.8379 n EU 60.9416 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.1711
Source: BSP (December 21, 2018 )
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A2 Sunday, December 23, 2018
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HALF A CENTURY OF CONFLICT Continued from A1
nine automatic rifles and 26 “inferior firearms.” “Now the NPA is in the thousands with high-powered rifles, supported by tens of thousands of people’s militia acting as the local police force in barangays and hundreds of thousands in self-defense forces of the mass organizations,” Sison said. The communist founder claimed the rebels are operating in more than 110 guerrilla fronts, covering a big part of 73 out of the 81 provinces in 17 regions outside Metro Manila. The NPA is assisted by the people’s militia and self-defense units of mass organizations. It follows the strategic line of protracted people’s war, carries out agrarian revolution and guarantees the building and functioning of the people’s democratic government. Sison said the NPA was the strongest “people’s army” that was assembled since the defeat of the Philippine revolutionary army by the US in 1902 and since the backbone of the Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan was broken in 1952. He claimed that the current armed strength of the NPA in terms of high-powered rifles is bigger than the 5,600 recorded in the 1985 plenum of the CPP Central Committee. “This is contrary to the claim of the enemy that the NPA had 25,000 in the mid-1980s and that it has only 2,000 to 4,000 now. And yet the tyrant Duterte and his military minions claim to have caused the
surrender and death of more than 7,000 Red commanders and fighters, victimizing the civilian population and privately collecting reward money for the purpose,” he said. The NPA, Sison said, has an effective national operational command, with several departments, including political, personnel training, intelligence, logistics, ordnance, medical and technical, and with lower levels of command down to the basic level. Lorenzana said, however, the rebels are being decimated to the point that it was already forced to deploy even young fighters from the Visayas and Mindanao to Northern Luzon, particularly in the province of Abra. He cited the recent surrender to the military in Abra of six Visayan-speaking young fighters from Mindanao. Military Public Affairs Office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said the former rebels were transported from Butuan to Manila by legal fronts of the CPP, where they joined rallies before they were deployed to Abra as fighters. Detoyato claimed the number of rebels in the area of the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) has greatly dwindled. “About 70 percent of their members in the Eastmincon is Lumad and most, if not all, have already surrendered,” he said. The military reported that from January up to November this year alone, a total of 10,986 rebels and members of the Sangay ng Partido sa Lokal, Militia ng Bay-
an, underground organizations and mass supporters have been neutralized, arrested or have surrendered. At least 280 encampments were also seized. Lorenzana said the government has also cleared 210 barangays from the influence of the NPA and dismantled three guerrilla fronts and broke or captured territorial commissions such as those from Northern and Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The defense secretary said the massive and steady stream of surrenders from the Left was the principal reason they constituted the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) under the reinvigorated Task Force Balik Loob, headed by Defense Undersecretary Jose Mapagu.
Peace talks nil
THE CPP doubts that the scuttled peace talks could still be resurrected and pursued under the Duterte administration despite a recent resolution from the House of Representatives urging the government to revive and continue the negotiations. “Duterte has been carrying out an all-out war policy since he became president. And he has terminated the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations so many times and has even deployed Duterte death squads to murder any suspected potential or actual member of the NPA by using the same modus operandi of extrajudicial killings in Oplan Tokhang against drug suspects,” Sison said. Still, he said, the NDFP re-
mains open to peace negotiations with the government in order to stop Duterte’s drive for a “fascist dictatorship and to demand social, economic and political reforms to address the roots of the armed conflict and lay the basis for a just and lasting peace.” As the government and the rebels are at war, Sison said the CPP and the NPA have the right to defend themselves and carry forward their revolutionary cause through the people’s war for national and social liberation. But Lorenzana shot down any effort for both parties to return to the negotiating table, claiming the talks were being used by the rebels, not for the objective of peace, but to further their ideological goal. “If we sit down with them, our obsession is for peace. But for the NDFP and Sison, the peace talks are just part of their struggle,” he said. “Peace is not the end goal for them. The CPP-NPA is oriented to grab power and establish a communist rule.”
End of insurgency in 3 years
SISON said it would be “impossible” for the government to end the revolutionary movement within the remaining term of the administration by way of intense military operations. The President has recently ordered the deployment of additional forces in the Bicol region, Samar and Negros provinces, areas where the rebels are reported to be still strong, in order to end what he called the lawlessness and terrorism that he attributed to the rebels. “The reactionary military is the instrument of US imperialism and the local exploiting classes of big comprador, landlords and corrupt bureaucrats, now chiefly represented by the tyrannical Duterte
regime. In contrast, the CPP, NPA and other revolutionary forces are the instruments of the oppressed and exploited people for their national and social liberation.” “It has worked out the strategy of protracted people’s war by which the NPA accumulates armed strength in the countryside until it is possible to seize political power in the cities. The armed revolution advances wave upon wave as a result of the struggle to seize weapons from the enemy side, carry out agrarian revolution and build the mass base in the countryside,” he said. The communist founder said the President himself is “unwittingly” helping the armed revolution “by abusing and violating the national and democratic rights of the people, thus driving them to join the revolution, and by sending his troops to the countryside for ambush by the NPA.” “Therefore Duterte is aptly described as the best unwitting recruiter of the CPP. He is also the chief transport and supply officer of the NPA,” he said. According to Sison, the Duterte administration cannot simply end the CPP and the NPA with mere military force. “The CPP and NPA have outlasted all regimes, including the 14-year Marcos ‘fascist dictatorship’ that have boasted of finishing them off,” he said. “They will continue to exist and grow stronger long after the rule of Duterte, whether he can last until the end of his term in 2022 or whether he succeeds in his mad drive to establish a fascist dictatorship through Cha-cha [Charter change] for a bogus kind of federalism.” He said an overstretched military cannot defeat the rebels spread across the country.
Sison said 75 of the total 98 maneuver battalions of the military are concentrated in Mindanao under conditions of martial law. Forty-four battalions are deployed against the NPA areas and 31 against Bangsamoro groups. “Meanwhile, the guerrilla fronts in Luzon and the Visayas have even better opportunities for launching and winning offensives against the overstretched 23 maneuver battalions that are deployed against them,” he said. “As it has been able to do repeatedly, the NPA can take advantage of gaps in the enemy encirclement operations and conduct counter-encirclement operations and annihilate the vulnerable parts of the enemy forces in Mindanao. The party and the NPA can use the basic tactics of guerrilla warfare, as well as more complex tactics against both the military and police forces of the enemy,” Sison added. Lorenzana, however, said the continued neutralization of the rebels and the massive surrender of their colleagues and their supporters all point to the demise of the rebel movement. This situation was the basis for Duterte’s earlier declaration that the CPP-NPA would be over by next year. The military is more modest, with no less than Lorenzana reiterating that they could end the insurgency within Duterte’s administration. He said the localized talks, wherein the local government units are taking the lead, would take the communist experiment to its “coffin.” Amid such claim and counterclaim, the one burning question left is: Will the country ever know peace after half a century?
Vaccines delivered by drone Continued from A1
Since 2016, Zipline, a California company, has piloted more than 8,000 flights over Rwanda, delivering blood for transfusions. Its drones are launched by catapult and do not land at their destinations, but fly low overhead and drop their payloads by paper parachute. Zipline has plans to start delivering vaccines in Rwanda within weeks and in Ghana early in 2019. Emergency drops of rabies vaccine for children bitten by dogs will be the first priority, said Dr. Seth F. Berkley, chief executive officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which joined package delivery company UPS in supporting the Rwandan effort. Since last year, Unicef has run a “drone test corridor” in the southern African nation of Malawi to test delivery of humanitarian supplies, including vaccines. But this is the first commercial contract for routine childhood vaccines. Swoop Aero, an Australian startup, will be paid only for shipments that arrive safely, Unicef said.
Capacity and endurance
SWOOP won the contract after proving its drones could fly 30 miles over islands and land within a 5-foot target circle. Inside, the drones can hold just over 5 pounds of vaccine, ice packs and a temperature monitor to prove the vials stayed cold in flight. As the drone arrived Monday after at 25-minute flight, Cook’s Bay villagers did a welcoming dance around it waving banana leaves. Vanuatu is “the perfect environment for this,” said Sheldon Yett, Unicef Pacific islands representative. Its population is small and widely spread out, the government is enthusiastic, and there are “no issues with crowded skies,” as in bigger island countries like Indonesia, he said. But “we don’t want to overpromise,” he added. “We want to start slowly.” Miriam Nampil, a 55-year-old
nurse who gave the shots, lives in Port Narvin, a coastal town whose clinic has a solar-powered refrigerator. “This drone will change my life,” she said through a translator. “Normally, I must trek about two hours over the mountain each way, and the vaccine carriers are heavy.” Round trip by boat is about $70—too much for the Health Ministry budget, she said, and only safe on calm days. With its 8-foot wingspan, the white Swoop drone resembles a robot albatross. But it lacks that bird’s calm, ghostly floating flight pattern. Instead, it shrieks with the enraged buzz of a disturbed hornets’ nest as it shoots straight up in the air and zooms off at up to 60 mph. It can maintain 500 feet of altitude in the hot, tropical climate and can handle rain and 30 mph gusts, said Eric Peck, a former Australian Air Force pilot who founded Swoop with Josh Tepper, a drone racer and robotics expert. The drone will soon be doing 80-mile round trips, Peck said, and because it communicates with the Iridium satellite network, it can be piloted from anywhere in the world and will fly even if local cell networks go down, which happens frequently.
‘Enemies’
EVENTUALLY, he said, Swoop will train local pilots and help the Health Ministry build its own drones by attaching mail-order engines to carbon-fiber wings that can be produced on a 3D printer. To introduce Vanuatu’s drone era, nurses are meeting local villagers, and national aviation officials invite them to watch test flights. “We need to make sure people aren’t spooked by a buzzing thing in the sky descending on them,” Yett said. “We want to make sure some kid with a catapult doesn’t shoot it [the drone] down.” Swoop’s drones are fairly hardy, Peck said. In Australia, aggressive wedge-tailed eagles have knocked large mapping drones
out of the sky, but Vanuatu has no birds of prey that big. Another issue that will require gentle handling: Vanuatu still has adherents of the John Frum movement, one of the South Pacific cargo cults whose adherents pray for valuables arriving from the sky. The cults date back more than 100 years, but reached their zenith during and after World War II. Islanders whose ancestors had been kidnapped by whites to work on plantations in Australia and Fiji watched “silver birds” flown in by the Japanese and US militaries disgorge vast amounts of “cargo”—food, medicines, tools and weapons—which was sometimes shared with them. The legend spread that the cargo was gifts from the ancestors, but that it had been intercepted and stolen by the foreigners. After the war ended, the cults built airstrips and model planes to lure the “birds” back. John Frum, a messianic figure, is sometimes portrayed as a black US sailor or sergeant (“John from America”) whose symbol is a red cross like that on military medical tents and whose return will trigger an apocalypse, deliver vast piles of cargo, and make whites and Melanesians change places in the power hierarchy. On Vanuatu’s Tanna Island, the Frum movement was so powerful that it spawned a political party. During the 1970s independence movement, it opposed the creation of a national government and espoused a return to traditional Melanesian customs. The Health Ministry plans to eventually fly drones on Tanna, which may provoke unpredictable responses. “We’ll go gingerly, very carefully, introducing people to the technology and looking at their reactions,” Yett said. But the right people to do that “are local leaders, not Americans with fancy degrees,” he said. “Our goal isn’t to put our thumb on the scale of local belief systems; it’s to make sure kids are immunized.”
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The World BusinessMirror
Sunday, December 23, 2018
A3
Huawei’s rapid growth, alleged theft sowed mistrust in US H UAW EI Technolog ies Co. wanted a better way to test its telephone handsets, so it sent an engineer to see “Tappy” the robot in partner company T-Mobile US Inc.’s laboratory in Bellevue, Washington. Tappy, computer-driven and tireless, taps on touchscreens, simulating weeks of use in a day. The Huawei engineer was curious about Tappy’s fingertips. So he slipped one in a laptop bag and left with it, in an act T-Mobile called theft. The 2013 incident, described in a lawsuit filed the next year by T-Mobile, is an example of the sort of alleged behavior by China’s top telecommunications equipment maker that has alarmed security experts. Now some are warning against the use of Huawei gear in the next-generation 5G network being assembled to connect factories, vehicles, homes, utility grids and more. “ T he y ’ve su r pa ssed e ver yone else, and the way they’ve done that is through copycat technology and ruthlessly stealing intellectual property from Western companies,” said Jeff Ferry, an economist with Coalition for a Prosperous America, an advocacy group close to the Trump administration and its China hawks. Representatives of Huawei’s Chinese headquarters referred calls to Chase Skinner, a San Francisco-based
Huawei spokesman, who declined to comment. Huawei has regularly denied that it steals intellectual property or unfairly copies technology from other companies. It said this week that blacklisting its equipment without proof will hurt the industry and disrupt the development of new high-speed technology. But Huawei’s conduct is drawing renewed scrutiny after the December 1 arrest in Vancouver of Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, a daughter of Huawei’s founder, on allegations she defrauded banks to violate Iranian sanctions. The daughter of billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei, she now faces extradition to the US in a case that’s sparked a diplomatic row. It follows a long string of allegations by the US government about a potential threat to network security. The US has pushed European governments to avoid Huawei’s gear, saying it is an enabler for Chinese espionage, which the company has always denied. In 2012, the House Intelligence Committee published a report that described Huawei as “a company that has not followed United States legal obligations or international standards of business behavior.” The committee called on the US intelligence community to “remain vigilant” and said national security officials must block
acquisitions involving Huawei or fellow Chinese gear maker ZTE Corp. Years earlier, Cisco Systems Corp. sued to stop Huawei from selling datatraffic switches and routers allegedly based on Cisco’s patents and copyrights. The litigation ended with Huawei agreeing to stop selling disputed products in 2003. In 2010, the company failed to reach agreements to buy US software and wireless-gear makers, reportedly because the sellers doubted the company would win approval. In 2008, Huawei and Bain Capital Partners Llc. abandoned a bid for gear maker 3Com Corp. after failing to assuage security concerns raised by US officials. The Tappy caper involved a machine that used its mechanical arm to quickly poke and prod phone screens, in imitation of a human user, helping T-Mobile improve reliability of handsets. Huawei wanted to know the size of the finger and the material out of which the conductive tip was made, T-Mobile told a federal court in Seattle. The Huawei engineer, left alone in the lab, first slipped the fingertip behind a computer monitor then three hours later put it in his bag, T-Mobile told the court. “There is some truth to the complaint,” Huawei spokesman William Plummer said at the time. He blamed “employees acting inappropri-
ately in their zeal.” (Another worker had furtively taken photos of Tappy, according to T-Mobile.) T-Mobile dropped Huawei as a supplier and in 2017 a jury awarded the American company $4.8 million in damages for breach of contract but rejected allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets. The two sides later agreed to drop the case after settlement talks. Michael Kipling, an attorney in the case for T-Mobile, declined to comment and attorney Bo Yue, for Huawei, didn’t respond to a request for comment. The largest US mobile providers, after urging by US officials, have shunned Huawei network gear, and small providers are concerned they may be forced to rip out and replace Huawei gear as the Federal Communications Commission moves against Huawei. US intelligence and law-enforcement agencies harbor a deep suspicion of Huawei, exacerbated by ties with China’s People Liberation Army, said James Lewis, director of the technology policy program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington. “Deep connections with the PLA, industrial espionage, and subsidies from the Chinese government—there you have it,” Lewis said in an interview.
Customer trust A COMPANY executive reiterated this
week that it abides by international law and challenged its accusers to produce evidence of their claims about security risks. “Despite the efforts to create fear about Huawei and to use politics to interfere with industry growth, we’re proud to say that our customers continue to trust us,” Ken Hu, one of several Huawei rotating chairmen, told reporters during a press event at its manufacturing base in Dongguan, the company’s largest campus worldwide. Ren, Huawei’s founder, in 1974 joined the People Liberation Army’s engineering corps and rose to become a deputy director, but without military rank, according to a biography by the company. Ren established Huawei in 1987; now the company reports annual sales of about 600 billion yuan, or $93 billion.
House report THE 2012 House report noted that the ruling Chinese Communist Party maintains a committee within Huawei, and said the company failed to explain its relation to the government. Huawei has said the government plays no role in its business decisions or staffing. But t he compa ny i s work i ng against hardened sentiment in the Trump administration, Lewis said.
“The government in general has decided that the Chinese will never stop misbehaving unless we push back,” Lewis said. Meng’s case exists alongside a shadow cast by Huawei’s reputation, said Paul Triolo, who leads global technology studies at the Eurasia Group consultancy and who regards the matters as linked. “It’s definitely connected to the broad concerns about Huawei and its central role in 5G,” Triolo said. “The fear of the US and its allies is that a 5G network built by Huawei represents a risk, a security risk.” Vulnerability is heightened because 5G systems will rely on software that can be penetrated to a greater extent than 4G networks, and because so many machine-to-machine connections will rely on 5G, raising the stakes for a disruption or espionage, Triolo said. In Europe, carriers and major customers from Orange SA to BT Group Plc. and Deutsche Telekom AG have voiced their concerns about Huawei’s gear, on top of existing bans in Australia, New Zealand and the US. The US Embassy in Germany said allies and partners are being urged to be vigilant in ensuring network security, including when carriers award equipment contracts. Bloomberg News
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Sunday, December 23, 2018
The World BusinessMirror
With US absent in Libya, Russia courts a leader named Qaddafi M
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Putin issues ominous warning on rising nuclear war threat
R
USSIA has a new potential leader for Libya. His name is Qaddafi. The former dictator’s son, Saif alIslam, this month became the latest in a long line of Libyans to seek Moscow’s support as President Vladimir Putin steps up Russia’s role in the energy-rich North African state. With the US all but absent, the Kremlin sees an opening to become the key power broker in Libya, rudderless and divided since Muammar Qaddafi ’s overthrow and death in 2011. Russia is likely to be emboldened in that aim by US plans to pull out of Syria. Moscow has until now been seen as throwing in its lot with Khalifa Haftar, a military strongman who controls most of the oil-producing east of Libya. Yet, Russia has been quietly building ties with all the competing factions, according to two European diplomats who study the Kremlin’s strategy. That puts it in a position to benefit more than other outside powers that support one side or another. “The West did everything it could to plunge this country into chaos. Now all parties to the conflict trust Moscow” While there are major issues facing a bid for power by Saif al-Islam, for the Russians, “their bestcase scenario is to back someone from the former regime, because they know each other well and have had decades of dealings dur-
ing Qaddafi’s rule,” said Mohamed Eljarh, cofounder of Libya Outlook for Research and Consulting, a Tobruk-based think thank. For Putin, who angrily condemned the Nato-led military campaign that overthrew Qaddafi’s four-decade rule as a “crusade,” restoring Russia as a key player in Libya after his successful intervention in Syria would bolster his country’s heft at US expense. It also opens up the path to reconstruction contracts worth billions of dollars, a share of Africa’s largest oil resources and a possible new naval base on the Mediterranean. “The West did everything it could to plunge this country into chaos,” said Alexander Dynkin, head of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, a state-run research group that advises the Kremlin. “Now all parties to the conflict trust Moscow.” Russia switched strategy on Libya last year, according to the diplomats. As well as supporting Haftar, Moscow put a lot of effort into courting the rival UN-backed government in Tripoli and other
power centers, including the western region of Misrata, they said. Haftar has been a frequent visitor to Moscow since 2016, but Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and other top Libyan officials are also regularly in the Russian capital. The Kremlin’s strategy appears to be paying off. Russia is in talks with Libya on reStarting a €2.2 billion, or $2.5-billion, contract to build a high-speed rail line from Benghazi to Sirte, suspended since Qaddafi’s demise. Russian defense manufacturers that lost $4 billion in arms deals in Libya also stand to gain. Libya is meanwhile buying 1 million tons of Russian wheat for $700 million. Russian energy interests are also advancing. Libyan National Oil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mustafa Sanalla was in Moscow in October for talks with Gazprom PJSC and Tatneft PJSC on relaunching Libyan projects that date from the Qaddafi era. Rosneft PJSC has agreed to invest in exploration and production in Libya and to buy crude. All deal exclusively with Tripoli-based NOC, in spite of Moscow’s Haftar ties, because it alone has the right to strike foreign agreements. “The support shown for NOC by Russian political and commercial leaders demonstrates the strength of our future prospects,” Sanalla told Bloomberg. As Russia deepens its engagement, President Donald Trump’s global pullback, most recently in Syria, risks leaving the US adrift. Neither Russia nor the US has functioning embassies in Libya— US operations were suspended after the American ambassador was killed in 2012 during an armed at-
tack on the diplomatic compound in Benghazi. Yet last month, even as the Trump administration worked on a new strategy for Africa, the US sent Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Satterfield to a conference on Libya hosted by Italy’s government; Russia dispatched Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Russia’s involvement in Libya goes back to 1969, when Qaddafi came to power as a 27-year-old military officer in a bloodless coup against the Western-backed monarchy. The Soviet Union and its Russian successor state armed Qaddafi’s regime, but after his overthrow Libya disintegrated into rival factions with the central government unable to control even the capital. During the bloodletting, Saif al-Islam, 46, who studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science, was captured, put on trial and then freed in mid2017 by the rebels who toppled and killed his father. Russian representatives entered into contact with the onetime heir apparent soon after his release and talk by video-link, with him speaking from an undisclosed location, said a person in Moscow with knowledge of Libya policy. The Foreign Ministry declined to comment. A representative of Qaddafi’s son met Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in early December, delivering a letter on his behalf with greetings to Putin and the Russian government, explaining his political vision for Libya and asking for political support. The visit by his emissary was not the first. Qaddafi’s son is looking to Russia for financial help and mediation with other Libyan power centers to back his bid to become president, the person said. Saif al-Islam could choose to stand in national elections the United Nations wants to hold next year under its latest plan to unify the country, even though he’s wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges from 2011, including two counts of crimes against humanity. Haftar also has his own presidential ambitions as do other Libyan politicians, and Russia hasn’t yet decided on supporting one particular candidate, said the person. Given the legal constraints, with prosecutors in Tripoli also seeking his arrest, “it’s difficult to see how Saif al-Islam can make a comeback” unless the issue is resolved through a wider national reconciliation process, said Eljarh of Libya Outlook. The Russians though are “keeping their options open,” he said. With Haftar aged 75 and in ill health, Qaddafi’s son could win Russian support if there is a consensus among Libyans, said Maria Al Makahleh, a Middle East expert at the Kremlin-backed Valdai Club. Lev Dengov, a Russian envoy to Libya, said in November that his government was in touch with Saif al-Islam, describing him as “a participant in the political process” who is now “very optimistic” about his prospects. A not her hopef u l, A ref A l i Nayed, a Libyan politician seen as close to Haftar who’s declared his candidacy for president, has visited Moscow twice since September for talks with top officials. The aim was “to encourage the Russians to play an active role,” Nayed, a former Libyan ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said by phone from London. “I truly feel that we are at an impasse in the political process. I believe I can be a unifying figure.” Bloomberg News
OSCOW—Russian President V l ad imir Put in issued a chilling warning on Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war, putting the blame squarely on the US, which he accused of irresponsibly pulling out of arms control treaties. Speaking at his annual news conference, Putin warned that “it could lead to the destruction of civilization as a whole and maybe even our planet.” He pointed at Washington’s intention to walk away from the 1987 Intermediate-R ange Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, and its reluctance to negotiate the extension of the 2010 New Start agreement, which expires in 2021 unless the two countries agree to extend it. “We are witnessing the breakup of the arms control system,” he said. M o s c o w a n d Wa s h i n g t o n have been at loggerheads over the INF, which bans an entire c lass of weapons—a l l nuc lear and conventiona l g roundlaunched ballistic and cruise missiles of intermediate range. US officials say Washington’s withdrawal from the pact was prompted by Russian violations of the treaty, which Moscow vehemently denies. Earlier this month Nato, at US request formally declared Russia to be in violation of the INF and demanded that it halt activity that breaches it. The move put the full weight of the alliance behind the US, which has given Russia until February to come into compliance or trigger Washington’s withdrawal from the treaty.” Officials in both Russia and the US have given mixed signals about the future of the New Start treaty, signed by President Barack Obama and then-Russian P resident D m it r y Medvede v amid a brief thaw in RussiaUS ties. US-Russian strategic nuclear weapon—those capable
of striking each other’s territory—are governed by New Start. During the nearly four-hour news conference, Putin maintained Russia was not interested in “gaining unilateral advantages. We aren’t seeking advantages, we are trying to preserve the balance and ensure our security.” Russia-US ties have sunk to their lowest levels since the Cold War times over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and the allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, among other disputes. The US and European nations have repeatedly called out Russia and imposed sanctions on it for its support of separatists in eastern Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea in 2014. At the same time, the West has harshly criticized Russia for its military and political support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, which US officials say has prolonged the war in Syria and the suffering of its people. The Russian leader scoffed at the allegations, rejecting them as part of a smear campaign driven by domestic policy in the US and elsewhere in the West. He dismissed claims that Russia is interfering abroad, from a nerve agent poisoning in Britain to an alleged effort to infiltrate the US National Rifle Association, charging that those accusations are part of US-led efforts to malign Russia to strengthen the Western allies’ unity. “They need an external threat to cement Nato unity,” Putin said, accusing the US and its allies of exploiting “phobias of the past” to achieve domestic political goals. “As for ruling the world, we know where the headquarters trying to do that are located, and the place isn’t Moscow,” he said, noting that the Pentagon’s annual budget of over $700 billion dwarfs Russia’s defense spending of $46 billion. AP
Then one foggy Christmas eve, reindeer got connected
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OVANIEMI, Finland—Rudolph and friends no longer need to rely on the famous reindeer’s red nose to avoid getting lost. Now they have wireless technology. To keep track of their animals in Lapland, Northern Finland’s vast and remote snow-covered forests, reindeer herders are turning to technology by fitting them with Internet-connected collars. Herders who previously spent weeks searching for their reindeer in sub-zero wilderness can now instantly see where they are on a mobile app that receives up-to-date location data. “In all sectors of society, this [tech] efficiency is playing a big role. It’s the same in reindeer husbandry,” said Seppo Koivisto, whose hundreds of reindeer roam Lapland’s 4,000-square-kilometer (1,545 square-mile) Palojarvi District. Lapland’s reindeer are the main source of livelihood for about 1,500 herders, so there’s high interest in technology that can help manage them. Koivisto is using the latest generation of wireless collars made possible by a group that includes Finland’s Reindeer Herding Association and Helsinki-based communications firm Digita. “We have fewer workers, so their actions should be more and more efficient all the time,” and this technology lets them do that, said Koivisto. Since he Started using the technology, he has only had to hire half the usual number of workers. The technology can also help herders account for attacks from predators, such as wolverines and lynx, that roam across the Russian border. At least 5,000 reindeer are killed every year, according to the herding association. Most that die in Lapland’s forests are never found. Koivisto says he loses about 8 percent of his herd annually. The collars, which use GPS satellite positioning and special long-distance wireless networks, help herders find reindeer corpses
so they can claim valuable compensation from the Finnish government. If a collar-fitted reindeer doesn’t move after about four hours, its icon changes from green to red on the app, signaling a potential attack. To best locate groups of reindeer, which are bred for their meat, milk and fur, the trackers are fitted on the herd’s female leader. “In the old days, we roughly knew reindeer locations, in which part of the district they were,” said herder Jarno Konttaniemi. “But today, with this technology, we know exactly where they are.” Digita built the long-range network, which it says is the world’s most northerly “Internet of Things” network. The “Internet of Things” refers to the next generation of devices and everyday objects that are connected to the Internet. While reindeer herding has roots going back hundreds of years, “at least some of the reindeer owners are really up-to-date when it comes to using technology,” said Ari Kuukka, Digita’s head of Internet of Things services. The herding association has been working for years on a reliable GPS reindeer tracking system. The main challenge was coming up with a device that was cheap but had a longlasting battery. The third and latest prototype is the size of a deck of cards, stays charged for about a year, and costs about €90, or $102. The herding association hopes to eventually shrink the transmitter down to a coin-sized microchip that can be attached to a reindeer’s ear, said Matti Sarkela, the herding association’s head of office who has previously helped develop a mobile app that alerts drivers to reindeer near Finland’s often icy roads. He hopes embracing new technologies can inspire the younger generation to carry on the herding tradition. “It has brought a lot of young people into our industry all the time,” said Sarkela. “It’s a really positive thing.” AP
Faith www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion
4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT: ‘LUKE 1:39-45’
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION FOR CHRISTMAS MSGR. JOSEFINO S. RAMIREZ SUNDAY GOSPEL IN OUR LIFE
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E are now in the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and in the liturgy of the Church, this is in immediate preparation for Christmas. The gospel reading for today is about one of those events that precede the birth of Jesus Christ. It is about the visit of the Blessed Virgin to her cousin Saint Elizabeth—the scene that we are invited to contemplate in the second joyful mystery of the Holy Rosary. Does this help us to prepare for Christmas? The Gospel narrates how Elizabeth greeted the arrival of Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Elizabeth was inspired because she felt the presence of the Son of God made man, through the reaction of her own child (the future John the Baptist) in her womb. Elizabeth then praised the faith of Mary, which made this miracle of the Incarnation possible: “Blessed is she who has believed.”
This is a cue for us.
IN order to benefit more from the coming Christmas season, we should try to vivify our own faith. Perhaps because of the many chores that we have to attend to as we prepare for the Christmas celebrations, we might forget that what we are celebrating is not just any ordinary man’s birthday, no matter how great a man He may be. We are celebrating the coming into the world of the Man-God. The most important thing about Jesus Christ is that He is God, and that He has become a man in order to save us from our sins. Therefore, it would not be fitting
to celebrate Christmas only in a commercial or physical way. We must prepare for Christmas, above all, in a spiritual way. In today’s gospel, the reaction of John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth has been interpreted as a kind of purification. John the Baptist, unlike the Virgin Mary, was not conceived without original sin. But He was born without it, because Christ’s presence at the visitation washed it away. In our case, the best preparation for Christmas is a personal purification. The normal channel that God uses for the forgiveness of sins is the sacrament of penance or reconciliation. It is, therefore, a very good time to go to confession. When we wash away our sins through this sacrament, our faith it also increased. We shall understand better the mysteries of God hidden in these days’ events. With a clear heart, we shall be more disposed to receive the Christ child within us. Today’s gospel also teaches us the value of charity and service. Mary was under no obligation to help Elizabeth. Yet she visited her and stayed with her for three months (cf. Luke 1:56). What did she do? She was certainly not just freeloading with her cousin. Elizabeth was with a child, and Mary knew that. So she must have stayed in order to help Elizabeth to run the house. Mary must have served her—cooking, cleaning, washing and a thousand other services. This is also spirit of the season. Let us not just think about ourselves, about the celebration we shall enjoy or the gifts we shall receive. Let us think of the charity and affection that we can impart to others during these holidays.
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Emmanuel: God is with us By Corazon Damo-Santiago
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ESUS was born on the first Christmas Day. His coming to the world in man’s likeness was not without unreparable consequences. Lucifer, the greatest of all angels, could not accept the “undignified plan to bow to a God of flesh and bones.” So conscious of their spiritual magnificence, beauty and dignity, some angels led by Lucifer said “non serviam” (I will not serve). So Lucifer, the Light Bearer, and his followers were thrown on Earth (Revelations 12:9). No one can redeem mankind and restore the friendship between God the Father and men—only Jesus! And in the silence of the night, the angels heralded His coming Emmanuel—God is with us.
The Annointed
JESUS CHRIST is God in a selfrevelation in the prologue of the Gospel of John. He is the Logos (Word). “All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be” (John 1:3). After Judas betrayed Jesus, He was led to the high and chief priest. When asked, “Are you the Messiah the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus answered, “I am” (Matthew 14:61-62). Likewise, he was told by the high priest, “I order you to tell us under oath before the living God, whether you are the Messiah the
Son of God. Jesus said in reply, “You have said so” (Matthew 26:6364). In Christology, Jesus Christ is called in many names—Lord, Son of God, Son of Man, Son of Abraham, Son of David, Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd. “Lamb of God,” however, is the “foundation and integral” to Christians. And, acknowledged as God, who has full authority and control over man and everything, He is called Lord. Jesus was called Son of David to indicate His royal origin, a descendant of King David. He was also called Son of Abraham to attest that he is an Israelite. Some of the people He healed acknowledged Him as Son of David. The Canaanite woman, whose daughter is demonpossessed, asking for her healing addressed Jesus. “Have Mercy on me Lord, Son of David” (Matthew 15:22). Same with the two blind men in Jericho (Matthew 20-30). On Palm Sunday, as Jesus entered Jerusalem, He received the praise and worship of the people. “Hosanna to the Son of David” (Matthew 21:9).
Son of Man
TO call Jesus as Son of Man is simply outrageous. But it is Jesus’ favorite phrase for Himself. It is a self-designation. He was referred to as Son of Man over 100 times in the Hebrew Bible. In the Koine Greek of the four gospels, the total is 81—30 in
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Matthew, 14 in Mark, 25 Luke and 12 in John. However, Larry W. Hurtado in Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity, wrote there were “no records of its use in any of the surviving documents of antiquity.” An analysis of the synoptic verses where the phrase, Son of Man indicates that the title was used in reference to his teachings, His passion, death, resurrection and His final coming. Thus, although the phrase Son of Man describes who He was, it always described Him as the Messiah. “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45; Matthew 20:28). Too, in the context of being known as a Son of Man, He continued His tasks and related better with other people since He “strictly ordered His disciples to tell no one He was the Messiah,” which was explicit in Mark’s version: “For the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost.” Dramatic though was Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan Woman in Sychar from whom He requested for water. The conversation drifted on worshipping God, in Spirit and truth. The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed.” Jesus replied, “I am He, the one who is speaking with you” (John 4: 25-26) Most eloquent incident on His admittance as Messiah happened
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on the way to Caesarea, Philippi. Asking His disciples who he was according to people—Elijah, John the Baptist, a prophet— were the answers. When Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said, “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29). Jesus never said directly “I am the Son of Man,” but there were verses in the gospels that seem “to portray Him as referring to Himself when using the title” (Matthew 8:20 and Mark 8:31) according to Brian O. Mc Dermott in Word Become Flesh. Too, Jesus was never addressed as Son of Man, for the title “can mean a human being or can have the indefinite sense of someone.” Mc Dermott added, ”the evangelists felt free to use the title as a substitute for I.”
Until the End
AFTER the first Christmas, Jesus never left mankind. He loved men so much that He gifted men with graces to help Him live a life of holiness. Indeed, He came to save us all. And, instructing His disciples to spread the gospels of truth and love, He assured men, “and behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Damo-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.
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Science
BusinessMirror
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Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph
3 NATIONAL GOVT DEPARTMENTS SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
DOST, DICT, DTI partner to boost PHL tech start-ups
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Story & photo by Stephanie Tumampos
HE technology start-ups in the Philippines are set to a bright future as three national government departments have committed to work together to support and push for their development and growth. The heads of the Departments of Science and Technology (DOST), Information, Communications and Technology (DICT), and Trade and Industry (DTI) signed a memorandum of understanding on December 19 at the Second National Technology Business Incubation (TBI) Summit held at a hotel in Manila for a five-year road map that will forge strategies and provide assistance to 1,000 start-ups. The five-year road map is geared to create an inclusive and sustainable Philippine start-up ecosystem starting from 2013 to 2019. The action plan includes implementing activities either jointly or separately but cohesively. Russell M. Pili, chief science research specialist of the DOST Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development, told the BusinessMirror that the road map will involve tackling issues and challenges, such as addressing skillset, access to funds and policy gaps, to name a few. “We want a solid framework,” Pili said. “We will help them [startups] get more customers through various support systems whether it is a grant, loan or a training program.” These start-ups must have a P5 million revenue or funding— a benchmark for a stable and sustainable start-up venture. According to Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña,
t he col laboration among t he three government departments is “very important.” He added that the departments have already been working together before. “It’s good that there is now a formal agreement.” The DOST, according to Pili, is “interested in improving the technologies of the start-ups so that the innovation level will also increase.” Moreover, the DOST secretary told the BusinessMirror that the science department will continue to support the TBI operations. A TBI is a facility designed to help and accelerate the creation and growth of technology-based start-ups through various supports, including mentorship and provision of business. De la Peña disclosed he was once a manager of a TBI in its University of the Philippines-Diliman branch in the 1990s. Trade Secretar y R amon M. Lopez, on the other hand, expressed that his agency has been supporting the efforts of the TBI program. “We’re here for the promotion, development of inclusive innovation, innovativeness and industrialization,” Lopez said in his speech. He added that in everything done in the start-up community, “we would like to see more marketdriven solution, driven technologies, disruptive technologies and,
THE Second National Technology Business Incubation Summit held at a hotel in Manila on December 19 was highlighted with the signing of a memorandum of understanding by Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña (from left), Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, and Information and Communications Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. for a five-year road map that will forge strategies and provide assistance to 1,000 start-ups. They were photographed while deep in a discussion.
ideally, I will go for those that would attack social problems.” Lopez said the kind of technology and solution the department needs is a proposed unified portal system in a smartphone where Filipinos can start registering their businesses, upload documents and fill-up forms, pay and print business permit “all in 30 minutes.” De la Peña noted that the DTI can help a lot in promoting Filipino start-ups to investors.
“They can help promote our innovative Philippine products, particularly in the bigger market and, of course, provide the various linkages that are important for terms that are operating,” he added. Pili also said that start-ups are “a different breed” because they are technology-centered, hence, the DTI wants these to succeed because these businesses can scale up immediately. “They can service from one to
They [DTI] can help promote our innovative Philippine products, particularly in the bigger market and, of course, provide the various linkages that are important for terms that are operating.”—de la Peña
Meet the new Japanese robot designed to hack your emotions
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ITH large attentive eyes and a plush body that’s warm to the touch, a new robot developed in Japan is designed to hack human emotions. Looking like a cross between an owl and a penguin, the Lovot is meant to live at home, where it’s only job is to roam around the house, beg you for hugs and generally act as an adorable pet that helps you unwind after a long day. It’s the brainchild of Kaname Hayashi, a former Formula One race-car designer and developer who worked on Pepper, Masayoshi Son’s attempt at creating humanoid assistants. “This robot won’t do any of your work. In fact, it might just get in the way,” Hayashi said. “Everything about this robot is designed to create attachment.” Hayashi started Groove X Inc. three years ago with the goal of building and selling buddy robots, like R2-D2, or Japan’s Doraemon. By avoiding some of the design pitfalls of its predecessors and doubling up on artificial intelligence, Hayashi is betting that his product will succeed where others have failed. The Lovot doesn’t speak, but instead makes noises that sound like meows and chirps mixed together—so there’s no Siri-like interaction that can seem awkward. The 16-inch (40-centimeter) tall robot also doesn’t deliver music or connect with your calendar, because, well, neither does your dog or cat. What might be similar are Lovot’s eyes, which are composed of six graphical layers and mimic involuntary eye movement. It also comes with an impressive array of sensors and computing hardware
normally used for autonomous driving. That allows the robot to act with a level of autonomy and cognition that one might expect from a small pet, Hayashi said. Lovot uses chips typically seen in industrial-grade applications. That allows Groove X to upgrade the deep-learning algorithms responsible for the robots navigation and sensing. “It has a level of intelligence that’s a little bit higher than that of a hamster,” Hayashi said. Wasted heat generated by computation is funneled onto the gadget’s surface, giving it a temperature that’s slightly higher than humans. We i g h i n g a b o u t 6 . 6 p o u n d s ( 3 kilograms), similar to an infant, Lovot is designed to be held. Its body is covered in more than 50 sensors that detect touch. Treat it roughly and it will remember and avoid you next time. Cuddle it and it will fall asleep on your lap. Lovot is also equipped with three c ameras—180 degree, depth and temperature—to map and navigate the surrounding environment. It can remember as many as 1,000 people and distinguish up to 100 at the same time. B u t a l l t h at h i g h - te c h w i z a rd r y doesn’t come cheap. Together with a charging port, one machine will cost about $3,000 and will come with a monthly plan starting from $90. Hayashi said that at first, the price will only cover the cost of manufacturing. The company plans to begin sales in Japan late next year, targeting mainly women and the elderly. “This is one step forward in answering the question of what should robots do in the home,” Hayashi said. “We are opening a new door here.” Bloomberg News
1000 customers and if you can service a lot of customers then they can bring more income and more contribution to the country’s GDP, and we have a million of them so that’s a great contribution.” Lopez committed that the DTI will be part of this technology start-up ecosystem “until we develop more unicorns. If you want to change that definition, at least more start-up technologies that will be sustainable,” and push for entrepreneurship mindset increasing “entrepreneurshiptensity.” The DICT, through the tripartite partnership, pledged a better connectivity for the start-up ecosystem. “We will provide good ICT services, such as seamless Internet connectivity,” Information and Communications Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. told the BusinessMirror. Rio added that as a young department created about two years ago, the DICT will be the institution that will hold together the
DOST and DTI programs. “More or less, we can say we are the ‘gel’ in what the DOST is doing—innovation, coming up with new system of things, and [the] DTI—offering quality Filipino commercial products, and put them together as information in the Internet and make business out of the virtual world,” Rio said. De la Peña said the DICT is “important because nowadays you cannot do business without good ICT. Their main role is to provide good ICT services so that businesses in the country can work well. And there are many opportunities in ICT for start-ups. In government operations alone, the design to improve services requires a lot of ICT support and there would be opportunities for our start-ups here.” Rio said that besides good connectivity is data security to ensure every information being put on the Web is safe and secure. The target after the five-year road map is to have a total of 1,500 start-ups ready. Science Undersecretary Rowena L. Guevara told the BusinessMirror that from 2009 to 2018, there are already 500 start-ups supported by the science department. “I can confidently project that we can have an additional 200 start-ups by 2019, in 2020 another 300, and in 2023, we will have an additional of 500 start-ups.” Guevara explained that 98 percent of the country’s businesses are with the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs.) “They [start-ups] will be part of the MSME’s, which we hope, started with TBI as a micro industry, by the time they are released they become a small enterprise then medium until they fully transform into large companies,” she added. The undersecretary believes that by 2023, at the end of the five-year road map, the country should and could accommodate 1,000 start-ups and the support from private financial institutions should be there by then.
D.L.S.U. RESEARCHERS DEVELOP AWARD-WINNING LIVER TRANSPLANT PRESERVATION MACHINE
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OOD news for liver-transplant patients. A medical machine that aims to prolong the viability of a donated liver upon harvesting was developed by Manufacturing Engineering and Management students from the De La Salle University Gokongwei College of Engineering. Dubbed as the Daloy Project, the contraption can make a harvested liver last up to 16 hours through normothermic preservation. It involves storing the organ in a controlled environment that is within normal body temperature. With this invention, the research team aims to reduce the wastage of available
DE LA SALLE University’s Team Daloy composed of students Madon Arcega, Tristan Limchesing, Joshua Manalili, Samantha Rice and Marie Tuason.
and viable livers for transplant purposes. Team Daloy is composed of students Madon Arcega, Tristan Limchesing, Joshua Manalili, Samantha Rice and Marie Tuason. The team’s faculty advisor is Chair Dr. Nilo Bugtai, University Fellow and Manufacturing Engineering and Management Department. After receiving the Gold Thesis Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis, the Daloy Project bagged the first prize award in the 2018 SME Innovation Competition held in Manufacturing Technology World, the largest and most comprehensive manufacturing technology trade show in the Philippines.
SCHOOL-PLUS-HOME GARDENS PROJECT BAGS R&D AWARD
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HE Los Baños Science Community Foundation Inc. (LBSCFI) recognized the School-Plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP), which revived and redesigned the Department of Education’s (DepEd) school garden programs to an innovative approach focused on nutrition, education and economic well-being of school children, their families and their communities. Winning this year’s Philippine Agriculture and Resources Research Foundation Inc. (PARRFI) R&D Award (Development Category) conferred by LBSCFI was the “School-PlusHome Gardens Project: A Participatory and Inclusive Model for Sustainable Development.” The award was jointly received by the S+HGP team represented by Dr. Blesilda M. Calub, Dr. Leila S. Africa, Dr. Bessie M. Burgos and Henry M. Custodio, as well as the DepEd district supervisor and the principals and teachers of the S+HGP partner-schools in Laguna. The school and home gardens project was piloted in one high school and seven elementary schools in Laguna, namely: Labuin Elementary
School and San Antonio Elementary School in Pila, San Andres Elementary School in Alaminos, Majayjay Elementary School in Majayjay, Crisanto Guysayko Memorial Elementary School in Nagcarlan, and Cabuyao Central School in Cabuyao, and Bagumbayan Elementary School and Pedro Guevarra Memorial National High School in Santa Cruz. The project was led by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) in partnership with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños and DepEd-Laguna. It was brainchild of former DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro and conceptualized with thenSearca Director Gil C. Saguiguit Jr. Luistro said the project focused on how the nutrition and education needs of school children may be addressed and, at the same time, introduce to and make children appreciate agriculture at a young age. Saguiguit said underlying all of these was how Searca, which is mainly concerned with higher education programs on agriculture and related fields, could assist the DepEd
whose focus is basic education and has limited expertise on agriculture. Harvests from the school gardens provided fresh vegetables for the school-based feeding program. “The model also extended the gardeningfeeding linkage to the establishment of food gardens in the school children’s homes. More than just establishing home gardens, the parents developed a greater sense of responsibility to ensure good nutrition for their children while also saving on food expenses,” said Dr. Bessie M. Burgos of Searca. She added that the project championed the multifunctionality of school gardens as learning laboratories for educating pupils, teachers and parents about sustainability concepts and interconnections of food and nutrition, organic agriculture, edible landscaping, climate change and solid-waste management. “Mechanisms for sustaining and scaling up the initial success of the S+HGP were designed in a stepwise process where the pilot schools took the lead to pay forward and share their knowledge to other schools, particularly small schools in remote areas through intraschool
and interdistrict networking,” Burgos said. The network has grown from the six original pilot schools in 2016 to additional two adopted schools and 25 brother and sister schools as of August 2018. Searca is, likewise, poised to upscale the S+HGP throughout Southeast Asia after obtaining the endorsement of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (Seameo) High Officials to the Seameo Council composed of Ministers of Education of the 11 Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines. The success of the S+HGP was also recognized when Labuin Elementary School won an international award for its exemplary achievements in education and sustainable development (ESD) based on its most successful implementation of S+HGP among the pilot schools. The 2017 Seameo-Japan ESD Award was conferred by Seameo and Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Asia Pacific Regional Bureau of Education.
Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror
Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua
Sunday, December 23, 2018 A7
LOTS OF THANKSGIVING AND MERRYMAKING IN BELLEVUE HOTELS By Carla Mortel-Baricaua
Photos courtesy of Bellevue Hotels and Resorts
‘W
E took a lot of initiatives this year and we’re very happy for the warm response from our guests,” said Cathy Mendoza of the Marketing and Communications department, Bellevue Hotels and Resorts. “So, this is our way of giving back to all of the support we have been receiving.” This year Bellevue Hotels and Resorts started to adopt green campaigns: the preference to use paper straws, and organic shampoo and soaps; and the replacement of inroom complimentary bottled water with pitchers and glasses under the #AyokoNgPlastik movement, in partnership with WWF-Philippines. There is also the donation drive to fund a conservation project of the environment. In September, The Bellevue Resort spearheaded the Doljo Beach cleanup in Panglao Island, Bohol. With 378 volunteers, the coastal cleanup drive collected a total of approximately 750 kilos of non biodegradable waste from the beach shore and another
15 kilos of plastic waste from the sea. The hotel also continues to lead regular coastal cleanups and conduct talks among school children on environmental issues, and conservation and protection campaigns with the help of volunteers, in cooperation with plastic-free Bohol. In other developments, the B Hotel Quezon City recently opened its doors to fur families with the launch of the hotel’s pet friendly policy. “Pet lovers and staycationeers with pets are very happy that we have become a pet-friendly hotel in the area, so, we have been getting a lot of inquiries. Since then, we have been receiving fur families as check-in guests,” shared Christian Cruz of the Marketing and Communications department. The year also saw The Bellevue Manila inviting kids to participate
THE spread of desserts especially made for the holidays
SOMETHING new this Christmas: Red Velvet Bibingka
in the different activities of the Bellevue Kids Club. “We want kids to actively play and learn at the same time, away from digital games and gadgets. For example, we have partnered with Engineering for Kids to introduce mechanical, chemical and others in the form of play. We also held kiddie arts and crafts workshops during Saturdays. For 2019 we are going to launch the B Hoteliers kid internship program. We want them to learn practical life skills they can use in their daily lives in a learn-and-play envi-
PASTRY Chef Lucy Vitug’s Red Velvet Bibingka is a must-try
ronment. And that’s just one of the many activities our guests can look forward to,” added Cruz. To add to this season’s merriment and welcome the New Year with a bang, the B hotels have prepared special treats and holiday offers. “Showcasing our best offerings for our guests, of course, the must-have food in The Bellevue Manila is the sisig, while in B Hotel Quezon City, it’s the Red Velvet cake. “This year, Pastry chef Lucy Vitug took a twist and created the Red Velvet Bibingka. It’s perfect for the
SAVORY dishes at B Hotel Quezon City
season because Filipinos love to eat, especially during the holidays,” said Mendoza. At the B Hotel Quezon City, Party with B promo (P8,888 net) comes with a four-hour use of the Mezzanine Bar private room that’s fit for intimate parties. There’s also the Stay with B Room promo (Overnight Stay at P3,888 net, three-day, two-night stay at P6,888 net), available until December 30. The Sunday Brunch Buffet is open from 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at P680 net. On December 31, the 2019 New
Year’s Eve countdown comes with a live band, Myuzik Rewind, raffle draws and sumptuous food. Ticket prices are P2,019 net for adults, and P1,000 net for children, 6 years old and below. The party starts at 7 p.m. At The Bellevue Manila, the YearEnd Escape Room Promo (three-day, two-night stay) is at P14,500 nett, valid from December 29, 2018, to January 2, 2019. The Paskong Pinoy Friday Lunch Buffet is available at 12 to 2 p.m. at P650 net, while Bistro Nights is from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. every Tuesdays until Saturdays.
Sports BusinessMirror
A8 Sunday, December 23, 2018
Editor: Jun Lomibao | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph
U.S. OLYMPIC LEADERS: IMAGE OVER SAFETY Olympic champ Franklin retires MISSY FRANKLIN starts in the women’s 200-meter backstroke final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. AP
WITNESSES prepare to testify before the House Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee about the Olympic community’s ability to protect athletes from sexual abuse in Capitol Hill in Washington in May. AP
By Eddie Pells
The Associated Press
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IVE-TIME Olympic champion Missy Franklin is retiring from swimming at age 23, citing chronic shoulder pain that has affected her for the last 2½ years. She announced her plans on Wednesday in a letter posted on ESPN.com. Franklin’s spokeswoman says the swimmer is with her family in Colorado for the holidays and isn’t commenting further for now. Franklin’s success and bubbly personality made her a darling of the 2012 London Olympics. At age 17, she became the first woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympics in any sport. “It took me a long time to say the words, ‘I am retiring,’” Franklin wrote. “A long, long time. But now I’m ready. I’m ready to not be in pain every day. I’m ready to become a wife, one day a mother. I’m ready to continue growing each and every day to be the best person and role model I can be. I’m ready for the rest of my life.”
Franklin is engaged to Hayes Johnson, a former Texas swimmer. She won six golds at the 2013 world championships in Barcelona in what would be her last major success. Instead of turning professional, Franklin chose to attend college at the University of California, Berkeley, and compete for the Golden Bears. She helped them win the 2015 NCAA championship but developed a nagging back injury. Franklin failed to win an individual gold at the 2014 Pan Pacific championships or 2015 world championships. She turned pro before the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and returned home to train under Todd Schmitz, with whom she started in the sport. Four months before Rio, she withdrew from a meet with shoulder pain and later revealed she was struggling with depression, anxiety and insomnia. In Rio, Franklin failed to make the finals in either of her two individual events and won her
only medal, a gold, by swimming the preliminary heat of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. She was not one of the four Americans who stood atop the podium after the US won the final. “Looking back, surviving through those eight days in Rio was the greatest accomplishment of my career,” Franklin wrote in her retirement letter. “I was able to stay true to who I was as much in failure and disappointment as I had in winning and being the best in the world.” She had surgery on both shoulders in January and February 2017, but the pain never completely subsided. Early this year, she enrolled at Georgia but was never able to regain the form she displayed as a teenager. Franklin’s last competitive race was in the 200 free at the US nationals in July. She finished third in the C final. She is the current world record holder in the 200 backstroke and won 27 career medals in international competition. AP
NOT AGAIN: PAUL STRAINS HAMSTRING
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IAMI—Different leg. Same problem. Chris Paul has another hamstring issue to deal with, and the Houston Rockets are bracing for another stint without their All-Star point guard. Paul will have an MRI in Houston on Friday to determine the severity of the strain in his left hamstring, one that he hurt during the second quarter of the Rockets’ 101-99 loss in Miami. “We’ve got to figure it out,” said Rockets guard James Harden, the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player. “Injuries happen.” Seeing Paul grab at the back of his leg surely conjured up bad reminders of his right hamstring strain late last season, the injury that knocked him out of Games Six and Seven of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors won both of those games to erase the Rockets’ 3-2 lead in the series, and went on to sweep Cleveland for the National Basketball Association title. The Rockets are 0-5 without Paul this season, and have dropped nine straight when he doesn’t play going back to last season. Including playoffs, the Rockets are 77-22 when Paul plays. “I’ve had hamstring issues before and I know how frustrating they are,” said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, one of Paul’s closest friends in the league. “And especially an injury like that...last year you could say it cost them a championship not having him out there with the hamstring. It’s hard, but I just want him to stay positive. It’s a small hurdle again
and you get over it, but it starts mentally first. Physically, I know he will do the work.” Paul is averaging 15.6 points, 8.0 assists and 2.1 steals this season for the Rockets, who host San Antonio on Saturday. His latest injury came on a relatively innocuous-looking play. Paul dribbled behind his back near midcourt while cutting right, and the ball got knocked away by Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr. That was the moment where Paul grabbed the back of his left leg—the telltale sign of a hamstring issue. He went directly to the Houston locker room, never returned and was dressed and gone before the room opened postgame. “It’s definitely tough because he’s a big-time playmaker and ball handler for us,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon said. “In this offense you need all of the playmaking that you can have and usually me, Chris, and James have the ball in our hands trying to play-make for other people and provide good scoring.” Paul is 33, and not even half a season into a four-year, $159.7-million contract that he signed with Houston back in July. He was struggling with his shot of late—connecting on 34 percent of his tries in his most recent five games entering the matchup in Miami—but was still a big factor in Houston being able to match a season high with five straight wins. The Rockets were winning by eight in Miami when he got hurt, and got outscored by 10 the rest of the way. And the combined winning
percentage of their next nine opponents is .601—so being without Paul for a while would obviously make this looming stretch even more daunting for a Rockets team that has been decidedly up and down this season. They lost only 17 regular-season games last season. They’ve nearly matched that already, off to a 16-15 start, and entering Friday are tied for merely the
eighth-best record in the jammed Western Conference. The Rockets are two games out of fourth, and two games out of 14th. “It’s definitely going to be tough,” Gordon said of the prospects of being without Paul for a while again. “But we’ve just got to make adjustments and play even better.” AP
THE Rockets’ Chris Paul passes to Clint Capela (15) as Heat center Hassan Whiteside defends during the first half of their game, on Thursday. AP
CONGRESSIONAL review of the US Olympic system’s handling of sexabuse cases criticizes a culture that sought to protect reputation and image over athlete safety. A House subcommittee released the report recently, outlining conclusions about the handling of sex-abuse cases involving Larry Nassar and others that have led to calls for change at the US Olympic Committee (USOC) and the sports organizations it oversees. The report acknowledges the changes that have come since Nassar’s crimes were exposed. But it criticizes the lack of conformity among the organizations, noting some didn’t use background checks or publish banned lists. The panel’s recommendations include a review of the law that governs the USOC, and the USOC using its authority to more actively protect athletes. USOC CEO Sarah Hirshland pointed out the federation formed the US Center for SafeSport and is reviewing how it engages with the national governing bodies and athletes. A
report commissioned by former Women’s National Basketball Association President Lisa Borders is expected next year. “We will continue to do the work necessary to develop a healthy culture that keeps athletes safe and allows them to be their very best,” Hirshland said. In one of the most striking examples of the diffuse policies that exist in the US Olympic system, the report included a table detailing each NGB’s policy on how it handles banned lists. Each response was different; 18 of the NGBs do not publish their lists. Those differences are part of what has made it difficult for the SafeSport Center to publish a comprehensive list of all banned people— among the many tasks it was given when it was established in March 2017. The report said perhaps its most troubling finding was a culture that prioritized image over safety. It included instructions to panels that deliver sanctions that included “the effect on the USOC’s reputation” as one of the factors to consider when deciding on penalties. That bullet point has since been removed. Also in the report was a deposition from a USOC attorney that underscores the general state of confusion about the relationship between the USOC, the NGBs and the athletes. On a day-today basis, NGBs have more direct contact with athletes than the USOC. Meanwhile, the USOC
provides funding to NGBs but doesn’t have much say in their operation. In a 2016 deposition related to sex abuse, USOC attorney Gary Johansen was asked: “You want to protect your athletes from being sexually abused. That’s a top priority, right, sir?” Johansen’s response: “The USOC does not have athletes.” Four men convicted in the 2016 slaying of Olympic track star Tyson Gay’s teenage daughter, meanwhile, have been sentenced by a Kentucky judge. News outlets report 40-year-old Chazarae Taylor; his son, 21-year-old D’Markeo Taylor; 23-year-old D’Vonta Middlebrooks; and 22-year-old Lamonte Williams were sentenced Wednesday in Fayette County Circuit Court on related charges. Authorities say 15-year-old Trinity Gay was a bystander when gunfire broke out in a restaurant parking lot. Prosecutors said Chazerae Taylor started a chain reaction of shooting that caused her death. He received a 20-year prison sentence for wanton murder and wanton endangerment. Middlebrooks got 15 years’ imprisonment. D’Markeo Taylor and Williams got five years’ probation. Tyson Gay has said he’s glad Trinity got some justice. Her mother, Shoshana Boyd, expressed frustration at not knowing who was ultimately responsible.
SPONSORSHIP UP
privately financed by the International Olympic Committee, sponsors, licensing and ticket revenues” and includes the cost of the Paralympic Games. It said domestic sponsor revenues had increased since its last budget to $3 billion. The total cost of the Olympics, however, including $7 billion spent by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Japanese government, is $12.6 billion. Tokyo’s winning bid in 2013 projected overall Olympics costs of ¥829 billion ($7.3 billion). AP
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OKYO—Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics say they have picked up another $1 million in domestic sponsorships and that the operating budget for the games remains at $5.6 billion. The organizing committee, announcing its third version of the operating budget, said Friday “as with the previous version, the budget remains balanced and fully
BELGIUM NO. 1
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IFA says Belgium is a single ranking point—1,727 to 1,726—ahead of a French team which won its World Cup semifinal in Russia. Brazil is No. 3 and World Cup runner-up Croatia is No. 4 in a mostly unchanged monthly ranking. England and Portugal, which both qualified
last month for the UEFA Nations League Final Four tournament, are Nos. 5 and 6. Uruguay, Switzerland, Spain, and Denmark complete the top 10. Iran at No. 29 will be the highest-ranked Asian team at the Asian Cup starting on January 5. Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, is No. 93. Senegal is Africa’s best team at No. 23. Mexico leads Concacaf region teams at No. 17 and the United States is No. 25. AP
NBA goes to India next year
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EW YORK—The National Basketball Association (NBA) will play its first games in India next year. The league announced on Thursday the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings will play two exhibition games on October 4 and 5 at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai. The NBA, in another step toward expanding its global footprint, says these are the first games in the country by a North American sports league. NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum and NBA India
Managing Director Yannick Colaco in Mumbai announced the matchups. The Kings are owned by Vivek Ranadive, the NBA’s first Indian-born majority owner. He calls it an honor to help bring the game to his home country. He says the “world wants to watch basketball and India is a fast-growing new frontier.” Since 2006, more than 35 current and former NBA and WNBA players went to India on league visits. The NBA opened a Mumbai office in 2011. AP
Sorghum stirs start-up’s successful stint
DEXTER YU, Gianina Tan, Candice Ong, Dominique See and Denice Yap form the start-up Grainhouse that promotes sorghum as a healthy food alternative. By Rizal Raoul Reyes Contributor
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OMINIQUE SEE saw the ups and downs of a modern lifestyle: the convenience of living and the inconvenience of being unhealthy. The proliferation of fast-food joints and the low awareness of the majority of the population have brought obesity and hypertension, among others, as major ailments of the century. This, however, provided a window of opportunity to entrepreneurs like See, a 23-year-old marketing graduate of Ateneo de Manila University. See said in an interview with the BusinessMirror that it was a happy accident when she decided to become a food entrepreneur. As a result, she formed Grainhouse Inc. See, the chief executive officer of Grainhouse, and her business partners saw an opportunity in the sorghum grain. “Before entering the sorghum business, we were eyeing the biodegradable cutlery business and we were targeting the mothers who are also looking for ways to provide their children nutritional food,” she recalled.
Local source SEE initially planned to import sorghum from other countries but the plan was shelved as they learned some farmers are growing sorghum in some provinces in the Philippines. See and her team lost no time establishing a linkage with farmers from Ilocos region. Furthermore, they found out sorghum was also being tested by the Department of Trade and Industry through its bio-research crop project. This assured See that the sorghum has good quality. “For us, the demand is on food. You can never go wrong on food. There is always a demand for food,” she said. “We also want to give the farmers an extra income.” It’s a good bet as the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced in November it plans to spend P15 billion until 2022 to plant sorghum in lands owned by indigenous peoples. (See “Govt keen on planting sorghum in tribal lands” in the BusinessMirror, November 12, 2018.) Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol told the BusinessMirror the DA is targeting to identify 100,000 hectares for sorghum planting next year. The government will plant sorghum in 3 million hectares at a cost of P5,000 per hectare.
Sorghum beer
GRAINHOUSE also promotes sorghum as part of a healthy lifestyle to a critical mass of Filipinos. “Sorghum uses 60 percent less water than planting rice,” See said. “We want to
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reach a wider audience, such as people with lifestyle illnesses.” Grainhouse wants to expand its market base. The start-up has diversified its product portfolio under the Wholly Grain brand by introducing new items to cater to the different tastes of the market. See and her team conducted research on how to make sorghum accessible and enjoyable for people who have lifestyle diseases. Thus, the company developed sorghum popcorn and Pop Granola, also under the Wholly Grain brand. Grainhouse also offers sorghum flour, which is gluten-free and fresher than the regular flour. “We’re cheaper than the wholesome flour,” she said. As part of the market positioning, See wants to tell the market that Wholly Grain products are genuinely healthy and wholesome. So much so that Grainhouse is also studying if sorghum can be made into beer. “We have to determine first the health benefits of sorghum beer,” she said.
Bigger market
CURRENTLY, Grainhouse’s main thrust is to go to bigger markets by entering major shopping centers that have a critical mass. “We want to convey the message that we are giving the market healthier alternatives,” she said. “Our target market is composed of people who are experiencing lifestyle diseases within the age of 50 and above who got executive checkups, experiDECEMBER 23, 2018
ence a high level of blood sugar and with hypertension.” For Popped Sorghum, See said the objective for Wholly Grain is to reach a bigger market, especially the younger generation such as the millennials, Generation Z and children. At present, Popped Granola has seven flavors. At the same time, Grainhouse saw a market for vegans “and we try to adapt to their market by introducing products, such as cinnamon brown sugar.” She added that Wholly Grain also introduced vegan products for this market. At present, Wholly Grain is available in stand-alone stores in Alabang, San Juan, Cagayan de Oro and Quezon City, and online shops. Vegan growth CURRENTLY, the vegan lifestyle is experiencing a growth in the Philippines. The Facebook page of the Vegetarian Society of the Philippines group alone has more than 7,562 members, aside from the other Filipino vegan support groups online. The Philippines even has its own page on the international Happy Cow directory, with a current list of 304 vegan and vegetarian restaurants all over the country. Nevertheless, a majority of Filipinos are still reluctant to pursue a vegan lifestyle. In fact, the Philippines is ranked by some people as one of the most horrible countries to be vegan. A majority of Filipino cuisine are meat-based.
BusinessMirror
MUSIC
‘GUITAR SUPREMO’ Wally Gonzales
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DECEMBER 23, 2018 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com
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THE CHAR OF GUITAR SUPREMO by Tony M. Maghirang
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OR just the second time in a long and checkered career, guitar hero Wally Gonzalez is returning to the Pinoy rock fray. He’s coming off a major medical procedure in September, followed by an extended period of recovery. On December 29 Gonzalez will give thanks to all his friends and fans with a comeback gig at 19 East Bar in Sucat, Muntinlupa City. It will be his first live performance after a short-lived skirmish with a colon problem. Gonzalez tells SoundStrip: “I just felt a swelling on my right side, and the initial findings pointed to a lump on my colon. When my doctor became available, I immediately underwent a four-hour surgery, [then] stayed for another eight hours in the recovery room.” Before the surgery the guitarist didn’t feel any pain to warrant emergency hospitalization. After the operation, there was still no discomfort to merit maintenance medicines.
‘One lucky bastard’
PHOTO BY JOHN GONZALES
THE good news is that the biopsy turned up negative. Even better is that Gonzalez’s doctor recognized his lifelong passion as an artist and urged him to get back to playing music as soon as he can. His attending physician has already called him “one lucky bastard” for escaping even the small discomforts of a potentially serious health problem. “Hard to get sick…” the 68-year old stringsmeister said. “My initial checkup didn’t show anything wrong with me. After surgery there were no restrictions on my diet. I guess I’m just [fortunate].” The “lucky bastard” got away with his good fortune while living the rock-and-roll lifestyle. He’s been playing guitar professionally since he was 18 years old, but stopped playing music for the first time in the ‘80s as he did not want to compromise his music in the emerging disco scene. During that period, Gonzalez worked for his brother’s company. He remembers passing the dull moments
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soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | DECEMBER 23, 2018
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RMED LIFE O WALLY GONZALEZ just messing with his guitar in the office. His brother would tease him to go back to playing music because it’s something he couldn’t just shake off anymore. His first chance after a “dry” spell was the Juan de la Cruz reunion concert in 1998. When his brother passed away and the company had to close shop, the iconic band’s guitarist got back to playing music full-time. He recollected, “I’m really a musician. Making music for me is difficult, but it’s fun. With income from gigs, I’ve been able to raise a family and got my two
kids through college.”
Red-letter night
BEING a music man continues to be a financially rewarding calling for Gonzalez. He projects new revenues when a petroleum giant used the Juan de la Cruz classic Beep Beep in an upcoming commercial. (It’s actually one of the many future payoffs for him, being one of the Pinoy rock pioneers who decided early on to keep the rights to all of their original compositions.) Music has naturally become his therapy after the operation.
He usually listens to Spotify. When the itch hits him, he turns to his ProTools at home to turn new ideas into fresh music. Gonzalez revealed he is working on an allinstrumental album with Razorback’s Louie Talan. He shakes his head in recalling that his last album, “Wally’s Blues” came out in 1977. Talan will be one of the session musicians on Gonzalez’s thanksgiving gig. He is also getting the services of drummer Wendell Garcia and keyboardist Wowee Posadas. A rotation of
singers, whoever is available for the night, will be on hand. “With session friends, we’ll just do sound check,” Gonzalez shared. “No need for rehearsals, which can be an unnecessary expense. It can be a scheduling nightmare given the monstrous traffic situation today in Metro Manila.” December 29 will be a monster red-letter night for all Pinoy music fans. Come and celebrate the life and enduring vision of “one lucky bastard” who also happens to be one hell of a guitar supremo.
‘Woodstock’-inspired fest seen to boost Leyte’s tourism
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AN MIGUEL, LEYTE—The recently-held “For the Love of Leyte” music and arts festival is expected to boost this town’s tourism industry. Town Mayor Cheryl Enrica Esperas said in an interview that hosting the Woodstock-inspired event that gathered music lovers and travelers from different parts of the country and overseas is a big impetus to their tourism promotion initiative. A farm in Ginsiyaman village, a 45-minute drive from Tacloban City, served as the venue of the three-day festival, which concluded December 2. “Name recall is a big part, and the participants saw our simple town…with its own unique products,” Esperas said. The festival featured multiple stages for the musical bands: a pop-up market showcasing the best arts and crafts from the region and around the country, art grounds, and on-site camping. The musical lineup had Ben &
Ben, Kiko Bun (from UK), Bullet Dumas, The Itchyworms, Babani Records (from Mauritius), Reese Lansangan, Ang Bandang Shirley, Hernandez Brothers, Conscious & The Goodness, La Loba Negra, Free the Robots (from the US), Irie
Sunday, Lunas, Rob Mananquil, Tom’s Story, The 76 Receipts, KulaHig, LSR, Aurora, Maroon & Gold, Lady Suzette, Succubus, KRNK, Specs, The Guerillas, Digital Danboi (UK), Bruder and Tom Turner, among others.
The event was inspired by Woodstock, a music festival held on a dairy farm in the Catskill Mountains northwest of New York City, which attracted an audience of more than 400,000 in 1969. Lizbeth Ann Abella/PNA
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MUSIC ON PRINT
Korean group eyes bigger PHL cultural shows next year
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HE Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines aims to stage bigger cultural shows next year when the Philippines and Korea mark the 70th year of their bilateral relations. “We are planning to create and organize bigger events and projects to celebrate the friendship of two countries,” KCC Director Lee Jin-cheol told the Philippine
News Agency (PNA). Without mentioning names, he said the KCC plans to invite more Korean and Filipino performers to participate in the “milestone event.” KCC, in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the United Korean Community Association, held a cultural show
as a final activity for the 27th PhilippinesKorea Cultural Exchange Festival inside the Aliw Theater in Pasay City. “[Annually] we try to invite different Filipino and Korean traditional performers to showcase the variety of each culture that we have,” Lee said. This year the Bayanihan Dance Company and the National Gugak Center from Korea’s Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism were among the performers. Lee said performers from the National Gugak Center are among top performers in their field. Admission was free, and attendees also witnessed the performances from the Buk Chum-Drum Dancing Team from Cainta Sejong Hakdang, and opera singer Bless. Millennials also enjoyed the performances from Filipino group SB19 and K-pop group BNF. During the finale, all performers sang Awitin Mo, Isasayaw Ko using a mixture of Tagalog and Korean languages. “You can see the efforts of both Korean and Filipinos in learning the Korean and Filipino languages. Their performances show their passion and love for each other’s culture,” Lee noted. The director said staging a similar cultural show aims to showcase the “ever-growing friendship” and cultural partnership between the Philippines and Korea. “The presence of Korea and Korean culture in the Philippines has become stronger. This kind of festival helps the Filipinos and Koreans to understand and appreciate more each other’s culture,” Lee said, adding that what the public saw was a harmony between traditional and modern culture through K-pop performances. “Also, the participation of the Filipino youth, who performed using Korean traditional instruments and Korean language is something that makes us, Koreans, proud. Their performance shows the extraordinary talent of Filipinos and their open-mindedness in embracing and learning other cultures,” Lee pointed out. The executive added he is happy to see that many Filipinos and Koreans are looking forward to this yearly event. “I hope there will be more Filipinos and Koreans who could dedicate their time in performing Korean traditional performances,” he said. Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA
Millennial’s cereal-box satellites assist China shrink space race
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SPACE race known for giant rockets and billion-dollar exploration vehicles is shrinking to the size of a Cheerios box, and that’s opening a launch window for entrepreneurs like Chinese millennial Yang Feng. Yang’s startup, Spacety, builds microsatellites and then has them shot into orbit, offering to provide Wi-Fi service on airplanes or eyes into the farthest reaches of space— at prices starting around $16,000. “There are so many niche markets for satellites,” Yang, the 36-year-old chief executive officer, said in his office at a Chinese Academy of Sciences complex in Beijing, with one of his machines sitting on the table in front of him. “I want to do low Earth orbit satellites in the areas that state-owned enterprises are too big to reach.” China is deliberately opening its ambitious and secretive space program to private enterprise, spawning homegrown rocketeers One Space Technology Co. and Landspace Technology Corp. to compete with similar efforts by billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
SPACETY CEO Yang Feng
GIULIA MARCHI/BLOOMBERG
buyers and electric-car drivers, and what is expected to be the leading air-travel market within five years. To be sure, the government will maintain control of what it considers the most-sensitive aspects of its space program, and that may squelch future growth for these startups, Curcio said. Yet there’s opportunity in low Earth orbit, defined as between 80 and 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) in the air. Yang, who studied engineering at Beihang University, renowned for its aeronautics program, worked in the energy and information-technology industries before founding Spacety in 2016. He was inspired by US-based disruptors such as Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and satellite makers like Planet Labs Inc., and now he wants to disrupt them.
Aerospace sector THERE’S also a blossoming of lesser-known businesses that make small satellites— some weighing less than 3 pounds—to put atop those rockets. Spacety, Zhuhai Orbita Aerospace Science and Technology Co. and Beijing Galaxy Space Internet Technology Co. routinely send imaging and data-collecting machines into orbit as they compete for pieces of a global satellite industry worth $269 billion. Those efforts are attracting seed money from venture-capital funds associated with technology titan Lenovo Group Ltd. and the founder of Xiaomi Corp. as China starts challenging microsatellite makers in the US, Japan and Germany. “If China can put its industrial capacity into small satellites as it does with global consumer electronics, then it could be the dominant small satellite manufacturer in a few years,” John Holst, a senior analyst with the nonprofit Space Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colorado, said. As the Chinese government frees up more space, some of the biggest national champions are jumping in. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. had a small satellite powered by Beijing-based Commsat Technology Development Co. launched to help its multibillion-dollar Singles’ Day sales promotion, and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
invested in Satellogic, a startup with offices in San Francisco that wants to build a constellation providing high-resolution imagery and analytics.
Sophisticated semiconductors THE military and government still dominate China’s space program, which has an $8-billion annual budget that’s second only to NASA’s, according to the Space Foundation. The nation plans to explore the moon and Mars, and build its own orbiting station for astronauts, according to state media. President Xi Jinping allowed private enterprise into the space business in 2014 to nurture the development of hightechnology industries that could produce sophisticated semiconductors, artificial intelligence and small satellites, some-
7 BusinessMirror
times called cubesats. There are about 60 Chinese companies in the commercial space industry, said Blaine Curcio, founder of Hong Kong-based Orbital Gateway Consulting. “In terms of satellite design and manufacture, China still lags behind the US and EU,” Curcio said in an email. “However, this also is changing fairly quickly.”
Aeronautics program MANUFACTURING satellites generated $15.5 billion in global revenue last year— a 10-percent increase from the year before, according to the Washington-based Satellite Industry Association. Satellite services such as telecommunications, Earth observation and science generated $128.7 billion. Those services are essential in the biggest market for internet users, smartphone DECEMBER 23, 2018
Cosmos competition SPACETY’S investors include Lenovo’s venture-capital arm Legend Capital, Matrix Partners China and SAIF Partners, according to its website. The company, which has a factory in Hunan province, is valued at about $100 million, Yang said. “The US may have better companies than us, but I’ve only been here for three years,” said Yang, whose team sometimes dons flight jackets with patches commemorating each launch. Spacety has paid to launch more than 10 satellites since 2016 for clients including company-backed in-flight Wi-Fi provider LaserFleet, Chengdu-based AI satellite maker ADA-Space, Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its Continued on Page 8
Kaspersky Lab: A third of shoppers’ financial credentials compromised
K
ASPERSKY Lab ZAO said cybercriminals targeting consumer’s banking credentials or online shopping accounts could hit the jackpot this holiday season. In a statement, Kaspersky Lab said online shopping is one of the most popular activities on the Internet, only surpassed by e-mail. And while the majority of people (93 percent) are aware of financial cyber threats, 32 percent have had their financial credentials fall into the wrong hands, the Russian cybersecurity firm said citing its report, titled “From festive fun to password panic: Managing money online this Christmas.” “The convenience of online shopping may be very seductive, but some people are still concerned about how well protected their online payments are,” the company said in a statement. “Unfortunately, their concerns are well reasoned.” The company said that out of the 32 percent whose financial credentials were compromised, the survey revealed that a quarter (26 percent) of them had never got their money back. Factors that can potentially put people’s finances at risk include the difficulty in controlling payment credentials after they have been used on different e-commerce platforms and the variety of payment methods available. “Online shopping is like visiting a giant mall where people can buy items from dozens of different e-commerce platforms,” Kaspersky Lab said. “It is no surprise that shoppers may struggle to keep all of their online payment information under control.” It added that more than half of peo-
ple (54 percent) polled are most worried about their financial credentials being accessed by cybercriminals. However, a third (36 percent) of respondents have forgotten or not even tried to remember the web sites and apps where they have shared their financial details. “As consumers try to ensure their payment credentials are easy to find and remember, one in five [20 percent] even prefer to store them on devices,” the company said. “This can make submitting credentials more convenient when people do their shopping online, so they do not have to worry about forgetting them.” “However, if the device is lost or stolen, a user is at risk of not only losing their personal data but also their money, because
someone could access their bank account if they found the respective credentials in the smartphone’s notes,” it added. The wide range of digital payment methods gives shoppers the freedom to choose their favorite way of buying goods or services. The most preferable method is still debit and credit cards, direct transfers from bank accounts and e-wallets, e.g., PayPal. However, other payment methods are growing in popularity. Frequent shopping allows people to collect points via loyalty programs and use them when revisiting a retailer to buy more. And, thanks to smartphones and smartwatches, consumers don’t even need to carry around their wallet, physical money or even plastic cards. This has helped to
raise the popularity of contactless device payments, such as PayPass and Apple Pay, with a third of shoppers (31 percent) using them regularly. “The end of the year and the holiday season is a wonderful time when people are buying presents for their families and friends. But no one wants to have this time spoiled by losing money through unsafe transactions or online fraud,” Marina Titova, head of Consumer Product Marketing at Kaspersky Lab, was quoted in the statement as saying. “We should all be very attentive to our financial data and online payments, taking care to avoid putting our bank card credentials on untrusted web sites or making payments from unsecured devices.” Rizal Raoul Reyes
Millennial’s cereal-box satellites assist China shrink space race Earth orbit
Continued from Page 7
services include carrying instruments so Tsinghua scientists can study gamma ray bursts and potentially providing Earth imaging for insurance companies to analyze losses from natural disasters. “I don’t want to just be a manufacturer,” Yang said. “I want to build my own network for others to use. I want to be the platform.” He’s got plenty of competition in the cosmos. Shenzhen-listed Zhuhai Orbita, with a market capitalization of about $1 billion, launched five remote sensing satellites in April as it tries to build a constellation providing data for agriculture, transportation and environmental protection. The company, founded in 2000 to make semiconductors for the aerospace industry, didn’t reply to a request for comment.
GALAXY Space, founded in 2016, wants to put hundreds of its satellites into low Earth orbit to provide global 5G coverage, according to state media. Investors include Shunwei Capital Partners, the firm backed by Xiaomi billionaire founder Lei Jun; Morningside Venture Capital; and IDG Capital, the state-run Global Times reported last month. Beijing-based China Head Aerospace Technology Co. plans to create a 48-satellite constellation called Skywalker with applications for shipping, earthquake monitoring and imagery. The company, which built a 45-kilogram (99-pound) satellite launched last year, has partners in several countries participating in China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, including South Africa. Bloomberg News
AN image of an astronaut is displayed on a corridor at Spacety’s office in Beijing, China. GIULIA MARCHI/BLOOMBERG
8 BusinessMirror
DECEMBER 23, 2018
1 Sunday, December 23, 2018 Editor: Alma Anonas-Carpio
THE CRYING WALLS
OF SAN LORENZO
BusinessMirror
2 Sunday, December 23, 2018
FICTION
THE CRYING WALLS
OF SAN LORENZO S
By Erwin Cabucos
LEEPING butterflies perched on dancing frangipani leaves in the moonlight are a bizarre sight on my way to begin my altar server job. Last night’s storm has left bougainvillea petals lying black on silvered pavers as I silently pass the darkened presbytery where Father Rey must still be asleep. The usual glimmer of a candle is absent from his upstairs window. Sunrise will soon streak through the towering buildings of Manila, and early weekday mass goers will start to fill the pews. It is my role to prepare for the mass. I hurry to the sacristy door. It’s unlocked. I’m sure Father Rey closed everything last night. The thought that we’ve been broken into and I may have to confront an intruder during my first day on the job makes me nervous. I scan the whole place as I light a candle. The dusty smell of statues behind vessels and drawers of vestments in this half-storage, half-sacristy room suffocates me. A male voice moaning from the pews behind the concrete walls is
enough to send shivers up my spine; the sound reverberates in the acoustic space of this nineteenth-century church. Should I run to get Father Rey’s help? Holding the thick white candle, I walk towards the pews. I remember reading Macbeth in our English class—the day King Duncan is murdered, a series of unusual premonitions come true: horses eat each other, birds go berserk and the earth shakes. Then there’s father’s old Caparas comics collection with stories of trapped souls in churches, hassling the living, asking for prayers so they can go to heaven. In front of the statue of San Lorenzo Ruiz, a skinny
teenager in white jeans and a black body-fit t-shirt kneels, gripping his bleeding wrist. A small knife glints beside him. Diyos ko! This is like typhoon Haiyan looms upon us once more. I’m torn between running to the presbytery to tell Father Rey, and offering help. I look around for assistance, but the teenager’s twisting body captivates me. “Bloody hell! Anyari? Are you okay, man?” His tired eyes lock on mine. His slashed left wrist, dripping blood, slowly reaches for me. I step away, scared by the crimson fluid. “Did you cut yourself? What the hell happened?” “I-I want to die.” His face contorts. His voice cracks. “Stab me! I hate my life.” “No! I’ll get someone to help you.” “Don’t bother.” He reaches for the knife. “If you won’t do it, I’ll stab myself.” I kick the knife away from him. “I’ll get the priest!” “Don’t.” I place the candle next to him, run from the church, and knock on the presbytery door. There is no answer. The image of the writhing teenager at the church is enough to push me to twist the knob of the thirtyfive-year-old Cebuano priest’s door. The framed photo of his younger, half-naked, buffed body hangs just below the crucifix on his wall. His absence adds to my heart drum that could be heard from Samar to Leyte. Where is he? There’s no time to wait.
I rush back to the church to check on the teenager. His chest heaves next to his bent neck. I’ll call the ambulance! Oh my God, why haven’t I thought of this earlier? I hurry to the phone in the sacristy. Shiny red fingers lock on my wrist as I start to dial. I almost fall. The fleshy smell reminds me of the pig’s blood mother mixes with vinegar when she cooks Dinuguan. “Why not? An ambulance can help you.” He drops to the floor like a flimsy cloth doll. There’s blood everywhere, on his white jeans and blue Converse shoes. “You don’t understand. I want to die, please!” Fresh globules ooze from his cut. “Why?” I want to run away, but I can’t seem to leave him. He sighs. “Tell me.” “I have HIV. I just found out through a mobile testing station at The O Bar.” “The AIDS disease?” “Yes. I ran out as soon as they told me I was positive.” “How did you come into contact with it?” “I don’t know.” I keep silent. “Maybe from the guy I was with a few months ago. We didn’t use protection.” The guilt on his face puts a ton on my shoulder. “I’ll die soon. I might as well die now.” Horror engulfs me like I’ve just swallowed crushed red chilli. I recall from our science class that if I have an open wound, and fresh infected blood enters my body, I could get AIDS too. I
step back and stare at the crimson fluid he has smeared on my wrist, glad I don’t see a cut for the virus to enter. “You have AIDS?” “I have HIV. Two different things.” He c l a mbers upr ig ht , smearing more blood on the canvas-like wall, which now looks like a giant face crying red tears. He staggers to the door. “Wait. Let me bandage you.” “No.” He walks to the foot of the frangipani and sits like a gnome waiting to be noticed among the flowers. White petals fall on him, one resting gently on his shoulder. “What happened?” Father Rey thunders, appearing from nowhere. “He’s wounded, Father,” I blurt. “He needs help.” “How? Are you okay, son?” With no thought of confidentiality, I rattle out what I have discovered in the last six minutes. Father Rey hugs the teenager, places his hands under the boy’s neck and knee, and carries him like a baby to the presbytery. “Father,” I mumble, wanting to pluck the priest away from the live virus. “Prepare the church for mass. I’ll be with you, soon,” he says without looking back. I’m amazed at my famili a r it y w it h t he prepa rations, considering I was only trained the other day. The candles in the altar are lit. Hosts, wine and water are supplied. The pall, purificator, corporal, chalice and the ciborium are brought out
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to the altar server’s table. I cover the bloody pew where I’d found the boy with a rug. I’ll clean it later. Right now I can’t help but check what’s happening in the presbytery. I am desperate to find out what Father Rey has done with the boy. Almost on tippy-toe, I walk through the open presbytery door and into the kitchen. “Stop it!” Father Rey’s voice booms. “Stop hurting yourself.” I step closer. The teenager holds a chef’s knife to his own stomach. Father Rey quickly grips the boy’s wrist, swivels it upwards like an arm of a doll. The teenager grimaces. The knife falls from his fingers; it’s sharp pointy end sticks up into the wooden floor.
“Listen to me!” Father Rey roars. “If you knew my story, you would definitely stop doing this to yourself.” “I want to die!” he wails. “Don’t be silly. It’s not the end of the world. You can get help. Look at me, I survived for many years and am still healthy. The treatment are so good these days. You can practically live a normal life. Being positive is not a life sentence.” I feel dizzy with shock and step back behind the pantry door on shaking legs. I bite my lip as I wait for more revelations. What follows is an outpouring of sobs from the young man and calm, pacifying words from my boss. Busy footsteps thud throughout the lounge-room and stairs. I can only suspect that a bandage is
Sunday, December 23, 2018 3
now being applied to the boy’s wound. Father Rey ducks his head out of the presbytery door and yells my name, “Sebastian, are we ready?” and repeats it after not hearing a response from me. My cowering and eavesdropping has come to an end and I scuttle out of the kitchen door and appear busy with some errand, walking back to the church. “Yes, Father.” “I’ll be there in a sec,” he says as he closes the door. The mass starts in the casual way of Father Rey, as if nothing has interrupted the order of the day. As I serve at the altar, my mind wonders how our parish priest got the virus. Is he gay? Wait a minute – he doesn’t need to be one to
be living with HIV. Suddenly my mouth tastes a little salty. What a mystery. Could be bigger than the Rosary or the Holy Trinity. The liturgy seems to take no time at all today, like little bubbles that evaporate from the priest’s mumbles as his eyes remained fixed on the Roman Missal. I lock the door after the last massgoer steps out the church. On the bulletin board at the entrance, I look closely for the first time at the poster of Diocesan priests, including Father Rey, doing spirituality work among people with HIV. Could he have contracted the virus through work? As I leave the church, butterflies flutter away from the frangipani tree and sunrise
sheds light to every dark corner of the church. It is a new day, and my work has begun.
Erwin Cabucos teaches English in Brigidine College, Indooroopilly. His latest book is a collection of short stories ‘Does It Matter What the Dead Think’. He was born and raised in Southern Philippines. Erwin welcomes your feedback through erwincabucos@gmail.com.
BusinessMirror
4 Sunday, December 23, 2018
ARTS & CULTURE CALENDAR
CCP BRINGS IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
WITH LIGHTS AND SHADOW PLAY T HE Cultural Center of the Philippines spreads the message of Christmas and brings holiday cheers to every Filipino through its amazing Christmas display, featuring the inter play between lights and shadow, which will be shown every night until January 6, 2019. A series of illuminated images, using stencils that are painstakingly made by creative hands from the Production and Exhibition Department, relives the biblical story of how the Messiah was born. The “Christmas Story” begins with the Annunciation, or Mary’s journey of obedience that marks her role in giving birth to the Messiah. The light and shadow play continues with the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem after Emperor Augustus ordered people to return to the town where their families originally came from. It has been a Filipino Christmas tradition to re-enact the difficult search of Joseph and Mary for shelter in Bethlehem; this is locally known as Panunuluyan. Accompanied by beautiful carols, the Christmas Story continues to unfold with projected images of the Three Wise Men, with the shepherds, who were guided by the star to find the manger where Christ was born, and finally culminating in a tableaux of the Belen. The light and sound play will also feature other story boards—the “Paskong Pinoy Traditions” and “The Promise of a New Year”—which will be alternately shown throughout the holiday season. The “Paskong Pinoy Traditions” showcases the different Filipino traditions, including Misa de
Gallo, Aguinaldo, and pagmamano, among others, showcasing the positive values and strong faith that the Filipino people exemplify. “The Promise of A New Year,” featuring the different New Year traditions such as paputok, bumbong (bamboo cannon) and Media Noche, enables people to reflect on all the good things from the past year and delivers a message of hope for a new beginning that the coming year will bring. The booming sounds of the bamboo cannon and firecrackers, made more festive with the kaleidoscope of colors created by pyrotechnics in the night sky, blows away the bad luck and ill spirits. New Year, after all, welcomes the new, and out with the old. “My team brainstormed on what could differently adorn the CCP Facade; this time, reflecting on the meaningfulness of the Season against the backdrop of sheer fanfare or auspicious display of lights and decorations. It was going back to basics and displaying our expertise in theater; the manipulation of light and a play on shadows, in particular,” said CCP Production and Exhibition Department manager Ariel Yonzon, who is also the project director for the CCP Christmas Decor. The production team is composed of: assistant project director and designer Eric G. Cruz; production manager Nice Hervas; set supervisor Dexter Hernandez, with set assistant Amado Bonifacio III; GOBO artists Louie Mark Mendiola, Gee Pelaria, Camille Balistoy, Allan Fami, TJ Calma, Jacob Cezar and Claire Navarra; light designer Allan Fami, light consultants Danilo Villanueva and Louie Alcoran; and music designer Marvin Fabular. Fifty Stars of David, designed
and made by the magpaparols from Las Piñas, give an added element to the CCP holiday decorations. The CCP has been showcasing the craftsmanship and ingenuity in creating the traditional Philippine Christmas lantern for the past years. This year, the CCP collaborates with the Samahang Magpaparol ng Las Piñas, through the support of the Office of Senator Cynthia A. Villar and the nonprofit organization Villar Sipag for its Annual Christmas Lantern Lighting. The light and sound show will be shown every night, at 6:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 9:00 p.m. intervals, at the CCP facade. The time schedule might change, or the show would be cancelled, in case of inclement weather. In keeping with the spirit of Filipino Catholic tradition, the CCP, in partnership with the Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, hosts Simbang Gabi daily from December 16 to 24 at 5:00 a.m., at the CCP Main Ramp. Christmas Eve Mass (Misa de Gallo) will be celebrated on December 24 at 8:00 p.m., at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater). The pre-performance will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo Lobby (CCP Main Theater Lobby). All masses are open to the public. Please be advised that the CCP galleries will be closed from December 25 until January 2. The exhibits Bakas Bagtas Bukas, Thirteen Artists Awards and Continuum will continue to be open for viewing after the holidays. For more information, call the Visual Arts and Museum Division at (632) 832-1125, local 1504/1505, and 832-3702, mobile (0917) 6033809, email ccp. exhibits@gmail.com, or visit www. culturalcenter.gov.ph.
MIND MUSEUM EVENTS
AWESOME ASTRONOMY
December 23 and 30 5:00 p.m. Catch at cosmic conversation at the Universe Gallery. Participation is included with an all day pass or 3:00 p.m. museum ticket.
Literary Editor
COFFEE SCIENCE
December 29 4:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m. Pour into the science of coffee through scientific discussions and coffee making demonstrations. Free but seats are limited.
Alma Anonas-Carpio
Managing Editor
Psyche Roxas-Mendoza
Contributing Editor
Carla Mortel-Baricaua
Creative Director Graphic Artist Advertising Team
Ed Davad Job Jonald Capalaran Ruzgal Dennis Cruz Guevarra Richard Santos Charmine Rose Arquibel
Send all literary submissions to asiapacific.njla@gmail.com For general advertising information or questions, contact: Dennis Guevarra at 09776806561 or dennis.cruzguevarra@yahoo.com Richard Santos at 09985643854 or richardsantos.advertising@gmail.com Charmine Rose Arquibel at 09953198050 or charquibel.philippinesgraphic@gmail.com
BusinessMirror
Sunday, December 23, 2018 5
BOOK REVIEW
THREE GOOD BOOKS G By Alma Anonas-Carpio
OOD books, time in which to read them, and a comfortable place in which to indulge one’s inner bookworm are among the three best pleasures in life. As 2018 comes to a close, here are three of the books this writer has enjoyed immensely. Re-imagining Rizal “RIZAL +,” edited by Alfred A. Yuson, the chairman of the panel of judges for the 2018 Asia-Pacific Nick Joaquin Literary Awards, is a collection of essays, reportage and artwork revolving around National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Before he was shot dead at dawn on Bagumbayan Field, Dr. Jose Rizal was a doctor—and he was a writer. Before all this, he was human, one known for his wit and satirical writings as well as for his love for the land of his birth and his participation in the propaganda movement. The book carries both gravitas and irreverence. It contains a treasure trove of facts and imaginative extrapolations of alternate realities revolving around the revered National Hero. It holds memorabilia from columns, photos and articles about Rizal that are tied all together in a fascinating package by visuals—photographs and paintings by very talented auteurs—that elevate this tome from the realm of the ordinary and take the reader into a surreal journey that would definitely have delighted and entertained Rizal himself. “Rizal +” is a very good read, especially in this era of historical revisionism. This anthology of historical works, journalistic pieces, creative non-fiction, fiction—including an excerpt from a novel
in progress by Philippines Graphic editor in chief Joel Pablo Salud and art by his daughter and BusinessMirror contributor Rachel Salud. Several of the country’s finest writers, journalists, photographers and artists contributed work to this handsome tome. This book has the formal feel of a coffee-table book—it is a hardback published by Water Dragon, Inc.— and the lively variety and bright colors of an eclectic art gallery, much like the gallery of the Yuchengco Museum at the ground floor of the RCBC Tower where the book launch took place on November 23. Yuson wrote in the book’s preface that his good friend Jose Victor Peñaranda and the late artist Edd Aragon “were instrumental in [the book’s] conceptualization and initial production on 2009, when it was planned for release before the sesquicentennial celebration of Rizal in 2011.” The project was discontinued for a time, during which both Peñaranda and Aragon both returned to the Skyworld where they are now, perhaps, enjoying tinola with Rizal—perhaps even some tsokolate e. The production of “Rizal +” resumed earlier this year and, while it would have been welcome years ago, the finished product is sublime and truly well worth the nearly decade-long wait. Continued on page 14
BusinessMirror
Sunday, December 23, 2018 7
POETRY
After Vicente Manansala’s Jeepneys By Rodrigo Dela Peña, Jr.
consider this chrome post-industrial mobile disco consider this chrome post-industrial mobile disco beast of burden shoulder to armpit where we jostle beast of burden shoulder to armpit where we jostle knee to knee inching riddled road down the potholeknee to knee inching riddled road down the potholewith a slogan sweet lover basta driver with a slogan sweet lover basta driver everything a blur you are a cubist in the rippling heat everything a blur you are a cubist in the rippling heat pastiche on wheels for traffic police a moving target pastiche on wheels for traffic police a moving target and what does it mean the way of dinosaurs that you are going and what does it mean the way of dinosaurs that you are going your body made cast-off parts from surplus engines your body made cast-off parts from surplus engines soon to become but that must be junkyard relics but that must be the pedestrian you’ve had a hell ate of kings the pedestrian you’ve had a hell ate of kings of a good run the daily route and still you ply of a good run the daily route and still you ply wheezing o welded tin can in full throttle wheezing o welded tin can in full throttle kinetic vessel your days are numbered diesel fantasia kinetic vessel your days are numbered diesel fantasia Rodrigo Dela Peña, Jr. is the author of Aria and Trumpet Flourish (Math Paper Press, Singapore), as well as the chapbooks Requiem and Hymnal (Vagabond Press, Australia). His poems have been published in Likhaan, Kritika Kultura, Tomas, and other journals and anthologies. He has received prizes from the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, Kokoy Guevara Poetry Competition, British Council, among others. Born and raised in the Philippines, he has been based in Singapore since 2011.
DOCUMENTARY shoot, Bicutan Station
With Direk Joey Reyes, Walwal presscon
THESIS Film Shoot
RICKY LEE workshoppers
FOLIENTE with Alsen Estrella and Neil Reyes at Cinemandirigma Film Festival
THESIS Film shoot
FOLIENTE with veteran scriptwriter Ricky Lee
RICKY LEE 16th Scriptwriting workshop day 1
BusinessMirror
Sunday, December 23, 2018 9
CAMPUS ART SCENE
TOO MUCH, TOO SOON,
BUT HE’S GOOD AT IT A
By Carla Mortel-Baricaua Photos by Mark Gerald Foliente
T 19, he was supposed to be learning the basic fundamentals in school, but fate had a different plan altogether and threw him a curve ball. He was drowning in his academic studies when multi-awarded film and TV director-writer Joey Javier Reyes picked him to write a movie script. Although unsure of his abilities, he couldn’t just say no. Last May, Mark Gerald Foliente debuted as the scriptwriter of Walwal, a movie about today’s youth; their lives, struggles and dreams. “Direk Joey was one of my professors and happened to like my submitted works. When he found out I was attending the writing workshop of Sir Ricky, he requested me to write for him. “He said he needed a writer who’s a millennial because he can’t write about it. So he messaged me, asking if I was ready. Even though I was lacking in confidence, I said I was ready,” reveals Foliente. At that time, Regal Films was looking for teen movie to produce and tapped Joey Reyes for the project. And just like that, Foliente had to step up and juggle his time between academics while scriptwriting on the job. The shoots for school requirements drag on for days, but he still managed to find time to write at night for the film project. “Direk Joey was quick with his revisions—that was the hardest part. Moreover, I missed school. I missed out a lot of the student life, having to skip school activities, festivals. I felt those moments just passed by me. But then I also realized this experience, this process, I’m going through at my age, I know will work for me somehow in the future. I felt it was worth it.”
It’s all about timing FOLIENTE started writing as a staff of Sandigan, the official student paper of San Antonio National High School in Makati City. When indie film director and screenwriter Sigfried Barros Sanchez came to his class and talked about filmmaking, Foliente got hooked. “That made me interested. It was the right timing too, because I was deciding on what to do later in life. I used to watch old local movies on TV when I was young. I remember wanting to tell my own stories and here I was, I’m already into writing.” As a scholar, he eventually applied to the Digital Filmmaking program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and proceeded to join Ricky Lee’s writing workshop. “That’s when I realized I wanted to be a scriptwriter, more than anything else. Mas feel ko yung pagsusulat.” (Writing is more to my liking.)
It’s all about learning IT was in March to July 2017 when Foliente joined Ricky Lee’s screenwriting workshop and was introduced to the great talent. Ricky Lee is a veteran and multi-awarded screenwriter, journalist, novelist and playwright. He is best known for his screenplay such as“Himala”,“Sa Kuko ng Agila”, “Muro Ami”, “Jose Rizal”, and “The Flor Contemplacion Story.” During the workshop, “I got to know Ricky Lee as a person and I admired how he overcame many difficulties and wrote so many scripts. I was able to watch many of the movies he wrote, not knowing it’s already a part of his anthology.” It was then Foliente
found out that he was not there just to learn how to write, but to learn how to live with himself as a writer. “Ricky Lee is more about the heart of the story; where is it coming from. He doesn’t care if the concept is already old, or not commercial enough. All he asks is how true you are about your story; where you’re coming from? Is it really your story? It’s the authentic to you? “In writing, I get to share emotions and share experiences. I find it satisfying when a reader remarks, ‘Ah, yes, I also felt that way.’ Somehow I stirred their emotions and that reminds me that I’m not the only one who felt that way, so in a way, I’m one with that person.” Foliente’s realization, that a writer exposes his identity and the truth he knows about himself and the world he lives in through his stories, comes with a price, though. “In storytelling, it’s hard to hide the fact that it’s about yourself. I started trying to hide behind my work, my characters. I would try so hard just so that the readers wouldn’t figure it out that it was me in the story, but it slips out, and the readers get it. “I was afraid to show (to the audience) how I think, how I feel. I felt embarrassed. At first, I was being too careful, at least I thought I was being careful, but I was taught to just write, to follow my stream of consciousness, to let a part of me come out, and there’s nothing was wrong with that. Now, I’m no longer sensitive; to reveal one’s self is part of writing. “The workshop also taught me that there’s a time to tell your stories and work your difficulties (in writing). You have to share and let others read your work to gain feedback and improve on it.” That workshop gave birth to Foliente’s first full length movie screenplay: “Window Seat.” The story involves an old couple, a subject he discovered he’s fond of in the process. Old people’s joys, challenges, and journey fascinate and intrigue Foliente,
and his stories are his attempts to unravel their lives. In “Window Seat,” the old couple find themselves in limbo, where they will settle with their love, believe that there’s something that lasts forever, that it’s not too late to end up together.
It’s all about practice THE following year saw Foliente with fellow students Alsen Estrella and Neil Reyes entering the Cinemandirigma: University of the East-Caloocan InterSchool Short Film competition. They co-wrote and co-produced “Ang Kaibigan Kong Alien” that competed with works from aspiring filmmakers in high school and tertiary levels in Metro Manila. “It dealt with loneliness and does not really have a structured story. The character likens finding a friend to finding an alien. He knows he’s there, but he just can’t find him,” shared Foliente. The entry bagged the Best Short Film, Best Original Story, and Best Actor awards. “It was a class project, but we decided to enter it in the competition. I guess the hanging question in the end made an impression with the judges. ‘Here’s my alien friend’ he says. At first, the audience couldn’t understand the film, but they definitely felt something afterwards. It’s the same even with us. We weren’t sure we have delivered what we wanted to say with the film, but the feel is there. We were surprised that it won. I guess it’s more about invoking emotions rather than telling a story.” Interestingly, it was Foliente who won as best actor. “I think I was the sole nominee,” he said with a chuckle. “A lot of people were amused as I am (with the win).”
is close to his heart: a writer lost in search of a particular word. “A writer couldn’t find a certain word and gets upset about it, that’s where the story begins. He looks for that word, he goes out and looks for it everywhere. He meets different people along the way, but couldn’t connect with them. Visually, it has a theatre treatment with people interacting behind the main character. “In the end, he doesn’t find the word at all. Instead, he finds himself not being alone because the characters are there for him, he saw his characters are his family. I didn’t reveal the lost word, I’ll leave that to the audience. Hopefully, they’ll find it themselves through my movie.” While his thesis material deals with one’s search, Foliente looked like he’s already settled with his life’s endeavor: to find his voice as a screen writer. “People says otherwise and tell me to look for something else, but I feel this is what I want to do with my life because I can’t think of doing something else. I know it’s early in life to be this definite on this, but somehow I feel lucky that I already have found what I wanted to do. “After graduation, Direk Joey wants me to write for him again. Yes, I want to be in the film industry and I want to be involved in production, but most of all, to continue writing.”
It’s all about the future As of this writing, Foliente is busy completing his thesis and preparing for its defense, for the completion of his course in March 2019. For his film submission, he wrote and created a character that he says
Carla Mortel-Baricaua Contributing Editor
BusinessMirror
12 Sunday, December 23, 2018
NJLA ASIA-PACIFIC
NJLA ASIA-PACIFIC
WINNERS ANNOUNCED
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By Alma Anonas-Carpio Literary Editor
HE first set of winners for the maiden Asia-Pacific Nick Joaquin Literary Awards are all women. The editors and staff of BusinessMirror’s Tony & Nick literary section and the Philippines Graphic are pleased to announce the winners as follows: Poet of the year “For Abby and those who struggle daily” By Jade-Ceres Violet Dolor Muñoz (New Zealand)
First prize, fiction: “Mountains of Fear, Valleys of Hope” By Prachi Topiwala-Agarwal (Singapore)
Second prize, fiction: “Departures” By Anneliz Marie A. Erese (Australia)
Third prize, fiction: “The Uber Driver” By Vicky Chong (Singapore)
The Winners TWO of the winners, Muñoz and Erese, are Filipinas based in New Zealand and Australia, respectively. The remaining two are based in the city-state of Singapore.
Jade-Ceres Violet Dolor Muñoz lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband and six-year-old daughter. She works as a digital marketing consultant specializing in SEO and content strategy. Jade has been writing fiction and poetry since her early teens. She studied AB Literature at the De La Salle University in Manila, and has been working professionally as a writer for over 15 years. She has written for a San Francisco-based broadsheet, several magazines, blogs and websites in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Jade started a movement in Auckland called Books on the Bus NZ, where she and her husband placed over 3,000 books in buses, trains, ferries, train stations and bus stops around New Zealand over the last year. Munoz is the daughter of Philippine News editor in chief Ramon Faustino “Beting” Laygo Dolor II, who won second prize in the regular 2015 Nick Joaquin
Literary Awards for his short story “Diary of an Alien Abductee.” A native of Mumbai, India, Prachi Topiwala-Agarwal now lives in Singapore with her husband and two school-age daughters. She is completing a Masters of Arts in Creative Writing at the Lasalle College in Singapore. Anneliz Marie A. Erese recently completed her master’s degree in Writing and Literature. Her work has been published in the Verandah Journal and she has received a Special Mention from Fabula Press in the Aestas Short Story Competition 2017. Erese was also a class member of Express Media’s
Toolkits: Fiction Program last year. She is the founding editor of ALPAS Journal, a digital publication for Filipino creatives. Presently, she resides in Australia where she interns at Melbourne Writers Festival and Melbourne University Publishing imprint, Meanjin Quarterly. Vicky Chong is doing her MA in Creative Writing at the Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore. Her works have been published in Readers’ Digest, The Graduate and Singapore Marketer. More recently, her short stories were published in two anthologies by Singapore’s National Library Board. Her short story, “Chun Kia,” is one of the ten
selected for 2017 George Town literary Festival Fringe Zine.
The Panel PANEL chairman Alfred A. Yuson is a poet, fictionist and a prolific author whose work has won in the National Book Awards—the most recent win being in 2017, for the novel “The Music Child and Mahjongg Queen.” He was elevated to the Hall of Fame of the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Literary Awards, and just this year, awarded the Gawad Dangal ng Lahi at the Palanca ceremonies in October. Yuson has authored 23 books, including novels, poetry collections,
BusinessMirror short fiction, essays, and children’s stories. He has also edited various other titles, including several anthologies of poetry and fiction. He received the Southeast Asia Write Award (SEA Write) in 1992 in Bangkok. Yuson has also represented the Philippines in Literary conferences, festivals and reading tours in the United States, Japan, China, Finland, Scotland, Thailand, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Columbia, and his works may be found in many international anthologies. He was a founding member of the Philippine Literary Arts Council (PLAC), Creative Writing Foundation, Inc. and Manila Critics Circle. He also served as chairman of the Writers Union of the Philippines (UMPIL). His bibliography includes the poetry collections “Sea Serpent” (Monsoon Press, 1980), “Trading in Mermaids” (Anvil Publishing, Inc., 1993), “Mothers Like Elephants” (Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2000), “Hairtrigger Loves: 50 Poems on Woman” (University of the Philippines Press, 2002), and the translation, “Love’s A Vice/ Bisyo ang Pag-ibig: Translations into English of 60 Poems by Mike L. Bigornia” (National Commission for Culture at the Arts, 2004). He writes a literature and culture column for The Philippine Star broadsheet. His two novels, The Great Philippine Jungle Café and Voyeurs and Savages are studies of Philippine culture. Another novel, The Music Child, was among five works short-listed for the second (2008) Man Asian Literary Prize. Most recent ly Yuson authored the biography “Lineage, Vision, Empire: Don Francisco ‘Paquito’ Ortigas, Jr.” and the anthology “Rizal +.” Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo is one of the winning authors of the 2018 National Book Awards for her collection of essays titled “That Thing With Feathers (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House). Hidalgo is best known as a teacher, editor, writer, and pioneer of creative nonfiction. She has also been conferred a Gawad Balagtas award from UMPIL, and her fiction has won awards from the NJLA (then called the Philippines Graphic Literary
Awards), the defunct Philippines Free Press magazine and the Manila Critics’ Circle. She was a recipient of the the British Council Grant to Cambridge, and the University of the Philippines President’s Award for Outstanding Publication. She has been recognized as an Outstanding Thomasian Writer, Hall of Famer for the International Publication Award, and Grand Prize winner for the Novel in the
Sunday, December 23, 2018 13
Palanca Awards. Hidalgo has authored seven autobiographical travel books, including “Sojourns” (1984), “Celadon and Kimchi: A Korean Notebook” (1993), “Coming Home” (1997), and “Passages: Selected Travel Essays” (2008). She also has five short story collections, the most recent of which is “Sky Blue After the Rain” (2005), and two novels, “Recuerdo” (1996), which won a Palanca award, and “A
Book of Dreams” (2001). She has also written books on literary criticism and studies of women’s literature: “Woman Writing: Home and Exile in the Autobiographical Narratives of Filipino Women” (1994), “A Gentle Subversion” (1998), and “Over a Cup of Ginger Tea” (2006). Hidalgo has also put together anthologies, including “The Likhaan Book of Poetry and Fiction” (1995 and 2001), “Sleepless in Manila” (2003), “My Fair Maladies” (2005), and “The Children’s Hour: Stories on Childhood, Vol. II” (2006). She is now the director of the University of Santo Tomas Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies. Singaporean Alvin Pang is a poet, writer, editor, anthologist and translator. He was Singapore’s Young Artist of the Year for Literature in 2005 and he received the Singapore Youth Award for Arts and Culture in 2007, as well as the JCCI Foundation Education Award in 2008. His poems have been translated into over 15 languages. He has appeared in major festivals and his work has seen print in various publications worldwide. He is one of very few Singaporean poets to be listed in the Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry in English (2nd Edition, 2013). Pang’s books include “City of Rain” (2003), “What Gives Us Our Names” (2011), “Other Things and Other Poems” (Croatia, 2012) and “When the Barbarians Arrive,” which was published in the United
Kingdom in 2012. He was the curating editor of the pan-literary anthology “TUMASIK: Contemporary Writing from Singapore” (Autumn Hill, USA: 2009). His short fiction has also been selected as one of the 2013’sBestNewSingaporeShortStories (Epigram). Pang was also was a guest editor for a Singapore-centric issue of the Prairie Schooner (USA) “Fusion” series published in 2014, as well as of the “Union” folio for Drunken Boat (USA) in 2015. Pang was a Fellow of the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program in 2002 and is a Board Member of the International Poetry Studies Institute based in the University of Canberra. He is a founding director of The Literary Centre—a non-profit initiative dedicated to interdisciplinary capacity, multilingual communication, and positive social change. He represented Singapore at London’s Poetry Parnassus event, which was part of the 2012 Olympic celebrations and, in the same year participated in the Worlds literary festival and salon in Norwich, alongside J M Coetzee, Teju Cole, Tim Parks and other luminaries. He visited the Philippines in 2014, as part of the panel at the 53rd Silliman University National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City—Asia’s oldest creative writing workshop. He taught Poetry Writing at Yale-NUS College in 2015. The editors and staff of Tony & Nick would like to extend their heartfelt congratulations to the winners, who will be brought to Manila for the Asia-Pacific NJLA awarding rites next year. We would also like to thank our distinguished panel of judges for their invaluable and much-needed work in selecting our contest winners. The 2019 cycle of the AsiaPacific NJLA is open, and we will continue publishing the works fictionists and poets based in ASEAN nations, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Hong Kong with each new, monthly issue of Tony & Nick. Literary submissions may be sent to asiapacific.njla[at]gmail.com. Fiction should be 4 to 10 8”x11” pages long, double-spaced with Times New Roman typeface set at 12 points. We will also take one to three medium-length poems per submission.
BusinessMirror
14 Sunday, December 23, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
THREE GOOD BOOKS Continued from page 5 Stamp the book with “mission accomplished, as in Yuson’s words, the original plan for this work was to create something “presenting a unique and diverse compendium of Rizaliana—one inclusive of novelty, humor and irreverence within the greater ambit of honoring and exulting in the singular hero’s myriad facets.” Those who want a copy of “Rizal +” may call or visit the Yuchengco Museum at the RCBC Tower in Makati City to get theirs.
Talk of tyranny, musing on martyrs READING Manuel C. Lahoz’s political memoir is like being given an up-close and personal look at the Martial Law years many Millennials can’t remember because, well, they weren’t born yet. Lahoz writes so eloquently of those years, offering readers an untrammeled view from his lens. The book opens with Lahoz retelling stories from his father’s memoirs, set in Abra, Benguet during the turbulence of the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, and the country’s eventual liberation by the United States four years later. Then he proceeds to get to the meat of the matter: We talk so much of the unsung heroes of Martial Law, have been doing this for more than three decades. Lahoz tells the stories of those unsung heroes he’d known during those dark days. It has been a distinct honor to meet Lahoz at a lunch hosted by journalist Prosy dela Cruz of Asian Journal in Malate, at the Purple Yam Manila two years ago. Lahoz spoke of writing a political memoir set in the bloody years of Ferdinand E. Marcos’ Martial Law. “It will be a very painful read,”he’d said back then. He left it at that and we partook of some excellent pork belly lechon braised in coconut water and spices, and roast until the meat was fork-tender and the skin on the pork belly roast was crisp and perfect. Martial Law ala Marcos is one of those things for which the phrase “never again” was crafted, and Lahoz’s political memoir carried that point across with meticulous detail, graceful use of language and a keen sensibility of compassion.
“Of Tyrants and Martyrs” (University of the Philippines Press) was adjudged the Best Book of Nonfiction Prose in the National Book Awards held on Nov. 24 Amid the ambience of prestige of that awards night Lahoz was in his element and I was able to shake his hand in congratulations. Disclaimer: I serve as one of the NBA judges from the Manila Critic’s Circle, and that had afforded me a chance to read “Of Martyrs and Tyrants”—I got a copy of the book along with the other finalists’s work. Lahoz’s memoir is written with clarity, generosity and candor—something many authors can learn and recreate in their own work. This insightful and detailed account of the heroism of these people he names and writes about with such empathy could well serve as inspiration and guide, as well as that closer look at tyranny that we all need so badly in this era of historical revisionism. Had this book come out earlier, it could have become a basis for more vocal opposition to the burial of one plunderer in the hallowed ground holding the nation’s heroes. That said, this book is an excellent read, especially for the generation of Filipinos who were born after the 1986 Edsa Revolution. We are a people who thrive on stories. We need to know about the heroes we so desperately seek, and we need reminders like this book to inform us that the heroes we seek are not distantly mythical. They walk among us. They could be us, given the necessary circumstances. In fact, our heroes are as human as we are, with all our fears and with all our cares. Lahoz’s memoir achieves this effect quite admirably, with simple, accessible language and a precision that shows just how much thought and work the author put into the text. There is so much talk of radicalization at the grassroots, especially now, with some functionaries of government red-tagging journalist, peasant workers, whoever dissents to the way government operates. These functionaries of government and their trolls conveniently forget what begins the process of radicalization: Disenfranchisement, systemic and openly obvious corruption and the dearth of much-needed government services that results in widespread poverty. The hungry will always cry out in anger. “Of Tyrants and Martyrs” brings us
into the world of the disenfranchised and radicalized during one of the darkest eras in our history. It shows the process by which ordinary folk are pushed to fight for their rights and the rights of our people. It shows just how dearly these people paid for their words and actions, nevermind that it was the Marcos administration, its cronies and its enablers that created the fertile ground upon which the seeds of these people’s dissent fell. It is a political memoir that should be read by all Filipinos, especially schoolchildren. It is also a book that makes its treasure of information accessible to all readers. Buy it. Read it. Keep it for your children and your grandchildren. Never forget. Never again.
Paris meets Manila: Foodie goodie COMFORT food is always a wonderful thing to enjoy—whether you need comforting or not. World-renowned chef Xavier Btesh’s “French Kusina” offers a fusion of French, Mediterranean and Filipino cooking broken down into small-portion recipes. Btesh’s system of measurements covers one to two servings of each recipe. This is perfect for condominium-dwellers, retirees with empty nests, and young Millennials who are living on their own for the first time. It is also perfect for people who are trying their hands at cooking for the first time and, if you are trying something new, it makes sense to
make a small test batch first to see if you like what you’re cooking. These measurements are easy to multiply when cooking larger batches. This kind of consideration for cookbook readers is rare, and it is very welcome. One expects chefs to use fancy terms in their cookbooks. This is not so with Btesh’s book: He tells you to “use two mugs of your favorite pork cuts,” for instance, in his ‘Pork Sale’ recipe—making the Provencal dish that much more accessible to newbie cooks. This book made it to the final set of contenders for the Food category in the 2018 National Book Awards, though it didn’t win. Btesh’s roots and his credentials as a chef are solid gold. He was born in Paris to an Italian mother and a Syrian father, and was raised in the South of France and in several other countries because his parents’careers required them to travel frequently. He finished a degree in Classic Literature and Philosophy from Janson de Sailly in Paris at age 19. Btesh worked for the restaurant of his mother’s family, Au Cocher du Village, where he learned his majorly impressive cooking skills by cooking for over a decade with renowned chefs like Pierre Marchesseau and Firmin Arrambide. His eloquent literacy shines through in the text of the book, as much as his fine culinary skills show in the simplicity with which he writes each recipe. Btesh’s downto-earth use of language showcases how well he knows his craft because, as Albert Einstein once said “if you can’t explain it
simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” He obviously knows all of these dishes and the methods for cooking them so well he can, and does, break it down for the non-chef reader with such beautiful simplicity. The fusion of flavors and cooking methods Btesh puts in “French Kusina” is beautifully and very thoughtfully done. We live in an archipelago where seafood is fresh and plentiful. The Pasta Genovese recipe is, by far, the easiest and best for cost-estimation, than the other recipes in circulation. The Authentic Pasta Carbonara recipe is both easy and cost-efficient, as well as utterly delicious. This book is genuinely a keeper and I will refuse to cook for anyone who may attempt to steal it from me. Go get your own copy and leave mine alone.
Alma Anonas-Carpio Literary Editor
BusinessMirror
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BusinessMirror
Sunday, December 23, 2018 17
ARTS & CULTURE
“YIELD” DOCUMENTARY WINS BIG AS MAGINHAWA FILM FESTIVAL HONORS BEST OF THE FESTS
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By Seymour B. Sanchez
FILM which follows the lives of nine children across five years, growing up in dire rural poor conditions, bagged Best Picture, Best Direction and Best Cinematography during the awards night of the second Maginhawa Film Festival last December 9 at Ground Central (formerly Central Park, in front of Cinema Centenario), along food hub Maginhawa Street, Quezon City. Directed by Victor Tagaro and Toshihiko Uryu, “Yield” bested nine other full-length films in the Main Competition, including winners from Cinemalaya, Cinema One Originals, QCinema, CineFilipino and ToFarm Film Festival. An ethnographic inquiry on children forced to live without much hope of change, it previously won Best Documentary Film and Best Editing from FAMAS and Best Documentary from Gawad Urian this year. “Yield” focuses on the lives of Jomar, who silts the ocean for gold; siblings April, Ariel and Rommel, who are stonecutters; Alex and Glady Mae, who are both afflicted with hydrocephalus since birth; Essam, who is training to be a child warrior; and Edralen and Jason, who harvest and transport vegetables, with the latter even being crippled with spinal problems from their work. “Aside from the very commendable technical aspects of the film, it has also effectively presented different struggles of children, who have been denied any moment of freedom in their continuous efforts to address
their everyday needs. The film has thoroughly exposed and slapped us in the face with realities that we have chosen not to know and to set aside,” the Youth Jury explained. The Youth Jury is composed of Mapua film and communication lecturer Kristine Camille Sulit, industry practitioner and media faculty Jaerold Ramos, DLSU-Manila communication arts major and The LaSallian senior correspondent Eternity Ines, Asia Pacific College interdisciplinary and multimedia arts student Maricor “Coy” Capuyan and UP Visayas faculty Teddy “TJ” Tan, Jr. Sulit, who also ser ved as deputy festival director of the recently concluded Quezon City International Pink Film Festival, praised “Yield” for “its bravery in handling the subject matter with its unusual narrative, without resorting to ‘poverty porn’ and by merely following the lives of the children and seeing their transformation.” She added that the documentary won for its merits as “it could go head on with other films and managed to stand out in the competition.”
Meanwhile, Whammy Alcazaren’s “Never Tear Us Apart” won the Maginhawa Choice Award or Special Jury Prize, Best Production Design for Thesa Tang, and Best Editing for Ilsa Malsi. Shot entirely using iPhones and framed in a vertical format or 9:16 aspect ratio, the film is about an aging spy, a delusional wife, and a promiscuous son as they face the terrors caused by a monster known as The Shadow. Ricky Davao, Meryl Soriano and Jasmine Curtis-Smith star in the film, which previously took home Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Music, Best Editing, Best Production Design, and Best Cinematography at the 2018 Cinema One Originals Film Festival. Angeli Mariano bagged Best Sound Design and Music for Keith Deligero’s “A Short History of a Few Bad Things” (Cinema One Originals) while Dwein Baltazar won Best Screenplay for “Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus,” which she also directed for CineFilipino. Ybes Bagadiong brought home the Best Male Performance for his role as Michael Jordan Ulili, the son of a black basketball player and a Filipina, in “Dog Days” by Timmy Harn (QCinema). On the other hand, Junyka Sigrid Santarin bagged the Best Female Performance for her character as Eshal, a young Muslim girl who finds herself torn between love and violence, in the middle of a clan war in “Musmos na Sumibol sa Gubat ng Digma” (Unless the Water is Safer than the Land) by Iar Lionel Benjamin Arondaing (Cinemalaya). The other full-length film finalists in the Main Competition are “Aria” by Carlo Enciso Catu (Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University), Cin-
emalaya audience favorite “Liway” by Kip Oebanda, ToFarm Film Festival big winner “Tanabata’s Wife” by Choy Pangilinan, Lito Casaje and Charlson Ong, and Mindanao Film Festival Best Documentary winner “Sa Palad ng Dantaong Kulang” (In the Claws of a Century Wanting) by Jewel Maranan. In the Best Short Film race, Lady Vicente of Mapua Universit y edged 11 other fina lists for “effectively show ing how a woman struggles to free herself from the dictates of the societ y” in “A ng Pagtuklas sa Pagiging Mar ia Clara” (T he Discover y in the Rea lm of Being Mar ia Clara). The experimental film won over fellow Mapuan finalist “Yujin” by Eugene Torres; “Bahay-Bahayan” (Playhouse) by Colegio De San Lorenzo alumnus Brian Spencer Reyes; “Heist School” by Julius Renomeron, Jr. of University of Santo Tomas; “Huli” (The Last One) by Coco Oei of De La Salle University-Manila; “Nangungupahan” (Who Rents There Now?) by Karl Glenn Barit of University of the Philippines Film Institute; “Sa Gabing Tanging Liwanag ay Paniniwala” (Belief as the Light in Darkness) by Francis Guillermo of Far Eastern University; “Wala’y Humayan sa Tanglad” by Neil Angelo Briones of University of San Carlos; “In-Tay” by Leyvie Anne Santos and “Delta” by Eluigi Macalintal and James Garcia, both from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde; “Ngiti ni Nazareno” (The Smile of Nazareno) by Luisito “Louie” Lagdameo Ignacio; and lone animation entry “Jepoy” by Avid Liongoren. Maginhawa Film Festival director Hector Barretto Calma, stressed that Cinema Centenario, the event’s main organizer and of which he is a part-owner,
decided to empower the audience and differentiate itself from other film festivals by coming up with a Youth Jury in determining the winners. “By being part of the jury, they also represent the voice of their generation,” he said. The festival started last year as an exhibition of some of the best local films and as part of the efforts to drum up support in celebration of the centennial of Philippine cinema. “At first, we just wanted a bigger audience by developing more interest to watch these films. The competition can really help promote the films aside from the usual support that a festival gets. We also want to offer something different for our anniversary aside from screening films,” Calma explained. The Maginhawa Film Festival awards night was hosted by Jun Sabayton and actress Elora Españo. It also featured band performances by Better Days, Gracenote, Mojof ly and Moonstar88. T he competing films w ill be show n at t he 65 - seater Cinema Centenario and other a lter native screening venues UPFI Videotheque, Pineapple Lab and Cinema Silencio until December 30.
Seymour B. Sanchez Contributor
YIELD filmmaker Victor Tagaro flanked by Maginhawa Film Festival director Hector Barretto Calma and Youth Jury members
MAGINHAWA Film Festival winners
MAGINHAWA Film Festival director Hector Barretto Calma
NEVER Tear Us Apart filmmaker Whammy Alcazaren with Youth Jury member Jaerold Ramos
YOUTH Jury member TJ Tan with Cebuano filmmaker Keith Deligero
DOG Days filmmaker Timmy Harn with Youth Jury member KC Sulit
GUSTO Kita With All My Hypothalamus filmmaker-writer Dwein Baltazar with Youth Jury member Maricor Capuyan
BEST Short Film winner Lady Vicente with Youth Jury member Jaerold Ramos