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Amid clamor to end anticompetitive practices in power, cement, agriculture sectors

PCC zeroes in on rice-industry cartels T

By David Cagahastian

he Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is looking into the rice cartel, long believed to be in existence, but has been relatively unchecked by the government until now, when there appears to be increasing interest among the public to help stop anticompetitive practices of corporations.

Section 15 The provision of the Philippine Competition Act that the PCC will use in going after rice cartels

PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan has confirmed that there is an ongoing review of the agriculture industry, with focus on anticompetitive practices in the rice industry.

Upon assuming office, Balisacan had already vowed to investigate the rice cartel, and had apparently emboldened whistle-blowers to complain against the cartel’s predatory practices that have led to increased prices of rice and keeping small farmers in a vicious cycle of debt.

See “Rice,” A2

FARMERS perform the traditional backbreaking manual labor of transferring pregerminated rice seedlings to a wet field in Tabuk, Kalinga. Sjors737 | Dreamstime.com

Can the govt sustain its free education program?

By Butch Fernandez

F

unding for free education to all public-school students from grade school to college has been approved in the P3.35trillion 2017 national budget. But assuring continued annual allocations for scholars in State-run universities and colleges, also known as SUCs, is still a work in progress.

Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, one of the principal proponents of the free tuition plan, confirmed the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) still need to work on a new law providing clear guidelines for continued implementation of the tuition free program beyond 2017.

“That is the target, but for next year, tuition in SUCs will be completely free,” Gatchalian said. “If you pass the entrance exam, you won’t have to pay for enrollment in any of the 114 SUCs.”

He hastened to clarify that the tuition-free scheme is only for 2017 and, in the absence of remedial leg-

islation still to be crafted, there is yet no assurance it will already be implemented year-to-year.

Gatchalian reported that, in discussions between senators and congressmen, “we all agreed that first thing we will do when Congress resumes session is that we will work on passing a law to make sure the budget for higher-education tuition [in SUCs] is folded in the annual budget.”

How it came about

Education Committee Chairman Sen. Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV explained how the free tuition set-up in SUCs came about in the bicameral deliberations on the 2017 national budget bill.

In an earlier interview, Aquino said the lawmakers agreed to allot P8.3 billion for the SUCs for the free tuition of students for next year. He credited Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson Sr. and Sen. Loren B. Legarda, who steered deliberations on the budget’s nitty-gritty, for fighting for the free tuition funding.

“The rest of us supported their

PESO exchange rates n US 49.9220

initiative,” Aquino recalled. And, he added, the House of Representatives contingent in the bicameral panel also backed the Legarda-Lacson initiative. So, “for next year, that’s done.”

Finer points

But Aquino affirmed the consensus to “institutionalize” free tuition in SUCs. “Ang gusto po natin, in succeeding years, maging institutional[ized] na po ito, na libre talaga ang tuition fee sa ating mga eskuwelahan [where tuition is for free in every school].”

The senator disclosed that lawmakers will be crafting a Free Tuition Fee in SUCs Act that “we are hoping to pass by March of next year, so that

by June, the details will already be spelled out how to implement it for the succeeding years.”

To avert confusion, Aquino also clarified the proposed law will only cover tuition, which, he estimates, accounts for 40 percent of an SUC student’s fee, but not miscellaneous expense.

Continued on A2

The University of the Philippines Open University headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna

Ed davad

n japan 0.4226 n UK 62.0481 n HK 6.4333 n CHINA 7.1853 n singapore 34.5888 n australia 36.7126 n EU 51.9988 n SAUDI arabia 13.3139

Source: BSP (16 December 2016 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, December 25, 2016

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Can the govt sustain its free education program?

Continued from A1

Fees

For instance, he said, if a student enrolls in a course that includes laboratory subjects, it will require payment of laboratory fees. “Kasi ang binabayaran ng ating mga estudyante, mayroong tuition, mayroon miscellaneous expense. Kung ang kurso mo may laboratory, may laboratory expense po ito. Kung engineering ka, mas malaki ang ibabayad mo [Students pay for tuition, miscellaneous and laboratory fees, and if a student takes an engineering course, he has to pay more].”

Aquino explained that tuition is about 30 percent to 40 percent of the cost of student enrollment. “Kahit paano, malaking tulong pa rin ito, pero hindi po totally free [This could be a big help, but it’s not totally free of any expense],” Aquino added. “Hopefully, in the succeeding years, mas maging mura talaga at maging ganap na libre na ang ating tuition [Hopefully, we could drastically cut tuition rates until we can give them for free].”

The senator reported that, in the 2017 budget bill, Congress is allocating roughly about P8,000 per SUC student. “The average is somewhere there. May mga ibang SUCs, nasa P6,000 a year. In fact, last week, galing tayong Cagayan at Isabela, doon P3,000 per sem lang ang kanilang tuition. Noong nakaraang buwan naman, galing tayong Negros Occidental, P8,000 iyong kanilang tuition per sem. So

magkakaiba [There’s a noticeable difference in rates].”

Aquino added that, “hopefully, by March next year, pasado na ang batas at maging yearly budget item na ito and talagang malibre natin ito [and totally free the students of tuition expenses].”

Watchful

He said the remedial legislation will also address concerns that, while tuition will be free, miscellaneous fees will increase twofold.

“Kailangan talagang bantayan na hindi tataas ang ibang fees habang nililibre mo ang tuition [We should be watchful that other fees, aside from tuition, will not be raised].”

Gatchalian, who sits as vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, said the 2017 budget adjustment for SUCs is just “the first step out of the 10 steps to fulfill the free education plan.”

“Marami pang steps...dahil ito medyo biglaan na nailagay sa budget, so wala pang guidelines, walang batas, so mahalagang meron batas ito, para klaro kung saan gagamitin itong P8-billion budget [We still need to accomplish more to clarify on how this budget will be spent],” he added.

Gatchalian recalled a “big debate” in the Senate-House budget deliberations when Lacson made the proposal to amend the budget bill to increase allocation for SUCs.

“Actually, nagkaroon ng malaking debate tungkol sa ARMM [Autonomous Region in Muslim Min-

114

AQUINO: “Kailangan talagang bantayan na hindi tataas ang ibang fees habang nililibre mo ang tuition.”

The number of SUCs that will offer free tuition to students who hurdle an entrance exam next year

danao] budget at dahil nagkaroon ng malaking debate, napagkasunduan ng House of Representatives at Senado na ilagay na lang ito sa free education in college para lahat makinabang, whether nasa ARMM ka or ibang parte ng Pilipinas [There was debate on this free education legislation on whether it should be applied solely in the ARMM or throughout the country],” said Gatchalian, citing statistics that 5 million children are not enrolled due to poverty, while nearly half of 2.7 million college students enrolled in state universities are seeking assistance to be able to finish their studies.

“The P8.3-billion fund for free tuition in SUCs is a promising start, but there is still more work left to be done. In order to build on the gains in access to tertiary education which this program will certainly provide,” Gatchalian said.

The senator stressed Congress would need to “take the next step by permanently institutionalizing the free tuition policy through legislation.”

the philippine General Hospital, administered and operated by the University of the Philippines Manila, in Ermita, Manila

Rice...

Ed davad

continued from A1

Balisacan reaffirmed his commitment to dismantle the rice cartel, and announced in a recent news conference that there are many non-governmental organizations and concerned citizens who have lodged complaints.

Although the PCC has the power to investigate anticompetitive practices motu proprio, the PCC has called on the public to provide initial information that will jumpstart investigations into anticompetitive practices in the various sectors of the economy, thus making the public a partner in information gathering toward building a strong case against cartels and monopolies.

“These [reviews] are not coming from nowhere. They are requests for us to examine, to review and, of course, we would want to do more, we certainly would want to do more,” Balisacan said.

“We have also the motu proprio mandate to investigate anticompetitive practices but given the resources we have, we have to do everything. We have to prioritize our work, and make sure that these are well grounded in terms of analysis,” he added.

Other industries, which the PCC is looking into, are the cement and the power industries.

Balisacan declined to elaborate on the review of the international shipping industry, but confirmed that the review in the agriculture sector will focus on anticompetitive practices in the rice sector.

Details of the pending investigations into the two industries remain confidential to ensure that possible evidence of anticompetitive practices do not suddenly disappear when the PCC issues subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum against those accused of violating the Philippine Competition Act.

However, a source from the University of the Philippines’s School of Economics, who is well versed in the rice industry, said these possible anticompetitive practices include the intentional lowering by middlemen of their purchase prices of palay (unmilled rice) to make sure that these products are bought at the lowest possible price from the small farmers.

The small farmers are, thus, forced to sell at a low price because all of the middlemen, who are part of the cartel, or worse, working for just one big retailer, offer the same price for their produce.

It is a common misconception that the Philippine Competition Act only safeguards against anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions,

but it also guards against abuses of dominant position not only in terms of market share, but also in terms of economic standing.

Under Section 15 of the law, one of the unlawful practices that constitute abuse of dominant position is directly or indirectly imposing unfairly low purchase prices for the goods or services of marginalized farmers, fishermen micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises, and other marginalized service providers and producers.

Thus, an arrangement among middlemen to keep their purchase prices of palay down will keep small farmers at their mercy, giving them no choice but to sell low and no chance to get out of the debt trap.

Balisacan said the PCC has included in its activities for 2017 the partnership with academe throughout the country, so that the schemes to directly or indirectly effect these anticompetitive practices can be disseminated and explained to the public.

Other activities for 2017 include the establishment of systems of market surveillance, expansion of operations and services to areas outside of Metro Manila, and the conduct of regular market studies and research.

A4

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Four white nationalist groups in US raise millions with tax-exempt charities

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ATON ROUGE, Louisiana—The federal government has allowed four groups at the forefront of the white nationalist movement to register as charities and raise more than $7.8 million in tax-deductible donations over the past decade, according to an Associated Press review.

Already emboldened by Donald J. Trump’s popularity, group leaders say they hope the president-elect’s victory helps them ra i se e ven more mone y a nd gives them a larger platform for spreading their ideology.

Wit h benevolent-sound ing names such as the National Policy Institute and New Century Foundation, the tax-exempt groups present themselves as educational organizations and use donors’ money to pay for web sites, books and conferences to further their ideology. The money also has personally compensated leaders of the four groups.

New Century Foundation head Jared Taylor said his group raise money for the benefit of the “white race,” a mission taxpayers are indirectly supporting with the group’s status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recognized it, the Charles Martel Society, the National Policy Institute and VDare Foundation as charities more than a decade ago.

Samuel Brunson, a tax law professor at Loyola University in Chicago, noted the nonprofit status gives these groups a veneer of legitimacy and respectability.

“It should make people uncomfortable that the government is

subsidizing groups that espouse values that are incompatible with most Americans,” he said.

The IRS has tried to weed out nonprofit applicants that merely spread propaganda. In 1978 the agency refused to grant ta xexempt status to the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi group that published an anti-Semitic newsletter. And in 1994, a court upheld the denial of tax-exempt status for the Nationalist Movement, a Mississippi-based white nationalist group.

Some tax experts said the IRS is still feeling the sting from conservative critics over its 2013 concession that it unfairly gave extra scrutiny to tea party groups seeking tax exemptions.

“I don’t think they’re feeling very brave right now,” said Ellen Aprill, a tax law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

IRS Spokesman Michael Dobzinski said he can’t comment on individual nonprofits.

Louisiana State University law professor Philip Hackney, a former IRS attorney, said the agency receives tens of thousands of applications annually and doesn’t have the resources to scrutinize many of them.

“A lot of appl ic at ions f ly

Secret unit helped Brazilian company bribe govt officials

A

t Latin America’s biggest construction company, bribing government officials around the world became so common that a division was created devoted to tracking and facilitating kickbacks.

When wire transfers were inconvenient, workers in this division at Odebrecht of Brazil would organize deliveries of cashstuffed suitcases to secret locations.

The scheme lasted more than two decades and involved bribes to government officials in a dozen countries across three continents, but eventually it came undone.

On Wednesday, Odebrecht and its affiliated petrochemical firm, Braskem, pleaded guilty in US District Court in Brooklyn, New York, to charges that they paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes. Together the companies will pay at least $3.5 billion in penalties in a case brought by authorities in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland.

It is the biggest penalty for a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, surpassing a $800-million penalty paid by Siemens in 2008 to authorities in the US. US officials said Wednesday that their investigation was continuing and that individuals could also be prosecuted.

The settlement followed a broad investigation in Brazil into corruption at Petrobras, the state-owned oil company, that plunged the country into political crisis and spurred protests that led to the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff. While not implicated — Rousseff was convicted

by Brazil’s Senate in a separate matter—the plunge in popular support paved the way for her impeachment in August.

Odebrecht, which built the Miami International Airport and has operations in 27 countries including the US, China and Venezuela, has been accused of colluding with Petrobras executives and other contractors as well as Braskem to take more

than $1-billion in kickbacks from the oil company. Under the terms of the agreement with prosecutors, Odebrecht has said it will pay $2.6 billion, while Braskem has agreed to pay $957 million.

The Brazilian investigation into Petrobras, called “Operation Carwash,” a reference to a ser vice station that laundered money, has shaken the political establishment to the core. The authorities there have secured 112 convictions of 83 people ensnared in the investigation, including executives of Odebrecht. The scandal has left Brazil’s oil industry bereft of investment during the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Odebrecht built a secret internal group it called the Division of Structured Operations, where workers facilitated bribery payments through offshore entities as far-reaching as Antigua, prosecutors said. Sometimes, cash was delivered in packages or suitcases. The division included a separate communication system to hide its activities. Payments were made to members of Brazil’s congress, officials at Brazil’s two leading political parties and government officials in 12 countries including Angola, Argentina, Colombia, Panama and Mozambique.

In all, the company benefited to the tune of $1.4 billion, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

In Angola, for example, Odebrecht paid $50 million to local government officials to secure public works contracts. These projects resulted in profits of $261.7 million, prosecutors said. In Argentina, the company made $35 million in corrupt payments to intermediaries related to three infrastructure projects, knowing that some funds would be given to government officials. Its profits related to these payments were $278 million, prosecutors said. NYTNS

In a March 22, 2015, file photo, US writer Jared Taylor, author of the book White Identity speaks during the International Russian Conservative Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Taylor, a Yale University-educated, self-described “race realist, ” runs the New Century Foundation. The federal government has allowed four groups at the forefront of the white nationalist movement, including the New Century Foundation, to register as charities and raise more than $7.8 million in tax-deductible donations over the past decade, according to an Associated Press review. AP

t h r o u g h ,” H a c k n e y s a i d . “ They’re looking for easy ways to sort things out and kind of give rubber stamps.”

New Century Foundation, a Virginia-based nonprofit, has raised more than $2 million since 2007 and operates the American Renaissance online magazine, which touts a philosophy that it’s “entirely normal” for whites to want to be a majority race.

Taylor, a Yale-educated, selfdescribed “race realist,” said his group, founded in 1994, abides by all laws governing nonprofits.

“We certainly did not conceal

our intentions,” Taylor said. “I think we are educational in precisely the terms that Congress defined.”

Taylor, whose tax filing says he received $65,000 in compensation in 2015, said he isn’t raising money to enrich himself or his group.

“We hold it in trust for the white race,” he said. “We take this seriously. This is not something we do for fun or profit. This is our duty to our people.”

In a 2012 article, University of Georgia business professor Alex Reed argued the IRS “can and must” revoke the New Century

It should make people uncomfortable that the government is subsidizing groups that espouse values that are incompatible with most Americans.”—Brunson

Foundation’s charitable status.

Reed said the agency’s lax enforcement allowed other groups—including ones he labeled as white nationalist, antigay, anti-immigrant or Holocaust deniers—to qualify for tax breaks under the guise of operating educational organizations.

The Montana-based National Policy Institute is run by Richard Spencer, who popularized the term “alternative right” about a decade ago. The so-called alt-right is a fringe movement that has been described as a mix of racism, white nationalism and populism.

Spencer’s group raised $442,482 in tax-deductible contributions from 2007 through 2012. More recent fundraising figures for the group aren’t available in online tax returns, but Spencer said Trump’s candidacy already has boosted his group’s fundraising.

Spencer hosted a postelection conference in Washington that ended with audience members mimicking Nazi salutes after Spencer shouted, “Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!” Spencer has advocated for an “ethno-state” that would be a “safe space” for white people.

T he Georgia-based Charles Martel Society was founded by wealthy publisher William H. Regnery II, who also founded the National Policy Institute.

The group raised $568,526 between 2007 and 2014 and publishes The Occidental Quarterly. In an article last December, the journal’s editor applauded Trump’s campaign as a “game changer” for white people who oppose immigration and multiculturalism but said they “have a long way to go to really change the public discussion of race, Western culture, and Jewish influence.”

The Connecticut-based VDare

Fou nd at ion i s le d b y Pete r Brimelow, founder and editor of an anti-immigration website.

Brimelow, who spoke at the National Policy Institute’s conference last month, founded his nonprofit in 1999 and raised nearly $4.8 million between 2007 and 2015.

Brimelow has denied that his website is white nationalist but acknowledged it publishes works by writers who fit that description “in the sense that they aim to defend the interests of American whites.”

Brimelow received $378,418 in compensation from his nonprofit in 2007, accounting for nearly three-quarters of its total expenses that year. Brimelow says his salary that year was $170,000 and the rest reimbursed him for travel, office supplies and other expenses. From 2010 through 2015, VDare Foundation didn’t report any compensation directly paid to Brimelow. But, starting in 2010, the nonprofit began making annual payments of up to $368,500 to Brimelow’s Happy Penguins Llc.. for “leased employees.” Brimelow disclosed his ownership of that company on tax returns.

Chuck McLean, a senior research fellow for the nonprofit watchdog Guidestar, said the IRS could view those “independent contractor” payments to Happy Penguins Llc. as improper selfdealing unless the nonprofit can show they were “fair-market value transactions.” Brimelow says he set up that company to “protect” and pay his employees and himself.

Br imelow’s group reported modest fundraising increases for each of the past three years.

He is confident that trend would continue during Trump’s administration. “We have every reason to believe that it will,” he wrote in an e-mail. AP

Trump suggests Berlin attack affirms his plan to bar Muslims W

A SHINGTON—President-elect Donald J. Trump seemed to suggest on Wednesday that the deadly truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin vindicated his proposal during the presidential campaign to bar Muslims from entering the United States.

“You know my plans,” Trump said to reporters who asked whether the attack on Monday would cause him to re-evaluate his proposals to create a Muslim registry or to stop Muslim immigration to the United States. “All along, I’ve been proven to be right. One hundred-percent correct.”

It was not clear whether Trump was reaffirming his much-criticized call for a wholesale ban on immigration from Muslim countries or his subsequent clarification that he would stop only those entering from countries with a history of Islamic extremism. As with many of his pronouncements since his election last month, the remarks, delivered at his Mara-Lago estate in Florida, were cryptic and left room for broad interpretation. But hours later, one of his advisers said he was only restating his most recent position.

“President-elect Trump has been clear that we will suspend admission of those from countries with high terrorism rates and apply a strict vetting procedure for those seeking entry in order to

From right, Berlin’s mayor Michael Mueller, Daniela Schadt, the partner of German President Joachim Gauck, President Joachim Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leading politicians hold hands as they attend a memorial service in Berlin’s Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church on Tuesday for victims of a truck attack on a crowded Christmas market the day before, killing several people. AP

protect American lives,” said Jason Miller, the communications director for the transition. “This might upset those with their heads stuck in the politically correct sand, but nothing is more important than keeping our people safe.”

A Tunisian was being sought in the Berlin attack.

On Wednesday Trump and his national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, met with a delegation of generals and admirals from the

Pentagon’s joint staff at the president-elect’s Palm Beach club. A day earlier, Flynn met in Washington with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Trump’s nominees for secretary of defense, Gen. James N. Mattis; secretary of state, Rex W. Tillerson; and secretary of Homeland Security, John F. Kelly.

Advisers to Trump did not discuss the meetings or say how he planned to respond to the attack in Germany. In a Twitter post on

Monday, the president-elect said that terrorism was “getting worse” and that “the civilized world must change thinking!”

Trump’s position on banning Muslim immigrants has gone through various modifications since December 2015, when he first called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” NYTNS

Biodiversity Sunday BusinessMirror

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Sunday, December 25, 2016

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

A5

Developmentalism, conservation clash out at sea

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ANCUN, Mexico—“We don’t have access to marine areas, because most are protected areas or are in private hands. We indigenous peoples have been losing access to our territories, as this decision became a privilege of the state,” complained Donald Rojas, a member of the Brunka indigenous community in Costa Rica.

The complaint from the head of the non-governmental National Indigenous Council of Costa Rica was in response to the ban keeping the Brunka and Huetar people from entering five of their ancestral land and sea territories, after they were declared natural protected areas.

“That restricts access to and management of resources,” said Rojas, who is a member of one of the eight native peoples in that Central American country of 4.8 million people, where 104,000 indigenous peoples live on a combined area of 3,500 square km.

R oja s i s one of t he L at i n A mer ican ind igenous leaders w ho p a r t i c i p at e d i n d i f f e r ent events and forums in the Un ited Nat ion s Biod iversit y Conference, which has brought together nearly 6,500 delegates of governments, international organi zat ions, academia and civil society in Cancun, Mexico, from December 2 to 17.

Native people used to fish and gather food in these areas located near the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, within Costa Rica’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

104k The number of indigenous people out of the 4.8 million people who live in Central America

T h i s con f l ic t ref lec t s t he growing exploitation of EEZs by the states, which, at the same, time face an obligation to increase their protected marine areas and clean up the oceans— a contradiction that generates friction, and where the local communities are often victims.

This collision of interests has been seen during the global summit on biodiversity in the coastal city of Cancun, 1,200 kilometers southeast of Mexico City, where the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as well as other intergovernmental events and forums related to the preservation

Indigenous women in Ecuador demand protection of native corn during the global summit on biodiversity from December 2 to 17 in Cancun, southeast Mexico. Emilio Godoy/IPS

of the planet’s natural wealth, took place.

Coastal waters and continental shelves are increasingly exploited for fishing, agricultural, industrial or touristic purposes.

In the EEZ, which comprises a 200-nautical-mile strip (240 km) from the coast, traditional activities are carried out, such as fishing, extraction of oil and dredging of ports, that now extend to ultra-deep water drilling, underwater mining and extraction of minerals from polymetallic nodules.

Altogether, protected marine areas cover about 15 million square km or 4.12 percent of the world’s oceans, which is still far from the goal of 10 percent, although the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) highlighted in Cancun the increase achieved in recent years.

But protection of coastal and marine areas under national jurisdiction has already reached 10 percent, according to the “Protected Planet Report 2016” by UNEP and other international

and civil-society organizations.

However, only 0.25 percent of areas beyond national jurisd iction are protected, which demonstrates a significant gap in conservation efforts and underlines the urgent need to seek ways to address the challenges of expanding protected areas.

Goal 11 of the 20 points of the Strategic Plan for Biological Diversity 2011-2020, which includes the Aichi Targets, adopted in 2010 by the state parties to the CBD, states that “ by 2020, at least 17 percent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.”

Moreover, the 14th of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),

which the international community has set itself to achieve by 2030, proposes to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.” The 10 targets included in SDG 14 refer to healthy seas, the sustainable use of resources and the reduction of pollution.

“It’s a big challenge. Two approaches can be adopted. One is based on marine planning and management, and the other on selection of economic sectors and closed seasons,” said Christian Neumann, Marine Ecosystem Services project manager for the Norway-based non-governmental GRID-Arendal, which collaborates with UNEP. “The general problem is the overexploitation; it’s very difficult to put them [the two approaches] on balance. There is a growing understanding that in order to achieve sustainable development, a healthy ocean is needed,” he told Inter Press Service (IPS).

Construction projects highlight the contradiction between the exploitation of the EEZs and the preservation of healthy oceans and the rights of coastal inhabitants.

One example near Cancun is the expansion of the port of Veracruz, which is going ahead despite the threat it poses to the Veracruz Reef System, a natural protected area that spans coral reefs and subtidal aquatic beds, shallow marine waters, sandy beaches and mangroves.

The reef system was declared a national marine park in 1992.

T he projec t , presented a s the biggest port investment in the country in 100 years, includes the construction of two 7,740-meter-long breakwaters, an 800-meter-diameter harbor and nine kinds of dock terminals in a 9-sq-km area.

In Honduras the Misquito indigenous peoples are waiting to see the results of the oil exploration, which started in 2014 in the department of Gracias a Dios off the country’s Caribbean coast.

“It’s a fishing area, so there is an impact on this sector. We need to know what will happen with those jobs,” Yuam Pravia, a delegate from the non-governmental Moskitia Asla Takanka-Unity of the Moskitia in Honduras, told IPS during the conference.

In 2014 the British BG Group (which has since been taken over

by Royal Dutch Shell) began exploration in a 35,000-sq-km area granted in concession by the Honduran government.

In an attempt to safeguard their rights, the Misquito people set a series of conditions in order to allow the exploration to go ahead.

But since the company failed to comply, the Misquito and Garifuna people are considering withdrawing their approval.

In Costa Rica a dialogue began between the government and indigenous peoples to solve the question of territorial access.

“We are losing a fundamental basis of our indigenous identity.

Since the government does not acknowledge this, an entire biological and cultural system is being violated,” Rojas said.

For Neumann, energy, mining and waste are becoming serious issues. “We need to consider them. But we have the [question of] economic needs, as well. It’s difficult to think about alternatives for millions of fishermen,” he pointed out.

In Pravia’s opinion, governments should protect the rights of communities. “They just issue permits, without considering the impacts. There is a lack of information,” he complained. IPS

‘Complex’ climate fund procedures hindering devt

Families who live on “chars”—river islands formed from sedimentation—are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. This family wades through floodwaters left behind after heavy rains in August 2014 caused major rivers to burst their banks in northern Bangladesh. Naimul Haq/IPS

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H AK A—Though highly hopeful about achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) well ahead of the 2030 deadline, Bangladesh is upset over the procedures to access the Green Climate Fund (GCF), calling them “ridiculously complex” and warning that they may slow down its drive to achieve the SDGs. Bangladesh, one of the most v u l ne r a ble cou nt r ies i n t he world to climate change, wants to emerge as a star performer in implementing the SDGs, repeating its success with the earlier Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But officials say developed nations are not delivering funds to the affected countries as promised.

“The developed countries are mainly responsible for climate

change. They’ve demonstrated goodwill in terms of financing climate-change programs all over the world, but Bangladesh is very unfortunate, as it doesn’t get a fair share of it. The procedure of the [GCF] is ridiculously complex,” Bangladesh’s Finance Minister AMA Muhith said.

Muhith was inaugurating a two-day media capacity-building workshop, titled “Reporting on t he Susta inable Develop ment Goals (SDGs),” in Dhaka on December 18. The United Nat ions Fou nd at ion a nd Inter Press Ser vice (IPS) jointly organized the program under the theme “Working Together: W hy and how should the media report on the SDGs? ” Journalists from leading media outlets participated in the workshop.

IPS Director General Farhana Haque Rahman also spoke at the inaugural session, while UN Resident Coordinator and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Bangladesh Robert D. Watkins presented the keynote paper. IPS South Asia Representative Shahiduzzaman moderated the session.

According to Muhith, “ T he carbon emissions of developed countr ies are damag ing t he env i ron ment of sm a l ler economies. T hey must ensure we’re provided enough funds to mitigate this damage.”

The GCF was announced at the UN Climate Change Conference in Mexico in 2010. Developed nations pledged $100 billion a year to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation to

cope with the adverse impacts of climate change. Referring to the growing adverse impacts of climate change on Bangladesh, a worried Muhith said many poor people in rural Bangladesh have lost everything due to riverbank erosion across the country. “ We’re s p e nd i n g ou r ow n money to tackle climate change’s negative impacts, but we don’t get the support we should get as one of the worst sufferers of climate change,” he said.

According to a report by the Dhaka Tribune, an English daily, Bangladesh is set to lose $50 million from the GCF “ because of tension between the World Bank and donors, and lack of government commitment.

Even as the government is scrambling to find funds for dealing with climate change impacts, donors have decided to pull the plug on the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund.”

Despite t hese obstac les, Muhith remains upbeat about Ba ng l adesh ’s m a rc h for wa rd from the MDGs. He said Bangladesh would be able to achieve the SDGs well before the stipulated time of 2030.

“I personally think Bangladesh will certainly reach the targets well before 2030, although the procedure to initiate the development takes time,” he said.

Bangladesh ’s initiatives to eradicate poverty aim to leave no one behind, said the country’s finance minister, adding that it would be quite possible for some other countries to reach the targets ahead of 2030, as well.

Bangladesh received a UN award for its remarkable achievements in attaining the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in reducing child-mortality rate in 2010. IPS

Mount Bangkaan in Tanay, Rizal, is a part of the mountain range that surrounds the Kaliwa Watershed, where Laiban Dam, a possible second water source for Metro Manila, is located.

Volunteers from the 10 member-firms of the Yuchengco Group of Cos. visit this area every quarter to undertake activities related to tree growing and ensure that 50,000 trees fill the area by 2020.

YGC Earth Care Proj in greening of 100 hectares on Tanay mountain

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or years, Yuchengco Group of Cos. (YGC) has accomplished various corporate social-responsibility activities in response to the needs of the times; but none as extensive as the YGC Earth Care Project.

In its inception during YGC’s centennial anniversary, the YGC Earth Care Project became the group’s partnership venture with the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Samahan ng mga Magsasaka ng San Andres Inc. (Samasai), an organization of indigenous peoples in Tanay. In order to show support for the government’s National Greening Program (NGP), YGC chose to engage in a multiphased tree-planting project.

The DENR allotted a 100-hectare planting area on Mount Bangkaan in Barangay San Andres, Tanay, Rizal. Tree-planting activities were accomplished in different phases since the project started in 2011.

A total of 10-member institutions of YGC, namely, RCBC, RCBC Savings Bank, RCBC Bankard, Malayan Insurance, Mapua, EEI Corp., Honda Quezon City, Isuzu Manila, House of Investment and

YGC Corporate Services Inc., fully supported the project to ensure that 50,000 trees will fill the entire Mount Bangkaan by 2020.

Through the years, YGC has acknowledged the importance of the prime areas surrounding Mount Bangkaan and its relationship to the people of Metro Manila. It is a part of the mountain range that surrounds the Kaliwa Watershed where Laiban Dam is located. Incidentally, Laiban Dam is being considered as a possible second water supply source for Metro Manila.

The tree-planting project has also boosted the enthusiasm of the YGC employees on environment protection and the importance of greening Mount Bangkaan. There are more than 100 volunteer employees supported by eight katutubo (indigenous people) families from Samasai who take care of the seedlings in order to ensure that the trees will grow and green the mountain by 2020.

The group visits Mount Bangkaan on a quarterly basis, rain or shine, to undertake tree-growing related activities like strip clearing, fertilizer application, firebreak establishment and replanting of trees, if necessary.

Faith A6

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Sunday

Editor: Lyn B. Resurreccion

The 12 Days of Christmas

By Corazon Damo-Santiago

First of two parts

Fr. Amado Picardal tells church volunteers and clergy in the Archdiocese of Palo about the key role the Basic Ecclesial Communities play in the Church’s evangelization efforts. Eileen Ballesteros

Faithful urged: Return to prayer, sacraments during Year of Parish

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ARIGARA, Leyte—Palo Archbishop John Du gave a stirring message on the need to return to prayer and the Sacraments during the Year of the Parish during the archdiocesan launching of the yearlong event on December 10 at the Holy Cross Church in this town.

“Let us return to prayer, let us receive her Son in Holy Communion, and let us offer reparation for our sin,” he urged.

These are necessary, the prelate said, for the renewal of parish communities in order to better respond to the challenge of “restoring all things in Christ.”

Underscoring 2017 as the centennial year of the apparition of Our Lady to three children in Fatima, Portugal, he called on the laity to return to Jesus by the threefold paths of prayer, daily Communion and reparation.

Community life

Du also talked about the need for parishes to build on the community life fostered by the Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC).

“Our focus will be the building

100 The number of years that is marked in 2017, after the apparition of Our Lady to three children in Fatima, Portugal

of a parish that is truly a faith communit y immersed in t he lives of the people, specifically the Basic Ecclesial Community.”

“My dear brothers and sisters, this Year of Parish as a Commu nion of Commu nit ies, we

are challenged to discern more deeply not on the structure of governance in our parishes, we should also be mindful of quality of faith life in the parish, the fellowship, the belongingness, the participation experienced by its members,” the prelate said.

Meanwhile, Fr. Gilbert Urbina, episcopal vicar for planning of the Archdiocese of Palo, called all delegates present as “agents of renewal.” “ The BECs, small Christian community after the family, will be witness to our faith,” said the priest.

‘Firm foundation of faith’

“Renewal will be stronger if we do it as community,” he added.

Fr. Randolf Raagas, archdiocesan BEC Program director for Eastern District, rallied the members of the BECs to help their respective parish priests ensure that all the members of the community will have a “firm foundation of faith.”

A community will be strong to stand against evil, he said, if it is strong and united.

Fr. Amado Picardal, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)-BECs Episcopal Committee executive secretary who was a keynote speaker at the launching of the Year of the Parish as Communion of Communities

in the archdiocese, emphasized the missionary role of the laity.

Be evangelized first

According to the priest, also known as the “ biking priest,” as partakers of the prophetic, priestly and kingly mission of the Church as people, the laity should learn how to evangelize.

“Before we evangelize, we must first be evangelized, have the personal conversion, denounce and resist evil,” he explained.

Picardal also challenged everyone to imagine what will happen after 2017 to the programs implemented during the Year of the Parish.

He encouraged par ishes to i nc lude i n t he i r pl a n s a nd prog ra m s t he su st a i n abi l it y of a l l ef for t s m ade du r i ng t he yea rlong e vent.

Picardal also encouraged Parish Pastoral Councils and BECs to consider the three strategies formulated by the CBCP-BEC for the celebration: formation, celebration and legacy.

These programs, he added, must go beyond catechism but actua l involvement in issues affecting society, such as care for the environment, disaster preparedness and issue-based initiatives for the protection of women and children.

Eileen Nazareno-Ballesteros/CBCP News

meaning of The Eucharist and Christmas

By Fr. Francis Ma. Tiquia, oath, sthl, ma

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dvent is from Latin advenio, meaning to come to. Parousia is its Greek term.

Advent is preparing for Christ’s coming on His birthday. Christ came on earth more than 2,000 years ago. He was born of Mary in Bethlehem. But Christ also comes to us in the sacraments.

For Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, it is in His coming to us in liturgy, especially in the Eucharistic liturgy, or Holy Mass. He comes to us in a very special way, most particularly in Holy Communion.

In the Eucharist, we have our Lord with us truly and really present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, according to Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The late Fr. John Hardon, SJ, calls the Eucharist as the Totus Christus, or the total Christ, said in With Us Today.

We might ask, as do many of our brothers who don’t share our belief on the real presence of Christ in the White Host: “How can a bread become Jesus Christ Himself?”

Well, it is by God’s will and design that that bread becomes Jesus, our Lord and King.

In Matthew 26:26-28, it is said that the

Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist. This was the first Mass or Thursday of the Lord’s Supper in anticipation of the sacrifice that Christ would accomplish on the following day, Good Friday.

When Christ holds the Bread and says, “this is My Body,” and in the Chalice, “this is my Blood,” we have to take note of the fact that that body, or corpus, means person. This was the prevailing meaning of the term body during the time of Christ. Body means person.

In effect, the Lord was saying to the Bread: “This is my person, this is Me.” Of all the things that He can be, He decided to become Bread.

“Bread of Presence,” transliterated from the Hebrew lehem ha panim, is one of the types of the Eucharist in the Old Testament.

It was worth noting that the word panim can be interpreted either as “face,” “presence” or “person,”said Roy Gane in Bread of the Presence and Creator in Residence, in Vetus Testamentusm 42, No. 2 (1992), 180.

The show-bread which was placed on the table mediates to the people of Israel as the presence of God. In the New Testament, our Lord calls Himself the “Bread of Life.” He said, “I am the Bread of Life; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world,” according to John 6:51-52.

Incidentally, Christ was born in Bethlehem, from the word bethel which means “house of Bread.” Christ became man in Bethlehem but in His Divine decree, He would also become bread. Hence, He opted to be born in Bethlehem as also foretold by the prophets of old. The logic and connection was obvious.

Jesus, our Lord, would become the “Bread of Life.”

The Bread, which is the Eucharist or the White Host that the priest lifts up after prayer of consecration in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is none other than our Lord Jesus, true God and true Man. Every time we attend and participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and when we receive Him worthily (in the state of grace or free from mortal sin) in Holy Communion, we can say it is Christmas. Christ comes to us, He is the Emmanuel—God with us, according to Matthew 1:23.

Every day can be an experience of Christmas if we receive Him in the form of the Bread in Holy Communion. Visiting Him in the Perpetual Adoration chapel where the monstrance (from Latin monstrare, which means to expose) is located and inside of which is the White big Host, is, likewise, an experience of Christmas.

In the monstrance, our Lord is exposed for us so that we can pray to Him, worship Him, thank Him and ask for any graces and blessings we need.

According to Saint Pius X, Eucharistic devotion, especially by attending Mass and visiting Jesus in the Adoration chapel, is the most profitable, the sweetest and the noblest of all the devotions because it contains Jesus Himself, the author and source of all graces.

He further said that Eucharistic devotion is the fountain head of all the other devotions.

For us, Catholics, the greatest treasure that we have in our Church is none other than Jesus Himself, who is inside the Tabernacle where the Sacred Hosts are placed. Those White Hosts is Jesus truly and really present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, according to Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1374.

Hence, for us Catholics, every day can be an experience of Christmas if we become Eucharistic-centered by always going to Holy Mass and receiving Him in Holy Communion and by visiting Him in the Adoration chapel.

May Mother Mary and Saint Joseph teach us and help us to recognize Christ truly present in the Sacred Host, the Blessed Eucharist.

God bless.

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ing Henry VIII broke off ties with the Vatican. The reason: the pope refused to grant him permission to divorce Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn.

Henry VIII set up the Church of England and outlawed Catholicism. Thus, from 1558 to 1829 Roman Catholics were not allowed to practice their faith.

Some who openly defied the ban were martyred. Some wily Jesuits, according to Megan Mckenna in Advent, Christmas and Epiphany wrote the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”

A coded Catechism lesson, it was sung out loud as an outline of basic beliefs of the faith on Christmas Day until January 6, the Feast of Three Kings, which was then the end of the Christmas season.

Evidence points to the North of England, specifically Newcastle upon Tyre, as the origin of the carol.

A cumulative song, each verse is built on the previous verses: On the first day of Christmas My true love sent to me A partridge in a pear tree Second day–Two turtledoves Third day–Three French hens Fourth day–Four colly birds Fifth day–Five gold rings Sixth day–Six geese a-laying Seventh day–Seven swans a swimming Eighth day–Eight maids a-milking Ninth day–Nine drummers drumming 10th day–Ten pipers piping 11th day–Eleven ladies dancing 12th day–Twelve lords a-leaping

Christ is the partridge in a pear tree

The inv isible, incomprehensible God, unveiled His face on the first Christmas Day. And He looks like us.

This is the mystery, the wonder, the message, the joy and the reason we celebrate Christmas.

W hat humility for the Son of God, the Father, to come as a helpless Baby to a world He made, who “in Him we live and move and have our being,” as said in Acts 17:28, to “shine on those who are in darkness and death’s shadow,” and then “guide men into the path of peace,” according to Luke 1:79.

Old and New Testaments

The bible is the only “infallible source of theological truth.” Every true doctrine of the church can be found in the bible. It is divided into the Old and New Testaments.

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew between 900 BC and 160 BC, and is composed of 46 books. It records Yahweh’s dealing with the chosen people—the Israelites and their response to Him. The New Testament consists of 27 books written in Greek between 50 AD and 140 AD. The gospels written by Luke, John, Mark and Matthew, plus the Acts of the Apostles, Epistles and Book of Revelation are part of the New Testament.

The New Testament revolves around Jesus Christ, his person, life, death and resurrection to emphasize his relationship as Lord and Savior of man.

As Saint Augustine says, the New

Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is unveiled in the New, thus a unity in the two testaments.

Theological virtues

The three theological virtues are faith, hope and charity, virtues which relate directly to the divine nature of God. As the foundation of Christian moral activity, they are infused to the soul by God. Faith is belief in God and all that He has revealed to men and Holy church for Christians’ beliefs.

Hope is confidence to expect eternal life, the fullness of glory with God and the graces to merit it.

Charity is the greatest of all virtues. It is love for God above all things and of others for love of God. It is the virtue that “binds everything together in perfect harmony,” says in Colossians 3:14.

The virtues dispose Christians to live in relationship with the holy Trinity. They have God for their origin, motive, object—God known by faith, God hoped in and loved for his own sake, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1840.

Evangelists of the New Testament

The four evangelist of the New Testament wrote differently. Matthew’s style is that of a teacher; Mark, a preacher; John, a theologian, and Luke, a historian.

They wrote on the different aspects of Christ’s life on earth. Matthew emphasized Christ’s sermons, Mark on miracles, John on doctrines and Luke on parables.

Mark was dragged by horses until he died in Alexandria, Egypt. Luke was hanged in Greece. Matthew was slain with a sword in Ethiopia.

John was put in a cauldron of boiling oil, escaped death miraculously and banished to Pathomos where he died of old age.

Pentateuch

The first five books of the bible is collectively called Pentateuch, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

To Jews, this is the Law or Torah.

The Pentateuch is the story of “Israel’s age-old relationship with God.” Yahweh to the Jews is God who revealed himself to Moses as savior and Israel’s “unsteady response—murmurings, rebellions and infidelities,” until the Israelites reached the Promised Land and the birth of the nation Israel.

Creation of the world

God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. The story of creation is the origin of the world chronicled in Genesis.

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters, according to Genesis 1:1-2.

On the first day, God separated light from darkness, called light, day; and darkness, night. Then, God created the waters, plants, sun, moon and stars, birds, land animals and man.

On the first three days God shaped creation and on the fourth to the sixth day, he populated His creation.

He rested on the seventh day.

To be concluded

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Newcoast Boracay: The other side of the world’s 24/7 island

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Sunday, December 25, 2016 A7

D.O.T. launches Pasko sa Intramuros

By Marane A. Plaza

rom bangin’ island parties, stylish yacht cruises, sunbaking sessions on its famous white sand to adrenalineinfusing water sports, Boracay is, indeed, the world’s 24/7 island.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo (right) shows candidates of 2017 Ms. Universe what Filipino Christmas is all about by taking them around the booths at Pasko sa Intramuros, a month long event celebrating the Christmas season ongoing at the Intramuros, Manila.

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Paradise Cove is the private beach spot, offering solitude from the party crowd of the island.

With picturesque Sibuyan Sea on the background, players enjoy a round of golf.

Its pristine beach matched with fine white sand is surely a delight for global and local travelers alike, but more than anything, the island lifestyle that Boracay exudes is what has gotten urbanites to coming back for more.

Dubbed recently by international magazine Conde Nast Traveler as No. 1 on its Top 10 Destinations to Watch List, as well as the World’s Best Island, Boracay is indeed a fave spot for tourists and locals who seek and love both the quiet, charming vibe of paradise and the lively island life.

Just when you thought you got Boracay all figured out, there is another side of this world-class beach destination. And travel insiders and lifestylista call it the Newcoast Boracay. Megaworld Corporation and Global Estate Resorts Inc. are developing this other side of Boracay, which is being buzzed as the game-changer, or “The Next Big Thing in the Philippine Tourism.”

The landmark haven right now in this new side of Boracay is the 150-hectare luxury resort with private beach coves and accommodations that seamlessly blend into the lush landscape—Fairways & Bluewater Newcoast Boracay. This gorgeous, contemporary paradise is famous for being the only property in the island of Boracay Island having a lavish golf course.

Piece of heaven in Newcoast Boracay

Fairways & Bluewater, the largest resort in Boracay sitting on a 150-hectare property, recently concluded its biggest expansion

project to date. During the twoyear development period, three new villas with over 200 rooms have been added to the landscape of the property. The resort currently has an inventory of more than 600 rooms.

Aside from the rooms, new amenities are also found within the cluster. The Laguna Café is an al-fresco restaurant with an unobstructed view of the golf course while the Laguna Pool has a stunning swimming pool bordered by a landscaped garden and decked with modern water features.

With the property strategically located at the center of the resort’s 18-hole par-72 championship golf course, guests are treated to a view of a refreshing carpet of green and the resort’s lush surroundings.

Some of the rooms directly look out to the Laguna Pool, providing a scenic view for the guests, as well.

Various types of accommodations are offered by the three new villas: Arcadia offers superior rooms, while Cypress boasts of a room lineup from superior to premier with a pool view, to the spacious family suite. The Alameda Lobby exclusively serves guests of the two villas.

Monterey, considered as the premium villa in the whole property, offers superior, premier, connecting rooms and the sophisticated Fairways Suite.

Guests at the Monterey villa can expect personalized service as it has a dedicated front desk and housekeeping staff that are available 24 hours a day. A true showpiece structure, various ameni-

Guests can choose from more than 600 rooms in Newcoast Boracay.

ties can be found in the five-story Monterey villa: modern elevators, a play pen, a modern gym, a sports bar and play lounge, a business center, function rooms, outdoor play area and the grand ballroom.

game in the Graham Marsh designed 18-hole par-72 golf course offers the opportunity to catch a view of the Sibuyan Sea and the resort’s thriving flora.

A relaxing and exciting paradise

After an exciting outdoor adventure, guests can wind down and relax in any of the resort’s two spas: Bluewater Spa, which offers traditional massages in its menu of services, and Maris Spa, which charms with its beachside cabanas.

They can also opt to take a quick timeout in the resort’s health and wellness facility, which features a Jacuzzi, steam bath and sauna.

The rooms in the resort’s over 20 villas also tempt guests to stay indoors. Spacious by Boracay standards, Fairways & Bluewater’s over 600 rooms offer a view of the golf course, the nearby pools or the lush gardens found in the property. When the night comes, they can cap the day by taking part in the resort’s themed events: Pool Party, Acoustic Nights, Mongolian Feast or Street Food Fiesta.

Aside from the new cluster, Fairways & Bluewater also completed another masterpiece: the Ventana Pool and Restobar. Located on top of a hill, the newest infinity pool is a major attraction at Fairways & Bluewater. Overlooking the breathtaking Sibuyan Sea, the Ventana Pool dazzles with its stunning colored fountains, Jacuzzi, cabanas and delightful pool bar offerings.

Prior to the completion of the Ventana and Laguna pools, four pools already existed in the property: the Cabana Pool, Lucia Pool, Infinity Pool and the Atlantis Pool. Having four pools in the property offers guests the convenience of going for a refreshing swim at their leisure. Fairways & Bluewater takes pride in being a water lover’s paradise. Aside from its six swimming pools, the resort also features its very own private white-sand beach.

The Paradise Cove is exclusive to guests of Fairways & Bluewater.

This makes it perfect for guests to appreciate a quiet and serene swim away from the usual sound and crowd of Boracay.

For the more adventurous travelers, exciting water activities can be arranged. These include parasailing, Jet Skiing, banana-boat rides, kayaking and scuba diving among others. Fairways & Bluewater’s exclusive surroundings can also be appreciated through the resort’s various land activities, such as the horseback riding and Segway rides.

High-altitude adventure can also be experienced through the resort’s zipline and cable-car rides.

Fairways & Bluewater is also the perfect place for golf enthusiasts who want to experience an exciting game with a stunning view. A

Finding relaxation

A gustatory adventure

A total of four restaurants with spectacular views are found at Fairways & Bluewater. The La Terraza is an al-fresco restaurant that overlooks the resort’s private white-sand beach. The Veranda, located near the Veranda grand lobby, offers relaxed dining and a view of the golf course.

From the new cluster comes the Laguna Café and Monterey Café.

A cozy dining destination with an al fresco dining setup, the Laguna Café presents Modern Asian cuisine in its menu, while Monterey Café is a sophisticated air-conditioned restaurant that offers international dishes to its diners.

Pool bars were also built for the convenience of the resort’s guests.

The Cabana, Lucia and Ventana pool bars are swim up bars that offer popular drinks and beverages.

These pool bars also make the pool areas ideal for a relaxing day with family or friends.

Laguna Pool has the latest water features.

hristmas in the Philippines is truly a unique experience. With the longest Christmas season in the world, from September to Epiphany or The Feast of the Three Kings in January, the Philippines definitely has Christmas spirit. What’s more, every region has something to offer when it comes to making Christmas more magical, whether it’s Pampanga’s luminous parol and lanterns, succulent Cebu lechon, unique Christmas ornaments from Bacolod made of shells, or jars of ube or strawberry jam from Baguio as gifts. Now, the magic of Christmas in the Philippines comes together under one roof at Pasko sa Intramuros, running the entire month of December at Gen. Luna, corner Postigo Streets in Intramuros, Manila.

Organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT), Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), and the Intramuros Administration, Pasko sa Intramuros is a exhibit and bazaar featuring each region’s unique and best finds. Exhibit goers can discover more about the different regions of the country by trying out food from the different provinces, as well as through buying their products.

The famous fruit and vegetable farms of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) come to Manila through the CAR booth, which feature its famous food products, such as strawberry and ube jam, as well as weaved items from the region’s master weavers. The Ilocos region is also ready to showcase their unique offerings such as furniture and wood items and food

products, such as chichacorn and empanada. The Cagayan Valley booth also offers unique items, such as longganisang Tuguegarao, chicharabao and peanut bars.

Region 3 adds their own magic to Christmas with Pampanga lanterns and parol, preserved meats and handicrafts. The Southern Tagalog region also gets a spotlight with its array of products including fruit pies, Batangas coffee, Liliw, Laguna shoes and Paete woodcraft. The Bicol region is also set to show that they offer more than spicy food and great beaches with products, such as abaca items, weaving and pili tarts. The sugar mills of Western Visayas are the star of their booth with food items, such as piaya and napoleones to be showcased aside from its shell craft. The Central Visayas region is also set to showcase its rich cultural and culinary history with items such as otap, lechon, peanut kisses, guitars and dried fruits. Meanwhile, the Eastern Visayas region booth offers items, such as moron; weaved items, such as baskets; and Bahalina Wine. The Zamboanga Peninsula is set to showcase their weaving and food products, while the Davao Region will feature their famous durian and its derivative products. Jewelry from Mindanao will also be featured.

Aside from the exhibit, there will also be lots of fun for the whole family with activities, such as theater and drama performances, cultural dance presentations, performances by bands, street performers, regional parades and games.

Pearl Farm Beach Resort Home for the Holidays Packages

Pearl farm Home for the Holidays Package

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reakaway from the hustle and bustle of the city and schedule a year-end holiday reward at the Pearl Farm Beach Resort, where you and your family can spend the season in high spirits with its special Home for the Holidays Packages covering the dates from December 23, 2016, to January 2, 2017.

Take your experience to a whole new level and stay in a world-class accommodation for two at the Hilltop Room for only P13,900 per night.

You can also choose to snooze all your worries at the calming Mandaya House and wake up to a captivating sunrise for only P15,900. But if you wish to stay in a room with an unobstructed view of the sea, sunset and Mount Apo, a stay at the Samal House will surely fuel the excitement for only P16,900. What’s more, you can take it up a notch and upgrade your room to a Samal Suite for only P22,000, and marvel at the glistening cerulean water as your daily view. But if you’re thinking of a dreamy destination for your whole family, the spacious and secluded Malipano Villa has got you covered for only P63,000 and complete with a speedboat on standby to fully access the resort’s deluxe facilities. Since the aim of your Yuletide break is to recharge and

get your life back in order, look forward to your daily meals that are brimming with wide array of wholesome and fresh ingredients. Since the resort is also a hotbed of tourism for its exciting and exhilarating water sports, you can always choose to boost your stay with Jet Ski, parasailing and diving. And whether you’re having a moment with yourself at the Mandaya Spa for one of its signature treatments or taking it further with your family by signing up a tour at Davao’s top sights and attractions, there’s something absolutely for everyone here.

Don’t miss, as well, the resort’s Christmas and New Year’s Eve festive dinner celebration for only P2,500 net per person, featuring a bounty of ocean-fresh harvest, traditional Yuletide favorites and a spread of sweets prepared extra special by The Pearl Farm Beach Resort’s kitchen team for every family. With Pearl Farm Beach Resort’s unrivaled setting and signature hospitality, it’s your luxurious home for the holidays that’s guaranteed to refresh and recharge every step of the way!

Pearl Farm Beach Resort is gorgeously nestled at Kaputian, Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte.

ries outside the aircraft as select airports allow Emirates business- and first-class passengers to rest in Emirates lounges, while waiting for

their connecting flights. Chauffeur services are also offered to business- and first-class travelers from their hotel to the airport.

Emirates welcomes the resurgence of the golden age of air travel

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ostalgia for the putative golden age of aviation is constantly being renewed as photos of glamorous passengers with their top of the line suitcases and accepting drinks while on a flight in the 1950s to 1960s have captured the imaginations of many. It’s no wonder that until now, many look back to the past decades and herald it as the golden age of air travel.

But as more and more airlines like Emirates are coming out with more travel options, continuous aircraft innovations and five-star in-flight customer service, the industry is in the

middle of a resurgence of the golden age of air travel. For its Philippine flights alone, Emirates provides utmost comfort and unrivalled travelling luxuries to passengers from Manila, Clark and Cebu bound for Dubai and beyond.

Aboard an Emirates flight in Economy Class, passengers have the ability to stay connected through the free Wi-fi and in-seat power. The airline also doesn’t compromise on comfort as each seat offers ample leg room, a sought-after feature.

Dining on gourmet dishes is possible in Economy Class, allowing passengers to start

exploring their destination even before the arrival with delicious dishes that come from the heart of the region’s culture. Comfort Filipino food, such as adobo, is also available. You can match your meal with a glass of wine, or any of the complimentary beers, spirits, and hot and cold beverages.

Meanwhile, Emirates’ Business Class is designed to keep passengers inspired. As soon as you settle in to your seat, which reclines into a fully flatbed topped with a comfortable mattress, you will find extras that help cultivate not only your passion but also encourage relaxation. In-

seat power and a side table space give you more than enough to finish work even in the air. For refreshments in between finishing that report, you only have to turn to your personal mini-bar.

In both classes, passengers can explore over 2,500 channels of entertainment on Emirates’ award-winning in-flight entertainment system. From hit music and TV series to blockbuster movies, games and audio books, its entertainment system lets you explore worlds you would not otherwise find on a map, keeping you contentedly preoccupied from take-off to touchdown. Emirates also extends these luxu-

A8 Sunday, December 25, 2016

Sports

BusinessMirror

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

SOUND IS NO BARRIER A

By Ben Rothenberg The New York Times

SAN, South Korea—To improve its chances in the boys’ team tennis event at the National Sports Festival in Asan, Mapo High School in Seoul brought in a ringer from Jecheon, two hours southeast of the capital.

His name was Lee Duck-hee, and he had first caught the coach’s eye when he was in elementary school.

Mapo High’s players pressed against the fence along the dusty hardcourts and chanted in support, while Lee, 18, crushed forehand winners past his bespectacled opponent in the final. The 6-1, 6-1 win took little time—no surprise, as Lee is the best teenage player in South Korea, and a professional ranked 143rd in the world.

“Seeing the level of skill, power and returning is totally different than high-school level,” said Jeong Yeong-sok, his doubles partner at the tournament.

Lee is exceptional among professionals, too. He is deaf, and no deaf player in the sport’s history has reached these heights.

In tennis, simply seeing the ball is believed to be insufficient. Hearing the ball, top players say, enables faster reactions—a crucial advantage in a sport where powerful serves and groundstrokes mean that every tiny fraction of a second matters.

“There are so many different spins in tennis, and I can hear a lot of them coming off someone’s racket because I know what they all sound like,” said Katie Mancebo, a college tennis coach and volunteer coach for the US deaf tennis team. “But a deaf player doesn’t know that sound, so they have to focus more on what the other person is doing, how they’re making contact and what the ball looks like as it’s coming over the net.”

Joo Hyun-sang, tennis coach at Mapo High School, said he was skeptical of Lee’s potential at first.

“When I met him the first time, I had certain doubts that being deaf would prevent him from being a great player,” he

said. “But I grew confident from watching him develop and improve. I was very confident he could do it.”

Though already the second-highest-ranked player of professionals 18 and under, Lee has not fully broken through. He has yet to play a main-draw match at an Association of Tennis Professionals tournament or a Grand Slam, though he reached the final of a Challenger event, the level below the ATP World Tour, for the first time in September in Taiwan, and has made two semifinals since.

But if he continues to rise, Lee will debunk much of what is understood about the intricacies of tennis.

A QUICKER REACTION

STUDIES have shown that humans react more quickly to an auditory stimulus than a visual one. According to research compiled by the National Institutes of Health last year, the mean reaction time to visual stimuli is 180 to 200 milliseconds, and 140 to 160 milliseconds for auditory stimuli.

At Wimbledon in 2003, Andy Roddick said his first reaction to an opponent’s shots comes from his hearing, as does his initial information about the shot coming toward him.

“You can hear how hard someone hits a ball,” Roddick said. “If they hit it hard and flat, it really makes a popping sound. That’s maybe one of the first things that tells you rather than actually seeing the ball. Like trying the drop shot, all of a sudden, I hear it not come off the racket. It’s part of the reaction process. I think you need to hear the ball pretty clearly to play at your highest level.”

Todd Perry, an Australian former doubles player who works as a coach, said that he often listens to his players’ shots to hear how strokes can be improved.

“While coaching, you can hear the clean hit off the racket, and you can change things to make sure you get the clean hit off the racket, which is all just through sound,” he said. “If you watch different people, the sound from different players is quite different if you put your focus in on that.”

In his seminal 1974 book The Inner Game of Tennis, W. Timothy Gallwey preached attentiveness to the sounds of the sport, describing the feedback loop created by close

attention to the sounds of one’s own strokes to replicate the “crack” of a successful shot.

“I learned how effective the remembering of certain sounds can be as a cue for the built-in computer within our brains,” Gallwey wrote. “While one listens to the sounds of his forehand, he can hold in his memory the sound that results from solid contact; as a result, the body will tend to repeat the elements of behavior which produced that sound.”

Martina Navratilova has been one of the most strident proclaimers of the importance of sound to her tennis. She has called excessive grunting “cheating” because she thinks it unfairly disguises the sound the ball is making off the racket.

At the 1993 US Open, she blamed planes overhead for interfering with her play.

“You really depend on hearing the ball being hit, particularly when you are at the net,” Navratilova said.

“You first hear the ball. Then you react to the speed and spin according to the sound. And when you can’t hear it, it really throws you off. I did miss some volleys there because I didn’t hear the ball.”

Murray also struggled with cacophonous conditions at this year’s US Open, when rain pounded down on the newly built roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“We use our ears when we play; it’s not just the eyes,” Murray said. “It helps us pick up the speed of the ball, the spin that’s on the ball, how hard someone’s hitting it.

“If we played with our ears covered or with headphones on, it would be a big advantage if your opponent wasn’t wearing them. It’s tricky, you know? You can still do it, but it’s harder, for sure.”

Murray’s hypothetical example was once put to the test. Tobias Burz, a deaf player who serves as the technical director for tennis at the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, recounted an experiment he once conducted with a higher-ranked hearing opponent. After winning their first set, 6-2, his opponent was curious what it was like to be a deaf player, and used earplugs and wore headphones for their next set. Burz won, 6-3.

IF Lee Duck-hee is to rise, he will debunk much of what is understood about the intricacies of tennis. NEW YORK TIMES

Ginebra vs Star at PHL Arena T

HE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) returns to the world’s biggest indoor stadium—the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan—for the Christmas Day matches today.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel tackles on perennial rival Star Hotshots at 5:15 p.m., with the crowd expected to pack the 55,000-seat arena at the sprawling Iglesia ni Cristoowned Ciudad de Victoria.

Mahindra eyes its first win against Blackwater in the 3 p.m. opener. The Gin Kings recently absorbed a 86-101 loss to the Alaska Aces a week ago, while the Elite are fresh from a two-game win streak capped by their dismantling of the Terrence Romeo-led GlobalPort, 99-91, on Wednesday.

“We still have our hangover from our championship.

We must focus and change our approach to our games,” said

Ginebra Head Coach Tim Cone, whose team slipped to the bottom half of the standings with a 2-3 won-lost record.

Star (3-2), on the other hand, found its rhythm after recording its third-consecutive victory over Rain or Shine last week.

Paul Lee, who faced his former Elasto Painter team that acquired Hotshots’ former franchise player James Yap, scored 14 points, including a clutch triple in the crucial stretch, to fend off Rain or Shine, 99-91.

“I think we are getting composed together. The players are giving their best effort in the game,” first-year Head Coach Chito Victolero said.

The Floodbusters (0-5), meanwhile, hope to end their miserable campaign with a strong performance against the Elite (4-2). Ramon Rafael Bonilla