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Possible suicide bombing ups ante in security enforcement in South

PRESIDENT Duterte inspects a Roman Catholic cathedral on Jolo, Sulu, on January 28, 2019, a day after two bombs exploded during a Sunday Mass. The attack occurred in the Sulu provincial capital on Jolo island, where Abu Sayyaf militants have carried out years of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings and have aligned themselves with the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack. MALACAÑANG PALACE VIA AP

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By Rene Acosta

OVERNMENT security forces are enforcing stricter countermeasures—including intensified operations against lawless elements—in the aftermath of the deadly twin bombings at a cathedral in Jolo, Sulu, last week, which, ironically, occurred despite the prevailing martial rule in the whole of Mindanao.

However, military and police officials were quick to reject observations that the martial law prevailing in the region has failed to prevent the deadly bombings that killed 21 people and wounded more than 90 others. For Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, the attacks cannot overshadow the success of martial law, which has been credited for Mindanao’s improved overall security condition and in the neutralization of a number of so-called enemies of the state. Apart from turning in terrorists, weapons and wanted persons and holding lawless groups at bay,

or placing them on the run, the security measure was also credited with the success of the conduct of the first phase of the plebiscite for the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

‘Procedural lapses’

WHILE the twin bombings were blamed by the military on the Ajangajang Group of the Abu Sayyaf, but claimed by the Islamic State, Lorenzana said the incident transpired because of “procedural lapses.” The defense secretary admitted that soldiers who have been guarding the Jolo cathedral may have failed to check or frisk the woman who brought the bomb in-

side the church, given the gender and religious sensibilities involved. “Since it is in the church, they no longer ask them or subject them even to a body search, especially if it is a woman even with a small bag,” Lorenzana said. President Duterte has said that it is not a norm in the country for men to frisk women, especially if the subjects of searches are in the house of worships. Lorenzana said that weeks or even months before the attacks, they had already gotten wind of the plans to bomb churches in Sulu, Basilan and Zamboanga, a reason that forced them to tighten

security in the provinces, apart from deploying soldiers for roundthe-clock duties in their churches.

Locking down provinces

LORENZANA said that immediately after the bombings, they further tightened security in Sulu and even in other parts of Mindanao, while intensifying their conduct of checkpoints and actual operations under the guidance of martial law. “We enforced stricter security in the whole city, the whole town, meaning everybody [who] is coming and going out will be inspected and we monitored the movements Continued on A2

Reggae. Puppies. Whatever it takes, central banks want attention

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ENTRAL banks face an inherent challenge in a world where nuance is out of fashion and policy conversations happen in 280 characters or less.

What they do ranges from the mildly specialist to the mindbendingly complex, and it’s risky for central bankers if the public has no idea what they’re up to—or why. Policies to stabilize inflation work best when people believe in them, because they depend on expectations of where prices will go. And a popular backlash against higher interest rates can bring political heat. The fix? Puppies. And reggae songs, cartoons, dancing fishermen. The Fed and its global brethren, from the Bank of Jamaica to cod-fixated Norway, are turning to social media and finding new ways

to explain themselves to even the most lay observers. Some of the efforts may fall on deaf ears (the European Central Bank, or ECB, has 1,600 followers on Instagram, fewer than its 2,500 staffers), but it’s a good time to try. Several of the world’s biggest monetary authorities are moving toward tighter policy, setting themselves up as obvious scapegoats if economies lose their shine. And as populism sweeps the globe, established institutions—especially those with unelected leaders— need to shore up public faith. “Our challenge is to speak in plain English, as opposed to

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.1610

a high-tech scientific language that only half a dozen people actually understand,” Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr said at his first press conference last May.

Beyond words

A DOUBLE-DECKER bus passes by the Bank of England, the central bank of the United Kingdom, on Threadneedle Street in London. ROLAND NAGY | DREAMSTIME.COM

IT’S a widespread problem. The Bank of England examined its own publications in 2016 and concluded they required a college-level reading age, and that eighth- or ninthgrade would be a better starting point. The Philippines Central Bank carried out similar readability tests and decided its statements “may not really be for a wider audience”—one reason it began livestreaming meetings last year. Reaching beyond words could be part of the solution. Orr’s bank has begun publishing a “Monetary Policy Statement in Pictures” to explain its stance. One cartoon showed an arrow approaching its target, another a “speed bump” sign meant to signify uncertainty. Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4790 n UK 68.4300 n HK 6.6472 n CHINA 7.7858 n SINGAPORE 38.7526 n AUSTRALIA 37.9106 n EU 59.7243 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9088

Source: BSP (February 1, 2019 )

News

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GAME CHANGER? Continued from a1

of the people there, short of population control,” he said. The defense chief said they have also enforced strictly the curfew in Sulu, and this was already being observed even before the bombings. Similar security efforts were implemented in Zamboanga and even in Davao City. On the other hand, the Philippine National Police has also added more checkpoints in other parts of Mindanao, both for the martial law and for the upcoming elections. Aside from the lockdown in Sulu, Lorenzana said, they were conducting nonstop military operations against the Ajang-ajang Group, the Abu Sayyaf and other bandit groups in the province and

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in other parts of Mindanao. He said martial law has constricted the movements of terrorist groups and have confined them in the mountains and this is the reason they, or their affiliates, have been forced to carry out diversionary attacks, which, unfortunately, happened in Sulu.

Tightened screening

ARMED Forces Public Affairs Office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said the bombings had prompted them to adjust their security protocols, one by tapping stricter security screening in areas and establishments where they are maintaining a presence. He said the security procedure was adopted in order to ensure that the Jolo cathedral bombings will not be repeated.

E enforced stricter security in the whole city, the whole town, meaning everybody [who] is coming and going out will be inspected and we monitored the movements of the people there, short of population control.” —Lorenzana

A POLICE investigator examines the scene of a grenade attack of a Muslim mosque in Zamboanga City on Janiary 30, 2019. The attack came after suspected militants exploded two bombs at a Roman Catholic Cathedral in southern Jolo, Sulu, during a Sunday Mass. WESMINCOM ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES VIA AP

FROM left, Roman Catholic Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, CBCP Vice President Bishop Romulo Valles, the President of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), and Bishop Antonio Ledesma confer during a news conference on the Catholic Church’s reaction to Sunday’s two bombings of a Catholic cathedral in Jolo, Sulu. In their statement, the CBCP has “observed how the culture of violence has gradually prevailed in our country and the bombings in Jolo is a further evidence to the cycle of hate that is destroying the moral fabric of our country.” AP/BULLIT MARQUEZ

On the other hand, Lorenzana was also considering the use of metal detectors for soldiers doing security duties in public places and other places of convergence, including churches. He said body frisking should also be implemented and should

exclude no one in order to ensure that even a strapped bomb in the case of a suicide bomber cannot elude checking. In Davao City, church officials have already imposed the “no backpack policy” for their parishioners who are going to church, a security measure that Maj. Gen. Felimon Santos Jr., commander of the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, said will strengthen

the implementation of martial law. “We appreciate the advisory and directive of the Catholic Church and Davao City as it strengthens the implementation of martial law in Davao City. It provides our implementing units’ additional legal basis and authority in preventing terrorism, and ensuring the safety and well-being of our people. We want to assure everyone that our soldiers assist-

ing the police will be prudent in the conduct of implementation of the policy,” Santos said. “The security of everyone matters. We must, however, be genderand culturally sensitive. Always be reminded to adhere to the principles we have set in the implementation of martial law, which are rule of law, necessity, proportionality, and respect for human rights,” Santos said.

Reggae. Puppies... Continued from a1

Jamaica’s central bank has added melody to the visuals, posting music videos on Twitter. “Inflation’s not the enemy if we control it,” goes one of its reggae songs. “If it’s too high, the people have a cry. If it’s too low, the economy don grow.” The clips made a splash, with some garnering hundreds of thousands of views. Norway’s central bankers could be forgiven for wondering what the fuss was about—because they were making monetary music first. Back in 2017, Norges Bank posted a video in which fishermen in yellow raincoats sing about cod. It was an introduction to the new 200-krone note, which prominently features the fish. Much of the recent communication out of central banks is similarly light. It appears to be trying to make institutions with an ivorytower reputation seem relatable, even hip.

Fed dogs

ON Twitter, Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari likes to intersperse his wonky observations about inflation and employment with pictures of his Newfoundland dogs and his latest barbecue. The Atlanta Fed is trying to make #dogsofthefed happen on Instagram, where the ECB was touting a to-do list last month: “Build a snowman, eat cookies, keep prices stable.” #Notjustforchristmas. There’s also a more serious side

to the new messaging. Bank Indonesia, which has more Twitter followers than the Federal Reserve, has been live-streaming its meetings since 2015 and central banks in Thailand and the Philippines followed suit last year. And it’s not always short form. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney spent more than an hour answering online questions this month, ultimately posting more than 10,000 words. John Williams, now the New York Fed president, took part in similar forums when he led the San Francisco Fed. In fact, the use of new media is just one part of a longer-running attempt at transparency. Alan Greenspan was famously cryptic early in his tenure as Fed chair. But late-phase Greenspan and his successors worked to explain policy more clearly. Globally, it’s become common practice for central banks to engage in national and local outreach. Rome, Bologna and Venice have hosted “Meet the Bank of Italy” events for a wider public, and dozens more are planned nationwide. The ECB recently celebrated its 20th birthday, prompting President Mario Draghi to call for some “candid” thinking about how to complete Europe’s monetary union. Videos shared with the bank’s 460,000 Twitter followers could help to include the public in that debate.

New challenges

CENTRAL banks are using new communication tools in part be-

cause they face new challenges. Recent American presidents have avoided direct criticism of the Fed, but Donald Trump has attacked it on Twitter and elsewhere for raising interest rates. The Bank of England needs to stay nimble, amid Brexit turmoil; the ECB can’t assume that European harmony is a done deal; and all of them have to reckon with cryptocurrencies and digital banking, which are making cash more complicated. Yet, amid all the change, the old conundrum persists. It’s tough to reach a broad audience and demonstrate accountability when your message involves things like the Phillips Curve and neutral interest rates. The world’s most powerful central banker ran up against the problem during his first year as Fed chair. Jerome Powell said from the start that he’d try to keep communications simple, and won some early praise for doing so. But when Powell said in October that rates were “a long way” from neutral, he got blasted. “A long way” might be accessible language, but it’s also imprecise. Markets reacted sharply, believing the Fed chief was flagging a hawkish turn. It was a reminder that trying to be transparent carries risks. “His attempt to speak in plain English is laudable,” said Omair Sharif at Société Générale in New York. “But all of these different outreach attempts, they also just introduced a lot more opportunity for fumbling that message.” Bloomberg News

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20 charged in Chinese birth tourism crackdown

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ANTA ANA, California— Dongyuan Li’s business was called “You Win USA,” and authorities say she coached pregnant Chinese women on how to get into the United States to deliver babies who would automatically enjoy all the benefits of American citizenship. Over two years, the now-41year-old raked in millions through her business, where mothersto-be paid between $40,000 and $80,000 each to come to California, stay in an upscale apartment and give birth, authorities said. Li, who was arrested on Thursday, is one of 20 people charged in the first federal crackdown on birth tourism businesses that prosecutors said brought hundreds of pregnant women to the United States. Jing Dong, 42, and Michael Wei Yueh Liu, 53, who allegedly operated “USA Happy Baby,” also were arrested. All three pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges including conspiracy, visa fraud and money laundering, according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the US Attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Trials were scheduled for March 26. More than a dozen others, including the operator of a third such business, also face charges but are believed to have returned to China, prosecutors said. While it isn’t illegal to visit the United States while pregnant, authorities said the businesses— which were raided by federal agents in 2015—touted the benefits of having US citizen babies, who could get free public education and years later help their parents immigrate.

They also allegedly had women hide their pregnancies while seeking travel visas and lie about their plans, with one You Win USA customer telling consular officials she was going to visit a Trump hotel in Hawaii. US authorities said the businesses also posed a national security risk since their customers, some who worked for the Chinese government, secured American citizenship for children who can move back to the United States once they’re 21 and then sponsor their parents for green cards. “I see this as a grave national security concern and vulnerability,” said Mark Zito, assistant special agent-in-charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s homeland security investigations. “Are some of them doing it for security because the United States is more stable? Absolutely. But will those governments take advantage of this? Yes, they will.” Messages left for Li and Dong’s attorneys were not immediately returned. Derek Tung, Liu’s attorney, said the growing interest among Chinese women to give birth to American babies drew attention to a phenomenon long employed by citizens of other countries. His client had nothing to do with getting women visas from China but worked almost as a subcontractor to provide housing once they arrived, he said. “My client is merely the provider. The people who are in China are the ones in charge of everything,” he said. Birth tourism businesses have long operated in California and other states and cater to couples from China, Russia, Nigeria and elsewhere. AP

U.S. MAY PULL OUT FROM NUKE ARMS AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA

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R E S I D E N T Donald J. Trump will suspend US obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty , a 1987 pact with the former Soviet Union that became a pillar of international arms control, as it prepares to pull out entirely, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday night. The Associated Press, meanwhile, reported that the Trump administration is poised to announce on Friday that it is withdrawing from the treaty that has been a centerpiece of superpower arms control since the Cold War and whose demise some analysts worry could fuel a new arms race. The Pentagon sent a notification to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the administration planned, under terms of the treaty, to withdraw in six months, according to one of the people. Both people requested anonymity to discuss the shift in policy. The notification came before a Saturday deadline for Russia to destroy all of its ground-launched cruise missiles known as 9M729s, associated equipment and launchers. The suspension represents another flashpoint in US-Russia relations and another repudiation by Trump and his aides of international agreements. While Europeans and many US lawmakers had hoped to preserve the treaty to stem proliferation of ground-launched, intermediate-range nuclear missiles, the Trump administration argued that Russia has been in violation for years anyway. White House National Security Adviser John Bolton has called the treaty outdated

and one that doesn’t address the rising threat from China, which isn’t a signatory. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had warned nations to prepare for the treaty’s likely collapse. The US argues that Russia has jeopardized the INF treaty for years by deploying groundlaunched missiles that fall within the banned range of 500 kilometers to 5,500 kilometers. Russia has denied violating the INF treaty, accused the US of violations, and said withdrawal from the Cold War accord would trigger an arms race. Trump has been threatening to suspend the treaty for months, although American officials had left open whether the US would simultaneously announce a full withdrawal, triggering a process that would take six months to complete. Trump indicated in October that he wanted to pull out, but after consulting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other allies decided to delay the suspension. Pompeo said in early December that the US was giving Russia two more months to get back in compliance with the treaty. In the Senate, Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, and other Democratic senators have drafted a measure that seeks to put new restrictions on the types of weapons the INF was designed to control. “Blowing up the treaty risks the proliferation of nuclear-capable systems by Russia, threatening Europe and jeopardizing decades of bipartisan efforts to reduce nuclear dangers with Russia,” he said in a statement on Thursday. Bloomberg News and AP

THOUSANDS FIRED AFTER GARMENT INDUSTRY PROTEST IN BANGLADESH

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HAKA, Bangladesh—More than 5,000 Bangladesh workers who demanded higher wages have been fired by factory owners, and hundreds face police charges in the world’s second-largest garment export industry after China, an activist said on Thursday. Kalpona Akter of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity said the firings came after thousands of workers took to the

streets earlier this month in and around Dhaka, the nation’s capital. But an industry leader said on Thursday that the dismissed workers were involved in vandalism or other crimes, or were laid off when factories closed because of business losses. One worker was killed and more than 50 were injured in clashes during the protests in the Ashulia, Dhaka, Gazipur and Savar areas. AP

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Beijing vows to buy more American goods, sees progress in trade talks

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HINA promised to “substantially” expand purchases of US goods after the latest round of trade talks, and both sides planned further discussions to reach a breakthrough with only a month to go before the Trump administration is set to ratchet up tariffs. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will dispatch two of his top negotiators to China following two days of talks with Chinese officials in Washington. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will visit the Asian nation in mid-February to hold the next round of talks. The two sides made important progress during talks that were candid, specific and fruitful, according to a statement published by China’s Xinhua News Agency on Friday. China agreed to increase imports of US agriculture, energy, industrial products and services, it said, without providing details. The countries also agreed to strengthen cooperation on intellectual property rights and technology transfer, Xinhua said. In a news statement, the White House didn’t list any new commitments by either side, saying only that progress had been made and “much work remains to be done.” The White House reiterated its threat to raise tariffs by March 1, unless a “satisfactory outcome” is reached. Trump also raised the possibility of a face-to-face meeting with Xi Jinping after receiving an official invitation from the Chinese leader. Earlier, he tweeted that “no final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future.” One possibility would be for a meeting with Xi after the US president’s planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February.The teams have made “tremendous progress” but that “doesn’t mean we have a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

China has agreed to buy a substantial amount of American soybeans, the president added, calling the offer a sign of good faith. The agreement to continue talking raises hopes the world ’s t wo big gest economies cou ld find a way to end the conf lict before March 1, when the US has said it may more than double tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. But there was little concrete evidence they bridged yawning differences over the toughest issues, such as China’s policy on intellectual property and the heavy involvement of the state in its economy. Lighthizer told reporters on Thursday that the two sides had engaged in an intense and detailed discussion focused largely on US demands for Chinese structural reforms this week. He conceded, however, that the two sides were only just starting to draft a common negotiating document, a sign of just how much work remained on nailing down the substance. He said that the US and China were still working on just what

form a final deal would take, but that it would not be going to Congress for a vote. One possibility would be for the two sides to issue a memorandum of understanding, raising questions over how enduring such a deal would be and whether it would last into another administration. China has in the past walked away from similar MOUs after a period of time. The US is insisting that any deal should be enforceable and Lighthizer called that idea “foundational” on Thursday. But people familiar with the discussions say the US side itself has yet to agree internally on what the right mechanism to enforce any agreement would be. While the Chinese have signaled their willingness to have a deal be enforceable, they have been toying with ideas such as having independent arbitration tribunals that the US is unlikely to accept, one person familiar with the negotiations said.

Deal skeptics

SOME in the US business community remain wary of a quick deal,

The statement certainly signals progress, but at best limited progress on the core long-term structural issues that separate the two sides. The statement ends with a notso-veiled threat that China will need to offer more substantive concessions to enable a deal that would take further tariffs off the table.”—Prasad

which they fear could leave some of the knottier issues in the economic relationship unresolved. Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of international affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce, said while progress had been made this week the reality was that a lot of hard work remained. “We’re at halftime of the Super Bowl of trade relations,” Brilliant told reporters on a conference call. The slow pace of talks and mountain of issues remaining to be agreed sets up what could be a tense countdown to the March 1 deadline, with a personal meeting between Trump and Xi looming as perhaps the only way to bridge some gaps. “The statement certainly signals progress, but at best limited progress on the core long-term st r uc t u ra l i ssues t h at se parate the two sides,” said Eswar Prasad, a trade policy professor at Cornell University. “ The statement ends with a not-soveiled threat that China will need to offer more substantive concessions to enable a deal that would take further tariffs off the table.” Lighthizer led the two days of negotiations in Washington with Liu, the highest-level talks since Trump met Xi on December 1 and declared a 90-day trade truce. Liu said that China hopes to accelerate that timetable. But it w il l likely ta ke a meeting of the presidents to break the deadlock, said Derek Scissors, a China expert at the American Enterprise Institute. He said a Trump-Xi summit “ is, as it has always been, the main event.” Bloomberg News

Maduro’s 20-ton pile of gold stuck in limbo in Caracas vault

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ITH 20 tons of gold stacked up for loading and shipping out of Venezuelan vaults, the mystery surrounding them—and the saber-rattling they’re sparking—is intensifying. The Russian airplane that a Venezuelan lawmaker alleged was in Caracas to spirit the gold away left the country without it. But now a cargo plane has landed from Dubai, triggering a new wave of speculation that the gold is headed there instead. As Nicolas Maduro, the authoritarian ruler, tries to stave off mounting international pressure to relinquish power, the fate of those gold bars has become a cause of great concern both in Venezuela and abroad. Valued at about $850 million, they are an important source of wealth in a country that has plunged into extreme poverty under Maduro’s leadership. On Thursday, Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who has helped spearhead the US’s hard-line stance toward the Maduro regime, fired off a tweet calling out the United Arab Emirates’s Noor Capital as the financial firm orchestrating the gold transaction with Venezuelan authorities. Rubio went on to warn the firm that both it and any airline it hires to take the gold away will be subject to US Treasury sanctions. As of late Thursday, the 20 tons had yet to leave the central bank, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. They

NICOLAS MADURO speaks as he touches a stack of gold ingots in Caracas, in March 2018. CARLOS BECERRA/BLOOMBERG

had, though, been weighed and separated for shipment, the person said. He did not know where the gold might be heading or the nature of the transaction. The cargo plane was still at the airport in Caracas, according to the web site Flightradar24. Multiple calls after business hours to Noor Capital’s Abu Dhabi office weren’t answered. A Venezuelan central bank spokesperson didn’t respond to calls or text messages seeking comment. Rubio’s warning came a day after

National Security Adviser John Bolton sent a similar message to the investing community. “My advice to bankers, brokers, traders, facilitators, and other businesses: don’t deal in gold, oil, or other Venezuelan commodities being stolen from the Venezuelan people by the Maduro mafia,’’ Bolton said in a tweet. Twenty tons is a lot of gold bars—almost 1,600 of them. Together, they represent about 10 percent of all the Venezuelan central bank’s foreign reserves. Those assets

form a key part of the fierce battle for control of Venezuela’s finances between Maduro and Juan Guaido, the National Assembly leader who is trying to install a transitional government with the support of the US and other countries across the region. In interviews and press conferences, Guaido stresses again and again his team’s push to safeguard Venezuela’s few remaining assets so that they can be used to fund the flow of humanitarian aid into the crisistorn country. He has scored key victories in recent days. The Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on the national oil company PDVSA, effectively blocking Maduro from exporting crude to the US, and granted Guaido control of Venezuelan assets at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. And last week, the Bank of England denied Maduro officials’ request to withdraw $1.2 billion of gold stored there after top US officials, including Bolton and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, lobbied their UK counterparts to cut off the regime from its overseas holdings. “The English stole the gold in the Bank of England,’’ Diosdado Cabello, the powerful No. 2 in Maduro’s socialist party, said in a speech broadcast on state television this week. “The imperialist bosses should know that we will never give up.’’ Bloomberg News

ExportUnlimited

A4 Saturday, February 2, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

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ProPak Show goes to the Philippines

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ROPAK, the leading processing and packaging trade event in Asia, set up its very first trade exhibition in the Philippines. With the support of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Packaging Institute of the Philippines (PIP), UBM Exhibitions Philippines Inc. successfully launched the ProPak Philippines 2019 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila, Pasay City, on January 24. Organized by UBM Philippines and powered by ProPak Asia, ProPak Philippines 2019 is the first-of-itskind food, drink and pharmaceutical focused international trade show for the Philippines, exhibiting world-class packaging and processing machines to further boost the capability of local packaging service providers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). UBM President M. Gandhi as-

serted that food manufacturing is the Philippines’s strongest manufacturing sector, representing 65 percent of the manufacturing industry, which is in need of upgrading technology and higher levels of automation. “ProPak Philippines will support manufacturing ambitions and serve as a springboard to expand business opportunities for the processing and packaging industries, especially in the key sectors of food, beverage and pharmaceuticals, through introducing new technology, new products, services and education to industry,” Gandhi said. Featuring 292 world-leading manufacturers from 29 countries, in-

cluding nine international pavilions from China, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom, the trade exhibition showcases the best and latest technology, machines and solutions for industry from largescale manufacturing to MSMEs. Similarly, DTI sees the importance of good packaging in enhancing the marketability and competitiveness of Philippine MSMEs, and so the department has been working with UBM through efforts such as Pack Pinas! and ProPak Asia to broaden the horizons of MSMEs in their product-packaging options. “Packaging is very important. When we started introducing product development to a lot of our MSMEs, it was so difficult to convince them to change the color, the design, the way they do things, until an event had to take place, a trade fair had to happen. Product prototypes were the ones making money and it was a realization among MSMEs that they had to innovate, they had

to be more creative. They had to find out what the market needs so that they can sell more. Before, we look at packaging only to protect the product, making sure that we have a longer shelf life for the products. But now, more than that, packaging, in the words of Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, is your form of advertisement,” said Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Cuison-Maglaya to the thousands of participants. Last year, the DTI and PIP sent more than 500 MSMEs to the ProPak Asia 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. Aside from the exhibits, ProPak Philippines has also started to conduct seminars to discuss latest industry developments, trends and techniques in supply and innovation for the food, drink and pharmaceutical processing and packaging industries. On its first day, the trade show garnered almost 4,000 trade visitors composed of food processors, importers, distributors, manufacturers and other industry stakeholders.

Exporters advised to maximize benefits of PHL-Efta free-trade agreement

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ITH the implementation of the Philippines-European Free Trade Association freetrade agreement (PHL-Efta FTA), exporters are advised to take full advantage of the benefits of the agreement. UnderthePHL-EftaFTA,allindustrial productsfromthePhilippinesaregranted duty-free market access to the members ofEfta—Iceland,Liechtenstein,Norway, and Switzerland. The Philippines also enjoys significant concessions on agricultural exports of its interest. Opportunities for Philippine exports truly abound in Efta as all member-states have developed economies and rank high in terms of competitiveness, wealth creation per inhabitant,

life expectancy and quality of life. Aside from the preferential tariff treatment, more liberal rules of origin are laid out in the PHL-Efta FTA compared with the other FTAs. The agreement allows goods produced from raw materials sourced overseas to claim originating status as long as the non-originating components undergo sufficient working or processing in the Philippines. Administrative procedures are likewise eased under the PH-Efta FTA. Instead of securing a Certificate of Origin from the Bureau of Customs to avail themselves of preferential tariffs, exporters only need to issue an Origin Declaration (OD). It is a one-paragraph

declaration in a commercial document sufficient to ascertain the originating status of goods that can be completed in an invoice, packing list, delivery note or any other relevant commercial document. Exporters are classified into approved exporter and non-approved exporter under the PH-Efta FTA. An approved exporter is given a unique authorization number that replaces his signature on the OD. A non-approved exporter is still required to affix his signature on the document. Exporters are greatly encouraged to secure an approved exporter accreditation to further expedite trade with Efta and lower the risk of retro-

verification. It merely entails one-time application at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) that is free of charge. Interested parties may send a letter of intent to the BOC Export Coordination Division, either in writing or electronically, together with the following documents—a) Latest Income Tax Return; b) Unique Reference Number as Peza locators and Client Profile Registration System for non-Peza locators; c) Business Permit/s; d) Securities and Exchange Commission/ Department of Trade and Industry registration, where applicable; e) List of products applied for authorization to make invoice declaration; and f) Product Evaluation Report. Golda Kristy Grospe

DTI-EMB, Region 4A conduct Green Business Forum By Gil Gabriel D. Ragil STIDS, DTO-EMB

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Export Marketing Bureau’s Emerging Products Division (EMBEPD), organized and conducted a Green Business Forum: Certification Convergence Series, in cooperation with DTI Region 4A and the Association of Laguna Food Processors at Hotel Marciano, Calamba City, Laguna, on January 21. The event was attended by 49 participants from various small and medium enterprises from the region, with additional SMEs from Region 6. Most of their participation was an offshoot of a business mission

to Europe, which they joined and where they realized the importance of Green Certification in targeting premium niche markets in Europe. Topics covered during the oneday event were: Introduction to Green Business Certification, Ripples Plus and EMB Services as presented by Leah C. Alejandro of EMBEPD; Basics of Exporting by John Derrick Anchinges of EMB-Export Assistance and Business Matching Division; Organic Certification by Thalini Perera of Control Union; Fairtrade/Fair for Life Certification by Maribel A. Porras of ECOCERT; Kosher Certification by Tonette V. Salazar of Star Kosher; and Geographic Indication and Branding by Marlo Q. Carag of IPOPHIL.

Focused group discussions were organized by the EMB Team based on the topics discussed by the resource speakers. Among the primary concerns raised were the costs involved in certification and more in-depth discussions of the processes and the requirements in Green Certification. The EMB-ED pledged to continue to initiate, actively collaborate and closely cooperate with DTI regional and provincial offices, Philexport and other associations in conducting Green Business Forums: Certification Convergence Series for their SMEs under Ripples Plus. This will ensure the optimum awareness and appreciation of Green Certification for their products and processes to prepare them to be

successful in their targeted foreign markets. Actively pursuing Green Certification is expected to add value to export products, keeping them on a par with the rest of the world, which may yet prove to be crucial to the viability of their export business. Green Certification has been a consistent trend over these years in major markets like the European Union, US and Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, among others. Gaining a niche in these markets could only be possible these days if the products our exporters promote are already green certified. This is a rather “new” ball game, which Philippine exporters are well advised to prepare for and be a part of if they intend to stay and be successful in the long haul.

Export assistance By FranClem Peña

EXPORT READY!

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HE Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) offers a wide-range frontline services to the public. The Exponet or the Export Assistance Network, a unit under the Export Assistance and Business Matching Division (EABMD), maintains the network of cooperation among all government agencies regulating export products. Exponet is composed of export counselors and trade facilitation officers. Export counselors, together with DTI-EMB product and market officers, guide aspiring exporters in starting their export businesses, by providing free advice on export procedure, product sectors and target international markets. They also endorse clients to relevant government agencies that offer further assistance. They also serve as resource persons in information sessions, trade events and other opportunities where knowledge in exporting and DTI-EMB free services can be shared with the public. Export counseling may be availed of at the DTI-EMB or via online by sending an e-mail to exponet@dti.gov.ph. Exponet also spearheads the conduct of the free monthly information sessions under the Philippine Export Competitiveness Program (PECP). To reach out to more exporters, aspiring exporters, particularly the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the public in general, Exponet published the Philippine Export Guidebook (PEG) for all Negosyo Centers. It can also be accessed and downloaded at www.tradelinephilippines.dti.gov.ph. Trade facilitation officers assist exporters in finding solutions to the challenges they encounter in dealing with government regulatory offices. They kept themselves abreast with relevant laws, regulations, processes, procedures and work directly with their counterparts in other government offices in resolving problems at hand. Trade facilitation officers evaluate and validates all requests re-

ceived, consults the clients, prepares plan and coordinates with the agency or office involved. Preferred action is first to make sure applicants are compliant with the rules and regulations of the said offices. Then, the cause of the problem is identified. Last is proposing of, and working on, a practical solution. More often, trade facilitation issues are settled at the lower- to middle-management level. If the recurring problem is due to existing laws or policies, a request for action is sent to the Export Development Council, the policy-making body of the export industry. Trade facilitation officers also actively advocate ease of doing business for exports and helps their counterparts identify areas for improvement. They also contribute inputs to proposed laws, government policies or procedures that may adversely affect exporters. The most common request for assistance received and acted upon involves problems on delayed processing or approvals of licenses or registrations by regulatory offices, both in the national and local levels. There is also a notable number of requests involving returned shipments and non-approval of export shipments. Common cause is noncompliance to or unfamiliarity with trade and customs law, rules and regulations. For issues involving foreign trade and customs laws, requests for assistance are endorsed to the Philippine Trade and Investments Centers (PTIC) and the Bureau of International Trade Relations. Exponet also facilitates resolution of export trade-related complaints among domestic companies. If one of the parties is non-Filipino, said complaints are endorsed to the Export Trade Complaints Committee. Other common requests involve company verifications from both foreign and Filipino companies. Exponet services are for free. They may be contacted via email, exponet@dti.gov.ph, or office phone numbers (02) 465.3300 local 109, 110.

Sports BusinessMirror

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

Saturday, February 2, 2019

COO

A5

RIVAS

NBA RESULTS Detroit 93, Dallas 89 Orlando 107, Indiana 100 Milwaukee 105, Toronto 92 San Antonio 117, Brooklyn 114 LEBRON JAMES comes up one assist shy of a triple-double. AP

LA Lakers 123, LA Clippers 120, OT Philadelphia 113, Golden State 104

A6 Saturday, February 2, 2019 | Editor: Mike Besa

P Titleist refreshes the Pro V1 and Pro V1x

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By Mike Besa

HE Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x have been the most popular and arguably the highest performing golf balls across all skill levels, and Titleist wants to keep it that way. Improving icons like the Pro V1 and Pro V1x is a tricky proposition. The professional touring staff are adamant about keeping what they like about both balls, but all want a little more length to better tackle the ever-longer golf courses that host the professional events. A difficult situation for the engineers at Titleist. A key consideration was to create more parity between the Pro V1 and Pro V1x when it came to distance off the tee with a driver. On the PGA Tour the split is roughly 25 percent of professionals favoring the Pro V1 and 75 percent that prefer the Pro V1x. Most aren’t willing to sacrifice distance for the increased performance coming into the green. Titleist started by creating a new cover that’s 17-percent thinner than the old one. This in itself doesn’t contribute to additional distance gains, but it allowed Titleist to find the desired distance in other parts of the golf ball. The thinner cover allowed Titleist to increase the thickness of the inner casing (also known as the mantle) by 14 percent in the Pro V1 and 11 percent in the Pro V1x. According to Titleist, the thicker casing is part of the reason both balls are faster and

spin less on longer shots. Both balls also feature a new core, using what Titleist calls a 2.0 ZG process to make the core of the new balls. The new formulation results in a firmer outer portion, while the innermost portion of the core is softer. Like the thicker casing, the new core also adds speed with a bit less spin on long shots. Although the same changes were made to both balls, the relationship between the two remains unchanged. The Pro V1x launches higher, and although it spins more than the outgoing Pro V1x, the Pro V1x still spins a bit more. But the new Pro V1 is longer on full shots than the previous Pro V1 and is the equal of the Pro V1x with a driver off the tee. The BusinessM irror Golf was fortunate to get a sleeve each of the prerelease prototypes of both balls, and in the course of our testing, both balls are indeed much closer to each other in terms of distance off the tee. Both balls performed very similarly on shots into the green. There is no discernible difference in feel. Both balls feel heavy on the club on full swings, but the Pro V1x did feel a bit firmer on shorter shots with the wedges. We’re talking about minute differences here. Although there’s still a bit of separation between the balls, they are more similar than ever before. Oh, and the new Pro V1 and Pro V1x are finally available in yellow.

ATTAYA, Thailand—With a December christening here at Chee Chan Golf Resort, the course architects at Golfplan (www. golfplan.com) have again showcased their skill at integrating world-class golf holes with signature elements in the local landscape and culture. Here by the Gulf of Siam, the dominant element is the Chee Chan Buddha, whose serene likeness has been carved into a limestone escarpment some 110 meters high. “Buddha Mountain” is one of the region’s best-known tourist and devotional attractions. Today, his gilt-edged visage is visible from nearly every spot on the 220-acre property, including the entire opening hole. “We couldn’t afford to miss that opportunity—to start golfers on their spiritual journey under the watchful eye of Siddhartha Gautama,” said Golfplan Partner David Dale. “The Buddha invites a decision on the very first tee: play conservative to the right/lower landing area and approach the green uphill, over deep bunkers—or drive more aggressively (left of the center bunker) to create a downhill approach to unguarded putting surface. “We have much to learn from the Buddha, who taught us a ‘Middle Way’ between sensual indulgence and uncurbed asceticism. For golfers, the larger message is unambiguous: Relax and keep it in the fairway.” The December 12 grand opening at Chee Chan Golf Resort punctuates a busy end-of-year period during which Dale and his partner in Golfplan, Kevin Ramsey, unveiled and otherwise celebrated a series of projects that cannily place golf in disparate cultural contexts: n In October, the firm opened the full 18 at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa, in Uganda, where Ramsey designed an enormous man-made lagoon that divides holes 1 and 9 from 17 and 18, accommodates the property’s sparkling new marina and integrates the entire property directly with its primary attraction, mighty Lake Victoria itself. n Ramsey also applied the finishing touches this fall to Tabori Hills, a resort track to open next year in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Thanks to Ramsey’s routing, this cliff-top design will afford golfers stunning, long views of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi (where downtown patrons can access the resort by gondola). n Dale couldn’t make Chee Chan’s grand opening; he was in South Korea, debriefing with PGA Tour officials following The CJ Cup, which is contested over his feted design at The Club at Nine Bridges (#41 on Golf Magazine’s world top 100). Dale watched most of October CJ Cup from the sleek, modernist teahouse behind the 14th green. “South Korean designs must, according to local custom, feature teahouses in the middle of each 9,” Dale explained. “We spent months routing and rerouting that

GOLFPLAN U IN SHADOW

stretch of the back nine at Nine Bridges—to create the perfect perch for that teahouse. We did the same on the homeward stretch to create dramatic views of Mount Halla, which is sacred to the Korean people. “At Chee Chan, the cultural aspect was

ready-made and close by, but we accentuated the experience over and over again. By my count, holes 5, 6, 11, 14 and 17 all play toward Buddha Mountain—11 and 17 afford golfers excellent views of a Buddhist temple nestled into a different hillside. The experience is unique

Asians no longer starstruck I By Chuah Choo Chiang

T wasn’t long ago when Asian golfers would take delight at simply being in a World Golf Championships (WGC) event. Rubbing shoulders with the game’s elite, watching their heroes up close and personal, and competing alongside them were often good enough an experience to take home and cherish. Oh, how times have changed. These days, the new generation of young Asian stars such as Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, India’s Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri, Haotong Li of China, Korea’s Kim Si-woo and Byeonghun An, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and CT Pan of Chinese Taipei are in it to win it. They don’t want to just make up the numbers at the WGC or on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour, and apart from possessing a burning desire now to win at the highest level, their aspirations are backed by armory in their games, a fearless attitude and high dosages of confidence running through their veins. The WGC-Mexico Championship, which is offering a princely $10.25 million at the Club de Golf Chapultepec from February 21 to 24, will present the region’s leading lights with their first shot at WGC glory in 2019. Twelve months ago, India’s Sharma announced his arrival on the big stage by snatching the second- and third-round lead through some glorious golf before finishing T9. Arriving in Mexico on the back of two Asian Tour-European Tour co-sanctioned victories, the 22-year-old unveiled his growing credentials with a masterful display, which he followed up later in the year by sharing the third-round lead at the PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia before finishing T10.

American golf legend Phil Mickelson, who played alongside Sharma during the final round en route to his 43rd PGA Tour win in Mexico, was effusive of his praise toward the young Indian, whom he had, funnily enough, brushed off on the practice putting green in the previous day after thinking Sharma was a journalist hunting for an interview. “I saw how well he struck the golf ball. He hit a beautiful tee shot on one, you can tell he can really play. I saw some of the putts, some of the highlights with the putter. I know he’s a very talented player, so I know what a great player Mr. Sharma is. I probably shouldn’t say that, he’s 26 years younger than me!” said Mickelson, who won the tournament after defeating 2017 FedExCup winner Justin Thomas in a playoff. As the new 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, Sharma has guaranteed a quick return to the WGC-Mexico Championship and he is eager to reproduce his heroics at Chapultepec, well known for its narrow fairways and tricky greens, which are well suited to his straight-shooting game. “Those two events [WGC-Mexico Championship and CIMB Classic] were definitely the highlights in 2018,” said Sharma. “Obviously I have special memories and feelings from Mexico. I couldn’t finish it off, but it was a turning point for me. It showed I could play against best in the world. It was my career-first WGC, and to have a chance to win at that stage, it gave me a lot of self-belief. Hopefully I’ll get more chances to win. Getting my card on the PGA Tour remains my goal in 2019, and getting into the Presidents Cup International Team is also right up there, so hopefully playing

precisely because it’s so unique to Thai culture.” Formed in 1972, Golfplan has been introducing golf to new markets and maximizing cultural experiences for nearly 50 years. Based in Santa Rosa, California, USA, it is the most international firm in all of course

well in big events like Mexico will help.” As it currently stands, Matsuyama, the ultra-talented 26-year-old Japanese ace, is currently the lone Asian golfer with two victories registered at the 2016 WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai and 2017 WGCFedEx Saint Jude Invitational. Grip it-and-rip it star Kiradech is also keen to add his name to the exclusive winners’ club soon. Last year the big-hitting Thai produced his first top 5 in a WGC in Mexico, which he credits for helping him become the first Thai to earn a PGA Tour card for the 2018-2019 season. Kiradech also enjoyed top 5s at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and WGC-HSBC Champions in 2018 to prove he truly belonged in the big league. “I can win one of these events,” said Kiradech, holder of four European Tour titles. “I’m not far off from winning. Just keep knocking on the door. I had three top 5s in the WGCs, and when the moment comes again, I have to control myself better. Winning one event on the PGA Tour is my goal in 2019. Winning a WGC will be special.” Another elite lineup of global golf stars is expected to descend in Mexico City with the likes of Mickelson, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Jordan Spieth tipped to headline the prestigious tournament, which offers 550 FedExCup points. “They are very important tournaments. They are big tournaments. They bring together the best players in the world,” said Johnson, a 19-time PGA Tour winner, including five WGC titles. And for this reason, the Asian brigade cannot wait to challenge the world starting with the WGC-Mexico Championship. n Note: Chuah Choo Chiang is senior director, communications of the PGA Tour and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, February 2, 2019 A7

UNVEILS THAI RESORT 18 OF BUDDHA MOUNTAIN THE iconic Chi Chan Buddha looks down on the first green at Golfplan-designed Chee Chan Golf Resort.

architecture, having creating more than 218 original designs in 32 different countries (if master planning and renovation are considered, make that 85 countries). This sort of sustained, diverse productivity is one reason Golf Inc. magazine named Dale and Ramsey

among the “Top 10 Most Powerful People in Asian Golf” for 2016. Golfplan has worked extensively in Thailand. Their designs at Panya Park, Panya Indra and Mountain Shadow (down the road from Chee Chan, in Pattaya) all remain popular—and

THE 14th green at Chee Chan Golf Resort

profitable, Dale is quick to add. But those courses were built in the 1990s. “It’s a privilege to work again in Thailand, especially on a site so unusual. This is flat, coastal country here by the Gulf—but we had fully 25 meters of elevation change to work with at Chee Chan,” Dale reported. “The eye is naturally drawn to the escarpment featuring the Buddha, but the property is ringed by these limestone karsts—some are 150 meters tall! The perimeter holes play uphill to their bases, then back down again.

These enormous features give the entire course both an amphitheater feel and a pleasing sense of seclusion. “In this environment, it’s tempting to shape the golf course in competition with these large features. But I think we struck the right balance. The contour is flamboyant but toned down through the landing zones. There are several cavernous valleys that separate the holes, which tend to melt over and between these landforms. With the introduction of drought-tolerant bahia grass SHARMA

from Suvarnabhumi International Airport) is a fully fledged destination unto itself. “I love golf,” said Narit Chia-Apar, founder of Chee Chan Golf Resort and chairman of the developing entity, Chartered Square Holding Co. “I know how golfers think and what they want. I know the level of service that is expected, and so I built the course based on the needs of myself as a golfer, and not just as an investor. Whatever I see fit to give the best impression for our visitors, I will make sure that we have it here.”

Two majors await WAAP champion

S MICKELSON

to frame and accent all this, it’s a pretty stunning tableau.” Buddha Mountain was created on the northern face of Khao Chi Chan in 1996, to commemorate His Majesty the King of Thailand’s golden jubilee. It’s been a major domestic tourist draw ever since— enough to invite subsequent development of a water park, winery and shopping district. With new accommodations and world-class resort golf added to the mix, this corner of Pattaya (just 90 minutes

AINT ANDREWS (January 16, 2019): The rewards for the champion of the Women’s Amateur AsiaPacific (WAAP) continue to grow, with the Evian Championship announcing it would create a special exemption for the winner. The Evian Championship joins the AIG Women’s British Open in offering places to the WAAP champion. As well as the two major championships, the winner will also receive an invite to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The second edition of the premier women’s amateur golf championship of the Asia-Pacific region will be played at The Royal Golf Club in Japan from April 25 to 28. Defending champion Atthaya Thitikul, from Thailand, enjoyed a stunning year, finishing as the leading amateur in both AIG Women’s British Open and the ANA Inspiration. She was also tied for eighth place at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. The Evian Championship is the fourth of the five majors in women’s golf and will be played from July 25 to 28 at the picturesque Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains. The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship has been developed by the R&A and Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) to unearth emerging talent and provide a pathway for Asia’s elite women amateurs to emerge on the international stage. Announcing the exemption, Franck Riboud, chairman of The Evian Championship, said: “We are truly honored to partner with the R&A on this great championship. “The Evian Championship, the R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation share the same goals and values related to the emergence of young talents. It is with pleasure that we will award this new Tournament Exemption starting in 2019. “We are convinced that the future of women’s golf is linked to the young talents teeing off at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific.” The R&A launched the “Women in Golf Charter” last year and is committed to increasing the participation of women and girls in the sport. The WAAP is one of several key championships conducted by the governing body and a significant initiative along with the APGC to drive the popularity of women’s golf in the region.

Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A, added: “A big part of the success of the inaugural WAAP in Singapore last year was the outstanding performance of our 15-year-old champion Atthaya Thitikul not only in Sentosa, but in the other prestigious championships she played, as well. “Atthaya can now inspire so many other young players to follow in her footsteps. There is huge potential for further growth in women’s golf in Asia Pacific and we want to give the leading players the opportunities to showcase their talent.” Kei Muratsu, chairman of the APGC, said: “Over the last few years, we have seen how dominant women from our region have become. Since October 27, 2014, the world No. 1 as per the Rolex Rankings has always been from an Asia-Pacific country. “So far, that has been restricted to countries like Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, China and Japan. We have plenty of talent in the other 37 APGC countries and events like the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific is the perfect launching pad for them. “We are very thankful to the Evian Championship for extending our champion an exemption. The fact that two of the five majors have shown this faith in us is a matter of great pride for the APGC and what we are trying to do with women’s golf here.” Invitations to players will be sent out next week. The championship will have a field of 90 players with a maximum of six players from each of the APGC member-countries. In addition, hosts Japan will get two extra spots. Currently, there are 25 players from Asia Pacific ranked in the World Amateur Golf Ranking top 100, with Thailand’s Paphangkorn Tavatanakit the highest ranked at No. 3.The Philippines’s Yuka Saso is ranked 31st, Bianca Pagdanganan 72nd and Lois Kaye Go 87th. Kabaya Ohayo Group and Rolex are the championship’s principal sponsors. IMG will assist with championship staging and TV broadcasting. For more information on the tournament, visit the web site at randa.org/WAAP. For updates, like the championship’s Facebook page and follow @WAAPGolf on Twitter and Instagram.

OurTime BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, February 2, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Senate moves for the creation of senior citizen commission

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By Butch Fernandez

MEASURE aimed at creating a commission for the elderly hurdled second reading at the Senate. Senate Bill (SB) 2159, under Committee Report 552, seeks to create the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC), which is solely dedicated in promoting and protecting the rights and interests of senior citizens. It is in substitution of SBs 674, 1881 and 2099 filed by Sen. Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III and Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara, respectively. Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV, sponsor of the measure, said that

with the creation of the commission, the National Coordinating and Monitoring Board created by Republic Act 9994, which is composed of heads of different government agencies, would be abolished. Trillanes, acting chairman of the Senate Social Justice and Rural Development Committee, said the NCSC will be under the office of the President and composed of a chairman and six commissioners. The commissioners will represent and/or hold offices in the

different regions in the country. An executive director, who will be appointed by the commission, will manage and supervise the commission’s daily operations. Some of the functions of the commission are to ensure the full implementation of laws, policies and programs for the elderly; formulate policies for the promotion and protection of their rights and well-being; conduct information and education campaigns to raise awareness of senior citizens’ rights; and represent the Philippines in international functions, forums and other conferences involving senior citizens. Trillanes said that with the aging population of the country, it is important to prepare for such population trend and the creation of the commission is a good start. The Population Commission said the population of senior citi-

House unit endorses measure granting cash gifts to seniors

zens in the country in 2018 could be 8 percent of the total population, or 8.013 million. The United Nations Population Fund projected that the senior population in the Philippines is expected to hit 23.63 million by 2050. “Growing old comes with a variety of challenges, from physical to economic. With situations like these, it is important that we create for senior citizens a supportive and an enabling environment where they are assisted and appreciated,” Trillanes said in his sponsorship speech. “This representation believes that our senior citizens have broadly contributed to the growth and progress of our nation, and continue to do so given the right opportunities. It is time for us to give back by protecting their rights and ensuring the proper execution of programs for their well-being,” he added.

Makati spends P36M for senior citizens’ free movies in 2018

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HE House Special Committee on Senior Citizens has endorsed for plenary approval a measure granting cash gifts to senior citizens. This, after the measure approved an unnumbered substitute bill amending Section 2 of Republic Act 10868, or the “Centenarians Act of 2016,” by including senior citizens who reach 85, 90 and 95 in the grant of cash gifts. The substitute bill proposes that a cash gift of P25,000 shall be given to all Filipinos, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad, who reach the age of 85 and another P25,000 upon reaching 90 years old. They shall receive an additional P50,000 when they reach the age of 95. At 100 years old, the bill said the celebrators shall be honored with a letter of felicitation from the President of the Philippines, congratulating them on their longevity in addition to a centenarian gift in the amount of P100,000 each. The bill said the fund for the initial year of implementation shall be sourced from the available funds of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and subsequently, the amount neces-

sary to implement the provisions of the measure shall be included in the General Appropriations Act. The secretaries of the DSWD, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Health and Commission on Filipinos Overseas shall promulgate the necessary guidelines for and shall take the lead in the effective implementation of the measure. The committee’s Vice Chairman Rep. Milagros Aquino-Magsaysay of Senior Citizen party-list gave assurance that the measure will be expedited and shall reach the plenary floor for deliberation and approval even if it still has to be transmitted to the House Committee on Appropriations for its funding provision. “However, the newly elected Majority Leader Honorable Fredenil Castro has instructed all chairpersons to expedite the approval of measures referred to their respective committees,” she said. “Once approved by the committee, the substitute bill could be transmitted to the Committee on Rules. And he assured me that he will see to it that our bill is approved before the adjournment,” she added. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

At long last, older residents see concrete road linking Bukidnon farms to markets

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

By Sherwin B. Manual

Correspondent

Special to the BusinessMirror

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HE City of Makati City spent P36 million to give its senior citizens free movies last year. Makati Mayor Abigail Binay said the city paid P39.5 million to its partner cinemas for free movie tickets issued to its senior citizens and residents with disabilities in 2018. The mayor said the much-envied perk provided by the city government is available to 82,035 elderly citizens. “We have sustained this program since 1997 because of the joy it has given to thousands of senior Makatizens. This is priceless. Watching free movies has become a favorite hobby among them, keeping them in touch with friends and making them feel young at heart,” Binay said. The elderly and PWD Makatizens can watch free movies at any of the cinema-partners in Glorietta and Greenbelt, Century Mall, Power Plant Mall, Cash and Carry and Waltermart. In a recent report to Binay, Accounting Department Officer in Charge William Dayrit said of the P39.5 million paid to its partner cinemas, P36 million went to movie tickets of senior citizens and P3.5 million to movie tickets of persons with disabilities (PWDs). The amounts constitute the 25-percent share of the city government in the cost of movie tickets used under the program, which is being implemented in partnership with cinema owners in the city. The free-movies benefit for the elderly started 22 years ago with the passage of City Ordinance 97-085, allocating P500,000 as the 25-percent share of the city in cinema admission costs for senior citizens. The program was institutionalized three years later through City Ordinance 2001-035 granting the inclusion of appropriations in the annual City Executive Budget for its continuous implementation in succeeding years. Meanwhile, elderly Makatizens also receive cash gifts, free birthday and golden wedding anniversary cakes, and free medicines under the BLU Card Program. In November last year, Binay proposed to grant an annual P10,000 cash gift to elderly Makatizens aged 90 to 99 years old. The cash gift will continue to be given to them when they reach their 101st birthday, and onward for as long as they live. The proposal is still awaiting the approval of the City Council.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

C ‘LOLA’S MERCHANDISE Like other fruit vendors at the Santiago City (Isabela) Public Market, 66-year-old Mely Abalos from Victory Norte Village claims she has been in the business a long time, for at least 45 years. CEASAR M. PERANTE

1.2K poor senior citizens in GenSan get social pension G ENER AL SANTOS CITY— Some 1,200 indigent senior citizens here received about P1.8 million worth of cash grants from the national government on January 22. City Mayor Ronnel Rivera said the financial assistance comprises the fourth tranche of the quarterly grant for poor senior citizens under the social-pension program implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the local government. He said the beneficiaries, who received P1,500 each, were from barangays Bula, Katangawan, Fatima and Buayan. The city government facilitated the profiling and identification of the program’s beneficiaries in the city’s 26 barangays. The City Social Welfare and Development Office validated 12,848

senior citizens as recipients of the social pension in the city. “We are fully supporting this program. Every year, the number of beneficiaries is increasing, and we’re hoping that all senior citizens in the city will eventually benefit from this,” the mayor said in a statement. Rivera said the local government will continue to support endeavors that would improve the lives of older people, especially those who belong to the marginalized sector. He said they are working on the enhancement of the city’s Office of Senior Citizens Affairs to improve its services to the elderly. City Councilor Elizabeth Bagonoc said they will complement these efforts by promoting more programs that support the sector, especially concerns on their welfare.

Bagonoc was one of the authors of Ordinance 33, Series of 2016, that grants a cash gift of P100,000 to the city’s centenarian residents. As set in Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, the social pension for indigent senior citizens aims to augment their daily subsistence and other medical needs. Qualified senior citizens receive subsidies of P500 a month, which is released on a quarterly basis. Emma Ycay, 64, expressed gratitude to the national and city government for providing the social pension. Ycay, who hails from Barangay Katangawan, said she mainly uses her pension to sustain her daily needs. “This is really a good program. I am grateful because I can now use my pension to buy rice,” she said in the vernacular. PNA

LEMENTE PONTEJOS, 64, of Barangay Kitingting, Damulog, Bukidnon, has long endured the deplorable condition of the road serving their farm village. But decades of hardships will soon be a thing of the past as a concrete road that stretches over 13 kilometers is about to be completed. “For the first time in decades, we can finally transport our crops with ease and without delay. We are inspired to improve farming and expand our farms,” Pontejos said. The concreting of 13.94-kilo meter Sitio Sinayaran-Pocopoco to Tangkulan in Damulog is just one of the 248 ongoing projects of the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development project (PRDP) in Mindanao. The DA-PRDP is a six-year rural development project funded by a loan portfolio under the World Bank, with equity shares of the national and local government units. Recently, the World Bank has rated the project satisfactory as it is on track to achieving its development objectives. The World Bank report said progress toward achieving the PDO and Global Environment GEO outcome indicators is on-track based on the Rapid Appraisal of Emerging Benefits conducted as rural infrastructure and enterprise subprojects are completed. The PRDP aims to increase real-

household incomes by 30 percent by the end of the project. So far, a 15-percent increase of income from direct beneficiaries of the farm-to-market road projects has been achieved, while a 30-percent increase of income from beneficiaries of agri-enterprise projects has been recorded. Although full assessment is yet to be conducted, the projects of PRDP reduced travel time from farm to the market by 52 percent; 13-percent reduction of hauling cost; and 184-percent increase of traffic and influx of traders, residents and expansion of production areas. “Even buyers, who shy away from our farms before because it was all bumpy and muddy during rainy days are now flocking here, waiting for our harvest of cardava banana and vegetables,” Pontejos said. “Everything is much better now. We have increased our production and income. We now have bigger savings, too,” he added. In Mindanao, the PRDP has a portfolio of P15.4 billion for infrastructure development, agri-enterprises and local capacity improvement. IBUILD or infrastructure development component’s tota l investment is pegged at P14.85 million or 33 percent of the total cost for infra nationwide. Viable agri-enterprises have a total of 82 approved subprojects amounting to P387.44 million. Over 700,000 people have benefited from the infrastructure projects; 49 percent of these are women.

1K Isabelinos share ‘giant pansit’ in Cabagan town’s Pansi Festival

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ABAGAN, Isabela—Around 1,000 residents here were treated to a gigantic serving of “pansi Cabagan” as part of the launch of the weeklong Pansi Festival on January 23. Government officials led the opening of the festivity, held annually as a tribute to this town’s thriving native-noodle industry and the farmers’ bountiful harvest. Mayor Christopher Mamauag told the Philippine News Agency the local rice-noodle dish called pansi (an Ibanag term for pansit) has been forever etched in the history and culture of the villagers. “This is a thanksgiving for the bountiful harvests of the farmers and for the ubiquitous pansi

Cabagan that is synonymous with the town’s culture and heritage,” he said. Local officials cooked pansi Cabagan as a “recognition of the noodle industry, as well as the farming occupation in the town,” Mamauag said. Some 78 kilogram of miki rice noodles, 80 kg of pork, 200 quail eggs and 30 kg of vegetables went into the prepared pansi Cabagan served in a gigantic bilao (native woven tray or basket) and eaten at lunchtime by 1,000 people. Farmers, fishers and calesa (horse-drawn buggy) drivers were also feted through the Kalesa, Kutseru, Kabayu (KKK) competition and inter-barangay calesapainting contest. PNA

THE townsfolk of Cabagan, Isabela, partake of pansi Cabagan, a popular rice-noodle dish in the town, served on a giant bilao during the Pansi Festival opening on January 23, 2019. VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.

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RESEARCHERS SAY AMAZON FACE-DETECTION TECHNOLOGY SHOWS BIAS BY TALI ARBEL The Associated Press NEW YORK—Facial-detection technology that Amazon is marketing to law enforcement often misidentifies women, particularly those with darker skin, according to researchers from MIT and the University of Toronto. Privacy and civil-rights advocates have called on Amazon to stop marketing its Rekognition service because of worries about discrimination against minorities. Some Amazon investors have also asked the company to stop out of fear that it makes Amazon vulnerable to lawsuits. The researchers said that in their tests, Amazon’s technology labeled darker-skinned women as men 31 percent of the time. Lighter-skinned women were misidentified 7 percent of the time. Darker-skinned men had a 1-percent error rate, while lighter-skinned men had none. Artificial intelligence can mimic the biases of their human creators as they make their way into everyday life. The new study, released late Thursday, warns of the potential of abuse and threats to privacy and civil liberties from facial-detection technology. Matt Wood, general manager of artificial intelligence with Amazon’s cloud-computing unit, said the study uses a “facial analysis” and not “facial recognition” technology. Wood said facial analysis “can spot faces in videos or images and assign generic attributes such as wearing glasses; recognition is a different technique by which an individual face is matched to faces in videos and images.” In a Friday post on the Medium web site, MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini responded that companies should check all systems that analyze human faces for bias. “If you sell one system that has been shown to have bias on human faces, it is doubtful your other face-based products are also completely bias free,” she wrote. Amazon’s reaction shows that it isn’t taking the “really grave concerns revealed by this study seriously,” said Jacob Snow, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. Buolamwini and Inioluwa Deborah Raji of the University of Toronto said they studied Amazon’s technology because the company has marketed it to law enforcement. Raji’s LinkedIn account says she is currently a research mentee for artificial intelligence at Google, which competes with Amazon in offering cloud-computing services. Buolamwini and Raji say Microsoft and IBM have improved their facial-recognition technology since researchers discovered similar problems in a May 2017 study. Their second study, which included Amazon, was done in August 2018. Their paper will be presented on Monday at an artificial-intelligence conference in Honolulu. Wood said Amazon has updated its technology since the study and done its own analysis with “zero false positive matches.” Amazon’s web site credits Rekognition for helping the Washington County Sheriff Office in Oregon speed up how long it took to identify suspects from hundreds of thousands of photo records.

THE winning ArkAngel team was composed of Mark Christian Dedal, Christian Estrella, Dan Noya and Kirk Robin Amable

Predator crowns the kings of PUBG in the Philippines PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

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RKANGEL, the team composed of Mark Christian Dedal, Christian Estrella, Dan Noya and Kirk Robin Amable, had 168 points to win the Predator League PUBG Philippine Finals, held last weekend at the Glorietta Activity Center. ArkAngel will represent the Philippines at the Predator League Finals 2019 in Thailand from February 15 to 17 for a chance to get a slice of the $400,000 pool prize. Vortex Farm—composed of Mark Chin, Mark Nerosa, Christian Prajes and Kanakann Namia—had 128 points for first runner-up honors and a cash prize of P40,000. Second runner-up was NCGC Vortex with 103 points. The team, composed of Jessie Jude Aparece, Jellicoe Piloto, Resmark Wating and Christopher John Canete, got a P20,000 cash prize. Third runner-up was Team No Future. They received P20,000. A total of 16 top teams from all over the Philippines—Team No Future, Miraculum, TNC, ArkAngel, Anonymous Ilonggos, Nirvana, Vulture Gaming, Mistah, DPT, AdMiral, Ronin, 5peaks, Patriots, Vortex Farm, NCGC Vortex and Bosons— competed for the Philippine championship title. The winner was determined by a point system with 12 action-packed rounds.

SUE ONG-LIM, Predator Philippines sales and marketing director

With the addition of PUBG on its second year, Predator League is one of the biggest eSports tournaments worldwide. Only the best of the best teams from 13 participating countries will fight for the Predator Shield and prove to be the greatest eSports team in the region. Predator has the most complete line of gaming

devices ranging from laptops, desktops and monitors equipped with the latest technologies to enhance the eSports community’s gaming experience. “Predator aims to help players take gaming to a whole new level. The rising level of PC gaming is unstoppable and we’re here for both pro gamers and casual gamers. We are also happy to show the world how exceptional our homegrown players are,” said Sue Ong-Lim, Predator Philippines sales and marketing director. Ong-Lim cited the growth in Predator sales, which reached 400 percent year-on-year. Predator’s support for this tournament strengthens the brand’s commitment to the gaming industry in the Philippines and the region. Predator Thronos gaming chair was also unveiled during the competition with cosplayer and content creator Alodia Gosiengfiao getting the chance to try it out first. The Predator Thronos’s steel structure is 1.5-meter tall. It has a motorized cockpit for adjusting the screen setup. The reimagined gaming chair lets the gamer live inside the game as it vibrates in synchronization with sound the games produce. The chair is adjustable and includes an ergonomic seat design, footrest and a cabin that reclines up to 140 degrees. The overhead brace supports three 27-inch gaming monitors and a space for a Predator gaming PC. Integrated with a Predator PC and triple Predator monitors plus gadgets, the Predator Thronos is a gamer’s dream come true. Predator Thronos is customizable depending on the gamer’s preference. Its CPU is interchangeable from POS-610 RGB, PO9-500 RGB to the best option P09-900 RGB, and its monitor from Nitro XV272U P, Nitro XV273K P to the much-raved Predator XB273K. Predator offers three packages with prices starting at P699,999. ■

Microsoft’s Bing blocked in China, prompting grumbling BEIJING—Chinese Internet users lost access to Microsoft’s Bing search engine for two days, setting off grumbling about the ruling Communist Party’s increasingly tight online censorship. Microsoft Corp. said on Friday that access had been restored. A brief statement gave no reason for the disruption or other details. Comments on social media had accused regulators of choking off access to information. Others complained they were forced to use Chinese search engines they say deliver poor results. “Why can’t we choose what we want to use?” said a comment signed Aurelito

on the Sina Weibo microblog service. Bing complied with government censorship rules by excluding foreign web sites that are blocked by Chinese filters from search results. But President Xi Jinping’s government has steadily tightened control over online activity. The agency that enforces online censorship, the Cyberspace Administration of China, didn’t respond to questions sent by fax. China has by far the biggest population of Internet users, with some 800 million people online, according to government data. The Communist Party encourages

Internet use for business and education but blocks access to foreign web sites run by news organizations, human rights and Tibet activists and others deemed subversive. Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has promoted the notion of “Internet sovereignty,” or the right of Beijing and other governments to dictate what their publics can do and see online. Chinese filters block access to global social media including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Officials argue such services operating beyond their control pose a threat to national security.

Xi’s government also has tightened controls on use of virtual private network technology that can evade its filters. Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit operated a search engine in China until 2010 that excluded blocked sites from results. The company closed that after hacking attacks aimed at stealing Google’s source code and breaking into e-mail accounts were traced to China. That has helped Chinese competitors, such as search engine Baidu.com to flourish. But Baidu has been hit by repeated complaints that too many search results are irrelevant or are paid advertising. AP

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THIS August 2018 file photo shows electronic menus at McDonald’s flagship restaurant in Chicago. Robots aren’t replacing everyone, but a report says a quarter of US jobs will be severely disrupted as artificial intelligence accelerates the automation of today’s work. AP

Will robots take your job? Quarter of US workers at risk

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BY MATT O’BRIEN The Associated Press

OBOTS aren’t replacing everyone, but a quarter of US jobs will be severely disrupted as artificial intelligence accelerates the automation of existing work, according to a new Brookings Institution report. Thursday’s report from the Washington think tank says roughly 36 million Americans hold jobs with “high exposure” to automation—meaning at least 70 percent of their tasks could soon be performed by machines using current technology. Among those most likely to be affected are cooks, waiters and others in food services; short-haul truck drivers; and clerical office workers. “That population is going to need to upskill, reskill or change jobs fast,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at Brookings and lead author of the report. Muro said the timeline for the changes could be “a few years, or it could be two decades.” But it’s likely that automation will happen more swiftly during the next economic downturn. Businesses are typically eager to implement cost-cutting technology as they lay off workers. Though the US is in the middle of its secondlongest expansion in history, and jobs data suggest that the economy remains healthy, many business leaders and economists have suggested in surveys that the US could slip into a recession in 2020. In addition, the partial government shutdown has been creating

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LBC Express and Xpress Money seal the deal in their partnership to provide remittance services to Filipinos. From left: Oliver Valentin, LBC Express senior vice president for Philippine branch operations; Mike Camahort, president and chief operating officer of LBC Express; Sudhesh Giriyan, chief operating officer of Xpress Money; and Lohitt Shetty, cluster manager for Apac.

anxieties about a downturn. Some economic studies have found that similar shifts toward automating production happened in the early part of previous recessions—and may have contributed to the “jobless recovery” that followed the 2008 financial crisis. But with new advances in artificial intelligence, it’s not just industrial and warehouse robots that will alter the American work force. Self-checkout kiosks and computerized hotel concierges will do their part. Most jobs will change somewhat as machines take over routine tasks, but a majority of US workers will be able to adapt to that shift without being displaced. Some chain restaurants have already shifted to self-ordering machines; a handful have experimented with robot-assisted kitchens. Google this year is piloting the use of its digital voice assistant at hotel lobbies to instantly interpret conversations across a few dozen languages. Autonomous vehicles could replace short-haul delivery drivers. Wal-mart and other retailers are preparing to open cashier-less stores powered by in-store sensors or cameras with facial-recognition technology. The changes will hit hardest in smaller cities, especially those in the heartland and the Rust Belt, according to the Brookings report. The risk is highest in Indiana and Kentucky, where some counties have nearly half the work force employed in the labor-intensive manufacturing and transportation industries. The changes will also disproportionately

REALME ADDS MORE VALUE TO ENTRY-LEVEL SMARTPHONE EXPERIENCE

affect the younger workers who dominate food services and other industries at highest risk for automation. “Restaurants will be able to get along with significantly reduced work forces,” Muro said. “In the hotel industry, instead of five people manning a desk to greet people, there’s one and people basically serve themselves.” Many economists find that automation has an overall positive effect on the labor market, said Matias Cortes, an assistant professor at York University in Toronto who was not involved with the Brookings report. It can create economic growth, reduce prices and increase demand while also creating new jobs that make up for those that disappear. But Cortes said there’s no doubt there are “clear winners and losers.” In the recent past, those hardest hit were men with low levels of education who dominated manufacturing and other blue-collar jobs, and women with intermediate levels of education who dominated clerical and administrative positions. In the future, the class of workers affected by automation could grow as machines become more intelligent. The Brookings report analyzed each occupation’s automation potential based on research by the McKinsey management consulting firm. Those jobs that remain largely unscathed will be those requiring not just advanced education, but also interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. “These high-paying jobs require a lot of creativity and problem-solving,” Cortes said. “That’s going to be difficult for new technologies to replace.” ■

THE game changer smartphone brand, Realme delights users of the C1 with the rollout of the ColorOS 5.2.1 update. With new features that promote smartphone efficiency and optimal mobile experience, users will surely enjoy their smartphone more with this latest operating system (OS) update. “We’d like our customers to know that similar to other higher-tier smartphones, the Realme C1 can keep up with the latest trends through updates being rolled out in the market. Built to last, the Realme C1 is designed to be future-proof so as to welcome new and better features such as the updates to the ColorOS. Our smartphones are ready to offer powerful performance for a long period of time,” says Realme Philippines Chief Operating Officer Jacky Chen. The OS update offers a variety of new features, among them the Smart Bar. Designed to promote smartphone usage efficiency, the Smart Bar improves multitasking by allowing users to launch apps faster with easier access. ColorOS 5.2.1 also allows a quicker launch of Google Assistant with just a 0.5-second press of the power button. The Google Assistant is an AI-powered virtual assistant that aids users in daily tasks such as making calls, texting and blocking out calendar schedules. ColorOS 5.2.1 also provides the Realme C1 with an updated Android Security Patch for a much more secure mobile experience. Reminders are also optimized, an update that can be used once Developer Options, Accessibility Mode and Device Manager are turned on. To ease smartphone interaction, this latest update also improves touchscreen fluency. With the system update, Realme C1 users can explore the added reboot function, single swipe notification dismissal and headset icon in the status bar. Users who are yet to update their devices may download the ColorOS 5.2.1 via www.realme.com/in/ support/so�tware-update. Users may also access the update through the Software Updates tab on their phone’s settings.

Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, to send remittances through Xpress Money, and for their beneficiaries to claim these remittances at any LBC branch. The partnership has enabled Xpress Money to become one of the largest money transfer companies in the Philippines with over 16,500 locations spread across the country. OFWs can enjoy Xpress Money’s

instant money transfer services with great exchange rates and low fees. Additionally, Xpress Money does not charge any backend fees to beneficiaries while the money is received in the Philippines. Filipinos can be rest assured that by using Xpress Money, their money and data are protected using the company’s best-in-quality security checks and the most secure fire walls. Xpress Money’s operations are also fully compliant to regulatory authorities across the globe. To assure its customers about the safety of their transactions, Xpress Money provides SMS confirmations and round-the-clock customer support for any assistance required. Regarding the partnership with LBC, Xpress Money COO Sudhesh Giriyan said: “Having been in the business of money transfers for close to two decades now, we keenly understand our customers. OFWs have been an intrinsic part of our journey and we will leave no stone unturned to ensure they have a seamless money transfer experience with Xpress Money. Customers and their convenience have always been at the heart of our business, and we are happy to have found a like-minded partner in LBC. I am certain the trust and legacy associated with LBC will have a positive impact on this partnership.”

LBC Express to enhance mobile platform BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES THE country’s market leader in retail and corporate courier and money remittance, and logistics, LBC Express recently announced it is planning to develop a strong presence in the mobile platform market. “We are developing a mobile platform not only for remittance but also to enable their use of a mobile wallet for digital transactions,” said Oliver Valentin, LBC Express senior vice president for Philippine branch operations, in the company’s press briefing held in the Mall of Asia complex. He added Xpress Money is a potential partner for the digital wallet project citing its wide network around the globe: it currently has one of the strongest networks with over 160,000 locations across 160 countries. Mike Camahort, president and chief operating officer of LBC Express, told the media the potential partnership with Xpress Money is a great opportunity for overseas Filipino workers that will ease the process of remittance to their relatives in the Philippines. Moreover, he said this is also a great chance for LBC Express to pursue cross-border transactions in the future. “With our own partner and

our own network, we can have offer cheaper products through the online platform,” Camahort said. He added LBC Express started on the right track in 2019 when it formed a new partnership with Xpress Money, one of the most dependable money transfer companies in the world. Camahort noted the tie-up will broaden LBC’s global reach and allow global Filipinos, especially OFWs from the

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3 ways that big data reveals what you really like to watch, read and listen to

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THE MAGIC OF DOLBY ATMOS IN SONY SOUNDBARS SOUND quality and immersive cinematic experiences are top priorities when planning for your home theater upgrade. As OLED, 4K, and Smart TVs get more popular, the best soundbars are expected to be just as aesthetically pleasing as they are aurally satisfying. Sony partnered with world-renowned brand Dolby Atmos to bring life-like cinematic experience through soundbars that immerse you in the moment. Yes, we can’t all be action heroes, but these Dolby Atmos Sony soundbars can take you inside the action. But first, you need to get an upgrade. Having the best seat in the house makes everything else perfect whenever we binge-watch our favorite movies with our family or friends. Sony’s latest technology, the Vertical Surround Engine, gives you the feel of surround sound with just two front speakers. The Sony HT-X9000F also has a 2.1ch Dolby Atmos/DTS:X perfect for any type of TV viewing. Choose the perfect setting for the full experience with a press of a button for every sound mode: Theater, Music, Game Studio, News and Sports. It fits any room, providing crisp sound from low to high frequencies and is a match made in heaven with the Sony Bravia X90F TV. Enjoy your films, TV shows and video games in the highest audio quality. The HT-Z9F soundbar was launched side by side with the HT-X9000F, but this model has a 3.1ch Dolby Atmos and DTS:X—meaning, no matter what room you’re in, its three front speakers will create the Vertical Surround Sound resulting to a threedimensional immersive experience. The HT-Z9F is also equipped with DSEE HX, or the Digital Sound Enhancement Engine, which upgrades music to near high-resolution sound quality. And with the use of the Sony Music Center App, your Sony soundbars throughout your home can be streamed all together. These soundbars are fit for any home with Bluetooth, HDMI and USB compatible features. Cinema audio quality has never been within reach.

BY ANJANA SUSARLA Michigan State University

NYONE who’s watched Bridget Jones’s Diary knows one of her New Year’s resolutions is “Not go out every night but stay in and read books and listen to classical music.” The reality, however, is substantially different. What people actually do in their leisure time often doesn’t match with what they say they’ll do. Economists have termed this phenomenon “hyperbolic discounting.” In a famous study, titled “Paying Not to Go to the Gym,” a couple of economists found that, when people were offered the choice between a pay-per-visit contract and a monthly fee, they were more likely to choose the monthly fee and actually ended up paying more per visit. That’s because they overestimated their motivation to work out. Hyperbolic discounting is just one challenge of operating in a creative industry. Tastes are highly subjective, and the elements of plot and narrative that make one movie a tremendous hit could easily make another a critical and commercial failure. For decades, advertisers and marketers struggled to predict the consumption of leisure products such as movies and books. It’s equally challenging to decide the timing. Which weekend should a studio release a new movie? When a publisher releases a hard copy of a book, how do they decide when to release the e-book version? Today, big data offers new visibility into how people experience entertainment. As a researcher who studies the impact of artificial intelligence and social media, there are three forces that stand out to me as especially powerful in predicting human behavior. 1. ECONOMICS OF THE LONG TAIL. The Internet makes it possible to distribute entertainment products that are less popular than mainstream successes. Streaming shows can acquire a larger audience than what is economically feasible for distribution through prime-time television. This economic phenomenon is referred to as the long tail effect. Since streaming media companies such as Netflix do not have to pay to distribute content in movie theaters, they can produce more shows that cater to niche audiences. Netflix used data from their individual customers’ viewing habits to decide to back House of Cards, which was rejected by television networks. Netflix data showed that there was a fan base for movies directed by Fincher and movies starring Spacey, and that a large number of customers had rented DVDs of the original BBC series. 2. SOCIAL INFLUENCE IN THE ERA OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. With social media, people can share what they are watching with their friends, making otherwise independent entertainment experiences become more social. By mining data from social sites like Twitter and Instagram, companies can track in real time what moviegoers think about a given movie,

show or song. Movie studios can use a treasure trove of digital data to decide how to promote shows and release dates for movies. For instance, the volume of Google searches of a film’s trailer during the month before its premiere is a leading predictor of Oscar winners as well as box-office revenue. Movie studios can combine historical data about movie release dates and boxoffice performance with search trends to predict ideal release dates for new movies. Mining social-media data also helps companies to identify negative sentiment before it spirals into a crisis. A single tweet from an unhappy influential customer can go viral, shaping public opinion. In a study I conducted with Yong Tan of the University of Washington and Cath Oh from Georgia State University, we showed how such social influence determines not only which YouTube videos become more popular, but also that videos shared by influential users become even more widely viewed. One study shows that when studios pay attention to social-media buzz before a movie’s release, the difference between the predicted revenue and the actual revenue, known as the forecast error, is reduced by 31 percent. 3. CONSUMPTION ANALYTICS. Big data provides better visibility into what books and shows people actually spend their time enjoying. The mathematician Jordan Ellenberg pioneered the use of the Hawking index, a measure of the average page number of the five most highlighted passages

in a Kindle book as a proportion of that book’s total length. The Hawking index shows when people give up on a book. If a 250-page book’s average Kindle highlight appears on page 250, that would give it a Hawking index of 100 percent. The theory gets its name from Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. While this book still sells millions of copies a year, it is also seldom read, with a dismal Hawking index of 6.6 percent. When a company such as Amazon decides which books to recommend to potential readers or which Prime shows to produce, they look at detailed digital traces of which plot points engaged audiences and which did not. This might help them to promote an upcoming release or to make better recommendations to individual users. What’s more, new types of artificial intelligence can investigate what makes people engage with creative content. For instance, a company named Epagogix pioneered an approach using a neural network—an artificial-intelligence tool that looks for patterns in very large amounts of data—on a set of screenplays rated by experts in the entertainment industry. The computer could then predict the financial success of a movie. According to some reports, such artificial intelligence can predict up to 75 percent of films’ actual opening grosses. Given new big data insights like these, entertainment companies may soon know what exactly Bridget Jones would like to do with her leisure time better than Bridget herself does. ■

Hey Alexa, 95% of consumers don’t want to talk to a robot when shopping PEOPLE do not want to speak with robots while shopping in-store or online, according to a new study conducted by Oracle NetSuite in partnership with Wakefield Research and The Retail Doctor, a retail consulting firm created by expert consultant and business mentor Bob Phibbs. The global study of 1,200 consumers and 400 retail executives across the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia found a huge disconnect between shopper demands and what retailers deliver in areas spanning the overall retail environment, social media, personalization, and the use of advanced technologies such as chatbots, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual reality (VR). “These findings point to a clear and urgent need for better customer service,” said Bob Phibbs, CEO, The Retail Doctor. “No retailer wants their customers to be confused or anxious, yet more than half of respondents have felt that way while shopping. Customers will feel confident when they develop an emotional connection to the brand. This happens when retailers foster positive, helpful in-store interactions. Contrary to popular belief, millennials want store employees to help them. With nearly every respondent reporting that they value brick-and-mortar stores, now is the time to craft every in-store interaction to keep shoppers coming back.”

RETAILERS AND CONSUMER ARE ON VERY DIFFERENT PAGES DESPITE significant investments in enhancing the customer experience online and in-store, retailers are not able to keep up with rapidly changing customer expectations and this is creating a huge disconnect. ■ 73 percent of retail executives believe the overall environment in retail stores has become more inviting in the past five years. Only 45 percent of consumers agree, with 19 percent stating it has become less inviting. ■ 80 percent of retail executives believe that consumers would feel more welcome if in-store staff interacted with them more. Less than half (46 percent) of consumers agree, with 28 percent noting they would feel more annoyed. ■ 79 percent of retail executives believe chatbots are meeting consumer needs. Twothirds of consumers (66 percent) disagree, with respondents noting that chatbots are currently more damaging to the shopping experience than helpful. ■ Almost all (98 percent) retail executives think that engaging with customers on social media is important to building stronger relationships with them. Only 12 percent of consumers think it has a significant impact on the way they think or feel about a brand.

PERSONALIZATION IS PROVING A PROBLEM DESPITE almost half of consumers (42 percent)—and almost two-thirds of millennials (63 percent) noting that they would pay more for improved personalization—only 11 percent of retail executives fully believe their staff has the tools and information needed to give consumers a personalized experience. The gap between consumer demand for improved personalization and retailers’ ability to deliver is damaging the customer experience. ■ 80 percent of consumers do not feel they are provided with a personalized shopping experience both in-store and online. ■ More than half (58 percent) of consumers are uncomfortable with the way stores use technology to improve personalization in their shopping experience, and almost half (45 percent) reported negative emotions when they receive personalized offers online. ■ The majority of consumers (53 percent) felt negative emotions the last time they visited a store; only 39 percent feel confident in retail stores today. SHINY NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE NOT THE SILVER BULLET WHILE retailers are aware they don’t have the tools and information needed to meet rapidly changing customer expectations, the study

found that hyped technologies such as AI and VR are not yet the answer. ■ Nearly all (90 percent) retail executives are not confident the use of advanced technologies to customize the shopping experience is meeting consumers’ needs. ■ 79 percent of retailer executives believe having AI and VR in stores will increase sales; only 14 percent of consumers believe the technologies will have a significant impact on their purchase decisions. ■ Almost all (98 percent) retail executives believe AI and VR will increase foot traffic; 48 percent of consumers do not think VR or AI would have any impact on how likely they are to go into a store. A SIMPLE AND STREAMLINED FUTURE DESPITE the popularity of online shopping, physical stores aren’t going anywhere. As long as retailers keep the experience easy and seamless, consumers will keep shopping in-store. ■ Nearly all (97 percent) of consumers agree there is a need to go into a physical store to purchase items, and the majority (70 percent) believe the most appealing retail stores have features that simplify and streamline the shopping experience. ■ The top features attracting consumers

to physical stores are options consistent with online (36 percent), simpler store layouts (35 percent), staff orders on a mobile device (29 percent), and in-store kiosks that allow consumers to purchase products that are unavailable in-store (23 percent). ■ The top technology advancements that consumers want to utilize when shopping in-store or online are self-checkout kiosks (38 percent), VR try-on (23 percent), and mobile payments (15 percent). Only 5 percent of consumers selected robots and chatbots as the technologies they most want to utilize. “Consumer expectations are not only rapidly changing, but exactly what expectations look like vary from person to person and moment to moment. This makes it incredibly hard for retailers to keep up,” said Matthew Rhodus, director of retail, Oracle NetSuite. “The results of this survey show that, while the retail industry is often considered to be at the forefront of consumer experience innovation, there’s still a long way to go to meet shopper expectations. What this means is the opportunity for retailers to improve the relationship with consumers is tremendous.” To read more about NetSuite’s insights into the report’s findings, check out the Netsuite blog (bit.ly/2CN8Lqs).

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GIVEN new big data insights like these, entertainment companies may soon know what exactly Bridget Jones would like to do with her leisure time better than Bridget herself does.

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

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Saturday, February 2, 2019 A12

Samsung quarterly operating profit fell on slower demand SEOUL, South Korea—Samsung Electronics Co. has posted a near-30 percent drop in operating profit for the last quarter after seeing slowing global demand for its memory chips and smartphones. It still finished the year with record-highs, but expects a decline in earnings this year. The South Korean technology giant on Thursday said its operating profit during the October-December quarter declined 28.7 percent at an annual pace to 10.8 trillion won ($9.7 billion). Sales fell by more than 10 percent to reach 59.3 trillion won ($53.3 billion), while net income fell 31 percent to reach 8.5 trillion won ($7.6 billion). Samsung, which has dual strength in parts and finished products, said demand for its memory chips decreased due to “mounting external uncertainties” and inventory adjustments at major customers, including data center operators and smartphone manufacturers. Samsung said sales of its Galaxy smartphone also weakened, amid a stagnant global market. For the whole year of 2018, Samsung posted an operating profit of 59 trillion won ($53 billion) on revenue of 244 trillion won ($219 billion), which were both record-highs. Samsung said it expects its overall annual earnings to decline this year because of the sluggish semiconductor market, although it sees its sales of memory chips and organic light-emitting diode panels used in mobile devices rebounding in the second half. The company also hopes the planned release of the new Galaxy S10 smartphone this year will boost its mobile devices business. AP

Dual screens: The ‘NEX’ big thing? THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

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L MICROSOFT CLOUD PUSH POWERS ONGOING GROWTH REDMOND, Washington—Microsoft’s ongoing growth as a provider of cloud computing services helped drive its fiscal second-quarter net income of $8.42 billion, an improvement after a loss in the same period a year earlier. The Redmond, Washington-based company said on Wednesday it had profit of $1.08 per share. Earnings, adjusted for pretax expenses, were $1.10 per share. Shares dipped almost 1.5 percent in after-hours trading. Revenue from the company’s flagship Azure cloud computing platform grew 76 percent. But the company saw a 5-percent revenue hit in Windows software supplied to other PC manufacturers. It attributed the decline in part to a short supply of Intel chips late last year. Microsoft’s results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.09 per share. The software maker posted revenue of $32.47 billion in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Twelve analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $32.45 billion. Microsoft shares have risen slightly more than 4 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has risen almost 7 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $105.97, an increase of 14 percent in the last 12 months. AP

OVE it or hate it, there is no denying that 2018 will be remembered as the year of the notch. Maybe it’s because of the iPhone X’s ridiculous pricing that somehow made a lot of people believe that the notch is a “premium” feature, thus almost every smartphone brand joined the trend and came out with a notched device last year—to the point that if you wanted a phone without the notch, your choices were limited. In the quest to create an all-screen phone, the notch presented an easy solution, and surprisingly it was Oppo and Vivo who came out with more daring alternatives for those who just couldn’t take the smartphone “bangs.” While Oppo’s Find X hid the front and back cameras in a full cutout mechanical slider on top of the device, Vivo managed to insert the selfie cam into a much smaller mechanism at the top of the phone, while keeping the main cameras mounted to the back of the device. Now, Vivo is again trying something new. Instead of just ditching the notch and the front camera, its new Vivo NEX Dual Display has two screens and makes use of a triple camera setup to really give you great selfie shots.

FUTURISTIC DUAL-DISPLAY SMARTPHONE

UNVEILED just before the end of 2018, the Vivo NEX Dual Display is the brand’s first dual-display smartphone with a rear triple camera setup and a whopping 10GB of RAM. Spark Ni, senior vice president of Vivo said, the NEX series not only offers an extraordinary user experience to consumers but also “unleashes our imagination toward the future of design and development of smartphones.” Combining a futuristic dual-display design and innovative technologies, Ni said the device demonstrates Vivo’s continuous exploration and pursuit of exceptional innovations for consumers. Building on its premium lineup, the NEX Dual Display Edition embodies breakthrough innovation in both design and performance, elevating the mobile experience to a new level. The 6.39-inch Ultra FullView Display at the front is an impressive upgrade from the previous generation. With an improved screen-to-body ratio of 91.63 percent, the Super AMOLED front display offers a notch-free and immersive viewing experience to users. With an additional 5.49-inch Super AMOLED display gracing the phone’s back, NEX Dual Display Edition delivers an unconventional smartphone experience by allowing greater flexibility in using the rear cameras. Snapping high-quality selfies is now easier than ever before, as users can simply use the main cameras along

with the rear screen to get the perfect angles for selfies. NEX Dual Display Edition’s triple camera setup consists of a 12MP Dual-Pixel main camera (featuring a Sony IMX363 sensor and 4-axis OIS), a specialized Night Video Camera, and an interesting concept called Time of Flight (TOF) 3D Camera. The pro-level Night Video Camera helps users film clear and stable footage in motion and lowlight environments, while the TOF 3D Camera empowers users to see the world with an added dimension. Its 3D sensing capabilities not only enable point-to-point distance measuring, but also supports 3D modeling of the user’s face for enhanced facial recognition, protection and personalized beautification. Vivo’s selfie cameras are already among the best out there, but with the three rear cameras, you can capture even better selfies and groufies. To add additional fun to users’ photography experience and maximize the functionality of the Dual Display, Vivo adds Mirror Mode and Pose Director. The former allows users to see themselves in the rear display while being photographed or filmed, while Pose Director can show a posed image or video in the rear display as reference for imitation. Coupled with other camera modes—such as AI Scene Recognition, AI Filters and AI Portrait Framing—along with the diffusion lighting from the Selfie Softlight as part of the Lunar Ring, capturing the perfect shot is easier than ever. More than just a couple of screens and its cameras, the Vivo NEX Dual Display, likewise, has a pretty impressive spec sheet. It is equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor, 10GB RAM and with 128GB ROM. Initial reviews showed that the phone scored better than the OnePlus 6T and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 in multiple tests. The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition scored 4,720 in 3DMark, while the OnePlus 6T and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 scored 4,697 and 4,294, respectively. While in AnTuTu, the Vivo NEX scored 296,854 compared to the OnePlus 6T’s 262,266 and the Galaxy Note 9’s 272,168. The phone runs Android 9.0 with Funtouch OS 4.5. The device is 157.19 × 75.3 × 8.09 mm in size and weighs 199.2 g. The front screen has a resolution of 1080 x 2340, while the back is a 1080 x 1920 resolution. Like the previous NEX, it also has improved In-Display Fingerprint Scanning technology. Its 3500 mAh battery supports fast charging, as well. The Vivo NEX Dual Display Edition is available in China with a price tag of CNY4,998, or roughly P38,200, but it is still uncertain if it will be available locally.

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

IF you have seen those Vivo ads, you probably noticed the “Official Partner of the NBA” tag. You would probably think that it’s because Stephen Curry, currently the NBA’s best player, is the brand’s endorser. But it is actually more than that, as the brand has also been part of the PBA and several other international competitions in its bid to promote a more active lifestyle. Basketball is so ingrained in our culture, and you don’t need to look far for proof. From the first game of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) on April 9, 1975, up to today, the league has maintained a big following. Perhaps, the only thing Filipinos love more than the PBA is the NBA. Recently, the NBA and Vivo forged a comprehensive

multiyear marketing partnership that made Vivo the official partner of the NBA in the Philippines. With this partnership, Vivo will be the Presenting Partner of the NBA Playoffs Bracket Challenge, a fantasy basketball game that allows participants to submit their NBA Playoffs predictions. As an official partner of Jr. NBA Philippines and NBA 3X Philippines, Vivo will leverage the league’s youth platforms to stage interactive fan activities and showcase its latest mobile devices. Additionally, Vivo will be featured on the NBA Global Facebook through co-branded NBA content, including game highlights, vignettes and photos that will be exclusive to the Philippines. “Vivo is the ideal partner for us to deliver new ways for fans in the Philippines to experience the NBA right at their fingertips,” said NBA Philippines Managing Director Carlo Singson. “With innovation at the forefront of Vivo’s products and services, we look forward to integrating Vivo into our local events and global platforms through content creation and activations that will engage the modern Filipino fan.” Vivo Vice President for Channel Sales Hazel Bascon relays the company’s excitement in bringing new groundbreaking experiences to the Filipino basketball community. “Through this milestone collaboration, Vivo and NBA Philippines will bridge sports and technology through events, activities and programs that will revolutionize how basketball fans and mobile users experience the sport.”

REDMI, SET, GO!

NOW for those looking for a very affordable but capable phone, you might want to check out Xiaomi’s newest smartphone, the Redmi Go. The Redmi Go is powered by a Snapdragon 425 chipset and, as the name suggests, it runs on Android Go based on Android 8.1 Oreo. Under the hood, the Redmi Go has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB of storage (expandable up to 128GB), and a 3,000 mAh battery (11 days standby time), which can get you through ordinary day-to-day tasks. Up front is a 5-inch, 16:9 LCD HD display with 1280 x 720 resolution, and a 5MP (F2.2) selfie camera while at the back, you’ll find an 8MP F2.0 rear camera with HDR and LED flash. It supports Dual Nano Sim, 4G LTE and will be available in Black or Blue. The Xiaomi Redmi Go retails for P3,990 and is one of the most affordable Android Go phones to have a Snapdragon 425 processor. It is now available on Lazada until February 3, and will be in authorized Mi Stores starting on February 4.

DID YOU KNOW?

DUAL-SCREEN phones aren’t new. The first-ever dual screen smartphone was launched way back in 2011, and its called the Kyocera Echo. The Echo smartphone was equipped with twin 8.9-cm (3.5-in) displays with a hinge in the middle so when closed, the phone is no larger than a regular touch slab-style screen smartphone. Each screen could run a different application or display a different web page, or a single app could be run or a single web page could be displayed across both screens; one screen could also display a QWERTY keyboard. Echo ran on Android 2.2 and was powered by a 1GHz processor. (Source: Guinness Book of World Records) ■