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A broader look at today’s business n

Saturday, February 1, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 114

P25.00 nationwide | 28 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

By Rene Acosta

T

With a report by Bloomberg News

HE Department of Health’s (DOH) confirmation on Thursday of the first case of novel coronavirus, or 2019nCoV, in the country, involving a 38-year-old Chinese woman who traveled from Wuhan, China, to the Philippines, has prompted elite police and military units, including firemen from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), to ramp up preparations in dealing with the potentially deadly affliction.

The DOH also recently disclosed that at least 24 other people, all of them Chinese, have been admitted in hospitals in Southern Tagalog, Visayas and Eastern Mindanao. These foreigners have been categorized merely as “persons under investigation” (PUIs) who might not, or may have been, infected by the newest strain of the coronavirus.

All of these PUIs, the agency added, share a common denominator: Travel history to Wuhan where the 2019-nCoV had originated before it spread across the world.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), for one, has declared this early that it has taken steps Continued on a2

AP/AARON FAVILA

US-trained and experienced in the SARS and MERS-CoV crisis, Filipino policemen and soldiers step up preps to help DOH deal with deadly 2019-nCov after 1st confirmed case in PHL.

PEOPLE wait to buy protective face masks at medical supply stores on Bambang Street in Santa Cruz, Manila, on Thursday, January 30, 2020. AP/AARON FAVILA

Robots pose biggest risk to the poorest countries

By Stephen D. King

I

Bloomberg News

N the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many Western policymakers assumed that globalization was irreversible and would lead to rising incomes for all.

Instead, the White House places more emphasis on “America First” than on internationally agreed norms. Congress, meanwhile, hopes to contain, rather than engage with, China. One result has been the onset of a trade war that’s now gone far beyond a bilateral China-US spat.

Past revisited

TO prepare for the future, it pays to study the past. In this case, we can look to the 19th century, a period shaped by a mix of colonial ambition, the hunt for natural resources, industrial concentration (in a limited number of Northern

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.9040

DREAMSTIME.COM

In 2005, then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair encapsulated part of this complacent view: “I hear people say we have to stop and debate globalization. You might as well debate whether autumn should follow summer.”

The Western world’s experience in the more recent past suggests that Blair was wrong. Slower growth, a financial crisis, and, in some cases, rising income inequality have triggered a globalization backlash. The US no longer seems willing to sponsor 21st-century versions of the post-World War II institutions that helped set the international rules of the game.

European countries whose empires had absorbed much of the world by 1900), and a transportation revolution in rail and shipping, underpinned by coal and steam.

In contrast to the late 20th century, 19th-century globalization was mostly associated with income divergence between countries and regions. Annual increases in gross domestic product per capita in the West were typically above 1 percent. Japan made strong gains following the late-1860s Meiji Restoration. Elsewhere, progress was limited or nonexistent.

These varying growth rates led to rapidly widening income disparities. The distinction between Western “haves” and the “have-nots” elsewhere became increasingly stark. (In the West, even the original Dickensian have-nots eventually saw their incomes rise on the back of sustained productivity advances.)

In 1820, when the US was still a poor nation, Chinese living standards were about 44 percent Continued on a2

n JAPAN 0.4672 n UK 66.6690 n HK 6.5546 n CHINA 7.3682 n SINGAPORE 37.3882 n AUSTRALIA 34.2024 n EU 56.1675 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.5686

Source: BSP (January 31, 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Saturday, February 1, 2020

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Robots pose biggest risk to the poorest countries Continued from a1

of those in the US. By 1900 they’d dropped to just 13 percent before falling to a mere 5 percent by 1950.

India’s experience was similar.

Both China and India were important parts of the 19th-century global economy. India was the jewel of the British Empire. It was a market for UK goods and a trading post between Asia and Europe.

It supplied a standing army and a bulwark against Russian expansionism. China produced luxury products such as porcelain and silk that were favored by European consumers. Yet both countries fell behind economically.

In 1750, India and China produced more than 57 percent of world manufacturing output. On the eve of World War I, they accounted for a mere 5 percent.

The abuses and intellectual chicanery of empire undoubtedly contributed to this. The ideas of Richard Cobden, the great 19thcentury proselytizer of free trade, were too often hijacked by those who, for example, wanted to open China to the world through violence and opium.

The claim that Europeans were bringing civilization was undermined by, for example, Belgium’s appalling activities in the Congo, later immortalized in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (later transplanted to Vietnam and Cambodia in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now). innovations Technological also damaged Asian economies’ manufacturing terms of trade.

Steam power led to extraordinary

productivity gains in England and, in time, other European countries.

The increase in European textile production, for example, drove down prices on the world market. As prices fell, traditional manufacturers in India’s hitherto-dominant textile industry—too dependent on labor and too slow to embrace the machine age—simply went out of business. In time, rapid European industrialization led to more than a century of deindustrialization in India and, in many cases, a painful return to rural subsistence.

Tech’s role

PUT another way, even if globalization leads to a bigger economic pie, the distribution of the slices depends on how technology reshapes economic relations.

In the second half of the 20th century, technology led to dispersion. The expansion of global supply chains—thanks to mobile capital and, in East Asia, a determination to produce goods that could compete in local and world markets—meant that more countries benefited.

A century earlier, technology spurred agglomeration. Industrial advances created massive economies of scale and conquered distance (with rail and ship). Suddenly, a limited number of regions could produce goods for consumers all over the world. Think of the rise of the UK’s industrial heartlands and the expansion of docks in London, Liverpool, Bristol and Southampton.

It’s easy to imagine that the forces of dispersion will continue as they did in the second half of the 20th century. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, capital

is a little less mobile across borders than it was at its peak, but volumes remain very high. Wages vary enormously between countries, implying that outsourcing and offshoring should continue.

Surveys measuring the ease of doing business across nationstates suggest that modern-day “trade”—inward investment for those countries short of domestic savings in exchange for improved rule of law and better corporate governance—should only increase.

East Asia’s story is a little more complex, because many countries had a savings surplus and didn’t depend on foreign inflows. Even so, surveys suggest the ease of doing business has improved considerably in recent years in places such as China.

‘Flat’

NEW technologies, including 3D printing, broadband communication, and remote provision of services (including, for example, surgery), may enable would-be consumers to be reached more easily all over the world, pointing to an increase in localized (or dispersed) production.

Yet all this assumes that technology simply allows the world to become increasingly “flat.” Already the evidence of flatness within nations is fading fast. Rapid increases in income and wealth inequality between regions within the US and Europe suggest that overall economic expansion has become associated with the reemergence of winners and losers.

Consider the effect of new technologies. More jobs have been automated because of advances in computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

One consequence has been the hollowing out of clerical jobs. Displaced employees end up competing for positions that might have been considered below their pay grade. That depresses wages more generally. In other words, the technology revolution appears to be creating a large number of losers even as the winners—the WhatsApp innovators, the Facebook pioneers—make fortunes.

If technology can disrupt the labor market within a country’s borders, it might have a similar effect across them.

The late-20th century global supply chain model relied, in part, on companies arbitraging the lower cost of labor in country B relative to country A. That arbitrage increased with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of Soviet Communism, and the information technology revolution.

Yet it might reverse if jobs can be performed by robots even more cheaply. After all, companies that invest in or source materials from far-flung countries are taking on significant risks: political (Venezuela today); environmental (Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nightmare); financial (the 1997-98 Asian crisis); or legal (the ongoing challenge of France’s labor laws). Those risks could be removed at a stroke with homegrown robots.

This would threaten a return of 19th-century agglomeration.

Instead of dispersing opportunities, skills and knowledge to workers around the world, capital could stay home.

Wealthy countries would invest in robot technology. Those who owned capital—or the ability to tax capital—would prosper.

Those who supplied only labor— particularly for jobs that are easily automated—would suffer. Big chunks of Asia, much of sub-Saharan Africa, and large parts of Latin America might be left behind as the richer countries, in effect, build gated communities.

March of robots and migrants

ARGUMENTS for free trade depend on the idea that economic and financial links between countries create win-win outcomes. If the rise of the robots removes the need for global supply chains—or at least shortens them—it becomes easier to support isolationist policies.

The institutions that helped set the international rules of the game since the end of World War II would dissolve, or be supplanted. Regionalism and nationalism would become more likely default outcomes.

Trade would still occur but largely between the nations rich in robots and those rich in commodities. The situation would look remarkably similar to the 19th century, with industrial concentration in some parts of the world, declining prices for robot-produced goods and services (today’s version of steam power), and deteriorating terms of trade for manufacturing and services elsewhere. That could trigger a return in many countries to commodity dependency and a

widening gap between rich and poor nations.

This might foreshadow a return to another key aspect of 19th century globalization. Just as globalization in the years running up to the 2008 crisis was dominated by cross-border capital flows, so was the 19th century version dominated by flows of people from the Old to the New World.

That movement of people was proportionately much higher than the migration seen in recent years from Latin America to the US or from Eastern to Western Europe.

In the mid-19th century, many who made the journey—typically from England or Germany—had skills that commanded higherthan-average wages in North America. By the end of the 19th century, transportation costs had declined considerably, and those who were poor, desperate, or both could afford a one-way ticket. Migrants from Southern or Eastern Europe were prepared to work for wages that undercut those earned by existing US workers.

It isn’t impossible to imagine a similar process in the 21st century.

If robots lead to a manufacturing renaissance in the richest nations and the gap between rich and poor countries widens, people in the losing countries will have a powerful incentive to move. Given likely demographic trends this century—notably the rapid population growth in Africa and the Middle East—the rise of the robots is likely to be matched by a march of the migrants.

First and last line of defense Continued from a1

to equip itself with public health functions should higher authorities require a national response against the deadly strain.

“Although local health authorities are yet to declare a national health emergency, the PNP is taking preparatory measures to capacitate itself to perform public safety functions in support of public health initiatives of government to address the threat,” PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said.

“We will again seek the cooperation and support of our people should it become necessary for national authorities to implement public health measures that will require police intervention,” he stressed.

CBRNE training

GAMBOA said that those who will be mobilized for the effort, if needed, are police units that are trained in handling chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) warfare, especially the PNP Special Action Force (SAF).

“PNP units with CBRNE capability, particularly SAF, Crime Lab and Health Service, will be the frontline troops that will perform police public safety functions,” he said.

Relatedly, the PNP chief had earlier ordered Health Services director Brig. Gen. John Luglug and regional directors to coordinate with their counterparts from the DOH and assist them once health personnel conduct “contact tracing” of people who may manifest symptoms associated with the virus or have had encounters with PUIs.

Gamboa said public safety operations in support of emergency health concerns are not new to the PNP, which was mobilized years ago when the government battled deadly diseases such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory system coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

The same response was also undertaken by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“The PNP’s own experience with the SARS and MERS-CoV emergencies in 2003 and 2015 provided us with better knowledge,

technology and skills in handling similar public health emergencies,” the PNP chief said.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the police will go all out in helping health officials contain threats and hazards associated with the strain.

“They have been given instructions to ensure the availability of PNP personnel to assist the DOH in containing possible public health hazards posed by this virus,” Banac said of police officials.

Other CBRNE-trained agencies

THE emergence of the 2019-nCoV affliction underscored the importance of the CBRNE training for the country, whose equipment, capability and technical knowledge were mostly provided by the United States.

Aside from the PNP and the military, other agencies of the government like the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) were also trained and equipped by the US in CBRNE. BFP could also be mobilized as a responder to the deadly strain.

In July last year, the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the PNP, BFP and the Philippine Army embarked on a fullscale exercise in CBRNE response as the government begins to hone its capabilities in handling and responding to conventional threats.

The DTRA, an agency under the US Department of Defense, designed the training for the BFP, the officially mandated CBRNE response agency of the government, while allowing agencies to practice responding to a simulated CBRNE incident within the capital.

The drill was carried out four years after the US turned over to the PNP four specialized CBRNE vehicles installed with detector module kits, equipment, suits and other devices.

A platoon from the Army has also been formed, equipped and trained solely for CBRNE response by the DTRA. The training has been cascaded by the Army to its other units.

Finding the right response

MEANWHILE, elsewhere in the world, a Bloomberg News dispatch reported that airlines halted flights from China, schools in Europe “uninvited” exchange students and

restaurants in South Korea are turning away Chinese customers.

As a deadly virus spreads beyond China, governments, businesses and educational institutions are struggling to find the right response. Safeguarding public health is a priority. How to do that without stigmatizing the entire population of the country where the outbreak began is the challenge.

With the death toll reaching 170 and the roster of cases climbing above 7,700, worries are growing.

Many global companies with operations in China have asked workers to stay home. Airlines are curtailing flights to the nation. Several countries have begun evacuating citizens from the most stricken zone around the city of Wuhan.

Though the vast majority of cases involve people from the central Chinese metropolis, or nearby cities, or those who have been in contact with them, people of Asian appearance around the world say they’ve been subject to increased wariness since the disease began spreading. In some cases, baser emotions have come to the fore.

In South Korea, signs have begun popping up on restaurant windows saying, “no Chinese allowed.”

A Korean casino catering to foreign visitors said it’s no longer accepting groups of tourists from China.

More than half a million people signed a petition, submitted to the government, calling for a ban on visitors from the nearby country of 1.4 billion.

A Chinese woman visiting the Japanese city of Ito—on a peninsula south of Tokyo—said that a server at a restaurant shouted “Chinese! Out!” at her, according to a recording shared on a Weibo account.

The recording, which included a subsequent phone call to the unnamed eatery, was shared by a reporter from Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV. A woman who answered the phone at the restaurant said it was refusing customers from China and Southeast Asia because the owner was worried about the coronavirus, according to the recording. “If our owner contracts the virus and dies, whose responsibility is it then?” she said.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

A4 Saturday, February 1, 2020 A3

Airlines: Info handling by DOH left people at risk of 2019 n-CoV T

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo Special to the BusinessMirror

OURISM stakeholders will be discussing and finalizing with officials of the Department of Tourism (DOT) protocols that the industry can enforce to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (n-CoV).

This developed as airline industry sources expressed disappointment at the Department of Health (DOH) for not informing them of the confirmed n-CoV patient, prior to the agency’s press conference on Thursday.

Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) on Friday announced a reduction in flights between the Philippines and

Hong Kong, and Macau. It also announced the cancellation of flights between mainland China (except for Xiamen) and the Philippines. On Thursday, Philippine Airlines (PAL) said its charter flights between Kalibo and select Chinese cities have been halted on request from Chinese charterers.

The DOT, meanwhile, released a statement

Companies with China ties start to feel virus impact

on Friday encouraging locals and foreign tourists, to take the necessary precautions to minimize the risk of contracting the virus. The DOH on Thursday confirmed one case of n-CoV, a Chinese tourist who arrived in Manila on January 21, from Wuhan via Hong Kong aboard a CEB flight. She then traveled to Cebu and Dumaguete via PAL. Tourism Congress of the Philippines President Jose C. Clemente III told the BusinessMirror, “We have to come out with protocols for the industry immediately, like what hotels and resorts can do when one of their guests fall ill and they suspect it may be an n-CoV infection.”

He added: “We need to protect our employees as well. For instance, there are still some hotels and resorts not allowing their frontliners to wear face masks. These guys are the backbone of our industry and we need to take the necessary measures to safeguard their health as well.”

Airlines’ lament

FOR their part, airline industry sources hit the DOH for its poor handling of the information

regarding the confirmed n-CoV patient. The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak on the matter.

“They announced to media that the n-CoV patient flew CEB and PAL, but didn’t advise us,” the sources said. “What about our crew, the other passengers? Those crew that flew those specific flights already flew other flights. There are so many risks because DOH never flagged us,” they added. One airline source said they found out about the n-CoV patient from the media, while another said they were only officially informed by DOH on Thursday evening.

“Eleven days had already passed; if a cabin crew flies four flights a day, that’s about 30 flights per cabin crew,” the sources said. Also, they underscored the other passengers had already gone home to their respective communities and had been in contact with other people. The sources suggested the DOH inform carriers as soon as a tourist and would-be nCoV patient goes in for a checkup, so they can alert their operations people.

The airline sources said the DOH will be contacting the other passengers who flew on the same flights as the confirmed n-CoV patient.

In a news statement on Friday, CEB said it has reduced the flights between the Philippines, mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau from February 3 to March 29, 2020, in light of the situation. This is on top of the cancellations of charter flights between Kalibo and China, announced earlier.

Starting February 5, flights from Hong Kong/Macau to Manila will be reduced to four times a day from eight times a day, while flights from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have been canceled.

Only CEB’s flights between Xiamen and Manila are maintained at twice weekly. The airline said passengers can check the status of their flights at CEB’s web site.

PAL suspended its charter flights between Kalibo and China, while it continues its scheduled flights between Manila and mainland China (Beijing/Shanghai/Guangzhou/Jinjiang/

China locked down 50 million people and has to keep them fed

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EW YORK —The dangerous virus spreading through China threatens a wide range of industries with ties to the world’s second-largest economy.

Chinese authorities have cut off access to Wuhan, where the virus originated, and 16 other cities to prevent further spread of the virus, affecting more than 50 million people.

The financial and economic hub of Hong Kong has cut all rail links to the mainland.

Many of the world’s largest companies rely on Chinese consumers for revenue and factories for supplies. For example, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the virus outbreak has already caused some of Apple’s suppliers in China to delay reopening their factories until February 10 and some stores selling products already have temporarily closed or reduced their operating hours.

“The situation is emerging and we’re still gathering lots of data points and monitoring it very closely,” Cook said.

The virus could shave as much as 1.2 percentage points off China’s economic growth, according to “a back of the envelope calculation”by S&P Global Ratings last week. The International Monetary Fund earlier this month issued a forecast for 6-percent growth for China in 2020.

Airlines proved to be the most visible barometer of fear as the virus spread. America Airlines has cut back some flights to Shanghai and Beijing because of lower demand.

It’s shares, along with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines Holdings, lost ground as reports of new cases surfaced.

The industry had been seeing a strong demand for travel, which pushed up prices and left fewer empty seats.

Resorts, including Wynn and Las Vegas Sands slumped as the virus forced travelers to cancel trips to the gambling haven of Macao. Both companies get the majority of their revenue from China.

Technology companies, especially chipmakers, are particularly sensitive to China’s economic health. The sector is still poised to benefit from the easing of trade tensions between the US and China, but the unknown economic damage from the virus in China created more uncertainty for the sector.

Some retailers will likely see their revenue reduced.

Starbucks has shut down about half of its stores in China and decided to forgo raising its profit forecast. Nike and Tapestry, which owns luxury brands like Coach and Kate Spade, both get nearly 15 percent of their revenue from mainland China. and stand to feel the pain of a consumer pullback.

Still, market experts are reminding investors to take a long-term view.

“Revenue and earnings will be impacted, but right now it’s an impact that is very short term in nature’,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco.

The virus outbreak at the moment is overshadowing the preliminary trade deal the US and China signed in mid-January that raised hopes for businesses that relations between the two countries would improve. Businesses were expected to increase spending after holding back for much of 2019 because of the uncertainty over trade relations.

China will likely take measures to stimulate its economy to make up for any damage from the virus and businesses could see a strong bounce once the situation stabilizes, Hooper said. In the long term, US-China trade relations are going to have a bigger impact on companies and the global economy.

“That phase 1 deal doesn’t go away just because we have a virus,” Hooper said. AP

Xiamen), Hong Kong, and Macau.

Meanwhile, the DOT said it will continue to coordinate with tourism stakeholders and local government units (LGUs) nationwide and underscore the value of taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the n-CoV. “Our stakeholders will be advised of all protocols shared by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases led by the DOH especially in handling cases involving work force and guests in our tourism enterprises,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat.

Subic, Samal Island, Cebu and Davao have already imposed a temporary travel ban on Chinese tourists, even as President Duterte on Friday agreed to a halt in tourists from Hubei province, where Wuhan, ground zero for the n-CoV infectons, is located. Beijing earlier announced a lockdown on Hubei province, and the Civil Aeronautics Board had already suspended flights between Wuhan and the Philippines last week.

IN this January 28, 2020, file photo, construction workers labor at the site of the Huoshenshan temporary field hospital being built in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province. Complicated logistics are part of a daily flow of food and other goods authorities say is sustaining Wuhan and surrounding cities with a total of 50 million people. Most are blocked from leaving in the most sweeping disease-control measures ever imposed. CHINATOPIX VIA AP

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EIJING—Carrying permits demanding “fast passage,” truck drivers rushed a 560-ton shipment of disinfectant from eastern China to Wuhan, the locked-down city of 11 million people at the center of a vast effort to contain a new viral disease.

Outside the metropolis in central China, the cargo was shifted to local trucks with drivers in masks and protective suits, part of a tightly controlled flow of food and other supplies through checkpoints that have blocked most access to Wuhan since January 23.

As global anxiety about the new virus rises, authorities have blocked 50 million people from leaving Wuhan and nearby cities at the center of the outbreak. That, in turn, requires a massive effort to keep them supplied with food and other necessities.

“Wuhan is not an isolated island,” declared a state newspaper, the Yangtze Daily.

Few governments could attempt such drastic restrictions on a population bigger than South Korea’s or Australia’s. They are made possible by the ruling Communist Party’s extensive controls on society and experience combating the 2002-03 SARS epidemic.

Some trucks are allowed to leave the 17 locked-down cities to collect food. Photos in state media show them lined up at checkpoints, their drivers wearing face masks. Police, shrouded in white protective suits, examine the drivers for the virus’s telltale fever. Those without passes are turned back.

Schools, cinemas and restaurants are closed in Wuhan, an industrial center with a population 1 1/2 times that of New York City. To keep people at home and reduce chances for infection, subway and bus services are shut down and private vehicle use is banned in downtown areas.

The government of Hubei province, where all the cities are located, has promised adequate supplies of vegetables, rice, meat and medical supplies.

It said authorities were working with retailers to bring food from as far away as Yunnan province in the southwest and Hainan island in the South China Sea. A crackdown on hoarding and price-gouging by merchants was announced after food costs spiked.

“Please do not panic, do not hoard, so as not to cause waste,” said a government announcement.

China on Friday reported 9,692 confirmed cases of the virus, which can cause pneumonia and other severe respiratory symptoms. So far 213 have died.

The shipment of disinfectant last Saturday was moved by drivers from two trucking companies in the eastern province of Jiangsu, according to the manager of one of the companies, Huai’an Hazardous Goods Transport Co. With official passes, the 18 teams of drivers cut the normal 20-hour travel time to 15 hours, according to the manager, Liu Hankang.

“Enterprises must take on this responsibility,” Liu said by phone.

The government has released no details of how it is enforcing travel curbs on smaller roads and villages on the outskirts of the vast locked-down area.

Residents contacted by phone said most supermarkets still have adequate food supplies.

“They can meet our needs for the time being,” said a 40-year-old father of two in Wuhan who would give only his surname, Cai. Residents are wary of talking to reporters after authorities said eight doctors were punished in December for warning about the emergence of the virus.

Authorities can draw on an extensive surveillance network involving thousands of video cameras, smartphone tracking, monitoring of social media and other technology developed with the help of Western tech companies to protect the party’s monopoly on power.

Hospitals are straining to cope with thousands of virus patients while doctors also treat other cases.

State media say police in protective gear are stationed at hospitals to separate people arriving with fevers and other possible virus symptoms from other patients.

Rui Zhong, a Wuhan native who lives in Washington, D.C., said that her mother’s elderly cousin died in the city in the past 10 days after a delay in the arrival of an ambulance.

A 73-year-old man with a lung problem, he died on the way to the hospital, Rui said.

“It’s hard to know for sure: could he have been saved?” said Rui, who works at the Woodrow Wilson Center. “But my family will always wonder.”

The cause of death was never determined.

“The doctors didn’t look at it super-closely,” she said. “He was cremated.”

The city is racing to build a 1,000-bed hospital for virus patients. It is due to open on Monday, 10 days after construction began.

A second hospital with 1,500 beds is to open shortly after that.

Parents contacted by phone say their children, forced to stay home, are doing homework and watching TV. A restaurant chef in Jingzhou, another Hubei city, said his 12-year-old son was getting restless.

“He wanted to go out, but I had to keep him home,” said the chef, who would give only his surname, Nong.

Police in Jingzhou were stopping pedestrians on empty streets to check their temperature and ask their addresses, Nong said.

“We grow our own vegetables, but the stocks can last only for another 10 days or so,” said Nong. “I guess the village committee will need to offer us supplies if we are still banned from going out.”

Liu Xiaoran, a Wuhan University journalism student, said she and her parents had Lunar New Year dinner, China’s most important family event of the year, with relatives over WeChat, a popular messaging service. She said her grandparents refuse to leave home or receive visitors.

Liu said one woman she knows begged for help online after four of her five family members were quarantined in three different hospitals. She asked for beds in the same hospital or else help traveling to the different facilities to look after them, a task made harder

by Wuhan’s closure of bus and subway service.

When she goes out, “I wear two layers of masks, try not to touch anywhere, keep a distance from others and disinfect with alcohol right after coming home,” said Liu, 21. “I feel nervous, especially when I go somewhere with a lot of people, such as drugstores or supermarkets.”

Other cities are imposing their own travel controls. Some apartment complexes in Beijing bar anyone but residents from entering.

People in two villages on the Chinese capital’s outskirts say they have set up their own barriers to prevent outsiders from entering.

The government of Shanghai, a global business center of 25 million people, has extended the end of the Lunar New Year holiday by 10 days to February 9 to encourage the public to stay home and avoid spreading infection.

In Wuhan, public schools were ordered to start teaching online February 10 after the new semester was postponed. Wuhan University is organizing online classes.

“For the healthy, it’s like what you call a ‘snow day,’ staying inside,” said a Wuhan University professor who asked not to be identified further for fear of retribution. “For the people that are struggling, the hospitals are under strain.” AP

A4 Saturday, February 1, 2020

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

DTI-EMB to explore more export opportunities in Africa in October

By Georgina Verdeflor

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DTI-EMB-Market Innovation Division

HE Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) is set to organize an outbound business mission to Egypt and Kenya in October as part of its mission-driven export promotion activities this year.

Recently, the DTI-EMB collaborated with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in organizing “Market Opportunities and Trends in Africa-The Next Frontier” at the Novotel Araneta Center. The event was attended by more than 100 participants, most of whom were exporters.

The resource speakers during the seminar were Mohammed Rida El Fassi, ambassador, Moroccan Embassy in Manila; Adekunbi Abibat Sonaike-Ayodeji, MNI,

ambassador, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Manila; Bartinah Ntombizodwa Radebe-Netshitenzhe, ambassador, South African Embassy, Manila; Boiki Motloung, counselor: political, South African Embassy, Manila; Ahmed M. Elsoukkary, first secretary, Embassy of Egypt, Manila; Federico Borromeo, Ethiopian consul general, Office of Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia; Bel Belkew, owner, BBK Inc.; David Acker-

man, chairman and chief executive officer, Triumphus Inc.; Solomon Bekele, country manager, Ethiopian Airlines; Marcelo Co, CEO, Marikina Food Corp.; and Ms. Agnes Perpetua R. Legaspi, assistant director, DTI-EMB. All emphasized the importance of partnerships that will benefit both Africa and the Philippines.

South Africa was the Philippines’s largest trading partner among African countries, and the 46th in the world in 2018. The Philippines’s total trade with South Africa in 2018 amounted to $161.73 million, with the Philippines as a net exporter, with export receipts valued at $107.64 million, and imports valued at $54.09 million.

The Philippines was also a net exporter to Morocco and Ethiopia with export valued at $12.16 million and $2.55 million, respectively. Imports were valued at $1.90 million for Morocco, and $108,905 for Ethiopia.

In 2018, Egypt was the Philippines’s 62nd trading partner; Nigeria, 70th; Morocco, 84th; and Ethiopia, 17th. Unlike in South Africa, the Philippines was a net importer of two African countries with imports valued at

­­PTIC co-organizes investment promotion seminar for Bohol LGU officials in Tokyo

By Kenneth Yap

Philexport eyes 6% export growth in ’20

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Commercial Attaché, PTIC Tokyo & Dita Angara-Mathay Commercial Counselor, PTIC Tokyo

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OKYO, Japan—Bohol Gov. Arthur C. Yap and other Bohol officials visited Japan on a business mission to attract Japanese investments to the province from January 21 to 23, 2020.

An investment seminar with select Japanese companies kicked off the business mission, coorganized by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Tokyo, headed

by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Commercial Counselor Dita Angara-Mathay on January 21, 2020.

Forty representatives from Japanese companies engaged in the business of construction, waste management and treatment, hotel and tourism, and light industry manufacturing attended the investment briefing with Yap and the Bohol officials.

Yap explained that tourism revenues currently drive Bohol’s economy.

The province is world-renowned for its beautiful beaches, unique wildlife and natural geologic features that set it apart from other islands in the Philippines. The Danajon Bank, which is one of only six double-barrier reefs in the world; the Chocolate Hills; and the tarsier, which is one of the smallest primates, are the main attractions found in Bohol.

With growing awareness and potential for attracting more Japanese tourists and businesses from Japan, Yap is also negotiating for direct flights to Bohol from Japan. In the past 30 years, the province has received more than P20 billion worth of Japan International Cooperation Agency funding for projects, such as the Bohol-Panglao International

$40.64 million for Egypt and $30.81 million for Nigeria. The Philippines exported $5.6 million worth of goods to Egypt, and only $4.95 million to Nigeria.

“This year, we will be seeking opportunities to drive the growth of Philippine exports in Africa’s emerging economies.

This will be through the conduct of trade missions wherein our exporters will be able to directly gain access and promote quality Philippine products, and services, to the African region,” DTI-Trade Promotions Group Undersecretary Abdulgani M. Macatoman said.

The DTI-EMB conducted outbound business missions to South Africa in 2016 and 2017, as well as to Egypt and Ethiopia in November 2019, in line with DTI’s efforts to develop new markets.

For exporters interested to join the mission, contact Gina Verdeflor at telephone number 8465-3300 local 208 or e-mail georginaverdeflor@dti.gov.ph.

Please visit our Facebook page: f b.com/ dti.export to stay updated with the events and happenings in DTI-EMB.

THE Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Tokyo, headed by Department of Trade and Industry Commercial Counselor Dita Angara-Mathay (sixth from right), with Commercial Attaché Kenneth Yap, welcome Bohol Gov. Arthur C. Yap (fifth from left), other Bohol provincial officials and representatives from the Japanese business community.

Airport, Bohol Circumferential Road, Bohol Irrigation Project, Leyte-Bohol Interconnection Project and other agricultural projects.

Yap announced that they are holding talks for more Jica projects in the province.

Bohol’s increasing tourist arrivals and growing local economy present opportunities and challenges, according to Yap. He has requested the DTI team at PTIC Tokyo to assist in attracting investors and technology partners in Japan to be involved in projects directly related to sustainable tourism, which

include projects on wastewater treatment, and sewage and septage treatment, bulk water supply, and power generation.

The governor also explained the viability of investments in retirement and medical facilities, cold storage, tourism and convention facilities, light industry manufacturing, agriculture and fisheries projects, and roads and public transportation in Bohol province.

PTIC Tokyo has committed to assisting Bohol in their goal of attracting more Japanese investors.

XPORTERS expect a 6-percent revenue growth this year on the back of electronic parts and mineral products, and services exports.

“The signing by US President Donald Trump last week of the initial trade deal with China provides another growth impetus, particularly for electronics,” Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) President Sergio OrtizLuis Jr. said.

The deal between the world’s two largest economies covers expanding bilateral trade in various sectors, such as manufactured goods and services, further broadening market access, and enhancing the protection of intellectualproperty rights.

Garments are also expected to contribute to increasing the country’s merchandise exports, with renewed interest from buyers, said Ortiz-Luis, in his president’s report during the Philexport first quarter General Membership Meeting and Elections of the Board of Trustees last week.

As of end-November, exports were valued at $64.56 billion, up slightly from $64.58 billion during the same period in 2018, with strong performance from electronic products, other manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, and aircrafts and ships.

The Philexport chief is also banking on services exports, including travel services, which is expected to account for 50 percent of the country’s total exports by 2022.Ortiz-Luis said the country has been reinvigorating the manufacturing sector, which they believed is better positioned to generate more jobs and livelihood.

He said the current Philippine Export Development Plan targets revenue to reach $122 billion to $130.8 billion in shipment of goods and services by 2022.

For the export market: BFAR pushes sustainable lobster industry in Caraga

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UTUAN CITY—The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Caraga Region (BFAR 13) is pushing for the establishment of a sustainable and exportoriented lobster industry in the area.

BFAR 13 spearheaded Monday (January 27, 2020) the two-day second National Lobster Development Program Workshop attended by 55 participants from the different provinces in the region to assess the current situation of the lobster industry in Caraga.

The workshop also aims to impart to the participants the various opportunities in the lobster and aquaculture industries in the country, said Salve Mordeno-Dinolan, BFAR13 information officer.

Dinolan, in an interview, said most of the participants are municipal agriculture personnel in the region, local officials and representatives from the private sector who are engaged in aquaculture and lobster farming.

Dinolan said the two-day workshop focused on challenges, new strategies, and inputs on new technologies on lobster farming and aquaculture.

Among the speakers include Dr. Clive Jones, an internationally recognized expert on research on aquaculture development, and Joseph Martin Borromeo, BFAR’s national lobster focal person who facilitated the value chain analysis workshop for the participants.

Merry Flor Lepio, a private-sector representative from Surigao City, also shared with the participants her success story on lobster farming and aquaculture.

Borromeo said lobster is among the priority commodities identified by BFAR and the Department of Agriculture (DA), noting that Caraga region is considered the source of lobster seeds and products in the eastern seaboard of the country.

Borromeo also noted trades that involved seeds and lobster products in the country, including in Mindanao, have not been prioritized in the past years.

“We could not determine the exact records in the development of lobster industry primarily because most of the transactions are in the black market, which also indicates the lack of regulations into these transactions,” he said.

He added that they are now waiting for the issuance of a fisheries administrative order from the DA, which will involve the regulation of the trade of lobsters, including the fries or seeds in the country.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed a steady increase in aquaculture production in the country was recorded from 2016 to 2018.

A q u a c u lt u r e i n d u s t r y a c h i e v e d 2,200,913.34 metric tons production in 2016 that increased to 2,237,790.76 MT in 2017 and up to 2,304,365.31 MT in 2018.

Value in production on aquaculture was recorded at P91,141,919 in 2016 that increased to P100,706,819 in 2017 and up to P110,329,337 in 2018.

PSA data also indicated an increase in aquaculture production in the Caraga region in the same period with 14,882.6 MT production in 2016 that grew to 15,093.71 MT in 2017 and up to 15,023.99 MT in 2018. PNA

OurTime BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Saturday, February 1, 2020

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DSWD: Revalidation of list delays distribution A woman named Elsa of seniors’ pension in Eastern Visayas

CASH AID FOR SENIORS

Personnel of the Department of Social Welfare and Development distributes social pension to eligible senior citizens in Arteche, Eastern Samar. The DSWD 8 (Eastern Visayas) cited revalidation of the list, and President Duterte’s order to directly implement the program as reasons for the delayed payout of the social pension since last year. PHOTO COURTESY OF DSWD

By Gerico Sabalza | Philippine News Agency

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ACLOBAN CITY—The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 8 (DSWD 8) on Tuesday cited revalidation of the list and President Duterte’s order to the department to directly distribute the cash aid as reasons for the delayed payment of senior citizens’ social pension.

DSWD 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director Marie Angela Gopalan said the revalidation of more than 200,000 senior citizens availing themselves of the aid in the region was ongoing.

“We have to recheck the list due to reports that some beneficiaries are not qualified.

We wish to clarify that the social pension, although part of the Senior Citizens Act, is only for indigent elderlies,” Gopalan said

on Wednesday.

Based on the law, only 60-year-old Filipino citizens who are sickly, frail, disabled, without regular compensation, pension, or support from relatives can avail themselves of the P500 monthly subsidy from the national government.

Despite the revalidation, Gopalan said, there are still reports that retired teachers, village chiefs, and seniors who have regular support from family members overseas have been receiving the government’s financial aid.

“We are grateful to the association of senior citizens at the village level for their feedback. There is a need for them to work with the Office of Senior Citizens’ Affairs to reconcile the list, then we come in to revalidate the list to speed up the process,” she said.

The regular payout was also affected since the local government units (LGUs) are no longer implementing the program, Gopalan said.

“Before, the budget can be downloaded to the LGUs, but since this is a program of the national government, we are the ones implementing it and do the payout through our special disbursement officers,” she told the Philippine News Agency.

The region only has 10 disbursing officers authorized to process the release of social pension. The DSWD 8 has requested the addition of six more personnel to handle the disbursement.

For the 2019 allocation, the DSWD has already distributed P675.63 million in social pension funds to 112,605 eligible senior citizens in the region.

This is just a fraction of the more than P1.66 billion social pension earmarked for the region in 2019.

The DSWD clarified that the schedule of payout is not announced ahead of time due to security reasons, as each disbursing officer handling 10 or 11 towns bring with them a huge sum of cash during cash distribution.

The senior citizens are reminded that only beneficiaries who have already been revalidated and approved by the central office are entitled to receive the benefit.

The DWSD said the release of the social pension cannot be done at the same time in towns and villages since the revalidation of qualified beneficiaries was ongoing.

“We have an ongoing revalidation and crossmatching of pensioners to find out if they are not in the list of government and private insurance agencies. The purpose is to ensure that only the rightful beneficiaries will be included in the program,” Gopalan said. PNA

Remembering the victims of Holocaust

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora Philippine News Agency

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ANILA—The Holocaust saw the climax of hatred against mankind when the Nazis assumed the power to decide who is worthy to live and who is not.

Around 6 million Jews were persecuted and murdered during that dark period of World War II. With the decreasing number of Holocaust survivors, there would be few to tell the evils committed against its victims.

The only way to avoid a repeat is for the world to remember and keep their memories alive.

“I strongly believe that in order to prevent atrocities, such as the Holocaust, the lessons should be learned, this is very important. Some leaders are denying the Holocaust even, with the fake news and others, we need to tell the story to show the importance of remembering,” Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Rafael Harpaz said during the International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Manila.

In commemorating the liberation of Jews from the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp 75 years ago, the Israel Embassy

in Manila on Monday led activities such as screening the Holocaust film The Testament at the Philippine Women’s University where several members of the diplomatic corps in the Philippines were present.

The theme for Holocaust education and remembrance in 2020 is “75 years after Auschwitz—Holocaust Education and Remembrance for Global Justice.”

“In the last few years, we have witnessed a rise in anti-Semitism in many parts of the world, especially in some of the biggest democracies in the western world. This is in addition to a very strong antisemitism trend in some of the Muslim countries including leaders of major Muslim states,” he said.

Russian Ambassador to Manila Igor Khovaev, one of the envoys present during the event, echoed Harpaz’s statement, and underscored the need to remember the Holocaust as the world’s “common pain and tragedy.”

“As a representative of the country who made a major contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany, who lost so many lives in order to liberate Europe from fascists and Nazis, I’d like to emphasize that all of us should remember the history,” Khovaev told reporters in an interview.

He said that it is everyone’s “common

duty” to do the best in order to prevent such tragedy in the future.

Rise vs anti-Semitism

UNITED Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has recently noted that the resurgence of hatred, from violent extremism to attacks on places of worship, “shows that anti-Semitism, other forms of religious bigotry, racism and prejudice are still very much alive.”

To combat this, the resolve to fight such acts, as well as keeping the truth alive “must persist,”he said.

The Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, for its part, appealed to the modern world for peace, and respect for each nation’s right to exist and freedom.

“This appeal is extremely important now, for—despite the dramatic experience of the past—the world in which we live is still exposed to new threats and new manifestations of violence. Cruel wars, genocide, persecution and different forms of fanaticism are still taking place, although history teaches us that violence never leads to peace but, on the contrary, breeds more violence and death,” its statement forwarded by the Embassy of Poland in Manila read. PNA

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH Ageless.

If there is one person who deserves to be given that description it must be Elsa V. Payumo.

Who among us baby boomers who grew up in ’60s doesn’t know Elsa?

Most everyone I ask would utter: “Of course, Elsa Payumo, the Miss Caltex girl!”

Born on January 13, 1940, in the province of Bataan, Elsa was doted on by her parents.

She received a well-rounded education, which was capped by a degree at the UP Conservatory of Music.

In 1963, Elsa’s life reached a point that turned her life around. Elsa became the second Miss Caltex. The first Miss Caltex was Mila Abad. The entire country fell in love with the newest Caltex girl.

Suddenly thrust into the spotlight, Elsa was showered with fame and glamor, receiving attractive offers from big film studios to become a film star.

But showing she was from a different mold, Elsa opted instead for a career in the travel industry.

Elsa ruminates: “Of course, winning Miss Caltex was a great honor in itself. What it really gave me was initial fame. Looking back, I realize there is something more to life than the frivolities of renown.”

As an executive in the then-nascent Philippine travel industry, Elsa became active in promoting tourism. In due time, she was elected president of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association for four terms.

Parlaying her experience as Miss Caltex, she launched the Baron Travel Girl. Even today, like Miss Caltex, the Baron Travel Girl is considered as the epitome of the Filipina beauty queen who is celebrated not only for her good looks, but also for her innate talent and intelligence—good looks hand in hand with a sophisticated mind.

Another of her brainchild projects was the Outstanding Taxi Driver of the Year Award, which she single-handedly launched.

It was so successful that the Department of Tourism adopted it to become part of what was known as the Annual Kalakbay Award.

It was the precursor of corporate branding as public service program concept, which has been adapted in other forms through the years.

In recognition of her achievements in the tourism industry, Elsa became one of the Ten Outstanding Women in The Nation’s Service of the year 1977, as the first awardee in the field of tourism.

Wishing to do more for her fellow Filipinos, she decided to try her hand in the field of public service. With her fame, charm and compassionate nature, she ran and overwhelmingly won as a pro-people councilor of Makati City.

As councilor, she organized various youth association and women’s clubs, and became their mentor and adviser.

But frustrated by politics and unwilling to sacrifice her principles, she left public service after serving one term as councilor.

She went back to her travel business, jetting around the world, hobnobbing with hotel and airline people. But during a trip to Las Vegas, her mother became ill and she

For first time in four years, US life expectancy rises—a little

By Mike Stobee AP Medical Writer

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EW YORK—Life expectancy in the United States is up for the first time in four years.

The increase is small—just a month—but marks at least a temporary halt to a downward trend.

The rise is due to lower death rates for cancer and drug overdoses.

“Let’s just hope it continues,” said Robert Anderson, who oversees the report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The latest calculation is for 2018, and factors in current death trends and other issues. On average, an infant born that year is expected to live

about 78 years and eight months, the CDC said.

For males, it’s about 76 years and two months; for females, 81 years and one month.

For decades, US life expectancy was on the upswing, rising a few months nearly every year. But from 2014 to 2017, it fell slightly or held steady. That was blamed largely on surges in overdose deaths and suicides.

Suicides continued to increase in 2018, as did deaths from the flu and pneumonia during what turned out to be an unusually bad flu year.

But declines in some other causes of death—most notably cancer and drug overdoses—were enough to overcome all that, according to the report.

Cancer is the nation’s No. 2 killer, blamed for about 600,000 deaths a year, so even slight changes in the cancer death rate can have a big impact. The rate fell more than 2 percent, matching the drop in 2017.

“I’m a little surprised that rapid pace is continuing,” said Rebecca Siegel, a researcher for the American Cancer Society.

Most of the improvement is in lung cancer because of fewer smokers and better treatments, she said.

Also striking was the drop in drug overdose deaths that had skyrocketed through 2017. The death rate fell 4 percent in 2018, and the number of deaths dropped to about 67,400.

Deaths from heroin and prescription painkillers went down, however,

deaths from other drugs—fentanyl, cocaine and meth—continued to go up. And preliminary data for the first half of 2019 suggest the overall decline in overdose deaths is already slowing down.

It’s still a crisis, said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University researcher. “But the fact that we have seen the first year where there’s not an additional increase is encouraging.”

The national decline was driven by dips in 14 states, Anderson said.

Those include states where overdose deaths have been most common, like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia.

In Ohio’s Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati, overdose deaths fell in 2018 and preliminary data

immediately flew back to Manila. At the hospital, she was met by a healing priest, who gave her a bible.

Soon, Elsa’s mother passed away. It coincided with the loss of her business. She confesses: “My finances hit rock bottom. I lost my condo unit. I sold my jewelry and all the other glamorous worldly trappings that went with my image as a celebrity.” It was one of the lowest points in her life.

Elsa found solace and strength by attending healing masses at the Buklod ng Pag-ibig, a Catholic Charismatic community founded

by Fr. Pascual Adorable SJ. She remembered the bible given to her by the healing priest and began to read it earnestly. One time, as she casually opened the bible, she was struck by the passage from Zephaniah 3:20: “I will make you famous throughout the world as I restore your fortunes before your very eyes, says the Lord.”

To her, it was an answer to her questions. At that point, she decided to dedicate herself fully to spiritual ministry as a member of the Buklod community. She realized that “God opened up a lot of avenues for me. It was about time I should do something for the Lord.”

She felt the divine hand always guiding her. When the community needed to raise money to repair the leaking roof of the Buklod center, she felt inspired by the Holy Spirit to join the TV Show Deal or No Deal. With nothing but her great faith in God, Elsa won over a million pesos, which she donated to Buklod ng Pag-ibig.

Gradually, Elsa’s fortunes have since then turned for the better. She has been able to regain her financial independence and as a result, she is now able to serve fully in the activities of her community. She spends her days holding regular bible studies, visiting the sick, serving as mass lector and doing various church activities.

Echoing the words of “The Potter’s Hand,” one of her favorite songs, this great lady has been “captured by Your holy calling,” giving her life to the hand of the Divine Potter, so He can “take me, mold me, use me, fill me, guide me, lead me.” Indeed, no matter how daunting the task she faces, she is inspired by her belief in God’s guiding hand.

No wonder that when people see Elsa now in person, they have a common observation, which is, she glows with a kind of beauty that knows no age. Is it the beauty of selfless love for God by serving others?

Perhaps. As she now reflects: “I have discovered that only by God’s grace can one understand one’s purpose of sharing oneself with others. I have finally found a place where I can serve the Lord and others through its healing ministry.”

Now at the ruby age of 80, Elsa can clearly see the arc of her life story: once a young beauty titlist, who experienced what it was to be adulated, who enjoyed all the material trappings that come with a celebrity and a worldly lifestyle, only to realize that her life is meant for a higher and a more fulfilling calling, which is to serve her fellow beings. God’s good servant, true and through.

indicates another drop last year.

County Health Commissioner Tim Ingram credited efforts to try to expand access to treatment, and to widely distribute the overdose reversal drug Narcan.

“We almost saturated our community with Narcan,” he said.

Nationally, for all causes of death, more than 2.8 million Americans died in 2018. That’s about 26,000 more than the year before, the CDC report found. The number went up even as the death rate went down, because the population is growing and a large group are retirement age baby boomers.

Other findings:

The 10 leading causes of death remained the same, with heart dis-

ease at No. 1. The death rate for heart disease declined slightly, by less than 1 percent.

Death rates also dropped for stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic lower respiratory diseases and unintentional injuries, which includes drug overdoses.

Americans who were 65 in 2018 are expected to live another 19 years and six months, on average.

The infant mortality rate fell more than 2 percent, to 1 in 177 births.

The suicide death rate hit its highest level since 1941—about 14 per 100,000. The rate peaked during the Depression in 1932 then mostly declined until 2000. It’s been rising most years since then. AP

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Saturday, February 1, 2020 | Editor: Mike Besa

, SOUT GOODBYE PHILIPPINE GOLF IS POORER THE two finishing holes are the toughest on the golf course—this is 18

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Story & photos

by Mike Besa

HE Philippine golf community was stunned by the closure of the Southlinks Golf Club after the New Year.

The club closed, ostensibly for maintenance work, but never reopened. Then the word hit the streets that the club would be permanently closed due to legal issues involving ownership of the land on which the course sat.

The developers of Southlinks Golf Club, the Ayala Land Inc.

lost control of a 6.8-hectare lot within the property following a ruling by the Supreme Court.

The SC, in a ruling issued last July but made public on Monday, October 2, denied ALI’s right to ownership of the lot and declared petitioners Yu Hwa Ping and Mary Gaw, as well as the heirs of Andres Diaz and Josefa Mia, as the rightful owners.

Ayala Corp., ALI’s parent firm, acquired the property from Goldenrod Inc. and Pesala in 1988. ALI gained ownership of the land after its merger with Las Piñas Ventures Inc. in 1992.

ALI appealed the case, claiming that they had done their due

diligence, investigating the validity of the titles before the purchase of the land and merger with Las Piñas Ventures Inc. Everything seemed right and correct, in effect making ALI an innocent purchaser of the property.

The Supreme Court did not see it that way and decided in favor of the claimants. That spelled the end of Southlinks Golf Club.

Southlinks Golf Club was a model of the perfect golf course for the Philippine setting. It was one of the only truly public golf courses in the country. Most Pinoygolfers patronize our military courses which provide access to the public but at the behest of the military branch of service which controls the course. These clubs also have playing memberships available to the public and most subscribe to these mechanisms in order to play at the golf course.

Southlinks was a purely public track. No membership plans, nothing. You drove to the course, paid for your green fee and other miscellaneous fees and off you went. As such, it was very heavily patronized by newcomers to the game and our juniors.

In a game where access is complicated because of the membership requirements, Southlinks was a breath of fresh air. It provided a real gateway to our sport. It was where juniors and newbies could fall in love with the game and add to the dwindling numbers of golfers in the Philippines. Sadly, there are few other clubs at which this is possible.

Southlinks was designed from the ground up to be

what it was; a sustainable golf course that would challenge the best and entertain the rest. This it did, in spades.

Although just a hair over 7,000 yards from the tips, it frustrated professionals used to competing on much longer courses to no end. Its narrow fairways put a premium on accuracy off the tee and when properly prepped, its mini verde greens can roll as fast as almost any golf course in the country. But when played from the forward tees it was extremely accessible for seniors, ladies and juniors. That’s a trick that few golf courses have up their sleeves.

Southlinks provided everything that a golfer needed to progress from neophyte to proficiency. It possessed a driving range and a larger short game practice area than many private golf clubs and yet it occupied just under 20 hectares of land.

Contrast that to the 35 to 37 hectares required by most other golf clubs and you have a golf course that should be the poster child of the sustainability movement.

Beyond its miniscule footprint, Southlink’s clever design is what truly made it efficient and inexpensive to maintain. Regulars at the club know that you need to carry at least 130 yards off the tee on most holes before you get to the fairway. The area you need to carry represents hectarage that the club doesn’t have to maintain, reducing the total land that the club spends money on.

Another clever feature of Southlinks is the design of the tee boxes. Instead of several small tee boxes, most of the tees are placed along a 50-yard long tee box. Although larger than standard, having just one area to maintain saves in time and fuel costs, as maintenance materials are delivered to just one location per hole rather than several.

The bunkers were also extremely well-thought-out. Although large and intimidating, they’re actually quite small once you find one with your golf ball. This saves on the amount of bunker sand that the golf course requires over the course of its lifetime.

Then, there’s the fact that the fairways and primary rough are

‘PGA Tour’s charitable donations exceed $3 billion’

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HE catastrophic destruction left in by Typhoon Hagibis will continue for years to come in Japan.

Nearly 100 people were killed by the historic cyclone, which resulted in more than 85,000 homes damaged, thousands of hectares flooded and countless landslides created in its wake.

The Zozo Championship did its best to provide support to those affected by the typhoon in December, and it made a $225,000 donation that was channeled toward each Cash Distribution Committee of the affected prefectures and Tokyo Metropolitan Government through the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Backed by the aid provided by Japan’s first official PGA Tour tournament, the Tour announced this week that it and its tournaments have surpassed $3 billion in all-time charitable giving.

The charitable total, which included a record $204.3 million in 2019 to bring the all-time total to $3.05 billion, includes donations made by tournaments on the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada, PGA Tour Latinoamérica and PGA Tour Series-China.

“It’s truly a pleasure to thank our fans, sponsors, tournaments, players and volunteers for helping us

generate over $3 billion for charity and positively impact millions of lives,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.

“As remarkable as this milestone is, what really matters are the countless stories [of impact] that every tournament has. Together, we look forward to continuing to reach—and celebrate—millions more.”

In addition to focusing on relief and recovery efforts in Japan, the Zozo Championship also donated $25,000 to First Tee Japan for use toward its initiatives. The organization’s mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.

Megumi Hatakeyama, vice president, Marketing Department, Golf Division, Zozo Inc. said: “We are delighted to provide financial assistance toward the affected people through the Japanese Red Cross Society which not only collects and transfer the cash grants to each Cash Distribution Committee of the affected local government, but also operates various type of disaster relief activities by themselves across the country. The amazing work that their staff and volunteers do brings tremendous relief for the people of Japan who were

affected by the recent typhoons.

“It is also our privilege to extend our support toward First Tee Japan. Golf is an amazing sport as it teaches important life skills, such as character education through programs conducted by professionally trained life coaches. We hope our assistance will greatly benefit the young people of Japan who are part of First Tee Japan.”

The PGA Tour and its more than 100 tournaments across all Tours achieved the $3-billion mark in just six years, after surpassing $2 billion in 2014. The Tour achieved the $1-billion mark in 2005. In addition, the record $204.3 million in 2019 bests the previous record of $190 million in 2018. The Tour’s first charitable donation of $10,000 was at the 1938 Palm Beach Invitational.

Each PGA Tour tournament provides individuals an opportunity to give back to the community in one of three ways—attending an event, volunteering or donating money. Not-for-profit tournaments under the PGA Tour umbrella donate their net proceeds to support local organizations, totaling more than $3 billion in donations to date. The impact these tournaments make throughout the year is possible, thanks to the more than 100,000 volunteers who commit their time to ensure each event is a success.

www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, February 1, 2020

UTHLINKS FOR ITS CLOSURE

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A GOLF course is nothing without a monster like the 9th at Southlinks.

MONIQUE ARROYO and Armand Copok

Philippine juniors shine in Australian Open planted with a local Bermuda grass, zoysia matrela. This reduces the amount of inputs significantly and guarantees a hardy playing surface for the thousands of golfers that walk its fairways.

Southlinks’ one concession to the modern game was their choice of an imported micro-Bermuda, mini-verde, on its greens. Kevin Ramsey, the course architect, is of the opinion that the quality of the greens determines the quality of the golf experience and I’m hard pressed to disagree. This is the same grass that covers the greens at the very exclusive Anvaya Golf and Beach Club and is a similar variety as tifeagle, arguably the most desirable turf grass for putting greens in the country today.

With all these factors in play, it was easy to see why Southlinks Golf Club was named the BusinessMirror’s Public Golf Course of the Year in 2018. It is also why the golf community feel its closing more than any other golf course.

Southlinks was the model golf course for the Philippines.

It was accessible for the uninitiated and extremely enjoyable for those who accomplished in the game. It was the perfect breeding ground for juniors and management went out of their way to accommodate and foster events for junior golf. It was inexpensive to maintain was ecologically sound.

But is this really the end of Southlinks Golf Club? The contested lots are just portions of total area on which the golf course sits. It makes sense for Ayala Land Inc. to settle with the claimants and purchase the contested lots from the legal owners and carry on. But at this time, we have no information that any movement in that area is happening. We in the golf community can only hope that this scenario comes to pass.

The golf community is mourning with Southlinks Golf Club’s closure and rightly so. It was a model of sustainability for the industry. It is a huge blow to the growth of the game in the Philippines.

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Words & images

by Bobbet Bruce

RMAND COPOK and Monique Arroyo kicked off their 2020 junior golf campaign in grand fashion by winning their respective divisions at the recently concluded 2020 US Kids Golf Australian Open held last January 16 and 17, 2020, at the Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club in Queensland, Australia.

Copok, came from behind to run away with the Boys 10 Year title with a two-day aggregate of 139 (72-67). He started the championship one down behind Australian Antonio Kovacevic with his even par 72 in the first round with his two birdies negated by two bogeys, the last one on hole 18 to drop him from a tie for first.

Copok went on a roller-coaster ride in the front 9 of the second round with three birdies and three bogeys against the Australian’s one under front nine to drop to two strokes behind. He then went all business in the back nailing an eagle on the par 5 hole 10 then knocked in a par on hole 11 against

Kovacevic’s par-bogey to grab the outright lead in the tournament for the first time.

Copok then went on a tear. He banged in four birdies against a lone bogey in the next five holes to bring his total round birdies to seven, with three consecutive from holes 15-17, to take the fight out of the young Aussie who went on a downward spiral. Kovacevic’s +5 in the 6 holes even pushed him off second, yielding first runner-up honors to Yichen Wang of New Zealand with a two-day total 152 (72-74).

Arroyo, a Year 9 student at Assumption San Lorenzo, the granddaughter of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and daughter of Rep. Mikey Arroyo, booked a 150 two-day aggregate (76-74) to win the Girls 12-14 title. She had an eagle spiked 76 on the first day with four birdies then improved her score on the second day with a 74.

Copok and Arroyo are both Wack Wack Golf and Country dependents and will banner the club in the junior interclub championships this summer.

Copok is coached by Temyong Murakami and J3 Altea, while Arroyo is under the tutelage of Gerard Cantada.

THAI ACE KIRADECH READY TO REBOUND AFTER DIFFICULT PAST YEAR

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KIRADECH APHIBARNRAT GETTY IMAGES

IRADECH APHIBARNRAT makes his 2020 PGA Tour debut with a sense of trepidation at the Waste Management Phoenix Open this week following a topsy-turvy 2018-19 season.

The Thai star enjoyed three top-5s in the early portion of last season, but an untimely knee injury slowed him down as he finished in 83rd place on the FedExCup points list. He also missed out on the International Team for the Presidents Cup which

was a massive goal for him.

Kiradech’s world ranking has dropped to 120th this week—he started 2019 in 37th position—and with the Olympic Games looming this summer, the burly Thai knows he has a battle on his hands to qualify for Tokyo. He is the second-highest ranked Thai after Jazz Janewattananond.

Utmost on his mind now is to ensure he is in good physical shape to compete.

“I have to think my body is much better now but it’s still not 100 percent,” said Kiradech. “I’m looking for that one good week to bring my confidence back to normal. In the past few months, I’ve been working more in the gym and, hopefully, it’ll be better for me. I’ve been building the muscles around the knee and I think it’s going in the right direction.”

Kiradech hopes his second full year in the US will be more rewarding. He believes he is more accustomed to the golf courses and requirements to excel against the world’s best players every week.

“I believe I can do better. I started well last year but I didn’t quite manage to play my best

golf at all, which is partially due to my injury. I had a lot of missed cuts and I didn’t get used to some of the courses,” said Kiradech.

“My Coach Mike [Walker] looks at my stats regularly and it was obvious my iron play was not as sharp as what I’m used to.

The chipping and short game were not good, too, and there are a lot of things to improve, which I have been working on.”

Kiradech has featured in only one Tournament during the fall season, finishing T8 at The CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in Korea and knows he has some catching up where he is presently ranked 147th on the FedExCup points list.

“I think I’m a bit nervous. I want to make my golf game more consistent and, while I’ve played great golf over the last four to five years, I have struggled in the last six months. It doesn’t mean it’s the end of my career...I just have to rebuild my game, regain my confidence and have trust again.”

Kiradech suffered a partial tear in the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee during the Masters Tournament and subsequently played through the injury with

several breaks in between Tournaments. In hindsight, he felt it wasn’t the wisest decision.

“I’ve not played with an injury before and it cost me a lot,” reflected Kiradech.

“It’s time to prove what I can do. The top 10 in Korea was a good start and everyone knows I will play in many Tournaments. I just need to bring my A-game out and choose the courses to my advantage. In the first two to three months, I will play in as many events as I can. I also aim to play in the smaller events and try to find my first win on Tour which can make things a lot easier.”

During the break, he moved closer to the home of fellow Thai LPGA stars Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn in Orlando, Florida, which he believes will benefit him and wife, Tunyatorn. “I like it so far [in the US]. We’ve moved to the same compound as Ariya and Moriya and it feels more like home now.

I wanted to be able to walk over to their house as they are like my sisters,” he said.

He will make his third appearance at the Waste Management Phoenix Open where he finished T67 in his debut in 2014 and T33 last year.

A8

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Sports BusinessMirror

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

China women’s Olympic soccer team quarantined in Australia

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RISBANE, Australia—China’s national women’s soccer team has been quarantined in Australia ahead of an Olympic qualifying tournament as fears spread about the outbreak of a new virus that has killed more than 130 people.

Health officials in Queensland state said on Wednesday that 32 people, including players, coaches and staff, traveled through the virus-effected Chinese city of Wuhan a week ago. The team was placed in isolation by border officials after arriving in Brisbane from Shanghai on Tuesday, and will be confined to a Brisbane hotel until February 5.

Queensland Health said the squad was traveling with a team doctor, and none has shown symptoms.

The Olympic regional qualifying tournament had been relocated from Wuhan to Nanjing before the Asian Football Confederation moved it to Sydney, Australia, because of concerns over the deadly coronavirus. Now it likely will be delayed.

The tournament had been scheduled to kick off next Monday with a double-header of China against Thailand, followed by Australia against Taiwan.

It’s the final stage of regional qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, which begin in July. The top 2 teams were supposed to advance to a home-and-away playoff for the last spot at the Olympic tournament.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) on Wednesday placed a hold on ticket sales for the tournament.

The Chinese team trained in isolation before departing for Australia, and players and staff all underwent testing before departure.

“They went through all the same checks that any Chinese national flying in from China would have gone through,” FFA Chief Executive James Johnson was quoted as saying by Australian Associated Press. “We’re confident in the government’s checks and balances.”

The FFA said it was notified of the latest advice from Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof. Brendan Murphy, that health experts believe the coronavirus is contagious before people show symptoms, and contacts of any confirmed cases must be isolated following exposure.

China has cut off access to Wuhan, and 16 other cities, to prevent people from leaving and spreading the virus further.

The outbreak has infected more than 6,000 on the mainland and abroad. British Airways, and Asian budget carriers Lion Air and Seoul Air have suspended flights to China, and other airlines are reducing the number of flights to the country as demand for travel drops because of the outbreak. AP

A NEW TOUR WITHOUT TIGER IS NO TOUR AT ALL

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AN DIEGO—Jay Monahan was at Torrey Pines for the annual players meeting, most of it pertaining to the potential of a financial windfall for top players.

Five days later, after so much chatter and speculation, the possibility had moved close enough to reality that the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour commissioner felt compelled to return. After all, Tiger Woods was five shots behind. Monahan thought he should be there if Woods were to set the record with career win No. 83.

As for the rumors of a new golf tour targeting the top 48 players?

Odds of that happening might be a bit longer.

The concept of a world tour—the latest name is “Premier Golf League”—has been around for the better part of six years. Talk was renewed late last year when the British-based World Golf Group began making the rounds in the Bahamas and Australia, this time with an influx of capital from various sources, primarily Saudi Arabia.

Its idea is to invigorate golf by putting together 12 four-man teams that would be required to play 18 events—10 of them in the US—that feature 54 holes, no cut and a shotgun start to fit a five-hour broadcast window. Total prize money would be $240 million, and the top player could earn as much as $50 million.

More pertinent were a few missing details.

Is there a broadcast partner? Corporate sponsors? Any commitments from players?

And the biggest question of all: Does it have Tiger Woods?

Because without Woods, it doesn’t stand a chance.

Publicly, the PGA Tour and European Tour said they would not comment on any tour, real or imagined, except their own.

Monahan, however, found it worthy enough to send his players a memo late Monday afternoon for those who weren’t at Torrey Pines, or those who had never heard of the concept until a question was raised at the end of the meeting.

In the memo, obtained by The Associated Press, Monahan says no one from World Golf Group has contacted the PGA Tour. The tour’s information is from players who were, and from golf industry partners.

Monahan mentioned the PGA Tour’s financial strength and stability through longtime sponsorship and television deals that it will honor, and he reminded players of the releases required to play other tours. And then he made it clear the PGA Tour would not be working with Premier Golf League, as the group suggested was its intent.

“If the Team Golf Concept or another iteration of this

NEW NORMAL: NBA SANS KOBE

By Tim Reynolds

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The Associated Press

IAMI—In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid paid tribute to Kobe Bryant by wearing one of his jersey numbers.

Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie and Orlando’s Terrence Ross are showing their respect by no longer doing so. Boston’s Kemba Walker is considering such a change.

And coaches around the league left their snazzy leather shoes in the office Tuesday night, wearing Bryant’s signature sneakers instead.

The games are going on—except in Los Angeles, for a couple more days anyway. So, too, is the grief after the fiery helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday that took the life of Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others. And the tributes are continuing, as well, such as the separate decisions by Dinwiddie and Ross to no longer wear the No. 8 that Bryant donned at the start of his National Basketball Association (NBA) career.

“We often search for meaning in numbers,” Dinwiddie tweeted.

Dinwiddie will now wear No. 26. Ross is going back structure becomes a reality in 2022 or at any time before or after, our members will have to decide whether they want to continue to be a member of the PGA Tour or play on a new series,” the memo said.

Talk about risk and reward.

The PGA Tour is wrapping up negotiations on a new broadcast rights deal that Sports Business Journal pegged at a 60-percent increase. One player was asked what came out of the meeting. He smiled and said, “How much money we’re going to be making.” AP

to No. 31. The moves, evidently, are simply their way of saying Bryant’s numbers—he wore No. 8 and No. 24 for the Los Angeles Lakers—should be retired. Walker said part of the reason why he isn’t sure if he’ll give up the No. 8 is that the Celtics have a large amount of already-retired numbers, and that would limit his options.

Many coaches, including Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Boston’s Brad Stevens and their staffs for the Heat-Celtics game in Miami, wore Bryant’s sneakers.

Spoelstra, a father of two young sons, said he plans on buying the Kobe sneakers for them to wear in a few years.

“I’m going to tell them the story of Kobe Bryant when they are old enough to understand,” Spoelstra said.

“Those shoes will be a symbol of excellence, work ethic, commitment and class.”

Jayson Tatum saw all those qualities in Bryant. He considered him a friend, mentor, idol, hero.

“Everybody knows how much he meant to me,” Tatum said, his voice barely rising above a whisper, his eyes looking down nearly the whole time. “From somebody I really looked up to, and really was like my hero—the reason I started playing basketball. To becoming a friend and a mentor, somebody that I could talk to and help me

out with a bunch of things on and off the court. It’s been a tough couple of days.”

They will stay that way for a lot of days.

A lot of days.

The new normal—an NBA world where Bryant will never be physically present again—continued the opening rounds of its evolution when the Lakers started to practice and then speak with reporters for the first time since the tragedy. Basketball returned to Los Angeles on Thursday when the Clippers played host to Sacramento. The Lakers play at Staples Center on Friday against Portland, in what will undoubtedly be a gutwrenching night of emotions.

Tears will be shed that night, just as they were Tuesday when Turner Sports analysts and former NBA players Shaquille O’Neal—who won three titles with the Lakers alongside Bryant in a superstar pairing like few others—and Dwyane Wade seated at midcourt to share their memories and their anguish.

The Clippers and Lakers were supposed to play there Tuesday. The NBA postponed that matchup, for obvious reasons. The Lakers just weren’t ready to resume playing, yet.

Tatum is one of the players in the league who got to work out up close with Bryant. He had plenty of reasons

for why he idolized him so much.

“His drive, his work ethic to be the best, he just made me fall in love with him and the game,” Tatum said.

“I loved everything about him and the way he carries himself. He was special.”

The NBA All-Star reserve announcements are Thursday, and it is a certainty that the league will come up with some way to pay tribute to Bryant at All-Star weekend in Chicago.

“They will. This is the best league in the world,” Walker said. “They do a great job and they will honor him the way they will and the way they’re supposed to and the way he deserves to be honored. I’m just looking forward to being a part of it.”

But Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant pointed out, probably correctly, that no matter what the league comes up with, no matter how many players change their jersey numbers in Bryant’s memory, no matter how many coaches wear his sneakers, no matter how many Bryant chants echo through arenas over the coming days and weeks, the gestures will likely fall short of capturing what the five-time NBA champion truly meant to the game, its players and its fans.

“Nothing,” Durant said, “will ever be big enough to truly honor Kobe Bryant.”

Tight security promised for Super Bowl 54 in Miami

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IAMI—Florida and federal law enforcement agencies preparing for the Super Bowl this Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens say they are ready for anything, including a detonated bomb or massive food poisoning, but haven’t identified any threats.

Events for the 54th Super Bowl, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, kicked off Monday around South Florida, with an interactive Super Bowl Experience in Miami Beach and Super Bowl Live at Miami’s Bayfront Park. It’s a lot of mileage to patrol, but officials say they are well prepared.

They had been planning for months and running drills.

Maj. Ed Caneva, the Miami-Dade Police Department operations commander for the NFL title game, said they identify a raft of different scenarios.

“We have been training and addressing anything,” Caneva said.

The Super Bowl has long been considered a potential target for terrorists or other violent extremists, and this year the game will be played amid rising tensions with Iran. But none of the games has ever been attacked. Anthony Salisbury, chief of the Homeland Security Investigations office in Miami, said law enforcement agencies nonetheless must be prepared.

“It’s all hands on deck,” Salisbury said. “This is a high-profile event. It’s the same with every Super Bowl. Nothing is being taken for granted.”

Several thousand federal, state, and local law enforcement officials are involved in the game and the events leading up to it. Brian Swain, chief of the Miami Secret Service office and lead federal coordinator for the event, said there’s no intelligence, thus far, indicating any kind of threat.

“There is no specific credible threat right now,” Swain said. “I’m confident in our security plan.”

Streets will be blocked off. There will be scores of uniformed police officers and others in plain clothes roaming the stadium to ensure safety. Bomb-sniffing dogs will patrol, and fans must go through metal detectors.

The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed flight restrictions over Hard Rock Stadium and around some of the other events. The FAA has even produced a video called “No Drone Zone,” intended to curb the devices around game activities.

“Enjoy the Super Bowl. Leave your drone at home,” the video says.

Commercial flights at Miami International Airport are unaffected.

And while officials haven’t expressed concerns for the game due to travelers arriving infected with a new coronavirus from China, Miami’s airport is on the list of 20 nationally where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have expanded screening. CDC officials are taking temperatures of travelers from China, and asking them to fill out a questionnaire. AP

BusinessMirror

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

SOME APPS ARE STILL SELLING YOUR INFO TO ADVERTISERS DATING apps Tinder and Grindr were found to have been sharing users’ personal information to marketing companies, according to Norwegian study.

You can never be too sure about apps these days.

You might think you’re just using them to communicate or play games, but they actually turn out to be gathering your personal data. A new study released by the nonprofit organization Norwegian Consumer Council found that many popular apps were selling info as sensitive as location, sexual orientation and IP addresses to advertisers, violating the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation law, and fundamental rights and freedoms.

According to the study, both Tinder and Grindr sent GPS coordinates and gender preferences to advertisers, risking their users’ privacy.

“The dating app Grindr shared detailed user data with a large number of third parties that are involved in advertising and profiling. This data included IP address, advertising ID, GPS location, age and gender,” the study noted. n YOUR DATING LIFE IS NO LONGER AS PRIVATE AS YOU THINK. Tinder’s privacy policy states that the data of users who signed up for its services may be shared by its parent company, Match Group, with at least 45 datingrelated businesses, including OkCupid, www.match.com and PlentyOfFish—even if they never signed up for these sites. “The sharing of personal data between Match Group subsidiaries is also problematic, and fails to respect the data protection principle of purpose limitation,” the research said. n NOSY PHOTO-EDITING APPS KNOW YOUR LOCATION. Perfect365 is a popular app for those who want to look their best for the ‘Gram. But it doesn’t value its users’ safety—it sold people’s GPS coordinates, Wi-Fi access points and advertising identification without them even knowing. “The makeup app Perfect365 shared user data with more than 70 third parties. This data included the advertising ID, IP address and GPS location. Many of the third parties that were receiving this data are in the business of collecting, using and selling location data for various commercial purposes,” the council warned. n KIDS ARE VULNERABLE TO INAPPROPRIATE ADS. Sketchy children’s entertainment is one of the greatest fears of many parents in the digital age—for a good reason. The app “My Talking Tom 2,” where users can care for a virtual pet cat that repeats words they speak into the mic, was found to have shared people’s IP address and location to third parties.

“When using the app, in-app advertising pops up periodically regardless of the age of the user,” the nonprofit organization added.

Despite all these security threats online, taking out the plug and avoiding exposure to apps aren’t fully feasible. The best that you can do is to stay vigilant and take the necessary steps to protect yourself against nosy third parties.

You should take note of the permissions the app asks for during installation and determine if these are within reason.

For instance, if a photo-editing tool requests to access your location, then think twice about using this app. More important, make sure to research the app developer so you can check their commitment to their users’ privacy and the extra steps they take to respect and protect their data.

For a digital experience that’s guaranteed to be safe, use apps that are committed to security and privacy like Viber.

Every chat here is encrypted end-to-end, meaning that it’s virtually impossible for anyone, even Viber itself, to read or even listen to your exchanges with people. This also means that the app cannot sell your conversational data to third parties and advertisers. Unlike the platforms singled out by the Norwegian Consumer Council, Viber proves that it’s possible to provide quality services without compromising and exploiting user privacy.

Saturday, February 1, 2020 A9

THESE are the Acer desktop units donated to the Manila-Sacramento Friendship Library.

ICT company supports digital literacy project PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

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Y workweek started with an event as Acer donated 42 desktop computers to Manila’s public libraries in support of Mayor Isko Moreno’s Digital Literacy for All Project. I normally don’t work on Mondays unless it’s for something really worthwhile, like this project.

The signing of the memorandum of agreement took place at the Manila-Sacramento Friendship Library. Digital Literacy for All advocates that every person deserves the opportunity to learn the digital skills that will be relevant in their workplace and daily life. Through the project, the City of Manila has provided spaces inside public libraries for Manileños to do group discussions and meetings.

“It is an honor for Acer to partner with the City of Manila in promoting access to quality education.

We are proud of Isko Moreno’s efforts to make digital education more accessible to Manileños, and provide opportunities for growth and development through this partnership,” said Acer Philippines Inc. Managing Director Manuel Wong.

Wong has been Moreno’s supporter even before the latter became mayor.

“When I was a councilor back 1998, I established a computer learning center even though I knew that Internet resources were limited. I am backed with this hope that technology will soon catch up and be vital for acquiring knowledge. With Acer, I am grateful that better computer and library facilities now become more accessible to Manileños,” said Moreno.

Under the agreement, 42 Acer desktop units will be distributed in 11 Manila City public libraries.

These libraries include Manila-Sacramento Friendship Library (five computers), San Nicolas Public Library (four computers), Tondo Public Library (four computers), Valeriano E. Fugoso Library (four computers), Main Library Ref. Division (eight computers), Kapitan Isidro Mendoza Public Library (two computers), Dapitan Complex Library (two computers), Arsenio H. Lacson Public Library (three computers), Bacood Public Library (four computers), Patricia Public Library (two computers) and ManilaSan Francisco Friendship Library (four computers).

Meanwhile, sea passengers using the Port of Cagayan de Oro can now enjoy fast, free and fiber-

powered Wi-Fi service while waiting for their trips at the new passenger terminal after PLDT and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) fired up carrier-grade Smart WiFi in the port.

Port of Cagayan de Oro serves over 1.2 million passengers annually. It is the entry and exit point of goods and passengers for Cagayan de Oro, Manila, Cebu, Camiguin, Bacolod and Iloilo. The new twostory terminal, which was inaugurated last July, can accommodate around 3,000 passengers during peak passenger season.

“We are happy to partner with PLDT and Smart in bringing world-class connectivity to the world-class Port of Cagayan de Oro, and ensuring that travelers going through our passenger terminal have access to a fast and reliable Wi-Fi connection,” said Jessica Angeles, Philippine Ports Authority Passenger Terminal Complex manager.

“By rolling out carrier-grade, fiber-powered Smart WiFi in Port of Cagayan, PLDT and Smart are empowering the tourism industry, businesses, and millions of passengers traveling to and from this key Mindanao transport hub,” said Juan Victor Hernandez, PLDT senior vice president and head of enterprise.

Aside from the Port of Cagayan de Oro, Smart WiFi is also available in Provincial Capitol of Misamis Oriental, One Providence, Cagayan Town Center, Robinsons Cagayan de Oro and Liceo de Cagayan. n

London police to use face scan tech, stoking privacy fears

By Kelvin Chan The Associated Press LONDON—London police will start using facialrecognition cameras to pick out suspects from street crowds in real time, in a major advance for the controversial technology that raises worries about automated surveillance and erosion of privacy rights.

The Metropolitan Police Service said on Friday that after a series of trials, the cameras will be put to work within a month in operational deployments of around five to six hours at potential crime hot spots.

The locations would be chosen based on intelligence but the police did not say where, the number of places or how many cameras would be deployed.

Real-time crowd surveillance by British police is among the more aggressive uses of facial recognition in wealthy democracies, and raises questions about how the technology will enter people’s daily lives.

Authorities and private companies are eager to use facial recognition, but rights groups say it threatens civil liberties and represents an expansion of surveillance.

London’s decision to use the technology defies warnings from rights groups, lawmakers and independent experts, Amnesty International researcher Anna Bacciarelli said.

“Facial-recognition technology poses a huge threat to human rights, including the rights to

privacy, nondiscrimination, freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” Bacciarelli said.

London police said the facial-recognition system, which runs on technology from Japan’s NEC, looks for faces in crowds to see if they match any on “watchlists” of up to 2,500 people wanted for serious and violent offences, including gun and knife crimes, and child sexual exploitation.

“As a modern police force, I believe that we have a duty to use new technologies to keep people safe in London,” Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said in a statement.

The British have long become accustomed to video surveillance, with cameras used in public spaces for decades by security forces fighting terror threats.

Real-time monitoring will put that tolerance to the test.

London is the sixth-most monitored city in the world, with nearly 628,000 surveillance cameras, according to a report by Comparitech.

London’s move comes after a British High Court ruling last year cleared a similar deployment by South Wales police, which has been using it since 2017 to monitor big events, like soccer games, royal visits and air shows. That system deleted people’s biometric data automatically after scanning.

Britain’s privacy commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, who had warned police not to take that ruling as a blanket approval, struck a cautious tone on

Friday. She said that while London police have stated they’re putting safeguards and transparency in place to protect privacy and human rights, “it is difficult to comment further on this until we have an actual deployment, and we are able to scrutinize the details of that deployment.”

Signs will warn passersby about the cameras and officers will pass out leaflets with more information, the police said, adding that the system isn’t linked to any other surveillance systems.

London police previously carried out a series of trial deployments that they say identified 7 out of 10 wanted suspects who walked past the camera, while only incorrectly flagging up 1 in 1,000 people. But an independent review last year by University of Essex professors questioned that, saying the trials raised concerns about their legal basis and the equipment’s accuracy, with only 8 of 42 matches verified as correct.

Pete Fussey, a University of Essex professor who coauthored the report, said NEC has upgraded its algorithm since then, but there’s evidence that the technology isn’t 100 percent accurate, pointing to a recent US government lab’s test of nearly 200 algorithms that found most have ethnic bias.

“If you’re using the algorithm you should be aware of its shortcomings,” he said. “It’s vanishingly unlikely that NEC’s algorithm will be effective across all ethnic categories.”

A10 Saturday, February 1, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Microsoft: ‘Carbon-negative’ by 2030 even for supply chain

By Matt O’Brien The Associated Press

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ICROSOFT is pledging to become 100 percent “carbon-negative” by 2030 by removing more carbon from the environment than it emits.

CEO Satya Nadella said Thursday that the commitment will happen “not just across our direct emissions, but across our supply chain, too.”

It’s a major step up from Microsoft’s previous green pledges. The tech company had previously said its data centers would be 60 percent powered by renewable electricity by the end of last year, but environmental groups have said it has fallen short of such rivals as Google and Apple by relying too much on purchasing renewable-energy credits to make up for its carbon emissions.

“Microsoft has really been in the middle of the pack,” said Elizabeth Jardim, senior corporate campaigner for Greenpeace USA. “Not an ‘A’ student but clearly not doing nothing.”

Jardim said that Thursday’s announcement shows a “more serious and holistic” approach and

GLOBE, VEND PILOT 1ST QR CODE-OPERATED VENDING MACHINES IN PHL TO PROMOTE CASHLESS TRANSACTIONS

AS the Philippine market leans toward cashless payments, Globe Telecom has tapped Vending Experts Night and Day Philippines Inc. (VEND Phils. Inc.) to come out with the first vending machines in the country that operate using the Quick Response (QR) code for cashless and contactless transactions.

“Mobile technologies continue to evolve to make our life easier, and we now see cashless payments using mobile phones gaining traction in the Philippines. Anyone who has used the QR code for payments will realize that it is much more convenient and secure than credit cards or cash,” said Rizza Maniego-Eala, Globe chief finance officer.

She added: “This initiative with VEND is also a prime example of how closely we work with our partners in developing new business models with innovation and sustainability in mind.”

In 2013, Globe started using GCash as payment for goods inside the company headquarters. It then went cardless in 2017 when GCash scan-to-pay was launched. However, coffee vending machines in the building were not capable of contactless payment, prompting Globe to look for ways to shift to the QR system. Payment via this method is performed by scanning a QR code from a mobile app like GCash.

“Technology continues to move forward and we believe that vending operations should also be aligned with the times.

We are thankful to Globe for bringing this idea to us. We are proud to be the first vending company in the Philippines to successfully launch a cashless coffee vending machine through a QR code payment scheme utilizing GCash,” said Gilbert dela Cruz, president and CEO. Instead of paying with bills, coins or card, users simply have to open their GCash app and scan the QR code displayed on the machine and input the price of the item. Once payment is successfully sent, they can already press the button of their desired drink. At present, there are 18 QR-operated vending machines in the Globe corporate headquarters in Taguig.

The vending machine does not only promote cashless transactions but also supports Globe’s sustainability campaign by giving customers a P1 discount on their transaction if they opt to use their own mug instead of disposable paper cup.

Last year, Globe introduced the Wag sa Single Use Plastic (WasSUP) program focusing mainly on banning plastic cups and lids, spoons and forks, and straws in the company cafeteria. At the same time, it encourages employees to bring their personal utensils to lessen their contribution to the growing waste problem not only in the Philippines but globally. “We have incorporated mobile technology in our system so that end-users will have an enjoyable and satisfying interaction with us and our vending machines.

We are looking forward to offering the same solution to all companies which are in the business of selling vending machines,” said dela Cruz.

VEND is the official vending partner of Commonwealth Foods Inc., maker of well-known Filipino household brands Cafe Puro and Ricoa.

The initiative supports UN Sustainable Development Goals 9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; and 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production.

that Microsoft “understands climate science and the shrinking window for action.”

Microsoft had previously set an interim goal of 70 percent renewable energy by 2023. It now says it will hit 100 percent renewable for all of its data centers and buildings by 2025—and will no longer depend on credit-buying to meet its goals. Google and Apple have already said they reached the 100 percent milestone.

Amazon said it would run on 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.

Microsoft’s announcement was timed ahead of the recent gathering of elites at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos. Catastrophic trends like global warming and the extinction of animal species were a focus of the conference.

Microsoft is responsible for about 16 million metric tons of emissions per year, said Brad Smith, the company’s president and chief legal officer. That estimate includes not just Microsoft’s global network of energy-chugging data centers, but emissions from making electronics components for its devices and from everyone who plugs in its Xbox gaming consoles at home.

“When it comes to carbon, neutrality is not

enough,” Smith said. “We have to get ourselves to net zero.” That means removing from the atmosphere all the carbon one emits, he said.

The pledge to include supply chain emissions follows a similar move by Apple. Microsoft says it will set new procedures next year to push its suppliers to reduce their environmental footprint, in the same way it has required some of them to offer their workers paid time off and parental leave. It’s also expanding the scope of a fee it has had since 2012 charging its own business units for each ton of carbon they emit.

Microsoft says that after reaching its 2030 goal, it will, by 2050, remove from the environment all of its historical emissions since the company was founded in 1975.

But Jardim said Microsoft is undermining its climate goals by taking the lead among tech firms in partnering with oil and gas companies, providing cloud computing and artificial intelligence that can speed up the extraction of fossil fuels.

Microsoft also said Thursday it is starting a $1-billion fund for developing carbon reduction and removal technology. n

UK lays out tough child data privacy rules

By Kelvin Chan The Associated Press LONDON—Social-media sites, games and other online services won’t be allowed to “nudge” British kids into revealing personal details or lowering their privacy settings, under tough new rules drawn up by the country’s privacy regulator.

The set of standards aimed at protecting children’s online privacy were released Wednesday by the Information Commissioner’s Office for Parliament’s approval. “There are laws to protect children in the real world—film ratings, car seats, age restrictions on drinking and smoking. We need our laws to protect children in the digital world too,” Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said. “In a generation from now, we will look back and find it astonishing that online services weren’t always designed with children in mind.”

Tech companies won’t be able to use “nudge techniques,” such as making one option appear easier than the alternative, to encourage kids to provide unnecessary personal data or weaken or turn off their privacy protections. They’ll also have to verify a user’s age or instead apply the code’s standards to all users.

Sharing or broadcasting a child’s location should be off by default, so should profiling kids for socalled behavioral advertising, the new rules say.

Other requirements include collecting and holding a “minimum amount” of personal data and making

BRITAIN’S Information Commissioner’s Office on January 22 released a new set of standards aimed at protecting children’s online personal details privacy for social-media sites, games and other online services. AP

“high privacy” settings the default. Online services should take children’s best interests into account and shouldn’t use their data to auto-recommend harmful content like videos advocating suicide or anorexia.

The “age appropriate design code” has 15 standards in all that must be met by apps, connected toys, social-media platforms, online games, educational web sites and streaming services. They apply to any online service likely to be used by a child and to any companies offering their services in the UK. Violators face punishment including, in serious

cases, fines worth 4 percent of a company’s global revenue, which for the Silicon Valley giants like Facebook would equal billions of dollars.

Once Parliament gives its approval, companies will get a 12-month transition period to adapt to the new rules. They’re expected to come into full effect by autumn 2021.

Tech companies are coming under increasing pressure to tighten up online protection for young people, with authorities in the US, Ireland and elsewhere also working on updating their rule books.

Local technopreneur rolls out automation tool for public schools

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes THERE is no doubt that there is a lot to be done to improve the country’ public education system.

Red Circle Global (RCG) CEO Edwardo Roldan said he saw an opportunity to help public schools improve their operating standards by introducing a system that will bring public schools operation on a higher efficiency level.

Through the innovation efforts of its innovation team, Roldan said RCG introduced the educational management system (EMS) hoping the country’s public schools will be efficient like their counterparts in the private sector.

Roldan pointed out that EMS is the only end-to-end school automation system in the Philippines. “This means we have the ability and capability to automate the whole journey from the school entrance exam up to the ID card printing and grading system,” he explained.

“We automate every process of a school operation. We also solve their problems in ID printing and we are the only school automation company in the entire Philippines that can provide unlimited radio-

frequency identification (RFID) cards per student, free military grade RFID printer made in Britain, free lanyard per student, and personalized communication hot line.

Our clients can even reach us via Viber or phone call 24/7.”

He stressed that schools are forced to procure an expensive accounting system, school management system, library system, inventory system, HR system, etc. By using the EMS, Roldan said a school can cover it all for as low as P500 a month or P50 per month over 10 school calendar months.

By automating their operations, schools are automatically transformed into an OFW-friendly school since all the guardians will have an online account where they can monitor the whereabouts and the happenings of each student.

He added that the EMS is the only endto-end school automation system in the country that offers a Commission of Audit (COA) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) compliant accounting and grading system.

“We are living in unpredictable times,” said Roldan. “Being empowered to know whether your child is inside the school can give you peace of mind. We are not

just solving the concerns of parents [such as knowing the whereabouts of their children] but also making it easier for school administrators to roll out programs since they have an updated access on the number of materials to their school operations. For teachers, they are empowered to collaborate more with their fellow teachers since our platform is offering an online repository where they can share study materials and syllabus.”

Furthermore, RCG is currently in talks with DepEd Quezon City and Unibersidad de Manila. “Our system can give a peace of mind to the parents and also directly alleviate the hardships of the administrators and faculty with their current traditional and manual operating processes,” he said.

Roldan said 12,000 subscribers are using the system in less than one year of operations and hopes to triple their subscriber base by June 2020.

Red Circle Global is a unified commandand-control platform that automates the educational system and creates a technological policy for learning that has brought its project to several schools in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, and to some other regions.

EDWARDO ROLDAN, Red Circle Global CEO

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The big lesson from the Bezos hack: Anyone can be a target

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By Matt O’Brien The Associated Press

ROVIDENCE, Rhode Island—You may not think you’re in the same league as Jeff Bezos when it comes to being a hacking target.

Probably not, but you—and just about anyone else, potentially including senior United States government figures—could still be vulnerable to an attack similar to one the Amazon founder and Washington Post owner apparently experienced.

Two United Nations experts this week called for the US to investigate a likely hack of Bezos’s phone that could have involved Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A commissioned forensic report found with “medium to high confidence” that Bezos’s iPhone X was compromised by a video MP4 file he received from the prince in May 2018.

Bezos later went public about the hack after the National Enquirer tabloid threatened to publish Bezos’s private photos if he didn’t call off a private investigation into the hacking of his phone. It’s not clear if those two events are related. The Saudis have denied any involvement in the purported hack.

The events could potentially affect US-Saudi relations. On Friday, Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said he is asking the National Security Agency to look into the security of White House officials who may have messaged the crown prince, particularly on personal devices. Jared Kushner, a White House aide and President Donald J. Trump’s son-in-law, is known to have done so using WhatsApp. Wyden called reports of the Bezos hack “extraordinarily ominous” and said they may have “startling repercussions for national security.”

But they could resonate at the personal level, as well. As the cost of hacking falls while opportunities to dig into peoples’ online lives multiply, more and more people are likely to end up as targets, even if they’re not the richest individuals in the world.

Ultimately, that boils down to a simple lesson—Be careful who you talk to—and what you’re using to chat with them.

“People need to get out of the mindset that nobody would hack them,” said Katie Moussouris, founder and CEO of Luta Security. “You don’t have to be a specific target or a big fish to find yourself at the mercy of an opportunistic attacker.”

WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, is generally considered a secure way of trading private online messages due to the fact that it scrambles messages and calls with encryption so that only senders and recipients can understand them. What many people may not have realized is that it, like almost any messaging service, can act as a conduit for malware.

That encryption, however, is no help if a trusted contact finds a way to use that connection to break into the phone’s operating system. In fact, an infected attachment can’t be detected by security software while it’s encrypted, and apps like WhatsApp don’t scan for malware even once files are decrypted.

TWO UN experts this week called for the US to investigate a likely hack of Jeff Bezos’s phone that could have involved Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. AP

WhatsApp users can disable the automatic downloading of photos, videos and other media, which happens by default unless the user takes action.

Other messaging apps are likely also vulnerable.

“It just so happens that this one was a vulnerability in WhatsApp,” said JT Keating, of Texas-based security firm Zimperium. “It could have been in any one of any number of apps.”

Prince Mohammed exchanged numbers with Bezos during a US trip in spring 2018. On the same visit, the prince also met with other tech executives, including the CEOs of Google, Apple and Palantir, as well as sports and entertainment celebrities and academic leaders. Virgin Group founder Richard Branson gave the Saudi delegation a tour of the Mojave Air and Space Port in the desert north of Los Angeles.

Google and Apple didn’t respond to e-mailed requests for comment this week on whether their executives shared personal contacts after that trip.

Palantir Technologies confirmed that its CEO Alex Karp met with the prince but said they never shared

personal messages. Virgin Group said it was looking into it. UC Berkeley cyber-security researcher Bill Marczak cautioned that there’s still no conclusive evidence that the Saudi video was malicious, adding that it might be premature to jump to broader conclusions about it. Many other security experts have also questioned the forensics report upon which UN officials are basing their conclusions.

But Marczak said it is generally good advice to “always be on the lookout for suspicious links or messages that sound too good to be true.”

Even caution about avoiding suspicious links might not be good enough to ward off spyware— especially for high-profile targets like dissidents, journalists and wealthy executives. Hackers-forhire last year took advantage of a WhatsApp bug to remotely hijack dozens of phones, and take control of their cameras and microphones without the user having to click anything to let them in.

In such cases, said Marczak, “There doesn’t need to be any interaction on the part of the person being targeted.” n

Premium audio experience for even more consumers GLOBAL electronics brand LG Electronics (LG) unveiled at CES 2020 an impressive lineup of sound bars featuring premium quality audio, easy connectivity, smart functionality, and sleek designs that integrate perfectly with the brand’s range of TVs. LG’s new sound bar models deliver rich, true-to-life sound that captivate with their accuracy and depth. The 2020 range again leverages the company’s long-standing partnership with Meridian Audio with more models featuring the company’s finely tuned technologies, such as Bass and Space, which boosts low-frequency reproduction and widens the soundstage; and Image Elevation, which ensures a more lifelike listening experience by elevating the perceived height of lead instruments and vocals.

Furthermore, the majority of the 2020 lineup supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for dynamic and thoroughly immersive audio.

New for LG premium sound bars, AI Room Calibration guarantees more optimized sound by automatically tailoring output to the specific characteristics of the room. These advanced models are self-calibrating, able to recognize and analyze tones to accurately assess the dimensions of a given space and adjusting accordingly.

For the most vivid home theater experience possible, LG’s new sound bars offer 4K Pass-Through and more cinema-like audio with the optional SPK8 Wireless Rear Speaker Kit, compatible with most new LG sound bar models. And with Google Assistant built into more models for 2020, users can control compatible smart home devices from their LG soundbar with the comfort and ease of conversational voice commands. Connectivity is easier than ever with the addition of enhanced audio return channel (eARC) so owners can plug external devices directly into their eARC compatible TVs and enjoy three-dimensional sound of high-resolution audio formats, such as Dolby True HD or DTS Master Audio.1

Among LG’s new entries in the sound bar category are two CES Innovation Award winners. Premium models SN9YG and SN11RG are recognized for their enhanced sound quality and usability, while the flagship model SN11RG is a 7.1.4-channel system complete with two wireless rear speakers that deliver forward- and up-firing sound for 360 degrees of auditory bliss.

With sleek, future-proof designs that match perfectly with the minimalist aesthetics of LG’s sleek 55- and 65inch TVs, these stylish sound bars create seamless visual harmony that look splendid in any room.

“Our goal has always been to bring better sound to more people, and by offering more great products that leverage our successful partnership with Meridian, our latest sound bars help achieve this,” said Park Hyung-woo, head of LG Home Entertainment Co.’s audio and video business. “Highperformance, convenient and very versatile, LG’s newest models make the premium audio experience accessible to more customers worldwide.”

Saturday, February 1, 2020 A11

EU stops short of recommending ban on China’s Huawei

By Kelvin Chan The Associated Press

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ONDON—The European Union unveiled security guidelines for next-generation high-speed wireless networks that stop short of calling for a ban on Huawei, in the latest setback for the US campaign against the Chinese tech company.

The EU’s executive commission on Wednesday outlined a set of strategic and technical measures aimed at reducing cyber-security risks from fifth-generation, or 5G, mobile networks. The recommendations include blocking high-risk equipment suppliers from “critical and sensitive” parts of the network, including the core, which keeps track of data and authenticates smartphones connecting to cell towers.

No companies were mentioned by name but the term high-risk supplier was an obvious reference to Huawei , the world’s top maker of telecom infrastructure equipment, such as routers, switches and antennas—the hidden plumbing through which wireless companies’ Internet data traffic flows.

The guidance in the EU’s “toolbox” for 5G is aimed at helping national governments handle the technical challenges and geopolitical controversy involving Huawei as they prepare to build new telecom infrastructure costing billions of dollars. But it will be up to individual countries to decide what kind of role Huawei will play.

“As many critical services will depend on 5G, ensuring the security of our networks is of high strategic importance for the entire European Union,” the EU’s executive vice president overseeing digital strategy Margrethe Vestager said at a press briefing in Brussels.

The US has been lobbying European allies to ban Huawei, over concerns it could be compelled to help with electronic eavesdropping after Beijing enacted a 2017 national intelligence law. US officials also worry that 5G networks would rely heavily on software, leaving them open to vulnerabilities, and have repeatedly warned they would have to reconsider intelligence sharing with allies that use Huawei.

The company has denied the allegations.

The measures are similar to those taken a day earlier by Britain, which also opted not to introduce an outright ban on Huawei , disappointing the Trump administration. Instead, the British government prohibited it from supplying equipment used in the core, while limiting its role supplying antennas and base stations for the less sensitive “radio access network.”

“Our view of Huawei is putting it in your system creates real risk,” said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was due to arrive in London on Wednesday to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and other officials. Pompeo said the US would evaluate the UK policy “but our view is we should have Western systems with Western rules and American information should only pass across a trusted network.”

New 5G networks are expected to drive the next wave of innovation, transmitting massive amounts of data at superfast speeds from more objects and locations. They would, for example, help make possible “smart” robotic factories. The recommendations are “based on an objective assessment of risks and a balanced set of possible measures,” Vestager said. “They apply across the board and do not target any specific country or company.”

Under the guidelines, the “risk profile” of an equipment supplier, including the likelihood it is “subject to interference from a non-EU country,” should be taken into account.

Huawei competes mainly with two European rivals, Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson.

The Commission wants EU member countries to implement the guidelines by April 30.

Huawei said it welcomed the EU decision.

“This non-biased and fact-based approach toward 5G security allows Europe to have a more secure and faster 5G network,” the company said, adding it has been operating in Europe for nearly two decades and has a “proven track record” in security.

The EU recommendations also include tightening security requirements for wireless companies and making sure they have a strategy to buy gear from more than one supplier.

Europe is poised to poised to start rolling out 5G, with wireless companies expected to launch service in 138 cities across the bloc by the end of the year. n AP Diplomatic Writer Matt Lee, traveling with Pompeo, contributed to this report.

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

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Start the ’20s with a bang... for your buck TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

Y

a lot of podcasts, such as GoodTimes with Mo, The Halo-Halo Show, Stuff You Should Know, and TwiT, and they’re perfect whenever I’m commuting or stuck in traffic.

And though your phone speakers may sound good, it’s not always ideal. You need a great set of earphones/ headphones to enjoy your music, and these days True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earphones are probably the most popular.

REALME BUDS AIR

CHANGE is good. It can be as personal as committing to your resolutions and kicking out those bad habits, and getting a makeover (a new haircut, new clothes) is always a confidence booster. Or maybe what you need is to upgrade your devices to make you more efficient at work.

The good thing now is that because of competition, you don’t have to break the bank in order to get an excellent phone, laptop, or earphones. All you have to do is check out the reviews from unbiased sources (like us! ehem...shameless plug) to help you decide.

Remember, the most expensive isn’t always the best, and different people have different needs.

So whether you’re planning to return to the gym after a long hiatus, pursuing that promotion at work or, perhaps, thinking of a career change, here are some devices to help you get ready for that transformation.

REALME is known for its value-for-money smartphones, and now the brand launches its first True Wireless Sound Technology earphones called the realme Buds Air. The realme Buds Air is designed to provide users a taste of true music freedom with real cablefree connection, while ensuring a seamless audio experience. It is powered by the R1 chipset with Bluetooth 5.0, elevating the wireless experience by allowing convenient and easy-access use.

Priced at just P3,990, it is the first in its price segment to adopt dual-channel transmission technology for enhanced audio, minimizing latency up to 51 percent to guarantee a swift and steady synchronization between audio and visuals, allowing mobile gaming fans to enjoy an enhanced gaming experience. For those who love watching movies, the realme Buds Air has a 12mm bass sound driver that delivers intensive and powerful audio quality without compromising richness and fidelity.

The earphones offers more than three hours of music playback and a total of 17 when charged using the cabin. It also has a built-in Google Assistant, intelligent touch operation and high grade sensors allowing you to answer calls or activate game mode with just a tap.

We’ll do a more in-depth review of the realme Buds Air once we get our hands on the unit. It comes in three colors: Black, White and Yellow, which is the color story that stands out. It is currently available on realme’s official store in Lazada at a special price on February 6.

MUSIC is a very powerful thing. It can generate a range of emotions when you listen to it, and a lot of people find motivation and inspiration when listening to music. That’s probably why Spotify has a playlist for every kind of activity and mood. Unfortunately, I’m not the type of person who can focus when listening to music (because I tend to sing-along), so I usually listen to music when I’m driving so I won’t fall asleep. Besides music, I’ve also been listening to

THE other TWS earbuds that I’m currently using is the Joyroom True Wireless Stereo Bilateral Wireless Earbuds. They now come in a limited-edition black variant which I got from Digital Walker at a special discounted price of just P1,690. Its easy to mistake the Joyroom JR-T04s for Apple AirPods, but its price tag makes it all the more an easy recommendation.

It’s very easy to use as it automatically pairs with your phone once you take it out of the case. It features

ES, I know it’s already February, but Chinese New Year was just last week and after everything that’s been happening all over the world, I think we can all agree that the first 30 days have been far from great. So could we just consider that our “trial” month and pray for things to get better?

The beginning of the year is as good as any opportunity for a fresh start, and it has become a ritual for many to welcome the new year with the mantra “New Year, New Me”.

NEW YEAR, NEW GEAR

GET INTO GROOVE

JOYROOM JR-T04S BLACK EDITION

Bluetooth 5.0 for that stable and strong signal, a 13mm dynamic speaker, 6D shock stereo, imported MEMS microphone, nondestructive noise reduction, bilateral stereo high-definition filter call, and three to 3.5 hours of playtime with a standby time of 24 to 48 hours. Best of all, it sounds good.

QUAD-CAMERA BATTERY KING?

FOR those planning on getting a new phone (or maybe a backup one), the realme 5i presents a very attractive package: four-camera setup, 5000mAh battery, big screen, big storage and a price that’s within the budget segment.

The realme 5 series was a big success for the brand with a total global shipment of more than 5.5 million units last year. With the realme 5i, the brand again looks to disrupt the local tech industry with an unheard combination of great specs and affordable pricing. Designed to propel the goals of young aspiring content creators, the realme 5i packs powerful quad-camera setup comprising of a 119-degree ultrawide-angle 8MP lens, 12MP main camera, 2MP portrait lens and 2MP ultra-macro lens, suited for both photography beginners and experts.

For aspiring mobile gamers, the 11nm octa-core Snapdragon 665 AIE processor guarantees enhanced gaming-class performance to enable every gamer uninterrupted use without the fear of lagging.

Complementing this powerful processor is a massive 5,000mAh battery that provides the longest standby time in its price segment at 30 days.

Last, if you hate the shiny back of all the current phones, you’ll love the new grainy texture finish on the realme 5i. It eliminates those smudges and fingerprints, and makes it less slippery to hold. The realme 5i comes with a 3GB RAM + 64GB storage variant and two stunning colors (Aqua Blue and Forest) for only P6,990.

LAPTOP GOAL: HUAWEI MATEBOOK D 15

IT looks like a MacBook, feels like a MacBook, but doesn’t empty your wallet like the MacBook—meet Huawei’s Matebook D 15.

To be honest, the almost P15,000 to P18,000 worth of preorder freebies alone makes this the best bangfor-the-buck laptop, but the MateBook D 15 offers a lot more in terms of specs and performance especially if you are a Huawei phone user.

The Huawei MateBook D 15 is the latest member of the MateBook family and brings plenty of innovative features that synergize well with other screens, creating an accessible and efficient device experience.

The MateBook D 15’s slim profile radiates futuristic vibes, and opening the laptop reinforces

the cutting-edge style. The FullView IPS display’s 15.6 inches of screen space occupies 87 percent of the frame, providing a vivid and immersive viewing experience regardless of the activity. Close the lid and the laptop transforms back into all its streamlined, metal unibody glory, weighing just a shade over 1.5 kilograms.

Powering up and unlocking the MateBook D 15 is a simple matter of tapping the power button-mounted fingerprint sensor. One action turns on the device and logs the user in instantly, providing an efficient and secure workstation in any scenario.

The MateBook D 15 comes with a portable 65W USB-C fast-charging power brick. Its almost the size of your regular phone charger and you can use it to charge both the laptop and other devices (phones, tablets) with USB-C ports. The detachable cable can also be used to transfer files between such devices.

The AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor and 8GB of RAM and Radeon Vega 8 graphics chip enable the MateBook D 15 to keep up with your tasks whether for work or play. Launching and switching between programs is lag-free, and booting from off state to the desktop is only a matter of seconds thanks to the built-in PCIe SSD (solid state drive) that shares storage duties with the HDD (hard disk drive). No matter your use case with the MateBook D 15, performance is always at blazing peak.

If you are a Huawei smartphone user, the MateBook D 15 makes for the perfect companion with Multi-Screen Collaboration. Fire up Huawei Share, place the phone on the laptop’s base and easily work with files stored on your phone. Being able to access files and phone apps from the MateBook provides a continuous and intuitive workflow for maximum productivity.

In his speech during the recent launch, George Li, country manager of Huawei Consumer Business Group for the Philippines, said: “Last year we previewed what a Huawei product ecosystem would look like, and now with the MateBook D 15 we are one big step closer to realizing that ecosystem’s potential.

We envision our consumers accomplishing their tasks or enjoying their entertainment seamlessly from one device to another, and the MateBook D 15 is a significant part of that vision.”

The MateBook D15 will be available for preorders from February 4 to 14, and freebies include a Huawei T3 8” tablet, Huawei Bluetooth mouse, Huawei backpack, Microsoft Office Personal 2019 and 1TB External Drive, Bluetooth speaker and Huawei Freelace, depending on which store you’ll preoder.

Do visit our blog www.whereiseduy.com for the complete preorder details. n

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In the ad material of Notice of filing of application for Alien Employment Permits published on December 3, 2019, the name of Mr. Nia, Yudi under SOFTMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT SOLUTIONS, INC. should have been read as Mr. Yudi and not as published.

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE NCR Regional Office located at 967 Maligaya St., Malate, Manila, within 30 days after its publication.

Please inform DOLE NCR if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR